“This is strange…”Hae-rak tilted his head as he stepped into the silent Baekgeumgak.“Is this what it feels like to be back home?”He let out a short laugh at the absurdity of feeling at ease. Then the Vice Unit Leader asked with a sour look.“Have you been drinking? In what way does this place resemble the Great Desert?”“Now that you mention it, the Great Desert never felt like this.”The Vice Unit Leader furrowed his brow deeply and shook his head.“I should never have told you the location of the passage. If I had known you’d use it to wander around as you please, I would have killed every child who discovered it.”“Tsk. The unbelievers are the most pitiful of all. The believers try to kill people just for fun, and the unbelievers kill to shut their mouths.”“…What are you saying?”The man’s gaze turned accusing, as if to ask whether Hae-rak really had been drinking. Hae-rak suddenly reached out his hand.The Vice Unit Leader, long since used to the Red Blood Hall Lord’s eccentricities, rarely flinched—but this time, even he instinctively stepped back.“What is this… whose arm is that?”“The Red Blood Hall Lord came to Guangdong.”The explanation shocked him even more; the Vice Unit Leader jumped back in alarm.“What? This arm belongs to the Red Blood Hall Lord?!”“What’s with the fuss? By now he’s probably busy playing around with his new arm.”“No, I mean…”The Vice Unit Leader stammered in confusion.“That’s not the point! It’s the Red Blood Hall Lord! But, my lord, you’ve never trained that hard—when did you grow this much stronger?”“How would I know? Go ask that old man yourself.”When the Vice Unit Leader failed to respond quickly enough, Hae-rak tossed the arm at him. Startled, he caught it on reflex.“The one who did it knows what they did. How would I, the one who got hit, know anything?”Hae-rak spoke casually and stepped into his room.“Keep it safe. I’ll need it later.”“Yes, my lord.”The Vice Unit Leader, uneasy, decided to finish his assigned tasks first. He didn’t know exactly what was going on, but if the man who hated carrying anything had personally brought this arm here, it had to be important.He stared at Hae-rak’s back clad in blue robes. Blood had spread faintly around his feet.Watching silently, the Vice Unit Leader finally spoke.“Shall I prepare bathwater?”“Good.”“Unheated, and brought quickly?”“Even better.”One might think no sane man would use Yeolyanggong (Scorching Yang Art) to heat bathwater—but his superior was precisely that kind of man.Seeing Hae-rak agree without hesitation, the Vice Unit Leader quietly sighed in relief as he turned away.At least it seemed his internal energy was still intact.'…He doesn’t appear to be in any real danger.'Not long after the Vice Unit Leader left, a tub filled with bathwater arrived in Hae-rak’s room.The chamber was utterly dark, with not a glimmer of light. The moon reflected faintly on the black surface of the water, which looked cold to the eye—but Hae-rak stepped in without hesitation.The moment his massive frame sank into the tub, steam began to rise in curling wisps.The bruises etched across his bare body gradually faded in the warmth.Leaning back against the edge, he wiped the water from his face with one hand. That was when he noticed a small wound along his fingertip.He had assumed it was blood from the Red Blood Hall Lord, but it must have been a cut left by the man’s nail.Hae-rak examined the wound quietly.“…Even I take this long to heal.”A woman born and raised in the orthodox sects shouldn’t have learned blood arts like the Red Blood Hall Lord—so how had she developed such recovery?Hae-rak’s eyes moved slowly.The Blood Demon had hidden from him the act of creating a passage.Why link the Great Desert to the Northern Sea?Those were the two regions where unbelievers dwelled most densely. Before becoming the Red Blood Hall Lord and moving to the cult’s main stronghold, even Hae-rak himself had lived in the Great Desert.If the Blood Demon meant to assist that sorcerer brat in Namgung, it would have been far more efficient to tell him. Yet the senile old monster had concealed it from him.If the Blood Demon’s calculations hadn’t gone awry, Hae-rak would have remained ignorant.'But now I know.'The thought came unbidden.How many of the Blood Demon’s plans did he still not know?The small wound along his long fingers seemed to carve itself deep into his mind.He recalled the woman who had wounded him and taken the dokgo from his body.“This too… doesn’t make sense.”When the divine artifact shattered, the stench of the Blood Demon’s blood should have filled the air—so why hadn’t he emerged?Hae-rak ran a hand across his chest, tilting his head.'…Has the Blood Demon’s strength waned?'He recalled the sensation when Sohwa had bled.It was distinctly different from the feeling of his heart being crushed by the Blood Demon’s godok.Gazing down at his wound with sunken eyes, Hae-rak eventually finished bathing.Perched on the window frame, he reached for the brush beside him—then noticed the small box of ointment nearby.He muttered bitterly.“That bastard must be in Sichuan by now.”Opening the box, he found a salve utterly without scent, glimmering faintly under moonlight. He applied the clear medicine over the wound that still shimmered faintly red.***Sunlight streamed brightly into the herb storeroom.The Divine Physician smiled as he organized the medicinal ingredients.“Yes, I will. I was planning to stop by the main hall anyway to pay respects to the Namgung Clan Head.”“Thank you.”“But why are you so concerned about that young man?”At the Divine Physician’s question, Sohwa, who had been helping arrange herbs, lifted her head.There was amusement all over the Divine Physician’s face.“Even an old man in the back room has ears to hear.”“What rumor did you hear that makes you tease me so?”“It’s nothing much. I just happened to overhear the Clan Head ordering the White Tiger Unit to keep watch over a young man named Namgung Hyun—and saying he’d punish them if they failed to find out why you visited the study.”“…I didn’t know the White Tiger Unit had such loose tongues.”The Divine Physician chuckled.“It wasn’t the White Tiger Unit who said it. I heard it myself. The Clan Head issued the order while I was taking his pulse.”Sohwa’s brows knit slightly.“Is Father unwell?”“He seems overly preoccupied with this Five-Family Alliance. He complained of a headache, so I went to check—but there was nothing wrong with his body.”Saying so, The Divine Physician closed the box of sorted herbs.“The Tang Clan Head is fine. It’s the Namgung Clan Head who worries me. I should really pay him a visit today. There’s something uneasy I can’t quite dismiss.”He didn’t elaborate further on the symptoms, but his face darkened.Sohwa didn’t press him and quietly helped tidy up.The Divine Physician was known as a man who couldn’t turn down a request, and was always busy. Many sought him out, so his schedule must have been packed.After finishing the cleanup, Sohwa wiped her hands with a clean cloth and bowed.“I’ll take my leave now.”“Going to the study again today?”“No. Father forbade me from entering, so I thought I’d walk by the lakeside instead.”“Ah, right. He’s barred access to all the secret chambers in the outer court—so I suppose you’ve nowhere else to go.”“…You heard about that too?”Smiling, The Divine Physician nodded.Embarrassed by her father’s meddling, Sohwa pretended composure and left the Medical Division.The Divine Physician watched her reddened ear with gentle eyes.***“Ahh, I want to go play by the lake too.”Pang Yiran, the Little Clan Head of the Pang Clan, gazed wistfully toward the water. At that, Zhuge Jihwi, walking beside her, laughed.“Stop looking so gloomy in front of me. If you feel that way, imagine how I must feel.”Within the Five-Family Alliance gathering, the positions of the Little Clan Heads were ambiguous. They couldn’t sit with the Clan Heads and Elders, but it wasn’t proper to mingle freely with the retainers either.They were too young to join the adults’ discussions, and too high in standing to join the servants’ games. Or rather—if they made a mistake, the consequences would be severe, so unless one was a reckless fool like Hwangbo Rim, none dared to join in.Watching the lively retainers by the lakeside, Pang Yiran sighed.“Ha, I bet it’s fun over there again today.”“It’ll be even more fun today.”“Oh? You heard something?”Pang Yiran perked up her ears, but Zhuge Jihwi only smiled mysteriously and avoided answering.Since the first day, there hadn’t been any official gatherings for the retainers.So everyone simply entertained themselves.Some trained diligently at the drill ground, others went out to buy trinkets in Sichuan’s streets. But most spent their time boating on the lake or mingling with members of other clans.Spicy Sichuan dishes, fragrant tea and wine—gather such vigorous warriors in one place, and surely something interesting would happen.Pang Yiran sighed again, muttering.“Ah, maybe I should quit being Little Clan Head…”And this year, the Tang Clan Head and Namgung Clan Head had each brought along their hidden direct descendants. Rumor had it those two had even met privately in a secret chamber—surely everyone at the lakeside was gossiping about that now.Ever fond of other people’s affairs, Pang Yiran gazed at the lake with regretful eyes.Like a cat staring up at fish hanging from the ceiling, she felt a deep, gnawing hunger.Tap, tap.Noticing her yearning, Zhuge Jihwi patted her shoulder.“I understand your frustration, but think of me. For the first time in years, I’ve been made this year’s Little Clan Head—and now I have to miss all the fun.”'This year’s Little Clan Head.'That was what heirs from other clans jokingly called the Zhuge family’s peculiar tradition.Each year, the Zhuge Clan Head appointed whichever son he fancied as Little Clan Head. Zhuge Cheonhwi, Zhuge Jihwi, Zhuge Inhwi—the three brothers, Heaven, Earth, and Man—took turns gaining and losing the title at their father’s whim. None of them seemed particularly bothered by it.Usually, it alternated between the eldest Cheonhwi and the youngest Inhwi; the second brother, Jihwi, rarely enjoyed the “honor” of being Little Clan Head for the year.'Right… I said that without thinking.'Chosen at last and attending this event, only to miss all the excitement—it must indeed sting.Pang Yiran quickly schooled her expression and brushed away her regret. But something ➤ NоvеⅠight ➤ (Read more on our source) he’d said earlier still nagged her.“…Why did you say it’d be even more fun today? Did you hear something?”Zhuge Jihwi shrugged.“Just a feeling.”“What? Why are you suddenly imitating Inhwi? Are you seeing invisible things now too?”“I don’t see what can’t be seen…”Zhuge Jihwi lifted his gaze to the sky.In the afternoon light, wisps of small clouds drifted around the Tang estate like scattered white petals.Maybe because the weather was fine, birdsong spread through the air like a melody.With a faint smile, Zhuge Jihwi replied.“But I do hear what couldn’t be heard before.”“…What are you talking about? Did Hwangbo Rim get you drunk?”“‘That brat’? Don’t call another clan’s Little Clan Head that. He’s older than you, besides.”“You call him worse things yourself.”“I’m his elder. I’ve lived more than ten years longer than you kids.”“Wow, boasting about age now? You really are old, brother.”“Children don’t understand. You will, when you reach my age.”“I won’t.”“Even if you don’t want to, you will.”“Ugh, don’t curse me.”Bickering, the two walked along the garden path.Then a familiar back came into view.Zhuge Jihwi called out warmly.“Hak!”Tang Hak, standing at the entrance of the bridge, turned his head sharply. His expression was cold.

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