The Blood Demon shook his head with a smile."Isn’t it strange. You’re not someone who serves me, yet you understand my inner thoughts better than anyone.""What’s so strange about it? These people regard you as a god, so of course they can’t understand you properly, while I, who see you as a pervert overwhelmed by greed, am able to understand you correctly.""Indeed, the fact that I still haven’t been able to kill you means I must really be a pervert."Even at Hae-rak’s vulgar words, the Blood Demon laughed."And since I still desire you, it’s true that I’m also a fool overwhelmed by greed.""I pity you. Dreaming of something you can never achieve, and coveting what you can never have—that’s why you’ve grown old so disgracefully.""So, what is it you plan to show me?"The Blood Demon’s gaze fell upon Tang Sohwa."It seems you came running here to obtain that."Hae-rak did not deny it. With a faint smile, he said,"If I kill the Blue Blood Hall Lord, you will hand Tang Sohwa over to me.""Who are you saying I should kill?"The Blue Blood Hall Lord pressed harder on the back of Hae-rak’s neck. But his body no longer fell to the ground.In a calm voice, Hae-rak continued,"If you send Tang Sohwa back to the Central Plains, I’ll give you the answer in return. Because I also know what it is you want."The Blood Demon rested his chin on his hand."You know what I want?"Hae-rak didn’t answer. There seemed to be meaning hidden in that short question."So, what will you do?"When Hae-rak urged him to choose, the Blood Demon leaned against the golden bedpost."How shameless. Since when have you ever waited for my permission?"The moment the Blood Demon’s words ended, Hae-rak grabbed the foot that was pressing down on the back of his neck."Aaaargh!"The # Nоvеlight # Blue Blood Hall Lord let out a scream. But it wasn’t a cry of pain.With a blank look, he tore off his burned shoes."You, you, you lunatic! Do you know how much these cost? You couldn’t buy these priceless shoes even if you sold your own skin!"Cursing, the Blue Blood Hall Lord clutched one of his feet.Hae-rak stood and faced him."Skin?""Can’t you see? It’s cowhide! The best tanner in Shaanxi—""You need to train your eye. Your shoes aren’t leather."Before anyone knew it, Hae-rak stepped on the Blue Blood Hall Lord’s other foot. At once, heat rose up again.The Blue Blood Hall Lord’s eyes turned over."You bastard! I told you, these are expensive!""Take a close look later. That’s not leather—it’s fake leather made from paper."Hae-rak picked up the burned shoe, threw it aside, and lunged straight at the Blue Blood Hall Lord.The Blue Blood Hall Lord was extremely fast.The Red Blood Hall Lord’s attack poured down, but the Blue Blood Hall Lord avoided every strike. He even panicked, worrying about his flying shoe."I paid a fortune for those! Damn it, I’ll tear you apart!"In his fury, the Blue Blood Hall Lord drew the dagger from his waist."Good luck."Fueled by Hae-rak’s mocking encouragement, the Blue Blood Hall Lord swung the dagger and simultaneously threw several pyo with his other hand.As if the small metal pieces annoyed him, Hae-rak caught several in his hand.Tang Sohwa’s eyes watching the fight took on a strange look.The Blue Blood Hall Lord had thrown quite a few pyo, yet not one had fallen to the ground. Soon she understood why.The pyo that had been thrown brushed past Hae-rak and attached themselves to the Blue Blood Hall Lord’s dagger. Using his inner energy, he drew them in tightly, forming them into a long sword.As time passed, the Blue Blood Hall Lord’s dagger grew longer. It turned into a threatening blade that could rip flesh with just a graze.The Blue Blood Hall Lord swung the uneven sword.Kwaang.Hae-rak grabbed the blade with his hand and hurled it toward a pillar.But the sword didn’t fly into the pillar. The pyo that detached from the sword scattered in all directions and flew toward Hae-rak once more.Paat. Tak.The Blue Blood Hall Lord retreated far back and laughed."Don’t be so obsessed with what’s right in front of you."He drew another concealed knife from his chest and threw it at the back of Hae-rak’s head.Hae-rak twisted his upper body toward the direction of the flying blade but didn’t move.He simply stood in place.Tuk.The flying knife suddenly dropped to the floor."Aaargh!"The Blue Blood Hall Lord screamed in pain and stumbled back.It was because red liquid had begun pouring down from above. The red-hot pyo melted and fell to the floor.Everything happened in an instant.The Blue Blood Hall Lord stepped back to avoid the falling molten metal, but as time went on, more holes appeared in his clothes.Unable to hold back his anger, the Blue Blood Hall Lord shouted at Hae-rak, his eyes bloodshot."To dirty the floor—you’re insane!"He seemed more annoyed about his room being damaged than the burns on his body.Having lost his reason, the Blue Blood Hall Lord stopped throwing weapons and rushed forward with a fist.As if waiting for that, Hae-rak grabbed the Blue Blood Hall Lord’s hand.The Blue Blood Hall Lord drew another shuriken with his free hand and tried to stab Hae-rak’s heart. Hae-rak caught the blade with his other hand.Tuk.Hae-rak’s blood ran down the shuriken and dripped onto the floor. But the scream came from the Blue Blood Hall Lord."Aaaargh!"The heat spreading from Hae-rak’s hand had traveled through the shuriken into the Blue Blood Hall Lord’s palm.The heat immediately spread along the Blue Blood Hall Lord’s meridians, slicing up his insides.Hae-rak frowned as he looked at the Blue Blood Hall Lord’s face contorted in pain."So I dirtied your chamber? You’re the one who threw the pyo—unfair, isn’t it. As expected, no one can match you in false accusations.""You lunatic… kuhagh!"Watching Hae-rak fight, Sohwa gauged one of his techniques.The moment Hae-rak shed blood, the momentum shifted.To defeat the Red Blood Hall Lord, one had to prevent him from closing in."Damn it!"The Blue Blood Hall Lord dropped the shuriken. For a man who fought with concealed weapons, losing all of them meant losing his will to attack.As soon as his hands were free, the Blue Blood Hall Lord climbed up the pillar, trying to distance himself from Hae-rak and catch his breath.But it was useless.Kwaang.The shuriken remaining in Hae-rak’s hand flew at the Blue Blood Hall Lord."Kuhk!"The flying shuriken playfully sliced through the tendon behind his knee.No sooner had the Blue Blood Hall Lord fallen from the pillar than a fist drove into his face.Kwaang.The back of his head slammed into the pillar."Hhk."With a dying groan, the Blue Blood Hall Lord’s upper body slumped forward.But it didn’t end there.Puk.The Red Blood Hall Lord struck the Blue Blood Hall Lord’s solar plexus with his knee, straightening his torso."Kuhk!"Having lost the advantage, the Blue Blood Hall Lord was beaten relentlessly, like tanned hide being pounded. Hae-rak didn’t allow him the slightest chance to regain posture or recompose himself. The rapid storm of attacks clearly carried that intent.Kwaang.The Blue Blood Hall Lord’s blood-soaked head snapped back and shot upward. Grabbing his hair, Hae-rak lifted his head.Exposing the Blue Blood Hall Lord’s nape, Hae-rak asked,"If I cut off your head, can you regenerate it?"Looking up at the Blood Demon seated high above, Hae-rak smiled with blood-stained lips."I’ve never passed down the blood art to him, so who knows how far he can restore himself. What will you do? Should I have Pyowol cut off Cheong-il’s head and bring it to you like his arm?"The Blood Demon did not tell him to release the Blue Blood Hall Lord.Instead, he asked something else."You’ve grown a lot in three years. Did the Central Plains suit you?""It suited me well."The Red Blood Hall Lord smiled as he spoke."Why didn’t you just ask me for help?"The Blood Demon’s expression became strange."What did the Red Blood Hall Lord tell you?""I heard several things. That the Blood Demon was trying to connect the Northern Sea and the Great Desert to the Central Plains, and…"Hae-rak added lazily,"I only remember that he said you’d found a new sorcerer to build the Passage."The Blood Demon’s face turned odd."So it wasn’t something that should have been entrusted to Pyowol. How could he have become so loose-tongued? I clearly told him never to speak of it, yet he must have fallen for your tricks again."The Blood Demon removed his hand from his chin and straightened his body."Release the Blue Blood Hall Lord. Contrary to your wish, he’s far from senile, and anyone can see you’re his superior. I’ll entrust Tang Sohwa to you.""Then I’ll take her now.""Go ahead. Take her to Heukgak."A brief silence fell."I meant taking her back to the Central Plains.""Ah, was that your misunderstanding? If it was, then just clear your head."Though the Blood Demon brushed it off casually, Hae-rak didn’t back away."Tang Sohwa has to return to the Central Plains. If the Alliance Leader learns that a direct bloodline has disappeared, things will get out of hand.""There’s no need to worry about that. They won’t find out she’s missing."The Blood Demon waved his hand dismissively, brushing off Hae-rak’s concern."A replica made by the Blue Blood Hall will take her place, so she won’t be discovered. They’re tied up at headquarters anyway—those who don’t even know who Tang Sohwa is won’t be able to tell real from fake.""But she can’t stay at headquarters forever. When she returns to the Tang Clan, what then? Even the Alliance Leader only asked the Clan Head for ten days.""There’s nothing to worry about. Within that time, Tang Sohwa will be dead."The Blood Demon’s gaze drifted to Tang Sohwa.Even though they were talking about her, she watched the Blood Demon without the slightest change in expression. The Blood Demon smiled faintly, hiding his thoughts."Don’t misunderstand. I’m not saying I’ll kill you—I mean I’ll make your corpse."Tang Sohwa spoke."You really look down on the Tang Clan. Do you think we’d be fooled by a fake corpse?""Indeed, there might be some in your clan who know you’re hard to kill. But you see, shaking a person’s belief is the easiest thing in the world."The Blood Demon spoke gently, as if soothing a child, and spread out all five fingers."It only takes five stones."Sohwa’s face turned cold. The Blood Demon, amused by that look, laughed softly."I hadn’t planned to go this far. I intended to plant my blood in you and send you back, but what can I do? My loneliness doesn’t reach you.""Not loneliness—dokgo."Hae-rak, who had been quietly listening, cut in.The Blood Demon’s gaze slid over to the tactless Hae-rak. But Hae-rak squinted mischievously and added,"There’s a big difference between loneliness and dokgo. Miss Tang is sensitive about the order of poison and insect, so you’d best be careful."Even Tang Sohwa, who had been glaring only at the Blood Demon, turned her gaze to Hae-rak.Drawing the Blood Demon’s attention to himself, Hae-rak asked again,"I can’t stay away from the Central Plains for too long. What should I do? You promised to entrust Tang Sohwa to me.""You don’t need to be away long. From the start, the time allotted to you was half a day. I have much to ask that girl."The Blood Demon smiled."Since she seems to be a body immune to Oseoksan, make her open her mouth within half a day."At the Blood Demon’s order to make Tang Sohwa speak within half a day, Hae-rak gave a hollow laugh."I’ve tried talking to her. Making that righteous young lady open her mouth in half a day is impossible. If you force it, you’ll just hear strange things and end up with a headache."The Blood Demon ignored Hae-rak’s complaint."Thanks to you, I’m already used to nonsense, so don’t worry.""I’m not worried. I’m just letting you know."Hae-rak narrowed his eyes and smiled faintly."Living in the Central Plains for three years, I’ve learned a thing or two about compassion. When I see someone suffering from poor judgment, my mouth just opens on its own."Despite the amusement in his tone, killing intent seeped from him."Whatever you hear, you’ll end up being drawn in by that person’s strange proposal."Hae-rak’s gaze turned to Sohwa."Looking at that face, I can already tell what kind of proposal she’ll make and what her purpose is. So before that righteous lady starts speaking nonsense, I’ll be taking her."

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