Until now, Namgung Hyun, who had been calm, spoke in a trembling voice as if startled. “E-, elder brother, how are you here…?”The Red Blood Hall cultist was just as flustered.Seeing him call the man “elder brother,” the cultist frowned. Similar faces and noble attire. A younger brother overly panicked as if his secret had been discovered, and an elder brother calm as if unaware of anything.This guy is not from the Red Blood Hall.Decades ago, the Blood Demon had chosen several clans of the Central Plains and sent in frames. I heard he planned to create direct bloodlines to easily swallow the clans, but I thought it had failed.The Red Blood Hall cultist asked as if probing. “Have you come to save your younger brother?”“No. It seems I’ve come for you.”“For me? Do you know me?”At the incomprehensible words, the cultist frowned, and Namgung Jin stepped right in close.Considering their difference in build, there was no way this young lord could overpower him, yet his hand was pushed back by the sword edge.The cultist, flustered, looked down at his own hand. “Wh-, what is this?”Startled, the cultist was thrown a full step back. However, before he could even retreat, Namgung Jin was right before his nose again.Kwaang.The sword blade flickered endlessly before his eyes. The cultist swung his hand to block the pouring attacks. But there, on the sword, was engraved the Namgung insignia.‘Is this guy a warrior of the Namgung Clan?’At that moment, after glancing briefly at the Bigo, Namgung Jin murmured in a low voice. “We ran all the way to Hubei to find the one who stole Oseoksan, but it seems you already knew we would come.”Namgung Jin’s gaze fixed on the cultist. “Could it be you’ve already moved it elsewhere?”The cultist frowned. “I think there’s some misunderstanding here…”Of course, the Red Blood Hall Lord had taken Oseoksan. However, the Oseoksan in this storeroom was not the Red Blood Hall’s property but the Crimson Blood Hall’s.A few days ago, on hearing that the Crimson Blood Hall Lord had crossed to Geumeunsan, the Red Blood Hall Lord, eyes blazing, came up to Hubei. The Red Blood Hall elites searched the Bigo from top to bottom to find the Hall Lord’s arm, but they could not.While rummaging through the Bigo, they had happened to find Oseoksan by chance and secretly took it away. After all, no one knew what the Crimson Blood Hall would use Oseoksan for.The Hall Lord, together with other elites, had hurriedly crossed the Passage to pursue the Crimson Blood Hall Lord, and this man had received the order to move Oseoksan to Guangdong.He had returned to Baekgeumgak to steal an item he had secretly marked with his eyes without the Hall Lord’s knowledge, and that was when he ran into this Namgung bastard.In short, the one this man was looking for was not himself but the Crimson Blood Hall Lord.The cultist, feeling wronged, frowned deeply. “I’m not the one you’re looking for.”“Is that so?”One might expect him to dismiss it as nonsense, but the young lord of the clan actually listened to him. “Then who are you? Seeing that you don’t deny being a cultist, you must be one of the Blood Cult.”The cultist answered in a voice tinged with unease. “...Let’s just say I’m a cultist you’re not looking for.”At those words, the young man smiled. “That’s good. Without having to search, I’ve caught another Blood Cult bastard. At least this wasn’t a wasted trip.”“You think you can catch me?”The Red Blood Hall cultist snorted in disbelief. He wasn’t so weak as to be caught by some brat of the orthodox clans. Of course, he had no intention of killing a direct heir of a martial clan and making the matter worse.‘Anyway, I’ve taken enough valuables, so I should retreat for now.’As he confirmed his escape route and turned his body toward the stairs,“Young Clan Head! Why do you always rush ahead first?”“If it’s going to be like this, just go separately!”“No, this is the Anguk Merchant Group’s building—what are you going to do if they demand compensation for the mess you’re making…”Men as large as houses filled the staircase, grumbling with dissatisfaction.The cultist, his retreat blocked, was startled, while the Namgung warriors who spotted him froze in place as well.However, as if this kind of situation wasn’t new, the Namgung warriors quickly organized themselves.“Manho, you go to the Hubei Branch and request reinforcements.”“Wouldn’t it be better to go to headquarters than the Hubei Branch? And you go make the request. The weaker one should leave.”“Who’s weaker than you here? Headquarters or Hubei Branch, just go already.”The Namgung warriors bickered as they came down the stairs, their tone implying they believed they could easily subdue the cultist.The cultist exhaled deeply and twisted his neck. “This is maddening. I can’t kill all of them…”Creak.Just then, the Bigo door opened, and the sound of ragged breathing could be heard. Crawling across the floor, an Anguk Merchant Group employee spoke in a dying voice. “...Y-, Young Lords, the headquarters has closed its gates because of the Blood °• N 𝑜 v 𝑒 l i g h t •° Cult. Ugh, please go to the Hubei Branch…”The cultist gaped in disbelief.It seemed the Crimson Blood Hall Vice Lord had decided to pretend to be a civilian who had been attacked. His body trembled, and he collapsed with a thud.“Inil.”Namgung Jin, his voice of a different texture now, gave an order to one of the Namgung warriors. “Move the hostage upstairs first.”It was a heavy voice, as if suppressing rage.“This bastard is mine alone.”The Namgung warriors exchanged uneasy glances, but as if used to this sort of thing, they quickly did as their Young Clan Head wished.“Yes. As you wish.”“Then, be careful. Ah, sir, don’t try to get up. Your wounds are severe. Just let us carry you.”Without further words, the Namgung warriors supported the merchant employees and carried them away.The Red Blood Hall cultist raised his claws. “You have a talent for getting under people’s skin, don’t you? I had no intention of touching you, but fine, who would know if I burned the corpses? Who’s to say whether I killed a Namgung or just some passing dog.”Kwaang.The cultist lunged at Namgung Jin. His momentum was explosive, but within a single exchange, he hunched his shoulder. The swiftly thrusting sword had aimed precisely for his palm.Puk.The cultist reflexively closed his hand, but the sword tip had already pierced his palm.“Aaagh!”Even with his qi-hardened hands, the sword cut through as if slicing tofu, leaving a hole.Panicked, the cultist fell back a step and stared at his own hand. Then, looking at Namgung Jin in disbelief, he asked, “Did you just aim for my palm?”“I figured if I tore up that hand of yours, even if you’re lucky enough to run away from here, you won’t be able to move it again.”“Hah, unbelievable. Since you’re struggling so desperately to survive, I’ll give you my best as well.”Unlike aiming for the chest, legs, or arms—broad exposed areas—the swordsman was targeting his hand.The cultist aimed for Namgung Jin’s head and waist, but he couldn’t press forward. The sword, striking directly for his palm, stopped him each time.In the end, the cultist ended up fighting with both fists held awkwardly before his chest. Facing a madman intent on cutting off his hands, countless openings appeared.At that moment, Namgung Jin slipped to the cultist’s side and swung his sword. The cultist turned his body by a hair’s breadth, showing his back.Puk.“Aaagh!”He thought he had dodged, but a blade sank into his back. The cultist pressed his back against the wall to protect it belatedly, glaring fiercely.“Attacking from behind? Are you sure the Namgung Clan is orthodox?”“You really are a Blood Cultist. You people only bring up righteousness when you’re at a disadvantage.”Unable to control his anger, the cultist raised both arms. As he reached his hand toward his head, flames spread across his waist.“Khkk!”The Young Clan Head had read his movements and, instead of going for his hands, slashed his waist. The cultist endured the pain, offering up his waist to Namgung Jin to get closer.The moment the sharp rod brushed against his long hair—Taaang.The cultist blinked. A dull pain spread across the back of his head, and his vision went black.Whatever struck the back of his skull robbed him of consciousness.Kuung.As he collapsed, a Namgung warrior appeared in the now-clear view, holding a club.“Uh…?”The young man spoke in a reluctant tone. “Th-the Baekgeumgak manager gave it to me. He said it’s a club that can break even the bones of the toughest brute…”He gazed at the club with greedy eyes and muttered, “No wonder everyone risks their life for a favored weapon… the effect is insane.”“The manager gave that to you?”The Namgung warrior hid the club behind his back to avoid the Young Clan Head’s gaze. “Y-yes, he told me to use it. We saved his life—this little thing is nothing.”Fortunately, Namgung Jin didn’t seem interested in the item. Turning his gaze to his younger brother, he asked, “Hyun-ah, why are you here?”His voice was cold.It carried more suspicion than concern.Namgung Hyun was not hurt. Rather, he replied in a calm, familiar tone. “I was staying at a nearby inn and heard screams as I was passing by. But as you can see, the inside was a mess, so I followed the bloodstains down to the Bigo to see if there were any survivors.”“Inn?”Namgung Jin frowned, cutting off his brother’s words. Then he recalled what the Baekgeumgak manager had said earlier—that the headquarters gates were closed.“Headquarters shut its gates because a Blood Cultist infiltrated. Since no one knows when the internal inspection will end, I booked a room at an inn.”“Headquarters made quite a strange decision.”“I don’t know the full details, but apparently the Blood Cultist used human-skin masking to infiltrate. They say they’re taking time to inspect every member of the Alliance one by one, in case there are others impersonating them.”Even with the added explanation, Namgung Jin’s doubts did not seem resolved.No—he seemed even more doubtful.Frowning, he asked, “Isn’t that practically confining the Alliance members inside headquarters? And Father agreed to that decision?”Namgung Jin couldn’t understand it. He himself had participated in the Duel Tournament, so it was hard to believe.The attending Alliance members—Sect Leaders, Clan Heads, Branch Leaders—were not people of low authority. There was no way they would accept such a humiliating inspection from headquarters.Namgung Hyun, who had been watching his brother, opened his lips with difficulty.He didn’t want to tell him.But he couldn’t not tell him either.His half-brother inwardly suspected that he was connected to the Blood Cult.Though he didn’t show it outwardly, it wasn’t because he’d cleared his suspicions—only because he didn’t consider Namgung Hyun worthy of attention.Reluctantly, Namgung Hyun opened his mouth and revealed a little more of what had happened at headquarters.“A Blood Cultist kidnapped a clan’s direct descendant and impersonated them, which seems to have shocked everyone. Because of mutual suspicion, they must have agreed to headquarters’ full inspection.”“Direct descendant? Who?”Namgung Jin asked in a stiff voice.Namgung Hyun really didn’t want to answer this part.But seeing that Namgung Jin looked ready to rush straight to headquarters, he was forced to open his mouth.Despite his inner turmoil, his voice flowed out smoothly, without a hint of hesitation.“It was the Tang Clan Head’s eldest daughter, Young Lady Tang Sohwa.”

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