Because no one could readily open their mouth, silence continued. The uncomfortable gazes and silence made her ask something that did not really need to be asked, but had lingered in her mind ever since arriving at Geumeunsan.“If you do not wish to answer, you need not.”Sohwa asked, staring at Hae-rak.“The reason the Blood Demon keeps you alive.”Hae-rak gave a small nod to the hesitation in her voice, meaning she could ask. Sohwa eventually opened her mouth.“Is he saving you to absorb later?”Hae-rak answered in a calm voice.“He’s an old man with excellent patience, waiting diligently to enjoy his meal well-aged.”At his self-mocking words, silence fell again.Sohwa still did not shake off his hand.No one had ever forced her hand before, but she had never given it either.Even so, Tang Sohwa could not withdraw her awkwardly held hand.And she knew the reason.She pitied Min Hae-rak, who had survived to confront the Blood Demon.Leaving his moving fingers resting on the back of her hand, Sohwa listened to his silence, wondering if he was turning over the words he wished someone had spoken to him during those years of fighting alone, not even knowing who his enemy was.When she began to feel her hand itch, the words swirling in her mouth slipped out.“It will be over soon. Don’t worry.”Min Hae-rak stopped moving his fingers and frowned.“…Worry? Do I look like I’m worried about that old man right now?”Tang Sohwa quietly added in a detached tone.“The pills the Blood Demon ordered me to make are dangerous. If something goes wrong, all the stolen inner energy he’s taken could scatter. But since he already holds the Sun Palace’s yang energy, absorbing yours now would be a waste.”“……”“If he later loses the Sun Palace’s yang energy, or learns to control his inner energy freely, then—then he will covet you.”Tang Sohwa added in a calm voice.“So, for now, he has no reason to covet you.”“You…”Hae-rak let out a hollow breath, half in disbelief.“You really thought this was the time to say something like that?”“Then what else should I say?”Sohwa stared at the silent Hae-rak. She could not tell whether his silence meant he believed her or kept quiet for another reason. Perhaps he thought she was looking at the Blood Demon too optimistically.Sohwa withdrew her hand, frowning slightly.“You’ve lived as a merchant for years; you must understand how someone who hates loss thinks.”Hae-rak exhaled a long sigh but did not speak further.Sohwa could not afford to waste more time. Instead of asking for his reason, she simply left the room.When Sohwa’s footsteps had faded to the point they could no longer be heard, Hae-rak opened his mouth.“I’d rather worry about that old man.”His gaze fell to the desk. The genealogy of the Outland bloodlines caught his eye.With a sigh, Hae-rak picked up the secret records she had copied.“Maybe it’s because I’ve acted as a merchant for too long… I just can’t understand you, Sohwa.”Looking over several familiar names, he murmured in a low voice,“For someone so good at calculating, why are you doing something like this?”He neatly stacked the papers Tang Sohwa had written and covered them with a cloth so no one could see. While brushing the fine fabric smooth, Hae-rak suddenly froze.Flap.A flutter of wings came from the window.He slowly lifted his head.Hae-rak quietly stood and walked toward the window. Looking up at the tree outside, he saw a hawk flinch and awkwardly hide its tail that stuck out.He narrowed his eyes in disbelief. Judging by that clumsy movement, it was the same hawk he had seen before.“Come out. Don’t hide and peek like that.”After some hesitation, the hawk reluctantly flew inside.Even then, its half-closed eyes still glanced warily toward the outside, as if on guard.Amused, Hae-rak reached out his hand toward Maehwa.“Geumeunsan isn’t a place a mere creature can just fly into. How did you pass the formation?”Of course, the hawk could not answer.But perhaps relieved to see someone familiar, it suddenly collapsed onto his hand.“What’s this? What’s wrong with you?”Startled, Hae-rak picked up the hawk, then flinched when black liquid smeared his hand.“Did you come through a swamp?”Clicking his tongue, Hae-rak went to the small medicine room Sohwa had set up. He took the cup and cloth from beside the water clock, wet the cloth, and began wiping Maehwa’s wings.The hawk, seemingly exhausted, opened its beak and dipped toward the cup. While wiping, Hae-rak pushed the cup closer with his elbow so it could drink.The hawk gulped down the water.Slurp, slurp, slurp, slurp.The large cup emptied in an instant.“Did you not drink anything on the way here?”Ignoring him, the hawk rubbed its beak against the bottom, trying to get even the last drop.'Did it cross Geumsan?'Finding water in those dry dunes would have been difficult.Hae-rak went to the water clock, scooped water from the large container, and set it before Maehwa again.The hawk rolled its eyes back and drank once more.Slurp, slurp, slurp, slurp.Hae-rak let out a helpless laugh at the noisy little creature. He wasn’t a man who cared for beasts, but he was moved by the loyalty of one that had crossed the line of death to reach its master.Still, seeing it made him worry about the Vice Unit Leader. If that man learned he had left, the Red Blood Hall Lord might try something foolish.As he briefly considered returning to the Central Plains, something caught his eye.The messenger hawk was gripping a thin strip of silk in its claws.“What’s this?”It was a hair ribbon embroidered with the Tang Clan’s emblem. The silk was far too delicate to hold up hair properly—it had to belong to someone of rank.But the stitching was clumsy, the work of a young daughter or perhaps a lover just learning embroidery.Hae-rak’s eyes narrowed.“Could it be—the Tang Young Clan Head came here?”The hawk nodded.“You really are a spirit creature—you understand words, huh?”The hawk nodded again. Hae-rak clicked his tongue and stroked its head.“Don’t let anyone else see that you understand speech. The moment they find out you’re a spirit creature, the place will swarm with bastards eager to dig out your inner core.”Looking at Tang Hak’s ribbon, Hae-rak asked,“So the Tang Clan entered Geumeunsan to rescue Tang Sohwa?”“……”“No? Were there others besides the Tang Clan?”Nod, nod.“And they all passed through the formation?”The hawk was silent.“Are they still inside the formation?”Nod, nod.Hae-rak looked at the messenger hawk again.“Are they all trapped in the swamp?”“……”“Oh, did you cross the marsh alone?”Nod, nod.The path leading to the Central Gate was relatively safe. Even if someone accidentally triggered a boundary, they wouldn’t be badly hurt—the purpose of the formation was to capture intruders alive. As long as they didn’t go through the East or West Gates, their lives weren’t in danger, at least within the formation.But the East and West Gates were another matter. The Red Blood Hall and Blue Blood Hall scum there would rush in delight to tear intruders apart.Hae-rak’s relaxed expression hardened.“Are they heading toward the swamp?”Nod, nod.“They’ve lost their minds.”Nod, nod, nod, nod, nod.As if agreeing, the hawk began nodding fiercely.“The East Gate?”“……”“Don’t tell me—the West Gate?”Nod, nod, nod.Hae-rak let out a long sigh and placed the Tang Young Clan Head’s ribbon on the window frame.The Blue Blood Hall Lord was at the West Gate. The bastard was currently cultivating after receiving an elixir from the Blood Demon. Having spent several quiet days, his condition would be at its peak. Since he was stationed there himself, his subordinates ✪ Nоvеlіgһt ✪ (Official version) would be on the highest alert.“The timing couldn’t be worse.”If the Blue Blood Hall Lord came out to test the elixir’s effects himself, it would be troublesome.Turning his head, Hae-rak met the hawk’s yellow eyes. The creature gazed up at him earnestly, pleading.“And what makes you think I’ll help you?”“……”“You just came shamelessly, hoping I would anyway?”“……”“You really are a lot like your master.”At that remark, the hawk’s bright eyes twisted in offense.Hae-rak chuckled and stood.“Half.”He murmured while straightening his hair.“I’ll cut their strength in half for you. After that, surviving is your part.”Nod, nod.The hawk nodded again. To a spirit creature’s eyes, that seemed enough to count as hope. The people who had come with it must have considerable skill.Hae-rak sighed softly.It seemed Heaven truly watched over Tang Sohwa. There was one who would risk his life to save her, and now even a spirit creature risking its life to save that man.With a final glance at the hawk, Hae-rak turned his eyes toward the Blood Demon’s garden. He looked at the corner where the Blue Blood Hall’s presence could be felt—and stepped in that direction.

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