The Hall Lord of House Records looked at Tang Sohwa with eyes full of weariness.“It seems you spend more time here than in your own quarters.”He tried to sneer, but as always, the cold-blooded woman gave no reply. The Central Plains woman came and went through the archive as though she intended to read every record that existed. It had long been clear that she had finished everything that had been translated. Now she even skimmed through the pictures in the untranslated manuscripts, constantly absorbing information about the Blood Cult. Whether the saying “studying day and night” fit here, no one knew, but anyone watching would think she was preparing for the civil service exam.The moment she sat down, she began reading the record that the Hall Lord had translated at dawn. Because she had badgered him, saying she needed to understand the Blood Demon’s body well, he had translated the Blood Demon’s own record of self-observation into Central Plains script. The fact that the Blood Demon himself had left it as a record meant that there was nothing forbidden in reading it. He had reread it during translation, and most of it was praise of the Blood Demon’s own superior blood.Watching Tang Sohwa’s terrifying focus, the Hall Lord of House Records clicked his tongue inwardly.'What could possibly deserve such focus?'He lowered his head again and focused on his own work. She might soon hound him to translate something strange again, so he needed to prepare something new before she could.Sohwa had no interest in what the Hall Lord was thinking. She focused only on the Blood Demon’s record of his own body.But there was nothing meaningful there. The creature ignorant of shame had only filled it with endless self-praise about himself.When Sohwa turned the last page, she went back to the beginning and read it again. And again. And again.She read the thin book several times over. The record concerning the Blood Demon’s body was said to be only this one book. Yet there was not even a clue about the dokgo technique, not even a single mention of dokgo.The Blood Demon’s dokgo was his blood— the will contained in his blood. That will seized its host.'How could that even be possible?'The only part that seemed even remotely connected to dokgo was a single paragraph. Sohwa fixed her gaze on the Blood Demon’s boastful sentence.[Blood is clearly divided between superiority and inferiority. When two kinds of blood combine, the superior maintains its form, while the inferior obeys and naturally disappears. A wise and docile origin of life that distinguishes superiority and inferiority without meaningless struggle. The blood that entered me left no trace, but my blood could dominate another’s life.]So there was a hierarchy among blood? A special blood capable of ruling ◆ Nоvеlіgһt ◆ (Only on Nоvеlіgһt) others.'Then isn’t that sorcery?'Sohwa looked down at her hand. She possessed no power of sorcery. In both of her lives, she had never once performed such a thing. Of course, she had never fed anyone her blood either.As her thoughts continued, a faint wrinkle appeared between her brows.'…No, I have fed blood before. It simply wasn’t to a person.'Curiously, Sohwa’s blood had become nourishment for dokgo. The dokgo that had drunk her blood always waited for her and responded to her.Sohwa once again read the Blood Demon’s nonsense.[When two kinds of blood combine, the superior maintains its form, while the inferior obeys and naturally disappears.]Sohwa had once swallowed the dokgo Namgung Jin had brought her. That dokgo had not dominated her; rather, it had left her body of its own accord, so she could not make an antidote.Soon, Sohwa arrived at one hypothesis.'Could it be that the Blood Demon’s blood and mine also have superiority and inferiority?'If his blood had submitted to her, that meant her blood was superior.Sohwa’s eyes darkened. From this self-praising record, she could not learn the method of sorcery. But though she could not find how to steal the Blood Demon’s dokgo technique, she gained a new assumption.'If the Blood Demon’s blood submits to mine… then his will might disappear within my blood.'She might not be able to control others through blood, but perhaps she could erase the Blood Demon’s will.Sohwa recalled the conversation with Hae-rak at the Yangtze River. He had said that recently the dokgo’s control had weakened.'Did I ever feed him my blood? I remember drawing his, but…'She traced back the day she wounded Hae-rak’s arm to extract dokgo. Gradually, her expression hardened. The dagger that had cut his arm— that dagger had been stained with her blood.She had used her blood to lure Hae-rak’s dokgo. That was why she had wounded his arm with the same dagger she had used to cut her own finger. But there had not been much blood. Even if some had entered the wound, it would have been very little.And though not liquid, she had once made him ingest her blood. When Sohwa made the dokgo removal pill for Hae-rak, she had mixed her own blood into it. Yet the dokgo had not pierced his stomach wall; instead, it had rushed toward his heart to kill him.'So feeding blood isn’t the method? Must the blood be directly mixed?'But directly injecting blood into the body was extremely dangerous. During war, soldiers who lost too much blood were sometimes given another’s blood. Those who received it suffered horrible side effects and died. Even the Yeonjuda troupe, who dissected bodies for treatment, strictly forbade blood transfusion.Sohwa unconsciously brushed her lips with her fingers. She remembered when the Blood Demon had cut her tongue and she had cut his finger with her teeth.[Even one drop should take root within.]'One drop of blood.'As Sohwa turned the Blood Demon’s words over in her mind, she quietly touched the paper, then closed the book.“Why are you leaving already?”As Sohwa rose, the Hall Lord of House Records glanced at her. It was strange that she was leaving earlier than usual, but as expected, she gave no reply. Watching her back disappear past the landing, he lowered his gaze again and focused on his work.***Sohwa went to find Hae-rak. But no matter where she looked, he was nowhere to be found—not even a trace of his hair. It was unlike him, who always stayed in his quarters as though it were his own room.Sohwa walked toward the garden. Perhaps, out of boredom, he had gone to ruin the Blood Demon’s garden.When she reached the window, Sohwa’s eyes narrowed.A large hawk lay across the window frame, beak open, fast asleep, looking utterly exhausted. Sohwa thought it might be an illusion and reached out her hand toward Maehwa. As she was about to wake it, her hand stopped.Next to it lay a familiar piece of cloth.As she looked at the clumsy embroidery, Sohwa’s eyes darkened. This was the silk Yehwa had embroidered herself and sold to Tang Hak for a ridiculous price. The kind-hearted older brother who had generously paid for such crooked stitching had always carried it with him.He had been too embarrassed to tie it in his hair, always keeping it close to his heart instead.Sohwa slowly lifted her head. Suddenly, a cold breeze swept through the garden.Saaah—From a garden without a single peach tree came the scent of peach blossoms.Across her clear black eyes, the figure of an old man appeared.The Alliance Leader, as if already knowing she would be there, approached without surprise.Crossing the garden, he spoke in a dry tone. “The longer one hesitates to decide, the deeper the regret afterward. This time seems no different.”Along with his hollow voice came a surge of killing intent. It looked as though he were deciding whether to kill her right there.Sohwa clenched the dagger hidden in her sleeve.Step.Yet the Alliance Leader, though watching her, kept his distance. Despite the heavy killing intent, he could not bring himself to act.Even though it would have sufficed simply to say that when he had found Tang Sohwa here, she had already been dead.Soon, the Alliance Leader spoke again. “You’re still alive, and since you haven’t taken the Blood Demon’s hundred horns, it seems you haven’t killed him either.”The Alliance Leader stepped inside, brushing his wrinkled hand once over Maehwa as he entered. “So, what do you intend to do now? Having failed to fulfill your purpose in Geumeunsan, you must have made another plan.”Leisurely looking around the quarters, he walked to the desk. Lifting the large cloth, he saw the pile of records underneath.The Alliance Leader gave a thin smile and raised his head. “Seeing you leisurely scribbling away, I suppose your new plan must be quite relaxed.”When he laid his hand on the papers, Sohwa swiftly stepped forward and snatched the records from him. The inner energy gathered to burn the pages lost its purpose and scattered.The Alliance Leader pulled back his smoking hand and frowned. “You haven’t understood my advice at all.”“I understood.”“No, you haven’t.”His voice turned cold. “Whatever you think, whatever plan you make, things will never go as you wish.”When Sohwa did not answer, he sighed. “Was my being here also something you expected?”It was not. She had thought the Alliance Leader would turn a blind eye to her disappearance. That was why his presence before her now left her uneasy.The Alliance Leader asked again. “Then did you also foresee that the Tang Clan Head and Young Clan Head would enter the trial of union?”“Father came as well?”At the mention that both Tang Hak and Tang Ji-ha had come, Sohwa’s brows furrowed.“Heukcheon Amgui and your guard came too.”Sohwa’s face turned pale, but the Alliance Leader’s tone stayed calm.“Tell me. Was your plan to hand the Tang Clan’s entire strength into the Blood Demon’s hands?”“Where are they now?”Sohwa ignored the Alliance Leader’s words and asked, but he did not seem displeased.Rather, he answered willingly.The answer she absolutely did not want to hear pierced Sohwa’s eardrums.“Your family is drawing the Blood Fiend’s gaze so that I can take you out.”

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