Baekgeumgak was located in one of the busiest districts in all of Wuhan. So of course the streets were crowded.Hae-rak, accustomed to the throng, showed no sign of irritation. On the contrary, he seemed to be in a good mood. For someone who had nearly died just moments ago, the smile never left his lips.Sohwa lowered her gaze.The white robe Hae-rak had changed into shimmered under the streetlights, shifting color as they passed. Her eyes slid down to the hem of his sleeve. Hae-rak was twirling a stick wrapped in black cloth.Seeing him handle what he had called the most expensive hairpin so carelessly made her feel a twinge of fatigue.It might have been a lie from the start.To think she had almost trusted a Blood Cult man simply because she had nothing else to believe in.It seemed that her younger body had come with a less steady mind as well.Sohwa’s gaze sank as she recalled what had happened half a shichen ago.Hae-rak had summoned one of his subordinates and told him to show Sohwa the hairpins.It was strange—he had said he’d give her the most expensive one, yet only told her to look. But Sohwa followed the subordinate downstairs to the second floor and inspected Baekgeumgak’s wares.Then, perhaps one interval later, Hae-rak appeared in a change of clothes. Apparently, he had used the time to dress up.He picked up a black obsidian hairpin from the display case, claiming it was the most expensive of all.Holding it in his hand, he pointed out the window.The view captured the bustling, lantern-filled street and the pitch-black river. Gazing at the river, he said,["If you’ve come to Wuhan, you should take a boat ride on the Yangtze and try the local fish dishes."]A single streak of darkness cutting through the brilliant Wuhan streets drew Sohwa’s attention.The Yangtze River.It was the river where Tang Hak had disappeared.Now that she knew Yehwa’s husband had been part of the Blood Cult, she could no longer think Hak’s disappearance had nothing to do with them.And by coincidence, the Blood Cult man before her was suggesting they visit a riverside restaurant.Forget the hairpin—Sohwa could only follow him.If it was a Blood Cult den on the Yangtze, she had to enter it, even if it meant begging.Though she had readily agreed to accompany him, her expression as they walked was far from cheerful.Noticing this, Hae-rak frowned slightly.“The food there’s good, and the scenery’s beautiful.”“I’ll look forward to it.”“I mean it. I don’t usually give praise, but that place has wide seating, well-divided rooms—it’s perfect for drinking.”“Yes. Truly something to look forward to.”Hae-rak gave a faint, incredulous laugh.“I’ve only seen you a few times, but now I can read your expressions.”Suddenly, he stopped walking.“That’s the face you make when you’re turning things over in your head.”Sohwa touched her face instinctively. She hadn’t meant to make any expression, so it was an involuntary reaction.He pointed at her eyebrow with the hand holding the hairpin.“When your brows dip, your eyelids follow, narrowing your eyes. Then your lower lip tucks inward, making the upper one look larger…”After analyzing each feature of her face, Hae-rak squinted one eye.“You make that face when you’re thinking something strange. And before you say something unpleasant, your eyes go triple-white—ah, there it is. The whites just touched your lids.”When Sohwa’s gaze turned icy, Hae-rak clicked his tongue and pulled his hand back.At that moment, Sohwa felt added weight on her head.Hae-rak had pinned the hairpin in her hair and, wrapping the black cloth around his finger, murmured,“Your face is gloomy, so at least your hair ornament should be bright. You carry that one.”“You said you’d give it to me at the inn.”Hae-rak smiled faintly as he resumed walking.“It was odd from the start. You, agreeing to drink with me because of a hairpin? That made no sense.”“……”“You must have your own schemes, but why go fishing with a hairpin? Besides, it doesn’t suit my outfit—it’s burdensome to carry.”Watching his back, Sohwa thought he was one of the rarest kinds of lunatic.To hand over an expensive item just because it didn’t match his clothing—either he was insane, or he’d tried to trick her with something cheap disguised as precious. Based on experience, the former was more likely. It was the crazier choice, after all.Now she understood what the Blood Cult man meant when he said he could read her expressions.They had met only a few times, yet somehow they could read each other’s intentions.It was strange how they could never think of each other in a good way.Then again, it would be stranger if a high-ranking Blood Cult operative and a direct Martial Alliance descendant did view each other kindly.Sohwa gave up thinking.Sound filled the space her thoughts left behind.Street noise overtook her senses.The air was thick with stench and perfume—clearly, many martial artists were gathered here. Food stalls lined the streets, yet the smell of food was lost in the chaos.Breathing in the various herbs and burning spices, Sohwa realized anew that she was in the midst of a martial world festival. Seeing warriors of both the orthodox and unorthodox sides gathered together, it truly did seem a grand event.“We’re here. This is the place.”Even ◆ Nоvеlіgһt ◆ (Only on Nоvеlіgһt) the Blood Cult man himself was here.Sohwa looked up at the inn, which was smaller than she’d expected.“Is this also an Anguk Merchant Group building?”“No. It’s not mine. When I see something this ugly, I break out in hives. Check for yourself—you’ll see I’m not lying.”Sohwa let his nonsense pass through one ear.The inn was small but peculiar. Normally, restaurant seats weren’t so divided, but this one hung black curtains so that guests couldn’t see one another’s faces.From the second floor up, all the doors were shut like a lodging house. If not for the servers carrying dishes and bottles, one might have mistaken it for an inn.“Welcome.”Recognizing Hae-rak, the owner didn’t even ask where they wished to sit and led them directly to the innermost room on the second floor—a chamber with a window overlooking the lake.Hae-rak pulled out two chairs by the window.“Sit here.”“The room’s wide—why sit so close?”“Did you forget? I said I’d let you hear the rumors.”Sohwa assumed it was just an excuse. The inn was almost eerily quiet.Perhaps because the rooms were divided, not a sound from the neighboring chambers could be heard.Hae-rak curved his lips into a smile.“As you can see, this place separates each section thoroughly. Those with secrets like it here. The rooms are quiet—quiet enough to hear the shops and the river outside.”He pointed at the window frame.“Sound always rises upward. Sit here, and you can hear the world go by. Humor me and try it.”Indeed.Every human voice in the room flowed in from outside the window.Sohwa looked out.The riverside was lined with seats—makeshift stalls where people drank. Men in fine clothes and men in rags that looked ready to tear shared tables together.What kind of story could make such different people laugh like that?Reluctantly, Sohwa sat beside Hae-rak and listened to the voices outside.Most of it was martial world gossip.Names she had never heard before popped up here and there, followed by tales of their deeds and abilities.As the table filled with dishes and wine, rumors of the murim piled up in her mind.Then she heard a name she knew.“I heard the Zhuge Clan’s Little Clan Head became the Earth Heir this year.”“You just found out? That news spread months ago.”Earth Heir—apparently referring to Zhuge Jihwi, the middle brother of the Three Realms Brothers.“They say the Earth Heir attended the duel tournament with the Clan Head. You heard about that?”“Hmm? Didn’t he already compete before? I thought the Martial Alliance duel tournament only allowed one participation in a lifetime.”“No, no—he’s not competing, he’s learning the Clan Head’s work. Don’t know the details, but they say the Clan Head gave him his own room.”“Oh, so you already heard today’s news?”“Of course! I’m not some street-gossip scavenger like you lot.”A drunk man puffed up, flapping his robes proudly. Here, knowledge of rumor seemed to equal power—people poured him drinks and praised him.“Still surprising. I heard Zhuge Jihwi was treated like he didn’t exist in his own clan. For the Clan Head to look after him, something must have happened.”“Right. I wondered the same. Wasn’t the Clan Head’s favorite son the Four Seasons Pavilion Master?”“The Pavilion Master’s practically a Martial Alliance man now. Maybe the Clan Head’s picking another son to handle Zhuge affairs.”“No, no, that’s not it. Don’t tell me you don’t know?”The others looked at the man who had spoken differently, confused.“What don’t I know?”Silence spread.Surprise filled everyone’s eyes, as though they were staring at a caveman holding a stone axe.“Where are you from?”“Seriously—been meditating in the mountains for decades? How do you not know that?”As tongues clicked in mockery, the man’s face darkened.“What don’t I know?”“You don’t know why Zhuge Inhwi went blind?”“Didn’t he fall into qi deviation while learning the clan’s internal arts?”“Tsk, tsk. That’s what the Zhuge Clan says.”One of the jeering men emptied his cup and smirked.“In fact, whether you know this or not separates the true Wuhan locals from outsiders.”“Oh, stop boasting and spit it out already.”“Zhuge Jihwi took his younger brother into the clan’s secret vault, and that’s when it happened.”“What, did the vault have traps or mechanisms?”“No.”Enjoying their attention, the Wuhan local shook his head slowly, letting the outsider stew.“Zhuge Inhwi didn’t lose his sight studying the clan’s inner arts. He fell into qi deviation while learning an outside martial art. The Earth Heir knew it was dangerous but kept reciting the formula he was reading instead of helping. Because of that, Zhuge Inhwi lost his sight forever.”“What? You’re serious?”“Hah! You’re definitely not from Wuhan. Every local knows. After that, the Zhuge Clan Head came to see the Earth Heir as little more than a worm—that rumor spread quietly but everywhere.”Sohwa had never heard such a story.Though she had little interest in rumors of the martial world, it was still shocking that she hadn’t heard something like this.She remembered Zhuge Jihwi helping her during the Family Alliance meeting.His loud, cheerful nature had seemed at odds with his hypersensitivity to gossip—but now it made sense. He had clearly suffered from the whispers surrounding him.Her heart grew uneasy.She’d heard enough rumors for the night and wanted to shut the window, yet the conversation outside continued.“Bah, nonsense. The Outland Five Palace Sect was destroyed ages ago—how could any of its manuals still exist? And why would they be in the Zhuge Clan? Ridiculous.”The man in silk frowned.“When I was young, my master told me this. When the lords of the Outland Five Palaces went to fight the Blood Demon, their kin remaining in the palaces copied all their manuals. If the lords died, they planned to spread them to the world.”“Really? Never heard that one.”“Oh? You guys don’t know the Outland stories? Hah, you’re babies.”The man laughed boisterously and leaned forward.“Let me tell you something interesting. Even though the Outland Five Palaces were far apart, the lords could gather because the Blood Demon had devoured the surrounding sects, absorbing their manuals and techniques. He collected strange martial arts like a miser hoarding treasure. The Five Palace Lords grew anxious, thinking next will be me. The Outland arts were coveted even in the Central Plains—imagine the Blood Demon, so close by.”The man flicked his silk sleeve and held his cup gently.“Ever heard of the Art of Absorbing Essence? It lets one take another’s inner energy into one’s own body. The Blood Demon had something even stranger—he could drink blood to absorb another’s martial arts. But apparently, he wasn’t the only one who could do it. Not just the Blood Demon himself, but his followers could absorb or… refine other arts. Like making corpses into jiangshi, he mixed and remade his cultists into living weapons.”“Yeah, I’ve heard that rumor—that the Blood Cult creates jiangshi and alters human bodies. But what of it?”The man’s gaze lifted briefly toward the air. Catching something unseen, his eyes gleamed, and he smirked.“They say among the tricks he absorbed was a sorcerer’s magic that linked all things in the world. Using blood and sigils, it connected not only space but even time.”Though the story sounded absurd, his voice carried weight.Sohwa turned from the river to look at Hae-rak, who was leaning lazily against the window frame, watching her.Only then did she understand why he had brought her here.A taboo.Because he could not speak of it himself, he was letting another’s mouth reveal the Blood Cult’s secret.Again, the unbelievable words brushed her eardrums.“The Blood Demon found a way to turn time as he pleased. One of the palace lords, realizing he couldn’t be defeated, sought out the other four to stop him… but, well, you know the ending. The Outland fell completely.”The man lowered his eyes and spoke softly to the silent wanderers beside him.“When I was young, my master told me this—that we’re living now in the future the Blood Demon has already changed.”

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