Chapter 106. The Advantage

The Blood Demon shook his head with a laugh.

"How strange. You're not someone on my side, and yet you understand me better than anyone."

"What's so strange about it? These people treat you like a god, so of course, they can't truly understand you. I, on the other hand, see you as a pervert consumed by greedy desire—so I understand you perfectly."

"Well, if I still haven't managed to kill you, then I guess I really am a pervert."

Even at Haerak's crude remarks, the Blood Demon laughed.

"And if I still desire you, then I really am the fool overwhelmed by greed."

"I pity you. Dreaming of what you can never achieve, lusting after what you can never have—no wonder you've grown so disgraceful with age."

"So then, what do you intend to show me?"

The Blood Demon's gaze shifted to Tang So-hwa.

"You seem to have come all this way just to get her."

Haerak didn't deny it. With a faint smile, he said,

"If I can kill the Blue Blood Hall Lord, hand Tang So-hwa over to me."

"Who do you want to kill?"

The Blue Blood Hall Lord pressed harder on Haerak's nape. But his body no longer sank to the floor.

Haerak continued in a calm voice.

"If you send Tang So-hwa back to the Central Plains, I will give you the answer instead. I know what it is you want."

The Blood Demon rested his chin on his hand.

"You know what I want?"

Haerak gave no answer.

It seemed that the brief question carried some deeper meaning.

"So, what will you do?"

As Haerak urged a decision, the Blood Demon leaned against the golden canopy pillar.

"How detestable. Since when did you wait for my permission?"

As soon as the Blood Demon's words fell, Haerak seized the foot pressing down on his nape.

"Arghhhh!"

The Blue Blood Hall Lord screamed. But it wasn't a cry of pain.

With a dazed expression, he took off his burnt shoe.

"Y-you mad bastard! Do you know how much these cost? You couldn't afford these even if you sold your own skin!"

He screamed as he grabbed his foot.

Rising to his feet, Haerak looked him in the eye.

"Leather?"

"Can't you tell just by looking? Cowhide! The finest tanner in Shaanxi—"

"You really need to train your eye. That shoe isn't leather."

Before anyone realized it, Haerak had stepped right up to the Blue Blood Hall Lord and stomped on his other foot. At once, heat flared up again.

The Blue Blood Hall Lord's eyes rolled back.

"You bastard! I told you these are really expensive!"

"Take a good look later. It's not leather—just fake leather made of paper."

Haerak picked up the burned shoe and flung it aside, then charged straight at the Blue Blood Hall Lord.

The Blue Blood Hall Lord was an incredibly fast man.

Even as the Main Blood Hall Lord's attacks poured down, he dodged every blow. He even panicked over his lost shoe, unsure what to do.

"I bought those after much consideration! Argh, I'll tear your limbs apart!"

Enraged, the Blue Blood Hall Lord drew a dagger from his waist.

"Good luck."

At Haerak's sarcastic encouragement, the Blue Blood Hall Lord slashed with the dagger—then threw a dart with his other hand.

The metal projectiles seemed annoying, so Haerak snatched a few out of the air.

Tang So-hwa, watching the fight, looked intrigued.

The Blue Blood Hall Lord had thrown quite a few darts, yet none landed on the floor. She soon realized why.

The darts grazed Haerak and then returned to the Blue Blood Hall Lord's dagger, drawn back by internal energy. He compacted the retrieved darts into a long sword.

The longer the fight dragged on, the longer his dagger became—transformed into a deadly blade that could rip flesh with a mere graze.

The Blue Blood Hall Lord swung the jagged blade.

Kwaang!

Haerak grabbed the blade and hurled it toward a pillar.

But the sword didn't hit the pillar. The darts detached from the blade, scattering and flying back toward Haerak.

Pah! Tak!

The Blue Blood Hall Lord leapt far back, laughing.

"Don't get too fixated on what's right in front of you."

He pulled a hidden throwing knife from his robe and hurled it at the back of Haerak's head.

Haerak twisted his upper body toward the direction of the flying blade, but didn't move from his spot.

He simply stood there, unmoving.

Thunk.

The charging knife suddenly dropped to the ground.

"Arghhhh!"

The Blue Blood Hall Lord screamed in pain and retreated.

A crimson liquid had poured from the sky. The searing-hot darts melted midair and rained down onto the ground.

It all happened in an instant.

Though the Blue Blood Hall Lord quickly retreated from the shower of molten metal, holes began to multiply across his clothing.

Unable to contain his rage, the Blue Blood Hall Lord shouted at Haerak, eyes bloodshot.

"You've gone mad, dirtying the floor like this."

The Blue Blood Hall Lord seemed more bothered by the ruined chamber than the burns on his own body.

Having lost his reason, he no longer threw hidden weapons and instead rushed in, throwing a punch. Haerak, as if waiting for it, grabbed his hand.

With his other hand, the Blue Blood Hall Lord tried to stab Haerak in the heart with a shuriken. Haerak, in turn, grabbed the blade with his free hand.

Drip.

Blood from Haerak's hand ran down the shuriken and hit the floor. But the scream came from the Blue Blood Hall Lord.

"Aaaarghhh!"

The heat radiating from Haerak's hand traveled through the shuriken and pierced into the Blue Blood Hall Lord's palm.

The heat immediately surged through his meridians, tearing him apart from the inside.

Seeing the Blue Blood Hall Lord's pained face, Haerak frowned.

"I ruined the chamber? You're the one who scattered the darts—don't blame me. Truly, no one can twist a story quite like you."

"You lunatic... khraaagh!"

Watching the fight, Tang So-hwa grasped one of Haerak's techniques.

The moment someone sheds blood to Haerak, the advantage shifts.

To defeat the Blue Blood Hall Lord, one must never get close.

"Damn it!"

The Blue Blood Hall Lord dropped the shuriken. A user of hidden weapons had now lost all his tools. It looked like he'd lost the will to fight.

The moment his hand was freed, the Blue Blood Hall Lord began climbing a pillar, trying to put some distance between them and catch his breath.

But it was a pointless effort.

Kwaang!

The shuriken left in Haerak's hand flew toward him.

"Khugh!"

The flying blade severed the tendon behind his knee, almost mockingly.

Before the Blue Blood Hall Lord could even fall from the pillar, a fist struck his face.

Kwaang.

The back of his head slammed into the pillar.

"Hughk—"

With a final groan, his upper body slumped forward.

But it didn't end there.

Thud.

The Main Blood Hall Lord struck his upper abdomen with his knee, snapping his upper body back upright.

"Kugh!"

Having lost the upper hand, the Blue Blood Hall Lord was struck relentlessly, like leather being tanned. Haerak gave him no chance to regain his footing or composure. The intention behind the flurry of blows was clear.

Thud.

Bloodied, the Blue Blood Hall Lord's head snapped back and soared high. Haerak, gripping his hair, raised his face.

Exposing the nape of his neck, Haerak asked.

"Can you restore someone even if their neck is cut?"

Looking up at the Blood Demon seated high above, Haerak curled his bloodied lips into a smile.

"Since I was never taught Blood Arts, I wouldn't know how far you can bring someone back. So, what will you do? Like with Pyo Wol's arm, shall I bring you the Blue Blood Hall Lord's severed head as well?"

The Blood Demon did not order 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 did."

The Main Blood Hall Lord asked with a smile.

"Why didn't you just come ask me for help instead?"

The Blood Demon's expression grew unreadable.

"What did the Red Blood Hall Lord tell you?"

"I heard a lot. That you're planning to link the North Sea and the Great Desert with the Central Plains, for example..."

Haerak added leisurely,

“I only remember something about you finding a new sorcerer to create the passage.”

The Blood Demon's expression shifted strangely.

"So it wasn't something I should have entrusted to Pyo Wol after all. How did he grow so loose-lipped? I clearly told him never to speak of it—he must've fallen for your tricks again."

The Blood Demon removed his chin from his hand and straightened his posture.

"Release the Blue Blood Hall Lord. Contrary to your assumptions, I'm not senile yet. It's plain enough you outrank him. I'll entrust Tang So-hwa to you."

"Then I'll take her with me now."

"Go ahead. Take her to Black Pavilion."

A brief silence followed.

"I meant to take her back to the Central Plains."

"Oh? Did you misunderstand? If you did, just come to your senses."

The Blood Demon brushed it off casually, but Haerak didn't yield.

“Tang So-hwa must return to the Central Plains. If word spreads that a direct descendant of a Clan Head from the Murim Alliance has gone missing, it will stir up trouble.

"No need to worry. They won't know she's gone."

He waved his hand, as if dismissing Haerak's concerns.

"It's a doppelgänger made by the Blue Blood Hall. They won't detect the difference. She's supposedly confined at headquarters. Those fools didn't even know who Tang So-hwa was—how could they distinguish real from fake?"

"She won't stay there forever. What will you do when she returns to the Tang Clan? Even the Alliance Leader only asked the Clan Head to keep her for ten days."

"No need to worry. By then, Tang So-hwa will already be dead."

The Blood Demon's gaze turned to Tang So-hwa.

Despite them speaking of her, she watched the Blood Demon without the slightest change in expression. He hid his thoughts behind a smile and said,

"Don't misunderstand. I don't mean I'll kill you. I mean, I'll create your corpse."

Tang So-hwa spoke.

"You take the Tang Clan lightly. Do you really think we'd be fooled by a fake corpse?"

"Yes, there may be those in the Tang Clan who know you're hard to kill. But little one, shaking someone's belief is quite simple."

The Blood Demon spoke gently, as if coaxing a child, and spread all five fingers.

"It only takes five stones."

So-hwa's expression turned icy. The Blood Demon laughed, seemingly amused by her face.

"I didn't mean to go this far. I planned to send you back with my blood planted in you. But what can I do? My Gu poison doesn't work on you.”

"It's not Gu poison, it’s Poison gu."

Haerak, who had been listening silently, interjected.

The Blood Demon's gaze slid toward the tactless Haerak, who narrowed his eyes and added with a grin.

"There's a big difference between Gu poison and Poison gu. Lady Tang is particularly sensitive to the order of poisons and insects, so be careful."

Even Tang So-hwa, who had been staring only at the Blood Demon, turned her gaze toward Haerak.

Drawing the Blood Demon's attention back to himself, Haerak asked again.

"I can't stay away from the Central Plains for long—what now? You promised to entrust Tang So-hwa to me."

"No need to be gone long. I only ever intended to give you half a day. I have many questions to ask the little one."

The Blood Demon smiled as he said.

"Since her body doesn't respond to Five Minerals Powder, make her speak of her own will within that half-day."

At the Blood Demon's words, Haerak let out a dry laugh.

"I've spoken with her before. Getting that orthodox young lady to open her mouth within half a day? Impossible. And if you force her, you'll just end up with a head full of nonsense."

The Blood Demon ignored Haerak's complaints.

"Thanks to you, I'm used to nonsense. Don't worry."

"I'm not worried. Just letting you know."

Haerak narrowed his eyes into a crescent shape.

"After living in the Central Plains for three years, I learned what compassion is. When I see someone struggling because they can't read people well, I can't help but speak up."

Though his voice was full of amusement, killing intent radiated from Haerak.

“Whatever you hear, you’ll be dragged along by that person’s strange proposals.”

Haerak's gaze turned to So-hwa.

"Just looking at her face, I can already tell what she'll propose, and why. So before that orthodox lady spouts something bizarre, I'll be taking her."

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