Chapter 124. The Name of the One Who Vanished

Namgung Hyun, who had been calm until now, spoke with a trembling voice as if he were flustered.

"E-lder brother, how are you here...?"

The Red Blood Hall member was just as bewildered.

Seeing him call the man "elder brother," the Blood Sect member frowned.

Similar faces, noble attire. The excessively flustered younger brother, who seemed to have his secret exposed, and the calm older brother, who seemed to know nothing.

This one was not of the Main Blood Hall.

Decades ago, the Blood Demon had chosen several martial clans of the Central Plains and sent seeds there. The idea was to establish direct bloodlines and easily consume the clans. But it was thought to have failed.

Testing the waters, the Red Blood Hall member asked,

"Have you come to save your younger brother?"

"No. It seems I have come for you."

"For me? You know me?"

At the incomprehensible words, the Blood Sect member frowned—when Namgung Jin suddenly closed the distance.

Given their difference in build, there was no way this Young Lord should overpower him. Yet his hand was forced back by the edge of a sword.

Startled, the Blood Sect member looked down at his hand.

"Wha—what is this?"

Reeling back several steps in panic, he saw Namgung Jin instantly upon him again.

Crash.

The sword edge flashed relentlessly before his eyes. The Blood Sect member swung his arms to block the pouring strikes. On the blade was carved the Namgung clan's emblem.

'This one—is he a martial artist of the Namgung Clan?'

Then, glancing once toward the storeroom, Namgung Jin muttered in a low voice.

"I chased all the way to Hubei in pursuit of the one who stole the Five Minerals Powder. Seems you already knew we would come."

His gaze fixed sharply on the Blood Sect member.

"Or... has it already been moved elsewhere?"

The Blood Sect member scowled.

"There seems to be some misunderstanding..."

Indeed, it was true that the Red Blood Hall Lord had taken the Five Minerals Powder. But the Five Minerals Powder in this storeroom had belonged not to the Red Blood Hall, but to the Main Blood Hall.

A few days earlier, upon hearing that the Main Blood Hall Lord had gone to Jin Yin Mountain, the Red Blood Hall Lord flew into a rage and came up to Hubei. The Red Blood Hall's elite scoured the storerooms searching for the Lord's arm, but could not find it.

It was only while ransacking the storerooms that they chanced upon the Five Minerals Powder and stole it. Who knew what purpose the Main Blood Hall intended for it.

The Lord, with the other elites, hurried across the passage in pursuit of the Main Blood Hall Lord, while this man was ordered to carry the Five Minerals Powder to Guangdong.

He had merely returned secretly to Platinum Pavilion to steal some items he had marked earlier when he encountered this Namgung man.

In short, the one this fellow sought was not himself, but the Main Blood Hall Lord.

Feeling wronged, the Blood Sect member furrowed his brow.

"I am not the one you're looking for."

"Oh, really?"

Instead of telling him to stop spouting nonsense, the Young Lord listened to him.

"Then who are you? Since you don't deny being a member, you must be from Blood Sect."

The Blood Sect member replied to Namgung Jin in a displeased tone.

"... Let's just say I'm a Blood Sect member you're not looking for."

At those words, the youth smiled.

"Good. I caught a new Blood Sect member without the trouble of searching. So it wasn't a complete waste."

"You think you can capture me right now?"

The Red Blood Hall member scoffed in disbelief. He was not weak enough to be caught by some young orthodox brat.

Of course, he had no intention of killing the direct descendant of a great clan and making matters worse.

'Anyway, I've secured enough spoils, so I should just retreat for now.'

The moment he checked his retreat path and turned toward the stairs—

"Young Lord! Why do you always go ahead first?"

"If you're going to be like this, let’s just go separately!"

"No, this is the Anguk Merchant Group building! What are you going to do if they demand compensation for this mess...?"

Men the size of houses crowded the stairs, voicing their complaints.

The Blood Sect member, with his retreat blocked, grew flustered, and upon noticing him, the Namgung martial artists froze in place as well.

But since this wasn't the first time such a situation had occurred, the Namgung men quickly sorted things out.

"Manho, you go to the Hubei branch and request reinforcements."

"Wouldn't it be better to go to the headquarters than the Hubei branch? And you go ask for reinforcements. The weaker one should withdraw."

"Who here is weaker than you? Headquarters or Hubei branch, just hurry and go."

The Namgung martial artists bickered as they descended the stairs, clearly speaking as if they were confident they could subdue the Blood Sect member.

The Blood Sect member exhaled deeply and twisted his neck.

"This is driving me insane. I can't just kill them all..."

Creak.

At that moment, the storeroom door opened, and a sound of ragged breathing came through. A clerk of the Anguk Merchant Group crawled out along the floor and spoke in a dying voice.

"... Y-Young masters, the headquarters has shut its doors because of the Blood Sect. Ugh, please... go to the Hubei branch..."

The Blood Sect member gaped in disbelief.

The Main Blood Hall Deputy Lord must have decided to pretend to be an attacked commoner, trembling all over before collapsing heavily.

"Inil."

Namgung Jin, in a voice of a different weight, ordered a Namgung martial artist.

"Take the hostage upstairs first."

It was a heavy voice, as though forcefully pressing down anger.

"One of me is enough for this guy."

The Namgung martial artists exchanged uneasy glances. But, as though accustomed to such circumstances, they quickly did as the Young Lord wanted.

"Yes. As you wish."

"Then, please be careful. Ah, sir, don't get up. Your wounds are serious. Just let us carry you."

The Namgung martial artists, without wasting words, supported the merchant guild staff and carried them away.

The Red Blood Hall member bared his nails.

"You have a knack for getting under people's skin, don't you? I had no thought of touching you, but fine—who would know once I burn your corpse? Whether I struck a Namgung or a stray dog in the street."

Bang!

The Blood Sect member lunged at Namgung Jin. His momentum was explosive, but within a single exchange, he hunched his shoulders. The swiftly thrusting sword was aimed precisely at his palm center.

Thud.

Though he reflexively curled his hand, Namgung Jin's blade had already pierced into his palm.

"Aagh!"

Even though his hand was hardened with internal energy, the sword cut through it like slicing through tofu, leaving a hole.

Startled, the Blood Sect member leapt back a step and checked his hand. Then, incredulous, he looked at Namgung Jin.

"You actually aimed for my palm center?"

"If I tear up that hand, even if you manage to escape, you won't be able to use it."

"Hah, well. If you're so desperate to die, I'll give it my all."

Unlike striking at large exposed areas such as the chest, legs, or arms, the swordsman targeted his hands.

The Blood Sect member tried to attack Namgung Jin's head and waist, but he could not advance—because the sword targeting his palms thrust with pinpoint accuracy.

As a result, he ended up fighting with his fists clamped awkwardly before his chest, looking ridiculous. Facing a madman aiming to sever his hands, countless openings appeared.

Then Namgung Jin slipped into his flank and slashed. The Blood Sect member twisted his body at the last instant, but exposed his back.

Thud.

"Argh!"

He thought he had dodged, yet a blade was lodged in his back. Pressing his back against the wall to shield it, he glared with labored breath.

"Attacking from behind? Is the Namgung Clan really from the orthodox faction?"

"So you are indeed a Blood Sect member. You people only bring up orthodoxy when you're at a disadvantage."

Unable to contain his fury, the Blood Sect member raised both arms. As his hand reached for the head, flames seared his waist.

"Khrrgh!"

The Young Lord had read his movements, slashing his waist instead of his hand. The Blood Sect member endured the pain, choosing to take the blow to close the distance to Namgung Jin.

Just as his sharp claw brushed past Jin's long hair—

Clang!

The Blood Sect member blinked. A dull impact spread across the back of his head, and darkness swallowed his sight.

Struck in the skull by something, his mind went blank, and he lost consciousness.

Thud.

As he collapsed, the clearing view revealed a Namgung martial artist holding a club.

"Uh...?"

The young man spoke with an awkward tone.

"Th-the manager of Platinum Pavilion gave it to me. Said it's a club that can smash even the bones of the toughest men..."

With greedy eyes fixed on the club, he muttered,

"No wonder everyone risks their life to have a beloved weapon... this effect is insane."

"The manager gave that to you?"

The Namgung martial artist, avoiding the Young Lord's gaze, quietly hid the club behind his back.

"Yes, he told me to use it. We saved his life, after all—what's a little thing like this in return?"

Fortunately, Namgung Jin didn't seem interested in the object. He turned his gaze to his younger brother and asked,

"Hyun, why are you here?"

His voice was cold.

It carried suspicion rather than concern.

Namgung Hyun was not hurt. On the contrary, he answered in a calm tone, as though accustomed to it.

"I was staying at a nearby inn when I heard screams on the road, so I came. But as you see, the inside was a wreck, so I followed the bloodstains down into the storeroom, thinking there might be survivors."

"Inn?"

Namgung Jin frowned, cutting off his brother's words. Then he recalled what the Platinum Pavilion manager had said earlier about the headquarters' gates being shut.

"Because a Blood Sect member infiltrated the headquarters, the gates were closed, and I couldn't get in. Since no one knows when the inspection will finish, I rented a room at the inn."

"The headquarters made a strange decision."

"I don't know the details, but I heard a Blood Sect member used a human-skin mask to sneak in. Since there could be more Blood Sect members disguised as Alliance members, they're taking their time inspecting each one individually."

Even with the added explanation, Namgung Jin's doubts did not seem resolved.

No—he seemed even more doubtful.

With a furrowed brow, he asked,

"Isn't that practically locking the Alliance members inside the headquarters? And Father agreed to such a decision?"

Namgung Jin couldn't understand. Having participated in the Martial Arts Tournament himself, it was unbelievable.

With sect leaders, clan heads, and branch leaders present, their authority was not low. There was no way they would accept such humiliating suspicion from headquarters.

Namgung Hyun, under his elder brother's gaze, forced open his lips.

He didn't want to say it.

But he couldn't avoid it either.

His half-brother inwardly suspected him of being connected to the Blood Sect.

Though he didn't show it outwardly, it wasn't because he had cast aside suspicion—only because I was no match for him and not worthy of his notice.

Reluctantly, Namgung Hyun revealed a little more about what had happened at the headquarters.

"A Blood Sect member kidnapped and impersonated a direct descendant of a clan, so everyone was shocked. Because of mutual suspicion, they agreed to a full inspection by the headquarters."

"Direct descendant? Who?"

Namgung Jin asked stiffly.

Namgung Hyun truly did not want to answer this.

But seeing his brother look ready to rush to headquarters at once, he forced himself to speak.

Despite his complicated feelings, what came out was a smooth voice with not a trace of hesitation.

"It is the Tang Clan Head's eldest daughter, Young Lady Tang So-hwa."

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