Chapter 135. The Quarter Hour Promise

Zhuge Cheon-yu called out to Tang Hak, who stood at a distance.

"Young Lord, come over here and stay with us."

Tang Hak shook his head firmly.

"I am fine."

Looking at the Zhuge Clan people standing by the boundary, Tang Hak swallowed his anger. They looked ready to bolt across the boundary at any moment. Because he did not want to risk disturbing the formation even by mistake, their attitude gnawed at him.

Tang Hak sighed and fixed his gaze on the forest.

'Will it be all right?'

He was not worried that his Clan Head or the other martial artists might be harmed. That would be an insult to them. What Tang Hak worried about was his elder sister.

Whether the Alliance Leader had found her, whether she was hurt anywhere, whether her path back might be blocked—such fears filled his mind again and again.

Even now, Tang Hak wanted to go fight at the west gate. But he knew he was a burden, so he endured and waited.

In his anxious heart, self-reproach seeped in.

For all he could do was remain still.

Zhuge Cheon-yu, seeing Tang Hak's stiff expression, turned her gaze aside. Watching him worry for his sister reminded her of her elder brother, Ji-hwi. To her, Zhuge Ji-hwi was the only one who truly felt like an older brother. If something like this happened to her, only Brother Ji-hwi would come searching for her.

'Perhaps Father might come as well. If the cost of rescuing me is less than what he could extract from the Anguk Merchant Group.'

Indeed, had she not been dragged here in the first place because of the clash between her father and Brother In-hwi?

Zhuge Cheon-yu let out a mirthless laugh.

Envy tinged her heart.

'How fortunate Young Lady Tang must be.'

Even though this was by no means a fortunate situation, such foolish thoughts came to her.

Just then, one of the clan members leaning against a rock suddenly sprang to his feet.

"Do you not hear that sound?"

He whispered tensely, then asked Zhuge Cheon-yu.

"What sound?"

When Zhuge Cheon-yu asked back, the clan member turned his head toward the path they had come from.

"A wind sound from the forest. Like bandits rushing very fast. Almost like a storm. Ah, it is so loud—do you truly not hear it?"

His face went pale. At his commotion, the other clan members also began to grow frightened.

"What sound are you talking about?"

"Which direction? Point it out!"

Zhuge Cheon-yu, too, waited for his answer. He was not among the best of the Zhuge Clan, but he was not one to be dismissed either.

"Over there! The path we came! The boundary that leads to the west gate!"

He jabbed his finger toward the forest and cried out impatiently.

As the noise rose, Tang Hak approached.

"What is going on?"

Frowning, Tang Hak looked over their faces. The mood was grim.

"Young Lord, do you not hear it as well?"

It was not really a question. One Zhuge Clan martial artist said it with a mocking tone. Luckily, Tang Hak did not catch the disdain hidden within and nodded firmly.

"Yes. What sound is it?"

The martial artist, disarmed by such transparent composure, momentarily lost his words. At that moment, another martial artist who had been sweating cold all along suddenly shouted.

"Something is coming! The Alliance Leader was wrong! There's trouble at the west gate!"

It might have been tolerable if he had only shouted. But pressed up against the boundary, he suddenly leapt across it and fled.

"Hey! You madman!"

"Where are you going?!"

The Zhuge Clan martial artist yelled in panic, but he had already vanished beyond the formation.

"Stop!"

Tang Hak crossed the boundary to catch him. The other Zhuge Clan martial artists, flustered, chased after.

Tang Hak quickly caught up with the fleeing martial artist, but fearing he might cross into the next boundary, he hastily threw a hidden weapon.

"Uagh!"

Struck in the hamstring by the flying dagger, the martial artist collapsed to his knees.

"Young Lord!"

One Zhuge Clan martial artist who saw it from behind shouted.

"How could you do such a thing..!"

The martial artist who was about to reproach him closed his mouth. He had clearly been struck by the flying dagger, yet the man rolling on the ground was not bleeding. It seemed he had been hit with the hilt.

Tang Hak retrieved the flying dagger regardless of the man writhing on the ground, then lifted his head. His expression showed dismay. The martial artists of the Zhuge Clan who followed his gaze also turned pale.

The Night Pearl of the next formation came into view.

The Alliance Leader had sternly warned them not to touch the boundary of the formation.

If they made the slightest mistake, their retreat would be cut off.

"It will be fine. For now, let us just wait here."

Zhuge Cheon-yu spoke, trying to hide her unease.

What had already been done could not be undone. There was nothing they could do.

Her anxious eyes fell upon the sand pouch tied at her waist. More than half the sand still remained.

'It's fine. Nothing will happen.'

Indeed, time passed quietly. About a quarter of an hour—

"Ah, Young Lady."

The man called Daejeong, bound by Tang Hak, suddenly froze like ice. His lips trembled as he spoke to Zhuge Cheon-yu.

"T-the sound... it has grown louder."

He hugged his knees and pointed eastward.

"From that side too, the same sound can be heard, but far louder than before."

"What do you mean?"

When Tang Hak asked, Zhuge Cheon-yu answered in his stead.

"It seems he heard the sound from the formation. When various techniques inscribed in the formation clash and tangle, strange noises occur."

She sighed and added.

"The sound Daejeong said he heard at the western gate boundary earlier must have been a deliberate alarm triggered by the Alliance Leader as he left for the central gate."

"I see."

Tang Hak replied shortly, but his face was pale.

Zhuge Cheon-yu's tense voice cut through the silence.

"But... it seems there is also an entrance to the formation on the eastern side. Since the sound is heard from there as well."

She gazed eastward with a wretched expression.

"I cannot be certain, but perhaps someone tampered with the formation there."

One of the Zhuge Clan martial artists standing beside them added,

"The Alliance Leader crossed at the western gate, so some of those Blood Sect members must have been heading there. But if the sound is coming from that side..."

Soon, they understood why the alarm rang from the east.

The Blood Sect members who had been heading toward the western gate must have changed direction this way.

Silence fell.

"Y-young Lady, shouldn't we run?"

The one who spoke was not the man who had fled earlier—he was already on the verge of fainting.

Another terrified martial artist grabbed Zhuge Cheon-yu's arm. From his look, he seemed ready to scoop her up and flee regardless of her answer.

Tang Hak blocked his way and warned.

"You must not move."

"Did you not hear what Daejeong said? What if the Blood Sect members from the east gate are coming this way? We are only five—there's no way we can face them!"

"If we separate too far from those at the west gate, it will be even more dangerous. If you flee now, you'll only lure the Blood Sect farther away."

The Young Lord's words were logically sound, yet they did not reach the ears of those paralyzed by fear.

One of the Zhuge Clan martial artists' eyes flashed, ready to shove Tang Hak aside and bolt.

Tang Hak could have easily stopped them. If he truly put his mind to it, he was confident he could subdue the four of them.

But if they were injured in the process, it would be a problem.

During their retreat, they would become a burden—and the Tang Clan could not withdraw after borrowing support from the Zhuge Clan, only to harm another man's brothers while trying to save his own sister.

Tang Hak let out a sigh and gripped his sleeve. In that instant, he felt something inside. Realizing what it was, his head snapped up.

"We can hold out safely for a quarter of an hour. This will buy time until the others at the front can join us!”

Tang Hak took out an incense stick.

“It’s a poisonous smoke that paralyzes the body the moment you breathe it in. The Zhuge Clan is good at handling wind, so you can spread the incense widely, right? I will give you this. Use it when you are afraid.”

The martial artists of the Zhuge Clan frowned.

It displeased them to be treated like cowards. Yet they could not refuse.

As the clan members repressed their desire to take the poison smoke out of pride, Zhuge Cheon-yu sighed and accepted both the incense and the fire talisman.

"The Young Lord's words are reasonable. If we are isolated and separated from those at the front, it will indeed be more dangerous. However, if things go wrong and we face the Blood Sect, in the end, we must flee."

Her tone was calm.

"To know oneself well—I believe that too is courage. The Alliance Leader said the number of Blood Sect members at the east gate may range from dozens to hundreds. We are not their match."

Though she acknowledged their weakness, her voice carried no shame. Rather, she appeared colder and more rational than anyone.

While Tang Hak hesitated, Zhuge Cheon-yu continued to press her thoughts.

"Furthermore, if things go wrong, we must return quickly to the Central Plains and report this matter. Only then can we come again to rescue Young Lady Tang So-hwa, and at the very least, reveal the location of the Blood Sect's main stronghold."

Hearing this, Tang Hak could not refute her. Reluctantly, he nodded.

"But I have one request before you flee."

Though he accepted Zhuge Cheon-yu's suggestion, Tang Hak did not move.

"Please wait until the one hour that the Alliance Leader spoke of."

"Young Lord—"

"With the poison smoke, we can endure for a quarter of an hour without trouble."

Tang Hak cut her off.

"So that the Alliance Leader can bring my Elder Sister out safely—at least until the time runs out—please help us hold them back."

Though he called it a request, it sounded like an order. With Tang Hak's sharp presence, the Zhuge Clan martial artists dared not speak.

Taking advantage of that silence, Tang Hak pressed Zhuge Cheon-yu further.

"You said we must at least go to the Central Plains to inform them of the situation, yes? But if the Alliance Leader does not return, how will you return to the Central Plains? Who will open the passage?"

Tang Hak spoke as though pleading.

"Remember the reason we came to the west gate in the first place. We are to lure the Blood Sect for about an hour, to create a path of retreat for the Alliance Leader."

Zhuge Cheon-yu did not persist stubbornly.

“Yes, we will. We will wait until one  hour is up.”

The martial artists standing behind her dared not object. The Young Lord's presence was too fierce. Poison smoke had already drifted from his sleeve—who knew what else he might conceal? If they disobeyed, he could secretly poison them, leaving them paralyzed until the hour passed.

'This is why those who wield poison cannot be trusted.'

Though displeased, the Zhuge Clan company agreed to remain and buy time for the Alliance Leader and Tang So-hwa's retreat.

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