Chapter 39
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: penny
Chapter: 39
Chapter Title: Black Curtain
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Of course, So-hyang wasn't without human emotions. She wasn't oblivious either.
No matter how much help she'd provided while staying at the clan, the fact that she'd trespassed without permission and caused a ruckus remained unchanged.
Especially since the clan head's gaze toward her was incredibly complex and subtle, So-hyang knew that introducing Seolryeong from her perspective might lead to some misunderstandings.
If she truly cared for Song Seolryeong, it would be better to pretend not to know her and avoid dredging up their connection.
Nevertheless, there was a reason for bringing up the previous incident, but first, she needed to soothe the clan head's discomfort.
"Haha, Clan Head. It was just a coincidence that our paths overlapped, and I lent a hand. It's not like I was paid off or anything, right?"
"...I know."
What did he take the Zhuge Clan Head for? From the start, the girl named So-hyang wasn't someone who followed orders or was easily manipulated.
He just felt a bit odd about it, but he harbored no grudge against the girl before him.
The pressure in his voice was merely a slight leak due to his irritation.
"Gurgle."
However, the clan head was slightly flustered when Seolryeong foamed at the mouth and fainted from that minor pressure.
"Huh?"
Did she lose consciousness from something this trivial?
It was a faint aura that might make even an untrained civilian shrink back a little, yet he hadn't expected a peak-level martial artist to fail to endure it.
So-hyang's eyes wavered slightly too. Maybe she shouldn't have called her over.
"It seems the mental strain was quite severe...?"
Rather than being overwhelmed by the pressurized voice, Seolryeong had felt extreme anxiety from the fact that the Zhuge Clan Head was showing displeasure toward her.
Moreover, the person in question was her benefactor who had saved her life and even provided lodging, making it awkward to deny their connection.
In the end, Seolryeong's mind went blank, a life-flashing montage passed briefly, and she let go of her consciousness.
"Oh dear..."
So-hyang caught the collapsing girl's head with a wistful look and gently seated her on the floor.
She massaged her shoulders a bit and pressed on her scalp lightly, and Seolryeong's senses returned quickly.
"Gasp!"
"Miss Seolryeong. The clan head has no intention of reprimanding you, so don't be so scared."
So-hyang's gentle voice rang in her ears, and her head was stroked softly. Her body naturally relaxed.
"Hng...?"
Seolryeong, limp like a cat stretched out in the sunlight, couldn't hide her bewilderment.
Then why did you call me?
Her eyes clearly showed her doubt and a touch of grievance. So-hyang smiled softly and answered.
"There was that incident where the merchant caravan was attacked. I thought we could discuss it..."
"The caravan was attacked too?"
The clan head looked at So-hyang with baffled eyes.
Storming into a sect could be seen as slightly aggressive murim behavior, but attacking a merchant caravan was just plain banditry.
"I merely repelled the attackers on the caravan. What do you take me for?"
"A madwoman."
So-hyang was momentarily speechless at the clan head's firm response.
"...Well, I do have some sense of propriety."
"You know it, but you follow it only when it suits you. That's what makes you mad, isn't it? What else?"
"...Hmm, no retort here."
In the end, So-hyang raised both hands in surrender.
------
Anyway, back to the topic.
"The caravan led by Miss Seolryeong was attacked once."
So-hyang continued while firmly massaging the shoulders of Seolryeong, who was on the verge of mental haze again from seeing her converse so freely with the clan head.
"—Within the Zhuge Clan's territory."
"..."
The clan head's brow furrowed slightly.
The Zhuge Clan was responsible for security around Yangyang County. They bore heavy responsibility especially for matters involving the martial world or merchant caravans.
Allowing an attack on a caravan destined for the clan itself within their territory was undoubtedly a failure of oversight.
"...No reports came up."
Moreover, it was a caravan from the Wudang Sect. Even if the items weren't particularly valuable, the issue was serious.
This was major enough to reach the clan head himself, yet no such report had—
"It was because of you!"
So-hyang slyly avoided the clan head's glaring eyes as he bellowed and feigned innocence with a smile.
"Ehehehe..."
Indeed. It was due to So-hyang's raid.
The raid a few days ago that damaged the clan's defensive formations, dislocated the warriors' jaws, and summoned a storm over the county.
"Th-that storm was caused by you, Clan Head...?"
"Shut it!"
Thanks to the generous compensation So-hyang had provided, there were no real losses, but the clan had been too focused on cleanup to attend to other matters.
In any case, this was clearly the clan's fault, so the clan head turned to Seolryeong.
"You're Song Seolryeong of the Song Moonlight Traders, right? On behalf of the Zhuge Clan, I apologize. Is there any compensation you desire—"
"No no no no!"
Seolryeong frantically shook her head in horror, declining profusely.
There had been almost no actual damage, and how could a mid-sized trading firm demand compensation from a great clan?
From the start, Seolryeong had planned to just deliver the goods and leave quietly.
"Hmm, I get your sentiment, but it's already reached my ears, so I can't just let it slide. Take whatever we provide."
"Th-th-thank you...!"
The clan head offered her a cup of tea to calm her nerves, and Seolryeong managed to drink it without spilling despite her trembling hands like aspen leaves.
"So, is that the end of what you wanted to discuss?"
Of course, it was important, but not serious enough to summon the clan head himself.
The girl named So-hyang he'd dealt with so far was mad but not stupid. On the contrary, she had an inexplicably intellectual side.
"There was a mastermind who commissioned the attack."
Information power that perfectly grasped the patrol routes of the clan's warriors and seized the gray areas of their territory.
Confidence in their ability to shake off pursuit from the Zhuge Clan.
They'd recruited bandits under the Green Forest and even an established escort agency to attack the caravan.
"Tch."
The clan head's face darkened.
The warriors patrolling the territory all trained in perception-based martial arts.
Evading their sight by simply detouring was nearly impossible.
Of course, absolutes didn't exist in the world, allowing gray areas, but pinpointing them was equally improbable.
In other words...
"There's a rat in the clan."
Someone had leaked information to an unknown mastermind.
Whether they were full accomplices or just sold info was unknown, but it was definitely an internal leak.
And from a faction confident enough to evade the clan's tracking formations.
Tap, tap. Unconsciously, the clan head drummed his fingers on the desk, rotating his dan in accordance with the Xuanyuan Celestial Pellet Art to sharpen his thoughts.
The clan head clicked his tongue and concluded.
"No idea."
Too many suspects.
Any prominent force in the murim world was inevitably entangled in countless grudges and alliances.
Unorthodox sects, demonic paths, orthodox alliances, even fellow orthodox sects or the government—suspecting them all had no end.
If it had been right after the attack, pursuit might have been possible, but days had passed, making it difficult.
"What a headache."
Even the caravan's cargo held no notable items pointing to a motive.
A few vegetables and tea leaves grown on Wudang Mountain as gifts, a few Taoist scriptures sent for formation reference.
They were mere courtesies, neither rare nor valuable.
"That's what I wanted to discuss with you, Clan Head."
So-hyang showed an item she'd retrieved from the warehouse beforehand, tucked between the pages of a scripture.
A pine smoke ink made from Wudang pine trees and a brush engraved with pine patterns.
High-quality writing implements crafted with care from fine pine—valuable as single items, but not worth raiding a caravan for.
"Anything special about these?"
So-hyang set the ink aside, saying it was fine, and held the brush up before the clan head's eyes.
A standard-sized calligraphy brush, neither too thick nor thin; flawless wood grain, with the engraved pine pattern evoking a sense of Taoist heart.
"...Better quality than expected, but so what?"
So-hyang chuckled amusedly and spun the brush on her finger.
"Exactly— you feel nothing unusual, right?"
Her meaningful tone made the clan head wonder if he'd missed something. He heightened his gaze and examined it closely.
Still nothing odd, so he activated his cerebral formation and analyzed it meticulously, deconstructing it layer by layer.
Soon, the clan head's eyes shook.
"Wait, this...!"
Shock and disbelief, suspicion rising at the utterly unexpected identity.
So-hyang smiled faintly, drawing up her spirit energy and infusing it gradually into the brush.
Like watering crops or feeding beasts blood and flesh, to reveal the true form hidden beneath its innocuous appearance.
"Seriously, why does something like this have to turn up in a shipment from Wudang of all places?"
It drew on the purest natural energy, the essence of heaven and earth spirit, to reveal its true color: a deep, vivid crimson.
Suddenly, the office filled with a thick bloody scent, the brush hairs damp as if freshly inked.
But it wasn't ink—it was thick, fresh blood, brimming with vitality as if just spurted from a human throat.
A familiar energy to So-hyang, a legendary remnant to the clan head.
A fragment of the Blood Cult's divine object, the Blood Curse.
"Ha, that bastard was supposed to be crushed to near annihilation...?"
Seventy years ago, Sword Venerable Namgung Geukbeon had severed the Blood Venerable's head, nearly annihilating the Blood Cult.
Complete eradication was impossible due to the Blood Curse's nature, but the damage to their power was undeniable.
The Alliance Leader had boldly claimed they'd stay quiet for the next century.
"What the hell is this...?"
Laughter crept into So-hyang's voice unbidden, her irrepressible excitement surfacing.
"Fuck, what is this...?"
The clan head finally spat a curse, his face weary.
He was certain this would complicate things immensely.
Wudang couldn't possibly be minions of a revived Blood Cult.
Given Wudang's pursuit of ultimate purity among orthodox arts, even the Blood Cult during the war couldn't dominate them.
The disguise was so perfect even a transcendent expert would struggle to detect it; logically, Wudang likely didn't know.
Coincidentally sending a disguised brush as a gift, and Blood Cult remnants discovering it via some means, then commissioning the raid.
"Sigh, this is going to be a pain."
The damage from So-hyang was minor and mostly cleaned up.
The clan was busy digesting the knowledge she'd spread under the guise of reparations.
Revolutionary mathematical theories, knowledge centuries ahead, fueling major research to advance the clan's formations.
Even the clan head had gained massive insights from sparring with her and discussing martial arts.
He wanted to seclude himself, consolidate his realizations, and strengthen the clan internally.
"...Tch, no helping it with stakes this high."
Not just orthodox sects, but potentially the entire murim world—or even the Central Plains—at risk.
Focus on this was priority.
"...First, we need to send someone to Wudang."
"Oh, can I go?"
So-hyang jumped in abruptly. The clan head gave her a what-the-hell expression.
Ignoring him, So-hyang beamed and continued.
"My next stop was Wudang anyway. Might as well drop by, right?"
"Ah, the challenge tour..."
The clan head murmured as if he'd forgotten, then pondered.
For some reason, his mood lifted, and a smirk tugged at his lips.
Not as an orthodox representative, but a natural thought arose.
Yeah. We can't be the only ones suffering.
"Just asking, but are you planning the same stunt at Wudang?"
"...? No?"
"...What?"
"I've built some fame now, even got a nickname. No need to force it—they'll gladly accept a spar, right?"
The clan head glared at So-hyang as if the world had ended.
"Don't bullshit me!!!"
Why us of all people...!