Chapter 235
Chapter 235
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 235
Chapter Title: The Blood God's Return
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Blood Lord Mountain, the swampy depths of Deep Valley.
Dozens of palace attendants waited amid the desolate, twisted trees standing thick in the hazy mist.
Before long, a naked middle-aged man slowly emerged from the pitch-black swamp.
The eerie crimson glow flickering in his eyes marked him clearly as a martial artist, yet his lean frame suggested he had not trained in external arts, despite his considerable height.
Squelch. Squelch.
As he stepped out of the swamp, Sun Jong, the Blood Overseer at the forefront of those waiting, nodded.
The attendants then approached the man, meticulously wiping away the grime from his body with fresh towels.
They helped him into his robes one by one, and finally draped a flowing overcoat lightly over his shoulders.
The coat, dyed a vivid blood-red, bore only a single character emblazoned in the center.
'Blood.'
That one word was proof enough of his identity.
Yeon Jeha, Palace Lord of the Blood Heaven Divine Palace and the Crimson Blood God, gazed calmly ahead upon completing the ritual.
The attendants bowed in unison, congratulating his safe return.
"We rejoice at the Palace Lord's safe return!"
Yet Yeon Jeha showed no reaction to their words, simply continuing on his way.
Sun Jong fell in beside him, cautiously speaking up.
"Palace Lord, how did the ritual go?"
Yeon Jeha replied in a flat tone.
"No need to ask every time. It proceeded smoothly, as always."
"That's a relief. Blood supplies were short this year—we were seriously considering expansion to gather more."
"Does my word amuse you, Blood Overseer?"
"...Pardon?"
Yeon Jeha halted, fixing him with a chilling gaze.
"Did I not explicitly forbid sourcing blood from outside?"
Sun Jong flinched under that stare and hurriedly apologized.
He knew better than anyone that flimsy excuses wouldn't fly with the Palace Lord, so he bowed his head low.
"F-Forgive me. I only considered it briefly out of concern that the ritual might go awry, but I discarded the idea immediately."
"..."
Yeon Jeha stared at him piercingly, as if boring holes through him.
Sun Jong, unable to meet his eyes, held his breath, feeling as if a million years had passed—until Yeon Jeha finally spoke.
"Don't even consider it next time."
"I will bear that in mind."
Only then could Sun Jong exhale, following silently at Yeon Jeha's side.
He proceeded to report all the incidents inside and outside the palace during his absence, neatly summarized.
But Yeon Jeha walked on without really listening, saying nothing.
Any major event that might surprise him would have been reported first, and the rest were trivial matters Sun Jong could handle on his own.
With the ritual freshly concluded, all he wanted was to return to his chambers and shake off the accumulated fatigue.
Sun Jong, aware of this, reported in a soft, unobtrusive voice.
Then, at one point—
"Wait."
Yeon Jeha stopped in his tracks.
"...Palace Lord?"
Sun Jong halted as well, puzzled.
Yeon Jeha turned to him.
"Repeat that last report."
"Saam Valley burned to the ground, its Valley Lord and every last assassin wiped out without escape..."
"No, the one before that."
The one before...
Sun Jong mentally reviewed his reports and soon recalled.
"Ah, you mean the Little Palace Lord's return to the main palace?"
"Yes. Tell me more about that."
"Understood. On her way back from the meeting with the Taeram Mok Clan, the Little Palace Lord ran into a friend and invited him here to the palace."
"A friend?"
Yeon Jeha thought he'd misheard at first.
His own temperament was the polar opposite of his daughter Yeon Jeokhwa's in many ways, but they shared one trait.
Neither kept close friends.
Personal attachments could cloud judgment in critical decisions, so he'd never formed deep bonds with anyone.
And Yeon Jeokhwa was the same—yet here she was, bringing a friend.
"You're certain this person is truly close to the Little Palace Lord? As far as I know, she has no one she'd call a friend."
"We haven't confirmed full details yet, but they do seem quite close. He's staying not in guest quarters, but with her in her residence."
Staying together in her residence.
A true friend might do that.
Yeon Jeha nodded, but his wariness toward this so-called friend of the Little Palace Lord did not waver.
Not unless his status was exceptionally high.
There would be no shortage of people approaching the Little Palace Lord of the Blood Heaven Divine Palace for personal gain.
If this friend was one of them...
"Investigate his identity thoroughly. Make certain he harbors no ulterior motives."
"Yes, sir."
"And the Little Palace Lord—with her friend."
A chilling glint swirled in Yeon Jeha's pupils.
"Summon them to Blood Deep Hall."
"W-What do we do?! The Palace Lord summoned us right after finishing the ritual...!"
Meanwhile, back in her residence, Yeon Jeokhwa grabbed Hyeok Mulin's arm, voicing her worry.
Hyeok Mulin replied in a disinterested tone.
"Isn't this what you wanted? We'd have needed to request a meeting with the Palace Lord eventually to find and connect the pieces to that martial arts manual anyway."
"Sure, but you need time to mentally prepare! I didn't expect him to call us the moment the ritual ended. This has never happened before."
Hyeok Mulin silently watched Yeon Jeokhwa fret and stamp her feet in anxiety.
Well, if this was truly unprecedented, there was only one reason.
'My presence is what bothers him.'
Hyeok Mulin didn't know Yeon Jeha's full life story, but he clearly remembered the man's temperament.
He valued only the Blood Heaven Divine Palace above all else, and all his thoughts revolved around it.
Even placing Yeon Jeokhwa as Little Palace Lord had nothing to do with blood ties—it was simply because she possessed the finest qualities to be the next Palace Lord.
With her position as successor gradually solidifying, bringing in a complete stranger to the palace was bound to raise the Palace Lord's suspicions.
'This feels ominous...'
Yeon Jeokhwa, unable to shake her tension, swallowed her anxiety and glanced at Hyeok Mulin.
Seeing his expression, she asked incredulously,
"Aren't you nervous at all? The Palace Lord specifically named both of us."
"No reason to be. You'll be going alone."
"Right, the Palace Lord expects me alone..."
Yeon Jeokhwa's agreement trailed off as realization dawned.
Her face paled in shock as she stared at Hyeok Mulin, as if questioning if he was serious.
"What?! You want me to go see the Palace Lord by myself?"
"Yes."
She gasped at his impassive voice.
"He summoned both of us!"
"I never accepted that summons."
"B-But!"
Yeon Jeokhwa had a torrent of arguments, but none made it past her lips.
There were too many outrageous points; she didn't know where to begin.
But one thing was clear.
"This is the Blood Heaven Divine Palace's home base! Ignoring the Palace Lord's order? If you do that, I won't be able to help you anymore!"
"Let's get our words straight."
Hyeok Mulin stepped closer to her.
He pointed at himself.
"I'm the one providing the help."
His finger shifted to her.
"And you're the one receiving it."
Stung to the core by his irrefutable logic, Yeon Jeokhwa fell silent.
"Still, this is for your safety..."
As she hesitated and mumbled awkwardly, Hyeok Mulin's voice overrode hers.
"It's fine. Nothing will happen."
She tilted her head at his assured tone.
"Pardon? The Palace Lord is extremely strict about protocol and decorum. Ignoring a summons will definitely get us in his bad books."
"Even so, he won't cast me out."
Thud.
Hyeok Mulin tapped the martial arts manual on the table.
"He'll want to decipher this at any cost."
It wasn't just Yeon Jeokhwa who desperately sought to unlock this conundrum of a manual.
No—perhaps the Palace Lord himself was even more invested in solving it.
This was a long-standing goal for the Blood Heaven Divine Palace to fully inherit the Blood Sect.
'So even if I refuse the summons, the Palace Lord can't afford to drive me away.'
The desperate party always bends first.
In this situation, Hyeok Mulin held the advantage—not the Palace Lord.
And Yeon Jeokhwa vaguely agreed.
If his deciphering proved true, he'd be in an indispensable position for the palace.
"...All right. I'll go see the Palace Lord alone."
She nodded firmly, steeling her resolve.
She still feared his wrath, but oddly, knowing Hyeok Mulin had her back eased her trembling bit by bit.
"Remember what I told you to say?"
"'Blank spaces, and partial sections.'"
"Yes. That's enough—don't worry, just go."
Hyeok Mulin waved her off lightly, as if sending her away.
Thus nudged out of the residence, Yeon Jeokhwa walked ahead but kept glancing back, wondering if he'd changed his mind.
But Hyeok Mulin remained steadfast, simply seeing her off.
Once her figure fully vanished from sight, he looked up at the sky.
Clouds had gathered over the once-clear heavens.
Gazing at them, Hyeok Mulin finally stepped out of the residence.
Blending into the shadows, he moved swiftly and soon arrived at a small annex.
Reemerging into the world, Hyeok Mulin approached the entrance leisurely.
Then he spoke into the empty air.
"Jeok Mugun."
"Yes, my lord."
Jeok Mugun appeared from somewhere, kneeling on one knee before him.
"You have a task."
A faint smile curved Jeok Mugun's lips.
I'd been waiting for this.
"I've been ready."