Chapter 237
Chapter 237
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 237
Chapter Title: Interpreting Blood
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When Yeon Jeokhwa first heard Hyeok Mulin's message to relay to the Palace Lord, she had only one thing to say.
"Are you insane?"
He was clearly out of his mind.
How could he tell her to come directly to him if he had something to say to the Palace Lord of the Blood Heaven Divine Palace?
Not even the Martial Alliance Leader would dare utter such words lightly.
This Hyeok Mulin must have had his guts hanging out of his belly.
But the real problem was...
'That I have to deliver it!'
Having unwittingly taken on the role of Hyeok Mulin's messenger, she crawled forward at a snail's pace, like a cow being dragged to the slaughterhouse.
But she arrived in the end, and after relaying the message to the Palace Lord exactly as it was...
"How intriguing."
She was met with Yeon Jeha's intensely excited expression.
To make the Palace Lord show such a face.
Yeon Jeokhwa stuck out her tongue at Hyeok Mulin's peculiar talent.
And while she waited in that state, head bowed like a condemned prisoner awaiting punishment...
"Go back and tell that fool my words clearly. If he wants to leave my palace with his life intact, he should show himself before me right now."
Yeon Jeokhwa returned and relayed the Palace Lord's words to Hyeok Mulin, but his reaction was much the same.
"Tell her I won't budge an inch from here unless the Palace Lord comes herself."
She passed that on to the Palace Lord, who exploded in rage.
"Tell him to show himself before I order his forced capture by palace law."
This time...
"My legs are too stiff to move."
The Palace Lord snorted at the excuse.
"This is his last chance. If he defies my command this time, I'll mobilize the full might of the palace and drag him out by force, so he should walk out on his own two feet..."
Even at those terrifying words...
"It's so close by now; by this hour, she must have come and gone a dozen times already."
Before long, it had become a invisible battle of pride between Hyeok Mulin and Yeon Jeha over who would visit the other first.
And caught in the middle, Yeon Jeokhwa's wrinkles deepened day by day around her eyes.
Yeon Jeokhwa was doubly shocked by Hyeok Mulin's audacious attitude and the fact that the Palace Lord truly couldn't push back hard, just as he claimed.
But there was a limit to everything.
'Just how much is he going to work me to the bone...!'
She was the sole channel of communication between Hyeok Mulin and Yeon Jeha.
Finally unable to endure it any longer, she spat heated words at Hyeok Mulin.
"Hey, are you really going to keep this up? Just how long do you plan to run parallel lines like this?!"
"Just wait a little longer. The result will come soon enough."
"Result? What result are you even...!"
"Speak of the devil."
Sensing a presence, Hyeok Mulin stepped out of his quarters.
Following his gaze out the door, she spotted a man who had come to the courtyard.
'That guy's... the one he brought with him when he came here.'
She had momentarily forgotten.
He hadn't come to the Blood Heaven Divine Palace alone; he had brought two martial artists with him.
One of them was now speaking to Hyeok Mulin in the courtyard.
Yeon Jeokhwa strained her ears to eavesdrop, but the distance was too great to make out the words.
Thus, when Hyeok Mulin returned to his quarters after the man left...
"What is it? What happened?"
Yeon Jeokhwa bombarded him with questions, tilting her head.
Hyeok Mulin replied in a flat tone.
"It's finally time to meet."
"Really?!"
It wasn't the answer to her question, but it was exactly what Yeon Jeokhwa had been hoping for.
At Hyeok Mulin's decision, she barely suppressed the urge to jump for joy on the spot.
She grabbed the door handle, ready to head out.
"Then I'll go tell the Palace Lord right now..."
"Hold on."
At Hyeok Mulin's voice, Yeon Jeokhwa froze like a statue.
He said it was time to meet, but he wasn't refusing a direct audience with the Palace Lord this time too, was he...
"We need to change the location."
"...Huh?"
At the unexpected words she'd never heard before, Yeon Jeokhwa cocked her head.
"Change the location?"
Hyeok Mulin pondered briefly before a smile tugged at his lips.
"Yes. That place will do."
"...And where's that?"
To her question, Hyeok Mulin simply stared at her blankly.
At that look, an inexplicable unease welled up from deep within her.
Seated at the table, Yeon Jeokhwa felt as if someone were gripping her heart tightly, her discomfort overwhelming.
She never imagined a meal could feel this awkward.
Right now, she, Hyeok Mulin, and Yeon Jeha were seated together at one table, sharing a meal.
The place was the high-end inn she had previously recommended to Hyeok Mulin.
This was the venue Hyeok Mulin had chosen for their meeting.
The only difference was that from the first floor to the top floor, the entire inn was cleared of every last guest.
At the same time, dozens of palace attendants guarded the outside, strictly forbidding any entry.
In this setup, the three formed a triangle at the table, eating and holding their discussion—but none opened their mouth first.
Chomp...
Under the heavy atmosphere pressing on her shoulders, Yeon Jeokhwa poked at her food with her chopsticks, barely able to swallow.
In contrast, Hyeok Mulin ate casually, as if enjoying an ordinary meal.
He filled his stomach neither too little nor too much.
And Yeon Jeha...
"......"
She was seated but barely touched her food.
She hadn't come to eat; her only purpose was to meet Hyeok Mulin.
'Insolent fool. He made me move in the end.'
Yeon Jeha had ultimately agreed to Hyeok Mulin's compromise.
Not going to him, but meeting at a neutral location.
And that place was this inn.
Having gone to such lengths to meet, it was only natural to get straight to the point.
'Did he really come to the inn just to eat?'
The man before her was focusing on his meal to a suspicious degree.
Finally, having nearly finished eating, Hyeok Mulin set down his chopsticks.
Unable to wait any longer, Yeon Jeha spoke first.
"It's quite the ordeal just to see your face. Pleased to meet you. I am Yeon Jeha, Palace Lord of this palace."
"Hyeok Mulin."
She paused briefly at the curt introduction, but considering his antics up to now, it was tolerable enough.
And what caught Yeon Jeha's attention wasn't his tone.
'Hyeok Mulin.'
Spreading out his senses in an instant, he scanned Hyeok Mulin's internal energy thoroughly.
But failing to detect any demonic qi at the end, Yeon Jeha withdrew his energy.
'I had my suspicions, but no.'
He had been wary for a moment due to the name matching the Heavenly Demon and his evident martial prowess, but without demonic qi, Yeon Jeha dismissed the possibility.
It was impossible for a Heavenly Demon who cultivated demonic arts not to emit demonic qi.
With that, there was no longer any reason to hold back.
Yeon Jeha cut straight to the chase.
In truth, he wasn't curious about anything else.
From the moment he arrived here, faced him, and sat down to eat, Yeon Jeha had only one thought.
"Is it true that you've deciphered 'Blood'?"
"Yes."
"Then, can you decipher the martial arts that follow it as well?"
At the question, Hyeok Mulin took a sip of his tea.
Then, setting it down, he spoke.
"I can't be certain."
"......!"
Yeon Jeha's eyes widened at the words.
It was the first time.
Everyone else had declared it impossible at first glance.
He himself had only deciphered a fraction before giving up.
Yet this man was the first to leave even a sliver of possibility open by saying he couldn't be certain.
And from his voice and eyes...
It wasn't a lie.
Thump. Thump. Thump. Thump!
At Hyeok Mulin's answer, Yeon Jeha's heart pounded wildly.
To think his chest would flutter at the sight of this man.
Hard to believe even for himself, but unable to hide his excitement, Yeon Jeha spoke quickly to Hyeok Mulin.
"That's more than enough. If you succeed in deciphering it, I'll stake the name of this palace on giving you a reward befitting it."
"Never mind that. Where are the remaining martial scriptures?"
Yeon Jeha couldn't help but be surprised at those words.
He showed no interest in the reward whatsoever; he seemed solely focused on confirming the remaining scriptures.
"Follow me. I'll show you all of 'Blood'."
Leaving the inn, Yeon Jeha returned to the Blood Palace.
Passing through the Blood Heart Hall, they headed deeper and arrived at a modest pavilion.
Amid the crimson surroundings, only this single pavilion stood, giving a sense of isolation from the world.
Opening the door, Yeon Jeha said to Hyeok Mulin,
"This is the palace's treasure trove, the Blood Scripture Library."
Opening the door revealed shelves packed with books containing the history of the Blood Heaven Divine Palace and the Central Plains.
Of course, it couldn't compare to the Heavenly Demon Secret Vault, but anyone who hadn't seen that would surely be awestruck.
"This is the first time in the history of the Blood Heaven Divine Palace that we've opened this place to an outsider."
Without responding to Yeon Jeha's words, Hyeok Mulin walked inside and flipped through some books.
The good part was the abundance of rare books rarely seen elsewhere.
The regrettable part was their poor condition—some were hard to read, others partially lost.
After browsing a few, Yeon Jeha spoke.
"Not there."
As Yeon Jeha ascended the stairs, Hyeok Mulin closed the book and followed.
Sealed doors blocked their path one after another, but as Yeon Jeha recited incantations and unleashed his energy, they opened like peeling layers. They passed through many doors with ease.
And finally, at the top floor, Hyeok Mulin faced eight martial scriptures akin to 'Blood'.
Yu), Gu, Hong, Cheon, Jeok, Ryeok, In, Gang.
Thud.
He could tell just from a brief glance.
That these formed a single flow with 'Blood'.
"These are the ones connected to 'Blood'..."
Yeon Jeha stopped mid-introduction.
Hyeok Mulin had already opened a scripture and was fully immersed in it.
Exchanging a glance with Yeon Jeokhwa, he quietly stepped aside.
After that, Hyeok Mulin handled simple meals there while focusing on deciphering the scriptures.
And after a full month...
Thud.
Hyeok Mulin closed the final scripture, 'Gang'.
Returning to the Blood Scripture Library upon hearing the news, Yeon Jeha asked Hyeok Mulin with eager anticipation.
"Did you succeed in the deciphering?"
At his words, Hyeok Mulin closed his eyes briefly and nodded faintly.
Excitement flooded Yeon Jeha's face.
It worked!
He had never dreamed someone would succeed in deciphering it in his lifetime, yet such a person truly existed.
With exhilaration, he was about to demand the deciphered version.
But Hyeok Mulin's following words chilled the atmosphere.
"However, I won't be able to keep my promise."
"...What do you mean by that?"
"Unfortunately, I can't share this with you all."
Not with you, the descendants of the Blood Cult, at least.