Chapter 276
Chapter 276
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>Translator: Ryuma
>Chapter: 276
>Chapter Title: Confusion (1)
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Il-mok, cradling the unconscious Jin Ha-yeon in his arms, emerged from the ice wall that was beginning to melt away.
“Young Master, are you all right?”
“Senior Ha-yeon!”
Worried voices called out from all directions.
It was because yin energy had surged through her once more while Il-mok was suppressing her Demonic Deviation.
“Both she and I are unharmed, so don’t worry.”
As Il-mok replied, he extended his arms holding Jin Ha-yeon forward, as if asking anyone to take her.
Joo Seo-yeon darted forward nimbly.
“I’ll take responsibility and look after her!”
“Do so.”
With the situation seemingly settled for now, Il-mok approached the Hao Clan Leader’s corpse.
“Hmm.”
Il-mok retrieved the dagger from the Hao Clan Leader’s superior belt, rummaged inside his clothes, and pulled out a cracked wooden plaque, tossing it casually beside the corpse.
It was the wooden plaque once used by the Ghost Valley Hermit—the Dark Blood Hard Plaque.
Having taken what he needed and discarded what he didn’t, Il-mok turned to the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult warriors.
“Have you scattered those?”
“Yes. While dealing with the rats, we left one in each pleasure house.”
Nodding at the man’s response, Il-mok left the pleasure house with his group.
“An Jeok-un Pavilion Leader, begin.”
At Il-mok’s command, An Jeok-un, who had been maintaining the formation array enveloping the pleasure house, nodded and drew an iron plaque from his sleeve.
It was the iron plaque Il-mok had taken from White Crane Mountain—the treasure that sustained that massive formation array.
An Jeok-un Pavilion Leader gripped the iron plaque, which brimmed with eerie energy and the stench of blood. As he chanted incantations and formed hand seals, intense blood qi surged around the plaque.
Pop!
Once prepared, An Jeok-un hurled the iron plaque into the air. It floated midair, resonating with the formation array surrounding the pleasure house.
The formation’s energy mingled with the plaque’s blood qi, taking on a sinister hue. The amplified energy flowed into the pleasure house.
Following the formation’s flow throughout the building, blood-red qi gathered toward the iron plaque like a river streaming through the air.
Il-mok watched impassively as the blood qi of the slain Hao Clan members converged on the plaque.
It was the scheme Il-mok had prepared: disguising the Hao Clan Leader’s death as the work of the Blood Cult.
By scattering Blood Cult spoils he’d collected and using the iron plaque to turn the Hao Clan members’ corpses into blood-drained husks—like those from White Crane Mountain—he aimed to make it look as if the Blood Cult had battled the Hao Clan here and absorbed their blood.
‘Chase the Blood Cult diligently, Martial Alliance Leader.’
It was revenge against the Hao Clan Leader who had hindered them, while also diverting the Martial Alliance Leader’s attention toward the Blood Cult.
* * *
Having finished the cleanup, Il-mok and his group left Nan-nyeong, erasing their tracks as they moved.
About half a day passed.
Jin Ha-yeon awoke.
“You’re awake, Senior!”
Joo Seo-yeon, who had been carrying her on her back, spoke energetically upon sensing the movement behind her.
She had refused to yield the task of supporting Jin Ha-yeon to anyone else, as if it were a sacred duty.
“……”
Jin Ha-yeon, frowning and surveying her surroundings while slung over Joo Seo-yeon’s back, finally spoke.
“How long was I out?”
“Exactly half a day.”
“Put me down now.”
“You’re fine, Senior! Your dantian is empty right now—you probably can’t even use lightness skill!”
The words were smooth, but they clearly served her own personal desires.
“Sigh.”
But since her dantian truly was depleted, Jin Ha-yeon had no retort and simply let out a light sigh.
At that moment, Il-mok’s voice came from up ahead.
“Halt.”
He had noticed Jin Ha-yeon’s awakening from the sounds behind.
“We’ve traveled quite a distance, so let’s rest briefly before moving on. Secure the perimeter and circulate your qi to recover your internal energy.”
No sooner had Il-mok given the order than Jin Ha-yeon spoke again.
“Put me down now.”
“…Understood.”
Joo Seo-yeon replied in a voice full of regret, loosening her grip and setting Jin Ha-yeon down.
Jin Ha-yeon spoke flatly to Joo Seo-yeon, who looked like a puppy abandoned by its owner.
“You must have worked hard carrying me this far. Thank you truly.”
“No, Senior! It was only natural!”
At Jin Ha-yeon’s simple praise, Joo Seo-yeon’s face lit up like a tail-wagging puppy in an instant.
Watching the scene for a moment, Jin Ha-yeon sat cross-legged and began circulating her qi.
“Sip. Exhale.”
How long did she repeat the deep breaths with an impassive expression?
When Jin Ha-yeon opened her eyes, having recovered some internal energy, the group was already prepared to depart.
Joo Seo-yeon stood guard in the distance, with Il-mok protecting her.
“I’m sorry for delaying us again because of me.”
As Jin Ha-yeon hurriedly stood and bowed in apology, Il-mok smiled faintly.
“Thanks to you, Jin, we took down the Hao Clan Leader easily. No need to apologize. Rather, congratulations once more. You’ve escaped Extreme Demon.”
As if agreeing with Il-mok, those around offered their congratulations.
“Congratulations!”
“Hahaha. This is another blessing for the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult.”
But despite Il-mok and the others’ praise, Jin Ha-yeon remained as impassive as ever.
“Thank you.”
Seeing her deliver a curt thanks with an emotionless face, Il-mok inexplicably recalled the moment he had suppressed her Demonic Deviation.
More precisely, the expression she had worn just before fainting.
“Hahaha. Smile once in a while. You looked good smiling at dawn today.”
“…I don’t know what you mean, Young Master.”
“Hahaha. You smiled right before passing out at the end. It was your first smile I’d seen, but it suited you well.”
“…I really don’t know what you mean, Young Master.”
Il-mok awkwardly turned away as she responded with a chilling expression and tone.
“Ahem. I must have seen wrong.”
Sensing that pressing her further might trigger another Demonic Deviation, Il-mok hurriedly called to the group.
“Time to move out!”
As they resumed their journey toward Lanzhou in Gansu Province under Il-mok’s lead, he missed it—avoiding her icy gaze.
A faint blush colored Jin Ha-yeon’s cheeks, ever so slightly.
* * *
Several days earlier.
At the Martial Alliance near Dongting Lake.
The Martial Alliance Leader had returned from Gansu after Sichuan and was conversing with Chief Strategist Gong Son-hyeon.
“I heard about what happened in Sichuan, Alliance Leader. As Chief Strategist, I apologize for failing to handle it in time.”
“Hahaha. Enough, Chief Strategist. You had a similar solution in mind, didn’t you? They’re just too arrogant to listen unless the Alliance Leader steps in.”
The Chief Strategist smiled wryly at the precise assessment, swallowing his inner curses toward the Nine Great Sects and Seven Great Families.
“More importantly, how did things go in Gansu?”
“There were several nuisances worth noting.”
“So, do you plan to deal with them?”
At Gong Son-hyeon’s question, Cheok Pae-myeong shook his head.
“It’s not the right time yet.”
“Because of the Beggars’ Sect, Wudang, and Huangbo family?”
“Exactly. Our priority is uniting the orthodox martial world under the Martial Alliance banner. For now, focus on the Blood Cult.”
They had already faced near schism once over the Sichuan Tang family incident.
Provoking the Maitreya Divine Cult now risked tearing them apart again.
“Then I’ll prepare pretexts now for striking them later.”
Seeing the Chief Strategist plotting in secret, the Alliance Leader smiled gently.
“Hahaha. Let me share some good intel with you, Chief Strategist. I tested them while visiting the Maitreya Divine Cult. They don’t seem to practice pure orthodox arts. Especially the leader’s sword—it reeked of demonic energy.”
Realizing the Alliance Leader had gleaned valuable information from a single day’s visit, the Chief Strategist grinned confidently.
“Heh heh heh. With intel like that, we won’t even need schemes.”
Thus, they settled on uniting the orthodox martial world against the Blood Cult before dealing with the Maitreya Divine Cult, continuing their discussion on the Blood Cult.
Days passed, searching for Blood Cult traces through orthodox sects and families across the Central Plains.
Strange news reached the Martial Alliance.
“…The Blood Cult attacked the Hao Clan?”
“Yes. And the Hao Clan Leader lost his life to them.”
“Hah. It’s too sudden.”
As if doubting it was truly the Blood Cult’s doing, the Alliance Leader asked, and Chief Strategist Gong Son-hyeon replied hesitantly.
“I feel something off too, but the circumstances point almost certainly to the Blood Cult.”
“By circumstances, don’t they have no reason to target the Hao Clan?”
“The evidence at the scene is too clear. Like White Crane Mountain, the Hao Clan Leader and members’ corpses were all blood-drained and shriveled like husks. I consulted some Taoists, and they all said traces of sinister sorcery remained everywhere. On top of that.”
Gong Son-hyeon placed an item he’d prepared on the table.
“Strange items seemingly from the Blood Cult were left throughout the pleasure house, along with battle traces.”
Cheok Pae-myeong frowned at the table briefly before looking up at the Chief Strategist.
“Then, any guesses why they suddenly targeted the Hao Clan?”
“…We haven’t uncovered any grudge between the Blood Cult and Hao Clan. They don’t kill for grudges anyway, do they?”
They were closer to madmen slaughtering indiscriminately for their sorcery. Thus, their motives were usually simple.
Knowing this, the Chief Strategist reasoned accordingly.
“From Beggars’ Sect intel, the White Crane Mountain trap was a ritual to complete some jiangshi. It failed, but the problem is the jiangshi.”
“I heard about that too.”
It was news from the Beggars’ Sect days ago. The Flying Dragon Pavilion Leader had sacrificed himself to thwart the Blood Cult’s plot, with details on the jiangshi included.
“Based on that, it seems they need martial artists’ blood to complete it.”
“White Crane Mountain targeted martial artists too, so it makes sense. Is the Hao Clan attack for that jiangshi too?”
“…The Hao Clan isn’t part of our Alliance, so maybe it was easier to harvest martial artists’ blood from them.”
The Chief Strategist spoke unusually hesitantly.
It was the most plausible reason from the given info. But the Blood Cult striking the Hao Clan felt unnatural from the start.
He couldn’t shake the nagging doubt, yet no other explanation surfaced.
* * *
Deep in a treacherous mountain somewhere in the Central Plains.
“Cult Leader!”
A black-clad Blood Cult follower rushed to the Blood Cult Leader with an urgent face.
“…Did something happen?”
The Blood Cult Leader, already furious from recent pursuits by the Martial Alliance and orthodox forces, asked coldly.
Gulping dryly at the sight, the subordinate spoke tensely.
“The Hao Clan was attacked, and the Hao Clan Leader is dead.”
“Is an attack on some Hao Clan that big a deal in this crisis?”
As killing intent surged with the question, the subordinate spat urgently.
“I-It was our Blood Cult that attacked the Hao Clan!”
“…….”
The Blood Cult Leader, who had been radiating murderous aura, stared at his subordinate in stunned silence.
“…….”
Even this follower, who had met the Cult Leader many times, had never seen such an expression.