Chapter 193

Until the blazing red sun rose and daylight flooded the world, the unknown martial artist pursued us without giving up.

For a moment, I was relieved when the two presences behind us dwindled to one. Then the lone pursuer picked up the pace and closed in even faster.

I did everything I could to leave no trail. I laid false tracks and deliberately led him in the wrong direction, but every time, he caught on and came back before long.

Whoever he was, he was smart.

Every time the distance seemed about to widen, he closed it again. My irritation kept mounting.

“This is driving me insane. Why does he keep following us?”

“There’s no killing intent. Makes me think he’s the one who has business with you, little sister. If you ask me, he’s probably the one who sent that letter.”

Yeon Ryang lifted his head slightly and peered behind us.

I pushed it back down.

“Brother. Don’t lift your head. You’re heavy enough already. When you tense up, it makes it worse.”

“One hundred and eighty catties is no more than a feather to my little sister. You’re a great hero who can rip a mast out with brute strength, after all.”

Yeon Ryang snickered, then obediently relaxed and let himself dangle limply in my grip.

“I don’t care who he is. We have to shake him. If that leech catches up and asks to accompany us all the way to the Martial Alliance, we’re screwed.”

“True. Beopgong isn’t around this time, either, and I have no desire to end up in that reeking dungeon again. Sohae, you might as well jump off that cliff over there.”

Cheerfully offering his opinion, Yeon Ryang shaded his eyes with one hand, scanned the surroundings, and suggested routes that might help us lose our pursuer.

Unlike me, wound tight with nerves, Yeon Ryang seemed to be having a wonderful time, his huge body folded awkwardly as I carried him.

“Wow. This really takes me back.”

“To when? The day your back got torn open?”

“Yeah. This tiny little girl who couldn’t even look after herself was huffing and puffing, determined to drag me away with her. It was so funny I kept wondering where a kid like you had even come from.”

“What? Funny? It was horrifying for me, Brother. I thought you were really going to die.”

My disgust only made Yeon Ryang chuckle.

As though it had been nothing at all, he started reminiscing about our days at the hermitage.

He went on and on like some old man—how everything I did back then had made him worry, how I was all grown up now, how there was no need to fret when I could beat everyone down on my own.

Then he corrected my course.

“They’ll have found the safe house we used last time. That’s probably why they camped around that area and spread those rumors. Let’s use another one.”

“Got it. Then we should head south.”

“Are you going to contact Guild Head Jang separately? You walked out with that letter and vanished. She’ll be worried.”

“...Mm. No. Better not.”

I felt bad for Jang Miryeo, but for the time being, I thought it would be better not to contact her.

There was no reason to create another path through which information could leak.

Yeon Ryang answered as if he had expected that.

“Yeah. She’ll figure something out. But your leech might finally be dropping off. His presence is getting faint.”

He was right.

The blue light that had been trailing us was fading.

Whether he was exhausted or had taken another wrong turn, I had no way of knowing. Either way, it was good for me.

“You’re right. Let’s widen the gap now so he can’t catch up again. Hold tight, Brother.”

I tightened my grip on Yeon Ryang and accelerated.

*****

The morning dew soaking his ankles left them damp and itchy.

Namgung Hwi wiped the sweat from his brow and stared bitterly at the traces that had lured him in the wrong direction.

He had lost her.

He had fallen perfectly for Tang Sohae’s deception.

Admitting his mistake, he retraced in his mind the route he had run throughout the night.

He had thought they were moving north.

Now that he looked around, however, he had come quite a distance south of where the chase had begun.

Tang Sohae’s true destination must have been somewhere to the south.

He had never imagined that a young woman not yet twenty could be so skilled at escape.

She had run for eight hours without rest while repeatedly devising ways to shake off her pursuer. Even more impressive was the finesse with which she scattered paralytic poison along the way.

The first few times, Namgung Hwi had sensed something was wrong and immediately doubled back.

But as the same tactics kept repeating, it became increasingly difficult to tell which trail was genuine.

Running continuously for so long had also dulled his concentration.

Remembering the wounds left on the vital points of the Demonic Sect members, Namgung Hwi had to admit that Tang Sohae was no longer the gentle young lady he remembered.

Her martial prowess had already reached a level most martial artists her age could not even dream of challenging.

But that did not mean she was safe wandering the dangerous martial world alone.

What lies to the south?

Namgung Hwi bit his lip as he studied the footprints Tang Sohae had deliberately left behind.

He tried to guess where she planned to hide, but no destination came to mind.

All he could do was vaguely suspect that she had another safe house somewhere.

For a moment, he debated whether to continue the pursuit.

Then he shook his head.

If she was this determined to shake him, staying hard on her heels would only make her more wary.

It would be better to regroup with Jeokroe, deploy the search party, and watch from a distance.

Who was the man traveling with her that had caused the Demonic Sect to pursue them?

And how could Namgung Hwi make her understand that he meant her no harm and only wanted to help?

Concern clouded his face.

If the Demonic Sect’s infiltration of the Central Plains—the clues he had uncovered—had anything to do with Tang Sohae, then he had all the more reason to help her.

What Namgung Hwi had learned was beyond what any lone martial artist should be expected to face.

The Demonic Sect—

those fanatics who worshipped the Heavenly Demon—

were far too dangerous.

I hope nothing happens to her...

He stared anxiously at the small footprints for another moment, swallowed a sigh, and turned away.

*****

The land where Mount Hua, one of the pillars of the Nine Great Sects and the Beggars’ Sect, had long reigned supreme—

or rather, where it once had.

Xi’an, the ancient capital of a thousand years, a city said never to extinguish its lights even deep into the night.

Once, it had been a bastion of the orthodox martial world where suspicious figures hardly dared set foot.

Now, once the sun went down, doors were bolted tight and no one dared venture outside.

It had become a grim and haunted city.

Even when screams echoed through the streets, even when atrocities unfolded in plain sight, everyone looked away.

The great city’s vitality was gone.

So too were the merchants who once arrived pulling small carts, dreaming of making their fortunes overnight.

Unless a merchant guild had the backing of one of the unorthodox factions newly entrenched in Xi’an, it could barely operate at all.

The guilds that remained therefore charged exorbitant prices.

The wealth they amassed flowed straight back into the hands of those same unorthodox factions.

The entire city now survived by squeezing the lifeblood from its ordinary people.

Everyone in Xi’an endured hard days.

Everyone, that was, except for one place that seemed untouched by the calamity and had never lost its splendor.

Flower Moon Pavilion, a towering pleasure house in northern Xi’an.

People said the senior members of the Unorthodox Alliance had been captivated by the beauty of its proprietor, Nanxiang, and granted her special favors.

The truth was different.

Nanxiang, proprietor of Flower Moon Pavilion, was a key officer of the Unorthodox Alliance who had created the opening that allowed the Alliance to sink its roots into Xi’an.

And at the same time—

she was a believer of the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult.

Nanxiang adjusted her elegantly coiled hair, then lifted the silk painting hanging on the wall.

Her delicate hand felt along the stone.

With a loud grinding sound, a passage into a hidden chamber appeared.

Nanxiang stepped inside, lowered the painting behind her with graceful movements, and began walking down the long corridor.

At its end, she stopped before a small door and respectfully folded her hands before her.

An eerie chill seeped through the cracks.

“Enter.”

At the quiet summons, Nanxiang opened the door.

A small chamber appeared beyond it.

An old man stood before a table flanked by two small lamps.

Nanxiang approached slowly, dropped to her knees, and pressed her forehead to the floor.

The degree of deference was excessive.

Yet the man receiving it appeared entirely unmoved.

He merely continued polishing a silver cup with painstaking care, his wrinkled hands moving slowly across its surface.

Despite his indifference, Nanxiang remained perfectly still on her knees, waiting for permission to speak.

At last, the old man set down the cup and raised his head.

“Speak.”

“I report to the Third Bishop. As ordered, ten scouting teams were dispatched throughout Hubei and Hunan. Their regular reports contained nothing noteworthy. However, the team led by Number Seventeen has disappeared.”

“Number Seventeen?”

“Yes. Neither Number Seventeen nor the five sent with him have made contact.”

“Then they must have stumbled somewhere and died. Trash like that is irrelevant. Have you still not found Number Twenty-Four?”

“No. Then as for Number Seventeen...”

“There is no need to waste effort finding or disposing of them. Leave them where they are. It is about time the people of the Central Plains learned that our Cult has returned.”

“I shall obey your words. And...”

Nanxiang answered sweetly before relaying the information sent by the scouting parties in a soft, measured voice.

Her melodious words echoed through the hidden chamber like jade beads rolling across a tray.

Yet among the many pieces of information she delivered, not one was what the Third Bishop had been waiting to hear.

Displeasure surfaced on his face.

“Nothing useful at all. Number Forty. Must I involve myself in matters this trivial?”

“...I will increase the number of scouts.”

Even at Nanxiang’s reply, the Third Bishop’s expression did not soften.

His hand crushed the cloth he had been using to polish the silver cup.

“Call Number Eighty-Eight into the Central Plains. Number Twenty-Four was particularly fond of that one. Dangle the bait and he should bite. If necessary, use Number Eighty-Eight to bring him back.”

“Yes.”

“The others may end however they please. But Number Twenty-Four must not be damaged. [N O V E L I G H T] He is the final piece of our great undertaking. He must remain alive, no matter what.”

“Yes.”

“Now bring me what I asked for.”

“As you command.”

Nanxiang answered with perfect respect and slammed her forehead against the floor.

Thud!

Blood trickled steadily from the split skin of her brow.

Neither Nanxiang nor the Third Bishop reacted.

Dismissed, Nanxiang bowed once more, then backed out of the hidden chamber.

Left alone, the Third Bishop ran a fingertip along the rim of the silver cup.

Blood vessels stood out in his eyes.

“The blood of the Heavenly Slaughter Star... It shall lead us to the truth.”

His voice remained perfectly flat as his gaze lowered to an old sheet of paper lying on the table.

Written across the faded page was the complete method for creating the Demonic Spirit Soul-Returning Poison Parasite.