Chapter 155. Completion of the Passage

A pale path appeared in the dark night sky. From the forge tucked away in a corner of the headquarters, smoke rose without pause. As So-hwa stepped through the entrance, she caught the forge's distinctive acrid scent.

Just then, someone emerged from where the smelting furnaces stood, heavy footsteps echoing.

A towering man, broad enough to fill the doorway, swept his gaze over her from head to toe.

The forge master studied her, then set down his lifted foot and stepped aside.

It was a silent gesture to enter.

Without suspicion, So-hwa stepped inside.

The forge held several furnaces, though only the innermost one was lit. Even at a distance, the heat was so intense it could be felt at the entrance.

Her gaze lingered on the man standing near the blazing furnace.

Zhuge In-hwi spoke without looking away from the flames.

"Did you bring it?"

"Yes."

At her brief reply, Zhuge In-hwi turned his head slightly.

He glanced at the blacksmith tending the fire. The man paid no heed to either the Four Seasons Hall Lord or a direct descendant of the Tang Clan of Sichuan. Treating them as if they were invisible, he focused solely on his work.

Perhaps the temperature had not yet reached what he required, for the bellows pumped ceaselessly, driving the flames higher.

It was Zhuge In-hwi who finally broke the awkward silence.

"The meeting will drag on anyway. If the Tang Clan Head and the Black Sky Demon wish to return to their quarters, it will be quite some time yet."

The Alliance Leader had summoned the principal members, announcing he would open the headquarters the next day. Both the Tang Clan Head and the Black Sky Demon were in attendance. So-hwa felt uneasy at the mention of the long meeting, but she did not voice her concern.

Yet Zhuge In-hwi went on, explaining what she had not asked.

"They're eager to return to their own sects quickly, but they also want you to stay here and undergo a thorough verification. The Tang Clan must also worry about spies in their midst, but they see no consideration for your Clan Head at all."

So that was what he meant by the meeting dragging on.

They were deciding not only about the opening, but also the course to follow afterward.

Her own circumstances were much the same—undecided since the chaos wrought by the Black Sky Demon.

Since the last gathering, voices had repeatedly called for her to be interrogated again, though the Tang Clan had resisted.

This time, it seemed the meeting would continue until a final conclusion was forced.

As So-hwa held her tongue, Zhuge In-hwi added quietly,

"They're only making such choices out of concern for their comrades and families back in their sects. It's not out of any grudge against your clan."

Even as he said it, something about his words struck him as odd, and he gave a bitter smile.

"Isn't it strange? Putting loved ones first can seem selfish, even though the intent is to protect others—not themselves."

He wasn't speaking to her anymore, but rather to himself.

"The one I respect most once said: when you aid not those close by, but those far away, only then does your heart approach true compassion. To grant kindness where it is not expected—that is the essence. He taught me to extend my empathy as wide as I can. To pity not the person beside me, but even the smallest life beyond the mountains."

So-hwa guessed the speaker in silence.

When Zhuge In-hwi soon revealed the subject himself, she knew her guess had been correct.

"I thought I understood the Alliance Leader's words, but I still cannot fathom why he would go so far as to help even those so distant."

"Do not trouble yourself to understand. It is natural that you cannot."

So-hwa replied without a care.

"At this moment, the Alliance Leader's heart holds neither righteousness nor goodwill."

"And in Young Lady Tang's heart, is there any such righteousness?"

"In mine? No. There is neither righteousness nor goodwill."

She spoke honestly.

"The only difference between the Alliance Leader and me is that I say aloud what is not there."

"Then you mean the Alliance Leader is a hypocrite?"

"If you insist on defining it, yes. A hypocrite."

"And you are a virtuous one?"

So-hwa let out a short, mocking laugh.

"Is virtue the opposite of hypocrisy?"

Zhuge In-hwi finally turned his gaze from the furnace toward her—

as though asking, then what exactly are you?

Though he had chosen to aid her, confusion still lingered in his heart over betraying the Alliance Leader.

It mattered little to her.

Such inner turmoil was for him to resolve on his own.

If he had stepped into the truth by his own will—

"How you see me is of no concern. Think as you please, define me as you will."

Call me whatever you wish; it makes no difference.

"Then what is 'virtue' to Young Lady Tang?"

Tang So-hwa exhaled a weary sigh, plain in her face.

"If you wish for a philosophical debate, I can play along. But I have no interest in virtue. I've never even bothered to consider it."

Though she claimed she could match his discourse, she gave him none of it. Her tone was calm, yet she did not hide that she found the conversation tiresome.

"The more meaning you seek, the harder it is to act. If there is something I want, it is better to act at once."

"And what is it that you desire?"

Her desire was clear.

Thus, the answer came without hesitation.

"I want the Blood Demon dead. And if I may indulge a little further, I want him to die in pain and in futility."

So-hwa suddenly arched one eyebrow.

"... If I could be greedier still, I would have him lose everything he seeks, fail at every turn, realize that he is nothing, and die under the weight of shame and torment."

As she considered it, even that seemed lacking, and her expression grew grave.

"No—if I could be just a little more greedy, then I would have his limbs torn apart, his entrails burst, his body barely mend, only for every last vein to rupture one by one until—"

"That will suffice. I understand well enough what Young Lady Tang desires."

Zhuge In-hwi cut her off.

For the first time, Tang So-hwa had engaged earnestly in the conversation—

Yet now Zhuge In-hwi refused it.

To his surprise, she even looked faintly regretful.

He could only acknowledge that Tang So-hwa was a brutally honest woman.

She held neither righteousness nor virtue.

Only a singular, unyielding sense of purpose.

At that moment, the blacksmith tending the flames extended his hand toward Zhuge In-hwi.

He stepped closer to So-hwa.

"The Cold Iron was given just earlier—this means he's asking for the mold. It seems he intends to smelt it now."

From her sleeve, So-hwa drew out the mold she had hidden.

Though it was heavy and thick, its small size had allowed her to smuggle it out. Casting a brief glance at both the blacksmith and Zhuge In-hwi, she handed it over. It was an item Namgung Hyun had entrusted to her with utmost insistence—once the passage was forged, it must be retrieved at once.

Zhuge In-hwi received the mold and passed it to the blacksmith.

The blacksmith set it at the mouth of the furnace, then immediately began melting the Cold Iron. The bronze-tinted metal grew pale, turning white. Without removing the molten Cold Iron from the furnace, he poured it directly into the mold.

The mold glowed red as it swallowed the metal through its narrow mouth. Pulling it free with tongs, the blacksmith placed it atop a bed of black sand.

Only after some time, when the mold had cooled to its original color—

Clang!

The blacksmith struck the seam with his tongs. The mold split open, releasing a circular piece no larger than a palm. He buried it in the black sand and lifted his head.

Zhuge In-hwi spoke.

"He says it's finished."

The blacksmith had not made a sound, merely nodded—but somehow, In-hwi had understood.

It became clear: the man was mute. That much she had already suspected. To be asked to handle Cold Iron at such an hour, it would have to be someone tight-lipped.

But to bring one who cannot speak at all...

Chiii—

Soon after, the blacksmith drew the Cold Iron from the sand and plunged it into cold water.

When it had cooled enough, he placed the piece into a wooden box and handed it to So-hwa.

"You'll need to take the mold as well."

"That reminds me—how did you manage to procure a mold fit for the Cold Iron in just three days? I never thought you'd truly find one."

So-hwa herself wondered the same.

Most likely, Namgung Hyun had prepared it beforehand. He must have been confident that he would win the Cold Iron during the Martial Arts Tournament.

In her previous life, Namgung Hyun had taken the championship—perhaps this passage had fallen into the Blood Demon's hands then.

This time, however, because of the variable called Yeon-ah, Namgung Hyun had not been able to win the Cold Iron.

So-hwa's eyes grew pensive.

‘... Perhaps the North Sea bloodline was reclaimed by the Blood Demon back then.’

Suddenly, the chest holding the Cold Iron felt heavy in her hands.

But that was the past.

Now, the passage connecting the  Outer Regions and the Central Plains had fallen not to the Blood Demon, but into her grasp.

Just then, a second chest was set atop the open one.

Tap.

The mold was inside it.

Carrying both items in her hands would surely invite Hae-han and Han-won to pry endlessly once she returned.

As she reached to slip one into her sleeve, the blacksmith startled and seized her wrist.

So-hwa's gaze slid toward him, cold and sharp. Yet the mute man glared back, unflinching. Zhuge In-hwi, watching the exchange, spoke lightly, amusement in his tone.

"The heat is still high—you mustn't touch it."

Even Cold Iron, quick to cool on the surface, must have an exceptionally high melting point.

In truth, even if she were burned, it would hardly matter to her. But the blacksmith's reaction was the proper one, so she let her arm fall obediently.

"When, then, can it be removed?"

Zhuge In-hwi turned the man's palm over and traced letters upon it with a finger. The blacksmith raised three fingers.

"It seems not three full hours, but about three gaks (45 minutes)  will be needed."

"You're using the internal cultivation method?"

With the heat of the forge suffusing the blacksmith, she could not tell whether the faint mist rising from her skin came from the furnace or from the Hall Lord himself.

So-hwa asked the question openly, and Zhuge In-hwi only smiled.

He changed the subject smoothly.

"If the waiting bores you, would you care to stop by the Four Seasons Hall for a while?"

He spoke of it as though it were a mere garden pavilion.

"There's been no summons from the Four Seasons Hall. Would it be proper for me to enter?"

"Who do you think you are speaking with right now?"

The man before her was none other than the Four Seasons Hall Lord.

Even so, she felt uneasy. She had never had dealings with the Four Seasons Hall, after all.

"Now that Divine Physician no longer forces the Young Lord to sleep, he should soon awaken."

A small, almost courteous smile touched his lips.

"Would you not like to see him before you depart for the North Sea?"

As she fixed him with her gaze, the Hall Lord's voice grew solemn.

"Now that you have secured the passage, you will leave tomorrow. Therefore, tonight, Lady Tang, you should take the Young Lord with you back to your quarters."