Chapter 155
* * *
How much time had passed?
Doyul and Yerin, who had been walking silently, stopped their steps.
“It looks like the exit.”
In the distance, a faint square of light was leaking through a closed door.
—
* * *
“This place…”
Finally, they arrived at a small, isolated island surrounded by embankments.
It wasn’t a large island where ships passed through and people lived, but rather a small piece of land that seemed to have been naturally formed by sedimented earth.
However, there were no people to be seen.
“It’s not too far from the West Lake district, after all.”
Doyul murmured, looking surprised.
Between the trees that grew thickly, the shops and houses surrounding the West Lake were barely visible in the distance.
Yerin looked around.
At first glance, the island seemed like a fairly ordinary place.
‘This island… no, everything inside the embankment feels like it’s in a different dimension from Hangzhou.’
Even though they shared the same space, the West Lake district in the distance felt unreal.
It was like looking through a frosted glass window.
“It seems like this might be one of the private properties of the wealthy scattered around the West Lake,” Doyul said with suspicion in his voice.
“If that’s the case, then the owner of this land might have been one of the Blood Sect’s minions.”
“That might be the case,” Yerin replied.
Doyul let out a bitter laugh.
“I never imagined someone would have the audacity to create a private property right next to the Murim Alliance and perform the Blood Demon’s resurrection ritual. I have to admit, that takes guts.”
Yerin quietly looked at Doyul’s profile.
His unusually bright voice, the effort he made to smile.
Doyul was desperately trying to act nonchalant.
But deep down, he must be reaching his limits.
The evidence was clear.
‘Since we arrived on this island, Doyul hasn’t looked me in the eye even once.’
At that moment, Doyul suggested,
“Shall we… take a look around the island?”
“…”
Even as he asked, Doyul was still avoiding Yerin’s gaze.
Her heart ached as if it had been cut thin by a knife, and without realizing it, she bit down hard on her lower lip.
But that didn’t last long.
“Yes, let’s do that,” she replied.
Yerin quickly composed her expression.
She nodded her head as if she knew nothing.
If Doyul was making such an effort to avoid making the atmosphere awkward, then she, too, had to respond appropriately to his efforts.
‘It’s okay. For now, we need to stop the resurrection of the Blood Demon.’
There would be time for conversation later.
So, for now…
Yerin tightened her grip on the sword in her hand.
The two of them began to explore every corner of the island.
—
How much time had passed?
As they were walking, Doyul suddenly stopped.
“Wife, this energy…?”
“Yes, I feel it too.”
Yerin nodded with a tense expression.
“Let’s go check it out.”
Without saying another word, both of them activated their lightness skills and sped toward the center of the island.
The unease they felt only grew stronger the closer they got to the center.
A moment later.
“That’s…”
In the distance, a red-painted temple appeared.
In the middle of the uninhabited island, a neat-looking temple, recently built, stood untouched by human hands.
It was completely unexpected, and its presence alone caused a strong sense of disconnect and unease.
Doyul and Yerin exchanged glances without a word.
Bang!
The two of them kicked open the temple doors and entered.
At the same time, they widened their eyes.
“This smell…”
The first sense to be overwhelmed was their sense of smell.
The pungent, stale smell of blood filled the temple, so strong that it almost made their heads ache.
Yerin and Doyul carefully stepped inside the temple.
Inside, the violet darkness hung heavy, and candles flickered here and there, casting deep shadows.
And then…
“Why… won’t you open your eyes?”
A low muttering voice echoed.
It was a hoarse, grating voice, like metal scraping against metal.
“Why won’t you wake up?”
Yerin and Doyul froze, their shoulders tensing at the eerie sound.
Before them, an unsettling scene unfolded.
Beneath the layers of red-dyed curtains, a man lay face down on the floor.
“…Vice Leader.”
It was indeed the Vice Leader.
He had his hair neatly tied up and was dressed in a white ceremonial robe as if preparing to welcome an honored guest.
In the red and dark world, the Vice Leader stood out, his appearance strangely pristine against the background.
“Who dares…”
As if sensing their presence, the Vice Leader abruptly lifted his head.
His face, when he turned to look at them, twisted grotesquely like a demon’s.
“Who dares set foot in here with such filthy feet?”
The usually calm and smiling demeanor was completely gone, replaced by a snarl.
Slowly, he rose to his feet and glared at Yerin and Doyul alternately with fierce eyes.
“Well, well, it’s you two.”
The Vice Leader growled lowly.
“You pests are the ones who caused trouble with the formation, are you?”
At that moment, a glint of realization flashed in Yerin’s eyes.
‘It seems the disruption of the formation’s medium had some effect after all.’
It was a plausible theory.
According to Manyeon Bingjeong’s explanation, the goal of the formation was to ‘gather life force to create something.’
‘It’s likely that the destruction of the medium prevented the formation from achieving its full intended power.’
Yerin carefully studied the Vice Leader’s expression.
He looked ready to devour them at any moment.
“Do you think you’ll survive this?”
“Only time will tell.”
The Vice Leader, who had been glaring at Yerin, let out a long sigh.
“Really, the disciples of the Dang Clan are just never pleasing in any way.”
“…”
Yerin raised her eyebrows slightly.
The Vice Leader deliberately mentioned the Dang Clan, clearly intending to provoke her.
“The master of the Dang family, who clung to a non-existent poison, and the idiot young master of the Dang Clan. Both father and son are equally pathetic.”
The Vice Leader sneered as though speaking directly for them to hear.
“Especially the young master, you know. At least he should’ve taken his younger sister with him to the afterlife.”
“…”
“I saved him from death, after all. Did I not?”
Doyul instinctively glanced at Yerin’s expression.
No matter how much of a scumbag her brother was, it wasn’t pleasant to hear such insults about one’s family directly to their face.
“Wife.”
Yerin remained expressionless.
But he remembered the expression she wore when she pointed her sword at her brother.
Doyul couldn’t help but worry for Yerin.
“Because that idiot failed to do his job properly…”
The Vice Leader’s smile grew wider.
It was a sinister, malevolent smile.
“Do you pests really think you know your place and can just cross the line?”
At that moment, Yerin coolly responded.
“The Blood Sect was originally… what?”
“What?”
“The Blood Wolf Sect Leader always resorts to attacking others’ families when he’s losing.”
Yerin continued with a flat tone.
“I find it a bit funny. You keep trying to insult others in the same way.”
“W-What did you say?”
“Maybe you should interact with people a bit more and work on your social skills? Instead of always hiding in the shadows and scheming.”
The Vice Leader’s face stiffened as the words spilled out.
“Are you… insulting the Blood Sect now?”
“Isn’t it telling that you feel insulted at all?”
Yerin gave a cold chuckle.
But it was short-lived.
“And when your mouth is crooked, you should at least speak clearly. The one who crossed the line isn’t me.”
Yerin shot a glare at the Vice Leader with ice-cold eyes.
“Isn’t it you, the Blood Sect, who dared to harm innocent civilians?”
“Bullshit.”
The Vice Leader’s gaze, locking with Yerin’s, was now filled with madness.
“I intended to personally take your lowly lives and use them to help the Blood Demon’s return.”
His eyes, wide with feverish intensity, seemed like those of a beast who had lost its mind.
“And instead of accepting that honor with joy, you… you dare!”
The Vice Leader’s body surged with a fierce, wild aura.
“You lowly pests are trying to interfere with the Blood Demon’s return?!”
Doyul, wary of the situation, instinctively tightened his grip on his sword.
“Be careful, wife!”
“…”
But Yerin didn’t respond.
Doyul, confused, called out again without taking his eyes off the Vice Leader.
“Wife?”
Yerin, as if entranced, was staring at the floor beneath the Vice Leader, or rather, at the pattern behind his feet.
It was a finely detailed pattern, likely drawn in red dye, possibly blood.
Yerin’s gaze slowly traced the design.
Behind the Vice Leader’s back, the edge of a coffin was now visible.
It seemed a coffin was placed in the center of the pattern.
‘You know, don’t you?’
In an instant, something whispered to her instinctively.
‘The person lying in that coffin…’
Her heart froze as though she had swallowed a giant shard of ice.
“In that coffin.”
The voice that slipped from her lips sounded strangely foreign to her.
“There’s the corpse of Baek Seol-yeon.”
Could it be?!
Doyul’s face went pale with shock.
At the same time, the Vice Leader shot back with a sharp glare.
“Don’t you dare refer to this sacred body by that trivial name!”
The Vice Leader’s face was filled with true fury.
“300 years ago, that trivial name disappeared! This perfect body, which reached the pinnacle of swordsmanship, now…”
His voice rang with a mixture of madness and ecstasy.
“The Blood Demon will return!”
“…Return?”
Yerin mulled over the words.
Then, she stared directly at the Vice Leader.
“Is that resurrection the will of the Blood Demon, or is it your will?”
The piercing question, like an ice pick, drove straight into the Vice Leader’s ears.
