The Eldest Daughter of the Tang Clan of Sichuan Protects the Family

Chapter 267

Tang Min gripped the Blood Demon's head firmly and watched the scene.According to So-hwa, it did not take very long for a host to lose their life.

However, she had added that the Blood Demon's body might be different.

It was a body filled entirely with the Blood Demon's blood, not just a single drop.

For her blood that had penetrated inside to change all of the Blood Demon's blood, time would be required.

Something welled up inside him, yet the Black Sky Demon's face instead hardened.

That vicious child's blood could not have seeped in more than a few drops, yet like its owner, it tirelessly tore through the Blood Demon's body, continuing the fight. Even to his eyes, the Blood Demon's flesh was changing.

It was as though a decisive battle were being waged within each blood vessel—veins that had risen dark now gradually turned a deep purple-black.

A few drops of blood that had entered a gigantic body.

Despite the disparity seeming too vast for domination, vitality began to drain from the Blood Demon's entire body.

It was a bizarre sight.

The blood vessels protruding on the Blood Demon's face clumped together like insects, then repeatedly disappeared.

As the Blood Demon screamed, he again vomited black liquid from his eyes, nose, and mouth.

"Khhhhh."

The host's agony did not seem likely to fade easily.

As though he were receiving the will of the master who wished him to suffer for a long, long time before dying.

Hidden weapons embedded one by one into his skin, like careful stitches, turned his flesh into a honeycomb, while inside, energy he had harbored for ages exploded and carved him apart.

Even so, the body that endured in hopes of recovery ultimately sprinted toward death.

The blood he had once boasted of was devouring his entire body, betraying its master's will.

“KKEEEAAAARGH!

The scream rang out loudly one last time.

It was not befitting of the end of an absolute being.

It was far too hollow, too painful—paltry and grotesque, like a wriggling insect.

An absurd end, like a general who had conquered the world dying from the bite of a tiny poisonous insect the size of a fingernail.

The thought that failing to kill Tang So-hwa had been his greatest mistake flashed through his mind in his final moment.

Thud.

The Blood Demon's head lost its strength and drooped downward.

After twitching a few times, his body went completely still.

Swaaaaaa.

The sound of rain spread into the silence.

Following the splashing droplets, steam rose from the Blood Demon's body. The energies that had lost their master began leaking out of him all at once.

The body that had been rimed with frost and steaming gradually grew clean as it was washed by the rain.

The energies that had dispersed into the air could no longer be felt.

"...... Is he really dead? Shouldn't we confirm it?"

The Sword Saint, who had approached the Black Sky Demon's side at some point, asked cautiously.

The Black Sky Demon's gaze rested on the Blood Demon's torn clothing.

Through the gaping hole, flesh was visible. All traces of blood had been washed away, yet the hole had not closed.

Staring at it, Tang Min answered briefly.

"He's dead."

"No, how can you be so certain? Just in case, wouldn't it be better to completely sever the body?"

"If you want, do so."

Without any attachment, Tang Min released the corpse and turned away.

Whether others tore the body apart to defile it, or took it back to headquarters to dissect and analyze, it was no longer any of his concern.

He walked straight toward a single place.

A martial artist in night-travel attire had a hand placed on So-hwa's body beneath a tree. With one hand, he supported her broken neck; with the other, he pressed where the dantian should have been.

Even from a distance, intense heat could be felt.

The intruder, unconcerned whether his identity was revealed or not, radiated the distinctive heat of the Fiery Yang Art.

Step.

Even as the Black Sky Demon approached right up to him, the man from the Great Desert did not retreat.

"Move aside."

He did not even answer.

The Black Sky Demon vaguely guessed why the Great Desert man was here.

So-hwa had said she would make use of the North Sea and the Great Desert, so she must have had dealings with the Great Desert man as well.

However, he could not understand why someone from the Great Desert, and not the North Sea, was reacting this way. He had heard that blood had mixed with that of the Ice Palace, so if it were an Ice Palace disciple, such an extreme reaction would make sense, but the Great Desert had no such direct tie to So-hwa.

Despite that, the man showed a reaction more extreme than that of her own family.

The man from the Great Desert showed no sign of handing So-hwa over to Tang Min.

A crease formed between Tang Min's brows as he watched.

As if knowing that So-hwa's body no longer had any blood vessels, the man busily moved his hands, pouring his energy into one spot after another.

There was no way such a body could be subject to any miraculous healing technique.

Even knowing that fact, the man from the Great Desert did not stop.

He poured all his strength into warming the cooling body.

Tang Min was swept along by the man's actions that denied death.

He, too, watched with a shred of hope.

Even as her limbs gradually stiffened and her torn flesh still failed to close, he waited.

Then a presence was felt from behind.

"C-Clan Head......."

The White Tiger Unit Leader swallowed his words, unable to bring himself to stop him, and closed his mouth again.

Before he could even gather his senses, Tang Ji-ha crawled over the wet grass. He could not even properly grasp the situation. He pulled his child straight into his arms from where she lay in the man's embrace.

Flop.

As he did, So-hwa’s broken neck fell backward. Almost simultaneously, the man supported her head, but there was no one here who failed to notice that fleeting movement.

At least, there was no one present who did not recognize it.

A different kind of silence descended.

Swaaaaaa.

The thickened rain diligently washed over the stillness.

Tang So-hwa's body, transferred into the Clan Head's wet arms, was soon soaked through by the rain.

The Clan Head repeated the same actions as the man.

He pressed So-hwa's nape, wrists, and the dantian visible between her torn clothes, pouring his internal energy in.

“Clan Head, you must not.”

The White Tiger Unit Leader tried to stop him, but Tang Min quietly extended a hand to restrain the leader.

Now was not the time for the Clan Head to be tending to others.

Though the bleeding had barely been stopped, he too needed to focus on his own recovery. Overexertion could cause the wounds to burst open again and become dangerous. Knowing this, Tang Min still let the Clan Head be.

A clear, pure energy filled the surroundings. However, the one who could smell that fragrance no longer existed in this world.

After withdrawing his hand from the acupoints, Tang Ji-ha brushed aside So-hwa's wet hair.

"So-hwa."

There was no answer to the Clan Head's call.

He called her name once more, but only the sound of rain replied.

There was no heartbeat, no breath, no warmth. A body no different from a block of wood, yet the Clan Head continued to call her name as though waking a sleeping child, sweeping over her acupoints again and again.

The locations of the blood vessels he primarily used were exposed in their entirety.

It was as if the Clan Head no longer realized that others were around him.

As though he did not know it was raining, or that the night was dark. Even though moving just a little forward would shelter him from the rain, he kept pulling his dead daughter's body tightly toward himself.

As he continued to pour in internal energy, he vomited blood. The bloodstains soaking the hole-ridden martial robe darkened once more.

From behind, the Young Lord wrapped his arms around him and gripped the Clan Head's hands.

"Hhhk...... s-stop...... please stop."

The frail son, who normally could not even meet his eyes, threw his entire body into stopping the Clan Head. Even so, the Clan Head did not cease his aberrant behavior. Energy continued to bloom endlessly in all directions.

Then, someone sat down facing him. When a wrinkled hand rose to the girl's neck, the Clan Head's gaze shifted.

Since the Clan Head could not leave, a White Tiger Unit martial artist had brought the Divine Physician in the meantime.

It was a situation that did not even warrant looking at, yet the Divine Physician, too, began a meaningless pulse examination as though clinging to hope.

After withdrawing his hand, he listened for So-hwa's breathing.

The Divine Physician lifted his head, and his eyes met the Clan Head's.

Without a word, the Divine Physician took So-hwa's hand from where the Clan Head held it.

He gathered her hands and placed them atop her abdomen. As he pulled the body toward himself, the Clan Head yanked her back and glared at him.

"You quack of a bastard.....!"

"Father......."

As Tang Hak tearfully tried to stop him, the roar immediately turned toward him.

“Shut up. Do you think your sister has actually died?!”

The killing intent in his energy looked ready to explode at any moment.

"Hhhk......."

Tang Hak collapsed to the ground, curling into himself as he cried.

The Clan Head raised his voice.

"What do you know! So-hwa is not dead! You all know nothing! Nothing at all.....!"

He shouted as he pulled the body into his arms, then fell silent. The faces of those watching him were miserable. They remained silent, yet sympathy was etched clearly into their expressions.

He was not accustomed to sympathy. When had he ever been someone to receive such looks? And so, that reaction cut sharply into the Clan Head.

It was as if cold water had been poured over his head—his senses began to return.

The wall he had built up in denial collapsed helplessly.

The Clan Head supported his eldest daughter's neck and buried his face into her shoulder.

"So-hwa, get up."

Tang Ji-ha whispered, sobbing quietly.

"You...... get up and prove that this father of yours was not wrong."

He was not ignorant of death. He had faced mortal danger before, and had cut down people to escape it more than once. As such, he knew what the body growing stiff like a block of wood meant.

"Hhhk......."

Unable to lift his head, the Clan Head began to weep.

As the rain thinned, the sound reached even those standing nearby.

The expressions of several onlookers caught the eye.

Yeon-ah, unable to blink in shock, and Namgung Jin, standing as if his soul had left his body, could not move—unbefitting of those who had returned to the Tang Clan estate first. They were simply frozen, unable to take their eyes off the scene.

When Namgung An tried to approach Tang Ji-ha, the Wudang Sect Leader quietly blocked his path. He merely shook his head, yet the meaning was conveyed clearly.

The Wudang martial artists silently handled the Blood Demon's corpse on behalf of the Tang Clan. In the meantime, the Namgung Clan martial artists began moving the wounded members of the Four Tiger Units.

Namgung Hyun, though his paralysis had long since faded, could not bring himself to stand and remained seated where the Clan Head had left him.

He, too, could not take his eyes off Tang So-hwa.

The sight of the once cold and terrifying Tang Clan Head having lost his mind, and Tang Hak collapsed on the ground, came into view. The sharp, distinctive visage of the Tang Clan had been overpainted with grief, turning bleak and somber.

"Aaaah! This can't be happening!"

A girl's scream, mixed with sobs, rang out.

Perhaps word had reached the inner courtyard that Tang So-hwa had fallen to the Blood Demon, for two identical-looking girls came running through the forest. Tang Ye-hwa, still in her sleepwear, clung to Tang So-hwa's body without even managing to put on her shoes.

Unlike Tang Ye-hwa, who cried while hugging Tang So-hwa's waist without restraint, Tang Yu-hwa stood before her, covering her mouth with her hand.

"How...... why is elder sister......."

Her small, trembling voice carried far, but no answer came from Tang Ji-ha.

The guards and the matriarch arrived belatedly, yet no one could scold the twins. Having grasped the situation at a glance, they too were left without words.

Watching the scene, Namgung Hyun began to tremble.

Every time he heard the sounds of weeping, sorrow turned into terror.

Because her final words resurfaced in his mind.

That he had aided the Blood Demon and brought about the annihilation of the Tang Clan.

Seeing the family around her who had lost their minds, he envisioned Tang So-hwa as the sole survivor after everyone in the Tang Clan had died.

He saw hundreds of people filling the open ground before the pavilion.

The thought crossed his mind that leaving alone might be better than being left alone before their corpses.

More than Tang So-hwa's death, the pain of the past she had endured weighed heavier on him.

"Aah......."

Namgung Hyun clutched his head with trembling hands, about to curl his body inward—

『I know that you are a practitioner of dark arts.』

At the familiar voice, Namgung Hyun slowly lifted his head.

At some point, the Main Blood Hall Lord was nowhere to be seen.

Judging by how no one else reacted, it seemed the voice had been transmitted to him alone. From a distance close enough that others could not possibly notice.

A killing intent-laced transmission slammed into his eardrums.

『Among dark art practitioners, there is one said to be able to turn back time.』

The voice mingled with the sound of the wind.

『I don't know when, but I had been suspecting that Tang So-hwa had returned through time. Seeing the Blood Demon and Tang So-hwa take interest in you, I suspected you to be that practitioner.』

The Main Blood Hall Lord did not even give him a chance to answer and pressed on with his threat.

『I can make you kneel and beg for death, so turn back time. Now.』