The Eldest Daughter of the Tang Clan of Sichuan Protects the Family Chapter 69

Chapter 69. Will of the Blood Demon

The Red Blood Hall Lord clicked his tongue.

“Tsk tsk, our hound’s gone completely soft from spending ti in the Central Plains. When did you learn about benevolence and righteousness?”

Haerak furrowed his delicate brows, as if aggrieved.

“So you do understand the pain I went through. I had to listen to endless talk about benevolence, righteousness, propriety, and wisdom for three whole years—so much that it rotted my ears. After suffering through all that, how could you take away a dog’s bowl before it’s even finished eating? My master isn't worthy of keeping a dog.”

Thud.

The Red Blood Hall Lord flung his subordinate’s corpse aside. His claws were still embedded in the corpse’s chest, so the body tore apart gruesoly.

Haerak exaggeratedly hunched his shoulders and wiped the blood splattered on his face with a cloth from the desk.

“It’s terrifying to think I might have a superior like you. I thought you cared for him, but you split him in two.”

“Why did you have Cheolmyeon killed?”

“…What are you talking about? You killed him, and now you’re blaming ?”

“There was no need to throw Cheolmyeon at , was there?”

“Hmm? Then, should I have offered up my own chest? Ah, Pyowol, I just told you, didn’t I? This is borrowed clothing—I promised to return it clean.”

The Red Blood Hall Lord ignored Haerak’s wordplay and curved his lips.

“Are you taking revenge for killing your subordinate?”

“You killed my subordinate? When?”

Haerak asked back in feigned surprise. Then, as if realizing sothing, he lifted the skin mask lying on the desk.

“…This guy?”

The Red Blood Hall Lord silently affird. Haerak placed the skin mask down and let out a sigh.

“You still don’t get it.”

Haerak smirked mockingly.

“If he were my subordinate, he wouldn’t have fallen to the likes of you.”

“Haha, the Central Plains must be a peaceful place. Your provocation is weak as water.”

“It’s not provocation, it’s the truth. Just as it’s near impossible for an unbeliever to beco a Hall Lord, it’s equally impossible for one to enter the Main Blood Hall.”

“Yeah, yeah. Oh, by the way—how’s Doyu doing?”

The Red Blood Hall Lord brought up the Deputy Hall Lord of the Main Blood Hall.

Back in the days they spent in the Great Desert, Doyu had nearly lost his life to the Red Blood Hall Lord, but by a stroke of luck, he escaped with only the loss of an arm.

Although the Red, Blue, and Main Blood Halls were considered equal in combat strength, the Main Blood Hall was always treated as a step below.

That was natural—after all, the Blood Demon himself had openly nad them “hounds,” a pack of hunting dogs. The mbers of the Red and Blue Blood Halls would often maim or kill mbers of the Main Blood Hall on a whim to assert their superiority.

The Red Blood Hall Lord smiled and said:

“No matter how fierce a beast is, what’s there to fear when it’s leashed? It can’t even bite its master’s flesh.”

At those words, Haerak’s gaze lifted. His golden eyes now reflected the smiling face of the Red Blood Hall Lord.

"Yes, bark hard. I'll give you a lesson after a long ti."

Haerak curved his lips gently.

“Hubei is where the Murim Alliance headquarters is. I’ve spent years carefully erasing all traces of the sect’s presence there. And now, thanks to the Five Minerals Powder you sent, I find myself in a bit of a bind.”

In a low voice, Haerak made a suggestion.

"I can't grant you a clean death, so propose one way to continue your life, no matter how ssy."

The Red Blood Hall Lord laughed loudly.

"Hahaha, seeing you bark so diligently just because I told you to, you truly are a dog by nature. That's why the Blood Demon changed his plans and sent you to the Central Plains first. To properly clear the path for others, so it wouldn't be dangerous. Our little Haerak listens so well and works so hard, no wonder the Blood Demon couldn’t bring himself to kill you.”

Though his tone was kind, as if coaxing a pet, the claws on his hand gradually turned red. His well-honed hand looked ready to strike at any mont.

The Red Blood Hall Lord grinned.

“But I’m not like him. So your luck is truly rotten.”

Luck.

Hearing that word, a smile spread across Haerak’s lips, reminding him of soone amusing.

He suddenly grew curious about what expressions these people would make once they learned the truth.

That he had found a way to cut off the leash.

At that mont, the Red Blood Hall Lord lunged forward, his blood-red eyes gleaming.

"Didn't I tell you not to smile so arrogantly in front of ?"

Crash! Clang! Crash!

In an instant, dozens of exchanges were traded.

The Red Blood Hall Lord’s claw techniques were part of Blood Art, personally taught by the Blood Demon.

However, for so reason, his claws never reached the Main Blood Hall Lord, who had never even been formally taught Blood Art. No matter how sharp the talons of a raptor may be, they cannot grasp the sun. Whenever he tried to seize or tear sothing, only heat remained in his grip.

"Damn it!"

The Red Blood Hall Lord cursed. The mont he lost composure, his vision went black.

"Ugh!"

With a scream like a death cry, the Red Blood Hall Lord leapt far backward. He had nearly let that dog-like bastard grab his face. Just a brush had been enough to lt his cornea, blinding him.

He raised his senses. Until his sight returned, he intended to defend himself—but then, the heat surged right in front of his nose.

"Urgh!"

He had no ti to evade—his neck was caught. The fire surged through him as if it were burning down his windpipe.

But it lasted only a mont.

Tap.

Like a tide receding, the heat drew back. Haerak had withdrawn.

Frowning, Haerak turned his head and spat out the blood that had pooled in his mouth.

Spit.

Black blood fell to the floor. Insects wriggled in the bloody ss, and Haerak’s jaw muscles tightened noticeably.

The Red Blood Hall Lord burst into loud laughter.

"Well now, that’s truly impressive."

He lifted his hand proudly. As his wide sleeve slid down, a bracelet on his wrist was revealed—strung with large rubies like prayer beads.

"A divine artifact bestowed by the Blood Demon himself. Since your sight isn’t gone, I’m sure you can see it."

The Blood Demon’s Will. The bead contained the Blood Demon’s blood.

Waving his arm, the Red Blood Hall Lord shouted in delight.

"The Blood Demon personally established the hierarchy between you and . So don’t defy his will—die obediently. Of course…"

He grinned as his lips stretched unnaturally wide.

"If you submit to , I might let you live."

Haerak wiped his lips with the hem of his long sleeve and clicked his tongue.

"The old geezer still thinks you’re above ? He’s near the end, clearly. Even senility has its limits."

"Silence!"

The Red Blood Hall Lord let out a furious roar.

At last, his vision returned.

Clear sight revealed the unbeliever’s face. Rather than trembling in fear, the man was calmly wiping blood from the corner of his lips with a smile.

The mont his vision fully cleared, the Red Blood Hall Lord lunged at Haerak. But—the man was gone. As soon as he realized his absence, blood sprayed before his eyes.

With searing heat ca a sharp, rupturing sound that grazed his ear.

The Red Blood Hall Lord’s gaze dropped toward the source of the sound.

The Blood Demon’s Will had fallen to the floor.

Crunch.

Watching the bead shatter into pieces beneath a black shoe, the Red Blood Hall Lord let out a distorted scream.

"Aaaaagh!"

He hurled himself toward the divine artifact, paying no mind to his severed arm lying beside the shattered bead.

But Haerak, toying with him, crushed the rest of the beads underfoot.

Crack. Crunch.

"No—no!"

"How does it feel? Seeing sothing that carries your beloved old geezer’s blood mixed with your own? Ugh, my stomach turns. What’s that disgusting sll?"

Haerak waved his hand in front of his nose.

But the maddened Red Blood Hall Lord didn’t even register the gesture. With a blank expression, he reached for the shattered remains on the floor. At that mont, Haerak crouched beside him.

"Pyowol-ah."

Haerak patted the Red Blood Hall Lord’s shoulder as if to comfort a lost soul.

"What do you think would happen if I brought this directly to the old geezer?"

Haerak held the Red Blood Hall Lord’s severed arm in his hand. The man’s face turned deathly pale.

"Would he shout, ‘How dare soone tornt my beloved foot-wiper! Unforgivable!’ and try to kill ? Or would he say, ‘How disgraceful that I entrusted my will to such a weakling. I’ll kill him with my own hands.’ and turn on you instead?"

The Red Blood Hall Lord didn’t respond. He knew the answer.

Haerak clicked his tongue.

"Pyowol-ah, unlike you, I loathe the old geezer’s attention. I don’t want it."

In truth, he must not draw that attention.

Not yet. Not while he was cutting through these long-standing chains.

"This could beco our little secret—just between you and . Or it could beco a milestone in the history of the sect, a great deed by an unbeliever."

Haerak gently brushed the Red Blood Hall Lord’s disheveled hair back using the man’s own hand.

"Now then, what will you do?"

He knew unbelievers had different bodies. Their power ca from consuming their own life—so the closer they were to death, the more explosively that power surged. That was why, over ti, believers were inevitably overwheld by unbelievers.

It was the very reason the Red and Blue Blood Halls worked tirelessly to trample the Main Blood Hall, to keep its spirit broken.

'He's not even thirty yet, and he's already this strong?'

That’s why the Red Blood Hall Lord was shaken.

‘They say unbelievers reach their peak around forty... That ans this one still has ten more years to grow.’

The Blood Demon had easily subdued this madman, but he himself hadn’t lasted a mont against him—even with the Blood Demon’s will in hand.

The Red Blood Hall Lord now truly felt the vast gulf between himself and the Blood Demon. And the fact that this madman stood between them made his blood run cold.

Now, he had no choice left. It wasn’t fear of death.

He was terrified of the idea that an unbeliever stood above a believer within the sect.

The Blood Demon would undoubtedly favor the one closer to him rather than soone with strong faith. It was obvious he’d want to keep this one close.

And knowing just how dangerous that could be to him, the Red Blood Hall Lord realized—he couldn’t reveal any of this to the sect.

Thud.

He slamd his blood-soaked forehead against the floor.

"I’ll do anything."

"I will comply."

"…"

He had finally mustered a determined response, only for the other man to sneer.

The Red Blood Hall Lord bit his tongue and swallowed the blood rising in his throat.

As silence dragged on, Haerak frowned.

"What? Was that just lip service?"

"…I will do anything."

A polite answer finally erged. Haerak patted the man’s back with his own hand.

"There, there. By the way, I’ve got sothing I’m curious about."

As if the Red Blood Hall Lord no longer mattered at all, Haerak turned his attention away from him.

Then, he asked the question that had long weighed on his mind.

"Why did you bring the Five Minerals Powder?"

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(T/N): Hi~ If you're enjoying this novel, could I kindly ask you to take a mont to rate and review it on Novel Updates? I'd really appreciate it. Thank you for your support!