When the Black Moon Rises - Chapter 220
Chapter 220
According to the criminals, the Clan Head purified and eradicated the evil energy that had overturned the world, and then perished.
Those who participated in the battle by the riverbank had also caught glimpses of the final moments of the fight.
They said that the Lady of the House was a Red Dragon Divine Beast, and that even the Ju Clan's Corrupt Dragon was no match for her.
The immense curse and killing intent that erupted from the Corrupt Dragon's corpse threatened to rot the entire riverbank and destroy the Mystic Realm, but the Lady of the House and the Clan Head purified it.
However, no matter how much they praised and lauded them, the undeniable fact remained: even now, with everyone else returned, the Clan Head and the Lady of the House had not.
What good was any power, however sublimely wielded, if the two most important figures were still missing?
"…They'll return, won't they?"
"Why are you saying such obvious things?! Don't listen to the nonsense those criminals are spreading."
"Right."
Despite the sharp retort, both the maid who asked and the maid who answered had equally gloomy expressions.
"…Let's go. The Chancellor needs to eat at least something, so let's prepare something more appetizing for lunch."
With somber expressions, they hurried away, pushing a cart laden with food.
The Baek Clan Chancellor's office, with its large windows, was the most tumultuous place within White Stone Pavilion.
He had designated the room overlooking the judgment stand as his new office and moved all his belongings there.
"Aagh!"
The stench of blood from the torture and ear-splitting screams constantly drifted in through the open window. Yet, deep inside the spacious room, the man sitting with a ramrod straight posture remained focused on his work.
Baek Manyong's bloodshot eyes, filled with tiny red veins, were a testament to his prolonged sleeplessness.
All emotion had vanished from his face, a face that once clearly displayed joy, anger, sorrow, and pleasure.
His piercing blue eyes stared at the documents he was reviewing.
Just then, a quiet knock interrupted the screams.
He had forbidden anyone, even the maids, from approaching him except to bring meals, so there were only a few people who would seek him out in this manner.
"Enter."
As soon as he finished speaking, the door opened, and the Jang Clan Head entered.
"…It seems the bird failed its mission again."
Baek Manyong's voice was calm, having already guessed the news from the Jang Clan Head's expression alone. However, his fingertips trembled slightly as he held his brush.
He was sending birds all over the Mystic Realm to search for his Clan Head and the Lady of the House, fearing they might need help and were unable to return quickly.
However, he knew this was a futile effort. They were Divine Beasts; what help could someone like him possibly offer them?
Yet, even the belief that they would definitely return was wearing thin within Baek Manyong's heart as the days stretched past a month and a half.
He couldn't bear it unless he exhausted every possible means to search the Mystic Realm.
"You'll receive the news you're waiting for soon enough. More importantly, have you been eating?"
The Jang Clan Head approached Baek Manyong and extended his hand. A blue healing light emanated from the old man's fingertips, enveloping Baek Manyong before slowly fading.
"Thank you, but you needn't do this for me. Elder Myoungyoon is heading to the Ju Clan territory today, so if it's alright with you, please use your Spiritual Power on him. The Elders must be worried sick after the past month."
"Still, he looks more human than you do. You're acting Clan Head of the Six Clans right now. Don't forget that taking care of yourself is also part of your duties."
"You worry too much. I won't collapse until the Clan Head returns, so don't worry."
"…Is Elder Myoungyoon going to the Ju Clan territory to find the culprit who set fire to the Mystic Ruler's mansion?"
"Yes. Judging by the various Spiritual Energy constructs used, it must have been someone of high rank. But we haven't found a single trace, even after identifying all of the Mystic Ruler's escaped followers. Someone must be hiding them."
"…"
"There must have been a reason why he burned all those servants alive. I intend to find him, whoever he is, and thoroughly interrogate him to uncover whatever secrets he's hiding, and how many more there are."
A deep worry, like a still lake, settled between the Jang Clan Head's wrinkled eyes.
How long had he known this young Chancellor? He had grown so much, so strong, as if he had transformed from a boy into a man in an instant.
However, he couldn't say whether this was a good thing. A cruel killing intent lingered in Baek Manyong's tired eyes whenever he handed down a punishment.
The Baek Clan Head had left this man in charge before, but it hadn't been like this.
Back then, the atmosphere seemed to improve when Madam Cheon said he would return and to trust and wait for him.
But it had already been a month. Everyone was harboring the unsettling thought: if he truly intended to return, could he have vanished without a trace like this?
What more could the Jang Clan Head say in this situation?
He was about to offer empty words of comfort, saying he would inform him as soon as any news arrived and to not overwork himself, when—
The screams from outside turned into a chilling laugh.
"Haha! How long do you think you can keep this up?! Now that the Baek Clan Head is dead, how long do you think you can act so high and mighty?!"
The criminal standing at the judgment stand laughed derisively.
"Didn't you hear what the Corrupt Dragon said? The daughter of that Elder who betrayed the Ju Clan, despite being of Ju Clan blood! And your Clan Head! Weren't they shattered and annihilated?! If not, why hasn't your Clan Head appeared yet?!"
Baek Manyong's gaze turned icy cold.
"How can they let him spout such nonsense without cutting out his tongue? The warriors are failing at their duties."
"Chancellor."
Baek Manyong quietly stood up, retrieved a bow and arrow from the wall, and approached the open window.
The criminal at the judgment stand spotted him at the window before anyone else.
"Questioning our crimes? Instead of doing this, why don't you take these useless warriors and search for traces of your Clan Head?! That way, you might be able to salvage at least a fragment of his shattered soul?!"
The Ju Clan member's eyes gleamed as he burst into a fit of laughter.
"Shattered to pieces and annihilated, and thus, never to be found…"
He was already doomed, no matter what he said or how he tried to justify himself. That merciless Baek Clan Chancellor would tear him apart anyway.
In that case—
"Those shattered soul fragments, I tell you!"
"That, that bastard!"
Unable to bear the curse-like words, the Jang Clan Head's face contorted in rage, and he stormed out of the room, yelling that he would go to the judgment stand and beat the criminal to death.
But Baek Manyong, who should have been the most enraged, stood silently, not even raising the bow he had retrieved.
He simply stared at the criminal, without anger or shouting, his bloodshot eyes filled with despair that he had been masking with killing intent.
"How long do you think the Six Clans can remain the Six Clans without a Divine Beast?! In time, you too will crumble and follow in the Ju Clan's footsteps! Haha!"
Thick blood welled up inside Baek Manyong's tightly clenched jaw.
He was good at waiting. Throughout the decade-long war, he had managed everything while waiting for his Clan Head.
If he could just return. If he was still alive. If he could just come back alive… If only I had that assurance, I could wait a hundred, two hundred years.
But the unanswerable question was quickly breaking him down, and the criminal had sensed it. If so, the entire Baek Clan must be realizing it too.
How could he call himself the one entrusted with supporting the Clan Head in this state? He felt so pathetic.
He should be handling the tasks entrusted to him even more diligently in times like these, but he wasn't.
"Even so…"
Suppressing the surging heat within him, he slowly raised his bow.
"I won't let a filthy tongue like yours speak of him so carelessly."
He notched an arrow, its tip gleaming ominously, and aimed it at the criminal.
The criminal, already resigned to his fate, let out a delighted chuckle, finding Baek Manyong's despair more gratifying than the prospect of being pierced by an arrow. Just then—
Ding.
A sound reached their ears.
De-ring.
"?!"
What was that?
The faint sound seemed to come from right next to them, yet also seemed to resonate through the air itself.
It resembled the sound of dripping water striking stone, yet it was unlike any other sound he had ever heard.
"!!!!"
Baek Manyong lunged towards the window. His trembling gaze darted around frantically.
…Could it be?
Ding.
Could it be?!
Not satisfied with just one, Baek Manyong rushed to all the windows in his office and threw them open.
He scanned the sky, the earth, and everything around him with his shaking eyes.
At that moment—
A long rainbow stretched across the high sky, descending towards White Stone Pavilion, a place filled with the stench of blood and an unsettling atmosphere.
The clear, cloudless sky hadn't seen a single drop of rain, yet a vast, vibrant rainbow poured down towards White Stone Pavilion.
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