Chapter 516: Just Let Me Hold It Once. (23)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 516: Just Let Me Hold It Once. (23)
By noon, the incident that had erupted during the night had thrown the entire clan into an uproar.
For the moment, the commotion was contained within the Tang Clan's walls. But how long could that last? If the Poison King failed to control the narrative, it would only be a matter of time before the news spread throughout Sichuan and then across the entire Central Plains.
This was that kind of scandal.
In fact… it’s probably inevitable.
How could it not be? The truth was out: the Tang Clan had been secretly conducting human experiments. Unless the rumors were ruthlessly suppressed, their exposure was only a matter of time.
The captured First Elder, desperate for forgiveness, confessed to everything. He laid bare the evil deeds committed over the past hundred years, all under the banner of elevating the Tang Clan to the greatest of the noble clans. The Celestial Martial Body Plan, so often mentioned in whispers, was finally revealed in its horrifying entirety.
It was far more horrific than I’d imagined.
In my past life, the evidence had been systematically erased, leaving only faint traces. I had only ever glimpsed a fragment of the truth. Now, I was witnessing it firsthand within the depths of the Tang Clan's basement.
I remembered the mountain of demon corpses, all steeped in poison, so numerous they filled the vast underground space. That part, I didn't particularly care about. Experiments on demons? It was a common, if dark, practice. The Moyong Clan kept demons to harvest silk, and even the Murim Alliance conducted regular experiments. Such a thing wouldn't cause an uproar, and there would certainly be no need to hide it from the clan lord.
So, what was the real problem?
Human experiments.
Yes, that was it.
Around the time we subdued the First Elder and recovered the unconscious Heavenly Venerable… Ah, by then, the eerie fire clinging to the Heavenly Venerable’s body had gone out. Strangely, it extinguished the moment the Poison King arrived. I wondered if my father had something to do with it, but I couldn't be sure.
Anyway.
When the Poison King delved into the Tang Clan’s basement, and then even deeper… a scene unfolded that made even my father frown. The thick, coppery scent of blood that stung my nose—I finally found its source behind a tightly sealed and boarded-up door.
When we forced it open, the sight inside made everyone clamp their hands over their mouths. The floor was completely hidden, buried under a mountain of… something. It took a moment to realize it was human flesh. Bodies, rotted and decayed, mangled beyond recognition. The blood had long since dried and hardened. Unidentifiable fragments of flesh were putrefying, emitting a foul stench so potent it was physical.
“Uuugh…!”
One of the martial artists behind me retched. These were the Poison King’s swordsmen, men accustomed to the horrors of battle, yet even they couldn't stomach it. The sight was that nauseating.
Just then.
Ssk.
My father placed a hand on my back. A moment later, I felt a thin barrier form around my body. Only then did I realize the air in this chamber was thick with a dense, venomous Qi.
Fwoosh-!
A wind blew. I watched as the poisonous Qi permeating the room was violently sucked toward a single point. It was the Poison King’s doing. He was gathering the ambient poison into one spot.
Fascinating.
It must be a unique Tang Clan martial art. Just as the Gu Clan mastered heat, they must have their own methods for controlling poison. Soon, the toxic air was gone, leaving the gruesome feast of corpses and the various sinister mechanisms that hinted at the experiments conducted here.
I already knew what it all meant. The First Elder had confessed. Besides, a pile of bodies like this didn't stir much emotion in me. I had seen far worse in my past life. This was nothing.
Of course, that was just my perspective. For the Poison King and the others, it was a different story.
Grind.
A harsh, grating sound came from the Poison King’s clenched fist. It was the sound of a man who wanted to reduce everything to dust but was forcing himself to hold back. I could hear him forcibly steadying his breathing, wrestling with the torrent of emotions.
After a few seconds of tense silence, the Poison King spoke, his voice strained.
“Could you… please… give us a moment alone…?”
He was addressing my father and me. The request took me by surprise.
He’s trying to send us away.
Anyone could see this was damning evidence of the Tang Clan’s crimes, hidden in their own basement. Whether the Poison King was involved or not, trying to dismiss witnesses was a risky move. He had to know that. Had he lost his composure completely?
I was staring at him with a puzzled expression when my father spoke.
“I will do so.”
He agreed without hesitation. It felt slightly unsettling, but if my father said it was fine, I had nothing more to say. I turned to follow him as he walked away, but I glanced back one last time at the Poison King’s back.
Most members of the Tang Clan were relatively small in stature, a clan characteristic. Perhaps because of that, the Poison King’s back looked unusually small and burdened. For some reason, that sight bothered me.
Afterward, we went upstairs but couldn't return to our quarters. Given the circumstances, we had to wait in the main building. From there, events unfolded with remarkable speed.
The captured First Elder was relentlessly spewing the truth.
“…The Third and Fourth Elders are involved in this matter.”
“Everything was for the will of the Poison Emperor….”
“So that the Tang Clan could become the greatest of the noble clans….”
He claimed it was all for the clan's glory. The current Tang Clan, in his eyes, was not a true noble clan. How could a clan that had lost its martial prowess be considered great? That was the crux of the First Elder’s fervent argument.
It had all started after the Tang Clan began dealing in iron. The point at which they had turned away from their original martial ambition—a change initiated by the Poison King’s father, the previous lord. The elders who opposed this shift decided to take matters into their own hands, and now their scheme had exploded in their faces.
That was the long and short of it. It wasn't a particularly novel or interesting story.
I told him to speak his heart, so it doesn’t seem like a lie.
Thanks to the shackle I’d placed on him, his words couldn't be false. Yet, for all his sincerity, it all sounded so hollow and futile.
Up to a point, it was somewhat tolerable. Even when he confessed that the disappearances in Sichuan over the past few years were the Tang Clan’s doing. Even when he admitted they had used those people for their experiments. Even when he spouted the nonsense that he had to act because the current lord lacked ability.
The Poison King, who had been listening with barely restrained fury, finally snapped.
“Immediately after the drug was perfected… we were going to use the Young Lady to… to show the world…”
Chwaaak-!
The moment he heard the plan involved kidnapping Tang Soyeol and forcing the completed drug on her, the Poison King swung a sword—a weapon he never used—and personally beheaded the First Elder.
Blood splattered across the floor. The atmosphere turned to ice at the Poison King’s first public display of such brutal violence. His face was twisted like a demon’s as he ground his teeth and snarled at the Tang Clan martial artists, “Bring me the Third and Fourth Elders.”
The sight was terrifying. But my surprise was for a different reason.
Ah, he wasn’t supposed to kill him.
I was shocked that he had killed the First Elder. There was still so much more information to extract. I hadn't managed to learn everything before the Poison King’s arrival. His impulsive act had made things rather troublesome for me.
…Dammit.
Still, it wasn't a total loss. I had learned one crucial thing: if the Demonic Human transformation succeeded, it could apparently restore a broken mind to some extent.
As the First Elder’s head rolled across the floor and the martial artists scrambled to obey the Poison King’s command, I decided to leave. Staying any longer would be awkward. Things were about to get very noisy.
I thought my father might follow, so I turned to ask him.
“Go on ahead.”
He spoke first, as if he had read my mind.
“…What about you, Lord?”
What was he planning to do? When I asked, he looked at me with an expression of faint disapproval.
What? Did I do something wrong?
As I watched him cautiously, he spoke.
“Address me properly.”
“Pardon?”
“This is not the Gu Clan.”
“…What does that…”
It was a strange thing to say. What else was I supposed to call the clan lord but ‘Lord’? After a moment's thought, the only other word that came to mind slipped out.
“Father…?”
“...”
Hearing it, my father gave a slight nod. So that was the right answer? I didn't understand why it pleased him, but I moved on.
“Aren’t you coming with me?”
“The deal is not yet finished.”
“A deal?”
As I looked at him, puzzled, he began to walk away. A telepathic message brushed against my ear.
-I made a deal with the Poison King. If I help him with this matter, he will grant us priority trading rights with the Tang Clan.
My eyes widened.
Wait, when did he make a deal like that…?
And by ‘this matter,’ did he mean…
Capturing the elders?
The thought struck me, and I quickly glanced at the Poison King.
That man, did he really call my father here with this in mind?
No wonder he’s handling this cleanup so publicly.
For a matter like this, the standard procedure is a quiet, surprise attack. Handling it so openly risked the culprits fleeing. I had thought it strange.
That man…
The Poison King was a much more cunning serpent than I had thought. The reason for the public spectacle was undoubtedly to bolster his authority as lord. It was a display of power, a move to consolidate the fragments of the Tang Clan that would be left after he dealt with the elders.
Ha…
I let out a dry laugh, feeling like I’d been caught in a sticky web. The Poison King was far more capable than I had anticipated.
The only thing that worried me was…
Priority trading rights, he says.
For the Gu Clan, gaining priority trading rights with the clan that dominated the iron trade was immensely valuable. As far as I knew, those rights were currently held by the Murim Alliance.
Is it okay for the Gu Clan to take this?
Our collaboration with the Moyong Clan was already raising eyebrows. Snatching this from the Murim Alliance would make the Gu Clan overwhelmingly powerful. A single clan becoming so massive was the last thing the Alliance would want.
…Well, Father will take care of it.
I quickly dismissed the thought. My father would handle it. If things got complicated, Lady Mi would inevitably step in and resolve it.
I watched my father leisurely disappear to hunt down the elders, then started walking again. My destination was already set.
“Oh, Young Master…?”
It was a residence set a little apart from the main building. I saw a woman petting a wolf that looked vaguely familiar. The woman was, of course, Tang Soyeol. This was her home.
Tang Soyeol smiled brightly upon seeing my sudden visit. Her smile seemed genuine, yet it was tinged with a shadow that bothered me. It was something I had been subtly concerned about, and now it stood out even more.
“What brings you here?”
“Just wondering what you were up to.”
It was the middle of the Poison King’s purge, but Tang Soyeol’s reaction suggested she was completely unaware. The senses of the guards around here are sharper than usual, too. The number of martial artists standing watch around her residence had doubled, and their cultivation levels were noticeably higher. They were prepared for any eventuality, but had kept her in the dark.
As if to confirm this, a Tang Clan martial artist reacted nervously to my appearance.
-Young Master Gu….
-I already know. Don’t worry.
-…
He was probably about to warn me not to mention the First Elder, so I cut him off.
“Ah, Young Master. This is the wolf I’m raising. Isn’t he cute?” Tang Soyeol, simply happy to see me, introduced the large, black-furred wolf she was petting. Well, how should I put it?
“…It looks like a real punk.”
There was something about its smug face I just didn't like.
Grrrr…!
The wolf bared its teeth as if it understood me. This little bastard? I was about to glare back to put it in its place when Tang Soyeol quickly raised a hand.
“That’s what’s cute about him!”
“…Ah, right.”
Fine. If she thought it was cute, that was all that mattered. I couldn't very well criticize her pet. After all, I was the one raising a strange snake myself.
Come to think of it, I never gave that guy a name.
I thought of the former Red Water Snake, probably sleeping in my quarters right now. I’d kept it because it was helpful and intelligent, but I’d never gotten around to naming it. What should I call it? The deliberation was short.
Let’s go with Smarty.
Since he’s a smart guy who helps me out, Smarty it is.
-Shaaaaa!
I seemed to hear an auditory hallucination of Smarty screaming from somewhere. Must be my imagination.
I gave a slight nod and looked at Tang Soyeol.
“The reason I came is, well, I have something to ask you.”
“Me?”
“Yeah.”
Her light green eyes, only one of which was colored. I looked into them and asked.
“By any chance, do you want to become stronger?”
“…Pardon?”
Even I had to admit it was a completely random question.