Chapter 154
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 154
Chapter Title: Sowing the Seeds (4)
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“……So.”
A look of astonishment settled on Geumranhwa's face.
“You wiped out three assassin organizations in the south, hired the remaining three to block the roads to Sichuan, and threatened the Lower Five Gates to abduct that man?”
“That’s right.”
She couldn't tell if this man was the Cult Leader's disciple, a common ruffian, or a brilliant strategist.
“Young Master.”
“Speak.”
“I admit you made the best possible move in the shortest amount of time to get results.”
“Thank you for the compliment.”
“However.”
An undeniable look of panic appeared on Geumranhwa's face.
“That man isn't just a Tang Clan member, he's the Lord of the Poison Dragon Pavilion of the Tang Clan!”
The Poison Dragon Pavilion was the organization that researched the Tang Clan's poisons.
Countless poisons were created in the Poison Dragon Pavilion, along with their antidotes. It could be said to be a core organization of the Tang Clan, alongside the Dark Cloud Pavilion, which manufactured all sorts of hidden weapons.
“Isn't that even better?”
“Pardon?”
“Someone of the Poison Dragon Pavilion Lord's stature would surely know how to create the antidote for the Immortal's Ruin. Didn't I bring back the right person?”
“The Lord of the Poison Dragon Pavilion is the Tang Clan Lord's brother!”
“Then why did you, Lord Geum, come to the Red Snake House to uphold your loyalty?”
“What?”
“Wasn't it because the Red Snake House was also your comrade?”
“……!”
“The Sword Palace attacked the Red Snake House? That's right. But the reason they were able to take control so easily was thanks to the Tang Clan's poison.”
The Vice Lord, Mok Gang-in, was clearly a formidable master.
But if they hadn't brought the Immortal's Ruin, the Red Snake House would have been able to fend them off easily enough.
The damage might have been great, but they wouldn't have suffered such a devastating blow as they did now.
“Lord Geum, you seem worried about the aftermath of kidnapping the Lord of the Poison Dragon Pavilion, but you aren't considering what's more important.”
“……”
“The Tang Clan is our enemy as well. They empowered our foes, causing great harm to the demonic martial world. Besides, aren't they the ones who started this fight?”
Geumranhwa's eyes wavered.
Seo Ryang smiled coldly.
“The bastards of the Tang Clan have a saying: repay kindness twofold, and wrongs tenfold. I'm different. I may not repay kindness, but I'm the type who won't be satisfied until I've repaid a wrong tenfold, even twentyfold.”
He looked down at the tightly bound middle-aged man beside him.
The middle-aged man, who looked like he had been thoroughly beaten, glared up at Seo Ryang with venomous eyes.
His internal energy seemed to be sealed, and his appearance, bound by thick ropes and slumped on the ground, was quite pathetic.
“To worry about the future when we should be cutting off his limbs to feed the dogs… That's not something the Lord of one of the Seven Houses should say.”
Harsh.
The Third Young Master was harsher and more unconventional than any demonic practitioner she had ever seen.
At the same time, his way of thinking was befitting of a demonic practitioner. If you can't strike first, that's one thing, but if you don't even take revenge after being struck, you're no longer a demonic practitioner.
After a moment of thought, Geumranhwa bowed her head.
“It seems I was the one who had lost my demonic nature, accustomed to peace. I apologize.”
“There's no need to go that far. What matters is what comes next.”
“Yes.”
Geumranhwa looked at the middle-aged man, Tang Gyeong.
“Then the problem is how to make this man talk.”
“How? We'll beat it out of him if we have to.”
“You know how secretive the Tangs are, don't you? They're a stubborn lot. They won't talk with ordinary torture or threats.”
“It's fine. I'm quite skilled at torturing people.”
“……Huh?”
“It's not something to brag about, but I've never seen anyone withstand my torture.”
It made sense. How desperately he had honed his skills, imagining his mortal enemy.
“In any case, just take it to mean my torture techniques are quite formidable.”
“I don't know what kind of techniques you have… but will they really work? This man, you can tell at a glance he's a tough one. He won't talk easily.”
Seo Ryang grinned.
“How significant can words from a loose, easy tongue be? It's the words from a heavy tongue that can truly shake the board.”
“……!”
“Leave it to me. I'll find out the method for creating the antidote to the Immortal's Ruin by the end of today.”
* * *
The Lord of the Poison Dragon Pavilion, Tang Gyeong, was known as one of the most stubborn men in the Sichuan Tang Clan.
He was a man who wouldn't even speak to those outside the Clan Lord's bloodline, and his own martial arts were more than enough to be called a peak master.
Furthermore, his obsession with the poisons and antidotes he created was as strong as his profound knowledge of them. He was indeed a person worth Geumranhwa's concern.
However, her worries were dispelled in less than an hour.
“Here, this is it.”
“……!”
The blood-spattered paper was filled with countless characters.
Seo Ryang said, wiping the blood splattered on his face with a handkerchief.
“I left him alive just in case, but this should be genuine.”
“How……”
“Pardon?”
“H-how did you make him talk? And in such a short time?”
Seo Ryang chuckled.
“It's simple. My torture techniques were just vicious enough to open his heavy tongue.”
Geumranhwa felt a chill run down the back of her neck.
It wasn't because he had tortured a man into a bloody mess.
‘This man is truly…’
In his mid-twenties. And she had heard that just two years ago, he had suffered from qi deviation and lost all the martial arts he had originally learned.
‘Truly…’
Yet he had regained his martial arts at a frightening pace, reaching the state of Extreme Demonic, the pinnacle of Demonic Arts, in just two years.
Even among those demonic practitioners called geniuses, many had tasted the bitter cup of failure, yet he had risen to the ranks of the greatest masters in the demonic martial world before he was even thirty.
‘He's dangerous!’
That's why he was dangerous.
It wasn't because he was young, nor was it because of his growth that defied common sense.
‘I can't possibly think of him as a young man.’
Despite being an absolute master who had reached the supreme realm of Extreme Demonic, he didn't act pompous or recklessly emit his aura to create an atmosphere of fear.
He never used his position to create absurd situations, nor did he ever pressure others with his authority.
One could see it as simply him upholding the virtues of a superior, but Geumranhwa thought differently.
‘He's frighteningly calm. That's why I can't predict what he'll do next.’
His mid-twenties was an age brimming with vigor. The way he sometimes acted did indeed make him seem like a young man of that age.
But he had never once wielded that immense power carelessly.
It would be normal for someone who reached such a high realm at a young age to become arrogant, but he showed no signs of it at all.
An experienced old veteran of the martial world in the guise of a young man.
But at times, an eccentric who seemed even more naive than a newcomer to the martial world.
In Geumranhwa's eyes, Seo Ryang didn't seem like a handsome young man, but a bizarre monster with countless faces.
“From what I can see, it doesn't require any particularly expensive medicinal herbs to make the antidote. The important thing is the mixture. He said that even the slightest mistake in adjusting the amounts will prevent it from working, so please keep that in mind.”
“Yes, I understand. And, Young Master.”
“Yes.”
“Thank you. For moving so quickly.”
Seo Ryang snorted.
“I only moved because I had no choice, to gobble up my thirty percent share. If it weren't for that, why would I have bothered running around like this?”
Geumranhwa smiled.
“That's quite different from what you said earlier. You were the one who rebuked me, talking about loyalty.”
“I was just talking. Don't mind it.”
“Are you embarrassed?”
Seo Ryang made a dumbfounded expression.
“Embarrassed? Me? Why?”
“I heard you had a rather ill-fated relationship with the Red Snake House in many ways. For you to embrace them like this...”
“It's not embracing, it's using. And it's not an ill-fated relationship, it's a good one. After all, they helped me.”
“Yes, I suppose that could be it.”
“I'm telling you, it's true.”
“I believe you.”
“You don't believe me, do you?”
“My, why are you getting angry?”
“I'm not ang—!”
Seo Ryang let out a deep sigh.
“Enough. Please focus on the antidote. Once the antidote is made, it will only be a matter of time before they regain their martial arts. Dongpil!”
Ma Dongpil came running from a distance.
“Did you call, Young Master?”
“Hey, you punk. You usually follow me around like a shadow even when I go to the latrine. Where have you been?”
“Ah, I was doing what you ordered me to do earlier, Young Master.”
“What I ordered?”
“Yes. You told me to gather the men and have them polish the rust off their weapons.”
“Oh, right.”
Geumranhwa chimed in.
“Polish the rust off? Why is that?”
Seo Ryang snorted repeatedly.
“These are men who were lying around like they were dead, afflicted by the Immortal's Ruin. Even if they regain their internal energy, their bodies will be stiff. How can they move properly? Holding a shiny weapon and running around a bit will lift their spirits and help them recover their old skills faster, won't it?”
“Aha?”
“Anyway, they're such a handful...”
For a moment, Seo Ryang looked at Geumranhwa with a disgruntled expression.
Geumranhwa was smiling slyly.
“You're truly a hard person to figure out.”
“What now?”
“Sometimes you're incredibly harsh, and other times you're like an innocent child.”
“How impudent.”
“And then sometimes, you're incredibly kind. Just now, Young Master, you seemed like a martial artist from the righteous faction, filled with chivalry.”
“Stop with the creepy talk.”
“Hoho.”
Seo Ryang patted Ma Dongpil's back.
“Leave the rest to the others. Let's get ready to leave.”
“Yes, Young Master.”
Geumranhwa, who had been laughing, was startled.
“You're leaving? Where to?”
“Where else? We have to go back to the main cult. The inspection ended a while ago.”
“But still… at least have a meal before you go.”
“No, thanks. Every time I look at the repaired buildings, I feel like the ancestors of the Red Snake House are glaring at me like they want to kill me. It's a real downer.”
Geumranhwa looked at Seo Ryang with a disappointed expression.
“I suppose it can't be helped.”
Seo Ryang cupped his fist.
“A lot has happened, but thanks to you, I've had some fun.”
“How can you say that? Rather, I am the one indebted to you, Young Master.”
“If you ever visit the Divine Cult, be sure to look for me. I'll treat you to a drink.”
“That's a tempting offer. I'll be sure to make time and visit soon.”
Seo Ryang raised his head.
“Then, farewell.”
And with that, the two left the Red Snake House.
Watching the two of them walk away, Geumranhwa couldn't stop the chuckles from escaping.
“Really… I can't tell who's from the righteous faction and who's from the demonic path anymore.”
* * *
The two were returning after a full three months since descending the mountain as inspectors.
The weather was sweltering under the scorching sun, and overgrown leaves slapped against their faces.
“It's summer now.”
“Yes, it is, Young Master.”
“When we get back, rest for a while. You've been through a lot following me.”
“Your words are too much, Young Master.”
“Right, I knew you'd say that.”
Seo Ryang smiled and looked up at the sky.
A cloudless sky, the scorching sun so bright it hurt his eyes.
“It's a fine sky.”
A sky that brought peace just by looking at it.
The smile on Seo Ryang's face gradually faded as his eyes grew cold.
‘Is it this hot where you are, too?’
The Righteous Heaven Alliance, the Iron Blood Fortress.
The two colossal factions involved in his death.
“……The seeds have been well sown. All that's left is for them to bloom.”
Seo Ryang murmured coldly.
“Run until the soles of your feet sweat, Vice-Sect Lord.”
On a hot day in the sixth month.
Seo Ryang returned to the Divine Cult.