Chapter 33
Chapter 33
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 33
Chapter Title: Destined to Hack Themselves
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After the sparring match ended, as I lowered my spear and caught my breath, Dang Gon suddenly asked me,
“You planning to keep squeezing the Great Madam forever?”
“Hmm, who knows. For life?”
*Broth won’t come out anymore, so we gotta milk it till the bone’s riddled with holes!*
*Exactly! Squeeze her dry like that! That’s our Little Sect Leader!!*
But Dang Gon’s expression soured.
This guy’s real reason for coming here wasn’t the sparring at all.
“What? Did the Branch Leader say something?”
“No, it’s not that—”
Unlike his usual self, Dang Gon hesitated a bit before letting out a light sigh and continuing.
“I just can’t figure out what you’re thinking at all.”
“Because I keep tangling with the Great Madam?”
“You’ve heard the rumors floating around the estate lately, then.”
“How could I not?”
Lately, a ghost of a rumor had been haunting the estate among the stewards and servants, all about me.
—Young Master Unhwi and the Great Madam have decided to bury their past grudges.
—The Great Madam’s side has been sending gifts and support to Young Master Unhwi, who’s deeply grateful.
But the biggest one was this.
—Young Master Unhwi plans to renounce his succession rights during the Clan Head’s visit.
Naturally, it stemmed from Namgung San-yeong’s camp.
Since I’d been mooching off her(?) all this time, they were stirring up public opinion in advance like this.
And sure enough, positive reactions toward her had started popping up lately.
Rumors spread that she was desperately trying to embrace her illegitimate son, and word even went around that she’d personally visited Dang Yuchang—whom I’d beaten in sparring—to apologize.
“You’re not thinking of actually giving up your succession rights, are you?”
“Why not? Could be too much hassle.”
“Yeah, right.”
He knew my personality too well by now, so he picked up on the weird vibes right away.
“What are you aiming for?”
“I made a promise to my father last time we met.”
Dang Gon’s eyes lit up in an instant.
“What is it?”
“To cut off the White Bone Net Sorcerer’s head.”
“White Bone Net Sorcerer? White Bone? Sounds familiar. Hmm?”
Dang Gon tilted his head, then suddenly widened his eyes.
“You don’t mean the White Bone Net Sorcerer of Black Bone Ghost Valley, do you?”
“Yeah.”
As someone who’d fought on the front lines against the Demonic Cult in his youth, Dang Gon clearly knew all about the White Bone Net Sorcerer.
“That guy was definitely in the Heavenly Mountains—”
He trailed off, then his eyes sank deep as realization hit.
“—So the outside force colluding with the Great Madam is him.”
“Father didn’t tell you?”
“I only heard the broad strokes. I hate headaches like political infighting. But looks like I can’t avoid it now.”
He’d probably only caught the big details about the Dark Lord’s assassination attempt and glossed over the rest.
Before becoming my martial uncle, Dang Gon had lived like a layabout, barely noticeable, so it was par for the course.
But the moment he heard “White Bone Net Sorcerer,” his gaze sharpened.
Like a beast facing a mortal enemy.
This must be the true gaze of the Fierce Wind Knight Dang Gon.
“Then, Lady Gyujin not showing up at the White Hall lately—”
“Sister doesn’t know the full details. But she’s sensed the Great Madam teaming up with someone to target me, and she’s investigating on her own.”
A wraith I’d assigned to her had tipped me off.
Her talk of my “past” had struck me as odd, but it seemed she planned to erase all the bad blood with the old “Dang Unhwi” by suppressing it.
Thanks to that, she was digging into Namgung San-yeong’s backers at a frightening pace.
Finding the shrine where the White Bone Net Sorcerer hid was probably just a matter of time.
“…Lady Gyujin’s going to be shocked beyond belief when she finds out.”
“Yeah, probably.”
Lady Dang Gyujin was a Daoist of the Qingcheng Sect.
She’d tremble at the mere thought of demonic arts.
What reaction would she have upon learning the truth?
And when she found out her parents were locked in political strife?
“Sister’s avoiding me because she feels guilty. She’s trying to atone for her birth mother’s sins in her place.”
What a foolishly kind person.
Even though I wasn’t the real “Dang Unhwi”—or rather, especially because I wasn’t—I pitied her.
That’s why I felt compelled to look out for her amid this mess.
“So how do you plan to take down the White Bone Net Sorcerer? You might not know, but the Ghost Art formations of Black Bone Ghost Valley turn their bases into fortresses. Step in carelessly, and you’re in deep trouble.”
It wasn’t just the Ghost Art formations; the White Bone Net Sorcerer’s skills were nothing to scoff at either.
Even with my mid dantian open, he was a match for the Fifteenth Protector who’d equaled the Four Great Swordsmen—I couldn’t hunt him down easily.
*Little Sect Leader could crush such obstacles blindfolded, but if this lowly demon may humbly suggest—*
*What does a green pup like you know, yapping away!*
*Hey! Shut it!*
*Fourteenth! Fourteenth! Can’t you control your junior?*
*M-My apologies! You brat! Looks like we’re doing some brotherly special training tonight!*
*Th-That’s!!*
*Quiet down. Let me hear this.*
*Understood!*
*Excellent! What are you waiting for, runt? Report to the Little Sect Leader!*
Amid the wraiths’ flawless pivot, the Fifteenth shuffled forward hesitantly.
*Master… no, White Bone continued gathering ritual tools even after Little Sect Leader vanished, pioneering the Realm of Illusory Mirrors. With Ghost Arts added, he’s like a ghost god.*
Like a ghost god?
People might lump ghosts with spirits or wraiths.
But even if their rank was low, they were still a type of god.
Part of the realm of supernatural might, not to be taken lightly.
Of course, as the Ghost King, such ghosts couldn’t touch me lightly, but the issue was I hadn’t fully regained my past life’s power—and the White Bone Net Sorcerer wasn’t a “real” ghost.
There’s a world of difference between “like a ghost god” and “is a ghost god.”
Charging into the shrine recklessly was too risky.
That’s why even when the main house poked at the branch pastures, they couldn’t strike the shrine—and why I was taking my time shaking Namgung San-yeong.
“Know the most efficient way to strike an enemy?”
*Gasp! That smile again!*
*Ahem! Ahem!*
As I curled my lips into a grin, Dang Gon flinched and stepped back.
“Wha… t?”
“Make them turn on each other. Then the blade that grows from within will hack them up on its own.”
Dang Gon’s eyes widened slightly.
* * *
Namgung San-yeong’s rage always vented on the innocent furnishings of her inner quarters.
Crash!
“Bring it! I said bring it!”
“No. No more.”
Even under Namgung San-yeong’s fierce threats, the man didn’t blink.
His name was Mu-yeong.
Known in the Nine Dragons Branch Family as the Red Hall’s protector for Dang Yuchang, he was actually the South Palace Clan’s intermediary puppet-master for Namgung San-yeong.
He’d introduced her to the White Bone Net Sorcerer, whispered to exile Unhwi, egged her on to seize the Nine Dragons Branch Family while providing all sorts of support.
Inevitably, with her funds dried up, Namgung San-yeong now turned to Mu-yeong.
At first, he’d lent her money.
He wasn’t blind to the changes centering on Unhwi, and for the grand plan to succeed, Namgung San-yeong had to keep her grip on the Nine Dragons Branch Family—so he’d accommodated her.
But as the debt snowballed, he could no longer funnel funds.
Even his own resources were running thin.
“You mocking me too? I’m the lady of the Nine Dragons Branch Family! Mother to the blood of the Great South Palace, future head of the Dang Clan!!”
*She’s completely lost it.*
Mu-yeong clicked his tongue inwardly.
She’d always been a greedy woman beyond her station.
But at least she’d known her limits.
Now even that was gone; she was deep in paranoid delusions.
*Once this is over, time to scrap her immediately.*
Still, he couldn’t do it yet, so his gaze turned icy.
“Good timing—word came from the main clan this morning.”
“…What?”
Namgung San-yeong’s roar faded.
Her eyes shook.
*Classic knee-jerk.*
This arrogant woman was just a mouse before the clan.
Mu-yeong’s lips twisted further.
“No matter what, make Lady Gyujin the successor to the Dang Clan head, and Young Master Yuchang to the Nine Dragons Branch Family. The Dark Lord’s visit is the perfect chance—don’t miss it.”
“!!”
“I’ll share what happens that day separately.”
Whoosh!
Mu-yeong vanished.
Namgung San-yeong muttered dazedly to herself.
“The South Palace… the South Palace is abandoning me… Why… me….”
She didn’t know about the Dark Lord’s assassination plot.
But she was certain the South Palace Clan and Demonic Cult were plotting something massive together.
And that she was their mere figurehead.
So after it all ended?
She’d be discarded, of course.
Kill to silence, abandon the dog after the deed. Those phrases weren’t coined for nothing.
“I’ve lived for the South Palace all these years… How could the South Palace treat me like this…!”
First Unhwi, then the White Bone Net Sorcerer, now even the South Palace Clan.
Namgung San-yeong felt cornered.
She’d believed her birth family would protect her no matter what, but that illusion shattered. The lifeline she’d trusted was rotten through.
One thought consumed her.
—I have to find a way to survive.
Then another followed.
—The South Palace I trusted, the Demonic Cult too—they treat me like a disposable pawn. Why can’t I do the same?
At that, clarity returned to Namgung San-yeong’s previously foggy eyes.
Borrow a knife to kill, as they say.
If she couldn’t cope with her own strength, she’d borrow someone else’s blade.
By dawn, when all eyes were gone, Namgung San-yeong slipped out of her quarters to the White Hall.
Flying Stream Divine Technique.
A South Palace Clan art she hadn’t properly practiced since marrying in.
Thud!
“Even as the lady of the Nine Dragons Branch Family, is it really okay to sneak around like a wall-climbing thief?”
Unhwi chuckled as he stepped down from his bed.
His attitude screamed he’d been waiting.
Namgung San-yeong realized this was another of Unhwi’s schemes.
From start to finish, she’d been dancing in the palm of his hand.
But she wasn’t angry anymore.
Just empty.
*Go ahead… laugh it up. I’ll lay everything at your feet, even my secrets. But I’ll have the last laugh—in ten years, twenty, whatever it takes—*
Namgung San-yeong dropped to her knees and bowed her head.
“Save me.”
“Anyone hearing would think I’m the one threatening my own mother.”
“I’ll grovel if you say grovel. Kneel if you say kneel. I’ll do anything you ask—just let me live.”
“What if I say give up the successor spot?”
“…I’ll do that too. I’ll convince Gyujin and Yuchang. No—I'll renounce all my rights while I’m at it. If you want, I’ll even step down as Great Madam and seclude myself in the mountains forever. Just spare my life, please.”
Unconditional surrender.
She’d lost even the last spark driving her.
But she knew without this, she and her children faced only ruin—no succession mattered then.
“Now we can finally talk comfortably.”
Unhwi smiled.
At last, it was in his grasp.
A blade to hack the White Bone Net Sorcerer from the inside.