Chapter 67
Chapter 67
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 67
Chapter Title: That Will Be Enough
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A deep silence fell once more between me and Dang Gyujin.
No words were exchanged, but more was said than in any conversation.
At that moment, Dang Gon, who had been sitting beside us, let out a low hum before speaking.
“A sword is a weapon. It has the sharpest edge, capable of slicing through anything and harming any foe. But because it lacks a will of its own, it becomes a divine blade or a demonic one depending on the hand that wields it, does it not?”
“Yeah. Exactly.”
In simple terms, I was saying I planned to use Dang Gyujin to cut down many things.
Naturally, Namgung San-yeong was no exception among them.
For now, she was confined with her limbs severed.
But given her personality, it wouldn’t be strange if she pulled some reckless stunt at any moment.
In that case, the blade that was Dang Gyujin would immediately be pointed at Namgung San-yeong.
It could even lead to the tragedy of a daughter striking down her own birth mother.
Dang Gyujin had grasped that meaning right away.
Did she really have the confidence to keep clashing with Namgung San-yeong like this?
“If you ever feel it’s too much, I’ll help you leave for a nunnery right now.”
“Before the ritual begins?”
“Yes. Before it does. As soon as possible.”
“……”
If Dang Gyujin let her emotions sway her and changed her mind midway, things would get messy.
I had no desire to kill her myself, but if she seemed like a risk, I’d eliminate her on the spot.
In the end, I had given Dang Gyujin a clear choice: one or the other.
“…You’re truly ruthless in moments like this.”
Dang Gyujin gave a bitter smile.
“And yet, I’ve consistently taken your side, even while clashing with Mother all this time.”
“I’m truly grateful for that. But when we go deeper than this, we must steel our hearts completely—that’s why I’m saying it.”
“No. You’re wrong.”
Dang Gyujin shook her head and continued.
“My resolve on that front was made long ago. If there’s one thing I learned the same in both the Tang Clan and the Qingcheng Sect…”
Her words carried weight.
“It’s righteousness.”
“!!”
“That’s the only standard for my judgment. Righteous or not. Just or unjust. If it’s the former, I’ll follow. If the latter—”
“You’ll refuse.”
“Exactly. So I already judged Mother’s actions as unrighteous, and I’ve been moving accordingly. If you doubt that conviction of mine, then forget any goodwill toward you—we’d have no choice but to part ways.”
Righteousness…
It was a topic I’d never even considered.
The “righteousness” proclaimed by the Central Plains folk I’d met so far always had a strong element of self-interest.
So hearing it would just make me scoff.
But the righteousness Dang Gyujin proclaimed felt different.
It resonated.
“I apologize. I spoke out of turn.”
It seemed I’d been the one mistaken.
She had boldly resolved to cut ties with even Cheonryun herself and take my hand, yet here I was casting doubt on it. It’d be weirder if she wasn’t upset.
I lowered my head.
There was nothing worse than questioning someone’s convictions.
Only then did Dang Gyujin soften her rigid expression.
“No. As the new Branch Leader, it’s natural you’d think that way. So I’ll do it. Become your sword.”
“Thank you—”
“But I have a condition.”
Her voice was firm.
I nodded.
“In this matter, no innocent retainers should get hurt. No one should suffer unjustly. Promise me that.”
“I promise.”
“And one more thing.”
“Yes.”
“Be a scoundrel.”
“?”
“If you’re going to wield this sword anyway, swing it around like a tyrant without a care for prying eyes.”
I couldn’t help but chuckle.
“Isn’t that my specialty?”
“That will be enough.”
Dang Gyujin nodded heavily, as if sealing a vow, and raised her cup.
An empty cup.
But now it held something new.
The liquor of conviction.
“Yunhwi, during this affair, I will be your sword alone—living and dying solely for you.”
“I’ll wield that sword well, without letting any blemish stain it.”
I smiled and raised my cup as well.
Mine was empty too.
Yet not truly empty.
Clink!
With a light toast, we raised our cups high.
Did she know?
She seemed to think she’d cast everything off and return to Qingcheng Mountain once this was over.
But I had no intention of ever letting her slip from my grasp.
“Don’t leave me out, or I’ll be jealous?”
Finally, Dang Gon grinned and clinked his own empty cup against ours.
If Dang Gyujin was a candidate for Left Envoy, then Dang Gon was the Radiant Right Envoy.
In the future of the Mythical Religion I envisioned, these two would stand at my left and right, guarding my back.
* * *
“Dang Yunhwi! Dang Yunhiii! You… You’ve finally…!!”
The news that Yunhwi had become the Branch Leader reached Namgung San-yeong as well.
Namgung San-yeong wanted to storm into the Nanxie Hall and demand answers from Dang Hosan.
With two legitimate heirs, how could he name a bastard as successor?
If those two lacked talent or virtue, it might be one thing, but they didn’t—how could he do this?
Even if she’d lost the power struggle to Yunhwi, wasn’t this too much?
She tried to leave the main hall to protest.
Clank!
But two guards at the main hall’s front gate blocked her path.
“You cannot leave.”
“Out of my way!”
“You cannot leave.”
“You insolent dogs! Do you know who I—”
“You cannot leave.”
“I said let me out!! I need to see the Branch Leader!”
No matter what she said, they repeated “You cannot leave” like parrots, arms folded behind their backs, showing no sign of yielding.
Enraged to the point of fury, Namgung San-yeong gathered her inner energy.
Heavenly Wind Palm Force.
The strongest palm technique a collateral branch of the South Palace Clan could learn.
But…
Whoosh…!
The moment the guards unfolded their arms and drew back their sleeves, the swirling aura centered on Namgung San-yeong shattered in an instant.
Her skin prickled. Breathing felt labored.
‘Poison qi!’
The guards were unleashing the poison qi of the Three Yang Poison Technique.
A technique Tang clansmen revealed only in duels to the death.
They were ready to strike her down if needed.
And she was the Grand Madam!
“This is your final warning. Return inside and rest. This is the Branch Leader’s order.”
“…Do you think you’ll get away with treating me, the Grand Madam, like this?”
“We are merely carrying out our orders.”
Their tone remained flat and emotionless, but Namgung San-yeong could read the suppressed anger within.
They no longer saw her as the Grand Madam.
They saw her as an enemy.
In the end, Namgung San-yeong had to withdraw her palm force and return to the main hall.
“…If this continues, I’ll really die. I’ll end up dead. Yunhwi, that bastard—if he hadn’t lied to me—”
From then on, Namgung San-yeong gnawed at her nails, tormented by anxiety.
Yunhwi taking the Branch Leader position was bad enough, but now she felt a crisis that Dang Hosan might kill her.
If mere guards treated her this harshly, would Dang Hosan be any different?
Having lived side by side with him for so long, Namgung San-yeong knew exactly what kind of man Dang Hosan was.
Once he deemed someone an enemy, he never forgave them.
Especially if they threatened the Tang Clan—he would eliminate them without fail.
So even if he left her alone now, he’d surely move to remove the after-risk later.
‘Yunhwi, that bastard’s the same. He said he’d spare me if I obeyed, but there’s been no word…! He’s planning to discard me like a worn-out shoe once I’ve served my purpose.’
In the end, she had only one way to survive.
‘I have to strike them first.’
Namgung San-yeong’s eyes gleamed coldly.
Of course, isolated as she was, she had no immediate means, so she’d have to think carefully.
‘I’ll play the fisher for the snipe and clam.’
Yunhwi had profited alone by pitting her against the White Bone Net Sect.
Then couldn’t she use Yunhwi the same way this time?
By clashing the Tang Clan against the Demonic Cult.
If Yunhwi and Dang Hosan died in the process, and the Demonic Cult took heavy losses, the Nine Dragons Branch Family succession would naturally fall to Dang Gyujin or Dang Yuchang.
‘But to do that, I need to somehow reach out to my family… Muyoung is already dead. What now?’
When Muyoung and his cohorts—who’d felt like chains binding her—had died, it had been so refreshing. But now that she needed them, they were nowhere to be found.
Just then.
“Mother, your son has come.”
The main hall door opened, and Dang Yuchang entered.
“My son! How did you—”
“I begged Father for permission. More importantly, are you alright? Your face looks so pale.”
Dang Yuchang embraced her.
Tears welled up in Namgung San-yeong’s eyes for a moment.
“How could your father do this to me—”
“I resent Father too. Mother, you were only trying to protect your children… And Sister is too much! Who got us into this mess, and she doesn’t even visit?!”
Dang Yuchang pounded his chest in frustration.
The surveillance on the main hall didn’t stop there.
The same was happening at his Red Chamber Hall.
It wasn’t a full confinement order like Namgung San-yeong’s, but it was no different.
He had communicated most with the South Palace Clan on her behalf, so they suspected he might still have an undiscovered secret channel.
“Sister… Yes, you have a sister. But not anymore. Your sister is already dead.”
“Mother…”
“More importantly, let’s talk of other things. Has that bastard son oppressed you at all? Are you hurt anywhere?”
“Your son is still fine.”
Still.
The weight of that word hung heavy.
Dang Yuchang’s face hardened.
“But now that rootless bastard has seized power, won’t he come for us mother and son eventually?”
“Then—”
“I have a certain medicine.”
Dang Yuchang checked for any hidden presences nearby, then quietly drew a small glass vial from his bosom.
A murky liquid sloshed inside.
“What… is that?”
“Crane Crest Red, which I secretly found in Muyoung’s quarters.”
“Crane Crest Red?!”
“Yes. Exactly. A deadly poison extracted from the crest of the Blood Crane.”
“!!”
The Blood Crane was a spirit beast barely found in the even more southern Nanman region beyond Yunnan.
Boasting red feathers like its name “blood-red crane,” it carried deadly venom in its crest, making it a target for many poison masters.
Long extinct now, poisons from its crest fetched prices beyond gold, and Crane Crest Red was that venom refined with various drugs to maximize its lethality.
“It seems Muyoung kept it for emergencies. What if we used it on the bastard?”
“…He’d die.”
“That’s what I think. No matter how strong he’s become—taking down the White Bone Net Sect or the Northern Wind Ghosts—he can’t escape Crane Crest Red’s clutches. Even the former Demonic Cult Young Lord is said to have died from it.”
Crane Crest Red was known to fell even supreme masters.
Unless the Dark Lord intervened personally, Yunhwi would have no choice but to die.
“If only the bastard dies, everything resolves itself, Mother.”
Dang Yuchang’s eyes glittered with madness.
Namgung San-yeong swallowed dryly.
Was it really alright to let this proceed?
She herself had been thinking of killing Yunhwi just moments ago.
But now that it came to actually plotting it, doubts flooded her mind—not just one or two.
‘Can we really kill that inhuman monster? Truly?’
She recalled Yunhwi’s face, laughing uproariously right in front of her.
The sight of him returning with the White Bone Net Sect leader’s head impaled on a spear.
None of it seemed human.
Somehow, she felt even if he drank the Crane Crest Red, he wouldn’t die—instead, he’d come back from the afterlife laughing mockingly.
That was how immense the fear Yunhwi instilled in Namgung San-yeong.
The real problem was after he died.
Would Dang Hosan just sit still?
What about Dang Gon and the Gale Force members who’d shown allegiance to him? Wouldn’t Dang Gyujin try to uncover the truth somehow?
If even a shred of evidence remained, the Dark Lord might investigate personally—
“Mother.”
As Namgung San-yeong’s mind grew tangled, Dang Yuchang suddenly seized her hands.
Her eyes widened.
“Don’t try to solve everything at once. Take it one step at a time, slowly.”
“…Slowly?”
“Yes. Once the bastard dies, succession will inevitably fall to me. Then I can handle things to my taste. Purge rotten elements like the Gale Force, join hands with the South Palace Clan and devour the Tang Clan anew. I’ll rescue you then too.”
No matter what, nothing could begin without Yunhwi’s death first.
In the end, Namgung San-yeong sorted through her thoughts and nodded, gripping Dang Yuchang’s hands tightly.
“I understand. I’ve only shown you weakness until now.”
“No. You’ve always been my guiding light, Mother. This time, I’ll be the light for you.”
Never had her son seemed so reliable.
“But how do you plan to get the Crane Crest Red into the bastard? He won’t go down easy.”
“That’s why I need your active help, Mother.”
“My help?”
“Yes. The route you used to poison him before—isn’t it still in the White Hall?”
Faces of Hyungsam and a few maids flashed through Namgung San-yeong’s mind.
She nodded.
“There’s one maid working in the Pure Wind Pavilion kitchen. She’s from a different line than Muyoung, someone your maternal clan assigned separately, so reach out to her.”
“That will be enough.”
It was just as Dang Yuchang nodded to Namgung San-yeong.
“Yes. That will be enough.”
Shock drained Namgung San-yeong’s face.
Dang Yuchang bowed his head deeply.
“Yuchang, you—”
“I’m sorry, Mother.”
“How could you betray me?!”
Boom!
The door half-shattered as two figures strode in.
Yunhwi, smiling coldly, and Dang Gyujin, face set in stone.