The Tang in Tang Clan Stands for Sugar # 6
So So-hee said to me.
She asked why I didn't stay behind in China with her.
"Ha Ildo, I feel like I could become a little better if you were here with me."
Her face as she said it was dead serious, flushed a deep red. The hand she extended toward me trembled ever so slightly.
Was it because I didn't answer right away and just hemmed and hawed? Like a seasoned salesperson seducing a customer, So So-hee hurriedly pressed on.
"Ha Ildo, I like you. Not once since that day have I been able to forget you. This is me confessing to you!"
The word confession snapped me wide awake.
And she hadn't forgotten me since that day?
"You're telling me you've liked me since elementary school?"
"That's right!"
I recalled what Aunt Dang Yeong-yeong had told me—that the women of the Tang Clan were especially bold and strong-willed. That they were fiercely capable in daily life and liked to take the reins on everything themselves.
It seemed to be true.
The So So-hee standing before me now was like a great general.
The So So-hee I remembered—the awkward elementary schooler with her clumsy, halting Korean—was nowhere to be found.
Which was only natural.
So So-hee was an S-rank awakener of China.
She had weathered plenty in the years since, built her own foundation without needing me to shield or look after her, and by now the ground she stood on was firmer than mine.
The So So-hee I knew and the So So-hee of today were two different people.
And the same was surely true of the Ha Ildo she remembered.
"So So-hee, the me you knew back then and the me standing here now are probably two different people. It hasn't even been a month since you and I met again. A confession—I think that's something you need to be a little more careful about."
"……"
So So-hee bit her lip lightly.
Then, in a voice quiet enough that only I could hear it, she asked:
"Is it because of the other girls? Ha Ildo, do you already have a woman you like? I can do better than her. I can become greater than her."
She looked like she was ready to pick a fight at the drop of a hat, growling low—and honestly, it threw me for a loop.
Come to think of it, So So-hee only ever seemed passive because she couldn't speak Korean well. In truth, her temperament was remarkably aggressive and utterly relentless.
The memory of her leaving bruises all over the faces of Gong Ju-young and her little clique was still vivid!
"It's not because of other girls. This is my own personal problem. It's not that I dislike you, and it's not that there's someone else—I turned down Tsubaki's confession the same way."
"Tsubaki? You mean the one from that Japanese Kangeki Alliance? Tsubaki confessed to you?"
So So-hee's expression darkened further.
Crack—
The stick of candy in her hand crumbled with an eerie sound.
"Ha Ildo, all this time I carried only you in my heart. But apparently you didn't do the same. I can see it clearly now—the you I knew back then and the you standing here are different. Of course they are. Ten whole years have passed. Even this candy's expiration date ran out long ago."
Whoosh—!
With that, So So-hee turned on her heel and bounded off into the distance. Then, just as suddenly, she came back and pressed something into my hands.
"This is the medicine that can completely cure my mother's illness. Illinoi and Tyrenol made it together, I think. Deliver it to her. And one more thing—I've always felt this, but you have far too many women around you."
Whoosh—!
With that final remark, So So-hee was truly gone.
Had my rejection wounded her?
At the same time, a wave of regret crashed over me from every angle.
It had been the same with Tsubaki—become the lover of an S-rank awakener and you could ride through T-rank rifts as casually as catching a bus, score miraculous opportunities and rare items, and shoot up in power overnight.
And I had just kicked away another one of those opportunities that money could never buy.
You absolute fool, Ha Ildo!
If I'm being blunt about it, why does my life refuse to ever take the easy road?!
Just like with Tsubaki, the thought that this moment might haunt my dreams every single night made the world swim before my eyes.
So So-hee headed for Rimbu Forest.
The forest, once eroded by poisonous miasma, now breathed out the clearest air it had ever known, thanks to the Medicine Nymph and the Poison Nymph joining forces to purify its trees.
It was the kind of forest where even a fairy might live.
The kind of place where immortals might come to roam.
Train in a setting like this, and you could advance your realm just by breathing. Who knew—maybe I could even pull off that legendary feathered ascension to immortality from the old tales.
"Hoo—"
So So-hee folded herself into a lotus position on the forest grass and sank into thought.
Memories of Ha Ildo—romanticized far beyond reality inside her own imagination—surfaced one dewdrop at a time.
"The Ha Ildo I loved and the Ha Ildo of today are different people, are they?"
People change. That was simply how it was.
Watching the Ha Ildo of today, So So-hee felt that truth down to her bones.
The Ha Ildo I loved doesn't exist anywhere anymore. But… but… he's become so much greater…!
Ha Ildo had grown into a far finer man than even her gilded memories.
His capacity was immense, and his drive was magnificent.
The courage to hurl himself into hardship of his own accord now gleamed so brightly it put the way young So So-hee had once admired him to shame.
Ha Ildo is going to become a great man.
Judging by her own discerning eye, he had the makings of a hero for the ages.
The trouble was that so many women would inevitably be drawn to a Ha Ildo that brilliant. That much hadn't changed, then or now.
After all, it was only natural for women to fall for an outstanding man.
"It must be because the me standing right beside him looks so mediocre by comparison. If I reach overwhelming, absolute supremacy, the women will be too intimidated to come near. Power. What I need is overwhelming power."
A strong woman claims a strong man for herself.
It was a truth valid across all of history, East and West, and So So-hee understood it better than anyone.
After all, back on that day, she had grabbed Gong Ju-young by the hair and beaten her face in—and when Gong Ju-young cried, "O-okay! I'll give up on Ha Ildo!", So So-hee finally understood.
"I have to build my strength. Overwhelming, absolute might—"
So So-hee resolved to become the strongest.
It was a path much like the one Tsubaki had walked after her confession was rejected, when she'd declared, "I will cultivate the greatest womanly power in the world." But So So-hee had no way of knowing that.
Hissssss—
The moment So So-hee began circulating the mana within her body, the flowers and leaves of Rimbu Forest—the woods said to be haunted by fairies—rushed and swayed like trees caught in a sudden gale.
That day, So So-hee attained the third stage of Nymph-fu Poison Arts.
"You truly mean to conduct a joint study of this hydra's head?"
The people of the Tang Clan marveled loudly.
A hydra—a beast so mighty that calling it a spirit creature hardly did it justice.
They were deeply impressed and full of admiration for Seo Yerim's suggestion that the severed head simply remain here in China, to be studied together.
Seo Yerim said, "It's a monster that emerged from a Chinese rift. If we tried to claim sole ownership of it, all sorts of complicated international problems could arise. So we study it together."
There was even talk of Telos Corporation and the Sichuan Tang Clan joining hands to establish something called Telos-Tang Pharmaceuticals.
As for the corporate talk, I understood precious little of it and found it none too interesting either.
The only thing that made my head spin was the sheer astronomical size of the money involved and the enormous future profits being projected.
"Long live Ha Ildo!"
"He not only saved us from the wicked poison of Rimbu Forest, he's even opened up our economic prospects! Ha Ildo, you are our benefactor!"
"We shall engrave the name Ha Ildo into our Tang Clan for generations to come, and forever after, we shall feed free meals to anyone bearing the surname Ha!"
The Tang Clan threw an extravagant feast in our honor and showered us with medicinal herbs as a token of gratitude.
━Hiooong…! Hiooong…!
━Miooong…! Miooong…!
"My goodness, it's astonishing however many times I see it. Spiders that sing and dance! Is this what the paradise where immortals roam is like?"
"Look at that honey ant! It's single-handedly putting away enough food for thirty people! And that golden shimmering body—magnificent! They call it the Emperor, you say?"
Amid the raucous festival, not everyone wore a festive face.
"Tyrenol. It was you who wrote this book, wasn't it?"
Dang So-hae held up the Tang Clan Secret Manual and asked Tyrenol how to read it. Apparently, if she mastered the secret arts written within it, she too might become S-rank.
"Heh heh heh, this Tang Clan Secret Manual is a book Tyrenol labored long and hard to create…! It contains secrets of tremendous worldly importance…! The character for reading it is the character for nothing—it cannot be read easily…!"
"Why does Sister Tyrenol speak in such a disgusting language…? This one remembers she never used to talk like this…!"
Tyrenol reached into her pouch and drew something out with a flourish.
It was the counterfeit Qingshi Oil.
A substance Tyrenol had worked tirelessly to produce in pursuit of the genuine article—yet falling short of perfection, it was at once medicine and poison.
"This is poison—the character for poison, but also the character for reading…! Consume this poison and your eyes grow so bright that the writing becomes perfectly legible…! For reference, the antidote is something Sister Illinoi can make…!"
"Of course…! Every antidote to Tyrenol's poisons can be wholly made by that Medicine Nymph Illinoi…! This one has been thinking all the way down to the unit price…!"
At Illinoi's declaration that she could produce a Qingshi Oil antidote, Dang So-hae's eyes went wide.
"If there's an antidote…!"
Glug-glug—!
Dang So-hae downed the counterfeit Qingshi Oil on the spot.
Then she spread open the Tang Clan Secret Manual and rolled her eyes back and forth—swish-swish—as though something were genuinely written inside.
"Thread the strawberries onto skewers and dry off the moisture…. Then put sugar and corn syrup in a pot and boil over medium heat until it thickens…huh? What is this? There's no martial art written here at all!"
"Heh heh heh, what is written there is a secret more powerful than any weapon—the method for creating Nymph-Friendly Tanghulu…! The Tang of the Sichuan Tang Clan, it turns out, was the Tang for sugar…!"
The Sichuan Tang Clan, it was said, had been founded by the people who once made sugar and shared it with the nymph Tyrenol.
Sugar.
Which, eaten in excess, was apparently more dangerous than any poison.
It was a staggering truth, and Dang So-hae collapsed where she stood as though the shock had physically struck her.
"Th-then what about my realm advancement? What about my ambition to master a higher martial art and return not as Honeybee Dang So-hae but as Poison Bee Dang So-hae…? I…I don't know anymore…!"
Waaah—!
The moment Dang So-hae burst into tears like a child throwing a tantrum, the adorable honeybees swarmed toward her with a deep bzzzzz and pressed their bodies close against hers.
It looked exactly like an attempt to comfort her.
A perfectly fitting tableau for Honeybee Dang So-hae, and the people of the Tang Clan clucked in admiration—"Our little young mistress is rather cute, isn't she?"
But Tyrenol's explanation was not yet finished.
"Is there truly nothing to be felt while watching the making of tanghulu…? That process already contains a martial art within itself…! The founder of tanghulu-making, Clan Head Dang Gong-san, was even known as the Peerless One-Sugar Poison Emperor…!"
The process of making Nymph-Friendly Tanghulu itself, she said, demanded treacherous devotion and long discipline.
Dang So-hae studied the manual again, then cried out in awe, "I-it's true! There's a profound martial essence hidden in the art of stirring sugar…!"
I couldn't follow all of it, but as far as I could tell, she was saying that if you diligently made tanghulu, your skills would improve by leaps and bounds.
Frankly, I had… completely lost track of what was what.
Still, I figured it was for the best.
"Dang So-hae, good for you."
Flinch—!
At my call, Dang So-hae jumped in surprise.
Then she shuffled her feet, glancing nervously all around, and spoke to me in a tiny voice.
"Ha Ildo, back when someone had to jump into that poison-soaked basement—I didn't volunteer because I am a precious person. I'm the rightful young mistress of the Tang Clan…and…if I died, my father would grieve…."
"That's fair enough."
It seemed Dang So-hae felt embarrassed about failing to step forward when the basement, drenched in the hydra's poisonous miasma, had needed purifying.
But then, as though snapping back to her senses, she squared her shoulders.
"I don't think being afraid of danger is anything to be ashamed of. I think the people who find courage in the face of something that dangerous and that terrifying are the ones who deserve praise. Ha Ildo, you're a pretty admirable person, you know."
"Is that so?"
Being complimented this directly was, to me, just as embarrassing as being afraid. While I was fidgeting awkwardly, Dang So-hae spoke again.
"My father, Clan Head Dang Huru—his real name is actually Lee Seo-moon. He changed it when he married my mother and came into the Tang Clan. The Tang Clan takes in live-in sons-in-law. And…."
Um, um…
Dang So-hae hemmed and hawed for a long, long while.
When I pressed her—"And?"—she answered, hiding her face behind a single honeybee:
"I think Dang Ildo would work just fine too! Ha Ildo! Once I beat So So-hee and become the sole and rightful successor as clan head, I'm going to hold a tournament to choose a live-in son-in-law! You absolutely have to enter it!"
Vrrrm—!
With that declaration, Dang So-hae vanished into the distance along with her honeybees.
Illinoi, who had been watching the whole spectacle, shook her head and said, "A very peculiar Kore, this one is…! But it seems she has taken out some kind of realization from this whole affair, so she will surely be able to become even more excellent…!"
I see.
Everyone was growing.
And I was no exception.
Hissssss—
I circulated the mana inside my body through my entire frame.
C-rank was the realm where you could imbue external matter with your own mana and control it—or so I understood.
━Keong-keong…!
The fur of Keongkeongi, infused with my mana, began to glow a soft shimmer.
Keeping it in exactly that state, I transmitted my will to Keongkeongi.
Keongkeongi darted left and right.
━Keong-keong…!
B-rank was the realm where you could exercise a special ability built upon your tempered mana.
For someone of my manipulation type, that meant being able to control animals to a certain degree. If I had to put a name to such a special ability, something like Animal Command would fit.
Honestly, what to call this ability of mine was still something I was debating.
So then, what was A-rank?
From what I'd heard, A-rank awakeners became even better at all the realms they had already achieved, while each additionally gaining one new, distinct nature of their own.
That nature differed from awakener to awakener, and apparently it couldn't be pinned down to any single definition. I was tremendously excited to find out what I would become capable of.
I've already got an ability in mind—I really hope it turns out to be that one…!
"Whatever else is true, my mana capacity has definitely grown."
The specifics would have to wait for a proper examination, but my mana reserves had grown to roughly one and a half times what they'd been when I first arrived in China from Korea.
The domain of my mana deployment had also stretched to about two hundred meters—a massive increase.
At this level, the number of tactics and strategies I could run with my animal friends would multiply by the square.
My mood lifted.
A-rank.
Setting aside the S-rank awakeners regarded as heaven above the heavens, it was the term for awakeners who stood, in name and in fact, at the very top.
"So this is the air that A-rank breathes. How refreshing!"
"That is the smell of the deodorizer this Illinoi sprayed into the air…! With meat being grilled here and there, the smell was utterly foul, it is…!"
So that's what it was.
Either way.
And so, in that fashion, the exhausting and eventful journey through China drew mostly to a close.
It was also around that time that my phone, which had broken down in the poisoned basement, was finally repaired—
Ring-ring, ring-ring, ring-ring—
When I turned the phone on, a mountain of backlogged TelTalk messages came flooding into view.
About twenty unread messages had piled up from Lee Jina—
And fifty had come in from Yu Ari.
"What on earth happened that had them sending this many messages?"