Chapter 31
Chapter 31
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 31
Chapter Title: In Wuxia Novels, the Sichuan Tang Clan Are Generally Bad Guys.
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Tang Yeon-myeong.
Born as the younger brother of the current clan leader, he had devoted himself to training as a direct descendant of the Tang Clan, steering clear of alcohol and women.
From his youth, he had lived solely for the safety and prosperity of his family, so there was no way he would frequent a brothel.
But Blue Moon Pavilion was different.
Having visited several times already, he ascended the stairs with familiar steps toward the Blue Moon Pavilion owner… no, the Hao Gate Leader.
Thud.
When he finally reached the top floor, the Hao Gate Leader greeted him.
“You’ve arrived.”
“Yeah.”
In normal circumstances, Tang Yeon-myeong wouldn’t have even bothered responding to riffraff from the unorthodox paths, no matter their status as a gate leader or whatever.
But this time, he nodded and took a seat.
A cup of steaming tea sat on the spot where he settled. He stared at it silently, and the Hao Gate Leader spoke first.
“There’s no poison in it, so feel free to drink.”
“I know. You’re not stupid enough to pull something like that.”
No idiot would poison tea meant for the great elder of the Sichuan Tang Clan, no matter how confident they were in their poisons.
Even so, just in case, Tang Yeon-myeong sniffed it to confirm there was no toxin.
The woman before him wasn’t a fool, but she harbored enough grudge against him to attempt something idiotic.
At any rate, this tea was indeed poison-free. After savoring a few sips, Tang Yeon-myeong spoke up.
“No need for more chit-chat between us, right? Hand it over.”
“……”
She didn’t ask what it was he wanted, but both knew exactly.
Information held by the Hao Gate.
The movements and realities of the other great clans or the Nine Great Righteous Sects. Or perhaps their weaknesses.
Priceless intel that those eyeing dominion over the world wouldn’t hesitate to pay a fortune for.
Tang Yeon-myeong brought it up as casually as if ordering a drink.
If it had been the Beggars’ Gang, another powerhouse of information, they might have called out his rudeness and demanded an exorbitant price.
But…
“……”
The Hao Gate Leader said nothing, simply opening the safe behind her and pulling out a thick stack of documents.
It contained all the high-grade and top-grade intelligence the Hao Gate had gathered in recent months.
For years after she became Hao Gate Leader, the Sichuan Tang Clan had taken such precious information without paying a dime.
But…
Thud.
This time was different. Instead of handing the documents to Tang Yeon-myeong, she placed them right in front of herself.
At her action, Tang Yeon-myeong’s eyebrow twitched as he asked.
“What’s this supposed to mean?”
Her teeth ground together at his brazen question, utterly devoid of guilt.
“…Pay the price before you take this.”
“Price?”
“Why are you playing dumb—!! Didn’t you promise last time that you’d definitely give me the antidote this time—!!”
Hao Gate Leader Tang Wolhwa.
Despite being born with strong resistance to poison, she had never reached the perfected state of a poison master.
And that was entirely by design of the Sichuan Tang Clan.
The process of becoming a poison master involved ingesting toxins, which brought unimaginable agony and aftereffects—hence the need for an antidote to mitigate it.
But Tang Yeon-myeong, who had overseen her training back then, had deliberately withheld the antidote from her… and as a result, her weakened body prevented her from achieving perfection.
The reason he denied her the antidote? To use her as a puppet, just like now.
“It was ten years ago…! I entered the Hao Gate at fifteen, following your orders…! You promised me the antidote from the start…. How long am I supposed to keep falling for your lies—!”
“If you became a perfected poison master, you’d try to break free from the main family’s control. The Hao Gate’s intelligence network is still useful to us.”
Tang Yeon-myeong tsked as he took another sip of tea.
“You became Hao Gate Leader at that age only thanks to the main family’s backing…. And now you dare forget that grace?”
“…Who asked for a life like this?”
The Sichuan Tang Clan had indeed supported her rise to Hao Gate Leader.
That support… had helped her poison her superiors.
By assassinating those above her, she swiftly claimed key positions in the Hao Gate, all while steadily ingesting poison to fulfill her training as a poison master.
A life marred by pain and guilt.
She had never wanted such a life. Tang Yeon-myeong knew that full well, yet he never relented in his pressure.
“How… how could you do this….”
“……”
“If you were my father… if you were my mother’s husband… how could you….”
Creating a poison master required both child and parent.
Fetal Poison Human Creation.
To bear a child resistant to poison, Tang Wolhwa’s mother had ingested toxins from the moment of conception.
And… young Tang Wolhwa remembered her mother’s final moments.
It started with her nails falling out, then black qi spreading across her body, followed by her hair, until she withered into a skeletal husk and died.
She had been Tang Wolhwa’s mother first, Tang Yeon-myeong’s wife second… yet upon seeing his dead wife, he had merely said:
‘A decent breeder is gone.’
There had once been a time, long ago, when she saw him as a father.
But from the moment her mother died, the man before her was no father—only an enemy. An enemy still trying to exploit her even now.
Thinking of her dead mother, the Hao Gate Leader could no longer contain her emotions. Sensing the faint killing intent that leaked out, the first to move was…
“How dare you.”
…Tang Yeon-myeong.
The great elder and the Hao Gate Leader. Tensions between them had been festering for a long time.
He had already shattered her trust by using the antidote as leverage to manipulate her.
Now, all that remained was for these venomous serpents, each baring sharp fangs, to tear at each other’s throats.
They were both serpents. But… which one held the advantage had been decided long ago.
Flash—!
“Urk—!”
Like the Hao Gate Leader, the poison master Tang Yeon-myeong unleashed a blast of poison fused with inner energy from his palm. She countered with her own poison technique.
Boom—!
But unlike her, who was an immature poison master, Tang Yeon-myeong had reached perfection.
Not only that, but his inner energy reserves dwarfed hers, his experience was greater, and his body remained robust while hers had been frail from poison.
Flash—.
Her palm strike began to give ground bit by bit…
Boom—!!!!
Seizing the opening, Tang Yeon-myeong grabbed her by the throat and slammed her into the floor.
“Guh… you bastard….”
“No respect for your father, huh.”
He said as much, but his eyes held no warmth for a daughter.
To him, Hao Gate Leader Tang Wolhwa was a tool for the clan. Nothing more.
That was his usual view, so he felt no hesitation now.
Drip.
A dull, toxic droplet began to form in his palm.
Even for a poison master like her, it was a toxin she’d never seen before, leaving her flustered.
As she lay pinned beneath him, Tang Yeon-myeong explained.
“I always knew you’d bare your fangs eventually. I was thinking of giving you a lesson today, and it seems the timing is perfect.”
“L-Let… go…!”
“You’ve probably never seen this before. It’s called Heart-Shattering Gu Poison. The main family developed it recently.”
“What’re you gonna do with that? I’m a poison master anyway…!”
“A poison master, yes. But even for you, accustomed to pain…”
Tang Yeon-myeong cut her off, a faint smile on his lips.
“…it’ll make you relive old memories.”
Flash—!
With that, he injected the Heart-Shattering Gu Poison from his hand into her.
At first, Tang Wolhwa was confident she could withstand it. Having lived in agony since she could walk, she figured a new toxin wouldn’t faze her.
But…
“Ughhh—!!”
…the new Tang Clan poison felt like her severed intestines were being stitched back together and pounded in a mortar.
Overwhelmed by the pain, she couldn’t control her body, her vision blurring.
An indifferent voice overlaid it.
“I’ll give you the antidote for the Heart-Shattering Gu Poison once every ten days. Taking it will ease the suffering somewhat. But if you defy the main family’s orders, you’ll live in that torment until your dying breath.”
“Ughh….”
Grabbing the chin of her writhing form, Tang Yeon-myeong said.
“Daughter, why defy the main family’s will?”
“I’ll never… live the way you want….”
“Tsk tsk, such venom in your eyes. Fine, live as you please… but won’t you save your subordinates?”
“What…?”
Her subordinates… no way…
Realizing it, her eyes widened, and Tang Yeon-myeong nodded.
“Before entering, I had my men scatter Inner Energy Dispersing Poison outside.”
“……!!”
Inner Energy Dispersing Poison.
A toxin that disrupts inner energy in those who ingest it.
For martial artists, it was a severe vulnerability.
“I ordered them to subdue all the Hao Gate riffraff if I didn’t emerge within one hour. And that hour has long passed.”
“You monster….”
“The situation outside is probably handled by now. Still, you want to save your men, don’t you?”
Right then…
Thud.
The sound of someone climbing the stairs reached them.
“Someone here to report the cleanup, I suppose.”
“……”
“Let today remind you of your place. You belong to the Tang Clan until your dying day.”
Leaving those words, he released his hold and rose.
Though her body was free, the Hao Gate Leader couldn’t move. The Heart-Shattering Gu Poison’s agony made it impossible, and…
‘Damn….’
She couldn’t risk the wrong move, not when her captured subordinates outside might suffer.
‘Damn….’
Since her mother’s death, she had poured everything into escaping the clan. But the clan clung to her relentlessly.
This time, too, defeat was hers.
‘Damn…!’
As she swallowed her rage and despair, the footsteps reached the door.
Toward the intruder, Great Elder Tang Yeon-myeong said.
“Is the outside cleaned up?”
“…Huh?”
The voice outside faltered briefly before responding.
“…Y-Yes! Great Elder! Everything outside is handled!”
“Good. Then, for an example, take the head of the highest-ranking one… hold on.”
Tang Yeon-myeong paused mid-order. The speaker’s tone was far too flippant for a Tang Clan warrior.
“…….”
“…….”
An awkward silence fell…
Crash—!!!
“…!”
Broken by a thrown blade piercing through the door.
Tang Yeon-myeong dodged instinctively, but…
Slice.
“Ugh….”
His neck was grazed in the process.
Black blood, unique to poison masters, trickled from the wound.
Gazing at his own blood—something he hadn’t seen in ages—Tang Yeon-myeong looked toward the blade’s origin.
“Hey, I said it’s all done, so why’s this old fart taking forever to come out.”
“…Who are you.”
“Who am I?”
A guy who looked every bit the gigolo pimp swaggered into the room like a street thug.
“The top earner here at the brothel came to drag out the problem customer. You fucker.”