If Only We Could Meet Once More
"*Sniff, sob*... I was so scared. I thought I was going to die."
Tang Cho-ryeon.
That was the name of the girl who had forced Han Cheong-un to prostrate himself.
Although she belonged to a branch family of the Tang Clan, her bloodline was quite close to the direct line. And above all...
*Grind...*
"I see. So that's what happened."
She was also the granddaughter of Tang Pyeong, the First Elder of the Tang family, who was currently grinding his teeth in fury.
Excluding the family head's daughter, Tang Seo-yeon, she was treated as the most precious princess among the daughters of the Tang family.
Having barely survived a brush with death, she had run straight to her grandfather, weeping and clinging to him.
"Sister Seo-yeon persecuted us! She told us all to die! We're from the same family, and that man is just an outsider, but she still... *hic*..."
Naturally, she heavily edited the story to paint herself in the best possible light.
After listening to his granddaughter's tale, the grandfather could not contain his rage.
"How dare she try to kill her own flesh and blood just to shield an outsider? That girl has finally lost her mind."
He patted the weeping girl's shoulders to comfort her.
"Do not worry. Just trust your grandfather. I will settle this once and for all so that nothing like this ever happens again."
"Really? Will I be safe now?"
"No one dares threaten the granddaughter of Tang Pyeong. Not even the daughter of the family head."
He spent a long time soothing and comforting her, repeatedly promising that she would never face such danger again.
But the moment Tang Pyeong stepped out of his granddaughter's room, he muttered softly to himself.
"Perhaps this is actually for the best."
A faint, sinister smile played on his lips.
"What do you mean by that, Father?"
His son, who was standing nearby, asked, but Tang Pyeong did not answer.
"It is none of your concern. More importantly, gather the elders immediately. We are calling an emergency meeting."
"Yes, Father. Right away."
A short while later.
The twelve elders of the Tang family gathered in the Council Hall, where the elders' meetings were held.
Tang Pyeong disclosed the day's events to the gathered elders.
"...And that is what transpired."
The other elders nodded, their expressions turning grave.
"To think she unleashed her poison energy just to protect an outsider..."
"Is she a failure after all?"
"Is it not too early to judge? Once she achieves grand completion in her cultivation, she will be able to control the poison."
"Sigh... How long will that take? The girl's poison grows stronger by the day, and she routinely loses control because she cannot handle it."
"Hmm... It is truly a pity. We believed she was the hope that would fulfill our family's long-cherished dream."
To the elders of the Tang family, Tang Seo-yeon was a double-edged sword.
At first, they believed she was the key to fulfilling the clan's ultimate ambition.
They thought that once a child with the Myriad Poisons Body was finally born, they could inject the Tang family's poison arts into her, creating the strongest martial artist under the heavens.
However, the actual Myriad Poisons Body was not the magnificent weapon they had envisioned.
Far from being superior, she was closer to a defective product who struggled to even live a normal life.
How were they supposed to raise a child who poisoned everything she touched?
To make matters worse, the poison grew stronger day by day, slowly eating away at the Myriad Poisons Body herself.
"Sixth Elder, speak honestly."
"About what?"
The Sixth Elder, whom the First Elder addressed, possessed the finest medical skills in the Tang family and was in charge of the Medical Pavilion.
He was also the one who had been consistently monitoring Tang Seo-yeon's condition.
"How much longer does Tang Seo-yeon have to live?"
"..."
The Sixth Elder fell silent.
He hesitated, wondering if he should answer this question honestly. Seeing this, Tang Pyeong pressed him further.
"You must be candid with us. Only then can we make the appropriate decision."
It was a veiled threat: if the Sixth Elder did not give an honest opinion now, they would pin all future failures on him. Left with no choice, the Sixth Elder let out a deep sigh.
"To be frank, it is impossible to tell how much longer she will survive. Because..."
The Sixth Elder furrowed his brow and continued.
"...it wouldn't be strange if she died this very moment."
The other elders stood up in shock.
"Is that true?"
"Why are you only telling us this now?"
"Sixth Elder!"
As the others raised their voices in anger, the Sixth Elder replied with a troubled look.
"A physician has a duty to keep a patient's condition confidential."
"Does that make any sense in this situation?"
"Furthermore, the family head ordered me to keep this quiet and not speak of it to anyone outside."
"Mmm..."
"The only reason I am revealing this now is because this is an official council meeting. I cannot conceal the truth here."
The Sixth Elder was desperately dodging responsibility with his words.
Although the other elders found his excuses detestable, his justification was plausible enough, so they stopped pressing him. And...
"This means a ticking time bomb that could threaten the entire clan is currently residing inside our estate," Tang Pyeong remarked.
"Well, that is..."
"As an elder responsible for the safety of the Tang family, I cannot sit idle and watch this happen. I am sure the rest of you feel the same."
It was a politically loaded statement: Anyone who disagrees with me is ignoring the clan's safety, and if anything goes wrong, it will be their fault.
None of the elders in the room failed to grasp the underlying threat.
"Then what do you propose we do? Are you suggesting we send Seo-yeon away?"
"That would be the safest course of action."
"But she is the direct descendant of the family head."
"Even if it were the family head himself, he must be removed if he puts the clan in danger. Is that not our duty as elders?"
"The First Elder is correct."
"I agree."
"Then..."
After much debate, the conclusion was simple.
Tang Seo-yeon could die at any moment.
In other words, she was already a failure.
And no one knew what would happen to the massive amount of poison accumulated in her body when she died.
If it erupted, it would inflict catastrophic damage on the Tang family.
Therefore, Tang Seo-yeon had to be expelled from the estate.
Having reached this conclusion, only one question remained for the elders.
"Who will deliver this decision to the family head?"
It was like belling the cat—or rather, belling a tiger.
And not just any tiger, but one bristling with venom to protect his cub.
Who would dare do it?
Everyone's gaze turned to the First Elder.
"Rise," Tang Pyeong said. "We shall go together and deliver the council's decision to the family head."
It seemed he had no intention of facing the tiger alone.
Tang Myeong stared intently at the elders standing before him. He spat out his words through clenched teeth.
"So..."
Though he tried to suppress it, the fury he couldn't fully contain leaked clearly into his voice.
"You are telling me to kick my daughter out of the estate. Is that it?"
The First Elder, Tang Pyeong, let out a sigh.
"That is the consensus of the elders' council."
"You want to banish a direct descendant of the Tang family?"
"Ahem, Family Head, we also..."
"Do I still look like the family head to you?"
Faced with Tang Myeong's chilling, razor-sharp aura, the elders fell silent for a moment. However, the First Elder stood his ground to the end.
"It is not that we do not feel pity. But as the head of the Tang family, you must prioritize the safety of the clan."
"..."
"If that child's poison energy erupts, what kind of catastrophe do you think will unfold?"
"I can suppress it. And the Shadow Poison Unit is constantly monitoring her."
"I heard more than half of those Shadow Poison guards are currently critically injured."
"..."
"And from what I see, you are not in perfect health either, Family Head."
Tang Myeong bit his lip. The First Elder's words were true.
He had personally absorbed and suppressed the poison energy Tang Seo-yeon emitted, but he had failed to neutralize it completely.
The residual poison remained, circulating through his own body.
It was a poison so deadly that even the head of the Sichuan Tang Clan could not detoxify it.
Tang Seo-yeon's poison had grown that powerful.
"Family Head, if you are truly the leader of this clan, you must know what the best choice is."
Tang Myeong bit his lip again.
He knew. If he made a cold, logical decision for the sake of the Tang family, the choice was obvious. But...
'You bastards are the ones who turned my daughter into the Myriad Poisons Body in the first place! And now you want to throw her out?'
He knew that attacking them with such words would only deepen the rift within the family.
Digging up the past to launch a political attack would not undo what had already been done.
Instead, the elders would refuse to admit their mistakes and fight back.
They would argue that the decision back then had been approved by the previous family head, and that it was unjust to hold the council responsible for a decision made for the sake of the entire clan.
It would only lead to a pointless, exhausting struggle.
"Sigh... I will keep her here until I can arrange a place for her to stay."
Ultimately, Tang Myeong backed down.
He had made a decision for the greater good as the family head.
"You have made the right choice."
"We thank the family head for his wise decision."
He wanted nothing more than to hurl flying daggers into the faces of those hypocrites, but he could not.
In the end, Tang Seo-yeon was to leave the Tang family estate.
"What did you say?"
Upon hearing that Tang Seo-yeon was leaving the family, the one who exploded with the greatest fury was her older brother, Tang Jin.
He marched straight to the Family Head's Pavilion in broad daylight to demand answers.
Actually, demanding answers was putting it mildly.
"Have you finally lost your mind? You damn stubborn old man!"
He was throwing a complete fit.
Faced with Tang Jin's wild protest, Tang Myeong said with a stiff expression, "It is the consensus of the elders' council. And as the family head, I..."
"Must make the right decision as the family head? Is that it?"
"..."
Seeing Tang Myeong answer with silence, Tang Jin lost his mind.
"How grand! The great head of the Sichuan Tang Clan, who can't even protect his own child! How very—"
Slam!
Tang Myeong slammed his fist onto the table and stood up.
"It is for the sake of the clan! Can you not understand that?"
"How could I ever understand such a bullshit reason?!"
"Cool your head and think rationally! Do you truly not know the reason?"
"For the sake of the clan when you can't even protect your own family? Do you even realize what kind of nonsense you're spewing?"
"Tang Jin!"
Tang Myeong was growing anxious.
They were in front of the clan's key figures. It would be disastrous if Tang Jin, the young lord, said something that could be used against him by his political rivals. But...
"If that's the case, then this godforsaken Sichuan Tang Clan might as well burn to the ground!"
It was already too late.
Words completely rejecting the clan had just come out of the mouth of the family head's son.
The onlookers wore expressions of shock and grief, while Tang Myeong trembled with rage.
"Shadow Poison guards!"
"Yes, Family Head."
"Take the young lord away. Confine him to his quarters until further notice."
"Yes, sir!"
Thus, Tang Jin was dragged out of the pavilion, shouting at the top of his lungs all the way.
"Everyone, leave us."
As soon as his son was dragged away, Tang Myeong dismissed everyone in the pavilion.
Only when he was left entirely alone did he finally sink back into his chair.
"Sigh..."
With a long sigh, Tang Myeong rubbed his face. He looked as if he had aged several years in a single moment.
Ultimately, Tang Seo-yeon was sent away from the Tang family estate.
The official justification was for her treatment and protection, but everyone knew the truth.
They were getting rid of her because she was dangerous.
They were sending her away out of fear of her poison, which could erupt at any moment.
Tang Seo-yeon was well aware of this reason. And...
"It's fine. It's only natural."
She understood the measures taken against her.
Even from her own perspective, no one would want to keep a ticking bomb in their house.
She didn't know how long she could control the poison energy that grew stronger by the day. Furthermore...
"Especially since I lost control emotionally this time..."
It wasn't the first time her poison had run wild.
Like a cup that kept filling until it overflowed, the energy would accumulate until she could no longer contain it, resulting in an eruption.
But this time...
"It was of my own free will."
It was fine. She didn't regret it.
In fact, she felt a slight sense of satisfaction.
"So that's what it feels like to not hold back one's anger."
She smiled bitterly.
Come to think of it, it was the first time she had ever expressed such anger.
Throughout her life, she had been forced to control her emotions, suppress her poison energy, and practice martial arts...
She had always been forced to endure and tolerate.
And she had complied.
How could she not, when people around her would die if she didn't?
But this time was an exception.
The moment she thought Han Cheong-un was being humiliated, she couldn't hold back.
Although she had trained in martial arts for a long time, this was the first time she had ever tried to attack someone of her own volition.
"It was a good experience. I'll consider it the final memory of my life."
Tang Seo-yeon smiled.
She knew her life was drawing to a close.
She wasn't afraid of death.
In fact, she almost looked forward to it.
Once this life ended, she would no longer have to suffer. She would no longer have to live in constant fear of killing someone.
The heavenly curse she had carried since birth would finally be over.
However, if there was one remaining regret...
"If only we could meet just once more."
Just once would be enough. She wanted to see him.
She wanted to show him her face.
She hoped to leave an impression of herself so that he might remember her, even if only occasionally.
She didn't dare wish for anything more. But...
"It's probably impossible."
She knew.
She knew that this simple wish of hers would never come true.