Can't We Meet Just One More Time? (3)
This was what Han Cheong-un had originally believed to be the cause of the Tang Family Massacre.
He had assumed it was Tang Seo-yeon's revenge, fueled by her growing anger and hatred toward the family.
After all, when Tang Seo-yeon reappeared long after the massacre, she had become a calamity of death whose name would be forever etched in the history of the Jianghu, dragging countless souls to their graves.
It took less than half a day for her to turn a small town into a wasteland of death.
Whether they were martial artists or commoners, not a single blade of grass would grow for years in the places where she sowed death.
The Heavenly Killing Poison Flower.
That was the epithet given to the calamity who led the entire world to death, as if she meant to kill even the heavens themselves.
Back then, looking at the devastation she left behind, all Han Cheong-un could feel was a venomous hatred and resentment toward the world.
Though he had never met her in person, the traces she left made it painfully obvious.
No sane person could commit such madness. And the past he had heard from Tang Jin gave her more than enough reason to harbor resentment toward the Tang Family and the world. But...
Meeting her in person changed everything.
Tang Seo-yeon did not resent the world, nor did she hate her family.
The only thing she resented was her own fate.
Her guilt over those who died because of her made her cautious in every action, a habit deeply ingrained in her very being.
He could see it whenever he tried to close the distance, thinking she had grown comfortable, only for her to hastily retreat.
She was doing it out of consideration for him.
Would such a girl really slaughter her own family out of hatred?
She didn't seem like the type.
Even her brother, Tang Jin, had said as much. It was highly likely that the massacre at the Tang Family estate was not something Tang Seo-yeon had caused intentionally. If so...
There must have been some external factor.
What could it be?
Honestly, there were too many possibilities to jump to conclusions. For now, the best course of action was to build a closer relationship with her while keeping a watchful eye on their surroundings.
And so, Han Cheong-un's days fell into a steady routine.
Waking up in the morning, eating...
"Hmm, the Tang Family really knows how to cook."
Training with Tang Jin...
"Argh! Go easy on me, you demon!"
Yet, Tang Jin never actually told him to stop hitting him.
Once training was over, Han Cheong-un would buy a gift to win Tang Seo-yeon's favor and head to the pond in the rear garden.
In the beginning, Han Cheong-un had always arrived first, but now, Tang Seo-yeon was always the one waiting.
Han Cheong-un quickened his pace to keep her from waiting too long. But then...
"Stop right there!"
What was this?
A group of kids suddenly blocked Han Cheong-un's path. Looking at them, they were greenhorns who hadn't even reached adulthood yet.
Judging by their robes, they look like disciples of the Tang Family...
"What is the meaning of this?"
At Han Cheong-un's question, the boy standing at the front stepped forward and spoke with a sneer.
"You owe us for last time."
"...?"
Then, another boy beside him chimed in.
"You don't actually think that fluke victory was due to your own skill, do you?"
"...?"
The eyes of both boys were filled with fighting spirit. Well, how admirable. But...
"Excuse me, young heroes?"
"What?"
"Have we fought before?"
At that, the two boys' faces contorted in anger.
"Are you saying you don't even remember the duel we had?"
"How dare you insult me like this?!"
The two boys threw a fit.
Meanwhile, Han Cheong-un was genuinely trying to remember.
Who are they?
He really had no recollection.
Judging by the flow of the conversation, he must have sparred with them at some point, but why on earth would he fight children like this?
Well, I suppose I'm young right now too, but still...
Just then, the two boys stepped forward and shouted proudly.
"I am Tang Ho!"
"And I am Tang Jung! Are you still going to pretend you don't know us?!"
Han Cheong-un nodded slowly, letting out a low hum.
"Hmm..."
His expression made it clear he still had absolutely no idea.
In truth, these two were the boys Han Cheong-un had sparred with when he first applied to become a guest disciple of the Tang Family.
Though young, they possessed decent skills for their age, as expected of Tang Family descendants.
Yet, they had been utterly defeated without even lasting a single exchange.
Their pride had been deeply wounded.
And...
The Tang Family never forgets a grudge.
These boys had been raised on the teachings of the Tang Family since childhood. However, being mentally immature, they did not fully comprehend the true meaning of those teachings.
While it was indeed the Tang Family's way to never forget a grudge and use any means necessary for revenge, that only applied when there was a proper justification.
If they sought revenge over a defeat in a fair duel, the Tang Family would never have been counted among the Orthodox sects.
But these young boys...
"We've come to repay the debt from back then."
"Call us cowardly if you want! Consider it an honor that we're acknowledging your strength."
They were still far too young and immature.
Ten of them...
It seemed they had chosen to bring numbers to make up for the gap in skill.
"Sigh..."
Han Cheong-un let out a sigh.
Their methods were too petty and underhanded to simply overlook just because they were young.
What should he do?
Honestly, even if a hundred of them came instead of ten, these kids posed no threat to Han Cheong-un. However...
If I get into a brawl with these kids, the Tang Family might make an issue out of it.
It would be highly problematic if he were kicked out of the Tang estate right now. Therefore...
"I admit my defeat. So, would you mind stepping aside?"
Han Cheong-un quietly took a step back.
He had experienced this many times in his past life.
Whenever he, starting as a common martial artist with no background, began to stand out, disciples of prestigious Orthodox sects would try to keep him in check.
Every time, he had fought back or appealed to the rules of the Alliance, but...
In the end, it only ever made things worse.
So, he had chosen to simply bow his head instead.
If pride was what those immature brats wanted, how hard could it be to feed it to them?
It was better than causing trouble.
Thus, Han Cheong-un chose to back down once again. At that...
"Uh..."
"Ahem..."
The opponents were the ones caught off guard.
They had steeled themselves for revenge, only for their target to bow his head first.
They really are just kids.
Yes. If the situation could be resolved like this, it was for the best.
Whether those kids would realize how embarrassing their actions were once they grew up or not was their own business. For now, this was the smoothest way out. Just when it seemed the matter would end peacefully...
"Hmph, it's obvious you're just trying to wriggle your way out of this."
Someone threw a wrench in the works.
The sharp voice belonged to a girl with fierce, narrow eyes.
She turned to the boys around her.
"What are you all doing? Are you really going to fall for such a cheap trick?"
The boys looked hesitant. One of them muttered...
"But... he's apologizing, isn't he?"
"You idiot. It's obviously a lie! Can't you see he's just trying to get out of this?"
She's sharp.
"Vagabonds like him don't care about honor. Once he gets away, he'll go around bragging to everyone that he beat the descendants of the Tang Family!"
And spiteful, too.
Han Cheong-un let out a soft sigh and spoke.
"Young lady, what must I do to appease your anger?"
"Well, I suppose you should start with a full prostration."
The girl was incredibly malicious.
A full prostration? For a martial artist who valued honor above life, demanding such humiliation was practically an invitation to a duel to the death.
It was not a phrase to be tossed around lightly.
What is she going to grow up to be? But...
Han Cheong-un thought to himself.
Preventing the Tang Family Massacre comes first right now.
Considering Tang Jin's devotion, to whom he owed so much in his past life, he couldn't just throw everything away and leave.
He could not let that horrific tragedy repeat itself.
"Hmph, see? He can't even—"
"Will that suffice?"
"Wh-what?"
The girl was caught off guard instead.
But Han Cheong-un spoke calmly.
"I will do as you wish. I only hope this puts an end to our grievance."
"......Ugh......"
The girl was slightly taken aback.
She hadn't expected him to actually go through with it.
Wasn't he the strongman who had supposedly defeated Brother Tang Jin?
Of course, she didn't fully believe it.
There had to be some mistake.
How could Tang Jin, a direct descendant of the Tang Family, lose to a boy younger than himself?
The main reason she had come here was to put an end to those ridiculous rumors. But...
He's really going to do it?
Does he have no pride?
If it were me, I'd rather fight to the death than endure such humiliation.
Yet, Han Cheong-un was genuinely preparing to do it.
The moment his knees were about to touch the ground...
"What do you think you are doing?"
A chilling voice rang out.
The instant they heard it, the hairs on the children's arms stood on end. Standing where the voice came from...
"Right now..."
A woman wearing a thick black veil, with Poison-Avoiding Beads dangling all over her body, was slowly walking toward them.
"I asked what you are doing."
Tang Seo-yeon.
She was walking forward with slow, deliberate steps.
Anyone who knew her would have been shocked. She was someone who loathed appearing in front of others, and even when she did, she made it a habit to keep her distance.
Yet now, she was actively approaching them on her own—a sight that was beyond strange, bordering on miraculous.
The girl who had demanded the prostration from Han Cheong-un spoke in a trembling voice.
"Sister Seo-yeon. This is, well..."
"Save it."
"..."
"I didn't ask because I actually wanted to know."
Tang Seo-yeon had been waiting for Han Cheong-un by the pond in the rear garden, just like any other day.
What stories would he tell her today?
What new experiences would they share?
Every single day spent with Han Cheong-un was incredibly precious to her.
It was to the point where she could accept all the hardships and pain of her past life if they had all been for the sake of this moment's happiness.
Yes. She was happy now.
It was an emotion she was experiencing for the first time in her life.
She felt as though she finally understood why life could be beautiful.
But Han Cheong-un was later than usual.
Growing anxious, she had no choice but to leave the rear garden and search for him. And then, she saw it.
The children of her family putting on airs before Han Cheong-un, demanding that he prostrate himself.
A reason? Surely they had one.
They wouldn't do such a thing without cause.
But did that even matter?
No matter the reason...
"I cannot forgive this."
Crack. Snap. Shatter.
The Poison-Avoiding Beads draped around her body began to crack and shatter, falling to the ground.
Each bead was a top-grade treasure worth a fortune in white gold, yet they could not withstand the overflowing poison. Before long, a green toxic mist began to seep from her body. And then...
The grass at her feet turned brown and withered away.
Birds in the sky chirped frantically as they fled the area.
The ground turned a dark, lifeless black, and even the color of the air began to shift.
A terrifying poison.
A lethal toxin that brooked no life in this world began to spread.
"Wh-what...?"
"Hiccup."
The children collapsed to the ground.
Immature as they were, they were still descendants of the Tang Family.
The moment they witnessed the poison radiating from Tang Seo-yeon, they realized: this was a calamity they could not stand against.
As she gestured forward, a wave of deadly poison swept across the ground.
There was nowhere to hide, nowhere to run. But...
Boom!
A single spear shattered the wave of poison.
The condensed toxic mist dispersed in all directions. Emerging from the haze, Han Cheong-un spoke.
"Calm down, Lady Tang."
"Step aside, Young Hero."
"There is no need to go this far. Calm down and suppress your poison."
"..."
Tang Seo-yeon bit her lower lip at Han Cheong-un's words.
Calm down? Why should she?
She had endured so much, hadn't she?
Endured, endured, endured, endured, endured, endured, endured, endured, endured, endured, endured, endured, endured, endured, endured, endured, endured, endured, endured, endured, endured, endured, endured, endured, endured, endured, endured, endured, endured, endured...
She had finally found the single shred of happiness that came after all that endless endurance.
And she had to endure even this being taken away?
Why? For what reason?
"Ugh..."
It was infuriating.
The poison, which had penetrated to her very marrow, triggered an unpleasant headache as it began to consume her.
She didn't care anymore.
She would endure no longer.
In that instant, the poison within her body condensed like a volcano on the verge of eruption. Right before it burst...
"Get back!"
It was then.
A large number of black-masked figures suddenly appeared from all directions, throwing weighted iron chains.
Clank, clank, clank!
The chains tightly bound Tang Seo-yeon, restricting her movements. One of the masked figures shouted.
"Deploy the Heavenly Chain Poison-Suppressing Formation!"
"Yes, sir!"
"Yes, sir!"
These were the Ambi.
The secret unit of the Tang Family, answering solely to the command of the Family Head.
They had been observing Tang Seo-yeon from a distance, prepared for the off-chance that her poison might run wild.
Having bound Tang Seo-yeon with the chains, they immediately channeled their true qi to suppress her poison.
Just as the Sichuan Tang Family excelled in using poison, they were equally adept at suppressing it.
As dozens of experts joined forces to subdue her, the poison Tang Seo-yeon was emitting began to subside. However...
"Ugh..."
"Argh!"
"C-Captain! It's dangerous. The poison is flowing backward... Argh!"
Screams began to erupt from the Ambi members all around.
Tang Seo-yeon's poison was pushing back their inner energy, traveling up the chains to invade their bodies.
The skin visible beneath their masks turned a deep shade of purple, and several of them coughed up black blood.
"Do not let go of the chains! Hold your ground at all costs!"
Dozens of Ambi experts strained to suppress Tang Seo-yeon's poison. But...
"Cough..."
"Urgh..."
It was futile.
Their opponent possessed the Myriad Poisons Body.
She was the great calamity who, in the distant future, would strike terror into the Jianghu as the Heavenly Killing Poison Flower.
If they could have suppressed her so easily, a tragedy like the Tang Family Massacre would never have occurred in the first place.
What should I do? Should I step in?
Han Cheong-un hesitated.
Could he suppress Tang Seo-yeon's poison if he stepped in? Strictly speaking, the inner energy he cultivated belonged to the orthodox Daoist sect.
While it was possible for him to suppress poison and purify evil energy, whether it would work against the Myriad Poisons Body was another story.
"Aaargh!"
"Number Six?!"
No time to hesitate.
At this rate, the Ambi would be wiped out. Just as he resolved to act and step forward...
"Everyone, fall back!"
Along with a booming voice, a man leaped directly over Han Cheong-un's head.
"The Family Head?"
"Oh!"
It was Tang Myeong, the Family Head of the Sichuan Tang Clan.
Without a moment's hesitation, he charged toward his daughter, who was spewing thick clouds of poison. And then...
Thud-thud-thud-thud-thud!
He unleashed a flurry of flying needles from both hands.
He was indeed the Family Head of the Sichuan Tang Clan.
With those slender needles, he managed to pierce through Tang Seo-yeon's poison and strike the vital acupoints across her body.
"Cough..."
Tang Seo-yeon, who had been releasing the poison, coughed up blood in agony as her acupoints were forcibly sealed. But it was not enough.
Tang Myeong closed the distance rapidly, placing his hands on Tang Seo-yeon's head and her dantian. And then...
"Endure it!"
He began to absorb the poison directly into himself.
He quickly suppressed and drew in the poison that had gathered in her dantian and clouded her mind.
"Ah... Aaaargh!"
Tang Seo-yeon shivered violently, screaming in agony.
Once again.
The pain of having her true qi drained directly from her dantian, combined with the sensation of poison ravaging her entire body, was excruciating.
It was a pain she had endured her entire life, yet one she could never grow accustomed to.
Watching his daughter tremble in such intense agony without even being able to lose consciousness, the Tang Family Head bit his lip.
Hesitation would only prolong her suffering. Steeling his heart, he absorbed the poison even faster.
Fortunately, thanks to the Family Head absorbing the poison himself, her toxic energy was somewhat brought under control. At that...
"Now! Pour everything into the poison-suppressing formation!"
"Yes, sir!"
"Yes, sir!"
Upon receiving the Family Head's command, the Ambi warriors exerted all their strength to suppress Tang Seo-yeon's poison.
Once the poison had completely subsided, all that remained was the pitiful sight of Tang Seo-yeon, bound in chains and unconscious.
The Tang Family Head gently supported his daughter. And then...
"Number One!"
"Yes, Family Head."
Tang Myeong spoke to his responding subordinate, his aura as cold as frost.
"Detain everyone who was present here. Find out exactly what happened."
"Yes, sir!"