Chapter 259
Chapter 259
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 259
Chapter Title: Triumphal Return
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Chief Steward Tang Uigeum stood before the main Tang Clan compound, gazing toward the distant capital with a mix of anxiety and exhilaration on his face.
"Why aren't they coming? It's been so long since they set out...."
"Just wait a little longer, brother. They'll be here soon."
"I feel like I'm getting ahead of myself."
"Haha! Is it just you, brother? Everyone back home feels the same."
Tang Uiyok's words drew a nod from Tang Uigeum.
"How could we not rejoice at a great victory over the Five Poisons Sect? The Five Poisons Sect, no less. There's been no such triumph in nearly a century."
"Mm!"
"Not only did they capture the Blood Venom Squad and Thousand Venom Squad as prisoners, but most of the enemy's leadership was wiped out! And even their Five Poisons Sect Leader is said to be barely clinging to life! Ha! Those damned southern barbarians and their poison bugs!"
Layers of deep-seated grudges against the Five Poisons Sect dripped from Tang Uiyok's voice.
His expression brimmed with ferocity.
"Still, keep your cool. After all, didn't our clan suffer losses too?"
"We paid them back in full for that! We seized their bizarre poisons and captured their prisoners, so we can exact revenge anytime we want."
"...You're right. Mm!"
The Tang Clan's vengeance was never light. No, it was more vicious than anyone's.
They never forgot a grudge and always repaid it tenfold with their venomous hearts.
It was then, as Tang Uigeum nodded along.
"The main clan's banners are in sight!"
At the shout, Tang Uigeum and Tang Uiyok hurried forward.
Behind them surged the compound's residents and Tang Clan members.
Spotting the distant group, eyes lit up.
The high-raised banners bore the bold character for Tang.
Leading them were Tang Uicheon and the leadership, along with the Poison King Squad, who had marched off to battle the Five Poisons Sect, striding steadily forward.
Dust clouds rose behind them, swirling around the group.
Those approaching spotted the Tang Clan warriors waiting and widened their eyes.
"The Golden Dragon Squad is there too!"
"Golden Dragon Squad!"
"Haha, they've come back alive. Alive!"
The sight of the Golden Dragon Squad, who had entered the jaws of death, drew cheers from the compound and the Sichuan Tang Clan.
Exhausted and haggard with fatigue, their eyes still burned fiercely.
Tang Uigeum let out a low exclamation and unconsciously clenched his fist.
"Family Head! Welcome back!"
"The main clan has returned!"
"The Family Head is back!"
"Waaaaah!"
As the long procession reached the compound, the gathered crowd erupted in repeated cheers.
The elite Tang Clan warriors who had gone on the expedition announced their return amid the fervent cheers.
Relief washed over the faces of the Golden Dragon Squad, Poison King Squad, and leadership.
Seeing the green-tiled roofs of the Sichuan Tang Clan finally made the end of the battle feel real.
"Hahaha! We're back!"
"We made it back alive!"
"We get to see the clan roofs again!"
From those embracing one another to those with tears welling up.
Having survived a death-filled hell, how could they not be joyful?
The tension they couldn't release until the end melted away like snow under the clan's cheers.
Tang Uigeum approached Tang Uicheon and offered a clasped-fist salute.
"Family Head! You've truly suffered. Please, come inside."
"Not now. We'll talk after things are sorted. There's much to handle first."
Tang Uigeum nodded.
Handling practical matters came before boasting of exploits.
"But where are the Nangong Clan people...?"
For a moment, Tang Uicheon's steadfast eyes wavered faintly.
"Hoo...."
Tang Uigeum eyed him curiously as he let out a soft sigh.
Was it an illusion that Tang Uicheon seemed to age a decade in that single breath?
Tang Uigeum felt a twinge of doubt, then gaped at the group emerging through the dust clouds.
Behind them trailed something like a small hill being dragged along.
Caked in dust, it took time to recognize it as a massive bird with originally pristine white feathers.
"What... in the world...?"
What is that?
A bird that big?
Tongue lolling, bound tightly in cloth, dragged along—it was quite the sight.
Its eyes bulged red, glaring warily, almost as if fleeing pursuers.
Tang Uigeum asked in bewilderment.
"...What bird is that huge? It's not a phoenix from legend."
"It's no phoenix."
"Pardon?"
"A Millennium Crimson Crane."
"Ah, Millen—pardon?"
A Millennium Crimson Crane?
"Th-the Millennium Crims—gasp...?"
That?
How, by any stretch?
It bore no resemblance to the legendary creature he'd heard tales of.
Its dust-caked feathers had turned yellow, and the patchy molting made it look like a chicken with a skin disease.
'...And most tellingly, no crest.'
Without the crimson crane crown holding a millennium's essence, how could that be a Millennium Crimson Crane!
Tang Uigeum stared wide-eyed, alternating between the crane dangling like baggage and Tang Uicheon.
Drag, drag....
Seeing the Millennium Crimson Crane, pathetically dragged by Nangong Hyeok's grip on its legs, and the Thunder Dragon Squad following warily, Tang Uigeum's jaw dropped.
"Wh-why is the Millennium Crimson Crane in such a state...?"
"Better not to know."
Tang Uicheon shook his head and placed a hand on Tang Uigeum's shoulder.
"Haaa."
Another sigh, and his face seemed to age yet another decade.
Even the Sichuan Tang Clan folk, cheering moments ago, fell silent at the massive bird being dragged and Nangong Hyeok glaring bloodshot-eyed at his surroundings.
"...Wh-what's that?"
For a moment, the news of victory slipped from everyone's minds.
* * *
Upon returning to the Sichuan Tang Clan, Tang Uicheon and the Poison King Squad sprang into action.
The wounded were carried away, and the dead's bodies collected for funeral rites.
As Tang Uicheon entered the Family Head's chambers, Tang Uigeum and Tang Uiyok followed.
"Things are mostly sorted. The Poison Hall physicians are analyzing the Five Poisons Sect's poisons and venomous creatures, and the prisoners are locked in the Thunder Prison."
"Mm...."
Tang Uicheon's brows furrowed slightly as he exhaled lowly.
Noting his expression, Tang Uigeum asked cautiously.
"But how on earth did you obtain the Millennium Crimson Crane...?"
"The Nangong Clan already knew about it."
"You mean its existence? How would the Nangong Clan, so far away, know...?"
"I don't know either. But it's clear they came to our clan knowing about the Millennium Crimson Crane from the start."
"Huh."
It was astonishing that the Nangong Clan's intelligence reached even the remote southern wilds.
Information was power.
The revelation that the Nangong Clan, thought to huddle in Anhui Province, had a deeper and farther-reaching network than the Sichuan Tang Clan was shocking.
"So the Five Poisons Sect was after the Millennium Crimson Crane too?"
"No."
"Pardon? But with such a venomous creature...?"
"There was a backer behind the Five Poisons Sect. They were the ones targeting the Millennium Crimson Crane."
"...!"
A backer behind the Five Poisons Sect, vying for dominance in the southern wilds?
"The changes in the Five Poisons Sect's poisons, venomous creatures, and poison arts seem to be that backer's doing."
"Mm!"
"From now on, we need to uncover their identity."
"Of course! To dare target our clan! I'll interrogate the prisoners in the Thunder Prison myself."
Killing intent flashed in Tang Uigeum's eyes.
Tang Uicheon, nodding along, asked.
"But what of the Nangong Clan guests?"
"They're receiving treatment in the Poison Hall and resting in the guest quarters."
"And Nangong Hyeok?"
"He's holed up in the guest quarters.... Shall I summon him?"
"No. He's our clan's benefactor. Treat him with utmost courtesy, without causing offense."
"Yes."
Tang Uicheon withdrew his gaze and tapped the table.
Doubts bubbled up, but clan business took priority.
"Convene the council. Summon the leadership."
* * *
Nangong Hyeok removed his upper garments and quietly regarded his reflection in the bronze mirror.
Bruises and cuts marred his body here and there, but nearly all had healed.
The poison aura from the Millennium Crimson Crane had been purged, and the wounds from the Demon Shadow were mere faint traces.
It was a miraculous recovery.
'The medicine wasn't this potent.'
Along with the growth of his Heavenly King Divine Art, changes were manifesting in his body.
"Just one vein."
Merely one vein.
Yet it brought greater gains than opening two.
His insight and depth in the Heavenly King Divine Art had transformed. It wasn't just an increase in internal energy quantity—the quality had changed.
Proof lay in his proper wielding of the Overlord Soul Single Strike.
That strike, born from fusing dozens of forms into one, couldn't be executed merely with abundant internal energy.
It became possible through deeper understanding and a step forward in growth.
"The Demonic Path...."
Nangong Hyeok gazed blankly at the cut etched on his side.
"...We've met again."
He had suspected as much.
When he first encountered the Ghost Hands and they ransacked the rear cave of Mt. Gwangmok, and again when he obtained the demonic sword from the Black Dragon Sect.
Now, at last, he was certain.
The Demonic Path.
The embers of that force which had wrought the Demonic Blood Tribulation and upended the world still burned.
Those who turned the world into hell were plotting something beneath the surface.
Just as in his past life, he was deeply entangled with them in this one too.
"Karmic ties are karmic ties."
No other words came to mind.
Disgust welled up simultaneously.
He thought he had snapped their necks with his own hands, yet they still breathed.
"We'll meet for sure."
Nangong Hyeok's eyes grew icy.
Whatever the reason, he had confirmed their goals aligned with the Demonic Path.
And he knew they wouldn't sit idle.
If they truly were linked to the Demonic Path.
"...Then this much isn't enough."
His martial arts had grown?
He opened one vein?
Such things held no meaning.
Enemies wouldn't wait for his growth.
They would be bloodthirsty to tear out his throat.
"I've only come this far."
He needed to regain his past prowess swiftly.
Only then could he survive.
Only then could he endure.
At his current level, unable to handle even a mere underling of the Demonic Path, stronger foes would surely kill him.
Nangong Hyeok's gaze turned to the window.
He took in the Thunder Dragon Squad, wrapped head to toe in bandages.
"They must live too...."
All within his domain must survive.
For that, the Nangong Clan must grow strong.
They must grow strong together.
If he couldn't instantly reclaim his past invincible might, then together was right.
'Live together....'
A thought unimaginable in his past life drew a soft chuckle.
A strange tremor stirred alongside it.
Nangong Ryong's image flitted through his mind.
The moments Nangong Ryong fell to the Demon Shadow and nearly died consumed by demonic energy surfaced then faded swiftly.
"Mm...."
An awkward emotion surged.
Nangong Hyeok dressed and stepped outside.
'I'll figure out a way.'
Hadn't he rushed all the way to Sichuan for just such a path?
Nangong Hyeok's gaze lingered on the Millennium Crimson Crane flapping feebly in the warehouse.
"Hm...."
Now was the time to deal with it.