Chapter 263
Chapter 263
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 263
Chapter Title: Homecoming with the Tang Clan Escort
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Clop clop.
The Nangong Clan procession, now on their way back home, was passing through Sichuan, beyond Chongqing.
The Tang Clan warriors escorting them kept marching as they gazed at the setting sun dipping low on the horizon.
Tang Myeong-ok and Tang Myeong-jin rolled their eyes busily.
Tang Myeong-jin sent a mental message.
[How far are we following them?]
[I don't know.]
[You don't know?! Why not? Let's just ditch them around here. We've followed for over three days—that's enough. You planning to go all the way to Anhui Province?]
At Tang Myeong-jin's words, Tang Myeong-ok's eyes lit up.
[Good idea.]
"Are you insane?!"
[Shh.]
Tang Myeong-jin had unwittingly spoken aloud, drawing stares from around them. He hurriedly ducked his head.
Tang Myeong-ok spoke calmly.
[Father told us to see the Nangong Clan's guests off properly.]
[So how far is "properly"...]
[Then seeing them all the way to Anhui Province counts.]
[Oh, come on! Don't twist it like that.]
Tang Myeong-jin scowled.
[Following the Nangong Clan without permission? All the way to Anhui? Are you crazy? Father will flog us!]
[We'll learn a lot if we get into the Nangong Clan. We could refine our poison resistance arts, build ties with Young Master Nangong Hyeok, and strengthen our friendship.]
[Cut it out? He's weird—you said he's the weirdest guy around!]
[Weird doesn't mean bad.]
As Tang Myeong-ok spoke calmly, Tang Myeong-jin's jaw dropped.
What the hell was this crazy sister spouting?
Should he just jab her with a paralyzing needle?
While Tang Myeong-jin pondered seriously, Tang Myeong-ok continued her mental message.
[It'll definitely benefit the clan.]
[Count me out.]
[Father was hugely disappointed in us over the poison resistance arts.]
[Damn it! Why's that my fault? Who mistook it for poison resistance arts like an idiot?]
[You agreed too. As long as we realize later it was wrong, that's fine.]
Is that really how it works, sis?
'You're the weirdest one, you crazy sister!'
Tang Myeong-jin glared at Tang Myeong-ok in frustration, but her expression remained unchanged.
Tang Myeong-ok kept tempting him.
[You want to go back home and keep getting chewed out by Father?]
[Better than eating cold stares at the Nangong Clan! You think they'll take us in for free?]
[They gave us the Millennium Crimson Crane. We only traded two Great Return Pills for it—friends of the clan.]
[That's true, but!]
...Damn. He felt a twinge just now.
Tang Myeong-jin eyed Tang Myeong-ok anxiously.
She sent her mental message with her usual calm face.
[If we earn merit at the Nangong Clan, the family will acknowledge us. Like I said earlier...]
[Leave me out. Please!]
[Poor little brother. I'll become an outsider once I marry, but you'll bury your bones in the Tang Clan.]
[...Huh?]
[We need to build our standing now. Go back, and you'll be treated like dirt. How's that gonna help you later? I'm suggesting this because I don't want that for my poor brother.]
Tang Myeong-jin's pupils shook violently.
She was right.
Tang Clan daughters became outsiders after marriage, either living apart or bringing in a son-in-law to live in the Tang compound.
He was the one who'd have to claw his way through the clan's leadership, fighting tooth and nail.
The Tang Clan valued protecting their secrets above blood ties.
Thinking of his future, she was right.
But still...
"So, how long are you two planning to tag along?"
Nangong Hyeok looked down at him with indifferent eyes.
'...Damn, this feels wrong somehow.'
What should he say?
Nangong Hyeok was definitely the Sichuan Tang Clan's benefactor.
Hadn't he shared the Millennium Crimson Crane and poison resistance arts, and jumped into the fray against the Five Poisons Sect?
Yet there was this nagging unease.
Maybe his eccentric behavior amplified it.
'...Feels like stepping into a sticky poison bath.'
The kind of thick, inescapable poison bath you couldn't climb out of once you were in.
The deeper they got tangled, the more something felt off...
As he wrestled with his dilemma, Tang Myeong-ok made the first move.
"We have a lot of luggage! We'll escort you."
"What?"
"We know a shortcut! This way!"
"Cough cough!"
Tang Myeong-ok grabbed the dazed Tang Myeong-jin by the scruff and hurried to the wagons.
Nangong Hyeok narrowed his eyes and muttered.
"Those guys are after the Great Return Pills, right?"
The Thunder Dragon Squad trio's eyes gleamed.
"The Tang Clan bastards—trying to take back the Great Return Pills?"
"These damn scoundrels!"
"We'll get them first. Slice their throats..."
Shing!
As Nangong Ryong drew his sword and rolled his eyes, the trio shut their mouths.
Nangong Hyeok raised a hand to stop them.
"Whoa, whoa."
"..."
"Calm down. Let's head back first."
Nangong Ryong sheathed his sword but stayed vigilant.
The Thunder Dragon Squad heightened their guard as they moved toward Anhui Province.
Watching from a short distance away, So Geol-gae shook his head.
'Crazy bastards.'
The Nangong Clan procession headed for Anhui Province.
* * *
Nangong Hyeok gazed at the Nangong Clan's grand estate, paved with blue tiles.
The guards at the main gate spotted Nangong Hyeok's group and erupted in chaos.
"The young masters are back!"
"The young masters have returned!"
"Quick, tell the Family Head!"
A commotion broke out as people swarmed the main gate.
Amid the uproar, busy retainers rushed out.
In an instant, the gate area was packed with people.
The Nangong Clan retainers whispered among themselves.
"What'd they bring back this time?"
"Wow, it's long. Did they rob a merchant caravan?"
"Tch! Not rob—bring back!"
"Ahem, after the Black Dragon Sect incident. Heh heh!"
"Man, what a massive procession! They went to Sichuan—what the hell did they do to make it this huge?"
"No end to it, no end."
The retainers gasped repeatedly at the procession filling Hefei's streets.
Soon, Nangong Jangcheon and the clan's leadership emerged, parting the crowd.
They gaped at Nangong Hyeok and Nangong Ryong leading the procession.
Nangong Jangcheon nodded at his sons.
Nangong Ryong cupped his fists in salute, and Nangong Hyeok gave a light bow.
Nangong Jangcheon chuckled heartily.
"You've worked hard."
"..."
"We've got a lot to talk about. Unload the luggage first..."
As he spoke, Nangong Jangcheon spotted the continuing procession and widened his eyes.
Wagons stretched in a long line, piled high with goods—that was expected.
Had Nangong Hyeok ever returned empty-handed?
But looking at who was pulling those wagons...
"The Sichuan Tang Clan?"
Nangong Jangcheon instantly recognized the Tang Clan warriors in green uniforms among the servants.
It was unbelievable that the haughty, reclusive Sichuan Tang Clan had come all this way, personally hauling the wagons.
"Why are they...?"
Nangong Hyeok answered curtly.
"They came to escort us."
"...From Sichuan all the way here?"
"That's what they say."
"...The Sichuan Tang Clan?"
Nangong Jangcheon gaped at Nangong Hyeok's shrug.
'The Sichuan Tang Clan escorting us all the way here?'
He thought nothing could surprise him about Nangong Hyeok anymore, but he was wrong.
Who could've imagined the Tang Clan, a thousand li from Sichuan, following to Anhui Province?
It had never happened since he became Family Head.
Probably not in generations.
As if overhearing, Tang Myeong-ok dragged Tang Myeong-jin forward.
"I'm Tang Myeong-ok, daughter of the Sichuan Tang Clan."
"...Tang Myeong-jin."
"We've heard so much about you from Father. It's an honor to meet you."
"...An honor."
Nangong Jangcheon blinked.
"...The Tang Family Head's children?"
"Yes! Father ordered us to assist the Nangong Clan's benefactors, so we came all this way."
"The Tang Family Head?"
Tang Myeong-ok rolled her eyes briefly and smiled.
"Yes."
"Ha, haha. Well, you've come a long way. Come inside. Prepare the guest hall!"
"Thank you for your consideration."
Tang Myeong-ok bowed formally, and Tang Myeong-jin belatedly followed after a poke in the ribs.
Nangong Jangcheon stared at Nangong Hyeok in bewilderment.
'...Why does this kid always bring someone extraordinary back every time he goes out?'
And the ones he brought were never ordinary.
'The rivals are all gathered in one place.'
With the Tang siblings and Peng siblings now together in the Nangong Clan—it was absurd.
Nangong Jangcheon let out a hollow laugh.
"Unload the luggage first... Eldest and second, come see me."
"Brother can handle it..."
"Come."
"Ah, I've got so much to do..."
"Want me to make it so you have none?"
"We can take it slow."
Tch.
He'd gotten more resolute in the meantime.
Nangong Jangcheon beckoned with a finger, and Nangong Hyeok clicked his tongue before trudging toward the Heavenly Bow Hall.
Nangong Ryong followed behind.
The halted procession resumed.
The elders, led by Grand Elder Nangong Wi-gyeong, gasped at the Tang Clan warriors trailing Nangong Hyeok like chicks.
"The Sichuan Tang Clan visiting our home."
"Maybe to express thanks?"
"The Sichuan Tang Clan?"
"...Well, they must be grateful—they sent all that luggage."
"Heh heh, they looked like porters."
Fair point.
The leadership made awkward faces recalling the Tang siblings hauling loads like coolies, dragging wagons.
The secretive, sinister, arrogant Tang Clan volunteering as porters!
Nangong Wi-gyeong turned to Chief Steward Geum Gwang-mo.
"Heard anything?"
Geum Gwang-mo chuckled.
"The young masters pulled it off again."
"..."
"Big time."
"Ha, haha."
* * *
Nangong Jangcheon gaped at the wooden box before him.
"...So, this is the Great Return Pill traded for the Millennium Crimson Crane? Two of them?!"
He glared incredulously at the box clutched tightly in Nangong Hyeok's arms.
The legendary Great Return Pill in that box!
"...C-Can I see?"
"Hahaha! You think so? Relax your eyes first."
"I'm your father."
"Who?"
Damn, even fathers mean nothing before spirit pills?
Nangong Jangcheon sighed, eyeing Nangong Hyeok.
Those bloodshot eyes full of wariness and distrust—why did doubt creep in?
'But why does this smell richer than the one second son gave last time?'
Hallucination?
The previous pill from Nangong Hyeok seemed purer and more fragrant...
Nangong Jangcheon tilted his head, then composed himself.
"So, is that all?"
He didn't pry about how they knew of the Millennium Crimson Crane, helped the Tang Clan, or cultivated poison resistance.
To Nangong Jangcheon, Nangong Hyeok made it seem routine.
'I thought he'd just tossed a thunderbolt into the Tang Clan, but they helped each other.'
As expected, Nangong Hyeok stirred up a storm, but in a good way.
His gaze shifted to Nangong Ryong.
Nangong Ryong shook his head silently.
"...Those guys again?"
"..."
"Not certain, but they were behind the Five Poisons Sect."
Nangong Jangcheon's brow furrowed at the mysterious enemy again.
Nangong Clan, Black Dragon Sect, Five Poisons Sect.
All major sects with ties or backing from them.
Who else in the world could wield such influence over regional powers, besides the Orthodox Alliance and Nine Great Sects?
As Nangong Jangcheon brooded gravely,
Nangong Hyeok glanced at him and tossed out casually.
"The Demonic Path."
Nangong Jangcheon snapped his head up.
"What did you just say?"
Nangong Hyeok shrugged.
"That guy used the Demonic Path's martial art, Black Flame Demon Hand."
Their calm words made Nangong Jangcheon and Nangong Ryong's eyes bulge.
Their stares fixed on the impassive Nangong Hyeok.