Chapter 40
Chapter 40
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 40
Chapter Title: Holy Land Sichuan Tang Clan (3)
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Impurities spread throughout every meridian in the body. A poison of unknown name. Nameless poison.
It was the poison I had drawn out from Yeonhwa's body and stored in my own vial.
A poison that damaged the dantian and lingered in the blood vessels, ultimately making it impossible to use martial arts properly.
Many people in the Tang Clan here had fallen victim to it.
Tang Cheol, for whom I had newly formed a dantian, and Tang Jeong-cheol lying in the medical hall—not to mention the others who couldn't perform at full capacity due to the poison. When tallied across all the Tang Clan branches, there were quite a few.
The problem was that I couldn't fix them all.
Doling out favors and goodwill was no issue. What was so difficult about it? It didn't even drain my own body.
If I felt like doing it, I did. It was just that it wasn't a fundamental solution.
I could teach them how to fish, but I couldn't catch the fish for them every time.
That wasn't my way. I couldn't handle everything from start to finish.
Spoon-feeding someone was excessive. How could I?
The issue was that the Tang Clan members balked at the idea of extracting the poison from their bodies and forming new dantians.
They waved it off, claiming it was beyond their cultivation levels.
Doing so required an enormous amount of qi, and no one capable of handling it existed.
"Tang Clan Head. Doesn't seem all that urgent, does it? Nothing's impossible. Why write it off so soon?"
"Who'd want to declare it impossible outright? But this demands immense internal energy. It's only feasible for you, Grove Lord."
"Even so, giving up that easily—what good does it do? If one person can't manage, have several pool their strength. When facing an opponent unbeatable one-on-one, do you just sit back and take it? You'd deploy a joint formation to fight back, wouldn't you?"
"That doesn't work. How could you funnel multiple people's qi into a single body?"
Well, fair enough. It was practically taboo.
Allowing another person's internal energy or qi into your body was extremely dangerous.
A slight mishap could cause a clash inside, leading to severe internal injuries or even qi deviation on the spot.
"Does that mean you won't even try? If one can't carry the load, two should. If two aren't enough, make it four. Isn't finding a workable method better than quitting outright?"
"Hmm..."
The Tang Clan Head, the Poison King, stroked his beard thoughtfully.
Right. It had that reckless, sheer-will vibe to it, but it wasn't impossible.
If joint formations didn't exist, sure—but murim folk pulled off far more intricate feats without hesitation.
So it could be done. No reason it couldn't.
"You're the Sichuan Tang Clan. I figured a Tang Clan could handle at least that much."
As I poured fuel on the fire, a blaze ignited in the Tang Clan Head's eyes.
Yes, that was it. These were people with nothing left but their pride. Poke at that, and they naturally flared up.
"Very well! We'll do it! Your words ring true, Grove Lord!"
"That's the spirit. Now you sound like the Sichuan Tang Clan I know. Moved by your resolve, I'll lend a hand while I'm here."
"My deepest gratitude knows no bounds. Grove Lord."
The Tang Clan Head wasn't one to dawdle.
He immediately selected the most skilled from the medical hall and sought my guidance.
I happily obliged with utmost courtesy, and they marveled endlessly at my instructions.
Come evening, the Tang Clan hosted a lavish feast in my honor.
The atmosphere brimmed with warmth. They were probably doing it to lift spirits, at least in part.
Until now, things must have been utterly dismal. Morale in the gutters, everyone worn out.
This was a prime chance to turn the tide. Couldn't ask for better.
Tang Cheol, for one, stuck to my side like a loyal limb.
Ha. Seriously. A man past sixty was the last thing I needed. Unless it was a beautiful girl.
As that thought crossed my mind, my gaze drifted once more to Dang Mun-jeong.
A woman masquerading as the young lord, for reasons unknown.
She could fool the whole world, but not me.
I could see it. The flow of qi through a woman's body was distinctly different from a man's. Their internal organs differed, after all—so did the qi.
That kid was definitely a woman.
Anyway, I'd watch and wait on that front. There had to be circumstances. Might not even be my business.
So I asked about something else. Plenty more curiosities lingered.
"Clan Head."
"Yes, Grove Lord. Please speak."
"I've got a question about that poison."
His expression turned grave.
"Have you identified who's using it? Anhui, Sichuan—looks like it's not from one source. And a poison that even the Tang Clan struggles with? Doesn't add up, does it?"
Words that struck at their pride. A 'poison the Tang Clan couldn't neutralize' was a mortal blow to them.
Sure enough, the Tang Clan Head explained everything he knew, as if defending himself.
"Nothing certain on that front. But we've pegged it to a major force pulling strings. It's not just a few incidents. Trace it back, and you hit the Righteous-Demonic Great War."
"Go on."
"As you know, the vile Demonic Cult and black path rabble—even if those dogs and monkeys banded together—could never match the white path righteous sects guarding the Central Plains. Beneath the surface, wicked schemers used this poison to cripple our experts, sparking the calamity."
"Certain of that?"
"I'd stake my life on it."
A toxin that effortlessly neutralized famed white path masters—one even the mighty Sichuan Tang Clan couldn't casually detox.
Did that even make sense?
Well, with a specimen right in front of me, disbelief wasn't an option.
Still, it was ridiculous. Way out of spec. Balance-shattering, even.
Suddenly, musing that far, something clicked.
I knew of another balance breaker.
In fact, I probably knew more about it than anyone in the Central Plains murim.
Me. Myself.
I was the same, wasn't I? The prime culprit of imbalance.
That realization planted a seed of doubt.
What if I wasn't the only one brought here like me?
No way to know for sure. Just a hunch.
Could be other reasons.
Maybe I was brought here precisely to resolve messes like this.
Still, I'd keep the possibility open. Always best to prepare.
I didn't even know the exact reason I'd come to this world.
"So, if you're sure about the backers, you've uncovered more?"
"That's the puzzling part. From what we've gathered, even the Demonic Cult and evil factions have victims poisoned the same way."
"Not backing a specific group, then?"
"That's our current read."
"And?"
"Not much else uncovered. As you know... things here haven't been good."
"No, exactly—that's what's absurd. What on earth happened that the great Sichuan Tang Clan can't even step outside freely?"
A bitter expression crossed the Tang Clan Head's face, thick with self-loathing over their plight.
"Sigh. Shameful as it is, why hide it now? I'll tell all. After the Righteous-Demonic Great War, riffraff flooded into Sichuan in droves. Scum we would've beaten and chased off without a second thought. But they sniffed out our weakness and clung like hyenas. Now they've grown too big to touch casually. A tragedy."
I got the picture. The Tang Clan's straits mirrored the Namgung Family's three years back.
The Namgung were in Anhui, close to the evil-infested Jiangnan—that's why it hit them sooner.
Which meant this place had likely endured something similar not long after.
"The scum's banded together under something called the Black Heaven Alliance. A swarm of wolves and hyenas."
"Black Heaven Alliance? Separate from the Four Young Lords?"
"Not separate. We believe they're backed by the Four Young Lords."
Sichuan was a world apart from the Central Plains.
The roads in were treacherous, and it housed heavyweights like the Sichuan Tang Clan, Emei Sect, Qingcheng Sect, and Jeomchang Sect—all pillars of the righteous factions.
That kept the black path in check. Or so I'd known.
So the evil bastards were seizing this chance to devour Sichuan whole.
It was tempting prey, after all.
"What about the others? Emei, Qingcheng, Jeomchang?"
"No better off than us. Jeomchang's in Yunnan, so less dire than here."
"Then crushing the Black Heaven Alliance would open your airways? With Qingcheng and Emei right nearby, you could ally up again."
"Precisely. But... we couldn't pull it off—that's why the headaches. Whew."
Hearing him out, I sensed he was underselling their strength a tad too much.
The Black Heaven Alliance was a real threat, sure. But they couldn't outright topple the Tang Clan, Qingcheng, or Emei.
If they could, they would've by now.
So they were probably clinging to a slim edge, barely holding balance.
Should I catch the fish for them? Nah.
Not hard for me to march out and lop off the Black Heaven Alliance's heads.
Not bravado. Plain fact.
No way guys the Tang Clan couldn't smash yet were all that impressive.
So I'd skip it. Better to teach fishing.
They had to solve their own woes.
Having a guy like me swoop in and tidy up wasn't ideal.
Not urgent, either.
Dinner wrapped up like that, and they prepared my lodgings.
"Ah, no need for two rooms. One's enough. These kids will bunk with me."
Seolha and Yeonhwa flushed faintly at my words.
The Tang Clan folks' expressions turned a bit strange too.
Ah, figured as much. An old geezer bedding down with two fresh-faced young things—pretty unseemly, huh?
But what could they do? I lived as I pleased.
So I casually draped arms around Seolha and Yeonhwa's shoulders and strolled into the Dangcheong Pavilion they'd set up.