Chapter 172: Kidnapped-2
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 172: Kidnapped-2
Sun-woo took a deep breath and walked toward the gate where the Tang Clan plaque hung.
His heart was still racing, but he knew that if one commits a sin, one must face the punishment.
He was the one who had broken his promise to her, and he was the one who had put the Tang Clan in a difficult position by making enemies of the Five Great Clans. Even if she slapped him the moment he walked in, he would have no right to complain.
Soon, Sun-woo reached the main gate of the Tang Clan. Two gate guards stood there on high alert.
"You're working hard," Sun-woo said, his voice carrying a natural dignity.
Hearing his voice, the guards quickly turned their heads toward him. Their eyes grew as wide as saucers.
"Greetings, Clan Head!"
They immediately bowed so low their heads nearly touched the ground, shouting their greetings in unison. Their leader, who had left for a honeymoon with the Sixth Lady, had finally returned to the family.
A small smile played on Sun-woo's lips at their greeting. It finally felt real—he was back at the Tang Clan.
*
Upon returning, Sun-woo headed straight for the office.
He figured it was better to face the music sooner rather than later, and meeting Tang Seo-yoon was the logical first step. He also intended to introduce Ok-ryeong to her.
Seo-yoon was the one who had supported him heart and soul when he first came to the Tang Clan seeking the Poison Essence. Although it had come with the condition of providing the mnemonic for the Rain of Ten Thousand Flowers, she had been a source of great strength for him far beyond that deal.
He wanted to introduce Ok-ryeong to her first—the lover who was able to survive thanks to her help.
After walking for a short while, Sun-woo arrived in front of the office door.
"Whew."
Sun-woo took another deep breath. So much time had passed that he couldn't even remember how many months it had been since he last saw her face. He felt a surge of nerves at the thought of seeing her after so long.
She’ll probably slap me the moment I walk in, right?
Sun-woo let out a small chuckle, imagining her reaction. Knowing her, she would likely swing at his cheek the second she laid eyes on him.
"Aren't you going in? I'm opening it."
It was then that Yorang, seemingly frustrated by Sun-woo’s hesitation, grabbed the handle and began to push the door open.
Creeeeeak.
The door swung open with the sound of protesting hinges.
"Yo-Yorang! Stop!" Sun-woo shouted, looking at her in surprise.
He wasn't mentally prepared yet, so why was she opening it so recklessly? But the door was already wide open. Sun-woo let out a long sigh and looked ahead, bracing himself to see Tang Seo-yoon staring back at him with a stunned expression.
"Huh?"
But something was wrong. The office was completely empty.
What's going on?
Sun-woo felt a sense of confusion. By all rights, she should have been buried under a mountain of paperwork, stamping documents, yet she was nowhere to be seen.
"Sun-woo! Seo-yoon isn't here."
Yorang looked at Sun-woo with a disappointed pout. She had secretly been looking forward to reuniting with Tang Seo-yoon. While the person she wanted to see most was the Great Matriarch, she had missed Seo-yoon as well.
"I see that. Did she go to eat?"
Sun-woo immediately shook his head at his own suggestion. She was the type of person who usually settled for a quick meal inside the office. She even found that too much of a chore sometimes, keeping a few handfuls of Fasting Pills nearby so she could keep working. There was no way she would leave her post just to have a meal.
As Sun-woo tilted his head in suspicion, he heard the sound of hurried footsteps.
Tap, tap, tap, tap!
Someone was running toward them in a desperate rush. Sun-woo turned around.
"Clan Head!"
It was Geum Jeok-hwa, running toward him breathlessly. Sun-woo smiled, thinking she had rushed over to welcome him back.
"Something terrible has happened!"
"What?"
But the words that came out of her mouth were the exact opposite of what he expected.
"The young lady has been kidnapped!"
"What!?"
Sun-woo let out a cry of shock at Geum Jeok-hwa's words.
*
"What do you mean by that?"
Sun-woo asked again, wondering if he had misheard her. A kidnapping? Out of nowhere? What kind of nonsense was that?
"Exactly what I said. Lady Seo-yoon has been kidnapped," Geum Jeok-hwa replied.
"Who on earth would kidnap Tang Seo-yoon?" Sun-woo asked, genuinely baffled.
Tang Seo-yoon was a master who had reached the Upper Stage of the Super-Peak Realm. That meant she was on par with the sect leaders of the Nine Sects. Who could possibly kidnap someone like her? It would be nearly impossible for anyone who hadn't reached the Transcendent or Profound Realm.
Suddenly, a dark premonition flashed through Sun-woo's mind. Only one person came to mind who was capable of kidnapping someone as strong as her.
"Don't tell me... Lee Jae-won!?"
Sun-woo looked at Geum Jeok-hwa with a grim expression. If Lee Jae-won had taken her, the situation was beyond serious. That vulgar bastard wouldn't leave Tang Seo-yoon alone, especially given her beauty that rivaled the best in the world. A thick, heavy murderous aura began to radiate from his body.
"N-No... it wasn't the Cheonmu Alliance Leader!"
Geum Jeok-hwa, momentarily cowed by Sun-woo's killing intent, quickly denied his guess. Contrary to his expectations, the kidnapper wasn't Lee Jae-won.
"Then who was it?"
"The one who took her is the Heavenly Sword Empress, Joo So-yang!"
"Joo So-yang!?"
Sun-woo's eyes widened. It was a name he hadn't expected to hear.
Wait, could it be...?
A sudden wave of anxiety washed over him as another person came to mind.
Lee Ye-seol!?
Yes, the person he thought of was Lee Ye-seol, Joo So-yang's daughter. A few months ago in Gyunhyeon, Sun-woo had paid Lee Ye-seol back in kind for wounding Yorang—with plenty of interest. Not only had he extorted money from her, but he had also taken the Dragon Tail Soft Sword, a legendary weapon. If Lee Ye-seol had told her mother, Joo So-yang, exactly what happened, it made sense that she would take action.
But it was still strange. No matter how much fame Joo So-yang possessed as the wife of the Alliance Leader and the Heavenly Sword Empress, kidnapping a direct bloodline member of the Tang Clan was madness. It was practically a declaration of war. What was she thinking?
"Is there proof she was kidnapped?" Sun-woo asked, looking at Geum Jeok-hwa.
"This is a letter that arrived from the Heavenly Moon Palace."
Sun-woo took the letter from Geum Jeok-hwa and began to read it carefully.
[Greetings, little hero of the Tang Clan. Your fiancée, Lady Tang Seo-yoon, is currently spending a dream-like time here at the Heavenly Moon Palace.
She is enjoying herself so much that she often mentions wanting to put down roots and live here forever. From our perspective, it is both a blessing and a bit of a dilemma.
It seems that Young Master Jang, her fiancé, must personally make the trip to come and collect her. No matter how much we try to send her back, she simply won't listen.
The Heavenly Moon Palace strictly forbids entry to outsiders, but we can certainly make an exception for someone like Young Master Jang.
So, please do not worry and feel free to visit whenever you wish.
P.S.
I have heard rumors that Young Master Jang handles a sword like a demon. I would very much like to test our skills against each other at least once.]
After finishing the letter, Sun-woo's expression hardened. At a glance, it looked like an invitation from the Heavenly Moon Palace, but the reality beneath the surface was entirely different. This was a ransom note. A threat using Tang Seo-yoon as a hostage.
It was telling him to come to the Heavenly Moon Palace alone if he wanted her back. And to bring the Dragon Tail Soft Sword with him.
Sun-woo frowned. He thought everything was over. Since he had forced even the powerful Hwangbo Clan into sect seclusion, he believed no one would dare touch the Tang Clan. But someone beyond his calculations had kidnapped Tang Seo-yoon.
The woman who had single-handedly decapitated hundreds of demons during the Great War of Righteousness and Demons twenty years ago. The woman who looked down even upon the mighty Five Great Clans.
The Best Among Women. The Heavenly Sword Empress, Joo So-yang. She was the one behind this.
Anger began to boil within Sun-woo. If she had a grudge, she should have settled it with him. Why target Tang Seo-yoon, who had nothing to do with it? A searing rage erupted inside him. He felt a crawling desire to fly there right now and strike Joo So-yang across the face.
But he quickly shook his head. Acting purely on emotion wouldn't achieve anything.
"Third Madam, have you informed the Cheonmu Alliance of this?"
Sun-woo spoke to Geum Jeok-hwa, barely suppressing his fury. No matter how much prestige Joo So-yang had in the Murim, this was crossing the line. Kidnapping a direct descendant of the Tang Clan? If this became known, the Cheonmu Alliance, which claimed to be the guardian of justice, couldn't possibly stay silent.
"We couldn't inform them."
At Sun-woo's question, she lowered her head in shame.
"The fact that she was kidnapped is merely a suspicion based on our own deductions. Even if we raised an objection, it would almost certainly be rejected."
It was true. Those in the Tang Clan who knew Tang Seo-yoon well would know better, but the majority of people who didn't know her would simply assume she had followed Joo So-yang of her own accord. Joo So-yang was an idol to countless female martial artists. If the Tang Clan claimed she had kidnapped Seo-yoon, the public would likely turn on the Tang Clan for slandering her.
Sun-woo felt a surge of irritation. In the end, circumstantial evidence meant they could do nothing through official channels.
"Did you send people to the Heavenly Moon Palace?"
"We sent people several times, but they couldn't even see the young lady."
Geum Jeok-hwa continued, looking troubled. After the letter confirmed that Seo-yoon was with Joo So-yang, she had tried everything to get her back. She tried bribery, and she even tried to use force to bring her back.
But despite those efforts, the Tang Clan couldn't even meet Seo-yoon, let alone bring her home. This was because the Heavenly Moon Palace was surrounded by a formation known as the Thousand-Transforming Illusionary Mist Formation.
The Thousand-Transforming Illusionary Mist Formation was a terrifying array that created countless false illusions to confuse intruders and released a suffocating, toxic smoke to bring them to their deaths. In the end, the Tang Clan's martial forces were forced to turn back, blocked by the formation.
The Heavenly Moon Palace had unilaterally sent a single letter and refused all other communication. The Tang Clan had been left with no choice but to wait for Jang Sun-woo's return.
Grit.
Hearing the situation, Sun-woo clenched his teeth. An uncontrollable rage surged within him at the fact that Tang Seo-yoon had been kidnapped. Once again, someone precious to him was suffering because of his own mistake.
Tang Seo-yoon was his friend. A precious friend, more than anyone else. Though their first meeting hadn't been exactly normal, she had eventually become his one and only friend who supported him with everything she had.
And that friend had been kidnapped. All because of a grudge held against him. There was no way he wouldn't be angry.
"Joo. So. Yang."
Sun-woo spat out her name syllable by syllable, his voice thick with killing intent, as if swearing never to forget this grudge.
"Sun-woo, what do you plan to do?"
Ok-ryeong asked, her voice laced with concern at Sun-woo's murderous aura.
"I'm going to get Tang Seo-yoon back right now."
Sun-woo answered as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. Joo So-yang was calling him out, using something precious to him as a hostage. There was no way he wouldn't go.
"Then I'm coming with you. I can't let you go alone."
Ok-ryeong spoke up, her worry evident. How could she let him go to such a dangerous place by himself?
"I'm sorry, but you can't. I'm the only one invited to the Heavenly Moon Palace. If I bring anyone else, we won't even be able to get near it."
Sun-woo shook his head. The letter from the Heavenly Moon Palace explicitly stated that he was to come alone. If he brought others, the Thousand-Transforming Illusionary Mist Formation would be triggered, and they wouldn't even make it to the palace gates.
"But... that's..."
Ok-ryeong lowered her head dejectedly at Sun-woo's firm tone. No matter how she looked at it, sending him alone felt wrong.
"Don't worry, Ok-ryeong. The things you're worried about won't happen."
Sun-woo comforted her, his voice filled with confidence. He was sure of himself. He was confident he wouldn't lose to Joo So-yang. Unlike when he fought Hwangbo Gang, he intended to enter the Heavenly Moon Palace fully prepared this time.
Joo So-yang had already started this by playing dirty and taking a hostage. There was no rule saying he couldn't be just as ruthless. He would use everything at his disposal to tear her down and make her regret ever kidnapping Tang Seo-yoon.
A cold, sharp light began to flicker in Sun-woo's eyes.