Chapter 234: Scandalous Rumor-2
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 234: Scandalous Rumor-2
"I still can't believe it. Though I haven't known Young Master Jang for long, I don't take him for that kind of lecher."
Tang Jin dismissed Tang Gan’s words as nonsense.
Even though they hadn't spent much time together, Sun-woo had been remarkably polite. He had even used formal speech with Tang Jin, who was a mere member of a branch family.
How could someone with such a solid foundation of character commit such an outrageous act?
Furthermore, he was the man chosen by the Clan Head—a figure they revered with near-religious devotion. Tang Jin didn't believe the Clan Head would make such a foolish choice.
"Oh, you're such a naive soul. People aren't always what they seem on the outside."
Hearing Tang Jin's defense, Tang Gan pounded his chest in frustration and continued.
"Aren't you the one being swayed by unconfirmed rumors?" Tang Jin countered.
"This information is absolutely certain."
Tang Gan’s voice was thick with conviction as he spoke.
"It came directly from the mouth of a Qingcheng priest."
"A priest of Qingcheng!?"
Tang Jin looked bewildered. Why was a priest from the Qingcheng Sect suddenly being mentioned?
"Do you know Tang Jun?"
"Isn't he your younger cousin?"
"That's right. The lad was drafted for this trip to the North Sea and is currently serving as a coachman."
"And why are you suddenly bringing up your cousin?"
"He is the source of this information."
"Wh-what!?"
Tang Jin asked again, his eyes wide with shock.
"He begged me to keep it an absolute secret, but how could I keep something like this from you?"
Tang Gan’s expression hardened as he went on.
"It seems one of the Qingcheng priests was quite upset about having to camp out unexpectedly. He took his anger out on my cousin while he was driving the carriage, insulting him. He mocked the fact that a martial artist of the Tang Clan was reduced to being a mere coachman."
Tang Gan’s face darkened.
"But the problem didn't end there. He didn't just insult my cousin; he dragged the entire Tang Clan through the mud. He said the Tang Clan’s standards had plummeted."
"He said what!"
Tang Jin’s face flushed red, and his voice rose.
Though he was from a branch family, he was brimming with pride for his clan. To him, an insult to the family was something that could never be overlooked.
"And he just let that slide!?"
His face contorted with rage as he pressed for more.
"What else could he do? We're just lowly branch members. How could we possibly protest against the third-generation disciples of Qingcheng?"
Grind.
Tang Jin gnashed his teeth. He loathed the reality where they had to swallow such insulting remarks without recourse.
"Anyway, while he was forced to listen to them insult the Tang Clan, he heard something very strange."
"Something strange?"
"The scandalous rumor regarding Young Master Jang and Lady Seol."
"It must be a lie. How can you believe the words of such insolent people!"
"I thought so too at first. But my cousin said that based on the reactions of the other Qingcheng priests, it didn't seem like a total fabrication."
"What kind of reaction could possibly make him think that!?"
"He said voices were raised, and he even heard the sound of someone being slapped."
"That much!?"
Tang Jin asked in disbelief. He never imagined that Taoist priests would resort to physical violence against one another.
"Indeed. And the words shouted even as the slaps were exchanged were that Young Master Jang had seduced an innocent disciple of Emei who knew nothing of the world."
"........."
Tang Jin was left speechless. If such words were shouted in the heat of a physical altercation, he began to think they might actually be true.
"They say the two of them disappeared together late at night. When a young man and woman spend the night alone, how can it be anything other than a scandal?"
"T-that's..."
Tang Jin stammered, unable to process the news. It was a reality he found impossible to accept.
"Anyway, keep this to yourself. My cousin said he made a promise to the Qingcheng priests never to speak of it."
Tang Gan looked at Tang Jin with a suggestive gaze.
"Wait, was it really okay for you to tell me?"
"Come now, are we just anyone? We're close enough to share a secret like this. Regardless, make sure you're the only one who knows."
"Don't worry about that. The secret won't spread through me."
Tang Jin replied with a grim expression. Satisfied with the firm answer, Tang Gan nodded. He felt confident that after such a warning, the man wouldn't breathe a word of it elsewhere.
Having finished their conversation, the two men went back to setting up the tent.
*
Cheongsu quietly closed his eyes.
He began to use his internal energy to sharpen his sense of hearing.
Sssssss.
Suddenly, a flood of sounds rushed toward his ears. From the whistling of the wind and the rustling of leaves to the chirping of insects—countless sounds were captured by his heightened senses.
[That... Jang Seon... Seol...]
[...words... that... ah...]
Eventually, human voices began to filter through.
Hmph!
Having caught the trail of human speech, Cheongsu concentrated his internal energy even further, and the voices became crystal clear.
[I’m telling you, it’s true!]
[That’s impossible. How could he cheat on the Young Lady!]
[Shh! You’re being too loud! What if someone hears?]
"Hehehehe."
A sinister laugh escaped Cheongsu’s lips. Everything was unfolding exactly according to plan.
"Heh, loose-lipped fools."
Cheongsu was in an excellent mood. He had been worried that the coachman might actually keep his mouth shut as promised, but it seemed his concerns were for naught.
The coachman’s mouth was lighter than expected, and the scandal regarding Sun-woo began to spread far and wide in less than four hours.
It seemed to spread even faster because the Tang Clan was a blood-oriented family where everyone was closely knit.
"Only you can know this."
"Don't ever repeat this."
Countless people whispered these words, and as a result, the majority of the Tang Clan's martial artists now knew about the scandal between Sun-woo and Seol-hyang.
Cheongsu wore a bright smile. His scheme was working perfectly.
He had been looking for any opportunity to get revenge on Sun-woo. However, he had been driven to despair by the fact that he couldn't surpass the man in martial prowess, wealth, or backing.
Sun-woo possessed the martial strength to single-handedly bring the Rising Stars of Dragon and Phoenix to their knees.
He held immense wealth that surpassed the greatest in Sichuan and rivaled the richest in the Central Plains.
And his backing—he was the son-in-law of the Poison King, a hero of the Great War of Righteousness and Demons who was believed to have reached the Profound Realm.
As a disciple of Qingcheng, the poorest of the Nine Sects, Cheongsu had nothing that could compete.
Especially that damned backing; it had an overwhelming influence that he could never overcome, no matter what he did.
The Profound Realm.
Wasn't that a stage said to have been reached by only a handful of legends in the long history of the Murim?
There was no way he could touch someone who had the Poison King as his shield.
Cheongsu had tasted despair once before.
But then, a flash of inspiration had struck him. If the man's background was the problem, why not simply remove that background?
He had pondered how to get Sun-woo stripped of his position as the Tang Clan's son-in-law, and a clever ruse had come to mind.
He would make the scandalous rumor with Seol-hyang public.
Prestigious sects valued procedure and etiquette above all else. One could call it a stiflingly archaic way of thinking, but they took pride in the fact that such traditionalism was what made them prestigious.
What if Sun-woo cheated while he was already engaged?
And with a young disciple of the Emei Sect who knew nothing of the world, no less?
An enormous barrage of criticism would be leveled at him. In the worst-case scenario, his engagement to Tang Seo-yoon could be annulled.
Taking a concubine after marriage wasn't much of a flaw, but having an affair before marriage was a massive disgrace—especially for a man marrying into the family.
No matter if he was the Poison King's disciple, if the flaw was great enough to tarnish the Tang Clan's honor, they would have no choice but to break the engagement.
Cheongsu praised himself for his brilliant idea and set his plan to spread the rumor into motion.
The first thing he did was watch for an opportunity all day to find fault with the coachman. He intended to pounce on the slightest mistake and start a loud argument.
As luck would have it, they were forced to camp unexpectedly. Cheongsu rejoiced and immediately seized the opportunity to hurl insults.
He had berated the coachman and naturally let the scandal about Sun-woo and Seol-hyang slip.
Of course, Senior Brother Cheonggil had told everyone to keep quiet, but there was no way that would work.
In the blood-centered Tang Clan, everyone was practically family. How could they possibly ignore such a juicy piece of gossip?
Cheongsu slowly opened his eyes. He turned and began to walk away. He no longer had any business with them.
*
Step, step.
Un-hye walked along the mountain path with a flower-like smile on her face. Perhaps because she had been stuck in the carriage all day, just walking made her feel refreshed.
"Hum... hum... hum~"
She was in such a good mood that she began to hum to herself.
After walking for a while...
[That... is...]
[Seol... oh!]
She heard the sound of voices nearby.
`What’s that?`
She felt a sense of curiosity. It was strange to hear voices so deep in the forest.
`Is it our group? Or bandits? Slash-and-burn farmers?`
All sorts of guesses raced through her mind. She slowly placed her hand on the hilt of her sword and focused her hearing on the voices. She had to be on guard in case they were bandits.
[Words... impossible!]
[It’s true... Seol-hyang... together... four... great!]
"Whew."
Once she confirmed the faint sounds, she breathed a sigh of relief and took her hand off her sword. Since she heard Senior Sister Seol-hyang’s name, she assumed they were either secular or main sect disciples.
`But why did they come all the way out here?`
Having confirmed they were Emei disciples, Un-hye was puzzled. What was there to see in the middle of the mountains that would bring them this deep? Were they out for a walk like her?
But Un-hye soon shook her head. Seeing as they were sitting down and chatting, that didn't seem to be the case. Were they out here to have a private conversation?
Un-hye rose onto her tiptoes and began to creep toward them, intending to eavesdrop on their conversation.
She knew it was wrong, but her curiosity had defeated her conscience. After promising herself she would perform a hundred and eight prostrations in apology later, she moved closer.
As the distance closed, their voices became clear. Un-hye smiled slightly and focused on their dialogue.
[Is that really true!?]
[I’m telling you, it’s true! A Qingcheng priest saw Senior Sister Seol-hyang and Young Master Jang disappear together.]
[That’s crazy. How could that happen? It hasn’t even been a week since she met Young Master Jang.]
[That’s why you can never tell with people. Who would have known? That such lewdness was hidden beneath our scatterbrained Senior Sister’s surface.]
[Still... Senior Sister is a secular disciple, so it’s not like we can criticize her that much, right?]
[Even so, do you think it makes sense to do the deed in less than a week? And with a man who already has a fiancée?]
[Well... that’s true, but...]
[See! Deep down, you think Senior Sister is dirty too.]
[It is... disappointing.]
It was then.
"Silence!"
Suddenly, a thunderous roar crashed down upon them. The two women, who had been blossoming in their gossip, clutched their ears in agony at the sudden blast.
"How dare you spout such nonsense!"
Un-hye revealed herself and harshly rebuked those who were badmouthing Seol-hyang.
"Senior Sister... Un-hye..."
"Senior Sister..."
Terrified by her sudden appearance, the two disciples began to tremble. To them, who were merely First-Class, the aura of Un-hye, who had reached the Peak Realm, was overwhelming.
"Tell me right now," Un-hye said, glaring at them with a cold gaze.
"Tell you... what...?" one of the Emei disciples stammered back.
"Which bastard is spreading such false rumors!"
Un-hye’s face was flushed with anger as she glared at them.
"We... well... we just overheard what the Qingcheng disciples were saying..."
"What!?"
She frowned. If the source of this rumor was Qingcheng, the situation was far more serious.
"Who else knows about this rumor?"
"For now, it’s just us... but the Qingcheng disciple was speaking so loudly that... others might have heard as well."
"Do you know his name?"
"I don't know his name... but I remember he was the shortest among the priests."
At Un-hye’s question, the Emei disciple tried to calm her shaking voice and continued. Since she had only eavesdropped, she didn't know his name, but she remembered he was the shortest among the Qingcheng disciples.
"I see. You may go now."
Having finished, Un-hye was about to turn away, but she stopped as if remembering something and looked back at them.
"Let such nonsense go in one ear and out the other. It is a rumor not even worth mentioning."
Un-hye glared at them with shimmering eyes.
Flinch.
"Ye-yes!"
"Yes, ma'am!"
Terrified by Un-hye’s momentum, they answered hastily. Hearing their response, Un-hye turned around immediately.
She had to stop Seol-hyang right away. If Seol-hyang found out such a rumor was circulating, given her fiery personality, she certainly wouldn't stay quiet.
In the worst case, this could escalate into a war between Emei and Qingcheng.
Thud!
She kicked off the ground and sprinted away, desperately hoping that Seol-hyang hadn't heard the rumor yet.