Chapter 379: Lead the Way if You Don't Want to Die.
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 379: Lead the Way if You Don't Want to Die.
"What kind of nonsense is that!"
Sun-woo shouted, his face flushed with agitation.
It was because the idea seemed utterly absurd.
How could Yorang possibly run away from home?
"It’s not a lie. If you don't believe me, ask him."
Lee Ye-seol spoke, pointing to Tang Gam, who stood beside her.
"Is that true?"
Sun-woo glared at Tang Gam as he spoke.
"…It is," Tang Gam replied cautiously, his expression stiff.
"…………"
Receiving confirmation from Tang Gam, Sun-woo stood there with a dazed expression.
Even with the confirmation, it didn't feel real at all.
How could Yorang just run away on a whim?
Wasn't she the one who promised to wait for him, to be a good girl, eat well, and even brush her teeth until he returned?
How could she break her promise to him?
"…Why… why did she run away?"
Sun-woo finally snapped out of it and asked Tang Gam urgently. He needed to hear exactly what had happened.
"…Well… it seems… she fled because the workload at the Jaegyeong Pavilion was too much for her to handle."
"No way! The Sixth Lady would never do that! You know how much stamina she has! And how much work could you have possibly given her anyway!?"
Sun-woo shook his head as he spoke. He couldn't believe Yorang would run away just because work was hard.
In the first place, Yorang was a Spiritual Being.
Unlike humans with normal physical limits, she wouldn't tire easily as long as she consistently consumed spiritual energy.
How could such a being run away because paperwork was difficult?
It was preposterous.
Besides, Yorang was only just beginning to learn internal affairs. How much work could she have actually been doing?
"That… well… a lot happened while you were away, Lord Sun-woo."
"What happened?!" Sun-woo asked, his face still etched with disbelief.
"The Sixth Lady was promoted to Head of the Jaegyeong Pavilion."
"The Sixth Lady was!?"
Sun-woo looked bewildered. It was truly hard to believe.
Before he left for the North Sea, Yorang was, at best, only capable of basic arithmetic.
How could she have risen to the position of Head of the Jaegyeong Pavilion, responsible for all the accounting and tax records of the Tang Clan?
"Yes. I understand she was promoted quickly because her abilities were so outstanding."
"Ha."
Sun-woo let out a hollow laugh. Even hearing it, he couldn't believe it.
Yorang, who only knew basic math, had become the Head of the Jaegyeong Pavilion.
It felt more far-fetched than saying a five-year-old who just picked up a sword had defeated a middle-aged master of the Peak Realm.
"At any rate, after taking over as Head of the Jaegyeong Pavilion, the Sixth Lady handled a massive amount of work all by herself. She worked with only one night of sleep every three or four days, easily doing the work of at least five people. We in the Jaegyeong Pavilion came to rely on her heavily."
Tang Gam spoke with a bitter expression.
"But the problem was that she was too good at her job. Since she handled five people's worth of work alone, the HR department stopped hiring new recruits. As a result, the Head of the Jaegyeong Pavilion suffered from an even greater workload and naturally became disillusioned with her job."
"Wait, didn't she protest?"
"Of course she did. But every time, they just said they would expand recruitment next quarter and then ignored her. Eventually, the Pavilion Head settled the matter herself and managed to get a few new recruits assigned from HR, but…"
"What went wrong?"
"They all ran away within a week."
"What!?"
Sun-woo asked back in shock.
This was the Tang Clan. It was one of the best workplaces anyone could ask for—fame, a massive monthly salary, marriage support, settlement funds, vacation bonuses, retirement pensions—they spared no expense that money could provide.
How could people just run away after a single week?
"I think they felt overwhelmed, trying to survive daily overtime without even going home in a field they weren't specialized in. They all resigned without a second thought. As a result, the workload for the remaining members of the Jaegyeong Pavilion became even heavier, and it seems the Pavilion Head finally snapped. she wrote a resignation letter and walked out."
"…………"
Sun-woo fell silent.
It was surprising to hear about something that sounded like it belonged in a modern corporation, but he also felt a wave of pity for Yorang.
He hadn't imagined she had been suffering so intensely.
Working with only one night of sleep every few days… even for a Spiritual Being, it was enough to wear anyone down.
"Damn it, who is the head of HR!?" Sun-woo asked Tang Gam, his face contorted with rage.
"…It is the Third Madam."
Sun-woo's brow furrowed deeply. He never imagined Geum Jeok-hwa would exploit Yorang like that.
I'll have to give her a stern scolding later, Sun-woo thought.
He would make sure to scold Geum Jeok-hwa until her eyes were streaming with tears.
"Where is the Sixth Lady now?" Sun-woo asked, looking at Tang Gam.
"We haven't found her exact location yet, but we hear she is heading toward Shaanxi."
"I see."
Sun-woo nodded. He immediately turned around to leave. He intended to go after Yorang right this second.
"Wait a moment."
Lee Ye-seol, who had been standing nearby, called out to him.
"What?" Sun-woo replied curtly.
"Take me with you."
"Have you lost your mind?"
Sun-woo looked at her with an absurd expression. Lee Ye-seol was strictly a hostage. How could he take a hostage outside? It was nonsense.
"Don't you want to find the Sixth Lady?"
"Huh?" Sun-woo asked, puzzled.
"I have a way to find her."
Lee Ye-seol spoke with a confident expression.
"Tang Gam."
Sun-woo spoke with a grim face.
"Yes, please give your command."
"Could you leave us for a moment?"
"Understood."
Tang Gam bowed slightly and stepped outside.
"Are you going to keep talking nonsense? Even the Tang Clan's trackers can't find her, so how could you?"
Once Tang Gam was gone, Sun-woo glared at Lee Ye-seol.
"I can find her," Lee Ye-seol said, her voice full of conviction.
"How?"
"I put Tracking Incense on her."
"…What!?"
Sun-woo's voice rose in shock. What on earth was she talking about? Tracking Incense? When could she have possibly done that?
"Back when I first arrived at the Tang Clan, I scattered it on everyone who was there."
"I didn't feel anything like that."
Sun-woo was skeptical. He had never sensed any Tracking Incense.
"The special Tracking Incense made by the Heavenly Moon Palace is colorless, tasteless, odorless, and harmless, so you wouldn't have noticed it. It's so harmless that it disappears on its own after a year."
Lee Ye-seol continued in a calm tone.
"Why would you scatter something like that?" Sun-woo asked, dumbfounded.
"To get revenge, obviously," Lee Ye-seol replied boldly. "I put it on everyone so that if I was ever rescued, I could find you all and kill you one by one."
"…You're one terrifying woman."
Sun-woo spoke with an exasperated look. He understood immediately why she had used the Tracking Incense. But he couldn't understand why she was revealing that fact now.
"Why are you telling me this?"
If she revealed this, she would obviously be watched more closely and viewed with more suspicion. It made no sense.
"Because I think I can make a better deal than waiting for a revenge that might never come."
Lee Ye-seol answered Sun-woo's question in a steady voice.
"A deal?"
"Yes, a deal."
Lee Ye-seol spoke with a provocative smile.
"Is there really a need for a deal?"
Seeing her provocative smile, Sun-woo asked back with a questioning smirk.
"What do you mean by that?"
"I can just order you. I'll say, 'Lead the way.'"
"Are you telling me to help you for free?"
"That's right. I think you're misunderstanding something. A deal is something made between equals. Do you think you're on my level just because I'm talking to you? Is that it?"
Sun-woo spoke with a mocking expression.
"Well, I agree. A deal is indeed something that happens between equals."
Lee Ye-seol nodded at Sun-woo's words.
"But there's something you're overlooking here."
Lee Ye-seol's eyes sparkled as she spoke to Sun-woo.
"And what's that?"
"The fact that you are in a very desperate situation right now."
"Desperate? Me?" Sun-woo scoffed.
"Don't you remember? What happened when you left her alone for just fifteen minutes?"
"…………"
Sun-woo fell silent. A memory flashed vividly through his mind.
In the past, Sun-woo had left Yorang alone for about fifteen minutes. He had given her some money and sent her to an inn by herself.
The result had been catastrophic.
He had ended up making enemies not only of the Rising Stars of the Dragon and Phoenix Gathering but also the sects behind them.
That wasn't all.
He had even ended up in a direct fight with Hwangbo Gang and Joo So-yang, masters of the Upper Stage of the Transcendent Realm—the very limit of human potential.
Fortunately, he had won, but if he hadn't had the luck of meeting the Yin-Yang Demon and learning the Great Shift of Heaven and Earth, it was a situation so dangerous he might not have escaped with his life.
A mistake of just fifteen minutes had put his life on the line.
Sun-woo's face momentarily turned pale. He had realized the gravity of the situation once again.
Last time, it was fortunately Hwangbo Gang and Joo So-yang, but this time, she might drag in Lee Jae-won or even the Heavenly Demon. Especially Lee Jae-won, who was known for his pursuit of women—it was entirely possible. Yorang was, after all, born with peerless beauty.
"Hey."
Sun-woo called out to Lee Ye-seol, his brow furrowed deeply.
"Yes?"
"Lead the way."
"So, are you making a deal with me?"
"No, this is an order. Lead the way if you don't want to die."
"You can't kill me," Lee Ye-seol said calmly. "If you kill me, my father will come. Could you handle that?"
"…………"
Sun-woo fell silent. Even though he had reached the Profound Realm, he was still afraid of Lee Jae-won. Although he had completed the Ethereal Body, facing him without having established his Sword of the Mind was incredibly dangerous.
"…You're smart."
Sun-woo looked at Lee Ye-seol.
"Oh, please. I hear that all the time."
Lee Ye-seol gave a bright smile.
"But listen here, little pisser."
Sun-woo's expression turned murderous.
"Did you forget something?"
"What?"
"The Scorching Poison."
Sun-woo gave a cold laugh. He slowly raised his hand and channeled his poisonous qi. His palm turned a fiery red, and a searing heat began to radiate from it.
"This is an improved version of the Scorching Poison, ten times more agonizing than what you faced before. Even your mother, Joo So-yang, pissed herself after being hit with this."
Sun-woo continued in a flat tone.
"Do you want to try it?"
"No?"
"Then how about leading the way?"
"I don't want to."
"Are you playing games with me?" Sun-woo growled.
"I'm not playing games. I don't want to be hit with the Scorching Poison, and I don't want to lead the way."
"That's not an option. Pick one. Otherwise, I'll pick for you."
"There's a better way. We make a deal."
"Cut the crap. Get over here before I sear you with this poison."
Sun-woo approached her, his face contorted. He saw no room for compromise.
"You should think carefully," Lee Ye-seol said with a sly expression. "What if I faint from the Scorching Poison? And what if I don't give in even after I wake up? You'll be wasting time."
"It's fine. You'll definitely give in right before you pass out."
"That's just an assumption. What if the Scorching Poison turns me into a vegetable? What if it takes time for me to come back to my senses? What if a massive disaster happens while you're bickering with me?"
Lee Ye-seol began to persuade him desperately. She felt that if she couldn't convince Sun-woo here, it was the end.
"Hmm."
Sun-woo looked troubled. It was true that the Scorching Poison had many variables. It wasn't a form of hypnosis to control someone; it was merely a way to control them through fear by inflicting absolute pain.
And he couldn't rule out the possibility of her losing her mind from the pain.
In the case of Lee Ye-seol and Joo So-yang, they had been lucky enough to stop just before going insane, but if something went wrong, she could truly become a vegetable.
Sun-woo's expression became serious. And Lee Ye-seol watched him, her face filled with anxiety.