Chapter 686: Everyone, Throw This Thing Away
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 686: Everyone, Throw This Thing Away
"Do you have any idea how many months the books were in the red because of you?"
Yorang spoke, her eyes fixed on Tang Jin-seol with an expression of pure fury.
In the past, Tang Jin-seol had a history of embezzling a significant amount of the Tang Clan's funds. She had done this by forging documents to create "ghost" merchant guilds—entities that existed on paper but not in reality.
And she had been doing it for decades.
Yorang had spent months in absolute agony, tearing down and reorganizing the forged documents from those decades of corruption. No matter how exceptional her comprehension was, she couldn't instantly fix a mess that had been twisting and piling up for so long.
During that hellish ordeal, Yorang had made a vow.
She swore she would hunt down and crush the person responsible for ruining the ledgers.
And now, the culprit, Tang Jin-seol, had appeared right before her eyes.
Yorang couldn't hold back. The moment she faced Tang Jin-seol, the resentment from the months she’d spent slaving away to fill those holes in the books surged up like a tidal wave.
Ultimately, she moved her hand.
She swung and smacked the woman right across the head.
Without a single moment of hesitation.
"............"
Meanwhile, Tang Jin-seol, having just taken a blow to the skull from Yorang, wore a dazed expression. The shock was so unexpected that she couldn't even process the situation.
Why?
The first thought that crossed her mind when she felt the pain was "why."
Why was she being criticized?
Why was she feeling pain?
Why had she just been struck?
She simply couldn't understand.
She was a direct-line descendant. She was one of only three remaining pure-blooded members of the Tang Clan.
And yet, she had just been hit in the head. By some young girl whose background was completely unknown.
It was impossible for her to wrap her head around the situation. She just stood there with a blank stare until the reality of the event finally sank in.
How much time had passed?
Whoosh.
Soon, a red flush began to creep over her face. As the seconds ticked by, an unbearable sense of shame and humiliation welled up from the depths of her soul.
Who was she?
She was the sister of the current Tang Clan Head and the wife of the Cheonmu Alliance Leader, Lee Jae-won. It was no exaggeration to say she stood at the very pinnacle of the ruling class.
And yet, she had been struck in the head?
It was shameful. An immense sense of insult filled her.
"What do you think you are doing?!"
Tang Jin-seol screamed, raising her voice—a rare occurrence for her. Normally, she would never lose her cool. She believed that being the first to get excited and raise one's voice meant losing the upper hand. Usually, she would have used the fact that she was struck to create psychological pressure and gain a moral advantage.
But right now, Tang Jin-seol was in no state to make such a cold, calculated judgment.
The fact that she had been hit by a girl who was a nobody—and that it happened in front of lowly collateral bloodline members—had stripped away her composure.
"What am I doing? I'm serving justice!"
Thump!
Yorang smacked her in the head again. The woman was already detestable, and her talking back only made Yorang more annoyed.
"....Ugh!"
Tang Jin-seol let out a faint groan as her head was struck once more. The sharp pain was unavoidable.
This bitch!
At the same time, an uncontrollable, massive rage surged within her. In her entire life, she had never been persecuted or struck by anyone. Yet here was this girl, treating her like a child being disciplined.
How could she not be furious?
Vrooooooom.
Tang Jin-seol began to circulate her internal energy. A green current slowly formed around her, eventually enveloping her entire body.
"Do you... want to die?"
Tang Jin-seol glared at Yorang with murderous intent as she spoke. She looked ready to poison her at any moment.
"Do you even have the ability?"
Yorang looked at her with an amused expression. The way the woman was venting her poisonous qi seemed both pathetic and cute.
"You think I don't?"
Tang Jin-seol glared with cold eyes. She knew that her physical abilities were vastly inferior to the woman in front of her. She hadn't even been able to react when her head was hit. If they fought head-on, she would have no chance of winning. This woman could probably snap her neck the moment she decided to.
However, the variable of poison changed everything. If that brutish woman touched the lethal poison she carried, her entire body would melt away. The potency of the poison she had refined and aged for forty years was unimaginably horrific.
"If you continue to be violent, I will have no choice but to act. Head of the Jaegyeong Pavilion... do you wish to end your life at such a young age?"
Tang Jin-seol glared venomously as she spoke.
"Go ahead. Try it."
Yorang replied with an amused smirk. "I'll see just how strong you are."
"Do you really think I won't?"
Tang Jin-seol furrowed her brows. She thought the Head of the Jaegyeong Pavilion was just bluffing.
"No, I'm saying I don't care if you do. You don't look very threatening."
Yorang spoke mockingly. No matter how much poison the woman emitted, she didn't seem dangerous at all.
"Arrogant."
Tang Jin-seol glared coldly. Just because someone had superior physical abilities didn't mean they possessed a high resistance to poison. They might be able to endure it with internal energy, but complete resistance was impossible.
"Jin-seol, why is your tongue so long? If you're going to attack, do it already. Stop flapping your lips and acting all noble."
Yorang looked at her with a face full of ridicule.
Snap.
Those words were enough to make Tang Jin-seol lose her last shred of reason.
Vrooooom!
The green currents rising from Tang Jin-seol's body began to stretch out toward Yorang. She intended to poison her right then and there.
Grin.
Seeing this, Yorang smirked. The poisonous qi the woman possessed felt utterly trivial.
Swoooooosh!
The green currents swirled around and engulfed Yorang.
I got her!
Tang Jin-seol rejoiced inwardly. She believed that no matter how strong a martial artist was, they couldn't escape being poisoned after such defenseless exposure.
"Jin-seol."
Just then, a cheerful voice reached her ears.
"This poison is a bit bland, don't you think?"
It was the voice of Yorang, the Head of the Jaegyeong Pavilion. Yorang stood there, perfectly fine, sticking her tongue out.
"What!?"
Tang Jin-seol's face filled with bewilderment. The girl had clearly been exposed to the lethal energy. She had been completely defenseless. How could she be so perfectly fine?
"H-How!?"
Tang Jin-seol stared at Yorang with doubt-filled eyes. She couldn't fathom why the girl wasn't poisoned.
"If you want to poison me, you'll need to be at least a hundred times more toxic than this."
Yorang spoke with a relaxed expression. "I saw Tang Gam earlier, and he was in a terrible state. Why did you do that?"
Yorang's gaze turned cold as she slowly raised her hand.
Whoosh.
Slap!
Then, without a shred of hesitation, she slapped Tang Jin-seol's right cheek.
Fwip.
Tang Jin-seol's head snapped to the side, unable to withstand Yorang's powerful strike.
"That's for Tang Gam!"
Yorang raised her hand again.
Slap!
"That's for Tang Hye!"
Then, she slapped Tang Jin-seol's left cheek without pause.
Slap! Slap! Slap!
"And this is for the months of hell I went through because of you!"
Yorang began to rain slaps down incessantly. Her pent-up emotions were boiling over. The anger from her subordinates being touched and the annoyance of the extra work she’d been forced to do combined into an explosion of complex feelings.
"Did you think...!"
Slap!
"...I wouldn't find out...!"
Slap!
"...if you stole like that?!"
Slap!
"You crafty bitch!"
Slap!
Yorang didn't stop. She hit her again and again until the knot in her chest began to unravel.
Thud.
Eventually, Tang Jin-seol collapsed to the floor. Her legs had given out, unable to endure the extreme pain.
"Why!"
Slap!
"Did you come here...!"
Slap!
"...and interfere while the kids were working so hard?!"
Slap!
"You're already married off!"
Slap!
"Are you going to take responsibility if my workload increases because of you?!"
Slap!
Regardless of whether the woman's legs had given out or not, Yorang didn't stop. Her anger wasn't fully spent yet.
After some time, Yorang finally lowered her hand. She felt as if a decade-old blockage in her chest had finally cleared.
Ah, how refreshing.
Yorang smiled inwardly with satisfaction. Venting her anger felt quite good. The woman was a great target for it; she was so spiteful that she didn't scream once or shed a single tear. If she had cried and begged, Yorang might have felt a sliver of pity and held back.
Yorang glanced down at Tang Jin-seol.
Oh.
She let out a small exclamation of admiration in her head. Despite being slapped so many times, there were no major injuries other than her cheeks being swollen red. It seemed she had pushed her protective qi to the limit to defend herself.
I should have hit her harder if I'd known.
Yorang clicked her tongue in regret. she had intentionally controlled her strength so as not to kill her, but looking at her now, it didn't seem like that much restraint had been necessary.
"Do... you have... any idea... what you've just done?"
Tang Jin-seol glared at Yorang with eyes still full of venom. Even though her cheeks were swollen like balloons, the malice in her eyes hadn't faded one bit.
"Justice, you bitch," Yorang answered curtly.
"You... shouldn't expect... to die... peacefully."
Tang Jin-seol spoke, radiating murderous intent. The girl would die. She had to. She had just provoked the two most powerful forces in the Murim at the same time: the Cheonmu Alliance and the Sichuan Tang Clan.
Striking her—the wife of the Alliance Leader and a direct descendant of the Tang Clan—was the same as insulting both organizations simultaneously. No matter if she was the Head of the Jaegyeong Pavilion, she wouldn't be able to escape punishment.
"You have just... provoked... the two... most powerful... forces... in the Murim.... You won't... be able to... escape... punish—"
Thump!
"You talk too much."
Yorang, looking annoyed, struck her in the head again.
Flop.
Tang Jin-seol slumped to the floor. Unable to withstand the massive impact to her head, she had finally lost consciousness.
Nudge.
"Everyone, throw this thing away."
Yorang nudged the unconscious Tang Jin-seol with her foot. "And don't forget to sprinkle salt."
Then, she turned around and headed toward her office as if nothing had happened.
The members of the Jaegyeong Pavilion could only stare with their mouths agape. The series of sudden events was too shocking to process.
"W-Wait a moment! Pavilion Head!"
Tang Hye hurriedly called out to Yorang with a panicked expression.
"What?"
Yorang turned her head slightly, looking bothered.
"You can't just leave like this!"
"What else am I supposed to do?" Yorang asked, looking genuinely confused.
"....You should tell us... how to handle this... before you go...."
"I told you to throw her out. And sprinkle salt."
"There's no way we can do that!"
"Why not?"
"Even if she's an out-married member, she is still a direct descendant of the Tang Clan... If she's treated like that, all our heads might roll."
Tang Hye looked at Yorang with a tearful face. She was terrified that they might actually die.
".....Is that so?"
Yorang scratched her head. She realized that things had become more troublesome than she’d expected. She had been so annoyed that she’d just started swinging without thinking about the consequences.
"Then what should we do?" Yorang asked Tang Hye.
Hearing the question, Tang Hye's face filled with despair. She had thought Yorang knocked Tang Jin-seol out because she had some kind of plan. But now it seemed she had just acted on impulse without any plan at all.
"....How could you... ask us that..." Tang Hye said, on the verge of tears.
"I guess there's no choice."
"Is there a way!?"
"Let's just kill her!"
Yorang spoke with a bright smile. She thought that silencing the witness was the best option in this situation.
"No!"
Tang Hye vehemently opposed the idea. Killing her to hide the fact that she was knocked out? That was like detonating a fire bomb to catch a bedbug.
"No?"
"Absolutely not!"
"That's a shame..."
Yorang looked genuinely disappointed. "Then I guess we have no choice. Let's just tell the truth."
"The truth!?"
"In my experience, nothing good ever comes from hiding things like this."
Yorang spoke in a calm tone. She had told countless lies in the past and had received her fair share of karmic retribution. If she tried to cover this up with a lie, things would surely get even more serious.
"Will... will it be okay?"
"It'll be fine."
Yorang spoke as if it were no big deal. "He's not the type of man to scold someone who hasn't done anything wrong."
Yorang's starlike eyes sparkled. Her gaze was filled with absolute trust.