131. Opportunity
Dang Si Hyeok opened his eyes.
It was still the dim hours before dawn.
As he sat up, the front of his nightclothes fell open, revealing the bandages that covered his upper body all the way to his fingertips.
Dang Si Hyeok winced slightly in pain as he rose from the bed.
It was hard to believe this shabby thatched hut was the dwelling of the third young master of the fearsome Sichuan Tang Clan.
Changing into the light green martial robes symbolic of the Tang Clan, Dang Si Hyeok opened the door and stepped outside.
"Did you cough, Young Master?"
A Tang Clan warrior spotted him emerging and bowed his head.
"I told you not to wait on me. Just rest."
"No, we can't neglect our duty to attend to you."
The warrior's face was full of distress as he spoke.
Like Dang Si Hyeok, he was wrapped in bandages here and there, and parts of his body were bruised black.
"Young Master, may I ask something?"
When Dang Si Hyeok nodded, the warrior hesitated before speaking.
"That man... he's truly not the successor of Yak-seon?"
"Of course not."
"How can you be so sure?"
"I can't tell you. But trust me."
"......Understood."
The warrior replied listlessly. Watching him, Dang Si Hyeok quietly bit his lip.
Big brother.
The man currently occupying the ruins claiming to be Yak-seon's successor was a fake.
Because the real successor of Yak-seon was the one Dang Si Hyeok called his big brother.
It didn't make sense from the start that Yak-seon's successor, who was said to wield thunder-summoning martial arts, would have such poor skills and need escorts.
What on earth is Big Brother thinking?
Dang Si Hyeok thought of his eldest brother, Dang Si Yul.
He had always seemed so just and righteous.
No, that's just how he appeared.
If he hadn't met his true brother, he might have lived his whole life blind to Dang Si Yul's real face.
That made it all the more confusing.
What is our clan? What about Grandfather?
No matter how much Dang Si Yul schemed, he couldn't hide his nature from the entire clan, let alone the Poison King.
Did that mean the Tang Clan and the Poison King knew and turned a blind eye to Dang Si Yul?
What was real, and what was justice?
Dang Si Hyeok's confused mind grew even heavier as he entered the crude building right next to him. The roof was missing tiles everywhere, making it more ruin than structure.
Inside sat a few people with even graver injuries than the Tang warriors.
They were members of the Cheongbi Group.
After the clash at the ruins entrance, Dang Si Hyeok's faction and the Cheongbi Group had become fugitives.
"You came?"
"How is she?"
"Same as always. Still can't open her eyes."
They looked at Dang Si Hyeok with ambiguous gazes—hostile or friendly, it was hard to tell. He passed them by familiarly and headed to the corner with a bamboo screen.
That was when it happened.
Tok-dok, tok-dok!
A light patter of footsteps crossed the wooden floor.
A small black creature scurried from underfoot and leaped toward Dang Si Hyeok.
"Eek!"
Dang Si Hyeok reached out familiarly and caught it.
"I told you not to jump like that. It hurts."
Nyaang!
Hanging limply from Dang Si Hyeok's hand was a black cat.
Its fur gleamed, and its green eyes brimmed with an eerily vibrant energy.
And most strikingly...
Ssss-!
Where a cat's tail should be, a snake hung instead, its eyes closed as if sleeping.
"Myo-ah."
Nyaang!
The spirit beast called Myo-ah was a Sa-mi-myo, a snake-tailed cat with the mystical ability to heal external wounds by licking them.
"That little guy's been nursing her all night. The wounds seem healed, but she still won't open her eyes."
"It's because the guy's energy has seeped into her marrow."
"Isn't that dangerous?"
"It is. For now... we can only trust the Paeng clan's sturdy constitution."
"What do we do next? They're camped at the ruins, and we're hiding in some godforsaken mountain ridge."
"......"
Dang Si Hyeok had no answer for the Cheongbi member's question.
He hadn't found one himself.
But then...
Kyaak-
Kak!
The Sa-mi-myo suddenly bristled its fur. At the same time, the snake on its tail snapped open its eyes and hissed threateningly, as if awakening from sleep.
"Everyone, battle stations!"
One of the Sa-mi-myo's other abilities was its exceptional crisis detection. It reacted faster than anyone to major threats approaching itself.
At Dang Si Hyeok's command, Tang warriors and Cheongbi members alike poured out of the shabby building, weapons drawn.
But in their ragged, defeated appearance, it was hard to find any fighting spirit.
Gritting his teeth at the sight, Dang Si Hyeok thought,
Is it Big Brother? Or the Paeng clan?
He hoped it was the Paeng clan.
The Hubei Fierce Tiger might not forgive Tang blood, but at least it could save Paeng So So.
Dang Si Hyeok circulated his inner energy to sharpen his senses. Recently ascended to the Peak realm, his perception was now needle-sharp.
Urk.
Pain like his meridians tearing apart surged from his acupoints.
But he couldn't stop.
He knew too well he was the only one who could lead the Tang warriors, Cheongbi members, and the unconscious Paeng So So.
As he regulated his breathing, ready to strike at any moment—
Piiik-!
A bird's cry echoed from somewhere.
Kiyak!
The Sa-mi-myo let out an even sharper hiss. Dang Si Hyeok looked up.
Something enormous was plummeting down at high speed.
"Throw!"
Dang Si Hyeok and the Tang warriors retreated while hurling hidden weapons at the falling mass.
Whoosh-!
The weapons missed, and the massive thing landed lightly—astonishingly so for its size—kicking up a cloud of dust that blocked their view.
That was when it came.
From beyond the dust, a voice rumbled low like an echo in a cave.
"Throwing hidden weapons right away? Quite the grand welcome."
The moment he heard it, Dang Si Hyeok felt chills crawl up his spine.
Whoosh!
A gust scattered the dust.
And there it was.
A blazing bird of fire.
And atop it, three riders.
Dang Si Hyeok's eyes widened like saucers.
"B-Big Brother!"
"Yes, it's me."
"Falling from the sky... so this is what they mean."
Dang Si Hyeok grinned ear to ear.
I looked at him.
Bandages peeked from his neck to his fingertips. If the visible parts were like that, the hidden ones must be wrapped tight as a mummy.
Some spots even seeped faint bloodstains.
[He looks in bad shape. All major meridians damaged. Tang clan's Jing-pa Throw Technique.]
And yet he was trying to use martial arts.
He must have grown in the months I hadn't seen him.
"Those wounds... the situation doesn't look good."
"......You noticed. Yes, Jing-pa Throw Technique. I didn't realize when I used it, but damn, it's terrifying on the receiving end."
Jing-pa Throw Technique.
A vicious Tang Clan hidden weapon art that shredded major acupoints with poison-laced throws.
In other words, his own clan had used that ruthless technique on their third young master without hesitation.
Dang Si Yul's control is stronger than I thought.
Even if young master competitions in the Tang Clan had been fierce in the past, fratricide wasn't the norm anymore.
This must be a matter worth breaking even that taboo.
"You've been through a lot."
"No hardship. But how did you find this place?"
"Ways exist."
Naturally, thanks to Sa Wol and Tak Horak.
I'd been stuck in the cult lately with few chances to shine, but the Black Shadow Corps specialized in tracking.
Early in the story, they'd traced Sado Hwan's disappearance without a clue to the Soul Swap Great Law cave—proof of their competence.
Plus, aerial scouting via Mugyeok-i made it easy. Trace paths, then fly accordingly.
We'd found Dang Si Hyeok in this truly remote mountain nook.
"Did you complete the desert mission well? That spirit beast, and your aura feels much more refined."
Dang Si Hyeok nodded toward it.
Mugyeok-i, shrunken to falcon size, darted around the Sa-mi-myo, which cowered, sensing its power.
"That can wait. Your story first."
"Big Brother......"
"I heard some on the way via inquiries. But what exactly happened?"
"It was shortly after I obtained the Sa-mi-myo from the ruins, as you instructed."
One day, a man claiming to be Yak-seon's successor appeared, and the eldest young master went to verify.
It was originally Dang Si Hyeok's mission regarding Yak-seon, but after failing to recover the Black Ox Thread, he'd been sidelined.
He could only tag along as support.
"They already knew about the Eastern Sword Dragon—your true martial arts prowess. Reports went up without my knowledge. But we kept secret that you're Yak-seon's successor."
"......Why not tell them if it was urgent?"
"A promise is a promise."
Internally, I nearly whistled in admiration. Yeah, keeping faith even at personal cost—that's true righteous faction style.
[The Tang Clan isn't exactly orthodox righteous, though.]
Anyway. Coming from a place full of deceivers and schemers trying to fleece you, this feels refreshing.
[And you're the biggest deceiver, you demon.]
......Huh? What?
Dang Si Hyeok continued.
"By the time we pinpointed the Yak-seon ruins exactly..."
"By then?"
"Paeng noona was already exploring them."
Cheongbi Group lived up to their name.
Just first-rate warriors, yet their activity level baffled even me.
"Exploration rights go to whoever enters first unless yielded, right? I assumed you'd think the same."
He hadn't, hence the mess.
"So?"
"The fake Yak-seon successor's escort fought Paeng noona."
"Escort?"
"That's why I'm sure he's fake. Not well-known, but... didn't Yak-seon use thunder-summoning martial arts?"
He glanced at me cautiously. I hadn't known that—it wasn't in the story.
I nodded vaguely, not quite committing.
"In one exchange. Just one. Paeng noona lost. To fists, no less."
"Fist expert, huh. Description?"
"Looked over forty, but wore a scholar's cap—couldn't see clearly."
Guess I'd have to meet him myself.
"And we don't even know if the ruins are real."
"About that—"
As I opened my mouth to say the ruins were fake—
"He's right."
That was when it happened.
The door where Dang Si Hyeok and I stood swung open, and Paeng So So appeared.
Leaning heavily on the doorframe, she said,
"Those ruins... they're real. Inside are ten types of elixirs left by Yak-seon."
At that moment, Pa Cheon shuddered.
[We must find them.]
Pa Cheon said.
[A chance to heal this body.]