Chapter 286
Chapter 286
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 286
Chapter Title: It's a Festival, Huh? (1)
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Having taken a brief shot at glaring in the opposite direction, the Tang father and daughter turned back to each other and opened their mouths.
"Didn't you ask first, Father? What happened on the way here?"
"At the Tang Clan stronghold..."
Of course, the hand of Tang Ho-tae, the Poison Dissection Sage, moved far more swiftly.
He grabbed Tang Ok-gi's cheek roughly and once again inspected every inch of his precious daughter.
"Kyaak!"
Tang Ok-gi, her face turning into that of a crucian carp, recoiled in disgust.
"Let go and talk! There are kids here!"
"Ah, right. You came with your friends, didn't you? Yong-un. Where's Eon Yong-un?"
"Yes, Family Head. I'm right here."
"This rascal Ok-gi doesn't listen to a word I say, so we can't even communicate. Could you tell me instead? What in the world happened on the way that has you all looking like this?"
It was at that moment the Grand Strategist stepped forward.
"Ahem. Family Head?"
"Kuhm. The Grand Strategist is here too, isn't he? I must have lost my wits for a moment."
"I understand."
With that opener, the Grand Strategist politely cupped his fists toward the elders standing around Tang Ho-tae as well.
"It feels like ages since I last saw the Tang Clan's elders."
At the Grand Strategist's words,
among those called elders of the Sichuan Tang Clan, the one sole figure clad in white robes spoke up.
"Hoho. It has been since before you took on your current duties, back when you were at the branch in the holy city. That's why it feels that way at first glance."
"I hope you've been well?"
"For old folks like us, it's the same as ever. Buried in medicines and poisons, growing older day by day."
"You all seem as hale and hearty as ever."
Finishing his smiling greeting, the Grand Strategist pointed toward the direction of the Tang Clan stronghold in the holy city and said,
"In any case, neither our story nor the Family Head's seems like something to unpack here. As you can see, we went through some hardships on the way, and the kids are in quite a state."
At that, Tang Ho-tae cleared his throat awkwardly and nodded.
"Kuhm. The Grand Strategist is right. I got ahead of myself. Everyone, let's head to the Tang Clan stronghold."
On the way to the Tang Clan stronghold,
as Tang Ho-tae and the Grand Strategist walked ahead, exchanging various matters,
two of the Sichuan Tang Clan's elders approached me.
"You're that Eon Yong-un fellow, right?"
One was the elder in white robes who had just spoken with the Grand Strategist.
"Hey, didn't that punk answer when the Family Head called for Eon Yong-un? Have you gone senile already? How long has it been that you're forgetting?"
"I'm not the one who spaces out from poison fumes like you! Why would I forget? It was just polite to ask."
The other was an elder in pitch-black robes, in stark contrast.
- Everyone else is in blue robes, but these two old-timers are the only ones in white and black?
'This is my first time actually meeting them, so I was wondering, but they seem to be the ones called the Sichuan Twin Freaks.'
The one in white was Gwi-ui,
the one in black was Dok-goe.
If Poison Dissection Sage Tang Ho-tae was the great pillar of the Sichuan Tang Clan, these two could be called the supports holding up that pillar.
"Yes. I'm Eon Yong-un."
As expected, the names Gwi-ui and Dok-goe came from the lips of the elder in white robes.
"I'm Tang Ja-un. This dark-faced bastard here is Tang Ja-jin."
"So you two are the Sichuan Twin Freaks. Eon Yong-un of Murim Studies bows to you esteemed seniors."
Gwi-ui nodded in acceptance of my greeting, while Dok-goe spoke with an indifferent expression.
"The Family Head raves about you, and so does Ok-gi. Are you cozying up like that because you want to devour us or something?"
Though Dok-goe brought it up, Gwi-ui seemed curious too, as both their eyes held equal parts suspicion and interest.
As I gauged their true intentions,
my master spoke up.
- Are these go-stone-headed geezers picking a fight right now?
'They're not picking a fight. You know how the Sichuan Tang Clan folks have quirky, thorny personalities.'
Tang Ok-gi, seeing us like that, shrieked.
"Old fart! When did I ever praise Eon Yong-un?! And why do you talk like that?"
"You punk, our ears still work fine. We've devoted our lives to the Tang Clan—can't we even ask the friend of someone like our granddaughter?"
"Watch your mouth!"
"You try speaking nicely to us first."
Well, it didn't feel bad.
'They're not called freaks for nothing.'
That was just their nature, and they were acting this way out of concern for Tang Ok-gi and the Sichuan Tang Clan.
'Though they do have something they want to devour from me too.'
I showed my palm to the sputtering Tang Ok-gi to signal it was fine, then spoke to the Sichuan Twin Freaks.
"Once, Ok-gi told me, 'You're a friend of the Tang Clan.'"
"You, why bring up something like that?"
"Back then, I told Ok-gi not to say such things lightly since you're not the Family Head, but it's true that I want to be a friend of the Tang Clan."
At my words, Dok-goe crossed his arms and said,
"So, what are you trying to devour? I'm asking for the second time."
"The Tang Clan's position in the Baekbon Society and Sichuan lands, knowledge of poisons and medicine, secret techniques, loyalty and strength of the people. The entire Sichuan Tang Clan is tempting— I'd love to devour it all."
"What?"
"Of course, I'm prepared to offer my own flesh in return. Doesn't the Tang Clan want to devour something from me?"
"......"
"Aren't these chaotic times? I think there's a need for the clans to link up closely, beyond just playing householder in their regions."
At my words,
Gwi-ui, who had been listening quietly, burst into hearty laughter.
"No wonder the name Gwaeryong echoes through the land, and our Family Head praises you."
Then he asked the silent Tang Jun-gi,
"Jun-gi, why did you run for student council president? Were you really thinking of beating this guy?"
"......"
"Must've been awkward with Ok-gi stuck in the middle for nothing."
With that conversation started, we walked while chatting about various things,
and before we knew it, we arrived at the Tang Clan stronghold.
Tang Ok-gi's mother, Madam Yu, and her eldest brother, the Tang Clan's young master Tang Yun-gi, had come out to greet us.
Of the two, Tang Yun-gi spoke first.
"Greetings to the Grand Strategist. Good to see the juniors from Righteous Martial Academy too. I'm Tang Yun-gi."
"Nice to meet you, Young Master."
"Greetings to the Young Master."
As we exchanged cupped-fist salutes with Tang Yun-gi,
Tang Ok-gi ran to her mother and hugged her.
"Mom!"
"Ok-gi, I've told you not to act spoiled in front of others."
"But it was tough. From the start, they made your second son so mad..."
"You rascal. What are you saying in front of your friends?"
"Oh right. These are friends from our Blue Bamboo Hall: Eon Yong-un, Jeong Hyeon, Eun Ha-seong, and Woo So-rung. And this is Senior Ye Hae-su. That one over there is Gong Yun from Fragrant Orchid Hall."
"Ok-gi, aren't you from Fragrant Orchid Hall? And Gong Yun?"
"Oh yeah."
"You mean Cadet Namgung Yun?"
"As long as you get it."
"......"
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ Entering the Tang Clan manor like that, we finally took hot baths after so long,
changed into clean robes, and headed to the Family Head's quarters.
Upon arrival, Tang Ho-tae, the Sichuan Twin Freaks, and Tang Yun-gi were waiting for us.
Among them, Tang Ho-tae spoke first.
"What happened on the way here?"
At Tang Ho-tae's question, Eun Ha-seong spoke up in a sly tone.
"Ahem. If it's storytelling skill, who else but me?"
However, I blocked his mouth.
"You overuse the seasonings. I'll stick to the essentials."
With that opener, I recounted from the poison attack at the inn in the waterside village near Seo-rung Alliance, all the way to what happened en route, without omission or addition.
"...That's how we ended up arriving at Min River Crossing in that state."
As my story ended,
Tang Ho-tae smashed the small table before him and shot to his feet.
Bang!!!
"Have you seen such damned scum! Elders, right now, mobilize the Mancheon Company and—"
It was then the Grand Strategist spoke.
"Even if we muster the Mancheon Company and charge there, we won't catch the enemy's true form. Though there were twists, we all arrived unscathed. Calm down for now."
"Ngh."
At the Grand Strategist's words, Tang Ho-tae swallowed his anger and sat back down.
I said to him,
"Now it's time for the Family Head to tell us about things here."
"It's nothing. Not something for you to worry about—just think of it as visiting a friend's house, train, eat good food, sightsee a bit in Sichuan, and head back."
It was then the Sichuan Twin Freaks spoke.
Dok-goe went first.
"It's not 'nothing.' From the chat on the way, this young friend has quite the insight. He even said he wants to be a friend of the Tang Clan... Shall we discuss?"
Gwi-ui followed.
"Yes. Isn't he the one in the world who knows the Demonic Cult best?"
"Argh, so frustrating. Just tell them, old farts."
As Tang Ok-gi pounded her chest toward them, Dok-goe spoke again.
"The head of the Ja-dong Heo Family was poisoned to death."
At that, Tang Jun-gi furrowed his brow and asked back.
"So the one who was poisoned was your elder. But wasn't he already on his last legs?"
"Right. By age, it was his time anyway, and he'd clung to his seat for quite a while. But poison traces were found in that old man's corpse, leading to rumors that our Tang Clan was the culprit."
With Dok-goe explaining the incident here,
Gwi-ui spoke of the Sichuan Tang Clan's current plight.
"Rumors spread like wildfire, and high officials who used to visit our pharmacies stopped coming cold. Same with the Shu brocade we produce. Merchants who had agreed to take it off our hands canceled with penalties, so except for what Silver Radiance Merchant Group took, our warehouses are overflowing. Can't sell at a loss, so it's a real dilemma."
Jeong Hyeon, who had been listening quietly, raised his hand when the story ended.
"Did you track down who started the rumors?"
"Of course we did. Some bastards who spouted prophecy-like nonsense a few months ago and left. Something like, 'When the Heo Family's old pine falls, the Tang Clan's poison bird finally goes mad.'"
At Dok-goe's response, Woo So-rung swallowed dryly and said,
"A, a prophecy? So the enemies we'll fight have that level of divination power?"
I immediately shook my head and spoke.
"It's not real prophecy. In this case, they spread those words to the populace in advance and tailored the situation to fit. The common folk think it's prophecy because it was foretold long ago, just like you did."
"Aha."
"Gwi-ui Senior. So those who spread that 'prophecy' nonsense in the holy city were from the Manchu Valley Circus Troupe?"
"Right. The ones who died and got caught in Yoreung. It's clear the Demonic Cult and Heavenly Poison Valley are squeezing us, but we have no target to draw swords against. The Circus Troupe bastards are done, and the Ja-dong Heo are victims too, so attacking them would backfire."
As Gwi-ui finished,
Dok-goe stared at the Grand Strategist and spoke.
"We're in a real bind. Grand Strategist, got any good ideas?"
"Even I have no way to draw out enemies dead set on hiding. But there might be a way to dispel the malicious rumors and catch our breath."
At that, I unwittingly nodded,
and the Grand Strategist's gaze turned to me.
"Nodding like that, looks like you've got an idea too, Yong-un."
"Ah, yes."
"Speak first. I'm curious what you're thinking."
"How about holding a festival?"
"A festival?"
"Yes. You said the Shu brocade is piling up with no way to handle it, and visits to the clinics have dropped off. Hold a grand festival in the holy city."
To the head-tilting crowd, I continued step by step.
"Serve delicious food, hand out gifts, offer free treatments. Teach how to deal with common poisons too."
Dok-goe cut in midway, narrowing his eyes.
"Why teach poison countermeasures?! You saying we hand over the clan secrets now? We don't have the concept of daughters marrying out. Usually, we take sons-in-law. Hand over the secrets?"
"Exactly. This is the work of those exploiting the gaps in our Tang Clan laws. And we need to regain the trust of the officials and commoners."
"...Go on for now."
"Until now, the Tang Clan has kept silent on poisons. The Demonic Cult and Heavenly Poison Valley exploited that, using poison to frame us. They incited the public by making the silent Tang Clan look suspicious. Plus, they figured we'd harshly punish rumor-spreaders, thickening the suspicion."
Up to here, I looked at Tang Ho-tae and said,
"But the Family Head showed flexibility."
"You mean not harshly punishing the rumor-mongering folk?"
"Yes. You discussed it with the Alliance Leader and decided against punishment."
"Kuhm. The world's so chaotic. And those singing around were just kids."
"Why not show a bit more of that flexibility?"
"Specifically how?"
"The poisons commoners encounter in life are really just poisonous mushrooms, snakes, venomous insects, right? No intent to belittle clan secrets, but countermeasures for those aren't huge mysteries."
"......"
"Hold a festival to spread that knowledge, and proclaim that the Tang Clan studies poison not to harm people, but to protect the clan and Sichuan..."
At that point, the Grand Strategist chuckled softly and finished my thought.
"We can shake off the rumors of being behind the poisoning and regain the trust of officials and commoners."
It was the moment the air in the hall shifted.