Chapter 297
Chapter 297
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 297
Chapter Title: It Will Show Eventually (2)
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We parted ways with the disciples from Qingcheng and Ami in Chengdu.
However, everyone from the Sacheon Tang Clan except those assigned to guard the Tang stronghold came out to see us off all the way to Min River Port.
- They've come out in droves.
'The common perception is that the Tang Clan is all about poison, but they're surprisingly affectionate people.'
Among the Tang Clan members who had come to see us off, the Sacheon Twin Evils were set to accompany us all the way to the port.
They were tasked with escorting us and establishing branches of the Tang Clan apothecary in Shaanxi and Hebei.
Tang Ho-tae addressed the Sacheon Twin Evils, who had been assigned these two missions.
"I'll leave it to you two elders."
In response to Tang Ho-tae's words, Freak Sword and Poison Freak spoke up in turn.
"Don't worry, Family Head. We'll ensure the young ones reach the academy safely and handle the apothecary business without a hitch."
"Just trust me over that loudmouth Yun. Doesn't this fluttering sleeve prove it?"
"The guy who lost an arm due to his own shortcomings is still full of bluster until he drops dead."
"I'll outlive you by at least a day, so it will happen."
"Damn it, if something like that happens again, I'll throw myself in even if it's disgusting!"
Tang Ok-gi suddenly yelled at the bickering Sacheon Twin Evils.
"You old fogeys! Why talk like that on the road out?!"
"No, Ok-gi, you saw it yourself. How can I hold back when this bastard Ja-jin is blustering like that..."
Tang Jun-gi let out a dry laugh at the excuse and spoke up.
"...You two are exactly the same."
Tang Jun-gi, who had spoken, bowed with a cupped-fist salute toward Tang Ho-tae.
"Father, please take care."
"Of course. What's the most important precept of our family?"
"That we must repay both favors and grudges."
"Right. When you go to the academy, don't hang out with weirdos."
"...There are no weirdos among the people I associate with."
"Then why did you run for student council president?"
"Ahem. Well..."
"Anyway, help Yong-un a lot. You've felt it from this incident too—nothing gets done without a guy like him."
"Yes."
Tang Ok-gi hesitantly spoke up, following Tang Jun-gi's lead.
"Um... not Dad, Father. I... I mean, this girl will take her leave now."
At Tang Ok-gi's greeting,
Tang Ho-tae spoke with a face like he'd downed a shot of strong liquor.
"Ok-gi."
"Yeah?"
"I've been thinking. Ever since you said that one word to me on the streets of Chengdu, you've been trying to use formal speech..."
"......"
"Drop that awkward formal talk and just call me Dad again. Honestly, this father isn't ready to accept that he's fully raised you yet."
"Argh, what are you saying! There are kids around!"
"Be honest—you haven't adjusted either, right? Just do it like before. Like before."
After bidding farewell to his children like that, Tang Ho-tae clasped his hands behind his back and gazed at me and the other Eon siblings who had come out.
"I already gave my greeting as Family Head to the young heroes who rolled up their sleeves for Sacheon. Today, I'll speak as the father of Jun-gi and Ok-gi."
He smiled and concluded.
"Things have been chaotic in Sacheon and the Tang stronghold, so our hospitality was sorely lacking. Next time, I'll make sure you can come and go with peace of mind. Everyone, come visit again."
We returned cupped-fist salutes toward him and boarded the prepared boat, leaving behind the waving Tang Clan members.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ At that moment, as the group led by Jeon Yeon-hye and Eon Yong-un boarded the boat departing Sacheon,
in a remote manor located in Nanning, one of the passes from Sacheon to Yunnan, another great demon of the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult was receiving a report from his subordinate.
"Blood Demon, news that the cult's conquest of Sacheon has failed."
It was none other than the Heaven-Shaking Blood Demon.
"Report in detail, Child King."
In the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult, those called "King" were originally only the Cult Protector Kings.
Their disciples bore military titles, and the demons assisting them were normally called inner aides.
However, the Blood Demon bestowed the title "King" on those who served him.
"There's no need for details. Do-ol Moon Horse fell in battle, and the Rogue Demon Army was completely driven out."
"Kuhahaha. Do-ol Moon Horse—that fool was loyal to the cult like an idiot, and he went out like an idiot too."
"The Punishment Hall or the cult leadership might protest that we didn't provide support."
"Heh heh. This lord said he might help, but never that he would unconditionally."
This stemmed from the Heaven-Shaking Blood Demon's disloyalty.
His ambition to break away from the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult with the Blood King Division and establish his own cult.
"Let them try. I doubt they have the mind for it. With the Cult Protector King dead and the Cult Leader holed up trying to perfect the Heavenly Demon Divine Art, the Left and Right Envoys will be too busy to bother with us. Kuhahahaha."
The Heaven-Shaking Blood Demon burst into wild laughter as he finished speaking,
and the one called Child King smiled along with him.
"Heh heh. Indeed. If they rally a large army using Do-ol Moon Horse's death as an excuse, the righteous Murim world would unite against them, so they can't. Suppressing internals without such measures will take tremendous effort."
"Tsk tsk. I kept telling them that nibbling at the edges bit by bit was better than charging in big, but self-inflicted wounds."
After the laughter exchanged for a moment,
Child King opened his mouth again, his eyes gleaming.
"This is our chance to solidify the Blood King Division. The cult is one thing, but the righteous Murim will be focused on Sacheon and the Righteous Martial Academy's entrance exam. We can concentrate on building our own cult in the meantime."
The Heaven-Shaking Blood Demon nodded in satisfaction at those words but tossed another question.
"Ah, right. What about the ones we're infiltrating into that entrance exam?"
"Regardless of the main cult in the Ten Thousand Great Mountains, we've prepared our own. They're from families ruined in the aftermath of the past Great Demonic War, so they won't even suspect."
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ Several days after the boat departed from Min River Port, riding the Yangtze's currents downstream.
Amid the thick morning fog, Woo So-rung, who had gone to the bow, raised his voice.
"Brother Eon! Grand Strategist! I see a large ship cutting through the fog over there?!"
Anticipating any possible situation, we all came out on deck and reached for our weapons.
Ho-ro-ruk!
No-eung drew a circle in the sky,
and through the dense fog, we spotted the fluttering flag of the Murim Alliance.
Confirming that, I spoke up.
"It's the Murim Alliance flag!"
At my words, the Grand Strategist nodded but didn't relax his guard.
"Considering the time and distance of the report, it's about time for the Alliance Leader to arrive. But anyone can swap flags, so stay alert."
"Yes!"
We maintained our vigilant posture for a while.
"Young Master Eon! Ok-gi! Everyone's safe!"
"Yong-un! Aunt!"
The voices of Yin Ha-yeon and Jeon Yeon-hye came from the bow of the approaching ship.
We immediately dropped our guard and brought the two boats alongside.
As we tried to cross to the large ship,
the Alliance Leader on board extended a hand to help us over easily.
"Grand Strategist."
"Alliance Leader."
"You've worked hard."
"During my time as East Division Chief Inspector, it was all just bluster, and after getting the Grand Strategist title, it felt like I only handled paperwork. This feels like fieldwork after a long time."
"Greetings, Alliance Leader."
"You've all worked hard too. Truly impressive work."
"We were fortunate in many ways."
After exchanging light greetings like that,
the adults began their conversation.
"Senior Freak Sword and Senior Poison Freak, it's been a while."
"Yes, it's been a while, Alliance Leader."
"Our Alliance Leader is great in every way, but he always calls me after Freak Sword. I'm a bit miffed about that."
"Hahaha. I'll keep it in mind. I've grasped what you wrote about using us in the west, but there are parts in the letters I don't fully understand..."
Meanwhile, we shared our own reunions.
Tang Ok-gi was the first to hug Yin Ha-yeon and Jeon Yeon-hye.
"Girls!"
"Ok-gi, why are your under-eyes so dark?"
"Yeah, it's like thinking of the famous Sacheon raccoon dogs... The fight with the Demonic Cult must have been tough, huh, Ok-gi?"
"...That was tough too."
At Tang Ok-gi's words, Yin Ha-yeon tilted her head.
"...Too? Sounds like there's another reason?"
Then Yin Ha-seong spoke up.
"What else could it be?"
Namgung Yun and Ye Ha-su, standing nearby, shook their heads.
Yin Ha-yeon and Jeon Yeon-hye looked at me with inexplicable sighs.
"...Ah."
"...Oh."
Jeong Hyeon smiled awkwardly toward the two and asked a question.
"By the way, I don't see the others. Did just you two come?"
Jeon Yeon-hye answered immediately.
"The Alliance Leader kept it top secret to avoid unrest, so only the strike team and us moved out first. We were patrolling around Gu-dang Alliance territory when we heard it was resolved."
"Ah, then no word reached Hebei at all."
"Yes. Chief Jang-ho went to the Beggar Clan headquarters, so he might know."
She then asked me.
"So, what exactly happened in Sacheon?"
"You've heard from Lady Jeon that the Demonic Cult invaded and we somehow repelled them, right?"
"Yes?"
"Then it'd be better to hear the details from the Grand Strategist after the adults finish talking. It's wrapped up, so no rush. More importantly, we're opening Tang Clan apothecaries in Hebei and Shaanxi."
At my words, Jeon Yeon-hye and Yin Ha-yeon nodded simultaneously.
"Oh ho. It could strengthen defenses against Han Cheol-gil while fostering cooperation with the righteous Murim factions."
"Good for you, Young Master Eon. So that's why the Sacheon Twin Evil seniors are with you?"
"Hearing 'good for you' from Lady Yin first—now that's good."
"...Good for me? Why say it to make people anxious?"
"Setting up apothecaries is a defense against the Demonic Cult, as Lady Jeon said, but to promote righteous Murim cooperation, it needs profitability too."
"......"
"Geography, population, accessibility to major factions, potential conflicts with other apothecaries—all must be scrutinized."
"So you're asking me to help with that now?"
"Exactly."
"...Where do I poke a hole so this boat sinks?"
How long had we been chatting like that?
The adults' conversation ended,
and we all moved to the large ship's cabin.
There, the Grand Strategist formally reported the events in Sacheon to the Alliance Leader.
Once finished, the Alliance Leader let out a faint sigh.
"Whew. Those Cult Protector Kings are strong, but truly, no place in the world is free from the Demonic Cult's threat. Even famous rogue bands they've infiltrated, and prestigious families like Jae-dong Heo-ga have been turned into hosts."
The Grand Strategist nodded in agreement.
"Yes. From now on, we should formulate alliance policies and strategies with the mindset of testing every stone bridge. Of course, we can't accomplish anything by being too cautious, so we must boldly push forward on essentials."
"Speaking of essentials, I'm worried about the Righteous Martial Academy's entrance exam coming up next year. The Demonic Cult would definitely try infiltrating with elaborate fake identities they've prepared over years..."
The Alliance Leader's prediction was correct.
In the original story, the Demonic Cult had used scions from fallen righteous sects to infiltrate the academy.
'I know who those infiltrators were.'
Of course, the original plot had twisted beyond recognition by now.
'Even if the butterfly effect brings completely different people, it wouldn't be strange.'
But even if that happened, it was worth trying.
'If they roll under me, they'll eventually show their true colors.'
The protagonist generation, with me at the lead, was in a position to weed out the demons.