Chapter 328
Chapter 328
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>Translator: Ryuma
>Chapter: 88
>Chapter Title: To the Sichuan Tang Clan (4)
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In a lavish room, a beautiful woman exuding a mysterious aura, dressed in seductive attire that revealed her shoulders and cleavage, gently stroked the head of a scarred middle-aged man lying hungrily on her pristine white thigh.
As if savoring the touch, the middle-aged man closed his eyes and hummed a tune.
The man, still humming, reached out and toyed with the woman's hair.
Uniquely, her hair was half black and half white.
Yet it didn't appear to be from aging; rather, it evoked a mystical charm akin to silver strands.
-Swish!
"Black and white hair in such harmony—it's a feast for the eyes."
"You're the only one who praises my hair like that, my lord."
"That's because they don't know your true worth."
"Is that so?"
-Smack!
The woman pressed her lips to the scarred middle-aged man's forehead.
In response, he familiarly grasped her cheek, pulled her face down, and kissed her.
As the two indulged in each other, their passion ignited, breaths growing ragged.
"Haa... haa..."
"You're beautiful."
Her body, now half-nude with the fabric slipping past her shoulders, was perfection incarnate.
The scarred middle-aged man traced his fingertips teasingly down her exposed form.
"Ahh."
A soft moan escaped the woman's lips.
Stirred by her sounds, the man moved to strip away her remaining clothes.
At that moment,
-Snap!
She grabbed his hand.
The black-and-white-haired woman shook her head as she gazed at him.
It wasn't a forceful grip, but the moment his wrist was caught, he released the hem of her lower garments.
With a wry chuckle, he said,
"You're like a blade. No bedding without payment, huh?"
"Are you disappointed?"
"What a silly question."
"But there must always be a price."
"Indeed. To pluck a flower as exquisite as you, I must grant your desires. You're an addictive woman."
At his words, she smiled seductively and placed her hand on his chest.
Then, whispering into his ear,
"Beautiful flowers come with thorns and are hard to claim, after all."
"Thorns... Even if the path is thorny, you're worth it. So, what do you desire this time? Anything you want, I'll make it happen."
Emboldened by his confident tone, the black-and-white-haired woman curled her lips.
"Anything at all?"
"A man's word is worth a thousand gold. How could I speak lightly? Do you think I, the Outlaw Fighting King Seok Pae-woong, lack such power?"
Outlaw Fighting King Seok Pae-woong.
One of the Eight Stars, leader of the Outlaw Alliance, and among the top masters of the unorthodox sects.
He was a monster who had earned his Eight Stars title through external martial arts alone.
"Ahhh. How impressive."
The woman teasingly licked his ear with her tongue.
"Mm."
Seok Pae-woong swallowed dryly, unable to contain his excitement.
Savoring his impatience, she ceased her teasing and said,
"Bring me one woman from a certain clan."
"A woman? From where?"
"The Tang Clan."
At that, Seok Pae-woong furrowed his brow.
"The Tang Clan... You mean the Sichuan Tang Clan?"
It was only natural for him to show such distress.
The Sichuan Tang Clan was one of the Seven Great Clans of the orthodox sects and the hegemon of Sichuan.
While the Outlaw Alliance might surpass them in scale, as members of the Justice Alliance, provoking them could escalate into a major conflict.
"This isn't just a thorny path—it's a bed of nails."
"Is it too much even for your power, my lord?"
"Too much? Do you think I'm afraid of those poison-wielding dart-throwers?"
"Then it should be no issue."
"...That's not the problem. Crushing them isn't hard, but doing so could rouse the entire Justice Alliance behind them."
Seok Pae-woong spoke frankly.
No matter how proud he was, he wasn't irrational.
Even for one of the Central Plains' Four Beauties, he couldn't risk all-out war with the Justice Alliance.
To him, she traced her chest with a finger and said,
"What if there's a pretext that even the Justice Alliance couldn't contest?"
"A pretext? For the overlord of the outlaws to step in, it'd have to be extraordinary."
"What if the Tang Clan is sheltering heretics from the White Lotus Cult?"
"White Lotus... heretics?"
His expression shifted at those words.
Views on the White Lotus Cult were poor across the board, orthodox or unorthodox.
Who could favor a cult condemned by the state for deceiving the masses?
Seeing his reaction, the black-and-white-haired woman smirked slyly.
* * *
Not long after the Outlaw Fighting King Seok Pae-woong hurriedly departed, a hunched old woman leaning on a cane appeared at her side.
The old woman spoke to the black-and-white-haired woman with utmost respect.
"It's done, Lady Spring-Autumn."
In response, the black-and-white-haired woman—no, Lady Spring-Autumn—grinned and said,
"With the right pretext and desire, no creature is easier to handle than a man."
"Heh heh heh. Indeed. Any man ensnared by Lady Spring-Autumn's charms can't escape. Truly."
"Of course."
Lady Spring-Autumn took pride in her beauty.
She believed no woman could match her allure, and any man who laid eyes on her would be forever trapped in desire.
With this beauty, she had ensnared many slaves.
Among them, the Outlaw Fighting King was a pawn she had meticulously cultivated over years.
Shedding her rumpled clothes, she gazed at her stunning nude reflection in the mirror with longing eyes and murmured,
"You think I'll just stand by if they tell me not to interfere? Hmph."
-Swish!
Covering her reflected face with her hand, she whispered,
"Soon, you'll learn just how formidable that hidden power is."
* * *
"It's called Gwangwon."
'G-Gwangwon?'
Seonghwa Ryeongju's eyes widened at Mok Kyung-un's words.
Gwangwon was a small county at the northern edge of Sichuan Province.
The Sichuan Tang Clan was based in Chengdu, the province's heart, so even by diligent carriage travel, it was about ten days away.
'Already this far?'
She was utterly bewildered.
[Oh right, the Tang Clan patriarch and I are connected, so he took in my granddaughter? What a coincidence. That very Tang Clan patriarch seems to have poisoned my grandfather.]
[Th-the Jang Protector is your true grandfather...?]
[It'd be so thrilling to tear off all four limbs of that Tang patriarch and your granddaughter right before your eyes.]
She hadn't forgotten Mok Kyung-un's words.
This man followed through on his threats.
'...Can even the Tang Clan patriarch handle him?'
Originally, she hadn't fully trusted Mok Kyung-un.
Thus, she thought reaching the Tang patriarch, who held her granddaughter, would ensure protection.
But after witnessing his power, her mind changed.
Even the Tang patriarch might not safeguard her and her granddaughter.
With her body barely mobile, Seonghwa Ryeongju prostrated herself desperately before Mok Kyung-un.
"Please... please spare at least my granddaughter."
Mok Kyung-un looked down at her plea with impassive eyes.
Then, lifting her chin, he smiled faintly and said,
"Your desperation tells me you're ready to answer faithfully as I desire."
At his words, Seonghwa Ryeongju swallowed dryly and nodded.
Nothing else mattered.
If she could save her sole remaining blood kin, her granddaughter.
To her, Mok Kyung-un asked,
"There's one thing that's puzzled me since hearing it from that Yi Gwang fellow."
"A puzzle, you say?"
"They say Formless Poison is the Sichuan Tang Clan's, so why was Grandfather poisoned by it? Was there a grudge between them?"
This had nagged at Mok Kyung-un.
He too had heard of Formless Poison from his grandfather.
It was called the most perfect poison among all existing ones.
Its terror lay not just in being colorless and odorless, but in how, upon the victim's death, the toxin fully diluted and vanished.
No physical evidence remained.
Thus, his grandfather had praised it highly and warned even him—with his strong poison resistance—to beware Formless Poison.
[Don't... come... near.]
'So that's why.'
In his final moments, Grandfather had kept him at bay.
At first, Mok Kyung-un hadn't understood.
But now, knowing the truth, it made sense.
Likely to prevent direct contact and infection with Formless Poison.
Staring coldly at Seonghwa Ryeongju, Mok Kyung-un pressed again.
"You have ties to the Tang patriarch, and Grandfather was the White Lotus Cult's Protector, so you must know well?"
"Th-that's..."
"Don't overthink it—answer immediately. Unless you want that reattached arm severed again."
'Reattached my arm?'
Seonghwa Ryeongju's eyes bulged at his words.
She had wondered why her severed arm was back to normal, never imagining him as the cause.
Just how far did this man's abilities extend?
-Snap!
Startled as he placed a hand on her shoulder, she blurted out,
"I-I don't know."
"That's not a good answer."
-Grip!
"It's true. Even I don't know why Jang Protector was poisoned by Formless Poison. He was from a Tang Clan branch, just like me."
'!?'
Mok Kyung-un's eyebrow twitched as he prepared to crush her shoulder.
What did she just say?
Grandfather was from a Tang Clan branch?
"What do you mean, a Tang Clan branch?"
"Exactly that. Not as close as I am—I'm from the Tang patriarch's maternal line—but Jang Moon-no, Jang Protector was also a branch member, recognized for his talent and even instructed by the previous patriarch."
The Sichuan Tang Clan, focused on poison martial arts, was bloodline-centric.
Thus, they typically intermarried with close branch kin to preserve the bloodline.
"...Huh? So Grandfather was from a Tang Clan branch and got done in by them?"
"It could be a conspiracy. Branches ultimately trace back to blood kin, so the Tang Clan harming Jang Protector is unthinkable."
"Unthinkable?"
-Crack!
No sooner had she spoken than Mok Kyung-un's grip tightened.
Her shoulder twisted with the sound of breaking bone.
"Kugh."
"You think a 'conspiracy' excuses what's already happened? So Grandfather was betrayed by his own blood kin, branch or not?"
As Mok Kyung-un's voice chilled, Seonghwa Ryeongju's face darkened rapidly.
Even she didn't know the circumstances of Jang Protector's death.
Yet the hidden ties between him and the Sichuan Tang Clan had thoroughly provoked Mok Kyung-un.
[Chapter 88: To the Sichuan Tang Clan (4)] End