The Five Poisons Bargain

I desperately suppressed my anger. The last thing I wanted was to lash out at innocent people like Yoo Yang-hee and Su-hyeon.

It's all because of me...

Besides, since this entire mess was my own fault, I honestly didn't even have the right to be mad.

"Sanlong..."

"Is your body feeling any better?"

"I'm fine."

"Hoo..."

Seeing me fighting to hold back my rage, all Yoo Yang-hee could do was gently stroke my face.

"I'm sorry."

"No. It's because I ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠lack the strength..."

I softly took her hand in mine.

"You don't need to push yourself anymore. I have no intention of becoming the clan leader."

"Sanlong..."

Yoo Yang-hee looked as if her heart were tearing apart at the thought that her son was abandoning his dreams because she lacked ability.

Knowing her better than anyone, I spoke immediately.

"First, let me make one thing clear. This is absolutely not because of you, Mother. It's just that after banging my head that one time, everything suddenly became crystal clear."

"You tried harder than anyone!"

"I know that now. I understand that effort doesn't guarantee success. And..."

I smiled more genuinely than ever before.

"Come to think of it, I don't feel like dealing with the headache of becoming clan leader. Watching my back around the elders and branch families, handling every little clan affair... Hoo... It sounds absolutely horrible."

Memories of all the paperwork and endless tasks from when I built a guild for close-range dealers in my past life made any remaining affection for the position of clan leader completely vanish.

It would definitely be worse than that, never better.

Ugh... The happiest life for a guy like me is just collecting a salary while working under someone...

Becoming the head of any organization meant a constant increase in things to worry about.

It felt like being the group project leader back in college during my past life, except with even heavier responsibilities piled on top.

On top of that, I had zero confidence against the constantly scheming elders and branch families, and honestly, I didn't have the ability for it either.

"Sanlong."

Seeing that I wasn't just saying it but truly hated the idea, Yoo Yang-hee looked slightly bewildered.

Looking at her, I continued.

"So please, stop letting Eon Jungmi manipulate you. That woman is definitely not someone who will ever help either me or you, Mother."

"Sanlong, no matter how angry you are, Lady Eon is the wife of the Inryong-dan leader. You mustn't speak so recklessly."

Even in this situation, my mother was still teaching me manners. I smiled and nodded.

Her consistent nature no matter the circumstances put me somewhat at ease.

"I understand."

"Yes... It's all because this mother of yours is lacking..."

"I already told you it's absolutely not because of you. Do I look like I'm lying?"

Having watched her son for so many years, she naturally shook her head.

She had realized I was speaking from the heart.

Was this what people meant by mixed feelings? It hurt to hear my son give up on his dream of becoming clan leader, yet at the same time, it felt strangely relieving.

"I've decided to dream of just living an easy life, playing around with you for the rest of our days, Mother."

To hear such words from a son who was no longer a baby but on the verge of his adulthood ceremony.

As a parent, they were truly happy and grateful words to receive.

"Those are truly grateful words. However, about marriage..."

I loved everything about my mother, but there was one thing that was hard to endure.

"After all... marriage is..."

Perhaps because she came from a scholarly family, her lectures tended to run long.

And there was only one way to escape this.

"Su-hyeon, come see me for a moment!"

"Yes! Yes, young master!"

"So... find a good partner... Hmm? Sanlong? My son?"

Having successfully escaped my mother's nagging, I looked at Su-hyeon.

Seeing her cheeks still flushed red, I pulled some golden wound medicine from my sleeve.

"Tsk. That old fox really has terrible habits."

"...What is this?"

"Medicine. Apply it properly on your face."

"Huh?"

Had hitting my head really changed me? It felt familiar, yet somehow unfamiliar at the same time.

"It's a bribe."

"A bribe?"

"It means I'm entrusting Mother to your care for the time being."

A creeping sense of unease slowly rose as she sensed I was about to cause trouble again.

"What exactly are you planning to do..."

"I'm not planning anything. I've already done it."

"Huh?"

Su-hyeon spotted the Doksu-dan members approaching from afar. She had thought I'd finally come to my senses, but she realized I was still the same Sanlong after all.

"Young master!"

"There's a reason for it."

"Sigh... Please..."

No matter how much I explained, the mountain of bad karma I'd built up left Su-hyeon clutching her head, on the verge of collapse.

Life as a direct descendant in the Sichuan Tang Clan was pretty exhausting.

It felt like having little authority but a mountain of obligations. If it were a normal punishment, that would be one thing, but because I was a direct descendant, I had to receive it in front of a crowd.

It seemed like a system originally created to instill caution in the direct descendants who would one day operate and inherit the clan by having the rest of the family watch. Over time, though, it had simply become public humiliation.

"Is it the third young master again?"

"Tsk tsk."

"Sigh..."

The people gathered for the disciplinary hearing reacted exactly as expected, all wearing expressions that said again? the moment they saw me.

It was unfair, but what could I do? Eon Jungmi had already calculated this far and laid her trap perfectly.

I'm learning a lot from this—in the best way possible.

She'd deliberately started with a light punishment of house arrest, then provoked me into breaking it to set up the conditions for exile to Guya-rim. She'd prepared every step thoroughly.

When it comes to being wicked, her brain is on Zhuge Liang's level.

Looking at Eon Jungmi, who had created a trap I was bound to fall into, I vowed to repay her soon as I waited for the clan leader to arrive.

Thud. Thud.

The heavy footsteps that echoed with every step pounded against my ears.

A man who looked to be in his late forties walked forward and took the highest seat.

He looks a lot like Cao Cao from the Romance of the Three Kingdoms game.

Thick eyebrows, slightly raised eyes, distinct features, and a neatly trimmed beard. It was Tang Munseong, current leader of the Tang Clan and my father.

His intense impression that you could never forget once seen ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠stood in stark contrast to my own softer appearance.

Hmm... I'm still just scared of him.

Even after regaining my past-life memories, the dominant emotion I felt toward clan leader Tang Munseong as Tang Sanlong was fear.

Has it been conditioned into me?

I could guess his mood just from the way he breathed.

How did a coward like me manage to cause so many incidents...? Or maybe I caused them because I wanted attention, even if it was negative?

Having regained my past memories, I could now look at my previous actions as Sanlong with objective eyes.

Is this how a runaway teenager feels?

Feelings of inferiority mixed with a desire for attention had simply manifested in the wrong direction.

Sigh...

"Tang Sanlong."

A low, deep voice that seemed to make the entire Clan Leader Hall tremble rang out.

Even if the power of the direct line had weakened, the reason we could still maintain balance with the branch families was because ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠of the clan leader, Tang Munseong.

I could feel that even the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠depth of his internal energy was on a completely different level.

"Yes."

In the past I would have been trembling, but since I honestly didn't feel like I'd done anything wrong, I answered calmly.

"Hmm?"

At that moment, Tang Munseong lightly stroked his chin beard.

It was one of his habits that appeared whenever he encountered something interesting or unexpected.

It was probably a reaction to my calm response, which differed from before.

"Do you understand the wrong you have committed?"

"I simply did my best in a spar, yet I received house arrest for it. Is that what you're referring to?"

The moment I finished speaking, shouts erupted from all directions.

"What do you mean, a simple spar! You couldn't control your emotions and caused your opponent to lose sight in one eye!"

"A spar must be built on mutual respect!"

"How utterly shameless!"

"Impudent! So impudent!"

The elders and the leaders of the five major martial organizations from the branch families raised their voices first, trying to seize control of the narrative.

"The punishment was decided according to the rules, yet you broke it in less than an hour! How can a direct descendant show such disdain for the Tang Clan's rules!"

"He's a direct descendant, not even a branch member! A direct descendant!"

"He must receive an even greater punishment!"

"Send him into exile in Guya-rim!"

In the midst of this, Tang Woo, Tang Gihyo's father, calmly stated his opinion.

"I also agree with the exile to Guya-rim. The higher one's position, the more one must set an example! We need to show everyone how heavy a matter it is to break the rules and the responsibility that comes with it."

As if they'd coordinated beforehand, they were all of one mind.

Then Tang Jo, the sly leader of the Doksu-dan with his thin mustache, spoke up.

"Everyone, please calm yourselves."

It looked like he was trying to settle things before the clan leader scolded them, but his servile smile suggested there was more to it.

"I heard from the unit members that the third young master himself said he would accept the exile to Guya-rim."

"Oh!"

"So he still possesses some minimum conscience as a direct descendant."

Just moments ago they had been ready to devour me, but now they suddenly created a warm atmosphere by saying I still had some conscience.

...What a complete shitshow.

That was my honest assessment after watching the entire process.

Guya-rim... It's a place I have to visit at least once anyway.

Guya-rim.

A place filled with countless poisons, where the location itself was a hazard.

If you hadn't properly trained in poison arts, even getting bitten by a bug or cut by a plant could be deadly.

Sending someone into exile there was essentially telling them to die.

Besides, Eon Jungmi would have a harder time reaching me there than she could here in Tang-gata.

I didn't know how many moves ahead she had planned, but I had no intention of falling completely for her scheme.

A crisis was an opportunity, after all.

"I will gladly accept the exile to Guya-rim. However, I have one condition."

"What! Demanding conditions while being punished!"

"Are you in your right mind!"

It was a natural backlash, but their words didn't even register.

The fortunate part was that I only needed to persuade one person here.

"A condition? You are going there to receive punishment."

The cold words from clan leader Tang Munseong.

In the past they would have hurt, but I was no longer the old Sanlong.

"Receiving punishment doesn't mean going there to die, does it? You're not sending me to my death, are you?"

"What!"

"Third young master, watch your tongue!"

"Ahem!"

I couldn't give people who spoke in circles time to think, so I said it directly.

"Please teach me the Odok Shingong."

"The Odok Shingong?"

Odok Shingong was the mental cultivation method members of the Tang Clan learned once they could properly handle poison. It was a higher-level art above the clan's most basic method, Gwiwon-gong.

The Odok Shingong involved consuming various poisons to build resistance against them and increase internal energy. It could be called the Tang Clan's true foundational mental technique.

From there, by consuming various poisons, spiritual herbs, or pills, one could advance step by step to Shipdok Shingong, Baekdok Shingong, Cheondok Shingong, and beyond.

In fact, mastering up to Baekdok Shingong would allow one to be called an Absolute Peak expert in the outside world. Reaching Cheondok Shingong would make one Transcendental Peak, and the moment one mastered Mandok Shingong, one could attain the Hwayeong realm—a dream stage for any martial artist.

In that sense, the Odok Shingong was a very unique martial art when it came to growth.

I don't even dream of learning the Manryu Gwion Shingong.

There was a separate Manryu Gwion Shingong that only the clan leader learned, but I wasn't aiming for it anyway.

The learning method was secretly passed down only to the clan leader, and since I had zero intention of becoming the leader.

A martial art that grows with you. This one is more than enough.

Simply learning the Odok Shingong opened the possibility of becoming an absolute expert. There was no need to be greedy.

Of course, it would require grueling training that cut to the bone, but that was fine.

For me, who had regained my past-life memories, it wasn't that high a mountain to climb.

Effort was something I had always done, both in my past life and this one.

I had only set it aside for a while due to the wanderings of puberty.

"Yes. Isn't Guya-rim a place where it's hard to survive with only Gwiwon-gong? Let me repeat myself—I'm not going there to die but to receive punishment. You should at least provide a minimum safety measure."

At those words, Tang Munseong spoke with clear interest.

"It does not align with fairness."

Since I had expected this, I answered without hesitation.

"Anyway, I'm already in my fifth year at Tanggidae. I should have learned Odok Shingong long ago. Some members even enter Tanggidae after already having learned it. Saying it doesn't match fairness doesn't make any sense."

Branch family members with solid backing like Tang Gihyo all entered after learning it and started ahead of everyone else.

"Hmm."

Was my answer satisfactory? Or had he been waiting for it?

Tang Munseong looked around and spoke in a voice heavy with power.

"What do all of you think? Sanlong says that since he is going to receive punishment and not to die, there should be a minimum safety measure in place."

There was slightly insufficient justification to oppose it here.