Chapter 102
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 102
Chapter Title: A Family-Like Clan (3)
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Hugh!
Snapping back to consciousness amid searing pain, Dang Cheon-ho needed a moment to accept reality. Then he spotted Cheol-ho trudging over with his limp sister slung across his back like a wrung-out rag.
"You bastard! How dare you lay a hand on my sister... Kugh!"
Mujin smacked Dang Cheon-ho across the head to shut down his nonsense.
Caught off guard by the blow, Dang Cheon-ho started to unleash his fury but clamped his mouth shut at the chilling killing intent.
"It was a fair duel, so no misunderstandings. If you've got complaints, we're staying at the inn nearby—come find us anytime."
"You'd better keep your word!"
"Sure."
After giving Dang Cheon-ho time to collect himself, Mujin left slowly with Cheol-ho.
Cheol-ho figured his master had some plan up his sleeve, given his calm demeanor. Otherwise, why accept a challenge from the Sichuan Dang Clan? His master had drilled into him never to make enemies of the Dang Clan, unlike other families.
Once he confirmed Dang Cheon-ho carrying off Dang Cheon-ye,
"Cheol-ho."
"Yes, Master."
"Let's bolt."
"...?"
Some plan my ass!
Huuu.
With every exhale and inhale, toxic qi billowed around his cross-legged form, tracing circles in the air. He layered the poisons he'd absorbed from the platform one by one, merging them into the Ten Thousand Poisons Art.
He circulated it cautiously until it was fully contained. If the toxic energy leaked, it would leave traces and poison innocent bystanders. He was always meticulous when channeling poison arts.
By the time he finished circulating, the sun was setting. Darkness would soon fall. He tidied up and headed down the mountain.
As the clouds parted slightly, a man's figure emerged. Unusually, he had blond hair and blue eyes, blending Central Plains and Western features into a striking aura.
Tat!
Before descending, he deployed the Golden Bell Meridian Seal to erase traces of his poison art. This technique controlled internal energy to prevent external detection, but not just anyone could use it. It required a special constitution—the Blocked Meridian Body. For ordinary people, it would tangle their energy pathways, turning them into cripples.
Mountain paths were treacherous in the dark. But he'd traversed this route daily; he could walk it blindfolded.
Yet today, it felt strangely unfamiliar.
Even accounting for the dulled senses from the Golden Bell Meridian Seal, something felt off.
Shuuuk!
A faint whoosh of wind reached his ears—something he'd ignore on a normal day.
He swiftly stepped back.
Papapap!
Something sharp streaked through the air and embedded in the ground.
Shushushuk!
As he dodged, more hidden weapons targeted him. A split-second slower, and his body would've been riddled with holes.
These weren't just fast; they anticipated his evasion paths. The handiwork of hidden weapon experts.
The blond man kept retreating. Only after dodging five times did the black-lacquered steel needles stop flying.
"Who's there?!"
"Impressive footwork—not ordinary at all."
The voice from the darkness was thick and gravelly. No further words were exchanged.
"Time to die."
"Why?!"
No reason given.
The assailants radiated blatant killing intent, dead set on ending him. The blond man realized evasion was no longer viable. Their pressure overwhelmed his sealed state.
'Of all times.'
Releasing the Golden Bell Meridian Seal took half an hour. Forcing it risked overloading his body.
But in his current bind, he couldn't worry about side effects. Survival came first.
Ha!
The empty room felt hollow.
The green-robed men stood dejectedly before furrowing their brows.
"He got away!"
He'd brazenly revealed his identity after provoking the world's top Tang Clan. His guts were admirable; few dared touch the Tangs in Sichuan.
They'd assumed he'd wait at the inn for the clan's judgment.
Instead, he bolted like it was nothing.
The innkeeper said they'd grabbed their stuff and fled right after checking in. His words to Dang Cheon-ye and Dang Cheon-ho were just a ploy to buy time.
Brazen, my foot.
"What a waste of his reputation."
Nicknames weren't handed out lightly; they required merit and fame. He'd beaten the Jeon-ga clan's String Music Sword and shone in a kidnapping incident, they heard.
Even if luck earned him the title Heavenly Luck Fist, who could've guessed he'd rabbit before eating his own words?
"He'll pay for mocking the Tang Clan."
Green Robe Squad Leader Dang I-jun seethed at Mujin for betraying the admiration he'd felt for his boldness.
"Release the tracking hounds and report to the clan."
"Yes, Leader."
He couldn't have gone far. To leave no traces, he'd stick to blind spots—swift travel impossible.
Pfpfpf!
Palm strikes shook the darkness violently.
Shushuk, puak!
A triangular dagger plunged deep into the forehead's center. The palm strikes laced with poison were a smokescreen. The real killer was the silent triangular blade. He'd hidden his specialty to the end, striking from desperate straits.
Tssss!
Trees and bushes blackened and withered from the spreading poison qi. The wide-eyed assassin breathed his last, unable to accept his fate even in death.
Haa, haa!
His ragged breaths came unevenly. Propping himself up from the ground, the blond man finally surveyed his surroundings.
Kugh!
His clean, if threadbare, clothes hung in tatters, red blood trickling from the gashes.
This was his first kill. Had they not come for his life, the mental shock would've crushed him.
Fatigue blurred his vision. He'd felled the assassin, but forcibly releasing the Golden Bell Meridian Seal brought severe backlash. His meridians flowed erratically, internal energy depleted.
He could barely muster thirty percent now. Any longer, and he'd have been the one slain.
'Who the hell?'
Never one to harbor grudges, the sudden attack baffled him.
Paat!
As relief washed over him, he leaped back to shake off the unease.
He eyed the hidden weapon in the dirt distrustfully.
"Soul-Chasing Farewell Needle."
One of the Tang Clan's signature weapons.
Figures emerged from the dark. Recognizing them, Dang Yeon-u couldn't hide his shock.
"Why you?!"
"Hiding your martial arts all this time just to stab me in the back, huh? Lowborn trash always forgets its place when you cut 'em slack."
The one who'd hurled the weapon at Dang Yeon-u was his two-years-younger half-brother, Dang Yeon-cheon. Though paternal blood linked them, they felt worlds apart.
Dang Yeon-u's near-Western looks made brotherhood with Dang Yeon-cheon hard to credit. The difference lay in their mothers: Dang Yeon-u's was Western, while Dang Yeon-cheon's came from the principal wife.
Half-brothers.
Far from amicable. Especially as the firstborn before the principal wife's child.
"So you sent the assassin."
"Exactly—stay quiet and hidden like the rat you are. But no, you secretly trained martial arts. Scheming for the upcoming clan tournament? That's a challenge to me."
"Even so, I'm still your brother."
"Don't sully my name with that filthy mouth. I'll let it slide this once—won't matter since you won't hear it anyway."
Killing intent poured from Dang Yeon-cheon.
He'd treated Dang Yeon-u as nonexistent. Mediocre skill? He'd ignore it. But killing a Ten Blood Star assassin while impaired?
'The nerve!'
Dang Yeon-cheon refused to acknowledge it. Dang Yeon-u's talent surpassing his own? He'd spared him to stay in Father's good graces, yet this betrayal!
"Brother, doesn't that prove it?"
"We should've nipped it in the bud from the start!"
Flanking Dang Yeon-cheon like loyal hounds were Dang Jin-ung and Dang Jin-cheol, brimming with pride in their direct lineage.
They'd tipped off Dang Yeon-cheon about Dang Yeon-u.
The rumor had spread quietly—heard but unconfirmed. Worth testing.
"You mean to kill me?"
"You should've lived like a dead mouse if you wanted to survive."
"I never planned to enter the tournament."
"Spare me the hypocrisy! You aimed to humiliate me there!"
Dang Yeon-u despaired at the unreachable truth. Blood brothers, yet they utterly rejected him. He'd lived without resentment.
Why such cruelty?
Kkuduk!
Even Dang Yeon-u, content with his lot, surged with uncontainable rage today. Principal wife or not, he was still Dang Yeon-cheon's elder brother.
Father's neglect dumping him in the branch village, his brother's murder lust—it ignited fury he hadn't realized he harbored.
"No words will convince you. Come on—I'll show you."
"Hmph, finally showing your true colors."
Dang Yeon-cheon was startled by Dang Yeon-u's hidden poison arts and strength but remained confident. Fatigue and internal arts faltered from the seal's backlash. Challenging him in that state? Laughable—even at full power, impossible.
Tension thick as a hair-trigger.
"Disciple, I'm craving rice cake dough mixed with bean powder today."
"Must be tasty."
Mujin and Cheol-ho strolled leisurely, Na-reung and Yuk-chil trailing with dry, comfy soles. They looked utterly carefree—not a hint of the earlier "bolt."
Hmm!
Dang Yeon-cheon's mood soured at these weirdos. This matter couldn't leak, regardless. Lowborn or not, Dang Yeon-u carried Father's blood.
"Who the hell are you?!"
"Just travelers passing through—ignore us and finish your business. We want no part in the Tang Clan's family drama."
Dang Yeon-cheon's eyes hardened.
He'd have let passersby go, but they'd overheard everything.
"Kill them all!"
"Yes, Brother."
At Dang Yeon-cheon's command, Dang Jin-ung and Dang Jin-cheol charged Mujin without hesitation, brimming with overconfidence.
"They're innocents. Why?"
"Worry about yourself before them."
Dang Yeon-cheon sneered at Dang Yeon-u's naive sense of justice, blind to his plight. Justice needed power. Without it, mere excuse for the weak.