Chapter 27
Chapter 27
The Price Must Be Paid (3)
'No!'
Ha-young urgently reached out to stop Se-woon.
Just as Tang Ho-yeol's weakness was exposed, Se-woon abruptly broke formation and charged forward.
Ha-young's heart plummeted.
'That's a trap.'
Her martial instincts, honed through years of experience, screamed danger.
And sure enough—
"Fool!"
Tang Ho-yeol instantly corrected his stance and viciously lashed out with his Silver Horn Snake Whip.
Swish!
At the same time, a suspicious liquid sprayed from the whip—something visibly lethal even at a glance.
'Poison?!'
A rain of venom at such close range—even she wouldn't be able to evade it.
'Then—I'll deflect it with sword wind!'
Channeling inner energy into her blade to unleash its force was the essence of sword energy (geomgyeong). Mastery over it allowed one to freely manipulate internal energy and release shockwaves—though sword wind (geompung) was a lesser technique, it had the advantage of striking from a distance.
Whoooosh!
A resonant hum echoed from her sword.
Fortunately, the Emei Sect's sword techniques included many related to sword wind, and Ha-young's skill was sufficient to wield it freely.
Yet she hesitated, unable to immediately strike.
'......Too close.'
Se-woon's position was dangerously near the effective range of her sword wind.
Too risky.
If she tried to deflect the poison, she might accidentally inflict fatal sword wounds on Se-woon instead.
'But still—!'
She couldn't just stand by.
Hadn't Se-woon saved her and Cheong Yeon's lives?
She had to do her best.
Sshhk!
'......Huh?'
A chilling slicing sound echoed.
She froze in confusion.
What?
She hadn't even drawn her sword yet.
"Too predictable, Uncle."
Se-woon's bone-chilling voice reached her ears.
The scene had changed in an instant—only now did she fully process it.
"—!"
Tang Ho-yeol's gruesome figure writhed on the ground, both ankles severed.
And the black threads hidden in the dirt shimmered under the sunlight as they revealed themselves.
A shiver ran down her spine.
The same threads that had been pulling her and Cheong Yeon back and forth possessed such terrifying cutting power.
As Ha-young stood frozen in shock—
"Guhhh—! Grrk!"
Tang Ho-yeol convulsed violently, his body twisting as poison flooded his throat.
Drip. Drip-drip.
Blackened blood gushed from every orifice—a sight so horrifying even Ha-young was stunned.
'What?'
But what baffled her even more—
Se-woon, the architect of this carnage, remained eerily composed.
It made no sense.
Only blood-crazed maniacs or demons could remain calm amid such brutality.
Could it be...?
Suppressing her trembling heart, she peered into Se-woon's eyes.
In her past encounters, those consumed by madness all bore the same emotions:
The exhilaration of vengeance fulfilled.
The thrill of crushing an opponent through violence.
The excitement of seeking greater stimulation.
But—
'—!'
Se-woon's eyes held something different.
Profound self-loathing.
A void that could never be filled.
Grief of unfathomable depth.
Just glimpsing his emotions shattered her composure entirely.
He was no demon or murderer hiding his true nature.
He was just an ordinary man—tormented by regret for what he had done.
Yet that only deepened her curiosity.
What kind of life had he lived to become so numb to killing?
And one more question burned in her mind:
'Tang Se-woon... why?'
Why did he look at her with such regret, sorrow, and guilt?
'Dead.'
Finally, the light faded from Tang Ho-yeol's eyes.
His body slumped, drained of all blood.
Se-woon slowly crouched down.
'Better collect these, just in case.'
Under the guise of checking his pulse, he retrieved all the forbidden poisons and weapons Ho-yeol had used.
To avoid suspicion, he discarded the Silver Horn Snake Whip—a weaker imitation of the Golden Threads of Heavenly Net (Cheonra). The remaining poison was stored in a small orb woven from black threads and hidden in his sleeve.
Hakryeong Liquid—a lethal toxin crafted from Hakryeong Grass, the most potent plant-based poison.
A single touch would seep into the flesh and rot the blood.
He also retrieved the Forbidden Crossbow (Forbidden Crossbow) strapped to Ho-yeol's arm.
The bolts had already been secretly collected by his black threads.
'Not bad.'
He paused.
A sudden realization struck him.
Here he was, coldly calculating gains after brutally killing a man—without a flicker of emotion.
'......Have I really grown this numb to killing?'
His father Tang Mu-yeol's warning surfaced in his mind.
After living among demons for over a decade before his regression—what part of him had eroded?
His chest tightened.
'No.'
He tried to deny it.
Hadn't he executed I Hoseong, Son Woo-gon, and now a future calamity?
But no matter how he justified it—
The bitterness and sorrow over his changed self refused to fade.
Lost in thought—
"Ugh—!"
Someone retched violently.
Snapping back to reality, Se-woon turned to see Cheong Yeon vomiting.
'Ah—.'
Beside her, Ha-young stared at him with dazed eyes.
Se-woon quickly schooled his expression and spoke cautiously.
"Ah... Cheong Yeon, are you alright?"
"N-no... I-I just got startled. Ugh."
"Our Tang Clan's disciplinary methods must seem excessively harsh to outsiders."
Se-woon replied carefully, assuming Ha-young's gaze stemmed from disapproval of his brutality.
"Not at all. Even the Martial Alliance's laws mandate execution for using just one forbidden weapon or poison."
"......I see."
Instead, Ha-young defended his actions.
Caught off guard, Se-woon stood awkwardly—
"Ah, this isn't the time."
"?!"
Se-woon's eyes widened.
Ha-young suddenly bowed her head deeply toward him.
"Emei disciple, Do Ha-young. Though belated, I thank you for saving my life."
"—!"
"A-and Emei disciple Cheong Yeon also thanks you!"
Flustered by her senior's abrupt gesture, Cheong Yeon hastily followed suit.
'Why now?'
The same person who had kept her distance, always wary of him—
Now gazed at him with an unfamiliar, complicated expression.
"......There's no need for such formalities. Please, rise."
"You saved my life multiple times with your black threads. This is only proper."
"Excessive courtesy is discourtesy (Gwarye is bilye). You would've evaded harm regardless."
"No. Without you, we would've suffered fatal wounds."
"That's not true."
"Yes, it is."
The situation was absurd.
Countless men would kill to earn the favor of the Silver Phoenix (Eunbong) Do Ha-young—
Yet here Se-woon was, vehemently denying any debt.
'......Senior Do?'
Cheong Yeon blinked in disbelief.
Her senior, who always glared icily at men—
Was now openly displaying warmth toward a man for the first time ever.
"Young Master!"
"Are you alri—ugh!"
Several clansmen arrived, their faces paling at the gruesome scene.
Se-woon seized the opportunity to shift focus.
"Have the Medical Hall (Medical Hall) detoxify the body, then prepare it for transfer to the Martial Alliance."
"Understood!"
The subordinates departed.
Clearing his throat, Se-woon addressed the Emei disciples.
"I've prepared a carriage. You two should head to Abbess Abbess Geumhwa (Golden Flower Satan) via the main road."
"Huh? Aren't you coming with us?"
"No. I'll take a riskier route to track from another direction."
"Ah, understood. Then Senior and I will—"
"No. I'll accompany Young Master Tang."
At Ha-young's unexpected declaration, Cheong Yeon gaped again.
Se-woon's expression stiffened.
Clear reluctance flickered in his eyes before vanishing.
"......With me?"
"Yes."
Se-woon opened his mouth, then closed it.
He wanted to shake her off immediately.
But meeting Ha-young's unwavering gaze—
'Sigh. No choice.'
He relented.
There was no breaking her resolve.
"Fine. But I'll be moving at full speed—I won't have the leisure to watch over you like in battle."
"What do you mean?"
"If you fall behind, I'll leave you behind."
"—!"
Hoping to provoke her pride, Se-woon deliberately spoke harshly.
For the first time, Ha-young's delicate brows twitched.
Never in her Emei training had she been treated as baggage.
Se-woon expected anger, curses, and her storming off—
Smirk.
Instead, she smiled.
"I appreciate the concern, but as the Emei Sect's top disciple, my movement skills won't burden you."
"......."
"Then I'll take that as permission. We should depart immediately."
"......Follow me."
Resigned, Se-woon turned and strode away.
Ha-young quickly followed, as if fearing he'd change his mind.
And lastly—
"Hiiing...."
Cheong Yeon, left behind by the carriage, watched their retreating figures with a pout before chasing after them.
"Ugh... ugh."
With a pained groan, Tang Hyeok—leader of the escort team—regained consciousness.
The sticky dampness and nauseating stench of blood assaulted his senses.
'Where...?'
Faint moonlight seeped through cracks in the ceiling, revealing they were inside a cave.
But something felt off.
His stomach churned, and blood rushed to his head as if his face would burst.
Attempting to stand, Tang Hyeok recoiled in horror.
"—!"
He couldn't move properly.
His body dangled upside-down from the cave ceiling like a caterpillar suspended by silk.
"Ugh—! Uwaaah!"
Panicking, he thrashed—but to no avail.
The noise only sealed his fate.
"Kihihi, do you know what's most important for a flower to bloom?"
"Eek!"
The voice of Poison Demon Yayul Seung—the Poison Demon who had dragged him here—echoed in his ears.
Appearing like a shadow, the demon whispered directly into his ear.
As Tang Hyeok trembled helplessly—
Sshhk!
"GAAAH!"
"Answer, or your other arm goes next."
"Kekeke, hurry up. What does a flower need to bloom?"
With another slicing sound, Tang Hyeok's right arm fell to the ground.
Blood cascaded from the wound.
Gritting through the agony, Tang Hyeok forced out an answer.
"......Soil... water... and sunlight... ugh!"
"Kihihi! Correct, correct! Not bad for a Tang Clan fool."
"Yes. Without any one of those, no flower can bloom."
Tang Hyeok's consciousness wavered from blood loss, but Ya Yul-seung continued gleefully, switching voices mid-sentence.
"Kihihi! But in this world, there's one exception."
"A flower born from this seed needs none of those."
"Kekeke, because this flower despises all purity!"
As Ya Yul-seung ranted, a half-forgotten legend surfaced in Tang Hyeok's fading memories.
A flower that took root not in soil—but in piles of corpses.
That fed not on water—but on fresh blood.
That grew only in utter darkness, untouched by sunlight.
"Kihihi! A flower that embodies the beauty of all blossoms—!"
"Yet bears fruit laced with poison lethal to all living things."
The legendary poison flower said to have sprouted from the tears of a calamitous god.
"......Angsinru (Tears of the Revered God)."
Tang Hyeok muttered unconsciously.
But something was wrong.
The escort team's cargo hadn't been a seed.
Only a jewel-embedded treasure blade discovered in the Southern Barbarian lands.
Then Ya Yul-seung answered his unspoken question.
"Kihihi! The Martial Alliance fools—past, present, and future—will never know!"
"That this was the seed of Angsinru all along."
Somehow, Ya Yul-seung now held the treasure blade.
Clang!
He pried out the large jewel embedded in its center—
And dropped it to the ground.
Tang Hyeok's fading vision followed its descent.
"—!"
Oh heavens above... have mercy.
His pupils dilated in terror.
Where the jewel landed—there was no ground.
Only mountains of corpses and rivers of blood (Sisanhyeolhae).
And beneath them flowed a river of countless demonic souls and grudges.
Splash!
The jewel, submerged in the sea of blood and hatred, began emitting a sinister glow.
Crack! Crack-crack!
Slowly, it took root.
"Kihihi! Once Angsinru blooms—!"
"I shall become a true Poison Human (Dokin)!"
Ya Yul-seung's dual voices merged into one.
"I will drown all martial artists—Orthodox and Unorthodox alike—in blood."
Crunch.
Darkness swallowed Tang Hyeok's vision.
The Hegemon of Sichuan—was no more.