Chapter 119
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 119
Chapter Title: Poison King (1)
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Before the regular meeting convened.
"Make sure to finish it this time. Take care of that punk Geum Sihyeon too. He'll be with them."
Acting on the orders of the Supreme Family Head Tang Saeak, the Assassination Squad had been mobilized under the command of Dang Heun, the youngest member of the Council of Elders and the Hidden Faction Leader.
Of course, there was bad blood between them.
Back when Dang Woolyang had stayed with the family, he'd envied his dazzling talent. And he'd been part of the squad Tang Saeak had assembled at the time.
He figured the mission wouldn't be all that difficult.
Sure, killing the Beggars' Sect's young leader and a youth swordsman from the Nangong Family would bring serious repercussions, so they couldn't touch them.
Just two targets.
As long as they killed Geum Sihyeon and Dang Woolyang, the mission would be a success.
The wildcard was the Jade Face Young Master.
His skills were still unknown, but he was presumed to be working with Dang Woolyang.
According to Outer Faction Leader Dang Hyeok's testimony, he had no internal energy. But eyewitness accounts from civilians who'd seen him clash with assassins put him at least at the Peak realm.
If even Dang Hyeok hadn't recognized him, it was safe to assume he was nearing Return to the Womb.
But right now.
Fortuitously, the Jade Face Young Master was nowhere to be seen.
And regrettably, so was Geum Sihyeon.
"I'm Unhak, the Beggars' Sect's young leader. If you intend to harm Elder Gyeol, you'll have to go through me first."
"I am Nangong Hwi of the Nangong Family. Likewise, I cannot stand by while you harm the righteous Elder Gyeol. Do not blame my impartial blade."
Hearing the two rookies step forward and shout boldly, Dang Heun clicked his tongue in derision.
Righteousness, huh.
It was utterly useless for surviving in the jianghu.
History had proven that time and again.
The victor defined what was righteous. That was plain fact.
No matter how skilled those punks were, once they were subdued and Dang Woolyang was dealt with, the Beggars' Sect and Nangong Family wouldn't dare interfere under the Poison King's authority.
That was the unspoken order of the martial world.
Dang Heun signaled his squad.
They were green, but Peak realm fighters.
Not opponents they could take down easily.
But trying to fight them with weapons? They were underestimating the Tang Family way too much.
Boom! Boom boom!
Whoosh...
The masked assailants simultaneously pulled poison bombs from their robes and tossed them into the narrow alley, following up with nets.
The bombs contained lung-piercing poison and paralyzing toxin.
No matter how seasoned the warrior, they couldn't hold their breath forever, and the Tang Family's poisons seeped through the skin.
They'd be neutralized soon enough.
Slash!
Even as Nangong Hwi's sword qi shredded the nets, Dang Heun remained unperturbed.
The poisons acted almost instantly. They might thrash around right after exposure, but they'd soon lose strength and slump over.
But.
Even when barely blocking a particularly long staff aimed right at his head.
Far from weakening, Unhak and Nangong Hwi unleashed even fiercer sword qi and staff strikes in resistance.
Dang Woolyang was silently firing hidden weapons too.
"They must've prepared for lung-piercing poison in advance... Second wave!"
He didn't know how they'd figured out the formula and prepped antidotes, but the Tang Family's poisons didn't end with one type, naturally.
Once more, poison mist thicker than the night sky filled the alley.
This one would hurt quite a bit.
But not enough to kill.
Thinking that, Dang Heun lightly deflected Unhak's staff technique as he charged, foaming at the mouth.
"Grrrk—"
One idiot subordinate got his back bent awkwardly by the wayward staff, but it was a minor issue.
And.
Another fifteen minutes passed.
"What the hell...?"
They'd detonated nine types of poison bombs and secretly embedded hidden weapons precisely into their bodies.
Yet Unhak showed no signs of poisoning, rampaging like a mad dog. Dang Heun began losing his composure.
"As expected of Brother Geum."
Clang!
Savoring the pleasant buzz humming through his body instead of poison, Unhak muttered to himself while caving in another masked man's skull.
He couldn't hide his admiration for Geum Sihyeon.
The plan had been meticulously crafted from the start, but who'd have thought they'd attack so brazenly?
"What? You think they'd dare attack with the Beggars' Sect young leader here? Tsk tsk, beggars these days are too complacent. Just knock the elders out with poison, finish them off, then cut off the tail by claiming it was some rogue's solo act."
Even after hearing Geum Sihyeon's words, Unhak had questioned whether an upright orthodox sect would stoop so low.
But witnessing it firsthand shattered any pride he had in the righteous factions.
Boom!
Another poison bomb exploded nearby, but Unhak breathed deeply without hesitation, drawing the toxin into his lungs.
Utter madness, of course.
But it was all prearranged.
Along with Elder Gyeol, Geum Sihyeon had prepared no less than thirteen antidotes.
And not for after poisoning—these prevented the toxins from spreading when taken beforehand.
The moment he'd sensed something suspicious, Unhak had swallowed them all.
Feeling virtually immune to all poisons, he swung his 'Conviction' staff everywhere, subduing the masked men one by one.
His strikes were neither lenient nor merciful.
"Well, you can't know which poison, so better take them all preemptively. Minor side effects possible, though."
"Side effects? Like what?"
"My guess, but taking them all at once and absorbing toxins on top..."
"On top?"
"After an hour... you might piss your pants."
Whether leveraging his full martial prowess or exploiting their lack of killing intent.
Death wasn't coming today.
But Unhak had no intention of getting tripped up here and causing a social disaster.
Besides.
Glancing over, he saw Dang Woolyang occasionally scattering hidden weapons while keeping a smartphone in one hand.
Probably recording the scene thoroughly per Geum Sihyeon's plan.
The phone's focus was aimed right here.
"You villains! I, Unhak, young leader of the Beggars' Sect—the very heart of the orthodox martial world—shall punish your evil deeds!"
Unhak bellowed with shoulders squared, flashing a clear, heroic smile befitting a righteous knight.
While Unhak was swinging his unbreakable Conviction to uphold righteous pride—and keep his pants dry.
"I stand here to settle an old grudge."
Geum Sihyeon's words echoed quietly through the meeting hall.
The crackle of torches lit for illumination, the sound of swallowing, and a distant night bird's cry adorned the momentary silence.
"Grudge, grudge."
The Poison King's low voice broke the hush.
"A grudge against whom?"
To the loaded question, the Jade Face Young Master's lips twisted slightly.
"Of course, Poison King. Against you."
"Arrogant pup. I've never seen the likes of you in my life. Why not remove that flimsy mask and speak plainly?"
The Jade Face Young Master readily touched his mask.
And then.
"Gasp..."
"How..."
"Urk."
Groans leaked from here and there.
Beneath the beautiful jade mask was revealed.
A face as if steeped in poison and rotted away, oozing pus and grotesquely twisted.
Even Dang Woojun and Dang Narin, who knew the truth, doubted their eyes and swallowed hard at the hideous visage.
No mere makeup—this was flawlessly crafted.
A blend of assassination makeup techniques passed down by former assassin Wiji Ryang and Dang Woolyang's skills from his youthful escapes, erasing traces.
It had even fooled the Poison King's eyes.
"Disgusting. Get rid of it."
At the cold rebuff, the Jade Face Young Master smirked bitterly and donned the jade mask again.
Everyone could now feel just how much a mask influenced one's impression.
Sure, covering eyes, nose, or mouth couldn't hide ugliness entirely.
But before peeking beneath—and with the mask on now—he could pass for a fine young noble.
"Woojun. You'd really take a shady, ugly bastard like that as a son-in-law? Foolish boy."
The Poison King's mocking words.
But tempers were hereditary, after all.
"At least that man isn't two-faced."
Dang Woojun shot back without yielding.
A tense undercurrent flickered between the Poison King and Dark Lord.
It was torn apart by.
"Kyau!"
The wolf pup, no less.
Before anyone could stop it, the pup scaled the wall, spun in midair, and upended the basket in its mouth.
Papers rained down like snowflakes.
"This is...?"
The first Tang family servant to pick one up from the floor.
Let out a gasp, clapping a hand over their mouth.
One by one.
Unable to resist curiosity, people checked the contents, then joined the heavy silence upon confronting the facts.
Denunciations penned in ink.
Past corruptions someone had tried to erase.
Stains others had ignored.
Sins of association no one had known.
The moment even the Poison King's hand touched a sheet.
"For the Tang Family to move forward, it must shed its past impurities and purify itself. Not a horrific place where fathers try to kill sons and grandfathers abuse granddaughters."
At the mention of granddaughter abuse, Dang Narin shuddered theatrically.
Indeed, until she turned ten.
Until Dang Woojun returned from his travels, she'd never left the family basement.
Noticing the reaction, perhaps.
The Jade Face Young Master's gaze flicked to Dang Narin, then back to the Poison King.
And.
"Hear this, Poison Demon Tang Saeak, who abandoned heavenly principles and dragged the Tang Family of Sichuan's honor through the mud."
His authority plummeting from king to demon in an instant.
The Jade Face Young Master grinned and declared boldly enough for all to hear clearly.
"Let's throw down, you old freak."