Dear Sisters

After several days of careful effort, Tang Hwi managed to clear away the lingering awkwardness with Tang Ga-hui and restore their relationship to what it once was. Though he desired to push past that boundary into a forbidden relationship, he held back. He knew all too well that the more treacherous the path, the safer it was to take the long way around. It had taken squandering several lifetimes for him to truly learn the meaning of patience.

Back when he was weak, he had fancied himself quite patient. But once he became a master, he realized that exercising restraint was far more difficult—a truth that took five deaths to finally sink in. Armed with this hard-won composure, he paced himself, casually laying his groundwork before deciding to visit the Tang Clan's Second-class Library for the first time in a while.

'A direct descendant of the Tang Clan who has ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠reached twenty must gradually begin their education as a martial artist, huh? Well, I suppose I should at least go through the motions.'

Such was the clan's rule. Poison arts were the pride of the Tang Clan, but they were also a double-edged sword. While incredibly powerful, a lack of sufficient poison resistance could lead to Qi Deviation, leaving permanent, unerasable scars like the ones on Tang Ga-hui's face—or worse, leading to a lethal self-poisoning.

For this reason, until they reached adulthood, descendants practiced the Green Lotus Mind Method—which simulated the sensation of poison cultivation—to build up their immunity. It was a starkly different path from the children of the other Five Great Clans, who began training in earnest martial arts from a very young age.

'We do learn throwing weapon arts, but in my past life, I didn't even have a shred of talent for that.'

He recalled that, as a result, he had abandoned throwing weapon training entirely and focused solely on building poison resistance. Back then, his martial talent had been practically nonexistent, so he had chosen to force himself to become stronger through sheer toxicity. In a non-lethal spar, it might not shine, but out in the real Jianghu, when dealing with actual villains, a poison art was simple: the more lethal, the better. It wasn't a wrong choice. It was just a pity.

How could it not be a pity? Despite having access to the vast resources of the Sichuan Tang Clan as a direct descendant, he had aimed only for a 'passably strong' level, settling for a niche exploit. Though it felt odd to admit now, before he became a supreme master capable of Ascension, he had deeply envied the support enjoyed by the other Great Clans. Watching fools far inferior to him leap ahead simply because they were showered with clan resources had been a bitter pill to swallow.

'Some bastard with terrible swordsmanship won purely by overpowering me with raw internal energy, and when they went and dubbed him the "Sword God," I literally coughed up blood, fell into a Heart Demon, and died. Ah, memories.'

That Heart Demon had been incredibly stubborn. It lingered across several reincarnations, uncured, repeatedly leading to his demise. Though it seemed almost cute to him now, back then, his life had been a living hell. He would swing a sword, only for the Heart Demon to strike, leaving him spitting blood and bedridden for days. Once, when he tried to circulate an internal cultivation method suited for swordsmanship, his energy flowed backward, driving him into madness and turning him into a public enemy of the Murim, eventually hunted down and killed.

Having experienced all of that, Tang Hwi couldn't help but feel a sense of pity for his past self, who had given up on squeezing more support out of the clan and settled for mediocrity.

Thud.

"And that's the last of them."

While lost in thought, he had speed-read through every single manual in the Second-class Library. Though it was called speed-reading, the mnemonics and annotations of the martial arts were perfectly engraved into his mind, meaning he had essentially memorized them completely. And the results were exactly as expected.

'Well, they might be useful as minor tricks, but they're nowhere near refined enough to incorporate into my true martial arts.'

It was just as he thought. This wasn't the First-class Library where the supreme divine arts were kept; the Second-class Library, filled only with decent techniques, had nothing that could enhance his Heavenly Demonic Dragon Scale Dance. In the first place, the Heavenly Demonic Dragon Scale Dance was a martial art he had created by blending the core principles of the Heavenly Demonic Divine Art and the Imperial Yellow Dragon Divine Art, but it currently consisted of only the core principles and an outer shell.

After all, if he used the exact same martial arts in every reincarnation, he would immediately be suspected of being a spy and assassinated without anyone ever knowing. Thus, Tang Hwi had extracted only the core essences of the two divine arts to create the Heavenly Demonic Dragon Scale Dance, designing it to be filled in anew according to the martial arts of whatever life he was currently living. Unfortunately, the selection in the Second-class Library was thoroughly disappointing.

'Nothing to be done about it. I'll just learn a few basic ones for now and refine the Heavenly Demonic Dragon Scale Dance later.'

After picking up a few decent poison techniques, he stepped out of the library. Though he wanted nothing more than to ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠head straight to Tang Ga-hui's room and play, he couldn't do that just yet.

'I can't exactly go boasting about mastering poison arts to a woman who was permanently scarred by those very same arts.'

That would be a total disaster. If the Patriarch's Pavilion—the place he intended to turn into his personal harem kingdom—was ruined over something so foolish, Tang Hwi would probably smash his own head against a rock in sheer, self-loathing regret.

Having left the library, he was heading back to his quarters, thinking he might just spend the rest of the day gathering internal energy, when—

"Oh! If it isn't my useless brother!"

He ran right into the youngest sibling of the family.

"Ah, Ga-in. Are you on your way to the training grounds?"

"Yes! Unlike my weakling brother, I'm a multi-talented genius with overflowing talent in throwing weapons!"

"I see."

It was an incredibly cheeky way to speak to an older brother, even if he was only a year older. However, he didn't particularly mind.

'When is she ever going to outgrow this chuunibyou phase? She's already betrothed, yet she hasn't cured it at all.'

He knew she was simply stuck in that turbulent phase of adolescence. Many children of martial families in the Jianghu exhibited these symptoms. The supreme confidence that came with reaching fifteen often manifested in bizarre behavior. Tang Hwi dubbed those with particularly severe cases as suffering from chuunibyou—the 'mid-life delaying sickness,' a disease where one tries to delay the transition to adulthood and remain a child.

Perhaps because of her exceptional talent in throwing weapons, or maybe because she had dabbled in poison arts and messed up her upper dantian, she had developed an incredibly arrogant way of speaking. She was still such a child, even though in a year she would reach the blooming age of twenty and marry the second young master of the Hebei Peng Clan.

"Would you like to come and train with me, Brother? With your useless skills, you might not even be able to participate in the next Dragon and Phoenix Gathering! Since I'm such an amazing sister—even while battling my own inner Heart Demon—I'll specially train you in throwing weapons."

"No, I..."

Hearing her call him useless over and over was mildly annoying, but that was all. He wasn't so lacking in self-control that a minor annoyance would drive him to harm someone. However, wasn't his current goal to conquer the Sichuan Tang Clan—specifically the Patriarch's Pavilion—by committing incest? Suddenly, a plan began to take shape. Though crude, the pieces fell into place, forming a grand picture. He would pretend to fall into Qi Deviation, acting as if his anger at being called useless on the training grounds had triggered it. Then, under the guise of being unable to control his unleashed dark desires, he would pounce on Tang Ga-in and ravage her. Though she talked tough and called him useless, she was a good-natured girl at heart. She would blame herself for the incident and keep it a secret.

'I'll have to change the order of who I bed first.'

He had originally planned to make Tang Ga-hui his first target, but it seemed he would have to take Tang Ga-in first. Having made his decision, Tang Hwi flashed an amiable smile and replied.

"Sure. It wouldn't hurt for us siblings to show off our martial progress to each other after all this time."

"Really? Hehe. I'll show my useless brother just how terrifying his amazing sister's Heart Demon can be!"

It had been a long time since the siblings had sparred. A bright, lively smile spread across Tang Ga-in's face. It had been quite a while since a distance had grown between them—with Tang Ga-hui shut away in her room due to her facial scars, and Tang Hwi avoiding spars due to his supposedly weak constitution. As the youngest child who craved family affection, she couldn't help but feel lonely. So, on a whim, she had asked him to spar just like they used to when they were kids, and to her delight, he had actually agreed.

Skipping toward the training grounds with light, energetic steps, Tang Ga-in looked back and urged the slowly walking Tang Hwi to hurry up.

"Hurry up! Just because your martial arts are useless, did you forget how to walk, let alone use footwork? Faster!"

"I'm coming, I'm coming. Good grief. Young people these days are always rushing around like the wind."

"...You're young too, Brother."

The siblings arrived at the training grounds. Designed specifically for poison ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠training with materials highly resistant to corrosion, the area was empty. Tang Ga-in fluttered her skirt and sleeves, and two or three leather pouches filled with throwing weapons slipped out from her clothes.

Martial artists of the Sichuan Tang Clan who practiced throwing weapon arts had to wear loose, flowing robes to conceal and carry a sufficient supply of weapons. Tang Hwi, who supposedly didn't practice throwing weapons, wore a form-fitting outfit designed to minimize unnecessary movement.

"Are ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠you not going to use throwing weapons?"

"I am. But I'll use non-lethal ones."

Saying so, Tang Ga-in picked up a weapon rack hanging on the wall. Though they were called throwing weapons, they were merely wooden replicas. Unless infused with internal energy, they were completely harmless training tools.

"We'll go by the standard rules of a spar. If you get hit in a vital spot or get affected by the poison, you lose!"

"So we're keeping it strictly to a friendly spar. Very well. I assume the poison is limited to a paralyzing agent?"

"Of course!"

With those words, the two moved to opposite ends of the training grounds.

Flutter.

Securing her weapon pouch, Tang Ga-in crossed her hands and tucked them into her sleeves. It was the unique starting stance of the Tang Clan. Throwing weapons were meant to be stealthy and swift. This stance, designed to prevent opponents from anticipating the weapon's shape or the hand movements, was both unique and highly threatening.

Whoosh!

The sound of her sleeves fluttering was instantly drowned out by the sharp whistle of something cutting through the air. A wooden needle, as thin as a cow-hair needle, shot forward like a beam of light. The extraordinary speed of a weapon thrown casually from her sleeve proved that her skills were far from ordinary. Though it was only a wooden needle, it was coated with a paralyzing agent, meaning a single hit would spell defeat.

So, Tang Hwi simply let it hit him.

Thud-thud-thud!

"Urgh!"

As he collapsed from the impact of the wooden needles, Tang Ga-in gasped and rushed toward him, though she quickly regained her composure. After all, they were only wooden needles, so he wouldn't be seriously injured, and the poison was just a mild paralyzing agent. Still, feeling guilty for hurting her own brother, she wore an incredibly awkward expression while trying to maintain her usual cheeky tone.

"H-Hmph! You useless brother...! If you can't even dodge that, how do you expect to survive in the harsh Jianghu?"

'Now.'

"Argh...!"

"...Huh? Brother?"

Before the wide-eyed, panicked Tang Ga-in could even react, Tang Hwi lunged at her.

"Kyaah?! What is the meaning of...?"

Tang Ga-in's mind spun, completely unable to process the sudden turn of events. Seizing the opportunity, Tang Hwi covertly utilized Void Grab to smoothly roll up her skirt and pull her undergarments aside to her groin. Then, without a single moment of foreplay, he drove his rock-hard shaft straight inside her.

"KYAAAAAAAHHHHHHH——!!!!"

A piercing, raw shriek echoed through the training grounds.