A Filial Son
The mere fact that the Poison Butterfly Sword Queen had taken the field sliced the morale of the Mudok Chae bandits clean in half. She was one of the ten absolute masters of the current Jianghu. To stop her, the Green Forest had very few options. Either the entire Green Forest Alliance had to mobilize, or their Chief Bandit Leader—who stood at the same realm of power—had to step in. However, the Chief Bandit Leader had already ordered them to leave Sichuan, and they had ignored him. There was no reason for the entire Green Forest to mobilize for those who defied the Green Forest King, nor was there even time to do so.
Tang Suryeon moved with light, fluttering steps. Her movements were as airy as a butterfly's wings. Yet, in place of footprints, a fine mist of poison powder erupted in her wake. Like a venomous butterfly fluttering its wings to silently execute the unwary, she advanced with quiet, majestic grace.
"Argh!"
"Gah...! Gurgle...!"
That alone was enough to incapacitate most of them. With only a few steps, every martial artist below the Peak Realm collapsed, foaming at the mouth. Of course, even those in the Super-Peak Realm were far from unscathed.
"Cough! What kind of poison is...!"
The bandit chief hacked up a glob of dark, dead blood. Though terrified by the unbelievable reality unfolding before him, he forced himself to act. Pressing a crude blade against the neck of Baek Ye-ryeong, whom he held captive, he screamed:
"Sword Queen! Stop! One more step and the daughter of the Cheongeuk Merchant Guild dies!"
She paused.
True to her righteous path, Tang Suryeon halted, if only for a fleeting second. She was entirely different from the Namgung idiot cowering beside her, whose crotch was currently darkening with urine. The eruption of poison powder ceased, giving the bandits a brief moment to draw breath.
But immediately after, the halted killing intent locked onto the bandit chief once more, heavier than before.
"Ugh!"
"Impudent wretch," Tang Suryeon said coldly. "I suppose I will have to send a letter of condolence to the Cheongeuk Merchant Guild later, apologizing for our failure to rescue their daughter from your hands."
"Heheh... But I won't... just die quietly...!"
Even as the tangible, crushing killing intent of a supreme master washed over him, the chief desperately clung to consciousness. The moment he fainted, he would be dead without a doubt. He had to at least execute his plan.
He was a man of considerable resourcefulness. In fact, he had been so resourceful that when his corruption within the government army was exposed, he had fled with his accumulated wealth and established himself as the master of this mountain fortress. He had even managed to coax the pathetic Namgung Bu-ryun and the corrupt elders of the Tang Clan—who were worse than any unorthodox sect—into his schemes. Though his accomplices were pathetic and troublesome, pulling off such a feat was what the world called true capability.
And that capability extended to his battle tactics.
"You bastards! Cough...! Now!"
"?"
Sensing a strange discrepancy but wondering what card he had left to play, Tang Suryeon swung her sword regardless.
Boom!
Her figure shot forward like a bee launching its sting. Her light, fluttering steps suddenly transformed into a thunderous burst, sounding like an exploding firecracker, as she launched an attack that completely bypassed the chief's perception.
A sharp sword-qi, precise enough that a hair's breadth of error would have severed Baek Ye-ryeong's neck, pierced straight through the chief's forehead. A shallow cut opened on Baek Ye-ryeong's neck as well, but Tang Suryeon deemed it a far better alternative to death. She quickly tapped her acupoints to stop the bleeding and scanned her surroundings.
While she was executing the chief, the remaining bandits of Mudok Chae had scattered something into the air. The effects became apparent almost instantly. Even the bandits who had fainted under the pressure of her Transcendental Realm aura began to bulge at the crotch, while the surviving maidservants of the merchant guild flushed crimson, their thighs dampening.
An aphrodisiac poison? ...How utterly filthy. It drives them to the brink of losing all reason.
It was undeniably a potent aphrodisiac, its vulgar effects immediately visible.
But to think their grand plan against a Transcendental master was a mere aphrodisiac. Truly, they are nothing but petty unorthodox trash.
When she saw the affected maidservants beginning to claw at the pants of the unconscious bandits, Tang Suryeon flicked her fingers, using her finger-flicking art to knock them out. At the same time, she lightly circulated her Poison Butterfly Divine Art. As one of the supreme poison-based cultivation methods in the world, her clan's signature martial art would easily keep her safe amidst this haze of lust-inducing poison.
Outside the range of the spreading aphrodisiac, Tang Hwi was busy cleaning up the fleeing bandits. Seeing her son perfectly execute the Butterfly Flight Bee Needle Sword despite this being his first real combat filled her with immense pride and reassurance.
"Die!"
"Bwahaha! A Transcendental cunt!"
The bandits caught within the aphrodisiac's mist with her had completely lost their minds, charging at her with engorged crotches. It was a repulsive sight. Any woman would feel a surge of pure disgust seeing ugly, hairy brutes rushing toward them with raging erections.
Channeling that disgust, she swung her sword. A smooth slash coated in sword-gang sliced through the charging bandits like butter. Their weapons, though coated in sword-qi, were severed as easily as tofu, failing to offer their masters even a shred of protection.
Ordinary sword-qi could never withstand sword-gang. Had they been seasoned masters, their weapons might have survived the clash even if they suffered internal injuries. But these bandits had merely learned martial arts without proper refinement, and now, intoxicated by the aphrodisiac, their focus was entirely concentrated in their groins. Unrefined, distracted, and facing an opponent realms above them—the outcome was predetermined.
They were slaughtered like beasts in a butchery. The ground quickly filled with mangled corpses, exposing raw flesh and white bone. Some had their skulls crushed, spilling brain matter onto the dirt in a truly stomach-churning display.
Tang Suryeon's brow furrowed. While the scene was indeed grotesque, such brutality was nothing to a master of her caliber. The real reason for her frown was that she was beginning to feel the insidious effects of the aphrodisiac.
Despite the horrific carnage before her eyes, Tang Suryeon felt a strange, restless heat rising within her body. Realizing she could not afford to linger in this pink mist, she unleashed her full power. The speed at which the remaining bandits were sliced apart accelerated drastically. In an instant, dozens of men were reduced to corpses, pooling into a lake of blood.
Having wiped out the Mudok Chae bandits, Tang Suryeon turned her gaze to Namgung Bu-ryun, who was still cowering on the ground.
"D-Darling..."
"Sigh. I do not recall you being this pathetic in the past."
"Darling...!"
Tang Suryeon looked down with utter contempt at the man desperately calling out to her. Because he had been exceptionally skilled in bed—even toward a woman with physical flaws like herself—she had once tried her best to foster marital affection. Moreover, during their early days of marriage, Namgung Bu-ryun had been a reasonably dependable man. Though hot-tempered, his refusal to give up on reaching the Super-Peak Realm had made her believe that with proper support, he could become a respectable husband.
But what of the man standing before her now? Though his martial cultivation kept him looking somewhat younger than his years, he had developed a soft belly unbecoming of a martial artist, and the cheap scent of courtesans' powder clung to him like a second skin, making him look like a cheap gigolo. To top it off, he had collapsed and wet himself the moment he felt her killing intent. What a pathetic sight.
Even in his pathetic state, the massive bulge in his trousers stood out prominently. Perhaps because it was exceptionally large compared to the other bandits. But she felt no lingering attachment now. It would be a lie to say she wouldn't miss that massive member of his, but it was hardly a reason to hesitate.
"As the Patriarch of the Tang Clan, I shall take responsibility and destroy your Dantian."
"I...!"
Before Namgung Bu-ryun could utter another word, Tang Suryeon's palm struck his lower abdomen.
Crack!
"Gah!"
His Dantian shattered, and the backlash surged through his meridians, spreading across his entire body. Deep wrinkles carved into Namgung Bu-ryun's face, and his skin turned dry and sallow. The physical toll of his debauched lifestyle and endless womanizing, previously masked by his internal energy, instantly caught up to him. Liver spots bloomed across his skin, and as his muscles withered, he could no longer be called a handsome middle-aged man by any stretch of the imagination.
"Aaaagh... Argh...!"
Writhing in the agonizing pain of a shattered Dantian, Namgung Bu-ryun suddenly blacked out. His weakened mental fortitude was simply unable to withstand the excruciating torment. Looking at his hideous, pathetic form, Tang Suryeon felt a brief pang of pity for the miserable downfall of the man who had once been her husband, before she turned her gaze away.
Unleashing a gust of wind with her sword to disperse the remaining pink mist, Tang Suryeon spread her sensory perception outward.
"It seems there are no stragglers left. You did well, Hwi."
Tang Suryeon smiled, praising Tang Hwi as he approached.
"No, Mother. You are the one who deserves praise for making the difficult decision to punish Namgung Bu-ryun."
"Yes. Thank you."
He did not mention her effort in dealing with the bandits. For a Transcendental master like her, wiping out a band of outlaws was as effortless as taking a stroll in the garden.
And since they didn't even try to run, but instead rushed at me blindly under the influence of their own drug, it was even easier.
Tang Hwi understood this well. That was why he had framed his praise around the emotional toll of punishing Namgung Bu-ryun, her husband of several decades.
"Whew. In any case, we should summon the clan members to transport them... Ah, ah-hhn?!"
"Mother? What is wrong?"
"It is nothing, do not worry... Mmmph...!"
Mid-sentence, Tang Suryeon's body suddenly shuddered, her muscles tensing as if she were desperately holding something back. Tang Hwi's expression hardened, adopting a look of grave concern.
"Could it be... that you have been affected by the aphrodisiac?"
"N-No... A petty poison like this is nothing to... ngh!"
Watching Tang Suryeon squirm and twist her voluptuous body, it was clear she was far from fine. Tang Hwi spoke quickly:
"You have definitely been poisoned. Patriarch, please sit and circulate your energy to expel it. I will stand guard and protect you."
"Th-Thank you... I will leave it to you, Hwi."
"Of course. What kind of son would I be if I stood by and did nothing while my mother was poisoned?"
Turning his back to Tang Suryeon as if to stand guard, a deep, predatory smirk spread across Tang Hwi's lips.
"Just trust me."
And Tang Hwi was entirely sincere.