Chapter 105
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 105
Chapter Title: Dang Jinin's Heart
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I turned to Dang Jinin and spoke.
"So, you're saying that unless we stop Miss Dang Garyeong's marriage, she'll keep acting like a wastrel forever."
"That's right. Until the day I die."
From those words, I could read Dang Jinin's determination and thoughts.
"That's why you stole the Intangible Poison, which no one but the family head can take out."
Dang Jinin flinched in surprise at my words.
"Yes. I thought I'd be excommunicated, not punished. Or turned into a cripple."
Only now did I realize what the strange disconnect was that I'd felt while watching Dang Jinin fight.
He fought like someone desperately trying to die because he truly wanted to die.
And that stemmed from his hatred for the clan and his family.
"Is there a reason the family head wants to marry Miss Dang Garyeong off to Seop Hyeonrok?"
At my question, Dang Jinin glanced around.
"Shall we speak via transmission?"
I smiled brightly.
"Ah, I've set up a barrier, so our words won't leak out."
"You wouldn't know, Scholar, but there's a technique in the main text called Barrier Breaker that can dismantle formations like this."
"Would Young Master Dang like to give it a try?"
I spread a formation around us.
Dang Jinin tried to pierce it, but of course, it held firm.
"Oh! Impressive. Even a first-rate expert's Barrier Breaker can shatter a supreme expert's formation or protective aura, but this one won't budge."
"I've had the barrier up since you arrived, Young Master Dang. Speak freely."
Dang Jinin nodded.
"My father wants to marry my sister off to Seop Hyeonrok to take control of Seop Manor, of course."
"Does Seop Manor hold that much value?"
"Outsiders think of Seop Manor as just a large estate, but it's actually one of the merchant groups dominating commerce in Chengdu. The problem is that it's no different from a black sect."
I listened to Dang Jinin's rambling explanation for a while.
I remembered reading documents about Seop Manor back at the Murim Alliance.
But Dang Jinin's account was far more detailed than those reports.
"Seop Manor controls three factions. One manages taverns and brothels—the Red Jade Gang. Another handles usury—the Golden Dragon Gang. And the last runs gambling dens—Fortune Star Hall. Their atrocities have gone beyond all bounds. Worst of all is that scum Seop Hyeonrok. He's less than human. If you can't repay a loan, he sells your people. Countless families and clans have been ruined because of them."
"Seop Manor isn't a martial clan, so why hasn't the government stepped in?"
"They bribe the officials massively. You can assume the entire Sichuan bureaucracy is in Seop Manor's pocket."
Dang Jinin spoke with heated anger.
"He's trying to marry my sister to trash not even worthy of being called vermin. How could I allow that? Even if it's my father's doing, I can't forgive it."
Only now was the picture starting to come together for me.
Why Dang Jinin had stirred up all sorts of nonsense to fall out of favor with the family head.
"Let me ask one thing. Answer honestly."
"I've steeled myself while facing punishment. Better to die than live like this. I have nothing to hide. I'll answer your questions truthfully."
There seemed to be some deeper motive that drove Dang Jinin to this point, but since he wasn't bringing it up, I didn't press.
I planned to look into that privately.
"Spreading rumors that all those children around town are your bastards—was that for this moment?"
Dang Jinin looked shocked, then let out a sly chuckle.
"As expected of Scholar Cheon! If they sell my supposed bastards, it gives me cause to strike them. That's why I claimed the children of women who borrowed big sums from the Golden Dragon Gang as my own."
"And you must have caused a huge ruckus like a wastrel in the taverns and brothels run by the Red Jade Gang, and the gambling dens of Fortune Star Hall. That earned you the reputation as the Tang Clan's wastrel."
Even so, that didn't fully explain why Dang Jinin was self-destructing his own life like this.
Something's there...
In any case, he'd gone this far, so it seemed Dang Jinin was prepared to attack Seop Manor alone if needed.
As I pondered, I realized there was one more layer to Dang Jinin's scheme.
No way?
To confirm, I tested him.
"I think I know why you secretly took the Intangible Poison."
"As I said earlier, to get excommunicated. Taking Intangible Poison without the family head's permission gets even direct kin expelled."
"I doubt that's all you were after, Young Master Dang."
It was a hypothesis born from his hatred of the clan and family.
Dang Jinin looked slightly flustered but opened his mouth without showing it.
"What do you think the reason was, Scholar?"
"You recognized a Demonic Cult disciple. That's why you charged to the front and fought him so fiercely. In the end, you poisoned him with Intangible Poison."
"......"
"Intangible Poison is normally fatal—everyone who gets hit dies. Yet there's no word of the Demonic Cult leader's disciple dying. You dosed him just enough not to kill."
"Why would I...?"
Dang Jinin raised his eyebrows as if puzzled.
"Because you want the Demonic Cult to seek the antidote for Intangible Poison and attack the Tang Clan."
"So why would I...?"
Dang Jinin still wore a confused expression.
"Because you hate the Tang Clan. You want them to suffer massive losses from the Demonic Cult's assault."
"......"
Silence stretched on for a while.
Dang Jinin was astonished inwardly.
He had grasped his intentions precisely, as if he'd peered into his mind.
As expected of the Scholar Divine Sword—they say not only his martial prowess but his intellect is exceptional. No exaggeration.
Dang Jinin felt no fear or anxiety at having his secrets exposed.
Because the one who uncovered them was Scholar Cheon.
Scholar Cheon's actions so far mirrored his own.
What appealed most was his unforgiving hand against evildoers.
Along with that, his compassion and magnanimity in securing land from the unorthodox overlord for the ash-covered farmers and distributing it—that had deeply moved him.
"The Tang Clan has grown explosively under the banner of 'Tang of Heaven and Earth,' producing a thousand warriors. But there's something people overlook: money. Raising a thousand warriors requires astronomical sums. So the Tang family head wants to ally with Seop Manor, which controls Sichuan's finances. I suspect that's where your discontent began, Young Master Dang."
Dang Jinin nodded in agreement and continued.
"To build power, they accepted even dogs covered in filth, even rabid biters. All sorts of mangy curs started running wild. And their masters became the same breed."
"Building power means that. You stack happiness on others' misfortune. But even realizing that doesn't change it. Those driven by desire are always poor."
Dang Jinin nodded slowly.
"Our Tang Clan succeeded greatly. But we shouldn't have. Success at the wrong time seals your fate."
Dang Jinin was deeply negative about his own clan.
With his mindset, he must have been dissatisfied with several things the Tang Clan did.
Scholar Cheon couldn't shake the resentful plea of the poison slave who'd begged them to kill him.
"You were probably unhappy with the poison slaves too, Young Master Dang."
He looked up at Scholar Cheon in surprise.
"You really can't hide anything from Scholar Cheon. Poison slaves violate the natural order. They must writhe in agony until death—that's not hell, what is? For them, hell isn't in the heavens or underworld; it's right here in the Tang Clan."
Scholar Cheon understood his heart.
The Tang Clan's deeds were inhuman and defied heaven's laws.
p>Indeed, they had many such aspects, so even orthodox murim didn't welcome the Sichuan Tang Clan warmly.
"So you hoped the Demonic Cult's attack would shrink the clan's power."
"That way, they won't get too greedy."
"Life's greatest curse isn't thirst, but the dryness of never knowing satisfaction."
Scholar Cheon acknowledged Dang Jinin's feelings.
"I'll help you."
"Really?"
"Follow my lead, and scum like Seop Hyeonrok will be destroyed without you lifting a finger. Why should you soil yourself with such human trash? You look utterly exhausted—rest today, and we'll move tomorrow."
"I'll visit you tomorrow, Scholar Cheon."
As Scholar Cheon nodded, Dang Jinin left with a lighthearted expression, as if a weight had been lifted.
"Brother, do you really have a way to punish Seop Hyeonrok?"
"Of course."
"What is it?"
"Yeoseol, why are you so curious about everything? You're still young."
"Huh? I've grown a lot. Now my height reaches your chest. See?"
Yeoseol jumped up, pulled Cheon Taesan to his feet, and pressed her forehead to his chest.
"See? It matches!"
"Our Yeoseol has grown so much. But I meant your heart and mind, not height."
"Those are growing well too."
With that, Yeoseol playfully hugged his waist.
"Hehehe. Brother's embrace feels like Mom's."
Those words stung Cheon Taesan's heart.
Yeoseol had never known a mother.
Cheon Taesan hugged her tightly in return.
Yeoseol looked up at him.
"Seeing Young Master Dang made my heart ache. He has a family but wants to destroy it. I never had one... Now I realize even families can be unhappy, and it hurts."
"That's why everyone must work to make a happy family."
"Brother, do you have family? You said your mother was ill before—is she okay?"
As the topic shifted to mothers, Cheon Taesan thought of his own.
His wish was simply that she live without more suffering.
Before arriving at the Nangong Family, Yu Munbi led her group into the largest inn.
She wanted to treat her weary travelers—exhausted from the long journey—to a good meal.
And especially the two maids following her; she wanted them to eat well too.
The inn was packed.
Even well past lunchtime, the crowd was unusual.
"Master, it must be because of the storyteller,"
Yu Munbi's maid Hayeon said as she sat in a corner, asking the waiter.
"Why are storytellers so popular these days?"
Inns and restaurants elsewhere also saw big differences based on whether a storyteller was present.
"Recent major incidents have people flocking for news."
"Incidents?"
"You haven't heard? The Demonic Cult has come down to Sichuan, causing chaos. Everyone wonders how far it'll spread. Plus, they're scattering Demonic Cult manuals all over Sichuan, Hunan, and Jiangxi—even commoners are learning them. That's why they're crowding in for info."
Before the waiter left, Yu Munbi said,
"Hayeon, So-hwa. Don't mind that—order the food."
Hayeon and the woman named So-hwa listened intently to the storyteller, but Yu Munbi ignored it.
Perhaps because the storyteller was middle-aged, his voice boomed.
"...Enough of that tale. This morning, I heard a most entertaining story from Sichuan."
The inn's patrons, expecting Demonic Cult talk, tossed coins to encourage him.
"What you've all been waiting for—the tale of the Scholar Divine Sword!"
"Oh!"
"Nice!"
"The Scholar Divine Sword, Cheon Taesan, slew a Demonic Cult Fourteen Commander in Sichuan, shaking the world with his name."
A cheer erupted in the inn.
"Woo!"
Yu Munbi's chopsticks paused midway to her dish.
It must be someone with the same name. My son couldn't have earned a title like Scholar Divine Sword.
The storyteller continued.
"For those hearing it first, a quick rundown of the Scholar Divine Sword's feats. Cheon Taesan, the scholar who hid immense prowess while serving as a mere inspector in the Murim Alliance's Inspection Unit, rose up when corruption spread rampant, capturing high officials. But how can a white heron play with crows? Trapped by their schemes, the heron was driven to the Nangong Family."
Listening, she realized it was indeed her son's story.
"Master, when did the young master become so famous?"
Hayeon elbowed So-hwa, who had spoken thoughtlessly.
Yu Munbi set down her chopsticks and began listening intently to the storyteller.
How could she not be interested when someone was detailing her son's exploits she knew nothing about?