Chapter 110
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 110
Chapter Title: You Have a Use
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It had been less than an hour since they crossed the ridge via a shortcut and entered the forest path.
Men who appeared to be Demonic Cultists emerged from the woods and blocked the road.
"Well, well. Is this just your loose lips talking? Or did our perfect punching bag really show up?"
Dang Hu had only said it to placate Dang Pae—he hadn't actually hoped for Demonic Cultists to appear.
As Dang Hu's face paled in fear, Dang Pae sneered.
"Hu-ya. There are fewer of them than us. Perfect targets for me to vent on. They must think I'm a joke if they imagine they can ambush me."
Dang Hu panicked at the sight of Dang Pae excitedly directing the Tang Family warriors.
'Dang Pae doesn't know because he's never fought them. He has no idea how strong they are.'
Dang Hu had once clashed with Demonic Cultists alongside Dang Ji-in.
But Dang Pae, who had only received reports from afar, didn't understand just how formidable a Demonic Cult warrior was with their innate qi amplifying their internal energy.
Dang Hu's eyes fixed on the middle-aged man standing in the center with his arms crossed.
It was a face from the wanted portraits sent by the Murim Alliance.
"Brother, we need to run. That's the Demonic Cult's Ninth Division Leader, the Hundred Paces Fist Demon Shin Eung."
But Dang Pae had already led his men charging toward the Demonic Cult warriors long ago.
"No!"
Dang Pae paid no mind to trivial matters, so he hadn't even glanced at the wanted portraits of the Demonic Cult division leaders sent by the Murim Alliance.
'I'd never run into those guys.'
Dang Hu turned back, hoping to flee.
"Ah!"
Even the escape route was blocked by Demonic Cult warriors.
Trapped front and back, Dang Pae just kept charging forward.
"Damn it!"
It was already too late.
"Protect the Young Lord!"
Dang Hu realized that saving Dang Pae was the only way he could survive himself.
"What? This!"
Dang Pae fought fiercely, hurling hidden weapons and poison, but he couldn't hold out against the Demonic Cult warriors whose internal energy was amplified by innate qi.
The hundred Tang Family warriors crumbled swiftly.
Had they gone all-out with their poison arts from the start, they might have lasted longer.
Splat!
With a punch slicing through empty air, Shin Eung burst a Tang warrior's head like a ripe watermelon.
Thud!
Even dodging Shin Eung's fist by sheer luck left one's shoulder utterly shattered.
The Tang warrior, whose scapula protruded from the devastating blow, couldn't fend off the ferocious Demonic Cult warriors swarming him.
Thus, the Tang Family elites protecting Dang Pae fell one by one to Shin Eung.
Only then did Dang Pae realize the puncher was the Demonic Cult's division leader, the Hundred Paces Fist Demon Shin Eung.
No one else in the Demonic Cult could smash heads with pure fist strength.
And one more realization hit him.
'This guy's trying to take me hostage.'
He'd had plenty of chances to kill but left him untouched.
"Hu-ya!"
Dang Hu resisted to the bitter end but managed only to kill one Demonic Cult warrior.
As his head rolled across the ground, the battle ended.
Few survivors remained.
As Shin Eung approached, Dang Pae flung hidden weapons.
But it was no more than a child's futile tantrum.
Thud thud thud!
Dang Pae's dantian was crippled, and he collapsed.
"No resistance, and I won't lay a finger on you. You're a valuable hostage, after all."
"What do you want?"
"What else? The antidote for Formless Poison."
Dang Pae ground his teeth.
In that moment, his resentment toward Dang Ji-in burned deeper than ever.
Dang Ji-in's attack on the Demonic Cult had ultimately backfired onto him.
"Wouldn't your head fetch a fair trade for the Formless Poison antidote?"
Dang Pae was furious at his own complacency too.
He hadn't imagined the Demonic Cult would strike in some form to obtain the antidote.
The Tang Family had been far too lax on that front.
'Even the Demonic Cult wouldn't dare attack the Tang Family directly. That was our mistake.'
At Shin Eung's gesture, a Tang Family warrior was dragged forward.
One who had somehow survived.
"Go tell the Family Head: By tomorrow at the hour of the snake, bring the Formless Poison antidote and the corpse of Fourteenth Division Leader O Juhyang. Fail, and his son's head rolls. Deliver this from Ninth Division Leader Shin Eung."
The Tang warrior mounted a horse and galloped toward the Tang Family headquarters.
Lately, Dang Ji-in had stirred no trouble, and rumors spread that he'd finally come to his senses.
People said the education from the scholar was bearing fruit.
I still bore the moniker of Scholar Sword, so it was a claim I could make.
"Scholar Cheon. At this rate, my sister might end up married to Seop Hyeonrok. You said there'd be trouble for him—when exactly?"
Dang Ji-in still couldn't let go of the issue and pressed me relentlessly.
"Didn't I tell you to wait? Good news will arrive soon. Hold out just a few more days, and you'll see me as your benefactor."
Soon, the phase where the Fury Demon Pill's poison would erupt as demonic qi would begin.
The pill I'd slipped to Seop Hyeonrok during our opera standoff at the brothel was the Fury Demon Pill I'd obtained from Gu Jin-ha previously.
I'd saved one back then, never imagining it'd prove so useful.
The Fury Demon Pill needed ten days to form demonic qi.
Now that ten days had passed, chaos would engulf the Seop household.
Not just Seop Hyeonrok—everyone he'd contacted would be poisoned by the demonic qi.
"Young Master Dang."
As I called softly, Dang Ji-in tensed up.
"Why so nervous?"
"You only lower your voice like that when you have something serious to say."
"Young Master Dang, why not become the Tang Family Head yourself and steer the clan as you wish? Don't live in resignation."
It was a harsh suggestion, implying a power struggle with his brothers.
"To claim the Tang Family headship, I'd have to surpass my eldest brother and second brother too. I'm not ruthless enough to trample my siblings and climb over them."
"If you want to change things, change yourself first."
From what I'd observed, Dang Ji-in's character could transform the Tang Family profoundly.
"The main house is bent so far it's beyond straightening. Even if I became head, it's too warped to fix."
I countered.
"Trying to straighten an ox's horn by force kills the ox. Ox horns grow crooked by nature. But that doesn't make the ox crooked itself, does it? Just guide it well to plow the field properly."
"Do I have what it takes to guide the ox? It's just presumptuous whining on my part."
"Who knows the future? Do your best now. If it fails, blame the heavens. I truly believe your chance will come."
"What should I do?"
Dang Ji-in's heart seemed swayed as he asked me.
"First, make sure everyone in the Tang Family knows who you are—not just a wastrel, but a wastrel who faces the world head-on. The Demonic Cult is perfect for that."
I continued, seeing Dang Ji-in listen intently.
"Keep leading Tang Family warriors into battle. Etch yourself into their minds as the one who upholds the Tang Family's dignity."
Dang Ji-in nodded at my words.
"Understood. As Scholar Cheon says, I'll worry about consequences later and give my all now. Tomorrow, I'll lead the warriors out myself."
With the Tang Family idle, eyes from Sichuan murim would judge them harshly—someone had to march against the Demonic Cult.
Dang Pae had avoided battles to preserve himself.
Dang Ji-in needed to seize that opening to build his reputation.
That was when it happened.
"Young Master!"
Mid-conversation with Dang Ji-in, one of his retainers came rushing in, panting, calling for him.
"What's the big fuss?"
Dang Ji-in raised his voice, annoyed at the interruption.
"I-it's not that, it's a huge incident..."
"What is it?"
Dang Ji-in demanded.
"Th-this morning, the eldest young master left to meet the Alliance Inspector, right?"
"Yeah."
Dang Ji-in replied nonchalantly.
"On the way, he ran into Demonic Cult warriors and was taken hostage. A warrior just returned with a message from Division Leader Shin Eung. The family elders and elders have been summoned."
At the retainer's words, Dang Ji-in turned to me.
"Did you foresee this?"
"I did suspect. This morning, when Young Master Dang Pae left the household, I sensed danger. With the Demonic Cult Leader's disciple poisoned by Formless Poison and no countermeasures, I figured they had some other plan."
"There were countermeasures. That's why they sent a hundred elite guards with him from headquarters. Ten would suffice for escorting to the inspector's office, but they accounted for a Demonic Cult ambush."
"They probably thought since their little brother repelled the Demonic Cultists, they could too."
Dang Ji-in stared straight at me.
"Scholar Cheon, what should I do?"
I answered without hesitation.
"Simple. Seize this opportunity. Be the first to step up, lead the fight to rescue Young Master Dang Pae, and show your face. No matter what variables arise, it'll work in your favor."
"Then I need to join the meeting. I'm the only one who's fought Demonic Cult warriors, so I'll volunteer."
"They're likely debating why the Demonic Cult division leader took him hostage right now."
Dang Ji-in suddenly smacked his thigh as if recalling something crucial.
"Right. They kidnapped my brother to get the Formless Poison antidote."
"Exactly. Whatever they decide, you need to take the lead. That's how you'll prepare for the future."
Dang Ji-in nodded firmly, grasping my point.
He rose from his seat.
"I'll head to the meeting hall now."
Dang Ji-in entered the meeting hall. The grand hall buzzed with heat from a fierce debate.
"Dang Pae is our main family's young lord. We must save him no matter what. Even if he weren't direct lineage, the main family has never abandoned a Tang Family warrior—not even a mere foot soldier."
As one elder concluded the discussion, Family Head Dang Myeong quietly scanned the hall.
"We'll follow the elders' will and rescue Dang Pae. But the main family is the Sichuan Tang Clan, a pillar of the murim world. We must view negotiating with the Demonic Cult as utter disgrace."
Dang Jin-ok pulled the late-arriving Dang Ji-in to his side.
Not knowing what mischief he might cause, he wanted him close.
Yet Dang Ji-in abruptly stood and stepped forward.
"I have something to say."
The Tang Family's troublemaker and wastrel speaking up in the meeting hall furrowed the elders' brows.
"I spread the Formless Poison. Because of that, my brother was kidnapped. Let me lead the family warriors to bring him back."
Dang Myeong replied with cold eyes.
"If you go, they might kill you. You're the one who spread the Formless Poison."
"That's exactly why I'm going. If someone has to die, it should be me. I took the Formless Poison from the clan without permission and used it in battle. I'll bear the responsibility."
Murmurs rippled through the hall at Dang Ji-in's bold words.
His declaration stirred their hearts with its spirit.
Though Dang Pae's kidnapping stemmed from Dang Ji-in's use of Formless Poison, it had repelled the Demonic Cult and elevated the Tang Family's prestige.
They'd only punished him with confinement for that.
His courage and valor in volunteering to enter mortal peril and rescue Dang Pae embodied the warrior's value the Tang Family had forgotten.
Awakened to that value, the assembly began viewing Dang Ji-in differently without a word.
"Very well. If that's your will, take the antidote and lead a force to retrieve him."
"Understood."
Dang Myeong inwardly beamed with pride, watching his once-wastrel son conduct himself like a true warrior.