Chapter 133
Chapter 133
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 133
Chapter Title: Last Resort (2)
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Creak.
The door to the Scripture Pavilion swung open, and Zhuge Su emerged with a weary expression after being holed up inside for five straight days.
"They're all dead."
His body, which hadn't even had proper food or water, staggered as if it might collapse at any moment, but that didn't stop his feet from carrying him toward the patriarch's office.
Unusually, a crowd had gathered around the office.
There were clan retainers and unfamiliar women, but he ignored them. Just some guests, I suppose, he thought.
"We have guests."
Zhuge Geom, Zhuge Su's cousin and the deputy leader of the Crouching Dragon Squad—the Zhuge Clan's sole armed force—blocked his path.
"Brother's here. Perfect timing."
Zhuge Su forced a weak smile and drew closer to him.
"I heard you shut yourself in the Scripture Pavilion. What on earth... Ugh!"
A foul stench assaulted his nostrils, making Zhuge Geom grimace and step back. Somehow finding the strength, Zhuge Su quickly closed the gap and whispered something into his ear.
Zhuge Geom's eyes wavered. His mind, muddled by the smell, sharpened in an instant. His face grew grave.
After finishing what he had to say, Zhuge Su staggered back.
"You okay?"
"I'm fine. Just haven't slept properly."
"No way you didn't catch even a wink in there?"
"You know my personality. How could I sleep before seeing it through?"
"Ha! Good for you. Keep that up, and you won't die a natural death."
"Heh heh heh! Wanna bet?"
"Pass. I'd have to actually beat you first to challenge you."
"Wise choice. I'd have won this time too. Anyway, you memorized it all?"
"More or less."
"More or less?"
As Zhuge Su's gaze sharpened, Zhuge Geom flinched and waved his hands.
"I'm not you, but I've got a reputation for being pretty sharp myself. Don't worry. I memorized it all."
"Then I'll trust you."
Smiling as if he'd expected as much, Zhuge Su headed for the office, but the Crouching Dragon Squad still blocked the way.
"Make way."
"But..."
"If you think you can handle it, try."
Zhuge Geom issued a warning to the hesitant squad members.
Looking at the staggering Zhuge Su, the Crouching Dragon Squad wavered before slowly parting.
There was their deputy's order, and fear of repercussions. Zhuge Su's vindictiveness was infamous even in the clan.
But more than that, it was trust in the man himself.
The belief that Zhuge Su, holing up in the Scripture Pavilion for five days without even washing, heading straight for the patriarch's office meant there had to be a damn good reason.
However, the Crouching Dragon Squad wasn't the only one guarding the patriarch's office.
"Shouldn't we stop him?"
Squad Leader Danri Hwa of the White Sword Squad, responsible for escorting the Sword Empress, shook her head at Deputy Leader Yi Sogun's question.
"The Crouching Dragon Squad let him through. There must be a reason. Tell everyone to stand aside."
"Understood."
Yi Sogun signaled to her squad members, who had been ready to block the path at a moment's notice. The White Sword Squad stepped back.
Ignoring them entirely, Zhuge Su shuffled forward and arrived at the office door.
"It's Su. I'm coming in."
Not asking permission but announcing it, he pushed the door open and entered.
The eyes of the three people conversing inside turned to Zhuge Su.
"What the hell is that getup?"
Zhuge Chu frowned at his disheveled son's appearance.
"Tsk tsk. At least wash up first."
"It was urgent."
Zhuge Su bowed his head at his father's tongue-clicking but didn't seem particularly bothered.
"Greet them first. This is the Sword Empress."
At the words "Sword Empress," Zhuge Su's half-lidded eyes snapped wide open.
"Your humble student Zhuge Su greets the Sword Empress."
Zhuge Su bowed with excessive formality.
"Pleased to meet you."
The Sword Empress nodded lightly.
"And this young lady is the Sword Empress-to-be, who will soon grace the Sword Empress Tournament."
"Call me Nang Sohwa."
Zhuge Su suddenly raised his voice.
"Ha ha! Delighted, Nang Sohwa. Sword Empress Tournament—what a splendid title! I wish you every success in the challenge."
"Thank you."
Nang Sohwa bowed her flushed face in embarrassment. Even the Sword Empress couldn't hold back a laugh, covering her mouth with her sleeve.
"What insolence before the Sword Empress of our era?"
Zhuge Chu scolded sternly, but Zhuge Su tilted his head.
"Isn't it true that one who hasn't completed the Sword Empress Tournament lacks the qualifications? So she's not a proper Sword Empress yet, right?"
Zhuge Chu paled at the words "proper Sword Empress."
Such rudeness before the Sword Empress of the world!
Though unlikely given her character so far, if she took offense, the Zhuge Clan would face utter disaster. Zhuge Chu shot to his feet and bowed to the Sword Empress.
"Please forgive him. He's an ignorant, reckless fool who knows nothing of the world."
"Get up and sit, Patriarch. It's not wrong. She hasn't passed the Sword Empress Tournament yet, so she doesn't qualify as one."
Even with her understanding, Zhuge Chu couldn't bring himself to rise. She had no choice but to personally help him up.
"My apologies."
"I said it's fine. If you keep this up, I'll be the one offended."
As the Sword Empress lowered her voice slightly, Zhuge Chu bowed again.
The Five Great Clans, alongside the Nine Great Sects, led the martial world.
As patriarch of one—the Zhuge Clan—that position wielded immense power. He commanded respect everywhere.
Yet now, the dynamic had flipped completely.
Even accounting for her seniority and his recent ascension, his deference was excessively humble.
The reason was simple. The Sword Empress's fame and demonstrated prowess surpassed the Zhuge Clan.
Watching his father adopt such a subservient posture, Zhuge Su newly appreciated the weight of the name "Sword Empress."
"The patriarch mentioned you had a reason for entering the Scripture Pavilion. Not coming out for five days piqued my curiosity. If it's not rude, may I ask why?"
The Sword Empress asked to lighten the awkward atmosphere.
Zhuge Su welcomed the question.
"Father!"
Zhuge Su called out to Zhuge Chu with sparkling eyes.
"What is it?"
Zhuge Chu replied uneasily. That glint in his son's eyes always heralded major trouble.
"There's a faction lurking in the shadows of the martial world."
"Lurking?"
Zhuge Chu glanced at the Sword Empress without thinking. She looked shocked too.
"No doubt about it. Didn't I mention a few days ago? The current state of the martial world feels off. No matter how I rack my brain, the pieces don't fit."
"Y-You did."
"So, as a last resort, I started from the basics."
"The b-basics?"
"Yes. The Scripture Pavilion holds all intelligence coming into the main family, doesn't it? I checked every record from the past five years."
"..."
Not a month, not a year—five whole years.
Knowing the sheer volume of daily reports, Zhuge Chu was speechless.
"In the process, I confirmed subtle alterations in some pieces of information. Some reports were omitted entirely. The numbers weren't huge. Negligible in quantity. That's why we overlooked it. A faction we don't know about is stirring in secret in the martial world."
Zhuge Su stepped forward to the table and pulled a sheet of paper from his robe. The scribbled handwriting was hard to read, but the page was densely packed.
"I listed places where ownership changed, patriarchs switched, or power structures were completely upended in the last month."
"Th-This many?"
Zhuge Chu was stunned to see over a hundred major factions listed.
"And these are only the big ones."
"Why weren't these reported properly?"
"They were reported. We just didn't recognize them as such. There were some tricks involved. Tricks we could gloss over naturally thanks to the Heavenly Demon Cult stirring up chaos."
"So, who the hell are these lurkers?"
Zhuge Chu asked in a trembling voice.
"Not certain, but I could make an inference."
"Who?"
Zhuge Chu, the Sword Empress, and Nang Sohwa waited tensely for his answer.
"The Blood Fiend Cult."
"What? Use Black Fang as medicine?"
Cheol Woo stared at Sima Geon in disbelief.
Thunderclap, who had been petting Black Fang's head, froze completely.
"Not Black Fang himself—his blood."
Sima Geon turned and asked,
"Blood surely has medicinal properties too, right?"
"The gallbladder holds the most, but blood comes second, steeped in potency. Just draining the blood should suffice."
Dang Cheonhwa gazed at Black Fang like a starving man eyeing a feast.
"Even so, you're saying kill Black Fang? He's like family!"
Thunderclap hugged Black Fang's neck tightly and shouted.
"What nonsense is that? Who's killing who?"
"You just said drain his blood..."
"Is your head just for show? We take just enough. He won't die from a bit of blood loss."
"Ah!"
Finally grasping it, Thunderclap released Black Fang's scruff and slyly backed away.
Black Fang shot him a pleading look, but Thunderclap shook his head helplessly.
Sima Geon approached Black Fang.
Black Fang tried to flee, but Cheol Woo had already grabbed him firmly.
"Don't worry. He won't die."
Cheol Woo soothed the wriggling Black Fang with gentle strokes.
"Sorry, but we need your blood. Just a little, please."
Sima Geon petted Black Fang's head softly. Meanwhile, Dang Cheonhwa, holding the beast's hind legs, drew a small dagger.
Despite Black Fang's tough hide, Dang Cheonhwa's touch was unflinching.
Blood flowed where the dagger grazed, filling a small bowl in the blink of an eye.
Handing the bowl to Thunderclap, Dang Cheonhwa sprinkled white powder on the wound, staunching the blood instantly.
The entire process—from cut to collection—took mere seconds.
Cheol Woo wrestling Black Fang and Black Fang himself hadn't even noticed.
"Huh? Done already?"
Cheol Woo asked Dang Cheonhwa, who was rising slowly, with wide-eyed surprise.
"You thought it'd take half a day?"
"But is this amount enough? Seems too little."
Thunderclap jiggled the bowl and asked.
"More isn't always better. First, we test if it works."
"How do we test—"
Before Thunderclap finished, Dang Cheonhwa sipped some of the blood from the bowl.
No one had expected him to drink it himself. They stared in stunned silence.
"Hmmm."
A strange, ambiguous groan escaped Dang Cheonhwa's lips as he closed his eyes.
He tilted his head and murmured appreciatively for a moment before slowly opening his eyes.
"How is it? Any use?"
Cheol Woo asked eagerly.
"The blood is laced with immense poison qi. He truly absorbed all those venomous bugs and toxins. But unlike his blood, which was pure poison, this has spirit medicine qi mixed in too. I thought it was just a desperate measure, but what a brilliant idea."
Dang Cheonhwa eyed Black Fang with greedy intensity.
"Heh heh! A spirit beast several times superior to the Five Poisons was right here under our noses."
Black Fang flinched and shrank back under his gaze.
"Will it work?"
Sima Geon asked.
"Of course. We can expect some counterpoison effects, but the spirit medicine qi in the blood will help greatly too. Guard it well. To poison arts practitioners like us, it's a gift from the heavens. No—even for non-practitioners, any martial artist would covet this precious blood."
Dang Cheonhwa spoke without hiding his greed.
Everyone looked at Black Fang with newfound appreciation. Cheol Woo's hand, still holding him, twitched slyly.
Thunderclap, watching Black Fang with pity, didn't miss it.
"What are you doing?"
"What?"
"What the hell are you doing right now?"
"Oh, this. Thought more blood might be dripping."
"Dripping my ass! Come on, is that even human?"
Thunderclap yelled incredulously.
"Saw that, huh?"
Cheol Woo chuckled awkwardly, licking the finger he'd been poking the wound with.