Hidden Claws
It was a touch-and-go situation.
Dongnyong looked ready to drive a dagger into my throat at any second.
Not only was he radiating a murderous aura, but his face was also twisted in sheer fury.
Hmm...
I scratched my cheek as I looked into his eyes.
What should I do with this guy? I pondered for a moment, but...
What do you mean, what should I do?
The answer was already decided.
It wasn't me who would be doing anything.
[I must teach this brat a proper lesson...]
Yoo Chun-gil muttered behind me, his eyes blazing.
It was his job.
Tsk.
It was obvious he was planning to take over my body and cause a scene again.
[Hurry up and step aside.]
I stared at Dongnyong with a lukewarm gaze.
Since I hadn't lent him my body in a while, the possession would probably last quite a bit this time.
Yoo Chun-gil wanting it this badly meant one thing.
Is he that confident?
He was certain that if he borrowed my body, he could defeat even one of the Seven Great Talents.
That had to be why he was acting like this.
The problem was...
Even if he can win, is it really a good idea to beat him?
It was a brief dilemma.
What would I gain from fighting Dongnyong here?
The Poison King had said I could fight him as much as I wanted, but...
Right now, we're in a business relationship.
Currently, I had things to gain from the Poison King, and I had things to give him in return.
Under these circumstances, would clashing with Dongnyong lead to anything good?
Probably not.
My heated emotions cooled, and reason returned.
I had snapped back because he was talking so much trash, but there was no benefit in actually fighting.
At least, not right now.
I glanced around.
There were no other members of the Tang Clan around besides Dongnyong. Well, except for Dang Ye-ran.
I took note of that and slowly raised my hand.
I was about to take a step back, but...
"Stop this."
Someone stepped between Dongnyong and me. It was Dang Ye-ran.
"What do you think you are doing in front of the Tang Clan's guest?"
Her face was twisted in a rare display of anger as she confronted Dongnyong.
"Move."
Dongnyong tried to shove her aside, but—
Slap!
"What?"
Dang Ye-ran grabbed Dongnyong's hand mid-air.
Dongnyong's eyes widened.
"What do you think you're doing?"
"I should be asking you that."
"Did you not hear that bastard insult our grandfather? Letting this slide as a member of the family is an insult to the entire Tang Clan."
Dongnyong glared at Dang Ye-ran with cold, piercing eyes. I saw her flinch for a split second under his gaze, but...
"...Don't you realize that your actions right now are what's actually bringing shame to the family, brother?"
"...What?"
"He is a guest personally invited by the Clan Leader. Instead of showing him proper courtesy, you keep committing these discourtesies. If that isn't dragging our honor through the mud, then what is?"
Oh.
I mentally clapped at Dang Ye-ran's words.
She took the words right out of my mouth.
He was a guest invited by the Clan Leader, the head of the family.
Even knowing that I had significant backing, acting so recklessly was completely detrimental to the Tang Clan.
Especially for someone who's a direct bloodline descendant.
That was exactly why I had called Dongnyong an idiot, and Dang Ye-ran had just pointed it out directly.
However, Dongnyong merely sneered in response.
"Honor?"
It was almost impressive how naturally a sneer fit his face.
"If you care so much about such things, why are you still living like that?"
"..."
"The one the Clan Leader finds most eyesore is none other than you. Do you really think you have the right to lecture me?"
"That's..."
"The one doing the most useless things for the family is you."
"..."
Dang Ye-ran fell silent, just like before.
It was the same pattern.
She always ended up shutting her mouth whenever she was subjected to Dongnyong's verbal abuse.
Dongnyong leaned in close to the silent Dang Ye-ran.
"If you're going to keep clinging to a hope you can never reach, you might as well just breathe."
"..."
"Do nothing and just breathe. Instead of wasting your time giving me pathetic advice."
With those words, Dongnyong brushed past Dang Ye-ran.
It was a repeat of the earlier situation.
As he walked by, Dongnyong glared at me and added,
"Next time, I will rip that arrogant mouth of yours open. Just you wait."
Thud! Dongnyong shoulder-barged me as he passed.
I stared at his retreating back.
I wanted to snap back and ask who he thought he was talking to, but...
I couldn't bring myself to do it when I felt a trembling on my arm.
I looked down at my left sleeve and spoke.
"I think he's gone now, so could you let go?"
The source of the trembling was none other than Dang Ye-ran's hand.
Her delicate hand was gripping my sleeve, shaking uncontrollably.
"Ah..."
Realizing what she was doing, Dang Ye-ran startled and quickly pulled her hand away.
At the same time...
Clack.
A sound came from behind. It was the sound of Do-hyeong sheathing his sword.
...Seriously, that guy.
Was he really ready to jump in and fight at a moment's notice?
I adjusted my freed sleeve and looked at Dang Ye-ran.
"Are you okay?"
"...Huh? Ah, yes... I'm fine."
"You don't look fine."
"I'm really fine. Truly."
She forced a smile, but it wasn't convincing at all.
"I apologize on behalf of my brother..."
Dang Ye-ran bowed her head and said.
I scratched my cheek at that.
"It's fine. I wasn't exactly in the right either. I also apologize for bringing up Elder Dok-jon."
Mentioning Dok-jon out of anger had been a mistake.
I had lost my cool. I should have realized that bickering with Dongnyong would only bring trouble.
Hearing my apology, Dang Ye-ran gave a bitter smile.
"Thank you... And..."
Her eyes looked somewhat pitiful.
"Please... don't hate my brother too much..."
I furrowed my brows at her words.
What?
She was defending Dongnyong after all that? Even after being treated like that?
I thought their sibling relationship was completely ruined, but looking at Dang Ye-ran's expression made me think otherwise.
What showed on her face was genuine worry and anxiety.
"If there is a problem, it is all my fault..."
"..."
I could tell just by listening.
There's a story behind this.
There was clearly some history between the two of them.
However...
"Yeah, well. I'll try."
I didn't pry out of curiosity.
I absolutely detested getting dragged into troublesome matters.
I dusted myself off and looked at Do-hyeong and Cheon Ui-jin.
Neither of their expressions looked very good.
It seemed their conversation with Dongnyong had rubbed them the wrong way.
I chuckled at their reactions and spoke to them.
"Let's go. It looks like today's training is ruined anyway."
I nudged the two of them along.
As I did, I stole a glance at Dang Ye-ran.
She was standing still, staring at the ground.
I couldn't see her face.
Even though I couldn't see it, I could guess it wasn't a pleasant expression.
Should I ask her what was wrong, or offer some words of comfort?
I pondered it for a moment but shook my head.
No need to go that far.
We weren't close enough for that, nor did I have any reason to interfere.
So, leaving her alone for now was the right call.
If there was one thing I regretted...
...I came all this way to train, only to waste my time.
It was the fact that I couldn't train.
That was a shame.
I kept my eyes on the silently standing Dang Ye-ran for a brief moment.
"Let's go."
And then I walked out.
After leaving, I finished my training.
Since I couldn't use the bloodline training ground in that awkward atmosphere, I headed back to the training ground originally assigned to me.
By the time I finished, I was drenched in sweat.
Only after washing my face did I start walking, fanning myself with my hand.
At the same time, I kept an eye on Yoo Chun-gil.
Since Yoo Chun-gil had been furious with Dongnyong, I was worried he might throw a fit because we hadn't sparred.
[Hmm.]
Contrary to my fears, Yoo Chun-gil didn't show any anger. Not during the entire training session, and not even now.
Instead, he was unusually quiet, his eyes filled with deep contemplation.
What was it?
I watched him warily, wondering what kind of trouble he was plotting this time.
[How strange.]
Yoo Chun-gil kept muttering to himself as if he couldn't wrap his head around something.
"What's wrong?"
Do-hyeong and Cheon Ui-jin weren't around. They had said they wanted to train a bit more, so I had left first.
[Why is she holding back?]
Who was he talking about? Judging by his words, it sounded like Dang Ye-ran.
"Who are you talking about..."
[If it were me, I would have folded him like a paper carp. I don't get it.]
"..."
That was brutal.
I didn't need to think long to figure out who was folding whom.
He was clearly referring to Dongnyong, who had been spewing insults, and Dang Ye-ran.
Fold him? How?
How could Dang Ye-ran possibly fold Dongnyong?
There had to be a massive gap in their strength.
As I chuckled at the thought...
[I wonder why she is pretending to be weak.]
...Huh?
I snapped my head up at Yoo Chun-gil's words.
Pretending to be weak?
"...Who is doing what?"
I stared at Yoo Chun-gil, completely baffled.
Yoo Chun-gil looked back at me as if I had asked an incredibly obvious question.
[The Tang girl, of course.]
"What about Lady Dang...?"
[What do you mean, what about her?]
Yoo Chun-gil replied flatly to my question.
[That girl. She could have folded her brother like laundry a long time ago, yet she goes out of her way to act fragile. I have no idea what she's playing at.]
"...What?"
My eyes widened to the size of saucers at Yoo Chun-gil's words.
Dang Ye-ran was stronger than Dongnyong...?
It was a shocking revelation.
A location in Sichuan, not too far from the local prefecture.
Though it wasn't far from the main prefecture, the mountain path was steep and the cliffs were rugged, making it a place rarely visited by people.
The only signs of life should have been the rustling of wild animals or the chirping of birds.
But right now, even those sounds were absent.
The only thing that could be felt was an absolute silence.
The vast forest was so quiet that it felt unnaturally eerie.
The reason the forest was so silent was that every beast and insect was holding its breath.
Deep inside the forest.
There was a village, likely the only one in the vicinity of this mountain.
Normally, despite its small size, the warm sounds of daily life should have echoed from it.
Yet, for some reason, it was dreadfully quiet.
Just like the forest, there was no sign of human presence.
Instead, a faint scent of blood drifted on the passing wind.
Following the metallic scent led deeper into the village.
Step, step.
There, men clad in black were searching for something.
All around them lay brutally mangled corpses and pools of blood.
A woman who had died clutching her child.
A man's severed head, frozen in terror.
Even an elderly man who had died mid-scream.
Unbothered by the death surrounding them, the men in black were busy inspecting a cave located in a corner of the village.
After searching for a long time, one of them found something and froze in place.
"...I found it."
At those words, the men scattered around the area gathered in one spot.
It happened in an instant.
"You found it?"
"Yes. I found it."
"Step aside."
A man who appeared to be the leader approached the spot.
He reached out and touched the cave wall.
At that moment...
Hummm—!
A faint vibration resonated powerfully through the man's ring.
Confirming this, he immediately pulled his hand away from the wall.
"It really is it."
Toying with the ring, the man pulled off his mask.
A wide, tearing grin revealed his glistening yellow teeth.
"...Contact the Captain immediately."
His voice was thick with excitement.
"Tell him we have finally found the trap."
A terribly wicked excitement, at that.