Chapter 181
Chapter 181
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 181
Chapter Title: Worth in Silk
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No? It was a lie.
No? It was a lie.
No? It was a lie.
The answer, innocent enough to sound almost childlike, echoed in Dang Gun's mind like a bell tolling.
Dang Gun resisted the urge to slap his forehead and sigh.
There were too many watching eyes for him to show such a face.
'Ami, Cheongseong, and even Jeomchang.'
All of them were orthodox sects that held the Tang Clan in a chokehold—ones the Tang Clan couldn't afford to treat lightly.
Just... just absurd.
'I let him go on this outing because I thought I'd been pushing him too hard lately...'
Any guilt he'd felt for forcing his clan's daughters on Baek Yang-hui vanished in an instant.
It was only the second day. And already this massive blunder?
Suddenly, it made perfect sense why Baek Clan Head Baek Mu-ryang had sent him all the way to the Tang Clan.
'Clan Head Baek... so this is how he felt every time Hui did something crazy...'
Yes, his little brother was sharp as a ghost, so there had to be some plan behind it.
But still—did it have to be this way? The thought was impossible to shake.
-Dang hyung. Watch your expression. Manage it. In gambling, controlling your face is the most important thing.
'This isn't a gambling table!!'
Ignoring Dang Gun's inner scream, Baek Yang-hui grinned and raised his voice once more.
"As you can see, the Tang Clan vouches for this young master's identity! So I dare to declare it here and now. In the Tang Clan's name, I say I can cure Lord Jin's illness right away!"
Dozens of physicians glanced at their neighbors and murmured. The gathered onlookers buzzed with excitement.
Of course, the loudest noise in Dang Gun's head was his own transmission.
-Hui! Hui! I never vouched for you! Hui!
-Just trust me, Dang hyung.
-How am I supposed to trust you without any details?!
'Tch. After all that nagging to make us family by force, he should accept this much.'
Sure, if this ended up costing the Tang Clan, he might have to take responsibility and actually become their son-in-law. But it would surely turn into a profit in the end.
Call this a little mischief and be done with it.
"Young Clan Leader. Under the names of the Tang Clan and Baek Clan, I ask: may I treat Lord Jin?"
At that moment, Nang O leaped forward gracefully and cupped his fists in salute.
"It seems the disciples of Sichuan's ruling martial clans have all gathered by chance. Long time no see, Tang Young Clan Leader."
After exchanging greetings with Dang Gun, Nang O called out again.
The target was the Young Clan Leader, but his voice carried loud enough for everyone to hear.
"Young Clan Leader. This gathering was meant to select Sacred Hand Divine Physician's disciple through a contest of medicine. But Young Master Baek has made an intriguing proposal. What do you think?"
Nang O's face as he spoke was, well, perfectly consistent.
The kind of expressionless face that wasn't quite blank.
A slight upturn at the corners of his mouth, soft eyes.
A face crafted deliberately to win people's favor.
"Certainly, debating my father's treatment right now seems absurd."
"I figured you'd think so, Young Clan Leader. Hahaha. But isn't it amusing? A man vouched for by Jeomchang versus one vouched for by the Tang Clan, competing for Sacred Hand Divine Physician's discipleship."
He spoke of amusement, but from the Tang Clan's perspective, it only made their position more uncomfortable.
-Hui, how do you plan to clean up this mess you've made...?
Clean up? Why bother?
Just steer the board so no cleanup is needed.
"I see it differently."
Baek Yang-hui scanned the crowd and raised his voice even louder.
"Medicine is a humanitarian art! My skills are for saving lives. This isn't a place to debate treatment? Wrong! To me, everything from the start has been about treatment!"
Who became Sacred Hand Divine Physician's disciple didn't really matter.
Neither side was the real deal anyway.
So shift everyone's attention to the treatment itself.
"I'll say it again. I can cure Lord Jin immediately. Little Divine Physician—you can do that too, right?"
The Little Divine Physician couldn't match Baek Yang-hui's boldness.
"Of course. With time to address the symptoms and improve them..."
The kind of vague answer any physician could give.
It contrasted sharply with Baek Yang-hui's bold guarantee, naturally drawing more trust from the Young Clan Leader and the others toward Baek Yang-hui's words.
"Young Clan Leader! Please make the decision for your father's sake!"
"Give us more time to deliberate..."
"The longer you delay, the worse Lord Jin's condition will get! Ten days! If I can't cure him in ten days, I'll stake my neck on it!"
Dang Gun stared silently at Baek Yang-hui as he spat his fervent plea.
When they'd first arrived at Jin Manor, it had only been baffling. Now, though, he felt a different kind of unease.
The Baek Yang-hui Dang Gun knew firmly believed himself to be right, but he never forced his views or acted arrogantly.
Yet here he was.
It reminded him of encountering the Blood Cult's demon lord at Geomwang Fortress.
'Is there something hidden?'
The Myeonggeum Syndrome did have plenty of suspicious aspects.
It had appeared suddenly, spreading mainly among the wealthy.
If it was someone's scheme...
-Hui. Did you detect involvement from unorthodox or demonic forces?
-Exactly.
Baek Yang-hui smirked briefly in reply.
Dang hyung really was the clan head material.
At first, he'd planned to treat Jin Yeong-gil and pocket some gains. Now, the priorities had flipped.
Because he'd realized the cause of Myeonggeum Syndrome was myeonggi—bright energy.
'As expected. The Bright Cult bastards were lurking just like the Blood Cult.'
Ilwol Myeonggyo, one of the three pillars of the Four Demonic Lands.
He'd found their tail.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ After the heated debate and verbal sparring, they agreed to dissolve the gathering for now.
With Jeomchang and the Tang Clan stepping up to vouch, prolonging it would only drag out the arguments.
"Hui. I need a full explanation. As detailed as possible."
Before answering, Baek Yang-hui closed his eyes.
The whirlwind of events left even him needing time to sort his thoughts.
'Myeonggeum Syndrome is definitely a plague from the Bright Cult.'
He'd sensed demonic energy—Bright Cult's myeonggi—in Jin Yeong-gil's body.
Demonic energy usually evoked images of black, dark, blood, or madness.
In that sense, the Bright Cult's myeonggi felt a bit off.
Myeonggi—bright energy, literally.
A demonic cult's energy named after light? Odd, right?
But.
What was demonic energy or ghostly qi, anyway?
Simply put, corrupted energy that defied the natural order.
By that definition, the Bright Cult's myeonggi was undoubtedly demonic.
'I didn't notice in my past life when I treated Myeonggeum Syndrome. But it's certain now.'
During the Four Demonic Lands war, he'd been exposed to the Bright Cult's energy until he was sick of it.
Faint and textured differently, but definitely myeonggi.
'If the Bright Cult is involved, where did they start their scheme?'
From that fake Sacred Hand Divine Physician disciple showing up?
No—Jeomchang was vouching for him.
According to his past life memories, none of the Nine Great Sects had colluded with the Three Great Demonic Cults, so unlikely.
'How can I grab the tail without letting them slip away, and reel in the whole body?'
Maybe dangle some irresistible bait so they couldn't just cut and run?
"Hui."
Dang Gun's voice came again. Baek Yang-hui opened his eyes.
'A journey of a thousand miles starts with a single step. Secure what I can first, then slowly shake the bait.'
"Dang hyung. When I treat Lord Jin, we'll say it's thanks to a detoxification martial secret developed through recent exchanges between the Tang Clan and Baek Clan."
Dang Gun's face stiffened slightly.
"Sorry, but we can't reveal that."
"I know. You want to keep it secret from the Nine Great Sects, right? Same here, so I'll tell only the Clan Head secretly."
"Clan Head? Not the Young Clan Leader?"
"You'll see. Anyway, maximum secrecy with the Nine Great Sects."
That wasn't the important part anyway.
"Prepare supreme yin and yang elixirs. You'll get the funds and connections for it."
Myeonggeum Syndrome itself wasn't hard to cure.
The issue was when it turned plague-like, as with Jin Yeong-gil—but even that could be burned away with extreme yin and yang energies.
This fact hadn't been discovered yet.
'Wait. From the Bright Cult's view, wasn't the plague mutation just an unintended side effect?'
No way to know. With no clues now, it was shallow speculation.
Everyone with advanced Myeonggeum Syndrome died before a cure was found, so probably true.
"And gather info on all Myeonggeum victims discreetly. Find common threads. Use every intelligence network, but keep it secret."
Dang Gun listened quietly, then asked his question once Baek Yang-hui finished.
"Got it. But you're skipping the most important part."
It was tricky to explain.
The Three Great Demonic Cults hadn't surfaced yet.
Hard to pin down clearly now.
"I sensed demonic energy in Lord Jin's body. Can't identify it exactly, but my gut says it's bad. Better to prepare."
"......"
A vague explanation. But Dang Gun nodded soon enough.
"I'll trust you."
"......"
This time, Baek Yang-hui fell silent.
Even after invoking the Tang Clan's name so brazenly, the trust humbled him.
It only made him want to live up to it more.
"Trust me. By tomorrow, you'll trust even more."
"Ho. Now I'm curious why."
"You'll feel the benefits in your bones first, at least?"
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ Exactly one day later.
Baek Yang-hui's group, staying in the guest quarters of the reception hall, received a visit from the Young Clan Leader—rushing in barefoot.
"What brings you here, Young Clan Leader?"
The Young Clan Leader answered Dang Gun's question immediately.
"My father—the Clan Head—has awakened. He requests a secret visit. Will you come quietly?"
Jin Yeong-gil, comatose for over a year, had regained consciousness.
Dang Gun stared blankly at Baek Yang-hui.
'No wonder he mentioned the Clan Head, not the Young Clan Leader.'
This little brother delivered. Always exceeding expectations like this.
Dang Gun smiled back at Baek Yang-hui, who grinned at him.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ Dang Gun and Baek Yang-hui followed the Young Clan Leader to the deepest part of Jin Manor.
A lavish chamber ringed by tight security.
There sat Jin Yeong-gil—one of the Three Great Tycoons of the World—on a silk bed.
"You've come."
With eyes closed, it hadn't been noticeable, but Jin Yeong-gil had a sharp, cold demeanor.
Poison in his gaze, perhaps.
"From ancient times, the Central Plains dynasties demanded two staples from the common folk in taxes. Do you know what they were?"
An out-of-left-field question.
After emerging from mortal peril, you'd expect questions about his condition or other pressing matters. Not this.
Still, he answered.
"Grain and cloth. Rice and cotton."
"Correct. The twin staples are the foundation of all the world's goods—and the most valuable."
Jin Yeong-gil's hand swept across the bed.
Silk rustled softly against his palm.
"The finest cloth is brocade, and the finest brocade is Shu brocade. Thus, it's also called Shu gold."
Shu was ancient Sichuan, and its silk was a priceless treasure rivaling gold.
"In the name of Jin Yeong-gil, I ask—no, speak."
His hand paused on the silk.
"You must have much to say. Tell me all. I'll listen and decide how many bolts of Shu silk it's worth."
Baek Yang-hui was genuinely impressed by Jin Yeong-gil's words.
'One of the Three Great Tycoons. A true force of nature.'
However.
When it came to haggling, he had confidence too.
"How many bolts are you offering? I'll speak accordingly." Who calls the first price?
This side was the buyer, after all.