Chapter 54
Chapter 54
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 54
Chapter Title: The Sub-Branch Proposal
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“Hui, my brother. Step back for a moment.”
The Tang Clan members weren’t fools. The moment they saw Saek Gwang-ho’s expression, they sensed there might be a hidden hand at play and immediately began the torture.
In the end, Saek Gwang-ho met a truly miserable death.
Oof, what a mess. Looks like a soaked rag.
The place was drenched in poison, no different from a filthy, sopping rag.
“So there was an accomplice who helped Saek Gwang-ho escape.”
“I knew something was off. Even for a peak-level expert nearing the pinnacle, slipping through our encirclement so easily was too smooth.”
“Young Clan Leader. We’ll need a more thorough investigation.”
Dang Gun nodded grimly, grinding his teeth.
“Of course. We’ll root out the culprit and slaughter them. The problem is, even this mongrel dog didn’t know who helped him.”
The Tang Clan’s torture techniques were unrivaled in the world. With their focus on poisons and hidden weapons, it was inevitable.
Yet Saek Gwang-ho hadn’t revealed his accomplice’s identity to the end.
This meant he himself had no idea who had aided him.
It’s definitely the Namgung Clan. They have the capability to assist an escape without the target even knowing.
Still, it wasn’t time to carelessly name the Namgung Clan.
He needed to guide the Tang Clan to the answer themselves.
“Brother Dang.”
“Speak, brother Hui.”
“We may not have identified the culprit, but guessing shouldn’t be too hard. The ones who’d want to disrupt the Tang Clan’s event are the culprits, right?”
“Hm. That makes sense.”
Dang Gun’s face hardened further.
He was probably suspecting Ami and Qingcheng, located in the same Sichuan region.
To shift their direction, he tossed out another clue.
“Hm, it’s tricky. He said he felt someone helping him even after leaving Sichuan, so any faction in the world could be the culprit.”
He glanced subtly at Dang Gun and the Tang Clan members’ expressions before continuing.
“Still, there aren’t many with the prowess to aid Saek Gwang-ho’s escape. And since he headed this way...”
He deliberately trailed off without drawing a conclusion.
Fortunately, the Tang Clan members reached it on their own without needing the finishing blow.
Dang Gun and the First Poison Hall Leader began whispering in hushed tones.
A conversation I shouldn’t hear. They must be talking about the Namgung Clan’s visit.
A smile nearly crept onto his face, so he forced his expression to stay neutral.
Thus, he’d achieved two birds with one stone.
Now the Tang Clan would keep their distance from the Namgung Clan, eliminating any chance of aiding them.
Moreover, they’d feel the need to build connections outside Sichuan.
I’ve laid the groundwork to turn the Tang Clan into an ally of the main house.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ Baek Mu-ryang hosted a grand banquet in the manor to welcome the Tang Clan members.
Uncle Jegal would be jealous if he knew.
When the Jegal father and daughter had visited, the feast had been far more lavish by comparison.
But what could he do? Their circumstances now were worlds apart from then.
With his face flushed from the excitement and drink, Dang Gun boomed heartily.
“My deepest thanks to Clan Leader Baek! I never dreamed we’d receive such generous hospitality after leaving Sichuan!”
“Heh, why think that way?”
“You must know the rumors about our clan...”
Dang Gun’s expression darkened slightly as he replied, but Baek Mu-ryang paid it no mind.
“Where there’s no fire, no smoke rises—but gather three people, and they’ll conjure a tiger. Don’t mind it, Young Clan Leader.”
Baek Mu-ryang was not one to judge by rumors alone.
It was in his nature, and his life experiences reinforced it.
His nickname Peerless Righteous Helper itself mocked his low martial prowess while praising his righteousness.
And that was just the start.
“You may not know this, Young Clan Leader, but we were once called the Baek Clan. As our fortunes declined, we heard every foul rumor imaginable.”
“Is that so?”
“If I let rumors sway me, what good would I be?”
Dang Gun gazed at the smiling Baek Mu-ryang with admiration.
Even as the head of a fallen house, to this Young Clan Leader—who would one day inherit his own—the man was a true hero worth emulating.
“Clan Leader.”
Dang Gun rose and offered a formal clasped-hands salute.
“Not only did you pursue our clan’s criminal, but you’ve treated us with such honor. We of the Dang surname are raised with the precept: repay grace twice over. Since we’ve received your kindness, grant us the chance to return it.”
Baek Mu-ryang smiled warmly, scanning each Tang Clan member at the banquet.
They reveled in the feast yet never forgot propriety or decorum.
The Tang Clan. They match our house’s ethos perfectly.
Recalling Yang-hui’s recent advice—effectively serving as the Baek Clan Manor’s strategist—Baek Mu-ryang spoke up.
“Truth be told, I have a favor to ask, Young Clan Leader.”
“What is it?”
“I’ve heard one of your group is an exceptional physician. Is it true?”
“Yes. Deputy Leader of the Poison Pill Hall possesses medical skills second to none.”
“My wife has been unwell. Could you examine her?”
“Of course. We’d be honored.”
Only then did Dang Gun realize he’d never seen the lady of Baek Clan Manor.
Indeed, Jeong In-hwa’s condition had worsened recently; she scarcely left her chambers.
“Deputy Leader.”
At Dang Gun’s call, the Deputy Leader rose promptly.
“Illnesses must be treated swiftly. Forgive my absence from the feast; I’d like to examine her now.”
“It’d be rude to refuse. I’ll join you.”
The banquet paused briefly. Yang-hui led his younger siblings after Baek Mu-ryang and the Poison Pill Hall Deputy Leader.
“Dear wife. I’m coming in.”
Jeong In-hwa, lying on the bed, pushed back the covers and sat up.
“I’m fine. Lie down.”
“But we have guests...”
“He’s a physician first. It’s fine.”
Her pale, sickly face. Yang-hui soothed his worried younger siblings.
In my past life... we couldn’t even diagnose her illness.
Stemming from her frail constitution, ordinary doctors couldn’t prescribe properly.
But now was different.
Medicine was the shadow of poison arts. The Tang Clan’s skills were among the best in the world.
“Her pulse is excessively weak, suggesting heart issues. Pardon me, madam.”
Placing fingers on Jeong In-hwa’s wrist, the Deputy Leader then pressed lightly under her jaw to check again.
“The pulse varies by position, indicating heavy stagnation blocking blood flow. It seems you’re innately prone to accumulating turbid qi.”
Baek Mu-ryang’s eyes widened slightly. He’d summoned countless physicians for her, but this was the first such precise diagnosis.
“Madam, you weren’t born frail. The root is your tendency to accumulate turbid qi, making you appear so outwardly.”
Yang-hui realized, hearing the diagnosis, why his desperate efforts in his past life couldn’t save Jeong In-hwa.
Mother only called ordinary doctors for common folk. No wonder they couldn’t diagnose properly.
Jeong In-hwa’s ailment was less physical, more qi-related.
Her innate propensity to accumulate turbid qi—impure energy—had ruined her health.
“Deputy Leader. How should we treat it?”
“The treatment itself is simple... but undergoing it won’t be easy.”
“What method is it?”
“Take supplements to nourish the body against turbid qi, and periodically perform Pushing Palaces Over Acupoints to expel it. Once cleared sufficiently, use Shedding Hair and Washing Marrow to reform the constitution.”
“...”
Baek Mu-ryang clamped his mouth shut.
Pushing Palaces Over Acupoints and Shedding Hair and Washing Marrow.
Both required pinnacle-realm experts or higher for true effect.
Shedding Hair and Washing Marrow especially demanded multiple pinnacle experts with special herbs.
In short, impossible for the current Baek Clan Manor.
“Husband. I’m fine. Don’t worry.”
“...Young Clan Leader. Allow me one presumptuous request. Your Poison Pill Hall Leader seems at pinnacle realm. Could he perform the Pushing Palaces?”
Before Dang Gun could respond, Jeong In-hwa refused.
“Husband. To let another man’s hands touch me for treatment? I can’t.”
“Dear wife. I can’t bear seeing you suffer anymore.”
“Husband. Wrong is wrong.”
Born the daughter of the region’s most learned scholar, raised as a refined lady, Jeong In-hwa’s standards deemed enduring pain better than such treatment from any man but her husband.
“...Haa. Understood.”
Baek Mu-ryang turned to Yang-hui.
“Hui. Can you host the banquet in my stead? I need to talk more.”
He then looked at Dang Gun.
“Young Clan Leader, Hui is clever and capable enough to stand in for me. Forgive my rudeness in leaving the guests first.”
“Not at all. I understand completely; it’s no rudeness.”
Leaving Baek Mu-ryang to persuade Jeong In-hwa, the others returned to the banquet under Yang-hui’s lead.
Father... will probably fail to convince her.
Thus, two options.
Father reaches pinnacle realm and does it himself.
Or hire a female expert with compensation.
Ah, a third option. Sound Fox... I should ask my master.
Suddenly, his mind cleared.
If she agreed, the problem would vanish in one stroke.
But he wouldn’t ask Sound Fox immediately.
Handle it with the main house’s resources first. If not, then ask.
In that vein, the house needed to grow its power swiftly.
And one method stood right before him.
“Brother Dang.”
“Speak, brother Hui.”
“Father meant to discuss something. Will you hear it?”
“Of course.”
“Pardon, but via sound transmission.”
-I heard from the Namgung Clan that you plan to establish a sub-branch. Is that right?
Dang Gun’s face mixed shock and distress.
“Unbelievable. How does someone your age use sound transmission?”
Ah. Right, current Dang Gun couldn’t use it yet.
Sound transmission required first-rate realm’s qi sense and control.
“I’m a bit gifted, haha.”
“That’s an understatement. Anyway, yes.”
-May our house assist with the sub-branch?
“What kind of assistance?”
Yang-hui carefully voiced the strategy he’d pondered and discussed with Baek Mu-ryang.
-Make our house your sub-branch, brother Dang. We propose a blood-oath-level alliance with the Tang Clan.
“Hm?!”
Dang Gun’s eyes widened.
Various emotions flickered across his face.
Yang-hui waited silently.
He’ll ask for reasons and circumstances.
The logic to convince him was fully prepared.
He was confident in answering clearly.
But.
“That’ll be difficult.”
Eh? Not the response he’d expected.
What did I miss?
“Pardon, may I ask why?”
Dang Gun spoke with a heavy expression.
“...The reason is simple.”