An old tree.
That was the first thing that came to mind when I saw the old man.
Inside a dark pavilion blocked off by cloth on all four sides, the old man stood alone, his back to us. He looked just like an old tree that had lost all its vitality.
If he hadn’t slowly turned around the next moment, I might have thought he had already put down roots into the floor.
“Yeah…”
His two eyes glowed with a swirling green light.
The old man, Tang Sadok, the Myriad-Poison Asura, continued speaking in a voice that hissed like a snake.
“You brought a letter?”
The middle-aged man answered.
“Yes, Uncle. It was sent by Great Hero Mae Jonghak…”
“Did I ask you?”
“……”
“You have no place in this conversation. Leave.”
Realizing his mistake, the middle-aged man bowed and exited the pavilion.
After coldly driving his own nephew out with a few words, Tang Sadok reclined in a leather chair.
Look at the old man’s presence.
The problem was that it was the presence of a villain.
From his first impression alone, I could have believed he was from the Demonic Cult rather than the orthodox faction.
I stepped forward under Tang Sadok’s gaze.
“I’m Jin Taekyung of the Jin Family of Taiyuan. It is an honor to meet you, Great Hero Tang Sadok.”
Tang Sadok answered with an unreadable expression.
“I have heard that Senior Jeok took on a Disciple in his later years. I also know that he has ties to the Jin Family of Taiyuan.”
“Oh, really?”
That was a good sign.
Tang Sadok stroked his chin and seemed to think for a moment before suddenly speaking.
“His name was… Yes, the Blade of Flowers, Jin Baekyang. I remember now.”
Good sign, my ass. That name keeps popping up whenever I’ve almost forgotten it.
The Head Elder really must have been something in his day.
Then again, it made sense. He had been a Peak master who had distinguished himself during the Great Faction War. It wasn’t strange that he had formed friendships with other masters during that time.
He even said he’d met the Fire King once or twice.
Thanks to that, when I first met Jeok Cheongang, I got nailed with a Flame Divine Palm before I could explain the situation.
Tang Sadok stared at me and asked,
“How has Jin Baekyang been these days?”
“Well, you see…”
Before answering, I looked around.
It was so I could dodge quickly if a poisonous snake suddenly sprang out from somewhere or a hidden weapon came flying at me.
“He passed away.”
“What?”
Yeah, I knew this was coming.
I hurriedly continued speaking to Tang Sadok, whose eyes had widened.
“It was an unfortunate accident. There are circumstances behind it, of course. If you’d just give me a little time, I’ll explain everything without any misunderstanding—”
“No need.”
“Excuse me?”
“He was an obnoxious bastard. Every time people praised him as some Great Hero or chivalrous knight, it soured my mood.”
“……”
“There is no such thing as a death without reason for a martial artist. Dead is dead.”
Things were going smoothly, which was a relief, but the old man’s personality was almost poisonous enough to kill.
Wasn’t he basically saying that it was good that an unpleasant bastard had died?
His personality is practically on Dark Heaven’s level.
Whether he knew about the suspicion growing in my heart or not, Tang Sadok waved his hand as though I were a nuisance.
“Enough about the dead. Let us get to the point. Great Hero Mae Jonghak sent me a letter?”
“Yes. It would be faster if you read it yourself.”
I pretended to search inside my robes and summoned the Sword Saint’s handwritten letter from my inventory.
Tang Sadok accepted the letter and began reading. The furrows between his brows deepened, and at last, a roar filled with fury burst from his throat.
“What kind of sons of bitches are these?!”
Whoooom!
The pavilion trembled from the shout, which carried profound internal energy.
Tang Sadok’s green robes fluttered as he vented his anger. Then he asked in a voice that sounded as though he were chewing and spitting out every word.
“Is everything written in this letter true?”
“Yes. It is exactly as written.”
The Sword Saint’s letter laid out the events in Henan in an orderly fashion. It also asked Tang Sadok to actively cooperate in finding the Divine Physician so that Jeok Cheongang could be treated.
“To think Senior Jeok’s condition is so critical…”
“Actually, there’s something I’d like to ask before we go looking for the Divine Physician.”
The Sichuan Tang Clan was known throughout the martial world for poison and hidden weapons, but each and every member of the family was also a skilled physician.
And among them stood one person at the very peak.
I looked straight at Tang Sadok and asked,
“Could I meet the Grand Family Head?”
Poison King Tang Taesang.
A Supreme Peak master who had been called the greatest in the world when it came to poison and hidden weapons, even before the Great Faction War.
He had dominated an entire era. Twenty years ago, he handed the position of Family Head of the Sichuan Tang Clan to his only child and disappeared.
That child was the old man standing right in front of me—Tang Sadok.
“It may take several days or even longer to find the Divine Physician. Before then, if the Poison King could examine my Master’s condition…”
“Enough.”
Tang Sadok cut me off. His face had hardened as he spoke.
“Impossible. That is this old man’s answer.”
“……”
My chest dropped with a thud at the unexpected response.
Even though Poison King Tang Taesang had not shown himself for many years, Tang Sadok clearly knew where he was.
Impossible. He knew, yet he was saying that he would not help.
A trembling voice slipped between my lips.
“W-Why?”
“I cannot say.”
“You cannot say?”
“Instead, I will assign several people to guide you. If you go to Qingcheng and Emei, they will gladly help you.”
What did I just hear?
This shock was several times greater than the first.
Tang Sadok’s words meant that the Sichuan Tang Clan would not help us with this matter.
It wasn’t that they would provide no assistance at all.
A few guides to lead us to the Qingcheng Sect and Emei Sect.
That was it.
That was all the help we could receive from the Sichuan Tang Clan.
The back of my head felt numb, as though I had been struck with an iron club. Something hot abruptly surged up from the corner of my chest.
“Is that all?”
“What more help did you expect?”
“We need to find the Divine Physician!”
“That is your problem, not mine or our family’s. It makes no difference that you brought a letter from Great Hero Mae Jonghak. It was a request, and this old man refused. That is all.”
The words caught in my throat.
Everything Tang Sadok had said was correct. To him, and to the Sichuan Tang Clan, all of this was a choice—not an obligation.
Right. That was how it was.
When I finally accepted the truth I had been desperately hoping wasn’t true, disappointment and anger surged up inside me.
Just as I stood there at a loss for words, someone stepped forward amid the sweet scent of snacks.
“I am Cheongpung of Huashan. It is a pleasure to meet you.”
I had never seen that side of him before.
Cheongpung clasped his hands with an expression and tone I had never seen him use before, then continued.
“I do not know why the Family Head refuses, but if you help us, I will never forget this kindness.”
“I know that you are Great Hero Mae Jonghak’s Disciple. One must be careful when forming debts of gratitude and grudges in the martial world. Do not poke your nose into matters that do not concern you. Withdraw.”
“I’m not poking my nose into anything.”
“Then what are you doing?”
Cheongpung answered with a clear, unwavering gaze.
“My grandfather called it human compassion.”
“……”
Tang Sadok stared at Cheongpung with a complicated expression before shaking his head.
“Even if Great Hero Mae Jonghak came to me personally and asked, this old man’s answer would not change.”
“But…”
Just as Cheongpung, Gung Gibang, and Hyuk Mujin all began to speak at once, I cut in with a single question.
“What is the reason?”
“The reason?”
“Even a stray dog passing by knows how much power the Sichuan Tang Clan possesses. So why in the world are you refusing?”
“What will you do if I do not wish to tell you the reason?”
“What will I do?”
I stared into Tang Sadok’s green eyes and answered,
“Then the gratitude and grudges you mentioned will be established between me and the Sichuan Tang Clan. I should warn you that they will not be the pleasant kind.”
“……”
“Hah. What a fearless brat.”
“Normally, I check where I’m lying before I stretch out my legs, but in this case, I’m in a bit—well, a lot—of a hurry.”
At most, Jeok Cheongang had about half a year left.
The Divine Physician was someone even the most renowned martial sects under heaven and the Imperial Court had failed to find.
If Jeok Cheongang died because he could not receive treatment in time… If it happened because the Sichuan Tang Clan had refused to help…
“Then I don’t know what I’ll do.”
When I finished speaking, suffocating silence filled the pavilion.
Tang Sadok stared at me for a long time with deep, unfathomable eyes. Then he finally parted his lips.
“It is unfortunate that Senior Jeok ended up in such a state.”
“If you feel sorry for him, why not help us?”
“This old man would like to. But what can I do? Our family does not have that kind of room to spare right now.”
No room to spare?
The moment I heard those words, the scenes I had witnessed on the way here flashed through my mind.
An atmosphere so grim it was practically murderous. Artisans constantly making something without pause. Weapons being carried somewhere every few moments.
“What in the world is going on?”
“Going on?”
Step.
Tang Sadok took a step toward me.
Perhaps because of the poison arts he had cultivated, the green in his eyes gleamed more eerily than ever. And within that green light were anger and sorrow.
“The matter has already happened. Now all that remains is to mobilize every ounce of our family’s strength and slaughter every culprit involved.”
That was it.
That was why the Sichuan Tang Clan could not help us right now.
That was why Tang Sadok had not been able to easily say anything even after a green young brat like me challenged him to his face.
That was why this matter took priority over finding the Divine Physician and saving the Fire King’s life—and why he had flatly refused to let me meet Poison King Tang Taesang.
“Surely…”
Perhaps he noticed that I had realized the truth.
Tang Sadok looked at me as I stared back wide-eyed, then spoke in a voice filled with killing intent.
“When we received the news, everything was already too late. Not one of his limbs was left intact.”
Those words turned my suspicion into certainty.
Poison King Tang Taesang was dead.
“Hmm.”
The middle-aged man was of average height and had a round face. He possessed the sort of ordinary appearance one could see anywhere.
Leaning against the wall of a pitch-black cave, he carefully examined his forearm and muttered,
“This won’t do. The poison is vicious.”
The middle-aged man clicked his tongue softly.
He had done everything he could, but the most he had managed was to drive the poison into one arm.
“Poison King… He was fierce. More than I expected.”
Poison King Tang Taesang.
The expression on Tang Taesang’s face as his breath finally left him was still vivid in the middle-aged man’s mind.
But it had been a terrible result for him.
He had succeeded in eliminating a Supreme Peak master known as the Poison King, but he had failed to accomplish something more important.
I never thought it would be easy, anyway.
After muttering inwardly, the middle-aged man suddenly brought the edge of his hand down on his left forearm.
A blinding flash erupted.
At the same time, the severed forearm fell to the floor.
Schhk! Ssssss!
Blood thick with poison splattered and melted everything around it. Acrid toxic smoke rose from the wound.
Small creatures watching the middle-aged man from unseen places were exposed to the smoke and died without even knowing what had happened.
Eek… Eeeek…
Listening to the bats’ dying shrieks, the middle-aged man walked out of the cave.
When he saw the sunlight pouring down, he grinned.
It was a smile no one would have believed belonged to someone who had just cut off his own arm.
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