[Episode 3. Tang Family's Foremost Master]
At the sudden words, Tang Sohwa, who had been lost in thought, raised her head.
“No matter how much Nangong Jin grabs my pants and begs me to accept him as a son-in-law, Sohwa, you cannot.”
“...Why not?”
At the light retort, Tang Jiha's lips trembled with an expression as if the world had collapsed.
“You... you, Sohwa, surely you haven't... taken a liking to Nangong Jin as well?”
“No, I haven't even seen his face.”
“Yet why do you speak thus?”
“There is no particular meaning. I was merely curious about the reason.”
Tang Sohwa focused on her father's reply, wondering if there was a conflict she was unaware of.
However, Tang Jiha, far from adopting a serious attitude, snorted and shook his head.
“Of course it cannot be. How dare he covet the Tang Family's precious treasure. That is something that cannot happen even if Nangong Jin himself came. No, not even if the Crown Prince from that imperial palace came...”
“Ah, Father!”
Sohwa urgently stopped Tang Jiha's words.
No matter how closed off the Tang Family was, words could somehow leak out, and to speak of the imperial family... For one's well-being, it was best to completely erase the imperial family, with whom entanglement was best avoided, from one's mind.
Tang Jiha cleared his throat.
“That's just how I put it.”
Tang Sohwa swallowed a small sigh.
Because she knew those words were sincere.
Externally, Tang Jiha was known as a cold person, but in reality, he was someone who prioritized his family above all else. Though hard to believe, it was said that in his younger days, he had a gentler disposition than even Tang Hak.
Now, he deliberately acts coldly towards Hakyi and strives to refine that child, but he loved that child sincerely.
When Hakyi went missing in the Yangtze River, it was a famous anecdote that his father stayed by the Yangtze River for a year, personally searching for his son by boat.
And it was the same for her.
When she had been framed in the Nangong Family and isolated in a cold room, Sohwa received a birthday gift from Tang Jiha. It was very dark green ceremonial robes.
Green robes. The symbol of the Tang Family.
It was her father's message: Do not forget that you are a person of the Tang Family.
On those green robes, a red decoration—the red Xuanwu—that only the Family Head could wear was embroidered. It was a promise that no matter what she did, he would take responsibility.
After that day, Poisonous Gu—insects used in poison arts raised in the private estate—appeared in the courtyard of her residence, and Poisonous flowers whose origin was unknown bloomed in the garden.
Even though Nangong Hyun was no longer the Nangong Family's troublesome illegitimate child but had become the Family Head, he unhesitatingly placed a Tang Family weapon in her hand, telling her she could kill that fellow if she wished.
Sohwa raised her head, a bitter smile on her lips.
She saw the wrinkles carved around her father's eyes.
Yes. The Tang Family must have many enemies.
It would be strange if they didn't.
They were people who, pitying their own finger pricked by a thorn, could unhesitatingly plunge a dagger into another's heart.
Among countless enemies, her father protected their family, and the family members also risked their lives to ward off threats.
Therefore, even if the Tang Family had incurred someone's resentment, the reason was not important.
If someone dared to point a blade at them, they simply had to make it so they wouldn't even dare to draw that blade.
Tang Jiha, perhaps having read something in his daughter's expression, furrowed his brow deeply.
“...Surely you didn't take notice of Nangong Jin at last year's Family Alliance meeting, did you?”
Tang Sohwa wore a harmless smile, as if hiding her thoughts.
“No, I didn't even go to the banquet.”
“Yehwa didn't come either, but doesn't she know his face? She might have peeked over the wall, perhaps?”
“Ah, that was when Yehwa was on the Sichuan streets...”
Sohwa, who had been thinking of something else and inadvertently tattled on her sister's deviation, quickly shut her mouth. However, Tang Jiha's face was already crumpled like a Yaksha.
“...Did Yehwa go out onto the Sichuan streets?”
“How could Yehwa go out without Father's permission? I meant that she heard about it from a maidservant who happened to see Nangong Jin when she went out onto the Sichuan streets.”
That the twins Yuhwa and Yehwa had secretly gone out on the festival day and met the Nangong Young Family Head was a secret known only to her and the three troublemakers until their deaths.
Tang Hak, who reluctantly went out as a guard unable to resist the nagging of his twin sisters, ended up getting into a quarrel with a martial artist from another region. As luck would have it, when the quarrel broke out, the one who intervened was Nangong Jin.
This was a story known only to Tang Sohwa, who had secretly treated Tang Hak in her residence, and the twins.
Even though their older brother was injured, the twins were beside themselves, chattering away about Nangong Jin.
Although Nangong Jin was still a junior, he was a talent bearing the grand epithet of Heavenly Bow Sword. They said sunlight would bend along his sword energy, producing seven colors, but she wouldn't know, as she hadn't seen it. Indeed, she hadn't even seen his face.
Noble, refined.
She had heard rumors about him until her ears were calloused, but she had no way of knowing for sure. Since Nangong Hyun was also a beauty and the Family Head Nangong An was a handsome man, she merely accepted that Nangong Jin, who shared their blood, must also be handsome.
Sohwa pretended to sip the warm tea to avoid Tang Jiha's gaze. A sweet floral scent filled her mouth, soothing her body and mind.
Three years later, Nangong Jin would be killed by an unknown assailant while performing a mission for the Martial Alliance. It was rare for such a master to be attacked, so people whispered it must be the work of someone he knew, but there were no notable suspects. It was an event that shook the world, but Sohwa hadn't paid much attention to it. That was all she knew about it. A regrettable incident where the Nangong Young Family Head, who had just passed the age of majority, a genius martial artist, met a violent end. Just that much.
Sohwa set down her cup with a strange smile.
‘Nangong Jin. In this life, you have encountered great fortune.’
In this life, Nangong Jin will survive. And becoming the Family Head, he will cover the sky so that Nangong Hyun cannot spread his wings.
Because I will make it so.
Sohwa first opened her mouth, intending to retrieve Nangong Hyun's greatest weapon she knew, his sword, the Ten Swords of the World.
“Father, have you perhaps heard of the Yeonju group?”
*
“Sister, Sister, where are you?”
Tang Hak, who had been quietly whispering, his head poked through the window frame, flinched. It was because a thin thread was visible before his eyes. Tang Hak cautiously pulled his head back, moving away.
...A mechanism array?
No, why would she set up a mechanism device in her own room?
Perhaps it was a remnant of violence.
Having been tormented so much, Tang Hak found it difficult to view Sohwa's actions positively. Looking around the room with narrowly opened eyes, Tang Hak took a small dart from his sleeve and threw it to cut the thread.
Thud.
However, nothing happened except for a letter falling from the ceiling.
Tang Hak reached out and picked up the letter.
Anyone could tell it was a letter his sister had left for him.
Because he was the only crazy(?) sibling who would come to Tang Sohwa's residence alone at that hour of the night.
His father, having recognized Maehwa as a spiritual beast, said he would take Maehwa, so Tang Hak had rushed to find his sister to ask her to intervene. Because his father was strangely soft towards his sister.
Tang Hak unfolded the paper, furrowing his brow. As expected, it was a letter his sister had left for him.
[I am going to visit Grand Elder Tang Min, so if you have something to say, come there.]
Tang Hak quickly folded the letter.
“Ah, Grand Elder Tang Min, indeed.”
Grand Elder Tang Min. He was a master bearing the dignified epithet of Black Sky Dark Ghost, but the martial artists of Murim referred to him by a more familiar nickname than his epithet.
The 'Crazy Green Dog'.
In a Murim where there was no shortage of crazy people, earning the nickname 'Crazy Dog' was a remarkable feat. It meant he was no ordinary crazy person.
In Tang Hak's memory, Tang Min was a madman who, because the former Family Head talked back, pulled out his beard and, to prevent him from escaping, painstakingly pinned his clothes to the wall with a hidden weapon.
Even though he was an elder of the family, he got away with doing such things to the Family Head.
The reason was simple. There was no one in the family capable of restraining Tang Min.
After that day, nothing changed, except that his grandfather, who had lost his beard, looked a bit younger.
However, perhaps because mad people understand each other, Tang Sohwa, who had enjoyed Poison as a snack since she was little, and Tang Min had a rather good relationship. Outwardly, their ages now seemed similar, so at a glance, they looked like affectionate siblings.
Tang Hak recalled a conversation Tang Min and Tang Sohwa had about four years ago.
- Blending isn't difficult. With the ingredients you've brought, I think I can make an even more lethal extreme Poison than the one you mentioned.
- Haha, indeed, Sohwa. Yes, yes, then start right away.
Just as Tang Min was about to leave her room with his hands behind his back, Tang Sohwa spoke softly.
- But there's one problem.
- Huh! What problem?
Tang Min, startled, asked with a frown. But the answer that came back was a sight to behold.
- It's bothersome.
- Huh?
- I'm not the Grand Elder's personal maidservant, nor am I a child who's just taken her first steps.
His thirteen-year-old sister put her small fists on her hips, expressing her dissatisfaction clearly.
- Playing with dough for three whole days is a waste of my time.
It was the poisonous rebellion of a thirteen-year-old, asking if she had the leisure for such things.
He could assert with certainty that Tang Sohwa was the only person in the Tang Family brave enough to look at Tang Min with such impertinence.
At that time, Tang Sohwa was in a period where she was full of confidence, having entered the Poison Study Pavilion.
It was the culture(?) of the Tang Family for even the venerable elders and the Grand Family Head residing in the excellent Jiuzhaigou to straighten their aching backs and work without complaint if Tang Min spoke, yet Tang Sohwa, who was just thirteen, had protested—to the Tang Family's Foremost Master.
It was utterly disrespectful, but perhaps because he had lived such a life himself, Tang Min understood Tang Sohwa's attitude. He even liked it. It was said that the precious materials he had gone to great lengths to acquire back then are still stored in his secret warehouse, unused.
“Haha.”
Tang Hak raised his tear-filled gaze towards the bright full moon.
I'm sorry, Maehwa. This older brother couldn't protect you.
The noble spiritual beast, the falcon, will now be trained for carrying messages among the small carrier pigeons.
No matter how soft-hearted Tang Hak was, Tang Min was a frightening figure.
Tang Hak scurried out of Sohwa's residence.
*
A faint scent of wine permeated the pavilion where the lanterns burned brightly. Instead of wine, Sohwa took a sip of the tea placed beside her.
“Tsk. Not even knowing how precious what is before your eyes is.”
Tang Min clicked his tongue, taking a sip of the wine that smelled of peach blossoms.
“Mmm.”
Watching him sip slowly, it seemed to be an immensely precious wine.
Ordinarily, one might be touched by the fact that precious wine was served to a visitor, but Tang Sohwa felt a sense of pity, realizing that not many people sought out Tang Min.
In the Tang Family Estate, countless people gathered, including the direct lineage and collateral lineages, yet he still lived in solitude.
When she was young, she thought Tang Min enjoyed the barrier people felt towards him. However, as she grew older, she realized that was only half true.
Even someone who enjoyed solitude did not dislike those who sought them out.
Later, she felt a sense of disappointment when he wasn't visible, and even without being asked, her body would move on its own if he was in trouble.
Perhaps Tang Min was the same.
In the Tang Family, Tang Sohwa was the only one who sought out Tang Min without hesitation.
As she recalled, Tang Min was particularly fond of her. Perhaps it was because of this attitude that he allowed her near him.
Just as she cherished Tang Hak.
Recalling the memory, Tang Sohwa inadvertently reached for the wine cup. When she frowned at the aroma of poisoned wine wafting to her nose, Tang Min burst into laughter.
“Haha, how is it? The smell is different, isn't it?”
“Yes. The scent is good.”
Good.
It must be expensive wine.
The sweet peach scent and the smell of clear distilled liquor permeated her entire body, leaving warmth behind. Her lips softened into a smile.
Watching the laughing Tang Min, her tattered heart felt a clean peace enter it. Filling her lungs with the clear night air, Sohwa began.
“Grand Elder.”
Looking at Tang Min, she spoke again.
“Have you heard about the Yeonju group?”
At her words, Tang Min rolled his eyes, as if searching his memory. His black pupils, which had been moving here and there along with the stars in the night sky, suddenly widened and fixed on Sohwa.
“Are you perhaps speaking of the Yeonju group that disappeared 50 years ago?”
The Yeonju group was a group of doctors led by Yeonju, a 'renowned physician' who took in and raised disciples.
Yeonju was not only capable of curing any illness but was also famous for the art of elixir refinement, which produced spiritual elixirs. There were not just one or two martial artists who gained fame as world-class masters after consuming a pill manufactured by Yeonju.
Surely, she wasn't talking about that Yeonju group?
As doubt and anticipation filled Tang Min's eyes, Sohwa calmly nodded.
“Yes. That is correct.”
