Chapter 90
90
"Kyung-ah. Is the bok choy ready yet? Ah, it's done. Prepare this too."
Kyung-ah nodded and took the vegetables, diligently peeling them.
"Is the steamed fish ready yet?"
"Bean sprouts! Where are the bean sprouts!"
From early morning, the kitchen was in chaos. It was because an unexpected guest had arrived.
Everyone was busy preparing food to serve the person who had come under the orders of a high-ranking figure.
Just the fact that Kyung-ah, who would normally only be asked to do the dishes, was called in to prepare the ingredients showed how rushed the cooks were.
The reason was that the visitor was a supreme master known as one of the Ten Supreme Warriors of the Murim, Spear King Ak Ji-baek.
Dang-un smiled gently and blinked.
His vision was entirely dark, but the darkness that had taken the world could not hide the spirit of a master.
A massive, flame-like Qi surged before him.
Dang-un slowly set down his teacup and asked.
"Ak Senior. Does the tea suit your taste?"
"Yes. Your tea-making skills are still quite good. Kid."
"I'm glad it suits your taste."
"Even when you were small, you made tea so well. I thought you were a kid who was good at everything."
Ak Ji-baek, with one knee raised and his chin resting on it, spoke.
It wasn't a respectful posture, but neither Dang-un nor Ak Ji-baek seemed to mind. Rather, they seemed used to drinking tea comfortably.
Ak Ji-baek, tapping the floor with his toes, asked.
"Your eyes. Are you completely blind?"
"Yes. Senior."
"Tsk tsk... If I had known sooner, I would have brought a doctor from the Alliance. I'm sorry. Kid."
Ak Ji-baek clicked his tongue and looked at Dang-un with pity.
"Just hearing those words from you, Ak Senior, is a comfort to this Dang."
"I'm not just saying that. When I return, I will really send a doctor."
"Ahahaha, yes. Senior. Thank you."
"You're such a boring fellow."
Ak Ji-baek sighed and downed the remaining tea in one gulp.
He was as large as the great spear he carried on his back.
His height, easily exceeding six feet, overwhelmed most adult men, and his voice was rough.
"Let's leave the personal stories there... The reason I came all the way to Sichuan is to confirm the truth of the information that the Tang Clan is colluding with the Demonic Sect."
"If that's the case, it would have been faster to meet my father."
"I will meet the Tang Clan Patriarch too. But I came to see you first, kid. Your father is impossible to talk to."
Ak Ji-baek frowned as if he didn't even want to think about the Tang Clan Patriarch.
"And it's better to ask you, kid. You don't lie, do you? You just don't answer."
"Ahahaha, Senior. I am also a member of the Tang Clan. I may not be able to give you the answer you want."
Dang-un smiled lightly and swept back his long hair. He placed his pale hands on the table and asked.
"What is the source of the information that the main family is colluding with the Demonic Sect? It's an unpleasant rumor."
"Where else would it be but the Alliance. Ah, kid. First, check if this is yours."
Ak Ji-baek, as if finding it tiresome, took out a Flying Dagger from his chest.
The smile disappeared from Dang-un's face as he felt the object Ak Ji-baek handed him with his fingertips.
He glared, looking towards the location where he sensed Ak Ji-baek's Qi.
"A Soul-Chasing Flying Dagger. The forging was indeed done in the Tang Clan's Iron Workshop. The shape is a bit unique..."
Dang-un trailed off. He realized who had made this Flying Dagger.
Seeing the winding patterns engraved to make it easy to apply Poison, it was Dang Cho-hui's handiwork.
There was only one reason why Dang Cho-hui's Flying Dagger, who never left Sichuan, let alone the Tang Clan, would be in Ak Ji-baek's hands.
Dang So-hye. His youngest sister must have become involved in the Murim Alliance's affairs.
A cold sweat ran down his spine.
Could it be that So-hye...
"That Flying Dagger was found near a corpse melted by Bone-Dissolving Powder. If it's yours, it seems a Tang Clan Martial Artist was involved."
Dang-un was relieved by the words that followed. If Bone-Dissolving Powder was used, So-hye had killed, not been killed.
His escaped sister seemed to have safely left Sichuan.
"Kid. You know something, don't you? Do you know who was there?"
Ak Ji-baek, who had been watching Dang-un, tapped the table and asked. Dang-un smiled brightly instead of answering.
"Ak Senior. I'm afraid you'll have to hear the answer directly from the Patriarch."
Dang Geunmyeong entered the Assembly Hall with a stiff face.
He had hoped to rest comfortably while Dang Jung was away, but the continuous misfortunes were giving him a headache.
Even when the Assembly Hall made the decision to expel the Poison King's beloved disciple, Dang Geunmyeong thought it would all pass.
He believed that the Patriarch would pretend to chase Dang So-hye away to appease the Yuju Merchant Guild, and then quietly bring her back when things calmed down.
Not only Dang Geunmyeong but most of the family members thought so.
She was his daughter, and Dang Jung's disciple, whom he had taken in 70 years. The family members believed that the Patriarch would not let Dang So-hye die.
So Dang Geunmyeong sent her off to the Central Plains.
If she took a boat from Chongqing, she would naturally go to Wuhan, so he planned to quietly go and bring her back later.
It would be easy to find a girl in Green Robe in a large city filled with beggars from the Beggars' Sect.
Wuhan was the city where the Murim Alliance headquarters was located, so there was not much chance that Dang So-hye would encounter dangerous things.
Although young, she was immune to all poisons, having been personally taught by the Poison King, so she would be able to hold her own.
However, when some of the Elders, who thought of their heads as mere decorations, tried to hand over Dang So-hye's Facial Description to the Yuju Merchant Guild without a second thought, Dang Geunmyeong realized he was wrong.
"Wait, wait! Fifth Elder. How can you hand over the Facial Description like that?"
"What's wrong with it? He must be very angry at losing his son, so we should give him something like this."
"It's not allowed. Create and send a different Facial Description. The Poison King forbade us from even drawing her Facial Description."
"Really? Well, if Seventh Elder says so."
These stupid fools didn't even know what the problem was.
Handing over the Facial Description was the same as saying they wouldn't care if the Yuju Merchant Guild caught and killed her.
"Did you perhaps say anything else?"
"I don't know about that. I think someone said she was traveling with a black marten. Was it Eighth Elder?"
Damn it.
Dang Geunmyeong wanted to punch the Elder's endlessly light mouth.
How many martens that were used to people, especially black-furred ones, were there in the entire Central Plains?
Now, even if they didn't know Dang So-hye's appearance, anyone could identify Dang So-hye's identity by seeing the black marten.
Dang Geunmyeong understood anew why his master was becoming increasingly bad-tempered.
If he had to watch those fools with their dull heads occupying the Elder's seat for over a hundred years, even he would have found it difficult to hold back his anger.
The situation was getting worse.
Dang So-hye's trail, who was naturally thought to have traveled by waterway, was lost in Langzhong.
He gave boxes of silver to the Beggars' Sect and inquired, but they couldn't find her, no matter which mountain valley she had hidden in.
He wanted to go to Langzhong and search for her immediately, but Dang Geunmyeong was not in a position to move rashly.
If he disobeyed the Patriarch's orders and was expelled, he would have to abandon all the Martial Arts Technique he had learned in the Tang Clan.
What use was a Martial Artist who had lost his Martial Arts Technique? He could only help Dang So-hye within the family.
Just as he was spending sleepless nights anxious about whether something had happened, the Assembly Hall summoned the Elders.
Dang Geunmyeong, who was sitting there without any emotion, thinking of just keeping his seat and leaving, almost shouted when he heard the reason why Ak Ji-baek had come to Sichuan.
Spear King Ak Ji-baek had come to investigate the Tang Clan on behalf of the Murim Alliance Vice Alliance Leader because of Dang So-hye.
"So, that child who was expelled caused an accident?"
"Colluding with the Demonic Sect. How could she... Tsk tsk."
"There's no evidence that she colluded with the Demonic Sect, is there? She was just lying next to them. It's just bad luck."
"Do we have to take responsibility? She's not a Tang Clan member anymore."
"But she's the Patriarch's blood. When assigning responsibility, we can't prevent the arrows of blame from pointing towards the main family."
"Why don't we find and bring her back? I don't like those stiff-necked Murim Alliance people laying their hands on the Tang Clan's blood."
"It will be difficult for us to bring her back. The Patriarch has handed over the child's safety to the Murim Alliance. The Alliance will release search parties and interrogate her under the guise of investigation."
One of the Elders, who had been staring blankly into the air, scratched his cheek with a troubled expression.
"Oh dear... If the Poison King finds out about this, he won't stay still."
Then all the Elders sighed as if they had made a promise.
"Heo."
"This is a living hell. Do I have to be grabbed by the collar and scolded at this age?"
"Even the Grand Elders get kicked and thrown around, what can we do?"
"No, why did the Patriarch make such a choice? I'm terrified just thinking about the moment the master finishes his seclusion. He's going to be furious, that child he held and carried and cherished..."
"Let's hope it's nothing serious."
Dang Geunmyeong, who had been listening quietly, frowned and covered his head.
This kid is causing a huge accident!
It was good news that Dang So-hye was alive and well, but the news of the accident was not good at all.
What on earth was she doing to get involved with Demonic Sect members and be pursued by the Murim Alliance?
Dang Geunmyeong pressed his throbbing temples.
He was worried about how to save the master's unruly disciple.
