Chapter 396: Oh No…! (1)

It had already become evening by the time I finished my conversation with the Qinghai Sword and went outside.

I still had some time until dinner, but I was making my way early since there wasn’t enough time to train.

The old man would be angry at me if he saw this.

If I was caught skipping my training, the Dishonored Venerable would probably beat me up again as an excuse for training.

That man must love beating people up.

Surely, I wasn’t mistaken.

Perhaps he was called the Dishonored Venerable for a different reason.

In my eyes, it seemed like he was pent up since he barely fought anyone after he went through the process of Eternal Youth. Unfortunately, he was taking it out on me.

…For fucks sake, I need to get stronger as soon as possible.

At the very least, I needed to become strong to the point he couldn’t beat me up anymore. Despite having that thought, I knew that I didn’t have an answer right now.

How could he just ignore our difference in levels?

I couldn’t help but become speechless every time I saw him. Once, I even used my Qi since he told me to go all out, but even that wasn’t enough for me to beat him, which was just absurd.

He didn’t give a single opening.

I didn’t use Qi and only used physical strength to spar with him, not because it was unfair for him, but because it was more beneficial for me.

The Dishonored Venerable stopped my movement and Qi through my openings, preventing me from attacking him. Despite him being in Peak Realm, I couldn’t win against him even though I was in Fusion Realm. Thanks to that, I got beaten up by him every time in our spars.

In response to my flaws, the Dishonored Venerable focused on close-quarters combat skills, as I had a habit of relying on the sheer amount of Qi I had.

It’s something Elder Shin mentioned in the past as well.

I honestly had no excuse when it came to close combat skills. I only focused on fire arts and its explosive power. Because of that, I had no memories of training close-quarters combat skills at all, despite being a close combat martial artist.

I once again realized this truth recently, thanks to the spars I had with the Dishonored Venerable. Unlike how I thought I could rely on my past experiences, there were way too many flaws I had to fix.

…A bit more.

No, not just a bit more. I had to work a lot harder. He may have had a nasty personality, but I was glad that I had a competent teacher.

Recently, I’ve been trying to focus on my Heaven Destruction Arts whenever I moved. This made walking extremely painful, but it was pretty effective for my training.

The Dishonored Venerable became disgusted when he saw this.

It almost seemed as if he was saying with his eyes, ‘Even I didn’t do that,’ while he treated me like a maniac, but it seemed like it didn’t matter since he didn’t stop me from doing it.

Of course, it wasn’t a very pleasant feeling for me either. Not only did it feel like I was stepping on spikes whenever I walked, but it almost felt as if someone was repeatedly stabbing me with a knife inside my body.

The pain immediately made me want to stop.

But if I can’t even endure this, how would I be able to proceed in the future?

It was mere pain. It wasn’t problematic for my body, so I didn’t have a problem with it. Though sometimes, I fainted due to the pain.

Wobble-

I lost balance for a moment as I walked.

…Oh, I almost fainted just now.

I shook my head and woke myself up. I ran into this problem from time to time due to me losing focus, but oh well.

The important part for now was the fact that I had already arrived at the inn the Poison King was waiting in. I thought to myself as I stared at the beautiful, tall building.

I should’ve slowed down a little…

It was closer than I expected. Dammit. Time goes by way too quickly whenever I think to myself like this.

Sigh.

I should go inside, right? I can’t just leave at this point, right? As hesitation started to fill my mind,

There shouldn’t be any problems anyway.

I quickly found inner peace, let out a deep sigh, and stepped my foot inside the inn.

Then, a myriad of information entered my senses in an instant. I didn’t let my shock show and calmly thought to myself.

…Three at left, two above, and four in front.

Through my senses, I felt the martial artists who were guarding the inn. I was able to know that they were martial artists of the Tang Clan from their pungent aroma and their distinctive aura.

Guards huh.

Their gazes were definitely on me, but I didn’t feel any threat from them.

Though I am bothered that they are continuing to stare at me.

I wondered what to do at first, then used my Heaven Destruction Art to charge my Combat Qi.

Swoosh-!

I became capable of doing this thanks to my consistent training. It was the process of making my Combat Qi more violent and fierce.

Combat Qi instantly erupted from my body. I didn’t spread it everywhere in the building, but instead only towards the ones that stared at me.

I saw them flinch in response. They had failed to keep their presences hidden thanks to my Combat Qi making them lose focus.

Did they not think that they would be caught? They knew that I did this on purpose and started panicking because of it.

I thought to myself after seeing their reaction.

What should I do?

Tease them a bit more? I wasn’t fond of people secretly watching me, so I thought about teasing them a bit more but decided to stop since this was Tang Clan’s territory.

I retrieved my Qi, and it felt like I had fewer gazes on me. I turned my head and looked in one direction.

I looked at the person who seemed to be the leader of the hidden martial artists and gave him a smirk. Then, the masked man opened his eyes wide in shock when he saw my smile.

It seemed like I made them panic a lot since I felt their Qi scatter everywhere.

Shortly afterwards, I moved my gaze away and entered the inn. It’s not like I had anything else to do here.

When I went inside, the first thing I saw was the inside of the building, which was beautifully decorated.

It was much cleaner and more luxurious than I expected. I’ve seen a few inns already, but the one the Tang Clan borrowed seemed to be the prettiest.

As I continued to look around, someone came up to me and greeted me respectfully.

“Thank you for visiting us.”

Judging by their outfit, they seemed to be a servant from the Tang Clan.

Hmm?

I felt a strange aura from this servant when I observed her. I couldn’t help but let out a smirk afterwards.

Woah.

Even this person, who seemed to be a servant, was a martial artist.

She was doing a great job at hiding her identity because I probably wouldn’t have known that she was a martial artist if I didn’t see her from up close like this.

So the guy outside wasn’t the leader of the group.

This lady over here seemed more powerful than him.

“My Lord is waiting inside. I shall guide you to him.”

Right as the lady turned around to guide me after she finished talking, I asked her a question without being able to hold back.

“Can I ask you something?”

The lady paused and turned this way.

“What is it?”

“Is it always like this?”

“…Pardon?”

“Is it always like this in the Tang Clan? I don’t think you are the type suitable to be a servant.”

“…!”

When I asked the assassin why she was working as a servant, her eyes widened in shock.

Then, I spoke awkwardly.

“Oh, should I have pretended to not notice…? I’ll just pretend I never said that. Please guide me to him.”

The lady stared at me with shaky pupils for a moment, then lowered her head and started to walk forward without giving a response.

It seemed like she was trying to hide it after all.

Because I dealt with so many assassins in my past life, I’ve lost the ability to distinguish them from normal martial artists. Unless it was a skilled assassin, it was possible for me to notice them pretty easily.

Anyway, putting that aside.

All of them really are martial artists. What’s that about?

Not only was the servant in front of me a martial artist, but it seemed like all servants of the Tang Clan were as well.

I didn’t see anyone else that should be in the inn and only saw members of the Tang Clan. I guess that makes sense since they borrowed the whole building.

But for all of them to be martial artists huh…

I wondered if that was really necessary.

Oh.

I was able to somewhat understand it after thinking about why the Tang Clan came to this place in the first place.

It’s because of the prisoner, I assume.

Considering they had to bring prisoners of the Unorthodox Faction to Sichuan due to a request from the Alliance, they seemed to have brought some of their main forces.

They wouldn’t have brought this much force with them if they weren’t given their task.

As I felt gazes from many directions, I walked through the hallway and arrived in front of a beautiful entrance.

The servant carefully opened the door for me.

“Oh! You came.”

As soon as the door opened, an innocent-looking middle-aged man stood up as he welcomed me. It was the Poison King, the Lord of the Tang Clan, whom I had met the other day.

I hid my nervousness and greeted him with respect.

“I am Gu Yangcheon, a blood relative from the Gu Clan. I am honored to meet the Lord of the Tang Clan.”

“Haha! It’s nice to meet you, Master Gu. I thank you for accepting my invitation.”

Him welcoming me with a cheerful voice was definitely different compared to other Lords I had met, but I still didn’t let my guard down.

Due to my experiences in my past life, I believed that the Poison King was the least trustworthy of the Lords of the Four Noble Clans.

Then, the Poison King spoke to me in a calm tone, asking me what I expected.

“I heard that you’ve run into some discomfort on your way here.”

He was referring to the guards around the inn and the servant that led me here.

As I expected, he was listening to everything. Or perhaps the servant guiding me here had given him a message.

After hearing him, I responded to the Poison King with a light smile.

“I’m sorry about that. I accidentally showed rudeness because of my small curiosity.”

“Oh… It’s not a problem. Rudeness you say! It’s understandable for a young fellow like you to do such a thing. Moreover, I didn’t even think you did anything wrong, so don’t worry about it.”

The Poison King smiled, telling me not to worry.

During this, I observed the room. Inside the room, there were only me and the Poison King. I didn’t see Tang Soyeol.

Maybe because he noticed me looking around, the Poison King explained.

“My daughter will be a bit late.”

“Oh, did something happen?”

“Hmm, not necessarily. I just told her to come at a later time.”

“Huh?”

When I responded to him in a curious tone, the Poison King spoke with a smile.

“I wanted to have a talk with Master Gu between just us two.”

“…”

Something felt ominous about his words. I couldn’t help it, since I learned that he purposely set up a meeting just for the two of us. What was he planning?

“If you don’t like it, then I could just call my daughter now.”

“Not at all. I’m fine.”

He offered to call his daughter if I didn’t like this situation, but how could anyone afford to say that to someone like him?

Well… I might have done it if it was the usual.

However, the man in front of me was Tang Soyeol’s father before he was a martial artist known as the Poison King. That small difference was preventing me from speaking.

It seemed like he was satisfied with my response because he smiled.

“You must be hungry, so you should eat first.”

“…Ah, yes.”

The food set up on the table all looked delicious, but I couldn’t bring my hand to move.

Because I hesitated for a long time without eating anything, the Poison King asked me a question as he gulped down the food that was in his mouth.

“Hmm? What’s wrong? You may eat without any worries.”

“Haha… I just don’t feel too good right now.”

“Oh no, a young man like you shouldn’t ever feel that way.”

I nodded after hearing the Poison King.

Thankfully, it didn’t seem like there were any poison in the food. Perhaps that was obvious? The Poison King wouldn’t be crazy enough to put poison in my food.

Now that I think about it, it’s not like I did anything wrong. Right?

The Poison King had no reason to hate me, so what was I so scared for? I didn’t know about others, but I had no memory of doing anything to get on the Poison King’s bad side.

Maybe I could just ease a little?

With that thought, I carefully started to bring food into my mouth, but the Poison King spoke midway.

“Ah, Master Gu. There is something I’ve been meaning to ask.”

“Yes?”

“When do you plan on taking my daughter?”

“…Pardon?”

My chopsticks that aimed for one of the dishes froze midair.

What did the Poison King say just now?

I gazed at him wondering if I misheard him. I then saw the Poison King staring at me in silence with his dark green eyes.

His eyes, which pointed downwards like Tang Soyeol’s, made it seem like he was smiling, but his pupils felt cold for some reason.

What did he just say?

When I looked at the Poison King dumbfoundedly, he spoke to me once again.

“I’ll ask again, Master Gu.”

Then, it felt as if air in the room started to get heavier as he spoke.

“Do you have no intention of taking my daughter, Soyeol?”

“…What do you suddenly mean by that?”

I found it difficult to breathe because of his sudden question. I expected him to talk about the trip to Sichuan, not Tang Soyeol all of a sudden.

Also, take her?

“…Take your daughter?”

When I asked him in a curious tone, he frowned his eyes a little.

“Master Gu. You are more cunning than I thought.”

“…Uh.”

“Does that mean you’ve been playing with my daughter’s mind without having any intention to take her?”

“What do you mean by playing with her mind? That’s nonsense.”

“Stop denying the truth!”

The Poison King stood up in an instant after hearing my response.

“I could clearly see that my daughter is chasing after you in love! Moreover, a strange rumor has spread to the Central Plains, yet you’ll take no responsibility?”

“…”

To be fair, I had nothing to say to the strange rumor about me either. I did hear it once.

What was it again? The Lesser King of Hell went crazy for women and seduced many ladies of noble clans to play with them?

I was extremely confused when I heard this nonsensical rumor.

Seduce them my ass.

Since when did I ever seduce them?

These bastards are crazy.

This rumor wasn’t just problematic for me, but it was going to be a problem for my crew as a whole.

Especially for daughters of noble clans like Tang Soyeol and Moyong Hi-ah, a rumor like this had the potential to damage their image, like the Poison King implied.

Which was why the Poison King was showing his anger currently.

It could even cause a problem for their future engagement with other clans.

Wait, hold on a second.

Now that I think about it, both Moyong Hi-ah and Tang Soyeol weren’t engaged to anyone in my past life.

Moyong Hi-ah may have been engaged to the Namgung Clan, but they never got married in the end. And if I thought about how the Poison Queen was alone until her death…

Isn’t it a bit unfair to me as well?

Though, of course…

I couldn’t afford to argue with the Poison King right now.

“My Lord, I never had the intention to—“

“So you kept my daughter around you without having any such intentions?”

“…”

“Are you not aware that that’s a bad thing to do?”

I shut my mouth after hearing the Poison King. I honestly had no excuse for that one. Despite knowing that Tang Soyeol liked me, I kept her by my side, which wasn’t a good act to begin with.

“…I’m sorry.”

I didn’t give an excuse for this.

The Poison King’s eyebrow flinched when he heard my response.

“Put your apology aside. You never gave me an answer. I asked if you have any plans of taking my daughter.”

Did he want me to take responsibility for Tang Soyeol or something?

I didn’t know what kind of answer he wanted; there were a few problems with his question.

“I regret to tell you this, but I am already engaged to another clan as you already know. I am not in a situation where I could take Young Lady Tang…”

I was already engaged to Namgung Bi-ah, and Tang Soyeol was a blood relative of one of the Four Noble Clans, which was another problem.

Concubines were a thing in this world, but what person would send their daughter away as a concubine, especially if they were from one of the Four Noble Clans?

I’m sure the Poison King would agree with me on this.

“Does that mean you would’ve taken responsibility for her if you weren’t engaged?”

“That’s…”

“If that’s not the case, then can I take it as you being incapable of taking responsibility?”

“The situation would unfortunately bring lots of proble—“

“If you are concerned about the Namgung Clan, I can take care of that for you myself.”

“…!”

I flinched after hearing the Poison King’s shocking answer. He meant that he would break off my engagement to the Namgung Clan himself.

This would spark conflicts between the Tang and Namgung Clans, but the Poison King said that he would do it like nothing was wrong.

He was willing to go that far if I wanted. However, he was also asking me to make a choice. It seemed like the Poison King really wanted me to take Tang Soyeol…

But still,

“I’m sorry.”

That wasn’t going to change my answer.

Breaking off my engagement with the Namgung Clan would mean that I needed to cut ties with Namgung Bi-ah, but I didn’t want to do that.

The Poison King’s expression crumbled when he heard my response. The Qi pressure inside the room also started to become heavier.

“So in the end, you won’t be taking responsibility.”

“That’s not necessarily what I meant.”

“If that’s not what you meant, then does that mean you dare to take my daughter in as a concubine?”

“…”

“Make yourself clear, Expert Gu. What do you plan to do with my daughter? I know that my daughter is into you, but if the future between you two remains faint like this, then I no longer want my precious daughter to stay by your side like this.”

The Poison King had a good point. For a better future for his daughter, he wasn’t going to let her stay by my side just for nothing.

“Once this trip ends, my daughter will be betrothed to another clan.”

“…!”

I opened my eyes wide in shock after hearing the Poison King.

Tang Soyeol will be betrothed? Did history change again?

Many things have changed in this timeline for some reason, but this change felt especially shocking.

“…Is Young Lady Tang also aware of this?”

“Do you think that’s important? My daughter’s opinion matters not, considering this is the clan’s matter.”

He wasn’t wrong, because this was a matter between two clans. It wasn’t out of the ordinary for clans to form relationships with other clans to increase their own force.

Moreover, Tang Soyeol was the daughter of one of the Four Noble Clans. She had more than enough value in this regard. It was weirder how she wasn’t engaged with anyone in my past life.

“Therefore, I will ask you to stay away from my daughter if you don’t plan on changing your situation.”

“…”

It felt as if something was filling me up inside when I heard the Poison King’s firm answer. Nothing he said was wrong, so why was I feeling this discomfort?

Tang Soyeol’s engagement, huh?

Was that the problem?

It felt as if there was a raging storm inside my body. Everything he said was valid. It was right for me to let her go if I couldn’t take responsibility for her.

Not only that, but if I wanted Tang Soyeol to live a different life than she did in my past life, it was right for me to send her off so that she could be with someone and live a peaceful life.

I already knew what was rational for me to do after hearing the Poison King, but this uncomfortable emotion continued to fill my throat.

“Answer me, Expert Gu. Will you do as I say?”

My eyes shook as the Poison King urged me to answer.

Why was I not able to answer him? Even if Tang Soyeol felt affection towards me, I wasn’t in a situation where I could accept her love.

But funnily enough,

…Why do I not want to send her away?

Cold sweat ran down my heart when I realized that truth.

Moreover, one phrase clearly filled my mind.

I’m fucked.

It was too late.

I realized I learned this too late.

This was why I’ve been ignoring it this whole time.

Cold aura started to linger around my body.

This wasn’t good.

Me not wanting anyone to leave my side meant that they became precious to me, which also meant that that became my weakness. It felt heavy and scary.

I chose to ignore it up until now because I hated this emotion, but the Poison King’s words started to form cracks in me.

“Expert Gu.”

I gazed at the man who urged me to speak.

I had to wake up.

What did he say again?

Did he tell me to send Tang Soyeol away?

How could I respond to this?

I felt dizzy.

I should first ask him to give me more time—

“I don’t want to do that.”

Oh.

Unlike my dizzy mind, my mouth was already spitting out words. I became shocked at myself and covered my mouth using my hands.

Have I really gone insane?

The Poison King also showed shock after he heard my response, then he immediately frowned.

I’m fucked.

Right as I wondered how I needed to deal with this situation,

Slam-!

The door opened violently and someone entered the room. I turned towards the unexpected sound I heard.

“Really!?”

I wondered who it was, and it was Tang Soyeol, who had her eyes wide open in shock. Her cheeks were red and her voice sounded more high-pitched than usual.

“Master Gu! Is that really how you feel!?”

“…You?”

I expected her to be late, so how come she came in all of a sudden? Moreover, I even had my senses sharpened, yet I never noticed Tang Soyeol’s presence.

“You aren’t lying, right? You said you didn’t want to send me away, right?”

I didn’t know what made her so happy, but Tang Soyeol came over and grabbed my hands.

In response to that, I observed the Poison King nervously.

“…!”

I was able to know right as I checked his reaction.

Unlike before, where he looked like he was going to explode at any moment, his expression had changed now.

The Poison King looked at his daughter speechlessly, then spoke to her along with a sigh.

“…Father told you not to come inside yet.”

Tang Soyeol didn’t seem to care about her father’s voice at all, because she spoke with a face so cheerful that she looked like she could fly off any second.

“Dad! Did you hear him? Master Gu said he didn’t want me to leave!”

“…Yes, I heard it. I heard it alright.”

The Poison King rubbed his face with his hand after he heard Tang Soyeol speak so cheerfully.

Then, I was able to realize after seeing the two.

“Oh.”

This whole situation was an act set up by the two.