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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 2
Chapter Title: How the Weak Defeat the Strong (2)
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"Uh, uh, uh. Uhh... Uh..."
👻 YE-UI 👻
Oh ho. Isn't this the Poisonous Blood Divine Art? You can use this too?
A martial art that absorbs poison and naturally spreads it around.
One of the arts used in conjunction with poison techniques.
It was the divine art wielded by the Poison Lord, a master from over two hundred years ago.
'It's tricky to master, but if you can properly wield poison arts, it's not hard.'
He had restored it during his time in the Blood Cult, but he hadn't been able to use it then.
But now was different.
What resided in his dantian was unmistakably a poison art.
"Anyway. Time to get to work."
Terror was etched on Bi-sam's face.
Dang Yu-wol approached him.
This was the bastard who had used him all this time.
👻 YE-UI 👻
It's time for judgment on the one who ruined the Tang Clan.
"...A. Uh..."
Spare me.
Please forgive me.
That's what he wanted to say, but his body was already paralyzed.
He couldn't even move his lips or tongue properly.
—Crack!!
"Kughhh...!!!"
His right arm snapped.
The excruciating pain nearly made him black out.
Tears flowed and his breaths came in gasps, but Dang Yu-wol didn't stop.
"Don't worry too much."
"...Hahk... Hek..."
"I'll send some other guys along with you."
His foot crushed Bi-sam's right leg.
The leg shattered, unable to withstand the force infused with internal energy.
Unable to endure the pain and terror, Bi-sam fainted on the spot.
👻 YE-UI 👻
This one's done for. What about the others?
'I know where they are.'
👻 YE-UI 👻
Oh? Then we should go.
'Yeah.'
Yeah, he had to.
Dang Yu-wol smiled leisurely as he started walking.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
The commission from the Sacheon Merchant Alliance had been more enjoyable than expected.
It was just babysitting some clueless young master.
Nothing beat playing around with someone else's money.
So many guys had envied him for it.
'Gotta tell the gambling den guys to go easy on me today.'
He wanted to get there soon.
But why weren't they back yet?
Gi Hong-ga sipped his liquor while sitting with his subordinates.
"Hey!! Bring another bottle of Jukyeopcheong!!"
"Yes sir!!"
The errand boy smiled brightly, went inside, and came back with a bottle of liquor.
The moment he distributed it to his subordinates and took a swig...
"Euk?!"
"Gack!!"
Something was wrong with the subordinates sitting in the same spot.
They were clutching their throats, trembling as if paralyzed.
At that moment, Gi Hong-ga felt his own body going numb.
'Poison?!'
Did the Tang Clan make a move?
He hurriedly circulated his internal energy to block the poison's spread.
At that instant, a man walked out from the kitchen.
"Y-Young master?!"
It was Dang Yu-wol.
His eyes were no longer vacant like before.
'Eyes of the Death Ghost... Damn it...!! What the hell happened?!'
The guy who always grinned at him and begged to go to the brothel.
The idiot who threw tantrums when he lost at the gambling den.
That was Dang Yu-wol.
So who was this?
'No. That guy...'
Those eyes.
He'd heard about them from his seniors.
'The eyes that the Sacheon Tang Clan's demons of old possessed...'
"Damn it!!"
He hastily drew his sword.
But he couldn't even swing it.
Light burst from Dang Yu-wol's hand.
—Stab!!!
"Keurk...!!"
A sharp dart pierced his heart precisely.
He'd heard about it before.
The hidden technique that flew like light.
'Tang Clan secret art... Soul-Chasing Phantom Dart...!!'
"Was it fun while it lasted?"
"...Krk... Cough..."
"Now it's my turn to have fun."
A cold, sinister smile.
That was the last scene Gi Hong-ga ever saw.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
Three men dead in an instant.
Yet there was no commotion.
There were no other customers in the inn besides them.
The errand boy approached Dang Yu-wol, trembling.
"M-Master. Wh-what do you plan to do now...?"
"Don't worry about it. I was the one who used the poison."
"St-still."
"Tell anyone who wants revenge on these guys to come to the Tang Clan."
He tossed him a few silver coins.
The errand boy caught them and bowed his head frantically.
👻 YE-UI 👻
You've made your move. What's next?
'I need to report what these bastards did to the clan elders.'
Bi-sam was still alive.
His limbs were broken and his mouth sealed, but...
He would torture him until he confessed.
👻 YE-UI 👻
Heh heh. Then I've got just the poison for that.
'What is it?'
A packet of powder appeared in his hand.
👻 YE-UI 👻
Hallucinogenic Poison.
'Hallucinogenic Poison?'
👻 YE-UI 👻
It suppresses consciousness, calms the mind, and puts them in a relaxed state.
'Oh ho. So you use it to make them answer questions?'
Quite an intriguing poison.
A toxin that dominated the soul and forced out the truth.
Not even the Blood Cult had managed to create it.
'Ye-ui. What exactly are you?'
👻 YE-UI 👻
I'm just a lingering spirit who's lived for thousands of years. Ye-ui.
Ye-ui dodged the question.
Even before his regression, he always gave the same answer.
'Doesn't matter.'
👻 YE-UI 👻
Right. It doesn't.
Their goals were the same in the end.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
"...Hey. Bi-sam. Come to your senses."
As he slowly opened his eyes, a familiar face appeared before him.
"G-Gihwan Escort Agency Head!!"
Gi Yeong-gyu, head of the Gihwan Escort Agency, a key figure in the Sacheon Merchant Alliance.
The man Bi-sam served.
Seeing that face full of arrogance and confidence put his mind at ease.
"I-I was clearly captured..."
"You think I'd sit idle knowing you were caught?"
"Aah..."
"I happened to be nearby, so I pulled you out."
"Thank you! Thank you!"
"What exactly happened? Tell me everything from the start."
"Yes. Well... Suddenly, Dang Yu-wol went mad like..."
"No. Not that. What I ordered you to do."
"Pardon?"
"You haven't been reporting lately."
"R-right."
Bi-sam hesitated before slowly opening his mouth.
He explained what Gi Yeong-gyu had instructed him to do.
"I lured Dang Yu-wol into whoring around..."
"And?"
"Made him skip training to go drinking..."
"And?"
"Wasted the clan's fortune and made everyone frown at him."
"Right. What was my goal? Do you remember?"
"To corrupt Dang Yu-wol and accelerate the Sacheon Tang Clan's downfall."
"Yes. That's it."
"But then he suddenly changed."
"Suddenly... So no signs before that?"
"Y-yes. That's right."
To Bi-sam, Dang Yu-wol had been the epitome of trash.
So he'd just given him a little push.
"I thought that was enough..."
But suddenly, he acted like a different person.
"I have no idea why he suddenly came to his senses..."
"I see. Got it. Rest up for now."
"Yes! I'll await the day you represent Sacheon's name, Agency Head!"
As he rose and left, Bi-sam slowly closed his eyes.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
The truth came out of Bi-sam's mouth.
Hearing it, the clan head and elders of the Tang Clan gnashed their teeth.
"...Hah. No wonder the Sacheon Merchant Alliance has been quiet lately..."
"They were targeting Yu-wol..."
"Those damn bastards need to know when to quit!!"
"Even after all the grace we've shown them, these filthy dogs...!!"
"Enough."
The current clan head of the Tang Clan and Dang Yu-wol's father, Dang Seong-u, let out a heavy sigh.
"It's my fault."
"No!! Clan Head! No way! How could...!!"
"After the Tang Clan's power greatly diminished, the merchants and martial clans of Sacheon began forming alliances."
Resentment laced Dang Seong-u's voice.
"I should have stopped it from the beginning..."
They had lost too many disciples in the battle with the Five Poisons Sect.
And too many poisons and martial arts had been lost.
But all that was just excuses.
"Clan Head..."
"For a martial clan to lose power means failing to protect what's yours."
He should have stopped it somehow.
By any means necessary.
It was his fault.
But back then, even handling the aftermath had been overwhelming.
"I shouldn't have become clan head in the first place."
Dang Seong-u knew.
He wasn't suited to be the head of a martial clan.
"Jung-hyeop, it should have been you..."
"That again?! Brother! I'm from a branch family, and I couldn't handle the clan head position anyway!!"
The only elder in the Tang Clan to reach the transcendent realm.
Dang Jung-hyeop flatly shook his head.
The other elders agreed.
"He's right."
Dang Jung-hyeop was strong but narrow-minded.
And overly reckless.
"If it weren't for you, Seong-u brother, we probably would've been wiped out before we could recover."
But Dang Seong-u's expression didn't brighten.
"And now's the time for that?"
"Jung-hyeop's right. Gather those mongrel bastards right now...!!"
Calls to go fight immediately erupted.
Among them, the calmest elder spoke coldly.
Dang Gyu-sam.
"Doing that would only weaken the Tang Clan further."
"..."
It wasn't wrong, so the elders clamped their mouths shut.
So what should they do?
As they fell silent, Dang Yu-wol spoke up.
"First priority is regaining the Tang Clan's power."
The Sacheon Tang Clan's current base was Seongdo, the largest city in Sacheon.
Naturally, many merchant groups and escort agencies were established there.
Bringing them back under the Tang Clan was top priority.
"Those traitors?!"
The moment the Tang Clan's power weakened, they bared their fangs.
How could they trust scum like that?
One of the Tang Clan elders growled.
"We can't use them all."
"Then?"
"Kill the ones worth killing, and use the ones worth using."
👻 YE-UI 👻
Cold-blooded.
'But it's necessary.'