I Thought the Youngest Daughter of the Sichuan Tang Family Was Hated - Chapter 30

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com

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The day before the scheduled Family Council Meeting.
An Elder Council session convened deep into the night.
The reason was transparent.
“Just leave today before you embarrass yourself in front of the children.”
“That’s right. I hope you understand what we’re saying.”
To urge the Family Head, Dang Cheon-mu, to depart for the battlefield.
The circular Council Chamber filled with the murmur of elders.
Soon the chamber doors opened and Dang Cheon-mu entered.
He looked far more composed than before. The shadows beneath his eyes had lifted considerably, and his complexion had brightened.
Dang Seo-o narrowed his eyes and muttered.
“I thought he’d given up….”
Dang Cheon-mu entered with his spine perfectly straight and stood at the center.
A circular space occupied the middle of the chamber, with the elders’ seats arranged in a ring around it.
The elders’ piercing gazes converged upon Dang Cheon-mu.
“I answer the Elder Council’s summons.”
Dang Cheon-mu spoke, bowing his head slightly.
Dang Seo-o, who had been observing him directly, opened his mouth.
“You should know why we called you, Family Head.”
“I do.”
Dang Cheon-mu’s calm reply followed.
“Then your acceptance suggests you share our thoughts on this matter.”
“Indeed. Leave at once.”
“Or do you wish to be humiliated before your own children?”
The elders seated beside Dang Seo-o added their voices.
Despite the ridicule and mockery, Dang Cheon-mu didn’t so much as blink.
The more he remained unmoved, the more vicious the mockery became.
“You didn’t come here to beg us to let you avoid the battlefield!”
“How much you must have hated it to spend all your time investigating us the moment you returned to the family!”
“That’s right. Now that I think about it….”
Dang Seo-o struck the floor with his cane with a sharp thud.
“Did you find anything on my granddaughter?”
Soft snickering echoed from all directions.
“Despite multiple investigations, we could not determine the source through which the hallucinogenic herb was introduced.”
At Dang Cheon-mu’s response, Dang Seo-o smiled wickedly.
His teeth showed black.
Dang Cheon-mu blinked slowly and continued.
“My second son also struggled to find the point of entry.”
“Hmph. How peculiar. Everyone knows this young master has a sharp mind.”
“Indeed. It is unthinkable that my son would make such an error.”
“Ha. Then what—are you suggesting the hallucinogenic herb sprouted from the ground itself?”
“Yes.”
It was a firm answer.
“Which means it emerged from there.”
Though the words sounded absurd at first hearing, Dang Seo-o’s face visibly hardened.
“To the north of Jungwon Guild lies a cliff that connects to the Chilryeong Mountains. The Elder’s pavilion stands there as well.”
Dang Cheon-mu’s forceful voice seized the attention of everyone in the Council Chamber.
As his words continued, the atmosphere inside grew colder.
Those who had summoned him to mock him now sensed the danger unfolding.
“Do you know why the First Family Head left that cliff and the Chilryeong Mountains untouched when he established the foundation of Sungdo?”
“…What are you trying to say now?”
Ignoring Dang Seo-o’s words entirely, Dang Cheon-mu withdrew a wooden box hidden within his sleeve.
It was the hallucinogenic herb that Hee-yeon had first discovered.
“Because the toxic plants infused with the deep yin energy of the Chilryeong Mountains possess far greater potency. Moreover, they emit a distinctive odor.”
He withdrew the crumbled toxic herb from the box and inhaled its scent.
“I was slow to notice. The hallucinogenic herb’s strong fragrance masked that unique smell.”
“Lies! I’ve never heard such nonsense in my entire life!”
One of the Elders shot to his feet and shouted. The others nodded in agreement, chiming in.
“It should be unknown. It is a secret passed down only to the Family Head.”
As if it were obvious, Dang Cheon-mu countered.
Only then did the Elders fall silent.
Those who had been exchanging troubled glances all turned to look at Dang Seo-o in unison.
Conscious of their gaze, Dang Seo-o opened his mouth.
“So. You dare defame us based merely on such speculation?”
Dang Seo-o struck the floor with his cane once more.
Thud. A heavy sound echoed through the chamber.
“How dare you! Us, who devoted ourselves entirely to protecting the Family during your absence! We now seek to restore the Family’s honor…”
“Honor be damned.”
Dang Seo-o’s words, which had been pressing Dang Cheon-mu into a corner, suddenly ceased.
A voice none had dared anticipate hearing rang out.
“Did you wretches build that honor?”
The double doors opened quietly, and the owner of the voice revealed himself.
“Y-Your Excellency…!”
Everyone gasped in shock. Even Dang Cheon-mu’s eyes wavered.
“We heard you were in seclusion, but why…?”
Their faces bore the expression of those confronting a natural disaster.
Dang Mu-seon, hands clasped behind his back, passed Dang Cheon-mu and scrutinized the Elders one by one.
“The Nine Lethal Toxins, the Five Ultimate Poisons, and the Poison Master’s Rank—all were perfected in my generation. You merely inherited them and strutted about with empty pride.”
At his reproachful tone, Dang Seo-o rose hesitantly.
“…Dok-jon, what brings you to such a place…?”
It was a timid question.
Dang Mu-seon stopped before him and cast a disapproving glance.
“Why? Is there somewhere I’m not permitted to go? The Library, for instance?”
He hurled something violently to the ground.
It was a book. The pages fluttered open, revealing a torn section.
【Immortal Maiden of Xinjiang】
Dang Seo-o’s face drained of all color in an instant.
“You knew that Shibwan Mountain was an alternate name for the Tianshan Mountain Range of Xinjiang, yet you concealed it. Do you truly not comprehend that this constitutes treason against the entire Murim?”
Dang Mu-seon’s voice, infused with qi, reverberated through the chamber with terrible force.
“If you desire the annihilation of your clan, I could slaughter your entire bloodline and scatter them into the Yangtze this very moment. Is that what you wish?”
His eyes glinted with lethal intensity.
“Elder! Please, restrain yourself…!”
“That is not our intention, we…!”
Knowing his threat was no mere bluster, they scrambled forward desperately.
Dang Mu-seon looked down upon them kneeling on the floor with contempt, his tongue clicking sharply.
“I am not ignorant of your verminous intentions. A man of no lineage became the family head, so you thought him unworthy, did you not?”
Dang Mu-seon’s neck flushed with rage.
“But if we are to speak of worthiness in this place, only I possess it. My ancestor protected the family on the battlefield. I am the very foundation of the Dang Family.”
They could offer no rebuttal. It was the truth.
Without Dang Mu-seon, the Dang Family would have perished in the wake of Qingcheng and Emei.
“If I have elevated Dang Cheon-mu to family head, then you need only follow. Do you understand?”
“…Yes, Elder.”
Their deflated response came weakly, their spirits broken.
“Tch, foolish youngsters!”
Dang Mu-seon brushed back his hair and turned to regard Dang Cheon-mu.
Now that I knew Dang Cheon-mu was Hee-yeon’s father, I found him even more disagreeable.
He shook his head, clicking his tongue repeatedly.
“If you were displeased, why didn’t you raise your children properly? And now they’ve all collapsed before this one…!”
Dang Mu-seon pointed at Dang Cheon-mu and shouted.
“….”
The elders could not utter a word.
“I shall set foot in the Dang Household again. Do not even dream of causing trouble.”
“….”
“The mobilization of Shibwan Mountain must be prepared jointly with the Elder Council. Should discord arise, I will intervene.”
They swallowed hard.
They could not believe their objective had been thwarted so easily.
“Answer me!”
Yet the reverence and fear of Dok-jon, etched deep into their very bones, forced them to their knees.
“Yes, Elder…!”
Kneeling, Dang Seo-o ground his teeth in frustration.
Dang Seo-o, eighty-two years old. Thus did he abandon his dream of the Collateral Faction’s ascendancy.
The meeting dissolved swiftly. With no further leverage against Dang Cheon-mu, there was no point in prolonging it.
Dang Seo-o and the other elders hurried from the Council Chamber, leaving only Dang Cheon-mu and Dang Mu-seon inside.
“….”
Lost in thought, Dang Cheon-mu gazed across the empty Council Chamber.
Noticing something troubling him, Dang Mu-seon approached.
“What’s wrong? Frustrated you couldn’t crush them with your own strength?”
“…If not, then it must be a lie.”
Dang Cheon-mu answered at last.
He had prepared extensively. He’d even secured crucial information that could suppress the Elder Council’s schemes.
He’d anticipated their endless arrogance. Dang Cheon-mu had been certain of his victory.
But he hadn’t expected to win so easily.
Dang Mu-seon’s intervention was entirely unforeseen.
“Still, I’m grateful. Elder.”
Dang Cheon-mu lowered his head.
“Don’t thank me. I didn’t step in because I like you.”
Dang Mu-seon replied curtly.
“If you’re going to thank someone, thank your daughter.”
“….”
Confused by the cryptic remark, Dang Cheon-mu turned his head.
Dang Mu-seon had already pushed the Council Chamber doors wide open.
“Grandfather!”
Hee-yeon’s voice rang out.
“Yes. Have you been waiting long?”
Hee-yeon ran toward Dang Mu-seon with innocent delight.
Nestling into his embrace, she beamed at him.
“No. I was playing with Myomyo.”
“Good girl.”
Patting Hee-yeon’s back, Dang Mu-seon lifted her effortlessly.
“….”
His daughter had appeared suddenly, clinging without hesitation to the family’s most esteemed elder.
For Dang Cheon-mu, it was a shocking sight.
“Father!”
Hee-yeon called out to the bewildered Dang Cheon-mu, waving her hand.
Even as he raised his hand in response, Dang Cheon-mu couldn’t fathom what his daughter had done.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com

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