The Reformed Genius of the Sichuan Tang Clan - Chapter 24

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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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Chapter 24
Dang Youxuan brought Seonwoo Yun to the Cheongbuk Tavern.
Though few knew it, the Yunlong Commerce Association operated the inn—making it the safest place for confidential talk.
“Welcome!”
“Show us somewhere quiet.”
“What food shall I bring you?”
“Something hearty.”
“Leave it to me!”
The practiced server showed them to their table and laid out dishes and wine, yet Seonwoo Yun swept his eyes across the room with a dazed expression the entire time.
Click.
Only after the door closed did Seonwoo Yun finally meet Dang Youxuan’s gaze.
“Take your time. Listen while we talk.”
Ordinarily, Seonwoo Yun would have been quick to match cups, but even as Dang Youxuan tilted the bottle toward him, he remained still.
Whether because he thought his true nature was already exposed, or because he was confused at not knowing Dang Youxuan’s real intentions, the space between his brows had deepened with tension.
“Don’t make it difficult.”
Only after Dang Youxuan filled his cup did Seonwoo Yun finally look at him properly.
“The man I cannot forgive and the man you wish to take revenge on—they are one and the same.”
“Why can’t you forgive him? Because he touched the Dang Clan?”
So now—after hiding their identities and pretending ignorance all this while—he spoke the name of the Dang Clan first and straight.
“Hah. Not an inaccurate guess. Though not quite the answer either.”
Dang Youxuan offered a genial smile.
“A minor disturbance in Sacheon can be swept away once the line has been crossed—it’s never too late for that.”
Then the smile vanished, leaving only a sharp glint in his eyes.
“But I despise those who see human beings as numbers.”
Removing the insect that dared lay a finger on the Dang Clan would be no difficult task.
Even if the Clan no longer held its former power, with the Yunlong Commerce Association’s information network, eliminating a minor sect in Sacheon would be nothing.
Perhaps that was why, despite holding information on the Gueyueoru detailed enough to fill a bamboo slip, he had not yet made a move.
But treating people as numbers and handling them like objects—that was different entirely.
This was the crime of one who had forgotten the Way.
To those who had abandoned even the most basic duties of being human, there was no need to show mercy.
“That is why they must be erased.”
Seonwoo Yun gazed quietly into Dang Youxuan’s eyes.
He was reading the truth in the pupils—the most honest part of the human face.
“…Can you make them vanish without a trace?”
“If you help me.”
At the unwavering tone, Seonwoo Yun hesitated for a moment before nodding.
“Understood. I will tell you everything.”
Seonwoo Yun slowly and carefully laid out the story he had kept hidden.
Dang Youxuan listened, weaving together what Seonwoo Yun revealed with information the Dang Clan had gathered, until the picture became clear.
‘Just as I thought.’
His suspicion had been right.
Gwak Hwaran, who had built the Gueyueoru through her own martial prowess and cunning, wanted to create an Evil Sect organization.
Using her growing power, she had allied with other Evil Sects, selected talented men through her judgment, held their families hostage, bent them to her will, and steadily expanded her influence.
Seonwoo Yun had been one of her victims.
Yet even Gwak Hwaran, who dominated the underworld of Sacheon and feared nothing, had eventually found a wall.
It was martial strength.
The martial manuals she had mastered before leaving the Yunrim Sect—the secret sect of Dian Chang—and the Fire Technique she had learned in back alleys could not carry her beyond the Peak Realm or free her from Sacheon’s underworld.
It was then that she heard of the inner core of a Ten-Thousand-Year Fire Carp residing in the Dang Clan, and so she had begun slowly luring Dang Youxuan into a trap.
‘As a result, I ended up inhabiting this body, and her plan failed.’
Dang Youxuan tapped his cup lightly.
To uncover the inner workings of the Gueyueoru, he would need Seonwoo Yun’s help.
But Seonwoo Yun had already fallen from Gwak Hwaran’s favor, and with the Cheoonghwa House overturned today, she might well seek his death.
‘I cannot let an ally slip away so easily.’
His tapping fingers stilled.
“Thank you for telling me, difficult as it must have been.”
At that, Seonwoo Yun’s eyes welled up, and he bit his lip.
Simply speaking what he had kept inside loosened something so much.
He was still young after all.
“I have a way to eliminate the Gueyueoru. Will you do this with me?”
“Of course! If we can destroy the Gueyueoru, I would gladly offer even my soul!”
‘I don’t even need their souls…….’
Dang Youxuan laughed softly and tilted the bottle.
This time Seonwoo Yun raised the cup with both hands and held it out before him.
Glug—
The sound of the cup filling was clear and crisp.
Without another word, they understood.
Once they drank this, they would enter into a pact—temporary though it might be—where they would aid each other, and repay betrayal with death.
The moment the cup was full, Seonwoo Yun drained it without hesitation.
“Hnnngh!”
He clutched his throat at the bitter taste, then immediately filled Dang Youxuan’s cup.
Dang Youxuan drank it down quietly, swiftly, and set it aside.
Seonwoo Yun swallowed hard, tension coiling through him.
He felt as though they had just crossed a threshold from which there was no turning back.
“Let me outline a simple plan. First, you’ll return to Gueyueoru.”
“What?”
Seonwoo Yun’s brow furrowed sharply.
Yet Dang Youxuan’s expression remained perfectly composed.
“Your sister must be kept alive, mustn’t she?”
Dang Youxuan’s plan did not stop at merely destroying Gueyueoru.
He was thinking beyond that—about how those exploited by Gueyueoru would return to their former lives, and what would come after.
If Seonwoo Yun did not return now, his sister was as good as dead.
Whether to pressure Seonwoo Yun or to intimidate those who saw him and wished to escape Gueyueoru, she would surely meet a cruel end.
“I……”
Seonwoo Yun’s mouth fell open, startled that Dang Youxuan had thought that far ahead.
“And in fourteen days, I’ll lead the Dang Clan’s forces to assault Gueyueoru. So you’ll need to hide yourself well on that day.”
It was a warning—if he didn’t hide, he’d be mistaken for one of the enemy and cut down.
Fear gripped Seonwoo Yun and his shoulders shrank, but Dang Youxuan fixed him with a steady gaze.
“Trust me. I won’t let you regret it.”
How could he trust someone he’d known for barely any time more than someone he’d seen for nearly a decade?
Even as Seonwoo Yun thought that he must surely have lost his mind, he nodded deeply.
The unease that had flickered in his eyes had already steadied.
“I will trust you.”
* * *
Seonwoo Yun left the tavern with his resolve hardened.
The moment he stepped into a dark alley to return to Gueyueoru,
Whoosh!
his sight was suddenly cut off.
Someone clamped a hand over his mouth and bound his body with rope.
“Mmph! Mmph!”
He thrashed, but the hand over his mouth was coated with Sleeping Poison, and his strength drained away.
His fading consciousness returned only when cold water was dumped over him.
Splash!
“Cough! Cough!”
Seonwoo Yun forced his wet eyelids open.
A brilliant crimson robe came dimly into focus.
‘The Enchantress of Gueyueoru!’
The moment Seonwoo Yun understood where he’d been taken and who stood before him, he slammed his head hard against the floor.
“Madam! Please, just hear me out!”
“And why should I?”
Before he could even crawl forward with his now-loosened arms, kicks rained down from those around him.
“Cheoonghwa House is a principal establishment I entrusted directly to my sworn sibling. Though we share no blood, we share purpose, and he was meant for great things.”
The way she feigned affection while deliberately constraining him with inferior martial skill made his skin crawl.
“I lose such a worthy child to some senseless fool? And you think I should listen to a word you say?”
“But—but there were circumstances that made it unavoidable!”
Gwak Hwaran lifted her hand slightly, and the fighters surrounding Seonwoo Yun instantly stepped back.
He clutched at the places where blows had landed and barely managed to prop himself up on his elbows.
“The fool apparently heard rumors that strange people were present at Cheoonghwa House. The master wished to verify the truth, but he would not listen—he simply declared the House a den of evil and killed everyone. I swear I did not expect him to act so rashly!”
Gwak Hwaran adjusted her hair ornaments as she watched Seonwoo Yun crawl forward and flatten himself in complete prostration.
When she tilted his chin up with her foot, his eyes—wide with terror—were plainly visible.
For all his attempts to maintain a shred of dignity beneath her, Seonwoo Yun had never abased himself to this degree, and she found it most pleasing.
“I understand. Even the most skilled can make mistakes. I don’t doubt your loyalty.”
Gwak Hwaran stretched her leg, and the embroidered shoe flew from her foot, striking Seonwoo Yun across the head.
Crack!
His head rang from the lingering effects of the Sleeping Poison.
Seonwoo Yun grabbed his head and looked up at Gwak Hwaran.
Gwak Hwaran smiled smoothly and nodded at him.
“Why are you just sitting there? I’ve shown you my trust—now prove yourself worthy of it.”
In other words, he was to pick up the shoe and put it back on her foot.
To remind him of his place, nothing more.
It was perfectly in character for her.
Seonwoo Yun gritted his teeth, retrieved the shoe, and fitted it to her foot.
Humiliation made his hands tremble, but he swallowed it down with desperation—showing his pain would only amuse Gwak Hwaran.
“How is that, my lady?”
“Hmm. Pleasing enough.”
Gwak Hwaran laughed with satisfaction and settled back into her chair.
“Ayun. I suspect you have more news that might delight me?”
“Of course. The Dang Clan intends to consolidate the Sacheon region. They say they will strike Gueyueoru in fourteen days.”
“Are you certain of this information?”
“They spoke of it too proudly to be mistaken.”
“Good.”
Her narrowed eyes swept across Seonwoo Yun.
It was useful that he’d brought word of the Dang Clan’s intentions against Gueyueoru.
But what good could an untrained boy—useless even as bait—possibly be in a war against the Dang Clan?
Once her calculations were complete, Gwak Hwaran flicked her fingers, summoning an attendant.
“His sister must be missing him. Have him taken to her.”
“Y-yes, thank you!”
“Thank me for what? You’ll both die together anyway.”
“I’m… sorry?”
“Bind their hands and feet. Lock them away.”
“Yes!”
“Wait, Master! This isn’t what we agreed upon!”
Even as his hands and feet were bound behind him, Seonwoo Yun struggled to the end.
“You mean my promise to protect your sister? That only holds so long as you’re useful. If you wish to blame someone, blame your own incompetence.”
“That’s—!”
“Get him out of here—now!”
“Wait! Master—”
Seonwoo Yun tried urgently to call her back, but Gwak Hwaran’s attendant injected him with Sleeping Poison before he could finish his sentence.
Whether it was stronger than the dose on the way there, drowsiness crashed over him in an instant.
* * *
Seonwoo Yun awoke the following night.
“Uuugh……”
“Brother, are you awake……?”
“Hui!”
The moment Seonwoo Yun heard Seonwoo Hui’s voice, he writhed against his bonds.
He wanted to reach her side and check on her condition, but with his hands and feet bound, even the smallest movement was difficult.
“How do you feel? Are you all right?”
“Yeah… I’m fine……”
But her fever burned hot, and her voice was hoarse.
Seeing her sickly pallor, Seonwoo Yun trembled with betrayal.
He had known the promise would be broken, but not that she would be left to languish like this.
Now he understood what it meant to weep tears of blood from rage.
“Hui, don’t worry. Your brother will protect you. I’ve recently met a noble person who promised to come rescue us.”
“Really……? Thank goodness.”
Just as he was smiling to reassure Seonwoo Hui, a foul stench pricked his nostrils.
‘The smell of burning……?!’
Before he could trace the source, shouts erupted from outside.
“It’s an attack!”
“Who are these people?!”
“I don’t know! Run if you want to live!”
“What about these two?!”
“Did you forget? We’re going to burn you to death!”
‘Damn it!’
Seonwoo Yun stared through the window at the firelight, biting his lip raw.
Every hut here was built of timber, and the ropes were slicked with oil.
If they set it ablaze, there would be no time to do anything—he’d die.
Seonwoo Yun thrashed against the bonds, trying to work the ropes free.
Even as his wrists chafed and bled, he did not stop.
‘Please! Please! Please…!’
He had to save his sister.
He did not want to die.
But the rope, bound with brutal tightness, would not yield to his desperation.
“Please, hurry…!”
Bang!
The cabin door burst open with a tremendous crash.
A man as large as a house blocked the doorway.
With the light at his back, his face was difficult to make out, yet it was not hard to guess he was the new overseer of this place.
“Found you.”
The stranger spoke in a familiar voice.
Then the man’s body lurched, and he collapsed forward—revealing the figure who had been behind him.
“Well. You certainly know how to hide in difficult places.”
It was Dang Youxuan.
“You showed me trust, so I’ve come to keep my word—to save you.”
He stepped over the fallen man, entered, and cleanly cut through the ropes binding Seonwoo Yun.
“Come on. We have a debt to settle.”
Sacheon Dang Clan Genius Reforms His Ways
Author |
Lee Il-yeong
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Samyang C&C Co., Ltd.
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Editorial Department
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G720:N+A063-20260615052
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No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any means without the written permission of Samyang C&C Co., Ltd. – Dream Books.

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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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