The Reformed Genius of the Sichuan Tang Clan - Chapter 34

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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 34
Dang Yu-hyeon tilted his chin up, studying the Daoist before him.
A pale blue martial robe.
The claim about coming from Jeomchang wasn’t a lie.
“I have nothing to say to you.”
“Ah, come now. No need to be so cold. You wound me.”
“Your feelings aren’t my concern.”
Dang Yu-hyeon answered without interest and moved to pass him.
“Wait. Wait. Waaait just a moment!”
Wi Ji-gyeong came bounding over and planted himself directly in Dang Yu-hyeon’s path.
The man was so much larger that his broad chest filled the entire field of vision.
Dang Yu-hyeon’s mood soured.
“Young friend, this is your first time traveling the Gangho, is it not?”
“So what?”
“Allow me to be of service.”
‘No need.’
This wasn’t his first time traveling the Gangho.
‘Does he think I’m some child?’
Dang Yu-hyeon glanced absently at his reflection in a nearby puddle and clicked his tongue.
‘No… this’ll do.’
A hundred years had passed since his death.
The fastest way to learn what distortions and fabrications had taken root among those raised on such legends was to ask them directly.
Probe here and there, and something useful would surface eventually.
Dang Yu-hyeon nodded slightly.
“Very well.”
“Excellent thinking! Allow me to guide you to an inn I frequent. And since I’ve raised the subject, the meal is on me.”
He was offering to buy dinner.
The man understood the etiquette of the Gangho.
Wi Ji-gyeong hurried ahead, anxious that Dang Yu-hyeon might refuse.
“Please, follow me.”
“Ah, one moment.”
Dang Yu-hyeon spoke toward the pitch-black alley behind Baekwha House, where not a sliver of light penetrated.
“Stop following us.”
“Young friend, what are you—”
Then a voice emerged from the darkness.
“Understood.”
It was a voice so unsettlingly low it made one’s skin crawl.
Wi Ji-gyeong felt the hair on his arms stand straight up.
“Well? Come on then.”
Dang Yu-hyeon gestured forward without a trace of concern.
For the first time, Wi Ji-gyeong wondered if he’d chosen the wrong person to approach.
* * *
The inn Wi Ji-gyeong led him to had the clean, impressive exterior of an establishment frequented by martial artists.
“Dining here is essential. It’s quiet—perfect for discreet conversation.”
“Hmm.”
His claim about coming here often proved truthful; Wi Ji-gyeong raised his hand to order before the server had even arrived.
“Server! Two orders of Dongpa Pork and Zhuye Qing Liquor!”
“Coming right up!”
As the server hurried away, Wi Ji-gyeong propped his chin on his hand and leaned toward Dang Yu-hyeon.
“I was truly startled before.”
“Before?”
“Do you know that I was among those you threw out of Baekwha House?”
‘He was there too?’
Dang Yu-hyeon had paid no attention to the details.
“Surely you found that unusual? I’m not exactly an ordinary face.”
‘What of it.’
His only memory was of sweeping tables aside and forcibly removing those who had no connection to Baekwha House, so as to spare uninvolved people from the chaos. He’d bothered with no face-to-face scrutiny.
After all, this wasn’t some high-class pleasure house where one needs to memorize each guest’s features.
“Wow, you’re really something else. But anyway, you keep speaking informally—may I do the same?”
‘Calling me a child!’
—or so he thought, but the man’s body was far younger.
The height difference was noticeable even sitting down; standing, it became glaring.
It wasn’t just his height—Wi Ji-gyeong’s face was also far more angular and sharp than his own.
His mood soured again.
Dang Yu-hyeon wasn’t pleased, but he conceded anyway.
“Fair enough.”
“Straightforward. I like that.”
Wi Ji-gyeong chuckled softly.
He found Dang Yu-hyeon rather appealing.
“I was shocked when you carried Dae-ho out before. I never would’ve guessed he’d end up like that.”
“Is he really that impressive?”
“The head of security for Baekwha House—does that tell you anything?”
Dang Yu-hyeon nodded instead of answering.
Wi Ji-gyeong’s eyes gleamed like someone recounting a tale of heroic deeds.
“And I never would’ve guessed that a reformed brigand was the one who brought him down.”
Dang Yu-hyeon’s brow twitched slightly.
It wasn’t so much that the epithet “reformed brigand” displeased him.
There was far more implied in Wi Ji-gyeong’s words than met the ear.
Specifically: ‘I never would’ve guessed that the man who killed Baekwha House’s head of security was a ruffian who’d truly turned over a new leaf.’
‘So he wasn’t purely offering help either.’
Then again, who in the Gangho dispensed boundless goodwill?
If such a person existed, they were either a fool or harbored hidden motives—one or the other.
Wi Ji-gyeong had likely come for information as much as for leisure.
Any change in Dang Yu-hyeon meant a change in the Dang Family.
That could upset the delicate balance maintained by the Eight Great Families, where the Namgung Family and Sacheon Dang Family wielded tremendous power.
If so, the Nine Sects and One Sect Alliance couldn’t simply sit idle.
Especially Jeomchang Sect, which stood close to the Sacheon Dang Family, would need to move with heightened vigilance.
In the Gangho, power shifted in an instant, and those friendly yesterday could become adversaries today.
‘Then I’m even less inclined to tell him.’
Dang Yu-hyeon let out a soft laugh.
“I suppose there’s no need to introduce myself.”
“Ah, I stole your chance. But if you’d still like to introduce yourself now, I won’t refuse.”
“Never mind. Get to the point.”
“Didn’t you visit Baekwha House often?”
“I did.”
“Then why did you stop?”
“There was no further need to… entertain myself there.”
“Entertain yourself?”
“Mm.”
Dang Yu-hyeon made a soft sound and nodded.
The less one speaks, the better—if you don’t want to give away information.
Drop the faintest hint, and the other party will interpret it however suits them.
I speak my truth, but he hears his own understanding.
That’s where the gap in accuracy arises.
“Was my story entertaining?”
“Hmm?”
“If you take something, you should give something back.”
“Ha! This young friend is something else.”
After a brief laugh, both fell silent.
The server brought out the dishes.
“Dongpa Pork and Zhuye Qing Liquor, coming through!”
“Here, take this.”
Wi Ji-gyeong immediately pressed coins into her hand.
“Thank you!”
The server bowed deeply and withdrew.
Wi Ji-gyeong deftly pushed one bottle of Zhuye Qing in front of Dang Yu-hyeon and brought the other to himself.
He was killing time until the server was well out of earshot.
Only after pouring the wine did he finally speak.
“A man’s word is his bond. Ask whatever’s on your mind.”
“The hundred years since the Jungma War ended—recount it all.”
“Huh?”
He clearly wanted an explanation.
“I wanted to ask you about an instructor.”
“Ah.”
Wi Ji-gyeong let out a soft laugh at the answer, so typical of someone his age.
“In that case, I’d appreciate it if you’d go into as much detail as possible. Even things the Dang Family’s instructors might not know.”
“That’s exactly my specialty.”
Wi Ji-gyeong drained the cup in one swallow.
“But over the past hundred years, there wasn’t much of note. Everyone was too busy surviving. Sects that didn’t achieve great deeds suffered less backlash, but those who threw their full strength into the fight faced the opposite.”
It was an inevitable outcome.
Those who always gave their all were rarely rewarded for it.
Dang Yu-hyeon hated that.
Sacrifice was not a foolish thing.
It was a difficult decision, a precious sentiment.
It shouldn’t be forgotten or dismissed in an instant.
“After the war, the greatest credit went to Shaolin, and they’ve continued to produce Alliance leaders ever since. Wealthy families and sects have been searching for lost Secret Techniques and Divine Weapons and Treasures.”
‘Wait. Who achieved the greatest credit?’
He didn’t expect the Dang Family to come out of Wi Ji-gyeong’s mouth.
In the first place, relations between the Eight Great Families and the Nine Sects and One Sect Alliance were not particularly warm, and finding harmony between the nearby Dang Family and Jeomchang was like picking a star from the sky.
At the very least, Jongnam, which had maintained frequent exchanges, or Huashan, which had been selected most often by the Resolution Squad, should have been mentioned.
‘Why Shaolin, who just sat back commanding from the shadows with cushy luck!?’
Dang Yu-hyeon ground his teeth.
If the outline was already like this, the details would be predictable without even looking.
They’d edited everything to their advantage.
The back of his neck felt stiff.
Dang Yu-hyeon tilted his head back and drained his cup.
After that, Wi Ji-gyeong continued to rattle off the history he’d learned.
As the content matched his expectations, Dang Yu-hyeon drank the liquor as if it were water.
‘This is why people have to survive no matter what happens.’
Dang Yu-hyeon ground his teeth and cursed inwardly.
Even knowing it would be this way, unless he changed the record, his resentment wouldn’t fade.
‘Evidence? If there’s none, I’ll make it.’
First, let me find what exists.
I need to move up the timeline and get to Shib-man-dae-san as soon as possible.
And what will I do once I’m there?
I’ll find the Ae-byeong.
Setting aside the one embedded in Cheon-ma’s body—what do I do about the one I lost?
If I dig for a few days straight, something has to turn up.
‘If it’s not visible, I’ll just write a few more books, same as with Secret Techniques.’
When Dang Yu-hyeon’s reaction wasn’t satisfactory, Wi Ji-gyeong groaned and struggled.
“Not pleased with that?”
“No.”
“Then how about this? There’s at least one thing I’m certain of.”
“What’s that?”
“A story from outside the Dang Family.”
Dang Yu-hyeon nodded to encourage him to continue.
“The story of our Jeomchang, I mean.”
As he spoke of his own sect, pride welled up so visibly that Wi Ji-gyeong’s cheeks rose high enough to pierce the heavens.
“During the Jungma War, you know we had one major clash in Yunnan, right?”
“Yes.”
“When our defense lines nearly crumbled, the Murim Alliance sent the Resolution Squad as reinforcements. And it was with this thrust—according to what I’ve heard—that the Syang Sword of our Jeomchang annihilated the enemy!”
“What?”
What in the world was this now?
I was the one who did that.
I can let everything else slide.
I’ll repay it with interest later.
But not mine.
“That was… something the Poison Master did, wasn’t it?”
Speaking his own alias aloud felt deeply strange.
“What are you talking about? The Poison Master must have left a mark, naturally. The same wound piercing through the hearts of all enemies with perfect accuracy—it was unmistakably the trace of the Syang Sword’s perfected Sah-il Sword Technique!”
‘No, no, that’s the point—I did it, you bastard.’
I remember it clearly.
The moment the Resolution Squad arrived in Yunnan, where supplies were dwindling and defensive lines were crumbling, they threw themselves into battle immediately.
The situation was that dire.
Even spreading poison to keep our forces alive, even hurling Flying Blades—their numbers never diminished.
To make it worse, burning through Internal Energy constantly meant I hit the limits of Void Retrieval to recover the blades.
That’s why I unsheathed the Weol-yeong Sword and deployed my technique.
Not the Sah-il Sword Technique—the Self-Mind Sword Net.
‘And they claim that was distorted?’
My chest boiled with fury.
‘These fools can’t even get history right!?’
Dang Yu-hyeon buried his face in his hands, swallowing his anger.
Wi Ji-gyeong, sensing the displeasure, pouted and whined in full drunken petulance.
“Why, why, why? What’s wrong now?”
“The state of historical education.”
“Jealous? Bitter about something?”
Drunk, his tongue slurred and his voice had taken on a sharp edge.
This was terrible.
“You had the Poison Master as the greatest under heaven of your time. Be grateful for that.”
No. He wasn’t grateful.
Dang Yu-hyeon shot to his feet.
“Come with me.”
He pointed toward a darkened alley.
“Hic!”
Wi Ji-gyeong clapped a hand over his mouth.
He looked up at Dang Yu-hyeon with sudden sobriety in his eyes.
“…Please spare me.”
Sacheon Dang Family’s Prodigal Son Reformed
Author |
Yi Il-yeong
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Samyang C&C Co., Ltd.
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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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