The Reformed Genius of the Sichuan Tang Clan - Chapter 39

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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 39
At the sudden outburst, Dang Lei’s eyes flickered rapidly across his companions.
When he touched his ring finger, the others all pressed their index fingers to their temples.
‘We’ve been discovered?’
‘I don’t know.’
Before they could even dispose of all the bodies, an old woman came running up, calling out their ancestor’s name and bowing deeply to Dang Youxuan, mistaking him for that ancestor.
The only conclusions their minds could draw were that the old woman’s faculties were clouded, and that word of their connection to the Dang Family had somehow leaked out.
‘How could they have found out, when we hid everything so thoroughly?’
They had deliberately circled back through Guizhou to obscure their point of departure, changed their clothes, and concealed their faces with bone-shaping work, skin masks, makeup—every technique at their disposal.
Each time, they had appeared as different people arriving from different places.
Yang Min was only a fortune-teller; she shouldn’t have been capable of seeing through such precautions.
‘Is there a spy among us?’
Dang Lei thought of the leadership who had planned this journey, and the comrades who had traveled with him.
But no matter how suspicious he became of even the smallest details, he could find no one who would betray the Dang Family or let slip a word.
“Grandmother! You mustn’t!”
While everyone else stood frozen in confusion, the villagers rushed toward them with torches, searching for Cheon Dan-ya.
Cheon Dan-ya’s granddaughter, accompanied by her mother, helped the old woman to her feet.
“This person isn’t Dukju at all, and she hasn’t come from the Dang Family! I’m so sorry for the trouble!”
“Mother, you’re making our guests uncomfortable. Please get up, won’t you?”
While the two women helped the unyielding Cheon Dan-ya, her son Jin Seo-jun bowed his head deeply.
“We apologize for the disturbance during your rest. My mother’s mind isn’t what it used to be, and she’s committed a grave discourtesy.”
“Not at all. Please, don’t concern yourselves. The night is dark—do take care as you escort her back.”
“I’m terribly sorry. Truly sorry.”
“Really, there’s no need to apologize.”
As Jin Seo-jun continued his repeated apologies, Dang Lei was about to cut him off when Dang Youxuan stopped him instead.
His eyes open and steady, his mouth set firm, his expression revealing nothing.
“We are indeed from the Dang Family.”
“……!”
All eyes snapped toward him in shock.
Dang Lei and Dang Yong-myeong in particular looked as though they might lose consciousness at this second reckless outburst.
Both were equally bewildered, though they could make sense of the first outburst—technically, it hadn’t been a lie.
But this was different.
What had Dang Gangheon emphasized throughout this entire mission?
Never reveal that you come from the Dang Family.
They had all heard it clearly; there was no way Dang Youxuan could have missed it.
‘This madman!’
‘Are we all going to die here?’
‘How am I supposed to wipe their memories? Do I even have poison? Did I pack enough?’
‘Damn it! Someone must have picked up our trail. We’re going to leave corpses all the way back.’
‘Because of this insane Second Young Master……!’
Dang Lei, acutely aware of the watching eyes, fought the urge to clap a hand over Dang Youxuan’s mouth and lock him in a room.
And that was just the beginning.
If position had been no object, they all would have gladly poisoned Dang Youxuan and watched him die.
Seeing the veins bulge in Dang Lei’s fists, Dang San-ho hurriedly sent a telepathic transmission to Dang Youxuan.
『Second Young Master! Have you forgotten what the Family Head told us? We cannot allow our presence here to be discovered!』
『I know.』
He knew. How could he not?
Dang Gangheon had warned them again and again for their own safety.
And yet, knowing all this, Dang Youxuan had revealed his connection to the Dang Family anyway.
It might seem reckless, but he had placed his life in the hands of someone who had not forgotten him—something he normally would never do.
Even though he knew it.
“From the Dang Family…… you say?”
Jin Seo-jun asked, his voice trembling.
Dang Lei squeezed his eyes shut, already bracing for what would come next.
They would either die here or die on the road back. One way or the other.
‘Damn it. I should have locked them all up, made sure no one could escape……!’
The deed was done, but he had to prevent the worst outcome.
Dang Lei watched the villagers’ movements, ready to ensure they couldn’t spread word of this outside the village.
But then.
“……?”
No one left this place.
Instead, they bowed deeply, barely holding back their tears.
“We sinful descendants dare to meet the people of the Dang Family.”
Starting with him, those with infirmities clasped their fists in salute, while the others bowed.
“You came searching for traces of Dukju, didn’t you? We’ve been waiting.”
“……!?”
Caught off guard, the others exchanged blank stares with one another.
At least this was not the place where they would die.
It might well be the place where they could achieve what they had failed to accomplish until now.
Their resentment toward Dang Youxuan shifted in an instant to wonder.
『Heavens! Second Young Master, did you know? How long have you known!?』
『Did the Family Head give you a hint? If you knew such a thing, you could have told us! You gave us quite a fright!』
『We were so lost as to how we’d survive, and this is truly a relief!』
His head throbbed with the barrage of telepathic transmissions.
Dang Youxuan raised his hand and dismissed them lightly, then spoke softly.
“Rise.”
Starting with Cheon Dan-ya, who had bowed deepest, the villagers slowly lifted their heads.
Dang Youxuan withdrew a small wooden tablet from his robes to prove his identity.
On the dark-brown tablet, the character for the Dang Family shimmered in soft gold.
“I am the Second Young Master of the Sichuan Dang Family, Dang Youxuan.”
Meeting their guilt-stricken eyes, Dang Youxuan grasped the situation, yet asked what needed to be asked.
“Do you remember the Dang Family?”
“Of course. How could we ever forget the Dang Family?”
“And Dukju?”
“To forget him would be to forget the debt of gratitude for saving our lives.”
“Then why have you said nothing all this time?”
“When the whole world seeks to forget him, what power could a mere village possess?”
Though it was a matter for Cheon Dan-ya and those of an older generation, Jin Seo-jun grieved as though it were his own burden.
Then Dang Lei and the others, who had been vigilant even as they rejoiced, joined in silent sorrow.
“My grandparents… feared death and could not speak. Before they died, they called themselves guilty for betraying their benefactor.”
Dang Youxuan denied it with a look.
No. That is not so.
You are not guilty.
None of you are guilty.
The guilty one is I, who survived.
I am guilty for failing to convey the truth while I lived.
“But how could we forget? Until you came with the truth, we kept the memory alive, guarded it by every means we had.”
When Dang Hyeon-chul died and the Dang Family’s power waned, Jeomchang seized the opportunity to claim his achievements as their own.
And the Nine Factions and One Alliance, which had checked the rise of the Five Great Families, aided them.
They violated the principle that those of the Martial World should not entangle the ordinary people in their affairs.
Before threats to their lives, the villagers were powerless to do anything but comply with their demands.
Yet the villagers did not surrender.
They did not believe the Dang Family’s fortune would remain diminished forever, nor that it would rest idle as things were.
So before the Nine Factions and One Alliance could act, they hid clear evidence elsewhere.
Outwardly they kept their mouths sealed as the Nine Factions and One Alliance demanded, leaving only evidence too obscure to recognize.
And so when the Dang Family finally came to seek them out, they would be able to hand it over.
“I will show you the way.”
* * *
Jin Seo-jun led Dang Youxuan and his companions to his home.
The house, which radiated a modest warmth, looked utterly unremarkable both at first glance and when examined more closely.
Soon Jin Seo-jun felt along the floor and lifted up one corner.
Inside, roughly ten volumes of books were hidden away.
Eight worn appraisal documents bearing the marks of time, and two volumes of the “true testimony.”
One could tell without looking inside.
With this, the Dang Family would recover its lost history.
Jin Seo-jun placed it into Dang Youxuan’s hands.
“Here it is.”
Though it was merely a stack of thin volumes, it felt impossibly heavy.
“I’m sorry it has taken so long to deliver this to you.”
“No.”
Dang Youxuan shook his head.
It wasn’t too late.
Had he moved faster or slower, what he’d worked so hard to preserve might have scattered and disappeared before it could bear fruit.
So now was the right moment.
Wasn’t it said that when a person, a situation, and the means all aligned, one gained the upper hand?
For the person: Dang Youxuan.
For the situation: the changing fortunes of the Dang Family.
For the means: the Appraisal Documents and Testimony.
To let such a perfectly assembled opportunity slip away would be foolish beyond words—a chance that would never come again.
And it was they who had made this chance possible.
“Thank you.”
Dang Youxuan spoke the words softly, with genuine feeling.
Because they had not forgotten, the Dang Family existed today, and tomorrow it would endure. Because of them, I can hope.
So Dang Youxuan bowed, not as the Dukju but as a member of the Dang Family.
“There is no need to thank us.”
“There is every reason to.”
The Dang Family treasures people.
People are like Rare Light—sometimes they radiate power that transcends all expectation.
The Dang Family reveres such people.
As both a Martial Family and a Medical Family, we carry the weight of life’s preciousness in our hearts always.
It is thanks to people like you that we have come to this moment.
“I… well, if it’s not too presumptuous and wouldn’t be any trouble, might I ask one thing of you?”
“Of course.”
Jin Seo-jun hesitated before speaking, as though conscience weighed on him, and there was a long pause.
Meanwhile Dang San-ho and Dang Yong-myeong’s eyes shone as bright as if they would shower him with gold and silver the moment he asked.
After a moment of silence, the man’s lips moved.
“…Would you meet our mother, pretending to be the Dukju?”
The request was simpler than expected, and Dang Lei let out a soft exclamation.
He felt a twinge of conscience at daring to impersonate such a distinguished person, but it was hardly impossible.
Considering their ages, it made sense that Dang Lei, whose appearance was closest, would step forward.
“Then I could—”
“No, I… I would prefer if this gentleman would do it.”
The man kept his head bowed as he pointed to Dang Youxuan.
“Me?”
“Yes. …I’m truly sorry to ask such a favor, but the Dukju was young and handsome at the time…”
“Pfft.”
Dang San-ho, who had been listening quietly in the back, burst into laughter.
Even the taciturn Dang Jong-cheon trembled, barely suppressing a laugh.
Dang Lei stood dazed as though he’d been swindled, then glared at Dang San-ho.
Sorry about that.
I happen to have looks.
The Sichuan Dang Family’s Path to Redemption and Genius
Author |
Lee Il-young
Publisher |
(Co.) Samyang C&C
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Editorial Department
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(Co.) Samyang C&C – Dream Books
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7F, Gwangseong Building, 28 Bongeunsa-ro 114-gil, Gangnam-gu, Seoul
UCI |
G720:N+A063-20260615052
Blog |
blog.naver.com/dreambookss
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@dreambookss
Submissions |
[email protected]
(Publisher) Samyang C&C – Dream Books. No part of this book may be used in any form or by any means without written permission from 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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