The Reformed Genius of the Sichuan Tang Clan - Chapter 42

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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 42
Distortion. Usurpation.
Those words were enough to provoke Seol Cheongyun.
As he twisted his face as if ready to lash out on the spot, Dang Gangheon spoke in a tone that asked if there was some problem.
“Ah. This is merely my personal opinion, so I trust you won’t take offense. If you wish to refute me, there’s no harm in waiting until you’ve heard the whole of my account.”
Look at that temperament. He’s a true descendant, there’s no doubt about it.
Dang Youxuan bit back a quiet laugh.
“To return to the matter at hand: from the villages near Seokrim, where the Decisive Force was dispatched, we have secured testimony that it was someone called Dokju who stood against the Demonic Sect at that time.”
“A witness? But I heard there were no survivors left alive?”
“There is one survivor who was hiding and thus went undiscovered until now.”
“……!”
The conference hall stirred.
A survivor they had failed to find.
The magnitude of the upheaval this person might bring was beyond calculation.
Five became one, one became five—such a reversal of fortunes.
How many would wish to see the very foundations of the Martial World shaken, the bricks that composed it rearranged?
By my reckoning, you could count them on your fingers.
“But if the face is hidden, how can we discern the truth of it?”
“It is to protect the witness. If it were otherwise, would you interpret it as doubting the one who vouches for the identity, or doubting me, who vouch for it?”
“That—surely there’s no reason for that! I merely asked, just to be thorough.”
Hwangbo Wonhak, patriarch of the Hwangbo Family, snapped back before swiftly retreating his tail.
Even if the Dang Family’s influence had waned, he had concluded that a direct confrontation would not be a fair fight.
“Therefore, I wished to ask whether we should permit the witness to speak. What are your thoughts?”
Everyone merely exchanged glances, none willing to speak first.
Breaking the silence, Cheon Hui, the Primordial Sage of Wudang, opened his mouth.
“Let us hear it. I am curious what sort of tale this witness has to tell.”
Wudang was a school that pursued balance. The weight of words from its sect leader was never light.
“I am in favor as well.”
“I too would like to hear the testimony.”
After that, voices rose in support one after another.
Those who would have dismissed it as nonsense and opposed Dang Gangheon could not find their voices.
Beobgye, with a benevolent expression, listened in silence before opening his mouth.
“It appears many show interest in hearing from this witness. Since there are name tablets before us, let us settle it thus: those in favor of permitting the witness to speak shall leave theirs standing, and those opposed shall lower them so the name is hidden.”
“Very well!”
Seol Cheongyun lowered his name tablet with an audible snap.
He thereby made his subtle displeasure known—that the Nine Great Sects and One Society would not lend their support to the Dang Family and himself.
After that, aside from Songshan, Qingcheng, the Beggar Sect, and the Hwangbo Family, no one lowered their tablets.
“I have heard your opinions well. Though there is opposition, in accordance with the will of the majority, I shall permit the witness to speak.”
“Tsk.”
Seol Cheongyun clicked his tongue softly.
Yet it was a sound that could not help but be heard in the now-quiet conference hall following Beobgye’s declaration.
Dang Gangheon heard it plainly enough, but he pretended otherwise and beckoned Cheon Danya with a gesture.
“Before presenting this matter to the assembly to judge the credibility of the testimony, we heard the account first.”
“Patriarch Dang. I ask with no ill intent, but how can we be certain you have not fabricated this testimony?”
When Seol Cheongyun interjected once more, Dang Youxuan’s eyes narrowed.
What’s with this one—picking at the end of every sentence?
If he’s so fond of that, should I return the favor and catch him on every word?
In the old days, he wouldn’t have dared meet my gaze.
“Do not take my words with such sensitivity. I have staked all that the Dang Family and I possess on this.”
He had staked his clan and himself.
In a faction that placed no faith in heaven and would yield its place to profit even if it did, to stake oneself was to declare a willingness to accept permanent ruin and disgrace.
“Unh…….”
Knowing this was no different than swearing by the Primordial Celestial Worthy itself, Seol Cheongyun found himself unable to speak.
“I understand your resolve, Patriarch Dang. Having made such a vow, I trust it shall be truthful.”
Naturally. Instead of answering, Dang Gangheon simply shrugged his shoulders.
“Then, returning to the matter: I had meant to say there is no need to doubt the credibility, but Seol Cheongyun has spared me the trouble.”
Seol Cheongyun’s face contorted at the casual tone.
Dang Gangheon paused, as if savoring the sight, then extended his hand and gestured toward Cheon Danya.
“We have disclosed all that needed disclosure. Why drag out time further? Now let us hear the witness’s account.”
As Dang Gangheon stepped back, Cheon Danya moved a pace forward and positioned himself behind him.
“I am a resident of Seokpyeong Village, near Seokrim, and the sole survivor who witnessed both the Demonic Sect’s invasion and the Martial Alliance’s response.”
The old man’s thin, trembling voice carried a power that steadied the anxious and bewildered sect leaders.
“Our village faced certain death when the Demonic Sect attacked without warning. We had no one trained in martial arts to fight back, and we lacked the strength even to flee.”
“Ah…….”
Cheonghui and several others fell silent in sympathy.
Those trained in martial arts could fight or escape.
But those without such training had no choice.
They could only accept death helplessly.
“The earth turned red with blood, and screams erupted from all sides. I remember thinking: ‘Ah. So this is how I die. I’ve barely begun to live, and already it ends.’ That is what I thought.”
From his place at the rear, Dang Youxuan listened to Cheon Danya’s account with sorrowful eyes.
When he had first met Cheon Danya, the boy was only six years old.
Burdened by a perception that seemed inhuman, he had never lived as other children his age did—and it was before this altar that he had learned the meaning of surrender in the face of death.
It was something Dang Youxuan despised, and it was why he had not simply passed by Cheon Danya even after the village had found peace.
“Then a figure in a Deep Green Long Robe appeared, slew the Demonic Sect’s forces, and saved us.”
His eyes grew distant as he recalled the past.
“Yes. It was Dokju.”
“……!”
“Later, when those who had joined us told me the truth, I learned that Dokju had known our village lay in the path of the Demonic Sect’s advance—and had arrived there first to meet them.”
“Wait. Then Jeomchang…….”
“The Swordmaster was not there?”
Seol Cheongyun himself remained silent, while the others erupted in alarm.
“I heard that the Swordmaster went to Kunming, not to Seokrim.”
“Who told you this!?”
“A member of the Decisive Force who joined us later. He wore the robes of Huashan, and I recall his epithet was Hwayoung Geom.”
“Then it cannot be false……! Does no one here know that Hwayoung Geom was dispatched to the Yunnan region!?”
The conference hall erupted into murmurs.
All believed the testimony, pitied the Dang Family for their stolen merit, and cast sharp glances at Jeomchang.
But Dang Youxuan did not rejoice in victory.
‘Not yet.’
Half of them here are mere weathervanes.
Even Seol Cheongyun, who had hurled accusations so fiercely, and Beobgye, who could command the council’s will, had fallen silent.
This meant they possessed a counter to overturn the testimony.
……Or a way to render the witness unable to fulfill his purpose.
Dang Youxuan weighed the possibilities that might emerge from their minds as he tapped his fingers against his knee.
Tap.
Tap.
Tap-tap…….
“I have something to say regarding the witness.”
Seol Cheongyun drew back his cheeks in a sneer, his eyes opening with contempt.
It was the face of a man with something to rely upon.
“You have the floor.”
Beobgye granted permission.
Dang Youxuan, as was his habit, raised his chin and looked down upon him.
“A survivor in hiding who was not discovered—a fine fantasy, but nothing more.”
“Cloud-Piercing Sword. I understand your anger, but mind your words.”
Cheonghui answered sharply, more so than Dang Gangheon himself, who was the subject of the accusation.
“Primordial Sage, I speak only fact.”
Seol Cheongyun deliberately brought the Name Tablet before him, as if to demonstrate his point.
“The witness’s face is hidden, but I know this person well. I did not record his name, yet he was indeed the sole survivor of that time.”
“Then why did you not record his name?”
“The witness’s mind was not intact—he was in no condition to testify.”
“Such……!”
‘As expected.’
It unfolded exactly as foreseen.
To invalidate a testimony riding the wave of trust and free from blemish, the fastest route was to undermine the witness’s credibility itself.
“I had not anticipated things would turn this way, but it seems fortune has smiled upon me.”
Seol Cheongyun withdrew a carefully bound ledger from his robes.
“This is a record of the events before and after. It is normally kept by the Martial Alliance, but I borrowed it briefly from Jeomchang’s private archives.”
“That is correct.”
Beobgye nodded at the questioning gaze that sought verification.
“At the end of this third volume, which records testimony and witnesses, are listed those who failed to qualify as witnesses for grave reasons.”
Seol Cheongyun turned the pages and found a name standing alone.
“The witness appears to be someone called Cheon Danya here. Am I mistaken?”
“…….”
Though all eyes had turned toward him, neither Dang Gangheon nor Dang Youxuan spoke.
Hidden behind cloth and invisible to view, even Cheon Danya, whose lips trembled with embarrassment, ultimately kept silent.
Sometimes silence speaks louder than a hundred words.
‘Thank goodness I heard about this beforehand and prepared. Why did they have to provoke someone as capable as Jeomchang?’
Seol Cheongyun grew smug, lifting his head high with satisfaction.
“Alliance Leader, we have the Face Revealing Mirror on hand. Why not verify the witness’s appearance with it?”
“Agreed. Witness, please lower your cloth.”
The Face Revealing Mirror rested in Seol Cheongyun’s hands, public opinion had already shifted, and still Dang Youxuan watched with the same expressionless gaze, offering no sign of retreat.
Cheon Danya, feeling like a helpless victim, trembled as he unwrapped the cloth from his face.
“Extraordinary! It matches the Face Revealing Mirror exactly!”
Wi Cheondeuk, the leader of the Beggar Sect known as the Drunken Divine Beggar, who had been fidgeting beside Seol Cheongyun, cried out with exaggerated dramatics.
“Has the man truly lost his mind? How could the Dang Family Lord have believed such a person’s words? Tsk, tsk.”
“To allow such a creature into the Martial Alliance conference hall. I fear it may taint our honor.”
As the murmuring grew louder, Dang Youxuan’s eyes turned glacial.
He understood now.
Seol Cheongyun was waiting for the moment when naked humiliation would reach its peak.
And so,
“Lord Dokju!”
Unable to bear it any longer, Cheon Danya made his mistake.
“N-no, that’s not it. I, I’m perfectly fine. My mind is not disordered. I’m simply startled right now, but surely you know better than anyone that there’s nothing wrong with my faculties?”
Cheon Danya, terrified that Dang Youxuan might not believe him, collapsed at his feet trembling violently.
But it only backfired.
“Did you hear what he just said? Calling a fifteen-year-old boy ‘Lord’!”
“Such nonsense has no equal. The man is clearly mad. There’s nothing more to discuss.”
“The Dang Family Lord has become unfortunate. I thought him brilliant for ascending to leadership at such a young age, but alas. He is merely pretending to be wise.”
‘Hehehehe. This is exactly it.’
Seol Cheongyun held the Face Revealing Mirror open for all to see, preening with satisfaction.
Dang Gangheon endured the unrelenting heat directed at him, then spoke quietly.
“Youxuan. The witness appears fatigued. Have him sit comfortably.”
“Yes.”
“Witness indeed! One should speak correctly!”
Seol Cheongyun, made even more arrogant by those who peddled lament and sarcasm, shouted loudly.
“Still young, yet so unfortunately deceived. To deny the merit of the Saiil Sword Master based on the ravings of a mad old woman!”
“Because we listen patiently, he thinks his words carry weight.”
Not knowing he was digging his own grave.
While Dang Youxuan seated Cheon Danya and returned to Dang Gangheon’s side, father and son did not change their expressions even once.
It was not acceptance of defeat.
They waited for perfect victory.
‘Fools.’
Do you think you’ve won?
Enjoy it now.
When it comes back doubled, it will ache to the bone.
“There appears to be a misunderstanding. I have never denied the merit of the Saiil Sword Master. I merely stated that the person active near Seokrim was not the Saiil Sword Master, but Dokju.”
“That’s absurd!”
“And do you think I prepared only this?”
Dang Gangheon’s eyes alone rolled toward Seol Cheongyun.
Though his expression remained unchanged, his gaze had taken on a sharpness that seemed almost an illusion.
“Youxuan. Bring it.”
“Yes.”
Dang Youxuan produced the book he had not set down for a moment these past several days.
Eight volumes of appraisals and two volumes of testimony, received days before from Cheon Danya’s son.
“These are records of appraisals and testimonies preserved in Seokpyeong Village, bound together.”
“What use can they possibly serve now……!”
“They serve quite well. The appraisals reveal the clear difference between Jeomchang’s Saiil Sword Technique and the Dang Family’s Jashim Sword Net.”
“……!”
“For your information, these have been preserved generation after generation by people of sound mind, so you need not worry about their authenticity.”
Well, there’s much more to say about that spirit as well.
Dang Gangheon’s quiet murmur was swallowed by the frantic rustle of hands snatching up documents.
The faces of those rapidly reading through the testimonies grew rigid, one by one.
Everything bore out Dang Gangheon’s claims.
The cacophony of judgment had ceased—nothing now but the sound of turning pages in the hollow silence.
Dang Gangheon spoke as though addressing them all, yet his gaze remained fixed on Seol Cheongyun.
“Do you understand now?”
“……!”
I told you so.
When treachery is returned tenfold, it cuts to the bone.
The Dang Family’s Prodigal Turned Saint
Author |
Yi Il-yeong
Publisher |
Samyang C&C Co., Ltd.
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Editorial Department
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No part of this book may be used in any form or by any means without written permission from 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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