The Reformed Genius of the Sichuan Tang Clan - Chapter 44

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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 44
The intelligence network of Hao Wen rivaled that of the imperial court itself, and was recognized throughout the Central Plains as a force to be reckoned with.
As if to prove the point, Seon Woo-yun returned before long with a thin Bamboo Slip in hand and his report.
“As you can see there, it’s a temple abandoned a hundred years ago. The only suspicious detail is that no record exists explaining why it was abandoned.”
“The timing is rather convenient.”
A hundred years ago was precisely when the Dang Clan’s decline had begun.
If records were missing or forgotten, there was a strong chance it was connected to that fall.
“I’ll need to see it myself.”
“Sir? You think something’s there?”
“There will be something. Don’t worry—just investigate the temple more thoroughly.”
“Yes, sir.”
As Seon Woo-yun rose to leave, Dang Youxuan called him back.
“Wait. You need to take this too.”
Dang Youxuan gestured toward the Bamboo Slip.
“You’re not reading it again?”
“I’ve memorized all of it.”
Seon Woo-yun took the Bamboo Slip with a skeptical glint in his eye.
“Safe travels to you, then, sir.”
“Of course.”
* * *
A body of fifteen summers was not the body of before, no matter that the mind remained unchanged.
So by day Dang Youxuan traced the Light Steps Technique across the landscape, and by night he posed as a vagrant, stopping in villages to sleep in inns as his travels dictated.
Upon arriving in Dalju, every innkeeper turned him away with a reluctance that spoke volumes.
Dang Youxuan slipped into the crowd and asked casually.
“Pardon me, friend. Has something happened here?”
“And who might you be?”
“A passing traveler. I have a delivery for the Yunlong Trade Association and stopped by on my way through.”
“Ah, a merchant, then.”
Once Dang Youxuan had established his identity, the man’s expression visibly relaxed.
“Nothing serious, really. Lately there’ve been more strangers passing through town, is all. It’s not usually a place that sees much traffic.”
“I see.”
The fact that strangers had begun arriving in Dalju precisely when Dang Youxuan made his move could not so easily be dismissed as coincidence—there were too many details that didn’t align.
Rather than return directly to the inn, Dang Youxuan headed to a roadside tavern.
The common people’s gossip could be heard most freely in such places.
“Has he come again?”
“How should I know? He’s always wearing that bamboo hat. He’ll be gone before long, I’m sure.”
“Hovering around Master No’s place again—what’s he looking for, anyway?”
“Gold and silver, probably?”
“Gold and silver? That old man already gave everything worth passing on to his children before he died. The only reason anyone lingers is because his house is half-collapsed—hardly worth the gawking.”
“And there’s an abandoned temple nearby, too—the whole area’s a mess!”
‘Hmm.’
The appearance of these strangers was clearly no accident.
Whoever they were, they either sought the same thing he did or meant him harm.
‘I need to move quickly.’
Dang Youxuan left the tavern with haste.
Jamwol Temple, reached in urgency. Weeds had run wild over its grounds, untouched by foot for long years.
‘At least no one’s made this their base.’
Dang Youxuan made his way along the desolate mountain path into the temple grounds.
Light filtered through gaps in the crumbling walls, showing him the way.
Footprints were visible on the path where the light fell.
‘Someone passed through here recently.’
Dang Youxuan concealed his hands within his sleeves and proceeded toward the main hall.
A Buddha statue with moss covering half its face, and an altar thick with dust.
Nothing unusual, no signs of any visitor before him.
Dang Youxuan kept his guard high and walked toward the back of the altar.
‘A Stone Tablet?’
He lifted a stone tablet whose color stood out from its surroundings and brushed away the moss, revealing a familiar pattern beneath.
‘The Dang Clan’s…?’
But with more than half of it broken, he could not be certain.
Dang Youxuan searched the surrounding area and found scattered fragments.
‘If I add the strokes from this one and this one, it makes Dang. But what is this?’
The remaining fragments weren’t completely shattered, so combining them wasn’t particularly difficult.
But there was something else mixed in—something that didn’t belong to the Dang Clan.
‘Have I seen this shape before?’
The moment he began to sift through his memory,
he felt a presence.
‘Who is it?’
Behind a pillar in the main hall stood a Daoist with her hair gathered into a single topknot.
From the way she kept every strand precisely in place to the sharpness in her gaze, even a compulsive temperament was evident.
‘Black Daoist robes and the Yin-Yang emblem. Mudang Sect.’
He showed no surprise at the sight of Dang Youxuan.
Either she was skilled at concealing her presence—since he hadn’t noticed her before entering the hall—or she knew Dang Youxuan would come and had arrived late deliberately.
“I didn’t expect the Openhearted Rogue to show up here.”
“I didn’t know it was Daoist courtesy to skip introductions on first meeting.”
“Ahem. This one is called Mu O of the Mudang Sect.”
“Ah. The one they call the Unbreakable Swordsman.”
According to his memory, despite being a third-generation disciple, he had earned an alias through his deeds.
When Dang Youxuan spoke without pretense, Mu O looked away as if embarrassed.
“You would have seen everything if you’d arrived first.”
“I did see it. But I didn’t understand it.”
Mu O stepped forward and gestured at the stone tablet with a jut of his chin.
“Do you know what that pattern means?”
‘So he arrived early but failed to piece it together.’
Dang Youxuan looked down at the stone tablet and asked,
“Do you?”
Unprepared for the question to be turned back on him, Mu O hesitated before answering.
“……It seems like I might understand, and yet I don’t.”
“An ambiguous answer.”
Dang Youxuan turned and set the stone tablet on the altar.
“Why did you come here?”
“For the same reason you did, surely.”
‘That can’t be right.’
Dang Youxuan let out a soft laugh.
There was no way Mu O from the Mudang Sect had come looking for the one who’d engineered the Dang Clan’s downfall.
He must have had some other agenda.
After that, the two fell silent for a time, each trying to discern the other’s true intentions.
With more to lose, Mu O finally broke the silence with a sigh.
“That pattern seems to be connected to a particular faction currently active.”
‘Now we’re getting somewhere.’
Dang Youxuan suppressed his smile and turned away.
“Which faction?”
“I’m still tracking that myself. If you know something, I’d like to exchange information.”
Dang Youxuan pondered for a moment, then pointed with his finger to where the stone tablet had been scraped away.
“You know this was deliberately erased?”
At that, Mu O’s body visibly stiffened.
In an instant, Dang Youxuan understood he hadn’t known this fact.
“If someone erased it, it means someone else knows what’s here.”
“……!”
It was obvious, of course.
But merely pointing it out changed the light in Mu O’s eyes as he looked at Dang Youxuan.
‘Changed his mind over something so trivial. The reputation of reckless youth must be widespread even in his circles.’
Even if he wanted to escape that reputation, the karmic weight was far too great to shed in a single breath.
Mu O fell into thought, turning Dang Youxuan’s words over in his mind.
“Do you have any idea who might be behind this?”
“I haven’t been out in the Kangho long, so I can’t say for certain.”
“I see…….”
“But for someone holed up in a decrepit temple, they left surprisingly clear traces—so they don’t seem to be the meticulous type…….”
Wait. Not meticulous?
Seized by a vague unease, Dang Youxuan lifted the altar slightly.
Creak—
Despite the statue’s weight, the altar lifted easily.
Dang Youxuan braced it with one hand and drew out the envelope resting inside with the other.
A faded Green Envelope.
He felt certain it belonged to the Dang Clan.
‘Perhaps a letter someone meant to send but never did.’
Dang Youxuan turned his back to Mu O so the man couldn’t see the contents, then unfolded the letter.
When the time came, the sword would speak.
The letter contained only a short passage.
Yet when Dang Youxuan read it, his eyes flickered with uncertainty.
‘This handwriting……!’
It was identical to the craftsman who had forged the Yueyong Sword for him.
‘There’s no way I wouldn’t recognize it.’
Then who was this letter meant for?
‘It must be for me.’
Many had forged swords for him, but Dang Youxuan was the first to commission a Divine Weapon.
‘Is there more to what I already know?’
At the time of the commission, only three abilities had been granted to the Yueyong Sword.
First: it would respond to the family’s blood.
Second: poison would seep into its Sword Energy.
Third: the blade’s trajectory would be as unpredictable as a hidden weapon.
Yet this letter seemed to suggest there was something more.
But what?
What could it be?
As Dang Youxuan’s gaze lingered in one spot, Mu O tilted his head.
“You know that envelope?”
“It’s personal.”
Dang Youxuan gave a brief answer and tucked the envelope into his robe.
Even for someone of great renown, sending a third-generation disciple alone was no ordinary occurrence.
Why send a sect’s precious disciple when one didn’t know what dangers lurked in Kangho?
Thus it was likely Mu O had been sent for simple reconnaissance.
He couldn’t share the Dang Clan’s intimate secrets with such a person.
The fact that there were backing forces and that they had left information on a Stone Tablet was enough.
“Nothing seems particularly unusual, but wouldn’t it be wise to look around a bit more?”
“Very well.”
After that, they searched for about an hour, but nothing else emerged.
“Any further investigation seems pointless. What do you think?”
“I agree. Let’s go.”
Dang Youxuan and Mu O stepped outside and brushed the dust from their clothes.
Once Mu O had finished adjusting his garments, he asked casually.
“Are you heading to the Yongbong Assembly?”
“I am. And yourself?”
“I’m going as well. I have a feeling we might find the thread that unravels this mystery there. You see.”
‘Sharp instincts.’
If some force had passed through this place, they would surely make their move at the Yongbong Assembly, where all the Sect Representatives of the Orthodox Faction gathered.
“Then I hope we meet again there.”
Dang Youxuan cupped his fist in salute, and Mu O did the same.
“I look forward to our next meeting.”
The two parted ways in opposite directions.
As Mu O walked on, he glanced back over his shoulder and murmured softly.
“So that’s what Dang Youxuan truly is…….”
His narrow eyes remained fixed on Dang Youxuan’s back until the figure vanished completely.
The Sichuan Dang Clan’s Reformed Prodigy
Author |
Yi Il-yeong
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Samyang C&C Co., Ltd.
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Editorial Department
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© Samyang C&C — The contents of this book may not be used in any form or by any means without the prior written permission of 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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