The Reformed Genius of the Sichuan Tang Clan - Chapter 66

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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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Episode 66
An abandoned manor in Seowhwa.
A man in a crimson cloak sat alone in the one chair free of dust.
Hair falling past his shoulders emanated something dangerous and hypnotic.
He wore a mask that covered everything above his nose.
Beside him stood a woman wearing an identical mask.
She gazed at the night sky through the open doorway.
“Ham Young isn’t coming, then.”
“It was only a matter of time before we were discovered.”
The man shrugged with indifference.
“Still no concern—they’ll assume the Flame Blade Faction is behind it all.”
The man asked with amusement in his voice.
“Isn’t that right, Faction Leader?”
“Ugh. Dan Hyunwoo……!”
Jo Hogang, the Flame Blade Faction Leader and the Blazing Blade Wanderer, glared at the man with bloodshot eyes.
The man was Dan Hyunwoo, the Blood Rain Ghost.
He had broken free from the Flame Blade Faction and in a short span grown powerful enough to swallow it whole—now the master of the Red Tide Faction.
“I can’t imagine why you look at me like that.”
“How dare you repay the debt of my patronage in this manner?”
“Patronage? You gathered capable men to work like slaves.”
“If you hadn’t wagged that serpent’s tongue of yours, my subordinates would never have fallen!”
“That’s your sin too. You worked them like hunting dogs while you alone feasted—any man with sense would have abandoned you.”
Crack!
Dan Hyunwoo rose and kicked the man’s jaw.
“Guh!”
“It’s been entertaining. Thank you for handing the Flame Blade Faction over to us after your tyranny.”
As Dan Hyunwoo gestured, the woman beside him drew her blade.
“Even in death, I swear I’ll―!”
A sharp whistle.
Jo Hogang’s head fell in a single stroke.
“Siblings. How amusing.”
Dan Hyunwoo nudged the head with his foot, a smirk playing at his lips.
“Un Hong.”
“Yes.”
Un Hong, the Blood Tide Wanderer, bowed at once.
“The information you were supposed to bring today—it was about Dang Youxuan, wasn’t it?”
“Indeed.”
“The boy shows promise.”
“Do you believe Dang Youxuan killed Ham Young?”
“Yes.”
“But wasn’t he nothing but a wastrel just months ago?”
“No one of true depravity could have raised a dying clan from the ashes.”
“Did he kill Weol Ran Yo-hee as well?”
Dan Hyunwoo answered with a nod instead of words.
“If Guowelru had grown its power in Sichuan just a bit longer, we could have claimed Wanyenhua’s inner elixir. A pity it turned out this way.”
Even as his plans crumbled, Dan Hyunwoo laughed with genuine pleasure.
“Dang Youxuan…… is no opponent to underestimate. If he killed Ham Young, he’ll have sensed we were behind it.”
“But it won’t be easy for him to think of Red when he sees the mark of Man-Fire.”
“True enough. Yet there are those rare ones, aren’t there? Men who carry heavy heads.”
…….
“If Dang Youxuan truly is the unconventional prodigy the world calls him, even the impossible becomes possible.”
Un Hong regarded Dan Hyunwoo quietly, then nodded.
“Watching you now reminds me of you in your younger days, Leader.”
“Ha. Does it?”
Dan Hyunwoo picked up Jo Hogang’s head with a satisfied laugh.
“Come. We have work to do. If I’m to have a gift ready when we meet again, we must move quickly.”
“I shall obey.”
The two figures vanished into the gathering darkness as twilight fell.
Elsewhere.
The guest hall of the Dang Clan, as darkness descended in the same hour.
Dang Youxuan greeted the unexpected visitor with a look of astonishment.
“I trust you’ve been well? My apologies for arriving so late at night.”
Beobgye smiled warmly, letting the Prayer Beads slip through his fingers with a soft whisper.
In truth, he was barely containing his fury beneath that smile.
Dang Gangheon and his sons—every last one of them—
‘Why has this monk come here?’
That was the look burning in their eyes.
‘How foolish. They don’t even realize that the Dang Clan has survived only because Shaolin pursued balance among the Orthodox Faction.’
His irritation quickened the pace of his fingers across the Prayer Beads.
But he could not afford to show it now.
For this moment, he was the one who had come seeking an audience.
“It is late. Please, come inside.”
“I am grateful for the Clan Master’s courtesy.”
Whoosh.
As Beobgye entered, the four brothers exchanged silent glances.
‘What brings him here?’
‘Your guess is as good as mine.’
‘Do you think he means to interfere?’
‘Likely as not.’
‘He seems rather worried about something.’
‘The Dang Clan isn’t what it once was. He’s probably keeping watch.’
‘I haven’t attended the Dragon Phoenix Gathering often, but I’ve never seen anything like this before.’
‘Neither have I.’
Whoosh.
The moment Beobgye turned and settled into his chair, the four brothers straightened up as though nothing had passed between them.
“In fact, I came to see the Clan Master today because I have something to discuss with your second son alone.”
Beobgye broached the matter before tea could even be brought.
Either it was something of grave importance, or his mind was racing with urgency. One or the other.
“Might I have a word with the young master in private?”
“……Very well.”
At Dang Gangheon’s signal, the other brothers rose as one and left the room.
Before ascending, the eldest son spoke to Dang Youxuan.
“Youxuan. Mind yourself—do not overstep.”
“……!”
Dang Gangheon handed Dang Youxuan a poison without so much as a clink or whisper.
The Soul-Seizing Pill.
A colorless, odorless, deadly toxin—instant death upon ingestion in any form.
Why would he hand such a thing over?
It meant: I will take responsibility. If necessary, use it.
“I shall remember.”
Dang Gangheon wasted no time on further admonishment and climbed the stairs at once.
Swish.
Dang Youxuan felt Beobgye extend his power throughout the room.
Now they were truly alone, in a space sealed from all eavesdropping.
“Young master. Your achievements at this Dragon Phoenix Gathering have been most remarkable.”
Beobgye attempted to ease the atmosphere with praise.
But Dang Youxuan, who understood it was praise empty of sincerity, offered no response.
“…….”
Dang Youxuan waited for the next words, offering not so much as a thank you.
‘Such defiance before me. This is no ordinary boy.’
Yet the abbot of Shaolin could hardly be outdone by a mere fifteen-year-old.
‘If he wishes to proceed directly to the heart of the matter, then so shall I.’
Whisper…….
The pace of Beobgye’s fingers across the Prayer Beads slowed.
“I have been deeply troubled, young master. To see such a venerable and distinguished family as the Dang Clan fade away like this—it grieves me.”
‘And whose fault is that?’
Had anyone from Shaolin extended a hand, the Dang Clan would stand differently today.
They might well have claimed the full glory that should have been theirs in the aftermath of the Great Demon War.
“That is why Shaolin wishes to aid the Dang Clan in reclaiming its former standing.”
“That matter would be better addressed directly to the Clan Master himself, I believe.”
“Ha. That’s not quite right. For this, I need your strength.”
“My strength?”
“Yes.”
Beobgye spoke softly, his tone carrying a hint of benevolence.
“If the Dang Clan and Shaolin could stand back to back, it would benefit the Gangho as well. So tomorrow, during the martial match, I hope the conflict between our disciples won’t be excessive—that the bond between our sects won’t be damaged.”
Dressed up in careful language, it amounted to this: Dang Youxuan’s opponent tomorrow would be a Shaolin disciple, and he was asking him to lose that match.
‘Among those who won in the third round of the Main Tournament Round, there was only one Shaolin disciple.’
Hyedo, known as the Golden Guardian Monk.
If they paired him—the Shaolin prodigy—against Dang Youxuan, who was drawing the most attention, his strength would shine all the brighter.
And if he won, the Dragon Phoenix Gathering would become Shaolin’s stage.
‘The abbot himself appears and says nothing more than this. How disappointing.’
Dang Youxuan lowered his long eyelashes, concealing the chill in his gaze.
“There’s a premise hidden in that proposal. That Hyedo must make it to the finals.”
“…….”
Dang Youxuan lifted his eyelids and met Beobgye’s gaze directly.
Unwavering eyes locked against uncertain ones—the contrast was stark.
“Let me ask you something else. There’s someone in the fourth round—my senior—so why did you seek me out? If your aim is the championship, wouldn’t it make far more sense to ask a stronger opponent to lose?”
If the abbot’s only goal were Hyedo’s victory, there would be no shortage of better targets to approach.
So why the Dang Clan, of all people?
From the start, he had no intention of letting the Dang Clan gain prominence.
And he wanted to break Dang Youxuan’s unstoppable momentum as well.
“Or have you calculated that I’m not as easy an opponent as you thought?”
Once Dang Youxuan dropped the unnecessary pretense, Beobgye’s expression twisted.
But it lasted only an instant.
His mouth soon curved upward again.
“Ha. So it’s true that intellect doesn’t follow seniority in cultivation rank.”
The insincere smile vanished along with all its superfluous decoration.
“But young man, looking at too much can be dangerous.”
“And you, Abbot, have lived many years—managing too many affairs will exhaust you.”
The lines around his eyes deepened.
Even the fine wrinkles meant to express benevolence could not hide the chill in his gaze as he fixed it on Dang Youxuan.
“I thought you had changed greatly, but it seems some things remain unchanged.”
Crack!
Beobgye struck the table and rose from his seat.
Negotiations broken.
Alone, Beobgye flushed at this unexpected turn.
“It’s late. Let’s end here. Please convey my regards to the Dang Clan master.”
“Very well.”
Before Beobgye opened the door to leave, he spoke quietly.
“That Jade Box you possess—handle it carefully. It holds something heavy.”
“……!”
Dang Youxuan owned only one Jade Box.
The one he’d found in the rubble near the map he’d received from the master of the Manpung Commercial Association.
‘I thought only the Opening Faction’s elders knew of it…….’
It seemed the situation was far more tangled than he’d imagined.
‘I need to meet the person O Cheon-bae mentioned soon.’
Sichuan Dang Family Prodigy Who Turned Over a New Leaf
Author |
Yi Il-young
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(주) Samyang C&C
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© Samyang C&C — 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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