Surviving as the Sacheon Dang Clan’s Servant - Chapter 113

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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 113
Saliva dribbled from the corner of my gaping mouth. My eyes watered involuntarily, the world blurring before me.
The metallic taste of blood rose in my throat.
“Lim Seol Yak! Stop!”
“Lim Seol Yak, compose yourself. This is a Dang Clan child.”
Ok Hwan and Dang Jung’s urgent voices reached me from a distance, muffled and far away.
“A Dang Clan child?”
“I said this one belongs to me. Don’t kill them.”
At Dang Jung’s intervention, the demon cultivator’s furrowed brow eased slightly as he slowly withdrew the iron grip from my throat.
The moment the crushing pressure vanished, coughing seized me. I curled inward, wrapping my burning throat with trembling hands.
“Strange—I recognized the aura. Are you a disciple of the Poison King?”
“Cough, cough! Yes, I am…!”
“…How troublesome. That senile old fool would throw an absolute fit if he learned you’d laid hands on his disciple.”
The demon cultivator muttered darkly, brushing dust from his hands.
His murmur was less soliloquy than thinly veiled threat—a warning not to tell my master. I answered frantically.
“Cough, nothing happened, cough! Nothing at all.”
“You’re far more clever than your master.”
A cold smile flickered across the demon cultivator’s face as he turned sharply away.
Ok Hwan, who had been watching us with anxious eyes, approached and gently took his arm.
“Lim Seol Yak. Why has it been so long? I worried something was wrong.”
“Nothing was wrong. Everything is fine.”
“You’re finally here—at least have some tea before you go. I’ve missed you.”
“…All right.”
Then, at last, a faint smile touched the demon cultivator’s lips.
Dang Jung, regarding him with a stubborn expression, turned to me and extended his hand.
“Can you stand?”
‘Can you stand?’
Over those words, an image of my grandfather from long ago overlaid itself. The memory of him clumsily trying to comfort me kindled a sudden, burning warmth in my chest.
“…Yes.”
I nearly wept then, truly wept.
“…Yes. I can stand.”
Steadying my expression, I took Dang Jung’s hand and pulled myself upright.
* * *
The tea the demon cultivator offered exhaled a subtle, bitter-sweet herbal fragrance.
As I hesitated, fingers fidgeting, the demon cultivator spoke coolly.
“I steeped it with spiritual herbs infused with Qi. Drink it all before you leave.”
“Pardon?”
“Your master mentioned you possess a unique constitution. I cannot let you depart with internal injuries.”
The demon cultivator’s gaze fixed on my throat, lingering on the marks. They seemed to trouble him.
“…Thank you.”
I bowed my head and lifted the teacup, and Dang Jung asked.
“What sort of constitution?”
“The gift your clan desires so badly. Immunity to All Poisons.”
“Ah, so poison has no effect on you.”
“Precisely. Poison and antidote are separated by the thinnest line.”
“Immunity to All Poisons? Then this Dang Clan descendant is stronger than you, isn’t she?”
Peng Lak’s eyes sparkled as he looked between me and Dang Jung. Ok Hwan, too, wore an intrigued expression.
“Does the young lady study the Poison Art?”
“Yes. I’ve learned a little.”
“Goodness. Did you hear that, Dang Jung? Hwa Yeon would be so envious.”
“…Hwa Yeon cannot.”
“You’re being stubborn again. With Hwa Yeon’s talent, she’d breeze through the Martial Alliance entrance exam. Isn’t that a waste? Just teach her.”
“That girl must go to Hubei. And besides—what man would want a wife who works with poison? If I taught her carelessly, she’d only invite scorn from her future in-laws.”
“That’s your stubbornness talking. Dang Jung. Must a woman spend her life fixed on a man alone? Does Hwa Yeon strike you as someone who’d wish for that?”
Ok Hwan shook her head slowly.
Yet she smiled, gently stroking Dang Jung’s cheek with tender affection in her eyes.
Even his stubborn mouth seemed endearing to her.
“Ugh, I’m getting goosebumps. Elder, just hurry and arrange the betrothal already. Every time you two make eye contact, you’re practically aflame—why not marry already?”
Peng Lak rubbed his arms with a theatrical shudder and stepped back from the pair.
Ok Hwan laughed brightly and flicked his forehead with her finger.
“Lak, you’re a slippery one, aren’t you? Do you even know what it means to burn with passion?”
Gui Shen-ui, watching the three of them converse, wore a face as gentle as spring sunlight.
But knowing what consequences Dang Jung’s choice had led to, I found the entire gathering unbearably uncomfortable.
I swallowed hard and hid my face behind the teacup.
What was Gui Shen-ui thinking?
Had he endlessly repeated these conversations with lingering spirits? Why had he created such an illusion in Bidonge?
Judging by how he’d tried to slaughter me for witnessing something I shouldn’t have, even Gui Shen-ui must know that this sorcery defies all reason.
The oppressive atmosphere made my toes curl inward. As cold sweat began to bead on my skin, Gui Shen-ui asked in a languid voice.
“Does the tea not suit your palate?”
His words might have sounded kind, but his gaze was glacial—a warning not to betray any strange emotions.
“Oh, no! It’s delicious!”
I forced my stiff lips upward and gulped down the tea.
Noticing my discomfort, Dang Jung turned his gaze between me and Gui Shen-ui before speaking.
“Who is your master?”
“My master is…….”
“The Poison King.”
Gui Shen-ui cut me off and answered instead. Dang Jung’s brow furrowed as he pressed further.
“The old codger that Seol Yak despises most?”
“Yes. That insufferable old fool. Now I’m entangled with his disciple—how irritating.”
“Cough, cough!”
I hastily covered my mouth at Dang Jung’s words.
……That’s my grandfather, though.
When my coughing didn’t subside, Dang Jung patted my back matter-of-factly and spoke.
“I understand your feelings, but don’t curse your master in front of his disciple. It’ll startle my granddaughter. She’s still young.”
“Precisely because she’s young—she should know clearly. That her master’s notorious reputation might become a millstone around her neck.”
Gui Shen-ui glared at me as he replied, his gaze fierce as a predator’s. My body instinctively shrank back.
“It would be wise not to carelessly claim elsewhere that you’re the Poison King’s disciple. Your master made many enemies in his time. It would be a shame to die on account of your master’s grudges, wouldn’t it? Most of them are dead now, but one never knows what the future holds.”
The warning—’I also harbor resentment toward your master’—made me quickly nod my head.
Gui Shen-ui clearly did not hold my grandfather in favor.
Yet if that were the case, why had he fashioned the Dang Jung from his memories into a lingering spirit?
My expression must have darkened, for Dang Jung grew irritated.
“I told you not to frighten the child. Why are you trying to scare her?”
“When did I frighten her? I merely spoke the truth.”
“Cheoncheon, Seol Yak. Why must you quarrel? We have a guest—it’s a pleasant day. Let’s simply enjoy our tea together, shall we?”
The two who had been raising their voices quieted at Ok Hwan’s mediation, though they continued to smolder.
“Fine. You’ve always put family first. Now you see a child you’ve never met before, declare her Dang blood, and shield her without a second thought.”
“What? Where is this coming from? Whenever the Poison King’s name surfaces, you turn your anger on me. Is it my fault that my family member has a foul disposition?”
It’s grandfather’s fault. It is grandfather…….
Regardless, Gui Shen-ui pretended not to hear and sipped his tea.
It seemed Gui Shen-ui had not revealed that Dang Jung was the Poison King.
……He’s been cursing the man right to his face this whole time. This one has a wretched personality too.
Though I’d eaten nothing, my stomach felt distended and queasy. As my complexion turned ashen, Peng Lak regarded me intently.
“Miss, are you all right? You look unwell.”
“I’m fine. I must have drunk the tea too quickly.”
“Did their quarrel startle you? Those two carry on like irreconcilable enemies, yet the moment battle begins, they move as one—remarkable, really.”
“Oh……. They work together so well?”
That was curious.
I’d never once seen my grandfather coordinate with another martial artist.
Seeing my interest, Peng Lak grew animated, gesturing as he continued his explanation.
“Seol Yak’s sword technique is quite elaborate, you see. While the enemy is dazzled by her blade, the elder one deploys hidden projectiles—whoosh! The foes crumble like autumn leaves. Watching from the side, it’s quite a spectacle.”
Peng Lak lowered his voice and whispered.
“This is a secret, but the elder one has yet to defeat Seol Yak…….”
“Defeat? If I’d used poison, I’d have won long ago!”
Dang Jung’s voice burst out sharply. At his vehement reaction, something clicked for me.
Could it be that my grandfather had despised swordsmen for this reason……?
‘Beautiful, and how. Yes, far different from the crude boasting of those ignorant blade-slingers.’
‘All those sword-wielders are insufferable.’
It was because of Gui Shen-ui. He’d disliked it because of her.
“Haha, you two really…….”
Just as Peng Lak began to chuckle and speak of their story, Gui Shen-ui snapped his fingers.
Snap!
In the same instant, the three figures who had been moving with laughter froze in place. The world around them stilled as if time itself had stopped.
The forms of the three wavered, and suddenly I found myself standing in a dark cave.
In the heavy silence, only the Ghost Spirit Immortal and I moved.
The Ghost Spirit Immortal looked down at me with cold eyes.
“You seem to be enjoying yourself? Well then, what do you think of having glimpsed the secrets of this seat? Disciple of the Poison King.”
At the voice, frozen as ice, I quickly lowered my head.
“I wasn’t trying to spy deliberately. I apologize for the disrespect.”
“The Dang Clan has been disrespectful for days without end—your apology is unnecessary. What I’m curious about is the intent of your master in sending you.”
“…… What? No, that’s not it! My grandfather didn’t send me! I came here by accident……!”
“This seat does not care for lies. Why did the Poison King send you? To protest my ignoring his letter?”
The Ghost Spirit Immortal wore a twisted smile.
Grandfather sent a letter? But he was supposed to be in closed seclusion?
He seemed to have reached his conclusion before hearing my answer, muttering to himself.
“Well, the reason hardly matters. I need only rush to Sichuan and seize that old beast by the collar. …… Perhaps it wouldn’t be so bad to end in mutual destruction this time. We have lived far too long, after all.”
Mutual destruction—those were not words one spoke lightly, and never without the bitterest enmity. I ventured to ask carefully.
“Surely…… weren’t you and grandfather friends?”
At that, the Ghost Spirit Immortal’s expression became terrifying. A sinister aura poured from him as he growled.
“What nonsense. Since your wretched master severed Ok Hwan’s breath, this seat has not regarded him as a friend for even a single day.”
I went deathly pale as I looked up at the Ghost Spirit Immortal.
What was this he was saying?
Ok Hwan wasn’t killed by the Demonic Cult?

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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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