Surviving as the Sacheon Dang Clan’s Servant - Chapter 61

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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 61
Startled by Dang On Jeong’s momentum, the young master burrowed into my sleeve.
Hey, stop—that tickles. That tickles. Come on.
As I twisted and flinched, Dang Jung exhaled a long sigh as if he couldn’t take it anymore.
I’m not doing it on purpose—it really does tickle.
Dang Jung turned his gaze from me to Dang On Jeong, shaking his head with a tsk-tsk.
“Do you really need to say it aloud to know that? Even your husband can’t manage you and runs away every other day—why would I entrust my precious disciple to you?”
“Mong Rang didn’t run away. He goes out for fresh air. He’s just taking an excursion because he misses Seo-an.”
“That fool Mong abandoned his own Seongdo family and took a wife. A man born the son of a high official, living without want, can’t find peace settling into his wife’s household. Stop your sulking and learn to cherish him properly.”
“Tsk. And what would you know about married life, sir? You’ve never married yourself.”
“Even without marriage, I know that carrying on like you do makes a husband bolt. Go out to the market and grab a five-year-old child—ask them if they wouldn’t run away too.”
“Sir!”
Dang On Jeong stomped her feet as if to say he was being unreasonable, pouting loudly.
Listening to the two of them, I rolled my eyes.
So Grandfather had never married. That’s new.
‘I’d like to marry with Dang Un.’
The image of that little girl flashed into my mind, and I shook my head frantically. The sight of Peng Lak laughing about how it was high time Dang Jung took a wife also came and went.
Absolutely not. That’s forbidden bloodline breeding.
Dang On Jeong, who had been grumbling, spoke with sudden coldness.
“I’ll handle the matter with Mong Rang myself. In any case, I simply must take this child to the Dok Wang Dang.”
“I refuse.”
“That’s for Sohye to decide. What do you say, Sohye? Won’t you come to the Dok Wang Dang? Your aunt will treat you well.”
“Ha ha. Thank you for looking upon me so kindly, Lady Dang. But I’m afraid I still know so little that I can’t answer hastily…”
“What? What’s there to think about? Where else could there be a faction more suited to you than this!”
Dang On Jeong raised her voice sharply, as if baffled by the question.
I laughed quietly to myself. It’s just—I don’t want to touch bugs.
Seeing how they’d planted poison plants on the mountainside, they probably keep venomous insects and snakes separately too, and I had absolutely no desire to handle such things.
I’d much rather go to the Medicine Pavilion.
…Though is dealing with bugs really better than being around Dang Ju Hui? Why are all my options terrible?
Seeing my discomfort, Dang Jung waved his hand dismissively.
“On Jeong, stop making a fuss and get out. Sohye needs to rest.”
“Already? That’s too much, sir. I come so rarely—you won’t even give me a Dang Confection before throwing me out? When I was young, you were so fond of me and always gave me them.”
“Is that so? Are you still at the age for sweets? At forty, there’s no excuse for wanting Dang Confections.”
Dang Jung snorted as if it was absurd, but seeing him rummage through his sleeve, I suspected they were the type to bicker as a matter of habit.
Dang On Jeong bit into the Dang Confection he’d offered without hesitation, her eyes growing wide.
“Sir, the confection tastes strange?”
“What do you mean?”
“Why is there no poison in it? You always used to add a bit of Yeoro Juice.”
At Dang On Jeong’s question, Dang Jung sealed his lips. He glanced at me before offering an awkward smile—the expression of someone with something to hide.
“It doesn’t taste like the one I remember, and somehow it feels disappointing. You used to poison all sorts of snacks to build my tolerance, starting when I was little. I still sometimes think about when you’d brush Fugu Poison on my candy holder. My tongue would tingle so much.”
Lost in nostalgia, Dang On Jeong laughed warmly. Unable to let pass this past that couldn’t be ignored, I asked quietly.
“…Grandfather, did the Dang Confection you gave me when we first met have poison in it?”
“….”
Dang Jung looked away.
Right. This old man deliberately poisoned it and fed it to me to be certain of whether I had genuine Poison Immunity before he was convinced.
“Ahem—this old man is weary. Stop your chatter and be gone. Sohye, you should return and rest as well.”
At my fierce gaze, Dang Jung cleared his throat and issued his dismissal.
I left his chambers with a sullen expression.
* * *
“…So that’s why Grandfather pretended not to know and sent me away. He definitely gave me a poisoned confection.”
“Ha ha, our Sohye. Was it that disappointing?”
At my complaining, Dang Un burst into laughter.
“Growing up in the Dang Family, it’s not easy to avoid poisoned food. Before you’ve tasted the same dish outside, you won’t even know it’s poison. You’ll just think that’s how it’s supposed to taste.”
“Was it the same for you, brother?”
“My health was never good, so I never had to eat poison. But when Ju Hui visited my chambers, she ate a Snow Cake with no poison in it and was shocked. She asked why the Snow Cake wasn’t spicy, then finished an entire basket right there.”
“Sister did that?”
“Yes. It was when Ju Hui was seven years old. After that, she fussed about not wanting to eat poison for a while, giving our stepmother quite a bit of trouble.”
Dang Un spoke gently, as if recalling fond memories.
Seven-year-old Dang Ju Hui throwing a tantrum about not wanting to eat poison—I could hardly imagine it.
So there was a reason behind the habit of poisoning everyone else. Maybe from being forced to eat poison as a child, she developed the twisted reasoning that if she alone had to suffer it, no one else should be spared.
But that didn’t mean my irritation simply melted away. I let out a grumble.
“Still, how could you so casually give me a snack laced with poison? That’s too much. I never thought you’d do that to me, Grandfather.”
“Ha ha, don’t dwell on it too much. It’s all in the past now.”
“And the training too. These days you don’t give me a moment’s rest—just push me all day long. I’m exhausted to death. Where in this world is there a master who makes you train from the moment you wake until the moment you sleep?”
At that, Dang Un grabbed my cheek and stretched it as if to say I shouldn’t speak like that.
“Where else would you find a teacher as good as your grandfather? Sohye doesn’t understand yet, that’s why you think like that. There are so many terrible masters in this world who treat their disciples like servants.”
Dang Un shook his head and continued.
“Cook the meals, do the laundry, clean the house, chop firewood. At the drop of a hat, it’s errands for wine, utterly pointless tasks. Some lunatics even saddle their disciples with gambling debts.”
Now that I thought about it, the protagonist’s eccentric old master seemed to behave exactly like that.
“When a disciple can’t endure it anymore and tries to flee, the master drags them back and coaxes them gently. He says it’s all part of the training, that he’ll soon teach the Absolute Martial Art. Shamelessly lying just to get them back to doing chores.”
“Ah…”
“Then those children with nowhere else to go perk up again. By that point, all the suffering feels too precious to abandon. But can you really become a master under such a teacher? You just end up becoming a competent domestic servant, nothing more.”
Come to think of it, he had a point.
Seeing my expression brighten, Dang Un laughed heartily.
“Well, if a child has a solid foundation and keen perception, they might become a master regardless. But someone with such natural talent would have become a master under any teacher. In a way, meeting the wrong master is like having one’s wings clipped. At least you won’t face that problem, will you? You’re receiving the secret arts of one of the Ten Masters of the Martial World, after all.”
Dang Un stroked my head as if to soothe my worries.
“Your grandfather is concerned about you. He wants you to become strong enough to protect yourself as soon as possible.”
I sighed and nodded.
I wasn’t unaware of Grandfather’s feelings. I knew he treasured me and wanted me to grow stronger.
My head understood, but since my body ached, I couldn’t help but pout like a spoiled child.
As I seemed to accept his words, Dang Un’s eyes grew gentle.
“Don’t be too upset. At least the poisons the Dang Family gives you are meant to elevate children’s martial power. In my mother’s clan, they used poison to try to kill me.”
“What? You mean the Jegal Family poisoned you? Why?”
Startled, I pressed for an explanation, and Dang Un’s smile turned cold.
“Who knows. I’m not entirely certain myself. Perhaps my mother—the Jegal Family’s most cherished treasure—didn’t want to see herself suffering because of me?”
“……”
Damn. I’d said the wrong thing.
I laughed awkwardly and stammered.
“I, I see.”
“If you ever venture into the Martial World, I advise you not to associate with the Jegal Family. It’s crawling with dullards who think they’re geniuses.”
“Yes, I understand.”
“Of course, if you wish to learn schemes and machinations, it wouldn’t hurt to associate with them. Spending a month or so as a guest scholar with the Jegal Family would be good experience. You’d learn just how foolish and selfish humans can be.”
“…Brother, are you not on good terms with your relatives from the Jegal side?”
“It’s merely an objective assessment. Surely I wouldn’t harbor feelings toward family, would I?”
Dang Un covered his mouth and laughed.
Overflowing with feelings. More than overflowing—they were spilling out everywhere. I’d made a mistake.
I hurriedly changed the subject.
“Ah ha ha, Brother. Ju Hui told me that after a Coming of Age Ceremony, you have to choose an affiliation. Which organization do you belong to?”
“Oh, me? I registered with the Archive Pavilion. The Master there was kind enough to let me come by only once every seven days or so.”
“Ah, that suits you perfectly.”
A librarian—it was a position that fit the composed Dang Un perfectly.
“Sohye, you’re at an age where you should choose your affiliation soon. Have you given any thought to which place?”
“I’m still not sure. The Master of the Dok Wang Dang keeps asking me to join, but I’m hesitant about handling poisons. And I’m not sure I have the aptitude to become a physician if I join the Medicine Pavilion.”
“Sohye, you’re composed enough that you’d excel in either. Your Coming of Age Ceremony is still a year or two away, so take your time thinking it over.”
“Yes.”
“But your aunt won’t leave you alone. She was upset about losing Ju Hui to the Medicine Pavilion. She’ll try to bring you to the Dok Wang Dang by any means necessary, so prepare yourself mentally.”
The moment I recalled Dang On Jeong’s sharp, piercing voice, my ears began to burn.
…I probably should avoid going anywhere near the Dok Wang Dang.

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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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