The Heavenly Demon Cult’s Strongest Maid - Chapter 122

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 122

“Are you saying the real culprit was the Namgung Family?”

Seo-ryeon’s jaw dropped at the revelation of the true perpetrator’s identity.

And rightfully so, as the Namgung Family was considered the foremost among the Five Great Families, the most famous five clans in Gangho.

The family head Namgung Cheon was one of the Ten Martial Arts Masters, known as the Righteous Sword Master, and was widely renowned for his upright and just character befitting a pillar of the Jeongpa.

To think that such a person would annihilate an entire sect and pin the blame on Grandmother was shocking even for a demonic practitioner.

Cheon-gang said nothing but had a similar reaction.

Only Eok I-geon listened calmly without any emotional disturbance.

“It wasn’t just the Namgung Family. Rather, it was the Moyong Family that relentlessly pursued me.”

“Two of the Five Great Families targeted Tang Grandmother?”

“Namgung Cheon and Moryong Gil were childhood friends, and their grandson and granddaughter are betrothed, so they’ll soon be in-laws.”

Eok Grandfather’s tone was as cold as the northern wind and snow as he explained.

“The strong friendship of evil people – how amusing, isn’t it?”

When I spoke with an equally cold tone, Seo-ryeon’s eyes flashed dangerously.

Just hearing about it seemed to make her angry.

‘That’s my line.’

Grandmother continued with the same expression as Eok Grandfather.

“The Moyong Family pursued me, while the Namgung Family used that opportunity to seize control of the Martial Arts Alliance. It was officially announced before I could even return to the Alliance. Cornered as I was, the only thing I could do was head to my family home.”

“Ryeong-i, I don’t know if you’re aware, but there was definitely a deal between Yang Gun-cheol, who was the Alliance Leader at the time, and Namgung Cheon. You can tell by how excessively the Divine Spear Yang Family prospered afterward.”

Eok Grandfather said he had investigated in various ways to clear Grandmother’s false accusations until his body collapsed from the extreme yin poison.

The Divine Spear Yang Family, which prides itself as the world’s greatest spear clan, has indeed accumulated wealth approaching that of the Five Great Families.

‘Those bastards.’

“What evidence did the Martial Arts Alliance claim to have that Tang Grandmother was the culprit? Was it perhaps the hidden weapons thrown during the fight with the Namgung Family martial artist at Sword Cry Manor?”

Eok Grandfather answered Eok I-geon’s question.

“The hidden weapons were part of it, but poison was added to them. No matter how exceptional Ryeong-ryeong was, she didn’t have the skill to single-handedly annihilate Sword Cry Manor. But if she were a master of poison arts, that would be a different story.”

“Ah.”

Seo-ryeon’s sigh was more than enough to convey understanding.

What martial artists fear most is poison.

Poison is especially advantageous when facing multiple opponents alone.

“The dead cannot speak, but corpses leave traces of the cause of death. Those bastards burned all the bodies along with the manor and claimed Ryeong-ryeong did it. They said small amounts of hidden weapons and poison were detected.”

“But wouldn’t that alone be insufficient? Anyone could fabricate such evidence.”

Exactly.

Up to that point, even the Martial Arts Alliance would have found it difficult to act rashly.

There was very decisive evidence that led to Grandmother being branded a public enemy of the martial arts world.

“….”

Grandmother’s complexion visibly darkened.

How painful must the wound have been from being betrayed by a colleague she trusted more than anyone?

‘But Grandmother, that person had his reasons too.’

That doesn’t mean he wasn’t wrong, though.

That man wasn’t the type who could live comfortably after committing a sin.

“Hwangbo Un.”

Eok Grandfather spoke the name as if grinding it between his teeth.

“We must find that bastard.”

“…You mean the one who was supposedly the vice-leader of the Dark Four?”

“That bastard gave false testimony claiming it was our Ryeong-ryeong’s doing. Besides him, several others who claimed to work at Sword Cry Manor also pointed to Ryeong-ryeong, but Hwangbo Un’s testimony was the most decisive.”

Grandmother said she didn’t believe it at first.

As far as she knew, Hwangbo Un was absolutely not that kind of person, and she believed until the end that there must be some misunderstanding.

However, Hwangbo Un’s testimony was quite specific and realistic.

Adding a bit of falsehood to the truth usually makes it more convincing.

Hwangbo Un’s statement was exactly like that.

“When the leader didn’t return after going to retrieve Bang Si-u who hadn’t come back, he went to Sword Cry Manor himself out of concern, only to find me spreading poison and committing slaughter. He said seeing me laughing while holding something in my hand was like looking at a different person, and that’s what he reported to the Alliance.”

Though calm, Grandmother’s voice still carried sadness.

“Was what you were holding in your hand the root cause of all this trouble?”

“Do you know about the Punghon Pill?”

“Of course! It’s known to rival Shaolin Temple’s Daehwandan!”

“They said our Ryeong coveted it. The one that Sword Cry Manor possessed.”

A credible witness and even a spiritual medicine had appeared.

Though the sect was now destroyed, Punghon-mun’s Punghon Pill had once shaken Gangho enough to remain deeply etched in many martial artists’ hearts.

All martial artists yearn for spiritual medicines.

The existence of the non-existent Punghon Pill provided a plausible motive for Grandmother’s alleged evil deeds.

“So the Namgung Family annihilated Sword Cry Manor to obtain the Punghon Pill?”

“No. That’s not it.”

Grandmother shook her head firmly.

“No matter how much it rivals Daehwandan, they wouldn’t have done that to an entire sect for just that. Sword Cry Manor was a martial family established in the same Anhui Province as the Namgung Family. Because of this, they had always maintained close relations with the Namgung Family. There must definitely be something else!”

‘That’s right, Grandmother! It’s not that!’

I thought Grandmother had been misunderstanding that it was because of the Punghon Pill, but she wasn’t!

As expected of Shin Geum, so smart!

Unable to act like I knew first, I had been frustrated to death, but now I finally felt like I could breathe.

“Father, Bang Si-u said he had something he wanted to consult with me about a few days before the incident. He was trying to seek help from the Dang Family, not me personally. We need to find out what that was.”

This is where I should jump in.

I deliberately spoke loudly as I interjected.

“It’s obvious! I can roughly picture it!”

“Obvious?”

“Grandmother, do you know why they call Gangho ruthless?”

I recited something I had read in some martial arts novel as if it were my own thought.

“Divine weapons, martial arts manuals, spiritual medicines.”

I held up three fingers.

“These three things make it that way. Everyone risks their lives fighting to get them!”

“So Seolha, are you saying it was the Punghon Pill after all?”

“No!”

Why is the conversation going back there again?

“If it wasn’t just that, then something far more tremendous was discovered in Sword Cry Manor’s ancestral grounds. That’s it! Something so amazing and incredible that Sword Cry Manor couldn’t handle it.”

“…Could it be that they consulted the Namgung Family first instead of the Dang Family?”

Oh, Seo-ryeon!

Such a perfect line at this timing – how touching.

“So the Namgung Family swept away Sword Cry Manor and swallowed it up?”

‘Yes, that’s exactly it!’

At Eok I-geon’s words, I found myself nodding endlessly without realizing it.

You need to know the proper motive to find a solution. Now I had to guide Grandmother to that method.

“If Young Master’s deduction is correct, should we infiltrate the Namgung Family and steal it?”

Seo-ryeon was doing well but then stumbled.

“What if we get branded as thieves instead? There’s no proof it belonged to Sword Cry Manor. What if the Namgung Family claims it’s theirs?”

“Ah, my thinking was shallow. I got too caught up in it… I’m sorry, Tang Grandmother.”

Just as Seo-ryeon was bowing her head in apology.

“Is this Hwangbo Un still with the Martial Arts Alliance?”

Eok I-geon brought the conversation back to the starting point.

That was what I wanted to say too.

“He vanished, or rather, went into hiding.”

“…?”

“Not long after Ryeong-i became like that, he disappeared too. I’ve had people watching the Hwang-bo Clan, but we haven’t been able to find any trace of him until now.”

“Could he possibly be dead?”

“I don’t know. However, all the other witnesses except Hwangbo Un lost their lives for various reasons. It seems the Namgung Family dealt with them.”

They had taken preemptive action to prevent any potential incidents.

‘They’re as cunning as Eok I-geon.’

“Then we need to find that bastard Hwangbo Un. Right, Great-great-grandfather?”

“If he’s alive, then yes. If only he would admit to perjury himself, we could prove Ryeong-i’s innocence. Of course, that’s unlikely to happen.”

We’ll see about that.

It’s too early to make guarantees yet.

“But how do we find someone we don’t even know is dead or alive after 17 years? Even Elder Am-wang has been trying all this time, and if you haven’t found him, it must be difficult.”

“Still, we have to try.”

Everyone must have heard the saying that it’s darkest under the lamp.

In fact, Hwangbo Un was not far from us.

Regretting his past.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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