The Red Dragon Martial Emperor - Chapter 170

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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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Red Dragon and Endless Emperor Chapter 170

Chapter 170 — Heir of the Poison King

The crowd filling the marketplace parted left and right as a cart pulled by a single ox rolled into view.
Yi Hwan’s eyes fixed upon the corpses heaped upon the cart.
Five bodies in all—stripped naked, limbs hanging loose and askew as the cart rattled forward.
“Ahhhhh!”
“The dead!”
Clack! Clack!
The cart rolled serenely through the heart of the marketplace. From the adjoining room, the windows burst open and the rest of the company leaned out to see.
“Oh!”
None of them could hide their shock at the grotesque and horrifying sight.
It was then that Papa turned to Yi Hwan and sent forth a Sound Transmission.
[They appear to be officers of the Gold Guard!]
Yi Hwan studied Papa intently.
[The swords and helmets hanging from the cart—those are what the Gold Guard officers use.]
Now that he looked, indeed the cart was festooned with swords and helmets.
In that instant, Yi Hwan’s mind conjured the image of Yang Chan walking northward through the marketplace.
Yi Hwan’s gaze snapped to the opposite inn where Yang Chan was lodging. While people in every other room had flung open their windows to stare down at the street, that particular room alone kept its shutters closed.
‘At this point, “strange” hardly covers it. “Suspicious” is more like it.’
Yi Hwan’s eyes returned to the marketplace below. At that moment, warriors he assumed to be from the Zhao Kingdom’s Gold Guard came rushing toward the cart.
Their shock and horror upon sight of the bodies on the cart only confirmed Papa’s words.
Yi Hwan turned to Cheol Mu-ok.
“Go down and find out what you can.”
“Yes.”
Cheol Mu-ok and Ju-tae slipped out.
When they returned some time later, they brought intelligence that made Yi Hwan’s ears perk up.
“They are the commander of the Gold Guard Regional Command Center and his subordinate officers. All of them appear to have fallen to Poison Assassination. And the corpses bore a message inscribed upon them: that swift divine punishment would soon befall the violent and unprincipled Seo Nam Wang Zhao Yun.”
As Cheol Mu-ok spoke, Yi Hwan’s mind turned back to the Poison Assassination incidents that had unfolded over these past days.
‘Is it beginning again? And with the tournament just a day away?’
Papa’s expression hardened as he spoke.
“One of them is a man named Ban Noe—a figure counted among Seo Nam Wang’s innermost circle. He originally led combat units, but to see him elevated to commander of the regional headquarters suggests that all key posts have already been reshuffled to place Seo Nam Wang’s trusted men.”
“Anyone in his position would do the same. To seize absolute control, that’s the most crucial move. But if they’re striking at the Gold Guard itself, does this suggest a major force is moving?”
“Yes. The bodies reeked of liquor, suggesting they were taken down during a drinking session at their residence. Given the ranks of the dead, such an act would be absolutely impossible to accomplish with only a handful of conspirators.”
Yi Hwan had believed Zhao Yun was orchestrating these recent incidents to manufacture a charge of treason for his own gain. But seeing this today, he found himself wondering if a genuine traitorous faction might actually exist.
It was too extreme to dismiss as mere theater.
Cheol Mu-ok spoke.
“An incident of this magnitude should shake the entire kingdom. With matters unfolding like this, perhaps we need not involve ourselves at all.”
“Indeed. There is no crime greater than treason in a kingdom, so perhaps we ought simply to observe,” Ju-tae added.

Yi Hwan nodded silently. Then he turned to Go-mi and spoke.
“We’ll limit ourselves to gathering intelligence until it’s time to leave.”
“Understood.”
While the others seemed pleased, Papa’s expression alone grew heavy—weighted with a regret that longed to move, to interfere with Zhao Yun by any means necessary.
“All of you, return to your rooms and rest. Papa stays with me.”
“Yes!”
Everyone else withdrew to their rooms, leaving Papa alone with Yi Hwan. Yi Hwan’s gaze bore into him.
“My decision seems to weigh on you.”
“To be honest, it does. Not that I harbor any resentment toward the Grand Prince, of course. Only… I resent my own helplessness.”
“The Crown Prince is young. Time is on your side. Do you understand what I mean by that?”
“Waiting without hope becomes a torment worse than death for both His Highness and me. Though I myself can endure it… I wonder how much longer His Highness can bear to wait.”
Yi Hwan unstoppered a bottle of liquor and poured it into a wine cup.
Splash.
“Have a drink.”
“That’s not necessary.”
“Drink.”
“…Yes.”
Yi Hwan poured back two cups in succession.
Papa drank the next two cups as well. Yi Hwan fixed his gaze upon her and spoke with a note of resolve.
“My relationship with Zhao Yun is bound by fate. Of course, we stand as irreconcilable enemies. But that means I am Zhao Yun’s adversary, and Zhao Yun is your enemy—so we sail in the same boat, you and I.”
“……!”
“So wait. Wait until I move in earnest.”
“May I ask what you mean by being bound by fate to the Seo Nam Wang?”
“That comes later.”
Yi Hwan drained his cup and held Papa’s gaze steady.
“Mark this well—the Crown Prince must have you at his side. Should you fall, he would lose everything worth having.”
A resonance pierced through her chest like a blade.
Papa’s eyes trembled at the vibration that cut into her heart. In this moment, Yi Hwan spoke with genuine concern for the Crown Prince. At least, that is what she believed.
“Will you stand with His Highness?”
“As long as your Crown Prince does not walk a path I cannot abide.”
“And what path is it that you desire, Grand Prince?”
“That too I cannot speak of now. But as we walk forward together, you will come to see that we are not so different after all. I promise you this.”
A tremor ran through her.
Papa’s eyes wavered at those words. The word together stirred her heart. She bowed deeply.
“My master is His Highness, yet I shall follow you as a master as well. I swear this by the spirits—believe in me, Grand Prince.”
Yi Hwan smiled faintly.
“Then I shall.”

* * *

The Zhao Kingdom Palace.
As Zhao Yun received the report, anger kindled slowly in his eyes. When it concluded, cold emanated from him in waves.
The teacup frosted white beneath that chill, then shattered into fragments.
Crackle!
Two matters weighed upon him.
One was the gruesome death of a confidant who had overseen the Gold Guard Regional Command Center. The other was that Yi Hwan’s whereabouts remained unfound.
‘Did the Empress truly kill him?’
The thought inevitably surfaced. Otherwise, the trail could not have vanished so completely.
Zhao Yun reclined in his chair and let his gaze settle into shadow. In times past he would have shown his rage, but not now.
“The autopsy of the body is not yet complete. We ask your patience a while longer.”
“Is there any possibility the corpse belongs to the Fourth Prince?”
“The body is so severely damaged that I cannot speak with certainty at present. My apologies.”
“What of the one who attacked the Gold Guard Regional Command Center? What have you learned of his movements?”
“I regret to say we have found no trace of him whatsoever.”
Something shifted.
Zhao Yun’s brow curved slightly.
The middle-aged official studied his expression for a moment before continuing with difficulty.
“There was writing upon the body, Your Majesty—words I hesitate to report.”
“What words?”
“That heavenly punishment shall soon befall Your Majesty.”
In the depths of Zhao Yun’s eyes, a terrible light flickered and died.
“So this scheme was meant to draw in the Seo Nam Military, yet these fools truly dream of treason?”
“Now that their target is revealed to be Your Majesty, we must view matters with greater caution. Should these be genuine traitors, an Emergency Edict should be issued at once to restrict the movements of all officials and ministers. If even one of them harbors collusion with these conspirators, the crisis deepens immeasurably.”
“The Martial Arts Tournament begins tomorrow. An Emergency Edict? That would only undermine confidence rather than secure it. I will not hear such counsel.”
In truth, Zhao Yun had never intended to issue an Emergency Edict. He had merely sought to use fear of treason as leverage to summon the Seo Nam Military.
“Have the Seo Nam Military establish a double, triple cordon around the tournament grounds. When safeguarding the delegations from Yan and Jin, they must spare no effort.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
Zhao Yun sank deep into his chair, fingers interlaced, his gaze falling into fathomless darkness.
“Even with lax vigilance, how could an entire household be slaughtered and their bodies carried away without anyone knowing?”
“This point troubles me as well. With your permission, I would go and investigate the scene myself.”
“You have my leave. But see that rumors do not spread.”
“Measures have already been taken to contain them.”
“Go.”
“Yes, Your Majesty. I shall return shortly.”
The official departed. Zhao Yun, lost in thought for a moment, rose abruptly and opened the window.
Wind rushed inward with a keen whistle.
Against that wind, his gaze turned toward where the Emperor dwelt.
A seed of doubt beginning to sprout.
Its target was the Emperor.
‘Please, do not let me stain my hands with your blood, brother.’

* * *

Yang Chan’s eyes, gazing down at the marketplace caught in turmoil, were utterly expressionless.
‘I thought I had escaped the bonds of fate that weighed upon me, yet I have thrown myself into another destiny.’
He had resolved to break free from the cruel fate that had persisted for two centuries. So he had journeyed to Yunnan Province, where his ancestors’ homeland lay, and buried a symbolic object marking him as the heir of the Poison King, begging forgiveness from the earth itself.
‘I simply wanted to live an ordinary life, to forget it all…….’
All he had desired was to live plainly. But when he returned, the villagers he had lived alongside had been driven out, many of them—including children—had lost their lives in the chaos, and their ancestral lands had been seized by the Seo Nam Wang’s personal guard.
From that day until now, Yang Chan had killed many. Some of it was avenging the villagers, but it was also a brutal vengeance against those who had destroyed his own life—a life he had hoped to live peacefully, even as he renounced his very fate.
“Haah…….”
Yang Chan gazed up at the moonless night sky and exhaled a heavy sigh.
That was when it happened.
“Clear the way!”
A contingent of Blue-robed Personnel appeared in the marketplace.
The moment they arrived, the Gold Guard troops controlling the area bowed their heads in unison.
Yang Chan fixed his gaze on the middle-aged man who had appeared alongside the Blue-robed Personnel, pushing his hearing to its maximum.
The middle-aged man first examined the corpse lying in the cart. A Gold Guard commander spoke up.
“Poison assassination, sir.”
“Don’t interfere.”
“……Yes, sir.”
The commander stepped back.
The middle-aged man peeled back the corpse’s eyelids to examine the pupils. Only after inspecting every corner of the body with meticulous care did he lift his head.
“Move it to the Command Center.”
“Yes, sir!”
The Gold Guard began pulling the cart bearing the corpse northward through the marketplace. As they did, the restrictions were lifted, and the street began to bustle with people once more.
Yang Chan did not take his eyes off the middle-aged man.
‘The actions of one well-versed in poison.’
The middle-aged man had examined places that no one ignorant of poison would have thought to inspect with such precision.
Of course, this did not mean his identity would be exposed. In this world, only he himself knew that he was the heir of the Poison King.
The heir of the Poison King never keeps blood relatives. The iron law was to pass the legacy to only a single disciple, and this law had held for two hundred years.
But Yang Chan had not yet taken a disciple. Since he had resolved to renounce his destiny, there was no reason to do so.
He wanted the cruel fate that had lasted two hundred years to end with his generation.
Yang Chan turned his gaze back to the night sky.
Then, as if struck by lightning, he suddenly turned his head. His gaze fell upon Yi Hwan’s window.
Yi Hwan stood at the window. Their eyes met across the empty space between them, gazes intertwining.
‘Who is this?’
It was a face he had never seen before. Yet strangely, the look in those eyes seemed familiar.
Yang Chan hastily searched his memory. But no one came to mind.
This was hardly surprising—Yi Hwan had removed his Face Changing Disguise. So no matter how keen Yang Chan’s eyes were, he could not have recalled Yi Hwan from the Cloth Shop based on his gaze alone.
“Do you have business with me?”
Yang Chan asked abruptly.
Though spoken in a low voice, the words rang clear in Yi Hwan’s ears as though uttered from right beside him.

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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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