Chapter 19. Unexpected News (1)
Even though night had fallen, the Tang Clan estate appeared busier than it had been during the day. There was an odd, tense atmosphere in the air.
"Is something going on?"
"I'm not sure. Anyway, we were supposed to have dinner with Father and Brother tonight, so we can ask them about it then."
"Hm."
Nodding, I followed Tang Sowol past the outer residence and into the inner residence. It was at that moment that we locked eyes with Tang Cheong.
"Prepare everything carefully. Since the Patriarch will personally accompany you, focus more on hidden weapons than poison, understood?"
Tang Cheong, who appeared to be instructing martial artists at least twice his age with a serious expression, brightened up as soon as he noticed us.
"Sowol! My dear sister!"
Pausing his conversation with the warriors, Tang Cheong strode quickly toward us, spreading his arms wide.
"Rejoice! We've uncovered the mastermind behind those who dared to target your life!"
"Oh, so that's what happened."
Tang Sowol nodded as if understanding everything, while I couldn't help but freeze in shock.
It was because, before my regression, she had told me there hadn't been any mastermind behind the attack.
Back then, even though Tang Jincheon, the Poison King himself, had vowed revenge and personally set out to exact it, the matter ultimately fizzled out after dealing with a few minor accomplices.
But now, they claimed to have found the mastermind. Something was unfolding differently from what I knew.
The Tang Clan wouldn't falsely accuse someone of being the mastermind without reason, so something unexpected must have occurred to alter the course of events.
"Ah."
I see.
In the past timeline, it had been widely known that Tang Sowol returned to the Tang Clan in a critical state. Rumors about her being severely injured, even having her face disfigured, had spread far and wide.
In contrast, this time, the incident had only caused an uproar within the Tang Clan when contact with her had been lost. To the outside world, it likely appeared as if she had simply returned early from a mundane trip into the martial world.
At best, those who knew more might assume that a man had appeared, prompting the Poison King to personally bring the two of them back.
Only the Tang Clan and possibly the Beggar's Sect, whom they had sought assistance from, knew the full truth.
In other words, before the mastermind could fully grasp how things had concluded, they were exposed.
In the previous timeline, the widespread rumors about Tang Sowol would have given the culprit enough time to make a clean getaway.
Of course, this might not be the case. I wasn't particularly skilled at complex reasoning. Still, if Tang Cheong's words were true, and there really was a mastermind who had targeted Tang Sowol's life…
I needed to see for myself who these people were.
"Don't worry too much. They dared to touch a direct member of the Tang Clan. Father himself will act, so not a single one of them will escape."
Although Tang Cheong was smiling, his voice was as sharp and cold as a drawn blade. No one held grudges as fiercely as the Tang Clan.
Nodding inwardly, I asked,
"Brother, can you tell me who they are?"
"Hm? Since you were involved, I suppose there's no reason to keep it from you."
Tang Cheong nodded, perhaps recalling how I had assisted Tang Sowol. His tone was noticeably softer than usual as he continued.
"You'll hear the full details from Father during dinner, but to get straight to the point… It's the Demonic Cult."
"What?"
"Those lunatics, obsessed with revenge, have crept back into Zhongyuan and dared to plot against Sowol."
For a moment, my mind went blank.
At this point in time, it wasn't surprising that the Demonic Cult was being dismissed by others. From the very beginning, it was a group formed by powerless commoners driven by a desire for revenge after being trampled by martial artists.
Their numbers weren't large, and their combat prowess was, at best, on par with a single martial sect. Who would consider them a threat?
Had the Heavenly Demon, that unparalleled genius, not rewritten all of the Demonic Cult's martial arts and armed those vengeful souls with swords, they would have remained insignificant.
But for the Demonic Cult to appear now…
I didn't know why they had targeted Tang Sowol, but if the young man I had seen at the end—the Heavenly Demon, who looked far younger than his true age due to undergoing Reversal Rejuvenation—had already risen to the position of cult leader, then their objective was clear.
They were laying the groundwork for their invasion of Zhongyuan.
As that thought struck me, my jaw clenched involuntarily.
Grit.
If it was truly the Demonic Cult that had scarred half of Tang Sowol's face, nearly taken her life, and snatched away what little happiness she had managed to grasp at the end of her difficult life…
Then it was only right to return the favor.
Suppressing the killing intent that threatened to spill out, I opened my mouth.
"Brother, when will the sword you promised me be ready?"
"Oh, uh, ahem! I heard it was completed while you were out, so you should be able to pick it up now if you go to the forge."
"Thank you. I'll make good use of it."
After giving Tang Cheong a polite nod, I turned to Tang Sowol.
"Since it's ready, I'll stop by the forge for a moment. I'll come to your room in time for dinner."
"Huh? Oh, yes, sure… Alright."
Leaving the bewildered Tang Sowol behind, I headed toward the forge, which I had toured once before.
Deep within the inner residence of the Tang Clan, hidden away in an isolated corner, was a spacious building with an enormous waterwheel.
The sound of water flowing softly, diverted from the river into the Tang Clan estate solely to power the bellows, tickled my ears.
To an outsider, it might have seemed like a ridiculous, massive construction project. But for the Tang Clan, this was undoubtedly the best solution.
The Tang Clan is often referred to as the forefather of poisons and hidden weapons.
While not all poison techniques and hidden weapon arts originated from the Tang Clan, it's undeniable that they refined and developed them to an unparalleled degree.
These two elements—poisons and hidden weapons—are the twin pillars supporting the Sichuan Tang Clan. However, they also have a significant weakness:
Poisons and hidden weapons rely heavily on their unpredictability.
While a strong foundation is essential for all martial arts, poisons and hidden weapons are particularly vulnerable to countermeasures.
If an opponent knows which poison is being used, they can prepare an antidote in advance. And if they know what type of hidden weapons to expect and how they'll be thrown, it becomes much easier to defend against them.
Thus, the Tang Clan has always maintained a strict policy of secrecy.
Although they sometimes purchase rare poisons or ingredients from the outside, most of their poisons and antidotes are produced and formulated internally at the Hall of Ten Thousand Poisons, making it nearly impossible for outsiders to deduce their compositions.
Likewise, they didn't build their forge by the riverside like most others. Doing so would have risked leaking information about their hidden weapons. But without a waterwheel-powered bellows, the forge's fire would be too unstable.
So, someone in the Tang Clan had come up with an idea: since the estate was large enough, why not dig a channel to bring the river into the forge?
The scale of digging a channel large enough to power a waterwheel must have been enormous, but the Tang Clan's wealth made it possible.
At least, that's how Tang Sowol had proudly explained it to me the last time we visited.
What had impressed me, however, was something else entirely.
Typically, technology advances through exchange. Even martial arts evolve through sparring, as evidenced by the existence of open sparring matches.
Yet, despite maintaining such a high level of secrecy, the Tang Clan had developed technology that was unmatched.
Even the assassins of Sal Valley, a group so ancient that no one could trace their origins, had to admit defeat when it came to poisons and hidden weapons in front of the Tang Clan.
Among hidden weapons, there are cases where their craftsmanship alone, regardless of martial prowess, determines their power.
For example, though I had never seen them myself, there were tales of Soul-Chasing Flying Butterflies, which flew unpredictably like butterflies while scattering poison.
Or Invisible Steel Threads, razor-thin steel wires drawn so fine they couldn't be seen by the naked eye.
And then there were hidden weapons that exploded without warning, such as Ink-Smoke Needle Barrels.
Before my regression, Tang Sowol primarily used poison techniques, not only because she had a natural affinity for poison, but also because, after the Tang Clan's annihilation, it had become nearly impossible to reproduce the clan's secret hidden weapons.
With high expectations, I arrived in front of the forge. Through the wide-open doors, a wave of heat washed over me, accompanied by the clamor of metal being struck from all directions.
The sight of molten metal, freshly pulled from the furnace and glowing red, being struck by hammers until sparks flew like tears was almost mesmerizing.
A little further away, I noticed some elderly smiths carrying roughly shaped hidden weapons toward the back, where they would likely be completed.
Since I had already been given a tour by Tang Sowol, I was permitted to enter this far. However, the areas where complex and rare hidden weapons were completed were restricted to direct members of the Tang Clan.
I approached a young apprentice who was bustling about with various tasks and called out to him.
"Excuse me, do you have a moment?"
"Ah, y-yes! Uh… may I ask who you are?"
The apprentice, who looked to be around my age, responded promptly but cautiously, perhaps startled by my silk robes, which I was wearing for the outing.
"I heard that the young master prepared a sword for me, and that it's ready."
"Oh! You must be the one who saved our lady! Please wait a moment—I'll go inform my master!"
The apprentice gave a quick bow before dashing off to speak to a burly middle-aged man. He gestured animatedly as he relayed my story.
Though I couldn't hear them clearly over the constant ringing of hammers, it was obvious that the apprentice was talking about me.
At first, the middle-aged man, who seemed used to such interruptions, paid little attention. But then he flinched, turned toward me, and after putting down his hammer, disappeared for a moment before returning with a sword I hadn't seen before.
Though I hadn't yet drawn the blade, just from the hilt and scabbard, I could tell it was an impressive weapon.
As he stood before me, the smith, with deep-set eyes, spoke.
"You're brimming with killing intent."
"Was it that obvious?"
"When a person exudes an aura like that of a sword, most martial artists would say they're drenched in killing intent."
"I thought I was suppressing it, so that's a bit surprising."
"I've spent my life forging blades. Even if it isn't pointed at me, I can recognize an unsheathed sword when I see one."
With those words, he handed me the sword.
"It's forged from White Lotus Steel. Would you like to draw it?"
"Of course."
I unsheathed the sword, focusing on the feel of it in my hand.
The grip was comfortable and secure, while the scabbard offered no resistance as the blade slid out. The silver gleam of the blade reflected my face, and the sharp edge was pleasing to behold.
It wasn't made from any rare material, just high-quality steel that had been repeatedly tempered.
As such, the craftsmanship of the smith was evident. It was clear that this man was a skilled artisan.
Had the materials been better, it could easily have been called a masterpiece.
"It's an excellent sword. I'd heard that the Tang Clan had many outstanding smiths, but I didn't expect such a fine weapon to be crafted in such a short time."
"Though the Tang Clan focuses on poisons and hidden weapons, that doesn't mean our warriors don't wield swords. I'm glad it meets your satisfaction."
The smith offered a faint smile before asking in a casual tone,
"So, what will be the first thing you cut with that sword?"
"My enemies. The ones who dared to target my fiancée."
"I see… the lady's enemies."
The smith nodded and curled one corner of his mouth into a smirk.
"For a first target, I can't think of anything more fitting."
I couldn't agree more.