Part 1

Chapter 2. Clan Head of the Tang Clan of Sichuan

As the sun rose, faint outlines emerged through the fog. On the snow-white stone, resembling a snowy field, wooden pillars stood densely embedded.

The pillars varied in thickness and length. Some looked like hunched old men, some like giant warriors, and others like small beasts.

Swish.

A flying dagger flew from a martial artist’s fingertip and lodged into a pillar.

The blades poured down like rain, but there was a method of order. Not a single pillar had more than one knife stuck in it.

It was the hour of the hare, just as the sun began to rise.

Amid the slowly thinning fog, the head of the Tang Clan, Tang Ji-ha, was training.

Tang So-hwa took in the sight.

Overlapped with that image was the moment when her father, like Mount Tai, knelt before his son-in-law, young enough to be his own child.

So-hwa blinked slowly a few times as if to erase the lingering image before her eyes.

To her, her father was kind, but at the same time, cold and strong. However, in the hierarchy of the Murim, he was not the strongest person in the world.

Her father knew that well. And he was always striving to fill that sense of unease.

Wearing the face of a young girl untouched by the passage of time, Tang So-hwa stared at the Head of the Poison Sect, the Dark King, Tang Ji-ha.

Whik.

The final knife flew toward a small tree placed at the end of the white stone in the training grounds. Though many pillars in front blocked the small one from view, the knife gently curved its path and pierced through the tree.

Having finished his training, Tang Ji-ha walked through the fog and retrieved the flying daggers himself. It was to check whether any new holes had formed. He examined the results with careful eyes and placed the flying daggers back into a wooden case.

Click. As he closed the case, Tang Ji-ha murmured quietly.

“Couldn’t sleep?”

The Dark King’s gaze turned toward So-hwa.

So-hwa curled her lips and descended from the pavilion.

“It’s not a long story. I waited to speak with you on your way back to your residence…. You’re very busy, after all.”

So-hwa spoke stiffly, as if observing formalities, but as Tang Ji-ha furrowed his brows, she softened her tone.

Come to think of it, she hadn’t been that formal at this time. It would’ve seemed strange to Tang Ji-ha.

She struggled to recall the speech patterns of her younger self, which she could barely remember now, and hesitated in her words.

“You don’t have much time to sleep. I didn’t want to take up too much of it.”

“You taking up time—what’s that supposed to mean? Ah, are you going to say something and then run off on me? What kind of story is this, really? Haha.”

He laughed loudly as if it was absurd, then suddenly turned serious.

“The snake is no good. No matter what Hak-ah said to you, don’t even think of bringing it back.”

“… It’s not about that.”

“The squirrel… well, that’s acceptable.”

As if stepping back, Tang Ji-ha nodded and sighed. So-hwa quickly opened her mouth.

“I don’t care what Hak-ah is raising. I didn’t come to make that kind of request. … I didn’t.”

“Really? I was worried when I heard you’ve been staying at Hak-ah’s residence lately, but I’m glad to hear that. No matter how wealthy the Tang Clan is, I’m not generous enough to extend compassion to mere beasts. Brewing medicine for a chicken… does that make any sense?”

“I’m sorry.”

Because she had returned to the past, she’d grown sentimental toward Hak and had been doing absurd things. Hearing it from someone else’s mouth made it unbearably shameful.

So-hwa briefly considered whether it might be better to keep her distance from Tang Hak, as she had in the past.

Misunderstanding the darkened expression on his daughter’s face, Tang Ji-ha cleared his throat and changed the subject.

“I need to wash up first, so wait for me at Red Radiance Hall.”

Tang Ji-ha was particular about cleanliness.

His unchanged ways brought a slight smile to her lips.

“Yes. I’ll go ahead.”

“You won’t have to wait long.”

Tang Ji-ha turned his back.

Tang So-hwa watched her father’s receding figure for a long while. The faint smile on her lips quietly faded.

The father who couldn’t stand even a single stain on his clothes had once rushed all the way to Anhui, covered in dirt and blood, to protect the retainers fighting against the Demonic Sect. And he had likely known that Namgung Hyun wouldn’t aid the Tang Clan. Even so, he hadn’t shown any anger and returned to Sichuan, where the clan was still fighting.

He hadn’t had time to be angry.

She couldn’t even begin to imagine what the Clan Head had felt as he returned empty-handed.

Suppressing the rising fury, Tang So-hwa turned her steps away.

Tap.

The sound of footsteps engraved on a familiar place slowly calmed her emotions. By the time she exited the inner courtyard, Tang So-hwa had regained her composure.

The Tang Clan’s estate was divided into two areas: the inner courtyard and the outer courtyard. The inner courtyard was reserved for direct descendants, housing their residences, personal training grounds, and the clan’s vault, where security was paramount.

All other buildings handling external affairs were located in the outer courtyard. Among them was Red Radiance Hall, one of the reception halls.

Tang So-hwa stopped in front of the splendidly adorned red hall. The building, having regained its original color, felt unfamiliar. The last time she had seen it, it was scorched and half-destroyed by fire.

Red Radiance Hall was a place where the Clan Head received important guests or conversed with direct clan members.

Entering the hall, So-hwa brushed her fingertips across the table covered in golden silk. The raised lotus embroidery on the smooth fabric caught on her fingers.

It was filled with items of immeasurable worth. Yet in twenty years, they would all turn to ash and disappear—things devoid of meaning.

When the Demonic Sect rose in power in the past, she had tried to go to Sichuan. If no one had stopped her, she too would’ve died in Sichuan with her clan.

Just as she sank into thought, a voice came to mind.

– I will protect the Tang Clan.

Back then, Tang So-hwa had believed that perhaps that martial artist might protect the Tang Clan.

– They will probably come to help. But… you never know what could happen… Madam, you should stay here.

Though affiliated with Namgung Hyun, the martial artist had cautiously advised vigilance toward Namgung Hyun.

That advice had not been wrong.

The Murim Alliance, which Namgung Hyun was in charge of contacting, never came to Sichuan, and only the three Taoist sects to whom Tang So-hwa had personally delivered the martial artist’s letter came rushing to Sichuan.

A heavy breath slipped out between her lips.

At that moment, the door opened, and Tang Ji-ha entered with a refreshed face.

“Why are you standing? Sit down.”

He sat So-hwa down and went to take the seat of honor.

A tea set was placed before them, and Tang Ji-ha remained silent until the flower-scented tea had steeped thoroughly.

This, too, was a familiar scene, and a faint smile touched So-hwa’s lips.

A moment of silence.

It was a parent’s teaching: always take time to think before speaking.

Tang Ji-ha took a sip of the warm tea and asked,

“So then, what is it you wanted to say?”

So-hwa withdrew her hand from the teacup and lifted her gaze.

“I’d like to ask… what you think of Namgung.”

“Namgung?”

Caught off guard by the unexpected topic, Tang Ji-ha tilted his head slightly.

“Why Namgung all of a sudden?”

So-hwa had pondered it over the past few days.

Should I just tell him about the future I saw?

But that would only be a temporary solution.

No matter how she thought about it, it didn’t seem like Namgung Hyun had done what he did simply because of a power struggle between noble clans. The more she thought about it, the more she became certain there was another reason.

Namgung Hyun hadn’t acted alone.

There were surely people who had helped him.

If there were those who aided Namgung Hyun, then eliminating him might end up being poison rather than a cure.

The current her knew what Namgung Hyun would do going forward, and she knew his nature well. That meant she could predict his actions to some extent.

But if they were to eliminate Namgung Hyun and search for his collaborators, they might only discover their identities after the Tang Clan had been destroyed.

For now, keeping Namgung Hyun alive was the best option.

At least until they could find out who his collaborators were and why they held a grudge.

Tang So-hwa quickly finished her thoughts and smiled.

“Yu-hwa and Ye-hwa seem quite interested in Namgung’s Young Lord. I wondered if we might become in-laws with Namgung.”

“In-laws, you say.”

Tang Ji-ha scoffed as if he had heard nonsense.

“Without their pride, those bastards would be nothing, and they would never come into the Tang Clan.”

“Would you accept them if they did?”

“It depends on who they are.”

Tang Ji-ha chuckled, seemingly amused, though he didn’t appear displeased.

Currently, Namgung An, the Clan Head of Namgung, and Tang Ji-ha are quite close. Though their relationship had grown a bit distant after Namgung An became the head, they still exchanged strange gifts on each other’s birthdays, smiling and laughing at the shared meanings only they understood.

Seeing the corners of Tang Ji-ha’s mouth curl upward, So-hwa dismissed her suspicion.

She wondered if there was some unknown grudge between her father and Namgung. Perhaps Tang Ji-ha had made a mistake, or maybe there was some irreparable grudge left by his predecessors. However, her father still seemed to get along well with the Namgung’s head.

It was three years later, after meeting in the Alliance Five of Noble Clans, that Namgung Hyun started doing strange things. Within those three years, no event occurred that would lead to the destruction of the clan.

At least, not to her knowledge.

Namgung Hyun had started courting her, claiming that he had fallen in love with her at first sight when he saw her at the Alliance of the Five Noble Clans. Of course, it had all been an act. It wasn’t until she went to Namgung’s clan that she learned the truth: Namgung Hyun had already had a lover at that time.

Namgung Hyun truly loved that person.

Or did he? She wasn’t sure.

Namgung Hyun had spread rumors that his lover had miscarried due to poisoning, in order to frame So-hwa. Could someone who truly loved another drag them into such a scheme? Namgung Hyun was completely incomprehensible to her.

She sighed softly, and a voice laced with irritation tickled her ear.

“Hmph. Still, I won’t let that Namgung bastard have you, So-hwa.”

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep