Murim in my Hometown - Chapter 25

WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: Oblivious

◈ Murim in my Hometown ◈

Chapter 25: Tang Clan Member

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The official attire of Tang Clan members, widely known throughout the martial world, was a wide-sleeved robe made from green cloth, the symbol of poison.

That was why they were called human vipers. I had even seen the Tang Clan's green robes in Sichuan before.

But the Tang Clan members visiting the Hao clan's Seochon branch wore ordinary navy martial robes.

It was only sensible.

The Tang Clan already had enemies everywhere. If they openly advertised themselves outside Sichuan, they would likely face endless ambushes wherever they went.

They wore swords at their waists like ordinary martial artists, but in actual combat, their true weapons would emerge from the unusually wide sleeves of their robes. Hidden weapons of every kind, coated in all manner of poison.

Perhaps from the side effects of cultivating poison arts, all their hands were darkened.

When Won Seogang and I approached, the Tang Clan members stopped talking and turned to look at us.

Like the madmen they were, having steadily swallowed poison since childhood, a faint poisonous aura lingered in their eyes and presence.

The cold beauty standing alone among the men, likely a daughter of the Tang family, looked like she had quite a temper as well.

The door to the house opened. Geuk Hwan came outside with someone and stopped before us.

“These are the Hao clan martial artists who will accompany us tomorrow. This gentleman is the Deputy Hall Master of the Detoxification Hall, who has come to lead the pursuit-and-execution squad.”

“I am Dang Dohun of the Sichuan Tang Clan.”

“Won Seogang.”

“Jeong Daecheon.”

As we exchanged brief greetings, the young cold beauty abruptly cut in.

“Now that we have enough people, let us leave at once. We do not have time to waste.”

Dang Dohun looked up at the sky and shook his head.

“The sun will set in two hours. The Hao clan has put a tail on them, so it will not be too late to track them tomorrow.”

“Won’t the traitors keep fleeing without rest through the night?”

“That would be preferable. If they run without resting or eating properly, they will eventually collapse on their own.”

“What if we lose them?”

“Enough.”

Dang Dohun glared sternly at the cold beauty.

“Do not forget the basics of tracking. If your eagerness runs ahead of you, mistakes are inevitable. The pursued must grow anxious enough to feel suffocated. If the pursuer becomes anxious, the job will be ruined.”

The cold beauty continued to stare at him as though unconvinced, and Dang Dohun frowned.

“Hyeseo, did you not lose those traitors in Sichuan because you rushed ahead? Are you planning to ruin this job too and chase them all the way to the end of the Central Plains? Detoxification Hall members, listen.”

The Tang Clan members, excluding the cold beauty, simultaneously performed fist-and-palm salutes and lowered their heads.

“Yes, Deputy Hall Master!”

“We will stay here tonight and depart tomorrow morning before sunrise.”

“We obey!”

The Tang Clan members hurried off. The cold beauty watched them with displeasure, then suddenly turned this way as if she had sensed my gaze.

Our eyes met.

For some reason, I felt guilty and quietly looked away, but her sharp glare clung to my face like a hidden weapon and would not let go.

Fortunately, Geuk Hwan led Won Seogang and me out of the annex.

“The young lady you just saw is Dang Hyeseo.”

“Hm, so she is indeed from the Tang Clan. I heard the Tang Clan's discipline is no less strict than the military's, yet she argued with a deputy hall master before his subordinates. She must be a direct descendant.”

I silently nodded at Won Seogang's reasonable guess. In a closed, bloodline-centered family like the Tang Clan, lineage was bound to take precedence over position.

Geuk Hwan neither confirmed nor denied it. Won Seogang glanced at me and snickered.

“Our Hero Jeong seems to have already caught Miss Dang's eye. Her gaze was quite heated.”

That was the kind of thing that could get someone killed, and an involuntary laugh escaped me.

“Do not talk nonsense. Do you think even a single bone would remain if I came on to a Tang family woman and got poisoned?”

“I am sure you will become close. You will have much to discuss from now on.”

Won Seogang and I looked at Geuk Hwan at the same time. A faint smile touched Geuk Hwan's paper-pale face.

“Miss Dang Hyeseo is the one who requested the job from our organization. Hero Won, Hero Jeong, beginning tomorrow, your assignment is to guard Miss Dang.”

* * *

Early the next morning, two large carriages left Simhyang Pavilion.

Dang Dohun, the Detoxification Hall members, and the unnamed monk rode in the lead carriage. Won Seogang, Dang Hyeseo, one young Tang Clan member, and I traveled in the rear one.

I was not skilled at riding horses, so I had been prepared for my backside to feel like it was on fire. Riding in a carriage was a tremendous relief.

Once we left the quiet city streets and entered the official road, the horses picked up speed.

I sat near the rattling rear door and watched Seochon gradually grow farther away.

The wind flowing in through both wide-open windows and the rear door cooled my face pleasantly enough, but my heart was unsettled.

This was the first time I had left Seochon since returning home. I had even refused Escort Runs because I feared that once I left again, I might never return.

I could come back in five days, but watching my hometown recede before my eyes still left me in a foul mood.

I even began to regret accepting the request for no reason.

Once this job was safely finished, I should just stay shut inside my house from then on.

“You are Hero Won and Hero Jeong, correct?”

When I turned my head, Dang Hyeseo was gazing steadily at me. Her beautiful features, cold as midwinter, somehow suited summer well, leaving one corner of my heart feeling cool.

Won Seogang sat with arms crossed and eyes closed, so I answered.

“That is correct.”

“You heard about it, did you not? What you need to do?”

“I was told we only need to guard Miss Dang. Is that right?”

“That is right. No matter what happens from now on, the two of you only need to protect me.”

Won Seogang opened his eyes and looked at Dang Hyeseo.

“May I ask one thing?”

“Go ahead.”

“If there is a deputy hall master and members of the Tang Clan's Detoxification Hall, you should have enough force to wipe out a modest sect by yourselves. Why hire blades-for-hire you have never even met as guards?”

“There is no harm in being careful.”

“Are those you are pursuing highly skilled? The deputy hall master called them traitors yesterday... Do not tell me they are Tang Clan members as well?”

It was a sensitive question, touching upon the Tang Clan's shame, but Dang Hyeseo did not mind.

“That is right. They were Tang Clan members.”

“Do they have poison and hidden weapons as well?”

“Not every Tang Clan member is skilled in poison arts and hidden weapons. Most are ordinary people.”

“That is a relief.”

Won Seogang and I exchanged looks, but Dang Hyeseo calmly burst our bubble.

“But the traitors do have them. That is why we chased them all the way here.”

“My lady.”

The Tang Clan member who had been silently listening tried to stop her, but Dang Hyeseo paid no heed.

“They will find out anyway. The Hao clan probably already knows everything. They have a branch in Sichuan too. They know, but they are pretending not to.”

“This person is not a Detoxification Hall member?”

They were the only one riding in the same carriage as Dang Hyeseo, but they did not seem to be watching her.

“They are my subordinate. In any case, no matter what happens from now on, the two of you only need to guard me. The main clan will deal with capturing the traitors, so do not interfere under any circumstances. Understood?”

“Do not worry. We will not interfere.”

It was fortunate that the Tang Clan members would handle their own fighting.

Even if Dang Hyeseo changed her mind, I had no intention of getting involved. The deputy hall master would surely refuse as well, calling it a family matter.

Perhaps that was enough for her, because Won Seogang also fell silent and turned his gaze outside.

As the sun rose, harsh sunlight poured through the window. That was why we had chosen to ride in a carriage rather than on horseback.

No matter how wide the brim of a bamboo rain hat was, traveling beneath the blazing midday sun would inevitably wear you down.

Even after closing the eastern window, the opposite window and rear door remained open, so the inside of the carriage was fairly refreshing.

The official road was in terrible condition, though, and the carriage bounced up and down so violently that my backside began to ache.

After clattering along for some time, the carriage stopped beneath the shade of a tree. It was around noon, when the sun had climbed directly overhead.

“We will rest for a while.”

At Dang Dohun's order, the Detoxification Hall members spread out into the surrounding shade.

Though the view was open in every direction and there was no need to fear an ambush, they did not lower their guard while resting.

Dang Dohun held authority over this pursuit-and-execution squad, so Won Seogang and I said nothing as we stretched our stiff bodies, sat on rocks, and took out our bamboo tubes.

I quenched my thirst with cool tea and put some jerky in my mouth. As Won Seogang chewed jerky, he carefully observed the group.

“They definitely do not get along over there.”

Though they were all Tang Clan members, the Detoxification Hall members did not speak with Dang Hyeseo. It was not open exclusion so much as everyone watching Dang Dohun's reaction.

It was not difficult to guess what had happened.

“Everyone is from the Detoxification Hall except Miss Dang and her subordinate. Does it not look like she insisted on joining them? They said she caught the traitors in Sichuan, then let them get away, so the deputy hall master must be displeased.”

“That seems likely.”

Won Seogang nodded as though he agreed with my guess.

But I still found something strange.

I had only seen Dang Hyeseo briefly yesterday and exchanged a few words with her today, but she was not some sheltered, reckless young woman unable to tell front from back.

Even now, she kept talking to Dang Dohun. Yet beneath her apparently unreasonable behavior, I sensed that she was subtly probing him.

Unable to judge it clearly, I watched closely until Dang Hyeseo glanced this way.

I quietly turned my gaze toward the official road, and Won Seogang snickered.

“Must be nice.”

“What do you mean?”

“Oh, you know. In any case, we do not need to step forward, so that is enough. We can watch from behind, then return when it is over. Have you ever seen the Tang Clan's martial arts, Hero Jeong?”

“No. If I had, I would probably have died long ago. What about you, Hero Won?”

“I have seen them a few times.”

“You are fortunate to still be alive.”

“Did I not tell you? The Hao clan's protection is more useful than one might think.”

From the moment they first took up a blade until they died from one, most martial artists fought opponents wielding sabers or swords.

Sometimes they faced opponents with unconventional weapons, such as saw-toothed sabers, whips, or chain sickles shaped like scythes.

The inexperienced either died or were crippled in such encounters.

Among them all, the most damned troublesome opponents were those who used poison and hidden weapons. There was no real way to practice against them, so there was no proper method of dealing with them either.

“Do not worry. If they intended to kill anyone who witnessed the Tang Clan's martial arts, they would not have allowed us to join them in the first place. The deputy hall master does not seem foolish enough to stab the Hao clan in the back, either.”

That part also bothered me.

No matter how direct a descendant she was, no matter how treasured a daughter of the family, why had Dang Dohun permitted outsiders to be brought into a family matter as guards?

After resting for about half an hour, we boarded the carriages again.

Perhaps because we were traveling through a remote area, the official road grew worse and worse.

The uneven surface sent the carriages bouncing from side to side. Fallen trees, rocks, and deep pits sometimes blocked the road.

Each time, the driver had to follow the lead carriage off the official road and make a wide detour.

“Those damned officials. What do they even do with all the taxes they squeeze out of us? They should maintain the official roads.”

As I chewed jerky and listened to the driver's grumbling, Dang Hyeseo suddenly leaned her face close to mine.

A cool fragrance like a winter orchid washed over me.

“What are you eating?”

“...Jerky.”

“Give me some.”

Without thinking, I took a few pieces from my pouch and handed them to her.

It was cheap jerky, tough and hard, with a noticeable smell. There was no way it would suit a young lady like her.

I expected her to make a face and hand it back, but Dang Hyeseo sniffed the jerky to check whether it had gone bad, then simply put it in her mouth.

She calmly chewed it and handed a piece to her subordinate as well. It seemed she had been raised more roughly than she looked.

“I will pass.”

Perhaps their stomach was weak, because the subordinate shook their head and declined.

In the meantime, the carriage entered a mountain path. Won Seogang, who had been silently looking out the window opposite us, called to the driver.

“Mangseok.”

The driver turned around from the driver's seat.

“What is it?”

“Make the carriage go faster.”

“Pardon?”

“Since entering this mountain, the sound of birds and insects has suddenly grown much quieter.”

Understanding at last, the driver looked around with a stiff expression and urged the horses onward.

Won Seogang and I dropped to one knee on the floor and surveyed the area outside the windows. Dang Hyeseo and her subordinate also lowered themselves to the floor.

“Is something there?”

“Not yet.”

As Won Seogang said, the birdsong had vanished, but that alone was not enough to be certain.

The gradually accelerating carriage suddenly came to a stop.

“The lead carriage has stopped! Something must have appeared!”

The driver hurriedly took the Broadsword from the driver's seat and climbed down.

I quickly exited through the rear door and examined our surroundings. We were in the middle of a broad valley. The steep mountain slopes on both sides were covered in nothing but thick, lush brush.

Once I moved past the side of the carriage, the situation ahead came into view.

A group of suspicious figures armed with blades and bamboo shields blocked the road. Their ragged clothes and filthy faces made it obvious that they were bandits.

Won Seogang clicked his tongue and shook his head.

“The crows will feast.”

Bandits relying only on their numbers were no match for Tang Clan members who specialized in poison and hidden weapons.

Having assessed the situation, the Tang Clan members climbed down from the carriages and deployed around the bandits, keeping their distance.

The monk traveling with us slowly stepped back while surveying the mountain slopes.

At Dang Dohun's gesture, the sleeve of a Detoxification Hall member behind him fluttered.

Pheee!

A flying dart shot through the air with a faint whistle and struck the hairy figure's eye.

“Argh!”

The hairy figure screamed and collapsed, rolling across the ground. They had been struck before they could even raise the bamboo shield in their hand.

Dang Dohun coldly stared at the flinching bandits and spoke.

“I will not say it twice. Get lost. We are in a hurry, so I am showing restraint. Any who remain after I count to ten will be made to look like that.”

The poison must have already begun spreading, because the hairy figure's face turned black. White foam poured from their mouth as they convulsed violently.

It seemed the Detoxification Hall member had deliberately avoided killing them immediately and aimed for the eye, just to show the others that gruesome sight.

The effect was certain. Watching their companion die horribly without putting up any resistance, the bandits trembled with pale faces.

That was enough for them to realize that the martial artists before them were beyond their ability to handle.

For bandits, mistaking masters for easy targets and then getting thoroughly beaten was a common occurrence.

All that remained was for them to flee with their tails between their legs, but the mood was strange.

They looked at one another in fear, then began nodding one by one.

They were not agreeing to retreat. Their expressions were too solemn and desperate for that. Here and there, bandits gritted their teeth and clenched their fists.

Encouraged by the boiling atmosphere, the large figure who appeared to be their leader straightened their shoulders and spoke.

“...Are you Tang Clan members?”

“That is hardly important.”

“It is important. Are you Tang Clan members?”

“How dare mere bandits demand to know our names... Wait. Were you waiting for us?”

Dang Dohun frowned as though he had realized something. The leader raised a large saber and shouted.

“These are the ones! Attack! They have the antidote!”

The leader's thunderous shout echoed through the valley.

Waaah!

The bandits covered themselves with bamboo shields and rushed at Dang Dohun's group like madmen.

At the same time, answering shouts rose from the mountains on both sides of the carriages, as though they had been waiting for this.

Waaah!