142

Chapter 142 - Crisis at Dasoak - 2

The person straddling the line tends to guard it better than the one who is within its bounds.

Mad Scientist.

Crazy scientists—a staple in popular culture—a brilliant but eccentric character known as the mad scientist.

Imagine a mad scientist toeing the ethical and moral line, skirting its edges to create beneficial inventions for our side.

While people may think that the scientist's power is indispensable in battling formidable foes, there's no guarantee they hold unconditional positive feelings toward them.

Consider the day the mad scientist crosses the line once too far, creating an enemy and even handing over weapons to them.

The same people who once respectfully addressed the doctor will now exclaim as if they were standing in a village caught in a whirlwind of falling leaves, "I knew that jerk would do this," and the transition from 'mad scientist' to 'mad bastard' would be but an instant.

The image of the Sachun Dang family in the righteous martial arts sects is quite similar.

Sachun Dang, masters of poisons and assassins' tools, reside within the bounds of the righteous sects but are constantly subject to doubts and distrust.

Because the Sachun Dang family has always taken pride in their belonging to the righteous sects, they've become obsessively vigilant in safeguarding against crossing that line, always aware of external scrutiny.

'Even in the original work, they were quite a decent group.'

This was a video game that screamed, "This isn't martial arts!" However, Sachun Dang still managed to look like a fine and upright sect.

The problem dates back to the incident of the Lust Demon twenty years ago.

For Sachun Dang, the event from two decades prior could have been a major enough transgression to breach that aforementioned line.

Officially banned experiments within the family gave rise to a toxin master who, with the family's own poison, turned into the Lust Demon.

The family head at the time, likely the Young Master then, must have secretly pursued the Lust Demon, and after slaying him, would have meticulously concealed and buried the whole affair.

Judged solely on what has been heard, one could applaud the handling of the situation, fittingly clean and exemplary for a reputed righteous sect.

Although regrettable that the problem arose, they swiftly identified and addressed the issue, striving to graciously compensate the victims. They even managed to stifle the spread of malignant rumors.

'The problem is the appearance of "Dangga Pungun."'

After twenty years, the child of the Lust Demon emerged, declaring, "My father was the Lust Demon. And a victim created by the experiments of Sachun Dang." A ticking time bomb in book form.

Various biological experiments could reveal the truth that Sachun Dang was the source of these dangerous toxins, even an aphrodisiac poison used for sexual assaults after twenty long years.

For those in Sachun Dang, shaking the tavern keeper who stayed still, they'd want to grab his neck and demand, "Why bring trouble upon us now after it was settled well two decades ago?"

'It's absurd but convincing that "Dangga Pungun" seems to replicate reality.'

Absurd, yes, but there were clues. The toxic master father and mother of Dang Hwairin. The father is the problem, really. Knowing the original Hwairin's circumstances, could her father have truly been in a normal state?

That goes for Hwairin's mother as well. If her animosity towards her own child was due to rape, then it's understandable.

Imagine a world without abortion. Consider a spinster falling victim to rape by the Lust Demon and suddenly finding herself pregnant. Besides the psychological trauma, her prospects for marriage are ruined. How easy would it be to shower that child with affection?

Furthermore, when mixed with elements familiar or plausible within the martial arts world in "Dangga Pungun," it screams, "It's too similar to reality!"

This is insane.

'I will not let this matter rest carelessly.'

"Dangga Pungun" touched upon the stains of Sachun Dang's honor, becoming a major hit, no less.

From Sachun Dang's perspective, this is no trifle to be dismissed with "It's just a novel. It's different from reality. Oh, look how popular it is. Sell a lot, hahaha."

'It's more likely to be perceived as a challenge to the authority of Sachun Dang.'

I could end up imprisoned in their cells, penalized. Even if I broke the window now and rushed to the authorities, Sachun Dang wouldn't care for the grievances of a black-haired foreigner like me.

Instead, they might see Hwairin and say, "Family affairs, we see. The authority does not breach into such matters," and neatly tied up with ropes, they might just deliver us.

So, what should be done?

"We didn't write 'Dangga Pungun' because we wanted to die. We wrote it because we wanted to live."

Misunderstandings are met with misunderstandings. One must craft reasons that leave no choice but to believe.

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"It is ill-suited to hear tales of a family's direct lineage here. Is there a higher place?"

As the subject of Dang Geo Ho arose, the chief of the medical sect glanced at the warriors around us and then asked me.

"There is a third floor where we stay."

"Only the sub-chief follows. Let's go upstairs."

It was just me, Hwairin, the Medical Sect Chief, and his seemingly closest confidant who went up to the third floor. Why, every time we speak, do we go up another floor? Is this some overly difficult tutorial tower, or is it some game of life and death?

"Hey, Yoonho."

As we climbed to the attic, Hwairin quietly called out to me, her gaze questioning with a sense of what on earth was happening. It must all seem so abrupt to her.

'Just trust me and stay put.'

I grabbed Hwairin's wrist, giving her a look that said, "Trust oppa, leave it all to me." Hwairin, in response, squeezed my hand tightly and nodded.

Of course, we'd been in cahoots since starting the medicine trade; even this level of coordination was enough.

"There's no way! I admit I'm not particularly fond of Dang Geo Ho, but he is the direct descendant of the former family head. He's one of the current family head's brothers. If this is a lie to escape the crisis, you'll be met with even greater disaster."

The Medical Sect Chief, seated in the attic chair, furrowed his brow and sent a message of threat.

Unbelievable, right? Or even if you want to believe, you can't possibly expect to accept such a preposterous truth. Who would believe that a direct descendant of Dang is conducting live human experimentation?

'Difficult to believe because he's a direct descendant? I'll make you believe then.'

By the time we climbed from the second floor to the attic, my mind had already finished computing.

Now it was only left to voice it out. I prepared to throw my conversational curveball with a light smile on my face.

"I've heard a rumor. Someone among Dang's direct lineage voiced a desire to toy with toxin experiments openly around twenty years ago. I believe there was quite a controversy about it."

Let us begin with the concealed truth.

"How could you possibly know that?"

The Medical Sect Chief looked at me with astonished eyes.

How do I know? The original work explained why Hwairin turned out the way she did. But of course, I can't bring up the original work.

There's a different approach for situations like this.

"Before working here at Dasoak, I was a wandering storyteller throughout the Central Plains. A storyteller is a professional at speaking of things others have not heard of but also at listening intently to stories others have not heard. Ah! Of course, some stories, once heard, must never be repeated aloud."

With a mischievous expression, I mimed zipping my lips, signaling that these were stories I'd heard but never told anyone.

The Medical Sect Chief looked at me with suspicion.

A vague rumor overheard by a storyteller. It could be easily denied. I fixed the chief with a telling glance, then turned to Hwairin, implying subtly that we had proof and there was no point in denial.

"… Twenty years ago, Dang Geo Ho did indeed utter such public proclamations and was severely punished for it. However, it's known that afterward, he reconsidered and turned negative towards the use of toxins."

The Medical Sect Chief acknowledged the rumor with a slight closing of his eyes, displaying evidence in front of him.

Good start.

"Dang Geo Ho must have decided on secret experiments after his punishment. Ten years ago, Hwairin was visited by him. Could it be that Dang Geo Ho was deliberately seeking out children related to the Lust Demon?"

A second claim, this time with an answer already in place.

Dang Geo Ho had cleaned up after the Lust Demon incident twenty years ago. But the fact that he was looking for his offspring had not been mentioned by the Medical Sect Chief.

Let's create consensus by posing an inferred fact as a question.

"Yes. He volunteered to find the Lust Demon's bastards."

For a fleeting moment, a bud of doubt seemed to sprout in the Chief's expression – could it really be Dang Geo Ho?

This was my chance.

I can't miss it. I must leech onto that sliver of doubt to sway him to our side.

"For more than ten years! During that time, Dang Geo Ho claimed to teach Hwairin the family's martial arts, while secretly feeding her toxins, trying to turn her into a toxin master. Do you know about his often unexplained absences over the last decade?"

"His departures were indeed frequent…"

"Do you understand the extent of pain and scorn Hwairin has suffered being deceived by Dang Geo Ho over these past ten years? Look at this! Hwairin's arms! Her face! Anyone could see these are the marks of toxin experimentation!"

If the first two statements sowed doubt, the third must garner sympathy.

I pulled Hwairin's arm forward, showing it to the Medical Sect Chief. Though faded, the marks of the toxin master were undeniably evident.

As a Sachun Dang descendant well-versed in poisons and medicine, the Chief would be hard-pressed to deny these were anything but the marks of a toxin master.

"Ahem..."

The Medical Sect Chief looked at Hwairin's skin and then looked away.

His averted gaze suggested denial, yet even that reluctance seemed interpretation enough for consent.

"Chief of the Medical Sect. Do you truly not believe? Or do you not wish to believe? If Hwairin had not run away after realizing the true nature of the medicine given by Dang Geo Ho, she would now be facing an even more terrible fate."

Let us corner the Chief with facts and sympathy.

"Indubitably, these marks on the child are those of a toxin master. Yet if indeed Dang Geo Ho committed these deeds, why did the victims not seek the Medical Chamber rather than Sachun? Had they come to us, Dang Geo Ho would have faced severe punishment."

Dang Geo Ho's movements could not be denied.

Nor could Dang Hwairin's symptoms.

He would have no choice but to harbor doubts about our actions. The expected final retort from the Chief spilled out.

"Hwairin barely managed to escape, but Dang Geo Ho is searching for us. Who would believe the words of an unrelated bastard of Dang and a black-haired foreigner venturing to Sachun Dang? Wouldn't they rather hand over Hwairin directly to the pursuit of Dang Geo Ho?"

Direct descendants and bastards. In the martial world that values blood ties, the Chief would know better whom to trust.

"So… is that why you wrote the book?"

Good. The Chief began to grasp our actions.

"Yes. The incident 20 years ago involved direct intervention of the Dang family head. And since it was related to Dang's secret trouble, I expected that not Dang Geo Ho but a trusted figure of the current family head would come. At first, I was skeptical, but my certainty was cemented when they didn't recognize Hwairin's name."

Fluently, like Hwairin releasing hidden weapons, I pretended to spill the truth as if I had a calculated plan.

"That bastard Dang Geo Ho really worked with toxins…"

Anger was detectable in the Chief's voice. We were almost there.

"It's true. I have suffered for ten years under his lies."

Hwairin provided timely support. Thank you, Hwairin. With your backing, I'll close this.

"We faced certain death by staying idle. We didn't share the twenty-year-old trouble in the pursuit of death but wrote 'Dangga Pungun' in desire of life."

One misunderstanding leads to another.

Not just revealing a potential uncovering of a past secret, but also warning of a graver, burgeoning trouble.

Tit for tat. Scandal with scandal. Strategy to shift focus to a greater crisis. Now we wait for the outcome.

Silence hung in the air for a moment.

It was like the charged silence in a detective manga, just before the perpetrator is unveiled. Having said my piece, I closed my mouth and looked at the Medical Sect Chief.

Beside the Chief, the remaining daylight streamed through the windows, casting the dust that settled low in the attic in a hazy glow.

The Medical Sect Chief remained silent for a while, his gaze fixed on Hwairin.

"…Child. Which martial arts of the Dang family have you learned?"

Ending the silence, the Medical Sect Chief looked at Hwairin and inquired. Hwairin responded, listing the martial arts she had mastered.

"You have mastered the direct lineage's martial arts. Heh, that's right. To create a poison master, using the stable poison techniques of the direct lineage would have been better. Really now... That bastard Dang Geo Ho. To think he was conducting such cruel experiments with the collateral descendants again. Heh."

The Medical Sect Chief looked at Hwairin with a laugh, as if he couldn't believe it. He had acknowledged the remaining evidence pointing to Dang Geo Ho as the culprit. However, couldn't afford to relax now. The underdog who fought with his life on the line. I had to show vulnerability.

"Hwairin, we can finally live now."

I embraced Hwairin as if a child who had been lost for hours had found an adult, clinging together with a friend.

"Yoonho..."

Hwairin's shoulders twitched slightly before she hugged me back.

Hwairin's acting has improved. She understood my intent. But why is she hugging me so tightly? It's suffocating. I'm not saying anything because I like the feeling of her—like a ripe watermelon heavy with moisture.

"The hardships are over now. Sob..."

I thought of all the grievances we had suffered and forced the tears to come. It's not hard, considering the sheer volume of frustrations. Life, truly...

"Don't cry, you idiot. Really. Why are you crying instead of me?"

"Tsk... How did the great Sachun Dang find itself in such a predicament."

The Medical Sect Chief watched us with a look of pity.

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"Child, let me see your hand."

After Hwairin strangely held on and we embraced for a while, she finally let go, and the Medical Sect Chief spoke up.

At his request, Hwairin extended her hand to have her pulse taken.

"What is this? Could it be? Sit down. Run your inner energy. I will perform an energy diagnosis."

The Medical Sect Chief was startled after taking her pulse; he made Hwairin sit down and started channeling his inner energy into her from behind.

What's happening?

"Indeed. How can this be..."

"What's wrong? Is Hwairin's condition worsening? It seemed like she was recovering since she hasn't been taking any toxins lately."

"No. This isn't recovery. This, this really corroborates what you said. Dang Geo Ho would indeed never give up looking for this child."

The Medical Sect Chief looked at Dang Hwairin as if he were staring at some great treasure for a long spell.

"What do you mean?"

What's going on? Tell me. Isn't Hwairin recovering? The ability of the Banished Villain. Was it just a placebo effect all along?

Stroking his beard once or twice, the Medical Sect Chief seemed to organize his thou

ghts and then looked at both of us before opening his mouth.

The words he spoke were beyond unexpected.

"The forbidden secret wish (비원) of the Dang family. The complete toxin master. The body of this child is being fashioned into the vessel for a complete toxin master."