Bachelor Swordsmanship Remastered [EN]: Chapter 415

415. Confrontation at the Inn

The Sect Leader of the Tang Clan, Azure Flame Lord Tang Cheon-byeok, stared intently at the two sketches placed on the desk.

They were sketches of a young scholar and an old man.

As with most sketches, unless there were distinct features, they all looked similar.

However, the moment Tang Cheon-byeok saw the sketches, he recognized who they were.

Or rather, he recognized who the old man was.

How could he not?

He was none other than Poisonous Immortal, one of the Hwanwoo Five Venerables [a group of highly skilled martial artists] and an absolute master of the Tang Clan.

“What should we do?”

Tang Yeop, the head of the Black Tortoise Division standing beside him, asked cautiously.

He had recognized the sketch and immediately brought it to Sect Leader Tang Cheon-byeok.

Although he had never seen Poisonous Immortal in person, those in key positions within the Tang Clan were required to memorize his sketch.

Poisonous Immortal was a living legend of the Tang Clan.

During the Great War between Justice and Evil, he was a symbol of terror to everyone, regardless of their affiliation. Who hadn’t heard of Poisonous Immortal, who was said to control even life and death?

Poisonous Immortal’s fame was a thrilling heroic tale for the Tang Clan members, a living testament to the Tang Clan’s superiority to the world.

Therefore, Poisonous Immortal was a hero, an object of reverence, and a legend of the Tang Clan.

If Poisonous Immortal hadn’t officially left the Tang Clan, he would have been the Tang Clan itself.

That was how unique Poisonous Immortal’s position was within the Tang Clan.

Even though he had never officially appeared since the establishment of the Murim Alliance [a martial arts alliance].

“We should pay him a visit.”

Sect Leader Tang Cheon-byeok said in a low voice.

“How can we not pay our respects to the great elder of our family?”

Officially, Poisonous Immortal had left the Tang Clan.

That meant the Tang Clan and Poisonous Immortal had no obligations or rights to claim from each other.

However, official relationships and personal friendships were different.

Besides, how could one force the severing of familial ties?

Therefore, it was only natural for a member of the Tang Clan, even the Sect Leader, to pay respects to Poisonous Immortal.

“Who will you take with you?”

Black Tortoise Division Head Tang Yeop asked.

Tang Yeop’s experience was evident in his question.

“The fewer, the better, wouldn’t you say?”

The person who held power in the Tang Clan was Sect Leader Tang Cheon-byeok.

His bowing to another person, no matter how much of a senior Poisonous Immortal was, inherently risked damaging the Sect Leader’s dignity.

“It could lead to unnecessary misunderstandings.”

Rustle.

Sect Leader Tang Cheon-byeok looked down at the other sketch and said.

Tang Cheon-byeok knew who that scholar was.

No, he couldn’t forget.

‘Azure Dragon Sword Lord, Yun Hyun.’

He never believed the rumors that once circulated, claiming Yun Hyun was the successor of the Sword Saint.

He only suspected the intentions of the Divine Monk who spread such rumors.

He dismissed Yun Hyun as merely a disciple of the Divine Monk.

He believed his own level had surpassed that of the former Hwanwoo Five Venerables.

However, Yun Hyun, whom he encountered at the Yongbong Tournament of the Taepyeong Alliance [a martial arts tournament] after the collapse of the Murim Alliance, was different.

One chopstick Yun Hyun flicked broke the Five Dragon Sword of Tang Hyeok, the Yongbong Tournament champion who had provoked Yun Hyun, in an instant.

Moreover, Sect Leader Tang Cheon-byeok had to hold onto Tang Hyeok, who was pushed back by the aftermath, and only managed to stop him after spinning him around once.

And Tang Cheon-byeok could not forget what Yun Hyun had said then.

—There’s still one more, though.

Grit.

Tang Cheon-byeok gritted his teeth.

‘That sly fox.’

He brought down the champion of the Taepyeong Alliance’s Yongbong Tournament with a single chopstick and blocked the Taepyeong Alliance’s attack on Mount Emei with a single sword. In the end, he became the leader of the Azure Dragon Alliance.

And finally, he stood tall as the leader of a major righteous faction alliance that had overthrown the Hero Alliance and seized control of Gangbuk.

In fact, wasn’t the Taepyeong Alliance’s attack on Gangnam a desperate measure forced upon them by the Azure Dragon Alliance?

‘How dare you do this to me…….’

Tang Cheon-byeok frowned and glared at Yun Hyun’s sketch.

Back when the Murim Alliance’s downfall was imminent, Poisonous Immortal rejected Mun Wang’s offer and chose Yun Hyun.

But the Tang Clan did not choose Yun Hyun.

So Tang Seol-yeon left Poisonous Immortal, and the secret connection between the Tang Clan and Poisonous Immortal was severed.

Yet now, Yun Hyun had appeared in Guilin with Poisonous Immortal.

The meaning was clear.

What else could it be but a display that ‘Poisonous Immortal’s intentions are not with the Taepyeong Alliance?’

Yun Hyun was shaking the Taepyeong Alliance and stabbing the Tang Clan, or rather, Sect Leader Tang Cheon-byeok himself, in the back without a single sword or word.

It was truly a daring provocation that made his blood boil.

That was the ‘unnecessary misunderstanding’ Tang Cheon-byeok was talking about.

“Do the other sects know?”

“You should confirm that with the Chief Strategist.”

Black Tortoise Division Head Tang Yeop’s answer was appropriate.

“I will. The Chief Strategist will have to come with me anyway.”

Sect Leader Tang Cheon-byeok rose from his seat.

Swish.

“Let’s have you, me, and the Chief Strategist go.”

The fewer people who knew, the better.

Even if rumors spread later, it couldn’t compare to the shock of directly confronting Poisonous Immortal.

“Hah.”

Tang Cheon-byeok suddenly let out a hollow laugh.

He, the Sect Leader of the Tang Clan, was desperately trying to conceal the existence of Poisonous Immortal, the legend and pride of the Tang Clan.

“What’s wrong?”

“Nothing. Let’s go.”

Flutter.

With a flutter of his ornate robes, Tang Cheon-byeok, the Sect Leader of the Tang Clan, left the office.

His expression was already stiff.

***

Clatter, clatter.

A large carriage with its windows covered secretly departed from the Guangxi branch of the Taepyeong Alliance.

The carriage stopped in front of the Cheonhwa Inn, not far away.

Click.

The door opened, and three people stepped out of the carriage.

Tang Cheon-byeok, the Sect Leader of the Tang Clan, Tang Yeop, the head of the Black Tortoise Division, and Tang Seol-yeon, the Chief Strategist of the Taepyeong Alliance.

Tang Seol-yeon’s beauty briefly caught the eyes of passersby, but she soon disappeared into the Cheonhwa Inn.

Clack.

As the door of the Cheonhwa Inn closed, the five-colored lanterns hanging in front of the inn were taken down, and two warriors blocked the entrance.

Passersby were briefly puzzled, but they turned their heads at the warriors’ sharp gazes, and no one paid any more attention to the Cheonhwa Inn.

Besides the two warriors blocking the entrance, no one noticed that the Black Tortoise Division of the Tang Clan was hiding in all directions, guarding the surroundings.

Yun Hyun and his party were drinking tea in the living room of their lodgings.

As the manager had assured them, the lodgings were excellent, the best in Guilin.

There were rooms for each of the four people to use, as well as a space to drink tea like a living room.

Of course, it was just as expensive.

“Elder.”

Yun Hyun said suddenly while drinking tea.

“Shall we go down?”

Royal Inspector Jo Gwan and Hang Jang-ik did not understand what he meant.

However, Guest Ong knew what Yun Hyun was talking about.

“Tch.”

Guest Ong clicked his tongue.

He seemed reluctant, but he did not hesitate to answer.

“……Let’s go.”

“Are you sure you’re alright?”

Yun Hyun asked with a worried voice, but Guest Ong was already getting up from his seat.

Thump.

“What’s not alright?”

Yun Hyun gave a bitter smile at the answer.

Yun Hyun said to Jo Gwan and Hang Jang-ik, who were clueless.

“I have someone to meet for a moment. Please rest here.”

“Understood, Lord.”

Jo Gwan nodded.

Click.

Yun Hyun and Guest Ong left the room.

The inn was quiet.

As if the noise from earlier in the evening had been a lie, there were no other guests, nor even a passing server or manager.

Thud, thud.

The two slowly headed downstairs.

And stopped in front of the large staircase leading down to the first floor.

Swish.

Guest Ong looked down with a cold gaze.

Three people stood in the empty first floor.

Tang Seol-yeon, beautiful but with sharp eyes, a Tang Clan warrior with an impressive intense gaze, and Tang Cheon-byeok, the Sect Leader of the Tang Clan, Azure Flame Lord.

Rustle.

Azure Flame Lord Tang Cheon-byeok clasped his hands together and bowed his head.

“Tang Cheon-byeok pays his respects to the elder of the family.”

The Sect Leader of the Tang Clan was the absolute ruler who governed the family.

Nevertheless, Tang Cheon-byeok did not hesitate to bow his head.

Poisonous Immortal was the living legend and pride of the Tang Clan.

Tang Yeop, the head of the Black Tortoise Division standing behind him, immediately knelt on one knee and bowed his head.

Thud.

He didn’t even dare to open his mouth.

‘……Good heavens.’

The gaze of Poisonous Immortal, whom he was meeting for the first time, made him realize exactly why he was a symbol of terror.

Even himself, the head of the Black Tortoise Division, or rather, precisely because he was, he could clearly understand the terror of Poisonous Immortal.

Just meeting that cold gaze made him feel an overwhelming urge to run out of this place immediately.

Rustle.

Tang Seol-yeon descended like a flower.

As she knelt on one knee and bowed her head, the silver ornament on her head trembled and shone.

And Tang Seol-yeon’s eyes, as she raised her head, were filled with tears.

“……Grandfather.”

Guest Ong’s eyebrows twitched.

After a moment of silence, Guest Ong slowly moved his feet.

What made Guest Ong come up to the top of the stairs was his inability to deny his blood ties, but what made him go down the stairs was Tang Seol-yeon’s tears.

Thud, thud.

Guest Ong went down the large staircase step by step.

Yun Hyun quietly followed behind him.

Until then, Sect Leader Tang Cheon-byeok was still bowing his head.

Black Tortoise Division Head Tang Yeop didn’t even dare to breathe.

Thump.

Guest Ong stopped, leaving one step remaining.

“Raise your head.”

Tang Cheon-byeok raised his head.

The head of the Black Tortoise Division could not do so.

He knew that the words did not apply to him.

Guest Ong said to Tang Cheon-byeok.

“So you’ve finally decided to look at my face.”

“How could I not?”

Tang Cheon-byeok replied, lowering his gaze slightly in accordance with etiquette.

“I cannot dare to be rude to Poisonous Immortal, the elder of the family and one of the Hwanwoo Five Venerables.”

“Hmph.”

Guest Ong scoffed.

“Who is Poisonous Immortal?”

Tang Cheon-byeok’s eyebrows twitched slightly.

“I don’t know Poisonous Immortal, nor do I know Medicine Immortal.”

Medicine Immortal was another alias of Poisonous Immortal.

Although the alias Poisonous Immortal represented him, he was both Poisonous Immortal and Medicine Immortal at the same time.

“But…….”

“I am.”

Guest Ong said, cutting off Tang Cheon-byeok’s words.

“Guest Ong.”

Tang Cheon-byeok’s expression hardened.

More than the unfamiliar alias, the fact that Poisonous Immortal called himself Guest Ong was more meaningful to him.

It meant that Poisonous Immortal would not reverse his decision to choose Yun Hyun.

“Grandfather.”

That frail voice belonged to Tang Seol-yeon.

Guest Ong turned to look at Tang Seol-yeon.

Tang Seol-yeon was looking at Poisonous Immortal with tearful eyes.

Yun Hyun inwardly clicked his tongue at the sight.

Tang Seol-yeon, who had been exuding a sharp and fatal charm, now had the eyes of an innocent girl.

“……Isn’t it time you came back?”

That was a truly meaningful statement.

The Divine Monk Bulyeong was dead, and the whereabouts of the Iron-Blooded Evil Monarch Yeom Jung-bu were unknown.

The Sword Saint was only obsessed with the sword, and even Il Eun could not be found, so Poisonous Immortal was practically the only one left among the Hwanwoo Five Venerables.

Moreover, Tang Seol-yeon already knew about the Hwasan Agreement [a peace treaty].

Even if Poisonous Immortal still wanted to protect the Hwasan Agreement, it was not a reason not to return to the Tang Clan.

The Hwasan Agreement only prohibited hostility between the Five Venerables and the forces they belonged to.

The Murim Alliance had collapsed, and the Hero Alliance had disappeared, so who could stop what Poisonous Immortal wanted to do now?

If he only wanted to, Poisonous Immortal and the Tang Clan could become the greatest person and the greatest clan in the world.

If he only wanted to.

But Guest Ong’s answer was different from her expectations.

“……Seol-yeon. You still don’t know me.”

Guest Ong said in a desolate voice.

Tang Seol-yeon doubted her ears.

Poisonous Immortal had never said such a thing to her.

“Bulyeong kept his promise and only returned to Shaolin after dying. Are you telling me to be worse than him?”