Chapter 111
“Father, but…!”
“Are you defying the words of the clan lord?”
Dang Yejun couldn’t hide the shock on his face at his father’s stern words.
“If you question my words one more time, I will consider it insubordination against the clan lord. Do you understand?”
“…”
Dang Yejun bit his lip hard enough to draw blood and stepped back.
The clan lord then turned to Yerin.
“Rest well, Yerin.”
It was an incredibly kind expression, one he had never shown Dang Yejun.
Yerin nodded stiffly.
“Yes.”
“And you, Lord Dang, please rest well too.”
The clan lord also greeted Doyul.
Dang Yejun glared furiously, for a good reason.
‘Those wretched Ice Palace people…!’
It was something the clan lord often said.
Finally, the clan lord gave Dang Yejun a disapproving look.
“You’re still here?”
“…I will take my leave.”
In the end, Dang Yejun had to leave.
* * *
As he returned to his quarters, Dang Yejun seethed with betrayal.
‘How could Father do this to me?!’
He had lived his whole life as the Dang Clan’s young lord.
He could still hear his father’s voice from when he was a child, sitting on his knee, whispering, “You will become the clan lord and rule the world.”
But now, in the end…
‘…Am I really going to be pushed aside by that lowly woman?’
Dang Yejun gritted his teeth so hard they nearly cracked.
He couldn’t let that happen.
He would rather die than accept it.
“….”
His eyes turned cold and hard.
* * *
Back in his quarters, the clan lord lounged comfortably on a silk cushion.
‘Good, the bait is set.’
It would be ideal if Yerin accepted his proposal.
After all, Yerin had the talent to use Ice Arts at just the age of adulthood.
‘She’s different from Yejun.’
At least she wouldn’t be a disgrace to the family.
She was intelligent and quick-witted.
Most importantly, she was the one who had revived the failing Northern Sea Ice Palace.
‘…I should have recognized her value from the beginning.’
It was regrettable that he had used her to humiliate the Ice Palace.
Above all…
‘The people I’m allied with now…’
The clan lord looked down at his hands and then clenched his fists tightly.
A memory from a long-ago meeting surfaced in his mind.
It had been a night when even the full moon seemed red.
‘Damn it!’
That night, the clan lord had been sitting in his office, seething with anger.
He had just heard that Dang Yejun, attending the Sulryucho auction, had been outmaneuvered by Yerin and lost valuable land.
‘That young lord couldn’t even handle such a simple task…!’
As the clan head grounded his teeth in frustration, he suddenly felt a strange sense of unease.
The surroundings had gone eerily quiet, and all signs of life had vanished.
‘…What’s going on?’
A chill ran down his spine.
At that moment, a man in a red robe suddenly appeared in front of the clan lord.
‘Greetings.’
The voice was sly and completely devoid of respect.
The man had long hair tied carelessly and a mischievous smile in his eyes. Despite appearing young, Dang Ga-ju knew better than to judge a martial artist by their appearance.
Dang Ga-ju was instantly on high alert.
In fact, it was extremely rude to visit like this unannounced, especially to meet Dang So-cheol, the head of the Sichuan Dang Clan.
But Dang Ga-ju couldn’t be angry or criticize the man for his rudeness.
Because…
‘…There should have been guards outside.’
Dang Ga-ju looked up at the man with eyes full of vigilance.
‘Where are they?’
‘Oh, I didn’t kill them.’
The man raised both hands and smiled, his eyes twinkling.
‘I just put them to sleep for a bit.’
Gulp.
Dang Ga-ju’s throat moved visibly as he swallowed dryly.
Put them to sleep?
These were not just any guards, but martial artists from the Dang Clan, known for their skills.
And yet, this man had dealt with them as if they were mere children…
‘…Who are you?’
Dang Ga-ju tightened his grip on his brush, fearing a massacre might occur here.
The man shook his head dramatically.
‘Oh, I understand why you’re so surprised, showing up suddenly like this. But there’s no need to look at me with such cold eyes, is there?’
‘…’
Is he insane?
For a moment, Dang Ga-ju genuinely thought so.
The man, unfazed, walked confidently into the room.
‘Anyway, I’ve come to make a proposal.’
‘A proposal… you say?’
‘Yes.’
The man nodded, smiling brightly, and pulled up a chair to sit down without being offered a seat.
He rested his chin on his hand, smiling broadly.
‘It’s been said that the Northern Sea Ice Palace recently rediscovered Sulryucho, hasn’t it?’
‘…Yes, that’s true.’
‘Then why the long face? For your clan, it’s an opportunity to revive the lost arts of the Dang Clan, isn’t it?’
At the pointed question, Dang Ga-ju frowned deeply.
But then…
‘I actually know the reason.’
The man’s casual words made Dang Ga-ju stiffen.
‘The Dang Clan’s secret techniques are not perfect, after all.’
‘…Are you insulting our Dang Clan?’
‘No, not at all.’
The man quickly shook his head.
‘I just wanted to point out the limitations of the Dang Clan’s techniques.’
‘Limitations…’
‘The extreme poisons made from Sulryucho can be neutralized with Sulryucho itself, can’t they?’
He had hit the mark.
Dang Ga-ju tried to maintain his composure, but his eyes flickered slightly.
The man grinned like a child.
‘And all the miraculous medicines of the Northern Sea Ice Palace are made from Sulryucho, aren’t they?’
‘…Seolhwadan cannot neutralize our secret techniques. It only slows down the spread of the poison. It’s just a matter of dying sooner or later.’
‘That’s true for Seolhwadan.’
The man shrugged lightly, as if it were obvious.
‘But not for Millennium Snow Flower Pill, right?’
‘…’
Dang Ga-ju clenched his teeth.
Indeed, the Dang Clan’s techniques were perfect in every way.
They ensured a clean and swift death and could even control the speed at which the poison spread through the body by adjusting the amount of poison used.
But there was one thing that could completely neutralize their secret techniques.
Millennium Snow Flower Pill.
The existence of that miraculous medicine was a fatal weakness for the Sichuan Dang Clan.
‘So, what are you proposing to us?’
‘A poison that cannot be neutralized.’
Dang Ga-ju’s eyes widened at the man’s response.
‘Are you saying…’
‘There’s a poison that can replace the Dang Clan’s techniques. I’ll tell you how to make it.’
The man shrugged proudly.
‘And I’m even willing to help you produce it.’
‘Are you serious?’
‘Of course! So, what do you think? Wouldn’t we make decent business partners?’
Dang Ga-ju thought long and hard.
And then…
‘…No.’
Dang Ga-ju finally shook his head.
‘I can’t make a deal with someone who doesn’t even reveal their identity.’
‘Oh, that? I must have forgotten to mention it.’
The man responded playfully, his eyes wide with feigned innocence.
‘I’m the vice-lord of the Blood Cult.’
‘Blood Cult!’
Dang Ga-ju was shocked to the point of fainting.
The Blood Cult.
An evil organization notorious for repeatedly plunging the entire martial world into bloodshed and chaos. And the vice-lord of the Blood Cult was second only to the Blood Demon, whom the cult worshipped like a deity. In other words, this man was practically the de facto lord of the Blood Cult.
‘Well, considering that I came to see the head of the Sichuan Dang Clan, I couldn’t just send a low-level member, could I?’
The man patted Dang Ga-ju on the shoulder as if they were old friends, then stood up.
‘Think it over carefully.’
With those words, the man leaped out of the window.
‘This can’t be happening.’
Dang Ga-ju quickly got up and ran to the window, but there was no sign of the man. Only the eerie moonlight shone down, giving him the feeling of being haunted by a ghost.
He blinked in disbelief.
‘The Blood Cult, of all groups…’
Dang Ga-ju muttered to himself, trying to reason through the situation.
‘I can’t accept this.’
He knew logically that there must be a deadly trap hidden within the sweet bait offered by the Blood Cult. He knew he should report this offer to the Martial Alliance immediately.
However.
‘…Damn it.’
Dang Ga-ju sensed that he could not refuse the vice-lord’s proposal. The offer from the Blood Cult was too tempting.
‘….’
Reflecting on the past, Dang Ga-ju slowly lifted his gaze.
He did not regret accepting the Blood Cult’s offer.
However.
‘…It’s too dangerous.’
The group the Sichuan Dang Clan had allied with was a double-edged sword. Dang Ga-ju knew that before this sword could cut down the Dang Clan, he needed to cut down the Blood Cult first.
Because once they achieved their goals, the Blood Cult would likely discard the Dang Clan as well.
‘I feel uneasy not knowing their true motives…’
