The official attire of the Tang Clan, renowned throughout the martial world, was a wide-sleeved robe made of green cloth, a color that symbolized poison. It was for this reason they were called human vipers. I had once seen the green robes of the Tang Clan for myself, back in Sichuan.
But the members of the Tang Clan visiting the Western Village branch of the Underworld Information Clan were dressed in simple, navy-blue martial robes. This was a matter of common sense. The Tang Clan already had enemies in every direction.
If they openly advertised their presence outside of Sichuan, they would face endless ambushes wherever they went. While they wore swords at their waists like ordinary martial artists, their true skills in a real fight would emerge from their wide sleeves. They would take the form of various hidden weapons, all coated in poison.
Perhaps as a side effect of practicing their poison arts, all their hands had a dark, swarthy hue. As Won Seo-gang and I approached, the members of the Tang Clan stopped their conversation and turned to look at us.
As befitting of madmen who had been consuming poison since childhood, their gazes and auras were faintly tinged with a venomous air. The cold beauty standing alone among the men, likely a daughter of the Tang family, also looked as though she had quite a temper. The door to the house opened.
Geuk-hwan came out with someone else and stood before us.
“These are the warriors from the Underworld Information Clan who will accompany us tomorrow. This gentleman is the Vice Lord of the Extermination Hall, who has come leading the pursuit squad.”
“I am Tang Do-hun of the Sichuan Tang Clan.”
“I am Won Seo-gang.”
“I am Jeong Dae-cheon.”
As we were exchanging simple greetings, the young, cold beauty abruptly cut in.
“Now that we have more people, let’s leave at once. There is no time to waste.”
Tang Do-hun looked up at the sky and shook his head.
“The sun will set in an hour. The Underworld Information Clan has people tailing them, so it won’t be too late to pursue them tomorrow.”
“But the traitors will be fleeing through the night without rest, won’t they?”
“That would be for the best. If they run without proper rest or food, they will eventually collapse on their own.”
“What if we lose them then?”
“Enough.”
Tang Do-hun glared sternly at the cold beauty.
“Do not forget the basics of tracking. Rushing ahead with only eagerness will lead to mistakes. It is the ones being chased who should feel suffocated by anxiety, not the chasers. When the chasers become anxious, the task is bound to fail.”
When the cold beauty stared at him, still unconvinced, Tang Do-hun frowned.
“Hye-seo, was it not because you were too hasty in Sichuan that you lost those traitors in the first place? Do you intend to bungle this again and be dragged to the ends of the Central Plains? Members of the Extermination Hall, listen.”
All the members of the Tang Clan, except for the cold beauty, cupped their fists and bowed their heads.
“Yes, Vice Lord!”
“We will rest here today and depart tomorrow before the sun rises.”
“We obey your command!”
The Tang Clan members moved briskly. The cold beauty watched with a displeased look, then, as if feeling my gaze, she snapped her head in my direction. Our eyes met for a moment.
Feeling a strange sense of guilt, I quietly looked away, but her sharp glare, like a hidden weapon, seemed to stick to my face and would not let go. Fortunately, Geuk-hwan led Won Seo-gang and me out of the detached houses.
“The young woman you just saw is named Tang Hye-seo.”
“Hmm, so she is of the Tang Clan after all. I heard the discipline of the Tang Clan is as strict as the military. For her to talk back to the Vice Lord in front of his subordinates, she must be of the direct lineage.”
I silently nodded at Won Seo-gang’s reasonable deduction. In a closed, blood-centric family like the Tang Clan, lineage was bound to take precedence over official titles. Geuk-hwan neither confirmed nor denied it.
Won Seo-gang glanced at me and chuckled.
“It seems our Great Hero Jeong has already caught the eye of the young woman from the Tang Clan. The way she looked at you was quite fiery, wasn't it?”
His words were so absurd I couldn't help but let out a dry laugh.
“Don’t be ridiculous. If I were to make a move on a woman of the Tang family and get poisoned, do you think even a single bone of mine would remain?”
“You will probably get to know her well. There will be many opportunities to talk from now on.”
As Won Seo-gang and I looked at him simultaneously, a faint smile flickered across Geuk-hwan’s paper-white face.
“The one who commissioned this request to our clan is none other than Young Woman Tang Hye-seo. Great Hero Won, Great Hero Jeong, starting tomorrow, your mission is to escort her.”
* Early the next morning, two large carriages left the Deep Fragrance Pavilion. The lead carriage carried Tang Do-hun, the members of the Extermination Hall, and a monk whose name I did not know. In the rear carriage, Won Seo-gang and I accompanied Tang Hye-seo and a young man from the Tang Clan.
I had been preparing for my backside to be on fire, as I was clumsy at riding horses, so it was a great relief to be riding in a carriage. Once we left the quiet city streets and entered the main road, the horses picked up their pace.
I sat near the rattling rear door of the carriage, watching the Western Village slowly recede into the distance. The wind blowing in through the wide-open windows on both sides and the rear door was quite cool against my face, but my heart was uneasy. It was the first time I had left the Western Village since returning home.
I had even refused escort missions, fearing that if I left again, I might never return. Though I would be back in five days, seeing my hometown grow distant before my eyes did not sit well with me. I even began to regret taking on this request.
Once this job is safely finished, I should just stay cooped up at home from now on.
“You are Great Hero Won and Great Hero Jeong, correct?”
When I turned my head, Tang Hye-seo was staring at me intently. Her beautiful features, cold as the dead of winter, somehow suited the summer, making a part of my heart feel refreshed. Won Seo-gang had his eyes closed and arms crossed, so I answered.
“That is correct.”
“You’ve heard the details, haven’t you? What you need to do?”
“I was told we just need to escort you, Young Woman. Is that right?”
“That’s right. No matter what happens from now on, you two just need to protect me.”
Won Seo-gang opened his eyes and looked at Tang Hye-seo.
“May I ask one thing?”
“Go ahead.”
“The Vice Lord and members of the Tang Clan’s Extermination Hall should be a force capable of wiping out a small or medium-sized orthodox sect. Is there a reason you went so far as to hire swordsmen you’ve never met as escorts?”
“There’s no harm in being cautious.”
“It seems the martial ability of those you are chasing is considerable? Yesterday, the Vice Lord called them traitors… Are they also from the Tang Clan?”
It was a sensitive question that touched upon the internal affairs of the Tang Clan, but Tang Hye-seo did not seem to mind.
“That’s right. They were members of the Tang Clan.”
“Don’t tell me they also have poison and hidden weapons?”
“Not all members of the Tang Clan are skilled in poison arts and hidden weapon techniques. Most of them are ordinary people.”
“That’s a relief.”
As Won Seo-gang and I exchanged glances, Tang Hye-seo calmly shattered our hopes.
“But the traitors do have them. That’s why we’ve chased them all the way here.”
“My lady.”
The Tang Clan member who had been listening silently tried to stop her, but Tang Hye-seo paid him no mind.
“They will find out eventually anyway. The Underworld Information Clan probably knows everything already. They have a branch in Sichuan, after all. They just pretend not to know.”
“This man doesn’t seem to be a member of the Extermination Hall?”
He was the only one in the same carriage as Tang Hye-seo, and he did not seem to be guarding her.
“He is my subordinate. In any case, no matter what happens from now on, you two just need to escort me. Capturing the traitors is our clan’s business, so do not, under any circumstances, get involved. Understood?”
“Do not worry. We will absolutely not get involved.”
It was a relief that the Tang Clan members would be handling their own business. Even if Tang Hye-seo changed her mind, I had no intention of intervening. The Vice Lord would surely refuse as well, calling it a family matter.
Seemingly satisfied with that, Won Seo-gang also fell silent and turned his gaze out the window. As the sun rose, harsh sunlight poured through the window. This was why we had chosen to ride in a carriage instead of on horseback.
No matter how wide the brim of a bamboo hat, traveling under the midday sun was bound to be draining. Even with the eastern window closed, the carriage interior remained reasonably fresh, as the opposite window and rear door were still open.
However, the state of the main road was a mess, and the carriage shook so violently up and down that my backside began to ache. After a long, noisy ride, the carriage came to a stop under the shade of a tree. It was around noon, when the sun was directly overhead.
“We’ll rest for a moment before moving on.”
At Tang Do-hun’s command, the members of the Extermination Hall spread out into the surrounding shade. The area was wide open, so there was no need to worry about an ambush, yet they did not let their guard down even while resting.
Since Tang Do-hun was the decision-maker of this pursuit squad, Won Seo-gang and I also stretched our stiff bodies without complaint and sat down on a rock, taking out our bamboo flasks. We quenched our thirst with cool tea and put some jerky in our mouths. Chewing on the jerky, Won Seo-gang carefully observed the group.
“It’s clear there’s bad blood over there.”
Although they were all members of the same Tang Clan, the members of the Extermination Hall did not exchange words with Tang Hye-seo. It was not so much that they were openly ostracizing her, but rather that they all seemed wary of Tang Do-hun. It was not difficult to guess the circumstances.
“They are all members of the Extermination Hall, but for the Young Woman and her subordinate to be the only ones included, it seems like she stubbornly insisted on joining, doesn’t it? Since she caught the traitors in Sichuan only to lose them, the Vice Lord must be displeased.”
“That would make sense.”
Won Seo-gang nodded his head, as if agreeing with my speculation. But I myself felt that something was not quite right. Although I had only seen her briefly yesterday and exchanged a few words today, Tang Hye-seo did not seem like a reckless girl who had been coddled since birth and couldn't tell front from back.
Even now, as she was talking to Tang Do-hun about something, there was a subtle hint of probing in her seemingly insistent manner. Unable to get a good read on the situation, I watched her carefully, and she glanced in my direction. When I discreetly turned my gaze to the main road, Won Seo-gang chuckled.
“It’s a good time to be young.”
“What are you talking about?”
“It’s just something. In any case, we don’t need to be on the front lines, so it’s fine. We can just watch from the back and then return. Great Hero Jeong, have you ever seen the martial arts of the Tang Clan?”
“No. If I had, I’d probably be dead by now. What about you, Great Hero Won?”
“I’ve seen it a few times.”
“How did you manage to stay alive?”
“Didn’t I tell you? The shadow of the Underworld Information Clan is more useful than you might think.”
From the first time they pick up a sword until the day they die by one, most martial artists will face opponents who use swords and sabers. Occasionally, they might encounter opponents with unconventional weapons like a jagged sword with a saw-like blade, a whip, or a sickle-like chain weapon.
Those with little experience either die or are crippled in such encounters. Among them, the most troublesome to deal with were poison and hidden weapons. There was no way to practice against them, so there was no proper way to counter them.
“Don’t worry. If they were going to kill us for witnessing the martial arts of the Tang Clan, they would not have let us join in the first place. And the Vice Lord doesn’t seem foolish enough to betray the Underworld Information Clan.”
That part also bothered me. No matter how direct her lineage and how precious a jewel of the family she was, why did Tang Do-hun allow an outsider to be brought into their family matters as an escort? After resting for about half an hour, we got back into the carriage.
Perhaps because we were in a remote area, the condition of the main road grew worse as we went on. The road surface was so uneven that the carriage bounced from side to side, and fallen trees, rocks, and deep potholes often blocked the path.
Each time, the driver had to follow the lead carriage off the main road and take a detour.
“Damn these officials. I wonder what they do with all the taxes they collect. They should at least maintain the main roads.”
As I listened to the driver’s grumbling and chewed on jerky, Tang Hye-seo, who was sitting next to me, suddenly leaned in close. A cool scent, like a winter orchid, wafted 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, hard, and smelly. It was unlikely to suit the palate of a young lady like her.
I expected her to grimace and hand it back, but Tang Hye-seo sniffed the jerky to check if it had gone bad and then simply popped it into her mouth. She chewed on it nonchalantly and even handed a piece to her subordinate. It seems she was raised rougher than she looks.
“I’m fine, thank you.”
The subordinate, perhaps having a weak stomach, shook his head and declined. In the meantime, the carriage entered a mountain path. Won Seo-gang, who had been sitting opposite me, silently looking out the window, called out to the driver.
“Mang-seok.”
The driver turned around from his seat.
“What is it?”
“Speed up the carriage.”
“What?”
“Since we entered this mountain, the sounds of birds and insects have suddenly died down.”
Finally understanding, the driver’s face hardened as he looked around and picked up the pace. Won Seo-gang and I knelt on one knee on the floor and looked out the windows. Tang Hye-seo and her subordinate also got down on the floor.
“Is something there?”
“I don’t know yet.”
As Won Seo-gang had said, the birdsong had vanished, but that alone was not enough to be certain. The carriage, which had been gradually speeding up, suddenly came to a halt.
“The front carriage has stopped! Something must have appeared!”
The driver quickly grabbed a broadsword from his seat and jumped down to the ground. I quickly got out through the rear door and scanned the surroundings. Of all places, we were in the middle of a wide valley.
On both sides, steep mountain slopes rose up, covered in lush vegetation. When I moved to the side of the carriage, the situation up ahead came into view. A group of ruffians armed with swords and bamboo shields was blocking the road.
From their disheveled clothes and grimy faces, they were clearly bandits. Won Seo-gang clicked his tongue and shook his head.
“The crows are in for a feast.”
To the members of the Tang Clan, who specialized in poison and hidden weapons, bandits who relied only on numbers were no match. Realizing the situation, the members of the Tang Clan dismounted from the carriage and positioned themselves around the bandits at a certain distance.
The monk who was with them looked around at the mountain slopes and slowly backed away. Tang Do-hun gestured, and the sleeve of a member of the Extermination Hall behind him fluttered.
Pish!
With a small sound of tearing air, a flying dagger flew and struck a hairy man in one eye.
“Aaargh!”
The hairy man screamed and fell, tumbling to the ground. He had been hit without even a chance to block it with the bamboo shield in his hand. Tang Do-hun opened his mouth, glaring coldly at the flinching bandits.
“I will not say it twice. Get lost. I am showing you mercy because we are in a hurry. Any of you still here after I count to ten will end up like him.”
As if the poison was already spreading, the hairy man’s face was turning black. White foam frothed at his mouth as he convulsed. It seemed they had deliberately aimed for the eye instead of an instant kill to show them this gruesome sight.
The effect was immediate. Seeing their comrade die a horrible death without being able to put up a fight, the bandits trembled with ashen faces. This alone was enough for them to realize that the martial artists before them were not their opponents.
It was common among bandits to mistakenly try to do business with masters they failed to recognize and end up getting a harsh lesson. All that was left was for them to flee with their tails between their legs, but the atmosphere was strange.
They all looked at each other, trembling in fear, and then one by one, they began to nod. It was not an agreement to retreat. For that, their expressions were too grim and desperate.
Here and there, they gritted their teeth and clenched their fists. The big man who appeared to be their leader, emboldened by the seething atmosphere, straightened his shoulders and opened his mouth.
“Are you… members of the Tang Clan?”
“That’s hardly the important thing now, is it?”
“It is important. Are you members of the Tang Clan?”
“How dare a mere bandit ask for introductions… Don’t tell me, were you waiting?”
As Tang Do-hun’s face contorted in realization, the leader raised his great saber and shouted.
“It’s them! Attack! They have the antidote!”
The leader’s full-throated command echoed resoundingly through the valley.
“Waaah!”
The bandits, covering themselves with their bamboo shields, charged at Tang Do-hun’s party like madmen. Simultaneously, from the mountains on both sides of the carriage, responsive shouts erupted as if they had been waiting.
“Waaaaaah!”
Dozens of bandits with crazed eyes poured down the mountain slopes without hesitation, ambushing the carriages.