The moonlight vanished as we entered the mountain. Pitch-black darkness covered everything. I raised a hand to stop the party following me and hid myself behind a rock.
I concealed my presence and even stifled my breathing. With only my eyes and ears open, I stared into the black forest. The dense branches obscuring the sky swayed in the gentle breeze, making an eerie sound.
The sound of the black-robed figure's footsteps, treading on the undergrowth, carried by the wind, flowed into my ears. I could roughly guess the direction, but the figure had completely melted into the darkness, its form invisible. As the wind died down, the footsteps faded into the distance.
As I remained crouched like that, an impatient Tang Hye-seo tapped my shoulder from behind. When I didn't react, she came up beside me. The fresh scent of grass and a sweet fragrance gently wrapped around my face.
“Why aren’t we going? We’re going to lose him.”
I placed a finger to my lips and waited until my eyes grew accustomed to the thick darkness. It didn't seem like the black-robed figure had noticed us tailing him, but I couldn't rule out the possibility that he had laid a trap.
No matter how urgent, when entering a dark place—be it a forest, an underground passage, or a hidden room—one must be thoroughly prepared. If we entered carelessly, we'd likely end up with holes poked all over our bodies. Won Seo-gang knew that as well, so he quietly focused on the darkness.
Tang Hye-seo clenched and unclenched her fists, looking anxious, but she didn't press me further. Slowly, the shape of the forest began to become discernible. After my eyes had adjusted enough to handle a surprise attack, I rose from my spot.
“Let’s go.”
The weed-covered mountain path where the black-robed figure had disappeared led to an abandoned shrine. It was quite large, with tiled roofing, but it had been long abandoned, its walls crumbling in several places. A faint light seeped out from a window frame where the window had fallen off.
I sensed a presence and heard a low voice. I gripped my long blade, careful not to make a sound, and raised my heels. One step at a time, I approached stealthily and pressed myself against the outer wall.
The man's voice from inside sounded familiar. Peeking through a fist-sized hole, I was certain. A small lamp was lit inside.
The middle-aged man, who hadn't removed his straw hat, had his face half-drenched in shadow, but it was enough to recognize him. Tang Hye-seo didn't look surprised at all. It seemed she had known who the black-robed figure was from the beginning.
Considering she told me to prepare to go out at night, she must have expected this to happen.
"How far do you intend to run?"
Tang Do-hun asked in a chiding tone.
“As far as I can go. So please, stop your pursuit here. Then I will leave quietly.”
At the woman's reply, Tang Hye-seo's eyes flashed like a cat's. The woman was sitting with her back to us, so her face was not visible, but it seemed she knew who it was. I thought I knew, too. The traitor of the Tang Clan that the members were pursuing.
I didn't know why Tang Do-hun had secretly slipped out in the middle of the night to meet her, but when he said four days would be enough, maybe this was what he was aiming for. Tang Do-hun clicked his tongue cynically.
“Tsk, tsk, tsk, do you not know what a pursuit squad is? This will only end when you are dead. The main family has likely already sent a second team. It’s not something that can be resolved just because I turn a blind eye.”
“Then why did the main family just let me go?”
Tang Do-hun's voice grew heavy.
“It was merely a moment of compassion after hearing the unfortunate circumstances of a young couple, which caused me to bring trouble to the main family. Do not hope for a second act of mercy.”
“Is that really all there is to it? You didn't encourage me to turn my back on the main family?”
The lines on Tang Do-hun's forehead deepened.
“You are quite delusional. Every result has a cause, and every action has a responsibility. Since you ran away on your own two feet, you must bear that responsibility yourself.”
The woman shot back without missing a beat.
“What outcome did you expect when you gave me the Soul-Slicing Acid?”
“Are you trying to blame me for what you stole?”
“Is that something that can be stolen just by trying? Didn’t you deliberately leave it unattended so that I could take it?”
Tang Do-hun glared at the woman. A cold light intensified in his eyes, but the woman continued without stopping.
“At first, I thought it was a kindness from the Vice Lord. But before I even left the capital, I heard rumors that I had fled after stealing the Tang Clan's secret arts. Soul-Slicing Acid is a useful poison, but it’s not a secret art.”
Tang Do-hun shook his head.
“You two were the ones who fell in love and eloped in the night, so why are you questioning me? Where is Gyeong-jae? Why did you come alone?”
“I am enough on my own.”
“Tsk, tsk, what a pathetic man. Hiding away to save his own skin while abandoning his partner? And he calls himself a man.”
“If we came together, wouldn't you have tried to kill us both to silence us?”
“You two are doomed to die anyway. You know that, don't you? It’s better to die than to be dragged back to the main family.”
“I was ordered to bring you back alive. The traitor of the main family.”
“You bitch… surely…”
At the woman’s meaningful words, Tang Do-hun, who had been tilting his head, flinched, and his eyes widened in shock. A twitch ran across his eyes, and his pupils trembled.
“…So, it wasn't a mistake when Hye-seo lost you in Sichuan? I see... so that's how it was. I thought something was strange when that sly vixen sweet-talked the Clan Lord into letting her join the pursuit squad. Was it also her doing that you used poison on the bandits?”
“You would only respond to my message if you thought I had run out of resources, wouldn’t you, Vice Lord? Just like now.”
“I will consider your last words heard. Farewell.”
Tang Do-hun rose from his seat and drew his sword. Tang Hye-seo raised her left arm and fired the hidden weapon concealed in her sleeve.
Pang! Clang!
A hand dart flew through the small hole. It was a perfect surprise attack, but Tang Do-hun blocked it easily, as if he had been expecting it. He glared at the hole from which the dart had flown and gave a bitter smile.
“So you were there. You little rat.”
Tang Do-hun kicked off from his spot and leaped through the window. As soon as he was outside, he flicked his left sleeve in our direction. Tang Hye-seo, Won Seo-gang, and I simultaneously pushed off the wall and threw ourselves in the opposite direction.
Fwip-fwip-fwip-fwip!
A dozen hidden weapons embedded themselves in the wall.
Wheee!!
The woman who followed him out blew a whistle. Tang Do-hun stopped his attack and glanced behind him as he backed away. The forest behind the shrine rustled, and three martial artists carrying swords rushed out.
One of them saw Won Seo-gang and was startled.
“Whoa, whoa, Great Hero Won, what brings you here?”
“Here to earn some money. And you, Brother Dong?”
“You think I came to watch the moon? I have to work hard to put food on the table. But are we… on the same side?”
The middle-aged wandering swordsman with a clear sword scar on one cheek gulped and sized up the situation. Won Seo-gang turned his eyes to Tang Hye-seo. When she nodded, the wandering swordsman let out a blatant sigh of relief.
“Phew, that's a relief. Let’s do a good job.”
The swordsmen took out the familiar bamboo shields slung over their shoulders and stood in front of the woman.
“Are they swordsmen?”
“That's right. They live day to day, hanging around the Wandering Swordsmen Inn.”
Tang Hye-seo approached the woman behind the shields.
“Sister Se-yeong, you’ve worked hard.”
“You’re the one who’s worked hard, Hye-seo.”
Tang Do-hun surveyed the people arrayed before him with an arrogant gaze. Me, Won Seo-gang, Tang Hye-seo, Tang Se-yeong, and the three swordsmen. Though he was severely outnumbered, as befitting the Vice Lord of the Tang Clan, he showed no signs of being intimidated.
Tang Hye-seo stared at Tang Do-hun with piercing eyes.
“Vice Lord. What did you do with the secret arts you smuggled out?”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about. The traitor is standing right next to you, isn’t she?”
“The Iron Arm Guards.”
As Tang Hye-seo mentioned the treasure, Tang Do-hun’s eyes twitched fiercely.
“Where is it?”
“Ask that couple.”
“If Sister Yeong and my brother-in-law had escaped with the Iron Arm Guards, they would have used it when we met in Sichuan." "All they had was a little bit of silver and the Soul-Slicing Acid you gave them." "Sister Yeong has neither the authority nor the ability to enter the Secret Hall, so how could she have smuggled out the Iron Arm Guards?”
Tang Do-hun snorted cynically.
“And that is your grounds for suspecting me?”
“There’s a witness who saw you entering and leaving the Secret Hall recently. We also confirmed through the Underworld Information Clan that you met with someone several times in the capital. Should I say more?”
“…Does the Clan Lord know?”
“Under whose orders do you think I have come?”
Tang Do-hun stared silently at Tang Hye-seo for a moment before sheathing his sword. He took out a bamboo tube from his robes, raised it to the sky, and pulled the string at the bottom.
Whoosh! Poof!!
A firework shot out from the bamboo tube, trailing white smoke as it rose into the night sky and burst into an orange flame. Somehow, the fire did not go out but continued to burn as it slowly descended.
“A quarter of an hour.”
Tang Do-hun lowered both arms and exuded a sinister aura.
“The members of the Extermination Hall will arrive within a quarter of an hour. If you are still alive by then, I will give you the answer you desire.”
Tang Do-hun’s sleeves fluttered.
“Be careful!”
No sooner had Tang Hye-seo shouted than hidden weapons tore through the darkness, rushing towards us.
Fwip-fwip-fwip-fwip-fwip-fwip!
I ducked behind a nearby tree. From where Tang Do-hun was standing, there was absolutely no angle for the weapon to hit me, yet a hidden weapon flew towards my face with a chilling sound. Startled, I hastily leaned back and knocked it away with my long blade.
The hidden weapon didn't lose its force and flew in the opposite direction, embedding itself in a bamboo shield. What is this… The hair on my head stood on end, and a shiver ran through my entire body.
I wasn't the only one whose hands and feet were busy due to the bizarre trajectory and repulsive force of the flying hidden weapons. Won Seo-gang was also moving frantically between the trees, swinging his sword. Tang Hye-seo, who was looking for an opportunity from a blind spot, was also sweating profusely as she deflected the hidden weapons.
The group hiding behind the bamboo shields couldn’t even properly raise their heads. I examined a hidden weapon stuck in a tree. Its shape was unique.
A hidden weapon made by cutting a piece of iron into the shape of a bat. It was the Bat Dart I had only heard stories about. The Bat Dart was not a hidden weapon that flew in a straight line.
Like the Golden Thread Dart, it curved this way and that, following the direction of the wind. To think that even when struck with a sword, it doesn't fall to the ground but flies off in another direction… Even for a clan obsessed with hidden weapons, how could they think of creating something so damned ridiculous?
Clang! Clang! Clang!
Clang! Clang!
Fighting an enemy who uses hidden weapons in the dead of night was just as bad as fighting river pirates in the middle of the Yangtze River. How are you supposed to fight what you can't see? We had more people, but because of the fierce, wasp-like hidden weapons, we couldn't get close at all.
Tang Hye-seo and Tang Se-yeong also fought back by unleashing their own hidden weapons, but it was clear that Tang Do-hun was several levels above them in hidden weapon techniques. If it weren’t for the shields, we would have been wiped out long ago.
Tang Do-hun's supply of hidden weapons seemed endless, who knows how many he had hidden in his sleeves.
“Aargh!”
One of the swordsmen was struck by a Bat Dart that ricocheted off a shield and collapsed. The wound might not be deep, but it would be coated in poison, so he was a dead man. A chill ran down my spine.
At this rate, we'll be taken out one by one. I desperately needed a clever trick to turn the situation around.
Pang!
Tang Hye-seo, who had been unleashing flying daggers, fired a hand dart. Tang Do-hun used his footwork to dodge while mercilessly showering us with hidden weapons. In that moment, something flashed through my mind, and I fumbled inside my left sleeve.
There it was. The bamboo tube I always carried. Without hesitation, I untied the knot, took it in my hand, and pulled out the stopper.
I swung it forcefully in Tang Do-hun’s direction as if throwing it. As I scattered the white powder inside widely, I tensed my stomach and shouted.
“Seven Steps Soul-Breaking Powder! Everyone, fall back!”
One of the eight great poisons of the Tang Clan, so deadly that a single breath, or even a touch on the skin of your hand or face, would cause you to vomit blood and die before you could take seven steps.
At the mention of that terrifyingly potent poison, not only Tang Do-hun but also Tang Se-yeong and the swordsmen recoiled in horror. For a moment, a standoff ensued, with the mysterious white powder, which asserted its hazy presence like a deathly fog even in the darkness, between us.
From the other side, Tang Hye-seo stared at me with dumbfounded and disgruntled eyes. Won Seo-gang grinned, walked over, and lightly nudged my shoulder.
“This friend of mine has quite a talent for surprising people. So you had an ace up your sleeve. Where on earth did you get one of the eight great poisons? Don't tell me Young Woman Tang...”
“It's just lime powder.”
“What?”
Won Seo-gang let out a hollow laugh with an incredulous expression.
“Hahaha, you madman.”
Tang Do-hun, who had retreated to a distance to observe the situation, finally realized he had been tricked.
“Just like a bunch of rats who crawl around in the gutter, full of petty tricks. Fine. I will show you what real poison, one that melts flesh and dissolves bone, truly is. Open your eyes wide and go to hell.”
Tang Do-hun exuded a thick killing intent and pulled his hands out of his sleeves. Dozens of hidden weapons caught between his fingers glittered menacingly like the claws of a wild beast. Just then, the sound of running footsteps was heard from the mountain path leading to the village.
A subordinate of Tang Hye-seo and a monk emerged from the forest into the moonlight. After checking behind him, Tang Do-hun unleashed the hidden weapons in his hands without delay. The subordinate quickly threw himself behind a tree.
The monk charged forward, swinging his Buddhist saber. Even though it was a dark night with only the moonlight, the monk blocked all the hidden weapons. He even perfectly struck down the ones that curved and returned bizarrely.
It seemed he wasn't seeing them with his eyes but was reacting by reading the flow of the air with his sharply trained senses. It was clearly a saber technique, but his movements were on a level where he seemed to be drawing lines rather than cutting. He was an incredible master beyond common sense.
The Nine Sects, with their hundreds of years of tradition, were probably teeming with monsters like him. There was a good reason why the Tang Clan, despite their outstanding hidden weapon techniques and fearsome poison arts, remained confined to Sichuan and could not become the greatest under heaven.
While the monk and the subordinate were dealing with Tang Do-hun, Tang Hye-seo loaded a hand dart and fired. Tang Do-hun, who had identified her position from the sound of it cutting through the air, twisted his body, and at that moment, a hidden weapon thrown by the subordinate struck him in the shoulder.
Almost simultaneously, the monk's saber slashed across Tang Do-hun's thigh. Tang Do-hun collapsed, falling to one knee. He supported himself with both hands on the ground and began to retch.
It seemed the hidden weapon was coated with a fast-acting poison. The monk, who had stepped back, flicked the blood off his saber and said nonchalantly.
“Patron Tang. This is as far as it goes. Do not resist any further.”
The members of the Extermination Hall flocked to the mountain path where the monk had appeared. A tall, handsome, unfamiliar man accompanied them. Recognizing the man, Tang Do-hun's eyes widened.
“Gyeong-jae, how are you with the members of the Extermination Hall...”
Seeing their Vice Lord attacked and seriously injured, a murderous intent arose in the eyes of the Extermination Hall members.
“Everyone, be calm! Do not act rashly...”
“Out of the way!”
As the man named Gyeong-jae tried to stop them, a senior member of the Extermination Hall pushed him aside and drew his sword.
“Save the Vice Lord!”
Before the members of the Extermination Hall could react, Tang Hye-seo intervened.
“Everyone, stop! The Vice Lord is a traitor to the main family! Anyone who sides with him will be treated as an accomplice!”
“Don’t be fooled! All of them are in this together! By the authority of the Vice Lord, I command you! Members of the Extermination Hall, slaughter the traitors!”
As conflicting orders were issued, the Tang Clan members didn't know what to do. The authority to command the Extermination Hall belonged to the Vice Lord, but they couldn't recklessly harm Tang Hye-seo, who held a high status. As the members of the Extermination Hall hesitated, Tang Hye-seo took a step forward.
She took something out from her robes and shouted.
“Members of the Tang Clan, heed the Sect Leader's Command!”