Childhood Friend of the Zenith – 499 (Part 2)



499 (Part 2)

My actions startled Gwaeseon who shouted in surprise.

“Uh?”

By the time I heard that voice I had already reached out and grabbed the Nohya.

Thud.

As I held it it easily came out.

‘It feels like it fits perfectly in my hand.’

If I were a swordsmith I would have been searching for a sword with such a handle.

Is it because it’s one of the five great swords of the Central Plains?

Just as I was about to walk over to Gwaeseon while holding the Nohya.

[How dare you…! Where do you think you’re grabbing?!]

Suddenly Namgungmyeong shouted angrily.

“Old man! Stop!”

At that shout Gwaeseon tried to get up and run over here.

What’s going on? Why are they acting like this?

In that moment of confusion I watched with a puzzled expression.

Flash-!

Suddenly light burst forth from the Nohya. A dazzling and bright light that made me instinctively close my eyes.

Along with that it was a threatening light and I had to be thoroughly startled.

Thud.

The sparkling light contrary to my expectations disappeared after a short while. It felt like something was about to happen.

Is it just sparkling? This isn’t a torch or anything…

I looked at the Nohya with a somewhat puzzled expression.

There seemed to be something strange.

[… Huh?]

“… Huh?”

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In a situation where nothing had happened Gwaeseon and Namgungmyeong both seemed bewildered.

I asked Gwaeseon who was staring at me with a blank expression.

“… What’s wrong?”

What on earth is going on?

*********

At the same time in the Clan Head’s office of the Tang Clan.

The Poison King sat at his desk gazing out the window.

It had become summer and he was feeling the change of seasons under the gradually warming air.

Creak thud.

As the quiet sound of a watermill echoed the Poison King slowly lifted his teacup.

He took a sip feeling the stillness of the night.

Gulp.

The sound of swallowing echoed in the room.

It meant it was that quiet.

The tranquil and silent time continued.

Inside however the Poison King’s mind was in a state of turmoil.

“Haah….”

A sigh escaped him.

How could he not feel this way? The Poison King was on the verge of falling into his inner demons.

In the past.

The words that Gu Yangcheon had poured out.

Hearing that the Tang Clan’s plan for the birth of the Heavenly Martial Body was still ongoing the Poison King initially couldn’t believe it.

It was a past karma a shackle he had already severed.

The greatest sin of the Poison Lord the previous Clan Head had quietly dealt with it and it was becoming a forgotten fact.

‘… What should I do?’

The words he heard during his last meeting with Gu Yangcheon.

It could all be true and even if it were true the question of how Gu Yangcheon knew about it grew larger.

Is the Tang Clan truly rotten?

To be honest the Poison King was not unaware that the Tang Clan was decaying.

He knew the sins created by his ancestors. He also knew that there were many things that could not be done under the name of orthodox sects.

But he turned a blind eye.

The parts that could be restored and cleared were handled by the previous generation and the current Poison King.

The remaining parts were being lived with while he deliberately ignored them.

There was no other choice.

He wanted to uproot and erase all the rotten roots.

But if he erased all the roots the pillars would shake.

The Tang Clan was enormous.

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From the time the Blood Demon War broke out until now it had grown steadily without wavering.

If such a giant were to shake it would be the Poison King’s responsibility to endure until the roots grew back.

But the Poison King knew.

He still did not have the strength for that.

That’s why he endured.

After signing a pact with the Moyong Clan he sought to expand his influence throughout the Central Plains via the Trading Company.

The reason the Tang Clan began participating in various events and schedules around the time Nakgeom started to rise as the Alliance Leader was also for that reason.

The Poison King needed power.

But.

‘It’s too late.’

He had to sense that it was somewhat late now.

The rotten roots were gradually spreading and unbeknownst to the Poison King they had already crept up to his toes.

He thought about whether Gu Yangcheon’s words might be false.

But the Poison King was already convinced. Something was wrong.

This was something he could have known from the moment Gu Yangcheon swallowed the poison.

He had poisoned a guest he had invited.

Moreover even if he wanted to find out he couldn’t.

It wasn’t something that could be attributed to anyone.

The Poison King had already suspected but the lack of evidence and the fact that he couldn’t easily touch them were the problems.

There would be a culprit among the Elders.

This was an unchanging law. If someone wanted to commit something inside the Tang Clan without the Poison King knowing.

They would at least have to be at the Elder level.

If not they might be among the direct descendants of the previous Clan Head…

But among the bloodline of the previous generation he was the only one who survived.

So in that sense the Elder seemed the most certain. However the problem here was.

‘It’s not easy.’

Even if he knew that he couldn’t act immediately.

It was impossible to seize the influence they held.

Even if he sought to find the Elder’s crimes and purge them if he didn’t have the ability to absorb the power and the parts they had built.

In the end this could become a crisis for the clan.

This meant.

‘It’s my problem….’

It meant that the situation arising from the lack of power of the Clan Head was no different.

To resolve the issues caused by the previous generation the Clan Head had to share the power he held.

This was a problem regarding the support of the clan.

He thought this was something that every clan would have as times changed but when the situation arose it inevitably felt painful.

What was even more tragic was…

‘If only I had known earlier.’

If he had known about this in the past would the Poison King have tried to dig into this matter?

He couldn’t be sure.

The reason he took this matter seriously even now was ultimately.

– Because Miss seemed to be involved in this matter.

It was because of the words Gu Yangcheon had spat out.

Tang Soyeol. His precious daughter like a jewel was involved in this matter.

How? How was she entangled in this that Gu Yangcheon would say such a thing?

Whether that statement was true or not was uncertain.

But if there was even a slight doubt he had to confirm it.

In the past two days.

The Poison King had met with all the Elders in the clan.

Pretending to have a normal conversation the Poison King filtered out a few of them in his mind.

‘First Elder. And Third Elder.’

The First Elder who managed the medicinal herbs and poisons of the Tang Clan and the Third Elder who distributed them or manufactured hidden weapons.

If they could use the poisonous flower to poison someone those two were the most likely suspects.

Possibility.

Yes it was a possibility not certainty.

There was no evidence.

‘What if.’

What would happen if he found evidence?

Could he deal with it?

No that would not be easy either.

So he thought that if the Poison King of the past had known he would have let it go.

But now he could not let it go.

Because his daughter was involved.

So the Poison King had to make a choice.

If he couldn’t act due to political and power issues what was left?

If he couldn’t expand the influence of the Clan Head in a short time and the situation was urgent.

What options were left?

Then there was only one thing left.

Clatter.

“…!”

Suddenly the teacup shook alone. The Poison King paused for a moment as he noticed this.

Hooook-!

“Ugh! Hah!”

Suddenly the Poison King’s vision twisted and turned.

His mouth which was about to scream in unknown pain was shut.

Boom-!

His body slammed against the wall slowly rising.

Only then did the Poison King realize that something was gripping his neck.

Grrr-!

“Ugh… Ugh….”

An overwhelming pressure.

The Poison King lowered his gaze through the tightening grip.

There stood a man with red eyes staring at the Poison King through the thick darkness.

“Tang Cheon-gi.”

A voice pierced into the Poison King’s ear.

It was the sound of his name being called.

The heavy tone was filled with thick anger.

His whole body was subdued around the neck that was being gripped. He couldn’t even sense anyone entering and he couldn’t react at all until it reached this point.

“Ugh….”

All he could do was let out a muffled groan.

“Explain.”

In a voice that seemed calm yet rough the Poison King recalled once again.

The only way to resolve this situation which had no answers in sight.

That was sheer force.

Political advantages. The incompetence of not being able to do anything about the power.

In the end all of it was meaningless in the face of overwhelming force.

The Central Plains which starts from nothing and ends in nothing has always been like that. No matter how much one pretends to be noble and clean. The world of martial artists is like that.

“If you cannot make me understand.”

That’s why the Poison King Tang Cheon-gi.

“I will burn the name of the Tang Clan to ashes on the land of the Central Plains.”

He summoned the strongest person he knew.