Chapter 12 – Sichuan’s Tang Family (2)

I had only heard that the Central Plains were vast, but experiencing it firsthand, the landmass was indeed immense.

From Haenam, we took a boat to the port of Qin Zhou.

Then, passing through Nan Ning, after a journey of almost a month and a half, we finally arrived in Sichuan.

Even though we traveled by Qinggong, it was an incredibly long distance. (TL: Light body technique change to Qinggong)

The Family Head seemed worried about his daughter and hurried along the way like crazy, so by the time I arrived in Sichuan, I was almost in a beggarly state.

We couldn’t even stay at inns along the way and had to sleep rough most of the time, and as I was often carried on the back of the deputy leader or the Family Head, I frequently vomited whatever I ate in the morning.

I wanted to suggest taking a rest when it was hard, but how could a newcomer show signs of weakness?

Whenever I said I was fine, the clueless people of the Tang family praised my resilience.

“I’m fine! A man like me can easily handle this much!”

“Indeed, you fit right in with our family. Such resilience.”

Thus, we arrived at the entrance of the mountain, looking thin and scruffy.

Crossing the bridge over the river, we reached the front of the mountain.

Out of place at the entrance of the mountain, the Nine Progress Gate with nine gates in a row and its hanging signboard appeared.

Sichuan Tang Family.

‘Who builds a gate and signboard at the entrance of a mountain?’

Startled by the sudden appearance of the Nine Progress Gate and signboard, I turned around to see Deputy Leader Gu Pae smiling and explaining.

“This is Sichuan Tang Family, Young Hero.”

“This is Sichuan Tang Family? But this is just the entrance to a mountain?”

“This mountain is all Sichuan Tang Family, Young Hero. That’s why we call this mountain Tang Family Mountain.”

“Wow!”

Indeed, I was so captivated by the gate that I hadn’t noticed until now, but looking at the mountain ridges, I could see pavilions rising here and there and terraced fields.

It turned out that the entire mountain and the village it encompassed were Sichuan Tang Family.

I thought it was just an insignificant family in a rural area of Sichuan, but Sichuan Tang Family was a far more formidable clan than I had imagined.

On our way here, I heard explanations about the martial world’s Nine Great Sects and the Eight Great Families, including that one of them was Sichuan Tang Family, but I couldn’t believe it when they said it themselves.

Having seen plenty of crazies on the internet in my previous life, I was the type not to believe anything I hadn’t seen with my own eyes, but this was beyond description.

“This is Sichuan Tang Family…”

As I stood there, awestruck by the grandeur of the Tang Family, Deputy Leader Gu Pae stretched out his hand towards the mountain and said,

“Yes, Young Hero. This is our Sichuan Tang Family. Soon, it will be your Sichuan Tang Family too.”

‘Our Sichuan Tang Family, huh? Sounds nice.’

The thought of becoming a member of such a place seemed to puff up my chest a bit.

It seemed like I could strut around with some pride wherever I went.

And with our arrival, the top of the mountain became noisy, and people began to run or fly towards the Nine Progress Gate.

***

When I opened my eyes, what I saw was my mother’s face, stained with tears.

“Mother… How did I?”

“You’re alive, Hwa-eun.”

And my grandfather, sweating cold sweat from exhaustion.

“It’s done now.”

“Grandfather…”

Succumbing to Qi Deviation in my greed to cross the realm of Ten Poisons and reach Hundred Poisons as soon as possible.

I thought it was the end when I couldn’t overcome the last hurdle and showed symptoms of poisoning…

My mother and grandfather were looking down at me.

“Huu…”

The joy of being alive was short-lived, and tears immediately poured from Tang Hwa-eun’s eyes.

Surviving Qi Deviation meant losing all martial arts skills.

Or it meant becoming a disabled person.

Now, I could no longer practice martial arts, let alone move around comfortably.

Warriors who suffered Qi Deviation usually lived their whole lives like that, as I had seen many such cases before.

From a young age, I saw many warriors who came to the Tang sect seeking cure for their Qi Deviation using our poisons and medicines, but all of them ended up the same way.

Despair engulfed her.

She wanted to prove herself to the elders of the clan, not just be praised for her beauty.

She wanted to show that she could achieve much more, even if she wasn’t a man, by mastering the clan’s martial arts.

“Sob… I’m sorry, Mother.”

My legitimate mother, Tang Hwa-eun’s mother, had not borne another child after her.

But my father did not take another wife despite the clan’s pressure, and my grandfather had acknowledged this decision.

Even though other branches and elders of the clan were displeased with it.

That’s why Tang Hwa-eun wanted to show them.

That she could be a far more useful existence to the clan, even if she wasn’t a man.

That’s why she wanted to reach it.

The realm of Hundred Poisons, recognized as a peak master beyond the first-class level.

But now, having become a disabled person, a truly useless existence, tears endlessly streamed down her eyes.

That’s when it happened.

The touch of her grandfather’s hand, firmly holding Hwa-eun’s.

Her grandfather spoke in his always warm voice.

“Child, are you apologizing for making your father and grandfather suffer so much? But you have reached the realm of Hundred Poisons that you so desired. Stop crying and be happy.”

“Sob… What?”

Grandfather’s words that she had reached the realm of Hundred Poisons she so longed for.

At first, she didn’t understand what he meant.

She looked back and forth between her grandfather and mother, but both were smiling.

Tang Hwa-eun blinked her eyes and checked the condition of her body with a blank expression.

She realized all her sensations were normal, and she could move her fingers and toes.

If it were really Qi Deviation, she shouldn’t be able to move comfortably, let alone have normal sensations.

Without any time to be surprised, Hwa-eun quickly closed her eyes and circulated her internal energy.

The True Qi flowed without any obstruction.

And the immense power she felt in her dantian.

Finishing the Lesser Circulation in a rush and not satisfied with that, she completed the Greater Circulation. When Hwa-eun opened her eyes wide, her grandfather stroked her head and said,

“Are you satisfied now? You have accumulated enough internal energy to ascend to the Thousand Poisons realm. You just need to gain enlightenment to reach the Thousand Poisons Realm anytime.”

“How, how is this possible?”

She had collapsed due to Qi Deviation…

But despite that, she had accumulated immense internal energy.

Upon hearing her grandfather’s words about having enough internal energy to reach the realm of Thousand Poisons, she opened her eyes wide. Grandfather chuckled and said,

“Of course, you ate the inner core of the precious Blue-Spotted Centipede.”

“The, the Blue-Spotted Centipede?”

“Yes, Hwa-eun. Your father and I almost died catching that thing. Ah, I’m getting old, these long journeys aren’t easy anymore.”

The Blue-Spotted Centipede was a huge centipede mentioned in the ‘Compendium of Venomous Creatures Under Heaven’, a secret book of the Tang sect.

It wasn’t a martial arts text, so she had read it for fun, and it definitely mentioned that creature.

“The Blue-Spotted Centipede is a giant centipede as big as a house. You, you caught that?”

“Yes, child.”

If Hwa-eun remembered correctly from the ‘Compendium of Venomous Creatures Under Heaven’, the Blue-Spotted Centipede was a spiritual creature that lived for hundreds of years.

Its inner core could certainly elevate her realm even from a state of Qi Deviation.

Only then did Hwa-eun realize how she was able to regain consciousness in a healthy state and how she had acquired such immense internal energy.

“Thank you, Grandfather!”

She got up from the bed and hugged her grandfather.

Even though her grandfather smelled of sweat and unwashed odor, it didn’t matter.

“Haha, do you like it that much?”

“Yes. But where is Father?”

And then, Tang Hwa-eun finally realized that her father was not around.

She remembered hearing that her grandfather had gone with him to catch the Blue-Spotted Centipede.

“Did you just notice that your father is not here?”

Embarrassed by her grandfather’s words, Hwa-eun blushed.

Her grandfather, after checking her pulse again, started to tell the story of going to catch the Blue-Spotted Centipede.

“Your father will be late.”

“Late? Why didn’t he come back with you?”

“Well, let me catch my breath for a moment. The story begins when I went to Haenam Island to catch the Blue-Spotted Centipede.”

“You went all the way to Haenam Island?”

“Yes, we rushed there after obtaining information that the Blue-Spotted Centipede had been sighted. But upon arriving at Haenam Island and even after confirming the location from a herb collector who had seen it, we couldn’t find the Blue-Spotted Centipede despite days of searching. That’s when we met a mysterious Young Hero in an abandoned Taoist temple in the mountains, seeking shelter from the rain…”

The story of the mysterious Young Hero introduced by her grandfather was indeed astonishing.

Thinking about the day they had to leave Haenam Island, the hearts of her grandfather and father grew anxious as time to depart drew closer. It was this Young Hero, living alone in the abandoned Taoist temple, who told the Tang family about a possible location of the Blue-Spotted Centipede. When they searched that place, incredibly, the Blue-Spotted Centipede emerged from beneath a rock.

“So, this Young Hero is my benefactor?”

Although the inner core was obtained through the sacrifices of her father, grandfather, and the warriors, they would never have caught it if they hadn’t known its location. The Young Hero was indeed a benefactor to the Tang family and to Hwa-eun herself.

“Yes, Hwa-eun. So, we intend to welcome this Young Hero as a guest of our Tang family. Your father stayed in Haenam for this reason.”

“Gratitude engraved in stone, resentment engraved in blood. The Tang family never forgets a favor. If the Young Hero becomes a guest of our Tang family, I will respectfully treat them as my benefactor.”

“That’s right. That’s how a daughter of the Tang family should be.”

Tang Hwa-eun resolved to treat the Young Hero as a close sibling, grateful not only for fulfilling her wish but also for saving her life.

***

“Sigh…”

The joy of having achieved the realm of Hundred Poisons and gathering the internal energy to reach Thousand Poisons was short-lived.

Tang Hwa-eun sat submerged in water, her face filled with worry.

The water was strewn with petals of osmanthus flowers, and various aromatic herbs were submerged, releasing their fragrance.

The reason she was soaking in this fragrant herb bath since morning, not evening.

For some unknown reason, ever since she recovered from Qi Deviation, she had to wash her body several times a day, or a strange foul odor would start emanating from her body.

A peculiar smell, more potent than sweat, was coming out even when she hadn’t sweated. It was a scent that made people uncomfortable and frown, emerging from all over her body.

The doctors and her grandfather found nothing unusual about her body, and the cause remained unknown.

Moreover, the foul smell seemed to be getting worse, so Tang Hwa-eun became increasingly anxious.

Now that she had reached the realm of Hundred Poisons, she should have been rapidly progressing in the realms of poison arts towards Thousand Poisons, but instead, she had to bathe several times a day.

It was nothing more than rubbing and washing her poor skin.

And while she continued her baths amidst sighs, she heard a commotion outside.

“Miss! The Family Head has arrived! Please come out quickly!”

“Father is back?”

It had been almost a month since her grandfather returned to the Tang sect.

Upon hearing that her father had finally arrived, Tang Hwa-eun quickly dried herself off and put on her clothes.

Then, using her Qinggong skills, she hurried to the Nine Progress Gate of the Tang family.

Reaching the Nine Progress Gate of the Tang family, she saw her father’s face, which showed signs of hardship.

“Father!”

“Hwa-eun! You’re alive!”

“Father! I’m sorry!”

“No, it’s alright. You’re alive, and that’s what matters.”

As she rushed into her father’s arms, tears of gratitude and remorse welled up.

It was then, amidst their tearful reunion, that her father stepped aside with a smile and spoke.

“Hwa-eun, there is someone I want to introduce to you.”

Hwa-eun, thinking of the mysterious Young Hero her grandfather had mentioned, quickly wiped her tears and composed herself.

Even if the Young Hero was young, a benefactor is a benefactor.

She was determined to greet them with all due respect.

As she quickly composed herself, a scrawny and pitiful-looking boy emerged from behind the deputy leader.

The thin, pitiable boy walked out hesitantly.

Then came her father’s introduction.

“Ah, Xiaolong. This is my daughter, Tang Hwa-eun. What did you call it? Yuejo? Ah! Right. Yueji! Yes, this child is precisely Yueji.”

“What!?”

“Huh!?”

Both the father, with his strange smile, and the Young Hero and Tang Hwa-eun, looked at each other with bewildered expressions.

***

If you find any errors or have suggestions, please feel free to provide feedback.

Thank you for reading!

[Author – 에르훗]

[Translator – Roshi]