Chapter 44 – The Peng Family of Hebei (1)

My father-in-law dashed into the Inner Courtyard and seemed to be heading toward my quarters. However, as if recalling something, he abruptly turned his steps toward the Medicine Hall.

Judging from his earlier outcry and the current situation, it appeared that he had no idea where I was, or more specifically, in what state I was.

“Father-in-law?”

“Hmm!? S-Soryong!?”

To reassure him that I was fine, I called out to him as he moved further away. Father-in-law, spotting me sitting in the pavilion, widened his eyes in shock.

Still wide-eyed, he quickly rushed toward me.

“Soryong, are you all right? I heard that you hadn’t regained consciousness, so I ran here in a hurry!

I did hear that you woke up in front of the Nine Progress Gate after I came back, but are you already well enough to be moving around like this?”

With a surprised expression, father-in-law grabbed my arms and inspected me here and there.

I had heard from Nunim that, due to a major incident within the family, swift martial artists adept at qinggong had been sent to relay the news to him wherever he was.

At that time, however, I had been unconscious, unable to wake up. Naturally, father-in-law must have only received the report that I had collapsed and was unresponsive.

“Yes, Father-in-law, I’m fine. Thankfully, I regained consciousness after ten days.”

“Ten days!”

“And although I’ve ended up with this large scar on my arm, I’m all right. The important thing is that I survived.”

“A scar!”

When I showed him the scar left behind by the wound inflicted by the Elder of the Blood Cult’s finger strike, he raised his voice with a furious expression, shouting with each word.

“Those damn Blood Cult bastards!”

Hearing his voice, the family members began appearing one by one in the backyard.

“Father!”

“Hwa-eun, are you unharmed?”

“I’m fine. S-Soryong… He saved me. He saved all of us.”

“Really!? Soryong did? I need to hear the details about what happened.”

At the father-in-law’s question, Nunim responded with her hand placed over her chest and her head tilted slightly to the side, wearing a shy expression.

Though she had looked magnificent wielding her whip with unrelenting elegance like a true tsundere, this shy demeanor was equally captivating.

Indeed, Nunim’s charm lay in the contrast between her usual cold demeanor and moments like these, when she appeared bashful.

But my delight at the scene was fleeting.

‘Wait, appreciating the whip as beautiful… That’s not okay…’

Just as I started to worry that my preferences might be straying outside the bounds of normalcy, a voice came from behind us.

“You’re back? Stop making such a fuss. The children are safe, so let’s head to the Family Head’s Hall. I’ll recount everything that happened.”

“Yes, I have returned. Understood. Poison Extermination Squad, you may dismiss and rest!”

“““Yes, Family Head!”””

After issuing dismissal orders to the Poison Extermination Squad, the father-in-law moved toward the Family Head’s Hall with the same urgency he had shown when storming into the Inner Courtyard.

As he walked a few steps ahead, he turned back to address us.

“You all, come along as well.”

“Yes, Father-in-law.”

“Yes, Father.”

And so, as we entered the Family Head’s hall with father-in-law and were discussing what had happened for quite a while…

“You poisoned yourself and lured the bastard into draining your blood?”

“Yes, and then you said this to him when he was flustered: ‘I am your natural enemy!’ Like that.”

“Hahaha! How exhilarating! Truly exhilarating.”

‘Ah, I’ll need to be more cautious next time. This is beyond embarrassing.’

Uncertain whether I was being teased or praised, I felt a mix of emotions. Just then, voices from outside the hall interrupted us.

“Family Head, Military strategist has arrived to see you.”

“Strategist? Ah, Zhuge must have arrived.”

“Indeed, after we sent a message to the Murim Alliance, the Alliance Leader seems to have sent him.”

“Show him in.”

“Yes, Family Head.”

Shortly afterward, the doors opened, and in walked Zhuge Hu, strategist of the Murim Alliance.

My father-in-law, who was said to be an old friend of the strategist, greeted him warmly as they embraced one another.

Not blood brothers, ah, this is the Central Plains, rather, they seemed to be jukmagou. (TL: Childhood friends who grew up together)

“Cheol-san, it’s been a while, my friend.”

“Have you been well? You rarely send word since taking that high position, and now I only get to see your face because of something like this.”

“Ah, has it really been that bad? I must apologize for that.”

After their heartfelt reunion, the strategist settled into a seat. The first thing the father-in-law asked wasn’t about his well-being or recent happenings, but a somewhat businesslike, or rather, a rather grim, topic.

“So, have you captured the spy?”

“Ah, of course. I’ve sent word to the Alliance Leader, so they’re probably apprehending them right about now.”

“Spy?”

I tilted my head in confusion, and the father-in-law, noticing this, smiled as he explained.

“Didn’t you say the Blood Cult members invaded targeting the Blood Water Poisonous Claws manual?”

“Yes, it seemed to be of great importance to them.”

“Then how do you think those bastards found out that the Blood Water Poisonous Claws manual was here, in the Sichuan Tang Family?”

As I considered the father-in-law’s question, I realized that the Blood Water Poisonous Claws manual had been brought from Haenam Island to the Sichuan Tang Family.

Until it arrived at the family, only the father-in-law, Gu Pae, and two warriors along with myself knew about it. After its arrival, only the direct descendants of the family, Grandfather, Mother-in-law, Nunim, and a few elders of the family’s branch line who held senior roles were informed.

“Wait! Then… one of the warriors or the family elders could be-!?”

While I didn’t know about the warriors, my initial impression of the family elders wasn’t great, thanks to Nunim. Still, seeing how fiercely they fought against the Blood Cult bastards, their loyalty to the family seemed genuine. For someone among them to betray us as a spy seemed unthinkable.

As disbelief clouded my expression, the strategist suddenly burst into laughter.

“Heh heh. It looks like your son-in-law needs some educating. Since he’s new to the family, he’s coming up with all sorts of amusing ideas.”

I glanced around with a puzzled expression at the strategist’s comment. Nunim, wearing a faint smile, gently explained.

“Soryong, there can’t be spies in the Tang Family.”

“What?”

Well, no one is born a spy or informant, right?

I thought people usually become spies after being recruited following a mistake, so I wondered why she spoke with such confidence.

That’s when Grandfather revealed something I hadn’t known before.

“Soryong, in the Tang Family, whether it’s warriors, lowly servants, or even those doing menial tasks, they’re all part of the Tang Family. There’s absolutely no one here who would betray the family. And the reason we can say that with such confidence is because…”

As Grandfather explained, I learned something astonishing: The Tang Family treated the arts of poison and poison techniques as top-secret information. Because of this, even recruiting a single servant wasn’t done lightly.

If the Tang Family decided to hire one servant? They would thoroughly investigate the direct relatives and cousins of every applicant, and only after ensuring there were no issues would they select someone of sound character.

Once selected as a servant, not just the servant but their entire immediate family would be brought into the Tang Family.

This alone was surprising, but it didn’t end there.

The servant and their family would be prohibited from leaving the Tang Family for ten years. Even for unavoidable events like the death of a cousin, they would have to attend the funeral accompanied by Tang Family warriors.

“When someone joins the Tang Family, they swear never to leave, unless it’s through death.”

‘Gasp!’

I was still reeling from the rigorous selection process for servants, but that was nothing compared to the process for recruiting warriors.

Apparently, children with exceptional potential were purchased at a young age by paying large sums to their parents.

In this era, where many starved to death, it wasn’t uncommon for parents to sell their children to survive or to save their other children. The Tang Family would buy such children and train them to become warriors.

These warriors would then be paired with members of the Tang Family’s branch lines, servants, or their families. This turned the Sichuan Tang Family into a literal blood-connected network, or more precisely, a collection of blood ties.

With their spouses, children, and entire families being part of the Tang Family, it was said there was no way anyone would ever engage in espionage or betrayal.

I thought learning poison techniques was no big deal since they just taught it to me like a free pass, but apparently, being selected as a warrior to learn poison techniques was evidence of loyalty, character, and aptitude within the Tang Family.

As my eyes widened in astonishment at this incredible fact, Nunim’s voice, tinged with amusement, reached my ears.

“Soryong, could it be that you passed information to the Blood Cult?”

“Ah, no! How could I?”

“Then there can’t be anyone spying in our Tang Family. We haven’t taken in new people for almost ten years.”

“But still, people can make mistakes….”

I argued that people, being human, can make mistakes and that perfection isn’t realistic. However, it turned out that everyone in the Tang Family who knew about this secret had already proven their innocence by consuming something akin to a truth serum.

A poison that forces confessions, naturally, this was the Tang Family.

The Sichuan Tang Family.

Who would have thought such a secret was hidden within the Tang Family? As expected of the most renowned assassin clan in the Central Plains, the Sichuan Tang Family.

Chills ran down my spine.

“Then, who is the spy?”

“Of course, it must have been someone within the Murim Alliance.”

“That’s right. It was someone in the Murim Alliance.”

What I thought would take a long time, capturing the spy, turned out to be quite simple. Since the Tang Family was entirely ruled out, the only possible suspect pool was the Murim Alliance.

Still, I thought that with the sheer number of people in the Murim Alliance, it would take a while to catch the culprit. But the reason it happened so quickly became clear.

The strategist explained that typically, when a letter arrives, it goes through a process of being handled at the mail management office, sorted for information, passed on to the relevant department, and then reported to the higher-ups.

However, since father-in-law wanted to minimize the number of people privy to the matter, he sent a branch elder from the Tang Family to inform the strategist directly.

As a result, at the time, only three people in the Murim Alliance were aware of the situation.

“Who exactly is the spy?”

“A servant.”

“A servant?”

***

I had enough sense not to bring up the matter of the Blue Earth Lizard. Judging from the atmosphere, it just didn’t seem like the right time today.

With people in the family dead and talk of spies, Blood Cult, and wiping them out going around, I couldn’t tactlessly say something like ‘I’m going to go catch that lizard.’

In my previous life, people said that if you’re tactful, you could even manage to get meat side dishes at a Buddhist temple. Timing is everything, after all.

‘I have to stay sharp. I can’t act thoughtlessly. Yes….’

So, after the conversation with the elders in the Family Head’s Hall concluded, I sat with Nunim in the pavilion.

It was to check on Bin’s condition again, which had been interrupted earlier by the father-in-law.

“Cho, Hyang, Bin, come here.”

As Nunim stretched out her arm and called the centipedes, I gently placed my hand on her wrist. The little creatures wriggled and crawled over toward her.

Seeing this, Nunim asked in a relieved tone.

“This means they aren’t seriously sick, right?”

“Most likely, yes.”

Nunim’s expression eased somewhat, likely due to the explanation I had given her earlier.

For insects, fish, lizards, or other animals that don’t communicate directly with their owners, the biggest sign of illness is fasting.

Normally, these creatures would immediately crawl over to Nunim when hungry. But when they don’t, it means something isn’t right.

It was hard to tell whether Bin thought of me as its mother and Nunim as a nanny, or if it thought Nunim was its mother but found my body more comfortable because it lived on me. Either way, when Bin was sick, it wouldn’t try to absorb energy from Nunim. If not, it would quickly crawl over to her. That’s what I had explained to Nunim before.

But Bin immediately wriggled over to Nunim without hesitation, which meant it wasn’t suffering from any illness severe enough to disrupt its eating habits.

Even after closely inspecting its antennae, there didn’t seem to be any signs of a fungal infection. The black discoloration hadn’t progressed further, and there were no signs of softening or abnormalities on its shell’s surface.

So, the conclusion was simple: Bin’s coloring had just developed a little earlier than the others.

Just like with any living being, there are always some that develop faster than others. Like those kids who somehow manage to have a girlfriend by the time they’re in lower elementary school or something.

With that thought in mind, I nodded and gave my answer.

“Perhaps Bin’s color just developed a bit earlier than the others. That’s one way to think about it.”

Nunim’s face lit up with joy at my response, and she spoke with relief.

“That’s a relief. These little ones will become the three guardian dragons of the Tang Family. They can’t afford to get sick. Ah! Now that I think about it, it seems Bin is going to become a Black Dragon!”

“A Black Dragon?”

“Yes, a black dragon. Isn’t it obvious since Bin is the only one turning black? Then it would be wonderful if Cho became a White Dragon, and Hyang became a Red Dragon!”

I awkwardly chuckled and nodded along to her suggestion.

“Th-that would certainly be impressive….”

The last time Nunim said the centipedes would become dragons, I had casually asked Commander Gu Pae and the Venomous Creature Squad warriors about it.

I was curious whether Nunim and grandfather were mistaken, or if everyone else thought the same.

「”Of course, Young Master Soryong. It’s common knowledge that centipedes turn into dragons if they live for a thousand years.”

“Yes, I’ve also heard that centipedes ascend to the skies, holding a wish-fulfilling pearl formed from their inner core.”

“That’s correct. That’s why our elders used to say not to kill centipedes that wandered into the house, but to release them outside instead.”」

What could I do when everyone except me believed it? If everyone else believed it, even if it wasn’t true, it might as well be true.

And if raising them meant they’d evolve into dragons someday, that wasn’t a bad thing, it was good, even.

‘Yeah, a dragon is definitely cooler than a centipede.’

While waiting for Nunim to finish feeding the centipedes, I gazed at the distant setting sun.

– Beeeeep! Beeeeeep! Beeeeeep!

Suddenly, the sound of a signal dagger echoed from far below the mountain, indicating for direct family members to come.

Nunim and I exchanged a quick glance before leaping outside.

Since the elders were still in the middle of their discussion, it felt like it was up to us to go and check the situation.

When we arrived at the entrance of the Nine Progress Gate, about ten people were waiting for us. They wore martial uniforms with the character Peng (彭) embroidered on their left chest.

Each of them was as massive as a mountain, with rough appearances that could easily be mistaken for cattle thieves or bandits.

Nunim’s urgent telepathic voice transmission suddenly echoed in my mind.

[Soryong, that’s the family head of the Peng Family of Hebei! When you talk to him, don’t get too hung up on manners or formalities, okay? Understood?]

‘What on earth is she talking about?’

I couldn’t understand Nunim’s words telling me not to be mindful of manners or formality, rather than telling me to be mindful of them.

***

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

Thank you for reading!

[Author – 에르훗]

[Translator – bjgoofy]