Chapter 21 : The Sweet and Bitter Price of Sin

Chapter 21: The Sweet and Bitter Price of Sin

The Heavenly Protection Hall, the main conference room of the Sichuan Tang Clan, was once again filled with people, just like the day the Murim Alliance Leader had visited.

Not only Clan Head Tang Muyeol, but also the hall leaders of the Five Halls attended—except for Tang Hoyeol, who had been bedridden for days due to a sudden illness.

That was how grave and serious the matter was.

However, the atmosphere in the room was quite different from when the Alliance Leader had visited.

Ssssh.

Unlike the heated debate directed at Sewoon back then, not a single person dared to speak this time.

Only a cold stillness and silence filled the room.

At the center of the Heavenly Protection Hall stood three members of the Emei Sect, led by Geum Hwa, as if they were criminals.

Geum Hwa, who had always been confident wherever she went as the undisputed Overlord of Sichuan acknowledged by all in the martial world,

Today, her face was stiff, and her shoulders drooped low.

Feeling a cold sweat run down her spine, Geum Hwa carefully opened her mouth.

“C-Clan Head. You know me well, do you not? Th-This is all a misunderstanding.”

In truth, Geum Hwa and Tang Muyeol were not strangers.

Back when she was a promising young successor,

She had met Tang Muyeol—who was also a young master back then—by chance and had once acted as chivalrous companions throughout the Sichuan region.

Even at that time, there was a significant difference in power between Emei and the Tang Clan.

But since she highly valued Tang Muyeol’s chivalry, she exchanged close friendship without minding such matters.

Because of that, Geum Hwa looked at Tang Muyeol with a desperate hope that he would understand her sincerity.

“What part of this is a misunderstanding?”

Tang Muyeol’s demeanor toward her today was as cold as the snow of the North Sea.

It was a completely different sight from the benevolent image he had always shown.

His gaze was not one of looking at a comrade who had shared memories in youth.

It was a cold and clear look of hostility aimed at her.

“Are you saying it’s a misunderstanding that you hid your identities and secretly infiltrated the Tang Clan?”

“N-No. What I mean is, how this came to be is…”

“Or is it a misunderstanding that you questioned how the Tang Clan could take in so many patients?”

“C-Clan Head…”

“If not even that!”

Tang Muyeol, unable to hold back his fury, raised his voice and then paused briefly.

He barely held back his anger with superhuman patience and finished his words with difficulty.

“In the end, is it a misunderstanding that your sect leader couldn’t let go of his suspicions and used poison techniques on my child, causing internal injuries?”

Ssssh.

The moment Sewoon’s name was brought up, the air around them froze colder than ever.

Geum Hwa couldn’t say a word.

No matter how close they had once been, what parent could let go of someone who had severely harmed their child?

“At this point, I’m starting to question your true intentions in visiting our clan. Could it be you came to finish what the Alliance failed to do not long ago?”

“C-Clan Head, that’s absurd!”

Geum Hwa turned pale as she spoke.

What the Clan Head referred to as the unfinished business was the assassination attempt on Sun Ugon, the Rear Dragon Guard Leader, that had occurred in Jincheon.

With her head hung low, Cheong Yeon’s face turned ghostly white as she silently watched the entire situation unfold.

‘It’s… it’s all my fault.’

Seeing her master suffer such torment because of her own mistake, she didn’t know what to do with herself.

In her desperation, Cheong Yeon wanted to kneel before Sewoon—the person directly affected—and beg for forgiveness to somehow resolve this crisis.

Unfortunately, Sewoon was nowhere to be seen in the Heavenly Protection Hall.

-Are you alright?! Young Master!

-Come on, stay with me! Sewoon, Sewoon!

Perhaps barely hanging on through sheer willpower despite the qi embedded in Geum Hwa’s palm technique,

The moment the Tang Clan’s martial artists arrived, Sewoon lost consciousness and collapsed.

Tang Serin, the Vice Captain of the Heaven’s Medicine Hall, immediately carried the unconscious Sewoon toward the clinic.

During that process, Hayeong tried to follow and assist in the treatment.

-I-I’ll help…

-If you take even one more step, I’ll melt you down into a puddle of blood.

Poison Peak.

No, now retired from the position of the Four Phoenixes, the senior master now known throughout the martial world as the Poison Rakshasa unleashed such overwhelming pressure that Hayeong froze on the spot like a statue.

In fact, the very person Hayeong had always looked up to and aspired to be like was none other than Tang Serin, which made the shock all the more devastating.

‘…It’s only natural as a senior.’

Hayeong had no choice but to swallow her bitterness.

To Tang Serin, she was now the enemy who had harmed her younger brother.

Considering what she had done, it was fortunate she hadn’t been poisoned without question.

‘Haa, please… please let him be okay…’

Hayeong wasn’t even thinking about the wrath of her sect leader or the aftermath that would hit the Emei Sect once this incident spread.

To have committed such an unbelievable mistake as a righteous martial artist—

She truly felt sorry and regretful toward Sewoon, whom she had misunderstood so badly.

There was no doubt the opponent had taken a direct hit from her master's qi.

If she, who knew the inner workings of the Golden Purity Art, didn't assist, it would take at least three days just for treatment and recovery.

It was even said that he was born with a Heavenly Punishment in his dantian.

Although all three members of the Emei Sect were sincerely repenting,

The atmosphere in the hall was only growing more hostile.

Creak!

It was at that moment.

No one was expected to arrive, yet the door to the Heavenly Protection Hall suddenly burst open.

In that instant, everyone turned their eyes toward the back.

Without exception, every single person's expression turned to shock.

“Young Master Tang Sewoon greets the Clan Head.”

Sewoon, who should have still been bedridden, appeared completely fine.

Step, step.

Breaking through everyone’s gaze, Sewoon walked to the center of the Heavenly Protection Hall.

Without support or assistance, he walked alone—his figure showed no signs of injury or abnormality, contrary to everyone’s fears.

Schlick.

Arriving beside the three members of the Emei Sect, Sewoon bowed politely to his father, Tang Muyeol.

“My apologies. I’ve caused unnecessary concern for you, Clan Head.”

“…Think nothing of it. But are you truly alright?”

“Yes. I took a short nap and now I feel fine. Whew, I suppose I had built up too much fatigue from focusing on patient care recently.”

Fatigue?

What did he mean by that?

Tang Muyeol’s face, for the first time, showed a flicker of confusion at Sewoon’s words.

“…Fatigue? So you weren’t internally injured?”

“Pardon? Internal injury?”

Sewoon tilted his head in confusion.

His reaction, as if he had heard something completely absurd, stirred murmurs throughout the hall.

There wasn’t a hint that the young master had been through a life-or-death struggle.

‘…No internal injuries?’

‘What does that mean?’

Only the three members of the Emei Sect who had fought directly with him stared blankly, blinking in disbelief.

As everyone stood puzzled.

Tang Serin, who had arrived late, quickly approached Sewoon and whispered the full story into his ear.

Sewoon soon let out a sigh.

“Ah, I see. So that’s the misunderstanding.”

Sewoon swiftly turned his body to face the three Emei Sect members standing nearby.

As Geum Hwa and the others flinched in surprise—

Schlick!

“My apologies, Sect Leader.”

Suddenly, Sewoon bowed his head and gave a clasped-hands greeting to Geum Hwa.

Everyone was left stunned by the bizarre sight of the victim bowing to the perpetrator.

Sewoon’s face held genuine discomfort and remorse.

Then he began to speak things no one could have anticipated.

“Whew, when I last parted ways with Divine Physician, she said she’d soon impart me some teachings.”

“I never imagined the beginning of that would be sending the Sect Leader of Emei to me in person.”

“Sigh. The Sect Leader came to observe my medical skills and point out my shortcomings. But unaware of that, I foolishly acted rashly out of youthful hot blood.”

“Since I’m still new to the world of martial arts, my insight is shallow, and I even failed to recognize Sect Leader’s esteemed face, which caused this mess. I sincerely apologize again.”

“You—you, what are you saying…?”

Unable to process the chaos in her mind, Geum Hwa finally opened her mouth.

Sewoon’s voice shot into her ear like lightning via telepathic transmission.

The moment Geum Hwa swallowed her breath and closed her mouth,

The murmurs among the Tang Clan members began to grow louder.

“They say the Sect Leader of Emei came personally under Divine Physician’s orders to check on Young Master?”

“Was it really just a misunderstanding?”

“Hmm, if the Emei Sect Leader had truly gone all out, there’s no way the young master would look that unscathed…”

“But they say Divine Physician promised to teach the young master medicine? If that’s true—!”

“No, Divine Physician is famous for never teaching medicine to anyone except the Emei Sect Leader…”

The looks of hostility in the eyes of the Tang Clan members directed at the Emei Sect members were gradually softening.

The shocking news that the legitimate heir of the clan would be receiving teachings from the Divine Physician was enough to make everyone forget their earlier memories.

At that moment, a telepathic message was sent to Sewoon.

It was from his father, Tang Muyeol.

He had instantly realized that his son was lying.

And—

Just as Tang Muyeol suspected, everything Sewoon had said so far was an outright lie.

But it wasn’t because he was bearing it all for the sake of a declining clan,

Nor was it a pure-hearted sacrifice to help the three misunderstood members of the Emei Sect.

Because he knew this was the way to gain the greatest benefit for himself.

Geum Hwa.

Though she had a spirit of chivalry not unlike her master’s, she possessed one major flaw—her hot temper sometimes made her lose the ability to judge clearly.

‘I knew who you were the moment I saw you.’

Sewoon looked at the momentarily stunned Geum Hwa, who had heard his telepathic message, and thought to himself.

There was a reason why he knew so much about the members of the Emei Sect.

-…To think you corrupted that kind-hearted child into a demonic practitioner.

-I will be the one to kill you.

It was because of the terrible entanglement he had had with one of them before his regression.

‘I figured I’d run into you again someday…’

Because of that, Sewoon had been greatly shaken the moment he first saw her.

But he did his best to suppress his emotions and focused on deducing why they had secretly infiltrated.

While treating the patients, he discreetly used the Golden Bridle Movement Technique to scatter a minute amount of innate true qi across their entire bodies.

Then, with his enhanced senses, he detected subtle hostility from them.

In that instant, Sewoon easily deduced the purpose of their infiltration.

‘They must’ve thought I was some kind of fraudulent healer or something.’

And the moment he realized that, he thought of the most effective way to exploit their mistake.

After all, he had justification on his side.

They had secretly observed the secret techniques of another clan without permission.

Just revealing that fact would’ve been enough to gain a major advantage in the upcoming compensation negotiations with the Murim Alliance.

‘But really, this could have been settled quietly with a fitting price.’

Naturally, though, Sewoon had no intention of letting it end that easily.

He blew the matter up like a snowball rolling uncontrollably down the peak of a snowy mountain.

Even though he knew the truth behind the situation, he deliberately provoked them by launching a qi attack at the blood-faced one.

Once the fight began, he created a situation that would force Geum Hwa to step in and make a mistake.

With luck and calculation combined, he achieved the perfect result.

He took a hit from a technique containing Geum Hwa’s qi.

In reality, he wasn’t harmed at all, but he secretly bit the inside of his cheek to bleed.

Then he pretended to lose consciousness from internal injuries and collapsed to the ground.

With that, he now had the upper hand to make the head of one of the Nine Sects and One Gang—one of the largest organizations in the martial world—owe him a massive debt.

Suddenly, a clearly flustered voice from Geum Hwa’s telepathic message echoed in Sewoon’s ears.

‘Heh. Got her.’

The table was now fully set.

Sewoon didn’t reply to her but subtly turned his gaze elsewhere.

His eyes met Tang Muyeol’s in the air.

Sewoon had already told his father everything he intended to do—now he only waited for the Clan Head’s permission.

And then.

Nod.

Tang Muyeol finally gave a small nod that only Sewoon could notice.

Was it just his imagination? That nod seemed to say to Sewoon—

‘Alright then, go ahead and devour them as much as you like.’

Normally, his father was a man of honor and sincerity.

But his resolve to change, as he had said the day before, along with his fury toward those who had used lethal techniques on his child, led him to join the fray.

‘It’s a little pitiful, though…’

Sewoon naturally shifted his gaze toward Geum Hwa.

Then he smiled like a cunning wolf gazing at a pure and innocent lamb.

Ssss…

‘Well, sins must be paid for sweetly, mustn’t they?’

Now then, how should he roast the Emei Sect so thoroughly that people would say it was beautifully done?