Chapter 73
“We must inform Seol-ha first.”
After a long moment of contemplation, the first thing Tak Joong-hak spoke about was the safety of his granddaughter.
“Yeo Gong’s intentions likely align with mine. Just as I did, he will suspect that you and Seol-ha are spies for the Martial Alliance.”
“But didn’t they say they don’t know what the benefactor looks like?”
Shin Geum had already heard from Tak Joong-hak that Wi Lin had asked Shim Ui-cheon about Seonhwa.
“That’s true. They never interacted while alive, so they wouldn’t remember.”
“Then why would they suspect us as spies? Didn’t you yourself misunderstand and believe that I deliberately approached the Heavenly Demon by using Seol-ha, who resembles the benefactor?”
“I was blinded by emotion because I am Seonhwa’s father.”
At the time, he had truly believed that Shin Geum was manipulating him by using his deceased daughter.
“Yeo Gong is a very intelligent man. His intuition is also incredibly sharp.”
Tak Joong-hak looked at Shin Geum with a serious gaze.
“Your true identity will be revealed soon.”
“…My true identity? What do you mean?”
“Tang Yeong-ryeong, the Thousand-Hand Fragrant Poison.”
“……!”
“The Dark King Tang Cheol-woo’s cherished daughter and the youngest Commander of the Martial Alliance’s Shadow Division. The greatest prodigy born from the Tang Clan of Sichuan.”
Shin Geum’s eyes widened as far as they could go.
It was a name she had long forgotten.
Hearing her real name after more than a decade from someone else’s lips felt entirely foreign.
“You look surprised. Did you think I wouldn’t have figured it out?”
“…Have you been investigating me all this time?”
“If that makes you uncomfortable, I apologize. But I had to be prepared—for a moment like this.”
His words were sincere.
To protect someone, one must first understand them.
“I understand. I’m just curious how you found out in such a short time.”
By now, Shin Geum knew all too well about Hyunwol Hall’s vast intelligence network.
Her voice was half-resigned as Tak Joong-hak explained.
“It was because of you.”
“Me?”
“You yourself said that you were being pursued by the Martial Alliance and chose to become a demon to survive.”
“…And that alone led you to deduce my identity?”
“Seventeen years. I focused on what happened seventeen years ago.”
Once he pinpointed the timeframe, identifying Shin Geum was not difficult.
At the time, an incident had shaken the Orthodox Sect so much that even the Demonic Cult kept records of it.
Once he matched Shin Geum to that event, everything aligned perfectly.
“Even though you lived in hiding for seventeen years, ironically, it was those very seventeen years that made your identity obvious. Yeo Gong will reach the same conclusion.”
Shin Geum was left speechless.
Why hadn’t she anticipated this?
Had she been too complacent, thinking that they lived in different worlds?
“If you had not used poisons and hidden weapons, Yeo Gong might not have realized it so easily. But this was only a matter of time. You couldn’t stay hidden forever.”
“If I could, I would have.”
The past was nothing but painful memories for Shin Geum.
At this moment, she had no desire to return to those times.
Living as an ordinary villager, kneading dough instead of wielding poisons and hidden weapons, had been enough.
Because Seol-ha was with her.
“I don’t believe it.”
“…?”
“If you were truly the person they claim, you would never have saved my granddaughter. You would never have raised her for seventeen years without expecting anything in return.”
“…Are you trying to console me?”
It took Shin Geum a moment to fully process Tak Joong-hak’s words.
But what did it matter now?
No matter how much she denied it, there wasn’t a single person who would believe her.
If a renowned figure, if the majority, if public opinion deemed her guilty—then she was guilty.
That was the reality of the martial world.
Thus, Shin Geum had become a fugitive, a public enemy of the martial world, forced to flee for survival.
“Yeong-ryeong, go!”
“Live. You must survive!”
Her father’s final shout still echoed in her ears.
It had been seventeen years since she last saw him.
“One day, your name will be cleared.”
Seeing Shin Geum’s contorted expression, Tak Joong-hak felt a pang of sorrow.
If he could, he would have done anything to help her.
“But ultimately, what I’m trying to say is that your past will only fuel the suspicion that you might be a spy for the Martial Alliance.”
Officially, she had been branded as a traitor and an enemy of the Martial Alliance, but from the Demonic Cult’s perspective, she could be part of a greater infiltration plan.
“And now, you have raised the disciple of the Heavenly Demon. There is no better prey than this.”
“Seol-ha knows nothing. She firmly believes that I am her real grandmother.”
“…I don’t want Seol-ha or you to be hurt.”
This was a confrontation that both Shin Geum and Tak Joong-hak had hoped would never come.
For a moment, Tak Joong-hak recalled the first time he met his granddaughter.
She had smiled as brightly as his daughter once had—
And stood fearlessly in the martial arena.
“I want to protect that smile.”
And standing before him was the very benefactor who had surely protected it for seventeen years.
Tak Joong-hak was determined to protect both of them—no matter what.
“In any case, Yeo Gong will try to link me and you together. After all, I provided cover for someone who was once the Commander of the Martial Alliance’s Shadow Division. He will insist that I colluded with the Martial Alliance.”
Yeo Gong was not the type to let an opportunity like this slip away.
The fact that he had already sent the Blood Wolf Corps to abduct Shin Geum meant that preparations were already underway.
“So first, we must bring Seol-ha here. Until this situation is resolved, this place is safer than the main sect.”
“I agree.”
If something were to happen while Seol-ha was alone, Shin Geum knew she would never be able to forgive herself.
Ever since turning her back on her family and joining the Demonic Cult, Seol-ha had become her sole reason to keep living—her everything.
“Cheon-young.”
“Yes, Lord.”
“Escort the First Young Lady.”
“Yes, my lord!”
With Tak Joong-hak’s command, Cheon-young immediately left.
As he sipped the now cold tea, Tak Joong-hak finally asked the question he had been holding back.
“Was it Gong Pae-cheon, the Master of the Ghostly Soul Pavilion, who helped you enter the cult?”
“…How did you know that?”
“I took a guess.”
Though he called it a guess, Tak Joong-hak had already received reports.
On the night Shin Geum revealed her connection to Seonhwa, she had secretly met with Gong Pae-cheon.
“If that’s the case, then even the Heavenly Demon must know of you.”
“The first person I met after joining the cult was the Heavenly Demon.”
“That is truly fortunate.”
To Tak Joong-hak, the Heavenly Demon was the one who had inflicted an unforgettable wound upon him.
Yet ironically, for the first time, that very existence might prove to be his greatest ally.
***
Tap. Tap.
“Lord, it’s Marip.”
At the sound of the tapping, Yeo Gong’s fingers—previously drumming on the armrest—came to a sudden halt.
“Enter.”
He had been expecting this news.
Would it be the outcome he had hoped for?
A rare feeling of excitement stirred within him.
“What happened?”
Wi Lin, who was present beside him, immediately leaned forward.
“…I regret to report that the entire unit was wiped out.”
Marip bowed his head deeply.
Despite the report of twelve subordinates perishing, Yeo Gong showed no surprise.
Only Wi Lin furrowed his brow and clicked his tongue.
“Was Bone-Melting Powder used again this time?”
“No… It was a poison formation.”
“A poison formation?”
“Explain in detail.”
That morning, twelve members of the Blood Wolf Corps had been mobilized.
And Marip, skilled in Stealth Techniques, had been assigned to observe.
“But you… Are you unwell?”
Marip’s complexion was pale.
“N-No, my lord… It’s just… I have never witnessed such a horrifying scene before.”
After Shin Geum and Hyunwol Hall members left, the forest had transformed into a landscape straight out of a nightmare.
At its center, twelve corpses, mangled beyond recognition, had been discovered.
For a long time, Marip had been frozen in place, unable to move.
“…It was definitely Shin Geum, the old woman?”
As Marip finished his hesitant explanation, a gleam of satisfaction flickered in Yeo Gong’s eyes.
“So, the First Young Lady’s grandmother is actually a poison arts master?”
Wi Lin was completely taken aback.
“She wasn’t just an ordinary old woman…?”
“Heh, ordinary?”
Yeo Gong sneered.
“You’re being too harsh, calling the Dark King, Tang Cheol-woo’s daughter an ordinary old woman.”
“Yeo Gong, did you just say Dark King?”
“Yes. I had my suspicions, but to think she was really Tang Yeong-ryeong, the Thousand-Hand Fragrant Poison!”
As Wi Lin looked on in confusion, Yeo Gong burst into laughter.
“The energy she emitted was unfamiliar and strange, but once I got home and thought about it… I had felt it before.”
Years ago, Yeo Gong had traveled to Sichuan and encountered Tang Cheol-woo.
The moment he recalled that experience, the number seventeen naturally led him to think of Tang Yeong-ryeong.
Back then, the entire Martial Alliance had been shaken by a series of assassinations.
And Yeo Gong had been particularly interested in the events.
Who could have imagined that Tang Yeong-ryeong, the Dark King’s daughter, would become a murderer?
“But wasn’t the Thousand-Hand Fragrant Poison said to have died a long time ago?”
“Well, we’ll confirm that soon enough.”
“Marip.”
“Yes, my lord.”
“Right now, we must capture the First Young Lady.”
“…You mean the First Young Lady?”
“She must be handled very carefully.”
First, they would secure the First Young Lady—then they would negotiate with Tak Joong-hak.
‘This will be entertaining.’
Just how would Hyunma Manor handle this crisis?
Yeo Gong was eagerly looking forward to it.
—
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