Chapter 195 – To the Hometown (7)
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Translated by Heavenly Cat
Read it only at Novelbyu.com & Utoon.net
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Pa-pa-pang!
Tang Sang-ah, who was slowly advancing like a snake, suddenly threw an explosive palm technique and panted.
‘It is hard.’
It felt as if the poison qi spewing from her palm center was going to flow backward.
Her internal blood points were in tatters due to excessive consumption of internal energy. If she purposefully sought recovery, it would return to normal within three or four days, but from the beginning, there was no need to continue high-intensity training to the point of ruining her body like now.
Of course, Tang Sang-ah also did not think her martial arts would improve by repeatedly undergoing unreasonable training.
‘It’s hard, but I have to endure it.’
What she desired was a method to produce maximum efficiency in extreme situations.
Tang Sang-ah recalled that time.
The madness of the gray wolves who had accumulated malice in the wilderness for years, whose individual realms were not that high, but who were strong as a group.
‘They were strong.’
Tang Sang-ah’s face stiffened with tension.
‘I thought they were insignificant enemies, but they were too strong.’
Tang Sang-ah was naturally gentle and bright, unlike someone from the Tang Clan.
However, the poison qi and tenacity unique to the Tang Clan definitely remained in her blood vessels. And in this battle, she fully erupted the ferocity of the bloodline she possessed.
However.
‘I was incompetent.’
The number of enemies she killed with poison and hidden weapons was dozens.
She did not regret that action. Regardless of the amount of real combat experience, they were enemies and villains. Furthermore, if she didn’t kill them, she would be the one to die.
The problem was their response.
‘Because of me, allies died.’
The Gray Wolf Squad thoroughly avoided Tang Sang-ah and trampled the Demon-Sweeping Army.
It was natural. Tang Sang-ah’s poison and hidden weapons were fatal wounds even if they only grazed them. As long as the Gray Wolf Squad were not fools, there was no reason for them to intentionally approach her.
Tang Sang-ah dug between them until the end and fought a battle, but the Gray Wolf Squad exquisitely only dealt with the enemies around her.
Eventually, mountains of corpses of enemies and allies piled up around her.
Naturally, it was not her fault that the allies died. However, Tang Sang-ah could not think of it that way at all.
Because she was the only one who survived.
Pa-ah-ah-ang!
Even though her entire body lost strength, she executed a fist and palm full of elasticity.
Beyond her muscles, even her joints ached. Even so, she did not stop.
‘What’s more scary is.’
Tang Sang-ah, who was vigorously swinging both arms, bit her lips.
‘That I collapsed like a fool.’
It was the first time. The first time she gritted her teeth and tried to kill the enemy with her physical strength and internal energy completely exhausted.
It was the first time. That she was exhausted to the point where she couldn’t endure it even with her mental strength.
In the end, more comrades were sacrificed to protect her.
Tang Sang-ah’s eyes became bloodshot.
The faces of the soldiers who died because of her came to mind.
Kwa-ang!
The surface of the tree was hollowed out by the forcefully thrown fist.
Ju-reu-reuk.
Blood flowed down from her fist. Her internal energy operation was unstable, so she failed to protect her fist.
“Heo-eok! Heo-eok!”
Tang Sang-ah, who was panting heavily, collapsed on the spot.
Tears flowed from her two eyes.
‘I’m sorry.’
Throughout the period of holding the memorial service, she couldn’t sleep a wink and was busy crying.
Later, even tears didn’t come out. Therefore, she started training. If she overworked her body with training so harsh that her mind would fly away, she felt like she could escape from this sorrow.
Of course, the result was not good.
“Haa.”
Tang Sang-ah, who was covered in sweat, tears, and blood, lay flat on the spot.
Now, she felt like whatever was fine.
‘I was such a helpless being.’
She suddenly recalled her grandfather’s words.
‘In my view, the main family needs a new wind. And if it’s you, I think you can be a great strength to the main family. So, just like now, do not turn a blind eye to reality because your mind is complicated, but train harshly.’
Her grandfather’s words were right.
The family needed a new wind? That was a problem to think about later.
She had to train more harshly and cope more viciously. If necessary, she had to be able to become more atrocious than anyone in the Tang Clan.
In order to live as she wanted, that level of determination was essential.
Tang Sang-ah closed her eyes.
Her rough breathing gradually subsided. When she relaxed her body, her whole body creaked.
How much time had passed like that?
“It’s snot.”
“Heok!”
Tang Sang-ah opened her eyes in surprise.
A young man was looking down at her with a strange face.
“Snot added to a face covered in tears and sweat? It’s a complete mess?”
Tang Sang-ah abruptly raised her upper body.
“Y-You are?”
The young man, Yeon Ho-jeong, grinned.
“It’s been a while, Soldier Tang Sang-ah.”
Ah, that’s right. I’m a soldier of the Demon-Sweeping Army, right?
Tang Sang-ah hurriedly stood up from her seat and bowed her head. It hurt as if her waist was going to break.
“I greet the Commander of the Evil-Annihilating Army.”
Yeon Ho-jeong smiled.
“Military discipline is very tight, huh? Our kids should also learn a bit by looking at you. Even if it’s a private gathering, they treat me too recklessly.”
“…Yes?”
“Well, anyway.”
Yeon Ho-jeong looked around the empty lot.
“It’s a complete mess. It doesn’t look like normal training, were you venting your anger or something?”
Tang Sang-ah did not answer. She wasn’t in the state of mind to answer.
“But what brings you here…?”
“Is it hard?”
“Yes?”
“Not your body, but you look mentally struggling.”
Tang Sang-ah bit her lips.
“I’m fine.”
“You don’t look fine?”
“…For what business did you come?”
Yeon Ho-jeong spoke directly to the point.
“I took on a special mission this time. It’s a bit dangerous mission, so I thought it would be better to move with a small number. So I was selecting this and that talented person.”
“…?”
“I came because I thought I would need you, but with that state of mind, it would be impossible by any means.”
Tang Sang-ah’s eyes shook.
Yeon Ho-jeong turned his body.
“Take good care of your body. Let’s see each other again later if our ties reach.”
“What mission is it?”
“Huh?”
“What kind of mission is it that you need me?”
This time too, Yeon Ho-jeong spoke honestly.
“There’s something to find out by infiltrating the Black Path Murim.”
“Is it that dangerous?”
“Yang Cheon is entangled.”
“Yang Cheon?”
Tang Sang-ah, who tilted her head for a moment, suddenly widened her eyes.
“Y-If it’s Yang Cheon, the Combat King Yang Cheon of the Gods, Immortals, Emperors, and Kings?!”
“That’s why it’s dangerous.”
“Heok!”
Although it was for a very short moment, Tang Sang-ah was able to escape from extreme self-hatred and sorrow.
Yeon Ho-jeong shrugged his shoulders.
“It will be just thrilling, right? It probably won’t happen normally, but if we do something wrong, we might encounter one of the strongest people in Jianghu.”
“…!”
“Well, you saw your grandfather a lot, so you might not feel much inspiration.”
There was no doubt that the Combat King Yang Cheon was a dangerous person, but the prestige of the Dark King, who was considered the best in the history of the Tang Clan, was different.
In Murim, the Dark King Tang Hyeong was treated on the same level as a Death God. Tang Hyeong, the king of death who handled poison and hidden weapons like his own limbs; it was said that not a single blade of grass would grow in the place where he passed by.
And Tang Sang-ah was a genius who received direct teachings from that very Dark King.
“Anyway, I’ll be going now.”
“….”
“…Um, shall I give a word of advice before I go?”
“Yes? Ah, yes!”
Yeon Ho-jeong said with a serious face.
“I don’t know what you are doing this for, but if by any chance you feel you lack strength, turn your eyes to the world.”
“…?!”
“I’m saying there’s no need to necessarily be tied down only to the Demon-Sweeping Army. If you want to become strong on your own, rather quit and go out into the world alone. That will be better.”
Tang Sang-ah was flustered.
“Q-Quit the Demon-Sweeping Army?”
“Why? You can quit. Well, it’s not something I should say, who forcibly tied you to the Demon-Sweeping Army.”
Yeon Ho-jeong smiled.
“Whether it’s a military organization or an organization of Murim, maximum efficiency comes out when every single member dedicates themselves to the organization. But looking at your condition now, it doesn’t seem like it will be of much benefit to the Demon-Sweeping Army, let alone yourself?”
“…!”
“Live wisely. Isn’t one experience of belonging to an armed group without a single acquaintance enough?”
Yeon Ho-jeong turned his body.
Looking at him walking without hesitation, Tang Sang-ah asked.
“Commander, do you have confidence?”
“What confidence?”
“The confidence that you are doing well.”
“In addition to that, I also know how to live and where to exert effort.”
“…!”
“That kind of thing is not difficult. The hardest thing is the process until you make up your mind with confidence. If you derive an answer in that process, the rest is naturally resolved.”
“The process…”
Tang Sang-ah asked again.
“It’s right that you came because you needed me, right?”
“Isn’t that obvious?”
“But if I don’t go, it won’t be the ‘best’.”
“Even so, I can’t take someone who isn’t even completely sane. Everyone will be in danger.”
“…!!”
“A smashed body can be fixed with medical skills, but the method to make a distressed person fine is only known to the person themselves. That’s why I’m folding my lingering attachments. I don’t know the method to make you sane.”
Tang Sang-ah unknowingly bit her lips. The words that everyone would be in danger pierced her chest like a dagger.
Yeon Ho-jeong glanced at Tang Sang-ah.
“How you accept my advice is your mind. Just don’t forget this one thing.”
“…?”
“If you had no ability, would I have come all the way here to say things that make me feel regretful?”
With those words at the end, Yeon Ho-jeong left the empty lot.
Tang Sang-ah’s eyes shook.
Her already frustrated heart became more complicated. However, her hand, which was still bleeding, was already clenching its fist tightly.
***
Walking in the forest, Yeon Ho-jeong said in a calm voice.
“You’ll come out slowly now, right?”
As soon as those words finished, Murong Yu revealed his appearance from behind a giant tree.
“I sometimes think like this.”
“What?”
“Perhaps Brother Yeon’s strongest weapon might not be martial arts but conversational skills.”
“Does that mean only my snout is alive?”
“You know that’s not what it means.”
Yeon Ho-jeong burst into laughter.
“It’s an eloquence that could even sell the water of the Yangtze River if necessary. I am sometimes amazed too.”
At Yeon Ho-jeong’s cheekiness, Murong Yu also let out a chuckle.
“That good eloquence didn’t exert its power properly this time.”
“It’s decent at this level, what.”
“I’m sorry. Normally, I would give an order as a Commander, but since her condition was like that, I couldn’t easily recommend her.”
Yeon Ho-jeong shook his head.
“Usually, the more terrible the growing pains, the firmer the conviction becomes. Don’t worry. That person is just beginning.”
“Is that so.”
Murong Yu sighed.
“Anyway, Brother Yeon must also be frustrated. If there is any required qualification by any chance, tell this older brother Yu. I will try to find a decent person as much as possible.”
“I found everyone, so what are you saying?”
“What?”
“I just found the last person, right? There is no one more to find, now.”
Murong Yu was flustered.
“You found her? Clearly Lady Tang was…”
“She will come.”
Yeon Ho-jeong smiled wickedly.
“Do you really think I blabbered until my mouth hurt just to console that person?”
“…Uh?”
“I need an capable Tang bloodline. But I can’t pull out Tang Kwan, so I have to take her at least.”
“…?!”
Murong Yu opened his mouth wide.
“Are you saying you didn’t console Lady Tang, but intended to make her follow voluntarily?”
“Is there another coaxing as efficient as telling a person suffering from a sense of shame about being incompetent that they are an essential talent?”
“Keok!”
“It was a bit cringy, but I have to endure this level of ticklishness in recruiting a needed talent.”
***
Three days later.
Somewhat haggard, but with eyes much clearer than three days ago, Tang Sang-ah visited the Army-Destroying Pavilion.
“I greet the Commander.”
Yeon Ho-jeong tried hard to stop his cheekbones from rising to his eyebrows.
“Welcome, Soldier Tang Sang-ah.”