Return of the Mount Hua

ROTMHS Glossary || About page

“You’ve done well.”

Doksim Jehu [독심제후(毒心諸侯) – Poison-Hearted Lord] Tang Cheolak [당철악(當鐵岳)], the Lord of the Sichuan Tang Clan, looked at Tang Bo with an expression of approval. Despite the clan head’s praise, Tang Bo only took another sip from the bottle in his hand, half reclining against the bed.

“Because of this, we’ve gained the upper hand in our relationship with the Paeng Family. From now on, even among the Five Great Families, the Paeng Family will have no choice but to yield a step to the Sichuan Tang Clan. It is thanks to you.”

Tang Bo’s indifferent gaze drifted out the window. Staring off at some faraway place, he tilted the bottle in his hand again. Tang Cheolak’s brow furrowed slightly.

“If you don’t drink that damned liquor, will you come down with some illness?”

Only then did Tang Bo’s eyes turn towards Tang Cheolak. Unlike the ambition burning in Tang Cheolak’s gaze, Tang Bo’s eyes seemed utterly hollow. Slowly swaying the bottle in his hand, Tang Bo spoke.

“The one who won wasn’t the Tang Clan, but me.”

At Tang Bo’s detached tone, a strange light flickered in Tang Cheolak’s eyes.

“What do you mean?”

“Is there anyone in the Tang Clan besides me who could beat that bastard?”

For a moment, Tang Cheolak’s face stiffened. Someone else? No one came to mind. Considering the martial prowess Paeng Manwi had shown today, even if Tang Cheolak himself had stepped forward, it would have been difficult for him to confidently promise victory. And not only that. Even if the elders of the previous generation in the Council of Elders had personally taken the field, it was certain that it would not have been an easy fight.

Tang Cheolak knew it as well. It was not that the Tang Clan had overwhelmed the Paeng Family, but simply that Tang Bo was exceptionally strong even among the Tang Clan.

“There are at least five in the Paeng Family comparable to that bastard. But who do we have? And yet you call this a victory for the Tang Clan?”

It was a painfully sharp rebuke. But Tang Cheolak suppressed the anger rising within him and answered calmly.

“Aren’t you also a member of the Tang Clan?”

Tang Bo openly sneered.

“Yes, yes. Of course. I, too, am someone who bears the Tang surname. Well… Even if not a single word I say ever gets through, and I’m treated as no more than a barking dog, still, in the end, am I not a member of the Tang Clan?”

“…”

“That’s the damned rotten nature of a dog, isn’t it? Even if it escapes after nearly being boiled alive in a pot, it still wags its tail at its master. Isn’t that what a dog is? Just like me – no matter how I’m disregarded within, when something happens, I still fight as I’m told.”

Tang Cheolak glared at Tang Bo with furious eyes. Tang Bo, too, did not avoid the clan head’s stare. In the moment their gazes clashed, the one who turned his head first was… Tang Cheolak. A brief silence passed between them.

“This matter……”

“It should have ended with an apology.”

Tang Cheolak opened his mouth as though trying to ease the awkward atmosphere, but Tang Bo cut him off and struck first.

“If that brat couldn’t win by skill and used poison on his opponent without so much as a warning, then all you had to do was apologize, say you were sorry, and beat the bastard who committed the wrong to a pulp. Did it really need to be blown up this far?”

“It concerns the clan’s honor.”

“Yes, I’m sure it does. No, rather, wasn’t that exactly what you welcomed? Thinking a fine opportunity had come your way.”

“Watch your tongue!”

Tang Cheolak snapped at him with a growl, but Tang Bo shot back without the slightest hesitation.

“This is what happens when you rely on nothing but poison.”

“…”

“When the clan tries to solve everything with poison alone, even little brats stop thinking about honing their actual skill and start using underhanded tricks like it’s only natural. And once that becomes the norm, then even when they do wrong, instead of apologizing, the clan starts trying to exploit it somehow at the clan level, doesn’t it?”

The latter might be called a stretch, but the former was not. Clearly, this incident had originated from the Tang Clan’s fault.

Tang Cheolak knew it as well. He knew that such a trend was beginning to form among the younger members of the clan. No… Perhaps it had already gone beyond something that could be dismissed as merely an issue among children.

“Against a true master, it would amount to nothing more than a way to stall for time.”

Poison was useful. It made it possible to bring down even someone stronger than oneself with ease.

However, there were also clear limitations. There was no way Tang Cheolak did not know that as well. No poison can instantly bring a person down on the spot. Even if only for a fleeting instant, ‘time’ is ultimately essential to poisoning. And once one crosses into the realm of peak masters, even that brief moment becomes more than enough to decide between life and death. Tang Cheolak knew well that this very limitation was the reason why the Tang Clan, despite its centuries of history, had never once produced the strongest under heaven.

But that did not mean everything Tang Bo said was right.

“That is something only you can say.”

At those words, Tang Bo’s eyes turned cold.

“Not everyone can become like you. I know your flying daggers are extraordinary, but not everyone is born with your talent. You know better than anyone that those who admired you and tried to learn the flying dagger techniques all changed direction before long and turned instead to the study of poison.”

There was no way there had been no one in the clan who admired his skill. But in the end, every one of them gave up that path as well. The reason was simple. Because it was difficult.

Among the countless martial disciplines, the art of flying daggers was especially difficult and demanding. Of course, at first glance that might seem hard to understand. One might think that for the Tang Clan, who handled hidden weapons smaller than a fingernail as though they were extensions of their own limbs, the art of flying daggers could not possibly be so difficult. But there was a difference as vast as heaven and earth between scattering countless hidden weapons and perfectly, precisely controlling a mere handful of daggers.

To challenge that difficulty, crash against it, push through it, and finally master it. That was martial learning.

But the children of the Tang Clan had no wish to do that. Because there was an easier path. Because if they put their minds to it, there was a simpler way to win. Without even realizing that such ease would in the end create the limits that bound them. Or rather… perhaps they knew it perfectly well and chose it anyway.

“All the more reason to do it, precisely because it is not easy. If you truly want to change the clan.”

“It is not as easy as you make it sound.”

“It is not that it is difficult, but simply that you want comfort, isn’t it?”

Tang Cheolak could no longer fully conceal his anger. He spoke in a cold voice.

“…You’ve grown arrogant beyond measure. Just because you have skill, do you think you can disregard even the clan head?”

“Do not change the subject, Lord Tang.”

“For hundreds of years, the Sichuan Tang Clan has studied poison. That is what the Sichuan Tang Clan is.”

“And so for hundreds of years, this is the pitiful level you have remained at.”

“Are you saying that you are better than all the clan’s ancestors? Are you alone that great?”

“What in the world does that have to do with this!”

When Tang Bo could no longer hold back his anger and raised his voice, Tang Cheolak let out a deep sigh.

“Let us end this.”

This argument had been repeated countless times. And the result was always the same.

“Do you not understand by now as well? Even if I wished to follow your words, I do not have the authority to do so. I have no confidence that I could persuade the Council of Elders.”

Tang Bo had once described the Council of Elders like this: “Old men so obsessed with preserving their obstinacy that they have rotted through.” Even after stepping back from the front lines, they still kept the clan firmly in their grasp. Believing that only what they had upheld was the truth, they forced that way upon later generations.

“Do you not have the courage to fight the Council of Elders?”

“…Do you truly think that is possible?”

“If you mean to do it, I will help.”

“It is not something you can do alone. Even if I stand with you, it will be the same. In the end, the Lord will simply be replaced by someone who obeys the elders’ words even better.”

Tang Bo’s eyes turned cold. Of course, there was nothing wrong in the clan head’s words, but in the end it was no more than an excuse to save his own skin. If Tang Cheolak truly had the will to change the clan, then what should have followed was that once he himself became head of the Council of Elders, he would try to bring about change then.

He spoke as he did, but in the end Tang Cheolak was afraid as well. Afraid of denying everything he himself had learned. Afraid that those who opened a better path would crush his authority to pieces.

After a brief silence, Tang Bo let out a faint scoff and poured the liquor back into his mouth. Perhaps if the haze of intoxication returned, this damned feeling would fade a little. Tang Cheolak did not rebuke him for it this time either. No, it was probably that he could not.

“More importantly, I have heard there are rumors that a Thousand-Year Poison Serpent [천년독망(千年毒蟒) – cheonnyeon-dogmang] has been see  in Yunnan.”

As Tang Cheolak smoothly changed the subject, Tang Bo narrowed his eyes in displeasure.

Tang Cheolak pretended not to notice.

“As you know, the inner core of a Thousand-Year Poison Serpent can be used as a material for making supreme poisons. It is a rare ingredient, one the clan has only obtained a few times in all its history. But there are not many masters capable of bringing down a Thousand-Year Poison Serpent. All the less so within the clan.”

Of course not. Poison had no effect on a Thousand-Year Poison Serpent. So trash like these bastards, who knew nothing except how to scatter the poisons they had so carefully made, would never be able to catch one. Was that not a truly laughable contradiction?

“Will you go?”

Tang Bo looked at Tang Cheolak with a faint laugh. A gentle smile bloomed at the corners of his mouth.

“Why won’t you just go to hell?”

❀ ❀ ❀

Clang! Clang!

The sound of hammers striking metal rang out without pause, and flames billowed from the red-hot furnace. Seated on a ledge in a corner of the smithy, Tang Bo stared blankly at the fire and the hammers. Whenever his mind was troubled, he often came here.

Because those flames soothed a person’s heart? Because he took a keen interest in the hidden weapons these people made? Neither answer was wholly wrong. But the true reason he felt at ease here was that, in this vast family, only the craftsmen here devoted themselves fully to their own path.

These men carried none of the foul stench of the Tang Clan bastards’ self-justifications. Even as sweat poured off them like rain and the fire scorched their skin, they gave themselves wholly to forging better weapons.

Perhaps the only reason this clan, rotten to the core, still managed to endure at all was because of these people and the hidden weapons they created.

“Elder, you’ve come?”

When those who had entered the smithy spotted him, they bowed in surprise. Tang Bo acknowledged them with a slight tilt of his chin.

‘I should go.’

As people began to gather one by one, there were always those who grew uncomfortable around him. Of course, he had never done anything to harm them, but the position of a clan elder itself was enough to make the household uneasy. Not that he had ever wanted this damned title in the first place.

“Great Uncle! Oh, you are here?”

Just as he was about to rise, someone came trotting over. Tang Bo narrowed his eyes slightly.

This child found Tang Bo intimidating, yet did not avoid him. Anyone with a bit of sense would have noticed the other craftsmen’s attitude and kept their distance from him, but this one showed no such hesitation.

‘Or maybe he’s just a bit slow?’

Not stupid, exactly. More so he was earnest and straightforward to an abnormal degree.

Tang Bo knew. A child like this would become a fine craftsman, and had he learned martial arts, he likely would have become a fine martial artist as well. The thought made his teeth grind with a new passion. A place that forced such promising talent to walk only a limited path for no reason other than being of a collateral line. That was the Tang Clan.

Tang Bo placed a hand lightly atop Tang Jopyeong’s head.

“Aren’t you too young to be coming in and out of the workshop?”

“I still can’t hold a real hammer.”

That was what he said, but in Tang Jopyeong’s hand was a small hammer, as though made especially for a child. It probably meant that he was not yet allowed to strike heated iron with it.

“Then what are you carrying that around for?”

“They said I have to get used to it. That’s how you become a good craftsman.”

Was he only seven by now? Young, but a child with a strong will. A smile rose on Tang Bo’s lips. Not the sneer he had shown the clan head, but a genuine smile.

‘Should I take him as a disciple?’

It was only a passing thought, but Tang Bo soon shook his head. The boy was still young, so his bones and frame had not yet set, and becoming Tang Bo’s disciple would mean being cast out by the family. It was obvious that it would become a path of thorns that most people could never endure, and he could not make a child who was bound to find happiness as a craftsman walk such a road. Besides, Tang Bo was already far too old to be taking on a disciple now. When Tang Jopyeong grew older, he might perhaps feel a bit bitter over it, but with the nature he was born with, he would be fine.

“Here, Elder.”

Just then, someone spotted Tang Jopyeong and Tang Bo and hurried over.

“My apologies. The child did not commit any discourtesy, did he…?”

“It is fine.”

It seemed to be the child’s father. Unlike the child, who was still so innocent, the boy’s father looked terrified that Tang Bo might take offense. Of course he did. Among the rumors about him that had spread through the clan, there was not a single good word.

“I caused you trouble earlier.”

“N-No, Elder.”

Even so, it seemed the rumor that he was fond of this child had spread quite a bit. That must be why those snake-like bastards had deliberately sent Jopyeong to wake him. And this man must have seen it happen from the side and yet been unable to stop it.

“Who was it? The clan head?”

“That…”

The child’s father could not bring himself to answer and only fumbled awkwardly. They had probably warned him well to keep his mouth shut. Knowing that pressing the man any further would amount to nothing more than taking out his anger on the wrong person, Tang Bo rose to his feet. Then he casually tossed a pouch of money to the craftsman.

“Buy the workshop people some drinks.”

“What? N-No, we cannot accept this. Elder, we…”

“Why? Are you saying you cannot take what I give?”

“It is not that…”

Tang Bo patted his shoulder lightly.

“Take it.”

“……Yes.”

It was just as Tang Bo was about to leave the workshop.

“Damn it all! How long has it been since I left it here for repairs, and you’re telling me it still isn’t done? Lazy bastards!”

“It’s not that – there were items that came in first…”

“First? Are you saying there is something more important than what I entrusted to you? Since when did some lowly craftsman think he had the right to say such a thing? Do you need a good beating before you come to your senses?”

“M-My apologies.”

It grew noisy outside. Clicking his tongue, Tang Bo quickened his steps as he headed out.

“There is no need to say another word. At once, your superior…”

“A superior what?”

“What? Which bastard dares…”

The elder who had been grabbing a craftsman and beating him into the ground saw Tang Bo step out of the workshop and instantly fell silent like a mute.

“B-Brother?”

“Go on. Keep barking.”

The elder’s eyes darted left and right. Tang Bo’s notorious reputation – of knocking people flat regardless of whether they were kin – was well known throughout the Tang Clan. If Tang Bo had been weaker, he might have tried something, but there was nothing he could do against Tang Bo, the foremost expert of the Tang Clan. 

Tang Bo’s gaze on him was as cold as though he were looking at an insect.

“Do you think this workshop is your personal quarters?”

“N-No, that is not… I left it for repairs already half a month ago…”

Tang Bo did not even bother listening further and jerked his chin towards the workshop.

“To your eyes, do these people look like they are idling around? The only ones who neglect what they are supposed to do and loaf about are bastards like you.”

The elder’s face flushed red. It was humiliating, but he did not dare summon the courage to refute Tang Bo’s words.

“If you keep loitering around here and I see you again, then next time it will not end with just a few words.”

“…”

“Get lost.”

The elder lowered his head deeply, then turned and hurried away as if fleeing.

“Elder…”

A small voice filled with gratitude came from behind. But Tang Bo did not respond, only gazing up at the sky. Sighs kept escaping him. Pathetic. All of it.

“If that bastard comes back and stirs up trouble again, do not endure it. Send someone to me.”

“…”

“You must.”

“…Yes. I will do so.”

Tang Bo continued walking in silence. Tang Jopyeong, who had been staring blankly at his retreating back, tilted his head and then looked at his father.

“Isn’t Great Uncle a good person?”

“….He is.”

Tang Jopyeong’s father answered with a bitter expression.

“Then why are there so many people who dislike him?”

It was far too difficult a matter to explain to little Tang Jopyeong. After hesitating for a moment, his father offered different words in place of a reason.

“But are there not also people who like him, like you do?”

“That’s true, but…”

Clutching his little hammer tightly, Tang Jopyeong stared quietly in the direction where Tang Bo had disappeared.

After leaving the workshop, Tang Bo walked along with a loose, aimless stride. Those who saw him from afar did not bow their heads, but instead cautiously watched him and slipped out of his way. Like commoners shrinking back from a murderous demonic cultivator. At some point, such a sight had become natural.

But today, more than usual, Tang Bo found the whole thing absurd.

‘I should go have a drink.’

He was tired of drinking in his room. He was thinking of going to an inn somewhere. Of course, that place too would empty out like the receding tide and turn desolate, but at least it would be better than that foul-smelling room. More than anything, the servants who had to clean up that room thick with the stench of strong liquor every time would suffer less, so it was not a bad choice. Still… Tang Bo’s gaze turned towards the distant sky.

‘I ought to leave on a journey soon.’

This time, he should stay away for a while. Whenever he remained inside the Tang Clan, it felt as though his insides were rotting away. Of course, it was obvious without even seeing it that the clan head would send people after him again to pester him. But this time, he had no intention of returning quickly.

Where should he go this time? Should he head to the Southern Sea? Or perhaps all the way to the distant eastern lands? It might not be bad to follow the tea traders and make his way to Tibet instead. At the very least, he could walk for a year without thinking of anything.

Tang Bo’s eyes once again grew dim and hollow. What a wretched weather. Oppressively clear skies.

Third part of the side story >>>

________

Please, subscribe/donate on Patreon or Buymeacoffee – support my work and help me buy official cookies to purchase the chapters. My schedule is on the About page.