Translator: bjgoofy
– Flap, flap.
As soon as the sun set, the owl that had flown to the Blood Cult’s branch came flapping back to the window.
The message written on the small piece of paper tied to the owl’s leg was just one short line:
“We failed, so be careful not to reveal your identity.”
The assassin of the Blood Cult, Xue mei, shoved the paper into her mouth and chewed it before swallowing it down.
This was to destroy any evidence.
Then, she began to recall in her mind whether she had exposed anything that might arouse suspicion.
To disguise her identity, she had dissolved the woman whose identity she had stolen using Bone-Melting Powder. She had also used Soul-Capturing Technique on the woman’s parents, making them truly believe that she was their daughter. There was no apparent reason for anyone to suspect her.
The information she had obtained through sheer luck was likely known to many inside the Murim Alliance, so there was no need for concern on that front either.
With her thoughts settled, she decided to go to bed. She started to undress, loosening the knot of her upper garment, when suddenly:
-Ding.
The bell connected to the Alliance Leader’s room began to ring.
The old man was not one to trouble his subordinates unnecessarily, so she wondered what this could be about. She quickly retied the loosened knot of her clothing and hurried toward the Alliance Leader’s room.
“Alliance Leader, is there something you need?”
When she asked from outside, the voice of the old man came from within.
“Could you prepare a cup of Xishan White Dew tea for me?”
“Yes, Alliance Leader.”
Hearing the Alliance Leader request Xishan White Dew tea in the middle of the night brought a smile to Xue mei’s face.
The reason Xue mei had infiltrated the Murim Alliance.
It was all to turn the Alliance Leader into a puppet.
After the Blood Cult Rebellion, the Blood Cult had been pursued by the martial artists of the Murim and had fled to the Great Viet Kingdom.
And they had been growing their forces while corrupting the Great Viet Kingdom.
They had been able to gather blood essence and increase their numbers by sacrificing small villages on the Great Viet Kingdom’s borders.
But now, thirty years had passed.
Within the cult, the dominant opinion was that it was time to return to the Central Plains. However, for that to happen, they needed to deceive the eyes of the Central Plains’ Murim, who considered the Blood Cult their sworn enemy, especially the Murim Alliance, which stood at its apex.
Thus, Xue mei’s mission was to become the Alliance Leader’s confidante and cast Soul-Capturing Technique on him.
The plan was to manipulate Zhou Zhonghe, who would charge at any Blood Cult member like a rabid dog, from behind the scenes.
Of course, casting Soul-Capturing Technique on a high-level martial artist like the Alliance Leader was no easy feat.
Therefore, she had recreated the face of the old man’s late wife from thirty years ago, using Face-Changing Technique as best she could. She had also infused Xishan White Dew tea with Dream-Soul Medicine, a drug that gradually eroded the victim’s rationality without their knowledge, and had been secretly administering it to the Alliance Leader.
All of this was to lower his guard and create an opening to cast Soul-Capturing Technique.
But since it was rare for the old man to request tea alone, giving him the medicine had been quite slow, so a smile appeared on her lips when he asked for tea alone at night like this.
She could now feed him as much of the drug-infused Xishan White Dew as he wanted.
Xue mei quickly went to a small room next to the Alliance Leader’s quarters, lit a fire in the brazier, and boiled the tea water.
She brewed a cup of Xishan White Dew tea, infused with plenty of Dream-Soul Medicine, and brought it into the Alliance Leader’s room.
– Clink.
“I have brought the Xishan White Dew tea, Alliance Leader.”
From the tea cup placed before the Alliance Leader, warm steam rose in delicate swirls.
As Xue mei set the tea down and prepared to withdraw, the Alliance Leader’s voice stopped her.
“You look like her…”
“…Pardon?”
“Come closer.”
Hearing him ask her to come closer, Xue mei felt a surge of delight inside her. She outwardly displayed a shy and embarrassed expression.
“H-how…”
“Stay still.”
Feigning bashfulness, she stepped closer to the Alliance Leader. The old man stood up, grabbing her wrist with one hand while bringing his other hand to the back of her head.
Then, he slowly leaned his face closer to hers.
“Uh…”
Xue mei tightly closed her eyes, as if embarrassed, but internally, she was thrilled.
“Even an old man is still a man,” she thought, feeling triumphant.
She believed that she might be able to complete her mission sooner than expected.
Soul-Capturing Technique depended on how much the target’s rationality had eroded and how open their heart was to the one casting the spell.
But something was strange.
As she kept her eyes closed, waiting for what seemed like an eternity, the kiss she had expected never came.
Moments later, when Xue mei cautiously tried to peek through her barely opened eyelids, she heard the Alliance Leader’s chilling whisper in her ear.
“I can smell the filthy stench of the Blood Cult’s blood on you.”
“!”
Xue mei’s eyes snapped wide open in shock at the Alliance Leader’s words.
But before she could react, an intense heat surged from the back of her head.
Her eyes rolled back into her skull, and she lost consciousness.
Moments later, warriors of the Murim Alliance burst into the room.
“Put a gag on her so she can’t commit suicide and lock her in the prison, since the strategist said he would bring something interesting.”
“Yes, Alliance Leader!”
The warriors grabbed the unconscious Xue mei by the hair and dragged her unceremoniously toward the Murim Alliance’s prison.
***
“Tang Hwa-eun of the Sichuan Tang Family greets the Family Head of the Peng Family of Hebei.”
“We greet the Family Head of the Peng Family of Hebei.”
Standing before the gates of the Peng Family, which looked more like a band of thugs than a respected family, nunim and I offered polite greetings.
The person who stepped forward, looking every bit like the leader of a mountain bandit gang, laughed heartily before speaking.
“Kahaha! Well, if it isn’t Young Miss Hwa-eun!”
“It’s been a long time.”
“Indeed, it has! The last time I saw you, you were just this small. And who’s the young man standing beside you?”
Since I was standing beside nunim, he seemed curious about who I was, so I quickly made a fist-palm salute again and answered.
“Yes, it’s been five years already. This person beside you is my…”
“Nice to meet you for the first time, Family Head of the Peng Family. I am Wei Soryong, Young Miss Hwa-eun’s betrothed.”
“Oh! Betrothed!?”
At the word betrothed, the Peng Family Head who had stepped forward began looking me up and down.
Then, out of nowhere, he tapped my family heirlooms with the back of his hand, nodding his head in approval.
“Keuk!”
“I was wondering if you were still just a boy, but it seems like you’re man enough down there. A few more years, and I’d say there’s much to look forward to. Kahaha!”
I suddenly realized what nunim meant when she told me not to expect much in terms of decorum or formalities.
It seemed the Family Head of the Peng Family was just that kind of person, a bit crude and lacking in refinement.
Although his behavior was a bit shocking, I still decided to express my gratitude for what, strangely enough, could be considered a compliment. After all, as a man, this was not exactly a bad thing to hear.
It was the kind of compliment that made your shoulders square a little wider.
‘Haha. Only men can truly recognize other men.’
“Thank you for the praise, Peng Family Head.”
When I smiled and expressed my gratitude, the Peng Family Head opened his eyes wide in surprise before bursting into hearty laughter and patting me on the shoulder.
It seemed he had taken quite a liking to me.
“Hmm? Kahaha! You’re different from the pampered Young Masters of other families. You know how to properly express gratitude. Well, I am Peng Mu-hwan, the Family Head of the Peng Family.”
As he and I exchanged words, nunim, who had been watching with a flushed face, asked him a question with some hesitation.
“By the way, did you really come all the way from Hebei to help with the incident that occurred in our family? How did you get here so quickly?”
Hebei was located on the far diagonal edge of the Central Plains when looking at a map. Just as nunim had said, it seemed incredibly fast for them to have arrived from such a distant place.
Hearing this, the Peng Family Head tilted his head in genuine confusion.
It was as if he had never heard of such an incident before.
“Hm? An incident in your family? Did something happen to the Tang Family?”
The Peng Family Head looked completely unaware of what had transpired in the Sichuan Tang Family.
Nunim, equally puzzled, tilted her head and asked him back.
Then why on earth had he come to the Tang Family?
“Didn’t you come after hearing that a Blood Cult elder attacked our family? If not, why are you here?”
“What?! The Blood Cult!?”
His response was as if this was the first he had heard of such a thing.
However, the moment the words Blood Cult left nunim’s lips, he immediately rolled up his sleeves.
And he shouted like a bandit to the warriors lined up behind him.
Without even answering nunim’s question of why they had come.
“Where are those damned Blood Cult bastards!? If those bastards have shown up again, it’s time to beat them senseless until they cough up all the blood they’ve stolen! Boys, time to stretch our muscles! Hahaha!”
“Yes, Family Head!”
“Lead the way!”
It seemed they had come to the Tang Family for a completely different reason. However, the moment the Blood Cult was mentioned, they rolled up their sleeves, ready for a fight.
The members of the Peng Family, who were enthusiastically spitting on their hands in preparation for a fight, made nunim look flustered as she responded.
“T-The Blood Cult’s elder has already been killed, Peng Family Head.”
At this, the Peng Family Head clicked his tongue in disappointment, his expression showing he felt the fun had been ruined.
“Ah… damn, seems we were too late. Should have come earlier. Tsk. Missed out on something fun. Which bastard made us late?”
“Family Head, you were the one who said to take our time getting here….”
“Ah, did I now?”
“In any case, if it wasn’t because of the Blood Cult, what brings you to the Tang Family?”
When nunim asked what their reason for coming was, since it clearly wasn’t about the Blood Cult, the Peng Family Head finally realized that he hadn’t mentioned his purpose for visiting.
He smacked his forehead with his palm and replied.
“Ah, I completely forgot to say. Actually, I came here to ask for some help from the Tang Family.”
“Help? What kind of help?”
It was at that moment.
The elders of the family, having heard that the Peng Family Head had arrived at the Gate, came rushing out.
“Oh my, what brings the Peng Family Head here?”
“Peng Family Head, did you perhaps rush here after hearing about the Blood Cult?”
The ones who rushed out were my father-in-law and the strategist, Zhuge Hu.
Seeing their surprised expressions, the Peng Family Head clasped his hands in a respectful greeting.
“Peng Mu-hwan greets the Family Head of the Tang Family. Hmm? Strategist, you’re here as well? It’s been a long time.”
“Yes, it has been a long time, but what brings you here all the way from distant Hebei?”
“It’s not a distance that could be reached after hearing news from Hebei, how did you arrive so quickly?”
At their questions, the Peng Family Head turned to his men and gave an order.
“Bring her out. She needs to greet the elders as well.”
Following his command, one of his warriors stepped forward.
The man walked up to the Peng Family Head, crouched down slightly, and spoke to someone on his back.
“Young Miss, you can come down now. The Family Head says we’ve arrived.”
“Young Miss?”
“Young Miss?”
Hearing the term Young Miss, nunim, the elders, and I all blinked in confusion. Then, we heard the sound of someone lightly patting the warrior’s back.
And then a sharp child’s voice began to be heard.
“My legs hurt…”
Peeking out from behind the warrior’s back were two round, bun-like shapes.
Moments later, a young girl, about six or seven years old, with her hair tied into buns that resembled steamed buns, stepped forward while holding a piece of candy.
She had jet-black hair, big round eyes, and such an adorable face that one couldn’t help but want to pinch her cheeks.
The girl licked her candy once and, realizing that everyone was staring at her, quickly hid the candy in her sleeve. Then, she clasped her hands together in a polite greeting and bowed her head.
“Hello. Peng Yingying of the Peng Family greets you all.”
And then, as if to stun everyone further, the Peng Family Head’s voice rang out.
“She’s my daughter.”
“Whaaat!?”
“Your daughter!?”
The adorable, fairy-like child looked nothing like the rough, bandit-like Peng Family Head.
If this were another world, one might have suggested a paternity test just to be sure.
In fantasy terms, it was like an orc claiming a fairy as his daughter. Everyone stared at him with disbelief.
Scratching his head, the Peng Family Head added,
“People always give us that look. We just look so much alike, don’t we? Haha!”
At this, I realized he wasn’t just someone with no regard for manners, he also seemed to lack a sense of shame.
Nunim looked at me with an expression saying this made no sense at his words.
I returned her look, silently agreeing.
‘Completely agree.’
If I could’ve sent my thoughts telepathically, I would have done so without hesitation.
The Peng Family Head then picked up his daughter, lifting her onto his shoulder, and turned to my father-in-law with a request.
“My daughter hasn’t been feeling well, so I brought her here hoping you could take a look at her.”
“She’s unwell?”
Though the child seemed perfectly healthy, everyone looked at her with puzzled expressions. However, I had a faint suspicion as to why the child might be unwell.
She had taken the candy back out from her sleeve and was licking it non-stop.
Her behavior screamed diabetes.
‘Could that be juvenile diabetes?’
****
TL Note: Hi everyone, I have moved my translations from here to https://hangukhub.com/series/fabre-in-sichuans-tang-family/
I will be posting future chapters there.