Chapter 89 – The Prelude to the Great Upheaval

Chapter 89 – The Prelude to the Great Upheaval

…Marriage.

Of course, it was not an impossible story.

This was because the Mount Hua Sect was a sect that allowed marriage, even among Taoist sects.

But look at their location! Mount Hua was called the Western Peak among the Five Great Mountains. Was it not the Mount Hua Sect that stood proudly on the peak of a sheer stone mountain, so steep that it was embarrassing to even call it a mountain?

It was a rugged mountain among rugged mountains that ordinary people would not even dare to climb!

What did this mean?

It meant that while the sect did not forbid marriage, it was close to impossible to actually nurture a tender love while traveling up and down this mountain. However, Baek-rin's shy face was enough to reveal that her heart was sincere.

"A father-in-law, what does that mean? Are you saying you are marrying a martial artist of the Tang Clan?"

"Not yet, but soon…?"

"Are you sure there isn't some misunderstanding?"

"A misunderstanding? How long have I waited for this day!"

What to do. She seemed to be completely serious.

San-ho blinked at Baek-rin's aggrieved expression.

Since it was a story he had never heard of, it wouldn't be himself, so that left…

'Tang Hae-soo?'

It was then.

Speak of the devil, and he shall appear. The only one who could give Tang Hwa-seon the title of father-in-law besides him made his appearance.

"What are you doing here? Father requested that you do not leave the guest reception room…"

Tang Hae-soo suddenly stopped talking and frowned.

"……"

Where his gaze landed, Baek-rin stood with a shy face. She looked like a fragile girl, so much so that one would believe it if they were told she was a different person from earlier.

'Where did the female warrior go, who threw her leather shoes and beat someone up so cleanly only where the clothes would cover?'

It was a bewildering situation, but honestly, he was curious.

How did the Young Clan Leader of the Five Great Families and a disciple of the Nine Sects, who were famous for keeping each other in check, get entangled! Wasn't love and war originally as interesting as watching a fire?

San-ho was not the only one who was curious about that. Yeo-un, who had been standing a step away, had already moved close to San-ho's side. He wanted to ask if it was okay for a monk to do this, but honestly… this was a situation anyone would be curious about. So what was between them? Someone tell me.

"……"

San-ho and Yeo-un kept silent and fixed their gazes.

At that moment, Tang Hae-soo, who was letting out a low sigh, noticed Yeo-un and softened his expression.

"Ah, monk."

"Young Clan Leader, it was a pity I could not greet you separately. It has been a long time."

"Yes. I was actually about to visit you. But why are you with my younger brother?"

Surprised by Tang Hae-soo's question, San-ho looked at Yeo-un. Yeo-un, wearing a benevolent smile, replied without hesitation.

"Benefactor San-ho was helping me patrol the temple grounds. I am sorry for taking up his precious time."

"Ah…"

"However, I did not know that you were getting married. And to Mount Hua…"

"It is a misunderstanding, Monk Yeo-un."

Tang Hae-soo shook his head, firmly cutting off Yeo-un's words. At that, Baek-rin, who had been shyly looking down, opened her eyes wide and spoke.

"What? A misunderstanding? Young Clan Leader, this is different from what you promised."

"Daoist Baek-rin, that is…"

"I believed only in the Young Clan Leader's words and did not refuse even that difficult closed-door cultivation. Surely you have not forgotten the promise, right?"

By this point, he was genuinely curious.

Having ended up watching Love and War in real-time, San-ho could not contain his curiosity and asked.

"A promise? What is going on?"

"………"

Baek-rin, biting her lip slightly in disappointment, began to reveal the whole story.

The two of them had first met at the Dragon and Phoenix Assembly ten years ago.

It was said that Baek-rin fell in love with Tang Hae-soo at first sight there.

The rising stars of her age group she had seen so far were all sweaty and rough. Meanwhile, seeing the calm and elegant Tang Hae-soo made him feel like an existence from another world to her.

Baek-rin, who interpreted the sect's teaching that 'if you make an effort, you will eventually obtain it' in a different direction, ran up without warning and shouted.

– Please give your son to me!

"Ugh… pfft…"

Hearing up to this point, San-ho, unable to hold back his laughter, bent his waist. However, the laughter leaking through his teeth could not be hidden. 'Please give your son to me,' this was crazy… this drama was really too entertaining.

"Do not laugh."

"No, how can I not laugh… pfft…"

As Tang Hae-soo's expression grew darker, San-ho tried hard to erase his laughter and asked.

"Anyway, so what happened?"

"What do you mean, 'what happened'? The Sect Leader of Mount Hua rushed over in shock."

"Then how did you end up making a promise?"

"At that time, I was… also young."

"……?"

When San-ho tilted his head at the sudden answer, Baek-rin answered instead this time.

"I told the Young Clan Leader that I would protect him for the rest of my life. Perhaps his pride was hurt by those words, because he said he would accept it if I won the Dragon and Phoenix Assembly."

"Because that couldn't possibly be possible."

"It was like that back then. Since I fell even in the preliminaries. But I am really confident this time!"

"………"

"Did you unfortunately place fourth last time, Benefactor Baek-rin?"

"Yes. I will definitely win this time!"

Baek-rin was doing her best in the Dragon and Phoenix Assembly for a slightly different reason than others. The first time was elimination in the preliminaries, the second time was elimination in the main tournament, and the third time was all the way to the quarterfinals. Looking at the speed at which she ran toward the championship like a bulldozer, perhaps winning this time was not an impossible story either.

"Oh my god…"

To think that it was none other than Tang Hae-soo who raised a rival of the family and a powerful championship candidate. San-ho let out a small sigh. Baek-rin, with her target right in front of her, said with shining eyes.

"It is said that a man's word is as heavy as a thousand pieces of gold. Young Clan Leader, I will definitely win, so please wait for me!"

"Haa…"

At her bold confession of love, Tang Hae-soo wore an expression as if he had heard a death threat. The difference in temperature between the two was so stark that he could not stop the laughter from bursting out.

'A martial arts version of Romeo and Juliet… but now, with a one-way street on the side.'

At that moment, Tang Hae-soo, remembering his original purpose, suddenly regained himself and said.

"Ah. This is no time for this. Father is looking for us, so let's go."

"Father is?"

"Yes. He told all the rising stars to gather in the guest reception room."

"Umm…"

Tang Hae-soo turned around mercilessly, leaving behind a disappointed Baek-rin. In his two eyes, which had been peaceful all along, a flame mixed with stubbornness flared up.

***

The guest reception room where the martial artists of the Tang Clan resided.

Tang Hwa-seon, quietly watching the rising stars sitting in rows and columns, spoke in a cool voice.

"I have news to deliver to you, which is why I asked you to gather."

"Yes."

"Everyone must know that this Dragon and Phoenix Assembly is different from before. Thus, a sparring preliminary to select participants has been added. However, they say there is one more rule that has been added."

"……?"

Wonder appeared on the faces of those who were seated.

"It is said that those who use poison must reveal the components of the poison to the organizers before the sparring and submit the antidote."

"……!!!"

"How could they make such a rule…!!"

At the words flowing from Tang Hwa-seon's mouth, everyone could not help but lament.

It was natural. Mixing and manufacturing poison was a secret technique of the family. If the countermeasure circulated, that poison could no longer be a threatening weapon. The reason why they put effort into security while bringing in sons-in-law was also for this reason.

"Isn't that a rule overwhelmingly disadvantageous to the Tang Clan! To reveal the components of the poison we use, when that is a secret technique of the family…!"

"That is correct. Even if we reveal the components, the poisons that do not matter are the types harvested from nature, but most people would already have immunity to those. In the end, how is this different from saying they will exclude us from winning?"

"This makes no sense. What on earth are the organizers thinking…"

At the gradually rising voices, Tang Hwa-seon spoke again.

"They said the problem was that the unorthodox martial artists were participating. They said that if, by any chance, they used a poison without an antidote, unexpected casualties could occur."

"If they valued their lives, would they dare do such a thing in Shaolin? This is clearly…!!"

It would be reasonable to view it as the result of the influence of the Nine Sects.

Tang Hwa-seon was not unaware of that fact either.

However, the Abbot of Shaolin had clearly expressed his intention.

'For a fair tournament, all rules must be applied equally.'

How was it fair when it was disadvantageous to only one side?

Was it justice to break a bird's wings and make it walk on the ground?

"Oh my god…"

Those who expressed the greatest dissatisfaction were the rising stars of the Ten Thousand Poisons Hall. In particular, the expression of Tang Do-won, who had been excited at the thought of seeing the results of his poison-using techniques in person, was twisted crookedly.

A heavy silence descended inside the guest reception room.

At this rate, morale would drop before the unreasonable rules could take effect.

"………"

Tang Hwa-seon's gaze landed on San-ho, who had been keeping silent since a while ago. It was not his nature to stay still, so his quietness was somehow ominous.

"What do you think?"

"Umm…"

San-ho, who was lost in thought, raised his head.

"If you kill someone you get disqualified, and if you want to use poison you have to submit the antidote and components in advance? Doesn't this mean they want to completely ban the Tang Clan's martial arts, which are represented by poison and hidden weapons? They seem particularly harsh on us, but I don't know the reason."

"…It is the way of things to want to exclude what is different from oneself."

"Interesting."

San-ho clicked his tongue briefly.

Why were there so many bastards holding a grudge against the Tang Clan?

As expected, the Jianghu was not easy.

Regardless of orthodox or unorthodox, they were truly cheap.

But it was fine.

Because I was not easy either.

Of course, I wouldn't lose in being cheap either.

Yes, there should be at least one penalty like this to make it fun.

"It seems everyone doesn't expect the Tang Clan to do well. Both with the unreasonable rules, and the perception that we are weak in sparring…"

Everyone remained silent at the reality brought up without filtration.

At that moment, a strange light suddenly flashed in San-ho's eyes.

"But if we win here, wouldn't it be really fun?"

"What?"

"Originally, it's not underd… og, but it's really fun when the player with the low probability of winning wins. Wanting to cheer for and support the underdog is one of the human psychologies."

"……?"

Questions arose at the sudden positivity.

San-ho took out a bundle of papers from his chest.

"I was debating whether to use this or not. Since it turned out like this, I will share them with a comfortable mind."

"What is this?"

"It is said that if you know the enemy and know yourself, you will not be defeated in a hundred battles, so please read it once."

If you knew the enemy's weaknesses and knew your strengths, you would not be in danger even if you fought a hundred times.

The corners of San-ho's mouth curled up.

"……?"

The rising stars, with puzzled expressions, unfolded the papers and examined the contents. Before long, their eyes began to grow wider and wider.

"Heh…"

"Just when did you…?"

"It is a compilation of information on the rising stars who are considered candidates for the championship, and the participants of the last Dragon and Phoenix Assembly."

What San-ho handed over was an information booklet containing details on nearly a hundred rising stars. It detailed the weapons, martial arts, sword techniques, and weaknesses they mainly used. Not only that, but also past win-loss records and their currently expected level of martial prowess.

"………"

Silence lingered inside the guest reception room.

Just how did he find this out?

Generally, the more one was a disciple of a great sect, the harder it was to find out their information. Even if weapons or sword techniques could be identified without difficulty, digging up weaknesses or past win-loss records was almost impossible.

In the end, Tang Yi-seon, unable to hide his questioning, asked.

"How did you get to know this information?"

"A grateful magpie brought it to me."

San-ho, who gave an incomprehensible answer, looked at the rising stars of the Craftsmanship Hall and asked.

"We brought all types of weapons, right?"

The martial artists of the Craftsmanship Hall immediately dragged the chests over.

Hesitation-free hands flung open the chest containing the family's weapons.

Inside, it contained not only Soul-Severing Sand, Short Halberds, and Poisonous Caltrops, but also a flexible sword with a thin blade, a delicate willow-leaf flying dagger, and even an iron whip.

San-ho, who inspected the inside of the chest, looked at Tang Hwa-seon.

Even without putting it into words, the meaning contained in his eyes was conveyed.

Since we had so many things, even if one was missing, the result would not change. The obsession to definitely win was felt completely.

Originally, the Tang Clan's martial arts had many branches.

Not to mention various poison and hidden weapon techniques, but also sword methods, whip methods, chain methods, mechanism formations, and fist methods. Besides those, many martial arts and military weapons were packed.

Then, what did they contain?

'I do not know if he acted with this in mind or not, but…'

'You have found the perfect answer once again.' Tang Hwa-seon let out a hollow laugh without realizing it.

What San-ho's actions showed was the most correct answer.

What could be called the foundation of the Sichuan Tang Clan.

Tang Hwa-seon said, locking eyes with everyone one by one.

"I believe in you."

"Family Head…"

"Is poison the only thing that makes us up? We have many more things than that. It is just that they do not know it."

"………"

"Let's show them. That the foundation of the Sichuan Tang Clan is the deep affection of our ancestors, who held onto countless things and thought only of the family's safety."

His firm voice enveloped them like a large tree.

That was right. Did they not already have countless weapons in their hands? So that not a single person would fall short in protecting themselves and the family, and so that they could exhibit each of their ability values to the maximum…

The love from parents to children that had continued from a very long time ago was their greatest weapon.

San-ho, shrugging his shoulders casually, drove the wedge home.

"So how many bastards… no, how many people do we have to beat?"

In an instant, the atmosphere of the guest reception room flipped.

In the end, the unreasonable rules ended up setting fire to the competitive spirit of the Tang Clan's rising stars. The blazing heat was hot enough to burn down the guest reception room.

"Let's make them regret it, making them wish they had just let us use poison."

A clear stubbornness was smeared on the corners of his mouth that curled up.

In that way, finally, the day of the Dragon and Phoenix Assembly dawned.

It was the prelude to a great upheaval that no one predicted.