Chapter 180

Mang Ryo spoke with a seemingly regretful tone.

“I’ll speak to the Sword Pavilion Master myself, so don’t worry about what comes after. In life, there are failures and regrettable things, isn’t that so? The Sword Pavilion Master will understand.”

With many watching eyes, Zhuge Son-gi couldn’t express his anger openly and spoke in a low, growling voice.

“Are you… shifting the responsibility to us now? Using our Zhuge family to your heart’s content and then discarding us?”

“If others heard this, they might misunderstand.”

“You’re speaking in a way that invites misunderstanding!”

“I assigned a Qingcheng Sect Taoist to Poison Dragon and Dancing Buddha to Enchanting Flower. She was even in a state where her arm was severed and she was poisoned. Who could have predicted failure? That was something no one could have foreseen.”

Well, it wasn’t wrong. It had been an absolutely impossible situation for Dan Ryeong-gyeong to escape alive.

Anyone would have thought so.

So they had no choice but to console themselves that such failure was unavoidable.

Still, the fact that Mang Ryo’s words and actions were irritating was well known.

Zhuge Son-gi ground his teeth and said.

“Looking at the results, it was that b*st*rd Poison Dragon who created this mess. And the one who saved that Poison Dragon was none other than you.”

Mang Ryo shook his head repeatedly.

“It wasn’t me. Enchanting Flower saved him. At that time, I had no choice but to make an unavoidable decision to save Silent Dragon.”

“Making excuses to the very end…”

Mang Ryo cut off Zhuge Son-gi’s words.

“Well then, I have urgent business, so I think I should take my leave now.”

“Tsk!”

Mang Ryo looked at Zhuge Ming and left separate words.

“Today isn’t the only day. Someday there will come a day when I help the Zhuge family.”

Zhuge Ming maintained a stiff expression and nodded slightly to avoid revealing his inner thoughts. There was no point in continuing the conversation as it would only bring more shame.

Anyway, the death warrant for Jin Ja-gang was still valid. Even if the personnel who came out this time returned, the pursuit of Jin Ja-gang would not stop.

And what came next…

It would probably be Mang Ryo, who had looked down on the Zhuge family.

“I look forward to it.”

* * *

Mang Ryo was able to enter the inner courtyard of the Tang Family Great Compound for the first time.

The outer courtyard, where large and small square mansions were packed so tightly together that it felt claustrophobic.

But the inner courtyard was the same. The only difference was that it was slightly wider and was one large mansion as a whole, but it was just as cramped and bleak as the mansions in the outer courtyard.

“Hmm.”

The path Mang Ryo was walking also had high walls on both sides, making it feel like walking through a corridor rather than inside a house.

After walking for quite a while, Mang Ryo spoke.

“At this rate, there’s no need to keep the inner courtyard tightly closed. There’s nothing to see anyway.”

There were even engraved stone patterns in the middle of the walls that looked different depending on the viewing position due to shadows. It was perfect for confusing directions.

Anyone entering for the first time would definitely get completely lost and wander around.

The warrior leading the way turned around and warned.

“Be quiet.”

Mang Ryo suddenly stopped and stared at the warrior.

“The In family?”

Among the Tang family’s vassal families, there were several surnames that played special roles. The In family was one of them.

Rather than wondering how he knew this, the warrior responded irritably, annoyed that he had stopped unnecessarily.

“That’s right. So shouldn’t you hurry along now?”

But Mang Ryo clicked his tongue and said.

“Look here. I’m a guest, not a minister from a tributary state who came to offer tribute. Why should I be treated like a prisoner?”

The warrior’s eyebrows twitched.

“What are you doing now? Weren’t you the one who begged to meet the elder?”

“No, I think this is going too far. Wouldn’t you feel bad if you were in my position? Be quiet? What did I say and how much? Huh?”

Mang Ryo gradually raised his voice as he spoke.

The warrior’s face became noticeably flustered. He never thought there would be someone who would suddenly act like this after entering the inner courtyard of the Tang Family Great Compound.

Moreover, he was just a guide. If a commotion arose, he would be the one to receive blame.

“Do you want to die?”

When the warrior took a high-handed attitude, Mang Ryo frowned.

“Frankly, what will you do if I’m not quiet? Will you kick me out, or what? Go ahead and try!”

Mang Ryo struck the wall with his crutch.

Thwack! Tap! Tap!

Chirp chirp!

Birds flew up from various parts of the garden in surprise.

The flustered warrior tried to stop Mang Ryo.

“Look here. I understand, so please calm down for a moment…”

He could feel gazes shooting from invisible places in all directions.

Only then did Mang Ryo cough and pretend to calm down.

“Let’s be careful with our words. Lowly people who just run errands should know their place if they want to live long.”

The warrior’s face reddened with anger.

“Under… stood.”

“Ahem.”

Mang Ryo gestured with his chin to indicate he should guide the way. The warrior kept his mouth tightly shut and began walking ahead.

Thud, thud.

Mang Ryo followed behind the warrior, deliberately making loud sounds with his crutch.

* * *

Even after entering the inner courtyard, it seemed like they had walked for a full hour.

After walking a long way through complex paths, they reached the front of a building.

The warrior waited in front of the door.

Mang Ryo leisurely looked around and waited together. Before long, the door opened.

It was a Tang family woman with sharp eyes.

“He says to come in.”

Mang Ryo looked at the warrior who had been guiding the way and smiled.

“You worked hard.”

The warrior trembled and left without a word. The Tang family woman guided Mang Ryo again. Even after entering the building, they had to pass through several doors before Mang Ryo could finally arrive at a spacious hall. However, unlike halls in other regions, this place was completely blocked off by doors.

The Tang family woman stopped in front of the stairs leading up to the hall.

“Go up.”

Mang Ryo also became somewhat cautious as he climbed the stairs.

It was known publicly that he had stepped down from the position of Tang family head more than ten years ago.

However, he was still the actual master who decided all matters, large and small, of the Tang family.

King of Hell Tang Qing.

It was the nickname by which he was called, meaning that even human life and death depended on his hands.

He was finally going to meet such a Tang Qing.

For the past Mang Ryo, this would have been a great honor and at the same time something to fear.

But now he was a trading partner.

He couldn’t be overwhelmed in terms of momentum.

Mang Ryo put strength in his stomach and stepped up.

Thud!

As Mang Ryo climbed the stairs, a sliding door above opened.

Slide.

But at that moment, Mang Ryo’s mind snapped to attention at the sudden noisy sound.

Chatter chatter.

Sounds that couldn’t be heard at all from outside began to be heard as he climbed to the hall.

And seeing the scene inside, Mang Ryo couldn’t help but laugh.

“Heh heh heh…”

It was an unimaginable scene.

Inside the hall, dozens of people were busily coming and going.

They were having conversations, shouting, and running around. People were frantically working.

Hundreds of bamboo slips and letters piled on dozens of tables. They were sorted and taken down one by one, and just as many new ones were brought in and piled up again.

Moreover, there was an enormous birdcage on one wall where carrier pigeons were constantly coming and going. The hall was so noisy that even the fluttering sounds of the carrier pigeons’ wings were drowned out.

On the other side, there was a furnace for disposing of bamboo slips and paper letters, so even the smell of burning was vibrating.

Why hadn’t any of this sound leaked outside?

It was probably because of one old man surrounded by countless documents in the center of the hall. That old man was deploying a barrier to prevent all sounds in the hall from going outside.

The old man had rice balls placed next to his table as if even the time to move for meals was precious.

Even the great Mang Ryo hesitated about what to do in this marketplace-like place.

“What are you doing? Come here.”

The old man spoke without even looking at Mang Ryo. Mang Ryo walked across the hall toward the old man in the very center.

No one paid particular attention to or minded Mang Ryo. Mang Ryo approached the old man and gave a light bow. However, the old man still didn’t raise his head from the documents.

Thanks to this, Mang Ryo could observe the old man in detail.

White hair sticking out wildly like a lion’s mane. A small, hunched figure.

He had an ordinary appearance. He looked like an old man who would be treated as a beggar anywhere he went. Since he was over eighty years old, it might have been natural.

‘This old man is the Poison King Tang Qing?’

Tang Qing’s eyes swept through the letters and bamboo slips in his hands in an instant. It was absolutely impossible for an ordinary person.

“Why did you do that? Troublesome. Now I have to repair it.”

Tang Qing spoke to Mang Ryo without even raising his head. He didn’t even greet him. This was Tang Qing who didn’t care about such etiquette. Since he already knew who it was, why bother with greetings?

Mang Ryo scratched his cheek. Tang Qing already knew that he had deliberately struck the wall with his crutch and left marks on it.

“The guide was being troublesome, making me go around this way and that. Even after that, he made me go around in circles two more times.”

“I should give a reward to the stonemason who made that. He made you go around three times.”

When Tang Qing snapped his fingers, a nearby scholar immediately wrote down the order and passed it to someone else. It seemed to be content about giving compensation to the stonemason.

Tang Qing still didn’t raise his head and was looking at documents. He didn’t ask Mang Ryo anything more.

Mang Ryo felt like it would take forever if he waited, so he spoke first.

“Actually… I came to complain.”

“Speak.”

“The effect of the Five Fall Death Pill is unsatisfactory.”

At those words, the sound in the hall disappeared for a very brief moment. Several people looked at Mang Ryo tensely. However, Tang Qing was absorbed in looking at documents. His answer was also simple.

“Right. The Five Fall Death Pill is still incomplete.”

Only then did the people in the hall turn their heads and continue their work.

Mang Ryo complained again.

“If you give me an incomplete product, it becomes very difficult for me to do my work.”

In some ways, it could be considered insolent words, but Tang Qing seemed to have no interest in emotional aspects.

“That’s how you complete it. How can you succeed without failure? Do you think the orthodox internal energy cultivation methods that have been passed down for thousands of years can be easily penetrated by ordinary poison?”

“If I use poison and fail, I might receive unnecessary suspicion, wouldn’t I?”

“Me? You?”

Mang Ryo thought for a moment. Looking at the situation, Tang Qing didn’t seem to care whether the Tang family received suspicion or not. No, rather than not caring, he seemed like he could handle it somehow even if such a thing happened.

Mang Ryo had no choice but to shake his head and answer.

“I mean myself.”

“Got it. Bring this.”

The former words were to Mang Ryo, the latter to the scholar beside him. Tang Qing quickly wrote on a small bamboo slip and gave it to the scholar. The scholar took the bamboo slip and went somewhere.

Even during that brief conversation with Mang Ryo, documents continued to pour in. Tang Qing read them without rest. Sometimes there were cases delivered by word of mouth. Even now, regardless of whether he was having a conversation with Mang Ryo, someone immediately interrupted and reported.

“The test in Pingnan failed. Thirty-five people died without being detoxified, and fifty original residents were poisoned.”

Tang Qing spoke without a moment’s hesitation.

“Dispose of them all.”

“Yes.”

The one who brought the message also seemed to have done this more than once or twice, withdrawing expressionlessly to a nearby scholar to request a seal on a letter before leaving. In just a moment, the fate of fifty lives had been decided.