Chapter 90 : Using Poison to Control Poison. -01

Chapter 90: Using Poison to Control Poison. -01

“Ah, I’m eating very well. The sleeping quarters are good too.”

“I’m glad you like it. I even told the family head to pay special attention. You’re not an easy guest to host, so shouldn’t you be treated accordingly?”

“I was already thinking I was lucky to have such a good elder brother.”

“He’s an extraordinary elder brother. Even the Blade King can’t treat him lightly.”

“Hahaha.”

Jeong Iryong laughed awkwardly.

It was because he could neither affirm nor deny it.

At times like this, laughing it off was the best option.

“Do the two of you happen to have a young lady you’ve set your heart on?”

“Me?”

“If not you, then who do you think I’m asking?”

When Dang Bi’s gaze turned toward him, Seo Joun’s eyes widened.

He hadn’t expected to be asked something like that here.

Yet he wasn’t as surprised or tense as he had thought he might be.

Dang Bi before him was certainly a formidable martial artist, but that didn’t mean Seo Joun had any reason to feel intimidated.

“Not yet. And I don’t have any intention of marrying for now.”

“Oh?”

Dang Bi’s eyes gleamed at the sight of him speaking his mind so boldly.

The more he looked, the more he liked him.

Most people grew tense or didn’t know how to act when standing before him, but Seo Joun was different.

Rather, he opened his eyes wide and met his gaze directly.

“I think the same as Joun. And isn’t there a saying about seniority and order?”

“Hehehe!”

Dang Bi burst into hearty laughter at Jeong Iryong’s answer, which seemed to suggest he knew exactly why the question had been asked.

They all had guts to match their skills.

What was interesting, though, was that it didn’t come off as arrogance.

“I receive plenty of marriage proposals from all over, but I still think it’s not yet time to meet a woman.”

“Then when do you think would be appropriate?”

“Well. Won’t it appear like destiny?”

Ban Hojin said with a meaningful expression.

Dang Bi smiled back at him.

He had caught the implication of what was just said.

It meant it hadn’t appeared yet, which in turn meant Dang Seorin was not destiny.

“Fate is quite an interesting thing. At first you think it’s just a passing encounter, but later it turns out not to be so. No one can guarantee what will happen in the future.”

“That’s what I’ve heard. But I think to some extent, one can decide for oneself.”

“True. That’s also the case. Some people carve out their own fate. You seem to be that type.”

“That’s right.”

“But you know, sometimes even if you try to avoid it, there are cases where you become connected anyway.”

This time, Dang Bi smiled meaningfully.

Even so, Ban Hojin didn’t blink an eye upon seeing that smile.

Rather, he smiled back.

“In that case, there’s only one method. If it blocks you, you break it.”

“Hehehe.”

At Ban Hojin’s answer, which showed not a shred of hesitation, Dang Bi nodded.

He had wondered where Seo Joun and Jeong Iryong’s nerve came from, and now the answer was right in front of him.

“We’ll take our leave now. Then.”

“Rest well.”

“Yes.”

For some reason, it felt like there was more left unsaid, but Ban Hojin didn’t bother thinking about it any further.

There was no need to go that far.

Instead, he smacked his lips as he turned his body.

‘If he hadn’t died of old age, the Sichuan Tang Family wouldn’t have collapsed so futilely.’

Though his body was old, Dang Bi was still strong.

He possessed the bearing of an absolute master to the point that seventy years of age felt meaningless, which made Ban Hojin feel regret.

If Dang Bi hadn’t fallen due to old age, then no matter how severe the fraternal conflict became, it seemed unlikely that the Sichuan Tang Family would have declined so easily.

And if the Sichuan Tang Family had remained intact, the Nine Heavens Gate wouldn’t have crossed into the Central Plains so easily either.

‘With the Dark Emperor and the Poison King, even if they couldn’t annihilate the Nine Heavens Gate, they could certainly hold them back.’

Poison was lethal and dangerous.

That was why it wasn’t easy to handle, but once one reached a certain level, one could kill hundreds or thousands alone.

That was precisely the power of poison, and its terror.

But even Ban Hojin, who knew the future, couldn’t interfere with the lifespan decreed by heaven.

‘What a pity, truly a pity.’

As time passed, the body aged and the senses dulled, but experience and inner energy accumulated in their place.

That was why Ban Hojin truly felt regret.

If Dang Bi had lived until the mountain-and-river banquet, if he had lived ten more years, the future would have changed greatly.

Seo Joun, who had gathered in the large room used as both a meeting room and reception room, wore a dumbfounded expression.

A room that had been completely empty until yesterday was now piled high with all kinds of letters, stacked like mountains.

Among them were also lavishly wrapped gifts.

“What on earth is all this?”

“That’s exactly what I want to say.”

Jeong Iryong, who entered the room after Seo Joun, widened his eyes in shock.

He couldn’t believe it even while looking at it.

But upon closer inspection, they were clearly addressed to him and Seo Joun.

“What’s there to be so surprised about? The ones sent to me alone are about that much.”

“You got them too, hyung?”

“Of course. Do you think all the attention would be focused only on you two? The lodgings assigned to the Seonwu Family are probably in a similar situation.”

Unlike the startled Seo Joun and Jeong Iryong, Moyong Cheok spoke as if it were nothing, casually pulled out a chair, and sat down.

Even so, Jeong Iryong and Seo Joun couldn’t easily recover from the shock.

“This kind of attention is a first for me.”

“The contents are all pretty similar.”

“You already read them?”

“They were sent to me, so of course I read them. I was curious about the contents too. But compared to me, you have overwhelmingly more.”

After opening and skimming through a few sealed letters, Jeong Iryong seemed to lose interest and didn’t check any more.

Instead, he looked at the letters and gifts piled several times higher for Seo Joun and let out a sound of admiration.

“It’s probably because of your sect. Iryong, there’s nothing known about you, but Joun’s background is clear. The places that sent those letters and gifts probably all looked into the Seo Family Estate. If you go through the Beggars’ Sect, you can find out quickly.”

“So that’s why it took a day?”

“A day is extremely fast. What you’re seeing now is probably just the tip of the iceberg. There’ll be more tomorrow. Or they might come once more this evening.”

“Huh.”

Seo Joun wore a dazed expression.

He truly had never imagined that something like this would happen to him.

But his mood was not bad at all.

Rather, it leaned toward the good.

“Your mouth is practically splitting open, isn’t it?”

“I didn’t move at all?”

“You might feel that way. But a third party’s gaze is objective and cold.”

At Moyong Cheok’s words, Seo Joun reflexively raised his hand and brushed the corner of his mouth.

However, the shape of his lips had not moved even a little.

“Keuk keuk! I can see it. Your mouth corners are reaching your ears.”

“Did you learn mind-reading or something?”

“No. You can tell just by looking.”

Moyong Cheok spoke arrogantly, as if no further explanation was necessary.

As if it was something obvious the moment you looked.

At that 모습, Seo Joun shook his head from side to side.

“How many did you get?”

“A ridiculous amount. Enough to make my mouth hurt just talking about it.”

“You’re not going to check? Even if you can’t reply to each one, you should at least read them out of courtesy since they were sent.”

“It’s pointless. What changes if I read them? Am I going to accept them all?”

“What kind of nonsense is that.”

Jeong Iryong made an incredulous expression.

If he accepted everyone who sent letters, it would not be just ten or so—it would be over fifty.

“If there’s no reply, they’ll get the hint themselves. ‘So it’s hopeless after all.’ You think this is the first or second time this has happened? If you look closely, there are probably places that overlap between you and Joun.”

“No way.”

“There’ll be places that overlap with me too.”

“Isn’t that a bit much?”

Not only Jeong Iryong but even Seo Joun’s expression crumpled.

No matter what, that seemed discourteous.

“They’re just poking at grapes they can’t eat. If they can eat them, great. If not, whatever. It probably went to Bang-i hyung quite a bit too.”

“That’s right.”

“You’re here?”

As the saying went that even a tiger appears when spoken of, the moment Moyong Cheok finished speaking, Seonu Bang entered the room.

He looked as though he had been harassed quite a bit since morning.

“It’s the same here too.”

“How many did you get, hyung?”

“Seems similar.”

“Then as expected, I got the most.”

Moyong Cheok shrugged.

As if winning even something like this was still a win.

But Seonu Bang poured cold water on him.

“Hojin probably got more.”

“No way. Hyung’s situation is a bit different from ours. He probably didn’t actually receive that many. The half-baked places wouldn’t even dare to try. Just yesterday and the day before, there were as many as three peaks’ worth of women expressing interest in hyung. On top of that, the Supreme Family Head showed direct interest, so the mediocre places would’ve given up on their own.”

At Moyong Cheok’s confident declaration, Seonu Bang nodded.

His words had merit.

The best way would have been to check directly, but he did not want to sneak into a room whose owner was absent.

“You know quite well?”

“You can tell just by looking. People all think in pretty similar ways anyway. And the elders care a lot about rank, don’t they? But what about you, hyung?”

“Me? Why?”

“Did the Family Head say anything?”

“Not yet. Looks like you did?”

Moyong Cheok’s shoulders slumped.

The way his confidence from just moments ago vanished instantly made Seonu Bang chuckle.

“Cheer up.”

“If you were in my place, would you feel cheered up?”

“It can’t be helped. It’s for the family. You should prepare your heart ahead of time. Or build up enough skill to refuse your father’s orders.”

“Hmm!”

Moyong Cheok looked intrigued.

He liked the latter option more than the former.

And if he worked himself to death, it even seemed somewhat possible.

“But where did hyung go?”

“If you don’t know, how would I know?”

Seo Joun’s gaze passed Seonu Bang and turned toward Jeong Iryong.

It was a look asking whether he had heard anything.

“I haven’t heard anything either. He just said he had some business.”

“Isn’t it his first time in Sichuan Province?”

“Who knows. I haven’t been down the mountain that long.”

“Personal business?”

Seo Joun pushed out his lips slightly.

He felt a bit disappointed.

They were together every day, so acting separately made him feel a little sulky.

“Men sometimes need time alone.”

“That’s true.”

“He might have gone out to look into the Gongsun Family. He wouldn’t be planning to leave secretly, so let’s just do what we need to do.”

Seonu Bang smiled and stood up.

As if his body had already been itching, Moyong Cheok sprang to his feet as well.

A moment later, familiar sounds began to echo through the training grounds.

Having gained some long-awaited time alone, Ban Hojin leisurely wandered around the outskirts of Chengdu.

It was his first time in this life, but in his previous life, he had visited this place several times—Sichuan Province’s Chengdu.

So it felt fairly familiar to Ban Hojin.

However, the peaceful atmosphere, different from his past life, felt unfamiliar to him.

“This is interesting.”

The atmosphere was completely different from the Chengdu in his memories, making it both fascinating and enjoyable.

And once again, he could clearly feel it.

That peace was better than war.

But to protect such peace, strength was absolutely necessary.

“While I organize my thoughts.”

Fate was truly interesting.

It could be changed, but conversely, there were fates that could never be changed.

Among them, what would soon unfold in the Sichuan Tang Family belonged to the latter.