Chapter 95 : The Most Entertaining Sight. -01

Chapter 95: The Most Entertaining Sight. -01

Tang Woo-hyeok shook his head.

Even by his own judgment, there was no rising junior who could be compared to Ban Hojin.

It was not for nothing that the daughters of martial families, Sambong included, hovered around Ban Hojin.

Moreover, Ban Hojin’s true skill was not fully known.

‘He wasn’t just a Divine Dragon in name—he was a real Divine Dragon.’

Ban Hojin had not displayed his abilities even once since coming to the Sichuan Tang Family.

However, someone at Tang Woo-hyeok’s level could see it no matter how much the other concealed his true strength.

Even if it was difficult to see through him completely, he could still gauge his general level.

The reason he did not speak of it was simply because there was no need to tell others.

“Is there a way?”

“It seems Father has already made his decision.”

“Then give her to some other bastard? To someone like that? Even if someone else had him, we’d have to snatch him back. Or can you give Seorin a child better than that one?”

“……That would be difficult for now.”

Tang Woo-hyeok thought calmly.

Perhaps there truly was a rising junior superior to Ban Hojin somewhere in this martial world.

After all, in this vast Jianghu, eccentrics and extraordinary figures were as numerous as grains of sand.

The problem, however, was that such beings were not easily found.

“That’s why we must bring him in somehow. Besides, isn’t he a child who could even become an adopted son-in-law?”

“That is correct.”

Dang Bi’s eyes shone sharply.

After weighing everything, there was no rising junior more suitable as Tang Seorin’s partner than Ban Hojin.

Seo Joun and Murong Cheok, who were with him, were also rising juniors with promising futures, but they could not be compared to Ban Hojin.

Both could serve as second-best options, but when the best existed, there was no reason to deliberately choose the second-best.

“And since we’ve lost one, shouldn’t we fill that empty place?”

“Hmm!”

Tang Woo-hyeok closed his eyes.

Even if he was a traitor, he was still his son.

Moreover, since he had personally executed his youngest son with his own hands, Tang Woo-hyeok’s heart was far from at ease.

Affection was not something that could be severed with a single stroke, so for now, he was merely pretending to be unaffected.

“Tomorrow, I will meet the Abbot. Wouldn’t it be better for me to meet him first rather than you stepping forward directly?”

“If you believe that is best, I will follow.”

“Follow? I’m just asking. You are the Family Head now. Not me. You must not forget that.”

“I am aware.”

“What will you do with the Collateral Branch children?”

Tang Woo-hyeok opened his eyes and stroked his chin.

There had been so much going on that he had not thought that far.

However, the answer was already clear.

“I intend to make them prove themselves.”

“Whether they’re sincere or not?”

“Yes. Once someone betrays you, doing it two or three times becomes easy. So I plan to give them a chance to prove themselves.”

“That sounds good.”

Dang Bi nodded.

The only one who had made contact with the Nine Heavens Gate was Tang Seogon.

The other Collateral Branch members had merely trusted and followed Tang Seogon.

Still, that alone was not reason enough to fully trust their words, so testing them was necessary.

“They say even dog shit can be used as medicine. We should make use of them, at least this way.”

“You know, once you draw the blade, you must be thorough.”

“Of course. I have no intention of letting this pass as it is. Either the Nine Heavens Gate will disappear, or the Main House will. One of the two will be erased from this world.”

“Good. Only then can you truly be called the Family Head of the Sichuan Tang Family.”

Dang Bi wore a satisfied smile.

Among gossip-lovers, there were those who said that the Sichuan Tang Family’s way of doing things was excessive.

However, what mattered was his and Tang Woo-hyeok’s thinking.

The two of them had no intention whatsoever of changing this method that had been passed down through generations.

“I plan to begin immediately.”

“If you need my help, tell me.”

“I will make sure that does not happen.”

“You little brat.”

At his words, declaring that he would end it within his own authority like a proper Family Head, Dang Bi nodded.

And he thought.

About what he himself needed to do.

Beopmu, sitting face to face with his master Damhyeon, felt the distinctly changed atmosphere of the Sichuan Tang Family despite the late hour.

It was so clearly different from yesterday that it was impossible not to notice.

“The Tang Family seems to have become quite busy.”

“I hear something happened that would justify it.”

“It doesn’t feel ordinary.”

“It’s a war with the Nine Heavens Gate, so it can’t be helped.”

“Yes?”

At the mention of a force he had never even considered, Beopmu’s eyes widened.

Beopmu was not someone easily startled, but when the Nine Heavens Gate was involved, it was a different matter.

“It seems the Nine Heavens Gate tried to pull some scheme while holding the Second Young Lord. And apparently, Hojin discovered it by chance.”

“By chance?”

Beopmu tilted his head.

The idea that such a major incident was discovered by coincidence did not make sense.

“I hear he wasn’t chasing them knowingly. He followed some suspicious individuals, subdued them, and then called the Junior Beggar. He must have thought that it wouldn’t be good for others to recognize the Second Young Lord, so he called the Junior Beggar. It was better than unnecessarily calling the people of the Sichuan Tang Family. And he didn’t really know many people in the Tang Family anyway. In that case, calling the Junior Beggar, whom he could trust to some extent, was probably the best choice.”

“That’s true. Otherwise, he might have ended up gathering even more enemies.”

Beopmu nodded.

In his view as well, it had been an excellent judgment.

When one could not distinguish friend from foe, it was right to first seek someone trustworthy.

Of course, even if enemies swarmed in, Ban Hojin would not fall into danger—but that was only if they were ordinary martial artists.

If the opponent was the Nine Heavens Gate, caution upon caution was necessary.

Unless one possessed Immunity to a Hundred Poisons, no one was free from poison, so it was best to avoid them whenever possible.

“Sometimes he feels like a completely seasoned martial artist. He doesn’t seem his age at all.”

“I think so as well. Still, it’s surprising. To think the Second Young Lord would join hands with the Nine Heavens Gate.”

Since he had spoken with the Second Young Lord just yesterday, Beopmu wore a hollow expression.

The saying about knowing ten fathoms of water but not one fathom of a person’s heart naturally came to mind.

However, the most shocked of all was undoubtedly the Tang Family Head.

“A succession struggle is that terrifying. Especially since the Second Young Lord is an illegitimate son, it’s only natural that he would grow greedy. It’s just that the method he chose was wrong.”

“It’ll get noisy starting tomorrow. Given the Sichuan Tang Family’s nature, they won’t let this matter pass.”

“There will be a storm of blood. But to protect one thing, it can’t be helped.”

On this matter, Damhyeon’s thinking was just as rigid.

Simply put, it wasn’t just that Tang Seogon had drawn in the power of an external force.

If things had gone even slightly wrong, it was a problem where the Nine Heavens Gate could have naturally infiltrated the Central Plains Murim, which was why he believed it had to be dealt with all the more decisively.

Given that the Nine Heavens Gate had harbored ambitions toward the lands of the Central Plains since long ago, it was unlikely they had joined hands with Tang Seogon merely for the sake of securing materials.

“I think the same. If it’s to protect something, I don’t believe we should avoid a fight. Still, I’m a little worried about junior brother.”

“There’s no need to worry. Even if the Sichuan Tang Family is ruthless, it’s not a family that repays恩惠 with enmity. It’s just that their standards are arbitrary, so there are times when their repayment of kindness doesn’t really look like repayment.”

“Junior brother isn’t the type to demand something, is he?”

“Given Hojin’s personality, there’s a high chance he wouldn’t accept it even if they tried to give it to him.”

Damhyeon gave a quiet chuckle.

Before he knew it, the disciple who had completely flown out of his embrace was Ban Hojin.

That said, he had no intention of simply leaving him be.

Just because a disciple had grown up didn’t mean he was no longer a disciple.

“Still, the Tang Family Head will try to give him something no matter what.”

“Even so, there won’t be much that can be done. He’s not just any rising junior—it’s Hojin. He’s not someone who can be pressured by force.”

“That’s true.”

“We should be paying attention to something else instead. The Shangguan Family.”

Beopmu’s gaze changed.

In fact, on his way to the Sichuan Tang Family, Beopmu had been steeling himself inwardly.

There was no physical evidence, but there was circumstantial suspicion, so he had intended to find out for sure this time.

However, the Shangguan Family, as if they had known that, quickly finished their business and slipped away like a loach.

“What do you plan to do?”

“It’ll be hard to find evidence. The Shangguan Family Head isn’t careless by nature. If we press them with only circumstantial suspicion, they’ll probably raise their voices instead.”

“That’s likely.”

Beopmu also knew how cunning the Shangguan Family Head was.

That was why he had endured it so far, swallowing his resentment and merely watching.

If there had been evidence, Beopmu would have been the first to storm into the Shangguan Family.

“But there’s no such thing as a perfect crime in this world. The Shangguan Family is probably just as frustrated as we are. With Danwi missing, they can’t know anything either. We need to aim for that gap.”

“It’ll take a long time. They might even come out proposing a compromise.”

“There’s a strong possibility of that. The Shangguan Family is also one of the pillars of the Orthodox Martial World. Still, if there’s a grudge, it must be resolved. Even if we reach a compromise, what needs to be settled must be settled.”

Damhyeon knew as well.

That with a matter of this scale, it was impossible to wipe out the Shangguan Family.

But letting it slide and enduring it was equally unacceptable.

Even if it wasn’t as ruthless as the Sichuan Tang Family, Shaolin was just as clear-cut when it came to grudges.

‘Amitabha.’

Damhyeon gently closed his eyes.

The reason Shaolin had been able to rise to its current position was not simply because of its history, nor only because it was strong.

It was possible because, when necessary, it had not hesitated to open the Precept Against Killing.

Of course, there were times when forgiveness and magnanimity were shown, but this time did not fall into that category.

“That’s right. In that sense, I think it’s impressive that junior brother is holding back. If it were someone else, they would have gone to the Shangguan Family long ago and caused an uproar.”

“He’s a cool-headed child, so he knows that now isn’t the time. But he’ll never forget. And he won’t be inclined to compromise over something trivial.”

“Junior brother definitely isn’t the type to be a pushover.”

“Exactly. He’s probably thinking of something in his own way. Still, we can’t just sit on our hands. If nothing else, we’re his master and senior brother, aren’t we?”

“I’ll keep a close watch. Making sure the Shangguan Family doesn’t notice at all.”

Damhyeon broke into a broad grin.

It was the answer he had wanted to hear.

Even if things didn’t go to the worst possible extreme, he fully intended to receive an apology.

Perhaps that would be the cheapest outcome for the Shangguan Family.

Ban Hojin returned to Shaolin as if fleeing.

It was partly because the Sichuan Tang Family was on the brink of war with the Nine Heavens Gate, but also because the looks in Dang Bi’s and Tang Woo-hyeok’s eyes as they stared at him were anything but ordinary.

Not only that, but Seonwu Bang and the younger siblings, having apparently suffered greatly from the women who clung to them relentlessly, readily agreed to leave in haste.

“For now, the Nine Heavens Gate has been resolved to some extent.”

At a late hour, when everyone was asleep, Ban Hojin organized the current situation.

Now that his past life and future had completely changed, he felt it was necessary to review things at least once.

However, he did not leave anything in writing.

There would be no one who believed it anyway, but just in case.

“Even now, the power they’ve accumulated must be considerable, but it’s still not bad. The Sichuan Tang Family’s strength is nothing to scoff at either.”

Even while coming to Songshan, Ban Hojin had periodically heard about the Sichuan Tang Family’s movements.

Some of it was information he sought out himself, but much of it had been relayed by Oh Jung-geon.

In a way, since it could be seen as being entangled with both the Nine Heavens Gate and the Sichuan Tang Family, it seemed he had informed him for that reason.

“If the martial forces of Yunnan Province, Guizhou Province, and Guangxi Province join forces centered on the Sichuan Tang Family, it’ll be more than enough to be worth a shot.”

To be honest, Ban Hojin did not know the current strength of the Nine Heavens Gate in detail.

What he knew was the Nine Heavens Gate from when it had been called one of the Four Tyrants of the World.

Even so, when compared based on the Nine Heavens Gate of that time, the power of the alliance centered on the Sichuan Tang Family was by no means inferior.

Even if they couldn’t overwhelm the Nine Heavens Gate, he believed they would at least hold a slight advantage.

“The variable is the Tibetan Murim.”