Chapter 90: Didn’t Miss a Thing

The stars in the night sky sparkled brilliantly.

The Sect Leader of the Purple Mist Sect, Song Ryeong, was circulating her Purple Star Divine Art atop a lofty mountain peak.

Because of the art’s influence, her hair shone with a violet hue, defying nature as it rose upward into the heavens.

The middle-aged woman, lost in a trance-like state, sensed someone’s approach and slowly opened her closed eyes.

“Harang, is that you.”

She softly called out the name of her wayward disciple, who had vanished after saying she would go to meet a close friend she had made outside.

But today, the face of the disciple who had once descended the mountain in high spirits looked strangely different.

“You said you’d go see a bosom friend. Did your paths cross and fail to meet?”

“……”

Her shoulders drooped, not just gloomy, but utterly dispirited.

In response to her teacher’s question, Jo Harang shook her head from side to side.

“……Master.”

“Yes, Harang.”

“You once said, didn’t you? That the Purple Tenuity Star is a light that illuminates the world, so one must never neglect martial training.”

Her violet eyes glittered beneath the pouring starlight.

“Yes, I did say that.”

To punish villains and save the virtuous, one must polish oneself so that warmth could be shed upon the world.

“Those words were right. From now on, I will devote myself solely to training in martial arts.”

“……?”

Song Ryeong tilted her head in puzzlement.

Not long ago, this very disciple was always making excuses to descend the mountain, whether to gain worldly experience or to help the sect in some way.

“I will become a martial expert…!”

She must have experienced something outside.

It seemed her disciple wanted to forget her other thoughts through harsh training.

“To want to become a master…”

Though she didn’t know the reason, her disciple seemed to have regained fervor for martial arts cultivation.

Recently, she had said she’d gained great insight thanks to a certain noble person’s help. If she polished that well, perhaps even the realm of the Peak Martial Artist would not be impossible.

“Yes, Harang. Let us aim for mastery.”

Hardship and storms only forged a person straighter and stronger.

Whatever the reason, seeing her disciple’s zeal filled Song Ryeong with renewed motivation as well.

The road to Sichuan was long and far.

A large packhorse, munching on dry hay with steady strength, pulled the cart.

Perched on the cart bed, I felt the rough jolts of the unpaved road against my backside as I blankly admired the clear sky.

Chchch—

A crimson aura flared up, as though celebrating a marriage procession.

Whenever I engaged in acts far removed from slaughter, the Heaven-Slaying Star always revealed its displeasure in such a way.

‘Idiot (傻逼).’

It would keep picking fights like this.

For now, that was all it could do.

‘Oh? Even if you’re displeased, you can’t do anything, can you?’

It was suppressed beneath the immense righteous karma and the energy of the Starfall Heart Cultivation Method that I had accumulated.

What unsettled me, however, was that crimson finger that kept tracing words of the Central Plains into the air.

Was it the aftereffect of when I detonated the Thunderburst Bomb in the battle against the Blood Cult? Originally, it had only been one or two words. At some point, it had stretched to around three.

For now, it was just a finger. But who knew how much longer it might grow next time?

‘Coward (懦夫).’

I sneered at its provocation. Did it think I would suddenly go out and commit mass slaughter?

If anything, I was the one anxious from not finding enough deeds to accumulate merit.

“Captain, please try this.”

At that moment, a boyish voice called from beside me.

When I turned my head, Ilhong was holding out some mushrooms she had picked up somewhere.

“They’re precious shiitake mushrooms. I found them along the way.”

She had carefully brushed off the dirt and torn them into bite-sized pieces.

I brought one close to my nose. A subtle natural fragrance wafted out.

“Ah, open up. Ahh.”

“……”

She picked up a piece as if to feed me herself.

This girl was acting strangely these days. Perhaps Juwol-a’s coquettish table service had left too deep of an impression on her.

“You’re sure these aren’t poisonous?”

“Captain wouldn’t die anyway.”

…That was a real appetite killer.

Insisting that the mushrooms were definitely shiitake, Ilhong once more pushed them toward my mouth.

“What? You ate just fine when that courtesan gave you food. But when I do it, you can’t?”

Ilhong argued, saying I shouldn’t treat people differently.

Was she trying to take care of me, or just annoy me?

“Ah, is it because you have a wife now, and it’s not proper?”

Sensing it would only get more bothersome if I left her alone, I reluctantly nibbled the mushroom like a sparrow pecking at feed.

At once, the rich natural flavor spread across my mouth.

And the aftertaste tingled my tongue with a spicy kick.

“Hey, this is poisonous, isn’t it…?”

I stared at Ilhong with wide eyes.

“Mhm, I see. Good thing I didn’t eat it. Guess I’ll just chew on jerky instead…”

Muttering, she pulled jerky from her bosom and walked off, munching away.

This brat—was that any way to treat her superior?

“What… are you two doing? Just what on earth are you…?”

Meanwhile, Tang Yeo-hye was staring at us with appalled eyes.

The sight of two men feeding each other was apparently too shocking.

“You misunderstand.”

“What misunderstanding? I saw what I saw.”

“I was just checking if it was poisonous.”

“No wonder—sometimes I did think the way he looked at you was strange.”

Strange? What strange!

Thus, Tang Yeo-hye ended up layering yet another bizarre misunderstanding.

This felt unjust.

“Young Lady! I see Sichuan ahead!”

At that moment, Neungsam, her servant, jumped down from the cart and pointed forward.

Sure enough, in the distance appeared the bustling capital city of Sichuan Province.

“We’ve arrived. Once you see that, it’s close.”

This was Chengdu, blessed by the upper flow of the Yangtze River, where agriculture thrived, and once the capital of Liu Bei’s Shu-Han.

Just as she said, once we crossed the gates, it didn’t take long to find the Tang Clan of Sichuan.

After all, all we had to do was look for the grandest, most magnificent place here.

“This is the Tang Clan of Sichuan, my home.”

“Oooh……”

“Wow, Captain.”

Luxurious estates surrounded by towering walls. By rough count, there must have been over fifty of them.

Inside, neatly arranged gardens, a lake, and even a tall, elongated main hall rose high.

It was grand enough that one could call it a village of its own.

And the fact that such a place stood right in the heart of Chengdu, not even in the outskirts, spoke volumes of its wealth and power.

“Let’s hurry, wife. To our nest.”

Perhaps because of this, Tang Yeo-hye suddenly looked less like a wandering rogue and more like a wealthy family’s daughter.

Her boisterous personality had made me forget, but yes, that was who she really was.

“What nonsense… have you lost your mind?”

She looked utterly dumbfounded at my sudden change in attitude.

And so, while bickering, we set off toward the Tang Clan of Sichuan.

At high noon, under the risen sun, inside the Tang Clan of Sichuan.

Tang Ak, the Young Clan Master who had just entered his thirties this year, furrowed his brows deeply at an unsettling piece of news delivered in broad daylight.

His unruly younger sister, who had once kicked away the marriage the clan arranged for her, had now returned—arm in arm with a man, no less.

He rubbed his throbbing forehead.

Without delay, he summoned blood relatives and elders favorable to him to receive these unwelcome guests.

“Dog-Beating Dragon Dan Mujin? A wanderer from Beijing who made quite the mark at the Dragon-Phoenix Tournament?”

One of the Tang Clan’s elders, who had been present at the Murim Alliance, easily recounted the man’s identity.

A strange wanderer who, through various commissions, had formed ties with his younger sister.

Recently, he had stepped into the realm of Peak Martial Artist, and his rapid growth was extraordinary. If not handled carefully, public opinion within the clan could very well shift.

“That cannot be allowed.”

They were siblings, but half-siblings.

In their childhood, he had spent time with her warmly enough, not knowing better. But as he grew older and honed his poison arts, his temperament hardened, and his awareness of clan affairs sharpened.

In the end, the world was ruled by survival of the fittest.

To live, one had to cut down anything that could pose a threat.

Even if that threat came in the form of a half-blooded relative.

“It’s been a while, Brother Tang Ak.”

Her voice carried a mix of affection and resentment.

Tang Yeo-hye, who had long behaved like one outside the clan, once again cast her presence before countless kin watching her return.

“What’s your aim?”

Tang Ak twitched his brows as he asked.

The clan was already arranging a marriage alliance. And now, she had returned so boldly with another man at her side.

“Simply absurd.”

He then cast a long, steady look at the young man who had so brazenly intruded upon clan matters.

The way he glanced at the broad lake or the expensive ornaments marked him clearly as a wanderer—the kind who would do anything for money without backing.

Talent he had, but no refinement.

When asked why he had come, the youth bowed his head without hesitation and said,

“Please give me your daughter’s hand.”

“……”

What a strange fellow.

The marriage plea, directed at the wrong person entirely, left Tang Ak momentarily speechless.

With an incredulous expression, he shot a look at Tang Yeo-hye that all but shouted, “What is this man?”

She averted her eyes.

“Yeo-hye is my sister.”

“Then please give me your younger sister, Brother.”

The youth ignored the sharp stares around them completely, his tone utterly brazen as he let Tang Ak’s oppressive aura slide off him with shameless ease.

“Yeo-hye, where in the world did you pick up… this sort of man?”

Before his clansmen, Tang Ak barely swallowed back the words “madman,” choosing instead to ask in restrained disgust.

So he truly was a young genius of martial talent. Did all prodigies come with a streak of lunacy?

Just like that younger sister of his, who had entered the realm of Peak Martial Artist at such a young age and threatened his position.

“You there, Dan Mujin, was it?”

“Yes, Brother.”

“Who are you calling Brother…? Anyway.”

The more he spoke, the more he felt himself being drawn in, his composure slipping. In some ways, this man’s presence was even more disconcerting than that of his unruly sister.

He couldn’t let his reputation falter before so many eyes.

So, calming his breath, he said,

“You seem close with Yeo-hye. Why don’t we have a meal and discuss this privately?”

Unlike his reckless sister, who solved everything with brute force, Tang Ak knew how to hide a blade behind a smile.

Some might call it scheming and manipulative, but what heir could ever hope to become Clan Leader without such qualities?

Thus, his venomous heart gleamed faintly as he extended an invitation to dinner toward the youth before him.

“Hey, Mujin. Doesn’t that look like he’s plotting something to lure you…?”

“And if he is? Do you think your dear brother plans to steal away your lover?”

Tang Ak shrugged as he blocked his sister’s interference.

At the implication that she lacked trust in her own partner, Tang Yeo-hye pressed her lips shut and glared at him, though her eyes seemed to waver with unease.

“It’s just a simple meal. You didn’t hire this wanderer with money to ruin this marriage alliance, did you? Then why so anxious?”

Tang Ak sneered, mocking them for lacking trust between lovers.

Around them, people began to whisper among themselves, gossiping at her expense.

As the murmurs swelled, Dan Mujin finally stepped forward.

“I am hungry, indeed. Let us sample Sichuan’s famed ma and la flavors.”

“Ah, a taste you won’t regret.”

They say being struck from behind leaves you numb and dizzy.

The taste of Sichuan’s mala was just like that.

Sichuan cuisine was known for its peculiar flavor, based on Sichuan peppercorn, chili, and garlic—numbing, sharp, and stimulating.

Thus, there were many fiery red and piquant dishes, such as Mapo Tofu, Kung Pao Chicken, and Mala Xiang Guo.

Among them, the most eye-catching was, without doubt, the fiery-red crayfish curled neatly together—Mala Longxia.

Crunch, crack.

Thanks to a certain film, this Sichuan dish had become especially famous.

Like Zhang Qian in the movie, I cracked open the shell and savored the white flesh of the crayfish with single-minded focus.

“So then.”

After a long silence of eating, Tang Ak finally spoke.

There was no hiding the trace of mockery at his eyes.

“How much were you paid to be hired?”

Clearly, he held not a shred of belief that I could have come this far for pure love of Tang Yeo-hye.

“What if I came as her lover? How can you be so sure otherwise?”

At my words, Tang Ak smirked.

“That foul-mouthed, fist-first woman who slips poison into meals on a whim? And you expect me to believe that?”

Well… he knew her well, at least.

“……Hmm.”

What to do, Sister Tang Yeo-hye?

This man’s words… make far too much sense.

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