The Eldest Daughter of the Sichuan Tang Clan Protects Her Family

Prologue

Azure Sky. A fitting backdrop for the World's Number One Clan, the Namgung, whose prestige seemed to rival the heavens themselves. The sky was a brilliant blue, marking the Clan Head's birthday.

Matching the clear weather, clear laughter and the sound of string instruments flowed incessantly from the pavilion. Yet, the pond nestled below the pavilion, green and choked with lotus leaves, failed to mirror that boundless sky.

The surface of the water, green and covered with lotus leaves. Before it stood a woman in a green ceremonial robe. She gazed at the crimson pavilion for a long time.

The maidservant standing beside her watched her closely, calling out cautiously.

“Great Madam...”

Perhaps not having heard the young maidservant's voice, the woman did not turn her head.

The maidservant found it rather fortunate. It was more comfortable to steal glances like this than to meet her eyes.

Perhaps it was just her own excessive fear, but the woman was, after all, a daughter of the Sichuan Tang Clan.

Wasn’t there an old Wulin proverb? One should not make an enemy of one wearing green. Green symbolized the Tang Clan.

Speaking of viciousness, which clan would dare put their name forward before the Tang Clan? Before you even noticed, hidden weapons could be lodged in your body, or you could die instantly from poisoning. Wasn't their ruthlessness likened to that of the Evil Factions, subtly earning them contempt even while they vied for the position of World's Number One Clan?

Of course, now the World's Number One Clan was a title the Tang Clan couldn't even be compared to.

Lost in thought, the woman in green's chest swelled slightly. Exhaling a long breath, she finally took a step.

“M-Madam!”

The maidservant bit her lip, her expression one of disaster. However, she dared not block the path. No matter that she was isolated in the annex, she was still the Clan Head's only wife. Now, wasn't she the Great Madam of the Namgung Clan?

Even if it had become commonplace for the direct and collateral lines of the Namgung to disregard her, it was not something permitted to a mere maidservant.

Above all, she didn't want to incur Tang So-hwa's displeasure.

Tang So-hwa was someone who had earned an epithet despite never having ventured into the Wulin. Wasn't she called the Master of Ten Thousand Poisons and Cures, for it was said there was no Poison in the world she didn't know? Many martial artists had been indebted to her for readily curing severe poisoning symptoms that even renowned physicians couldn't fix.

However, within the epithet, which seemed to express respect at first glance, lay an unsettling word.

Poison.

The fact that that word was included bothered her. The ability to detoxify all Poisons in the world conversely meant the ability to wield all Poisons in the world, sounding almost like a warning to be wary.

The maidservant hurried after the Great Madam, not knowing what to do. She shouldn't interrupt the banquet, but she couldn't muster the courage to block her way forward. To those of high status, a lowly life might be trivial, but to the maidservant, her own life was the most precious thing in the world, one of a kind.

'I'm going crazy!'

The maidservant stomped her foot impatiently as she followed her up the stairs.

“Heh heh, you can eat more today of all days!”

“Chang-hyun is right. On a day like this, the Clan Head should be enjoying himself.”

“Since good things keep happening, isn't this truly a double celebration? Haha.”

A double celebration.

The maidservant flinched at the words of a heavily intoxicated Namgung family member. She watched Tang So-hwa walking ahead and swallowed dryly.

Five years ago, the former Clan Head of the Namgung lay on his sickbed. For reasons unknown, the former Clan Head summoned Namgung Hyun, who had been living as a matrilocal son-in-law in Sichuan. And the day before his death, he left a dying wish: that Namgung Hyun act as interim Clan Head only until the young clan head grew older, as he was too young.

The Tang Clan Head, his old friend, sent his son-in-law and his own daughter to the Namgung Clan, defying his family's opposition. The duration was set: until the young clan head of the Namgung established himself.

However, Namgung Hyun seemed to have no intention of yielding the position to the young clan head. The time that was expected to take a few months kept flowing, and they ended up living in the Namgung for five years.

And at some point, the Tang Clan began to fall.

The exact reason was unknown, but misfortunes struck the Tang Clan as if they had been abandoned by the heavens. The young clan head was lost in an accident while crossing the Yangtze River, businesses collapsed for inexplicable reasons, and a sect impersonating the Tang Clan spread Poison and stirred up trouble in the central plains, resulting in their expulsion from the Wulin Alliance.

That was just a part of it. Strange accidents struck incessantly, to the point where it felt as though someone was intentionally trying to ruin the Tang Clan.

Due to the string of misfortunes, the Tang Clan's finances shrank, and its administration became paralyzed. The decline of the family was unavoidable.

How desperate must the Tang Clan Head, Tang Ji-ha, famous for his lofty pride, have been to bow his head to his son-in-law and ask for help?

However, before he could even attempt to mend his family, disaster erupted. The Demonic Cult, sweeping over Kunlun, instantly swallowed up Sichuan. The Tang Clan Head requested aid from Namgung Hyun, but Namgung Hyun sent him back, saying he would persuade the Wulin Alliance to provide support together and to wait.

Trusting those words, the Tang Clan Head returned to Sichuan, where his family members were fighting, and died there in battle.

Namgung Hyun did not abandon the Tang Clan, his wife's family and a long-standing allied clan.

He just didn't rush there.

The problem arose there.

The situation in Sichuan was urgent.

In fact, the Taoist sects, having heard the news of the Demonic Cult's eruption, arrived in Sichuan even faster, so it was accurate to say that the Namgung had effectively refused help.

Wudang, Mt. Hua Sect, Zhongnan Sect. The Taoist sects vying for the title of the World's Number One Taoist Sect in the central plains tried to save Sichuan, but not only the Tang Clan, but all the sects in Sichuan had already been massacred.

Nevertheless, it couldn't be called a wasted trip. They annihilated the eastward-advancing Demonic Cult and protected the central plains.

Still, it was unavoidable that regret lingered.

From the perspective of the surviving bloodline of the Sichuan Tang Clan, that is.

Tang So-hwa closed her eyes for a moment.

It felt like the distant past, but it had been less than a year ago.

Yet, the Namgung family members seemed to have erased it from their memories, as if it were a very old event.

The musicians sang songs, and the dancers performed, heightening their merriment.

Tang So-hwa slowly opened her eyes again.

The Clan Head's birthday banquet, prepared for over a month, was indescribably grand. Even Tang So-hwa, isolated in the distant annex, couldn't contain her boiling heart and made her way there.

Tap.

The delicate silk shoes gently pressed upon the well-polished wooden floor.

She hadn't climbed many steps before the boisterous conversation abruptly ceased. It was because her head was already visible to those seated on the floor.

At one time, she was called the Precious Treasure of the Sichuan Tang Clan. Even with courtesans renowned in Anhui filling the place, Tang So-hwa instantly captured everyone's attention.

For a moment, people lost for words watched her, averting their gaze.

Tang So-hwa's eyes, black as ink, took in each of them, one by one.

Finally, her gaze reached the Clan Head, seated in the innermost spot. Namgung Hyun did not avoid her eyes. With gently lowered eyes, he simply met his wife's gaze.

Among the large-framed martial artists, her husband looked particularly slender. He had a handsome face for a man, and in his youth, he was said to be quite dashing, but time had changed him greatly. He hadn't lost the distinct dignified bearing of the Namgung Clan, but he looked somewhat shabby.

The tongue that used to discuss chivalry was drunk with wine, and the eyes that dreamed of righteousness were blurred.

No, perhaps he was that kind of person from the beginning.

Tang So-hwa swallowed the bitterness. freewebnoveℓ.com

Her husband, who had returned to the Namgung Clan, treated her coldly, even sending disobedient maidservants to Tang So-hwa's annex as punishment. No one found his behavior strange. Even she, having endured over five years, had grown accustomed to his attitude and had dismissed it as nothing significant.

That's why she realized it too late.

Namgung Hyun hadn't changed. He had never loved her from the start.

The illegitimate child of the Namgung, who had spoken of romantic feelings to her with a gentle face, had been preparing this for a long time.

Over the past year, Tang So-hwa had retraced the past. Where did things go wrong?

And she found the answer in Namgung Hyun.

None of this could have been a coincidence.

You used me to get deep inside the Tang Clan and merely cut us out.

Why, exactly? Because the position of World's Number One Clan was important? You annihilated the Tang Clan because that trivial title bothered you?

No, that couldn't be it. The Namgung was a clan that was always first mentioned when discussing the World's Number One Clan, and they could have easily maintained that position without removing the Tang Clan.

There was something she didn't know.

But having realized it too late, she couldn't know now what had gone wrong, or why Namgung Hyun had ruined the Tang Clan.

And it was a meaningless thing anyway.

Even if she knew the reason, would her father come back to life?

Could she find Hak-yi, who was likely at the bottom of the cold river?

Could she save the family members who were abandoned without knowing why?

Tang So-hwa looked at her husband and slowly opened her mouth.

“How is it?”

Namgung Hyun's brow furrowed at the incomprehensible words.

As if answering his question, Tang So-hwa released her clasped hands and spread them wide to both sides. Her wide sleeves flowed down like a waterfall, reflecting the sunlight. The green silk shimmered, dazzling Namgung Hyun's vision.

“This is the ceremonial robe my father made and sent me for my birthday last year.”

Tang So-hwa's crimson lips curved.

Now it didn't matter if she didn't know why they had ruined the Tang Clan.

Because the reason was no longer important.

The Tang Clan fell to the Namgung Clan.

Only that fact mattered.

As if deep-seated resentment lingered, each word flowed out slowly.

“There’s a saying, you know.”

The voice entering his ears was soft, yet a strange weight could be felt.

“Do not become an enemy of one wearing green.”

The attendees unnecessarily covered their mouths with their sleeves or coughed awkwardly, putting down their chopsticks.

A member of the Namgung recognized enough to sit at the same table as the Clan Head could self-detoxify from most Poisons with their internal energy, but the perception given by the Sichuan Tang Clan was this frightening.

Especially since these words were uttered by the Master of Ten Thousand Poisons and Cures, their appetite vanished instantly.

“So-hwa.”

Namgung Hyun called her name softly. ƒreewebɳovel.com

“It’s not that I don’t understand your feelings, but this is...”

Namgung Hyun, who was about to say something, closed his mouth.

Cough.

A cough burst from his mouth, and blood splattered everywhere.

“Clan Head!”

Screams and shouts erupted from all sides. But soon, those sharp sounds were drowned out by ragged breaths.

“Gasp!”

“Cough, choke, choke.”

The Namgung family members clutched their throats and collapsed. They glared at Tang So-hwa with bloodshot eyes, not understanding what was happening. But Tang So-hwa didn't even spare them a glance and walked further inside.

As she approached the Clan Head, not one person blocked her path.

The screaming dancers clung tightly to pillars, holding their breath, and the family members, including the guards, rolled back their eyes and foamed at the mouth.

Namgung Hyun was still the Clan Head, though. Even as blood gushed from every orifice and his face turned purple, he did not lose his reason.

“H-how...”

Blood spurted whenever he gasped for breath and spoke. Tang So-hwa lowered her gaze and looked at the blood staining her ceremonial robe.

As if something dirty had gotten on a precious garment, she wiped the drops of blood away with a cloth taken from her sleeve.

To her, the ceremonial robe came first. More so than her husband, whose life hung by a thread.

The meaning of that small action was clear, and blood filled Namgung Hyun's eyes.

Even using his internal energy, purification did not occur; instead, the Poison burrowed into his dantian as if delighted. The poison qi hidden throughout his body swarmed like an ant colony, gnawing away at his true qi. His hands and feet trembled so violently he couldn't even grip a sword.

At that moment, a cold voice seized Namgung Hyun's fading consciousness.

“You prepared for over twenty years. Do you think I couldn't endure for just one year?”

Namgung Hyun tried to gather his remaining strength to ask, but no sound came out.

As if there was no need to hear, Tang So-hwa knelt down and wiped the corner of Namgung Hyun's mouth. She smiled and said,

“Hyun, you think you’re clever, don’t you?”

The tone Tang So-hwa used in the past, when she was the Precious Treasure of the Tang Clan and Namgung Hyun was the looked-down-upon illegitimate child of the Namgung Clan, flowed from her lips. Her eyes were gentle, as if comforting a pitiable younger sibling, but the voice piercing his eardrums was cold.

“Hmph...”

“Yes, you are intelligent. You drove out your brother, who was called Namgung's Number One Talent, and finally became the Clan Head in your later years, and to annihilate the Tang Clan, you took me in and held your breath for all those years, creating opportunities. You succeeded in something impossible with your insignificant status, so you are indeed remarkable. I acknowledge that.”

Her tone was warm, but her eyes watching her dying husband were indifferent.

“However, there is one thing you don’t know.”

“H-ugh...”

Her abyss-like eyes slowly lowered, then just as slowly rose.

Curving her red lips, she spoke quietly.

“I have truly detested you for a very long time.”

“Cough...”

“When you blamed me, saying your lover was poisoned and lost her child, I was actually... surprised.”

She squinted one eye slightly.

“I thought it would be a good thing if Yeon-ah received your favor and bore your child. Because I didn’t even like breathing the same air as you. Especially when I heard your breathing, shivers would run down my entire body.”

Namgung Hyun’s eyes, which had been taking shallow breaths, widened somewhat. As if he had been shocked. Tang So-hwa chuckled softly and shrugged her shoulders.

“I, too, have wanted to kill you for a long time. But I am not as skilled in martial arts as you, nor do I have many influential connections, so this is all I could think of, wouldn’t you agree?”

She picked up a white teapot.

“To hide and act despicably, then cut off your breath.”

Trickle. With a clear sound, the poisoned wine filled the cup.

“For the past half-year, I’ve always burned incense around you. So you would die meaninglessly even from the slightest Poison. I tried my utmost to make you feel the pain of all your internal organs festering and thousands of blood vessels bursting, for a long, long time, before you died.”

Tang So-hwa took off one of her earrings. When she twisted the red jade, a pill the size of a grain of rice came out from within. She dropped the small pill into the wine.

Holding the cup, she smiled and brought it towards Namgung Hyun’s cup.

“Enduring and enduring is our way, isn’t it? It seems we were so well-matched that we became husband and wife.”

Clink.

A clear sound of ceramic cups touching resonated.

Tang So-hwa drained her cup in one go.

She exhaled a small breath and looked at Namgung Hyun, whose life was flickering out.

“Let’s meet again in hell.”

It was a Poison prepared to kill as quickly and painlessly as possible. In the Tang Clan, no one could surpass Tang So-hwa in poison arts. Since it was a Poison Tang So-hwa prepared for herself, its effect was beyond words.

Blood trickled from Tang So-hwa's red lips.

Before she could even feel the pain, her breath was cut off.

That she could not engrave her words—that she would repay her unfinished grudge in hell—into his eardrums was the last regret of this life.