The Eldest Daughter of the Sichuan Tang Clan Protects Her Family

Chapter 9: Caution

Yeon-a retrieved her sword, which had fallen to the ground, acting as if nothing untoward had happened.

Tang Min's lips curved slightly.

"She's a child with a rather blunt way of speaking."

A torn piece of cloth remained stuck in the tree alongside the flying knife. When Tang Min raised his hand, the flying knife returned to him.

Fingering the retrieved flying knife, Tang Min regarded Yeon-a with an intrigued gaze.

"Indeed. I understand what you mean by having no master. You mean you can imitate anything you see."

The moment he finished speaking, a small knife seemed to hold its breath, poised between Tang Min's fingers.

Seeing that sight, Tang Hak's breathing began to tremble.

"Ah, no..."

Tang So-hwa wholeheartedly agreed with Tang Hak's sentiment.

Tang Min's gaze grew serious.

A gaze that promised he was about to truly unleash his fury.

She had to stop him.

If they wanted to bring Yeon-a into the family, they absolutely could not incur the Yeonjuda's displeasure.

If a disciple was beaten to a pulp, no master, no matter how saintly, would forgive it. Even Confucius himself, if his favorite disciple An-hyun returned half-dead, would surely rain curses and retribution upon Tang Min.

She really didn't want to resort to this.

Tang So-hwa repeated Tang Min's curses hundreds of times in her mind, then bit her tongue hard. Covering her mouth with her sleeve, she began coughing incessantly. frёeweɓηovel.coɱ

"Cough, cough."

"S-Sister, are you alright?"

At Tang Hak's shout, the gazes of the Black Tiger Guards drifted towards the siblings.

"Haa."

Taking a ragged breath, Tang So-hwa slowly lowered her sleeve. Then, Tang Hak shrieked loudly.

"No, Sister! Why are you suddenly spitting blood, ugh!"

Tang So-hwa's mouth and sleeve were stained crimson.

At the commotion, even the gazes of Yeon-a and Tang Min, who had been on high alert, snapped towards them. Yeon-a's eyes widened visibly even from a distance.

Facing those eyes, startled like a rabbit, made her want to die of shame.

But she couldn't help it. It was better to see her own blood than to see Yeon-a's blood spilled again. She had to halt Tang Min's madness before something irreversible occurred.

'This is why I wanted to come in a palanquin...'

Tang So-hwa swallowed her regret and coughed violently once more.

They said the Yeonjuda didn't turn away the sick, so she had thought that arriving in a palanquin might make them believe someone was ill and grant them entry. Tang So-hwa had pondered various ways to lower their guard, but here was Tang Min, actively creating caution where there had been none.

This was the absolute worst.

Tang So-hwa closed her eyes, feeling as though she could glare holes through Tang Min. She pressed her tongue, torn by her teeth, once more. The metallic taste of blood sent shivers down her spine, making her choke involuntarily.

"Cough, cough!"

More realistic coughs were expelled.

"Ugh, Sister, why do you keep coughing up blood! We shouldn't have come, h-h-h, you should have stayed home. H-h-h, I should have listened to Father!"

Tang Hak turned utterly pale and, following Tang So-hwa, collapsed onto the ground, sobbing loudly.

Just barely past fifteen years old, Tang Hak possessed the sensitive nature typical of boys his age, easily becoming overwhelmed by his emotions.

Thanks to this, people began to look confused. Of course, Tang So-hwa's appearance, continuously coughing up blood (or pretending to?), also played a significant role in creating that bewildered atmosphere.

Yeon-a flinched at the sight of the girl, eyes closed and seemingly spitting blood.

'How difficult must it be that she can't even open her eyes?'

The girl, lost in a deep misunderstanding, bit her lip.

Doctor Jin-cheol always scolded her to be quiet, emphasizing that stability was paramount for patients. It made sense that someone so ill would be startled by this scene and suddenly cough up blood.

Yeon-a's gaze slowly swept over the young siblings and the martial artists standing around them.

...They seemed dangerous, yes, but looking again, they also looked like guards escorting a gravely ill patient.

If it was the latter, she had made a mistake and might get scolded by Grandpa Jin-cheol.

However, in the current situation, she couldn't just let anyone wander in.

While Yeon-a was fiercely contemplating, Tang So-hwa slowly opened her eyes.

Her eyelashes, bleached white by the sunlight, lifted heavily. At the sight, Yeon-a involuntarily flinched.

A face so pale it was almost white. Eyes drooped lazily as if drained of strength. A faint smile painted by blood-stained lips. A young brother next to her, sobbing as if losing his mind.

It was a sight that no human could remain unmoved by.

Tang So-hwa parted her blood-stained lips and asked cautiously.

"Young Miss, is this where the divine doctor Yeonjuda is located?"

Yeon-a almost answered yes without even realizing it.

As Yeon-a hesitated, Tang So-hwa coughed loudly again.

"Cough, cough."

Tang Min looked at his vice-commander with a gaze that plainly asked, 'Why is she doing that?' The vice-commander carefully avoided his gaze. He had no idea either.

Only Tang Hak, who would cry just seeing an animal in pain by the roadside, sobbed as if he might pass out from distress.

"H-h-h, Sister, what is happening?"

The boy, with tears welling up, took out a clean cloth and wiped his sister's blood, looking utterly lost. Tang Min watched the scene with clouded eyes and sighed.

He didn't know what was going on, but for now, he would let that cunning child carry on with her act. It wasn't because he trusted her one bit. Seeing the Tang family's most ruthless child pretending to be weak and coughing delicately made his fingers and toes curl with a mixture of embarrassment and disgust, and he couldn't bring himself to interfere.

At that moment, Tang So-hwa apologized in a low voice.

"I apologize for being rude to the Young Miss. It's just that my body is weak, which makes me overly sensitive..."

"What? Who's sensitive?"

"Cough."

When Tang Min interrupted, Tang So-hwa covered her face with her sleeve, pretending to cough, and turned her gaze away. It was only for a moment, but Tang Min met her cold gaze, undeniably glaring at him.

'...Look at that. Sick, my foot.'

Tang Min inwardly clicked his tongue in disapproval.

Just then, a voice full of concern was heard.

"A-Are you really sick?"

Yeon-a parted her lips and carefully examined Tang So-hwa's complexion.

At her words, Tang Hak choked up and raised his voice defensively.

"You see this and still ask such a thing?!"

"...Hak-ah, quiet."

Tang So-hwa's cheeks turned red. To someone who didn't know, it looked like she was suffering from a slight fever, but to someone who knew her, it was a sight that would make them click their tongue and think, 'So you know shame too!'

As Tang Min clicked his tongue, the choked-up Tang Hak burst into tears.

"No, Sister! How can you stand it when that Young Miss is calling you a liar! How dare she... Ugh!"

Thwack.

Just then, Tang Min, who had appeared beside him like a ghost, struck Tang Hak's mouth.

"This mouth!"

"Ugh! J-Just a moment! Grand Elder, just a moment! Ugh!"

Thwack, thwack, thwack.

Tang Min, who had struck Tang Hak's lips several times in an instant, frowned in exasperation.

Watching this, Tang So-hwa agreed with Tang Min for the first time in her life.

Hak-ah was indeed the kind of child who would ruin the family if he ever became the family head.

How could he just reveal his identity to someone he didn't even know?

It was only because she knew who Yeon-a was that her reaction was this restrained; if she hadn't known Yeon-a's identity, she too would have helped Tang Min twist Tang Hak's neck without hesitation.

However, they received an entirely unexpected reaction from the other side.

"S-Sichuan Tang family? You're from the Tang family?"

Tang Min and Tang So-hwa flinched at the voice, which was surprisingly full of joy.

The two, one old and one young, stiffly turned their heads like broken wooden dolls and looked at Yeon-a. And they flinched again.

Yeon-a was smiling, her eyes already welling up with tears of excitement.

"The Sichuan Tang family is the ruler of Sichuan! The masters of Poison and hidden weapons! Aren't you one of the most powerful Murim families in the world?!"

It was true, of course, but it was an awkward question to have to answer by confirming it herself.

Silence naturally followed.

Then, as if demanding an answer, Yeon-a clenched her fists and raised her voice, her excitement palpable.

"Dare. To carelessly. Provoke the strongest family in the Murim! Right?!"

"..."

"No! Isn't what I'm saying right? To mess with the Sichuan Tang family in the Murim world, you have to be willing to risk your life, don't you?!"

"..."

"Why aren't you answering? 'Do not become an enemy of those in green robe'! Even I, who lives isolated in these mountains, know that fearsome saying!"

Saying the fearsome words, the girl smiled brightly, utterly delighted.

Tang Min muttered in a small voice.

"...That child, she seems a bit strange."

Tang So-hwa didn't want to agree, but she found she couldn't refute it.

Could it be that she wasn't Yeon-a after all?

Tang So-hwa carefully examined Yeon-a's grinning face.

She was young, yes, but her face was exactly as it was etched in her memory.

Smooth facial lines, meticulously sculpted like white jade. Sparkling eyes set within them and red lips curved like a crescent moon. It was a clear and beautiful face that brought a pure joy to a corner of one's heart just by looking at it.

Her shabby attire couldn't possibly hide the child's inherent beauty.

"..."

Tang So-hwa, taking in the child's radiant smile, found herself unable to speak for a while.

In her previous life, Tang So-hwa only learned about the relationship between Namgung Hyun and Yeon-a after going to Anhui.

When she first learned the truth, she felt a sharp sense of betrayal towards her. And later, when she risked her life fighting for the Tang family, she felt a deep gratitude.

She had known Yeon-a for a long time, but the only significant feelings she had ever felt towards her were just those two extremes: resentment and kindness.

Now, without Namgung Hyun standing between them...

The feeling of facing Yeon-a like this was strange, unsettling.

The woman who had been her husband's lover and her own benefactor.

Yeon-a, who hadn't yet met the Namgung clan and the Tang family, was a completely different person.

She had been a martial artist who always wore a hollow, emotionless expression, as if incapable of feeling, but now she was an innocent child who expressed her joy with unrestrained completeness.

What on earth turned that child into a killer ghost?

It was something she couldn't know now. Of course, ensuring she would never know that fate was precisely the purpose of Tang So-hwa's visit to the Yeonjuda.

To dispel Yeon-a's caution, Tang So-hwa put on the warmest, most disarming smile she could muster.

"...Put away that strange expression while I'm speaking nicely."

Ignoring Tang Min's light threat, Tang So-hwa spoke gently, her tone soothing.

"It seems the Young Miss has misunderstood."

Wiping the corner of her mouth with the cloth Tang Hak had given her, Tang So-hwa straightened her back, regaining her composure.

"My Father sent guards and protective items out of concern for me, but I have absolutely no intention of threatening the Yeonjuda members. If you wish, I will enter alone."

"Absolutely not."

The immediate answer came from Tang Min.

"How dare you go alone to a place that raised such a rude child."

"R-Right, absolutely not. Sister."

She almost sighed at her family members who were effectively ruining everything she had planned, but fortunately, Yeon-a eased her anxiety with her next words.

"No! Bring everything! No, don't leave a single grain behind! The Tang family's Poison is a very reliable weapon! All the Tang family guards should follow too. Ah, do you happen to have a messenger bird? We should let your main family know where you are. Something might happen that requires support from home, right?"

"...Support from the main family?"

As Tang So-hwa slightly furrowed her brow in confusion, Yeon-a smiled unnaturally and broke out in a cold sweat, her enthusiasm momentarily faltering.

"Ah, no, no. I just said that because there's no harm in being cautious. Don't worry about it at all."

Yeon-a hesitated, then turned her back.

"P-Please come this way. I will open the Formation for you."

This sudden, drastic change in attitude was extremely suspicious.

Tang Min seemed to feel the same, letting out a breath and asking incredulously.

"Why is she suddenly acting like that?"

Tang So-hwa couldn't answer.

She thought she knew the future, but she couldn't even begin to guess what was happening here.

Then, Yeon-a suddenly leaped upwards and climbed a tree with surprising agility. Soon, the sound of branches breaking was heard, and the dense forest before them seemed to disappear, revealing what lay beyond.

"Ah, no!"

A startled Tang Hak gaped in disbelief.

Outside the Formation was an incredibly high cliff face. And nestled in a gap in the cliff, there was a small cave entrance. Frankly, calling it a cave was generous; it was a narrow gap barely wide enough for two people to pass through side-by-side.

Yeon-a, who had jumped down to a ledge partway up the cliff, beckoned from the entrance.

"Hurry and come in. The Formation will activate again in half an hour."

At her words, Tang So-hwa took a step forward.

Then, as if to protect her, the vice-commander blocked her path.

"We will enter first."

At the vice-commander's words, the Black Tiger Guards filed into the narrow cave first.

Although it was different from her meticulously crafted plan, in the end, the Tang family party, precisely as Tang So-hwa had wished, received Yeon-a's invitation and successfully entered the Yeonjuda.