Chapter 215

Chapter 215

Myowol bowed her head and apologized.

“I was wrong, Sect Leader junior sister.”

Master Eun spoke again in the same gentle voice as before.

“Stand up, lioness.”

Myowol tried to stand but swayed again. She had only received a few slaps, yet the great Demon Buddha still hadn’t recovered.

Master Eun said.

“The Tang family also needs someone to take responsibility for this situation. If we kill her now, there will be no one to take responsibility. Then we would owe a debt to the Tang family.”

“But then why did you bring me here?”

Master Eun asked calmly.

“Tell me, lioness. Who sent you here?”

“That was…”

Mang Ryo. Mang Ryo had told her that Poison Dragon seemed to have escaped.

“Mang Ryo… that person.”

Myowol wiped the blood from her burst lips and said.

“Sect Leader junior sister. We must kill this wench to make Poison Dragon pay for the suffering that benefactor Mang Ryo and I endured.”

Master Eun shook her head.

“That would be completely misunderstanding benefactor Mang’s intentions in the opposite way.”

“What?”

“He didn’t trust the King of Hell, and would have done anything to protect Poison Dragon. If Poison Dragon hadn’t set fire to the Library Pavilion, he would have incited you to break into the Library Pavilion.”

Grind.

At those words, Myowol ground her teeth.

“He tried to use me? But he must have known I would kill Poison Dragon if I met him?”

“He would also have known that Miss Tang here would save Poison Dragon.”

Master Eun asked Tang Ha-ran, who was pinned under Myowol’s foot.

“Who brought you here? Let me guess.”

Tang Ha-ran couldn’t answer.

Master Eun said with a smile.

“Benefactor Mang Ryo.”

Tang Ha-ran’s heart sank. She had fallen for Mang Ryo’s scheme.

But she didn’t regret it. If she had hesitated then, she wouldn’t have been able to save Jin Ja-gang from Myowol.

Instead of answering, Tang Ha-ran bit her molars tightly and glared at Master Eun.

“The crime of… causing disturbance in… our family… is not light… It would be… best to apologize and… withdraw now.”

Master Eun looked sad.

“Oh dear… this child still doesn’t understand her situation. Poison Dragon was quick-witted and ran away immediately upon seeing me, so why are you so foolish as to turn away from your own fate?”

Master Eun shook her head slightly.

“Let me tell you once more. You will now be expelled from your family. Poison Dragon…”

Tang Ha-ran actually knew what would happen to her from now on. However, at this moment she was paying more attention to Master Eun’s words about Poison Dragon.

“It would be best if Poison Dragon were caught. If he succeeds in escaping, the worst situation will befall the Qingcheng sect. Uncontrollable events will occur. Pitifully…”

Myowol’s eyes lit up as she interrupted.

“Then I’ll chase after him. I’ll go break his limbs and drag him back!”

“Sigh.”

Master Eun sighed and looked at Myowol.

“No, lioness. This is enough. We’re actually waiting for the latter situation to occur, so what would we do if you brought Poison Dragon back?”

Tang Ha-ran’s eyes widened as she bit her lips. Her hands trembled.

“Just how far… is Mount Emei planning… to interfere?”

Master Eun silently narrowed her eyes into crescents and smiled. It was a merciful and gentle smile.

However, having just seen Master Eun until now, Tang Ha-ran could see the cruelty and cunning hidden behind Master Eun’s smile.

“Sleep for a while. And remember, if you want to save Poison Dragon, you must keep your mouth shut.”

At Master Eun’s light gesture, Tang Ha-ran’s pressure points were sealed. Tang Ha-ran couldn’t resist her eyelids becoming heavier than a thousand pounds and lost consciousness.

* * *

The fire that broke out in the Library Pavilion was finally extinguished only after a full day and night had passed.

This was after half of the five halls and four compounds built above the Library Pavilion had burned.

It was the worst fire that brought shock and chaos to the Tang family.

The casualties were also considerable.

Dozens were injured and nearly twenty died.

Moreover, most of the deaths were from murder rather than fire, and even included Library Pavilion Master Tang Lim, creating even greater psychological panic.

Of course, even after thoroughly searching the Library Pavilion that had burned to charcoal, Jin Ja-gang’s corpse was not found.

The Tang family immediately sent pursuit teams in all directions. Five groups of six members each.

* * *

“Because the fire was so large, no matter how much we try to control word from spreading, it’s already become known throughout the martial world.”

Tang Ha-ran’s great-aunt.

Lady Li Hua, Tang Gui-ok, who was officially the Tang family head for external affairs, said to Tang Qing.

Tang Gui-ok had a small build like Tang Qing but couldn’t use her legs, so she sat in a small wheeled chair. Though she was seventy years old, ten years younger than Tang Qing, she looked much older.

Tang Qing paced around the room, clearly showing his bad mood. As he walked back and forth, he crushed walnuts on the table with his hands and chewed them with crunching sounds.

“It’s been a long time since I’ve seen elder brother hesitate to make a decision.”

“Don’t I look like that type?”

Tang Qing scolded Tang Gui-ok. Tang Gui-ok smiled with her wrinkled face.

“Heh heh heh, shall this younger sister take some abuse on elder brother’s behalf for once?”

“Do you think I’m hesitating because I don’t want to be criticized?”

“Then what is it?”

“I’m hesitating because it’s a waste. That fellow was a beast with wildness enough to make Ha-ran fall for him. If properly tamed, he could have become a great figure.”

Tang Qing, while speaking, couldn’t control his emotions and shouted.

“But this bastard has gone too far, way too far! If he causes trouble beyond what I can handle, I have no choice either!”

Crack.

The walnut in his hand crumbled to powder and fell.

Tang Gui-ok laughed.

“Heh heh, there are wild animals in the world that cannot be tamed. Because their wildness doesn’t disappear, they can remain wild animals forever.”

“I can’t forgive it. I can’t forgive it. Especially Ha-ran!”

“Isn’t it something that fellow Mang Ryo schemed? Though I’ve never met him directly, he seems to be an old man with a nasty disposition. He put the dangerous work in Ha-ran’s hands and slipped away himself.”

“That’s exactly why it’s more problematic! To foolishly fall for such tricks? How can Tang family blood fall for such schemes!”

“I know elder brother cherished Ha-ran. After my youngest nephew and his wife died, I also cherished that child. But in this situation, it can’t be helped. Heh heh heh.”

“I even brought an adoptive father to the marriage proposal meeting with Poison Dragon to save her face, yet how dare she do this to me!”

Tang Qing caught his rough breathing and asked.

“What should we do about Ha-ran’s punishment? Since you know the family’s customs and rules better, let me hear your thoughts.”

Tang Gui-ok answered as if she had been waiting.

“For the crime of betraying the family and going against grandfather’s will to help Poison Dragon escape, and for giving the family treasure Soul Seizing Thread to an outsider, she should be confined in the underground Jeol-ok prison. Also, since she gave her heart to a man and couldn’t control herself, she should not be allowed to remove her bridal veil until Poison Dragon is captured, so she may reflect on her crimes.”

If it became known to the world that Jin Ja-gang had escaped the Tang Family Great Compound by his own power, the Tang family’s face would be unspeakably crushed.

Therefore, by placing all the blame on Tang Ha-ran, the Tang family’s face could be maintained to some degree.

“Since it’s for the family, Ha-ran will gladly accept the punishment. Sacrificing for the family is a duty that must naturally be performed as Tang family blood.”

“Good. Proceed that way.”

Tang Gui-ok nodded, then asked as if something had occurred to her.

“Is there still no news about that wild beast-like child?”

“We haven’t found him yet. But that fellow absolutely cannot avoid the pursuit teams. I sent twice as many personnel again this morning.”

Tang Qing ground his teeth and showed killing intent in his eyes.

If caught, he would spare his life, but he couldn’t guarantee what condition he would leave him in.

* * *

Tang Ha-ran was imprisoned in the underground Jeol-ok prison of the outer courtyard outside the Tang Family Great Compound.

Being driven not just to simple house arrest but to the Jeol-ok prison outside the Green Smoke Gate meant she was practically exiled from the Tang family.

Beyond being simply confined, she was forced to wear a bridal crown and even wedding clothes.

“Since you betrayed the family, you shall wear wedding clothes and a blade while waiting for your bridegroom in the cold prison.”

By her great-aunt’s cold words, Tang Ha-ran couldn’t say a word in response and simply followed the punishment.

She had no desire to respond either. Nothing would change even if she did, and as Master Eun had said, to save Jin Ja-gang, it was much more advantageous for her to keep her mouth shut.

However, even if she didn’t speak, sitting in prison wearing wedding clothes was bound to be pitiful.

Tang Ha-ran felt her heart would collapse.

Though things had come to this, she wasn’t resentful that Jin Ja-gang had left her behind. Rather, she hoped he wouldn’t be caught.

But if that happened, Tang Ha-ran would be unable to remove these wedding clothes until she died. She would live and die as a family traitor, a rebel, wearing a bridal crown.

The marriage Tang Ha-ran had dreamed of, the future with the man who had made her heart flutter, had now become nothing but bubbles. Along with her own future as well.

“Sob.”

Tang Ha-ran forcibly bit her teeth and endured, but tears flowed down.

“Sob, sob.”

Kneeling with a gorgeous and heavy crown on her head, a heavy wooden blade hanging from her neck, her hands wrapped in silk cloth in a bowing position held at her chest, the red wedding dress’s hem spread on the floor.

A criminal and simultaneously a bride.

As Master Eun had said, Tang Ha-ran had become an ill-fated bride.

“Sob.”

Grief welled up and tears kept coming.

“Sob, sob!”

Tang Ha-ran bit her molars tightly but the crying wouldn’t stop.

The sound of Tang Ha-ran’s sobbing quietly echoed in the desolate prison.

* * *

The Tang family’s pursuit teams continuously swept through the vicinity of the Tang Family Great Compound and every corner of Sichuan’s capital city.

Because the Green Smoke Gate had been opened during the fire, countless people had come and gone, but some traces were bound to remain.

Particularly, Jin Ja-gang was limping and even had shackles on his legs.

Therefore, they could almost certainly find that he had gone outside through the Green Smoke Gate. Though they didn’t know how he had escaped through the complex alleyways of the inner courtyard, he had definitely escaped.

It was confirmed that he had hidden in various houses in the outer courtyard, then left on a cart.

However, his whereabouts after that were mysterious.

Some pursuit teams thought Jin Ja-gang would have hidden in crowded places and searched the capital, while other pursuit teams searched remote places where people wouldn’t go.

First, second, and finally even third pursuit teams departed, forming a huge net and sweeping through.

The routes to Qingcheng were blocked from the beginning, so there was no possibility he had gone that way.

Still, Jin Ja-gang was not found.

☕ Support on Ko-Fi

Myowol bowed her head and apologized.

“I was wrong, Sect Leader junior sister.”

Master Eun spoke again in the same gentle voice as before.

“Stand up, lioness.”

Myowol tried to stand but swayed again. She had only received a few slaps, yet the great Demon Buddha still hadn’t recovered.

Master Eun said.

“The Tang family also needs someone to take responsibility for this situation. If we kill her now, there will be no one to take responsibility. Then we would owe a debt to the Tang family.”

“But then why did you bring me here?”

Master Eun asked calmly.

“Tell me, lioness. Who sent you here?”

“That was…”

Mang Ryo. Mang Ryo had told her that Poison Dragon seemed to have escaped.

“Mang Ryo… that person.”

Myowol wiped the blood from her burst lips and said.

“Sect Leader junior sister. We must kill this wench to make Poison Dragon pay for the suffering that benefactor Mang Ryo and I endured.”

Master Eun shook her head.

“That would be completely misunderstanding benefactor Mang’s intentions in the opposite way.”

“What?”

“He didn’t trust the King of Hell, and would have done anything to protect Poison Dragon. If Poison Dragon hadn’t set fire to the Library Pavilion, he would have incited you to break into the Library Pavilion.”

Grind.

At those words, Myowol ground her teeth.

“He tried to use me? But he must have known I would kill Poison Dragon if I met him?”

“He would also have known that Miss Tang here would save Poison Dragon.”

Master Eun asked Tang Ha-ran, who was pinned under Myowol’s foot.

“Who brought you here? Let me guess.”

Tang Ha-ran couldn’t answer.

Master Eun said with a smile.

“Benefactor Mang Ryo.”

Tang Ha-ran’s heart sank. She had fallen for Mang Ryo’s scheme.

But she didn’t regret it. If she had hesitated then, she wouldn’t have been able to save Jin Ja-gang from Myowol.

Instead of answering, Tang Ha-ran bit her molars tightly and glared at Master Eun.

“The crime of… causing disturbance in… our family… is not light… It would be… best to apologize and… withdraw now.”

Master Eun looked sad.

“Oh dear… this child still doesn’t understand her situation. Poison Dragon was quick-witted and ran away immediately upon seeing me, so why are you so foolish as to turn away from your own fate?”

Master Eun shook her head slightly.

“Let me tell you once more. You will now be expelled from your family. Poison Dragon…”

Tang Ha-ran actually knew what would happen to her from now on. However, at this moment she was paying more attention to Master Eun’s words about Poison Dragon.

“It would be best if Poison Dragon were caught. If he succeeds in escaping, the worst situation will befall the Qingcheng sect. Uncontrollable events will occur. Pitifully…”

Myowol’s eyes lit up as she interrupted.

“Then I’ll chase after him. I’ll go break his limbs and drag him back!”

“Sigh.”

Master Eun sighed and looked at Myowol.

“No, lioness. This is enough. We’re actually waiting for the latter situation to occur, so what would we do if you brought Poison Dragon back?”

Tang Ha-ran’s eyes widened as she bit her lips. Her hands trembled.

“Just how far… is Mount Emei planning… to interfere?”

Master Eun silently narrowed her eyes into crescents and smiled. It was a merciful and gentle smile.

However, having just seen Master Eun until now, Tang Ha-ran could see the cruelty and cunning hidden behind Master Eun’s smile.

“Sleep for a while. And remember, if you want to save Poison Dragon, you must keep your mouth shut.”

At Master Eun’s light gesture, Tang Ha-ran’s pressure points were sealed. Tang Ha-ran couldn’t resist her eyelids becoming heavier than a thousand pounds and lost consciousness.

* * *

The fire that broke out in the Library Pavilion was finally extinguished only after a full day and night had passed.

This was after half of the five halls and four compounds built above the Library Pavilion had burned.

It was the worst fire that brought shock and chaos to the Tang family.

The casualties were also considerable.

Dozens were injured and nearly twenty died.

Moreover, most of the deaths were from murder rather than fire, and even included Library Pavilion Master Tang Lim, creating even greater psychological panic.

Of course, even after thoroughly searching the Library Pavilion that had burned to charcoal, Jin Ja-gang’s corpse was not found.

The Tang family immediately sent pursuit teams in all directions. Five groups of six members each.

* * *

“Because the fire was so large, no matter how much we try to control word from spreading, it’s already become known throughout the martial world.”

Tang Ha-ran’s great-aunt.

Lady Li Hua, Tang Gui-ok, who was officially the Tang family head for external affairs, said to Tang Qing.

Tang Gui-ok had a small build like Tang Qing but couldn’t use her legs, so she sat in a small wheeled chair. Though she was seventy years old, ten years younger than Tang Qing, she looked much older.

Tang Qing paced around the room, clearly showing his bad mood. As he walked back and forth, he crushed walnuts on the table with his hands and chewed them with crunching sounds.

“It’s been a long time since I’ve seen elder brother hesitate to make a decision.”

“Don’t I look like that type?”

Tang Qing scolded Tang Gui-ok. Tang Gui-ok smiled with her wrinkled face.

“Heh heh heh, shall this younger sister take some abuse on elder brother’s behalf for once?”

“Do you think I’m hesitating because I don’t want to be criticized?”

“Then what is it?”

“I’m hesitating because it’s a waste. That fellow was a beast with wildness enough to make Ha-ran fall for him. If properly tamed, he could have become a great figure.”

Tang Qing, while speaking, couldn’t control his emotions and shouted.

“But this bastard has gone too far, way too far! If he causes trouble beyond what I can handle, I have no choice either!”

Crack.

The walnut in his hand crumbled to powder and fell.

Tang Gui-ok laughed.

“Heh heh, there are wild animals in the world that cannot be tamed. Because their wildness doesn’t disappear, they can remain wild animals forever.”

“I can’t forgive it. I can’t forgive it. Especially Ha-ran!”

“Isn’t it something that fellow Mang Ryo schemed? Though I’ve never met him directly, he seems to be an old man with a nasty disposition. He put the dangerous work in Ha-ran’s hands and slipped away himself.”

“That’s exactly why it’s more problematic! To foolishly fall for such tricks? How can Tang family blood fall for such schemes!”

“I know elder brother cherished Ha-ran. After my youngest nephew and his wife died, I also cherished that child. But in this situation, it can’t be helped. Heh heh heh.”

“I even brought an adoptive father to the marriage proposal meeting with Poison Dragon to save her face, yet how dare she do this to me!”

Tang Qing caught his rough breathing and asked.

“What should we do about Ha-ran’s punishment? Since you know the family’s customs and rules better, let me hear your thoughts.”

Tang Gui-ok answered as if she had been waiting.

“For the crime of betraying the family and going against grandfather’s will to help Poison Dragon escape, and for giving the family treasure Soul Seizing Thread to an outsider, she should be confined in the underground Jeol-ok prison. Also, since she gave her heart to a man and couldn’t control herself, she should not be allowed to remove her bridal veil until Poison Dragon is captured, so she may reflect on her crimes.”

If it became known to the world that Jin Ja-gang had escaped the Tang Family Great Compound by his own power, the Tang family’s face would be unspeakably crushed.

Therefore, by placing all the blame on Tang Ha-ran, the Tang family’s face could be maintained to some degree.

“Since it’s for the family, Ha-ran will gladly accept the punishment. Sacrificing for the family is a duty that must naturally be performed as Tang family blood.”

“Good. Proceed that way.”

Tang Gui-ok nodded, then asked as if something had occurred to her.

“Is there still no news about that wild beast-like child?”

“We haven’t found him yet. But that fellow absolutely cannot avoid the pursuit teams. I sent twice as many personnel again this morning.”

Tang Qing ground his teeth and showed killing intent in his eyes.

If caught, he would spare his life, but he couldn’t guarantee what condition he would leave him in.

* * *

Tang Ha-ran was imprisoned in the underground Jeol-ok prison of the outer courtyard outside the Tang Family Great Compound.

Being driven not just to simple house arrest but to the Jeol-ok prison outside the Green Smoke Gate meant she was practically exiled from the Tang family.

Beyond being simply confined, she was forced to wear a bridal crown and even wedding clothes.

“Since you betrayed the family, you shall wear wedding clothes and a blade while waiting for your bridegroom in the cold prison.”

By her great-aunt’s cold words, Tang Ha-ran couldn’t say a word in response and simply followed the punishment.

She had no desire to respond either. Nothing would change even if she did, and as Master Eun had said, to save Jin Ja-gang, it was much more advantageous for her to keep her mouth shut.

However, even if she didn’t speak, sitting in prison wearing wedding clothes was bound to be pitiful.

Tang Ha-ran felt her heart would collapse.

Though things had come to this, she wasn’t resentful that Jin Ja-gang had left her behind. Rather, she hoped he wouldn’t be caught.

But if that happened, Tang Ha-ran would be unable to remove these wedding clothes until she died. She would live and die as a family traitor, a rebel, wearing a bridal crown.

The marriage Tang Ha-ran had dreamed of, the future with the man who had made her heart flutter, had now become nothing but bubbles. Along with her own future as well.

“Sob.”

Tang Ha-ran forcibly bit her teeth and endured, but tears flowed down.

“Sob, sob.”

Kneeling with a gorgeous and heavy crown on her head, a heavy wooden blade hanging from her neck, her hands wrapped in silk cloth in a bowing position held at her chest, the red wedding dress’s hem spread on the floor.

A criminal and simultaneously a bride.

As Master Eun had said, Tang Ha-ran had become an ill-fated bride.

“Sob.”

Grief welled up and tears kept coming.

“Sob, sob!”

Tang Ha-ran bit her molars tightly but the crying wouldn’t stop.

The sound of Tang Ha-ran’s sobbing quietly echoed in the desolate prison.

* * *

The Tang family’s pursuit teams continuously swept through the vicinity of the Tang Family Great Compound and every corner of Sichuan’s capital city.

Because the Green Smoke Gate had been opened during the fire, countless people had come and gone, but some traces were bound to remain.

Particularly, Jin Ja-gang was limping and even had shackles on his legs.

Therefore, they could almost certainly find that he had gone outside through the Green Smoke Gate. Though they didn’t know how he had escaped through the complex alleyways of the inner courtyard, he had definitely escaped.

It was confirmed that he had hidden in various houses in the outer courtyard, then left on a cart.

However, his whereabouts after that were mysterious.

Some pursuit teams thought Jin Ja-gang would have hidden in crowded places and searched the capital, while other pursuit teams searched remote places where people wouldn’t go.

First, second, and finally even third pursuit teams departed, forming a huge net and sweeping through.

The routes to Qingcheng were blocked from the beginning, so there was no possibility he had gone that way.

Still, Jin Ja-gang was not found.

☕ Support on Ko-Fi

☕ Support on Ko-Fi

☕ Support on Ko-Fi