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Chapter 488 – What’s Cracking?

“Ah! Prince!? What suddenly…!”

I could feel Tang Soyeol flustering in my embrace due to the unexpected contact.

It was natural to react this way when their ear was suddenly yanked.

But I had no intention of letting go.

“… What did you just say?”

I didn’t want to share the conversation I had with the human in front of us with Tang Soyeol.

“What’s cracking? Your mood is absolutely terrible.”

“Junior.”

As I smirked, Elder Tang Bui’s expression crumbled.

The laughter on his face shattered, with one eyebrow shooting up.

A rather interesting expression, in a different sense.

“I’ve heard that you are a young hero of the Central Plains, yet you seem to lack basic decorum in how you treat others. Let me remind you, I am an elder of the Tang Clan. Do you not realize how dangerous your actions are?”

A high-ranking bloodline that forms the backbone of the Tang Clan.

The insults I hurl at such a figure could soon be interpreted as an attack on the Tang Clan itself.

Do you know that, yet you’re acting this way?

The old man warns me with a hint of displeasure.

Hearing such an obvious warning only makes me chuckle.

How could I not laugh?

“Do you know what I find to be the most despicable and annoying?”

I could feel Tang Soyeol’s ears heating up gradually.

“Those old geezers who age badly yet pretend to be noble. Those kinds are what truly corrupt the world.”

Humans tend to decay more as they age.

Once rotting begins, it spreads to their surroundings.

In truth, rotten humans pose a greater problem than trash itself.

Elder Tang Bui’s face twisted horrifically as I spoke.

“How dare you… After I showed you respect, you act with such arrogance? Are you really so fearless, hiding behind your talent?”

I couldn’t help but smirk at the seething voice.

“Wow, you’re a funny guy.”

“You little…!!”

“Should I really show courtesy to someone who’s tried to poison me?”

“…!?”

“No matter how shameless you are, that’s a bit much, isn’t it? Do I look like an idiot to you?”

As I grinned and spoke, Elder Tang Bui flinched.

Yeah, this is the guy.

The one who fed me the Poison Flower’s toxin.

It has to be him.

Of course.

‘But it might not be.’

The suspicion that it might not be him doesn’t mean he isn’t involved.

It just means he might not be the one who ordered my assassination.

That old man too was probably in on it.

“… What are you saying? Poisoning you?”

For a moment, Elder Tang Bui recoiled, his face reddening as he shouted.

He looked utterly indignant, his expression claiming innocence as if to say, how could I have such a thought?

“Then why don’t you wipe that smell away before you speak? It’s really irritating.”

The moment I threw that line, Elder Tang Bui’s expression dramatically changed.

Yeah, there was definitely a scent.

A subtle fragrance I detected in the food. I suspected it must be the Poison Flower’s aroma wafting off of the old man.

Was that why he reacted so peculiarly?

With a derisive expression, Elder Tang Bui retorted.

“That’s absurd. The Poison Flower is odorless. Do you think it makes sense to say it smells?”

Is that right?

But, it’s definitely there.

It’s not overwhelmingly strong, but I could certainly feel a peculiar scent.

‘Smelling something from an odorless poison…’

Could it be because I’ve attained Immunity to All Poisons, allowing even a scent that shouldn’t be there to manifest?

I couldn’t be sure I had really reached Immunity to All Poisons.

‘After all, I haven’t verified it properly.’

But it was certain that my resistance to poison had greatly increased.

Ah, but that wasn’t the important part right now.

“Odorless poison, huh.”

“I don’t know what suspicions you hold, but your words against the Tang Clan are…”

“But how did you know? I never said I consumed the Poison Flower.”

“…!”

Elder Tang Bui, who had been spilling words, suddenly shut his mouth, solidifying into a tense state.

That was truly amusing.

“Looks like your brain isn’t working very well. You have to be clever to pull off bad deeds, you know?”

“Ha….”

A low sigh.

I could feel the atmosphere shift dramatically with the breath Elder Tang Bui let out.

I tightened my embrace around Tang Soyeol a bit more.

Woo Hyeok.

I gathered energy, intensifying the energy barrier around us, ensuring Tang Soyeol wouldn’t notice.

“… I thought it was annoying, but you’re much more troublesome than I expected.”

“You don’t seem to want to play pretend anymore? Why not keep going?”

Well, you’d think that would only make me want to kill him even more. I felt a little disappointed.

Elder Tang Bui looked at me with a changed gaze. His eyes were rusted and murky.

Many things that hadn’t been visible while smiling were now contained in them.

“Originally, I intended to only catch a glimpse of your face, yet here we are creating unnecessary trouble.”

“It wasn’t necessary. I was planning to visit your people anyway.”

It was a surprise to encounter them so soon.

Was it a good thing?

“What is your goal? What purpose drives you to make such a move?”

“If I were to say…?”

I had to take a moment to ponder Elder Tang Bui’s question.

I thought it over, but nothing particularly came to mind.

So, I decided to just speak honestly.

“Just a small request.”

“A request?”

“A great person asked me to topple the rubbish you are making.”

“Ha.”

At my calm words, Elder Tang Bui looked like he was about to laugh in disbelief.

“How dare some lowlife speak such words?”

“… Uh, you probably shouldn’t say that.”

Especially to call yourself something lowly.

Based on status, Tang Je-mun could be referred to as the very embodiment of the Tang Clan.

Honestly, if she returned alive and told the Poison King to roll over, the Poison King would have to roll over.

Calling him a lowlife is a word that would make one shudder in the afterlife.

Yet Elder Tang Bui, oblivious to this, merely continued speaking with a rotten smile.

“This is the Tang Clan. Soon, it will become the greatest clan in the Central Plains.”

“Oh.”

Quite a high self-esteem. Elder Tang Bui was dreaming of what he couldn’t achieve in his previous life.

After the Nangong Clan was exterminated and Sichuan was conquered, they barely fled to the Tang Clan.

From my position knowing this, it felt like such an extravagant dream.

“But here comes a little rat, thinking of muddling the waters. Despite my kindness in giving you a warning, are you truly unafraid of the Tang Clan?”

As expected.

The poison directed at me was evidently meant as a warning.

It was clearly meant to tell me not to meddle.

However, claiming it was done kindly is a contradiction.

“You’re going to kill me anyway, so what’s with the facade? It’s filthy.”

“…”

“You’re still trying to play this game….”

It seems they had no intention of ending it just with a warning.

If they were planning to end it that way, they would never have started this trouble in the first place.

Elder Tang Bui’s expression subtly shifted, seemingly about to agree with my point.

“Are you saying you’re rampaging when you know that?”

“I think you might be mistaken about something….”

Among Elder Tang Bui’s words, one particularly irked me.

Are you rampaging knowingly? No.

It’s specifically this part.

“You are not the Tang Clan.”

You’re merely one of the corrupted roots. How dare you blabber on without knowing your place?

It’s truly Elder Tang Bui being ignorant.

At best, he’s just barely holding up one pillar, while being a rotten piece of wood doing shady businesses behind closed doors.

I couldn’t fathom why such a man would act so arrogantly.

To refer to him as the Tang Clan would be disrespectful to the Poison Empress, who sacrificed her eyesight and life to protect it.

That should never happen.

“Thus, wait quietly until I come to find you. If you plan to run, then do it quickly. I won’t chase you based on mere courage.”

“You little… Do you even know where this is!?”

Hooouuuk-!

Unable to hold it any longer, Elder Tang Bui releases a terrifying Qi from his body.

As expected from an elder of the Four Great Clans, it seems like he ascended to the Transformation Realm.

Feeling that, I nodded.

In a situation where the home of the Poison King isn’t too far, releasing such energy carries significance.

It means that Elder Tang Bui isn’t too afraid of the Poison King.

Even if he comes for me right here, he seems to have a way to manage the situation.

At this point, I understood.

I wanted to ask the fundamental question looking into Elder Tang Bui’s eyes.

“Do you wanna fight?”

Are you really going to fight me?

He’s a martial artist in the Transformation Realm and uses Poison Techniques, a rather tricky opponent.

But to me, he didn’t feel intimidating.

If he wanted, I could accommodate him.

As it happens.

I had been wanting to fight someone.

With that intent, I gazed at Elder Tang Bui.

He hesitated.

Suddenly, I caught a glimpse of the old man’s movements stutter.

What is he thinking?

An unexpected emotion crossed through Elder Tang Bui’s gaze as he looked at me.

Fear? Dread?

I felt those kinds of emotions vaguely.

Why?

‘I haven’t even unleashed my Qi yet.’

I was only contemplating a fight, so why does the old man hold such feelings?

I couldn’t comprehend it.

While I quietly observed, the first to make a move was on my side.

I released Tang Soyeol from my grip and pushed her a bit away from me.

Then, with a smile on my face, I spoke.

“Thank you for your kind words, Elder.”

“…?”

Elder Tang Bui’s expression wavered at my suddenly changed tone. Why is this guy acting like this?

“I truly appreciate your favorable opinion of me.”

“… What are you saying?”

“I’m grateful for your invitation to a meal next time. I wouldn’t know where to put myself. Haha, I’ll definitely attend.”

“…”

Elder Tang Bui’s expression soured into something bizarre.

It didn’t take long for his face to change from not understanding the situation to one that screamed, what kind of fool is this?

“Well then, please make yourself comfortable.”

“…”

Even at my dismissal, Elder Tang Bui remained right where he was.

Noticing that, I gave him a glance.

Are you going to do more?

‘If you want to, go ahead.’

As I spoke with eyes reflecting that, Elder Tang Bui clicked his teeth slightly and turned away.

I should deem this as him tucking his tail, but it didn’t seem like it.

“My apologies…. It seems I must be going. I hope the princess has a good time as well.”

Elder Tang Bui, after bowing to Tang Soyeol, slowly retreated.

I too held back my disappointment as I watched his back.

‘Not yet.’

This isn’t the right time.

I had a plan in mind. For now, I had to be fine with just nudging him.

Also, I thought it wasn’t a bad catch.

‘Now I’m convinced he’s someone I need to kill. That makes it enough.’

This should suffice for now.

I thought as my gaze widened.

“Oh.”

I forgot all about Tang Soyeol, who was still in my embrace.

Hastily lowering my head, I looked at Tang Soyeol.

“I’m sorry, you must’ve been startled… huh?”

The moment I checked Tang Soyeol’s face, I too had to freeze.

“… You.”

It was no wonder, as Tang Soyeol’s ears, along with her face were flushed bright red.

“Are you okay? Why are you like this?”

Did I let out heat unknowingly?

The warmth radiating from Tang Soyeol’s face felt significant.

It wouldn’t be surprising if steam were rising from her head at this moment.

“What’s this… why….”

Concerned, I thought about reaching for her forehead.

“… I-I’ll be going now!”

Tang Soyeol quickly shook off my hand and dashed away.

The problem is, the direction she took was not the one leading to the exit.

Should I inform her of that?

But at this point, Tang Soyeol had swiftly vanished.

“Umm….”

Watching that, I found myself scratching the back of my head.

Could she have been in a hurry for something?

‘Well… She’ll manage.’

I decided not to worry too much about it.

A day passed.

Originally, we were supposed to head to the county together yesterday, but since I collapsed from poison early in the morning, the schedule got thrown off a bit.

Thanks to that, things had become a bit tight.

I had to go to the Sichuan Branch of the Baekhwa Sect immediately.

After that, I intended to meet with the Pejon.

I had preparations to make regarding the upcoming training.

With my bodily condition changing, it was time to reassess my direction.

As I was about to move for my busy schedule.

“… What did you say?”

I suddenly encountered something I hadn’t been anticipating.

Blocking my path as I was about to exit was none other than a hidden assassin from the Tang Clan, Nahi.

She had come not as my subordinate, but as someone from the Tang Clan to deliver a message on the order of the Poison King.

However.

The issue was precisely that information.

“Say that again. What happened?”

In response to my urgent query, Nahi, who had half-kneeled, carefully spoke up.

“The Prince almost got poisoned in the Tang Clan. The Clan Leader sent a letter to the Gu Clan regarding this.”

“…”

“We expect the messenger to arrive within five days at the latest.”

It meant that news of my poisoning would reach my father in Shanxi.

As I heard that, a cold sweat trickled down my back.

It seems…

‘… I might have just gotten into a bit of trouble.’

It looked like an unexpected problem was about to arise.

 

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