“Brother! It seems the family has heard the news about your severance! Just now, the Heavenly Response has arrived!”
“Do-gyeong! This is a decree stamped by the Family Head! If you do not retract your declaration of severance, they will strip you of the Tang surname and seal your inner power, locking you in the Prison of the Mind for ten years! Come on, let’s return with us!”
Tang Do-yeon. Tang Do-yul.
They were friends and relatives who attended the academy around the same time as Tang Do-gyeong, sharing the same age gap of one year.
“Haha, you came all the way to deliver that message? I’m sure the family won’t just sit still upon hearing this news.”
“Our current situation matters more! If you spend ten years in the Prison of the Mind without your inner power, you might die!”
Tang Do-yeon was pacing restlessly, while Tang Do-yul pounded his chest in frustration.
“Do-gyeong! I understand your grievances with the family, but how can you hammer a nail into the hearts of your own family like this!”
“I know it’s a sorry affair for you and Do-yeon.”
“Brother… why are you doing this…”
Tears streamed down Tang Do-yeon’s face. Tang Do-gyeong quietly closed his eyes at that sight. The sound of Do-yeon sobbing echoed quietly in the room.
“Yeon, Do-yul. My decision right now is not impulsive. What do you think will happen if I return to the Tang Clan?”
“That is…”
“Probably, I will become someone who cannot set foot outside the Tang Clan. At least until the family believes I’ve truly turned over a new leaf, I’ll have to stay within the clan. That would mean giving up martial arts and learning Hidden Weapons, wouldn’t it? Isn’t that right?”
Do-yul couldn’t bring himself to answer. It was all too clear that such a consequence would fall upon Tang Do-gyeong.
“If that happens, what will become of the martial arts I’ve been developing? In the Tang Clan, I can’t gain experience in basic martial arts, which are mainly based on Hidden Weapons and Poison Techniques. I would be stuck in a clan that doesn’t even use swords or daggers, the most common weapons in the world! There’s no need to even mention martial arts; most techniques would link to poison arts and be completely different from general martial arts. Trapped in such a place, there’s no way I could complete my martial arts!”
“What about your father… and mother?”
“What will happen to Rye-ah? Are you going to hammer a nail into that young child’s heart?”
“….”
Tang Do-gyeong’s eyes trembled. He hadn’t thought severance would be easy, but he didn’t know it would hurt this much.
“I am still young, and I have devoted my life to martial arts. This is Tang Do-gyeong, a member of the Tang Clan, but as a martial artist, how can I abandon my martial arts? If I have to choose between the Tang Clan and martial arts, I will choose martial arts.”
Hearing Tang Do-gyeong’s determination, Do-yul could only clench his fist, and Do-yeon simply shed tears.
After sending Do-yul and Do-yeon away, Tang Do-gyeong closed his eyes.
From then on, Tang Do-gyeong did not go outside the room.
—
“Crap~”
Ho Cheon-an slumped in the chair, having given up everything. After seeing the young martial artist from the Tang Clan leave the inn, tears streaming down her face, he instinctively realized that it was all over, and that intuition became reality when Tang Do-gyeong didn’t even come out of his room since that day.
“Brother Tang! What are you planning to do with the duel!”
“Sorry, Brother Ya. I just want to be alone.”
Even gambling failed to draw Tang Do-gyeong out.
Out of concern that the cries of the Outcasts might draw Tang Do-gyeong from his room, he gathered all the Outcasts together and even pretended that there was a fire in the inn.
“If Yu Sa-yeon hadn’t rushed in and kicked my side, we might have succeeded.”
Having acted rashly and without prior agreement with Yu Sa-yeon, Ho Cheon-an felt the pressure rising in his head and was overwhelmed.
Knock. Knock.
“Senior~ Can I come in?”
“Yeah, come in…”
“Here’s a golden powder. Oh, and I also found out about the punishment Tang Do-gyeong will receive if caught.”
“…Go ahead.”
“They’ll seal his inner power and give him a ten-year sentence in the Prison of the Mind. It’s relatively mild for a severance. If he’s released after ten years, he should be able to function normally. Though… whether he can survive for ten years in the notorious Prison of the Mind is entirely up to Tang Do-gyeong.”
“Damn.”
He knew it was a relatively mild punishment for a severance. While they would confine him to the Prison, the fact they were handling it this mildly meant they wouldn’t actually let him die there.
However, spending ten years without inner power meant the end of Tang Do-gyeong as a martial artist. His channels would deteriorate without proper cultivation for ten years. It might even be the death of him as a martial artist.
And he would likely be unable to practice martial arts. Practicing martial arts without Qi would be nothing but flailing around.
“Aah…”
Ho Cheon-an sighed. The only act he could do now was impart some realization loud enough for Tang Do-gyeong to hear. The concerned Outcasts were lingering in a place where they could see the third floor.
There was no way to enter that room as Tang Do-gyeong had locked the door and was hidden away.
Tomorrow morning would come, and the time promised by Tang Do-gi would arrive.
“Black Cat… nah, never mind.”
To impart realization, he would have to reach the door of Tang Moon-gi. Just as he was about to ask Black Cat to create a sound barrier, Ho Cheon-an realized that plan was unrealistic. A sound barrier doesn’t just block sound; it acts like a blaring trumpet in terms of Qi.
Even if elite Outcasts from the Outcast Inn were sleeping, they would wake up hearing the Qi flow, meaning it would be just as public as saying he had imparted realization to Tang Do-gyeong.
“Now what are you planning to do?”
“….”
“Haven’t we done enough? You’ve done everything you could to save Tang Do-gyeong, haven’t you?”
Hearing Black Cat’s words, Ho Cheon-an started to think. Perhaps Black Cat was right. He had done all that he could. The deeds a person could do are all done, but the heavens haven’t helped them, what can he do?
“Damn, why does it highlight what hasn’t been done?”
In a situation where even his innermost thoughts were spiraling out of control, Ho Cheon-an closed his eyes.
And he stood up.
“Are you leaving?”
At Ho Cheon-an’s hand resting on the doorknob, Black Cat spoke.
“Why?”
Ho Cheon-an glared at Black Cat, who seemed vaguely pleased, and spoke curtly.
“I thought I wouldn’t be able to sleep tonight.”
“Hahahahahaha!!”
Suddenly, Black Cat burst into laughter, causing Ho Cheon-an to flinch. Leaning over, rolling on the table while laughing, Black Cat wiped away tears.
“Senior, did you know? Sometimes you’re just too cute! You’re all desperate to save Tang Do-gyeong, yet pretending not to be!”
“What… are you talking about…”
“Secret.”
Ho Cheon-an saw Black Cat’s finger move. Reflexively attempting to dodge, he realized it was impossible to evade the Hidden Weapons thrown by a Black Cat who was only a step away from the Peak Stage.
He felt a prick on his neck.
“You… you…”
“Sleep well, Senior.”
“Ungrateful… groan…”
Black Cat stuck out her lips. She thought about catching him as he fell but thought “ungrateful cat” was too far. After all, this was for the senior’s sake.
Thud!
Black Cat slung Ho Cheon-an’s limp body across a chair. Beaming, she looked down at his face, finding it neither attractive nor particularly ugly. It was the kind of ordinary face that, while not ugly, could easily match looking like anyone else from the crowd.
“Hmph~”
Temporarily storing Ho Cheon-an in the chair, Black Cat scribbled on the precious paper in her hand and threw it outside. Seeing a member of the Wolbok-dang pick it up, she decided to waste some time until the Wolbok-dang members returned with the items.
Black Cat pinched Ho Cheon-an’s cheek. She pinched the unmarred side, stretching it, but the other side twitched in response to the stretching, making it quite comical. This sight made Black Cat burst into laughter, but soon her gestures turned delicate.
“Hmmm… maybe tidying up this filthy beard will make it look better.”
As her mind wandered, she recalled being called an ungrateful cat and that made her pinch her own lips.
“How diligently I work for you~ yet you don’t even recognize my efforts.”
Black Cat had done a lot for Ho Cheon-an.
For starters, she had quelled rumors that Miss Yeo Il-ye had gained realization from the Outcast. Some things are unavoidable, but she mobilized the whole power of Wolbok-dang to erase and conceal the rumors. The Golden Clan’s attempts to gather information on Ho Cheon-an were also smoothed over.
What information arrived about Ho Cheon-an at the Golden Clan was only hollow shells.
Why had Yeo Il-ye, who was supposed to show up with five golden ingots, not shown her face until now? It was all because Black Cat had led her to somewhere other than Sacheon City.
And even now, she had decided to expend a precious Qi that was an item of immense value for Ho Cheon-an.
Ho Cheon-an’s worth had solidified. Black Cat could fully anticipate what action he would take. He would likely undergo a transformation similar to Miss Yeo Il-ye upon realizing something. And he would likely accept Tang Do-gi’s proposal.
“Well, it’s common for a person to change drastically after experiencing a life-changing event.”
She had confidence she could change Tang Do-gyeong. Moreover, she knew what would happen once that event spread outwards, so she eventually left her pondering and rushed out.
“What expression will he have when he wakes up?”
Black Cat smiled as she imagined Ho Cheon-an’s expression. Due to the effects of the sedation, he likely wouldn’t remember anything before or after the drug. So she would have to be the one to tell him directly that Tang Do-gyeong had gained realization.
With Ho Cheon-an forgetting the concerns he had and then waking up, he would surely wear a foolish expression, but somehow, that imagined expression felt endearing now.
Black Cat stroked Ho Cheon-an’s face.
It would take some time until the Wolbok-dang members brought back the item, but it wasn’t an unbearably dull wait.
—
[Come out]
An endless distress engulfed Tang Do-gyeong, and at the sound roaring in his ears, he twitched his eyebrows.
Black Cat. A young lady whose name he didn’t know.
Tang Do-gyeong, who had tried to ignore it, opened his eyes at the killing intent directed towards him.
[I’m different from you, Senior. If you don’t come out, I might really set fire to the inn.]
Tang Do-gyeong let out a deep sigh. The lady wielding assassination techniques seemed suspicious to Tang Do-gyeong and was evidently not ordinary. He had seen her munching on puffed rice while observing the actions of the members of the Sacheon Outcasts from a distance more than once.
‘She had quite a few peculiarities, so I can’t just ignore her.’
In the dead of night, trying not to make a sound, Tang Do-gyeong stealthily descended to the first floor after leaving his room.
‘Brother Ya…’
He saw Ho Cheon-an sitting in a chair, head down, with Black Cat standing beside him.
[Your senior has something to say, so come a little closer.]
[What sort of commotion is there at this hour? This isn’t Brother Ya’s style. Is this the work of that lady?]
[Of course I schemed a bit. But Tang Do-gyeong, young hero. What your senior tried to do for you is true. The only reason I set this up is because if this matter spreads outside, it could be very awkward for your senior. Tonight’s events are a secret. To everyone, including you.]
What on earth was this? Tang Do-gyeong frowned, finding the unexpected words puzzling.
In that moment, Black Cat produced marbles, rolling them on the ground and scattering them into the air. The marbles exhibited a color that clearly didn’t look normal.
Sssss…
Eight marbles exchanged winds with each other, creating a complete barrier of wind. Except for the faint sound of air leaking, sounds inside this barrier were unlikely to leak outside.
‘A sound barrier.’
What sort of conversation required going this far? Seeing Black Cat whispering something into Ho Cheon-an’s ear, Tang Do-gyeong frowned.
“What are you doing to Brother Ya?”
Just as he was about to say something after sensing Ho Cheon-an was acting strange.
“How can a plant with weak roots become a giant tree? If you think of someone’s roots as family and blood, then those who neglect them can’t prosper and won’t become great. Some may view life as a solitary endeavor, but how can they forget that bonds are the roots?”
Suddenly confronted with such a profound thought, Tang Do-gyeong paused.
“Those called great trees are those who have acted righteously. What is righteousness? It is a commitment and action to protect the good, like a sheep, thus establishing righteousness. Without those you wish to protect, how can one want to be called a giant tree?”
“Gogunyangsik (孤根弱植) bulimungeo(不義問巨).”
‘Is this realization?’
Black Cat watched Tang Do-gyeong’s conflicted expression, noticing many thoughts swirling behind his partially opened eyes. Extracting the sedative from his body and substituting it with a detoxifying ingredient, she quietly returned the marbles to her possession.
If she quietly slipped away now, the Outcasts going out for training in the morning would surely discover Tang Do-gyeong.
Then it would be amusing to wake Ho Cheon-an when the ruckus began while dispensing a plausible excuse.
Carrying Ho Cheon-an, Black Cat moved silently upstairs.
