KYDS 14

Chapter 14

“Sowol-ah!!!”

“……!”

Tang Sowol, who had been about to say something, could only open and close her mouth. The shout had broken in at such an exquisite timing.

When I turned my head toward the source of the sound, a man wearing green martial arts robes was running over, waving happily. It was a face that resembled Tang Sowol’s.

“Sowol-ah! Sowol-ah! Sowol-ah!”

The man drew closer, shouting Tang Sowol’s name repeatedly. Guessing who he was from the green martial arts robes and his face, I quietly stepped back a little.

“Ah…….”

Tang Sowol, roughly predicting what was about to happen, squeezed her eyes shut. Meanwhile, the approaching man ignited a fire in his eyes and unleashed his lightness skill.

Pa-bat!

The distance closed in an instant. The man stopped right in front of Tang Sowol with tears welling up in his eyes.

“Oh dear! You’ve withered away to half your size! Just how much mental anguish you must have gone through!”

“……I haven’t really lost that much weight, though.”

“My dear sister! I heard the whole story. I’m so glad you’re safe! But are you really, truly okay? Just in case, shouldn’t we go visit the Medicine Hall?”

“Even if I’m a little tired, I’m not hurt anywhere, so please don’t worry, brother.”

“Right. If you say so, it must be true. I don’t know what kind of reckless scoundrel dared to lay a hand on the Tang family’s bloodline, but don’t you worry! I’ll make sure those bastards regret being alive!”

“U-um. They weren’t scoundrels, they were unorthodox martial artists, you know? And they’re already all dead. Young Master Cheon here helped me out.”

“Unorthodox martial artists or scoundrels, they’re all the same. Anyway, if the Young Master is Sowol’s savior, he is my savior and the Tang family’s savior as well. I was too flustered to greet you properly earlier. I am called Tang Cheon. Ever since the last Yongbongjihoe, I’ve been called the Dark Dragon (暗龍).”

Tang Cheon cupped his fists in a salute with a bright, sunny smile that suited the phrase “energetic youth.”

He seemed rather down-to-earth for someone who was a high-nosed scion of a prestigious family—and possessed enough skill to earn a dragon moniker. Just as I was about to cup my fists in return to greet him, Tang Sowol cautiously cut in.

“U-um. Brother, about that. There’s one more thing I need to tell you……”

“Haha! You mean snacks? Of course I brought some! Even though this brother of mine just returned from a mission, I still had enough time to buy your favorite treats. You always nag me for Tangguo every time I go out, geez……”

Tang Cheon pulled a small wrapping cloth from his bosom. At his nonchalant attitude, Tang Sowol hopped in place.

“Which era are you talking about?! More importantly, Brother! That’s not what I was trying to say! I was trying to tell you that Young Master Cheon isn’t just a savior—he’s my betrothed, chosen by Father!”

“Haha! Spare me the jokes. A betrothed already, what kind of—”

“I’m serious.”

“……?”

Tang Cheon turned back toward us with creaking movements, like a rusted sword being pulled from its scabbard.

“B-Betrothed?”

“Pleased to meet you, Brother.”

“Brother?!”

Tang Cheon asked back in a dumbfounded voice. I respectfully cupped my fists toward him.

“I am Cheon Hui, who has recently formed a good bond with Young Lady Tang. I look forward to your guidance.”

“What did you just say! A good bond, you say! Don’t tell me……!”

“What did you just say, Young Master? Did you just call me ‘Young Lady’ a moment ago?!”

“I never did, Tang Sowol.”

“……”

“……”

Tang Cheon stared at his younger sister as if wondering whether that was really important right now, while Tang Sowol tilted her head with a puzzled expression.

I’m sorry, but it couldn’t be helped. I wanted to maintain some decorum since he was my brother-in-law to be, but it wasn’t easy.

Just as that bizarre standoff was about to drag on endlessly, the surrounding area started to buzz with noise, so I spoke up first.

“Let’s move somewhere else first. There are too many people here.”

“……”

“……”

Tang Sowol and Tang Cheon nodded with identically dazed, vaguely similar expressions.

Although decades of time had been rolled back, Tang Sowol was still in the prime of her youth at this point in time.

Even though her hair had turned white after the destruction of the Tang family, and her eyes, which had glowed green as her mastery of poison arts deepened, had returned to a dark hue, whether it was the soft curves visible beneath her loose Tang family martial arts robes, her overall facial features, or even her voice, there was no major difference from the image in my memories.

However, that didn’t mean I knew everything about Tang Sowol. Understandably so, because what I knew was only Tang Sowol after she had lost everything to the Demonic Cult. Naturally, I knew almost next to nothing about her family.

At best, from rumors drifting about, I could only guess how tragic an end the Poison King had met, and infer how much her siblings had cherished her through Tang Sowol’s stories.

And it was only now, facing Tang Cheon in person, that I realized it. They had cherished Tang Sowol far more than I had ever imagined.

While retracing the path we had come, Tang Cheon—who had been wearing a benevolent smile toward us just moments ago—asked with a face that looked as though he had run into a common thief.

“Is what you said just now true? That Little Brother here is Sowol’s betrothed?”

“Yes.”

“That can’t be. Did Father really give his permission for that?”

“……”

Why on earth would he say “that can’t be” right to my face? I was momentarily dumbfounded, but I nodded anyway.

“That’s right. We haven’t held the official engagement ceremony yet, but the Poison King brought it up himself.”

“Could it be because of her Poison Spirit Constitution? No, anyway, let me introduce myself properly again. I am Tang Cheon. The Young Family Head of the Sichuan Tang family and Sowol’s older brother.”

“I’ve heard a lot about you. I am Cheon Hui.”

“Oh! Did Sowol really talk about me?”

“……Actually, that was a lie.”

“Aw.”

Tang Cheon clicked his tongue and kicked a pebble rolling nearby. Mid-way, perhaps imbued with the subtle principles of hidden weapon techniques, the stone traced a bizarre trajectory and embedded itself deep into a nearby tree.

The power and accuracy were enough to make me wonder if he was casually showing off his martial prowess.

The realm Tang Cheon roughly gave off was that of a consummate Peak master. It went without saying that even within the same realm, he would be incomparably stronger than the Hundred-Killing Swordsman I had fought earlier.

Naturally so, since he had attained his realm through orthodox martial arts, meaning he wouldn’t have any major flaws. And once you reach the Peak realm, there is a considerable gap in mastery between the initial entry and the consummate stage.

After grumbling for a while, Tang Cheon grinned.

“Well. If Father brought it up first, there must have been a good reason for it. And it’s true that our Tang family received a huge help from Little Brother.”

“Roughly speaking, yes. This incident allowed me to receive an undeserved proposal.”

“Haha! If the other person is my sister, any man she brings back would be undeserved, so don’t worry about that part!”

“……”

I silently turned my head to look at Tang Sowol, conveying the question: Is this guy always like this?

Noticing my gaze, Tang Sowol looked like she couldn’t take it anymore; she covered her face with both hands and nodded. The ears peeking out beside her chubby cheeks had turned bright red in that short span of time.

I suppose he is normally like that.

“More importantly, can you tell me in detail what happened to my sister? I rushed over without a break the moment I heard the urgent report, so I don’t know the exact details.”

“That’s not difficult. First, starting from the story of how I kidnapped Tang Sowol……”

“Wait. What did you just say?”

“……Young Lady Tang?”

“No! Not that, I mean the kidnapping! What on earth are you talking about with such a casual tone?!”

“I had no choice. Tang Sowol wouldn’t listen to a word I said properly.”

“Include that part too! Explain it in detail from the very beginning, without leaving a single thing out!”

“Understood. Then this time, I’ll start from the reason I left my hometown……”

“You can skip that part! From the moment you first met Sowol! Explain from back then!”

At Tang Cheon’s shouting, I shrugged my shoulders. My, aren’t you demanding a lot?

First, as requested, I opened my mouth, starting from the story of when I first discovered Tang Sowol.

“And that’s how it happened.”

“You subdued Sowol and kidnapped her? You accidentally found the Self-Harm Poison-Cleansing Herb? Thirty unorthodox warriors? And even one of them was a Peak expert?”

Though I explained it with utmost sincerity, the expression returned to me was one looking at a swindler.

“I can’t believe it. Do you really expect me to believe that’s possible? Why don’t you just say you knew about the Poison Spirit Constitution because you saw it in a dream?”

“How did you know? One day I had a terrible nightmare, and lo and behold, the formula regarding the Poison Spirit Constitution remained engraved in my mind.”

“What?”

Tang Cheon frowned. At his displeased expression, I hurriedly nudged Tang Sowol in the ribs.

Poke, poke.

Tang Cheon’s gaze grew a notch sharper, but it didn’t last long, because Tang Sowol opened her mouth.

“Haah. That last bit was nonsense, but overall the Young Master’s words are true, Brother. It sounds completely absurd, but it’s a fact I lived through. Father was also at the scene, though you arrived right around the time the battle ended.”

“That sounds like it could have been really dangerous. It is truly a thousand times a relief that you’re safe!”

“……Brother, you asked about it, but it seems you didn’t believe a single word when I told it?”

“That’s only natural for such an absurd story.”

“Your attitude seemed a bit different when Tang Sowol told it, though.”

“That goes without saying, too. If you can’t trust family, who can you trust? In that sense, since you call me brother, I will also call you Little Brother…… but you and I aren’t quite at the relationship where I can call you my brother-in-law yet.”

“……”

He was so unabashed that instead of feeling resentful, it felt almost comical.

Tang Cheon, nodding with a satisfied expression, carefully opened his mouth.

“What is Little Brother’s family background? Sect affiliations? You look quite young, what is your age? And where are you headed right now?”

Even while speaking cautiously, he asked everything there was to ask.

“When I came to my senses, I was cast out into the world with only the clothes on my back. I have no family. My sect is the same. My age is fifteen this year…… and we are currently heading to the training ground assigned to me.”

The reply flowed out without a hitch. The one who reacted to this wasn’t Tang Cheon, but Tang Sowol.

“Pardon? Young Master Cheon’s training ground?”

“Right. Weren’t you just trying to ask me to spar with you a moment ago? Perfect timing.”

“U-um. True, but that was meant to be strictly just the two of us so we could……”

“Strictly the two of you? Good grief. To think you had such crafty plans.”

“I have no intention of doing anything crafty.”

“Then what kind of mischief were you planning to commit?”

“Aside from the crafty things, this and that?”

“Oh.”

As we walked along, exchanging lighthearted conversation of that nature, Tang Cheon looked at Tang Sowol with a complex, bittersweet expression that felt both proud and nostalgic.

“Is that so. In the end, a day like this has finally come. It’s only natural since she couldn’t stay a child forever.”

“……Brother? I just said I only planned on having a sparring match, you know?”

“A sparring match! Yes! How could I have missed that thought!”

Tang Cheon’s drooping shoulders snapped wide open, and life flickered back into his half-closed eyes.

Staring at me with a rather menacing aura, Tang Cheon spoke up.

“Tell me, Little Brother. How about a sparring match with me?”

“I refuse. You’re planning not to end it with just a simple spar, aren’t you?”

“What do you take me for! I am Tang Cheon! The Young Family Head of the Sichuan Tang family and the rising star renowned as the Dark Dragon!”

“Splendid. I am the prospective son-in-law of the Tang family, though I don’t have a moniker yet.”

“Hah! Fine. If you spar with me, win or lose, I’ll hand over a spiritual medicine! How about it?”

“That’s tempting, but I already swallowed a Hundred Poisons Blood-Cleansing Pill, so I probably won’t need another spiritual medicine for a while.”

“Already?! Who on earth…… No, if a spiritual medicine won’t do, how about a new sword? The blacksmiths of the Tang family are all second to none.”

“A sword?”

I glanced down at the sword dangling from my waist.

Since I had snatched and used the one wielded by the Red Serpent Sect leader, it wasn’t a terrible weapon, but it couldn’t possibly compare to a sword from the Tang family. Above all, because I hadn’t maintained it properly and kept getting into fights, the blade was starting to chip.

“Very well. Let’s do it.”

I was already starting to look forward to it.