Chapter 91: Your Side, My Side

To gain something, one must give up something of equal value.

It was what Tang Yeo-hye's father, Tang Yangcheon, used to say before he became bedridden.

And she was the child who most faithfully followed that teaching.

She cast aside the affectionate, gentle girl she had been and was reborn as a fierce and ruthless poison arts expert.

During her training, the poison seeped into her very marrow, causing a side effect that made it difficult for her to control her temper. But she never regretted it.

Her mother had been proud of her growth, and she had mastered the poison arts—the very foundation of the Tang Clan—to their utmost extreme.

But when she looked back later, she realized she had left behind a great deal.

Because of her temperament, where curses and fists flew before anything else, no one had remained around her.

The only one who stayed was her servant, Neung Sam, who knew her former gentle nature and endured the beatings each time without complaint.

Everyone else had turned their backs on her, quick to criticize. They might call her the Venom of Venom Valley to her face, but behind her back, they’d compare her to a vicious dog and call her Wild Dog.

But what she resented most was herself—knowing all this and still being unable to change.

“Damn it… At this rate, even Mujin will……”

Unlike her, her older brother was extremely skilled at drawing people in and making them his allies.

Just look at how he seized control of the Tang Clan the moment their father, Clan Head Tang Yangcheon, collapsed, as if he'd been waiting for it.

Using sweet talk and schemes, he had gradually expanded his influence within the clan.

And whenever Tang Yeo-hye’s martial prowess advanced enough to threaten his position, he would visibly push her further to the sidelines within the clan.

“Again… another one leaving……”

Now, the Young Clan Master was trying to exile her entirely, to the point where she would have no place to stand within the Tang Clan.

It was only natural that dark thoughts clouded Tang Yeo-hye’s mind.

“How much will it take?”

Came a voice from the master’s room—currently without a master—belonging to a man in his thirties.

Though Dan Mujin, whom she had forcibly made her sworn brother, had told her to trust him and wait, her anxiety hadn’t subsided, leading her to sneak in like this.

She perked her ears, enhancing her hearing with inner energy to catch the faint voices.

Crunch. Crunch.

It sounded like someone was eating crustaceans—only the sound of shells being chewed came from the room.

Growing impatient with the silence, Tang Ak spoke up again.

“I’ll pay you twice what you were offered. Withdraw from this job.”

She didn’t know how much he had been paid for the original request, but Tang Ak offered to pay at least double that sum to have him back out of family matters.

Unlike Tang Yeo-hye, who was financially strained, Tang Ak could toss around crates of gold.

In a contest of wealth, she was never a match.

Crunch. Crack.

Yet no matter how much the other side offered, Dan Mujin focused solely on demolishing the food.

Despite pressure—tangible and intangible—from a major clan's promising heir, the man just sat there peeling shells like nothing.

‘…Come to think of it, that guy’s not exactly normal either.’

Traveling with him had made her realize this deeply.

Regardless of who he was dealing with—even someone like the head of the Murong Clan, the Thunder Sword—if he didn’t like something, he charged in headfirst.

She wouldn’t be surprised if the title of Mad Dog passed to him soon.

“Hm… Very well. Let me make my offer, then.”

Thud.

When words seemed to fail, Tang Ak immediately played his card. The sound of a heavy chest full of clinking coins echoed.

“In front of everyone, testify that Tang Yeo-hye hired you to deliberately sabotage the arranged marriage between the clans. Do that, and these thirty gold coins are yours. What say you?”

Clatter. Clink.

He must’ve scooped up a handful of tarnished gold and dropped it dramatically in front of him. The metallic allure, meant to tempt, rang out again and again.

One woman and one man waited for Dan Mujin’s answer, holding their breath.

“Thirty is too little.”

The hand that had been dropping the coins came to a dead stop.

At the same time, Tang Yeo-hye’s breath hitched in her throat.

“I’ll need at least double that.”

He muttered this as he bit down on whatever crustacean he was eating.

“Sixty gold coins… Fine. If I can bury that Tang Yeo-hye woman for good, I’m willing to pay that.”

Apparently, it was still within Tang Ak’s acceptable range.

“On second thought, I miscalculated. I’ll need ten times that.”

“…Aren’t you being a bit greedy now?”

But when Dan Mujin casually raised the stakes tenfold in his odd tone, Tang Ak gritted his teeth like he was being mocked.

Tang Yeo-hye, too, bit down on her lip hard.

“You’re asking me to take part in a vile and underhanded scheme to oust a younger sister who’s more skilled than her older brother using dirty tricks. At the very least, I’d need that much to even consider it.”

But there was a certain sneer embedded in his voice.

Sensing it, Tang Ak’s voice turned icy.

“…You bastard. You never intended to take the deal from the start, did you?”

‘Huh…?’

Tang Yeo-hye’s tightly shut eyes snapped open.

“You just realized that now?”

A dry chuckle echoed from beyond the wall.

“The shell’s huge, but when you crack it open, the meat inside is barely a sliver.

Just like a certain petty man pretending to be a big-hearted one while trying to crush my little sister.”

What a pitiful excuse of a human.

If your martial arts and cultivation are lacking, then work harder and try to get ahead.

But trying to sway people with money and schemes?

Maybe the reason Tang Yeo-hye has no one around her isn’t just her personality.

Half the blame might lie with that man’s dirty machinations.

“…Quite the arrogant mouth you’ve got.

Reach the peak at a young age and suddenly you think you're above everyone, is that it?”

Having shed his façade, Tang Ak’s eyes changed instantly. His tone reeked of anger and quiet contempt.

With a cold glare, he shot to his feet.

“Still, I thought your talent was worth something and tried to give you a chance…

But you’ve chosen a sinking ship. Foolish brat.”

“We’ll see which ship’s really sinking.”

“You think you’ll still set foot in Sichuan after making an enemy of the entire Tang Clan?

All I have to do is pressure the Wanderers' Guild a little and your jobs will—”

“I half-quit the Wanderers’ Guild already.

And you’re talking like the Tang Clan is already yours, ‘Young Clan Master.’”

The moment I pointed out that he wasn’t the Clan Head yet, Tang Ak’s face stiffened.

He squinted and glared at me for a moment, then turned and walked out of the room.

“A complete waste of time. I’ll be off.”

“Yes, I’ll stay and finish eating.”

“…Tch.”

Tang Ak clicked his tongue, clearly in disbelief even at the end.

You can’t just leave expensive food unfinished, can you?

It’s a habit from my broke days—I can’t help it.

I waved at Tang Ak’s retreating figure.

After shamelessly finishing my meal, I stepped out of the Clan Head’s room and spotted Tang Yeo-hye and her group rushing toward me.

“H-How’d it go?”

An awkward, stuttering question from Tang Yeo-hye—not like her at all.

I picked at my teeth with a toothpick I’d made from splitting my chopsticks and casually replied.

“You’re here, my wife?”

A chunk of food came out stuck on the tip of the toothpick.

Usually, when I pulled this ‘husband act,’ she’d freak out and scream at me to cut the crap.

“D-Don’t say weird stuff…”

But today, for some reason, instead of getting mad, she looked… slightly flustered.

“……”

Did she eat something weird? What’s gotten into her?

I flinched at the scene, having braced myself for a barrage of curses.

“Uncle Neung Sam, what’s up with her?”

“…This is the first time I’ve seen her like this since she was a kid.”

Neung Sam answered with a look that said he had no clue either when our eyes met.

If he doesn’t know, who would?

“Ilhong, do you know?”

“…Nope.”

Even Ilhong, for some reason, looked a little sulky.

Neung Sam and I exchanged glances in this strange situation.

And almost at the exact same moment, we shrugged our shoulders together.

To gain the clan’s approval and break off a political marriage, Tang Yeo-hye had brought back a young, capable Peak Martial Artist as her suitor.

But to put it simply, her plan failed.

As Tang Ak had boasted, he had already secured a firm grip over the Tang Clan.

Whether he used massive sums of money or lucrative deals, most of the elders and blood relatives were already on his side.

“She’s a woman who can’t hold her temper, whose every word is laced with curses, and who would even beat her own husband!

Who could truly love someone like that? Clearly, that man is just a wanderer she bought with money!”

At Tang Ak’s shout, several elders nodded in agreement, egging him on.

Indeed, a husband who gets beaten by his wife was an unthinkable concept in this era.

I didn’t find it odd—I’d seen way worse while working in the Troubleshooter business—but still.

Anyway, even though Tang Yeo-hye had fought valiantly at the Dragon-Phoenix Tournament, earned recognition from the Murim Alliance Leader, and brought back a martial arts prodigy with unmatched cultivation, she failed to sway public opinion.

“See? You should’ve tried making some friends beforehand.”

“…I did try, you know?”

I looked at Neung Sam, silently asking if that was true.

“Well, there were times she held it to one punch instead of two.”

“Hmph, some effort, then…”

Just as I’d heard, poison arts really did seem like a dangerous martial path.

To think it turned a perfectly normal girl into a rage-filled bomb.

“Noona, what now?”

At this rate, she’d either get dragged into a marriage orchestrated by the Young Clan Master,

or run away again, avoiding the shadow of the family.

Meanwhile, Tang Ak would only keep gaining more power within the clan.

If the Clan Head Tang Yangcheon were to suddenly pass away, they’d truly be out of options.

“Well, there is one more way.”

But apparently, they weren’t at a dead end yet. She hinted at a Plan B to break through the current situation.

“What is it?”

I asked without thinking, and she stared straight into my face.

Like she was expecting something.

“…I need your body.”

And the answer that came back was far from ordinary.

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