The Eldest Daughter of the Tang Clan of Sichuan Protects the Family

Part 1

Chapter 15. Doubt

"S-Sister?"

At Tang Hak's cautious voice, So-hwa's gaze shifted. Tang Hak continued to glance back and asked.

"The Grand Elder... will he really be okay?"

In response, the deputy leader answered.

"He'll be fine. He is not someone we should be worrying about."

There was trust in the deputy leader's words.

They had likely known Tang Min since before the siblings were born, so his words were probably correct.

However, Tang Hak, who had been born and raised during an era of peace, could not easily shake off his anxiety.

"St-still..."

Tang Hak briefly glanced behind him.

The deputy leader, however, didn't even turn around and calmly responded.

"If, by any chance, the Grand Elder is facing opponents he cannot handle, we need to move faster."

"What do you mean? We need to go save the Grand Elder!"

Tang Hak shouted in surprise. But the deputy leader did not retract his words.

"If the enemies are beyond what the Grand Elder can handle, we will not be able to face them. We need to request help from the Murim Alliance."

"Did you retrieve the messenger bird we sent earlier? Any response?"

So-hwa, as if agreeing with the deputy leader's words, calmly asked about his plan. Tang Hak, with a shocked expression, shouted.

"Sister!"

So-hwa trusted the deputy leader's words. The Black Tiger Unit was a force personally formed by their strict father, who had carefully selected each martial artist.

The Clan Head, Tang Ji-hwa, did not just recruit people with high martial strength under his command. The deputy leader of the Black Tiger Unit was actually weaker in martial power compared to others in the Tang Clan. However, Tang Ji-hwa valued him and promoted him to deputy leader.

And if time flowed as it did in their previous life, he would eventually take the position of the leader in this life as well.

'I don't know if that's a good thing...'

The deputy leader died while tracking down the impostors who had been posing as the Tang Clan around ten years later. The Black Tiger Unit lost its leader but managed to return with everyone alive.

The reason why the current deputy leader, Tang Ji-hu, caught his father's eye was because of this. He always prioritized the survival of his comrades, and most of the time, he succeeded. The reason his father had sent the deputy leader along was probably because he believed he would prioritize the survival of the Tang siblings.

So, even though the deputy leader's words sounded somewhat cold, it was wiser to follow him.

The deputy leader answered So-hwa's question in his usual monotone voice.

"No. It has not returned yet."

Due to his stiff tone, rather than disappointment, a strange sense of calmness could be felt.

It seemed he did not doubt that Tang Min was in danger.

So-hwa's gaze shifted backward. Half a shichen (one hour) had passed since they had descended the mountain, but no one was still pursuing them. If their pursuers had used qinggong, they would have already descended the mountain by now.

If those accompanying them were unharmed, it meant that Tang Min alone had already evacuated everyone.

So, she had to believe it.

At that moment, Yeon-ah's voice was heard.

"Just a little more, hang in there."

So-hwa's eyes moved sideways. The martial artists from the hut were running while clutching their wounds. Among them, three could barely move, carried by the less injured who could still run.

So-hwa fixed her gaze on Yeon-ah, who was on the outer side of the martial artists.

Yeon-ah was running with a concerned look, paying attention to the injured.

Both Tang Min and the deputy leader had opposed taking the injured along. In a situation where the Murim Alliance might suspect them, protecting suspicious individuals could put the Tang Clan in a difficult position.

However, because physician Jin-cheol insisted on staying behind, saying they could not abandon the injured, they couldn't leave first.

So-hwa's eyes lingered on the martial artists. Whether it was curiosity or anxiety, she couldn't understand the feeling that pounded in her chest.

What had happened on this mountain in the previous life?

Suddenly, perhaps sensing her gaze, Yeon-ah turned her head. When their eyes met, Yeon-ah briefly smiled. The current Yeon-ah unexpectedly revealed her fear and hope without hesitation.

The unknown past became clear in her mind's eye.

Without saying anything, So-hwa turned her head straight again.

She resumed watching ahead, and soon, the scout Yun-jin emerged. He reported quickly.

"There's an ambush up ahead. There are about thirty of them."

The deputy leader immediately gave an order in response to Yun-jin's warning.

"The survival of the direct descendants comes first. Tell Han-won and Geo-reo to clear a path."

Even though the enemy was said to number thirty, So-hwa could feel nothing. In confusion, she focused her senses. Then, a foul stench rushed in from the front. So-hwa instinctively raised her sleeve to cover her nose.

Before Yun-jin could disappear again, the deputy leader turned his head.

"They'll make a path. When Yun-jin returns, go down first. As I said, if they're people even the Grand Elder couldn't stop, we need to move faster."

At those words, So-hwa lowered her sleeve from her nose and shook her head.

"They're not the ones who exchanged blows with the Grand Elder."

The deputy leader silently stared at So-hwa. As if waiting for an explanation. But So-hwa couldn't explain.

The fact that she could sense others' internal energy with her five senses was a secret known only to the Clan Head and Tang Min. She hadn't particularly intended to keep it hidden, but since her father had ordered her to remain silent, she obeyed without saying much.

The internal energy pushing in from the front was sensed not through touch, but through smell. And it was a scent that could only be picked up by sharpening her senses to the extreme. If they were only at this level, they should have been poisoned the moment they stepped into the Yeon-ah Group.

The poison brought from the Tang Clan was a paralysis poison that had to be injected into the bloodstream. It had to be embedded in the body using hidden weapons or sprinkled on open wounds for effective infection, but there hadn't been enough hidden weapons brought to infect that many people.

So So-hwa had mixed the Seven-Step Viper poison that was in the Yeon-ah Group and spread it as vapor throughout the area. The moment the poison, which had penetrated the lungs, caused bleeding, it would quickly dissolve into the bloodstream.

The Tang Clan's paralysis poison was known for its fast reaction time. By the time one became aware of it, they were already poisoned, and unless one was a master capable of blocking it with internal energy, they wouldn't be able to avoid it.

However, the enemies currently up ahead didn't seem that skilled.

Unable to explain this, So-hwa gave a vague excuse to the deputy leader.

"They might be the ones who were waiting outside to cut off our retreat, or scouts. Didn't Yun-jin report that they split into teams to break the formation?"

As soon as she asked the question, Yun-jin returned to the deputy leader's side.

"We've opened a path on the right. Judging by their clean clothes and swords, they seem to have been scouts."

At those words, the deputy leader looked at So-hwa. She avoided his gaze and checked her weapons.

She felt one poison vial and five flying daggers inside her sleeve.

Yun-jin moved ahead, running as if to guide the way.

"We've already dealt with ten archers ambushing the rocky path on the right. You can go that way while we cover the rear. I'll guide you."

At Yun-jin's words, So-hwa furrowed her brow.

Then she looked around.

The scent had dispersed as if a typhoon had passed through. This meant the enemies had scattered. Moreover, contrary to Yun-jin's words, a particularly strong stench was coming from the right.

Yun-jin had either lied, or the enemies, noticing the fallen archers, had quickly filled the gap.

So-hwa was debating whether to reveal her secret, driven by a growing unease.

Tak.

Perhaps sensing the same thing, the deputy commander spread his arms wide and came to a halt before entering the rocky path.

"Let's stop here."

Tang Hak and So-hwa, who had been walking on either side, also stopped in their tracks.

The injured martial artists seemed to have sensed something as well. Without a word, they drew the swords at their waists.

"Yun-jin."

At the deputy commander's prompt, Yun-jin answered without a hint of panic.

"... It seems they noticed the escape route."

At that, a deep silence descended.

It was a heavy stillness that felt like it was crushing their lungs.

The forest path wasn't dark.

Moonlight filtering through the leaves bathed the surroundings in a soft glow.

Swoosh—

As the trees swayed in the wind, fine streaks of rain-like light poured down like a sudden shower.

It was a peaceful sight, oddly mismatched with the situation.

The forest held its breath quietly, as if waiting for a storm to strike.

Amid the thick stench, So-hwa calculated the direction of the wind.

'If only I'd brought poison powder.'

As a poor substitute, she poured poison onto three flying daggers she had slotted between her fingers. The liquid trickled down the blades and onto her skin, causing it to shrivel and pucker. But only briefly. Her body, sensing the poison, reacted swiftly—her shriveled skin crackled, then smoothed out again.

This was madness, only possible because So-hwa was born with a rare constitution.

"... Young lady."

Yeon-ah was looking up at her.

"T-Their arrival means..."

Yeon-ah's lips trembled as she asked cautiously,

"Doesn't it mean something bad happened to the martial artist who stayed behind at the Yeonju Group?”

"That's an insult to the Grand Elder of the Tang Clan."

So-hwa replied coldly, almost reflexively. Yeon-ah flinched and clamped her mouth shut.

After a brief silence, So-hwa spoke again.

"He'll be fine."

Just then, a cold wind swept through, cutting through the stench.

It wasn't the enemy's attack.

So-hwa glanced past Yeon-ah's shoulder at the approaching chill. The injured martial artists were drawing up their internal energy.

So-hwa frowned at the grotesque sight.

Their meridians were twisted. Most of them were no longer capable of channeling internal energy. And yet, they were forcibly gathering their internal energy to break through their blocked meridians. It was a reckless act that could lead to death.

What's more, the attempt itself had to be excruciatingly painful—yet not a single one of them showed it on their faces.

The internal energy erupting within their bodies came crashing in like a northern blizzard.

Internal energy felt through touch.

A thin line furrowed between So-hwa's brows. She observed the flow of their internal energy, and something felt off.

At first, she thought the vibrations came from forcefully unblocking the meridians. Like waves churning from the sea crashing against a cliff. But upon closer focus, she realized that wasn't it.

These were not rhythmic pulses, but chaotic disturbances.

Like swarming insects crawling under her skin, the chill gnawed at her.

A current of internal energy she had never encountered before in her life.

'What in the world are these people?'

Come to think of it, too many things didn't add up.

Even Namgung knew of them—so why hadn't the Tang Clan of her previous life known anything? This was Emei Mountain in Sichuan.

It was as if someone had intentionally kept the information from the clan.

But So-hwa couldn't dwell on the thought for long—black rain began to pour from all directions.

Bang, craash, claaang.

Martial artists surged forward like a cold storm and deflected the incoming arrows. With eardrum-tearing sonic booms, the arrows scattered and fell to the ground.

Thud, thud-thud.

No wonder the stench had stopped getting closer—there must've been a group of archers.

So-hwa's gaze slid sideways and stopped on Yun-jin. The Black Tiger Unit member who had claimed to have cleared a path by eliminating the archers.

At that moment, the Black Tiger Unit, which had been guarding the direct descendants, suddenly sensed something from the front and darted forward like arrows.

So-hwa stared at Yun-jin's back.

Unlike the Black Tiger Unit martial artists, who charged into the stench, Yun-jin veered off toward a direction where no smell lingered.