Chapter 525 - Just Let Me Hold It Once.
Around the time a major problem erupted in the Tang Clan.
If one were to name the busiest among them, it would naturally be the Poison King.
Surprisingly, however, there was someone just as busy.
"No way... What in the world is happening?"
Moving without even being able to comb her hair due to the incident that had erupted since morning was Murong Xiya, the treasured daughter of the Murong Clan.
In the quarters assigned for guests, Murong Xiya had to repeatedly rub her forehead.
"...Information. Is there no more information?"
She spoke, glancing to the side with furrowed eyes.
Someone kneeling on one knee answered at her voice.
"...This is a situation that erupted suddenly, so we are in the process of gathering more information."
"...Ugh...!"
Murong Xiya bit her delicate lip at her subordinate's words.
'What in the world is going on...?'
'To think it would be like this first thing in the morning.'
In this absurd situation, Murong Xiya had to quickly rack her brain.
'Suddenly beheading an Elder?'
Murong Xiya broke out in cold sweat at the abrupt news.
The First Elder of the Tang Clan had been beheaded overnight. And by the Poison King himself, no less.
'What is going on.'
The First Elder of the Tang Clan was the person who managed all the medicinal herbs of the Tang Clan.
Hadn't he reached the Transformation Realm in his later years?
He was someone Murong Xiya knew as well.
Due to her constitution at one time, she had conducted various dealings with the Tang Clan.
Among them, there had been transactions not just for treatment but for the medicinal herbs themselves.
The First Elder would have been the one in charge of that.
She had even met him in person.
In Murong Xiya's eyes, such a First Elder was—
'A repulsive person.'
She had judged him to be someone with a rather dark side.
Apart from that, she had also evaluated him as a capable person.
Managing that many medicinal herbs, his influence within the Tang Clan must have been considerable.
'Yet he was beheaded?'
Killing someone with such power so easily.
The moment she heard it, her scalp tingled.
Something had happened.
She could not afford not to know this.
'I need more information.'
Thinking so hard since morning made her feel like a headache was coming on.
But she had to do what needed to be done.
A major incident had occurred in the Tang Clan. From Murong Xiya's perspective, this was quite a serious problem.
'How many ventures have I prepared ahead.'
There were several ventures she had been preparing in collaboration with the Tang Clan.
And there was more than one or two matters that needed to be expanded using these.
For something to erupt in the Tang Clan at such a time? That was considerably troublesome.
Murong Xiya immediately created several branching paths in her mind.
The fastest and clearest among them was to hold the Tang Clan responsible and settle this without issue, but...
'...'
Murong Xiya recalled Dang Soyeol and erased that course of action.
It wasn't that she was worried about Dang Soyeol.
It was true that she had grown attached while spending time with him.
But Murong Xiya knew that such friendship did not bring profit.
However.
'He would hate that.'
Murong Xiya knew that if she handled this purely by calculation, that man who quietly looked after his own people would not like it very much.
So what could she do but endure.
Just as she was about to think of another plan.
"...Wait...."
Murong Xiya recalled.
That time when they went to Hyun, Ouyang Tian had seemed to be hiding something.
That person had eyes that looked like he was about to cause another accident.
And not long after, the current incident had erupted.
She thought there surely couldn't be a connection.
'...Right?'
She wasn't certain.
"Just in case" catches people; that man was more than capable enough.
Creak. Murong Xiya rose to her feet.
"My lady?"
"...I'll be right back. In the meantime, please gather more information."
"Understood."
After quickly relaying her words to her subordinate, Murong Xiya left the quarters and moved with steps like she was running.
Her direction was the quarters where that man, Ouyang Tian, was.
'It must not be him.'
Murong Xiya prayed fervently inwardly.
"I'm working this hard because of whom."
"He wouldn't cause trouble when he can't even offer help."
She hoped dearly that was the case.
'I haven't even finished my mother's assignment yet.'
Her teeth grated.
Her mother's assignment meant a task personally given by Baihua Leader Mei Xiaolan.
One day, a missive came to Murong Xiya from the Baihua Merchant House.
It contained matters regarding business ventures.
And a passage asking her to write down how to resolve it if such a situation occurred.
Having gone through something similar with the Murong Merchant House as well, it was a fairly familiar matter to her.
Normally, she would have thought this sudden nonsense and ignored it without reading.
If only the sender hadn't been the Baihua Leader.
That Mei Xiaolan went out of her way to write down such a complicated and difficult situation and sent it to Murong Xiya.
Murong Xiya could not fail to grasp the meaning behind it.
'It's a test.'
'This is a test.'
'Mei Xiaolan is testing Murong Xiya.'
'How outstanding a person are you.'
'It was the same as asking her to show that.'
'Then what would change if she showed it?'
'What was the test for in the first place?'
'That was obvious even without looking.'
'She wants to see if I am qualified to stand by that person's side.'
Murong Xiya furrowed her brow at the inexplicably chilly sensation.
'I heard he wasn't her biological son....'
She had certainly heard that Ouyang Tian was not Mei Xiaolan's biological child. Murong Xiya could not understand why Mei Xiaolan was acting this way.
Nevertheless, since an opportunity that was not quite an opportunity had come, she could not let it pass.
In such a situation.
'...That man caused an accident?'
She wasn't certain yet... No, honestly, Murong Xiya was certain.
That he was entangled in the incident that erupted in the Tang Clan.
All her instincts were telling her so; it was hard to deny.
'I'm already busy enough to die...!'
Murong Xiya gritted her teeth and walked briskly.
She had to ask directly what kind of situation had erupted now.
Because that would be better than gathering information.
Lost in such thoughts as she approached the quarters—
"Hmm?"
Someone was visible in front of Ouyang Tian's quarters.
It was someone Murong Xiya knew.
"...What are you doing there?"
"...!"
The woman had been hovering as if about to enter or not, so when Murong Xiya approached and asked, she flinched and trembled.
In that brief tremor, the woman's light brown hair danced.
"Ah, hello...."
The woman spoke to Murong Xiya, showing off her distinctive golden eyes.
'She's still pretty.'
Murong Xiya knew well that she herself was quite beautiful, but compared to this woman or Geom Muhui, it was somewhat lacking.
After forcibly hiding her busy demeanor.
Murong Xiya asked the woman... Wei Xueya again.
"What are you doing?"
"Well...."
"Do you have business with this person?"
"Ah, no.... It's not with the young master."
They had understood each other without explicitly naming anyone.
"Hmm?"
Wei Xueya said she didn't have business with Ouyang Tian?
This was an answer even Murong Xiya hadn't expected.
Because it was Wei Xueya, she had naturally assumed she came to see Ouyang Tian.
'If not him, then who?'
As far as she knew, three people were staying in these quarters.
One was the Sleeping Dragon. Another was that young man named Cheol... something.
'No matter how I look at it, it seems unlikely Wei Xueya has business with anyone else.'
Though she felt a strange sensation and had questions.
'If she doesn't have business with him, that's fortunate for me.'
It was rather a good thing for Murong Xiya.
Because she herself had business with Ouyang Tian.
"Then I'll go in first. I'm rather busy."
"Ah...!"
As Murong Xiya stepped forward to enter the quarters, Wei Xueya was surprised once more.
'Why that reaction?'
The moment she glanced at Wei Xueya and entered the quarters where Ouyang Tian was staying.
'What is this.'
Murong Xiya had to feel something strange.
It felt like the temperature had risen slightly.
Because Murong Xiya's body temperature was unusually low, she felt it especially sensitively.
It was urgent right now, so she didn't pay it much mind.
Because asking what accident had occurred was more important.
Thinking so, she found the room where Ouyang Tian would be staying.
"Young Master Gu. Are you there?"
—....
She spoke at the door, but no answer came. She had asked an attendant on the way and heard that Ouyang Tian was in his quarters.
'Is he asleep?'
'Sleeping at a time like this? No matter how much it's him, he wouldn't cause an incident like this and then sleep.'
'Then is he really unrelated to this incident?'
Just as she thought that.
Tap.
Wei Xueya appeared beside her.
Murong Xiya narrowed her eyes at that.
"You said you didn't have business here."
"...Well...."
'You clearly said with your own mouth that you didn't have business with Ouyang Tian.'
'What is this.'
'Is she trying to pick a fight with me?' Just as Murong Xiya was about to speak at the unexpected feeling.
Squeak!
The door to Ouyang Tian's room opened. At the sound, Murong Xiya tried to face Ouyang Tian who appeared.
"...Youn... guh... huh?"
Murong Xiya made a foolish sound that didn't suit her.
Because the one who appeared was not Ouyang Tian.
He was much larger than him.
His chest and shoulders were much bigger than Ouyang Tian's.
Murong Xiya lost her words at the gaze looking down at her.
'Heavy.'
She felt a crushing sensation just from being looked at.
Gulp.
Murong Xiya swallowed dryly at the piercing red light in his eyes.
The man who appeared from Ouyang Tian's room was quietly looking at Murong Xiya.
Several seconds of silence passed.
Murong Xiya, barely managing to roll her eyes, quickly surveyed the inside of the room.
And she had to be surprised once more.
'...Why is she there again?'
Because she saw Geom Muhui sitting at the table inside Ouyang Tian's room, looking wary.
'This is ominous.'
'What is this atmosphere?'
Murong Xiya's clever head spun quickly.
But time was short, and the correct answer Murong Xiya could choose was only one for now.
She composed her breath.
She spent one second on this.
Her startled heart did not easily calm down.
She composed herself as best she could without showing her trembling, stiffened body.
"...A blood descendant of the Murong Clan greets the Patriarch of the Ouyang Family. I am called Murong Xiya."
Fortunately, her voice did not tremble. It was a stroke of luck.
The man receiving Murong Xiya's greeting was none other than Ouyang Tieyun.
She had seen him before.
How could she not know him.
When this journey began, she had heard countless warnings from her father, the White Heaven Sword Lord, to be careful of the Ouyang Patriarch.
She also remembered hearing words from her aunt, the White Lotus Sword, a few times.
Moreover, he was Ouyang Tian's father.
It was an unexpected encounter, so she must not show an unsightly appearance.
"..."
Ouyang Tieyun's eyebrows moved slightly at Murong Xiya's greeting.
She couldn't see because her head was bowed, but Murong Xiya knew.
That Ouyang Tieyun was sizing her up.
"...Pleased to meet you. I am Ouyang Tieyun."
"I apologize for visiting so suddenly. It is nothing else... I have urgent business with Young Master Gu, which is why I came in such haste."
She did not ask why the Patriarch was here. She wanted to ask but had to endure.
That was a secondary matter.
"If it is my son, unfortunately, now does not seem to be the time to speak."
"Yes?"
Right after speaking, Ouyang Tieyun turned slightly to show the inside of the room clearly.
There, she could see Ouyang Tian lying peacefully on the bed.
She thought he might be sleeping, but Murong Xiya immediately realized.
He was not simply asleep.
It seemed something had happened.
'Did he get hurt again?'
Worry crossed her mind before the thought of what situation had occurred.
'That man gets hurt like that at the drop of a hat.'
While Murong Xiya's pupils wavered like that.
Ouyang Tieyun took Murong Xiya in with a calm gaze.
"First, come in."
"Yes?"
"If you are in a hurry, you may leave, but if it is alright, I meant for you to come inside and wait."
"..."
Murong Xiya flinched at Ouyang Tieyun's words.
'If I enter now, that means I have to wait with Ouyang Tieyun while Ouyang Tian is sleeping.'
'What should I do.'
She wondered if even someone like Murong Xiya could endure such an atmosphere.
She wanted to ask for understanding and turn back.
'She's in there.'
Geom Muhui inside the room worried her, making her steps hesitate.
She couldn't ponder for long.
Murong Xiya steeled herself and spoke to Ouyang Tieyun.
"Then... excuse me, but I will intrude for a moment."
At her words, Ouyang Tieyun nodded.
He soon shifted his gaze to look at Wei Xueya.
Wei Xueya also hastily composed herself before Ouyang Tieyun.
"...I greet the Patriarch."
"It seems your business is similar. Young lady, you may enter as well."
"Ah.... Yes."
Ouyang Tieyun finished speaking and entered the room. The two women followed him in.
Thus formed an atmosphere so frighteningly oppressive.
For reference, until Ouyang Tian woke up afterward.
The four of them did not exchange a single word.
******************
And so.
"...What is this situation?"
Right after sitting up with a start, I surveyed the situation with trembling eyes.
What is going on?
Why is my father, who said he would handle the Poison King's matters, in my room.
And why are those three here?
Moreover, all three had their heads deeply bowed as if they had committed a crime.
'I thought it might be a dream....'
Naturally, this situation was anything but realistic, so thinking it a dream, I lay back down.
It didn't take long to realize that was not the case.
With gazes piercing into me and a suffocating feeling, it was agonizingly realistic.
In the end, I sat up with cold sweat and asked my father.
"Uh... what, what is going on?"
It was a question with much condensed into it, but it was sufficient to convey my meaning.
Father took a sip of tea and spoke to me.
"The White Lotus Sword relayed that you had collapsed."
"Ah."
It seemed that after I collapsed from the backlash of using the Noea, the White Lotus Sword had gone to inform my father.
"The physician said there is no major problem with your body. But do you look alright?"
"...Yes. I'm fine."
"Then it is settled."
Father nodded.
Seeing that, I had to ask something else immediately.
"...Father."
"Speak."
"Those girls... no, why are those young ladies acting like that...?"
I see three women too frightened to even raise their heads.
At my words, Father also sent his gaze that way and spoke.
"I told them to be at ease, but it seems they were not comfortable, after all."
As Father said that, the three women raised their heads in a flash.
"No. We were absolutely not uncomfortable."
"...We were fine...."
"We were really comfortable."
"..."
I couldn't say anything at that desperate appearance.
'What made them like that?'
'They weren't usually like that, I think.' I felt something off.
"You guys... so why are you here?"
When I barely managed to ask through the situation, Nangong Feiya spoke to me first.
"...You suddenly... collapsed... so I was worried...."
Nangong Feiya's words made sense.
After the duel and that... lip headbutt, I had fainted.
She must have been quite shocked.
'...She doesn't think I fainted from a kiss, does she?'
I hoped that wasn't the case. That would be really pathetic.
["As if you weren't pathetic before."]
As if to prove he was no ghost, Elder Shin quickly cut in.
Perhaps because I had collapsed after the duel.
Putting aside Nangong Feiya who had been watching Ouyang Tieyun cautiously, I looked at Murong Xiya.
Then this time, Murong Xiya spoke.
Murong Xiya also continued speaking to me while subtly watching my father's mood.
"...They say an incident occurred in the Tang Clan. I came because I thought Young Master Gu might know something."
The First Elder was beheaded by the Poison King.
To others, this might seem like an overnight event, but the fact that Murong Xiya came to ask me about it meant—
'Does it mean she immediately knew I was involved?'
'Anyway, she was smart. Quick on the uptake.'
How much time has passed? I don't know yet.
'...If she were really an enemy, it would have been troublesome.'
If Murong Xiya were an enemy, it would really have been troublesome.
If Cheon Yuranga is the type to deliberately create an escape route to drive enemies into a dead end and let them wither away in fear.
Murong Xiya was the type to not even give such an escape route and handle things sharply.
Could you say every action was calculated.
If both had been enemies, it would have been more than just a nuisance.
I had to consider it fortunate that they were not.
"...But... uh...."
Murong Xiya's eyes wavered for a moment.
I thought I knew what she was trying to say.
'She came to ask me something, but I was unexpectedly lying here unconscious. And with my father here, she was startled.'
'Yeah, that must be confusing.'
'And how confused do you think I am?'
'I still can't forget the sight when I woke up.'
'Then again.'
'What's with her?'
There was one more person in front who hadn't taken a single sip of tea and was only staring at the table.
It was Wei Xueya.
Since I had seen her in Hyun last time, it wasn't a face I hadn't seen in a while.
"...Do you have business with me too?"
It was a somewhat awkward combination for here right now.
'What business could Wei Xueya have with me?'
As I looked at her with doubt, she spoke.
"...I... uh, didn't come to meet the young master."
"Huh?"
"Not me?"
I had naturally assumed it was me, so I was slightly flustered at Wei Xueya's answer.
Wei Xueya looked not at me but at my father and spoke.
"...I... saw that the Patriarch had come... to greet him.... I came...."
"What?"
I had to be even more surprised at those words.
"Not having business with me, but came to see my father?"
"When did she see him?"
Only a very few people should know that my father had come.
'Does this mean Wei Xueya saw this?'
Meanwhile, I saw my father's gaze change slightly at those words.
"Hmm."
It was a very short sound, but Father made a noise.
"...!"
"...Oh no."
At this, I saw Nangong Feiya and Murong Xiya flinch.
Their expressions were full of an 'oops!' feeling.
"Why are they like that...?"
Wondering what was up, I stayed still for now.
In the quietened silence, a voice suddenly rang out.
—I will not bother to bring up your personal life.
It was my father's voice transmission.
—Three seems a bit much.
"..."
At that sudden voice transmission, I had to hold back several words that nearly sprang out.
First, I had to hold back that it wasn't three.
After that.
I also had to hold back that this wasn't something Father should be saying.
Because I felt I'd get hit if I said them out loud.