It was Tang Ah-Hui’s thirty-first birthday.
Various people gathered from around Eria to pay their respects to the Tang Family, and it was Tang Ah-Hui’s special day as the main spotlight. The thing was though, Tang Ah-Hui’s mind was elsewhere.
Tang Ah-Hui nervously waited with anxiety for the ceremonies, greetings and festivities to end. There were many missing people these days from her party, and she felt quite depressed as she noticed this.
Murong Seojin, Namgung Heewon and Zhuge Taeryong. Her three friends that she had since childhood had all passed away or left with their own misfortunes.
Murong Seojin and Zhuge Taeryong had surely died, and Namgung Heewon had been disowned by his own family and ran away. The future of the 5 Great Families did not look too bright
In particular, it was Murong Dae that had tarnished their reputation these past few months. Murong Dae was one of the leaders from the 5 Great Families, like she was, and had gotten almost all of his family’s warriors slaughtered in the subjugation failure. Not only did many of the strongest warriors of the Murong Family perish that day, but Murong Chae was too young and inexperienced to lead a Great Family at such a young age against such odds. It was almost certain that the Murong Family had basically dropped out of the 5 Great Families.
It was not only that, but the actions before Murong Dae’s death that impacted the 5 Great Families’ reputations the most.
Due to his blind rage to get revenge for his daughter, he had foolishly made irreversible mistakes for the entirety of the 5 Great Families, and had screwed over his son, who had to forcefully take on all of his irresponsible decisions and actions.
Murong Dae’s actions of taking the Murim Alliance warriors under his control and attacking the Tower Masters of the Wizard Guild had ruined the reputation of both the 5 Great Families and the Murim Alliance. Their long-lasting friendship with the Wizard Guild was on the verge of ruin.
Murong Chae also had no way to escape the terrible sanctions that would come his way from the Murim Alliance and the angry Wizards.
The elders of the Murong Family that had not gone on the expedition thought it was too much for the Murim Alliance to persecute a teenager with the equivalent of war crimes. However, the Murim Alliance did not listen to their words and brought the charges towards the Elders as well.
The property and branches of the Murong Family had been confiscated by the alliance, and the warriors of the Murong Family had mostly left or abandoned the Family for good.
Although there was a difference in the degree of punishment between the main members of the Murong Family that were left, there was an even bigger punishment for one person outside of the family. It was for Chigweol.
He was accused with the sin of deserting his men and falsely impersonating orders from the Lord of the Murim Alliance. He tried to use the excuse of catching the Ghost Spear as the reason he had left, but nobody believed him since Lee Sungmin had shown up after he left.
Not only that, Chigweol could not provide any substantial evidence or leads on Lee Sungmin’s whereabouts, so his motives and agenda were questioned harshly.
In the case of Tang Ah-Hui, she wasn’t questioned or pressured at all.
Although she had hardly contributed to anything, she at least did not run away or cause trouble, like the other fools on the expedition.
In fact, she had technically run away and had even begged Lee Sungmin for help, who was the public enemy of the Murim Alliance. Nevertheless, nobody had found out her secret, so she was alright. Also, she planned on having her ancestor, whom she could never imagine anybody not losing to him, kill Lee Sungmin so that her secret was safe.
‘This is an opportunity.’
Tang Ah-Hui mulled the idea over and over in her head. Not only that, but in the political landscape of the 5 Great Families, she had an immense opportunity to steal the limelight.
Currently none of the younger generations were drawing much attention and didn’t have much background, so naturally Tang Ah-Hui fit that role perfectly.
‘Well, today the biggest one is coming.’
Tang Ah-Hui was no fool. The person currently attracting the most attention, whether positive or negative, was the Ghost Spear, Lee Sungmin. In their generation, it was no exaggeration to call him the strongest. Though, most people did not know that the Minor Heavenly Demon was still active.
After years of the Ghost Spear going off the grid ever since the murders of Zhuge Taeryong and Murong Seojin, he then suddenly appeared as the successor and Young Leader of the Sama Order.
In addition, the news was circulating of his bold exploits in the subjugation of Kim Jonghyun, as nobody could even tell who he was until he revealed it at the last moment, and had single-handedly toyed with one of the patriarchs of the 5 Great Families.
‘I could capture the Ghost Spear!’
With excitement, Tang Ah-Hui thought of how much her prestige would rise if she was able to take the credit for capturing the Ghost Spear, Lee Sungmin.
If she could catch him and send his corpse to the Murim Alliance, Tang Ah-Hui’s name would be the most famous name being talked about.
Her future as a rising star and the lead youth of her generation made Tang Ah-Hui tremble with greed and excitement.
Tang Ah-Hui was cunning. She knew her position well, and knew that women were generally treated less than favorable within the Murim Alliance. It was unfortunate, but true. However, with an accomplishment like this, she never had to worry about anybody talking down to her again.
There are only two choices she could make at best. She could either marry her way into a comfortable life and become a political chess piece for her family, or she could transcend her status as a woman and achieve unparalleled power and grace.
What Tang Ah-Hui wanted, however, was both of those things, and instead of becoming a political chess piece, she would become the one who arranged the chess board. And of course, a nice and beautiful man was always a plus. She was greedy for power and fame, so she didn’t plan on letting anybody else know of her grand plans.It had to be her achievement and hers alone. With a little help from her ancestor, she could become a bigger figure than she ever imagined.
If she told the Murim Alliance of her plans, she would surely be told to back down or share the credit.
‘At least I’m not the one who has to get my hands dirty for this.’
She knew it was absolutely impossible for her to defeat Lee Sungmin. Although she was aware he had reached Transcendence, she knew her ancestor had, as well, and was convinced that since her ancestor had been a Transcendent for a longer period of time, he must be stronger than Lee Sungmin.
Her ancestor’s name was Tang Mugi
Although he was by far the strongest martial artist the Tang Family had ever produced, he had been alive for over 200 years and had no interest in politics or family affairs.
Tang Mugi had been obsessed with his creations of hidden weapons, experimenting with newer and stronger poisons, as well as developing stronger martial arts. The family did not think he would get anywhere, and called him a fool for it. In return, he had left the Tang Family, and when he had returned, they altogether begged him to stay and teach them his ways.
However, Tang Mugi had frowned in disgust at such two-faced elders of the Tang Family. But due to unavoidable circumstances, he was still a part of the main bloodline, and there was an event in which his only daughter had died in an accident.
Tang Mugi met Tang Ah-Hui when she was ten years old, and felt his heart melt.
She resembled his own daughter, whom he had lost due to the accident, and turned out to be his great granddaughter.
‘I never even tell the Elders about you.’
Tang Ah-Hui never told anybody about the fact that Tang Mugi was still alive, and even visiting her on her birthdays.
Tang Mugi had made her promise him that she would never tell the elders and her new step-parents within the Tang Family. Surprisingly enough, Tang Ah-Hui kept that promise.
She was rather prideful in her childhood as well as innocent.
Thanks to her ancestor, she would be able to live a life full of amazing benefits, once he captured the Ghost Spear.
After the party and festivities were over, Tang Ah-Hui returned to her room early.
There was still time until midnight, and as long as it was still following the patterns as before, her ancestor, Tang Mugi, would come soon.
It had been a long time since she had been so excited to meet her ancestor like this.
Rather than being excited for a new hidden weapon or incredible poison, Tang Ah-Hui was eager at the possibility of Tang Mugi hunting down the Ghost Spear!
Tang Ah-Hui plopped herself on the lavish covers of her bed and grinned.
Lee Sungmin also happened to be grinning at that moment as he looked at Tang Ah-Hui from the darkness.
Lee Sungmin however, was not in her room.
[I thought you were a fool who knew nothing but your spear, but I guess I was wrong.]
‘It’s not like I’m not confident with my spear, but of course I know when I need to treat things carefully.’
Lee Sungmin answered Heoju and lowered the crystal ball that he was holding in his palm. He was worried and wondered what he would do if he was caught by Tang Ah-Hui, but it seemed like she had not noticed.
The crystal in his hand was a tiny magic artifact that he had purchased through Erebrisa.
The artifact’s effect only lasted one day at the longest, but once you activated it, you would be able to completely blend into the scenery around the user, while also copying the sounds made naturally of the objects in the places the user stood near.
During the banquet and festivities, Lee Sungmin sneaked into the party beforehand and went to Tang Ah-Hui’s room to install several of these artifacts.
Since Tang Ah-Hui’s room had a variety of valuables and ornaments, it was not too difficult to find a place to hide the several artifacts that Lee Sungmin had brought as a precaution.
‘Still, I didn’t think it would be this easy.’
[What the hell is she thinking about so gleefully?]
Lee Sungmin listened to Heoju and frowned at Tang Ah-Hui, who was giggling on her bed like a kid.
Even if the artifact was reliable, Lee Sungmin was worried about Tang Ah-Hui acting silly, and eventually finding one of the artifacts he had placed around the room, which could endanger his illusion.
[What an oblivious girl.]
‘It’s rather suspicious that she doesn’t doubt my intentions about meeting her ancestor.’
[Isn’t it strange to doubt you when you really shouldn’t know of her ancestor in the first place? From what I can tell, that bastard hides himself pretty well, so of course she wouldn’t expect you to know of him.]
‘Still, there’s always a chance that someone might know him, let alone have a debt to settle with him, like myself.’
[Well sure, but I’m just confused as to what this little brat is giggling about so happily still. Was it a good party or something?]
‘……I don’t know what she’s thinking either.’
As Lee Sungmin was wondering what was running through Tang Ah-Hui’s mind, she was hugging her pillow, imagining herself as an empress of sorts, while being the center of all the attention and gossip.
She imagined herself grabbing the knocked out Lee Sungmin, crushing his dantian, cutting off all his limbs and dragging his body into the headquarters of the Murim Alliance, while she received countless praises for her deeds.
She would receive so much attention and even the Lord of the Murim Alliance would have to come out in person and praise her. She then started to think about what kind of man she could pick out to marry after she did such a meritorious deed.
Should she marry Jihak? Or the heir to the Wudang Sect? Though she knew the heir to the Wudang was still much younger than her, it would be alright since she could play with him and make him her slave in bed.
Not knowing that his limbs were cut off and his dantian was crushed in Tang Ah-Hui’s delusion, Lee Sungmin carefully watched her giggling figure.
He was paranoid that maybe all of the giggling was just some sort of act.
Maybe she had figured out that the artifacts were inside the room and was just playing with him, waiting for his guard to be lowered.
‘Maybe when An Zun appears and I attack him, Jehu or Kang Seok will be waiting for me in the shadows to kill me as well.’
[How sad. You’re seriously a fucking joke sometimes]
Heoju mocked Lee Sungmin’s completely irrational thoughts.
[We’ve met that pants-pisser enough times to know her habits and personality. Do you really think that brat who isn’t potty trained can pull off such a charade?]
‘No.’
[Then why waste your mind on such useless worries? Don’t think about that nonsense and just relax. Why don’t we go grab a drink?]
‘I let you drink yesterday.’
Alcohol was not something to be consumed every day, and Lee Sungmin drank yesterday to allow Heoju to feel the buzz from the alcohol through their shared conscience.
‘That kind of thing isn’t for me.’
The alcohol from the gourd that he had obtained from Heoju’s hideout, was amazing and hard liquor, but would be dangerous if consumed in large amounts.
It was especially dangerous to do such a thing on an important day like today. Heoju grumbled at the stubborn Lee Sungmin who did not fall for his temptations.
Lee Sungmin was worried, but it was only natural when he was in such a dangerous setting. He was also worried about if the Sword of the Wudang might descend from the mountains and interfere in his fight with An Zun.
‘Well, I don’t need to be necessarily concerned with just that.’
Lee Sungmin frowned and thought.
“The most comfortable thing for me would have been to attack An Zun when he leaves the Tang Family Residence and the City entirely. But honestly, I’m not confident about tracking him after he leaves.”
There was a high chance that An Zun would realize someone was tailing him if Lee Sungmin decided to wait and tail him till after the meeting with Tang Ah-Hui. Therefore, he knew he couldn’t take a passive approach.
In such a case, he had no choice but to cause a ruckus in the Main Branch of the Tang Family residence. Though he was confident in defeating An Zun and was sure that he could overwhelm him if it was a head-on confrontation, he was not in the best of settings to do so.The Tang Family and residents of the town would surely wake up to the fight between two Transcendent Masters.
But, it was okay at this point. His notoriety would increase, but he didn’t care about it anymore. However, the only thing he was worried about was creating a large enough disturbance to attract The Sword of the Wudang away from the mountain he was secluded at.
[So? Are you not going to do it then?]
‘No, I will.’
Lee Sungmin shook his head.
There was no guarantee Lee Sungmin would have another chance to kill An Zun like this.
He couldn’t afford to back out in fear when this was a slippery opponent that could back to bite him later if he didn’t root out the problem early on.
If he killed An Zun, there would only be 3 Divinities remaining within the once original 6 Divinities, excluding Musin, the strongest warrior of Beyond the Heavens.
‘As soon as possible.’
Lee Sungmin sat with his legs crossed. A few years ago, he recalled the movements of An Zun when they had fought back in Rubes.
Constant movements that concealed his appearance and served mostly as distractions to give him an edge whenever he had the chance. It would surely be rather annoying for Lee Sungmin, but he was not too worried anymore.
* * *
It had finally turned midnight.
Tang Ah-Hui, who was lying on the bed, opened her closed eyes at the sudden sound of a finger tapping against her window.
She leapt up and approached the window. As she looked outside the window, there was a trail of small stones leading away from the residence towards a tree.
The tree in the backyard was planted by Tang Ah-Hui in her childhood. Under the tree, stood her ancestor, Tang Mugi, in a dark cloak.
“You really came?”
“It’s your 31st birthday, of course I’d come.”
When Tang Ah-Hui asked with a smile, Tang Mugi, or rather An Zun, replied with a happy smile as well.
“I thought you were going to get married this year.”
“I don’t have a man that’s caught my eye yet.”
“Yeah, Don’t you dare pick out some idiot who’s a hot mess.”
An Zun warned her with a chuckle as he put his hand in his robe sleeves, giving a loving look at his great granddaughter, Tang Ah-Hui.
“I’ve been thinking a lot about what to give you this ye-.”
“Grandfather I’m sorry to interrupt, would you do me a favor rather than giving me a present? …Pleaseeeee?”
Before An Zun could take out the present he had made her. Tang Ah-Hui clung to his arm, pleading in a cute voice.
“If it’s only a single request, I’ll do it for you, little one. So, what kind of favor do you want to ask for?”
“Well, I need you to capture someone for me who will-”
It was before Tang Ah-Hui could even finish her words.
There was a huge explosion of ominous and overbearing energy that burst forth from her residence.
At the source of it all, deep purple flames of internal energy glowed ominously in the dark.