Tangmunjeon - Chapter 335



Only Noblemtl

Chapter 335 of the Tang Gate Chronicles: The Poisonous Emperor and the Myungryeon Chronicles turned away without even entering the Tang Hall, but Tang Wujin felt uneasy just because the Jeongma Battle was mentioned.

Of course, as the Emperor had said, the Great Battle of Jeongma will not break out right away.

Although the Jeongpa martial arts world has been in chaos for a while and is now in a state of crisis, it will take at least several months before a meeting is held to discuss future measures.

That’s not the end. Even if you’re lucky enough to finish the meeting without a hitch, it will take several months to gather the members after sending the news to each sect and Sega’s headquarters.

If you waste time doing this and that, it will take at least a year before you can head to the Demonic Cult.

‘One year···.’

When we talk about a year, it usually feels like a generous period of time.

However, Dang Mu-jin knew very well that it was not a long period of time. He had just returned from dealing with various matters with his friends, and a year had passed by in a flash. Wasn’t it only recently that he had received a secret glare?

‘There’s not much time. We need to prepare for something and not dawdle.’

Dang Mu-jin walked around the inside of the Danggajang with a frown on his face and a feeling of excitement.

Then, not long after, someone approached me hesitantly. It was Jang Il-nam.

Jang Il-nam began to speak in a cautious tone.

“···Are you really angry?”

“yes?”

When Dang Mu-jin asked again, Jang Il-nam mumbled and answered.

“Did I speak too harshly earlier? There’s no set way for a father to play with his daughter. Besides, if you were alone, it wouldn’t be dangerous if you touched Bi-ryun a little while ago. I was short-sighted. I’m sorry.”

Why was he speaking so strongly? It seems that the matter was really bothering him. Dang Mu-jin waved his hand.

“No. A wheel is not usually a dangerous thing. I acted recklessly, so you deserved to be harsh on me. I am not offended by such things.”

Even though Dang Mu-jin said that, Jang Il-nam still looked uneasy.

“It’s okay to say you’re upset when you’re upset. It’s my fault after all…”

“That’s not true at all.”

“But, your expression looks complicated…”

Only then did Dang Mu-jin realize that he had been frowning the whole time. Dang Mu-jin spoke, smoothing out the wrinkles between his eyebrows.

“It wasn’t because of that. I was just a little nervous because of what I heard from Hwangnyeongja and Myeongryeonsaetae just now.”

“The Emperor? If that friend came to see you in person, it must have been a serious matter, right?”

In Dangmujin’s experience, it is better to confide in someone you trust and talk about this and that rather than suffering alone over serious issues.

And since Sam-an-bul is not staying at Dangga-jang at the moment, the person most suitable to seek advice on this topic is definitely Jang Il-nam.

“Yes. Actually···.”

Dang Mu-jin relayed to Jang Il-nam the brief conversation they had just had outside the gate.

Dang Mu-jin thought that Jang Il-nam would give him advice on ‘how to prepare for the upcoming Jeongma War.’

But the story that Jang Il-nam told was quite different from what Dang Mu-jin had expected.

“Do I really have to participate in that Jeongma War?”

“yes?”

“Haven’t you done enough?”

When Dang Mu-jin did not immediately understand the meaning of the story, Jang Il-nam continued the story.

“You, it was only a few days ago that you returned from wandering all over the Central Plains, suffering so much. If you were to step back a little this time, who would be able to criticize you and gossip about it?”

Jang Il-nam’s question contained complex emotions.

A heart that cherishes the benefactor, Dang Mu-jin.

And again, the sadness towards the three children who have to feel the void left by their father.

Concerns for Dan Seol-yeong and Mok Wan-ah, who have to live in fear as they send their husbands to a dangerous foreign land.

Sending my son to an uncomfortable place and worrying about Dangjeseon not being able to sleep comfortably.

Jang Il-nam was a cruel person. Unlike other martial artists who would not avoid an approaching fight, he was someone who avoided fights that could be avoided and believed that running away was the right thing to do.

In a way, the advice to avoid the Jeongma War if possible is the most typical of his advice. Establishing a specialty and making a name for himself was not a very important matter to him.

“I heard the story of the past journey from Hyungong Awoo.”

“Is that so?”

“Do you know that there is a big difference between you and the other people who fought in the Battle of Jeongsa?”

“What are you talking about?”

“Others went to the battlefield because their sects and families were in danger. But the Tang family was not in much danger. There was no vested interest at stake. But you went to fight for those who were in greater danger.”

It was clear that Hyungong had been secretly showing off his past actions and feeling proud.

But as is often the case with Hyun-gong’s stories, it was not terribly far from the truth.

Jang Il-nam continued his story slowly.

“It wasn’t just a single fight. He fought alongside the Taoists, including the Gongdongpa and Jongnampa, and he even took up swords alongside the Shaolin monks and the Gaebongdo.”

“you’re right.”

“It must have been a life-threatening fight. No matter how talented you and your friends are, you wouldn’t have been able to train comfortably and step onto the path to supremacy.”

“Of course it wasn’t an easy fight. But-”

Just as Dang Mu-jin was about to speak, Jang Il-nam slowly shook his head and cut off Dang Mu-jin’s story.

“But let’s look back at the past. You were the first to report the movements of the Demonic Cult, and you were the one who realized that the Demonic Cult was involved in this Great War. You have already done more than enough in the role given to you. Even after the Great War of the Demonic Cult ends, no one will appear who has contributed more than you.”

Jang Il-nam seemed to think that Dang Mu-jin took the risk with a special sense of mission.

But none of that was intentional on Dang Mu-jin’s part. He didn’t rush in with a particularly righteous mind. He just moved around as he pleased, and that’s how it turned out.

Of course, Dang Mu-jin didn’t bother to bring that up. Sometimes it’s better to keep quiet.

Actually, I felt secretly good. It was a situation where I was being praised while reminiscing about past events.

As Dang Mu-jin remained silent without saying anything, Jang Il-nam continued talking, raising his voice slightly.

“But what have those who have helped you done for you? At most, they have said a few words of thanks. Now it is time for you to take care of your own interests. No, in fact, I think it would be better for you to step back safely without taking care of your own interests.”

“How could I? We are people who have already formed a relationship. And I am too young to back out.”

“No, you have to do that. Take care of your family, take care of yourself. I assure you, no one has the right to gossip about you. I’ll punish anyone who does. Seriously.”

It was a strange story. It was also a pretty true story.

But Dang Mu-jin was certain of one thing. He was certain that this Jeongma War would not end easily.

Furthermore, I am confident that the aftermath of the Battle of Jeongma will not only harm the Tang family.

Even if they take a step back as Jang Il-nam wishes, Dang Ga-jang and Dang Mu-jin will not be able to avoid the storm. That is what it means to be too deeply entangled in the affairs of the martial arts world.

In the end, returning to the starting point, there was only one conclusion that Dang Mu-jin could come to.

Preparing for the upcoming Great Battle of Jeongma.

The party leader said.

“I wish it could be so. But misfortune is something that cannot be easily avoided, so it is called misfortune.”

It may seem like they have the power to decide, but in reality, it is something they cannot decide on their own. As has been the case with countless other things the party has experienced so far.

Jang Il-nam couldn’t hide his regret.

*

While talking to Jang Il-nam, his thoughts began to sort themselves out, and several things he had to do began to pop up in Dang Mu-jin’s head.

The first thing that comes to mind is that we need to teach the members of the National Assembly the art of poisoning.

‘For those who can learn the art of reading, teach them how to read, and for those who are not talented in reading or are too old, teach them how to read without reading.’

The party leaders had a lot to take care of, but the party leaders themselves also had a lot to do.

Dang Mu-jin was very unhappy with the current situation where he was lagging behind his friends by a small amount… no, just a little bit.

‘I also need to break through the wall of extremes as soon as possible. That way, I can escape the situation where the three of them are taking turns meddling.’

There are two choices given to Dang Mu-jin: dark technique and solo.

The dark technique is steadily gaining achievements, and the four wheels can be used, so there is no rush right now. In that case, what the party members should focus on now is the solo exercise.

And the power of a poison attack is determined by the level of poison that can be used.

Dang Mu-jin went to see Dan Seol-yeong and asked.

“Seol-yeong-ah. I’d like to get some poisonous herbs and poisonous substances. How much spare money do you have?”

I feel like a bad husband who extorts money from his wife.

Danseolyoung answered.

“Poison? Have you been to Wan-ah?”

“Why Wan-ah?”

“Wan-ah has collected a lot of poisons of all kinds.”

“What I need isn’t just some ordinary poisonous plant. I’m trying to find something a little special.”

Danseolyeong brought up a story that Dangmujin had not been able to tell.

“That’s why I’m telling you to go see Wan-ah. Wan-ah has a lot of poison from the Western Regions.”

“···Poison from the West? How did you get that?”

“These days, Western merchants come to Tanggajang to sell poison. Didn’t you know?”

Tang Wujin recalled how many Western merchants he had seen on his way into the city. Thinking back, it was a bit strange.

Eight or nine out of ten routes taken by Western merchants are the same.

They enter the Central Plains through the north or the vicinity of Tianshan, trade through Luoyang and Chang’an, and finally pack up their belongings in Wuchang. Most of the goods to be taken back to the Western Regions are also procured in Wuchang.

However, some merchants who spare no effort take ships from Wuchang to Sichuan Province to purchase silk. The silk from Sichuan Province is called Shu Jin (蜀錦), and is of the highest quality in the entire Central Plains.

Of course, since Tang Jia Jang did not make silk, he had no particular contact with Western merchants.

Furthermore, I could not understand why Western merchants brought poison to Tangjia Market and sold it.

When Dang Mu-jin made a puzzled expression, Dan Seol-yeong continued her explanation.

“Did you know that porters from the Western Regions would pick up simple medicines and exotic plants along the way to make extra money?”

Of course, this was a story that Dang Mu-jin did not know.

“···Let’s say it’s a medicinal herb, but why grass?”

“If you get hold of an elixir, you can earn enough money to live off of for the rest of your life. The merchants and porters of the West don’t know how to differentiate between elixirs, so if something looks strange or different, they just take it.”

“If I were a merchant, I wouldn’t let the porters collect junk. It gets in the way of my work.”

“If you allow that, I guess you can pay the porter a little less. It’s not that big or heavy, so they’ll turn a blind eye to it a little.”

It was quite an interesting story. Danseolyeong continued the story.

“Anyway, among the herbs and grass clippings that we collected, the good ones were disposed of at Muchang, and the unsellable ones were just thrown away. However, some porters did not throw away the grass clippings and held on until they reached Seongdo.

Among those things, I bought a few poisonous plants that Wan-ah said looked good, and recently, the number of people bringing poisonous plants to Seongdo has increased considerably. There are even people who only go back and forth between Wuchang and Seongdo.”

Poisonous herbs are extremely rare to find. The herbalists in Wuchang also buy medicines and herbs, but they do not purchase poisonous herbs.

However, Mokwan-ah is one of the few people who is interested in poisonous plants.

When merchants from the Western Regions came to Sichuan Province to purchase silk, it was only natural that the porters came to Tangjiazhuang, thinking that they would lose nothing if they did not do anything.

Dang Mu-jin’s heart swelled with secret anticipation.

Mokwan-ah is superior to Dangmujin in terms of sense and tolerance to poison. If it is a poison that Mokwan-ah has carefully selected, it is definitely not an ordinary poison.

Dang Mu-jin went straight to find Mok Wan-ah.

“Wan-ah. I heard you collected poisons from the Western Regions. Can I see it?”

“of course!”

Mokwan-ah took Dangmujin to a small warehouse attached to the annex.

The amount of poisonous herbs stored in the warehouse was not particularly large, but they were all unfamiliar things that even Dang Mujin had never seen before. And when it comes to medicinal herbs and poisonous herbs, quality and rarity are more important than quantity.

Mokwan-ah chattered excitedly, like a child showing off a precious treasure.

“This plant has a pretty strong poison in its roots. It’s a poison that makes your limbs stiff and makes you short of breath. If you collect the seeds and plant them, they say that flowers will bloom in the summer, but if you leave those flowers alone until the beginning of winter, the petals will turn black and dry up. They say that the poison in those dried petals is much stronger than the poison in the roots. I plan to plant them when spring comes.”

“The seeds of this fruit have the property of allowing other poisons to mix well together. It allows poisons that cannot be used together to be used together. However, the poison is slightly weakened, but if handled well, I think it will produce good results.”

“This frog’s mucus contains poison, and in India, they even put the frog’s poison on arrows and use it when hunting.”

Dang Mu-jin touched, smelled, and occasionally tasted the poisons that Mok Wan-ah had explained to him. Mok Wan-ah didn’t find Dang Mu-jin’s behavior particularly strange.

As Mokwan-ah explained the nearly twenty types of poison, something caught Dangmujin’s eye.

In the corner of the warehouse was an object that resembled a pig’s urine sack.

However, it was less than half the size of a pig’s urine bag, and its color had turned black and its exterior was completely dry. Furthermore, it was the only thing that Mokwan-ah had not explained to him.

Dang Mu-jin pointed to an object that resembled a pig’s urine bag.

“What is that?”

“A porter from the West came here from the Pasa region, and saw a dead spider bigger than a man. He said it had a face that looked just like a man… Anyway, he thought it would be worth some money, so he tore this off the spider’s body.”

Dangmujin was not unfamiliar with poisonous spiders. However, when I thought about whether something like that existed inside a spider’s body, nothing came to mind.

But after thinking about it carefully, something resembling pig urine came to mind.

“Is that a poison sac?”

“I think so. But it was so poisonous that I couldn’t even touch it.”

Even if the spider were big, its venom sac would only be the size of the tip of a fingernail. However, that venom sac was dozens or hundreds of times bigger than that. It seems that the story that it was a spider bigger than a person was not a lie.

“It must have been expensive.”

“It wasn’t as expensive as I thought. The owner of the store really hated that poison sac, and threatened to kick me out of the store if I didn’t throw it away right away.”

“Hmm.”

It was a very interesting story.

A spider that’s bigger than a person and has a face that looks like a person. No matter how you think about it, it’s a spirit.

As Dang Mu-jin strode towards the spider’s venom sac, Mok Wan-ah was startled and grabbed Dang Mu-jin’s sleeve.

“It’s dangerous if you touch that!”

“It’s okay. You know I’m used to poison too.”

Dang Mu-jin touched the surface of the poison pouch. As expected, there was no poison felt on the surface of the poison pouch.

Then, Dang Mu-jin untied the string that had been tightly tied around the entrance of the poison bag. Mok Wan-ah muttered anxiously.

“It’s really dangerous…”

“It’s okay. You know who I am, right? I’m Dang Mu-jin.”

After answering confidently, Dang Mu-jin placed the opening of the poison pouch around his nose and took a deep breath.

And it took two days for me to come to my senses.