CHAPTER 10

Dang Yuchang

Dang Yuchang had just completed his closed-door training, yet the recent events unfolding before him were nothing short of displeasing.

"Still no noticeable reaction?"

"T-that is correct."

"You're sure he hasn't been skipping the decoction?"

His sharp gaze pierced the heart of the woman before him.

Pale-faced, she immediately dropped to the floor, bowing deeply.

She was the maid responsible for delivering medicinal decoctions to Unhui every day.

"H-how could I ever dare to lie about something so crucial!"

"Hmm."

"It is the truth! You can summon the other maids to verify it!"

Dang Yuchang stared at the woman for a long moment before dismissing her.

"Fine. You may leave now."

"Y-yes...!"

Still trembling, the maid barely managed to leave the hall without collapsing. It was a wonder she hadn't tripped over herself.

"Muyeong."

"Your command."

A quiet voice responded from the ceiling.

"Dispose of her."

"An accident?"

"Frame it as a simple disappearance. Her family was in shambles anyway, wasn't it?"

"Understood."

Ssshh.

The presence in the ceiling vanished.

In just a few days, the woman would stop showing up at the manor, and her absence would be reported as a simple case of a runaway.

That would sever any remaining ties between her and the vermilion poison. A clean cut.

"Something is off. Way too off."

Tap, tap—

Dang Yuchang drummed his index finger against the table, deep in thought.

It had been ten days since Unhui ingested the vermilion poison.

By now, symptoms should have started manifesting, yet there were none.

That was impossible unless he had somehow neutralized the poison.

"That means Unhui's backer is far more capable than I anticipated."

He had planned to brainwash Unhui into obedience, but now, a major wrench had been thrown into his scheme.

It seemed he had underestimated this mysterious force. A complete reevaluation was in order.

And Unhui wasn't his only concern.

"He seems to be on good terms with Dang Gon as well."

The spies stationed in Baekseok Hall had reported that Dang Gon was surprisingly content with his current life in the martial arts division.

"Even my sister insists on protecting that bastard."

Clicking his tongue, he recalled a recent argument between his mother and sister.

Since then, the two had been locked in a cold war.

"This is such a headache. Every trap I've set for that bastard keeps missing its mark."

Was it pure luck, or was his backer simply that competent?

Every aspect of this situation frustrated him.

"At times like this, my sister should be stepping forward. How can she be so naïve? Has she been isolated in the mountains for so long that she's forgotten how the real world works?"

By the time Dang Gyu-jin turned thirty, she was supposed to leave Cheongseong Mountain and take her rightful place in the Guryong Branch Family.

But in Dang Yuchang's eyes, she was nowhere near ready for that role.

Her martial arts skills might be exceptional—even among post-peak masters—but leading a family required an entirely different kind of talent.

"She's too soft. How can someone like that lead this grand estate? Let alone turn the Guryong Branch into the main family!"

There was only one person truly fit to inherit the Shadow Lord's legacy.

"Me."

Dang Yuchang curled his lips into a twisted smile.

Until now, he had taken a step back for his sister's sake. But no longer. It was time to ignite his ambition in earnest.

He alone had the vision to lead the Sichuan Dang Clan into a new golden era.

And soon, he would prove it.

He would crush that bastard underfoot, become the Shadow Lord's disciple, and even bring his sister under his control.

With the hidden support of the Namgung Clan, his maternal family, it wasn't just possible—it was inevitable.

"Young Master, a messenger from Baekseok Hall has arrived."

Dang Yuchang had just begun reorganizing his plans regarding Unhui when a servant's voice came from outside.

"Baekseok Hall?"

That meant Unhui had sent them.

The bastard himself wouldn't dare initiate something like this, so was his backer finally revealing themselves?

"What is the message?"

"They have delivered a letter."

"A letter? Bring it here."

As soon as Dang Yuchang received the letter, his brows furrowed.

—Let's have a spar, you little shit.

The phrase scrawled on the envelope made his eye twitch.

"…How crude."

Suppressing his irritation, he peeled off the wax seal and carefully examined the letter.

Was this an attempt to provoke him into opening the letter hastily and inhale some concealed poison?

But no, there were no hidden tricks inside.

The contents were simple.

Unhui claimed that, as brothers, they had never really interacted properly.

He suggested they resolve any lingering grievances through a martial duel.

"Hah. He's scrambling for his life."

Dang Yuchang scoffed.

This confirmed his suspicions.

The reason Unhui had managed to avoid his traps so far had been nothing more than luck.

The net was tightening, and Unhui could feel it.

Now, he was desperately reaching out—either trying to plead for mercy himself or on behalf of his backer.

"Tell them I acknowledge the letter but decline the offer."

He didn't even bother writing a reply, simply dismissing the messenger.

Yet, just half an hour later, another letter arrived.

—Scared?

"…From now on, don't even let their people set foot inside!"

Dang Yuchang barely contained his fury at being mocked by a mere illegitimate son.

But when he stepped outside his quarters—

—Scared?

Those same words were plastered across the outer wall in giant letters.

"Tomorrow at noon! Second training grounds! Make sure he hears this! I'll shove his head into a damn latrine!"

The news that Dang Yuchang had accepted the duel spread to Baekseok Hall immediately.

"Tsk. Why play hard to get when you were going to agree anyway?"

I chuckled to myself while the spectral figures around me shook their heads.

「Foolish child. Even the high monks of Shaolin would falter against your provocation techniques.」

「No matter how composed he pretends to be, that level of insult was bound to get a reaction.」

「Now he'll get publicly humiliated in front of everyone.」

Their words carried the tone of those who had once suffered the same fate.

「Still, he fell for it faster than expected.」

"The Dang family is one of the proudest bloodlines in the martial world."

Being masters of poison and hidden weapons often invited disdain from the orthodox factions, branding them as dishonorable.

To reach their current status, the Dang Clan had endured tremendous hardship and discrimination.

That only made them more tight-knit and fiercely prideful.

"There's no way he could ignore a provocation like that."

And once I beat Dang Yuchang, my influence within the branch family would rise dramatically.

Not to mention, it would open the path to Guangfeng Hall.

My recommendation had already been sent to the Shadow Lord.

Soon enough, Namgung Sanyeong would realize he had no way of retracting it.

「How do you even think of these things?」

"Because I went through the exact same situation when I first became my master's disciple."

A nostalgic smirk crossed my lips.

"The little bastard from Black Bone Ghost Valley kept provoking me the same way."

And when I finally responded…

Black Bone Ghost Valley had never recovered.

「…That poor kid. He's doomed.」

Indeed.