CHAPTER 17

"Run away, Young Lord!"

Dangon found it both easy and difficult to understand Unhui.

"Does he really not care? That was practically an evaluation of him!"

Dang Gujin was too kind.

On the other hand, Dang Yuchang was consumed by ambition and full of pride.

Because of this, Dang Gujin couldn't withstand the pressure of being judged, while Dang Yuchang always found it unpleasant.

No, it wasn't just unpleasant—

He would even lash out in anger.

As if every member of the Kowloon Branch Family was naturally supposed to follow him.

Even when Dangon refused to support him, he didn't try to persuade him—he simply reacted with displeasure.

Rather than proving himself with his own abilities, he sought validation through his inherited status. That alone was enough to anger Dangon.

But Unhui was the complete opposite.

He accepted evaluations as a given.

No, to be precise, he acted as if they didn't matter to him at all.

Look at him now.

Even after hearing that Dang Tae and Dang Jin had left, he didn't seem to care in the slightest.

At first, Dangon thought he might be pretending out of pride, but after observing him closely, he realized—this wasn't an act.

A confidence that no one could help but follow him.

An unshakable belief that no matter what happened, he would always receive a perfect score.

"…Could it be that the one truly evaluating us here was not us, but Young Lord Unhui?"

Even while he was engaged in consecutive duels with Dang Yuchang and Dang Gujin, Unhui had been watching them.

Though he might not have heard their conversations amidst the roaring cheers, he could have observed their expressions and actions.

If he had assessed Dang Tae and Dang Jin at that moment—

And if that assessment had led him to believe they would inevitably follow him—

Then his attitude suddenly made perfect sense.

And—

Dangon knew.

That kind of composure wasn't something just anyone could have.

Only those who had placed others beneath them and commanded them as mere extensions of their will could possess such a presence.

Dang Hosan.

And the Dark Lord.

Why did those two faces suddenly come to mind?

"Aaaah! Aaargh!"

"M-My lord! Please calm yourself—"

"Shut up! Get out of my sight, all of you!!"

"Kyaaah!"

The Red Pavilion was in utter chaos.

After losing to Unhui in their duel, Dang Yuchang had gone berserk, screaming like a madman and taking his fury out on everything around him.

Furniture and decorations were shattered, while maids and servants ran for their lives in terror.

"Unhui! Unhuuiii! I'll kill you! I swear I'll kill you!!"

Dang Yuchang still couldn't forget the way Dang Hosan had looked at him in the training ground.

Emotionless.

A gaze as if he were merely looking at a rock lying on the ground.

He knew exactly what that look meant.

It was the same look his father gave whenever he looked at his illegitimate son.

This couldn't continue.

He was destined to surpass the Kowloon Branch Family and become the head of the Sichuan Tang Clan.

There was no way he could allow himself to remain defeated by that lowborn wretch.

"…Sorcery! Yes, it must be sorcery! There's no other way that bastard could have beaten me! It doesn't make any sense otherwise!"

Dang Yuchang chewed on his fingernails until they bled, then suddenly, his expression brightened as if he had uncovered a great secret.

"The ones backing him must have used some vile sorcery on him. That's how he was able to fight my sister on equal terms. To think he would dare try to deceive so many of our clan members right before our eyes! Filthy lowborn scum will always be the same!"

He racked his brain, trying to figure out how he could strip Unhui of his false power and regain his father's attention.

Time was running out.

The Dark Lord's visit was less than a month away.

"I must send word to Mother."

Namgung Sanyoung was currently away from the manor on some business.

He had tried not to worry her unnecessarily, but now wasn't the time for such concerns.

He quickly rang the bell to summon a maid.

Meanwhile.

"Where the hell am I?"

The Grand Spider clung tightly to Namgung Sanyoung's carriage as it raced for two whole days, finally arriving at a forest on the outskirts of Kowloon County.

"Damn it, I can't go too far…!"

Bound by the Golden Shackles, the specter could never stray too far from its master.

If it did, the soul link would break, leading to its complete annihilation.

Just as the Grand Spider debated whether to turn back, the carriage finally stopped.

A decrepit shrine lay deep in the forest.

It was a miracle it was still standing.

Yet Namgung Sanyoung stepped out as if she were entirely familiar with the place, adjusting her robes.

"Wait here."

"Understood."

The escort she had brought from the Namgung Clan stood guard outside, while the shrine's main door creaked open.

"The High Priest is expecting you inside."

"How curious. I hadn't even sent word ahead this time."

"The High Priest always sees a thousand miles ahead and a thousand days into the future. He knew you would come and sent me to receive you."

"Hohoho, well, with such divine foresight, how could I not keep seeking his counsel?"

The one who opened the door was a pale-faced young boy, his complexion as lifeless as a corpse.

A crimson character glowed ominously on his forehead.

"A Jiangshi! And a high-level one at that!"

The Grand Spider was stunned.

Unlike ordinary undead, High Jiangshi retained their memories and reasoning abilities from life.

They were incredibly difficult to create, so even skilled necromancers rarely attempted to craft them.

Yet here they were, being used as mere attendants.

"What kind of place is this…?"

A foreboding sense of danger filled the air.

But the Grand Spider hesitated.

Even the information he had gathered so far would surely please the Young Lord.

But that would be it.

It wouldn't be enough for the Golden Shackles to be broken.

"If I can just figure out who these people really are…!"

He decided to take the risk.

If he could obtain more intel, he could win a much greater reward.

After all, he had once been an elder of the Heavenly Demon Cult.

Even if his current state was wretched, he couldn't allow himself to fear something like this.

Moving with practiced stealth, he followed Namgung Sanyoung and the boy at a safe distance.

At the heart of the shrine, an eerie chamber awaited them.

A middle-aged man with sunken eyes and wild, unkempt hair shook bells furiously, chanting.

"Grant me greater divination. Bestow upon me clearer sight. I humbly beseech thee—"

"I greet the High Priest."

Namgung Sanyoung bowed respectfully, and the man abruptly stopped ringing his bells.

"You've come because something is troubling you again!"

And so, the Grand Spider found himself staring at a horrifying revelation—one that would shake the very foundation of the Young Lord's world.