The Eldest Daughter of the Sichuan Tang Clan Protects Her Family

Chapter 20: Namgung (Part 2)

After a moment of silence, Namgung Jin smiled. “We can’t remain here indefinitely. We can’t wait for the Tang Clan’s interrogation either.”
“There’s no need for you to stay. The Sichuan branch will conduct the interrogation and share the information transparently with all Alliance members.”
Transparently.

The smile vanished from Namgung Jin’s face. His eyes, half-hidden behind slowly blinking eyelids, flickered with unspoken thoughts.
“That would be difficult.”
“Why?”

“It’s not that I don’t trust the Sichuan branch…”
“You don’t trust them.” Tang Sohwa interrupted him. “Why is that? There must be a reason.”
She added casually, as if voicing a passing thought, “Or rather… is it the Tang Clan you don’t trust?”

As if triggered by the young clan heir's silence, a sudden gust of wind swept through the clearing, the air thick with tension. The Namgung warriors subtly channeled their internal energy into their swords.
Sensing the shift in atmosphere, the Tang Clan warriors responded in kind, their hands tightening around their weapons.
Unfazed by the turbulent surge of energy, Tang Sohwa maintained her composure, her gaze fixed on Namgung Jin. He, however, remained silent.

The silence stretched, suffocating and heavy.
Then…
“Wipe that arrogant look off your face, child. I’m tired of your games.” Tang Min, covered in blood, descended between them and looked up at the much taller Namgung Jin. “…Have you grown again?” he asked, his voice laced with amusement.

Namgung Jin smiled and bowed. “Greetings, Elder.”
“Even you resort to empty pleasantries, just like the rest of the Namgungs.” Tang Min clicked his tongue, but a faint smile played on his lips. “Now, you’ve had the pleasure of speaking with the kindest member of our clan. Whatever you’ve heard, consider that our final act of mercy.”
Tang Hak couldn't hide his skepticism at Tang Min’s blatant lie.

“I shouldn't say this, but sometimes I wonder if we picked her up from the Namgung Clan by mistake. She fits right in with them. So, I’m sure you found her words quite agreeable.”
Sohwa glared at Tang Min, her eyes flashing with silent curses.
Namgung Jin, witnessing the exchange, chuckled softly. At his amusement, the Namgung warriors relaxed their stances, their internal energy receding. They had no choice but to back down.
Tang Min, the Black Heaven Dark Ghost. They had no chance of winning against him. Even if they managed to hold their own, they were in Sichuan. Once the Tang Clan reinforcements arrived, they would be annihilated.

However… Namgung Jin’s gaze settled on the young woman standing amongst the Tang warriors. She was quite different from the rumors.
“I told you to watch your eyes, child. Seems the Namgung heir is as deaf as the Namgung Clan’s future is bleak.”
Namgung Jin’s gaze returned to Tang Min. He smiled and nodded. “Very well. We’ll take the Blood Cult assassins and be on our way.”

“What?! Take the Blood Cult assassins? What nonsense are you spouting?” Tang Min exclaimed, feigning shock.
“As the young miss suggested, the Anhui branch will interrogate the Blood Cult members. We’ll leave the Divine Physician’s troupe to the Sichuan branch.”
“What?! You agreed to that?” Tang Min’s eyes widened in disbelief. Sohwa smiled sweetly. “Yes. I’m a kind and compassionate soul, just like the Namgungs, so I offered a generous proposition.”

Tang Min gaped at her, speechless. “You… you dared to… after they entered Sichuan… those bastards… you… you…!” He couldn’t take back his earlier words.
He couldn't understand why his sly, manipulative great-granddaughter was suddenly acting like this. If he had known, he would have simply knocked those Namgungs unconscious and dragged the Blood Cult members back to the Tang Clan estate himself.
Fuming, he searched for the remaining Blood Cult members, but the Namgung warriors had already secured their captives, preparing to leave.

“You… you…!” As Tang Min sputtered incoherently, Sohwa approached Yeon-a and the other members of the Divine Physician’s troupe.
“Once you’ve recovered, you’ll be coming with us.”
Having witnessed everything, the old physician couldn't refuse. He simply looked at the captured Blood Cult members with a mixture of pity and concern.

“The Anhui branch is under the Namgung Clan’s jurisdiction. They’ll be safer going with the Namgungs. They’re one of the strongest forces in the central plains.”
Seemingly accepting Sohwa’s reasoning, the old physician stood up. “Thank you.”
Tang Sohwa shook her head. “No. Don't thank me. I’m doing this for my own reasons. I have a favor to ask of you, after all.” Her gaze shifted towards the injured Black Tiger Unit warriors.

“Let’s return to the Divine Physician's troupe. We’ll leave for the Tang Clan estate as soon as they’ve recovered.”
The Black Tiger Unit warriors quickly gathered their injured comrades.
“What is this now?” Tang Min, who had been ranting about the departing Namgungs, suddenly noticed the empty wooden box on the ground and clutched his chest. Tang Hak instinctively grabbed him, supporting him.

“Elder Tang Min! Please, let’s return to the Divine Physician’s troupe first. Our warriors are dying!”
“You go ahead. No, let go of me! Those Namgung bastards stole all my Yeonjuhwan!”
“Th-that’s not…”

Tang Sohwa discreetly signaled to the deputy leader, who, feigning ignorance, quickly scooped up the old physician and, using a movement technique, sped towards the Divine Physician’s troupe’s sanctuary. Sohwa followed close behind.
Tang Min’s furious roars echoed through the mountains, but, as if by prior agreement, they ignored him and continued their ascent.

* * *
 
The descent from Mount Emei was shrouded in an eerie silence. The Namgung Clan warriors were unusually quiet, no one daring to speak. Their young master, his face grim, his eyes distant and unfocused, walked at the head of the group, lost in thought. His uncle, sensing his displeasure, cautiously quickened his pace, trying to catch his attention, but Namgung Jin ignored him.

“She’s quite different from the rumors.”
“Indeed.” Though brief, Namgung Jin’s response was immediate. He had been thinking the same thing.
The rumors about the Tang Clan were wrong.

Tang Sohwa.
She had never appeared at the Clan Alliance meetings, and he hadn’t seen her during his visits to the Tang Clan estate. However, as the eldest daughter of the Clan Head, rumors about her were rampant.
The daughter of a servant, yet a direct descendant of the Tang Clan Head. The young master had caused quite a stir when he insisted on marrying a servant girl, even threatening to relinquish his position as heir. But less than a year after his outburst, the servant girl had died in a fire. Everyone suspected the Clan Head’s involvement, especially since he had acknowledged the servant girl's child as the young master's legitimate heir. It was an act difficult to interpret as anything other than guilt.

Even after the young master became the Clan Head, his eldest daughter remained hidden, fueling further speculation. That she was treated as an outcast despite her status, that she was confined at the behest of the Council of Elders, that she had been disfigured in the fire that killed her mother…
Though the rumors varied, the underlying message was always the same: Tang Sohwa was powerless.
Namgung Jin’s head tilted slightly. He recalled the image of the timid Tang Hak, his eyes blazing with defiance as he confronted him. The Tang Clan warriors, ready to lay down their lives to protect her. And the look exchanged between her and Black Heaven Dark Ghost… He couldn’t help but chuckle.

A powerless outcast? Hardly.
This was strange. How had such rumors spread? Had the Tang Clan deliberately disseminated misinformation to conceal her? Or had someone within the Namgung Clan distorted the information?
Either way, someone was actively trying to manipulate his perception of the Tang Clan.

“We need to change our informants,” his uncle said quietly, as if reading his thoughts. Namgung Jin nodded in agreement.
Whether the Tang Clan had intentionally spread false rumors to conceal Tang Sohwa or someone within the Namgung Clan had misled him, it was a problem.
They had tried to deceive him.

And he had been deceived.
His thoughts returned to Tang Sohwa. He was curious about the true reason behind her hidden status.
Lost in thought, he suddenly remembered something and issued a belated order. “Tell Hyeon to descend the mountain immediately.”

“Yes. We received a message from him a quarter of an hour ago. He found the entrance to the formation, but the Emei Sect had already arrived, and the remaining Blood Cult members were all dead.” His uncle hesitated, then added, “But the atmosphere at the Emei Sect is… tense. We’re expecting a formal complaint through the Sichuan branch…”
Namgung Jin sighed. It seemed he had a lot to deal with. He assessed the upcoming challenges and set off towards Anhui, quickening his pace.