“I was actually thinking of spending some time with Jo-ung too.”
Then… I should honor Jo-ung’s wish.
I gladly accepted.
“Thank you for saying that.”
At that moment.
“My lady! Something terrible has happened!”
A frantic voice came from outside.
Then the door burst open.
It was Lady Tang Su-bin’s maid.
Her expression alone showed how urgent it was.
Lady Tang Su-bin asked with a tense face.
“What’s happened?”
“They’re holding a Punishment Assembly right now!”
.
.
.
The Punishment Assembly.
It’s held when someone must be punished according to the Tang Clan’s internal laws.
It’s where the accused is allowed to defend themselves, and then a punishment fitting the crime is determined.
“I can’t believe it! How could the eldest and second young masters be accused of leaking clan poison?!”
Lady Tang Su-bin was visibly shaken.
I was just as baffled.
It wasn’t enough for the Tang Clan to be branded as part of the Unorthodox Sect just because their poison leaked externally.
They’d need at least another incident or two like the Thorn Gate Sect plague or the Mountain Air Poison from Jin-ho’s Deputy Merchant Lord inauguration for that to happen.
But… they’re pushing this now?
Hmm…
Now that I think about it… both poisons were indeed incredibly dangerous if released widely.
The Thorn Gate Sect’s plague only stopped thanks to the medicine provided by the Ragged Sage Physician and me. If not, the entire Murim would’ve been in chaos.
The same goes for the Mountain Air Poison.
Thinking about it… both poisons weren’t designed to harm civilians but were terrifying weapons specifically against martial artists.
Yeah… this might be enough.
Frankly, terms like Unorthodox or Orthodox are only meaningful among martial artists.
To civilians, whether someone belongs to the Unorthodox Sect or the Orthodox Sect… they’re all dangerous people with weapons.
“Um… Lady Tang.”
“Yes, Benefactor.”
“Isn’t the Punishment Assembly a clan affair? Would it be alright for an outsider like me to attend?”
“That’s not a problem. You have a special identification token. As long as the Camellia Council doesn’t unanimously vote to restrict it, you can attend.”
“What’s the Camellia Council?”
“It’s a council that handles major decisions within the Tang Clan. It includes the Grand Clan Lord, the current Clan Lord, and the heads of each hall and division.”
So it’s like the Eunwol Council in the Eunhae Merchant Group.
At that moment… I realized why Deputy Commander Tang Yeon-chil was so desperate to push this forward.
It’s because of me.
I’m an outsider.
But I’m trusted by the Emperor, a rapidly rising Deputy Merchant Lord of the Eunhae Merchant Group, and treated as a benefactor of the Tang Clan.
With someone like me watching… would it really be possible to bury something this huge?
Which means the Tang Clan has no choice but to punish the guilty.
Even if it means delivering severe punishment.
Since I’m scheduled to leave tomorrow or the day after… they had to rush it.
Deputy Commander Tang Yeon-chil is determined to remove the eldest and second young masters from the Clan Lord candidacy.
Soon, we arrived at the Punishment Assembly.
It was being held at the southern training ground of the Martial Affairs Grounds.
The same place where I watched the Crimson Camellia Division’s open training yesterday.
The seating was already filled with countless people, and more were still arriving.
“This way.”
Lady Tang Su-bin led me toward the front, giving me a close view of the Punishment Assembly.
In the center of the training ground, there was a table with chairs set up.
Twelve people were seated there.
The Clan Lord and Commander Tang Dae-jeong were among them.
Something felt off.
“Why isn’t the Grand Clan Lord present?”
“Grandfather’s currently away traveling. But… honestly, no one knows where or what he’s doing.”
Just then… someone knocked on the table.
Tap tap tap!
A signal to pay attention.
I looked forward. Clan Lord Tang Gyu-jeong was speaking to the crowd.
“This morning, a Punishment Assembly was requested. Anyone with the Tang surname may request one. Therefore, we are convening this assembly.”
“…”
“The one who requested it, step forward.”
A murmur spread through the crowd.
Then someone stepped forward.
It was someone I’d never seen before.
“I’m the one who requested the assembly.”
“State your name and affiliation.”
“My name is Tang In. I’m a Squad Leader of the Tiger’s Stride Unit.”
At those words, the Clan Lord glanced at a paper in his hand and nodded. It must’ve been the formal request for the assembly.
“What’s your reason for requesting it?”
“I am here to accuse First Young Master Tang Gu-bok, Deputy Hall Lord of the Life Research Hall.”
A shocked gasp erupted from the crowd.
The entire place buzzed like a beehive.
Tap tap tap!
“Silence!”
The crowd immediately quieted down.
“Squad Leader Tang In, continue.”
“Yes.”
“And I also accuse Second Young Master Tang Jin-su, Hall Lord of the Poison Flower Hall.”
I looked toward the eldest and second young masters.
They looked completely stunned.
Of course… they never imagined they’d be the targets of a Punishment Assembly.
Lady Tang Su-bin next to me also wore an utterly flustered expression.
So the accusations are revealed here on the spot?
It must be to prevent the accused from having time to destroy evidence.
I glanced at Deputy Commander Tang Yeon-chil.
He was pretending to be surprised… but there’s no fooling me.
It’s obvious.
He’s put someone else out front to do the accusing.
No matter how serious the crime, it would look terrible for a direct sibling to file the charges himself.
“The accused, First and Second Young Masters, step forward.”
At the Clan Lord’s command, both stepped forward with no choice and sat in the prepared seats.
Squad Leader Tang In began explaining his accusations.
“Several months ago, I witnessed the two young masters meeting together. They were discussing how the world must fear the Tang Clan in order to maintain our prestige.”
“What?!”
“T-That never happened!”
As the two young masters protested, the Clan Lord snapped.
“Silence.”
“…”
“Continue, accuser.”
“Yes.”
Squad Leader Tang In continued.
“I couldn’t believe my ears. But I trusted that the future pillars of the Tang Clan would eventually find the right path, so I withdrew. Unfortunately… that was my mistake.”
“…”
“Later, while on duty, I witnessed them meeting again. This time, they openly discussed spreading the clan’s poison to make the world fear the Tang Clan. They even laid out a concrete plan.”
Smooth talker, isn’t he?
Squad Leader Tang In accused the First Young Master of being involved with the poison used in the Thorn Gate Sect plague, and the Second Young Master with the Mountain Air Poison that had been spreading recently.
“Do the First and Second Young Masters have anything to say in response?”
“This is unjust.”
“We’ve never done anything so terrible.”
The Clan Lord turned his head and asked.
“Squad Leader Tang In, do you have evidence to support your claim?”
“I do!”
“…!”
The entire hall fell silent at those words.
“I witnessed both young masters hiding materials that could serve as evidence.”
“Where did they hide them?”
“The First Young Master hid his in the Venom-Horned Serpent’s enclosure. The Second Young Master hid his under the roof of the Poison Flower Hall.”
Huh?
The evidence from both those places… is in my pocket right now.
I swapped them out with something else though.
Good thing I acted last night.
If I hadn’t, this would’ve been a real problem.
Soon after… two bundles were brought before them.
The escorts from the Punishment Hall had retrieved them.
“These were found at the locations Squad Leader Tang In mentioned.”
“They were hidden in places that would’ve been difficult to locate without knowing the exact spot.”
“Especially the Venom-Horned Serpent’s enclosure, which we cannot enter without the beast handler’s assistance.”
“Well done.”
The Clan Lord asked Tang In.
“Are these the items you saw?”
“Yes. Without a doubt.”
Tang In nodded confidently.
The two young masters protested.
“We don’t know anything about those.”
“We’ve never seen them before either.”
The Clan Lord ordered the escorts.
“Open the bundles.”
The escorts untied the bundles… and inside each one was a book.
“Bring them here.”
At that command, a few members of the Camellia Council interrupted.
“Clan Lord, pardon the intrusion, but we would like to examine those first.”
“Are you doubting me now?”
“It’s because the accused are your sons. We expect others might question the fairness of this assembly.”
“…”
The Clan Lord nodded and stepped back.
“Very well.”
“The First and Second Young Masters, as well as Squad Leader Tang In, step aside.”
At that, the three stepped back from their seats.
Nearly half of the Camellia Council members also stepped aside.
The escorts handed the books to the remaining members.
Then… their faces started turning red.
Naturally.
Because those books… were erotic picture scrolls.
They were mixed into my belongings back when I bought books in Beijing.
I had given the bookstore a list of the books I wanted, but somehow… two erotic art collections got slipped into my order.
It was obviously a mistake.
I meant to return them, so I kept them in my pocket.
But since I’d been busy, I never got around to it.
Sure, I could’ve asked someone else to do it… but that someone would’ve been Palgap.
And… yeah. No thanks.
Anyway… looks like they’ve finally come in handy.
The elders were looking around awkwardly, trying to figure out where to place their eyes.
Why so flustered?
It’s not like they’ve never seen this before.
The Clan Lord tilted his head in confusion.
“What’s the matter?”
“Ah… ahem.”
“This is… hmm…”
An elder awkwardly cleared his throat.
“I now understand why the First and Second Young Masters so fiercely denied ownership of these.”
The First and Second Young Masters bit their lips.
Meanwhile… Squad Leader Tang In and Deputy Commander Tang Yeon-chil had the faintest smiles on their faces.
But those smiles didn’t last.
“How dare you present this filth as evidence and try to frame the two young masters?!”
“Did you truly think you’d get away with this?!”
“…W-What?”
Squad Leader Tang In blinked in confusion.
“W-What do you mean?”
Smack!
The elders threw the books in front of Tang In.
“See for yourself!”
Tang In scrambled to pick them up.
He opened them.
“…!”
His eyes went wide.
He stammered in disbelief.
“W-What… no… this isn’t right… These were supposed to be the plague and Mountain Air Poison research materials…”
He spun toward the First and Second Young Masters and shouted.
“Where did you hide them?! Where are the documents on the Plague of Qi Contagion (內功疫病) and the Seven Treasures Mountain Air Poison (七寶山空毒)?!”
At those words… the Clan Lord’s face turned ice cold.
“How do you know those names?”
“…!”
“Even I didn’t know their names until now… and yet…”
Dash!
The Clan Lord’s figure flickered.
With speed and precision… he struck Tang In’s pressure points.
His movement was so fast and flawless… it left everyone gaping.
“You must’ve done this under someone’s orders.”
Tang In’s body froze completely, Qi sealed.
His eyes filled with terror.
“We’ll get that story out of you soon enough. Take him away.”
“Yes!”
The escorts from the Punishment Hall dragged him off.
I turned my gaze to the Third Young Master.
His face showed relief.
But I saw it.
The momentary twitch… the fleeting grimace of pure frustration.
The Clan Lord turned to the other Camellia Council members.
“I believe it’s clear that the two young masters bear no guilt in this matter. Do you all agree?”
“We agree.”
The Clan Lord then addressed the crowd.
“This was an attempt to frame the First and Second Young Masters. Therefore… I declare them innocent of all charges.”
The two young masters let out deep sighs of relief.
Next to me, Lady Tang Su-bin exhaled as well.
“Thank goodness… truly…”
Tears welled in her eyes.
I handed her a handkerchief.
“You must care for your brothers very much.”
“Yes. They’re truly wonderful people. If they’d been falsely punished because of this… sniff…”
Her tension finally broke. She cried.
Should I be comforting her?
No.
I can’t afford to relax.
The Third Young Master isn’t done yet. He’ll make another move for sure.
Which means… I need to stop him before that happens.
The best way… is to rip off that mask completely.
And just then… an excellent idea came to mind.
–TL Notes–
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