Chapter 264: Confession (2)
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Inside the dark room.
A thick shadow fell on the face of Tang Kwan, who was drinking alcohol relying on a single candle.
“…It’s bitter.”
On the table, five or six liquor bottles were already rolling around.
It varies depending on what the cultivated internal energy pursues, but a normal internal energy master does not get drunk easily. It was because true qi always protected the internal organs and endlessly removed impurities.
Furthermore, if one breaks through the Wall of the Martial Arts’ End, true qi permeates even the fine meridians, allowing internal qi to flow unimpeded and free-flowing. Unless one forcibly blocked the path of their true qi, it was safe to say there was almost no chance of getting drunk.
Moreover, Tang Kwan was a master of poison who had come into contact with and ingested thousands of poisons. Even if he suppressed his true qi, intoxication would not rise with just a few bottles of strong liquor.
But why?
Tang Kwan somehow felt intoxication rising after drinking alcohol for the first time in twenty years.
“Don’t act pathetic.”
Tang Kwan smiled a twisted smile.
The sharp smile that surfaced on his shadowed face looked as gruesome as the blade of a dagger.
“I didn’t have great expectations anyway. The only thing to trust is always myself. There is nothing to hope for from anyone, nor anything to be disappointed about.”
He spoke like that, but Tang Kwan also knew. That his self after entering the Murim Alliance was very different from his self back when he reigned as an emperor in Sichuan.
He just didn’t want to admit it. His own change, and the reality where he was no longer the center.
Jjoreureureuk.
Now it was even hard to smell the liquor scent rising from the filled cup.
Tang Kwan closed his eyes.
“Just what exactly is the problem…”
Tang Kwan, who was smiling bitterly along with a soliloquy close to a sigh, suddenly felt a sliver of presence.
‘…?!’
Tang Kwan’s eyes immediately turned sharp.
Puseuseu.
Operating his internal energy, he expelled the alcohol qi in an instant. He thought he had absorbed it all, but there was definitely a reason his intoxication had risen.
‘It’s a master.’
And an astonishing master at that, standing beyond the room door.
A stable yet restrained aura. Because he didn’t reveal himself, an overwhelming stillness couldn’t be felt, but it was merely the aloofness of a lion hiding its claws.
‘Since when?’
It seemed his senses had dulled due to intoxication.
Tang Kwan shouted sharply.
“Who is it!”
At that time, a solemn voice was heard from outside the door.
“It is I, Clan Head Yeon.”
In an instant, Tang Kwan’s eyes deepened.
‘Yeon Wi?!’
He was surprised.
Although he had never paid much attention, they were acquaintances who had met several times at the Honored Guest Meetings. It meant he had many opportunities to infer the opponent’s martial arts.
However, the aura felt from the Yeon Wi he encountered at the meetings and the current Yeon Wi was truly a difference of heaven and earth.
‘There was this much development in that short time?!’
Or was he hiding his strength himself?
Tang Kwan, who was blankly staring at the door, turned his head.
“I will overlook the rudeness of seeking me out without notice. Please leav…”
Tang Kwan, who was about to tell him to leave, flinched for a moment.
‘I think I respect you sufficiently. In some aspects, even more than the two people here. That is not because I am afraid of you, but because I know your personality.’
It was as if Murong Jun’s voice was ringing in his ears.
Tang Kwan’s face distorted heavily.
“…Please go back now.”
At the same time, Yeon Wi’s voice was heard.
“I came because I thought of having a drink. I have no official business, so if you have time, let’s have a drink.”
“I told you to go.”
“I brought some nice-smelling liquor, though.”
“…”
“If you really want to be alone, I understand. I will come visit again later.”
Tang Kwan, who had been staring out the window blankly, let out a deep sigh.
“If it doesn’t suit my taste, know that I will kick you out immediately.”
A moment later, the two people sat with a table between them.
“You tricked me.”
“Is the liquor not to your liking?”
Tang Kwan frowned.
“Do you call that words? You brought cheap white liquor that even a street butcher wouldn’t drink and say it has a nice scent?”
Yeon Wi spoke nonchalantly.
“Even if it were nice-smelling liquor, would it even give a tickle to Clan Head Tang’s liver that has been tempered by deadly poisons?”
“…”
“It is one I chose pouring my heart into in my own way. It’s the strongest one among the liquors I have drank.”
It was a valid point in its own way.
The corners of Tang Kwan’s mouth rose.
“That’s a good excuse.”
“I will pour you a cup.”
Yeon Wi filled Tang Kwan’s cup.
Tang Kwan, who had been quietly looking at Yeon Wi, asked in a rough voice.
“So what is your business?”
“Didn’t I tell you? It’s not official business. I merely came because I wanted to have a drink.”
“That lie, is it for real?”
“It is not a lie.”
“It’s not a lie? Are you telling me to believe that?”
“What reason is there not to believe?”
“Are you telling me to suddenly believe a person who comes visiting at such exquisite timing asking to have a drink? Don’t you think it’s too transparent of an action?”
Yeon Wi filled his own cup with a blunt face.
Unlike Tang Kwan, Yeon Wi’s face, with a shadow cast on the right side, evoked a classic atmosphere like looking at a masterpiece drawn with thick strokes.
“If you really thought so, you have misjudged me by a long shot.”
“What?”
“I don’t know what kind of people you have dealt with so far, but I am not someone who hides a dagger behind a smile.”
Tang Kwan chuckled.
“A saintly gentleman has arrived. Alright, then if it’s not an official matter, nor did you come to conciliate me, what on earth did you come for?”
“I came to keep you company.”
“Khahaha!”
Tang Kwan burst into laughter like crazy.
“Keep me company? What is the benefit you gain from becoming my companion to talk to?”
“I would be able to know you better.”
“…!”
It was an answer he hadn’t even thought of.
Tang Kwan, who had been glaring at Yeon Wi with cold eyes, emptied his cup.
“If you have nothing to say, please leave now.”
“Your daughter was very saddened.”
“…What?”
Yeon Wi’s voice was extremely calm.
“She pretends not to be on the outside, but she was very worried about you.”
“…”
“As you may know, your daughter is acquainted with my son. Thanks to that, we were all able to have a meal together yesterday.”
Kwang!
The table shook.
A fearsome killing intent spewed from Tang Kwan’s two eyes.
“Leave immediately.”
“Do you plan to keep coming out so crookedly?”
“Didn’t I tell you to leave immediately!”
“Do you want to lose your daughter that much?”
“Be quiet! You should meddle in moderation! It is not for a third party to get involved in someone else’s family affairs!”
“Bluffing is something that gets you pointed fingers at even when done to others. Let’s not bluff to our children.”
“Eeek!”
“And did you just say I’m meddling?”
Yeon Wi’s eyes turned cold.
“That’s right. This is meddling and advice. But you must not get angry at me.”
“What?!”
“If it is a matter related to your child, it is only right to listen carefully even to the advice of a street butcher. Even in front of the advice of the lowliest person in the world, you must open your ears wide.”
“…!”
“Raising a child is something you wonder if it will turn out well even with such effort. If you close your ears and just yell like you, you might end up living without seeing your child’s face for the rest of your life.”
Tang Kwan’s cheek trembled.
Surprisingly, he could no longer yell at Yeon Wi. Considering his personality, it was a situation where he would have used his hands and then some right away, but he didn’t carelessly open up his poison arts either.
Watching such Tang Kwan, Yeon Wi finally realized as well.
‘This guy, he is more cold-headed than I thought.’
He is a man who could become more ferocious than anyone else if he truly exploded.
However, the line leading up to that explosion was much deeper than expected. He truly seemed unhesitating, but it meant he was at least instinctively seeing through what was better between the worst and the second worst.
‘And.’
Yeon Wi’s eyes deepened.
‘This guy also loves his daughter in his own way.’
Of course, that way was twisted and had a strong self-righteous side.
But the important thing was that he considered his daughter as his child. That was what was truly important.
The heart that considers the other person precious. If that heart is real, even if the process is somewhat difficult, they will sufficiently be able to improve their relationship.
“I too have done many things to my children that I shouldn’t have.”
“…”
“I raised them excessively strictly. Until a few years ago, my second son couldn’t even speak to me, and my first son went astray and just drank alcohol like that.”
“…”
“Does that seem like those children’s fault? No. Children turning out like that is all the parents’ fault. If parents don’t properly care for and embrace them, children are bound to break down.”
Tang Kwan’s eyebrows twitched.
Yeon Wi emptied his cup and said.
“I was lucky. Even without their parent’s help, my two sons grew up well on their own. So I thought. I am probably the bastard with the most luck with children in the world. Separate from the apologetic feeling I have toward my children, that is.”
“…”
“But looking at it here, you also seem to have quite good luck.”
Yeon Wi leaned his upper body forward.
Tang Kwan leaned his back against his chair without realizing it.
“Clan Head Tang.”
“…”
“The reason I sought out Clan Head Tang is not because your relationship with Murong Jun went awry, nor because I want to conciliate you.”
“…”
“I went to a point where it could not be turned back and then improved our relationship thanks to my children. That’s why I can tell. After just a little while, you too will reach a point where it cannot be turned back like me.”
Tang Kwan’s lips twitched.
“So, are you expecting to be treated as a senior?”
Yeon Wi shook his head.
“Your daughter is my son’s friend. What brought me here is my worry as a father who has children.”
“Don’t pretend to be nice.”
“I’ve never thought I was nice.”
“You came because of Sang-ah and me? Don’t make me laugh. To think you came because you wanted to tell someone in a hostile relationship to properly keep track of their child, who would believ…”
“What you need to properly keep track of is your pride that is only exhibited in useless places.”
“…!”
Yeon Wi rose from his seat.
“We aren’t even in a hostile relationship anymore, are we?”
“Your delusion goes too far.”
“You can’t even become a hostile relationship.”
It was language that stimulated his pride. Tang Kwan looked up at Yeon Wi with bloodshot eyes.
Yeon Wi, who was quietly looking at Tang Kwan, smiled for a moment.
“I want to ask you one thing.”
“…”
“Did you ask Murong Jun about the source of the Clear Yin Poison?”
Tang Kwan did not answer.
Yeon Wi nodded.
“I thought as much. To you, the source of the Clear Yin Poison wasn’t important. No, to speak more accurately, you must have guessed who made the Clear Yin Poison coated on that handkerchief.”
“…Please leave now.”
“In other words, you too wanted to settle your relationship with Murong Jun, so you let yourself be caught by my eldest child’s persuasion, no?”
“…”
Tang Kwan turned his head to his cup.
Yeon Wi, who had been staring at him blankly, cupped his fists.
“I know you wanted to be alone. It was somewhat aggressive language, but since it was something I really wanted to tell you, I committed a great discourtesy.”
“As long as you know.”
“I will replace today’s discourtesy with a nice-smelling famous liquor. If you give me a word, I will empty my schedule.”
Yeon Wi left the room.
Tang Kwan, who had been endlessly looking down at his cup, poured white liquor.
As he downed the fully filled liquor in one gulp, his throat felt scratchy anew.
“Both father and son have attached daggers to their tongues.”
Tang Kwan gulped down the white liquor straight from the bottle.
The heat rising from his solar plexus spread across his entire face.
“…It’s bitter.”
* * *
“What are you doing?”
“Hmm?”
Yeon Ho-jeong, who had been sitting alone on a chair looking out the window, turned his head and looked at Muk Bi.
“What? When did you arrive?”
“Just now. I’m on my way back after finishing training. The lights were on, so.”
“I just had things to think about.”
Yeon Ho-jeong nodded.
“You worked hard today as well.”
Muk Bi also gave a slight nod.
“You worked hard. Get some rest.”
“Yeah.”
As Muk Bi left, Yeon Ho-jeong looked up at the sky outside the window again.
The twinkling starlight was beautiful.
“…It’s time.”