Chapter 399
"What, what on earth is this about? Wei Yan-ho!"
"Isn't he our enemy! To invite an enemy into our house!"
"What in the world is the Family Head thinking! What in the world!"
The conference room was in complete chaos.
Even those who had supposedly weathered all storms couldn't find a way to deal with this unprecedented situation.
Dang Pyeong pressed his throbbing head with his fingers.
'What a mess.'
It wasn't incomprehensible.
While there are countless events in this world, something this absurd would rarely occur. Even though he was struggling to collect himself right now, so how much worse must it be for the others?
"Isn't this an act of harm to the sect!"
"...Certainly, no matter how much he is the Family Head, he shouldn't have carried out such a thing unilaterally without consultation. Calling the Righteous Martial Alliance was already a problem, but of all people, Wei Yan-ho."
"Righteous Hero Sword Wei Jeong-han is no easy opponent either. For such a person to come stirring up trouble in our family, it feels like swallowing a needle."
"Hmm... We need countermeasures, countermeasures."
Just as Dang Pyeong was about to sigh and open his mouth, the door burst open and someone entered.
"Elder Lee!"
"Are you alright?"
Dang Yong-min, who had entered the room, waved his hands dismissively.
Then the others stopped mentioning this matter further. However...
'That… his nose?'
'That's not going to heal, is it?'
'What are we going to do about that?'
Everyone's gaze turned to Dang Yong-min's nose.
The black bruises covering his entire face were understandable. Bruises would fade eventually. But looking at Dang Yong-min's nose, which had clearly collapsed, gave them an eerie feeling that made them keep touching their own noses.
'Pretend not to notice, pretend not to notice.'
'Turn your head away.'
But isn't it human psychology that the more you try not to be conscious of something, the more you end up looking at it?
Feeling that gazes kept turning toward his face, Dang Yong-min openly showed his displeasure. Then everyone began staring aimlessly at the ceiling or counting the patterns on the table.
"Ahem!"
Dang Yong-min cleared his throat loudly and took his seat.
"Elder Lee."
Dang Pyeong attempted to change the subject.
"What the Family Head has done crosses the line."
"Hmm!"
Dang Yong-min nodded vigorously.
This wasn't something a Family Head should do. Especially not something a Family Head whose position had become precarious like now should attempt recklessly. And this wasn't a matter of personal feelings either.
Even if Dang Cheon-gun hadn't been in his current position but had held full authority over the Dang Family as the Poison King, Dang Yong-min would have opposed the Poison King's decision just the same.
That's how serious this matter was.
"Just the fact that petty soldiers of the Righteous Martial Alliance are roaming through the Dang residence is enough to make my stomach burn, but Wei Yan-ho? Wei Yan-ho is the very person who dragged the Dang Family's dignity through the mud."
"Does that person have no pride? He's the one who suffered the greatest damage because of Wei Yan-ho, so how could he make such a decision!"
"This is like wanting to die together. What's the difference between this and saying 'since things have come to this, let's all be humiliated together'?"
"Quiet."
When Dang Yong-min spoke, the commotion in the conference room died down.
Although he had been thoroughly beaten by Wei Yan-ho, that didn't mean all of Dang Yong-min's authority had disappeared.
'Anyone would have been the same.'
There was no one who didn't acknowledge Dang Yong-min's martial prowess. If such a person had been knocked out in a single blow, it would have been the same no matter who among them had stepped forward.
What happened to Dang Cheon-gun wasn't strange either. Rather, the fact that he had exchanged moves with Wei Yan-ho proved just how strong Dang Cheon-gun was.
"I understand your opinions well. My own thoughts are also... cough cough! Not much different."
Dang Yong-min kept touching his nose several times. It seemed breathing was uncomfortable with his nose collapsed.
"If we consider the dignity and future of the Dang Family, this should absolutely not have happened. I too fully understand how serious this matter is. However..."
Dang Yong-min sighed.
"There's really no other way, is there?"
"Elder."
"Listen first."
Dang Yong-min opened his mouth with a serious expression.
"If he hadn't come, that would be one thing, but he's already here. And with the justification that it was the Family Head's invitation. If we step forward now to drive Wei Yan-ho away, we won't be restoring our dignity, but will only earn the reputation of having expelled a guest. We would lose our justification ourselves."
"That's correct."
Dang Pyeong supported Dang Yong-min.
"From our perspective, an enemy has crawled in, but from their perspective, it's the same as entering the tiger's den at the enemy's invitation."
"Hmm..."
"In such a situation, if we act clumsily, the world will praise their boldness in not refusing even an enemy's invitation, and will curse our pettiness for inviting an enemy only to drive him away."
"Are you saying we shouldn't do what must be done because we fear such judgment?"
"What must be done should be done. But this isn't something that must be done."
"That's just wordplay!"
"Did you call it wordplay?"
Dang Pyeong's face turned cold.
"I hope everyone will think calmly. The reason we've been able to handle most matters as we pleased until now is because we were the Dang Family. But now we are the Dang Family yet not the Dang Family. As you know, the world's eyes no longer revere the Dang Family. Rather, they're mocking us. They look down on the Dang Family for being humiliated by a young child and are only waiting for a chance to bite and tear at us. At such a time, giving them a part to bite would be an unwise move."
"Mmm..."
The atmosphere in the conference room grew heavy.
They all agreed that the situation the Dang Family currently faced was not favorable.
A prestigious family can reign as prestigious because the power that comes from the name of prestige exceeds actual power. They had skillfully used the power that the reputation of Sichuan Dang Family carried and the power of rumors. How great had been the benefits that the fear inspired by the name Sichuan Dang Family brought them. But thanks to Wei Yan-ho, they were now facing their greatest crisis.
"For now, let's borrow the hand of the Heavenly Medical Alliance."
"But this is an internal family matter. No matter how much we belong to the Heavenly Medical Alliance, to borrow their hand even for internal matters is..."
"This isn't an ordinary matter. If we try to resolve it easily thinking it looks simple, we could face great disaster. Isn't that why the Zhuge Family exists, for us to use at times like this?"
"Hmm."
"Don't try to avoid small losses. They tend to come back as big losses."
Dang Pyeong looked up at Dang Yong-min.
Then Dang Yong-min also quietly nodded.
"Send word to the Zhuge Family. Tell them I wish to consult with them."
This carried quite significant meaning.
Opinions against it would naturally emerge. Dang Yong-min reaching out meant nothing less than informing the Zhuge Family that the Family Head's authority within the Dang Family was not what it used to be.
"Understood."
However, a consensus formed that this wasn't something that could be resolved by hiding it.
"Then for now... well, we need to discuss how to handle that Righteous Martial Alliance party in the meantime..."
Dang Pyeong shrugged as he spoke.
"There shouldn't be any major problems. They've also entered what amounts to the tiger's den, so they won't go around stirring up trouble from the start."
"That would be right."
"I'll tell the Zhuge Family to hurry. In the meantime, we can handle whatever happens by yielding little by little."
"Yes, handle it that way."
But they didn't know.
Why Wei Yan-ho was Wei Yan-ho.
Why Wei Yan-ho earned the reputation from Jang-il as a person who brought misfortune, a hell-like human being.
* * *
"Please, eat."
Even though delicacies were spread before them, no one picked up their utensils first. Even Jang-il, who usually couldn't resist when he saw food, was only fidgeting with his chopsticks.
"Does the food not suit your taste?"
When the Poison King asked casually, Wei Yan-ho chuckled.
"Well, old man, you live here so there's nothing strange about it for you, but where else would you find a case of getting a meal at Sichuan Dang Family?"
"Mm?"
"Even beggars don't come here to beg, so they're worried they might get poisoned if they eat food that's given for free."
"Hahaha, are you saying I would poison my invited guests?"
"I don't think you deliberately put in poison. But there are so many rumors spread in Jianghu that Dang Family people even put poison in their food to build resistance. Even knowing it's not true, it feels a bit uncomfortable."
"Huh."
The Poison King blinked his eyes.
He hadn't thought of that aspect. And even if there were people who thought such things, there had never been anyone who performed rituals over food in front of him.
"But those who came from the Heavenly Medical Alliance were eating well?"
"They probably ate all sorts of antidotes they could find everywhere before coming. But we're not prepared, so we didn't bring any antidotes."
"Ugh."
The Poison King sighed.
"Should I bring some antidotes first?"
"It's fine. I'm just saying it feels uncomfortable. You wouldn't really poison someone you invited yourself, would you? Otherwise..."
The Poison King understood what Wei Yan-ho's trailing words meant.
'You'd get beaten to death.'
That was definitely it.
He felt cold sweat running down his spine.
'Does this damn kid eat Eternal Ginseng Kings as side dishes or something?'
He could feel it clearly.
The feeling emanating from Wei Yan-ho was different from the past again. In the past, he still felt like a reasonably strong young man. That's why the Poison King had attacked him.
But now...
'I wouldn't even be able to collect the bones.'
If the Wei Yan-ho of the past had the skill to beat the Poison King like a dog within the toxic aura he emitted, now he would probably gather up all the toxic aura the Poison King emitted, stuff it into the Poison King's mouth, and sew it shut.
The sharp killing intent he glimpsed from time to time was at a level that made his breathing difficult. Moreover, strangely, his personality seemed to have become nastier in that short time.
'I must be careful.'
Even if he died, he didn't want to clash with that guy again.
It was true that he felt somewhat uncomfortable about having invited Wei Yan-ho, who had become more prickly than expected, but what could he do?
'This is truly human poison, you bastards.'
The Poison King was convinced that he had infiltrated the strongest poison he had ever used in his lifetime into the Dang Family. That poison was extremely prickly and vicious. If handled carelessly, not only the Dang Family but he too would not be able to preserve his life.
The Poison King carefully coaxed Wei Yan-ho as if handling extreme poison cautiously.
"If it's uncomfortable, I'll eat first."
"I said it's fine."
Wei Yan-ho lifted his chopsticks as if to prove his words weren't empty and moved food to his plate.
Sensing the confidence in that action that said 'unless you want to die, you wouldn't dare put poison here,' the Poison King demurely lifted the wine bottle.
"Have a drink."
"Yes."
The Poison King poured wine into Wei Yan-ho's cup and smiled warmly.
"You've worked hard coming such a long way. I'm grateful first for the effort of coming like this."
"More than that..."
Wei Yan-ho decisively cut off the Poison King's words.
"Skip the introduction and let's get to the main point. What's this about?"
At Wei Yan-ho's words that struck straight to the solar plexus, the Poison King opened his mouth with a bitter expression.
"Actually..."