Chapter 400
"Madness?"
"That's right."
The Dark King answered in a low voice.
"Madness, you say…"
It wasn't Wei Yan-ho who responded to the Dark King's words, but Wei Jeong-han. Wei Yan-ho had the expression of 'Now that the floodgates are open, let the important people handle it' as he busily shoveled food into his mouth.
"Hey! What are you going to do if you eat everything?"
"Uh uh uhh…"
"What?"
"Then eat too."
Jang-il shouted with a face boiling with anger.
"I need to talk! How can I eat while speaking!"
"Then just eat without talking."
"You damn lazy bastard! Does that even make sense!"
Unable to bear it any longer, the Dark King spoke with a slightly sorrowful voice.
"…There, we'll bring more food, so calm down for now."
"I, I'm sorry. This cow-like bastard looked like he was about to devour all the food…"
The Dark King nodded weakly.
Indeed, that food-obsessed bastard was devouring the meal at a terrifying pace. Even to his eyes, it was at a slightly nauseating rate.
'What kind of beggar is this.'
Even though the Guangdong Wei Family was a prestigious house that shouldn't have lacked for food, wasn't he wolfing down food as if he'd starved for a month during wartime? If even a beggar would get angry seeing that sight, that said it all.
What was even more absurd was that Wei Jeong-han wasn't particularly stopping him despite watching this scene. In the Sichuan Tang Family, where dining etiquette was strictly taught from the beginning, this would be unimaginable.
If a child of the Sichuan Tang Family had eaten so gluttonously, probably a hundred silver needles would have been stuck in that face.
'They're crazier than I thought.'
Come to think of it, though he had become entangled with these people, he had never really gotten involved with them on a human level. It had been official entanglements, and even those official relationships had been disastrous failures.
Perhaps he had swallowed poison he couldn't handle, the Dark King thought as he cleared his throat.
"Anyway, that's the situation."
"I need a more detailed explanation."
Wei Jeong-han, who seemed the most human and trustworthy among them, spoke politely.
But the Dark King had a very uncomfortable expression.
"Before that, promise me you'll keep this secret."
"That's difficult."
Wei Jeong-han firmly shook his head.
"This is something our family couldn't solve. For us to resolve this matter, we have no choice but to receive advice from the Military Advisor."
"Hmm."
"Wouldn't it be better than handling things clumsily?"
"That's true, but…"
"Eventually, even if we handle this matter among ourselves, a report will have to go up. Wasn't this something you had already prepared for?"
At Wei Jeong-han's urging, the Dark King finally nodded.
"Yes, I called you knowing everything. To still hesitate after that, I have no face."
"I understand. I would have done the same."
"It comforts me to hear you say that."
Those weren't just words of consolation. Taking family matters outside was something anyone would hesitate about. Especially for a prestigious family like the Sichuan Tang Family, even small flaws could appear magnified, and with many enemies, it could be even more dangerous.
So even the great Dark King of the realm had no choice but to hesitate.
"Then please tell us now. Madness, you say—what kind of madness is it?"
"Well, I don't know how to explain this. To be precise, I'm not even sure if it can be called madness. The details are similar to Ipma."
"You mean Qi Deviation?"
"That's right."
The Dark King sighed.
"Among those who were training, people suddenly began falling into madness and attacking those around them. At first, I thought it was just Qi Deviation, but… others began showing the same symptoms."
"Perhaps…"
"No."
The Dark King shook his head as if he knew what Wei Jeong-han was about to say.
"I also checked several times whether there was a problem with the martial arts, but nothing particularly abnormal was discovered. As you know, while it's difficult to find errors before Qi Deviation appears, once Qi Deviation manifests, identifying problematic martial arts isn't that difficult, is it?"
"That's correct."
"But that wasn't the case. What they learned were only family martial arts. What problems could there be with those?"
"Hmm…"
Wei Jeong-han had no choice but to agree.
Even if there were problems, it would be strange for someone of the Dark King's level not to identify them.
"Then could it possibly be an issue with poison?"
"We're investigating that side as well. But the possibility isn't very high. Due to the nature of our family, new poisons are always being researched, but among those who fell into madness this time, most had no connection to this research."
"Isn't there a possibility that poison leaked out and spread?"
"None."
At the Dark King's firm words, Wei Jeong-han had no choice but to nod. If someone of his stature spoke so definitively, one had to believe there really was no such possibility.
Even if there were, discussing that possibility in this place would be disrespecting the Dark King.
'This won't be easy.'
He had expected as much.
If it were an easy matter, the Dark King wouldn't have needed to extend his hand all the way to the Righteous Martial Alliance. Wei Jeong-han pressed his temples firmly. No matter how he looked at it, it seemed he would need to see those who had fallen into madness directly to get even a sense of it.
"Those people…"
"Ah."
The Dark King nodded.
"I'll have to show them to you. But not today. I can't work newly arrived guests to death without letting them rest. So rest a bit more for now."
"Yes, I understand."
Wei Jeong-han backed down at this point.
As a guest, there were limits to what he could say.
"Then tomorrow… Stop eating, you bastard!"
Wei Jeong-han shot up from his seat. In the brief moment of that conversation, Wei Yan-ho had completely emptied all the food on the large dining table.
"With so many people here, if you eat all of this, what are we supposed to eat! What!"
"Uh wuh ahn ah uh!"
"What?"
"They said they'd bring more."
"Argh! You rotten bastard!"
Wei Jeong-han threw the wine cup in front of him at Wei Yan-ho's face. But Wei Yan-ho calmly caught the wine cup and drained it in one gulp.
"Ahh! The taste of wine given by father is indeed special… There, put down the chopsticks and speak."
"Grrrr."
Wei Jeong-han sighed and sat down.
Then the Dark King hurriedly called outside.
"Is anyone there?"
"Yes, Family Head!"
"Quickly prepare another table. Quickly!"
"Yes!"
At the Dark King's words, the servant rushed outside urgently. The Dark King wiped the sweat from his forehead.
'Beggar bastards.'
To think there would be trouble over food while entertaining guests from the Righteous Martial Alliance. No one in the world would have experienced such a situation.
At least Wei Jeong-han had an apologetic expression, but Wei Yan-ho was urging the Dark King with a face that said 'I'm still hungry,' while Jang-il was glaring at Wei Yan-ho as if he wanted to kill him.
What should he do about this bizarre situation where a beggar-like bastard was acting more like a beggar than actual beggars?
"May I ask one thing?"
Peng Dao-ji, who had been watching the situation, quietly spoke up. Then the Dark King looked at Peng Dao-ji with a somewhat more comfortable expression.
Compared to the answerless Wei Yan-ho or the discourteous Jang-il, how proper this young man was. Just looking at him made his heart feel pleasant.
"Speak."
"Honestly, this is our first time being invited as guests to another family, so we're worried about how we should behave. Could you separately tell us which places we can go and which places we shouldn't?"
"Hmm, good words."
The Dark King smiled gently.
Yes, this is how people should be.
Wasn't it basic human behavior to identify potential mistakes in advance and be careful in one's actions to avoid making them? There were too many these days who lacked this basic foundation.
If a child of the Sichuan Tang Family had dined so gluttonously like that, probably a hundred silver needles would have been stuck in that face.
"I'll tell you about the forbidden zones separately. Other than that, there shouldn't be much to be careful about. However, let me give you one warning…"
The Dark King smiled mysteriously.
"The children of our family are full of vigor, so be careful not to run into them and get into trouble. It would be problematic if you got hurt."
Peng Dao-ji nodded.
"I'll keep that in mind."
The Dark King looked at Peng Dao-ji and Mu San with a meaningful expression.
'The children also need to receive a bit of shock.'
The biggest problem that arose with the creation of the Heavenly Alliance was that the family's children could no longer see the wider world.
In Sichuan, there were no families that could overwhelm them with martial power. At most, they were at equal levels.
In the past, when the Tang Family roamed the world, there was a time when they could compete with the later disciples of great sects like Shaolin or Wudang, but as relations between the Righteous Martial Alliance and the Heavenly Alliance became hostile, exchanges were cut off.
That's why they were so desperate for the Huashan Conference.
But these people could sound an alarm for the young children of the Tang Family who had fallen into arrogance.
'They've already been properly beaten once.'
Of course, Wei Yan-ho was classified as beyond standard even in the Righteous Martial Alliance, so the shock would be less. The ones who really needed to do that job were this trio led by Peng Dao-ji.
"Then where shouldn't I go?"
At Wei Yan-ho's words, the Dark King's eyes wavered.
'What should I answer?'
First, he tried probing.
"Are you also thinking of exploring the family grounds? I thought you wouldn't come out of your room?"
"It seems like that would be the case, but still, since I'm human, I should at least know. I once went to see a cow and had a terrible experience."
"Really?"
The Dark King had no way of knowing what Wei Yan-ho had experienced at the Imperial Palace.
But reading something ominous in those words, the Dark King began to worry.
'This bastard is contrary.'
He's the type who does more of what you tell him not to do. So for this bastard…
"You can go to most places. Originally, there are people guarding the forbidden areas, so you just need to not go where they tell you not to."
"Ah, yes."
"And um…"
The Dark King opened his mouth after much deliberation.
'Let's say the opposite.'
Isn't the way to handle a contrary person to push the opposite side?
"Personally, if you've come to the Tang Family, you should visit the Weapon Forge at least once."
"The Weapon Forge?"
"It's where the Tang Family's numerous hidden weapons are created."
"Can I go to such a place?"
"The dangerous hidden weapons are made in a separate location anyway. So it would be good to stop by once and see various rare things. It's a place I always recommend to guests visiting the Tang Family. I really hope you'll make time to visit it at least once."
"Uh, well… I'll think about it."
Seeing Wei Yan-ho's lukewarm reaction, the Dark King clenched his fist.
'Got you, you bastard!'
Now Wei Yan-ho probably wouldn't even approach the Weapon Forge until the moment he left the Tang Family.
'No matter how much you fly and crawl, you're still young.'
The Dark King was confident that he had perfectly handled Wei Yan-ho. But unfortunately, the Dark King didn't know one thing.
The fact that in this world, only Baek Mu-han could be confident about handling Wei Yan-ho.
And the misfortune of the Sichuan Tang Family was that Baek Mu-han was already dead.