Book 27 Chapter 12

Siblings

-Dang Sam & Dang Moon Hye

"And have the '[ ]' ready."

"What the heck is the metatype thinking?

In his ears, Bi Ryuyeon's words echoed vividly as she left him and Zhu Zichen in the Thirteenth Dormitory.

He was careful not to let anyone hear him, but the words were unmistakable in his mind.

[Escape route].

That's what his father had told him to prepare. It was called an escape route, but Namgungsang understood what it meant.

Bi Ryuyeon had ordered that the "ship" be secured.

The only way to get out of this skyscraper.

'That means you're assuming the worst, and that's not a good thing…….'

Such a move risked the entire Celestial Academy delegation being deemed enemies of the Heavenly Pavilion, but he couldn't just sit here and suck his fingers. If, as the big brother had assumed, the Netherworld Destroyer was a high-ranking member of the Heavenly Pavilion, the entire delegation could be taken hostage, or worse, killed.

'I never realized that the hand of the Heavenly Spirit had reached so deeply…….'

While they were engaged in posturing, power struggles, and factional battles, they were expanding their influence, and before you knew it, they were squeezing the life out of you.

'I can't believe it took me this long to realize…….'

That they had been battling a demonic spirit…….

Truly, humans were stupid creatures at times. They didn't know whether to admire the spirit's willingness or lament their own foolishness.

'Let's just think about surviving. To get through this in one piece.

Regret is something you can live with.

In order to break through the escape route, they would need the strength of the Three-Sectioned Sword Qinghui and the Earth Dragon Bai Muyoung. Although they had always been at odds with each other due to the fact that they were from the Guzheng Clan of the Old Dynasty Sect and the Southern Palace Clan, this was no time for leisurely battles, and they would need to work together to break through the siege that surrounded them.

Moreover, Nangong Shang was currently the leader of the Heavenly Martial Academy's delegation, and he was obligated to take his companions with him to escape safely. It was a pity that Long Tianming and the Maharishi were not here now. But instead, he had a group of people who had endured years of hellish living under a man whose name was synonymous with terror, viciousness, and viciousness. It wasn't just their resistance to bullying and their stomachs that they had gained from traversing that infinite hell.

They had acquired the mental strength to never give up under any circumstances. Any hell would be better than the one under the High Priest, and you get used to it when you taste it often enough. So he and the others were ready.

"Be prepared!

Now he had to wait for the signal and restore the depleted internal energy to the Yin Qi as soon as possible. His recovery was slow because he had only given Qin Lie a single Heavenly Heart Dan, and he had only eaten the Small Yang Dan, but since Bi Ryuyeon had erased it from the dictionary, the word "quitting" had ceased to exist in the Zhu Jia Dan.

'It would be so comforting to have you and Binggum together right now…….'

Their absence was nothing compared to the absence of Yong Tianming and the Maharishi, which was too bad, no matter how many times I thought about it. The fact that I had no one to blame but myself.

'Now the fun is over…….'

Namgungsang realized that he could no longer return to his ignorant past. The hundred years of peace were coming to an end.

Why in our time…….

A great storm of war was brewing that would sweep across the Great Lakes, and Namgung Sang was in the middle of it.

Cringe!

In the middle of a feng shui meditation, Namgungsang felt a shock that made his heart sink and his eyes widen. The sensation of cold rainwater piercing his heart made him feel distracted and almost disoriented. If he made a mistake, he could have fallen into the coinage. When Namgungsang opened his eyes, his entire body was drenched in a cold sweat.

"What the heck was that tingling sensation just now?

It was an eerie shock, like a piece of my soul was being ripped out.

"I wonder what happened to Sansan?

He and Namgungsansan were twins, born at the same time, on the same day, under the same mother, and therefore were much more psychic than others. When he was younger, he used to feel wounds he didn't cause as if they were his. I thought it had mostly gone away as I grew up……….

Excitement!

His heart was still racing, showing no signs of slowing down. Namgungsang shook his head, struggling to contain the anxiety that threatened to overwhelm him.

"Let's not be negative. Sansan will be fine, he's the kind of guy he is, and besides, Hyun-woon is with him. Hyun-woon, take care of my sister.

If he'd been told what he was thinking, he'd have laughed in his face.

'How dare you call me sister, I'm your sister, sister!'

" he said. The matter had not yet been finalized between the two.

"Sang, what's wrong, are you okay?"

Qin Ling, who had been monitoring the situation from the window, rushed toward the awakened South Palace statue.

"Look at all this sweat, over the South Palace, are you okay?"

Ryu Eun-kyung was running too fast to lose.

"Wait, where are you sneaking up on me, sneaking up on me?"

Qin Lie interjected, stopping Liu Eun Kyung's hand as she tried to wipe her forehead with her handkerchief.

"Oh, big sister, if I don't call my future father-in-law Sang-gong, what do I call him? Should I call him master? That doesn't seem right……."

"Not really, but still, it's suddenly in the air……."

Liu Eun Kyung couldn't understand why Qin Ling's face was so red and she was so embarrassed.

"Then why don't you call me Sang-gong too, since I'm a concubine and you're going to be the real wife, right?"

Startled by the sound, Qin Lie shouted out.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa!"

"So you're not going to do it, so you don't mind if I do?"

"You can't do that!"

Qin Lie shouted with extreme determination.

"Why not?"

Ryu Eunkyung shook her head, sounding slightly disappointed.

Ryu Eun-kyung's behavior, whether shameless or naive, left Jin-ryung speechless.

Namgungsang remained silent, sandwiched between the two men, an almost instinctive act, realizing that if he said the wrong thing here, his life could go out like a candle before the wind.

Just then, there was a knock on the door, which sounded like a bell of salvation ringing in the sky. Namgungsang, who was now sweating in a different sense than the cold sweat he had shed earlier, exclaimed in delight.

"Come in!"

With a bang, the door swung open and two men walked in simultaneously, shouting at the same time.

"Gongsang, are you okay?"

It was a man and a woman, both dressed in green, who looked at each other as they walked in and screamed at the same time.

"Don't copy me!"

They were Dang Chul-young and Dang Wen-hye, the three sons of the famous Sichuan Dangmun family. Like Namgungsang and Namgungsansan, they were twins from the same boat and the same poem. Dang Chul-young, in particular, was better known among his friends as Dang Sam, because he was the third son of Dang Mun.

In the past two or three years, their skills have also risen dramatically, and their status within the party has also risen dramatically.

Dang Moon-hye spoke first, so Dang Sam quickly hit the player.

"Hey, Gung Sang. Have you heard anything from your sister yet?"

Nan Gongsang shook his head. Right now, it was he who wanted to know the news more than anyone else.

"Hmph, who's the younger sister, the older brother? Definitely the older sister rather than the younger brother."

Next to me, Tang Moon-hye cautioned.

"That's nonsense. Sansan is Gongsang's sister, just like you are my sister."

Dangsam retorted, raising his voice.

"Hot, hot, hot. That can't be right, you're my younger brother, just like you're my younger brother!"

"You want to try it?"

Dangsam picked up a memorization tucked into his waistband.

"Okay, if you're going to cover your hands with your skills, I'll take it!"

In response, Zilsera Dangwenhye raised her thigh and grabbed the whip that was wrapped around it.

"Okay, both of you, stop. I know we're surrounded and your nerves are on edge, but don't fight. You're only doing the enemy a favor by leaving them outside, and what if this reaches the ears of the High Priestess?"

Cringe! Cringe!

The two men's bodies immediately reacted to the word "big brother" and turned cold. To them, the word "big brother" had a magical effect. Tang San and Tang Wenhye took a step back from each other.

"Phew, I was about to break your nose and get to a hundred wins today, you're in luck."

"Come on, didn't I misspeak and say I wanted a hundred wins, not a hundred losses?"

So far, they have a record of ninety-nine wins and ninety-nine losses. They've fought a lot, but their skills are so evenly matched that they haven't won or lost yet.

"Ho, ho, okay, how about the next person who wins the next hundred wins gets to be Sonwit?"

Tang Wenhui said, the tips of her eyebrows twitching.

"Good, good, good. Don't regret it."

"You'll be the one to regret it, not me."

"We'll see when this is over, but I can't wait to hear 'big brother' again."

"I can already hear the 'sis' ringing in my ears. Ho ho ho ho."

Another spark of blue flashed between them.

"I can't stop myself.

Nan Gongsang shook his head as he looked at the two of them. He didn't realize that Sanshan and himself were no different from these Tang siblings.

"How long are we going to be stuck in this stuffy dormitory anyway?"

He asked if she felt that there was no benefit in fighting Tang Wenhe anymore, looking back at Namgung Sang, who shook her head.

"Yeah, I'm frustrated as hell, and the thought of it makes me want to grab my whip and run out and give it a good whipping."

She's been fighting so hard, but she's quick to agree to things like this. She was already full of frustration and on the verge of exploding. In a way, they were twins. They had the same impatience, and the same way of dealing with it.

"If you and Gene Sojae have recovered, shouldn't we be moving, not stuck here?"

"You're right, there's nothing we can do about it, and we need to get moving."

"Wait a little longer. I haven't gotten a signal yet."

"Signals? What signals?"

What Bi Ryuyeon secretly instructed Namgung Sang to do when she separated from them and left to rescue Na Yerin. He had been preparing for it ever since he came here. However, the preparations were not yet complete. The biggest problem was the human barrier that surrounded the entire Third Dormitory.

"That's……."

Beep, beep, beep!

Then, with a shrill cry, a blue-feathered Haedong Cheng flew into the window, wings slightly folded and gliding. Namgungsang pointed to the textbook hanging from the falcon's leg.

"This is the signal I've been waiting for."

It was a "thunder hawk," an elusive falcon raised by Bi Ryuyeon.

"What does it say, Gung Sang?"

As Namgung Sang's face grew harder and harder as he took out a note from the Wu Lingmae's collection and read it, Tang San couldn't help but be curious.

"They say I rescued Sojae, or rather, Daeser."

At that, Dangsam looked puzzled and shook his head.

"No, that's a good thing, but why are you doing it?"

"Sansan…… is injured."

"Is that really it, Gung Sang?"

"No way!"

"I can't believe it, I'm shattered……."

"I don't want to believe it either, but it's true."

"Is she, is Sansan okay?"

Alarmed by this thunderbolt of news, Qin Lie shook Namgung Sang's shoulder vigorously and asked.

"Fortunately, he escaped with his life."

The three of them breathed a collective sigh of relief.

"But he's still unconscious, and they say Hyun-woon is poisoned with 'Man-dok' and can't move."

The news that his sister and best friend had been injured was bound to tear him apart.

"Even Hyun-woon is addicted……. You mean you can be addicted to 'Man-dok' and still be alive?"

Dangsam shook his head.

"That's definitely true."

"What's wrong with you? If you're alive, you're good."

"If poison as we know it is poison, the German tax, for which no antidote has yet been invented. It is a dreadful poison, unrivaled in its lethality among poisons."

Dang Moon-hye nodded in agreement.

"We haven't even managed to forge an antidote yet, so who the hell is……!"

"Look, I want you to worry about your friend Hyun-woon's body first. Don't wonder why he's still alive."

Looking at the Tang siblings, who seemed to go crazy at the mention of poison and memorization, as if they were Sichuan Tangmen, he sighed and wished the earth away.

"Dangsam, I want you to call Brother Cheng and Brother Baek right now."

There was no time for small talk anymore; even if his body hadn't fully recovered, the signal he'd been waiting for had come, and he had to move.

"Okay, Gung Sang. I'll be right back."

* * *

"We're going to escape from here."

When Tang San summoned Cheng Hsien and Bai Muyoung, Nan Gongsang looked at everyone and said, "I've already explained. He had already explained to some extent. Even Qingfeng and Bai Muyoung, who had initially refused to believe that the Heavenly Spirit's hand had reached out to this place, had no choice but to believe the Southern Palace Lord's words when the warriors of the Heavenly Palace raised their weapons and surrounded the entire Third Dormitory. Moreover, the leader of this delegation was only nominally the Southern Palace Chief, so they had to follow his instructions.

"What are you going to do from here?"

I meant did you have an escape plan?

Nan Gongsang nodded without delay, then looked around at the people and said in a strong voice, ''I'm sorry.

"Of course. We'll go to the harbor and take the ship."

To secure an escape route, the first priority was to secure a ship. As an island floating in the middle of Dongzheng Lake, surrounded by water on all sides, it was impossible to escape without a ship. To this end, Bi Ryuyeon had left all the main troupe members at the dormitory, except for Hyun Yun and Namgung Sansan.

"The key to this rescue depends on getting a ship that can leave this place. Remember, the success of this rescue is in our hands."

Baek raised his hand, and the eyes in the room turned to him.

Boom!

"Well, I guess we'll have to take care of that first. Isn't that right, South Palace Captain?"

Bai Xiaochun's gaze flashed toward the Southern Palace as he folded his hands.

"What do you mean by processing, Brother Baek?"

"Gee, I thought for sure the captain of the Southern Palace would know?"

His tone was sarcastic. Originally from the Shaman Sect, Cheong Hyeon and Baek Moo-young from the Hyungsan Sect were key members of the Old Daehan Sect Association and the Guzheng Sect, so they didn't get along well with Namgung-sang, especially since Baek Moo-young thought that Yong Tian-ming deserved to be the leader of the mission. He believed that Yong Tianming had used up all of his inner strength fighting the Maha Spirit and had become the leader by being a fisherman.

Nangong Shang spoke softly, restraining Jinling who was about to step forward.

"Isn't it time for us to work together to get through the hardships, Brother Bai? If I don't know something, you can teach me. Isn't that what cooperation is all about?"

It meant that he was tic-tac-toeing around the situation to get a feel for the mood, but it also had a subtext that he could only hang on to things and not cooperate.

"Uh-huh, of course, the problem of how to break through the siege that's out there."

Baek said, pointing out the window with a folded superscript.

"That's……."

Namgungsang's mind raced as he spoke.

'We're in trouble. I hadn't thought of it that way…….'

A delegation from the Heavenly Martial Academy was more than capable of breaking through the encirclement of thirty or so men. But that would be…….

"As I'm sure you're aware, Captain, there's no reason why we can't break through. But that would mean a protracted battle with many enemies, and if the enemy calls for reinforcements while we're still a stranded bird, we'd be wiped out. So a competent South Palace captain would have prepared a plan other than 'of course' charging."

If you weren't prepared, you were incredibly incompetent.

"So that's……."

That's when Dangsam stepped forward.

"Of course I'm prepared for that, I don't suppose the South Palace Captain hasn't prepared for that?"

"What is that, Tang Confucius?"

Tang Xiu reached into his bosom and pulled out a purple pouch.

"That's it, relaxation."

Tang Wenhui's face lit up when she saw the pouch.

"Oh, my God, you're using your brain!

"Relax? What's that?"

Qingfeng shook his head and asked. It was Tang Wenhye who explained on Tang San's behalf.

"It's 'comfort rest' for 'no metabolic type,' so think of it as a powerful sleep incense."

"No metatype……?"

"……Relax?"

Cheonghyeon and Baekmu-young looked as if they couldn't understand why the sleeping incense had such a strange name. It wasn't unreasonable, some happiness is incomprehensible, the others thought.

"Well, more accurately, it should be labeled a failure."

"Failure? What do you mean, can I trust you, Tang Sojae?"

"Don't worry, you only failed your big brother."

Having been taught a lesson by their elder brother, the only time they could rest properly was when he was asleep. The longer Daehyung slept, the longer they could rest in peace and tranquility. To prolong that dreamlike rest, the two ever-bickering Tang siblings collaborated for the first time to create a special sleeping incense.

However, I had a horrible memory of being scolded for testing it on all of my castmates and proving its effectiveness, only to find out that it didn't work on my godbrother, but it was a super-powerful sleeping incense that worked instantly for everyone else.

"But there's one problem with using this."

"Problem? What is it, Tang Sojae?"

"This comfort food isn't made in the form of a smoke bomb, so I'll have to use a different hack to get them to sting."

The resting place was simply a structure that was lit and smoked like incense. After it was discovered that it didn't work for his brother-in-law, he made no further improvements.

"I'll leave that to him."

Baek Moo-young was a little taken aback when Cheong Hyeon suddenly pointed at him.

"His Zen practice is the best."

Cheonghyeon smirked, giving a thumbs-up.

* * *

In charge of the siege was a member of the Twenty-seventh Battalion, which was responsible for intelligence gathering and covert action. The captain and deputy captain were away on business, so He Dang, the third in command, was now in charge of the siege network.

His nickname was Void, given to him because of his extraordinary sense of non-existence, of being present but indistinguishable. This blurred presence allowed him to master the art of stealth many times faster than others, and he was able to glean a great deal of information from people by deceiving them. It is no exaggeration to say that the secret of his ascension to the third level of the hierarchy lies in this innate blurring. But when it comes to leading people, as it does now, this blurred presence becomes a poison.

"Hey, do you know where the vice president went?"

Slightly bored with the unchanging siege, the men of the Twelfth began to make small talk.

"Well, I don't know, I didn't see you earlier."

"You too? I didn't see it!"

"It's the vice president, that hazy presence is unrivaled."

"It's not called air for nothing."

"Be careful, the vice president might be listening somewhere."

"But he's been gone for a while?"

"It's the vice president. He's not there, but he could be. Maybe we're not even noticing him. We have to be careful. He's a faint presence, and he's slow."

"I guess so."

Next to them, a man as thin as sorghum stood with tears in his eyes.

"Hey, I'm here, right next to you guys, and I'm not using any stealth.

Nevertheless, the men were busy whispering amongst themselves about how they hadn't noticed his presence at all. This wasn't something that happened every day, but it wasn't something I could get used to either.

"Okay, this time I'm going to make my presence felt by not letting a single rat escape!

He was determined that he would use this opportunity to reinforce his presence with a complete siege command, and that he would do something about it. That's when it happened.

"Yeah, what's that?

There was smoke coming out of the front door of Dormitory Thirteen, not very thick, but it was coming toward them as if it had a mind of its own.

"Hey, guys, wait, look over there."

In a voice as thin as a mosquito's, He Dang pointed toward the entrance. But none of their men looked in that direction.

"Hey, guys, can you look over there?"

Wondering if I hadn't heard him, I called his attention to it again, wondering if I'd finally heard his voice.

"Guys, I think I hear the vice president's voice somewhere."

"Really? Am I mistaken?"

"No, I think someone just touched me."

I tried to tell him how weak his presence was, but he didn't seem to hear me.

"I mean, look at that, that smoke, something's not right, and we better do something about it!"

I raised my voice as high as I could muster.

"Hey, I just heard the vice president's voice, and he said something's fishy."

"Yes, I heard you, but you must be very far away because the sound is faint."

"Okay, then ask out loud."

One of the most vocal members of the Twelfth stepped forward, cupped his hands over his mouth, and shouted.

"Boo-boo-boo-boo, what's going on here?"

"The kite is suspicious!"

I shouted as loudly as I could, barely reaching them, and they nodded.

"They say the smoke smells funny."

One of the guys next to me urged him on.

"Then ask me what you should do."

The loud voice called out again.

"So, uh, what do I do?"

"Oh, yeah, that's right, I'm going to get some water!"

He Dang shouted again with all his might.

"Dude, back off."

"Finally, my voice is heard!

Even though it was so obvious, He felt a twinge of satisfaction that his hard work had finally paid off.

"Okay, I guess I'll have to back off then."

"So…… huh? Why am I suddenly… sleepy?"

"That, well…… I'm sleepy too……."

Peep!

One by one, the warriors surrounding the Thirteenth Dormitory began to lose consciousness and collapse. Yuan Hui's smoke had completely enveloped them. Just as the Tang brothers had promised, the effect was unmistakable. Even when all of his men had collapsed and were snoring frantically, He Dang, the twelfth deputy, was still standing there. He had already inhaled a lot of sleeping incense while shouting at his men.

"So…… I told you to avoid…… and you didn't……."

He dropped to the floor and repeated the words. Of course, none of the men were listening.

* * *

"Well, your lines are always good."

Cheong Hyeon nodded in appreciation.

Baek Moo-young, who had been fanning himself hard up to this point, said as he folded up the diverging lines.

"@Steve, are you kidding me? My debt doesn't pay for this. I hope this doesn't happen next time."

Still, his forehead was beaded with sweat from his hard work.

"Who's to mock? It's not everybody's talent to whirl a puff of smoke like that around the entire dormitory. I genuinely admire you."

Of course, the sight of him lighting incense and fanning himself furiously in front of it was quite funny, not unlike Baek Moo-young, who usually takes his lunch breaks, but I didn't comment on that.

"Thank you for the empty words. Now, are you satisfied, Captain South Palace?"

Namgungsang, who had dragged the remaining envoys down from the second floor and was waiting for them, nodded.

"Of course. Mr. Baek made things easy for me, and I thank you, too."

"Well, I never thought I'd use it, but I'm glad it helped."

"If only I'd heard it from my big brother, it would have been perfect. When I get back, I'll have to revise it to make it more readable, and change my name to 'Hye-tan Moon'."

It was my first time using it on someone other than Jujakdan, and it worked faster than I imagined. Apparently, if you are weaker than Jujakdan, the medicine works faster.

"What's Moon Hye-tan, Moon Hye-tan. Of course it should be called Cheol Young-tan."

"Chul-Young? You mean Dang-Sam. Ugh, tacky, little brother."

Dangsam was immediately excited.

"What, tacky? Tacky is more like 'hye mae'."

"Who says you're a hawk, who cares!"

The fight was reignited between the two men who had been pacified earlier. It was clear that they were going to fight all day, so Namgungsang intervened and calmed them down.

"Come on, let's save the fighting for when we get back. For now, let's all focus on getting out of here. We need to think about our big brother. He's waiting for us."

At the word "big brother," the two twitched again and stopped fighting.

"Okay, everyone, let's start for the harbor. But we can't let them see us coming just yet, so let's keep a low profile and move quietly."

The key to success was how long he could stay on his feet.

'If only the harbor had less security…….'

With the entire island on lockdown, I probably shouldn't hold my breath, but as long as I made it to the harbor undetected, I felt confident about my…… escape.

"If this is the best I can do, I won't be afraid of a Sword Demon level Supreme Master!

The ease with which the siege had been broken had lulled him into a false sense of security, or so he thought at the time.

Unaware that the scythe of the Grim Reaper is pointed at their throats.