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Chapter 12
Dang Paejin no longer argued with Grandfather and stepped back.
He might have looked like someone with no tact, no thoughts, and nothing but greed, but he was still the eldest son of the Great Sichuan Tang Family. At the very least, he knew when to advance and when to retreat.
After giving me one last glance, Dang Paejin bowed his head.
“I shall take my leave.”
“Yes, go,” Tang Cheongi nodded.
At once, Dang Paejin withdrew from Yongyeonjeon.
Watching silently, Father pulled me into a tight embrace and spoke.
“I will also take my leave now. Bia seems tired.”
Grandfather nodded.
“Yes, go and let her rest. I’ve kept a child too long. She must be weary—wash her feet in warm water, and give her a cup of tea to warm her body before bed.”
“I will.”
I blinked at Grandfather’s meticulous concern.
Whenever something exhausting ended, it was Father’s old habit to wash my feet in warm water and give me tea before sleep.
But Grandfather—who had never once come to see me—how did he know that?
Just then, I recalled something Father once said.
“Though he has his reasons for not coming to see you…”
Why did those words suddenly come to mind?
It wasn’t as if I was in any position to question Grandfather for making me feel neglected.
After bidding farewell to Grandfather and Uncle, I stepped out of Yongyeonjeon. Evening had already fallen.
“Let’s go. I’ll have warm tea prepared,” Father whispered gently, caressing my cheek.
Under Father’s care, I soaked my feet in warm water and drank tea hot enough to warm my insides.
Sleepiness crept in at once. How could I already be this drowsy? Truly, an eight-year-old’s body had no stamina.
Father laid me down properly in bed and left, telling me to rest well.
Wrapped in the soft quilt, I replayed the day’s events.
The first thing that came to mind was, of course, Dang Paejin’s glaring face as he left Yongyeonjeon.
Perhaps because of what happened before my regression, even a single word from him seared itself into my mind, leaving a mark not easily erased.
Anyway—
‘He must have confirmed the reason he came.’
The reason he rushed to Yongyeonjeon was surely to verify whether the rumor currently spreading through the Tang Clan—that I was “immune to all poison”—was true.
Even if Grandfather found him displeasing, he had managed to uncover the truth of that rumor faster than anyone. It wasn’t a wasted effort.
But things had become troublesome.
Dang Paejin was the man who once colluded with the Demonic Sect to seize control of the Tang Clan. He was ruthless enough to pull in outside forces to eliminate anything within the clan that stood in his way.
‘And now I’ve already become someone he sees as an obstacle.’
Both Father and I were on his list of targets to remove.
So of course, we would be the ones he most wanted to eliminate first.
‘But he can’t kill Father just yet.’
It would draw too much attention.
There were three heirs to the Tang Clan:
The eldest son, Dang Paejin.
The eldest daughter, Dang Soyong.
The second son, Dang Jinhyeon.
If one had to choose the strongest successor, two-thirds of the martial world would point to Dang Jinhyeon, while one-third would point to Dang Paejin.
And if one had to pick the one with the greatest talent and medical skill, everyone would name Dang Soyong.
In short, aside from being the eldest, Dang Paejin had nothing to surpass his two siblings.
Thus, to seize power, he drove out Dang Soyong’s husband, Dang Sayuk, crippling her support.
And he poisoned Dang Jinhyeon with a toxin that no antidote could cure, leaving him to wither away.
That was because he knew he could never win against Father in a direct confrontation. Father was the clan’s greatest martial artist after Grandfather.
And then, in the end, he killed me as well—to leave no lingering threats.
His schemes took ten years.
‘They say a gentleman’s revenge is never late, even if it takes ten years. Who knew a petty villain’s plot would follow the same rule?’
Anyway, that was all in the future. At least seven years away.
But it was also something happening now, before my eyes, and something that had happened in the past.
I didn’t know what became of the clan after my death. Perhaps Grandfather returned from Tang Mountain and punished him.
Or perhaps Dang Paejin used his poison zombies and the Demonic Sect’s support to overwhelm even Grandfather, leaving the clan in ruins.
Since I hadn’t seen it, I couldn’t be sure.
I could only hope Dang Paejin hadn’t been so foolish as to destroy the Tang Clan’s very foundation.
Most likely not. His life’s goal was to become the next Clan Head.
Without a house, there’s no master. Without land and people, there’s no king. That much is obvious.
He wouldn’t have killed all his subjects.
‘But in the process of “thinning out” those he meant to rule, countless Tang clansmen must have died.’
At the very least, my aunt’s children—Tang Ho, Tang Rip, and Tang Seonseon—were surely killed.
I recalled the clan’s maids and guards who had died at Dang Paejin’s hand in my past life.
They were slaughtered trying to protect Father and me.
The memory made a cold sweat run down my back.
‘No. Not this time.’
Once was enough. I might have been caught off guard before, but now that I knew the future, there was no reason to let him succeed again.
In my past life, I hadn’t learned poison arts, but I had studied hidden weapons, the basics of poison theory, and even literacy.
So I hadn’t been a complete fool, even without poison skills.
But this time, I might be able to learn them.
Of course, as a girl, I would face limits in how far I could go.
But I had the Myriad Blood Snake.
The deadliest venomous spirit beast in the martial world was with me. This life was already very different.
And not just that—I could live a completely different life.
Maybe I could even leave the Tang Family’s compound someday.
‘Am I dreaming too big?’
No, it wasn’t impossible. Being immune to poison meant I could train in poison arts as well.
Not only hidden weapons, but poisons too.
The thought made me feel strange. I buried my face in the quilt.
Dang Jinhyeon had noticed.
The fleeting moment when Dang Paejin’s gaze fell upon the innocent child.
It lasted only an instant, but those eyes were unmistakable. The eyes of one facing an enemy—or of a predator spotting prey.
He knew his own body was failing. Which meant Dang Paejin’s claws might soon reach for Dang Bi.
No, not “might.” He surely would.
His own children were unimpressive, so he would fear and envy Dang Bi’s talent.
His elder brother had always been that way. From birth, Dang Paejin had carried nothing but inferiority in both hands.
Never able to find what made him superior to others, only ever fixating on what he lacked, breeding jealousy and spite—that was why, though born with some martial ability, he could never grow stronger.
And so, since childhood, he hated Dang Jinhyeon and found fault in everything he did.
And now, knowing Dang Bi was immune to poison…
‘He will surely make a move.’
Dang Paejin’s children had shown little promise.
As head of Dokryong Pavilion—the Tang Clan’s training hall for young heirs—Dang Jinhyeon knew better than anyone their skills and levels.
Among the direct-line children, Tang Soyong’s sons, Tang Ho and Tang Rip, were outstanding. Compared to them, Dang Paejin’s three children—Dang Yeong, Dang Geukseo, and Dang Seohui—were far inferior.
With his own children falling behind, it was only natural for Dang Paejin to feel threatened.
“Master.”
It was Jo Yeopyeong, the guard whom Dang Jinhyeon had personally saved ten years ago and kept close ever since. He had been with him so long he could instantly sense the gloom on his face.
Dang Jinhyeon replied with a faint smile.
“I am fine.”
“Your complexion says otherwise.”
“It’s the look of a father worried for his daughter.”
“I, Jo Yeopyeong, will protect Young Miss Dang Bi from all harm.”
“I am reassured to have you.”
Under the moonlight, Dang Jinhyeon’s eyes gleamed coldly.
And those eyes were frighteningly similar to Dang Paejin’s gaze when he had looked at Dang Bi in Yongyeonjeon.
