TYDOFC 28

Oh wow, there are so many people.

I don’t think I’ve ever seen this many in one place before.

Of course not — in my past life, I’d been confined to my quarters, and it hasn’t been long since I returned to the past.

Watching the crowd that gathered like a swarm of clouds, I whispered softly to my father.

“Are there always this many people here?”

Father bent down and murmured back,

“If the main gate had been opened, there would’ve been even more.”

Whew, thank goodness it wasn’t.

Otherwise, we might’ve ended up calling every single person in Sichuan Province into the Tang family’s estate on a day that’s not even a special occasion.

As Father took a step forward, the dense crowd naturally parted before him.

I held tightly onto his hand and followed him into Dokryonggak.

Inside, I saw not only the elders I’d met during the council meeting but even the retired grand elders who had long stepped away from clan affairs.

Except for Father and my uncle—both of whom had become masters of Dokryonggak and the Medicine Hall at a young age—everyone else was quite old.

Still clutching Father’s hand, I trotted along beside him.

‘So this is where Father works…!’

I’d wanted to see it countless times before.

But I’d never had the chance in my previous life, so I’d only imagined it.

So this is what it looks like.

Father is the head and instructor of Dokryonggak.

That means he must have taught the children here—both from the main and branch families—testing and nurturing their talents.

It was one of the most important duties in the clan.

After all, the clan’s prestige depended on how many outstanding disciples it produced.

Thinking about the kind of work Father did made me feel proud of him all over again.

I squeezed his hand tightly.

“Hmm?”

Father smiled down at me.

“Nervous?”

“No!”

That was a lie.

I was a little nervous.

When I shook my head, his large hand gently brushed my cheek.

“It’s all right.”

Father’s “it’s all right” always carried strength.

It always worked—always calmed me down.

And just like that, whatever little nervousness I had left melted away.

Looking closely at the front yard of Dokryonggak, I noticed the ground was paved with solid bluestone—it looked like the area doubled as a training ground.

I widened my eyes and scanned around, then pointed toward a faintly visible statue in the distance.

“Father, what’s that?”

The statue was shaped like a snake coiled tightly around a pillar.

And not just one—there were two of those strange columns standing tall.

It looked eerie and odd enough that anyone passing by would turn to stare.

Father glanced at where I was pointing and replied,

“It’s a mechanical training device.”

“A… device?”

“Yes. When activated, it launches more than a dozen flying blades all at once.”

“……?”

Okay, I am definitely not touching that.

I gripped Father’s finger more tightly, and he gently stroked the back of my hand with his large one.

“Don’t worry, it won’t activate.”

“Okaay.”

“That device is very complex to operate, and it’s extremely dangerous, so it’s rarely used.”

Still, I didn’t really want to walk too close to it.

I carefully made sure to give it a wide berth as we passed.

“Sir.”

Tang Rip bowed slightly to my father.

Father nodded.

“Rip, you’re here.”

“I’m not late, am I?”

“You came at the perfect time. By the way…”

Tang Rip narrowed his eyes.

“I heard you made a poison pill?”

“Wow, rumors spread fast.”

“It’d be strange if they didn’t.”

“True, so…”

I placed both my small hands neatly atop Tang Rip’s large one.

“Ta-da!”

He was barehanded, but I wasn’t—my hands were covered with small leather gloves.

Seeing that, Tang Rip smiled broadly.

“Now you really look like a Tang family warrior.”

“Grandfather gave them to me! It’s tradition, right? When a student first learns poison arts, their master gives them gloves.”

That was one of the Tang clan’s long-standing customs.

Usually, the gloves were gifted by the instructor of Dokryonggak or the child’s parent.

Getting them directly from the clan head was rare—no wonder the servants had been so delighted.

“Pretty neat, huh?”

“Yeah.”

He squinted his eyes and playfully ruffled my hair.

“You brought the Blood Serpent too?”

“It’s in my arms.”

“With all these people around, make sure it doesn’t slither out.”

“Don’t worry.”

After spending several days with Manhyeolsa, I’d learned one thing—it wasn’t as fierce as it looked.

As long as no one threatened me directly, it stayed calm.

Even when it hissed with its fangs bared, if I told it to stop, it immediately obeyed and returned to my arms.

A good snake.

Good and obedient.

Thanks to that, the special enclosure Grandfather sent was completely unnecessary.

I slid my hand into my sleeve and petted it gently. I felt it wriggle faintly.

Then—

“Ahem!”

A long shadow fell over my head.

Slowly, I lifted my gaze to see who it was.

The man approaching was none other than the Tang clan’s grand elder and the head of the Council of Elders—Tang Jige.

I quickly bowed my head.

“Tang Bia greets the Council Head.”

Oops, I even remembered to keep my sleeves covered.

I could feel his eyes sweep over my sleeves and gloves.

He must have heard the rumors.

Or perhaps even received a report firsthand.

The rumor that I had created a poison pill.

Is that why he came over?

To confirm it himself?

As the Council Head approached, the atmosphere suddenly grew heavy and silent.

I could sense people stopping their conversations and turning to watch us.

I quietly waited for him to speak.

“……”

“……”

But… why isn’t he saying anything?

He just looked at me.

It felt almost like a merchant appraising the value of an item.

But strangely, I didn’t feel offended.

He was the Grand Elder of the Great Sichuan Tang Clan—the head of the Council.

A man who had spent his entire life discerning genuine talent from mediocrity.

Now, that same sharp gaze was evaluating me.

After a moment’s hesitation, I lifted my head and met his eyes directly.

“Council Head.”

I made my eyes as clear and bright as possible.

“I won’t let you down.”

“……”

“I’ll do my best. Please watch over me.”

In truth, there wasn’t much I could do.

All I was going to do here was drink the poison that Tang Rip had prepared.

But Father always said—

No adult dislikes a child who says they’ll try their best.

And if someone did, then that person wasn’t worthy of being called an adult.

Sure enough, I saw the Council Head’s expression soften slightly.

He spoke in a gentle tone.

“I’ll be looking forward to it.”

With that, he took a step back and sat down in the chair that had been prepared for him.

As soon as he sat, the other elders and grand elders also took their seats.

But Father didn’t go to sit beside them—he stayed right next to me.

He stood by me until everyone—elders, grand elders, the main and branch family children—had taken their places.

Even the clan’s warriors, blacksmiths, physicians, and nurses all settled into their spots.

Father never once left my side, as though he couldn’t bear to let me be alone even for a moment.

“Father.”

“It’ll begin soon.”

There was a faint edge to his voice.

Maybe others wouldn’t notice it, but I did.

Of course I did—I was his only daughter.

Was it because there were so many people? I could feel that Father was more tense than usual.

“Father, Bia’s fine.”

I held his hand and whispered so only he could hear.

“Bia has Manhyeolsa, remember?”

“That’s true.”

“And with you and Brother here, nothing dangerous will happen.”

I threw my arms around him.

I was only eight years old, so even on tiptoe I could barely reach his waist—but I hugged him anyway.

“So don’t worry too much.”

“Yes, my daughter.”

He gently patted the back of my head.

“Every time you act so brave and mature, I feel proud.”

His soft whisper was full of warmth.

I hugged him tightly once more, then let go.

And not long after—

“The Clan Head is entering!”

A powerful voice rang out, announcing Grandfather’s arrival.

At last, even Tang Paejin—who had been watching me the whole time—turned his head toward the entrance.