Return of The Mount Hua – Chapter 1431. You'll have to kill me first (1)
Editor: Hoamzz
Co-Translator: Xoxo
“Please lean on me."
"...I am fine."
“Let me help you.”
He felt a firm grip from the hand holding his arm. For a moment, a strange sense of defiance rose within him, but in the end, Tang Wei couldn’t shake off the woman’s hand.
It was because he knew that if he delayed time due to his exhaustion, others would also be endangered.
“Cough, cough.”
Tang Wei i let out a bitter smile after a series of light coughs.
'I've become quite a sight.'
Since the death of the previous patriarch, Tang Wei had been the real power holder in the family. No, perhaps even before that. Such a person was now receiving support from a woman who hadn't even learned martial arts.
Would things have been different if his martial arts hadn’t been crippled?
Could this absurd situation where the world-renowned Sichuan Tang Family running away from Evil Sects be prevented?
'No.'
Tang Wei shook his head without realizing it.
The current situation wasn’t so simple that one man’s strength could change it. Even if he had never lost his martial prowess, nothing would have changed.
'How pathetic.'
He believed that everything he had done was for Tang Family. He believed that the current patriarch, stern on the outside but weak-willed to the core, would never be able to restore the family’s former glory.
But now he ends up running away, having lost the foundation of Tang Family that was poison and the smithy. Where? Just where had things gone so wrong?
“Cough! Cough!”
“Are you okay, Elder-nim?”
"...I am fine."
Tang Wei weakly lowered the hand covering his mouth. Though there were no visible traces of blood, but he could tell intuitively that he didn’t have much life left.
What will happen to Tang Family after he dies? Can Tang Family, stripped of its foundation, survive in the great war about to engulf the world?
Even if survival were somehow possible, could they ever recover their former glory? Tang Family that has lost its poisons and hidden weapons?
It was suffocating. Like a giant lump of iron was pressing down on his chest.
Then, the hand gripping his arm pulled him more firmly. Tang Wei unconsciously turned his gaze in that direction.
“Lean on me a bit more.”
"...Enough."
“I still have strength left. Please don’t worry.”
For a moment, Tang Wei was at a loss for words.
'You still have strength left?'
That couldn’t be.
Although Tang Wei had lost his martial arts and was left with a frail body, this woman who had never learned martial arts in her life must be having just as difficult a time.
At least Tang Wei has the experience of enduring pain while learning martial arts, but aren't the daughters of Tang Family in a position where they rarely even leave the inner quarters?
And yet this woman calmly said such words to him.
‘She is strong.’
Somehow, a strange sentiment dug into Tang Wei's heart.
"Thank you."
“...Yes?”
A bewildered voice reached him, but Tang Wei said nothing more and gently closed his eyes.
'Elder-nim.'
The image of Tang Jo-pyeong came to mind.
Tang Jo-pyeong said that what Tang Family must protect wasn’t poison or the smithy, but people themselves.
Honestly, Tang Wei still couldn’t agree with those words. But he did understand what Tang Jo-pyeong had meant to say. Even if you have poison unmatched under heaven or hidden weapons without equal, they would be useless without people to wield them.
Perhaps what had sustained Tang Family all this time was the resilience of these nameless individuals.
"Whose daughter are you?"
"My father's formal name is Gowi (고위(高偉))."
"Tang Gowi..."
Judging by how unfamiliar it sounded, she was likely from a collateral branch. Tang Wei glanced at the woman’s face.
Was she barely eighteen? Her features were ordinary enough to be seen anywhere, but her expression alone was exceptionally composed.
But Tang Wei realized that there was an uneasiness within her that could not be completely hidden.
"Do not worry."
"Yes?"
"Tang Family will rise again."
Tang Wei spoke with forced strength in his voice. These words might not have been meant to comfort her but himself.
"Even if our home burns, even if we lose our poisons and hidden weapons, Tang Family is still Tang Family."
Tang Wei hesitated slightly before continuing.
“The current patriarch is a remarkable person. He will surely revive the family.”
After finishing, he gave himself a bitter smile. Who would have thought that he would say such things during his lifetime?
'Gaju.'
Yet he didn't regret speaking it, not one bit.
Now, Tang Gun-ak would have to endure a long stretch of pain.
The thought of the trials awaiting him made even Tang Wei, who had never held much fondness for Tang Gun-ak, let out an involuntary sigh.
“If you all continue to believe in and follow the patriarch, someday Tang Family can again become the ruler of Sichuan.”
Even Tang Wei who said the words didn't think it was a convincing argument. But in their current state, he believed this was the guidance these young ones needed.
However... the response he received differed slightly from his expectations.
"Tang Family... Yes, Tang Family will be fine."
“That’s right.”
"But... I won't be able to be of help to the patriarch, Elder-nim."
A slightly taken aback Tang Wei looked at her and asked.
“What do you mean by that?”
“There’s no way for me to help. I’m of marriageable age now.”
Tang Wei's face twisted strangely. Marriageable age? In this situation, saying that meant she would soon become an outsider and that Tang Family no longer mattered to her. Wasn’t that what she meant?
Everyone prioritizes their own affairs. But hearing such words from none other than a Tang Family person struck him with no small shock.
Tang Wei stared at the woman and said.
"Of course, that is a woman's path... but shouldn't the family come first now?"
“If I marry, I’m no longer part of Tang Family.”
“....”
"That's how I was taught, in all my life. That once married, I should forget everything about Tang Family. That I must erase even the smallest memories from this place."
Tang Wei was at a loss for words.
“That’s....”
What she spoke of was Tang Family's law. It was the rule they followed to protect their secrets. And the one who had most revered and upheld that rule passed down from the ancestors was none other than Tang Wei himself.
And now the words he had spoken countless times were coming back to him.
"...Of course that is so, but aren't you still a member of Tang Family now?"
“But still… Oh.”
The woman who was about to continue speaking seemed to catch herself, glancing at Tang Wei and slightly bowing her head.
“I’m sorry. I....”
It seemed she felt awkward having revealed her true feelings before Tang Wei. The usual Tang Wei would have clicked his tongue in displeasure and turned away by now.
But for some reason, Tang Wei wanted to hear what she had left unsaid. Maybe because he didn’t have many days left to live. Or perhaps because this woman was still supporting him so steadily even now.
"Child."
“...Yes?”
“What were you trying to say? Will you tell me?”
“I....”
“Please.”
The woman, who seemed to be contemplating, sighed and opened her mouth.
“You may not know this, Elder-nim, but when things get tough, girls like us tend to have our marriages arranged quickly. Because useless mouths to feed must be reduced."
Tang Wei frowned slightly. But upon hearing it, it wasn't entirely wrong.
Women in Tang Family were of little practical help anyway, so it would be difficult to lead them in reviving the family. So generally, they would be married off even to families they wouldn't normally be sent to during ordinary times, and extracting support for Tang Family in return.
"And even if that doesn't happen, people like us are of no help."
"Of no help, you say?"
"The most we can do is cook and do laundry."
“....”
"Women who came from prestigious families may be able to swing a sword or throw a fist when faced with a crisis. But we can't even do that."
The speechless Tang Wei looked at the woman and barely managed to ask.
"...Do you resent it?"
At this, the woman shook her head.
"No. These aren't words spoken from resentment. We too are full of desire to help the patriarch. But there's truly no way for us to help."
Tang Wei felt an ache in his chest for some reason. He wanted to say that even trivial tasks would count as helping, but he couldn't. In truth, he knew best that such things would be of little help to Tang Gun-ak.
Mouths to feed. Though it was an inappropriate term to use in a prestigious family like the Tang, in this situation, the daughters of Tang Family were merely mouths to feed.
The ones who made them this way were none other than Tang Family and Tang Wei himself.
"So... you plan to look for a marriage partner right away?"
At Tang Wei's question, the woman brightened up with a smile. It was a smile that was obviously forced.
"That would be one way, but in a difficult situation for the family… I wonder who would be willing to take in a collateral branch daughter of Tang Family?"
Just as Tang Wei's throat felt ticklish and he was about to burst into a dry cough.
"So... I'm thinking of leaving the family when we reach Shaanxi."
“Leaving the family? What does that mean?”
“I’m thinking of going to Mount Hua."
“...What?”
For a moment, Tang Wei forgot to cough and opened his eyes wide in surprise.
What kind of nonsense was this? Mount Hua?
“Other places probably wouldn’t take us, but Mount Hua might. Since Soso Unnie is already there too.”
"...You mean to seek refuge at Mount Hua?"
“No. I too... want to learn swordsmanship in Mount Hua.”
“Sword...?”
The woman nodded at those words. Her eyes were shining.
“Did you want to learn swordsmanship?”
"It's not exactly that..."
The woman hesitated slightly before continuing.
“But if I join Mount Hua and learn the sword, I can at least do something with my own strength. And if needed, I could protect myself too. Soso Unnie has already shown us it's possible."
“....”
“If Soso Unnie had stayed in Tang Family, she would’ve been married off to some powerful family in Sichuan by now. She would’ve been living a completely different life. Everyone thought Soso Unnie was strange, but... secretly envied her."
The woman's calm words were engraved into Tang Wei’s mind.
"If we go to Mount Hua, can we live like that too? Will there ever be a day when we’re called by our own names, not just as 'Tang daughters'? But until now, we didn’t have the courage. Because we’re not Soso Unnie.”
“So then…”
"Yes. This time, I want to gather my courage. Of course, I know Mount Hua is strict, and I’ve heard the training is harsh, but still… I feel like I could do something if I went there. I don’t think the patriarch would stop us either if we said we were going.”
The woman made a sword-swinging gesture with the arm that wasn't supporting Tang Wei.
“Who knows? Maybe I’ll turn out to have talent with the sword and become a famous swordswoman!”
As she spoke, her face brightened with hope. But then suddenly looking back at Tang Wei, she flinched and became dejected again.
“I’m sorry. Did I talk too much?”
"...Are there many?"
"Yes?"
"Are there... many girls in the family who think like you?"
“That’s....”
“Don’t be afraid and tell me. What's there to fear from an old man who has lost all his strength and authority?"
The woman scratched her forehead slightly with her finger and said.
"Not many... but not too few either. At least the direct lineage sisters have other paths, but for us daughters of collateral branch, there’s no other way."
Tang Wei suddenly looked up at the sky in silence.
It was brilliantly clear. That vast blue sky felt especially distant today.
“What is your name?”
"Yes...? I am..."
“I’m not going to punish you. I just want to know.”
Only then did the woman look relieved and nod.
“I’m Sobo (소보(小寶)/Small Treasure or Jewel or Precious Stone). But my mother calls me Sobo (소보(小步)/Small Step).”
“Sobo… Sobo.”
The corners of Tang Wei's lips quivered slightly. He was about to say something after a long silence when.
“Elder-nim!”
A frantic shout came from behind. The startled Tang Wei hurriedly looked back.
"The rear! Myriad Man Manor is coming from the rear! The bastards are coming!"
The color drained completely from his wrinkled face.
|Note
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