TSBIRBV Ch 25

Chapter 25 The Tang Clan of Sichuan (4)

“Good. That’s it. Our Baembeam’s a genius. A genius.”

At the sound of Yegyeol’s clapping, Baembeam slid smoothly along a pillar.

“That’s right. Over that way.”

He looked like a parent offering encouragement to a baby taking its first steps, but in truth, he was concentrating extremely hard.

“No, no… don’t go in there. A little to the side.”

The problem was that while Baembeam, as a spiritual beast, could understand most of what Yegyeol said, it didn’t exactly know the proper way to infiltrate a human’s quarters. So he was teaching it to move quietly along paths where it wouldn’t be noticed.

First, he channeled his power to create a path with meticulous precision. Baembeam, sensing the currents of lightning, followed that invisible trail. Since they couldn’t have the building burnt down for the sake of a lesson, Yegyeol had to regulate his power with the utmost delicacy.

After a few runs climbing up and down pillars and moving mostly along the ceiling, Baembeam would be invisible unless someone happened to look up directly.

Lastly, Yegyeol gave the little snake specific instructions.

“If you find something that smells like this poison, just sneak it back. Understand?”

He opened the lid of a small porcelain jar, and Baembeam tilted its head. This was Seven-Soul Poison (Chilhon-dok), a cost-effective venom the Tang Clan often used in basic poison cultivation training.

When Yegyeol had mentioned he needed poison commonly used by the Tang Clan, it had taken less than half an hour before the Seven-Soul Poison was delivered to him.

It may not be as rare as the Seven-Step-Chasing-Soul Poison, which is said to kill before the victim can take seven steps, but still—poison is poison. The efficiency’s impressive, he thought.

Deciding preparations were complete, Yegyeol cut off the sleeve of Samrang’s night-travel outfit and fashioned it into a small hood for Baembeam. Tied neatly under the chin, it looked less like a mask and more like a black version of Little Red Riding Hood.

“Be careful out there.”

He spoke like it was nothing, ignoring the fact he’d done it entirely for amusement. Initially, he’d eyed the light-absorbing fabric of Samrang’s outfit to hide Baembeam’s gleaming scales, but since a snake moved by slithering, wrapping its entire body in cloth had made it impossible for it to move.

Thus, Baembeam’s “fashion show” had ended before it even began. The little headscarf left behind was merely the remnant of Yegyeol’s unfulfilled whim.

“How wonderful—my stolen sleeve going to a good cause.”

“For a stealth op, proper attire is essential.”

“That’s the kind of adage you hear passed down in the trade, but…”

Samrang bit back the rest—which would have been to question whether a snake really needed a disguise—and looked sorrowfully upward. The tip of the snake’s tail flicked through the ceiling gap, vanishing like it was teasing her.

Her night-travel outfit’s sleeve—elastic, breathable, and ideal for concealing throwing weapons—had crossed the river of no return.

With Baembeam dispatched on reconnaissance, Yegyeol strolled leisurely about the manor with Samrang in tow, building himself an alibi.

Haven’t put this much effort into fooling someone since Senior Brother.

Jin Sam was returning from somewhere; though he carried no gifts, the signs of heavy drinking were plain.

[Shall we head back now?]

Sensing the moment was right, Samrang sent him a sound transmission, urging him to return. Even for a spiritual beast with some understanding of human speech, she found it strange that Yegyeol could be so calm after setting the Millennium Thunder-Horned Python loose.

“Beautiful weather, fresh air.”

Yegyeol ignored her unspoken warning and remained relaxed. After all, he could sense Baembeam’s pulse—it was possible because they both used the same type of power. At that moment, Baembeam was already safely back in the room.

“It’ll be chilly once the sun goes down—it wouldn’t be good to stay out so long.”

Now visibly pressing him, Samrang spoke aloud.

“I’m fine. Don’t worry. I won’t stay in the cold too long.”

Samrang, who prided herself on her own unflappability, was startled to find herself being the one to nag first for once.

She was concerned about Baembeam’s safety, though less out of affection and more because of the Python’s limitless potential.

Well, it… was cute.

[Didn’t know you had a heart this strong,] she sent.

Yegyeol smiled faintly. He was from the “people who do everything fast” nation—right now, there was no urgent need. He already knew exactly what Jin Sam had done, and the deal with the Tang Clan was signed.

The evidence he’d acquire was like a perfect test paper for dictation—it was just for showing to Haryang later to earn a “Well done” stamp, not something that would get him back to his Senior Brother any sooner by having it in his hand an hour earlier.

Really should’ve awakened teleportation instead of lightning bolts, he mused bitterly, striding forward.

Realizing suddenly that he really was headed back to the room, Samrang abandoned her idle flower-watching and followed quickly.

Passing Jin Sam’s quarters, they heard him snoring. Yegyeol ignored it and entered his own room.

As if on cue, Baembeam glided down from the pillar to land softly on the floor—carrying in its mouth a ledger far larger than its own body. Samrang’s sharp nose immediately caught the distinct scent of Seven-Soul Poison wafting from it.

It actually pulled it off?

Her eyes filled with a mix of awe and shock as Baembeam waved its tail proudly. She rubbed her eyes, half-wondering if she’d imagined it.

“Well done.”

Yegyeol raised a hand to his brow in a mock salute. Baembeam tilted its head quizzically, but its master ignored the question and began flipping through the ledger.

“It’s not quite a smoking gun, but… look at all the favoritism toward the Tang Clan. Let’s see… going back three years?”

“Apparently Emei Sect wanted to work with us at one point, but Jin Sam gave the final nod to the Tang Clan. Looks like they barely underbid the Emei offer.”

The Tang representative back then had also been Tang Seoak.

“Thick as thieves, huh.”

Clicking his tongue, Yegyeol handed the book to Samrang.

“Should we scrap the contract?” she asked again, repeating her suggestion from the previous day.

“What’s the point of making a mess when I came here to learn the business?”

“But you’re the guild master.”

Cutting ties with the Tang Clan could be dangerous, but Samrang was under orders to guard him and clean up afterward if blood was spilled.

“No, I misspoke. I’m not saying I won’t stir things up—I want to take a different approach.”

He wanted to cause more trouble than a simple cancellation.

“We’re not going to them first with complaints. And in the end, Jin Sam went into negotiations as my proxy—without hard proof, how do we cancel? No matter how much leverage we have, we can’t just act unreasonably.”

He shook his head firmly.

Listening closely, Samrang tilted her head.

“But the proof is—right there in your hands…”

Yegyeol was already passing Baembeam the ledger again.

“What proof? There’s nothing here.”

Without anything as crude as an order, the snake slipped away again, climbing the pillar into the shadows above. If it were the Millennium Thunder-Horned Python, it could replace the ledger in the snoring Jin Sam’s room without leaving a trace.

Watching it vanish, Samrang felt a spike of raw envy.

If that was something I could buy, I’d be on the floor begging our lord for it…!

It was no ordinary beast—it was Baembeam.

“Mmm. Must’ve been my imagination. Nothing here,” she said, coughing awkwardly. Few would guess, from her usual languid ways, how quick her wits could be.

Pleased by her discretion, Yegyeol grinned.

“The Tang Clan’s taking such a big fee—they’d better do the job perfectly. If the Green Forest bandits everyone’s on about actually hit a caravan, it’d be a disaster. Right?”

He clicked his tongue as if making sure she heard.

Samrang’s brow twitched. Whether it was his “merchant” Senior Brother or this newly installed guild master, the idea of robbing their own caravan seemed to run in the family.

“What do you think? Could we take down one of the Tang Clan’s ‘pillars’?”

“They’re deeply rooted, but we could probably shake one loose.”

It was exactly the answer Yegyeol wanted.

“Good. Let’s go.”

His eyes gleamed as he finally found something he wanted to do.

“Time to go seize a mountain fortress!”

Notes:

• Seven-Soul Poison (칠혼독) — a common but effective venom used in early poison cultivation, favored for its cost-effectiveness by poison-using sects like the Tang Clan.

• Seven-Step-Chasing-Soul Poison (칠보추혼독) — a legendary potent poison said to kill before the poisoned target can take seven steps.

• Pillar (기둥) a major stronghold, power base, or key faction supporting a clan’s influence; “taking one” would mean dismantling or seizing control of part of the Tang Clan’s operations.