Genius Martial Arts Trainer

Chapter 138:

If You’re Scared, Just Die

Regardless of being treated like a lunatic by Tang Hyeok-soo, the atmosphere inside was utterly cold.

Why wouldn’t it be?

The Tang family was a group that stuck together tightly, to the extent of creating a village named Tangga-tara, where only people with the surname ‘Tang’ lived.

And Tang Hyeok-soo, as evident by the surname ‘Tang,’ was part of the Tang family’s bloodline.

Of course, unlike Tang Pae-jin, the head of the family, he was from a collateral branch. Still, that didn’t erase the fact that he was a blood relative.

“Fine. As you said, under the circumstances, it’s suspicious. But let me ask. Is there any conclusive evidence that Hyeok-soo is truly an agent of the enemy?”

The fact that Tang Pae-jin even tried to resolve this through conversation showed that he respected the other as a benefactor.

“The situation you mentioned could just be seen as falling for the enemy’s trap. But the fact that you dared to accuse my nephew Hyeok-soo in front of me suggests that you have undeniable evidence, doesn’t it?”

The logic that simply falling into the enemy’s trap and dragging the lady into it made Hyeok-soo guilty of treason didn’t seem like it would work here.

Contrary to their reputation for being ruthless, the Tang family was surprisingly swayed by emotions.

Still, it didn’t feel entirely bad.

‘Yes. That’s how family should be.’

An unwavering bond, showing absolute trust no matter the situation. Where else in the world, other than family, could such a relationship exist?

Of course, that didn’t mean Tang Hyeok-soo wasn’t a spy.

Tang Hyeok-soo.

He was a character who appeared in the second part of Legend of the Evil Emperor, but to put it simply, he was a loose thread—a MacGuffin, so to speak.

Dao Yuetian repeatedly attacked the hideouts of the shadowy forces, and during one of those raids, he coincidentally encountered Tang Hyeok-soo there.

Tang Hyeok-soo was a messenger, delivering “something” that the shadowy forces had demanded from the Tang family. Dao Yuetian captured and interrogated him, eventually uncovering the truth of the Shintubidong incident and information about the Taeeulmun.

Also, the fact that the Tang family had already fallen into the hands of the shadowy forces.

Naturally, when Choi Kang-hyuk, the reader of the novel, saw this, he thought, “So, after bringing down the Cheonryu Sangdan and the Jegal family, next up is the Tang family!” and looked forward to it. But the story moved on to Sichuan, without tackling this plotline due to other events.

Later, as the protagonist of the third part, Mu-jin, Choi Kang-hyuk finally encountered this unresolved plotline—Tang Hyeok-soo.

So, there was no doubt that Tang Hyeok-soo was a spy working for the shadowy forces. The only problem was…

‘Hmm. I didn’t expect them to blindly take his side like that.’

Even if he was their nephew, Mu-jin had thought they might harbor a bit of suspicion under the circumstances.

But now that he had already voiced his suspicion of Tang Hyeok-soo, there was no backing down. Retreating now would only raise more suspicion.

So how could he persuade them? Ever since dealing with the Cheonryu Sangdan, he realized that in this damn world of martial arts novels, the very concept of “evidence” was laughable.

No recording, no video. You had to catch them in the act, but even then, if they were exchanging information through coded messages, they could easily deny it.

In the end, it all boiled down to, “Whose words will be believed?”

Even though circumstantial evidence was being presented, Tang Pae-jin still chose to trust his blood relative, Tang Hyeok-soo.

But because of that, on the contrary—

‘Yes! They can’t find proof either!!’

Mu-jin decided to turn the situation around.

“This is the proof.”

As he spoke, Mu-jin pulled out a letter he had obtained from the Taeeulmun master’s room.

“What is this?”

“This is the letter that Tang Hyeok-soo delivered to Taeeulmun.”

“…Is that really true?”

“Yes, it is.”

Of course, it was a lie. But Mu-jin didn’t care. After all, the other side also had no real evidence.

Tang Pae-jin, furrowing his brow, received the letter from Mu-jin and briefly read it, before asking with his whole face contorted.

“Are you kidding me? Do you think this pathetic letter can serve as proof?”

The letter merely contained a string of incoherent sentences. Naturally.

“Isn’t this written in code? That alone seems suspicious enough, don’t you think?”

Because it was a coded message. A code that even Mu-jin couldn’t decipher.

It seemed that after the Cheonryu Sangdan incident, the hidden forces had changed their encryption methods.

Mu-jin had kept the letter to try and decode the system later.

Naturally, there was no evidence that Tang Hyeok-soo had given that letter. In fact, Mu-jin didn’t even remember seeing such an event.

But what did it matter? The other side also had no proof.

‘It’s not like this code will be easily deciphered anyway.’

Instead, Mu-jin pressed forward, trusting in the meticulous nature of the shadowy forces.

“Hmm. Then, let’s see if what you claim is true. We’ll investigate whether Hyeok-soo left So-mi’s side at night and went somewhere.”

As this somewhat blatant (though fake) piece of evidence surfaced, Tang Pae-jin said this with a half-doubtful expression.

However, Mu-jin rejected the suggestion.

“If you move so blatantly, you’ll only give the enemy time to prepare. There’s no guarantee that Tang Hyeok-soo is the only spy.”

“…Not just Hyeok-soo, but you’re suspecting others too?”

“Keke. You must be out of your mind, wanting to die.”

Whether Tang Pae-jin and Tang-gak glared at him or not, Mu-jin didn’t care.

He wasn’t worried about his lies being exposed.

After all, all of Tang So-mi’s bodyguards, except Tang Hyeok-soo, were dead.

And even if they were alive, Mu-jin could simply accuse them of being in cahoots with him, dismissing their testimonies.

And if Tang Pae-jin got so enraged that he tried to kill Mu-jin?

‘Heh heh. In fact, it worked out so well that Ami and Qingcheng stepped in.’

Both the Ami and Qingcheng sects had framed the Tang family for poisoning and blackmailing Mu-jin and his group. If Mu-jin were to suddenly die in the Tang family’s domain?

In that moment, the Tang family would truly fall, seen as a wretched, greedy clan, blackmailing with poison and stealing treasures.

Thus, the reason Mu-jin said such a thing was that if this matter dragged on, it would only give the other side more time to prepare.

For Mu-jin, Tang Hyeok-soo was just a pawn. The real target was someone else—the figure that was teased in the second part of the novel but had not yet been revealed.

“Could you bring Tang Hyeok-soo here instead? We’ll settle it right here and now. After that, the two of you can decide whose words seem more truthful.”

At Mu-jin’s bold proposal, Tang Pae-jin let out a scoffing laugh, as if he couldn’t believe what he was hearing, while Tang-gak laughed like a madman.

In the end, Tang Pae-jin accepted Mu-jin’s suggestion.

He instructed the guards outside the head family’s residence to bring Tang Hyeok-soo to the hall.

Summoned to the hall late at night, Tang Hyeok-soo maintained a stern expression despite his bewilderment, and he bowed with a fist salute.

“I greet you, Head of the Family. I greet you, Elder Patriarch.”

“Do you know why we’ve called you here?”

“…I have no idea.”

In a blunt tone, Tang Hyeok-soo responded, and Tang Pae-jin began relaying what Mu-jin had told him.

It was about the incident at Shintubidong and Taeeulmun, the suspicion that Shintubidong was a trap, and how Tang Hyeok-soo was being suspected of luring Tang So-mi into it.

“This letter is supposed to be proof that you went to Taeeulmun.”

As Tang Pae-jin handed over the coded letter, the corner of Tang Hyeok-soo’s lips twitched upwards involuntarily.

‘What the hell? Is this guy insane?’

Frankly, when he first heard that Mu-jin was suspicious of him, he had to make an effort not to show any sign of surprise.

It had been a heart-stopping moment.

But that letter wasn’t written by him. Looking at the fake evidence, he couldn’t help but sneer internally.

“I have never seen this letter before, Head of the Family.”

“Is that so? I’m quite sure I saw it at Taeeulmun.”

“This is slander! I’ve been guarding Lady Tang So-mi the whole time. I had no time to visit Taeeulmun!”

“Then you must have gone during the late hours when Lady Tang So-mi was asleep.”

“Ask anyone! I never left Lady So-mi’s side!”

Tang Hyeok-soo shouted confidently. It wasn’t a lie.

From the beginning, even when he received the order to obtain the Zhang Bodo or to take Tang So-mi to Shintubidong, he hadn’t left the Tang estate.

Someone else had come and delivered both the Zhang Bodo and the instructions.

Regardless, Mu-jin continued to insist, and Tang Hyeok-soo continued to deny everything.

“So, you’re saying that Tang Hyeok-soo, you didn’t receive any orders to lead Lady Tang So-mi to Shintubidong?”

“That’s right! If you continue to slander me like this, I won’t stand for it, even though I saved Lady So-mi!”

Naturally, the argument reached a deadlock, and as the Head of the Family and Elder Patriarch began to show their clear preference for trusting a blood relative over an outsider, their expressions darkened.

“Then, Tang Hyeok-soo, are you willing to stake your life on the claim that you’re not a spy?”

“Yes! And what about you? Will you stake your life on the claim that you didn’t slander me?”

Mu-jin, who finally heard the words he wanted, brought out the trump card he had been saving.

“Very well! I, too, am someone who would find it more unjust to be doubted as a liar than to die! So, let’s put our lives on the line and see whose words are true!”

Mu-jin shouted confidently and turned to Tang Pae-jin.

“I’ve heard that the Tang Clan has a special pill called the Simnyeong Pill, Clan Head. Allow me and Tang Hyeok-soo to use it!”

At the mention of the Simnyeong Pill from Mu-jin’s mouth, Tang Hyeok-soo’s previously confident face momentarily showed a hint of shock.

‘How… how does that guy know about the name of that pill!’

The reason Mu-jin knew about the Simnyeong Pill was simple.

In the second part of the novel, Tang Hyeok-soo had intended to deliver the pill to a shadowy force as a messenger. The Simnyeong Pill, one of the many drugs developed by the Sichuan Tang Clan, a renowned house for poisons and hidden weapons, was a special concoction that, when ingested, suppressed the mind, preventing the user from lying—a sort of truth serum. In modern terms, it could be seen as a type of confession drug.

In the end, however, Tang Hyeok-soo ended up in the wrong hands, and after consuming the pill, he was forced to divulge information about Shintubidong and Taeeulmun.

Despite knowing full well about this substance, Tang Pae-jin had so far kept quiet about the Simnyeong Pill for a reason.

“Do you even know the side effects of that pill?”

“Yes. The mind is suppressed for only about five minutes. After that, when the effects wear off, the person dies, spitting blood from the seven orifices. That’s what I know.”

In truth, the Simnyeong Pill was a deadly poison disguised as a confession drug.

It was the result of a bizarre creation during the Tang Clan’s attempts to develop a poison that would cause death without pain, like someone who dies in a drunken stupor. They ended up mixing narcotic substances with poison, creating a monstrous concoction.

The poison and narcotic elements combined, stripping the victim of their reasoning, enhancing its use as a confession drug. But since it was a poison that inevitably led to death upon ingestion, Mu-jin aimed to gamble everything on this high-stakes risk.

Anyone could claim their innocence, but how many would truly be willing to stake their lives on it?

“That’s why I’m asking for the Simnyeong Pill. As a true man, I cannot bear to be falsely accused more than I fear death.”

Of course, Mu-jin valued his life more, but why would that matter? Someone with guilt couldn’t possibly wager their life.

Naturally, Tang Hyeok-soo’s expression had hardened without him realizing it.

“Surely, Tang Hyeok-soo feels the same, doesn’t he?”

Mu-jin, with a smirk, proposed this life-or-death gamble to Tang Hyeok-soo, who was now breaking out in a cold sweat.

‘If you’re scared, you can just die.’

Unlike the frozen Tang Hyeok-soo…

‘Even if you’re not scared, you’ll still die after taking it.’

Mu-jin, with an air of complete confidence, made his bold statement.