Little Demon Reversion to Youth

Chapter 68

As soon as Tang Qianhui heard the news that the Blood Hand Grand Seal had appeared at the White Mountain Sect, he had sent the Tang family's eyes and ears and had received a detailed report on the situation.

He had also received a description of Baekji. The luxurious black clothes, the shaggy hair, and even the bamboo staff stuck in his back were the same.

"I would have welcomed you warmly even if you had just come through the main gate."

"Is that so? Did I just waste a gold ingot for nothing?"

Baekji smacked his lips and looked at Wu Qingshu.

Wu Qingshu was greatly surprised by the unexpected situation.

Although he had guessed that he was a person of great status, to think that he would speak on equal terms with the Tang family head.

Tang Qianhui, also conscious of Wu Qingshu's surprised gaze, said, "Doctor Wu, would you please leave us? I will have someone send you the 'life and death grass' and the 'dragon's beard tree' root. Please try to detoxify it at the main family."

"I understand."

When Wu Qingshu left, Tang Qianhui looked at Baekji for a while and then asked, "You have undergone rejuvenation?"

"Huh?"

Baekji was surprised once again.

'What? How did he know that?'

Tang Qianhui's expression did not change.

Since he had come straight to the point as if it were no big deal, it was difficult to deny.

"..."

"You met True Man Changshan."

Tang Qianhui cut off his escape route.

Tang Qianhui was a prudent person. Not relying solely on the reports of his eyes and ears, he had gone to meet True Man Changshan, who was returning to Qingcheng, in the middle of his journey and had also heard about what had happened at the White Mountain Sect.

He had intended to ask if the appearance of the Blood Sect was certain, but he had unexpectedly heard shocking words.

―Would you believe it if I said there was a master of the 'transformation realm' who had undergone rejuvenation?

The shock he had received when True Man Changshan had hinted that Baekji was a master who had undergone rejuvenation came back to him anew.

Tang Qianhui was half-convinced, half-skeptical. He had known True Man Changshan for decades. Although he seemed to speak without thinking, he knew well that he did not speak nonsense.

He had intended to confirm it himself, but since trouble had broken out at the Tang family, he had put it off for a while.

But Baekji, the person in question, had appeared before his eyes.

Even after seeing Baekji in person, Tang Qianhui was confused. Even with his own 'ki sense', he could not fathom Baekji's martial prowess at all.

This meant that Baekji was either an ordinary person or a master that even he could not measure.

'He has achieved the 'transformation realm' at that age?'

He himself was a master who had entered the 'true realm' after a lifetime of training. He knew well how arduous that process was.

So, he could not believe the fact that a boy of about fifteen had achieved the 'transformation realm'.

The absurd inference of True Man Changshan that the boy in front of him had undergone rejuvenation seemed rather plausible.

Although he had asked calmly, Tang Qianhui was extremely tense, not knowing how Baekji would react.

He had already raised his entire body's internal energy to its fullest.

The opponent was a person presumed to be a peak master. If he was really in the 'transformation realm', it would be difficult for even Tang Qianhui to handle.

Yet, he wanted to confirm it with his own mouth.

As a martial artist who pursued the ultimate of martial arts, the desire to know about the advanced realm was something that no one could endure.

Judging that Baekji had no hostile intent, he had asked, taking a gamble.

The reason he could do so was because of what True Man Changshan had said.

―Hehehe. He has a bad habit of stealing and eating medicinal herbs, but he's not a very bad brat. He can't kill people.

Baekji grinned.

"Did that old Taoist say that?"

"..."

"I should have torn that old Taoist's mouth. To go around spouting nonsense."

"He didn't say it directly. I figured it out on my own, so don't bother an innocent person."

"The Tang family head seems to be very interested in me."

"A master of the 'transformation realm' has appeared, so of course I would be interested. It's only a matter of time before the rumor that an absolute master who has undergone rejuvenation has appeared in the Central Plains spreads."

If he was a master of the 'transformation realm', he was in the ranks of the top ten masters.

Since each of the top ten masters had an influence comparable to that of a single sect, it was natural for the martial sects to watch with bated breath.

The leadership of the great sects and the great families would have known what had happened at the White Mountain Sect and would have grasped Baekji's identity.

Baekji asked with a troubled expression, "Then would the Martial Alliance Leader also know?"

"Of course he would. Do you think it makes sense that the Martial Alliance Leader wouldn't know when I do?"

"Tell me honestly. Do you really think rejuvenation is possible?"

"I don't believe it either, but since it's in front of my eyes, I have no choice but to accept it."

"..."

There was a flaw in Tang Qianhui's reasoning.

Since he had heard directly from True Man Changshan about what had happened at the White Mountain Sect and Baekji's martial prowess, he was assuming that he was a master of the 'transformation realm'.

Frankly, even he was half-convinced, half-skeptical.

Among the eyes and ears that had been watching the White Mountain Sect, no one thought that Baekji was a master of the 'transformation realm'.

A master recognizes a master. A novice, even after experiencing it directly, only knows that they are a master, but it is difficult to grasp their realm.

The leadership of the various martial sects, who had heard that the Honored One of the Yang-Bai Merchant Sect was a master, had presumed that he was at the peak or super-peak level.

There were also places where the report itself had gone up like that.

Considering his age, it was true that it was hard to believe even if he was at the super-peak level.

In that sense, Tang Qianhui had learned relatively early that another absolute master had appeared in the martial world.

"I heard that your memory is inaccurate. Is it due to the rejuvenation? Or did something go wrong?"

"..."

Tang Qianhui asked with a genuinely curious expression.

Since Baekji also didn't know, he couldn't answer.

Since Baekji had thought that he might have undergone rejuvenation, he had thoroughly hidden that fact.

He had not revealed his identity to just any opponent. That was the reason why he had not answered even when Go Hyeonggi had asked.

Baekji looked at Tang Qianhui.

'Should I kill him?'

Killing him to silence him was the easiest. The temptation to go the easy way flashed by, but he soon dismissed it.

Baekji sighed lightly.

If he couldn't kill him, he had to win him over to his side.

'Let's not forget the original purpose.'

When Baekji had met Tang Yunseol's group, he had thought that he should help the Tang family to get smooth cooperation when the Yang-Bai Merchant Sect operated in Sichuan in the future.

Although the White Mountain Sect and the Five Dragons Sect were temporarily making a fuss, the true hegemon of Sichuan, both in the past and now, was the Tang family.

If they received the support of the Tang family, the Yang-Bai Merchant Sect would walk a smooth path.

Baekji, having organized his thoughts, said, "Do you know who I am?"

"I don't."

"You're the Poison King. At that level, you must know a lot about the masters of the martial world. Is there no brat who hasn't been seen lately? From about a year ago."

"Since you have no memory, you must not know much about the martial world. Masters avoid each other. Even if they hear about each other's movements from time to time, they pretend not to know."

"Why?"

"Because nothing good comes from meeting. If a fight breaks out and both sides are injured, it only benefits others."

"Really? For masters, they are timid."

"Rather than that, it would be more correct to say that they don't pay attention to other things because they want to go to a higher realm. The higher the master, the stronger the desire to rise, right?"

"..."

Although the conversation between the middle-aged man in his early fifties and the boy who had not yet shed his childishness was absurd, the two were serious.

"Rejuvenation? I don't know either. It's true that I've lost my memory."

When Baekji confessed the truth, Tang Qianhui nodded.

Something that went against the laws of heaven, like rejuvenation, was not easy. Losing one's memory might be a light price to pay.

"You have no memory at all?"

"...Let's talk about it later... more importantly, isn't it more urgent to clean up the shit in front of the Tang family?"

Tang Qianhui frowned. The shit in front of the Tang family.

"Didn't you call me to clean up the shit?"

"Call you? When did I ever call you?"

"Come to think of it, you're a complete raccoon. The Tang family head's skill at rolling his head is on par with Zhuge Liang's. If the Zhuge family knew, they'd ask to be brothers."

"I have no idea what you're talking about."

"Don't play dumb. Tang Yunseol. You sent her to our group, right?"

"-!"

Tang Qianhui's brow twitched for a moment, but then his expression returned to normal. But he could not hide his surprise.

Baekji had accurately pointed out his inner thoughts, as if he had looked into them.

Tang Qianhui had had his trusted subordinate secretly guide Tang Yunseol to flee in the direction where the Martial Alliance group was coming.

Since Tang Yunseol had been caught in the act of assassinating the young family head, it had been difficult for him to block the public opinion calling for a severe punishment.

Hearing that Nangong Zhao's group was passing by, he had intended to get them involved to buy time.

He had judged that a chief investigator of the Martial Alliance's military affairs department would not just pass by the trouble of the Tang family, and fortunately, it had turned out as he had thought.

"I didn't even know you were there."

Since Baekji had admitted that he was an absolute master of rejuvenation, Tang Qianhui could not speak carelessly.

When Nangong Zhao and the Martial Alliance group had departed, Baekji had not been with them.

Saying that he was testing the skills of the horse he had taken from Wu Ziqing, he had set out separately the next day and had galloped all day, joining them late, so the eyes and ears that had been watching the Yang-Bai Merchant Sect had missed Baekji's movements.

Tang Qianhui had also not been reported.

"I received a report that Yunseol had met the people of the Martial Alliance. Thank you for handling it without any major trouble."

Tang Qianhui vaguely glossed over it.

"You suspect the young family head, right?"

"-!"

When Baekji brought up the young family head's story out of the blue, Tang Qianhui's heart skipped a beat.

"What are you talking about?"

"Isn't the young family head possessed by the Blood Sect's 'soul exchange grand law'?"

"Who said that?"

When Tang Qianhui tried to deny it by asking back, Baekji changed the subject.

"Bai Renguang's son, Bai Yandu, was possessed by the 'soul exchange grand law'. He was locked up in the prison, but he disappeared. The Blood Sect must have taken him."

"So that happened. The Tang family is different from the likes of the White Mountain Sect. Do not make careless assumptions."

Tang Qianhui drew a line.

Tang Qianhui had personally experienced the calamity of the Blood Sect. He had protected the Tang family when numerous sects and masters had been swept away by the Blood Sect's demonic arts.

That was why he had reacted sensitively when the Blood Hand Grand Seal had appeared at the White Mountain Sect.

But coincidentally, the young family head had disappeared for a while and had then reappeared.

There were not one or two examples of those who had disappeared during the calamity of the Blood Sect and had then reappeared, causing a bloodbath in their sects.

Of course, he was suspicious.

'Surely not.'

Tang Qianhui did not want to believe it.

Tang Yunlong was a reliable son. Although he wanted to interrogate him himself, Tang Yunlong was highly trusted within the family. If it was not true, it would be a truly unfair thing for Tang Yunlong. His position as the young family head would also be damaged.

Until he confirmed it with his own two eyes, he was leaving it as a suspicion and was watching him in secret.

The reason he had handed over the 'Collected Records of the Blood Sect' was also to test him.

As the family head who had to protect the Tang family, it was something he had to do, but his heart was heavy. He had no intention of leaking this fact to an outsider.

When Tang Qianhui denied it, Baekji said slyly, "Tang family head. Although I look like this, I must have been quite old originally. So, when I see fresh kids being possessed by demonic arts, I feel sorry for them. I even feel sorry for Bai Renguang. I know that feeling. I know."

"..."

"Let's solve it well together."

"What are you talking about?"

"I, actually..."

"...Actually? What?"

"I hate the Blood Sect."

Baekji said, as if confessing.

"Just hearing about those brats makes my head throb and I want to beat them up. It seems that I don't just dislike them. It must have been a bad fate before... before the rejuvenation."

Although Baekji had confessed frankly in his own way, Tang Qianhui could not tell whether to believe him or not, so he did not answer.

Just then, the door of the guest hall opened and the young family head, Tang Yunlong, came in.

Tang Yunlong bowed to his father, Tang Qianhui, and said, "I could not attend the morning meeting because I was finishing reading the 'Collected Records of the Blood Sect'."

"I know. What brings you here?"

Although Tang Qianhui changed the subject, conscious of Baekji, Baekji did not miss the words 'Collected Records of the Blood Sect'.

'Collected Records of the Blood Sect?'

It must be a record that has written everything about the Blood Sect.

Tang Yunlong glanced at Baekji and then said, "I heard that a doctor who has solved seven of the 'using poison to counteract poison' difficult problems has come."

Tang Yunlong had come to see for himself after hearing that a doctor who had proposed a detoxification method for the 'life and death grass' had come.

The 'life and death grass' was an important ingredient for the 'blood poison'.

Although he had thought there would be a doctor, since there was a young boy, he couldn't help but be puzzled.

As Tang Qianhui was about to answer, Baekji spoke first.

"Huh? The person who solved the 'using poison to counteract poison' assignment? What are you curious about? The 'life and death grass'?"

Tang Yunlong looked Baekji up and down and then asked Tang Qianhui, "Is this the person?"

"No. He is the medicine boy that the doctor brought."

At Tang Qianhui's words, Tang Yunlong got angry.

"How dare a mere medicine boy interrupt when the family head is talking?"

Baekji suddenly bowed his waist.

"Ah! I see! I am still young and do not know the ways of the world. Young family head, please guide me well in the future. Shall I escort you to the doctor?"

Tang Qianhui noticed Baekji's scheme. It seemed that he was planning to test Tang Yunlong by hiding his identity. But even if he was testing his son, he had to do it himself.

"Go. The 'life and death grass' will be given out soon."

When Tang Qianhui gave the order to leave, Baekji had no choice but to leave the guest hall.

As Baekji was leaving the guest hall, he muttered, 'I didn't know the Tang family head was a raccoon. The leaders of the great sects and the great families must all be able to roll their heads to that extent. I have to be careful.'

It was a pity.

If he had just hit his head once, just lightly, with the bamboo staff, he would have known.

(End of Chapter)