The Outcast Writer of a Martial Arts Visual Novel-Chapter 128: Storm of the Tang Clan, Volume 2 - 1

[The Lecher Heads to Hubei.]

The beginning of Storm of the Tang Clan, Volume 2 follows Tang Jeong as he chases the Lecher to Wuchang, the most bustling city in Hubei.

Brothels that rose so high they seemed to touch the heavens. Among them, Tang Jeong entered the most famous one.

A single step inside the first floor welcomed guests with beauties one could never hope to see in a lifetime. But the true allure of this brothel revealed itself the higher one climbed.

Each floor brought better wine, more breathtaking women—and with each floor, the cost multiplied fivefold. A legendary brothel, indeed.

[How did you get here!?]

The Lecher was at the very top floor. The brothel’s guards had already fallen to him, and the courtesans, drugged with aphrodisiacs, writhed on the floor, consumed by lust.

[Your evil deeds end here.]

[How dare you raise your hand against me!]

The fight erupted quickly. Normally, the Lecher would have had the upper hand—but Tang Jeong was no longer the same man he used to be.

[Welcome to my Poisoned Killing Zone.]

“It’s here! The! Poi! Son! Kill! Ing! Zone!”

Scholar Hwang couldn’t help but cheer aloud.

Tang Jeong’s secret technique—a blend of martial art and formation. Once mere boasting, he had perfected it during his journey to Hubei.

“Even the mighty Lecher can’t withstand Tang Jeong’s Poisoned Killing Zone.”

Every poison and throwing weapon the Sichuan Tang Clan prided itself on, all laid in wait for a single intruder. A one-man army. A formation, but also a martial art.

The moment the Lecher stepped into the zone, he had no way of knowing whether it would be a flying knife or a cloud of poison that would come for him.

Only when his head hit the ground would he realize what had killed him.

[Your Poisoned Killing Zone... I acknowledge it. But I simply won’t enter. Farewell!]

[You coward! Running away like this!?]

“You filthy bastard! Fight like a man!”

Even the infamous Lecher recognized Tang Jeong’s Poisoned Killing Zone and turned away. The technique he had forged on the road to Hubei was no bluff.

Scholar Hwang was disappointed that the Lecher fled, but the fact that he fled out of fear brought him strange satisfaction.

[My name is Du Eung-hyang.]

At last, the Top Courtesan of Hubei, Du Eung-hyang, made her appearance.

If Sichuan’s Most Beautiful Woman was a once-in-a-lifetime flower, then Du Eung-hyang was a sculpted masterpiece—crafted not by nature, but by time, carved with care by the hands of a legendary artisan.

“So now... he’s going to have a passionate night with the Top Courtesan of Hubei?”

Gulp. Scholar Hwang loosened his waistband slightly and turned the page.

[I am fortunate to have avoided being drugged.]

“Why wasn’t she drugged!? That ruins everything!”

Did Ho-pil the author actually listen to the critiques of those ruffians who said reusing the same aphrodisiac plotline was lazy writing?

This won’t do. He wanted to see the Top Courtesan of Hubei gasping and feverish under the influence.

Scholar Hwang instinctively held the book up to check how many pages were left. Thankfully, it was still thick—hope remained.

[To truly purge the poison... must we share a night together? All the other girls have already been afflicted.]

[Yes. We must act quickly and form a union.]

[These women owe their lives to you. Will you truly be able to take them all into your embrace?]

“To share a night with every courtesan on the top floor... Hehehe. Ho-pil truly planned this all along.”

[No.]

“What!? Why not!?”

Not only would a night with one of these women cost you the beams of your entire house—but all of them at once?! And he refuses?!

[Why do you refuse?]

[I came to save them, not to claim them. They each must have someone they love. Go find those men and bring them here.]

“Ugh, Tang Jeong, you dense idiot.”

Too upright for his own good. An opportunity like this might only come once in a lifetime, and he just tosses it away. Scholar Hwang sighed in frustration—though oddly, he admired Tang Jeong for it.

[Is it because you’re the young master of the Sichuan Tang Clan that you don’t want to touch lowly courtesans?]

[Ha. Whether they’re noble daughters or courtesans, all women in danger are equal in need of saving. How could I ever think otherwise?]

[...I’ll bring them to you at once.]

“Hehehe. She’s fallen for him. The Top Courtesan of Hubei is smitten. Why settle for many when you can have the best?”

To win over the greatest woman, sacrifices must be made. For a moment, Scholar Hwang scolded himself for not grasping Ho-pil’s grand design sooner.

The Lecher continued ⊛ Nоvеlιght ⊛ (Read the full story) to appear throughout Wuchang. For over a month, Tang Jeong, aided by Du Eung-hyang, chased him through the brothel streets.

[May I call you brother?]

[I already have someone in my heart.]

“Tang Jeong, you damn fool. That’s when you accept, you blockhead!”

She was offering to call you brother! The one man in the world to be addressed like that by the Top Courtesan of Hubei—and you refuse?!

[Hehe. I just want to call you brother. Nothing more, I promise.]

Du Eung-hyang smiled as she said it, though her expression carried a subtle sorrow.

“Argh! What am I supposed to do!? I love both Sichuan’s Most Beautiful Woman and Hubei’s Top Courtesan!”

Until Volume 1, it was assumed Tang Jeong would simply sleep with the courtesan and marry the noble lady. Even the Daseo Society expected that. But Du Eung-hyang... she was too captivating.

Tang Jeong’s pursuit of the Lecher grew fiercer by the day—but he was always a step too late.

[Brother, use me as bait. If I’m the bait, the Lecher will come.]

“Such courage... What kind of woman volunteers herself as bait to catch the Lecher?”

Scholar Hwang was falling further under Du Eung-hyang’s spell.

[If that is truly your will, I have a plan. Do you trust me?]

[I always trust you, brother.]

“Please... stop saying things like that! Tang Jeong’s destined partner is Gu Suk-jeong, Sichuan’s Most Beautiful Woman! Why... why must you stir my heart like this!?”

Brother... Truly a word that tugs at a man’s soul. Scholar Hwang clutched his chest and kept reading, trying to resist.

[Stop!]

The Lecher appeared again—at the top floor of a brothel. Tang Jeong threw a poison-laced throwing knife to stop him from approaching Du Eung-hyang.

[Feeble poison. Such weak toxins don’t work on me. Tang Jeong, I know you care for this woman. If you don’t want to see her die, drop all your weapons.]

[No, brother!]

[Kh...!]

Tang Jeong lowered every throwing knife and poison pouch from his robes.

This translation is the intellectual property of Novelight.

"No! If he does that, he won’t be able to use the Poisoned Killing Zone. The Lecher’s going to get him!"

As soon as Tang Jeong disarmed himself, the Lecher stopped threatening Du Eung-hyang and stepped toward him. Then he bent down and picked up one of the pouches Tang Jeong had dropped.

[Poison powder? Whatever poison it is—if it’s strong enough to affect me, the girl beside you will die too. Is that what you want to see?]

“No... Du Eung-hyang isn’t even a martial artist. She’s a civilian—if she’s exposed to poison, she’ll die. Tang Jeong, what are you going to do?”

You’re going to kill our adorable little sister? This older brother can’t bear to watch that happen. Scholar Hwang kept reading, his heart pounding with tension.

[No. You’re already poisoned.]

The pouch Tang Jeong had dropped was empty. He had finished the poisoning process even as he discarded his weapons.

[Urgh! H-How!? This girl wasn’t poisoned!]

[Triple Poison. A fatal toxin of the Sichuan Tang Clan that only takes effect once three types of poison combine.]

[Triple Poison? But the poisons you used were only two—ugh! You...!]

As the Lecher staggered, Du Eung-hyang pushed him away and ran into Tang Jeong’s arms. Then she turned to the Lecher and sneered.

[You think only the Sichuan Tang Clan can use poison? That wine you drank, when you held my hand with your filthy fingers—guess what was in it.]

Triple Poison. A technique only made possible through the collaboration of Du Eung-hyang and Tang Jeong.

“To think they pulled that off! He’s not just a straightforward fool—he can scheme too! Incredible! Absolutely incredible!”

[You wretched pair dare to humiliate me!?]

[This is the end!]

[No, it isn’t!]

The Lecher threw down a smoke bomb that released thick white fog. Tang Jeong didn’t know whether it was poisoned or not, so he abandoned the chase to shield Du Eung-hyang instead.

Thankfully, the smoke turned out to be harmless—but by the time it cleared, the Lecher had vanished.

[I lost him... Eung-hyang, I let the chance you gave me slip away.]

[Brother, don’t be disheartened. Like you said, after being afflicted with Triple Poison, he’ll need at least six months of recovery.]

[Eung-hyang...]

[Ah... Brother! I think I’ve been poisoned!]

Du Eung-hyang staggered, leaning into Tang Jeong.

[No, the poison you drank was weak...]

Triple Poison could only be fatal if all three components were combined. A single type alone had no effect. Tang Jeong looked at her with confusion.

[No, it’s deadly. I’ve been poisoned...]

[What are you talking about?]

[I’ve been poisoned... by your charm, brother.]

“Hehehehe... I can’t take this. Seriously.”

[Eung-hyang. You’re an incredibly alluring woman. But—]

Tang Jeong steadied her body, turning his gaze away as he spoke.

[I know. You already have someone in your heart, and there’s no room for me there. But didn’t you say your lover once shared a night with you while drugged with an aphrodisiac? If that’s the case—]

Du Eung-hyang grabbed the aphrodisiac the Lecher had left behind... and drank it in one gulp.

[No! Eung-hyang!]

[Brother, please... take my first time. I’m already intoxicated by your charm.]

“She’s insane! She drugged herself so she’d have no choice but to sleep with Tang Jeong? Du Eung-hyang is a genius at seduction!”

[It’s my first time, but I know all the arts of a courtesan.]

[Wait... what... this is...]

[I think I was born just to be with you tonight, brother.]

“Oh God... a virgin courtesan. A virgin courtesan who knows all the bedroom arts. Who in the world even thinks of stuff like this?!”

[Eung-hyang. The aphrodisiac the Lecher used... I suspected, but I’m almost certain now. It’s a type of poison that only exists within the Sichuan Tang Clan. I must pursue him. The day I bring him to justice—Eung-hyang, I’ll come back for you, and bring you into my family.]

[I’ll count the days until then, brother.]

The two of them, completely naked, clasped hands and made their promise to reunite.

“Why? Whyyyy?! Why is he leaving again!? Tang Jeong! You can’t keep doing this!”

Why does this guy always leave every woman he meets behind? One’s Sichuan’s Most Beautiful Woman, the other Hubei’s Top Courtesan!

Scholar Hwang groaned with sorrow as he turned to the final page.

[Next Volume Preview.]

Tang Jeong will meet the two most renowned sword-maidens of Hubei—one with a cold, ruthless beauty, the other with a gentle heart.

The three of them will pursue the Lecher together, but during their journey, both women will find themselves falling for Tang Jeong. Once like sisters, they’ll become rivals for one man’s heart.

Meanwhile, the Lecher strikes again—and this time, Tang Jeong is the one who falls victim to an aphrodisiac.

What will the two women choose?

After reading the preview, Scholar Hwang could only repeat the same cry he made last time:

“Next voluuuuuuume!!!”