The Knives in the Dark
Where Shaolin seeks the emperor’s blessing and Emei shields the downtrodden, the Tangmen thrive in shadow. Their influence is not carved in stone halls or imperial decrees, but whispered in back alleys, written in blood upon palace floors, and carried in the fear of rulers who never know when the next needle will strike.
The Tangmen Sect is a paradox in Murim politics: reviled as assassins, yet courted as indispensable allies. Every dynasty has tried to crush them, yet every dynasty has also employed them in secret. To deny Tangmen is to risk them as enemies; to embrace them is to bind oneself to serpents.
The Tang Dynasty: Ironically, though born of its decline, Tangmen inherited the dynasty’s name. Officials decried them as traitors, yet corrupt lords employed them freely in their feuds.
The Song: Emperors outlawed Tangmen after a string of mysterious deaths in the court, but court factions in the shadows continued to pay them in silver. Tangmen became both outlaw and secret arm of the state.
The Yuan: Mongol rulers feared Tangmen’s poisons, branding them “demons of Sichuan.” Yet Yuan generals hired them against Han rebels, proving that fear does not stop utility.
The Ming: Tangmen reached their political zenith here, serving as mercenaries for warlords, advisors in alchemy, and covert assassins for imperial eunuchs. Though never officially sanctioned, their hands were in every intrigue.
To emperors, Tangmen has always been both tool and threat — a blade that cannot be owned, only rented.
Shaolin: Mortal enemies. Shaolin views Tangmen as an affront to martial virtue, while Tangmen mocks monks as naive dreamers. Both have killed each other’s disciples for centuries.
Emei: A blood-feud without end. Emei defends villagers against Tangmen contracts; Tangmen counters that compassion breeds weakness. Their clashes in Sichuan valleys are legendary, often fought in fog and forest where steel and poison decide fate.
Wudang: Wudang masters regard Tangmen as necessary evil, yet never ally openly. Tangmen, in turn, respects Wudang’s skill but laughs at their pursuit of balance.
Wanderer’s Valley: A tense rivalry. Both work in shadows, but Tangmen calls the Wanderers undisciplined rogues, while the Wanderers sneer at Tangmen’s rigid codes.
Even in hostility, Tangmen secures power. Every enmity makes their fearsome reputation sharper.
Unlike temples or academies, Tangmen’s power flows through contracts. Nobles, merchants, and even rival sects hire them for assassinations, sabotage, or the creation of poisons and antidotes. Each contract strengthens their coffers and spreads their shadow across Murim.
To Tangmen, contracts are sacred: once accepted, they cannot be refused. This has earned them a reputation as mercenaries with strange honor — faithless to morality, but faithful to silver and word. Breaking a contract is forbidden, punishable by death.
Tangmen is not ruled by abbots or councils, but by a patriarch or matriarch, chosen from the most cunning of the bloodlines. Beneath them, families feud constantly, each competing for dominance in poison mastery, weapon craft, and assassinations. These rivalries are lethal, yet contained within sect law.
The Serpent Clan: Masters of venoms and alchemy, their brews are feared across Murim.
The Needle Clan: Perfectionists in hidden weapons, their darts and throwing knives are unmatched.
The Shadow Clan: Assassins who specialize in infiltration and disguise, feared for vanishing without a trace.
Factions vie in secret, yet their unity against outsiders remains iron. Betrayal within the sect is punished not by exile, but by poison — swift and final.
Though despised, Tangmen cannot be excluded from Murim councils. Their very presence is a warning: to dismiss them is to invite their silent wrath. They rarely speak, sending masked representatives who sit in silence until contracts or disputes of poison arise. When they do speak, their words cut like their blades: short, precise, and final.
Summary:
The Tangmen Sect wields power not through temples or philosophy, but through fear, contracts, and inevitability. Feared by dynasties yet employed in secret, hated by sects yet respected for precision, Tangmen’s influence is the shadow that no light can banish. Within, clans feud and vie for supremacy; without, their needles pierce emperors and beggars alike. They are not the voice of Murim, but its whisper — and sometimes, its final breath.