“It is poisoned.”
The Poison King spoke while gripping the mouth of the teapot.
Inside, it was filled with the hot tea brought by the servant, and the Poison King was covering it with his hand.
It must be tremendously hot, but the Poison King was a Hwagyeong-level martial artist anyway. Something like this wouldn't even faze him.
What mattered were his eyes.
“Do you know who did this?”
Burning, boiling eyes. Killing intent was swirling within the Poison King's pupils.
Seeing that, I also swallowed a slight gasp of surprise.
‘He sensed this?’
I only noticed after smelling the fragrance, yet the Poison King seemed to have caught on even before pouring it.
The Poison King surely hasn't reached Mandokbulchim, so the fact that his perception was faster than mine....
‘Is it a difference in proficiency?’
Purely a difference in proficiency in poison arts. I judged that to be the case. Then again, I am simply unaffected by poisons; detecting them is a slightly different story.
However, even so...
‘I didn't expect his perception to be this high.’
I never thought he'd even figure out the type of poison inside. Especially since the amount of poison in the pot shouldn't be that much.
Thump. Setting the teapot upright, the Poison King stared at me quietly. Looking into his eyes, I recalled the question from just now.
Did he ask if I knew whose doing it was?
“Yes, I do.”
I admitted it readily. I thought the Poison King would naturally be surprised and flustered, but that wasn't his reaction.
“Is that so? Then, I'll have to go catch and thrash that damned bastard right now. Who is it?”
“...Excuse me?”
I was the one who was flustered instead. Why is he believing me and trying to catch them right away? Normally, shouldn't he ask how I knew? Or ask why I didn't act despite knowing?
Because of that, I was staring at the Poison King with a slightly dumbfounded expression.
“What kind of bastard...”
The Poison King clenched his fists tightly and stood up.
“Trying to make our precious daughter a widow...!”
“...Wait. Just a moment? Lord Dang?”
I hurriedly grabbed the Poison King, whose voice was laced with killing intent.
If I was even a little later, I would have definitely missed him; that was how fast he was.
“Out of nowhere, widow wha—. No, and where are you going?”
“Obviously, I'm going to catch the culprit and melt them down.”
“Melt them down? Melt what? Please stop for a moment... I'm begging you. Just listen to what I have to say first.”
I grabbed the Poison King, who was trying to go find them no matter what, and forced him to sit back down. The Poison King still seemed full of rage.
I wondered if he was that angry because I had tried to drink poison, but... having heard the latter part of his words, it wasn't simply that.
-Trying to make her a widow-!
Listening to the words, it was obviously because of Dang Soyeol.
I didn't really want to pick a fight over this. Picking a fight would only give me a headache.
Anyway, I somehow made the Poison King sit down, and with a sigh, I spoke to him.
“No, how could you just try to go right away...”
“Didn't you say you already know the culprit, Ninth Young Master?”
“That's true, but... still. Normally, you'd listen to the circumstances, right? How I found out, why I'm acting like this despite knowing. You should at least listen to that much...”
“That's enough.”
“Excuse me?”
I momentarily lost my words at the Poison King's firm answer. Enough? Enough of what?
Just as I tilted my head at his incomprehensible answer,
“You would have thought it all through anyway, Ninth Young Master. That's why you're so calm about it.”
“...”
“I don't know if your intentions are mixed in this as well. But I understand you have some kind of purpose.”
He knows it all. A strange trust came through his eyes. What kind of trust is this?
He was right, but hearing it from the Poison King's mouth felt quite strange.
The problem here is.
“...But why are you trying to go?”
If he knows everything, why is he trying to go?
If he knows I have a purpose, shouldn't he not go? Filled with doubt at this strange situation, I asked.
“That is your intention. What I'm angry about is something else.”
“...”
He's crazy.
In other words. Even if I had a purpose, it didn't matter; he was saying he had to vent his own anger.
...This guy also has quite a temper when you look at it.
With a sigh, I said to the Poison King.
“...Um, couldn't you please restrain yourself as much as possible? I have something I'm preparing for.”
It was a very important situation right now. How much did I suffer for days to create this situation? I couldn't let the Poison King step in and ruin it.
At my words, the Poison King frowned and spoke.
“Is the thing you're preparing for the fact that you were subjected to an assassination attempt like this?”
“Come on. Of course not.”
I waved my hand with a smile.
“You know it too, Lord Dang. You can't kill a person with this kind of poison.”
This was not an assassination poison.
The Poison King would already know this, and even if I didn't know for sure, I was certain.
Because...
‘I'm the one who provided it.’
This poison was the one I had handed over.
Its effect was to slow down the use of internal energy and cause paralysis.
It was on the expensive side and hard to obtain, but when mixed with tea and consumed, it was undetectable and had a long duration.
Furthermore, it had a tendency to maximize its effects when absorbed over several days.
If I had to think of a problem, it was that it was a very difficult poison to obtain...
“...Don't tell me.”
Hearing this, the Poison King spoke to me as if he had figured something out.
“The one you requested last time?”
“...”
I answered with an awkward smile.
That was correct. This poison was brought from the Dang Clan.
I had secretly asked the Young Lord Dang, and it seemed the Poison King knew about it too.
“I wondered where you would use it, but I never imagined you'd seek it to consume yourself.”
“I asked them to keep it a secret. It seems the Young Lord Dang has a lighter mouth than I thought...”
No, did I even hide it in the first place? Doubt sprouted, but I tried hard to ignore it.
“You're going to consume that precious poison yourself, not feed it to anyone?”
“Wouldn't this be better?”
“Then why use poison at all...?”
“...”
My mouth shut at his valid point. He's right... If you're not going to harm anyone, you usually don't use poison.
They say paralysis poison and others are used for treatment, but... I shouldn't think that far.
“...Anyway, I had a use for it.”
“...Hmm.”
“It won't be a problem. As I said earlier, eating a little of this won't kill me, right?”
Not just this, but it's the same no matter what poison I eat; however, the Poison King doesn't know I am Mandokbulchim.
It was right to hide this as much as possible. If the fact that I was Mandokbulchim ever leaked, it would become troublesome.
‘There are so many places to use it.’
It's the easiest way to catch guys who try to poison me, and it was also easier to stay quiet to lead the situation.
Look. Because it's not known, things like this happen so easily.
‘...I respect you again today, Senior Dang.’
Recalling her, who was called the hero of the Dang Clan, I slightly bowed my head as if praying. Unlike the damn other guys, she was a senior who gave me a lot before leaving.
In my past life, I was very careful about eating food because of poisons, but it was really nice not to have to worry about that now.
“I'll really be fine, so please don't worry.”
“...Who am I worrying about?”
“Whether you're worrying about me or Miss Dang... it means there won't be any problems.”
No matter what, there would be no problems. I spat it out firmly as if to give certainty, and the Poison King let out a slight snort.
“...Is my daughter doing well?”
He brought up a completely different topic from the previous conversation. It seemed like a sign that he would let it pass.
“Yes. She is working very hard.”
“Working hard isn't important. Whether she's doing well is what's important.”
“She seems satisfied herself, but... I don't know the details either, so wouldn't it be better to ask her directly yourself...?”
“...”
At the suggestion to ask her directly, he averted his eyes. It looked like she mustn't find out that he came here now.
‘...But she'll find out anyway, won't she?’
Since the Poison King didn't come secretly and appeared so openly, it would reach Dang Soyeol's ears before long.
The Poison King couldn't not know that, and yet seeing his reaction...
‘Does he just want to not get caught for now?’
I figured that must be it.
‘Well, whatever.’
This wasn't an important part either, so I moved on. Since we had also passed the topic of poison, I had to get back to the main point.
“So. Why did you come to see me? I'm not sure if you saw the letter, but I was planning to visit you tomorrow if possible.”
The reason the Poison King came all the way to the Alliance's branch to find me.
When I asked about that, the Poison King hesitated for a moment before spitting out his words.
“I saw it. I also know.”
“I see.”
“So I tried to hold back as much as possible. But I couldn't bear to.”
Even though I was scheduled to visit the Dang Clan tomorrow, he went out of his way to come today. This meant it was a quite significant matter.
I already had an idea of what it was.
“Are you saying... as expected?”
“The production of the Dokcheondan has nearly reached its end.”
“...Oh.”
It was that story after all.
I had already heard about this through a letter from Henan.
“Congratulations.”
“...Thank you. It's all thanks to you, Ninth Young Master.”
At my congratulations, the Poison King readily expressed his gratitude.
He couldn't help but do so.
The Dokcheondan is a piece of the distant past that the Dang Clan had lost.
It's the supreme elixir among elixirs, compared to Shaolin's Daehwandan. Having lost it for hundreds of years and regaining it, from the Poison King's perspective, it must feel like floating in the sky.
Unlike the current situation of the Dang Clan, that is.
‘I predicted it would already be completed, but saying it has reached the end means...’
It seemed like it wasn't completed yet. But the fact that he came like this meant...
‘He has something to tell me.’
It meant he had something important to say.
Then, what was that important thing?
I waited for the Poison King to speak first. A fleeting moment passed.
“...I have finished preparing most of the ingredients. There were some hard-to-obtain items, but for the most part, they were just difficult to process, not impossible.”
I agree.
Even when I looked at it, most of the ingredients weren't that hard to obtain.
Even the slightly difficult ones could be obtained if you had money. The Dang Clan had only closed its doors due to public perception, but it was still a place with plenty of money.
Given that, I thought there wouldn't be a major problem, but...
‘What is it?’
What could have been the problem? The moment I was about to express my doubt.
“However.”
“However?”
“The last part is the problem.”
“The last part...”
I stopped mid-sentence. It was because I felt like I knew what it was. The production method of the Dokcheondan that I had provided. Don't tell me the last ingredient was...
“Is the Magic Stone the problem?”
The Magic Stone. Specifically, the red one.
Surprisingly, a red Magic Stone went into the Dokcheondan.
“What kind of problem occurred?”
“...I don't know.”
“Excuse me?”
“I clearly followed the production method exactly. No matter how many times I repeated it, I couldn't complete the Dokcheondan.”
“...What does that mean?”
He followed it properly but it didn't work. What could that mean? When I asked with a frown, the Poison King answered.
“Following the production method, I obtained a red Magic Stone before it lost its color and ground it over the ingredients...”
Seeing how crucial this was, the Poison King's expression crumpled.
“The moment I ground it in, all the prepared ingredients rotted away.”
“...!”
If the powder touches it, the elixir rots. Hearing this, I immediately recalled the cause.
If I had to pinpoint the reason, it was probably...
‘Is the Demonic Qi the problem?’
Demonic Qi. That must have been the problem.
The Magic Stone contains Demonic Qi. It seemed like adding it by grinding it into the elixir caused a rejection from the very beginning. Only then did a question arise. If the Magic Stone was hindering the completion of the elixir...
‘If this can't be resolved, shouldn't we not use the Magic Stone in the first place?’
Even thinking about it now, it's a strange thing.
The Magic Stone that demonic beasts drop when they die is actually an item with virtually no value.
At best, it's a pretty stone. Even its color disappears after a few days, making it nothing more than a common rock.
Unless you're someone like me who possesses the Madocheonheupgong, there was no need to bother dealing with it.
However, since it hadn't been many years since red demonic beasts reappeared, I had heard that a few prominent families and clans were taking Magic Stones to research them.
‘I wondered what they could find out by doing that, but...’
I couldn't say anything against them researching it. I just let it be.
This is also the same.
‘I wondered why a Magic Stone went into an elixir...’
The production method said so. Did it say to slightly grind the Magic Stone and use it? It felt a bit strange, but since that was what was given, I didn't pay it much mind.
An elixir containing a Magic Stone would ultimately contain Demonic Qi anyway.
Then, even if it succeeded, it meant it would be an elixir that ordinary martial artists couldn't consume.
Which meant...
‘Was there a problem with the production method from the beginning?’
If I followed the production method, it would be an elixir that neutralized energy or contained poison, so I thought there would be some way. But the elixir rotting meant one of two things.
‘Either the production method of the elixir was wrong from the start. Or.’
Or we knew the production method incorrectly. It was one of the two.
From my perspective, the answer was the latter.
‘Senior Dang would never have handed over fake knowledge.’
The great and beautiful Senior Dang would never do that.
It was also even less likely that she knew it incorrectly, so the probability of the problem being on the side of the creators was high. No, it was certain.
Then, what on earth was the problem?
I racked my brain.
‘The production of the Dokcheondan can't be delayed any longer.’
Somehow, as fast as possible. Strictly speaking, it had to be completed before this year ended.
To do that, we had to find a way.
‘I thought it was strange how he ran right over here.’
I wondered why the Poison King came in person. Now I know.
I was the one who provided the production method, and since a problem arose at the final stage, it seemed like he thought I might know something.
‘Damn it,’
But how would I know that?
I couldn't make it myself, so I had the Dang Clan make it as if I was returning it; shouldn't this not be coming back to me?
If Demonic Qi is the problem, how on earth am I supposed to handle it?
‘It rots if it goes in as powder...?’
Does this mean I have to extract all the Demonic Qi from the Magic Stone?
“Lord Dang. Did you perhaps try doing it after the color had completely faded from the Magic Stone...?”
“I already tried.”
“...I figured as much.”
Right, there was no way he hadn't tried.
When Demonic Qi leaves the Magic Stone, its color disappears. It's no different from a real rock, so adding it wouldn't have any effect.
But if you don't add the Magic Stone, it deviates from the production method, so it can't be completed, which is almost like...
‘Saying that the Magic Stone needs some other energy in it...’
I froze.
I stopped recalling and stiffened. Because something flashed through my mind.
Grinding a Magic Stone containing Demonic Qi only makes it rot. Because of that, you can't just grind it in.
That meant...
‘Could it?’
With eyes full of worry, I said to the Poison King.
“Lord Dang.”
“What is it?”
“You remember that I'm going to the Dang Clan tomorrow, right?”
“I remember you said you'd come. I haven't permitted it yet, but...”
“A method that might be able to solve it has come to mind.”
“...!”
The Poison King, who was subtly trying to find fault, closed his mouth.
“I think I need to go to the Dang Clan tomorrow and see the production process in person once. Is that alright with you?”
The Poison King nodded his head vigorously instead of speaking. He wasn't the type of person to be stubborn with the Dokcheondan right in front of him in the first place.
The problem is.
‘Will it work?’
Whether the method I just thought of will actually work or not. That was the issue.
Failure isn't a big problem.
Because we can just find another method. However, if it succeeds. That is the real problem.
‘...If my assumption is correct.’
It would mean that the one who first produced the Dokcheondan in the past was not a person of the Dang Clan.