“Welcome.”
As we passed through the main gate, an old woman greeted us.
“You must be tired from your journey.”
She was an old woman with a truly benevolent air. I had heard that she was the one newly placed in charge of the Dang Clan’s Medicine Hall.
Was she one of the Elders who had barely survived?
Looking at the old woman, I carefully bowed my head.
“Have you been well?”
“As always. Have you been well, Young Master?”
“Well, I…”
“I’ve heard you’ve been faring so well that I have every reason to be proud.”
“…Hahaha…”
I laughed awkwardly. At times like this, there was never a good way to react.
I couldn’t exactly take it as a compliment, and acting smug was even more impossible. This was simply the best I could manage.
After the brief exchange of greetings, the old woman smiled and looked to the side.
“Young Lady.”
“Hello…”
At the old woman’s glance, Dang Soyeol also bowed her head. For some reason, that reaction looked slightly uncomfortable.
“It has been a long time since I have seen you. I have also taken careful note of how you have soared to great heights, Young Lady.”
“…Thank you.”
The conversation did not last long. The old woman seemed aware of Dang Soyeol’s discomfort.
Had something happened to Dang Soyeol? It was not something I had ever heard about.
I thought about asking, but I could not do so right now.
“First, I shall guide you to the workshop. The Patriarch is waiting.”
For I had to take care of the reason I had come to the Dang Clan first.
****************
I walked for a moment following the old woman. The interior of the Dang Clan was not very different from before.
They had closed their gates to the outside world, but the estate was maintained to some extent.
However.
‘It has aged a bit.’
It seemed they could no longer preserve the splendor of the past.
The slightly dimmed atmosphere and quiet air felt somewhat chilly at a glance.
The towering grandeur that once displayed the prestige of the Dang Clan, renowned as one of the Four Great Families, was no longer palpable.
In a way, it was a natural result. Furthermore, it was something the Dang Clan had brought upon itself.
Seeing that, I stole a glance at Dang Soyeol.
As before, Dang Soyeol’s expression was far from cheerful. The problem was that I could not tell whether it was because of the Dang Clan’s current situation, or for some other reason.
I deliberately ignored it and walked on.
After walking a bit further like that, we eventually arrived at our destination.
Medicine Hall.
The name written upon the building. Seeing it, I tilted my head.
Because even though the door had yet to be opened, I could already sense something strange.
‘This aura.’
A powerful aura emanated from within the building. Moreover, it was not an ordinary aura.
‘Is it toxic energy?’
Toxic energy.
And quite a substantial amount of it.
It was not particularly a problem. Since I possessed immunity to all poisons, poison could not affect me anyway.
Besides, though there was a great deal, it was not surging directly at me, so it was at a level that someone of sufficiently high realm could endure.
As for Dang Soyeol, she had learned poison arts from the start, so she would naturally be fine as well.
“Perhaps, if you are uncomfortable, I could prepare a cloth or some such…”
“No. I am fine.”
The old woman asked carefully because she did not know I was immune, but I naturally declined.
“It is bearable. Let us go in.” I grasped the door and opened it. At that moment.
Hwahak—! Energy surged from within.
Within the energy, toxic energy mingled with the penetrating scent of potent medicinal herbs.
Frowning, I surveyed the interior.
“You have come…?”
Inside was a middle-aged man who looked exhausted. The Poison King, lord of the Dang Clan, welcomed me.
“Forgive me for not coming out to greet you…”
The Poison King, speaking to me in a weary voice, trailed off and flinched. It was because he had seen Dang Soyeol beside me.
“Y-you’re… here.”
“Father…”
His attitude was somehow ambiguous.
Around the time the Poison King swallowed a groan while looking at his daughter, Dang Soyeol spoke to him with a sigh.
“It has been a while.”
“Yes, have you been—”
“I heard you visited the branch yesterday.”
Cutting off the Poison King mid-sentence, Dang Soyeol interrupted him.
“Th-that is. I had separate business with Young Master Gu, so…”
“I clearly told you that I would come see you today.”
Her voice had grown a bit colder. Because of that, the Poison King began to falter even more.
“It was such an urgent matter that…”
“I am sure it was. It must have been very urgent. But…”
Dang Soyeol added, furrowing her delicate brow.
“But why did you come and not see me?”
“…”
Hearing those words, the Poison King looked my way.
I could feel it in his gaze. It seemed he was asking me for help, but…
‘Even if he looks at me, what could I possibly do?’
There was nothing I could do for him. I was actually curious myself. Was it not odd that he had gone all the way to the branch and left without seeing his own daughter?
‘At the time, I had simply assumed he did not want to get scolded.’
But seeing Dang Soyeol’s reaction, it did not seem to be merely that.
Apparently, there was something I did not know.
“The thing is…”
The evasive Poison King tried to say something, but.
“…Forget it.”
Dang Soyeol spun around as if she did not want to hear it.
“…I will go wait ahead. I shall see you again when Young Master Gu’s business is finished.”
“Uh? Uh, sure.”
She spoke as if merely notifying me and then disappeared just like that. Wow… and her footwork seemed to have improved even further in the midst of this?
The time it took her to vanish was an instant.
“…”
Watching that, I scratched the back of my head. It was a situation where reacting felt quite awkward.
So I looked toward the Poison King once more, but.
“…”
“…”
Even if we met eyes, there was nothing to be done. The awkwardness would only continue.
“…First, come in.”
Since the Poison King spoke in a slightly sorrowful voice, I went inside without a word.
“Ahem. Then, excuse me for a moment.”
His expression was too grief-stricken to ask anything. His face was so deeply wounded that I could not even offer him comfort.
‘I had heard she had not been home in years.’
I had thought it was simply for training. Could there be another reason?
I was dying of curiosity, but I had to endure it.
‘If she has not said anything, there must be a reason.’
That Dang Soyeol had not said a word to me about it. There was no greater sign that I should not ask.
Moreover, was the Poison King not telling me with his eyes as well?
‘He is asking me not to ask.’
That it was something he did not wish to speak of. So please do not ask. I could not possibly fail to understand what those eyes meant, so I deliberately ignored it.
After entering the Medicine Hall, I looked around as if assessing the situation.
‘Hmm.’
What a mess.
It was a sight that naturally evoked that thought.
The interior was not organized in the slightest. Unknown ingredients were strewn everywhere.
I picked up one of them.
‘This is…’
My eyes widened slightly. It looked like an ordinary weed, but the shape was familiar.
‘It is Sogongcho.’
It was a medicinal herb that looked like a common weed but commanded a considerable price. Meaning it was not something that should be rolling around on the floor.
‘And it is not just this.’
Besides the Sogongcho, I could glimpse other expensive materials. Seeing that, I let out a hollow laugh.
‘It was not like this when I came before.’
When I had last visited the Dang Clan, it had not been to this extent. The chaotic sight seemed to reveal the state of affairs.
Perhaps because my bewilderment showed on my face, the Poison King let out a dry cough.
“Ahem. Ahem. I have been rather busy of late, so…”
“…How busy must you be to treat medicinal herbs in this manner?”
And this in the Dang Clan, no less.
“As I neared the end, it was too much to take care of other matters.”
“I see.”
It was not my place to meddle in their affairs, so I glossed over it. What mattered was the result.
“So.”
The Poison King spoke to me.
“Do you truly have a way?”
His eyes blazed with power as he spoke.
Just moments ago, he had been flustered by his daughter, yet his gaze could change so instantly?
No, perhaps it could not be helped.
It was a matter of restoring the clan’s long-lost history. Moreover, it might be an opportunity to raise the house again. For the Poison King, it was an extremely important matter.
And of course, it was an important matter for me as well.
“…First, show me what the situation is.”
How had things gotten to this state? I had to confirm that first. Hearing my words, the Poison King immediately led me deeper inside.
The workshop within the Medicine Hall. It was a space where the aura was particularly strong.
‘It is here.’
There was no way not to know.
The quantity of medicinal herbs and poisonous herbs far exceeded that of the outer hall.
Boiling water of unknown purpose.
The ingredients contained within it, and the clumped masses piled high on the left.
There, an unidentifiable stench could be felt. It was so severe that one had to block their sense of smell.
Following the stench, I turned my eyes and immediately saw the cause.
Pointing my hand at it, I asked.
“Is that it?”
“…”
The Poison King nodded. That was correct.
Drawing closer, I saw unidentifiable clumps of dough. This was the cause of the stench. Moreover.
‘The reason the Poison King has been racking his brains.’
The failed creations that could not become the Poison Heaven Pill. It seemed this was them.
I reached out and grabbed a handful of the dough. Then the stench grew even worse.
It was crumbling, and since poisonous herbs were mixed in as well, I could feel powerful toxic energy.
“Hmm…”
The condition was severe. I wondered how it could rot to such an extent.
“So this is the dough for the Poison Heaven Pill.”
“Not exactly. It failed before it could succeed.”
“May I see the phenomenon?”
Hardly before I finished speaking, the Poison King brought something out.
It was dough that looked intact, unlike what I held. The toxic energy remained, but at least the stench was absent.
Moreover, it was permeated with a considerable amount of energy, as if to show it was the material for a spiritual pill.
And on top of it.
Hum.
The energy embedded in my heart. The demonic qi reacted to the object placed above.
It was a demon stone.
A very bright red demon stone.
The demon stone of a red demonic beast. The Poison King, gripping it, picked up a tool.
“Hup!”
Ggrrrrk—!!
He ground the demon stone against the tool with tremendous force.
Then, a light dusting of powder fell from the demon stone onto the dough, and he immediately began to knead it.
At that moment.
Chiiiiiiik—!
“Huh?”
The color of the dough mixed with the powder instantly deteriorated, and it began to emit a stench as before.
It was proof that it was rotting in real time.