Chapter: 432
The Poison King wore a face that suggested he wasn’t pleased with my request.
Of course, coming all the way here early in the morning to make such a request would seem rude from the head of the household’s perspective.
However, I judged that he didn’t seem the type of person to refuse something just because he felt offended.
And as expected, that was exactly the case.
“From now on, you must be careful of poison.”
Upon his warning, I raised the stakes.
In this life, I had virtually no tolerance for poison, so I had to exercise a bit of caution.
I was currently being guided toward Dokri Lake.
A mysterious spirit that manifested in the Sichuan Tang clan during the time when Dokjeolcheon was head of the family.
Dokri Lake.
It was a mysterious lake that constantly generated poison.
While it might not be extremely toxic, the fact that it produced infinite poison held considerable value, and it was utilized by the Tang clan to make their poisons.
I had heard that in the past, they made quite a profit selling poison.
However, due to a treaty with the Murim Alliance, it had become a thing of the past, and permission from the alliance was needed to leave.
And then.
‘This is where the White Horse Stone sleeps.’
A memorial site where the White Horse Stone given to me by Cheonma in my previous life lies buried.
It was located directly beneath Dokri Lake.
‘I never thought I’d come here on my own accord.’
I had always planned to sneak back and steal it someday, but I never thought I would attempt it before meeting the conditions.
It was great that my growth was faster than I expected.
‘But that also means I might die.’
I didn’t know that it would become an obstacle.
It’s a tale of how rapid growth and an increase in energy could harm the vessel.
Moreover, since most of the energy wasn’t consumed because I wanted to, it felt even more unjust.
‘My life is always like this.’
Things never go as I plan, and this time was no exception.
As I moved forward, I asked the person guiding me ahead.
“I guess your lord isn’t coming with you?”
“The master mentioned he has urgent matters to attend to…”
“Oh, I see.”
The person speaking was a woman. She was the same woman I had seen before.
It was around the time I went to Hanam to dine with the Poison King.
She was one of the hidden guests scattered throughout the inn to test me, and she appeared to be the most skilled amongst them.
Though I had never heard the name of the Poison King, I knew her name was Nahi.
“Is it okay for you to guide me alone?”
“…If it’s not to your liking, I can call someone else.”
“That’s not the case. I was just wondering if it was acceptable for just you to oversee something so valuable.”
Although Dokri Lake is now merely regarded as a peculiar spirit, it remains one of the significant spirits representing the Tang clan, so I wondered if it was appropriate to have only one person assigned for both guidance and surveillance.
It felt too clumsy to call this faith.
‘And the Poison King didn’t come either.’
If this was a favor typically granted out of kindness, it would be fitting for the head of the household to accompany me personally.
Yet, the Poison King had skipped out for a tighter schedule.
‘Hmm.’
Then, at the very least, I expected some lesser household members to be here.
The lack of any blood relatives meant…
‘Is something going on?’
It appeared there might be an issue.
I thought it could be related to the problems concerning the prisoners I had transported, but I also entertained other thoughts.
‘Has the Tang clan’s plan truly come to an end?’
The plan for the creation of the Cheonmujiche that Dangdeok was subject to.
Additionally, thoughts concerning the future of poison ivy overlapped, and I often pondered that.
‘The actions of Cheonma are also intertwined.’
Back then, Cheonma had been trampling on Sichuan in an attempt to eliminate the Tang clan.
Even Cheonma’s later actions of burning the lands of Sichuan and trying to inspect this underground place came to mind.
At the time, I merely thought that Jegal Hyuk had some plan in mind and executed that operation.
‘…Did Cheonma know something?’
Suddenly, doubts flickered through my mind that perhaps that wasn’t the case after all.
I began to wonder if there were more aspects I didn’t properly understand.
“This is it.”
I snapped back to attention at Nahi’s voice.
After following along aimlessly for a few minutes, I found myself standing in front of a small lake.
Upon seeing the lake, my eyes widened slightly.
‘…This place.’
A lake glimmering with a faint green hue came into view.
It wasn’t very large.
With its gentle waves and soft colors, it looked simply like a beautiful lake.
Hearing that it was a lake full of poison conjured images of bubbling liquid with a rancid smell.
Contrary to my expectations, the lake was extraordinarily beautiful.
‘Was it always like this?’
Back when I arrived at the lake with Cheonma, it was no longer in a condition to be called a lake.
The water had drained completely, leaving nothing but a deep pit.
Furthermore, that area had been melting and rotting due to the poisonous air released by the poison ivy.
Looking at this beautiful view now was somewhat astonishing.
As I took a step closer to the lake, Nahi warned me.
“…You must not get closer than a certain distance.”
“Is all of that water poisonous?”
“Indeed.”
“It looks too clear to be so.”
It really was clear.
You could see the bottom from a distance.
Is all of it poison?
‘It doesn’t even smell.’
With such thoughts, I relaxed my breath a bit and let my energy circulate slightly.
‘…Hmm.’
And then, I felt something enter my body.
It was very subtle, but it was unmistakably poison.
Feeling this, I opened my energy again, circulated it to purge the poison, and looked at the lake once more.
If I could be poisoned just from breathing at this distance,
how long could I last if I immersed myself in the liquid?
‘With my current condition, I might manage…’
Only about a quarter of that time.
‘It’s tight.’
It was far shorter than I had imagined.
‘I guess I need to find the entrance to the cave inside it?’
When Cheonma had led me there, I had followed without knowing where I was going, so I only had a vague idea of the location.
If the lake was this clear, it must surely have been concealed with a formation.
‘Hmm….’
While I was lost in thought about what to do next,
“Sir.”
Nahi approached me, bowing her head slightly.
“The time set by the master has elapsed. We must return now.”
“Already?”
“Yes.”
Haha.
Look at this gentleman.
Did he really plan to just let me observe?
It hadn’t even been half an hour and he was ready to send me back.
‘Isn’t this because I came here early in the morning?’
No matter how I looked at it, he was clearly holding a grudge.
It turned out he was narrower-minded than I thought.
Admittedly, it might be a bit suspicious to have requested to see a lake so suddenly.
I hadn’t expected to spend so much time looking at it.
And.
‘It wouldn’t matter if there were restrictions.’
I had expected as much all along.
Slowly, I turned my gaze toward Nahi and said,
“You know.”
“…Please proceed.”
“Can we make a deal?”
Nahi looked at me with a puzzled expression as I threw out my unexpected offer.
I took a moment to observe the woman’s face.
She was an average woman with shallow green hair and black eyes.
“…What are you suddenly talking about…?”
“Oh, it’s nothing.”
I smiled brightly at her and continued speaking.
“I need to dip into that lake for a moment. Would you mind pretending not to notice?”
“…?! What do you mean by that!”
Nahi jumped in surprise at my statement and attempted to speak.
I interrupted her mid-sentence.
“Instead.”
I recalled a question I had previously posed to Dangdeok.
Despite Dangdeok being smarter than I had anticipated, it would have been difficult for him to figure out all of the Poison King’s maneuvers and devise a strategy.
Yet, surprisingly, it seemed as if he knew exactly when and how the Poison King would act.
What a strange situation.
How could that have been possible?
There was no need for long contemplation.
In other words, it was obvious.
They must have planted a spy.
It wouldn’t be feasible if there weren’t eyes and ears among the Poison King’s inner circle.
Hence, I had asked Dangdeok.
Who are your eyes and ears?
He then shared information about the spy with me.
“I won’t tell the Poison King that you’re a bat cub. What do you say?”
“…!”
That was the lady named Nahi standing right in front of me.
Nahi flinched at my words and instantly tried to rally her energy.
I flicked my hand.
Slap!
“Ugh!!”
Nahi’s head whipped around from the slap, causing her energy to falter in an instant.
I seized her by the neck and yanked her closer, locking eyes with her.
“Let me ask you again.”
I showed no intention of wanting to spare her.
“Are you going to make a deal or not?”
“…How…how…”
“How did you know?”
How did I know, you ask?
“Dangdeok told me everything. He was quite nice about it.”
That was the truth. I had genuinely heard it from Dangdeok.
When I shared the truth, Nahi suddenly exploded with rage.
“That’s impossible! My brother…! There’s no way he would say such a thing…!”
Smack!
I struck her again for being so loud. Nahi collapsed to the ground with a thud.
Then, stepping on her chest, I said:
“Ugh…!”
“If you don’t believe me, what’s your plan?”
“Ugh….”
“Shut up! I might get so irritated that I could twist your neck without realizing!”
Blood dripped from her lips, staining her cheeks that were now red and swollen.
In some respects, it was indeed a pitiful sight, but I had no concern for that.
“It doesn’t matter if you decline. After I take care of you, I’ll report that you’re a spy and that you tried to push me into the lake, and that’ll be the end of it.”
I had anticipated Nahi would come as my guide from the get-go.
I didn’t expect her to be alone.
If Dangdeok was captured as my escort, I figured Nahi would naturally follow, completely unaware of the circumstances.
Thanks to that, the situation had become considerably easier for me.
‘Turning this year into my own would certainly be the quickest route.’
Unfortunately, there was not enough energy to do so.
Arriving at the lake, corrupting Nahi, who appeared to be in her peak state, into a minion would pose challenges later on.
With my depleted energy, surviving in the lake would be difficult.
Thus, I resolved to take this route.
Once I had the luxury of more energy, I would convert her.
But that wasn’t the right time just yet; it was a consideration of kindness.
Applying a bit more pressure to my foot, I asked Nahi again with a smile.
“Well? Are you not going to do it? Or are you?”
I eagerly awaited her response.
No matter how much she agonized over it, there was only one option available, anyway.
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