Chapter 60
60
The Poison King's Hall, shrouded in poisonous fog, was steeped in silence. The poisonous fog was so thick that visibility was poor.
Wasn't there a horror movie that started with a village shrouded in fog? It's eerie.
Brushing off the creeping Poison Qi, I pushed open the main gate, which creaked open with a chilling sound.
Creak!
"Hello?"
"......"
"Is anyone there?"
"......"
There was no sign of life. It was unlikely that everyone had gone on an outing together, so it seemed that something had happened inside the Poison King's Hall.
Should I just pretend I didn't see anything and go back? But I need to get the castor seeds.
As I pondered, I looked down at the foot of the mountain. It was a height I didn't want to climb again.
I guess it's better to just close my eyes and go in.
Taking a deep breath, I crossed the threshold. At the same time, I stepped on something squishy.
"Eek, what is it!"
I jumped back with a scream and looked down.
It was a person.
A man who appeared to be a guard was sprawled on the ground.
"Hey? Are you okay?"
"......"
There was no response. He seemed to have lost consciousness.
I quickly bent down and put my hand to the guard's nose, and felt a faint breath.
After a moment of hesitation, I put my hands under the guard's armpits and lifted him up.
I didn't know why he had fainted, but leaving him in the poisonous fog didn't seem like a good idea.
Deokju's eyes widened when I came down carrying a man on my back.
"Young Miss? Who is this?"
"He was lying in front of the gate. Can you take him to the Medicine Hall?"
"Understood, Young Miss."
I handed the unconscious guard over to Deokju and went back into the Poison King's Hall.
But the unconscious person wasn't just one guard.
Like ears of rice fallen in a field after the harvest, people were lying everywhere.
A scene straight out of a horror movie sent shivers down my spine.
Wow. What a mess.
I hurriedly picked up the people and moved them outside the Poison King's Hall.
Some of them were faintly conscious.
"Hey. Are you awake? Are you okay?"
"The, the Dream Haze..."
"Huh?"
"...Ugh, the jar..."
He made unintelligible sounds, groaned briefly, and slumped.
Jar? What jar? What's Dream Haze? Is it a type of Poison?
Rolling my eyes, I moved the unconscious people outside.
I counted at least a dozen people I had taken out. Since they were all unconscious, it seemed they had been poisoned with some kind of anesthetic.
I wanted to give them first aid, but I didn't know anything about it.
I'm sorry. I don't know how to take a pulse yet. I only learned how to mix herbs.
I wondered if I should wait for Deokju to return, or go down and ask for help.
None of the patients seemed to be in immediate danger of dying.
People were important, but it seemed more important to find out where the poisonous fog was coming from and block it.
There might be more people I hadn't seen and couldn't take out.
Scratching my head, I left a message on the dirt floor.
[Poisoned patients. Ask the Medicine Hall for help.]
If I wrote this, Deokju would take care of it.
Rubbing my nose, I went back into the Poison King's Hall.
It wasn't hard to find where the poisonous fog was coming from. The source of the thick Poison Qi was a boiling cauldron.
I covered the cauldron and lowered it from the fire. The blackened cauldron smelled acrid.
As I covered the cauldron, my vision gradually cleared.
Next to the boiling cauldron were broken jar fragments and yellow powder scattered around. It seemed that someone had broken the jar while mixing Poison into the cauldron.
Seeing the scene, which looked like a lab accident, I understood why they had built the building on the mountainside.
If something like this happened in the Tang Clan manor, the poisonous fog would fly to the middle of the city, and the clan would go bankrupt trying to clean it up.
Grumbling, I took a broom from the shed and swept up the Poison powder.
I should have brought Ju-ryeong with me. She would have been excited to eat it all up.
...Wait, is that why they told me to take her with me?
Only then did I realize my grandfather's deep intentions.
Ju-ryeong was a kind of lab assistant. She was there to clean up the Poison for me. I should definitely take her with me from now on.
Determined, I put the swept-up Poison powder into an empty jar and sealed it. I put the broom back in the shed.
After that, I searched every corner of the Poison King's Hall to see if there were any more people collapsed. Fortunately, there didn't seem to be anyone I hadn't seen.
In the meantime, the poisonous fog thinned and the world regained its original color.
Just as I was about to dust off my hands, thinking that things were roughly sorted out, I heard Deokju's voice from outside.
"Young Miss! Young Miss. Are you inside?"
"Yeah, I'm here!"
I quickly ran to open the gate and saw Deokju, who was covering her mouth with her sleeve and coughing.
Her face was pale, as if she couldn't handle the Poison Qi.
"Oh, Deokju. Why did you come up here when it's so hard for you? Let's go down."
I pushed Deokju down the stairs.
Seeing Deokju, who never showed any signs of hardship, acting like this, the Poison floating in the air must be terrible.
"Did you go to the Medicine Hall? What did the Clan Lord say?"
"He said that the Poison King's Hall guard had inhaled nerve Poison, so it seemed like an accident during an experiment, and he sent people. They are cleaning up below."
"How did he know? Does this happen often?"
"This is my first time at the Poison King's Hall, but that's what I heard. I heard that the building has even exploded before."
What is that supposed to mean? What do you have to do to make a building explode?
Deokju, who had answered, was shedding tears like someone who had been hit by an allergy bomb. I handed Deokju a handkerchief.
"Thank you, Young Miss. Achoo!"
My dear is weak against Poison. I need to take care of her and feed her some nourishing food.
Smacking my lips, I came down to the fork in the road and saw a crowd of people gathered.
On one side, people were rinsing the patients' noses and mouths with clean water, and on the other side, they were carrying the treated patients on stretchers to the manor.
I saw a familiar face. It was Dang Ju-hee.
Dang Ju-hee turned the patient's eyes inside out to check their condition, gave instructions, and then examined the next patient.
She looked different from her usual carefree self.
Surprised by the unexpected scene, I stared at Dang Ju-hee, who noticed my gaze and looked up.
"Maknae! Come here and help... No, go away. Go over there. Did you go into the Poison King's Hall? You're spreading Poison powder."
Those people are like that because I took them out.
If Dang Ju-hee was saying that, I must have a lot of Poison on my clothes.
When I stood there blankly, Dang Ju-hee got annoyed.
"Go away quickly. I just rinsed those people's eyes, nose, and mouth, and you're going to make them dirty again."
"Yes."
At Dang Ju-hee's urging, I obediently stepped back and realized.
So, Deokju was having a hard time because of me? I'm sorry, Deokju.
Feeling awkward, I moved away from Deokju.
"Deokju, don't follow me. Go to the detached palace and bring Ju-ryeong. Tell her to come and suck up all the Poison Qi."
"Understood, Young Miss."
Deokju, who sniffled, left the spot.
Left alone to watch the cleanup, I realized I had forgotten something.
That's right, the castor seeds!
It can't be helped, so my grandfather will understand.
...He will understand, right?
* * *
Fortunately, Dang Jung didn't look for the castor seeds. He said that after sending me, he remembered the prescription and immediately wrote back.
He didn't care that there was a commotion at the Poison King's Hall.
"It's a common occurrence, so don't worry about it. Those incompetent bastards. They should have learned not to make mistakes after being carried away so many times. Tsk."
He dismissed the entire Poison King's Hall as incompetent, and pressed down on Ju-ryeong's belly, which was stretched out on my shoulder.
"Kieeek!"
Ju-ryeong got angry as if asking what he was doing, and Dang Jung snorted.
"You've eaten so much that oil is dripping from your belly. What did this thing eat?"
"I think it was something called Dream Haze?"
"Dream Haze? That's closer to a hallucinogen than a Poison."
"To be exact, it seemed like someone put the yellow powder in the cauldron by mistake while boiling the Poison. The bottom of the jar was broken."
"Aga, don't tell me you cleaned that up?"
"Yes."
"And this thing sucked up all the Poison Qi that was left in the Poison King's Hall?"
"That's right."
Then Dang Jung's expression twisted.
Is there a problem? Why is he doing that?
At that moment, a thunderous shout came from outside.
"Elder!"
"Damn it. She's already here."
Dang Jung muttered and rubbed his face. He looked annoyed to death.
"Elder! It's Dang On-jeong! May I come in?"
"You're making this old man's head ache. Be quiet."
"On-jeong is coming in!"
The door burst open and a middle-aged woman with a plump appearance entered.
"Elder! Have you been well!"
"I'm about to be because of you."
"Ohoho, your jokes are as good as ever!"
I don't think it's a joke.
She had a cheerful voice that didn't match her age. Unlike Dang Mu-hyeok, she seemed to be close to Dang Jung.
Since she was my father's teacher, she might have seen him since she was young.
Covering her mouth, she giggled and turned her gaze to me, then grabbed my shoulder as if she was happy to see me.
"You must be So-hye!"
"Yes, yes?"
"I'm your aunt! Oh my, you don't look anything like your brother. You've grown up well."
Dang On-jeong, who said something that I couldn't tell if it was a compliment or an insult, laughed heartily. I smiled awkwardly and bowed my head.
"I heard that you saved our children today?"
"No, it wasn't anything that great."
"It wasn't anything that great? Uncle Shim Hong said that if they had been exposed to the poisonous fog for another half an hour, they would have all gone blind! You saved our children's eyes!"
Dang On-jeong, who patted my shoulder as if she was proud of me, pouted at Dang Jung.
"Elder. How could you keep such a talent with you and not show her to me! Huh? Immune to all Poisons. I didn't even know there was a child in the main family who was immune to all Poisons."
"I know, so lower your voice. I'm not deaf."
Dang Jung rubbed his forehead.
Dang On-jeong, who had been giggling, changed her expression. Her eyes were lowered like a beast aiming for its prey.
"This child hasn't had her coming-of-age ceremony yet, has she?"
"Yes. Not yet."
"Then of course you should send her to the Poison King's Hall, shouldn't you? I'll take responsibility for teaching her."
Dang Jung's expression became fierce at the words that cut off the front and back and discussed my future.
"I never said I would give her up."
"Oh my. What are you talking about? Where is a better place for a talent who is immune to all Poisons than the Poison King's Hall?"
"So-hye will experience various things and decide gradually. And, I won't send her under your care, On-jeong."
"How can you say such hurtful things, Elder! What's wrong with me?"
As the tone grew louder, I shrank back, watching their faces.
...Um. What about my opinion?
