Chapter 61
61
Ju-ryeong, startled by Dang Onjeong's momentum, burrowed into my sleeve.
"Hey, that tickles. It tickles. Jeez."
As I squirmed and twitched, Dang Jung sighed as if he were going crazy.
"I'm not doing it on purpose, it's just ticklish."
Dang Jung, averting his gaze from me, clicked his tongue at Dang Onjeong.
"Do you have to say it out loud to understand? Even your husband can't handle you and runs away at the drop of a hat, how could I send my precious disciple to you?"
"Mongrang didn't run away, he just went out for some fresh air. He misses Xi'an, so he's just going for a stroll."
"That Mong guy, he abandoned his surname and family to marry you. He was born the son of a high-ranking official and lived without want, how could he be comfortable living with his wife's family? Stop being so temperamental and take good care of him."
"Tch. What do you know about married life, Elder? You've never even been married."
"Even if I've never been married, I know that if you act like you do, your husband will run away. Go out to the Market street and ask a five-year-old child. They'll all say they'd run away from you too."
"Elder!"
Dang Onjeong stamped her feet and whined as if it was too much.
I rolled my eyes as I listened to their conversation.
Grandfather, you were unmarried. I never knew that.
'I want to marry Dang Clan Brother.'
The image of the little Young Miss popped into my head at the same time, and I hurriedly shook my head. The image of Paengrak laughing, saying it was time for him to get married late, also flashed by.
Absolutely not. I can't have a messed-up family tree.
Dang Onjeong, who had been grumbling, said coldly.
"I'll take care of Mongrang's matter myself. Anyway, I must take that child to the Poison King Hall."
"I refuse."
"That's for So-hye to decide. What do you say, So-hye? Won't you come to the Poison King Hall? This aunt will treat you well."
"Ahahaha. Thank you for thinking so kindly of me, Tang Clan Lord. But I don't know enough yet to answer rashly..."
"What? What is there to think about? What Tang Clan is more suitable for you than this one?"
Dang Onjeong shouted as if she couldn't believe it.
I laughed awkwardly. I don't want to touch bugs.
Seeing that she had planted poisonous herbs in the mountains, she must be raising poisonous insects and snakes separately, and I had no desire to handle such things.
I'd rather go to the Medicine Hall.
...Is handling bugs better than dealing with Dang Juhee? Why are my choices like this?
Seeing my troubled expression, Dang Jung waved his hand.
"Onjeong, stop making noise and get out. So-hye needs to rest."
"Already? That's too much, Elder. I came all this way, and you won't even give me a piece of Candied fruit and you're chasing me away? When I was little, you used to dote on me and give me Candied fruit."
"Oh ho? Are you at the age to be asking for Candied fruit? At forty, what Candied fruit are you talking about?"
Dang Jung snorted in disbelief. But seeing him rummaging through his sleeves, I wondered if they were always bickering like this.
Dang Onjeong, who had unceremoniously bitten into the Candied fruit that Dang Jung had given her, widened her eyes.
"Elder, the Candied fruit tastes strange?"
"What do you mean?"
"Why isn't there any Poison? You always put a little Lycoris Radiata Juice in it, didn't you?"
At Dang Onjeong's question, Dang Jung pursed his lips. He glanced at me and gave an awkward smile, his expression showing that he was feeling guilty.
"It's not the taste I remember, so I feel a little disappointed. You've been putting Poison in all sorts of snacks since I was little to build up my resistance, haven't you? I sometimes think about the Fugu Poison you put on the Tanghulu. My tongue was so numb."
Dang Onjeong laughed heartily, lost in memories. I couldn't ignore her past, so I quietly asked.
"...Grandfather. Did the Candied fruit you gave me when we first met have Poison in it?"
"......"
Dang Jung avoided my gaze.
I knew it. This man, he wasn't sure if I had Immunity to all poisons just by being fine with touching Poison, so he definitely fed it to me on purpose.
"Ahem, this old man is tired. Stop talking and leave. So-hye, you go back and rest too."
Dang Jung, who had coughed at my fierce gaze, issued an eviction order.
I left his residence with a sulky face.
\ \ *
"...So, Grandfather pretended not to know and kicked me out. He definitely gave me Candied fruit with Poison in it."
"Ahaha, our So-hye. You were very upset about that?"
Dang-un burst into laughter at my grumbling.
"Growing up in the Tang Clan, it's not easy to avoid food with Poison in it. You don't even know it's Poison until you've eaten the same food outside. You just think that's how it's supposed to taste."
"Did you experience that too, Brother?"
"I didn't eat Poison because I wasn't feeling well. Instead, Ju-hee, who came to play in my residence, was shocked to eat Snow Cake without Poison. She asked why the Snow Cake wasn't spicy, and then she emptied a basket of it in one sitting."
"Sister did?"
"Yes. Ju-hee was seven years old. After that, she threw a tantrum, saying she didn't want to eat Poison for a while, so my aunt had a hard time."
Dang-un spoke gently, as if recalling fond memories.
Dang Juhee at the age of seven, throwing a tantrum because she didn't want to eat Poison, was hard to imagine.
There was a reason why she was feeding Poison to others. She must be feeding it to them because she was resentful of being forced to eat it when she was young, and she couldn't die alone.
But that didn't make me feel any better. I grumbled.
"Still, how could he so casually give me snacks with Poison in them...? That's too much. I didn't expect even Grandfather to do that to me."
"Haha, don't take it too hard. It's in the past."
"The training is the same. These days, he's pushing me all day long without giving me a chance to catch my breath, and I'm dying. What kind of master in the world makes you train from the moment you open your eyes until you go to bed?"
Then Dang-un grabbed my cheek and pulled it as if I shouldn't say such things.
"Where else can you find a master as good as Grandfather? So-hye is just thinking that because she doesn't know any better yet. There are so many bad masters in the world who treat their disciples like their servants."
Dang-un shook his head and continued.
"Cook, do laundry, clean, chop firewood. They make them run errands for alcohol all the time, and they make them do all sorts of useless things. There are even crazy people who pass on their gambling debts."
Come to think of it, the eccentric old masters in the stories all acted like that?
"If the disciple can't stand it and runs away, they catch them and coax them. They say it's all part of the training, and that they'll teach them absolute Martial Arts Technique soon. They shamelessly lie and try to make them serve them again."
"Oh......"
"Then the children who have nowhere to go are tempted again. They can't quit because they don't want to waste what they've endured so far. But if you keep staying under such a master, will you become a master? You'll just become a handyman who's good at housework."
Really? That makes sense?
Dang-un laughed heartily at my tempted face.
"Well, if the child has good bones and outstanding intelligence, they might become a master. But such a Martial Arts genius would have become a master no matter what master they met. Rather, it's like their wings were clipped by meeting the wrong master. At least So-hye doesn't have to worry about that, does she? You'll be taught the Esoteric Skill of Grandfather, who is one of the Ten Supreme Warriors of the Murim."
Dang-un stroked my head as if to cheer me up.
"Grandfather is worried about So-hye, that's why he's doing this. He wants So-hye to be able to protect herself as soon as possible."
I sighed and nodded.
It wasn't that I didn't know Grandfather's heart. I knew that he cared about me and wanted me to become strong quickly.
I knew it in my head, but my body was tired, so I kept complaining.
Seeing that I was convinced, Dang-un curved his eyes beautifully.
"Don't be too upset. At least the Poison that the Tang Clan feeds is to improve the children's Martial prowess. In my maternal family, they used Poison to kill me."
"What? What do you mean? The Zhuge Clan fed you Poison, Brother? Why?"
I asked back in a fluster, and Dang-un gave a chilling smile.
"Well. I don't really know either. Maybe they didn't like seeing my mother, Zhuge Clan's Precious Child, suffering because of me?"
"......"
Damn it. I brought up the wrong thing.
I smiled awkwardly and stammered.
"I, I see."
"If you ever go out into the Jianghu, don't associate with the Zhuge Clan. It's a place full of dullards who think they're geniuses."
"Ah ah. Yes."
"Of course, if you want to learn scheming, you can associate with them. Staying as a guest in the Zhuge Clan for about a month would be a good experience. You'll find out how stupid and selfish humans are."
"...Brother. Do you not get along with your maternal family?"
"It's just an objective assessment. Surely I don't have any feelings for my family."
Dang-un covered his mouth and laughed.
He's overflowing with feelings. Overflowing to the point of spilling over. It was my fault.
I hurriedly changed the subject.
"Ahaha, Brother. I heard from Sister Juhee that you have to decide where you belong when you have your Coming-of-Age Ceremony? Where do you belong?"
"Ah. Me? I registered my name in the Scripture Repository. The head of the Scripture Repository is accommodating, so I only go out about once every seven days."
"Ah. That suits you well."
A library archivist, a position that suited the gentle Dang-un perfectly.
"So-hye is already old enough to decide where she belongs. Do you have a place in mind?"
"I don't really know yet. The Tang Clan Lord of the Poison King Hall told me to come to the Poison King Hall, but I'm a little reluctant to touch poisonous things. I don't know if I have the qualities of a doctor to choose the Medicine Hall."
"So-hye is calm, so I think you'll do well no matter which one you go to. The Coming-of-Age Ceremony will be in a few years, so take your time to think about it."
"Yes."
"However, Aunt won't leave So-hye alone. She was upset that Ju-hee was taken away to the Medicine Hall. She'll try to take you to the Poison King Hall no matter what, so prepare yourself in advance."
Recalling Dang Onjeong's booming voice, I felt a strange tingling in my ears.
...I shouldn't even go near the Poison King Hall.
