Chapter 71
71
I smiled and held out my hand.
"Then give me the Ten Thousand Poisons Pill."
"What did you say?"
"If you give me the Ten Thousand Poisons Pill, you can go in with peace of mind. I won't be getting beat up anywhere."
"...You little rascal. Do you even know what the Ten Thousand Poisons Pill is, asking for it like you're begging for candied fruit? And how did you know Grandpa has it?"
"Oh, I have my ways."
Actually, I just guessed. You haven't given it to Namgung Hwi yet, so you must still have it.
At my answer, Dang Jung pressed his temples as if he were going crazy.
"Ugh. I won't live to my natural lifespan, I won't live to my natural lifespan. Do you think an Elixir Pill is some kind of invincible Esoteric Skill? A weakling who eats an Elixir Pill is still just a weakling who ate an Elixir Pill."
"But it's better than not eating it, right?"
"That's true."
Dang Jung, who had been groaning for a while, nodded as if he thought it wasn't a bad idea.
"It's too early to absorb the Ten Thousand Poisons Pill yet... but there's no helping it. Wait here."
"Yes? Grandpa? I was just saying it. You take it, Grandpa. You need it to go into seclusion."
I jumped up, not expecting him to actually give me the Ten Thousand Poisons Pill.
"At Grandpa's level, Elixirs aren't of much help. Don't argue and eat it."
"But..."
"Just wait."
A moment later, Dang Jung returned with a small wooden box. When he opened the box, a clear fragrance wafted out.
I felt a massive Qi, incomparable to the Elixirs I had eaten so far. I didn't know what to do and rolled my eyes.
I just made up some nonsense to reassure him, I didn't really intend to swallow an Elixir.
...I shouldn't ask Grandpa to buy me anything. If I asked him to buy me candy, he'd buy the whole candy store.
"What are you doing? Eat it. Quickly."
Dang Jung urged me when he saw me hesitating.
I hesitantly reached out to the Elixir.
It was a stroke of luck that should have gone to Namgung Hwi. It felt strange that the Ten Thousand Poisons Pill, which was originally destined to fall into someone else's hands, was coming to me.
The Ten Thousand Poisons Pill, which touched the tip of my tongue, melted away before I could even chew it, seeping into my mouth.
"Ugh. It's bitter."
"Did you think it would taste like Candied fruit? Swallow it quickly."
As I swallowed the jelly-like Elixir, a refreshing Qi flowed down my throat and into my body.
My face contorted involuntarily at the pain that felt like my flesh was being torn apart.
"Calmly circulate your Inner Energy. That's right. Like that."
Dang Jung, who had placed his hand on my back, began to guide me.
I slowly closed my eyes. Beyond the dark vision, I saw a stream of light with a murky green tint.
I gritted my teeth as I walked aimlessly along the light. What I saw was not a stream of light.
It was a huge river.
The river water seemed to flow gently from afar, but at some point, it rushed in like a dam collapsing under the weight of heavy rain, sweeping me away.
Every time the poisonous river water touched my body, it felt like my skin was corroding. My body trembled from the pain I had never felt even when touching extreme Poison with my bare hands.
I floundered like a person swept away by a downpour.
"Don't be swept away. Swallow it!"
Dang Jung's shout snapped me back to my senses.
I hurriedly straightened my back and recited the Incantation of the Inner Arts. Then, the dark blue Poison mixed into the edge of the river. The Poisonous Qi, which spread like ink, sank to the bottom of the river, to the deep bottom.
It was only a matter of moments before a small amount of Poison dyed the entire river black. At the same time as the color of the river water changed, my Dantian, which had swelled to bursting, slowly began to swallow the Qi of the Ten Thousand Poisons Pill.
But the Qi of the Ten Thousand Poisons Pill did not try to be eaten quietly. The Qi flowing through the meridians of my entire body writhed and thrashed as if it were trying to bite me.
I gritted my teeth and pushed in the Poisonous Qi. If I completely dyed the river water in my color, I felt like I could swallow this enormous Qi in one gulp.
At that moment, the light that had been running away from the Poisonous Qi rushed towards my head. It was towards the Hundred Meeting Point. Alarmed, Dang Jung hurriedly pushed in his True energy to divert the path of the Qi.
In an instant, my vision spun as the flow of Qi became tangled. I bit my lip and tried to regain the flow, and Dang Jung pushed in more of his True energy as if to say it was okay.
Familiar Inner Energy wrapped around my body and led the circulation. Gradually, my breathing became easier.
I began to walk along the riverbank, following Dang Jung's Qi. The river, which had become a shallow stream, was now dark blue. The stream gradually dried up into a small puddle, then soaked into the ground, wetting my feet.
"You only swallowed about 30%. There's a lot of residue left."
Dang Jung clicked his tongue and withdrew his hand. I slowly opened my eyes.
The Spiritual energy of the Ten Thousand Poisons Pill, which I had not properly absorbed, was pooled in the corners of my Fine meridians like leftover candy crumbs in my mouth.
I was disappointed by the unpleasant feeling, but only for a moment, before my eyes widened.
My Dantian was twice as big as before I ate the Ten Thousand Poisons Pill.
"T-This is 30%?"
"It's a shame, but there's no helping it. Keep circulating your Inner Energy steadily, and try to swallow the residue left in your Fine meridians. If you scrape it all together, it'll be a little better."
Dang Jung, who had replied, stared at me intently. He had a troubled look on his face, as if he had not yet made a decision.
"So-hye. Grandpa doesn't know if this is the right choice."
"This is right."
I held Dang Jung's hand tightly and whispered.
"Grandpa. Last time, you said you had about ten years left."
"I did."
"If you overcome the wall, how much longer do you think you'll be able to live?"
"Thirty years would be easy."
"Then I want you to go into closed-door training for my sake. I don't want to live in the Tang Clan without Grandpa."
Dang Jung sighed at my stubbornness. He bit his lip with a worried look, but soon declared his surrender.
"...I won't let it exceed three years. Can you endure it well?"
"Of course. I'll listen to Uncle Geun-myeong."
"Okay. I understand. That's right... First, let's wash up."
Dang Jung subtly let go of my hand. Only then did I see my appearance, covered in waste.
Ugh. I smell bad.
I smiled awkwardly and slowly moved away from Dang Jung.
\ \ *
Dang Jung postponed entering the Seclusion Chamber for a few days. He wrote dozens of letters and sent them somewhere, and visited the Poison King Hall, the Medicine Hall, the Council of Elders, and even the Chuiyi Hall to talk to people.
I didn't know exactly, but it seemed like he was leaving behind arrangements for me.
That's right. He's giving such earnest instructions before he leaves, who would dare to lay a hand on me? If they carelessly touched me, there would be a thunderous rage when the closed-door training was over.
I pretended to be calm and saw Dang Jung off.
"Baby. Can you endure it well?"
"Of course. Don't worry."
"If it doesn't work out, even now..."
"Oh, you're doing it again. You can just come out quickly. Hurry back, Grandpa."
Dang Jung, who looked at me with troubled eyes as if he couldn't take his eyes off me, slowly nodded.
He hugged me tightly one last time and disappeared in an instant.
As soon as I sent Grandpa away, my heart felt empty. I was left alone, squatting in front of the pond and sighing deeply, when Dang Geunmyeong said.
"It will take more than three years."
"I know."
"Why did you persuade the Elder when you knew?"
"I was worried that he might develop a Heart Demon if he held back."
"The Elder is not that weak."
"Is a Heart Demon anything special? If you can't do what you want and worries pile up, that's a Heart Demon."
Dang Geunmyeong stared at me silently at my gloomy reply. He had an expression that he didn't understand. I felt uncomfortable with his gaze and got up.
"I have to go meet Young Master Gu. I'll be going now, Uncle."
"......"
He turned his head as if to say I should.
My second meeting with Gu Gyeong-cheon was the worst.
Perhaps he was bothered by my rejection last time, he kept glancing at me, trying to read my mood, throughout dinner and tea.
I spent some time with him and returned, grumbling to Songji.
"This guy won't do. I might as well meet the son of a security agency."
"Go ahead. The son of a security agency is better than the son of a trading company. Have you seen the Facial Description?"
"Not yet. Grandpa picked him, so he must look gentle. I guess."
He only picked out guys who looked like duds.
Mentioning Dang Jung made me feel down for no reason.
It had only been a day since Grandpa went into seclusion, but it felt like I hadn't seen him for a year.
I wish enlightenment would come with a bang and he'd come out next week. But that's not going to happen.
I hugged my pillow and rolled around before slipping into bed.
Even if Grandpa is away, I have to do what I have to do. I had to conserve my energy for tomorrow's dawn training.
Just as I was about to close my eyes to go to bed, I heard Dang Seho's voice.
"Hey! Hey! Are you in there?"
The guy who was knocking on the door of the detached house couldn't wait for someone to open the door and jumped over the wall.
"Are you sleeping? Get up quickly! If you don't open the door quickly, I'm counting to three and going in. One, two...!"
"What is it? What's wrong?"
I frowned and put on my outerwear. When I opened the door, I saw Dang Seho, who was gasping for breath.
"Hey, you better run away quickly."
"What kind of nonsense is that?"
He must have run so fast, Dang Seho was soaked in sweat. He screamed as if there was no time to explain.
"Listen to the details later and run away!"
"What?"
"Elder Dang Gak is going to...!"
"Step aside, Young Master."
At that moment, someone pulled Dang Seho away. It was Dang Gak.
"E, Elder..."
Dang Seho's face turned pale. He trembled and slowly stepped back.
It was an unusual atmosphere. Dang Gak, who was staring at me silently, said coldly.
"Gu Gyeong-cheon is dead."
"Yes?"
Why is someone who was fine just now dead? I just had a meal and tea with him?
He frowned at my dazed face.
"Why did you kill him?"
"What are you..."
"Silence! Are you planning to deny it? You're not making any sense. Let's see if you can pretend you don't know even when you're locked up in the prison."
Dang Gak roared and reached out to me. I felt a tingling pain in the back of my neck and my mind became hazy.
I couldn't help but curse at the injustice.
What nonsense. Why would I kill him?
