Chapter 99
99
Only then did I understand the look in my grandfather's eyes when he wanted to tear the Alliance Leader apart and kill him.
Trying to manipulate people with the name of a cherished lover was bound to provoke anger.
Alliance Leader, that bastard was complete trash. No wonder his way of speaking was so awful.
'…He was kind, considerate, and beautiful. I learned a lot from him.'
Recalling Dang Jung's reminiscence, I felt a little gloomy.
I couldn't even begin to imagine how painful his youth must have been, having lost both his sister and his lover.
So that's why. That's why you told me not to go before you…
Seeing that my expression wasn't good, Yeon-ryang changed the subject.
"More importantly, how did Sister end up wandering around? The Poison King just watched as his own disciple was chased out?"
"There are circumstances."
"Hmm. I guess the Poison King must have gone into secluded training?"
I jumped back and moved away from Yeon-ryang.
"Oh? Brother. Did the Demonic Sect plant spies in the Tang Clan too?"
"…So-hye, you just treat me like some Demonic Sect guy now."
"You are one, aren't you?"
"There's no denying it."
Yeon-ryang shrugged and rubbed his chin as he said,
"I heard someone framed Sister for murder? It's obvious what happened. The Poison King was away, so they took the opportunity to kick her out."
"You know it well. As Brother guessed, he's in seclusion. Enough about Grandfather, tell me more about the Demonic Sect. Why are you out in the Jianghu?"
"I can't tell you that, Sister. There's a Geumje on me."
"Geumje?"
"Yeah. If I reveal the Demonic Sect's secrets, my head will explode. You wouldn't want to see that, would you?"
"What?"
Yeon-ryang chuckled as if he had made a funny joke, but I couldn't laugh along. I grabbed his sleeve and pressed him.
"What does that mean? How do you undo it? Can it be undone?"
"Well? They say it'll be undone when the Bishop who put the Geumje on me dies, but he's still going strong and looks like he'll live for another fifty years. The old man has a long lifespan."
"So there is a way to undo it?"
"Yeah. Just kill the Bishop. Simple, right?"
Killing a Demonic Sect Bishop was unlikely to be simple, but it was better than having no way at all.
I crossed my arms and playfully grumbled,
"Who is that old man anyway? Bring him here right now. I'll shove the Tang Clan's Eight Deadly Poisons down his throat. A bucketful of poison would solve it neatly, Brother."
"Hahaha! That's the best thing I've heard all day, Sister. But it's no use. Even if the Geumje is lifted, the Gu Poison will remain in my body, so I'll be stuck as a dog on a leash until I die."
He said with a bitter self-mockery. Yeon-ryang didn't seem to have any hope of escaping the Demonic Sect's snare.
Watching his expression, I cautiously asked,
"Is there no way to get rid of the Gu Poison?"
"Even the great Murim Alliance is struggling to solve the Gu Poison, so what can a nobody like me do? Beopgong even rummaged through the Abbot of Shaolin's residence to get information, but it was useless. If you use the wrong antidote, it only speeds up the seizure cycle."
"Wait a minute, Brother. That monk friend of yours… no, that monk is actually the direct disciple of the Abbot of Shaolin?"
"So I heard. He was a really weird guy."
"…What's going to become of this Jianghu?"
I sighed and touched my forehead.
There was no guarantee that that guy would become the next Abbot of Shaolin, but if things went well, I might see the Abbot of Shaolin and a Demonic Sect member drinking and flirting with each other.
Just imagining it made my stomach churn.
"Haha, that monk didn't even shave his head. He goes around with a ponytail. He says it doesn't look good if he shaves his head."
"Is that allowed?"
"Of course not. He's running away because they'll shave his head as soon as he's dragged to Mount Song, or so he says?"
"Hmm, there really are all kinds of people in the world."
It's none of my business, but the Abbot of Shaolin must be having a hard time too…
Yeon-ryang chuckled at my muttering and looked at me.
"You're not ordinary either, Sister. A girl who carries around a black marten. You're very noticeable."
"Even if there were ten Ju-ryeongs, they'd be less noticeable than you, Brother."
"What? Where else can you find a Martial Artist who looks as kind and friendly as me? If I were mixed in with ordinary people, they wouldn't even know I was a Martial Artist?"
"Whatever. You're already doomed by the fact that you're six feet four inches tall."
Even though I was serious, Yeon-ryang grinned and organized the basket.
Watching him quietly, I cautiously asked,
"Does it hurt?"
"What?"
"That thing inside you."
"Ah. I don't usually feel anything. It starts to stir when it's close to the time for the antidote, but I'm used to it now, so I can bear it."
"Ugh, it stirs? Inside your body?"
"Yeah. Come to think of it, it's about time it started showing its presence. It's strangely quiet."
He rubbed his stomach as if it were nothing. I frowned and replied,
"Isn't it because your body isn't doing well, Brother? It'll die if its host dies, so it must be careful."
"True. That could be it. It needs me to be alive so it can suck my True energy."
"Don't talk like you're raising a pet, Brother. How long until the cycle? You can't even get the antidote in that condition."
"About a month? I have to go down the mountain before then, Keuk!"
Yeon-ryang, who was answering, groaned and hunched over as he got up.
His body was trembling like an aspen leaf, and it seemed like his muscles were cramping.
"Give me the basket. Brother. Let's go inside and get some acupuncture."
Cold sweat was dripping from his body as he handed over the basket with a stiff face.
I swallowed a sigh and carried Yeon-ryang on my back.
He was used to enduring pain, so he kept wandering outside, but the Gu Poison, which had weakened along with him, was slowing his recovery, so it would be impossible to go down the mountain in a month.
It would take at least two months for the torn muscles to heal.
The moment I laid Yeon-ryang on the bed, hiding my gloomy mood, my eyes widened as a thought suddenly flashed through my mind.
…Wait a minute. The Gu Poison has weakened along with him?
Then isn't now the perfect opportunity to get rid of the Gu Poison? Since his True energy is lacking, it'll die from even a small shock, right?
Although it's a sorcery used to control people, the Gu Poison is fundamentally a parasite.
If I do it right, I might be able to kill the Gu Poison like deworming.
Among the medical books that Dang-un and I read, there was a book that dealt with parasites…
As I was deep in thought and stuck needles into him, Yeon-ryang, who had become a hedgehog, said with a hollow laugh.
"Sister. I think you've stuck too many needles in me."
"Oh, no. They're all acupoints."
"Something's flowing down your forehead, though."
"It's sweat, sweat. Don't worry, it's not blood."
I roughly wiped away his sweat and recalled the contents of the medical book.
I definitely remembered how to make deworming pills. There were several prescriptions that used the toxicity of medicinal herbs to kill parasites.
If Yeon-ryang didn't have resistance to poison, then the Gu Poison that had settled inside him wouldn't have resistance either, so there was a possibility.
If the Gu Poison has weakened, maybe I can remove it without using deadly poison?
Ah, this might work?
Yeon-ryang, who had been lying still, asked awkwardly,
"So-hye, why are you smiling like that? I'm getting anxious."
I raised the corners of my mouth and started to speak.
"Brother. Do you know what wild animals do when they get infected with parasites?"
"Huh? Wild animals? I don't know."
"They eat poisonous plants."
"They eat poisonous plants?"
"Yeah. They instinctively know that they can kill parasites with poison."
"That's amazing. Come to think of it, animals are smart too. But why are you talking about that?"
Yeon-ryang blinked as if wondering why I was suddenly talking nonsense.
"It means it's a method that nature has verified. How about we try using poison too?"
"Huh?"
"We use poison to melt and kill the Gu Poison, and before the poison spreads through Brother's body, Ju-ryeong sucks up the poison."
"I guess you're going to cut off my breath before the Gu Poison has a seizure and dies. How kind of you."
"I'm serious, Brother. I think it might work if we control the speed at which the poison spreads."
"Yeah. Are you going to control the speed at which I go to the afterlife too?"
Yeon-ryang, who had distorted his mouth as if telling me not to talk nonsense, narrowed his eyes when he saw my expression.
"So-hye, you're serious. I've never heard of getting rid of Gu Poison with poison, though."
"I've never heard of Gu Poison either, but when treating parasites, we use poison. When you think about it, Gu Poison is also a parasite."
"Gu Poison is different from ordinary parasites."
"Yeah. But it's the same in that it gets nutrients from Brother's body. It's also the same in that it can't live outside Brother's body."
"That's bullshit logic, but it's strangely plausible."
"Brother. Can you suppress the poison from spreading through your blood vessels for about fifteen minutes? It would be even better if you could gather the poison around where the Gu Poison is sleeping."
"No. I can't hold out that long, maybe for a few breaths. I told you, Sister. I don't have resistance to poison."
"That means we have to finish it quickly."
I frowned involuntarily.
If it were Grandfather, he could tell Yeon-ryang's condition just by channeling his Inner Energy, but I can't.
It seemed like it would take time to find a concentration that Yeon-ryang could withstand but could melt the Gu Poison.
As I was seriously contemplating, Yeon-ryang asked in a flustered tone.
"Are you serious? Are you really going to use poison on me?"
"Let's try it, Brother. If nothing else, I'm much better at poison than the Murim Alliance or that monk. I'm the disciple that the Poison King took in 70 years."
"Your master is the Poison King, not you…"
Yeon-ryang muttered. I pretended not to hear and asked.
"Do you know what ingredients go into the antidote you take?"
"I don't know. I heard that the making of the antidote is a top secret of the Demonic Sect, so even the Bishops don't know."
"I guess there's no choice. We'll just have to try eating them one by one."
"…What?"
"What else could it be but poison."
"…W-wait a minute. So-hye, I hate poison. It's already terrible to eat it once every three months, but you want me to eat all kinds of poison that I don't even know what they are?"
"Let's try it once, Brother. We can't let those trash who kidnap people and threaten them with poison play us forever, can we?"
"I don't think you're the one to talk."
Ignoring Yeon-ryang's muttering, I jumped up from my seat.
I felt like I had to move as quickly as possible to make poison while restoring Yeon-ryang and the Deposed Queen's bodies.
"Call me after fifteen minutes. I'll come to take out the needles."
"So-hye? I think it's better to just take the antidote than to make a fuss. So-hye. Are you listening to me? So-hye!"
"Yeah, I'll try to make it as painless as possible."
I replied and strode away.
Controlling people with parasites? That's ridiculous.
Let's see who wins. You damn Demonic Sect bastards.
