Chapter 397: Oh no…! (2)

There is a plant called the Ghostly Herb. It’s a plant that only grows in damp areas of the West. It might look beautiful, but it’s a poisonous herb that makes a person see hell if consumed.

There was even a rumor that the Unorthodox Faction used this herb to make hallucinogens to sell. It was one of the very strong poisonous herbs, further used to torture prisoners or to extract information.

Dribble-

The Poison King knew that Ghostly Herbs had a decent taste to it. It was tasty enough to be popular everywhere in the world, as long as a person had enough immunity to poison, that is.

Obviously, though, ordinary people didn’t have immunity to poison, nor were they able to train it. Because of that, the Poison King liked Ghostly Herbs. Probably because only he—

Ahem.

To go into detail, the herb was only used in the Tang Clan to make tea, because they were able to enjoy a good-tasting tea while also using a cheaper ingredient than other herbs. On a full moon night,

Sip-

The Lord of Tang Clan, the Poison King, sitting alone, sipped his tea made with Ghostly Herb. He preferred this type of tea more than liquor.

It was likely because these types of teas were all made with poisonous herbs.

As he enjoyed the scenery while sipping his tea, someone appeared behind him. The lady carefully went towards the Poison King and lowered her head to show respect.

“…Have you called me, my Lord?”

The lady’s name was Nahee, Vice Captain of a secret assassination group called the Ghost Assassins. She looked to be a normal servant.

The Poison King spoke to Nahee without looking back at her.

“How did it go?”

Nahee slowly knelt on one knee and calmly started to list everything that happened as she gazed down on the floor.

“Three in the entrance, two near a store, and four arranged inside the building. In total, all nine of them were caught.”

Nahee reported everything that happened a few hours ago, but the Poison King stared at her with a strange expression. It seemed as if he wasn’t satisfied by her report.

“Are you sure that’s correct?”

“…”

“In total, all ten including you should’ve been caught by Expert Gu.”

“…I’m sorry, I’ll correct myself.”

Nahee lowered her head deeper towards the ground. The Poison King was right. Even she herself was caught by that young man.

Nahee squeezed her white hand into a fist.

-I don’t think you are the type of person to be a servant.

The words that young man said to her echoed in her mind. How did he know? Was she inadequate? No. She was an expert at hiding her presence and she was confident in her ability.

Moreover, she was taking it seriously, as it was an order from the Poison King, but it seemed like the young man named Gu Yangcheon found her out as soon as he saw her.

The other nine of them being caught was understandable.

Nahee didn’t expect Gu Yangcheon to catch her as well.

Did the Poison King read her mind just now? He spoke with a light smile on his face.

“Don’t let it get to you too much. Thanks to you, I got to entertain myself a little.”

“…”

The Poison King took another sip of his tea with a smile.

It was a simple test at first. He arranged these guards to see how talented the child was, but for him to use his Combat Qi to warn everyone as soon as he got to the entrance and even see through the Vice Captain, Nahee, was impressive.

Nahee was an assassin who had reached a perfected form of Peak Realm as a martial artist. She was skilled enough to even join the Seven Night Assassins if she wanted to.

Yet, the child from the Gu Clan saw through her in an instant as if it were nothing for him.

How did he manage to do that?

The Poison King found it very amusing. Moreover, thanks to Nahee reporting to him immediately after through a telepathic message, he was able to erase his daughter’s presence, who was far away.

If Gu Yangcheon saw through Nahee, then he was obviously going to notice Tang Soyeol’s presence as she was hiding in a different room.

With that thought, the Poison King smiled to himself.

…The things I do for my daughter at this age.

He couldn’t help but sigh after seeing what kind of situation he had put himself in. This may have all been for Tang Soyeol, but the Poison King wasn’t fond of Gu Yangcheon at first, like other Lords.

What kind of father would like a bastard who played with his precious daughter’s heart? He planned on ripping him apart no matter what at first, but his opinions had changed by this point.

For him to reach Fusion Realm at his age…

The Poison King became certain when he met Gu Yangcheon for the first time. Gu Yangcheon had reached Fusion Realm after overcoming the wall of Peak Realm.

Reaching Fusion Realm before the age of twenty? That had to be the youngest person to reach that level in all of history.

Gu Yangcheon had a—not bad—no, he had a very bright future ahead of him with the potential he had. In the Poison King’s eyes, Gu Yangcheon was definitely the person who was going to become the Zenith.

It almost felt as if Gu Yangcheon had inherited all of his father’s talent. Judging by that, the Tiger Warrior may have ‘chosen’ not to do it, but the Poison King believed that the child would be different.

He believed that he would rise above the Three Venerables ruling over the Central Plains and reach the highest position of all.

Moreover, contrary to the rumors that described Gu Yangcheon as a man thirsty for women, he didn’t seem that way at all.

Considering Gu Yangcheon’s worth, the Poison King was able to give him a pass for it. He couldn’t afford to let his daughter fall in despair because of him, after all.

I should’ve known when she kept mentioning his face.

The Poison King shook his head when he thought about his daughter.

He knew that his daughter had a different taste in men in comparison to ordinary people, so he wondered if there was ever going to be a man who would satisfy her eyes.

…And there was a man that satisfied her eyes completely. The Poison King was willing to accept, at this point, since Tang Soyeol even ran away from home to be with Gu Yangcheon. He would’ve ripped most bastards apart, but if it was Gu Yangcheon, who was going to become the Zenith one day, then he was okay with it.

But for him to give me such an answer then and there.

The Poison King thought about what Gu Yangcheon said to him during the meal.

-I don’t want to do that.

He had the audacity to say that to none other than the Poison King.

The Poison King told Gu Yangcheon to either break his engagement with the Namgung Clan or leave Tang Soyeol’s side, but Gu Yangcheon said he wouldn’t be doing either of those things.

How could he say something like that? Was it because he was still young and immature? Whichever it was, it was selfish for Gu Yangcheon to say such a thing.

However, the Poison King believed that Gu Yangcheon had enough talent to have that selfishness.

If Tang Soyeol didn’t interrupt midway, the conversation might’ve gotten to a deeper point, but Tang Soyeol failed to hold back and barged in the room, which was a bit disappointing for the Poison King.

With that thought, the Poison King nodded slightly.

Yes, if someone wants to take my daughter, then it should at the very least be a Zenith.

His daughter was like a precious treasure to him. Rather than sending her away to an incompetent bastard, he would instead send her to someone who had a bright future.

But there is one thing I’m concerned about.

If he really was going to send Tang Soyeol to him one day, then he was going to have to send her as a concubine.

That wasn’t something that the Poison King was easily going to allow, because it meant that he would be losing to the Namgung Clan if he did.

Splash.

The Poison King shook the tea inside the teacup and let out a breath.

This part… will be difficult.

Gu Yangcheon was already engaged to another clan. Even so, it didn’t matter. There was another method, though it was problematic how this said method wasn’t going to be the cleanest.

After gulping down his tea at once, the Poison King spoke to Nahee after taking a breath.

“We’ll be leaving in four days, so make sure to finish all preparations.”

“Understood. What should I do about the schedule for tomorrow?”

“The Alliance Lea—…No, I suppose I can’t call him that anymore. The Harmonic Sword said he’ll come to me, so make preparations for him while keeping that in mind.”

“Understood, my Lord.”

The Harmonic Sword was still the Alliance Leader, but he was soon to resign and many people were likely going to talk about who will be the next Leader of the Murim Alliance.

The Wudang Sect would try to steal this position this time as well. It was a well-known story that the Sect Leader of Wudang was aiming for the Alliance Leader position.

It likely wasn’t going to be any different this time around.

There was one unexpected thing, though.

A rumor about how the Dao King is also aiming for that position.

Apparently, the Lord of the Peng Clan wanted the Alliance Leader seat as well.

When that thought came into mind, the Poison King smirked.

That would be impossible.

How could an incompetent man like him dare to sit in that seat? No matter how much the Poison King thought about it, it seemed impossible.

It honestly seemed like the Dao King’s son was more suited for that spot. Despite that fact, he was greedy for the Alliance Leader position.

He doesn’t know where he stands.

Just like in the past, he was still a big man with greed as big as his body.

Though truthfully, I don’t care who sits in that position.

The Poison King’s eyes became cold. It would honestly be more helpful if the Dao King became the next Alliance Leader. Considering how dumb he is, it would be easier to manipulate him.

Another unexpected thing was how the Sword King, who the Poison King saw as someone similar to the Dao King, showed no interest in this position.

Something about him has changed.

Was it the atmosphere around him? It was, more accurately, his aura.

Namgung Jin had less of his usual uneasy aura around him, and he instead had a very sharp aura proving that he was the Sword King.

Only a few years had passed, so what had happened in that timeframe for him to have changed that much?

Ting-

The Poison King tapped on his teacup as he thought to himself. Then, he closed his eyes and erased everything off of his mind.

It doesn’t matter.

Whatever changes they go through, none of it mattered to the Poison King. He had a more important matter to think about.

The future of his daughter was very important, but that wasn’t what the Poison King had his focus on right now.

“Nahee.”

“Yes, my Lord.”

Nahee lifted her head up after hearing the Poison King’s call.

When she looked up, she saw the moonlight of full moon and dark green eyes that shined along with it. The Poison King’s eyes were forming a smile, but Nahee couldn’t help but shrink when she saw his smile.

“Send this message to the Main Gate. Start preparing the testing team.”

“…Un…derstood.”

Nahee slowly disappeared into the darkness after hearing her Lord’s order. When Nahee disappeared, the Poison King looked back up to the moon and thought to himself.

It was an exceptionally good day to drink tea.

I started heading to my inn after my meal with the Poison King. I rubbed my stomach as soon as I left the building.

“…I don’t feel too good.”

I felt very sick on the inside. It seemed like the aftermath of my nervousness was just starting to show. Just thinking about my meal with him made me feel exhausted.

The man was a bigger snake than I thought.

I frowned when I was reminded of the Poison King’s tone and expression. Just like what I expected, he was a difficult person to face. If I had to describe him in one sentence though,

He seems most suited for a Lord.

Of all the Lords I met from the Four Noble Clans, he seemed to be the most suited for that position.

He may not be the most powerful of them all, but the way he led and changed conversations and atmospheres showed that he was the most politically skilled.

Because of that, I had to focus extremely hard to make sure the conversation didn’t always go in his favor.

What does he want from me though?

The Poison King seemed like he wanted something from me, but I wasn’t able to think of anything. Not only that…

…But is he going to let me off the hook?

It seemed like the Poison King was letting me off the hook despite my rudeness towards him.

I said I will not be giving up both Tang Soyeol or my current engagement with the Namgung Clan, which was just an absurd thing to say. The Poison King clearly heard this too, but he didn’t really say anything about it during the meal.

Was it because Tang Soyeol interrupted midway? Thanks to her, we were able to talk about the main thing, but I couldn’t help but feel concerned by it.

First, we’ll start heading in five days.

Thankfully, I was able to schedule a trip to Sichuan. The Poison King didn’t seem to care about me tagging along. It even seemed like he was for it, but I had to be just mistaken.

Regarding the Pe Clan… Woocheol said he’ll take care of it on his own.

Pe Woocheol, who was also from Sichuan, was also coming along. He put on a strange expression when I told him we’ll be traveling with the Tang Clan, but I told him everything was going to be fine.

With that said, I only had one thing left to do.

To finish my training during these five days.

I had to finish the task the Dishonored Venerable gave me. I’ll probably go to the cave tonight as well because of that.

As I was starting to make my way with that thought,

Pull-

Someone pulled on my sleeve. When I turned towards the pull, I saw none other than Tang Soyeol pulling on my clothes.

I was making my way back to the inn with her after we finished our meal. Also… since when was she grabbing my clothes?

When I looked at her with a strange expression, Tang Soyeol smiled brightly in response. Her smile felt especially strong today.

Tang Soyeol followed me in silence without saying a single word after the meal. She smiled at me whenever I looked back at her, but we didn’t say anything to each other. But judging from her smile, she seemed to be in an extremely good mood.

In the end, I was the one who spoke to her first.

“What’s the matter?”

“Hmm?”

“You seem to be in a good mood.”

“Hehe! It’s nothing!”

“…Alright.”

I guess it was good that she was happy. With that thought, I continued making my way to the inn.

When we arrived, I separated from Tang Soyeol and headed to my room. I planned on heading to the cave immediately after bringing spare clothes.

It seemed like I had to sleep less in order to finish this training, so I planned on staying up a few nights.

Right as I entered my room with that thought in mind…

“Huh?”

I couldn’t help but frown when I saw something round sticking out of my bed. It was obvious that someone was lying on my bed.

Anger immediately began filling me up as soon as I saw that sight.

“…This bastard.”

It was obviously the Water Dragon bastard again. Something like this happened last time, so it was probably Woo Hyuk again.

Why is this bastard always up to no good? Without hesitation, I pulled the blanket away.

“Didn’t I clearly tell you not to come ever agai—“

Right as I was about to shout out in anger, I shut my mouth when I saw the person lying on my bed. It wasn’t the Water Dragon who was peacefully sleeping on my bed. Moreover, there were two people on the bed as well.

Because of the noise I made, one of the two woke up while rubbing their eyes.

“Master… Gu?”

The girl who got up with a yawn was Wi Seol-Ah, and the other was Namgung Bi-ah, who was still sleeping peacefully as if nothing happened.

“Wha…”

I started to wonder as soon as I saw Wi Seol-Ah.

What kind of absurd situation is this?

Right as I was about to ask Wi Seol-Ah what was going on after barely managing to hold onto my sanity,

Creak-!

The door that was closed suddenly opened and someone came in the room.

“Master Gu…! I actually had something I wanted to say to y—“

“Uh.”

Tang Soyeol had barged into the room.

I turned towards Tang Soyeol and checked her expression nervously.

I wanted to somehow deal with this situation in the best way, but Tang Soyeol had already turned stiff like a rock after seeing the sight inside the room.