Chapter 432: Lake of Regret.

The Poison King wore an expression that suggested he didn’t like my request.

Since I came all the way out here first thing in the morning to make such a request, it would naturally seem like a breach of etiquette from the head of the family’s perspective, but…

I judged that he wasn’t the type to refuse something just because he was in a bad mood.

And this was exactly as I’d expected.

“You must be cautious of the poison gas from now on.”

Following the warning, I raised my internal energy.

In this life, my resistance to poison was practically non-existent, so I had to be a little careful.

I was currently being guided towards the Poison Logic Lake (毒理湖水).

A strange phenomenon that appeared in the Sichuan Tang Sect when Dokjeolcheon Tang Jemun was the head of the family.

The Poison Logic Lake (毒理湖水).

It’s a mysterious lake that constantly forms poisonous substances.

Even if it wasn’t potent poison, the sheer infinity of the poison held considerable value, so it was used as an additive in the poisons the Tang family created.

I heard that through this, they used to earn substantial profits by selling poisons in the past, but…

It became a thing of the past once a treaty with the Martial League made it impossible to take anything out without the League’s permission.

And.

‘This is where the White Horse Stone rests.’

The secret vault where the White Horse Stone, given to me by the Heavenly Demon in my previous life, was stored.

That place was located directly beneath the Poison Logic Lake.

‘To think I’d end up coming here of my own volition.’

I had intended to come and sneakily gobble it up someday, but I hadn’t expected to attempt it before I even reached adulthood.

It was good that my growth was faster than I anticipated, but…

‘Because of it, I’m likely to die.’

I didn’t realize it would trip me up like this.

It’s a story about how rapid growth and an increase in energy could damage the vessel.

What’s more, most of that energy wasn’t something I consumed because I wanted to, which made it even more frustrating.

‘That’s just how my life goes.’

As always, things never went as planned, and this time was no different.

As I walked, I asked the person guiding me ahead.

“It seems the Head of the Family isn’t accompanying us?”

“My Master said he had urgent business….”

“Mm, I see.”

The speaker was a woman. A woman I’d seen before.

Around the time I went to Hanam to have a meal with the Poison King.

She was one of the hidden guests scattered throughout the inn, tasked with testing me, and she seemed to be the most skilled among them.

Although I hadn’t heard her name from the Poison King, I knew her name was Nah-hee.

“Is it alright for you to guide me alone?”

“…If perhaps you are not satisfied, I will call someone else.”

“It’s not that. I was just wondering if it was okay to have only one person monitoring such a unique entity.”

Although the Poison Logic Lake is now referred to merely as a peculiar entity, it’s still one of the Tang Sect’s representative phenomena; I wondered if assigning just one person for guidance and surveillance was appropriate.

It felt full of awkwardness to call this trust.

‘Besides, the Poison King didn’t come either.’

Usually, if fulfilling a favor, the Head of the Family would guide personally for appearances’ sake.

The Poison King didn’t show up, citing a tight schedule.

‘Hmm.’

If not him, then surely the Young Master or Tang Soyeol would be here.

The fact that no blood relatives were assigned….

‘Is something up?’

It seems something is indeed going on.

I wondered if it was due to the issue with the transported criminals, but other thoughts were subtly crossing my mind.

‘Has the Tang Sect’s plan truly concluded?’

The plan for the birth of the Heavenly Body, which Tang Deok was subjected to.

Coupled with thoughts about the future Poison Empress, these concerns often weighed on my mind.

‘The Heavenly Demon’s actions also bother me.’

Back then, when he went so far as to trample Sichuan to kill the Tang family.

Even the Heavenly Demon’s actions, ultimately burning the land of Sichuan and trying to investigate the underground here.

At the time, I just thought Zhuge Hyuk had some plan in mind to execute such a strategy, but…

‘…Did the Heavenly Demon know something?’

The thought that it might not be so occasionally surfaces.

The idea that there might be aspects I didn’t fully understand.

“This is it.”

Nah-hee’s voice brought me back to my senses.

After following her blindly for a few minutes, I suddenly found myself before a small lake.

My eyes widened slightly upon seeing the lake.

‘…So this is it.’

I saw a lake shimmering with a faint green light.

It wasn’t particularly large.

Its subtle color and calm ripples made it look like just a beautiful lake.

I had imagined a place bubbling furiously and reeking of foul odors, given it was supposed to be a lake full of poison.

Contrary to my expectations, the lake looked incredibly beautiful.

‘Was it originally like this?’

When the Heavenly Demon and I arrived at the lake.

It was no longer in a state that could be called a lake.

The lake’s water had all drained out, leaving only a deeply dug pit.

Moreover, the surrounding area at the time was melted or rotten due to the poison gas the Poison Empress had been spraying.

Seeing such a beautiful landscape was quite surprising.

The moment I took a step towards the lake, Nah-hee spoke to me.

“…You cannot approach beyond a certain distance.”

“Is all that water poison?”

“Yes.”

“It seems too clear to be that.”

Clear.

So clear you could see the bottom even from afar.

All that is poison?

‘There’s no smell at all.’

With that thought, I slightly loosened my energy barrier and circulated my internal energy within my body.

‘…Hmm.’

Then, I felt something entering my body.

It was very faint, but it was definitely poison.

Sensing this, I reinforced my energy barrier, circulated my internal energy to expel the poison, and looked back at the lake.

If I could get poisoned just by breathing at this distance.

The time I could withstand if I plunged my body in directly would be….

‘With my current physical condition, at best….’

About a quarter of an hour.

‘That’s tight.’

It’s a shorter time than I thought.

‘Does that mean I have to find the entrance to the secret vault within that time?’

Back then, I just followed the Heavenly Demon wherever he went, so all I knew was a vague location.

Given how clear the lake is, the fact that the secret vault hasn’t been found yet means it must be hidden by a formation, no doubt.

‘Hmm….’

As I was pondering what to do.

“Young Master.”

Nah-hee approached me, bowed her head slightly, and spoke.

“The time set by my Master has come. You must return now.”

“Already?”

“Yes.”

Haha.

Look at this old man.

Did he really just intend to let me look around?

He wants me to leave before even half an hour has passed since arriving?

‘He’s doing this because I came all this way this morning, aren’t they?’

No matter how I looked at it, it was clear he was holding a grudge.

He’s a more petty fellow than I thought.

Then again, it’s understandable that he’d be suspicious of someone suddenly asking to see a lake like this.

I didn’t expect him to let me look at it for long.

And.

‘It doesn’t matter if they put restrictions on it.’

I had expected as much anyway.

I slowly turned to look at Nah-hee and said.

“You know.”

“…Please speak.”

“Would you like to make a deal with me?”

At my abrupt words, Nah-hee looked at me with a puzzled expression.

I examined the woman’s face closely.

She was an ordinary woman with light green hair and black eyes.

“…What do you mean, suddenly…?”

“Ah, it’s nothing major.”

I smiled brightly at her and continued.

“I need to go into that lake for a moment. Could you perhaps pretend not to see?”

“…?! What do you mean!”

Nah-hee, startled by my statement, tried to speak, but…

I cut her off.

“Instead.”

There was something I asked Tang Deok once.

Even if Tang Deok was smarter than expected, it would have been difficult for him to grasp the Poison King’s movements entirely and plan accordingly.

Unlike my expectations, he seemed to know exactly when and how the Poison King would move.

It was truly strange.

How could he do that?

I didn’t need to ponder this for long.

Because the answer was obvious.

He must have planted a spy.

It wouldn’t be possible unless he had eyes and ears among the Poison King’s close associates.

So I asked Tang Deok.

Who his eyes and ears were.

And he told me information about the spy.

“I won’t tell the Poison King that you’re a rat. How about it?”

“…!”

That woman right in front of me, Nah-hee.

Nah-hee flinched at my words and immediately tried to summon killing intent.

I swung my hand.

Slaap-!

“Nngh!!”

Nah-hee’s head snapped back from the slap, her internal energy scattering instantly.

I grabbed her by the neck, pulled her close, and met her gaze.

“I’ll ask again.”

I didn’t display any killing intent.

“Are you going to make the deal? Or not?”

“…How…how….”

“How did I find out?”

How did I find out?

“Tang Deok told me everything. Very kindly.”

This was the truth. I really did hear it from Tang Deok.

Upon hearing the truth, Nah-hee suddenly yelled out.

“That’s impossible! Big brother…! He wouldn’t say such a thing…!”

Slaap-!

She was being noisy, so I slapped her again. Nah-hee collapsed onto the floor.

I stepped firmly on her chest and said.

“Nngh…!”

“What are you going to do if you don’t believe me?”

“Nngh….”

“Stop screaming annoyingly, or I might twist your neck without realizing it out of irritation.”

Her red, swollen cheek and lips were dripping blood.

She looked utterly pathetic, but I didn’t care.

“It doesn’t matter if you refuse. After I kill you, I’ll report that you, a spy, pushed me into the lake to the Poison King, and that’ll be that.”

I had known from the start that Nah-hee would come as my guide.

I hadn’t expected her to come alone, though.

Because if Tang Deok was held captive as my escort, I predicted that Nah-hee, unaware of the situation, would stick close to me.

Thanks to that, the situation became considerably easier.

‘Turning this wench into a mind slave would be the fastest way, but….’

Unfortunately, I didn’t have enough energy for that.

At a time when I needed to head straight for the lake, corrupting Nah-hee, who appeared to be at the peak of her mastery, into a mind slave would cause problems later.

Because with my depleted energy, enduring in the lake would be difficult.

That’s why I decided to use this method.

If I have enough energy to spare, I’ll corrupt her into a mind slave, but…

Right now isn’t the time, so it was a form of considerate kindness.

Putting a little more pressure on the foot I was standing on.

“Nngh…!”

Smiling brightly, I asked Nah-hee again.

“So? Are you going to do it or not?”

I hope she answers quickly.

Even if she thinks about it, there’s only one choice anyway.