Chapter 79: Test of the Sichuan Tang Family
After that, things became much easier.
At first, he had looked like a poisonous snake filled with venom, making me wonder if communication would even be possible, but now his attitude had completely changed.
“If there is anything lacking or anything you wish for, please speak. I will accommodate everything as you request.”
The Poison Dragon Squad Leader, who was guiding us inside the Sichuan Tang Clan, looked ready to give up his liver and gallbladder if only we asked.
Although treating people based on status gave me a strange sense of aversion, I had no choice but to admit its utility at least.
‘Treating others based on status… Does status also serve as a measure of trust?’
The purpose of status.
Another name that represented me, letting me know what kind of person the opponent was, even if they were a stranger whose face and name were unknown.
‘It might feel snobbish, but… it is convenient.’
Perhaps due to the aversion rising within me, even though I realized its necessity, I still felt as if I were wearing uncomfortable clothes.
It felt as if I had been badly burned by it once before.
As I thought about the cause, I naturally recalled a single name.
‘Right, that bastard Yin Si-hoo.’
Yin Si-hoo’s skills were not bad, but if asked whether he was an outstanding young expert, that was not the case.
At best, he was just a neighborhood bully.
It had been extremely annoying to see someone like him putting on airs, backed by his family’s background, as if he were some hero who would shake the world in the future.
‘What was even more miserable was that I was completely crushed by that hollow shell of a guy.’
I understood why I felt an aversion to the shell I was wearing being respected more.
It felt like a mix of half annoyance toward Yin Si-hoo and half self-loathing.
‘I wonder what that guy is doing these days?’
I had heard that the young expert who died at Shaolin was a genius chosen as the next successor candidate for Yin Si-hoo’s family.
If so, then that bastard Yin Si-hoo’s fate must have fluctuated quite a bit as well.
Well, whether his fate fluctuated or plummeted down a waterfall, what did I care?
‘Huh?’
As I shook my head to brush off thoughts of Yin Si-hoo, certain gazes clearly reached me.
‘Is it a young expert of the Tang Clan?’
A person who was staring particularly hard in this direction.
A talent who straightened their back proudly and looked out at the world.
‘A bird. And one of the kind with a fierce beak.’
They looked like a bird of prey holding its head high. A beautiful bird because it possessed a strong beak and claws. A fierce bird that had just finished preparing to fly out into the world was looking at me with a confident face.
‘A neighborhood bully… maybe?’
For a moment, Yin Si-hoo, who had confidently acted like a neighborhood bully, came to mind from that figure.
However, that thought was quickly erased.
‘Different. No matter how exquisite the gold plating is, it cannot compare to the real thing.’
The quality and texture were different. She was full of things that Yin Si-hoo would not be able to obtain even if he died and came back to life a couple of times.
It was enough to leave an impression.
‘What a peculiar woman.’
***
We were guided to the guest hall of the Sichuan Tang Clan. The Qingcheng Sect side and I, along with Baek Mu-ho, received separate rooms.
We were guided there with the explanation that it was a place where only precious guests stayed, and upon entering, I understood why immediately.
“The Five Great Families really are on a different level.”
Baek Mu-ho looked around the interior in admiration.
“If we sold the items here, we could probably buy our house too.”
Fitting for the successor of the Baek Family Escort, Baek Mu-ho had an excellent eye for goods. This was because he had trained his discernment while working for the escort agency. If one could not recognize the value of the escorted goods, they could suffer greatly.
“Is it that much?”
“Yeah. The Sichuan Tang Clan really is amazing. At this rate, I feel like they are no different from the royalty of this region.”
“In terms of scale, they are indeed no different from a king.”
Since they were a power boasting a headcount of nearly ten thousand.
It was not the scale of a mere martial arts sect.
Unlike the Nine Great Sects, the Five Great Families had a strong secular aspect. Among them, the Sichuan Tang Clan seemed to be unrivaled.
“How about it? Living in luxury in a place that enjoys such kingly status?”
“Huh?”
But suddenly, this guy Baek Mu-ho started talking nonsense.
“Don’t play dumb.”
He poked my side with a sly, middle-aged man-like face.
“I saw everything earlier. Wasn’t there a beauty staring at you with extremely passionate eyes?”
“It didn’t look like eyes filled with goodwill, though.”
“The interest was immense, though. Even if it didn’t start as goodwill, with that level of interest, the moment one minor thing clicks, it turns into goodwill. They fall head over heels.”
He certainly spoke well.
Anyone would think he was a master of romance.
“So, do you have any dating experience?”
“Shut up.”
Crushed by the truth, Baek Mu-ho’s face stiffened instantly.
However, he quickly composed himself and returned to his sly face.
“You would have to become a son-in-law married into the family, but who cares? The name is nice too. Tang Cheong-un. Doesn’t it sound like a name that would win the jackpot?”
“Roll it around however you like, but put it back where it belongs.”
Seeing him running his mouth over a name, it seemed he was just teasing because he wanted to make that joke.
‘I will be sure to report this matter to Sister Seol-ah.’
I resolved in my heart to take a small revenge.
[You are sharing quite an interesting story while I briefly visited the Underworld to fetch this fellow Hua Tuo.]
In the Sichuan Tang Clan, Master Hua Tuo’s help was essential. Master Zhang Sanfeng, who had said he would bring Master Hua Tuo from the Underworld, had returned.
However, I had a really bad feeling.
Somehow, I felt as if the same smell that came from Baek Mu-ho was coming from Master Zhang Sanfeng as well.
Good heavens!
To compare Baek Mu-ho to Master Zhang Sanfeng!
Wasn’t this blasphemy?
[Women are good. A man becomes a true man only after meeting a woman.]
[Oh! Is this the Tang Clan that reportedly started as a family of physicians and was reborn as a martial arts family? If nothing else, they must make more money than when they were acting as doctors.]
‘Huh?’
However, there were two voices echoing.
One was indeed Master Hua Tuo, but what about the other?
[Ah, I am called Bian Que. I followed along because I heard this friend Hua Tuo has been having some fun lately.]
“……”
What in the world suddenly.
[Well, those strict Underworld messengers might come to catch us for slacking off, but. Hahaha!]
He seemed to have a bright personality.
‘Anyway… we are invincible with this.’
Indeed, a dream combination.
There were many outstanding physicians in the history of the Central Plains, but only two were revered as divine physicians.
They were Hua Tuo and Bian Que.
The same went for Qin Yueren and Dou Cai, who were called incarnations of Bian Que. There were people comparable to them, but it always ended there.
Even after a long time had passed, no physician emerged who could surpass those two. Considering that even after their deaths, they had continuously honed their medical skills in the Underworld…
“Why do you look like you need to take a crap?”
“……”
“Is it urgent?”
“Never mind.”
Rather than relieving myself, my throat was dry, and I felt like drinking a cup of something.
Just then, an attendant entered and placed teacups and a teapot on the ornate table.
“I will prepare everything for you to wash. Please wash up and change into clean new clothes. In the meantime, thinking you might be thirsty from traveling a long distance, I brought some tea.”
He was at an age where wrinkles were just beginning to form on his face. Perhaps because he had accumulated years of experience greeting guests in this room until reaching that age, he provided exactly what I wanted and needed.
Grateful, I drank a cup of tea first to wet my throat.
‘Hmm?’
Along with the tea water entering my mouth, the energy inside my body wriggled and moved.
The divine power of earth moved and caused a stir in my stomach and liver.
‘Poison?’
It had definitely moved in response to something in the tea water I had just drunk.
The most likely suspect was poison.
A sensation that chilled my mind arose.
‘Come to think of it, they said the Family Head was poisoned.’
What if it was poisoned by someone on the inside?
What if someone who heard about my reputation made a preemptive move to prevent interference?
‘They could target me as well.’
As long as the divine power of earth protected me, I would not budge against most poisons, but the opponent was someone who had used a poison strong enough to poison even the Family Head of the Sichuan Tang Clan.
I could not afford to let my guard down.
Though it was bound to be a pointless resolution since what was presumed to be poison had already entered my stomach.
“It’s sour. And a bit bitter too.”
“It is because it was made with unripened raw tea.”
The attendant explained the reason calmly.
However, those were not the words I wanted to hear.
“There are reactions in the Foot Yangming Stomach Meridian and Hand Yangming Large Intestine Meridian among the Twelve Primary Meridians.”
I explained the taste and spoke of where the stimulation was.
[What about Gegu?]
[A crushing feeling?]
“Jianyu and Gegu. From the Yangxi to Hegu acupoint on the hands and arms.”
They were the acupoints of the Hand Yangming Large Intestine Meridian.
“Wailing, Shuidao, and Yinshi.”
Next was the Foot Yangming Stomach Meridian.
[It’s white aconite. They also used corydalis.]
[It seems they mixed in oleander, but it’s not a lethal poison. It merely causes problems in the muscles and disrupts the five viscera. If I had to say, is it closer to being used for playing a prank?]
‘So it means the mastermind behind the Family Head’s poisoning didn’t make a move.’
I felt somewhat relieved.
[If sourness was felt, it seems they also put in wild herbs, right?]
[If they had even added jack-in-the-pulpit, the potency would have been quite high. Ah, if it’s being neutralized because the divine power of earth is present, maybe they mixed some in?]
[Ah, if it’s that, then probably…]
While I was relieved on one hand, the two giants exchanged words back and forth, sharing their opinions.
Every time a conversation was exchanged, the source of the poison I had consumed was thoroughly dissected.
“White aconite. Corydalis. Oleander. Jack-in-the-pulpit.”
I uttered the sounds heard in my head exactly as they were.
What they mixed, how they combined what. If this were knife work, it hacked it to pieces so thoroughly that one would say it was carved without leaving a single shred of flesh.
“No way…”
Every time my mouth opened, the attendant’s face turned dumbfounded.
Even though it was not a lethal poison, the Tang Clan’s poison was completely dissected.
“If it was entertainment, it was fun.”
Setting the teacup down on the table with a relaxed smile, I stared intently at the attendant before me.
“……My Lady.”
“Ha!”
The gaze that had left an impression. She was that fierce and beautiful woman resembling a bird of prey whom I had seen while entering here.
I did not know how she had disguised herself, but the disguise as an attendant was perfect. If not for her unique gaze, I would not have noticed until the end.
‘Was she planning to test me because a guy whose origins are unknown said he would treat the Family Head? Or perhaps she wanted to gauge my ability as a young expert.’
Either way did not matter. If it was the former, I had shown it clearly, and if it was the latter, I had cleanly dealt her a blow.
“I hope we see each other with your real face next time. That way, even if feelings get hurt, it will be easier to pass it over smoothly.”
It was a polite request to leave, delivered implicitly.
I wondered if she would stubbornly persist, but surprisingly, the opponent withdrew obediently.
As the Tang Clan lady disguised as an attendant walked out, Baek Mu-ho frowned.
“Was there poison in it or something?”
“Yeah. Nothing severe, but your muscles and stomach will twist a bit after drinking it.”
“Are you okay, though?”
“As you can see. That energy left behind by the ape is playing its part as a dutiful son.”
“Ah, is that so?”
The end of his words twisted slightly.
“I never knew the day would come when I’d watch you act cool while consuming poison.”
His sarcastic tone was full of annoyance.
“Should I use it as an excuse to drink all of that and make this place the final destination for my stomach?”
“……”
He was saying he would literally turn this place into a field of crap using the excuse of being poisoned.
Please restrain yourself. This isn’t a room you use alone.
He probably said it half-jokingly, but it meant the other half was serious.
Knowing him, he might actually do it.
***
The attendant who came out of the guest room immediately raised her fingertips to scratch her face. Then, a skin-colored leather mask peeled off.
When she threw away what she had been wearing on her face, her jawline, which had been close to square just moments ago, became a smooth, oval-shaped face.
The face that anyone would have seen as a man’s had now become a beautiful woman of marrying age.
Though it was not for a long time, the woman’s face was flushed red, perhaps because she had forcibly torn off something that had been stuck to her skin.
“It’s burning up.”
Inwardly, she attributed it to tearing off the mask that had been pressed close to her skin, but to say that was the sole reason, the beating of her heart was far too rapid.
The woman, sensing her own heartbeat, rubbed her cheeks with both hands.
Only after confirming that the heat of her flushed face was clearly felt in her hands did the Tang Clan woman open her mouth.
“I think I’m completely smitten.”
The words of the opponent, who had laid bare everything about the poison she had used from start to finish and dissected it one-sidedly, kept lingering in her ears.