Chapter 164
The objects visible through the straw covering the earthenware jar were silver ingots—presumably Grandfather’s emergency fund.
The polished ingots filled the jar to the brim.
Startled, I hurriedly checked the others.
The next jar contained iron coins. The one beside it was filled with fasting pills, while the next held neatly stacked healing pills and jars of wound salve.
“Brother, don’t touch those. They’re poisonous.”
“Yikes. This is supposed to be a safe house, but it has everything imaginable.”
There were even several Tang Clan poisons that would have been difficult to produce outside the clan.
I could tell merely from the intensely undulating poisonous energy. Grandfather had made every last one.
It was obvious who had brought all these supplies here and organized them.
Uncle Geunmyeong... So you travel around maintaining the safe houses too...
I felt sorry for him and his monstrous workload for all of a moment before grinning and rummaging through the jars.
“Why didn’t I notice these yesterday? Didn’t Grandfather hide any rare medicines here?”
“Good grief. What a greedy little lady.”
Yeon Ryang clicked his tongue, folded his arms, and watched me gather supplies.
“I should take the healing pills and wound salve. Brother, can you take these healing pills too? They won’t react badly with your demonic energy?”
“No. They’re fine.”
“I’m taking all the poisons. I won’t have to worry about running out for a while. Poison made by Grandfather himself—what a windfall.”
“Yes, yes. Let’s take it all. But could you move the poisons outside first? The food’s going to become steeped in poisonous energy.”
“Sure. I’ll put them in the shed.”
“Why would anyone store poison in a kitchen as if it were a jar of honey? I will never understand how the Tang Clan thinks...”
Yeon Ryang muttered as though he had never seen anything so absurd.
They probably never intended to cook here. Those fasting pills alone would last someone fifty years.
“Now then, where should I put all these precious beauties?”
Humming, I carefully embraced the largest jar of poison and began moving them to the shed.
*****
By the time we had finished our late breakfast and let Cane sample the tiniest taste of Grandfather’s poison, the sun was already high overhead.
“Sohae, are you sure we can leave the furball like that? It looks completely out of its mind.”
“It’s fine. It’s drunk on poison. The fact that one drop left it that dazed proves how effective it is.”
It’s valuable poison. I should use it sparingly.
I carried the limp Cane to the bed, then hesitantly took out the elixir I had received from Wiji Gok.
“You’re going to take it now?”
“I’m thinking about it.”
I quietly stared down at the elixir.
I had come to the safe house intending to absorb it slowly somewhere peaceful, but...
Now that the moment had arrived, I was a little afraid.
The memory of what had happened when I swallowed an elixir alone, without Grandfather’s help, was still painfully vivid.
A chill ran down my spine as I remembered the spiritual energy rampaging through my body, tearing through everything in its path.
It was not pain I ever wanted to experience twice.
I took a deep breath and tried to steady myself.
Back then, I swallowed it blindly because I was desperate to survive.
This time is different. Yeon Ryang is here, and it’s nothing as extraordinary as the Myriad Poisons Pill. I can control it.
...But I’m still a little scared.
After hesitating for a long while, I closed the wooden box. Yeon Ryang, who had been watching me, asked gently,
“Are you worried?”
“...Yes. I’m afraid it’ll be like when I first met you.”
“You’ll be fine. You’ve grown so much since then that there’s no comparison. Don’t tense up. Your brother will stand guard for you.”
The reassuring touch of his hand slowly calmed my anxiously pounding heart.
I nodded, swallowed hard, and opened the wooden box again. A clear, delicate fragrance touched my nose.
Looking up at Yeon Ryang, I asked quietly,
“You’ll stay beside me, right?”
“Of course. I’ll be right here. Don’t worry.”
Smiling, he patted my shoulder before slowly retreating to the corner.
I sat cross-legged, wiped the sweat from the back of my neck, squeezed my eyes shut, and placed the elixir in my mouth.
The moment it touched my tongue, it melted away, filling my mouth with a deep fragrance.
Don’t rush like last time. I can’t make a mistake. I need to feel the energy flowing through my body.
Carefully observing myself from within, I sensed the innate inner force flowing through the deepest part of me.
Pure life energy, untouched by poison.
Around it, my poisonous energy had established itself like a thick, imposing wall.
When I slowly guided the spiritual energy seeping into me in a deep blue-black glow, the gentle current flowed through my Conception and Governing meridians.
My mind suddenly cleared, and my body felt weightless.
It’s working. Just like this...!
I steadied my breathing, struggling not to become excited.
This was different from before.
Different from when Grandfather had guided my circulation, and different from when I had been helplessly swept away by spiritual energy I could not control.
It felt as though I were riding atop the flow of a great wave, weaving through the current—as though I had become part of the universe itself.
Joy surged through my chest.
Before I knew it, I had fallen into a state of complete selflessness.
*****
Jinseong calmly straightened his robes.
His master, who had apparently been away for several days, had returned and summoned him.
Daoist Jinseong, Elder Taeheo is asking for you.
The message from the third-generation disciple had left Jinseong faintly puzzled as he made his way to his master’s residence. Taeheo rarely called for him.
“You summoned me, Master?”
“Come in.”
Once permission was granted, Jinseong carefully opened the door, entered without a sound, and knelt before his master.
Taeheo smiled at the disciple gazing up at him, poured warm tea into a cup, and gestured toward a chair.
“Sit in the chair. Why are you kneeling down there?”
“How could this disciple dare place himself at the same eye level as his master?”
“Good grief. You wooden block.”
Suppressing a hollow laugh, Taeheo met Jinseong’s eyes.
“Jinseong.”
“Yes, Master.”
“Are you unhappy to be back at the sect? Why do you look so troubled?”
Jinseong flinched at the serious question and shook his head.
“No, Master. After venturing into the martial world, this disciple merely realized how inadequate he is.”
“That is what one’s first journey into the martial world is like. I hear the young head of the Namgung Clan is remarkably accomplished despite being only fifteen. Did that boy trouble you?”
“No.”
“Then was it the Tang girl who unsettled you?”
“...Th-That...”
Jinseong’s face went pale like a child caught doing something wrong. He clenched his fists and bowed his head deeply.
He looked as though he were bracing himself for a scolding.
Taeheo chuckled and waved a hand.
“I am not blaming you. I merely wondered what could have our disciple suffering so badly.”
“...”
“The truth is, I have already met her. She is a lovely child.”
Jinseong’s head snapped up before he could stop himself. Taeheo nodded reassuringly.
“Jinseong, bring that girl to Wudang. Better to keep her close than chase after her under the excuse of completing missions, wouldn’t you say?”
Jinseong shook his head frantically, displaying a rare degree of panic.
“No, Master. It is not like that.”
“Not like that? The rumors have already spread.”
“What?”
“I heard from Songgwang. You apparently asked what you should do when a young lady cries. Did you make her cry?”
“...”
Jinseong’s ears turned scarlet at his master’s teasing question.
“I-It was not like that. This disciple was merely... concerned about her.”
“That is affection, Jinseong.”
Taeheo laughed warmly and stroked his beard.
“When someone concerns you for no reason, draws your gaze, and comes to mind even when you are doing nothing—that is affection. It is perfectly natural for a human being. There is no need to suppress it. Simply accept it for what it is.”
“That is not it. This disciple...”
“Enough. I may have raised you in a Taoist monastery, but that does not mean you must spend your entire life shut away in the mountains. If there is somewhere you can be happier than Wudang, your master is willing to let you go.”
Startled by the suggestion that he could leave Wudang, Jinseong immediately prostrated himself.
“M-Master, this disciple was wrong. Please take back those words. This disciple was wrong.”
His voice trembled faintly.
Taeheo frowned and rubbed his forehead.
“You fool. Who said I was expelling you? I am telling you that if you truly desire something, you need not hesitate because of the sect’s rules. What young lady would accept you when you act like such a hopeless innocent? Good grief.”
Clicking his tongue, he pulled the trembling Jinseong upright.
“I will not order you down the mountain, so stop looking so terrified. Anyone who saw you would think I had beaten you throughout your childhood.”
“...Yes.”
Jinseong answered with difficulty and lowered his gaze.
Taeheo gave a quiet laugh, twisting the ends of his beard between his fingers.
“Jinseong, do you believe reading Taoist scriptures alone will teach you about life? Clinging to books all day will not grant you understanding. You must experience joy, anger, sorrow, and pleasure for yourself.”
“This disciple... This disciple does not understand, Master.”
“Do not understand, my foot. Enlightenment depends upon the heart. A peasant who raised an infant on his back may stand closer to the Way than your senior brothers who spent their entire lives swinging swords in the mountains. If your heart wishes to flow, let it flow. Is that not also the Way?”
He added mischievously,
“You can only experience such fresh emotions at your age. Your senior brothers were too ugly ever to receive the opportunity. Enjoy it while you can instead of growing old and regretting it. No more objections. Bring that girl to Wudang.”
Laughing heartily, Taeheo took a small jade ornament from inside his robe and handed it over.
“Give this to her brother.”
“This is...”
“It will conceal his demonic energy. Only temporarily, but it should suffice. Do not allow him near the main mountain, however. That fellow will stay in the secluded cave.”
It was an arrangement that proved Taeheo knew exactly who Tang Sohae’s companion was.
Jinseong’s eyes trembled, unable to settle.
It was bad enough that he had allowed himself to be shaken by a woman. His master had even discovered that he had seen a member of the Demonic Sect and deliberately concealed the truth.
He had no excuse he could possibly offer.
As Jinseong clutched his knees in silence, unable even to defend himself, Taeheo sighed.
“You fool. Who said I was going to scold you? It is fine. It is not as though I do not know your nature.”
“...”
“You are the sort who would rather remain silent than tell a lie. You suffered enough, agonizing over it alone. Your master will take care of it.”
“...This disciple has no excuse.”
“Enough. Stop standing there like a man awaiting punishment and leave. I certainly never taught you to behave this way, so how did you become such a block of wood...?”
Taeheo pressed his fingers to his temple, then waved him away.
Jinseong bowed respectfully and slowly left Taeheo’s residence.
His master’s words that he could leave Wudang had hurt him and left his thoughts in turmoil.
Yet he could not understand the small part of himself that felt happy at the prospect of seeing Tang Sohae again.
He stepped forward, trying to steady his disordered breathing.
“Daoist Jinseong, are you looking for someone?”
“Where is Songgwang?”
Jinseong stopped a passing third-generation disciple and tightened his grip on his sword sheath.
First... I think I need to organize my thoughts by sparring with that loose-lipped grand-disciple.