Chapter 432: The Lake of Regret (2)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 432: The Lake of Regret (2)
The Poison King’s expression soured, clearly displeased with my request. I had shown up at his door first thing in the morning, so it was only natural for a clan lord to find my behavior presumptuous.
Still, I knew he wasn’t the type to make decisions based on mere mood. And as expected, he quickly set his personal feelings aside.
“From this point onward, be wary of the poison,” he warned.
Hearing that, I channeled more qi throughout my body. In this life, my resistance to poison was still lacking—caution was necessary.
I was now heading toward the Lake of Poison with a guide. This lake was a treasure of the Tang Clan, created during the era of the Heavenly Poison Tang Jaemoon. A mysterious body of water that endlessly generated poisonous liquid. Though its toxicity wasn’t immediately lethal, its infinite nature made it immensely valuable. The Tang Clan had long used it to produce potent poisons and medicines, reaping substantial profits—until the Murim Alliance banned the unauthorized trade of poisons.
But more importantly…
The White Demonic Stone is here.
The very stone the Heavenly Demon had retrieved from a secret vault and given to me in my past life. It lay hidden at the bottom of this lake.
To think I’d actually be standing here now.
I’d always planned to come and steal it eventually—but I never imagined I’d attempt it before even turning twenty. My progress had been faster than anticipated, which was good…
But it also revealed that I’m going to die.
An unforeseen consequence. I hadn’t known that advancing too quickly, accumulating too much qi, could damage one’s vessel. And the fact that I hadn’t sought out this power deliberately made it all the more frustrating.
Such is my luck, I suppose.
Nothing in my life ever went quite as planned. This was no exception.
As we walked, I decided to question my guide. “Is the Lord not joining us?”
“Our Lord said he has urgent matters to attend to…”
“I see.”
The guide was a woman I recognized—Nahee. I’d met her back in Henan, during that meal with the Poison King when assassins had been stationed throughout the building to test me. She had been the most skilled among them.
“Is it appropriate for you to be my only escort?”
“…If my presence is unsatisfactory, I can arrange for another guide.”
“That’s not it. I’m just surprised that the clan would assign only one person to watch over me, especially when we’re approaching a treasure like the Lake of Poison.”
For a place of such significance, security seemed unusually lax.
And the Poison King didn’t even bother to come.
If a lord meant to repay a favor, accompanying his guest would be the courteous thing to do. But he’d claimed he was too busy.
Hmm.
He could have at least sent the Young Lord or Tang Soyeol. Yet no blood relative was present.
Is there something unusual about this lake?
Something felt off. My first thought was the prisoners recently brought to the clan, but another possibility crossed my mind.
Has the Tang Clan’s plan truly come to an end?
The Celestial Martial Body Plan—the very scheme that ensnared Tang Duk as a victim. And the Poison Queen from my past life… Both memories surfaced at once, giving me pause.
I was also troubled by the Heavenly Demon’s actions back then. She had been adamant about destroying the Tang Clan and Sichuan itself. In the end, she burned the lands and scoured the clan’s hidden basement.
At the time, I wondered what Zhuge Hyuk had been thinking, devising such a ruthless plan…
But maybe the Heavenly Demon knew something I didn’t.
That suspicion nagged at me. Perhaps there were secrets here I had yet to uncover.
“We’re here.”
Nahee’s voice pulled me from my thoughts. We had arrived at a small lake in just a few minutes.
My eyes widened slightly at the sight.
…So this is it.
The lake glowed with a faint green light. It wasn’t large, and with its gentle radiance and calm surface, it looked almost beautiful. I had expected a boiling, foul-smelling pit—but this was nothing like that.
So it looked like this under normal circumstances.
By the time the Heavenly Demon and I reached this place in my past life, the lake was gone. Only a deep, empty crater remained. The land around it had been rotting and melting under the Poison Queen’s toxins. Seeing it now, pristine and serene, was startling.
When I took a step forward, Nahee spoke sharply. “…You cannot go beyond this point.”
“Is all of that water poisonous?”
“Yes.”
“But it looks so clear.”
It was clear—crystal clear, in fact. I could see straight to the bottom even from a distance.
And there’s no scent at all.
Curious, I relaxed my qi barrier slightly and allowed a trickle of energy to circulate.
…Hmm.
Something subtle seeped in. Faint, but unmistakably poison. I immediately reinforced my barrier, purged the toxin with my qi, and studied the lake again.
Even from this far, the poison could invade through breath alone. If I were to dive in…
I’d survive at most…
A few minutes. Tops.
That’s not much time.
And I had to find the entrance to the secret vault within that window. In my past life, I’d simply followed the Heavenly Demon, so I only had a rough idea of its location. Given how well-hidden it was—undetectable despite the water’s clarity—it was clearly protected by a formation.
Hmm…
As I pondered my next move, Nahee approached, bowing her head slightly.
“Young Master Gu. The time allotted by our Lord has expired. We must return now.”
“Already?”
“Yes.”
Haha.
This guy. Did he really only plan to let me glance at the lake from afar? I’d barely been here a few minutes.
He’s definitely being petty because I showed up at dawn.
More narrow-minded than I thought. Then again, my sudden request was suspicious. I hadn’t expected him to grant me much time anyway.
Besides…
A time limit doesn’t matter.
I’d anticipated this.
I turned slowly toward Nahee. “Hey.”
“…Speak.”
“Want to make a deal?”
She stared at me, baffled by the sudden proposal. I took a moment to study her face—an ordinary woman with black pupils and hair tinged faintly green.
“…What are you talking about?”
“Nothing complicated.” I smiled brightly. “I need to go into that lake for a moment. Just pretend you never saw me.”
“…!? What are you—!”
I cut her off before she could finish. “In return…”
I recalled something I’d asked Tang Duk earlier. He’d been sharper than I expected, always seeming to anticipate the Poison King’s moves during his ambush plans. It was strange—how could he manage that alone?
The answer was simple. He had a spy among the Poison King’s inner circle. So I’d asked him who it was, and he’d told me everything.
“I won’t tell the Poison King that you’re a bat’s bastard. How’s that?”
“…!”
The spy was none other than Nahee, the woman standing right in front of me.
She flinched, then unleashed a surge of killing intent. I swung my hand.
Slap—!
“Agh!” Her head snapped to the side, her qi flickering out instantly. I seized her by the neck and met her wide eyes.
“I’ll ask again.” I didn’t bother radiating killing intent. “Do we have a deal or not?”
“…H-How…”
“How did I find out?” What a pointless question. “Tang Duk told me. Very kindly, in fact.”
It was the truth. But as soon as I said it, Nahee began shouting. “That’s impossible! Big brother…! He would never tell you—!”
Slap—!
I struck her again, and she crumpled to the ground. I planted my foot on her chest.
“Ugh…!”
“What does it matter whether you believe me or not?”
“Oughh…”
“Stop screaming. It’s annoying. I might accidentally break your neck.”
Blood trickled from her swollen cheek. A pitiful sight, but I felt nothing.
“It’s fine if you refuse the deal. I can always kill you now and tell the Poison King you tried to push me into the lake because you’re a spy.”
From the beginning, I’d known Nahee would be my guide. I hadn’t expected her to come alone, but it made sense—she’d want to learn more about me, especially since she must have wondered why Tang Duk was serving as my escort.
Her presence made things much easier.
The fastest way would be to turn her into a Demonic Human.
But I didn’t have the qi to spare. Turning a Peak Realm martial artist like Nahee would drain me right before I had to enter the lake—a risk I couldn’t afford. I needed every drop of energy to survive in there.
So I chose this method instead. I could always demonify her later, once my qi recovered. For now, I’d let her live.
I pressed down harder with my foot.
“Ughhh…!”
I smiled kindly. “So? What’s your answer?”
I hoped she’d decide quickly. After all, she only had one real choice.