The Prince's Mercy and the Flower of Poison's Arsenal

The Understanding Poison Flower spoke. “So it was the Golden Tiger of Changnan. I didn’t see him that way.”

Jayu nodded. His voice carried a calm, almost regretful tone. “Your Highness, just say the word. I will drag that thick-faced swindler before you at once. Ah, of course not by my own hand—these old fellows from the Gyeon clan will handle it. Combat has never been my area of expertise.”

“Not yet. The man may have his own circumstances. There is no need to interrogate him before we understand the full story. Everyone carries at least one truth they could not speak, do they not?”

“Goodness. Your Highness is far too soft. A traitor should be torn to pieces as an example to others.”

As Yeon Pa spoke, her eyes flashed with an eerie light. Three flaming orbs with tails spun slowly within her pupils. Had Seomun Cheong seen it, she would have burst out with some incomprehensible modern exclamation like whoa, spacetime! Storm! and been unable to contain her awe. Any other martial artist of Murim would have been horrified for an entirely different reason. It was the Jeonryun An—the Wheel Eye—of the Jeonryun Witch, the woman who had utterly annihilated the Yeonseong Clan thirty years ago before vanishing without a trace. It was a signature trait of the Jeonryun Mageop, one of the Ten Great Demonic Arts.

“Enough. When we first took him in, did I not say his nature was that of a swindler and that I could not endure him forever? He answered that if so, he would stay until the time came and then leave. It seems he has decided that time is now.”

“Your Highness… how can your heart be so kind?”

Yeon Pa sniffled and dabbed at the corners of her eyes. The grudges and favors of the Central Plains were like a vast, deep ocean. Once you waded in wearing a sword at your waist, you would eventually sink beyond recovery. When you looked at the world from those depths, the majestic beauty visible from the surface had long since vanished. All that remained was the desolate, damp darkness of the ocean floor. The favors and grudges of Murim were nothing but accumulated resentment. One person’s grace became another’s grudge. Humans were creatures who easily forgot kindness yet carved hatred deep into their bones. In the end, only resentment remained. The place every martial artist eventually reached was a sticky swamp of grudges that clung to the body.

That was why some who lost their way in Murim hid themselves deep in remote mountains, while others cast aside their blades and pretended to live ordinary lives as scholars or hermits. Yet the end of such paths was usually bitter, leaving a foul aftertaste. Only the exceptionally fortunate few encountered a good person at their moment of despair and received salvation.

Prince Deokhyun was one such person. He was a great man who willingly accepted into his family those weary of the world, those who could no longer bear their resentment, those hounded by false accusations who had lost everything, or even those who had once been true devils. He brought them all inside his fence.

Jayu smiled bitterly. “Would a man with a kind heart simply worry about his family’s safety and watch this situation unfold without acting?”

A brief silence fell. Then a relatively young voice spoke up. “Then… is it not time to begin preserving Your Highness’s health?”

Now that they had caught the rat within the prince’s household, was it not time to leave the Tang Clan? It was a gentle urging.

Jayu’s expression grew complicated as he pondered. Finally, as if having reached a decision, he opened his mouth.

---

That night, Gyeon No visited to inform them they would be departing. The next day, Paeng Cho-ryo left as well.

“Sister Paeng is leaving too?”

“Can’t be helped. The eldest daughter of the Hebei Paeng Clan getting caught up in treason? I’d have no face left to show the elders.”

The Hebei Paeng Clan was in Hebei. And Beijing was also in Hebei. Just as the Kongdong Sect would be the first to be crushed if the Demonic Cult marched through Gansu, the Paeng Clan—closest to the capital—would bleed the most if the imperial family raised their blades. Therefore, the Paeng Clan maintained a strict policy of never antagonizing the government.

“I’ll leave the great blade as a gift. Keep training hard.”

“Hmm. I wonder if Gramps can even carry it around.”

Choe-ri-ong was a master of the Harmonious Realm, but because he had switched to an entirely different Buddhist divine art, he had emptied his dantian completely and was building his foundation from scratch. Cheong had agonized greatly over whether it was acceptable to teach the Daejeong Seongong to the great demon, but after granting the old man the special privilege of attending to her, it had become an unavoidable choice. Having experienced the mind-protecting properties of the Daejeong Seongong herself, she had done it for the old man’s mental health. After all, what if ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the already senile Choe-ri-ong completely lost his mind?

Whether the technique was working or not, the old man’s face was gradually transforming into something resembling a benevolent Buddha. He had even started gaining a bit of weight, so the previous skeletal figure with sunken eyes was now nowhere to be seen.

At that mutter, Paeng Cho-ryo burst into laughter. “Something of that level should be no problem for you to carry. You’re monstrously strong.”

“No, that would make it seem like I’m forcing it on him. Gramps is the one taking it, you know?”

“Right. For ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠someone ‘taking it,’ it looked awfully natural.”

“If I’m comfortable, what’s the point if it makes me uncomfortable? So if I’m comfortable, then Gramps has a reason to feel fulfilled too.”

Choe-ri-ong nodded in agreement.

Paeng Cho-ryo burst into laughter once more at the sight before continuing. “That girl Nan-a seemed quite shocked. Since she’s decided to stay, make sure you take good care of her. It seems she still hasn’t realized how heartless Murim can be. To her, Murim has only ever been kind. You understand what I mean, right?”

“……?”

Cheong answered with her expression. Paeng Cho-ryo responded by waving her hand in front of her own face several times, as if fanning herself. Then, with a light and completely unburdened attitude, she turned and strode away with long steps.

After seeing her off and returning, Cheong found Dang Nan-a sitting idly on the railing of the guest hall, swinging her legs back and forth.

“Not seeing patients today?”

“There are no patients……”

Dang Nan-a answered in a gloomy voice. Even the Tang family clinic had seen a sudden drop in visitors. Only those with truly serious illnesses or on the verge of death came by. Most people would rather stay sick than risk being associated with treason.

With her shoulders slumped like that, she swung her feet back and forth before casually throwing out a question. “Did sister… leave?”

“It involves her family. Even Sister Paeng couldn’t help it.”

“Yeah.”

It sounded like she muttered something like Our family is involved too.

Then she asked again. “Then what about you? Aren’t you leaving? You’re a disciple of the Goddess Sect.”

“I’m just an outer disciple, you know? My name isn’t even on the register.”

Seomun Cheong had never been entered into the Goddess Sect’s official register. It was Seomun Su-rin’s warm consideration. If her disciple’s chosen path ever brought trouble to the Goddess Sect, they could expel her at any time. So she had ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠told her to simply follow where her heart led. After all, expelling a mere outer disciple with no real ties would only change her title. It wasn’t as if it would strip her of the nominal disciple status entirely, so she was basically told to do whatever she wanted.

“Besides, this Seomun Cheong is a man among men who would be nothing but a corpse without loyalty.”

In truth, she was practically a corpse even with loyalty. But Cheong herself did not know this. Only two people in the world knew—one in this life and one in the afterlife.

“What the hell is that supposed to mean?”

Even as Dang Nan-a said this, a smile crept across her face. Then she hopped down to the ground.

“Well. There are plenty of things that don’t even qualify as men. Hmph. I thought it was just ‘the grass only knows the wind when it blows,’ but I see you in a new light.”

The phrase ‘the grass only knows the wind when it blows’ carried a meaning similar to the Western proverb ‘a friend in need is a friend indeed.’ It was a compliment Emperor Gwangmu—the greatest sage among all human emperors—had given to Wang Pae, who had stayed by his side alone during the difficult days of his warlord era. Later, Emperor Gwangmu had also kept faith with Wang Pae and made him the greatest feudal lord in the realm.

Using the phrase ‘the grass only knows the wind when it blows’—which spoke of a subordinate’s integrity and fidelity rather than the more common ‘old friendship like fine wine’—perfectly suited the arrogance of the wicked woman Dang Nan-a. Cheong, of course, had no idea and thus had no particular thoughts on the matter.

“Seeing me in a new light doesn’t change anything.”

“Hey… do you want to go see some hidden weapons with me?”

“Suddenly?”

“Yeah, well, um. So. Ah. Right. Last time you blocked that needle with your bare hand, didn’t you? You did that because you didn’t know what was dangerous. If you see them now, you’ll at least know what’s dangerous later.”

It was a perfectly logical persuasion befitting a doctor. Cheong was strong at nonsense and weak at logic, so her thin ears flipped right over. Besides, it was related to survival.

“That makes sense. Let’s go right now.”

And so the Tang Clan’s secret warehouse was thrown wide open.

In truth, hidden weapons lost much of their power the moment one knew about them and prepared countermeasures in advance. That was why this was the essence of the Tang Clan—something not even branch family members could access until they reached a certain level of mastery, let alone outsiders. Yet she had opened it completely simply because she wanted to get closer to Cheong. It was a heretical way of building friendship that only a ruthless, methodless wicked woman could pull off.

If the elders of the Tang Clan ever learned of this? They would probably say, Well, if it’s a friend, it can’t be helped. Because everyone already knew and worried about the fact that Dang Nan-a had no friends. This only proved her meticulous scheming, and one could say she was more than qualified to be called the wicked woman of the world.

Thanks to her, Cheong’s horizons were properly broadened. She had not known there were so many different kinds of hidden weapons in the world. She had thought they would only amount to throwing stars or that bamboo tube from before, but she had been wrong.

Just from what she had seen already—sand, shuttles, arrows, needles and needle tubes, nets, caltrops, whistling arrows, bolts, whistles, and all sorts of strangely shaped throwing weapons… Dang Nan-a explained them all with great enthusiasm.

Sand was literally sand, usually soaked in poison and scattered toward the face using special techniques or while wearing gauntlets. “It’s best if it gets in the eyes, nose, or mouth, but experts can block it, right? So sprinkling it in the hair is most effective. The poisoned sand that slips between the strands of hair is hard to get out. Plus, the poison can cause hair loss. Hehe.”

The truly horrifying explanation made Cheong’s body tremble. This time, she really did seem like a wicked woman.

A shuttle was a weight attached to a string. It could be used to set traps with poison-soaked threads or simply thrown like a meteor hammer to strike the body. At this part, Cheong trembled again. She really, really hated strings….

An arrow was, as the name suggested, an arrow. It could be fired from collapsible bows or special crossbows disguised as musical instruments. Everyone knew about needles, while a needle tube referred to a mechanical device that launched them. A net was literally a net. Cheong trembled once more at this part. She really, really hated nets too….

Caltrops were a general term for traps laid on the ground to target the soles of the feet. They came in simple three-pronged shapes or various other forms. Some were flat so they could not be stepped over, reminding Cheong of objects from her homeland. They looked exactly like the landmine-shaped toys that children assembled and adults collected.

Whistling arrows were arrows fired from bows. Special ones included fire arrows coated with white phosphorus, yellow phosphorus, or red phosphorus, or signal arrows that made loud noises. Bolts were arrows not shot with a bowstring but blown through flute-shaped tubes. A laugh pouch used the character for laughter but referred to a small bag placed in the mouth. It was used to spray the poison inside widely or spit it far like a kingfisher. She added that it was good to aim at the eyebrows—once they were thoroughly wet, even if the eyes closed, the poison would seep behind the eyelids.

Then all sorts of strangely shaped hidden weapons were laid out.

“This is my favorite throwing star. It has two separate rotating weights attached, so the trajectory ripples like waves. Once it embeds in flesh, it digs in like this, and then like this, and then like this……”

Dang Nan-a used hand gestures to demonstrate how the weapon burrowed in. A person’s face naturally sparkled when talking about something they loved. The brightest beauty of Sichuan, Dang Nan-a, overflowed with an innocent, pure, and artless charm that was completely different from her usual self.

Looking at that beautiful face, Cheong thought, She’s talking about poison and weapons digging into ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠flesh with such a bright expression… it kind of ruins the mood…….