The Poisoned Cup of Shaoxing Wine
The Murim Alliance Leader, Wiji Cheon, radiated poison like radioactive Shaoxing wine. In The Heavenly Poison Witch, he had been portrayed as the quintessential hypocrite. Before the world he acted like an unparalleled hero, but behind the scenes he was a villain who committed every imaginable atrocity to get his hands on Dokgo Rin, a girl young enough to be his granddaughter. It wasn’t until the final stretch of the original story that Dokgo Rin learned the truth. By then she had already been driven into becoming a public enemy of the Murim thanks to his schemes. Not only was his martial prowess monstrous, his mind was equally sharp and cunning. For the original Dokgo Rin, who had lost her family and possessed no backing whatsoever, he had been the single most difficult opponent—the absolute worst nightmare imaginable.
“Hahaha! Everyone, thank you for traveling so far to be here!”
Standing atop the raised platform, he laughed boldly and expressed his gratitude to the guests who had come to celebrate his sixtieth birthday.
“Originally, I, Wiji Cheon, intended to hold a modest family-only gathering for my sixtieth, but my first wife nagged me from her sickbed, saying that those above must set an example or the ones below won’t follow. So I changed my mind and decided to throw this grand feast instead!”
When he mixed in a light joke while explaining the background of the banquet, the Murim warriors gathered below the platform burst into loud laughter and began chatting among themselves.
“Hehe, the Alliance Leader still has such a silver tongue.”
“More than that, his skin looks incredible. It’s hard to believe he’s turning sixty this year.”
“They say it’s all thanks to having undergone Hwan Gol Tal Tae.”
All sorts of praise poured out. At this point it was practically a one-man fan club for the Alliance Leader.
“Everything you eat and drink today will be on me, the Alliance Leader, so please consider this a true feast and enjoy yourselves to the fullest!”
The moment his opening speech ended, thunderous applause rained down on Wiji Cheon as he descended the stairs. Well, he hadn’t droned on like a school principal giving a lecture; he’d kept it short and sweet, so the enthusiastic reaction was only natural. The previously reserved Murim warriors finally loosened up and began drinking and eating in earnest.
Watching them, Dokgo Seok spoke from beside me.
“Chilbok, if there’s anything you want to eat, go fill a plate. You haven’t eaten since morning, so you must be starving.”
“Huh? Is that really okay?”
“This is the sixtieth birthday of the Murim Alliance Leader—the man whose influence in Chang’an is so great they say even the birds fall from the sky. There’ll be all kinds of rare delicacies you’d never see normally. Eat as much as you want.”
Hearing Dokgo Seok’s words, Gyeong-a noona, who was standing nearby, spoke with an exasperated look.
“Aren’t you writing too many blank checks just because it’s not your money?”
“Well, it really isn’t my money.”
“I truly surrender both hands and feet to Young Master’s shamelessness.”
“Heh.”
“Hey, that wasn’t a compliment, you know?”
While the two of them bickered, I wandered around the courtyard with a plate in hand like a hawk hunting prey. Even though the final boss of The Heavenly Poison Witch, Wiji Cheon, was right in front of me, there was nothing the current me could do about him. Besides, wasn’t there a saying that even Mount Geumgang looks better after a meal? After circling the courtyard once while eyeing the buffet-style spread, I returned to our original spot to find only Gyeong-a noona waiting there.
“Where are the Young Master and the Young Lady?”
“Ah, the two of them went to greet the Alliance Leader.”
“What?”
The moment I heard that, I flinched and whipped my head around. Just as she said, Dokgo Seok and Dokgo Rin were slowly walking toward Wiji Cheon, who was chatting with the notable figures of the Murim who had attended the banquet.
Is this going to be okay?
From my perspective, knowing what would happen in the future, it looked like Dokgo Rin was willingly walking into the tiger’s den. Still, with so many eyes watching, nothing I was worried about would happen right now. Even so, thinking that and feeling it were two different things, so I watched the pair approach Wiji Cheon with tense nerves.
The moment she saw the face of her mortal enemy, Wiji Cheon, Dokgo Rin’s mind grew frighteningly cold.
From a distance, she slowly observed her enemy. He looks much younger compared to before my regression. By years alone, nearly eighteen years had passed. That meant Wiji Cheon had been seventy-eight years old when they had died together in her previous life. And even then, he had still looked at her with eyes full of lust.
Disgusting old bastard.
Muttering that inwardly, Dokgo Rin fiddled with the small glass bottle hidden inside her sleeve. It was something she had specially refined by extracting only the pure uranium components from Black Sand Stone and concentrating them. They called it Uranium—Cheon Dok, the Heavenly Poison. The ultimate lethal toxin capable of killing even a god if it lived. It was her secret weapon, prepared during her travels, for the sole purpose of assassinating Wiji Cheon, the root of all evil.
But to make him drink it, I have to get close.
The opportunity to administer the poison would likely come only once. Wiji Cheon himself was an incredible expert, and every Murim warrior attending this birthday banquet was a heavyweight in their own right. The security around him was iron-tight. If she showed even the slightest suspicious behavior, far too many people would notice immediately. That was why she had to administer the poison with absolute secrecy.
Stay calm.
After silently admonishing herself, Dokgo Rin grabbed the hem of Dokgo Seok’s robe. He had been gently waving his fan beside her.
“Hm?”
When he looked at her, Dokgo Rin spoke first.
“Brother, shouldn’t we go greet the Alliance Leader?”
“That’s true, but isn’t it a bit early? It might be better to wait until there are fewer people around him.”
When Dokgo Seok gave a lukewarm response, Dokgo Rin quickly added a reason.
“I personally really want to greet the Alliance Leader.”
Hearing that, Dokgo Seok let out a soft “Oh?” and smiled.
“Don’t tell me you also admire the Alliance Leader like I do, Rin?”
Ugh.
Caught off guard by the unexpected question, she forced a smile and answered.
“Of course. The Alliance Leader is the hero who led the Righteous and Demonic War to victory, after all.”
“Haha! If that’s the case, then I have no choice!”
Fortunately, Dokgo Seok bought her lie.
“My lovely little sister wants to greet the Alliance Leader? As her older brother, how can I not roll up my sleeves and help!”
With that, he snapped his fan shut with a sharp tak! and declared they would go greet Wiji Cheon right away.
Perfect.
So far, everything was proceeding smoothly according to plan. As she approached Wiji Cheon in the courtyard together with Dokgo Seok, the man—who had been conversing with other guests—spotted her and his eyes gleamed. For the briefest instant, the emotion that flashed across his gaze was unmistakably lust. She had hoped otherwise, but even after returning to the past, Wiji Cheon was still trash. Feeling relieved by that confirmation, Dokgo Rin stood before him alongside her brother.
“Greetings, Alliance Leader. I am Dokgo Seok, second son of the Dokgo Clan. I have come in place of my father to congratulate you on your birthday.”
“I am Dokgo Rin, the youngest daughter of the Dokgo Clan.”
When the two of them stood side by side and offered polite salutes, the Murim warriors around Wiji Cheon let out sounds of admiration.
“Oho! The Dokgo Clan—that famous family of the Absolute Sword, Dokgo Jin!”
“I’d heard the daughter of that house was beautiful, but this is a peerless beauty! When she grows up she’ll break countless men’s hearts!”
In an instant, all attention focused on the pair. And Wiji Cheon, who cared about others’ gazes more than anyone, was not about to miss such a golden opportunity.
“Hehe, I never dreamed that the children of Teacher Dokgo Jin, whom I was indebted to during my academy days, would come to celebrate like this. Thank you both for coming.”
Smiling kindly, Wiji Cheon lightly placed his arms around Dokgo Seok and Dokgo Rin’s shoulders. The natural physical contact sent chills down her spine, but Dokgo Rin hid her reaction and asked him in a bold tone.
“Alliance Leader.”
“Hm?”
“It looks like the cup in your hand is empty. If it’s not too much trouble, may this humble girl pour you another drink?”
“Wha—”
At her sudden action, Dokgo Seok next to her looked startled and tried to stop her, but Wiji Cheon said it was fine and gladly held out his cup.
“Then…”
Dokgo Rin picked up one of the wine bottles nearby. The type of alcohol didn’t matter. After all, the Uranium she had prepared was both tasteless and odorless. When she tilted the bottle, a clear amber liquid flowed from its mouth.
“Oho—Shaoxing wine, I see.”
Wiji Cheon muttered with an excited expression, then, perhaps bothered by Dokgo Rin’s unwavering stare, stroked his face and asked.
“Miss Dokgo, is there something on this Wiji Cheon’s face?”
“No, it’s just that your face feels somehow familiar.”
“Haha, you must have seen me briefly when you were young and still remember.”
“It seems that way.”
While saying so, Dokgo Rin bowed her head. In the blind spot outside Wiji Cheon’s field of vision, she wrapped the mouth of the bottle with Thousand Silk. It was an extremely brief moment, but the concentrated uranium clinging to the Thousand Silk naturally mixed with the wine and fell into Wiji Cheon’s cup.
Unaware of this, Wiji Cheon brought the cup filled to the brim with Shaoxing wine to his lips. Dokgo Rin’s gaze naturally locked onto the cup in his hand.
Drink it. Drink it. Drink it. Drink it.
Under extreme tension, time seemed to flow in slow motion. And then—
“Krr! Maybe it’s because Miss Dokgo poured it herself, but it tastes even better!”
Wiji Cheon downed the entire contents of the cup in one go. Having confirmed the sight right before her eyes, Dokgo Rin unconsciously clenched both fists tightly.
Now that he had drunk it, Wiji Cheon was as good as a living corpse.
“Then I’m glad. It was worth pouring for you.”
Having perfectly accomplished the purpose of her visit to Chang’an, she bid Wiji Cheon farewell before anyone could grow suspicious, then calmly left the area together with Dokgo Seok.