Going to Learn
“Magoong?”
So-young repeated the word as if under a spell.
The man gave a slight nod and continued with what he had to say.
“There are many poisons with the effects the young lady described. But I imagine you were not asking about anything so ordinary.”
“Why would you think that?”
“Because the young lady possesses the body immune to all poisons. I therefore judged that your earlier question was based on the premise of a body that could not be harmed by poison.”
So-young gave a small nod.
The man went on.
“If one truly has immunity to all poisons, then poison alone cannot produce such an effect. Not unless it is magoong.”
“Isn’t that a rather hasty conclusion?”
“It’s simple elimination. And the simpler it is, the more certain it becomes.”
There was confidence in his voice.
It came from the long years he had spent obsessing over a single domain: poison.
So-young decided to trust his judgment.
She herself found the answer of magoong convincing.
“Then have you learned what kind of magoong it is?”
“Little is known about magoong. There is no way for a mere Poison Hall man like me to find out.”
“So you mean you don’t know.”
“If you order me to find out, I’ll leave at once.”
There was a faint madness in the man’s eyes.
Those eyes were fixed on So-young.
More precisely, on her body.
It was not the vulgar hunger of lust in any rational sense. It was only the curiosity of a scholar who studied poison, the fascination of someone faced with a body immune to all poisons.
That was the madness that filled the man.
“You’re crazy too.”
So-young let out a dry laugh.
Watching her, the man said, “To my eyes, the young lady looks the same as me.”
At that, the corners of So-young’s mouth lifted even higher.
“Good eye.”
“Then what should we do? Shall I go find the magoong for you?”
“No, that won’t be necessary. I’ll find it myself.”
“You mean?”
There was a quiet note of anticipation in his voice.
So-young smiled at him.
“You pass. Tell me your name.”
“This one is So Jin-ha.”
“So Jin-ha. A good name.”
So-young extended her right arm and showed him her wrist.
“For one week, I’ll allow you to lay hands on my body. Check whatever you want.”
“I won’t refuse.”
So Jin-ha immediately seized So-young’s wrist.
He was taking her pulse.
His face, which had been almost completely expressionless, began to shift.
First confusion, then curiosity, then shock.
“This is… astonishing.”
“That unusual?”
“Countless poisons are raging through your body. Normally, when poison enters, the body fights to expel it and heal itself, even if that path leads to its own death.”
“And yet?”
“You’re different. The poison has naturally seeped into your body, as if it were nothing more than a harmless substance. Your pulse resembles that of someone poisoned, but it remains utterly stable.”
Well, of course it does.
So-young nodded inwardly.
What So Jin-ha said was the same explanation a divine physician in her past life had once given.
She didn’t think he was on the same level as that physician.
But at the very least, she could tell he had similar talent.
“I’m afraid this won’t do.”
After a long while with his fingers on her pulse, So Jin-ha spoke as though making up his mind.
“One week is too short. I need more time.”
“Then you’ll need another condition.”
“Anything will do. I’ll find a way, no matter what.”
So-young saw passion in So Jin-ha’s eyes.
And beneath that passion, madness.
She could feel the hot, sticky obsession that belonged only to those crazed by a single thing.
Someone like that would surely climb higher and leave his name in the books.
“Then let me make you an offer.”
“Please, speak.”
“Become mine.”
This time, So-young held out her hand to So Jin-ha.
A small, white hand. Frail beyond measure.
Yet for some reason, So Jin-ha saw that hand differently.
As though it were the hand of some weathered old master of the martial world.
“I should tell you in advance: I’m treated like a discarded child. If you stay at my side, you won’t be thought much of either.”
“That doesn’t matter. Things like that aren’t important.”
So Jin-ha took So-young’s hand without the slightest hesitation.
The man obsessed with poison had gone under the wing of a girl.
“As much as I’d like to keep you right beside me, that won’t be possible.”
“I’ll come at dawn and again at night. If I call it treatment, no one will doubt it for the time being.”
“You’ve already thought of a way yourself. But it’s only a temporary fix.”
“After that, my lord will have to think of a way.”
“You’re bold!”
So-young burst out laughing.
She was truly amused, and she didn’t bother hiding it.
Seeing that, So Jin-ha couldn’t help thinking she looked exactly like a seventeen-year-old girl.
After laughing for a while, So-young finally collected herself and continued the conversation.
“Good. You can probably come for a month under the pretext of treatment. Before then, I’ll do whatever I can to move your affiliation under me.”
“Is that through the duel with the third young lady in two weeks?”
“The rumor’s already spread? You sure do hear things quickly.”
“Even if I want to ignore it, I can’t. The whole Tang family is talking about it.”
“......The whole Tang family?”
So Jin-ha nodded.
Even if news traveled faster than a galloping horse, wasn’t it too quick for it to spread through the Tang family in less than half a day?
But So Jin-ha wasn’t done yet.
“It seems the Elder Council is paying attention as well. There are even rumors that the clan lord is interested.”
“......Does the clan lord have nothing better to do?”
“He is your father, young lady.”
“I’ve never even seen his face, so what father?”
At So-young’s mocking tone, So Jin-ha simply nodded.
In truth, that was a careless remark on her part.
She didn’t actually know whether she had ever seen the clan lord’s face or not.
But it was already common knowledge inside the Tang family that the clan lord avoided seeing So-young.
Even So-young, a mere Poison Hall member, and Baek Ga-ryeong, a low-ranking maid, knew it.
“Adults watching children fight. Pathetic.”
“This isn’t just any children’s fight. It’s a duel between children of the Tang family’s lord.”
So Jin-ha had a point.
There were many people in the Tang family with the Tang surname, but among them, the most noble were the clan lord’s direct descendants.
To be a direct descendant meant to be someone who would bear the Tang family’s future.
It wasn’t strange for the elders to take interest.
But So-young didn’t see it that way.
“Could it really be for such a simple reason? Something like that wouldn’t spread this fast.”
“......Then you mean?”
So-young clicked her tongue, clearly displeased.
“Someone intentionally spread the rumor. In the present situation...”
“The first wife?”
“That’s the most likely possibility.”
According to Baek Ga-ryeong, the gap between the first son and the second son in the Tang family wasn’t all that large.
That much was obvious from how Tang So-seol seemed to hold herself back, as though afraid of harming her older brother.
If the difference in their innate abilities wasn’t great, then what would decide the outcome was an external factor.
Which meant the first wife intended to reveal Tang So-seol’s talent.
A talent that had reached the First-class realm at such a young age.
The first wife was saying this:
Even below the first young master, there is a third young lady with outstanding martial talent.
Anyone who was not the clan lord’s direct heir would be considered collateral.
If one had to choose a single branch to become the true line of succession, then naturally the thickest one should be chosen.
“So the duel with me isn’t the real goal.”
“What matters is showing Tang So-seol’s talent to everyone.”
The duel two weeks from now was not merely a duel.
It was a display.
It was closer to a product presentation, where Tang So-seol would be shown to the Elder Council and the clan lord like merchandise.
Once she understood that, So-young began to smile thinly.
So Jin-ha felt a chill run down his spine at that smile.
“An in-between victory won’t do. Only overwhelming victory. She’ll put me up there like a wooden dummy and try to win as dazzlingly and as loudly as possible.”
“...Wouldn’t that be dangerous?”
“Who? Me?”
So-young laughed at So Jin-ha’s words as if they were absurd.
“On the contrary, that’s exactly why I’ll win.”
In So-young’s mind, a plan was already taking shape.
If everything went as planned, she could not only make Tang So-seol’s face twist in humiliation, but also wipe the smug expression off the first wife who had schemed up this ridiculous little performance with herself as the prop.
But for that to happen, recovery was important.
“I have one more favor to ask, Jin-ha.”
“Please, speak.”
“Bring me whatever can help me recover right away. Medicine, herbs, poison plants—anything.”
“Understood.”
At So-young’s command, So Jin-ha left the room without hesitation.
The plan was set for three days later.
It would begin after her leg had fully healed.
Three days later.
So-young swung her fully healed leg and made her way to the training grounds.
It was a secret practice yard reserved only for the Tang family’s direct descendants.
According to Baek Ga-ryeong, there was always only one person training there.
And just as she had said, a single man was practicing inside.
“...You are?”
As So-young approached, the man flinched and recognized her.
So-young offered a light martial salute.
She pretended to be courteous, but her gaze was cold enough to pierce straight through him.
The man before her was the one who, after the first young master, probably hated Tang So-seol and the first wife the most.
The second son of Tang Clan Lord Tang Cheon-ak: Tang So-gang.
With a faint, lopsided smile curling at her lips, So-young called his name.
“Tang So-gang.”
She spat out his name as though it were nothing, then got straight to the point.
“You’re going to have to play master for me. Teach me some martial arts.”
She had ten days left.
Within that time, she needed to fully make the Tang family’s basic martial arts her own.
At So-young’s brazen attitude, Tang So-gang answered as if he couldn’t be bothered even to look at her.
“Get lost. You’re wasting my time. I’m already short on practice time as it is.”
Well, she clearly hadn’t caught his interest properly.
Looking at Tang So-gang, So-young finished her quick assessment.
Was he aware of the first wife’s political maneuvering and simply indifferent, or was he just a fool who cared about nothing but martial arts?
Either way didn’t matter. She only needed to check.
“The way you’re going, you’ll never beat that glorious first young master in your life.”
It was a simple provocation.
But the effect was immediate.
Tang So-gang, who had been turning back toward his practice, closed the distance in an instant and appeared right in front of her face.
Fast!
Her vision spun.
Tang So-gang violently forced So-young onto the ground and began to throttle her slender neck with brutal strength.
“Shut that mouth...!”
The killing intent in Tang So-gang’s eyes.
It was not the emotion of an ordinary aristocratic martial artist.
So-young couldn’t help but smile.
Now she finally understood exactly what kind of man he was.
“You don’t want to make that magnificent older brother of yours... eat shit?”
“What...?”
The hand around her throat loosened by a hair.
Thanks to that, she could breathe a little easier.
So-young stared straight into Tang So-gang’s shaken eyes and whispered like a snake.
“I can make both the first young master and the first wife eat shit at the same time. So help me.”
At her words, Tang So-gang’s eyes wavered violently.
He hadn’t answered yet, but So-young was already certain of the result.
Hooked.
The big fish had taken the bait.