The Great Poisoned Gathering
Getting my hands on the liquor had been surprisingly simple.
“Hidden in one of the storage rooms for the past two months, I stashed away all sorts of things.”
I pulled a bottle from the storage room. It wasn’t high-class, but it wasn’t cheap swill either—just the right kind.
I unscrewed the cap and carefully poured in the poison. The violet liquid seeped into the wine, the clear liquid turning slightly cloudy before quickly clearing again.
‘Hmm, I wonder how many will be heading to the afterlife today.’
I shook the bottle lightly to mix the poison thoroughly, then screwed the cap back on and slipped the bottle into my clothes before stepping out of the tent.
Finding someone who hung out with Wi Ho didn’t take long. Just as the sun was setting, I spotted Jang Hyun lounging near the edge of the encampment and walked over casually.
“Jang Hyun-nim.”
“Huh? Lee Seo-jun? What is it? You’re the one who approached me first.”
“I came to deliver a gift to you, sir.”
“A gift?”
I discreetly retrieved the bottle from my pocket where it had been hidden.
Jang Hyun’s eyes sparkled for a split second.
“Oh, what’s this?”
“I caused a bit of trouble for Wi Ho-nim earlier. I couldn’t bring myself to go straight to him, so… could you possibly pass this on to Jang Hyun-nim?”
“Haha, so that’s why you came looking for me.”
Jang Hyun accepted the bottle and smiled with satisfaction. There wasn’t even a flicker of suspicion in his eyes.
“Got it. I’ll make sure it gets delivered.”
“Thank you. Please tell Wi Ho-nim that I sincerely apologize.”
“Yeah, yeah, I’m off.”
I bowed deeply with polite respect and turned to leave.
He might have hidden the liquor himself and drank it…
‘Does someone who fears Wi Ho even dare do that?’
Jang Hyun was terrified of Wi Ho. The bottle he was supposed to deliver was too small for his guts.
That was when it happened.
“You’re laughing like a pervert again. What kind of scheme are you cooking up now?”
Dan Ha had appeared beside me without a sound and pointed out my expression.
“Watch your footing when you walk.”
“Don’t dodge the question— what are you plotting?”
“Nothing in particular.”
“Liar. I heard everything today. Wi Ho tried to send us to Han Gwang.”
“Who told you that?”
“So Ryeong heard it.”
“Her ears are too good.”
“Enough already. You were sneaking alcohol earlier… what exactly are you up to?”
There was no benefit to explaining my plans when she already knew they were dangerous.
“If you know, don’t ask. …Just don’t do anything risky.”
“Are you worried about me?”
Her cheeks flushed and she fidgeted at my words.
“N-No, it’s not like that… I’m just afraid something might happen to you because of me…”
“You’re so cute.”
“N-No! …”
“Haha, I believe you. Anyway, I brought some snacks along—want to try some?”
“…Snacks?”
“Yeah, I packed extras. Want to try?”
I acted like I’d just remembered and pulled out a macaron from my pocket. From the outside, it looked perfectly ordinary.
‘A tiny bit of my semen is mixed in.’
Addiction.
This was the perfect chance to test it. See exactly how the Sperm Addiction skill actually worked and how powerful it really was.
Dan Ha would eat it without knowing, but it wasn’t like anything bad would come of it. More like an investment for later.
“…Does So Ryeong have any too?”
“Of course.”
“Give me one…”
I pretended to rummage through my bag and opened the storage compartment.
Small things like macarons were safe to pull out from inside the bag.
“These look… unusual?”
Dan Ha placed the macaron on her palm and examined it closely, turning it over. It was rare to see something like this in this world.
“Go ahead and eat it.”
“…Tastes good?”
“I bet you’ll be begging for more every day.”
Dan Ha took a bite with a doubtful expression, and her eyes widened.
“…It’s sweet.”
“See? Tasty, right?”
“Yeah, but it’s sweet with some weird aftertaste mixed in.”
Dan Ha finished the rest in one go.
I watched silently.
‘I’ll keep an eye on the effect for now.’
The first stage was complete.
After Dan Ha finished eating the macaron, she looked up at me with slightly flushed cheeks.
“…It really is delicious. Where did you even get this?”
“Secret.”
“Secret, my ass. Don’t give me that— where did you even get it?”
“I just… secretly got it.”
Dan Ha frowned slightly at me, but soon gave up on asking further and looked away.
“I’ll be going now… thank you for this.”
“Yeah, enjoy it well.”
I watched her retreating back quietly.
***
That night.
At a location a short distance from the encampment, Wi Ho and a few others had gathered, leaving the perimeter guard duty to the lower-ranking disciples.
“Hey, where did you even get the liquor? You were such a miser before.”
Jang Hyun scratched his head and laughed.
“Lee Seo-jun gave it to you saying he wanted to apologize, right?”
The mention of Seo-jun’s name twisted Wi Ho’s face. The curse he had barely been able to keep in his mouth that afternoon came rushing back.
“So you’re saying that bastard gave you the liquor?”
“Yeah. He looked terrified. He was being careful around you, clearly scared shitless. He didn’t dare come himself, so he asked you instead.”
“True, that bastard wouldn’t dare even if you beat him.”
But he couldn’t stand even a single insult from my parents.
‘For the next ten years, I’ll make you crawl like a dog.’
Wi Ho took the bottle from Jang Hyun and drank one gulp, then another. His Adam’s apple bobbed as the poisoned wine slid down his throat.
“Huu… today’s liquor tastes really good?”
Wi Ho smiled with satisfaction and tilted the bottle again. His companions passed cups around and drank too.
***
“Hey, wake up.”
Someone shook my shoulder, but I still wanted to sleep.
“…Just five more minutes.”
“Five minutes? No, wake up already!”
When I opened my eyes, my junior’s face was frozen in shock.
And the outside of the tent was chaos. Footsteps, shouts, and sharp voices ordering people around rang out.
“What’s going on?”
“Several seniors including Wi Ho died from poison.”
I sat up slowly and furrowed my brows. As naturally as possible.
“…Dead?”
“Yeah. They collapsed suddenly at dawn and the whole encampment is in an uproar now.”
The tent flap opened and the commotion from outside rushed in louder. My other juniors woke up one by one, rubbing their eyes.
‘I really wanted to kill them with my own hands. What a shame.’
My junior urged me.
“Hey, hurry up and get ready. People are panicking outside— they’re calling for everyone to come out!”
“I know, just stop nagging.”
My junior was irritated by my lazy attitude and stormed off. I threw on my clothes roughly and stepped outside.
The encampment was already a mess. Disciples were running around everywhere.
And in the distance, four bodies lay sprawled—Wi Ho among them—and Wang O was squatting in front of them.
I stood at a reasonable distance and watched the scene.
Dan Ha and So Ryeong had approached me without me noticing. So Ryeong was still half-asleep, rubbing her eyes, while Dan Ha stared intently at the corpses with her red eyes.
Dan Ha whispered, “You… that liquor yesterday…”
“Shh, there are too many people around.”
Dan Ha fell silent.
“I’ll tell you everything later.”
“…Okay.”
So Ryeong clung to my sleeve, still confused about what had happened.
Wang O stood up and announced loudly, “Everyone, listen. Wi Ho and three senior disciples died from poisoning. The culprit hasn’t been identified yet, but… the poison is from the Purple Blood Snake that lives in the Purple Blood Pond.”
A ripple of panic spread through the crowd.
“It could be an internal traitor’s doing… but we can’t rule out the possibility that enemies have infiltrated here to sow discord.”
The murmurs grew louder.
Wang O continued coldly, “Starting now, we will search for any traces of intruders. We will scour the entire area thoroughly. And we will inspect every single person’s belongings.”
***
Wang O stepped into the tent of the sect leader.
A red oil lamp flickered dimly in the ornate interior. A long purple-haired woman lounged on the bed, long hair draped over it. She held a long pipe between her lips and exhaled smoke slowly.
Wang O knelt on one knee and bowed his head.
“Sect Leader-nim, four outer disciples have died from poison.”
“What kind of poison?”
“The poison from the Purple Blood Snake. They apparently slipped away from the perimeter and drank liquor with their fellow disciples.”
The woman laughed as if it were amusing.
“Interesting. Right before battle, they left their post and then… got poisoned at a drinking party.”
She sat up slightly.
“The culprit?”
‘I can’t miss this opportunity.’
Wang O kept his head lowered as he spoke. I didn’t know who had used the poison, but it gave me a perfect excuse to weaken their strength here.
“It’s still unknown. But… the Purple Blood Pond is under the management of Myeong Hak.”
The sect leader’s eyes narrowed.
“Myeong Hak… he should be leading the separate detachment right now… Wang O, you think he was the one behind this?”
“He’s the most likely. As you know, Myeong Hak has been dissatisfied with the main sect for a long time.”
“Hmm… but if Myeong Hak really did it, he wouldn’t have been this stupid.”
She muttered to herself and exhaled smoke longer. Her red eyes swept across the air as if calculating something, then paused.
“And this was recently discovered. I needed time to investigate… but…”
Wang O felt this was the perfect moment to deploy what he had prepared for so long.
He pulled a letter from his pocket and handed it to her. It was filled with the scandals Myeong Hak had committed. This was the weapon he had prepared specifically for today.
She didn’t even read the entire letter before crumpling it in her hand.
“Send a message to Myeong Hak. Tell him to come himself and explain.”
“Yes, Sect Leader-nim.”
Wang O bowed deeply. From an angle where the sect leader’s gaze couldn’t reach, the corner of his mouth lifted slightly.
The seed of doubt had been planted.
‘The rest is up to Myeong Hak to dig his own grave.’
Wang O exited the tent and prepared two letters. Then he grabbed two swift outer disciples.
“You will deliver this letter to the separate detachment led by Myeong Hak, and you will take this one and deliver it to Tae-ho quickly.”
“Yes!!”
The two outer disciples dashed off in their respective directions.
Wang O watched their backs and let out a slow breath.
There were two letters.
One was addressed to his son, Wang Tae-ho.
And the other contained completely different content from what the sect leader had instructed. This one was meant for Myeong Hak’s most trusted subordinate. It was packed with information that the sect leader had investigated Myeong Hak’s past scandals and was planning a major revenge.
Myeong Hak, who had plenty of reasons to be suspicious, would definitely make a mistake.
‘The cornered beast cannot see the trap.’
Wang O slowly raised the corner of his mouth.
No matter what choice Myeong Hak made, the outcome had already been decided. If he returned obediently, he would be slowly crushed under the sect leader’s interrogation. If he fled or resisted, that alone would be his crime.