Chapter 16
Chapter 16
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 16
Chapter Title: Thousand Poisons Contained
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After Lee Seon resolved to grow stronger.
Lee Jeong-gwang began immersing himself in crafting something.
One day, he roamed the entire mountain, scraping together venomous creatures.
Another day, he hauled in sacks of fine soil.
What on earth could he be making?
Whenever Lee Seon asked, all he got back was an ominous smile in place of an answer.
It was clear this was nothing pleasant.
And about a month later, he set a jar down in front of Lee Seon.
"Here. It's yours."
After slaving away at something for a whole month, out comes a jar.
Lee Seon lightly tapped the jar all over.
"Feels like there's a lot packed inside?"
Lee Jeong-gwang smirked.
"Everything good for the body is in there."
"...It's actually good for the body, right?"
As he reached to peek under the lid, Lee Jeong-gwang blocked him outright.
"Hey now. You'll let the precious poison essence escape."
"...A little poison escaping would be fine."
From Lee Jeong-gwang's perspective, this was the enjoyable result of his labors.
The reason was simple: medicine normally involved painstaking efforts to minimize a poison's side effects.
But for Lee Seon, who was utterly immune to poison, there were no such constraints—he could brew poisons freely to his heart's content.
"Is it okay for a physician to make poison?"
Wasn't this against professional ethics?
Lee Jeong-gwang replied with utter innocence.
"If this poison I made went into anyone else, it'd be deadly harmful. But for you, it's pure benefit, isn't it? Which means I'm crafting medicine made just for you."
What kind of twisted logic was that?
Arguing would get him nowhere, so Lee Seon let it slide.
Still, what the hell was this jar even for?
Lee Seon eyed the jar with deep reluctance.
Its surface was flawlessly smooth, without a single crack—a masterfully crafted piece.
He sure made it well.
No one would ever guess a physician had shaped it.
His handiwork was so exquisite it put professional artisans to shame.
Just about everything in this house bore the old man's touch.
Yet in recent years, he hadn't crafted a thing.
So this fiendish jar and its contents were his first creation in ages.
"So... poison's inside this, right?"
"Not just any poison. Deadly poison."
Lee Jeong-gwang bristled at the oddest things.
"I named it Thousand Poisons Contained."
Lee Seon felt a headache coming on.
Thousand Poisons Contained meant exactly a thousand poisons packed within.
A veritable aggregate of every toxin imaginable—and here he was, proudly shoving it forward.
Was this old man really a physician?
Could someone hailed as the Divine Physician truly revel in brewing poisons like this?
"Deadly poison makes me want to eat it even less."
Ordinary deadly poisons announced themselves the moment they touched your lips.
With their indescribably vile texture and vomit-inducing flavor, they made their poisonous nature abundantly clear.
"Don't be ridiculous. After all the work I put into it? Eat it all. Scrape every last bit from the bottom."
He had resolved to grow stronger, true—but wasn't this a bit much?
Even for Lee Seon, downing poison was profoundly unappealing.
He was human, after all. No matter how immune he was to most toxins, that didn't mean he wanted to swallow them.
For instance, just because a martial artist boasted a sword-proof body didn't mean you could swing blades at them willy-nilly.
'Why, even if I slash at you, it won't kill you, right?'
Bad vibes. Pure bad vibes.
Sure, he could pour poison down his gullet with impunity.
But that didn't make what he swallowed any less poisonous.
One slip while circulating his breathing technique, and he could be booking a one-way cart to the afterlife.
Lee Seon's expression soured rapidly.
'...Look at that. The old man's eyes are spinning.'
But the moment he met Lee Jeong-gwang's gaze, Lee Seon surrendered.
Those eyes brimmed with unshakeable conviction.
No flicker of doubt or hesitation—just pure, innocent insistence on the poison.
The crisp whites and pupils seemed to ask him outright:
You're really not going to eat it?
Those were the eyes of a madman with crystal-clear sanity.
If curiosity's embodiment walked the earth, it was surely this old coot.
Had his passions leaned toward killing rather than saving lives, the Divine Physician might have birthed a lone Slaying Star instead.
But Lee Seon's own stubbornness was no slouch either.
He'd been raised by this very specimen, after all.
Whether from that heavy early influence or not, Lee Seon matched him in sheer bullheadedness.
He didn't bend just because someone demanded it with force.
Lee Seon cocked his head defiantly.
"And what if I don't eat it?"
Lee Jeong-gwang looked ready to bolt from this shack at any moment.
Staying cooped up a whole month to brew this poison was already out of character for him.
The old man had probably planned to hand it over and hit the road immediately.
Lee Seon hadn't always holed up in these mountains either.
His memories were hazy, but there had been times he'd clung to Lee Jeong-gwang's hand, wandering the jianghu.
He knew full well how insatiable the old man's wanderlust was.
What could he possibly do if Lee Seon flat-out refused?
He knew the geezer had no intention of lingering longer.
Yet Lee Jeong-gwang scoffed as if to say dream on.
"You think you can refuse?"
With a casual finger snap, something peeked shyly from between the trees.
It looked timid at first glance—but in truth, it was frozen in terror.
The Human-Faced Spider, gripped by fear.
No one could ever imagine such a sight.
Even Lee Seon still found it jarring every time.
"Long time no see."
Kii-yeek.
The Human-Faced Spider meekly lowered its gaze, tapping its legs as it approached Lee Jeong-gwang's side.
"You look healthy. I heard about your big exploits recently. Good work."
Kii-yeek!
The Human-Faced Spider twisted its massive bulk bashfully.
For all its enormous size, it couldn't defy him in the slightest.
"Queen, hey."
But it spared Lee Seon only a brief glance before—
Kii-yeek.
—snapping its head away in haughty disdain.
Clearly still holding a grudge.
"This is cheating."
Lee Seon groaned, seeing through the ploy.
The Human-Faced Spider dropped dead for his every word.
Anything short of "die," and it'd obey without question.
"Cheating? Nonsense."
Lee Jeong-gwang extended a hand, and the spider nuzzled its head into it affectionately.
Lee Seon shuddered at the old man's ruthless cunning.
"You vicious geezer—treating a speechless beast like that."
Lee Jeong-gwang burst into hearty laughter, as if it were absurd.
"You're the one who mistreated it. What happened to make one of our Queen's teeth fall out?"
He lightly tapped the tiny new tooth growing in.
Kii-yeek.
The Human-Faced Spider shed quiet tears at his words.
That guy?
Lee Seon's eyebrow twitched.
It was just the other day he'd ripped out her tusk to finish off a downed corpse.
He had no defense.
"Queen. Keep a close eye on him. Follow wherever he tries to go."
The Human-Faced Spider nodded with exaggerated vigor.
Its eight fist-sized eyes glared murderously, radiating intent for fang-revenge.
"...Can you at least give me privacy for bathroom breaks?"
Lee Seon grumbled, and Lee Jeong-gwang pondered briefly before nodding.
"Pay extra close attention during bathroom trips."
Kii-yeek!
Lee Seon slapped his forehead.
This was insane.
"Finish all that, and I can head to the jianghu?"
Lee Seon's eyes blazed with fervent resolve.
No matter how huge the jar, if he put his mind to it, he could polish it off in under half a year.
But then Lee Jeong-gwang blinked as if he'd forgotten and hauled over four more jars.
"This fucking—"
He couldn't hold back the curse.
This wasn't a year's worth—it was enough to live on for several years eating nothing else.
"I can't even drink that much water."
But Lee Jeong-gwang shot back.
"Have you tried?"
"......"
His remarks didn't end there.
"Sorry, but there are five more jars out back."
Now it was sheer absurdity.
He had to eat all that to leave?
He'd kick the bucket from old age before reaching the jianghu.
"Of course I'm not saying eat every last drop."
Lee Seon's eyes lit up at that.
"Meaning?"
"I told you. The bare minimum for getting stronger? Use the Queen as your benchmark."
"...That wasn't a joke?"
Even in her weakened state, stalling the Human-Faced Spider head-on for a full hour? She'd crushed that demon effortlessly.
"Not beating her—just holding out for one hour. You can't even manage that?"
Lee Jeong-gwang blinked in genuine astonishment.
Lee Seon ground his teeth.
He knew it wasn't mere provocation; it was pure surprise.
"I said it clearly. Just survive one hour."
"Fine. Give it your all."
With those words, the old man promptly left the mountain.
It was exactly one year to the day since then.
"The day of reckoning has dawned at last."
Lee Seon made his full preparations.
This time, success was certain.
357th attempt.
Begin.