Monopolizing Fortunes (84)
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Monopolizing Fortunes (84)
That was when Yang Su-pan asked.
"If it's Cheol-hyeon, isn't that the Young Head of the Namgung Clan, your closest friend?"
"That's right."
"Then you'd better hurry. This will help."
Yang Su-pan handed over a round bronze tablet. The character for soldier, meaning military, was written on it, and below that were four horses.
"It's a military horse tablet that lets you use the army's relay horses or carriages as you please."
He had never seen one in person, but he had heard of them. The grade was determined by the number of horses, and four horses meant the highest grade.
"Thank you."
"If you ask at the next military horse station, they'll tell you where the station with relay horses is."
"I have to leave an address before you go to Beijing!"
"Got it, so get going."
He knew where the military horse station in Hangzhou was. As Do Tong-dal ran, he asked the physician in black.
"You know how to ride a horse, right?"
"A physician, riding a horse...!"
"You were a royal physician!"
"I... how did you... how did you know that?"
"Can you ride or not?"
"Of course I can."
Royal physicians often accompanied the imperial family on hunts, so riding was an essential skill. When they went to the military horse station and presented the military horse tablet, a startled soldier brought out three of the best horses.
After confirming the location of the next military horse station, Do Tong-dal immediately whipped the horse's rump.
"Whoa—!"
Thud!
He fell off the horse.
"You... can't ride?"
Namgung Seol-rin, seated on her horse, looked down at Do Tong-dal, who was sprawled out like the character for "big," and asked that. The physician in black answered.
"Isn't it only natural for an Underworld thug not to know how to ride?"
Do Tong-dal sprang to his feet and shouted.
"I can ride!"
He definitely could ride. He had ridden horses until he was sick of it while serving his penal military service. It was just a mistake that happened because his body didn't remember, since it was from his past life.
Do Tong-dal got back on the horse. He gripped the reins firmly and squeezed the horse's sides with his thighs. Then he swung the whip.
This time, because he was firmly prepared, he didn't fall. And before even one ke had passed, his body recovered the memories of his past life.
They rode all through the night and arrived at the Namgung Clan. When Namgung Seol-rin saw the Namgung Clan in the distance, she shouted to the two warriors guarding the main gate.
"Open the gate!"
Fortunately, the two warriors recognized Namgung Seol-rin early. Namgung Seol-rin rode her horse all the way into the training grounds and asked the warriors nearby.
"Where is my brother?"
One warrior hurried forward.
"Please follow me."
The physician in black dismounted, staggered, and landed hard on their backside.
"Ugh, I'm dying."
Just making it this far after riding all night was impressive. Do Tong-dal carried the physician in black on his back and followed Namgung Seol-rin.
"Will you be able to properly examine the patient?"
"Sagiju... Mistress Yeon promised to buy me Sagiju..."
"Damn it! If you cure Cheol-hyeon, I'll let you bathe in Sagiju!"
"And a pretty courtesan."
"Fine, so just treat him properly!"
Namgung Sang-yeon, who had heard that Namgung Seol-rin had arrived, came to greet them.
"How did you get here so quickly?"
"What about my brother?"
"The physicians are treating him right now."
"How is his condition?"
He could tell from Namgung Sang-yeon's expression that it wasn't good.
"He hasn't regained consciousness yet. But who is this...?"
Namgung Sang-yeon's gaze went to the physician in black on Do Tong-dal's back. Namgung Sang-yeon also had the habit of trailing off, like many martial artists.
Namgung Seol-rin said.
"They're a renowned physician, better than the clan physicians."
"Are you certain?"
"That's the physician who healed Tong-dal's arm."
If he was someone who had accomplished what the Namgung Clan physicians had deemed impossible, then there was hope.
"This way. Let's hurry!"
Namgung Baek-jung, who was in the treatment room, was surprised to see Namgung Seol-rin's group enter.
"How did you get here so quickly?"
"Brother, they say this physician healed Do Tong-dal's arm over there."
The physician in black climbed down from Do Tong-dal's back and nearly collapsed when the legs gave out. Namgung Baek-jung looked over and said.
"It seems you should treat yourself first?"
Do Tong-dal led the physician in black to the bed where Namgung Cheol-hyeon lay unconscious. The faces of the three physicians around the bed were clearly full of displeasure.
Namgung Baek-jung followed and said.
"We've only determined that he was poisoned, but we haven't yet identified what kind of poison it is."
The physician in black drained a bowl of water beside Namgung Cheol-hyeon's head in one gulp.
"Hoo—! I feel a bit more alive now."
"Hurry up and look at the patient."
The physician in black first took Namgung Cheol-hyeon's wrist.
"It's irregular. It beats strongly, then weakly, and the intervals are uneven. This means there's a problem with the heart."
One of the physicians said.
"Instead of telling us what we already know, try to find out something new."
Just as martial artists were competitive about martial arts, physicians were the same.
When the physician in black peeled back Namgung Cheol-hyeon's eyelids, another physician said.
"By the way, where did you learn medicine? Can we know who your master is?"
"Do you know what will happen if the Young Sect Leader takes a turn for the worse?"
Do Tong-dal, unable to hold back, spat out in a low voice.
"If any of you utter a single word from now on, I'll cut off your heads."
The startled physicians tried to say something, but Do Tong-dal was faster.
"I only need one physician to cure Cheol-hyeon. That one isn't any of you three. So either get lost or stay quiet. If you don't want to die."
As always, when Do Tong-dal spoke with sincerity, that sincerity got through. The three physicians didn't dare speak and shut their mouths.
"Hmm. Judging by the symptoms, it's an animal poison."
After muttering alone, the physician in black spoke to Do Tong-dal.
"Help me take off his clothes."
The physician in black spoke while removing Namgung Cheol-hyeon's clothes.
"Judging by the symptoms, the poison the Young Head was poisoned with is an animal poison. Unlike plant or mineral poisons, animal poisons are difficult to administer by ingestion."
The physician in black was one of the foremost experts on poison in the Central Plains. Poisoning was one of the most common ways to assassinate the emperor or imperial family, so extensive study had been unavoidable.
"Look for bite marks from something like a snake or spider."
They searched his entire body thoroughly, even checking under his testicles, but found no bite marks from anything.
"Hmm. Animal poisons that can be administered by ingestion are very rare. And among those, there is only one animal poison that penetrates the heart and kills."
Do Tong-dal asked hurriedly.
"What is it?"
"Blue Snake Poison."
"If it's Blue Snake Poison, that means the poison of a blue snake. Is there such a thing as a blue snake?"
"There's no such snake. Originally, it's viper venom, but when you combine it with a poison gland at a certain ratio and boil it, the snake venom turns blue. That's why it's called Blue Snake Poison. Those who can make Blue Snake Poison are very rare. Even counting the entire Central Plains, you could count them on one hand."
"You said you just boil snake venom and a poison gland? It doesn't seem that difficult?"
"Poison is weak to heat, and the poison gland protects it. Unless the ratio is extremely precise, the poison becomes no different from plain water. The boiling temperature is also important. Anyway, it's damn hard to make."
Namgung Seol-rin asked.
"Since you've identified the poison, you can also make an antidote, right?"
"I know the antidote. If you're poisoned with Blue Snake Poison, there's only one antidote."
"What is it?"
"Go poison. The only place you can get it is..."
Do Tong-dal and the physician in black spoke at the same time.
"The Southern Barbarians."
"Huh? An Underworld thug knows about go poison too?"
"What is go poison?"
Namgung Seol-rin asked on behalf of everyone.
"It's a type of heavenly insect raised by a tribe called the Yeosan Tribe among the Miao people living in the Southern Barbarians. Its original name is just go. The reason it has poison attached to it is because it becomes a fatal poison that can never be neutralized. Ugh, I'm tired. You explain instead."
Do Tong-dal continued the explanation in place of the physician in black, who had slumped to the floor.
"A go is made up of a male and female pair. This pair is connected to each other, and the male go can parasitize inside a human body."
"It parasitizes?"
Do Tong-dal pointed to his left chest.
"It settles here, in the heart, and can never be removed. Since it's inside the heart, no matter how great a martial artist you are, you can't burn it out."
"Then if you're poisoned with go poison, you die?"
"No. You're fine. It just settles in the heart and does no harm."
"Then how is that a poison?"
"I said a go forms a pair. The problem is the female go that remains outside. If this female go dies, the male go also dies, and as the male go dies, it destroys the heart."
"What kind of poison is that?"
"Originally, it was a poison created to prevent a lover's betrayal, but now it's used more for other purposes."
Namgung Seol-rin's gaze turned to the physician in black.
"How can such a go poison become an antidote?"
"Blue Snake Poison gradually hardens the heart like stone. The Young Clan Head's Internal Energy is outstanding, so he's holding on so far, but eventually his heart will harden. For a male go that has penetrated a human body, such a heart is not a comfortable nest. So the male go remakes the heart to suit itself."
"You mean the male go absorbs the poison?"
"Right. A male go that absorbs Blue Snake Poison has no choice but to die before it can even penetrate the heart."
"How do you remove the dead male go?"
"I can open the chest, or if you're a martial arts master, you can burn it. Then the Blue Snake Poison burns away with it."
"Is go poison really only found in the Southern Barbarians?"
"The accepted theory is that a go cannot survive if it leaves the Southern Barbarians."
The Southern Barbarians were the lands of savage tribes bordering Yunnan Province. A land of jungle where scorching heat baked the earth all year round. The Southern Barbarians were a place teeming with all manner of wild beasts, venomous snakes, and poisonous insects, dotted with swamps that could swallow a bull in an instant if you took one wrong step.
That place, dangerous even to the natives, was truly a space of death for outsiders.
It was in such a place that Do Tong-dal had survived for three years as a penal soldier. Among the people of the Central Plains, there was no one who knew the Southern Barbarians better than him. Perhaps Do Tong-dal knew the Southern Barbarians more thoroughly than even the natives.
"I'll go and come back."
Namgung Seol-rin grabbed Do Tong-dal as he turned away.
"Where?"
"To get the go poison."
"You're going to the Southern Barbarians now?"
Do Tong-dal looked at Namgung Cheol-hyeon, lying unconscious with a pale face.
"I have to go now."
When Do Tong-dal asked, "How much time does he have?" the physician in black gave the useless answer, "Who knows."
"Can he hold on for a month?"
To get from here to the Southern Barbarians, they had to cross five provinces. Even at top speed, the trip would take twenty days.
"It depends on how strong the patient is. For an ordinary person, five days is the limit, no matter how good the medicine."
"Then Cheol-hyeon will hold on. He's strong."
Namgung Seol-rin followed behind Do Tong-dal.
"I'm going with you."
Then Namgung Baek-jung also stepped forward.
"I'll accompany you as well."
Do Tong-dal said with a frustrated face.
"Do you know what the Southern Barbarians are like?"
"Do you?"
"I do. And because I know, I intend to go alone. No matter how great your martial arts are, the moment you enter the Southern Barbarian jungle, you're nothing but a burden to me."
Namgung Seol-rin didn't give up her stubbornness.
"If it seems like I'll be a burden, I'll give up on my own, so let's go together for now."
"Seol-rin..."
"He's my brother! My brother is dying, and you're telling me to just helplessly guard his bed? I can never do that!"
Just from her eyes, he could see the desperation she felt. Do Tong-dal looked at Namgung Seol-rin and Namgung Baek-jung and asked.
"Only one person can accompany me."
Namgung Baek-jung, who had been agonizing, said to Namgung Seol-rin.
"I'm counting on you."
"Yes. I'll definitely bring it back."
Namgung Baek-jung's gaze shifted to Do Tong-dal.
"I didn't know the fate of our Namgung Clan would rest on you."
"I don't care what happens to the fate of the Namgung Clan."
Do Tong-dal said that and left the sickroom. There wasn't a moment to waste.
Their bodies were tired, feeling as heavy as a thousand geun from riding all night, but Do Tong-dal and Namgung Seol-rin got back on their horses.
"We'll have to take a carriage at the next military horse station."
If they had to sleep while traveling, a carriage was better than a horse. Neither of them even considered a comfortable rest at an inn.
Namgung Seol-rin raised her voice and asked.
"Can we make it back within a month?"
Do Tong-dal's voice cut through the clamor of the horse hooves.
"No matter what happens, we have to make it back within that time!"
If anyone other than Do Tong-dal had made such a confident claim, he would have sneered and called it nonsense.
Just making the round trip across five provinces already made a month far too short.
* * *