Chapter 264
Chapter 264
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 264
Chapter Title: Poisoned Tea and Confessions
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Two men sat facing each other in a luxurious guest hall.
A green teacup steaming with heat sat before Uncheon-geuk.
But with his arms crossed, he simply watched the man across from him sip his tea.
The man opposite, dressed in a green changsam—Poison King Dang Pae-gun—asked,
"Worried I might have poisoned it?"
Uncheon-geuk shook his head at Dang Pae-gun's question.
"No need to worry."
"Then?"
"I just don't want to end up as that fool who drinks the Poison King's tea."
Dang Pae-gun bared his white teeth in a laugh at Uncheon-geuk's reply.
He wasn't wrong. No one in this tower would drink the Poison King's tea without a care.
But few would say it to his face like this.
"Don't worry. Poison isn't always ingested through the mouth."
"Is that so?"
"Curious?"
"I am."
Uncheon-geuk picked up the teacup.
"I've always hated poison users."
Plink...
Tea spilled onto the guest hall floor. Dang Pae-gun's gaze chilled as he watched Uncheon-geuk smile slyly.
"Want to give it a try?"
"That confident?"
"......"
"If you were, you wouldn't have tried feeding me this."
A faint tea aroma rose from the spilled liquid.
But in that moment.
Spiders and scorpions hidden in the ceiling rafters rained down with soft thuds.
Colorless and odorless, yet the mere spill of the tea killed the venomous creatures.
Uncheon-geuk's tea had been poisoned.
He couldn't tell what kind. The Poison King wielded poisons that didn't always kill or harm outright.
"Time to change your title. Not Poison King—Viper. Sneaky as a snake."
"Ahem..."
Dang Pae-gun endured the insult by closing his eyes.
He had struck first with poison. Getting called out for his lowly trick made the humiliation inevitable.
Failing to stomach it here would lead to swords and hidden weapons clashing.
And that wasn't what Dang Pae-gun wanted.
"My apologies."
Creak—
The guest hall door opened amid the tense atmosphere, and the host who had arranged this meeting appeared.
Uncheon-geuk and Dang Pae-gun rose from their seats.
"Welcome."
"You've come a long way."
Kim Il-su waved his hand with a gentle smile at their greetings.
"No need to stand on my account. Please, sit."
The three men took their seats. For a moment, Kim Il-su's gaze drifted to the spilled tea on the floor.
"Looks like you two are getting along."
The pair said nothing.
"That's a relief. I was hoping you'd join forces for the next matter anyway."
"......I've heard the gist."
Dang Pae-gun's eyes flashed.
"That Kim Ye-ryeong bitch is after me?"
"Yes, exactly."
"You sure?"
"She will be. Especially since you hold the antidote."
"Antidote? You mean..."
"Yes."
Kim Il-su smiled bitterly.
"That's how it turned out."
Kim Ye-ryeong and Kim Si-woo had taken Hyo-min. It was no different from unleashing a beast barely held by a leash.
Dang Pae-gun had no choice now.
Kim Ye-ryeong was gunning for his neck.
Most would lose sleep and wet themselves at that alone.
But Dang Pae-gun was different.
"All the better."
He felt a rare spark of fighting spirit.
"I was regretting that with her gone, no one left to prove who's the true master of hidden weapons."
"Glad to hear you're so confident, Poison King."
Kim Il-su's gaze shifted to Uncheon-geuk as he spoke.
"......But."
"But?"
"Better to be certain."
Only then did Dang Pae-gun realize why Uncheon-geuk was here.
Kim Il-su didn't trust him alone to handle Kim Ye-ryeong.
"You think I'll lose?"
"Perish the thought. You're the Poison King of the world. Just like I said earlier—making it certain."
"Ahem."
Dang Pae-gun cleared his throat, showing his discomfort.
But he couldn't confront him outright. He led the Sacheon Tang Clan, a pillar of the murim world, but Kim Il-su headed the massive Blue Zone guild.
Still, Kim Il-su's courtesy stemmed from his nature and past favors from Dang Pae-gun.
"Anyway, you're warning me that the bitch will come for me, so watch out?"
"Exactly."
"If that's why you called us, I'm leaving first."
Dang Pae-gun rose with hands behind his back and stormed out, making his displeasure clear.
Once Dang Pae-gun left, Kim Il-su and Uncheon-geuk were alone.
"You have my sympathies putting up with that temper."
Kim Il-su smiled faintly at Uncheon-geuk's words.
"He's prickly and exhausting. But he's the best with poison and hidden weapons—what can you do?"
Poison King Dang Pae-gun was undeniably one of the murim elite. Few could beat him with his arsenal ready; you could count them on one hand.
"With this warning, he won't step out of the Tang Clan for a while. Even the Poison King fears Kim Ye-ryeong."
Sacheon Tang Clan.
It was Dang Pae-gun's domain—the world's most impregnable fortress.
The Poison King outside and inside were different beasts. There, he commanded tens of thousands of poisons and hidden weapons.
Like a spider weaving its web, waiting for prey.
Even the world's Uncheon-geuk couldn't kill Dang Pae-gun at the heart of Sacheon Tang Clan.
"Why not say that from the start?"
"He'd call it an insult and wander out. Placating the old man is no easy task."
Uncheon-geuk felt a strange vibe from Kim Il-su's sly smile.
Was this really the head of Blue Zone? This mild-mannered guy?
But the doubt faded quickly.
"I'll trust what you've said is true."
"About my daughter?"
"Yes."
"You're certain the streamer is with her."
"The one with her now wasn't masked... You sure it's the streamer?"
"Only one person in this era wields lightning."
"If."
Was it because it involved his daughter?
"......If not?"
Uncheon-geuk was uncharacteristically cautious.
He pressed again, eyes saying he'd hold him accountable if wrong. Kim Il-su replied with conviction.
"Unless Soo-hyuk came back from the dead, no."
Unhyang stepped into the courtyard and took several deep breaths.
She had always known a day would come to confess her secret.
She just hadn't expected it so soon.
Step—
Soo-hyuk approached her.
She had been steeling herself to speak first, but he came over.
"Out here, huh."
He had even sought her out on purpose.
Suddenly, Unhyang realized who Soo-hyuk had gone out with.
Ye-ryeong.
She had already shown too much in front of her.
'Sister must have figured it out.'
On their way here, she and Soo-hyuk must have talked about all sorts.
Including things left unsaid—and perhaps even about her.
"Got something to ask."
"I'll tell you first."
Cutting off Soo-hyuk, Unhyang took one last deep breath and spoke.
"I'm sorry. There's something I... didn't tell you."
"Heavenly Demon?"
Unhyang's eyes wavered as Soo-hyuk brought it up first.
She bit her lip and nodded.
"Yes. Truth is... I'm of the Heavenly Demon's bloodline."
Surprisingly, saying it brought relief.
Maybe because she'd done it twice before? Or trust in Soo-hyuk?
The words came easier than expected.
And then.
"Ah, that explains it."
"......?"
"Ye-ryeong said she saw you use the Heavenly Demon Divine Art."
Soo-hyuk nodded as if it all made sense.
Seeing his reaction, Unhyang suddenly felt her confession was no big deal.
"Still surprising, though. Jin Ha-ryeong had a daughter."
"......You're not shocked?"
"Knew you had some secret. And you weren't subtle—fidgeting whenever Jin Ha-ryeong came up."
"True, but..."
"Now that you mention it, you do look alike. Though the daughter takes after the better side."
Deflated, the tension drained from her body. Si-woo had been similar, but hearing Soo-hyuk talk about the Heavenly Demon made him seem trivial.
Fair enough.
Anyone else might freak, but Soo-hyuk had reason not to.
He was the only player in this tower to defeat the Heavenly Demon. If anyone lacked fear of him, it was the man before her.
"So why'd you want to see me?"
"Oh, right. About that collab you mentioned before. Might need to postpone."
"Th-that's what matters now?"
Spilling her life's greatest secret, and he brings up collabs?
Important, sure—Clementine was involved. But...
A laugh slipped from Unhyang's lips in sheer absurdity.
Why had she agonized so much?
"Do you know why I became your fan?"
"The Heavenly Demon too?"
"Yes."
Unhyang nodded.
With tension gone, her legs felt weak. She leaned against a nearby tree and began her tale.
"To me, the Heavenly Demon wasn't a father. Just... this vague, inescapable terror. A fated shackle."
The Heavenly Demon.
No player didn't fear that name. He was the living nightmare players couldn't overcome.
"At first, I despaired. Sharing blood with someone everyone feared and hated. Knowing I couldn't escape him. But do you know what scared me most?"
"What?"
"That the whole world would hate me too."
"......"
"Makes sense, right? No one defies the Heavenly Demon. He was absolute evil—no one could beat him."
People live on hope. Without it, they can't.
When the Heavenly Demon's shadow loomed over her life, Unhyang felt eternally alone.
No one could help. This fated chain, bound by blood and overwhelming power, offered no escape.
"That's when I learned about you."
The moment replayed in Unhyang's mind.
In the great battle, Lee Soo-hyuk clashed with the Heavenly Demon, unleashing lightning in a brutal fight lasting over half a day.
Blocking demonic arts, hurling bolts, staggering yet unyielding.
"Remember? Your first win over the Heavenly Demon."
"That was rough."
"You have no idea how much I cheered."
She had never rooted for anyone like that. More than anyone in the world.
"That day, I truly felt saved."
"Saved? Come on..."
Soo-hyuk looked away, embarrassed. Unhyang giggled, then looked up.
"Should've said it sooner."
Whoosh—
A crisp breeze blew.
Dry and refreshing, mirroring her mood perfectly.
"It wouldn't have hurt so much then."