Chapter 267
Chapter 267
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 267
Chapter Title: The Green Spring Immortal
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Swish-.
The man who had just been speaking with Soo-hyuk, Choi Mugeol—the supposed leader of the Poison Medicine Sect—stepped aside with a bow.
He clasped his hands politely and lowered his head.
Step-.
Soo-hyuk walked past him toward the old man.
"It's you I've heard about."
The old man's hunched back straightened. He still held the broom, but with his spine aligned and his eyes sharpening, he transformed into an entirely different person from moments before.
"You'll kill the Poison King? Dang Pae-gun?"
"Yes."
"Why tell me that?"
"Because it's what you want most, sir."
Was it resentment toward Dang Pae-gun? Flames of fury ignited in the old man's deep gaze.
But he didn't blindly trust Soo-hyuk just because the man knew his desires. It was simple caution, requiring no wisdom at all.
"Do you know me?"
"Je Un-hak, the Green Spring Immortal. A noble soul who reached the sage realm in poisons, medicines, and medical arts."
Soo-hyuk paused briefly before adding the crucial detail at the end.
"And the one said to have died fifteen years ago."
"......"
The old man, Je Un-hak, closed his eyes gently.
He seemed to have been struck right in the heart. Realizing he couldn't dodge it, he kept his eyes shut for a long while before asking.
"How did you find me?"
"What ability could I possibly have? I got help."
"From those shady bastards, I suppose."
Even Je Un-hak had his weaknesses. He was a sage in poisons and medicines, but unlike Ye-ryeong with her stealth skills or exceptional martial prowess, he wasn't specialized in those.
The Dark Map had picked up on Je Un-hak a few years ago.
"I'm sorry for digging into your past without meaning to."
Soo-hyuk bowed politely to Je Un-hak. Even if unintended, the fact remained that he had investigated the man.
"What do you mean, without meaning to?"
"My target was the Poison King. I only learned about you because of him."
For a moment, Je Un-hak recalled Soo-hyuk's promise to kill the Poison King.
"You want his head too?"
"I do want that, yes. Among other things."
"Among other things?"
"What I really want is to meet my friend again."
"Your friend......"
Je Un-hak mulled over Soo-hyuk's answer, his wrinkled eyes deepening once more.
"That's a soft, squishy word I haven't heard in ages."
His eyes, which had flashed like they might explode at the mention of the Poison King, returned to those of the courtyard-sweeping old man.
Neither gaze was feigned. The fury toward the Poison King, and the one that suited the broom so well—they were both the unadulterated truth of Je Un-hak.
"Sorry. Living in hiding makes suspicion grow."
"I understand."
"Mugeol, go inside."
At Je Un-hak's words, Choi Mugeol bowed deeply and retreated. Watching his receding figure, Soo-hyuk asked.
"Who is he?"
"A disciple I've raised since he was a boy."
"Disciple?"
"A kind-hearted fool. Holed up in these mountains, he's devoted his youth to tending to me."
"Hmm......"
Je Un-hak clicked his tongue in pity and turned toward the manor.
"Will you follow? There's talk to be had, and things to show."
It didn't sound like he was asking for permission. Je Un-hak headed straight into the manor, toward a hall with creaking doors that looked half-collapsed.
Soo-hyuk followed. Inside the hall, the air was thick with the stench of rotting wood and pungent herbs stinging the nose.
"A herb storage room."
The floor was covered in blackened, withered plants. Even Soo-hyuk, no expert in medicines, could tell these were precious ingredients filling the space.
Not ordinary materials.
Some emanated a thick aura of mana despite not being processed. Hauling them all out would fetch a fortune.
To stockpile such herbs like this.
Impressive as that was, it wasn't the end.
Rustle-.
Je Un-hak rummaged through the herbs.
Pushing aside the countless plants, he pressed one corner of the floor with his hand.
Creeeak. The floor sank, revealing a hidden space below.
"Eat this."
Je Un-hak handed over a pill from his bosom. A finger-sized pellet glowing a murky green.
Soo-hyuk swallowed it without hesitation. As he chewed, his face twisted violently.
"Urk. It's insanely bitter."
"Not even asking what it is?"
"You're not going to harm me, so there must be a reason."
"No suspicion at all? What if it's poison?"
"Then I die."
He said it casually, but he planned to incinerate it from within with lightning if anything odd stirred.
Of course, his trust was genuine. From the Dark Map, he knew Je Un-hak wasn't one to harm others with poison.
Confirming Soo-hyuk had swallowed it, Je Un-hak crossed his arms behind his back and descended below.
The space below was far larger.
A massive underground warehouse, about a thousand pyeong in size.
Wooden crates filled it. The herbal stench was overwhelmingly stronger than above.
"Even with the antidote, best not to inhale too much."
"Don't tell me it's all poison?"
"About half."
Soo-hyuk was floored.
How much was this? Filling such a space would take no small effort just to transport the herbs and toxic plants.
And it wasn't just plants. Glass jars held unknown snakes, dried frogs, insects.
"Half, so half poison and half medicine, then."
"Wrong."
"Pardon?"
"The same ingredient can be medicine or poison depending on use. Poisons and medicines are a hair's breadth apart, based on handling."
He said it simply, but Soo-hyuk knew better.
Turning poison to medicine or vice versa was no easy feat. Mastering such vast quantities was the domain of a grandmaster.
"Gathered over years to one day kill the Poison King."
This warehouse held Je Un-hak's life.
His time and effort collecting the world's poisons. Every moment dwelled here.
"Why show me this?"
Frankly, it was disconcerting.
Soo-hyuk had chosen Je Un-hak to catch the Poison King, knowing their history.
But he hadn't expected this on first meeting.
"What if I'm actually with the Poison King? Or I covet these and harm you?"
"Then I misjudged you."
"That's your only reason?"
"And I have no other options."
Je Un-hak turned to face Soo-hyuk.
"Fifteen years ago, I failed. Even much earlier, I couldn't kill Dang Pae-gun. And likely... next time too."
His grudge against the Poison King ran deep and toxic. He wasn't trusting Soo-hyuk; he simply had no choice.
"There. I've shown you everything I have. Just because our goals align."
Before Soo-hyuk now stood not the courtyard sweeper, but the Green Spring Immortal of old.
"So now, tell me. Who are you? Do you truly have what it takes to kill the Poison King?"
"I am......"
Soo-hyuk's eyes took in the old man's past stacked in the warehouse.
For a moment, he fancied tears of blood welling in Je Un-hak's gaze upon him.
Those wrinkle-filled eyes evoked Gyu-seong's deathbed stare.
Different eyes, same light.
The look of one who had lost something precious.
"...Lee Soo-hyuk."
Huff, huff, huff-.
Choi Mugeol hurried down the mountain.
He wasn't a Player, nor particularly trained. He'd climbed these slopes for years, but Kunlun Mountain wasn't one to get used to.
'Sorry, Master.'
He'd entered the Poison Medicine Sect as a child, raised by Je Un-hak's hand.
Master and disciple, and perhaps like parent and child. Abandoned by his own parents, Je Un-hak was his benefactor and family.
His sole grievance was the rift between Je Un-hak and the Sacheon Tang Clan.
"Never, under any circumstances, get involved with the Sacheon Tang Clan."
Why?
He couldn't understand.
He knew of their past bad blood. But starving to death wasn't an option, right?
Bad blood was just that. They could still exploit what was useful. Thus, Je Un-hak had siphoned medicines and techniques from the Poison Medicine Sect to the Tang Clan bit by bit.
"Will you really pay this much?"
"Of course. Medicines made by the Poison Medicine Sect Leader deserve top price."
Thus, massive points accumulated. The Sacheon Tang Clan was among Murim's wealthiest, with deep pockets to match.
Guilt was fleeting. He soon rationalized it.
This was the way to revive the sect, to repay his master.
But then.
"The Poison King has decided."
About ten days ago, Tang Clan members visited.
"Hand over the Poison Medicine Sect's secrets. Or learn the true terror of poison."
The Tang Clan pressuring them wasn't new. But the atmosphere was different this time.
"What is this sudden demand? Hand over our secrets? That's no different from surrendering the entire sect!"
"That's how it is."
"This is too much!"
"It's not just you. All poisons and secrets in Sacheon are gathering at the Tang Clan. No exceptions."
Even with a dulled conscience, he knew this crossed the line.
His breath tightened. He refused at first, but the Tang Clan was unyielding.
They dominated beyond Sacheon, across the Central Plains. Nowhere in Murim escaped their influence, especially in Sacheon where they were royalty.
Coming to his senses late, Choi Mugeol sought the Murim Alliance's aid.
Pleading for help given their plight.
But.
"The Murim Alliance won't help the Poison Medicine Sect."
That young man's words sealed it.
Choi Mugeol resolved to descend the mountain.
"Huff, huff."
After racing down nonstop, he reached a small inn near Kunlun Mountain village.
In his hand, a note from the Tang clansman.
He repeated the mantra he'd chanted on the way.
'Sorry. Sorry, Master.'
Standing before the Tang guests' room, he clenched his fist.
'This is all for you, Master.'
Knock knock-.
He rapped on the door he shouldn't.
"Anyone there? It's the Poison Medicine Sect Leader."
A brief silence.
Creeeak-.
The door opened, and a woman peeked out.
"You came?"
"......?"
Choi Mugeol looked puzzled.
She wasn't the Tang clansman from before. He peeked inside—no one else.
"We got word you'd come. Come in, come in."
She flung the door wide, ushering him in. He double-checked the note's address before entering.
As if expecting him.
Ye-ryeong smiled brightly, welcoming the guest inside.