Poison Human - 3
Even the surest of archers feels his heart tighten while the arrow is still in flight toward the target.
No word came from Hwarin — not after one day, nor after two. Could my prediction have been wrong? No. My sincerity had definitely gotten through.
I was worrying myself sick a dozen times a day when the good news finally came flying in.
"She has passed the critical stage."
Eui-gak-ju had come to find me wearing the grim face of a surgeon stepping out of an operating room.
"Truly?"
"Whether it was the Joseon ginseng drawing her vitality back up to the brim, her physical capabilities as a Poison Human have risen by leaps and bounds."
Less the Joseon ginseng and more the black-haired barbarian's doing, frankly — but since both were Made in Joseon, I decided to keep my mouth shut.
"Phew. What a relief."
I let the string of tension that had been drawn taut for over three days slacken for a moment, then sank onto my bed.
"However, something unexpected has occurred as well."
Perhaps to wind that string tight again, Eui-gak-ju threw a reversal into his words. You did just say she'd passed the critical stage.
"What happened?"
"Ordinarily, while the yang and yin qi of the two poisons annihilate each other, the remaining poison qi should be forged into the poison dan. But our Hwarin, against all our intentions, tried to forge even the yang and yin qi that had not yet annihilated into the dan as well."
"Isn't that dangerous?"
You said her only chance of survival lay in controlling pure poison qi alone.
"Everyone, myself included, was on edge because of it — but she succeeded in forming the poison dan. She barely managed to bring the energy within her body under her own control."
Had Hwarin's perfected body grown capable of commanding even the yang and yin qi buried inside the poison?
"Then we've certainly avoided the worst of it?"
"By forming the dan, she has placed every ounce of energy in her body under her own command. It will take time, but now we need only wait while she slowly gathers those poisons together into a complete poison dan."
"Then all's well that ends well."
So this turned into an unexpected buy-one-get-two promotion, huh? A windfall. All that tension for nothing. I let out another long breath of relief.
"Get some proper sleep now. I hear you haven't closed your eyes once in three days."
"I'll make an honest attempt at it."
The moment I decided I could finally let go of that taut string, my head gave a sudden spin. Would I even manage to sleep? The last thing I wanted was to wake up tomorrow to news that something unexpected had happened.
"Tsk. One look at you and I can tell you haven't been sleeping properly either, waiting for that child to rise from her bed. I can finally take my turn at rest, so tomorrow, present yourself at the training grounds out front."
Eui-gak-ju took in the sorry sight of me — dead tired yet still debating whether I could even fall asleep — and made this utterly out-of-nowhere proposal.
"The training grounds? Why would you have me come there?"
"It is something needed both for that child Hwarin and for you. Come out regardless."
To my anxious question, Eui-gak-ju said only that I would find out tomorrow, and left my room.
What on earth was he planning for tomorrow?
I barely managed a wink of sleep, and when morning came, Eui-gak-ju was at my door again.
"It will take Hwarin several more days to forge all of her poison into the dan. In the meantime, you will use the time to learn some martial arts."
He had told me to come to the training grounds, so I'd had my suspicions — and sure enough.
"No, thank you. I have no intention of being roped into the Tang Clan day after day."
In the world of murim, the notion of being "one of the family" grows out of the martial arts everyone learns in common. To survive, I needed to keep my distance from the Tang Clan — I had no intention of picking up their techniques and staying tangled up with them for good.
"A child born with Tang Clan blood in his veins balks at learning a single martial art? Even granting that you have renounced your right to become the Young Clan Leader, every soul here acknowledges you as Tang Clan blood. Whether you train or not changes nothing."
Um, no. I'm balking precisely because it doesn't run in my veins.
"The moment Hwarin recovers, I'm returning to Yichang. What martial art am I supposed to master in the meantime?"
It wasn't as though Hwarin would lie in that state for a month or a year. The moment her poison dan was complete, we were headed for Daseogak. What technique was I supposed to study in between?
"..."
"Eui-gak-ju?"
Why was he looking at me with such a wounded face? Pitying me for throwing everything away and going back? Was this the grandfatherly urge to feed the grandson one more meal before sending him off for the holidays? I told you, it doesn't matter.
"Ahem. If you were ever to meet your end far from home, the Tang Clan would step in, no matter how dearly you wish to keep your distance from us. If you would rather not see that spectacle, think of this as learning to defend yourself, and master it."
Hwarin would be right beside me — why would I need to worry about dying? I wanted to say it was all irrelevant, but considering my established persona as Kang Yunho, the Tang Clan's illegitimate son, flatly refusing felt awkward too.
"Though I suppose someone did once turn up meaning to separate your head from your shoulders while you were alone."
I nodded, conceding the point. I couldn't just keep waving off Eui-gak-ju's strangely persistent care.
"Ha! One night of sleep and it seems your mouth has recovered its spirits ahead of the rest of you. Worrying over that child will change nothing. Train, sleep on time, and greet the girl with a healthy face when she wakes. Vice Head!"
"Heh heh. I have been waiting."
"Tang Pae?"
At Eui-gak-ju's call, Tang Pae appeared from who knows where, wearing a suspicious smile.
So that's what became of the man. Apparently he hadn't been stripped of his vice headship after all. Good for him.
"Thank you for continuing to grant me opportunities to redeem my failure, Eui-gak-ju..."
Tang Pae fixed me with a look brimming with emotion. Don't tell me he's the one teaching me.
"Tang Pae. No — Vice Head Tang Pae. I apologized before, but allow me to apologize once more..."
"Young Master Kang, I told you already. I understand as well."
"Ah. Right."
"Love is important, isn't it?How could one's own partner matter less than the seat of Young Clan Leader?Even so, couldn't you have put in a word for your loyal servant?Do you have any idea how much I have suffered all this time?"
I'm sorry. Truly, I am sorry. Tang Pae's grudge weighed heavy.
"Tang Pae!"
Eui-gak-ju roared at Tang Pae's sudden lurch into overdrive.
"Gah! My apologies, Eui-gak-ju! Just spare my life! I shall be loyal forevermore! Loy! Loy! Loy!"
"Cut the dog tricks and simply do as you were told!"
"Yes sir! I am Tang Pae, the eternal loyal servant of Eui-gak-ju! Loy! Loy! Loy!"
Tang Pae bellowed his devotion with the zeal of a man ready to lick Eui-gak-ju's shoes clean. So this was how a man carried himself after backing the wrong horse and crawling home. Worth taking notes on, honestly.
"I will take my leave, so learn well."
"I'll do my best."
"Haha. Young Master Kang, I know you spoke kindly of me to Eui-gak-ju, and yet I showed you an ugly sight. I was petty, so a small knot of resentment still lingers — but I understand it all, rationally and emotionally alike, so please don't concern yourself."
Sorry, but while you're at it, couldn't you dissolve the knot too? Perhaps ashamed of his little runaway, Tang Pae bowed his head to me again and again, apology written across his face.
"I understand."
I felt bad too, so I let it go.
"Since you will not have the time to learn martial arts at length, I intend to focus on the fundamentals of the Tang Clan Hidden Weapon Technique."
As if none of it had happened, Tang Pae began explaining the basics of the hidden weapon art to me with the utmost sincerity. Perhaps his rank meant he'd done his share of teaching.
"When two opponents of vastly unequal skill cross blades, one of them will certainly bleed. But with hidden weapons, even against a stronger foe, all you lose is a single projectile. In a moment of crisis, do not hesitate to throw."
"There is a scarecrow over there. Assuming the daggers sit in your sleeve as I described, I will now demonstrate a throw at that scarecrow. I will show you several of the most efficient motions, so watch closely."
"I'll watch carefully."
Once Tang Pae confirmed I was paying attention, he stepped onto the prepared firing line facing the distant scarecrow. Then, with a sharp cry, he began hurling hidden weapons at it.
"Die! Traitor! And I trusted you!"
"Um..."
Weren't you the one who understood, both emotionally and rationally?
"Now, observe. One must always remain composed when throwing hidden weapons. Success and failure hinge upon the delicate sensitivity of the fingertips. Get worked up like I just did, and you fail!"
For a lecture on composure, he'd landed hits to the head, the groin, the heart, and the throat. Even a hero with seven lives would have died four times over.
"Young Master Kang, as you have not learned the Tang Clan's internal cultivation method, the advanced Tang Clan arts remain beyond your reach. But if you learn from me the correct direction, the correct force, and the correct moment of release, you will acquire a hidden weapon technique that loses nothing as a means of self-defense. Here, take these daggers and give it a try."
"Thank you."
"Throw them first, and once you have a feel for it, I will teach you how to channel your true qi. You have not learned the Tang Clan's internal method, but knowing how to circulate true qi alone will leave little difference at the level of basic hidden weapon technique."
I accepted the daggers from Tang Pae and took my stance on the firing line, scarecrow in view. It reminded me of grenade-throwing drills.
Seeing me stiffen, Tang Pae kept talking.
"There is no need to be nervous. Center your target and, just as you practiced, release the whole sequence of movements smoothly, as one flowing motion. For a first attempt, merely having the dagger fly toward the scarecrow is a miracle, so don't put too much weight on it."
Easy for him to say.
Center the target, release as one flow. In other words — eyes on center, then flip the switch.
"I'll give it a try."
Thwack! With a crisp snap, the dagger buried itself in the scarecrow's head.
Oh! Nailed it on the first try? Confidence swelling, I threw the two daggers I still held one after another — and both struck the targeted scarecrow in quick succession.
Better than I'd expected.
— Clap, clap, clap!
At the run of successes, applause broke out behind me.
Members of the Medical Pavilion, were they? I turned to find the pavilion staff and a few faces I didn't recognize all watching the training grounds.
"Not bad at all."
"Hold on — that level of hidden weapon skill without even circulating internal energy?"
"Truly the Tang Clan Head's son."
"Just how rich must the Tang Clan blood run in him? Landing them one after another from that distance."
Yeah, no. Roaming the Central Plains and brawling with every neighborhood punk in sight, I'd thrown my share of rocks.
Besides, the internal cultivation method I happened to be studying was itself a supreme art. I was training the Soyun Mind Image Art, so if nothing else, my physical abilities had improved by leaps and bounds.
I gave a modest little bow toward the praise drifting over from afar, then turned to look at Tang Pae's astonished face.
"As expected of one who carries the Tang Clan Head's blood. I thought simply hitting the scarecrow would count as a success today, but if this is how it goes, I shall teach you the applied technique of landing two daggers in succession."
Perhaps moved to see that the Tang Clan Head's son truly was built of something different, Tang Pae beamed and taught me the next hidden weapon technique.
This hidden weapon business might actually be quite useful for self-defense after all.
I threw myself into hidden weapon training for the next several days while waiting for news of Hwarin.
In baseball terms, it was technique at the level of throwing a basic fastball, maybe a basic breaking ball — but even as fundamentals, this was the pride of the Tang Clan, and I figured it would prove genuinely handy in a fight.
"Hwarin. Wake up soon."
Hwarin. You have to wake up healthy, so we can go home to Yichang.
The crisis had passed and she was out of danger — but for the one left waiting, it felt like pacing outside an operating room while a critical patient fought on the other side of the door.
And if the wait dragged on too long, unexpected variables could always creep in.
"Is Young Master Kang present?"
With my heart in knots, I was sitting at the window gazing toward where Hwarin lay, when a Tang Clan master I knew came looking for me.
"What brings you here?"
It wasn't even daytime — what business could there be at this late hour?
"Young Master Kang. The Tang Clan Head quietly summons you."