Chapter 18
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 18
Chapter Title: Poison Delivery Orderer, Where Are You?
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"Your Highness. I've looked into it."
East Palace Chief Eunuch Jo Yun burst into the study with a flushed face. I lifted my head from behind the mountain of documents awaiting my approval.
Has the fishing float finally moved?
"I've found out."
He's hooked!
"Who is it? Which bastard is the go-between?"
"A low-level eunuch from the Internal Supply Office, 'Kim So-gwan.' I got intel that he'd recently blown a fortune at the gambling dens and even taken out loans from loan sharks, so I dug deeper... and found he'd been secretly meeting with shady herb merchants."
"Gambling debts. The perfect leverage for bribery. Textbook case."
I set down my brush and nodded.
No matter how formidable the Myriad Poisons Sect was as an evil faction, they couldn't smuggle goods into the palace without inside help. You need a rat who knows the rat holes to get in.
"Have you arrested him?"
"Not yet. All we know is he's set to pick up the 'goods' tonight at an abandoned house outside the capital's south gate. Shall we raid the place?"
That's how much they've uncovered? The Chief Eunuch of the East Palace isn't just for show.
Impressed, I nearly gave him a thumbs-up, but thought better of it and praised him verbally before issuing new orders.
"No. Don't raid him yet. Cut off the tail too soon, and that's all you'll get."
I stood from my seat.
"We'll crash their deal as a 'big spender' client. I'll go myself."
"Your Highness, it's too dangerous!"
"Don't worry. I won't handle the deal personally."
I summoned Soso and Nokhui.
"Soso. Get ready. Wear plain maid attire. Make it look as rustic and innocent as possible."
"As you command."
"Nokhui, you..."
Nokhui stepped forward, eyes sparkling.
"Should I disguise myself too? If I cover my ears with my hair..."
"No. You're too conspicuous. Those pointed ears would show no matter what. You're not joining the site."
Nokhui pouted. It was amusing to see this Confucian stickler gradually succumbing to the thrill.
I chuckled and patted her shoulder.
"Instead, you have an even more important mission. Your tribe has exceptional eyesight and hearing, right? Far superior to humans'."
"Of course. I can hear an ant crawling a hundred paces away."
"Good. You'll watch the deal from a high spot far off. Be the lookout. Note any escapees, and record every word of their conversation verbatim."
"Record it?"
"Yeah. You might miss something in the moment, but a missed detail could be key later. Write it all down, then we comb through it for anything overlooked."
Nokhui's face turned resolute. She gathered brush and paper, nodding firmly.
"Understood! As the Master said, a gentleman must be cautious even where none see, so I'll document their vile deeds in detail to bring them before history's judgment!"
Hey, if she's motivated and satisfied, that's what matters.
Outside the capital's south gate, in the abandoned village of ruins.
A dank alley, untouched even by moonlight, reeked of dust mingled with a strange herbal scent.
I took position at the second-floor window of a rundown inn overlooking the ruins.
Beside me, Nokhui perked her ears, brush at the ready. General Ma Cheolsan and the elite Gold Guards lay in ambush, holding their breath in the shadows.
Soso was the one who entered the ruin. Dressed in simple maid clothes, she hunched her shoulders like a scared girl as she approached. I'd expected her to strut in boldly, but her acting was spot-on.
Creak.
The rotten wooden door swung open, and a raspy voice echoed from the darkness.
"Who goes there."
A grotesque man with a massive gourd strapped to his back like a human torso, his face marked by seven black dots in the Big Dipper pattern.
One of my escorts, briefed on infamous figures of the jianghu, whispered it was Black Seven, the notorious poison broker of the Myriad Poisons Sect.
"I... I've come for the goods."
Soso's voice trembled artfully.
"Hoh... Letter of introduction?"
"Kim So-gwan from the Internal Supply Office told me. My lady is in urgent need of something... reliable to take care of a matter discreetly."
"A 'lady,' eh..."
Black Seven grinned sleazily. A snake-like tongue flicked between his yellowed teeth.
"Someone from the palace. I can smell it. The stench of money and blood is thick. So, what'll it be? Something painless? Or writhing in agony, vomiting blood till you die?"
Black Seven patted the gourd on his back. Liquid sloshed inside.
"Hottest seller lately is One-Zhang Red. Rub it on, and the skin blisters crimson, rots right off. Perfect for jealous concubines disfiguring rivals. Or there's Intestine-Severing Grass. Eat it, and your guts twist in torment—autopsy just says acute indigestion."
Vile merchant. Haggling over lives like vegetables at market.
Soso pulled a heavy pouch from her bosom—part of the gold we'd squeezed from Consort Wei.
She parted the mouth slightly, and gold gleamed in the dark.
Black Seven's eyes lit with greed.
"We want something certain. The priciest, the most traceless. And..."
"And?"
"Deliver it inside the palace. Can't risk getting caught at the gates carrying it myself."
This was the key. Catching the poison peddler mattered, but exposing the smuggling route was how to uproot them.
Black Seven snatched the pouch, hefted it, and smacked his lips.
"Hmm... Delivery, huh. That calls for hazard pay."
"Money's no object. My lady has plenty."
"Heh, generous. Deal."
Black Seven cackled, pulling a small map from his bosom and spreading it on the floor.
"Kim So-gwan handles the ingredient carts. They enter at dawn, every day. Pry up the wooden base—there's a hidden compartment. Slip it in there. Our secret path, unknown to all."
Got him. From the inn's second floor, I raised my hand.
"Nokhui, got it down?"
"Yes! 'Every dawn at , ingredient cart hidden base.' Recorded perfectly!"
Nokhui set her brush down with grim determination. Plenty heard it, it's documented, supply chain confirmed—evidence secured.
"Good. Take them down."
At my signal, Ma Cheolsan roared like a tiger from the shadows and charged.
"You scum! Freeze! By imperial decree!"
Boom!
The rickety door shattered as armored Gold Guards stormed in.
"Ugh! Official troops!"
Black Seven recoiled in panic, but the encirclement was complete.
Soso dropped her act, drawing a keen dagger to block his escape.
"A trap! Filthy officials!"
Black Seven's face twisted hideously. But he had no intention of surrendering meekly.
True to his jianghu villain roots, he revealed his true colors in crisis.
"Think I'll go down easy? Die!"
He uncorked the gourd with a pop and hurled it to the floor.
Crack!
Crimson mist exploded out. Acrid, nauseating fumes filled the air.
"Kahaha! My special Crimson Mist Poison! Inhale, and your lungs melt! Think your fancy kung fu blocks poison?!"
The toxic fog swiftly filled the ruin and spilled outside. Gold Guards panicked, pinching noses and retreating.
"Fall back! Poison! No telling how it spreads—evacuate!"
Even Ma Cheolsan hesitated. He swung his greatsword to whip up wind, but the mist clung, discoloring the blade.
"Kahaha! Fools!"
Black Seven seized the gap to leap for the roof.
"Not so fast."
But I was prepared. From the inn's second floor, I issued a cold command.
"All units, masks on!"
At my shout, the Gold Guards donned items from their bosoms. Improvised gas masks: thick powdered charcoal (activated carbon) sandwiched between layers of damp cotton cloth.
"Wh-what?! What the hell?!"
Black Seven gawked mid-leap. A few high-kung fu elites, faces shrouded in black cloth, trudged steadily through the red fog.
"Chemical warfare demands protection. Your poison's outdated."
I sneered down. Charcoal's pores adsorb toxin particles. Not modern-grade, but enough for powdered mist like this, briefly.
"Th-this can't be... My Crimson Mist ineffective?!"
Soso wouldn't miss his fluster.
From the fog, holding her breath for the moment, her inkstone whirled through the air.
Thud!
"Gahhh!"
It smashed his ankle's lateral malleolus precisely. With a bone-cracking snap, Black Seven tumbled from the roof to the ground.
Ma Cheolsan's massive hand pierced the fog, grabbing his nape and slamming him down.
Crunch! Thud!
"Guhk...!"
Situation over.
The mist gradually dispersed in the breeze. No need for further action. No one showed respiratory symptoms. The accompanying physicians confirmed no anomalies.
Black Seven was bound head to toe and forced to kneel before me.
For safety, I approached with a damp towel over my nose.
"Deal's off, you con artist."
"Ngh... You're... the Crown Prince?"
Blood trickled from Black Seven's mouth as he glared resentfully.
"Daring to sabotage our business? This ain't over! Your palace rats won't sleep a wink!"
"Big talk for a captured rat. You were gonna backstab and bolt anyway."
I rifled his bosom and found the ledger.
Client list for palace poison orders, tribute records.
With this, we could nab not just Kim So-gwan, but every corrupt eunuch and maid involved.
"Time for a palace purge."
I waved the ledger, grinning. But as he was dragged off, Black Seven left eerie words.
"Heh heh... Ledger? Think that's all?"
A sleazy smile curled his lips. Not a loser's face. The leisure of someone holding a bigger card.
"We're merchants. Good ones always throw in extras with the goods."
"...What?"
"The real poison's already planted deep in the palace—beyond your wildest dreams. No antidote. When it spreads... even you, Crown Prince—no, even the Emperor—can't stop it."
Black Seven burst into mad laughter as the Gold Guards hauled him away.
"Uahaha! Look forward to it! The palace becomes one big tomb!"
"......"
A chill ran down my spine. No bluff. His eyes burned with certainty.
What? Literal poison? Or some plot? His words alone gave no clue.
"Your Highness, just posturing. Deathbed thrashing."
Ma Cheolsan dismissed it lightly, but I shook my head.
"No. These Myriad Poisons Sect guys are merchants to the bone. See how they made money while stroking their egos? Merchants don't take losses. They might've planned for my catching him."
I gazed uneasily at the palace. Cloaked in darkness, it loomed like a massive beast's maw.
The real threat was just beginning. Internal enemies. Invisible deadly venom.
Another thing to hunt. Or rather, something still uncaptured. I clenched my fist.
"Let's go. Find out what he meant by the 'real poison.' No sleep tonight."