Chapter 40
“Haaah.”
Before I knew it, a yawn slipped out of me.
Dawn had only just begun to break.
I’d been deciphering the cryptic script like a madman, and I hadn’t even realized how much time had passed.
“Even so, I only managed to decipher about half of it.”
Knowing how to decode the cryptic script didn’t mean the work would be over in one neat stroke. It wasn’t something that could be unraveled that easily to begin with.
“Still. I’ve decided what I need to get in Sichuan.”
With Namgung Cheon’s sudden request, I’d sorted out what I needed to obtain on the way to Sichuan.
There were several things worth picking up during the journey there, but as long as I had a protection assignment, I couldn’t afford to take everything.
So there was only one thing I wanted to secure.
Unpoisoned by a Thousand Toxins.
The state of being immune to a thousand poisons. That was Unpoisoned by a Thousand Toxins.
And right now, it’s a power I absolutely can’t do without.
In my previous life, if I hadn’t had Unpoisoned by a Thousand Toxins during those endless battles, I wouldn’t have even been able to fight properly.
Some would ask whether poison really mattered that much to masters.
Half right. But by the same token, half wrong.
For a martial artist who had reached the level of Hwagyeong, it wasn’t hard to force poison back out of the body. But to do that while in the middle of battle? And not just one poison, but every single one constantly being flung at you?
Even for the best in the world, that was a difficult thing.
So obtaining Unpoisoned by a Thousand Toxins wasn’t a choice. It was a necessity.
That didn’t mean it was easy, though.
“Hmph. Hard. Damn hard.”
I felt a headache coming on.
First, to reach Unpoisoned by a Thousand Toxins, I would need rare medicinal poisons, and a great quantity of them. What was even harder was this.
“If I fail this time, that’s it. I’m dead.”
Without the ability I once had to turn back time, I only had one chance to attempt Unpoisoned by a Thousand Toxins. In other words, if I wanted it, I had to gamble my life.
“If only I still had that book.”
Ten Thousand Poisons, One Book.
The book I had used as reference to obtain Invulnerable to Ten Thousand Poisons. I had discovered it while searching through the ruined head chamber of the Dang Family.
It contained descriptions of all kinds of poisons and how to make them, as well as notes on Invulnerable to a Hundred Poisons, Unpoisoned by a Thousand Toxins, and even Invulnerable to Ten Thousand Poisons.
- To reach Unpoisoned by a Thousand Toxins, one must at minimum attain a level beyond the pinnacle and consume and digest countless varieties of poison.
The method for reaching Unpoisoned by a Thousand Toxins was crude, to say the least. Like a festering wound, you had to swallow poison directly and build immunity through sheer exposure.
“Just thinking about eating all those poisons again... haaaah.”
I sighed without meaning to. Poison tasted exactly as awful as one would expect.
“It’d be even better if I could get Invulnerable to Ten Thousand Poisons, though.”
Ten Thousand Poisons, One Book lived up to the title it bore, and included information on Invulnerable to Ten Thousand Poisons as well.
- Invulnerable to Ten Thousand Poisons exists only in legend. It has never once appeared in the present martial world. However, in theory, there is no reason one could not create a body of ten thousand poisons.
At the very least, one had to reach the level of Hwagyeong...
“If only the book had been intact...”
The problem was that the section describing how to reach the body of ten thousand poisons had been torn out of the book.
In the next regression, I had tried to find a complete copy, but it had been futile.
Worse yet, even the torn copy of Ten Thousand Poisons, One Book that I’d had before had vanished altogether.
It seemed that obtaining the book had been a miracle created by a single tiny variable.
That was why I had never even tried for Invulnerable to Ten Thousand Poisons in my previous life.
“If only I could remember the author’s name.”
My head was filled with thoughts of Invulnerable to Ten Thousand Poisons and the book’s author when the martial artists of the Black Tortoise Guard gathered at the entrance to Henan Province came into view.
It seemed they had seen me as well, because they all dipped their heads.
“Have you spent the night in peace, Great Hero?”
“Great Hero... I told you not to call me that... whatever. Forget it.”
After repeating the same line for who knew how many times, I let out a sigh.
I’d told them not to call me Great Hero because it felt awkward coming from people older than me, but thinking about it again, hadn’t I heard that title countless times in my previous life?
“Who am I escorting?”
At my words, the martial artists of the Black Tortoise Guard parted to make way. And then I saw a woman.
She was beautiful, in the most literal sense. But her beauty differed somewhat from the standard favored by the righteous sects. Her clothing was neat, yet the features of her face were sharp and a little prickly-looking.
More precisely, she looked keen-edged?
She looked exactly like a woman from the Dang Family. That was my first impression when I saw her. The more unusual part was her clothing.
The Dang Family generally wore sleeves cut wide to allow concealment. The reason was simple: their core weapons were poison and hidden weapons. Carrying hidden weapons and poison where they could be seen?
That was idiotic. It was the same as laying all my cards bare before my opponent.
And yet she was dressed much like an ordinary woman of the righteous sects. There wasn’t a single place on her body where a dagger or poison could be concealed.
All I could see was a single sword hanging from her waist.
“I am Baek Mugeuk of the Baek Family.”
Even after my greeting, she merely gave me a sidelong look and said nothing. So Jang Wonsul smiled awkwardly and spoke up.
“This is Dang Hye of the Sichuan Dang Family.”
At that, I looked at Dang Hye for a moment.
At a glance, she seemed like a spoiled young miss relying on the prestige of the Dang Family name.
Dang Hye, Dang Hye...
It was an unremarkable first meeting. And yet the name Dang Hye stirred some vague sense of familiarity in me.
Had I ever heard the name Dang Hye in the jianghu of my previous life?
If she was someone important enough for Namgung Cheon, the leader of the Murim Alliance, to request an escort for her, then her standing within the Dang Family had to be significant.
I suspected she might be the family head’s daughter, but I didn’t remember any daughter of the Dang Family head named Dang Hye.
“What kind of escort introduces himself first?”
Dang Hye’s cold voice cut in.
At that, I frowned lightly.
The atmosphere turned unpleasant in an instant. Jang Wonsul bowed his head a little.
“I hope your journey is a peaceful one.”
“Hand this to the Alliance Leader.”
I took the letter I’d decoded from my robe and handed it to Jang Wonsul, the head of the Black Tortoise Guard.
“What is this?”
“A letter for the Alliance Leader. He’ll understand once I say I delivered it.”
“Understood.”
Starting with Jang Wonsul, the martial artists of the Black Tortoise Guard lined up behind him and clasped their fists in unison.
I turned away and curled my lips.
The letter I was sending to Namgung Cheon contained some of the cryptic script I had deciphered through the night, the parts I still couldn’t read, and the method for decoding the script.
That old man. If he wants to work me to death, he’d better handle this much himself.
I could almost see Namgung Cheon’s face as he decoded the cryptic script and dealt with the problem.
By the time I returned to the Murim Alliance, many things would already have been resolved. It was certain that most of what those bastards had been preparing within the righteous sects would be thrown into disarray.
“Shall we get going?”
I turned and stepped out of the entrance to Henan Province, then said to Dang Hye, “It’s a long road, so let’s hurry.”
The moment my words fell, Dang Hye launched herself forward with light-footed movement. But I did not run after her.
That was because...
“That’s not the direction to Sichuan.”
At my words, Dang Hye stopped short. Then she turned to look at me. Perhaps embarrassed, she shrugged, and I hurled myself toward the direction of Sichuan.
She’s more scatterbrained than she looks.
A prickly young miss from a prestigious righteous sect. This escort might be a nuisance, I thought. And not long after, I felt Dang Hye catching up behind me.
So she really is from the Dang Family?
From what I could tell, Dang Hye was just barely beyond the second-rate level and stepping into first-rate territory. But her movement technique surpassed first-rate standards by a wide margin.
And so we ran the whole day without stopping. When the sun set and darkness settled over the land, we finally came to a halt.
“Looks like we’ll have to sleep outdoors tonight.”
“...”
At my words, Dang Hye gave no reply at all. In fact, it was impressive that she hadn’t even frowned.
A daughter of a prestigious righteous sect spending the night in the wild? It was hard to imagine. And yet Dang Hye prepared to camp as if she were used to it.
There was hardly any preparation to speak of. Just gather some branches and light a fire. That was all.
I took out some dried meat and offered it to Dang Hye. But she didn’t even look my way, staring instead at the fire.
She had all sorts of strange ways of ignoring people. Still, if she wasn’t going to eat, what was I supposed to do? I put the dried meat in my mouth and chewed slowly.
“I saw your sword in the Alliance Leader’s hall.”
It was the first time Dang Hye had spoken before I did. I looked at her. But her gaze wasn’t on me; it remained fixed on the fire.
As though she were drawing something out of it.
“It was impressive. How did you unfold a sword like that?”
“A sword like that...”
At my words, Dang Hye’s eyes came to me.
“The Baek Family is a poor house, isn’t it? And you’re about my age, aren’t you? So how in the world did you unfold a sword like that?”
“You’re rude.”
There was no need for further explanation. What Dang Hye had just blurted out was rude, plain and simple.
My head turning cool, I decided to stop with the half-hearted honorifics.
Though judging from her expression, she didn’t even seem to realize she had been rude.
“You just insulted the Baek Family.”
“Insulted it? I don’t really follow. I didn’t even know there was a place called the Baek Family until I saw you in the Alliance Leader’s hall.”
Dang Hye was like a person with no expression at all. And it seemed she didn’t even think her own words or actions were wrong.
Well, I was used to that. That was how the Five Great Families’ lot behaved.
“So what do you want to say?”
“...”
At my question, Dang Hye said nothing for a moment.
“What do I need to do to use a sword like you?”
“...Are you saying you want me to teach you swordsmanship?”
“Yes.”
I was dumbfounded by her answer. It was absurd enough for a daughter of the Five Great Families, specifically the Dang Family, to want to learn the martial arts of another sect, but for the Dang Family, which used poison and daggers, to ask for swordsmanship? And to do it this rudely?
“That’s ridiculous. The Dang Family wants to learn the sword?”
“Can’t the Dang Family use swords?”
Dang Hye frowned, then quickly returned to her usual blank expression.
“It’s not impossible.”
“Then answer me. Will you teach me or not?”
“Judging from your attitude right now, of course I wouldn’t teach you.”
“My attitude...?”
Dang Hye lowered her head slightly as if considering it. Then she stood up.
“I don’t know what it was, but if I offended you, I apologize.”
“...”
What is wrong with this woman?
For a moment, I felt like banging my head against a wall. Yet at the same time, I became curious. Why exactly was someone from the Dang Family trying to learn swordsmanship?
“Let me ask you one thing. Why do you want to learn the sword?”
“...”
Dang Hye gave no answer to my question. Her silence seemed to fill the space between us.
“That sword of yours on that day... was beautiful.”
Dang Hye stared into empty space. It was as though she were sketching something in the void.
Of course, the reason she gave alone didn’t make sense as an explanation for why a member of the Dang Family would want to learn the sword. Even if there were another reason, I wouldn’t teach her anyway.
“Sorry, but I’m going to pretend I didn’t hear that you want to learn swordsmanship...”
I pushed myself up with one hand on the ground. And in that instant, I heard a voice like an outcry from Dang Hye.
“Stop!”
“...?”
Instinctively, I stopped pressing down on the ground. She approached me and crouched beside me, inspecting something.
What is she doing?
My gaze naturally shifted to Dang Hye. What she was examining looked ordinary to me.
Just grass and a few violet flowers.
“Aconite. Not lethal, but even the slightest touch on your fingertips will cloud your qi. Still, in low mountain terrain like this, it’s hardly the sort of thing that should appear...”
Though I hadn’t asked, she began rattling off information about the aconite, no, the poisonous herb, in detail.
In that moment, I was certain Dang Hye really was from the Dang Family. But the moment I saw her expression, I realized it wasn’t simply because she was from the Dang Family.
Unlike the Dang Hye who had acted like a person without emotions until now, the look on her face as she studied the aconite was like a child who had just found candy.
“This could be useful as reference material.”
At Dang Hye’s muttering, words slipped out of me before I knew it.
“Reference material?”
“I’m going to write a book about poisons and poisonous herbs.”
Dang Hye seemed to have fallen into her own world. I looked at her for a moment, then said, “Can I move now?”
“Ah...”
Dang Hye, who had been lost in her own world, seemed to be dragged back to reality by my words in an instant.
“Where was I?”
“You were saying you wanted to learn the sword, and I was about to...”
I was about to refuse Dang Hye’s request to learn the sword. But then, in that very moment, something flashed through my mind.
“Dang Hye.”
“...?”
Dang Hye. The source of that name that had felt so familiar.
“Found it.”
It was right in front of me. The clue to Invulnerable to Ten Thousand Poisons.
- Ten Thousand Poisons, One Book.
Author: Dang Hye.