Poison Master (3)
When Tang Man-ho made his way down to the underground after a long while, he scrunched up his face and flared his nostrils like a dog. The faint trace of poison seeping through his mask and thick clothing was thin.
"Hm?"
He frowned briefly. When his eyes met the Poison Human's, she tilted her head as if she knew nothing. Tang Man-ho spoke, baring his teeth. His unpleasant expression was hidden by the mask, so the Poison Human couldn't see it.
"The poison is thin. Have you gained control over it?"
"...What do you mean? That?"
The Poison Human lied nonchalantly. But she had never learned to lie, rolling her eyes openly and unable to meet the masked Tang Man-ho's gaze. The clumsy lie only confirmed Tang Man-ho's suspicions.
"You're lying. You cheeky bitch."
At his words, the Poison Human shut her mouth. She pressed her lips together and glared at him, but a chained beast is not frightening. What was truly irritating was that she dared to deceive them rather than obey. If she were an ordinary servant, he would have meted out divine punishment. Tang Man-ho clicked his tongue and turned away. The Poison Human felt her body tremble as she watched his retreating figure.
******
The moment Tang Man-ho came up to the manor, he stripped off his clothes and sought out his eldest brother.
"When did they say the eldest brother would return from the Jinju Eon family?"
"There is no word yet."
At the servant's polite reply, Tang Man-ho looked even more frustrated. He changed into clean clothes and kicked the door open as he left.
"Father! Father!"
Tang Yeong-ju sat in his chair, tapping his fingers against the mortar. The essence of the crushed herbs clung together, shifting color each time his fingertips imparted a vibration. He was intently observing the reaction when Tang Man-ho flung the door open and stormed in.
"Father!"
The sudden intrusion was so violent that his hand jolted. Too much force shot through the pestle, scattering the carefully balanced ingredients. As the harmoniously blending colors turned murky, Tang Yeong-ju heaved a great sigh and said.
"What is it?"
"There are signs the Poison Human is controlling her poison."
At Tang Man-ho's words, Tang Yeong-ju forgot even his rising anger.
*****
"The Tang Clan has noticed?"
"That is so."
Meeting Tang Yeong-hwan after a long time, Docheol frowned at the news he relayed. This was something even he hadn't anticipated. The Poison Human's talent was far greater than he had thought. She had only just moved from basic cultivation methods to the beginning of Taijiquan, yet she was already starting to affect her surroundings.
There was no way the Tang Clan bastards, geniuses in the art of poison, would fail to notice that change. Tang Yeong-hwan also scowled and spoke.
"Can't we hurry things along?"
"How could one hurry in learning martial arts? If she goes through the process recklessly, the young lady could die."
Tang Yeong-hwan clicked his tongue. It was a situation where he could do neither. Docheol asked Tang Yeong-hwan.
"But, how exactly do those bastards control the Poison Human? Does the Tang Clan have some means of controlling the mind like that?"
"I don't know well myself. I heard that the eldest is currently at the Jinju Eon family, but I can't know what he's doing there. I suspect it might be related to that control method...."
Docheol listened up to that point and furrowed his brow. Whatever it was, the eldest brother's presence at the Jinju Eon family was tied to the control method. The reason the Tang Clan had left the Poison Human alone until now was her inability to control her poison. If they discovered she had begun to handle it, they would surely tighten the leash before she could develop further.
"...If the eldest at the Jinju Eon family is involved in controlling the Poison Human, then because of this incident, he'll try to hurry back down."
"Likely so."
Docheol nodded and kept silent. But Tang Yeong-hwan understood what that silence meant. If the problem was the bastard coming down and securing the control method, then they just had to prevent the bastard from coming down. Right after the meeting ended, Docheol sought out the Hao Sect Leader.
He had to buy time.
Before the eldest at the Jinju Eon family could learn that strange sorcery.
*****
"Mister, I worked hard. Because I wanted to be praised by you."
It seemed the turmoil of the world did not reach underground. Outside, suspicious talk about her was circulating, but amusingly, this underground where she was, breathed a more peaceful atmosphere than anywhere in Sichuan at that moment. She felt that as long as the man was on the other side of the wall, the damp, clammy air of the basement was nothing.
"Astonishing. So you've managed to thin the poison aura around you a little?"
When the man asked, the Poison Human wore a dejected expression and bowed her head. It was because Tang Man-ho had noticed her ability.
"...Yes. But because of that, it seems the people here realized I could do something. I thought they wouldn't notice since I only tried a little, but the people here are too smart."
"It's alright. Those bastards are afraid of you, young lady. They're afraid that at any moment you might suddenly learn to wield that power and turn the blade on them."
"...They're afraid of me?"
The Poison Human echoed the words back to the man. The idea that they were afraid of her was utterly unfamiliar, for they had always treated her as little more than livestock. But the man spoke with confidence.
"That's right. Because you are frightening, they bind your arms with chains, confine you deep underground, and check on you occasionally."
"...Why, why did these people make me into such a frightening person? I was just an ordinary child."
"Greed is always like that. It makes one commit foolish acts without forethought."
The Poison Human fell silent, lost in thought. It was truly incomprehensible. It felt strange that they had made her this way and were now afraid of her. The man spoke kindly.
"Now, then, from today let's revisit Taijiquan once more. Don't worry about things outside, and for now only think about properly handling this power. Let's focus with the intent of using this power to teach those bastards a lesson."
"...Yes!"
The Poison Human nodded. The man's voice gently passed over her head.
"Concentrate, and bend the flow of qi occurring around you to one place."
A fierce wind blew.
*******
Tang Manyeong stared into the void, chin resting on his hand. The carriage that had just set off was slowly making its way along the mountain path. It was a very long journey from Hebei to Sichuan, and the mere thought of the distance filled him with gloom.
"Are you bored?"
Tang Manyeong turned his head. The woman sitting across from him was silently flipping through a book. Her hair was long and tangled like seaweed, and her darkly shadowed eyes flicked rapidly over the text. Her gaze darted between the strands of hair, sending a chill down Tang Manyeong's spine.
"Miss Eon, you read books well even in a carriage."
"They say learning has no end. One must study and cultivate even at times like this to not fall behind others."
The woman from the Jinju Eon family, Eon Yuhwa, answered in a flat, rapid tone. She didn't take her eyes off the book even as she spoke, leaving Tang Manyeong uncertain whether she was really addressing him. After a moment of silence, Tang Manyeong spoke.
"Anyway, I'm truly grateful you've accompanied me personally. It can't be easy, given the long journey."
Eon Yuhwa replied almost before he had finished speaking.
"I wanted to see the rumored Poison Human for myself. Controlling a human whose body is made of poison is also a novel idea."
Tang Manyeong nodded and responded.
"To call it a novel idea, wasn't the foundation for the secret manual already completed by the Jinju Eon family? It seems I contributed almost nothing."
Eon Yuhwa closed her book and looked up at the carriage ceiling.
"In a way, one could say the Tang Clan greatly contributed to the completion of this control method. The head of the family has sometimes expressed gratitude to the Tang Clan as well."
It was a rapid conclusion that left no room for further conversation. Tang Manyeong asked with some effort.
"What do you mean? What is he grateful to the Tang Clan for?"
Eon Yuhwa met Tang Manyeong's eyes. Whenever their gazes locked, Tang Manyeong flinched as if facing a wild beast. The Tang Clan members had some expertise in poison, but their martial talent was not particularly outstanding. Eon Yuhwa stared blankly at Tang Manyeong for a moment, then said:
"You will know when the time comes."
Tang Manyeong could not understand her words. It was true the Tang Clan and the Jinju Eon family were secretly collaborating, but they had never done anything worthy of such gratitude. Tang Manyeong tilted his head and simply wished the carriage would reach Sichuan quickly.
Though his longing to see his family after so long was burning like a chimney fire,
his fear of Eon Yuhwa sitting right before his eyes was equally great.
She was a burdensome presence.
Tang Manyeong had thought the Tang Clan was one of the preeminent eccentric families in the martial world, but the Jinju Eon family was no less formidable.