The Poison Dragon's Fortune
Hwancheonjihwan had reached a decision.
The decision to awaken the Mirror of Chaotic Heaven—another of the Three Great Treasures of the Martial World.
Bongsin fretted.
"Is that really all right? The martial world will be left in ruins…."
"You woke up too. What's the difference if that Mirror bastard wakes up as well?"
When the Map of Sealing Ten Thousand Weapons awakened, the weapon spirits of the divine, the demonic, and the heretical would rise with it. Even that alone would turn the martial world into an asura's battlefield. People already slaughtered one another over mere famous swords, blinded by greed—what would happen if heavenly weapons themselves stirred?
Chaos would follow. The moment Bongsin had awakened, that future had already been sealed. The Mirror of Chaotic Heaven would be no different.
"I need to know exactly what kind of man this Tang Cheonwi is."
Hwancheonjihwan's will was iron. No matter how it turned the matter over, nothing made sense. A human who knew everything. Who possessed information that should have been known only to the ring itself. And that so-called friend who had fed him the knowledge was suspicious in his own right. Even the man's actions carried the air of someone who had already transcended life and death.
There were only two kinds of people like that: one who had truly seen through the affairs of the world… or a regressor.
"Surely it can't be the latter."
While the seed of suspicion took root, they arrived outside. Today marked exactly three months.
At the entrance to Poison Forest Valley, his father, uncles, and aunt stood waiting.
"You didn't come out just because you missed me, so to what do I owe the welcome?"
He already had a fair idea why they had gathered. The poison qi spilling from Poison Forest Valley. The sheer force of it had punched through the formation itself; of course they would be worried sick.
His father asked him flatly,
"What happened in there?"
How was he supposed to answer? Admit that the Yin Spirit Ice Fox had transformed the entire valley? Or invent some other excuse? They would never believe the former. So he offered a suitably bland lie.
"I received training from Grandfather."
"From Father?"
Uncle Tang Ho looked thoroughly delighted.
"It seems Father took a real liking to you as the eldest grandson, Cheonwi."
Uncle Tang Gang and Aunt Tang Seon did not look nearly so pleased. Their father was the Killer Emperor—the previous number one under heaven, the absolute master the entire martial world had feared. To train under that man was a stroke of heavenly fortune.
"You absorbed everything without missing a scrap?"
"I worked hard."
Tang Cheonwi lied without so much as a flicker of expression.
"So that's why you've filled out so handsomely. Isn't that right, elder brother?"
"Hmm."
Tang Baek studied him a long moment, then turned on his heel.
"Don't cause any trouble from now on."
With that, he left.
"Even when he acts like that, he fretted over you a great deal."
Why was Poison Forest Valley forbidden, after all? Because the retired elders lived there? No. Because everyone who entered came out a corpse. The vast majority died without even setting foot past the threshold. Those who managed to go deeper rarely lasted more than a few days before dissolving into pure poison water and vanishing altogether.
"Come, come—let's get you back to your residence so you can tell this uncle how you've been surviving all this time."
Uncle Tang Ho had just clamped a hand on his shoulder when Uncle Tang Gang cut in.
"I hear your father granted you leave to found a new unit?"
"Yes."
"There will be no shortage of hardship ahead."
Tang Gang spoke in vague, circling words.
"A trial sits right in front of you already. I am rather curious to see how you intend to weather it."
The smile clinging to the corners of his mouth was pure mockery. The expression said, plain as day: You can't accomplish a single thing on your own. Tang Cheonwi knew exactly where that confidence came from.
"I plan to weather it my own way, so please look forward to the show."
Inside Poison Dragon Pavilion, Tang Cheonwi offered Tang Ho a seat.
"Please sit, Uncle."
"What in the world are all these documents?"
Uncle Tang Ho picked one up, scanned it, and scowled.
"These bastards—!"
Tang Cheonwi could already guess what the papers were. Tang Gang's earlier words had all but announced them.
"Bills, I take it?"
"I'm going straight to the General Affairs Office."
Uncle Tang Ho rose with a face full of thunder.
"If they are costs Poison Dragon Pavilion is obligated to pay, then of course we should pay them."
At those words Tang Ho's anger eased at once, replaced by a look of pure pride.
"When did our little tyrant nephew finally grow a brain?"
"Doesn't Uncle resent me?"
"What for?"
"I drove out the youngest aunt, didn't I?"
"That is simply the fate of the Tang Clan's legitimate heir. Nothing to be done about it. I'm grateful enough that you didn't kill Cheong."
The Tang Clan's internal wars were never merely fierce. Blood ran thick enough to shake the family from its roots. They prized their bloodline above all else—and still murdered one another for it.
"More importantly, how do you intend to cover these costs? Looks to me like they're deliberately squeezing you."
Residence repairs. Unit upkeep. Wages for servants and maids. The charges piled high in every direction. For Tang Cheonwi, who had no faction at his back, the sum was impossible. Bankruptcy was staring him in the face.
"I can arrange for you to skip the payments for a while—using the rewards you earned for dealing with Cheonggang, Cheongpung, and Danjuk."
"That would only be a stopgap."
Tang Cheonwi's face showed not the slightest urgency. Seeing that, Tang Ho understood at once.
"You already have a solution, don't you?"
"I'll open a pharmacy and handle it that way."
He intended to put Tang Saeng in charge of running the place.
"Opening one is fine, but you'll need seed capital first, won't you?"
Tang Cheonwi's lips curled. He walked to the rear window and gestured beyond it.
"This should be more than enough."
Outside, the training ground behind the residence filled the view. Instead of bare earth, the ground was carpeted in living green. Tang Saeng was out there on his hands and knees, industriously harvesting the plants.
"Those herbs—!"
"Poison herbs and medicinal plants that grow only inside Poison Forest Valley."
"Don't tell me the valley's poison qi is drifting all the way into Poison Dragon Pavilion?"
"Hardly. I brought the plants out of the valley and transplanted them into the training ground myself."
"What!?"
Uncle Tang Ho's eyes flew wide. Bringing herbs out of Poison Forest Valley was already a feat—but making the valley's plants take root and thrive outside was something else entirely.
"The plants of Poison Forest Valley can grow outside? And they don't die?"
It was the dream of every soul in the Tang Clan. The master of the Poison Medicine Hall, Tang Jacheong, had been the most obsessed of them all. If the rare medicinal herbs that grew only in Poison Forest Valley could be cultivated outside, the clan would gain enormous strength. Yet every attempt had failed. They had finally concluded it was simply impossible. Even the Poison Medicine Hall Master had given up—and Tang Cheonwi had succeeded.
"My residence isn't sitting next to Poison Forest Valley by accident. I simply made use of the advantage."
In truth he had relied on Tyrant Blood Poison Qi and the power of the Yin Spirit Ice Fox, but he kept that to himself and spoke only of geography.
"It isn't as though the Poison Medicine Hall Master never considered the idea…."
He had probably taken one look at the barren earth of Poison Dragon Pavilion and abandoned the thought. Without the energies of Tyrant Blood Poison Qi and the Yin Spirit Ice Fox, the feat would have been impossible from the start.
"And I have a trump card as well."
He opened a drawer, drew out a small wooden case, and lifted the lid. Several pills nestled inside. He picked one up and held it out to Tang Ho.
"What is this?"
"Something that boy made. It's called a Wild Herb Qi Resolving Pill."
"Wild Herb… Qi Resolving Pill?"
"Think of it as an internal-injury medicine refined from poison herbs. Try one."
Uncle Tang Ho swallowed the pill without a shred of suspicion. It slid down his throat as smooth as silk, melting the instant it met his saliva.
"Mmm!?"
His eyes widened a second time. Energy was already flooding through his meridians; his mouth hung open in pure astonishment.
"Th-this child made that?"
"A genius, isn't he?"
"Even the Poison Medicine Hall Master couldn't produce an internal-injury medicine at that age!"
Tang Saeng was a prodigy. Cultivation, gathering, refinement, research—in those fields he stood alone at the peak. There was a reason the martial world would one day call him the Ten Thousand Herb Guest.
"I intend to raise the starting capital with those plants and the Wild Herb Qi Resolving Pills."
"With these… yes. More than enough capital."
"You've felt the effects yourself, so please buy them, Uncle. I'll let them go cheaply for you."
Uncle Tang Ho shut his mouth, gathered his wits, and sank into calculation—the look of a man trying to decide how high a price would still earn him the reputation of having struck a bargain.
"Just twenty silver taels a pill will do."
A single silver tael could feed a poor family of four for a month. Twenty silver taels equaled one gold tael. The case held five pills; he was asking for five gold taels in total.
"Ahem. This uncle has done rather well by you over the years, hasn't he? Aren't you being a touch miserly?"
"I'm rounding it down to one gold tael precisely because you're my uncle. If it were Uncle Tang Gang, I'd be asking three, not one."
"Fine. I'll take the lot."
The Wild Herb Qi Resolving Pill was exceptional as an internal-injury medicine. Hadn't it restored Tang Ildo in a single dose when he was wounded? Any martial artist would kill for a remedy like that. Put the pills up at auction and five gold taels for the entire set would be a joke—five gold taels per pill would still sell out. Having tasted the effect for himself, Uncle Tang Ho agreed to the deal without a second thought.
"You'll buy the medicinal herbs and poison plants as well, won't you?"
"This uncle is so upright and frugal he hasn't managed to save a single—"
"I happen to know you've been stashing money for your wedding."
"Oho, nephew. Mind the line. The marriage fund is off-limits."
Uncle Tang Ho spoke playfully, yet desperation colored every word. Tang Cheonwi immediately offered a solution.
"I have a method that will multiply the money. Both of us will walk away with a guaranteed profit."
"There's a way like that?"
Uncle Tang Ho looked doubtful.
"You buy every last medicinal herb and poison plant from me, then turn around and resell them to Uncle Tang Gang."
"At what price?"
"Wild Herb Qi Resolving Pills at five gold taels apiece. Rare medicinal and poison herbs are worth whatever the market will bear—depending on quantity, a hundred gold taels wouldn't be difficult at all."
A hundred gold taels could buy an entire village outright. It was enough capital to field a full combat unit.
"If I sell them to Gang, I can easily double my money. But why not sell them yourself?"
"If I sell through you, Uncle, I earn the money and gain your protection at the same time."
"Using me as a shield to make a profit, is that it?"
"If it's Uncle Tang Gang, he'll declare the rare plants growing in my training ground to be Tang Clan property without a second thought."
"With that man, yes—entirely possible."
"He might even make a move on this place while I'm away."
"That also has the ring of truth."
"Which is why I would like you to purchase everything on my behalf and handle the sale."
"Oh-ho. What a thoroughly cunning nephew I have."
Uncle Tang Ho reached into his robes and produced a banknote—a draft issued by the Golden Tower Bank, one of the Three Great Banks under Heaven.
"You carry that kind of money on your person?"
"Can't risk having my wedding fund stolen, can I?"
He really was desperate to marry. Perhaps I should start looking into unmarried older women for him, Tang Cheonwi thought with a flicker of genuine concern.
"Heh. Time to gouge that Tang Gang bastard for every last coin."
Had Uncle Tang Ho always been this sort of man? He had joked around a little in the past, but never seemed quite this free-spirited… or so Tang Cheonwi had believed. Apparently he had been wrong.
"Ahem."
Uncle Tang Ho cleared his throat, faintly embarrassed, and tried to look stern.
"Would you care to come watch for yourself how thoroughly this uncle fleeces Gang?"
He was putting on a deliberate show of dignity.
"I'd be happy to take a tour of Jeokryeongak."
"Then we go together. I'll let you see this uncle's true majesty."
Uncle squared his shoulders and strode off with theatrical confidence. The sight was still hard to get used to. Watching him preen for his nephew's benefit, Tang Cheonwi couldn't help smiling.
"Was that man always like this?"
At Hwancheonjihwan's question he simply shook his head.
I'm still adjusting myself.
"What a peculiar human."
Bongsin offered a short comment of his own.
"Is there anything more peculiar than you, Hwancheon?"
"You little—!"
The two of them bickered without fail, same as always. Listening with half an ear, Tang Cheonwi sank into private thought.
Next is Uncle Tang Gang's turn, is it?
The man who had wanted nothing more than to place his own son in the seat of clan head. Because of Tang Cheonwi and Yuhyeon, that ambition had been crushed. And so he had become the traitor who drove Yuhyeon to his death.
I'll return every bit of the pain Yuhyeon suffered—twice over.