Chapter 179
Translator: Ace
Chapter: 179
Chapter Title: Too Fast
Cold yet refreshing air seeped deep into his lungs.
It was the usual morning greeting, but today the cadets were shrouded in an oddly subdued mood.
It was all because of the story they'd heard at the inn yesterday.
How could the mood be good after eating such delicious food and then hearing something so unsettling?
Training proceeded anyway.
As lunchtime gradually approached...
The cadets' gazes turned toward somewhere beyond the Dragon Training Pavilion's walls.
Even though there was no way they could see anything.
Han Seol-bing had already left, and Ha Mu-baek hadn't shown up at all.
The remaining cadets packed up and headed toward the Devouring Dragon Pavilion.
It was a bit early to call it lunchtime.
There was no line.
Yet the first floor of the Moon Dragon Inn was packed with people.
The waiter quickly ushered them up to the second floor.
Ha Mu-baek, Han Seol-bing, and Dang Ji-yeon took their seats.
They each ordered their favorites, and the food arrived promptly.
Ha Mu-baek slowly savored his fried chicken while carefully observing his surroundings.
Han Seol-bing, her face full of curiosity, dug into her noodles and dumplings.
Dang Ji-yeon enjoyed her roast duck.
Before eating, they portioned out small amounts of food to share with each other.
It was possible the poison was only in specific dishes.
Ha Mu-baek had tried it once before, but this was the first time for the other two.
Han Seol-bing's expression turned subtle after tasting the food.
Perhaps because the flavor from yesterday's meal still lingered on her tongue, the contrast was stark.
"This isn't just ordinary... it has no taste at all."
Han Seol-bing said, furrowing her brow.
"It's because we ate something so delicious yesterday—it's the comparison. Food from the Devouring Dragon Pavilion tastes just okay by contrast."
"We should become regulars there."
Han Seol-bing said, clearly unable to forget yesterday's flavors.
Ha Mu-baek smiled faintly.
"You might end up disappointed."
"Huh?"
"Why do you think a place that delicious only had that many customers?"
"Huh?"
Come to think of it, that was strange.
A truly delicious inn should always be bustling.
"Inns have good days and bad days. It's pure luck of the draw."
"They must have multiple chefs,"
Dang Ji-yeon interjected as she slowly savored her roast duck.
"Right. I hear they have four or five, and one of them made yesterday's dishes."
"Wow."
Han Seol-bing let out a small exclamation.
"Then how did you know, Instructor...?"
"Someone tipped me off about the rotation."
Ha Mu-baek replied nonchalantly.
"Share it next time."
Han Seol-bing said, her eyes sparkling. She must have loved it.
Given her extraordinary background, she'd likely tasted every delicacy under the sun, yet she reacted like this.
'Head Chef Jo's recommendation is reliable.'
Ha Mu-baek nodded slightly.
"We'll see."
A short reply.
Han Seol-bing pouted at that.
"You two seem to get along really well."
Dang Ji-yeon said with a soft smile.
"We've rolled through battlefields together."
Ha Mu-baek answered indifferently. Han Seol-bing pouted again.
"More importantly, did you notice anything?"
Ha Mu-baek asked.
Dang Ji-yeon furrowed her smooth brow slightly.
"Can't tell from the taste, at least. We tried everything we ordered, but nothing stood out."
She had undergone rigorous training to detect poisons by taste, honing her palate to extreme sensitivity.
If even she said there was no anomaly in the flavor, it had to be a poison that completely masked its taste.
Ha Mu-baek's gaze shifted to Han Seol-bing.
"Nothing unusual. Neither in taste nor qi flow."
The same went for Ha Mu-baek.
The three finished their meal and left the Moon Dragon Inn, heading back to the Dragon Training Pavilion.
The East Chief Steward watched their retreating figures intently.
"Ha Mu-baek..."
The East Chief Steward's report reached Hyeong Ui-cheon through his subordinate.
"What a headache. He's gotten tangled up in this."
Alone in his room, gazing out the window at the scenery, creases formed on his pudgy, drooping brow.
The one snag when coming to Wuchang had been Ha Mu-baek's existence.
"And Dang Ji-yeon on top of that..."
Hyeong Ui-cheon knew the fearsome reputation of the Heavenly Poison Fairy Dang Ji-yeon.
"Have they caught a whiff of something?"
Otherwise, why would Ha Mu-baek visit with Dang Ji-yeon the day after taking Dan Mok Un-roe and his group out?
"The kind of guy who flips out over anything involving the Pavilion Lord..."
It wasn't entirely unexpected.
He'd figured the man would take interest in a disturbance this big.
"But too fast."
Considering his personality, it was too quick.
The guy who'd been lounging around like the world was a bother since the war ended had shown up at the Moon Dragon Inn around lunchtime yesterday.
And waited in line to eat, no less.
'Even he couldn't have noticed anything off.'
It was inexplicable.
He'd eaten the food laced with Dream Soul Poison himself and experienced the symptoms.
There was nothing in the process to suspect poison.
In the tiny doses used for these experiments, it vanished completely after one dose with no effects.
Of course, repeated ingestion would lead to the desired outcome.
That's why they'd turned Wuchang into a massive testing ground—to gauge dosage and frequency without fear of detection.
Some subjects had shown meaningful reactions last night.
He'd planned to collect results, withdraw the Dream Soul Poison, and resume normal business.
But Ha Mu-baek had gotten involved first.
It was tricky.
He couldn't make the first move with that guy sniffing around.
It would be like confessing they were suspicious.
'And the beggars are still lurking.'
A few beggars caught his eye in the scenery outside.
After the meal, Ha Mu-baek's group headed straight to the training ground of Fierce Dragon Corps Squad Seven.
The cadets there were waiting impatiently.
"How was it?"
Dang Jin-san asked first.
"Nothing beyond what I told you yesterday."
Ha Mu-baek replied, his gaze shifting to Dang Ji-yeon.
"Flavorless poison, for now."
If his sister said so, it was so.
At her young age, she was among the top five in the clan when it came to poisons.
Han Seol-bing and Dang Ji-yeon sat cross-legged, meditating to observe changes within.
Ha Mu-baek lounged obliquely against a rock as usual.
The cadets shrugged it off and resumed training.
Though they couldn't focus.
How much time passed?
As the western sky began to redden...
Ha Mu-baek sensed that dust mote of qi once more.
'Similar reaction.'
At a similar time and intensity to yesterday.
Knowing what came next, he burned it away with his inner energy.
He glanced at Han Seol-bing and Dang Ji-yeon.
No reaction from them yet.
'Ah, Head Chef Jo.'
Then he remembered the man he'd eaten lunch with yesterday.
Ordinary folk showed symptoms after a day or two, so he needed to check on Chef Jo.
Especially to stop him from giving in to cravings and heading back to the Moon Dragon Inn.
He left the training ground and headed to the Devouring Dragon North Pavilion.
During dinner prep rush hour, Head Chef Jo was outside the building, shivering finely.
"Head Chef Jo?"
"Ah, Instructor."
Jo turned at Ha Mu-baek's call.
His eyes trembled faintly too.
"What's wrong?"
"Th-those bastards at the Moon Dragon Inn... they're scum of the earth."
Jo spoke in a slightly quivering voice.
"I don't know what trick they pulled to delay symptoms by a day or two, but... they spiked the food with narcotics. I thought the waiter looked ordinary. But now that I'm experiencing it..."
Jo paused.
His body shuddered.
"It's like opium addicts. Just like what I've seen in opium fiends."
"How do you know?"
"I've seen people steeped in opium during chaotic times."
"Then why are you out here? In such thin clothes."
"The food smells make the symptoms worse. I'm out here trying to suppress the urges with the cold."
Having seen opium addicts before, Jo instinctively knew.
If he gave in and returned to the Moon Dragon Inn...
He'd be hooked.
Being outside the kitchen in the chill was gradually easing the tremors and impulses.
He'd heard enduring a few days would make them fade, so this was his coping method.
How long had he been there?
"Whew... I think I'm okay now."
Jo's complexion returned to normal.
"I didn't know food smells would intensify the cravings."
"Scum. How dare they tamper with food like this. It's poison—pure poison."
Anger filled Chef Jo's voice.
"Come here first."
Ha Mu-baek grabbed Jo's wrist.
He slowly channeled inner energy, probing near Jo's tongue.
Sure enough, a grain-of-rice-sized clump of qi had gathered.
"Your mouth might sting a bit."
"Pardon? Ahh!"
The moment he voiced his question, burning pain flared on his tongue.
Burning away the enlarged clump was bound to hurt.
"Should be fine now."
Ha Mu-baek released Jo's wrist.
"Huh? Ah..."
Jo started to ask but sensed the change in his body.
The cravings for Moon Dragon Inn food were gone.
"Can't have the head chef step away during peak hours."
"Th-thank you."
He didn't understand how, but it was clearly Ha Mu-baek's doing. He bowed hastily and rushed back to the kitchen.
Ha Mu-baek turned after watching him go.
"It's definitely interacting with the food somehow."
That explained the different reactions between ordinary people and a chef like Jo.
Those more accustomed to food seemed to react more intensely.
By the time Ha Mu-baek returned to the training ground...
Han Seol-bing still showed no reaction.
Dang Ji-yeon seemed the same.
At that moment.
Dang Ji-yeon's eyebrow twitched.
"Found it."
A soft murmur escaped her.
She opened her eyes.
"Thanks to you, Instructor Ha, it was easier."
She'd heard the first sign was a dust mote of qi gathering on the tongue.
So she'd focused there.
"My qi control isn't at your level yet, so I'll keep monitoring for now. Once symptoms fully manifest, I'll examine properly. And extract the poison. See you."
With that, Dang Ji-yeon left the training ground for the inn where she was staying.
Violet Myriad Transformations Poison Art.
The inner technique Dang Ji-yeon cultivated, the Sichuan Tang Clan's supreme poison art.
One of its marvels allowed wrapping incoming poisons in qi and expelling them from the body.
But there was one constraint.
To do so, she had to be completely nude.
The expulsion acupoint only became clear after operating the art.
That's why she'd headed to a private inn room.
"Extract the poison?"
After Dang Ji-yeon left, Ha Mu-baek muttered, tilting his head.
Even Ha Mu-baek didn't know everything.
"The Tang Clan has such an inner technique. It has its restrictions, though."
Dang Jin-san said briefly.
It was a clan secret, so he couldn't elaborate.
No matter that she was called a witch, he couldn't bring himself to say it required nudity to draw out body poisons.