Chapter 31

“Lend you my disciple?”

Ju Ok-hwa raised her eyebrows.

She seemed taken aback by the unexpected request, but immediately shook her head.

“Impossible.”

“Why?”

“Wasn’t our business finished? We agreed to call our secrets even.”

“You told me earlier to state my second matter.”

“That was out of curiosity.”

A smugness flickered in her violet eyes.

She seemed to believe she now held the initiative.

She wasn’t entirely wrong, but there was no need for me to cling to this.

“Fine. I’ll ask him directly.”

“You dare approach my disciple without my permission? Says who.”

“Says me. Your disciple is a bit unusual, after all. Ah! perhaps not ‘a bit’?”

Seo Mun-gwang was Ink-Needle Hall’s representative madman.

For certain reasons he became her disciple, but he had a strong will of his own.

Normally he obeyed his master well, but once something caught his interest, he readily slipped out of her control.

Getting him interested in something, however, was difficult.

“…Seventh Young Lord, have you already gathered all information on this side? Even about what kind of child Mun-gwang is?”

“Something like that.”

“You are not easy to deal with. But the fact remains that Mun-gwang is my disciple. You must at least tell me what business you have.”

I smiled in satisfaction.

It normally took a troublesome process to get Seo Mun-gwang to help me, but if Ju Ok-hwa intervened, that process would shrink drastically.

“You know what Demon-Gathering Stones are, right?”

“Of course. A mineral that contains a peculiar demonic energy.”

“I’m going to refine it into a pill.”

“Why?”

“So I can take it.”

“You’re seventeen, right? You’ve lived long enough. You’re old enough to die without regret. The demonic energy will tear your qi veins apart. With True Blood Severed Meridians, half a quarter-hour is all it’ll take.”

Ju Ok-hwa sneered.

To her, the idea of refining and ingesting the stone was absurd.

Before I experienced the effect, I thought the same.

“What if there were a way to remove those side effects? It would boost metabolism and muscle recovery, maximizing physical training results.”

I briefly explained the method to her.

“First, grind the Demon-Gathering Stone finely. Then soak it in purified water for one hour to remove impurities, mix it with White Whale Liver Oil and various herbs to knead it, and then—”

“Wait.”

Ju Ok-hwa raised a hand, signaling me to be quiet.

She rolled her eyes left and right, muttering.

“With this method, the impure demonic energy certainly can be neutralized. The herbs must be Blue Cloud Grass and Blood Jade Ginseng? Those would minimize qi-vein stimulation. But for a True Blood Severed Meridian patient, the stimulation should still be severe. Ah, it’s the opposite! These ingredients change efficacy with temperature. If crystallized at ultra-high heat, they would stimulate the qi veins even more intensely. Since a True Blood Severed Meridian bearer has unstable qi flow by nature, if stimulated in a proper direction, you can forcibly create a temporarily correct flow. That’s why the White Whale Liver Oil is needed. To maintain that flow.”

I marveled inwardly.

As expected of the Myriad Poison Immortal.

I gave only fragments, yet she inferred the entire thing instantly.

Having finished muttering, she looked at me with complicated eyes.

“Using the flaw of True Blood Severed Meridians to draw out a positive effect? That’s not something anyone could conceive. And this method feels as if it was developed specifically for you… Who came up with it?”

‘Your disciple.’

I kept that thought to myself and brought out my imaginary friend.

“A monk.”

I repeated the story I’d told the Heavenly Demon.

That I met a monk by chance who recognized my condition and taught me helpful knowledge.

“Lies. Someone who can conceive this must have deep mastery in medicine or poison arts. Among the monks I know, none are such geniuses.”

“The world is wide.”

“That may be true, but I keep track of every competent person in this field.”

Her violet eyes were filled with suspicion.

She didn’t believe the monk story.

No, perhaps she was doubting my entire existence.

Because I was outside her understanding.

Regardless, what mattered to me was elsewhere.

“Have you changed your mind about lending me your disciple?”

I was sure she would.

I hadn’t told her the method for nothing.

She believed she stood at the peak of poison and medicine.

But she had just encountered a method she could not conceive.

Naturally, she would want to confirm whether it worked.

However.

“I will not lend you my disciple.”

Ju Ok-hwa betrayed my expectation.

No, I knew she would.

“Instead, I will help you personally.”

“…Why?”

“Because I’ve grown interested in the refinement method.”

“…”

I was at a loss for words.

I hadn’t anticipated this turn.

She’d drawn such a hard line moments ago, so what was with this sudden whim?

“Moved, are you? You can’t even speak.”

She wore the arrogant face of an emperor bestowing benevolence upon a commoner.

To her, I spoke firmly.

“I refuse.”

“…What? Did I hear that wrong?”

“You heard correctly.”

“You are refusing me? Me, the Myriad Poison Immortal?”

“Yes. It’s better if you lend me your disciple.”

“…”

This time, she was the one speechless.

Skipping over her and choosing her disciple must have baffled her.

She really thought I’d gratefully accept her help?

‘Not a chance.’

I understood what kind of person she was.

Her offer was not pure.

She became interested in the refinement method?

Perhaps.

But she was not someone who moved personally for such a reason.

Even if it were true, she could simply have her disciple share the process and results.

‘Is it to observe me?’

She had a strong desire to control all variables around her.

A person outside her understanding had appeared, of course she couldn’t stand it.

Especially since she had just been struck hard.

So she might want to oversee the refinement to maintain contact and read my weaknesses.

“Are you intimidated by me? By the great Myriad Poison Immortal?”

“It’s your personality that’s intimidating.”

“It seems our Seventh Young Lord cannot tell what should and shouldn’t be said. I might not kill you, but I can make you suffer. My title isn’t ‘Myriad Poison’ for nothing.”

Her murderous smile made me avert my eyes.

It was well within her capability.

Smiling as if satisfied, she said:

“The Elder Council Lord and the Great Sahyung are difficult opponents. Helping you means going against them. And I still offer my help. Think carefully.”

“That’s exactly why I don’t want it. It’s strange. Why would you willingly antagonize those two just to help me?”

“Don’t overthink it. It’s academic curiosity.”

‘You don’t have that.’

The words rose to my throat.

Ju Ok-hwa honed medicine and poison arts to fulfill her own goals.

Not out of scholarly curiosity.

‘Still, she would be a great help…’

My original plan was to use this opportunity to build a connection with Seo Mun-gwang.

To grow quickly, I needed a skilled physician.

On a small scale, to treat all injuries optimally,

On a large scale, to create one of the three medicines needed to overcome my condition.

Seo Mun-gwang would one day rival Ju Ok-hwa, but not yet.

So in this situation, Ju Ok-hwa’s help was optimal.

However…

‘She won’t just help.’

She might pretend to help but try to extract something, or use me.

That was the kind of person she was.

‘Not that it matters.’

Her intentions didn’t concern me.

I wasn’t someone who would obediently submit.

For our respective goals, we could simply use each other.

“Well, fine. I’ll grant your request, Hall Master.”

“…Request?”

A wrinkle formed between her brows.

“Who is asking whom?”

“You to me. I can refine the Demon-Gathering Stone without you, but you insisted I let you do it.”

“I, I insisted?”

I chuckled.

Talking with her had been uneasy the whole time.

There were too many things to watch.

But seeing her flustered and stammering amused me.

“…Where on earth did the lord pick up something like you?”

She muttered quietly to herself.

“I can hear you.”

“Oh my, was that so? Sorry, Seventh Young Lord. I was rude.”

Her expression said she didn’t think so at all.

“Anyway, I don’t need to explain the method further, right? You seem to know it all.”

“Correct. But there is a problem. The other ingredients are in the Ink-Needle Hall’s storage, but we don’t have any Demon-Gathering Stone. It can only be mined in Demon Valley, one of the four forbidden regions. No one can enter that place.”

I smiled leisurely.

She asked in disbelief:

“You don’t mean…you already obtained it?”

“Yes.”

“How?”

“Someone gave it to me.”

“And I’m supposed to believe that?”

“You must. Because it’s true.”

The fact that I entered Demon Valley would spread sooner or later.

Likely leaking from the Iron-Gold Wei Clan.

But not yet.

I didn’t need to announce it myself.

“More importantly, how long will the refinement take? I’d like it finished as soon as possible.”

“What is your definition of ‘soon’?”

“Today.”

“That’s excessive greed.”

“I think it’s possible if it’s you, Hall Master. Or am I wrong?”

“Hmph.”

She snorted without replying, meaning it was possible.

“Then I’ll leave it to you. Send it to Hidden Cloud Pavilion when it’s finished.”

“I will.”

I cupped my fists toward her, turned, took a few steps, then suddenly stopped and looked back.

“Hall Master.”

“You haven’t left?”

“Try refraining from talking about others. If you keep doing this, misfortune will come for you. Secrets and grudges always travel together.”

“Hmph! You think I cannot deal with such grudges? I, Ju Ok-hwa?”

“You shouldn’t judge a grudge by its size.”

I pointed at her shadow with my finger.

In the future, Ju Ok-hwa would fall miserably.

My great sahyung broke her limbs and made her crawl on the ground.

After that, he tore her human-skin mask, exposing the face she wished to hide most.

And he smiled cruelly at the sight.

—‘Hall Master, why did you only now teach me how enjoyable it is to reveal someone else’s secrets? Had I known sooner, I would’ve joined your amusements long ago.’”

In the end, Ju Ok-hwa lost everything.

Despite her exceptional skill, she never achieved her lifelong wish.

If she accepted my advice, she would not face the same fate.

“I will handle my own affairs.”

Ju Ok-hwa replied coldly.

I shrugged and left the garden.

Ju Ok-hwa looked back and forth between Baek Su-gyeong’s departing figure and her own shadow with a complex expression.

The shadow far larger than her own seemed as if it would devour her.

‘Was he implying misfortune would come because I couldn’t withstand someone’s grudge?’

It was absurd to receive such advice from a child.

But Baek Su-gyeong was more cunning than anyone she had met, and seemed to hide many secrets still.

That was why his last words bothered her.

Ju Ok-hwa bit her lower lip.

‘Arrogant brat.’

She touched her cheek.

Her artificial skin had never felt as foreign as it did now.

‘What was the Great Sahyung like at Baek Su-gyeong’s age?’

A face surfaced in her mind.

Even the cult’s greatest genius, the Great Sahyung, hadn’t shown this level of sharpness.

‘I need to observe Baek Su-gyeong.’

It was almost certain.

He possessed something.

He might break open the ‘searching’ meridian that had been blocked for years.

“…”

Ju Ok-hwa set her thoughts aside.

First she had to refine the Demon-Gathering Stone. She had promised to finish it today.

Her steps toward the laboratory quickened.