No matter how much the Murim was a veritable death zone crawling with murder and violence, people in every field learned to observe some decorum once they reached the upper ranks.
Especially when you were the Family Head of the Sichuan Tang Clan, one of the Five Great Families.
Tang Sadok might have been comfortable speaking bluntly, but he was not accustomed to others doing the same to him.
As I was doing now.
“Please lend me the Myriad-Poison Ring.”
“…!”
The request struck him completely out of the blue.
His eyes twitched for a split second before he spoke.
“You still believe that ridiculous nonsense? I knew you were young, but you truly are a child.”
“I saw your eye twitch just now.”
“Nonsense!”
“Your voice gets louder when I hit a nerve, doesn’t it?”
“I told you it doesn’t exist!”
“Oh, now you’re clenching your fist.”
“I said I don’t have it!”
“If I search your pockets and find it, can I keep it?”
“Fine! Search me! If you don’t find it, I’ll take your head instead!”
“Oh, so you hid it somewhere else. In that case, I withdraw my request.”
“Grrr…!”
“What a loss…!”
“You insolent little bastard!”
Ah. I probably should have held back that last one.
After being hit by a fantastic barrage of combo attacks, Tang Sadok’s eyes rolled back.
I hurriedly shouted before he could scatter his hidden weapons.
“I only need to borrow it once! Just once!”
“I told you it doesn’t exist!”
“Fine, let’s say it doesn’t. Just hear me out.”
“Nothing you say will change my answer.”
“Even if I offered to deal with the culprit?”
“What?”
“The man who harmed Great Hero Tang Taesang, the Poison King.”
The next moment—
“You little brat! I’ve tolerated enough of your insolence—!”
Whoosh!
Green qi rose from Tang Sadok’s entire body like a shimmering haze. He glared at me with blazing eyes, then spoke in a low, cold voice.
“Do you truly wish to die?”
“I have a bright future ahead of me, so not particularly.”
“Punishing that man is our family’s responsibility. How dare an outsider like you—!”
Whoom!
An aura like a raging gale erupted and shook the pavilion. I stepped in front of the trembling Divine Physician and Mungyeong before answering.
“And how has that worked out?”
“…!”
“The culprit is a master powerful enough to defeat the Poison King. He also evaded the Tang Clan’s eyes here in Sichuan and caused a bloodbath at the Emei Sect. Martial prowess clearly isn’t his only strength.”
Sichuan might have been vast, but the Tang Clan had been rooted here for countless years.
This was no different from losing track of a family enemy in their own front yard. Tang Sadok had led most of his family in pursuit, only to return empty-handed. His expression hardened.
“Are you accusing our family of incompetence?”
“Of course not.”
If the Sichuan Tang Clan was incompetent, most of the sects scattered throughout the realm might as well bolt their gates and withdraw from the martial world.
The Nine Sects and One Gang and the Five Great Families were the giants supporting the Murim. The problem was not that the Sichuan Tang Clan or the Emei Sect was incompetent.
The culprit was simply a monster.
“I’m only pointing out a possibility.”
“A possibility?”
“His martial arts are comparable to the Ten Kings, and he’s exceptionally skilled at escaping. Wouldn’t more people helping you improve the chances of catching him?”
“Our Green Shadow Squad is already pursuing him. I merely returned for a short while to prepare for any unforeseen circumstances. Before long, I will hunt him down and kill him.”
Tang Sadok’s sharp gaze swept over Cheongpung and me.
“We are the great Sichuan Tang Clan. We have no need for outsiders’ help. Least of all from greenhorns like you.”
“…Ah. Right.”
Hadn’t I already left the level of a mere young prodigy far behind?
Especially that guy.
I glanced at Cheongpung, who was blankly watching the exchange, and scratched the back of my head.
Well, I expected something like this.
Considering the Sichuan Tang Clan’s family tradition of doing everything their own damn way, his response came as no surprise.
That was why I had thought up a more enticing proposal on the way here.
“Then instead of greenhorns who came crawling out of nowhere, how about the Fire King?”
“…!”
“Let’s say you somehow track the culprit down. He isn’t going to hold out his arm and ask you to hurry up and stick poison needles into his veins.”
One side would fight to survive. The other would fight to kill. A fierce battle was inevitable.
If the Sichuan Tang Clan committed its full strength, they might succeed in avenging the Poison King—but they would also have to brace themselves for enormous losses.
Countless members of the Tang Clan, whether from the direct line or the collateral branches, would die.
“Old Master—no, my Master—and the rest of us will help you. We’ll minimize the Sichuan Tang Clan’s losses and leave the culprit’s punishment to you, Family Head.”
“…Impossible. No matter what losses we must endure, this must be accomplished through our family’s own strength.”
“Your answer came half a beat late.”
“This is the path our ancestors took—the path our family has walked all these years. It is what made the Sichuan Tang Clan what it is!”
“I know. I know what path the Sichuan Tang Clan has walked.”
They were a close-knit family bound by blood. They never forgot a grudge, and their vengeance was merciless.
That was the path the Tang Family had walked—and the reason people both respected and feared them.
I continued quietly.
“But no one will point fingers at you for taking a shortcut once in a while. Especially if you choose that shortcut to reduce the number of family members who must be sacrificed.”
Tang Sadok bit down hard on his lip.
Perhaps he was not as coldhearted as he appeared.
No. Even if he was, he was not the sort of ruthless Family Head who would put revenge above everything else.
If he were, he wouldn’t have returned to the family.
But the Myriad-Poison Asura1 Tang Sadok had returned. He had come back to protect his family from even the slightest possible danger—to protect those left defenseless in his absence.
“What will you do?”
A long silence passed before his answer came.
“……If—and I mean if—the Myriad-Poison Ring exists, can you treat Great Hero Jeok?”
“Someone I know says it can.”
At my glance, the Divine Physician spoke.
“Our preparations are nearly complete. If we have the Myriad-Poison Ring, there will be no problem treating him.”
“How long will it take?”
“Fifteen days. Fifteen days will be enough.”
“Fifteen days…”
Tang Sadok let out a low groan, then looked at the Divine Physician.
“I examined Great Hero Jeok’s condition once before. Though my medical knowledge is shallow compared to my expertise in poison arts, I could not determine what sort of symptoms he was suffering from. Is it truly possible?”
“It is possible.”
A clear voice rang out.
Mungyeong stepped forward and added a single sentence.
“The Divine Physician can do it.”
“What an audacious boy. Is he your Disciple?”
The Divine Physician answered Tang Sadok’s question with a faint smile before speaking.
“The Myriad-Poison Ring is essential if the patient is to recover. I understand your desire to conceal such a sacred artifact, but I ask that you show compassion and extend us your benevolence.”
“Benevolence, is it? Do you think the same?”
“Why are you asking me all of a sudden?”
“Speak. I want to hear your thoughts.”
“If you insist.”
I shrugged.
“Rather than benevolence, let’s call it gratitude and grudges.”
“Why?”
“Because this is the Murim. If someone helps you, isn’t it the way of the martial world to repay them?”
A faint smile touched the corner of Tang Sadok’s wrinkled mouth.
“That is far more pleasing to hear.”
“It sounds better, and it isn’t empty flattery.”
“What will you do if the culprit flees to some distant foreign land while Great Hero Jeok is being treated?”
“I’ll chase him down myself and bring him back. Ah, I’m not saying I’ll leave right away, of course. I won’t budge until my Master wakes up.”
“You’re an amusing bastard. Even tearing the culprit limb from limb wouldn’t be enough, but he is also an extraordinary master. Do you think a wet-behind-the-ears brat like you can capture someone like that?”
“If I can’t take him alive, I’ll kill him.”
“Ha… Hahahaha!”
Tang Sadok burst into uproarious laughter. When it finally subsided, he tossed out a casual remark.
“The Myriad-Poison Ring does not exist.”
“…What?”
What the fuck was he talking about?
Had this old man been playing me the entire time?
As the back of my head went numb, Tang Sadok continued.
“The Myriad-Poison Ring is nothing more than an old legend. Even among our blood relatives, it is merely a stale tale.”
“What do you mean, it doesn’t exist? It really doesn’t?”
“No one knows, and no one must ever know.”
“Fuck! Then you should have said that from the beginning! Have you been messing with me this whole—”
Ssssss.
I snapped my mouth shut before I could finish.
A pure-white snake had slowly crawled out of Tang Sadok’s robes and was staring fixedly at me, its tongue flicking.
What is that?
What was he, Voldemort?2 Why was a snake suddenly coming out of his clothes?
It even had horns, which no normal snake had. As I stared into its black eyes, the Divine Physician murmured in disbelief.
“A Thousand-Year Poison Horned Snake…?”
Even the name sounded lethally venomous.
Tang Sadok laughed quietly when he saw me edging backward and stroked the snake’s triangular head.
“Don’t be afraid. It isn’t dangerous, so there’s no need to retreat.”
“Its name sounds fucking dangerous.”
“Thousand-Year Poison Horned Snake?”
“Yes. What kind of name is that? It’s not like you’re calling it a golden retriever. Thousand-Year Poison Horned Snake… Never mind. Does the Myriad-Poison Ring really not exist?”
“It isn’t called Thousand-Year Poison Horned Snake. Its name is Mimi.”
“What?”
“Tang Mimi. That is the name I gave it.”
What was that supposed to mean? Terrifying…
As Tang Sadok lovingly stroked Mimi-chan,3 he suddenly looked at the Divine Physician.
“You must know that this creature is no ordinary Thousand-Year Poison Horned Snake.”
The Divine Physician nodded.
“As far as I know, a Thousand-Year Poison Horned Snake is a rare venomous creature that carries an extremely deadly poison. Its entire body is black, and its temperament is so ferocious that it can never be tamed. However…”
“As you can see, this one looks different and has an exceptionally gentle disposition.”
“But we do not know when it might suddenly turn on us. Is it not a venomous creature capable of killing a hundred cows with a single drop of its venom?”
“There is no need to worry. This one has no venom.”
“What?”
“To be precise… it would be more accurate to say that its venom is gone.”
With that, Tang Sadok met Mimi-chan’s3 gaze—or rather, the Thousand-Year Poison Horned Snake’s.
It lasted only a moment, but they had clearly communicated. The clever snake had understood its master’s intentions.
Hiss! Ssssss!
The snake lowered its head and let out a metallic hiss before spitting something onto Tang Sadok’s palm.
With a soft plop, the object emerged from the slime covering it.
That’s…
A ring.
Set into it was a black gemstone that seemed to contain all the darkness in the world.
Having absorbed even the deadly venom of the Thousand-Year Poison Horned Snake, it gleamed with a beautiful yet ominous light.
“No way…”
As I stared at the ring in a daze, Tang Sadok’s low voice reached my ears.
“Remember this. No one knows, and no one must ever know.”
“Then…”
“Yes.”
Tang Sadok held it out to me.
“This is our family’s sacred artifact.”
The moment I took the ring with trembling hands, the chime I had been waiting for rang out.
Ding.
System
Quest Condition complete: Myriad-Poison Ring Acquired!
Chain Quest Myriad-Poison Ring has been successfully completed!
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