Chapter 346

I examined the small ring closely. It was light and strange.

The ring was made of some unknown metal and engraved with unfamiliar patterns, while the gemstone set in its center glittered with a dark light, as if it held the night sky inside.

So this is the Myriad-Poison Ring.

The sacred artifact of the Sichuan Tang Clan—said to detoxify any poison—had fallen into my hands.

Its effectiveness had to be genuine if it could turn a Thousand-Year Poison Horned Snake, said to contain an incredibly deadly poison, into a pet snake named Mimi-chan. Still, there was no harm in checking.

Item Appraisal.

Beep.

System

• Item Appraisal failed!

• A special condition must be met to appraise this Item!

“Huh?”

“What is it? Is there a problem?”

I vaguely brushed off Tang Sadok’s puzzled question.

“No. It’s nothing…”

“Nothing what?”

“It’s just that the gemstone is pretty. Its color is similar to a snake’s eyes.”

I saw a wrinkle form on Tang Sadok’s forehead.

I had momentarily forgotten that the old man standing before me was not only the Family Head of a great clan, but also a seasoned martial artist who had spent his entire life in the Murim.

As expected, Tang Sadok widened his eyes and bellowed.

“What nonsense are you spouting?”

“Family Head, the thing is…”

“Our Mimi’s eyes are prettier!”

“Huh?”

“Is that all? I wipe her body down with fragrant oil every morning and evening, so she smells wonderful. And her teeth are sparkling white!”

“Ah… yes.”

A seasoned martial artist, my ass. He was just a snake fanatic.

What kind of Family Head liked his pet snake more than his family’s sacred artifact?

At this point, I was starting to wonder whether Mimi-chan was actually the sacred artifact of the Sichuan Tang Clan.

But why can’t I appraise this?

I tried Item Appraisal again, just in case, but the result did not change. If a special condition was required to appraise it, then the sacred artifact really was a sacred artifact.

It bothers me that I can’t confirm what it does, but its effects have to be genuine.

I turned toward the Divine Physician. Wearing a smile, he spoke as though he had been waiting for me.

“The Thousand-Year Poison Horned Snake is not an ordinary venomous snake, but a spiritual creature. Yet the ring rendered the venom gland of such a creature useless… We will have to try it to know how much poison it can detoxify, but it is worthy of the name Myriad-Poison Ring.”

“If that’s the case…”

“Without the Myriad-Poison Ring, the chance would have been just one percent. Now, I believe it is over seventy percent.”

“Even with the Myriad-Poison Ring, only seventy percent…?”

“I shall make up the remaining thirty percent with this old man’s medical skill.”

“Whew. You should have said that from the beginning.”

The Divine Physician laughed heartily at my sigh of relief and stroked his beard.

“Now, only one thing remains.”

“What is it?”

“A place to conduct the treatment.”

Tang Sadok cut in bluntly.

“Have you forgotten where you are?”

“I’ve heard there is a clinic inside the Sichuan Tang Clan. But Great Hero Jeok’s case requires two conditions.”

“Tell me.”

“First, it must be a secluded place where people cannot easily come and go. Second, it must be somewhere untouched by sunlight, with a bitter cold that seeps into the body.”

“A secluded, dark, and cold place…”

Tang Sadok thought for a moment, then let out a quiet laugh.

“As it happens, I know the perfect place. I shall take you there myself.”

“Thank you for your generosity, Family Head.”

“I am not the Great Hero of benevolence you speak of. This is merely a matter of gratitude and grudges between us. And if you reveal the existence of the Myriad-Poison Ring later, or let it become known outside the clan in any way…”

I sighed and finished for him.

“I’ll be dragged away, made to take a half-body bath in a vat of poison, and have holes poked in me with needles.”

“You have a poor imagination. Whatever you imagine, you will suffer something worse.”

“Unless I’ve gone insane, that won’t happen.”

“I certainly hope so… What are you doing here?”

Good question. What was that guy doing here?

While we were talking, Cheongpung had crept over and was reaching toward Mimi-chan.

“Wow, she’s pretty. Can I touch her?”

“No.”

“Why not?”

“Hmph. Do you think she lets just anyone handle her? If I had not called her, she would not even have shown herself in front of you.”

“Mimi, Mimi. Come here.”

“What are you doing, you ridiculous—”

Hissssss.

Mimi-chan slid down Tang Sadok’s shoulder and licked the back of Cheongpung’s hand.

“Gasp!”

“Mimi, Whirlwind!”

Whirlwind, my ass. He was telling her to perform a technique even a person wouldn’t understand.

As expected, there was no telling what went on inside Cheongpung’s head.

Sssshk, sssshk, sssshhhk!

“…What the fuck?”

What had I just seen?

My mouth fell open as Mimi-chan spun her body wildly in a spiral.

“Wow! Good job, Mimi!”

“This can’t be! How could Mimi use Whirlwind on someone she’s never met before?”

“Wait, is that actually a real technique?”

“That isn’t important right now!”

It seemed pretty important to me. At this rate, I wondered whether she might start firing a million volts or a Hyper Beam.

Can she evolve, too…?

As I wondered whether the Myriad-Poison Ring or Mimi-chan was the real sacred artifact, Cheongpung smiled brightly and spoke.

“I get along well with those animals. When I lay down in the grass on Huashan, birds, deer, and even tigers would come play with me. Hehe.”

What was he, some kind of Huashan druid?

Tang Sadok stared at Cheongpung with a dazed expression, still reeling from having Mimi-chan stolen from him.

“Wait. There seems to be something strange mixed in at the end there. Why was there a tiger? How dare you tell such an obvious lie in front of this old man!”

“We were playing together and were about to part ways when the tiger tried to eat the deer, so I knocked it out with Crouching Tiger Fist!”

“…”

“…”

Anyone would have thought that was insane. But it was probably true.

In the silent main hall, Mungyeong’s mutter rang out with unusual clarity.

“Is the Huashan I know not the same Huashan?”

I didn’t know about that, but one thing was certain.

If the heavens and earth were overturned and Cheongpung somehow became Huashan’s Sect Leader, from that day on, it would become your Huashan.

“…Let’s go. You said you would show us the place.”

“…Very well.”

Following Tang Sadok, we arrived at a cave on the distant outskirts of the Sichuan Tang Clan’s grounds.

The mouth of the cave gaped open like a pitch-black maw.

Aside from two large braziers installed on either side, there was no one in sight.

“Where are we? There doesn’t seem to be anyone guarding it.”

“Since no one is here, I suppose it must be feeding time.”

“Feeding?”

“You will find out once we enter. Follow me.”

Unlike the Jin Family of Taiyuan’s training hall, the cave was not arranged in a straight line.

I had no idea how far we descended the stone stairs leading deep underground before a narrow passageway, barely wide enough for two people to pass through, appeared before us. A familiar smell entered my nostrils.

Is this… the smell of blood?

Something felt wrong, so I looked around. Doors reinforced with iron bars appeared at irregular intervals.

“No way…”

“That is correct. This is our family’s underground prison.”

“…Not a torture chamber?”

“Oh, you will see plenty of those once we get inside.”

What the hell had I just heard?

As everyone, myself included, stared at him, Tang Sadok spoke in an unconcerned tone.

“Except for the Family Head’s Hall and a few other pavilions, this is the oldest space in the family compound. It must be well over two hundred years old by now. In any case, it is a historic place steeped in history.”

I did not know about it being steeped in history, but I felt like I ought to write a will before I was dragged any farther inside.

“Isn’t it still just a prison?”

“Is there a problem?”

“Of course there is! You want us to treat Old Master—no, my Master—in here?”

“Not a ray of sunlight enters this place, and a bitter chill seeps through it until it reaches your bones. This is the most suitable location.”

“You said you conduct torture here, too.”

“Of course. Is that even worth asking?”

“…”

Anyone listening would have thought he was asking whether I wanted extra toppings on my pizza.

Just as I ran out of things to say, a hunched old man came limping toward us from the distance, accompanied by a faint light.

“Family Head, what brings you here?”

“Ah, Old Man Gung. You’ve been working hard. How are they?”

“Nothing much. Same as usual. I just went in to check whether they were still breathing. But who are these people…?”

“They are guests of our family. They will be staying in the prison for fifteen days due to certain circumstances. They will not be too noisy, will they?”

“No, sir. The ones still alive are hardly any different from walking corpses, so it should be quiet.”

“When I saw him a few months ago, the Heavenly Power Demon still seemed to have plenty of energy.”

“Ah, that one? You needn’t worry about him anymore.”

The hunched old man grinned, exposing teeth that had almost entirely rotted away.

“He was so noisy that I drained every last bit of energy from him. And while I was at it, I took a few other things, too. Hehe.”

“You are always working hard.”

“Oh, Family Head, you flatter me. I only do it because I enjoy it.”

As I listened to their conversation, I made a resolution.

I must never become enemies with the Sichuan Tang Clan.

After exchanging a few more words with Old Man Gung, Tang Sadok spoke with a bright expression.

“Excellent. It seems the deepest and largest cell has just been emptied. We can use that one.”

I did not need to hear why it had been emptied.

It was not as if someone had checked out at the prison’s front desk and walked away.

They must have checked in with the afterlife by now.

Even if this place met all the necessary conditions, could we really conduct a medical treatment here?

The Divine Physician had clearly thought the same thing. Mungyeong addressed his Master, who had put on a frown, in a calm voice.

“Master, are we not physicians? For the sake of our patient, you must endure it even if you dislike the place.”

The Divine Physician let out a low groan before answering.

“…Yes. You are right. We shall do so.”

“And the people imprisoned here are certainly evil men who have committed countless murders. Please do not let it trouble you too much.”

Tang Sadok, who had been listening to their conversation, added a word.

“Well, well. You are quite mature for a young medical apprentice. Divine Physician, as that boy said, everyone imprisoned here is a vicious demonic criminal, so do not think poorly of our family.”

“I committed a discourtesy out of concern. Please forgive this old man with your generous heart.”

“I will gladly forgive you. Of course, not those men who harmed members of our family. Isn’t that right, Old Man Gung?”

Old Man Gung laughed with a bizarre metallic sound and picked up a torch.

“Come now. I shall show you the way.”

“…”

For some reason, I felt as though I were following the Grim Reaper.

Judging by the atmosphere alone, that old man seems more dangerous than the culprit who killed the Poison King.

It had to be my imagination. It was definitely my imagination.

And so, we began walking toward the suite boasting the finest facilities in the Sichuan Tang Clan’s prison.

“Hm?”

The middle-aged man suddenly looked around.

Winter had passed. The sky was clear, and the bare mountain forest was gradually regaining its green color.

The valley of the nameless mountain was peaceful, as it always was. Yet no matter how much he thought about it, he could not understand why he felt such a strange sense of déjà vu.

“What a strange thing. Such a strange thing…”

The middle-aged man muttered softly, then turned his head and asked,

“Don’t you think so, too?”

Grrk. Gk.

Blood bubbled up from the man’s gaping throat.

The fallen man glared at the middle-aged man with eyes full of resentment.

“M-my family will make you pay…”

“Those are boring last words. Then again, the Sichuan Tang Clan has always been like that.”

Crunch!

The middle-aged man wiped the leather shoe soaked in blood and brain matter against the grass before straightening his back.

Four bodies lay scattered around him.

Then he smiled at the one man still alive.

“So, will you answer my questions obediently, or would you rather writhe in unimaginable pain until you die?”

“……!”

“For your information, the Poison King chose the latter. He lasted four days before finally dying.”

The man shuddered and slowly closed his eyes.

A deep smile spread across the middle-aged man’s lips as he saw the man prepare himself for death.

“Good. Let’s find out how long you can last.”