Chapter 167: You Start to Age the Moment You Stop Working

TL: FoodieMonster007

The words 'Myriad Poison Immunity Constitution' startled Seo Daeryong.

Once someone achieved Myriad Poison Immunity, no poison in the world could affect them. It meant poison could not kill him. Since poison was the most dangerous threat in the murim, his greatest weakness would disappear.

"He's achieving it this easily?"

"Your master might be achieving it easily. My life, the one making it happen, has been long and arduous to get to this point."

Seo Daeryong felt a renewed admiration for Geom Mugeuk. How could one explain such a fate? He came here for treatment and would leave with a Myriad Poison Immunity Constitution.

"Aren't you jealous?"

"Not at all."

"Why not? You have the look of a greedy man."

"This greedy man knows his place. I believe everyone has a vessel of a certain size for their destiny. My vessel is just large enough that I have to struggle and devote everything to win the Young Dragon Tournament. Even that only grew so large after meeting the Director. Before, it was only the size of a soy sauce dish."

He recalled his dark, gloomy past, filled with a desire for revenge against the Sanzu River Hall Senior and resentment toward the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult. He felt that even a soy sauce dish was a generous estimate.

"I've seen many times just how large the Director's vessel of destiny is. I'm seeing it right now, too. Rather than jealousy, I feel grateful. It's just one more story I can tell my grandchildren when they're sitting on my knee."

"Then why do you look so anxious?"

"I'm wondering what kind of destiny he's meant to fulfill to be walking such a path. Since I'm unintentionally his right-hand man, I can't escape that destiny either."

"If you think your vessel is about to break, you can just run away."

"Everyone else might run, but I can't. He showed me what he was made of when he carried me on his back all the way here without a moment's rest and paid five hundred thousand taels. Thanks to him, I'm completely ruined. Since I can't run away anyway, isn't there some other great technique to make him even stronger? Please, make him stronger."

"All the ingredients I've been saving and cherishing are going in there. I can't do more even if I wanted to."

The Insect Physician massaged her own shoulder as if another wave of pain washed over her.

Seo Daeryong went and massaged her shoulder for her.

"What? You can create a Myriad Poison Immunity Constitution for someone else, but you can't fix your own aching shoulder?"

The Insect Physician answered with a bitter smile.

"Everyone lives like that. You think you're any different, you punk? Ah, to the side. A little more to the right. Yes, there. Ah, that feels good."

From that day, Geom Mugeuk remained submerged in the tub for two more days.

The Insect Physician continuously added various ingredients to the tub. The smell grew more and more foul.

Then, when she added the final ingredient, something incredible happened.

A fragrant scent began to emanate from the tub that had been filled with a terrible stench.

It was truly unbelievable. The last ingredient she mixed in did not have a fragrance strong enough to overpower all the other foul odors.

It felt as if the noxious smells had combined over and over, and the final addition transformed them into something completely new.

Seo Daeryong placed a hand on the tub and prayed earnestly in his heart.

Director, please be strong!

At first, I truly thought I was going to die.

I would rather fall into the most foul-smelling, filthy place in the world than get into this tub. Ah, that wouldn't work. This tub is probably the most foul-smelling place in the world.

"Take this medicine and get in."

"What kind of medicine is it?"

"It's a medicine that will kill you for two days. If you're scared, you can give up now."

"Give up? This medicine is a welcome sight. It's a place I could never enter while alive."

I took the medicine the Insect Physician gave me without hesitation.

I swallowed the medicine, closed my eyes, and opened them again to find myself lying on a bed.

Only then could I feel it. Two days had passed. I had not dreamed and had no memory of anything. It seemed I had truly died and woken up after two days.

When I opened my eyes, Seo Daeryong was looking down at me. He stared at me silently for a moment before speaking with a serious expression.

"After careful consideration, I've decided not to pay back the five hundred thousand taels."

Seo Daeryong was probably the only person who could make me laugh the moment I opened my eyes.

"But I never lent you five hundred thousand taels?"

Just then, the Insect Physician entered the room.

"Leave that whiny, overthinking punk here. I should take him as my disciple."

At that, Seo Daeryong recoiled in horror.

"I would love that, but I have an important matter ahead of me."

"You can come after you finish your business. How about it?"

"I'm sorry, but I already have a Master, and he's the scariest person in the world."

"Not scarier than bugs?"

"Of course, bugs are scary too."

I sensed a hint of sincerity in the Insect Physician's jest.

Seo Daeryong gestured to me with his eyes. What are you doing? Hurry up and stop her.

Of course, I did not stop her.

"It wouldn't be so bad to try living a new life, would it?"

"You're trying to cut off your right arm the moment you open your eyes. You can't cut this arm off. When you paid the five hundred thousand taels, my arm turned into ten-thousand-year cold steel."

I smiled and said to the Insect Physician, "I'll contact you when that ten-thousand-year cold steel rusts, wears out, and falls off."

Seo Daeryong would not do, but I thought I should definitely recommend someone else suitable as the Insect Physician's disciple if I found them.

"You should step outside for a moment."

"……"

The Insect Physician sent Seo Daeryong outside.

"You can get up now."

I raised myself from the bed. My body felt light despite having been unconscious for two days. The power of this profound medical art was truly something.

"My body has a pleasant scent."

"It'll last for a few days."

"I wish this fragrance would last forever."

"If it did, you'd never be able to infiltrate anywhere for the rest of your life."

"Couldn't I just live a life where I don't have to do things like infiltration?"

"True. If you become the Heavenly Demon, you might be able to live such a life."

The Insect Physician brought some liquor and poured me a cup.

"Here, have a drink on me."

I drank the liquor she poured for me. She did not drink herself, only refilling my cup. She stopped pouring only after I had downed three cups in a row. I was the one drinking the liquor, but she was the one revealing her inner thoughts.

"To be honest, I was very tired. My body and mind were both exhausted. Perhaps helping the orphans was a desperate struggle to protect myself. It was like a support pillar, preventing me from collapsing from exhaustion, from going berserk."

I understood her words. I had experienced something similar. During my mercenary days, Seo Jin had protected me. During the time I searched for ingredients for the great technique, my desire for revenge had served that role.

The Insect Physician continued.

"When I saw you, I felt a sense of destiny. It was a feeling I'd never had before. Ah, to be honest, it was when I learned that you had achieved complete mastery of the Meridians Strengthening Art. The time has finally come. The indifferent heavens are finally giving me a chance."

She turned her head to look out the window at the sky. My gaze naturally followed hers.

"That damn sky, at least when it came to my research, was a truly wretched sky."

Her gaze returned to me.

"Do you know what was in the liquor you just drank?"

"I didn't feel anything."

"It contained imperceptible poison."

I was shocked.

Imperceptible poison is a colorless, odorless, and tasteless poison. Its potency is so powerful that it is called the King of Poisons. It is the Heavenly Demon of the poison world, the world's number one poison. Naturally, it is difficult to create and even more difficult to detoxify.

"I'm perfectly fine."

"Congratulations. From now on, no poison in the world will be able to kill you."

Her words meant the test was a success and that I had obtained the Myriad Poison Immunity Constitution.

"Imperceptible poison? Isn't that a bit too strong for a confirmation test?"

"This way, I don't have to check twice."

Creating a Myriad Poison Immunity Constitution with her own hands and then testing it with imperceptible poison was the crowning achievement of her life's dream.

I was now sharing the moment a master artisan fulfilled her lifelong ambition. I could feel all her emotions, the joy and relief, the bittersweetness and lingering attachment. Perhaps these were the emotions I would feel when I finally killed Hwa Mugi.

I gave her a deep bow.

"Thank you."

"I'm grateful too. This has been my lifelong ambition. Now I won't have to roam the world searching for poisonous insects anymore."

The illness that caused her so much pain was also something she had contracted while acquiring poisonous insects.

I went to her and massaged her shoulders.

"Aigoo, that feels good."

"Come to think of it, I've never even massaged Father's shoulders before."

"What an unfilial son."

"You may not know this, but he's the kind of person for whom I'd have to risk my life just to massage his shoulders once."

The Insect Physician laughed as if she found that amusing.

As I massaged her shoulders from behind, I felt she had less energy than when I first met her. It was the feeling of someone who had reached their final peak and was now beginning to descend.

"From now on, what goal will you live for?"

"A goal? I'm just going to live comfortably."

"You can't."

"I can't?"

A person who had so passionately devoted themselves to something begins to age frighteningly fast the moment they stop working. They begin to hurt more.

"You must research and develop something new for the murim again, and then give it to me."

"So the real greedy one was here all along."

I stopped massaging her shoulders, moved to her front, and took the Insect Physician's wrist. She stared at me intently as I held her wrist as if checking her pulse.

After pretending to take her pulse, I spoke.

"Your body is healthy enough to live comfortably for another fifty years. Get to work!"

Her expression showed she understood exactly why I was saying this.

"Aish, you rascal. Telling me to live another fifty years while I'm in pain? Don't jinx me."

"I'll visit you again and make sure you're cured."

"Even if they're empty words, thank you."

"I'm the one who should be thanking you for the rest of my life. Thanks to you, Elder, I can now live my life without ever worrying about being poisoned."

"It was something that could have succeeded or failed, but you bravely risked your life. Think of this as a reward for that courage."

"I'll repay this debt for years to come. If you ever need my help, please send word to the West Lake Inn in the Central Plains, and I'll be sure to visit."

"I will."

I went outside with her.

Seo Daeryong greeted us with a joyful face.

"Congratulations to you both."

Just as we finished our farewells and were about to leave, the Insect Physician held out a poisonous insect.

"Eat one of these before you go! It's delicious."

"I'm sorry, but I don't like bugs either."

I ran first, and Seo Daeryong dashed after me.

Watching the two figures disappear into the distance, the Insect Physician looked up at the sky.

"As a physician, I have fulfilled my duty."

After looking up at the sky for a moment, she habitually massaged her shoulder and went inside.

"Aigoo, my arm."

I carried Seo Daeryong on my back and dashed forward using the Swift Step.

Seo Daeryong had an easier time than on the way here. This was partly because he had already experienced it once and partly because his inner arts had increased.

While on my back, he worried about all sorts of things.

"Do you think I can win? Who will my opponent be? What if we arrive late and I get disqualified? Or what if I die in the semifinals, just like in my dream?"

"Stop with the useless worrying!"

"It's my own little trick. I keep imagining the worst-case scenario to let the steam out, so that it doesn't happen in reality."

"And has it been effective?"

"I don't know. The worst-case scenario hasn't happened yet."

"That's why it's called useless worrying!"

When we barely made it back in time, a completely unexpected situation awaited us.

"……"

Seo Daeryong stared at a poster from the Murim Alliance with a surprised look. It was a poster announcing news related to the Young Dragon Tournament.

"I… made it to the finals?"

An incident had occurred in the quarterfinal duel of the bracket after Seo Daeryong's.

In that duel, one contestant suffered a fatal injury, and the opponent's malicious intent was revealed. As a result, the opponent who was supposed to face Seo Daeryong in the semifinals was disqualified. He automatically advanced to the finals.

"Didn't I tell you dreams are the opposite of reality? Didn't I say all that worrying was useless?"

At my words, Seo Daeryong still could not take his eyes off the official notice posted on the wall.

"Um… is it really okay for me to go to the finals like this?"

"You didn't use any tricks, and you didn't cheat. Why shouldn't you go? They say that neither the talented nor the hardworking can beat a lucky person."

"But I've never been this lucky before."

"Luck can change as you live your life."

Seo Daeryong turned to look at me, his emotions clear in his gaze. This luck, it's all thanks to you, Director.

"When I decided to participate in the Young Dragon Tournament, I wanted to win and be of help to Director Seo. Now there's only one step left."

"That last step is the problem."

An opponent against whom luck would not work had advanced to the finals. Jin Haryong, the Murim Alliance Chairman's granddaughter, had reached the final match without any upsets.

And so, the final match became a showdown between Seo Daeryong, the incarnation of upsets, and Jin Haryong, the unchanging favorite to win.

"What should I do? I'm so nervous I don't think I'll even be able to draw my dao."

"You may not be able to draw your dao, but you can still read, can't you?"

"Huh? What do you mean?"

I took a lucky pouch from my robes. It was the pouch of stratagems that the Blood Heaven Blade Demon had given for Seo Daeryong.

"It means the time has finally come to use this."