Chapter 212: The Poison in Which Pouch

TL: FoodieMonster007

Do I think the Poison King is trapped in his own world?

"Isn't he?" I asked Father, thinking it was obvious.

Does Father not think so? What kind of person does he think the Poison King is?

Father hadn't brought it up to describe the Poison King or his world. He said it to ask me a question.

"How open is your world?"

Father looked at me for a moment, then silently returned to his residence.

I stood there thinking about what Father had said, and then I understood. I understood the meaning behind his words.

Father was asking me this.

What's the difference between you, who preaches a new demonic path, and the Poison King? To others, aren't you also trapped in your own world?

Of course, this didn't mean I was the same as the Poison King, who disliked meeting people and preferred to be alone. It meant my approach to the Poison King was wrong. From such a perspective, the Poison King would never open his heart.

The Poison King must have felt it. He must have sensed that I saw him as someone trapped in his own world. Countless people must have looked at him that way. I was no different. Demanding a written promise that he would leave the Thousand Poisons Forest was a mistake from the start.

"Thank you, Father! As expected, you are the wisest and most magnanimous person in the world…"

Before I could finish, the lights inside the house went out.

"…and the coldest."

I bowed respectfully toward Father's residence before turning back to my own.

Giving me a clue put Father at a disadvantage, but he still enlightened me. It was an act of affection for a son who, beyond their wager, was asking for his help.

The next day, I went to the Thousand Poisons Forest, but the Poison King was not in his residence.

I searched the surrounding forest for him. After a while, I found the Poison King deep within the woods.

He was lying face down on the ground, having a staring contest with a snake.

The Poison King could carry a conversation just fine, but once he became absorbed in something, he wouldn't notice if someone died right next to him.

Even now, he was lost in a state of self-forgetfulness, unaware that I had approached. This was why I thought he was trapped in his own world. I considered him an eccentric and, without realizing it, subconsciously thought I was superior to him.

This was what Father had made me realize. He told me not to think that way. The Poison King wasn't trapped, he was simply living his own life.

As I got closer, I saw it was no ordinary snake.

It was a Flower Queen Seven Steps Snake, a spirit beast with one of the deadliest poisons. It was called the Flower Queen because it loved flowers, and Seven Steps Snake because even a martial artist with profound inner arts would die before taking seven steps if bitten.

Just then, the Poison King spoke to the snake.

"Hey, you've gotten arrogant now that you're bigger. Since when did you start holding your head up so stiffly and defying me?"

At that, the Flower Queen Seven Steps Snake, which had been flicking its tongue, lowered its head. It seemed impossible, but it truly looked as if it understood his words.

"And I told you, I don't care about other things, but don't eat the Gwihwacho fruit without permission, didn't I? Why don't you listen? Do you want to be soaked in fiery liquor to come to your senses?"

The Flower Queen Seven Steps Snake coiled up and tucked its head inside its body.

Does it really understand human speech? It must be a coincidence, right?

I had seen all sorts of things in my life, but this was a first.

Just then, another snake slithered past them. This one was the Yin Yang Blood Viper, whose poison was just as potent as the Flower Queen Seven Steps Snake's. This too was a snake not easily seen.

"Wola!"

The Yin Yang Blood Viper stopped and looked at the Poison King. As the creature flicked its tongue, the Poison King said, "You know this guy, Wangi, is a player, right?"

The Yin Yang Blood Viper looked at the Flower Queen Seven Steps Snake and hissed, flicking its tongue.

"If Wangi bothers you, come and tell me. Got it?"

I couldn't tell if it really understood him, but as soon as he finished speaking, the Yin Yang Blood Viper disappeared into the undergrowth.

"You can go now, too!"

With that, the Flower Queen Seven Steps Snake vanished into the forest.

It was truly a sight that was hard to believe even after seeing it.

The Poison King got up from his spot and was startled to see me.

"Whoa! You scared me!"

"I'm the one who's more surprised. How can you be so startled, as if you never expect anyone to be near you?"

Of course, if someone had approached with killing intent or malice, the Poison King would have noticed instantly. One should never underestimate the martial arts of a Demon Supreme. A Demon Supreme is, after all, a Demon Supreme. If they were to go on a rampage, no one could predict who would defeat whom. They simply do not reveal their true abilities.

"If you asked a group of assassins which of the Eight Demon Supremes they'd like to kill, they'd all line up for the Poison King! Even an assassin on his first kill would succeed and leave."

"If they did, they'd get bitten by Wangi and die."

"Don't tell me, you've even given the snakes names?"

"Is this the first time you've seen a Poison King who names his snakes?"

The Poison King strode away.

Of course it's the first time! I thought, following closely behind him.

"Since when have you been so close with snakes?"

"I started wandering around catching snakes when I was seven. Wangi and Wola were around even back then."

"You were young."

"In our time, everyone started at that age."

A mix of sorrow and joy filled the Poison King's eyes as he recalled his childhood. This was a clue as to why he hated the idea of leaving this place.

"If you've been here since you were seven, then this place must be your world, Poison King."

The Poison King stopped walking and glanced at me.

"And you said you wanted to take me out of this world?"

"No. I now regret saying that."

"……"

"My desire to show you the outside world is still the same, but I shouldn't have said it that way. I sincerely apologize for being arrogant."

When you're sorry, you apologize sincerely. I didn't add any excuses for why I had to act that way. Excuses are for the one who forgives to attach to their forgiveness.

However, I couldn't tell if he had heard me. He had already stopped walking and was staring at a poisonous insect on a tree.

I smiled unknowingly at the sight of the Poison King getting lost in something again.

What is he thinking about now? Perhaps he's trying to communicate with that poisonous insect.

This is his world, and it is an open world.

A few more days passed.

I silently focused on my work, and the Poison King still enjoyed getting lost in his own world.

The thing that changed over those few days was my attitude toward the Poison King's world. Now, I tried to understand his world, the world where a seven-year-old boy went around catching poisonous snakes.

Today, the Poison King was lost in thought again, staring at poisonous mushrooms growing in a wooden box.

Then, he casually turned his head and shouted, "You scared me!"

I was standing quietly beside him, also looking at the wooden box he had been staring at.

"Are you going to keep scaring me?"

"Seeing those poisonous mushrooms grow so well puts my heart at ease. Doesn't this mean I've become a poison master too?"

"How long has it been that you're already talking about being a poison master?"

"I think I'll just live here too. The Thousand Poisons Forest feels like my home now."

"It's a mistake to think anything will change just because you're acting all friendly like this."

"It's better if you don't change. You're perfect just the way you are now, Poison King."

"What?" the Poison King shouted, looking at me.

"It won't work! These cheap tricks won't work on me!"

The volume of his voice gradually increased as he denied me. It was proof that I was getting closer to him.

Sangseon always guided me from the entrance of the Thousand Poisons Forest to the Poison King's residence.

"I can go in by myself now."

"Still, dangerous poisons could appear."

That probably wasn't the only reason. He still guided me through various confusing paths, never letting his guard down around me.

I felt this stemmed from a deep loyalty to the Poison King. The eyes of someone who genuinely likes and is loyal to another person are bound to show it.

"Elder, there's something I'd like to ask you."

"Speak."

"Since when have you known the Poison King?"

"I've known him since he was a child."

"What was he like in his childhood?"

Sangseon stopped walking. "Why do you ask?"

"I'm curious."

"He wasn't much different from how he is now. He was intelligent, thoughtful, cheerful, and bright. He also had the qualities of a leader."

I forced myself to swallow the words, Isn't he completely different from how he is now?

I felt Sangseon wouldn't take my joke as a joke. His affection for the Poison King wasn't simple loyalty, but more like that of an uncle or a parent.

Seeing him reminded me of the Blood Heaven Blade Demon.

I didn't know if the Poison King was intelligent, thoughtful, cheerful, bright, and had the qualities of a leader, but one thing was certain. He was cute. It wasn't just because of his youthful appearance. For instance, there were things like this.

The Poison King wore twelve pouches on his waist, and each pouch had a picture drawn on it. They were the twelve animals of the zodiac, anthropomorphized in a colorful and cute style you would expect on children's clothing. I had overlooked them at first, but now I could see.

"You picked these out yourself, didn't you?"

"I drew them."

I was shocked. He drew all of these himself?

"No one in the world would ever know that the Poison King's deadliest poisons were inside such cute pouches."

Shouldn't the poison pouches of the Poison King be decorated with evil spirits, or fearsome characters like 'demonic', 'kill', 'evil', or 'death'? When all those pouches opened, hell would unfold. In fact, that contrast made them feel even more bizarre and terrifying.

"Which pouch contains the most fearsome poison? Surely it's not the one in that cute rabbit pouch, is it?"

"Should we check and see?" he asked, moving to put his hand in the rabbit pouch.

"I'll pass!" I waved my hands dismissively and scrambled backward.

The Poison King broke into a smile at the sight but then quickly composed himself. It was the first time he had smiled brightly at me. It seemed he was surprised at himself for smiling. I pretended not to have seen any of it.

The next day, we had an important poison concoction to make.

Unlike usual, the Poison King explained today's poison-making process with a serious expression.

"This Heavenly Heart Poison here is an ingredient for the Dark Soul Poison, one of the deadliest poisons I use. A single drop can easily kill dozens of people. Now, you stand far over there… you've already backed away."

I was standing by the door, ready to bolt at any moment.

The Poison King looked for something on his desk. "It was here, where did it go?"

"What are you looking for?"

"My gloves." He was looking for the green leather gloves he used when handling poison.

"Are you perhaps talking about these?" I held up the gloves I was wearing.

"Why are you wearing them?"

"Because you said it was such a dangerous poison."

"Then what about me?"

"Why does the Poison King need gloves?"

"Aren't you going to bring them here right now?"

I quickly took them off and brought them to him.

"What's in your mouth?"

I took out the Antitoxin Beads I was holding in both cheeks and showed them to him. The Poison King shook his head with a dumbfounded expression at the sight of me holding two.

"With all this, I don't think even I could kill you."

Of course, he was joking. If the Poison King decided to kill me, I couldn't block his poison even if I held a hundred Antitoxin Beads.

I was also playing a prank on him. It was part of my effort to get closer. If he truly was a bright and cheerful person when he was young, then those parts of him must be dormant somewhere in his heart.

The Poison King put on the gloves and began to concoct the poison in earnest.

"If the amount is off even slightly, blue smoke will rise. Then it's a failure. You have to be really careful and focused. This is a method that only I can perform."

The Poison King showed me how to mix the Heavenly Heart Poison to create Amheunjeoldok. Since I couldn't identify the other ingredients, it was more like he was showing me how carefully the process had to be carried out, rather than teaching me how to make it.

He could have sent me out and done it alone, but it seemed he wanted to show off.

"Did you see that? How carefully and cautiously it must be handled."

"……"

Just then, blue smoke billowed up from behind him.

"Poison King!"

"You, get out of here!"

I quickly dashed outside. The Poison King drank an antidote from his robes and then poured a nearby liquid onto the source of the smoke.

CHIIIIIIK!

The smoke billowed up even more.

"Poison King! Poison King!"

He wasn't coming out quickly. I hesitated, wondering if I should run in and save him.

Just then, the Poison King emerged, waving away the poisonous smoke.

"Are you alright?"

"Of course I'm alright." He fanned away a puff of poisonous smoke that came from his mouth.

"The path of the poison arts is truly not an easy one."

"I failed on purpose. To warn you that you have to be careful."

"……"

"……"

"Of course you failed on purpose. There's no way the Poison King, the best poison user in all of murim, would fail at concocting a poison he uses all the time…"

"Enough."

"……"

I smiled brightly at him. The Poison King looked back at me with a face that didn't know how to react.

Oh, Poison King, you don't know yet. You don't know who will be standing in the training grounds.

It was at that very moment. Sangseon ran to where we were and reported urgently.

"An investigator from the Sanzu River Hall named Seo Daeryong has come looking for the Second Young Lord, saying it's an urgent matter."