Chapter 440: The Poison King's Place, Decided by My Father

TL: FoodieMonster007

Could there be a question more provocative and rude than asking the Poison King why he makes poison?

If our relationship wasn't as good as it is now, he might have immediately snapped. What kind of question is that to ask the Poison King? Or he might have retorted, "Then why do you practice swordsmanship?"

Fortunately, the Poison King knew my question wasn't thrown out without thought.

Instead of answering, he simply stared at me.

I slowly walked over and entered the space between the display cabinets.

"There are so many poisons here."

The number of poisons just in this aisle was immense. Many must have been passed down through generations in the Thousand Poisons Forest, but the Poison King must have collected many himself. There were also likely many newly created poisons, like the one from earlier.

"Why do you pour all your passion into making poison, like you did just now?"

This question was both fundamental and deeply personal. He could answer as a Demon Supreme or for personal reasons. It was a question whose answer would change depending on how he took it.

I turned back to the Poison King and added another question.

"You've dedicated your entire life to poison, haven't you? What does poison mean to you, Poison King?"

For a moment, I saw a small flicker of passion in his eyes that I had never seen before.

He must have been called strong countless times and a fearsome man just as often.

But had he ever been told that he had dedicated his life to poison?

Was the statement burdensome? The Poison King's gaze shifted to the poisons on the opposite side from where I was looking.

A moment of silence passed.

The Poison King still hadn't answered my question about why he makes poison.

I threw out a new question. This too was the first time I had asked him this since we met.

"Or do you wish to one day stain the world with the blood of poison?"

This was his life before my regression.

This time, the answer came quickly. The Poison King replied without turning back.

"If I must."

I was actually relieved. I felt that such an answer was further from a sea of blood than a promise that it would never happen. The one who takes their own life isn't the person who was crying yesterday, but the one who was smiling.

Was I not worried he would commit such an act again? Not at all. I know better than anyone how the same person can change depending on their situation, environment, and the people around them. Because the Poison King from before my regression and the Poison King now were completely different people. No, they were the same person, but living a different life. Just like me now.

"It seems I've asked a pointless question. Please forgive my rudeness."

At that, the Poison King, who had been staring blankly at the poison vials, slowly shook his head.

"I've never been asked such a question before."

Indeed, who would dare ask the Poison King why he makes poison? His inability to answer wasn't because of my question.

"I've never seriously thought about it either."

My younger self would not have believed him. I would have thought he was just trying to sound cool. But I know now. The closer one gets to a state of mastery, the less one tends to think about it.

"You must have. You just can't remember it now."

"Yes, I suppose I must have at some point. But I can't remember when that was."

"It seems that even you, the Poison King, cannot avoid being swept along by life."

I said it playfully, but the Poison King's expression remained serious.

He walked over and picked up the bottle containing the Myriad Deaths Poison he had made today. The look in his eyes as he gazed at it seemed to ask a question.

Why did I make this? Without giving up, even after failing so many times.

Before he could sink deeper into his thoughts and enter his own world, I answered for him.

"To protect our Cult."

To the Poison King, this was clearly the wrong answer.

"The Cult Leader is here, so why would I need to protect it?"

The time had come to properly explain why I had come to see him.

"The people of the orthodox sects or unorthodox sects probably fear you, the Poison King, more than my father."

At the root of that terror was this fear. The fear of dying without even getting to fight properly. If you die fighting, no matter who the opponent is, you wouldn't feel it was unfair. But a fight with the Poison King is over if you take one wrong breath or drink one wrong sip of water.

The reason the Poison King was the most powerful deterrent to war might not be the fear of mass slaughter, but the fear of not wanting to die a pointless dog's death.

"There's a reason I asked you that question earlier."

I told the Poison King everything that had happened since I returned, even my worry that my father might be dreaming of the unification of the murim.

Even after hearing the whole story, the Poison King's expression didn't change at all. He must have known from the start when he brought me here that I had a separate reason for visiting the Thousand Poisons Forest today.

"Even if everyone opposes the Cult Leader's dream, shouldn't you be the one to support it?"

"It seems he didn't just give me good looks, but his stubbornness as well."

"You intend to block the Cult Leader's path?"

Although I felt terribly sorry toward my father, I silently nodded and began to persuade the Poison King.

"I want these poisons to remain here forever."

"Are you trying to make me useless?"

"It's the opposite."

"The opposite?"

I slowly touched a poison vial placed before me. The paper attached to the bottle read 'the Flaming Soul Death Poison(炎魄絶命毒)'. It was a terrifying poison that, with just a few drops, would spread like flames and snatch away all life in the vicinity.

"Because your terror and dignity will be maintained as long as these poisons are here. The moment you, the Poison King, use poison on the murim, that terror will turn to fury. Your dignity will be covered by resentment."

The Poison King said nothing.

"The essence of the poison arts is not in poisoning, but in detoxifying."

It was something I had told him before. Since he had taught his own successor this way, he clearly held such a belief.

"When you saved everyone by detoxifying the Poison Tyrant's poison last time, you were so magnificent, Poison King."

I couldn't know what he was thinking at this moment, but I conveyed my sincere feelings.

"Please, don't live as the Poison King who poisons for my father's demonic path, but as the Poison King who detoxifies for mine."

I said everything I wanted to say, because I had a premonition that I had lost to my father, who had silently helped with the poison-making and left today.

"I apologize for the rude request."

I bowed my head respectfully.

It was a demand I was making without knowing his true feelings.

The Poison King, who had been silent until then, suddenly spoke.

"You are mistaken about one thing."

That one thing was something I had truly never considered.

"Do you think the Cult Leader intends to use me to achieve the unification of the murim?"

"Is that not the case?"

"Four years and seven months ago, when I went to gather poison herbs with the Cult Leader, he said this to me."

And then, a surprising truth was revealed. The Poison King relayed the exact words my father had said to him that day.

"I will not unify the murim with poison. There is no need for poison arts in my murim."

I was stunned. I never imagined my father would have said such a thing. I knew he disliked the poison arts, but to think he would say it directly to the Poison King.

"Weren't you disappointed?"

"I was. But I wasn't offended. It was much better than him pretending not to dislike the poison arts."

This was how my father treated the Demon Supremes.

And those two men had made poison together today without exchanging a single word. I might not know for sure, but perhaps there was an understanding that only the two of them shared.

The Poison King relayed the last thing my father had said that day.

"To me, you are not someone who will strike the murim, but someone who will protect our Cult. Even if my unification of the murim fails, our Cult will not fall because of you."

That was the place my father had decided for the Poison King. The final bastion.

"I promised that day to follow the Cult Leader's will."

I could now finally understand the Poison King's end in my life before regression. When the Cult Leader's palace was overrun and my father passed away, the Eight Demon Supremes gave up on revenge. Until now, I thought it was because they were overwhelmed by Hwa Mugi's absolute martial prowess. I thought they had chosen life over death. That's why I considered it a betrayal, though I also understood it was a losing battle.

But today, for the first time, a new thought occurred to me. Perhaps a different situation had unfolded that day, one I didn't know about. A situation where everyone had to give up on revenge. Because I felt that the Poison King, at least, would not have just stood by. Yet he did not seek revenge, and later caused a tragedy, meeting a miserable end.

We were probably thinking of the same person, but the Poison King broke the reverie.

"It's because I like poison."

It was the answer to my earlier question. He had been unable to give this simple answer for so long. It couldn't have been that he couldn't think of it. Do I still truly like poison? Or have I forgotten that feeling and am just making poison out of habit? He must have been unable to answer because he was searching for the answers to the various questions that followed.

"Of course it's because you like poison."

When I said it as if I already knew the answer, the Poison King looked at me.

"Someone who doesn't like poison couldn't squat for a few hours just to watch a poison insect crawl, could they? Such a person wouldn't give names to their poisonous snakes. You truly love poison, Poison King. Please, you must show me what lies at the end of that love and dedication for poison. You must let me know."

These were words he had likely never heard from anyone, because he was the Poison King. I believe there are words that the Poison King, my father, and even the me who regressed want to hear, need to hear. Words that must be heard in any person's life. I had just said those words to the Poison King.

The Poison King smiled at me. Joy and gratitude filled his eyes as he looked at me.

"I can't let this good mood go to waste. So, are you on my father's side, Poison King? Or mine?"

The answer to this question came quickly. The Poison King walked out of the storeroom and stated calmly.

"I am on no one's side."

The one who gave a clear answer was the Flower Sword Supreme.

"I will follow the Cult Leader's will."

She made her decision without even feigning contemplation.

She had listened to the situation while practicing her swordsmanship in the training yard and uttered those words as she executed her final technique. After finishing a round of training, she strode to the edge of the training yard and gulped down the water she had placed there.

There had been a change since I last saw her. She had stopped wearing makeup at some point, and now her hair was white.

"This is my natural, unadorned hair."

The red camellia flower engraved on the scabbard of the One Flower Sword created a stylish contrast with her white hair.

"You become more magnificent with each passing day, Sword Supreme!"

"Of course! I knew you'd say that."

Was her appearance the only thing that had changed? I could feel that her martial arts realm, which had already ascended a level, was now advancing toward another.

"I appreciate your praise, but I will still follow the Cult Leader's will."

I had expected as much. When it came to respect for my father, she was second to none.

What if I couldn't persuade her? The remaining Demon Supremes were the Soul-Stealing Demon Supreme and the Demonic Buddha. Even if the young Demon Supreme, Seobhon, sided with me, if the Demonic Buddha followed my father, then half of them would already be on his side. Since the Poison King said he was on no one's side, even if the Blood Heaven Blade Demon sided with me, it would be four to three.

"That's too harsh! Have you forgotten? I'm your duel friend, Sword Supreme."

The Flower Sword Supreme gave a smile filled with apology.

"We've gotten quite close, haven't we?"

"Yes."

"And you know how grateful I am to you, right?"

"I do."

"No, I don't think you do. How grateful I am. But I must say this."

The Flower Sword Supreme revealed her honest feelings about the matter. Words I never expected came from her.

"I'm worried the Cult Leader won't start a war."

Our friendship was one thing, but her conviction was a separate matter.

"I believe the Cult Leader can achieve the great task of unifying the murim. As you know, the Cult Leader is a truly outstanding man. An opportunity to fulfill our Cult's long-cherished wish has come, and if we miss this chance, the future generations of our Cult will regret this time for ages to come."

It occurred to me that perhaps the biggest reason she trained so arduously was to one day fulfill the dream of unifying the murim with my father.

"Perhaps the birth of a son like you can be seen as a trial for the Cult Leader. Great undertakings are always accompanied by trials. That's fate at work."

Though her words could have hurt me, she looked at me and continued to speak calmly. By being honest with me instead of deceiving me, she was offering her apology.

"I sincerely hope the Cult Leader overcomes the trial that is you. And I truly hope he achieves his great work."

The Flower Sword Supreme asked with a gentle gaze.

"I'm sorry if your feelings are hurt."

I answered with a smile.

"Not at all. In fact, thank you for speaking so honestly."

"I'm grateful you think so."

"The next time I visit, I'll come as your duel friend."

I bowed politely to her and turned to leave.

Then, from behind me, the Flower Sword Supreme said something unexpected.

"Don't be too disappointed. From what I can see, you're winning this match right now."

Confused by her incomprehensible words, I turned back to her.

However, she had already drawn her sword and resumed her training.

"That's why I'm unconditionally on the Cult Leader's side."