Chapter 647: This Is for Our Poison King

TL: FoodieMonster007

Geom Mugeuk examined the room's interior and came to a realization.

"It seems this secret room wasn't moved here from another location very long ago."

How had he figured that out?

Geom Mugeuk's observation was correct. This was a newly constructed underground secret room. It was originally located under a secluded warehouse at the physician's clinic, but a few years ago, So Cheongrak had built a new one beneath his own residence. The previous location had become too inconvenient to use.

So Cheongrak's gaze asked how he knew, and Geom Mugeuk offered a meaningful smile in response.

"Didn't I say it earlier? You were probably perfectly cautious at first, but you gradually let your guard down."

So Cheongrak could not refute those words. He had clearly been careless.

He was now a man respected by everyone. Even if this place were discovered, he could just say it was where he researched and created antidotes. He could claim he built a secret room underground because handling poisons was dangerous.

However, the situation was changing as Geom Mugeuk continued to press him.

If Geom Mugeuk used his brilliant rhetoric to push the narrative that this was a place for practicing poison arts, So Cheongrak might truly become such a person in their eyes.

After all, Geom Mugeuk was the man who had led them here without drawing his sword or even frowning. The key that opened the door to this secret room had been his sharp tongue.

Soon, So Cheongrak calmed his heart.

Stay calm. That bastard must be trembling with anxiety too.

His gaze shifted from Geom Mugeuk to the two old demons. The ones he had to bet on now were the old demons.

No matter how Geom Mugeuk dazzled them with his brilliant rhetoric, it could not be stronger than So Cheongrak's own poison.

It was unlikely, but if the two old demons ultimately refused to listen to him, he planned to poison them. He would then use the antidote as leverage to make them kill.

"The Young Cult Leader is wrong. I will release the prohibitions on you two right here."

So Cheongrak walked over to the large stone bed in the center of the room. "Look at this," he said. "Haven't I even prepared a bed for the grand ritual?"

To anyone, it looked like a place for a grand ritual.

The expressions of the Demonic Fire Lord and the White Bone Spirit Demon had also softened considerably.

However, Geom Mugeuk's eyes were sharp.

"It seems to be a bed where poison arts were tested."

The Demonic Fire Lord's expression hardened as he asked Geom Mugeuk, "What do you mean by that?"

"Look at the side over there."

Where Geom Mugeuk pointed, a red stain remained. The two old demons instantly recognized it as a bloodstain, and their expressions hardened.

Geom Mugeuk caressed the stone bed. "How many people do you think have died here?" he asked.

The two old demons stared at So Cheongrak with cold eyes.

Hadn't So Cheongrak just spoken as if he had prepared the bed specifically for them?

The thought of performing the grand ritual in a place where people had died from poison could not possibly feel good.

So Cheongrak was inwardly flustered and annoyed, but he forced himself to calmly acknowledge the fact.

"That's right. This also serves as my laboratory. There will be no mistakes if I perform the grand ritual in a familiar place."

He did not deny it, but the expressions of the Demonic Fire Lord and the White Bone Spirit Demon did not soften.

So Cheongrak quickly changed the subject.

"The grand ritual will proceed without any problems. The basic ingredients have already been prepared, and the remaining ones will be brought on the day of the ritual."

At his explanation, Geom Mugeuk looked at the herbs and said, "Is that really so?"

The two old demons' gazes turned to Geom Mugeuk.

"There are only poisonous herbs here. There isn't a single ingredient for the grand ritual. He's tricking you again, thinking you don't know much about herbs. You can tell just by looking at this. A fight is about to break out in a place where the ritual ingredients are supposedly kept, yet he's just standing by and watching, isn't he?"

So Cheongrak calmly told the two old demons, "They are basic ingredients that can be quickly obtained again. Please, don't be played by that cunning tongue. He's just trying to sow all sorts of discord solely to survive."

He had to kill Geom Mugeuk as soon as possible.

"Now, since you've seen the place for the grand ritual, please kill the Young Cult Leader as promised. It is up to you two to decide who to believe."

He was confident they had no choice but to believe him in the end. No matter how much Geom Mugeuk tried to sow discord, So Cheongrak was the one who would ultimately release their prohibitions.

What if, by some chance, they believed Geom Mugeuk?

If that happened, they would all die here together. They would not be able to withstand his poison.

However, those old demons would not just die quietly, so he would not be able to survive either.

In the end, only Geom Mugeuk would survive. So please, don't even think about striking me, you old fools.

Geom Mugeuk said to the two old demons, "Since you've come this far, why not make one last confirmation?"

"What confirmation?"

"Didn't he say he would show you the person who will perform the grand ritual with him? Why don't you see that person too?"

So Cheongrak could not understand why Geom Mugeuk was so obsessed with this place and that person.

"Don't fall for his tricks."

Geom Mugeuk retorted as if he had been waiting for it.

"If this were a trick, I wouldn't have suggested seeing another person. That would just mean one more enemy for me. Am I wrong?"

It was not an incorrect statement, so the Demonic Fire Lord and the White Bone Spirit Demon gave a slight nod.

So Cheongrak was bewildered.

Right, he's correct. Why does he keep insisting on seeing him when it would mean another powerful enemy?

In that moment, a chill ran down his spine.

So Cheongrak's trembling gaze turned to Geom Mugeuk.

You, don't tell me! Are you trying to gather everyone in one place to kill them all at once?

The thought that it might be possible occurred to him. How else could he explain the look of utter composure on that face?

Then, a question naturally arose.

If he's so confident in his skills, why did he suggest coming here instead of just killing us back in the clinic?

There or here…

In that very instant, So Cheongrak realized there was one difference between that place and this one.

Something that was there, but not here.

It was the sleeping physicians, patients, and their guardians.

He suggested coming here because of them?

To avoid fighting there?

If a fight had broken out there, many of the sleeping people would have been injured or killed.

It would have been the same even if they fought outside the clinic. The place was teeming with patients everywhere.

This was the only place where they could fight without people getting hurt. He thought that far ahead in the midst of all this?

Ah! Come to think of it!

Earlier, Geom Mugeuk had severed the line connecting So Cheongrak and the patients to show that he had inner arts.

Throughout their conversation in the clinic, Geom Mugeuk had never once paid any attention to the patients, so So Cheongrak had not noticed. Even when leaving, he had not given them a single glance.

Was that all to hide his inner thoughts of worrying about them?

That was not the surprising part.

He was well aware that Geom Mugeuk was no ordinary Young Cult Leader of the Demonic Cult. He might normally value human life. So Cheongrak himself had lived such a life on the surface.

However, the important thing was the current situation. When things were good, what mask could one not wear?

But this was not a situation where one could wear a mask and enjoy a banquet.

In the midst of a life-or-death situation, he wore the mask of a righteous warrior from the martial arts academy and even cared about their life and death?

So Cheongrak found it hard to believe. Even he, who had been treating them until this morning, had not been able to spare a thought for the sleeping patients.

"Did you suggest coming here because of the patients?"

Instead of answering, Geom Mugeuk asked So Cheongrak a question.

"Aren't those people your responsibility to look after?"

"What?"

"You're a physician, and those people are patients. I thought that's why you so readily brought us here."

So Cheongrak could tell. Geom Mugeuk was rebuking him for his actions.

Far from caring for them, he had used them as hostages. He had even threatened that if he died, they would die too, by connecting himself to them.

Geom Mugeuk was touching upon the taboo of a man who had lived his entire life as a respected physician.

"That's enough of your mockery."

Geom Mugeuk stared at him silently. His deep gaze seemed to be peering into the depths of So Cheongrak's heart.

Into that black hole.

"I think Hwa Yulcheong is the same. Just as you satisfied your suppressed desires by killing innocent people in this basement, he must have something too."

Feeling a strange sense of shame, So Cheongrak urged the two old demons, "Are you just going to keep watching like this?"

At that, the two old demons stepped forward.

They had already made the decision to kill Geom Mugeuk. That was a fact that had not changed from beginning to end.

It was not because they trusted So Cheongrak. It was because they trusted him, the one who came to persuade them.

The Demonic Fire Lord looked at the White Bone Spirit Demon and said, "This junior will handle it."

But the White Bone Spirit Demon shook his head.

"Let's do it together."

"You're suggesting a joint attack?"

Surprisingly, the White Bone Spirit Demon nodded. The Demonic Fire Lord knew that the White Bone Spirit Demon was an old man just as proud as himself, if not more so.

But he's suggesting a joint attack?

The Demonic Fire Lord knew that the White Bone Spirit Demon had become less talkative and more cautious ever since he had looked at Geom Mugeuk with the Dark Black Mind's Eye.

"What did you see in that Young Cult Leader?"

An even deeper darkness flowed from the White Bone Spirit Demon's eyes as he looked at Geom Mugeuk.

The people the White Bone Spirit Demon had seen until now had shown various forms.

Some had shown the form of a ferocious beast, while others had shown the form of a lost, crying child.

He had seen a well-forged sword, and he had seen darkness.

And what he saw in Geom Mugeuk was Geom Mugeuk.

Geom Mugeuk was looking down at him from above a pit. And he himself was standing in a pit just the right size for a coffin, looking up at him.

This was the first time since he started using the Dark Black Mind's Eye that he had seen not only his opponent but also himself.

If Geom Mugeuk's eyes had held killing intent, hatred, or anger, it would not have bothered him this much.

However, his gaze held no emotion at all. It was as indifferent as looking at a pebble on the roadside. That gaze was unsettling and unnerving.

When he finished using the Dark Black Mind's Eye, he felt as if he had not been looking into him, but at himself. The reason he had greeted him so meekly was precisely because of that terrible sense of unease.

The White Bone Spirit Demon did not tell the Demonic Fire Lord what he had seen, but how tense he was was clearly conveyed.

For that reason, the Demonic Fire Lord did not let his guard down either.

Watching this, So Cheongrak was inwardly delighted.

Perfect.

As long as the two of them did not let their guard down, they would be able to kill the Young Cult Leader, no matter how great his martial arts were.

As the two old demons began to seriously channel their energy, Geom Mugeuk raised a hand and said, "Wait! Please wait just a moment."

So Cheongrak almost screamed in frustration.

What now! Please just stop talking and fight! Fight and die!

This time, it was not words, but actions.

And they were completely incomprehensible actions.

"One step, two steps, three steps…"

Geom Mugeuk measured the distance from one end of the wall to the other with his steps.

"What are you doing?"

A reply came that made him wish he had not asked.

"I've gotten bigger recently. It's hard to get a good measure."

So Cheongrak looked at the two old demons. His gaze was filled with the sentiment of 'just get rid of him', but they just watched what Geom Mugeuk was doing. He was that intriguing, and it was also because they did not completely trust So Cheongrak.

After measuring the width of the underground secret room, Geom Mugeuk made one more request.

"Ah, there's something else I have to do. A very important task! It's something that can secure our Seniors' retirement."

How could they not be curious when he said that?

Geom Mugeuk picked up a leather pouch that was lying in the corner and began to pack poisonous herbs into it.

"Gihwacho can only be found in the Outer Regions, and you've collected so much. There's even the root of the Yin Wind Flower here. This is really precious too."

Feeling an unknown sense of foreboding, So Cheongrak shouted. He thought Geom Mugeuk was up to some trick.

"Hurry up and kill him!"

But instead, Geom Mugeuk scolded him.

"Then you're a failure as a physician, and a failure as a poison master!"

"What?"

"Are you saying it's okay for these precious herbs to be damaged in the fight? Are poisonous herbs such trivial things to you? You abandon your patients, you abandon your herbs. What in the world are you?"

So Cheongrak could not retort, not expecting Geom Mugeuk to scold him like this. He could not argue, but he was dumbfounded. Whose fault was it that he was caught up in this mess?

Geom Mugeuk focused on packing the precious poisonous herbs that were stored separately in a display cabinet.

"You just stay put. I may not be able to make poison, but I know very well which poisonous herbs are precious. These are things money can't buy."

So, what he meant by securing their retirement was that after they killed him, they should take these poisonous herbs and sell them.

He was not just pulling a trick. Geom Mugeuk was genuinely packing the poisonous herbs.

He stuffed the leather pouch full, as if trying to fit in even one more. They were truly precious herbs whose value was hard to even measure in money.

So Cheongrak watched, half-resigned. As Geom Mugeuk said, they could be damaged in the fight, so it was actually a good thing for him if they were packed up like this.

After killing Geom Mugeuk, the two old demons would covet the poisonous herbs? That was unlikely, and impossible. Would they be so greedy when they needed their prohibitions released?

"Seniors, please step aside for a moment."

Geom Mugeuk even packed the poisonous herbs that were behind the two men.

So Cheongrak was inwardly tense, wondering if he would launch a surprise attack, but Geom Mugeuk focused only on packing the herbs.

Watching him, So Cheongrak sneered coldly.

"Stalling for time like this won't bring anyone to help you. But thanks for packing my poisonous herbs."

"Sorry, but this isn't for you."

"What?"

"This is for our Poison King."

So Cheongrak's expression was one of utter bewilderment. In other words, it meant that Geom Mugeuk intended to win this fight. At the same time, rage surged within him. He was going to give these precious herbs to, of all people, the Poison King?

Geom Mugeuk tossed the leather pouch full of poisonous herbs to him.

"If you want to live, hold that and stick close to the wall. You'll die if you step forward."

Then, Geom Mugeuk turned toward the Demonic Fire Lord and the White Bone Spirit Demon and drew the Black Demon Sword.

"Now, you've waited long enough. Let's have a conversation in the style of our Cult."