Chapter 484

Chapter 484 – The lazy One Challenges (4)

Making a decision doesn’t mean everything is immediately resolved.

In this world, everything requires preparation. Although they had decided how to treat the patients, there were still many things to consider.

Among them, the most important was what kind of poison to use.

And that task fell to Tang Cheongun. Although the Tang Family is known as the “Poison Manipulators,” within the clan itself there was no one who dared to claim they knew poisons better than Tang Cheongun.

Otherwise, he wouldn’t have obtained the title of “Poison King”.

But like everything in this world, even what seems obviously possible can present small problems.

“This is called Heoxjeonghong (Crane Essence Red).”

Tang Cheongun placed a white porcelain jar he was holding in his hand on the table.

“A poison extracted from the brain of a crane that has lived for a thousand years. A single drop can kill a thousand water buffaloes. When someone is poisoned with Heoxjeonghong, their body begins to turn red from the point of intoxication. There is no way to stop the poison. If the arm is intoxicated, it will start there; if it’s the leg, there. Slowly, the whole body turns red until it finally dies.”

As Wei Yanho watched the jar with a bored expression, the Poison King took out a blue bag and placed it on the table.

“This is called Chilbochuheonsa (Seven-Step Soul-Chasing Sand). Literally, it is a sand that causes the soul to leave the body before the victim can take seven steps after being intoxicated. Of all the poisons of the Tang Family, this is the one that spreads the fastest. If Heoxjeonghong is like a slow flood, this would be a raging wave. If you need speed, this would be the one.”

“No, wait a moment.”

“If you don’t like this one either, then I recommend this one.”

Tang Cheongun took out a black container and placed it on the table.

“This is called Miinru (Tears of the Beauty)…”

“Uncle!”

“……”

Wei Yanho showed his irritation.

“What are you doing? You look like a street vendor.”

“……What do you mean? I’m just presenting the poisons.”

“Listening to that doesn’t help me at all! You are the expert, you should choose the right poison and give it to us!”

“If I could do it, I wouldn’t be doing this, you damn lazy bastard!”

Wei Yanho and Tang Cheongun began pointing fingers at each other.

“How can’t you?! You’re the Poison King! How can you call yourself the Poison King if you can’t do something so simple?”

“I’m the Poison King, not the Medicinal Poison King!”

Tang Cheongun also had his reasons.

From the beginning, the idea of using poison as medicine was crazy, and on top of that, asking him to choose one was absurd.

All his life he had researched how to kill people most efficiently with poisons, and now they were asking him to create a method to use them to save lives. What kind of nonsense was that?

“How am I supposed to do this?!”

“Why can’t the Poison King do it?! The Poison King!”

“I resign from being the Poison King, damn it!”

While Wei Yanho and Tang Cheongun were fighting, pointing at each other, the onlookers rushed to separate them.

“Calm down!”

“What do you gain by fighting with a child?!”

“You know very well that fighting brings nothing good, Clan Lord!”

Those holding Wei Yanho had different comments.

“Hey, brat! What do you think you’re doing provoking someone you should speak to with respect?!”

“Cheeky!”

“You’re wrong! You!”

Wei Yanho felt a little wronged.

“Why am I the only one getting scolded if we were both fighting?!”

“You deserve to be scolded!”

“Quiet, quiet. You’re okay.”

Something didn’t add up in those responses.

But now was not the time to worry about that.

“Stop wasting time and choose a poison at once.”

“Damn it!”

Tang Cheongun was furious.

“A poison that is neither fast nor slow, whose toxicity is neither strong nor weak… and that is also not too harmful to the human body but not too harmless either?! What kind of nonsense is that?! How am I supposed to find a poison like that?! Not even if they called me Poison Emperor or Ancestor of a Thousand Poisons could I do it!”

“Why can’t the Poison King do that?!”

“Demons!”

When the Poison King grabbed the jars from the table, the servants hung on his arm.

“Please, Family Leader, calm down!”

“Put it down first and then we’ll talk! We’ll all die! Well, everyone but that brat.”

“Grrrr!”

Tang Cheongun took a deep breath to calm down.

But Wei Yanho kept looking at him with reproachful eyes.

“If you can’t do that, how are you the Poison King?”

“I resign! I resign, damn it! You be the Poison King!”

“Is it something that can be transferred just like that?! If so, then you shouldn’t be called Poison King from the start!”

“Aaaahhh!!”

Tang Cheongun came to a painful conclusion. Although he would surely face many more adversities in the future, bringing Wei Yanho to the Tang Family would be one of the worst decisions of his life.

No joke: at that moment, if someone gave him the opportunity to hit Wei Yanho just once, he felt like he could sell his soul to the Demon Cult.

“Where is such a poison supposed to exist?!”

“Maybe if you look for it you’ll find it!”

“Hey, brat! Who would use a poison that is neither fast nor slow, neither strong nor weak, and that doesn’t harm the human body much?!”

“So there’s no poison that meets that?”

“Of course not! This is the Tang Family! Any poison that can’t kill a hundred buffaloes with a single drop is discarded!”

“Huh?”

Wei Yanho tilted his head.

“But…”

“What? What else? What?!”

“How are you going to share a single drop of poison with a hundred buffaloes? If they each lick it a little, it’ll be gone.”

“Who said they would give it to a single buffalo? It’s diluted in water. If after a day of drinking water with a drop of poison they don’t all die intoxicated, then that poison is useless for…”

Tang Cheongun stopped.

And Wei Yanho also closed his mouth.

“……”

“……”

Peng Dogeuk, who had understood the situation a little late, said in an empty voice:

“We can dilute it.”

No one could say anything.

“Let’s use Heoxjeonghong.”

“Why?”

“Because it has a unique advantage that the other poisons don’t have.”

“Which?”

“That the intoxicated area turns red. If we can visually see how far the poison has spread, it will be much easier to treat.”

“That makes sense. So, what would be the appropriate concentration?”

“Mmm, that’s difficult to explain with words.”

Tang Cheongun knew that he could no longer evade his responsibility. From now on, this was completely his domain. No one else in the clan had the same intuition and experience as him in this matter.

“I’ll have to rely on my instinct.”

“Will that be enough?”

“I don’t know.”

“Then what do we do?”

“Damn it, brat! It’s something that no one has done before, so there’s no other option. Just trust me. I am Tang Cheongun. As far as the use of poisons is concerned, no one in the world is more expert than me. If I fail, then everyone will fail. It’s not for nothing that I am the Poison King!”

“Hadn’t you resigned from being the Poison King?”

“…Ahem, anyway, we’ll use Heoxjeonghong. Is everything else ready?”

“Actually, there’s not much more to prepare. We just needed to decide on the poison.”

“I don’t know if it’s good or bad. Let’s go!”

“Isn’t there anything else to prepare?”

“We must assess the condition of the patients and use the amount they can withstand.”

“Oh!”

Now they were starting to sound like experts. Wei Yanho looked at him with admiration, but Tang Cheongun only felt more irritated.

‘Damn it, what good is this now?’

He had already lost all dignity.

If he had only held on a little longer. If he hadn’t lost his temper over something so simple.

All the way to the Medicine Pavilion, he felt bitter regret.

Upon arriving, Tang Cheongun frowned at the sight of the patients.

‘They’ve gotten worse in this time.’

It was good that he had come personally. If he had diluted the poison without seeing their current state, there would have been problems.

“Will it be possible?”

At the question of the Master of the Medicine Pavilion, Tang Cheongun sighed.

“Weren’t you the one who said that this wasn’t a matter of possibility? If it’s something we must do, we’ll make it work.”

“You’re right.”

“Who do you want to start with?”

“With this young man.”

“…Who is he?”

Tang Cheongun asked upon seeing the patient pointed out by the Master of the Pavilion. It was impossible that he wouldn’t recognize a member of his clan, but his face was so disfigured that he couldn’t identify him.

“It’s Yun-gyeol.”

“Tang Yun-gyeol…”

Tang Cheongun sighed.

It weighed on his heart that a young man he knew well was in such a terrible state that he couldn’t even recognize him.

“Does he seem to be the one in the worst condition?”

“Yes.”

“Shouldn’t we start with the one in the best condition?”

“If we were developing a treatment, yes. But I’m not here to create a method of cure. I just want to save them. What good is it to save some if the most severe die? If we’re going to save them, let’s save everyone.”

Seeing the serious look of the Master of the Pavilion, Tang Cheongun nodded.

“We’ll treat them. We’ll save them.”

Tang Cheongun closed his eyes.

He had seen the gravity of the situation. He knew that if they didn’t control it, the clan could collapse. But before thinking about that, he had to take care of his own who were suffering.

‘I haven’t been a good leader’.

Realizing that, he felt a pain as if a mallet had struck his chest. But at least now he knew.

Opening his eyes, Tang Cheongun carefully dropped a small amount of Heoxjeonghong into clean water he had brought.

“Ready”.

“…Is that it already?”

“We’re not creating a new poison, just diluting it. It shouldn’t take long.”

“But for the importance of the matter, it seems it was resolved too easily.”

“My part is done. I can’t help beyond this. I can control the level of intoxication, but… the rest depends on you.”

“Thank you for your effort.”

Wei Yanho turned his head to look at the Master of the Medicine Pavilion.

“Are you ready?”

“One moment”.

The Master of the Pavilion took several deep breaths to calm down, took his needles, and stood in front of Tang Yun-gyeol.

“I’m ready”.

“Good. Then…”

Wei Yanho also took a deep breath.

He was trying not to get nervous, but it was impossible. The slightest mistake would mean that his own hands had killed someone.

It wouldn’t be his direct responsibility, but he wouldn’t be able to free himself from it either. Because he was human.

Wei Yanho extended his hand and placed it on Tang Yun-gyeol’s forehead. He felt a sticky and somber energy.

He was not a doctor.

He didn’t understand the weight of a life.

But still…

“Let’s begin”.

When Wei Yanho nodded, Tang Cheongun carefully approached and slowly poured the diluted Heoxjeonghong into Tang Yun-gyeol’s mouth. The Master of the Pavilion’s needles moved quickly, pricking various points on the patient’s neck, causing the liquid to go down his throat in an instant.

“Fuuh…”

There was no turning back now. Wei Yanho waited tensely, watching the changes in the patient.