TYDOFC 49

Chapter 49

Father hesitated for a moment before speaking.

“I’ve thought about it, but there wasn’t anything unusual. I didn’t eat or touch anything strange.”

“Really?”

“Yes.”

Then why had the poison in Father’s body suddenly flared up?

There must be a reason for it…!

While I was lost in thought, someone suddenly lifted me up.

“Your father needs rest, Biya. You mustn’t bother a patient so early in the morning.”

“Ah—Uncle!”

“Let him rest. We’ll step outside. I’ll take you to the medicine hall if you’re bored.”

Because he lifted me up so suddenly, my legs dangled helplessly in the air.

Father gently cupped my feet in his hands as he watched us. Then, he smiled softly.

“Alright, if I think of anything, I’ll tell my dear daughter. Now, go play with your uncle for a while—or you can invite Cheonghyeon to play too.”

“Ugh…”

“That’s alright, isn’t it? I’ll rest just a bit longer and then play with you again.”

When Father spoke like that, I couldn’t keep pestering him anymore.

“Alright!”

I gave in quickly.

But before leaving, I said,

“Father!”

When I reached out both arms toward him, Father instinctively leaned his face between them.

Then, with the same hands that had just been gently holding my feet, he took my little hands in his.

“Yes?”

“You have to get better soon. You need to recover so fast that it’s like you were never sick at all, okay? Uncle said he’ll make the antidote soon!”

“Hahaha, I understand. Don’t worry, my daughter.”

Father laughed warmly.

Uncle waited patiently until our conversation ended.

Then, still holding me, he carried me out of the room.

“He’s fine, right?” I asked.

“Yes, but… is he really fine?”

“What kind of question is that?”

“Well, sometimes people look fine on the outside but… they’re not, inside.”

Like my father, before I turned back time.

When I asked in a small, worried voice, Uncle held me closer in his arms.

“Don’t worry. He’ll recover soon.”

“Yes…”

“This is the Tang family’s Sichuan branch. No direct Tang bloodline has ever died from poison here. Not in the past hundred years, and not in the future either.”

There was certainty in his voice.

I nodded.

“Alright, Uncle… I’ll trust you!”

“Good. It’s about time you did.”

“By the way, where are we going?”

“To the medicine hall. There’s something I need to check.”

“Me too…?”

“Weren’t you the one pestering your father because you were bored?”

He chuckled, then set me down gently.

Holding my hand, he grinned.

“You’ve never been to the medicine hall, right? I’ll show you around.”

Father always said Uncle was a good man—a good person, a good healer, a good father.

Now, I understood why he said that.

I squeezed Uncle’s hand tightly.

“But I’m supposed to meet Cheonghyeon too.”

“Then invite him along.”

“Can he even come inside the medicine hall? He’s a guest.”

“As long as he doesn’t enter the inner chambers, it’s fine.”

“Then I’ll send a servant to fetch him.”

“Good idea. Though who knows what that Namgung boy is up to right now…”

Uncle trailed off with a laugh.

Holding his hand, I marched energetically toward the medicine hall.

“Ah, that’s right.”

Tang Sayuk (Uncle) picked up a bundle tied with cords, filled with medicinal ingredients.

“I should’ve given this to your maid earlier, but I forgot.”

“What’s this?”

“It’s medicine to strengthen your body. Brew it and drink it with your meals.”

“Ugh…”

“What’s with that reaction? These are extremely rare herbs, you know.”

He chuckled.

“Your father’s been nagging me nonstop to make a tonic for you. He says you’ve been looking pale lately.”

“I don’t feel weak though…”

“I don’t think so either. But a parent sees differently.”

I accepted the medicine packet.

When I tucked it into my sleeve, it made my clothes puff out a little.

Inside, I could feel Manhyeolsa (the snake) curiously poking at the new bundle.

Hang on, just be patient.

I’d definitely have to ask Father to let me wear robes with wider sleeves next time.

Compared to the martial Tang clan’s warriors’ long robes, mine were far too narrow.

I envied the wide sleeves of the Tang warriors.

In my past life, they never let me wear them—but maybe this time, they would.

While I was daydreaming and calming down the snake in my sleeve, Uncle spoke.

“You said before that you wanted to visit the medical hall.”

“Huh? I did?”

“Yes. You told someone—Hoin or Solip, maybe—that you wanted to.”

Now that he mentioned it, I probably had.

To be honest, it wasn’t just the medical hall I wanted to see back then.

Anywhere inside the Tang manor would have been fine.

I was curious about every corner of the Tang estate, since there were so many places I wasn’t allowed to go.

And the medicine hall was one of them.

“I guess I did say that.”

I nodded.

“I’ve always been interested in the medicine hall.”

“You, Biya?”

“Yes! Isn’t the medicine hall basically the heart of the Tang family?”

Of course, that statement could easily cause trouble.

If the masters of the Poison Pavilion, Shadow Dragon Hall, or Fire Blossom Garden had heard that, they would’ve protested on the spot.

The Tang family excelled in poisons, secret weapons, and medicine alike—so no single branch could truly be called the heart.

But since we’re at the medicine hall right now…

When visiting someone’s home, it’s polite to praise their garden—not someone else’s.

So I stayed close to Uncle, pretending my interest was genuine, and pointed to a pile of herbs nearby.

“This one’s wormwood, right?”

Then I pointed to a thick root.

“And that’s rehmannia root.”

“Clever girl! You know these?”

Uncle’s eyes sparkled.

When I correctly named several herbs in a row, he clapped his hands in delight.

“Yes, yes! So bright! Did your father teach you all this?”

“Yes, Father—”

I stopped mid-sentence.

I’d learned herbology from Father… in my previous life.

He only started teaching me about herbs when I turned ten.

He never brought me poisonous ones to touch, but harmless herbs, yes.

But I’m only eight now!

That means I haven’t learned from him yet.

If I said Father taught me, Uncle would definitely find it strange.

And since he and Father were close, whatever I said to him would reach Father’s ears sooner or later.

So I quickly changed my answer.

“—No, I mean, I self-studied!”

“Self-studied?”

“Yes! Father has books about herbs on his shelf. I secretly read them!”

That was true—there really were such books in Father’s study.

So technically, it wasn’t a lie.

“How admirable! To teach yourself how to identify herbs at only eight years old—clearly, you have a gift.”

Uncle’s eyes gleamed with excitement.

His tone was even a little too eager.

“Would you like to study under me? Learn more—formally?”

“H-huh?”

Sweat beaded on my forehead as I looked into Uncle’s shining eyes.

That’s when I remembered—he had desperately searched for a disciple in my previous life.

Right…

Uncle Tang Sayuk had long lamented that he had no one to inherit the medicine hall.

He had taken over the position rather young after the elders of the Tang family died in an incident.

He never got the chance to train a pupil before then.

Because the Tang family valued medicine as much as poison and secret weapons, they always emphasized training new healers.

So previous masters of the medicine hall had always taken on several disciples.

But the one before Uncle had been eccentric and accepted only a single student.

As a result, now the entire medical hall was practically run by Uncle alone.

And now I understand why Tang Paejin (the traitor) later targeted him.

The Sichuan Tang family—masters of poison and secret weapons.

But no matter how skilled they were in those deadly arts, if the healers couldn’t treat the wounded warriors…

It was like cutting off one of the family’s own arms.