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Chapter 8
“I’m going to find an antidote to cure Father’s poison.”
I quickly slipped the key into my sleeve so Grandfather couldn’t snatch it back from me, and spoke.
“You understand, right? It’s completely different. I just wanted to make sure you knew.”
Of course, it would be great if Grandfather taught me poison arts. Being personally taught by the Poison Sovereign himself would be an incredible honor.
But.
‘Uncle is targeting Father.’
The reason Father hid me was because if it became known that I had the Body Untouched by All Poisons, I’d be in danger.
After all, I might be immune to poison, but I’m not immune to blades.
If in that situation Grandfather even went as far as teaching me martial arts himself…
‘Then while Grandfather or Father are away, I might be assassinated.’
The memory of dying at Uncle’s hands in my previous life made me shudder.
As soon as I recalled it, goosebumps erupted all over my body.
‘I’ll pass on that.’
So at least until Father’s health recovers, I don’t want Uncle to notice me.
I have no desire to point a blade at Dang Pae-jin’s throat in the body of an eight-year-old child.
Besides…
I’m doing this to save Father’s life, but if Grandfather imposes such conditions, doesn’t it make it look like I’m just being selfish?
Afraid Grandfather might scold me for being “impertinent,” I closed my eyes slightly and waited for his reply.
But instead of a thunderous roar, what I heard above my head was hearty laughter.
“Hahaha! The brat’s temper is just like his father’s…”
Grandfather pressed down firmly on my head.
“Hey!”
“Alright, I understand what you mean.”
We passed the guards at the door and entered inside.
Once Father and I reached the deepest area, the guards quietly stepped back without saying anything.
I glanced at them, then turned back to Father.
“Is this it?”
“Yes.”
Father nodded reluctantly, his expression still displeased.
I stood before a massive storage vault and looked up at it.
‘So this is…’
The eighth poison vault of the Tang family!
The legendary vault said to hold the most dangerous poisons in the world.
‘I never imagined I’d enter this place…’
And to do so while holding Father’s hand—life is unpredictable.
With trembling anticipation, I held Father’s hand and waited for him to open the vault.
Clank.
He inserted the key, and the vault door opened much more easily than I expected.
“Security seems kind of weak, Father.”
“That’s because anyone unworthy who opens the door dies instantly.”
Father’s casual but chilling words made me nod silently as I peered inside.
From the entrance, I could already sense the aura of poison. Swallowing hard, I stepped into the vault.
But then—
“Huh? Aren’t you coming in, Father?”
Father remained standing outside, giving me a troubled nod.
“There were instructions to let you enter alone.”
He frowned, clearly displeased.
“Must you really go?”
“Yes!”
Father sighed deeply.
Leaving him at the entrance, I strode inside.
But—
‘It’s fine? Nothing’s happening?’
All the fear I’d felt until now seemed almost silly—it was completely fine.
Inside the vault were countless poisonous creatures and venomous herbs.
Yet what caught my eye wasn’t some strange beast or plant—it was a massive iron chest.
“There it is…”
The very chest I had placed the Myunghyul Snake into myself.
It rested in the deepest part of the vault.
Gripping the cup Grandfather had given me, I strode toward it and touched the lid. The chest was locked tightly with a key.
‘But.’
I had already received the key from Grandfather.
Pulling it from my pocket, I inserted it and turned hard.
Clang!
With a resounding noise, the lock released.
Nervously, I slowly opened the lid.
Inside lay the deadliest creature in the world—the one said to kill ten thousand lives with a single drop of venom.
And the same snake that had just bitten my ankle earlier was inside.
Somehow, that thought loosened my tension.
Rising on tiptoe, I peered inside.
“Are you in here…?”
From the deep chest, a snake no longer than my arm slithered out.
It climbed along the corner of the chest and poked its head outside.
“…”
“Uh… h-hello?”
The moment our eyes met, I blurted out a greeting.
The snake opened its mouth, then shut it again, slowly slithering along the chest.
And then—
“Whoa!”
It darted straight into my sleeve!
Startled, Father shouted urgently from outside.
“Bi! Is something wrong?”
“N-no! I’m fine!”
Though the snake had slipped into my sleeve…
I crouched, shaking my sleeve and coaxing it to come out.
“…”
Huh?
It wouldn’t come out.
“Hey, come on out…”
“…”
“Um…”
The snake seemed to like it inside my sleeve and had no intention of leaving.
After thinking it over, I resorted to a last measure.
“You’re not coming out on your own, huh?”
Stretching out my arm, I gave it a good shake. Unable to resist, the snake flopped to the ground.
It recoiled in surprise but didn’t strike or raise its head threateningly this time.
“…”
“…”
We stared silently at each other.
‘Now what?’
I’d managed to get it out, but…
‘How am I supposed to get its venom?’
I knew how to extract venom from ordinary snakes, but was the Myunghyul Snake the same?
Before entering, I had asked Uncle and Grandfather about how to obtain its venom.
But—
“No one knows. The last time the Myunghyul Snake released venom was fifty years ago.”
“If we knew, we’d have done it ourselves, Bi.”
Neither had been much help.
‘But I can’t give up.’
Without this venom, I can’t hope to save Father.
After a pause, I clenched my jaw.
There was no choice but to try.
Still clutching Grandfather’s cup, I glanced at the snake, then…
“Um, excuse me…”
I thrust the cup beneath its snout.
“Can I, uh… collect some venom?”
And then I informed it politely—
“…”
“Because I need it.”
“…”
“You’ve got plenty, right?”
A suffocating silence hung in the vault.
“…ugh.”
I was about to pull the cup back in embarrassment when—
“!”
Something astonishing happened.
The Tang clan was abuzz with rumors about Tang Bi.
Though the Clan Head had ordered the matter kept secret, too many people had witnessed it, and the news spread regardless.
Soon, everyone would know Tang Bi had captured the Myunghyul Snake.
“Do you truly believe Bi is a Poison Spirit Body?”
Tang Sayuk asked Tang Cheon-gi.
“Do you see the awakening of the Myunghyul Snake as a stroke of fate?”
“Yes. Even a bond with a beast is still a bond.”
He replied calmly, raising his teacup.
As he did, he recalled the awkwardly bowing granddaughter before him.
“Did you put the snake in yourself?”
“Yes, I did.”
“How?”
“It let itself be caught, so I just put it in.”
His granddaughter showed not a hint of fear.
But what she called “just putting it in” was the greatest venomous serpent in the world.
The Myunghyul Snake had been dormant for fifty years—this was Tang Cheon-gi’s first time seeing it alive.
‘And yet, not only did she survive its bite…’
She had even captured it.
Lifting the steaming cup again, he spoke.
“Sayuk, do you know what the Poison Spirit Body really is?”
“A constitution that draws all poisonous creatures in the world.”
“Then what do you make of the fact that, after fifty years, the Myunghyul Snake sought her out in her very quarters?”
Tang Sayuk bowed his head. He was just about to answer, fingers brushing his teacup, when someone knocked at the door.
Tang Cheon-gi turned his head, breaking his concentration.
“Who is it?”
A clear, crisp voice rang from outside.
“Grandfather, it’s Bi.”
Nearly half a shichen had passed since he’d given her the key and sent her to the poison vault.
