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Chapter 9
“Already!”
당천기 sprang up from his seat. He strode to the doorway and flung the door wide open.
“Wah!”
The child standing outside jumped in surprise and looked up at him.
당천기’s gaze landed on the child’s a little grubby face, then moved to the cup the child was holding.
“Be careful.”
Inside that cup a clear snake venom shimmered, pooled to almost cover the bottom.
“!”
“Here.”
당비 handed the cup to 당천기, careful not to spill a single drop.
사육, who had dashed out after 당천기, drew a sharp breath and covered his mouth with his sleeve.
The Manhyeol Divine Venom—the poison said to be the strongest in existence!
Even when the previous family head was alive they had only kept a few drops at most.
‘To bring back this much…?’
사육’s eyes widened.
It was his first time seeing Manhyeol Divine Venom too.
The colorless, odorless poison looked like clear water; until someone told you it was poison, you wouldn’t know. Indeed—
‘If you don’t tell someone, they’d never know.’
There was no powerful poisonous aura, no ominous glow. It was truly like water.
당비 asked, “So… can you heal Father now?”
“It’s not that simple.”
당천기 replied.
“Processing Manhyeol Divine Venom takes a lot of time. Whether it’ll work is still unknown…”
He handed the Manhyeol Divine Venom to 사육.
“But since we have all the ingredients, we should be able to make it. Right?”
“I’ll get it done.”
당사육 answered politely.
당비’s face brightened.
당비 hugged 당진현 tightly.
“Father! They said they can try!”
“But it’s still too early to be certain.”
당진현 smoothed his daughter’s hair as she bounced around with joy.
당비 smiled.
“You’re at least happy, right?”
“I am, but…”
In 당진현’s eyes, looking at his daughter, affection mixed with worry.
당천기 noticed what the son was worried about and slowly closed and opened his eyes.
‘He’s worried someone might target this child.’
A Manhyeol Master who hadn’t appeared for fifty years, and a girl who, without effort, had received that master’s Manhyeol Divine Venom.
If this became known, there would surely be a huge uproar in the martial world. But before that—
‘First, there will be a big stir inside the Dang household.’
당천기 knew it too. His eldest son had more greed than ability.
And people with greed were the most dangerous of all.
He watched his granddaughter, who smiled ingenuously with an innocent face, then asked, meeting 당비’s eyes:
“당비, how did you get the venom from the Manhyeol Master?”
“Hm?”
당비 hesitated a moment, then fumbled out an answer.
“He gave it when I asked him for it.”
당천gi narrowed his brow and asked again.
“You asked and he gave it?”
“Yes, well, so….”
Held in my grandfather’s hand, I stood for a long moment wondering how to explain it.
But no matter how I thought about it—
‘All I can say is that he just gave it…’
When I held the cup out, the Manhyeol serpent obediently bit the rim.
“!”
The triangular-headed snake bit the cup with its three fangs, and transparent venom began to trickle down the cup’s rim.
The snake pressed its fangs to the cup and vomited out the venom, then after a while, it let go on its own.
I gaped at the cup, bewildered, clutching it as I stared at the snake.
Whether I did anything or not, the snake—having given what I wanted—seemed to want to crawl back into my sleeve, and began to slither into my sleeve little by little…
Huh?
Crawl in?
A chill ran over me.
Only then did I feel a slight weight, as if something were tucked inside the sleeve.
The instant I realized what that weight was, my eyes flew open.
‘Oh, right!’
The Manhyeol serpent that had slithered into my sleeve was still inside!
‘I meant to take it out first but I forgot because it was so quiet!’
It had been so still I’d simply forgotten.
When I opened my eyes, my grandfather looked at me.
I hesitated, then whispered cautiously to him.
“Grandfather, there’s something I need to tell you.”
“Speak.”
“There’s actually a Manhyeol serpent in my sleeve. I didn’t mean to bring it out—sorry…”
Luckily, the serpent seemed to be napping and didn’t move.
My grandfather took my hand.
“There’s a Manhyeol serpent in your sleeve?”
I nodded vigorously.
“Yes. I tried to take it out but it didn’t want to come out…”
A Manhyeol serpent was no less than a treasure stored in the Dang family vault.
A single drop of its venom could kill ten thousand people!
I shouldn’t have taken something like that out on a whim.
I stamped my foot anxiously and looked up at my grandfather.
“If you tell me to put it back now, I will.”
“Do you think that snake doesn’t want to come out of your sleeve?”
“Well, it seems cozy and warm in here so it must like it.”
My grandfather held my hand.
“Then leave it be.”
“Huh… what?”
“Leave it as it is. It seems the Manhyeol serpent has found its owner.”
After saying that, my grandfather rose to his feet. I looked up at him.
He looked down at me and added,
“But if you want to put it back, you can do so whenever you like.”
I stared alternately at the sleeping serpent in my sleeve and at my grandfather, bewildered.
“Are you telling me to raise this snake?”
“What’s wrong with that? Among poison-users, there are quite a few who keep snakes in their clothes.”
But isn’t this a snake that could kill ten thousand people…?
Can I really keep such a snake in my sleeve?
What if it got out and bit someone?
I stared up at my grandfather, still puzzled.
“Try waking the Manhyeol serpent.”
I glanced at my father and uncle, then nodded.
“Wake up.”
When I shook my sleeve, the small snake slithered up my arm and stuck its head out of the sleeve.
“!”
It looked like a little dog that was very obedient to me.
“Then order it back inside.”
Following his instructions, I tapped the snake’s head and said,
“Go back in.”
At once the snake obeyed and slithered back into the sleeve, curling deep within my clothes.
Watching the snake effortlessly obey my command, I felt a strange sensation.
It felt as if, no matter what order I gave, it would meekly follow.
‘I’ve never seen this snake before.’
Each time its cold, smooth body touched my arm, I was filled with a feeling that I had known the snake for a very long time.
As I silently stared at the sleeve where the snake had gone, my grandfather cleared his throat above my head.
“There are people who poisons especially respond to.”
His big hand ruffled my hair gently.
“Besides, you have the body of one immune to all poisons—man-dok-bul-chim—so you’re ideal for learning poison techniques.”
He continued, “Just having the Manhyeol serpent will allow you to protect yourself. When you grow a bit, you might be able to command it freely.”
“But can you really entrust such a dangerous snake to me?” I asked, peeking at my grandfather through long lashes.
A snake capable of killing ten thousand. The Dang family’s worst toxin and greatest weapon.
I was still far too young to possess something like that.
Worry coiled like a snake inside me. I fiddled with the serpent in my sleeve and asked,
“What if I accidentally let it bite someone?”
“If the Dang family gives a child an ultimate poison, the Dang family will have to take responsibility.”
But my grandfather, unlike me, looked completely unconcerned as he continued.
“If you truly have the body of a poison-spirit, the snake won’t bite anyone without your command.”
He withdrew the hand that had been stroking my hair.
“And the Manhyeol serpent is a spirit-creature that’s lived for hundreds of years—it will understand your words well.”
Listening to my grandfather’s voice, I swallowed.
‘Is this really okay?’
The greatest serpent in the world, asleep for fifty years, had come into my hands at my grandfather’s command.
