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Chapter 24
“Why did he come?”
I rolled my eyes, not having the slightest idea why Older Brother Dangrip had come to my room.
“Did you come to see me? Not to visit Father?”
“I came to see you.”
At that moment, a tall man stepped out from behind Gayun.
It was my cousin Dangrip, whom I’d met at the Elders’ Council and once before at the pond.
Gayun startled and took two steps back; Yeongyeong bowed his head and slipped out of the room.
Dangrip spoke to them. “Thanks. I have something to say to Bia, so give us some privacy and don’t bring any food.”
“Yes, milord.”
Gayun and Yeongyeong bowed and quickly left.
I set the candy I’d been holding down on the nightstand for a moment.
I planned to eat it later, when Dangrip had gone.
I watched Dangrip sit, blinking. In both my previous life and this one, this was the first time a family member other than Father had come into my room.
Until now no one else had been allowed to come in. Or they simply hadn’t.
“You surprised me by coming all of a sudden.”
“It seems so — you look like you’ve seen a ghost, especially after seeing you at the pond.”
“Seeing you at the pond and seeing you in my room are different, you know.”
“You’re right.”
Dangrip sat down as if he were used to it. He took the seat opposite me and glanced at my sleeve.
I slapped my palm over the sleeve in a hurry. “Don’t worry! It doesn’t come out now.”
“Why not?”
“It’s asleep. It had a candy from me earlier.”
I hadn’t known a serpent would eat candy.
After taking the candy, the Manhyeolsa had been snoozing inside my sleeve.
Dangrip nodded. “A lucky snake.”
“It’s cold if you touch it, and when it’s curled up inside it feels cool.”
“Useful.”
“If someone bothers me it’ll punish them for me.”
“It punished Dangyoung, did it?”
“Yes, but it doesn’t punish people all the time. It’s a good snake.”
At the mention of “good snake,” the Manhyeolsa peeked its head out from sleep. I pushed its head back down and tucked it into my sleeve.
It obediently crawled back in and fell asleep under my forearm.
“By the way, why are you here…?”
“Ah, I’ve come with news.”
He straightened his posture.
Reflexively I offered him one of the candies I was holding.
“Oh, thanks.” Dangrip accepted it, cleared his throat, and began.
“You know the Poison Dragon Hall is preparing your exam, right?”
“Yes. I heard before that Father can’t be involved with the exam.”
“Right, I’m preparing the exam. But the Elders asked for one additional thing…”
The Elders?
What could those old men have requested?
I waited calmly for his next words.
“There will be an additional item in this exam.”
“What is it?”
“They’ll confirm that you have the Ten-Thousand-Poison-Impervious constitution and check whether you possess an even higher constitution.”
I nodded. “You mean they’ll check if I have the Poison-Spirit constitution.”
“That’s right. The Ten-Thousand-Poison-Impervious body is an excellent physique for practicing poison arts, but the Poison-Spirit constitution is beyond that. Many are curious whether you truly have the Poison-Spirit constitution.”
Dangrip’s gaze landed on my sleeve. “Probably because of the Manhyeolsa.”
“Can that be tested?”
“Like the Heavenly Dance body, those born with the Ten-Thousand-Poison-Impervious or the Poison-Spirit constitution can sense which body they have without any special test. It’s like an instinct — an awakening.”
“Right.”
“But knowing it yourself and proving it in front of others carries different weight. Since the Poison Dragon Hall’s purpose is to judge the late Dang family’s worthiness, they have several methods to test such a talent publicly.”
I toyed with the candy and nodded.
What exactly would they test? Would they make the Manhyeolsa roll left and right like the time in front of the elders?
Reading my thoughts, Dangrip blinked slowly and answered, “It won’t be difficult.”
“Okay.”
“And if you get into danger, I’ll step in and stop it.”
“You will?”
“The exam will be held at the Poison Dragon Hall in seven weeks. If you have questions about it, ask me.”
“The exam details aren’t top secret, right?”
“No, its purpose is simply to test potential.”
“Then I have a question!”
Ten-Thousand-Poison-Impervious constitution. A body that poisons cannot penetrate.
There are two ways to become one: either train poison arts ceaselessly until you reach the state where ten thousand poisons cannot harm you, or be born with the naturally absurd Ten-Thousand-Poison-Impervious body.
In the first case, reaching that state brings realization — you could kill with a single exhalation and release poisons with one breath. But the latter case — born that way — how do you know what level of poison you can withstand? That’s what the test must be for.
If you fall to a single kind of poison, even after surviving ten thousand others, then you’re not truly Ten-Thousand-Poison-Impervious.
Would they feed me all ten thousand poisons?
“That can’t be it.”
No primitive method like that… I closed my eyes to think, but my curiosity won and I opened them again.
“Brother.”
“Speak.”
“You’re not going to feed me ten thousand poisons, are you?”
Dangrip sighed as if I’d asked something obvious. “Of course not.”
“How will they test it then?”
“What do you think is the strongest poison in existence?”
“Hmm… the Manhyeol Divine Poison?”
“Of course that’s one, but there’s another poison with similar potency. It might even be a bit stronger.”
Stronger than that?
I blinked.
Dangrip answered, “It’s the Formless Poison — muhyungjiodok.”
“Formless Poison?”
“Colorless, odorless, tasteless, formless. It has no color, no smell, no taste, and no visible form.”
He lifted his head. “It’s an ultimate poison that can’t be detected by anything. The method to create Formless Poison is a secret art of the Dang family.”
“Formless Poison…”
“Of course it’s no longer used in battle. But some of the Formless Poisons made in the past are stored in the Paldok Vault.”
He continued, “But since you survived the Manhyeol Divine Poison, ingesting Formless Poison shouldn’t be a problem for you.”
I repeated his words quietly to myself. “Colorless, odorless, tasteless, formless…”
“Why are you saying that?”
“Brother! What happens if you’re poisoned by Formless Poison?”
“That depends on how it’s used, but usually it kills instantly, leaving no trace.”
“If it’s used differently does it not kill instantly?”
“Records show that when mixed with other poisons, death could occur days later, or even much later.”
Could the poison Dang Paejin used have been Formless Poison? The ultimate toxin that even Father couldn’t antidote. A poison for which no remedy could be found, one that would force hope to rest on an antidote made from the Manhyeol Divine Poison.
“It’s possible.”
Father was the kind of man who wouldn’t die from ordinary poisons. Whoever tried to kill him would know common poisons wouldn’t do it. They would have had to use something like the Manhyeol Divine Poison or Formless Poison — one of those two.
Moreover, as Dangrip said, if someone mixed Formless Poison with another toxin… then it all made sense.
That would explain how Father survived for ten years, why no antidote was found in a decade, and why he hid the fact he’d been poisoned until the end.
If news of being poisoned with Formless Poison spread, the Dang family would be thrown into chaos. Father’s position would waver, and he wouldn’t have been able to protect me. Thinking that, everything fell into place.
I lifted my head sharply and looked at Dangrip. “Who?” I asked in a lowered voice. “Who can handle Formless Poison?”
