Chapter 65 : There Are Still Too Many Enemies
Thump-.
As soon as he entered the room, Cheon Myeong put down a bundle on the floor.
Cheon Myeong, who had brought a bundle full of something like a peddler.
When he untied the bundle he had brought, various medicinal herbs appeared from it.
"Hmm, they're all in good condition."
Cheon Myeong nodded his head as if he were satisfied, examining the medicinal herbs on the cloth one by one.
These medicinal herbs were all brought from the Demonic Medical Hall. And they were all medicinal herbs to be used as ingredients for the Poison Transformation Pill.
As Cheon Myeong had expected, the Demonic Medical Hall was equipped with quite a lot of kinds of medicinal herbs.
Moreover, since they were even cultivating the medicinal herbs that were often used for treatment, to Cheon Myeong, that place felt no different from a treasure warehouse.
'I can use it usefully in the future.'
Now that he knew that the Demonic Medical Hall was equipped with various medicinal herbs, it seemed that he could just stop by there from now on and get the medicinal herbs he needed.
Of course, that place was not a place where one could just use medicinal herbs for personal use, but who was Cheon Myeong?
To Jong Seojun, the only benefactor was Cheon Myeong. And since Jong Seojun was the master of the Demonic Medical Hall, even if Cheon Myeong used the medicinal herbs there for personal use, he would not have to be particularly conscious of it.
'It's more convenient than I thought to have a dedicated medicinal herb warehouse nearby.'
It was also a warehouse where he didn't have to worry about the stock.
A warehouse where he could just go and get what he needed at the moment he needed it.
At first, he had not thought that it would be so convenient, but now that the situation had become like this, it seemed that it would be quite useful.
Since a warehouse with an inexhaustible stock had been created nearby, wouldn't he be able to test various things in the Medical Supplement Manual?
There were really many things that he only knew the manufacturing method of but had not actually made.
Since he would gradually gain proficiency in this field by making such things one by one, Cheon Myeong thought that it would be okay to make them little by little when he had time.
"..."
Cheon Myeong's hand, which was checking the condition of the medicinal herbs, gradually began to slow down.
At the same time, a hardened face.
Before he had packed the medicinal herbs and had left the Demonic Medical Hall, the words that Jong Seojun had said to him came to his mind, and his face couldn't help but harden.
'Is what Jong Seojun said to me then true?'
When the two were alone, Jong Seojun had said something to Cheon Myeong.
If those words had not been of much content, he could have just let it go, but the words that had come out of Jong Seojun's mouth were too meaningful for that.
"Young Master, it was something I felt while treating you when you were in a coma due to Qi Deviation... No, it's nothing."
"Why do you stop talking?"
"...Please know that it is just my personal guess and opinion."
"..."
"Your Qi Deviation, Young Master... there is a possibility that there was an external interference in it."
"..."
This was what Jong Seojun had said to him.
To think that the cause of the Qi Deviation was not his own mistake but an external interference.
If that was true, it meant that some force that wished for him to go wrong had artificially interfered.
'I didn't think so, but really?'
Qi Deviation due to external interference.
Hadn't he once said that to Soyeon Sang?
Of course, the reason why he had said that at that time was to make Soyeon Sang understand the reason why he had left the main headquarters, so he had made it up.
But to think that such a possibility had really arisen.
Although Jong Seojun had said that there was no definite evidence and that it was a long time ago, so it was just his personal opinion, would a doctor who was called 'Healing Hand, Curing Words' say such a thing without any basis?
From the moment he had heard those words, Cheon Myeong could smell a great stench.
'If I hadn't cured Jong Shingeon's Blood Death Disease, Jong Seojun probably wouldn't have told me this.'
Although Jong Seojun had said that he had not reported it because he had thought that if he reported an uncertain matter, it might turn into a big problem because of him, was that really the only reason?
Cheon Myeong thought that the biggest reason was probably his anger towards him and Cheon Jin.
And there was no need to think about the reason for the anger.
Now that he had received a great favor, hadn't he brought up that story even though it was an uncertain situation?
'Someone had been trying to kill me since then...'
At that time, Cheon Jin had not even accepted a disciple.
No, so they might have wanted to get rid of him even more. And that too, disguised as an unfortunate accident.
Although it was rare for one to fall into Qi Deviation while taking an elixir, since it was not something that did not exist at all, it was perfect for disguising it as an unfortunate accident.
And at that time, he had been treated as a rather foolish guy when it came to martial arts. So even if he had fallen into Qi Deviation, everyone would have thought that it was his own mistake.
In fact, besides Jong Seojun, who had treated him directly, no one had suspected it.
Since even a person like Jong Seojun had felt that that suspicion was ambiguous, it could be said that almost no traces were left.
'The Five Great Demonic Families... it seems to be the work of one of them.'
If so, was it also the work of the Snake Jo Family at that time?
Since Jo Seokjin had attempted to assassinate him this time, he had no choice but to think so first.
'No, that's not certain either.'
It was wrong to blame the Snake Jo Family as the culprit at that time just because there had been an assassination attempt on him this time.
In the first place, wasn't it also uncertain whether there had been an external intervention? That's why it would be too early to determine the culprit right now.
'If I had known that fact at that time, I might have been able to find the culprit.'
If only he could go back to the past, Cheon Myeong wanted to go back to that time.
Because at that time, there would be more definite evidence about the culprit than now.
Now, as four years had passed, finding the culprit would have become much more difficult than at that time.
'But I will find him.'
It had become difficult, but he had never said that it was impossible.
If there was a guy who had pointed a sword at him, it would be the way of the martial world to find him persistently like a hunting dog and to repay him.
Although it was a little ambiguous because he had not been directly hit, wasn't he the owner of this body now?
That's why Cheon Myeong had no intention of just letting it go as if it had not happened.
'There are still too many enemies.'
Since he had recently made some allies, he had forgotten for a moment, but his return to the main headquarters was the same as entering the middle of the enemy camp.
The father he had thought he could rely on had rather tried to kill him when they had reunited.
Although it seemed that he had somehow laid a foundation in the wasteland, there were still many things to do until he could build a house where he could live safely.
"Peep-!"
"...?"
At the sudden sound, Cheon Myeong turned his head to the side.
Then, at some point, Baekjo had come out of its cage and had approached Cheon Myeong's side.
"Peep, peep-!"
"What...?"
"Peep-!"
"..."
At that moment, a smile appeared on Cheon Myeong's lips.
Baekjo had just been saying this. That it was on Cheon Myeong's side.
Although he had not said anything out loud, for it to suddenly say that to Cheon Myeong.
Just as Cheon Myeong could understand Baekjo's words, perhaps there was something that allowed Baekjo to also read Cheon Myeong's inner thoughts.
"What, can you read minds, even though you're a bird?"
"Peep, peep-!"
"...Yes, thank you."
Cheon Myeong said that and held out his right hand to Baekjo.
Then, Baekjo got on Cheon Myeong's right hand.
Cheon Myeong brought Baekjo closer to him, with it on his finger.
"Baekjo."
"Peep-"
"But still, I can't give you a Hyeol-su-yu."
As Cheon Myeong said that, a slight reaction occurred in Baekjo's body.
Baekjo, who was startled as if its inner thoughts had been caught.
Just as Baekjo could know Cheon Myeong's inner thoughts, that was also the same for Cheon Myeong.
"Peep... peep?"
"Even if you pretend not to know, you've already been caught."
"..."
"Although it was a little touching, it's still not enough. Go and practice your acting a little more."
Cheon Myeong said that and lightly flicked his right hand up.
Then, Baekjo, who had been released from Cheon Myeong's finger, hurriedly returned to its cage.
Although a laugh came out of Cheon Myeong's mouth as he saw that, he soon returned to his original face.
'Yes, I expected that there would be many enemies anyway, right?'
Even if there had been a guy who had aimed for him in the past, the situation did not change much.
Wouldn't it be similar to the trouble of threshing a rice stack one more time when it had to be threshed dozens of times?
For now, it would be enough just to be aware of that existence.
'More than that, for now...'
It was time to pay more attention to the manufacturing of the Poison Transformation Pill.
Now that all the ingredients were gathered, it was finally possible to manufacture it.
Although it seemed that he had come a long way to make this, it didn't matter as long as he arrived at his destination properly, even if he took a detour.
Swish-.
Thinking so, Cheon Myeong rolled up both his sleeves.
* * *
"Hmm..."
Cheon Myeong was sitting with a somewhat puzzled face.
The cause that had made Cheon Myeong like that was the Poison Transformation Pill.
There was no particular problem with the manufacturing.
Because the process of manufacturing the Poison Transformation Pill was so smooth that he wondered if it was okay for it to be made so well.
However, if there was a slightly ambiguous part.
"Is it effective...?"
It was the fact that there was no way to confirm whether the Poison Transformation Pill he had made was properly made.
Of course, the manufacturing process was perfect, and there were no particular situations that deviated from the knowledge he knew.
But that didn't mean that he could be sure that the medicine was properly made.
Especially since the Poison Transformation Pill was not made to cure a disease, it would not be possible to confirm it by the disease being cured.
"..."
So Cheon Myeong put the Poison Transformation Pill he had made into his mouth for now.
Then, as if he had eaten an elixir, the Poison Transformation Pill melted in Cheon Myeong's mouth and disappeared in an instant, but if he had been dazed, he would have forgotten what he had just swallowed, and no change occurred in his body.
'I hadn't thought of a situation like this.'
To not be able to know if it was effective. If he didn't know that part accurately, he wouldn't be able to use it properly in a real fight later.
Let's assume that an enemy uses a hidden weapon with poison on it. And if he were to not dodge the attack, trusting only the Poison Transformation Pill, in order to catch the enemy off guard?
If he had properly developed a resistance, there would be no particular problem, but if it was really of no effect, like the empty feeling he felt in his stomach now... with that, he would be a dead man.
"..."
He needed to properly check the weapon he had.
If he did not check it properly, it would rather not be a weapon but a poison that would harm him.
That was also the same for the Poison Transformation Pill.
'There is one way, though...'
Cheon Myeong thought so and looked at the bottle placed nearby.
In that bottle, there was the poison that had been used when he had manufactured the Poison Transformation Pill.
The poison of the Black-spotted Python.
Since not much was needed for the manufacturing, the amount of poison in the bottle was almost the same as at the beginning.
"..."
One way to properly check the efficacy of the Poison Transformation Pill. That was to eat the poison directly.
Of course, if he made a mistake, a mishap where he would die absurdly while trying to check the effect could occur, but there was no other way besides this.
'Even if I eat a weak poison, I can check whether I have developed a resistance...'
Theoretically, all poisons with a weaker toxicity than what had been used as an ingredient would not work.
That would also be the same for the poison of the Black-spotted Python.
In other words, it meant that there would be no particular problem even if Cheon Myeong drank that.
'It's good to check how much I can endure.'
If he drank the poison of the Black-spotted Python, he would know everything.
He would also be able to prove directly that he had developed a resistance up to the toxicity of the poison used as an ingredient.
Originally, it would have been best to prove it by using a weak poison as an ingredient, but unfortunately, he did not have that much leeway with the essential ingredient, the Hyeol-su-yu.
Because in the process of making the Poison Transformation Pill this time, he had used all three Hyeol-su-yu. Now there was nothing left, and he didn't know when he would be able to get it again.
"..."
In the end, after much deliberation, Cheon Myeong moved the poison in the bottle onto a small plate.
A few drops of dark red liquid fell onto the plate.
Just by looking at it, it seemed that one could tell that there was a deadly poison in it.
'Let's eat just a little.'
Just touching it with his tongue would be enough.
Cheon Myeong lifted the plate and brought it close to his mouth.
Swish-.
Cheon Myeong stuck out his tongue towards the plate.
If someone else knew this situation, they would surely think that Cheon Myeong was crazy.
However, since the manufacturing method written in the Medical Supplement Manual had been accurate until now, Cheon Myeong trusted that part and decided to become the test subject himself.
Thump-.
The poison touched his tongue. And he put down the plate.
As if the thing that had just touched his tongue was really a deadly poison, Cheon Myeong looked fine on the outside.
Swish-.
Cheon Myeong's gaze went somewhere.
And at that moment.
"Ugh...!"
Cheon Myeong suddenly clutched his chest with his hand as if he were suffocating.
At the same time, a quickened breath.
His pale face was to the extent that one could feel that something was wrong just by looking at it.
"Kuh... keoheok-!"
A rough breath that continued. Cheon Myeong even stretched out his hand as if he were in pain.
But that appearance did not last very long.
Thump-.
Cheon Myeong, who had fallen to the floor. And in the room, only a cold silence flowed.
(End of Chapter)