Chapter 295: Centipede Gate (6) |
Although the gaze of the Seven-Flame Five Poisons was exceedingly insolent, what mattered right now was not how she viewed me.
“Everyone heard, right, Cheonghwa Merchant Guild Master???”
“.Yes.”
The Guild Master of the Cheonghwa Merchant Guild answered in a fatigued tone, as though the inner injuries that had surged the moment his dantian was destroyed had finally settled.
I picked up one of the documents strewn across the desk. A report summarizing a plan to quietly ruin a rival merchant guild. Nothing particularly important.
With the paper loosely crumpled so it fit easily in my hand, I personally wiped the blood from the corner of the Guild Master’s mouth.
“I already know who’s backing you. I have a general idea of your intentions as well, all thanks to our Centipede Lord.”
“Hehe. That much is.....”
Meng Yubaek grew shy at the rather sudden compliment.
Naturally, in the eyes of the Cheonghwa Merchant Guild Master, she must have looked completely insane.
She had refused to fight to the point of running away to become a monk, only to be emotionally wounded by the older brother who tried to cut her down anyway.
And yet she instantly forgot such a trivial matter and beamed foolishly. How absurd it must have looked.
Well.
Of course, I had no intention of correcting the Guild Master’s misunderstanding. If he considered us beings he could not understand, that would actually work in my favor.
Shoving the blood-soaked stack of documents into the Guild Master’s arms, I continued speaking.
“Then you must know exactly what you should be saying now.”
“You wish to know the Second Young Master’s weakness, do you not?”
“No.”
“...”
“Cheonghwa Merchant Guild Master. You seem not to realize it because you’ve given your loyalty to that second brat, but...... someone who hasn’t even become a Sub-Palace Lord yet is nothing to me.”
Only then did the Guild Master’s complexion stiffen as he recalled that I had annihilated the Thousand Poison Gate alone.
Though the mood didn’t last long due to someone ruining it.
“Ah. Wasn’t the White Moon Sword Lord twenty this year? Then the Second Young Master should be three years older.......”
“Shh! Young Master Cheon always speaks informally unless he considers someone important or stronger than him! He even spoke down to the North Sea Ice Palace Lord last time!”
“Hieek! So strength really is everything in the world......!”
A scene of vicious slander.
“Tang Sowol. Stop teaching the child strange things. The reason I spoke down to the North Sea Ice Palace Lord wasn’t because he was weaker than me, but because he kept trying to make Seol Lihyang the Sub-Palace Lord.”
“Then, if you were to meet that Second Young Master who’s older than you, what would you do?”
“He was twenty-three, wasn’t he. Younger than you, Tang Sowol. And since my fiancée and I might as well share one body, speaking down would actually feel more natural."
“Do you understand, Centipede Lord? Young Master Cheon is that sort of person. You will likely be accompanying him to the Beast Palace, so you should get used to it.”
“Yes!”
Meng Yubaek nodded vigorously.
I had once been a fake child warped by regression. Though I had improved somewhat, I was still different from Seol Lihyang, whose childhood had been filled with venom, or Seo Mun-Hwarin, who merely looked young while possessing a matured disposition.
This was the genuinely innocent reaction of a child her age.
Perhaps that was why Tang Sowol, finding it fresh, kept trying to teach her strange things. I sighed, shaking my head.
“Hoo. Anyway, I have no interest in the Beast Palace’s family feud. Cheonghwa Merchant Guild Master, I wish to know only one thing.”
“W-what is it?”
“The current state of the Beast Palace. And the disposition and strength of the Beast Palace Lord. Yes. Put extremely, what would happen if I were to suddenly march straight into the Beast Palace?”
“...”
“Would he rage that his son prevented him from killing his runaway daughter? Or is he the sort who would smile and share a drink with a guest? If we fought, how would he fight? What is his martial essence? Has he defeated any strong foes recently? If not, what about before?”
I gently patted the shoulder of the Guild Master, who stared blankly with his mouth shut.
“I’ve given you plenty of examples, so answering should be easy. Tell me slowly, one by one.”
“Oh dear. Come to think of it, you spat blood earlier. If your throat feels dry, I can at least give you water.”
After a long silence, the Guild Master finally opened his mouth slowly.
“White Moon Sword Lord... do you intend to exterminate the Beast Palace this time?”
“What??”
“If the problem was sending an assassin, then I apologize. If you wish, I will smash my head against the floor and even take my own life. So please, please reconsider.”
The Guild Master pleaded in a solemn voice. He had misunderstood—thoroughly.
I gestured lightly toward Meng Yubaek. For some reason, Chilgong stuck her head in and acted cute first.
When I pushed the centipede away firmly, Meng Yubaek finally realized I was beckoning her and approached.
After a moment’s hesitation, Meng Yubaek squeezed her eyes shut and, as Chilgong often did, tried to press her forehead into my hand. I recoiled in shock and pulled away.
Instead, I grabbed her by both shoulders and drew her forward so the Guild Master could see clearly.
“It seems there’s been a misunderstanding. I simply wish to establish a good relationship with the Beast Palace. If possible, I’d like this talented junior to have a better future.”
“Ah.”
Only then did the Guild Master nod as if understanding something.
“I see. If the lineage of the Beast Palace can continue even in that form...”
He looked as if imagining me using Meng Yubaek as a puppet Beast Palace Lord to control everything from the shadows.
How do I know this? Because in the early days of the Demonic Cult’s invasion, when the heads of prestigious clans and sects were killed by the Heavenly Demon, similar things happened frequently.
Well, at this point a misunderstanding is hardly worth fixing. At least it loosened the Guild Master’s tongue.
As though resigning himself to everything or sacrificing something to uphold a sliver of loyalty, he recounted various stories.
That the Beast Palace Lord, though a Flowering Stage master, had his martial ability eaten away by a poison inflicted by the Poison Demon long ago.
That his mother had died in battle against the Five Poison Gate, causing him to loathe everything related to it.
That as the Poison Demon founded the Thousand Poison Gate and expanded his territory, frequent clashes with the Beast Palace made most people resent the Thousand Poison Gate.
That despite all that, he united the Beast Palace and led it into its greatest golden age.
That after I exterminated the Thousand Poison Gate, removing the common enemy, internal competition for Sub-Palace Lord grew intense.
Some stories were new, some roughly as I expected, and some I had known before regression—though changed because of me.
But there was one thing that especially caught my attention.
That the Beast Palace Lord’s condition was critical because the poison afflicting him had yet to be neutralized.
This was something I had never heard before regression.
The Beast Palace Lord I knew had brought the Southern Barbarian Beast Palace into prosperity, but was still unable to contend with the forces of the Central Plains and simply bided his time, building strength.
Later, he rampaged across parts of the Central Plains during the chaos caused by the Demonic Cult’s invasion.
Though he clashed with the Demonic Cult a few times, some sort of agreement must have been reached, as he quieted down after occupying Guizhou City.
There had never been a rumor about him being feeble from a poison suffered long ago.
If anything, he had been extremely vigorous.
Now I understood: when something makes no sense, suspecting the Demonic Cult often leads to the correct answer.
The Heavenly Demon must have cured the Beast Palace Lord’s poison in exchange for having him rampage according to the Demonic Cult’s invasion plans.
After all, before regression, Meng Yubaek eventually left home anyway.
Even though the fall of the Thousand Poison Gate caused the Beast Palace’s attention to turn inward... the fundamental reason for the Sub-Palace Lord succession battle must have been that the current Beast Palace Lord was nearing his end.
Meaning our task was practically decided.
After gathering my thoughts, I turned to Tang Sowol.
“You said you reached Sub-Perfection by absorbing all of the Poison Demon’s toxins, correct.”
“Strictly speaking, I reached Sub-Perfection because I absorbed all of his toxins....... Yes. At the time, I absorbed every single poison left in the Thousand Poison Gate. Even the poison dissolved in the Poison Demon’s blood and inner energy.”
“Then can you detoxify the poison afflicting the Beast Palace Lord?”
“Not all poisons have antidotes, and poisons that linger long in the body can sometimes transform, so I cannot be certain. But I can at least neutralize the poison energy.”
“If we resolve the Beast Palace Lord’s issue, we’d be earning a favor.”
“Hehe, the Southern Barbarian Beast Palace may be rough, but it is famous for never committing acts beneath even beasts. Even beasts know gratitude. There is nothing to worry about there, is there?”
“Good. Then let’s proceed at once.”
“Yes. I’ll begin researching the poison that afflicted the Beast Palace Lord.”
“Hm? You know what poison it is?”
“No? But there aren’t many poisons that can incapacitate a Flowering Stage master and persist this long, so I’ll focus on those. I can think of two possibilities already.......”
As Tang Sowol muttered increasingly complex thoughts and concentrated, I felt someone tugging at my sleeve.
It was Meng Yubaek, still held by the shoulders in front of me.
“U-um....... White Moon Sword Lord? Are you really going to treat my father......??”
“Yes. If possible.”
“Why??”
“...”
“I’m grateful. Truly grateful, but...... it feels too much. Even in the short time since I left home, I’ve learned that there’s no goodwill without a price.”
“You’ve learned well. As you said, this isn’t goodwill without cost.”
When I curled my lips into a sly smile, Meng Yubaek began trembling.
“S-so you really intend to use me as a foothold to control the Beast Palace from behind?!”
“I have no interest in such troublesome things.”
“Then you’re looking at me with those eyes.....!”
“Please stop saying scary things.”
Tang Sowol was smiling brightly right beside us.
“C-could it be that you look at Chilgong that way? You did try to buy her at first.”
“I’m going crazy.”
Doing my best to ignore a centipede twisting its body nearby, I continued.
“You showed potential.”
“...”
“Didn’t you say yesterday that you didn’t want to run away or compromise anymore? If you live by your own words, you’ll either grow stronger or break along the way. Then what if I help you so you don’t break?”
“Well...... if things go as you say, I would become stronger?”
“Yes. That’s what I meant by saying you had potential, Centipede Lord. If you don’t lose your current attitude, one day more people will know the name of the Centipede Gate. At least, that’s how it was for me.”
This was an investment. No matter how strong I became, one cannot live alone in this world.
If I could turn someone into an ally, I should. All the more if that person was certain to become someone noteworthy later.
And that was merely judging by Meng Yubaek’s attitude. In reality, the fact that she could command the Seven-Flame Five Poisons after a single glance showed extraordinary talent.
Even if it wasn’t the kind of talent the Beast Palace wanted, her inherent brilliance would not fade.
“Of course, it’s not that I expect nothing in return.”
“Please tell me. What do you want me to do?”
“Repeat after me. The Demonic Cult cannot be associated with.”
“What???”
“I said repeat it.”
“Th-the Demonic Cult cannot be associated with!”
Meng Yubaek repeated it tentatively, visibly confused. I smiled in satisfaction and continued.
“Good. Next, ‘The Heavenly Demon is our enemy.’ Repeat it.”
“The Heavenly Demon.......is our enemy?”
“Louder.”
“The Heavenly Demon is our enemy!”
“Mm. Don’t forget what you just said. That’s enough.”
“Yes.......”
Meng Yubaek looked at me as though I were some pitiable madman, but that was surely my imagination.
After sending Meng Yubaek back to Tang Sowol, I turned to the Guild Master of the Cheonghwa Merchant Guild, whose neck still remained stiff.
What should I do with him...
Perhaps he sensed my thoughts, for the Guild Master, who had been listening to our conversation with a dazed expression, quickly shouted:
“Th-the contract! I will void the contract with the Centipede Gate! And I will arrange a carriage heading to the Beast Palace!”
“Hm. And??”
“Uh.......”
“How could I trust and spare someone who already tried to stab me once. At the very least, show sincerity by disarming.”
A merchant guild’s strength lay in its treasury.
Understanding my meaning, he nodded with a tearful look.
“I will give you all the gold resources I can provide at once.......”
“Oh dear. You didn’t have to go that far, but if you insist, I suppose there’s no helping it. I’ll put it all to good use, so don’t worry.”
The Guild Master, who managed to keep his life, let out a sigh of relief.
It seemed things had concluded well without a single death.
See? I was such a merciful person.
“You seem to be in high spirits, Young Master Cheon?”
“Yes. I feel like I’ve become a better person than before.......”
“As expected, one must do work suited to one’s nature.”
Anyway, I was certainly more merciful than before regression!