Chapter 58. Gu Poison and Poison Gu

A night with a pure white waning crescent moon.

Tang So-hwa, freshly washed, sat by the window feeling the breeze.

At the border of Sichuan and Hubei. Soon, she would arrive in Sichuan and meet the one who would be at the Tang Clan Pagoda.

Just by recalling his face, her calm breathing faltered. So-hwa closed her eyes to calm her nerves and organized her plan.

She was confident she would not fail. No, even if she wasn’t confident, she could not fail. If she failed…

“Are you meditating?”

Startled by the voice that pierced her thoughts, she opened her eyes. There, perched on the window frame, was the Blood Sect bastard.

“You’re not even surprised.”

So-hwa quietly looked at him before speaking.

“I thought if you were coming to find me, it would be today. So there’s no reason to be surprised.”

At her calm reply, Haerak’s lips curved softly.

“Well, if tonight is the last night crossing from Hubei to Sichuan, it’s an appropriate day for us to meet secretly.”

Without any sign of hiding his identity, the Blood Sect bastard wore an outfit similar to what she had seen that day. His hair was neatly tied in a topknot, and he wore a silk robe. Perhaps fond of flashy things, his hairpin was crafted from gold, and the indigo silk was evenly dyed, showcasing impressive technique at a glance.

If someone met him in Hubei, even strangers might suspect he was the second son of the Head of the Anguk Merchant Group. Clad in precious clothing and possessing rare looks.

The second son of the Head of the Anguk Merchant Group was known for his beauty even in her past life, but had never been famous for martial arts. The same went for his qinggong.

‘If he were sane, he wouldn’t have followed me for days dressed like this.’

So-hwa, staring at him intently, asked.

“Did you change clothes nearby?”

“Why?”

“I find it strange that a Blood Sect bastard isn’t afraid of standing out.”

“I have my own way of moving unnoticed.”

Haerak smiled faintly and added.

“Come to think of it, the orthodox sect young lady strangely likes hiding, which doesn’t suit her. She hasn’t committed a crime, so why live like that?”

So-hwa’s eyes narrowed, and Haerak admitted meekly.

“I was curious what the orthodox sect young lady eats and likes, so I sent someone, but got reports she’s been locked in her room. I thought she hated going home and had begun closed-door training.”

“……”

“Why do you look at me like that?”

“Because the nature of you and I are so different, I wonder if it’s right to take you in.”

Haerak let out a small laugh.

“Yes. That’s what I came to talk about. I had forgotten for a moment.”

The Blood Sect bastard leaned his back against the window frame, taking a relaxed posture.

“Tell me. What can you give me?”

He seemed willing to listen, even if the conversation dragged on.

So-hwa hesitated as she looked at the Blood Sect member before her.

He was definitely someone necessary.

He was from the Blood Sect, had a bad relationship with Namgung Hyun, and years later married Zhuge Cheonyu, deeply connecting him to the Murim Alliance.

In other words, he knew the Blood Sect well, planned to cause internal conflict within it, and having invested effort in a fake identity, he was unlikely to impulsively harm her.

A Blood Sect member worth talking to, and with whom a conversation was possible.

So-hwa pondered, meeting his steady gaze.

Though she knew he was a fortunate catch she had to seize, paradoxically, as a member of the Blood Sect, she felt a strong instinctive repulsion.

Delaying her decision for a moment, So-hwa raised her hand.

Haerak quietly observed what she was doing.

So-hwa placed her hand on Haerak’s clothes. Her fingers, feeling the warmth flowing through the silk, gradually moved upward. Her moving hand traced a clear path: Haerak’s meridian.

Haerak swallowed a bitter laugh.

Any martial artist would be flustered by such a rude act. Without permission, she probed his qi and blood channels and openly revealed them without hesitation.

But the orthodox sect young lady before him, who appeared to value manners above all, showed no remorse. With a blank expression, she uttered strange words.

“Normally, it lurks within the qi and blood, but now it surges toward the heart like a sudden assault.”

Taking Haerak’s silence as an answer, So-hwa pressed the inside of his elbow.

“Seeing how they’re gathered here, it looks like you usually conceal your internal energy in this area.”

The Tang Clan’s daughter said this and lifted her head.

“Speak up if you’re in pain.”

“Why?”

Before Haerak could ask, she picked up a small knife resting on the window frame. But she did not stab him with it.

Instead, Tang So-hwa cut her own finger. Drops of blood welled up and began to wet her fingertips.

Yet it was Haerak who reacted with surprise.

“Ugh.”

He held his breath. The smell of blood so close was horrible.

Tang So-hwa didn’t care and rolled up his sleeve. The moment his arm was exposed, Haerak felt a tickling sensation as if hundreds of insects were crawling on his skin. Then he soon realized the reason.

Tang So-hwa pressed his acupoint with her bloody finger. Black dots appeared around her fingertip. It looked disgusting, like swarming insects clamoring as if they would pierce the skin.

“Doesn’t seem to hurt.”

Her calm voice pierced Haerak’s eardrums.

Haerak lifted his head.

“Do you know what this is?”

“Poison gu.”

Haerak sneered.

“Usually it’s called Gu poison, but you don’t even seem to know that word properly. I’m not convinced.”

“I don’t really like the word Gu poison. It feels creepy, like a kind of spell that a living being itself becomes poison.”

“Aren’t there many things that are poisonous simply by being alive? Snakes, frogs, even flowers and grass are poisonous just by being alive and breathing.”

“Those things are snakes, frogs, and flowers before they are poison. Venomous snake, poisonous frog, poisonous flower, poisonous herb. Only when you take out what they possess and use it does it truly become poison. I prefer to name the poison at that time. Whether it’s a formless poison or a paralyzing poison.”

“Hmm.”

Haerak looked at So-hwa with interest, but she seemed unaware of that feeling.

So-hwa continued.

“These are living insects, and you’re not in a poisoned state, so it’s not detoxification you need but to get rid of the Poison gu inside your body. That is deworming and insect extermination. So, what’s in your body is not poison but insects. Not Gu poison, but Poison gu.”

Haerak covered his mouth with his hand to suppress laughter. So-hwa looked at him with dissatisfaction and added,

“… Don’t mock me.”

“Hahaha.”

At that, Haerak finally burst out laughing. So-hwa raised one eyebrow at his incomprehensible laughter.

Haerak enjoyed the lingering laughter and said.

“Ah, I wondered what you were suddenly saying, but you were angry.”

“… I’m not angry.”

“No, it’s okay. I understand. I misspoke. I didn’t know you took such pride in poison. I apologize.”

“…”

Suddenly being treated like a craftsman whose skills were criticized made her flare up. Naturally, she looked at him with a harsh gaze. Wasn’t it obvious he meant to tease her?

Namgung Jin also saw these as insects and called them Poison gu when speaking to her. But the Blood Sect bastard didn’t seem to see them as insects.

He truly was someone who didn’t match her wavelength.

Haerak wasn’t bothered by So-hwa’s sharp gaze; instead, he chuckled and lifted his arm to examine it.

The gathered insects had clogged his acupoint tightly.

Haerak pressed the clumped Poison gu with his hand. As he swept it aside, the Poison gu returned to its area. He had expected the wild insects to resist and bite the acupoint, but they behaved obediently.

These crazy insects obediently followed orders.

As if they had met their master.

Haerak hid his expression behind a smile while looking at the darkening black spots.

“How did you find out about Gu poison, no, Poison gu?”

“Since I discovered it in a martial artist’s body at Emei Mountain three years ago, I’ve been conducting experiments continuously.”

“Huh? I heard they’re all dead?”

“I cultured the Poison gu collected from their corpses. I’m still researching them.”

The insects that lost their host couldn’t survive. But this orthodox young lady spoke of the event three years ago and claimed that the insects she got then were still alive.

‘That’s impossible.’

However, instead of refuting her, Haerak asked, as if impressed.

“Impressive. How did you cultivate them? Poison gu that lose their host shouldn’t survive long.”

“I fed them well and made sure they didn’t get sunlight, so they reproduced on their own.”

“… Fed?”

“At first, no matter what I fed them, they were as still as ashes, but they reacted to my blood. So I fed them my blood to raise them.”

“…”

“Why do you ask?”

“Do you know how to tame Poison gu?”

So-hwa had a record of taming Poison gu at age seven, turning the Tang Clan estate upside down. So, there was no way she didn’t know.

“Though it may vary by species, the Poison gu I know are the kind tamed by mixing blood into their food.”

“Right. Ironically, it’s impossible to tame them. It makes no sense to think that feeding them blood alone would create a connection. It’s more realistic to say it involves sorcery.”

Anyone interested in Poison gu arts would have heard that story before—the idea that Poison gu act according to their master’s will through sorcery.

As much as communicating with creatures through blood seems unlikely, so does brainwashing them with sorcery.

In ancient times, it was said that sorcerers connected all things with their own unique characters and rituals, but the sorcerers remaining in the Central Plains were all frauds.

So-hwa finally understood how her words sounded to him.

He must think she’s telling absurd lies.

“It doesn’t matter if you don’t believe me, but you just saw it with your own eyes, right? The insects are responding to my blood.”

“Yes. That’s why I’m very confused right now.”

Haerak sighed, rubbing his arm.

“Embarrassingly, I seem to be swayed by this ridiculous proposition.”

“Think about it carefully. I haven’t found a way to remove the Poison gu yet. I still need more time.”

At that, Haerak twitched his eyebrows.

“What? There’s no way yet?”

“Not yet. But I’ll find one soon.”

So-hwa answered honestly.

She had devised various methods to remove Poison Gu, but none had proven effective yet. She needed to find a host to experiment on, but every time she searched for Haerak’s kind, she found only corpses.

So-hwa looked at the young nobleman before her and thought.

He seemed free of chronic illness, his blood vessels were clear, and as a merchant occasionally passing into Sichuan, he aroused little suspicion.

He was the perfect host.

Haerak, who had been silent, asked in a reluctant tone,

“… Why are you looking at me like that?”

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