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Translator: Vine
Chapter Title: Carrier Pigeons Are Losers of the Era
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There were two reasons my motivation for attending classes didn't waver.
First, the Medical Hall, which served as both a classroom and a place for treating injuries from various accidents, was conveniently located between Seogajang and the dormitory, making the commute very smooth.
"Oh. Young Lady Narang?"
"Oh! Young Master Geum! Are you taking this class too?"
Second, Young Lady Narang, armed with a 100% pure, bright smile and a heart full of 100% kindness, warmly welcomed me.
And there was another stroke of luck.
The shorty, who was always attached to her like 1+1, wasn't there!
Of course, Luly never really spoke to me in front of Young Lady Narang anyway, so her presence wouldn't have changed much.
"Young Lady, why are you taking a class like this?"
"Hehe. I'm personally interested."
"Medicine? Or poison?"
"Hmm… poison?"
The moment she uttered the word 'poison,' a subtle gloom flickered in Young Lady Narang's eyes.
I'd been noticing it little by little since last time.
True to her rural background, she carries some kind of shadow in her heart.
It's a common trope.
A dark past casting a shadow over a bright and cheerful heroine…
And a hero who believes in and relies on her until the very end…
"Woof?"
"Chirp?"
These beasts really can't read the room.
My creative impulse, which had just started to ignite, was forcibly shut down.
Instead, a breathtaking reconnaissance battle unfolded between the two beasts.
Dog trait:
Identifies friend or foe by sniffing butts.
The wolf-pup leaped from my lap.
It pursued the squirrel, who had appeared from somewhere, daintily holding an acorn in its mouth.
But squirrels are creatures that don't naturally live in groups.
"Squeak!"
Squirrel used Tail Whip!
But it had little effect…
Even if the squirrel was a rather well-known spirit animal in the Southern Barbarian Lands.
It was no match for the wolf-pup, whose basic physique was simply on another level.
The wolf-pup brazenly sniffed the squirrel's bushy, wagging tail without a care, even daring to gently nip at it. Young Lady Narang, watching this, couldn't help but twitch the corners of her lips.
"Wow…! It's even cuter in person!"
Her already large eyes practically sparkled and gleamed with round, bright light.
"Can I touch it?"
I silently nodded my head.
And then.
Grab!
Bounce!
Shake!
"Yelp…!"
Perhaps it was her long experience raising pets, or maybe it was the ability of the Beast Palace.
The wolf-pup, which still snarled and bit at beggars and gambling addicts who came too close, was completely conquered by Young Lady Narang in just ten seconds.
"Hmm…"
"Chirp."
As I watched the scene nonchalantly, with the squirrel having somehow relocated to my shoulder.
*Thump*—
The third student entered.
And as if nothing had happened, the two beasts returned to their respective owners.
"Did I come to the wrong class?"
"...This is the Herbology and Toxinology class."
This is not Animal Studies.
You came to the right place.
A little later.
I don't know how many people originally signed up for the class.
A total of six people were seated in the spacious lecture hall.
It was incredibly close, as the class would have been canceled with fewer than five students.
Tsk, tsk.
How could there be so many ignorant people who don't understand why Herbology and Toxinology are important in the Murim?
Internal injuries can be healed with cultivation and meditation.
But status effects like bleeding or poison, which cause damage over time, can easily take a person's life.
This was a clear and undeniable fact that my past self experienced with my own brain.
Soon after.
*Thump*—
The closed door opened again, and at the same time.
"...Let us begin the class."
A scrawny man listlessly ascended the podium.
The instructor in charge of Herbology and Toxinology.
Tang Mok.
...I usually don't judge people by their appearance.
But in a world where physical attractiveness is through the roof.
It's not easy to look like that.
Generally, people from prestigious martial arts sects inherently possess a higher level of attractiveness than ordinary people.
Fundamentally, internal cultivation methods included functions that refined not only meridian points but also one's appearance.
It is said that this has been passed down through generations, gradually approaching the ideal of handsome men and beautiful women in the current Murim.
...Or so they say.
What is that?
They're not genetically modified humans.
But.
"...Herbology and Toxinology originally stemmed from Bencao Xue (herbalism) and were not strictly separated, but in the current Murim, a narrow perception has taken root that medicine is medicine and poison is poison…"
The face of the man who was monotonously reciting the preface written in the textbook, with an unenthusiastic expression for an instructor.
To put it a little harshly.
He had a gloomy look, like a third-rate extra villain.
And every now and then, when he looked up and met my eyes.
...It might be that I'm prejudiced against the Tang Clan.
But there was a hint of hostility in his gaze.
I came in hoping to probe a bit, and it felt like I found the answer surprisingly quickly.
Of course, there's no evidence yet.
But who doesn't have some dirt if you dig deep enough?
After a class that was practically a sleeping pill, to put it nicely.
I approached Instructor Tang Mok.
I met his gaze, which, contrary to his unenthusiastic face, seemed to hold some peculiar emotion, a green glint in his eyes.
For now, I adopted a humble posture.
"I wanted to visit and greet you earlier, but my greetings are very late. I have long admired the esteemed reputation of the Sichuan Tang Clan, and I heard you provided great assistance when I suffered a severe illness. I am Geum Sihyeon of the Mangum Financial Group."
I bowed my head.
"...Ahem. Right."
Perhaps he hadn't expected me to approach him with such humility, as he responded with a somewhat awkward reaction.
"I've heard that Instructor Tang has amassed an unparalleled wealth of knowledge in toxinology. I look forward to much guidance and instruction from you in the future."
I spoke, casually referencing information I'd subtly looked up on Murim Wiki, extending my right hand forward while supporting my wrist with my left.
He couldn't refuse and reluctantly took my hand.
Heh heh.
Just as planned.
With this, I've secured a means to dig up dirt on him…
Huh…
I looked up and almost failed to maintain my expression.
The true name, no, the gallery ID flickering above his head was.
[D_illIlIIiIl]
It was a barcode.
No.
Are these people seriously insane?
I should have known from the moment they kept posting '[Tang]' in the titles, crushing Emei and Qingcheng in the Sichuan Gallery.
"Ahem."
"Ah. My apologies."
A strategic retreat here.
When I let go of his hand, he visibly looked relieved, which was certainly quite suspicious.
But false accusations are a serious crime, punishable by death.
Until concrete evidence was gathered.
There was no need to bare my fangs first.
* * *
Walking side by side with Young Lady Narang, who was chirping outside, I gathered various bits of information.
"Speaking of which, Young Master Geum, which club are you thinking of joining?"
"Ah."
There were clubs.
They were almost the only way to connect with second and third-year seniors within Baekhwa Academy.
Well, in my original life, there was only one club for me.
Could there be any option other than the Go-Home Club?
But at Baekhwa Academy, there was no Go-Home Club to begin with, and I absolutely had to join one for… no, for socializing.
"I'm still thinking about it. What about you, Young Lady Narang?"
"Hmm… I'm not exactly sure what clubs there are either. I heard there's a club fair this weekend, so I'll check it out then, hehe."
There's something like that?
I thanked Young Lady Narang for the valuable information.
Before I knew it, our steps had reached near the dormitory.
Young Lady Narang seemed to have something to say, but after greeting me, she fluttered off with the squirrel.
Well.
If she has something to say, she'll do it later on MurimTalk.
Only then could I comfortably take out my smartphone.
It's considered very rude to look at your smartphone while talking to someone else, after all.
...It's not like I have anything worth showing others anyway.
Let's see.
[Luly (170cm75G_Luly) / Dorm food tastes like garbage..... (3)]
[Luly (170cm75G_Luly) / My roommate isn't here..... (0)]
It seems Luly the child has successfully adapted to the gallery.
She still hasn't managed to shed her identity and uses her measurements instead of a guest ID, but isn't that better than openly using a nickname like 'Luly-ring'?
The second post is a bit cute.
I decided to screenshot it, planning to tease her about it someday, and continued scrolling. Then I saw it.
[Author: Luly (170cm75G_Luly)]
[Title: Does anyone know about the Blood Wolf Sword Art??]
[It's definitely not something I know,
I heard about it during class,
Is it a common sword art?]
...
A raw question from a rookie who hadn't yet learned how to ask questions, it simply evoked a sigh from me.
That, and.
To be so overtly investigating.
That little kid has a persistent streak, doesn't she?
It was fortunate that there were no comments yet.
Usually, the first comment on a community board is the most important.
- What the heck is that lol
I perfectly sealed off any room for follow-up questions with a flawless first comment.
For now, I concluded my lurking on the newbie.
Today's main objective.
To scour the gallery, classify the Tang Clan members, and save any evidence if they've been causing trouble.
Although I couldn't perfectly distinguish barcode IDs, the fact that they chose such IDs in the first place must mean they have some suspicious ulterior motive, right?
The 'D' prefix also.
Not the Clan D, tsk, tsk.
After feeding the wolf-pup a hearty dinner.
I holed myself up in the cultivation room and scoured the gallery until my eyes hurt.
[Anon (D_ilIIliIIli) / The school cafeteria's mala tang tastes like death; (3)]
[Anon (D_lIiIllIilI) / Why are kids these days so rude? (7)]
[Anon (D_IliIlIilil) / I already want to go home..... (1)]
Many people usually create fixed IDs and actively participate.
It's truly something to see them stubbornly use guest IDs.
...Not that I'm one to talk.
But no matter how much I searched and searched, I couldn't find any plausible results or blatant traces of trolling.
Had I overanalyzed things?
Had I judged someone based only on my intuition and appearance?
Just as a slight sense of guilt began to creep in.
"Oh."
Finally, among the nameless Tang Clan members, I found a barcode similar to Tang Mok's pattern, which I had been looking for.
[Anon (D_illIlIIiIl) / The bird poop smell is seriously killing me ㅡㅡ (4)]
The title itself smelled suspicious, making me a little afraid to click, but.
I cautiously checked the content.
There wasn't much special content.
But the photo showed an animal that was practically extinct in the Central Plains Murim recently.
A pigeon.
No sane person would raise pigeons as pets, so it must be… a carrier pigeon.
Who on earth uses carrier pigeons when they have smartphones?
Only old fogeys, completely out of touch with the times.
...Which made it even more suspicious.
Now that I think about it, I might have smelled something like poop from behind the Medical Hall.
Even though ancient, primitive, uncivilized Central Plains used even poop as medicine.
At least bird poop was a defective product that couldn't even be used as medicine.
This was worth investigating slowly over time.