The Reverse Scale
At Cheon Ryuyeong's ambiguous reply, the assembly swallowed a sigh. Jo Jeon-hu eventually clutched his head again and shook it. Such was the effect of Cheon Ryuyeong's words—they left everyone unsettled.
Jang Deok-mu let out a heavy sigh and spoke.
"Gongja Cheon, I don't understand how the Tang Clan could be lured without knowing the ingredients. What do you mean by 'the whole contains the parts'?"
Jo Jeon-hu interjected as well.
"Ah! Gongja Cheon! I may be ready to believe anything you say, but isn't this sophistry? If we don't know the ingredients, what can we possibly do?"
"There are many ways. To give the most likely example—what if a collector of poisons appeared in Chengdu?"
"…!"
Jo Jeon-hu's eyes widened as if they would tear apart. Even seated, Namgung Su staggered at the impact. Such was the shock of Cheon Ryuyeong's words.
Cheon Ryuyeong swept his gaze across the room.
"For instance, suppose someone collected aconite, cicada flower, arsenic, realgar, spiders, centipedes, scorpions, and so forth—from the common to the rarest poisons and ingredients. If rumors spread in Chengdu that such a poison enthusiast existed, what would the Tang Clan do?"
Everyone was too stunned to speak. Dokgo Muyeong bit back a bitter smile before opening his mouth.
"A poison enthusiast… The Tang Clan would surely invite him, to see what and how much he had. If they desired something, they'd want to know where he had obtained it."
Han Chu-gwang let out a strange sigh and added,
"Pheww… Yes. That would work. Truly, it wouldn't matter whether we knew the ingredients or not."
After his words, silence fell. Everyone wore grave expressions, pondering the danger facing the Tang Clan.
Hwa Ga-yeon fixed her eyes on Cheon Ryuyeong and whispered to Jang Deok-mu.
"Senior brother… why does he always speak in riddles about what he already knows? Why not just say it plainly from the start? Then I wouldn't have embarrassed myself earlier by blurting out questions."
Jang Deok-mu chuckled.
"No one thinks you embarrassed yourself, so don't worry."
"But still… I don't want Gongja Cheon to think I'm ignorant."
Jang Deok-mu smacked his lips. If that were the measure, then he too was ignorant. As were most in this hall.
"Gongja Cheon wants us to think for ourselves. And though his own thoughts are firm, by letting us discuss, he leaves room for new discoveries that even he may not have considered."
"Hm. You think so?"
"Don't you remember what he said at the start? That even a sheet of paper is easier to lift together."
Hwa Ga-yeon nodded, then replied with feigned disinterest.
"But what does it matter? He could lift not a sheet of paper, but a whole boulder by himself."
"Well… I can't argue with that."
Their whispering ended with a shared sigh.
Dokgo Seol broke the silence, turning to Cheon Ryuyeong with a question.
"Gongja Cheon, why didn't you say all this directly to the Tang Clan? Instead of vague warnings about vigilance and protecting their poison, wouldn't it have made them feel the danger more acutely?"
Many faces turned to Cheon Ryuyeong in agreement with Dokgo Seol. But it was Dokgo Muyeong who answered.
"How could he say such a thing? If Gongja Cheon's conjecture is true… then the Tang Clan, upon knowing that we had guessed their secret about the Formless Deadly Poison, would surely…"
He trailed off, and Han Chu-gwang finished for him.
"They would turn hostile."
Dokgo Seol's eyes widened before she let her shoulders drop with a resigned nod.
"Yes, I see."
Han Chu-gwang spoke to her.
"This is no trivial matter to dismiss with a 'maybe.' It is the very secret on which the Tang Clan's survival depends. Their reverse scale—touch it, and you die. That is why Gongja Cheon was careful with his words."
Everyone bit their lips hard.
Even though they had uncovered a danger that might soon engulf the Tang Clan, they could not deliver the warning openly. It weighed on their chests like a boulder.
Jo Jeon-hu gulped down his tea and lamented.
"So it's the same with the Cheongseong Sect and the Tang Clan… there's nothing more we can do. Damn it! Why can't I learn to listen properly to Gongja Cheon?"
Suddenly, with a cry of "Ah!", Dokgo Muyeong spoke.
"Gongja Cheon, when you sent Pyeong-u to scour the apothecaries for tonics and elixirs… was that really—"
Cheon Ryuyeong nodded.
"Yes. My true intention was to learn if anyone in Chengdu was gathering poisons—or dealing in them."
"Hahaha, of course. Those shops deal in poisons alongside medicines. Rumors would spread fastest there."
"Since the Tang Clan is structurally compelled to remain uncooperative, I asked Pyeong-u to search in reverse."
"And if someone like the poison enthusiast you described has indeed surfaced recently… then ten to one, your suspicions are right. And if the Tang Clan hasn't claimed him yet, then Pyeong-u will find him first."
Cheon Ryuyeong smiled gently.
"Yes. I sincerely hope Pyeong-u reaches him before the Tang Clan does. But of course, preparations are in place even if we're too late—through Pyeong-u, not me."
"I see."
Dokgo Muyeong gazed at Cheon Ryuyeong with satisfaction. How many more times would this youth astonish him? The very thought stirred a curious excitement.
The strained faces around the hall eased. Cheon Ryuyeong had not been sitting idle after all.
Watching the exchange, Hwa Ga-yeon whispered again to Jang Deok-mu.
"Senior brother, this Martial Scholar… the more I see him, the more extraordinary he is, don't you think?"
Jang Deok-mu, mouth agape in dazed silence, gave a shiver and muttered,
"Don't even speak of it. I've lost count of how many times he's given me goosebumps already. Damn it… who knew words could be more terrifying than swords?"
"And don't you think he has such a wonderful voice?"
"What?"
"When the swelling goes down and the bruises fade, won't his face be quite handsome too?"
Jang Deok-mu gave her a silent laugh of disbelief. Still, he too was captivated by Cheon Ryuyeong—how could his younger martial sister, at an age when one's heart naturally stirs, not be?
Then he felt a sharp gaze and turned. He froze.
Dokgo Seol was biting her lip, her cold eyes fixed on his younger martial sister, who gazed dreamily at the Martial Scholar.
"No… it can't be!"
Jang Deok-mu swallowed hard.
Could it be that Dokgo Seol—the famed sword maiden known as Sword Peak, Cheonghwa, and Half-Moon, bearer of three illustrious titles among the women of the world—was interested in the Martial Scholar?
He shook his head.
Impossible. Surely not.
And yet… what was that look in her eyes?
He glanced around.
His younger martial sister still stared fixedly at Cheon Ryuyeong. Dokgo Seol was staring coldly at her. Namgung Su's gaze flickered between Cheon Ryuyeong and Dokgo Seol.
"What is this… these tangled glances?"
Namgung Su spoke aloud.
"Even if all of the Martial Scholar's conjectures are correct, there remains one fatal flaw."
His booming voice filled the great hall, drawing every eye. Fixing Cheon Ryuyeong with his stare, he said:
"Even if a spy enters, it is still the Tang Clan—the tiger's den. There is no way he could approach the Formless Deadly Poison. The Tang Clan's experts would watch him like hawks."
Many, including Dokgo Muyeong, nodded. They too had harbored that very doubt.
Cheon Ryuyeong scratched the back of his head and replied—
"The Heavenly Demon Sword's approach to both Cheongseong and the Tang Clan shares one thing in common."
"…?"
"They make their enemies invite them in."
Namgung Su shook his head.
"So even if the Tang Clan themselves allowed an enemy into their inner halls…"
Cheon Ryuyeong cut him off.
"It's the same with approaching the Formless Deadly Poison. You make the Tang Clan bring the spy right to it themselves."
Namgung Su paused. A moment ago, he would have scoffed at such words. But having glimpsed Cheon Ryuyeong's mind, he could not.
Letting out a faint sigh, he asked,
"And just how would that be done?"
Cheon Ryuyeong replied as if it were nothing.
"It's simple. Make the Tang Clan believe, in any situation, that they are in complete control. For example, what if the spy were someone with no martial arts at all?"
"…!"
"And what if it were a feeble old man—or a frail woman?"
"…"
"When the opponent seems weak, those watching relax. If the Tang Clan gains such confidence, they will act boldly. Add a little seasoning, and it is no difficult thing."
"But… even so… if the spy has no strength, what could they possibly do?"
"Strength can be borrowed, can it not?"
"Borrowed strength?"
Just as Namgung Su was about to press him for specifics, a middle-aged messenger burst breathless into the hall.
His shout froze every face in the chamber.
"The demon cultists of Sichuan Branch are on the move. It looks like they're preparing to march!"
Two double-hours before Cheon Ryuyeong's party arrived at the Sword Fragrance Manor—inside the Tang Clan.
Tang Cheol-hyeon, Clan Head of the Tang, also known as Poison Hand, offered tea to a portly old woman.
"This is a tea found only in our clan."
Though the weather was not especially hot, the old woman wiped at her streaming sweat with a handkerchief and answered,
"Tea found only in the Tang Clan… could it perhaps be Poison Tea?"
The golden tassels of her ornament swayed against her white silk robe. Her half-white hair was tied neatly with a jade pin, her golden belt embroidered with red and blue flowers.
Everything she wore was of the highest grade. Yet her massive frame robbed the finery of its grace.
Tang Cheol-hyeon stroked his ashen beard with a grotesque hand mottled violet and black.
"Kuhuhu. A humorous jest."
"No jest. If it truly is a poison tea unique to the Tang Clan, I would dearly love to possess it."
At her words, Tang Cheol-hyeon bit back a bitter smile. Truly, this old woman was mad for poisons.
"It isn't poisoned. Be at ease. Why would we offer poison to a guest who holds what we desire?"
"Eh? You mean I have something you want?"
The old woman, her belly protruding far beyond her chest, blinked with wide eyes. Tang Cheol-hyeon smiled faintly at the sight.
"Did my men not ask you many questions last night?"
"Eh? Y-yes, that's true."
The old woman shrank under a fearful gaze, her neck vanishing into her fat. The sight made Tang Cheol-hyeon fan himself, feeling hot just looking at her.
"I told them to treat you with utmost care. Perhaps they were a bit rough?"
The old woman flapped her hands.
"No, no, they treated me very politely. I was just startled, remembering that they were of the Tang Clan…"
The Tang Clan—a name synonymous with fear. She could not bring herself to speak it aloud. But Tang Cheol-hyeon, sensing her thought, gave a thin smile.
"What is there to fear? In love of poison, are we not partners?"
"I merely have a hobby of collecting poison-related things. How could the likes of me be partners with the Tang Clan?"
Tang Cheol-hyeon shook his head.
"You could be. Answer one question, and we are prepared to treat you as a lifelong honored guest."
The old woman blinked her small eyes repeatedly in puzzlement before asking,
"Is this about the things that man called 'chief steward' listed last night?"
At her question, Tang Cheol-hyeon thought she was not quite as foolish as she looked and replied,
"Yes. Truthfully, we desire only one thing. But to conceal that, we asked about many."
"You needn't have troubled yourself. Had you simply asked directly, I would have answered. In any case, I'm glad I happen to have what you need."
Tang Cheol-hyeon leaned back in his chair, fingers interlaced.
"What strikes me as curious is that you seem to have everything we listed. That seems… suspicious."
The old woman brightened with a smile.
"I'll have you know I pride myself on collecting nearly every poison-related thing in existence. But who can say? There may always be something I've yet to find. That's why I wander the world, searching still."
Tang Cheol-hyeon nodded slowly.
"Then let me be plain. We seek to create a new poison. Do you truly possess Cheonnyeon Muryeongcho (Thousand-Year Spiritless Herb)?"
He concealed its connection to the Formless Deadly Poison. The old woman answered without hesitation.
"Of course."
"How much do you have?"
At his repeated question, Tang Cheol-hyeon's wart-spotted face flushed. The old woman, however, looked stricken.
"If you wish to buy it, I beg you to spare me. I only managed to obtain one root, with great difficulty."
Tang Cheol-hyeon's brow twisted.
Just one? Yet even a single root would suffice to make enough Formless Deadly Poison to threaten a grand sect. Indeed, Cheonnyeon Muryeongcho was that rare.
"If you hand it over, as I said, we will treat you as an honored guest. But refuse… and sadly, we may be forced to torture you—until we have our answer."
It was a threat.
But the woman, who had seemed so timid, suddenly shook her head firmly.
"Not even if I die."
Tang Cheol-hyeon clenched his fingers tighter. Her eyes looked as though she truly meant to die first.
He wavered. Must he truly resort to torture? At that moment, the old woman made an offer.
"Instead… what if I tell you of someone who can obtain it?"
Shock rippled through Tang Cheol-hyeon's eyes.
"Someone who can obtain it?"
"Yes. He once boasted that he knew a place where Cheonnyeon Muryeongcho grows in abundance."
"…!"