Poison Pill
"Hey, I just swallow this, right?"
"Yeah."
Tang Mujin boldly swallowed the venom sac of the Seven Treasures Snake.
His quick decision had its reasons. Once he left the Namgung clan, he would most likely have to sleep rough every night. Compared to making a poison pill while being bitten by insects and drenched in dew on the road, it was much safer and more comfortable to make it within the walls of the Namgung clan.
But the moment Tang Mujin swallowed the venom sac, Goiyi started saying something suspicious.
"That's unusually quick and decisive for you. Now, let's do our best to survive."
"Huh? Survive what?"
"Stop talking and follow me while you can still move."
Goiyi shuffled off toward the inner chamber.
Naturally, Tang Mujin thought it was just a joke—until he saw the expression on Goiyi's face as he followed.
Goiyi looked oddly excited.
As a child, Tang Mujin once insisted on climbing onto a three-man piggyback and ended up wrenching his back. While he was lying on the ground groaning, his childhood friends had looked at him with the exact same expression.
Yes. That wasn't the smile of someone happy, but the look of someone watching a fool do something stupid.
An ominous feeling struck him.
"Wait—when you said I might die, you meant for real?"
"You're a physician too. You should know the Seven Treasures Snake's poison is dangerous. Sure, swallowing it is better than having it spread directly through your bloodstream, but that doesn't mean it's safe."
"But last time with the black peony, you said it would hurt but it wasn't life-threatening."
"That was then. This is different. Still, with me by your side, your chances of survival are much higher."
The thought flitted through Tang Mujin's mind: when it comes to life and death, there shouldn't be any "chances."
"You should've told me that before I swallowed it!"
"With your personality, you would've just kept hesitating but eaten it anyway. Besides, unless you plan on waiting five more years, right now—while the black peony's qi still lingers in your body—is the safest time to form a poison pill."
Unlike Goiyi, Tang Mujin was still young. Even five years later, he would still be in his mid-twenties.
If Goiyi had just told him to wait five years, he would've nodded and agreed.
"...At this rate, instead of going five years early, I'll end up going fifty years early."
"Do you think the path of a martial artist is easy? You must be prepared to die fifty years too soon, if you want to shave five years off your training."
A moment ago Goiyi had been sweet-talking him with that "Tang Mujin of Sichuan" nonsense, and now he suddenly switched to lecturing him about the way of a martial artist.
Tang Mujin was about to snap back when a boiling sensation rose from his stomach.
Seeing Tang Mujin's face change, Goiyi snickered.
"Feeling it already? The Seven Treasures Snake's venom is said to kill before one can take seven steps. Not quite an ultimate venom, but far stronger than your average poisonous bugs or weeds."
Tang Mujin had no time to reply. He immediately sat down cross-legged.
He felt the sensation of two palms pressing against his back. Goiyi had placed his hands there, letting his weak internal energy flow in to observe Tang Mujin's condition.
But judging by how faint the energy was, he had no intention of lending real strength—only giving advice.
Tang Mujin inhaled deeply. The qi of the air stirred lightly through his lungs.
'It begins now.'
The venom sac dissolved inside his stomach, and the toxins began spreading. So thick and sticky it was palpable.
It reminded him of when he had taken the black peony.
The black peony's qi was abundant and dense, yet soft. It filled his meridians painfully, but did no damage.
The Seven Treasures Snake's venom was different.
It wasn't immediately painful, but it was clearly dangerous. Like watching a knife-wielding lunatic roaming the streets.
Unlike the black peony's qi that simply filled the meridians, this venom was restless, desperate to spread further, furious it couldn't tear through flesh. Any moment, it felt like it would pierce through his stomach wall and flood into his bloodstream.
How many people could this single venom sac kill?
Just as Tang Mujin tried to suppress it with his internal energy, Goiyi cut in.
"Don't suppress it. Let it rage a bit more. Once it tastes blood, it'll start moving properly."
"You're joking, right?"
"No. Only when the venom is fierce can it form a strong and stable poison pill. That's why we started with a Seven Treasures Snake instead of some petty insect."
Since he'd already swallowed it, there was no choice but to listen.
Tang Mujin closed his eyes and observed the venom. It squirmed out of his stomach, brushing against a trace of blood.
The moment it touched, the venom went wild like a rabid beast.
Yet Goiyi remained calm.
"Wait. Let its ferocity rise a little more."
"What about now?"
"Not yet. Just a little more… there. Now. Suppress it with your internal energy."
The venom, already blood-crazed, raged like a maddened beast. And when Tang Mujin tried to wrap it with his internal energy, it grew even more violent.
He coughed up something, darker than usual blood.
"Focus."
Tang Mujin steadied his mind again.
Compared to the first time he had practiced breathing exercises, his internal energy was far stronger now. He spread it wide, then slowly enclosed the venom.
But it wasn't safe. The venom, having tasted blood, thrashed as if it would rip through the barrier at any moment. A precarious balance.
"What do I do now?"
"Move the venom to your dantian. The internal energy there is already wrapped around the black peony's qi, right? Push the venom inside that layer and close it off. Encase the venom with two layers."
Tang Mujin, dripping with sweat, forced the venom to move.
Despite his urgency, the venom crept forward agonizingly slowly. Was it even moving?
"Careful not to let it leak out. If it seeps into your bloodstream, you die. If you lock it into your dantian, you live."
"So if I slip up even once, I'm done for? No backup plan?"
"There is one. If it leaks into your bloodstream, force it all into one leg."
"One leg?"
"Yes. Then you just cut off the leg and live."
As he spoke, Goiyi fiddled with the short saber at his waist. That wasn't what the weapon was meant for, but still.
"You know, suddenly I'm wondering—let's say I do manage to form a poison pill."
"Yes."
"What if—just in case—my dantian gets destroyed?"
"Then your internal energy won't be able to suppress the venom, and it'll spread through your entire body, killing you. But don't worry. Just make sure your dantian doesn't break, and you'll be fine."
"That's not exactly comforting…"
"Enough chatter. Just listen. Focus only on the flow of your internal energy and the venom."
Tang Mujin closed his eyes and began to move his energy.
"Good. That's how you move it. Don't go straight to the dantian. Pass through Shuifen, Zhongwan, Jueque, then guide it back down. Be careful not to let the venom rise up to the Jiuwei point. If it leaks out there, you'll die instantly."
Tang Mujin already knew the meridian points well. But Goiyi used his own energy to slowly guide Tang Mujin's flow, showing him the path.
"Now. Move carefully."
Tang Mujin dragged the venom up to just beneath his chest, as if it might burst out of his meridians at any moment, then forced it back down.
The movement was excruciatingly slow. Never in his life had he concentrated on anything this intensely. One slip, and the venom would flood his body—instant death.
With no external distractions, even his senses were unnecessary.
Tang Mujin shut out all five senses, focusing solely on the venom and his inner energy. At some point, even Goiyi's voice faded away. But that didn't matter—he already knew the path.
Time lost all meaning. It could have been only a few hours, or it could have been ten days.
At last, when his internal energy reached the front of his dantian, Tang Mujin shifted the energy aside, opening a path. Within the pale-blue aura of his inner energy, the white, jade-like qi of the black peony revealed itself.
Carefully, he opened the black peony's qi as well, and guided the venom inside.
The venom thrashed violently, as if realizing that once imprisoned here, it would never escape. But Tang Mujin did not loosen his concentration.
No rushing. His movements, and even the venom's, slowed to an imperceptible crawl.
Finally, he pushed the venom all the way in and closed the door. Inside the dantian, the venom raged wildly.
But the dense black peony qi, reinforced by Tang Mujin's inner energy, pressed down, preventing it from spreading.
The venom pounded against the walls of the dantian, then gradually slowed.
Eventually, it settled, shaping itself into a small, flat sphere that mirrored the form of the dantian. Like a drop of water suspended in stillness, it quieted.
Tang Mujin realized with certainty: the poison pill had formed successfully.
It worked.
After what felt like an eternity, Tang Mujin gathered himself, steadied the venom, and opened his eyes.
The first thing he saw was Hong Geolgae's back. He looked a little more ragged than when they'd parted in Anhui, but he seemed quite content with street life—he was even humming a tune.
As Tang Mujin exhaled deeply, Hong Geolgae turned around.
"Oh—what the, you're awake?"
"Yeah. When did you get here?"
"I was outside, but Elder Goiyi called me in. Said I should stand guard for him."
If Goiyi had called someone to keep watch, then quite a lot of time must have passed. At least half a day, maybe more.
"How long was I in meditation?"
"Today makes the fifth day."
No wonder he was starving—it really had been that long.
It felt strange. Even without swinging a sword, even without caring about the venom itself, he felt as if his martial cultivation had advanced.
Well, he had never moved his energy with such extreme focus before.
Hong Geolgae straightened his posture, looking at him closely.
"I only heard you were doing some kind of cultivation… What exactly did you do?"
"Want me to show you?"
Tang Mujin extended his thumb and touched it to the floor.
Recalling the technique Goiyi had demonstrated, he drew up his internal energy.
His energy moved, embracing a thread of the Seven Treasures Snake's venom. It rose from his dantian, climbed to his shoulder, then passed through the Yunmen and Chize points, continuing to Jingqu and Shaoshang.
It took a long while. To guide the venom so smoothly, as Goiyi had, and to wield poison palm techniques freely in battle—he would need endless practice.
But he wasn't impatient. So what if it was slow? The poison pill had taken root, and the results were already clear.
Tang Mujin lifted his thumb from the floor. A smear of dark, sticky venom clung there, filling the room with the sharp, acrid stench unique to the Seven Treasures Snake's poison.
Tang Mujin smiled in satisfaction.
"Well? What do you think?"
Hong Geolgae's expression instantly changed.
"This is…"
"Amazing, right?"
Hong Geolgae edged back slightly before replying.
"So what—you can… take a dump with your finger now?"
Tang Mujin kicked him.