"The one who ordered me to poison your food was Karox Livingtine, the Knight Commander."
"Karox?"
"Yes."
After over a month here, I'd naturally learned about the high-ranking figures.
Karox Livingtine, the brother of Marchioness Kaina, was the commander of the Silver Eagle Knights. Rumors swirled that he'd gained his position through Kaina's marriage to the Marquis—a classic case of a parachuted appointment thanks to family ties.
"So that's why you hesitated at my question yesterday—because of Karox."
"Yes. Karox gave the order, but I thought it was tied to Marchioness Kaina."
"What exactly did he tell you?"
"He said to make you die of illness within the year."
"Within the year?"
"Yes."
It was April, the perfect spring for action. That left about eight months.
"No specific method?"
"They don't know much about poisons. They just said to make it look like a natural death from illness and left the details to me."
"Nice."
"Huh?"
A plan to use Karox, Kaina, and Peru came to mind.
"You're getting money from them to buy the poison, right?"
"Yes."
"Then use their money to get the poisons I tell you to."
"What?"
I decided to turn this guy into my poison errand boy. No need to spend my own money or hunt for poisons myself—couldn't get more convenient than this.
Karox told Peru to kill me within the year, so I could milk them for quite a bit in that time.
Time to squeeze them dry.
Since I wasn't yet the heir and was still under probation, getting money required the Marquis's approval. Having such an easy way to acquire poisons felt like striking gold.
"Urk…"
As I stared at Peru, he squirmed, clearly terrified.
"How old are you?"
"Twenty."
"How'd you learn about poisons?"
"I was sold to the Livingtine family at eight and trained by their poison master."
"Are there many like you in the Livingtine family?"
"There were twenty of us kids at first, but I'm the only one who survived."
Teaching kids with weak immune systems about poisons? No wonder only Peru, with his Poison Application trait, survived.
I'd wondered why his affection toward me was neutral despite poisoning me. Now it made sense.
Peru had no personal interest in me—he was just following orders. In fact, he likely despised Karox and the Livingtine family.
He called the dead kids his friends. If I play this right, I might gain a decent servant.
Sorting my thoughts, I turned to the bundles Peru had laid out.
"Let's see what we've got. This is Hanyang Herb."
"Yes."
The bundle on the far right held Hanyang Herb, aged enough to be toxic and ready to use.
"And this…"
The second bundle revealed a green, scallion-like plant. I didn't recognize it, so I used my skill.
[Creator's Eye activated.]
[Yokrokpa (Green Mutation)] (Attribute: Pain)
A plant that grows only in barren soil, carrying a poison that affects internal organs. A single root can produce enough poison to fell ten healthy adult men.
"Yokrokpa."
"Y-Yes."
I'd need to be careful with this one.
The third bundle revealed black, maple-shaped leaves, their dark red hue giving me chills.
[Mokjakyeop (Ink Sparrow Leaf)] (Attribute: Confusion)
A rare black leaf, with only nine growing per maple tree, emitting a dark red glow. Contains a substance that affects the mind, used in truth serums.
"You've got Mokjakyeop, too. Quite the collection."
"What! How…"
Recognizing Yokrokpa and Mokjakyeop, Peru gasped and fell backward.
"And the fourth?"
"It's the antidote for these poisons."
"Oh."
That deflated my excitement. With the Sichuan Tang Clan trait, antidotes for learned poisons were included by default, so it was useless to me.
"Why carry these poisons? Hanyang Herb alone would've been enough to kill me."
"Hanyang Herb takes too long. When its symptoms show, mixing in a small dose of Yokrokpa makes people think it's just a stomachache. But the two poisons combine, slowly wasting the body away."
That's the beauty of poisons—the ability to create hellish, subtle combinations.
"Not time to use it on me yet, huh?"
"Yes. You've only been taking Hanyang Herb for a short time, so I was holding off."
"Can you get any poison or toxic substance?"
"Not the rare ones, but I can manage most."
"Good. I'm counting on you."
I spoke gently, not commanding but requesting.
"Understood."
Having gotten the info and poisons, I decided to send Peru off before raising suspicion.
"It's late. Go for now. I'll call you if I need you. Tell Karox everything's going smoothly."
"Understood. But how will you call me?"
"I've got a plan, so don't worry. Just go."
"I'll take my leave."
After Peru left and the sound of footsteps faded, I flopped onto the bed.
"Free poisons!"
The hardest part of the Sichuan Tang Clan trait was sourcing poisons. Not yet the heir, under probation, and clueless about where to buy poisons even if I had money, this was a windfall.
"Let's get started."
Normally, elixirs like Blue Stone Oil, Thousand-Year Snow Ginseng, or Great Return Pills are needed to quickly build inner energy.
But Ten Thousand Poison Magnetic Spirit was unique—it could increase inner energy with poisons. Eating all these poisons might get me to the 3rd Star.
"Not in one night, of course."
I started with the familiar Hanyang Herb, grabbing a handful from the bundle and chewing it down.
"Ugh."
It tasted awful. Hanyang Herb's weak toxicity meant it just tasted like raw grass.
I'd have to ask Peru to cook it next time. The taste was torture.
[You have ingested poison (Hanyang Herb).]
[Ten Thousand Poison Magnetic Spirit absorbs the poison (Hanyang Herb).]
[Ten Thousand Poison Magnetic Spirit's mastery has increased.]
[Weak Paralysis Poison's proficiency has increased.]
Watching the mastery and proficiency messages, I forced down the herbs.
"Urgh…"
My desire to grow stronger was so intense I accidentally ate all the Hanyang Herb.
Now for the main event. Focus.
To fully absorb the poisons' effects, I sat on the floor and activated Ten Thousand Poison Magnetic Spirit.
As the technique flowed, stray thoughts like "My mouth feels gross," "My throat's tight," or "I'm full and sleepy" faded.
Focusing on the inner energy's flow, my mind became a calm sea, free of waves, entering a state of no-thought, no-mind.
[Ten Thousand Poison Magnetic Spirit has reached the 2nd Star.]
"Huh!"
A large message window snapped me awake. Seeing the 2nd Star achievement, I was over the moon.
"Didn't sleep again, though. Oh well."
I'd planned to sleep, but I got lost in the technique and spent another night awake.
"What's that smell?"
A foul stench hit my nose, like food waste left to rot for months.
Looking around, I saw my pajamas stained pitch-black.
"No way… Is this bodily impurities?"
In some martial arts settings, practicing techniques expels impurities from the body, usually during stabilization or a transformation like Bone-Cleansing Rebirth, happening a few times. Reaching the 2nd Star must have triggered this.
"With a stench this bad, it's definitely impurities. Wait, the time…"
The sun was rising, and birds were chirping. Arin would arrive soon.
"Damn it! No time for this."
I stuffed the scattered poisons back into the bundle and shoved it under the bed.
"This won't do…"
The smell wasn't just on my clothes—it was coming from my entire body. No hiding it.
"She's here already!"
Thanks to the 2nd Star, I could sense Arin approaching. I hurriedly tidied up and opened the windows.
Click.
"Ugh."
Arin groaned as she entered, glaring at me with disgust.
It'd been a month since I'd seen that look.
"Young master!"
"Y-Yeah…"
"What is this?"
"I woke up like this."
"You're lying again."
How could I say, "Training my inner energy expelled impurities"?
"Arin, I need to wash. Can you prepare a bath?"
"You're right. Now's not the time for questions."
Arin took the washbasin and left.
She was sharp as ever.
While I opened every window to ventilate, Arin returned.
"The bath is ready. Let's go."
She spoke from outside, avoiding the smell.
"Thanks."
Even Arin couldn't handle the stench. I felt bad but couldn't help chuckling.
"Hm?"
"What's wrong?"
"Nothing."
My body felt incredibly light, like I'd shed sandbags.
Expelling impurities was said to lighten the body and speed up inner energy accumulation and flow. That must be it.
I could probably increase my training load now.
Despite the foul smell, I practically floated to the bathroom.
I worried the black sweat wouldn't wash off, but aside from needing to scrub longer due to the stench, it came off fine.
After washing and changing into the clean training clothes Arin left, I headed out. Passing a large mirror in the dressing room, I froze.
"What… Who's this guy?"