"Young hero Cheon."
"What is it?"
"How exactly does one poison something like that…?"
"…"
Asking me that, of all people.
Between my past life before the regression and this one, I had spent enough time around Tang So-wol to pick up some basic knowledge of poison art.
But that was, quite literally, just basic knowledge. I was nowhere near Tang So-wol's level of expertise.
Well, it wasn't as if Tang So-wol was really expecting an answer from me.
I gave her shoulder a light pat as she let out sigh after sigh.
"The leader of those Azure-White Cold Serpents seems like a monster more than a Spirit Beast, even to me… but we're not going to fight it head-on anyway. We just need to spray poison and run. What's got you sighing like that?"
"Hoo. Young hero Cheon, how much poison do you think is the right amount to poison an opponent?"
"If you spray enough to kill, it'll die, won't it?"
"Spraying a lot of poison would certainly poison it, but then we'd have to give up on covert Poison Application."
Tang So-wol grabbed my hand from her shoulder, and instead of letting it go, she fiddled with it as she continued speaking.
"There are three main ways to poison someone. Ingestion, inhalation, and direct injection."
"I think I get the gist. So this time, you're saying we'll poison them through inhalation."
"Yes. Each method has its pros and cons, but in this case, isn't stealth the most important thing? If possible, lacing the Azure-White Cold Serpents' food with poison would be ideal, but…"
"You're saying that since we don't know where they hunt or what they eat, and since we'd have to poison them gradually, it would take too much time."
"As expected of young hero Cheon. You catch on quickly. That's why, as I mentioned to the Ice Palace Lord, we decided to poison them through inhalation."
The next most covert method after lacing food with poison is to spray poison into the air and have them breathe it in.
A poison that is colorless, odorless, and tasteless—meeting the three requirements of the Three Absences—is considered the highest grade, but…
The poison Tang So-wol had created this time was not quite at that level.
Its scent was faint, but its taste was considerable, and as for its color, it bore a deep black hue.
A poison that, once released, would inevitably be detected. One could say there was only a single chance.
After all, preparing poison and everything else was all to avoid a head-on clash with a Harmony Realm Spirit Beast.
"But a poison dispersed into the air has a shorter range than one might think. It wouldn't be a problem at all if we were fighting right in front of them, but…"
"You're saying it's hard to reach that rift."
"Yes. If the wind were in our favor, it might be possible somehow, but the wind isn't on our side either."
Whether the battle between the previous Ice Palace Lord and the Azure-White Cold Serpents had affected the surrounding climate, fierce winds blew without pause across the area ahead.
At worst, it was said to whip into a blizzard, so no matter how much internal energy one infused, fully applying the poison would be difficult.
But getting any closer would surely alert the senses of the Azure-White Cold Serpents' leader.
Even if I tried to find another suitable high ground, most of the surrounding terrain had been forcibly flattened by the battle between the previous Ice Palace Lord and the Azure-White Cold Serpents, so there was no proper place to be found.
"Of course, even if we managed to push through all these problems and somehow get the poison mist to reach them, we'd just return to the original problem."
"How much poison did you say it would take to reliably poison them?"
"Yes. It's generally determined by the target's size, Constitution, and the amount of internal energy they hold."
"The Constitution part would actually work in our favor. After all, this poison was created by studying the corpses of the Azure-White Cold Serpents and targeting them specifically. But the other factors…"
"With a body that size, and possessing enough energy to influence the weather even within a small area, a mediocre amount of poison wouldn't be enough."
"Then what are we supposed to do?"
"Hmm."
Even in the midst of this, she kept pressing firmly on my palm, or comparing her hand against mine to measure the size.
Tang So-wol, who had been handling it with such gusto, let out a deep sigh before long.
"There's no choice. Rather than poisoning it half-heartedly, we'll have to give up on stealth."
"Giving up on stealth means…"
"Originally, I would have diluted it into powder or poison mist, but instead, I'll have to pour the concentrated liquid directly into the cracks. Of course, after gathering a sufficient amount."
"So you're saying we have to go directly into the cave inside those cracks."
"It's not quite that far. As long as I'm at a close distance, I can manipulate the poison myself, so being right in front of the cracks should be enough."
"That sounds dangerous."
He was the kind of obsessive bastard who would hole himself up for centuries, building his strength just to avenge his parents' deaths.
There was no way he would let Tang So-wol go after she had deliberately invaded his territory and even spread poison there.
"…If we're unlucky, we might have to fight him at least once."
"Yes. As the young hero Cheon said before, it probably won't come to a life-or-death struggle… but we might have to fight until we've inflicted serious injuries and forced him to retreat."
Her voice was apologetic. I gave a light smirk, then squeezed Tang So-wol's hand firmly once before letting go.
"What's there to worry about? There are two Harmony Realm martial artists here. Are you okay with this, Senior Seomun Hwa-rin?"
"Ahem. I've heard the story as well. The world never goes according to plan. This is a risk well worth taking. What we stand to gain is not insignificant."
The previous Lord of the Northern Ice Palace, the Ice Heaven Lord, was one of the strongest among Harmony Realm martial artists.
Even he, leading his retainers against the pack of Azure-White Cold Serpents, had only managed a draw.
Clearly, the leader of the Azure-White Cold Serpents might be a foe too much for me to handle alone.
But what if Seomun Hwa-rin is by my side, and the serpent is already poisoned by Tang So-wol's venom?
It's more than worth a try.
And on top of that, as Seomun Hwa-rin said, the remaining half of the payment for this job includes the secret arts of the North Sea Ice Palace, along with enough Spiritual Medicine to choke on.
All of it is martial arts dealing with cold energy, and the Spiritual Medicine is steeped in cold energy, so its uses are limited… but considering Seol Ri-hyang's talent and how she had hit a wall in her training on the Central Plains, its value would be immense.
"Eh, might as well give it a shot."
"Hehe. So-wol, you just trust this old woman and Hwi!"
Seomun Hwa-rin puffed out her small chest and lifted her chin.
Seeing that confident look, Tang So-wol's expression, which had been slightly tense, softened.
"Very well. If I can't trust the two of you, who else could I trust?"
"Wh-what about me?"
Seol Ri-hyang cautiously cut in with a hint of laughter in her voice.
"What should I do, sister Tang?"
"Hmm. Let's see, Hyang-i…"
After a moment of thought, Tang So-wol nodded.
"Just cheer me on."
"…Yes."
A Peak Realm martial artist was the weakest among us. The only thing I could do was cheer.
***
After settling on the general plan, Tang So-wol reported what she had discovered to the Ice Palace Lord and began the real work of crafting poison.
Since the poison was already etched into her body, nothing special was required—she simply ate well, slept well, and steadily consumed her internal energy to stockpile the poison.
Meanwhile, Seomun Hwa-rin and I requested information on the North Sea Ice Palace, preparing for a possible battle against the Azure-White Cold Serpents.
The previous Ice Palace Lord had discovered the Azure-White Cold Serpents only a little over a decade ago. The Ice Heaven Lord who led the subjugation had died, but it was too soon for all those who fought alongside him to have perished as well.
So I had asked to see the records related to those who had fought the Azure-White Cold Serpents back then, or anything connected to them…
"Why are you the one showing up, Bing Yerin?"
"Because I'm the most qualified person for the job, of course."
Bing Yerin said that as she brushed back her bluish hair. I stared at her intently, as if demanding a more detailed explanation.
When not just I but Seomun Hwa-rin and Seol Ri-hyang's gazes also fell on her, Bing Yerin raised both hands with an awkward expression.
"Please don't look at me like that. I really am the most qualified, and I came out because my period of confinement is almost over."
"You don't seem like you've ever even seen the Azure-White Cold Serpents yourself."
"But I probably know the most about their leader, right? Do you remember? That my grandfather was the Ice Heaven Lord."
"Ah."
Come to think of it, Bing Yerin was the Ice Heaven Lord's granddaughter. Perhaps her parents' insistence on her fulfilling her duties as a Divine Maiden stemmed from their inability to forget the prestige their family had reached at its peak during the Ice Heaven Lord's time.
After all, while the Divine Maiden herself enjoyed immense influence during her lifetime, the family that produced her was also bestowed considerable rewards and honor.
As I nodded inwardly, Bing Yerin continued in a calm tone.
"Regardless, ordinary Azure-White Cold Serpents wouldn't be a match for the Blood Flower Sword Demon or the Seomun Clan Head. The information you two seek is ultimately about the leader, isn't it?"
"That's true. However, even the granddaughter of the Ice Heaven Lord would find it difficult to know more than someone who personally participated in the battle at the time."
"Not necessarily. My grandfather had his retainers fight the relatively young Azure-White Cold Serpents to prevent meaningless sacrifices, while he faced the leader alone."
"And so, Bing Yerin, you heard stories about the leader of the Azure-White Cold Serpents from the Ice Heaven Lord himself?"
"That was possible because I monopolized my grandfather's attention when I was young."
Bing Yerin shrugged her shoulders. However, before long, her playful demeanor vanished, replaced by a serious expression.
"Grandfather called it the Azure-White Flood Dragon."
"Flood Dragon? You mean to say it was a serpent that became a dragon?"
Bing Yerin shook her head toward Seomun Hwa-rin, who asked with wide eyes.
"No. It was definitely a snake spirit beast. However, it was too powerful to be called a mere snake, so he gave it a new name: Flood Dragon."
"Indeed. Even from just those traces, it was truly immense. The name Flood Dragon was not undeserved. But why don't others call it that?"
"Grandfather was one of the strongest Ice Palace Lords in history. Saying that even he could not handle the Flood Dragon, and that it was targeting the North Sea Ice Palace… that would have caused a massive uproar."
"So you think they were trying to undermine the morale of those flailing to survive the current situation with Transcendent Peak-level martial arts?"
"That's right. There was also the succession issue at the time."
"Come to think of it, I heard the current Ice Palace Lord rose to the position with the recognition of others. The competition must have been quite fierce in the past, no?"
"Hmm. It was fierce, but strictly speaking, it wasn't the succession competition that was fierce—it was the love rivalry that was fierce, I suppose…"
"…Why does a love rivalry suddenly come up?"
"Well, you see…"
According to Bing Yerin's continued account, at first it was an ordinary, bloody competitive relationship. It was all the more so because no one stood out, all being of similar martial levels.
But the current Ice Palace Lord thought that since the future of the North Sea Ice Palace was already bleak, they should not waste their strength on succession competition, and therefore sought a way to ensure that no one died or was banished.
"The result was that he seduced every other Young Palace Mistress candidate."
"Good heavens."
Naturally, Yin-Cold Energy Cultivation is handled better by women, who are born with Yin Energy, than by men, who are born with Yang Energy.
That was why most of the Young Palace Mistress candidates were women, and the current Ice Palace Lord, the only man among them, had decided to seduce them all.
It was an absurd plan, but it actually succeeded—and on top of that, he entered into political marriages with every single Young Palace Mistress candidate he had seduced.
It was only natural that he rose to the position of Young Palace Mistress with overwhelming support.
"Even Grandfather was at a loss for words."
"Anyone would have been."
Those who could be called the future of the North Sea Ice Palace had been fighting viciously one moment, then suddenly joined hands and became one family—how absurd must that have been?
"It seems our conversation drifted a bit. Anyway, Grandfather regarded that leader as dangerous to that degree. And in truth, he was an opponent of that caliber."
"Surely you're not just going to tell me he was incredibly strong? What I want is a more detailed account."
"I intend to tell you everything without holding back, so please don't rush me. First, there were three things Grandfather found troublesome when facing the Azure-White Flood Dragon."
"Three, you say?"
I felt a little uneasy.