Originally, I had planned to stay at the Centipede Gate. Even if I'd given up on acquiring the Seven Blossom Centipede, I thought I could somehow manage to maintain my connection with the Beast Palace Lord.
If I stayed on as a retainer and handled urgent matters big and small, it would be hard for them to refuse my requests.
That had been the plan.
…But the building was so cramped that there was no room to give a guest, so I ended up staying at a nearby inn.
I'd had some idea after seeing the vegetable garden they'd made in the corner of the training ground, but I hadn't expected it to be this bad.
Some of the sect members said they'd be fine sleeping with blankets in the hallway, but… honestly, as a guest, I couldn't very well kick the hosts out of their own home.
I let out a deep sigh as I looked around the inn room, which looked far better than the Centipede Gate leader's office.
"Phew."
"Oh my? Is something troubling you, young hero Cheon?"
Tang So-wol, who had been holding seven small bottles of different colors with a satisfied look, tilted her head.
So I'm one of the Tang Clan now, huh. Rather than absorbing the poison I'd been looking forward to, she checked on me first—there was something oddly touching about that.
I let out a small laugh and nodded.
"It's not really a worry. I was just thinking about the Centipede Gate and its leader. …Just to be clear, it's only concern about the future."
"I know. Actually, I was thinking something similar myself. Having seen what we saw, it'd be impossible not to."
"True enough. That's fair."
"Actually, a good idea just came to mind. Would you care to hear it?"
"Right now? I'm a little curious."
"Heh heh."
Tang So-wol curled the corners of her mouth into a smirk, then set down bottles of poison on the surrounding desks one by one before continuing.
"What I'm about to say is a thought that came to me when I saw the Centipede Gate leader. Wouldn't it be fun to see if our thoughts match?"
"And if they do?"
"Then we act without hesitation."
We exchanged a glance, Tang So-wol and I. And though no one had prompted us, we opened our mouths at the same time.
"They do seem to have talent."
"They did appear to have talent."
Our words overlapped, and the smiles hanging at the corners of Tang So-wol's mouth and mine deepened just a little.
"How about sending them to the Black Alliance?"
"How about introducing them to the Murim Alliance?"
"…"
"…"
Our follow-up words were completely at odds.
A moment of awkward silence passed, but it did not last long.
"The Black Alliance?! Isn't that the child who draws a line no one else would dare to draw, and holds to it no matter how hard it gets? How could you say something so harsh!"
"Tang So-wol, you saw the eyes of the Centipede Sect Leader as well. Since his vengeance did not lead him astray, he won't fall into demonic arts, but he is a boy with many shadows in his life. If a person can only live in the shadows, then he must learn how to live in the shadows."
"That's not right. If life has many shadows, and if one is living a shadowed life, then all the more reason to reach out toward the sunlight. Not backing down, not compromising. What trait of the Orthodox Sects is more precious than that?"
"Not backing down, not compromising. I know well that those words suit the Orthodox Sects. It is because people can uphold such principles that they are called Orthodox Sects. …But what matters most is the process by which one arrives at such an answer."
"The process? Surely it's about realizing that what one has done so far was wrong, and resolving to become a better person from now on."
"And what do you think that wrong is? That he did bad things? Hmm. I don't see it that way. The wrong the Centipede Sect Leader speaks of is having been pushed around by others and repeating choices he never wanted to make. It is the misery of not being able to live even one's own life."
"Kuh… Even if what the young hero Cheon says is right, in the end, the life he chose himself is not so different from the ways of the Orthodox Sects, is it?"
"That's right. Not harming others carelessly, working honestly to earn a living even if it means going hungry, and protecting the ones you hold dear to the very end. Even without some grand cause, that should be enough to be called an Orthodox Sect. And that's exactly the problem."
"Pardon? How is that a problem?"
"Tang So-wol, as you said, joining the Murim Alliance would improve your immediate circumstances. Perhaps in the future, the Centipede Sect could even become a sturdy pillar of the Orthodox Sects. But these are people who have lived their whole lives following others' words. One day, a moment of doubt will come."
"What do you mean?"
"Whether one's decisions truly stem from one's own will, or whether they were squeezed out under the unspoken pressure that this is how an Orthodox Sect should behave."
"That's…"
"Those who have looked into their own depths become strong. Those who seek to carry others also become strong. The Centipede Sect Leader is a person who fits both descriptions—that is why I say he has talent."
"…So that's why it's the Black Alliance?"
"That's right. The Heavenly Poison Sect and the Beast Palace are closer to the Unorthodox Sects than the Orthodox Sects, so I figured they'd be easier to adapt to—but the Black Alliance's loose confederate structure is also one of the big reasons."
Unlike the Murim Alliance, which swarms in force whenever something happens and has fairly strict rules, the Black Alliance leans closer to a laissez-faire approach.
You're free to do whatever you want, but for the most part, you have to take responsibility for yourself. Except in a few cases.
For instance, if a clan faces extermination or a dispute over interests breaks out, you can receive help from the Black Alliance—or conversely, you might be summoned because the Black Alliance requests it.
Tang So-wol, who had been mulling over my words, let out a deep sigh.
"Huu… Still, if I'm going to be connected to some organization, I think I'd prefer the Murim Alliance."
"Why?"
"Everyone gathered under the name of the Centipede Sect because they want to live a better life. Figuring out the method on your own is good too, but if you don't know at all, I think learning from someone is just as fine. Wasn't it the same for you, young hero Cheon?"
"…"
This time, it was my turn to fall silent.
Had I not just combed through my memories using the technique, even if I hadn't reached the conclusion of regression?
If so, what I had just said wasn't empty words—it was a description of how the me before the regression had met Seol Ri-hyang in the Black Alliance and changed.
In fact, the me before joining the Iron Blood Faction and the me after were quite different.
I had learned how to navigate the world from Seomun Hwa-rin, and I had learned how to love people from Seol Ri-hyang.
Regardless, they were people I had met in the Black Alliance… but that was simply because the three of us had our fates twisted in unfortunate ways.
If we had met in the Murim Alliance, we might have reached a better ending.
As someone who had experienced it firsthand, I knew Tang So-wol's words were correct, and that was the moment my confidence in my own judgment wavered.
Seol Ri-hyang, who had unpacked her luggage first and changed into comfortable clothes, shook her head.
"What's the point of you and Sister Tang going on and on when the person in question isn't even here? You can make a suggestion, but the decision is hers to make anyway."
"Your words are true, Seol Ri-hyang, but this isn't merely a suggestion born of pity."
"Huh? It's not? I thought you were trying to help out a poor, unfortunate girl who's the head of her household."
"…It's not that I have no such thoughts at all, but underneath it all, there's a plan to use this as a pretext to gain favor in a meeting with the Beast Palace Lord."
"I told you, it's hard to help with that."
"That's because if we're going to continue living in Yunnan, we have to mind the Beast Palace, which is practically the ruler of this place. If we were prepared to leave Yunnan altogether, I'd just steel my face and do it once."
"Is that so?"
"If we can clearly present a better future to the Centipede Sect leader and its members, then yes, that's how it will go."
"Then, well… Can't the Tang Clan just take them in? Like they did with me."
"Hm?"
The Tang Clan had grown considerably these days, but it was still just a single family.
It might be the greatest single force in the world, but compared to a coalition of families and sects like the Murim Alliance or the Black Alliance, it was bound to fall short in many ways.
Above all, even if the Centipede Sect was small, it was still a proper sect—wouldn't it be too humiliating for them to appear as if they were subordinated under the Tang Clan?
"I figured they wouldn't accept it, of course. I wasn't really counting on it."
"That's something you'd have to ask her yourself. On the flip side, if the Centipede Sect accepts, then there's no reason we can't proceed."
"It's not quite that simple. Those of us who saw it firsthand might be fine, but there are plenty of elders who would reject the Centipede Sect simply because they're the survivors of the Heavenly Poison Sect. After all, the Poison Demon, who was the sect leader of the Heavenly Poison Sect, did something unforgivable to the Tang Clan… to my mother."
"Ah. I didn't think that far, sister Tang. Still, I don't think it'll be too hard to convince them."
Having said that, Seomun Hwa-rin shrugged and pointed at herself, who was already rolling around on the bed.
"She used to be the infamous Demonic Head of the Unorthodox Sects, the Baekbal Nachal. She's fine now, but I've heard that back in the day, there was plenty of talk even within the Tang Clan."
"Infamous…?"
Seomun Hwa-rin, who showed her merciless side by claiming all three pillows for herself—one under her head, one hugged tight, and one wedged between her legs.
Truly a fearsome Demonic Head.
"And Seomun unni's own martial level is the Harmony Realm. She must have far stronger pride than some mediocre sect, don't you think?"
"Pride…?"
Seomun Hwa-rin, having found the most comfortable position, was using her lofty art of Void Grasp to sneak a Candy from my bundle.
Even when pilfering a mere snack, she poured her Intent into it—her pride as a Martial Artist was anything but ordinary.
Yes. Anything but ordinary…
I asked Tang So-wol, who was staring blankly at Seomun Hwa-rin.
"How about proposing all three to her next time?"
"Yes, that sounds good. If she chooses the Tang Clan, leave the persuading to me. With the Seven Flower Centipede, we'll manage somehow."
My gratitude for the peace of the household (?) preserved thanks to Seomun Hwa-rin lasted only a moment.
Tang So-wol smiled brightly and picked up one of the poison bottles she had set aside.
"So, since we've wrapped up the conversation, shall we drink some poison now?!"
"You look excited."
"Well, of course! The Seven Flower Centipede's poison—never mind its toxicity, it's so rare that you can hardly find it these days."
"But if you absorb it, Tang So-wol, you can draw it out and use it again and again with the power of your Poison Spirit Constitution?"
"Correct! They say the Seven Flower Centipede's poison reveals its true value when mixed with other poisons… I'm already looking forward to seeing which poison I'll blend it with! Hehehe."
With a rare, sinister smile, Tang So-wol downed the poisons in the bottles one after another.
After drinking all seven types, she began to focus her mind to absorb them.
With her eyes closed, Tang So-wol sat cross-legged, poison energy rising above her.
It shifted through gray, purple, blue, red, black, and more, constantly changing and mixing.
It was probably due to the reactivity of the Seven Flower Centipede's poison with other poisons.
One might expect her to be flustered by the energy mutating wildly against her intentions, but the poison art Tang So-wol had mastered was the Myriad Streams Return to Origin Divine Art. It was a divine art that allowed her to handle anything skillfully, as long as it was poison, no matter how different.
As time passed, the Poison Mist rising around Tang So-wol finally began to unify into a deep green.
And when the last trace had been dyed green, the poison energy that had been slowly covering the surroundings suddenly surged into Tang So-wol's body.
Taking one final deep breath, Tang So-wol opened her eyes. And then.
"Young hero Cheon, while organizing my energy, I happened to discover an incredible poison. It's one I think you in particular would enjoy."
"Hm? A poison I'd like… Does it help in combat?"
"Hmm. In a sense, it does help in battle."
Having said that much, Tang So-wol glanced sidelong at Seomun Hwa-rin rolling around on the bed and whispered quietly.
"It's a poison that grows certain parts of a woman's body. Though I'm not sure how effective it will be."
"What."
So Pungyu-hwan… was a real Spiritual Medicine after all.