I decided to ask the Poison Demon directly.
Once I'd made that decision, I had to move right away. Thoughts could be long, but actions had to be short.
…It definitely wasn't because I wanted to avoid being caught dawdling by Seol Ri-hyang later.
And so, with Tang So-wol's help, I began tracking the Poison Demon.
Since he'd cut his fist on my hand during the sparring bout, the poison I'd applied to my sword would naturally have gotten onto him as well.
It wasn't the kind of poison that harmed the body, so it was hard to detect, but for someone skilled in poison art, there were several ways to track it.
Something suddenly came to mind, and I asked Tang So-wol, who was leading the way with her Lightness Skill.
"Come to think of it, don't I have a similar poison on me? I believe it was some kind of gecko poison."
"It's the poison of the Two-Headed Gecko."
"That's the one."
Now I remember. It was a lizard with an extra head where its tail should be.
Once it grows to a certain extent, the two heads split apart and become separate individuals, but to reach full maturity and continue the bloodline, one must devour the other. That's why they apply a poison to themselves that lets them recognize each other no matter how far apart they are.
That poison has come in quite handy over the years. Since it requires a certain level of skill in poison art to track, it's hard for me to find Tang So-wol, but easy for her to find me.
Which is why I still periodically bite my finger to refresh it.
But when I brought up what had just crossed my mind, Tang So-wol shook her head firmly.
"The poison only works if it's applied directly. If I had used the Ssangduseokcheok's poison, I would only be able to sense the position of young hero Cheon's sword."
"I see. So it's a poison that can only be used on me."
Imagining Tang So-wol biting someone else, I felt a surge of irritation over something that hadn't even happened.
…Was this how Tang So-wol felt when she saw me with Seol Ri-hyang or Seomun Hwa-rin?
I glanced at her out of the corner of my eye, and she giggled.
"Oh, come on. Be a little more generous and allow Hyang-i and Hwa-rin unni at least."
"Well. If you're fine with it, Tang So-wol."
Her reaction was as if she could see right through my thoughts. As I returned her smile with as much affection as I could muster, Seomun Hwa-rin quietly edged her way into the conversation.
"I do not know what the two of you are discussing, but since you say you will do it, I shall accept it gladly. However, I understand that the two are different, but how exactly do they differ?"
"The difference lies in distance, accuracy, and duration."
"Mm?"
"The poison I applied to young hero Cheon works based on a general direction, but it is designed to pinpoint his location no matter where he is in the Central Plains."
"…Wasn't its original performance not quite that good?"
"In the end, this too is an application of poison art, so as my skill grows, so does the range."
Tang So-wol shrugged her shoulders and continued her explanation.
She went on to say that even with the same Ssangduseokcheok poison, she could distinguish between the one she applied and the one applied by someone else, and that the duration could easily last half a year.
"If the young hero Cheon had made his decision just a little later, I would have had to do a bit more legwork."
"Is that so. The timing was fortunate."
I had been wondering whether I was late because I had spent too much time thinking, but hearing that it was fine put me somewhat at ease.
"However, there is one thing I am curious about."
"Yes, please go ahead."
"Didn't you just say that the Ssangduseokcheok poison lasts for nearly half a year? But if my memory serves me right, I recall that you have been biting with poison applied at least once a month."
"…"
Tang So-wol fell silent for a moment. Then she carefully opened her mouth.
"Yes, in the past, it was about a month or so?"
"So you're saying it's not anymore."
"That's—!"
"You bit my fingers over and over, claiming to reapply poison that didn't need reapplying. Be honest—didn't you just want to leave a mark on me?"
"Eep!"
Instead of answering, Tang So-wol flinched. That was the clearest answer of all.
"How sly."
"…"
"You may speak frankly from now on, without making excuses."
"…Huh?"
"I'm saying that much is fine. However, one who bites others must also be prepared to be bitten in return. If you occasionally end up on the losing end against me, I won't accept any complaints."
"Eep!"
Tang So-wol gasped, her eyes sparkling. Seomun Hwa-rin puffed out her cheeks as she looked back and forth between her and me.
"I didn't even get my money's worth…"
At those words, Tang So-wol's gaze sharpened slightly.
It seemed that the first person to be bitten by Tang So-wol—the first to receive the Ssangduseokcheok's poison—would be Seomun Hwa-rin after all.
How long had they continued their Lightness Skill without rest, following Tang So-wol?
The early evening, which had been slightly dim, had somehow become the dead of night, and perhaps because the moon was dark that night, the stars shone especially brightly in the night sky.
And on a plain bathed in faint starlight, a man stood still, gazing up at the sky.
Hair streaked with white. A body perfectly balanced, the hallmark of a martial artist who had undergone Bone-Exchange Rebirth. And an odd Aura that blended the menace of Demonic Qi with a sense of emptiness.
The Demon slowly lowered his head and looked their way.
"You're late. I've been waiting."
"Did you know we were coming?"
"Of course. If you went to the trouble of coating your blade with such a pungent poison, you must have something to say to this old man. Whether that conversation is spoken with words or with a sword, I suppose we'll find out."
The Demon shrugged his shoulders. It seemed Tang So-wol's poison had been detected long ago.
I lightly patted the shoulder of Tang So-wol, whose eyes had gone wide—she clearly hadn't expected to be found out.
"A man once called the God of Assassins. Don't be too startled."
"Y-yes."
Tang So-wol nodded, but her face still hadn't settled from its shock.
Stepping forward in her place, I spoke.
"Don't worry. For now, I intend to settle this through conversation."
Good news indeed. To be honest, I wasn't confident I could defeat you in a fight, White Moon Sword Lord. It's remarkable enough that you reached the Harmony Realm at such a young age, but to think even other Harmony Realm martial artists can't withstand you… But now you're using honorifics?"
"I've been doing so since the sparring bout ended."
"Ah, now that I think about it, that's true. Perhaps it's something that can't be helped with age—even as I thought you had every right to do so, hearing it still stung a little. Has something changed in your state of mind?"
"A change in my state of mind."
There had been, of course.
Unlike before, when I had thought of the Heavenly Demon as merely an opponent I would one day have to cut down, the sparring bout had shown me that there was no madness, no desire for revenge in his heart.
And so I had found myself wondering whether it was truly alright to cut down the current Heavenly Demon.
He had shifted from being someone I had to kill to someone who might have cast off the shackles of Karmic Debt on his own—my thoughts couldn't help but change.
It was merely such an inner self manifesting outwardly.
Over the past few days. And while traveling here, I had carefully sifted through the thoughts that had been running through my mind, selecting and weaving them into words.
"Heavenly Demon. I know that you failed in your revenge and fled."
"…"
"I also know that you still act as a member of the Demonic Cult, often lending them your aid."
"…"
"And I would say that I am someone who cannot live under the same sky as the Demonic Cult—or to be precise, as the Heavenly Demon, the current Cult Leader."
"…"
The demon who had remained silent the whole time gave a heavy nod.
"Indeed. I understand now. I see why you were so hostile toward me, a stranger you'd never met before."
"To be honest, I'm still thinking of cutting you down if the situation calls for it."
"That's quite frightening."
The demon let out a hearty laugh. Even as he spoke of the possibility of his own death, he continued in an utterly unguarded manner.
"From what I can see, you already know a great deal… What else are you curious about?"
"Are you still connected to the Demonic Cult?"
"Not now. But until recently, I was."
"Could you tell me in a little more detail?"
"The Heavenly Demon came to me in person. When I said I no longer wished to work for the Demonic Cult, instead of accepting that, he told me to go to the Beast Palace."
"…That's all?"
"That's right. He only told me to go and said nothing else. Perhaps he knew you would be there and sent me anyway… But in my opinion, he simply sent me to treat the Beast Palace Lord."
So that was how it happened.
If the Demonic Qi had shed its obsession upon reaching the Harmony Realm, there would be no need to research the Corpse Puppetry Arts.
Naturally, interest in unusual patients would have waned as well, so I had found it strange that I followed immediately when Maeng Gyeom called.
It made sense if he had headed to the Beast Palace as a condition for leaving the Demonic Cult.
"Then, a second question. …Have you by any chance planted incomplete Corpse Puppetry Arts in the bodies of those you treated in the past?"
"…"
At my words, the Demonic Cult Leader's eyes flew wide open and his mouth hung slack.
It wasn't that he had nothing to say, or that I had struck a nerve—he simply looked utterly shocked.
"…I didn't expect you to know that much. Let me give you the conclusion first: yes. I am still connected to the things I planted in the bodies of those who were once my patients."
"What is your purpose?"
"I have no purpose. Or rather, it's gone. It's just that I cannot sever the connections by my own will, so I'm left dangling them like this."
Though the connections are so strong that even he cannot do anything about them, he says that if he wished, he could trigger them at any time and drive people mad.
Not knowing anything about the original Corpse Puppetry Arts, nor even about the imitation that the Demon Physician had reproduced, I fell silent for a moment.
Perhaps interpreting my silence differently, the Demon Physician hastily added more words.
"I had no choice. Medical arts alone couldn't reproduce the Corpse Puppetry Arts, so I borrowed the power of the Demonic Cult's sorcery… but I'm also an outsider to that field, so to undo it, I need the Demonic Cult's help."
"But you've severed your ties with the Demonic Cult."
"Hmph. That's how it turned out. I know it's hard to believe, but it's the truth."
"It's not that I don't believe you. Rather, there's one thing I'm curious about. Though it's a separate matter, unrelated to the topic at hand."
"At this point, what would I hide? Speak."
"The Spirit Blood Pill. I'm sure you know of it. By any chance, does it have something to do with you, Demon Physician?"
"…"
The Spirit Blood Pill. A spiritual medicine made by grinding people down—Gwiyeong Sin-tu had once glimpsed its production process and fled in terror.
Its inferior counterpart, the Blood Essence Pill, had been scattered across Hebei Province to sow discord between the Paeng and Eon Clans.
This was an achievement hard to believe, even for a Demonic Cult renowned for its sorcery.
Cruel as the process might be, the results were undeniable.
I had even entertained the thought that this might be knowledge the Heavenly Demon had accumulated through countless regressions.
But if, as the Demon Physician had just said, her medical arts and the Demonic Cult's sorcery could truly be combined… then it all made sense.
After a long silence, the Demon Physician gave a heavy nod.
"That's right. Both the Spirit Blood Pill and the Blood Essence Pill are spiritual medicines I was deeply involved in. Though I call it a Grand Ritual that used volunteers and beasts that couldn't speak, it was a horrific sight…"
"…It's hard to believe that someone so deeply involved would simply let go. And that you'd even think of escaping. You must have had that much of a grudge."
"That's right. If things had stayed as they were, I would have been crying out for an endless revenge against someone who no longer existed. But what put an end to it was you."
"Pardon?"
I hadn't expected my name to come up, so I blinked in surprise, and the Demon Physician's expression softened.
"The sight of the Seomun Clan Lord, once called Baekbal Nachal, having changed so much. The sight of the daughters of the Paeng and Eon clans genuinely cherishing each other. The fact that two clans could change…"
The Demon Physician paused there and looked straight at me.
Her eyes were clear, without a single trace of cloudiness.
"Your path has shown me that people can change."
"…"
This time, it was my turn to be at a loss for words.
The Demon Physician. It was I who had changed him.