The Eldest Daughter of the Tang Clan of Sichuan Protects the Family-Chapter 166

Chapter 166. Preparing the Poison
The quiet harbor was broken now and then by the creak of wagon wheels.
Creak.
Namgung Jin arrived with the wagon and brushed the snow from his shoulders in front of the pavilion.
His eyes fell on the water channel surrounding the building.
It was designed to carry off rainwater, yet strangely, the channel did not lead into the street—it circled only around the pavilion. When it overflowed, the water would spill across the floor around it.
The shape was odd as well. Water channels in the Central Plains were usually deep enough to hold plenty of rainwater, but this one was barely as shallow as a finger joint.
‘Wouldn't this just turn the whole place into a flood when it rains?’
Finding it strange, Namgung Jin pulled the wagon inside.
"Should I leave the wagon here?"
"Yes. If you leave it at the entrance, someone might try to grab it and run off. Better to place it at the middle gate."
Tang So-hwa answered without even glancing his way.
She looked terribly busy. The moment she returned to the clinic, she threw herself into making something, and now it seemed nearly finished.
‘Just what on earth is she making?’
She was using various medicinal herbs, some of which he recognized. He saw her add monkshood into a paste, roast it, then boil it together with other ingredients.
Namgung Jin frowned as he moved the wagon. As far as he knew, monkshood was a poisonous plant.
He kept stealing glances at her while loading food supplies onto the wagon.
Finally, when she finished the strange powder and packed it into a sack before heading outside, his unease grew.
After some time, he spotted her again through the open window. Tang So-hwa circled the pavilion once before finally coming back inside.
Unable to hold back his curiosity, he asked,
"... What exactly did you just do?"
"I've prepared to administer the poison."
Tang So-hwa answered frankly.
"Not the poison itself, but the preparation for it?"
"Yes. I'll decide later, depending on the situation, whether to use it right away or hold it in reserve."
"And what sort of poison requires you to watch the situation first?"
Namgung Jin frowned as he pressed her.
Tang So-hwa scratched her brow as if troubled.
"To be honest, it's hard to even call it a poison. At most, it causes nausea and dizziness for a day or two. But the North Sea bloodline seems to regard such symptoms as a deadly illness, so it will be more than enough to frighten them."
She recalled the man they met in the gorge who had abandoned the children suffering from sulfur poisoning.
It seemed that, to the North Sea bloodline, sulfur poisoning was considered an incurable, fatal disease.
If more people began to show similar symptoms, they would come to her again. She had already proven she could cure the children poisoned by sulfur.
So-hwa washed her hands, then went to the desk to check the newly prepared detoxification pills.
After confirming the paste had cooled enough, she rolled one pill and handed it to Namgung Jin.
"Young Lord, just in case, you should take a detoxification pill now. If something happens, you might also..."
...feel sick to the stomach or dizzy in the head.
Before she could finish speaking, Namgung Jin stepped forward and swallowed the pill.
So-hwa let out a faint sigh.
‘Only a few days ago, he was berating himself for eating what the Tang Clan gave him without question, and now…’
She turned away and carefully stored the rest of the pills in a wooden box.
When her preparations were complete, the falling night revealed the snow-covered mountains of the North Sea through the cracks of the window.
She left the window slightly open, then went to the side table to arrange the teapot filled with hot water and the waiting teacups.
***
The North Sea darkened in an instant.
The night sky was black as ink itself.
So-hwa stared into the darkness for some time before rising from her chair.
Click.
When she closed the window she had left slightly open, Namgung Jin spoke in a dissatisfied voice.
"Wouldn't it be better to leave it open so we can see outside?"
Tang So-hwa's lips curved faintly as she replied.
"I would prefer that as well, but we are not the only ones who can look through the cracks."
Namgung Jin's eyebrow lifted. It seemed she was trying to block prying eyes.
Indeed, Tang So-hwa began shutting all the windows she had left ajar.
Clack.
As the last window closed, Namgung Jin suddenly rose from his seat—he had sensed something outside.
He instinctively reached for his sword, but So-hwa shook her head.
He frowned unconsciously.
‘Did she already know they were coming?’
Perhaps her senses were unusually sharp, but as far as Namgung Jin knew, the Tang Clan's eldest daughter was not particularly skilled in martial arts.
Just as curiosity flickered through him, Tang So-hwa quietly moved to the window-side table, tidying the teacups and teapot resting there. As she placed the kettle of water on the brazier—
Step.
Footsteps sounded outside.
A low voice followed.
"Is anyone inside?"
It was not the voice of the man they had met in the gorge.
"Who are you?"
"I heard this was a clinic. May I come in?"
When Namgung Jin glanced at her, So-hwa nodded. Taking it as approval, he spoke.
"Yes, please, come in."
At his words, the man pushed open the door.
So-hwa ignored the blade-like chill radiating from him and studied his face.
Behind the ash-gray-haired man stood about thirty young martial artists.
He seemed to be their leader. His gaze lingered on Namgung Jin before drifting toward Tang So-hwa at the window.
Namgung Jin stepped slightly aside, as if to block that gaze, and asked,
"From what I see, you all appear to be in good health. What business brings you to a clinic at such an hour?"
At that moment, a girl peeked out from behind the man.
"Physician!"
It was the same girl who had helped her treat patients in the North Sea.
Recognizing her, Namgung Jin let out a small laugh.
"Ah, so you're with this young lady. And how are the others? Have they regained consciousness?"
Though they had not planned it, Namgung Jin slipped easily into the role of a kind clinic owner.
From the first time she saw him, So-hwa had noticed—this Young Lord of the Namgung Clan was an excellent actor.
She looked at him with quiet admiration, then turned her gaze to the North Sea martial artist.
"Why don't you all come inside first?"
The space was narrow for thirty men, but not so small that they couldn't be accommodated.
As the martial artists filed in, the gray-haired man guided the girl behind him and stepped closer.
"My niece tells me she gave you a shelter for the night. Why did you leave without a word? Everyone was terribly worried."
Though his tone was cold enough to freeze the air, his voice carried nothing but concern.
So-hwa's eyes flicked briefly toward Namgung Jin.
‘... This man plays the same game as him.’
Namgung Jin regarded the martial artist with faint disgust, but quickly covered it with a smile.
"Haha. So you were worried for us?"
"Of course. Everyone was most concerned."
Between the two men, So-hwa could feel killing intent rippling like waves. She cut in smoothly.
"As I told the Great Warrior in the gorge, we were running short of medicine and returned here to gather more supplies. I thought to inform you, but knowing you feared the night, I suspected you would stop us from leaving. So we slipped away quietly."
She gently tapped Namgung Jin's arm, still tense with a killing aura, and smiled.
"But isn't it fortunate? We were troubled over how the two of us could carry everything back, yet here you are, sending men to help. Tonight we'll be able to rest in the clinic."
Namgung Jin finally withdrew his killing intent and followed her lead with a smile.
"Indeed, how fortunate. It means I can spend another evening alone with my wife."
His performance was so convincing that it made one wonder if he had lost his mind.
So-hwa immediately understood where he had learned such strange speech. His family had Namgung Gangchang, who often spoke lines that were not merely embarrassing but almost nauseating to hear. He must have learned it from him.
Still, perhaps embarrassed, Namgung Jin shifted the subject by pointing to the wagon behind him.
"This is half the provisions we brought on our way to the North Sea. Please, take it all. Eating well will help you recover faster."
The North Sea bloodline tried to mask their expressions, but their eyes betrayed them—they kept glancing at the wagon. They, too, had been hungry for a long while.
To ease their wariness, So-hwa asked gently,
"If you haven't eaten yet, shall I prepare something simple for you?"
She untied one of the sacks loaded on the wagon. Inside was a perfectly ripe watermelon.
At first, she had thought the men of Platinum Pavilion were mad for hauling watermelons all the way up to the North Sea. She never imagined they would come in handy like this.
Platinum Pavilion had brought piles of items she hadn't asked for. She had requested pumpkins, but next to the pumpkins, they had stacked watermelons in abundance. There were also plenty of fruits and grains whose names resembled the things she had actually requested.
Gulp.
The sound of someone swallowing echoed loudly.
At once, all eyes turned to the martial artist standing in the center.
The man still radiated a piercing chill.
Receiving their gazes, the leader reluctantly spoke.
"I know it is shameless while we are already receiving your hospitality, but truth be told, it is hard for us to fully trust you. The food you offer could be poisoned."
"I understand. Of course, you would have doubts."
"If you are not the ones we take you for, then I am in the wrong. But since I am not yet certain, I will delay my apology."
"I don't know who you mistake us for, but I can respect that you have your reasons."
So-hwa quietly studied the martial artist before her.
His hair was ash-gray, though his face looked at least ten years younger than her father's—late thirties, perhaps early forties.
It was said that when one fully mastered the Five Absolute Arts of the North Sea Ice Palace, all the hair on their body turned pure white. His gray hair might well be a sign of cultivation.
By contrast, most of the others were still young, their hair still black.
‘Three years ago, the people of Profound Emptiness Pavilion rescued the bloodline from the farm, didn't they?’
The "vessels" in the farm were raised until no older than jihak (the age of study, fifteen).
Until they were fifteen, they received the same education. Those deemed lacking were sent to the Central Plains, where they were exploited by the Profound Emptiness Pavilion's members until death. The more promising vessels remained in the North Sea for further training, so that one day they could be absorbed by the Blood Demon himself.
These young martial artists must be the rescued vessels.
So-hwa's gaze returned to the gray-haired man. For him to have gone into danger to rescue children meant he must have some measure of principle.
The North Sea bloodline seemed, as she had guessed, to be a group with enough virtue to be spoken of even in the ears of the Blood Demon.
Yet inwardly, So-hwa sighed.
‘A complete mess.’
If this ragtag group was the fighting strength of the North Sea Ice Palace... then it would be better to abandon everything and return to the Central Plains.
Though she could not be certain, the internal energy she had sensed from those hiding around the pavilion told her that this leader's strength was far inferior to Min Haerak's. And those young martial artists lined up behind him—compared to disciples of the Red Blood Hall, they were hardly worth mentioning.
‘Even Min Haerak gave up reclaiming the Solar Palace as impossible. And these people…’
So-hwa cut off the negative thought.
‘No. It's too early to judge. Didn't that Blood Sect member claim there was someone here who had mastered the Five Absolute Arts of the Ice Palace? Surely there are stronger forces left.’
At the very least, none of the real powers seemed to be present here tonight.
‘I'll have to make contact several more times.’
And with little time left, she would need to press forward.
It was necessary to draw out someone with real authority as soon as possible. Once the Red Blood Hall returned, the mainland's borders would tighten again.
Suppressing the urge to rub her throbbing temples, So-hwa walked to the brazier.
She lifted the kettle from the fire and said,
"Come to think of it, I haven't even served my guests a cup of tea."
At the side table, Tang So-hwa began filling the teacups. The sound of water pouring filled the silence.
Namgung Jin glanced at her. She kept pouring into just one cup—and yet the water never overflowed.