301. Spirit Beasts and Humans
Only after thoroughly tornting Seo Mun-Hwarin’s cheeks did he finally release her.
Seo Mun-Hwarin trembled while clutching her reddened cheeks, her gaze at him noticeably sharper than usual.
At this level, she would probably forget after a single al.
He lightly poked the tip of her nose, left defenseless as she rubbed her cheeks, and spoke.
“Let’s go eat now.”
“This One shall never forget today’s humiliation.”
“If it ans I can linger a little longer in Senior Seo Mun-Hwarin’s mory, then so be it.”
“W-what nonsense! What is thy aim that thou sayest such sweet things!?”
“I just said it casually.”
He gave a light shrug, rose from the bed, and walked toward Tang Sowol—who was clutching her head alone in misery.
“Are you busy?”
“Br–Brother Cheon…”
“Hmm???”
Now that he looked properly, she wasn’t simply struggling—she was on the verge of tears.
Drooping eyes, pouty lips, and deep frustration flickering behind her green pupils.
Tang Sowol timidly tugged his sleeve and began to complain.
“Will you listen, Brother Cheon…?”
“What is it?”
“I found out what poison was used to poison the Beast Palace Lord. But… this isn’t just any poison.”
“Is it hard to detoxify?”
“No. It’s a poison without an antidote.”
A poison with no antidote?
He tilted his head in confusion. Tang Sowol let out a long, weary sigh and continued.
“More precisely… the antidote keeps changing.”
“What does that even…?”
He wasn’t a practitioner of poison arts himself, but he had already lived five years in the Tang Clan.
In his previous life, he had traveled with Tang Sowol for quite so ti, hearing all kinds of things.
Besides, after reconstructing his body around Tang Sowol’s poisons and becoming sothing close to immune to all poisons, he had even studied from books on his own.
When it ca to poisons, his knowledge far exceeded that of diocre physicians.
Yet what he had just heard was outside anything he considered possible.
“The poison doesn’t change constantly, but the antidote does? What do you an by that?”
“Surprisingly, the poison does change constantly.”
“…Huh??”
“Rember how I said there were several poisons the Poison Demon might have used?”
What followed was far beyond his expectations.
Having absorbed all poisons of the Thousand Poison Gate, Tang Sowol had already narrowed down the possible poisons the Poison Demon would have used. She had begun preparing antidotes even before arriving at the Beast Palace.
But upon checking the Beast Palace Lord’s pulse, she discovered sothing shocking.
He was not poisoned by any of the anticipated poisons—but by three different deadly poisons simultaneously.
Each one was a poison powerful enough to harm even a Flowering Stage master, so their distinct natures were clear.
And with three such poisons tangled together, sothing impossible under normal circumstances began to occur—
The symptoms of the three poisons appeared one after another in rotation.
“So… when one flares up, the other two quiet down, and then another flares up, and the cycle repeats?”
“Yes. And the cycle is strangely stable. In a way, it’s almost harmonious. I never imagined this could happen with three different poisons.”
“Then why not prepare three antidotes and detoxify whichever poison surfaces at the mont?”
“That was my first thought as well… but if even one poison’s strength is reduced, the balance breaks. Then the other two poisons would rampage simultaneously.”
“Detoxify two at once…?”
“It’s possible. But the Beast Palace Lord, already weakened, won’t survive it.”
“That is troubleso.”
“Yes, very troubleso…”
Tang Sowol, now rubbing her forehead against the back of his hand, began to whine softly.
“Honestly… the Poison Demon is a nuisance both alive and dead.”
She was distressed… but the smooth warmth of her forehead against his hand was, if anything, calming him instead.
But he was not the one who needed calm—Tang Sowol did.
So he returned it in kind.
He withdrew his hand, took her gently by the head, and pressed their foreheads together.
“E-eh!? Uh! Hh–heck!”
Tang Sowol stiffened with strange noises, but soon enough her body softened and the tension lted away.
As expected—effective.
Smiling faintly, he whispered with their foreheads still touching.
“Don’t worry too much. At the very least, you can make the antidotes, yes?”
“…T-that’s true?”
“If the problem is that the Beast Palace Lord cannot endure the process, then we just need to find a thod that burdens him less.”
“That’s easier said than done…”
“In most cases, yes. But after observing the Beast Palace’s martial arts… I thought of sothing.”
The Beast Palace’s martial arts began with sharing between human and beast.
Sharing internal energy so ordinary beasts could beco spirit beasts—or borrowing power from a spirit beast in return.
Sharing thoughts to move as one body, sharing senses to perceive what one normally could not.
The Beast Palace Lord had survived thus far likely because he received support from his companion, the black panther spirit beast.
Alone, he would have collapsed long ago. Even if Flowering Stage warriors can be poisoned, dying from poison is still difficult—but everything has its limit.
Not one, but three deadly poisons at once—normally, he should have perished quickly.
If internal energy could be shared, then could poison not also be shared?
“If detoxifying one poison causes the other two to rampage, then pass one of them to the spirit beast. It would be excruciating, but it should endure. Then before it dies, you treat it next.”
“…Whether it’s actually possible, whether the Beast Palace Lord will permit it… and whether I can ti the treatnt correctly—that’s the biggest problem.”
“I’d think the Beast Palace Lord would endure, as he has until now.”
“No, I ant the black panther spirit beast…”
“Ah.”
Right—unlike the Beast Palace Lord, who was a seasoned Flowering Stage master, the panther spirit beast’s energy was only at Sub-Perfection.
The Flowering Stage was not sothing easily reached.
And this was only speculation, but…
Perhaps it was harder for a spirit beast than a human to reach the Flowering Stage.
Throughout history, Flowering Stage martial artists had always existed. The leaders of the Nine Great Sects and Five Supre Clans were all Flowering Stage.
There were forr seniors and retired Murim Alliance Lords, and although fewer in number, unorthodox Flowering Stage masters existed as well.
But spirit beasts?
Even accounting for the diminishing presence of natural qi and fewer spirit beasts, there were almost no eras where Flowering Stage spirit beasts were more common than humans.
He didn’t know the reason.
If it were rely the transmission and evolution of martial arts, then the Beast Palace—who did teach martial arts to beasts—should have had more Flowering Stage spirit beasts.
There must be another reason.
Regardless, the Beast Palace called their Flowering Stage spirit beasts Divine Beasts for a reason.
It was extrely difficult for a spirit beast to reach the Flowering Stage.
The black panther spirit beast becoming a Divine Beast was… unlikely.
Could a Sub-Perfection spirit beast endure poisons that tornted even absolute masters?
It had greater vitality than humans, so it might hold on better… but surviving safely was not guaranteed.
It could beco crippled, die midway, or survive detoxification only to perish from exhaustion.
However—
“In that case, the solution is simple.”
“What is it?”
“A Flowering Stage master capable of resisting deadly poisons could assist the panther with internal energy circulation—similar to a divine healer.”
“It is simple, but that ans…”
Humans and beasts had different ridian structures.
And the thod the Beast Palace devised to bridge that gap was their secret art.
aning—his suggestion assud learning part of the Beast Palace’s secret techniques.
Simple to say, difficult to execute.
“There might be other ways, but that’s the only one I can think of for now.”
“If it’s possible, then… it may work.”
“In the end, the decision lies with the Beast Palace Lord.”
If the Beast Palace Lord allowed their secret arts to be used for detoxification… then he might also find a way to deal with the remnants of the Azure Cold Serpent left inside himself.
They fetched Seol Lihyang—who had been training alone in the practice yard—and headed toward the dining hall.
But halfway there, a servant ca running breathlessly to summon them.
The Beast Palace Lord had invited them to dine with him and his other children.
They had already discussed everything important, and ng Yubaek had returned after leaving ho—he thought they would simply share a quiet family mont, even if a bit awkward.
Apparently, there was another intention.
He realized that the mont he entered the dining hall.
The Beast Palace Lord sat at the head, still riding atop the black panther even during als—which was expected.
But the two young n seated beside him, both resembling him, and ng Yubaek alone on the opposite side—shaking but trying not to show it—made his motive painfully obvious.
He wanted their group to sit beside ng Yubaek.
To make it appear as though they were her political supporters.
“I see. So this was your reason.”
“I, too, require an insurance policy.”
Though the Beast Palace Lord joked lightly, his eyes were cold.
Not toward him—but toward one of his sons, the younger-looking of the two.
A strangely shadowed impression, his gaze constantly darting to read the room—making him appear even more sinister.
Judging by the faint killing intent he kept sending toward ng Yubaek whenever she looked down, his appearance suited him perfectly.
Ordinary people wouldn’t notice such faint malice.
But to him, sensitive to killing intent—it was clear as day.
This was likely to prevent recklessness during the successor competition, and to ensure that even if the once-runaway ng Yubaek beca Beast Palace Lord, there would be no dissent.
ng Yubaek and the Beast Palace Lord knew he had no interest in the Beast Palace, but others didn’t.
After a brief thought, he shrugged and sat beside ng Yubaek.
When he sat, the other won in his party naturally sat beside him.
Perhaps relieved to see familiar faces, ng Yubaek’s trembling eased slightly.
“Hehe… Now that I think about it, White Moon Sword Lord, this must be your first ti trying Beast Palace cuisine! I guarantee it’s the best food in all of Yunnan!”
“You can guarantee that without even having seen half of Yunnan?”
“W–well, according to my mories!”
“Hmph. Sounds more like you were hungry for too long and beca nostalgic for good food.”
“Aaah…!”
Defeated instantly, ng Yubaek wilted in a different kind of way.
The Beast Palace Lord laughed and gestured to the dishes on the table.
“Co, eat before it cools. Though I have not toured all of Yunnan, I know at least that our head chef’s skill is exceptional. You won’t be disappointed.”
“So this is Beast Palace cuisine…”
Seo Mun-Hwarin, who had been drooling with anticipation, stared wide-eyed at the unfamiliar Southern Barbarian dishes unseen in the Central Plains.
Before picking up his utensils, he decided to speak first.
“I have a question for the Beast Palace Lord. If treatnt requires revealing Beast Palace martial arts, how much are you willing to disclose?”
“For treatnt? Why not empty my treasury entirely as paynt instead?”
“Oh. I wouldn’t mind that either.”
“…The audacity.”
They both laughed at the Beast Palace Lord’s exasperated reaction.
“Well, the treasury’s already been emptied once, so there isn’t much to take anyway.”
“Ah.”
Right—Ghost Shadow Thief had ntioned raiding the Southern Barbarian Beast Palace once before.
He should really watch what he said.
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