Father {N•o•v•e•l•i•g•h•t} is here?

The Poison King, who holds the most important role in Father’s martial world dominion.

Father arrived ahead of me to meet him.

Still, rather than worry, a pleasant tension filled me.

It felt different from before. If all this time I had been tested, now I could feel that he intended to face me in a match. It meant he recognized me to that extent.

Then I must enjoy this battle with Father.

Because this whole process is a memory with Father and my life itself. I always promise myself this — I will not live a life solely for revenge. One lifetime of that is enough. In this life, I will enjoy it, even this contest with Father.

I spoke loudly enough for my voice to carry inside the building.

“Father, your son has arrived! Please allow me to enter as well.”

Sangseon looked flustered. After all, I was probably the only person in the world who would shout like this at Cheonma. Truly, the Little Pill Master is unstoppable. While watching Sangseon’s expression, I heard Father’s voice from inside.

“Come in.”

A strange situation.

Normally, the Poison King should have spoken. He would have said on Father’s behalf, “Please bring the Little Pill Master inside.” But Father himself said to come in?

When I opened the door and stepped inside, an unexpected scene unfolded. From that, I understood why Father answered instead of the Poison King.

The Poison King was making poison, and Father was helping him. It was a sight I could never have imagined, so I stood there dumbfounded.

In front of the Poison King was a vat he used to make poison. Around it floated about a dozen bottles.

The person levitating those bottles in midair was Father. He was helping the poison production with spatial manipulation from a safe distance outside the poison’s influence. The distance was as far as the entrance where I stood.

“Ah, just a bit more, please!”

Clink, clink.

“Green, stop pouring!”

Following his words, the bottle with the black label poured liquid, and the bottle with the green label stopped pouring.

“Now pour the blue, red, and purple bottles simultaneously.”

Then the blue, red, and purple bottles that floated in midair tilted simultaneously and poured their contents.

Shhhh.

Smoke rose from the mixed poison liquid.

While speaking, the Poison King’s hands moved busily. Amid the rising poisonous smoke, he stirred the liquid with a wooden stick and added more toxins.

It was truly a spectacle. It looked simple at first glance, but both Father and the Poison King were displaying the highest skill and concentration.

“Blue, pause a moment! Instead, pour the brown.”

Again, according to the Poison King’s command, the blue bottle stopped and the brown one moved.

Father’s mastery of manipulating objects in midair was exquisitely precise. It felt as if he gave life and will to the bottles.

The Poison King carefully watched the falling liquid and mixed powders accordingly.

Only the Poison King could endure the toxins generated in this process. That was why he normally did this alone.

Pour this, mix that. The dangerous and complex process was ongoing when—

“Stop everything!”

At the Poison King’s shout, all the bottles floating in the air halted simultaneously.

One drop that shouldn’t have gone in splattered inside.

The next moment—

That single drop stopped in midair.

Father blocked that drop with spatial manipulation.

A profound silence followed.

With the single drop hanging in midair, it felt as if time itself had stopped.

Then it flew back through the air into its original bottle.

Only then was the Poison King’s poison production complete.

His face was flushed. He hadn’t even noticed I entered. He was entirely focused on the poison.

More than the fact he was making poison with Father, his desire to complete the poison took precedence. I knew well he never had the idea of “courtesy to the Master” in his mind.

The Poison King took out the blended poison, sniffed it, and performed several tests.

Was he in his own world or reality? I could usually tell where he stood, but now I was unsure.

After checking, the Poison King’s expression brightened with joy, and he said—

“Success.”

He was genuinely happy.

“This time, the blend is perfect. I kept failing alone, but thanks to the Master’s help, I succeeded.”

This is precisely the Poison King’s greatest virtue. He gladly accepts help if it’s for poison. Like when he asked the demon spirit to gather poisonous herbs, and now when Father helped him.

If he were the kind to get lost in his own world, he might stubbornly cling to pride. But surprisingly, he had none of that obstinacy.

That’s why I think the Poison King is frightening. He is an unpredictable person.

“Oh? When did you arrive?”

The Poison King finally noticed me. It wasn’t pretending; he was truly engrossed in making poison to an extreme degree.

“Earlier.”

“Successfully made the ‘Ten-Thousand Deaths Absolute Poison’ (Mansajeoldok).”

“Congratulations.”

Mansajeoldok is the new poison the Poison King created, which he had failed to make dozens of times. Though Sangseon helped, as mentioned, the blending process was extremely difficult and tricky, so success with Father’s help was remarkable.

“Too bad! I should have helped you succeed.”

“Then I would have failed again today.”

That was the Poison King’s way of thanking Father.

I greeted Father belatedly.

“I was late because you seemed busy with something important.”

Never forget — Father was the one who brought me here. He wanted to show me making poison with the Poison King.

“I didn’t know you were here.”

“Just passing by.”

Father, do you realize that whenever you drop by, everyone’s fate changes dramatically? Please don’t say you plan to visit the Martial Alliance!

I pictured standing with Father on a huge Go board.

In the Poison King’s matter, Father’s move this time was the poison-making process.

What conversations did they have before I came? Did Father entrust me? Or did he want to mark the Poison King as unquestionably his man?

“I returned safely from the Northern Sea.”

“Is that so?”

The Poison King answered perfunctorily even to my greeting. He was gazing in wonder at the poison he’d completed. He was immersed in the poison. Having Father here at least made him respond and ask questions.

“Did you bring the poisonous herbs that grow only in the Northern Sea?”

“I tried, but…”

On the way back, I had searched for poisonous herbs when I could. But I couldn’t find any worthy of gifting.

“The herbs all seem embarrassed and hide when they see me. That’s all because of you, Father. I look too handsome like you.”

A sneer curled Father’s lips. I felt good seeing him sneer after so long. Father, please smile more often. For now, give me tests rather than fights.

“Father, next time let’s go gather poisonous herbs with the Poison King. Surely you wouldn’t use Father as a gatherer, right?”

I tried to continue joking about how I had made the demon spirit a gatherer with a bet, but Father unexpectedly asked the Poison King—

“When was that?”

The Poison King recalled for a moment.

“Four years and seven months ago.”

“Has it already been that long?”

I looked between them in disbelief and asked—

“Could it be that four years and seven months ago was the day you two gathered herbs together?”

From their expressions facing each other, I understood that the disbelief was true.

Father often surprises me, but this time I was really shocked. No matter how much I tried, I couldn’t picture Father and the Poison King gathering herbs together.

Moreover, the Poison King remembered that exact last day.

That meant it was a precious moment even for him. It also made me realize making the Poison King an ally wouldn’t be easy.

Suddenly, I recalled Geugak Soma’s words—

―It’s probably just as hard to persuade the Master.

Somehow I think it will be harder for me.

Then Father said goodbye.

“I’ll be going now.”

The Poison King respectfully bowed. He did not thank Father again for helping with the poison blending.

But if Father someday asks “When was that?”, I think the Poison King will remember today’s moment precisely.

Before leaving, Father looked at me. His eyes seemed to say:

My move is done. Now it’s your turn.

I felt Father’s confidence.

From Father’s unique style without checks or pressure, I realized once again that ease comes from strength.

When Father left, I immediately asked the Poison King—

“Did Father first ask you to help with the poison? Is that why he came?”

“No way. I was just about to make poison when the Master came unannounced. I was going to postpone, but he said he would help.”

He probably didn’t have that focus from the start of the poison-making. They must have talked during preparations.

“May I ask what you talked about with Father today?”

Then came an astonishing answer.

“He said nothing.”

“Nothing at all?”

The Poison King nodded. Father just helped with making poison and left.

I sensed that was a more powerful move than any amount of persuasion to the Poison King.

And then he just left? How am I supposed to win?

Even if I try to argue against Father’s intentions to the Poison King now, it would backfire.

No matter how much I flatter or talk, I cannot overcome Father’s heavy silent move of just helping with poison and leaving without a word.

“Today, I’ll be leaving too. It’s a tactical retreat.”

Still, I couldn’t just leave, so I let it slip that my coming today wasn’t just for greetings.

It must have seemed a bit odd, but the Poison King didn’t ask what I meant. Father came, I came. He must have sensed something was going on. For some reason, he stopped me.

“Since you’re here, help me a bit.”

“Just say the word.”

“Let’s bottle this poison first.”

The Poison King brought a box. Inside were about ten bottles, designed to store the bottles safely without breaking.

These specially made bottles were perfectly sealed so the poison wouldn’t leak.

“I’ll bottle it. Please rest.”

The Poison King sat silently on a nearby desk and watched me.

I divided the Mansajeoldok poison evenly into the bottles. Exactly ten bottles were filled. It showed that the poison was made precisely in this amount. Had the poison-making failed, it would have been less or more.

How many people could this poison kill? Hundreds? Thousands?

“Take this and follow me.”

I packed the box with the poison bottles and followed the Poison King.

He led me deep into Cheondok Forest.

We had looked for poisonous herbs here before. But the place he took me to today was new.

The Poison King was forging a path through the forest’s depths.

Was there such a place in Cheondok Forest?

It felt like entering a new zone within Cheondok Forest, filled with every kind of deadly and dangerous poison worse than outside.

Moreover, the area we walked into was a swamp. Not an ordinary swamp. A death swamp where anyone who falls in can never escape.

The mist spread over the swamp also contained poison.

This place needed no guards and no mystical formations.

If not for Mansajeoldok or the Poison King, no one could ever enter.

I stepped carefully on stones and branches as the Poison King crossed the swamp.

Crack, crack, crack.

Strange sounds came from all sides. The Poison King stopped to check the state of the poisons, telling me with a boyish face what kind of poisons they were and their current conditions. One was angry because it couldn’t mate, another was hurt somewhere. Things ordinary people couldn’t tell, he understood.

After the swamp, there was a cave.

The cave was also full of poisons. If not for us two, no ordinary master could take even one step inside.

At the cave’s end was a heavy iron door. The Poison King opened the locked door and stepped inside.

I was overwhelmed by the sight inside.

The large space was filled with bottles. Hundreds of racks held bottles. I knew all the bottles contained poison. Thousands upon thousands.

“All the sect’s poisons are stored here.”

This was the secret warehouse storing the deadliest poisons of Cheondok Forest. Poisons to be unleashed if war breaks out.

Why did the Poison King bring me here?

“Put the poison we brought at the far end.”

He arranged the Mansajeoldok bottles in a row there. The Poison King wrote the poison names on the bottles. Each bottle next to them had its own name written.

Snake Poison, Mad Poison, Blood Poison, Gut-Wrenching Poison, Severing Poison, Soul Severing Poison, Extinction Poison, Yin-Yang Poison, Shadowless Poison, Corpse Poison, Gu Poison, Lost Soul Poison...

Countless poisons of every kind existed here. Every terrifying poison in the world was here.

Interestingly, the arrangement was nothing like what I imagined. I thought the stronger poisons would be further inside, but near the entrance were bottles of Formless Poison. It felt like the stronger the poison, the faster you had to take it out and use it.

“What would happen if all these poisons were released into the world?”

The Poison King answered from behind me.

“Everyone would die.”

Not just an exaggeration.

I wanted to know his thoughts. So before judging if he was on Father’s side or mine, I asked the first question I’d asked since meeting him.

“Poison King, why do you make poison?”