Chapter 16 – Myriad Poison Hall (1)

Could there have been no sparks in my previous life after having shared moments with quite a noonas? (TL: Noona is a term to refer to older woman or older sister)

I even had a thing with a pretty famous actress.

She was three years older, sometimes contacted me after broadcasts, and we even had meals together privately.

Initially, I thought that was just her personality.

But after our second dinner together,

in a cozy wine bar, slightly drunk on wine, she asked me.

“Fabre, do you want to date me? I like you.”

“What!?”

A fastball. No, a nuclear fastball.

Back then, I was just a relatively minor YouTuber with a hundred thousand followers.

Flustered, I asked for a few days to think it over, and my conclusion was an apology.

“I’m sorry, noona. I’m just a YouTuber with a hundred thousand followers, moreover, an ordinary person. You’re a celebrity.

I’m just an ordinary person broadcasting what I like. It would be difficult for someone as insignificant as me to date you. It would be disrespectful to you…”

Then, looking at me intently, she said with a disappointed expression,

“That’s quite disappointing…”

“I’m, I’m sorry for such a response…”

“No, it’s not the rejection that’s disappointing, but that the person I like lacks confidence.”

I thought she was disappointed because she was rejected, but it was my lack of confidence that disappointed her.

It felt like being hit in the head with a hammer.

“Even if you’re unemployed with nothing to your name, a person with a vision, a dream, and who works towards that dream is admirable.

If you were sorry for being insignificant now, you should’ve boldly said you’d become the world’s best poison YouTuber. That you’d make me not regret choosing you. Even if it sounded preposterous, that would have been impressive…」

With those old memories in mind, I asked her as we faced each other in front of the pavilion where I had called her out.

It seemed like she was asking for a vision.

“After thinking about it a lot yesterday. I’m a Ten Poisons Physique. That I can only accept ten types of poison. Is that the highest realm an ordinary person without talent can reach?”

“That, that is.”

“So, I had this thought. If my body can only accept ten types of poison, what if I filled those ten with the poisons of the Ten Great Venomous Creatures of the Central Plains?”

“The Ten Great Venomous Creatures!?”

“Yes, if I promise to fill my Ten Poisons with the poisons of the Ten Great Venomous Creatures, would that give Miss Hwa-eun confidence?

What if I promise to do that, as per your previous advice?

I decided to take a gamble.

After all, I couldn’t just not confess and be rejected, could I?

At my question, her ears slowly turned bright red.

And slowly turning her head to the side, she asked in a slightly flustered voice,

“Do, do you understand what you’re saying?”

“I don’t!”

I answered honestly.

How could I know? I was just saying I’d fill my Ten Poisons with the Ten Great Venomous Creatures.

Her explanation followed.

“That path is going to be incredibly difficult and challenging. And it’s not something that can be accomplished in a year or two. It might take ten years, twenty years, thirty years, or even a lifetime of challenges. Are you aware that’s what you’re suggesting?”

‘What, it takes that long? Even if it’s reckless, I should just shout it out loud? Noona!’

Just when I thought I had failed to align with the tastes of noona from both my past and present life,

she slowly nodded her head and replied.

“Alright. Wei Xiaolong, Young Hero. I’ve heard you’re fifteen. Three years until you become an adult and can hold a wedding ceremony.

If you succeed with even one of the Ten Great Venomous Creatures within three years, that would give me enough confidence. Even just one would sufficiently demonstrate the possibility.”

‘Is this actually happening?’

Her agreement with an okay.

When I was grateful to noona for giving me the answer of a sage in my previous life, she suddenly got up and started moving away from me quickly.

Though the situation was exhilarating, I couldn’t just let her go like this.

There were things that still needed to be taken care of, after all.

I quickly called her and stopped her in her tracks.

“Young Miss!”

Then, the noona who was moving away stopped her steps.

While still looking away, not towards me, she responded.

“Ah, do you still have something to say?”

She seemed a bit embarrassed, but I couldn’t just let her leave like this.

The centipedes must be hungry, and I had to perform the curse lifting disguised as treatment.

“Yes, you should receive the treatment, right? Please stay for just an hour.”

“…”

Then, the noona who was neither able to leave nor approach, slowly moved her steps towards me and sat down, still looking elsewhere.

Now was the time to start the treatment.

As a pet owner, I reassured her with a phrase that I shouldn’t have used, but I had no other choice.

“Don’t worry, my pets don’t bite. Now, my little ones, go to your mom instead of dad.”

The centipedes, having a memory from my dream last night where they were cuddling with their mom who had noona’s face, climbed onto her body without any hesitation.

I could feel them breathing more deeply than usual.

Then came noona’s surprised voice.

“Ah, dad? mom!?”

Noona was startled by the words “dad” and “mom.”

Now, not only her ears but also her cheeks and neck were flushed red as she looked up at me with surprised eyes.

“No, I didn’t mean anything else by it… They’re just pets…”

I really meant nothing else by it.

***

The Blue-Spotted Centipede, which had lived for three hundred years and formed an Inner Core, becoming a spiritual creature, was watching everything unfold inside the woman’s body.

Therefore, it was overjoyed to manifest dream again immediately after nightfall.

“Amazing, benefactor!”

Entrusting the task to him, he handled it with a righteous method, a great feat.

She remembered how the woman’s heart raced like mad at the benefactor’s words.

It meant she had submitted.

Therefore, she could only deeply bow and express her gratitude.

Now, the children could absorb the energy flowing from the Inner Core melted inside the woman’s body at any time.

The Blue-Spotted Centipede thought it was very lucky to meet someone as righteous as there were many greedy people but not many righteous ones.

“Ha-ha, well, a man should have guts and perseverance…”

Laughing off with a jest, the Blue-Spotted Centipede repeatedly expressed her gratitude and promised to help with any request before she ascended to heaven after resolving its regrets.

Now that its regrets were resolved, and although it might not matter if the Inner Core was intact, it had almost completely melted inside the woman’s body, unable to hold onto its spirit any longer.

If the resentment was deep, it might have clung to the body, but as the resentment dissipated, it felt itself slowly being pushed out of the woman’s body.

Today might be the last day.

“Is there anything I can do for you? Today is my last day. Although I’m in this state, if there’s anything I can do for you, I’ll do it.”

Then, the benefactor stared at her intently.

Feeling a strong desire in his gaze, the Blue-Spotted Centipede shuddered.

Then came the benefactor’s apologetic voice.

“Ahem… There is one thing…”

The benefactor’s response that there was one thing made the Blue-Spotted Centipede nervous.

The look scanning her body suggested a strong desire, possibly something to do with this woman’s body.

She thought he was righteous, but something felt off.

The way he scanned its body, the Blue-Spotted Centipede felt a strong desire, seemingly related to this woman’s physical form.

He seemed to have a weakness for beauty, which was unexpected.

Just as the Blue-Spotted Centipede was worried that she might have to share the joys of cloud and rain with me, (TL: joys of cloud and rain = idiom for sexual union)

“If you could just remove that once…”

As expected, a request to undress.

Thinking it was unavoidable for the sake of my daughters, I was about to untie and remove my clothing when,

“Do I need to take off my clothes?”

“Do, don’t take them off? But how can we proceed without doing so?”

“Can’t you just return to your original form as the Blue-Spotted Centipede?”

“What?”

He was puzzled by what this meant.

Then, with burning eyes, the benefactor explained.

“Actually, I have never seen the great Blue-Spotted Centipede in person. Since I’ll only be able to see it when the children have grown, I wanted to see it at least once in a dream before then.

Such a giant centipede… It’s hard to resist.

It seems like the children have a while to grow. And if I could see its grown form, it might help with raising them. Is that not possible?”

The Blue-Spotted Centipede, taken aback by the sudden wish to see its original form, nodded dumbly and left the borrowed woman’s body.

Then came the burst of astonishment.

“Wow! It’s real! Can it swim? When walking, does it step in the places its front legs have been? Can I touch it? How strong is its poison? The eyes? Can it really see? What about the antennae?”

“Yes? Yes… Of course… Yes? The legs. Uh, I haven’t thought about that…”

The benefactor, having thoroughly felt the Blue-Spotted Centipede’s original form, expressed satisfaction and thanks, while the Blue-Spotted Centipede had to feel another unsettling worry in its heart.

‘Will the daughters really be okay?’ That kind of worry.

Because the benefactor’s gaze and touch were extraordinary.

It seemed as though he preferred the body of the centipede over the beautiful shell of the woman.

***

The next day, I’m not sure what noona said, but the elders of the Tang family were overjoyed.

Throughout the meal, they were all smiles, and then, during tea after the meal, they suddenly acknowledged me as a son-in-law.

“Yes, Young Hero, no, Xiaolong, I’ve heard from Hwa-eun. From now on, you’re our son-in-law.”

“What? But, the three years?”

“The wedding can only be held when you’re of age, that’s natural.”

“No, that’s not what I meant…”

“Oh my, a son-in-law? Welcome again, Xiaolong. I’m your mother-in-law.”

“Ha-ha-ha, now that Hwa-eun’s partner has been decided, only good things will happen to our Tang family.”

Despite the noona saying that success with even one of the Ten Great Venomous Creatures. within three years was necessary, the elders spoke as if I was already the son-in-law.

Looking at noona with eyes pleading for an explanation, she calmly sipped her tea with cheeks flushed red.

‘What’s this? Act according to the situation?

Ah! Perhaps they didn’t want to make a fuss if they had added conditions. Did she speak as if they had already accepted it to avoid trouble?

Then, to prevent noona from being put in a difficult position, I should play along with their rhythm.’

In this era, if the family head pushes for it and noona outright refuses or sets conditions, it would be like asking for trouble.

Anyway, I can’t have the wedding until I reach the legal adult age of eighteen in this era, and if I succeed in the meantime, our condition will naturally be moot, so it seems that’s how they intend to proceed.

Besides, noona will continually evaluate me as she watches me strive to meet the outcome, so I quickly responded.

“Yes, I appreciate your kindness. All three of you.”

And so, after a somewhat bewildering situation, the Tang family, being of a hurried nature, began introducing me to the Tang sect and started my martial arts training that very afternoon.

Now that I was part of the family, it was time for education right away?

Grandfather Man of Ten Thousand Poisons sat down with brushes, inkstones, and books piled up.

He wrote one character at a time on the paper and explained.

“The most important things in the Tang sect are threefold: the Art of Using Poisons, Poison Technique, and poison making. Remember well.”

“Art of Using Poisons, Poison Technique, poison making.”

“Yes, the Art of Using Poisons teaches about the types of poisons and how to use them. Of course, this includes antidote techniques as well. So, do not be lazy and learn diligently. The Tang sect uses poison, and if you don’t know about poison, you can harm yourself.”

“I understand, Grandfather.”

“And I will start teaching you the Poison Technique from tomorrow… As for poison making, as you know, it involves creating new poisons from collected toxins of poisonous herbs, mushrooms, venomous insects, and snakes, or making those poisons into a form that’s easier to use.”

I listened intently to the explanation I had been waiting for.

Though I was unfamiliar with the Art of Using Poisons and Poison Technique, the part about making poison from venomous insects and snakes was what I was most looking forward to.

To make poison from venomous creatures, a breeding facility was necessary, and I was curious about what such facilities looked like in this era.

Since coming here, the family head had shown the most interest in my breeding skills and had mentioned wanting me to further develop the Tang sect’s breeding facilities, so I couldn’t help but imagine what they might look like.

“Look at the sparkle in your eyes. Would you like to see it for yourself?”

“Yes, Grandfather.”

Grandfather, perhaps informed by the family head, asked if I wanted to see it.

Responding promptly to Grandfather Man of Ten Thousand Poisons’ question, he smiled and said,

“Well then, shall we go? I’ll show you around the Myriad Poison Hall of the Tang sect, so follow me.”

“I understand, Grandfather!”

The Myriad Poison Hall of the Tang sect.

My heart was racing.

It seemed Myriad Poison Hall meant a place where ten thousand types of venomous creatures were collected.

I was curious about what kinds of venomous creatures there would be.

***

If you find any errors or have suggestions, please feel free to provide feedback.

Thank you for reading!

[Author – 에르훗]

[Translator – Roshi]