Chapter 24 – Elixir (2)

“Yes, Father.”

From inside the room came nunim’s voice, clear and melodious like a jade bead.

The pristine and elegant sound resonated from within the Hall of the Family Head.

In my previous life, I had only heard people compare beautiful voices to jade beads. Hearing it now in person, I could finally understand why people made that comparison.

‘It’s truly clear and graceful.’

-Creeeak.

Shortly afterward, the doors to the Hall of the Family Head opened.

The moment nunim stepped out and saw me standing nearby, she was startled.

“So-Soryong!? You were here?”

“Yes, Young Miss. I happened to be out walking with Cho, Hyang, and Bin, who have recovered their energy and are now attached to me.”

“They’ve recovered!? Let me see.”

I rolled up my sleeves to reveal the two creatures wrapped around my arms.

It seemed that nunim had mostly overcome her initial discomfort, as she stroked one of them with delight.

Previously, even if I had them with me, she would only quietly sit cross-legged in the pavilion, circulating her qi while avoiding them. However, it seemed that the recent shedding had opened her heart to the centipedes.

After worrying so much, fearing they might die, it felt like she’d grown closer to them.

“They’ve certainly become tougher. And their skin feels rougher too.”

“They’ve also grown significantly larger. But they’ve become flatter, which makes them easier to wrap around my arms like this.”

“Even so, they’re still adorable. Oh, by the way, Grandfather asked the blacksmiths to make gauntlets for you. How about we check how far along they are…”

A conversation blossomed, centered around the centipedes.

As we talked about these creatures we were essentially co-parenting, we found ourselves unexpectedly immersed in the discussion.

“Who is out there?”

The voice of my future father-in-law rang out from inside.

“Ah! Yes, it’s me, Hwa-eun.”

“I told you to bring Soryong, so why are you still out there? Hwa-eun, is there something going on?”

At the Family Head’s question, nunim covered her mouth as if suddenly realizing her oversight.

“Oh! Father asked me to bring you, Soryong. He said he has something to discuss.”

“Yes, I heard from outside. Shall we go in together?”

Like nunim, I had also heard him calling for me earlier, but I had become too engrossed in our conversation to remember.

When I opened the door and stepped inside, my future father-in-law looked slightly surprised to see me already there.

“How did you get here so quickly?”

“Oh, I was just passing by.”

“Is that so? Well, that’s fortunate. Have a seat. Hwa-eun, would you prepare some tea?”

“Understood, Father.”

Though I would have preferred some refreshing iced water, the ever-present hot tea appeared again. These days, I was getting to the point where just seeing tea made my temper rise, but I quietly accepted it and waited to hear what he had to say.

With a smile on his face, my future father-in-law began the conversation.

“The reason I called you here is this. While not all the family members have returned yet, so I couldn’t officially announce it to everyone, it’s now well-known throughout the Tang Family that you’ve become one of us. You’re aware of this, aren’t you?”

“Of course, Father-in-law.”

“‘Father-in-law.’ No matter how many times I hear it, it always sounds pleasant. Well, now that you’re one of us, there’s something else. That medicine you prepared recently worked wonders for the Magistrate of Sichuan. He sent his gratitude along with a rather generous reward. That’s why I called you here.”

Ah, so that was the reason. It seemed the erectile dysfunction remedy I sent to the Magistrate of Sichuan had proven to be remarkably effective, and my future father-in-law wanted to commend me for my contribution.

“Ah, I’m glad it worked well. You did tell him not to take too much, right?”

“Of course, I did. Ahem. I told him explicitly not to take it again until the effects from the first dose had completely worn off. Anyway, I was thinking of giving you a reward. Is there anything you’d like?”

As expected, the conversation shifted to talk of rewards.

I waved my hands to decline.

“A reward? I’ve already received access to the Venomous Creatures Pavilion in the Myriad Poison Hall. If you could simply expedite the requests I’ve made there, that would be more than enough.”

The Venomous Creatures Pavilion within the Myriad Poison Hall was already decided to be granted to me.

However, some construction work was still required, which was why I had asked for the work to be expedited rather than receiving some kind of reward.

After all, receiving rewards among family members felt a bit awkward.

Besides, I’d been getting dizzy lately from not being able to raise new creatures apart from the centipedes.

While I was managing to endure the withdrawal symptoms with the current centipedes, I desperately needed more.

“Haha, don’t worry. I’ve already instructed them to prioritize it.”

“Thank you, Father-in-law. That’s all I need.”

“No, no. That’s one thing, but I anticipated that you might say something like that. So, I prepared a gift for you on my own. What do you think?”

“A gift?”

“Yes, I was thinking of giving you a elixir. How does that sound?”

“Elixire?”

I had heard from Grandfather that elixirs were those capable of enhancing one’s internal energy.

Since the amount of internal energy is one of the conditions for becoming a master, there was no harm in accepting it.

But realistically, I couldn’t just accept it right away without consideration.

I first glanced at nunim’s expression.

The reason I was suddenly gauging her reaction was that I had promised her to fill my “Ten Poisons Physique” with the poisons of the Ten Great Venomous Creatures.

I was worried that receiving such assistance might be seen as cheating on my part.

But when I checked her expression, nunim simply nodded approvingly, as if this level of support was acceptable.

‘She seems to think it’s fine. That’s a relief.’

“What kind of elixir are we talking about?”

Since there were many types of elixirs, I asked for clarification, and the Family Head’s expression turned slightly apologetic.

“Well, it’s nothing extraordinary. It’s likely the honey of the Golden-Furred King Bee. The reason I chose this is…”

“The honey of the Golden-Furred King Bee?”

I wasn’t entirely sure what the Golden-Furred King Bee was, but if it was a bee, then it must produce honey.

‘Honey?’

Regardless, it was elixir. I was about to express my gratitude when nunim spoke first.

“Thank you, bu—”

“But Father, if you’re planning to give him a reward, why the honey of the Golden-Furred King Bee? What Soryong accomplished this time was no small feat, was it? Even though the Golden-Furred King Bee is a mid-grade venomous creature, its honey is considered the lowest-tier among elixirs, isn’t it?

You shouldn’t be stingy in rewarding Soryong for his contributions. If you’re going to give him a reward, it should at least equate to one year’s worth of internal energy, not just two months!”

Her voice was filled with disappointment.

While I had been worrying that receiving such assistance might be seen as cheating on my part, nunim, on the other hand, was upset that the reward wasn’t of higher quality.

My future father-in-law looked baffled by nunim’s reaction.

[This is why daughters…]

Grumbling to himself, he motioned with one hand for her to calm down before responding in a slightly hurt tone.

“That’s not it. Do you think I’d be stingy about such things? There’s a reason for this…”

“What reason could there be to give him such a low—no, the lowest-grade reward…?”

“Just listen to me for a moment…”

The conversation began to feel more like an argument at this point.

I decided to inquire further about why the honey of the Golden-Furred King Bee was such a contentious issue.

“What exactly is this honey of the Golden-Furred King Bee?”

“Well, it’s…”

“I’ll explain, Soryong.”

Before the Family Head could answer, nunim offered to explain what the honey of the Golden-Furred King Bee was.

With a somewhat dissatisfied expression, she explained.

“The Golden-Furred King Bee is a mid-grade venomous creature, a large bee occasionally found in the jungles. It’s about the size of a small dog, and its honey is said to grant the internal energy equivalent to two full months of isolated cultivation.”

“Two months?”

‘Hmm, gaining two months’ worth of internal energy from honey… that’s a sweet deal.’

Even during rest, I had to circulate my internal energy to grow stronger quickly, which meant I had to sit cross-legged all the time, to the point where it was driving me crazy. But if this could save me two whole months of effort, it was definitely a sweet deal.

However, as my future father-in-law had already said it wasn’t a remarkable elixir, and judging by nunim’s reaction, it seemed it wasn’t just unremarkable—it was downright disappointing.

Not wanting the father-daughter pair to argue any further, I quickly expressed my gratitude.

Whether it gave me one month or two months of internal energy didn’t matter.

It was better than nothing, after all.

“Thank you, Father-in-law.”

But then, nunim extended one hand to stop me and looked at my future father-in-law with a disappointed expression.

“No, Soryong, wait. The honey of the Golden-Furred King Bee? This is absurd. I’m actually offended on your behalf.”

Her disappointment only seemed to make my future father-in-law look more hurt as he tried to defend himself.

“No, that’s not it. I’ve been searching for better elixir as well. But I thought Soryong might enjoy seeing the mid-grade venomous creature, the Golden-Furred King Bee, which is why I chose this…”

‘Huh? He thought I’d want to see a mid-grade venomous creature?’

Hearing the words “mid-grade venomous creature” piqued my interest, to the point where the effects of the elixir, whether they lasted two months or three, were no longer my focus.

From what he was saying, it sounded like he wasn’t just giving me the honey but also planning to show me the Golden-Furred King Bee.

As cute as the centipedes were, they were just low-grade creatures.

The chance to see a mid-grade venomous creature was too tempting to pass up.

I quickly turned to my father-in-law and asked,

“Wait, are you saying we’re going to see the mid-grade venomous creature, the Golden-Furred King Bee, in person?”

“That’s right. A guest who visited earlier told me that the hive of a Golden-Furred King Bee has been discovered not far from here. I was planning to take you along to harvest its honey. You see, this all started when Hwa-eun…”

As I listened to my father-in-law’s explanation, I couldn’t help but think that he had a right to feel somewhat aggrieved.

It seemed that after nunim collapsed due to qi deviation, the Tang Sect had publicly announced their intent to buy information about venomous creatures scattered across the land.

Apparently, they had spread word of this even to groups like the Beggar’s Gang, the Hao Sect, and even black-market factions.

However, due to the lack of advanced transportation and communication in this era, some information had arrived late. Additionally, they couldn’t make it known that nunim had already recovered, so they had left things as they were.

This had resulted in people like the two burly men I saw earlier coming forward, selling information long after it was needed.

Originally, the Golden-Furred King Bee wasn’t considered worth buying information about, as it was only mid-grade, lacked an inner core, and its honey was the lowest-tier elixir. However, my father-in-law had still paid a decent sum for the information, which explained his frustration.

“So, you’re saying we’ll be harvesting the honey of the Golden-Furred King Bee ourselves?”

“That’s correct.”

‘Huh! So you mean we’re going to collect tree honey!?’

What father-in-law was saying now was that we should go collect tree honey together.

In the wild, bees that build hives inside trees store their honey there, and this honey is called tree honey. Honey collected from hives in rocks is called rock honey. Both have long been regarded as medicinal.

It’s a well-known fact that bees gather nectar from flowers and store it as honey, and the longer the honey is stored, the sweeter it becomes, with higher concentrations of vitamins.

Honey collected from tree or rock hives, in particular, is often old honey, which is why it’s considered medicinal.

‘This is insane. A tree honey expedition!’

I’d gone on a tree honey expedition once in my previous life for a TV broadcast. Honestly, it had been exhausting, but I vividly remembered how sweet the honey was when I finally tasted it at the end.

And now, there was a bee the size of a small dog?

As Maewoon Fabre, there was no way I could pass this up.

“Let’s go, Father-in-law! When it comes to bees, I’m an expert!”

“Ha! I knew you’d like this idea!”

Nunim glanced between me and our father-in-law, let out a deep sigh, and shook her head.

***

Sichuan Province was a region with plains to the east and mountain ranges to the west. Tang Family Mountain, where the Sichuan Tang Family had settled, was located in the basin of the western mountainous region of Sichuan. From there, we headed southwest, passing through Chengdu, to harvest the honey.

Our destination was a place called Mokli, located on the tropical jungle border between southwestern Sichuan and Yunnan Province.

This was where the Golden-Furred King Bee had reportedly been discovered.

“But what if we can’t find it easily? Or worse, what if the information is false?”

“Do not worry, Young Miss. The information supposedly came from the disbanded Red Blood Gang, so it should be credible. Even though those unorthodox path bastards can’t be trusted, information originating from the Red Blood Gang can be relied upon. They made their living selling intelligence across Sichuan for years.

And honestly, who would be crazy enough to sell false information to the Sichuan Tang Family? With Young Master Soryong here, we’re sure to find it quickly.”

My father-in-law, who had been eager to go, was unable to join us due to being away from the family for a prolonged period because of nunim.

With work piling up and repeated objections from Man of Ten Thousand Poisons Grandfather and other branch elders, insisting that he couldn’t leave again, he had no choice but to stay behind.

As a result, the team sent to harvest the honey consisted of the Tang Family’s Poison Blood Squad, nunim, and me.

Even though the Golden-Furred King Bee was classified as a mid-grade venomous creature, it wasn’t considered strong individually but was dangerous because it moved in swarms. Hence, this number of people was deemed more than sufficient to handle it.

And, after all, we were still within Sichuan, firmly inside the Tang Family’s territory.

Thus, we arrived at a forest near a cliff in Mokli.

Despite initial doubts about whether we would even find it, we located the Golden-Furred King Bee’s hive faster than anticipated.

However, waiting for us upon arrival was not the Golden-Furred King Bee, but rather a situation that infuriated both the Poison Blood Squad leader and nunim.

“We got here first, so the honey of the Golden-Furred King Bee belongs to us.”

“What nonsense! We bought this information fair and square, so it’s ours!”

“Bought it? We also purchased the information!”

“Wait. Was the guy you bought it from hairy, with a big mole on this side of his face?”

“Yes, we bought it from that guy too!”

As it turned out, the information was accurate, but the damned bastard had sold the same intel to multiple parties.

“Those damned fools dared to insult our Tang Family!”

The Poison Blood Squad leader, realizing what was going on, flew into a rage.

The rival group of martial artists, stunned by his fury, stared at us with wide eyes.

“S-Sichuan Tang Family!”

It seemed that no matter where you went, crazy bastards were bound to show up.

***

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

Thank you for reading!

[Author – 에르훗]

[Translator – bjgoofy]