Chapter 31

Poison King

I thought the base of the Tang Clan was in Chengdu, Sichuan, but the place I arrived at with Tang Yingying was a small village not far from Mianyang.

It was a village nestled against a mountain with a lush, strange tropical forest.

As we entered the village, a signboard came into view.

Sichuan Tang Clan (四川唐家)

"Miss Tang, wasn't the location of the Tang Clan in Chengdu?"

In response to my question, Tang Yingying smiled and answered.

"Oh, Chengdu is the largest city in Sichuan, and we operate there for convenience, but the real base of the Tang Clan is here, Tangjia Mountain (唐家山)."

The audacity of naming a mountain after their surname, Tang.

Sichuan is about four times the size of South Korea.

So, while they are a regional gang, compared to our country, the Tang Clan is an organization that surpasses the national level, with an enormous scale.

I had thought that a 'clan' (世家) was something like a large noble family, but this was the size of a whole village.

For that reason, after walking a considerable distance from the entrance where the signboard hung, we finally reached the place where Tang Yingying and the family of the clan leader lived, and after reaching another hall, we finally arrived at our destination.

As we appeared in front of the hall where the clan leader resided, a servant who was sweeping the courtyard nearby hurriedly ran over to inform the clan leader of Tang Yingying's arrival.

"Clan Leader, Miss has arrived."

"Is that so? Let her in."

Following Tang Yingying inside, I saw a rather simple space despite it being where the clan leader resided.

A middle-aged man rose from his chair and greeted us with a welcoming smile.

He must be Tang Yingying's father, the one I had referred to as the 'father who raised Tang Yingying without any sense of awareness,' the clan leader Tang Ziyun (唐沚雲).

Strangely, he looked to be in his forties or fifties, with only his sideburns white, and his strong, charcoal-black eyebrows gave him a striking appearance.

"This is Liu Qingyun, sir."

"It's a pleasure to meet you. I am Liu Qingyun. Thank you for inviting me to such a joyous occasion."

I politely made a fist salute and greeted him respectfully. He approached me, warmly shook my hand, and replied.

"Oh, so you're the one. Tian (天) has been praising you so much. You are indeed clever and handsome. I wonder if our Yingying made the right choice. Did you have any trouble on the way here?"

When I glanced at Tang Yingying, she flinched, but in this situation, I couldn't be a fool and expose her lack of awareness and composure.

Especially considering Tang Yingying's lack of awareness, I was reminded of the Zhuge Clan Leader the moment I saw the Tang Clan Leader.

Lack of awareness means not being able to read the mood of others, which reveals how much they were pampered, right?

And the fact that he and the Zhuge Clan Leader had become sworn brothers suggests they have similar personalities.

In the end, the probability that this man is also a doting father is very high.

"No, Miss Tang's cleverness and beauty made me want to meet and thank the leader of the Tang Clan."

"Her cleverness and beauty made you want to thank me?"

The corners of his mouth curled up, as if he already knew what kind of praise would come from my mouth, but the Tang Clan Leader still wanted me to elaborate.

The Tang Clan Leader was more sinister than I expected.

'Well, he's going to be my benefactor, so I should at least make him feel good...'

To fulfill his sinister wish, I slowly opened my mouth and explained.

"Miss Tang stopped the chaos when bandits invaded our inn and saved my life from bandits and the Green Forest gang. Her noble heart, which values human life and helps those in trouble, is true chivalry. Her strength, which does not retreat in the face of evil, is true integrity. Chivalry and integrity cannot be learned alone and require guidance, which she must have received from the clan leader. Therefore, I must meet and thank the clan leader, who is her father."

I made another polite fist salute and said,

"Thank you, sir."

Despite the goosebumps running down my spine and the bitterness of losing the jade to the unaware Tang Yingying, in a world where herbivores must survive among predators, one must at least be good at licking their chops.

Didn't the rabbit in the story of the Rabbit and the Turtle survive by being good at licking its chops?

'I'll leave my liver and gallbladder outside and go on.'

So, I decided to leave my liver and gallbladder outside.

As a result, I felt my non-combat stats, such as eloquence and skills, rising, but that was inevitable.

Pride does not guarantee survival.

As soon as I expressed my gratitude, the clan leader's mouth opened wide like a ripe watermelon, revealing his red gums and he started laughing.

"What? Hahaha..."

The clan leader, delighted, laughed and joked.

Beside me, Tang Yingying blushed, thinking my praise of her cleverness and beauty was a compliment to her.

'She really lacks awareness.'

Tang Yingying was a serious problem.

Was it a congenital lack of awareness?

How much pampering does it take to make someone like that? I looked at the father and daughter with a worried expression, and the clan leader, who had laughed and given me a few words of encouragement, suddenly changed his expression and asked Tang Yingying.

"Ying, did the Green Forest gang appear?"

The clan leader, who had been looking at us with a gentle gaze, now had the eyes of a dark underworld boss.

For an ordinary person like me, it was a gaze that made me feel like I couldn't even talk without a diaper.

"Yes, Father, they were collecting tolls on the main road about two days away. I said we were passing through to move the mountain goods, but..."

"Your birthday is coming up, and guests will be arriving from all over the Central Plains. We need to inspect the main road."

The inspection he mentioned didn't seem like a casual look.

The clan leader ended his conversation with Tang Yingying in a menacing tone and then smiled at me again.

"Ah, you must be tired from the journey. Rest and join us for dinner, Little Hero Liu."

'What a psychopath...'

I felt a chill down my spine at the sudden change in his expression and atmosphere and replied.

"Yes, I understand, sir."

The Zhuge Clan Leader was at least a doting father with a hormonal imbalance, but this boss, perhaps due to handling poisons, had a truly sinister and menacing aura.

After conversing with the sinister boss of the Tang Clan and being shown to a room by a servant where I bathed in warm water and rested, I soon heard the voice of the unaware Tang Yingying outside.

"Liu Gongzi! Liu Gongzi! Are you sleeping?"

"No, I'm not asleep."

When I opened the sliding door, Tang Yingying, who looked as if she had just taken a bath and applied powder, was waiting outside the door with a face that seemed ready to cause trouble.

Seeing Tang Yingying's face, I felt uneasy.

Then, out of nowhere, she made a suggestion for a tour.

"Come, I'll show you around the Tang Clan."

Without waiting for my answer, she grabbed my sleeve and started dragging me outside.

Despite her being a woman, she had trained in martial arts, so no matter how much I resisted, I was dragged along helplessly.

"But, Miss Tang, I haven't trained in martial arts, so I need to rest..."

"Men shouldn't be so weak!"

"But I don't have any inner strength..."

"Men, why do you have so much to say?!"

We arrived at the back garden, where I was dragged.

Strange tropical flowers were in full bloom, and a small stream flowed through the garden.

Despite being dragged there, it was worth seeing.

I couldn't help but exclaim.

"Oh... this is..."

"How is it? Impressive, right?"

Ignoring Tang Yingying's incessant chatter, I slowly moved forward.

I walked on the stone slabs laid out on the path between the branches of the unknown flowers and was drawn to a beautiful purple flower blooming on one side.

I cautiously inhaled its sweet fragrance.

The sweet scent filled my nose.

'Really a different world.'

As I was enjoying the scent, Tang Yingying's voice rang out.

"That's a poisonous plant..."

"What?!"

Tang Yingying's incessant chatter hit me like a thunderbolt, and I grabbed my neck, trying to breathe out, but since I hadn't eaten it, just inhaled the scent, I had no way to breathe it out.

Coughing and sitting down, I didn't know what to do, and Tang Yingying's laughter echoed again.

"Hahaha! You only die if you eat it!"

Tang Yingying, laughing and holding her stomach, mocked me.

'Ah...'

Dizziness washed over me.

Glaring at her with a murderous expression, she still didn't understand the meaning of my gaze and continued to laugh.

"That's aconite, so you won't die if you don't eat it."

Aconite, also known as monkshood, is a deadly poison!

True to the Tang Clan, they even planted poisonous plants in the back garden.

"Are all these here?"

"Yes, all of them. But don't worry, you won't die if you don't eat them, so enjoy the view."

But the mood was completely ruined.

I hesitated to approach again.

As I backed away, Tang Yingying's voice rang out.

"Why are men so scared?"

"Miss Tang, how can you say that as someone who handles poisons?"

I scolded her.

She looked at me with wide, rabbit-like eyes and asked.

"What do you mean?"

I explained to her how terrifying poison can be.

"Do you know how fair and terrifying poison is? It doesn't discriminate between experts, adults, children, or gender. Men are not immune to poison!"

At that moment, a clear old man's voice rang out from somewhere.

"Wow, you talk a lot for a scrawny guy. Hahaha"

Tang Yingying and I turned around to see an old man laughing at us.

"Grandfather!"

Tang Yingying ran over and jumped into his arms.

If this was Tang Yingying's grandfather, it must be the former boss, the Poison King Tang Feiling (唐飛靈).

"Ah, did our Yingying complete her father's errand well?"

"Yes, Grandfather, did you catch a lot of poisons?"

"Yes, I caught a lot. But who is this guy? I haven't heard about you bringing a son-in-law yet."

The old man made a terrifying statement.

Women should be quick to read the mood, but despite Tang Yingying's fox-like beauty, her lack of awareness was zero. Who would ruin someone's life by suggesting such a thing, even as a joke?

"Grandfather, really. This is a guest from the Zhuge Clan who came to celebrate your birthday."

Tang Yingying explained who I was, and I immediately made a fist salute and greeted the Poison King.

"Hello, I am Liu Qingyun. It's an honor to meet the renowned Poison King of the martial world."

The Poison King waved his hand dismissively at my greeting.

He half-heartedly acknowledged my greeting and then said to Tang Yingying.

"Yingying, you should be careful with scrawny guys like that. He looks like a thief, doesn't he?"

"Grandfather, he's a guest from the Zhuge Clan..."

It seemed that the one who raised Tang Yingying to be so unaware wasn't just her father, but there was another real culprit.

After the awkward greeting,

We headed to the place where the old man had caught the poisons, to see them.

Following Tang Yingying and the old man into a hall, we saw various poisons, such as scorpions, snakes, and centipedes, in wooden barrels, and even pufferfish swimming in a large water tank.

"Amazing."

As I exclaimed in admiration, Tang Yingying explained.

"Isn't it? Grandfather caught them all, amazing, right?"

"Yes, but..."

"Enough! What good is praise from a scrawny guy who doesn't even practice martial arts and has no particular talent..."

As anger rose again at the old man's condescending attitude, Tang Yingying, perhaps feeling sorry for his rudeness, suddenly praised me.

"Liu Gongzi is very talented. He can't practice martial arts, but he can make really delicious food. Grandfather, you'll be surprised if you try it."

"What can a guy like him make..."

'Does the Tang Clan's poison technique affect the brain?'

If so, it would explain Tang Yingying's lack of awareness, the psychopathic clan leader, and the old man's senility.

The family's curse, passed down through the stages of early, middle, and late poison techniques.

However, being a patient doesn't mean everything is forgiven.

Ignoring a chef's cooking is as shameful as a martial artist being disrespected for their skills!

I couldn't stand it.

Especially since he hadn't even tried my cooking!

"Sir, if you try my cooking and say it's delicious, what will you do?"

"What? This guy? Yingying, I won't give him to you! This guy!"

'No, that's not what I meant!'

I resolved to make the senile old man say it was delicious.