Chapter 34

Xiaoming stood at the classroom door, took a deep breath, and firmly gripped the secret letter from his mother.

In the pavilion of the garden where poisonous plants bloomed, as I lay enjoying the midday sun, I heard Tang Yingying's voice from beside my head.

‘Ah, is it already time to come?’

I subtly moved my head to look up at the sky, which seemed to be around noon. It wasn't a cuckoo clock, but at this time, Tang Yingying would inevitably appear to disturb my rest.

“Just because I like it here.”

I answered without opening my eyes, and as I slowly sat up, she tried to stop me.

“You seemed so scared on the first day, but now you act as if this is your home. You can just lie down here.”

Hearing this, I didn’t refuse and quickly lay back down again.

Then, a gentle breeze blew through the garden, wrapping around it, and the scent of strange flowers filled the pavilion.

‘Ah, healing. In my previous life, being in such a space would have been called detox healing, but since this is a garden of poisonous plants, should it be called toxic healing?’

I was once again immersed in a brief moment of healing, intoxicated by the alluring fragrance.

Since Tang Yingying was about to torment me again, I needed to enjoy this healing for a little longer...

The reason why the garden Tang Yingying introduced me to on the first day became my healing space over the past few days was simple.

Despite the garden being filled with ominous poisonous plants, I chose it as my sanctuary because, unlike the garden with ordinary flowers where anyone could enter, this place, with its poisonous plants, was off-limits to just anyone.

As a representative of the Zhuge family and a sworn brother of the Jia family, and not a martial artist, I was specially allowed to enter this place, making it the most secluded spot I could go to in the Tang family compound.

Thus, to avoid the noisy main hall, which was bustling with preparations for the banquet and the influx of guests, this was the only place I could retreat to.

And the reason I chose this secluded place instead of the room assigned to me was to avoid the promising young martial artists Tang Yingying wanted me to socialize with.

The reason I wanted to avoid them was simple.

If they were attending the Tang family’s Poison King’s birthday banquet, they must be the promising young talents of various organizations, the most popular among the popular.

In wuxia stories, there might be a few successors of noble families or sects with bad personalities, but here, it seemed that for the sake of appearances, none of them had bad personalities, and their charisma was unmatched.

After a brief exchange of greetings and a rough estimate of our ages, they started visiting me every morning, calling me "Brother Liu" and trying to be friendly, or dragging me to the daily drinking sessions.

At first, I tried to socialize with them to some extent, but as time passed, I realized I had made a mistake.

It was about five days ago.

The debate started at a drinking session in the morning.

The topic was "How to butcher bandits most efficiently?" or "How to deal with bandits?"

Initially, it was about the bandits appearing nearby, but the conversation soon turned to whether to punish them or kill them, and then to a heated debate on the methods of killing or neutralizing them.

“Stabbing is the best. Piercing the vital points of the wicked and taking their lives in one go is the best way to let them die without suffering.”

“Nonsense, brother. The art of the sword is about cutting. Cutting off their limbs and sparing their lives, giving them a chance to repent and live again, is obviously better.”

“Then wouldn’t using fists, kicks, or palm strikes be even better for the wicked?”

The young martial artists were loudly debating how to butcher bandits.

It was as if the bandits were not treated as human beings but as monsters.

After a long debate, they asked Tang Yingying, the representative of the Tang family.

“Miss Tang, what do you think?”

“Hmm... Bandits are criminals who kill people and steal. Just dissolve them in poison water, and there’s no need to dispose of the bodies. I think this method is the best.”

Tang Yingying, with a very elegant expression, suggested a lethal method.

As expected, Tang Yingying, whose poison skills had reached her father’s level, proposed a terrifying method without blinking.

The young martial artists, without any surprise or other emotions, laughed heartily.

“Hahaha, that’s a fitting thought for a Tang family girl.”

“Haha, it’s a method only the Tang family can use, but those who kill people deserve it.”

At that moment, I realized I was a rabbit among tigers.

The young martial artists gathered here were ultimately psychopaths or potential serial killers.

As a normal person, I couldn’t empathize with their conversation at all.

But then, the young martial artists, who had been laughing and nodding in agreement, suddenly turned to me.

“Brother Liu, what do you think?”

‘What does it mean to ask me, who has only ever killed fish heads, which method of butchering humans is the most efficient?’

I had to answer with an awkward face.

“I’ve only ever killed fish heads...”

I meant that I was a chef, but they seemed to have the ability to translate it into their own language.

“Ah, decapitating and displaying the head is a very traditional and effective way to warn surviving bandits.”

“Indeed, taking one life to make others repent? That’s the Zhuge family for you.”

“T, thank you for the kind interpretation.”

In an instant, they turned me into a madman or Dr. Goyo.

After that, they continued to exchange information and boast about the angles at which to twist their arms to make the sword stick better, or how many bandit heads they had cut off and taken to the government, making my head spin. Thus, it was only natural that I had to avoid the young martial artists.

As I tried to shake off the terrifying memories that surfaced during my healing session with Tang Yingying, the wind that had been blowing gradually subsided, and the sweet and deadly fragrance of the poisonous flowers also faded. As if waiting for this moment, Tang Yingying asked a question.

“Where did we leave off yesterday?”

Tang Yingying’s explanation began again.

Looking at the strange flowers and trees and the clear sky, I lay in the pavilion, enjoying the midday sun.

This place was so beautiful that I thought I should create a similar garden if I ever made money...

But Tang Yingying, who didn’t care about my feelings, sat next to me without being invited and started her explanation again, just as she had done for the past few days.

Tang Yingying’s daily visits to explain and recommend something to me were not because of the restriction on leaving the compound, but because she wanted to choose a particular item for me, even though I didn’t want it...

‘Could there be a talking bug in the Tang family’s collection of poisonous creatures?’

Tang Yingying, as if addicted to the talking bug, started explaining her family’s treasures, regardless of my response, by recalling her memories.

“Ah, we got to realgar yesterday, right? How about the Heavenly Silk Gloves? They are used to handle poisonous creatures and are resistant to sharp objects and poisons. They are very rare, and the family only has about five pairs, but if you ask, they will give them to you, even though they are expensive.”

Since it wasn’t winter and I had no reason to go out for insect collection during elementary school summer vacation, the gloves were meaningless to me. Tired of Tang Yingying’s explanations over the past few days, I asked if I could just take some gold instead to escape this long explanation.

If I got something, I could escape this endless explanation.

“Can I just take a few taels of gold? Or only one item?”

“Of course not. But there are many things more expensive than gold. Would you like one of those?”

“Are there things more expensive than gold?”

“Of course. In the Tang family, young master.”

Tang Yingying, tapping her chest proudly.

‘Is this the top of the region?’

I thought I might as well take the most precious thing from the Tang family to make the Poison King’s stomach hurt and asked.

“Then, what is the most precious thing in the Tang family?”

“Hmm? The most precious thing in the Tang family...”

“What is it?”

“Me?”

Tang Yingying, with an incredibly shameless and cute expression, blinked her eyes.

I turned over on my back.

“Cough!”

“What? What does that mean?”

An incredulous voice.

Having grown up hearing she was beautiful, she could have such delusions, but not in front of me.

After all, a woman’s heart is more important than her appearance.

“Master, look at me for a moment!”

Tang Yingying, coming to my side, glared at me with a look of disbelief.

I had turned over several times, but she kept following me and calling me.

“Master? Master? Liu Chief? Liu Chief?”

Tang Yingying’s voice, calling me and complaining.

Unable to bear it any longer, I had to run back to my quarters.

And when I was discovered by the young martial artists, I had to listen to their debates again.

About which vital point to stab to make a person die faster...

***

The next morning, Tang Yingying came to take me to the