Fabre in Sacheon’s Tang

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万毒殿(万毒殿) 2

I was on my way to the Mandok Hall, accompanied by the Mandok God, my grandfather, while leaving my residence.

To go anywhere from there, I had to pass through the courtyard, where I spotted three individuals seated and chatting in the pavilion.

So, that’s the family of the clan head.

No, for now, they were my father-in-law, mother-in-law, and older sister.

“Did the lessons from your first day with my father make sense?”

My father-in-law smiled and inquired about today’s teachings. Since today felt more like an orientation, I replied politely.

“Yes, elder… uh, I mean, father-in-law.”

Suddenly, the three stood up and smiled at me.

“Great, then let’s all go together.”

“To the Mandok Hall, I presume?”

“That’s right. Since you’re becoming part of the Tang Clan and entering Mandok Hall for the first time, we’re all here to witness it together. It’s a significant moment for the family to step into Mandok Hall together as one.”

I didn’t realize it, but entering Mandok Hall felt like a grand affair.

As my father-in-law stepped forward, my grandfather led the way, followed promptly by my father-in-law and his wife, as well as my older sister and me in a quiet line behind them.

‘My older sister really is beautiful.’

People often say that beauty shines from the side.

As I subconsciously glanced at my older sister’s profile while following ahead, admiration welled up inside me once again.

Just then, laughter echoed from the front.

“Haha, you fool. At this rate, my daughter’s face will wear thin! Now that she’s yours, you’ll be seeing her plenty. How can you be so lost in thought? Keep wandering like that, and you’ll fall right on your face.”

“Our son-in-law hasn’t even been here a few days, and he’s already head over heels for Hua Eun. It seems like young love blossoms quickly!”

“Why tease them like that, you rascal clan head?”

Did he have eyes on the back of his head? How did my father-in-law know I was staring at my older sister in a daze?

Startled, I quickly apologized to my father-in-law and turned to look at my sister.

“S-sorry. Father-in-law.”

My sister, blushing, spoke softly.

“Please keep your eyes on the front.”

“Yes, ah, understood.”

With a hot face, I arrived at the back of the Four Harmonies Courtyard, a place used by the Tang Clan members.

It was a mountain ridge forming the Tang Clan’s base.

Surrounded by numerous Four Harmonies Courtyards and separate chambers, there appeared a cave with a massive iron door blocking the entrance, situated in what seemed to be the center of this grand mountain.

“Have you arrived, clan head?”

“Yes, I want to show my son-in-law Mandok Hall for a moment, so please open the door.”

“Understood, clan head! Let’s go!”

“Yes!” answered the guards with booming responses, rushing toward the door.

About ten guards lined up in front of Mandok Hall, and as they all surged forward, they clung to the door.

When the guards all exerted their strength simultaneously, the door began to creak open slowly with a strange sound.

– Creak, creak, creak.

Looking at the thickness of the door, it appeared to be at least a foot thick.

I wondered how secure security must be in this era, but this seemed exceptional.

‘Remarkable. Security here is surprisingly tight, huh?’

As I marveled at the grandeur of the iron door, it swung wide open, and the guards beckoned us inside.

“Please, do go in, Mandok God.”

“Well then, let’s enter.”

With my grandfather leading the way, we stepped into the cave, greeted by a cool breeze.

– Clack, clack.

I felt the cool stone floor beneath my feet as we walked into the cave.

After about thirty meters inside, we found a vast hollow space.

Countless shelves and jars with sealed jars filled the area.

This appeared to be the place for storing completed poisons, and I could detect a faint herbal scent wafting through the air.

“This is the Mandok Hall’s Mandok Temple—the place where completed poisons are stored. Be careful not to handle anything recklessly.”

“I see, so this is the Mandok Temple?”

“Indeed. Over there, various poisons like the Paralysis Poison and Sleep Poison are classified and stored, including potions and powdered pill forms.”

It wasn’t just a mere ten types of poisons; it was a display of thousands of them.

As I was startled by the vastness and was inspecting everything, I sensed gazes directed at me and turned my head to see all the elders looking at me.

‘What’s going on?’

Since they were all staring at me, I wondered if there was something on my body or behind me.

At that moment, my father-in-law spoke up.

“Do you have any questions?”

“Yes? Well…”

Unable to think of anything to ask, my awkward response made the elders’ faces drop in disappointment.

I felt like I had made a blunder.

Just as I was flustered, I heard my older sister’s voice in my ear.

[Ask what the strongest poison here is.]

Following her instructions, I quickly asked.

Feigning a thoughtful expression, I said, “Oh! I have a question!”

“Really!? What is it? Please, do tell!”

The excitement in their voices suggested they expected something.

I glanced at my sister and then asked as instructed, “What would be the strongest poison among these?”

At my question, the elders exchanged glances and nodded.

At last, they wore satisfied expressions and smiled.

“Indeed, you do possess the qualifications to become part of our clan!”

“Of course, of course! As a direct member of our clan, it is only natural to inquire about the strongest poison in Mandok Hall. Isn’t that so?”

“It seems we’ve found a worthy son-in-law.”

‘Is that how it is?’

Having come to such a significant place, they felt let down if I didn’t ask.

“Well then, let me now explain the strongest poison…”

My father-in-law started walking towards the shelves to explain something, but he briefly paused and turned to my older sister, smiling.

“Hua Eun, would you like to explain it instead?”

“Me?”

“I think our new son-in-law would prefer your explanation over mine. Haha.”

My father-in-law’s words were irritatingly teasing, making me want to pinch him.

Responding to him, my sister nodded with a slightly shy expression.

“Alright, father.”

Taking the lead in explaining, my sister walked towards the shelves instead of my father-in-law.

She held a thin, whippy stick, rapping one of the jars as she began her explanation.

– Tap!

“Now, I will explain about the strongest poison in our clan’s history. It is crucial information, so ensure you remember it well.”

How could I ever forget what my sister said?

Seeing me nodding involuntarily, she continued.

“What’s inside here is the Dispersing Power Poison (산공독). If ingested, you will immediately lose the ability to use your inner power, so be careful.”

At that moment, I recalled that using the Lightness Skill requires inner power, akin to the fuel needed for movement.

I had heard it was gathered through meditation, similar to breathing exercises.

Therefore, this poison literally drains away the fuel from martial artists.

Nodding, I asked again.

I remembered that in games, there’s a spell called Mana Burn that drains magic points from mages, and they likely found that the most terrifying.

“That’s the strongest poison, then?”

But my sister shook her head, rapping on different jars in turn.

– Tap! Tap! Tap! Tap!

“Intestinal Melting Poison (단장독). It dissolves the intestines, causing death in agony. Soul Destruction Poison (멸혼독). It sends you into a terrible torment where you lose your soul. Seven-steps Breaking Soul Poison (칠보단혼독). It will end your breath within seven paces. Blood-Burning Poison (화혈독). It gives the sensation of blood on fire.”

But even these dreadful poisons do not rank as the strongest.

“Even such horrific poisons aren’t the strongest?”

Descriptions of increasingly dreadful poisons continued, and I was anxious about what might come next, but my sister smiled widely as she pulled something from her storage.

Slowly, she approached and placed it in my hand.

‘So, so soft.’

Today, I felt her delicate touch as she placed something in my palm.

Unfolding what I held, I found it to be a fruit, or perhaps a seed? A bean?

“Excluding the poisons of the Ten Great Venoms, this is currently the strongest poison. It is the seed of the castor bean (피마자), which symbolizes our clan. Doesn’t it look like a little bean?”

The fruit my sister laid in my hand looked strikingly similar to the tiger bean I had loved in my past life.

It seemed delicious enough to want to eat it, but the mention of castor bean sent shivers down my spine.

‘Crazy! They really do specialize in poisons, and this family’s a bunch of maniacs! What I thought were autumn leaves embroidered on their chests were actually castor leaves!’

When I first met my sister and now saw the patterns on the clan members’ chests, I mistakenly thought they were autumn leaves, but they appeared to be castor leaves.

Why this stunned me was due to my sister handing me the castor seed that ranks third in the global toxicity scale.

Other than the toxins from the botulinum toxin and tetanus toxin, the castor bean contains the deadliest toxin available from natural sources!

Famed as the origin of Botox, it arises from spoiled canned goods, causing a type of toxin termed botulinum toxin and the tetanus bacterium from the tetanus bacteria, thus ranking third in toxicity overall.

Back in my previous life, I had often encountered questions where people would ask, “What toxin is that castor bean? It’s often used for hair products,” since castor oil is employed in numerous applications.

However, the true danger lies in a toxic substance within the castor seed called ricin.

When I cautioned about toxicity, I usually referred to cyanide poisoning as a baseline, but ricin is a poison that is a hundred thousand times more potent than cyanide!

It’s also one hundred fifty times more lethal than the worst synthetic substance, VX nerve gas.

“This castor poison can kill a person with just a tiny amount, leaving almost no trace. Therefore, if one bears a grudge against our clan, the Grudging Blood (원각혈) and Gracious Stone (은각석) will mean they will invariably encounter this castor toxin.”

With a radiant smile, my sister continued her explanation.

Sure, it would take about seven seeds for anyone to die by eating them, but if it were refined to extract ricin and processed into powdered or aerosol forms, the amount needed to kill a 70 kg person is merely 0.5 milligrams.

And it takes a minimum of about eight hours for symptoms to show, starting with a fever like a cold, leading to respiratory failure with a 99 percent chance of fatality.

Moreover, ricin doesn’t have any known antidotes.

This means, in this era, it could easily claim a life with no lasting evidence.

“This poison currently comes closest to being colorless, odorless, tasteless, and formless. Our clan considers this poison the most precious, calling it Golden Poison (금독), and killing with it is referred to as Golden Death (금살).”

‘Killing death…’

An oddly familiar phrase from my past life came to mind.

“Remember this. The strongest poison is not one that kills painfully or gruesomely; it’s the one that kills quietly and surely.

Our Four Heavenly Houses’ Venomous Power also aims for that: silent and assured. Colorless, odorless, tasteless, and formless.”

As my sister’s explanation concluded, the elders wore very satisfied expressions, eager to continue their discussion.

“Did you hear that, So-ryong? You are now part of our clan, so engrave this spirit into your very bones.”

“Well then, I’ll make sure of it.”

“Who would have thought you’d fit in so well?”

My sister’s angelic-sounding yet fierce explanation felt dangerously impressive.

Ah, so this family truly is a legendary clan of assassins.

‘Damn it. If I run away from being a son-in-law, would I end up facing a quiet death too? Can I really manage being part of this family?’

Internally berating myself for not having taken more time to deliberate yesterday while mesmerized by my sister’s beauty, I realized my father-in-law wasn’t just sharp—this whole family was more like a minefield!

– Gulp.