Chronicles of the Reincarnated Demon God

Chapter 6: Wanna Bet?

From the next day, Namgung Sanyeong began to slowly extend her claws.

“Mother sent this?”

“Y-yes, Young Master.”

Hyeong-sam trembled as he held out the tray, unable to meet my eyes properly.

A bowl of medicinal soup.

It was so dark that I could see my own puzzled expression reflected in it.

「Young Lord!」

‘I know, I know.’

Seriously, are these people brainless?

How do they expect me to casually drink this medicine when their suspicious intentions are so blatantly obvious?

It was hard to even pretend to go along with this.

This medicine was almost certainly a poison meant to induce madness.

So that I would cause a huge incident during the Clan Leader’s visit.

「We must punish these vermin immediately! How dare they offer such poison to the Young Lord! Just give the order! I will taint their food with the same poison!」

Oh my?

Playing the loyal subject, are we?

When I gave him an incredulous look, even the leader spider seemed embarrassed and turned his head away.

If he had continued being shameless, I was planning to turn him into a Dead Soul Pill right away.

Perhaps because he died once already, his ability to read the room was quite impressive.

By the way, what was that elder’s name again?

I’d been calling him spider for the past few months, so I completely forgot what his actual identity was.

Well, it doesn’t matter. I’ll just keep calling him ‘Dead Elder’ or ‘Dead Soul #1’.

If it bothers him, he can tell me his name. Though I still won’t remember it. Hehehe.

“T-The Madam said that Young Master has surely repented enough by now, so she sent this medicine to restore your energy. She said to focus on taking care of your body until the Dark Venerable visits…”

In other words, don’t even think about ruining the Dark Venerable’s impression of her by pretending to be sick.

“And she especially emphasized that from now on, she’ll send nutritious meals for every meal, which you must not skip.”

How kind of her to explain that she’ll feed me poison three times a day without fail.

I had to forcefully hold back a sneer while waving him away.

“Fine. You can go now.”

“But, that is-”

“What? You have something else to say?”

“I was told to make sure you drink it all-”

They’re really trying hard.

I grabbed the bowl without hesitation and drank all the medicine.

Ugh. Disgusting.

“Satisfied?”

“Huh? Yes! Yes indeed. Then, I shall take my leave.”

Only after Hyung-sam left could I finally burst out laughing.

The bitter taste of the medicine still lingered in my mouth.

Let’s see. The ingredients seem to be White Mountain Herb mixed with Soul Harmony Extract, with a bit of Madness Poison added. Oh? They even included some potent poisons?

This went beyond being a mere drug (痲藥) – it was truly a demonic potion (魔藥).

When you drink just one or two cups, there’s no obvious effect on the surface.

If anything, it’s closer to an elixir. It not only recovers energy but also enhances the internal energy in the Dantian.

They must have heard that I’ve been diligently training in martial arts in preparation for the Dark Venerable’s visit, so they’re pretending to help.

I’ll need to demonstrate some impressive martial arts in front of the Dark Venerable, after all.

However, when this medicine is taken consistently, the toxins build up layer by layer, damaging the Brain Gate.

And…

“This even has mind control properties.”

「What? What do you mean-」

“There’s Cinnabar Poison in it.”

「If it’s Cinnabar Poison!」

“It means they’re trying to cast sorcery on me. Pfft!”

Cinnabar is a material commonly used by sorcerers when writing talismans.

That’s because it’s the easiest medium for infusing spiritual power.

With proper preparation, it’s convenient to cast certain spells.

They probably added it, hoping to control me like a puppet once I’m consumed by madness from the poison.

The problem is they chose ‘me’ as their target.

Heh. Daring to challenge me with sorcery? This is quite ridiculous… no, this could be interesting.

“Look for any sorcerers who might be working with Namgung Sanyeong.”

「When we were monitoring before, we couldn’t detect any such presence… This means they must have a secret way of contacting them, even within the Nine Dragons Branch. Understood. Leave it to this Old Hwan!」

The lead spider thumped his chest with his front legs before scurrying up the wall and disappearing with his spider children.

I sat cross-legged and began circulating the Poison Dragon Heart Technique again.

What Namgung Sanyeong doesn’t realize is that not only the Cinnabar Poison but any poison they give me, no matter how potent, won’t affect me in the slightest.

After all, none of them could compare to the Dead Soul Poison.

Kiaaaaaah!

Using the Ghost Qi (鬼氣) that had completely merged with my internal energy, I began dissolving the poison from the medicine.

* * *

Namgung Sanyeong’s second attack came soon after.

“Instructor?”

“Yes. I will be briefly in charge of Young Master’s martial arts instruction for the next four days. I look forward to working with you.”

Despite his polite words, his face showed clear boredom, as if thinking, ‘I’ll just kill time somehow and leave.’

Well, I was used to such attitudes, so it didn’t particularly bother me.

“Aren’t you quite busy with Silent Wind Pavilion matters these days? Is it okay for you to be here?”

The identity of this person who came as the martial arts instructor was somewhat unexpected.

Tang Gon, the Fierce Wind Warrior.

He was one of the core members of the Mad Wind Squad, once led by Tang Ho-san, and now he’s considered among the top ten masters in the Nine Dragons Branch.

What’s notable is that he’s not part of Namgung Sanyeong’s faction.

From the beginning, this person had no interest in the succession struggle.

No, it would be more accurate to say he had no interest in worldly matters at all.

He always preferred to be lazy, and there were countless times when the Silent Wind Pavilion Master flew into a rage because he kept slacking off.

It was said that if it hadn’t been for saving Tang Ho-san’s life in his younger days, he might have been expelled from the branch family long ago.

So it was strange that he would come here to ‘monitor’ me under Namgung Sanyeong’s orders-

“What are you talking about? Of course, I came here because I’m busy.”

Huh?

“I’ll show you the movement just once! Only once! Train on your own after that.”

What a brazenly shameless attitude.

I couldn’t help but laugh.

Now, I could finally read Namgung Sanyeong’s scheme.

By assigning Tang Gon to me, she could aim for three benefits.

First, she could gather information about my martial arts level and any possible hidden backers.

Second, she could monitor me and prepare for any sudden actions during the Dark Venerable’s visit.

But the most important was the third reason.

By assigning a ‘real’ master who wasn’t from her faction, she gained legitimacy in helping my martial arts training.

Hadn’t she already provided elixirs to restore my health before this?

Even if things went wrong later and suspicions arose, she’d created an escape route from being a suspect.

When she just blatantly gave me the medicine to drink, I wondered how such a foolish mind could have secured the position of the Madam of the family.

But it seems she did have some calculating sides to her.

The problem was that I could see through all her intentions.

Hmm, should I play around a bit?

This might be a chance to get outside the estate.

“The martial art I’m about to show you is called the Traceless Shadow Step. I believe you might have heard of it before.”

Oh?

“Isn’t Tang Yu-chang’s special technique–”

“Yes. It was the Dark Shadow Qi. It’s a Qi technique compatible with the Traceless Shadow Step, allowing for swift and stealthy energy manipulation, very suitable for assassination techniques and poison arts. The Traceless Shadow Step is similar. The Madam insisted I teach this… well, I had no choice in the matter.”

So she wants to embarrass me by having me compared to her son in front of the Dark Venerable?

“Then I’ll begin.”

Swoosh, swoosh, swoosh-

Tang Gon moved slowly with his hands behind his back.

Leisurely steps. But his movements were anything but.

His figure appeared and disappeared repeatedly across the White Cloth Hall’s sizeable courtyard.

Despite moving so quickly, there should have been some wind, but there wasn’t. It was as stealthy as a dark shadow moving.

This technique was so excellent that ‘Tang Un-hwi,’ who had only properly learned the Tang Clan’s Qi Tempering Technique, could never hope to learn.

“That’s all.”

Tang Gon quietly reappeared before me after spreading dozens of afterimages across the courtyard.

Still maintaining that leisurely pace as if out for a stroll.

“I’ve left footprints on the ground, so you can just practice following those. If you have any questions, don’t come to me, go to the Silent Wind Pavilion Master and-”

“I’ve mastered it.”

“-whine to… Pardon?”

My brazen response cracked Tang Gon’s languid expression a bit.

“I said I’ve mastered it.”

“…You’re saying you’ve mastered the Traceless Shadow Step?”

“Yeah.”

“Just from watching once?”

“Yeah. It wasn’t much.”

“……”

Tang Gon’s face now twisted grotesquely.

He seemed to be holding back his anger.

“…Even I, who was called a genius in my youth, took at least five days to learn the form. Other Mad Wind Squad members took at least ten days. On average, it took three months to grasp the meaning of the movements.”

Calling himself a genius? This guy’s got quite a thick skin, too.

“So when you say such things-”

“Want to make a bet?”

“…A bet?”

“If I’ve properly mastered the Traceless Shadow Step, thirty nyang.”

“……”

“The Silent Wind Pavilion’s monthly salary is about ten nyang, right? Three months’ salary should make the bet worthwhile, don’t you think?”

Tang Gon now looked like he was seeing a complete lunatic.

Then, belatedly collecting himself, he let out a light cough.

“Ahem! Martial arts are very sacred. The Traceless Shadow Step, which contains the soul of the Tang family, is even more precious. To involve it in such gambling-”

“Scared?”

“……”

“You are scared.”

“……”

“The great Mad Wind Squad member, a key figure in the conquest of the Qingcheng Sect. Some Fierce Wind Warrior you turned out to be. Fine. Whatever. I’ll just practice alone.”

Crack! Crackle!

With each of my taunts, veins began to bulge on Tang Gon’s previously languid face.

As I turned to leave, a powerful aura swept through.

Whoosh!

“Those words… you’ll have to back them up properly.”

Hook, line, and sinker!

I showed the sleazy smile I used when goading suckers at gambling dens.

“Bring the money.”

“…Huff! Every single word you speak is deliberately irritating. Very skillful indeed. Well then, let’s begin-”

Just as Tang Gon was about to say something.

Swoosh!

My figure vanished.

As Tang Gon’s eyes widened, a subtle wind brushed past his waist.

Tang Gon turned around in shock.

His hand checked his waist.

The money pouch he had definitely brought from the Mad Wind Squad was gone.

“Looking for this?”

The money pouch was in my hand.

Each time I playfully tossed and caught the pouch, Tang Gon’s pupils trembled wildly.