Chapter 121
The Youngest Son of the Silver Sea Trading Company Chapter 121
Chapter 121. The Truth Revealed (2)
What appeared before us was clearly a place for research.
Research tools were neatly arranged everywhere, and the bookshelves next to them were filled with books.
On the desk, a book that appeared to be in the middle of being written was held in place with a bookend.
Dang Soo-bin went there first and started reading the records.
Meanwhile, I headed for the bookshelf.
If I looked at the books on the shelf, I would be able to figure out what they were doing here.
[Poison Combination Methods]
[Symptoms of Poisoning]
[White Paper on Poisons and Poisonous Plants] and so on.
There were many different books, but it was not difficult to guess what they were for.
They were for making and manufacturing poisons.
“No way!”
At that moment, Dang Su-bin looked surprised.
“What's wrong?”
“This is... research data on the inner arts plague and Qi Dispersing Poison that was mentioned this morning.”
“What?”
“The names are written here.”
I looked where Dang Su-bin was pointing.
She was right.
“It seems that this place was used to secretly make the two poisons. And the books on the bookshelf seem to be necessary for this research.”
Dang Su-bin approached the bookshelf, looked at the books, and was surprised again.
“Huh? These books... I've seen them before.”
“What?”
“If you're a member of the Sichuan Tang Clan, these are essential things to learn at the academy.”
The Sichuan Tang Clan ran its own academy where they learned the basics.
I looked around the academy while visiting the outer quarters yesterday.
Anyway, if these are the basics taught at the academy, then something is really strange.
The third Mister must have made those books himself.
But why would he need such basic books?
If Miss Dang Soo-bin already knew them, then the third Mister would have known them too.
Then, another rumor came to mind.
“But what happened to the third son? He became the Young Master after undergoing secret training.”
“Come to think of it, people said his personality changed.”
“That's right. They said he used to be a bit sly, but now he's become sharp.”
“Did something shocking happen?”
There were rumors that his personality had changed.
Then, a book caught my eye.
It was a book that made me feel uneasy for some reason, but I felt like I had to look at it.
I picked up the book.
There was no title.
When I turned the page, I saw instructions on how to make a face mask.
Why is this here?
I believe that nothing happens without a reason.
I tried to connect the rumors from my previous life with this book.
Then, the moment I saw Dao Su-bin, I remembered what she had said to me yesterday.
“I don't know if I should say this to you, but for some reason, I feel uncomfortable when I look at your third brother.”
That was her answer when I asked her why she disliked the third prince.
And the third Mister Kong did not use certain pronunciations that sounded awkward when wearing a mask.
“No way...!”
“What's wrong?”
Miss Tang Soo-bin asked me with a worried look, but I couldn't answer.
It didn't make sense, but that was the only conclusion I could come to.
The person we had known as Tang Soo-bin was not the real Tang Soo-bin.
It's not that their personalities changed.
They are different people.
When I saw Mister Tang, I remembered the dark energy I felt from him.
It was even more repulsive than that of Jegal Kyung of the Jegal Clan.
That means he was a dark person from the beginning.
No one knew what method he used, but the sensitive Tang Su-bin instinctively noticed it.
I had to revise my previous hypothesis.
The reason why he kidnapped Tang Jo-woong instead of killing him in his previous life.
It was probably because the real Tang Yeon-chul stubbornly refused to cooperate if Tang Jo-woong was killed.
The reason for killing Miss Tang Su-bin was probably because he realized that the third Mister was not the real one and tried to rescue him.
Then, when the real Tang Su-bin was no longer needed, he killed him and discarded Tang Zhaoweng, who was no longer of any use.
If so, that means the real third Mister is still alive.
I looked around the bookshelves filled with books.
Making poison is impossible without specialized knowledge.
That means that even the fake Tang Yicheng had some knowledge of poison.
However, his knowledge was not enough to catch up with the real third Prince Gong, so he gathered reference materials.
These books were also necessary to make poison using the Sichuan Tang Clan's method.
But could he make poison in the Sichuan Tang Clan style just by referring to books?
No.
He would need someone's advice.
And that advice was surely obtained from the real third Mister.
As a direct descendant of the Clan Head, he would have received a high-level education.
If so, there was a high probability that he was being held captive somewhere here.
Where could it be?
“Eung-gong?”
“...”
“Eung-gong!”
Miss Tang Soo-bin's voice interrupted my thoughts.
“Ah! Miss.”
I shook my head.
“I'm sorry. I was just thinking for a moment.”
Then I sent a telepathic message to Seo Woo and Jin Yu.
- Is there a secret door in here?
- Why do you ask?
I sent telepathy to Seo Woo again.
- If we find it, everything will be explained. Look for any signs of a space large enough to hide a person.
At my words, the two immediately began searching for clues, and soon Seo Woo called me.
“Here it is.”
Seo Woo is from Head Escort.
That's why he didn't miss even the slightest trace.
It was one of the pillars used to hang The Night Pearls on the wall, and as soon as I saw it, I understood why Seo Woo pointed it out.
That was the only place where there was no dust.
I immediately called Miss Dang Soo-bin.
“Miss, isn't something strange here?”
“What?”
“There's no dust here.”
“Oh my! You're right.”
I pulled it down.
Dudududu.
At that moment, the wall right below the pillar where the night pearls were hanging slid open.
And the stairs that were revealed led all the way down.
I swallowed hard and asked Miss Tang.
“You're going down, right?”
“Of course.”
“Jinyu, please watch this place.”
“Go ahead.”
I pulled out the night pearl pillar. Seeing that it came out easily, I thought I should take it with me.
We moved slowly.
Just in case, we moved carefully, hiding our movements as much as possible and muffling our footsteps.
Had we walked about halfway?
A light began to appear in the distance, and the closer we got, the stronger the feeling of nausea became.
That meant there was a Black Dao warrior in that space.
I whispered to Seo Woo.
“There's someone watching us up ahead. It looks like there's only one enemy.”
“I'll take care of him.”
Seo Woo immediately jumped forward and subdued the man.
“Don't move or you'll die.”
“Ugh, who... who are you?”
Dang Soo-bin and I approached him and asked, “What is this place for?”
“I'll tell you...”
“I'll tell you...”
At those words, Dang Su-bin took out a sharp dagger and stabbed the man in the shoulder.
“Aaah!”
“Answer me.”
“This is a prison.”
“A prison for whom?”
“For Mister, of course...”
At those words, Dang Su-bin's eyes widened, but they were soon filled with malice.
“Whose orders?”
“That...”
As the man hesitated, Dang Su-bin twisted the dagger without hesitation.
Puuuuch!
“Kyaaaah!”
He trembled in pain and finally confessed.
“It was... Bae Doo-gap's orders.”
Bae Doo-gap.
I've never heard that name before.
Anyway, the priority now is to get inside.
“Knock him unconscious.”
“Yes.”
Puk!
Seo Woo-musa immediately struck the man on the back of the neck, knocking him unconscious. He is an important witness.
We can't let him die.
Just then, they heard the sound of a group of people rushing toward them.
And then they heard voices.
“Young master! Where are you?”
It was Pal-gap's voice.
I whistled.
The whistle, blown several times, was a signal known to everyone in the Eunhae Trading Company.
It meant that I was nearby.
Soon, a group of warriors led by Pal-gap approached.
Judging from the mark on their left chest, they were warriors of the Danhwa Corps.
“Miss!”
They were shocked to see the blood on Dangsoo-bin's hands, but she replied casually.
“I was just interrogating him.”
“...”
“More importantly, we need to go inside. He said that my third Orabeoni is in there.”
“What? You mean the third young master?”
While they were talking, I searched the unconscious man's pockets for the key.
Then I opened the iron door.
“Let's go in.”
“Yes.”
Miss Tang and I quickly went inside, and the guards followed us.
I couldn't help but stiffen my expression.
The pungent smell was getting stronger.
It was definitely the smell of blood.
Miss Tang must have noticed it too, because her face was frozen.
Soon we reached a dead end.
There was only one door, and Miss Tang Su-bin hesitated to open it.
“Miss...”
“I'm sorry.”
“I'll open it.”
I immediately opened the door.
Squeak.
The door opened with an unpleasant sound, and Miss Tang Su-bin covered her mouth with her hand when she saw the scene inside.
Someone was hanging on the wall, wrapped in chains.
They were in a terrible state, with no part of their body intact, but Dang Su-bin seemed to recognize them.
“Ora... Beoni?”
“Who... Who are you...?”
They asked back in a cracked voice.
“Yeon-chil Orabeoni!”
“That voice... is it you, Su-bin?”
He did not sense the aura of a black Dao.
It was indeed the third Mister, Dae-yeon-chil.
The warriors who had followed us were also shocked by the sight and were speechless.
I realized that even the Danhwa-dae, the best warriors in the world, could freeze in such an unprecedented situation.
I assessed the situation calmly.
Now was not the time to be confused.
“Sergeant.”
“...Yes?”
“Quickly, call a physician.”
“Ah! Yes!”
“And immediately report this to the Clan Head so that the fake Young Master Tang can be arrested.”
“Yes! I understand!”
The sergeant gave orders to the men he had brought with him.
The group moved quickly.
“Bring the real Mister Down.”
“Yes, sir.”
We approached Mister.
“Orabeoni... Heuk...”
He said in a strained voice to the sobbing Miss.
“Blood Poison Demon. The Blood Poison Demon is targeting this family.”
“Is that guy Baedugap?”
“That's right... But who is he?”
In response to that question, Miss Dang explained about me.
Blood Poison Demon?
Was that guy's real name Baedugap?
There are some notorious martial artists who use poison.
One of them is Blood Poison Ghost.
His specialty is attacking his opponents with a poisoned sword.
In other words, he is skilled in both poison and swordsmanship.
He is acting as the vice captain of the Hobo Corps, which means he had to learn the martial arts of the Sichuan Tang Clan, right?
“But you said Blood Poison Demon was dead.”
“But he was alive.”
Ah...
I thought I understood the situation.
This plan must have been in the works since Blood Poison Demon was declared dead.
The Martial Alliance announced that Blood Poison Demon was dead and erased him from the world.
Then, they had him learn the martial arts of the Sichuan Tang Clan and waited for an opportunity to replace the real Tang Shichang with him.
They had no choice but to create the Inner Arts Plague and the Seven Treasure Qi Dispersing Poison here because this place is very strict about poison.
“Please inform the Clan Head of this fact as well.”
“Yes, I will.”
Soon, the captain sent two members to inform them of this fact.
At that moment, the warrior who was trying to untie the chains said,
“Those chains are too tightly fastened. It seems impossible to untie them without a key.”
Hearing this, Seo Woo stepped forward.
“I will cut the chains.”
I nodded at Seo Woo's words.
“Please do.”
Soon, a faint light shone from Seo Woo's sword, and he swung it toward the chains.
Shack!
At the same time, the chains were cut like tofu.
Seeing this, the leader of the Danhwa Corps was shocked.
“Is that sword qi?!”
Sword qi is the symbol of a warrior at the peak of his power.
In fact, when Seo Woo went with me to find Jin Ho, who had gone missing, he was only a first-class warrior, but recently he had become a warrior at his peak.
“The time I spent on my sickbed was not wasted. All I could do during that time was think, and as I thought and thought, I came to this realization.”
With that, he once again swore to devote his life to me.
He said that if I hadn't given him the gift of double vision, he would never have come to me.
Hearing his vow, I felt very embarrassed.
In any case, thanks to him, Mister's limbs were freed, and the warriors of the Tang Dynasty slowly helped him to his feet and laid him on the ground.