Meanwhile.
After returning to the Poison Demon Sect, Un-hyeok stood before the door of the sect leader's chambers.
'Whew, I'm pretty nervous.'
This would be his first face-to-face meeting with his family (?) since awakening in Dok Un-hyeok's body.
Could he really act as Dok Un-hyeok without raising suspicion?
He was worried, but Un-hyeok quickly shook off the thought.
'If I'm going to live as Dok Un-hyeok from now on, this is something I've got to face sooner or later. Hesitating is just a waste of time.'
The moment Un-hyeok grasped the door handle.
He froze.
"Heh heh heh......"
From the sect leader's chambers came the unhinged laughter of a middle-aged man.
"He borrowed a hundred silver ingots from the Golden Dragon Chamber, and the debt has ballooned to three gold ingots......"
Then silence.
A sudden hush fell, and the middle-aged man's roar exploded.
"That rotten little bastard!!"
......Whoa, that scared me!
"Mu-won! The cudgel — yes, the cudgel! Where did you put it?! No matter what happens today, I am breaking your brother's legs! That should keep him from gallivanting about outside!"
"F-Father, please calm down!"
Ah, should he just...... not go in?
The Peerless Poison Ghost King, Dok Ryeon-hwi.
A man who cherished his bloodline and household beyond measure — yet even he was reacting this violently.
'Damn you, Dok Un-hyeok. How big of a mess did you leave behind?!'
But there was no running away.
Ryeon-hwi, sensing Un-hyeok's presence, flung the door wide open.
"Hyeok, you wretch!"
Un-hyeok quickly offered a clasped hands greeting to the handsome middle-aged man.
"Father, have you been well?"
"Would you be well in my position?!"
Beside Ryeon-hwi stood a gentle-looking young man.
Un-hyeok's younger brother, Dok Mu-won, was blinking in bewilderment.
"Brother......? No, why is Brother......?"
It was as if "Why on earth did he come here?" was written all over his face.
Hey, I'm regretting it right now too, all right?
Damn it. Should've come later.
"How could you......!"
As a child, Dok Un-hyeok had been called a prodigy in his own right, and unlike now, had been an upright boy.
But everything had changed in a single moment.
"Your mother's death. I know it became the inner demon in your heart. And so this father tried to understand."
A child full of affection.
In place of his frail mother and the father who devoted himself to nursing her —
— it was Un-hyeok who had looked after Mu-won when the boy could barely walk.
But that very nature had ultimately become poison.
Un-hyeok's mother had passed away while giving birth to their third child, Seo-ryeon.
Un-hyeok's downward spiral had begun from that day.
"She may have been your mother, but she was my wife. Yet did I not tell you? Those who live must go on living!"
Ryeon-hwi had believed.
That someday, his firstborn would put an end to his wandering.
But Un-hyeok had always betrayed that hope, and today Ryeon-hwi had finally made up his mind.
"Get out."
"......!"
"You are no longer my son."
"Father!"
"This decision will not be reversed. Today, I consider my firstborn dead and buried in my heart. You would do well to do the same, Mu-won."
"I can't accept this! How can you sever a bond tied by heaven's own thread so heartlessly?!"
But Ryeon-hwi, too, had agonized over this for a long time.
He had made this decision with the resolve of carving flesh from his own body for the Poison Demon Sect's sake — he was unwavering.
"Won, from this day forward, you are the young sect leader of the Poison Demon Sect."
"No. As long as Brother is alive, the young sect leader of the Poison Demon Sect is him."
"Won, you......!"
Neither of them budged an inch.
But at that very moment.
"I'm sorry."
Un-hyeok's sudden apology made both heads turn.
"......What did you say?"
Ryeon-hwi's firstborn had caused incident after incident, yet never once had the word "sorry" left his mouth.
He had only ever hidden from it.
Yet here he was, apologizing for his wrongdoing.
It was beyond imagination.
"I have a mouth yet no words to offer, but please — give me one chance."
"A chance?"
"I intend to take responsibility for the wrongs I have caused."
"......And how do you propose to take responsibility?"
"They should be arriving any moment now."
"What......?"
At that very moment.
"S-Sect Leader! Th-there's trouble!"
A man came rushing in, his goatee fluttering, dragging his aged body along.
Seok In-gu, the general manager of the Poison Demon Sect, caught his breath and barely managed to continue.
"S-Sect Leader......"
"General Manager Seok, what on earth has happened?"
"It's the y-young sect leader, he......"
"What about me?"
The moment he heard Un-hyeok's voice, In-gu's eyes went wide as lanterns.
"W-wait. Why is the young sect leader here......"
"I'm in my own home. What's the problem?"
"Well, no, but...... ah, goodness me, I'm losing my mind. This isn't the time. Sect Leader, a word in your ear."
When In-gu whispered something into Ryeon-hwi's ear, Ryeon-hwi's eyes went wide.
"Is that true?! Our Hyeok turned a man called Black Bear from the Golden Dragon Chamber into a cripple?!"
Ryeon-hwi had heard the household members chattering.
He was well aware that Black Bear was a thug who had been running rampant in the market streets lately.
"Unbelievable. Third-rate or not, our Hyeok has spent his life drowning in wine and women — Black Bear should have been far beyond him. How on earth?"
"And that's the thing. The Golden Dragon Chamber......"
Before In-gu could finish, Un-hyeok cut in.
"Someone came looking for me, didn't they?"
"Gasp! How did you know that, young master?!"
"I knew they would."
He had laid the bait for precisely this reason.
The fish had bitten — now he just had to reel it in.
"Lead the way, then. I'll go right now."
"Wait! Where do you think you're going?!"
When Ryeon-hwi stopped Un-hyeok in his tracks, In-gu spoke carefully.
"Sect Leader, I'm sorry, but...... the Golden Dragon Chamber has specifically requested to meet only with the young sect leader regarding this matter."
"What nonsense is that? They want to see only Hyeok?"
"They even issued a threat. If anyone other than the young sect leader comes, they said they would make the Poison Demon Sect pay tenfold for today's incident, by any means necessary."
Caught off guard, Ryeon-hwi narrowed his brow.
The Golden Dragon Chamber of today was no pushover.
A series of events had expanded the Chamber's power, prompting other demon sects to set their sights on them.
Yet they had all failed.
The Golden Dragon Chamber had seized the demon sects' weaknesses and threatened to expose them should anyone overstep.
Information that would be devastating in enemy hands.
In the end, the demon sects had no choice but to abandon their ambitions toward the Golden Dragon Chamber.
'What are they scheming, wanting to see only Hyeok?'
He could not ignore the Golden Dragon Chamber's warning.
But he could not send Un-hyeok alone either.
'What do I do......'
As Ryeon-hwi's deliberation deepened, Mu-won suddenly spoke up.
"Father, instead of going back and forth, why not trust Brother just this once?"
"Out of the question."
Ryeon-hwi continued in a cold voice.
"We do not even know what the Golden Dragon Chamber demands. If your brother rashly agrees to some unreasonable request, it will only create a bigger problem."
"But......"
"No. I had better go myself. If I go and persuade them to leave......"
But at that very moment.
"......?"
Mu-won stepped in front of Ryeon-hwi, blocking his path.
"Won, you......?"
"Brother, did you mean what you said earlier?"
When Mu-won looked to Un-hyeok, he nodded.
"Of course. I'll set right the wrongs I've committed."
"I understand. Then hurry and go. I'll handle Father."
Un-hyeok was surprised by Mu-won's actions.
He had been considering alternatives in case Dok Ryeon-hwi refused to allow the meeting with the Golden Dragon Chamber.
He never expected Dok Mu-won to step up!
'Who knew that stubborn kid's nature would come in handy.'
The Iron Blood Poison Lord, Dok Mu-won.
In his previous life, the man Un-hyeok had known was a principled being without a shred of mercy or tears.
Of course, the young Dok Mu-won was not yet that way, but that bamboo-straight temperament was already unmistakable.
'He grew up loved by his brother in childhood. Dok Un-hyeok may have abandoned him, but Dok Mu-won would rather die than be the one to abandon his brother first.'
Being treated this way by a former mortal enemy felt strange.
But thanks to that, he could break free from Ryeon-hwi.
"What are you standing around for? General Manager Seok, lead the way. I'm going now."
"Pardon? Ah, yes......"
In-gu stole a glance at Ryeon-hwi, then bowed and left.
"W-wait! Who said you could go— Won, what do you think you're doing?!"
When Ryeon-hwi tried to go after the two of them, Mu-won grabbed onto his trouser leg and refused to let go.
"Father, I'm begging you. Can't you trust Brother just one more time?"
"Release me! This is more than Hyeok can handle! And what if your brother is lying?!"
"He's not lying!"
Naturally, Ryeon-hwi's voice rose as well.
"How would you know that?!"
"The brother I've seen all this time was always listless...... He couldn't even look me in the eye."
"......"
"But this time is different! It was brief, but...... just now, I saw in him the brother I knew as a child."
Remembering the Un-hyeok of the past, Ryeon-hwi bit down on his lip.
Mu-won pleaded once more.
"Love him or hate him, Brother is family. Even if the whole world won't trust him, family shouldn't be that way."
"......"
Truly difficult.
In truth, it was not Mu-won holding Ryeon-hwi's feet to the ground.
It was lingering attachment.
Though he had declared he was giving up on his son, the desire to believe in him one more time held him fast.
"Who did you take after...... to be this stubborn?"
"They don't say 'like father, like son' for nothing."
"......Because of you, I can't bring myself to leave."
Blaming Mu-won for no real reason, Ryeon-hwi could only stare at the spot where Un-hyeok had gone.
***
Meanwhile.
Un-hyeok and In-gu.
The two headed for the guest hall.
"General Manager Seok, does the sect happen to have any art-scattering poison in stock?"
Art-scattering poison — a substance that dispersed one's inner strength, rendering them unable to use martial arts.
A vague unease crept over In-gu.
"Pardon? What for......?"
"Do we have it or not?"
"W-well...... the Poison Demon Sect currently does not have any poisons in storage."
"What?"
Wait — they were the Poison Demon Sect.
How could they not even have something as common as art-scattering poison?
But Un-hyeok soon learned the reason.
"Because the young sect leader squandered the entire fortune...... we haven't had the funds to purchase poison herbs or toxins."
Goddamn it, Dok Un-hyeok again!
No — apparently it was his fault.
Un-hyeok pondered.
'What do I do?'
His plan required art-scattering poison.
'Tch, can't be helped. I'll have to make a substitute that produces a similar effect, even if it's only temporary.'
Myriad Poison.
As his epithet suggested, when it came to poisons, Un-hyeok was the greatest in the world.
Naturally, he knew plenty of formulas unknown to anyone else.
"Listen carefully. Take water caltrop, rostellularia, plantain, dried pine needles, and evening primrose. Grind them all together. It'll produce a poison with a similar effect to art-scattering poison."
"......Pardon?"
Seok In-gu could not comprehend it.
The ingredients Un-hyeok had listed were common herbs available even to commoners.
Yet mixing them together would somehow replicate the effect of art-scattering poison?
'I've never heard of such a formula in my life.'
No, wait — before that.
Why did he need art-scattering poison for a meeting with the Golden Dragon Chamber?!
'Is he planning to start trouble......?'
But Seok In-gu could not stop Un-hyeok.
Before he knew it, the two had arrived at the guest hall and Un-hyeok already had his hand on the door.
"Don't forget. You need to dissolve it in tea and bring it to me."
"......"
"If you disobey my order, I'll walk straight out of that meeting."
A threat that was not quite a threat.
If Un-hyeok stormed out, that in itself would be an incident.
'There's no guarantee the young sect leader's formula will even work, so I'll agree for now. Then I'll report to the Sect Leader.'
That was the best conclusion Seok In-gu could reach, so he nodded.
"Yes, understood."
"Good. I'm counting on you."
CREEEAK—!
Un-hyeok slid the door open and stepped inside to find two people waiting for him.
One with makeup so heavy it was hard to tell their sex.
'The Golden Dragon Chamber's general manager, Hong Ryu-yeon.'
Beside him stood a freckle-faced girl who appeared to be a handmaiden.
Un-hyeok saw through her identity at a glance.
'Wearing a human skin mask, I see. Yi So-ye.'
It was one of the masks he had seen in his previous life, so he recognized it at once.
SNAP—!
Hong Ryu-yeon drew a fan from his bosom and covered his face.
Only his crescent-moon eyes peeked above the edge.
"I didn't expect you to come out to meet us despite our unannounced visit. Pleased to meet you. I'm Hong Ryu-yeon, general manager of the Golden Dragon Chamber."
Un-hyeok offered a clasped hands greeting.
"A pleasure. Dok Un-hyeok."
"I must say, we made quite the unreasonable request, yet I never expected the young master to actually come alone."
"I knew you'd come."
Ryu-yeon's eyes narrowed slightly.
"......You knew we'd come?"
"Neither of us wants to waste time, so I'll get straight to the point."
Un-hyeok walked past Ryu-yeon, and his steps halted in front of the handmaiden.
"How long do you plan to keep up the act?"
The handmaiden looked flustered.
"Whatever do you mean......?"
"Chamber Master. No — should I call you this instead? The former young gate master of the Underworld Gate, Yi So-ye."
Ryu-yeon too seemed shaken, his voice rising.
"How dare you?! Calling a mere handmaiden the head of our Chamber?!"
But Un-hyeok did not even spare him a glance.
His gaze was fixed solely on the handmaiden.
"Let's make a deal. Chamber Master — become my eyes and ears. In return, I'll give you what you desire most."
"What do you......"
"U Mun-so's head."
The handmaiden's eyes flinched.
Un-hyeok caught it and curled the corner of his lip.
"That is the price I'll pay."