[No, uh... no.]

Fortunately, the Poison Sovereign, who had shorted out for a moment, came back to his senses before long.

“Right... you say you don’t trust that bastard?”

“Yes.”

“And, why?”

“Pardon?”

The follow-up question threw me for a second. Why don’t I trust him...?

“...Well, that’s.”

I thought it over, then answered. In truth, there was no need to think at all.

“I don’t trust ghosts to begin with.”

Whatever Yoo Cheongil had been in life, that didn’t matter.

“If it isn’t a person, I don’t trust it.”

Not trusting him because he’s a ghost—there was no need for anything grander than that.

From the start.

‘I barely trust people—why would I trust a ghost?’

I didn’t trust others easily. All the more so if it was a ghost with lingering attachment.

Trust Yoo Cheongil? Not a chance.

From the start.

‘He jammed his internal art into my body and plans to use me as he likes.’

Trusting Yoo Cheongil completely in that situation? Nonsense.

“So then, why are you asking whether I trust that gentleman or not?”

“...”

At my question, the Poison Sovereign’s reaction stayed peculiar.

What kind of brat is this? His face said exactly that.

“Elder.”

“Ah, uh. Right...”

A-hem! The Poison Sovereign coughed, then went on.

“Ordinarily I’d have followed up with that Yoo Cheongil bastard’s story... but since you don’t trust him, there’s no need to bother.”

“What do you mean? If you’re going to add something, make it clear.”

“It was to warn you. I brought it up so you’d know for certain when you get entangled with him later. As for the rest...”

He cut off and frowned mid-sentence. Some unknown dilemma flickered between his narrowed brows.

“It’s something I cannot bring up.”

“...Cannot bring up.”

What did that mean?

Did it mean there was a problem that prevented him from speaking—externally compelled? Or else...

‘Because of the old man, or by his own will, he won’t say it?’

Mulling it over, I looked at the Poison Sovereign and spoke.

“Is that something that wouldn’t change even if I said I won’t pull that out here?”

“...”

I pointed at the black object wavering under the water. In that moment I caught the Poison Sovereign’s eyes flash brutally.

And then—

“Yes. That is unavoidable.”

He answered like grinding his teeth. Hearing that, I clicked my tongue inside.

‘Sounds like it’s true.’

Judging by his reaction, he wasn’t lying.

Which meant—

‘Then there’s no point asking further about the old man, huh.’

In that case, I needed to lock in what mattered here.

First:

‘Yoo Cheongil has some link with the Demonic Sect.’

And in that process he and the Poison Sovereign had clashed before.

Because of that, both Yoo Cheongil and the Poison Sovereign showed some reluctance about this matter.

‘...And it’s already more than forty years old.’

It’s been decades since the War of Righteous and Demonic.

For something to leave feelings that still linger after so long—

I couldn’t say I understood.

‘Whatever the circumstances.’

What matters is whether it affects me or not.

‘Judging by the state of things, it seems like something I can’t afford to be ignorant of.’

Since the present matter involves Yoo Cheongil, there’s no way it won’t affect me.

Which means I need to look into it.

‘I’ll remember it.’

Even if I can’t find out right now, it’s something I have to grasp before it’s too late.

I hammered that deep into my head.

And then—

‘The second important thing.’

So, can I trust what the Poison Sovereign is saying right now?

‘Just as I don’t trust Yoo Cheongil.’

That equally meant I didn’t trust the Poison Sovereign, either.

‘They’re things with lingering attachment that latched onto me.’

Who they were in life didn’t matter to me.

In the end, what mattered—same as in the beginning—was whether they harmed me or not.

“So, in the end, why did you bring the Divine Sword here?”

“That is... wait. Your form of address sounds a bit off, doesn’t it?”

“You’re mistaken.”

“Doesn’t seem like a mistake—”

“Care to hurry up? Or should I just leave?”

“Because of obstinacy.”

I had barely begun to turn my back when the Poison Sovereign spoke to me.

“Obstinacy?”

“Yes... obstinacy.”

“What do you mean by that?”

“Take it out once. Then it’ll be easier to explain.”

“...”

I narrowed my eyes slightly. I wondered if he was playing a move, but just taking it out didn’t matter; I plunged my hand into the water at once.

After the cold touch, my fingertips caught on something.

I drew it up.

‘So this is the Heavenly Demon Divine... huh?’

I had to stand there for a beat with a dumb look at what I pulled out.

“What is this...?”

I’d thought it was a sword. It wasn’t.

This was...

“...just a handle, isn’t it?”

Not so much a sword as something that had once been a sword.

Specifically, a sword’s handle.

And above it, a faint remnant of the blade.

Compared to Full Moon’s state, this was far, far more of a ruin.

“That’s it! That’s exactly it!”

“...And what is ‘that’.”

Was this the obstinacy he wanted to explain?

No matter how I looked, I couldn’t tell.

“I don’t understand at all.”

He said it would be easier to explain once I saw it, so I took it out—so what on earth was I supposed to hear now?

I fixed him with a questioning look.

“That is my obstinacy.”

“And why is this...?”

“Repairing that sword. That is my obstinacy.”

“...Excuse me?”

I twisted my face at his words.

He’s going to repair this wreck?

And not just any wrecked sword...

“You mean you’re going to repair the Heavenly Demon’s sword?”

He means he’ll repair the Heavenly Demon’s sword—the one that triggered the War of Righteous and Demonic and brought calamity upon the Central Plains?

“What kind of half-baked garbage is that?”

I had no idea why the tale was going this way.

Of all things, the Heavenly Demon’s sword.

And he’ll repair it?

“...Why?”

Why, exactly?

To my baffled question, the Poison Sovereign answered.

“Because it is my obstinacy and my promise.”

“If it’s a promise...” 𝒻𝑟𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝑛𝘰𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝘤𝘰𝘮

With whom? I was about to ask—

“Child, there’s no need to explain any further than this to you. From the start, the deal was simply that if you pulled the sword out, compensation would be given.”

He fixed me with sharp eyes and continued.

“Beyond this point, it’s your choice. Will you or won’t you.”

“...”

Do I meekly take this half-finished sword and accept the pill?

Or do I refrain because I don’t want to get entangled?

That was his question.

Only—

“Even if you say you won’t take it, I will still give you the pill.”

‘...Huh?’

For a moment my head went fuzzy at his words.

Even if I don’t take the sword, he’ll still give me the pill?

I gripped the handle and thought it over.

The best policy is not to get entangled in foul business; if I can get the pill just by leaving as is?

I didn’t know why the Poison Sovereign said that.

If I take this and go, what kind of trouble might it cause?

I didn’t know, but it wouldn’t be none.

Obviously the right move would be to just take the pill and leave.

As I weighed that, I set a scale in my head.

I measured what just happened against the value of the pill.

And in the end—

“I’ll take it for now.”

I chose to take it.

If this were going to cause a huge problem, Yoo Cheongil would’ve torn me away from it in the first place.

The fact that the old man didn’t—didn’t that mean it was something I could push through, to some extent?

‘I don’t trust either side.’

But since I’d come this far, I decided it was right to take the gain.

Clack.

Clutching the Divine Sword, I came back out.

Because I’d reached into the water, my pants were a bit damp.

Feeling that clammy discomfort, I climbed up.

“...So, I just take that?”

I pointed with my hand at the small table that had been bothering me since earlier.

The Poison Sovereign nodded at my words.

“Right. Take that.”

“...”

I moved carefully, scanning my surroundings.

I glimpsed a few other boxes, but I didn’t know what was in them.

For now I shut out the rest and focused on heading to the table.

I said this before, but if you touch something a ghost hasn’t permitted, odds are you’ll bleed.

Best to snatch only what’s being given.

I came close to the table and lightly gripped the box.

“When you lift the box, raise your inner energy.”

At his words I immediately raised the Blue Moon Heart Art.

Scrape.

The box lifted off the table. It wasn’t particularly heavy.

“...Even here, you planted mechanisms?”

“Of course. Do you know how many precious things are here?”

“And why specifically the Blue Moon Heart Art...?”

If the method for dealing with the mechanism was the Blue Moon Heart Art like at the entrance, then others couldn’t have taken it anyway.

Which made me ask if that didn’t make the whole thing pointless.

“That box wasn’t made for someone to take.”

“Then what?”

“To deal with fools who stumbled into the archive.”

“...Using the Supreme Great Rejuvenation Pill as bait?”

“Yes.”

Good grief.

No wonder it was sitting right there on the table.

‘Even if they didn’t know it was the Supreme Great Rejuvenation Pill, just from that numinous aura alone they’d know it was a top-tier elixir at a glance.’

He meant to use that to eliminate intruders.

Then—

“Ordinarily, if you’d said you wouldn’t take the Divine Sword, I wouldn’t have told you—but isn’t it fortunate.”

At his faint chuckle, a chill ran up my spine.

‘...Insane.’

Figures.

He says he’d give me the Supreme Great Rejuvenation Pill even if I didn’t take the Heavenly Demon Divine Sword—

‘So if it came to it, he planned to trigger the mechanism.’

Which was no different from planning to kill me.

‘...Rotten...’

Once again I felt, deeply, that ghosts are not to be trusted.

“...Where’s the exit?”

I asked, masking the cold sweat.

The Poison Sovereign pointed at the right-hand wall.

An opening peeked out behind the box.

It was so out in the open I’d doubted it, but that was the exit?

I started that way. Then—

Halt.

I stopped for a moment and looked at the Poison Sovereign.

“Why? Still got something to say?”

“Yes. One left, now that I think about it.”

“What is it...”

He looked a touch tired.

I’d been about to just go, but realized I hadn’t asked something important yet.

“So, what exactly is the Clan Head looking for?”

What is the Poison King looking for inside the Poison Sovereign’s secret archive?

I still hadn’t gotten an answer to that.

“Ah.”

He reacted like he’d forgotten as well.

“That, huh.”

“Yes.”

“It’s nothing special.”

His reaction was starkly different from when I asked about the Heavenly Demon Divine Sword.

He was downright indifferent—why bother caring about that sort of thing, his look said.

Was it really nothing special? Just as that thought drifted by—

“He’s looking for the restored Myriad-Flowers Rain secret manual. I hid it before I died.”

“...Excuse me?”

“Ah, I didn’t hide it. Strictly speaking, I tore it up and burned it, so it shouldn’t exist—but the bastard must think I stashed it here and is searching to his heart’s content. Isn’t it hilarious? Keh-keh-keh-keh—!”

“...”

The Poison Sovereign burst out laughing like it was truly funny.

Watching that, I had to drag a dry hand over my face a few times.

‘...“Nothing special,” my ass, you crazy old man.’

Nothing special, my foot.

It was very special.

****

I came out through the archive’s exit.

I’d wondered where the exit led.

Thankfully, it connected to the guest annex where the original entrance had been.

The doorway was different, but what mattered was that I could get out.

“Damn, heavy...”

I carried the box back to my room.

It hadn’t felt that heavy when I lifted it, but moving with it was heavier than expected.

Grunting, I set the box down inside.

I tossed the black handle into a drawer more or less at random.

It fit perfectly.

I was tidying this and that when—

[You’re back?]

“...Kkh—”

At the voice, I clapped a hand over my mouth.

I’d almost screamed.

When I looked with trembling eyes, Yoo Cheongil was perched in the room.

When had that old man come in again?

[Why so startled. It’s not like you haven’t seen this face a few times.]

As Yoo Cheongil spoke, sounding exasperated on my behalf, the Poison Sovereign cut in for me.

“Who wouldn’t ✧ NоvеIight ✧ (Original source) be startled seeing your face in the middle of the night.”

He said exactly what I wanted to say. My chest cleared right out.

[You little...? You can curse everyone else all you like, but you don’t get to curse my face.]

“At least my eyes don’t glow at night, you goblin-looking thing.”

[Ha.]

Yoo Cheongil looked ready to fire back again at the Poison Sovereign, but he only made the attempt and closed his mouth.

His gaze had landed not on the Poison Sovereign but on the drawer I’d been touching.

The drawer with the handle inside.

Staring at it, Yoo Cheongil clicked his tongue shortly, as if displeased.

[...Open the box.]

“Yes.”

As if forcing himself to ignore the drawer, he mentioned the box that should contain the pill.

At his words I took the lid. I carefully opened it.

Fwooooosh—!!

A tremendously sweet fragrance poured out through the gap.

I’d felt it even when it was inside the box, but what drifted through the opened seam was on a different level.

‘...This is.’

Is this the Supreme Great Rejuvenation Pill they call a divine pill?

When I took the lid off completely, the thing inside showed itself plainly.

I had to widen my eyes.

A perfect sphere, like a master artisan had poured his whole heart into shaping it.

And the hue that gleamed across that flawless globe.

A divine pill that looked obviously numinous—and even somehow sacred.

Is this the Supreme Great Rejuvenation Pill that Shaolin produces maybe once every few years, if that?

As I looked at it, I couldn’t help but hold back a gasp.

My eyeballs rolled to drink in the pill.

‘...One, two, three...’

I naturally counted how many Supreme Great Rejuvenation Pills sat in the box.

And the number of pills laid before me was...

“...Four...?”

Not one or two—there were a full four.