“Sect Leader, I am here.”
“Come inside.”
After two days of inspecting Byuk Gyeom, Moyong Baek’s face was a lot more strained than I expected.
I ask because I feel sorry for him,
“Did you not sleep?”
Moyong Baek, who had come and sat next me, sighed.
“I couldn’t sleep at all because I am too focused on this difficult task. First, I am going to discuss it with you and then head to sleep.”
This talk isn’t a status about the patient, but one to get an opinion?
I realize there is discussion to come, so I stay silent and wait for him to speak.
Moyong Baek asks for understanding.
“I am informing you beforehand that my words might be a bit messed up due to the lack of sleep.”
“It is fine. I am always messed up.”
“Right.”
Only then did Moyong Baek examine his thoughts and ask,
“Did the Sect Leader not sleep?”
“I had a bit of cultivation going around. I have to keep it on schedule when there is nothing happening, so I cannot help but not waste time on sleeping.”
Moyong Baek looks at me with a pitiful expression.
“Both seem affected.”
“I know.”
“Still, you should get a good night’s sleep. There is no medicine for lack of sleep.”
“Sir, let me say that to you.”
“Right.”
We both sigh at the same time. Moyong Baek suddenly says,
“… suddenly I feel a bit lightheaded.”
I felt nauseous.
“Most of the time I cannot sleep.”
Moyong Baek takes a deep breath and asks,
“Fine. How far did I explain?”
I answer in a calm manner.
“Well, if I remember right, you didn’t say a thing.”
“I see. Now, let me explain then.”
I nod my head and cross my arms as he says,
“I told Byuk Geom not to speak about anything. I began the treatment without any information. With just the one assumption that he had been poisoned.”
“This makes sense.”
“I checked the condition of his, through various experiments, but I couldn’t find out if he was poisoned or not.”
“So, you mean his body is fine?”
“Yes, despite all the methods I know that I used, I decided to declare defeat on the first day. If this is a poison, then there are definitely people better than me.”
“Right.”
“We laid out the facts on the second day. I heard in detail about the poisons and antidotes around. Then I heard about the different conditions for taking them, his feelings, and the changes in the body. The poison is taken at first, and then the antidote at intervals. The antidote has to be taken at least three pills at a time. So, if they don’t get a new one within the needed time frame then they will die horribly. Sect Leader, is there anything strange about this?”
I listen to the reason he asked this question.
“Then…”
“Yes.”
“Did you say they would die horribly then?”
“Yes.”
“Okay. Continue talking.”
“The state of the person on whom I tried this on, because he couldn’t eat the antidote, died due to his body.”
“Is that so?”
Moyong Baek nods his head.
“Let me just end this. Byuk Geom doesn’t fit, or more like his story didn’t fit. The first poison he ate wasn’t probably poison?”
I ask in a calm tone,
“Then he took an antidote?”
“It is a bit more complicated than that. To explain, it wasn’t exactly that either, but an addictive drug. So, if we listen to the conditions and judge it, the first poison is probably a medicine which causes hallucination. Then the antidote, taken in 30-day intervals gradually causes the symptoms of poison and, if not taken in time, it causes fear, illusions and distress to the mind and body. A drug which makes you completely dependent on the organization.”
“Are they more horrible than we expected them to be?”
“Right. It seems that instead of three, they are giving out six to five pills in advance to those who are loyal to the organization. And they take it with loyalty.”
I look at Moyong Baek.
“Then what we need to confirm is the exact cause of death of the guy who exploded and died before.”
“Right.”
“Will it be difficult?”
“Yes.”
Only then did I realize it.
“So, your concern is that there is a risk that all of this would be just a guess. If that happens, then our man dies.”
“Right. It means that if we don’t keep giving him the antidote, there is a high chance that Byuk Geom himself will develop withdrawal symptoms, betray us, or run back to the place and cling to it.”
I rub my hands.
“Wow, that gave me creeps. Well, it is poison. The problem is that Byuk Geom himself wants poison now.”
“Yes.”
I crossed my arms and looked at Moyong Baek. He must have been through a lot.
“If Byuk Geom is driven that way due to the impact the drug has on his mind, he will start to hate us fast.”
“Right.”
Moyong Baek says with a serious expression,
“It feels like I just stepped into a new land of poison. Because it made the body need poison. What kind of terrible poison is this?”
“If he refuses to eat it, it will be called poison, but since he wants to eat it, it is medicine. If we give it a temporary name for communication, it will be a drug.”
“An appropriate expression. Sect Leader.”
I think about something and ask him.
“Is there any other reason which led you to this?”
Moyong Baek replies with a slightly surprised expression.
“Yes. So, it is a question of efficiency. It seems that there are quite a few strong people taking it. But if there are poisons there which cannot be cured, it means that those who are making these needs have amazing wealth.”
“Right.”
“But this place is raising that much money? It just doesn’t make sense.”
“If you save up and spend it all on making a poison… it wouldn’t pay them back much.”
“That’s right. On the other hand, the drug they are faking up as an antidote seems to be paying them good. After all, it could mean they are making this in a cheap way. Or they have already mass produced, so they have enough. And the problem is to cure it.”
I nod.
“Right.”
I came to the same conclusion he did. I let out a short sigh and looked at him. Without this man, what kind of fight would I have been in?
Moyong Baek says,
“I was able to grasp the situation, but I have nothing to say to the man. Which is why I am here.”
“How much time do you have left to make the antidote?”
“Around another ten days left. Actually, it seems like he received a promise that if he attacked and took you down, he would receive the antidote in advance. What do we do?”
“Moyong.”
“Yes.”
“This time I haven’t been of much help.”
“Um.”
“Honestly, instead of help, being up front seems better. Dear Byuk Geom, our examinations are as follows. What you ate isn’t an antidote but a drug that continues to cause addiction. If you quit, it will be painful. It is even possible that our thoughts are wrong, but we will tell you everything.”
Moyong Baek nods.
“Of course, when Byuk Geom is sane, he will understand what we are saying, but it is difficult to predict what will happen if he doesn’t take it. As you said, his body might explode like the other person. So, when the withdrawal symptoms start to kick in, he will be drowning in panic.”
“They are such horrible people.”
There is no way to confirm whether or not they would survive. However, with this level of skill, the ones doing this are villains enough to become a member of Five Evils.
As a child of a Cult Leader, what would he be afraid of?
Rather, there would have been a more human side to this one who is fighting for succession if their father was human. If the children were taught by abandoning their humanity, there was a good chance that they would be born more wicked than their father.
Just seeing what they are doing now, it is because of such things that the duty of a man of Kangho and honor of martial artists cannot be found here.
“These bastards are true members of the Cult. Even their mother’s side.”
“Yes.”
“Where is Byuk Geom?”
Moyong Baek pointed to the main hall and says,
“There is no point in treating him, so I brought him along with escorts.”
“Ask him to come in. And you go get some sleep. No matter what decision is being taken, I will share the news.”
“I understand.”
Moyong Baek stood up and sighed.
“Sect Leader.”
“Huh?”
“I am very angry. This must be natural when you find out what is happening, no need to worry about it. Somehow, I will make sure to break through, but you should take care of your body first.”
“Yes.”
“How have you been handling it, Sect Leader? All these feelings.”
“Me? I had you help me.”
Moyong Baek nods.
“Right.”
I look at Moyong Baek who is walking and call for him.
“Moyong…”
“Yes.”
“Do not fall too deep into the feelings. Then you will end up like me.”
Only then did he smile and say,
“I understand.”
Byuk Geom came in nervously as he scratched his neck. I pointed him to the place where Moyong Baek sat.
“Sit down.”
“Yes.”
I look at his face for a long time before I ask,
“What did the physician say?”
To which he had a nervous expression.
“He continued to sigh. I haven’t heard a thing from him.”
The tone of his words was a lot more polite than before.
“I see. Let me explain it then. The bastard who claims to be one of the three young lords presented you a way to hell.”
To which he looks at me.
“You mean the poison cannot be cured?”
I shake my head.
“I will tell you what Moyong Baek felt and what I feel too. The first thing is that the medicine you took is what causes temporary hallucinations. It means you don’t need an antidote for it.”
To which his face turned pale.
“The medicine you received after that, is the addictive one. It is a drug which is very painful on the body when you stop taking it. There is no need for an antidote. It is just a situation where you are being made to take this medicine believing it is an antidote. Do you understand?”
“Yes.”
I look at him and ask,
“So… what do you want to do?”
“What?”
“They gave you a way to hell. The question is, what do you want to do now?”
“One in a million chance… can it not be a poison?”
“Very low. Because this is about money. They must have heavily produced the antidote and fed people. And now it seems like they use this as a way to make money.”
“Yes.”
“Then your value is less than money. They don’t treat you like people, but as tools to make money. To them, you people weren’t worth the treatment. They must have secretly aimed to kill you, who is getting drunk with the second drug. Or they could deal with you whenever they wanted. As an example, they might show you how you would die, if you took real poison.”
Byuk Gyeom looked angry and then he had this strange smile.
“I really want to kill all of them.”
“Oh? Me too.”
He looks at me.
“Sect Leader, help me.”
I nod and then say,
“I have a few ideas but it would be best for you to decide the strategy for it. Think of the most efficient way out. I will help you.”
To which he says,
“White Face Scholar will come to give the antidote or the second drug. Whether you catch him and torture him or secretly track down his place, we will need to find his base. They are out there, mass producing this. Kill them all, burn them to the ground.”
I nod and say,
“Even if we deal with that, the pain which comes to you is a different issue. To be honest, I cannot even imagine the extent of pain it will be. According to Moyong Baek, it will be painful to eat anything if it gets past a day. I heard the cycle will get shorter each time.”
To which he crosses his arms and says,
“I will endure it.”
The guy who said he would hold on, soon begins to have tears in his eyes. Even though his expression didn’t change, the tears began to flow down. It seemed like he remembered the pain of not taking the drug.
And he looks at me.
“Sect Leader. I will endure it all. It is quite unfortunate if I suffer like this without getting anything back.”
“Do not be too scared. I asked Moyong… if it was poison, it would be subdued. The pain will be eased. How many days left for the symptoms to come?”
“I can still hold on for more than 10 days.”
As I touch my hair, I end up pulling a strand out.
“First, we watch White Face.”
I check my palm to see a lot of hair in my hand.
“… Yah, I might go bald at this rate.”
As I checked in my previous life…
I normally didn’t have a life where I was popular with people and if I went bald now, it would be hell over here. The man with hair falling out dealing with Demon Cult, that would be me.
“Byuk Geom.”
“Yes.”
“I am not the only one enraged. While he was there to help you, even Moyong felt angry. He couldn’t even sleep for days.”
“Is that so? I was asleep so often that I didn’t realize it.”
“No matter what happens, from now on, you will live with the people of Low-Down Sect, and that is an order.”
“I understand.”
I crossed my arms and mumbled.
“… the crime of giving such drugs to people is quite disturbing to Moyong and my hair is falling out because of those thoughts. I will surely show them hell.”
The day’s wind was flying through my hair.
Peace close to a river had flowed through me.
