Chapter 123
The Thousand-Toxin Forest was home to countless poisons.
“Jarin is lucky, huh.”
I gently released the venomous snake I had kept hidden in my sleeve.
Even including Choyo and the other guards, no one had followed me deep into the forest. At this hour, no one else had entered the Thousand-Toxin Forest, so it was safe to do this.
The world’s deadliest venomous snake, the Manblood Serpent Jarin, raised its head high and looked around, ready to feast.
Watching this, I dug up a few poisonous plants and packed them into a cloth sack.
Finding suitable prey for the poisonous creatures wasn’t difficult.
‘It’s not like this is my first time.’
Ever since the day I first came to the Thousand-Toxin Forest with my grandfather, I had frequented this place so often that even the forest wardens would have grown tired of me.
I could pull up poisonous plants blindfolded at this point.
I dug up a large bundle of poisonous plants and caught several venomous insects, knocking them unconscious before wrapping everything carefully in the cloth.
Then I sat on a wide rock.
“Hmm.”
Truthfully, the reason I had come to the forest was “to feed Jarin and gather food for the venomous creatures.”
But there was another reason I was here.
I took out the white jade flute from my bosom, and in the distance, I could see Jarin, who had been slithering around, raising its head.
This white jade flute had been a gift from my grandfather.
When I first received it, I could barely make a sound, but now it produced a pretty decent tone.
I carefully placed my lips on the flute and blew.
A soft, gentle sound, not sharp, slowly spread throughout the Thousand-Toxin Forest.
The melody, probably unheard by anyone before, resonated through the woods, and a single bird flew and landed on my shoulder.
This was a melody I was creating.
It was still incomplete, but I was slowly learning and refining it, and soon it would become a full composition.
The sound of the flute spread faster and wider than the wind, making the leaves nearby tremble slightly.
The forest, which was usually filled with background noise from various creatures, became eerily quiet for a moment.
Since I wasn’t using inner energy, the venomous creatures didn’t gather like they did when I played the full flute at Cheonhwa Villa.
Still, sitting in the middle of this sudden quiet and playing the flute made me feel as if all the living things in the forest were listening to me.
I liked that feeling so much that I often came here just to play.
Following the slow melody, venomous insects lightly swayed together in rhythm.
Then, suddenly:
Rustle.
“Huh?”
There was a movement somewhere.
The forest was so quiet that the sound seemed especially clear.
I stopped playing and opened my eyes.
Then…
“……!”
I could see someone standing in the distance.
‘What…!’
Someone from the gate?
But the gatekeeper had said that today, only I had shown my pass to enter the forest.
So it must be an outsider…?
But that was impossible.
No outsider could enter the Thousand-Toxin Forest. I quickly put the flute back into my bosom and stood up.
From the wide rock, the figure in the distance became clearer as I rose.
Step.
He took a step toward me.
I frowned in confusion. He wasn’t wearing the garments symbolizing the gate. So was he really an outsider?
“Who are you?”
I flicked my sleeve, and in an instant, five venom daggers appeared.
Held between my fingers, coated with venom, they gleamed sharply.
“This is a forest under the gate’s protection. No one can enter. Who are you?”
From up close, the intruder looked younger than I expected. But I had the instinct that he was no ordinary man.
A chill ran through me. The aura he radiated was overwhelming. From a single glance, it was clear he could rival my father in skill—or perhaps even surpass him.
“Leave immediately, or I will call for reinforcements!”
I also had a horn in my bosom. If I blew it, the guards outside would rush in immediately.
I wanted to do so with all my heart, but…
‘I can’t.’
I had no idea what the intruder might do. If I acted rashly, my neck might be gone before I could react.
I swallowed and steadied my racing heart. The venom on the tips of my daggers came from Jarin.
But could even the tips of these daggers reach him?
I wasn’t sure. Standing opposite him, the difference in skill was palpable.
It was a completely different feeling from when I had faced the Great Heaven Spirit at Cheonhwa Villa.
So of course, Jarin wouldn’t attack rashly either. I tried to calm my pounding heart as I glared at him.
Then he spoke.
“I feel nothing here.”
“……?”
“I misjudged.”
With that, he vanished in a flash.
The heavy pressure pressing down on me disappeared instantly. I slumped to the ground.
Despite my tension and fear, he had done nothing to me.
He had only approached, glanced at my face, said he misjudged, and left.
I couldn’t even guess why he had entered the forest.
Was he waiting for someone else, not me? And that’s why he said he misjudged?
Or…
‘To check me?’
He had looked at my face and said he misjudged.
Could it be… he really wanted to see me?
But why me?
My confusion didn’t last long.
I quickly collected myself and ran toward where he had just been standing.
But he was already gone. Somehow, I had the feeling he had already left the forest.
I gripped my daggers and horn and scanned the area. There were no signs of movement.
Rustle, rustle.
Only the small venomous insects moved now and then. The fact that even these weak insects were stirring meant the stronger presence had left the area.
I drew the horn from my bosom and blew with inner energy.
The sound tore through the forest, far louder than my earlier flute playing.
Before long, Jarin quietly slithered back into my sleeve.
Among the underbrush, the intruder had left faint footprints.
Someone of his skill could have left no trace at all—was leaving these tracks intentional?
Swish.
Wind blew through the trees, flattening the foliage and erasing the footprints.
I ran along the path where the faint tracks remained before they disappeared completely.
They led me to the den of the human-faced spiders in a remote corner of the Thousand-Toxin Forest.
Inside were a pair of enormous human-faced spiders.
‘He didn’t…’
He hadn’t killed them, had he?
Considering the killing intent I sensed from him, it was certainly possible. The man I had seen was more than capable of such a thing.
I hurriedly entered the den.
“Ah!”
Fortunately, both spiders were alive.
I didn’t want to get too close to see them up close, so I just confirmed they were alive from a distance and left.
So what had he been doing here?
In the meantime, the wind erased his footprints completely.
“Miss!”
“Miss! Where are you?”
The gate guards were shouting, their voices approaching. Choyo’s voice was among them.
They must have followed my footprints to find me.
Choyo looked at me with a panicked expression.
“Miss, what happened? We weren’t expecting you to blow the horn, so we were very surprised when we heard it…”
Attached to Choyo’s waist was a scent pouch that repelled venomous creatures. The gatekeeper must have tied it before letting them enter.
The guards quickly came closer to check on me. I paused for a moment, unsure how to explain what had happened, and then spoke.
“There was an intruder.”
“Pardon?”
“An intruder entered the Thousand-Toxin Forest! He came up to me, checked my face, and then vanished like the wind.”
For a moment, the forest fell completely silent.
The faces of the gate warriors, who understood the gravity of an intruder entering the Thousand-Toxin Forest, stiffened.
