Book IV: The Poison's Whereabouts
Flailing instinctively, Soye brushed back the other person's veil with her arm.
Through the gap in the fabric, she locked eyes with a boy.
She froze instantly, completely transfixed.
Black hair, a pale face devoid of color, and slightly bloodshot eyes.
He looked like a masterpiece carved from pristine white jade.
How beautiful.
"Wow."
The exclamation slipped from her lips before she could stop herself.
"Are you hurt?"
The boy asked as he brushed the dust off her clothes.
Soye nodded.
"Where is your guardian?"
At his question, she snapped out of her daze.
"Oh right, the nanny!"
Soye was like a crow, completely losing her mind whenever she spotted treasure.
"N-nanny…"
When she belatedly feigned tears, the boy's brow furrowed.
"You must have gotten separated from your guardian after getting caught in the crowd."
The boy clicked his tongue.
Meanwhile, Soye was quickly sizing him up.
The fabric looks like plain cotton, but the sheen is extraordinary. A scabbard wrapped in cloth. Calloused hands, yet fair skin. Hardly a speck of dust on his shoes…
And in the darkness, he had more than just a couple of guards.
Her professional instinct went off, instantly tagging him as a potential 'customer.'
This kid is a young master from a wealthy family! The kind of client who'd end up robbing me if I tried to rob him.
Soye smacked her lips.
"Can you find out where this child came from?"
The boy asked the person standing behind him.
Fortunately, Soye could answer that question herself.
"Soye came from the Tang Clan village."
"The Tang Clan village? Don't tell me…"
Blinking slowly, the boy offered a breathtakingly beautiful smile.
"Things are working out just perfectly."
What on earth is that supposed to mean?
Soye tilted her head at the boy's murmur.
"Let's go. I will take you back."
* * *
"Even a child has an eye for beauty."
"Children are usually the ones who judge faces the most."
"But still, the prin—young master is…"
The guards following behind whispered to each other.
They made those comments simply because Soye had turned down the guards' offer to carry her.
Sure, his face is undeniably handsome. There is absolutely no arguing against a face like that. But…
This was strictly for the sake of deep observation.
Besides, no matter how handsome a kid is, he is still just a kid. Seeing how relaxed the guards are, this boy must be quite popular.
Soye smiled when their eyes suddenly met.
"Hehe."
Perhaps because he didn't suspect her, the boy gently patted her head.
Youth really had its perks.
"We have arrived."
It helped that the Tang Clan village wasn't too far from the bustling streets.
"Wow, my house!"
Soye clapped her hands, acting delighted.
"Let's hurry inside. Everyone must be looking for you."
As if responding to his words, wailing voices spilled over the wall.
"The nanny made me do everything!"
Oh.
Soye covered her mouth.
It's Geum-a.
It wasn't really a surprise.
I knew she'd cause trouble. I suppose she had just enough brains to strike the moment the nanny stepped away.
The problem was that Soye's disappearance had hastened the nanny's return.
Gong-hui is going to cut off her tail to save herself.
She didn't really mind the outcome.
Her goal from the start had been to get rid of Geum-a, who had been acting as a minion all along.
Soye took a step toward the gate, but the boy stopped her in her tracks.
She blinked in confusion, only for him to reach out and cover her ears.
Hearing the maid screaming, the boy felt a sudden pang of worry for the child.
Looking at her innocent, untainted face, it was obvious the young child knew nothing of the world—and that she viewed her guardian as her entire universe.
What would an accusation like that do to a child so sheltered?
The boy had originally come to the Tang Clan village to find the origin of a 'certain item.'
In the process, he had gathered substantial intel, even narrowing down a shortlist of suspects who could have smuggled it out.
And among those suspects was the child's nanny.
If the maid's accusation wasn't just about the missing child, it meant the nanny's crimes were coming to light.
The girl was too young to understand now, but she would have to face that betrayal when she grew up.
Thus, the boy hoped this moment wouldn't leave a permanent scar on her.
Soye looked at the boy with wide eyes.
Why?
However, the boy had already turned his gaze toward the village.
"The nanny told me to steal the poison from the storage, and… and…"
Geum-a's desperate voice pierced through even the boy's hands.
"Lady Soye collapsed!"
"Soye."
His lips parted, forming her name in a barely visible murmur.
His gaze shifted down to the little girl whose ears he was shielding.
"Who, me?"
The nanny's voice rang out, cold as frost and trembling with rage.
"Our lady is missing, and we need to find her right now. How dare you make up such slander to hold me back!"
Soye's eyes widened.
"I guess just covering your ears isn't enough."
The boy sighed at her reaction and lifted Soye up in his arms.
"Let those words go in one ear and out the other. Don't try to understand them, just forget them."
Soye blinked at his advice.
We only met today, but he is quite considerate.
If she were fragile enough to get hurt by such things, she wouldn't have orchestrated this scheme in the first place.
As they approached the main gate, the gatekeepers spotted Soye and their eyes widened.
"Lady Soye!"
They rushed forward.
"She was lost in the market, so I brought her back."
"Please, come inside."
One of the gatekeepers took the lead and guided them inside.
Oblivious to what was happening on this side of the gate, the nanny kept up her desperate pleas.
"Branch head, we have to find the young lady right now! Our poor Lady Soye… How terribly she must be crying without her nanny!"
Geum-a stomped her feet in anxiety.
"You took the young lady out today to get rid of her, didn't you? You were terrified your little poisoning plot would be exposed!"
She pressed, her voice sharp and piercing.
"You abandoned her in the market on purpose, because then no one would ever find out what kind of poison you used!"
"Geum-a, Geum-a. If we fail to find the young lady because of you…"
The nanny's voice was strained with anger.
"I will not let you off easily."
Soye tilted her head.
Looking at her like this, she almost seems genuinely worried.
But Soye wasn't buying it for a second.
She's just trying to clear herself of suspicion.
It doubled as a threat, subtly asking what they would do if Soye wasn't found.
Plus, if things went south, she could easily shift the blame onto Geum-a.
Talk about killing three birds with one stone.
"Here is the evidence the nanny ordered me to steal. We just need to check the poison inside!"
Just as the boy turned the corner, he spotted the branch head, the nanny, and the Tang Clan warriors up ahead.
"Please reveal the truth and protect Lady Soye!"
Geum-a cried out.
Look who's talking. As if you weren't just on their side.
Soye scoffed internally.
If you mess up, you should just own up to it. But people like her always try to spin it in their favor, never realizing they are just digging their own grave.
"First, we will investigate. Until then, isolate Geum-a."
Straining to keep her composure, the branch head issued the command to the guards.
"And Sa Gong-hui, you…"
Right then, the boy holding Soye spoke up.
"Is that the container that held the poison smuggled out of the Tang Clan village?"
Soye's eyes widened.
Smuggle? Right… doesn't the Tang Clan collect every empty poison container, keep them secure, and verify them against the ledger before disposal?
This was to prevent toxic residue from contaminating the soil and water if thrown away carelessly.
More importantly, cross-referencing the ledgers against actual usage stopped any smuggling attempts dead in their tracks.
Soye had learned this exact inventory method from the Poison Demon himself back when she worked for him in the Hundred Thousand Mountains. His poisons were highly coveted, yet no one dared to steal or smuggle a single drop.
When she expressed her admiration, Tang Yirak had casually mentioned that it was the standard practice of the Sichuan Tang Clan.
If that porcelain gourd is the one containing the leaked poison… then what was used to poison this body?
Fortunately, no one noticed the agitation on Soye's face.
Everyone's attention was drawn to the arrival of the new figures.
"My lady!"
The nanny screamed in a piercing voice.
When Soye tugged at the boy's sleeve, he set her down.
"Oh, good heavens… My poor lady!"
The woman rushed over, knelt on the dirt ground, and hugged Soye tightly.
"How on earth… Oh my goodness. The heavens have helped us. Ah."
The boy flicked his chin, and the guards behind him instantly stepped forward to pull the nanny back.
"What is this? Who are you people?!"
"A noble person has been poisoned, and we have come to hold you accountable."
Soye quickly put the pieces together.
The Tang Clan poison the nanny smuggled out was already gone, leaving only an empty container—but the one who actually drank it was someone else entirely.
Instead of using the potent, high-grade poison typically required for training, the nanny had fed Soye a cheap fire poison.
Perhaps she thought that since Soye was learning poison arts, it wouldn't matter what she was fed.
Yet, that very poison had left Soye fighting for her life.
This, right here, was the first actual assassination attempt.
The smuggled high-grade poison had been used against the young master's companion instead.
To prove it, the Tang Clan only needed to match the victim's symptoms to the residue in the container.
It's a good thing the Sichuan Tang Clan always retrieves the containers after using their poison.
The nanny's face turned pale.
She had smuggled the poison out thinking she could make some money, but she never expected the victim to come searching for her.
The nanny's mind raced frantically.
How on earth did they track me all the way here? This is the Tang Clan, for heaven's sake! Aren't they terrified of losing their heads to enraged Tang warriors just for barging in to demand justice?
Even the branch head stared at the boy like she'd seen a ghost.
For poison to be leaked from the village under her management was too great a failure.
In fact, Soye was just as stunned.
No wonder he flashed that dazzling smile when I said I was from the village.
Had they openly declared themselves as poison victims, they never would have made it past the gate.
But what if he brought back a lost child of the Tang Clan village?
Automatic entry.
Indeed, even the gatekeeper was dripping with cold sweat.
Faced with the unfolding disaster, the branch head pressed her temples.
When she finally spoke, her voice was filled with exhaustion.
"First, let us go inside."
She turned her head and issued a separate command to her subordinates.
[Detain and monitor nanny Sa Gong-hui and the maid Geum-a separately.]
Since the branch head used sound transmission, her lips moved in total silence.
The nanny glared at Soye with bloodshot eyes before quietly letting the guards drag her away.
The young lady wouldn't possibly abandon me, right? She can't. She wouldn't dare.
Before being guided to the pavilion, the boy took one last look at Soye.
Surrounded by other maids, Soye waved her hand back and forth.
Clad in yellow, she looked like a delicate osmanthus flower dancing in the wind.
"See you again."
* * *
The branch head's mind was a mess.
A young lady of direct descent, currently residing in the village, had nearly died from poison.
Then, a maid had suddenly exposed it as an assassination attempt, pointing the finger directly at Soye's nanny.
Until now, it had been an internal matter that could be resolved within the village.
But the sudden arrival of a third party changed everything.
There's no covering this up now.
The branch head studied the boy sitting across from her.
He looked remarkably cold and detached—though perhaps that was only the light streaming through the window.
It wasn't her first time dealing with a child his age, but she had never encountered anyone quite like him.
He gave off an extraordinary presence that intelligence alone couldn't account for.
He didn't so much as flinch under the weight of an adult's presence, completely unfazed by the gap in their stature and standing.
That kind of composure didn't come from an ordinary household.
The Tang Clan's poison has leaked into a truly dangerous place.
Though cold sweat ran down her neck, the branch head forced a calm expression and spoke.
"May I ask who I have the honor of addressing?"
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