Book VI: Home, Home, Home
"It feels so good to be in Chengdu after being stuck in that backwater countryside."
Gong-hui took a deep breath and let it out as she spoke.
It was a relief that Socheong and Soso were no longer with them.
Two tea-times ago, they had arrived at the main family estate.
After finishing the final checks, the Poison King assigned new quarters and guides to those who had come from Tang Clan Village.
As the group split up, Socheong waved goodbye with a regretful look, while Soso bowed quite politely in farewell.
A short while later, Yiseo came over to check on Soye.
"I thought your body might be worn out because the road was rough, but you look better than I expected. You have sturdy bones, just like me," she added.
"Matriarch! It is an emergency!"
Someone rushed over like the wind, calling for the Poison King.
The moment Yiseo saw his face, her expression hardened.
"Young master—"
"Control yourself in front of the child."
Seeing a martial artist gasping for breath made the urgency obvious, but the Poison King cut him off without hesitation.
"I was going to walk you to your quarters, but it seems something has come up. Go back and rest for now."
"Yes."
When Soye replied obediently, Yiseo vanished somewhere with the man leading the way.
Once they were left alone, the nanny dismissed Tang Clan Village as a backwater.
"This is your home, my lady. Aren't you glad to be back?"
"Yeah."
Soye nodded her head.
"Do you remember where your original pavilion was, my lady?"
"I don't know."
The little girl shook her head from side to side.
"Your nanny will show you."
Gong-hui whispered in an affectionate voice, holding Soye's hand to lead her.
Matching her pace to the child's small steps, Gong-hui walked slowly.
Thanks to that, Soye was able to observe the interior of the Sichuan Tang Clan thoroughly.
It is better than I expected.
The pillars stood upright, the roof tiles were not chipped, and the colors on the walls were not faded.
The paving stones on the ground were neither cracked nor dented, and it was hard to spot even a single weed in the scattered flower beds.
It looked as though the pavilions underwent regular maintenance.
It seemed the Tang Clan's financial situation was not as desperate as she had first thought back at the village.
Soye loved raiding places like this. A strong foundation meant taking a few items would not ruin the family.
Besides, places like this are hard to rob, which kind of ignites my competitive spirit.
As the saying goes, judge the whole by a single part—a well-maintained house usually meant ironclad security.
"Here we are."
Gong-hui spoke after reaching a pavilion that looked quite cozy despite its modest size.
"It is small, but it sits in a quiet spot, so it is nice and peaceful."
She gave a bright smile.
"I wish it were a bit more luxurious to suit your status, my lady, but…"
Mentioning her status, the nanny paused. She seemed to remember what had happened in the carriage.
"The inside is roughly tidied up, but there is some dust. Your nanny will clean it up and call you, so would you like to play here in the garden?"
"Yeah."
Soye nodded.
It seemed Gong-hui had something she needed to do alone.
In times like these, it was best to put her at ease first and dig into her secrets later.
Now this is what a wise thief does.
She was curious about what her original pavilion looked like.
Embarking on her exploration, Soye checked out her home.
In the past, she had never stayed in one place long enough to have a place worthy of being called home.
For the Divine Moonshadow Thief, who was constantly on the run, even an inn was often a luxury.
Yet now, having places she could actually call home made her curious.
What could one do, and what existed in a place where one could stay for a long time?
It is larger and nicer than the one at the village.
She also liked that it was not excessively large, making it easy to notice changes quickly.
And being located in a secluded area meant fewer signs of passersby.
Wandering around the garden in circles, Soye came to a sudden halt.
Because something had caught her eye.
Turning around, she looked down.
At the base of a pillar, right around a young child's eye level, were marks scribbled with something sharp, like a stone.
At a glance, two large dokkaebi were standing side by side.
Strictly speaking, they are not even horns, but the hair is drawn so spiky that it looks like horns. This one is mom, that one is dad. And a small circle in the middle. It looks like a bean.
It was probably drawn by the previous Soye to represent herself.
Line-like arms stretched out, connecting to the arms of the dokkaebi.
Holding each other tight.
Like a circle connected all the way around.
"Drawing for a living is definitely out of the question."
Soye put her hands behind her back and clicked her tongue.
As the saying goes, old habits die hard—it seemed she would not be earning a living by any other means in this life either.
She turned around abruptly.
Looking at the crude doodle made her feel strange. After all, there were no doodles like that back at the village.
Did she no longer want to draw, or was she unable to? Above all, where were this body's dad and mom?
* * *
A man rolling on the floor with his hand pressed to his chest was coughing up blood.
Carving knives and half-carved jade lay scattered carelessly across the floor, splattered with spots of black blood.
Reaching toward a carving cracked at the corner, the man paused and clenched his fist.
Since it was soiled, he could not continue using it. He might even have to rip up the floorboards.
"It is a seizure."
At the calm voice, the man, curled up like a wounded beast, raised his head.
A sharp green light flickered in his black eyes before fading away after a few blinks.
Yiseo threw open the door and entered, hiding her trembling hands under her silk scarf as she stepped forward.
"Do not come close. You will be poisoned."
The son warned his mother.
"Don't be ridiculous. If a wet-behind-the-ears punk like you could poison me, I should hand over the title of the Poison King and step into a coffin."
Yiseo snorted.
In the first place, there was no one other than her who could resolve this situation.
Which was why Woohyun's subordinate had rushed over as soon as he heard about the Poison King's return.
Rising to his feet, Woohyun pushed the Poison King back.
"Mother, you may be hale and hearty. But… the people around you."
He trailed off.
This was a poison with no antidote.
"You certainly have a sweet way of telling me to take care of your daughter instead of you. At any rate, the toxic energy dissipates for a while after a seizure, so it is fine. And—"
Yiseo clicked her tongue and spoke casually.
"Soye has grown quite a bit."
At those words, the man froze.
"She barely reached my knees before, but now she reaches my waist."
It ought to be a joyful thing that her son could make a face like a proper father.
Since it meant her child had grown up to establish a family of his own.
However, facing Woohyun's expression, Yiseo felt a heartbreaking pain.
"She speaks clearly, too. She didn't even flinch upon seeing her grandmother—unlike when she used to hide behind her mother's skirts."
The man, who was about to demand if she had brought Soye here, closed his mouth.
His mother deliberately bringing up his daughter was ultimately to provoke him. To somehow instill the will to live in him.
"…It is just because she is shy around strangers."
"Are you sure it is not because she is a coward like you?"
Yiseo retorted without yielding a single word.
No matter how much she favored her own child, wrong was wrong.
Unlike his sister, who would not even bat an eye if she met a wolf, Woohyun was always filled with worries.
The world might judge it as caution, but in the eyes of his mother, Tang Yiseo, it was different.
Which was why he had pushed his daughter away as soon as he contracted a fatal illness. Fearing a future that might come one day, but had not yet arrived.
"Is it cowardly to try to lessen the pain when one cannot escape it?"
"You just talk big and lock yourself away, even when I told you we would find a cure."
Yiseo snapped.
How could she not know that these were harsh words to a son who had just suffered a seizure?
Yet she felt frustrated.
She couldn't stop thinking about the little girl who had wiggled before her when placed on horseback.
A granddaughter who, without knowing what became of her father or how her mother vanished, clung affectionately even to a stern grandmother.
"What happened to all those people who tried to find that so-called way?"
This time, Yiseo closed her mouth.
A stinging emotion brushed past her eyes.
"This is a divine punishment."
Woohyun stated in a quiet voice.
"No."
The Poison King, who claimed there was no poison in the world she could not conquer, clenched her fist tightly.
"That cannot be. There must be a way. There must be…"
Muttering the words that the person she hated most in the world used to say out of habit, Yiseo turned around.
Woohyun did not hold the Poison King back.
Hope was too heavy a burden for him to bear right now.
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