Chapter 124: Poisoning (4)
Translator: bjgoofy
I was lost in thought for a moment, trying to figure out how to smooth this over gracefully.
Then came a sudden, prickling sensation.
When I glanced around, every pair of eyes in the room was fixed on me.
It made sense, now that I thought about it. In the middle of such a grave situation, I'd been the only one to let out a hollow laugh. Of course all eyes would turn my way.
As if trying to rescue me from my predicament, Hwa-eun's voice reached my ears.
"What is it, Soryong? What's going on?"
"Just a moment."
The weight of everyone's stares was uncomfortable, but I quickly leaned in to whisper in Hwa-eun's ear, needing to confirm whether my hunch was right.
There was always the slim chance I could be wrong.
'Please, just let me be wrong....'
After all, telling Sound Phoenix, "You've been wearing rouge made with cinnabar and kissing Wisdom Dragon so passionately and so often that he's been poisoned!" was, well... awkward beyond measure.
[Hwa-eun, that.... the thing women apply to their lips, what's it called? Is it rouge, by any chance?]
[Something we put on your lips? Why so suddenly?]
[It's important....]
Hwa-eun blinked at me as though I'd lost my mind, bewildered by the out-of-nowhere question about lip coloring.
When I nodded again with a stiff expression, her answer came.
[I don't know why it's important, but.... yes, it's rouge.]
So the name I'd remembered was correct.
I hurried on to ask about the ingredients.
[Then, is cinnabar ever used to make that rouge?]
[Regular rouge is usually made from safflower. You ferment it, strip away the yellow, and keep only the red pigment.]
'Hm? It's not? Then why was Wisdom Dragon poisoned?'
Just as I began to doubt my theory, Hwa-eun continued her explanation.
[Rouge made from cinnabar isn't called rouge. It's called cinnabar rouge. It's more expensive, so only women from highborn families or the palace can afford it.]
'Damn it, I was right. No getting around this now.'
There was no way to dodge it. This was all but confirmed.
I'd verified the gist of it, and since I couldn't very well become the psychopath who laughed while someone lay half-dead, I turned to Elder Zhuge Hu and spoke.
First, I'd settled on the approach of handling this quietly.
"Elder Zhuge Hu. You said Wisdom Dragon's condition shouldn't worsen further, so could you please have everyone clear the room for now? I think I've identified the, uh.... the perpetrator, no, the culprit, no, what would you even call this. Anyway, I believe I've figured out who did this to Wisdom Dragon? If we could discuss it quietly...."
"What!? You've found who's responsible!?"
"You figured it out!?"
The moment I said I'd identified the perpetrator, no, the... what's the word? The person responsible for this accidental harm, everyone's eyes went wide with shock.
I'd said it precisely because I wanted to handle things discreetly, but their reaction was the polar opposite of what I'd expected.
"Who is it! Speak at once! If you're worried the culprit might flee, fear not! I've already sealed the perimeter of the Murim Alliance so that no one can slip away!"
"No, that's not it...."
I'd been trying to protect the social reputation of someone who might well become a daughter-in-law of that household, but it seemed my words were being taken in an entirely wrong direction.
The Strategist, Elder Zhuge Hu, continued with a gravely serious expression.
"Ah! Is it because of the person's status or position? Are you worried about tensions with them or the faction they belong to? Don't worry about that, either.
You may not know much about the murim yet, but the house you're associated with is Sichuan's Tang Family. And aren't you also a member of the Beast Palace now?
On top of that, this is about someone who dared to poison my nephew. The Zhuge Family will stand behind you, so speak without worry! Besides, the Alliance Leader himself has his eye on you. What is there to fear?"
"That's right. Young Hero, don't worry and tell us. Our Moon Shadow Palace will stand behind you alongside the Zhuge Family as well."
"No, that really isn't the issue...."
Zhuge Hu rattled off the illustrious families and factions that would serve as my backing.
When I couldn't wipe the troubled look off my face, Hwa-eun chimed in too, as if to tell me there was nothing to worry about.
"Soryong, caution is fine, but what you're doing right now could actually come across as disrespectful. Elder Zhuge Hu will have filled this room with trustworthy people, so there's no need for concern. Isn't that right?"
Hwa-eun was a blank slate when it came to matters between lovers.
Even though I'd asked her about rouge and cinnabar rouge, she clearly hadn't connected the dots.
This was a woman whose heartbeat I could hear pounding just from holding her hand. Who could expect someone like that to guess that kissing was involved?
"That's correct, Dokwa."
"Indeed, Young Miss."
"That's right, Young Hero. Almost everyone in this room is either a member of the Zhuge Family or a physician who owes Elder Zhuge Hu a debt of gratitude, so you needn't worry."
"Exactly, Young Hero. Please, speak freely."
'No, Sound Phoenix is about to be publicly executed here!'
I'd said what I said out of consideration, yet here were all these people, oblivious to the situation, pressuring me for an answer.
I looked around the room and asked one more time.
"Are you absolutely sure this is all right?"
"Of course. Out with it."
"Please, go ahead, Young Hero."
'Ah, screw it. If the people involved are fine with it....'
Before speaking, I turned to Sound Phoenix with one final question.
"Understood. Before I say anything, there's something I'd like to ask. Sound Phoenix, do you happen to have your cinnabar rouge with you right now?"
"Cinnabar rouge? Yes, of course I have it, but.... why do you ask?"
"Could you show it to me for a moment?"
"Shouldn't the culprit come first...."
"This is extremely important!"
Sword Phoenix tried to steer the conversation back, apparently thinking I was stalling with irrelevant requests instead of naming the culprit. When I raised my voice, Sound Phoenix flinched in surprise and produced a small mother-of-pearl case from inside her robes.
-Click.
A vivid, brilliant shade of red.
It matched the color on Sound Phoenix's lips exactly. I held it out to Hwa-eun and quietly made my request.
[Can you check how much cinnabar is in this?]
[?]
A question mark practically materialized above Hwa-eun's head at my request.
Her expression said she had no idea why I'd suddenly ask her to check such a thing. I silently pointed at the cinnabar rouge, then at Hwa-eun's own lips, and leaned in close to whisper in her ear.
[A kiss.]
[!]
The question mark hovering above Hwa-eun's head jolted upright and stretched into an exclamation mark.
Her eyes flew open wide, as though she were channeling internal energy. Her skin flushed scarlet from the nape of her neck all the way to the crown of her head.
No matter how pure and innocent Hwa-eun was, that much of a hint was enough to get through.
She ducked her head low and, with trembling hands, pulled a silver needle from her robes and began probing the cinnabar rouge.
A short while later, unable to meet my eyes, she turned her face to the side and gave a small nod.
It seemed the cinnabar content was high.
"Whew...."
After taking one deep breath, I addressed the people who had been waiting for my answer.
"Then, I will now tell you about the two people responsible for this."
"Two!?"
"There are two of them!?"
"I knew it! Something like this couldn't be done alone!"
'Well, obviously. Can you kiss by yourself?'
As expected, everyone was still imagining something entirely different, but what could I do?
Reality was nothing of the sort.
I grabbed the red pill of truth, resolved to administer it to the crowd, and opened my mouth.
"Sound Phoenix."
"Yes, Young Hero. Please, tell us quickly."
Unaware that she herself had just been named as one of the culprits, Sound Phoenix answered, apparently thinking I was simply addressing her.
"And Wisdom Dragon."
"""?"""
The same question mark that had floated above Hwa-eun's head earlier now appeared over every single person in the room.
And then, a moment later.
Sound Phoenix, having realized the meaning of my words, cried out in disbelief.
"Surely you're not saying I helped Wisdom Dragon poison himself!?"
'No, that's not it at all.'
But that reaction was limited to Sound Phoenix, whose name had been called.
Everyone else still had question marks over their heads. Only the Strategist, Elder Zhuge Hu, reacted differently.
True to his position as the Murim Alliance's Strategist, rather than reacting impulsively, he searched for deeper meaning in my words.
But his romance cells were all but dead, so he couldn't figure out how any of this had actually happened.
"Soryong, there must be a reason behind this. Explain it so we can understand. I cannot grasp it at all."
"Understood. Sound Phoenix, please calm down and hear me out as well."
I settled the quivering Sound Phoenix and began my explanation.
"The substance that poisoned Wisdom Dragon, quicksilver, is produced by burning cinnabar. The burning process releases toxic fumes, and inhaling them can cause poisoning severe enough to be life-threatening. That's why those who produce quicksilver must exercise extreme caution, but....
The problem is that one can be poisoned even without directly ingesting quicksilver or being exposed to the fumes."
"Poisoned without ingesting it or inhaling the fumes?"
"Yes, Elder. It happens when one ingests cinnabar itself, the raw material from which quicksilver is derived. Its toxicity is lower than that of refined quicksilver, so it doesn't cause immediate poisoning. But if consumed over an extended period, even that lower toxicity can accumulate into a serious condition."
"Then you're saying our Yongcheon ingested cinnabar, and the quicksilver contained within it poisoned him?"
"That's correct, Elder."
The Murim Alliance's Strategist hadn't earned his title for nothing; his mind was sharp. He began puzzling over even the parts I hadn't yet explained.
"Then where would our Yongcheon have been continually ingesting cinnabar? Given that you mentioned both Sound Phoenix and Yongcheon, I take it the two of them made some kind of mistake, or...."
As he frowned in deep thought, I brought over the cinnabar rouge I had entrusted to Hwa-eun earlier and held it up for Elder Zhuge Hu to see.
"Regular rouge that women apply to their lips is made from safflower, but cinnabar rouge like this is made using cinnabar."
The moment I said that, the question marks above the quicker-witted people's heads snapped into exclamation marks, just as Hwa-eun's had.
"Ah!"
"Well, well!"
"Ahem!"
"Wh-what is it?"
"Has everyone figured something out?"
A few people still hadn't caught on, like teeth missing from a comb. Most of them were the older ones in the room.
The ones whose romance cells were on the verge of extinction.
And Elder Zhuge Hu was among them.
"So you're saying he was poisoned from ingesting cinnabar rouge? But why on earth would anyone consume something meant for a woman's lips over such a long...."
At this point, it was only right to deliver the decisive hint.
He seemed to have roughly figured it out. I looked toward Sound Phoenix, who still hadn't accepted reality and whose brain was overloading, and spoke.
The one word that would grant enlightenment to anyone.
"A kiss!"
In an instant, every remaining question mark flipped into an exclamation mark, and a wave of gasps rippled through the room.
"""Ah...."""
The men couldn't suppress the corners of their mouths from curling upward, and the ears of the two maidservants in the room, along with Hwa-eun's, burned scarlet.
As for the woman at the center of it all, Sound Phoenix, she collapsed face-down onto the chest of Wisdom Dragon, who lay unconscious with his acupoints sealed, unable to lift her head as she pounded on his chest.
-Thwack. Thwack.
If blame were to be apportioned, Wisdom Dragon's share in this incident seemed far greater than Sound Phoenix's.
Just as I thought the explanation was wrapping up nicely,
Elder Zhuge Hu's baffled voice rang out once more.
This was something that needed to be understood with the heart, but being a Strategist, he was apparently trying to process it with his head instead.
"No, I understand what you're saying, but didn't you just say that cinnabar doesn't cause poisoning easily? How often would they have had to...."
He understood the cause well enough, but his question was: even granting all of that, just how frequently had they been kissing for it to reach the point of actual poisoning?
Every gaze in the room drifted toward the back of Sound Phoenix's head as she lay face-down.
And Hwa-eun, face flushed with embarrassment, asked her.
"To, to treat him, we need to determine how frequently he was exposed to the toxin, so...."
"Oh! Are you saying treatment is possible!?"
"Yes, if I bring my grandfather, he should be able to draw out the quicksilver.... but for that, we'll need the exact...."
The question fell like a death sentence.
Sound Phoenix's prostrate body shuddered. Then, with hollow, lifeless eyes, she slowly raised her head. Her lips parted feebly, and a barely audible answer drifted out.
"Mo... morning and evening...."
Morning and evening. That was what she was saying.
But who was our Hwa-eun? None other than a direct descendant of Sichuan's Tang Family.
Hwa-eun gripped Sound Phoenix's shoulders firmly and shook her head.
'Is she telling her to stop lying? That it wouldn't cause poisoning at that frequency?'
At that, Sound Phoenix burst into tears and wailed.
"All... all the time! Huaaah...!"
"All the time" meaning not at any set interval, but whenever the moment struck them.
In other words, every time their eyes met.
-Thwack! Thwack!
Alongside Sound Phoenix's sobs, her fierce fists slammed into Wisdom Dragon's chest.
'Looks like I saved one life, but destroyed another. Actually, the one I saved might end up dead too....'
And so concluded the Case of the Murim Alliance Strategist's Nephew's Poisoning.
*****
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