Chapter 404

Woon-jeong said as if suddenly remembering.

“Come to think of it, didn’t the Tang family also stockpile large quantities of medicinal materials good for plague?”

Perhaps if they searched warehouses where medicinal materials were stored, something might be found.

“That’s a good idea. I’ll go and see for myself.”

When Jin Ja-gang stood up, the leaders of the three Poison Sect Cliques also immediately rose.

“We’ll also contact our main sects to check if there’s anything strange about the medicinal materials we’ve stored.”

“Then I’ll ask for your help.”

* * *

Jin Ja-gang confirmed the poison ingredients used in making Five Path Fatal Pills, then received Tang Gwi-ok’s permission to visit the Tang family’s medicine warehouse.

Tang Ha-ran accompanied Jin Ja-gang despite her heavy body.

The medicine warehouse was large-scale with over ten rooms.

Tang Ha-ran commanded the warehouse keeper.

“Bring all the lists of medicinal materials that came in related to plague over the past three years.”

Since the family head’s permission had already been given, the warehouse keeper respectfully brought out the ledgers.

Tang Ha-ran looked at the mountain of ledgers and slightly frowned.

“Can we really find it?”

The medicine warehouse was larger than ten ordinary pharmacies combined. There were hundreds of types of medicinal herbs, and even for one type of material, they were divided according to processes like purification, cutting, and preparation, and further divided into dozens of varieties by different degrees of drying, steaming, etc.

Moreover, even plague had various types.

Four seasons plague, seasonal plague, epidemic plague.

Even seasonal plague was divided into western dry plague, damp heat plague, warm poison, etc., and the prescriptions used accordingly differed.

They had to taste all those medicinal materials and check if Five Path Fatal Pill ingredients or poison were mixed in.

Fortunately, they didn’t need to inspect every single item of one type.

Since it would be used in large quantities targeting the entire martial world, not just a small region, any abnormalities would be immediately apparent.

Jin Ja-gang and Tang Ha-ran looked at the ledgers and went around the medicine warehouse checking medicinal materials.

Finding herbs needed for plague in the ledgers and checking them one by one was also considerable work.

If Jin Ja-gang had said he would do it alone, it would have taken an extremely long time.

“I did well coming along, didn’t I?”

Tang Ha-ran asked for praise in a proud voice. Jin Ja-gang responded with a short laugh instead of praise.

When Tang Ha-ran told him where medicinal materials were located, Jin Ja-gang would find them and taste them.

“Bamboo sap.”

A type of bamboo with pointed leaves, where the sap from joints is collected for medicine. Its nature is mild with a slightly sweet taste.

Jin Ja-gang tasted several samples of the cotton bamboo that was the raw material for bamboo sap, the juice extracted from cotton bamboo, and powder made by drying the juice, all lined up on shelves.

“There’s no problem with bamboo sap.”

Tang Ha-ran drew a long line through the ledger with her brush.

“Then next are the ingredients for Fragrant Purify Powder. Licorice, perilla leaf…”

Licorice was one of the medicinal materials that appeared in almost all prescriptions. It was best for hiding Five Path Fatal Pill ingredients or poison itself.

But there was nothing wrong with licorice either. No problems in the raw materials, dried and cut materials, or after completing processing and taking medicinal form.

“Next, Magnolia bark and tangerine peel, ingredients for Divine Emerge Dispersing Energy Powder…”

* * *

Already the second day.

Jin Ja-gang and Tang Ha-ran were still searching the medicine warehouse.

Tang Ha-ran yawned and said.

“Peach leaves. But this isn’t for eating, right? I don’t think we need to taste it.”

Jin Ja-gang thought briefly, then shook his head.

“The Five Path Fatal Pills I know are in antidote form, but they won’t necessarily only be used for consumption.”

Peach leaves are leaves of the peach tree. The flowers are called peach blossoms, branches peach branches, roots peach roots, sap peach resin, seeds peach kernels, using everything as medicine. Especially peach leaves are used by boiling and placing under beds to inhale the steam.

Jin Ja-gang tasted both dried and roasted leaves. He also tried the fumigation effect by boiling.

But there was nothing particularly strange.

“By now I thought something would appear…”

Tang Ha-ran sat for a while drinking tea, then dozed off nodding. She seemed tired from constantly concentrating because of the baby. Jin Ja-gang smiled seeing this and began moving again to search for medicinal materials.

* * *

A full four days had passed while Jin Ja-gang lived in the medicine warehouse with Tang Ha-ran, tasting and checking herbs by type. Yet about one-tenth still remained.

Since he had to chew even dried, hard medicinal materials, even Jin Ja-gang’s jaw hurt as he moved his lower jaw left and right.

But more worrying than the sore jaw was the lack of results.

“We’ve checked this much of the most commonly used materials, but Five Path Fatal Pills are still difficult to trace.”

Tang Ha-ran pushed aside the ledger with crossed-out lists with a tired expression. The remaining materials were herbs for prescriptions used exceptionally in special situations, practically meaningless. They weren’t medicinal materials that could be released in large quantities using plague as pretext.

Five Path Fatal Pills, excluding Soul Extinction from Tang Qing’s bone marrow, were generally composed of ordinary, easily obtainable poisons. So even trying to hide them, they couldn’t be hidden. No matter where they were hidden, Jin Ja-gang’s taste would have found the flavor of poison herbs.

Tang Ha-ran slightly frowned and rubbed her belly.

Jin Ja-gang immediately approached and held her hand.

“Are you alright?”

“A little… tightening.”

Just then, Divine Physician An Yul-jin entered with a servant carrying medicinal soup.

“Tsk, you should take medicine on time but you skipped it, so this happens.”

An Yul-jin checked her pulse and gave her the soup while saying.

“I barely made the poison energy settle inward, but it almost flared up again. The birth date is near, so absolutely don’t skip medicinal soup.”

Jin Ja-gang expressed gratitude.

“Thank you always.”

“It was just a promise with King of Hell.”

Of course, that King of Hell was lying in bed unconscious, unable to even control his bowel movements.

“You did something foolish. You didn’t know heaven and earth would turn upside down in a few days.”

An Yul-jin frowned and clicked his tongue. He had believed Tang Qing’s great undertaking would succeed, but before it even started, everything became useless due to Jin Ja-gang.

“Already in the same boat, though King of Hell is gone, Lady Li Hua will handle the aftermath. So you don’t need to be grateful.”

An Yul-jin refused Jin Ja-gang’s courtesy.

But Jin Ja-gang didn’t completely trust An Yul-jin’s words.

Considering the attitude An Ryeong had shown Jin Ja-gang, one could guess.

An Yul-jin was also someone who, like other noble families, thought of family safety first. But having been in the imperial palace for long years, palace behavior was ingrained in his body. He would attach himself to either side to survive.

Therefore, he wasn’t a trustworthy person.

He was only staying attached because Jin Ja-gang had become the mainstream, but if either the Tang family or Jin Ja-gang went wrong, he would immediately turn his back.

An Yul-jin briefly looked around the medicine warehouse.

“This is my first time in the Tang family’s medicine warehouse, but it’s an amazing level. They have far more medicinal materials than our An family’s medical practice. No, since they absorbed Medicine Sects, it’s natural?”

An Yul-jin didn’t probe deeply.

“I hope there are good results. No, there must be good results.”

An Yul-jin, who spoke bluntly, returned with the servant.

Tang Ha-ran asked wonderingly.

“The Divine Physician’s attitude toward you seems particularly sharp, or is it my imagination?”

“No, you’re right.”

“Why?”

Jin Ja-gang thought briefly, then unconsciously rested his chin on his hand.

“It’s probably because of Miss An.”

“Miss… An?”

Tang Ha-ran’s eyes narrowed slightly.

“I understand she’s the Divine Physician’s granddaughter. I once met her and got involved in an unpleasant matter.”

“Unpleasant… matter?”

“She told me to be prepared if I didn’t want to see blood… or to risk my life for loyalty in an age without loyalty, something like that.”

“She said that to you? Was she trying to die?”

“Actually, I think she said such things more because she was suffering from being unable to keep loyalty herself.”

“Ah… really? That woman said that?”

“It seems the An family medical practice has lived by making somewhat disloyal compromises to survive.”

“You know a lot about that woman?”

“It’s what I heard.”

Only then did Jin Ja-gang look back at Tang Ha-ran strangely.

“But your questioning tone seems strange today…”

Startled.

Tang Ha-ran was smiling mysteriously.

“…”

Tang Ha-ran asked.

“You know this is the first time you’ve rested your chin on your hand and fallen into thought in front of me?”

“…”

“You know?”

“…Did I?”

Jin Ja-gang pretended not to know and lowered his hand from his chin.

“Hohoho.”

“Haha…”

Tang Ha-ran suddenly erased her smile and asked coldly.

“What kind of woman is she?”

Instantly, Jin Ja-gang felt chills down his spine.

“We have no relationship at all.”

“If you have no relationship, why are you making excuses?”

“That’s not it. We should quickly finish the remaining work.”

Without realizing it, Jin Ja-gang turned his back to avoid Tang Ha-ran’s gaze.

He could feel Tang Ha-ran’s piercing stare from behind.

His spine felt cold.

Jin Ja-gang realized that even if the world’s destruction came right now, sometimes there could be scarier things than that…

* * *

They had tasted all medicinal materials related to plague in the medicine warehouse.

But Jin Ja-gang still hadn’t found a clue.

Tang Ha-ran drew a line with her brush on the last ledger and closed it.

The stacked ledgers collapsed with a rumble.

“There’s nothing left.”

“Is there anything we might have missed?”

“There could be.”

Jin Ja-gang looked at Tang Ha-ran in surprise, but coldness emanated from Tang Ha-ran’s eyes.

“A wife might have missed what her husband who wandered outside did.”

Chilling.

Jin Ja-gang tried to answer calmly and stood up.

“I’ll search a bit more.”

He could hear Tang Ha-ran’s irritated breathing from behind.

Jin Ja-gang fled to medicinal material shelves unrelated to plague for now.

“Huh… I didn’t wander outside just to live well by myself.”

Not only was work hopeless with no clues found, but Tang Ha-ran was also being needlessly spiteful, making him uncomfortable.

Looking around at whatever he could reach, Jin Ja-gang suddenly noticed sacks piled in one corner.

There were sacks full of wheat bran, and sacks containing rice, alum, loess, etc.

Jin Ja-gang called the warehouse keeper and asked.

“What’s that?”

“That’s where auxiliary materials are stored.”

Auxiliary materials are ingredients added when processing medicinal herbs. They’re added according to people’s constitution, or to enhance medicinal properties or mitigate toxicity.

Even licorice is processed with auxiliary materials.

‘Could it be…!’

Jin Ja-gang began opening and examining all the sacks piled like mountains on the spot.

Tang Ha-ran came behind him several times, but seeing Jin Ja-gang concentrating, she returned without a word.

Jin Ja-gang finished checking all sacks after another full day had passed.

But…

There was nothing.

There was nothing suspicious in the auxiliary materials either.

‘Where is it?’

His throat was parched.

Jin Ja-gang felt severe thirst and drank several bowls of water from the well.

‘King of Hell! Where on earth did you hide the Five Path Fatal Pills!’