Surviving as the Sacheon Dang Clan’s Servant - Chapter 60

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Episode 60
Dokwangdang, shrouded in toxic fog, lay silent. The poison gas hung so thick that everything dissolved into a haze.
There was a horror film that started with a village buried in fog. Ominous stuff.
Brushing off the creeping poison that seeped into my skin, I pushed open the gate. It swung inward with a spine-chilling creak.
Screeeech!
“Hello?”
“…….”
“Is anyone here?”
“…….”
Not a sound. It seemed unlikely they’d all gone out—something had clearly gone wrong inside Dokwangdang.
I could pretend I hadn’t seen anything and leave. But I needed those castor beans.
I hesitated, glancing down at the mountainside below. It was a height I didn’t want to climb back up.
I might as well just close my eyes and walk in.
I took a deep breath and stepped over the threshold. My foot came down on something soft and yielding.
“Ugh, what—!”
I jumped back with a yelp, my head snapping down.
A person.
A man who looked like a guard lay sprawled on the ground.
“Hey, are you all right?”
“…….”
No answer came. He was unconscious.
I crouched down and brought my hand near his nose. A faint breath brushed my palm.
After a moment’s hesitation, I hooked my arms under his armpits and hauled him up.
I didn’t know why he’d collapsed, but leaving him in this poison gas seemed unwise.
When I emerged from Dokwangdang carrying another person, Deok Ju’s eyes went wide.
“Miss? Who is this man?”
“He was collapsed at the gate. Can you take him to the Medical Hall?”
“Of course, miss.”
After handing the unconscious guard to Deok Ju, I slipped back into Dokwangdang.
But there was more than one unconscious person.
Like scattered grain left in a harvested field, bodies lay in every direction.
A scene straight out of a horror film—goosebumps erupted across my skin.
What on earth happened here?
I hurried to gather the fallen and carry them outside Dokwangdang.
Some of them had a faint flicker of consciousness.
“Hey, can you hear me? Are you okay?”
“The… Illusory Dream Poison…”
“What?”
“…the jar…”
The man mumbled something I couldn’t make out, then fell silent with a soft groan, his body going limp.
A jar? What jar? And what was this Illusory Dream Poison? A type of poison?
I rolled my eyes and kept dragging unconscious bodies outside.
By a rough count, I’d carried out around fifteen people. Given that they were all unconscious, it looked like they’d been hit with a narcotic poison.
I wanted to give them first aid, but I knew nothing about it.
I’m sorry. I haven’t learned to take a pulse yet. I’ve only studied herbal combinations.
I stood debating whether to wait for Deok Ju to return or head down to ask for help.
None of the patients seemed in immediate mortal danger.
But it seemed more urgent to find where the poison gas was leaking from and seal it off.
There might be more people inside I hadn’t found yet.
I scratched my head, then traced letters into the dirt ground.
[Poisoning victims. Seek help from the Medical Hall.]
Deok Ju would know what to do when she saw this.
I rubbed my nose and stepped back inside Dokwangdang.
Finding the source of the poison gas wasn’t difficult. The thick toxic stench led me to a cauldron that was boiling vigorously.
I covered the lid and pushed it down over the flames. A bitter, acrid smell wafted from the blackened cauldron.
As soon as I sealed the pot, the air began to clear.
Beside the boiling cauldron lay fragments of a broken jar and scattered yellow powder. Someone had been mixing poison into the cauldron when they shattered the jar.
Looking at what appeared to be an experimental accident, I finally understood why they’d chosen to build the structure halfway up a mountain.
If something like that went wrong at the Dang Family Estate, the poison gas would drift all the way into the streets of Seongdo. The whole clan would be finished.
I grumbled to myself, fetched a broom from the shed, and swept up the toxic powder.
I should’ve brought Ju Ryeong along. That boy would’ve devoured the whole lot with enthusiasm.
……Wait, is that why you told me to keep him with me?
Only then did I grasp Grandfather’s deeper intent, and I clapped my hands together.
Ju Ryeong was a kind of experimental assistant. He was the one who cleaned up after my poison work. I’ll have to bring him everywhere from now on.
Making that resolve, I swept the scattered poison powder into an empty jar and sealed it. The broom went back to the shed as well.
After that, I checked every corner of Dokwangdang to see if anyone else had collapsed. Fortunately, it seemed I hadn’t missed anyone.
As the poisonous fog thinned, the world gradually reclaimed its natural colors.
I was brushing off my hands, thinking things were roughly settled, when I heard Deok Ju’s voice from outside.
“Miss! Miss, are you in there?”
“Yes, I’m in here!”
I hurried over and opened the gate to find Deok Ju covering her mouth with her sleeve, coughing.
Her face had turned pale—the poison gas was taking its toll.
“Oh, Deok Ju. If it’s this hard on you, why did you come up? Let’s go back down.”
I pushed her back gently and descended the stairs together.
Deok Ju, who normally wouldn’t show a hint of strain no matter what happened, was suffering this badly—which meant the poison hanging in the air was truly vicious.
“Have you been to the Medical Hall? What did the Lord say?”
“Since a Dokwangdang guard breathed in Nerve Poison, he said it appears an accident occurred during an experiment and sent people to handle it. They’re managing the situation downstairs.”
“How did he know? Does this happen often?”
“This is my first time visiting Dokwangdang, but I’ve heard it does occur. Apparently, there was even an incident where a building exploded.”
What kind of work causes a building to explode?
Deok Ju answered while tears streamed down her face as if she’d been hit with an allergy bomb. I handed her a handkerchief.
“Thank you, Miss. Cough—!”
Our girl is weak against poison. I’ll need to look after her better, maybe prepare some nourishing food.
Smacking my lips thoughtfully, I came down to the fork in the path and saw a crowd of people gathered.
On one side, they were rinsing out a patient’s nose and mouth with clean water. On the other, they were loading the treated onto stretchers and moving them to the Estate.
I spotted a familiar face among them. It was Dang Ju Hui.
Dang Ju Hui was checking a patient’s eyes, flipping them back to assess the condition, then issuing some instruction before moving to the next person.
It was a far cry from her usual scatterbrained demeanor.
Surprised by the unexpected sight, I stared at Dang Ju Hui. She noticed my gaze and lifted her head.
“Hey! Come help—no, actually, get out of here. Go over there. Did you just come out of Dokwangdang? You’re scattering poison powder everywhere.”
Those people—I’m the one who brought them out.
If Dang Ju Hui is saying that, my clothes must be covered in poison.
As I stood there blankly, Dang Ju Hui grew exasperated.
“Hurry up and go. We just finished rinsing everyone’s eyes, nose, and mouth—you’re going to get them all contaminated again.”
“Yes.”
As I obediently retreated at her urging, the realization struck me.
So Deok Ju was suffering because of me? I’m sorry, Deok Ju.
Feeling awkward, I put distance between myself and Deok Ju.
“Deok Ju, don’t follow me. Go to Byeoldang and fetch Ju Ryeong. Tell him to come suck up all the remaining poison gas.”
“Understood, Miss.”
Sniffling, Deok Ju left.
Standing alone watching the cleanup, I realized I’d forgotten something.
That’s right—the castor beans!
Given the circumstances, Grandfather will understand.
……He will understand, won’t he?
* * *
Fortunately, Dang Jung never asked about the castor beans. After sending me off, he’d apparently remembered a prescription and immediately sent a reply—or so he said.
He didn’t seem bothered at all by news that chaos had erupted at Dokwangdang.
“It’s common enough. Don’t trouble yourself over it. Incompetent fools, the lot of them. After so many incidents, they should’ve learned not to make mistakes by now. Tsk.”
Having condemned the entire Dokwangdang as incompetent, Dang Jung poked at Ju Ryeong’s belly, which hung over my shoulder.
“Eeeek!”
Ju Ryeong protested as if to say “what are you doing?” and Dang Jung let out a snort.
“Oil is practically dripping from your belly. Just what have you been scavenging?”
“It seems to have been something called Illusory Dream Poison?”
“Illusory Dream Poison? That’s less poison than it is Bewilderment Powder.”
“It looked like Yellow Powder was accidentally added to the cauldron while poison was being brewed. The jar at the bottom was cracked.”
“My, did you clean that up yourself?”
“Yes.”
“And this creature absorbed all the remaining poison gas in Dokwangdang?”
“That’s right.”
Dang Jung’s face twisted.
Is something the matter? Why the sudden expression?
At that moment, a sharp cry rang out from beyond the door.
“Elder!”
“Blast. She’s already here.”
Dang Jung muttered under his breath, then splashed water on his face. He looked thoroughly annoyed.
“Elder! It’s On Jeong! May I come in?”
“Your voice is splitting this old man’s skull. Keep quiet.”
“I’m coming in, Elder!”
The door burst open to reveal a middle-aged woman with a warm, approachable face.
“Elder! I hope you’ve been well these past days!”
“You’re about to give me reason not to be.”
“Oh ho ho, your wit is as sharp as ever!”
It didn’t sound like wit to me.
She possessed a voice startlingly bright for her years. Unlike Dang Mu Hyeok, she seemed to regard Dang Jung with genuine familiarity.
As his father’s teacher, she’d known him since childhood—that would explain it.
With a hand raised to her mouth, she laughed merrily before turning her gaze to me, then grasped my shoulder with warm certainty.
“So you’re Sohye!”
“Y-yes?”
“I’m your aunt! Goodness, you don’t look a thing like your brother. You’ve grown into a fine young woman.”
Whether compliment or critique, Dang On Jeong delivered it with an open laugh. I laughed awkwardly and bowed my head.
“I hear you saved my children today?”
“It was nothing to make much of, truly.”
“Nothing to make much of? But Sim Hong told me if you hadn’t intervened, half a quarter of an hour more in that poison gas and they’d all have gone blind! You saved my children’s eyesight!”
Dang On Jeong patted my shoulder with pride, then shot a sidelong glance at Dang Jung.
“Elder, how could you keep such a talented girl here without even introducing her to me? And Immunity to All Poisons, no less! I never knew the main household had a child with such ability.”
“Now that you know, lower your voice. My ears still work.”
Dang Jung pressed his palm to his forehead.
Dang On Jeong’s laughter died. Her eyes sharpened to the cold focus of a predator sighting prey.
“This child hasn’t held her Coming of Age Ceremony yet, has she?”
“Not yet.”
“Then surely she should be sent to Dokwangdang? I’ll take personal responsibility for her training.”
She dismissed all objection with a wave and spoke of my future as though it were already decided. Dang Jung’s expression darkened dangerously.
“I never agreed to hand her over.”
“Come now, Elder, what could be more fitting than Dokwangdang for a talented girl with Immunity to All Poisons?”
“Sohye will see the world and decide her path in time. And she won’t be placed under your guidance.”
“Such hurtful words, Elder! What’s wrong with me?”
As her voice rose higher, I shrank back, acutely aware of the growing tension.
…What about what I want?

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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