The Chairman of Pharmaceutical Company is a Poison King - Chapter 199
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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 199: Kim Tae-ju’s Journey Across Gangho (1)
The Gangho Murim of another world.
Of course, this world also has a nation ruled by an emperor and government offices.
The name of the country is the Songmu Empire.
The capital is Daebong, a massive city with a population reaching 3 million.
According to Danggumak’s memories connected to Tae-ju, the capital city of Daebong was not inferior to the major cities of Samhan on Earth.
It wasn’t entirely peaceful though.
Wars with external forces.
Since the country was so prosperous, there were countless invasions from the borderlands.
Particularly, the most serious threat was the rise of the Demonic Cult 30 years ago.
At one point, it was terrifying enough to threaten the very existence of the Songmu Empire.
However, the martial artists of Gangho joined forces with the imperial army to block the Demonic Cult, and when Jeoldaedokma Danggumak eliminated Cheonma, the Empire escaped from crisis and achieved its current development.
Thus, martial sects held a considerably large stake in the Songmu Empire. The Emperor of Songmu also refrained from interfering with the martial world as much as possible.
‘Let’s head to Daebong first.’
Daebong, the capital of Songmu where the Imperial Palace exists.
As the capital city, all the branches of martial sects that exist in various regions are gathered there.
Not only the Martial Alliance, but also the martial families like the Old Sects and Five Great Houses, medium and large sects, and there should be a branch of the Dang Clan as well.
Tae-ju rode Manribibeom as it raced through the skies of Gangho.
The familiar scenery spread out beneath his feet, memories gradually surfacing.
‘If I keep going straight that way…’
The capital Daebong should appear.
It would be good to find out how Gangho is currently operating from there.
The world of Gangho that Tae-ju remembers is only up until before Danggumak ascended.
He has no knowledge of what happened after that.
Information is needed.
Knowing what needs to be known makes touring Gangho more enjoyable too.
‘I should be able to return, right?’
Wondering if another ascension might be possible, he tried moving his Toxic Spirit.
Everything else was possible, but only ascension was impossible.
But had his power weakened?
Naturally, he had become much stronger than before.
The Toxic Spirit had grown even larger, and he could freely manipulate poison qi, true qi, and mana.
The problem was that the Dragon Orb, Dragon Heart, and Toxic Spirit seemed not yet fully integrated.
It might take time for perfect fusion to occur.
The first ascension happens the moment one embraces the Dragon Orb.
All dragons ascended that way.
However, he had failed.
When would ascension occur again?
Probably after complete fusion?
‘We’ve arrived.’
It had grown somewhat dark, but the sight of city districts brilliantly lit up in various places came into view.
Tae-ju landed on the roof of a large mansion on the outskirts of Daebong.
At the same time, he lightly landed below.
There are two groups that handle information in Gangho.
Gaebang, made up of beggars, and Haowen, composed of the bottom class including thieves, gamblers, pickpockets, thugs, courtesans, and jeomsoi.
Danggumak didn’t distinguish between orthodox and unorthodox.
He mingled freely with people from the Black Dao and Evil Sects.
But he didn’t particularly like Gaebang.
Worthless beggars who don’t work and only go around begging.
They have high pride for their status, making them annoyingly difficult to commission.
Danggumak obtained almost all his information through Haowen.
So Tae-ju’s choice was also Haowen rather than Gaebang.
Also, just because he disliked Gaebang didn’t mean he liked Haowen.
Either way, Haowen was part of the Evil Sects.
Even if they were less bad than the Demonic Cult, they were still plenty evil bastards.
‘There it is.’
Just as in his memories.
A typical name for a giru that often appears in martial arts novels.
Cheonhwaru.
It’s one of the branches of Haowen.
‘This is strangely interesting.’
Danggumak’s memories surfaced vividly in his mind.
It felt like being possessed by a character from a novel.
In short, it was like acting as Danggumak reincarnated as a young man.
Tae-ju entered the giru.
A jeomsoi approached cautiously.
“Welcome… young master?”
Ah!
He entered a giru and met a jeomsoi.
This is what martial arts is all about.
Though moved, he didn’t show it and acted naturally.
“Right, is Chun-rang here? She’s upstairs, right?”
“Do you mean the giru master?”
“Is there another Chun-rang besides her?”
“…”
The jeomsoi had a bewildered expression.
This young brat, wearing strange clothes no less, dares to speak so casually about the giru master?
Still, she had to be polite.
What if he was a descendant of a prestigious family?
Besides, looking at his natural behavior, it seemed like he might be.
“Wh-which family should I say you’re from?”
“Never mind that, just tell her isn’t it about time to get younger?”
“Pardon?”
“Tell her if she doesn’t want to detoxify the aging poison, she doesn’t have to meet me.”
“Ah, understood. I’ll relay the message.”
Cheonhwaru’s giru master, Chun-rang.
Her real name is So Chun-rang.
She’s about 30 years old?
She learned martial arts that only Haowen courtesans practice.
A type of charm technique applying the principles of bedroom arts.
However, it’s far from demonic arts like dual cultivation techniques.
When courtesans age, their business ends that very day.
They either work in the kitchen or solicit customers outside.
So the key is to delay aging and stay in the industry for a long time.
Danggumak had poisoned Chun-rang with aging poison.
The effect of the poison?
Without detoxification, one ages rapidly.
A fatal poison for a courtesan.
Truly a move worthy of Jeoldaedokma.
The jeomsoi who went to report to the giru master came running back frantically.
“Y-Young Master! I-I shall escort you, th-this way.”
Tae-ju leisurely went up to the upper floor.
And entered a quiet room.
There sat an elderly woman in her 60s.
Chun-rang, who was in her 30s but had aged greatly due to the Aging Poison.
“I had my doubts, but you do seem to be a young master of the Dang Clan.”
“…On what grounds?”
“You resemble the elder greatly.”
“Ah!”
The elder would be Danggumak, and he was saying they looked similar.
“But who exactly are you? I know the direct lineage of the Dang Clan well, but this is the first time I’ve heard of someone like you, Young Master.”
“Do you really need to know?”
“As someone in this profession, letting it slide would be neglecting my duties.”
“Think of me as a hidden illegitimate child.”
“Ho ho ho! You’re quite relaxed for someone so young.”
“You’re not that old either. You just look old.”
Instantly!
Chun-rang’s complexion turned cold as if he had touched a sore spot.
“…I heard you mentioned the Aging Poison.”
“I did.”
“Then are you saying you can detoxify it?”
“It’s a very easy task.”
“I heard that to detoxify the Aging Poison, one must have at least 7th level achievement in the poison arts that only the direct lineage of the Dang Clan can learn?”
The poison arts were Honweonmusangdokryeongong.
“So what, don’t you want to be detoxified?”
Chun-rang chuckled.
“Ho ho, naturally I can’t believe it.”
“Why?”
“Even the current head of the Dang Clan is suffering from qi deviation and hanging by a thread, and you’re saying you have that level of skill?”
“…What? What are you talking about?”
“Didn’t you know? Have you been living in seclusion in some remote mountain valley? It’s not just the clan head. The entire Dangmun is in a precarious crisis.”
Tae-ju frowned as much as he could.
The clan head would be Dang Cheol-hwi, Danggumak’s son.
He remembered every detail from when he was a baby – crawling, sitting up, standing, taking his first steps.
How adorable he had been?
Though he must be quite old now.
“…Cheol-hwi, no, what’s wrong with the clan head and Dangmun?”
“As I said. Within a few days, Dangmun will have to step down from its position among the Five Great Houses.”
“But why?”
“That’s how this world works, isn’t it? A lion that loses its strength gets devoured by wolves.”
What a damn situation!
A family that produced an Immortal?
“I need more information. Tell me everything without leaving anything out.”
“Before that, shall we start our deal? First, the Aging Poison…”
Right then!
Swoooosh!
Terrible killing intent filled the room.
Tae-ju had already completely possessed Danggumak.
“It seems you want to die. You don’t think this is the only place to get information, do you?”
“Th-that’s…”
“Shall I massacre all of Haowen?”
Chun-rang’s previously calm complexion changed drastically.
‘Hmm…’
In her profession, she had met one-on-one with sect leaders of major schools, but this was the first time she felt such presence.
The first time she’d felt this since Jeoldaedokma Danggumak.
And he looked very similar to him too.
‘Who is he really?’
Since Danggumak’s ascension, for such a master to be in the Dang Clan… wait!
Chun-rang thought of a hypothesis.
‘Could I be thinking about this wrong?’
The Dang Clan claims that Jeoldaedokma ascended.
Cheong-heo Jin-in of Mudang also vouched for it.
But what if he deceived everyone?
What if it wasn’t ascension but rejuvenation?
Chun-rang stared blankly at Tae-ju’s face.
When she first saw him, she thought he just resembled him…
‘Could it be?’
Jeoldaedokma himself?
The person who single-handedly killed tens of thousands of Cult Members and Cheonma was Danggumak.
His threat to massacre all of Haowen wasn’t an empty boast.
Chun-rang trembled.
She stood up from her seat and prostrated herself, bowing her head.
“I-I understand. I-I’ll tell you everything.”
From then on, her mouth didn’t rest for a moment.
* * *
Immortal Realm.
Swordsman, Gwi-gok, and Jecheon Daeseong had returned.
As soon as Gwi-gok arrived, he rushed to the Heavenly Realm Apartment construction site.
He had to directly apply the construction know-how he learned on Earth to the project.
Jecheon Daeseong also went to check if the Immortal Realm delivery business was going well.
Only Swordsman remained.
He gathered the Immortals and showed them the CF he filmed in the screening room.
“This vacuum cleaner here. Right now we can’t sell it because we don’t have any in stock.”
“Wasn’t it selling well from the beginning, not because of the advertisement.”
“Oh my! Do you know how big a role advertising plays in product marketing?”
Then the Immortals made scornful expressions.
“Marketing, what’s that,”
“Do you even know what it means when you say it?”
“How would he know? He must have picked it up somewhere.”
“Forget it and tell us about slaying dragons instead.”
“Eh, what’s so great about slaying dragons. Nothing more to see here.”
“This is a waste of time. Let’s watch dramas instead. I heard new ones have been uploaded one after another?”
Swordsman’s complexion wasn’t good.
Because the reaction fell short of expectations.
It wasn’t like this during the first Earth visit report meeting.
‘Damn it!’
Now the Immortals wouldn’t budge at ordinary stimulation.
It was also because he had fallen out of favor through two Earth visits.
If he had known this would happen, should he have filmed a movie as the CF director suggested?
Meanwhile.
Baek Hong-pyo became the most honored guest in the Immortal Realm.
Dok-seon had handed over all authority of the multiplex to him.
Therefore, watching movies or dramas was free.
Alcohol, coffee, chicken and beer were also free.
The shopping mall was also free to use.
If he needed anything, he could just take it without paying.
Would the cunning immortals just sit back and watch?
Hwaseong came to find Baek Hong-pyo.
“Lord Baek Cheonin, it’s an honor to meet you.”
“Oh my! The honor is all mine.”
“I am the Hwaseong who painted the portrait of Hero Kim Tae-ju.”
“Ah! I see.”
“I happen to have some landscape and scenery paintings of the Immortal Realm, Cheon-gye, and Hwangcheon-gye. Would you like to take a look?”
Hwaseong carefully showed several well-mounted paintings.
“Ohhh.”
Baek Hong-pyo couldn’t help but admire them.
At first glance they looked like ordinary landscape paintings, but the more he looked, the more he felt a profound mystique, with auspicious energy dwelling in every brushstroke.
“These are truly treasures.”
“Treasures, what… Do you like them?”
“Very much so.”
“Please make sure to take them when you return to Earth.”
But how could he accept these precious paintings empty-handed?
“I’d like to give you something in return…”
“Oh no! Lord Baek Cheonin! What do you take me for! I didn’t do this expecting compensation.”
Baek Hong-pyo felt awkward.
He had ended up disregarding the good intentions of a noble and pure immortal.
“I’m sorry.”
“It’s fine as long as you understand… Well, since I’m a walker, my legs hurt, so I’ve always thought it would be nice to have a Baekdu Motors 125CC scooter.”
“…”
“Ahem, I’m not asking you to buy one, so don’t misunderstand.”
Hwaseong gazed wistfully at the Vehicle Exhibition Hall next to the multiplex.
‘I should bring one back.’
It wasn’t just Hwaseong.
Taebak the Immortal Winemaker said.
“This is immortal wine made by concentrating 300 Seondo.”
“Oh! This is truly a treasure.”
“Even so, would it compare to an Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Steel wristwatch?”
“…”
Ju-seon spoke the model name precisely.
Daemok Seonin also came.
“A chair made from divine wood. Nothing beats this for back health. The cushion uses fur from the ice flame mountain goat, a spiritual creature from Hwansu Realm. It’ll be cool in summer and warm in winter.”
“This precious thing…”
“How wonderful it would be to sit in this chair and watch dramas on an 85-inch 4K QLED wall-mounted TV. For you, buying something like that would be easy once you return to Earth, but…”
“I, I suppose so?”
“Sigh, I don’t have one. The Immortal Realm shopping mall is too expensive.”
The three representative immortals of the martial world – Maehwa, Gonryun, and Sambong – came rushing over in a group.
“Lord Baek Cheonin, you have excellent bone structure.”
“My body?”
“All Cheonin bodies are like that. Ethereal body, diamond body, heavenly martial body… a body made by selecting only the best.”
Gonryun Seonin is right. Not learning martial arts with such excellent bone structure would truly be a waste of life.”
“Let’s learn them one by one.”
Martial arts.
Learning them might be useful.
There was no guarantee that the terror that occurred in Gurye wouldn’t happen again.
It would be very useful for protecting the children.
Baek Hong-pyo nodded.
Then Sambong Seonin spoke first.
“How about Taegeuk Wisdom Sword? A 16-inch 1TB MacGram gaming laptop with GeForce RTX 3060 graphics card.”
Maehwa Seonin said.
“I’ll teach you Jaha Divine Arts. A 12-inch Apple iPad tablet 512GB, WiFi-only model in silver.”
Gonryun Seonin also said.
“You must also learn movement techniques. With Unryong Daepalshik, you’ll have no inconvenience moving your body. Smart Air Watch 24 series, 45mm steel body.”
It was somewhat blatant, but since they wanted them so much, he should give them.
As for martial arts, it would be fine to learn them or not.
Danggumak also pretended not to notice.
It wasn’t swindling, and the exchange conditions were reasonable enough.
Baek Hong-pyo was a Cheonin.
No matter how powerful they were as immortals, would they dare to deceive a Cheonin?
He could just take everything with him when he returned to Earth later.
After all, they couldn’t send a distinguished guest who visited the Immortal Realm back empty-handed.
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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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