The Granddaughter of the Manhyang Escort Agency Hides Her Magic - Chapter 56

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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 56

“If that’s true, this is no ordinary matter!”

So Cheondo’s face turned pale upon hearing that poison seemed to have been released into the valley.

“We need to find out what kind of poison it is. But first, we urgently need to prevent people from drinking the valley water.”

What if people drank the poisoned valley water? What if wild animals drank the water and people caught those animals?

His whole body trembled at the horrifying thought.

‘If only I could use purification magic!’

There are several ways to detoxify poison.

The most common method is taking an antidote, but supreme masters can also push out poison using internal energy.

And in the magical world where Shin Ah had lived, they used purification magic. The more skilled the mage, the wider the range of poison they could purify.

During her days as a Great Mage, Shin Ah had once purified an entire city that had been poisoned.

But now it was impossible.

‘Purification magic is still too much for me.’

Just as Shin Ah was about to feel dejected about her powerlessness.

“It’s good to worry about others, but we’re in big trouble too.”

So Cheondo spoke with worry filling his voice.

“What do you mean?”

When Shin Ah asked, So Cheondo pointed to the empty pot.

“We don’t have any water to drink either.”

Since the valley was nearby, they hadn’t worried about drinking water, but now that things had come to this, he regretted not collecting rainwater yesterday.

“Since it’s a valley, the poison will naturally flow downstream and disappear over time, but we can’t just wait indefinitely…”

So Cheondo’s face was colored with worry.

“Don’t worry about that, I’ll take care of it.”

Finally, Shin Ah had something to do.

Using magic to gather moisture from the surroundings, she could easily create enough drinking water.

“How do you plan to do that?”

“I’ll look around to see if there’s other clean water nearby. So you should hurry and find the supervisor to report this situation.”

“I should. But I’m worried about leaving just you two behind.”

“Don’t worry about that either.”

Shin Ah gripped the hilt of the sword at her waist tightly.

“No one will know we’re here.”

While coming to this cave yesterday, Shin Ah and Mugyeol had diligently erased their tracks while following behind So Cheondo.

Escort Warriors and porters were supposed to leave trails, but sometimes they also hid them. Just like yesterday.

So Cheondo’s face hardened reluctantly before he picked up his sword.

“I’ll be back soon.”

Rather than worrying, it was better to go and return as quickly as possible.

With Shin Ah and Mugyeol, they could surely guard the package and hold out for about half a day even without him.

So Cheondo kicked off the ground and disappeared like the wind.

Shin Ah waited until So Cheondo was far enough away that she couldn’t sense his presence, then turned to look at Mugyeol.

“Mugyeol.”

“Yes, Miss.”

“What is it that you need to protect?”

Though it was a sudden question, Mugyeol answered without a moment’s hesitation.

“You, Miss.”

“Wrong.”

Mugyeol’s eyes widened as if they might pop out. Looking straight into his wavering pupils, Shin Ah gripped both of Mugyeol’s forearms.

“What you need to protect is the package. Think of it as me and protect it. Understand?”

“You and the package are different.”

Mugyeol, who always said “yes, yes” to everything she said, was talking back?

Shin Ah’s eyes widened in surprise.

“You and the package can’t be the same thing.”

As if thinking she hadn’t heard, Mugyeol spoke clearly once more.

“I know too. The package is an object and I’m a person. Well, sometimes people become packages too, but… let’s skip that.”

Mugyeol was not pleased with Shin Ah’s explanation.

Dissatisfaction was plastered all over his small face.

How could he put the precious Miss on the same level as a package? Did I not speak properly?

His insides were burning with frustration, but Shin Ah, unaware of this, finished giving her instructions.

“Anyway, I’m going out for a bit, so stay here.”

“Where are you going?”

“Well, I said I’d get water, didn’t I?”

It was a lie.

Shin Ah planned to trace back from where the fish had floated up to the source of the valley, searching for traces related to the poison.

‘Since I can use magic, I can at least get myself out in case of emergency. Though it would be difficult to protect Mugyeol too…’

Let’s find the place where the poison was released and the culprit.

Shin Ah clenched both fists.

‘I’ll catch them and steal their antidote first.’

Those who used poison arts always carried both poison and antidotes with them.

There were times when they needed to threaten poisoned people with antidotes, and cases where others got poisoned unintentionally often occurred.

‘I can’t just wait for my brother indefinitely.’

There was a high possibility that victims would increase while the Escort Agency dispatched investigators and closed off the valley.

Perhaps even now, as Shin Ah was talking with Mugyeol, someone might be drinking that water.

Suddenly, there was a flickering human shadow.

‘It’s better to choose a place where water is easily obtained as a dwelling.’

Those were Juhwa’s words before they parted yesterday.

‘If the dwelling that Juhwa and Uncle Chilseon chose is downstream of the valley.’

The possibility that the two had been poisoned couldn’t be ruled out.

Even if they were lucky enough to avoid it now, they would be poisoned soon.

So she couldn’t just stay still.

‘I’ve grown quite attached to them in such a short time.’

As Shin Ah let out a light sigh, Mugyeol spoke.

“I want to go with you too.”

“You need to stay here and guard the package.”

Shin Ah now understood why they grouped three people together during escort missions.

When something happens, you need at least three people to be able to protect the package.

“…Please be careful.”

Though his face was full of dissatisfaction, he ultimately followed Shin Ah’s words.

Mugyeol trudged over and settled down beside the bundle containing the package.

Seeing this, Shin Ah smiled brightly and kicked off the ground.

* * *

“Not here… Ah! There it is!”

Shin Ah, who had been searching around the valley and tracing upstream for a while, stopped.

Among the lush grass, only one spot had grass that was particularly wilted and sunken. It wasn’t far from where Shin Ah had been catching fish.

‘I was worried they might have released poison at the source, but this is fortunate.’

After expanding her energy sensing to confirm there were no unwelcome guests, Shin Ah carefully stepped forward.

“This is the right place.”

The poison had seeped into the ground, leaving the grass blades blackened and dead.

Shin Ah had hoped the poison released into the valley was simply a knockout drug or paralytic poison, but unfortunately it seemed to be a deadly poison.

Frowning, Shin Ah thoroughly searched the vicinity.

Soon Shin Ah discovered a small ceramic bottle that looked like an alcohol bottle stuck upside down between the rocks.

‘The poison must have been contained in there.’

Shin Ah cast a shield on her hand and pulled out the bottle. The bottle was completely empty inside.

After setting aside the evidence, Shin Ah stamped her foot.

“Evil bastard!”

Shin Ah was enraged by this crime targeting unspecified masses.

However, since getting angry wouldn’t change anything, she swallowed her rage for now and examined the surroundings.

There were no traces that could identify who had released the poison.

‘All the footprints are trampled and they properly erased their traces. This is professional work.’

The person who released the poison was no amateur.

The technique of erasing traces was part of the Escort Agency’s training curriculum. Moreover, since it wouldn’t be easy to obtain poison unless one was from the Sacheon Tang Family, the culprit likely had at least Escort Warrior-level skills and a high probability of connections to the Tang Family.

‘The Sacheon Tang Family…’

Was it coincidence that So Ilbi came to mind at that moment?

It must be coincidence, it had to be coincidence.

If So Ilbi was involved in this matter, it wouldn’t end as just an Escort Agency problem.

If it was revealed that the Sacheon Tang Family was implicated in the poison discharge into the valley?

Given So Hyeokho’s personality as the Escort Agency master, he would step forward demanding to settle the matter, and they might end up making an enemy of the Sacheon Tang Family, one of the Five Great Families.

If that happened, the other Noble Families would also express displeasure with Manhyang Express, saying “How dare they suspect one of the Five Great Families,” and naturally escort mission requests would decrease.

‘Even if they had good relations with us, blood is thicker than water.’

Would they side with the Tang Family, fellow Noble Family members, or with the Escort Agency?

So she hoped the Sacheon Tang Family wasn’t involved in this matter, but once suspicion arose, it wasn’t easily extinguished.

‘When grandfather passed away, someone from the Sacheon Tang Family conducted the autopsy. Doctor Ju said grandfather’s fingernails had a greenish tint, but the coroner said he didn’t see it.’

At that time, Shin Ah was in a state where it was difficult enough just to take care of herself. So she casually dismissed what the servant girls were chattering about.

Looking back, it was strange.

Despite having a personal physician, they entrusted the autopsy to someone from the Sacheon Tang Family, and buried So Hyeokho without proper verification procedures.

He was even the Lord of the Nation.

The more she recalled the past, the more suspicious things there were.

‘I need to plant someone in the Sacheon Tang Family.’

But when?

Shin Ah let out a sigh. The road ahead was long.

Just then, fish that should have been swimming in the clear water came floating to the shore with their bellies turned up.

The stark contrast between birds peacefully flying in the sky and the dead fish sent cold sweat running down Shin Ah’s spine.

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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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