The Eldest Daughter of the Sichuan Tang Clan Protects Her Family

Chapter 16: Raging Fire Poison

As a strange glint flickered in Sohwa’s eyes, a frantic voice reached her ears.
“Jeomchil-ah, stay back!”
“I have to help!”

“Staying put is helping.” The old physician gently restrained Yeon-a. “What if you get hurt? Wouldn't that upset them?”
Yeon-a, though clearly frustrated, obeyed. But she was stubborn. Gripping her oversized sword, she stepped forward, positioning herself protectively in front of the old physician. And then…
Thud.

She subtly shifted her stance, her left foot extended, blocking Sohwa's path. Then, in a voice brimming with unearned confidence, she declared, “Don't worry. I’ll protect you.”
“…” Sohwa’s gaze darkened. Her valiant pose, so earnest yet so inadequate, would have been endearing if Sohwa hadn’t witnessed her being thoroughly outmatched by Tang Min earlier.
Sohwa discreetly averted her gaze, focusing on the scene ahead. It seemed best to pretend she hadn’t seen anything. It was the only humane thing to do.

As the rain of arrows ceased, the hidden enemies emerged, charging towards them. But there was no real sense of danger.
“Keuk!”
“Euk!”

The chilling aura emanating from the injured warriors remained unchanged, but the foul odor attacking Sohwa's nose was fading. Their numbers were dwindling.
The warriors, clearly accustomed to fighting together, moved seamlessly, their actions coordinated without a single word exchanged. Those with more severe injuries focused on deflecting the remaining arrows, while those who could still move freely cut down their attackers with swift, decisive movements.
Suddenly, a wave of intense heat washed over Sohwa.

“Hanwon!” The deputy leader shouted, lunging forward. He caught a falling figure and quickly checked his condition.
“Hanwon! Wake up! Hanwon!” It was one of the Black Tiger Unit warriors who had gone ahead to clear a path.
The warrior’s lips were twisted in a strange grimace. He had clearly pushed himself to his limit, his body going limp the moment he was caught.

Hanwon raised a trembling hand, weakly grasping at the deputy leader's robe. He tried to speak, his lips moving soundlessly, his tongue seemingly paralyzed. But one word reached them, clear and distinct.
“Poison…”
“What? What are you trying to say?” The deputy leader, unable to understand, asked again, “Do you know what kind of poison it is?”
Sohwa, understanding Hanwon's intent, rummaged through her pouch, searching for antidotes. "What kind of poison?" she asked. Hanwon’s gaze shifted from the deputy leader to Sohwa. But he couldn't answer, his eyes closing slowly.

“Hanwon! Wake up!” The deputy leader shook him roughly. Sohwa gently placed her hand on his shoulder, stopping him. Then, kneeling beside the fallen warrior, she lifted his sleeve.
“Miss!” The deputy leader’s face was a mask of horror. Tang Sohwa had exposed Hanwon’s wound and was now… putting her bloodstained finger in her mouth.
She had tasted the blood to identify the poison.

‘A paralytic agent?’ A tingling sensation spread through her mouth, quickly followed by numbness. She felt a tightening in her esophagus and stomach.
As she observed the effects of the poison, she flinched, her stiff muscles spasming involuntarily. The spasms were rhythmic, like a heartbeat, but far more violent.
The intense contractions felt like they were tearing her insides apart. She grimaced, but the spasms gradually subsided, the tightening in her muscles easing. Her body, recognizing the toxin, had begun producing its own antidote.

Fortunately, she recognized the strange reaction. She knew this poison.
Yeolhwachodok (Raging Fire Poison). A potent toxin that caused both paralysis and tissue necrosis. It was a combination of Danjangcho (Gelsemium elegans), which caused intestinal necrosis, and the sap of the Gyeonhyeolbonghou (Antiaris toxicaria), which constricted the heart and blood vessels.
Yeolhwachodok wasn't designed for instant death but to inflict agonizing pain and incapacitate the enemy, disrupting their ranks and demoralizing them with the gruesome sight of their comrades writhing in agony, coughing up blood.

Sohwa examined Hanwon’s wound. It wasn't deep, a glancing blow from a poisoned arrow. Administering the standard paralysis antidote first would have been a fatal mistake. His heart was already weakened, his blood flow constricted. Neutralizing the paralysis before addressing the necrosis would have caused massive internal bleeding.
The old physician, who had silently approached them, placed his hand on Hanwon’s abdomen and checked his eyes.
“There’s internal bleeding. Judging by the swelling, immediate surgery is required.” His voice was urgent. “We need to return to the Divine Physician’s troupe immediately.”

“Impossible.” The deputy leader’s flat refusal made the old physician’s voice rise in alarm.
“He could die!”
“We’ll all die if we go back now,” the deputy leader countered, his voice calm.

Sohwa, standing beside him, saw the strain in his face, the bloodshot eyes, the slight tremor in his arm. He wanted to save his subordinate more than anyone. Tang Jinhoo, even as unit leader in her past life, had always prioritized the lives of his men above his own.
But the darkness of the forest concealed his emotions from the others. The old physician frowned, his face etched with concern, while Yeon-a and Tang Hak looked at the deputy leader with silent accusations, their expressions asking, ‘How can you say such a thing?’
Sohwa pulled out a vial of antidote. “This will neutralize the effects of the poison and stop the bleeding, giving us more time.” Her voice was calm and steady, an attempt to reassure them.

“It’s only a temporary solution. We need to excise the damaged tissue and suture the wound as soon as possible. If we don't…”
Tang Sohwa shook her head. “Hanwon is a warrior. A member of the Black Tiger Unit, one of the Tang Clan’s elite forces. You understand what that means. He can endure this.”
She turned to the deputy leader. A wave of heat emanated from him as he channeled his internal energy. He hesitated, however, unsure whether to transfer it to Hanwon. He hadn’t used his internal energy yet, even after sending his men ahead and leaving Elder Tang Min behind. He had said his priority was the safety of the main family. He was conserving his energy for when they needed it most.

Didn’t he want to go back, to help Tang Min, to save his men?
Sohwa understood his helplessness, his anguish, better than anyone. She felt a tightening in her chest, a pang of sympathy for the deputy leader, who bore his burden with stoic silence.
The foul odor had faded, the scent of blood now more prominent. The warriors from the Divine Physician's troupe had turned the tide with their surprising strength. And the absence of further arrows indicated that the archers had been eliminated.

Sohwa took a step back, a sign of both their newfound advantage and her decision. “I need two, or perhaps three, warriors with strong internal energy. The others who haven’t returned might also be poisoned. They’ll need the antidote immediately.”
“Yoonjin, Cheolho, Ranhee.” At the deputy leader’s command, infused with his internal energy, three warriors detached themselves from the fight and returned to them.
“They’re using poison. Administer the antidote and use your internal energy to stabilize their condition.” The deputy leader, sensing that the battle was nearing its end, intended to send the remaining warriors to assist the injured. However, Tang Sohwa, who had requested their assistance, remained motionless. He looked at her, waiting.

“Miss, please give us the antidote.”
“I’ll go myself. There’s no guarantee they’ve all been poisoned with the same toxin. I need to confirm it.”
“That’s not permitted.” The deputy leader’s refusal was immediate.

“I don’t need your permission.” It was a lie, meant to ease his burden. If he allowed her to go, he would be putting the main family at risk. If he refused, he would be responsible for the deaths of his men. Either way, the consequences would fall upon his shoulders.
Sohwa looked at him, his internal energy surging, yet still hesitating to use it, and spoke firmly. “Deputy Leader, keep Hanwon alive until I return.”
Knowing roughly where the remaining Black Tiger Unit warriors were located, she immediately set off in that direction.

“Miss!” At the deputy leader’s cry, the three warriors instinctively followed, forming a protective escort around her.
Though she normally wouldn’t interfere with his decisions, she couldn’t wait.
Yeolhwachodok was a Tang Clan creation, a poison developed but never used, like many others stored within the Poison Pavilion. It had never been deployed, never even seen outside the clan’s walls.

Why was it here?
She quickly located the remaining Black Tiger Unit warriors, five of them lying unconscious on the ground. She repeated the process she had used with Hanwon, tasting their blood.
It was Yeolhwachodok.

After reviving the last warrior, she placed an antidote in his mouth. Thankfully, she wasn't too late. As his comrade infused him with internal energy, his complexion began to improve.
But a sense of unease settled over Sohwa.
In her past life, the Namgung Clan had also sought out the Divine Physician's troupe. It was highly likely they had encountered this group. If the Anhui branch of the Martial Alliance had been involved, they would have been no match for these warriors and would have resorted to using poison.

However, the Martial Alliance had kept this incident a secret.
Sohwa let out a hollow breath. ‘…They suspected us from the very beginning.’ She had thought it unfair that they had blamed the Tang Clan for the massacre committed by the unknown group using potent poisons. But it seemed they had their reasons, their suspicions fueled by circumstantial evidence.
Perhaps this was the beginning of the curse that would eventually lead to the Tang Clan’s downfall.

Sohwa clenched her fists, her knuckles turning white.
“Miss, we need to go back now.”
At Yoonjin’s voice, she relaxed her hands, her face carefully blank. She looked up at him, her gaze cold, and he flinched. She averted her eyes and nodded slowly.

“Yes, let’s go.”
When they returned, the bodies of their enemies had been piled together, and Hanwon lay before the old physician.
“Miss!”

“Noona!” The deputy leader and Tang Hak rushed towards them.
“He’s stable, but we can’t stay here any longer.”
“But we can’t just leave him!”

The deputy leader’s pragmatic resignation and Tang Hak’s stubborn defiance mirrored the conflicting emotions churning within Sohwa.
Without a word, she walked towards the injured Black Tiger Unit warrior and pulled a small, palm-sized wooden box from her sleeve.
“Miss.” The deputy leader frowned, but she ignored him, approaching the old physician and opening the box. Inside were the five Yeonjuhwan pills.

“You said these would prevent necrosis and accelerate healing?” she asked Jincheol, who nodded in confirmation.
Satisfied, she took out the pills and placed one in each of the five injured warriors’ mouths.
“Miss!” The deputy leader’s sharp cry startled even the other Black Tiger Unit warriors.

The Yeonjuhwan were legendary elixirs, coveted by all martial artists. Tang Min had entrusted them to Sohwa because he knew her pragmatic, unsentimental nature. To see her use all five pills on these critically injured warriors, their survival uncertain, was shocking.
The deputy leader's heart sank. He was both terrified of what Tang Min would do when he found out and strangely relieved.
Sohwa placed the empty box on the ground and looked up at the old physician. “When Elder Tang Min returns, we’ll come back for the Divine Physician's troupe. I’ll leave them in your care.”

Jincheol looked at her, his expression unreadable, then replied, “I give you my word. I will do everything in my power to protect them.”
A heavy silence descended, the thoughts of these individuals, their allegiances and motives intertwined, hanging heavy in the air.