—Kyuki.

As soon as Ranghyang dipped her foot into the water, she flinched and looked at me. Must’ve been cold.

“Is it cold?”

—Kyukiie...

I touched the water myself and looked at her with concern. Ranghyang shook her head.

It didn’t feel like she was saying it wasn’t cold—more like she was saying she could endure it.

Hyang’s translation, drifting in from nearby, confirmed it.

—Tssrrrr 『She says it’s fine. She can bear with it, Dad.』

“You’re really okay?”

Instead of answering, Ranghyang continued lowering herself into the water.

Soon, her entire body was submerged in the tub, only her head poking out.

Ranghyang... always so gentle.

In her inner world, she probably took on the form of some delicate, sorrowful woman, I thought, watching the water closely.

The water was distilled.

We’d brought in a massive basin and filled it with cooled, distilled water.

I had Ranghyang soak in it with just her head above the surface.

All of this was to dissolve Ranghyang’s poison—cyanide, also called hydrogen cyanide—into the distilled water.

Can’t use warm water for this.

If she was fine, we could go ahead and dissolve the cyanide directly into the water.

I explained to her what to do.

“Ranghyang, just release your poison in there. Not too much at once—just a little bit at a time. If it feels hard to breathe or anything, you can stop and come out, okay?”

—Kykit!

Ranghyang’s poison came from the spiracles along the sides of her body—the equivalent of nostrils on humans. As she exhaled, her poison would emerge in a vapor-like form.

I had asked her to release it gently and gradually. That way, it would mix into the water more effectively.

Cyanide dissolves easily in water, after all.

—Bubble. Bubble.

Almost as soon as I finished speaking, small bubbles began rising from the water.

I quickly turned my back to the breeze.

When cyanide dissolves in water, it releases hydrogen cyanide gas—an extremely volatile substance. Inhaling it could lead to cyanide poisoning and death.

That’s why warm water was out of the question.

It can vaporize even at room temperature, and warmth would only accelerate it.

Whew... Working with poison always puts you on edge.

Even though I’d turned away from the wind, I held my breath just to be safe and watched the water Ranghyang was soaking in.

Slowly, the water began to tint red.

Cyanide itself is colorless, odorless, and crystalline.

The red hue must’ve come from Ranghyang’s proteins mixing into the poison. Some impurities, no doubt.

That meant I wasn’t sure if the electroplating would work perfectly—but I decided to go ahead and use Ranghyang’s poison anyway.

The Tang Clan did have cyanide extracted from fruit seeds, but this wasn’t just chemistry—it was also performance.

A statement, that even Ranghyang’s poison wasn’t just any toxin, but something powerful and purposeful.

And if it didn’t work, I could always fall back on the clan’s supply.

—Bubbling. Bubbling.

As the water bubbled more vigorously, the red hue deepened.

When the water turned blood-red, Sister Seol—watching from nearby—let out a gasp.

“That color is... beautiful.”

“Right?”

“Yeah. Makes me want to use it as lip stain.”

It was redder than any lipstick—probably why it looked so appealing to her. But if she actually did use it that way, her lips wouldn’t turn red—they’d turn purple.

She’d be a corpse.

“Please don’t say stuff like that, even as a joke. It’s dangerous, Sister Seol.”

“I know, I know. I didn’t mean it seriously. But it does look like the color of yuejie petals... Oh, that reminds me...”

Just as I was warning her against making dangerous jokes, she looked like something had occurred to her.

Then, with a slightly worried expression, she asked,

“But So-ryong, aren’t you going to smooth things over with Hwa-eun? And Ranghu too?”

She must’ve thought of Hwa-eun when the yuejie—roses—came to mind.

I let out a deep sigh.

“Yeah... I’ll have to.”

Hwa-eun was sulking after I didn’t teach her the electroplating process—even though she thought I’d at least let her in on the secret.

Ranghu had been sulking ever since she ran into Big Sis Jeokwol, still harboring resentment.

I hadn’t cleared things up yet, mostly because I’d been so busy.

I finally get how overworked boyfriends in my past life must’ve felt when their girlfriends got upset. But come on—Hwa-eun’s one thing, why do I have to feel the same pressure from Ranghu too?

Just as I started spiraling into minor existential dread, Sister Seol chimed in again.

“Got a plan?”

“Sort of. I’ve got an idea. Hwa-eun should forgive me quickly, I think. It’s Ranghu that’s tricky.”

“Yeah, Hwa-eun adores you. She’ll melt the moment you talk to her.”

I already had something in mind for Hwa-eun.

Ranghu? I might’ve seemed like I was ignoring her—but that wasn’t it.

She’d shut herself in, locked the door, and I hadn’t gotten the chance to open it.

But for now, I was busy. After the electroplating demonstration tomorrow, I’d go see her.

I still had to head back to the forge later today—there was no time.

Ugh... My fate. Why does it feel like I’m juggling multiple women when I’m only dating one? If this was how it was going to be, I should’ve let myself get captured by the monks at Shaolin down in Haenam.

This wasn’t a huge crisis or anything, but it was mentally exhausting. Maybe monkhood really was the better path.

—Kyuki.

Just then, I heard a weak cry from Ranghyang.

“What’s wrong, Ranghyang?”

I turned my head to see her dragging herself out of the basin, gasping for breath.

The water she had soaked in had turned redder than blood.

At first, I’d doubted whether this would even work—cyanide is colorless, after all. But that red hue actually made it easier to tell how concentrated the solution had become.

The deeper the color, the more cyanide was in the water.

Perfect.

I praised Ranghyang and used a ladle to wash her off in a tub of clean water I’d prepared.

“Great job, Ranghyang.”

—Kyukii.

As I rinsed her with fresh water, I instructed the warriors nearby to seal the completed cyanide solution in jars.

To prevent hydrogen cyanide gas from leaking out.

“Seal this tightly in jars. And while handling it, make absolutely sure you don’t inhale.”

“Understood, Lord So-ryong.”

***

Yesterday, after preparing plenty of cyanide in distilled water and asking the forge for one last batch of components, I’d fallen into a deep sleep.

The only things left were the silver nitrate made by the poison artisans and the metalwork from the forge.

Today was the day everything would come together. The moment I woke up, my mind was already racing ahead. And just as I sat up from bed, word arrived.

“So-ryong-nim, did you cough? A message came from the Poison Processing Hall—what you asked for is ready.”

“Oh? Really?”

“Yes, they said to stop by after breakfast.”

“Tell them I’ll be there.”

“Yes, sir.”

It was Mirang, who’d come to wake me but ended up delivering the news.

I quickly washed up and headed out for breakfast.

Meals were usually shared with the whole family, after all.

On the way to the dining hall, Mirang came running again to give me more news: the forge was done too.

“So-ryong-nim! The forge finished everything you requested as well!”

“Got it. Then we start right after breakfast.”

With all the materials ready, the demonstration could begin right after we ate.

When I entered the dining hall, the family was already preparing for the meal.

“Did you sleep well, Grandfather?”

“Yes, and you?”

“Father-in-law, Mother-in-law, did you rest well?”

“We did. And you, son-in-law? Come, sit here.”

They welcomed me warmly—but Hwa-eun, sitting beside my seat, turned her head sharply the moment she saw me.

“Did you sleep well too, Hwa-eun?”

“Yes.”

Short, sulky response. She wasn’t hiding her mood in the slightest.

Suppressing a chuckle, I turned to the family and asked if they’d like to attend today’s session.

“Grandfather, Father-in-law, Mother-in-law, all the materials I requested from the Poison Processing Hall and the forge are ready. I plan to demonstrate the counterfeit silver process. Would you like to watch after breakfast?”

“Oh? It’s ready already?”

“Yes, Grandfather.”

“Well, we can’t miss something like that. Where are you doing it?”

“I’ll be using the open area near the back garden pond—near Ranghu’s house.”

“Very well. Then let’s finish eating and head over together.”

Excited to see the silver plating, the family quickly finished the meal and made their way to the back garden. First thing I did upon arriving was send for the materials from the forge and Poison Processing Hall.

“So-ryong-nim, where should I put this?”

Soon the materials began arriving.

I asked the artisan from the Poison Processing Hall, “Is this the finished batch?”

“Yes, So-ryong-nim.”

“Is this all of it?”

He and a few helpers had brought over black ceramic jars. Judging by the size, I wondered if the quantity was a bit low.

He shook his head and explained, “No, there’s plenty more at the hall. We made about ten jars like this.”

That would be more than enough.

The jars weren’t small, so the amount looked sufficient.

“We have plenty of Seokdamjeong stored in the clan.”

—Srrrng.

The artisan answered while lifting the detox cloth over his head and opened one of the jars.

Inside, a transparent liquid rippled softly.

I didn’t ask what the Tang Clan needed so much sulfuric acid for—I figured it was best not to.

He handed me another detox cloth, silently asking me to check the solution.

“Is this what you were aiming for?”

It wasn’t easy to confirm with just a glance, so I put on the cloth and peered into the jar, giving the illusion of evaluation. Just then, he asked something more carefully:

“We’ve been calling the mixture of Seokdamjeong and saltpeter ‘Saltpeter Stone Essence (초석담정),’ and when silver is added, we call it ‘Silver Saltpeter Stone Essence (은초석담정).’ But would you like to give it an official name, So-ryong-nim?

In the Tang Clan, it’s tradition for the creator to name the poison.”

So they’d come up with interim names like Saltpeter Stone Essence and Silver Saltpeter Stone Essence—definitely too long.

In my past life, we just called sulfuric acid and saltpeter mix nitric acid.

“Those names are a bit long. Let’s call the sulfuric mix Chosan (硝酸)—Nitric Acid. It means ‘the hot energy formed from dissolved saltpeter.’”

“That’s a good name.”

“And the one with silver in it? We’ll call that Chosan-eun—Silver Nitric Acid.”

“Understood, So-ryong-nim.”

It wasn’t like I made the stuff myself, but I gave the name anyway. Just then, another jar arrived—the water Ranghyang had bathed in.

“Over here.”

“Yes, sir.”

I placed a ceramic bowl in position and lined up both jars—the one with Ranghyang’s bathwater and the one with silver nitrate.

And at last, the forge’s materials arrived.

Copper rods, leather gloves, and the fake Dragon Silver ingots I had requested.

“So-ryong-nim, here’s the last batch.”

“Thank you.”

I tucked the pouch the forge master handed me inside my robe and got ready for the demonstration.

“Alright, let’s begin. Please take a few steps back, everyone.”

“Of course.”

I put on the gloves first and ladled some silver nitrate into the ceramic bowl.

Then I mixed in Ranghyang’s bathwater in a 1:2 ratio.

Careful now.

Mixing cyanide and silver nitrate is the most dangerous part of the silver plating process.

In my past life, people had died from cyanide exposure during transport alone.

This was the riskiest step.

—Chaaak.

With everything mixed, preparation was complete.

I bent two thin copper rods and hooked them onto the sides of the ceramic bowl, then connected them to a longer rod that stretched toward the pond.

They had been made to connect seamlessly.

Once I lowered the rod into the water, Seomi and Byeoki swam up, tilting their heads.

—Wae?

—Wae-aee?

Curious little guys. I asked them to hold their questions for a bit.

“I’ll explain in a second.”

One end of the copper went directly into the bowl.

The other end touched the Dragon Silver ingot.

“Could you hold this against the ingot while wearing gloves?”

“Yes, So-ryong-nim.”

After instructing the poison artisan to hold the rod to the ingot, I returned to the pond.

It was time to ask the Hoyes for a favor.

“Hey, could one of you come over and release a bit of electric current?”

—Wae!?

—Wae-ae-ae!?

They both looked shocked.

They must’ve remembered the time they shocked me and got scolded by the others.

“Not the one you used on me! Use the other one—the one you use to find things in the water. I just need that, nice and slow.”

Among electric creatures, the most well-known is the electric eel.

They can emit both AC and DC currents.

AC for attack—it rapidly contracts and relaxes muscles, often fatal.

DC for navigation—they release a current and receive the signal back through their tails to sense other life.

Byeoki gave a cautious little cry.

—Wae?

She must’ve already started emitting current. I asked her to align her tail and current-emitting part to the rod.

“Put your tail and the electric organ here, okay?”

—Wae!

Byeoki brought her body against the copper rod in the pond and gave a soft hum.

—Wae-aee.

I quickly ran back to the poison artisan. There, in the bowl of liquid that looked like pomegranate juice, the copper rod had been dipped.

“Is something happening?”

Grandfather Mandok Shingun asked as nothing seemed to happen at first.

But when I lifted the ladle and pulled out the ingot—

The copper Dragon Silver had turned into a dazzling, bright silver.

Still thin—needed a bit more plating—but the elders were clearly dying of anticipation.

I rinsed the ingot and showed it to the family.

Gasps followed.

“Ooooh! That’s really silver! And so pure! To think you made this with poison—it’s like something a divine immortal would do.”

“The copper really turned to silver! Incredible, son-in-law! How did you do this?”

Their eyes were almost sparkling.

As if they’d fallen in love with me just then.

The Tang Clan had turned poison into silver—and I was now the target of glimmering admiration.

Meeting those eyes sent a shiver down my spine.

Good god. I never thought I’d ✪ Nоvеlіgһt ✪ (Official version) see this kind of look... from men.

The intense male stares were enough to make me rethink my earlier monk fantasy.

No, I’ll take Hwa-eun and the spirit beast chaos over this any day.

At least Hwa-eun and Ranghu were cute.

These guys? This was getting dangerous.