After a brutal bloody battle with the Demonic Cult, the pillars of the Six Great Families were shaken to their roots, leaving them barely maintaining their existence.

I, too, lost my father and rose to the position of Head of the Valley of Ten Thousand Poisons, but every night was a continuation of days spent tenaciously enduring the backlash of the toxins in my body to prevent the family's decline.

Then, strange rumors began to circulate in the Murim out of nowhere.

It was a ridiculous story that the Six Families had now become the 'Seven Great Families.'

Among the prestigious families that pride themselves on the world's greatest intellect and tradition, what kind of rootless bloodline dared to wedge itself in?

Furious, the heads of the Six Families immediately gathered, and the identity revealed through tracking the source was 'Geummandang,' a merchant family that aimed to cover the world in gold.

Rootless merchants using a few coins to impersonate a prestigious title.

Furthermore, according to Geummandang's claims, they were practically the 7th Great Family since they were backing the massive financial deficits of the Six Families.

Moreover, rumors about the owner of Geummandang were rampant.

'They never show their face and always use a proxy.'

'In reality, they are a monster that will shake the Murim.'

'Actually, they are a hundred-year-old gumiho.'

'They are a secret agent of the Demonic Cult already making secret deals with the Imperial Court.'

Only all sorts of grim and suspicious rumors shrouded in mystery abounded; no one even knew their gender properly.

Unable to take it anymore, we sent a solemn letter to interrogate the real owner of Geummandang and bury them from the Murim for the crime of shameless impersonation. And today was the day to finally see the face of that fake family.

At the appointed hour, the heavy doors of the council chamber opened.

Since we threatened to behead them immediately if they sent a proxy, I expected an old merchant or a hideous elder to walk in trembling.

But the moment I saw the figure walking in with the rustle of silk robes, my breath caught.

'...What?'

The owner of Geummandang, who removed their veil and revealed themselves, had red lips and elegant lines—a truly beautiful face that made my heart throb.

That appearance, with a slight smile and curiosity in their dark eyes, was a level of beauty I had never seen in any sect in the world. The voices of the other family heads, who were about to scream about impersonation and insulting prestigious names, fell silent in an instant. I felt as if even the pain of the toxic energy I had painfully accumulated for years melted away in a single moment.

So what if they have no pedigree?

Overwhelming wealth and ability to manipulate the world's Geummandang, and that absolutely perfect appearance.

Is there anything lacking?

Prestigious pride is of no help in the face of the family's revival and that beautiful face.

There is only one way to rebuild the declining Valley of Ten Thousand Poisons and find the only sanctuary in my life.

'I will surely seduce that person and make them my partner.'

I leaned deep into my chair, slightly curling the corners of my mouth as I gazed intently at that beautiful face.

Whether the heads of the Six Families were bursting with rage or not, my mind was already filled only with plans on how to kidnap that person to the Valley of Ten Thousand Poisons and seat them by my side.