Chapter 68

A person doesn’t die instantly even when stabbed in the heart. However, bleeding out slowly while dying is far more terrifying and horrifying.

Jin Ja-gang stood before him, looking down. The cook, clutching the dagger embedded in his chest, gazed up at Jin Ja-gang with clouded pupils.

“Damned cripple…”

Jin Ja-gang felt a strange sensation from the curse the cook spat out.

“Do you know me?”

Though he could walk almost normally with a bit of effort, Jin Ja-gang often habitually limped. So, it wasn’t particularly remarkable that he was a cripple.

What was strange was that the term “cripple” had come out of the cook’s mouth at this very moment.

The cook spat out words while coughing up blood.

“The one who massacred hundreds of villagers along with the Stone Forest Gang…”

Jin Ja-gang’s eyes narrowed.

“What do you mean by that?”

“Heh heh… Now that you’ve crossed us… no matter how exceptional you are… you’ll never survive…”

The cook pulled the dagger out of his own chest.

Spurt! Hot blood sprayed out as the light faded from the cook’s eyes.

Jin Ja-gang looked down at the cook for a moment before searching his blood-soaked body.

There were small vials that seemed to contain poison and blood-stained pouches of powder. They appeared to be antidotes, but it seemed there hadn’t been time to administer them to his comrades disguised as the waiter and merchants.

And unexpectedly, a letter emerged.

‘If you spot a suspicious individual, particularly one who limps, take the following measures immediately.’

Below were several response strategies depending on the situation, and at the very bottom was the mark of the Shadow Bureau.

‘Shadow Bureau?’

It was obvious to anyone that “the one who limps” referred to Jin Ja-gang.

It seemed the incident at Stone Forest Gang had already become known.

There were quite a few villagers who had seen him, so it was highly likely they had obtained information about him from them.

‘But it’s only been a day…’

Though he had killed the experts from Iron Umbrella Sect and Shadow Bureau, he hadn’t dealt with those from Poison Valley.

Could it be that the information had reached Shadow Bureau because of that?

Jin Ja-gang was surprised at how quickly they had responded, far beyond what he had expected.

Having been caught here, the likelihood of his location being exposed had increased significantly.

This made his future movements considerably more burdensome.

But before that… there was something bothering him.

It was what the cook had said before dying.

‘Stone Forest Gang, I understand, but what does he mean by massacring hundreds of villagers?’

Of course, Jin Ja-gang had done no such thing.

So why had he said that?

Jin Ja-gang was enveloped in a strange sense of unease.

It wasn’t just that the enemies were strong or their response was thorough; it was a different, uncomfortable feeling.

“Hmm.”

However, that didn’t mean he would stop. It was merely that something bound to be revealed eventually had come to light a bit sooner.

After confirming that the cook was completely dead, Jin Ja-gang returned inside the inn.

The group disguised as merchants and the waiter were paralyzed by the poison, but they had seen and heard everything that had just transpired.

From Jin Ja-gang’s actions, they could tell that they, too, were unlikely to survive.

Jin Ja-gang stood before them and asked.

“The people you poisoned must have died like this as well, right?”

Of course they had, but naturally, they couldn’t admit it.

Among them, the one disguised as the waiter shook his head with effort.

“N-no, that’s not true.”

Due to the poisoning, his throat was stiff, and his voice came out as faint as a mosquito’s buzz.

Jin Ja-gang leaned in closer, as if showing a willingness to converse.

“Then, have you ever spared someone who begged for their life?”

The waiter, thinking he might survive if he answered well, nodded with all his strength.

“Y-yes, yes! Of c-course!”

His voice was stronger than before.

Jin Ja-gang responded.

“I haven’t.”

“…What?”

Jin Ja-gang stabbed the waiter with the dagger, killing him.

“Urk.”

The waiter, even in his dying moment, wore a face full of resentment.

The three disguised as merchants turned pale. One of them glared at Jin Ja-gang and, with a stiff tongue, barely managed to speak.

“You’re… as good as dead…”

Jin Ja-gang cut him off.

“I’ve already heard that just now.”

Without hesitation, Jin Ja-gang slit his throat.

“Guh!”

The man whose throat was cut died with a look of grievance.

Jin Ja-gang made sure to kill the remaining two as well.

Soon, the inn was filled only with the scent of death.

“Looks like I’ll have to sleep outdoors.”

No matter how bold and fearless Jin Ja-gang was, he had no intention of sleeping nonchalantly in a place filled with the people he had killed.

After gathering the bodies in one spot and burying them in the backyard, Jin Ja-gang left the inn.

***
Read only at nineheavens.org

Translated by Nine Heavens!

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***

Mang Ryo arrived in Panlong after two days.

Panlong was the region where Poison Valley was located.

At a shabby ancestral shrine at the entrance to the valley leading to Poison Valley, Wei Zong, dressed in an elegant scholar’s robe, was walking out of the valley as if on a leisurely stroll, holding a staff.

Mang Ryo and Wei Zong met in front of the shrine.

“It’s been a while, Elder Mang. Or should I say, Advisor of the Poison Control Bureau now?”

Wei Zong greeted Mang Ryo warmly with a smile.

“It hasn’t even been an hour since I received the messenger pigeon, and you’re already here? Seems your martial skills have improved significantly.”

Wei Zong smiled while tapping the ground with the staff he held.

At that moment, Mang Ryo let out a faint chuckle. Suddenly, he sensed a subtle fragrance of lilies.

Mang Ryo chewed for a while before gathering saliva and spitting it out.

“Ptoo.”

The saliva that fell to the ground was black.

Wei Zong’s expression shifted slightly.

“Oh?”

He had used poison, yet Mang Ryo had countered it effortlessly.

Wei Zong, despite his gentlemanly appearance, was someone who enjoyed subjugating others through force.

He wasn’t the type to tolerate Mang Ryo, who once couldn’t even speak informally to him, now standing tall with his head held high.

Wei Zong flashed an exaggerated, insincere smile with his eyes.

“You’ve grown a lot. Our Advisor Mang?”

“It’s all thanks to your concern, Valley Master Wei.”

Mang Ryo’s tone lacked respect, causing Wei Zong’s eyebrow to twitch despite his smile.

“Yes, yes. A person must play in big waters to grow. Our Advisor Mang has been swimming in the vast waters of the Martial Arts Alliance and has become quite bold. You’ve changed so much I hardly recognize you.”

“I’ll take that as a compliment.”

Wei Zong smiled with a slightly distorted face.

“Ha ha! Indeed. Seeing someone grow is always a pleasure. That’s why I like Advisor Mang.”

Mang Ryo let out a low scoff at Wei Zong’s insincere laughter but didn’t say anything further.

“You must have a rough idea of the situation since you received the messenger pigeon.”

“A mere pup has gone mad and is running rampant, isn’t that it?”

“It’s a bit difficult to dismiss him as just a pup.”

“Even if he buried a half-crippled Stone Forest Gang, that doesn’t make him anything remarkable.”

There was a barb in his words.

After all, it was Mang Ryo who had turned Stone Forest Gang into a crippled faction. Mang Ryo subtly shifted the topic.

“Your Valley’s Noh Yuk was also killed by him.”

Wei Zong wore a peculiar smile.

“Looking at you now, it seems even our Brother Noh Yuk wouldn’t last ten moves against Advisor Mang.”

Mang Ryo felt a chill inside. Indeed, Wei Zong was a cunning old fox. Without any solid evidence, he was probing Mang Ryo just on a hunch.

But Mang Ryo wasn’t someone to be taken lightly either.

Mang Ryo asked outright.

“Your words are a bit unpleasant to hear. Are you suggesting I did something to Noh Yuk?”

“Oh, don’t take it to heart. Advisor Mang is part of the Martial Arts Alliance; how could I dare to disrespect you? Besides, after receiving the messenger pigeon from Shadow Bureau, I’ve already sent people to retrieve the bodies, so the cause will be clarified in detail soon enough.”

Whether it was Mang Ryo’s doing or something else, if Mang Ryo’s investigation report turned out to be wrong, Wei Zong implied he would hold the Martial Arts Alliance accountable.

It wasn’t unreasonable for Wei Zong to be so sharp.

Originally, Wei Zong had a decent relationship with Baek Li-jung. Eight years ago, when Extreme Poison Sect was annihilated, it was Wei Zong who had instructed Mang Ryo to give false testimony in favor of Baek Li-jung.

Thanks to that, Baek Li-jung was able to cleanly eliminate the opposing factions within the Martial Arts Alliance. Mang Ryo had testified that the bloodbath at Extreme Poison Sect was their doing.

However, afterward, Mang Ryo had approached Baek Li-jung, secured a position, and even instigated internal conflict within Stone Forest Gang.

With Extreme Poison Sect annihilated, leaving only four poison sects, and one of them reduced to half its strength, Yunnan’s poison sects had suffered significant damage.

Naturally, Wei Zong was furious.

Yet, perhaps because Mang Ryo had secured a position in the Martial Arts Alliance, Baek Li-jung didn’t even entertain proper complaints.

As a result, the relationship between Wei Zong and Baek Li-jung had greatly deteriorated.

Thus, it was no surprise that Wei Zong’s gaze toward Mang Ryo, the main instigator of Stone Forest Gang’s internal strife, was far from kind.

Of course, Mang Ryo felt the same way.

To Mang Ryo, Wei Zong was someone he wouldn’t be satisfied with even if he killed him and chewed his flesh.

He had almost captured Jin Ja-gang, but Wei Zong had acted on his own accord, causing him to lose him right before his eyes.

Because of that, Mang Ryo had to wait eight long years. Moreover, Wei Zong’s dismissive words and actions at the time had further enraged Mang Ryo.

‘If you hadn’t done something as foolish as blowing up the mine shaft back then, I wouldn’t have needed to devour Stone Forest Gang to grow.’

‘Mang Ryo, you bat-like b*st*rd. Soon, you’ll pay the price.’

Mang Ryo and Wei Zong smiled at each other while harboring different thoughts.

“This conversation is starting to get tiresome. So, what is it? Let’s hear why you came to see me in person.”

Wei Zong tossed out the words as if joking.

“What, don’t tell me you’re here to say that the limping guy turns out to be that kid from back then? If so, I’d be disappointed in you, Elder Mang.”

Wei Zong still remembered. He recalled Mang Ryo claiming that a single child had annihilated Extreme Poison Sect.

Mang Ryo’s face twisted.

However, contrary to Wei Zong’s thoughts, Mang Ryo’s twisted expression was one of barely suppressed laughter.

Then, Mang Ryo burst into hearty laughter.

“How could that be! How long ago was that story? As you know, Valley Master, I was in quite a frantic state back then, wasn’t I?”

“Indeed, you were.”

“Anyway.”

Mang Ryo paused before continuing.

“This guy is targeting our poison sects. However, since he’s not someone to be taken lightly, we need to set an appropriate bait and cast a net.”

“You’re suggesting we lure him out? What kind of bait do you intend to use?”

“It can’t be just anything; it has to be a big bait that he’ll bite on. For instance…”

Mang Ryo threw out the words casually.

“Something like Iron Umbrella Sect…”

A moment of silence followed.

“What?”

Wei Zong let out a disbelieving laugh.

“Ha ha, Advisor Mang, you’re someone who’s going to cause big trouble. Did I hear that wrong?”

But Mang Ryo’s expression was utterly serious.

“This guy is bold and cruel enough to kill hundreds of innocent villagers. Moreover, he’s a master who killed not only Stone Forest Gang but also Do Nam-gi, Noh Yuk, and Gu Sang-wol. If we respond half-heartedly…”

“Advisor Mang.”

Wei Zong’s expression was colder than ever.

“When I heard that Stone Forest Gang had been reduced to half its strength and that Leader Jia Hei had died, I shed tears of blood inwardly. Jia Hei was like a younger brother to me.”

“I deeply regret the loss.”

“It’s not just a matter of regret!”

Veins bulged on Wei Zong’s face.