Chapter 163

The young Taoist stopped eating mid-motion and froze completely.

“Heh, you’re quite good at joking.”

“I’m not joking.”

Seeing Jin Ja-gang answer seriously, the young Taoist’s pupils shook.

The young Taoist showed a flustered expression.

When he moved his internal energy slightly to check, he could feel poison accumulated in his blood vessels. Even the tips of his fingernails had turned bluish.

“Huh? No, I… I haven’t done anything wrong to you, so why are you doing this? Where in the world does someone offer food and then give poison?”

At the young Taoist’s aggrieved words, Jin Ja-gang replied in an even more incredulous tone.

“I naturally thought you would know.”

“What? How would I know whether there’s poison or not?”

“Can’t you tell by looking?”

The young Taoist quietly looked down at his rice bowl. Then he also looked at the stir-fried side dishes that had come out.

Then he smiled sheepishly.

“I really can’t tell.”

“The color of the Sichuan pepper powder sprinkled on the rice has changed.”

“Oh, really?”

The young Taoist looked at the rice bowl as if it were fascinating.

“Is that so? I was wondering why you sprinkled Sichuan pepper powder on rice, thinking your eating habits were quite strange.”

“I was the one who sprinkled the Sichuan pepper powder, but…”

Jin Ja-gang stared intently at the young Taoist.

He had never seen such a careless and naive martial artist before. He couldn’t tell whether he was doing it on purpose or if this was his natural personality.

However, that carelessness seemed so natural and peaceful that Jin Ja-gang felt strange.

When meeting martial artists, Jin Ja-gang always had to live tensely as if standing on needles. Since one mistake could cost him his life, he had to keep his nerves on edge every time.

He had developed the habit of observing things in detail whenever he had time to use his surroundings for anything, and even when nothing was happening, he had to keep moving while making contingency plans in case of unforeseen circumstances.

Was it an inferiority complex?

Compared to himself who had lived this way, this young Taoist who seemed only two or three years younger was even innocent and naive. This might actually be the appearance befitting this age.

Having such thoughts made Jin Ja-gang’s mood peculiar.

Jin Ja-gang stood up from his seat.

“I would prefer if you didn’t follow me anymore. And you can discuss that poison with the person over there.”

At those words, the young Taoist looked toward the person sitting by the window. In the inn’s dining room, there were only Jin Ja-gang, himself, and one man wearing a bamboo hat sitting by the window.

As soon as Jin Ja-gang finished speaking, the person who had been sitting by the window shook his head and laughed.

“Haha. Well now. I didn’t expect that placing poison would be so easily discovered by a mere scoundrel of the evil faction. Is this what passes for a poison hand these days?”

Placing poison refers to mixing poison into food.

The young Taoist looked the person by the window up and down, then asked back.

“Huh? Are you perhaps someone from the Tang Family Great Compound?”

The person by the window lifted his bamboo hat and looked at the young man. He appeared to be around thirty years old.

“Greetings, Taoist Woon-jeong. I am called Tang Li-sim.”

When Tang Li-sim stood up and made a cupped-fist salute, the young Taoist Woon-jeong also returned the salute. However, his tone was disgruntled.

“I ate poisoned rice, but I was still fine until just now. However, seeing someone with the Tang surname, I’m no longer fine.”

“What do you mean by that?”

Woon-jeong replied as if it were obvious.

“I understand this area is jointly managed by us, the Tang Family Great Compound, and the Emei Buddhist sect – three sects together. Yet you carelessly use poison in such a place. That is an act of disrespecting our Qingcheng Sect.”

Tang Li-sim waved his hand saying it made no sense.

“How could testing an evil faction scoundrel become an act of disrespecting Qingcheng? I didn’t place the poison knowing that Taoist Woon-jeong would eat it.”

“Ah, is that so? Hmm, come to think of it, if I hadn’t been greedy for another’s meal, this wouldn’t have happened. Primordial Heavenly Venerable…”

While the two were talking, Jin Ja-gang packed his belongings and went out.

“You two can handle the detoxification, and I’ll be going now.”

Tang Li-sim snorted and swung his arm widely.

“Where do you think you’re going?”

Three chopsticks flew toward Jin Ja-gang’s nose and embedded in the doorframe.

Thwack!

“You cannot leave this place at will…”

But Tang Li-sim couldn’t finish his words.

Somehow Woon-jeong had blocked Jin Ja-gang’s path and caught the chopsticks between his fingers.

He failed to catch one and let it slip, so it flew to the doorframe and embedded there, but he caught two of them.

Since he caught up the moment they were thrown, it meant he was much faster than the speed at which the chopsticks were thrown.

Tang Li-sim was speechless at the unimaginable speed of the movement technique.

“Ah, my stomach hurt so I missed one.”

Woon-jeong grimaced and glared at Tang Li-sim.

“I just told you that, yet you use your hands again? Isn’t this also disrespecting Qingcheng?”

“No, that’s… I threw them at that fellow, but you blocked them…”

Woon-jeong spoke clearly.

“The three sects respect each other and don’t carelessly use force within other sects’ spheres of influence. That’s the unwritten rule I heard from my master. So using poison and throwing hidden weapons in front of me means…”

When Woon-jeong mentioned his master, Tang Li-sim’s complexion rapidly worsened. Woon-jeong’s master was someone no one in Sichuan didn’t know.

However, the pride of the Tang surname wouldn’t let him easily bow his knees. When it came to pride, the Tang family was certainly not low either.

Tang Li-sim’s face hardened.

“You keep protecting that fellow? Are you deliberately picking a fight with our Tang sect? Even though you’re young, I was treating you with respect!”

“When did I pick a fight? Wasn’t it you who picked the fight first?”

Woon-jeong looked bewildered and glanced at the chopsticks in his hand.

“Just take these back.”

Woon-jeong swung and threw the chopsticks.

Whirr!

The chopsticks embedded in Tang Li-sim’s table in sequence. No, rather than embedded, it was more accurate to say they flew over and stood there.

Though it looked like a trick, it was skill in exquisitely controlling internal energy.

However, while one chopstick stood perfectly on the table without penetrating at all, the other was embedded about half an inch deep.

“Ah, my stomach hurt so…”

Woon-jeong turned his head awkwardly. Whether it was because the poison prevented proper control or because he was still young and lacked the subtlety of internal energy operation was unclear.

In any case, Jin Ja-gang didn’t get involved in their fight. Jin Ja-gang looked at Tang Li-sim and asked.

“If you have something to say to me, please say it.”

Tang Li-sim smiled and said.

“I came to warn you. Today I’ll endure it for Qingcheng Sect’s sake. But if you continue walking around with your head held so stiffly even after leaving Dayi, you’ll see unpleasant sights.”

“Are you picking a fight?”

Jin Ja-gang returned the exact words Tang Li-sim had said to Woon-jeong.

Originally, he should have asked if he was threatening. But he said picking a fight instead of threatening. It was a term that could only be used in equal relationships, so there was clearly a difference in feeling.

“Insolent brat.”

Tang Li-sim ground his teeth while Woon-jeong laughed.

“Puhaha! Oh my, I’m sorry for laughing. I couldn’t help but laugh.”

Tang Li-sim’s face turned red and blue.

Jin Ja-gang paid no attention to their reactions and said.

“I understand. I’ll do as you advise. Will that be sufficient?”

“Yes!”

Jin Ja-gang gave a slight nod and left the inn. Tang Li-sim gritted his teeth and endured, not knowing what humiliation he might face if he blocked him again for no reason.

“Huh?”

Woon-jeong looked back and forth between Jin Ja-gang and Tang Li-sim, feeling troubled. His stomach hurt so he needed detoxification, but he was worried about losing Jin Ja-gang again while receiving antidote from Tang Li-sim.

However, Woon-jeong’s worry was unfounded.

Jin Ja-gang was walking not very far from the inn.

Woon-jeong received antidote from the reluctant Tang Li-sim, ate it, and quickly chased after Jin Ja-gang.

“Please let me go with you!”

Jin Ja-gang stopped in place and stared at Woon-jeong without answering. The voice had come from behind, but Woon-jeong was already walking alongside him.

Woon-jeong smiled sheepishly again, perhaps feeling unnecessarily embarrassed.

“I’m sorry. Originally I wasn’t planning to stick this close, but since you keep running away, I thought it would be better to just stay right next to you. Actually, if my master finds out we met like this, I’ll get in trouble, but please bear with me until you leave Dayi.”

Thinking about it, Jin Ja-gang realized it would probably be better to go together rather than having him suddenly pop out from hiding. If done well like when meeting the Tang family earlier, it could be helpful.

No, even aside from that, he realized it wouldn’t be easy to shake off this Taoist. He was prepared to follow anywhere and had the ability to do so if he set his mind to it.

“I understand.”

When Jin Ja-gang readily agreed, Woon-jeong happily followed along. Perhaps because of this, he chattered on about things no one had asked.

“Actually, getting scolded by my master once is better than doing wall meditation for a year.”

Jin Ja-gang agreed.

“I see. Even I would prefer getting scolded to wall meditation for a year.”

“Haha, thank you for understanding.”

Then Woon-jeong suddenly scratched his head and frowned.

“Oh no… I came without paying for the food I ate earlier. Could you wait a moment? I’ll go pay for what I ate and come back.”

“I already left money for it. The owner was scared and hiding in the kitchen.”

“Huh?”

Woon-jeong looked at Jin Ja-gang with surprised eyes.

“You… are a good person!”

“I don’t think so.”

Jin Ja-gang ignored him and walked on. Woon-jeong tilted his head and followed.

“Ah… is that so? Come to think of it, seeing you carelessly scatter poison powder around yesterday, you don’t seem like a good person.”

“What I scattered for you to see yesterday was just mixed grain powder.”

“What?”

Woon-jeong clapped his hands.

“Ah, no wonder it had a savory taste. I was deceived. As expected, you are a good person…”

“After that, you searched through the grass and looked for footprints on the ground to chase me, didn’t you?”

“Yes. I certainly did.”

“I sprinkled poison on the grass where the footprints were.”

“…”

“I mixed arrowroot poison neutralized with kudzu powder. You probably inhaled some without knowing.”

“…”

“It’s not lethal, but it would have clouded your judgment for about an hour, making it difficult to find me.”

“Oho! Such a method! So that’s why I couldn’t find you. No wonder my eyes were blurry and my head felt foggy.”

Woon-jeong opened his eyes wide and looked respectful. Woon-jeong’s transparent and clear eyes made Jin Ja-gang very uncomfortable.

“You don’t just kill, but use exactly the right poison for what’s needed. You seem very different from the rumors.”

Jin Ja-gang stopped walking and looked at Woon-jeong.

It was strange that he would approach and talk without hesitation while knowing the rumors, and get poisoned so defensively.

“Why are you doing this?”

“Is this your original personality, or are you pretending?”

“What do you mean?”

“According to what’s known in the world, I should be a terrible murderer.”

“Yes. I heard that too.”

Woon-jeong looked at Jin Ja-gang with sparkling eyes. It was a look that said what’s the big deal about that.

“That’s why I’m monitoring you. To make sure nothing happens until you leave our Qingcheng territory.”

In terms of martial arts alone, it was certainly possible. He wasn’t at a level to be dismissed just because he was young.

However, he was too innocent and bright. Compared to his martial arts, his brain was pure white, so he had a high probability of easily falling for tricks or being deceived.

“You seem too careless. What would you do if you accidentally ate poisoned food like earlier?”

“I got antidote and ate it.”

“That’s not what I mean. If someone ambushes you or tries to harm you with schemes…”

Woon-jeong waved his hands as if it was nonsense.

“Hey, here in Sichuan?”

Jin Ja-gang clearly realized.

Half of that baseless confidence came from his own martial arts, and the other half from faith in his sect.

That was a kind of protective shield that the sect’s reputation provided.