Chapter 114

Jin Ja-gang was neither a physician nor someone with actual experience in prescribing medicine.

That said, there was no other option available. He had to treat Mr. Jang using only the knowledge he possessed.

Jin Ja-gang sighed at the self-reproach he felt as a successor of the Medicine Sect.

How could he even claim to be a successor of the Medicine Sect in this state?

‘Still, there must be a way.’

Jin Ja-gang continued to devise methods. He recalled the medicinal herbs used for boils.

‘I heard that white tribulus, the fruit of the tribulus plant, can be used, but that’s a medicinal herb that grows by the seaside… Among the medicinal herbs I can obtain now…’

Jin Ja-gang decided to try using the herbs that go into the Three Yellows and Gypsum Decoction. He could also use a prescription called Small Indigo Clearing Decoction, but that required expensive specialized medicinal materials like ginseng or dried licorice that takes a long time to prepare. With the Three Yellows and Gypsum Decoction, he could obtain most of the materials from the mountains.

‘Ephedra, gardenia fruit, gypsum, coriander, scutellaria…’

Fortunately, these were commonly used medicinal herbs. He recalled memories of cultivating and growing many of them at Hundred Flower Valley.

Reciting the names of the medicinal herbs he needed to gather, Jin Ja-gang climbed the mountain again.

* * *

Martial Arts Alliance Huguang Branch.

In the sect leader’s office of the Azure Dragon Great Sword Pavilion, known as Huguang Province’s greatest combat organization.

Mang Ryo had returned there like a triumphant general.

In the sect leader’s office, Baek Li-jung, the leader of Azure Dragon Great Sword Pavilion, and the strategist Sim Hak were waiting.

When Mang Ryo entered, Sim Hak rushed over like lightning and secured the door.

Then he suddenly shouted at Mang Ryo, who was smiling contentedly.

“What kind of way is that to handle affairs!”

“Hmm?”

Mang Ryo looked at Sim Hak with strange eyes and shook his head left and right.

“I rushed here as soon as the Poison Valley affair ended. As you can see, both my legs are inconvenient, so I’m tired. Let me sit down first.”

“Please, do so!”

While Baek Li-jung and Sim Hak remained standing, Mang Ryo sat at the table and leisurely poured and drank tea.

“Now, strategist, why are you so angry?”

Sim Hak wasn’t officially in the position of strategist assisting the sect leader. Azure Dragon Great Sword Pavilion was a combat organization that didn’t require a strategist.

However, Sim Hak was Baek Li-jung’s longtime confidant. He knew most of the information that Baek Li-jung knew. Therefore, Mang Ryo called Sim Hak “strategist” as a gesture of respect.

But even with such consideration, Sim Hak’s anger didn’t seem to subside.

“How could I not be angry? What are we supposed to do now that you’ve completely stirred up Yunnan! It’s not just stirred up – you’ve killed absolutely everyone!”

“Is that a problem?”

Mang Ryo raised both hands with an expression of not understanding.

Sim Hak continued shouting.

“Even if you’re going to prune branches, you should leave some roots. If you cut away all the roots too, how are we supposed to handle the aftermath? No matter what, the poison sects were still factions that had joined our alliance. Moreover, you’ve massacred all the leaders of Yunnan’s righteous factions too… Ah! I’m so frustrated I can’t even speak!”

“Oh my, I still can’t fathom my strategist’s deep thoughts.”

“Don’t be sarcastic! Don’t you know that when this news spreads within the alliance, the opposition faction will seize on this matter? We’re managing Yunnan, aren’t we? It’s obvious they’ll demand accountability for how we managed things that such a large-scale disaster occurred!”

“Well… that would be the case. We certainly should take responsibility for not managing properly.”

“That’s exactly what I’m talking about! You burned down the whole house just to catch one limping man! How on earth did you kill all the poison sect members and Yunnan righteous faction leaders? I heard nearly a hundred righteous faction members gathered!”

“Didn’t I say I didn’t do it?”

“What, what?”

“The limping one killed them all. When I arrived, he had already killed almost everyone. I just dealt with some trivial remnants.”

“Ha, haha. Was the limping one really that… strong?”

“I don’t know if he was strong, but he was certainly cunning. He applied poison to the main hall’s roof, so when it rained, everyone underneath died from poisoning.”

Sim Hak seemed surprised and blinked before asking.

“So… what happened to the limping one? Did you catch him?”

“I caught him but let him go.”

Sim Hak’s mouth fell open.

“A-A-A… Advisor Mang! No, if you let him go… Hehe, we should have captured the beast who committed the massacre so we’d have something to say. Because of that one guy, things have come to this point…”

“Why would you kill bait? What in the world is better than live bait?”

“What bait? We’re about to die right now!”

Mang Ryo asked back with an expression of not understanding.

“If I came back with the beast as if I’d been waiting for it, wouldn’t that look even stranger?”

Sim Hak seemed dizzy and leaned on the table, sighing deeply.

“Starting tomorrow, the opposition factions will attack, and I don’t know how to explain this. I don’t know… I just don’t know…”

Mang Ryo laughed heartily.

“The Yunnan poison sects were always a thorn in our alliance’s side, and the small and medium factions weren’t even part of our alliance – they were insignificant things. Taking this opportunity to cleanly sweep them all away was actually good, wasn’t it?”

“We finally took over Azure Dragon Great Sword Pavilion… With the central headquarters right in front of us, I never dreamed we’d encounter such an unexpected huge obstacle here in Huguang Province…”

Going to the Martial Arts Alliance central headquarters in Nanchang, Jiangxi Province, was the dream of all martial artists belonging to the Martial Arts Alliance.

Even Huguang Province was close to Jiangxi Province, but in terms of official positions, it belonged to local bureaucrats. It was like government officials wanting to go to the central bureaucrats in the Forbidden City where the emperor resided.

As Sim Hak lamented and kept sighing, Baek Li-jung comforted him.

“Strategist Sim, don’t worry too much. Rest today, and starting tomorrow, let’s devise countermeasures against the opposition faction’s offensive.”

“Yes, sect leader.”

Sim Hak kept sighing, then glared at Mang Ryo before leaving the room. Mang Ryo even waved goodbye to him.

Then he looked at Baek Li-jung.

He had planned to ask if he shared the same thoughts as strategist Sim Hak…

But looking at his expression, there was no need to ask.

Baek Li-jung was smiling with his eyes.

“Well done. I’ll praise you for this matter.”

Mang Ryo also grinned.

“Even though the opposition faction’s total offensive will begin tomorrow? The sect leader might be pushed back to Shandong or Hebei?”

“I’m really curious whether that could happen to me.”

“Kekekeke!”

Mang Ryo laughed loudly and said as if talking to himself.

“Poison sects and righteous factions that were part of the Martial Arts Alliance fought each other and mutually destroyed themselves… Then who would reap the fisherman’s profit from that?”

Baek Li-jung was still smiling while looking at Mang Ryo. Mang Ryo asked Baek Li-jung.

“What is the sect leader thinking? Evil factions? Demonic factions?”

“For now, evil factions would be better than demonic ones.”

“How pitiful! The fate of the evil faction members has been decided by the sect leader’s single word. They were just watching someone else’s house burn, but now they’ll be framed as the masterminds behind the Yunnan incident. Kekekeke!”

Mang Ryo praised Baek Li-jung until his mouth was dry.

“The sect leader’s foresight is truly amazing. Then I’ll prepare accordingly.”

Baek Li-jung also seemed excited and said something he normally wouldn’t say.

“You did very well this time, so if you need anything, I’ll provide it. What do you need?”

“Yunnan itself wasn’t particularly profitable for the alliance – it was originally just a useless frontier territory. However, since it’s an incident where everyone was massacred, the justification we can derive from it is very significant. So it would be good to have appropriately large bait.”

Baek Li-jung immediately said as if he had already been thinking about it.

“Would the Three Dragons and Four Phoenix be sufficient?”

“Three Dragons and Four Phoenix?”

That surprised Mang Ryo even more. It was a proposal beyond what he had imagined.

Three Dragons and Four Phoenix referred to the seven most promising young talents from the martial world’s most prestigious families. Geniuses who had grown up receiving all kinds of elixirs and secret martial arts from their families since childhood.

Their skills were remarkable, but the family names they carried were even more enormous. If they grew up without incident, they would become talents who would lead their families and the future martial world.

Therefore, each family tended to invest considerable effort in their growth.

However, Mang Ryo hadn’t thought as far as the Three Dragons and Four Phoenix because one of them was Baek Li-jung’s eldest disciple.

‘He’s willing to throw his eldest disciple as bait?’

Was this a test or was he trying to probe?

Moreover, why specifically mention the Three Dragons and Four Phoenix of martial families rather than the young talents of the Ten Great Sects?

When facing Jin Ja-gang, several would have to die.

Could it be that he hoped for the Three Dragons and Four Phoenix to be destroyed?

After thinking briefly, Mang Ryo shook his head. There was no need to use all of the Three Dragons and Four Phoenix. If he got carried away by unnecessary words and suggested sending out Baek Li-jung’s eldest disciple, his true intentions would be revealed.

“Three Dragons and Four Phoenix would be more than enough. Moderation is best in everything. One from the Three Dragons and Four Phoenix would be sufficient.”

Not specifically naming one of the Three Dragons and Four Phoenix meant leaving the choice to Baek Li-jung so as not to displease him.

Baek Li-jung smiled.

“I’ll choose one and send them.”

“I’ll use them well.”

Mang Ryo didn’t say he would use and return them.

Baek Li-jung’s smile deepened.

“You may go.”

It was a dismissal worthy of Baek Li-jung.

“I’m deeply grateful for the sect leader’s consideration.”

Mang Ryo bowed as he stood up. Then, as if suddenly remembering something, he asked.

“Ah, may I ask one thing?”

“Go ahead.”

“Why do you keep such a thing as your strategist?”

He was referring to strategist Sim Hak.

Baek Li-jung’s answer was brief.

“Because I can know what ordinary people think.”

“Huh.”

Mang Ryo exclaimed in admiration.

“That’s an answer worthy of the sect leader. Only Sect Leader Baek in this world could give such an answer.”

Just as Mang Ryo was turning around, Baek Li-jung’s voice stopped him.

“I’ll ask one thing too.”

“What is it?”

Baek Li-jung gazed steadily at Mang Ryo.

“There were small movements in Sichuan. It seems Sichuan is paying attention to Yunnan’s affairs… There isn’t some other story I don’t know about, is there?”

This was exactly the kind of talk that would make Mang Ryo flinch.

The fact that Sichuan was involved in the poison sect massacre was something only Mang Ryo and Sichuan’s contacts knew, excluding everyone else.

But was Mang Ryo careless enough to reveal such matters openly!

Mang Ryo answered without any change in expression.

“Sichuan seems to have interest in Yunnan too. Or perhaps the poison sects asked Sichuan for some help. In any case, as far as I know, there was no Sichuan involvement in this incident.”

Baek Li-jung stared at Mang Ryo for a moment, then nodded.

“Then, I’ll see you again.”

Mang Ryo withdrew from the sect leader’s office with a mysterious smile.

Now it was time to bring Jin Ja-gang to the surface.

It might be somewhat harsh and a difficult ordeal for Jin Ja-gang.

But that was exactly what Mang Ryo had been hoping for.

That’s why he had torn open Jin Ja-gang’s meridians, even at the cost of losing about a third of his painstakingly accumulated internal energy.

No, to be precise, he had ripped them open.

* * *

Baek Li-jung soon summoned his eldest disciple.

“Master.”

Baek Li-jung’s eldest disciple and adopted son, Baek Li-gwon.

Eight feet tall with eyebrows drawn like rough brushstrokes, fierce but upright tiger eyes.

If one were to draw the image of a hero, Baek Li-gwon would be exactly that appearance.

At twenty-five years old, he was famous as a chivalrous warrior who upheld justice as much as Baek Li-jung, and his publicly known martial arts level was considerable. It was known that he had inherited Baek Li-jung’s true teachings and achieved five stages of his unique sword technique, the Heavenly Human Divine Sword.

However, in reality, he had achieved martial prowess far beyond what the martial world knew.

Heavenly Human Divine Sword, sixth stage extreme mastery.

Twice the difference from the fifth stage. It was already an incomparable level.

Of course, only Baek Li-gwon, his master Baek Li-jung, and a few sect officials knew this.

“Come here.”