Chapter 13

Terrified, Gwak-o finally told the truth.

“I knew the corpse was, was Jin Ja-gang! But I really did throw him away. Usually all corpses are disposed of there, so I was just going to throw him away as usual.”

“But he was still alive, wasn’t he?”

“Yes, yes, that’s right! I thought he was a corpse, but then he spoke, and I was so shocked that I just threw him off the cliff! It’s the truth!”

Mang-ryo’s eyes flashed.

Without hesitation, Mang-ryo shoved the burning piece of charcoal into Gwak-o’s eye.

Sizzzzle!

The smell of burning flesh and smoke rose horrifically.

“AAAAARGH!”

Mang-ryo pushed Gwak-o away and stood up, leaning on his cane.

“You threw him away because he was alive? What kind of madman would believe that? Do you think I’m a fool?”

“AAAAAH! AAAAARGH! It’s the truth! It’s the truth!”

Gwak-o screamed, rolling on the floor.

“If you’re lying, I’ll rip out that damned tongue of yours first!”

Mang-ryo kicked Gwak-o in the waist. Gwak-o collapsed.

“Uuugh… uuuuugh.”

The volume decreased, but the screaming didn’t stop.

Mang-ryo put on his outer garment and got ready.

“Let’s go! Until I see with my own eyes, that b*st*rd isn’t dead even if he’s dead!”

His remaining eye was filled with malicious intent.

***

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Translated by Nine Heavens!

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***

It was past midnight, nearly reaching the hour of the Tiger (3-5 AM). Numerous torches gathered at the cliff above Mixed Spring Ground.

Thirty warriors from the Extreme Poison Sect and several elder-level masters had been mobilized.

All of them had cloth covering their mouths, but even so, the sulfur smoke was so toxic that they hesitated to get too close.

Mang-ryo dragged Gwak-o to the edge of the cliff.

“Is this the place?”

Gwak-o, with half his face wrapped in cloth, coughed and then answered tearfully.

“Yes, this is it.”

Sa Heung-sam, known as “Hidden Dragon Bell,” who led the Extreme Poison Sect’s secret assassination organization, looked down the cliff while stroking his beard.

“Tsk, tsk. This poisonous smoke is quite intense. The regular warriors we brought along won’t be able to withstand it down there.”

Mang-ryo, driven by rage, said:

“Then at least those who can go down should go down!”

The other masters frowned. If the regular warriors couldn’t go down, it meant they themselves would have to conduct the search.

“Elder Mang, what’s all this commotion in the middle of the night for just one child?”

“Whoever that child is, he couldn’t possibly survive down there.”

Mang-ryo gritted his teeth.

“You don’t know what kind of person he is. He will definitely be alive.”

Miao Weng, known as “Bloody Hand,” one of the masters of the Extreme Poison Sect, said:

“Besides, isn’t this the time when the ground melts and all debris gets washed away? How could we possibly find him?”

Other masters joined in.

“What if he has already sunk?”

Mang-ryo grunted and raised his voice.

“Go down there and search before saying anything! Find any trace of him, anything at all!”

The masters of the Extreme Poison Sect all had dissatisfied expressions. They were clearly annoyed.

But they couldn’t ignore Mang-ryo. Though his status had diminished compared to before, he was still one of the power holders leading the Extreme Poison Sect. He had been at the forefront of the sect’s expansion until very recently. That contribution couldn’t be easily disregarded.

“Let’s go then.”

The Extreme Poison Sect masters, seemingly resigned, each took two long poles and jumped down the cliff. Though it was dark and the slope was slippery, they were skilled enough to handle it.

Mang-ryo, who had depleted most of his internal energy and was weakened by poisoning, couldn’t withstand the toxic fumes of Mixed Spring Ground and stayed at the cliff.

As if wanting to vent the frustration of not being able to go down himself, he glared at the still-suffering Gwak-o with his fierce single eye, then continued to focus intently on the area below the cliff.

* * *

Jin Ja-gang continued to sink.

The ground had become even softer now. Only his face remained above ground; most of his body was buried, and the buried parts were unbearably hot.

Jin Ja-gang’s teeth chattered in fear. If his face became buried too, not even someone like Jin Ja-gang could survive.

‘Ugh.’

Having been slowly sinking for quite some time, the terror had reached its peak.

But Jin Ja-gang felt something strange. Since earlier, he felt as if the ground was moving.

No, it wasn’t just a feeling. Jin Ja-gang’s body was being carried away faster and faster.

The ground beneath the surface was much hotter, already in a liquid state and flowing. The surface that encased Jin Ja-gang was still solid, floating and flowing on top of it.

He saw a protruding rock nearby. He wanted to move toward it, but he couldn’t extract his body to move.

Jin Ja-gang was carried on a chunk of sulfur, floating like driftwood on a stream. Before long, he had been carried quite far from his original location.

Now the chunk in which Jin Ja-gang was buried was also gradually melting into liquid.

Suddenly, the speed increased.

The flow had merged with sulfur water from elsewhere and was now moving faster.

Jin Ja-gang forcibly turned his head to look at his feet. Through the darkness and hot steam obscuring his vision, a beam of moonlight happened to shine through.

Thanks to this, Jin Ja-gang could witness the marvelous scene unfolding at his feet.

There was a clear hot spring, sparkling green like jewels. It was a small hot spring, just large enough for about twenty people.

The hot spring was collected in a low-lying area, and from all sides, yellowish sulfur water and chunks of sulfur carried by the water poured into its edges. Tremendous amounts of steam rose up.

For a moment, Jin Ja-gang was captivated by the colorful beauty he had never seen before. The yellowish sulfur water was bringing all sorts of debris, including the carcasses of dead animals.

Jin Ja-gang absently looked at an animal carcass. It fell into the spring with a splash, floated briefly, and then slowly sank.

‘Ugh!’

The sight seemed like a preview of his own fate, sending chills down Jin Ja-gang’s spine.

‘I can’t die like this.’

Though the hot spring was small, its depth was unknown. It was obvious what would happen if he were sucked into it.

Whether dying buried in the ground or drowning in water, it was all the same. Jin Ja-gang struggled with all his might to escape, but there was nothing to grab onto on the slippery surface.

Soon he felt a cool sensation on his toes as they hung in the air.

Before Jin Ja-gang could react, he slid from the edge and fell into the hot spring.

Splash!

His entire body burned as if on fire.

‘AAAAH!’

Jin Ja-gang flailed his arms and legs.

Something caught on his right hand. Jin Ja-gang grabbed it with all his might. It seemed to be a cow or pig bone, strangely firmly lodged.

It was extremely fortunate for Jin Ja-gang.

Having slept a bit earlier, his body had regained some strength. But he didn’t have enough strength to pull himself up while holding the bone.

Bubble, bubble.

Air bubbles continuously escaped from the hole in his neck.

Time was running out. Jin Ja-gang desperately concentrated on his right hand.

The path from the Baihui acupoint at the crown of his head, through the Jianjing acupoint, all the way to the little finger of his right hand.

A thread-like energy flowed through the meridian channels that Mang-ryo had opened.

It added a bit more strength. Jin Ja-gang gathered energy in his right arm until he could barely breathe, then used the bone as support to pull his body upward. The bone was thick and large enough to support Jin Ja-gang’s weight.

“Puha!”

Jin Ja-gang finally managed to raise his head above the spring water.

Having just emerged, he gasped for breath, but the sulfur fumes and toxic vapors rushed in, choking him.

“Huk, kkeuk kkeuk.”

His head spun. Jin Ja-gang decided not to move rashly and waited a moment to assess the situation.

When he opened his eyes, the hot spring water stung them. Jin Ja-gang tightly closed his eyes against the pain, then opened them again.

What Jin Ja-gang was holding was indeed a cow bone. The dead cow’s bone was embedded in the edge of the hot spring wall. The head part was embedded in the wall, with several ribs protruding and submerged in the hot spring.

Perhaps the cow’s carcass had gotten caught somewhere while falling, and as sulfur continued to pile on top of it, it had hardened.

For a moment, the moon was covered by clouds, and nothing could be seen.

Jin Ja-gang waited again. When the moon emerged from behind the clouds, he saw that there was a cave-like space in the wall where the cow’s head was embedded. It was a small rock cave, hollowed inward.

Jin Ja-gang, holding onto the cow’s bone and using his feet for support, barely managed to position his body at the entrance of the small cave.

Gathering his energy, he raised his body in one go and entered the cave.

“Huff, huff.”

Inside the cave, sulfur fumes and steam had accumulated, making it difficult to breathe.

Jin Ja-gang held onto the cow bone and extended only his head outside the cave to breathe.

His entire body stung and ached from contact with the hot stone floor. The skin that had touched the hot spring water had all peeled off. Blisters had formed and swelled in various places.

This hot spring, seemingly clear at a glance, was the final collection point for the waste that the Extreme Poison Sect had been dumping for hundreds of years. Not just ordinary waste, but the carcasses of various animals tested with poisons, the corpses of poisoned people, the carcasses of venomous creatures they raised, and all sorts of poisons they had used.

However, the high acidity of the hot spring would dissolve everything cleanly within a day.

Jin Ja-gang’s skin was no exception.

“Ugh.”

Jin Ja-gang groaned in pain as his entire body stung and ached. Though he had escaped from Mang-ryo’s hands, he was still suffering equally from poison.

The floor and walls were all hot stones permeated with sulfur, stinging at the slightest touch. When hot steam touched his peeled skin, it was so painful that he nearly screamed.

Jin Ja-gang was essentially being fumigated in a confined space.

This was hell.

Jin Ja-gang collapsed from exhaustion.

He was too tired even for tears now.

Having endured this much, if he were to give up and die now, no one could blame Jin Ja-gang… He made a choked sobbing sound as sorrow overwhelmed him.

But suddenly, a long shadow cast on the surface of the hot spring in front of him sent chills down his spine.

Why was there suddenly a shadow?

Jin Ja-gang stopped crying and hurriedly covered his neck and mouth.

It was the shadow of people using two long poles like crutches on either side. They were using the poles to cross the flowing sulfur water.

Soon, voices could be heard.

They were right above Jin Ja-gang’s head.

“Is this it?”

“The melting sulfur flows into this hot spring.”

“The toxic fumes are worse than expected. Even we can’t withstand it for long.”

Though they were speaking with covered mouths, their voices were clearly audible. They were masters with refined internal energy.

Despite their skill, they occasionally coughed during their conversation. The toxicity was that severe.

“Damn, I can’t breathe. Could he have survived in a place like this?”

“What do you mean? Endured this toxic air for half a day?”

“If what Elder Mang said is true, he might have survived. He’s someone who survived after being bitten by a Five-Colored Centipede.”

“Even a Five-Colored Centipede wouldn’t survive if thrown into this poisonous spring.”

The voices laughed heartily.

“Elder Mang has reason to be obsessed. He lost a precious Five-Colored Centipede, was severely reprimanded, and lost his leg too. Ah, and now he’s also lost an eye?”

“If that brat is alive, I’d like to take him as my disciple.”

“Stop it. You know how much Elder Mang cherishes him.”

“That’s true. Ha ha! But what does it matter? By now, he’s probably sunk somewhere to the bottom of that hot spring.”

“By tomorrow, he’ll have dissolved without a trace.”

“We’ve searched as much as we could. Let’s go.”

The shadows cast in the moonlight disappeared nimbly, alternately planting their long poles in the ground as they moved away.

Jin Ja-gang was terrified to learn that the Extreme Poison Sect had searched for him this far, but also relieved knowing they wouldn’t search any more.

Too exhausted, Jin Ja-gang fell asleep at the entrance of the cave.