Chapter 197

Mang Ryo wiped the blood off the King of Hell Plaque with a clean cloth and said.

“Since we’re going to use poison on hidden weapons anyway, I’d like you to bring proper ones. The woman who was hit by hidden weapons last time escaped across one river and three mountains while poisoned. And she’s still alive. Do you think that makes sense?”

The old craftsman groaned while sitting collapsed and answered.

“Ugh… The hidden weapons from before were coated with considerable extreme poison. Even if she saved her life because she was a master with deep internal energy, the side effects would have been severe at the level of deadly poison.”

Mang Ryo frowned slightly. In Yunnan, they didn’t distinguish between extreme poison and deadly poison. However, in the Tang family that used poison in detail, it was customary to distinguish and speak according to effects or conditions.

Extreme poison is poison that causes death, and deadly poison refers to poison with extremely severe toxicity.

Even extreme poison might not be deadly poison, and even deadly poison might not be extreme poison. However, it meant that the poison used before had the effects of both extreme poison and deadly poison.

But Mang Ryo snorted.

“But I heard she beat up Dancing Buddha and chased her away while poisoned with that ‘deadly poison’? That can’t be called deadly poison then.”

“Poison depends on a person’s constitution…”

Mang Ryo waved his hand irritably.

“Enough, so bring extreme poison. Bring the kind that absolutely kills when hit. Do you understand what I’m saying?”

“Such poison doesn’t exist. Especially if they’re masters at the level of deploying protective energy, their internal energy is pure and refined, so it’s very difficult for them to be in serious situations…”

To poison such masters to death, one had to completely understand their constitution and use poison custom-made for that specific master.

But Mang Ryo ignored the old craftsman’s words.

“I understand, so bring extreme poison.”

The old craftsman looked at Mang Ryo with an incredulous expression despite his painful condition with blood flowing from his head.

“I said it doesn’t exist, but if you keep telling me to bring it, what am I supposed to do?”

“It’s not like it really doesn’t exist. If poison doesn’t work just because someone has deep internal energy, are they all bodies immune to ten thousand poisons? Everyone in the world knows about the Tang family’s Eight Great Extreme Poisons, so what nonsense are you spouting? Are the Eight Great Extreme Poisons not extreme poisons but just deadly poisons? Then why did you name them extreme poisons? That can’t be right.”

“That’s not something I can obtain. How could I get the Eight Great Extreme Poisons…”

The words ‘How could I hand them over to someone like you’ were about to follow but stopped.

“I don’t care about responsibility, just bring them unconditionally.”

The old craftsman was about to argue that it was impossible when suddenly Mang Ryo scolded him.

“Because of people like you who say it can’t be done when it can, plans keep going awry. That’s why simple matters become complicated and drag on. Then who will take responsibility? Huh?”

“What do you mean by that…”

“How nice it would have been if Shandong Enchanting Flower had died at Laozhai Mountain. If I had cleanly handed over the corpse to Indestructible Heavenly Sword, both my face and the Zhuge family’s would have been saved, and I wouldn’t have needed to become enemies with the Zhuge family. Dancing Buddha wouldn’t have thrown a tantrum, so Emei Sect wouldn’t have lost face either. Then Qingcheng Sect wouldn’t have needed to intervene, so there would have been no reason for relations between Emei Sect and Qingcheng Sect to sour.”

The old craftsman’s face crumpled.

“Are you saying that’s all my fault?”

“Oh my, friend. Do you think that’s all there is?”

Mang Ryo sighed deeply as if pitying him.

“Because of you, the thousand-year ancient city of Thirty-Six Peaks, Eight Great Caves, Seventy-Two Caverns, and One Hundred Eight Famous Scenes will soon be reduced to ashes. Oh dear… Not knowing that all this is because of one person, how will you bear all that resentment and karma?”

The old craftsman’s mouth fell open.

What kind of nonsense is this!

Mount Qingcheng is called Qingcheng Mountain because peaks with green vegetation growing year-round are surrounded like a castle. The thousand-year ancient city is a metaphorical term for Mount Qingcheng.

“Moreover…”

Mang Ryo took out a small medicine bottle and rolled it in his hand.

The old craftsman recognized that medicine bottle. It was the bottle containing the antidote for the poison from Mang Ryo’s prosthetic leg.

But hadn’t Tang Ha-ran recently taken the antidote and headed to Mount Qingcheng?

“Huh…?”

The old craftsman unconsciously pointed at the medicine bottle Mang Ryo was holding.

“If the antidote is there, then what the young lady took…”

Mang Ryo spun the medicine bottle in his hand and answered carelessly.

“I don’t know, I just put in whatever I saw and sent it with her. I think it was some kind of snake poison? The name wasn’t written on it, really. People who use poison are all the same. Why don’t they write names on bottles? It’s confusing.”

The old craftsman became even more flustered. If it wasn’t an antidote but poison that was used and Dan Ryeong-gyeong suffered great harm, what would happen to Tang Ha-ran!

“Then the young lady’s safety…”

Mang Ryo smiled slyly.

“This friend still hasn’t come to his senses. Now she should be called young lady, not young master. She said she’d be offended if addressed wrongly.”

The old craftsman’s face became even more wrinkled than before.

What kind of nonsense is this now!

Young lady refers to a maiden of marriageable age or a newly married woman. The Tang family clearly has the tradition of live-in sons-in-law, so what does getting married mean?

No, leaving aside the issue of marriage, Tang Ha-ran went with poison. She would be treated as going to kill Dan Ryeong-gyeong. Wouldn’t it be fortunate if she returned alive!

“If, if, if Enchanting Flower dies…”

“It’s good if she dies… it’s also good if she doesn’t die… Actually, it would be a bit troublesome if she doesn’t die. But she probably won’t die.”

If Dan Ryeong-gyeong doesn’t die, Tang Ha-ran becomes more dangerous.

The old craftsman stared blankly at Mang Ryo with wide eyes when Mang Ryo clicked his tongue.

“Tsk tsk, I told you. When you try to save a few coins, things become this complicated. That’s why simple matters that could be resolved become complicated and drag on. So this time, don’t make mistakes and bring proper poison weapons. Because of you, I had to throw one of the Tang family’s beautiful young ladies as bait.”

The old craftsman couldn’t say anything. Somehow he felt like he was hearing things he shouldn’t hear.

“Now I have to visit Emei Sect and discuss together what to do about the thousand-year ancient city…”

The old craftsman found it increasingly uncomfortable to listen.

“If Emei Sect doesn’t listen, we’ll have to eliminate them together, so I’ll have to meet Indestructible Heavenly Sword and deceive him. This is a bit dangerous… I’ve deceived Indestructible Heavenly Sword several times before. Hehehe!”

When Mang Ryo laughed, the old craftsman got goosebumps.

Dangerous!

“Wait, I have to meet the Martial Arts Alliance Leader too, right? What did the King of Hell say about the Martial Arts Alliance Leader…” When the King of Hell was mentioned, it was no longer a story he could handle.

The old craftsman prostrated himself. Blood and sweat flowed from his forehead.

“I’ll bring it! As the authority of the King of Hell Plaque commands. I’ll do my very best.”

Mang Ryo grinned, showing his teeth.

“Smart.”

If he had endured after hearing all his words, Mang Ryo would have mercilessly killed the old craftsman. Someone who doesn’t listen to his words but knows many secrets is useless.

Mang Ryo wiped the old craftsman’s face with a cloth and whispered softly in his ear.

“But I don’t need your best. Prepare the best one in the Tang Family Great Compound in the name of the Tang family. Good enough to assassinate even the Three Martial Venerables. If this fails, the Tang family’s existence might be shaken this time.”

The Three Martial Venerables!

This refers to the leaders who lead the three strongest forces in the current martial world.

It’s also a term for the current leaders of the orthodox faction, evil faction, and demonic path.

Of course, anyone would question whether poison capable of killing them all at once exists in the world.

The old craftsman trembled as he glanced at Mang Ryo.

He couldn’t even imagine what kind of scheme was being plotted.

But he didn’t need to know.

“Good thinking. A sword shouldn’t be curious about who it cuts. It just needs to cut whoever the master tells it to.”

Mang Ryo smiled and patted the old craftsman’s cleaned cheek.

“Go on.”

* * *

Mount Qingcheng.

The winter sun set quickly, and the dusky sunset also disappeared in an instant.

However, moonrise began and brilliant red energy briefly swirled once more in the clear navy blue sky.

A Taoist with a neatly tied topknot and simple but neat Taoist robes without wrinkles.

Anyone would call him the epitome of a Taoist.

Though over sixty years old, his face still had no wrinkles, his complexion was reddish like sunset, and his beard flowing down to his neck was half black and stiff.

However, unusually, he had a red blindfold tightly tied, completely covering his eyes.

This was Dark Venerable Master, the sect leader of Qingcheng Sect.

Dark Venerable Master was facing toward the moonrise within the grounds of Mount Qingcheng.

Taoist Bok-cheon came and stood beside him without a sound.

Dark Venerable Master raised his hand and pointed at the moonrise.

“Though I cannot see, I can feel it. This night’s moon where warmth and coldness coexist. It emanates a different energy from the morning sunrise when darkness retreats and dawn arrives.”

Dark Venerable Master was facing the moonrise, but Taoist Bok-cheon was looking at Dark Venerable Master.

“Senior Brother Sect Leader.”

His tone suggested he had something to say.

“Yes. I heard the story.”

Dark Venerable Master gave a hollow laugh.

“I heard that a young lady sent by the Tang family proposed to Poison Dragon, and what she brought as a proposal gift was poison. Has it been analyzed what kind of poison it was?”

Taoist Bok-cheon quietly nodded.

“It was crude poison containing cobra venom.”

Cobra venom is snake poison that causes paralysis and bleeding. Ordinary bleeding poison isn’t dangerous just from ingesting it, but it could be fatal to Dan Ryeong-gyeong who has continuous internal bleeding.

However, the important thing wasn’t the mention of cobra venom but the words that followed.

Crude poison.

“Yes… That child has also become pitiful.”

It wasn’t even great poison but crude poison.

What could be the reason for sending crude poison to a Tang family child, telling her it was an antidote?

She was abandoned.

Left to writhe and die like an earthworm attached to a fishing hook. Waiting for a bigger fish to bite.

Where could that be?

Why specifically Poison Dragon and Mount Qingcheng?

“Then what is that child doing?”

“I told her to enter the main mountain, but she firmly refused. She’s probably with Poison Dragon by now. It seems there’s someone they both know in common.”

Dark Venerable Master looked toward the moon that had instantly crossed the mountain ridge with a bitter expression.

“It’s quiet.”

His face showed he felt the moonrise had ended.

Taoist Bok-cheon said.

“It’s the calm before the storm. It seems a fierce storm will approach soon.”

“Is that so?”

“It’s not a storm that can be taken lightly. We can’t know where or how it will come.”

Taoist Bok-cheon also looked up at the moon following Dark Venerable Master. Dark halos began to form around the moon that had been emitting such brilliant radiance just moments before.

“I…”

Dark Venerable Master said in a low voice.

“Have no face to show. To my junior brothers and the disciples of the main mountain as well.”

“It’s not Senior Brother Sect Leader’s fault. The Heavenly Venerable also said to govern people’s hearts, not to have no heart like inanimate objects.”

To Taoist Bok-cheon’s somewhat reproaching tone, Dark Venerable Master smiled slightly.

“If it weren’t for junior brother, we wouldn’t be able to protect Qingcheng’s spiritual energy.”

Dark Venerable Master continued.

“Recently, I had a conversation with the Divine Nun of Emei Sect. She said this: The world has changed and Emei Sect has decided to step toward the new world.”

Taoist Bok-cheon sneered.

“Is there any reason to listen to the words of turncoats? Even if they say such things, haven’t their actual actions been not following the Martial Arts Alliance for a long time?”

“Not everyone sees the world the same way. Buddha nature is not one, and even if eighteen thousand different hearts are all different, if only the heart pursuing goodness is the same, that itself is liberation.”

“Enough. I won’t deal with Emei Sect in the future either.”

“That too would be the goodness junior brother pursues.”

“Enough of such talk. Senior Brother Sect Leader should also decide now. I came to urge you.”

Dark Venerable Master quietly raised his head following the moon and only listened to Taoist Bok-cheon’s words.

“It’s time to untie what was tied by yourself.”

Dark Venerable Master’s head stopped.

Taoist Bok-cheon said.

“Before even the chance to regret disappears.”