Chapter 323

Fortunately, what Jin Ja-gang said wasn’t directed at Jeong Dae-su and the merchants.

Jin Ja-gang’s eyes were toward Bulgi and Beom-mong.

But Bulgi didn’t lift his wine cup and snorted.

“Hmph.”

He had already heard about Jin Ja-gang’s poison from Pyo Sang-guk through messenger bird, and had seen Pyo Sang-guk’s corpse in a poisoned state.

Poison spread through the air could be endured with tremendous internal energy, but drinking it directly was a different matter. It was tantamount to suicide. There was no need to show off and fight at a disadvantage.

Meanwhile, Beom-mong had already tasted Jin Ja-gang’s poison before. It was the poison that had penetrated when his ear was cut off. It was quite vicious. He couldn’t immediately chase him because he had to expel the poison, so there was no reason to accept and drink poisoned wine.

The same was true for the black-eyed hooded man. The black-eyed hooded man openly didn’t even touch the wine cup placed in front of him.

Only Woon-jeong sniffed the wine smell, watched others’ expressions, then took a sip.

Sip.

“Wow! This has a luxurious taste!”

Woon-jeong couldn’t help but exclaim after tasting it.

“Poison Dragon, this wine is incredible. It must be very expensive wine.”

Jin Ja-gang gently admonished.

“Taoist Woon-jeong. I told you not to drink alcohol.”

“Are you my master? Since no one else is drinking, it’s a waste. The aroma is also really good.”

Woon-jeong sipped all the wine that others weren’t drinking.

Though Woon-jeong had no such intention, it looked as if he was mocking the others for being cowards.

Bulgi suddenly grabbed the table with food with his thumb and index finger.

Rip.

“That’s possible. If it’s Poison Dragon.”

The thick table caught in his hand was torn away like paper. It was tremendous internal energy power.

Rip rip.

“But you’re too arrogant, you bastard.”

Jeong Dae-su and the merchants were completely frozen.

Rip! Rip!

Bulgi continued to tear at the table. In an instant, the table became tattered like a rag.

Jin Ja-gang remained calm despite Bulgi’s show of force. His expression didn’t change at all.

Surprisingly, it wasn’t Jin Ja-gang but Beom-mong who stepped forward.

Beom-mong suddenly placed his hand on the table.

Thud.

Instantly, Bulgi could no longer tear at the table. The table became as hard as metal.

Bulgi’s brow twitched.

“Has Zhongnan done something to earn Shaolin Temple’s displeasure?”

Beom-mong smiled and answered.

“No. This old monk very much dislikes anyone showing off their strength in front.”

Bulgi put strength into his hand. Beom-mong also used internal energy to press down on the table. Bulgi’s face reddened and Beom-mong’s expression also hardened.

Rattle rattle rattle.

The large table that could seat more than twenty people shook. The dishes containing food clattered and trembled.

Beom-mong said.

“Quite impressive, you’re qualified to show off your strength.”

Bulgi retorted.

“Great Master is already of an age to be in the back row, while I’m still in my prime.”

Both put more strength into it.

Tea splashed from the teapot containing tea, and wine flowed out in reverse from bottles containing wine.

Crack.

The dishes began to crack and break.

The merchants stood up in surprise and stepped back. The black-eyed hooded man also jumped up.

“This house doesn’t seem to have an atmosphere for eating.”

Bulgi said with his face completely red.

“Sit down.”

The black-eyed hooded man looked at Bulgi with indifferent eyes.

Bulgi said again in a somewhat suppressed voice due to exerting force.

“Sit down. If you don’t want to die.”

The black-eyed hooded man replied in a low voice.

“I have no reason to obey Zhongnan Sect’s orders.”

“Shall I create a reason?”

This time, Beom-mong answered Bulgi’s words.

“If you don’t want to get hurt, stay seated. Black Death God of Funeral Parlor.”

The black-eyed hooded man, Black Death God, answered stoically.

“If you know who I am, you should know that even Shaolin Temple cannot touch us.”

Beom-mong laughed while engaging in a strength contest with Bulgi.

“There is nothing in the world that Shaolin cannot touch or interfere with!”

Black Death God asked back.

“Are you thinking of making enemies with poison sects, Great Master Beom-mong?”

“This old monk asks you the same question.”

Beom-mong shouted in a voice like thunder and lightning.

“Do poison sects have the confidence to live with Shaolin as their enemy!”

Rumble rumble rumble!

“Wahhhh!”

The merchants’ heads rang and their legs gave out as they sat down.

The sails stretched taut and the ship swayed. The sailors panicked and pulled the sail ropes, causing chaos.

The hooded men carrying coffins rushed up from below the second floor pavilion. They looked up as if ready to leap up at any moment.

Complete chaos.

Jin Ja-gang, who could be called the instigator of this situation, just sat there blankly while everything around him was in uproar.

Woon-jeong carefully asked Jin Ja-gang.

“Poison Dragon. May I try to stop those two? It wouldn’t be rude, would it?”

Bulgi and Beom-mong were startled.

A young Taoist who might be fifteen or sixteen years old mediating between two elderly men – what a ridiculous sight!

If such a fact became known in the martial world, they would be too embarrassed to hold their heads up.

Jin Ja-gang said.

“There’s no need. They’ll stop when it’s time to stop.”

“Ah, will they?”

Bulgi and Beom-mong felt relieved but their faces reddened for different reasons.

Bulgi raised the hand holding his sword. Beom-mong also raised his opposite fist.

Both simultaneously struck down on the table.

Crack!

The middle of the table split and tilted. Food spilled toward the center.

They thought it would end there, but it didn’t.

Bulgi immediately stood up, leaped over the collapsed table, and extended a palm toward Beom-mong. Beom-mong also responded with his palm.

Silently, their palms touched and separated.

Boom!

The moment they separated, a tremendous explosion occurred. The food and broken dishes that had spilled between them were pushed away in a circular pattern. Beom-mong was pushed back a couple of steps, and Bulgi leaped back onto the window railing.

Beom-mong said.

“Namo Amitabha! Zhongnan Sect’s Crimson Flame Hand is indeed first-rate. Your obsession with Poison Dragon is remarkably persistent.”

Bulgi retorted.

“Great Master is wrong. From the moment Great Master touched me, Poison Dragon ceased to be the issue. Great Master doesn’t seem to know well who you are dealing with.”

“Of course I know! Zhongnan Sect’s mad dog who never lets go once he bites, Benevolent Hero Bulgi.”

Bulgi opened his thin eyes. Bloodshot eyes full of red veins were revealed.

“If you knew and still touched me, it would be proper courtesy to confirm whether the rumors about me are true!”

Bulgi attacked by striking down with his sword sheath toward Beom-mong and extending Crimson Flame Hand. Beom-mong wrapped his sleeve with Iron Silk technique to strike the sword sheath and kicked away the Crimson Flame Hand.

The two fought for ten moves in the blink of an eye.

Bang! Crash!

Furniture broke and the floor collapsed.

Woon-jeong whispered to Jin Ja-gang in panic.

“What are those two doing? Didn’t they come to catch Poison Dragon?”

Jin Ja-gang watched their fight carefully. Though they were using violent techniques, they weren’t killing moves. They weren’t using their full strength either.

It was a kind of probing. Testing each other’s abilities.

Whether they would be helpful against Jin Ja-gang, or how much of a threat they would be if they became enemies.

If their abilities were judged to be evenly matched, they would cooperate in catching Jin Ja-gang, but if not, they intended to monopolize Jin Ja-gang.

“At least we know that Shaolin Temple and Zhongnan Sect aren’t friendly.”

“Is that so? If it were me, I’d catch Poison Dragon first and then argue about being friendly or not later. No! Of course I don’t really mean I would do that.”

“I know. But right now, rather than over there…”

Jin Ja-gang looked toward Black Death God.

As the second floor was devastated by Bulgi and Beom-mong’s fight, the merchants hesitated then finally began to flee.

The merchants began competing to go down from the second floor.

Black Death God folded his arms, watched, then ordered.

“Kill all those who went down now.”

The Funeral Parlor hooded men on the lower floor drew their daggers.

The merchants going down were horrified. Unable to escape up or down, they were in confusion.

They couldn’t trust Poison Dragon, or the masters from Zhongnan Sect and Shaolin Temple who seemed like madmen.

There was only one place the merchants could ask for help.

“He, Hero Jeong! Please help us!”

Jeong Dae-su grabbed his ghost-head sword and leaped down to the lower floor.

“Damn! I didn’t like these bastards from the beginning!”

His skill didn’t seem ordinary – the momentum of swinging the ghost-head sword was quite sharp. The weight of the ghost-head sword itself combined with sword momentum seemed capable of instantly cutting off human limbs.

Whoosh! Whoosh!

The hooded men avoided the ghost-head sword that Jeong Dae-su was swinging. The opponents Jeong Dae-su had to face were nineteen people. Alone, he couldn’t follow all those dodging around him.

“Come at me! Come on!”

Jeong Dae-su chased one person and swung his ghost-head sword with all his might. The hooded man lifted the lid of a coffin that was on the floor.

Thunk. Jeong Dae-su’s ghost-head sword was deeply embedded in the coffin lid.

“Ugh!”

Even trying to pull out the ghost-head sword, it was stuck too firmly to extract. Jeong Dae-su tried to abandon the ghost-head sword and run away.

The hooded man grabbed Jeong Dae-su’s nape and pulled him back. Then he shoved Jeong Dae-su into an empty coffin. Though Jeong Dae-su struggled, the hooded man mercilessly closed the coffin door.

The arm that had been sticking out of the coffin was crushed by the lid, making a horrible sound as it broke.

Crack!

“Ahhhhh!”

The hooded men mercilessly stabbed daggers through the coffin lid.

Thud thud thud.

There was briefly some noise of Jeong Dae-su writhing and bumping around inside the coffin, then it became quiet.

Blood flowed from under the coffin.

The merchants who witnessed this trembled.

“Such evil people! This is absolutely unforgivable!”

Woon-jeong kicked off his seat and leaped into the air. His nimble and light movement technique caused slight tension to circle in the hooded men’s eyes.

Black Death God, who was standing on the second floor, raised his hand. In his hand was a finger-length flying blade with a black string attached. The flying blade was also lacquered black so the edge was barely visible.

Black Death God was about to throw the flying blade toward Woon-jeong who was leaping down to the first floor.

However, a thin line barely visible to the eye was drawn across his arm.

Black Death God frowned and withdrew his hand.

Swish.

The Soul Seizing Thread passed through the space where his arm had been like a snare. A pillar right next to him made a “thunk” sound as its middle was cut and slid. If the arm had been there, it would have been cleanly severed as well.

Black Death God glared at Jin Ja-gang. Jin Ja-gang retrieved the Soul Seizing Thread and said.

“I’m right here.”

Black Death God shook his sleeves to hide his hands, then crossed both arms and raised his hands. Three flying blades were held in each hand.

Jin Ja-gang ostentatiously extended both hands forward. When he spread his fingers, poison needles appeared as if they had suddenly sprouted.

Black Death God’s eyes narrowed.

Clang!

The sound of Woon-jeong shaking a ritual bell.

“May the Numinous Treasure Heavenly Venerate make the body comfortable, make this disciple’s soul and five organs comfortable, may the Azure Dragon and White Tiger form groups and the Vermillion Bird and Black Tortoise guard this body.”

Demon Subduing Ritual Bell Incantation!

Simultaneously, Jin Ja-gang and Black Death God launched their bodies and extended their hands toward each other.