Chapter 40

Though Jin Ja-gang’s appearance had changed—his hair was completely gone and half his body covered with scabs—Mang-ryo instantly recognized him.

Mang-ryo quickly kicked with his leg that had the skewer embedded in it. Jin Ja-gang was struck and tumbled away as the table toppled over with him.

Crash!

Mang-ryo crawled backward until his back was against the wall.

“Huff, huff!”

He was so startled that his hair stood on end.

At least Mang-ryo, unlike others, wasn’t confused by thoughts like “How are you here!” 

‘To think this brat was waiting for me here all along!’

Having just resolved to hunt down Jin Ja-gang only to be ambushed instead, the shock was extraordinary.

Being the hunter versus being the hunted were clearly different positions.

Mang-ryo hastily pulled out the metal skewer that had been embedded in his leg. It was a poker used in the kitchen.

‘Damn it, with a mere poker!’

He quickly applied pressure to the acupoints around his thigh to prevent the poison from spreading.

Then he took out all the antidotes he had prepared and poured them into his mouth. It was incredibly fortunate that he had prepared medicines effective against arsenic poisoning in advance.

However, given the potency of Jin Ja-gang’s poison, it was uncertain how effective they would be.

Mang-ryo threw the skewer toward the table where Jin Ja-gang was hiding.

“You brat! Show your face!”

Thwack!

The metal skewer embedded itself in the table where Jin Ja-gang had been hiding.

Jin Ja-gang rose from behind the table.

He was massaging his chest, which seemed to be aching from being struck.

Mang-ryo glared at Jin Ja-gang. Jin Ja-gang didn’t back down and glared back at Mang-ryo.

The occasional moans that had been coming from outside had now almost completely ceased.

Only the shouts of “Fire!” could be heard as the fire that Mang-ryo had started in the Sect Leader’s office continued to spread.

In the midst of this, the two sworn enemies faced each other, glaring.

Mang-ryo gritted his teeth with a face full of murderous intent as the area where the poker had been embedded began to swell and poison spread, despite his acupressure.

“As I expected, you’re truly a persistent brat. Did you come all this way just because I tormented you a bit?”

Jin Ja-gang shouted with indignation:

“That’s not it! You annihilated our Hundred Flower Valley!”

For Jin Ja-gang, even if the entire Extreme Poison Sect was reduced to ruins, his revenge wouldn’t be complete unless Mang-ryo died. From Jin Ja-gang’s perspective, this was naturally a place he had to come to.

So he had seized the opportunity to sneak into Mang-ryo’s room. He remembered the location from his previous visit.

Though he didn’t know when Mang-ryo would return, he was prepared to wait. Waiting was Jin Ja-gang’s greatest strength.

Fortunately, Mang-ryo returned not long after, and Jin Ja-gang had waited until the very last moment, driving the poker into Mang-ryo’s thigh when he was most off guard.

Of course, he had coated the poker with as much poison as possible.

Mang-ryo sneered and spoke:

“What? You did all this just because of that?”

“What?”

Jin Ja-gang was shocked and bit his lip.

“Just? You say just?”

“It’s natural in the martial world for the weak to be devoured by the strong. And for that trivial reason, you’ve reduced me to this state!”

Mang-ryo excitedly slapped his left leg, which was missing from the knee down.

“Because you refused to submit and caused trouble, everything has gone awry like this! Why couldn’t you just die quietly! If you had no strength, you should have bowed and accepted your fate like that Gwak-o!”

He also slapped the area around his left eye, which was covered with an eye patch.

“Because of you! Because of you, I’ve lost everything! Everything I’ve worked so hard to build!”

Unlike the agitated Mang-ryo, Jin Ja-gang had regained his composure.

Jin Ja-gang spoke quietly, but with a sharp tone:

“Then you should have submitted.”

“Wh-what?”

“Since I’m stronger than you, that’s why you ended up like this. Then you should have submitted.”

Mang-ryo’s face turned bright red.

“You little piece of flesh, how dare you flap that pierced mouth so carelessly! You parentless b*st*rd, how dare you speak to me like that!”

Jin Ja-gang flared up but quickly cooled down.

“You killed my mother and grandfather, making me an orphan.”

“You insolent—!”

Jin Ja-gang interrupted Mang-ryo’s shout:

“Know why you’re dying. I’m killing you because you destroyed my family, my friends, and my sect.”

“Who dares to kill me! I’ll rip that cursed mouth of yours!”

Mang-ryo, enraged, struck the floor with both palms. His body propelled forward.

Unable to use his legs, he crawled toward Jin Ja-gang using only his hands.

Mang-ryo struck the cumbersome table blocking his path with his hand.

Bang!

His palm pierced through the thick tabletop, shattering it. Jin Ja-gang dodged to the side. Jin Ja-gang’s strategy of stabbing the healthy leg to restrict movement had worked. Otherwise, Mang-ryo could have caught Jin Ja-gang even with just one leg.

“You brat! Die!”

Bang, bang!

Mang-ryo continued to unleash his Deadly Poison Palm. This was the very technique that had killed Jin Ja-gang’s maternal grandfather, Son Wi-hak.

Jin Ja-gang shuddered as he saw tables shattered not just by the poison but by the sheer force of the palm strikes.

Mang-ryo, panting heavily, crawled after Jin Ja-gang.

The small room quickly became a mess. Broken, shattered, and damaged furnishings flew in all directions.

As Mang-ryo was crawling on the floor, he got scratched or pierced by the broken fragments, but he had no time to care about such trivial matters. No, he was so enraged that he couldn’t even feel the minor pain.

However, the more he used his internal energy, the faster the poison he had temporarily stopped would spread, causing Mang-ryo’s movements to gradually slow.

Meanwhile, Jin Ja-gang was also struggling. His limping leg and reopened wound on his sole made his movements sluggish. He was also constrained in his movements as he had to avoid the debris.

Mang-ryo eventually realized this.

‘Blood?’

He noticed that as Jin Ja-gang limped away, he was leaving trails of blood on the floor.

‘He’s not fighting back, just running away?’

Mang-ryo, who had been chasing madly in his excitement, suddenly came to his senses.

‘How foolish! He’s stalling for time. At this rate, I’ll die first!’

Mang-ryo immediately stopped moving and reached into his outer garment pocket. He took out a round cloth pouch and threw it at Jin Ja-gang.

As the pouch flew through the air, poisonous powder was released.

“Ah!”

Jin Ja-gang covered his face. The poison powder hazily enveloped Jin Ja-gang and his surroundings.

Mang-ryo knew he couldn’t kill Jin Ja-gang with poison. However, that didn’t mean Jin Ja-gang was completely immune. Rather, he would be poisoned faster than others, and the convulsions would also occur more quickly.

Sure enough, Jin Ja-gang’s body reacted immediately.

“Cough, cough!”

Jin Ja-gang’s eyes swelled instantly, and blood mixed with his coughing.

Mang-ryo struck the floor with both palms to raise his body and threw concealed weapons. Though not particularly skilled with hidden weapons, like most poison users, he had some proficiency with a type called “Thin Darts.”

At such close range, he almost never missed. Two thin, knife-like blades smaller than daggers embedded themselves in Jin Ja-gang’s shoulder and abdomen.

“Ah!”

Jin Ja-gang groaned and collapsed.

Nevertheless, Jin Ja-gang immediately rolled on the floor to escape. Mang-ryo also summoned his strength to crawl after him.

Crack! Crunch!

He put so much force into his hands that they sank into the wooden floor, breaking it.

Crunch, crunch.

Jin Ja-gang looked back at Mang-ryo, who was approaching by striking the floor, and continued to crawl toward the corner of the room.

Jin Ja-gang, barely opening his swollen eyes to look at Mang-ryo, grabbed everything on the floor and threw it.

Mang-ryo didn’t even bother to dodge. There was nothing significant anyway. He continued crawling forward, taking the hits.

Thud, crack.

Finally, Jin Ja-gang was right in front of him.

That was all that mattered.

“You brat—!”

Mang-ryo reached out his hand.

At that moment, Jin Ja-gang pushed away a small brazier beside him.

It was a small brazier that had been brought in because Mang-ryo frequently had moxa treatments. Grayish-white ashes and still-hot charcoal spilled onto the floor.

As the charcoal blocked his path, Mang-ryo paused momentarily.

He was wearing deerskin gloves on his hands, so they wouldn’t be burned. But since he was crawling on the floor, his chest and abdomen would clearly be burned by the charcoal.

Looking at Jin Ja-gang, he seemed to be trembling with fear as he stared at Mang-ryo.

Mang-ryo grinned at Jin Ja-gang.

Then he boldly extended his arm, pressed the floor, and pulled his body forward.

Sizzle!

The smell of burning flesh filled the air, and holes formed in the leather clothing covering Mang-ryo’s front and stomach. But Mang-ryo didn’t stop.

Sizzle, sizzle!

With his deerskin-gloved hands pressing the floor, Mang-ryo continued to crawl toward Jin Ja-gang, regardless of the charcoal!

Sizzle!

Fear appeared in Jin Ja-gang’s eyes. To capture Jin Ja-gang, Mang-ryo was continuing to crawl forward, regardless of whether his body was being burned by the hot charcoal!

“Hehehe.”

Mang-ryo was laughing. Even the hot pain burning his stomach was a joy to him.

Sizzle!

Hot steam and smoke continued to rise. The sight of Mang-ryo approaching through the smoke toward Jin Ja-gang was truly like a demon from hell.

Finally.

Mang-ryo seized Jin Ja-gang’s leg. Though Jin Ja-gang struggled, kicking Mang-ryo’s arms and face with his other foot, Mang-ryo felt no pain at all.

“Got… you!”

Mang-ryo smiled with satisfaction, feeling the thrill of victory surging through his body.

At that moment, Jin Ja-gang stopped struggling.

“…?”

Mang-ryo felt something strange.

Jin Ja-gang’s swollen eyes were already beginning to subside, and the look in his eyes visible through the gaps in the swollen eyelids was unsettling.

“What’s with that look?”

Jin Ja-gang had a very calm expression, almost as if to say, “It’s almost over.”

It wasn’t at all the look Mang-ryo had expected. Why would Jin Ja-gang have such a look of relief, as if he had finally completed everything?

“I asked you, what’s with that look! Me! Why are your damned eyes like that!”

However, there was no need to ask Jin Ja-gang further.

Mang-ryo’s body provided the answer.

“Kak!”

Mang-ryo coughed dryly. His face stung all over, and his eyes felt as if they were being torn apart.

His breath was suddenly cut off, and his nose, palate, and throat all burned intensely.

‘P-poison!’

Mang-ryo couldn’t believe it.

‘When on earth—!’

Sizzle!

Smoke was still rising from his hands pressing the floor and from his stomach. Mang-ryo looked down at the charcoal that was still emitting hot heat.

There was a smell of sulfur.

He recalled what Sect Leader Miao Ligoujao had said:

“According to Elder Go’s investigation, it seems there was a lot of sulfur mixed in the water stored in the reservoirs. When they poured it on the fire, it created smoke that caused the poisonings.”

Chills ran down his entire body.

“You, you b*st*rd!”

Jin Ja-gang had squeezed poison into the brazier and thrown it at him.

Just like how he had dissolved poison in the reservoirs.

Having stupidly crawled over it…

His facial skin itched and stung as if he wanted to scrape it off, and his vision was becoming increasingly blurry. His throat was swelling, making it difficult to breathe.

“You… b*st*rd…”

Jin Ja-gang spoke coldly:

“Just die already. I won’t pray for your peaceful rest. You wouldn’t repent in the afterlife anyway.”

Mang-ryo gritted his teeth. Jin Ja-gang’s ankle was still in his grip. Regardless of whether the poison spread or not, Mang-ryo summoned his internal energy with all his might.

Then, using all his strength, he threw Jin Ja-gang hard against the wall. Jin Ja-gang flew through the air and crashed into the wall.

Bang!

“Aaaah!”

Jin Ja-gang’s single scream was heard. Though he couldn’t see clearly, Mang-ryo knew Jin Ja-gang must have broken a bone or two.

“Haha… ha… arrogant little… brat… don’t… underestimate me…”

No more words came out. Instead, his mouth filled with bloody foam.

Mang-ryo’s head slowly dropped.

Jin Ja-gang was embedded in the wall so severely that the wooden panels had shattered.

“Ugh.”

Creak, creak.

After twisting his body and trying to move several times, he finally fell to the floor.

Thud.

“Ugh…”

Jin Ja-gang barely managed to stand up and lean against the wall. His limbs felt as if all the bones had been shattered.

But Jin Ja-gang tried to keep his eyes on the fallen Mang-ryo. He could see Mang-ryo’s movements gradually subsiding.

Tears welled up.

‘I… I’ve avenged them!’

Mang-ryo, the instigator of the great bloodshed at Hundred Flower Valley, was dying.

The Extreme Poison Sect had also paid its price.

After enduring unspeakable hardships, he had finally succeeded. He had avenged his mother, grandfather, and the people of Hundred Flower Valley.

All the emotions he had suppressed and accumulated surged forth.

Once the tears started flowing, they wouldn’t stop.

He felt so exhausted that he just wanted to rest now.

‘I wish I could just stay here and never get up.’

That would surely mean death.

And so Jin Ja-gang couldn’t just sit there. If he died here, he wouldn’t be able to face his mother and grandfather.

It was time to leave this place.

“Ugh.”

Jin Ja-gang forced himself up and began walking, using the poker as a cane.

Before leaving the room, he looked back at Mang-ryo.

Mang-ryo was enveloped in smoke. Having fallen and crushed the charcoal underneath him, it continued to burn and emit smoke.

Flames also seemed to be rising. Soon, both this room and Mang-ryo’s corpse would be reduced to ashes by the flames.

‘The Extreme Poison Sect is finished.’

Jin Ja-gang went outside with his battered body.

The Extreme Poison Sect was eerily quiet, hard to believe it was in such chaos. This was probably because there were more dead than living. Though fires continued to spread from somewhere, there was no one to extinguish them.

Jin Ja-gang moved at a very slow pace. Despite walking for quite some time, he encountered almost no survivors.

“Save me… save me…”

Halfway through, Jin Ja-gang heard a faint voice.

He saw a warrior who, having been mildly poisoned, was still alive but collapsed on the floor.

Jin Ja-gang was about to pass by but then approached him.

“Save me… cough, cough, water, give me water…”

The warrior, struggling in agony, opened his eyes. Then he suddenly exclaimed in surprise:

“You, it’s you!”

Both Jin Ja-gang recognized the warrior, and the warrior recognized Jin Ja-gang.

He was one of the warriors they had met on the way up when Jin Ja-gang was pushing Gwak-o’s cart.

“So it was you…! You’re the one who… cough, cough, did this to our Extreme Poison Sect!”

Jin Ja-gang silently raised the poker.