Chapter 54 – Assault on Stone Forest Gang

The gatekeeper couldn’t fathom what was happening.

His mind felt like a mush, as if someone had stirred it with their hand, and his insides were a complete mess.

The gatekeeper could barely stand upright. The image of the beggar fanning smoke toward him blurred and doubled before his eyes.

“Cough, cough. Urgh! S-stop!”

He couldn’t breathe between the coughing and retching.

“Urk, urk.”

The gatekeeper clutched his throat and writhed on the ground. This was no longer just a simple cough; it felt so severe that he genuinely thought he might die.

Only then did the beggar stop fanning the smoke, but the gatekeeper’s suffering didn’t lessen in the slightest.

For a long while, the gatekeeper twisted in agony, pleading for help.

“S-save… me…”

But the beggar merely stared at him blankly.

Finally, the gatekeeper shuddered once more before going limp.

The beggar, Jin Ja-gang, looked down at the gatekeeper’s corpse.

He had deliberately created visible smoke to lure the gatekeeper out, mixing mugwort with the firewood to make the smoke acrid.

Even if one tried to endure it, the smoke was so irritating to the eyes that it was impossible to resist.

Jin Ja-gang checked the gatekeeper’s condition to confirm the progression of the poisoning.

‘This should be enough.’

It was just as he had planned.

For the past three days, Jin Ja-gang had been lighting fires near the Stone Forest Gang’s manor, following the direction of the wind. He had roasted birds and even caught dogs to cook over the flames.

Of course, mixed into those fires was not just the meat of birds or dogs, but also cinnabar poison.

Originally, burning a small amount of cinnabar to create vapor was a form of treatment. It was a kind of medicinal method used to eliminate boils or abscesses, known as “smoke therapy.”

Jin Ja-gang had used this smoke therapy method to burn toxic energy and send the poisonous smoke into the Stone Forest Gang’s manor.

A single drop of poison extracted by Jin Ja-gang was equivalent to the amount of poison that could be produced by boiling ten pounds of cinnabar. It had already surpassed the level usable as medicine, becoming a lethal toxic smoke.

Thus, for three days straight, the toxic smoke from burning cinnabar had permeated the Stone Forest Gang’s manor. Those inside had unknowingly inhaled the cinnabar’s toxic vapor.

The coughing wasn’t due to a cold but a result of being poisoned by the cinnabar smoke.

‘Now it’s about time to start.’

Jin Ja-gang dragged the gatekeeper’s corpse to a secluded back alley. Since hardly anyone passed near the Stone Forest Gang’s manor, no one would see what Jin Ja-gang was doing.

In a hidden spot, Jin Ja-gang stripped the gatekeeper of his clothes and put them on himself.

Then, as if nothing had happened, he walked to the Stone Forest Gang’s main gate and stood there.

He was, in essence, playing the role of the gatekeeper.

Not long after, a cart carrying four jars of liquor arrived. As Jin Ja-gang had observed, this was a regular delivery that came every two days.

The cart driver greeted him.

“Hello there, hehe.”

Jin Ja-gang glared at the driver with a fierce look. The driver flinched and lowered his gaze.

Given the notorious reputation of the Stone Forest Gang, the driver delivering the liquor didn’t dare meet Jin Ja-gang’s eyes.

“They’re filled to the brim, right?”

The driver noticed that Jin Ja-gang’s voice sounded somewhat young. However, he said nothing.

Though he realized this was a different gatekeeper than usual, he didn’t want to cause trouble by questioning it.

“O-of course. And here…”

The driver handed over a small gourd of liquor. This, too, matched Jin Ja-gang’s observations. Every time the driver passed through the gate, he offered liquor as a tribute to the gatekeeper.

As Jin Ja-gang accepted the gourd, he drew poisonous energy from his dantian.

There were two types of poisonous energy in Jin Ja-gang’s dantian: the nearly depleted Kunlun Sulfur Jade Poison and the cinnabar poison naturally accumulated in the mine shaft.

From among them, he extracted a minuscule amount of the Kunlun Sulfur Jade Poison, less than a single drop.

Jin Ja-gang bit his little finger to draw out the poison fluid and poured it into the gourd, shaking it to dilute the poison in the liquor.

Then, pretending to inspect the contents, he opened the lids of the liquor jars one by one and poured a small amount of the poisoned liquor from the gourd into each jar.

Though he mixed the Kunlun Sulfur Jade Poison into the liquor, it wasn’t enough to kill anyone. It absolutely must not manifest its full toxicity or cause death. That’s why he deliberately used only the smallest amount.

After finishing the task, Jin Ja-gang closed the lids and allowed the driver to enter.

Then, without a moment’s delay, he left the spot.

Neither the driver who delivered the liquor nor the gatekeeper who came for the evening shift noticed the absence of the original gatekeeper.

They likely assumed he had left early, as usual. This was a clear reflection of the utterly lax discipline within the Stone Forest Gang.

That night, Jin Ja-gang burned an even larger amount of cinnabar poison than usual, sending toxic smoke into the manor.

* * *

From the morning, Jo Yang, the leader of the Stone Forest Gang, felt a splitting headache from a hangover and opened the window of his room to get some sunlight.

As soon as he opened the door, someone passing by outside coughed.

“Cough, cough.”

Hearing the coughing sound right after waking up irritated him for no reason.

It was already noticeable that the number of people coughing within the Stone Forest Gang had increased significantly.

But as Jo Yang was about to close the window, he involuntarily coughed as well.

“Cough.”

Jo Yang’s face contorted. Had he caught a cold too?

“Tch.”

Jo Yang turned to grab the water on the table to drink.

Stumble.

His legs tangled, and he fell to his knees on the floor. His head spun, and his stomach churned.

“Ugh, did I drink too much?”

Jo Yang swallowed the bile rising in his throat and got up. But suddenly, the sight that met his eyes felt incredibly strange.

The skin on the back of his hand, which he used to brace himself on the floor, looked oddly glossy and smooth.

Jo Yang was over fifty years old. Moreover, he wasn’t a renowned martial artist in the martial world. He was old enough, and having frequently handled poisons, his hands were rough and calloused.

Yet, strangely, right now, his skin felt as taut as if he were in his twenties. No, it wasn’t just a feeling; it truly looked taut.

“What the…?”

Jo Yang leaned on the table, poured water over his head to clear his mind.

“Phew.”

As he wiped the water off his face with his hands, he felt something odd.

Touching it, his face felt smooth too.

It was a bizarre occurrence.

Jo Yang picked up a bronze mirror to look at his face. But the hand holding the mirror began to tremble.

“Huh?”

For a martial artist to have trembling hands was a matter of great significance, needless to say.

Jo Yang forced strength into his trembling hand and examined his face.

His face looked as tight as if he were in his twenties or thirties. However, upon closer inspection, there were red spots around his nose and neck, as if burned, and patches of peeling skin.

A cold sweat ran down Jo Yang’s spine.

“Damn it…”

He understood the reason.

It wasn’t a hangover. Nor had he suddenly become younger.

He had been poisoned.

* * *

Bang!

Jo Yang kicked the door open and stormed out.

“Everyone, gather! Where are all the hall masters!”

The hall masters, still drunk, began to stumble into the main hall one by one. However, their conditions were also a sight to behold.

“Cough, cough.”

“Urk, urk.”

Among them were several who kept coughing. Most of their faces looked glossy, and some had red spots as well.

“What’s going on?”

“Ugh, my head’s killing me from the hangover.”

Jo Yang gritted his teeth. How could they be so oblivious to their own state at a time when they needed to figure out what was happening?

“You idiots don’t even know what’s happened to you…! Look at your faces!”

At Jo Yang’s words, the hall masters looked at each other.

“Huh? Did you rejuvenate? Your face is practically dripping with oil.”

“You too?”

Jo Yang shouted.

“Radiant Glossy Face!”

Radiant Glossy Face refers to the skin becoming glossy and bright.

The hall masters looked puzzled. Their expressions seemed to ask, “So what?”

“Red Spot Ulceration!”

Red Spot Ulceration refers to the appearance of red spots and sores on the skin.

Even though they were part of a poison sect, the hall masters finally realized their condition.

One of the hall masters muttered.

“Cinnabar Poisoning?”

Cinnabar poisoning is a condition often contracted by those who burn or refine cinnabar to extract poison. Initially, it has positive effects like making the skin glossy and clearing up boils, but as it worsens, it leads to ulcers and ultimately death-a terrifying disease.

However, it’s typically a condition that develops over long-term exposure to cinnabar, not something that appears suddenly like this. The symptoms the hall masters were showing indicated an advanced stage of cinnabar poisoning.

The laughter disappeared from the hall masters’ faces.

Anxiety and shock crossed their expressions. How could symptoms that weren’t there yesterday appear so suddenly!

“What…?”

“Cough, cough, did cinnabar poison leak somewhere?”

Jo Yang yelled.

“Find out immediately!”

A warrior rushed out.

In the meantime, Jo Yang and the hall masters each took an antidote pill and put it in their mouths.

At least it was fortunate that it was cinnabar poisoning.

Though their condition was quite severe, cinnabar poisoning could be somewhat detoxified with an antidote made from Smilax glabra decoction. Smilax glabra was a detoxifying herb that most members of the Stone Forest Gang kept on hand as a necessity.

“How do you manage the poisons to let this happen!”

Jo Yang was furious, but the warrior who soon returned had a completely bewildered expression and delivered an entirely unexpected report.

“There are no issues with poison management. Everything is properly sealed and stored.”

“What?”

The hall masters were also at a loss for words.

“That doesn’t make sense! Even if a little spilled by mistake, it shouldn’t be like this! Unless someone deliberately released the poison…”

Suddenly, one hall master recalled a story he had heard.

“I heard the kids talking about something. A few days ago, some strange guy said he would take over our gang?”

“What?”

“And come to think of it, I also heard that one of the gatekeepers disappeared yesterday…”

It was an absurd story.

In the past, it might have been different, but now the Stone Forest Gang was a faction affiliated with the Martial Arts Alliance. To challenge the Stone Forest Gang was tantamount to opposing the Martial Arts Alliance itself. That was why Jo Yang had no worries about attacks or disputes from other factions and spent his days in revelry.

Naturally, Jo Yang dismissed the hall master’s story outright.

“Speak sensibly. Even if such a lunatic exists, what kind of madman would attack a faction that produces cinnabar poison with cinnabar poison? Would you do that?”

But it soon became clear that Jo Yang’s words were wrong.

* * *

Jin Ja-gang was perched on a nearby hill overlooking the Stone Forest Gang’s manor.

He picked up a stone and wrapped it with dry grass soaked in oil.

For four days now, he had been continuously burning cinnabar poison and sending toxic smoke into the manor.

Last night, he had burned an even larger amount of toxic smoke, so by now, the Stone Forest Gang must be in chaos. The sound of coughing could be heard from the manor even from outside.

At this level of cinnabar poisoning, their movements would no longer be normal. Even for someone considered a skilled fighter, their agility would be dulled.

Now, it was about time.

Time to begin the operation.

Even the wind was blowing in the direction Jin Ja-gang desired.

Jin Ja-gang struck a flint to ignite the stone.

Then he took a deep breath.

He was about to use his internal energy.