Chapter 55

Originally, Jin Ja-gang’s qi and dantian were so blocked that he could not accumulate internal energy in his body. However, that didn’t mean he was completely unable to use internal energy.

Ever since Mang-ryo pierced his Baihui acupoint, Jin Ja-gang had used internal energy several times-he simply hadn’t consciously known how to draw it out. Now, thanks to the knowledge he’d gained from the mine, he understood the principle and could apply it.

Following the secret formulas of the Hundred Flower Secret Scripture, Jin Ja-gang inhaled deeply.

Through the Baihui acupoint at the crown of his head, a cool energy entered. The energy was faint and weak, so he had to focus his mind to guide it downward, drawing it in with a long, steady breath. Only by maintaining a stable, continuous inhalation could he barely keep the process going.

As the energy of nature passed through the narrow, partially unblocked channels on the right side of Jin Ja-gang’s body, a small amount of internal energy was generated.

By circulating the energy through these channels, his internal energy increased a little. Compared to ordinary martial artists, who circulate qi through all the meridians of the body, this was so limited it could hardly even be called a “small heavenly circuit.”

He couldn’t use it repeatedly like others; he could only gather a handful of natural energy with each breath, draw it in through the Baihui acupoint, and use it as a one-off burst.

While others stored boiled water for later use, Jin Ja-gang had to fetch and boil water anew each time he needed it.

Still, this was a precious result earned through long practice. With even this little internal energy, he could strengthen his right arm and leg beyond their usual limits.

It was far better than not being able to use internal energy at all. Even when breaking through the mine, he had occasionally relied on this power.

Now, he planned to use that strength to throw a burning stone all the way to the Stone Forest Gang’s manor.

It was a distance he could never reach with ordinary strength.

Jin Ja-gang gathered the internal energy he’d produced and moved it into his right arm. A surge of power filled his limb.

He held his breath to keep the internal energy from dissipating, picked up the burning stone, and gripped it tightly. The tough skin he’d developed in the mine allowed him to hold the burning stone for a short time without injury.

With all his might, Jin Ja-gang hurled the stone.

Empowered by internal energy, the stone shot toward the manor at great speed, landing on the tiled roof of the main hall.

* * *

Inside the Stone Forest Gang’s manor, Jo Yang and the hall masters were in the middle of a strategy meeting when a sharp, ringing sound echoed above them.

TAAANG!

“What was that?!”

Startled, Jo Yang and the hall masters rushed outside.

A burning stone was rolling across the roof, and, perhaps soaked in oil, the flames began to catch on the tiles.

“Put out the fire!”

A skilled master leapt onto the roof, but his movements were unsteady-he could barely keep his balance.

Even so, he managed to kick the burning stone down into the yard, but the roof tiles collapsed under him, and he slipped and fell as well.

It was a sorry sight for someone considered an expert.

CRASH!

“Ugh…”

Unable to land properly, the master seemed to have broken his ankle and couldn’t move.

“Wha-what is happening…”

Jo Yang’s face turned red with anger.

But he couldn’t even curse. The symptoms of cinnabar poisoning included dulled senses, making such accidents more likely. It meant they were far more poisoned than they’d realized-a truly dire situation.

“What the hell is going on?!”

Before Jo Yang could collect himself, another incident occurred.

“Boss! Boss! Cough, cough. There’s some guy at the front gate… cough, cough…”

Jo Yang and the hall masters rushed to the main gate.

There, a beggar with a water yoke on his shoulder was entering through the gate, surrounded by a crowd of Stone Forest Gang warriors. Even as he entered, the warriors kept coughing, which grated on Jo Yang’s nerves.

“Who the hell is that beggar?!”

But it wasn’t just any beggar-what was truly odd was that the gatekeeper, who should have stopped him, was collapsed and unable to do his job.

As soon as Jin Ja-gang crossed the threshold, he set down the water yoke. He removed the jars hanging from each end and placed them at his sides, opening their lids.

Thick smoke billowed out of the jars.

With the wind blowing from the gate toward the manor, the smoke naturally drifted toward Jo Yang and the others.

“Cough, cough!”

The warriors exposed to the smoke clutched their throats in agony.

Jo Yang recoiled in shock, and the hall masters, sensing something was wrong, also retreated. The warriors followed suit.

Jin Ja-gang took out a fan made of broad leaves. With an expressionless face, he began fanning the smoke toward the Stone Forest Gang.

When the smoke reached Jo Yang, he felt a strange sensation-his throat grew scratchy and his mouth tasted sweet. He quickly covered his nose and mouth with his sleeve and nudged the hall master beside him.

“Find out who he is.”

A sharp-faced hall master stepped forward with a sour look.

“Where are you from, you-”

Jin Ja-gang fanned harder. The sharp-faced hall master started coughing mid-sentence.

“Cough, cough!”

Soon, he vomited violently.

“Uwaaaagh!”

Jo Yang and the hall masters jumped back in alarm. The sharp-faced hall master vomited so hard it seemed he’d spill his guts, then collapsed on the ground.

Jo Yang shouted, covering his mouth:

“Who are you, to do such a thing in our manor?!”

Jin Ja-gang kept fanning the poison smoke, and the coughing among the warriors and hall masters only grew more intense.

“Cough, cough!”

Jo Yang, now desperate, shouted again:

“Let’s talk this out! Cough, cough! There must be some misunderstanding-let’s resolve this with words!”

Only then did Jin Ja-gang stop fanning.

But the wind hadn’t changed, so the smoke continued to drift toward Jo Yang and the others.

“You want to talk?” Jin Ja-gang’s voice was cold.

Jo Yang’s eyes narrowed in surprise.

‘A young man?’

No, not even a young man-a boy.

Jo Yang glared at Jin Ja-gang, who, seeing the look, simply remarked:

“Seems you’re not ready to talk yet.”

He started fanning again, and Jo Yang quickly waved his hands.

“No, no, wait!”

Jin Ja-gang paused, staring intently at Jo Yang, but said nothing. The silence was tense, and Jo Yang, despite his anger, realized that Jin Ja-gang held the upper hand.

When Jo Yang didn’t speak, Jin Ja-gang resumed fanning.

Now panicking, Jo Yang shouted through his sleeve:

“Wait! Just wait!”

Jin Ja-gang stopped fanning, and Jo Yang hurried to fill the silence.

“So… what grudge do you have with our gang? We hold no grudges against anyone. Maybe you’ve come here by mistake…”

Trying not to provoke Jin Ja-gang, Jo Yang’s words became tangled.

Jin Ja-gang replied:

“Since you say you might be mistaken, let me ask you one thing.”

“Go ahead. Please keep it brief…”

“Why did you do it?”

“Huh?”

Jo Yang blurted out “Huh?” without thinking. The question was so abrupt, it was hard to know how to respond.

“If you want a brief question, I’ll give you one. Why did you, eight years ago, bury the people of Hundred Flower Valley alive by collapsing the mine?”

Jo Yang and the hall masters looked bewildered, then suddenly their faces filled with panic.

Anyone would be shocked to be questioned about something from eight years ago out of the blue.

“I… I don’t know what you’re talking about…”

Jin Ja-gang replied flatly:

“What I’m burning right now is cinnabar.”

Jo Yang and the hall masters’ eyebrows shot up. It was indeed cinnabar poisoning.

But the Stone Forest Gang specialized in cinnabar. It shouldn’t have been possible for them to be poisoned so easily.

Jin Ja-gang continued:

“You must be wondering how you could be so badly poisoned by cinnabar smoke.”

The hall masters wanted to nod in agreement.

“Yesterday, the liquor you drank contained arsenic.”

“Arsenic?”

“We’d be dead if we drank arsenic…”

But Jo Yang realized the truth.

There was no need to use enough arsenic to kill.

Cinnabar and arsenic are natural antagonists. Sometimes antagonistic poisons neutralize each other, but cinnabar and arsenic together create a far more severe reaction, causing extreme harm to the body-even in tiny amounts.

Jo Yang finally understood.

No wonder so many people had been coughing these past few days.

“You seem to understand now.”

Jin Ja-gang had spent days sending cinnabar smoke into the manor, then triggered acute poisoning by feeding them arsenic in their liquor the previous night.

In short, he had induced acute poisoning.

But Jo Yang’s expression wasn’t all that bad. Poison is most effective when the victim is unaware. Once the method and type of poison are known, its effectiveness drops considerably.

Even though the acute poisoning was unexpected, if the main culprit was cinnabar, it wasn’t something to worry about too much.

Jo Yang took out an antidote pill.

Some of the hall masters were already chewing on Smilax glabra antidote pills. The warriors, catching on, also took out their antidotes.

The smoke was harsh and acrid, but if the main poison was cinnabar, they could at least partially detoxify it.

Now more relaxed, Jo Yang glared at Jin Ja-gang.

“You little brat…”

Jin Ja-gang only looked back with mild amusement.

Jo Yang raised his hand and ordered the warriors:

“Surround him!”

“Cough, cough.”

The warriors advanced, coughing as they moved.

Jin Ja-gang stood with his back to the gate, and the acrid smoke made it hard to approach, but the warriors managed to encircle him. If they attacked all at once, they might be able to subdue him.

“Heh heh heh.”

Jo Yang sneered.

“Cinnabar and arsenic, huh? A clever trick. But you must not know what kind of place the Stone Forest Gang is.”

Jo Yang pointed at the smoking jars.

“Our gang makes poison from exactly what you’re burning-cinnabar. Of course, we have the antidote ready. Heh heh.”

The hall masters laughed along.

“Ha ha, cough, cough.”

“Cough, cough, heh.”

Despite being surrounded, Jin Ja-gang’s expression didn’t change as he looked at Jo Yang.

Jo Yang even removed his hand from his mouth, acting relaxed.

“Your threats have failed, but I’ll still listen to what you have to say. So, what did you want to ask?”

Jin Ja-gang’s face remained expressionless as he asked:

“Eight years ago, why did you collapse the mine and bury the people of Hundred Flower Valley alive?”

“Why? Because I was ordered to. What other reason is there? Cough, cough. Oh, right. If you’re one of those buried people’s descendants, you should actually thank me.”

Jin Ja-gang showed no reaction.

Jo Yang sneered and continued:

“I killed the previous leader who ordered the mine collapse. In a way, I’m your benefactor-I avenged you. Ha ha ha.”

Jo Yang laughed, but soon choked and started coughing.

Jin Ja-gang stared at him.

Jo Yang’s excuse was nonsense. Regardless of who ordered the mine collapse, Jo Yang and the entire Stone Forest Gang were complicit.

Suppressing his anger, Jin Ja-gang asked:

“Was Poison Valley involved?”

Jo Yang flinched at that.

“Where did you hear that… cough. Why won’t this cough stop, cough, cough!”

Even after taking the antidote, the coughing wouldn’t stop. The symptoms weren’t improving at all.

Jo Yang frowned and gave an order:

“Cough, cough, this smoke is killing me. Just grab him first-we’ll talk later!”