Chapter 58

“Urk!”

“Keuk!”

As Jin Ja-gang passed by, stifled groans of agony echoed around him.

Though his meticulously planned strategy had succeeded, the scene was akin to a one-sided slaughter. Yet, despite the intense killing intent radiating from him, Jin Ja-gang’s expression remained surprisingly calm.

He was deliberately suppressing the thrill of revenge.

He did so to avoid being consumed by emotion.

He knew that his path of vengeance was not ending here-it was only just beginning.

As Jin Ja-gang ended the lives of those still clinging to breath, he forcibly restrained his thirst for more.

‘I am neither a mad killer nor someone who revels in murder. But you all must die!’

Repeating this to himself over and over, Jin Ja-gang continued to cut down the survivors of the Stone Forest Gang.

Limping on his impaired leg.

When he had confirmed the deaths of nearly all, a harsh clattering sound came from the direction of the main gate.

Clang!

Someone had shattered the gourd Jin Ja-gang had left there.

It was Jo Yang.

Despite the severe wound on his back, Jo Yang, whose breath had not yet ceased, had crawled all the way to the main gate and drunk from the gourd.

Unfortunately for Jo Yang, it wasn’t an antidote but liquor. Moreover, it was the same liquor Jin Ja-gang had used to dissolve arsenic.

In other words, Jo Yang had consumed liquor laced with arsenic.

“Keuk-keuk!”

Jo Yang struggled desperately to survive, but there was no way it could detoxify him. On the contrary, ingesting a poison that exacerbated the antagonistic reaction only hastened his death.

Jin Ja-gang stood before Jo Yang.

Already, Jo Yang’s eyes were oozing discharge, and his face was covered in blisters-a complete mess. The poisoning was extreme. There seemed to be no chance of survival.

Jin Ja-gang quietly raised the skewer.

His gaze had calmed considerably. After regaining some composure, his killing intent had subsided. However, the murderous resolve deep within his heart had not vanished.

Jo Yang mustered all his remaining strength to speak.

“Urgh, you cruel… b*st*rd… keuk.”

Jin Ja-gang responded impassively.

“As if we could compare to you, who tortured and buried people alive.”

“…spare me.”

Jin Ja-gang paused for a moment.

Jo Yang spoke again.

“Spare me… you said if I let you pass… keuk… you’d spare me… keuk-keuk.”

“Did I?”

Jin Ja-gang nonchalantly grabbed Jo Yang by the legs and dragged him back into the courtyard inside the main gate.

They were back to where they started.

Jo Yang let out a sound that was neither laughter nor sobbing, a mix of disbelief and despair.

“Keuk, keuk, keu-heuk.”

The shadow of Jin Ja-gang’s raised hand fell over Jo Yang’s face. Jo Yang felt an overwhelming sense of injustice at having to die like this.

Even at that moment, Jo Yang believed Jin Ja-gang to be a descendant of the medicinal sects. He assumed Jin Ja-gang had heard somewhere about the Stone Forest Gang burying the medicinal sect members alive in the mine shaft and had come for revenge.

But he had silenced most of those who knew the secret-where could the rumor have leaked from?

Suddenly, Jo Yang recalled something Jin Ja-gang had said.

“The mine shaft I was in held all of them.”

He had dismissed it carelessly, but it wasn’t something to overlook.

‘W-wait! This guy came out of the mine shaft?’

In that instant, Jo Yang remembered the events from eight years ago.

The mine shaft they had collapsed with explosives was originally supposed to be restored a year later.

It was a valuable mine yielding high-quality cinnabar; they couldn’t leave it abandoned as a closed mine forever.

Thus, Wei Zong from Poison Valley had agreed to compensate the Stone Forest Gang financially for the year they couldn’t operate the mine.

Of course, Poison Valley likely hadn’t provided all the funds themselves. Though there were rumors that the money had come from the Martial Arts Alliance, Jo Yang didn’t care about the source.

Ultimately, it was the enormous compensation money that had blinded Jo Yang and led him to stage a rebellion. But in any case, that was what had happened back then.

Yet, a year later, while other mine shafts were all restored, one particular shaft remained unrestored.

It was because of *that man*.

*”Leave this mine shaft as it is.”*

That man was the one who had instigated Jo Yang’s rebellion and secured him the position of leader of the Stone Forest Gang. He was also an extraordinary fighter who had stood at the forefront during the conflict, slaughtering many of the Stone Forest Gang’s experts.

Because of that, even a casual remark from him was something Jo Yang couldn’t dare to defy.

Jo Yang had been satisfied with monopolizing the compensation money from Poison Valley and becoming the leader of the Stone Forest Gang, so there was no need to go against that man’s wishes.

Only now did it dawn on him.

A memory of having heard a similar story before resurfaced.

The Extreme Poison Sect.

He recalled that something similar had happened at the Extreme Poison Sect, where that man belonged.

Officially, it was said that a faction opposing the Yunnan poison sects had purged the Extreme Poison Sect.

However, among the rumors, there was another story.

‘A kid…!’

There was a rumor that a single kid, held captive by the Extreme Poison Sect, had annihilated the sect and escaped.

It was said that even that formidable man, who had instigated Jo Yang and slaughtered many Stone Forest Gang experts, had been defeated by the rumored kid, losing an eye and a leg.

‘From the mine shaft… that kid…’

Since that was a story from eight years ago, if the rumored kid had grown up, he would be about this age.

“Th-that’s impossible! Keuk! How could you survive coming out of there…!”

And then Jo Yang realized one more thing.

That man had left a message for him before heading to the Martial Arts Alliance.

*”If, by any chance, I mean, just in case something unusual happens at the Stone Forest Gang… even if it seems trivial, contact me as soon as possible, will you?”*

What did those words mean?

‘He knew?’

No matter how he thought about it, it could only mean that the man knew Jin Ja-gang would come out.

Jo Yang felt a hollow despair.

‘He knew! He knew this guy would come for us! That man knew!’

Yet, that man hadn’t given him the slightest hint.

Jo Yang’s mind swirled with a single word.

‘Prey…’

A single word churned through Jo Yang’s thoughts.

‘He used us as prey…!’

Prey, or perhaps bait.

Either way, it was the same.

Though the reason was unclear, they had been used as sacrificial pawns.

While it was also Jo Yang’s fault for not properly managing the faction and allowing it to fall into this state, he still felt wronged.

He had been played by someone else’s hand.

If that man hadn’t instigated him, he wouldn’t have staged a rebellion. If that hadn’t happened, they might have restored the mine shaft before this guy came for revenge, and perhaps found him first.

No, even if he had come for revenge, if the many experts hadn’t been killed and were still alive, couldn’t they have stopped him?

‘Unfair… It’s unfair!’

At that moment, Jo Yang felt something hot piercing through his chest. It seemed Jin Ja-gang had thrust the skewer into his heart.

With his last ounce of strength, Jo Yang grabbed Jin Ja-gang’s collar and pulled himself closer. Though he couldn’t see, he could still make out Jin Ja-gang’s outline.

Looking toward Jin Ja-gang’s face, Jo Yang opened his bloodshot, blister-covered eyes wide and spat out his final words.

“Mang… Ryo…! You bastard!”

With that, Jo Yang breathed his last.

Jin Ja-gang felt a sudden chill at Jo Yang’s final words.

“Mang Ryo…?”

Why would the name Mang Ryo come from Jo Yang’s mouth now, after eight years?

He was already dead. Jin Ja-gang had poisoned and killed him with his own hands.

He couldn’t understand the reason.

Jin Ja-gang stared at Jo Yang’s corpse for a long while.

* * *

Whoosh.

The manor of the Stone Forest Gang went up in flames.

The villagers looked toward the manor in alarm, but no one came running to extinguish the fire.

Instead, they retreated into their homes, locking their doors and trembling in fear. They must have recalled the internal conflict within the Stone Forest Gang from years ago.

Rather than getting involved and suffering consequences, it was better for their survival to pretend they saw nothing. Even as the stench of burning bodies filled the air, not a single villager approached the area.

From a distance, Jin Ja-gang watched the Stone Forest Gang’s manor burn to ashes. On his shoulder, he carried a hefty bundle.

This time, before setting the fire, he had gone inside and collected various items: clothing, valuables, and even the poisons used by the Stone Forest Gang.

Jin Ja-gang was no bandit, but he understood the importance of money.

To wander the martial world, money was necessary. For his future path of vengeance as well.

Jin Ja-gang watched until the Stone Forest Gang’s manor was reduced to a pile of ashes, confirming that no one emerged alive from the gate, before finally leaving the scene.

* * *

## Chapter 4: Where is Jin Ja-gang Headed?

An old man’s leisurely voice resonated.

“If we liken a stroke to a typhoon, the path a typhoon takes leaves trees uprooted and houses destroyed, turning everything into ruins… In the human body, what stands against such a typhoon is the heart. However, the organ that protects the heart’s function is the liver. The liver shields the heart from damage, so if poison is applied to the heart, the liver is the first to suffer harm.”

A relaxed afternoon.

In a large garden pavilion, an elderly man with snow-white hair was giving a short lecture to a few young men.

The young men listening to the lecture let out exclamations of awe.

“Truly, you are a master, Advisor!”

“We are endlessly amazed by your teachings, Advisor!”

“You’ve pinpointed aspects we hadn’t even considered.”

The old man chuckled modestly.

“Ho ho ho, I’m glad it was helpful. For an old man like me, rather than being cooped up in a room waiting for death, coming out into the warm sunlight to discuss poison theory with the younger generation is far better for my health.”

“Haha! That’s far too humble of you.”

“Exactly. Advisor, you’re still in your prime!”

At that moment, a warrior approached the pavilion and handed a small note to the old man. Upon reading it, the old man suddenly burst into hearty laughter.

“What’s the matter?”

The old man waved his hand dismissively to the young men.

“It’s nothing. Now, where were we?”

The young men continued their lively discussion over tea for a while longer before taking their leave.

Only then did the old man rise from his seat and step out of the pavilion.

Dressed in an elegant silk robe, anyone could tell at a glance that he held a significant position.

Yet, his physical condition appeared severely impaired.

Clunk, clunk.

The old man relied on crutches, and both of his legs were prosthetic. Moreover, his face was marred by burns, and one eye was covered with an eyepatch.

Despite this, his smiling expression made him appear surprisingly amiable, which was quite peculiar.

Clunk, clunk.

The old man walked leisurely along the path.

As he passed through halls and gates, the guards looked at him with respectful eyes and greeted him. The old man nodded with a smile and continued on his way.

He stopped at a hall deep within the compound.

A warrior guarding the entrance relayed a message inside and cleared the way.

“The Advisor of the Poison Control Bureau has arrived.”