Chapter 70

The Shadow Bureau took the form of a cluster of farmhouses, with most of its members actually engaged in farming. Because of this, at first glance, it appeared to be nothing more than an unremarkable rural village.

It was likely that ordinary people wouldn’t even know that the Shadow Bureau was located here.

However, with a little attention, one could see that the Shadow Bureau was surprisingly difficult to infiltrate.

The only path into the village was a single route between the mountains on either side, and even if one tried to scale the mountains, the visible ridges in front were all terraced fields. During the day, someone was always working in the fields, allowing for constant surveillance of the outside.

Even if someone managed to cross the mountains at night to enter, the farmhouses were strategically positioned at precise intervals on the backside of the mountain.

Each farmhouse served as a kind of outpost.

Because of this, even Jin Ja-gang couldn’t approach easily and had to observe the situation from a great distance.

If one had the ability, entering through the front would be the best option.

But could Jin Ja-gang defeat the experts of the Shadow Bureau head-on?

Against Gu Sang-wol, even after hitting him with a Joint-Breaking Needle, Jin Ja-gang couldn’t subdue him easily and instead sustained severe injuries himself. As a result, he had no choice but to give up on eliminating the dispatched team from Poison Valley.

Thanks to a remarkably enhanced recovery ability, his wounds had already healed, but the experience had etched into his bones the realization that the experts of the Shadow Bureau were far stronger than the warriors of the Stone Forest Gang.

Thus, Jin Ja-gang decided to circle the Shadow Bureau from as far away as possible, considering every usable aspect of the environment to meticulously devise a plan.

After several days of deliberation over how to attack the Shadow Bureau, Jin Ja-gang witnessed something intriguing in a nearby village.

He saw farmers harvesting buckwheat and making Shaobing, a type of flatbread, to eat.

Shaobing is a round cake made by grinding buckwheat into flour, mixing it with wheat or glutinous rice flour, and baking it over a fire.

While eating the Shaobing he was offered, Jin Ja-gang was able to hear stories about the local area.

In this region, there was a tradition of making a large Shaobing to eat when harvesting the first buckwheat of the season.

Jin Ja-gang immediately returned to Fumin, where the Shadow Bureau was located.

…As expected! He saw buckwheat planted in the terraced fields on the mountain slopes.

The warriors of the Shadow Bureau, disguised as farmers, were harvesting the buckwheat, bundling it into sheaves, and drying it in the sun.

Jin Ja-gang’s eyes lit up.

If they were drying buckwheat now, within a few days-at least within a few days-the Shadow Bureau would also thresh the buckwheat and make Shaobing with it!

***

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***

‘I need to find something useful in the surroundings.’

While wandering the nearby mountains, Jin Ja-gang discovered a hill covered with morning glories.

As autumn approached, the flowers had already withered, leaving only dried fruits clinging to the vines.

Jin Ja-gang picked the morning glory fruits and extracted the seeds inside.

Morning glory seeds, known as Qian Niu Zi, are used as a medicinal herb. They have a purgative effect, helping to expel toxins, and are effective for conditions like edema and lower back pain.

However, consuming them in large quantities can cause diarrhea, bloody urine, and even hallucinations. In severe cases, it can lead to death.

Of course, eating just a few seeds wouldn’t cause such effects. But extracting the toxic essence from a large quantity of seeds changes the story entirely.

Jin Ja-gang poured the collected Qian Niu Zi into his mouth.

Since he had nearly depleted the poison of cinnabar, he intended to use the poison of Qian Niu Zi this time.

Crunch, crunch.

Jin Ja-gang continued to chew the Qian Niu Zi while harvesting more seeds.

Based on the information he had gathered, the number of people at the Shadow Bureau’s main base was approximately fifty.

‘Fifty people…’

Looking at the widely distributed morning glory hill, Jin Ja-gang calculated the quantity.

He estimated that consuming about a mal (a traditional Korean unit of measure, roughly 18 liters) of Qian Niu Zi would be enough to extract poison capable of killing fifty people.

In any case, with this many morning glories, the quantity was more than sufficient.

It would be enough to kill hundreds and still have some left over.

* * *

As evening fell, the warriors of the Shadow Bureau who had been working in the fields returned to their quarters.

Jin Ja-gang approached the fields and wandered through the buckwheat patches.

Although this mountain with its terraced fields defensively surrounded the Shadow Bureau, it also made it difficult for those inside to monitor the outside.

…The tall buckwheat plants and the bundles of straw tied up here and there provided more than enough cover for Jin Ja-gang.

Jin Ja-gang roamed the buckwheat fields, checking for any opportunities to exploit.

Originally, he had considered sprinkling poison on the buckwheat grains, but upon reflection, he realized it would be pointless.

When processing buckwheat grains into flour, they are washed in water, ground with a millstone, and sieved to remove the husks. Applying poison to the husks would have little effect.

Jin Ja-gang explored the buckwheat fields a bit longer before cautiously exiting the area.

Crunch, crunch.

Even as he did so, Jin Ja-gang continued to chew on Qian Niu Zi.

* * *

After observing the cluster of Shadow Bureau houses nestled on the shaded side of the mountain slope from a distance, Jin Ja-gang finally made his decision.

Despite watching for several days, no vulnerabilities were apparent.

If that was the case, then he would have to enter the tiger’s den himself!

There was no point in waiting longer; it would be better not to miss the timing of the buckwheat harvest.

Perhaps… this would be the most dangerous plan Jin Ja-gang had ever undertaken.

“Phew.”

Jin Ja-gang let out a short sigh and began devising a method to confront the experts.

When facing the experts of Iron Umbrella Sect or Shadow Bureau, without hidden weapons and poison powder, he wouldn’t have been able to handle them so easily.

To fight martial arts experts, Jin Ja-gang also needed tools suited to the task.

‘If I had hidden weapons…’

But with no connections or network, there was no way Jin Ja-gang could find a craftsman to make such hidden weapons for him, nor could he acquire them immediately.

‘Is this the only thing I can use right now?’

Jin Ja-gang held up a sharp needle about a hand-span in length.

It was a few Joint-Breaking Needles he had taken from the hidden mechanisms in Iron Umbrella Sect’s iron umbrellas.

He drew a wisp of energy through his Baihui acupoint, converted it into internal power, and channeled it to his hand. Then, he finely adjusted it so the internal power flowed through his wrist, fingers, and into the Joint-Breaking Needle.

It was a hidden weapon technique he had learned in the mine shaft from the Bosam Sect.

Flying Thread Twelve Branches.

…Although the martial arts of Bosam Sect weren’t particularly outstanding, this was considered one of their finest techniques, passed down with care, and its effectiveness was not bad.

Jin Ja-gang extended his hand forward as if pushing out the finely connected internal power.

Ping-

A faint sound of air being pierced rang out as the Joint-Breaking Needle flew a long distance and embedded itself into the trunk of a tree five jang (about 15 meters) away, exactly where Jin Ja-gang had aimed.

Thwack!

In actual combat, since he would use poisoned needles, there was no need to throw the hidden weapon with excessive force. Whether it embedded deeply, shallowly, or merely grazed, as long as it inflicted a wound, that was enough.

Therefore, Jin Ja-gang focused on speed and accuracy rather than strength.

He picked up another Joint-Breaking Needle. Holding his breath, he twisted his internal power, flicked his fingers as if snapping them, and extended his hand.

This time, the Joint-Breaking Needle curved twice in mid-air, drawing three arcs.

The name Flying Thread Twelve Branches came from this. With mastery, one could create twelve variations in direction, like twelve branches extending out.

However, regrettably, the Joint-Breaking Needle he threw this time slightly missed the intended tree trunk and flew into the bushes behind it.

Jin Ja-gang exhaled the breath he had been holding with a look of disappointment.

Practicing in the pitch-black mine shaft was very different from executing it outside in reality.

At his current level, after drawing in a wisp of energy, he could use Flying Thread Twelve Branches twice.

But it was still insufficient. If this had been a real battle, missing the second hidden weapon could have led to a critical moment of danger.

“I need to practice more.”

Not just hidden weapon techniques, but also various weapon skills, footwork, and movement techniques.

There was still much for Jin Ja-gang to do.

Crunch, crunch.

Jin Ja-gang chewed on Qian Niu Zi while regathering his energy.

* * *

Four days later, the warriors of the Shadow Bureau finally began threshing the buckwheat.

They spread the dried buckwheat stalks widely over a mat and beat them with flails.

After finishing the threshing, the warriors gathered the grains. They placed the collected grains into a winnowing machine, stepping on a pedal to turn the fan and separate the chaff and debris.

…Once a sufficient amount of grains had been gathered, a middle-aged man packed a sack of grains and hoisted it onto his shoulder.

“We’ll take just enough for today’s use.”

“Wash it in the stream and leave it to dry nearby. I’ll grind it with the millstone in the evening.”

“Understood.”

The man, despite carrying the heavy sack, climbed the slope up the mountain with ease.

A stream flowing down from the top of the mountain encircled the outer edge of the mountain. The water needed for farming was drawn from there.

The man hopped up the mountain and placed the sack on a flat rock. He set a large bamboo sieve on the ground and prepared to pour the buckwheat into it for washing.

“We’ll have a hearty meal of Shaobing tonight.”

The man rolled up his sleeves and smiled contentedly. Just as he was about to wash the buckwheat, he suddenly noticed something white floating down from upstream.

“Hmm?”

It was a dead fish, floating belly-up down the stream.

The man’s eyes narrowed.

“What’s this?”

It was an ill omen.

Stepping back from the stream, the man left the buckwheat behind and headed upstream.

As he climbed, more dead fish continued to float down, their bellies exposed.

The man minimized the sound of his footsteps as he ascended upstream. The cause of the fish deaths was there.

Upon assessing the situation, the man relaxed and even let out a laugh.

“It’s just Yamali.”

Yamali is the Chinese term for the chinaberry tree.

For some unknown reason, a large branch of a chinaberry tree had broken off and was submerged in the stream.

While the chinaberry tree is harmless to humans, it is highly toxic to insects and fish.

With such a large branch submerged, it was no wonder the fish were dying from the chinaberry’s toxicity and floating downstream.

“Why did the branch break off?”

Splash, splash.

The man waded into the stream, where the water reached his knees, and pulled out the chinaberry branch. After tossing the branch far away from the water, he returned downstream to his original spot.

Back at his position, the man grabbed the bamboo sieve he had placed on the rock.

He intended to wash the buckwheat… but…

Sting.

The man grimaced and pulled his finger away. It seemed a splinter from the bamboo sieve had pricked him at the edge.

A bead of blood formed at the tip of his finger.

“What’s with today?”

The man muttered in irritation.

But at that moment, an artificial and unsettling sound reached his ears.

Crunch, crunch.

A sudden presence.

The man turned his head to look behind him.

Emerging from the forest was a young man walking toward him. The crunching sound came from something the young man was chewing.

“What’s this?”

It didn’t seem like he was just passing by; the young man was looking directly at him as he approached.

However, there was no need to ask who he was.

The young man’s gait appeared somewhat uneven.

He was limping on one leg.

At that moment, tension spread across the man’s face.

“A cripple?”

Countless watchful eyes were spread across nearly all of Yunnan. So how had this limping person managed to come all the way here without being caught by those eyes?

The young man stopped walking.

“I don’t know you, but it seems you know quite a bit about me.”