Chapter 189: Grudges Accumulate Unknowingly (2)

Dam Ho gazed at the flowing river.

He was sitting on the deck of the Cloud Steed Crossing the River ferry. His heart had already reached Shouzhou, but reality would not allow it.

To reach Shouzhou, he had to cross countless mountains and vast rivers. The journey would not be smooth.

Since rushing would accomplish nothing, Dam Ho had adopted a more leisurely pace.

'All I need is an unwavering will…'

Then heaven itself would open a path.

If such a thing as heaven truly existed.

After gazing at the sky for a time, Dam Ho shifted his gaze to one side of the deck. Jong Ri-yeon was there.

She was treating an elderly man whose poor complexion was evident at a glance. The sick and infirm gathered around her.

Among them were some so filthy that they reeked, but Jong Ri-yeon took their pulse without so much as a frown.

"Take this prescription to an apothecary, and they will prepare the medicine for you. Take it twice a day without fail. Do you understand?"

"I understand, physician. Thank you so much."

The old man clasped Jong Ri-yeon's hand in gratitude. After giving him a few more instructions, Jong Ri-yeon took the pulse of the others as well.

Most were people in difficult circumstances. They could not afford expensive medicine. Jong Ri-yeon wrote prescriptions using commonly available herbs as the main ingredients.

Only after she had written the prescription for the last patient did Jong Ri-yeon return to Dam Ho's side.

"Hah!"

The moment she sat down beside him, she wiped the sweat from her brow with her sleeve. Sitting for a while, her stomach began to rumble.

"Ah! I am hungry."

They had been on the boat for half a day. Having gone hungry the entire time, it was no wonder she was famished.

Jong Ri-yeon looked at Dam Ho.

"Are you hiding anything?"

"……"

"Food. Do you have any?"

"No."

"Tch!"

Jong Ri-yeon clutched her empty stomach with a deeply disappointed expression. Watching her, Dam Ho thought it would have been nice to have Bang Jin-bo here.

If Bang Jin-bo were present, he would have whipped up a bowl of food in no time. But Dam Ho put the thought of Bang Jin-bo out of his mind.

Bang Jin-bo remained in Hwangsan, where he would carve out his own path.

As Dam Ho sat lost in thought…

"Physician!"

A youthful voice broke his reverie.

He looked up to see a boy of about ten or so standing before him, holding a small bundle.

The boy extended the bundle to Jong Ri-yeon.

"My father asked me to give this to you, physician."

"Your father?"

The boy's father was the last patient Jong Ri-yeon had treated. He had suffered from stomach trouble for a long time, and his condition had worsened considerably for lack of proper medical care.

When Jong Ri-yeon looked up, the boy's father gestured for her to eat.

When the bundle was unwrapped, boiled potatoes were revealed.

"Wow! Can I really eat this? What about you?"

"We have more. Please enjoy, physician!"

The boy bowed to Jong Ri-yeon and dashed back to his father.

Jong Ri-yeon picked up a potato and offered it to Dam Ho.

"Eat."

"……"

"It is a gesture of goodwill from a father. Please eat."

She then took a large bite of a potato herself. A happy smile blossomed on her face.

Jong Ri-yeon was happy with a single potato. Possessing medical skills that could gather all the wealth in the world, she was content with so little.

It was a worldview that no ordinary person could understand. But Dam Ho did not find her strange.

If there were a hundred people, there would be a hundred different sets of values. Jong Ri-yeon held her own convictions and walked the path she believed to be right.

That alone was enough to earn her respect.

Dam Ho followed Jong Ri-yeon's lead and took a large bite of the potato. The well-cooked potato mashed in his mouth.

"It is good, is it not? Right?"

Beside him, Jong Ri-yeon chattered away.

Even without a response from Dam Ho, she babbled on without pause. Sometimes she even asked and answered her own questions.

Dam Ho ate his potato in silence while Jong Ri-yeon talked. The sight was oddly harmonious.

By the time they finished the potatoes, the ferry had reached the opposite bank. Before it even touched shore, the passengers, eager to disembark, hurried off.

"Physician, we will be going now."

The father who had sent the potatoes through his son smiled and bowed before stepping off the boat.

"Travel safely."

The boy who had given them the potatoes waved.

Jong Ri-yeon saw them off with a smile.

"Take care. Be sure to take the medicine exactly as I prescribed."

"Do not worry. The moment we reach the village, we will have it prepared."

Jong Ri-yeon reminded the others as well to follow the prescription. Those she had treated agreed and disembarked.

Only after seeing everyone off did Jong Ri-yeon turn to Dam Ho.

"Shall we get off now too?"

"Mm!"

Dam Ho nodded and rose. Eating the potato had made his body feel considerably lighter.

As Dam Ho prepared to leave the boat with Heuk-gui…

"Look at that."

"Th-they are corpses."

Suddenly the sailors began clamoring.

A dozen or so corpses were floating down the river. Each bore deep sword wounds.

"Are they martial artists?"

"There must have been a fight upstream. Ugh! How terrifying."

Dark shadows fell over the sailors' faces.

No one was unaware that a war between the Murim Alliance and the Demonic Cult was raging across the Central Plains.

It was not a simple dispute between martial sects—it was a war upon which the fate of the world hung. Its effects were already spreading everywhere.

"We will have to suspend boat operations for a while. I do not wish to be caught up in this."

At the captain's words, the sailors added their own comments.

"Indeed. Hah! When will this war ever end? It is hopeless."

"We common folk are the only ones who suffer because of fights between martial artists."

"Shh! Watch your mouth. What if they hear you?"

In the end, the captain could bear it no longer and silenced the sailors. Only then did they remember that Dam Ho had not yet disembarked and glanced around nervously. But fortunately, Dam Ho led Heuk-gui off the boat without a word. The sailors breathed sighs of relief.

"Hah!"

"You lot, always watch your mouths. If they take offense, they will slaughter us without a second thought."

"Understood."

Leaving the captain and sailors' conversation behind, Dam Ho walked on.

Jong Ri-yeon approached his side.

"It seems a battle between the Murim Alliance and the Demonic Cult has taken place nearby. How many more people will die in this place?"

Her expression was deeply troubled. As a physician whose livelihood was saving lives, such a sight weighed heavily on her heart.

"Let us go. Before we are caught up in it ourselves."

Jong Ri-yeon mounted her horse first and set off. Dam Ho followed on Heuk-gui.

After they had traveled for some time…

Dam Ho suddenly reined in Heuk-gui. Jong Ri-yeon, following behind, also halted her horse and asked.

"What is the matter?"

"There."

Dam Ho nodded toward the distance.

In the direction he indicated, a large flock of birds circled in the sky. Jong Ri-yeon knew well what that meant.

"Ah!"

"It seems their battle has reached this far."

As Dam Ho said, where the birds circled, countless corpses lay strewn about. The battle had been fierce—the state of the bodies was truly ghastly.

Dam Ho surveyed the scene with a composed expression, but Jong Ri-yeon's face turned ashen in an instant.

"What is this…?"

No matter how many times one saw it, the death of others never became familiar. Her pupils trembled as though an earthquake had struck.

Dam Ho dismounted from Heuk-gui and examined the corpses closely.

The bodies still radiated warmth, and the blood pooled on the ground had not fully congealed. They had not been dead for long.

Dam Ho turned one of the corpses over for a closer look. The back was swollen and bluish-purple. A foul stench emanated from the body.

"Step back!"

Suddenly, Jong Ri-yeon shouted loudly. Dam Ho moved away from the corpse and looked at her.

"It is poison."

"Poison?"

At Jong Ri-yeon's words, Dam Ho held his breath and retreated.

Dizziness struck him suddenly.

The unfamiliar, dizzying sensation made Dam Ho stagger.

"You are already poisoned. Take this and circulate your energy to drive out the toxin."

Dam Ho took the pill Jong Ri-yeon offered and immediately began circulating his energy. What she had given him was a Detoxification Pill. It was a treasure she had painstakingly crafted—one that could neutralize most common poisons simply by being ingested.

But the poison that had invaded Dam Ho's body was so vicious that even the Detoxification Pill showed no sign of taking effect.

Dam Ho used the Dark Soul Heart Method to try to expel the toxin. In an instant, his body was drenched in sweat.

"It is truly vile."

Even someone as powerful as Dam Ho was showing symptoms of poisoning instantly—such was the potency of this supreme toxin.

Jong Ri-yeon drew a pair of deerskin gloves from her bosom, put them on, and took a Detoxification Pill. Not content with that, she covered her mouth and nose tightly with cloth before approaching the corpses.

She examined the very corpse Dam Ho had just turned over. The back was already beginning to melt away with a horrific stench, as though the traces of poison were being erased.

Jong Ri-yeon stared wide-eyed at the dissolving corpse.

All her senses—sight, smell, hearing—were sharpened to their fullest. She strained to extract every last piece of information about the poison.

The scent of the poison, the pattern of the corpse's dissolution, the color of the blood—she observed it all meticulously.

The longer she observed, the more her head ached. These were the early symptoms of poisoning. It was dangerous to remain any closer.

"Hah!"

Jong Ri-yeon retreated hastily from the corpses and tore off the deerskin gloves. The tips of the gloves that had briefly touched the corpses had already turned green.

The poison was so vicious that had she delayed any longer, even the deerskin gloves would have dissolved.

"Damn it!"

Jong Ri-yeon hurriedly looked at Dam Ho.

Dam Ho's circulation had reached its peak—his body trembled violently. Within him, a war raged between the toxin and his internal energy.

Though Dam Ho had fought countless battles in his life, the most fearsome of all was this struggle against the poison now occurring within his body.

Through repeated refinement, he had believed the Dark Soul Heart Method to be nearly perfect. Dam Ho realized for the first time that it was vulnerable to poison.

With the aid of the Detoxification Pill, Dam Ho fought the toxin that had invaded his body, identifying its strengths and weaknesses. And he reflected on his own arrogance.

The Dark Shadow Fist and the Solitary Path Style were not yet perfect martial arts.

They were still incomplete, with much room for improvement.

In that instant, a passage from his martial comprehension surfaced in his mind.

'The martial way is the way of nothingness.'

He did not know why such a thought had come to him.

It was a fleeting image that had risen unbidden, but suddenly his internal energy surged. Like water in a fishbowl, the energy surged violently, then twisted into a knot before surging toward the toxin like a tsunami.

Crash!

In that instant, Dam Ho's body lurched.

Blood flowed from his nose and mouth.

"Ah!"

Jong Ri-yeon's eyes went wide.

At first, she thought Dam Ho's internal injuries had worsened. But when she realized the blood flowing from his nose and mouth was corrupted blood, her expression shifted to relief.

Something had happened within Dam Ho's body—undoubtedly, he had expelled the absorbed toxin externally.

Even after expelling the corrupted blood laden with toxin, Dam Ho's circulation was not finished.

Whoosh!

The air surrounding Dam Ho's entire body churned violently.

Jong Ri-yeon knew very well what this meant.

'This man is advancing again.'

Woon-jeong’s eyes widened greatly upon hearing Jin Ja-gang’s words.

If Taoist Bok-cheon had been pushed back by Jin Ja-gang, it would become a major incident that would damage not only Taoist Bok-cheon’s honor but also that of Qingcheng Sect.

So for Qingcheng Sect’s sake, he hoped his master would win, yet at the same time he had contradictory thoughts hoping Jin Ja-gang would succeed.

Woon-jeong tried to confirm why Jin Ja-gang was insisting he had won. From outward appearances, nothing could be discerned at all. Both their postures and steps were exactly the same as before.

When Taoist Bok-cheon remained silent, Jin Ja-gang said:

“Please lift your left foot.”

Surprisingly, Taoist Bok-cheon raised no questions or objections. As Jin Ja-gang had said, he lifted his left foot and showed the sole.

There was a slight trace of blood on the front part of the leather shoe’s sole. As if he had stepped on blood. Though it was only about an inch, it was a definite fact that Taoist Bok-cheon had moved his foot.

Bian Bu let out an exclamation upon seeing this sight.

“Well, it was real!”

Woon-jeong blinked and sent a look to Bian Bu requesting an explanation. Bian Bu glanced at Taoist Bok-cheon and spoke carefully.

“If he hadn’t moved his foot at all, there would be no way for blood to get on the sole. Poison Dragon’s blood was scattered on the ground during the final third round. That is, because Taoist Bok-cheon moved his foot during the third round, he stepped on blood and it got on his sole.”

“Gasp! Then Master lost?”

“Yes. It seems Poison Dragon won his bet with Taoist Bok-cheon.”

“How, how could such a thing…”

Bian Bu shuddered as if disgusted.

“Ugh, that vicious fellow.”

In Jin Ja-gang’s left hand, which he kept close to his body, a long needle was protruding through the back of his hand. It had pierced through the center of the back of his hand, not between his fingers.

The long needle hadn’t been protruding from the beginning. He had been gripping it inside his hand with the sharp part against his palm. When Taoist Bok-cheon struck the back of Jin Ja-gang’s hand, it protruded with that force and tore Taoist Bok-cheon’s palm.

Taoist Bok-cheon’s demonstration of the first sixteen swords of the Seventy-Two Wave Sword had given Jin Ja-gang the clue for his counterattack.

He had aimed for only a single opportunity. Deliberately exposing the poison needle early was also a conscious action to make him forget that another was hidden in his other hand.

Not using his left hand even once until the third round was for this reason.

Jin Ja-gang looked at Taoist Bok-cheon and asked:

“Will you acknowledge it?”

By anyone’s view, since Taoist Bok-cheon, a senior of the martial world, had moved his foot first, it was Taoist Bok-cheon’s defeat.

However, Taoist Bok-cheon lowered his foot and spoke shamelessly with his hands behind his back:

“You said you would win if you pushed me back, but you never said you would win if you made me step forward.”

Woon-jeong looked at Taoist Bok-cheon with an embarrassed expression.

“Master, that’s a bit…”

Taoist Bok-cheon ignored Woon-jeong.

“Are my words wrong?”

Jin Ja-gang, who had been looking at Taoist Bok-cheon, thought for a moment then answered:

“They are not wrong.”

“You deliberately said you would push me back to confuse me, then actually induced me to step forward. And you tried to rely on common sense standards for the actual victory criteria. You thought that due to martial world propriety and duty, I would have no choice but to acknowledge defeat. However, that is a very despicable act that should not be done by someone of the orthodox faction. Do you understand?”

Taoist Bok-cheon’s words were correct. It would have been nearly impossible for Jin Ja-gang to push back Taoist Bok-cheon in a direct confrontation. He would have been blocked before he could even use his hands.

So Jin Ja-gang had said he would push him back, then actually lured him to step forward.

Bian Bu and Woon-jeong were puzzled about how he had lured him but couldn’t interrupt the conversation and held back.

Jin Ja-gang answered Taoist Bok-cheon’s words:

“I will not deny it.”

However, Jin Ja-gang felt conflicted. This was because Taoist Bok-cheon had called him a member of the orthodox faction.

“But your words are very unreasonable.”

“Why is that?”

“At first meeting you treated me as someone of the evil faction, yet now you apply the standards of the orthodox faction.”

Taoist Bok-cheon answered without changing his expression:

“I never treated you as someone of the evil faction. That woman over there, who was originally orthodox but became evil through acting like the evil faction – that might be different.”

Indeed, he had treated the group as troublesome guests but had never explicitly called them evil faction. Most of Taoist Bok-cheon’s antipathy had been directed at Dan Ryeong-gyeong. He had even glared at Dan Ryeong-gyeong during their exchanges.

Jin Ja-gang felt a strange emotion.

Taoist Bok-cheon declared sternly:

“If you want to be orthodox, act orthodox! No matter what others say!”

Taoist Bok-cheon’s words strangely struck a chord in Jin Ja-gang’s heart.

Jin Ja-gang suddenly felt emotional.

Why did Taoist Bok-cheon keep calling Jin Ja-gang orthodox?

Why?

However, Taoist Bok-cheon made a gesture refusing further questions and stepped back with a cupped-fist salute.

“By our standards, I cannot be said to have lost, but following the usual propriety of the martial world, it would be acceptable to say I was defeated. Your request will be granted.”

Jin Ja-gang also stepped back with an awkward cupped-fist salute.

“I will be able to tell you soon.”

Taoist Bok-cheon said to Woon-jeong:

“Don’t even think of setting one foot in the main mountain until they leave. You lacking fool.”

“Master…”

Woon-jeong made a tearful face and ran to Taoist Bok-cheon. When Taoist Bok-cheon glared at him, he hesitated then fumbled in his robes and pulled out a ceremonial bell. It was the bell that had holes and was dented.

“Hehe, this got broken…”

Taoist Bok-cheon’s face contorted. He grabbed the ceremonial bell and immediately struck Woon-jeong’s head with it.

Clang!

“Aaaaah!”

Woon-jeong rolled on the ground.

Taoist Bok-cheon glared at Woon-jeong then looked toward Dan Ryeong-gyeong and spoke loudly:

“Whether intended or not, your coming here again must be due to heaven’s workings. Untie what was tied! The final human principle to unravel the tangled connections is something that others can hardly resolve!”

Taoist Bok-cheon soon turned away as if he had no more business with the group.

When Taoist Bok-cheon left, Soso ran over and looked at Jin Ja-gang’s wounds with a pitying expression. She was especially saddened seeing the needle protruding through both sides of his palm.

“I’m fine, Soso.”

Bian Bu watched Taoist Bok-cheon’s retreating figure and asked Jin Ja-gang:

“But why did Taoist Bok-cheon step forward half an inch… I still don’t understand.”

“It’s false hellebore poison.”

Jin Ja-gang answered. “False hellebore poison penetrates through the skin and causes dizziness and headaches, dulling consciousness and making sound judgment impossible.”

How he had made it penetrate through the skin was obvious.

“So while scattering blood…”

He had been bleeding excessively to secretly scatter false hellebore poison. Taoist Bok-cheon had also been covered in quite a bit of blood while attacking Jin Ja-gang barehanded.

“But it’s hard to believe that a supreme master like Taoist Bok-cheon would be affected by mere false hellebore poison.”

Bian Bu muttered.

“Did he fail to notice that the distance was different when holding the branch versus not holding it because he was continuously deploying the same sword technique…”

As Bian Bu said, it was difficult to inflict fatal damage on masters with ordinary poison. However, what Jin Ja-gang wanted was just a tiny disruption. Like feeling full after eating a lot, he had aimed for small cracks that one wouldn’t consciously notice.

Jin Ja-gang had continued scattering false hellebore poison while being hit, gradually leaning back bit by bit. So that as Taoist Bok-cheon unconsciously extended his hand to strike, he would gradually come forward.

However, even though Jin Ja-gang thought his plan had worked properly, he felt somehow unsettled.

Hadn’t Taoist Bok-cheon said that Jin Ja-gang had ‘induced’ his mistake? That sounded like he already knew Jin Ja-gang’s intention. Especially his scolding… no, it felt more like advice than simple scolding, which was even more puzzling.

‘Could he have made up words to avoid acknowledging his defeat?’

Somehow it felt strange.

But then Dan Ryeong-gyeong muttered while watching Taoist Bok-cheon’s departing figure:

“He’s still the same…”

Woon-jeong rubbed his struck head and slyly asked Dan Ryeong-gyeong:

“What do you mean?”

“Your master has always been affectionate and unable to be harsh with people. He still hasn’t changed.”

Woon-jeong stopped crying and smiled brightly. Then he looked at Bian Bu and Jin Ja-gang and said:

“See? Just as I said. Our master isn’t someone who would cut people’s throats on sight. He hates evil but he’s really so affectionate that he listens to everything…”

Bian Bu clicked his tongue and gestured toward Jin Ja-gang with his chin. Jin Ja-gang’s appearance, covered in blood with holes in his neck and hand.

“Uh… hmm.”

Woon-jeong couldn’t say more and averted his gaze. Since the result before his eyes was somewhat different from his words, it seemed awkward to insist further.

Dan Ryeong-gyeong said to Jin Ja-gang:

“Taoist Bok-cheon is someone with terrifyingly accurate judgment. For such a person to not yield the first move to a junior of the martial world and use his hands is impossible. Do you understand what I mean?”

Jin Ja-gang nodded.

“If he had intended to harm us, we wouldn’t have been able to enter this far into Qingcheng Sect’s territory.”

In a way, it could be said that Taoist Bok-cheon had safely guided Dan Ryeong-gyeong’s group to this place. Thanks to this, they hadn’t received a single restraint from Qingcheng Sect.

Dan Ryeong-gyeong muttered:

“He… is truly a righteous person…”

Dan Ryeong-gyeong’s last words even sounded sad.

Perhaps Jin Ja-gang felt that Taoist Bok-cheon might already be predicting what Jin Ja-gang’s request would be.

In any case, they had managed to stay in one of the safest places in the martial world for the time being.

It was relief that had come after a very long time.

—

Tang Ha-ran stared intently at Mang Ryo.

“What are you up to?”

“What I’m up to isn’t something I should do, but something you should do from now on. Ah, since we must come out from the shadows to the light now, calling you ‘young master’ seems a bit odd. Should I call you niece?”

Tang Ha-ran’s gaze became sharp. Though she hadn’t been particularly respectful before, her current attitude was seriously arrogant.

“How dare… Do you have two lives or something?”

“If calling you niece doesn’t please you… Let’s see. Ugh, thinking about such things is bothersome, so let’s be reasonable. Let’s just go with Young Lady Tang.”

Calling her ‘young lady’ while ignoring the Tang family’s special circumstances where men and women were treated equally before marriage contained meaning that anyone could understand.

“Oh right, didn’t you hear from the elder?”

“What did he say?”

“Did you receive notice that your title of Young Lady Tang would be stripped and external activities prohibited?”

“Was that your doing?”

“Even knowing that, you’re still quite stiff-necked? Hehehe.”

Tang Ha-ran swallowed her anger and asked in a low voice:

“I’ll ask just once more. What scheme are you plotting?”

“Matchmaking. Before I die, I want to do one good deed by building a bridge between a man and woman.”

Now Mang Ryo was openly speaking down to her. Tang Ha-ran was furious at Mang Ryo’s attitude, as if their positions had reversed in just one day.

Moreover, Mang Ryo was sitting at the table while Tang Ha-ran stood.

“So! I’m asking why you’re arranging my marriage!”