Chapter 291

The old man staggered backward.

Since the poison needle had properly lodged in his heart, no matter how much he blocked his blood flow, he couldn’t last long.

Along with dizziness, he felt difficulty breathing. Nausea and the urge to vomit welled up.

At the same time, his chest became tight.

Ugh! Sharp!

Cold sweat instantly formed.

The old man grabbed and pulled off his own severed wrist that was attached to his chest. Though it didn’t help much, he pressed acupoints around the area to delay the poison’s spread as much as possible.

However, if his heart stopped, everything would be useless.

He had to decide quickly. Either die fighting like this or bite his poison tooth.

Poison Dragon was stronger than expected. Especially his unique grappling techniques combined with projectile skills made him extremely difficult to deal with.

The sensation of internal energy felt when their hands and feet clashed was also strange. He must have learned supreme internal energy techniques.

The old man glared at Jin Ja-gang with bloodshot, reddened eyes and said.

“Kekeke. They say the Yangtze’s rear waves push the front waves… The rear waves of the Yangtze River push out the front waves.”

Jin Ja-gang asked back.

“As a senior who’s been pushed aside, do you have any advice to leave for a junior who will soon become the front wave?”

The old man smiled wickedly as if he’d been waiting for this.

“None. You’ll get nothing from me. You’ll become a cold corpse without ever knowing what or whom you’ve touched.”

“I figured as much. Then go ahead.”

Jin Ja-gang replied so readily without regret that the old man became displeased. It sounded like he was saying he didn’t care whether he died or not.

Since Jin Ja-gang showed no regret at all, somehow his own death felt too meaningless.

“This bastard… how dare you see this old man as…”

“You’re the one who said you didn’t want to tell me.”

The old man’s face, already suffering from difficulty breathing, became even more contorted.

“Insolent brat! This old man was in the martial world when you weren’t even born…!”

Jin Ja-gang coldly cut off the old man’s words.

“Shut up.”

“What?”

The old man was dumbfounded and soon became furious.

“You brat! Where did a young one like you get a little power and become so arrogant beyond measure! Do you see the martial world as such a joke!”

“I don’t know much about the martial world. But you are utterly ridiculous.”

“Young one! Nothing in the world lasts forever. In the blink of an eye, everything changes the same. You who pushed out the front wave will also soon become the front wave. When that time comes, don’t forget that you had a day like today!”

However, Jin Ja-gang instead pointed at the old man with his finger and shouted as if scolding.

“You’re doing such dirty work that you can’t even reveal your own name, yet you dare to lecture someone!”

The old man was speechless.

“D-dare?”

Unable to contain his anger, he vomited blood. Only after vomiting blood twice did his mind clear a bit and his voice became calm.

“Heh… hehe, you want to provoke this old man with such tactics to extract information? Young one, there are great causes in this world that your small head cannot understand.”

The old man pointed downward while staggering.

“Kneel and apologize. Then who knows? This old man might pretend to be crazy before dying and show mercy by opening his mouth.”

Jin Ja-gang looked at the old man with contemptuous eyes.

“I refuse. You don’t deserve such courtesy.”

The old man asked with increasingly labored breathing.

“Huff, huff. Then you won’t be able to find out anything?”

A sneer appeared at the corner of Jin Ja-gang’s mouth.

“Do you think so? If you knew what poison I used on you, you wouldn’t be able to say such things.”

The old man was seriously affected by poison, with the area under his eyes turning black. Death was imminent. There was nothing more frustrating than dying without hearing an answer.

“You… killed two of my subordinates. They said nothing. So what and how did you find out?”

Jin Ja-gang took out a sprig of mistletoe from his sleeve and chewed it.

“It’s mistletoe. Especially the kind that grows parasitically on mulberry trees is called Sang Qi Sheng.”

“Mistletoe? With just that?”

Mistletoe was extremely common in this area. You could see mistletoe all over Gubuk Village right now.

The old man shouted.

“Don’t talk nonsense! Mistletoe is a non-poisonous plant that’s actually used to neutralize poison!”

“Sang Qi Sheng harvested in winter is like that. But Sang Qi Sheng that grows in spring is the opposite and contains poison. And it reacts greatly in specifically certain situations.”

The old man’s pupils shook.

“What is this specific situation?”

The desire to hear an answer before dying was greater than feeling shameless.

“In normal cases, when poisoned by Sang Qi Sheng, one receives a shock like being struck by lightning, causing the face to turn pale and blood to stop circulating, leading to death. However, if someone with no rheumatism at all encounters Sang Qi Sheng poison, they experience severe chest pain before their heart stops and they die.”

Rheumatism refers to living in humid places where moisture seeps into the body. Depending on the person, joints hurt, they feel dizzy, and they may develop fever.

The old man’s expression became uneasy.

The old man looked down at his own hand clutching his chest.

“Last winter, there was a lot of snow. So most people barely feel chest pain even when poisoned by Sang Qi Sheng.”

Jin Ja-gang continued.

“In other words, you clutching your chest means you’re experiencing severe heart pain, and it means you’ve lived long in a dry place without moisture.”

The old man quickly turned his head.

He checked just in case, and indeed it was as expected. Among those disguised as ordinary soldiers, hardly any could be seen holding their chests while dead.

Those were bandit groups they had recruited who had been wandering around as riffraff. It was clearly different from his own condition.

The old man’s eyes sank deeply. He no longer had the strength to deny it.

“Heh, hehe. To figure out that much… with just something like Sang Qi Sheng… At this level, this old man has nothing to say.”

His legs trembled violently. It was a miracle he was still standing.

Jin Ja-gang said.

“Most people would have difficulty lasting even half an hour, but you’ve endured over an hour. It’s time for you to go now.”

“Huff.”

The old man used his last strength to press acupoints around his pelvis and hip joints with his fingers. His legs stiffened so he wouldn’t fall to his knees.

“To think that I, Remaining Soul Blade, would meet my end in such a state…”

The old man didn’t bite his poison tooth. However, like a master, he raised his internal energy and committed suicide.

Pop!

A sound like a pumpkin bursting came from the old man’s head as blood instantly filled his eyes. Melted brain matter mixed with sticky blood flowed down his beard from his nostrils.

He died standing up.

Jin Ja-gang looked at the old man for a moment.

The old man was a considerable master. He probably seemed similar to Zhuge Son-gi or perhaps one level ahead.

However, Jin Ja-gang didn’t feel much intimidation from the old man. This was because Jin Ja-gang had already risen to a much higher level than the old man.

Like looking down from above to below, Jin Ja-gang had somehow reached such a position.

Jin Ja-gang turned around to look behind him.

There was no need to do more. The scene was already cleaned up.

Oh Tae, whose right hand had become a rag, approached Jin Ja-gang with his hand bandaged.

“Remaining Soul Blade, I remember hearing that name. He’s a master from the Northern Heaven who disappeared long ago. There was once talk that he was among the top five in Zhejiang…”

Oh Tae stopped talking and stared at Jin Ja-gang.

Didn’t that mean if Jin Ja-gang went to Zhejiang, he’d be within the top five?

“Well, this side is Yunnan’s top master after all.”

“What are you talking about?”

“Nothing. Just talking to myself. But I thought Northern Heaven’s Evil Sect was driven north by orthodox sects long ago, when did they enter the martial world?”

“It seems they were in the western desert, not the north. If it’s a dry place without moisture, there’s only the western desert connected to Qinghai, Gansu Province, and Shanxi Province.”

“Then the Sang Qi Sheng story is real?”

“It’s real.”

“But the desert is vast. Unimaginably vast. Moreover, all directions look the same. Everywhere you look it’s all sand, and when wind blows, the terrain changes, so those unfamiliar with it lose their way and die.”

“It would be difficult to find them with just this information.”

“Moreover, in the worst case, we can’t help but consider the possibility that Northern Heaven has joined hands with the Western Tibet Demon Cult.”

Oh Tae spoke regretfully.

“We should have kept him alive for torture.”

“He didn’t seem like he would open his mouth under torture.”

One had bitten his poison tooth himself, and the old man disguised as a military captain had silenced the mouth by beheading someone who wasn’t yet dead. They weren’t the type to open their mouths under torture.

“That’s true though.”

Only then did Jin Ja-gang look at Oh Tae and ask.

“Is your hand alright?”

Oh Tae was incredulous.

“You’re asking quite quickly. Does this look alright to you?”

“You told me not to show pity.”

“Pity is pity, but not even asking if a person is in pain…”

Oh Tae stopped talking and closed his mouth.

Seeing him argue with Remaining Soul Blade just now, his eloquence was no ordinary thing. If he continued talking, only he would suffer.

After the situation was sorted out, Oh Tae tortured the captured men.

However, no particular information came out.

They were simple hired hands. They had participated just because they were offered a lot of money, but knew nothing.

Oh Tae cut their necks and offered them on a sacrificial table, comforting the souls of the dead Gubuk Village gang members.

“With what’s left of us, we can’t face those who employ people like Remaining Soul Blade as subordinates. If we stay, we’ll just be massacred overnight.”

Oh Tae decided to disband Gubuk Village and leave. Even with help from the Hao Sect, if masters beyond Remaining Soul Blade came, they would be the ones to die anyway.

“Isn’t it a waste to give up the black market you’ve been operating?”

At Jin Ja-gang’s question, Oh Tae laughed.

“Black markets feed on forbidden desires. As long as there are people, black markets won’t disappear.”

“I see.”

“Well, and since things have turned out this way, I’ll have to bring out my retirement plan.”

Oh Tae grumbled regretfully and said.

“Go to Chongqing.”

Chongqing was an area connecting Sichuan and Huguang. Especially Huguang Province was full of prestigious sects including Wudang Sect. It would be like stepping forward right in front of a tiger’s den.

“Did the stolen goods go to Chongqing?”

“Almost all stolen goods related to martial sects are processed there.”

“Chongqing is unfamiliar.”

“Don’t worry. The Hao Sect is there too. And most importantly.”

Oh Tae paused and asked.

“I said I could guarantee ninety percent victory in card fighting. What did I say the remaining ten percent depended on?”

“You said it depended on the cards.”

Oh Tae said.

“The Hao Sect has been working on Chongqing for a long time. Hehehe.”

At Oh Tae’s confident tone, Jin Ja-gang felt grateful once again. Not only the clothes he was wearing now, but Oh Tae had been taking particular care of Jin Ja-gang.

“Thank you. I’ve received a lot of help.”

“You saved our lives. If you hadn’t stayed here to learn gambling, we would all already be corpses. That’s enough, what in the world is more important than your own neck? Let’s just consider it even trading.”

Oh Tae raised his bandaged hand and laughed heartily.

“It was a short time if short, long if long. Then go quickly. I have nothing more to give you. If you still insist on staying, I’ll curse you as someone who picks bean sprouts from a beggar’s asshole.”

Jin Ja-gang smiled without realizing it.

“Thank you for all your care during this time.”

Oh Tae pushed Jin Ja-gang away.

“No need to say goodbye like we’ll never see each other again. Those who meet will part, but those who part will surely return. The Hao Sect exists everywhere in the martial world. We’ll meet again sometime. Moreover, I have no intention of retiring yet.”

Those who meet will part, but those who part will surely return.

When there are meetings, there are also partings, but those who must meet will surely meet again.

Jin Ja-gang cupped his fists toward Oh Tae and the Gubuk Village gang members who were seeing him off, then immediately set out on the road.