Chapter 297

Clatter!

The skewer that the leper assassins had been holding fell from Phantom Poison Drooper’s hand. His plan to launch a surprise attack while pretending to grieve his brothers’ deaths had failed.

Phantom Poison Drooper was shocked that he had attacked him so casually while he was paying respects to his brothers.

“You who knows no propriety!”

Jin Ja-gang grabbed Phantom Poison Drooper’s head and pressed down while striking upward with his knee. Phantom Poison Drooper dropped his skewer and raised both hands to block.

Thwack!

If he had taken it directly, his face would have been crushed.

Jin Ja-gang continued striking upward with his knee.

Thud! Thwack!

Heavy sounds rang out continuously. Phantom Poison Drooper felt his skull shake and wanted to vomit.

“There’s no such thing as propriety that you only seek when convenient for yourself.”

This was referring to when Phantom Poison Drooper had attacked Yeong-woon from behind earlier.

Yeong-woon, Pyo Sang-guk, and So-min couldn’t close their mouths watching Jin Ja-gang’s actions.

It was Phantom Poison Drooper who had induced Jin Ja-gang’s carelessness by embracing his brothers’ corpses. But Jin Ja-gang had decisively struck Phantom Poison Drooper as if he already knew. The three of them could never have imagined such a thing. They definitely would have fallen for this surprise attack.

Jin Ja-gang briefly stopped his attack and asked.

“With what intention did you lure me?”

“You bastard…”

Phantom Poison Drooper gritted his teeth, but at that moment Jin Ja-gang’s knee flew at him once more.

Thud!

Though he blocked it again, his arms ached and his body stiffened. Being on his knees also limited his movements.

“Why did you try to kill me?”

Phantom Poison Drooper reached out trying to grab and tear Jin Ja-gang’s testicles. Jin Ja-gang struck his head with his knee again.

Thwack thud! Thud!

Phantom Poison Drooper gave up counterattacking and just blocked. Even just blocking, the impact was so great that blood leaked from his nose. The black cloth covering his nose and mouth became soaked with blood and flowed down.

Phantom Poison Drooper’s revealed face was horrific. His nose tip had fallen off, leaving his nostrils gaping open, and his lips were raised like a cleft lip. Phantom Poison Drooper, like the leper assassins, was also afflicted with disease.

Phantom Poison Drooper, bleeding profusely from his nose and mouth, spoke as if vomiting.

“I was ostracized from the martial world because of my appearance! My five twin brothers also couldn’t escape heaven’s punishment and were eventually driven from the village.”

Five twins! Excluding Phantom Poison Drooper, all five had nearly identical appearances and builds, making them difficult to distinguish within the poison fog.

Pyo Sang-guk tilted his head and spoke.

“Leprosy and poison… if that means.”

Yeong-woon, clutching his belly and sweating, said.

“Leper Mound. It’s Leper Mound.”

So-min shouted.

“If it’s Leper Mound, they’re poison sect assassins who rarely show themselves in the martial world! Cough cough!”

Phantom Poison Drooper smiled with his twisted lips.

“Then you know why I came?”

Jin Ja-gang suddenly asked as if tossing it out.

“What’s your relationship with Northern Heaven?”

“Northern Heaven?”

Phantom Poison Drooper sneered and answered.

“There’s only one thing I can tell you. Once it’s started, it won’t stop until you die.”

“If you’re determined to die as a tool to the end, I’ll respect that.”

When Jin Ja-gang injected internal energy into his hand, blood rushed to Phantom Poison Drooper’s eyes and poured from his nose.

“Kugh!”

The three startled leper assassins attacked Jin Ja-gang.

“Uh, uuuh!”

“Di, die!”

Pyo Sang-guk, who could still move somewhat, hesitated while considering whether he should help Jin Ja-gang. Poison Dragon was an enemy. If he killed the Leper Mound assassins, it might be their turn next.

“Damn it!”

Pyo Sang-guk could neither do this nor that. But Jin Ja-gang, as if he hadn’t expected it from the beginning, immediately stood up and faced the three leper assassins.

Phantom Poison Drooper staggered while trying to stand.

“My, my head! Head!”

His brother leper assassin looked at Phantom Poison Drooper and shouted. Phantom Poison Drooper felt his head and realized a poison needle was embedded. He seemed to understand why Jin Ja-gang kept attacking his head.

It was to keep giving shocks so he wouldn’t notice the poison spreading.

It was Poison Dragon’s poison, whose reputation had risen recently. With poison already spread in his head, it would be difficult to resolve without an antidote.

Phantom Poison Drooper used Leper Mound’s mental techniques for handling poison to suppress the poison energy spread in his head as much as possible. Complete poison expulsion was difficult, and weakening the symptoms was the best he could do now.

‘That young one is fine even within the poison fog…’

Crack.

Phantom Poison Drooper gritted his teeth and shouted.

“Capture and kill him! Find the antidote!”

The three leper assassins rushed at once.

Jin Ja-gang leaped back forcefully while crossing his arms over his chest and spreading his fingers. Poison needles protruded from between his fingers. Jin Ja-gang scattered poison needles toward the pursuing leper assassins.

Ping! Ping!

Because of the ash-like floating particles in the poison fog, the leper assassins couldn’t see the poison needles properly either. The leper assassins couldn’t advance further and spun their skewers in place to deflect the poison needles.

Meanwhile, Phantom Poison Drooper, who had circled to Jin Ja-gang’s side, swung his long arms to strike Jin Ja-gang.

Smack, smack!

Poison energy poured from Phantom Poison Drooper’s palms, seeping into his skin each time he hit Jin Ja-gang. However, it didn’t have much effect on Jin Ja-gang.

Jin Ja-gang received Phantom Poison Drooper’s palm with grappling techniques while attempting a counterattack. Phantom Poison Drooper’s hand stretched out and reached Jin Ja-gang’s forearm. Phantom Poison Drooper grabbed Jin Ja-gang’s forearm and twisted it. The skin on his forearm was pulled as if it would tear.

Jin Ja-gang didn’t resist the twisting direction but launched his body and rotated. While spinning around, he drew and threw a poison needle. Phantom Poison Drooper grabbed Jin Ja-gang’s forearm and pushed to make the poison needle miss. Then he kicked Jin Ja-gang’s leg joint, twisted his forearm down and made him kneel.

As Jin Ja-gang was forced to kneel, he struck Phantom Poison Drooper’s thigh with his other hand.

Dragon Capturing Claw!

Sensing the unusual energy, Phantom Poison Drooper immediately pulled his foot back. At the same time, three leper assassins’ skewers stabbed into Jin Ja-gang’s back. Jin Ja-gang quickly grabbed the foremost leper assassin’s sleeve using pickpocket techniques.

The leper assassin was pulled in. Jin Ja-gang used grappling techniques to grab the leper assassin’s thumb and bend it backward while using him as a shield. The other two leper assassins’ skewers pierced through the same assassin.

“Ahhhhh!”

The leper assassin with skewers in his back and neck let out a pitiful scream. The two leper assassins were startled and tried to retreat.

Phantom Poison Drooper, whose vision had narrowed due to poison and couldn’t respond immediately, pressed Jin Ja-gang’s arm down with more force. Crackling sounds came from Jin Ja-gang’s shoulder. Just before his upper body was completely smashed into the ground, Jin Ja-gang shook the sleeve of his twisted hand. A poison needle popped out from the sleeve and was caught in his palm. Using Heaven and Earth Dealing techniques, he utilized the fine muscles of his palm and fingers to fit the poison needle between his middle and ring fingers and flicked it.

Ping!

The poison needle that shot from his twisted arm was in a direction Phantom Poison Drooper never could have imagined. The poison needle embedded in Phantom Poison Drooper’s cheek.

“Uuugh!”

The poison needle pierced through his cheek and into his tongue. His tongue began swelling and blocking his throat.

“Gag, gag.”

Phantom Poison Drooper clutched his cheek and neck in agony. Jin Ja-gang sprang up and rolled his shoulders to loosen them. Then he concentrated internal energy in his hands. His hands turned red and a wisp of white steam rose from his thumb and middle finger. When he brought his thumb and middle finger together, flames sparked with a snapping sound.

Whoosh.

Jin Ja-gang sent a palm strike to Phantom Poison Drooper’s chest.

Blazing Twin Scale Palm!

The Blazing Twin Scale Palm unleashed from the Fifth Light of Jade Void Nine Lights Five Thunder Toad Art was incomparably more powerful than when used at the Tang family. Since Blazing Twin Scale Palm itself had been in the Tang family’s library, it was certainly not a low-grade martial art.

Heat poured continuously from Jin Ja-gang’s hand touching Phantom Poison Drooper’s chest. Palm force dug in while burning Phantom Poison Drooper’s insides. Phantom Poison Drooper’s internal energy created a counter-repulsion, but the Blazing Twin Scale Palm’s force burned even the counter-repulsion.

Bang!

Sparks scattered as Phantom Poison Drooper was knocked away. His bones broke and his chest was crushed. His flesh was burned black as if from burns.

Instant death. He couldn’t have escaped anyway since he was poisoned, but in any case, he died instantly from one palm strike.

“Uh, uhhhhhhh!”

The remaining two leper assassins screamed with bloodshot eyes. They made eye contact, then one began to flee. The remaining one rushed at Jin Ja-gang. Disregarding his life, he unleashed a killing technique with mutual destruction in mind.

Jin Ja-gang used footwork and spread both arms.

Click.

The leper assassin passed by Jin Ja-gang as if brushing past him.

Blood droplets of unknown origin splattered and hung in the air. The leper assassin remained motionless after passing through.

The blood droplets floating in air slowly slid down to Jin Ja-gang’s hand. Two large trees that had been on Jin Ja-gang’s left and right were cleanly cut diagonally and fell over, followed by the leper assassin’s body separating into several pieces while spraying blood.

However, in the meantime, the other one had fled. Jin Ja-gang carefully aimed at the fleeing leper assassin’s back and threw a poison needle with Flash Severance.

Thud!

The poison needle hit the leper assassin’s back. The leper assassin’s body flinched, then continued running away. Jin Ja-gang watched the leper assassin briefly, then retrieved and put away his Soul Seizing Thread.

The poison fog that Phantom Poison Drooper had spread was gradually being blown away by the wind.

Yeong-woon, Pyo Sang-guk, and So-min stared blankly at Jin Ja-gang.

“That’s Poison Dragon’s martial prowess…”

The three widened their eyes and blinked.

“Brother… Jin?”

“Young Master Jin… are you really Poison Dragon?”

Jin Ja-gang answered.

“I told you so.”

So-min asked back as if it was strange.

“But why didn’t you kill us?”

“Should I kill you?”

“Well, according to rumors, Poison Dragon is a butcher…”

“According to rumors, Poison Dragon is an incredibly handsome man.”

At Jin Ja-gang’s words, So-min opened her mouth saying “Wow.”

“Such grudge-holding skills.”

“…”

Yeong-woon and Pyo Sang-guk glanced at Jin Ja-gang and made expressions as if they wanted to laugh but couldn’t quite.

Jin Ja-gang changed the subject.

“For now, it would be good to get out of this poison fog and practice energy circulation. It’s not severe poison, but staying in the poison fog too long will make your vital energy turbid and gradually make circulation more difficult.”

“What about Young… Master?”

“You three are people trying to catch me, so should I come along?”

Jin Ja-gang was about to bid farewell and leave when Pyo Sang-guk scratched his cheek.

“Brother Jin is right. We had reconnaissance duties, but as members of the Martial Alliance, we also have the obligation to catch Poison Dragon. And as a disciple of Zhongnan, no matter how strong an enemy we meet, we don’t run away.”

Jin Ja-gang, who was about to leave, stopped and turned back.

“What do you mean?”

Pyo Sang-guk clenched his fist and raised his internal energy.

“Even though Brother Jin saved us, we can’t just let you go…”

Jin Ja-gang raised his finger and pointed behind Pyo Sang-guk.

“What’s that?”

Pyo Sang-guk turned around.

“What’s behind me?”

Whiiing.

“…”

Thud.

Pyo Sang-guk turned around, then suddenly felt a sting in his leg and looked down at himself. A needle was embedded in his knee.

“Ahhhhh!”

Pyo Sang-guk was startled and pulled out the needle while trying to circulate energy and block the poison. But being in the poison fog, proper circulation wasn’t working.

“Cough cough!”

Pyo Sang-guk was so startled he couldn’t breathe properly and kept coughing.

Yeong-woon sighed “Huff.”

“Brother Jin. Sorry, but please forgive Brother Pyo. As you’ve seen these past few days, he’s an exceptionally rigid friend.”

Jin Ja-gang looked quietly at Yeong-woon and said.

“You three might consider me an enemy, but my enemies are somewhat different. So I’ll let today pass since you showed no killing intent toward me. But if you harbor killing intent and reveal hostility, then you’ll become my enemy.”

Becoming Poison Dragon’s enemy!

Poison Dragon’s enemy.

So-min and Pyo Sang-guk had never heard such chilling words in all their lives.

Since they had thought of him as an enemy all along, it shouldn’t be surprising, but now that they felt the weight of those words, the situation was completely different.

Especially after witnessing such a scene with dismembered corpses scattered about.

So-min requested of Jin Ja-gang.

“I heard Poison Dragon’s poison is difficult to detoxify. If we’re not enemies, please detoxify Brother Pyo.”

Pyo Sang-guk shouted.

“Don’t beg! I’m fine. A Zhongnan disciple doesn’t retreat in any dangerous situation…”

Whiiing! Ping!

Thud.

Thud.