Chapter 300

An old man with an ordinary face that showed nothing special no matter how much you looked at him.

This was Leper Mound’s general commander, Thousand Faces Common Blade, Roh Gwan.

In front of him sat a tall old man with his mouth covered by cloth. The old man had his wide sleeves clasped together so his hands weren’t visible, making it look as if he was bowing.

“If we fail this time too, our Leper Mound will become the laughingstock of the poison sects.”

His expression remained impassive, but anger was embedded in his voice.

The tall old man chuckled.

“The Tang family also took a beating from him, so would we become laughingstock alone?”

“Thirty percent of our sect’s full strength has been lost. The damage is enormous.”

“It seems those accompanying him are getting in the way. They said Wudang’s Benevolent Tiger is with him, along with disciples from Zhongnan and Mount Hua.”

Kekeke!

The tall old man laughed again.

“Don’t worry. It’s easier to exploit such youngsters rather than cut them down with a blade.”

“You tell me not to worry, but your butt is too heavy, Piercing Ghost.”

“I understand. I’ll get up slowly. But I have a feeling Poison Dragon is waiting for me. If he wanted to reach Chongqing, he would have gone already.”

“So finish it this time.”

“That goes without saying.”

The tall old man, Piercing Ghost, stood up without even taking his hands out of his sleeves.

“Ah, let me confirm just one thing before I go.”

“Anything.”

Piercing Ghost hardened his previously playful expression and spoke seriously.

“If I fail, let’s withdraw from the Poison Dragon matter.”

Thousand Faces Common Blade Roh Gwan looked at Piercing Ghost.

Piercing Ghost said.

“I’m nominally our Leper Mound’s second-in-command. So if I fail, the general commander would have to step forward. But if even the general commander falls, our Leper Mound family would have nowhere to go.”

“Do you see Poison Dragon as being that formidable?”

“Not necessarily. But I suddenly had this thought. Reh-ryuk’s poison fog didn’t work, the bandit’s special soul confusing powder didn’t work, and the poisons of Twin Kill and Three Tigers all failed. No matter how good someone is at handling poison, they don’t have resistance to every type of poison. But Poison Dragon is such a person.”

“Are you saying Poison Dragon has an impervious-to-ten-thousand-poisons body like you, Piercing Ghost?”

“Impervious to ten thousand poisons doesn’t mean invincible. Originally, ‘impervious’ means preventing invasion from the outside. So if one could somehow invade poison into the body without being conscious of it, even someone with an impervious body like me would get poisoned.”

“Hmm.”

“But the feeling is strange. Poison Dragon is from a medicine sect and is an enemy of poison sects, yet poison doesn’t work on him. And we are those who can only become strong by using poison. Perhaps Poison Dragon… has appeared as the greatest natural enemy to us poison sect members…”

“What are you trying to say?”

“If I uncover the reason that poison-immune general has survived until now, I live, otherwise he wins.”

“Stop with the useless sentimentality.”

“In any case, if not Leper Mound, who would accept lepers afflicted with leprosy like us? So even if I don’t return, general commander, don’t step forward.”

Thousand Faces Common Blade Roh Gwan looked at Piercing Ghost in silence for a moment.

“I can’t promise that.”

Roh Gwan’s face twitched slightly as if smiling or not.

“Kill him and come back. Then I won’t need to step forward.”

“That goes without saying.”

Piercing Ghost smiled ominously and left the room with his sleeves still clasped together.

* * *

Jin Ja-gang no longer hid himself while traveling but walked openly on the road.

He didn’t clean up his limping footsteps or traces of campfires when camping. He deliberately made noise and left enough signs of his presence.

Judging by the feeling of watchful eyes, he seemed to have succeeded in drawing Leper Mound’s attention to some degree.

However, he wasn’t careless. He didn’t know when or how assassins might appear. They could ambush at any time while he was sleeping, eating, or relieving himself. Until now, Yeong-woon, Pyo Sang-guk, and So-min had completely drawn Leper Mound’s attention, allowing Jin Ja-gang to easily detect Leper Mound’s presence in advance.

The mountain sun sets early.

As the sun began to set, Jin Ja-gang immediately prepared to camp.

Crackle, crackle.

He gathered branches and lit a campfire. While chewing on plants that grew nearby for dinner, he heard noisy sounds.

Jin Ja-gang tensed briefly then relaxed.

It was Yeong-woon, Pyo Sang-guk, and So-min.

“Ah! See? I was right, wasn’t I? I knew it would be Young Master Jin.”

Jin Ja-gang shook his head slightly and asked.

“Did you follow me?”

Pyo Sang-guk snorted and said.

“You left all your tracks so conspicuously that it was very easy to follow.”

He had left tracks to lure Leper Mound, but ended up having the three follow him as well.

“Then excuse me.”

Yeong-woon shamelessly clutched his belly and made groaning sounds as he came to sit by the campfire.

Jin Ja-gang had no choice but to give up his spot.

“Has your wound improved?”

“The poison has risen, so it’s not healing well.”

“I advised that resting for a few days would be better.”

“That’s when we’re safe.”

So-min interjected.

“Thinking about it, the safest place in the world is beside Young Master Jin.”

“That’s not true.”

“Then we have no choice… Well, wouldn’t it be much less noticeable to Leper Mound’s eyes if we’re here? Young Master Jin wouldn’t need to deliberately leave traces.”

“…?”

Pyo Sang-guk grumbled.

“Don’t be too harsh on us. We can’t say we’re not afraid of death, but as disciples of the orthodox path, there are things we must not avoid.”

Yeong-woon added.

“Even if our inadequacies might be bothersome to Brother Jin, we won’t be a burden.”

“Is it because of curiosity?”

“No. To be precise, we want to know the truth. Leper Mound and Northern Heaven’s involvement, the poison sects’ intentions.”

Yeong-woon looked into Jin Ja-gang’s eyes with a kind but upright gaze and continued.

“And Brother Jin’s true nature.”

“I don’t think there’s such a thing as true nature. What I know of myself is all there is.”

“But there are more lies spread in the world than Brother Jin knows. We can help filter out the falsehoods.”

Pyo Sang-guk said.

“The reputation of prestigious orthodox sects isn’t built overnight. Brother Jin might not like that we’re disciples of prestigious sects, but people will believe what we say a hundred, a thousand times more than what Brother Jin says. Ah, of course! Unlike these two, I’ll be watching Brother Jin very closely with wide eyes, so be prepared!”

Growl.

While speaking boldly, Pyo Sang-guk’s stomach made a sound.

Pyo Sang-guk squatted down awkwardly.

Jin Ja-gang unconsciously chuckled and handed over the tree bark and tender grass roots he had gathered to eat.

Yeong-woon, who usually ate vegetarian food without fire, ate without resistance, but So-min and Pyo Sang-guk almost forced themselves to chew.

But suddenly Pyo Sang-guk sniffed.

“Huh?”

A rich, savory smell wafted from somewhere.

Jin Ja-gang immediately turned his head to look in one direction. Since he had already positioned himself considering the wind direction, he instantly recognized where the smell was coming from.

The sounds of footsteps and someone pushing through grass could be heard as someone approached.

The three except Jin Ja-gang jumped up.

What appeared on the path was a Leper Mound assassin with his nose and mouth covered. However, he showed no killing intent and even carried a large basket covered with cloth.

The leper assassin set the basket down in front of the four. So-min used the tip of her scabbard to lift the cloth covering the basket. It contained boiled pork and chicken dishes, various stir-fried vegetables, and two bottles of warmed liquor.

Pyo Sang-guk swallowed his saliva but didn’t rashly touch anything. No, he couldn’t touch it. How could one carelessly eat food given by poison sect members?

So-min asked.

“What is this?”

The leper assassin answered.

“This is a feast provided by our sect’s Piercing Ghost. Eat your fill and follow the direction I came from, and he will be waiting for you.”

Pyo Sang-guk chuckled.

“Ridiculous. What makes you think we’d eat this food? Do you know how hard it’s been for us to eat because of Leper Mound?”

When they tried to drink water from a stream, poison was spread from upstream; when they caught a deer to eat, poison had already spread through its organs… Thinking of what they’d endured made him tremble with rage.

The leper assassin mocked Pyo Sang-guk.

“There’s no poison. No, if you’re such cowards that you can’t eat even if there was poison, that would be your limit.”

“What?”

As Pyo Sang-guk raised his internal energy and took a stance to attack the leper assassin, Yeong-woon stopped him. Yeong-woon gestured toward Jin Ja-gang with his eyes.

Jin Ja-gang asked.

“Who is Piercing Ghost?”

“He’s the master second only to our Leper Mound’s general commander. Since he has personally graced you with his presence, you won’t be able to die comfortably.”

Jin Ja-gang quietly touched the food and said.

“The food hasn’t cooled yet. It’s within an hour’s distance at most.”

“That’s right.”

“What happened to the villagers?”

At Jin Ja-gang’s question, Yeong-woon, Pyo Sang-guk, and So-min were puzzled.

“Villagers?”

While the leper assassin’s eyes darkened slightly, killing intent slowly rose in Jin Ja-gang’s eyes.

“Each dish has different seasoning and the knife marks from preparing ingredients are different. These were all made by different people.”

Indeed, judging by the variety alone, it wasn’t an amount one person could make. If they had timed it to bring it while still warm, several people had to make it simultaneously. Moreover, there couldn’t be a large restaurant with multiple cooks in such mountains. Looking at the simplicity and quality of ingredients, it was the handiwork of ordinary village women.

The leper assassin narrowed his eyes and smiled.

“As expected of Poison Dragon! Correct. Ahead is a small village of about thirty households.”

Click.

A ring came loose from Jin Ja-gang’s hand. The leper assassin flinched at Jin Ja-gang’s killing intent.

“Why aren’t you coming to find me but waiting there?”

“You’ll know when you go. By the way…”

Whiing!

A sharp sound cut through the air. The leper assassin quickly ducked. But the leper assassin’s legs, shoulders, and neck were already caught by the Soul Seizing Thread.

“Kugh!”

Jin Ja-gang entangled the leper assassin like a net in one move and pulled. The leper assassin was dragged over. The leper assassin screamed desperately.

“If you want to go to the afterlife well, eat your fill! Only pain awaits you!”

Jin Ja-gang pulled the Soul Seizing Thread with more force.

As the Soul Seizing Thread dug into the leper assassin’s body, blood lines began appearing all over him.

“Kughhhh!”

Jin Ja-gang asked.

“Hostages?”

“Hostages? Kekek. It would be better if they were hostages. To Piercing Ghost, hostages are meaningless. It’s hell. By now the village has become hell.”

“Hell?”

Jin Ja-gang picked up a piece of meat from the basket and chewed it. He also took a few sips of liquor. Rather than eating because he was hungry, he seemed to be savoring the taste.

Pyo Sang-guk looked back and forth between Jin Ja-gang and the basket, reaching for chicken but then picking up the same piece of pork that Jin Ja-gang had taken.

Jin Ja-gang said without looking at Pyo Sang-guk.

“It contains poison.”

“But that guy just said there was no poison…”

“Deadly poison. It seems he used this poison on the villagers. It would be extremely painful.”

The leper assassin deliberately laughed louder even as his body was being squeezed and cut by the Soul Seizing Thread.

“You’ll soon be in the same state as those village things! It’s only regrettable that I can’t see you writhing in pain and begging to be killed!”

Jin Ja-gang’s expression turned cold. He put strength into the hand gripping the Soul Seizing Thread.

At that moment, Pyo Sang-guk struck the leper assassin’s head with his fist.

“You evil bastards!”

Thud!

The leper assassin died with his head caved in.

Pyo Sang-guk shouted.

“Let’s go quickly! I can’t face the sky tomorrow without killing all these dog-like bastards!”

Yeong-woon and So-min also prepared as if about to rush out.

“We’ll handle the villagers. Brother Jin, just worry about that Piercing Ghost fellow.”

But Jin Ja-gang had no intention of moving.

So-min carefully called Jin Ja-gang.

“Young… Master Jin?”

Jin Ja-gang’s expression was ominous.