Chapter 392

“There’s someone you should be wary of.”

Before departing, Yuk Ha-seon gave a warning.

“The one who showed the most outstanding performance in this battle with the Stone Vajras was someone called Soul Seizing Hall Master Tang Sang-yul. He took the heads of no less than four Stone Vajras.”

The name Tang Sang-yul was already stored in Jin Ja-gang’s memory.

The original owner of the Soul Seizing Thread.

“I know who he is. And I have a debt to settle with him too.”

It was the debt regarding the two legs of the craftsman Beon-woo who had repaired the current Soul Seizing Thread.

“Good that you know. Soul Seizing Hall Master is someone who, despite being in his late forties, was already a candidate for the next family head. That he demonstrated his skills even at some risk was probably largely due to being conscious of you, Poison Dragon. Since King of Hell has marked you as his successor.”

“I see.”

“But what’s strange is that Soul Seizing Hall Master is someone on the side of the current family head, Lady Li Hua, rather than King of Hell.”

Jin Ja-gang also remembered. In front of the underground prison, Tang Sang-yul had specifically stayed by Tang Gwi-ok’s side rather than King of Hell, and moved according to Tang Gwi-ok’s commands.

“He might intervene in some way to interfere with or harm your work, so be sure to keep it in mind.”

“Understood.”

Jin Ja-gang left first, leaving the three leaders behind.

* * *

Thud.

Jin Ja-gang stopped while walking through the rain.

The footsteps following behind also stopped.

“You don’t need to follow anymore.”

“…”

Yeong-gwi opened her mouth after a long while.

“I couldn’t hear the details. But… I don’t think it’s right to send you off like this.”

“It’s not a matter of right or wrong. It’s a path I’m taking to survive.”

“But…!”

Jin Ja-gang nodded to Yeong-gwi.

“Don’t worry. I won’t die.”

Yeong-gwi spoke heavily.

“Yes… if it’s you, you’ll somehow survive. Take care of yourself.”

“Then.”

Jin Ja-gang, who threw out a light farewell, hurried on his way and left.

Yeong-gwi gazed endlessly at Jin Ja-gang’s retreating figure.

Then she quietly murmured.

“It’s not because I’m afraid you’ll die. It’s because… your wife is there… that’s why…”

Yeong-gwi couldn’t finish her words and closed her mouth.

Whoooosh.

The rain seemed to be getting thinner, as if it was finally about to stop…

* * *

Jin Ja-gang didn’t hide and move but walked openly on the main road.

The heavy rain had lessened somewhat, but Sichuan couldn’t avoid the effects of flooding either. Along the way, he could see damage everywhere.

Rivers had overflowed greatly, submerging previously intact villages, and all crops in the fields had been swept away. The violently raging rivers carried household goods, broken houses, and even corpses of dead animals.

The whole world seemed dyed only with misty white fog and yellow muddy water.

Poor people who had lost their homes gathered everywhere, living in hastily built huts.

When he reached areas where people were densely packed, he could hear coughing sounds everywhere.

Cough cough.

Having been wet in humid weather for almost more than a fortnight, people had caught colds.

Even when they managed to gather firewood, it was wet and wouldn’t burn properly, only producing acrid smoke.

Adults, both men and women, were walking around getting rained on to find food. They struggled to retrieve dead livestock being swept away, and among them were those trying to catch fish by throwing nets. They could be swept away and killed by river water with just a misstep, but having no food, they had no choice.

Children were the same. They wandered the flooded fields, covered in mud, catching mole crickets called earth dogs. As the rainy season neared its end, mole crickets and water beetles were everywhere.

But even if they survived by catching and eating those for now, once the blazing heat arrived, they would quickly become hard to find.

That would be the worst period of hardship.

As Jin Ja-gang passed them, several approached with outstretched hands, begging.

He could ignore adults, but he couldn’t ignore children who extended their hands with lips trembling blue from cold.

In less than a day, Jin Ja-gang had given away all the provisions he carried.

As he got closer to the capital, the rain lessened. The times when it rained also decreased greatly.

But that was becoming more of a problem.

It became difficult to find drinking water.

Wells were covered with sediment or filled with rainwater, and with no rain falling, it became hard to collect rainwater to drink.

People had no choice but to do laundry and draw water to drink near rivers where all kinds of corpses and filth floated downstream. Some were even relieving themselves upstream.

Jin Ja-gang’s brow furrowed with worry.

This was the source of plague after floods following the rainy season.

All kinds of filthy waste overflow with river water and cover the foundation of life. People have to live on that dirty land and drink contaminated water. When blazing heat suddenly arrives after being cold due to the rainy season, disease spreads even more rapidly from then on.

But such situations after floods are something anyone can predict.

How does King of Hell Tang Qing plan to cause more problems here?

‘King of Hell. What are you planning to do using those pitiful people?’

Moreover, the identity and purpose of the demons hiding behind this were still unknown…

His shoulders felt heavy.

Jin Ja-gang looked at the people with a dark expression for quite a while, then departed for the meeting place.

* * *

The place where the meeting would be held was a small grass hut.

Faint moonlight leaking from the moon’s halo entered through the hut’s pierced roof, barely allowing one to distinguish surroundings.

Drip drip. Drip.

Water droplets leaked through roof gaps and fell to the floor.

Jin Ja-gang waited for Tang Qing in the darkness.

Swish.

Someone of small stature entered, pushing aside the hut’s straw mat door.

It was King of Hell Tang Qing.

Tang Qing plopped down in front of Jin Ja-gang.

The dim moonlight reflected off Tang Qing’s eyes, glinting palely.

Jin Ja-gang quietly stared at Tang Qing. Tang Qing’s small eyes also looked at Jin Ja-gang.

Drip… drip…

Except for the sound of dripping water, only small breathing sounds echoed in the hut.

Tedious time passed.

As time passed, moonlight also moved little by little. The moonlight leaking through the ceiling gradually moved from wall to floor. Whenever dripping water touched the moonlight, the moonlight scattered brilliantly for an instant.

Sparkle…!

Sparkle!

And very faint drum sounds could be heard from far away.

Boom… boom…

It seemed to be drum sounds announcing time as they were near the capital.

Tang Qing opened his mouth.

“It’s the third watch. It seems the others won’t be coming.”

It was the first words spoken in a full hour.

Tang Qing showed a long smile.

“What to do? The cowards ran away. Now what will you do alone?”

Jin Ja-gang also finally spoke. No, rather than speaking, he asked as if he didn’t know.

“Ah, were you waiting for someone?”

When moonlight sparkled off the dripping water, he could see King of Hell’s eyes distorting in the darkness.

Look at this guy?

“Are you mocking me? You weren’t waiting for the others?”

“I thought you had something to say. You didn’t speak up earlier.”

Jin Ja-gang took out three thin wooden tablets from his bosom.

Though the moonlight was dim, Tang Qing wasn’t someone who couldn’t read the writing on the wooden tablets.

They were wooden tablets stamped with the seals of Thousand Face Blade Master Ro-gwan, Red Flower Immortal Yuk Ha-seon, and Mine Chief Gap-tak-yeon.

“Well well?”

Tang Qing’s mouth twisted.

Signatures and seals pressed in blood.

“A joint petition?”

Tang Qing laughed.

“So what.”

Jin Ja-gang’s eyes turned cold.

“King of Hell.”

Tang Qing’s mouth, face, and eyebrows twisted even more. He seemed to be forcibly holding back ridicule.

Jin Ja-gang said coldly.

“Leper Mound! Pleasure Heaven! Coal Mining Office! I am authorized by the three Poison Sect Cliques to make this motion!”

“Giggle giggle!”

Tang Qing laughed but Jin Ja-gang paid no mind and shouted firmly.

“King of Hell Tang Qing, listen! The three Poison Sect Cliques have resolved that since you have caused serious harm to the Poison Sect faction, your representative position shall be stripped and a new Tang family representative elected!”

Jin Ja-gang threw the three joint petitions in front of King of Hell.

Tang Qing’s mouth split to his ears. His small eyes opened round.

“So?”

“Do you intend to ignore the resolution?”

“Why should I follow such a resolution?”

“One who does not follow the Poison Sect’s six cliques’ resolution.”

Jin Ja-gang spoke.

“I understand it’s subject to summary execution.”

“So?”

“Isn’t it?”

“That’s right.”

Tang Qing giggled.

Suddenly.

Drip.

One raindrop leaked and fell from the ceiling.

It hit the leaking moonlight and flashed, scattering light. Though it was a small sparkle, in the dark interior it was brighter than any other light.

Brief though it was, enough to cover the pupils of Jin Ja-gang and Tang Qing in the room with light!

Instantly Jin Ja-gang raised his Jade Void Nine Lights Five Thunder Toad Art to the extreme of six dikes and moved. It was extremely quick action for someone who had been motionless for over an hour.

Jin Ja-gang held a long acupuncture needle in his right hand and stabbed upward from below at Tang Qing’s chin, using the square drawn by the light.

Thud!

Tang Qing caught Jin Ja-gang’s wrist with his left hand.

Their internal energies clashed.

Boooooom!

Tremendous energy waves burst and swelled from Jin Ja-gang and Tang Qing’s bodies. The small hut’s interior filled with spherical energy waves. The energy waves pushed against the hut’s walls and roof and burst out all at once.

CRAAASH!

The hut’s walls and roof shattered instantly and the entire hut flew away.

Sizzle, sizzle!

Jin Ja-gang and Tang Qing’s internal energies were still repeatedly colliding. Jin Ja-gang’s hair stretched toward the sky and Tang Qing’s hair also stuck out in all directions.

Both glared with raised eyes and continued emitting internal energy.

Even so… Tang Qing was laughing. His mouth split to below his ears split even more until blood formed. Blood droplets at his mouth corners were pushed by the energy waves and floated into the air, blown backward.

Jin Ja-gang gritted his teeth and used all his strength to push the acupuncture needle into Tang Qing’s chin.

Sizzle, sizzle.

The acupuncture needle was embedded fingernail-deep in Tang Qing’s chin, glowing red-hot. No, looking closely, it wasn’t embedded. The needle’s tip was bent. Jin Ja-gang’s fingers holding the needle burned, giving off the smell of burning flesh.

Jin Ja-gang’s whole body became drenched in sweat. A single drop of sweat also formed on Tang Qing’s forehead.

The internal energy clash stopped.

Just as Jin Ja-gang was about to make his next move…

Swooooosh!

Countless human figures swarmed from all directions like a tide. The appearing martial artists pointed spears at Jin Ja-gang.

Over dozens of spears were pointed at Jin Ja-gang. Moonlight reflected off the numerous spear points, flashing blindingly bright.

The spears stopped with their tips stabbing Jin Ja-gang’s flesh, with no gap even for a hair. Dozens of spears were slightly embedded in Jin Ja-gang’s entire body.

There were over hundreds of people holding spears like this.

Hundreds of people were completely pressed against Jin Ja-gang alone, pointing spears. The spear points gradually pressed into Jin Ja-gang’s body.

Thread-like blood flowing from the stabbed areas covered his whole body like spider webs.

Jin Ja-gang neither feared nor trembled. But with his whole body pierced by spear points, he couldn’t move at all.

And Tang Qing… laughed.

Hehehe! Hehehehe!