Chapter 491

“……”

An Ryeong was silent for a while, then opened her mouth.

“Shaanxi Merchant Association.”

Jin Ja-gang looked at An Ryeong.

“It’s the channel our family used when we needed to make secret contacts. Ten years ago during the Medicine Sect incident, not only with Physician Bell Healers but also when contacting the Tang Family and afterward, whenever we needed to move closely, we used the Shaanxi Merchant Association’s communication network.”

Jin Ja-gang also realized in that moment.

The Central Plains were vast. To frequently exchange secret communications required building a huge communication network very widely and densely. It was impossible with ordinary forces.

Though An Clan Medical Family was a very famous family in the martial world, they lacked the ability to establish and operate a nationwide communication network.

Only forces at the level of the so-called Ten Great Sects and Eight Great Families could have their own nationwide communication networks. The difference was whether they had a system that could receive rumors and information about events occurring throughout the entire martial world fastest and send down orders in response.

So An Clan Medical Family inevitably used merchant associations with distribution networks extending throughout the Central Plains and with high trust from long transactions as their communication network.

“Ordinary letters can use express riders, carrier pigeons, or escort agencies, but really important information is often sent through merchant association distribution networks. Most small and medium sects have all done it that way. And…”

An Ryeong paused briefly.

“The Shaanxi Merchant Association also informed us that the Medicine Sect was trying to strike the Poison Sect.”

Jin Ja-gang’s eyebrows twitched.

“Grandfather confirmed the truth with Physician Bell Healers, and then… you know the rest.”

An Ryeong stood up and looked at Jin Ja-gang.

“That’s the content of the Shaanxi flag you wanted to know about, Poison Dragon. If there are any more clues you want to find, it would be good to look into it even now.”

Son-bi grabbed An Ryeong’s wrist. However, An Ryeong shook off Son-bi’s hand.

“I have to go. Though it might already be too late as Poison Dragon said.”

An Ryeong immediately jumped off the moving carriage.

She was probably going to find An Yul-jin.

However, time-wise, An Yul-jin had already entered the path of death. Even if An Ryeong went, there was a high chance she’d be too late. Rather, An Ryeong might even be in danger.

Son-bi looked at An Ryeong’s back with pity.

Justice will prevail in the end.

An Clan Medical Family fell into their own trap, so whom could they blame?

Jin Ja-gang recalled again the information An Ryeong had given.

Jin Ja-gang’s prediction that the Hungry Ghost King was related to merchant associations was correct.

Tang Qing prepared for the great undertaking through merchant associations, and An Clan Medical Family used the merchant association’s communication network.

Jin Ja-gang’s expression became more serious.

Perhaps, Great Buddha might not be the Hungry Ghost King.

No matter how large and wide Shaolin Temple’s forces were, they couldn’t possibly control all merchant associations and trading companies.

The reason to meet Great Buddha grew even greater.

Tap tap.

Son-bi tapped Jin Ja-gang’s forearm and wrote on the carriage wall.

—An Ryeong… is pitiful.

Son-bi looked at the liquor bottle An Ryeong had left behind.

—An Ryeong suffered. About An Clan Medical Family’s survival methods. She loathed and hated it but had no choice but to follow for the family’s sake.

“I know.”

Son-bi hesitated a bit then wrote.

—But there’s something you might not know. An Ryeong respected you. Even before meeting you.

Jin Ja-gang’s deeds of running forward burning everything blocking his way for the single purpose of revenge alone were no different from legend just by the episodes.

Revenge was the highest chivalry recognized throughout the entire martial world.

An Ryeong had felt great awe toward Jin Ja-gang who was straightforwardly accomplishing what she herself couldn’t do.

—She acted especially gruff toward you because she projected onto you the image she had been thinking of.

Without answering, Jin Ja-gang only nodded, then sat down again, held Divine Ladle River Sword, and entered qi circulation practice.

Jin Ja-gang’s external wounds had already almost healed, so the outside was clean.

Even while Jin Ja-gang was circulating qi for healing, Son-bi looked outside the carriage for quite a while.

***

The carriage arrived in Wuhan in the morning.

Clatter, clatter.

The carriage that entered Wuhan city slowed down.

Jin Ja-gang looked at Yeong-gwi and Son-bi in turn. Yeong-gwi nodded and Son-bi shook her head. However, the meaning was the same. They wouldn’t go back.

Yeong-gwi immediately disguised herself, got off the carriage, and disappeared into the crowd.

Son-bi went to the market with Jin Ja-gang to dispose of the carriage. After handing over the carriage at a reasonable price, she stared at Jin Ja-gang.

—Can you give me one day?

When Jin Ja-gang nodded, she wore a small smile and took Jin Ja-gang to a fabric shop. Son-bi handed the fabric shop owner a large amount of silver and rented out the entire shop. Then she tried this and that fabric and selected dark navy blue fabric.

—Please come back tonight, customer.

Son-bi chased Jin Ja-gang out of the fabric shop.

—Come on, hurry and go.

Then she immediately gathered workers and began sewing and making clothes.

Jin Ja-gang looked inside from outside the fabric shop for a moment then turned his steps.

Flutter.

The sound of a pigeon’s wingbeats.

A man holding a cage stood behind him, then bowed to Jin Ja-gang. The man handed Jin Ja-gang a small note and three tubes thick as a finger with both ends sealed. They seemed to be items that arrived via carrier pigeon.

Jin Ja-gang opened the note first.

If my little tricks worked, these items should have reached you well.

Jumping in to catch a bear without preparation, how reckless. Tsk.

I’m roughly sending only what I can give now. I hear there’s lots of useful stuff in Zhuge Family’s Treasure Vault nearby, so drop by if you have time.

If by bad luck you fail to achieve your purpose and attain nirvana, it’s your fault so absolutely no need to come visit. Restless dreams are really unpleasant.

I’ll take good care of Poison Heaven, so don’t worry.

Jin Ja-gang laughed at the writing in tiny letters.

“It’s not like you to be so wordy.”

It was King of Hell Tang Qing. The reason Tang Qing wrote so long was likely because his worry for Jin Ja-gang was that great.

Jin Ja-gang sent the man away and went to a deserted place to open the tubes and check.

The first tube contained a viscous liquid and the second tube contained black powder.

Jin Ja-gang tasted the poison in each tube.

Just briefly touching his tongue, his body heated up intensely and heat began rising to his head. The world spun and hallucinations began appearing. His head throbbed and felt stuffy as if water filled his brain. His pupils repeatedly contracted and expanded as tears mixed with pus streamed down.

Merciful Eyes. One of the Tang Family’s three absolute deadly poisons!

Though it meant the eyes with which Buddha compassionately views all beings, it was an extreme poison among extreme poisons that melted the brain and burned the eyes, making brain fluid flow out through the eye sockets.

Jin Ja-gang waited for it to subside, swallowed the remainder, and tasted the black powder.

His entire body’s skin became hot as if on fire. It was much more painful than when his skin melted in the Chaotic Heaven Pond and his flesh touched sulfur vapor. Even Jin Ja-gang, who was accustomed to considerable pain, twisted his body unable to endure.

Then his skin became maddeningly itchy. When Jin Ja-gang scratched his forearm, boils formed, the skin reddened, and pus flowed. Because it was Jin Ja-gang it was this degree, but if it had been someone else, the skin would have torn and pus would have streamed out.

Burning Ointment.

Annihilation melted a person’s internal organs to kill, Merciful Eyes melted the brain, and Burning Ointment melted the skin.

Truly the worst three poisons.

Jin Ja-gang even absorbed Burning Ointment and opened the last tube.

The third tube contained not poison but bloodsucking lice he had seen before at Tang Family Great Garden.

The louse came out of the tube and crawled up to Jin Ja-gang’s hand. However, it didn’t bite Jin Ja-gang’s hand. Through its unique instinct, it knew it would die if it bit Jin Ja-gang’s hand. When Jin Ja-gang moved poison energy, it moved in the opposite direction accordingly. Depending on how much poison energy he controlled, he could make the bloodsucking lice move at will.

Jin Ja-gang drove the bloodsucking lice into the tube and closed the opening.

Though Tang Qing said he roughly sent them, they would have been the best items available immediately.

“Get the rest from the Zhuge Family…”

As it was, Asura Scripture was destroyed and after using many hidden weapons, Jin Ja-gang had almost nothing in hand except Folding Sickle. Of course, he had come planning to obtain from city blacksmiths, but dealing with Great Buddha with items obtained just anywhere was also ridiculous.

Yet he was told to get the rest from the Zhuge Family.

It hadn’t even been two weeks since Jin Ja-gang killed Zhuge Mun, head of the Zhuge Family. Tang Qing couldn’t not know, yet saying this was indeed like King of Hell.

Tang Qing was well pointing out that it wasn’t time to consider circumstances or manners.

“Zhuge Family…”

The Zhuge Family estate was very close to Wuhan.

***

Jin Ja-gang found the Zhuge Family estate in half a shichen.

He didn’t hide or secretly infiltrate.

He went openly and told the gatekeeper.

“I came to collect the debt of the Death-urging Talisman.”

The Zhuge Family estate went into emergency. They knew Jin Ja-gang was going to meet Great Buddha but never thought he’d suddenly stop midway to come to them.

The Death-urging Talisman was issued to kill Jin Ja-gang. However, far from killing Jin Ja-gang, only the family’s experts died one after another, and just recently even the family head Zhuge Mun died.

And finally Jin Ja-gang came to collect the debt from the Death-urging Talisman.

Failing the Death-urging Talisman was unavoidable, but they couldn’t avoid responsibility. However, at this time when most experts had died at Jin Ja-gang’s hands, fighting would also be meaningless.

Jin Ja-gang presented one day of time and waited.

There was no time to deliberate long. Eventually the oldest elder in the Zhuge Family stepped forward before Jin Ja-gang prepared for death.

“I heard you’re going to meet Great Buddha, yet you took time to stop by us? Should I be grateful?”

Behind the elder, Zhuge Family members holding weapons swallowed dry saliva watching the situation.

Jin Ja-gang answered.

“Since you issued the Death-urging Talisman, we should settle accounts. I can’t live forever with a blade at the back of my head.”

“Settle accounts. We should. So, what do you want? Our family’s annihilation?”

“That would be good too. You won’t stop even if I tell you to anyway.”

Blood vessels bulged on the elder’s wrinkled face.

“That’s right!”

“Then there’s not no other way. Annihilation is annihilation, and I have to collect the debt for the Death-urging Talisman.”

“Hmm? You mean to pay for the Death-urging Talisman in a different way?”

“Treasure Vault.”

The elder’s face twisted. Jin Ja-gang wanted weapons from the treasure vault before meeting Great Buddha.

“You… killed even the family head and now covet the family treasures? Rather just kill us all and take…!”

Jin Ja-gang frowned.

“Am I a bandit?”

Jin Ja-gang grabbed a handful of dirt from the ground with a displeased face and scattered it.

Whoosh!

The ordinary yellow earth became pitch-black poison powder as it was scattered. The elder and Zhuge Family members felt the poison energy, were startled, and retreated.

“If you don’t like it, I’ll just kill everyone and take it.”

The Zhuge Family members’ faces twisted.

Isn’t that being a bandit?

At that moment, the Zhuge Family members felt they couldn’t communicate with Jin Ja-gang and their spines grew cold.

***

The Zhuge Family members watched with stiff faces the back of Jin Ja-gang carrying a load and leaving.

Absurdly, this must be what it felt like to be robbed blind.

If rumors spread that he plundered the Zhuge Family’s armory to fight Great Buddha…

However, worrying about later was somehow better than becoming a handful of poison water and melting right now.