Chapter 63

The courtyard was filled with traces of battle.

Since it hadn’t been long since the screams were heard, the warriors of the Shadow Bureau were on high alert, scanning their surroundings.

Fortunately or unfortunately, it seemed the culprit had already fled, as there was no sign of any presence.

At that moment, one of the fallen suddenly let out a groan.

“Ugh…”

It was a sound made by a warrior from Iron Umbrella Sect, sprawled across the doorway leading from the courtyard into the house.

The Shadow Bureau warriors hurriedly rushed to the warrior who had made the sound.

“Hey, are you alive?”

“Who did this to you?”

The Shadow Bureau warriors propped up the Iron Umbrella Sect warrior and bombarded him with questions. However, the Iron Umbrella Sect warrior only stared blankly with lifeless eyes, froth at his mouth.

One of the Shadow Bureau warriors, finding it strange, examined the Iron Umbrella Sect warrior’s body from various angles.

There were no major wounds on his body. Yet, he was dying?

“It’s… poison!”

By the time the Shadow Bureau warriors realized this and stood up in alarm, it was already too late. They had unknowingly inhaled the poison powder scattered all over the ground while crossing the courtyard.

“Cough, cough.”

“M-my mouth feels strange!”

The Shadow Bureau warriors hurriedly covered their noses and mouths, but that didn’t make the poison they had already inhaled disappear.

Though the amount inhaled wasn’t large, it was enough to hinder their movements.

As the Shadow Bureau warriors floundered in panic, a sudden piercing sound rang out.

Ping!

At the same time, one of the Shadow Bureau warriors let out a scream.

“Urk!”

A long needle was embedded in the warrior’s thigh. Following that, hidden weapons continued to fly from inside the house.

Pip-ping! Ping!

The Shadow Bureau warriors tried to dodge the hidden weapons, but since they were being fired from right inside the house in front of them, there was no way to avoid them. In the end, all five of them were struck by long needles and collapsed.

Only then did the Shadow Bureau warriors realize that the fallen Iron Umbrella Sect warriors had no iron umbrellas in their hands.

Someone had taken the iron umbrellas and used them to shoot at the Shadow Bureau warriors.

“Ugh… ughhh!”

The iron umbrellas were equipped with a mechanism to fire Joint-Breaking Needles, and those needles were coated with a notorious poison used by Iron Umbrella Sect.

Knowing the effects of the Joint-Breaking Needles, the Shadow Bureau warriors were gripped by terror and screamed.

“Uwaaah!”

“P-please, spare us!”

However, the person who had fired the Joint-Breaking Needles from inside the house didn’t budge. Even though all the Shadow Bureau warriors had fallen, there was no sign of them coming out.

The first Shadow Bureau warrior to be hit by a Joint-Breaking Needle forced himself to stand and attempted to flee.

But he couldn’t take more than a few steps.

Crack.

With a horrifying sound, his knee twisted unnaturally. As he fell, he tried to brace himself with his hands on the ground, but even his elbow gave way.

“Uwaaak!”

The poison from the Joint-Breaking Needle had melted his joints.

“Guh, guh.”

Moreover, due to the poison powder scattered all over the courtyard, his mouth became sticky and sealed, making it impossible to even breathe.

“Save… me…”

The Shadow Bureau warriors were dying in extreme terror.

But at that moment, a shadow appeared on the roof. It was a shadow that had climbed up to the roof via the wall when the Shadow Bureau warriors noisily entered the courtyard.

The shadow stealthily descended a pillar and slipped into the house.

Then, it dropped down behind the person hiding just inside the doorway.

The person holding the iron umbrella and looking outside didn’t seem to notice the shadow’s presence at all, standing still and only gazing outward.

With a grinding sound of teeth, a dagger emerged from the shadow and was thrust into the back of the person holding the iron umbrella.

Thud!

At the same time, the shadow grabbed both shoulders, pulling them up and dislocating the shoulder joints.

Crack.

As the iron umbrella and both arms fell limply, the shadow seized the person’s hair to prevent them from collapsing, then turned their body and stomped on their knee with a foot.

Crunch!

One knee shattered, and the foot twisted backward. Not stopping there, the shadow kicked the shin of the other leg. With a snap, the shinbone broke.

In the blink of an eye, all four limbs were rendered useless, completely subduing the person. The technique was not just lightning-fast but also utterly ruthless.

Only then did the shadow release the hair it was holding.

Thud.

The person, now unable to use his limbs, sprawled on the ground, sweating profusely from pain on his face.

The shadow, Gu Sang-wol, a master of the Shadow Bureau, looked down at the fallen figure.

Gu Sang-wol’s face was contorted with rage and bewilderment.

“How dare you…”

Gu Sang-wol had also realized something was wrong after returning to his lodging from the Stone Forest Gang’s manor. Of the nine warriors he had brought, four hadn’t returned.

So, he had been searching the village when he heard Do Nam-gi’s shout infused with internal energy.

Gu Sang-wol thought that if Do Nam-gi was shouting with internal energy, it must be no ordinary matter.

It was likely related to the culprit!

Rushing in head-on could lead to his own downfall.

Thus, he sent his warriors in first while he stealthily aimed for the culprit’s back.

But upon capturing the person, it turned out to be just a small fry, barely worth a bite!

To think that Iron Umbrella Sect, even Do Nam-gi, had all been killed by someone like this!

Moreover, even the Shadow Bureau warriors had all been taken down. A few were still twitching in the outer courtyard, but it was already too late to detoxify them; they were as good as dead.

Gu Sang-wol ground his teeth.

Perhaps due to the pain, the eyes of the person sprawled on the ground had rolled back. It seemed they had fainted.

Gu Sang-wol lifted his foot and stepped on the hand of the person on the ground. The sound of hand bones shattering echoed through the house.

The rolled-back eyes returned to normal. Despite sweating profusely from pain, the person looked up at Gu Sang-wol with eyes filled with terror.

Gu Sang-wol, folding his hands behind his back and still stepping on the hand, bent down to the sprawled person and spoke.

“From now on, if you don’t answer my questions properly, you’ll experience hell itself. I guarantee it will be something you’ve never…”

But Gu Sang-wol couldn’t finish his sentence.

A sudden chill ran down his spine.

“This… guy?”

Why hadn’t he screamed despite such brutal treatment? The question arose, and upon looking, he saw that his mouth was in a complete mess.

Even his throat was swollen, rendering him utterly unable to speak.

Wasn’t this strange somehow!

Cold sweat trickled down Gu Sang-wol’s face.

At that moment.

Pssht!

A piercing sound rang out, and someone fired a Joint-Breaking Needle from very close by!

And from a low position at that!

Gu Sang-wol hurriedly kicked off the ground and leaped upward. The Joint-Breaking Needle narrowly grazed past beneath his feet.

However, as if anticipating his dodge, another Joint-Breaking Needle was fired.

Gu Sang-wol, in mid-air and unfortunately bent downward, had the needle lodge near his perineum.

“Ugh!”

Gu Sang-wol flailed in the air before forcibly twisting his body to land. With the needle embedded near his perineum, he couldn’t land properly and stood awkwardly with his legs spread apart.

The pain and poison radiating from his perineum sent a tingling sensation up Gu Sang-wol’s spine.

The one who had fired the Joint-Breaking Needle was someone hiding under a table.

As soon as he saw the needle hit its mark, he rushed forward.

Gu Sang-wol, attempting to pull out the needle from near his perineum, had no choice but to dodge in an awkward, humiliating posture, as if he had soiled himself.

“You, you b*st*rd!”

Embarrassment and shame flushed Gu Sang-wol’s face red as he stumbled backward.

Jin Ja-gang discarded the iron umbrella he was holding and switched to another one, pulling the trigger on the handle.

Ping!

A Joint-Breaking Needle was fired, aimed at Gu Sang-wol’s heart.

Gu Sang-wol, in a wide-legged horse stance, bent his waist backward. The needle narrowly passed over him.

In that position, straightening his waist could invite a counterattack, so Gu Sang-wol pushed off the ground with his right heel while still bent backward.

Gu Sang-wol’s body slid backward smoothly. In an instant, a distance of about four steps opened between him and Jin Ja-gang.

Using that moment, Gu Sang-wol pulled out the Joint-Breaking Needle near his perineum and circulated his internal energy. He needed to seal the surrounding acupoints to prevent the poison from spreading.

But even for a master like him, sealing acupoints near the perineum while standing awkwardly with legs spread apart was no easy task.

Moreover, since he was wearing baggy pants shaped like a sack, spreading his legs caused the fabric to pull tight against his thighs. The clothing obstructed him, making it impossible to seal the acupoints.

“Urgh!”

To survive, he had no choice. Gu Sang-wol tore the center of his pants and sealed the acupoints near his perineum to stop the poison from spreading. However, some poison had already spread, leaving his lower abdomen numb. Even if he survived, he couldn’t be sure his lower abdomen would remain intact.

He might have to cut out the entire area affected by the Joint-Breaking Needle. Including the part that symbolized his manhood.

Grit!

Gu Sang-wol was furious, but as an experienced warrior, he quickly regained his composure.

No matter what, surviving was better than dying.

Gu Sang-wol took a long breath to calm his agitation.

Jin Ja-gang, seeing Gu Sang-wol’s gaze settle, felt a pang of regret. High-level masters with skill and experience like this quickly regained their composure, leaving no openings.

Once they recognized they were poisoned, they could use internal energy to prevent the poison from spreading, making them difficult to deal with.

That’s why it was crucial to poison them covertly. If they only noticed after the poison had spread to some extent, it became that much harder to stop it.

For now, it was fortunate that using the Iron Umbrella Sect warriors as bait had worked to this extent.

Now, even Jin Ja-gang couldn’t rashly attack. This was a master who could dodge surprise attacks from behind. It was only luck that one shot had hit due to an awkward dodging posture; facing him head-on offered no chance of victory.

In such a situation, dragging out the time was advantageous for Jin Ja-gang.

Jin Ja-gang took a deep breath, holding a sharp iron umbrella, and stared at Gu Sang-wol.

Meanwhile, Gu Sang-wol, facing off against Jin Ja-gang, felt a strange sensation.

Jin Ja-gang’s movements and posture were somewhat clumsy. Yet, his gaze and aura were akin to that of a seasoned veteran. He gave off the contradictory impression of being both a novice and not a novice at the same time.

Even now, having seen Gu Sang-wol regain his composure, he didn’t rashly attack but waited for the poison to spread further.

This made Gu Sang-wol the one who grew anxious.

Gu Sang-wol drew a sharp, triangular dagger about two hand-spans long. Like most weapons of poison sects, this dagger was coated with poison. The inside of the sheath was imbued with poison, so drawing it automatically coated the blade.

Gu Sang-wol slowly approached Jin Ja-gang. Unable to use proper footwork due to the numbness in his lower abdomen, his steps were somewhat slow. He couldn’t avoid looking like he was waddling awkwardly.

In contrast, Jin Ja-gang stepped backward. Seeming to intend to use objects in the house to block Gu Sang-wol, he picked up a chair and threw it at him.

Gu Sang-wol sliced the chair in half with a single stroke.

Slash.

Jin Ja-gang grabbed an inkstone from the table and threw it. Gu Sang-wol tilted his head to the side, easily dodging the inkstone.

Jin Ja-gang kicked a table to block Gu Sang-wol’s path. Gu Sang-wol also kicked the table, pushing it aside. Jin Ja-gang relentlessly threw objects.

Wall hangings, small boxes, wooden pillows, clothes, trays, baskets-anything he could grab, he threw while fleeing.

The purpose was to make Gu Sang-wol keep moving, causing the poison to spread. Even though he had sealed his acupoints to prevent the poison from spreading, continuous use of internal energy and movement would inevitably create gaps in the sealed points, allowing the poison to leak through.

Since Gu Sang-wol couldn’t use footwork, moving quickly was difficult. Even knowing that Jin Ja-gang was stalling for time, he had no choice but to keep advancing.

After all, Jin Ja-gang was almost cornered.

As the distance between them gradually closed, Gu Sang-wol minimized his movements and focused his internal energy into the hand holding the dagger.

Jin Ja-gang even threw the iron umbrella.

If he were a master, he might have thrown it like a spear with internal energy, but it was just a weakly tossed iron umbrella. Gu Sang-wol swatted it away with a wave of his hand.

He simply took hits from insignificant items like baskets or wooden pillows. Such things were merely annoying, obstructing his vision.

Now almost completely cornered, Jin Ja-gang grabbed a vase from a side table in the corner and threw it with all his might.