Chapter 64

The vase’s contents splashed water onto Gu Sang-wol’s face, but he paid it no mind and swatted the vase away.

Gu Sang-wol didn’t even close his eyes. He had noticed Jin Ja-gang lowering his body, likely attempting to escape to the side while throwing the vase.

Sure enough, Jin Ja-gang, after hurling the vase, tried to slip away to the side but stopped immediately upon seeing Gu Sang-wol glaring with wide-open eyes.

A smug smile played on Gu Sang-wol’s lips.

Jin Ja-gang held no weapon in his hands and was completely cornered.

This gave Gu Sang-wol a moment of leisure. He wiped the poison from his dagger onto the hem of his own robe. He intended to subdue rather than kill, to inflict pain. Of course, he also planned to extract information about who was behind this through torture.

Only by exacting revenge a hundredfold for what he had suffered could he feel satisfied. Only then could he console himself for having been emasculated!

Gu Sang-wol, facing Jin Ja-gang who was pressed tightly into the corner, spoke in a low voice.

“You dare use poison on me? Know that you’ll crawl on your torso for the rest of your life.”

He would cut off his limbs, rendering him immobile, and then take his time torturing him!

“But if you surrender willingly, I’ll show mercy and leave you one hand to eat with.”

Yet, upon hearing Gu Sang-wol’s words, Jin Ja-gang stared directly at him!

“Did you say you would show me mercy?”

“Why? Is my mercy not to your liking?”

“No, it’s not that. It’s just that if you show mercy to me, it’s only right that I do the same to you. Unfortunately, I have no intention of showing you any mercy.”

Gu Sang-wol’s eyebrows twitched.

“This guy, only your mouth is alive, huh? Seems you don’t need any mercy!”

Just as Gu Sang-wol was about to charge at Jin Ja-gang, he suddenly felt a stinging in his eyes and a burning sensation on his face. Jin Ja-gang’s figure became blurry, preventing him from rushing forward.

“What, what is this!”

He had been poisoned.

Gu Sang-wol felt his heart sink.

Jin Ja-gang spoke to Gu Sang-wol as if chewing his words.

“Who dares to show mercy to whom?”

Gu Sang-wol ground his teeth.

“The water in the vase!”

That was the only thing that had splashed on his face.

“Argh!”

It didn’t seem like an ordinary poison; the pain was excruciating. In an instant, blisters formed on his face, and his vision became clouded.

Amidst this, as Jin Ja-gang’s shadow wavered, Gu Sang-wol hurriedly thrust his dagger forward.

Jin Ja-gang was prepared. He executed a footwork technique, twisting his body to let Gu Sang-wol’s dagger graze past under his armpit. However, Gu Sang-wol’s strike was so fast that he couldn’t completely avoid it.

The dagger sliced along the side of his ribs, cutting a long gash. Blood gushed out immediately.

The dagger that grazed him embedded deeply into the wall.

Jin Ja-gang gritted his teeth and drew in a breath of energy, converting it into internal power. He had already braced himself for such injuries when facing a master of superior skill.

Channeling internal energy into his right leg, he kicked upward at Gu Sang-wol’s lower body.

Thwack!

With a heavy thud, Gu Sang-wol’s body was lifted into the air.

However, since sensation in that area had already been lost, Gu Sang-wol didn’t feel much pain. He only sensed that the acupoint he had forcibly sealed to prevent the poison from spreading had been undone, allowing the poison from the Joint-Breaking Needle to surge through his body.

“Argh!”

Even with his vision impaired, Gu Sang-wol aimed his fingertips at Jin Ja-gang and struck downward.

Jin Ja-gang hurriedly rolled across the floor.

Crash!

Gu Sang-wol’s hand pierced through the wooden wall. Jin Ja-gang grabbed a chair and struck Gu Sang-wol’s back with it. Unable to pull his hand free, Gu Sang-wol kicked backward like a mule.

Bang!

The chair shattered into pieces upon impact with Gu Sang-wol’s foot. Jin Ja-gang seized a jagged piece of the broken chair and stabbed it into Gu Sang-wol’s lower back. The sharp wooden fragment embedded itself into Gu Sang-wol’s flesh.

“Urgh!”

Gu Sang-wol bit down on the groan escaping his lips and pulled his hand free from the wall. Turning his body, he swung a backhand strike. Jin Ja-gang blocked Gu Sang-wol’s forearm with his own arm.

Thud!

Pushed back by Gu Sang-wol’s immense strength, Jin Ja-gang tumbled to the side.

“Ugh!”

Jin Ja-gang couldn’t extend his arm for a moment. It throbbed as if it had been crushed.

Gu Sang-wol pinpointed Jin Ja-gang’s location by the sound of his groan. Leaping into the air, he gathered all his remaining strength and stomped downward with both feet. Jin Ja-gang rolled to the side.

Crash!

Gu Sang-wol’s feet smashed through the wooden floor. However, Gu Sang-wol wasn’t unscathed either. Due to the effects of the Joint-Breaking Needle, his knee joints had melted. His bones dislocated, and his kneecap protruded through the flesh. With his feet stuck in the ground, he stood like a scarecrow, unable to move.

“Urgh… urgh…”

Even with his vision gone, Gu Sang-wol searched for Jin Ja-gang, turning his head frantically. Jin Ja-gang stood up, shaking out his arm.

Gu Sang-wol’s body was trembling. It was due to the Joint-Breaking Needle. But even without the needle, he was doomed to die soon from the poison of the flying dart.

Gu Sang-wol forced open his froth-covered mouth and asked.

“You… who… who the hell are you?”

“Only now are you curious?”

“Don’t… mock me!”

Jin Ja-gang walked in front of Gu Sang-wol. Then, pulling out Gu Sang-wol’s dagger embedded in the wall, he answered briefly.

“A survivor of Hundred Flower Valley.”

“Hun… Hundred Flower…?”

Gu Sang-wol’s ashen eyes widened.

Hundred Flower Valley was a medicinal sect.

That meant the person before him was none other than a descendant of the medicinal sects. It made complete sense why he had annihilated the Stone Forest Gang and attacked them.

They had captured, killed, and tortured every member of the medicinal sects. Later, they had even buried alive the survivors they had thrown into the mine shaft.

And yet, someone had survived!

Even after a full eight years had passed.

Above all, as a descendant of those believed to have been completely eradicated, how deep must his thirst for revenge be!

His martial skills weren’t exceptional, but his mastery of poison was formidable. If other poison sects were caught unaware of this person’s identity, they would suffer significant damage from his poisons.

“Urghhh!”

Gu Sang-wol twisted his body as if in pain. Blood was gushing from his lower abdomen.

Gu Sang-wol secretly smeared his fingers with that blood.

Then, he stealthily wrote on the wall behind him.

He couldn’t write much.

‘Medicinal Sect.’

Those two characters would suffice. Other poison sect comrades would see these two characters he left behind and be on guard.

“How… did you survive?”

He also didn’t forget to distract Jin Ja-gang by speaking to him.

However, just as Gu Sang-wol drew a single stroke while speaking to Jin Ja-gang, sensation vanished from his fingertips, and suddenly they felt as if they were burning.

Snap!

Jin Ja-gang had cut off his fingers.

“Arghhh!”

Gu Sang-wol screamed.

Jin Ja-gang had no intention of listening to the screams any longer and slashed Gu Sang-wol’s throat.

Gu Sang-wol could no longer make a sound, only spewing blood from his severed neck.

Even as blood frothed and bubbled out, Gu Sang-wol was still alive.

“You asked how I survived?”

Only then did Jin Ja-gang pose the question back.

Gu Sang-wol felt wronged, but he was already a dead man. With the determination to at least hear the answer before dying, he nodded with all his might.

But Jin Ja-gang answered coldly.

“You don’t need to know.”

“You… damned… b*st*rd…”

Gu Sang-wol felt both rage and resignation as he died.

Jin Ja-gang confirmed Gu Sang-wol’s death and let out a long breath.

It felt as if a bone in his arm had cracked, and the gash on his side was deep, having scraped down to the bone. Blood flowed down to his feet, making them damp.

Fighting a master was never easy.

‘There’s still one more place left.’

The expert dispatched from Poison Valley remained.

According to information he had gathered during the day, the expert from Poison Valley was the strongest among those sent here.

Likely, he too was on his way to this house with Poison Valley warriors.

Fighting such a master in this condition would be tantamount to suicide.

Jin Ja-gang had to make a decision.

Fight, or retreat.

No matter how fast his recovery was, it would take at least a few days.

Jin Ja-gang made his choice.

‘Regrettable, but this is as far as I go this time.’

As soon as he made the decision, he let go cleanly. Now, he needed to leave this village as quickly as possible.

He tore a piece of cloth and bound his side. Just as he was about to leave, his eyes met those of someone who hadn’t yet died.

It was the Iron Umbrella Sect warrior he had used as bait earlier.

His shoulders had been dislocated and his legs broken by Gu Sang-wol, leaving him sprawled on the ground.

Yet, he was still alive, looking up at Jin Ja-gang with fearful eyes. His gaze was desperate, pleading to be spared.

Jin Ja-gang walked over to him and spoke.

“You’ve worked hard.”

“…?”

The Iron Umbrella Sect warrior’s eyes widened.

Without hesitation, Jin Ja-gang stabbed a blade into the warrior’s chest and left.

* * *

A long shadow was cast over the face of Noh Yuk, the expert from Poison Valley.

He had originally come here with twenty warriors.

But now, only ten remained.

Half had died in a single day.

Without a sound or trace.

And just moments ago, the screams had echoed from the Iron Umbrella Sect’s lodging.

What did that signify?

Noh Yuk was a man meticulous in all things. As soon as he realized something had gone wrong at the Iron Umbrella Sect’s lodging, he didn’t send anyone there but instead dispatched someone to the Shadow Bureau’s lodging.

However, the warrior sent to the Shadow Bureau’s lodging returned with a report that no one was there either. Apparently, they had all gone to the Iron Umbrella Sect’s lodging.

But after that, even the Shadow Bureau gave no word.

Not even a messenger was sent to him, nor was there any indication of what had happened before or after.

He had already waited a full hour, yet no contact came.

The answer was clear.

Not only Iron Umbrella Sect’s Do Nam-gi but also Shadow Bureau’s Gu Sang-wol had been taken down.

By an opponent so powerful they couldn’t even escape.

‘A trap…’

Noh Yuk trusted in his own skills. However, if Do Nam-gi and Gu Sang-wol had been defeated without even a chance to call for help, rushing in could lead Noh Yuk to fall into the same trap.

Thus, Noh Yuk judged that informing Poison Valley of the current situation took precedence over providing support or assessing the situation.

“Bring the messenger pigeon!”

At Noh Yuk’s command, a warrior brought a cage containing a pigeon.

Noh Yuk wrote a message, placed it in a small tube, and tied it to the pigeon’s leg.

It was a messenger pigeon for urgent communication with Poison Valley’s main sect.

Flutter, flutter.

The pigeon, carrying the urgent message, flapped its wings and took flight.

“We’re withdrawing immediately!”

Noh Yuk led his warriors out of the lodging without even time to pack.

But as they were leaving, they spotted Mang Ryo in front of the lodging. Mang Ryo was standing with his back to them, leaning on a cane.

“Elder Mang!”

Noh Yuk called out in relief.

Mang Ryo slowly turned his head, looking puzzled as he spoke.

“Where are you rushing off to in such a hurry?”

“There’s been an incident at the Iron Umbrella Sect and Shadow Bureau lodgings. Elder Mang, you must also flee quickly.”

Mang Ryo, seeming not to understand Noh Yuk’s urgency, responded.

“Ho ho, flee, you say?”

“Yes. Just moments ago, there was a dire situation…”

Noh Yuk stopped mid-sentence. He had noticed something in Mang Ryo’s hand as he turned.

A blood-soaked pigeon.

What Mang Ryo held was the very messenger pigeon Noh Yuk had just sent. The mark of Poison Valley was clearly visible on the tube tied to the pigeon’s leg.

“Elder Ma-Mang ! Could that be…?”

Mang Ryo answered as if it were nothing.

“Ah, I captured a suspicious messenger pigeon that was flying by.”

Noh Yuk’s facial muscles trembled.

“That’s the one I sent to my sect! Does Elder Mang even understand the situation…?”

“Ho, is that so?”

Noh Yuk felt rage boiling within him, but given the circumstances, he couldn’t press the issue further.

“We’ll settle this matter later. For now, let’s hurry and leave this place.”

As Noh Yuk and his warriors were about to leave the lodging, Mang Ryo didn’t step aside. Instead, he positioned himself directly in front of them, blocking their path.

“Elder Mang?”