Chapter 191

Chapter 191: Cannot See the Tree Before One's Eyes (1)

Jong Ri-yeon was a woman of extraordinary beauty, the kind seldom seen in remote rural villages. Her elegance turned heads wherever she went.

Yu Jin-mun had forgotten the fact that he had lost his subordinates only a day prior, gazing at Jong Ri-yeon as though entranced. His men were no different, staring blankly at her.

"Ahem!"

But Yu Jin-mun quickly recovered his composure and cleared his throat. His cough served as a signal, and his subordinates snapped back to awareness as well.

"And who might you be, young lady?"

"My name is Jong Ri-yeon."

"Jong Ri-yeon?"

Yu Jin-mun tilted his head. The name sounded familiar, as though he had heard it somewhere before. Yet he could not quite recall where.

"Might I ask what brings Miss Jong to this village?"

"I happened to pass through by chance."

"By chance, you say?"

Yu Jin-mun regarded her with suspicion in his eyes. But Jong Ri-yeon met his gaze with perfect composure.

"That is correct."

"You expect me to believe that?"

"Then what would you have me say?"

"I was told you have a companion. Have them come out as well. We must verify your identities."

"Ha!"

Jong Ri-yeon let out a sigh in lieu of a reply.

Dam Ho was inside the house. She had left him behind by force, unwilling to escalate matters further.

Wherever Dam Ho went, a storm of blood followed. Having witnessed this truth on more occasions than she could count, no one understood it better than she.

Jong Ri-yeon shook her head.

"That is not possible."

"We must conduct the verification regardless."

Yu Jin-mun's expression darkened. Her refusal only inflamed the irritation that had already been smoldering within him.

"It would be best if the person inside comes out of their own accord. Otherwise, I will judge them to be a member of the Demonic Cult and subdue them."

"Ha! You will not regret this, will you?"

"We are martial artists of the Martial Alliance. We do not regret anything, under any circumstances."

"Haaa!"

Jong Ri-yeon sighed once more.

Now everything was out of her hands.

She was about to call for Dam Ho, resigned to whatever would come, when suddenly—

"Aaah! My husband!"

A woman's scream, shrill enough to tear through the air, erupted from the neighboring house.

The gazes of the Golden Guard martial artists and Jong Ri-yeon turned naturally toward the source. At that very moment, a middle-aged woman came bursting out of the house.

"My husband has collapsed! Please save my husband!"

The middle-aged woman, barefoot, ran toward the Golden Guard martial artists. As they instinctively grabbed her hands and tried to ask what had happened—

"Everyone, fall back!"

Jong Ri-yeon shouted suddenly.

"What?"

"It is poison! Everyone, pull back immediately!"

"Gasp!"

The Golden Guard martial artists recoiled in terror.

Jong Ri-yeon covered her mouth and nose with a white cloth and approached the woman. The woman's face had turned black.

"Po-Poison?"

The woman's voice trembled at Jong Ri-yeon's words. But before Jong Ri-yeon could respond, the woman suddenly vomited blood and collapsed to the ground.

A putrid stench rose from the blood she had spat out.

"What the—?"

Yu Jin-mun moved to approach, but Jong Ri-yeon raised her hand to stop him.

"Do not come closer. It is an extremely potent poison. Even casual contact can result in poisoning."

"How is that…"

Jong Ri-yeon rushed into the middle-aged woman's house. There, she found the husband's corpse lying on the floor. He, too, had collapsed while vomiting blood, just like his wife.

Jong Ri-yeon shouted out.

"Check the other houses for anyone who may have been poisoned as well. If you find any, absolutely do not make physical contact with them."

"Are… are you a physician?"

"I am. There is no time. Move quickly."

"Understood."

Yu Jin-mun ordered his subordinates to search the other houses.

While they combed through the village, Jong Ri-yeon examined the couple's corpses in detail. After a long inspection, her expression grew somber.

The bodies were decaying at an alarming rate.

"This is…"

The images of the corpses they had burned the night before flashed through her mind.

A look of horror appeared on Yu Jin-mun's face as well. He, too, remembered the time his subordinates had been poisoned.

"Could the Demonic Cult be…"

He quickly surveyed his surroundings. But in the village, shrouded in darkness, there was no sign of any martial artist who could be identified as a member of the Demonic Cult.

Beneath a massive boulder, broad and flat like a folding screen, an old man with a hawk-like nose sat alone. He held something long and slender in his hand, gnawing at it.

Crunch! Crunch!

Each time the old man moved his jaw, a bone-chilling, grating sound echoed through the air.

In his hand was a headless snake. Blood from the creature dripped down his hands and stained his lips.

The reek was nauseating, but the old man's expression did not change in the slightest as he chewed. He looked as though he were savoring the most delicious meal in the world.

Then, without a sound, someone appeared and prostrated themselves before the old man.

"I have returned, my lord."

"How did they fare, So Gwang?"

"As expected, they are floundering, unable to determine what course of action to take."

"Heh heh! Vermin who are not only worthless but stupid as well."

A sinister laugh escaped the hawk-nosed old man's lips. The sound was as unpleasant as nails scratching across an iron plate.

So Gwang's eyes, fixed upon the old man, held a faint undercurrent of dread.

Darkness swirled around the old man. No—it was not darkness. Thousands upon thousands of snakes coiled around him, writhing and wriggling.

It was a sight so grotesque it defied comprehension.

The old man's name was Sa Woo-yeon. His title was the Heaven Poison Emperor.

Sa Woo-yeon was a poison human—a living vessel of toxin—capable of poisoning all life within an area simply by his breath.

For him, resistance to poison was meaningless. Rather, poison served only as a catalyst that made him stronger. His body, having absorbed countless toxins, had itself become the most deadly poison in the world.

So Gwang was Sa Woo-yeon's most trusted subordinate. Having followed him for many years, he had received instruction in several poison techniques and was highly skilled in their application.

So Gwang asked cautiously.

"What shall we do now?"

"You know the answer, so why ask? Heh heh!"

Sa Woo-yeon smiled a cold smile.

"Then…"

"The more fiercely they cling to their self-righteous sense of justice, the more readily they reveal their true nature when faced with an overwhelming situation."

"……"

"If we continue to poison them discreetly, discord will arise among them. It will make for excellent entertainment. Heh heh!"

Pushing human beings to their breaking point and enjoying their reactions had long been Sa Woo-yeon's favored pastime.

While other members of the Demonic Cult moved through religious conviction and rage, Sa Woo-yeon acted solely for his own perverse pleasure.

"Heh heh heh!"

In the darkness, Sa Woo-yeon's laughter echoed deep and resonant.

***

After a long examination of the corpses, Jong Ri-yeon rose to her feet and murmured.

'Similar, yet different. But they are unquestionably born of the same root.'

It was an extraordinarily potent poison. An ordinary person, once poisoned, would have no chance of survival.

The same was true for martial artists.

This was not the sort of poison that could be warded off with internal energy. Once it took hold, it would spread throughout the body before one could even circulate their energy to resist it.

Only someone like Dam Ho, with supreme internal energy and the aid of the Detoxification Pill, might stand a chance. For ordinary martial artists, there was absolutely no hope of resisting this toxin.

The only consolation was that, unlike the previous corrosion poison, this one could be treated—a sliver of hope, however faint.

Yu Jin-mun approached her.

"Over a dozen villagers have been found to be poisoned."

"As I expected… There will be no survivors, will there?"

"Unfortunately, that is correct."

"Hmm."

"Have you identified the nature of the poison?"

"Not yet."

Jong Ri-yeon shook her head.

Truthfully, she had not the faintest idea what this poison was. She had never encountered such a lethal toxin before.

"Then what about an antidote?"

"Without first obtaining a sample of the poison, it is impossible."

Yu Jin-mun's expression grew even darker at her response.

He had even forgotten that he had been wary of Jong Ri-yeon.

They had arrived here only the previous afternoon. Throughout their stay, they had not relaxed their vigilance for a single moment. And yet the enemy had slipped through their defenses and poisoned the village.

They were being thoroughly toyed with.

A subordinate asked.

"What should we do?"

The questioner's face was full of anxiety. The others were equally shaken.

"Heighten the guard for now. If you see even an ant making a suspicious move, report it immediately."

"Understood."

"And… quarantine the villagers."

"What?"

The subordinate blinked, bewildered by the sudden instruction. Yu Jin-mun raised his voice.

"Only the villagers are showing symptoms of poisoning. Before we ourselves are affected, isolate them."

"Ah, understood."

Only then did the subordinates grasp his meaning and begin separating the villagers.

They were in the midst of a war to protect the Central Plains. Some measure of sacrifice was inevitable.

Yu Jin-mun's gaze suddenly turned to Jong Ri-yeon.

Only then did he recall that she had an unidentified companion.

"Miss Jong. Now tell me who your companion is."

"That is…"

"Is there some reason you cannot speak of it?"

Yu Jin-mun glared at her.

Come to think of it, everything was suspicious. The timing of Jong Ri-yeon's arrival coinciding precisely with the appearance of the poisoned. And she had been the first to detect the presence of poison.

'Perhaps she is a servant of the Demonic Cult.'

Once suspicion had taken root, everything about Jong Ri-yeon appeared sinister.

Killing intent radiated from his entire body.

Jong Ri-yeon hurried to explain.

"I am not your enemy."

"That is for me to decide. Tell whoever is inside to come out. If they do not…"

Shing!

Yu Jin-mun drew his sword and aimed it at Jong Ri-yeon.

The blade, honed to a razor's edge, emitted a chilling light.

Confronted by Yu Jin-mun's killing intent, Jong Ri-yeon's face turned pale. She had never expected him to draw his sword so suddenly.

And then—

"Put that sword away."

A deep, weighty voice echoed softly through the air.

Shudder!

In that instant, Yu Jin-mun's body trembled involuntarily.

He had not even seen the speaker's face—merely hearing the voice was enough to send a chill down his spine. It was an experience he had never had before.

Summoning his courage, he called out.

"Wh-Who are you?"

Swish!

At that moment, Dam Ho stepped out of the house.

The instant he saw Dam Ho, Yu Jin-mun's eyes widened to the point of tearing.

A man clad entirely in black from head to toe walked toward them.

His gait was irregular, unlike that of any ordinary person.

His expression was utterly unreadable, his eyes fathomlessly deep.

A sound like a scream escaped through Yu Jin-mun's lips.

"The… Fist Demon?"