Chapter 23

In the distant ancient past, the Frea divine tribe descended to earth, liberated humanity who were livestock and slaves to non-human races, and established the old empire.

Though the empire fell for unknown reasons and became a world where various magician families vied for power, all humans still worshipped them as gods.

And the first page of the scripture worshipping them discussed the relationship between magicians and humans.

Humans shall worship magicians, magicians shall rule over and care for humans.

While families and individuals differed in emphasizing rule versus care, that was the broad framework.

If the Burner's ramblings were true, many magician families would have to struggle between divine teachings and reality.

On the way back to the burned village, Bisen's group discussed this topic.

"No matter how I think about it, it doesn't make sense. Honestly, if this was possible, someone would have tried it by now."

"Right. The world's not short on madmen."

"But divine blood has spread through the world for thousands of years. Except for non-humans, wouldn't everyone have at least some magic power? Just not enough to properly handle it."

"True, going back enough generations, everyone probably has at least one magician…"

If it became possible to gain magic power by killing ordinary people, the world would become several times more cruel than before.

Massacring enemy family's commoners during wars, or desperate ones killing their subject commoners to gain power for final counterattacks.

Of course, if such a method really existed, it likely would have become widely known long ago.

Even the superstition that ordinary humans could become magicians by killing monsters had produced countless monster hunters.

Eventually, Bisen's group was divided between two opinions.

Two said they should just kill him without investigating obviously false rumors, while two said it wouldn't hurt to subdue and question him.

Even if true what use would knowing such things be, they could use it on serious criminals, and while debating this one looked at Turan and asked.

"What do you think, Lord Turan?"

"Let's attack with killing as premise, then subdue him if we can."

Though he had no intention of using methods to gain power by killing people even if he knew them, he thought it better to know regardless.

Uncomfortable things don't disappear just by closing your eyes to them.

As the discussion was ending, the ruins of the burned village came into view.

"Ah, we're here."

"Then shall we start tracking? Asha?"

"Yes!"

"Take point and search. I'll be behind you, Gil and Kebek in the middle, and Lord Turan in the rear if you would."

"Alright."

Agreeing to Bisen's request, Turan glanced at Gil, the man who had accidentally shot the flame spear earlier.

Though he had beast tamer bloodline ability to tame monsters, he didn't have any useful monsters due to lacking even enough magic power for himself.

Moreover, as shown by accidentally shooting the spear, he was the youngest and most inexperienced of the four.

"Now then… I'll start searching."

Asha scanned around with wide eyes.

The immediate search conditions would probably be 'human male footprints' or 'red fabric'.

Turan thought the former would have too many traces in the village, while the latter wouldn't leave many traces unless clothes were torn somewhere.

"How is it?"

"I think I need to look around more."

"Alright, let's move. Which way?"

Turan quietly followed behind them without stepping forward.

He was curious about the tracking ability of a half Zahar, and also wanted to conserve his magic power for contingencies.

Fortunately, Asha showed the careful and experienced hunter's demeanor mismatched with her small, youthful appearance.

She first led the group down a path, then shook her head seeing it connected to the main road and returned to the village.

After repeating this process three times, Turan asked a question.

"How exactly are you searching?"

"After finding human male footprints, I look for ash scent when it leads to main roads. If he didn't change clothes, he should have ash on his clothes…"

Her tracking method was quite professional.

Why hadn't she been able to find him like this before?

Thinking about it, not knowing the gender must have been a big problem.

Though men typically wander outside more than women, it doubled the number of targets to search for.

Plus, she said this was the first time finding a crime scene so quickly.

After tracking like this for a while, resting when magic power ran out and repeating several times.

Around when it was getting dark, Asha tracking the thirteenth trace exclaimed.

"Found it!"

"Wait, Asha! Run a bit slower!"

Following after her who had dashed off, they arrived at the entrance of a natural cave.

One far too small for human habitation, barely big enough for small animals to pass through.

"Here?"

"Doesn't look like anything bigger than a cat could get in."

"Wait."

Turan passed between their muttering and pushed aside a rock placed at one side of the natural cave.

With magic power added, the rock the size of two people tilted with a thud revealing a large entrance.

"This is how he came and went."

"Wow…"

"The rock rolling sound was too loud. They would have heard inside."

"We can't not open the door. Let's go in."

As battle was imminent and the target's location secured, they changed formation with Turan and Bisen in front, the other three behind.

Creating a small light orb with illumination magic to light the surroundings, Bisen asked Asha.

"Anyone inside?"

"Yes. One person…"

"Must be him. No one but a criminal would have reason to be alone in such a place."

Turan carefully observed the cave interior not revealed by light using the Zahar bloodline's unique night vision ability.

A desolate appearance with no signs of human modification…

Even for a noble, while a few days might be manageable, living long-term in such a place would be tremendously uncomfortable.

Had the murders committed here been important enough to endure even that?

Shortly after, they discovered a clearing in the deepest part of the cave.

Small holes that seemed made for ventilation in the ceiling, a primitive bedding made of blankets and wood chunks in the corner, and pots containing some unknown liquid.

Several torches burned on the walls lighting the surroundings.

In the middle of this makeshift shelter, a man stared at their group as if he had been waiting and asked.

"What brings guests to such a remote place?"

Red robe with hood – the child had probably mistaken it for a cloak – rough face and beard, exactly matching the girl's description.

A faint scent of incompletely washed ash wafted from his body.

Asha whispered softly to inform them.

"I smell it, it's him."

Then, Turan felt a strange sense of déjà vu in the man's gaze.

That unusually clear gaze…

It was remarkably similar to monster hunter Midan's gaze he had recalled earlier.

If not for the facial features, he might have thought it was him.

While Turan was puzzled by this, Bisen nocked an arrow to her ice bow she had created.

She seemed somewhat less confident due to her earlier mistake.

"Though I'll ask just in case – are you the murderer who's been capturing and burning villagers in the area?"

At Bisen's question, the Burner tilted his head as if not understanding.

"I don't quite understand what-"

Seeing the opponent's hand stretch forward, Turan immediately used thought acceleration and guardian magical device.

Along with this, explosions occurred to the left and right of where they stood.

"Aagh-!"

"What-!?"

The explosions originated from sacks of some unknown black powder in the cave corners.

Turan using the guardian magical device, and Bisen who had somewhat absorbed the impact thanks to Turan unintentionally becoming a shield were fine, but the three behind were thrown to the ground taking the full force of the pressure and heat from the explosion.

Though they were mere youngsters, it was an absurdly powerful trap to instantly incapacitate three nobles.

'What is this?'

When Turan spun his sling once preparing stones for counterattack while surprised, Bisen shot an ice arrow first toward the Burner.

Her arrow flew faster than sound, piercing his thigh and freezing his leg.

"Argh!"

But even collapsing with a pierced thigh, the Burner didn't give up counterattacking.

When he slammed his palm on the ground, the surrounding rocks distorted and took hand shapes to attack Bisen and Turan.

Earth manipulation, and at this distance with such speed and scale, it was quite high-level magic.

'This is…?'

Though they had naturally assumed pyromaniac bloodline due to burning people to death with fire.

With such skill, there was high possibility of groundkeeper bloodline specialized in handling earth.

"Kyaa!"

While Bisen was caught by the stone hands in surprise at the unexpected situation, Turan quickly threw his body clear of the grasping stone hands thanks to his accelerated thought speed.

Immediately throwing his prepared stone, the familiar cracking sound came as the Burner's right hand aiming at Turan was crushed.

"Gyaaaaargh!"

Turan approached the Burner screaming in pain from his lost hand while rubbing his left hand twice.

Lightning magic created by amplifying tiny amounts of static electricity.

Though precise aiming was still difficult, hitting a person at this distance wasn't hard.

When the crackling lightning struck his chest, the Burner's whole body convulsed before collapsing.

Lightning-type spells were indeed most suitable for subduing opponents.

Though with too much power they instantly become lethal techniques.

"Did, did you defeat him?"

"Probably."

Turan briefly answered Bisen asking from behind while checking if the Burner's breathing had stopped, then proceeded with complete restraint.

He scattered some vine seeds on the ground and grew them to tie both arms behind back, and wrapped another around his eyes to prevent sight.

Meaningful resistance was impossible with vision that helps gauge magic direction and arms that help target designation restrained.

If he tried to break free by concentrating magic power, it would immediately signal Turan controlling the plants and he could just kill him.

The only drawback was that Turan's magic power was consumed maintaining and controlling the plants so he couldn't maintain it too long.

"Now that he's subdued, please tend to those three first."

"…Thank you."

As expected, if Turan hadn't come along these four would clearly have ascended to the celestial palace already.

This one seemed to have thoroughly prepared for intruders.

While Bisen woke healer Kebek to heal the injured three, Turan tapped the Burner's cheek with the flat of his dagger.

"Hey, wake up."

"Ugh…"

"Stop, I'll kill you immediately if you raise more magic power."

When the Burner groaning awake instinctively tried to raise magic power to remove the vines wrapped around his wrists, Turan immediately pressed the knife to his neck and threatened.

The Burner seemed to understand the situation and quietly complied.

"Who are you people, how did you…"

"There are ways. So, you're the Burner right?"

"That-"

Seeing the opponent stalling, Turan immediately stabbed the dagger into his thigh.

Harsh screams echoed through the cave.

"Answer quickly."

What reason was there to show mercy to a mass murderer who had burned hundreds of ordinary people to death?

At Turan's growling voice, the Burner nodded with tears flowing from his vine-wrapped eyes.

Just then, Bisen's group finished healing and approached behind Turan.

"Did you restrain him with vines?"

"I didn't know guardian bloodline nobles could do such things…"

"Let's ask what we need to first."

He deliberately didn't mention it was hard to maintain restraint long.

Since the Burner might think he just needed to stall for time if he heard.

Fortunately, he wasn't particularly strong-willed so the interrogation proceeded quickly.

His real name was Obil Kraft, 78 years old, a noble of the Kraft family far south of here.

Currently wandering after cutting ties with his family head brother…

"So, why was the wandering noble burning village people to death here?"

"The gods, the gods told me. That I could become closer to them by burning the souls and flesh of sinful ones…"

"What?"

"You shouldn't treat me like this. I'm about to become the founder of a great family!"

According to the rambling Burner Obil's words, one day the gods had taught him various secrets for gaining other bloodline powers.

He had already seen several other nobles gain new bloodline abilities through it too.

Among these, what Obil had undertaken was the secret for gaining pyromaniac bloodline, which required a ritual of burning multiple humans at once and covering oneself in their ashes.

He begged to be released saying he only needed to do it a few more times, twisting his body.

"…Just a madman right?"

"Yeah."

Bisen's group mocked Obil at the outrageous story that was absurd just hearing it.

But Turan couldn't.

'Ordinary people can gain power by killing monsters too! I've already seen several magicians like that!'

Suspicious superstition, claims of several existing cases from unknown sources…

Not just similar gazes, Obil's claims were remarkably similar in form to what Midan had said before.

Chapter 23: Finding a Path in the Darkness (1)

Slither!

Something long and sinuous squeezed its way through a crevice in the rocks. The creature that writhed and crawled forward was a serpent—but not the sort one would commonly encounter.

Its long tongue flickered in and out as it slithered along the ground. The serpent had no eyes or ears whatsoever. And yet, even in the darkness, it managed to find its way.

Where a stone lay in its path, it circled around. Where a ditch appeared, it crossed over. Thus the serpent crawled ever onward toward its destination.

Its goal was a narrow crack in a rock on the opposite side. The serpent inserted its head into the fissure. Next came the turn for its long body.

As the serpent drew its body taut to build momentum—

Suddenly, an immense force clamped down on its body just below the head. Startled by the sudden pressure, the serpent raised its head—

Crack!

With a sickening crunch, the serpent's head was torn clean off. Its body, its life eviscerated in an instant, thrashed madly. But the calloused hand that held the body was utterly unmoved.

Munch, munch!

In the darkness, someone was chewing on the serpent's head.

It was a man whose face was entirely concealed beneath a mane of tangled hair and a beard that grew to his chest, making his features impossible to discern.

The man was completely naked, with not a shred of clothing upon him. Perhaps because he had not seen sunlight in a very long time, his skin was deathly pale.

But unlike his pallid complexion, the man's body was extraordinarily well-developed. His muscles, as though twisted from iron wire, were clearly defined, and his joints jutted out like hammers, large and small, hammered into place.

Crunch!

As the man bit into the serpent again, the muscles across his entire body writhed independently, like separate living creatures. Immense power radiated from every one of them.

The man consumed the entire serpent over the course of nearly half a watch. From head to tail—not discarding a single bone or scale—he devoured it all, stuffing it into his stomach.

He wiped his mouth with his hand, smearing away the serpent's fluids, and rose to his feet. Then, in the darkness, his eyes blazed with a fierce light.

Like a predator scanning the darkness for prey, his pupils were wide open, capable of detecting even the faintest glimmer of light.

The man took a step.

His gait was utterly distinctive.

Thump, slide! Thump, slide!

When his right foot struck the ground, his left foot dragged lightly behind. The peculiar rhythm and cadence this created gave his walk an almost alien quality.

Emerging from the narrow cave, the man arrived at a vast underground cavern. The ceiling of the cavern, large enough to house several hundred people, was studded with night-luminescent pearls that emitted a faint glow.

The man swept back the hair that had been covering his forehead and face. The pale visage of one long denied sunlight was revealed beneath the dim light of the pearls.

Beneath a straight forehead lay jet-black eyes, and lips pressed firmly together in a way that suggested they would not轻易 part under any circumstance. The man's features were profoundly striking. This was none other than Dam Ho.

More stoic, more rugged—thus had he endured, still surviving within the Thousand Gold Demonic Prison.

He did not know how much time had passed. It might have been several years, or perhaps longer still.

Dam Ho believed at least five years must have elapsed, for his growth had ceased at some point, and his body no longer grew.

That growth had stopped was, in itself, proof that he had become an adult—even if his exact age was unknowable.

Dam Ho's gaze turned to one side of the cavern. Time had passed, yet an enormous volume of earth and boulders the size of houses still blocked the entrance.

Dam Ho traversed the rubble and crossed to the other side. There too, a small cave opening had been carved.

Without hesitation, Dam Ho entered the cave.

The cave was exceedingly narrow and dark. But darkness posed no obstacle to Dam Ho.

It was a path he had traversed hundreds, thousands of times over. He remembered every loose stone on the floor, every stalactite hanging from the ceiling.

The cave twisted and turned in an endless labyrinth. Dam Ho walked patiently through the seemingly eternal darkness.

After some time, his destination finally appeared.

It was a modest space, no more than two rooms in size. Within it stood a bookshelf carved from stone. Upon the shelf were arranged approximately twenty or so volumes.

Dam Ho opened a weathered chest beside the stone bookshelf. A faint light seeped out. Inside was a night-luminescent pearl the size of a child's fist.

Dam Ho held the pearl in one hand and with the other drew a volume from the stone shelf. In the dim light, the title was revealed:

Three Strikes Cannon Shadow Fist.

That was what was written on the worn, tattered cover.

Dam Ho flipped through the volume with a practiced flick of his fingers. He could no longer recall how many times he had read this old text.

It must have been hundreds, perhaps thousands of times. Perhaps more. But what mattered was that the entirety of the Three Strikes Cannon Shadow Fist was contained within his mind.

This space was called the Myriad Demon Archive.

In ages past, it had been a place where the Demonic Cult imprisoned its prisoners. But after the Demonic Cult's cultivators entered the Thousand Gold Demonic Prison, it had been repurposed as a repository for martial arts texts.

Before Dam Ho's arrival, hundreds of martial arts volumes must have been stored here. But when the Demonic Cult's people departed, they took most of them.

What remained were only those texts deemed insufficiently important.

The Three Strikes Cannon Shadow Fist, the Demon-Splitting Kick, the Broad Compression Palm—all were martial arts that had been abandoned in this manner.

Since the Thousand Gold Demonic Prison was to be destroyed, there had been no risk of their leakage to the outside world.

Dam Ho recalled the joy he had felt when he first discovered this place.

Time crawled in this place. It was irrational, but a single day felt like ten to Dam Ho.

The mere fact that there was something to read, something to occupy his time, was reason enough for joy. From that moment on, whenever time permitted, he came to the Myriad Demon Archive and immersed himself in the texts.

He read, and read again.

Eventually, he had memorized every word without a single error, and after that, he read them once more, searching for hidden meanings. Thus had he perfectly committed the martial arts texts to memory.

Yet Dam Ho began reading the texts once more, beginning with the Three Strikes Cannon Shadow Fist.

In the darkness, Dam Ho's pupils dilated wide.

After a considerable time, Dam Ho emerged from the Myriad Demon Archive.

The place he headed next was a cave even more foreboding than the Myriad Demon Archive. The cave was so narrow and oppressive that a single person could barely squeeze through.

Whooo!

A wind blew from the far end of the cave.

Like the whisper of a demon, the wind was at once intense and cold, sweeping over Dam Ho's entire body.

Though he was naked and unprotected, one would have expected him to feel the chill. But no change came over Dam Ho's expression. He appeared as one who had lost all human emotion.

At the end of the cave, broken fragments of rock lay scattered in every direction. They had not fractured naturally but had been shattered by artificial force.

The one who had broken the rocks was Dam Ho himself.

Dam Ho recalled that day, though he could not pinpoint when it had been.

The day when all his Hunger-Quelling Pills had run out, when he had not eaten for days beyond counting.

His hunger had driven him to the brink of madness. He had wondered if he would simply die like this. He had been so ravenous that he would have torn off his own arm to eat, if he could.

He had to find something.

Driven to the edge by starvation, he scraped the nameless moss from the walls and ate it. Thus did he cling to life, desperately searching for anything to sustain himself.

Through that agonizing effort, he discovered this place. He felt a breeze seeping through the rocks that blocked the cave's interior. Behind those rocks lay an empty space.

Dam Ho broke the rocks. A new space appeared. And it was that very space that now lay before his eyes.

It was a considerable area, roughly ten rooms in size. Water filled the entire space.

It was far too vast and deep to be merely a pool formed by water dripping from stalactites. Water was flowing in from somewhere, and since the level was maintained, it must also be flowing out.

Dam Ho studied the pool carefully. To his amazement, luminous fish swam within.

They were so transparent that their bones were visible, and the bones themselves glowed with an eerie light. So bizarre were these creatures that Dam Ho would not have believed it had he not seen them with his own eyes.

Dam Ho plunged into the pool.

The water was cold enough to numb his bones. The biting chill felt as though his skin would peel away, and his heart pounded like a drum.

But Dam Ho endured every ounce of pain and waded through the depths. The monstrous fish scattered in all directions at his arrival. But they could not evade his hands.

Moments later, Dam Ho emerged from the pool with a monstrous fish clutched in his hand.

The fish flopped in Dam Ho's grip. He tore it apart on the spot. There was nothing here with which to light a fire.

Cooking was a distant dream he could not afford. That he could eat something at all, even raw, was reason enough for gratitude.

Dam Ho devoured every part of the fish except its head. For a moment, he gazed at the head with a wistful look.

He did not know how long the monstrous fish had lived here, or how it had come to dwell in this place. What mattered was that it had evolved to be perfectly suited for survival in this environment.

Toss!

Dam Ho hurled the fish's head into a clear area at the edge of the pool. And he waited with patience.

Moments later.

Skitter, skitter!

A faint sound suddenly echoed through the subterranean space where the pool lay. Then, from a crack in the rock, something crawled out.

A strange gleam lit Dam Ho's eyes.

It was a peculiar insect, resembling a scarab beetle…

The difference was that, like the monstrous fish, it emitted its own light.

The beetle latched onto the fish's head and began gnawing at the flesh.

Crunch, crunch!

In the enclosed space, even the smallest sound was amplified enormously.

Dam Ho sat with his knees drawn up, watching the beetle. His presence did not disturb it in the least; the creature remained wholly focused on its meal.

When the beetle had eaten a sufficient amount of flesh, something else emerged from a crack in the rock.

In that instant, a slight smile curved Dam Ho's lips.

What appeared this time was not a beetle but a mantis. The mantis, too, glowed with its own light.

The mantis was another species adapted to the darkness. Upon its arrival, the beetle emitted a hostile glow and fixed it with a threatening stare.

Dam Ho watched the standoff between beetle and mantis with keen interest.

This subterranean world was endlessly fascinating.

The monstrous fish emitted light to lure insects, and the insects came here even knowing it might mean their death. That was the secret of the fish's survival.

On occasion, when the fish died, it became food for the subterranean insects once more. Food was scarce, and competition among the insects was fierce.

What captured Dam Ho's attention above all else was the confrontation between the beetle and the mantis.

The mantis attacked with its sickle-shaped forelimbs, striking at the beetle. The vicious precision of its strikes resembled that of a master swordsman.

Without a single feint, the mantis's forelimb flew toward the beetle's neck alone.

In that instant, the beetle tilted its body slightly. The mantis's forelimb deflected off the beetle's carapace-like shell, its attack brushed aside at an angle.

The mantis stumbled, its attack having missed. The beetle then rammed it with its massive body.

The mantis flapped its wings and retreated momentarily.

The standoff resumed, and then the attack came again.

The mantis's forelimb swept out once more, sharp and lethal. This was no simple strike to be deflected as before.

Flutter!

In that instant, the beetle flapped its wings.

The wingbeats were so swift that they were imperceptible to the human eye. The mantis's forelimb was sent flying.

Dam Ho's eyes blazed in the darkness.

'The ultimate shield…'

The warrior was none other than the one who had earlier harassed Gwak-o and Jin Ja-gang.

“What is it!”

“Well… last night when I saw that garbage cleaner named Gwak-o, something seemed strange.”

“What do you mean?”

“One of his eyes was bloodshot and red, similar to what we’re seeing now on Master Bloody Hand’s corpse.”

Mang-ryo’s eyebrows twitched.

“Tell me more.”

“He kept complaining that he couldn’t see well and that his stomach hurt. Oh, and there was a small boy pushing the cart behind him.”

Mang-ryo’s eyes widened.

“The boy’s tongue was so swollen he couldn’t speak, and his appearance was so hideous that…”

“Why are you only telling me this now!”

At Mang-ryo’s rebuke, the warrior quickly knelt down.

“I didn’t know this was related! When I thought it might be important, I decided I should report it immediately…”

Before the warrior could finish, Mang-ryo’s cane flew through the air.

Thwack!

The warrior’s face contorted as his teeth were knocked out. He rolled on the ground.

“Aaargh!”

“That’s exactly why you should have reported it immediately, you idiot!”

Mang-ryo used his cane in place of his foot to beat the warrior.

Thump, thump. Thump, thump.

“Aaargh! Please spare me! I didn’t know it was related!”

At the plea for mercy, Mang-ryo’s eyes flashed with a cold blue light.

“Do you deserve to ask for mercy!”

Thwack!

The cane, brought down with terrifying force, struck the warrior’s head. The warrior went limp.

He wasn’t dead, but he would need many days to recover.

Even so, Mang-ryo’s anger was not satisfied, and he continued to fume.

The masters of the Extreme Poison Sect looked at Mang-ryo with uncomfortable expressions.

“Please calm yourself, Elder! This is not the time for this!”

“What did you say?”

“Wherever he’s gone, he’s like a rat in a trap. As long as he’s human, he can’t escape our surveillance network. If we release the hunting dogs and search every inch of the mountain…”

“A rat in a trap? He’s already escaped from my hands twice! This is the one who survived and returned from that accursed Mixed Spring Ground! If he hides there again, we won’t catch him!”

Mang-ryo shouted with his white eye wide open, frantically tousling his already disheveled hair, then suddenly stopped moving.

“Wait, that was him?”

The moment he realized that the poisoned person wasn’t Gwak-o but Jin Ja-gang, many questions were answered.

“He lured me here!”

In a way, Mang-ryo had fallen for his own trick. But as soon as he realized that Jin Ja-gang had tricked him into coming here, he immediately knew where Jin Ja-gang’s next destination would be.

“The Medicine King Sect!”

Today was the day to send the disciples of the Medicine King Sect—who had been interrogated, or more accurately, who had all valuable information extracted from them and were now useless—to the underground tunnels of death.

And that was the only scheduled departure from the Extreme Poison Sect today.

Mang-ryo turned to the fastest master and shouted:

“Run immediately and order the carts carrying the Medicine King Sect people to Nanhua to turn back!”

* * *

Jin Ja-gang and the people of the Medicine King Sect passed through the Extreme Poison Sect’s grounds without issue while being transported in the carts.

Finally, they even passed through the main gate with its numerous guard warriors.

Jin Ja-gang’s heart swelled with emotion. Even though he hadn’t yet found a way to escape from the cart, he felt as if he had accomplished everything.

‘Finally…’

Tears welled up in his eyes.

All the hardships and sorrows he had endured in the Extreme Poison Sect came rushing back. He felt proud just to have overcome all those adversities and made it this far.

Jin Ja-gang looked at the receding gate of the Extreme Poison Sect behind the cart and firmly resolved:

‘Just wait. I’ll build my strength and definitely return.’

But unlike Jin Ja-gang, the people of the Medicine King Sect wore lifeless expressions.

Though they had finally seen the sun after enduring endless torture at the Extreme Poison Sect, their destination was an underground mine from which no one ever returned.

For them, this was essentially their last chance to breathe the outside air.

That’s why, to them, Jin Ja-gang’s resolute appearance seemed all the more strange.

* * *

By now, they had traveled far from the gate, and the pavilions of the Extreme Poison Sect appeared very small in the distance.

The winding mountain road with steep cliffs on one side continued for a long time. This was due to Yunnan’s terrain, where nine-tenths of the land consisted of mountains.

Jin Ja-gang prepared to escape while observing his surroundings.

‘Four sword-wielding warriors in front and behind, and two who appear to be martial arts masters.’

Remembering the terrifying appearance of Bloody Hand, he knew he couldn’t act rashly.

Even dealing with the warriors was too much for Jin Ja-gang. Though he might be able to take down one or two using poison, once the others became alert, Jin Ja-gang would have no solution.

‘What should I do?’

Considering the situation, poisoning their food seemed the most straightforward approach. But whether he could get close enough when they were eating was uncertain.

As Jin Ja-gang was considering various methods, Yong-myeong moved closer and sat beside him.

“What are you thinking about?”

Knowing it wasn’t a question that required an answer, Jin Ja-gang simply nodded.

“Just this and that.”

“I see.”

After a brief pause, Yong-myeong asked:

“How did you escape?”

Jin Ja-gang answered simply:

“They thought I was dead and threw me into the Mixed Spring Ground.”

Yong-myeong’s expression became peculiar.

This was a story he had heard multiple times while being imprisoned and tortured.

Mang-ryo had devoted considerable time to testing poisons on Jin Ja-gang’s body, but he spent the rest of his time researching secret manuals or torturing disciples of Hundred Flower Valley and the Medicine King Sect to extract information.

Then one day, Mang-ryo had returned with one eye blinded, raving about the Mixed Spring Ground and flying into a rage.

“So that was you?”

The young man and the old man beside him looked at Jin Ja-gang with disbelief.

“That’s a lie. You’re saying this child is the one who blinded Mang-ryo?”

“Hard to believe. The Mixed Spring Ground is where they dispose of friends who die during torture. I heard it’s a place where even the living can barely withstand the sulfur fumes for a moment.”

Jin Ja-gang didn’t know much about the first comment. He hadn’t seen Mang-ryo since his escape. Though he’d heard Mang-ryo was blinded, he didn’t know if it was true.

Regarding the second comment, he had something to say. However, he wasn’t sure how much to trust them or how much to reveal.

He never knew when they might betray him and report him.

“The ground flowed like water, and when I woke up, there was a cave. I survived by eating mushrooms and holding out there.”

Yong-myeong and the others stared into Jin Ja-gang’s eyes. But since Jin Ja-gang wasn’t lying at all, his pupils didn’t waver.

“Hmm.”

As Yong-myeong observed Jin Ja-gang, he noticed something strange. Jin Ja-gang’s eyes were remarkably clear and pure.

So he examined Jin Ja-gang more carefully. Though his skin was covered in dirt and repulsive scabs, the exposed parts appeared incredibly smooth.

“Let me see your hand for a moment.”

Jin Ja-gang reluctantly extended his hand.

Yong-myeong rubbed around Jin Ja-gang’s wrist. As the scabs peeled away, white, translucent skin was revealed. It was a skin quality that couldn’t be explained as mere makeup or disguise.

Yong-myeong let out a low exclamation of astonishment.

“If what you say is true, you’ve experienced a miraculous transformation there. Your skin has been renewed, almost like a complete rebirth.”

The clarity of his eyes, the scabs covering half his body, and the fact that his hair had fallen out and was growing anew—all these confirmed that he had undergone a miraculous transformation.

Hearing this, the Medicine King Sect people in the cart showed expressions of shock before quickly hiding them. If Jin Ja-gang had truly experienced such a transformation, there might be hope that he could escape from here.

But trusting others and working together was very difficult for Jin Ja-gang. Having already been betrayed by someone closest to him, the wound in his heart was too deep.

Yong-myeong lowered his voice even more and asked with a serious expression:

“Do you have a way to escape?”

Jin Ja-gang remained silent, but he could no longer hide it.

“Yes.”

“How?”

“I can use poison.”

“Poison?”

Though the eyes showed disbelief, Jin Ja-gang didn’t want to demonstrate just to make them believe.

“How strong is the poison?”

“It killed an old man named Bloody Hand.”

Yong-myeong’s eyes trembled slightly. Bloody Hand was one of the top masters of the Extreme Poison Sect. A poison that could kill Bloody Hand meant escape wasn’t just a dream.

Yong-myeong pointed at the two Extreme Poison Sect masters in turn and whispered:

“The tall one on the left with a large saber at his waist is a master called Great Desert Saber, recruited from outside by the Extreme Poison Sect, and the one on the right with long arms is Relentless Dagger, who uses poisoned daggers skillfully. Even if all of us attacked together, we couldn’t defeat those two.”

After a brief pause, Yong-myeong asked:

“Do you think it’s possible? If you have a good plan, we can help you.”

Could he really trust them?

But there was no other way. Jin Ja-gang nodded.

“I’m thinking about it.”

“Don’t act rashly until a definite opportunity arises.”

“I understand.”

Yong-myeong moved away slightly to speak with the other Medicine King Sect people.

Small voices reached Jin Ja-gang’s ears.

“No, we’ll all die that way.”

“We’re all going to die anyway if we’re taken like this.”

They seemed to be exchanging opinions about escape.

After some time, the Medicine King Sect people all fell silent. They were staring at something behind them.

Someone on horseback was racing toward them from the direction of the Extreme Poison Sect’s mountain gate.

The Medicine King Sect people and Jin Ja-gang watched tensely as the rider approached.

“Stop!”

The voice, infused with internal energy, rang out loudly.

“Whoa, whoa.”

Great Desert Saber, who was escorting the prisoners, stopped the carts.

The messenger from the Extreme Poison Sect arrived.

“By Elder Mang-ryo’s command, you must stop the carts immediately and return to the Extreme Poison Sect.”

“What?”

Great Desert Saber and Relentless Dagger looked at each other.

“What’s going on?”

The messenger said:

“It seems a prisoner has escaped. There’s a possibility he might be hiding among this group to escape…”

Hearing this, Jin Ja-gang felt a chill. The Medicine King Sect people also showed clear signs of shock.

‘I’ve been discovered!’

The messenger continued:

“Please turn the carts around immediately.”

Relentless Dagger, being originally from the Extreme Poison Sect, seemed to be considering the situation carefully, but Great Desert Saber, an outsider, was less cautious.

“You want us to return to the sect for something like that? Has that old man gone mad?”

The messenger frowned.

“Excuse me? That’s going too far.”

Great Desert Saber expressed annoyance.

“What’s going too far? Everyone knows Elder Mang hasn’t been in his right mind lately. Do you think we’re on some kind of pleasure trip? Don’t you know we have to arrive at each checkpoint on schedule to please those Martial Arts Alliance people? And now what? Turn the carts around? Who’s going to deal with the consequences?”

Relentless Dagger smiled bitterly but took Great Desert Saber’s side.

“It would be difficult to turn the carts around on this narrow road.”

Great Desert Saber spoke angrily:

“We’d be perfect for rolling off and dying!”

The messenger raised his voice:

“Are you defying the Elder’s orders?”

Great Desert Saber exploded with anger.

“Hey! Use your eyes! How many people do you see here? How could someone hide among us? If you’re suspicious, just check here yourself and go back!”

“That’s…”

The messenger didn’t know the face of the escaped prisoner.

Relentless Dagger asked one of the warriors standing behind the cart:

“Was there any change in the number of people during the night?”

“No, there wasn’t.”

“Then the number should be the same as yesterday.”

“Yes, there were eleven people at night.”

Great Desert Saber insisted:

“Count the heads, and if there’s nothing wrong, we continue. Any objections? These people are going somewhere they’ll never return from anyway. Just leave it!”

Since Great Desert Saber’s words weren’t wrong, the messenger couldn’t argue further.

The impatient Great Desert Saber had already started counting before the messenger could respond.

“One, two…”

The reason they hadn’t been counting the numbers all along was simply because the numbers were meaningless.

These prisoners had already served their purpose and were destined to labor until death. No one cared whether they lived or died.

They could die from the aftereffects of torture while traveling, or they could be beaten to death for resistance. Their lives were truly as insignificant as flies—worth even less than the number of water canteens attached to a saddle.

So there was no need to count their heads every time.

But if, by chance, they did count and the number differed from what was expected, that would be a problem.

Just like now.

“Eleven, twelve! That’s twelve heads in total.”

Great Desert Saber’s expression changed after finishing the count.

“What? There’s one extra head?”