Chapter 128: Sichuan Murder Sect-2
Chapter 128: Sichuan Murder Sect-2
It was at that moment.
Seonwoo Jin smiled faintly and asked him.
"It seems you use an extremely precious poison, elder?"
At those words, the shocked Fifth Killer Naeng Ji-dan stared at Seonwoo Jin.
"...What?!"
Seonwoo Jin then smiled faintly and stuck out his tongue.
On his tongue rested a mysterious five-colored bead.
Seeing it, Naeng Ji-dan cried out in shock.
"A p-poison-repelling bead?"
It was clearly a poison-repelling bead that neutralized poisons.
And a five-colored poison-repelling bead, a supreme-grade treasure that blocked most poisons except for corrosive ones...
The next moment, Seonwoo Jin's sword turned into a ray of light.
Hwiririk!
"Argh!"
In an instant, both of Naeng Ji-dan's hands were severed and flew off.
He let out a pained groan and stared at Seonwoo Jin with terror-filled eyes.
Seonwoo Jin smiled coldly at him and said.
"Oh, now I've finally found one who seems like he'll be a bit more talkative."
He was a little different from the other assassins who, even while dying, had let out no fearful glances or groans.
An assassin who couldn't endure pain and couldn't hide his fear — it seemed if they shared a little more conversation, he might reveal many things.
With a triumphant smile, he said to him.
"Let's have a nice long chat."
The Third Killer Jeon Seok-jil, who had been watching this from a corner while concealed, let out a hollow laugh.
For such a powerful man to carry a poison-repelling bead as well.
And a five-colored poison-repelling bead at that — wasn't that a supreme-grade treasure that only high-ranking officials of the Dang Clan were said to carry?
It was impossible after all.
For now, there seemed to be no choice but to abandon the ambush on Seonwoo Jin.
Of course, Third Killer Jeon Seok-jil knew his own stealth technique was far superior to that of the Sixth Killer Do Dan-mu, but targeting an opponent who had already prepared to such an extent seemed no different from suicide.
Jeon Seok-jil thought to himself.
'It seems I'll have to join forces with that arrogant bastard, the Seventh Killer.'
The Seventh Killer was a genius who, despite being a mere brat in his twenties, had mastered stealth and hidden weapon skills to such a degree that even he, the Third Killer, could not be confident of victory.
So if he joined forces with him, perhaps they could seek another opportunity.
Thus thinking, Jeon Seok-jil decided to slip away first while Seonwoo Jin was dealing with the aftermath here.
That way, he could go ahead and prepare for the next step.
So Jeon Seok-jil was slowly moving backwards while remaining concealed.
Suddenly, Seonwoo Jin looked in that direction and spoke.
"What? You're already giving up? I was looking forward to what was next — where are you off to?"
Hearing that voice, Jeon Seok-jil felt goosebumps erupt all over his body in an instant.
That man had already known of his existence.
Pabak!
Jeon Seok-jil hurled his body forward with all his might.
He had to flee as fast as possible.
Since there was considerable distance between them, with his movement technique he should be able to...
Thinking this, Jeon Seok-jil glanced back and was horrified.
Seonwoo Jin's figure was approaching him at an unbelievable speed.
It was a speed utterly beyond belief as a human movement technique.
Jeon Seok-jil instinctively turned his body.
Fleeing like this was already a failure.
He had to struggle with every last resort he had.
"Haaaap!"
Pyusyusyusyuk!
Though he was an assassin, he gathered all his strength and scattered hidden weapons with a martial shout.
He had cast all of his secret hidden weapons, his specialty, at once.
The rain of hidden weapons that filled the entire space scattered like the Dang Clan's Ten Thousand Heavenly Flowers and Rain.
But even amidst that rain of hidden weapons, Seonwoo Jin did not slow his speed at all.
He simply swung his sword.
Hwaaaak!
Seonwoo Jin's sword split like an illusion and covered his entire body.
It was like seeing a transparent film of pale violet.
And the hidden weapons that touched that film bounced off powerlessly.
Tingtingtingting!
Jeon Seok-jil, his expression one of shock, muttered blankly.
"A s-sword barrier?"
In that moment, Seonwoo Jin, having deflected all the hidden weapons, had already approached to within striking distance.
Jeon Seok-jil simply stared at it with a stupefied face. His expression was as if he had now given up on everything.
But that was the moment.
Just when his seemingly resigned expression caused Seonwoo Jin's sword to slow momentarily as if to capture him alive rather than cut him down, his eyes abruptly changed.
Even his expression of surrender had been a deception.
"Ptui!"
With a sharp glint in his eyes, Jeon Seok-jil spat something from his mouth.
Shweek!
It was his final secret technique, the tongue needle spat from the mouth.
Because the situation seemed completely finished, it was an even more lethal move.
A tiny, slender needle shot towards Seonwoo Jin's forehead.
Jeon Seok-jil smiled viciously and thought.
No matter how great a master, at this close range he could never evade it.
But the next moment, his expression could do nothing but freeze solid.
Because Seonwoo Jin had moved as lightly as a flower petal swirling in the wind and let the needle slip past.
And a beam of light grazed past his now-frozen neck.
Shaak!
"How... did...?"
A red line appeared on the neck of Jeon Seok-jil as he muttered in disbelief.
Then it slowly began to slide apart.
Puhwaaak!
When his head fell and blood belatedly gushed out, Seonwoo Jin was already on his way back to the old man he had captured.
His thought was that since he had already caught someone to extract information from, there was no need for the other one.
Besides, the other man hadn't seemed like the type to talk anyway.
But standing before the old man again, Seonwoo Jin couldn't help but furrow his brow.
"Damn."
The assassin who had been disguised as an old man was already dead, blood flowing from his mouth.
It seemed he had bitten down on a poison pill and taken his own life.
Seonwoo Jin clicked his tongue and muttered.
"In the end, I couldn't figure out who these bastards are. They're clearly a fairly famous assassin group."
It was deeply regretful.
If he had identified them, he might have been able to launch a counterattack...
They were highly systematized assassins, with cruelty that allowed them to butcher even completely unrelated people mercilessly, a venomous energy that pushed them to carry out assassinations without fear of death, and diverse assassination methods.
Moreover, though he had moved swiftly anticipating an ambush, they had been waiting for him first — they were undoubtedly people possessing an extremely vast force.
It seemed unlikely this assault would end at this level.
"But, it can't be helped."
Seonwoo Jin promptly shook off his regret.
There was no use clinging to something that had already become impossible.
Furthermore, there was also some consolation.
Thanks to the Mind's Eye he had learned from Squad Leader Seolpung and the Heavenly Killing Secret Technique he had learned in the Seonwoo Clan's library, the assassins' ambush hadn't been all that threatening.
In fact, to Seonwoo Jin, their ambushes, which might have been fatal to other martial artists, somehow felt easier to handle than warriors who primarily fought in direct confrontations.
"And on top of that, I have the poison-repelling bead."
Seonwoo Jin took the poison-repelling bead from his mouth and placed it into his pocket, smiling contentedly.
Then a face suddenly came to mind — the face of the person who had given this to him.
The person who had given him this poison-repelling bead was none other than Dang Yeo-eun.
When he had been learning the Moonlight Illusion Sword Dance under Gwanggeom, Dang Yeo-eun would not speak of what she herself had undergone, yet she constantly asked about what Seonwoo Jin had been through.
She said she could not understand how she, with lesser skills, could have possibly killed Seonwoo Jin.
So Seonwoo Jin had not told her about how he had simply let go of her meridians, but he had told her about how he had been affected by the formless poison when he had subdued her.
At that, Dang Yeo-eun had sunk into thought with a serious expression, then handed over the poison-repelling bead she possessed to Seonwoo Jin.
She said that although she could obtain another once she returned to the Dang Clan, Seonwoo Jin also needed a method to guard against poison.
With a grave face, she had told Seonwoo Jin this.
'One of the first things the children of the Dang Clan are taught is that they must always keep this poison-repelling bead in their mouths before entering combat. Poison can never be absent from a Dang Clan fight. It will be uncomfortable at first, but you absolutely must do so as well. Because this small difference could save your life. You understand? Promise me you will.'
At her insistence, Seonwoo Jin had no choice but to promise he would definitely do so.
And in the end, thanks to that promise, he had easily overcome this crisis.
It was a moment when Dang Yeoeun's sunny smile suddenly came to mind.
***
At the same time, Dang Yeoeun was lost in deep thought in her room.
In her mind, the words Seonwoo Jin had said kept drifting about.
'Don't forget. Only you can change your own life. I believe in you, Yeo Eun.'
Dang Yeoeun bit her lip firmly.
No matter how many times she thought about it, his words were right.
She couldn't just keep being dragged around by her surroundings and entrust her fate to others like this.
Even if that was the command of the clan head—an absolute existence to the Tang Family, her father.
So if she truly didn't want the strategic marriage, it wasn't enough to leave it to Seonwoo Jin alone; she herself had to do something.
If only to stand proudly before him who had believed in her....
But.
No matter how much she thought, no suitable method came to mind.
'What in the world can I even do?'
In the Tang Family, the clan head's command was absolute and solemn, and for a direct descendant of little weight like herself to be used as a tool for strategic marriage was an utterly natural, common-sense matter.
So this was something that had to shatter the common sense of everyone in the Tang Family.
She let out a sigh from her helpless heart.
"Hooo."
It was a feeling of powerlessness.
The sense of powerlessness at being able to do nothing was trying to paint her heart with the light of despair once again.
But Dang Yeoeun soon shook her head fiercely again and shook off the despair that was trying to gnaw at her.
'No. There is definitely a way. I just don't know it yet. Think back to what he said. In any situation, there's no such thing as a problem without a solution.'
And she thought desperately.
About what she could do.
About possible methods.
'Going to the clan head and saying I can't do it won't work. Rather than listening, he'll try to suppress me even more. In this Tang Family, no one is permitted to not follow the clan head's authority. No one can refuse the clan head's will....'
Thinking that far, Dang Yeoeun suddenly recalled something.
People within the Tang Family who could defy the clan head's authority....
Such people did indeed exist.
Dang Yeoeun sprang up from her seat.
The moment she thought of a clue, her eyes shone clearly.
'If there was someone who could do that, it would definitely be....'
The first name Dang Yeoeun recalled was none other than Dang Mu-gwang.
He was the half-brother of the former clan head and Dang Yeoeun's grandfather, the previous Poison Rock Sovereign, Dang Mu-jeong.
And he was also called the Strange Poison, one of the Five Monsters of the world.
The strongest of the Sichuan Dang Clan, the Strange Poison, Dang Mu-gwang.
No one in the Dang Clan, not even the current clan head Dang Jeong-hu, or even the retired clan head Dang Mu-jeong, could control him.
Because he was a madman obsessed with poison, and a stubborn lone wolf who never exchanged a word with anyone he didn't personally acknowledge.
Dang Yeoeun's mind, recalling him, worked quickly.
'So if he would only step forward for me, he could make my strategic marriage disappear in an instant.'
That was it.
At least this much she could be sure of.
Because if Strange Poison Dang Mu-gwang once decided on something, the current clan head, Dang Jeong-hu, would absolutely not be able to say a word.
But there was still a problem.
There was no point of contact between Strange Poison Dang Mu-gwang and Dang Yeoeun herself.
She had no excuse or compensation to go to him and ask him to stop the strategic marriage.
And if she had nothing to persuade him with, there was no way he, who found even the retired clan head's words laughable, would listen to Dang Yeoeun.
But Dang Yeoeun hadn't intended to go to him from the start.
'Since I don't even know where he is right now anyway.'
Dang Yeoeun immediately thought of the second and third candidates in her mind. Those within the Tang Family whose fame was enough to defy Dang Jeong-hu's will....
She murmured with shining eyes.
"Yes, if it's these people, there's plenty of room for negotiation. Even with what I have now, it's enough."
Without hesitation, Dang Yeoeun sprang up and headed out the door.
Once she saw a possibility, there was no need to waste a single moment.
No, the faster she hurried, the better.
After all, Dang Jeong-hu's words about waiting until Seonwoo Jin returned could have been a lie.
And though Dang Yeoeun herself didn't realize it, this kind of proactive drive was something she had never once possessed before she left on that journey with Seonwoo Jin.
She was finally breaking out of her shell and trying to stand on her own two feet.
***
The place Dang Yeoeun headed to was a forest located deep within the Sichuan Dang Clan.
And the Tang Family members called this forest by this name:
'Outer Dang Forest.'
Dang Yeoeun was now using the stealth technique she had learned from Seonwoo Jin to infiltrate that Outer Dang Forest.
Of course, since she was a direct descendant of the Tang Family, she could have entered through the entrance formally, but Dang Yeoeun simply chose to sneak in.
'It's not desirable for the clan head to learn of my actions. I have to move as secretly as possible.'
Having reached the forest's edge and released her stealth, she glanced briefly toward the entrance and then began advancing without hesitation deeper into the forest.
Into the Outer Dang Forest, where numerous monsters were said to swarm.
'Outer Dang Forest.'
Though located within the Sichuan Dang Clan, this place called the clan's outside was where a great many reclusive eccentrics of the martial world resided.
Originally, many martial clans often invited outside martial artists to accept them as retainers.
There were various reasons for this, but the most important was, of course, military strength.
'Because how strong the retainers in the clan are and how many there are determines the clan's power.'
Retainers who had entrusted their bodies to the clan were like hidden swords that could lend strength to the clan at critical moments.
Moreover, simply possessing them acted as a deterrent that could prevent provocation from other hostile sects.
It was not only that.
The advancement of martial arts was always achieved through confrontation and exchange with other martial arts, so the presence or absence of retainers possessing diverse lineages of martial arts could not help but be an important factor determining the speed of the clan's martial development.
Therefore, all martial clans were always striving to keep outstanding retainers.
'Except for our Sichuan Dang Clan, that is.'
It was so.
The Sichuan Dang Clan, at least, had no need to strive to attract retainers like other clans did.
Because many came to them even if they stayed still.
As the premier prestigious poison family of the martial world, the Sichuan Dang Clan naturally also possessed skills surpassing any place in the martial world in medicine and medicinal arts.
Those who didn't know might think the Sichuan Dang Clan was nothing but a hellish place full of poison creatures, but in truth, among all the sects of the martial world, it was this Sichuan Dang Clan that possessed the most spirit medicines.
Thus, countless people in need of treatment, or their acquaintances, came to the Dang Clan in droves.
And among them, naturally, were martial world masters.
Masters whom even the Dang Clan could not treat lightly.
The place where those of such masters who wished to quietly live in seclusion resided—that was this 'Outer Dang Forest,' which was inside the Dang Clan yet called the clan's outside.
"......."
Dang Yeoeun abruptly stopped and looked around the dense forest surroundings.
At least to the eye, nothing particular was visible.
But her senses, sharpened as she activated the Moonlight Illusion Sword Dance, were telling her.
That someone was watching her.
Dang Yeoeun suddenly clasped her hands in a respectful salute toward the forest and raised her voice.
"Dang Yeoeun, a daughter of the Tang Family, greets a great senior of the martial world! I am searching for Elder Yang Mun-heon, could I ask where he is?"
Then a short while later, a rumbling voice from an unidentifiable direction could be heard.
- A daughter of the Tang Family? Tsk, how boring. I was hoping something fun would happen since you snuck in. So, why are you looking for Brother Yang?
As expected.
Dang Yeoeun felt proud that her hunch someone was present was correct.
But at the same time, she had to feel tension.
From the start, those in this Outer Dang Forest were nothing but monsters.
So even a small whim of theirs could easily make a life like hers disappear.
She had to be careful, extremely careful.
Dang Yeoeun answered as respectfully as possible.
"It is a personal matter, so I must meet him and speak in person. I beg you to forgive me for not being able to answer you, Senior."
Then, at that moment, someone dropped down before her like a shadow.
Pat!
"!"