Chapter 191
Chapter 191
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: penny
Chapter: 191
Chapter Title: Chapter 6. Failing to See the Tree Right in Front of You (1)
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Jong Ri-yeon was a stunning beauty rarely seen in such a remote backwater village. Her looks drew eyes wherever she went.
Yoo Jin-mun forgot all about losing his men just the day before as he stared at her in a daze. His subordinates were no different.
"Ahem!"
But Yoo Jin-mun quickly came to his senses and cleared his throat. At his signal, his men snapped out of it too.
"And who might you be, miss?"
"My name is Jong Ri-yeon."
"Jong Ri-yeon?"
Yoo Jin-mun tilted his head. The name definitely rang a bell somewhere. But he couldn't quite place it.
"What brings you to this village, Miss Jong?"
"I was just passing through and happened to stop by."
"Just passing through, you say?"
Yoo Jin-mun eyed her suspiciously. But Jong Ri-yeon met his gaze without flinching.
"That's right."
"You expect me to believe that?"
"Then what do you want me to say?"
"I hear you have a companion. Have him come out. We need to verify both your identities."
"Ha!"
Jong Ri-yeon let out a sigh instead of answering.
Dam Ho was inside the house. She'd left him there on purpose, forcing him to stay seated, because she didn't want to escalate things.
If Dam Ho moved, blood would flow. She'd seen it happen enough times to know better than anyone.
Jong Ri-yeon shook her head.
"I can't do that."
"We must confirm it."
Yoo Jin-mun's expression darkened. Her refusal ignited his already frayed nerves.
"It would be best if the person inside comes out on their own. Otherwise, we'll assume they're Demonic Cult and subdue them."
"Ha! You won't regret that?"
"We're Murim Alliance warriors. We regret nothing, no matter the circumstances."
"Haa!"
Jong Ri-yeon sighed again.
Now everything was out of her hands.
She was about to call for Dam Ho in resignation when—
"Aaack! Honey!"
A woman's piercing scream tore through from the next house over.
The Golden Squad warriors and Jong Ri-yeon all turned toward it instinctively. In that moment, a middle-aged woman burst out from the neighboring house.
"My husband's collapsed! Please save my husband!"
The barefoot woman rushed toward the Golden Squad warriors. As they reflexively grabbed her hands and tried to ask what happened—
"Everyone, back away!"
Jong Ri-yeon suddenly shouted.
"Pardon?"
"It's poison. Everyone back away!"
"Heavens!"
The Golden Squad warriors recoiled in horror.
Jong Ri-yeon covered her mouth and nose with a white cloth and approached the woman. Up close, her face had turned pitch black.
"P-Poison?"
The woman's voice trembled at Jong Ri-yeon's abrupt words. Just as Jong Ri-yeon opened her mouth to reply, the woman vomited blood and collapsed.
A foul stench rose from the blood she'd spewed.
"What is—"
Yoo Jin-mun started forward, but Jong Ri-yeon held up a hand to stop him.
"Don't come closer. It's an extremely potent poison. Even light contact could infect you."
"No way..."
Jong Ri-yeon dashed into the middle-aged woman's house. There lay her husband's corpse on the floor, collapsed in a pool of his own blood just like her.
Jong Ri-yeon called out.
"Check the other houses for anyone else poisoned. If you find victims, do not touch them under any circumstances."
"Are you... a physician?"
"Yes. No time—move, now!"
"Understood."
Yoo Jin-mun ordered his men to search the other houses.
While they combed the village, Jong Ri-yeon examined the couple's bodies closely. After a long inspection, her face grew grim.
The corpses were decaying at an alarming rate.
"This is..."
She recalled the bodies they'd burned the night before.
Shock flashed across Yoo Jin-mun's face too. Memories of his own men dying from poison resurfaced.
"No way the Demonic Cult..."
He scanned the surroundings urgently. But in the darkened village, no one suspicious resembling a Demonic Cultist was in sight.
Beneath a massive, screen-like boulder sat a hook-nosed old man. He held something long in his hand, mumbling as he chewed.
Crunch! Grind!
Each movement of his jaw produced a bone-chilling sound like grinding bones.
In the old man's hand was a headless snake. Blood dripped from his hand and mouth.
The stench assaulted the nose, but the old man chewed on without a change in expression—as if savoring the world's finest delicacy.
Then, someone appeared without a sound and prostrated before him.
"I'm back, my lord."
"How fare our little pests, So Gwang?"
"As expected, they're floundering about, clueless on what to do."
"Heh heh! Not only are they vermin, but dimwitted to boot."
A sinister laugh escaped the hook-nosed old man's lips—like nails scraping iron.
So Gwang's eyes held a faint glimmer of fear as he gazed at him.
Darkness rippled around the old man. No, it wasn't darkness. Thousands, tens of thousands of snakes coiled around him, writhing.
It was a horrifying sight.
The old man's name was Sa Woo-yeon, known by the moniker Heavenly Poison Emperor.
Sa Woo-yeon's mere breath could poison all life in the area.
Poisons were useless against him. Rather, they were catalysts that strengthened him. His body, having absorbed countless toxins, was itself the world's deadliest venom.
So Gwang was Sa Woo-yeon's most trusted subordinate. Having followed him for years, he'd learned a few poison techniques and wielded them adeptly.
So Gwang asked cautiously.
"What now?"
"You know the answer—why ask? Heh heh!"
Sa Woo-yeon grinned darkly.
"Then..."
"Those who pride themselves on righteousness always reveal their true nature in the face of the uncontrollable."
"..."
"Keep secretly poisoning them bit by bit, and infighting will erupt among them soon enough. It'll make for fine entertainment. Heh heh!"
Pushing humans to the brink and reveling in their reactions was Sa Woo-yeon's longtime hobby.
While other Demonic Cultists moved on religious zeal and rage, Sa Woo-yeon acted solely to satisfy his twisted pleasures.
"Heh heh heh!"
His laughter echoed deeply in the darkness.
***
After thoroughly examining the corpses, Jong Ri-yeon stood and muttered to herself.
'Similar, but different. Yet clearly from the same source.'
It was an excruciatingly potent poison. No ordinary person could survive it.
Even trained martial artists were helpless.
It wasn't the sort one could resist with internal energy. Once infected, it would spread through the body before you could even circulate your qi.
Unless you had Dam Ho's transcendent inner strength and an antidote pill, no average warrior could withstand it.
The silver lining—if it could be called that—was that unlike the previous corrosive poison, this one could potentially be treated.
Yoo Jin-mun approached her.
"About a dozen villagers have been poisoned."
"As expected... no survivors, I assume."
"Unfortunately not."
"Hmm!"
"Did you identify the poison?"
"Not yet."
Jong Ri-yeon shook her head.
Truth be told, she had no clue what it was. This was unlike any poison she'd encountered.
"Then the antidote?"
"Sigh! Impossible without obtaining a sample of the poison first."
Yoo Jin-mun's expression darkened further at her response.
He'd even forgotten to stay wary of her.
They'd arrived here yesterday afternoon. They'd never once let their guard down. Yet the enemy had slipped through and poisoned them anyway.
They were being thoroughly toyed with.
A subordinate asked.
"What do we do?"
Anxiety filled the man's face. The others were visibly shaken too.
"Double the vigilance for now. Report even the twitch of an ant."
"Got it."
"And... isolate the villagers."
"Pardon?"
The subordinate blinked in confusion at the out-of-left-field order. Yoo Jin-mun raised his voice.
"The poisoning symptoms are only in the villagers. Isolate them before it spreads to us."
"Ah, understood."
Only then did the men grasp his meaning and begin separating the villagers.
This was war to defend the Central Plains. Some sacrifices were inevitable.
Yoo Jin-mun's gaze suddenly turned to Jong Ri-yeon.
That's when he remembered her unidentified companion.
"Miss Jong. Reveal your companion's identity now."
"That's..."
"Some circumstance you can't speak of?"
Yoo Jin-mun glared at her.
Now that he thought about it, everything seemed off. Poison victims appearing right when she entered the village. And her being the first to detect the poison.
'She might be a Demonic Cult spy.'
Once suspicion took root, everything about her looked fishy.
Killing intent radiated from him instinctively.
Jong Ri-yeon hurriedly protested.
"I'm not your enemy."
"That's for me to decide. Tell the one inside to come out now. Or else..."
Shing!
Yoo Jin-mun drew his sword and pointed it at her.
The honed blade gleamed with a chilling light.
Jong Ri-yeon's face paled as she faced his killing intent. She'd never expected him to draw on her so abruptly.
It was then.
"Put that sword away."
A heavy, subdued voice echoed softly.
Tremble!
Yoo Jin-mun shuddered involuntarily.
He hadn't even shown himself—just the voice alone sent chills down his spine. It was a first for him.
Gathering his courage, he shouted.
"Wh-Who are you?"
Swish!
In that instant, Dam Ho stepped out of the house.
Yoo Jin-mun's eyes bulged as if they might tear.
A man clad head to toe in black approached.
His gait was offbeat, distinct from any ordinary person's.
An impassive face that hid all emotions, and eyes of bottomless depth.
A scream-like gasp escaped Yoo Jin-mun's lips.
"Th-The Fist Demon?"