Chapter 139
Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 139
Chapter Title: Trampling (4)
Poison exudes the scent of iron.
Its taste is intensely sharp as well. A piercing sting that numbingly assaults the tongue surges up abruptly.
In the art of killing, this scent and flavor are called the "poison taste."
The poison taste cannot be detected through mere physical senses of smell and taste. It must be felt intuitively, yet as vividly as if all five senses are fully engaged.
Recognizing the poison taste keeps you from falling victim to poison.
Recognizing it allows you to wield poison with mastery.
To guide souls comfortably to the afterlife, one must proficiently handle every lethal method known in the world.
Poison is merely one among them.
No special emphasis is required, but it's a domain where knowing as much as possible proves invaluable.
'A living creature.'
Four Thousand Four calmly swept his gaze across the forest.
The poison creature was nowhere to be seen. In truth, spotting a poison creature lurking in a forest with the naked eye was impossible. Even one the size of a viper barely registered to human sight.
There was no need to hunt for the invisible.
Instead... he first discerned the nature of the poison. Whether it was artificially refined or secreted by a living being—this was the foremost task in unraveling it.
What blanketed this forest was a living creature.
Not man-made toxin, but venom emanating from a breathing organism.
He had pinpointed the poison's origin.
Crunch! Crunch!
Four Thousand Four strode boldly deeper into the forest.
He spared no worry for those trailing behind. They desperately wanted to live. To survive. No need to warn them to stay cautious—such words were superfluous. They would guard themselves plenty without prompting.
Besides, he had no attention to spare for them.
All his focus had to remain on the poison creature. If the toxins scattered through these woods resembled the slaughter blood unleashed in the lake, survival would be a grueling ordeal.
Swish!
Something... an unsettling sensation crept in.
No sound reached him. No form appeared. Yet something was undoubtedly closing in.
'This must be the Shadowless Flight...'
Four Thousand Four adopted the mindset for facing Shadowless Flight, bending his knees slightly as he crouched low.
He didn't know what it was. But movement had occurred—clearly.
Swish!
Zhuge Myeong raised his hand.
His Zhuge clan subordinates halted in unison, dropping into low stances.
All eyes fixed on Four Thousand Four.
The moment he entered the forest, he had crouched—such actions always had purpose. What else to do? Follow his lead. No orders needed; it came naturally.
Zhuge Soso furrowed her brow, staring intently into the woods.
No motion anywhere. She scanned for poison mist, but no vapors rose.
'Poison Sima Hong's...'
Zhuge Soso dredged her memory for his favored poison techniques. Nothing surfaced. Surprisingly scant information existed on Poison Sima Hong.
Tap tap!
Zhuge Myeong tapped Zhuge Soso's shoulder.
His eyes posed the question: See anything?
Even with her right beside him, he asked silently—to stave off any stir among the subordinates.
What the men needed now was assurance of safety.
Instill hope of survival. Hide any hint of unease.
Zhuge Soso offered no reply, merely shifting her gaze to Four Thousand Four.
A wordless admission: nothing spotted.
"Eyes sharp, everyone!"
Zhuge Myeong barked at his men for no real reason.
Swish! Swish! Shhh!
Perfect intangibility. No motion betrayed. Yet the assault had commenced.
'What is it!'
Four Thousand Four shut his eyes, channeling every sense.
If the foe evaded sight... sever vision to sharpen the rest.
Sss! Sss!
Shadowless Flight descending. From heavens to earth...
'Above!'
Four Thousand Four's eyes snapped open, staring skyward.
In that instant, nothing filled his view but branches and sky. Azure expanse, rustling leaves... yet the attack lurked within.
He constricted his vision to a pinpoint.
Slicing empty air into fine threads, probing each sliver meticulously.
Swish!
Four Thousand Four spotted the minuscule poison creatures.
But spotting one revealed ten. Ten unveiled dozens.
"Spiders!"
Four Thousand Four bellowed at last.
Everyone needed to know: spiders were descending. Life-reapers. Redouble vigilance.
"Spiders!"
"Spiders!"
Murmurs erupted from behind.
Four Thousand Four tuned them out. His hand had already delved into his pouch, fingers clamping small pebbles as it withdrew.
Whish!
Pebbles whipped through the air.
"Man-Slaying Spiders! Man-Slaying Spiders..."
Zhuge Soso glared at the tiny spider on the ground.
The black spider was fingernail-sized. Average for its kind—not overly small, not huge. But once it fed, its body ballooned to fist proportions.
A diminutive black spider signaled starvation.
"Th-this..."
Zhuge Myeong glimpsed it too—and fell silent.
"Shields to the sky!"
Zhuge Soso roared.
Zhuge clan men thrust their shields upward in sync.
Of course, such a defense wouldn't stop Man-Slaying Spiders.
They weren't arrows plummeting mechanically. Lifeless strikes. No—these were living predators, lunging at prey with feral precision.
No formation was airtight; gaps would form, and they'd slither through slyly.
Retreat was the only option.
Ignorance might allow advance, but knowing the forest teemed with them? Impossible.
"We fall back."
Zhuge Myeong stated calmly.
"No. No way back. He came this way—so we go this way. Retreat only after he does. We're not too late yet."
Zhuge Soso's eyes gleamed as she watched Four Thousand Four.
"You believe Shadowless Flight can handle Man-Slaying Spiders?"
"No."
Zhuge Soso shook her head without hesitation.
"Shadowless Flight can't manage them. No martial art under heaven can."
"Then?"
"I trust him. He..."
Zhuge Soso faltered, words failing to describe Four Thousand Four.
No way to articulate it. She couldn't explain her faith in him.
Trust in Four Thousand Four transcended human language.
The world brimmed with clever minds. Those dubbed brilliant. Teach one, grasp ten—known as hearing one and knowing ten.
Such folk abounded.
Among them, some innately mastered survival's instincts.
Call it survival savvy, cunning tricks, or stratagems—names mattered little. Crises yielded instant solutions.
Intellect alone couldn't unlock this.
It was inborn. Unpolished by scholarship.
Combining sharp wits, deep learning, and tactical depth birthed a true strategist.
Murim boasted plenty.
Every clan and sect housed at least a few advisors.
North Bright, South Small reigned supreme among them.
Boasting brains before Zhuge Soso? Like flaunting wrinkles to a pupa.
And Four Thousand Four?
Innately gifted, perhaps.
No scholarly polish... thus no strategist title... just a man who bulldozed snags? Dissolved dilemmas?
Undeniably a notch below Zhuge Soso.
That was the common verdict.
Zhuge Soso appended one trait.
Superhuman!
Folk said genius bows to effort. Brilliance crumbles before diligence.
Diligence yields to true enjoyment.
That marked the world's insight—much like defining strategists.
Superhuman transcended further.
Genius, diligent, enjoyers alike... all fell short.
Her "superhuman genius": one exerting effort, reveling in it, blessed by heaven to enviable extremes.
To Zhuge Soso, Four Thousand Four embodied that.
Composure defined him, every moment.
Now too. Man-Slaying Spiders sighted, yet he hurled pebbles relentlessly. Expression unchanged, movements steady. Pressing onward.
No retreat in sight.
He meant to shatter through.
How to capture such instincts, such vibes, in mere words?
This faith hadn't bloomed overnight.
Desperate preparations preceded sending him into Heavenly Annihilation Division.
Allied with North Bright, reconfirmed their missives... vetted every detail.
Outcome: impossible to infiltrate.
Indeed. Entering equaled crawling into a death trap.
Futile efforts.
So she simulated his perspective, testing breakthroughs.
She had hunted him once. Unleashed every Zhuge pursuit art.
Sky-tracked via Golden Eyes Black Shadow, shadowed invisibly with Green Fragrance White Rabbit, ensnared in Ten Directions Chain Formation.
What happened?
No murim soul escaped those arts. Hence their fame: Zhuge's Four Great Pursuits.
Yet Four Thousand Four slipped free.
Not leisurely—he thrashed desperately to escape.
This time? Could he breach Heavenly Annihilation Division?
Perhaps...?
Her verdict: perhaps.
Any other? Utterly impossible. But him? Maybe.
Same here.
Impenetrable Man-Slaying Spider woods. But Four Thousand Four? Conceivably.
Zhuge Myeong sighed wearily.
"If you're that certain... one final ask. One more step, no turning back. We follow?"
"Yes. We must."
"Understood. Then forward."
Snap!
Zhuge Myeong slashed his hand rearward.
Advance!
In a flash, Zhuge Soso propelled beside Four Thousand Four.
He shot her a sidelong glance.