Chapter 285
Chapter 285
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: Vine
Chapter: 285
Chapter Title: The Five Poisons School
-----------------------------------------------------------------
‘Young Master Seol?’
Jong Jeong-yak gazed at Bu Eun-seol, who had just broken through the wall, with hazy eyes.
But she soon felt a wave of dizziness and passed out.
“You?”
Yang Seol's eyes widened as she saw Bu Eun-seol walking out.
The rogue who was supposed to be dragged away like a dog by the Dragon God Sword Unit and interrogated in the Mu-jeo-roe... why was he walking here perfectly fine?
“How did you get here?”
“You should have sent the right people.”
Bu Eun-seol said with a smirk.
“If men suddenly draw their swords for no reason and demand my surrender, who would meekly comply?”
For a moment, Yang Seol's expression turned strange.
The Dragon God Sword Unit she had sent was a second-class unit of the Murim Alliance. No matter how skilled a special-class rogue he was, he shouldn't have been able to break through their encirclement.
She thought he might have secretly escaped from the Mu-jeo-roe, but he subdued the Dragon God Sword Unit and came here?
“Hmm. So he claimed to be from the Seven Hyun Gate. It seems he had a hidden card up his sleeve.”
Yang Seol, who had looked surprised, soon regained her composure.
No matter how great his martial arts were, he wouldn't be able to block a stealthy poison attack.
*Swish.*
Yang Seol, with her hands behind her back, subtly moved her fingers.
A faint, mist-like poisonous energy then coiled around Bu Eun-seol's body.
“Doing exactly as I expected.”
Catching the acrid scent, Bu Eun-seol lightly thrust out a fist.
*Whoosh!*
A blade-like wind seemed to sweep through the garden, and a sharp stream of internal energy shot toward Yang Seol's neck.
Not only had the number of energy streams he could unleash increased to five since his training with the Fire Sovereign, Hong Hyeon,
but he could also combine them into a single, powerful blast.
“Hmph.”
Yang Seol scoffed and extended a hand.
A dark mist rose from the ground and instantly enveloped Bu Eun-seol.
*Swish! Swish!*
But as a sharp gale of energy swirled around Bu Eun-seol's body, the poisonous mist rising from the ground completely vanished.
“......!”
Yang Seol's expression hardened.
There were many extraordinary techniques in Murim, but none that could blow away poisonous energy with a sharp force emanating from the body itself.
Bu Eun-seol's martial prowess was far too exceptional for him to be just a special-class rogue.
Finally sensing something was amiss, Yang Seol asked in a cold voice.
“Who in the world are you?”
“You don't need to know.”
Bu Eun-seol immediately executed the Thirteen Kicks of the Dangpa. At the same time, he unleashed the Shark Fist with his left hand.
*Swoosh!*
As he unleashed the kicking and fist techniques in succession, two streams of energy shot out, targeting her flanks from both sides.
‘This man is going to be a huge problem.’
Having been in the Murim Alliance for a long time, Yang Seol had witnessed the skills of numerous masters.
But the martial arts Bu Eun-seol used were unlike anything she had ever seen, even in the Murim Alliance, the supposed congregation of all orthodox sects.
They were mysterious and unique.
*Fwoosh.*
With no way to dodge the incoming energy, Yang Seol quickly leaped into the air.
But that was a grievous mistake.
*Swish!*
Another stream of energy erupted from behind Bu Eun-seol, flying straight toward the center of her body.
‘What?’
Utterly astonished, Yang Seol quickly executed a Cloud Dragon Body Flip in mid-air.
*Slash.*
But the sharp energy grazed past her, threatening to slice off her shoulder.
“Ugh.”
Landing on the ground, she let out a short groan, clutching her shoulder.
“What kind of martial art is this?”
“You've learned your martial arts in vain.”
Bu Eun-seol said with a snort.
“What kind of fool leaps into the air to dodge during close combat?”
He then unleashed a series of Iron Staff Flying Kicks at her.
“Kuh.”
Yang Seol shielded her face with both hands, defending against the kicks.
*Bam! Bam! Bam!*
But she couldn't withstand the shockwaves and was pushed back dozens of feet.
*Swish!*
Furthermore, a separate stream of energy from the kicking technique struck her in the lower abdomen.
*Thud.*
Struck by the energy of the Thirteen Night Arts, Yang Seol's eyes rolled back, and she fainted.
Her body, hardened like steel by her poison arts, had managed to withstand the energy of the Thirteen Night Arts without being split in two.
“This is for the best.”
Bu Eun-seol nodded as he looked at the unconscious Yang Seol.
Jong Jeong-yak and Neung Jo-un were unconscious due to Yang Seol's Poison Palm.
This way, he could interrogate Yang Seol without any interruptions.
*Pak!*
Bu Eun-seol flicked his fingers, sending a gust of wind to strike Yang Seol's Quepen acupoint.
“Argh.”
She writhed in extreme pain before jolting upright, regaining consciousness.
*Step, step.*
Bu Eun-seol walked straight toward the fallen Yang Seol and said with an indifferent expression.
“Speak when you're ready.”
“What?”
“I said, open your mouth when you have something to say.”
Realizing Bu Eun-seol's intention, Yang Seol scoffed.
“Do you think I'll talk just because of some torture?”
*Pak-pak-pak.*
Without a word, Bu Eun-seol sent gusts of wind toward the area around her dantian.
He first crippled her internal energy to prevent her from cutting her own heart meridian.
“Ugh.”
As decades of accumulated true energy drained from her body, her once-taut skin instantly shriveled.
*Pluck!*
Then, he reached into her mouth and swiftly pulled out a false tooth containing poison.
“......”
Watching Yang Seol writhe in pain, Bu Eun-seol used his Empty Hand Object Seizure technique.
*Riiip!*
A secret pocket sewn into the inner lining of her clothes tore open, and the items she had hidden inside tumbled to the ground.
“Hmm.”
Bu Eun-seol stared at a black-tinted vial that had fallen from her robes.
The vial was filled with Bone Melting Powder, a substance that could dissolve a human body without a trace with just a single drop.
“A useful item.”
“You don't know the first thing about torture.”
Even as Bu Eun-seol picked up the Bone Melting Powder, Yang Seol gave him a vicious smile instead.
“My body is already ruined. With no chance of survival, why would I tell you anything?”
She cackled and said.
“Kill me now or pour that powder on me. Do as you please.”
“Not at all. I won't use the Bone Melting Powder. And I won't kill you either.”
Bu Eun-seol flicked his fingers again.
Her body began to twist, folding until her face almost touched her stomach.
Watching her indifferently, Bu Eun-seol then struck her Chengqi acupoint, blocking her sight.
“What are you doing?”
“Didn't I say I wouldn't kill you?”
Bu Eun-seol wasn't killing her; he was twisting her muscles and vital energy.
“Do you think you can make me talk with torture?”
“I haven't even started yet.”
Bu Eun-seol smiled faintly.
“Now, for the final step, I'll seal your ears and your Mute Acupoint. You'll live like that—unable to see, hear, or speak... for about ten years.”
*Crack.*
Her body continued to contort until it finally crumpled into a ball.
The sight was so grotesque that she looked like a round lump of flesh with only Yang Seol's face attached.
“Human life is surprisingly resilient.”
Bu Eun-seol hoisted Yang Seol's balled-up body onto his shoulder.
“If you're locked in a small iron coffin and given just a little food, you can easily survive for years.”
Hearing those words, Yang Seol's eyes filled with terror.
To be trapped in darkness with her entire body rolled into a ball, blind, deaf, and mute?
It would be a living hell.
“I'll... I'll talk.”
But Bu Eun-seol continued walking as if he hadn't heard a thing.
Yang Seol then screamed at the top of her lungs.
“I'll talk! Please!”
*Stop.*
Bu Eun-seol stopped in his tracks and smirked.
In truth, no matter how advanced one's martial arts, there was no pressure point technique that could keep muscles twisted for ten years.
Besides, this was the Murim Alliance.
Even if she shrank to the size of a child, there was no way to secretly carry her out.
‘This kind of fear is unbearable.’
The 'corpse game' he used to play with Bu Jan-yang.
Once you were inside the coffin, you couldn't hear, see, or even sit up.
Even for the brave Bu Eun-seol, the corpse game had been an experience of terror and fear. And he had used that as a method of torture.
“I'll tell you everything, so please, just give me a clean death.”
“I'm listening.”
Bu Eun-seol didn't ask any questions.
He simply waited for her to spill the important information on her own.
“I am the Rakshasa Ghost Maiden of the Five Poisons School. For a long time, my school has been preparing to plant a spy in the Murim Alliance....”
‘The Five Poisons School?’
Listening to her story, Bu Eun-seol couldn't hide his bewilderment.
The Five Poisons School, which was known to have disappeared from Murim long ago. To think it still existed...
“The Five Poisons School still exists?”
“It does.”
“Where is it?”
“In the Neungra Mountain Valley of Mengkang Prefecture, Yunnan.”
“Strange. How could the Five Poisons School reappear?”
The Five Poisons School had thrown Murim into chaos by constantly distributing vicious poisons, and for that, it was annihilated overnight.
The mysterious thing, however, was that the force that destroyed them was never found.
The information networks of both the Orthodox and Unorthodox factions tried to find out who had eliminated a major sect like the Five Poisons School in an instant, but they could never find the answer.
The Five Poisons School, whose annihilation remained a mystery. And it had been perfectly rebuilt?
“A long time ago, a mysterious group approached the scattered masters of our school. They restored all of our lost secret poison arts and provided immense financial support to rebuild the school.”
“The identity of this group?”
“We don't know either. I swear it.”
“Then why did you infiltrate the Murim Alliance?”
“My purpose for coming to the Murim Alliance was....”
Afraid that Bu Eun-seol might change his mind, she began to frantically spill everything she knew.
According to Yang Seol, the Five Poisons School had long been controlled by a certain faction.
On their orders, they had been planting spies in the Murim Alliance for a long time.
And Yang Seol had shown the most promise... eventually rising to the position of the Hwa-mil-won Master.
‘So they absorb factions under their command and operate them as separate cells.’
The fact that the Five Poisons School had been planting spies in the Murim Alliance for a long time wasn't that surprising.
However, Bu Eun-seol was astonished by the methods of the faction controlling them.
Providing unconditional support to prevent any questions about their own identity.
The Five Poisons School, having grown under such conditions, had finally nurtured an outstanding spy named Yang Seol and placed her in a key position within the Murim Alliance.
“In that case, it's possible that this same faction was the one that destroyed the Five Poisons School in the first place.”
They had restored the secret formulas and poison arts known to the Five Poisons School.
Wouldn't that be proof that they were the ones who destroyed the school?
“Of course.”
“Then why didn't you confirm it?”
Yang Seol said with a pained expression.
“Against a power that could annihilate our school without a trace and then rebuild it... what good would resisting do?”
She had a point.
It was useless to stand against a faction that could deceive the information networks of both the Orthodox and Unorthodox factions.
They were simply grateful that their school had been rebuilt.
“Hmph.”
“W-wait. There's more important information.”
When Bu Eun-seol fell deep in thought, Yang Seol, with a fearful expression, began to spill more information.
“We recruited Danri Muk to embezzle funds from the Murim Alliance and delivered them to an assassin's guild. And that guild kidnapped children to use for human experiments.”
“Human experiments?”
“Yes. The drugs they were creating had many side effects, so they captured children to experiment on. The effects would manifest faster in the young.”
“You kidnapped children? But why has nothing been heard about it until now?”
Even for martial artists who disregarded the authorities, kidnapping children was an act they couldn't get away with.
“They were mostly orphans. No one comes looking for orphans, and they'll follow you meekly for a piece of bread.”
A smile played on Yang Seol's lips as if she were telling an amusing story.
“Besides, there's no need to dispose of orphans secretly. You can just burn them anywhere. And the children who survived were turned into assassins....”
*BOOM!*
Suddenly, Yang Seol's head exploded.
He had used a formidable burst of internal energy, a technique akin to an explosive projectile, to obliterate her head.
“She succeeded.”
Bu Eun-seol said calmly.
“Provoking my killing intent to choose a quick death.”
The Five Poisons School and Yang Seol had committed heinous acts that enraged both heaven and man.
Since she had no chance of survival anyway, she had provoked Bu Eun-seol's killing intent to receive a clean death.
And Bu Eun-seol, despite knowing this, had no choice but to kill her instantly.
That was how enraged he was.
*Grind.*
A bloody light flared in his eyes.
Orphans who lived each day in hardship, never knowing the love of a parent.
To take such children and subject them to cruel human experiments, and as if that weren't enough, turn the survivors into assassins?
Looking down at Yang Seol's corpse, Bu Eun-seol poured the Bone Melting Powder over what was left of her head.
*Sizzle...*
Blood and bodily fluids mingled as her skin and bones began to melt like taffy.
When her corpse had finally dissolved into a puddle of blood, Bu Eun-seol circulated his internal energy again.
The ground seemed to swallow like a living creature, instantly consuming the remains.
Turning around, Bu Eun-seol looked at the fallen Jong Jeong-yak and Neung Jo-un.
Jong Jeong-yak had fainted from the poison and internal injuries, while Neung Jo-un's Hun Acupoint had been sealed by Yang Seol.
From Bu Eun-seol's perspective, it would be better to let them die.
He wouldn't have to explain Yang Seol's death.
“Hmm.”
But Bu Eun-seol gathered his internal energy to heal them.
This investigation by the Murim Alliance was merely superficial anyway. Sooner or later, he would have to investigate the Alliance again.
And these two would be of great help to him in the future.
“Her qi and blood are in disarray.”
Neung Jo-un had used her Origin True Energy too abruptly, causing her to lose internal energy and disrupting her blood circulation.
*Woooong!*
As Bu Eun-seol infused his Reverse Polarity True Energy into her via Body-Separating Energy Transfer, Neung Jo-un's circulation instantly smoothed out, and color returned to her face.
“It seems losing some of her internal energy was unavoidable.”
The Reverse Polarity True Energy, which contained both yin and yang, had restored vitality to her body, but she had lost about a third of her internal power from using her Origin True Energy.
*Hoo.*
Bu Eun-seol took another deep breath, and Jong Jeong-yak's unconscious body floated up, drawn to his palm.
*Thwack!*
Bu Eun-seol struck her Mingmen acupoint with a swift palm strike.
She coughed up a mouthful of black blood, and her complexion gradually returned to normal.
He had infused her with his profound internal energy, instantly expelling the poison from her body.
“Ah.”
Jong Jeong-yak, who woke up first, looked around and let out a gasp of shock when she saw Bu Eun-seol.
“What happened? Where is the Master?”
“She was gone when I arrived.”
Jong Jeong-yak blinked.
“Young Master Seol, why are you here?”
Bu Eun-seol pointed to the fallen Neung Jo-un and said nonchalantly.
“The Dragon God Sword Unit suddenly surrounded me, so I managed to shake them off with my movement technique. Then I saw that woman being dragged here and infiltrated the place.”
“By yourself, Young Master Seol?”
“Yes. But by the time I finally arrived, you two were already unconscious, and there was no one else here.”
Jong Jeong-yak took a deep breath.
She was certain he was lying.
He must have come here, met the Hwa-mil-won Master, and dealt with her using his mysterious martial arts.
‘Just who is this man?’
Why did he approach me? Why is he helping me like this? Jong Jeong-yak's mind was in a whirl.
“It's the truth.”
Bu Eun-seol said in a low voice to Jong Jeong-yak, who was staring at him with a confused expression.
“Why would I lie?”
His features were utterly ordinary, but a mysterious light dwelled within his eyes.
‘He's not a bad person.’
If he had intended to harm them, there would have been no reason to come here.
But Bu Eun-seol had shaken off the Dragon God Sword Unit and risked his life to come here and save her. That was an undeniable fact.
“I suppose it can't be helped.”
Jong Jeong-yak smiled faintly.
She then took out a small wooden box from her robes.
“Take this. It's the twenty-five Ja-so-dan I promised you.”
Then she added in a low voice.
“Vice-Chief Danri committed suicide, so there won't be a trial. His matter is resolved, so please take it.”
“Not everything has been resolved yet.”
“Vice-Chief Danri took his own life during the investigation. That alone will cause a huge fallout.”
Taking a deep breath, she continued.
“But this is an internal matter of the Alliance. If you get any more involved, Young Master Seol, I can't guarantee your safety.”
Bu Eun-seol smiled faintly.
It was worth saving her, after all.
She had a great desire for success, but she also understood righteousness.
If Jong Jeong-yak rose through the ranks, she would surely be a great help to him when he investigated the Murim Alliance in the future.
And if someone like her attained a high position, the Murim Alliance itself... might become a slightly better organization.
“Are you sure I can go? Not everything is settled.”
“It can't be helped.”
Jong Jeong-yak flashed a smile, revealing her white teeth.
“I should just be thankful to have survived being caught up in all this.”
“I understand.”
Bu Eun-seol smiled calmly and accepted the Ja-so-dan.
“Then, I'll see you again.”
Jong Jeong-yak clasped her hands together.
“Thank you. For coming to save me.”
A confident smile was drawn on her lips.
As if he had no other choice, Bu Eun-seol calmly clasped his hands as well.
“I was just doing my duty. Farewell.”
He then turned and left the Hwa-mil-won.
As he left, members of the Inspection Hall rushed past him toward the Hwa-mil-won. It seemed they had belatedly discovered the master's true identity.
*Creeak.*
Stepping outside the massive gates of the Murim Alliance, Bu Eun-seol's eyes glinted coldly.
From this moment on, he intended to annihilate the Five Poisons School, the perpetrators who kidnapped children and committed all manner of atrocities.