Chapter 150
Chapter 150
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: penny
Chapter: 150
Chapter Title: Forgotten Antidote
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Do Da-woong sat slumped in his chair with a haggard face, staring at the deserted interior of the inn where flies buzzed lazily.
Ever since the Silver River Pavilion had been downgraded to this inn, not even a single customer had shown their face, and now the members of the Frontline Association huddled together, letting out deep sighs.
It made the already gloomy Galaxy Inn look even more dismal and cluttered.
Do Da-woong peered out the window with his weary eyes.
“Damn it.”
Ever since swallowing the poison pill Namgung Hyeok had given him, curses flowed nonstop from his mouth.
Even eating felt like chewing sand, and drinking liquor tasted bitterly of life itself, not worth living.
Occasionally, his stomach would bubble and cramp with pain, sending cold sweat down his back.
It was the same for the other Frontline Association members—the back-alley thugs who once ruled the streets of Hefei.
All of them sat blankly with gaunt, exhausted faces, heaving sighs laced with misery.
“Huuuuh!”
“Haaaah!”
“Damn it!”
Do Da-woong glanced at his comrades and spat another curse.
He missed the old days.
He missed them so much it was driving him mad.
‘Are we really gonna drop dead like this?’
He hadn’t slept properly since taking the poison pill, and exhaustion gnawed at him day by day.
Scrub scrub scrub scrub! Scrub scrub scrub scrub!
From one side, Seo Chil-hong, the boss of the Crimson Hong Gang, glared at Do Da-woong while vigorously wiping a battered table.
“When the hell is that bastard coming?!”
“That bastard?”
“Yeah, that Namgung family son of a bitch!”
“You crazy fuck, daring to badmouth the alliance leader?”
“Bullshit and damn it! Shut your pie hole, you puffy-faced prick—don’t get pissy with that deathbed mug of yours!”
As Seo Chil-hong scowled, Do Da-woong flinched and shrank back slightly.
Seo Chil-hong clicked his tongue.
“That’s why you shouldn’t have stirred shit up and eaten that poison pill!”
“Then should I have just died right there? You ate one too.”
“Because you ate it, the whole mood made everyone eat one, you idiot who stirred shit!”
“You son of a bitch? Talking back to a silver-rank right now?”
“Silver-rank? You fuck! If that bastard doesn’t give us the antidote, we’re all dead anyway—worried about ranks? Wanna die for real?!”
Bloodshot veins bulged in Seo Chil-hong’s eyes.
Do Da-woong cleared his throat awkwardly.
“He’ll give it soon!”
“So, when?”
“Soon...”
“You’ve been saying ‘soon’ for a whole month now, you prick!”
The grinding of Seo Chil-hong’s teeth sent chills down spines.
Do Da-woong rolled his eyes around, scanning the room.
The other black dao bosses stared at him with displeasure.
Killing intent rose subtly, making him swallow dryly.
Do Da-woong hurriedly redirected the blame.
“But if you think about it, isn’t this all that pig bastard Pa Ho-un’s fault?”
“Pa Ho-un?”
“Straight up, if that guy hadn’t given the young master the poison pill, we wouldn’t be in this mess.”
“...Yeah. If he hadn’t given the poison pill, it wouldn’t have come to this.”
“Right! Who actually goes and fetches a poison pill just because someone says to? Can you fetch one for yourself? Huh? Can you?!”
As Do Da-woong raised his voice, Seo Chil-hong flinched but soon nodded in agreement.
The Frontline Association thugs nodded along, eyes widening, and began pouring blame on the absent Black Point Hefei branch chief, Pa Ho-un.
“Yeah! He’s the real culprit.”
“I knew from the start when that bastard’s jowls quivered. Sneaky, underhanded prick. Selling us out?”
“Look, even he’s missing from here. Hell, is Black Point even a proper murim faction? Just another back-alley black dao like us.”
“I’m gonna strip this prick’s ribs today and roast ’em.”
“Guts on a skewer for drinking snacks, that rotten fuck!”
Fierce voices erupted from all sides.
Nearly a month since taking the poison pill, the venom burned hotter than ever.
Seeing this, Do Da-woong grinned slyly.
‘Simpletons, heh heh!’
He felt a twinge of pity for Pa Ho-un, who’d instantly become the target of Hefei’s black dao bosses’ resentment, but what could he do?
If he wasn’t okay with it, he should’ve been here.
Just as blame and rage filled the Galaxy Inn...
Thud thud thud!
Heavy footsteps shook the wooden floor as Pa Ho-un burst into the inn.
The moment they saw his jiggling flab, Seo Chil-hong and the others shot to their feet.
Seo Chil-hong gripped the kitchen knife at his waist.
“You traitorous dog...”
“What’re you doing hanging around here!”
“What do you mean, I’m gonna...”
“The young master’s back!”
The black dao bosses, including Do Da-woong, shouted.
“The young master’s back?!”
“He’s, he’s back! Let’s go get the antidote!”
“Waaaaah!”
* * *
The group heading to the Orthodox Alliance’s martial tournament was sparse.
Namgung Hyeok, Namgung Ryong, Geon Cheon-hwi, Tak Hyeok-dong, Jang Ung, Geum Cheom-sang.
Plus one cart.
It was a far cry from the grand processions to the Silver Phantom Stables or the Hebei Peng Clan.
Namgung Jang-cheon’s pupils trembled faintly.
‘Feels kinda backwards...?’
The Orthodox Alliance trip, which should’ve been the most splendid, looked this shabby.
No, that wasn’t the issue.
The more he looked at Namgung Hyeok’s expression, the more uneasy he felt—like he wanted to call off the whole Orthodox Alliance trip right now.
But he couldn’t.
Namgung family retainers had already swarmed out to see Namgung Hyeok off, and the elders beside him were waving and wishing him luck.
“We believe in you!”
“Go show them how sharp the Namgung family sword is!”
“Win and spread our family’s fame across the heavens, heh heh!”
Namgung Jang-cheon swallowed a rising sigh and patted Namgung Hyeok’s shoulder lightly.
“...Well, since you’re going anyway. Do well. Don’t cause trouble, don’t cause trouble, don’t cause trouble. Got it?”
“Why say the same thing three times?”
“Instead of obsessing over the Clear Spirit Oil, just get some other spirit pill...”
“That’s why I said get me the Millennium Lotus Flower?”
“...We believe in you.”
Veins bulged on the back of Namgung Jang-cheon’s hand.
Namgung Hyeok grinned and removed Namgung Jang-cheon’s hand from his shoulder.
“Then, I’ll be off!”
As Namgung Hyeok chuckled and turned...
Huh?
Who’re those guys?
His head tilted at the Hebei Peng Clan warriors and Peng Yeon-hwa, Little Sword Princess So Hye-yeon, lined up naturally behind.
“Why’re they coming along?”
“They’re famous houses in the jianghu too, so of course they’re joining the tournament.”
“Ah...”
“Serve our guests properly on the way—no slip-ups, be courteous.”
“Why me?”
“What? Because they’re guests who visited our main house, so naturally...”
“Once we leave here, they’re not our guests anymore.”
Huh?
Hearing it now...
“Why should I wait on greenhorns whose blood hasn’t even dried?”
Namgung Jang-cheon was speechless at Namgung Hyeok’s brazen tone.
‘...Why does the second kid seem to lose his humanity the healthier he gets?’
Were health and personality inversely proportional?
His old Namgung Hyeok—always warm-hearted and polite despite his frail body—felt like a distant memory...
“I should be the one served. Oh, they can be porters. They looked sturdier than expected.”
Ahh, son... that’s a bit much.
“Actually, good idea. They’ll deliver luggage all the way to the Orthodox Alliance.”
Ahh, just shattering all the memories.
Namgung Jang-cheon let out a deep sigh.
Seeing his worried father, Namgung Hyeok cocked his head.
“I’ll be off. Heh heh!”
Namgung Hyeok sauntered down the main road, chuckling wickedly without looking back.
Namgung Jang-cheon clutched his face.
He wondered if this was really the right call.
“We should’ve sent a family elder with him...”
“Heh heh heh! We’ve got Ryong with him, Family Head.”
“......”
The elders nodded with smiles, but Namgung Jang-cheon worried more, knowing Namgung Ryong would even fake death if Namgung Hyeok said so.
Look at him now.
Dumping luggage on the Hebei Peng Clan warriors before Namgung Hyeok... Huh? Huh?
Dumping first?
No way, dumping ahead?!
How did my kid turn out like that?!
But Namgung Jang-cheon’s shocked cries were buried sadly amid the retainers’ send-off cheers.
No one found that behavior odd!
‘The main house... it’s gotten weird!’
With Namgung Jang-cheon’s long sigh, Namgung Hyeok’s group vanished down the road.
* * *
Namgung Hyeok hummed lightly as he headed toward the Orthodox Alliance.
“The Orthodox Alliance is in Hubei’s Wuhan?”
“Yes!”
“It used to be in Shaanxi.”
“Pardon? The Orthodox Alliance was in Shaanxi?”
“Yeah, at the end, it was in Shaanxi.”
During the fierce Demon Blood Tribulation, the Orthodox Alliance had bases scattered across the Central Plains.
Not really bases—more like borrowing estates from other sects.
Chased or chasing demons from all sides, they kept relocating.
“What a generational shift.”
Geum Cheom-sang eyed Namgung Hyeok oddly before shaking his head.
It was as the procession crested a ridge toward Hubei’s Wuhan.
“Yooouuung maaasteeerrrr!”
“Biiiig brooo!”
Namgung Hyeok turned at the faint cries echoing from behind.
A group kicked up yellow dust as they sprinted toward them.
Sweating profusely despite midwinter, breathing raggedly, yet running diligently.
The Hebei Peng Clan warriors reacted like lightning.
“Halt!”
“Who goes there!”
Clang clang clang!
Startled by the Hebei Peng Clan’s menacing aura, Do Da-woong, Pa Ho-un, and the others skidded to a panicked stop.
‘Fuck, aren’t those Peng Clan guys?’
‘D-Draw swords already—what do we say?’
‘Shit... gonna die pretending to know him?’
The Frontline Association black dao leaders panicked, eyes darting.
Peng Yeon-hwa glanced at Namgung Hyeok.
“Do you know them? Their looks...”
To them, the thugs looked villainous enough to scream “bad guys” from their faces alone, charging in a pack—impossible not to be on guard.
Namgung Hyeok eyed Do Da-woong and crew indifferently.
“What’s up?”
Do Da-woong brightened and poured out his woes.
“Aigoo! Big bro... Young master! We rushed here hearing you were back! If you’d given word, we’d have prepared a welcome... But leaving right away like this—we’re really, really bummed...”
Bummed enough to die.
Namgung Hyeok nodded at Do Da-woong’s desperate, feverish plea.
“Oh, yeah? Was just gonna pop over to Hubei real quick.”
“Ah, ahahahaha! I see. Right after returning from the Peng Clan, straight to Hubei.”
“Problem?”
“Pr-Problem?”
You bastard!
Forgot the poison pill completely?!
Do Da-woong snorted but shrank under the wary stares from the Hebei Peng Clan warriors.
But with lives on the line, he couldn’t mind others.
“Young master, the antidote. You gotta give us the antidote.”
“Hm?”
“I mean, our poison pill... the antidote.”
“Oh!”
As Namgung Hyeok exclaimed like he’d just remembered, Do Da-woong and the others’ faces turned ashen.
This prick really forgot!
‘Fuck, forget something else! So many lives hanging here!’
Do Da-woong masked his fury and forced a smile.
“You said you’d give it when you got back, haha.”
“Right! One sec.”
Color returned to Do Da-woong and crew’s faces at Namgung Hyeok’s response.
Finally free from this damn poison terror.
“...Huh? Don’t have it?”
“Pardon? Pardon?!”
“Must’ve left it behind.”
“Ah! W-We’ll run back and get it right now. Just tell us where...”
“Think I left it at the Hebei Peng Clan. Wanna go fetch it?”
...What the fuck did this prick just spew?
Cracks spiderwebbed across Do Da-woong, Seo Chil-hong, and Pa Ho-un’s faces.
Namgung Hyeok said innocently.
“Hey, still five months left, right? I’ll be back soon.”
What bullshit is that?!
Live in fear for five more months?!
Like this?
“Wh-Where in Hubei...”
“Orthodox Alliance. Tournament’s on. Think it’ll take five months?”
“You son of a...”
“Son of a?”
“A new hero will be born. Heh, heh heh heh heh!”
Do Da-woong swallowed sobs inside and burst into awkward laughter.
Namgung Hyeok smiled and patted Do Da-woong’s shoulder.
“If it gets risky, swallow another pill. Extends it about three months more, they say. Weird guy, huh?”
Namgung Hyeok placed a vial of poison pills in Do Da-woong’s palm.
‘This fun for you, you prick?’
Veins throbbed on Do Da-woong’s forehead.
‘But this psycho prick forgot the antidote but brought more poison?!’
Human bastard for real?
Do Da-woong’s jaw trembled as he watched the Namgung family demon chuckle and walk away.
“......Fuck.”
“Wh-What if he doesn’t come back in five months?”
“What else.”
Do Da-woong eyed the poison pill vial.
“Gotta swallow another one.”
The Frontline Association black dao leaders thought that if hell existed on earth, this was it.