Chapter 342
Chapter 342
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 350
Chapter Title: Poisoned at Oga Village
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Elder Huangbo Lun of the Huangbo Clan gazed at Oga Village in Hangzhou with sorrowful eyes.
A torrent of emotions swept over him.
‘To think it’s come to this because I got the first button wrong.’
It all felt like his fault.
The incident sparked by that wildcard—no, that monstrous freak—Namgung Hyuk had put the Huangbo Clan in peril.
It all seemed like his oversight.
‘What in the world is the Young Lord doing in Oga Village? Why has contact been cut off?’
Oga Village was a place the Huangbo Clan had cleared out to serve as a bridgehead for their advance into Zhejiang Province.
But contact with Young Lord Huangbo Sung and the second deputy leader of the Vast Wood Corps had been severed, forcing him to come himself.
“Still no word from the Young Lord?”
“Yes. Something feels off.”
“Hmm! He might have fallen to those bastards.”
It was a thought he hated to entertain, but he suspected Huangbo Chung and the deputy leader might have been taken out.
“We need to discreetly search for traces of the Young Lord. Everything might have started here. We might even find evidence to catch those vicious beasts.”
“Yes, Elder.”
“And on the surface, we’ll proceed with preparations to turn this place into our bridgehead.”
Both tasks carried immense weight, as the clan’s future hung in the balance.
Elder Huangbo Lun vowed to succeed at both, to refasten that misplaced button and restore their honor.
Elder Huangbo Lun, his thirty close aides, and fifty laborers approached Oga Village.
If the Black Dragon Sect still held sway as in the old days, they wouldn’t have dared enter so boldly.
Even though Hangzhou was now Namgung Clan territory, their influence wasn’t absolute like the Black Dragon Sect’s had been, making this possible.
Upon entering Oga Village, Elder Huangbo Lun let out a groan.
“Hmm!”
“C-Can this be?”
“It’s a total ghost town.”
“Unbelievable!”
A chilling aura permeated Oga Village, devoid of any warmth.
Not even a stray dog in sight—it felt like ghosts might appear any moment.
“Hmm! The Young Lord was definitely working here!”
“Yes. But even so, it shouldn’t be this devoid of life…….”
“That’s why I said investigate.”
His aides nodded at Elder Huangbo Lun’s words.
There were more than one or two suspicious signs at first glance.
“For now, let’s discuss our plans for this place moving forward.”
“Yes. The tasks ahead are a mountain.”
“Have the laborers and warriors rest for today.”
Elder Huangbo Lun organized his thoughts on the work ahead.
First, they’d have to raze the village and clear the land. Build new structures and redesign the layout.
Turning Oga Village into a branch of the Huangbo Clan would take considerable time.
“I’m starving after rushing here.”
“There are no inns nearby, so you’ll have to make do with the food we brought. At least quench your thirst with some water for now.”
“Hmm! Give the warriors some meat too. Regrettably, alcohol and more food—we’ll procure from nearby villages at first light tomorrow.”
“Yes!”
“We’ll be busy starting at least two days from now, so they need plenty of rest.”
His aides distributed meat and food to the warriors, handing out water in place of alcohol.
Gulp, gulp!
As Elder Huangbo Lun drank the water and reviewed his plans over and over, he flinched.
“Hm?”
“What’s wrong?”
“Doesn’t the water taste a bit off?”
“The water’s from a different region, so maybe it just tastes different?”
“Hmm. Maybe?”
Strange?
He furrowed his brow while eating the meat and drinking the water.
“Where did this water come from?”
“There was a well in the village. We checked it just in case, and it seemed fine.”
“Hmm…….”
What problem could there be with the village well?
If it were contaminated, the smell would have given it away.
“But why does a cold wind keep blowing?”
“Feels like a draft.”
“…On a day this humid and hot?”
“Uh……uh?”
It was while he watched his flustered aides.
Elder Huangbo Lun, mid-chew on his meat, suddenly widened his eyes.
“Mmph? Mmgh?!”
A sudden chill hit him, followed by gut-wrenching pain like his insides were being torn.
“Mmgh? Uuugh?!”
“Gah, kuhuk!”
“P-Poison, it’s poiiiison!”
Elder Huangbo Lun hurriedly circulated his qi, but it kept breaking off.
‘D-Does this make sense? Poisoned without even realizing it?’
The water tasted a bit odd, and the wind was a bit chilly, but……
Flinch.
In that instant, Elder Huangbo Lun shuddered.
There was only one group in the world that mixed two poisons to create a deadly toxin like this.
The Tang Clan of Sichuan!
No one but the Central Plains’ foremost poison experts could blend multiple poisons so stealthily.
An image of the Tang girl from the meeting flashed in Elder Huangbo Lun’s mind.
‘C-Could that wench have been here!’
“T-Tang Clan, you bastaaards!”
Spewing his boiling rage, Elder Huangbo Lun dashed outside.
He circulated his qi to suppress the twisting poison in his gut.
But his already poisoned body was doomed.
“Urghhh!”
Elder Huangbo Lun doubled over and vomited.
He glared ahead with bloodshot eyes.
“N-No way! E-Everyone’s poisoned……!”
Seeing his warriors collapsed and foaming at the mouth, Elder Huangbo Lun despaired.
What kind of poison was this!
Stagger!
He stumbled and finally collapsed to the ground.
Everyone had fallen.
Everyone!
‘I let my guard down! To think they poisoned the well and waited!’
He hadn’t imagined it.
This was clearly a premeditated trap, knowing Huangbo Clan members would come.
If they hadn’t known, they wouldn’t have poisoned the well.
“N-No……!”
Thud!
With a grief-stricken face, he scanned his surroundings before collapsing limply.
His vision blurred.
He couldn’t tell if it was encroaching darkness or his eyes closing.
That was when it happened.
“U-Ugh…….”
A red glow flickered in his hazy vision.
Step, step.
Footsteps echoed as someone approached.
‘W-Who…….’
“S-Save…….”
The feet stopped before him and prodded his shoulder.
Tap, tap.
“Save…….”
Tap, tap, tap.
“Sa…….”
Tap……
‘You damn bastard!’
Why keep poking with your foot!
This isn’t a test of guts!
But contrary to his rage, only boiling groans escaped his throat.
Gurgle!
Foam was starting to bubble from his mouth.
The masked man—Namgung Hyuk—pulled down his mask and looked at Elder Huangbo Lun.
Elder Huangbo Lun’s fading vision caught Namgung Hyuk’s face.
“You, you…….”
Why the hell is this bastard here?!
Confirming Namgung Hyuk’s face as the last thing he saw, Elder Huangbo Lun’s head drooped limply.
Namgung Hyuk narrowed his eyes at the foaming man.
“I said leave him with enough sense to talk, so why’d you fuck them up this bad?”
Namgung Hyuk’s gaze turned to the Tang siblings.
Tang Myeong-ok shook her head vigorously.
“The yin-yang poison mix was perfect.”
“Then why are they like this?”
“That’s because Peng added an extra spoonful.”
She desperately pointed at Peng Junghyuk off to the side.
Peng Junghyuk, who had been diligently loading the fainted Huangbo Clan warriors onto carts, flinched.
“Hey, they’re all about to croak!”
“No, look at this! They’re still kicking, aren’t they?”
Stretch.
Seeing a warrior with his tongue lolling out and eyes rolled back, Peng Junghyuk panicked.
“Why’s this guy like that? Oh, heart’s still beating. He’s alive.”
“Damn, that bastard tried to wipe them out on purpose.”
“No, I just had some grudges built up, so I added one extra spoonful.”
Slap, slap!
Shiver!
Peng Junghyuk stroked the warrior’s cheek and grinned awkwardly.
“That’s how Huangbo bastards are, right? Tough on the outside, soft as this inside. Ha, haha!”
Namgung Hyuk clicked his tongue.
“Move them quick. I’ve got questions.”
“Yes, sir!”
The group swiftly loaded the unconscious Huangbo Clan warriors from Oga Village onto carts and carted them off.
Oga Village fell silent once more.
* * *
Blink, blink!
“Ughhh!”
Elder Huangbo Lun groaned in distress as he opened his eyes.
‘A-Am I alive?’
Hadn’t he been killed by the Sichuan Tang Clan’s poison?
No—if he were dead, there wouldn’t be this pain or groaning.
Wincing at the sunlight filtering through the bars, Elder Huangbo Lun turned his head.
“Where……am I…….”
Flinch!
Spotting what looked like corpses sprawled on the floor, bristling with needles like hedgehogs, Elder Huangbo Lun screamed.
“Y-Young Looord! Young Lord!”
“E-Elder?”
“Y-Young Lord! Are you alright! Oh no, what happened!”
The Young Lord whose contact had been cut off was alive!
Though his appearance was ragged enough to send beggars running, smelly and pathetic, Huangbo Chung was undoubtedly alive.
“The Vast Wood Corps too! The Vast Wood Corps! Any dead? No dead ones?”
“N-No…… B-But Elder, how are you here? Did you come to rescue me?”
“Yes, to rescue you……to rescue…….”
He’d gone to rescue and got caught instead.
Unable to say it outright, Elder Huangbo Lun coughed awkwardly.
Huangbo Chung’s expression turned subtle.
“…You got caught?”
“…….”
“Fuck.”
Huangbo Chung, struggling to rise, despaired and flopped back down.
“What kind of Huangbo Clan elder gets nabbed by those punks! Goddamn it!”
“C-Chung! I’m your uncle…….”
“Fuck! This is all because of you, Uncle!”
“T-That’s…….”
“Arghhh! That’s why elders need strong martial arts! Negotiation my ass! An elder who can’t even catch juniors—what kind of elder is that!”
Stab him with a knife already.
“Did you have a nice family reunion?”
At the sudden voice, Elder Huangbo Lun turned his head, while Huangbo Chung shuddered and curled up.
Though masked, they instinctively knew it was Namgung Hyuk.
Elder Huangbo Lun’s neck veins bulged.
“You scum! Do you know what you’re doing right now!”
“Kidnapping, imprisonment, assault.”
“…Huh?”
You know it well?
Namgung Hyuk curled his lip.
“But so what?”
“…W-What?”
“As long as you don’t get caught, right?”
“Not caught? You bastard! Think I don’t know who you are!”
“Who?”
“Namgung…….”
Whack!
“Kuwaaak!”
Elder Huangbo Lun screamed from the clubbing from behind.
Peng Junghyuk raised his club.
“This old fart. We’re the Black Wind Squad.”
“…You bastaaards! The B-Black Wind Squad is the Namgung Claaaan!”
Whack! Whack!
“Black Wind Squad! Black Wind Squad! Repeat after me—Black Wind Squad!”
“Keurk!”
“Say Black Wind Squad, Black Wind Squad!”
“S-Save……keurk!”
Elder Huangbo Lun let out agonized screams.
What kind of thunderbolt was this?
Were these really righteous faction juniors!
Heirs of the Five Great Clans, pillars of the righteous sects!
Then, Huangbo Chung lifted his head.
“Uncle!”
Elder Huangbo Lun looked at Huangbo Chung with heated eyes.
He endured the beatings and shouted.
“Young Lord! Don’t worry about me! I am Huangbo Lun! The spirit of a First Elder of the Huangbo Clan will never yield to such brutality…….”
“Black Wind Squad!”
“…What?”
“They’ll beat us night and day for three days if we don’t say Black Wind Squad, so just say it. Black Wind Squad!”
“W-What did you saaaay?! Young Loooard!”
Whack! Whack! Whack!
Elder Huangbo Lun screamed at Peng Junghyuk’s ferocious beating, as if he meant to kill.
“Blaaack Wiiiind Squaaaad! Blaaack, Black Wind Squad broooothers! I’m sorry! Sorry, so stop beaaating!”
Peng Junghyuk wiped his brow and exhaled.
“Whew! Now you’re talking sense.”
You damn bastard, you just beat me!
Grit, grit!
Elder Huangbo Lun glared at Peng Junghyuk, teeth grinding, then shut his mouth and turned at the felt gaze.
Namgung Hyuk stood before him, grinning slyly.
The root of all this.
Though smiling lightly, tension filled Elder Huangbo Lun’s face as he regarded him.
“W-What do you waaant! The m-meeting?”
Namgung Hyuk scratched his mask.
“Meeting?”
“Y-Yes! Get an answer from my Clan Head about the last mee…….”
“What’re you talking about? When did we ever meet?”
“…….”
This bastard?
Namgung Hyuk snickered.
“And meetings are for friends.”
“…….”
“We’re not friends with you old fogeys, are we?”
Cold sweat poured down Elder Huangbo Lun’s forehead.
‘T-This guy’s temperament is completely different.’
Namgung Hyuk spoke.
“No negotiations. No demands.”
He straightened his mask and continued softly.
“I’m taking it all anyway.”
Elder Huangbo Lun gasped, and Namgung Hyuk turned.
“Time to wrap this up!”
The Black Wind Squad(?) turned with him.
Watching them walk away, Elder Huangbo Lun stared blankly.
Something……was terribly wrong.
No, it felt like they’d poked a monster they shouldn’t have.
‘Clan Head, you bastard, I did the right thing, didn’t I!’
Elder Huangbo Lun’s silent scream echoed through the warehouse.