Heavenly Slaughter Sorrow Poison (1)
I left the prison and headed back to Yueyang.
I hadn't slept much, but that didn't matter right now.
First, I needed to speak with Jeong Gwang. I had to hear everything he knew. How much that actually was, I couldn't be sure.
From Shaanxi to Hunan.
For most people, traveling that distance overnight would seem insane. They'd look at you like you'd lost your mind.
Yet I flew across that very distance.
As I ran, I thought about the man Jeong Gwang had mentioned—Mu-je.
A figure who remained hidden from the world. Someone with no connection to the imperial court.
And yet he claimed he would unify the Murim.
Unify the Murim? The idea almost made me laugh.
Why would anyone want to do something like that? What possible reason could there be?
What intrigued me most was still the Formless Poison.
Was there any connection between Mu-je and the Formless Poison?
Honestly, I didn't think so. His actions didn't add up.
If he were the source of the Formless Poison, Jeong Gwang's situation made no sense.
What reason would there be to plant someone like him as the Outer Hall Master of the Black Merchant Sect?
With those idle thoughts swirling in my head, I continued to move.
The scenery whipped past me. Even in the dark of night, I relied on the moonlight to race along mountain paths, cross rivers, leap over valleys, and sprint across fields and paddies.
Before dawn broke, I arrived at the Song-gye-mun.
A quick check revealed that Jeong Gwang and his son, Jeong Mu-so, were sleeping together in the same room.
Was he that happy to have his child back? Jeong Mu-so was sixteen—he was hardly a little boy who needed to share a room with his father.
At that age, most boys hated sharing a room with their dads.
Still, seeing that they were both safe and sound, I found a quiet spot to regulate my energy for a while.
No matter how limitless my body might be, even I wasn't free from fatigue.
A short meditation would do me good. Time to catch my breath.
Song-gye Mountain was a place of pure air and beautiful scenery. The energy here was exceptionally clear.
I sat on a wide, scenic boulder and sank into meditation. The faint scent of pine gently cleared my mind.
Just as I thought. Environment really is everything.
People didn't obsess over feng shui for no reason.
Though their methods lacked structure, everyone understood the truth: how deeply the environment affects a person.
After a brief meditation, my mind felt refreshed once more.
By then the sun had fully risen, and everyone would be awake.
Time to go. No need to wake them.
"Huh? Rimju?! When did you arrive?!"
"Just a moment ago. Have you organized everything about Mu-je?"
"Of course. I've been waiting for your arrival, Rimju."
"Good. Then let's hear it. Are you busy right now?"
"Not at all. This place is truly wonderful to live in. The people are kind, and there's nothing to trouble one's mind. Ah, I asked the sect leader if he could accept Mu-so into the Song-gye-mun. He gladly agreed."
"Oh, is that so? That's excellent news. As you said, this place has clear energy. It must have shaped the hearts of those who live here as well."
"It seems so. After dealing with people who picked fights over the smallest things every day, seeing the people here makes me feel like I'm the filthy one."
"Filthy? You didn't choose to do those things. Shall we go inside? I need to hear the full story."
"Of course, Rimju. Please, come in."
"Ah, I'd like the Song-gye-mun leader to hear this as well."
"Understood. I'll inform him right away. Mu-so! Come here!"
At Jeong Gwang's call, his son Jeong Mu-so came running over eagerly.
"Go and escort the sect leader. It's not proper etiquette to summon him, but if he hears that Rimju has arrived, he won't mind."
"Yes, Father."
Mu-so flashed a bright smile and dashed off.
"His expression is quite cheerful."
"Even if his father is worthless, being able to stay together like this must make him happy."
"Worthless? Either way, you're together again now."
Jeong Gwang smiled softly. Looking at him now, he seemed like nothing more than an ordinary father.
The Song-gye-mun leader arrived shortly, and Ma Won-pyeong, the Cheong-ho-mun leader, came with him.
"I wonder if this is a place I should be intruding upon…."
"Not at all. You came at the perfect time. Sit with us."
And so, Jeong Gwang, Song Jong-dae, Ma Won-pyeong, and I sat around a table. Jeong Gwang promptly served pine needle tea, placing a cup before each of us.
The room filled with the fragrant aroma of the tea.
It reminded me of the meditation I'd done earlier. My mind felt clearer just breathing it in.
"Ahem. Then… I will tell you everything this one knows. It concerns Mu-je and matters related to him. However, since this one was not in a particularly high position, my knowledge is limited. Please do not hold it against me."
"No one here will think that way, so don't worry."
After I spoke, Jeong Gwang swallowed nervously and continued.
"In truth, very few people truly know about Mu-je. I have heard his realm is at the Manifestation Realm, but no one has properly confirmed even that. Some say he is beyond it, yet there is no evidence. He has never created his own sect or organization. Therefore, I don't even know which group I truly belong to. I only know what I was tasked to do."
"What exactly were you doing?"
"In the Black Merchant Sect, my role was to expand our influence in places that wouldn't draw attention while generating enormous profits in the process. I was also siphoning off a portion of those profits. I knew that money was going to Mu-je."
"Siphoning profits? From the Black Merchant Sect without their knowledge?"
"Yes, that's correct. The Black Merchant Sect is an unorthodox sect. They had no one skilled in commerce. Even if I laid out falsified ledgers right in front of them, no one could tell the difference. So I was essentially stealing blind money."
"Why go through such a troublesome process? Why nurture other sects just to do something like that?"
"From what I understand, it matches Mu-je's personality. He is someone who hates stepping into the spotlight."
A strange sense of kinship stirred within me.
In truth, I was the same. I was the one crouching in the shadows of the dark forest, quietly watching the baby bird.
"Still… his methods were wrong. There was no need to use your child as a hostage to control someone like you."
"Mu-je is an extremely suspicious man. Or perhaps those beneath him are. I cannot say for sure."
"Even if those beneath him are suspicious, they wouldn't have done it without Mu-je's approval. I think I have a rough idea of what kind of man he is. By the way, that sect where your son was held—the one in Wuchang."
"You mean the Seong-chang-mun?"
"Yes, that place. Then isn't it also connected to Mu-je? Are there other children like Mu-so being held there?"
"It's possible. Or it may not be. But there is one thing I am certain of. The Seong-chang-mun has no idea of Mu-je's existence."
"They don't know? Then they were simply taking in children and monitoring them?"
"That is what I believe, at least."
"How meticulous. Controlling information like that isn't easy."
Looking at his methods, it reminded me of the Haomun.
A tightly compartmentalized cell structure. People who didn't even know which organization they belonged to, yet still fed information.
In fact, there was nothing better than a cell structure for managing information.
Not everyone involved in a plan needed to know everything.
That only created too many cooks in the kitchen. It also increased the risk of information leaks.
Precise information control. The simplicity of only doing what you're told.
It was a fundamental principle that worked in any era.
Though in practice, it was incredibly difficult to maintain.
"Then you could be called a funding source. But how did someone at the Super Peak level like you end up in such a position? If it was just about manipulating ledgers and handling money, there would be no reason to send someone with considerable martial prowess like yourself, right?"
"Ah, that… This isn't certain, but the Black Merchant Sect leader was someone who would eventually be eliminated."
"Eliminated?"
"Yes. For now, we were only siphoning a portion, but eventually the plan was to swallow the entire sect."
"And then you would take his place?"
"That part isn't certain. However, the person who approached me hinted at it. That when the time came, I would be able to be with Mu-so."
"That would never have happened."
"I knew that as well. If I had fully believed it, I wouldn't have followed you, Rimju."
Jeong Gwang gave a light chuckle.
Indeed, it wasn't easy for someone who had been an outer hall master to suddenly become the sect leader.
He would have been far more likely to be used and then discarded. Releasing the hostage would have meant they no longer needed him.
"In any case, that was my role. And even Mu-je has those who could be called his enemies."
"Enemies?"
When I asked, Jeong Gwang nodded heavily and answered.
"Not much is known about those enemies either. Only rumors—that Mu-je mentioned them, or that they were the ones behind certain incidents. That's the extent of it."
"You said 'enemies'—plural? Not just one? There are multiple?"
"Yes, that's what I understand. One is called Eun-yeong, the other Jam-ryong."
"Eun-yeong and Jam-ryong. Every single one of them has a name perfect for living hidden in the shadows."
"Exactly. That's why these are names you've never heard before, isn't it, Rimju?"
Now that he mentioned it, he was right.
Thinking along those lines, my dark forest hypothesis seemed correct.
There was nothing to gain from making a name for yourself and running wild. You'd only draw every ounce of attention in the world and be obliterated under concentrated fire.
"By any chance, are any of them poison users? I'm referring to something I call the Formless Poison. Once poisoned by it, cracks form in the dantian and impurities clog all the meridians. In the end, it erodes one's own qi, causing the victim to waste away and die."
Jeong Gwang looked at me and answered immediately.
"That sounds very similar to the Cheon-sal-bi-dok used by Eun-yeong."
"Heavenly Slaughter Sorrow Poison?"
"Yes. From what you've described, it seems to match."
"How interesting. Then tell me everything you know about it. About Eun-yeong and this Heavenly Slaughter Sorrow Poison."