Chapter 11
Chapter 11
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 11
Chapter Title: Blood Bird Hand's Fury
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It was a situation similar to the first time he'd met her.
The only difference was that now, the dynamic of who was helping whom had flipped.
Lee Seon brushed the dirt off his clothes and stood up.
"Thanks for the help, but this is my fight."
"You should've spoken up sooner. Then I would've let you die."
"…"
What a way to talk.
Dang Ha-ryeong shot a glance at Wi Yu-gi.
"Can't take the poison back now, can we?"
She was the one who'd kicked him square in the face without so much as an introduction.
And the target happened to be this lunatic old man who yammered about killing her at every opportunity.
He'd cling to it until the day he died—no way he'd let it slide.
"…Yeah. This is gonna be rough."
Wi Yu-gi spat out a glob of bloody phlegm.
"Rough day, huh."
The poison spreading through his body made him reluctant to properly circulate his internal energy.
The faster and more forcefully he moved, the quicker and fiercer the toxin would rampage inside him.
But reluctance didn't mean impossibility.
So Wi Yu-gi was deliberately holding back his internal energy as much as possible.
All for that one chance.
He'd wait until the opponent grew accustomed to his speed, then unleash a burst of power to exploit their carelessness.
She handled poison well enough, but she was just a green rookie who hadn't even debuted in the martial world.
Even seasoned veterans would struggle to react to such erratic maneuvers.
In fact, he'd already succeeded in throwing her off-balance mid-air.
All that remained was shredding her defenseless body.
'That bitch ruined it!'
It was the moment he was about to land the finishing blow.
If only that random woman hadn't leaped out of nowhere.
Wi Yu-gi glared at her with eyes blazing like hot coals.
Dang Ha-ryeong's face hardened in tension.
He'd landed a solid hit, yet she rose unscathed.
Proof she outranked him.
Wi Yu-gi scanned the woman before him from head to toe.
Her eyes were coldly sharp, like the edge of a veiled blade, her pupils brimming with venom as they fixed on him.
Like a beautiful flower hiding thorns, ready to devour any fool who approached, mesmerized by her looks.
"So you're Dang Ha-ryeong!"
Crimson energy began seeping from Wi Yu-gi's body.
His eyes stained blood-red, gleaming like flames in the darkness.
"A heart—just one extra heart, that's all. Heh heh."
Demonic arts were different from orthodox martial techniques.
They offered rapid early progress, but at the cost of vicious side effects and sinister methods.
The Crimson Hand Demonic Art that Wi Yu-gi wielded demanded killing to advance.
Its power grew with every drop of essence and blood absorbed.
The more blood coated his hands, the more they resembled gauntlets, turning ever redder.
Once fully bloodied, his bare fists could rival any weapon.
Demonic energy clung to them, rotting the living with a mere touch.
Power to reduce foes to puddles of gore.
Ruthlessness fueled by slaughter.
The reason the martial world once feared him as the Blood Bird Hand.
Yet for all that destructive might, it bore a fatal flaw.
"Heh heh heh heh."
The more he used it, the more demonic frenzy filled him, eroding his sanity over time.
A constant gamble with madness.
"I've been looking for you. And here you walk right in!"
Even at the peak of demonic ascension, where he could hold his reason longer than before.
The art's inherent backlash remained inescapable.
"…How do you know my name?"
Her gaze flicked subtly toward Lee Seon.
Seeing the suspicion in her eyes, Lee Seon bristled.
"Wasn't me."
"I didn't say a word."
"Your eyes did."
"…Did they?"
Ignoring the prickling stare, Dang Ha-ryeong scrutinized the man before her.
Skin pale as if it'd never seen the sun.
Hands red as if dipped in blood.
A face whose age defied guessing.
No way she'd overlook a warrior with such striking features.
From renowned old masters to rising stars, countless names flashed through her mind—but none matched.
Which meant a hidden expert who hadn't surfaced in decades.
"Some old-generation master, huh? Am I right?"
"I'd love to say no, but he beat me to it."
Dang Ha-ryeong shot Lee Seon a disgusted glare.
"And you told me to sit this out? You got a death wish or what?"
Admirable guts from this country boy, stepping up alone against a monster marinated for decades.
Lee Seon shot back sullenly.
"You think I wanna die? Just easier fighting solo."
"Without me, you'd be in four pieces right now."
"…"
True enough—without her aid, it'd been dicey. No retort.
Poison arts shone in one-against-many, not duels.
One slip, and allies got poisoned too.
No wonder poison users unnerved friends and foes alike.
"Got some nerve, boy. Leisure to yap with me standing here?"
Wi Yu-gi chuckled darkly.
"Wonder how long that lasts against Wi Yu-gi."
"Wi Yu-gi? You're him?"
Dang Ha-ryeong's eyes went wide.
"You recognize me?"
Yes—this was the proper reaction.
The poison kid hadn't known him at all; it'd stung.
Wi Yu-gi's mouth stretched to his ears.
No one hated hearing their name draw gasps.
Lee Seon was curious too.
"You know him, so he must be famous, huh?"
Both pairs of eyes turned to her.
She shook her head lightly.
"Truth is, I don't. Just bluffed since it was my first time hearing it."
"You bitch!"
Dang Ha-ryeong scowled.
"More importantly, I don't know you—how'd you know me?"
"How could I not know the Poison King's daughter?"
"…You know the Patriarch?"
"Of course."
Wi Yu-gi's gaze drifted into the void, as if peering into the distance.
"Know him well. Poison King and I go way back. Crossed paths on the battlefield plenty."
Dang Ha-ryeong snorted.
"Liar."
"I'm lying?"
"Yep."
An arrogant smile curled her lips as she nodded.
"If you'd faced the Patriarch on the battlefield, you wouldn't be breathing."
Pride in the warrior called Poison King.
Absolute faith in the Sichuan Tang Family Patriarch.
"Maybe glimpsed his face once, but if you'd traded blows, you wouldn't stroll around so spry. Unless you tucked tail and bolted the second you saw him, scraping by with your life."
Wi Yu-gi frothed with excitement, spittle flying.
"Viper of a girl! Don't flap that tongue so freely…!"
To the old man hopping mad in place, Dang Ha-ryeong barked coldly.
"Hmph. Think the Poison King's direct descendant and own flesh-and-blood would speak carelessly of him?"
"…He really said nothing about me?"
Wi Yu-gi muttered, dazed.
She hammered the nail home.
"When the Patriarch spoke of rivals who actually gave him trouble, your name never came up."
"Th-that…"
"Guess you weren't even worth naming as a rival."
Wi Yu-gi went mute, like his mouth was glued shut.
'…Damn, she gutted him good.'
Lee Seon couldn't hide his admiration.
What she was really saying:
'You never fought my dad. Or you're so pathetic he doesn't bother remembering.'
Either option intolerable for him.
A verbal demolition of the old fox's pride.
How could she be so vicious!
Made him wonder if she'd slathered poison on her tongue.
Dang Ha-ryeong, wielder of true poison tongue.
Thank goodness she wasn't the enemy.
If she were, her barbs might've rattled his focus enough to botch his poison control.
Now he saw gagging her earlier had been a wise move.
Face flushed beet-red, Wi Yu-gi shuddered violently.
"D-dare… such… impudence."
So furious he could barely string words together.
Cough!
Wi Yu-gi hacked up dark red blood.
But whether from the pain and shock of it.
His glazed, demon-ridden pupils regained focus, if only for a moment.
Those creepy red irises twisted sinisterly.
Eyes marred by rage, madness, and agony locked onto Dang Ha-ryeong.
Bloody tears dripped from Wi Yu-gi's eyes.
A spine-chilling tenacity that chilled just to witness.
"Even if it kills me today, I'll rip you apart."