Eon Mimi Goes Bottomless (1)
They looked human, yet somehow not quite alive—strangely formed things.
“What the hell are those?”
“Young Hero Hyeon, those are Jiangshi.”
“Heh heh. Not ordinary Jiangshi either—Black Iron Jiangshi. The kind blades can’t pierce.”
What? Blades can’t pierce them? Then how was I supposed to take them down?
My martial arts probably wouldn’t cut it. And come to think of it, I didn’t even have a weapon.
“Hmph. You revealed yourself over mere Black Iron Jiangshi?”
What? Even after hearing they were Black Iron Jiangshi that blades couldn’t pierce, Eon Mimi showed no fear at all.
As expected—Jiangshi simply weren’t objects of terror to someone from the Jinju Eon family.
“What? Don’t tell me you also know how to use the Yama Soul-Seizing Technique?”
“Isn’t that obvious? Black Corpse Blue Flame—!”
Eon Mimi formed a hand seal and began drawing up her inner energy. Blue light started to gather in her palms.
“I am the Flame Corpse King. Let the souls heed my command. Halt all movement.”
Whoosh—
The blue energy radiating from Eon Mimi’s hands wrapped around the Jiangshi. They froze mid-motion and stood stock-still where they were.
Damn. Eon Mimi has this kind of ability? People from the Sichuan Tang family who wield poison, or the Jinju Eon family who command Jiangshi arts—you really can’t underestimate them.
I was honestly more than a little surprised.
“Kuhuhu. So you know the Yama Soul-Seizing Technique as well.”
“Hmph. Challenging the Jinju Eon family with Jiangshi arts? Even a passing dog would laugh. Stretch out your neck and prepare to die.”
Whoosh— Swish—
After neutralizing the Black Iron Jiangshi, Eon Mimi launched herself forward and drew her sword in the same motion. But her blade never reached Gangsi Dokma’s neck.
“Hhk! Th-this is…?”
“Heh heh. Did you really think I’d face the Jinju Eon family with nothing but a single Jiangshi? Young girls always lack experience.”
“Wh-what did you do?”
“Oh, nothing much. Just a little poison.”
“Aaaah… Th-this can’t be!”
Thud—
Eon Mimi, mid-attack on Gangsi Dokma, simply crumpled to her knees.
“Hmm? Why aren’t you collapsing?”
“Me? Good question. Why aren’t I collapsing?”
“You don’t even have a weapon.”
Seeing I was unarmed, he must have assumed I wasn’t a martial artist at all.
Whoosh— Clack—
Gangsi Dokma lunged and seized my wrist.
“Ahh, no… Even Young Hero Hyeon…!”
Still kneeling, Eon Mimi watched with a despairing cry. She clearly thought I was about to die at his hands.
Clack—
I grabbed his hand right back.
“I have no use for a man, so you die.”
“You’re the one who’s going to die first.”
“Hmph. What nonsense is that?”
“I grabbed your hand too, didn’t I?”
“And what does that— Ghk! Wh-what is this?”
“What do you think? Same thing you used on her—I used poison.”
“Ghk… I-impossible. I never saw you take out any poison… never even saw you scatter it… Ghk!”
“Not knowing that my poison arts are better than yours—that’s why you’re dying.”
“Kh… Th-that’s ridiculous… Guhk!”
Crash—
The moment he dropped dead from the poison, the standing Jiangshi collapsed as well.
Clatter—
“So when the master dies, the Jiangshi all drop too? No—they’re already corpses, so ‘die’ isn’t the right word. Without the one giving orders, they just become useless.”
Lucky for me Gangsi Dokma wasn’t a weapons man. If he’d tried to take my head with a blade it would have been dangerous, but his martial skill wasn’t high—he was only good at Jiangshi arts. And whatever poison arts he had were useless against me.
“Huu… Young Hero Hyeon…? You killed Gangsi Dokma?”
“Miss Eon!”
“Huuu…! Y-Young Hero Hyeon!”
Eon Mimi had almost no strength left; she was nearly sprawled on the ground.
Slide— Clack—
I took her hand and searched inside.
Poison was present, but its toxicity wasn’t strong. Through the Poison King Secret Art I could sense the exact level of the toxin.
“Huu-huu…! I’m so glad you’re safe, Young Hero Hyeon. But… I’ve been poisoned. Aaaah, p-poison… Aaaah, to die like this. It can’t be. To die from the poison of someone as low as Gangsi Dokma…”
Die? No—she wasn’t going to die.
Ah, right. Eon Mimi doesn’t know much about poisons. She’s been poisoned, so she just assumes she’s going to die.
The poison Gangsi Dokma had used on her wasn’t a lethal toxin or a fatal one. He’d wanted her body, so he’d only meant to knock her out. But the poisoned, collapsing Eon Mimi was convinced she was about to die.
I almost told her she wouldn’t die—then a thought struck me.
This is an opportunity. I can’t let this chance slip by.
A woman who believed she was about to die would agree to anything. If it meant living, wouldn’t she accept whatever I asked?
But even a stone bridge should be tapped before crossing. If Eon Mimi doesn’t trust me, it’s useless.
So I needed to confirm how much she trusted me while I proceeded.
Command: Activate Heavenly Eyes of the Lust God!
Heavenly Eyes of the Lust God
Time Limit: Usable for 10 minutes
The moment I activated Heavenly Eyes of the Lust God, a bar graph appeared above Eon Mimi.
Trust level: five bars. Exactly half-and-half. She neither fully believed me nor distrusted me—she was looking at me as a neutral third party.
Name: ?
Title: ?
Occupation: ?
Level:4-Star
Inner Energy: ?
Sex Satisfaction with You:1-Star
• Suspects you of having sex with Dang Juju.
• Has no interest in sex with men.
Sex Partners:0
Times:0
Types: —
The character information hadn’t changed.
Trust is lower than I expected. Basically she’s half-believing, half-doubting everything I say. Not sure my lie will land. Still—have to try.
Her trust in me sat at five bars—five stars.
No choice. I’d have to talk my way through it.
“Miss Eon, listen carefully.”
“What is it?”
“I can detoxify the poison in you. Then you won’t die.”
“De… detoxify? You have an antidote, Young Hero Hyeon?”
The moment she heard the word “detoxify,” a spark of life returned to Eon Mimi’s face.
“No—I know a detoxification method. Didn’t Dang Juju tell you? That I detoxified the poison in the Tang Family Chief and the Yi Family Head—poisons even the Tang people couldn’t cure?”
“Ah, right. I heard. That you detoxified Juju’s father and the Yi Family Head and saved them. That even Tang people couldn’t cure it, but Young Hero Hyeon did.”
“And just now I didn’t get poisoned by Gangsi Dokma’s toxin—he got poisoned by mine and died. When it comes to poison arts, I’m at the highest level.”
“That’s right. You poisoned Gangsi Dokma instead and killed him. Yes… Young Hero Hyeon’s poison arts are the best.”
In that instant the trust graph above Eon Mimi changed. From five bars it rose by two, becoming seven stars.
What? Trust updates in real time? Thinking about it, that makes sense. If she found out I was lying, her trust would drop—and Heavenly Eyes of the Lust God would show it immediately.
So the trust changes really were reflecting live.
Which means… I can watch in real time exactly how much Eon Mimi believes what I’m saying.
That was an extremely useful function. Since her trust in my words shifted instantly, I could check whether she was buying it.
“Right. I have detoxification ability. So if I detoxify you, you won’t die.”
“Ahh, thank goodness. Young Hero Hyeon is here. Then hurry and detoxify me.”
“Hmm. But detoxification won’t be easy.”
“Why?”
“The poison he used is Carnal Coupling Poison.”
“Wh-what’s that? I’ve never heard of it.”
Of course she hadn’t. I’d just made the name up.
“It’s a type of aphrodisiac poison. It can only be detoxified when a man and a woman couple.”
“A man and a woman couple? You mean… intercourse?”
“That’s right. It only detoxifies when a man and woman have intercourse.”
“Th-that’s impossible.”
The graph instantly dropped back to five bars. Hearing that they had to couple had knocked it from seven stars down to five. She was half-believing, half-doubting the intercourse claim.
Still, she’s not outright distrusting me. She’s wavering. I need to package this convincingly and raise the trust again.
From here on I had to play it carefully.
“Exactly. He used that poison because he was after your body—he planned to rape you. One of the Four Beauties of the Central Plains standing right in front of him, and you think he wouldn’t get the idea? That’s why he used an aphrodisiac poison.”
“……”
Eon Mimi’s eyes went wide; her mouth fell open and she froze. From her expression, she was at least partly agreeing that the man had been lusting after her body.
“So… you have to decide, Miss Eon. Whether you just die like this… or couple with me.”
“……”
She kept her mouth open, unable to answer. The shock must have been enormous. Right now her head was probably spinning with confusion and panic.
So I kept reminding her that I was an expert on poison, to keep raising her trust in me.
“Remember again that I detoxified a poison even the Tang people couldn’t cure. I can detoxify you, Miss Eon.”
But the trust level did not rise.