Who Are You? (5)
Cheon Dok had been defeated for a simple reason.
After diverting his gaze with the silver needles of I Hwa Singi, Hanbin had immediately unleashed his left Blood Wolf Sword followed by his right.
Both Blood Wolf Swords incorporated the mysteries of Baekbal Baekjung.
On top of that, the second Blood Wolf Sword was combined with the technique of Seongdong Gyeokseo.
No matter how clever Seongdong Gyeokseo was, it wouldn't be enough to inflict a fatal wound on its own.
He had targeted the most vulnerable yet most precious part of the body—the place where defenses were lowest.
Hanbin blocked Cheon Dok's charging poison claw with his Moon Fang.
Ching!
The excited Cheon Dok was trying to overpower him with raw strength rather than poison.
Of course, there was calculation behind Cheon Dok's move.
Cheon Dok had lost his reason in excitement, scattering some of his poison qi and inner power into the air.
But the moment he regained his senses, he decided to concentrate his poison qi and inner power for one final strike.
He appeared to have lost his reason and flown into a rage.
But that was merely for show.
Cheon Dok had been buying time by clashing swords with Hanbin.
Kikik.
As their locked blades ground out a harsh friction sound, Cheon Dok's aura began to shift.
What was the nature of that changing aura?
Poison qi for deploying his Poison Wave was gathering in Cheon Dok's heart.
He channeled that energy into his left fist.
His left hand trembled, compressing the poison qi into a tiny mung bean-sized orb.
All that was left was to unleash a poison palm strike at Hanbin.
Cheon Dok grinned fiercely.
Even the world's greatest master couldn't survive this now.
Cheon Dok unleashed his poison palm with the Poison Wave technique toward Hanbin, shouting,
"Any last…!"
He meant to say "words."
But he couldn't finish.
A strange energy surged toward him from the front.
His opponent was countering with the same intensity.
Shocked, Cheon Dok demanded,
"Who the hell are you?"
"That's a secret."
As Hanbin replied, Cheon Dok's eyes widened.
What?
Before the question could fully form, a scorching sensation engulfed Cheon Dok's entire body.
Kuwaaang!
Kwang!
It was the result of Hanbin and Cheon Dok's auras colliding.
Two massive torrents of true energy tangled in the middle, forming a vortex.
Of course, Hanbin wasn't unscathed either.
The vortex was poisoning the hand gripping Moon Fang.
At this rate, even his newly acquired prowess wouldn't hold out.
The visible recovery characters were dwindling before his eyes.
Then Hanbin spotted the condensed poison energy.
To his Dragon Eye, it appeared as glowing formula points.
Hanbin swiftly thrust his sword into the vortex of true energy.
Confirming formula with Dragon Eye.
[…]
One step closer to the immunity to myriad poisons stage with the poison formula.
Hanbin quickly checked the prowess panel of the Yongrin Sword Art.
A poison formula had been added.
The count was a whopping twenty.
Recalling the message from before, Hanbin flashed a pleased smile.
It had clearly mentioned immunity to myriad poisons.
But only for a moment—Hanbin snapped back to reality and looked ahead.
He'd momentarily forgotten this was a battle for survival.
Ahead, the green poison qi enveloping Cheon Dok had completely vanished.
The space around Hanbin and Cheon Dok felt purified, even a fresh breeze blowing through.
Hanbin spoke with a relaxed expression, as if everything was over.
"My technique is Jinyong Pahon Geom. Not that you'll hear it."
Finishing his words, Hanbin quietly observed Cheon Dok.
His body was intact, but his eyes were unfocused, mouth agape.
Hanbin felt he now understood the essence of Jinyong Pahon Geom.
It wasn't a technique that destroyed everything with absolute power.
It destroyed only as much of the essence as Hanbin could handle.
Cheon Dok's essence was poison.
Like shattering a soul, it had erased his poison arts and spirit.
Of course, if it weren't an incomplete Jinyong Pahon Geom, it would have obliterated his body too.
But Hanbin was satisfied.
Cheon Dok's martial arts were now crippled.
With his mind shattered as well, Hanbin could harvest the formulas and leave the rest to others.
Glancing over the dazed Cheon Dok, Hanbin tilted his head.
"Where'd it go?"
He scanned around with his eyes.
But the formula he sought was nowhere to be found.
Jinyong Pahon Geom had obliterated it entirely.
He'd lost the handout formulas, but gaining the poison formula in his prowess panel was no loss.
After staring for a while, Hanbin murmured lowly,
"Listen up. Disciples and retainers are like family. Anyone who treats family like tools won't even be accepted in heaven. I'll burn you soon, so reflect until then."
With that, Hanbin kicked Cheon Dok squarely in the chest.
Pak!
Cheon Dok flew limply, landing beside his fallen disciple Cheong Yeon.
Thud.
In a way, it was divine retribution.
Hanbin gave a wry smile.
Though an enemy, he pitied Cheong Yeon, who'd been buried alive mid-battle by her own master.
Gazing at Cheong Yeon brought back vivid memories of his past life's final moments—abandoned by the Justice Alliance.
That was when everyone began rushing toward Hanbin.
The Aekhyeolmaengho-dae members, stunned by Hanbin's bravado, had snapped out of it.
Tadak.
Those who reached him first spoke up one by one.
"My lord."
"You're safe, my lord."
"My lord, thank goodness."
The youngest, Jo Ho, hesitated mid-hug after witnessing Hanbin's prowess up close.
Hanbin patted his head.
"Good work, Jo Ho. Even if you didn't really do anything…"
As Hanbin trailed off with a joke, stifled laughs erupted here and there.
"Hah, my lord, I fought hard too."
"I was ready to give my life…"
Jo Ho looked at Hanbin, trailing off.
He wasn't truly resentful.
He'd heard Hanbin's final words clearly with his own ears.
"Disciples and retainers are family"—those words still rang in everyone's ears.
In truth, Hanbin's declaration had been etched into every heart.
As Hanbin and his Aekhyeolmaengho-dae exchanged warm glances, Seo Jaeo shuffled up awkwardly.
Noticing, Hanbin asked,
"What's up?"
"Uh, is it okay to ask this…?"
"What's with the uncharacteristic hesitation, Seo Daxia?"
Hanbin tilted his head, prompting Seo Jaeo to continue.
"How do you know me, Daxia? And who is that one…?"
The "Daxia" Seo Jaeo referred to was none other than Hanbin.
And he was pointing toward Baek Seon.
Only then did Hanbin realize he'd left Baek Seon unattended.
Sasasak.
Moving at invisible speed, Hanbin approached Baek Seon.
Standing beside her, he issued low instructions.
Then he whistled sharply.
Whiiik!
In an instant, Baek Seon vanished like the wind.
Glancing back after sending her off, Hanbin saw Seo Jaeo staring blankly.
Hanbin snapped his fingers at the dazed man.
Click!
Snapping to, Seo Jaeo asked,
"Who the hell are you Daxias?"
"Come on, how do you not recognize me? Seo Daxia."
"Not recognize? What do you mean?"
"How can you not recognize the guy who's been feeding and clothing you all this time?"
"Hoh, no way… Sa Gongzi?"
Seo Jaeo tilted his head.
No one else spoke like this, in this manner.
Hanbin confirmed,
"Took you long enough."
"Then who was that back there?"
Even after realizing it was Hanbin, Seo Jaeo's speech remained formal.
He turned, searching for Yi Mu-myeong.
Yi Mu-myeong had already changed clothes and donned a fake beard.
Seo Jaeo's eyes wavered.
It made no sense, no matter how he thought about it.
Momentarily, he swallowed dryly and asked,
"Then who was that Ami Sect senior…?"
Trailing off, Seo Jaeo glanced where Baek Seon had vanished.
Hanbin answered promptly.
"My bodyguard."
"An Ami Sect senior as Sa Gongzi's bodyguard…"
"The rest is a secret."
Hanbin chuckled.
The Seo Jaeo who'd staked his life against Cheon Dok was a true warrior and family to Hanbin.
No need to hide his identity, but Baek Seon's existence was hard to explain even to allies.
Turning back, Hanbin issued orders to the Aekhyeolmaengho-dae.
The orders were simple: bind the living and gather them, burn the dead.
The living would be handed to Gang Yu-chan for judgment under national law; the dead deserved proper cremation.
If the living knew anything, the state would root out their main force.
Of course, the Justice Alliance needed informing too—but from now on, the imperial court, not the murim, would handle the enemy.
The scene was cleared swiftly.
Those who'd witnessed Cheon Dok and Hanbin's duel had long lost their fear of poison.
As Jo Ho sorted masked poison corpses and survivors, he said,
"No need for this anymore, right, Jangsan Uncle?"
"Keep it on until the lord says to take it off."
Jo Ho glanced around.
The other members were starting to remove their antidote necklaces but putting them back.
Watching, Jangsan added,
"See? Better safe than sorry, Jo Ho."
"Got it, Jangsan Uncle."
"Yeah, but that guy's working hard too. Who'd think the Plum Blossom Sword Warden of the Volcanic Sect would be doing grunt work with us?"
Jangsan pointed to Seo Jaeo.
Jo Ho laughed.
"Yeah. At first, I was scared to approach the Plum Blossom Sword Warden, but now he seems like the guy next door…"
Jo Ho trailed off, tilting his head.
"What's wrong, Jo Ho?"
"Don't you smell rotting? Should I take off the mask and check?"
"Don't. Still dangerous."
Jangsan stopped him.
Jo Ho was right, though.
Hanbin was frowning too.
The rotting stench was growing thicker.
The air around them was turning foul.
Unsorted corpses that had been dead a while might explain it, but this was beyond normal.
As Hanbin tapped his temple and scanned the area, Seo Jaeo moved busily.
He checked vitals: bound the living with rope, shoved the dead aside.
Then he reached Cheon Dok and Cheong Yeon, collapsed together.
Inspecting to clear them, Seo Jaeo tilted his head.
Cheon Dok's leg twitched faintly.
He was still clinging to life.
Confirming Cheon Dok's state, Seo Jaeo turned to Hanbin.
"Sa Gongzi, what about this one?"
Back to his old tone.
Hanbin replied casually,
"Burn him with the other corpses, Daxia."
"Gasp!"
Seo Jaeo cried out.
Hearing that, Hanbin said,
"Or take him to Gang Yu-chan yourself?"
"Uh, that's a bit…"
Seo Jaeo glanced at Cheon Dok.
The man who'd turned Jangun-hyeon into a village of death.
He deserved death, but burning alive? No.
As Seo Jaeo pondered, a blade rose and plunged into Cheon Dok's neck.
Puk!
Seo Jaeo's eyes widened at the sudden turn.
His gaze shifted to the blade's wielder.
Cheong Yeon—withered like dried tangerine peel, life drained—curled her lips in a smile.
Seo Jaeo gasped involuntarily.
"Huh."
Then Hanbin's voice came from behind.
"Everyone, back off."
"What do you…"
Seo Jaeo couldn't finish.
Cheon Dok's body was swelling.
Veins writhed across his inflating form, as if screaming.
Finally, Cheon Dok's body burst beyond its limits.
Kuwaaang!
Kwang!
Poison fragments scattered everywhere.
Behind, Sim Miho's dark skin was turning bluish.
This was clearly si dok—corpse poison.
The blood poison that devoured the village had rotted into a grotesque toxin, absorbed by the dying Cheon Dok.
Causing trouble even on his way out!
No words for that. Hanbin quickly checked the others.
Worry was brief—Hanbin smiled faintly.
In a way, this was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for a warrior.
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