The Gift of the Serpent
“It’s them, right?”
Late at night, in a secluded valley of Mount Tai in Guangdong Province, a large crowd had gathered. From a short distance away, two figures watched them in silence.
“It appears so.”
Hyeok Cheon-gwang, leader of the Black Wind Squad, had brought his men here to eradicate the human trafficking ring that had been conducting its vile business under the Haedong Merchant Group’s name.
“And the dangerous one?” Cheonhwa asked.
“It’s too far to be certain, but aside from perhaps one or two individuals, I don’t foresee any significant trouble.”
“Is that so?”
“We have been training in the martial arts you taught us, Young Master, so I feel no particular wariness. Still, since you ordered us to remain cautious, we will not lower our guard.”
Cheonhwa gave a small nod. “Those fellows look troublesome as well, so take four or five of your brothers with you, Dang Cheong, and handle the Haedong Merchant Group’s men. I’ll deal with the rest. Chung Heon!”
“Here!”
“Secure the safety of the captives. Not a single one is to be harmed.”
“Understood.”
“Once the Haedong Merchant Group hands over the hostages and withdraws, follow them and leave none alive. Don’t forget to recover the money as well.”
“Understood.”
Hyeok Cheon-gwang and his subordinates melted into the darkness, waiting patiently for the transaction to conclude.
The moment the deal was done, the Haedong Merchant Group’s traffickers hurriedly counted the silver and departed. As soon as they left, Dang Cheong took four or five of his brothers and trailed after them. Hyeok Cheon-gwang remained behind, issuing silent hand signals to the rest of his squad.
The buyers began inspecting the slaves, their gazes locking onto the women. Their eyes gleamed with lewd, mocking lust.
One man could no longer restrain himself. He stepped forward and seized a woman’s clothing. She flinched in terror and tried to clutch her garments, but her wrists were bound. With a violent tug, her clothes were torn away. The other men burst into snickering laughter.
Hyeok Cheon-gwang’s hand flashed in a signal.
The Black Wind Squad surged forward like a storm of blades.
With a single leap they bounded across the air, their movements those of elite warriors without exception. The moment they touched down, swords hissed free of their sheaths.
“What the—urk!”
The man who had tried to violate the woman spun around in shock. Before he could finish speaking, a gleaming blade descended vertically and split his face. A burning agony flared through him. His eyes rolled back as he collapsed forward. The woman behind him screamed and crumpled to the ground.
The defenseless slave traders fell one by one, spraying blood beneath the Black Wind Squad’s swords. A metallic clang rang out as one of them actually blocked an attack and counterattacked—he was a hired expert.
“Who are you people?” the man snarled.
“That is none of your concern. All you need to do is die here.”
Hyeok Cheon-gwang had already closed in. “The rest of you, kill the others. This one is mine.”
The hired expert flinched the moment he sensed Hyeok Cheon-gwang’s aura. It was anything but ordinary.
“Why are you attacking us?”
“There is no reason.”
Hyeok Cheon-gwang’s answer was curt.
“What do you—”
“Then why do you participate in the buying and selling of human lives?”
The man opened his mouth, but no answer came. When he thought about it, there really was no particular reason. Saying he had been hired for money suddenly sounded like a pathetic excuse.
Hyeok Cheon-gwang lowered his stance and charged, sword whistling. The blade rose from below, then shifted mid-air with a subtle twist of the wrist, sweeping horizontally. His footwork flowed naturally, changing the sword’s trajectory once more. Like water, the blade danced freely through the air, leaving countless afterimages of sword light.
“This is…”
The Black Wind Squad had learned two arts from Cheonhwa. One was the Demonic Cult’s Nine Hell Forms, and the other was the Wulin Alliance’s Heavenly Flower Wild Dance—a technique his mother had discovered in the Alliance’s archives. In turn, the New Wind Squad had received the Chaos Asura Art and Moonlight Sword Art.
Cheonhwa had taught them this way in hopes that, just as he had reached new heights by harmonizing demonic and orthodox arts rather than letting them conflict, his subordinates might also attain enlightenment through the same principle. Unexpectedly, the Black Wind Squad had taken to the Heavenly Flower Wild Dance with startling ease, as though the art had been made for them.
The hired expert desperately tried to counter Hyeok Cheon-gwang’s sword, but he couldn’t even block properly. A deep gash opened across his body.
“Gahk!”
In that instant, the nature of Hyeok Cheon-gwang’s blade changed. What had been gentle and flowing became savage and violent. A dark-crimson energy pressed down on the man, too overwhelming to resist. He stood frozen, sensing only the murderous intent that would carve him into pieces.
“Kuaaagh!”
With a scream, the man slowly dropped to his knees. He looked up at Hyeok Cheon-gwang with fading eyes.
“That last sword… what was it?”
“Nine Hell Forms.”
The man gave a small nod, closed his eyes, and toppled forward.
With his death, every last one of the slave traders was slaughtered by the Black Wind Squad.
“Untie all their bonds,” Hyeok Cheon-gwang ordered.
The people who had been sold as slaves stared at the squad with fearful eyes.
“If you are not from the Central Plains, please raise your hand.”
Those who didn’t understand the language simply looked at one another in confusion.
“Who among you is from the Central Plains?”
Three people raised their hands.
“It will be easier to speak with you. Listen carefully.”
“Please, just spare our lives…”
“We will spare you. We will also send you back to your homelands, so do not worry.”
At the mention of being returned home, the captives’ expressions softened with cautious hope.
“Although we have rescued you, we cannot take responsibility for you until the very end. Therefore, we will escort you to the naval garrison of the Guangdong Eight Routes Water Army. Once there, explain the full story and they will arrange for your return.”
“To the naval base, you say?”
“Correct. Tell them the truth. We will leave the bodies here, so request that they send men to clean up the site.”
“We will do so.”
“Chung Heon, take your brothers and escort these people to the naval base, then meet us at the promised location near Gaozhou.”
“Understood.”
“Move out. I will pursue the Haedong Merchant Group’s men.”
Chung Heon led the remaining Black Wind Squad members and the former captives down the mountain.
Once they had disappeared from view, Hyeok Cheon-gwang glanced once in the direction the merchants had gone, then kicked off the ground and soared into the night sky.
Inside a deep cave that admitted only a single shaft of sunlight, a man sat naked in lotus position.
Beside him lay the corpse of a massive two-headed serpent. On the opposite side, a small flower bloomed with a golden fruit that radiated soft light. The fruit’s glow seemed to have stimulated the flower, causing its petals to open fully.
The man was none other than Cheonhwa.
It seemed almost absurd that the Yin-Yang Double-Headed Snake, which had swallowed him whole, now lay dead with its pale belly exposed while he remained alive.
When the beast had consumed him, Cheonhwa had torn through its flesh and ruptured its organs from within before he could suffocate. In the process, the powerful toxins contained in the serpent’s blood had dissolved the clothes he had been wearing.
That was how Cheonhwa had ended up bathing in the Yin-Yang Double-Headed Snake’s blood. The blood had seeped into his pores, transforming his body. It had effectively made him immune to all poisons.
After slicing his way out of the serpent’s belly, he had immediately sat down to circulate his energy. That had been a full day ago. Even now, he remained in meditation, utterly focused on refining the new power within him.
Suddenly, his skin cracked open with a loud ripping sound. Like a snake shedding its skin, the old layer peeled away and fell to the ground. Beneath it was new skin—smooth and delicate as a newborn’s.
After the strange phenomenon ended, nearly an hour passed before Cheonhwa finally opened his eyes.
He sat quietly, staring into the distance with an unreadable gaze. A faint smile eventually touched his lips.
“I really did nearly die. If not for the serpent’s blood, I might have suffocated from lack of oxygen.”
His plan had succeeded. He had entered through the beast’s mouth, shredded its soft internal organs, and killed it. Yet the creature had clung to life far more stubbornly than expected. He had almost run out of air inside its stomach. Fortunately, the blood contained not only deadly toxins but also powerful healing and regenerative properties. That brief window of endurance had allowed him to cut his way out.
Afterward, he had focused on absorbing the immense energy contained within the blood he had taken in. Only now had he completely refined it into his own power.
“Ah, that’s right.”
Cheonhwa turned his head toward the flower blooming beside him.
“This is mine to eat.”
According to the records of the Eternal Life White Flower Scripture, the Yin-Yang Fig bore fruit only once every thousand years. Once the fruit fell from the plant, it would melt away immediately. To fully absorb its power, one had to consume it while it was still attached. The leaves, flowers, and roots of the plant were also priceless medicinal ingredients. He decided he would use them to refine pills for the others later.
He turned the other way and looked at the dead Yin-Yang Double-Headed Snake.
“Its hide should be enough to make several sets of clothing.”
If he used it for undergarments worn beneath outer robes, he could produce quite a few. The serpent’s skin was tough enough to withstand ordinary sword strikes. Wearing it would be like carrying an extra life.
“I’ll have to make undergarments and distribute them to everyone.”
There was nothing about the creature that should be wasted. Cheonhwa briefly wondered how he would carry the massive corpse back to the Haedong Merchant Group, but he wasn’t overly concerned.
“First, I’ll consume this.”
Cheonhwa brought the golden Yin-Yang Fig to his lips. The moment he bit down, the fruit melted into pure liquid energy and flowed down his throat.