Ban Yun-saeng (2)
Once they decided to attempt the Hwan-gol Tal-tae Dae-beop, the two men threw themselves into preparations.
"My master discovered an ancient manual left behind by some elder on bone transformation and devoted his life to studying it. That research has been passed down to me."
The original manual had been left by a poison master. The research had begun from a poison user's perspective, which was why poison lay at the heart of the great law.
That was also why potent toxins like the Eternal Life Poison-Nether Grass served as key ingredients, rather than other spirit herbs.
First, they needed to procure the tools and materials required for the ritual.
Fortunately, the most crucial ingredients were already buried deep near the cave by Ban Yun-saeng. He had always kept the possibility of this ritual in mind, no matter how distant the day might be.
Now, they just had to purchase the readily available sundries.
Ban Yun-saeng went around the nearby villages with Baek So-cheon, gathering what they needed. They discarded all unnecessary items from the cave. The ritual was everything now.
New objects for the great law filled the emptied spaces: a treatment bed, two large water vats, and several containers for the medicines.
Three days later, Baek So-cheon and Ban Yun-saeng had everything ready.
"Now comes the most important task."
"What is it?"
"Baek-gak Geum-sun-sa must inject poison to make the Eternal Life Poison-Nether Grass bear fruit. If no poison is injected, or if it doesn't fruit, we'll have to wait three years."
At the mention of three years, Baek So-cheon let out a wry laugh. War would surely erupt by then, and he would be long dead.
Ban Yun-saeng led him to where the Eternal Life Poison-Nether Grass grew, watching from afar so as not to disturb Baek-gak Geum-sun-sa.
A day passed, then two, but the snake showed no movement.
As they kept vigil over the grass together, Ban Yun-saeng shared various tales—mostly about poisonous herbs and toxins.
Baek So-cheon realized anew that, despite his Man-poison Immunity Body, he knew surprisingly little about poisons and toxic plants. He had neglected them, figuring they wouldn't affect him anyway.
Ban Yun-saeng freely shared knowledge of which herbs grew on which mountains and where certain poisons lurked. Though they had only met recently here, with the ritual looming, he opened up without reservation.
"What do you plan to do if the ritual succeeds?"
"Stop the war from breaking out."
"And after that?"
"I haven't thought that far."
"Shouldn't you start by thinking about what you want for yourself?"
"......"
Words from the Black Heaven Alliance Lord echoed in his mind. The first button had been sewn wrong. Though the context differed, Baek So-cheon suddenly wondered.
At eighteen, knowing nothing, he had entered the alliance with a single dream: to protect the good. His life had been a frantic rush ever since.
He hadn't realized the martial arts passed to him by chance were such profound swordsmanship, nor that he had the talent to be called a god of battle.
There had been no time to look after himself, only to charge ahead.
Once war broke out, there was even less chance. Not just him—every warrior in the Murim Alliance had been the same.
Even after the war ended, losing his inner power and dealing with the lord's matters left no room for self-care.
That was why, when Ga-in told him to quit the alliance and do something else, he had no answer. He had never learned how to live for himself. He had no experience of what made him happy.
Ban Yun-saeng looked at Baek So-cheon.
"Don't live a life of nothing but fighting. Life slips away like a dream before you know it."
"Yes."
Perhaps tiring of lecturing, Ban Yun-saeng gazed at the distant Baek-gak Geum-sun-sa.
"Everything hinges on that one."
The fate of two men—and perhaps all Murim—rested on a single snake.
Whoever it was, at least one of them had luck on their side.
Two days later, Baek-gak Geum-sun-sa injected poison into the Eternal Life Poison-Nether Grass and died. The plant bore fruit.
Ban Yun-saeng carefully plucked the fruit and brought it back to the cave.
All preparations were now complete.
The medicines were ready, and Baek So-cheon had consumed the pre-ritual doses in precise amounts over several sessions.
Leaving only the Eternal Life Poison-Nether Grass fruit, Ban Yun-saeng asked,
"Well, how do you feel?"
Indifferent. Baek So-cheon thought that even if he died during the ritual, he wouldn't regret much.
A warrior at thirty-eight had lived enough—and as a hero who saved the jianghu. What was there to lament in dying today after such a life?
Beon Saeng had said it: No one would grieve for him heart-wrenchingly if he died. Would it be different for him?
A few would mourn deeply, but would anyone be torn apart? So he could say brightly,
"I feel good."
"Good. Now we begin. Take the Eternal Life Poison-Nether Grass fruit."
Without hesitation, Baek So-cheon chewed and swallowed the fruit. Thanks to the snake's poison, it burned his tongue like melting fire.
Here began the great law.
"Ughhh."
As the drug's effects spread through his body, Baek So-cheon groaned. Instead of channeling it with inner power through his meridians, Ban Yun-saeng had forced it into every nook with the medicines. The pain was excruciating.
Baek So-cheon's skin began darkening deeply.
Ban Yun-saeng pushed him into the vat filled with medicinal liquid.
Splash.
Baek So-cheon sank into the tub.
Submerged, a languid numbness overtook him, easing the pain. Sleep tugged at him, eyelids growing heavy.
Ban Yun-saeng watched tensely as Baek So-cheon sank.
By the time he reached the bottom, he was already in deep slumber.
The day fates changed for all.
"Hah... hah... hah..."
Baek So-cheon gasped for breath.
No part of his body was free of pain. Touch it, and he might shatter into pieces.
The sword in his hand felt like a thousand catties. Yet he gripped the hilt tighter. He had to believe. If he was suffering, so was the enemy—worse, even.
Sure enough, Yeom Hwa-sin, the Black Heaven Alliance Lord, hunched halfway over before him, heaved even more labored breaths. His mountain-like frame shuddered.
This strike was his last chance to kill him. Yeom Hwa-sin's state didn't matter. After this final move, his own power would be spent.
I must land it this time.
Yeom Hwa-sin raised his head, eyes locking on Baek So-cheon.
For the first time, Baek So-cheon saw an emotion in those eyes.
Fear.
In that instant, Baek So-cheon launched himself.
He staked everything on this one strike, pouring every last drop of inner power into his sword.
Yeom Hwa-sin flew at him too, but fatigue slowed his reaction.
Shrieeeek.
Their forms merged as one.
In all prior clashes, they had struck and parted repeatedly, dodging like lightning, blocking, countering. Not this time.
A sound signaling the battle's end.
Puuk!
The moment his sword pierced the foe's body, Baek So-cheon knew victory was his.
I won!
His beloved Gui-yeong Geom had struck true—straight into Yeom Hwa-sin's heart.
But the instant he read joy and opportunity in those eyes that should have dimmed with despair, he knew something was wrong.
Boom!
Even impaled, Yeom Hwa-sin's fist smashed into Baek So-cheon's chest.
His frail protective aura shattered, a heavy shock rippling through his body. He tried summoning power to block, but the impact spread like cracks on shattering ice.
"Kuhk."
Baek So-cheon vomited blood.
He couldn't even twitch a finger, but Yeom Hwa-sin still had strength.
Power gathered at the man's fingertips.
The moment he sensed the hand targeting his dantian—
No!
Splaaat.
A tearing shock ripped through him.
Riiip.
Flesh tore; the place his dantian had been felt gouged out whole.
"Aaaarghhh!"
Baek So-cheon's most horrific scream since fighting Yeom Hwa-sin erupted.
Blood dripped from his gut.
Yeom Hwa-sin, holding the limp Baek So-cheon in one hand, spoke coldly.
"I didn't kill you. Your alliance lord did."
"......Bullshit."
"Then why are you here? It should be your lord."
The melee had scattered them; in the frenzy with Yeom Hwa-sin, only they two remained. The lord was fighting elsewhere.
"Your alliance lord is a hypocrite who sucked your blood to keep his throne!"
"Save your wedge-driving. You don't know the lord."
"Fool."
"Three years will be enough. By then, you'll see my words are true."
Yeom Hwa-sin flung Baek So-cheon to the ground.
Then yanked out the sword from his heart and tossed it aside.
Baek So-cheon, spewing blood, watched the man's staggering back.
Soon after he vanished, someone called his name, rushing over.
"So-cheon! So-cheon!"
Ak So-gun's voice, the alliance lord.
Lord.
He had to open his eyes, but they wouldn't budge.
"Hang on! We won. The enemy retreated. Wake up!"
Ak So-gun's excited voice.
With his last strength, Baek So-cheon pried his eyes open.
In his blurry vision, Ak So-gun's face appeared, gazing down worriedly.
Right then, Baek So-cheon saw it.
A red dot flickering in the center of Ak So-gun's black pupil, then vanishing.
Was it blood trickling from his own face? From Ak So-gun's forehead? Or a mistaken reflection? It happened too fast to tell.
"......Lord."
With that whisper, he lost consciousness.
Splash.
Activating the pulley, the vat's bottom rose, lifting Baek So-cheon from the liquid.
Ban Yun-saeng pulled him out and laid him on the bed.
Forcing his mouth open, he administered medicine, then began acupuncture.
He poured all his care into it. He could do it blindfolded, but after so long, his hands trembled.
Stay calm.
Needle by needle, with utmost devotion, he treated every meridian point.
Baek So-cheon's eyes moved restlessly beneath closed lids, as if dreaming.
"Not yet. Don't open your eyes."
Baek So-cheon opened his eyes.
Ban Wol-ryang, the Murim Alliance's divine physician, watched over him.
"Coming around at last?"
"Where am I?"
"Headquarters. The great war with the evil sects is over."
At news of the war's end, a single tear fell from Baek So-cheon's eye.
Tears he hadn't shed since joining the alliance. Not even sending off countless comrades. He knew starting to cry would end the fight.
Now, the dam broke; tears flowed steadily.
After a long silent cry, Baek So-cheon asked,
"Is the lord all right?"
"Fortunately, yes."
He recalled seeing the lord before blacking out.
"No injuries?"
"Thanks to you, he's fine."
"How long was I out?"
"Twenty days."
"Twenty days?"
He tried rising, but his body wouldn't move.
"Your wounds are too severe."
Instinctively, he summoned inner power to regulate his internals.
A tremendous pain surged from his dantian.
"Ugh!"
Ban Wol-ryang urgently warned the agonized Baek So-cheon,
"Don't use inner power!"
"Until when?"
Ban Wol-ryang couldn't say "forever." His troubled expression summoned a memory.
Rip.
The horrific recall of his dantian being torn out.
Baek So-cheon squeezed his eyes shut. Realizing he had no inner power terrified him.
"Twenty days bedridden— the lord must've come up empty every time."
"......"
"How many visits during that?"
"He hasn't come yet."
"......!"
"Probably told them to focus on treating you. He's busy anyway."
Splash!
Ban Yun-saeng dunked Baek So-cheon back into the liquid and mixed in fresh medicine.
Bubbles boiled up. The ritual neared its climax.
Ban Yun-saeng stood before the vat, watching Baek So-cheon.
Amid the froth, Baek So-cheon sank once more.
Dreaming? His face seemed to frown.
Ban Yun-saeng cheered inwardly with desperate hope.
Hang in there! Fight!