Because We Save Lives First
The silence inside the Black Wind Association’s stronghold was deep enough to choke a man. Jang Mu-eon stepped into the council hall on weary feet. When he closed the door with his fingertips, the latch trembled faintly. He sank into the chair, feeling the crushing weight settle over his chest.
He did not lie.
Kang Yeon’s voice still circled his ears—the Xi’an massacre, Master Jang Mun-cheon’s hidden sins.
Who am I? What have I been living for?
Jang Mu-eon stared at the portrait of his master on the desk. The kindly smiling face of Jang Mun-cheon now looked like a stranger’s.
That was when it happened.
Shaaak!
A blade flashed out of the darkness and shot straight for Jang Mu-eon’s throat. He twisted aside at the last instant, took a deep gash across the shoulder, and crashed to the floor.
“Ghk! Who’s there!”
He scrambled into a guard stance and glared toward the source of the attack. A masked assassin stared back with eyes cold as ice. Murder filled the gaze beneath the black cloth.
“Traitors are eliminated.”
The assassin spoke in a low, almost whispering tone, and the blade came for Jang Mu-eon again. He twisted his waist, barely managed to rise, and shouted.
“Traitor? I am the leader of the Black Wind Association!”
“The Black Wind Association exists for vengeance. Anyone who abandons that purpose is no leader of ours.”
Something familiar stirred in the assassin’s voice, but Jang Mu-eon had no leisure to place it.
“Who are you? Whose orders are you following!”
The assassin answered with steel instead of words. Jang Mu-eon smashed the hall window and hurled himself through.
Crash!
Glass exploded in every direction. He tumbled onto the roof tiles outside and forced himself upright. His left arm was already soaked in blood.
“Damn it!”
He launched himself away from the stronghold that had once been his. Fleeing from the place he ruled—the absurdity of it almost made him laugh. But there was no time to stand around staring.
Whish.
Footsteps closed in right behind him. Not one pair. At least three or four assassins were on his trail.
“Damn it…”
Jang Mu-eon clenched his teeth and sprinted into the dark, leaping from roof to roof while their shadows flickered after him.
Who are they? Someone inside the Black Wind Association? Why?
An ambush right after he returned from meeting Kang Yeon made no sense. The first attacker had called him a traitor. That meant he had been under watch all along.
“Kh…”
He could not spare another thought. Blood poured from the wound and his body grew heavier by the second. Even a martial artist of the Peak Realm died once he bled enough.
The streets of West Lake lay empty. Rain began to fall in a steady drizzle, mixing with Jang Mu-eon’s blood until the road ran red. He ducked into an alley to catch his breath, but the pursuers refused to give up.
“This way!”
“Don’t let him escape!”
Shouts came from every direction. Jang Mu-eon felt despair claw at him. Once the quiet assassination failed, they had simply thrown numbers at the problem. The rain and the deep night muffled their noise—a small mercy for him as well—but they still outnumbered him and carried no wounds of their own.
Is this how I die…?
Then Kang Yeon’s face rose in his mind. The man had told him to come whenever he needed help.
What would he do in a situation like this?
Jang Mu-eon’s feet turned of their own accord toward the West Lake Number One Inn. He had nowhere else to go, and more than that, he believed Kang Yeon would take him in.
I have nowhere else…
The rain grew heavier. His clothes were soaked through with water and blood, and his consciousness began to fray. By the time he reached the front of the inn his vision was already swimming. He lacked even the strength to knock. He collapsed against the doorframe.
“Haa… haa…”
Only ragged breathing broke the quiet of the pre-dawn street. He could not be certain he had made the right choice coming here.
Do I even have the right to stand at this door?
The man once filled with nothing but vengeance, the man who had once named Kang Yeon his enemy, was now begging that same man for help. Shame burned through him.
In that instant black-clad figures dropped all around him. Masked men in dark robes sealed every escape. Despair flooded Jang Mu-eon’s face.
“So this is as far as I go.”
Swords rose as one. Jang Mu-eon squeezed his eyes shut and waited for the end.
At that very moment—
Creak.
The inn door opened without a sound. Kang Yeon stepped into the night.
Wuumm.
An unprecedented force erupted from him and seized the surrounding space. The blades descending on Jang Mu-eon froze in mid-air. The assassins themselves locked in place as though time had stopped.
“Ugh…”
Strangled groans escaped the rigid men. Power beyond anything they had ever felt bound every muscle; they could not move a finger.
Step. Step.
Kang Yeon ignored the assassins and checked Jang Mu-eon. His expression stayed calm, almost unsurprised, as if he had expected something like this all along. He spoke quietly.
“The wound is deep.”
He glanced at the trembling black-clad figures.
“Hm. Which group do you lot belong to?”
Even if he tore off the masks he would not know their faces. What mattered far more was how badly Jang Mu-eon was hurt. Kang Yeon flicked his hand almost lazily.
Wuumm.
Qi shot from his palm and struck each assassin’s dantian. They crumpled like cut straw. The display of power was absolute.
“Still, I left them alive.”
With the assassins down, Kang Yeon sent a thread of energy into Jang Mu-eon. The wounded man’s body rose gently into the air—an astonishing display of object control. Kang Yeon carried him inside.
Jo Seol was already there.
“Seol-ah, bring water and clean cloths. And wake Dan U-ryeong for me.”
“Got it!”
She hurried off. Kang Yeon laid Jang Mu-eon carefully on a mat.
“Still conscious?”
Jang Mu-eon managed a weak nod.
“Someone… is trying to kill me.”
“Treatment first. We can talk later.”
Kang Yeon’s voice was warm. That simple acceptance of a former enemy struck Jang Mu-eon harder than any blade.
A short while later the noise brought Dan U-ryeong out, still half-asleep.
“What in the world is going on in the middle of the night? Huh? And who’s this guy?”
“Perfect timing. Come look at this wound.”
As the last heir of the Divine Device Sect, Dan U-ryeong possessed talents in many fields, including a more than serviceable knowledge of medicine. He examined the injury and his face grew grave.
“This is… Seven-Star Viper venom. A high-grade poison that only a handful of people in the Murim can even handle.”
Kang Yeon’s eyes sharpened.
“Seven-Star Viper?”
“Right. A black snake with seven silver markings. Its venom is special—no symptoms at first, then it slowly rides the blood vessels outward.”
Dan U-ryeong checked Jang Mu-eon’s pulse as he explained.
“Seven-Star venom progresses through seven stages. First, numbness at the wound. Second, rigidity in the limbs. Third, difficulty breathing. Fourth, blurred vision. Fifth, organ failure. Sixth, loss of consciousness. And seventh…”
“Death.”
Kang Yeon’s voice was ice.
“Exactly. This friend here is already entering the fourth stage. Blurred vision means the poison has reached the brain. We need an antidote, and fast.”
Dan U-ryeong stood abruptly.
“Fortunately I can make one. But the ingredients are special, so it will take a little time.”
“What do you need?”
“First, Thousand-Year Snow Lotus. It purifies the blood.”
He ticked the items off on his fingers.
“Next, Hundred-Year Fleeceflower Root—that neutralizes the toxicity. And Purple Pearl Lingzhi boosts immunity and stops the venom from spreading.”
Kang Yeon opened a space in the air with a casual gesture.
“I have the Snow Lotus and the Fleeceflower Root.”
He produced rare medicinal treasures the way other people pull pebbles from a pocket. Dan U-ryeong did not even look surprised; he already knew the kinds of things Kang Yeon kept on hand.
“Good. Two down.”
A faint fragrance filled the inn. The Thousand-Year Snow Lotus released a chill from its snow-white petals; the Hundred-Year Fleeceflower Root smelled strongly of medicine from its ginseng-like root.
“Ah. The Purple Pearl Lingzhi is the problem. It’s actually common enough that I can usually find it anywhere—except right this second, and we don’t have time to run to a clinic.”
Dan U-ryeong frowned. The easiest ingredient was the one Kang Yeon did not happen to carry, and a trip to a physician would cost them the narrow window they still had.
“No substitutes?”
“Without Purple Pearl Lingzhi the antidote won’t finish. Nothing else can block the nerve-paralyzing effect of Seven-Star venom.”
Then Jo Seol spoke quietly.
“Um… do you mean something like a purple mushroom?”
Every gaze snapped to her.
“Seol-ah, have you seen one?”
Kang Yeon asked at once.
“Yes. When I was practicing the breathing technique I think I saw one in the corner of the backyard. A purple mushroom that sparkled a little…”
Dan U-ryeong shot to his feet.
“That’s it! Purple Pearl Lingzhi only grows where the qi is pure.”
“Really?”
“Yes! Let’s go check right now!”
They hurried to the backyard and found, in a quiet corner, a small mushroom glowing soft violet. Dan U-ryeong harvested it with care.
“That’s the one! It must have sprouted naturally because of the Ten-Thousand-Year Warm Jade powder Yeon-i scattered through the inn.”
The mushroom shone with a gentle purple light and gave off a faint sweet scent.
“I can make the antidote now. The process is complicated, though, so it will take a bit.”
Back inside, Dan U-ryeong set up at one end of the kitchen.
“First I have to decoct the Thousand-Year Snow Lotus and extract its essence.”
He placed the lotus in a small medicine pot and began to simmer it. The white petals slowly released a clear, transparent liquid.
“Next I grind the Hundred-Year Fleeceflower Root into fine powder.”
He worked the root in a mortar with steady care; thick medicinal fragrance rose with every stroke.
“Finally the Purple Pearl Lingzhi needs special handling.”
He set the mushroom in a small porcelain dish and gently infused it with internal energy. The violet fungus slowly dissolved into liquid.
“Now the three must be mixed in exact proportion—three parts Snow Lotus essence, two parts Fleeceflower powder, one part Purple Pearl liquid.”
His hands moved with exquisite precision. A single mistake in the ratio would turn the antidote into poison.
“Almost there. One last careful stir…”
He stirred with a wooden rod until the mixture shimmered gold.
“Done!”
The finished antidote glowed a soft golden color and smelled sweetly of medicine.
“Once he drinks this, the Seven-Star venom will be completely purged within half a shichen.”
Dan U-ryeong brought the dose to Jang Mu-eon and helped him swallow it. Half a shichen later, consciousness began to return.
“Ugh… where… am I?”
Kang Yeon answered with quiet relief.
“You’re in the inn.”
Jang Mu-eon’s condition improved by the minute. His vision cleared; sensation returned to his once-numb limbs. Dan U-ryeong watched the recovery and nodded.
“The Seven-Star venom is gone, but he’ll need several days of rest to fully recover. Lucky for him he arrived before it spread completely. Any later and there would have been nothing we could do.”
Jang Mu-eon shuddered as the full meaning sank in. He had brushed death’s edge.
“Who would use a poison this refined?”
Kang Yeon murmured. Dan U-ryeong stroked his chin.
“Whoever made it is highly skilled. And the channels for obtaining this kind of venom are limited.”
Jang Mu-eon forced the words out.
“I was ambushed… from inside the Black Wind Association.”
Kang Yeon and Dan U-ryeong exchanged a look.
“So the mastermind is someone inside the Association.”
Dan U-ryeong muttered under his breath. When the treatment was finished and Jang Mu-eon had recovered enough strength, he looked around at the warm atmosphere of the inn and at Kang Yeon watching over him. With difficulty he spoke.
“I am grateful… for the grace of saving my life.”
Kang Yeon answered calmly.
“Because we save a person’s life first.”
Jang Mu-eon’s eyes trembled. The heart once filled with nothing but vengeance now held only emptiness and confusion.
“Young Master Kang… what should I do now?”
Kang Yeon’s eyes gleamed.
“First we uncover who’s behind this. From what I can see, this isn’t just your problem.”