The Shadowless Heart Devours the Antidote
Mu Ilho gently laid the limp Jang Muhwi on the floor.
Then he turned his gaze back to Dang Jihwa.
A fierce wave surged within Mu Ilho’s chest.
Was it courage? Friendship? Or mere bravado?
Whatever it was, the word “fear” had completely vanished from the storm raging inside him.
The others felt the same.
They stared at Dang Jihwa in silence. Not one of them showed the slightest trace of terror. Their eyes burned like those of enraged wild boars.
Wang Jimak’s eyes widened at the sight.
The momentum radiating from these young talents had transformed completely. Half a shichen earlier they had seemed like newborn pups, yet now they stood as full-fledged tigers.
Wang Jimak knew exactly what had changed them.
It was Jang Muhwi.
Any martial artist facing the hidden weapons and poisons of the Sichuan Tang Family would instinctively tremble. Who could remain unmoved by the attitude Jang Muhwi had displayed before Dokhwa’s deadly projectiles?
Such composure required a noble spirit of sacrifice.
The other examiners were also staring at Dang Jihwa, their gazes exerting silent pressure to detoxify him at once.
Among them, Wang Jimak’s eyes flashed with determination. He realized it was time for him to step forward.
He walked slowly until he stood before Dang Jihwa.
“Dokhwa. The test is over. Detoxify him immediately.”
“Whether I detoxify him or not is entirely up to me, isn’t it?”
“Consider the rules of the Dragon Gate Assembly once more.”
“I know them perfectly well.”
“Knowing them, how can you still delay like this!”
Even when Wang Jimak’s voice rang with authority, the corner of Dang Jihwa’s mouth curved upward in a mocking smile.
“That is still my decision. And Chief Wang, the way you’re acting right now… is that how one makes a request?”
When Dang Jihwa countered so boldly, Wang Jimak narrowed his eyes.
“This is not a request. It is an order issued by me in my capacity as the person responsible for the Murim Alliance’s Qinghai Branch.”
“And why exactly must I obey that order? You spoke of the Murim Alliance’s rules? What would happen if I were to withdraw from the Murim Alliance right now?”
Dang Jihwa regarded Wang Jimak with open amusement.
Wang Jimak found the situation utterly absurd.
The Murim Alliance’s ironclad rule was that examiners must never take the life of any participant in the Dragon Gate Assembly under any circumstances.
No one had died yet, but it was clear that if time continued to slip away, an irreversible tragedy would occur. Even a power as great as the Sichuan Tang Family could not escape the condemnation of the entire gangho for such an act.
Yet Dang Jihwa was casually dragging things out.
Wang Jimak roughly understood her intention. She was clearly trying to force him to submit. This was precisely what made the Sichuan Tang Family so terrifying. No matter how cornered they became, they never abandoned their own interests until the very end.
Wang Jimak swallowed dryly. Jang Muhwi’s presence was simply too precious to him. Never before had he encountered a talent who so perfectly embodied the five virtues of benevolence, righteousness, propriety, wisdom, and sincerity.
He had harbored slight suspicions at first, but now he was certain. Jang Muhwi would become the hero who represented all of Qinghai.
Even so, he had no intention of bowing to Dang Jihwa.
He simply stared at her. Her eyes did not waver in the slightest.
Seeing Wang Jimak’s grave expression, Dang Jihwa finally spoke in a quiet voice.
“If it is not an order but a polite request, I will take full responsibility and detoxify him.”
“...”
Wang Jimak bit his lip as he looked at her. The urgent priority was saving Jang Muhwi. He had no time to waste arguing.
He nodded slowly.
“I ask this of you.”
“It seems only Chief Wang is in a hurry.”
Dang Jihwa turned her gaze toward Mu Ilho and the other young talents. They were still glaring at her with furious eyes. She found both their stares and the entire situation deeply unpleasant.
She needed to retrace the sequence of events. Where exactly had things gone wrong?
When she had volunteered as examiner, she had intended to follow every regulation to the letter and wring every drop of suffering from these young geniuses. Yet somehow she had ended up using real poison.
The real problem was that she had unknowingly turned the test into an actual duel.
From that moment, her mood had soured.
And what had come of it? She had won the duel, yet gained nothing of real value. She had failed to uphold the dignity of the Tang Family or plant proper fear in her opponents. For a fleeting moment she even wondered whether she had been the one who lost.
Her eyebrows trembled like butterfly wings caught in a sudden frost. But she quickly masked her expression.
Regardless of the process, forcing Wang Jimak and the young talents to submit would still leave her with some profit.
With her face now composed, Dang Jihwa looked at Mu Ilho. It was a silent command to choose quickly.
Mu Ilho responded at once.
“Please save my friend, Great Hero.”
“We entrust Jang Muhwi to you, Lady Tang.”
Following Mu Ilho’s lead, the other young talents cupped their fists in respect. Only then did Dang Jihwa turn away.
A thin smile bloomed across her face. At least she had preserved her dignity. In the world of martial artists, face often mattered more than practical gain. Wasn’t the gangho a place where people drew blades against each other over nothing but honor and reputation? Martial artists lived and died by face.
By making Wang Jimak and the young talents lower their heads, she had successfully protected both the Sichuan Tang Family’s honor and her own.
Dang Jihwa approached Jang Muhwi and glanced behind her, signaling with her eyes. Her subordinate immediately brought forward a white bundle and unfolded it with practiced speed.
Inside lay a heavy-looking box. The examiners’ eyes widened. Most of them recognized it immediately. It was one of the Sichuan Tang Family’s most famous treasures.
The lid was engraved with dozens of coiling snakes.
The subordinate carefully presented the box to Dang Jihwa.
With a casual motion, she opened it. Inside were five small porcelain bottles and a set of needles. This was the antidote kit she took such pride in.
Dang Jihwa could wield over a thousand different poisons and knew how to neutralize more than a thousand in return. The countless bottles and needles inside the box were tools capable of countering virtually every poison in the Central Plains. Because it could dissolve all poisons under heaven, it was also known as the Manhae—the Ten Thousand Solutions.
After staring at the box for a moment, Dang Jihwa clicked her tongue.
The antidotes were far more expensive than the poisons themselves. Still, at least she had regained face in front of Wang Jimak and the young talents.
After confirming the contents, she took hold of Jang Muhwi’s wrist and closed her eyes, carefully reading the poison flowing through his veins.
Besides the Seven Color Poison, the deadly toxins the Sichuan Tang Family prided themselves on were raging inside him like molten lava.
Yet Dang Jihwa’s smile never faltered. For her, both administering poison and removing it were easier than eating rice cakes while lying down.
She picked up the bottle marked with the character “One.” The remaining bottles were labeled Ten, Hundred, Thousand, and Ten Thousand. Within the Tang Family they were called the One Medicine Pill, Ten Medicine Pill, and so on. The higher the number, the more potent and expensive the ingredients.
She removed several pills from the One Medicine bottle and poured them into Jang Muhwi’s mouth. For the Seven Color Poison and the other toxins she had used, a few One Medicine Pills should have been more than enough.
Jang Muhwi’s body twitched. His system was reacting to the medicine.
Still holding his pulse, Dang Jihwa looked around.
“Now we simply need to wait a little while…”
But she could not finish the sentence. The fingers gripping Jang Muhwi’s wrist began to tremble.
The poison energy that should have vanished remained exactly where it was. Instead, the energy of the One Medicine Pills had disappeared without a trace.
This was a situation Dang Jihwa had never encountered before. Five of the Tang Family’s One Medicine Pills should have been sufficient. Yet they had no effect whatsoever.
Wang Jimak stepped closer, having noticed her sudden unease.
“What is wrong? Perhaps…”
“I will handle this myself, so please step back. You are interfering with the detoxification.”
“Understood.”
Though Wang Jimak retreated, the suspicion in his eyes remained. Something was clearly wrong.
With shaking hands, Dang Jihwa poured the rest of the One Medicine Pills into Jang Muhwi’s mouth. The poison inside his veins did not budge.
Biting her lip, she reached for the bottle containing the Ten Medicine Pills. Her fingers trembled—not from panic, but from the sheer reluctance of using something so costly.
After confirming the pills had entered his mouth, she furrowed her brow. Once again, there was no effect.
Gudo Mosang approached after reading her expression.
“What is happening? Why isn’t the poison being neutralized?”
“Do not speak to me. This is all part of the detoxification process. Everyone, step back.”
Dang Jihwa’s voice cracked with anger. This was the greatest crisis of her life.
What kind of constitution allowed poison to take hold yet rendered antidotes completely useless? Even the Ten Medicine Pills—worth their weight in gold—produced no improvement whatsoever.
She felt like she was losing her mind. Part of her wanted to abandon the detoxification entirely. But failure now would leave her owing a massive debt to the examiners, the young talents, and Jang Muhwi himself.
Moreover, although she had threatened to withdraw from the Murim Alliance earlier, actually doing so would not be simple. She would have to bear the full consequences of breaking the Alliance’s rules.
With great reluctance, Dang Jihwa reached for the Hundred Medicine Pills. These were the first she had ever used since entering the gangho. Losing money felt like having her very roots torn out.
All things originate from the earth, the earth is scattered by the wind throughout the gangho…
Jang Muhwi kept his eyes closed, yet he heard every word of the conversation.
The Sichuan Tang Family truly resembled a nest of venomous snakes. After causing an incident, they tried to save face with ridiculous sophistry? And they dared to do it so brazenly when the entire mess was their own doing.
While he was inwardly cursing Dang Jihwa’s behavior, the antidote entered his mouth. It raced through his meridians and spread to every corner where the toxins lay dormant.
At that moment, a familiar phrase surfaced in his mind—the incantation of the Muyoung Simbeop.
As he began to circulate the Shadowless Heart Method, his unique energy flowed through his veins and permeated his entire body. At the same time, something completely unexpected occurred.
The moment the antidote entered, the Muyoung Simbeop accepted its energy and began to devour it.