Chapter 185
Chapter 185
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 185
Chapter Title: Gentlemen Thieves
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Dang Mujin's group had secretly subdued two peak experts. With their acupoints sealed, they wouldn't wake until the sun was high in the sky.
The group unanimously praised Hong Geolgae.
"Hong Geolgae, that was impressive work."
"It was overwhelming. They followed him blindly, like chicks trailing after their mother hen."
"Even the Three-Eyed Elder couldn't have lured them in so stealthily."
A first-rate martial artist has the innate ability to induce carelessness in peak experts simply by their presence.
No one could deny Hong Geolgae's overwhelming performance. Yet Hong Geolgae himself seemed dissatisfied, his expression somewhat sullen.
"What's wrong?"
"Oh... no, it's nothing. Don't worry about it."
Of course, they could roughly guess the reason, but if he said not to worry, a true friend wouldn't press the issue.
Dang Mujin's group set aside all concerns and headed for the Pavilion Lord's office.
A sudden thought crossed Dang Mujin's mind.
"No way he's still in his office this late, right?"
"He's probably gone to bed. And even if he is there by some chance, it doesn't matter."
How could it not matter? But Namgung Myeong's expression was so confident that Dang Mujin decided not to question it.
The four pressed their ears silently against the office door. Fortunately, no signs of life came from within.
Namgung Myeong gripped the sliding door's handle and whispered.
"Here we go. Opening the door."
The group clenched their fists tight. Whether the sack lay on the desk would determine the success of the night's endeavor.
As the door slowly slid open, revealing half the interior, the four drew in a sharp breath.
"It's there!"
The sack sat untouched on the desk. Namgung Myeong let out a triumphant cheer.
"Looks like the Pavilion Lord was truly suffering. Perfect!"
Namgung Myeong uttered words that oddly sounded like trash talk. But that wasn't important now. Dang Mujin and Hyeon-gong cautiously approached the desk and opened the sack.
It brimmed with gold ingots, its weight incredibly heavy.
They hadn't fully appreciated it since Yujin-gwang always carried it, but the gold inside rivaled the weight of an average person.
Seeing so much gold made it feel strangely unreal.
The three—excluding one-armed Namgung Myeong—divided the contents into thirds and shouldered their shares.
Hyeon-gong repeatedly lifted and lowered his sack slightly, savoring its hefty heft.
"To think the Pavilion Lord's agony has lightened by this much already. I feel proud."
"Don't get complacent yet. We still have to scale the wall to call it done."
The four slipped stealthily out of the Pavilion Lord's office.
At that moment, Dang Mujin's group realized footsteps were approaching from the direction of the office.
"What? Did they spot us?"
The group glanced at the two they'd acupointed and hidden. They still slumbered soundly out of sight.
Hong Geolgae spoke in confusion.
"This can't be. How did they figure it out?"
"We'll figure that out later. Move first!"
The four proceeded as stealthily as possible, all while keeping tabs on the approaching presences.
Fortunately, the people didn't immediately pinpoint their position.
"How many are there?"
"Over thirty, I'd say. Can't gauge their skills, but probably mostly second-rates and first-rates..."
Even a few peak experts mixed in wouldn't be surprising. Dang Mujin said in a low voice.
"Should we ditch the gold and bolt?"
Namgung Myeong vehemently opposed Dang Mujin's suggestion.
"Losing the objective means failure. Don't give up even in the worst scenarios."
"Think about getting caught and dragged back to the Namgung family. This time, your father won't stop at chopping off one arm."
"Don't fret over failure or let fear grip you. Defeat and surrender can become habits... Wait. They're coming from ahead!"
Two figures leaped from the roof of the building in front, blocking their path. Namgung Myeong and Hyeon-gong naturally drew their swords to engage them.
As blades clashed, the group could gauge the foes' prowess even in the darkness.
'First-rate, mid-to-upper level, I'd say.'
Under normal circumstances, Namgung Myeong and Hyeon-gong would have beheaded them in a few exchanges, but now they desperately evaded lethal strikes.
Even displaying that level of skill was enough to fluster the opponents.
"These bastards are top experts!"
"Hold them off! Intruders here! This way!"
Namgung Myeong and Hyeon-gong methodically pressed their foes before unleashing Golden Crow Hands, subduing and acupointing them in short order.
The disturbance was the problem, though. People patrolling near the office were now charging toward Dang Mujin's group.
Dang Mujin grumbled.
"Why bother acupointing them instead of just cutting them down?"
"If we kill them, we stop being gentleman thieves and turn into bandits."
The encroaching foes weren't particularly skilled, but their numbers were too great to ignore. They were beyond the point of subduing them all.
"Ah, damn. More coming!"
Worse, people were swarming from the front as well. The vast, wealthy Myeonggeum Manor boasted a formidable number of guards.
Surrounded in an instant, Namgung Myeong urgently whispered.
"Hey, Dang Mujin! Do something!"
"Why me?"
"You're the only one who can use poison! Got anything that subdues without killing?"
He had options—scattering powder, paralyzing agents. But one critical issue.
"No way! If I use poison, they'll know it was me!"
He'd end up infamous as a thief instead of a proud husband and father.
Yet Namgung Myeong shouted with brimming confidence.
"No, they won't find out!"
"Why not?"
"You said you're the only one who saw the Ghost Garb Elder's corpse, right? People think poison means Ghost Garb Elders or assassins. Right?"
"Yeah, but still, what if..."
"Besides, it's not widely known you use poison arts. If you're really worried, just don't use needles."
A tempting proposal. The victims wouldn't be poison experts, so a fast-dissolving toxin left no trail.
Refusing meant ditching the sack and fleeing, but now Dang Mujin was too greedy to abandon the gold easily.
As Dang Mujin hesitated, Namgung Myeong bellowed.
"Hey, hurry! If there's trouble, I'll take responsibility!"
"Got it!"
He had no idea how Namgung Myeong would take responsibility. But those words somehow instilled confidence.
Dang Mujin racked his brain.
'Can't use needles. How to poison a crowd?'
An idea struck. He tied the gold pouch to his waist, closed his eyes, and sensed the wind's direction. The breeze was faint—ideal conditions.
'No evidence left behind. So subtle they won't even realize it's poison.'
Dang Mujin's palms gathered not poison qi, but the medicinal qi of greater belly skin.
Instead of coating a sword or needle as usual, he slowly swung his dangling hands. It looked like a dainty dance out of place in the moment, but it dispersed the medicinal qi into the air.
As his sleeves swayed gently, a fragrant scent spread—reminiscent of damp earth or crabapple blossoms.
No threatening intensity, no poison qi. The approaching foes sensed no danger from the greater belly skin qi.
Dang Mujin said.
"Now, stay sharp. Don't inhale the next medicinal qi."
Then the qi emanating from his hands shifted—to the medicinal property extracted from a civet's spleen.
Civets survive on toads and such, but aren't inherently venomous like some birds. Their spleens, livers, and bones have medicinal uses.
The issue: mixing civet spleen property with greater belly skin qi causes instant unconsciousness.
'Civet spleen is precious, but compared to this gold, it's dust.'
Those who inhaled the greater belly skin qi felt no discomfort as they surrounded the group.
An eager first-rate warrior shouted.
"Alright, rush them all at once! One, two—"
But before "three," he inhaled the faintly mingled civet qi.
"Thr..."
In that instant, the two qi mixed in his body, and the world spun before his eyes.
First-rates could expel ordinary poisons, but this started as non-poisonous, turning toxic internally—impossible to resist.
Starting with the first man to collapse, within three breaths, everyone encircling them crumpled, plunging the area into silence.
The eerie, otherworldly sight horrified Hyeon-gong and Hong Geolgae as they gaped at Dang Mujin.
"What the hell? How did you do that?"
"At my level, I'm bound to have a trick or two up my sleeve."
Even Namgung Myeong, who'd requested the poison arts, was stunned. He'd asked for a solution, not something this devastating.
Dang Mujin's poison arts strayed beyond common sense. No wonder the Three-Eyed Elder had told him to keep them hidden.
"They're not dead, right?"
"Of course not. They'll wake in less than an hour. Move!"
Now the four raced full-tilt toward the manor wall, no longer minding prying eyes. Scaling it would end everything.
The four vaulted over the Myeonggeum Manor wall.
But then, something bizarre happened. Upon crossing, the manor's interior landscape unfolded before them again.
As if they'd just entered from outside.
"...Huh?"
Without a word, the group checked their pouches. Still heavy, gold clinking inside. Raiding the office hadn't been a dream.
They turned and leaped back over the same wall. Yet they landed inside the manor once more.
A ghostly affair. Dang Mujin and Namgung Myeong couldn't fathom it.
But Daoist Hyeon-gong realized: sorcery, specifically an array formation.
Not that being a Daoist meant he could wield formations or spells.
Sorcery demands brilliant minds and innate talent; even Daoists strive endlessly for one or two. Rare even in great Daoist sects.
One exception: a sect training both martial arts and sorcery—Kunlun Sect.
Hyeon-gong shouted.
"Someone's using sorcery!"
Then, with a leisurely chuckle, a figure emerged from behind a nearby building.
Around sixty years old, clearly a martial artist, but oddly rotund. Not quite Daoist-like—no fan, the Kunlun mark, and shabby attire.
Circumstances pointed to him as the spellcaster.
As eyes fixed on the mysterious Daoist, he wore no hostility.
"Long time no see, Hong..."
But before he finished, Namgung Myeong's figure slipped behind him, striking the nape.
With a choked gasp, the Daoist collapsed.
Hong Geolgae's eyes bulged as he cried out.
"Master!"