Chapter 235
Chapter 235
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 235
Chapter Title: Gyobu-hwa
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Around the same time, Gyobu-hwa was overcome by a sense of utter hopelessness that went beyond mere frustration.
She had been pouring every effort into seducing Dang Mujin.
Answering his questions with utmost sincerity went without saying, and casually dressing lighter while sitting close to him was just the basics.
The attire of southern frontier women was revealing by nature, so there was nothing particularly odd about it.
In the midst of their conversations, she would overtly flirt. Her gestures were so bold that any ordinary man would have lost all reason and surrendered to lust without a second thought.
Her goal was singular: to somehow captivate Dang Mujin and return to the southern frontier together.
'I have to capture him, no matter what.'
Yet Dang Mujin showed no reaction at all, in a bizarrely complete manner.
He displayed interest only in solo poison cultivation and tales of southern frontier poison arts.
'Am I not to his taste? No, that doesn't seem to be the case...'
What confused her even more was that on the day they first met, Dang Mujin had acted quite favorably toward her.
How could anyone so easily place a hand on a stranger woman's belly or stroke her back?
Gyobu-hwa had pondered the reason for nearly ten days, but nothing came to mind.
'No way, is he really doing this because he doesn't like me?'
It couldn't be. She wasn't a beauty capable of toppling nations, but she had possessed outstanding looks since childhood.
With her natural beauty enhanced by consistent care, Gyobu-hwa's allure was more than sufficient anywhere.
This was no groundless self-assurance. Marriage proposals had frequently come from other bloodlines within the Five Poisons Sect.
Capturing a man's heart was as easy for her as flipping her palm.
Suddenly, Mok Wana came to mind.
Gyobu-hwa's confidence wilted slightly. Could it be that I don't catch his eye because that woman is around?
'No. No man turns away from a woman. Besides, he brought a woman all the way into these deep mountains, so he seems quite fond of feminine charms... He must have noticed my intentions.'
She shook her head up to that point.
Even if Central Plains culture and southern frontier customs differed, no normal person could be that oblivious.
'He doesn't seem married to that Mok Wana woman. Is his principal wife an extraordinary beauty? Or the daughter of some high official he can't easily discard?'
That latter possibility seemed more likely. If Mok Wana was a watchdog planted by his principal wife, it all fit together reasonably.
Gyobu-hwa asked Dang Mujin obliquely.
"You mentioned getting married before, right?"
The first step was confirming whether he was indeed married.
Dang Mujin replied indifferently.
"Uh... Did I go that far?"
"Yeah. What kind of person is your wife? Someone you'd marry must come from no ordinary family."
"Family? I lost my parents young and lived alone. When we first met, she was living in a shack."
"A shack?"
She could accept an ordinary family background, but a shack was beyond imagination.
She was momentarily at a loss for words, but pressed on.
"Then she must be an incredible beauty. Central Plains folk like white skin, right? Is she as white and fair as Mok girl?"
"No. She's a bit on the darker side. She did too much outdoor work from a young age and got really tanned. It felt a little unfamiliar at first, but now I like it. She looks so lively and healthy."
Gyobu-hwa glanced at her own arm. It was pale compared to other southern frontier women, but still a shade darker than Dang Mujin's skin.
So what exactly was the problem? Gyobu-hwa sank into contemplation, unable to extricate herself.
*
Four days later, Gyobu-hwa finally made her decision.
After spending the entire day discussing poison arts with Dang Mujin, late into the night, she spoke up.
"Dang Mujin."
"Why?"
Dang Mujin, half-reclining and lost in thought, answered in his usual apathetic tone.
She was already accustomed to his demeanor, so she wasn't particularly startled.
"I'll be direct. Do you want to come south with me?"
"Why south?"
"The poison knowledge I've shared is less than a tenth of what the Five Poisons Sect holds. If you return with me to the sect, you'll gain not just vast knowledge, but an incalculable number of poisons."
"You said you fled a faction dispute to survive, right? Just going back would cause an uproar."
"The Five Poisons Sect has a long history, and all five great bloodlines have experienced rises and falls. The Gyo bloodline isn't facing exile for the first time."
Gyobu-hwa emphasized further.
"Moreover, the Gyo bloodline has only temporarily declined—its foundations haven't completely crumbled. With your abilities, you could reclaim hegemony over the Five Poisons Sect within ten years. I guarantee it."
But Dang Mujin responded with the same apathetic expression.
"Hmm. Your confident attitude is impressive. But things in the world don't always go as planned."
"No. I'm no naive optimist. I'm certain."
Dang Mujin glanced at Gyobu-hwa. This didn't seem like empty bravado.
She pressed her persuasion.
"It's hard for you, a Central Plains man, to understand, but seizing hegemony over the Five Poisons Sect isn't merely claiming one sect. It's no different from becoming the king of the vast southern frontier—what you call Naman."
"What? That big?"
Dang Mujin finally showed interest. Seizing the moment, Gyobu-hwa lavishly praised the Five Poisons Sect.
"The sect's scale alone rivals several major Central Plains sects combined. That's why no southern frontier dynasty has surpassed it in centuries. In regions where the Five Poisons Sect holds strong, we're practically kings."
The Five Poisons Sect was even greater than she had imagined.
However, Dang Mujin felt her words rang hollow, like exaggerations.
It was suspicious, like a quack hawking a miracle cure with nothing but sweet talk.
A sudden thought occurred to him.
"Even if everything you say is true, I'm an outsider. Handing that much to an outsider would surely cause problems."
"True. You are an outsider. Up until now."
Gyobu-hwa grasped Dang Mujin's hands with both of hers and stared straight into his eyes.
"But if you marry me, you won't be one anymore, will you?"
It took Dang Mujin a moment to realize what she meant.
"What? Why bring up marriage out of nowhere?"
The instant she heard his response, Gyobu-hwa felt a powerful wave of dizziness.
'...This fool—after all my overt advances, he truly noticed nothing?'
Regardless, her course of action was set.
She went beyond merely sitting close to the half-reclining Dang Mujin and casually straddled his lap.
It was an overt seduction even courtesans from the capital would hesitate to attempt.
"You must have manly ambitions too. How about leaving the Central Plains with me and becoming the ruler of the Five Poisons Sect? You'd wield power kings would envy, commanding the world. Everyone in the southern frontier would bow before you."
Yet Dang Mujin still looked displeased.
"How can I trust you?"
"Don't worry. The moment we return south, I'll consume the child gu. Of course, the paired mother gu will go to you. That should be enough for you to trust me, right?"
Better to boldly propose terms and reclaim Five Poisons Sect hegemony than to wither away lonely on the fringes.
The child gu was distasteful, of course.
But as long as she was careful not to sour things with Dang Mujin and supported him to live long and healthy, the loneliness factor wouldn't matter much.
"Dang Mujin. Let's go together."
Intent on sealing the deal, she shook her shoulder slightly to let her clothes slip down. But Dang Mujin swiftly reached out and pulled the fabric back into place.
He pointed to a spot a little ways off with his finger.
"I have no intention of going to the southern frontier. Get down."
But instead of retreating, Gyobu-hwa scooted even closer atop his body.
"Don't be so wishy-washy. This is a chance that won't come twice."
"I told you, no interest."
His answer was so straightforward that she even felt a twinge of injustice.
"Then why did you ask how you could trust me earlier? I'm offering to take the child gu myself!"
"I was trying to refuse politely. A direct rejection felt... a bit much."
A faint venom flickered in Gyobu-hwa's eyes.
Dang Mujin, thoroughly uncomfortable with the awkward situation, lightly pushed her away and sat up properly.
Judging by the mood, it was about time to leave tomorrow.
'Mok Wana's one thing, and now Gyobu-hwa. Lately, nothing but headaches. What in the world is going on?'
But the moment he fully raised his upper body, Dang Mujin sensed a hazy incongruity. There was someone behind him.
'Who...?'
No need to deliberate. It was Jinram. Mok Wana couldn't approach so stealthily.
A martial artist had snuck up from behind. No good intentions there.
Dang Mujin immediately sprang up from his seat, swinging his sword. It was the best response possible from such an awkward position.
However, Jinram's martial arts outpaced Dang Mujin's swordsmanship by half a step. An imperfect swing stood no chance.
Jinram blocked Dang Mujin's sword from a stable stance, then unleashed a flurry of strikes to maintain the advantage.
Dang Mujin desperately swung his sword on the defensive until a small opening appeared, at which point he slipped a hand into his bosom.
'I can win this sufficiently.'
Dang Mujin's true strength lay not in the sword alone, but in poison arts fused with it.
To be precise, poison arts were the main force, with swordsmanship in support.
With a covert motion, he flicked his hand, launching a poison-coated needle.
As he barely parried Jinram's sword three times, Dang Mujin's left hand moved secretly.
The needle, which had flown off somewhere, abruptly changed course toward Jinram's back.
Jinram showed no sign of noticing the incoming poisoned needle.
Dang Mujin clenched his left fist.
'Got him.'
But an utterly unforeseen result emerged.
The needle that should have embedded in Jinram's back was repelled by some bizarre elasticity and bounced away.
Gyobu-hwa, watching the fight from the side, laughed.
"Jinram is a bodyguard who survives among poison arts practitioners. He'd naturally cultivate external arts to fend off venomous bugs and snakes' fangs."
Dang Mujin spat a curse.
Ambushed from an awkward position, he was at a disadvantage, and the matchup was extremely unfavorable.
Jinram swung his sword even more ferociously, then seized a gap to unleash a left fist strike.
Dang Mujin failed to counter the sudden bizarre fist technique and took a hit to the jaw. His body crumpled limply.
Jinram struck the acupoints of the unconscious Dang Mujin to seal them, then asked Gyobu-hwa.
"What now?"
"Persuade him a few more days."
"His attitude was extremely resolute. If persuasion fails, what then?"
Gyobu-hwa gazed at the slack Dang Mujin.
It was true that the Gyo bloodline in the Five Poisons Sect had endured countless ups and downs, but they had never recovered their position in just one or two generations.
The shortest recovery took decades; the longest, over a century, to regain their former glory.
That meant, without some extraordinary catalyst, Gyobu-hwa would never return to the Five Poisons Sect in her lifetime.
"I have no intention of giving up completely just because persuasion fails. I will return to the Five Poisons Sect alive."
Even if only before her death—to revive the Gyo bloodline, for her children or their descendants—Dang Mujin's abilities were essential.
If the best path was impossible, she would take the next best.
"Before killing him, I need to at least extract his seed."
Gyobu-hwa straightened her clothes and pointed outside the cave.
"Jinram. Go kill the woman outside."
"Understood."
Jinram replied in his usual emotionless voice.