Chapter 260
Chapter 260
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 260
Chapter Title: Hidden Weapons
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"What? Weren't you giving up on swordsmanship?"
"Even if it's a waste of everything I've learned up to now, I can't just drop it completely."
Even though he'd resolved to seek a path beyond the sword, Dang Mujin didn't entirely set it aside.
Martial arts were like iron—left unmanaged, they rusted and became useless.
Dang Mujin planned to keep practicing the sword little by little, just enough to prevent that rust from forming.
If he was lucky, he might even gain some insight and glimpse the next realm.
That said, it was undeniable that the time he spent wielding the sword had sharply decreased.
'So what should I do now?'
The first thing that came to mind was, naturally, poison arts.
Whenever he'd faced mortal danger, it was poison that had saved him. Hadn't the Three-Eyed Monk himself said that poison was Dang Mujin's greatest weapon?
And among all the people in the Dang family estate, there was only one he could discuss poison with: Mok Wana.
Dang Mujin went to find her and asked about the poisons and insects he'd obtained from Nokgun Mountain.
"Wana, the poisonous creatures and bugs I brought back from Nokgun Mountain a while ago... Blood Fang Worms, was it? Where are they now?"
As if she'd been waiting for him to ask, a broad grin spread across Mok Wana's face.
"Want me to show you? Follow me!"
"Where are we going?"
"You'll see when we get there."
Mok Wana's belly had grown quite large, so she walked with shorter steps and a waddling gait than before.
It was a strangely fitting sight, but she seemed a bit strained with every step. At this pace, who knew when they'd arrive? So Dang Mujin scooped her up in his arms.
"What? You're going to carry me like this?"
"Yeah. Just tell me which way."
"That way!"
Dang Mujin ran in the direction her finger pointed. The people of Chengdu watched with amusement as he dashed by carrying Mok Wana, but neither of them paid much mind to the stares.
Finally, they arrived at a secluded forest on the outskirts of Chengdu.
"Where is it?"
"Just a bit further that way."
In the spot she indicated was a tiny patch of grass, smaller than a typical front-yard vegetable garden.
But there, growing in small clusters by type, were the poisonous plants Master Gyobuhwa had cultivated on Nokgun Mountain.
Eager to show off her handiwork, Mok Wana wore a confident expression, and Dang Mujin didn't disappoint her expectations.
"Wow, when did you make all this?"
"Not long after we got back from Nokgun Mountain. I haven't been too busy."
"You must've felt heavy."
"It wasn't bad until recently. I haven't had any visitors for the last couple of months."
Perhaps due to her somewhat lax care, the poisonous plants and grasses that fed the Blood Fang Worms were subtly shorter and thinner than those on Nokgun Mountain.
As Dang Mujin approached to examine them more closely, a few Blood Fang Worms flew up and circled around him and Mok Wana.
A handful of venomous bugs posed no threat to Dang Mujin or Mok Wana.
But there was no guarantee they wouldn't harm the child in her belly.
Dang Mujin took off his outer robe and draped it over her, then waved his hand to shoo away the hovering Blood Fang Worms as he stepped toward the little garden.
"The weather and soil are different here, but raising them this well is impressive enough."
"Honestly, I just planted the seeds and checked occasionally to keep wild animals from eating them."
"That's more than enough. But we should move the spot."
"Why?"
"Some passerby might get bitten by the Blood Fang Worms and suffer for it."
A random person getting bitten was bad enough, but the real issue was the risk of outsiders learning about these poisonous plants. Better to relocate to somewhere more secluded, even if it took extra effort.
"Where are you thinking of moving them?"
"Hmm. I'll scout some places before winter ends."
Several options came to mind.
They could head back into the depths of Nokgun Mountain to cultivate them, or if needed, raise the Blood Fang Worms and plants separately.
There were plenty of other experiments he wanted to try. He was itching to delve into the poisonous techniques of the Southern Barbarians that Master Gyobuhwa had shared.
Of course, Gyobuhwa probably hadn't revealed the truly vital secrets.
Still, Dang Mujin had gained countless leads—more ideas than he could count. With enough time, remarkable results were sure to follow.
'Worst case, I could head down to the Southern Barbarians myself.'
From what Gyobuhwa had said, the Five Poison Gates there were in a state of some chaos. If he played his cards right, he could probably ally with one of the factions. Just as Gyobuhwa had rated his potential highly, the warriors of those groups wouldn't underestimate him either.
Dang Mujin glanced at Mok Wana's belly.
'...Not that I can go right now.'
*
After returning to the Dang family estate with Mok Wana, Dang Mujin sought out merchants traveling long distances and asked them to bring back rare poisonous and medicinal herbs.
The merchants gladly accepted. Herbs and poisonous plants didn't take up much space, so picking them up en route wasn't a hassle.
But with winter setting in, they couldn't depart immediately. Local peddlers or cart merchants ignored the seasons, but those traveling far avoided the harsh winter journeys.
Nor was it feasible to start cultivating poisonous plants or bugs with Mok Wana right away. Whether transplanting or raising Blood Fang Worms, it would have to wait until spring.
And so, things circled back, leaving Dang Mujin idle again after just two days.
'...What now?'
There was a fundamental difference between poison arts and other martial arts.
For other martial arts, all you needed was a sturdy body and a weapon. Endless practice, real combat, insights—they propelled you forward.
Poison arts were different. They demanded a constant supply of new poisons, mastery over them, and that was the path to achievement.
Even a master who could withstand deadly toxins was powerless without the right poison to wield.
With no way to obtain poisons now, Dang Mujin had no means to even train.
'I've already tested the toxicity of all the herbs I have.'
There was one method left: team up with Mok Wana, exchanging the poisons in their bodies back and forth to train. But that was far too risky. No telling what harm it might do to the baby.
Sword practice wasn't ideal, nor were poison arts.
Dang Mujin sat on the veranda, tossing twigs to pass the time. The only thing he could do now was look after Dang Yeong in Dan Seolyeong's place.
As he spent a leisurely moment with Dang Yeong, Dan Seolyeong sat down beside them.
"What're you doing?"
"Who knows. Nothing in particular."
Dang Mujin said as he picked up a twig about the length of a finger and tossed it.
Infused with internal energy, it shot straight and fast, striking the wall thirty feet away before dropping.
Dan Seolyeong spoke.
"Why not swing a sword around?"
"I've decided to limit sword practice to set times for a while. Namgung Myeong said that when you're stuck, stepping away completely to clear your head can help."
"And poison arts?"
"No conditions for training."
Dang Mujin felt frustrated with the situation, but Dan Seolyeong seemed oddly pleased.
"Sigh, fine. You need a break too. Show your face to Yeongie some."
Dang Mujin grinned and snapped off another twig, tossing it. It flew even faster, smacking the wall and falling.
Dang Yeong watched from beside him with wide-eyed curiosity, then held out her chubby little palm.
"Daddy, me too!"
Dang Mujin obliged his daughter's simple request.
He broke off a small twig and handed it to her. Mimicking him, Dang Yeong gripped it and threw.
But with the strength of a child just turning three, she couldn't hurl it far.
Unlike the sharp flight of Dang Mujin's twig, hers fluttered weakly a couple of steps before plopping to the ground.
"Haha!"
As Dang Mujin burst out laughing, Dang Yeong pouted, squatted down, and picked up a small pebble that fit perfectly in her palm.
Determined to show her true power, she tossed the pebble.
It flew a bit farther than the twig—still not far enough to wipe the smile from Dang Mujin's face, but farther nonetheless.
Yet Dang Yeong looked up at him with round eyes, as if awaiting praise for her feat.
"How was it?"
Dang Mujin scooped her up high and said,
"Who'd you get this strength from? You're all grown up already."
Dang Yeong burst into giggles. She was at the age where praise made her happy and being lifted high by Daddy was thrilling.
But Dan Seolyeong, watching from the side, wore a subtle expression.
"Daddy finally plays with his daughter after so long, and the game is tossing twigs and pebbles? It looks pretty shabby."
"Why? What else do we need?"
"If you're going to play, do it right. Come on."
Dan Seolyeong led Dang Mujin to a small building next to the annex.
It was a new structure built while he was away—small, with a latch on the door, so he'd never bothered going in.
He hadn't been particularly interested.
With the estate expanding and more people staying, he'd assumed it was just one of the new storage sheds.
He had reason to think so: wooden blocks and odds and ends were piled by the door.
"Come in."
But when Dan Seolyeong opened it, the sight inside was a bit removed from his guess. It wasn't a storage shed—it was a workshop.
During their brief stay in Luoyang, Dan Seolyeong had worked under a carpenter.
Later, through that connection, she'd made Namgung Myeong's prosthetic arm in the carpenter's shop.
The scene before them now perfectly mirrored that workshop.
Dang Mujin slowly looked around and said,
"Wow, when did you make this?"
"It doesn't take long to build something this size. I didn't make it myself, though..."
Dan Seolyeong went to a corner of the workshop, squatted, and picked up a thick wooden block.
Dang Mujin hurried over in surprise.
"Let me lift it for you. Put it down."
"No, I'm fine. Just get out of the way."
"Your body's heavy now. You sure?"
"I'm the type who can't stand sitting still. Lately, people block me the moment I try to move, and that's more frustrating."
She wasn't exaggerating—her face lit up with more energy than usual as she gripped a small knife and chisel.
Dan Seolyeong shaved down the paulownia block bit by bit and said,
"You've been out and about forever, finally back to play with the kid. Might as well do it properly, so Yeongie remembers playing with Daddy when she grows up."
Her hands never stopped as she spoke.
She first whittled the block to about the thickness of a finger joint, then rounded the edges. It looked like a flat, round rice cake.
He thought she'd do more, but she set down the tools and tossed the wooden disc to Dang Mujin.
The broad, flat disc sailed gracefully into his hand.
"You try throwing it."
Dang Mujin lightly gripped it and tossed it toward Dan Seolyeong. Even without much force, it flew faster and more elegantly than expected, brushing past her ear.
It wasn't dangerous enough to hurt, but she grumbled playfully.
"Why'd you throw it so hard?"
"Sorry. Didn't expect it to fly that well."
"It's made to fly well, so of course it does."
Satisfied with his reaction, Dan Seolyeong smiled warmly.
"How's that? Yeongie should be able to throw it pretty far."
"From the annex veranda, she could hit the wall."
"Good. Play carefully so she doesn't get hurt, and have fun."
Dan Seolyeong set down the remaining block and tidied the tools.
Then a memory from Dang Mujin flashed back.
The twig he'd thrown with internal energy: fast and straight like an arrow.
Dang Yeong's twig: wobbling in a parabola before plopping down.
The pebble: heavier than the twig, yet flying a bit farther.
When throwing objects with the same force, what determined how far they went?
The obvious thought: light objects fly farther, heavy ones don't.
But that didn't always hold. Dang Yeong had thrown the heavier pebble farther than the twig.
'Then is it the shape?'
Not definitively. An arrow shaped like a twig flew much farther than a pebble.
Even if you used a bowstring's force on a pebble, it wouldn't match an arrow's speed and distance.
'Is there an optimal shape, and different techniques for each?'
Obvious in hindsight, but Dang Mujin had never given it thought before.
As he stood still, Dan Seolyeong finished tidying and asked,
"What're you doing?"
"Just a sec."
Dang Mujin grabbed the tools and started carving another block.
Discs like hers: some thin, some thick, some varying in thickness.
He threw the wooden discs.
Same force, but different distances, speeds, even trajectories.
Next, angular shapes: triangles, squares, hexagons, octagons. Long on one side, thin rods.
Dan Seolyeong realized what he was up to and watched quietly without urging him on.
Dang Mujin threw various wooden pieces. The force and speed needed varied slightly.
Even more intriguing: the same object yielded different results based on throwing method.
Like how the same sword's power varied with technique, throwing technique altered outcomes dramatically.
Dang Mujin recalled the Guiding Escape Skill.
A minor throwing art he'd briefly learned from the old Namgung family, then forgotten.
Dan Seolyeong's expression grew serious.
Until now, her concept of hidden weapons focused on the weapon itself—how exceptional it was.
Her creations yielded the same power in any hand.
The Heavenly King Needle Case, the Rainstorm Plum Blossom Needles.
The key was one: maximizing their power.
But the disc in Dang Mujin's hand was different.
A simple form, yet its power shifted with the user's skill.
The disc Dan Seolyeong had made opened up infinite possibilities for him.
'Deep. This might go beyond mere parlor tricks.'
Dang Mujin fiddled with the disc, entranced.