Chapter 39
Chapter 39
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 39
Chapter Title: Poison Pill
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"This... I just swallow it, right?"
"Yeah."
Dang Mujin boldly swallowed the seven-treasure viper's poison sac.
He had his reasons for the quick decision. After leaving the Nangong Clan, he'd have to sleep rough nine times out of ten every night, and making a poison pill out on the road while taking dew and mosquito bites was far worse than doing it safely and comfortably in the Nangong Clan.
But the moment Dang Mujin swallowed the poison pill, Yi Chung started spouting something suspicious.
"Not like you to make such a swift and decisive call. Now let's do everything we can to keep you alive."
"Huh? Keep me alive from what?"
"What do you mean 'huh'? Follow me quick while you can still move."
Yi Chung walked briskly into the inner chamber.
Dang Mujin followed him, figuring it had to be a joke, while scrutinizing his expression.
Yi Chung wore a strangely thrilled look.
As a kid, Dang Mujin had thrown a fit to ride a three-year-old pony and ended up spraining his back. His neighborhood friends had stared down at him groaning on the ground with exactly that expression.
That was it. Not the smile that came with something good happening, but the look of someone watching a fool pull off something idiotic.
This felt ominous.
"You mean I could actually die?"
"You're a physician too, so you know how dangerous a seven-treasure viper's poison is, right? Better than letting it spread through the bloodstream, but dangerous all the same once it's in your gut."
"Last time with the Black Peony, you said it'd hurt but not be dangerous."
"That was then. This time it's different. Still, with me here, you've got good odds of pulling through."
The thought crossed his mind—wasn't slapping odds on life or death the problem to begin with?
"You should've told me that before I ate it!"
"Knowing your personality, you'd just drag your feet and eat it anyway. Besides, this isn't something to do after five years of training—making the poison pill now, while the Black Peony's energy is still plentiful, is safer."
Unlike Yi Chung, Dang Mujin was still young. Even after five years, he'd only be mid-twenties.
If told to just wait five years, he'd have nodded along.
"...I was set to go five years early, and now it feels like fifty."
"You think the martial world is that easy? Accept it: to shave off five years, you need the resolve to last fifty."
Just moments ago he'd been sweet-talking about Sichuan's divine physician Dang Mujin or whatever, and now it was all about being a martial artist.
About to fire back at the infuriating old man, Dang Mujin felt something bubbling up in his stomach.
As Dang Mujin's face twisted, Yi Chung cackled.
"Effect starting already? It's the seven-treasure viper's poison—kills before seven steps—so it'll be no joke. Not quite transcendent-level deadly, but leaps past any run-of-the-mill venomous bug or plant."
No spare breath to reply. Dang Mujin dropped right there into a cross-legged seat.
He felt palms pressing against his back. Yi Chung had placed both hands there, sending a trickle of internal energy to probe Dang Mujin's body.
But judging by the razor-thin amount, he wasn't planning to intervene directly—just offer pointers.
Dang Mujin drew a deep breath. The qi in the air lightly stirred his lungs.
'Here we go.'
The poison sac settled in his stomach began to dissolve, its venom starting to spread in all directions. Thick, sticky poison—viscous to the feel.
It reminded him of swallowing the Black Peony.
The Black Peony's qi had been vast in volume and density, but soft.
It had filled his channels to the brim, painful but without harming his body.
But the seven-treasure viper's poison was different.
No immediate agony, but unmistakably perilous—like watching a knife-wielding maniac with flashing eyes stalking the streets.
Unlike the Black Peony qi that had simply filled his channels placidly, this stuff was frantic to spread, frantic to do harm. It felt ready to bore right through his stomach lining and mix into his blood.
How many people could the venom from this one sac kill?
The instant Dang Mujin tried to suppress it with his internal energy, Yi Chung cut in.
"Don't hold down the poison qi. Let it thrash around more. Once it tastes blood, it'll really get going."
"You're joking, right?"
"Nope. The fiercer the poison qi, the tougher and more stable the poison pill. That's why we start with a seven-treasure viper's sac instead of some minor bug—for that potent kick."
No choice now but to heed Yi Chung.
Dang Mujin closed his eyes and contemplated the poison qi within. It sluggishly seeped poison beyond the stomach walls until it brushed a trace of blood.
In that instant, the poison qi went berserk like a savage beast.
But Yi Chung remained rock-steady.
"Hold on. Let the momentum build a bit more."
"Now?"
"Wait a little longer. Just a bit more... Yeah. Now. Crush it with your internal energy."
The blood-scented poison qi rampaged like a raging beast.
Worse, as Dang Mujin tried wrapping it with his internal energy, it only grew more violent.
Something welled up fiercely inside, and Dang Mujin vomited it out. The blood was darker than usual.
"Focus."
Dang Mujin settled his mind again and contemplated his interior.
Compared to his insight into martial arts, his internal energy was fairly substantial. Nothing like when he'd first started qi circulation and breathing exercises.
His internal energy spread wide before slowly enveloping the poison qi.
But it wasn't secure. The poison qi that had tasted blood thrashed as if to rip through his energy barrier at any second. A fragile equilibrium.
"What now?"
"Move the poison qi to your dantian. Your dantian's internal energy is already wrapping the Black Peony qi, right? Shove the poison qi inside that—your qi and the Black Peony qi—and seal it. Double-layer wrap on the poison qi."
Sweat pouring down, Dang Mujin maneuvered the poison qi.
For all his haste, its movement was glacially slow. Was it even moving?
"Careful it doesn't leak out. If that poison mixes with your blood, you're dead. Keep it from the blood and stuff it into your dantian, you live."
"One slip-up and I'm done for? No workaround?"
"There is one. If it leaks out and hits the blood, shove it down one leg."
"One leg?"
"Yeah. Then cut the leg off and you'll live."
Yi Chung fiddled with the dagger at his waist as he spoke. That wasn't what the blade was made for.
"This just occurred to me—say I succeed in forming the poison pill."
"Yeah."
"What happens if my dantian shatters?"
"Your qi fails to contain it, so the poison starts at the dantian and spreads through your whole body—you die. But don't worry. Just be careful and it won't shatter."
"Not exactly comforting..."
"No more chatter—just listen. Focus only on your internal energy's flow and the poison qi."
Dang Mujin shut his eyes and began directing his internal energy.
"Good. Keep moving it like that. Not straight to the dantian. Pass through Shuifen, Zhongwan, and Juque, then down. Make sure the poison qi doesn't climb to Jiuwei. If it leaks out near Jiuwei acupoint, you're dead."
Dang Mujin knew his acupoints well. But Yi Chung slowly guided his internal energy with a thread of his own, showing the path.
"There. Now move it carefully."
He dragged the poison qi—threatening to burst his channels at any moment—up just below his chest, then sent it back down.
Agonizingly slow motions. He'd never concentrated this hard on anything in his life. With death by poison flooding his body at the slightest mistake, it was only natural.
No threats approaching from outside, so no need for his senses.
Dang Mujin shut down all five senses, perceiving and watching only the poison qi and his internal energy. At some point Yi Chung's voice had faded too. But no big issue. He knew the route.
No clue how much time passed. Felt like maybe two hours, or as if ten days had gone by.
When his internal energy finally reached the dantian at last, Dang Mujin mobilized all he'd built up to open a path. Amid his pale internal energy gleamed the Black Peony qi, white as fine jade.
With utmost care, he parted the Black Peony qi and led the poison qi in.
The poison qi rampaged even harder. As if it knew it'd never break free once trapped here. Yet Dang Mujin didn't let his focus slip.
No rushing. Moved so slowly neither the poison qi nor he could detect the motion.
At last he shoved the poison qi all the way in and sealed the gate. He could feel it thrashing madly inside the dantian.
But the thick, robust Black Peony qi and Dang Mujin's internal energy pinned it down, preventing spread.
The poison pill battered at the walls before gradually slowing.
Then it molded itself into a small, flat sphere along the dantian's contours. Like a single droplet in his mind's eye, it soon went still.
Dang Mujin realized the poison pill had formed successfully.
'Success.'
An eon seemed to pass before he secured the poison qi and opened his eyes.
The first thing he saw was Hong Geolgae's back. A bit filthier than when they'd parted ways entering Anhui, but he seemed pleased with street life, even humming a tune.
Dang Mujin let out a deep breath, and Hong Geolgae turned.
"Oh, what? You're up."
"Yeah. When'd you get here?"
"Was hanging outside when Elder Yi Chung called me in. Told me to stand guard instead."
Needing someone to guard meant a good chunk of time had passed. At least half a day, no less.
"How long was I in meditation?"
"Today's the fifth day."
No wonder he felt starved. That long, huh.
A strange sensation. Poison qi aside—and without swinging a sword—his cultivation felt improved.
Well, he'd never moved his internal energy with such focus before.
Hong Geolgae shifted his seat and eyed Dang Mujin.
"Heard you were doing some training, but what exactly?"
"Want me to show you?"
Dang Mujin extended his thumb and pressed it to the floor.
Recalling the technique Yi Chung had shown, he drew up his internal energy.
His internal energy cradled a speck of the seven-treasure viper's poison qi and moved it—from the dantian up to his shoulder, passing Yunmen, Zhigou, Jinggu, and Shaoshang.
It took quite a while. To wield poison palm in real combat as fluidly as Yi Chung, how much practice would that take?
Still, no impatience. Slow was fine. The poison pill was firmly in place, and the feat was proof enough.
Dang Mujin lifted his thumb from the floor. Black, sticky poison clung there. The seven-treasure viper's distinctive acrid stench filled the room.
Dang Mujin grinned in satisfaction.
"How's that?"
Hong Geolgae's expression shifted.
"This..."
"Pretty impressive, huh?"
Hong Geolgae scooted back a bit as he spoke.
"So you can shit out your finger now?"
Dang Mujin kicked Hong Geolgae.