Chapter 351
Translator: Ace
Chapter: 351
Chapter Title: I'll Do My Best
Dang Muyoung bit his lip.
He thought he had accepted the defeat, but his father's single remark made him bite his lip again.
He recalled the conditions of this sparring match.
His father and Ha Mu-baek.
The two of them heading to the Southern Frontier.
Toward that thing whose identity was unknown—no, which he suspected to be the poison qi of the Ten Thousand Year Poison Stele.
The Poison Repelling Pills weren't the issue.
"Father, wouldn't it be better to reconsider?"
Desperation seeped into his voice.
But Dang Ja-cheong shook his head firmly.
"The Poison Stele. It's an artifact from legends and imagination. The chance to confirm its existence might be at hand. How could I, who has spent a lifetime studying poisons and earned the empty title of Poison Emperor, not pursue it?"
His father, who had even staked his nickname on it.
Dang Muyoung had no choice but to admit he couldn't stop him.
"Hoo."
Dang Muyoung let out a deep sigh.
Then he turned to Ha Mu-baek, clasped his hands in a fist salute, and bowed deeply.
"Instructor Ha, I entrust my father to you."
This was not the head of the Sichuan Tang Clan, Dang Muyoung.
It was Dang Ja-cheong's son, Dang Muyoung.
Out of worry for his father, he was pleading earnestly with Ha Mu-baek.
Ha Mu-baek returned the fist salute and bowed his head as well.
"To the best of my ability, I'll do my utmost."
For some reason, the words put him at ease.
Because he had exchanged blows with Ha Mu-baek.
Because he had confirmed that even he couldn't fathom the limits of that man's strength.
Now, he felt a slight sense of relief.
Because Ha Mu-baek had splendidly proven his prowess.
The part about it being a poison that could even overwhelm one invulnerable to myriad poisons was still worrisome.
But with a powerhouse of this caliber, there might be some way—a vague hope played its part.
"When do you plan to depart?"
Ha Mu-baek asked Dang Ja-cheong.
"You've come straight from Wuchang to here without rest, haven't you? What do you think?"
"It doesn't matter to me."
Ha Mu-baek replied nonchalantly.
Dang Ja-cheong nodded.
Of course, for a martial artist of that realm.
"Then we'll leave tomorrow. The sooner, the better."
"Understood."
"I'll have them prepare properly."
Dang Muyoung could only say that much, as if he had finally given up.
"Um..."
At that moment, Dang Ji-yeon, who had been silent until now, cautiously spoke up.
"No!"
However.
Before she could continue, a roar like a thunderclap burst from Dang Muyoung's mouth.
"Indeed, your father is right. No."
Dang Ja-cheong followed up.
The two men could guess what she intended to say.
Probably.
She wanted to go with them too.
The talent for poisons that Dang Muyoung hadn't inherited from Dang Ja-cheong.
Dang Ji-yeon had received it in full.
It was only natural for her to be curious about something called the Poison Stele.
Dang Ji-yeon looked at Dang Ja-cheong with pleading eyes.
"No, Ji-yeon. Didn't you hear clearly? It's a poison that even one invulnerable to myriad poisons can't withstand. That's why I asked for Instructor Ha's help. Your current level is barely invulnerable to a hundred poisons. It's too dangerous."
"Grandfather... Please let me become someone worthy of the undeserved title Heavenly Poison Fairy."
Dang Ji-yeon spoke in a desperate voice.
She too had come bearing her nickname.
Just like Dang Ja-cheong with his Poison Emperor title.
It had an effect.
A troubled expression appeared on Dang Ja-cheong's face.
Dang Muyoung gazed silently at the grandfather and granddaughter.
How could they be so alike, despite being generations apart?
Behind his daughter's back, Dang Muyoung saw something that went beyond mere desperation.
If he said no to the end, she looked ready to sneak away in the dead of night and follow them anyway—the hot-blooded vigor of youth.
He knew because he had been like that in his own younger days.
'So young. Overflowing with youthful spirit and daring.'
"Hoo."
A deep sigh escaped Dang Muyoung's lips.
"Do you absolutely have to go?"
At Dang Muyoung's question, Dang Ja-cheong widened his eyes in surprise.
"Yes!"
Dang Ji-yeon's immediate response shot out.
"You could die."
Dang Muyoung's words were filled with worry.
"I absolutely won't die."
Dang Ji-yeon replied resolutely, as if telling him not to worry.
Yes.
That's what she believed.
But the jianghu was a place where one could never predict when danger might strike.
Moreover, their destination was a place harboring a confirmed peril.
Dang Muyoung could only look to Ha Mu-baek once more.
Ha Mu-baek found that gaze all too familiar.
When he had entrusted Ha Seol-ran to his master and left Cheongran Island.
Hadn't his own face worn that exact look of longing?
No.
Perhaps Dang Muyoung's gaze was even more desperate now.
"I'll do my utmost to the best of my power."
That was why.
Ha Mu-baek had no choice but to reply thus.
Dang Muyoung bowed deeply once more.
"I'll arrange for the Poison Repelling Pills to be sent immediately. Thank you so much."
The condition had been fifty from Dang Ja-cheong.
No mention of that now.
Simply, with the clan head's approval, all two hundred from the clan's reserves would be sent.
Dang Muyoung looked at Dang Ji-yeon.
"You must return safely, without fail."
"Yes."
She nodded to her father and replied in a solemn voice.
"Take this."
Dang Muyoung pulled a small pouch from his bosom and handed it over.
It looked like an ordinary pouch.
But Dang Ji-yeon jumped in surprise.
"Th-that's..."
"Your poison arts are still lacking, so take this at least to avoid troubling us. You know what treasure this is. You must return it to me."
"Th-thank you, Father."
Dang Ji-yeon carefully tucked the pouch into her bosom.
"Heh heh. What has gotten into you? I thought you'd absolutely refuse. Even handing over the Poison-Avoiding Pearl."
Dang Ja-cheong chuckled in surprise.
The Poison-Avoiding Pearl.
A priceless treasure, an orb that repels myriad poisons.
Some varieties repelled fewer poisons.
But the one Dang Muyoung gave was the heirloom passed down to the Tang Clan heads.
The treasure among treasures that repelled myriad poisons.
Like the one always carried by the Heavenly Flower Alliance Leader Gong Ya-jang-cheon, it was one of the few in the current jianghu.
"Well then, let's hurry and prepare. We're leaving tomorrow, so we're short on time. Show Instructor Ha to his quarters."
With that, the Tang Clan sprang into busy motion.
"We... we've arrived..."
Gong Dok-haeng muttered in an utterly exhausted voice upon sighting Luoyang's walls.
His appearance was indescribable.
He had raced toward Luoyang as if his life depended on it.
He had barely slept.
There was something far more important than that.
Gong Dok-haeng hurried into Luoyang and headed straight for the Righteous Heaven Alliance.
The guards at the main gate tried to block the shabby-looking man.
But once it was confirmed he was the Deputy Valley Leader of Heavenly Poison Valley, he was able to reach his master's location without issue.
The one who appeared at Gong Dok-haeng's sudden visit was not Yeo Hong-gi, but Geuk In-cheong.
"What brings you, who should be guarding the valley, all the way here?"
His voice dripped with irritation.
It had to be that way. Heavenly Poison Valley had two deputy leaders.
Geuk In-cheong, the senior disciple assisting Valley Leader Yeo Hong-gi at his side.
And Gong Dok-haeng, the junior disciple handling the valley's affairs in the leader's absence.
Originally, there weren't two deputy leaders.
Yeo Hong-gi's master had appointed two, and as the senior disciple, Yeo Hong-gi became valley leader.
Yeo Hong-gi's junior disciples served as deputy leaders as a precaution.
Later, Yeo Hong-gi followed suit, appointing two deputy leaders.
So when the junior deputy leader Gong Dok-haeng suddenly appeared at the alliance.
The senior disciple Geuk In-cheong was displeased.
He couldn't fathom what ambitions his junior might have to act this way.
"S-Senior Brother. It's... it's urgent. Something Master must know right away."
"How urgent could it be for you, who should be guarding the valley, to come to the alliance without even sending a messenger pigeon? What about the valley? A letter would have sufficed."
Geuk In-cheong grilled Gong Dok-haeng with wary suspicion.
He had no choice.
Though he was the senior disciple.
And thus closest to the valley leader, his junior's talent was astonishing.
Objectively, Gong Dok-haeng surpassed him in talent for poisons and martial arts.
"I couldn't send it by letter. It's that grave a matter. I must see Master immediately."
Despite Gong Dok-haeng's desperate plea, Geuk In-cheong only frowned.
Not only had he perfected the Self-Light Mountain Air Poison, but Master was now striving to create an even superior Mountain Air Poison.
Yet this fool was trying to disturb him.
Geuk In-cheong didn't even know Yeo Hong-gi had completed Divine Annihilation.
Yeo Hong-gi hadn't told anyone.
The moment those two knew, it would no longer be a secret.
Yeo Hong-gi had kept Divine Annihilation strictly hidden.
"Master is handling something far more important. Wait."
"S-Senior Brother!"
Gong Dok-haeng cried out loudly at Geuk In-cheong's words.
But all he got back was Geuk In-cheong's fierce glare.
"What is this commotion? Do you think this is Heavenly Poison Valley? This is the Righteous Heaven Alliance."
At that moment.
Yeo Hong-gi appeared.
A faint acrid poison scent emanated from his body.
He had been handling poisons in the underground lab until now.
He had stepped out briefly to rest and check for reports on the Southern Frontier poisons, when he heard Gong Dok-haeng's shout.
He had already been scolded by Yeon Ja-kyeong recently for being slow with the analysis.
The Tang Clan's analysis had already reached the Alliance Leader, so why was Heavenly Poison Valley's still pending?
And now, the junior disciple who should be at the valley was here.
"Dok-haeng. What brings you here? What of the task I gave you?"
"That's why I rushed here."
Yeo Hong-gi frowned at the response.
Glancing around, he saw Righteous Heaven Alliance warriors moving about.
There were too many eyes.
"Follow me."
Thus, Yeo Hong-gi led his two disciples back to the lab.
The space was filled with poison smoke, but none of the three minded.
Fitting for the Heavenly Poison Valley Leader and deputies, this level of poison had no effect on them.
"The poison gathered from the Southern Frontier... was terrifying."
"Even invulnerability to myriad poisons is useless, right?"
Having already heard from Yeon Ja-kyeong, Yeo Hong-gi asked sharply.
"Y-Yes..."
Gong Dok-haeng flinched as he answered.
"Did you come all this way just to report that? With messenger pigeons available? When the Tang Clan figured it out ages ago?"
The rebuke followed.
"That's not it. It's that..."
"Then what is it?"
Did he see it as an excuse?
Irritation thickened in Yeo Hong-gi's voice.
"In the p-poison qi, in the poison qi..."
Gong Dok-haeng stammered on, barely stringing words together.
"..."
Yeo Hong-gi glared at his disciple with murderous eyes.
The scolding from Yeon Ja-kyeong came to mind.
He felt he had endured undeserved criticism because of this incompetent disciple.
"F-Faintly, but d-definitely... Famous Poison Art... the aura of the Famous Poison Art was present..."
Gong Dok-haeng finally spat out the purpose of his arduous journey.
His face even looked relieved.
In contrast.
Yeo Hong-gi and Geuk In-cheong.
At first, they stared blankly, unsure what Gong Dok-haeng was saying.
Then their eyes widened in shock.
"F-Famous Poison Art...?"
Yeo Hong-gi asked in a trembling voice, as if forgetting his earlier murderous interrogation.
"In the poison from the Southern Frontier, an aura almost identical to the Soul-Extracting White Famous Poison Art was detected. Definitely the Famous Poison Art's..."
"Almost identical?"
Yeo Hong-gi tilted his head at Gong Dok-haeng's answer.
Famous Poison Art was Famous Poison Art—almost identical?
What did that mean?
"See for yourself."
Gong Dok-haeng carefully pulled two small glass vials from his bosom and handed them over.
The openings were tightly sealed.
"I had to deliver these personally, so I had no choice but to hurry."
Yeo Hong-gi accepted the vial with a grave expression.
Geuk In-cheong hastily took the other.
Following his master's lead, he opened it and circulated his Famous Poison Art to inspect the poison qi.
Yeo Hong-gi's face, eyes closed, changed by the moment, while Geuk In-cheong still looked puzzled.
"This is..."
A moment later, Yeo Hong-gi opened his eyes and gazed at the vial in his hand with complex eyes.