In Nanzhou (6)
Palgap applied the Jeongan-su—which was actually the saliva of the Gold Spirit that I'd handed him in a bowl—to the wounds of the Gold Guard warriors.
"Huh? Wh-what? Eek!"
Palgap cried out in surprise. And who could blame him? The warriors' wounds were healing at an astonishing speed.
"That spirit must be incredibly divine," Palgap said, and everyone nodded in agreement. There was no other explanation.
Before long, flesh was sprouting over the spots where bone had been visible, and even the minor scars vanished without a trace.
I watched with a satisfied smile.
It had been worth the effort to collect so much of the Gold Spirit's saliva in the bowl. Still, I planned to keep its true nature a secret as much as possible.
Not because of any other issue, but because it could put the Gold Spirit in danger.
That afternoon.
Elder Bang proposed a plan.
"Wiping them all out would be feasible with our current forces, but rescuing the children is the real problem."
"Exactly."
"So, how about we use sleeping poison?"
"Sleeping poison?"
"Yes. I brought some just in case—the kind I used to use often."
Elder Bang pulled a vial from his sleeve.
"This stuff is surprisingly effective. I overdid it back in the day, you see? But without martial arts, you end up needing tricks like this sometimes."
He turned to me.
"You won't condemn me as cowardly, will you?"
"Why would I ever condemn you, Elder? Even if it's sneaky, as long as we resolve this mess, isn't that what matters?"
"Music to my ears. Heh heh heh."
Elder Bang chuckled.
"The catch is, we have to get them to ingest it. So, here's what I came up with..."
* * *
The man called Gaeseung scratched at his groin.
Gurgle...
He sighed at the rumbling from his stomach. It had been over half a month since supplies from headquarters had dried up.
"I'm starving to death here."
"At this rate, we'll all croak from hunger."
"Don't jinx it, you bastard!"
But that anxiety was turning into reality. They were catching wild mountain game and stripping tree bark to eat, but it was nowhere near enough.
And to top it off, it was the hungry gap before harvest.
Even ordinary peasants were going hungry—where were bandits supposed to scrounge food?
On top of that, rumors of merchants getting robbed on this route had scared off all the caravans.
That was when it happened.
Clatter, clatter.
Gaeseung and his crew perked up at the sound from below.
"That's definitely wagon wheels!"
"A caravan?"
"Wh-what do we do?"
"What do you mean? Tell the chief right now!"
One of them dashed off to report to the chief at the stronghold.
The chief soon arrived, leading his men down the slope.
How long did they wait?
Finally, wagons came into view.
They bore the crest of the Eunhae Merchant Group, loaded with sacks that were unmistakably grain.
"Heh heh heh! It's like the heavens don't want us dead!"
"Time to stuff ourselves after so long!"
They waited for the wagons to draw near, then unleashed a volley of arrows at the chief's signal.
Thwack!
Thwack-thwack!
The sudden ambush threw the caravan into chaos.
"Damn it! Bandits!"
"Abandon the cargo!"
"B-but... that rice..."
"Run, I said! You wanna get killed?"
The merchants abandoned the goods and fled.
"Chase 'em?"
The chief shook his head.
"No need. Don't waste your energy."
"Yes, sir!"
"Finally, rice to fill our bellies. Let's go!"
* * *
I watched from afar as the wagons vanished.
Phew. Mission success, for now?
"Good work, everyone."
They all grinned at my words. The Myeongjong Warrior and the Changun Warrior looked especially refreshed, in a peculiar way.
"Traveling with you, my lord, makes me feel like a hero from a legend."
"Same here."
I smiled gently at them.
"Glad you're enjoying it, but be careful with everything. You only get one life."
"We'll keep that in mind."
"Then, Jin Yu Warrior, keep an eye on their movements."
"Understood."
"We'll head back and finish prepping."
Elder Bang greeted us when we returned.
"How'd it go?"
"Perfect."
We had to feed them the sleeping poison, so the plan was to let them steal the rice on purpose.
We'd brought polished rice laced with the poison grains—they'd never notice.
They might rinse it while cooking, but no problem.
It wouldn't dissolve in brief contact with water.
Hot water might do it, but by then it'd be in the pot.
Elder Bang said he usually slipped it into tea.
As the rice cooked, the poison would spread fully. Eating it would knock them out cold within an hour.
That was our cue to move.
"Alright, let's get ready."
We hitched up a covered wagon and headed to the base of the mountain.
We'd need it to carry the kids.
That's when Yi Pil Warrior approached me.
"My lord, reinforcements from the military camp have arrived."
The Gold Guard warriors had gone to the Gansu garrison and brought back troops.
Requesting reinforcements from Beijing would take time and risk leaking info to lurking factions there, so we'd called on the local Gansu camp instead.
They weren't elite palace martial artists, but they'd help.
Which made the sleeping poison even more essential.
We had to minimize casualties.
As evening fell, Jin Yu Warrior returned.
"How'd it go?"
"They cooked and ate the rice they took from us. I confirmed several of them passing out."
Time to move, then.
I told Yi Pil Warrior,
"Inform the garrison commander that we're ready too."
"Got it."
We tied red cloths around our left arms—the mark of friendlies.
While they subdued the stronghold, we'd rescue the kids.
Cheonggwan Gong could wait.
That's when it happened.
A single arrow streaked into the sky.
Their signal to attack.
We slipped in stealthily and entered the stronghold.
That sleeping poison from Elder Bang was potent. They were all slumped against walls, dead to the world.
How'd he even get his hands on it?
Well, he was renowned for his resourcefulness.
Thanks to it, we entered easily and headed straight underground.
The kids we'd seen before were there.
"Can you move?"
Spotting us, they backed away in terror.
"Wh-who are you?"
"We're from the palace, here to rescue you."
"You just left before."
They remembered us, alright.
"True enough."
I didn't deny it.
"We weren't prepared then. Taking you out would've gotten us all killed."
"And now?"
"Now we're fully ready."
I glanced at Seo-u Warrior, who sliced the chains on their prison door with his sword.
Slice—
Clang!
The chains snapped, the door swung open, and I stepped inside.
"Come on, let's go."
One by one, they rose and filed out.
Up above, sounds of bustling activity echoed.
The kids flinched in fear, and I calmed them.
"It's okay. They're the good guys here to arrest the bad men from this stronghold."
Leading them up, one kid spoke.
"There's an uncle that way who got caught."
"Oh?"
"The bad men tortured him a lot."
Sounded like Cheonggwan Gong.
"But he deserves it. He sold out the other uncles who got captured before."
Kids weren't clueless.
They'd pieced it together from overheard talk while imprisoned.
"Should we save that uncle too?"
"We have to, eventually. But later. Getting you all out safely comes first."
We emerged from the cave with the kids. The stronghold was mostly cleared by then.
Just rounding up the sleepers—easy pickings.
They raised weapons at our sudden appearance but lowered them upon seeing the red armbands.
"You must be the ones sent by His Majesty."
"Yes. We're extracting the kids now. How's the situation here?"
One replied,
"Just a few left."
"Good. See it through to the end."
"Of course."
As we headed out with the kids...
"...!"
The hairs on my body stood on end.
I instinctively raised my sword to block.
Clang—!
Something heavy struck my blade. Looking up, a man in claw gauntlets had his attack parried.
I pieced it together fast. The stronghold was built over the cave, so there were floor hidey-holes.
He'd ambushed from one.
Peak first-rate skill.
Had to be the chief.
But how'd he resist the sleeping poison?
"It's you! The bastard who tricked me!"
"You're the chief?"
"Damn right, chief of this stronghold. From that look, you're wondering why I didn't pass out."
"..."
"You should've investigated me better. I've got resistance to most poisons. And one bite of that rice told me it was laced."
I barked orders at his words.
"Everyone, get out of here now!"
"Pardon?"
"My lord! We'll help!"
I cut off Seo-u Warrior and the others firmly.
"That's an order. No arguments. Take everyone and fall back from my position immediately!"
I swung my sword, driving him out of the stronghold.
Boom—!
He blocked and smirked.
"Alright, let's get serious?"
Why I'd cleared everyone out? The chief's martial arts style.
Senses sharp enough to detect the poison.
Resistance to most toxins.
And the bluish tips on his claw gauntlets.
He wielded poison arts.
Those could harm everyone around, so I sent them away.
Luckily, my Taiyin Ice Sea Divine Art made me resistant to poison qi.
That's why I took him on.
Clang! Clang-clang—!
My sword clashed repeatedly with his claws.
I'd figured his realm gap would make it easy, but the claws were tricky.
Couldn't let them graze me.
Swish—! Slash!
Screeech!
And he fought with desperate fury, making it harder.
This could drag on.
Then it hit me.
Wait—I'm immune to poison, aren't I?
That's why I'd cleared the others but overlooked using it.
Game on. I raised my sword, inner energy surging anew.
Snowstorm of the True Snow Twelve Sword Forms.
Fast moves deserved my swift blade in return.
And—
Whoosh—!
Shoosh—!
We charged each other.
His claw grazed my side shallowly, glee flashing in his eyes.
He didn't realize I'd let it happen.
Now.
Slice—!
I swung wide at the chief, severing both arms.
Thud, thud.
His limbs hit the ground.
"Arrrgh!"
He collapsed, screaming in agony.
But spotting my wound, he grinned wickedly.
"Heh heh heh, you're as good as dead from my poison now."
"Sorry, but poison resistance isn't exclusive to you."
My pure inner energy was already purging the toxin.
Impressive technique.
"Worry about yourself."
"Heh heh, fair enough."
Sneer twisting his face.
I sensed him about to bite his tongue and lunged, kicking his jaw.
"Urk!"
"Hey! Where do you think you're escaping to, you coward?"
Crack—!
I clubbed the back of his head, knocking him out.
He couldn't die yet.
He knew the fate of the kidnapped kids.