Chapter 78 : Chapter 78

Chapter 78. Comrades (3)

Dang Sopyeong, who had been denying reality for a moment, spoke calmly.

“Why on earth are you trying to eat poison?”

Jin Yuseong asked back with an expression that said, "Why are you asking such a stupid question?"

“Isn't it obviously to build up a tolerance?”

“You don't look like you've learned poison arts, so what are you trying to do by building up a tolerance?”

“We are going to fight against trash that is less than human. Those kinds of people don't care about the means and methods.”

Had he gotten used to Jin Yuseong's way of speaking over the past few days? Dang Sopyeong could roughly understand what Jin Yuseong was trying to say.

“Since I, a physician, am here, is there a need to eat poison to prepare for it? Above all, you could die in vain while eating poison to prepare for it. You're a madman, so you might, but what crime have those two committed?”

At Dang Sopyeong's lengthy words, Jin Yuseong looked at him intently.

There were many things he could say to refute him.

When an enemy uses poison in a real battle, do you leisurely go to a physician for an antidote?

It was crazy talk.

As your internal organs are melting or your body is becoming paralyzed, your enemies are swinging their weapons in front of you.

In such a moment, where is the time to go to a physician or take out an antidote pill?

On the other hand, what if you build a tolerance?

It didn't matter if you weren't completely immune to poison.

Even with a deadly poison that would kill you in less than the time it takes to drink a cup of tea if you ate it, if you have a tolerance, you can hold on for a quarter of an hour.

Then, within that time, you can cut off the trash's necks, and after everything is over, you will have the minimal leeway to calmly push out the poison with your internal energy.

But instead of refuting with such lengthy words, Jin Yuseong simply answered indifferently.

“That is why I am entrusting it to you. To the most trustworthy man when it comes to poison.”

“……”

Dang Sopyeong looked at Jin Yuseong with a speechless expression.

‘What on earth does he trust in me to say such a thing?’

It had only been a little over twenty days since they had known each other.

He always spoke words that treated him like an idiot or a fool, but now he was saying he was trustworthy.

He wondered if he was being played with, but Dang Sopyeong could easily tell that those words were sincere.

Because in the eyes of Jin Yuseong, who was facing him, there was not even a hint of wavering.

He was confused, and that absolute trust was burdensome, but for some reason, he also felt a ticklish sensation in a corner of his heart.

Had he ever received such trust from someone?

With a complicated heart, Dang Sopyeong turned his head to avoid Jin Yuseong's gaze.

Then, Nam Geon and Baek Hyang, whose eyes met his, said to him.

“I-I believe my brother's words. M-make the poison.”

“The same goes for me. I will trust you, Young Master Dang. So please prepare the poison for us.”

Dang Sopyeong almost let out a hollow laugh.

‘Is this why they are comrades?’

An unwavering gaze similar to Jin Yuseong's.

“Haa.”

Dang Sopyeong, who let out a sigh as if he had given up, nodded his head.

“If something goes wrong after you eat it, blame that guy, not me.”

***

After finishing their meal, Dang Sopyeong prepared the poison powder as promised.

“We can't start with a dangerous poison from the beginning, so I prepared a moderate paralysis poison. If the concentration of the paralysis poison is increased, the organs can stop and you can die, but it's not that level of poison, so don't worry and take it.”

Following Dang Sopyeong's explanation, Jin Yuseong opened his mouth.

“Inhale the poison powder while sitting cross-legged. Observe your interior, feel the poison's energy, and understand how the poison's energy spreads. The goal is to build tolerance, so there is no need to push out the poisonous qi from the beginning. Observe the movement of the energy, and when it becomes too difficult to endure, you can push it out. When pushing out the poisonous qi…”

Jin Yuseong was also aware that consuming poison was dangerous, so unlike usual, he continued his explanation for quite a long time.

“If any problems arise, this physician and I will take a look, so don't worry.”

“O-okay, brother.”

“Yes. Then I will begin, Senior Brother.”

Nam Geon and Baek Hyang poured the poison powder given by Dang Sopyeong into their mouths and sat cross-legged.

Jin Yuseong and Dang Sopyeong watched their progress with quite serious expressions.

Was it because of the size of her body? The one who reacted first was Baek Hyang.

Veins popped out on her face. Furthermore, veins began to pop out all over her body.

But she did not push out the poison right away.

Following Jin Yuseong's advice, she endured as long as she could.

And in the end, she succeeded in driving out the poisonous qi with the energy of the Great Swallow Nest Building Divine Art without much difficulty and expelling it through her fingertips.

Perhaps as an aftereffect of the poison, she opened her eyes with her eyebrows trembling.

At the same time, Dang Sopyeong opened his mouth.

“Don't move and wait.”

Dang Sopyeong, who said so, took the wrist of the cross-legged Baek Hyang to check her pulse and placed his palm on her back, faithfully carrying out his duties as a physician.

It was uncomfortable to touch a woman's body, but since he had already received permission, he moved boldly.

“Hoo. Fortunately, there's nothing seriously wrong. The aftereffects should almost disappear after one or two quarters of an hour.”

“Tha you, Youg Maste.”

At the thanks of Baek Hyang, whose pronunciation was not proper due to her numb body, Dang Sopyeong smiled bitterly.

Dang Sopyeong, who had been focused on examining Baek Hyang, soon frowned and examined Nam Geon.

Quite some time had passed, but Nam Geon had still not been able to expel the poison.

With a sense of anxiety, Dang Sopyeong placed his fingers on Nam Geon’s wrist.

Since it was a dangerous act for someone to interfere during qi circulation, he acted carefully, as if walking on thin ice.

He felt like letting out a hollow laugh.

Because it felt like he had placed his fingers on a lump of iron, not a human wrist.

But it was too early to be surprised.

As if he had forgotten Jin Yuseong's explanation, Nam Geon was not properly pushing out the poisonous qi.

He should have moved it along the acupoint with the least risk to expel it, but Nam Geon's internal energy was moving haphazardly, vaguely enveloping the poisonous qi.

It was nothing short of a crazy act, but Dang Sopyeong, the physician, let out a hollow laugh without realizing it.

Despite that crazy act, Nam Geon was perfectly fine.

Because his body was fighting and overcoming the poison on its own.

‘I definitely gave him more poison to match his physique.’

With a dumbfounded expression, Dang Sopyeong removed his hand from Nam Geon’s body.

“He failed to expel the poisonous qi, but there should be no problem with his body.”

Jin Yuseong, who nodded at Dang Sopyeong's explanation, held out his hand.

“Then now give me the poison I will eat. I have built up a little tolerance, so I will need more than these two.”

“I have already prepared what you will eat separately. One that could kill you if you're not careful.”

At Dang Sopyeong's words, which were spoken like a threat, Jin Yuseong made a satisfied expression.

“As expected of a trustworthy physician.”

A physician who receives praise for giving out poison.

Dang Sopyeong shook his head.

***

After several days of moving while combining their usual training with poison training.

Jin Yuseong and his party arrived at Chimju, which could be said to be the gateway from Hunan to Guangdong.

As usual, they first got an inn, and then, while wandering around the village to check if there were any underworld or ruffian types here for a while.

A middle-aged beggar blocked their path.

An appearance with grime dripping down, clothes like rags, a staggering gait.

Because he looked so pitiful, Baek Hyang and Nam Geon hurriedly tried to support him.

But for some reason, Jin Yuseong stretched out his arm and blocked their movements.

Soon after, Jin Yuseong asked the beggar with a guarded look.

“Does the Beggar's Gang have some business with us?”

At his question, the staggering beggar grinned and answered.

“Hoh. The young one has a better eye than he looks. Did you sneak a peek at this already?”

He said, shaking his waist.

There hung five knots, so worn out that it was hard to tell if they were strings or rags.

A Five-Knot Beggar. It meant he was a Beggar's Gang member of a fairly high rank who led a division.

At the Five-Knot Beggar's question, Jin Yuseong frowned and answered.

“A beggar who smells more of alcohol than of old sweat and grime, who else could it be but the Beggar's Gang?”

That's right.

The reason the Five-Knot Beggar was staggering was not because he lacked strength from not having eaten.

He was staggering because he was drunk.

A beggar with nothing to eat, drunk and staggering. It was something that didn't make sense from a common-sense perspective.

“Keuheuhuh. You've got a dog's nose. Right, dog-nosed brat. Are you that Ghost Sword Young Master or whatever?”

“You blocked my path because you knew, didn't you?”

“Hehehe. The grudges of the Jianghu are a complicated matter, so even if I knew, I had to confirm, didn't I.”

As he said so, a foul smell of alcohol suddenly emanated from the Five-Knot Beggar's body, and the Five-Knot Beggar's hazy eyes suddenly became clear.

Soon after, the Five-Knot Beggar asked in a stern tone.

“So I will confirm one last thing. What were you thinking, selling our Beggar's Gang's name?”

***

Late at night.

Somewhere in the Central Plains.

A middle-aged man was running through a marketplace where darkness had fallen.

Behind him, people dressed in black just like the middle-aged man were hurriedly chasing him.

They were the vice-leader and members of the Silver Wolf Unit.

The Silver Wolf Unit was one of the military units of the Unwol Sect, one of the three major powers that controlled the Jianghu's black markets.

The vice-leader of the Silver Wolf Unit soon arrived in front of a certain manor.

The smell of blood assailed his nostrils.

The middle-aged man, with a tense face, stealthily pushed open the gate of the manor.

As if the latch that had locked the gate was broken, the gate was pushed open with a scraping sound.

Soon, the full view of the manor was revealed.

A mountain of corpses and a sea of blood.

In that place where dozens of corpses were scattered and the entire manor was stained with blood, only one man stood firm.

An age that would commonly be called a prodigy in the Jianghu.

The young man, in his mid-twenties, was covered in blood and had his head raised, looking up at the waning moon in the night sky.

Soon, the young man's head turned to the side.

“You have come, Vice-Leader.”

The young man's face, illuminated by the moonlight, was as cold as could be.

The middle-aged man, who swallowed a dry gulp once, paid his respects with a clasped fist.

“I apologize for being late, Unit Leader.”

The vice-leader, who said so, approached the young unit leader one step at a time.

In the meantime, the vice-leader furtively rolled his eyes and looked at the corpses scattered on the ground.

‘Unbelievable…’

They were men disguised as commoners who had never learned a single martial art, but the vice-leader knew the truth.

They were members of a military unit sent by another power to encroach on the Unwol Sect's territory.

The Black Serpent Group.

It was known to be a military unit of a similar scale to the Silver Wolf Unit.

But that young unit leader had massacred them all by himself.

The vice-leader, who was observing the traces of the carnage, turned his head and looked at the young unit leader who had caused it.

‘…I heard rumors that he was favored by the Chairman, but I never imagined it would be to this extent.’

It had only been three months since that young man was appointed as the unit leader of the Silver Wolf Unit.

At that time, the vice-leader had thought.

‘To think I have to follow the orders of a brat.’

He didn't like it.

Because he had heard rumors that he had learned advanced martial arts from a young age while receiving the Chairman's favor, and had also received elixirs several times.

In fact, when that man first came to the Silver Wolf Unit, the gap between him, the vice-leader, and the young man was not that large.

Thus, the vice-leader had thought.

That the man had grown easily thanks to the Chairman's favor.

That he was just an insignificant brat.

But it didn't take long to realize the truth.

The recent frequent conflicts with other powers.

Because of that, the Silver Wolf Unit had to fight several battles with their enemies.

And that young unit leader grew rapidly every time he fought a battle.

Now, it was to the point where he couldn't even dare to exchange blows.

This time was also the same.

A quarter of an hour ago, a member had suddenly come to find the vice-leader.

- V-vice-leader! T-the men from the Black Serpent Group are said to have infiltrated this place.

- Then report to the Unit Leader immediately and summon the members!

- T-that is… the Unit Leader has already headed there alone.

- Wh-what do you mean by that? He went alone?

- H-he said he would just warm up a bit. He said that cleanup would be necessary, so he told me to tell the v-vice-leader and gather the members.

It was an absurd situation. To think that facing an enemy of a similar scale to the Silver Wolf Unit was just a warm-up?

But this young unit leader had once again proven himself with results. His abilities.

‘Perhaps in a few years, he might even catch up to the Chairman…’

At the moment he was unconsciously thinking such a disrespectful thought, the young unit leader gestured towards the vice-leader. As if telling him to come closer.

As the vice-leader cautiously brought his face closer, the smell of blood wafted strongly.

Regardless, the young unit leader leaned in and whispered in his ear.

“What about the matter I asked you to look into?”

In fact, the vice-leader had been given a separate order by the unit leader.

That was why he had moved separately from the unit leader like this.

The vice-leader cautiously answered the unit leader’s question.

“The Deathshroud said that the request failed. They are now expressing their dissatisfaction, saying that the Ghost Sword Young Master's skills are more outstanding than what we had put in the request.”

Right after he reported what he had found out, an eerie chill ran down the vice-leader’s spine.

The corners of the young unit leader, Hyeok Ilso's, mouth were raised like the crescent moon in the sky.

“As I thought.”

As if he was about to die of joy.

“He was fated to die by my hands.”

For three months, he had served the young genius, but it was a smile he had never once seen.

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