Chapter: 849
“Old Young Master-!”
The Poison King shouted, his eyes wide like lanterns. It was due to Gu Yangcheon, who had suddenly collapsed.
But it wasn’t just that he collapsed.
“Keuhuk…!”
Thud thud thud-!
Lying prone, Gu Yangcheon was spitting out blood from his mouth.
Even at a glance, the color was dark enough to look black.
“This…!”
It was clear to anyone that he was in a bad condition.
The Poison King frowned as he examined Gu Yangcheon.
“Old Young Master! Are you okay…!”
He started to speak, but then fell silent. The condition of Gu Yangcheon’s body caught his attention.
As soon as he noticed, he bit his lip.
‘This is bad.’
Just a moment ago, he was wobbly but still seemed fine, but now his condition was truly dire.
The energy wasn’t just fluctuating; it was in complete disarray.
The energy that had begun to surge was moving violently, as if trying to shatter the blood vessels. It was so chaotic that it was uncontrollable.
The uncontrollable energy was ruining everything.
“Ugh… Huh…!!”
Gu Yangcheon, too, groaned in pain, his face covered in blood.
The level of physical pain he must be experiencing while in such a wild state was unimaginable.
Perhaps there were thousands of thorns dancing in his veins?
Yet, even while witnessing Gu Yangcheon’s plight, the Poison King felt utterly powerless.
That wild energy was akin to a live wire you couldn’t just touch. One wrong move could lead to a possession incident!
Not only that, but if he couldn’t control that energy, he would get caught up in it himself.
Am I just supposed to let it simmer until it calms down? That’s impossible!
‘At this rate, he might explode from the energy before long!’
One wrong touch could end in demonic possession, and if left alone, his body might explode from the energy.
No matter how he looked at it, there was no hopeful outcome.
‘Dammit.’
There’s no time. There isn’t even time to think properly! No, worrying doesn’t help; there’s only one way to go.
I have to intervene. I need to control that energy somehow. The problem is…
‘Do I even have the confidence to touch and control that energy?’
The Poison King himself wasn’t feeling particularly confident.
Touching that could lead to his own possession!
This was Gu Yangcheon’s certainty.
So should I leave him be? If that’s the case, wouldn’t it be better to go get a healer?
Reason was telling the King that.
“Don’t move!”
As ludicrous as it sounded, the Poison King’s hand was already reaching out toward Gu Yangcheon.
I must save him. For my daughter. Or for the future of the current Central Plains.
This young man must be saved.
No matter how much he personally disliked Gu Yangcheon, he couldn’t bear to watch such talent flicker out right before his eyes.
That was the decision of the head of the Tang family, Dang Cheon-gi—a human, not just Poison King.
First, I’ll grab hold of the energy and calm it down. The moment Dang Cheon-gi approached Gu Yangcheon with that determination…
Wham-!
“…!?”
Dang Cheon-gi had to halt his steps for a moment. Gu Yangcheon, who was drooling instead of moving, raised his hand as Dang Cheon-gi neared.
“Old Young Master…? Why…?”
“…Don’t… come…! Cough!”
He tried to speak but ended up spitting out blood. No matter how one looked at it, it was dangerous; why was he trying to stop him?
No way.
‘Is he planning to die like this?’
Worried he might get involved and be dragged down, or perhaps he just wanted to die right there.
That passing thought made Dang Cheon-gi move even more urgently.
“Don’t think strange things and just stay still! I am the Poison King! I’m not the type to lose to something like this!”
Despite feeling his anxiety, he brushed it off. Now was the time to fill this newfound confidence he had discovered.
“Just trust me, and stay still. I’ll definitely save you!”
Ignoring Gu Yangcheon’s warnings, Dang Cheon-gi made another move.
“Ah…! Just stay still…! Cough!”
Seeing this, Gu Yangcheon suddenly yelled.
The reaction made him cough out another handful of blood.
“What…?”
Feeling baffled by why he was being blocked, Dang Cheon-gi was startled when something even more surprising happened.
Whoosh-!
“Huh?!”
Out of nowhere, Gu Yangcheon pulled out all five fingers and stabbed them into his chest.
Gush-! Blood flowed from his chest, soaking his uniform and dripping to the floor.
The Poison King’s jaw dropped at this sudden action. At that moment…
Sssss-!
“Eeeeeeeeek!!!”
Energy began to shift from the hand thrust into his body.
“That… makes no sense…”
Seeing this, the Poison King could only let out a breath of disbelief.
What kind of bizarre behavior was that? Strangely enough, it actually seemed to affect the energy.
Gu Yangcheon’s hand, protruding from his chest, made direct contact with the inner energy and began to stabilize the rampaging force.
Once energy starts raging like that, you can’t control it at all. You wouldn’t just catch it, but even if you tried—
‘It’s accompanied by unbearable pain.’
This was especially true in Gu Yangcheon’s current situation.
I can’t even begin to comprehend how painful it must be…
‘He’s controlling it himself?’
In that context, Gu Yangcheon was somehow reigning in that energy.
From just the sight of the veins bulging in his body, I could vaguely sense how grueling it was for him.
Even the pain was intense.
‘What kind of control is that…?’
How on earth could he adjust that absurd amount of energy, one by one?
Watching it, I was astounded!
“Ugh… Heh…”
Cold sweat mingled with blood, leaving his body drenched.
Despite his face turning red from the suffering, Gu Yangcheon didn’t budge and continued to exert control.
As the energy began to stabilize, Dang Cheon-gi felt like he was looking at a ghost, completely speechless.
Minutes trickled by, maybe even toward an hour.
“Hoo… hoo…”
Finally, Gu Yangcheon exhaled as the energy calmed down somewhat. His whole body quivered, betraying his exhaustion.
And it was only then that Tang Cheon-gi, who’d been observing, was able to breathe out a sigh of relief.
‘He really did it.’
He genuinely managed to pull it off. Though I’m not sure how, thankfully, the rampaging energy seems to have ceased.
Dang Cheon-gi carefully spoke to the trembling Gu Yangcheon.
“…What happened? Why did it suddenly escalate like this…?”
He cautiously approached, seeking an explanation. Then…
“…Ah… my arm.”
Gu Yangcheon whispered very softly.
“What?”
Unable to hear, Dang Cheon-gi strained to listen.
When he did, the words came through as a small, yet distinct sound.
“…Damn it…”
“…Huh?”
“Damn it all! What a loser!”
Without warning, Gu Yangcheon unleashes a torrent of incomprehensible, foul language.
Thud.
He collapsed into unconsciousness, right over his own spilt blood.
“…Huh?”
For a moment, Dang Cheon-gi was left dumbfounded at the sight.
“Old Young Master…! Get a grip now!”
Without hesitation, he hoisted Gu Yangcheon onto his back and sprinted out of the building.
Thanks to that, the distinguished maturation room crafted by Tang Jemun was left in tatters, but Dang Cheon-gi couldn’t care less about that.
*
In a forest near Sichuan.
It was situated somewhat farther from the Murim Alliance branch.
The sun was setting, painting the world darker. Soon the moon would rise.
In that moment, two women strolled through the forest.
At a glance, neither of them appeared to be ordinary individuals.
Both possessed stunningly beautiful faces, and their clothing was anything but mundane.
One had golden hair that shone softly, illuminating the darkening woods,
while the other had silver-blue hair.
As they walked carefully along the surrounding paths, the golden-haired woman, Wi Seol-ah, called to her companion.
“Sister.”
“…What?”
“Do you know the way here?”
Namgung Bi-ah shook her head in response to Wi Seol-ah’s question.
“No.”
“…”
Wi Seol-ah nodded, reassured by Namgung Bi-ah’s confident answer.
She was convinced she hadn’t miscalculated.
“We… it seems like we’ve gotten lost.”
“Yeah.”
“Isn’t this the location mentioned in the information?”
“…Huh…?”
“I’ll take another look.”
Fearing that she had uttered something pointless, Wi Seol-ah pulled out the letter.
It was a document arranged by Gu Yangcheon and handed to her.
She had been instructed to kick off her investigation with this very document.
“…”
Frowning as she perused the investigation paper, Wi Seol-ah furrowed her brow.
Seeing this, Namgung Bi-ah asked.
“…What’s wrong?”
“…Well…”
Wi Seol-ah bit her lip slightly before speaking to Namgung Bi-ah.
“…Even after looking at it, I can’t figure it out.”
“…”
Determined to confidently examine it but realizing she also had no idea, Wi Seol-ah scratched her cheek, embarrassed. Observing her, Namgung Bi-ah gently stroked Wi Seol-ah’s hair.
“It’s alright…”
“…Right. Somehow, we’ll figure it out. Let’s do our best.”
“…Yeah…”
The issue was that these two were together in the first place. At least one person who knew how to handle things should’ve been included.
With that in mind, it was foolish to have paired them up without considering the consequences.
Though Namgung Bi-ah found it unacceptable, neither of them openly complained.
They understood why Gu Yangcheon had set them up together.
“…Anyway…”
Wi Seol-ah whispered softly, and Namgung Bi-ah nodded slightly.
Deep down, she felt possessive.
She must have disliked hanging around with other guys.
It was a rather cowardly move, but she chose to ignore it.
While Wi Seol-ah diligently examined the document, she suddenly looked up at the sky and said.
“It’ll be night soon. Should we head back now?”
“…Yeah.”
There were orders to return at sunset.
The moon was dimly rising, so it was time to go.
But…
“…Where should we go?”
“…”
Both were effectively lost.
Of course, being nearby mountains, if they really put their minds to it… No, even if it wasn’t for Namgung Bi-ah, Wi Seol-ah could find her way back easily if she really tried.
Furthermore, Wi Seol-ah was aware of the quickest route back.
“Sister.”
“Yeah.”
“Where do you think would be the right way?”
Wi Seol-ah asked Namgung Bi-ah.
After pondering for a moment, Namgung Bi-ah pointed toward a direction.
“…Over there.”
“Got it. Let’s go.”
Seeing the direction, Wi Seol-ah grabbed Namgung Bi-ah’s wrist and began to walk.
It was the opposite direction from where Namgung Bi-ah had pointed.
Namgung Bi-ah wore a subtly dissatisfied expression but knew this was the best course of action.
There was no surer way forward.
“Sister, didn’t you find the way this way last time?”
When they had been in a similar predicament before, they had located their route using the same method.
One thing was certain: it resulted in success.
So, Wi Seol-ah believed it would work again and took a step forward.
The night in the forest crept in quickly and soon obscured their view, but neither was afraid of the darkness.
Additionally, Wi Seol-ah’s eyes could find light even within the shadows, making it easy for her to navigate.
After they had been walking for a while…
“…”
“…”
Both suddenly stopped in their tracks at the same moment and squinted their eyes.
As if they had already rehearsed it, they locked gazes.
-Sister.
This was Wi Seol-ah’s thought transmission.
-Do you feel something?
-Yes.
After sharing thoughts, Wi Seol-ah nodded.
Both Namgung Bi-ah’s and her instincts told them there was something ahead.
Immediately, Namgung Bi-ah kicked the ground and leaped into action.
The moment she soared into the air, her presence vanished from the world.
It was a remarkable stealth technique.
Suspended in the air, Namgung Bi-ah surveyed the forest below.
Sssssss…
“…”
Namgung Bi-ah covered her nose, looking displeased. One thing was for certain.
There was something up ahead.
Then she dropped directly to the ground, looking at the waiting Wi Seol-ah.
Wi Seol-ah was already poised with her sword drawn.
-Should we go in?
Namgung Bi-ah shook her head.
-…No, I told you to come back immediately if anything unusual happens.
-But it looks like a formation… If we don’t check it now, it might vanish later!
-No.
Namgung Bi-ah was resolute. Her words had more weight than anything else at this moment.
After all, it had only been months since she struggled through the entrance exam for the Murim Alliance and faced a world of trouble.
Right now was a time to tread carefully.
That way, if something serious occurred in the future, she might have a bit of leeway!
“…”
Despite Wi Seol-ah pouting at Namgung Bi-ah’s stubbornness, she ultimately agreed by sheathing her sword.
Having confirmed there was something, they decided to retreat for now. Just as they were about to turn away,
[…I don’t… understand.]
At the sound of a distant voice, both women steadied their breaths and heightened their senses.
[Your Excellency, the actions of Ilcheonggeom seem somewhat unusual. Suddenly, communication has also been disrupted.]
[Did Chief Mok not report anything else?]
[No. There’s been no remarkable signs reported…]
[It seems you can’t trust the reports, can you?]
[That’s correct…]
[Hehe… It doesn’t matter. Either way, they’re all targets to eliminate.]
[However…]
[It seems the Holy King is involved. But don’t worry about him either. I have my plans…]
Cut.
The conversation, which had been flowing for a moment, suddenly stopped as if cut off.
The energies dissipated completely, suggesting there was indeed something up ahead.
Hearing that, Wi Seol-ah turned to Namgung Bi-ah, pondering how to suggest checking it out.
“Sister… Shouldn’t we investigate this? Huh?”
Just then she was about to ask if they needed to go in, but Namgung Bi-ah should’ve been standing right there—yet she was nowhere to be seen.
At that, Wi Seol-ah looked forward, shocked at the sudden absence.
“…”
Namgung Bi-ah had already drawn her sword and dashed forward.
My site has received a lot of DMCA notices, lol. From now on, I will update the MTL on https://darkmtl.com/.
The site is fast and lightweight because there are no ads yet. However, the theme is different from Cybor-TL, so take some time to familiarize yourself.
Support me by donating at least $10, and you'll have the right to request any novel from Novelpia (excluding 19+ content) using a newly developed tool.