Episode 128
It was at that moment.
Sun Woo-jin smiled faintly and asked the old man, “You must be using a very rare poison, sir?”
The cold-eyed assassin, O Sal Naeng Ji-dan, stared at Sun Woo-jin in shock.
“…What?!”
Sun Woo-jin grinned and stuck out his tongue.
Resting on it was a mysterious, multicolored bead shimmering with iridescent hues.
Seeing this, Naeng Ji-dan gasped in horror.
“P-Pi-dok-ju?”
It was unmistakably the antidote known as Pi-dok-ju.
And not just any Pi-dok-ju—the five-colored variety, a rare and precious elixir said to neutralize nearly all poisons except corrosive ones.
In the next instant, Sun Woo-jin’s sword transformed into a beam of light.
Whoosh!
“Ugh!”
In a flash, Naeng Ji-dan’s hands and feet were severed.
He let out a pained groan, his eyes wide with terror as he looked at Sun Woo-jin.
But Sun Woo-jin only smiled coldly and said, “Oh? Finally found someone who might actually understand me.”
Unlike the other assassins who died without a flicker of fear or pain, this one couldn’t hide his agony or terror.
An assassin with a touch of humanity—someone who couldn’t bear the pain or mask his fear.
Maybe, if he talked a little longer, he’d reveal more.
With a triumphant smile, Sun Woo-jin said, “Let’s have a long conversation.”
Watching from the shadows, Sam Sal Jeon Seok-jil chuckled dryly.
To think someone this strong even carried Pi-dok-ju.
And the five-colored kind at that—the finest grade, usually reserved for high-ranking members of the Dang clan.
This was beyond their reach.
They had no choice but to abandon the plan to ambush Sun Woo-jin for now.
Though Jeon Seok-jil’s stealth was far superior to that of the Yuk Sal Do-dan-mu, targeting someone so well-prepared was practically suicide.
He thought to himself, I guess I’ll have to team up with Chil Sal, that arrogant brat.
Chil Sal was a prodigy in his twenties, mastering stealth and assassination techniques so well that even Jeon Seok-jil couldn’t confidently say he could beat him.
If they joined forces, maybe they could try again.
With that in mind, Jeon Seok-jil decided to slip away quietly while Sun Woo-jin was cleaning up here.
That way, he could prepare for the next move.
As he moved stealthily toward the rear, Sun Woo-jin suddenly looked his way and said, “What’s this? Giving up already? I was looking forward to what you’d do next. Where are you going?”
Hearing that voice, Jeon Seok-jil felt a chill run down his spine.
Sun Woo-jin already knew he was there.
Snap!
Jeon Seok-jil threw himself with all his might.
He had to escape as fast as possible.
The distance wasn’t too far, and with his divine technique, he could make it…
But when he glanced back, horror struck him.
Sun Woo-jin’s divine technique was closing in at an impossible speed.
No human technique could move that fast.
Instinctively, Jeon Seok-jil turned around.
Running away now was hopeless.
He had to fight with everything he had.
“Hah!”
Whoosh!
The assassin shouted as he unleashed all his secret smoke bombs at once.
The entire space filled with a rain of smoke bombs, like a thousand flowers blooming in the sky over the Four Heavenly Gates.
But even in that storm of smoke, Sun Woo-jin didn’t slow down.
He simply swung his sword.
Shing!
Sun Woo-jin’s blade split into a dazzling, translucent violet shield that enveloped his entire body.
The smoke bombs bounced off it helplessly.
“Is that… a sword barrier?”
Jeon Seok-jil muttered in disbelief.
Having deflected all the smoke bombs, Sun Woo-jin was already within striking distance.
Jeon Seok-jil stood frozen, his face blank, as if he’d given up entirely.
But then, in that moment when Sun Woo-jin’s sword slowed as if to capture him alive instead of killing him, Jeon Seok-jil’s eyes suddenly hardened.
Even his expression of surrender had been a ruse.
“Pfft!”
With a sharp glare, Jeon Seok-jil spat something from his mouth.
Ssssh!
His final secret technique—a poison needle shot from his mouth.
Because the situation seemed over, this was a deadly last move.
A tiny, thin needle shot straight toward Sun Woo-jin’s forehead.
Jeon Seok-jil smiled fiercely, thinking no expert could dodge at such close range.
But the next moment, his expression froze.
Sun Woo-jin moved lightly, like a petal drifting on the wind, and caught the needle in his mouth.
Then, a beam of light sliced across Jeon Seok-jil’s stiffened neck.
Shing!
“How… how…?”
Jeon Seok-jil muttered in disbelief as a thin red line appeared on his throat.
Slowly, the line deepened.
Thud!
His head fell, blood spurting out belatedly.
By then, Sun Woo-jin was already returning to the old man he had captured.
He figured there was no need to deal with anyone else now that he had someone to extract information from.
Besides, the old man didn’t seem like the type to talk much.
But when Sun Woo-jin stood before the old man again, he couldn’t help but frown.
The assassin disguised as the old man was already dead, blood dripping from his mouth.
He must have bitten down on a poison pill to take his own life.
Sun Woo-jin clicked his tongue and muttered, “In the end, I couldn’t find out who they really are. They must be a pretty famous assassin group.”
He felt a deep regret.
If only he’d uncovered their identity, he could have launched a counterattack.
They were ruthless killers, capable of slaughtering innocent bystanders without hesitation.
They carried a deadly resolve to assassinate without fear of death, and employed a variety of assassination methods.
Highly organized, no doubt.
And despite anticipating an ambush and moving quickly, they had been waiting for him first.
They must have a vast network.
This attack was unlikely to be the end.
“But, it can’t be helped.”
Sun Woo-jin shook off the thought immediately.
There was no use dwelling on what was already impossible.
Besides, there was some consolation.
Thanks to the keen insight he learned from Seol Poong Jo-jang and the Thousand Kill Technique from the Sunwoo family’s library, the assassins’ attack hadn’t been all that threatening.
In fact, compared to other martial artists who fought head-on, these assassins were easier for him to handle.
“And with the Pi-dok-ju, too.”
Sun Woo-jin smiled contentedly as he took the antidote from his mouth and slipped it into his pocket.
Suddenly, the face of the person who had given it to him came to mind.
It was Dang Yeo-eun.
When he was learning the Moonlight Orchid Sword Dance under the Bright Sword, Dang Yeo-eun never spoke about her own experiences but kept asking about his.
She couldn’t understand how someone less skilled than her could have defeated him.
Sun Woo-jin hadn’t told her that he had spared her Wanmaek, but he did mention that he had been poisoned with an invisible toxin when he subdued her.
Dang Yeo-eun had grown serious, then handed him the Pi-dok-ju she had.
She said she could get more when she returned to the Dang clan, but he needed a way to defend against poison.
With a grave expression, she told him, “One of the first lessons for the Dang clan heirs is to always have this Pi-dok-ju in their mouth before battle. Poison is inseparable from our fights. It might be uncomfortable at first, but you must do it. This small difference can save your life. Promise me.”
Under her insistence, Sun Woo-jin had no choice but to promise.
And thanks to that promise, he had easily overcome this crisis.
At that moment, Dang Yeo-eun’s radiant, sunny smile flashed through his mind.
At the same time, Dang Yeo-eun sat in her room, deep in thought.
Sun Woo-jin’s words echoed in her mind.
“Don’t forget. Only you can change your own life. I believe in you, Yeo-eun.”
She bit her lip tightly.
No matter how many times she thought about it, he was right.
She couldn’t keep drifting along, leaving her fate in others’ hands.
Even if it was the clan head, her father, whose orders were absolute.
If she truly didn’t want an arranged marriage, she couldn’t just rely on Sun Woo-jin.
She had to do something herself.
To stand proudly before the one who believed in her…
But no matter how hard she thought, no suitable plan came to mind.
What can I possibly do?
The clan head’s orders were absolute and solemn.
For a minor direct descendant like her to be used as a pawn in an arranged marriage was only natural—common sense for the Dang clan.
So she had to shatter the entire clan’s common sense.
Feeling overwhelmed, she sighed.
“Ugh…”
She felt powerless.
That helplessness threatened to paint her heart with despair.
But Dang Yeo-eun shook her head fiercely, banishing the creeping hopelessness.
No. There must be a way. I just don’t know it yet. Think about what he said. There’s no problem without a solution.
And she desperately searched her mind.
For something she could do.
For any possible way.
“You can’t go to the head of the Dang family and say you won’t do it. Not only will he refuse, but he’ll clamp down even harder. No one in the Dang family is allowed to defy the authority of the family head. No one can ever reject his will…”
As Dang Yeo-eun mulled over this, a sudden thought struck her.
There were people within the Dang family who could defy the family head’s authority…
Such people did exist.
She sprang up from her seat, her eyes shining with newfound clarity.
“If there’s anyone who can do that, it has to be…”
The first person who came to mind was none other than Dang Mu-gwang.
He was the previous family head, the half-brother of Dang Yeo-eun’s grandfather, the former supreme patriarch Dang Mu-jeong.
He was also known as “The Poisonous Lone Wolf,” one of the infamous Four Demonic Lords.
The strongest among the Four Demonic Lords of the Dang family—Dang Mu-gwang.
No one in the family, not even the current head Dang Jeong-hu or the retired patriarch Dang Mu-jeong, could control him.
He was a madman obsessed with poison, a lone wolf who wouldn’t even speak to anyone he didn’t acknowledge.
Dang Yeo-eun’s mind raced as she thought of him.
“If only he would step in, he could wipe out this political marriage in an instant.”
Yes.
She was certain of this.
Once the Poisonous Lone Wolf Dang Mu-gwang made up his mind, the current head Dang Jeong-hu wouldn’t dare say a word.
But there was still a problem.
There was no connection whatsoever between Dang Mu-gwang and herself.
She had no excuse, no leverage to approach him and ask him to stop the political marriage.
And without something to persuade him, there was no way the man who scoffed at even the retired patriarch’s words would listen to her.
But from the start, Dang Yeo-eun had no intention of going to him.
“Besides, I don’t even know where he is right now.”
Her mind immediately jumped to the second and third people—those within the Dang family who had enough influence to defy Dang Jeong-hu’s will.
Her eyes gleamed as she muttered to herself.
“Yes, these people could definitely be negotiated with. And what I have now is more than enough.”
Without hesitation, Dang Yeo-eun stood up and strode out the door.
Now that she saw a possibility, there was no time to waste.
In fact, the sooner she acted, the better.
After all, Dang Jeong-hu’s promise to wait for Sun Woo-jin’s return could very well be a lie.
And what Dang Yeo-eun didn’t realize was that this proactive spirit was something she had never possessed before, not even before traveling with Sun Woo-jin.
She was finally breaking out of her shell, standing on her own two feet.
Dang Yeo-eun headed deep into the forest nestled within the heart of the Four Demonic Lords’ territory.
The Dang family called this place the “Outer Dang Forest.”
Using the stealth techniques she had learned from Sun Woo-jin, she had infiltrated the Outer Dang Forest.
Of course, as a direct blood descendant of the Dang family, she could have entered through the official entrance.
But she chose to sneak in instead.
“It’s not good if the family head finds out about my actions. I have to move as secretly as possible.”
Having reached the forest’s edge, she dropped her stealth and glanced once toward the entrance before boldly stepping deeper into the woods.
The Outer Dang Forest was teeming with monsters.
Though it lay within the Dang family’s domain, it was considered outside the family proper.
It was home to many reclusive martial artists who had withdrawn from the world.
Many martial clans invited outsiders to become their retainers for various reasons, but the most important was their fighting strength.
“The power of a clan depends on how many skilled retainers they have.”
Retainers were like hidden blades, ready to lend their strength to the clan in critical moments.
Simply having them was a deterrent against hostile factions.
But it wasn’t just that.
Martial arts advanced through confrontation and exchange with other styles, so having retainers skilled in diverse techniques was crucial to a clan’s progress.
All martial clans worked hard to attract outstanding retainers.
“All except the Four Demonic Lords’ clan.”
That was right.
The Four Demonic Lords’ clan didn’t need to try so hard.
Many came on their own.
As the premier poison masters of the martial world, the Four Demonic Lords’ clan naturally excelled in medicine and healing arts.
While outsiders might think the clan was just a hellish place full of venomous creatures, it actually held the largest collection of rare medicines in the martial world.
Because of this, many people in need of treatment—and their acquaintances—came to the clan.
Among them were, of course, martial arts masters.
Even masters so formidable they were rarely seen within the clan itself.
Those who wished to live quietly in seclusion among such masters resided in the Outer Dang Forest—the place inside the clan’s territory but considered outside the family.
“…”
Dang Yeo-eun suddenly stopped and looked around the dense forest.
Nothing unusual met her eyes.
But her senses, sharpened by activating the Moonlight Phantom Sword Dance, told her otherwise.
Someone was watching her.
She respectfully cupped her hands and raised her voice.
“I am Dang Yeo-eun, daughter of the Dang family. I seek to meet the great seniors of the martial world, Yang Moon-heon and Elder Yang. May I ask where you might be?”
After a moment, a buzzing sound came from an indiscernible direction.
As expected.
Dang Yeo-eun felt a surge of pride that her intuition about someone’s presence was correct.
But she also felt a wave of tension.
No one in the Outer Dang Forest was anything less than a monster.
Even the slightest whim of theirs could snuff out her life in an instant.
She had to be careful. Very careful.
She answered as politely as she could.
“I have a personal matter to discuss and must speak with them directly. Please forgive me for not answering the great seniors’ questions.”
At that moment, a shadow suddenly dropped before her like a falling leaf.
Tap!
“!”