Episode 238: The Human Gu

Dang Mujin assessed Mok Wana’s condition.

In just a few days, her hair had turned white, and her expression was fiercer than he’d ever seen.

Not that it made her naturally gentle features any more intimidating.

Dang Mujin shouted, “Mok Wana! Run!”

Mok Wana was no stranger to poison.

But as far as Dang Mujin knew, she didn’t know how to fight using it.

On the other hand, Gyobu Hwa was practically a master of poison techniques.

Not only was he familiar with poisons, but he was also adept at using them in combat.

Mok Wana was no match for him.

Yet, she didn’t back down. She chose to fight Gyobu Hwa.

‘How can I help Mok Wana here?’

With his pressure points sealed, he couldn’t move, and even his internal energy was severely restricted.

The best he could do was offer advice at a critical moment.

Even then, he wasn’t sure how much help that would be.

Dang Mujin hoped Mok Wana would come to her senses and flee.

But Mok Wana, showing a side of herself he’d never seen, used the sharp edge of the cave wall to cut her palm.

Gyobu Hwa watched Mok Wana’s actions with calm interest.

In martial arts, the one who strikes first usually has the advantage.

But with poison techniques, who strikes first doesn’t matter as much.

If you’re confident you can handle the opponent’s initial attack, letting them strike first and then countering can be a good strategy.

‘Is she really using snake venom? I can take my time with this.’

Gyobu Hwa considered a different approach.

Martial artists are drawn to power. If he could demonstrate overwhelming skill here, he might sway Dang Mujin to his side.

Killing Dang Mujin and targeting the next generation was only a backup plan. The best outcome would be to harness Dang Mujin’s undeniable abilities.

To do that, he needed to show a clear gap in their skills.

Gyobu Hwa’s face lit up with anticipation.

‘Go ahead, try anything. I’ll block it all.’

He stirred the air with his right hand, inhaling a wisp of the poison that lingered there.

Even among snake venoms, not all are the same. The venom of a common pit viper differs from that of a flower snake, and sea snakes differ from cobras.

‘This venom… it’s similar to the rice spoon snake’s.’

It wasn’t a difficult poison to counter.

Gyobu Hwa summoned an energy within him that countered the rice spoon snake’s venom, ready to neutralize the poison.

The way a regular martial artist deals with poison differs from someone trained in poison techniques.

When poisoned, a regular martial artist has two choices: expel the poison from their body or use their internal energy to isolate and suppress it temporarily.

But those trained in poison techniques have an additional method: summon an opposing energy to immediately detoxify the poison.

Even if they can’t detoxify it, most poisons aren’t a problem. They can withstand most with their resistance.

The poison from Mok Wana’s body enveloped the area like a mist.

Gyobu Hwa inhaled a bit more of the poison. As expected, it was quickly neutralized within him.

He found the situation amusing.

‘Yes, this is the level of poison techniques in the central plains. Dang Mujin is the anomaly.’

While it was fun to compete closely with someone of similar skill, Gyobu Hwa preferred overwhelming victories.

Using his superior knowledge and skill to crush an opponent.

The method was simple: block every move with ease. Even if he only defended, the opponent would have to recognize the gap in their abilities.

He enjoyed seeing an opponent, unscathed, realize their defeat and despair. Ending their life at that moment was even more satisfying.

‘Now, try your next poison. I’ll block them all.’

In a poison duel, if the opponent defends against one poison, you move on to the next.

But Mok Wana didn’t switch poisons.

In martial arts terms, it was like using the same move again after it had been blocked.

Gyobu Hwa was annoyed.

“Is this all you’ve got? No other poisons?”

There was no response.

‘How crude.’

Gyobu Hwa was disappointed.

If the only poison she could use was snake venom, he couldn’t showcase his ability to block a variety of poisons.

With that in mind, he decided to demonstrate the power of the Odokmun with an attack instead of defense. He opened a small vial at his waist.

As the lid came off, a black liquid inside rapidly vaporized, forming a dark red mist that spread through the air. A foul stench filled the area around Gyobu Hwa.

Heaven’s Rotting Corpse Poison.

Created by soaking numerous animals and humans in seven different poisons until they died, then collecting the poison that formed as their bodies decayed.

It took a long time to make and required human corpses as ingredients.

To make matters worse, the amount obtained at one time was small.

It’s hundreds, thousands of times rarer than common snake venom. But its potency is far greater.

Dang Mujin didn’t know exactly what Heaven’s Rotting Corpse Poison was, but from the smell and the concentration of the poison, he could tell two things: it was a corpse poison, and it was extremely powerful.

Dang Mujin shouted, “Mok Wana! Get out of the cave! Now!”

But Mok Wana didn’t retreat; she moved forward.

In the dead-end cave, there was no wind.

Yet the dark red mist, which had been spreading toward Mok Wana, began to reverse course, as if meeting a headwind, and returned toward Gyobu Hwa.

Gyobu Hwa was taken aback.

‘What is this? I’ve never heard of such a situation…’

No, he had heard of it. His father had mentioned it as something he’d only heard about. It was a rare occurrence unfolding before him.

It wasn’t about the nature of the poison or its potency.

It was a matter of sheer volume and density. The overwhelmingly dense poison was blocking the approach of Heaven’s Rotting Corpse Poison.

Gyobu Hwa covered his nose and mouth with his forearm.

‘So she did have something up her sleeve.’

If vaporizing the poison to intoxicate the opponent was impossible, a more direct method was needed.

Gyobu Hwa opened a small container. Since his body was imbued with a scent that repelled blood-sucking insects, twenty blood-sucking insects immediately swarmed toward Mok Wana.

These insects could harbor various poisons without issue. They could withstand snake venom, no matter the quantity.

But the insects couldn’t follow Gyobu Hwa’s guidance to the end. They seemed to hit an invisible wall, fell back, and landed on the ground.

The small insects lay on their backs, legs twitching as they died.

‘What is this?’

By now, Gyobu Hwa realized the situation was far more serious than he had anticipated.

Mok Wana continued to approach, step by step.

The distance between them was now less than half a jang. Close enough to touch if they reached out.

‘It’s still just snake venom.’

Gyobu Hwa muttered again.

But this time, he lacked the confidence he had before. It was more of a mantra to steady himself.

Desperately, Gyobu Hwa gathered various energies within him to neutralize Mok Wana’s poison. At first glance, the snake venom she released didn’t seem like a major threat.

But there was one problem. The concentration of the poison was too dense, and the quantity was overwhelming. He couldn’t even gauge how much more she could release. The poison emanating from Mok Wana showed no sign of stopping.

Even when Gyobu Hwa pooled all the poison and medicinal energy within him, there was a limit to how much he could fend off Mok Wana’s poison.

Eventually, the medicinal energy he had stored within him ran dry.

It felt like choking on water, a stiffness rising in his chest, a foreign sensation filling him. His body was starting to bear the brunt of the poison.

For most poisons, he could rely on the resistance he’d built through training, but the poison Mok Wana was releasing was beyond that.

“You!”

Gyobu Hwa had much to say, but he couldn’t continue. His coughing wouldn’t stop.

After a long bout of coughing, he shouted again, his voice filled with resentment.

“You haven’t even mastered poison techniques!”

“True. I don’t know much about poison techniques. But I know what poison is.”

Mok Wana murmured.

“Master Dang Jeseon once said that medicine and poison are fundamentally the same.”

Of course, Gyobu Hwa didn’t know who Dang Jeseon was. But Mok Wana continued her story regardless.

“Anything used in the right amount becomes medicine, and anything used excessively becomes poison. So, a poison far denser and more abundant than usual is even stronger.”

Mok Wana’s words pierced the essence of poison techniques.

There are limits to the poison a person can harbor, and poison techniques are the art of using that poison efficiently.

In the face of an overwhelming amount of poison that can’t be handled by conventional means, the subtleties of poison techniques become irrelevant. They are merely tricks to compensate for the quantity and quality of poison.

Gyobu Hwa, struggling to endure the overwhelming poison, lost the ability to move or speak.

There was no way to turn the situation around. All he could do was try to delay his death a little longer.

Gyobu Hwa felt as if he were being dragged into the depths of the ocean. Sinking into a deep darkness from which he would never escape.

Mok Wana grasped Gyobu Hwa’s trembling face with both hands. Blood from her palm trickled into his ears.

The toxicity of a poison in its liquid state is far more potent than when it disperses into the air.

Gyobu-hwa felt something crumble deep within his core.

“No… this can’t be…”

The poison barrier was collapsing. At this point, the external poison was the least of his worries.

The toxic energy Gyobu-hwa had harbored within began to seep out, causing his body to start dissolving from the abdomen outward. It was a horrifying sight.

By the time Gyobu-hwa had turned into a pool of blood, Mok Wan-ah staggered and collapsed to the ground.

Only then did Dang Mu-jin shout again.

“Mok Wan-ah! Expel all the poison you’ve absorbed and get out of the cave immediately!”

Mok Wan-ah still held an overwhelming amount of toxic energy within. If he stayed like this, he would meet the same fate as Gyobu-hwa.

Mok Wan-ah gave a weak smile.

“My legs won’t move.”

“At least expel the poison!”

But Mok Wan-ah struggled to keep the poison from escaping.

“No. This cave is sealed tight. If I release it all here, you’ll die too…”

“Trust me.”

Dang Mu-jin’s words were simple, but his gaze was resolute.

Perhaps finding assurance in Dang Mu-jin’s eyes, Mok Wan-ah began to release all the poison he had been holding back.

The cave filled with a suffocating miasma, and Mok Wan-ah collapsed, unconscious.

‘Now it’s my turn.’

It had been about six hours since his acupoints were sealed. He needed to release them himself before another two hours passed.

Dang Mu-jin focused inward, examining each sealed meridian.

He chose a drastic method. Using the small amount of internal energy he could muster, he forcefully pushed against the foreign energy blocking his meridians.

It was like hammering a nail sideways to break it rather than pulling it out.

Bracing himself for the impending pain, Dang Mu-jin clenched his teeth.

The clash of energies ensued.

Cough.

With just one clash, Dang Mu-jin coughed up a significant amount of blood. The metallic taste and pain clouded his mind, yet paradoxically, his thoughts became clearer.

‘Again!’

Thud, thud, thud. After three successive impacts, one of the seals finally broke. His stiff body began to loosen slightly, and he coughed up more blood.

‘This is just the beginning.’

With one seal broken, he had a bit more energy to work with. Dang Mu-jin used this to break the second seal, then the third.

He coughed up so much blood that his head spun.

Finally, after breaking the fourth seal, his body was free.

Though still weak, he could move.

Dang Mu-jin hoisted Mok Wan-ah onto his back and trudged through the poison-laden cave. Each breath was a struggle against the encroaching toxins.

‘Where did they get so much poison?’

More pressing than where it came from was how Mok Wan-ah managed to contain so much within himself.

Dang Mu-jin, on the verge of collapse, managed to reach the cave’s exit.

They were free from the poison, but Mok Wan-ah remained unconscious, and Dang Mu-jin’s own consciousness was fading.

Yet, he reached out to check Mok Wan-ah’s neck for a pulse.

His body was slightly cold. Losing consciousness here could be dangerous.

“Ugh.”

Dang Mu-jin, still holding Mok Wan-ah, kicked open the door to the small hut where Mok Wan-ah had stayed and stumbled inside.

His strength gave out. Clutching Mok Wan-ah tightly, Dang Mu-jin finally succumbed to unconsciousness.