Chapter 336: Awakening in Mok Wana’s Quarters

Dang Mujin awoke in Mok Wana’s quarters, a place he had found himself in before, so it didn’t feel particularly strange. The only difference this time was that Mok Wana was nowhere to be seen.

Yet, her faint scent lingered in the room, mingling with the smell of sweat, so he didn’t feel entirely alone.

With half-open eyes, Dang Mujin pondered, “How did I end up sleeping here?”

Nothing came to mind. Assuming nothing out of the ordinary had happened, he stepped outside. It seemed he had slept in, as the sun was already a hand’s breadth above the eastern ridge.

As soon as he emerged, he spotted Hong Geolge, who was sitting cross-legged as if meditating. Upon seeing Dang Mujin, Hong Geolge stood up with a knowing smile, brushing the dirt off his pants.

“Well, well, our esteemed leader. You must have slept like a log, huh?”

”…?”

Dang Mujin felt a wave of unease. Among men, it was unusual to exchange pleasantries about how well one slept.

With suspicion in his voice, he replied, “Of course I slept well. Why wouldn’t I?”

“Indeed. You must have been so comfortable you slept for two whole days!”

“Two days?”

Dang Mujin dismissed Hong Geolge’s words as nonsense, letting them pass in one ear and out the other.

But soon, two more people appeared—Jang Il-nam and Dan Seol-young, both looking worried. And it wasn’t just them; from a distance, others were casting glances his way. Something was definitely off.

Hong Geolge turned to Jang Il-nam. “Did you hear? Dang Mujin here doesn’t even realize he’s been out cold for two days.”

Dang Mujin interrupted, “Wait a minute. I was unconscious?”

He tried to recall what had happened before he fell asleep. But if Hong Geolge was telling the truth, he couldn’t remember anything leading up to it.

Jang Il-nam spoke with concern, “You bravely confronted the poison and then collapsed. Everyone in the clan knows about it now. They’re all genuinely hoping for your recovery.”

Poison? Unconscious? It seemed unbelievable, but then a sharp memory surfaced—Mok Wana trying to stop him as he brought the poison sac to his nose.

After that, nothing. He really had passed out. The most embarrassing part was that everyone knew about it.

As his face flushed with shame, Hong Geolge burst into laughter, clearly enjoying the rare opportunity to tease him.

Seeing Hong Geolge’s reaction, Dang Mujin suspected he was the one who spread the story around the clan.

Dan Seol-young approached him. “Are you feeling okay?”

He didn’t feel any numbness or pain. His limbs felt normal, and there was no discomfort. Dang Mujin nodded. “I think I’m fine.”

Dan Seol-young sighed in relief. “Good. Just don’t do anything reckless today. See you at dinner, alright?”

“Alright.”

He gave her a gentle hug, and she smiled faintly before heading off to her tasks.

With his mind at ease, Jang Il-nam also brightened and made his way to the infirmary, likely to tend to the children.

Dang Mujin pondered. Something didn’t add up.

“If I was unconscious from such a potent poison, how did it clear from my system in just two days?”

There were two main ways to expel poison from the body: neutralization or expulsion.

While unconscious, his body could only do so much to neutralize the poison, so it must have been expelled somehow.

“Did I breathe it out?”

It seemed odd that such a potent poison could be expelled through breathing in just two days, but he didn’t dwell on it. After all, it was inhaled, so it made sense it could be exhaled.

“The poison is strong, but not persistent.”

Having reached this conclusion, he decided to examine the spider’s poison sac again and headed to the storage room attached to Mok Wana’s quarters.

Hong Geolge still seemed eager to tease him, but Dang Mujin ignored him and entered the storage room.

Inside, Mok Wana greeted him. “You’re awake?”

“Just got up.”

“Are you feeling alright?”

“I’m fine. Most of the poison is gone. It seems to be easily expelled through breathing.”

“Ah, that…”

Mok Wana started to say something but stopped.

“What? Is there something I should know?”

“No, it’s nothing.”

She smiled bashfully, her expression as endearing as a small animal.

Dang Mujin glanced around the storage room. While other poisons were intriguing, the spider’s poison sac captivated him the most.

The spider, with its human-like face pattern, was likely a mystical creature known as the Human-Faced Spider.

As he approached the poison sac, Mok Wana warned him, “Smelling it is fine, but anything more is dangerous.”

Her warning wasn’t particularly stern. In fact, there was a hint of anticipation in her voice.

Dang Mujin replied calmly, “I’ll be careful this time, don’t worry.”

“Alright…”

He proceeded cautiously.

Untying the string at the sac’s opening, he fanned the air gently to disperse the poison before inhaling a small amount.

Contrary to his expectations, the poison was incredibly sticky and potent, tingling his nose and lungs.

“No wonder I passed out after inhaling it directly.”

If the scent alone was this intense, the liquid poison must be even more dangerous.

Though Dang Mujin was accustomed to poisons, even he might struggle to survive such a potent one. Most martial artists would likely perish instantly.

A poison so deadly it would make anyone else recoil in fear.

Yet, the danger only excited Dang Mujin.

To him, poison held the same allure as a sword did to a swordsman.

Just as no swordsman would flee from the sharpest blade, Dang Mujin had no intention of backing down from this poison.

“I want to master this poison.”

However, he had no immediate means to do so.

The only practical use he could think of was carrying the sac and throwing it at an opponent.

But that was the most inefficient and crude method of using poison.

Mok Wana asked, “What are you thinking?”

“I’m trying to figure out how to handle this poison. It’s incredible, but too potent for me to withstand.”

As he spoke, an idea struck him.

In the past, the Poison Master had experimented on children with various poisons.

Mok Wana was the only child who survived, enduring all the poisons.

Was it merely luck and constitution that allowed her to survive?

Could it be that Mok Wana knew how to withstand strong poisons?

But one thing troubled him. He doubted Mok Wana would cherish those memories as fond ones.

So he asked cautiously, “Wana, can I ask you something?”

“Sure, what is it?”

“Were you always resistant to poison?”

Mok Wana, quick to understand, immediately grasped what he was curious about.

“No. When I first encountered poison, it was as hard and painful for me as it was for the other children.”

“Then how did you become able to withstand it?”

She took a moment to gather her thoughts before answering.

“I think it was because I was more afraid than the others.”

“What do you mean?”

“The Poison Master was a researcher. He didn’t care if the children died, but he didn’t use poison to kill them. The children didn’t know, but he never used poison so strong they couldn’t survive. Even those who couldn’t handle poison survived at least once or twice before they died.”

Dang Mujin listened without interrupting, and Mok Wana continued slowly.

“I was the same. The poisons he used grew stronger, and the pain more intense. I was so scared of the unfamiliar pain that I had a thought.”

“What thought?”

“If I got used to the pain, at least the next time it came, it wouldn’t feel so unfamiliar. Remember when the Poison Master taught us a simple internal energy technique?”

Dang Mujin nodded. He recalled hearing about it before escaping the cult.

“The other kids tried to expel the poison using their internal energy techniques to escape the pain. Even the masters advised using internal energy to drive out the toxins. But I took a different approach. Instead of using my energy to expel the poison, I used it to hold onto the poison for as long as possible.”

“That’s… an unusual approach. Why did you do that?”

“People say you get used to things over time, right? I figured if I got used to the immediate pain, I’d be able to endure the next wave more easily. And it worked. I’m the only one who survived.”

Dang Mujin watched Mok Wana carefully, worried he might have dredged up painful memories. But Mok Wana didn’t seem particularly troubled as he recounted those difficult times.

“Then I discovered something interesting. Do you know what happens when you hold onto the poison and use it with your internal energy?”

“Not really.”

Dang Mujin had never tried such a thing. Although his energy contained traces of poison, he always expelled it, focusing only on the pure energy.

Mok Wana explained, “The poison condenses and becomes more potent. Like how saltwater becomes saltier as the water evaporates, the poison intensifies. Sometimes, the amount of poison left after condensing is even greater than what you started with. Using your energy in that state feels like your veins are being torn apart. It’s more painful than when you first took in the poison.”

”…”

Just thinking about it seemed dangerous. For most martial artists, circulating energy was like gently cleaning their meridians with a soft cloth, carefully removing impurities to enhance their energy flow. It was a process that required stability and caution, often done in a meditative state to avoid disturbances.

Mok Wana’s method, however, was about deliberately invoking pain and becoming accustomed to it. It was like scrubbing the meridians with rough stones, leaving them raw and wounded.

As far as Dang Mujin knew, no martial artist practiced such a method. Even his master, known for his unconventional teachings, had never mentioned anything like it.

Dang Mujin suspected that while Mok Wana’s method might help one become accustomed to poison, it wouldn’t necessarily increase one’s internal energy.

Mok Wana continued, “By enduring and getting used to the pain, I convinced myself that the next poison wouldn’t be as painful. While other kids fainted and never woke up after encountering strong poisons, I endured. The fact that I’m still alive proves my method worked.”

Though Mok Wana’s approach to energy circulation was entirely different from other martial artists, it shared a common thread: pushing one’s limits to expand them.

Martial artists constantly challenge their limits, gradually increasing their speed and skill. Mok Wana did the same, expanding his limits through pain.

‘If I expand my limits like Wana, could I withstand the poison of the Inmyeonji Lord?’

It seemed possible. But one thing nagged at him. While no martial artist dies from swinging their sword faster, Mok Wana’s training method could be truly dangerous.

Yet Dang Mujin couldn’t easily suppress his ambition. Martial artists are like that—knowing the risks, they still take that extra step.

Dang Mujin asked Mok Wana, “Wana, when you warned me about the poison pouch, does that mean you’ve encountered its poison too?”

“Yes, I’ve at least smelled it.”

“What was it like?”

“I didn’t faint.”

“Do you think I could handle it too?”

Mok Wana pondered for a moment before nodding. “You might. You’re more accustomed to poison than I am, so you could achieve results faster. But don’t start with strong poisons. The key is to begin with weaker ones and gradually increase your tolerance.”

“That makes sense.”

Dang Mujin had two goals. First, to use poison in his energy training to become accustomed to it. Second, to see how much he could condense the poison.

He decided to start by refining and condensing a weak poison to gauge its effects. The first poison he chose was from apricot seeds. Depending on the variety, it wasn’t life-threatening. Even someone without martial skills would only suffer a mild stomachache, and it had no effect on martial artists.

Because it was so weak, it was perfect for testing how much he could concentrate the poison.

Dang Mujin had a suitable test subject in mind.

In a cold voice, he asked Mok Wana, “Wana.”

“Yes?”

“Did you tell anyone about me fainting from the Inmyeonji Lord’s poison?”

“I only told three people: Elder Dang, Seolyeong, and Hong Geolge.”

Since neither his father nor Dan Seolyeong would spread such rumors, it was clear that Hong Geolge was the one who had gossiped.

Dang Mujin decided to show no mercy.

Dang Mujin waited until nightfall when everyone was asleep, then sat in meditation outside Hong Geolge’s room, beginning his energy training.

As the unpurified energy flowed through his meridians, a dull pain spread through him. It was just the poison from apricot seeds, but as the training continued, the pain intensified, eventually feeling like thin blades slicing through his veins.

Yet Dang Mujin welcomed the pain.

Soon, a faint poisonous aura surrounded him, and a gentle breeze carried it into Hong Geolge’s room.

For three nights, Dang Mujin endured the pain and focused on his training outside Hong Geolge’s room.

In the end, Dang Mujin discovered new possibilities for his poison techniques, while Hong Geolge suffered from a stomachache for ten days straight.