Translator: bjgoofy
-Tak tak tak tak.
As we ran along the mountain ridge under the breaking light of dawn and arrived near the base, Spear Dragon, who had been following right behind Gue-sung hyung-nim, pointed toward the river flowing in the distance and spoke.
“Huff, huff, that’s the, the Lancang River. Once we cross that, we’re finally in the Central Plains.”
“Finally!”
“Not much left now. Whew....”
At the mention that the Central Plains, our destination, lay just beyond that river, hope rose in everyone's eyes. Hyung-nim turned to look at me and asked.
“Huff huff... Soryong, are you alright?”
We had already been running for two days straight.
Perhaps because my martial arts level was the lowest among our group and he thought I might be lacking in internal strength, he was checking in on me. But I had eaten the Golden-Furred King Bee's royal jelly, and perhaps because Cho had evolved, my efficiency seemed improved, so I could still endure.
‘And if I can’t endure, I’ll die, so I have to.’
“Yes, Hyung-nim. Huff, huff....”
So I wiped away the sweat streaming into my eyes and responded with a look that said I was still fine, but Hyung-nim stopped walking and said,
“The land ahead is flat, so we’ll likely have to break through all at once. We’ll also need to cross the river, so let’s take a short rest and recover our internal energy in turns. Huff... If we encounter enemies on the flatlands, we’ll have no choice but to fight.”
“Understood, Hyung-nim.”
“Got it, Blade Dragon.”
At Hyung-nim’s words, I looked again toward the river. The mountain range ended not far off, and a flat plain stretched out all the way to the river we could see in the distance.
With such terrain, as Hyung-nim said, our tracks would be fully exposed. Moreover, we would be defenseless while crossing the river, so we had to break through with full force.
And for that, we needed ample internal strength. Crossing a plain after running full-speed using Qinggong was dangerous in our current state.
If we ran into enemies and lacked internal energy, we might not even be able to fight.
So I looked behind us, where the traces of torches were no longer visible.
Over the past two days, perhaps intending to exhaust us, the Blood Cult bastards had persistently trailed us from about two to three kilometers behind.
But for the past two hours or so, no one had been following us, so just as Hyung-nim suggested, we decided to rest and recover our internal energy.
“Phew... this is exhausting.”
“Huff, huff... Is everyone alright?”
At Hyung-nim’s words, Spear Dragon and Sword Phoenix sat down immediately.
I checked behind us, Seol noona and Hwa-eun were sitting side-by-side on a nearby rock, wiping sweat from their foreheads.
“Hwa-eun, are you alright?”
“Yes. And you, Soryong?”
“I’m fine. What about Seol noona?”
“I can still hang in there. How about you, Ryong? It’s toughest for you since your martial arts level is the lowest here.”
“Seol noona, I’m alright. Yohwa, you okay?”
-Kee-sit!
Having run a considerable distance, I was most worried about Yohwa, but seeing how she used spider webs to glide when there were trees and leapt across valleys in a single bound, she seemed to be doing fine.
I checked the condition of the other little ones too.
Headcount during rest was essential.
“Hyang, Bin, you two okay? And Cho?”
-Tsurut!
-Tsururut!
At my call, Hyang and Bin lifted their heads from my shoulders and sent the feeling that they were fine. As I tickled their chins, Cho crawled out from the bushes and pushed her head between my arms.
-Tsururu.
As I stroked her head, Cho let out a pleasant sound.
The three centipede sisters seemed to be in decent shape, so I turned to Hwa-eun and asked,
“Hwa-eun, are Ice and Snow alright?”
Then from under her skirt, which Hwa-eun discreetly lifted, the two lifted their heads.
She checked on Ice and Snow, who clung to her skirt, and nodded.
“Yes, they seem okay.”
-Kkukku....
-Kku....
Despite staying with us constantly, those two remained quiet.
Since lizards have slow metabolisms, as long as they have a good feeding environment and a hiding place, they don’t exhibit the high activity levels like the centipedes.
While centipedes are highly active at night for hunting, lizards remain lethargic as long as they’re full.
Since Hwa-eun and I had Ice Jade on our wrists, the lizards occasionally crawled up to us while we rested to absorb energy, and that was about it.
That’s why they had been sticking with Hwa-eun the whole time without giving off any noticeable presence.
For that reason, in my previous life, lizards were also known as "lazy" and were raised in large quantities in quite small drawer-like enclosures.
Even the recommended cage size advised by famous overseas reptile breeders was only about 450x450x600 in dimension, that’s how small lizards were.
“Alright, everyone, just a little more to go, so let’s hang in there.”
-Tsurut! -Kisit! -Kkukku!
After encouraging the children a bit, we took a short rest.
The break lasted about one hour.
We recovered our internal energy through meditation and breathing techniques, and also found a nearby stream to drink some water.
Since we had thrown away all our baggage to lighten our bodies, we had no food and couldn’t eat anything.
“Phew....”
Finally, after finishing his meditation, Gue-sung hyung-nim opened his eyes. Once everyone checked their weapons one last time, Hyung-nim spoke.
“Then let’s depart.”
That was when it happened.
Seol noona stepped forward and asked for a moment.
“Ah, just a moment. Blade Dragon.”
“What is it, Young Miss Seol?”
When she made the request and Hyung-nim tilted his head in curiosity, Seol noona made her intention clear once again.
“I’d like to try calling the beasts once more before we depart. There’s a chance the Blood Cult’s pursuit might continue all the way into the Central Plains, so I want to try mobilizing the Beast Palace. If my Father and the Man of Ten Thousand Poisons are still at Nannuo Mountain, they might be able to come meet us.”
Since we had gone south and then turned east to head north, Nannuo Mountain was barely visible at the edge of the northwestern horizon.
What she meant was: if they were still looking for us, she hoped they would come meet us here.
“Ah, I understand, Young Miss.”
Naturally, it was a good idea, so Hyung-nim nodded in agreement.
As Noona said, there were no clear border markings here, nor any checkpoints or stationed troops.
That meant even if we crossed the border, their pursuit could continue into Yunnan. And if so, having troops come out to meet us would be the safest way to ensure protection.
-Beeeek.
Once again, Noona let out a whistle that echoed through the valley, like the cry of a hawk.
-Beeeek. Beeeek.
Three times in a row.
It was a strong call, one that insisted the beasts of the Beast Palace must hear it if they were nearby.
But even though the sound spread quite far, no answering cry from any beast returned. Just as Noona was about to give up and ask to move out.
“Maybe it’s not fully daylight yet, so the birds aren’t awake? Blade Dragon, maybe we should just star-”
-Hooong. Hooong.
A hooting sound of an owl came from somewhere.
People turned toward the border sky in the distance to find the source, but the one making the sound appeared from the mountains we had just passed.
A large eagle-owl flew from the mid-slope of the mountain and landed on Noona’s arm.
“You’re here!”
After stroking its head a few times, Noona tore a piece of her skirt and tied it to the creature’s leg, then whispered to it.
-Chwaak!
“You have to go bring the people of the Beast Palace, understand? First, try searching that mountain over there, okay?”
-Hooong.
Seol noona repeated her instructions to it several times.
Unlike the centipedes, Yohwa, Snow, or Ice, ordinary beasts had less clarity of thought and could sometimes forget commands.
We could have sent Cho, which would’ve been reliable, but Cho was insurance in case something dangerous happened, so she couldn’t be sent.
That’s why Noona repeatedly instructed the owl and finally released it into the sky. As dawn brightened, it flew toward the direction of Nannuo Mountain.
“Alright, let’s go now!”
Once the creature completely disappeared into the sky, Seol noona suggested departing.
Looking up, it seemed the sun would rise soon, so Hyung-nim leapt forward and shouted,
“Let’s move!”
We had to cross the plains before full daylight broke.
But not long after we set out, just as we crossed the end of the ridge and were about to enter the flatlands.
A figure rose from behind the rocks strewn at the boundary between mountain and plain.
The man immediately lunged toward Hyung-nim, shouting in a furious voice.
“Your escape ends here! I, the Blood Cult Elder, Blood Wind Flying Serpent Mei Chougui, will personally face you all!”
“E-everyone, be careful!”
Hyung-nim turned his blade sideways and clashed with the man, but a deafening roar erupted.
-Bang!
With the roar, Hyung-nim’s body flew backward and crashed into a bush.
“Keuhk!”
“Hyung-nim!”
“Blade Dragon!”
Then came Hwa-eun’s urgent voice.
"It's the pursuit!"
At her shout, I stopped and turned my head. Men wearing brown leather outfits, different from the usual red martial arts attire, were quickly approaching from the ridgeline.
A so-called elder was holding us in place while the pursuers closed in.
“Are you alright?”
“Keuhk. He’s fast!”
Hyung-nim, blood dripping from his lips, stood up with Spear Dragon’s support, gripped his blade once more, and charged forward shouting,
"Poison Flower, that thing!"
The reason Hyung-nim could charge at an elder of the Blood Cult without fear.
It was because we had a poison that worked especially well on them.
If we could just land one hit, we could find a way to deal with him.
So Sword Phoenix and Spear Dragon followed behind Hyung-nim again, and Hwa-eun began preparing the Nine Illusory Kills, throwing nine flying needles.
In the meantime, I summoned Cho and asked her to block the men in brown martial arts outfits.
‘Cho! I’m counting on you!’
Judging by how fast those men were catching up, even if we took care of the so-called elder in front, we’d be caught soon after, so I had to deal with them first.
Thus, while Hyung-nim, Spear Dragon, Sword Phoenix, Hwa-eun, and Seol noona clashed with the Blood Cult elder, Cho sprayed poison mist at the warriors rushing in from the rear.
-Swaaaah.
A radial burst of poison mist sprayed from Cho’s mouth as she descended from the sky.
“Dodge it!”
But the warriors in brown leather responded instantly to what seemed to be the leader’s shout and scattered quickly, evading Cho’s mist.
Even those who got hit didn’t seem particularly affected.
‘What...!?’
Cho sprayed poison mist a few more times from the air, but the men swiftly dodged, and she sent me a confused feeling.
That was when, from behind me, an unexpected victory shout rang out faster than expected.
“How dare a mere late-stage martial artist try to attack me, you bastard!”
-Crack!
“Keuhp! P-Poison Flower!”
"I understand!"
While Hyung-nim took a strike through his side and restrained the enemy, Hwa-eun embedded a few poison needles into his shoulder.
But the situation wasn’t looking good overall.
In that time, Spear Dragon had collapsed, vomiting blood, and Sword Phoenix had fallen nearby with a broken sword in hand.
Still, the target was poisoned.
Hwa-eun shouted to Seol noona.
“Unnie, we have to finish him! He’s been hit with poison that renders Blood Cult members unable to use internal energy. Soon, he won’t be able to use even a speck of it!”
“Got it!”
Since the elder hadn’t directly absorbed a massive dose of poison like the last one, Hwa-eun fired a few more flying needles to check for the poison’s effects.
As he dodged them, the man pulled a small porcelain vial from his robe.
With a sinister smile, he swallowed the contents and said,
“Did you think we’d forever fall victim to the Tiger Keelback’s poison? Hahaha! The antidote is already complete, which means all of you are already as good as dead.”
“A-Antidote!?”
“They actually made an antidote!?”
Even the Tang Family hadn’t developed one yet, and in my previous life, there was no antidote other than blood serum. Yet here this man was, claiming they had created an antidote.
He clearly thought that after we had poured all our strength into this, drinking the antidote would cover him and leave us in despair.
But it wasn’t the fact that he drank it that shocked us, it was the fact that they had managed to develop the antidote at all.
Hwa-eun and I exchanged glances and laughed.
“Hahahahaha!”
“Fufu....”
The man sneered back at us.
“What’s so funny?! Have you gone mad facing death!?”
He clearly didn’t understand why we were laughing, so I shouted back at him.
“You’re the one facing death. The poison should be kicking in about now, try circulating your internal energy.”
Teasing him, I watched as he followed my words with a calm expression and tried to circulate his energy.
And then, from his mouth, a startled voice burst out.
“W-Why… why can’t I use my… even though I took the antidote!?”
Of course he was panicking.
Even though he had taken the antidote, he would have found himself unable to use his internal energy.
***
Just before setting off across the flatland, we were checking everyone’s weapons when Hyung-nim’s frustrated voice rang out.
“Damn, I’m out of poison.”
“Poison?”
At Hyung-nim’s mention that he’d run out of poison for his blade, I tilted my head in curiosity. That’s when he explained.
“I mean the poison we were given before the mission, the one that prevents the Blood Cult bastards from using internal energy. I’ve used it all up.”
“Ah, that poison.”
“Ah, Poison Flower might still have some. Poison Flower, if you do, would you mind sharing a bit?”
It seemed everyone wanted to coat their weapons with poison in case a fight broke out before we left, but Hwa-eun shook her head.
We had some as well, but it looked like we’d used it all up throwing flying needles.
“I’ve used up all I had.”
At Hwa-eun’s words, disappointed expressions spread among the group.
“Then I guess we just move on as we are.”
Though Hyung-nim was about to give the order to depart, more firepower was always better. So I spoke up.
“Hyung-nim, we might not be able to get that exact poison right now, but I can get something similar.”
“You can get something similar?”
When I said this, Hyung-nim asked again, as if to confirm. Hwa-eun chimed in from beside me.
“The poison used on those Blood Cult bastards, Soryong is the one who made it.”
“Soryong, you did?”
“Y-Young Hero Soryong!?”
“Is that true!?”
Apparently, the Murim Alliance had done a good job keeping information under wraps, because everyone looked stunned.
“I’ll be back quickly! Yohwa, let’s go!”
Leaving the group behind, I ran with Yohwa to the nearby stream we passed earlier.
I pointed to what I had spotted when we collected water earlier and asked Yohwa.
“Yohwa, wrap that in thread.”
-Kishit!
At my signal, Yohwa immediately wrapped the target in thread.
I removed it from the tree, and shaking it like I was possessed by a bartender, I returned to the group.
Then, as I broke it on the ground, I spoke.
“I’ll need everyone’s help. They’re probably all unconscious, so please squeeze their rear ends a bit.”
“Squeeze… their rear ends?”
“Yes, before they come to their senses.”
The name of the creature whose rears we were now squeezing:
Yellow hornet, tiger-head hornet, hornet, all names for the same insect: the hornet.
When I said to squeeze their butts, Sword Phoenix blinked and asked,
“This is the same as that poison?”
“No. Not the same.”
“Then what?”
“It’s stronger.”
Though the quantity was small, if it were the same amount, hornet venom is more potent than the Tiger Keelback’s poison.
Hornet venom tears apart red blood cell membranes and bursts the cells themselves, causing hemorrhaging, so yes, it’s a hemorrhaging poison more powerful than our usual.
***
‘They probably showed up all proud with their antidote, but of all things, this is how it turns out?’
Hornet venom didn’t exist in large quantities, so I could only use it to coat Hwa-eun’s flying needles, but it felt like the heavens were telling me to keep playing the role of natural enemy.
Smiling, I shouted to Hwa-eun and Seol noona.
“Hwa-eun, Seol noona, finish him!”
At my words, Hwa-eun tried to throw a flying needle filled with lethal poison at the man, but Seol noona stepped forward and blocked her.
With a chilling expression, Seol noona spoke.
“Ryong, let Noona show you what the Beast Palace’s Leopard Fist is!”
I thought only bears could tear people apart, but soon the Blood Cult Elder was being torn by Noona's claws.
The man muttered in disbelief.
“Keuhk! H-How...”
When someone’s curious, it’s only natural to give them an answer, right?
So I hit him with the same line I’d used before.
“Why do all Blood Cult elders always ask the same thing? It’s because I’m your natural enemy!”
‘Didn’t I tell you I was your natural enemy?’