Chapter 21 A Brief Journey Together (3)

Chapter 21 A Brief Journey Together (3)

“You’ve fallen into the trap.”

The second of the Xiong’s Evil Clan, Evil Group, who had been watching Gu Yangji closely, smiled.

Evil Group’s smile held the satisfaction of having achieved his goal.

While isolating Ha Jin’ak, he would deliver an inescapable death to Gu Yangji.

It had taken a full ten long days to create this situation.

Throughout that time, Akgun employed every possible measure to ensure they couldn’t be found.

Moreover, he acted with utmost caution, ensuring his presence nearby remained undetected.

That said, he didn’t merely lurk quietly.

On a whim, he tried lacing their food or water with poison to tear them apart or poison them, but it had no effect whatsoever.

Instead, several Black Dragon Sect minions lost their lives at the hands of Gu Yangji, who seemed to know everything.

Thus, he had no choice but to become even more cautious.

Whoosh!

The villain burned away the smoke he had secretly scattered throughout the inn using Huashezi’s fire energy.

‘I never thought he’d resort to such measures.’

Spending ten days on those two was unexpected from the start.

That’s how cautious and thorough Ha Jin-ak and Gu Yang-jeok’s actions had been.

Of course, Ha Jin-ak was already a figure under surveillance within the Black Dragon Sect.

But Gu Yang-jeok was not.

Setting aside his victory at the juvenile tournament, the Dragon Battle, the very circumstances of him defeating Dujeolgwang were suspicious.

Both the location where Duzhueguang was dealt with and where the rumors spread originated from the Open Sect.

Therefore, Eogun simply assumed Gu Yangjeok had merely been there by chance.

‘I intended to capture that bastard to find out who killed the youngest…’

Eogun’s eyes narrowed.

Seeing the clean martial arts robe he wore when leaving the inn, he knew this was no ordinary man.

His appearance differed entirely from the portrait originally drawn by the Three Evils of Shaanxi.

Even if he was merely a nouveau riche who only operated in the shadows, his opponent was the Shadow Assassin, a first-rate martial artist and assassin.

For a late-stage cultivator with limited experience in the martial world, he was an opponent who could only be defeated.

Therefore, Yuejun had to revise his assessment of Gu Yangjie.

‘Perhaps…’

He had killed Duzhuekwang directly without the sect’s intervention, then entrusted the sect with handling the aftermath.

‘Could he really have been killed by that greenhorn?’

Eugun felt like digging up his brother’s corpse and reburying it.

It wasn’t unreasonable.

From the reaction at the inn, he confirmed Gu Yangji had been ‘affected’ by a nerve toxin.

Yet even in that state, Gu Yangji had won the Nine Dragons Battle.

This meant Gu Yangji possessed not only control over his entire body’s blood channels but also formidable mastery of his inner energy, sufficient to expel the poison himself.

Perhaps he had already pierced through every meridian in his body.

That was why, the moment the Shadow Assassin struck, Yuejun and Tugang made their decision swiftly.

– Eliminate him completely.

Having lost their youngest brother, the two decided to leave no room for variables.

Within Gu Yangjeok’s body.

They had just mixed a poison specially reactive to the remaining nerve toxin residues into the smoke and scattered it.

It wasn’t something that could be blocked simply because it reacted.

The moment it was sprayed, it was ingested.

It was a final, decisive move they wouldn’t have attempted until absolutely certain it would work.

‘But that bastard… What the hell.’

Evil Army’s eyes sank coldly.

* * *

Thud!

A chilling sound, slicing through flesh and bone, pierced his ears and roused Gu Yangjeok’s instincts.

A direct hit from that would kill him.

And in his current physical state, it was utterly impossible.

“You… you damn bastard.”

Gu Yangjie spat out the curse he’d tried so hard not to utter in front of Ha Jin’ak.

His body wouldn’t move as he thought it should.

It felt as if thick, wet mud had been smeared over every inch of him.

Plop, plop.

A clot of blood, half a finger joint thick, gathered at his fingertip before falling, unable to bear its own weight.

Even so, Tu Guang, facing him, could not smile.

“Are you truly a disciple of the Huashan Sect?”

“Who was the first to use poison?”

At those words, Tu Guang couldn’t even manage a hollow laugh.

‘How could a so-called righteous sect cultivator… ’

Using someone who had withdrawn from the battle as his shield?

Tugang found himself face-to-face not with Gu Yangji, but with a swordsman from the Black Dragon Sect.

“Tugang, you bastard…!”

His expression flickered with shock, as if struck by lightning, and betrayal.

The swordsman’s eyes widened.

But that was the end of it.

Thud.

Blood pooled beneath the fallen swordsman’s collapsed belly.

“……”

Tugang’s face hardened into a terrifying mask.

Drip, drip.

Blood still dripped from Gu Yangji’s fingertips.

How had it come to this? Tugang still couldn’t comprehend the cause.

The moment he launched his attack at Gu Yangjeok, he had been certain the swordsman couldn’t evade it.

Double-Joint Poison.

A toxin that slows not only the nerves but even the heartbeat, completely incapacitating the warrior.

Yet how could he have held the swordsman for even that brief instant, using him as a shield?

“…….”

Tugang’s gaze fell to the ground, and astonishment flashed through his eyes.

There wasn’t a single footprint where Gu Yangji should have stepped.

Tugang glanced sideways at Aekgun.

-Did you see it?

-I didn’t see it, sir.

Aekgun hesitated briefly before answering.

-It seems he’s mastered a martial art we weren’t aware of beforehand. For instance… techniques like Extreme Speed.

-Is that so.

Tugang watched Gu Yangji wipe his bloodied hands on his robe.

Simultaneously, a question arose.

“……?”

Though he concealed it thoroughly, the tips of Gu Yangji’s fingers trembled faintly.

‘Looks like he couldn’t avoid the poison after all.’

Tugang seized that opening in Gu Yangjie’s guard.

“…Hmph!”

As Tugang radiated an aura ready to charge at any moment, Gu Yangjie assumed a sword-drawing stance with his sword drawn.

‘Damn it.’

Spit.

Gu Yangjeok spat out a dark, viscous phlegm.

His condition was already poor.

His mind-body-qi balance was inherently unstable.

His absolute mastery of martial arts was not supported by sufficient inner strength or physical constitution.

In such a state, if poison dulled his senses and qi perception, that absolute mastery would inevitably turn into a greater curse.

For instance, it would be like this.

It would arbitrarily transcend the limits of martial arts techniques controlled by sensation.

Gurgle.

He was already internally injured from forcibly dragging Baek Dong-il over just now, supposedly to block Tugang’s sword.

Gu Yang-jeok swallowed the blood threatening to burst forth.

‘Damn, that hurts.’ ‘

Gu Yangjie froze, staring directly at the stunned Tugang and the evil army beyond him, and grinned.

Then he casually tossed Baek Dong-il’s corpse aside with a thud.

After a moment, Gu Yangjie’s lips parted slightly.

“You don’t owe any loyalty to the Black Dragon Sect, do you?”

Gu Yangjie’s meaning was simple.

If you value your life, leave.

It was a bluff, meant to buy time until the Huashan Sect arrived.

But he sensed no flicker of hesitation from Tugang or Yugun.

‘Damn, was it useless?’

Gu Yangji suppressed a hollow laugh, yet he didn’t lose his composure.

Even though his qigong wasn’t flowing properly and every muscle in his body was screaming.

It didn’t matter.

This kind of hardship was nothing compared to what he’d endured in the past.

The formidable foe he would face ahead and the path he must walk.

Considering that, kneeling here was unthinkable.

‘Let’s consider this a warm-up.’

Gu Yangjeok’s eyes narrowed, gleaming with sharp intelligence.

“You’re all finished.”

Swish!

As the sword was drawn, the sword energy of the legendary Zha Xian Sword, which had once shocked the Nine Dragon Battle, began to envelop the scene.

The aura emanating from the sword alone was enough to make one’s hair stand on end, and this was merely the beginning of such a matured sword energy.

Naturally, Tugang’s lips parted in astonishment.

“Where on earth did this guy come from…!”

Even the Evil Lord, pondering his next move from afar, widened his eyes.

“……!”

Watching this, Ha Jin-ak smiled proudly at Gu Yang-ji, yet didn’t spare him a scolding.

“Didn’t I tell you to cut out the harsh words?”

Clang, Kaang!

The moment Ha Jin-ak looked away, the sword strikes of five swordsmen blurred before his eyes.

The fight was far from over.

* * *

Meanwhile.

Song Muk, waiting at the main gate of the Huashan Sect, couldn’t hide his heavy expression.

It wasn’t that the messenger sent by Gu Yangji had disappeared midway or some such mishap.

“Just… how far did he anticipate this?”

Song Muk’s muttered words left a deep trace, drifting into the ears of Baek Dan-hyeon and Gwak Un-pae standing nearby.

They too were checking their belongings, their expressions filled with profound anguish.

A piece of intelligence that had arrived secretly a few days prior.

Under normal circumstances, it would have been a trivial piece of information, not even worth half a point on the chessboard of the martial world. But combined with the warning Gu Yangji had given before his departure, it was forming a plausible pattern.

“If I send a messenger, please inquire about the masters of the nearby sects.”

Recalling how Gu Yangji had hinted something might happen to Ha Jin-ak, Song Mok nervously fiddled with his sword scabbard.

‘Did he foresee this situation?’

Song Mok quickly shook his head, dismissing the thought.

It was something he couldn’t know unless he asked directly.

Therefore there was no choice but to go now.

Even if Gu Yangji’s messenger hadn’t arrived, Song Mu intended to depart alone.

Then, in the distance, a disciple carrying a medicine box began to appear, running towards them.

“Hurry up! Quickly!”

Under normal circumstances, he would have spoken kindly, but there was no time for that.

The same was true for the headmaster, Baek Dan-hyeon.

The respect between the head of the sect and the elders, which should have been upheld according to the rules, had vanished without a trace.

“Wun-pae, hurry and gather the Jinchangsan (medicine for treating lacerations) and the burn ointment. You must also take clean cloth and water!”

“Understood, Head Disciple!”

Gwak Unpae answered without turning to look at Baek Dan-hyeon.

Instead, as if every moment was critical, he rummaged through the medicine chest, stuffing the necessary items into his bag.

Baek Dan-hyeon’s instructions continued.

“Unpae, you take the most urgent burn ointment and cloth. The rest is entrusted to Songmuk to handle. Understood?”

At the crisp command, Song Muk answered loudly.

“Yes!”

“Time is short! Hurry!”

Baek Dan-hyeon’s piercing gaze swept between the two elders and their disciple.

In his hand, he clutched a badge engraved with the characters for Plum Blossom Cave (梅花洞).

“Though Gwak Un-pae, Head of the Guest Hall, and Song Muk, Head of the Discipline Hall, are positions that should never leave Huashan, act according to the will of Plum Blossom Cave and prioritize rescuing the disciple!”

No sooner had the words left his mouth than Gwak Un-pae and Song Muk exited through Huashan Sect’s main gate.

Discipline and etiquette.

Baek Dan-hyeon now possessed authority and power that surpassed them all.

“…Haa, what on earth is happening?”

Left alone, Baek Dan-hyeon stroked his plum blossom pendant, lost in thought.

* * *

“Guhk, cough!”

Clang!

Gou Yangjie, leaning his weight on the Zhenxian staff, coughed violently.

It felt like he might spit blood at any moment, his breathing—the very foundation of martial arts—continually disrupted.

That wasn’t all.

Residual nerve toxin, not yet fully dissolved within his body, clouded his senses throughout his entire being.

‘And yet, he still doesn’t collapse.’

Shen Xueyi, who clearly saw Gu Yangjie’s condition, couldn’t hide his disgusted expression.

Whenever Tugang’s attacks weakened, he even helped Ha Jin’e deal with the Black Dragon Sect’s sword masters.

Half of them had already died that way.

Three men were insufficient to restrain Ha Jin’e.

That one bastard.

Everything was going wrong because of that kid who wasn’t even a full-fledged disciple yet.

Tugang asked, genuinely curious.

“What the hell are you?”

“You don’t know and you ask?”

Even while completely poisoned, Gu Yangjeok didn’t relax his grip on the sword.

“Gu Yangjeok, disciple of Huashan. What more do you need?”

A faint smile played across Gu Yangjeok’s face.

“You old fools are still looking for excuses for your defeat. How utterly pathetic.”

“…….”

Hearing such words should have made him furious, yet Tugwang felt no anger at all.

Instead, he could only admire Gu Yangjeok.

It was almost awe.

A body drenched in poison, facing enemies whose inner strength was two to three times greater than all he had ever accumulated.

Not only was he holding his own against them, but he was actually reducing their numbers!

For a moment, Tugang completely forgot that Gu Yangjeok was the enemy of his youngest brother.

Forgetting all notions of enemy or foe, he resolved to show respect as a fellow martial artist.

‘Since I’m going to die anyway, I’ll at least make my final journey look decent.’

Swish.

Seeing Tugang take the Poquan Jirye stance, Gu Yangji laughed in disbelief.

“What the hell are you doing, you bastard?”

Swoosh!

Gu Yangji kicked the flat of the sword he had been leaning on like a cane, severing Tugang’s hands.