Chapter 32: Hunting Poison Frogs

One hour ago.

“What do you mean…! Mountain Air Poison…!”

“Shh. Be quiet. They can hear us over there.”

I calmed down the excited Uncle Mun-seok and whispered again.

“It’s exactly what it sounds like. That Great Elder of the Sichuan Tang Family. He secretly spread Mountain Air Poison while passing through here.”

“That, that can’t be. I didn’t feel anything, and there are Sichuan Tang Family martial artists here besides us…”

“Uncle Mun-seok, why are you so naive? Of course, those guys would have taken the antidote in advance. And there’s no way someone like the Great Elder of the Sichuan Tang Family would secretly use Snake Venom that you could detect with your martial arts level.”

“…Is that so. Anyway, the reason the Great Elder spread Mountain Air Poison here is then…”

“To kill all the people of the Lower Filth Sect. Ah, if he intended to kill them, he would have used Deadly Poison from the start, so his goal must be to subdue them.”

“……”

Mun-seok’s face turned pale at those words. I asked him something that had been bothering me.

“More importantly, Uncle Mun-seok. I have a question.”

“…What is it in this situation?”

“Do you know the name of the Great Elder of the Sichuan Tang Family?”

Uncle Mun-seok looked at me as if wondering why I was curious about that now, but soon sighed and told me.

And then…

“Tang Yeom-myeong. The Great Elder’s name is Tang Yeom-myeong.”

“…Ah, damn.”

…No wonder the position of the Great Elder of the Sichuan Tang Family felt so familiar. As soon as I heard the name, I immediately remembered.

Demonic Poison Dark Emperor Tang Yeom-myeong.

When the Murim Alliance and the Heavenly Demon Cult first went to war, many martial artists of the Orthodox Sects underestimated the Heavenly Demon Cult. However, as the true power of the cult was revealed and the tide turned, many switched sides to the Heavenly Demon Cult.

Tang Yeom-myeong was the highest-ranking traitor among those who betrayed the Murim Alliance.

As soon as he switched to the Heavenly Demon Cult, he handed over all the confidential information and inner workings of the Orthodox Sects and massacred his former comrades with Poison Arts.

‘No wonder he had so much information. He must have had some connection with the Lower Filth Sect.’

In the original story, Tang Yeom-myeong is killed by the protagonist who has regressed, just before the war breaks out.

So, a few years before the war, now is not the time for him to die yet.

‘If I don’t intervene here, will the Lower Filth Sect guys get crushed by the Tang Family?’

As I started to ponder a bit…

“…Leader.”

“…What?”

“The Leader is in danger…”

Uncle Mun-seok muttered, looking at the top of the Moon-gazing Pavilion as if he had lost his mind.

Even…

“The Leader…!”

“Ah, uncle. Calm down. Calm down.”

I barely managed to stop him from running towards the Moon-gazing Pavilion. As I blocked his way, Uncle Mun-seok spoke to me with a desperate expression.

“…The intention to subdue the disciples outside is surely to threaten the Leader. Or the Great Elder might have already harmed the Leader…!”

“I understand, but what are you going to do if you go now? If you even brush against the Great Elder’s Poison Arts, your body will melt away. Think rationally. In this situation, where our lives are hanging by a thread, where do you think you’re going?”

What I said was purely a rational judgment for Uncle Mun-seok’s safety. Even if he went to the Leader following the Great Elder, he wouldn’t be much help.

He would only lose his life.

Uncle Mun-seok knew that too. But…

“The Leader is my benefactor.”

“……”

“Even if I can’t be of help, I can’t just stand by when she’s in danger.”

…Uncle Mun-seok’s eyes were already filled with something indescribable. And that couldn’t be stopped by rational judgment.

No matter what I did, Uncle Mun-seok seemed determined to run to the Leader.

“Ah, damn…”

Frustrated, I scratched my head irritably, thinking if I had any reason to help Uncle Mun-seok.

First, is Uncle Mun-seok my benefactor?

No.

He had occasionally given me small help, but not enough to be called a benefactor.

Next, is Uncle Mun-seok someone I need?

No.

The person I need is the Branch Leader of the Lower Filth Sect in Sichuan, not Uncle Mun-seok. I already know the code to contact the Branch Leader, so it doesn’t matter if Uncle Mun-seok isn’t the Branch Leader.

Then lastly…

…Do I want Uncle Mun-seok to live?

……

I couldn’t easily answer that question I asked myself. And old memories came to mind.

‘Hey, you. You look like a beggar… How about working at the brothel or inn I run? Huh? Why am I being nice? Because you remind me of myself when I was young. Haha, I used to be quite the looker in my youth.’

“…Ha, damn.”

It seems true that Uncle Mun-seok worked at a host bar when he was young. Since when has he been flirting with me… My heart was in turmoil.

“…Move aside. I’m going to the Leader, so you just stay here… No… You said Mountain Air Poison turned into Snake Venom. Then…”

“…No.”

Even while I was contemplating, Uncle Mun-seok tried to pass me as if time was precious. I made up my mind and stopped him from going.

At that moment…

“What have you been doing since earlier?”

…A man who seemed to be a martial artist from the Tang Family approached us with suspicious eyes.

“……”

From the moment the Great Elder spread Mountain Air Poison, it was decided that the Sichuan Tang Family and the Lower Filth Sect would clash.

And I…

Slash-!

“……!”

“……!”

I decided to help Uncle Mun-seok, no, the Lower Filth Sect.

As I quickly drew my blade and cut the man’s neck, both our youngest, Uncle Mun-seok, the other Tang Family martial artists, and the swordsmen of the Lower Filth Sect looked at me with surprised eyes.

The first to come to their senses were the Tang Family martial artists.

“…They killed the Family Head-! Kill them-!”

They immediately reached into their wide sleeves and pulled out various hidden weapons and daggers, and seeing this, the swordsmen of the Lower Filth Sect also…

“They’re moving-! Stop them-!”

…Immediately drew their swords and the battle began.

Even though the surroundings became noisy, I patted the still-dazed Uncle Mun-seok on the shoulder and said.

“I’ve killed the strongest one for now. It will take some time for the Mountain Air Poison to take effect, so we need to subdue them quickly. Can you do it?”

“…Why did you…”

“I’ll go up there in the meantime.”

“…!”

As I said that and turned my back, a slightly trembling voice of Mun-seok followed.

“…Thank you.”

“…Don’t get the wrong idea. I’ll make sure to get proper compensation. Gold taels 200 won’t be enough.”

I said that and looked back at our youngest.

“Hey, don’t die.”

“Yes!”

Even in this situation, the youngest’s spiritedness made me not worry at all.

I put my blade back into its sheath and climbed the stairs.

**

‘Tsk.’

I clicked my tongue in regret as I looked at my blade stuck in the wall after grazing Tang Yeom-myeong’s neck.

I knew this level of attack wouldn’t work, but I still felt a bit regretful for failing.

“…Who are you?”

“Who am I? I’m a host here, and I heard there’s a troublesome guest, so I came to catch him. You bastard.”

“You speak incomprehensible nonsense.”

Tang Yeom-myeong said, subtly observing me. He probably wanted to gauge my martial prowess.

But…

“What about my subordinates outside…”

Swoosh-, Bang-!!!

Of course, I had no intention of allowing that.

I leaped and swung my fist imbued with Condensed Qi, forcing him to dodge.

Although he dodged, my fist definitely made contact.

I saw Tang Yeom-myeong’s face contort like mush. And…

Sizzle-.

My fist that touched his face also turned red and stung as if it had touched a strong acid.

At that moment, I could gauge Tang Yeom-myeong’s realm.

A fully matured Poison Master. Perhaps even beyond that.

At that level, his body was poison, and poison was his body.

‘But to think that level could momentarily melt Condensed Qi.’

I couldn’t help but be surprised at Tang Yeom-myeong’s realm, which was higher than I expected. And I wasn’t the only one surprised by the current situation.

“Using Condensed Qi…?”

The arrogant expression he always wore finally began to twist.

“Is that possible at your age…? Who are you…?”

“I’ll tell you if you turn off your Poison Arts and fight.”

“How dare you joke in front of me.”

Sizzle-.

More poison began to emanate from his body, as if he found my words laughable.

Seeing that, someone approached me.

Tap.

“Stop…”

It was the Leader of the Lower Filth Sect.

She had already been poisoned, and her face was pale and she couldn’t stand properly since I entered.

Even so, she dragged herself to me and whispered.

“You… should run… No one can win against… him…”

Her eyes were filled with a learned helplessness. I could understand why she said that.

A fully matured Poison Master.

If an eagle catches a poison dart frog and gets poisoned to death, who is the winner?

That’s what a Poison Master is. No one… Even the Best in the World wouldn’t want to fight a Poison Master.

If you choose to fight, even if you kill the opponent, you’ll be left with fatal injuries.

‘In the original story, the protagonist lost an eye while killing him.’

When he cut Tang Yeom-myeong’s neck, poison got into his eye, and it was an unavoidable result.

For a martial artist, losing one eye is a painful blow, but the protagonist was actually relieved that he could kill him at such a low cost.

But…

“Leader, no matter how strong the poison is, do you think a frog can be the strongest animal?”

“What do you mean…”

“I mean, I hate seeing people who only know how to use poison act tough.”

…I had no intention of sacrificing my eye just to catch Tang Yeom-myeong.

“It’s pathetic to see an old man who spent his life trying to become a poison dart frog.”

“……”

The Leader was speechless and looked at me with a bewildered expression. I pushed her away and covered my body with Condensed Qi.

Then I leaped towards him.