"Young Master Gu-!"
The Poison King shouted, his eyes widening like lanterns. It was because Gu Yang-cheon had suddenly collapsed.
And it wasn't just that he collapsed.
"Keu-heok...!"
Thud-dud-dud-!
The fallen Gu Yang-cheon was vomiting blood profusely from his mouth.
And it was so dark that it looked almost black at a glance.
"Damn it...!"
It was clearly a critical condition.
The Poison King frowned as he examined Gu Yang-cheon.
"Young Master Gu. Are you...!"
He cut himself off and clamped his mouth shut. The state of Gu Yang-cheon's body entered the Poison King's sight.
As soon as he confirmed this, he bit his lip.
'This is bad.'
Just a moment ago, his qi was only fluctuating slightly, but he was still fine; now, his condition was terrible.
It wasn't just a matter of his qi surging.
The rampaging qi moved violently as if it would shatter his meridians. It was uncontrollably ruthless.
Unable to be controlled, the qi threatened to destroy everything.
"Keuh-euh... heo-eok...!!"
Gu Yang-cheon, also in excruciating pain, let out stifled groans with a blood-stained face.
One could only imagine the level of pain such rampaging qi would inflict on the body.
It was probably like thousands of thorns dancing within his meridians.
However, even looking at Gu Yang-cheon like this, the Poison King could do nothing.
One could not easily touch such rampaging qi. If handled carelessly, it could lead to qi deviation.
Not only the subject, but if he failed to control that qi, he himself would get caught up in it.
But leaving him alone until it settled down? That was also impossible.
'At this rate, the qi might explode and kill him before long.'
If he interfered clumsily, qi deviation. If left alone, his body would explode from the qi.
Either way, the end was despair.
'Damn it.'
There was no time. Not even time to properly contemplate. No, contemplation was meaningless; there was only one option anyway.
He had to interfere. He had to somehow control that qi. The problem was...
'Do I have the confidence to interfere and control that qi?'
The Poison King himself wasn't very confident.
If he touched that, he himself might fall into qi deviation.
Of this, he was ninety percent certain.
Then should he just leave him be? In that case, wouldn't it be better to go out and fetch a physician?
His reason told the Poison King so, but.
"Don't move."
Scoffing at such thoughts, the Poison King's hand was already reaching out toward Gu Yang-cheon.
He had to save him. If not for his daughter, then for the future of the current Central Plains.
This young man had to live.
No matter how much he disliked Gu Yang-cheon, he couldn't bear to see such a brilliant talent disappear before his very eyes.
The choice made by the human Dang Cheon-gi, not the Patriarch of the Tang Clan, the Poison King, was exactly this.
He meant to grab hold of the qi first. The moment Dang Cheon-gi approached Gu Yang-cheon with that intention.
Hwak-!
"...!?"
Dang Cheon-gi had to stop in his tracks. It was because Gu Yang-cheon, who had been unable to move and letting out stifled groans, raised his hand towards the approaching Dang Cheon-gi.
"Young Master Gu...? Why..."
"...Don't... come... Cough!"
He coughed up dark blood before he could finish his sentence. It was clearly dangerous, so why was he stopping him?
Could it be.
'Is he planning to die like this?'
Was he perhaps trying to just die, fearing that he might get caught up if he intervened?
At that stinging thought, Dang Cheon-gi moved even more urgently.
"Don't think strange thoughts and just stay still! I am the Poison King. I am not one to lose to something like this."
Feeling anxious inside, Dang Cheon-gi ignored it. Now was the time to muster confidence he didn't even have.
"Just trust me and stay still. I will definitely save you."
Ignoring Gu Yang-cheon's words, Dang Cheon-gi moved again, but.
"Ah...! I told you to just stay still...! Cough!"
Seeing that, Gu Yang-cheon yelled out.
The rebound caused him to vomit a mouthful of blood.
"What in the...?"
Dang Cheon-gi was flustered, wondering why he was being blocked to this extent, but.
Something even more surprising happened right after.
Pu-uk-!
"Heo-eup!?"
Gu Yang-cheon suddenly splayed all five fingers and stabbed their tips into his own chest.
Jeu-reu-reuk-! The blood flowing from his chest soaked his martial uniform and dripped onto the floor.
The Poison King gaped at the sudden action. And at that moment.
Seu-eu-eu-eu---!!!
"Keuh-eu-eu-eu-euk!!!"
Centered on the stabbed hand, the qi began to move.
"Impossible..."
Seeing that, the Poison King couldn't help but gasp in disbelief.
He wondered what kind of action that was, but surprisingly, it affected the qi.
Gu Yang-cheon's hand, which pierced his chest, came into direct contact with his internal qi. Using that, he began to control the rampaging qi.
Originally, once qi started rampaging to that extent, it was impossible for one to control it themselves. It couldn't be grasped, and even if one tried to grasp it.
'Unbearable pain accompanies it.'
Especially in a situation like Gu Yang-cheon's right now.
One couldn't even imagine how painful it must be...
'He's enduring that and controlling it directly?'
In that situation, Gu Yang-cheon was controlling his qi himself.
Just from the veins bulging on his body, one could vaguely feel how difficult it was.
Not to mention the pain itself.
'Just what kind of absurd control is this...?'
Controlling that absurd amount of internal qi one by one—he didn't know what kind of nonsensical spectacle this was.
Even seeing it, he couldn't believe it.
"Keuh... heuh-eu..."
A body damp with a mix of cold sweat and blood.
Despite the pain being so intense that the veins in his face burst, Gu Yang-cheon didn't move an inch and maintained control.
Watching the qi gradually stabilize, Dang Cheon-gi couldn't say a word, as if he had seen a ghost.
About half a shichen passed like that.
"Huu... huu-u..."
As if his internal qi had calmed down to some extent, Gu Yang-cheon exhaled, and his whole body trembled, proving how exhausted he was.
And watching that, Dang Cheon-gi was finally able to let out a breath of relief.
'To actually pull this off.'
He really did it. He didn't know what principle or method it was based on, but fortunately, the rampage seemed to have stopped.
Dang Cheon-gi spoke to the trembling Gu Yang-cheon.
"...What happened here? Why did this suddenly..."
He carefully approached and asked. Then.
"......Ah... arm."
Gu Yang-cheon whispered in a very small voice.
"What?"
Unable to hear well, Dang Cheon-gi heightened his senses and pricked up his ears.
Doing so, he could hear the small voice clearly.
"...Fucking hell..."
"...Huh?"
"Fucking strong. Son of a bitch."
Gu Yang-cheon suddenly spat out incomprehensibly harsh curses, and then.
Thud.
Lost consciousness and collapsed onto the pool of his own blood.
"...Huh?"
Dang Cheon-gi was briefly dumbfounded by the sight, but.
"Young Master Gu...! Wake up!"
He immediately hoisted Gu Yang-cheon onto his back and ran out of the building.
Thanks to that, the precious maturation chamber built by Dang Je-mun was ruined with blood, but Dang Cheon-gi didn't care about such things.
*****************
A forest near Sichuan.
A location somewhat distant from the Murim Alliance branch.
The sun was setting, and it was slowly growing darker. It would probably be time for the moon to rise soon.
In that time, two women were strolling through the forest.
At a glance, neither of them was an ordinary person.
Both had unbelievably beautiful faces, and their attire was far from ordinary in every way.
One had golden hair that glowed softly, as if illuminating the darkening forest.
The other possessed blue-white hair.
As they were walking carefully around the area, the woman with golden hair, Wi Seol-ah, called out to the person next to her.
"Sister."
"...Yeah?"
"Do you know the way here?"
At Wi Seol-ah's question, Namgung Bi-a shook her head.
"No."
"...."
At Namgung Bi-a's confident response, Wi Seol-ah also nodded.
She was certain she wasn't mistaken.
"I think... we're lost."
"Yeah."
"This isn't the location written in the intel, right?"
"...Yeah...?"
"...I'll check it again."
It seemed she had asked in vain. Wi Seol-ah judged this and pulled a letter from her clothes.
It was something Gu Yang-cheon had organized and handed over to them.
He had clearly told them to lead the investigation based on this.
"..."
Wi Seol-ah frowned as she looked over the investigation documents.
Namgung Bi-a asked, seeing Wi Seol-ah's reaction.
"...What's wrong?"
"...Well."
Wi Seol-ah bit her lip slightly and said to Namgung Bi-a.
"...I don't know even after looking at it."
"..."
She had confidently said she would check, but she didn't know either, just like herself.
Wi Seol-ah scratched her cheek with an embarrassed smile. Seeing this, Namgung Bi-a stroked Wi Seol-ah's hair.
"It's okay..."
"...Right. It'll work out somehow. Let's cheer up."
"...Yeah."
The problem was that these two were put together in the first place. They should have attached at least one person who knew how to get things done.
Without taking that into consideration, they had just thrown the two together, so how could anything get done?
That was somewhat dissatisfying, but Wi Seol-ah and Namgung Bi-a didn't complain.
Because they knew the reason why Gu Yang-cheon had put them together.
"...Anyway..."
Wi Seol-ah whispered softly, and Namgung Bi-a gave a slight nod.
He was quite possessive.
He probably didn't like them hanging around other men.
It was a rather cowardly act, but they decided to just overlook it.
Wi Seol-ah, who had been studying the investigation documents with some effort, suddenly looked up at the sky and spoke.
"It'll be night soon. Should we head back first?"
"...Yeah."
There was an order to return once the sun set.
The moon was already faintly rising, so it was time to head back.
However...
"...Where to?"
"..."
Both of them were lost.
Of course, since it was a mountain nearby, if the two of them set their minds to finding it... No, maybe not Namgung Bi-a, but if Wi Seol-ah set her mind to it, she could find it easily.
Also, even if not that, Wi Seol-ah knew the fastest method.
"Sister."
"Yeah."
"Which way do you think the way is?"
Wi Seol-ah asked Namgung Bi-a.
Namgung Bi-a pondered for a moment, then pointed in a certain direction.
"...That way."
"Understood. Let's go."
Seeing the direction, Wi Seol-ah grabbed Namgung Bi-a's wrist and walked.
It was the opposite direction of where Namgung Bi-a pointed.
Namgung Bi-a made a subtly dissatisfied face at Wi Seol-ah's action, but this was for the best.
There was no method more reliable than this.
"Sister, we found the way like this last time too."
The last time they were in a similar situation, they found the way using this same method.
Its performance was certain.
Thus, believing it would be the same this time, they took a step forward.
The night in the forest fell quickly, soon obscuring their vision, but neither of them was at a level to fear the dark.
Moreover, Wi Seol-ah's eyes could find light even in the dark, so finding the way was relatively easy.
As they walked for a short while.
"..."
"..."
Suddenly, they stopped walking at the same time and narrowed their eyes.
And as if they had coordinated beforehand, they met each other's eyes.
-Sister.
It was Wi Seol-ah's voice transmission.
-Do you feel something?
-Yeah.
Exchanging voice transmissions, Wi Seol-ah nodded.
Namgung Bi-a's reaction said so, and she felt it too. There was something up ahead.
Immediately, Namgung Bi-a kicked off the ground and leaped up.
The moment she flew up, Namgung Bi-a's presence vanished from the world.
It was an outstanding stealth technique.
Floating in the air, Namgung Bi-a looked down at the forest.
-Seu-eu...
"..."
Namgung Bi-a covered her nose as if displeased. It was certain.
There was something up ahead.
Right after, she dropped straight to the ground. Namgung Bi-a looked at Wi Seol-ah, who was waiting for her.
Wi Seol-ah had already drawn her sword and was on guard.
-Shall we enter?
Namgung Bi-a shook her head.
-...No, he said... if we find something, to return immediately.
-But, it looks like some kind of formation... If we don't check it now, it might disappear later.
-No.
Namgung Bi-a was firm. His words were more important than anything else.
It was only a few months ago that they got into huge trouble for taking the Murim Alliance entrance exam.
She had made up her mind to listen to him well for the time being.
That way, when she caused a big accident in the future, she might be able to get away with it to some extent.
"..."
At Namgung Bi-a's attitude, Wi Seol-ah pouted her lips, but eventually sheathed her sword as a sign of agreement.
Since they confirmed something was there, they would return for now. Just as the two were about to move with that in mind.
[...not...?]
A voice heard from afar made the two calm their breathing. They also heightened their senses.
[Sect Leader. Ilcheonggeom's actions seem a bit strange. The fact that contact was suddenly lost is also odd.]
[Did Branch Leader Mok have anything else to say?]
[Yes. He reported no unusual signs, but...]
[It seems you cannot trust the reports.]
[That is true...]
[Tsk, tsk... It doesn't matter. Whether it's him or that guy, they're all meant to be disposed of anyway.]
[However...]
[The Holy King might be an issue, but don't worry about that either. I have a plan...]
Click.
The conversation that had been briefly heard was suddenly cut off.
Since the presence also disappeared, it seemed there really was something up ahead.
Hearing that, Wi Seol-ah turned her head to look at Namgung Bi-a.
"Sister... shouldn't we go in and check... huh?"
She tried to ask if they shouldn't go check it out, but.
Namgung Bi-a, who should have been where she looked, wasn't there.
Wi Seol-ah looked ahead, thinking 'don't tell me', and.
"..."
Namgung Bi-a was already running forward with her sword drawn.