Chapter 338
## Chapter 338. Waning Moon Poisonous Passion (落月毒情)
The Bangju of HaeSaBang, Chui Ilbae, also known as Geumbulwi, was full of doubts as he entered Ryuwang village.
“Damn it, did I get myself into unnecessary trouble?”
He had bet 2,500 nyang, commonly called tael of silver, just because the guy was from the Tang Family, even if it was in decline. But what if he failed?
He would not only earn the hatred of two powerful financial allies, but in the worst case, he could be expelled from Heochang.
He had known Tang Unmang, known as Sam Bo Jeol Myeong (Three Steps to Death), for about three years. However, he had never witnessed his level of martial arts, poison skills, or stealth techniques.
All he knew about him were the vague stories Tang Unmang had told while drunk.
So why did he recommend him?
The reason was simple: among all the people he was connected to, he thought he was the most capable.
“If it’s him, he should be able to turn even the most skilled warrior into a simple puddle of blood.”
No, he had to be.
If Tang Unmang’s skills were at least half of what he claimed when he was drunk, Yeon Jeokha would be eliminated without problems.
“The problem is how much of what he said is true…”
People tend to exaggerate about themselves, especially heavy drinkers.
The real challenge was that every time he met Tang Unmang, he was always drunk.
Even while they talked, Chui Ilbae kept analyzing his expressions. He needed to know which parts were pure bravado and which were real.
At the end of their conversation, he wasn’t completely convinced.
“Normally, for jobs like this, I require an advance payment, but since we are short on time, I will solve this first. For the sake of both of us, make sure you keep your promise.”
With those words, Tang Unmang pointed to a large tree by the river.
At that moment, Chui Ilbae didn’t understand why.
Without thinking much, he turned his head towards where Tang Unmang’s finger was pointing.
¡Fwoo-shh!
Surprisingly, a tree that had seemed healthy until then began to lose its leaves, which withered and fell. The tree itself began to dry out and collapse from the top down.
All this happened in a single breath.
He had never heard of a poisonous technique like that.
Even the great experts of the Murim would not be able to escape something like that.
“Did you see it? This is what it means to master poison.”
“Y-yes, sir. Don’t worry. I’ll make sure there are no problems with the money.”
Suddenly, the “senior” became “sir.”
Tang Unmang smiled contentedly at Geum bulwi’s reaction.
It was clear that his technique, the Nakwol Dokjeong (Waning Moon Poisonous Passion), had impressed him.
Although an ordinary man could not measure it, Dokjeong was at the level of a Simgeom (Heart Sword) among swordsmen.
The name “Waning Moon Poisonous Passion” was not an exaggeration. It was an absolute poison technique that he had developed after facing the edge between life and death.
Nakwol Dokjeong contained the essence of 108 different types of poisons that he had perfected throughout his life.
“¡Je, je! If even the ten great masters of the world cannot withstand this poison, how could a mere wanderer/nangin…?”
With that confidence, Tang Unmang turned with an elegant movement, leaving behind Geum Bulwi, who didn’t even dare to look up.
Only when Tang Unmang locked himself in his room, Geum Bulwi hurriedly left.
———–
At Cheonji Manor
It was monkey hour (around 4:00 p.m.).
So Jiwoong, the acting head of the Escort Agency Geonwon, left the documents he was reviewing and went out to the porch.
The Three Heroes of Qingzhou (Cheongju Samhyeop), who were resting under the eaves, ran towards him to greet him.
Even Yeon Jeokha slowly got up to stand next to them.
Shortly after, the leader of the three heroes, Jang Wian, stepped forward.
“Boss?”
So Jiwoong looked at both the heroes and Yeon Jeokha before speaking:
“If I stay hidden out of fear of Wang Gukju’s threats, people of the world will laugh at Geonwon.”
“I could wait a few more days before acting.”
“No, I can’t. In the escort business, there are no missions without risk. If I show fear here, who will trust Geonwon?”
Jang Wian couldn’t refute, as he was right. If So Jiwoong, who was the face of the Heochang branch, hid, it would be the end of their reputation.
The second of the heroes, Il Suhan, asked:
“So, boss, where do you plan to go?”
“First, I’m going to meet with people who don’t see me with hostility.”
So Jiwoong thought of Gong Joseung, a merchant from Yeongha Valley. At the Mugok Pavilion meeting, he had been the only one who had approached him.
“Do you have anyone in mind?”
So Jiwoong smiled confidently.
“Yes. Gong Joseung of Yeongha Valley is one of them. Let’s go see him.”
As he descended into the courtyard, Jang Wian took the lead. Il Suhan and Baek Okjo flanked him, while Yeon Jeokha followed them from a safe distance.
—-
Although it was monkey hour, the sun was still relentless, and walking for a long time was tiring.
So Jiwoong, exhausted, sat under the shade of a tree. The Three Heroes of Qingzhou surrounded him in a defensive formation, while Yeon Jeokha stayed close.
About 20 jang (60 meters) away, an old man with a bamboo hat also sat down.
At first glance, he looked like just another farmer. But this old man was Tang Unmang, the master of poison.
Tang Unmang drank from a gourd with apparent desperation, like a thirsty man.
From the outside, he didn’t look any different from any other rural old man.
However, while pretending to brush dust off his clothes, he prepared to use his long-range technique: Pa Cheon Man Ri (Thousand Mile Heaven Breaker).
This poison technique could attack from a distance, as if breaking the heavens from a great distance.
An invisible stream of energy came out of his palm, blending with the wind and heading towards the group.
Near Baek Okjo, Yeon Jeokha smelled a sweet and fruity aroma.
Although he tried to identify where it came from, he couldn’t find any fruit trees nearby.
“What is this?” he thought.
It was a tempting aroma, not the typical one of flowers, but of ripe fruit, full of sweetness.
He even considered that it might be Baek Okjo’s perfume, but he quickly dismissed that possibility.
Noticing his confusion, Baek Okjo asked him:
“Yeon Sohyeop, is something wrong?”
“Ah, I smell fruit around here. But no matter how much I look, I don’t see any fruit trees.”
“Smell of fruit?”
Baek Okjo looked around, intrigued, as she murmured:
“How strange. I don’t smell anything. And you, elder brothers? Do you smell any fruit?”
Jang Wian and Il Suhan shook their heads, denying it.
Jang Wian, who had been sniffing lightly, commented:
“It seems that Yeon Sohyeop’s level of internal cultivation (내공 경지) is so deep that he perceives smells that we cannot.”
“Ah, I understand!”
Baek Okjo looked at Yeon Jeokha with admiration. Although they were the same age, she couldn’t believe that he was already a first-level nangin (낭인). By his appearance, he seemed like a simple wanderer.
“Yeon Sohyeop, do you still perceive the smell?”
“No, I don’t smell it anymore.”
At that moment, Jang Wian frowned.
“How can it be that the smell disappears suddenly without the wind direction changing?”
It was unusual. As he pondered, her expression turned serious.
“Yeon Sohyeop, just in case, try to circulate your internal energy (운기).”
At Jang Wian’s suggestion, both Il Suhan and Baek Okjo looked at Yeon Jeokha with surprised eyes. With their experience in the Murim (무림), they understood what the elder’s words implied.
“Circulate my internal energy?”
Yeon Jeokha took a deep breath and focused his mind on his dantian. Then, following the instructions of the True Classic of the Nine Heavens as One, he circulated his vital energy (진기) through the main points of his body.
Suddenly, he felt a slight irritation in his lungs, something he had never experienced before.
“My lungs are a little irritated.”
“It seems someone has used poison (독). Do you feel anything else unusual?”
“No, I just feel a little uncomfortable breathing. Otherwise, I’m fine.”
Jang Wian observed Yeon Jeokha with an expression of bewilderment. Everything indicated that he had been poisoned, but he only reported a slight discomfort when breathing.
“Could it be that the poison is special or that his internal energy is so powerful that he can resist it?”
The Three Heroes of Qingzhou and So Jiwoong slowly got up from their places. They couldn’t stay seated after discovering that someone had tried to poison them.
Yeon Jeokha, somewhat lagging behind, also stood up and brushed the dust off his clothes.
Baek Okjo asked:
“Elder brother, how come only Yeon Sohyeop was affected by the poison if we were all together? Besides, he was the only one who felt that smell. Is that possible?”
“That shows how advanced the poison user’s skill is. Applying poison (하독) to a single person from a considerable distance… It’s a truly exceptional technique.”
Yeon Jeokha, maintaining a relaxed expression, commented sarcastically:
“Exceptional? The poison seems mediocre to me. With something like that, maybe they could hunt rabbits.”
“Yeon Sohyeop, don’t talk like that. Although you only feel a little discomfort breathing now, you never know what could happen later. You shouldn’t underestimate poison.”
Baek Okjo, with eyes full of concern, looked at Yeon Jeokha.
Poison didn’t discriminate between high or low levels of cultivation. Even the great masters of the Murim who had reached the mythical state feared poison. That was one of the reasons why the Tang Family was respected in the martial arts world, despite not having achieved great feats.
Thinking about that, Baek Okjo looked at Jang Wian and asked:
“Elder brother, do you think Geum Bulwi hired someone from the Tang Family?”
“Impossible. There’s no one from the Tang Family in Heochang, and Geum Bulwi wouldn’t dare involve them.”
So Jiwoong, who had been listening, intervened:
“That’s right. No one would bring a tiger to get rid of a wolf.”
“Then, who could have tried to poison us?”
“I don’t know. The Murim is vast, and there are as many eccentrics as grains of sand in a river.”
As he said this, Jang Wian began to inspect the surroundings.
Within a radius of ten jang (approximately 30 meters), there was no one suspicious.
“Hmm… If the poison was launched from more than ten jang, this gets really serious…”
An attack from that distance indicated that the enemy was not an ordinary fighter. Even a first-level nangin would have no chance against someone like that.
“No, without a doubt, Yeon Sohyeop would be defeated.”
Biting his lower lip, Jang Wian spoke to his two younger brothers:
“You two take So Hangsu (소 행수) back to Cheonji Manor. I’ll stay with Yeon Sohyeop to look for whoever attacked us with poison.”
“…….”
Although Il Suhan and Baek Okjo wanted to protest, in the end they nodded their heads.
Staying was not an option. Protecting So Jiwoong was the priority.
Once the three of them left, Jang Wian looked at Yeon Jeokha and asked:
“How do you feel now?”
“The same. It’s nothing you should worry about.”
“I’m sorry we dragged you into this problem.”
With a bitter expression, Jang Wian raised his voice and shouted:
“I don’t know what poison master (고인) tried to poison us, but at least let us see your face! I am Jang Wian, the first of the Three Heroes of Qingzhou. Stop hiding like rats and face us, if you are not afraid!”
From beyond the twenty jang, Tang Unmang, who had been observing everything, let out a feigned groan as he adjusted his bamboo hat.
“I never thought anyone could resist the Pa Cheon Man Ri (파천만리, Thousand Mile Heaven Breaker) so easily.”
It seems I would have to use the Nakwol Dokjeong (낙월독정, Waning Moon Poisonous Passion) to finish this. However, this technique required him to get closer than ten jang.
Although he hated falling for Jang Wian’s provocation, he had no other choice.
“Idiot. Do you really think someone would show up just because you called them?”
With an ironic smile, Tang Unmang began to walk slowly towards them.
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