Chapter 501
Chapter 501: The Beginning of Night (6)
“You useless wretches! Is this pathetic display truly the upper limit of your skill?!”
Jin Sowoon’s furious outburst tore through the air, yet silence was the only reply he received.
To be fair, Ilgak could have offered a retort, but being a Buddhist monk, he merely murmured sutras under his breath whenever Jin Sowoon’s harsh tongue lashed out.
The rest of the battered unfortunates could only sprawl across the dirt, fighting to draw breath into their strained lungs.
“I endured no small amount of trouble dragging all of you here!”
Hearing Jin Sowoon’s complaint, Yayul Geuk spat a bitter curse in the privacy of his own thoughts.
‘As if I ever begged to come along!’
Naturally, considering his persistent stutter had only just started to recede, he lacked the nerve to openly pick a quarrel.
Struggling upright with great effort, he initiated a cycle of qi-regulating breathwork to stave off the crushing exhaustion. If he neglected it now, the agonizing stiffness, fatigue, and widespread aches ravaging his flesh would plague him within the carriage until their next stop for food.
‘Just when did that lunatic transform into such a freak of nature?’
Pondering Jin Sowoon’s monstrous growth, he began circulating a Minor Heavenly Circuit.
Back when they initially crossed paths at the Martial Arts Academy, a clear disparity had existed, yet he had held firm to the belief that he could close the distance once he mastered the Flowing Cloud Divine Art. Jin Sowoon had once guided him toward enlightenment through Snow Flower, and Yayul Geuk had harbored no doubts that he would exact bitter, blood-drenched vengeance upon the bastard the moment the Flowing Cloud Divine Art reached completion.
‘Vengeance? What a sick joke…’
At this rate, simply escaping another savage thrashing felt like an achievement. What manner of miraculous elixir or forbidden nourishment had that fiend consumed to attain such terrifying strength in so short a time? Envy gnawed at him, paired closely with an undeniable curiosity.
“Phew…”
Upon finishing a full rotation of the Minor Heavenly Circuit, the burning soreness throbbing through his arms and legs subsided by a fraction. A measure of internal energy had replenished inside his dantian as well, yet his physical vessel remained far from peak condition.
Doubt began to creep in, making him question why he was subjecting himself to such senseless agony. The truth was, the Sword Tomb had never held any real appeal for him in the first place.
Even enlisting in White Wolf Pavilion was beginning to look like an utter blunder. Back when he lacked direction, he had caught wind of Jin Sowoon applying to White Wolf Pavilion and blindly put in his own paperwork on a whim.
Yet Jin Sowoon had not even ended up entering White Wolf Pavilion.
‘That absolute piece of filth!’
While that rash choice had allowed him to reunite with his elder brother—who had cleared the lower-tier martial artist examination—after years of separation, it hardly excused Jin Sowoon’s antics.
‘Mark my words, Jin Sowoon, I will have my payback!’
“Geuk, aren’t you going to take a moment to rest?”
Nam Hwaseong’s quiet prompt snapped Yayul Geuk out of his vengeful reverie, forcing him to rein in his racing thoughts.
The sheer physical exhaustion weighed too heavily on him right now.
This relentless routine had persisted without reprieve ever since departing Wuhan. Ride the carriage, shove food down their throats, drill the sword formation to exhaustion, board the carriage again, swallow another meal, drill the sword formation once more. By now, his single greatest desire was to steal even a few extra moments of peaceful slumber.
“Oi, Yayul Geuk.”
Then came that insufferable voice, as Jin Sowoon called out his name.
“Wh-what is it?”
The lingering dread that his stutter might become permanent gnawed at him, but Dang Seohui’s presence was far too terrifying for him to dare ask her for a remedy.
“Why the hell are you holding back?”
“W-what are you talking about? I-I am g-giving it everything…”
“Your sector is the single point where the sword formation repeatedly fractures. What, are you saving that magnificent Flowing Cloud Divine Art to season broth later?”
The jab sent a rush of fiery crimson across Yayul Geuk’s face.
“The F-Flowing Cloud Divine Art w-was never m-meant for sword formations.”
“What nonsense are you babbling now? Why on earth do you imagine it was christened the Flowing Cloud Divine Art?”
“H-huh?”
“Deputy Hall Master Dang, fling a stone my way.”
Dang Seohui, who had been leisurely perched atop a boulder swinging her legs while chewing on a sweet treat, cocked her head before lightly hopping down to the ground.
“Observe closely.”
Much like during their previous clash, Dang Seohui relied on her expertise in throwing arts to flick three pebbles simultaneously. The three stones carved peculiar, unpredictable arcs as they whistled directly toward Jin Sowoon’s skull, torso, and lower belly.
Whoosh!
Jin Sowoon’s arms swept out along winding circular trajectories, seamlessly catching the kinetic momentum of the projectiles before launching them straight back along the path they had come.
Ping!
“Do you see?”
The instant the deflected stones threatened to pepper Dang Seohui, her eyes popped wide. Clamping the candied fruit between her teeth, she flicked both wrists in rapid succession. It seemed as though the image of a taiji symbol materialized around her fingertips, and the redirecting projectiles surged straight toward Jin Sowoon and Yayul Geuk.
“Hup.”
Jin Sowoon effortlessly shifted his frame aside, dodging the incoming barrage.
Consequently, all three stones slammed directly into Yayul Geuk.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
“Aaargh!”
Three separate points across his body flared in acute pain, yet he possessed merely two hands to clutch them with. There was simply no way to shield every impact.
“D-damn you!”
“Tsk. I literally demonstrated the technique right in front of your eyes, and you still managed to take the full hit?”
“I-I still h-haven’t grasped h-how it works.”
“Just how much longer do you plan to idle around and take things easy?”
“W-what?”
“Once you deploy into the field as a White Wolf Pavilion operative, your brother could very well be fighting shoulder-to-shoulder with you. Are you going to throw up your hands and say you can’t fight simply because you haven’t grasped the principle yet?”
The harsh words struck Yayul Geuk like a concussive blow to the back of his head.
“Forget even that. The moment we step foot into the Sword Tomb, our survival hinges entirely on guarding each other’s blind spots. Will you actually be capable of keeping your comrades alive?”
Yayul Geuk’s gaze sharpened, glaring fiercely into Jin Sowoon’s eyes.
A sudden glimmer of understanding washed over him. He finally glimpsed the underlying truth behind Jin Sowoon’s monstrous competence.
‘Has he always operated like this?’
Setting unreachable benchmarks, then ruthlessly battering himself past his own thresholds. The most perilous, life-threatening crises that an ordinary person might encounter once or twice in an entire lifetime—that maniac deliberately thrust himself into such extremes at every waking moment.
That merciless drive was precisely what had forged the yawning gulf between them, a chasm vastly broader than the one back at the Martial Arts Academy.
“Cat got your tongue? Can you pull it off or not?!”
Yayul Geuk clamped down viciously onto his lower lip.
“I-I can!”
“Speak up, I can’t hear a thing.”
“D-dammit, I said I can!”
“Excellent. Deputy Hall Master Dang!”
Yayul Geuk mobilized his internal energy in an instant. Pushing his perception to its absolute limit, he anchored his mental focus entirely on the space before him. Dang Seohui was an exceptional talent, but even a fellow like Jin Sowoon had executed the movement. There was no conceivable reason he could not replicate it.
Whoosh!
Without a shred of hesitation, Yayul Geuk unleashed the Flowing Cloud Divine Art toward the pebbles hurtling toward him along erratic trajectories.
However…
Thud!
“Urgh!”
Thud!
“Ghk!”
Crack!
“Guek!”
Taking the direct impact of all three projectiles across his form, Yayul Geuk’s vision blackened, and he collapsed into unconsciousness.
“Brainless fool. I specifically told you to employ the Flowing Cloud Divine Art. Did you mistake this for an external body-tempering exercise?”
As darkness swallowed his awareness, Jin Sowoon’s voice drifted down to him, laden with utter disdain.
‘That absolute demon! I swear I’ll slit your throat one day!’
The embers of vengeance within Yayul Geuk’s heart, which had been flickering toward extinction, flared back to life with scorching fury.
The carriage departing Wuhan sprinted onward without pausing until reaching Zhijiang. Upon arriving in Zhijiang, we transferred our journey onto a river vessel.
During this particular season, with northwesterly gusts blowing strong, navigating the waterways across Sichuan toward Gansu Province proved considerably faster than relying on terrestrial wagons. Furthermore, propelled by both sail and oar, the vessel could maintain momentum day and night without interruption.
Aboard the ship, we could simultaneously train and recuperate, efficiently securing two advantages with a single measure.
By the time our route carried us past Chongqing, the provisional crew was finally beginning to show signs of mutual coordination. Following that progress, I integrated Dang Seohui into the sword formation on a trial basis.
Once we ventured within the Sword Tomb, every single individual present would need to move as a unified whole. If Dang Seohui ended up feeling detached or out of sync at the critical juncture because we had been careless, the oversight could prove disastrous.
Fortunately, such anxieties were entirely unwarranted. Dang Seohui integrated seamlessly into the White Tiger Sword Formation after a mere two attempts. Watching her, I could not help but wonder why she rarely wielded a blade under normal circumstances.
“I constantly leave it behind by mistake.”
“…”
With Dang Seohui’s mastery rendering further drill unnecessary on her part, I turned my attention back toward grinding the remaining four through unending torment. Bitter curses and muffled grievances rained down constantly. Yayul Geuk in particular looked ready to snap, his bloodshot eyes glaring as he lunged at me on multiple occasions.
In my previous lifetime, such simmering hostility among allies would have plagued me with deep anxiety, but in this life, it did not concern me in the slightest. I held the authority of rank, and I possessed greater martial prowess. If the arrangement displeased them, their only recourse was to grow stronger.
“Amitabha…”
The hairless monk now took to chanting sacred mantras whenever an opening presented itself.
Once they breached the interior of the Sword Tomb and witnessed that living nightmare firsthand, they would come to appreciate the profound value of every drop of sweat and blood shed during these drills. Furthermore, the hard-earned lessons they gathered here would filter outward once they returned to White Wolf Pavilion. By the hour I formally joined the ranks of White Wolf Pavilion, a solid operational foundation would already be established.
‘If you fail to build one, every last one of you will pay dearly.’
Upon touching land at Yibin, we immediately boarded prearranged carriages and pressed on toward Neijiang. From Neijiang, our carriage route could proceed through Jintang and Dujiangyan, allowing us to arrive at Songpan without unnecessary delays.
Yet an unforeseen obstacle surfaced once we reached Neijiang.
“What do you mean they aren’t prepared?”
A representative from the Hao Sect presented a pouch holding merely twenty-odd medicine spheres.
“To state the matter plainly, our contacts were unable to procure your full requisition.”
They were referring to the Heart-Calming Spirit Pellets I had contracted earlier. Owing to the immense volume required, I had utilized the network of the Hao Sect to place advance commissions with various apothecaries situated along the road to the Sword Tomb. I had only requested fifty doses within Neijiang, fully aware of the scarcity of prominent medical halls in the district, yet they had failed to gather even half that modest sum.
“Synthesizing Heart-Calming Spirit Pellets is hardly a complicated affair, but current stocks across both Sichuan and Gansu are being diverted northward en masse.”
“Even though I provided full payment beforehand?”
“The issue is that provisions are so scarce near the Great Snow Mountain that market values double or triple the moment one steps beyond the border of Sichuan. Knowing they can reap vastly higher returns by hauling their wares just a short distance farther north, local merchants are hauling their entire inventories up to those markets.”
Ultimately, this meant accumulating my intended stockpile south of Chengdu was impossible. Assured that supplies would prove more abundant the closer we approached Chengdu, I resolved to offset the deficit near the provincial capital, even if it demanded inflated compensation.
However, conditions hardly improved as our journey carried us farther northward. While we managed to collect a handful of Heart-Calming Spirit Pellets in Ziyang, the tally fell drastically below my original requisition. Upon reaching Jianyang, one apothecary went so far as to rescind the contract entirely, thrusting my deposit back into my hands.
‘This is becoming a severe problem…’
The sheer volume I had requested might appear ludicrous for an individual cultivator, yet measured against the vast tide of martial artists destined to pour into the Sword Tomb, it represented little more than a speck of dust.
I had instructed the Hao Sect to procure Heart-Calming Spirit Pellets by offering up to triple the standard going rate. Even so, upon arriving in Jintang—my final prospect—a wave of grim resignation washed over me.
“If medicinal stock cannot be found in Yibin or Neijiang, then no medical halls within Chengdu or points further north possess them either.”
“What is the reasoning behind that?”
“Bloody skirmishes and clashes are erupting constantly, not merely along the approaches to Gansu, but across the breadth of Sichuan. Medical halls everywhere are overwhelmed with casualties belonging to both the White Path and the Black Path. The physicians lack the leisure to even process basic ingredients, let alone compound specialized pills.”
Geumdan Port served as the primary landing closest to Chengdu. If procurement failed here, our only alternatives were detouring into Chengdu itself or abandoning the quest for the Heart-Calming Spirit Pellets altogether.
‘Deprived of the Heart-Calming Spirit Pellets, the Sword Tomb will devolve precisely into the bloodbath envisioned by those Demonic Cult wretches.’
The grim prospect of the Sword Tomb turning into an inescapable slaughtering pit for martial artists sent a chill running through my spine.
“If we divert our path into Chengdu, can we guarantee securing the necessary volume?”
“The odds are unfavorable. As stated previously, silver and trade goods are not the bottleneck here. There is an absolute deficiency of hands and available time…”
As the heavy silence lingered, the Hao Sect operative offered a hesitant remark.
“To be entirely candid… there does exist an establishment capable of supplying a substantial quantity, though it may still fall short of your ultimate goal.”
“What? If such an option existed, why withhold it until now?!”
“…Because I cannot state with any certainty that you will secure an audience, let alone the medicine.”
Noticing the operative’s hesitant, evasive posture, I watched their eyes subtly shift direction. Following that line of sight, my attention settled on Dang Seohui, who was delicately finishing off the last remaining crumbs of a mooncake.
‘Fool! How did that slip my mind?’
When speaking of Chengdu in Sichuan, the paramount name was none other than the Tang Clan.
While the Tang Clan was famed for its fearsome poisons and hidden weapons, its mastery, resources, and scale in the domains of medicine and pharmacology stood unrivaled throughout the realm.
“Senior Dang, Senior Dang, your ancestral household maintains a great host of physicians, correct?”
“Do you require medicinal pills?”
“Indeed. An immense supply, in fact.”
“We cannot provide such a large sum.”
“Eh? For what reason?”
“Grandfather is exceptionally rigid about drawing a strict boundary between official clan business and private favors.”
The Hao Sect contact chimed in to elaborate.
“That is precisely why I refrained from mentioning them. The Tang Clan is keeping a vigilant eye on developments surrounding the Great Snow Mountain Sword Tomb, and consequently, they have halted all endeavors extraneous to urgent medical operations—including standard physical examinations and the crafting of tonic remedies.”
It was entirely consistent with the disciplined reputation of the Tang Clan.
“Do you still desire to call upon my household?”
Yet alternative paths had completely run dry. The final avenue of hope lay with the Tang Clan. Or more accurately… with Dang Seohui.
“I do.”
“Mmm… Very well. I shall extend an invitation to my home for the entire group.”
Faced with the earnest pleading of his treasured granddaughter, even the terrifying Poison King would find himself hard-pressed to refuse.
“Senior Dang, you share a warm relationship with your grandfather, do you not?”
“Grandfather is the kin I cherish above all others.”
“That is immensely reassuring. The survival of countless souls now rests upon the bond between you and your grandfather.”
“…”
Dang Seohui merely tilted her head in quiet bewilderment, entirely unable to grasp the gravity of his words.
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