Chapter 5: Yeonmok Sword (2)

TL: RuinsTranslator

'This bastard, what on earth… it wasn't just the suffocation that sent a chill down my spine. Mok Gyeongwoon's eyes, gleaming with an eerily enjoyable smile, were inexplicably chilling. Now, I think I understand why Guard Kam made such a remark.'

"He's not someone you can easily command."

'I thought he was just quoting a saying. But having experienced it first hand, I realise now that he is distinctly different from ordinary people. He hadn't even trained in martial arts, yet this tremendous strength, and the menacing aura in his eyes, were pulverizing my spirit.'

*Gwaaaak*

"Kkrrrgh."

'The grip around my neck was getting stronger. I resisted with my inner Qi, but it was becoming too difficult to bear. Feeling my eyes heat up, it seemed like I would lose consciousness soon. Then, in that moment.'

*Swish*

'The hand around my neck loosened!'

"Cough! Cough!"

'My breath, which had been blocked, cleared as if I had been choking, and I started coughing. Even amidst this, I wondered. Why?'

Mok Gyeongwoon, who had been seemingly enjoying the moment, withdrew his smile. Then, he said regretfully, "I almost killed you~"

"Cough! Cough! …What?"

"If I killed you like this, becoming Mok Gyeongwoon would have been meaningless, wouldn't it?"

At Mok Gyeongwoon's words, Goh Chan's eyes wavered. It felt as if he was being toyed with.

'What on earth is this guy?' anger surged in Goh Chan, his lips trembling as he spoke. "…Are you so confident you can deal with the aftermath of your actions?"

"The aftermath?"

"If you don't have an antidote, you're going to die. And it will be extremely painful," Goh Chan brought up the poison that Mok Gyeongwoon had ingested.

Presumably, this imposter stopped his hand midway because he knew about it as well.

'But it is already too late. I have already seen this detestable side of you. Just as the executioner said, this guy was absolutely uncontrollable. What would happen five days later was uncertain, but if it came to switching sides, it would be better to kill him in some way or another. If I leave him be, I'll surely be stabbed in the back.'

However, for now, the imposter held the upper hand, so Goh Chan had to make him realize his situation.

Goh Chan said in a low voice, "If Guard Kam finds out, he won't let you off."

"Perhaps, that's true."

"…But consider this incident as something that happened impulsively."

"What do you mean by that?"

"Consider it a result of feeling suffocated from being locked up. Go back to your room now."

"Go back to my room?"

"Yes. If you walk back in there willingly, we'll pretend what just happened, never happened."

At that, Mok Gyeongwoon smiled broadly and said, "If that was the case, I wouldn't have bothered coming out."

Goh Chan frowned, 'Does this guy really not understand the situation? Why is he acting so recklessly when his life is at stake because of the poison?'

"Executioner, I mean Guard Kam, if he finds out….."

"Yes, yes. It won't just pass quietly."

"But now, if you insist on staying here…."

"If only Guard Goh would keep his mouth shut, then there wouldn't be any issue, would there?"

"What?" Goh Chan was flabbergasted at Mok Gyeongwoon's sly remark. Just like the captain said, it seemed he really is uncontrollable.

Goh Chan forcefully suppressed his anger and said, "If you don't take a neutralizer or antidote within the deadline, your life is over, don't you understand…."

Before he could finish, "Peony root, Angelica, Amur adonis, Pinellia…"

'!?' the names of herbs, no, poisonous plants coming from Mok Gyeongwoon's mouth, made Goh Chan's expression instantly stiffen. All of those were ingredients in the poison.

"Phytolacca, Russula, fennel. Is that about right?"

'…Impossible.' Goh Chan was dumbstruck. It was possible to get one or two wrong, but he was accurate. The reason for his shock was not merely because he got the ingredients right.

The creation of a poison pill involves blending and boiling these ingredients, then drying them to form the pill, so tasting it doesn't necessarily mean one could identify them.

"Yes… what on earth are you?" could even the Emperor of All Poisons, Jo Akgyeong, or the Medicine Immortal, Mun No, accomplish this?

'Didn't they say he was just a common prisoner? I've become curious about his true identity.'

While Go Chan was astonished, Mok Gyeongwoon spoke, "I've been eating all kinds of herbs and poisonous plants since I was young. I've tried them boiled and dried."

"What? You ate poisonous plants?"

"They said if you're an herbalist, you should certainly know their effects."

'…But not just for that reason,' Go Chan knew there were other reasons, but that didn't matter right now. Regardless, Mok Gyeongwoon knew how to distinguish herbs to a sensitive degree. Indeed, if he had ever tasted something or even smelled it slightly, he remembered it. Even his grandfather was amazed by this ability.

"An herbalist?"

"Didn't you know? I used to live off gathering herbs."

"That's absurd! How could a mere herbalist correctly identify the ingredients of a poison pill just by taste?"

It was an unthinkable event.

"Seeing how flustered you are, I must be right," Mok Gyeongwoon approached him as he was panicking. Suddenly closing the distance made Goh Chan instinctively step back.

Goh Chan said urgently, "Yes, even if you knew that, what can you do about it? Creating an antidote is more difficult than the poison itself."

He gathered his inner Qi in his Yongchun point, ready to execute light-foot martial skill if necessary. This guy was unpredictable. Not knowing what he might do, Go Chan had to be prepared.

'Even if he's stronger than an average person, he hasn't trained in martial arts. If I use light-foot techniques, he definitely won't be able to catch up,' he thought as long as he didn't confront him head-on, he would be fine.

*Crack*

Suddenly the wooden floor caved under Mok Gyeongwoon as he stepped forward. His leg strength was tremendous.

'Damn!'

It was like a tiger charging; Mok Gyeongwoon closed the distance in an instant. Go Chan tried to jump back, but it was useless. Mok Gyeongwoon was too fast to maintain any distance.

*Snap*

Mok Gyeongwoon's hand reached forward. Go Chan expected him to aim for the neck or head, so he crossed my arms in defence. But that wasn't his target.

*Papapapapak*

"Ugh!"

Mok Gyeongwoon's fingers struck acupoints around Go Chan's chest. His eyes widened. He was sure this guy had no knowledge of martial arts. He showed no signs of having trained in internal Qi, but the acupoints he just struck were the paralyzing acupoint and the mute acupoint, which could stiffen the body and silence speech.

'Could it have been a lie?' He struck the acupoints accurately. Once the acupoints were hit, Go Chan shouldn't have been able to move or speak. But he felt a throbbing in his chest and a creaking sensation in his body, yet he was able to move.

"What is this…" confused, Mok Gyeongwoon tilted his head and mumbled.

"Wasn't it like this?"

"What?"

"I tried to mimic what Guard Kam did, but it seems it didn't work. I thought doing this would render the body immobile and unable to speak."

'!?'

Mok Gyeongwoon spoke as if it was nothing. His words left Goh Chan dumbfounded beyond belief. If what he said was true, it meant he had replicated exactly what had been done to him.

'He mimicked what he saw?'

If he didn't know any better, one might think he had learned it. Perhaps practiced it dozens of times to perform it. Because he had almost accurately struck the acupoints.

'What on earth is this guy?' If there had been internal Qi, the acupoints would have been sealed. Since it was done with brute force, it resulted in only a momentary stiffness of the body. Caught off guard and momentarily stunned.

*Clutch*

"Ck!"

In a moment of carelessness, Mok Gyeongwoon grasped his throat. Standing, Goh Chan attempted to kick at the groin, but then-

*Crack*

Go Chan's neck twisted slightly. With just a bit more force, it would snap. Fearing for his life, Goh Chan couldn't move at all from that position.

"....Stop it. You, you don't want the antidote….."

"Ah, about that. It's still a secret to Guard Kam, but… I don't actually need it."

"What?"

'What was he talking about? He didn't need an antidote?'

Mok Gyeongwoon said with a smile, "Since childhood, I've eaten so many poisonous plants that I've developed a resistance to them."

"Resistance?"

"Yeah, my stomach would hurt when I ate them, but such crude mixtures like what Guard Kam gave me don't affect me at all."

'Crude mixture?' Goh Chan was flabbergasted. A poison that was still being used by the organization, crude? This was a poison that even a first-class internal martial arts master could not detoxify easily without spending half a month in energy circulation and recuperation, due to its potent toxicity.

'What on earth is this guy?'

If anyone else had said this, he would have dismissed it as nonsense. But strangely, it was hard to disbelieve this guy's words. Then Mok Gyeongwoon did something bizarre.

*Crunch*

Suddenly, he bit into his own index finger. Mok Gyeongwoon suddenly brought his finger, now dripping with blood, to his mouth.

"What are you trying to do now!" Go Chan was unsure why he was doing this, but he was unable to resist as Mok Gyeongwoon's finger entered his mouth.

Droplets of blood moistened his tongue and slid down his throat. Anxious, he tried not to swallow, but with his neck being grasped, he had no choice.

But shortly after swallowing the blood, "Cough!"

His chest became hot. A burning pain suddenly invaded his body, despite Mok Gyeongwoon releasing his grip, the pain was so intense it felt as though his internal organs were twisting.

"Arghhhhh!"

'Poison?' no matter how he thought about it, this was poison. Otherwise, there was no explanation for such pain.

In desperation, Goh Chan tried to circulate his energy, but Mok Gyeongwoon kicked him as he attempted to assume the proper sitting position.

"Urgh!" he rolled on the floor, writhing in agony.

While he was suffering, Mok Gyeongwoon bent down and said, "There were a few things my grandfather told me not to do. One of them was this. Not only have I developed a resistance by consuming many poisonous plants, but my blood has also become poisonous."

"What?!"

"The dog I was raising once licked my blood and then had a seizure. It was vomiting blood and everything."

"You… you…!" He couldn't say anything due to the twisting pain.

Regardless, Mok Gyeongwoon looked at him with a chuckle.

*Swish*

While he was in agony, Mok Gyeongwoon grabbed his chin and lifted it, then soothingly said, "It's okay. It got better after my grandfather did something."

"Arghhhhh!" Goh Chan grabbed his knees. Unable to speak, he looked at him pleadingly.

Then, Mok Gyeongwoon said with a bright smile, "I trust you'll be a lot of help from now on."