24 – 02# Earth Hardened After Rain (7)

Looking back on it.

It was absurd from the start.

How could a child, seemingly powerless, have slipped past the eyes of two warriors? An unease impossible to shake off clung to his heart, leaving a mark like a scar.

He dismissed it as mere fancy, stubbornly ignoring the ominous feeling. And now, the Black Serpent Squad was paying dearly for that arrogance. What a disgrace!

The pillar that had supported the Unorthodox sects from the shadows, the Black Serpent Squad, had been completely uprooted, and even its hidden roots exposed for all the world to see.

The Black Evil Gate could no longer raise its sword for the Unorthodox. With its current strength, raising another Black Serpent Squad was practically impossible.

“So, they were targeting the Black Serpent Squad from the beginning.”

Finally, the pieces began to fall into place. Until Ingo’s escape, the Black Serpent Squad had been scattered across the vast Central Plains, carrying out the Sect Leader’s orders.

Then, upon hearing of Ingo’s escape, the Sect Leader had summoned the entire Black Serpent Squad, ordering them to pursue Ingo. And now, here, they were annihilated by a single man.

The Black Serpent Squad, the pride of the Black Evil Gate, whose poison techniques rivaled even those of the Orthodox Sichuan Tang Clan. The leader was stunned by the remarkably brilliant scheme.

‘So, they ensured that no one died except for Ingo, so that he could escape! Making it appear as if the poison alone escaped?!’

If the warriors had died, the Black Evil Gate’s Sect Leader might have sought help from their collaborators. Then, even an absolute master would be overwhelmed.

The elder knew everything, even about the collaborators. Bearing that in mind, he lured them into this trap. And they walked right into it.

Annihilating the Black Serpent Squad, the Black Evil Gate’s greatest force, was akin to severing its limbs. But they couldn’t give up on Ingo, a decade’s worth of effort.

The Black Evil Gate was, quite literally, in checkmate. Though the nameless man had no such intention, he wondered what they were on about.

‘What nonsense are they suddenly muttering?’

“…Very well, I concede. You are a foe even more dangerous than the hypocrites of the Orthodox sects.”

“Is that your final testament?”

“Then, in the name of the Black Evil Gate, I will bury you here.”

The leader’s voice, once resigned and almost detached, was suddenly laced with murderous intent. Although not their original intention, for the sake of the greater cause, it was inevitable.

“Bury us? In this situation? How?”

“To be honest, we had some inkling of your skill from the start. But our primary objective was always to recover Ingo. We didn’t want to resort to this method.”

“And so?”

“But in the end, I had to concede. For the resurgence of the Demonic Sect, the Grand Protector must die here.”

“You think I’ll just stand by and watch that happen?”

Whatever trickery he’s planning, I’ll kill him before he can enact it. With that decision made, Muyeong didn’t hesitate to swing his sword. Not until he heard the scream, that is.

“Kyahhh!”

“Samae! What’s wrong all of a sudden?!”

“What did you do to Seolhwa?”

“Seolhwa? You mean you gave that human-poison a name? You’ve gone much softer than I thought!”

*Thwack.*

With a sickening sound, the leader’s right arm fell to the ground. The pain was like searing flesh with a branding iron, and the leader screamed, but Muyeong had no intention of stopping there.

“Next, I’ll cut off your remaining arm and then your legs. Now, tell me quickly what you’ve done.”

“Heh, heh heh… You think we believe in some superstitious nonsense about creating a human-poison?”

“With your warped minds, anything’s possible, isn’t it?”

“We had already mastered the method of creating poisoned beasts. So, we wondered… Is there a way to store more poison and unleash it all at once?”

Perhaps driven mad by the pain of his severed arm, the Black Serpent Squad leader babbled on, half out of his mind. Muyeong, suppressing his rage, pressed the question again.

“What does that have to do with this?”

“After much trial and error, we realized that the best vessel was a human-poison.”

“…Could it be…”

“At first, we start with weak poisons. Worms and poisonous plants imbued with subtle toxins. Gradually, we increase the potency. Scorpions, centipedes, venomous snakes… Then, the children who survive are locked away in a cave for three more years…”

*Thud!*

Overcome with revulsion, Muyeong finally kicked the leader in the jaw. The sound of shattering bone echoed as the leader’s broken teeth scattered across the ground.

“I don’t care about that garbage! Just give me the antidote, now!”

“Puhah! You think there’s an antidote? To pierce through that accursed poison immunity, the Shadow Gate created its greatest masterpiece – this very human-poison. Once this colorless, odorless Shadow Venom enters the body, it’s designed to ignite the poison within, forcing it to erupt outwards.”

Poison is the most certain and potent means to bridge the gap in skill. But that doesn’t necessarily mean it will always succeed. Experts with poison immunity certainly exist.

To kill them, the Shadow Gate dedicated ten years to reaching this point. There is no antidote; only a living toxin capable of breaking through even poison immunity.

Of course, that process requires considerable exposure to the Shadow Venom. But because I opened the vials containing it when I realized what was happening, there were no problems.

“The moment the accumulated poisons explode, this place will become a wasteland uninhabitable for decades.”

Originally, we planned to detonate it at the heart of the Righteous Alliance. But, taking the raven instead of the dove, this mysterious old man is not to be trifled with either. If nothing else, I’ll perish together with him.

But just before the human-poison could fully detonate…

In that fleeting moment, shorter than a few seconds…

Unknowing, she grasped what she had to do.

◇

Only shattered, broken shards lingered, vague memories within her mind. Was it the sheer trauma, too much for a child to bear? Or did she simply refuse to remember?

Far too young was the girl to offer an immediate answer. In that place filled only with darkness, a singular light had appeared, and she’d sprinted toward it with all her might.

When she regained her senses, what entered her sight was an old man, benevolent in his aspect, stroking the head of a girl who appeared to be her age.

What meaning resided within that gesture, the girl couldn’t begin to fathom. Yet, simply witnessing it filled her heart with a warmth that she couldn’t help but…

“Stroke me too.”

She blurted out her desire, unreserved. Others might deem the act trivial, yet for the girl, it was the first kindness she’d ever received.

The warmth, the comforting heat of another human being. From then on, each day was like a lie, a dream. Instead of tasteless, centipede-like insects in the darkness, she ate real food for the first time.

No longer did she have to inhale smoke and scream in agony. But happy times pass in an instant. Seolhwa felt the end approaching, knew it in her very bones.

Pain, originating from her lower abdomen, flared like a wildfire, consuming her entire being. Though an ignorant girl, unknowing of so much, she knew this was not right.

“Run… away…”

The overwhelming pain threatened to steal her consciousness, yet her instincts desperately clung to it. To lose awareness now meant the end of everything.

The gentle elder sister who, even while scolding, would hold her hand if she seemed afraid.

And the Master, who had taken her in, a girl with no ties to this place.

Her knowledge was scarce, bordering on nonexistent, but death, more than anyone, Seolhwa had seen it up close. She wished, with all her being, that those she cared for would not meet such an end.

But her wish, half-formed as it was, went unheeded. Su-ah, the one closest to her, grasped Seolhwa’s hand. Tears streamed down Su-ah’s face as she cried out.

“I haven’t properly apologized yet!”

“…”

“I don’t even know what I want to do! So, don’t you dare die… just like that!”

At first, she was an eyesore, someone she wished would simply vanish. And that feeling still lingered, to some extent. Even so, to die like this, that she could not abide.

“You two, keep your wits about you.”

The familiar voice pulled Seolhwa’s gaze upwards. She saw her Master, the one who taught her about the warmth of people. Her Master spoke clearly.

“Do you remember the inner cultivation method I taught you?”

“…Yes.”

“Then immediately sit in the lotus position and begin circulating your qi. Do not worry.”

I will help you from behind.

Those words, how utterly reassuring they were. Tears welled up and traced paths down Seolhwa’s cheeks. But there was no time to simply sit and weep.

As her master commanded, Seolhwa sat in the lotus position.

Soon, an energy like blue flames began to overflow from her body.