Chapter 147 – Fate

“This son of a bitch!”

He tried to stab me until the very end, coated his sword with poison, and even played a joke with the antidote.

Sapa is not just any ordinary person. That’s why he warned me not to mess with him.

…Ah, now that Samamang and Samayeoryeong are on our side, it’s okay.

With a sigh, I pulled out my sword and watched as the body of the Surahyeolbu collapsed. I wiped off the blood and sat down in front of a nearby pool of blood.

The container that held the antidote…it’s completely destroyed.

I flipped it over just in case, but the contents had already seeped into the blood and dirt.

Damn it…should I drink this even though it’s disgusting?

As I hesitated, the poison began to spread throughout my body. The pain started from the chest where the dagger had pierced me.

“Cough!”

“Sohyeop…I never thought you would win…Sohyeop? Really, Sohyeop?!”

Samamang stumbled towards me, surprised and shocked when I collapsed while holding my chest.

He forced his body to move despite his injuries and ran towards me.

However, by then, the poison had already spread throughout my body.

A strange sensation that felt like an ice pick piercing my heart. The coldness of the poison slowly spread throughout my body along with my blood.

Even though it was already late spring and the weather was warm, my body trembled with cold, and I couldn’t even speak properly because of the pain.

“Sohyeop! Are you okay?! Why did this happen all of a sudden…?”

I felt warm arms around me reflexively. I managed to open my mouth to speak to the bewildered Samamang.

“Poison…”

“What?”

I tried to suppress the poison with my inner strength, but it wasn’t easy. It wasn’t ineffective, but the poison was too strong.

“The antidote…the Surahyeolbu’s last attack had poison on it. The antidote…it’s broken.”

Despite my incoherent speech due to the pain and my body freezing, Samamang understood me perfectly.

“Just a moment, Sohyeop.”

Samamang found the spot where I was stabbed by feeling around my chest. He then placed his hand on it and used his inner strength to heal me.

“It’s a type of poison that has both positive and negative energy…oh no, I can’t handle it with the antidote I carry with me…”

As a Muin, I have a strong resistance to poison. It’s really difficult to poison me, and even if I am poisoned, I can expel it from my body.

Unless it’s a highly toxic poison that can kill a person in a short amount of time, it’s really hard to poison me.

Therefore, it’s common to mix Sangoongdok, which scatters my inner strength, with other lethal poisons…but there are always exceptions.

Some poisons made from special ingredients don’t dissolve the physical body but instead mess up the ki-blood.

This is called Kidok, and it’s much more threatening to Muins with developed ki-blood than ordinary poisons.

Of course, it’s not all advantages. There are several disadvantages, one of which is that it’s difficult to manage. It easily deteriorates when exposed to other energies.

…And this applies to the antidote as well.

Drinking blood mixed with the antidote too late would be meaningless since foreign substances would have already mixed in.

Fuck!

Did Samamang reach the same conclusion as me? His face turned pale.

“Don’t worry…once we arrive at Pangga…we’ll figure something out. Yes…so let’s focus on first aid for now…”

Samamang mumbled with a trembling voice.

Right. Once we arrive at Pangga, there will be all kinds of valuable herbs and skilled doctors, so we’ll definitely figure something out. So I have to endure until then.

As I mentally prepared myself and tried to gather all my remaining inner strength…

Whoosh.

“Huh?”

Suddenly, a hot heat burst out from my crotch…I mean, my balls.

A small sun made from the Ilwolsungsinsoongong. The ki inside it burst out on its own, spreading through my entire body through my blood vessels.

Then it started burning the poison that I was barely holding onto.

The frozen blood vessels slowly melted away, and the pain that had been tormenting my entire body gradually subsided.

An easy-to-understand detoxification process. It’s slow, but if I rest for a day, I’ll completely burn away the poison.

Did the Ilwolsungsinsoongong have this function? I’ve never heard of it before…

Come to think of it, didn’t they say it was a poison with strong negative energy? Maybe my ki reacted to the poison’s negative energy.

Well, I can ask Hong Yeon-hwa for more details later. Anyway, the important thing is that I can overcome the poison without an antidote.

My muscles are still stiff, and it’s difficult to move my body. But the pain has definitely decreased compared to earlier.

“Madam Noh-hon?”

“Emergency treatment…first, the bandage…no, first the poison…”

“Madam Noh-hon? Are you listening? I think I’m getting better.”

“I’m…fine. It’s okay…it’s okay, Sohyeop. This time, I’ll help you…so please endure a little longer…”

“……”

I guess I’m too shocked to hear the sounds around me.

Well, I’ll regain my composure soon enough. Both Sura Blood and Salsoo are dead, so it’s not dangerous to let my guard down for a moment.

I thought I would explain everything once I calm down a bit. That is, until Samamang suddenly started undoing my clothes.

“Noh-hon Madam?!”

“We need to suck out the poison, even if it’s just a little…”

Ignoring my startled voice, Samamang bowed his head and mumbled.

Then a soft and moist sensation settled on my chest.

Squish.

Although Yanggi is burning the poison, perhaps because there is still a chill spreading throughout my body, the lips touching mine are incredibly hot.

In the midst of my confusion, Samamang forcefully sucked on the injured area.

Suck. Slurp.

As I feel Samamang’s lips start to get slimy, a strange shiver runs through me.

What the hell is this?

Soon after, Samamang spits out blood mixed with poison.

“Now, wait a minute, Noh-hon Madam. You don’t have to do that…kch!”

Squish.

Before I could finish my sentence, Samamang buries his face in my chest again.

Squish. Slurp.

Come to think of it, Samamang is currently holding me in his arms.

Until a little while ago, I was in so much pain that I couldn’t pay attention, but now the pain has subsided considerably.

As I become aware of the soft sensation unique to a woman’s body touching my lower abdomen after feeling the sensation of Samamang’s lips, I begin to feel a sense of danger in a different sense.

“Ugh…Noh-hon Madam, please let go…!”

“Squish…slurp. No, I can’t do that. How can I let Sohyeop fall? We must return together, so please endure as much as possible.”

“No, that’s not it…”

Squish.

“Ha!”

Although the pain has subsided, my body is still stiff. Moreover, in a situation where my senses are heightened, there isn’t much I can do.

Tip of my toes.

That’s one of the things I can do.

“Squish…eh? Sohyeop? What is this…?”

Even if I’m in a panic, could I ignore this?

As my lower body pushes against his chest, Samamang finally raises his head with a startled voice.

“Didn’t I tell you earlier?”

With a sense of embarrassment washing over him, he spoke with his eyes closed.

“I asked you to let go because I’m really okay…”

“….”

There was no response.

***

After an awkward silence, I was able to explain the situation to Samamang. Of course, I kept the part about the Ilwolsungsinsoongong being a poison that can be used for acupuncture hidden.

“…That’s how it happened.”

“Hmm, to think that your Yanggi is so pure that it can burn the poison that contains the essence of lust… As expected of a martial artist trained by the Heavenly Demon, it’s not ordinary.”

“I didn’t know I was capable of this either.”

Samamang nodded his head in admiration, but his face turned slightly red as he spoke.

“Uh… Sohyeop? About what happened earlier…”

“Ah! That’s what you’re talking about! I don’t care about that because you were trying to help me! Really!”

“I-I see. Well, that’s a relief…”

“….”

“….”

The awkward atmosphere returned once again. I couldn’t let the conversation stall like this, so I forced a change of topic.

“Ahem. Anyway, we need to return to Pangga, but my body still won’t move. How about we rest for a day in a nearby village before continuing?”

“That doesn’t seem like a good idea. Salsu always hides some of his men in the surrounding areas to gather information.”

“Then here…?”

Samamang shook his head.

“There are none in this area. But there must be some waiting in nearby villages. If we were both in good condition, we could retreat if the mission failed, but now that we’re both incapacitated…”

So, we might be attacked and killed if we’re unlucky.

“What should we do then?”

“It’s best to hide our tracks and create a hiding place in a suitable location to wait for our bodies to recover.”

Samamang’s injury won’t be resolved quickly, but fortunately, I think I can completely expel the poison in a day.