Chapter 19
Jaseong's sword came down toward Murong Jin's neck.
Kwaang!!
But in the next moment, Jaseong changed the direction of his sword.
Instead, he smashed the wooden floor between Murong Jin's knees, which had buckled beneath him.
"Hiiik!"
Murong Jin screamed in terror and fell back on his butt.
Wetness began to spread at his crotch.
He had wet himself.
Murong Jin's disciple, witnessing this terrifying scene, trembled visibly with a look of sheer terror.
'I guess they're scared enough now.'
Looking at Murong Jin, who seemed on the verge of fainting, Jaseong muttered inwardly.
He wanted to kill him right then and there, but slaying such a pathetic coward couldn't possibly count as revenge for the death of his eldest brother and sister-in-law.
It was nothing more than like plucking a single fingernail.
And in exchange for plucking that one small nail, martial artists from the Mocheon Sect would soon swarm in, and Jaseong would be drawn into open conflict with them.
That would make his path to vengeance much more difficult.
So, rather than killing, it was better to use him.
That way, he could enact a more complete and truly meaningful revenge.
"Follow me."
"Keuhk...!"
In the next moment, Jaseong dragged the bloodied Murong Jin and his disciple into an empty inner chamber of Cheongha Pavilion.
There, he began to plant the seeds of vengeance.
"Open your mouth."
In the empty room, Jaseong suddenly spoke to Murong Jin and his disciple.
"Ye...?"
"I said open your mouth."
"A-a-all of a sudden, why..."
"Do you want me to rip your jaws open for you?"
At Jaseong's chilling words, both Murong Jin and his disciple flinched and obediently opened their mouths.
At that moment, Jaseong pulled something from his sleeve and tossed it into their open mouths.
"Uhp!"
"Uuugh?!"
Something slippery went down the throats of Murong Jin and his disciple.
The disgusting sensation froze both of their faces.
"W-what is this?!"
"It's the deadly gu poison of the Sound Resonance Sect."
"Y-Sound Resonance Sect...?!"
"That's right. The poison that once terrified the entire martial world."
"......!"
"......!!"
Even without Jaseong's explanation, Murong Jin and his disciple already knew full well what the Sound Resonance Sect was, and the infamy of its poison.
The Sound Resonance Sect was an evil sect that had been annihilated in the aftermath of the Great War between Righteous and Evil factions decades ago.
They specialized in sorcery and poison-crafting, and their unique gu poison was especially notorious.
"The Sound Resonance Sect's gu poison is a living toxin. It's made of tiny insects that travel through energy channels, destroying them."
"......!"
"And it plunges its targets into severe pain and ki deviation, ultimately leading to death."
"......!!"
"What's worse, there is no permanent antidote. There's merely a medicine that can temporarily suppress the poison, and only the Sound Resonance Sect possesses it. Unfortunately, however, the Sound Resonance Sect has long vanished from the martial world."
"......!!!!"
The more Jaseong spoke, the more ashen Murong Jin and his disciple grew.
Because of these horrifying effects, the Sound Resonance Sect was able to turn many righteous masters into defectors and spies during the Great War.
They had to take the sect's medicine every month just to suppress the gu's activity.
Naturally, because of its tremendous potency, this poison was extremely rare and very difficult to acquire.
Especially now, after the Murim Alliance won the war, they strictly monitored to ensure the poison never re-emerged in the world.
It was not something the Hao Sect's leader could ordinarily get ahold of.
So, how did Jaseong manage to obtain it?
Actually, the poison he had just fed them was not the true gu poison of the Sound Resonance Sect.
It was an experimental version being developed by someone high up in the Hao Sect after the inauguration of the new sect leader.
They were doing their best to replicate the legacy poison that once shook the righteous factions, but the product was not yet perfected.
Thus, its effects were much weaker than the original.
With decent internal strength, it could be burned away, making it rather impractical.
Luckily for Jaseong, Murong Jin and his fellow disciple had pitifully weak internal energy.
"Kkeuaaaak!"
"Khaaaak!!"
Suddenly, Murong Jin and his disciple rolled about on the floor with their eyes rolled back.
Foam frothed from their mouths and their bodies convulsed uncontrollably.
Watching this scene with a blank expression, Jaseong lifted a wine cup.
Pouring himself a drink, he recalled a memory.
'The Lord of Black Blood Hall's teachings really are useful now.'
In truth, for the past three months, Jaseong hadn't only been training in martial arts.
Through letters from the Lord of Black Blood Hall, he had also learned how to operate as the manager of the Hao Sect branch.
About toxic herbs, concoctions, gathering information, bribery, intimidation, and so on.
He spent half of his operating funds to buy concoctions from the higher-ups.
Just for times like this.
"S-save us! Kkeuaaaak!"
"I—kyaak! Please...! Kkkaaak!"
Murong Jin and his disciple writhed like madmen, begging for their lives.
Their weak internal energy made the poison's effects even more excruciating.
"Do you want to live?"
Jaseong asked indifferently as he poured another drink.
By now, there was a clear potion bottle sitting before him.
Murong Jin and his disciple instinctively knew that it was the antidote.
"P-please...! I'll do anything you ask! Pleaaaase!!"
"Really?"
"Yes...! Kkeuuuuh!!"
"I-I'll do it! Anything, so please...! Aaaargh!!!"
Only then did Jaseong let a few drops of antidote fall into their mouths.
As the pain gradually subsided, both gasped desperately for breath.
"Haa... Haa...."
"From now on, you're going to need this medicine once a month. Only with it can you suppress the poison in your bodies."
'... Once a month...?'
'Does that mean...!'
"So, once a month, you'll have to come to me for the antidote. And each time, you'll have to carry out whatever tasks I assign."
"......!!"
Murong Jin and his disciple, though relieved from pain, grew only more terrified.
They realized they were now completely under Jaseong's control.
"Don't even think of doing something stupid like seeing a physician. Fumbling with the Sound Resonance Sect's poison only makes it go more berserk."
*Hiccup!*
"Bringing Mocheon Sect experts to kill me and snatch the antidote isn't a great idea, either."
*Hiccup!*
"My ears are everywhere. The moment you tell your sect leader about today, I'll disappear into the darkness. And you'll die in agony, unable to get the antidote."
*Hiccup!*
"Remember: your lives are only on loan."
In the dark of the inner room, Jaseong's cold, ruthless eyes glittered chillingly.
There was a murderous momentum there, as if he could cut down everything, like a blade under the night sky.
All Murong Jin and his disciple could do in front of him was hiccup over and over.
* * *
In this way, Jaseong planted the seeds of vengeance in the Mocheon Sect.
Murong Family, Peng Family in Hebei, Zhongnan Sect, and the Demonic Cult.
Among these enemies, he had now laid the cornerstone of revenge in a sect deeply connected with one of them.
'... Just wait a little longer, big brother. Soon, I'll show you so many interesting things.'
As he watched Murong Jin and his disciple hurriedly flee Cheongha Pavilion, Jaseong's eyes grew deep and somber.
The two who had been so lavish not long ago were returning as beggars.
Then, the moment they disappeared from view,
Ping—
Suddenly, his head spun in dizziness.
It was because he had overused the Samadhi Eyes while felling Mad Blade Demon Cheon Kang and Heartless Demon Gu Nuong.
"... From now on, I'll have to practice fighting without the Samadhi Eyes."
It wasn't as bad a vertigo as before, but it was still nothing to ignore.
But Jaseong did not care.
A sensation even stronger was sweeping through his whole body.
A shudder more thrilling than ever.
'I'm stronger now—beyond comparison to before. Not enough to reach those enemies yet, but... still, it's a step forward.'
It had only been nine months since he became a disciple of Heaven's Mandate.
In that short time, he had felled notorious Dark Path experts in Guizhou Province.
Without shedding a single drop of blood.
So when Jaseong stepped out of the inner room of Cheongha Pavilion, murmurs admiring his overwhelming might reached his ears.
"He took down Cheon Kang and Heartless Demon Gu Nuong at that young age...! What sect could he be from?"
"If the Mocheon Sect's experts come looking for trouble here, let's pretend we saw nothing! If not for that young great hero, many of us would have been crippled by Mocheon Sect and Kaiyang Society thugs today!"
Not wanting to draw any more attention, Jaseong headed quietly for Cheongha Pavilion's back door.
However, at the back entrance, he found an unexpected person waiting for him.
"Thank you so much, great hero."
It was Nabin, known as "The Flower of Gaeyang".
"If it hadn't been for you, today I would've suffered terribly at the hands of those Kaiyang Society brutes."
"......."
"So truly... thank you."
Tears rimmed Nabin's reddened eyes as she bowed her head.
Behind her, Fierce Sky Faction warriors bowed in succession to Jaseong.
"Thank you. And... we are ashamed."
"We will never forget this favor."
In fact, it was Fierce Sky Faction's duty to protect Cheongha Pavilion, since they collected protection fees in this district.
But an unaffiliated Hao Sect expert had stepped forward to solve things, making them both grateful and embarrassed.
'By planting seeds of revenge, I've also made Fierce Sky Faction indebted to me. Two birds with one stone.'
Just as Jaseong was reflecting on this, something happened to make it three birds with one stone.
〈Student. A third Heaven's Mandate has been partially completed.〉
Suddenly, a majestic voice rang in Jaseong's mind.
Then—flutter, flutter—a translucent note drifted before his eyes.
[Third Mandate: Eliminate Little Evil — 30% Achieved]
Reading this, Jaseong was deeply puzzled.
'... Thirty percent of Little Evil's elimination achieved? Because of what I just did?'
Was it because he cut down Kaiyang Society's elite?
Or was it for planting the seeds of vengeance in the Mocheon Sect?
If it was the former, his goal became clear.
Total war on the Kaiyang Society.
That would complete the "Little Evil elimination"—the third Mandate.
But if it was the latter...
'Well, I don't know for sure yet. What's certain is that this is the BEST thing for me right now. If I complete the third Mandate, I'll be able to inherit new martial arts from Sword Immortal Lü Dongbin...'
As he murmured this to himself, a shadow flickered swiftly overhead.
When Jaseong turned his gaze upward, he caught a glimpse of something in the empty air.
Flutter—flutter—
A black-feathered falcon alighted on the eaves.
At that moment, Jaseong's eyes flashed dangerously.
A black hawk like that was used at the Hao Sect's branch to deliver urgent messages to the leader.
'... There's something new to report already?'
Jaseong took out a packet of white powder from his sleeve.
As he dabbed the aromatic powder onto the back of his hand, the black hawk swooped down onto it.
Tied to the hawk's leg was a tightly wound scroll.
He stretched out his hand and unrolled the scroll; inside, he recognized Hyang-I's handwriting.
But as he read on, his expression subtly changed.