Chapter 29
Upon entering the inner room, they found Cheon Yu-Hwa lying on the bed in a grave condition. Despite her condition and the test of time, she still looked like she was in her forties.
Baek Mu-Gun immediately recognized the poison Yu-Hwa was inflicted with just by looking at the purple petals blooming on her forehead. It was the Soulless Purple Flower Poison. The death of those suffering from it was already certain once a total of eight purple petals had bloomed on their forehead. And there were already seven on Yu-Hwa’s. If they were a little later, she would’ve been beyond saving even if the Shiva Gods came.
“Fortunately, it’s not too late,” Mu-Gun remarked.
Mu-Gun was relieved upon counting the number of petals blooming on Yu-Hwa’s forehead. It would be difficult to cure the Soulless Purple Flower Poison with the internal energy he currently possessed. However, it wasn’t impossible.
“Can you treat her?” Dan Seol-Young asked.
“It will take some time, but it’s treatable.”
After hearing Mu-Gun’s answer, Seol-Young suddenly knelt in front of him.
“Please save the hall leader. She’s like a mother to me. If you save her life, I will never forget your kindness for the rest of my life,” Seol-Young begged desperately.
Her desperation conveyed her special affection for Yu-Hwa to Mu-Gun.
“Please get up. I’d still save her even if you didn’t plead. The Thunder God’s covenant is not only applicable to the Heavenly Secret Hall. I, too, have a responsibility and duty to oversee the Heavenly Secret Hall’s safety. I will save her as part of the Thunder God’s covenant, so you don’t have to worry.”
“Thank you.”
“Thank me later. No one is allowed to enter this place from this moment onward until the treatment is over. The treatment of the Soulless Purple Flower Poison requires a high level of concentration, so there can’t be any interference from anyone.”
“Understood. I’ll make sure to not let a single noise slip through. Do you need anything else?”
“That’s all I need. I’ll be starting the treatment now, so I’m going to have to ask you to leave, Vice Leader.”
“I leave her in your good hands.”
After Seol-Young left, Mu-Gun propped Yu-Hwa up and sat down behind her. He then placed his hand on Yu-Hwa’s myeong-mun point.
“Let’s begin.”
After taking a deep breath, Mu-Gun injected the Heavenly Thunder Constellation Divine Art’s thunder qi into Yu-Hwa. As it permeated within her, it soon confronted the Soulless Purple Flower Poison.
The Soulless Purple Flower Poison’s aura immediately launched an attack upon recognizing its natural enemy. The energy it had spread all over her was quite powerful. After all, there were already seven purple petals blooming on her forehead.
However, the thunder qi of the Heavenly Thunder Constellation Divine Art was the natural enemy of poison. In addition, Mu-Gun’s skill in handling the thunder qi was close to perfection. He didn’t fight the Soulless Purple Flower Poison head-on.
After separating its toxic energy, Mu-Gun lured a part of it away, isolated it, and quickly burned it.
It sounded easy, but the process was actually very intricate and required a high level of concentration. Focusing on the fight against the Soulless Purple Flower Poison, he gave it his all. As such, his thunder qi continued to lure the poison and burn it.
However, since the Soulless Purple Flower Poison had already spread throughout Yu-Hwa’s body and grown enormous, the treatment process did not progress as quickly as Mu-Gun had expected.
He didn’t lose concentration despite the continuous qi battle tiring him out. Unfortunately, he had a finite amount of internal energy.
His internal energy reached rock bottom before an hour had passed. In response, Mu-Gun immediately stopped the detoxification process and circulated his qi to recover his internal energy. Afterward, he resumed detoxifying the Soulless Purple Flower Poison again.
Mu-Gun even abstained from eating and drinking to focus on treating the poison within Yu-Hwa. Two days had already passed since he began, but he still didn’t stop treating Yu-Hwa.
Meanwhile, Seol-Young grew anxious. Since Mu-Gun hadn’t left the room in so long, she was worried that something had happened. She wanted to go in and check on them personally, but she couldn’t. Mu-Gun specifically instructed her not to cause any disturbance. That left her no choice but to wait and pray for Yu-Hwa’s treatment to succeed safely.
However, the heavens refused to grant her wish.
While she was impatiently waiting for Yu-Hwa’s treatment to end, a Heavenly Secret Hall member working in the manor came running hurriedly and informed her of the worst news possible.
“Vice Leader! We have a huge problem. An unidentified group of masked men has destroyed the Ten Thousand Miles Aroma and are on their way here right now.”
“How did they find out about the Ten Thousand Miles Aroma?”
“I don’t know, but we have to escape now. We don’t have time. We’ve activated the hidden passage’s traps, but those won’t be able to hold them back for any longer than fifteen minutes.”
“Where can we even go to escape, considering they found even this place? I can’t move from here either. Not until the hall leader’s treatment is over. Summon the Heavenly Secret Guardians and gather them right this instant.”
“There are only ten Heavenly Secret Guardians in the manor right now. It will be difficult for them to stop more than twenty of those masked men by themselves.”
“Even if so, we have to do our best to fend them off,” Seol-Young replied with a determined expression.
The Heavenly Secret Hall member did as instructed since he had no other choice. Seol-Young pondered for a moment about going inside the room where Mu-Gun was treating Yu-Hwa.
Mu-Gun told her to not interrupt him until the treatment was over, but she had to inform him of the situation given the fact that the enemy was trying to break in. In the worst-case scenario, she had to ensure that Mu-Gun would survive even if it was just him alone.
Knock knock!
“I’m coming in.”
Seol-Young went into the room without waiting for an answer. Mu-Gun was still treating Yu-Hwa, and he was so focused that he didn’t realize Seol-Young had come in.
The sight prevented Seol-Young from talking to him. She was worried breaking Mu-Gun’s concentration could have dangerous consequences. Hence, Seol-Young instead waited in silence until Mu-Gun noticed her himself. There was still some time left anyway.
When about seven minutes had passed, Seol-Young could no longer afford to wait. She was forced to call out Mu-Gun. However, just as she was about to, Mu-Gun opened his eyes and took his hand off Yu-Hwa’s back.
“What’s the matter?”
“Are you done with the treatment?”
“For now. I’ve removed all the poison inside her, but she’s still too weak. It’ll take some time for her to regain consciousness.”
Just like what Mu-Gun had said, all the purple petals that were blooming on Yu-Hwa’s forehead had disappeared.
“Thank you very much. Unfortunately, we have another problem.”
“The traitors of the Heavenly Secret Hall have found this place, haven’t they?”
“That’s right. With the forces we have here, fending them off will prove quite difficult. I think it will be better for you to get away from this place, Thunder God’s successor. And I know this is a difficult request, but please take the hall leader with you.”
“What about you?”
“I’ll stay here and buy you as much time as I can.”
“I admire your determination, but I will have to refuse.”
“As expected, it’s far too much for you to take the hall leader with you.”
“You misunderstand. I don’t intend to leave this place.”
“What? What do you mean by that?”
“Seven minutes. Please hold out for just that long. I’ll handle it from that point onward.”
As soon as he finished speaking, he assumed a lotus position and began circulating his qi. Treating Yu-Hwa exhausted his internal energy. He needed to recover first to fight against the enemy.
Seol-Young realized Mu-Gun’s intention upon seeing him circulating his qi. His willingness to risk his life for the Heavenly Secret Hall impressed her.
Seven minutes. She went outside with the determination to keep the enemies at bay for that long no matter what. Seol-Young, along with the ten Heavenly Secret Guardians, stood in front of the manor. Soon after, nearly thirty masked men appeared.
“You’ve done well hiding here like a sly rat. We had a hard time finding this place,” One of the masked men said.
“If we are sly rats, you guys are wild dogs coveting other people’s belongings.”
“What a na?ve kid. There’s no such thing as yours or mine in murim. Whether it’s taken by force or other means, the person holding on to it is the owner. Wild dogs or not, the last one standing wins.”
“I’m not so sure about that. I doubt you’ll be able to take over the Heavenly Secret Hall.”
“It’s amusing to see a child like you bluff and spout such nonsense. Did you perhaps cure the poison inflicted on the Heavenly Secret Hall Leader? If you hand over the Heavenly Secret Record and the Heavenly Secret Spirit Plaque, I’ll give you the antidote for it.”
The Heavenly Secret Record was a list of names of the Heavenly Secret Hall’s secret agents, including the Nine Great Faction Lords. It also recorded their organization’s secret agent network. However, only the Heavenly Secret Hall Leader was allowed to look at it.
The members of the Heavenly Secret Hall didn’t know each other’s identities at all, and not even the Nine Great Faction Lords knew each other. It was a measure taken to ensure their organization’s security. In doing so, even if one of the Nine Great Faction Lords’ identities was revealed, the identity of the other faction lords and secret agents would remain safe.
The Nine Great Faction Lords and the secret agents only received orders from the Heavenly Secret Hall Leader.
Meanwhile, the Heavenly Secret Spirit Plaque was a seal that proved the identity of the Heavenly Secret Hall Leader. Since the Nine Great Faction Lords and the secret agents only accepted orders from the Heavenly Secret Hall Leader, they would only begin to act when the document was stamped with the Heavenly Secret Spirit Plaque. To fully take over the Heavenly Secret Hall, the Heavenly Secret Record and Heavenly Secret Spirit Plaque were essential. Without those items, they would only be able to obtain an empty shell.
“What assurance do I have that you’ll really give me the antidote?”
Since Mu-Gun had detoxified the poison, they no longer needed an antidote. Nevertheless, Seol-Young showed interest to stall as much time as she could.
“What I’m interested in is the Heavenly Secret Record and the Heavenly Secret Spirit Plaque, not the Heavenly Secret Hall Leader’s life.”
“People like you usually feign ignorance and go against their words once they’ve gotten what they wanted.”
“If you don’t believe me, then just let the Heavenly Secret Hall Leader die,” the enemy leader taunted.
“Then you won’t be able to obtain the Heavenly Secret Record and the Heavenly Secret Spirit Plaque. Without those, you won’t be able to command the Heavenly Secret Hall.”
“No, you’ll eventually give in.”
“Where are you even getting that confidence?”
“If you don’t hand them over, I’ll send you to a brothel. I wonder if you can keep that act up when you’re about to spend the rest of your life as a toy for men you don't even know.” The enemy leader changed his tactic to threat now that he knew Seol-Young would not give in that easily.
Seol-Young trembled, feeling insulted by the man’s words. If she could, she didn’t want to talk to him any further. However, now wasn’t the time to act according to her feelings. She had to keep stalling.
“Considering you can’t even put up with such insults, you’re indeed still young. Then again, the younger you are, the more money I’ll get from selling you to a brothel,” The man continued to mock her upon seeing her trembling and clenching her teeth.
Seol-Young held herself back from drawing her sword and charging at him immediately.
“Hand over the antidote first. If the hall leader recovers safely, I will give you what you want.”
“Do you take me for a fool? And do you even understand the situation you’re in? I’m the only one allowed to make demands here. Hand over the Heavenly Secret Record and the Heavenly Secret Spirit Plaque. Only then will I give you the antidote.”
“Fine, but give me some time to think,” Seol-Young replied, hoping to drag for just a little more time.
However, the man did not fall for it. Quite the contrary, he finally noticed that she was deliberately stalling for time.
“How dare you pull such shallow tricks? Capture that woman and the Heavenly Secret Hall Leader alive, then kill off the rest,” The man ordered, and the group of masked men behind him moved immediately.
“Stop them!” Seol-Young shouted, then launched an attack on the masked men. She launched the whip sword wrapped around her waist, causing a blue sword wave to fly toward one of the masked men approaching her. Her target hurriedly stepped back and evaded the attack.
Seol-Young didn’t stop, however. She swung her whip sword again. Refusing to back down either, the masked man swung his saber in response. Her whip sword bent wildly, then deflected the masked man’s saber and slashed his wrist.
“Kuhkk!”
Her opponent lost his grip on his saber along with a painful scream. Seol-Yeong thrust her weapon toward his neck. However, just before it could pierce through, a black shadow quickly invaded her space from the left—it was the same man she was speaking to just a while ago.
Seol-Young immediately retracted her attack and swung her sword at him. Her whip sword and the man’s saber clashed, causing a loud metal clank to reverberate.
Seol-Young’s weapon climbed the man’s saber like a snake, then attempted to slice his wrist. However, the result was different from the masked man she wounded earlier.
The man shook his saber with great force, untangling Seol-Young’s whip sword and deflecting it. Without delay, the man then swung his saber at her right arm. She glided back and evaded it.
“Pretty impressive for a young girl.”
The man was impressed by Seol-Young’s movements, which allowed her to avoid his saber. Nevertheless, he swung at her again.
Seol-Young judged it wouldn’t be favorable for her to clash directly against the man’s saber. Instead, she focused on evading his attacks. She executed the Moonlit Fairy Step, a movement art that was difficult for her opponents to see through due to its elegant yet bizarre movements.
As expected, her opponent had trouble breaking through her Moonlit Fairy Step. If her abilities were in a higher realm, the man would never’ve been able to touch even a strand of her hair until the end.
However, she was still young and her skills were still insufficient. Over time, the man got used to her movements.
“This is as far as your petty tricks will bring you.”
Finally seeing through the Moonlit Fairy Step, he landed a satisfying blow on Seol-Young. Seol-Young was forced to extend her whip sword to block his attack.
Seol-Young’s whip sword clashed against the man’s saber but was helplessly deflected, allowing her opponent’s saber to slash her right arm.
“Ugh!”
Groaning, Seol-Young hurriedly took a step back.
“Why don’t you give up? You’re the only one left.”
Upon hearing the man’s words, Seol-Young quickly confirmed the situation of the Heavenly Secret Guardians. At that moment, she witnessed the last Heavenly Secret Guardian collapse as his neck was slit open.
With all of her colleagues now defeated, the masked men charged into the building where Mu-Gun and Yu-Hwa were in.
“No!”
Seol-Young hurriedly tried to stop them.
“Where are you going?”
However, before she knew it, the man had blocked her path. The others kept trespassing into the manor.
“Please!”
Seol-Young prayed that Mu-Gun had finished circulating his qi on time. At that very moment, the building’s entrance shattered, and the masked men that had entered its premises got mercilessly blasted away.
Seol-Young watched Mu-Gun slowly walk out with the Flying Golden Shield in his hand.
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