“It has far exceeded the range I can control.”
The Deputy Medical Official explained Lady Tang’s situation with a somber face. Lady Tang couldn’t turn all of the Thousand Year Old Poison, which Tang Geoh had used as a secret weapon, into a poisonous substance.
The Thousand Year Old Poison could be directed like livestock following a shepherd’s call, and during battle, it could be controlled by the toxic energy. However, once the fighting ended, it was preparing to attack its own master.
“What should we do?”
They said going to the Sichuan Tang Family would save her. I asked the Deputy Medical Official for more details.
“We need the Poisonous Substance from the Face of a Human Spider, which can control the Extreme Poison of the Thousand Year Old Poison.”
The Face of a Human Spider? It refers to a massive spider with a human face.
What can you do with a spider that has a human face? It certainly isn’t a friendly insect that kindly asks you questions; in the martial arts world, it’s a monster of S-tier as a poisonous entity.
“Does the Face of a Human Spider exist in the Sichuan Tang Family?”
“Yes.”
The Deputy Medical Official nodded. Fortunately, a great sword is suitable for hunting large spiders, so I won’t have to worry about whether a spear is appropriate.
“So we can go straight to the Tang Family?”
“There’s a problem. The Face of a Human Spider is the treasure of the Sichuan Tang Family. We must persuade the Head of the Family and the Elders’ Council to grant us access to it. Even if we succeed, I cannot be sure that one human, living for a thousand years, can endure the poisonous energy of the Face of a Human Spider.”
“With persuasion, endurance, or certainty, there’s nothing we can do here, right?”
No matter what happens, we have to go to the Sichuan Tang Family and think about it.
“There is an even more serious problem.”
“What is it?”
“If we leave this village, the Demonic Cult’s encirclement or pursuit squads might follow us.”
“Are you saying that wasn’t the end of it?”
“The main attackers are likely those we faced in the dawn. However, there might be Demonic Cult members lying in wait, anticipating that we will flee.”
“Are you telling me that we have to risk our lives to break through the road where Demonic Cult members are lying in ambush, make our way to the Sichuan Tang Family where Lady Tang might survive, and persuade them to give us the treasure, while Lady Tang, poisoned, has to withstand the poison from the Face of a Human Spider before she can finally live? That sounds easy.”
Perhaps due to Lady Tang’s condition, my words were laced with irritation.
“…There is one more option.”
The Deputy Medical Official, perhaps finding my silence unhelpful, offered me another route.
“Hopefully, an easy method.”
“We could go back the way we came down the mountain. It would likely be easier to retreat than to advance; while we are recovering our injured, we can contact the Sichuan Tang Family and receive support to return there.”
That really sounded like an easy method. If there weren’t just one option, I would want to hit that selection button right away.
“Lady Tang would die that way.”
“Fortunately, before collapsing, she managed to contain the poisonous energy for now. For the time being, she can hold out, but I can’t assure you how long that will last.”
“Why mention an ineffective plan?”
There’s only one way to save Lady Tang, so why suggest something else?
Seeing my irritation, the Deputy Medical Official looked at me with a slightly frustrated gaze before speaking.
“We might be carrying the hope of the Sichuan Tang Family with us. We need to avoid risks.”
What hope? As I looked around with a confused expression, I could feel everyone’s gaze fixed on me.
Am I the hope? From a lowly black-haired barbarian to this? Have I somehow given them the assurance that I was the illegitimate child of the Head of the Family?
When I turned my head to look at the Deputy Medical Official, he was silent, looking at me with an expression of testing.
Are you telling me to choose?
“Lady Tang is a child of the Tang Family. A victim of the Tang Family. And the secret of the Tang Family. Just because this child fell momentarily after overcoming all adversities, if I turn away, where does the Tang Family’s doctrine fall?”
I turned to look around and spoke earnestly.
The people of the Tang Family won’t suddenly say they won’t protect Lady Tang. They had already risked their lives for her and received their lives back in return.
What mattered most was my choice.
“Sometimes, for the greater good, one might turn away.”
The Deputy Medical Official spoke with a voice testing me.
“Even if someone turns away, don’t tell me to turn my back on Lady Tang.”
“You might die trying to protect her.”
“Didn’t you just say I could be the hope of the Tang Family? Lady Tang is a friend who risked her life for me. If someone who cannot risk his life for such a friend is called hope, then do not even call me that in the future.”
My life is precious. But if I lose Lady Tang here, I lose everything except my life.
The comrades to whom I can entrust my life, the friends who will stand by me until the end, Da-seo-gak, Ho Pil, The Rise of the Tang Family, even the occasional eye candy that peeks between the cloaks. Starting as a pitiful black-haired barbarian, I’ve come this far.
Losing her means being told to go back to the primitive village and start all over again. If that’s the case, I’d rather take the risk.
“Alright. If that’s your wish, then let’s go.”
The Deputy Medical Official smiled, seemingly satisfied with my answer.
After all, we were going anyway; it was unnecessary to ask about intentions.
—————————–
“We will split into three groups. Those capable of battle will protect Lady Tang as we move. Deputy Medical Official, the Tang Clan including the severely injured, will treat themselves and return later.”
The Deputy Medical Official hastily began to reorganize the remaining members.
“What does three groups mean? What’s the third?”
“We will create a separate group for myself and the others with high martial arts skills who are also severely injured.”
“What are you talking about?”
“My injuries are quite severe as well. In a lot of fighting, I’m likely to be a hindrance. So if enemies appear, I’ll split into two and confuse them.”
You’re planning to be bait, aren’t you? If the pursuers latch on, that will surely create distractions. But the bait has a high chance of dying.
“You could end up dead. Just stick together…”
“Do I look like someone who would care about barbarian worries?”
The Deputy Medical Official laughed derisively at me.
“Hah.”
Hope, huh? Back to being a barbarian. Did I worry for nothing?
“Don’t worry. I’m confident I can escape unscathed.”
The Deputy Medical Official reassured me, briefly looking at me in silence. Though his face carried a mocking attitude, I could see that his gaze had softened quite a bit since our first meeting.
“Be careful.”
He was someone I had animosity towards, but when someone like him said he would risk his life for me, all I could do was cheer him on.
“Let’s start moving.”
———————–
“Damn that Tang Geoh! Did we fail? Search for the poison user!”
Crisis struck in an instant.
After passing through the mountain village and entering the mountain path again, the black-clad men who had been waiting for us began their attack.
They seemed weaker compared to the ones who had ambushed overnight, but I had to acknowledge their tenacity. The members of the Guards were busy throwing poison and attacks, but the pursuit continued.
“I’ll head southwest. You all go northwest!”
“What? We’re splitting up!”
Unable to shake off the pursuing squad, we eventually had to split up as planned, with one side acting as bait.
“Gack!”
“Ugh!”
The intensity of the pursuit diminished but wasn’t shaken off entirely.
Exhausted from battle, the members began to fall one by one, and the cart we had been riding overturned.
“Damn this!”
Turning in a 720-degree spin in the air, I was propelled off the cart like a triple axel.
“Everyone… dead…!”
“Stay till the end…!!”
“The cart…!”
What is happening? I can’t hear them properly through the ringing in my ears. It felt like I had just undergone a major surgery and was still partly under anesthesia.
What on earth is going on? The cart overturned, throwing me out. My body isn’t moving as I wish. Am I injured? Fortunately, I can still feel my fingertips.
It was probably quite the shock to dive onto the ground after spinning 720 degrees. I’ve never experienced a traffic accident in my life until now. Unable to move well and only able to see with my eyes, I surveyed my surroundings.
I could hear sounds, but I couldn’t see anything. Maybe I had been thrown quite a distance. A dull pain along with something wet behind me. Did my stitched wound burst?
If I close my eyes now, it feels like I’ll lose consciousness, so I directed my gaze upward.
‘When was the last time I lay on the ground looking at the sky?’
Desperately trying not to lose consciousness, I racked my brain for memories that could break the haze. Fast memories I could reach. I clawed back through the vague déjà vu from my body.
Unfortunately, it was not a good memory.
Is this when I got beaten in Chilgok County? Losing money to those third-rate black knife thugs, getting thoroughly beaten, lying on the rain-soaked ground, feeling like life had hit rock bottom.
Where’s the martial arts? Why isn’t anyone helping me? I had lamented then.
“Find writer Ho Pil!”
“Where did Master Kang go?”
Looking back now, despite my prejudices, it seems there are people living here with their own sense of justice. Of course, it’s not to the extent I had seen in the martial arts novels for a long time, but…
“Damn those Demonic Cult bastards!”
“Get the cart! There’s a poison user down!”
Realizing that just understanding that there was justice in this world didn’t mean it was the same world as those novels I used to read.
It’s not a world where heroes show up to solve everything, where everyone is busy looking after themselves.
“I must help.”
I have to get up. I said to myself as if in self-hypnosis, applying strength to my arms and legs.
I have to protect Lady Tang. If I don’t get up now, I’ll lose Lady Tang. It will be just like that time in Chilgok County. Why do you take everything from me? Crying out in sorrow to the heavens once is enough.
Slowly lifting my body, I looked around to assess the situation. Fortunately, we had gotten into a stalemate. It would be great if someone could resolve this situation, but reality is not like a martial arts novel.
This is not a world of martial arts, but a romantic comedy within a martial arts setting.
In the end, the only one who can help me is myself.
I need to get up and at least lift the fallen cart…
“A!”
Suddenly my body wobbled.
Damn. I’m falling to the ground. My body is too heavy to stop, but my eyes are unnecessarily bright, watching in slow motion as I fall to the ground.
I braced for impact, but instead of hitting a hard floor, I felt a soft, yet solid, human body.
“Stay down, I understand your will.”
“Who are you?”
The unexpected figure smiled lightly at me before advancing toward the enemies.
There once was a man.
Is there no justice in this world?
What was the martial arts I had dreamed of?
A world where a black-haired barbarian would not reach out to anyone. A shabby shanty smelling of filth. On a rainy day, a man lay on the ground, his body a mess as he screamed to the sky.
The man wanted to find hope. He wanted to share something in hope that someone would read his cries, his aspirations.
Let us write a martial arts story.
Thus, the man planted a seed in the barren land.
Contrary to the man’s desire, the seed didn’t sprout, and the man, not one to just weep at the heavens, brushed off the dust and set out again.
But the seed was certainly planted.
Just as every event has its cause and effect, the seeds that were sown have various outcomes.
“Who is it!”
Some seeds receive no attention and decay, while some are snatched away by flying birds and disappear, yet some seeds take root in the ground and sprout.
“The Great Mount Wu Sect.”
Coincidence. The hope of a man’s heart found its roots in the headquarters of the Taoist sect.
“The three disciples.”
Fate. One of the trio of disciples discovers a connection with the Mount Wu Sect in the chaotic text. Thus, the seed finally sprouted.
“The successor of the Eight Trigrams Swordplay.”
Serendipity. The third disciple finally found a flower called serendipity in the seed.
The seed that bloomed creates new seeds, and those new seeds create new links once again.
Therefore, this meeting today is…
Neither coincidence…
Nor fate…
Nor serendipity…
“It is said to be predestined.”
