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“Hahahaha!”
On the second day of the dueling tournament, the banquet hall was loud and boisterous.
Toast after toast burst forth, and the Zhuge family’s martial warriors laughed and shouted in waves.
Today’s score was two to three.
The Zhuge family had three winners; the Hwangbo family had two.
Because of that, the Hwangbo warriors’ mood had chilled like thin ice.
Above all, Hwangbo Seong’s defeat stung them to the bone.
“Where did all the drinkers go? Why is it so quiet here?”
“Someone might think we suffered an attack, the way it’s so subdued.”
“Yeah. Zhuge is a few steps above Hwangbo, of course. Finally they’re back where they belong.”
The Zhuge warriors, nursing yesterday’s grudge, openly taunted the Hwangbo family.
Zhuge Jo-yeon, who had been lingering about, even joined them—drinking and shouting at one table.
That sight infuriated Hwangbo Ryeong most of all.
At that moment, Zhuge Kwan smiled and teased.
“You wild boar, why the long face? Smile a little, won’t you? You’re killing the taste of the wine.”
“Damn, the wine tastes awful today.”
“No way. This is the finest liquor from Solitary Cloud Manor. Maybe your palate’s spoiled from drinking cheap stuff all the time.”
Hwangbo Ryeong glared at Zhuge Kwan.
“What are you staring at? Just because you pity me doesn’t mean I’ll share the Sunny Breeze and Green Field.”
“The dueling matches aren’t over yet.”
“The result’s as clear as day—why lift the lid just to see it?”
“Tomorrow will be different.”
“It should be different. Otherwise Hwangbo’s hollow ‘rising star’ reputation will be exposed soon enough.”
At Zhuge Kwan’s words, the Zhuge warriors covered their mouths with fans and snickered.
A vein throbbed on Hwangbo Ryeong’s forehead.
Bang!
He slammed his fist onto the drinking table; the lacquered wood splintered beneath the blow.
“Damn it! How many are left doesn’t matter! Even if the Hwangbo family has only one left, it makes no difference. Sunny Breeze and Green Field belong to the winner! And…”
He jabbed a finger at Zhuge Kwan.
“If it comes to the finals, lousy mackerel, you will never beat me. The Sunny Breeze and Green Field is the Hwangbo family’s prize!”
The remark chilled the banquet hall.
It was an overt slight at Zhuge Kwan; the Zhuge warriors’ displeasure snapped across the room.
Zhuge Kwan narrowed his eyes.
“What do you mean by that?”
“Huh! Even if I give you credit, mackerel, your skill is several steps below mine.”
Zhuge Kwan’s brow twitched.
“Arrogant.”
“Isn’t that everyone’s opinion? While I’m called Hwangbo’s rising star, you’re someone without a proper reputation…”
Clang!
Before Hwangbo Ryeong finished, a thrown cup skittered across the floor and shattered.
Neither man paid the broken cup any heed. They stared each other down and slowly raised their fighting intent.
“If you’re so confident, shall we settle it here?”
“Oh yeah? You want to be disgraced like that, right?”
Just as the two reached for their weapons,
Thuk! Thuk!
Two warriors materialized and blocked them.
They wore black uniforms trimmed with gold—the golden members of Solitary Cloud Manor.
“Please stop.”
“Disturbances within Solitary Cloud Manor are not tolerated.”
But neither Zhuge Kwan nor Hwangbo Ryeong was the type to back down at a single word.
“Move aside.”
“Get out of the way.”
The golden members refused to budge.
“Have you forgotten this is a place for fellowship?”
“Hah! What damned fellowship can stand in the way of a duel for the Sunny Breeze and Green Field?!”
The golden members readied themselves, prepared to subdue the young lords if necessary.
The atmosphere was explosive. Before their retainers, the young lords had no intention of yielding.
Clap! Clap! Clap!
At the sound of sudden applause, Un Ji-kang stepped between the four.
He wore an affable smile that did not suit the moment and addressed the young lords.
“Young lords, please let go of your anger. If you fight in a place like this, what becomes of Solitary Cloud Manor’s carefully prepared image?”
Despite the generous words, a cold, sharp fighting intent radiated from him and dominated the hall.
Hwangbo Ryeong swallowed and took a step back; Zhuge Kwan did the same.
Un Ji-kang nodded and smiled.
“Thank you for your understanding.”
Zhuge Kwan snapped his fan shut.
“Hmph. If it weren’t for the sacred item of the Tae-san Divine Sword, I wouldn’t have fallen for such a transparent divide-and-conquer trick. Boys, let’s go!”
Behind him, the Zhuge warriors withdrew in unison.
Hwangbo Ryeong tilted his head and shot Un Ji-kang a glare.
“Chief, you might think you’ve tied the two houses together by taking the sacred item hostage. Remember this: you have gained nothing. As long as you remain in Solitary Cloud Manor, the Hwangbo family’s loyalty won’t stand with you.”
Un Ji-kang received the barb with a smile.
“I’ll keep it in mind.”
Hwangbo Ryeong gulped down the rest of his wine and flung his cup to the floor.
Clang! The cup shattered sharply.
“The wine just doesn’t taste right today. Come on, let’s go!”
The Hwangbo warriors rose and left the banquet hall in a crowd.
After everyone departed, the hall held only broken cups, a smashed table, and upended seats.
The Solitary Cloud warriors watched Un Ji-kang nervously, as if sitting on a bed of thorns.
Un Ji-kang surveyed the wreckage and ordered, “Clean this up.”
“Yes!”
He walked out slowly, and as he left he called a name into the air.
“Cheon-mok.”
“Yes.”
From the previously motionless shadows, the black-robed elder Un Cheon-mok stepped forward.
“You said one of Solitary Cloud’s Claw members performed notably in the dueling matches.”
“Yes.”
“What’s that person’s name?”
“It’s Mujin.”
“Mujin… Mujin, huh.”
Un Ji-kang had been tied up with matters at Namsa Lake and hadn’t watched the duels personally.
According to his plan, who would advance and who would be eliminated had already been set.
But a guest ally—not even a silver member—had reportedly survived to the third day.
That could not happen under his plan.
And the member’s name was Mujin.
“There’s no member by the name of Mujin.”
“Yes…?”
“No such person exists. I’m certain.”
The Lonely Claw Troops numbered well over a hundred; who could remember every name beneath them?
Still, Un Ji-kang spoke with an unnerving certainty. Un Cheon-mok couldn’t help but be surprised.
‘He actually remembers all of that…?’ he thought.
“You said he faced Zhuge Jo-yeon and Hwangbo Seong?”
“Yes. He didn’t wear a disguise or hood; he fought with a broom in hand. Rather than a fight, it was one-sided. That level of skill isn’t the work of a guest ally.”
“It’s absolutely not the skill of a member.”
Un Ji-kang stroked his chin.
A warrior hiding his skill, disguised as a guest ally, and the name Mujin—was the man in his thoughts mere imagination?
Un Cheon-mok watched Un Ji-kang’s expression and spoke cautiously, “Could he be a spy?”
Un Ji-kang nodded.
“I’m sure.”
“Then…”
Ssshh—
Un Cheon-mok drew his golden claw and whispered, “I’ll take care of him.”
“No.”
Un Ji-kang raised a hand to stop him. “I have an idea who he might be.”
“Yes…?”
The one who would ruin Solitary Cloud Manor’s dueling tournament. The audacious intruder who crawled in to plot its overthrow—the person Un Ji-kang had always seen as a thorn in his eye.
“There can’t be two such people.”
Un Ji-kang closed his eyes for a moment before reaching a conclusion.
“I’ll see this so-called Mujin with my own eyes. How many days remain in the dueling tournament?”
“Two days remain.”
“Two days… that’s perfect.”
Un Cheon-mok watched the leader smile with puzzlement.
“If it goes well, we might hit two birds with one stone—no, even three. Cheon-mok, don’t let on that you know anything about him; keep silent to the end. Make sure none of the other members approach him.”
Whether he understood or not was irrelevant: his duty was to obey orders.
“I will follow your orders.”
At the Bukgung Family’s Flying Swallow Manor.
“Is this for real?”
“Based on what I’ve checked, it’s certain.”
“This is the medicine Captain Yeon was looking for?”
Bukgung Yoon studied the paper in her hand and tilted her head.
The sheet listed various medicines with their actions, effects, and uses.
Seo Nak-il answered.
“We pressed the apothecary owner and got it, so there’s no mistake. At first he kept quiet, but after we handed him money he spilled it. The effects listed were written by the apothecary himself.”
“But this…”
“Yes. It’s closer to poison than medicine. The apothecary shook his head and said he felt too guilty as a physician to sell such ingredients…”
Bukgung Yoon studied the side effects again.
“Blindness, total paralysis, hemorrhaging, organ necrosis… vomiting blood and turning cold…”
It read like a catalog of torments; the words were enough to send chills down anyone’s spine.
At the end, written with a firm hand, was one line.
[Mortality rate: eighty to ninety percent.]
“Could Captain Yeon have internal injuries? If he took this, it wouldn’t help internal wounds—an otherwise healthy person could die.”
Bukgung Yoon was baffled.
“What on earth did Captain Yeon intend to do with these poisons? Who was he trying to poison?”
“I can’t imagine Captain Yeon poisoning someone… he’s the type to beat someone to death with his fists.”
“Was he thinking of taking his own life? But why?”
“I don’t know either…”
Seo Nak-il was equally perplexed.
Among the ingredients were notorious names anyone would recognize.
They were said to aid internal qi, but their side effects were so severe they were seldom used in the murim world—substances only a poison-specialist house like the Sichuan Tang family might handle.
“There’s one possibility the apothecary mentioned.”
“What is it?”
“He mentioned antagonistic action. It’s a method that uses opposing toxicities to treat the body.”
“You mean using poison to counteract poison?”
“Yes. It involves precisely combining ingredients with different toxicities to suppress one toxicity and harness the effects of the other. But it’s purely theoretical; unless one is deeply versed in poisons, it usually ruins the body.”
Bukgung Yoon fell silent for a moment.
“Are you saying Captain Yeon’s internal injury originated from poison—poison so extreme it would require equally deadly antidotes to counter?”
“There’s no other plausible explanation…”
No matter how they thought it through, they couldn’t find a satisfactory answer.
At that moment, a new guest arrived in the steward’s room.
Knock. Knock. Knock.
“Is the Lord of the Flying Swallow Manor here?”
It was Jang Chun-sik’s voice—he’d become almost a fixture at the manor’s guest hall.
But today he was oddly discomposed: eyes darting, sweat pouring as if…
“Leader Jang, don’t stand there like a dog about to poop—come on in.”
Unable to bear it, Seo Nak-il invited him in.
“What’s the matter?”
“Well… uh… it’s just… this, you see…”
“Don’t be so frustrating—speak plainly. Did you eat something bad?”
“Ah, no, that’s not it…”
“Leader Jang.”
Bukgung Yoon stepped forward and gently urged him, “What’s the matter? Have you come because the Flying Swallow Manor’s hospitality was lacking?”
“No, no, no, it’s not that!”
Jang Chun-sik sighed and finally spoke.
“It’s about Captain Yeon.”
“Captain Yeon?”
“You mean the captain himself?”
At Jang’s words, the two men snapped to attention.
“I cannot remain merely a hanger-on of the manor forever, so I sent my men to eavesdrop on news around the area. During that time I delivered a piece of news to Captain Yeon—but I never imagined he’d act like this…”
Bukgung Yoon’s senses sharpened.
“Leader Jang, do you know where Captain Yeon went?”
“Well… I do know…”
Both leaned toward him.
Jang, sweating from the attention, revealed what he knew.
“Where is Captain Yeon?”
“At that Solitary Cloud Manor.”
Bukgung Yoon blinked as if she’d misheard.
What? Where did you say he was?
“Solitary Cloud Manor? The Solitary Cloud Manor of the Bukgung Family?”
Jang nodded.
“Captain Yeon took leave and went to Solitary Cloud Manor?”
“Is it betrayal?”
“No, it’s not that…”
Jang explained: Captain Yeon heard of Solitary Cloud Manor’s dueling matches and went straight there.
And the most shocking detail was this.
“Captain Yeon is currently participating in Solitary Cloud Manor’s dueling matches and is knocking out the Zhuge family’s and Hwangbo family’s warriors.”
“…What did you say?”
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