Chapter 102: Countercharge

Once a super peak master joined the fight, the battle ended in an instant.

Tang Yeo-hye’s martial prowess was overwhelming. With dark green eyes flashing and hands sweeping about like a rakshasa, peak masters collapsed one after another, screaming and vomiting blood.

And as I watched that sight, I felt a strange tingling in my chest.

It was the same as when I had witnessed Jo Harang’s peak awakening.

‘I want to become a super peak master.’

But my enlightenment was still lacking. It was as if I were fumbling through a fog—something I could almost grasp, yet couldn’t see its true form.

Still, one day I would surely surpass this wall. After all, right before me stood a woman who had already taken that path.

“How, how was it?”

Blood-soaked, Tang Yeo-hye approached me in the middle of wrapping up the aftermath and suddenly asked me such a question.

“Your martial prowess seems to have reached its pinnacle, Sister. This younger brother, Dan Mujin, is truly moved.”

She seemed to be fishing for praise, so I went all out and flattered her formally.

“……Hey, that’s not what I meant.”

What? Even that wasn’t enough?

“Even your handling of poison just now was truly worthy of the Tang Clan’s prodigy—”

“No, not that, you idiot!”

I tilted my head at her sudden outburst. Just what more did she want to hear?

“Don’t I look different? Isn’t there something that’s changed about me?”

“……What?”

I froze at the question—the same dangerous one I had heard many times back on modern Earth.

The type where a single wrong answer could spell disaster.

“Look closely. There has to be something different.”

I quickly scanned her from head to toe.

Beside me, Neung Sam was making strange gestures, trying to give me advice with his mouth. But I couldn’t quite make it out.

He pointed to two joints of his finger, then to the top of his head again.

What the hell was that supposed to mean?

“My height, you idiot! I’ve gotten taller! How can you not notice?”

Ah, so that was it.

After consuming the neidan of the Human-faced Spider and expelling the poison that had plagued her, it seemed her body had undergone some changes.

Though, was this really something to bring up after cutting down a horde of enemies?

Well, for someone who had suffered all her life from a complex over her short stature, I suppose it was a big deal.

“I grew by two finger joints. So, how do I look? A more mature me, right?”

She straightened her back proudly as she said it.

“Doesn’t look much different to me.”

That’s just how Dan Mujin was. Even if it killed me, I still said what I had to say.

Thwack!

Her short leg slammed into my shin.

“You bastard, it’s always that damn mouth of yours! You don’t have a shred of delicacy in you!”

A surprise low kick from a super peak master. But maybe she had held back her strength, because it didn’t really hurt.

While grumbling, she accused me of having a strange personality.

But I was only following Uncle Neung Sam’s example—always speaking his mind, even while getting beaten up.

“Captain, seriously… you don’t understand women at all.”

That was Ilhong, slipping closer without me noticing, adding her own jab.

“And you’re a man, so what are you talking about?”

“……”

I shot down the cross-dressing woman’s nonsense and turned back to Tang Yeo-hye.

“So, is that all? You came just to ask if you look more mature?”

We were still recovering from the aftermath of the battle that had torn holes everywhere.

Not to mention, I was trying to seize upon the lingering aftertaste of witnessing a super peak master’s martial prowess, hoping to find a thread of enlightenment.

“Nope. I also caught someone while chasing down the fleeing stragglers—someone who almost killed you.”

“……What?”

She pointed toward a bundle lying not far away.

Apparently, while chasing down the remnants of the Blood Cult and Poison Valley, she had sensed someone hiding in the forest and captured them.

To think they tried to hide from the perception of a super peak master… utterly foolish.

“Who the hell is this guy?”

They hadn’t joined the battle, only spied from afar. That alone was suspicious. Frowning, I pulled back the cloth bundle.

And revealed beneath it was a man in suspicious all-black attire.

“Captain! That’s the same guy we saw on the bridge before!”

The crazed Man in Black who had suddenly cut down the bridge was bound and gagged, squirming violently.

Where there are meetings, there must also be partings.

We had obtained the poison gland of the Human-faced Spider, which was our original goal, and as a bonus, we had crushed the Blood Cult. There was no reason to remain here any longer.

As we packed the provisions and long-journey supplies prepared by the Palace of Southern Beasts, Palace Head Maeng Hogon approached us with a bittersweet look.

“At one point, I really thought it was all over.”

The man who had been burdened most by the threats of Poison Valley and the Human-faced Spider now finally looked relieved, grasping my hand tightly.

“In hindsight, bringing you to our village was heaven’s blessing. Instead of scolding the kids, I should have praised them.”

He confessed that most encounters with outsiders had brought only trouble, but that this incident had completely changed his view.

“You should also thank the Blood Panda. It was the one who saved me.”

“You’re right. Perhaps it really had the eye of a true spiritual beast….”

He admitted he thought the panda was only good at smashing things.

“Kuheung, kuheung.”

The Blood Panda thumped its chest proudly.

The palace head chuckled awkwardly.

“In any case, I can’t let the saviors of our palace leave empty-handed. I have a gift for you.”

He handed me an iron box with a strange locking mechanism.

“What’s this?”

“Threads harvested from the Human-faced Spider’s silk glands.”

“Human-faced Spider silk…?”

From the name alone, it sounded like it was related to that spider.

Ilhong, who was still packing our luggage, answered in my stead.

“Captain, you’ve heard of celestial silkworm silk, right?”

“Of course.”

I had heard the sericulture workers joke about it a few times.

The celestial silkworm, a spiritual silkworm, spun silk so tough that when woven into cloth, it became impenetrable even to blades and could withstand sword qi.

The fabric made from it was called the Celestial Silkworm Treasure Robe, something said to be worn by the emperor himself.

“This isn’t as good as that, but it’s made by cutting open the Human-faced Spider’s belly, taking out its silk threads, and removing the poison.”

This silk was also extremely tough and durable, rare enough that its price was sky-high.

Palace Head Maeng Hogon had gifted us something nearly impossible to obtain, even with money.

“Thank you, Palace Head Maeng Hogon.”

“I was the one more grateful. In a city the size of Beijing there would surely be craftsmen able to weave cloth from this thread, so I’d make some inquiries.”

If I made clothes from this, nothing would frighten me. I knew better than anyone how tough and durable this thread was — I had nearly been tripped and terrified because of it.

“Also, if you ever pass by the south again, drop in sometime. The Palace of Southern Beasts would welcome you with open arms anytime.”

His words warmed my chest and filled me with pride and the feeling of good deeds done.

He wasn’t easy to get close to, but once he opened his heart he sent deep trust — the Palace’s palace head, Maeng Hogon.

“Hyung-a.”

“Oppa-ya.”

Maeng Pyo and Maeng Seol seemed to have come out to meet me as well.

The two little ones from the Palace of Southern Beasts who had sulky faces at the talk of parting.

“Hyung-a, you must come again.”

“We’ll keep waiting until you come back.”

Their whining brought a smile to my lips without effort. They were a bit mischievous but cute — like little nephews.

“If you ever head south, I’ll make sure to stop by. And if you ever come north, be sure to visit my office in Beijing.”

I roughly drew the area where my shop was on a sheet of rice paper.

The kids bobbed their heads eagerly, promising to come.

“We will come for sure.”

“We’ll grow up fast and cross into the jianghu.”

“All right, all right — when we meet I’ll buy you a meal.”

Someday we’d eat together. I exchanged that aimless, Korean-style farewell with them.

“Beijing cuisine is supposed to be really extravagant, right? I’ll look forward to it.”

“Okay.”

If we ever made our debut in the jianghu, we might meet again.

I waved my hand to the kids.

“Kuhwung.”

Then I said farewell to the blood-colored panda that had pulled me from the river.

“You’re far better than any baobao.”

Not only cute, it had saved a person — a versatile panda that even knew martial arts.

“Kuhung. Kuung.”

It seemed to take my farewell to heart and assumed the clasped-hands greeting like a person.

When on earth had someone taught it that?

Maybe it really did understand every word.

“Let’s go, Mujin. To our home in Sichuan!”

After I finished saying my goodbyes, Tang Yeo-hye grabbed my left arm as if she had been waiting.

She had obtained the poison spring of the human-faced spider to balance the poisons and lift her father back up, so her strides were brisk and full of vigor.

“Captain, as you know, ‘our home’ is Beijing.”

Ilhong grabbed my right arm as well.

They each pulled my arms toward themselves as we moved.

Both were martial artists who had learned skills, and my forearms felt as if they were going to split. Was this the burden of both hands?

Anyway, I lifted the two of them and waved as I left the Palace of Southern Beasts.

“Hyung-a! Next time you must buy us a meal!”

“Promise!”

It was a long farewell to the jungle.

We retraced the road we had taken to the south.

We walked through the changing seasons and at last the magnificent Sichuan revealed itself.

When I had left this place I had been penniless, driven out from the Sichuan Tang Clan as if hunted.

On the return I had come back with neidan in superlative condition, tough and durable cotton-paper, and even the human-faced spider’s poison spring secured.

We weren’t exactly returning in brocade robes — our clothes were a mess and filthy — so it wasn’t a triumphant homecoming, but it might be called a tidy return with the poison in tow.

“Ilhong, it was worth it, right?”

“No. From now on I won’t even pee in the southern direction.”

“…….”

Because she had spent a long time dressed as a man, she sometimes said bizarre things.

We needed to overthrow the Hao Sect quickly so she could drop the disguise.

Anyway, grumbling, we arrived at the gate of the Sichuan Tang Clan, which wielded vast wealth and influence.

“Tang Yangcheon, the clan head, is inside, right? Move aside — we must see him.”

We pressed our faces, those everyone knew, to the gatekeepers instead of identity tablets, trying to enter.

Clack.

Two gatekeepers arrogantly crossed their spears and blocked her entry.

“……Dammit, what are you doing?!”

Tang Yeo-hye glared and the gatekeepers, perhaps knowing her temper, trembled and stammered.

“E-excuse us…….”

“The Young Clan Master has forbidden Tang Yeo-hye and her party from entering in any way.”

They had abused the Young Clan Master’s authority to keep her from even entering her own home.

“Bullshit. He’s not the clan head — how does the Young Clan Master have the right to stop me……”

“Most of the clan elders of the Tang Clan agreed to this.”

“…….”

Apparently they had put her under surveillance and Tang Ak had roughly guessed why we had gone to the south.

And seeing that we had returned safely, they thought we had succeeded.

“Tang Ak, that damned bastard……”

We ground our teeth and returned to our lodgings.

Not the clean, luxurious rooms of the Tang Clan, but a shabby inn nearby smelling of its name-table coin.

“Ughhh.”

True to the run-down inn, a beaten Man in Black lay alone on the floor.

Tang Yeo-hye had shown him her temper in person for not coughing up the needed information.

“That bastard’s info says my father Tang Yangcheon is hidden away in the main hall.”

“Ugh ugh!”

The Man in Black, his eyes swollen black and blue, hastily nodded as if he couldn’t take any more beating.

Judging by his desperation, the information was probably true.

“So what’s the problem?” I asked.

“There are many guards. Many beyond peak level. The clan’s blood relatives are there, and if we charged in……”

They had a family’s gaze to consider; smashing up the place and storming in like a berserk charge wasn’t acceptable.

“We’ve secured the poison spring and we came this far, so why now?”

Was this the moment to ruin the cooked rice by sticking one’s nose in it?

I shrugged beside her and spoke.

“Let’s just climb the wall, nuna.”

“You want to smash up the house and beat down everyone from the same clan?”

What was the big deal?

Anyway, if we succeeded and woke the clan head, wouldn’t that be our victory?

“Nuna, do you know this saying?”

“……What saying?”

“If it succeeds, it’s a revolution; if it fails, it’s treason.”

I slung the Dog-Beating Staff I’d wrapped for rebellion over my shoulder and said,

“Nuna, let’s charge the house.”

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