Returning Immortal

Chapter 2 : Poisoning

The next morning.

After picking up and eating the rice the guard had thrown him, Gwi Seongjin's face turned blue and he began to vomit blood.

He lay on the floor, his whole body trembling from a pain like his internal organs were on fire, and then his body went limp.

"What, what's going on? Don't tell me he's dead?"

The guard who had been watching ran over and fed Gwi Seongjin a single blue pill. When he still didn't wake up, the guard kicked him with the tip of his foot.

Groan!

Fortunately, it seemed he wasn't dead.

But his face was so pale he looked like a corpse.

Was it because the symptoms were more severe than expected?

The guard brought in an old physician.

The physician examined Gwi Seongjin's complexion, then peeled back his eyelid to look at his upturned eyeball.

After taking his pulse for a long time, he shook his head.

"Tsk, tsk, tsk. It seems they used a bit too much medicine."

"Th-then isn't that a big problem?"

The guard asked the physician in an anxious voice.

"It's not enough to kill him, so don't worry too much. He'll be fine if you leave him for a bit."

"I understand. But is it alright to start the torture again after he wakes up?"

"Torture? If you want to kill this man right away, then go ahead."

At the physician's answer, the eyebrows of the fallen Gwi Seongjin twitched minutely.

He had regained consciousness while the physician was taking his pulse, but Gwi Seongjin had pretended to be unconscious and hadn't moved.

He knew that moving his body would not lead to anything good.

His mind was still in a daze.

However, he had no trouble hearing sounds and thinking.

Listening to the two men's conversation, Gwi Seongjin learned a lot.

The fact that he had been poisoned, and that the torture would likely let up for a few days.

And that the person in charge of this matter was meticulous and more ruthless than he had thought.

They needed his abilities.

Yet, the fact that they treated him so carelessly suggested they wouldn't need him for long.

A pawn to be used briefly and then discarded.

It seemed his fate had been decided.

* * *

That evening, the food the guard brought to Gwi Seongjin was bright red raw meat.

The Luminous Cult was known to forbid meat-eating.

But they had changed some of their doctrines several hundred years ago and now permitted it.

Still, feeling a sense of unease, Gwi Seongjin refused the meal.

"I went to the trouble of bringing this for you, and you're saying you won't eat?"

"I can't eat raw meat."

"There's no food in this world you can't eat. Once it's in your stomach, doesn't it all turn to shit anyway?"

"I didn't say I can't eat..."

Gwi Seongjin couldn't continue his sentence.

The guard had pried his mouth open and was forcibly stuffing the raw meat inside.

After finishing the meal, the guard showed Gwi Seongjin a single blue pill.

"What is that?"

"From now on, you'll have to take one of these pills every three days."

"What happens if I don't?"

"Well. I heard your blood rots and your stomach melts, flowing out through your anus... If you're curious, it might be good to try it out."

After chaining Gwi Seongjin's hands, the guard left the cell with a bitter smile.

Haa!

Gwi Seongjin let out a sigh.

What had been tormenting him until now wasn't the whip.

It was the reason why the Heavenly Gate Golden Lock Formation protecting the Ghost Valley Sect had fallen, and the cause of his father's death.

The Heavenly Gate Golden Lock Formation was a formation that was said to be impossible for a human mind to break.

It was known that not only living humans, but even spirits could not escape it.

Yet it had fallen so absurdly.

It might have been possible if the method to break it had been leaked, but that possibility was nonexistent.

The book containing the breaking method was stored deep within the Ghost Valley Sect's library.

It was a place no one but his parents and himself could enter, and it was protected like a fortress by mechanisms and traps.

The cause of his father's sudden death was the same.

His father was a cultivator at the fourth stage of Qi Refinement, a level almost comparable to the Profound Realm when compared to ordinary martial artists.

Yet such a father had lost his life in an instant without even being able to properly display his skills.

Though he had agonized over it since his imprisonment, Gwi Seongjin couldn't find a convincing reason for these two matters.

So he had blamed his own incompetence and given up on life, but now it seemed he had to change his mind.

Just as his mother had tearfully implored him to do right before she died...

It was to survive.

The reason he had picked up and eaten the filthy dumplings during the day was actually for that.

Only by staying alive could he find the reason the Heavenly Gate Golden Lock Formation had fallen, identify the fiend who killed his father, take care of the pitiful Baekmae, and avenge his family.

'Yes, let's live! Even if it's a wretched and humiliating life, I will tenaciously survive and to you bastards, I will definitely... definitely have my revenge.'

Gwi Seongjin made a firm resolve.

* * *

The next day, the guard brought a stranger.

He was a man with cold eyes.

Was it because the accompanying man's position was high?

The arrogant guard's eyes had become as respectful as could be.

"Academician Yu! This is the young master of the Ghost Valley Sect, Gwi Seongjin. He is nineteen this year."

"Nineteen? Too young."

Academician Yu's brow furrowed slightly.

Originally, the one who should have been standing before him now was the Sect Master of the Ghost Valley Sect.

The initial plan was to show him the captured disciples of the Ghost Valley Sect as hostages and threaten him to help them.

But the target, the Sect Master, had died due to a ridiculous mistake...

All that was left was a single, green-as-grass young man.

"Since you are a descendant of the Ghost Valley Master, you should be well-versed in Yin-Yang and the Five Elements. What do you think is the origin of all things?"

At Academician Yu's question, Gwi Seongjin slowly raised his head.

He had known from the start that they would test his wisdom.

So, if his talent was recognized, his life would be extended for a while, and if he was deemed useless, he would be killed.

But he hadn't imagined it would be this kind of question.

Still, since he had decided to live, he had to give an answer that would satisfy his opponent.

"Water."

"Water?"

"That's right. Water is the very essence of change."

When Gwi Seongjin answered with conviction, Academician Yu didn't ask for any more reasons.

Instead, he asked something else.

"Good. While we're at it, let me ask one more thing. If the essence of change is water, what is the key to change?"

If the former was a question about whether he properly understood the principles of the harmony of heaven and earth that form formations, the latter was a question about whether he knew how to sublimate this into a formation.

This time, too, Gwi Seongjin did not hesitate to answer.

"Number. All things are manifested as phenomena, and phenomena can be expressed by numbers. Since the key to the changes of heaven and earth is contained in numbers, by changing the numbers, one can bring about the harmony of heaven and earth."

Even after Gwi Seongjin finished his answer, Academician Yu didn't move for a while.

It was a more satisfactory answer than he had expected.

When Academician Yu stared at him with sharp eyes, Gwi Seongjin avoided his gaze.

Now was not the time to reveal himself.

"I thought you were just a lucky flood dragon, but you were a hidden dragon that has even obtained the secret of drawing a deep breath. I will watch you further."

When Academician Yu finished speaking, Gwi Seongjin secretly let out a sigh of relief.

He had escaped the immediate crisis.

Still, he kept Academician Yu's words, 'I will watch you,' buried in his heart.

He had a feeling it wasn't just an empty phrase.

"Take this man to room 1103 and treat his wounds."

"I understand."

Confirming that Academician Yu had gone outside, the guard immediately undid Gwi Seongjin's chains.

Then he took him to another room, washed off the bloodstains, gave him new clothes, and then led Gwi Seongjin up the stairs.

With both his big toenails pulled out, Gwi Seongjin couldn't walk well.

Still, he waddled along, and the guard went up two more floors.

Even so, the air was stuffy, suggesting it was still underground.

"You're lucky. Usually, he only comes after all the fingernails and toenails are pulled out... Go in and rest, a physician will be here soon."

After throwing those words at Gwi Seongjin, the guard went straight down to the floor below.

He had expected him to say something like don't wander around recklessly, or if you try any funny business you'll die without a trace, but it was unexpected.

Then again, it seemed there was no need for that.

This was the Luminous Cult.

Even if Gwi Seongjin's martial arts were several times stronger than they were now, he couldn't escape from the Tian Shan.

Let alone the Tian Shan, he probably couldn't even escape from this building.

How much more so now that his acupoints were sealed and his martial arts were crippled...

On the door of the room hung a nameplate with the room number.

Room 1103.

'The room where I was tortured was 1302, and the one next to it was 1301. And since I came up two more floors to 1103, the floor below this one must start with the number 12. In that case, the first number 1 must mean underground, and the next number is clearly the floor number.'

In the end, it meant this was the first basement floor.

Perhaps because of that, the air felt fresher than in the torture chamber.

Creeak.

The inside of the room was darker than he had thought.

Still, he could faintly distinguish objects; a stone bed and a wooden table were all the furniture.

Walking to the bed, Gwi Seongjin sat down on it in a cross-legged position.

His meridians were sealed anyway, so circulating energy was impossible.

But he could still practice Spirit Energy Art.

Flop.

As if a thought suddenly occurred to him, Gwi Seongjin broke his posture and lay down flat on his back on the bed.

After a little while, a physician entered the room.

It was the old physician who had taken his pulse yesterday.

"It seems you passed the test as expected. Let's see."

The physician meticulously took Gwi Seongjin's pulse.

Finding nothing wrong with Gwi Seongjin's body, the physician finally examined his external injuries.

Then he took out an ointment from his pocket and applied it thickly to the wounded areas.

"Grrrr..."

When the old physician applied the ointment to the area where his toenails had been pulled out, Gwi Seongjin forced out a groan.

It didn't hurt that much, but it was to loosen the other's guard.

It was indeed effective.

"Hehe. What are you groaning about?"

"What kind of medicine did you apply for it to hurt this much? You didn't apply poison to my toes, did you?"

"Poison?"

"That's right. Yesterday morning I ate poisoned rice, and in the evening I chewed on meat filled with poisonous insects..."

"Meat filled with poisonous insects? Who told you that?"

"No, wasn't what I ate last night beef from a cow raised on poisonous insects?"

"Beef?"

"Yes. The taste was fishy and it was bright red, somehow... Uweeek."

As if just the thought of it turned his stomach, Gwi Seongjin retched.

But nothing came out of his mouth.

Not only had he not eaten much, but he was actually acting.

Gwi Seongjin had been carefully watching the old man's face as he spoke.

When the old man's complexion changed drastically at the mention of poisonous insects, he knew that he had indeed ingested a Gu.

Though he couldn't calm his startled heart, Gwi Seongjin managed to control his expression.

'Injecting me with a Gu is their plot.'

If they judged that he knew that fact, they would devise another plot.

"If it was poisoned, the meat's color would have turned black. Was that the case?"

"No. The red color was vivid..."

"Then it wasn't a cow that died from poison. And since you've already eaten poison, what's the problem with eating a little more?"

"That's true, but... Oh! It's fine now."

Gwi Seongjin said as if amazed, wiggling both his big toes.

The pain had vanished as if by magic.

"Expensive medicinal herbs didn't go into this medicine, but I didn't put anything harmful to the body, so rest assured."

"It seems I misunderstood you, physician. I apologize."

"It's fine."

"Um, but, physician!"

Gwi Seongjin called out to the old physician who was heading out the door.

"What is it?"

"Um... what is your esteemed name, physician?"

"Why are you curious about my name?"

Suddenly, the old physician's expression turned cold.

It was a wary look.

"You are the one who will continue to treat me, so I wanted to at least know your surname. So I can greet you when you come and go..."

"There's no need for that."

Without even telling him his surname, the old physician slipped out the door.

But his expression was somewhat embarrassed.

It was because he was the one who had put poison in the food Gwi Seongjin ate yesterday.

(End of Chapter)