The Genius Youngest Disciple of the Wudang Sect

Chapter 397

'Now. Senior Brother Un Cheol and Senior Brother Un Shik, listen well. If Gu Gung-hwan is such a smart and quick-witted fellow, you can never catch him with ordinary methods.'

Just before Unhwi left for the Qingcheng Sect, he sat Un Cheol and Un Shik down and explained this operation in even greater detail. Unhwi said that if an all-out war broke out, they wouldn't be able to catch Gu Gung-hwan anyway. He wasn't sure when Unhwi had experienced it, but according to his experience, smart unorthodox fellows tend to value their own lives more than their organizations, and they are people who can sacrifice their subordinates as much as they want for their own merit. Therefore, he thought that if the Sichuan Tang Family and the Shadow Annihilation Bag clashed head-on, he would highly likely abandon his subordinates and run away. Of course, even if that happened, the Sichuan Tang Family would be able to push back the Shadow Annihilation Bag and reclaim the outskirts of Chengdu for the time being. However, if Gu Gung-hwan survived in the end, he would likely reorganize somehow and harass the Sichuan Tang Family again. Furthermore, if by any chance he didn't just reorganize but hid among the commoners who didn't know martial arts and took them hostage, there would be no way to deal with him. That's why Unhwi came up with this idea.

'If the fellow is that smart, we should use his intelligence against him.'

Unhwi's plan was this:

'First, as originally planned, somehow eliminate the fellows among the Four Evils Alliance around here who are somewhat well-known. Then Gu Gung-hwan will eventually realize that someone is intentionally targeting his subordinates.'

Up to this point, it wasn't much different from the initial plan. However, the difference started from then on.

'But intentionally set the order in which you eliminate them. For example, go from those with lower rank to higher rank, or start from those with weaker martial arts and gradually defeat the stronger ones. By doing so, Gu Gung-hwan will naturally realize the order in which his subordinates are dying.'

Following Unhwi's advice, Un Cheol and Un Shik set a rule after much deliberation. That rule was age. They created their own rule by starting from the youngest and hitting the warrior of the next age up, and then the next age up, and so on.

'The fellow who realizes the rule will surely think like this: "I should see the faces of those who killed my subordinates. And I should stab them in the back!"'

At the same time, Unhwi said he would never lead his subordinates and follow them cumbersomely. Gu Gung-hwan is a person confident in his own skills. So he said he would have the confidence to survive and run away somehow even if he couldn't kill whatever opponent came.

'But unfortunately, the fellow's skill is the real deal. Strictly speaking... he could be said to be sufficiently at the level of an elder of the Nine Great Sects and One Union.'

Unhwi expected that Un Cheol and Un Shik could somehow handle him if they cooperated, but since he couldn't gamble with his senior brothers' lives, he came up with a sure move.

'So, it's not the senior brothers who fight, but someone else. The person who would have the deepest grudge against Gu Gung-hwan. And someone who is confident that they can surely win if only given the chance to attack Gu Gung-hwan with peace of mind, and who has the skill to match... that is the Tang Family Head.'

That's why the Sichuan Tang Family Head was here right now. They had sent a detailed description of this operation to the Sichuan Tang Family Head, and the Family Head joined them immediately upon receiving the letter. It was because he saw hope in their operation.

"Huff, huff! Cough, cough!"

Gu Gung-hwan's lips and under-eyes turned black, and he coughed incessantly. He was holding his breath to avoid inhaling any more poison and was trying to circulate his internal energy to the maximum to somehow drive out the poison. However, the poison he inhaled was one administered by the head of the Sichuan Tang Family, which is second to none in the martial world among the various families famous for poison. For this day, the Sichuan Tang Family Head had prepared a poison called Silver Silkworm Poison, one of the poisons passed down as a secret of the Sichuan Tang Family. This poison is not an extreme poison that turns one into a handful of bloody water as soon as it is inhaled. However, even if only a little is inhaled, it is a poison that interferes with breathing, interferes with the gathering of internal energy, and causes incessant coughing, taking away one's spirit. Additionally, it ruins the lungs and makes the opponent die slowly. Although the lethality itself may seem low, the advantage of this specially prepared poison is that if one has mastered the poison arts of the Sichuan Tang Family, they can administer it as freely as if they were handling their own body. In a battlefield where one is fighting for the first time, especially in a mountain where the wind might blow a lot, it is difficult to administer poison perfectly, but Silver Silkworm Poison would be more than enough.

"Gu Gung-hwan. All this time, whenever you encountered me, it was only around private houses, wasn't it?"

"Cough, cough...!"

"I know well that that was your scheme. Although we use poison and hidden weapons, our Sichuan Tang Family is a dignified and prestigious orthodox sect. You must have thought we couldn't catch you even at the cost of sacrificing commoners."

"Sichuan... Tang Family Head!"

"Yes. You thought well. It was a very good method. In fact, we haven't been able to catch you at all since you used such a cunning method. But Gu Gung-hwan. If that was your intention, you should have stayed hidden around private houses until the end."

"Ugh...!"

"Why did you come to such a mountain, and alone at that?"

Gu Gung-hwan looked at Un Cheol and Un Shik with bloodshot eyes. Of course, he still doesn't know what the identities of those two are. However, even in this situation where he might die immediately, he burst into anger. In the end, even if he were to die, he was thinking of killing those two who had trapped him before going. It was no wonder; the fact that he was poisoned now and that his cherished subordinate was half-dead and sprawled on the ground were not any reason for his anger. The reason Gu Gung-hwan was angry now was because he had fallen for a scheme. He was a person who prided himself on being smart and good at planning. Since he thought his wits were as considerable as his martial arts, his pride couldn't tolerate being pushed back in a scheme and stabbed in the back.

"Aaaargh!"

He screamed and gathered all the energy he had, stamping his foot.

Bang!

A sound that shook the earth spread in all directions, and he disappeared from his spot as if he had performed a Shift of Form and Position, then appeared near where Un Cheol and Un Shik were standing. Gu Gung-hwan's sword, filled with great strength, was swung horizontally. His sword seemed to be filled with the single-minded thought of killing at least one of Un Cheol or Un Shik even if he died.

Clang!

His sword was blocked. By the sword of a young warrior he had ignored, thinking he could win just by looking at his young face. Of course, it wasn't that Un Cheol, who blocked that sword, had blocked it indifferently. From the hand holding the sword to the wrist, forearm, and shoulder, it felt tingling, and perhaps because he had handled a large energy momentarily, he felt as if his qi and blood were twisted. However, the important thing was that he really blocked Gu Gung-hwan's sword. And a sword that had done its best to the point of even thinking of a mutual destruction. Gu Gung-hwan, perhaps not expecting Un Cheol to block his sword, looked at the bouncing sword with bewildered eyes. That bewilderment created a very brief opening. And for a powerhouse of the level of the Sichuan Tang Family Head, that brief opening is more than enough time to attack someone.

Prick!

Gu Gung-hwan tried to look back at the prickling sensation he felt behind his neck, but his neck didn't turn as easily as he wanted. The Sichuan Tang Family Head had thrown a flying needle and struck his acupoint. Of course, a powerhouse who has reached a level like Gu Gung-hwan could release such a struck acupoint if he only concentrated for a moment. However, that brief moment to concentrate. To him, that time felt like an eternity.

*Whoosh!*

Un Shik's sword flew before his eyes.

*Clang!*

Gu Gung-hwan barely blocked the sword by forcing his unmoving arm to move. At that moment, he felt a presence behind his neck. Before he knew it, the Sichuan Tang Family Head, who had been poisoning him from a distance, had reached right behind his back.

"It must have been fun harassing our Sichuan Tang Family all this time? I'm not originally a person who enjoys harassing someone.... but today, I feel like I should."

He said so, gathered poison energy in both palms, and thrust a poison palm into Gu Gung-hwan's back.

"Keok!"

Gu Gung-hwan, whose back—and specifically the Myeong-mun point, which is the most central point of breathing and internal energy was struck properly by the poison palm, vomited a scream and collapsed forward. He realized instinctively: the poison art he was just hit with was no ordinary poison.

"In our Tang Family, it's a poison called Seven Step Poison. It's a name given because it's said that once hit by the poison, one dies before walking seven steps."

"Keu-heuk...!"

Enough time to walk seven steps had passed, but Gu Gung-hwan was not yet dead. The Sichuan Tang Family Head looked down at him with a composed face as if he had expected it and said:

"Yes. You're doing well. Trying to drive out the Seven Step Poison with internal energy? However, Seven Step Poison also has some of the effects of a Dispersing Energy Poison. As long as you are under the influence of this poison, it will be impossible for you to refill your internal energy."

"S-Sichuan, Tang Family Head...!"

"So struggle more, and flounder more to survive. Gradually your internal energy will be depleted, and the moment your internal energy is all consumed while desperately resisting the poison.... you will die just like that as the poison spreads throughout your body."

While the Sichuan Tang Family Head was speaking, Gu Gung-hwan's eyes were already bloodshot. He was resisting so strongly and putting in so much strength that all the capillaries in his eyes were bursting.

"Then try to hold out well until the end. Thanks to your subordinate luring you here, there isn't a single person around here to help you."

"Heu-heuk...!"

Gu Gwan-hwan tried to say something, but only something like a beast's cry escaped from his mouth. The Sichuan Tang Family Head stared blankly at his face, then dusted off his robe and said to Un Cheol and Un Shik:

"Let's return now. If left like this, this fellow will struggle in pain and die. He might have hope that he can survive.... but the poison I just used is not such a merciful poison."

"Yes, Family Head. Before that, I will finish this fellow and depart."

Un Cheol looked down at Jang Chung, whom he had struck down. It was to finish him off properly. However, there seemed to be a bit of a sense of incongruity in Jang Chung's face. It was because his face was already bluish like a dead person's.

"Don't touch him!"

As he was about to flip him over to check his condition, the Sichuan Tang Family Head shouted urgently.

"That fellow has already expired. I took care of it earlier."

He had already been poisoned by the Sichuan Tang Family Head's poison and was dead. Un Cheol could realize anew that the poison of the Sichuan Tang Family, and specifically the Family Head, was a truly great power.

"Understood. Let's return to the Sichuan Tang Family for now."

He quickly moved away from Jang Chung's body, lest the poison spread to him.

(End of Chapter)