Book 27 Chapter 2

Shattered Soul Poison (碎魂毒匕)

-Na Bai Tian, receiving the poisoned sword

Ready for business!

"Am I here?"

A middle-aged man frowned as he looked up at the sign above the closed gate of the infield. It was the same black-bearded middle-aged man who had stepped off the boat at dawn and blended into the fog.

The sign he was staring at read, in black letters, "Black Tower". At first glance, it appeared to be an intact and well-functioning lodge in the middle of a busy town's main street. It was still under construction, and there were no customers in sight. The middle-aged man didn't hesitate and stepped inside.

"Eleven.

As I expanded my senses to explore my surroundings, I sensed the presence of lurkers everywhere. These were not the signs of a normal, ubiquitous baseball field, but the signs of expertly trained men killing their own momentum like beasts of prey. There were signs of alertness, but no signs of life.

'It's a shame, I'd rather offer up my life so I can be slaughtered…….'

The middle-aged man had hoped that this position would be a trap set for him, so that he could kill any attackers in self-defense and not have to take on any more ridiculous tasks. But judging by the momentum around him, it was far from enough to trap and kill him. If they did, they'd need ten times as many men as they have now. I couldn't think of 'him' as stupid enough not to know that; he was very properly insane, but unfortunately not stupid.

"Customer, didn't you see the sign? We're not open for business yet. Please leave."

The cashier at the counter was frowning and grumbling. His attitude toward the customer was quite rude.

"This guy has a terrible attitude toward his customers, so where is he going to get business?"

It was ridiculous that a store clerk, who was supposed to be bringing in customers, would be so unkind as to kick them out.

"That's none of your business, please leave."

It was a clear celebration. The accusation came from the mouth of a middle-aged man with a black beard.

"I am the guest you are waiting for. Now go and fetch a man named Lu Zhu."

The clerk was visibly flustered by this.

"No, that's not possible. The man we are waiting for is a hundred years old……."

But the clerk stopped mid-sentence. The clerk's words were interrupted by the sight of a letter in the middle-aged man's arms.

"Do you believe me now, or do I need to prove it further with my sword?"

If you didn't believe him, he could show you his sword skills. The price, of course, was his life.

"You don't need to prove anything more."

The black-haired middle-aged man nodded in satisfaction.

"Now, do you want me to summon this Luju guy here? No, I don't think I need to summon him."

Glaring at the wall with the clerk's back to him, the middle-aged man spoke in a sharp voice.

"If you stick your head in a bush, will it hide the pheasant's tail; if you are hiding and not hiding, but the same, why don't you stop coming out?"

The clerk's face turned pensive.

"Wow, wow. I didn't expect that a Spiritual Master of over a hundred years of age, the Nine Hundred Heavenly Grandmaster, would be so eerily young. The gap between our cultivation levels is so wide that I'm a bit puzzled."

A fat man in a silk robe stepped out from behind a wall and began to shout. He was hooded, but somehow even his hood was made of expensive, fine silk.

"I'm just wearing a bast mask. With human eyes and ears, what's the problem with someone who's at the level of a Zheng Tian Ming master wandering around the Black Heavenly Clan's stronghold?"

It violated about 30 different agreements between the two sides at once.

Where there are many people, there are spies, and from here on out, he was sure that the Black Heavenly League had eyes and ears everywhere, including in their own backyard, because so did the Chung Tian League.

"Bast noodles…… That's too natural for that."

The obese man in the fat suit gave him a very suspicious gaze, but Bai Xiaochun cleanly ignored him.

"I've gotten pretty good at backstabbing these days, so what's to blame for your short visit?"

He looked to be in his forties, with black hair and a glossy black beard. However, this man's identity was none other than Spiritual Master Nie Bai Tian himself.

"But you didn't come here to talk about this nonsense, did you?"

I knew I couldn't keep fighting the mosquitoes forever.

"I'll pass the command along then."

The Silk Masked Man's tone changed. Bai Xiaochun's eyebrows twitched for a moment. It was as if his courage had overflowed and erupted at the thought of covering his face with just a piece of cloth. How could he be so drunk on his own anonymity that he'd actually come out of a simple boat?

"Ho-ho, a command? Do you have any idea who you're talking to?"

Bai Xiaochun asked in a deliberately laid-back voice, and the anonymous masked man shrugged his shoulders,

"Of course I know, don't you ask the Spiritual Master Nabaxian?"

There was not the slightest hint of distance or caution in his demeanor. How dare he do this to me, especially with a hostage? I didn't have to unmask him to know that was what he was thinking.

Na Baiqian smirked.

"No, you don't know what you're talking about, and your head has the wisdom of a pheasant's head."

"What's that……."

Before the silk masked figure could finish speaking, Bai Xiaochun's body moved like a wildfire. In the blink of an eye, he grabbed the masked man by the throat and roughly pushed him against the wall. It was almost as if he was going to throw him against the wall.

"Curb!"

Unable to contain the pain, a groan escaped the masked man's mouth, accompanied by blood. Suddenly, the eleven fleshly bodies of the masked figure's escorts flickered.

"Gal! Don't move, all of you, or you'll be damned!"

The eleven strands of flesh that were about to move were all stopped by the sound of Nie Bai Tian's words. Eleven people had been simultaneously subdued by the momentum of a single person. There was no longer any semblance of a noble Martial Saint in Nie Bai Tian. He had turned into a ferocious beast.

"Now, do you have any awareness of who you're talking to?"

His bulging eyes glowed with a terrifying radiance, their pupils burning with rage, radiating a power that could subdue even the most fierce of beasts in an instant. It was impossible to meet those gazes head-on unless you had some sort of history. The inner light of a peak swordsman could cut through an opponent's mind like a blade.

"Uh, yeah."

Boom!

The hand that gripped the necklace grew stronger.

"No, I don't think you fully understand. Think about it again. A little better. Because this is probably your last chance."

The voice was gentle, but it had the power to crush the mind and body. It carried such a subtle yet commanding presence that it rang in my ears like the roar of a lion. The masked man answered, unable to contain his pain.

"Well, yes."

Bai Xiaochun relaxed his grip slightly.

"Okay, it looks like you're finally ready to talk, so let's hear it. Where your master is now, and where he has my daughter imprisoned."

"I…… I don't know."

Woohoo!

"Off!"

A harsh scream erupted from the masked man's mouth. Bai Xiaochun had twisted and broken one of his fingers. But the scream didn't have to escape the infield, as the barrier of qi he had spread around him blocked the sound from escaping.

"Now, I'm going to ask you again. This time, I want you to be a little more careful. I started with a single finger, but I don't want to go all the way to 'bunion'."

The four-letter phrase, "I'll tear your muscles apart and mix your bones inside your body," became a ponderous thought. Hwa-geun, who had always bullied the weak, was momentarily stunned by the sight of the strong. No, it was because he forgot who he was dealing with for a moment, just a moment, because the face and the spirit were different from the picture he had memorized.

"Kirkuck. I, I really don't know. I, I don't get that information from the end of the line. I, it's given to me, and my job is to relay the instructions to you."

"Hmm, and to monitor whether or not I follow those instructions."

"……."

"What?"

Bai Xiaochun frowned and asked.

"…No, I'm not a watchdog."

"I find that hard to believe, are you trying to mock me?"

"No, absolutely not, sir. I have a lookout station. They'll be watching from afar to make sure I deliver my instructions safely, and that you follow them or not."

"What if you're not okay?"

The hooded figure's eyes fluttered wildly in terror.

"Da, I'm going to report you upstairs right away for breaking instructions."

"What happens then?"

"Well, I don't know about that. I mean, really."

He let out another pitiful scream as Nie Baiqian once again blew in his inner qi, twisting his bones and muscles.

"So what's your role?"

The man said, a cold sweat dripping down his pale face.

"It's about fulfilling instructions."

"Instructions?"

"Yes, my role is to take up the mantle of the Falcon, the Sword of the Mighty, for a while."

The stranglehold weakened, and the masked figure was able to breathe properly.

"My sword, the White Thunder, why?"

Bai Xiaochun's brow furrowed, and a deep hole appeared.

"Well, all I know is that…… is because you shouldn't enforce things with that sword. You can use this instead."

The masked man carefully pulled a bundle of cloth from his arms and held it out in front of him. He unwrapped the cloth to reveal an ugly-looking dagger. It was a very unpleasant-looking dagger. When he drew it out, the blade was blackened, as if stained with something. It had a crude, ominous glow.

"What is this?"

"It's called the 'Shattered Soul Poison Sword' (碎魂毒匕), and as you can see, it's a poison sword."

"Do you think I'm asking because I don't know that?"

"No, that's……."

"Are you trying to tell me that my skills aren't good enough to take on the Black Panther?"

The masked man shook his head hastily.

"No, of course not, I'm just making sure things get done. That's my orders. You get it first."

"……."

Bai Xiaochun hesitated for a moment. It was a weapon forged with murderous intent and malice for the sole purpose of killing his opponent. It was a killing weapon that couldn't even be called a sword. He didn't dare to touch it.

"Take it, so your daughter can be safe."

"Don't you dare talk about my daughter!"

Bai Xiaochun shouted in an abstract voice, his terrifying momentum causing the little masked figure to hastily close his mouth. The words were so terrifying that they made him feel numb.

"……."

Bai Xiaochun was troubled. It seemed that if he accepted it, there would be no turning back. But if he didn't accept this ugly weapon, harm might come to his lovely daughter.

'It's simple to subdue that fat man right here and right now. Eleven men in ambush is nothing to be afraid of.

But it was unlikely that subduing Yi would be the end of the matter. The other party was quite willing, and he, Bai Xiaochun, knew what kind of human he was. He knew how to be careful, and he knew how to be careful. As long as that demon was watching, he had to be careful with everything he did.

"One thousand!"

The malice of his opponent was so clear to him that he felt a surge of uncontrollable anger. Part of him wanted to rush back to the palace and tear it to shreds, but his options were extremely limited at the moment.

'Well, I guess that's all we can expect from him now…….'

If he, Bi Ryuyeon, couldn't rescue her in time, he would have no choice but to continue to follow the instructions of that hateful creature.

"Okay, I'll take it."

Nie Baiqian roughly accepted the Xuehong Poison Pill.

"Now, please hand me that white sword."

Bai Xiaochun didn't like the idea of entrusting someone else with his lifeline, but he couldn't help but unsheathe the sword and hold it out in front of him. The masked man had been scolded earlier, so he politely accepted the sword.

"Don't worry. I'm not going to fuck you over."

Apparently, this fat guy was less likely to get in trouble.

"You still haven't gotten your shit together. Or are you wondering what a tuberosity is?"

Just as Nie Baiqian was about to use his hand again, the masked man waved it away.

"Just kidding, just kidding. I'll give it back to you when you're done and back here in Blacksburg."

Bai Xiaochun lowered his raised hand again. Unexpectedly, he was grabbed by the collateral.

"You'd better take care of it. One speck of dust, one fingerprint, and you'll be dead."

"Nothing, of course."

The masked man replied in an extremely polite manner.

"How long do I have to do this?"

"Until tomorrow."

It meant that I had no intention of cutting them any slack.

"Of course they're watching, right?"

"Even if you've made it into the Black Lagoon, we'll still be watching, so please don't let your guard down."

It may have sounded polite, but it was a clear threat. Bai Xiaochun was about to give the fat bastard a piece of his mind again, but he held back. Taking out his anger on that little bastard would do nothing to improve the situation. It was just a patrol in the form of a person. There's no point in taking out your frustrations on an unilaterally sent search party.

"What can I do by tomorrow?"

"Don't worry. We'll get you a room in the fourth floor."

I was told to stay here in Gwangsang-ro.

"I don't want to spend any time in such an ominous place, and I don't think I'll be comfortable. I'll find a place to sleep."

"No."

"You're trying to see if I'm in contact with someone else."

"Since you know, I feel comfortable telling you, please."

"I see."

Unless his daughter's safety was assured, he had no choice but to follow the orders of the last man.

After opening the door to the private chamber and seeing that there were no eyes watching, Nie Baiqian flopped down on the bed.

"Yerin……."

His daughter's name came out of his mouth in a ragged sigh. The man he had been a moment ago was nowhere to be found, and he was now just a father.

'And tomorrow…….'

He had to make a decision between his daughter on the scales, the duties of the warlord, and the dignity and life of one man and the stability of an entire empire.

"大義滅親(大義滅親)……."

In the last hundred years, those words have never felt as heavy as they do right now.

"Will I be able to die for the greater good, and not just watch my daughter, Rin'ah, die?

When that final moment comes, when the last of your time has burned up and you're left with nothing but ashes, what will you decide to do?

Even Bai Chen himself wasn't sure what he'd do when he came to that final stand; he didn't even know himself.

"I'm begging you, boy!

I haven't admitted it yet, and I'll never admit it, but now that my hands are tied, all I have left to look forward to is the performance of Bi Ryuyeon.

'That doesn't mean Nobu approved of it! Don't be mistaken, Cancer, you're in trouble!'

He couldn't give his daughter, who could be poked in the eye and not hurt, to someone like that. In fact, it was Nie Baiqian's will that he could not recognize any kind of opponent.

But for now, he had no choice but to believe in the 'strength' and 'guts' that had made him scratch his head as he dared to declare his intentions in front of the Lord of the Great Forest.

It was pretty ugly, to say the least.

There was no other number, there was no other number.

* * *

"Whoop! Kulk!"

Red blood stained the bluestone floor red. All that carefulness had been for naught?

"Ryuyeon, are you okay?"

Seeing Bi Ryuyeon's blood run cold, the contemplative Hyorong exclaimed.

Hey!

In an instant, twin swords drawn from two scabbards were at Rakvio's throat.

"You coward, how dare you poison him!"

Rather than beaming, however, Rakvio was dumbfounded.

"Nu, who poisoned me? I don't do cowardly things like that! Didn't you just see me eating the same thing as that sweet pill? See, I'm not like this, am I?"

He was vigorously defending his innocence, but Hyo-Ryong didn't see much credibility in it.

"I don't care if you ate the antidote beforehand!"

No, Hyorong was certain that it must be, or else there was no way that sturdy Bi Ryuyeon would have broken out in a cold sweat as soon as he swallowed the pill.

"Give me the antidote!"

Hyorong shouted, ready to slice Rakvio in two at a moment's notice. The instantaneous surge of qi stunned Rakvio.

"I thought he was going to be a one-hit wonder, but he's got this kind of momentum!

His entire body was radiating with an aura that could cut his body, which had been cultivated in the Diamond Bantan Technique, in two. A bone-chilling chill radiated from the two blades at his throat. A cold sweat began to form on his forehead.

"Am I being overwhelmed?

A hand gripped Hyo-ryong's shoulder, threatening to cut him down to size if he didn't come up with a solution right then and there.

"Stop it, Dragon."

It was none other than Bi Ryuyeon.

"Are you okay?"

Hyo-ryong's words made Bi Ryuyeon giggle.

"As you can see, it's not very good."

"Wait a minute. I'll get you to pay me twelve times the interest!"

He was going to swing the twin swords as hard as he could. I was going to cut off his arms first, and then we'd talk.

"You don't have to, Dragon."

She shook her head.

"No, why?"

"Because it's not poison."

He looked pale as if he was about to die, but he said it wasn't poison. Hyorong couldn't understand what Bi Ryuyeon was saying.

"Not poison?"

"Uh, it's just too good to be true."

"What? What's that……!"

Without answering that question,

"Take good care of me, Long Dragon, my life is expensive."

And then he sat down in the same position he had been sitting in the previous day. He had entered the fortune-telling world.

"Hey, hey, hey, dude, are you crazy, we're in the middle of enemy territory!"

But Bi Ryuyeon had already stopped listening. With her eyes closed, she had entered a state of no-mind. Truly, unbelievably, it had begun.

"Holy shit, I'm losing my mind!"

To be a flying saucer in the middle of enemy territory is not a sane thing to do.

When is a drone most defenseless? It's when it's flying. Even the strongest warrior is vulnerable when flying. Even though King Rakvio of the West Sea has conceded defeat, there's no telling when he'll turn around and order his men to make an all-out assault. Will he be able to stop the onslaught? Now it was up to Hyo-ryong to save her life.

Yikes!

Raising his right sword, Hyolong swung it once, and with a sweeping motion, a circle with a radius of two zhangs was drawn, centered on the spot where Bi Ryuyeon was sitting on the patriarchal throne. It was an incredibly delicate circle, as if it had been drawn with a tool.

"This golden line is the line of life and death. Anyone who crosses it will be……."

After a quick glance around, Hyo-Ryong spoke up, twin swords crackling with red sword energy.

"Killer!"

"Captain, here's your chance."

One of his men sneaked up and whispered in Rakvio's ear.

"Chance? What chance?"

"I don't know what the hell you're talking about," Rakvio replied.

"Of course it's an opportunity to attack."

"Attack? What attack?"

"I still don't know what you're talking about," Rakvio replied. At this point, the subordinate was even more puzzled. Shouldn't he just pretend to understand once he's spoken to, or does this captain really have muscles instead of brains? The teenager began to worry about the honor of his unit. If he was going to help this fool of a captain revive his unit, he needed a man with a brain like his own, a man who knew what was going on in the world.

"Oh, how frustrating. Isn't this your chance to beat the crap out of them? Just give me the order. I'll beat them to a bloody pulp in no time."

"Bloody?"

Rakvio asks.

"Yes, bloody well."

The subordinate, who looked at Rakvio with a "I'm really smart, right?" face, was momentarily in doubt.

Why does the captain's temple have such blue tendons bulging out of it, and why does he have such a chilling expression? But the answers to those questions came quickly.

"Stupid!"

Bam! Rakvio's fist slammed into the subordinate's face. The subordinate's face was turned into a bedbug's, and he was sent flying out of the three chapters in an instant.

"Do you think this body looks so cowardly? A fight is a fight! A defeat is a defeat! None of you move until I command you to!"