118 - Sichuan, China (9) - The Heaven-Slaying Sword

Regaining consciousness, Mok Riwon found himself at the entrance of a cave. He stared blankly at the cave for a moment before clenching his teeth and standing up. It was because he hadn't yet heard any refreshing answers. He needed to understand why he had to be born with such a cruel fate. Moved by a sudden impulse, he walked towards the cave. Thud! It was impossible. He could not enter any further from the entrance. It was as if there was an invisible wall blocking his way. Mok Riwon pounded on the entrance of the cave with an intensely agitated tone. And he shouted, "Look here! I have so much more I need to hear! Open up!" It was desperate. To those who knew Mok Riwon, his current state was unimaginable—he was visibly agitated. His shouts were filled with a sense of injustice, and his eyes were a mess from the tears he shed moments ago. "Open up, I say! Why are you doing this only to me? What is so significant about fate that it torments me so!!!" He wasn't just shouting; he was struggling. Kwaaaaang! His fist, filled with internal energy, pounded against the wall. Ripples formed on the invisible barrier, but that was all. The wall was solid, and there was nothing more Mok Riwon could do. Mok Riwon's body slid down. Sitting down and covering his face with his hands, he murmured, "Why…" He kept murmuring "why" endlessly. He thought he had found the place to answer the questions he had carried throughout his life, but having gained nothing, only emptiness filled him. Even as he was sinking into despair, time mercilessly passed, and the appointed time at 2 o'clock was approaching. Mok Riwon clenched his teeth. If he didn't go now, his team members would worry about him. It was crucial to achieve his goal and escape without causing any trouble. With a heavy heart, Mok Riwon stood up and walked towards Bidong. * In front of Bidong, a giant door stood where a rock that had blocked the members was gone. Dang Hwa-seo, standing there, saw Mok Riwon coming from a distance and brightened up. "Mok Riwon!" He was the last to arrive. Considering that the other members hadn't found the mechanism until then, it must have been Mok Riwon who found and activated it. Impressive, she thought. Running over to him with gratitude, Dang Hwa-seo then stopped abruptly. "Mok Riwon…?" His eyes were red, and his complexion was as pale as if his soul had left his body. Rather than wondering what had happened to make him look this way, Dang Hwa-seo was more concerned about his well-being. "What happened? Are you alright?" Dang Hwa-seo said, holding Mok Riwon's face. She looked him over, wiping his tear-streaked face, her expression full of worry and sadness. Mok Riwon, surprised by her concern, opened his eyes wide like a rabbit, then shook his head. "...Nothing happened. I was just extremely tired on my way here." Mok Riwon forced a smile. Dang Hwa-seo bit her lip and looked at him sharply. "Really? You're not hiding anything?" "Of course. Why would I have any reason to lie?" Mok Riwon said, and his lips trembled slightly. He then looked at the now open path and said, "It's open." "Yes, I opened it. Where was the mechanism?" "I'm not quite sure. Embarrassingly, I lost my way due to an attack by a spirit beast. Somehow, I found the mechanism in a place I stumbled upon by chance. I touched it, and after hearing a booming sound, I headed straight here." A spirit beast attack was the cause. Dang Hwa-seo was surprised that a martial artist of Mok Riwon's caliber had to flee from a spirit beast. But then, she dismissed the thought. "...Well, it's all that matters that you're safe." Regardless of what happened, this place was something they would never visit again. Now that she confirmed Mok Riwon was safe, they needed to focus on finishing their task and leaving. Dang Hwa-seo exhaled and looked at the members. "Let's go in now. Is anyone hurt?" The members shook their heads. Dang Hwa-seo led Mok Riwon to the door of Bidong and then took hold of the doorknob. That moment. "...Hm?" Dang Hwa-seo furrowed her brows. "What is it, sister?" "Just a moment." Dang Hwa-seo felt a tingling sensation in her hand and immediately cursed. "...It's poison." The doorknob was coated with poison. Not just any poison, but one that could kill a person upon skin contact. If she didn't have an immunity to poison, she would have collapsed from poisoning. Dang Hwa-seo pondered. "Is opening the door the end?" No, it couldn't be. Knowing the Dang family as she did, they were notoriously cunning, and it was obvious what would wait for them inside after opening the door. "The whole space must be soaked in poison." Dang Hwa-seo glanced at the members. "I can't take them with me." Entering a place booby-trapped with poison and hidden weapons with the members was the worst possible move. "...I think I must go in alone. Could you all please protect this area?" The members nodded in unison, as if they instantly understood Dang Hwa-seo's words. "Let's do that. Sister, please be careful." "Yes, please." Exhaling a 'whoosh', Dang Hwa-seo gripped the doorknob with more strength and pulled. * A long passageway leading endlessly downward. This was the first thing Dang Hwa-seo saw upon opening Bidong. 'Underground barracks.' As expected, the moment she entered, venom infiltrated her body. Dang Hwa-seo immediately locked the door behind her. It was an action taken for the members with weaker resistance to poison. Once fully inside Bidong, only silence remained. Fortunately, night pearls were embedded in the walls here and there, preventing the visibility from being hindered. Dang Hwa-seo let out a hollow laugh. The abundance of night pearls really brought home the wealth of the Dang family once again. 'This isn't the time.' Dang Hwa-seo moved further down. After traversing the lengthy corridor for some time, she arrived at a slightly wider space. And at the end of this space, there was an iron door. Locked, perhaps? Contemplating for a moment, Dang Hwa-seo placed her hand on the doorknob. 'Very toxic.' The poison here was even more potent than before. Dang Hwa-seo closed her eyes and began to breathe. Swoosh― She inhaled, drawing the poison into her. And with her exhalation, she expelled the impurities. ‘The purity is high.’ Perhaps this could be considered an unexpected gain. Simply continuing to breathe in this space was enhancing her inner strength. ‘Perfect for closed-door training.’ Of course, she would never come here again. Click! Pulling the doorknob, the latch unlocked, revealing the scene behind the door. Dang Hwa-seo swallowed a gasp. ‘This place is…’ What should she call it? If one were to find a fitting name, it would be this. “An Elixir Room?” Elixir Room. A space for researching and manufacturing spiritual medicines. That was the only way to describe it, as most of the not insignificant space was taken up by cabinets filled with various purified creature venoms. On one wall, numerous records were kept, and in the middle of the room, a desk was covered with tools, including needles. Dang Hwa-seo read the labels on the flasks. ‘…Venom from a two-headed viper.’ Next to it were the pills of a Scorpion-Tail Monkey, Black Frog's gastric juice, and the sting of a Horned Beetle. Dang Hwa-seo's expression darkened. These were all things Dang Hwa-seo knew too well. Indeed, she could not possibly be unaware of them. ‘Was this place used to study the Impenetrable Toxin Resistance?’ All these venoms were ones Dang Hwa-seo had been injected with in her childhood. They were synthesized in her body at certain ratios, causing various reactions. Dang Hwa-seo clenched her fists. -The poison of the Two-headed Venomous Monkey. We will mix it with 20% concentration of Human-faced Poison Ivy's venom. It might feel tingly, and like the inside of your veins are being scratched, but don't worry; it will fade by today. Dang Sa-Guk's voice brushed past, sending shivers down her spine. Dang Hwa-seo withdrew her gaze. She then looked at the bookshelf crammed with journals. Picking one that caught her eye, Dang Hwa-seo opened it. ‘This isn't a recent record.’ The author's name was Dang Cheon-Myeong, the 4th family head of the Dang family. The content was… horrifying. Dang Hwa-seo looked at the journal with disdain. ‘…Did he experiment on civilians?’ The 4th family head experimented with poison resistance on civilians. Recorded with a methodical hand were the various effects of different poisons, discovered through the sacrifice of innocent lives. After securing the journal, she opened another. It was the same story. She rummaged through the documents stored here and there on the bookshelf, but all were records of facts discovered through experiments on innocent victims. The last records were those of Dang Sa-Guk. He did not use civilians as test subjects. He simply recorded the experiments that had been conducted on him, based on the previous experiments. The last sentence of the journal provoked Dang Hwa-seo's emotions. "With this, the tragedy of the Dang family has come to an end." Creak― Dang Hwa-seo squeezed the book she was holding, her gaze turning blankly towards the ceiling. ‘What has come to an end?’ Is this all they have to say after centuries of atrocities? Is this all they can say after destroying the lives of so many? Ironically, finding the document that could incriminate the family head, Dang Hwa-seo was overwhelmed by a sense of guilt. She knew she had no reason to feel this way, yet the record of sacrifices made to complete this physique gnawed at her insides. She couldn’t shake off the thought that all these people had lost their lives because of her. Dang Hwa-seo closed her eyes. She tried to calm her tumultuous insides and maintain equanimity by practicing her internal martial arts standing. Swoosh― The dark green poison interacted with its surroundings, becoming an even darker shade. ‘I’m sorry.’ Feeling that an apology was necessary, as she lived thanks to these sacrifices, Dang Hwa-seo opened her eyes with a resolution in mind. ‘To ensure your deaths were not in vain, I will definitely hold the family head accountable.’ Dang Hwa-seo's fist gathered Qi. She swung it. Kwaaang―! She shattered the display cabinet. She had already secured the necessary documents. Dang Hwa-seo, convinced that this space should not exist in the world, began to destroy everything within it. Kwaaang! Kwaaang! Kwaaang! Explosions resonated along with vibrations. The dense dark green Qi dissolved all the unnecessary research journals and turned the wall full of poison bottles to dust. The poison released into the air assaulted Dang Hwa-seo, who then absorbed it and converted it back into energy. Kwaaaaang―! The elixir room was damaged beyond recognition, impossible to tell what it once was. Dang Hwa-seo left it behind as she exited Bidong. The moment she opened the door to leave, intending to head straight to the Dang family head's residence, “You’ve come out.” …waiting for her was Dang Un Kyung, accompanied by dozens of the Dang family's guards. Dang Hwa-seo’s eyes rolled. The members looked at her, not knowing what to do. Next to Dang Un Kyung, Sohyang was on her knees, bound with ropes. She quickly grasped the situation. ‘They were waiting for an opportunity from the start.’ It seemed they anticipated her entering the forbidden area. Dang Hwa-seo looked at Dang Un Kyung with cold eyes. He was pretending to be bold but was clearly terrified. This situation was not of his making. ‘The family head.’ A truly deplorable human being. Dang Hwa-seo exhaled deeply and moved her lips. “Get out of the way.” Her voice carried an energy as if it would explode at any moment. “I feel like tearing you apart right now, so if you want to live, move aside,” she said. Dang Un Kyung swallowed hard.