The valley was narrow and dark. Trees too old for me to guess their age grew thick enough to block the moonlight, and strange plants and creatures I had never seen before filled the space around me.
Some of them were aggressive, too.
Hiss!
I was moving with my movement technique when I reached out. Something shot from the grass like lightning and writhed in my grip.
Chrit. Chrit!
What is this? A snake?
A closer look told me I was half right.
It was a snake, but no ordinary one. Horns grew from either side of its triangular head.
Wait. Haven’t I seen this somewhere before?
I stared at it and muttered, “Mimi… No, a Thousand-Year Poison Horned Snake?”
Chrit.
Why was one here? Wasn’t the Thousand-Year Poison Horned Snake supposed to be rare even across the whole world?
Now that I look again, it does seem a little different.
Maybe it was because this place was basically China. Knockoffs everywhere.
Compared to Mimi, its body was larger, but its sheen and horns were less impressive.
I stared at the snake in disbelief, then threw it into the distance and picked up speed. Whether it was a Thousand-Year Poison Horned Snake or not, I had been right about one thing: this valley was not safe.
Is it a trap after all?
I had spent a little time before entering, and the Black Tiger and the Beast Miao King were already far ahead. At least the Beast Miao King had left tracks here and there. The Black Tiger had left none, as though it really were a wraith.
Swish, swish, swish!
After running for about half a gak1, I spotted a vast swamp drawing closer in the distance. A familiar figure stood at its center.
“Great Hero Yayul! Stop! Stop charging in headfirst!”
“…I’ve already stopped.”
He had. The Beast Miao King still looked furious, but he stood perfectly still amid the bodies of venomous beasts and ferocious animals.
“What happened here?”
“They came at me from every direction like mad things. I lost sight of it because of them.”
Humans and beasts alike knew better than to attack someone stronger without good reason. If anything, beasts were more cautious because their instincts were sharper.
Yet these creatures had blocked the Beast Miao King’s path.
“Were they doing it for the Black Tiger?”
“I don’t know. But whatever their reason, it isn’t strange. This land has always been like this. It was probably the same a hundred years ago. Two hundred, too.”
That was an odd answer. He sounded as though he had known about this place all along.
When I gave him a questioning look, he continued, his expression hard.
“In the past, unlike the other tribes, the Five Poisons Sect focused on raising venomous beasts rather than ferocious animals.”
Poison was scorned everywhere, but it was an efficient weapon. Especially for the Five Poisons Sect. They had made enemies of everyone else in Nanman and faced opponents who outnumbered them dozens of times over.
“The place they created was called the Poisonblood Grounds. The most savage and vicious beasts and venomous creatures in all Nanman—perhaps in the entire world—ran rampant there. It was the deadliest and most secret legacy the Five Poisons Sect left behind.”
“Are you saying this is…”
The Beast Miao King nodded.
“The Poisonblood Grounds.”
“Huh. No wonder there wasn’t a path. But it doesn’t seem as dangerous as you made it sound. I can still breathe.”
Granted, I had met a knockoff Thousand-Year Poison Horned Snake on the way, and poisonous air seeped into me like carbonation with every breath. So far, though, I was doing all right.
Then the Beast Miao King spoke again.
“Of course. We’re on the outskirts of the Poisonblood Grounds. This is only the entrance.”
“The entrance?”
“According to the records, a little over a hundred years ago, each tribe in Nanman selected only its finest warriors to enter the Poisonblood Grounds. They carried hundreds of jars filled with lamp oil and held poison-warding pearls in their mouths. What do you think happened?”
“I’m guessing they didn’t all come home safely and live happily ever after.”
“Not one returned. The whole undertaking came to nothing. It is the chief reason Ailao Mountain remains forbidden to this day.”
I followed his pointing finger to a huge swamp that stretched for hundreds of zhang.2 Mist hung over it.
“By the way,” I asked cautiously, “is the fog around here usually green?”
“Of course not. Fog is usually white.”
“That fog is green.”
“Ah. That is because it’s Poison Mist.”
“……”
He said it as casually as a mother announcing that dinner was soybean-paste stew. I took a moment to collect myself.
“…Where exactly have you brought me?”
“The Poisonblood Grounds.”
“…”
For fuck’s sake. He calls that an answer?
The Beast Miao King smacked his lips at my stare.
“I didn’t know until we came in. Even the records didn’t give the Poisonblood Grounds’ exact location.”
This was a goddamn mess. Wondering whether White Tiger could lead the others this far, I asked, “Then what’s deeper inside?”
“How would I know? Everyone died.”
“That’s incredibly reassuring.”
“Baeksang’s grandfather died there, too. He was Palace Lord of the Nanman Beast Palace at the time. I’ve heard he was the strongest warrior in the history of the Bai people.”
The Palace Lord’s position did not pass down through a single family. Yayul Mok was only the nominal Young Palace Lord. If the position became vacant, the Tribal Grand Council would convene, and one of the great chieftains of the four most powerful tribes would be elected Palace Lord.
“Stronger than you, Great Hero Yayul?”
“I cannot say. The measure of strength changes with the times. But had he lived in my era, I would not be surprised if we had a Beast Bai King instead of a Beast Miao King.”
For the Beast Miao King to speak of him like that, Baeksang’s grandfather must have been at least a Supreme Peak master by Central Plains standards—someone who had opened the Middle Dantian, or gone beyond it.
And a master like that died in the Poisonblood Grounds alongside Nanman’s finest warriors.
And the even bigger problem is that I have to go in there now.
Still…
“We’ve come this far. We can’t turn back now. Let’s go.”
The Beast Miao King looked surprised by how calmly I said it.
“That is unexpected. I thought you would suggest turning back.”
“Someone once said that if a man draws his sword, he should cut through even the Poisonblood Grounds.”
“…Who said that?”
“I did.”
He gave me a dubious look, then grinned.
“Elder Jeok raised his Disciple well.”
“Well, technically, there was a lot of violence and oppression involved… But why get into every little detail? You won’t listen to me no matter what I say, Great Hero Yayul.”
“Did that even need saying?”
Crack.
Bones ground in his tightly clenched fist. His voice turned cold.
“I am the great chieftain of the Miao people, but I am also Palace Lord of the Nanman Beast Palace. I must make someone pay for their blood.”
Perhaps that was why he had become Palace Lord.
I was looking at him in a new light when he spoke again.
“Thank you. For helping me.”
“What else could I do? People died. I couldn’t leave you here alone and go back.”
“Even if Dark Heaven isn’t in there?”
“I’m not that much of a coward.”
A faint smile touched his lips.
“I hear the Central Plains calls men like you chivalrous heroes.”
“People who dislike me usually call me a fucking bastard. I get called a lunatic a lot, too.”
It was true, so I wasn’t offended. Besides, most of the people who had called me those things had died by my hand. People really ought to watch what they say.
A chivalrous hero.
I still didn’t know if I was one. I had done one thing, then another, and somehow ended up here with people calling me that.
A chivalrous hero in the Central Plains. A hero in the modern world. What did it matter? Whatever anyone called me, I had always done what I wanted. Dark Heaven just happened to be something I particularly couldn’t stand.
Fine. Let’s take on whatever’s in there.
Alone, I might have had reason to worry. With the Beast Miao King beside me, we had a chance even if the Southern Heaven Demon Empress was waiting inside.
Step.
I had just finished my thoughts and followed the Beast Miao King into the swamp shrouded in deep green poisonous mist when—
Ding. Ding. Ding.
System
Quest condition: Investigate Ailao Mountain Within the Time Limit has been completed!
Unexpected Quest: Unknown Omen has been successfully completed!
Quest completion rewards have been granted!
A small amount of EXP and Fame has been acquired!
High-Grade Antidote ×20 acquired!
The System notifications came without warning. And they did not stop there.
Ding.
System
You have entered the hidden location Poisonblood Grounds!
Poisonblood Grounds is the most secret location created by the former Five Poisons Sect. Here, they raised countless venomous beasts and produced deadly poisons that could not be cured.
You have achieved the extremely rare Achievement How’d You Find This?
You have acquired a High-Grade Poison-Warding Pearl as an Achievement reward!
A Chain Quest has been created!
Would you like to accept the Quest My Good Sir, Do Not Cross That Swamp?
System
You have entered the hidden location Poisonblood Grounds!
Poisonblood Grounds is the most secret location created by the former Five Poisons Sect. Here, they raised countless venomous beasts and produced deadly poisons that could not be cured.
You have achieved the extremely rare Achievement How’d You Find This?
You have acquired a High-Grade Poison-Warding Pearl as an Achievement reward!
A Chain Quest has been created!
Would you like to accept the Quest My Good Sir, Do Not Cross That Swamp?3
“…”
For fuck’s sake. Look at that quest title.
The longer I stared at the holographic window, the less I wanted to answer. In the end, I nodded.
System
- Quest My Good Sir, Do Not Cross That Swamp has been accepted!
System
- Quest My Good Sir, Do Not Cross That Swamp3 has been accepted!
Then I instinctively sighed in the deep green Poison Mist, and realized—
Beep.
System
- The penalty effect of Poison Mist has activated!
“…!”
Something had gone seriously wrong.
Beep! Beep! Beep-beep-beep!
System
Poison permeating the air is entering your body through your respiratory tract and skin!
Due to your traits, Myriad-Poison Immunity and Scorching Yang Qi, the penalty from Poisoned has been reduced!
You have been afflicted with the Mildly Poisoned status abnormality!
All stats have decreased by 10!
If Mildly Poisoned persists for a certain length of time, the penalty effect will increase and may even result in death!
“…”
One sigh was enough to poison me?
If the poison entered through my skin, holding my breath wouldn’t help, either.
What the fuck kind of bullshit is this?
It was absurd, but I held back. As it happened, I had just the thing for a situation like this.
Open Inventory. Summon.
I took out a ring set with a black jewel that gleamed in the light. It was the Myriad-Poison Ring, a divine artifact of the Sichuan Tang Clan. As soon as I slipped it onto my finger, a System notification told me the status abnormality had been removed. The heaviness that had briefly settled over my body lifted.
Just as I thought.
I smiled contentedly and stroked the Myriad-Poison Ring. Then I noticed someone silently glaring at me and flinched.
“Oh. You startled me. What is it?”
“…Hngh. Poison. Hngh. Don’t talk to me. Hngh.”
Oh, right. He was here too.
I gave the Beast Miao King a flat, chilled stare and tossed him the High-Grade Poison-Warding Pearl I had received as the Achievement completion reward.
Footnotes
-
A gak is a traditional time interval of about fifteen minutes; half a gak is about seven and a half minutes. ↩
-
A zhang is a traditional length of ten chi, approximately 3.03 m (9.94 ft) using the chapter’s traditional length scale. ↩
-
The Quest title echoes My Love, Don’t Cross That River, the English title of a Korean documentary. ↩ ↩2
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