Chapter 642

Rustle.

A faint noise came from the distance, followed by a presence closing in fast. I whipped White Flame toward it.

The Beast Miao King immediately drew up his internal energy. The same thought must have crossed his mind.

The Wraith of Ailao Mountain.

But we were both wrong. I caught a glimpse of white beyond the dark grass and lowered my spearhead with a sigh.

“Muyaho?”

• Grrr!

Rustle, rustle!

White Tiger came running like the wind, gave a short, powerful cry, and bounded happily toward me… only to run straight past and flop onto its back at the Beast Miao King’s feet.

• Pant. Pant. Pant.

“Yes, yes. You managed to find your way here. What a clever little fellow.”

At this point, maybe we should call it a silver retriever instead of a white tiger. Granted, it was the size of ten retrievers put together.

If he’s back, then…

As if he’d read my mind, the Beast Miao King stroked White Tiger’s belly while it showed off for him.

“Where are the others?”

• Grrrr.

White Tiger rose with a contented growl, then suddenly let out a mighty roar. It rang through the darkness and Poison Mist. Before long, torches flickered in the distance.

There were dozens of them, perhaps as many as a hundred.

And at their head were familiar faces.

“Palace Lord.”

“Father! Are you all right?”

Baeksang and Yayul Mok approached with the Nanman Beast Palace warriors, their faces unusually grim. Behind them, the Fire Dragon Pavilion members came running toward me.

“Captaiiin!”

“Mujin, just in case this needs saying: if you throw yourself into my arms, you won’t die a pleasant death.”

“…Yes, sir.”

That stopped Hyuk Mujin before he could charge into me like the heroine of a tragic romance. I shrugged at the other members as they opened their mouths.

“The story’s long if I start from the beginning… Want to hear it here, or outside?”

I didn’t need to wait for an answer.

If we’d been in a cozy café with sentimental pop music playing, maybe. But no one wanted a long story in the gloomy Poisonblood Grounds, with Poison Mist drifting around us.

The System, meanwhile, hadn’t forgotten the Quest I’d briefly put out of my mind.

Ding.

System

• Quest: My Good Sir, Do Not Cross That Swamp has been successfully completed!
• Quest Reward will be granted!
• You have acquired a considerable amount of EXP and Fame!
• You have acquired 5 Top-Grade Poison-Warding Pearls!
• You have earned the very rare Achievement: How’d You Get Back?!
• You have acquired the rare Title: Poisonblood Grounds Pioneer!

That night, the darkness over Nanman seemed unusually deep and long. But everything has a beginning and an end.

Deep in the night, while everyone slept, a hundred elite warriors hurried to Ailao Mountain. They returned to the Nanman Beast Palace near dawn, and plenty of people saw them arrive.

“Did you hear? Something huge happened last night.”

“What happened?”

“Well, old man Mong, who lives near the West Gate of the Outer Palace, told me…”

“Gasp!”

“What? I haven’t even started.”

“He’s still alive? I was sure he died last year.”

“Ah, fuck.”

By morning, the gist of the rumor was spreading fast.

Something major had happened somewhere in Nanman the night before. Baeksang, Great Chieftain of the Bai people, and Young Palace Lord Yayul Mok had led a hundred elite warriors out of the Outer Palace. When they returned a few shichen¹ later, the Beast Miao King and Jin Taekyung were at the head of the party.

The Nanman Beast Palace did not normally intervene by force in disputes between tribes. For the Palace Lord himself to have gone out meant it was a serious incident.

But the rumor didn’t stop there.

“And the trouble was at Ailao Mountain, of all places.”

“Ailao Mountain? That Ailao Mountain?”

“Is there another Ailao Mountain in Nanman? Yao merchants from a village a hundred li² from the mountain told us at first light. They happened to see it while working late on their ledgers.”

To the people of Nanman, the name Five Poisons Sect was a burden they could never cast off. Their ancestors had fought the sect, and only after countless sacrifices had they established the order and laws they lived by today.

And yet, of all places, the incident had occurred in Ailao Mountain, the Five Poisons Sect’s former headquarters.

Ordinarily, it was a forbidden place they didn’t even want to mention. Trouble there was another matter.

“What the hell? Go on. Hurry!”

Through markets lined with stalls, back alleys, and busy inns, the story passed from mouth to ear and from one mouth to the next.

The chieftains gathered for that day’s Tribal Grand Council knew all about the commotion. They also knew the rumors circulating through the Outer and Inner Palaces were more accurate than anyone might have expected.

“The whole place is in an uproar. Everyone’s heard.”

“The bigger problem is that it isn’t just a rumor. Isn’t that right?”

They had gathered for the first time in a year, but there was no time to exchange pleasantries. Seated early in the Inner Palace’s vast main hall, the chieftains continued their discussion with grave expressions.

“You all received word in advance, so you know this is no ordinary matter. Nearly a hundred elite warriors have already died at Ailao Mountain because of creatures that should have stayed in the Poisonblood Grounds.”

“I heard Thousand-Year Spiders appeared. Frankly, I find that hard to believe. Five of them, no less.”

“Hard to believe, but true. Their corpses are still there. Enraged by the deaths of the warriors stationed at Ailao Mountain, the Palace Lord pursued the creatures into the Poisonblood Grounds and hunted them down.”

The middle-aged chieftain who had answered so readily added in a low voice, “That young Han Chinese man from the Murim Alliance was with him, too. Blazing Flame Divine Dragon Jin Taekyung.”

Every chieftain in the hall governed some part of Nanman, large or small. Naturally, they knew of the young outsider. Their reactions varied.

“Oh.”

“Hmm.”

“Ahem.”

One nodded with an exclamation of admiration. Another cleared his throat uneasily and stared at nothing.

But the mood had changed since a few days earlier. This time, no one called him a “damned Han Chinese bastard.”

Even the chieftains who normally disliked Han Chinese people knew Jin Taekyung had played no small part in resolving the incident.

“Without him, it might not have ended so quickly. The Palace Lord went after those creatures in haste. Perhaps he might even have been hurt—”

Bang!

A sudden boom drowned out the rest.

Some thirty pairs of eyes turned to one chieftain. He had looked displeased ever since Jin Taekyung’s name came up, and now he had slammed a hand on the stone table.

“I tried to hold my tongue, but I can’t listen to this anymore. Watch what you say, Chief Jang. The Palace Lord is far stronger than you think. The same goes for everyone in Nanman. We don’t need help from some weak Han Chinese bastard!”

The middle-aged chieftain frowned.

“What brave and prideful words. Truly moving. But didn’t you hear that weak Han Chinese bastard dealt with two Thousand-Year Spiders and thousands of venomous beasts in the Poisonblood Grounds? That he is a renowned warrior of the Central Plains who inherited the Fire King’s legacy?”

“Th-that…”

“And five years ago, who invaded our tribe’s territory even after the Palace Lord personally mediated the dispute? Wasn’t it you? Even if a venomous snake’s bitten your mouth, speak straight. Your loyalty isn’t to the Palace Lord. It’s to Great Chieftain Baeksang. All of Nanman knows you’re his loyal dog.”

“What? Loyal dog? You son of a bitch!”

“Son of a bitch? You piece of poisonous refuse left behind by the Five Poisons Sect—how dare you……”

Bang!

The two chieftains sprang to their feet, snarling as if they were about to draw their swords on each other.

Rumble…

The enormous stone gate swung open. Three figures stepped into the hall.

Step. Step.

Footsteps echoed through the sudden quiet. The man in front stopped, and his voice came cold as ice.

“Looks like I interrupted your conversation.”

“…!”

“…!”

“Don’t mind me. Carry on.”

No one said a word.

As if nothing had happened, the shouting that had filled the hall only moments ago vanished in an instant, replaced by a heavy silence that pressed down on everyone. At the same time, the expressions of the two opposing chieftains split between joy and sorrow.

“Welcome, Great Chieftain Baeksang.”

Baeksang glanced at the groveling loyal dog, then fixed his eyes on the middle-aged chieftain.

“That was an interesting conversation. I’d like to hear the rest.”

“…”

“You’ve grown quiet since I last saw you, Chief Jang.”

Chief Jang bit his lip and lowered his head.

“I greet Great Chieftain Baeksang.”

Yohi, Great Chieftain of the Yao people, stood to Baeksang’s right. She gave a quiet laugh.

“We must be invisible. Don’t you think, big brother Heugung?”

“Hm? Oh. Yes, that won’t do. Failing to show proper courtesy with our lovely Yohi right here? No, that won’t do.”

Heugung had been grinning foolishly at Yohi. He put on a stern face, but Baeksang’s chilly glance made his plump body shrink back.

“S-sorry, Uncle Baek. But did I do something wrong…?”

“Oh, what could you have done wrong? Our kind, handsome big brother Heugung hasn’t done anything wrong. Has he?”

“R-right. Yohi’s right.”

Baeksang watched them in silence, clicked his tongue, and resumed walking.

The table was large enough to seat several dozen people. It had one head seat, and the three seats nearest it belonged to the great chieftains, second only to the Palace Lord.

Scrape. Clack.

Twenty-eight chieftains had arrived before them. With the three great chieftains now seated, thirty-one places had found their owners.

Baeksang had seen this arrangement year after year. Yet something felt wrong.

“Two seats are empty.”

At first, no one understood what he meant. Then Yohi spoke with laughter in her voice, and the chieftains’ puzzlement gave way.

“You’re right. How strange. Why are two seats empty?”

Only thirty-two seats were ever prepared for the Tribal Grand Council. That had been true a hundred years ago, and it was true now. Anyone who was not a chieftain—even the Young Palace Lord—had to stand in attendance.

There should have been only one empty seat left.

Today, there were two.

“Why would…”

And just as a puzzled murmur escaped someone’s lips—

Rumble…

The enormous stone gate moved again. Two figures appeared beyond it at last.

The moment Baeksang saw them, his eyes darkened.