After a brief moment of silence, he lifted his head and felt a faint wave of dizziness.
“Cough!”
Black blood spilled onto the ground. He suppressed the poison spreading through his body with great effort and stepped toward the dark cave.
A bone-chilling cold swept through, the kind that would make even a peak master flinch.
“It’s freezing…”
With his body already in poor condition, the relentless cold made him feel like he was on the verge of death.
He walked with difficulty, step by step, and before long he found Gu Wang Soo collapsed unconscious nearby.
“Ah, our Gwang Soo.”
His shoulder throbbed where this guy had stabbed him.
“What can I do? It’s my fault.”
Since what happened to him was entirely his own fault, he decided to let it go this time.
“Stay here for a bit.”
Leaving the unconscious man behind, he hurried his steps again. The deeper he ventured inside, the more unbearable the cold became. It was seeping through his clothes.
Click, click, click!
Even his teeth chattered by the time he reached the end.
There, something faintly white was lying on the ground.
As he got closer, he saw that it was a very small White Tiger, peacefully asleep.
“So… cute!”
It was small, indeed. Its appearance and size resembled that of a slightly grown kitten.
He carefully picked it up, and as soon as it felt the warmth of his embrace, the little creature purred contentedly and shifted in his arms before sinking into an even deeper sleep.
“Ah, so this is why people go on and on about pets.”
He suddenly felt like punching his past self, the one who had always scoffed at the idea of pets, thinking it was hard enough to take care of himself, let alone an animal that might freeze to death.
Baek Woo Jin, with a warmth in his gaze that no one had ever seen from him before, looked at the White Tiger nestled in his arms and made a vow.
“Even if I… no, even if Gwang Soo has to go hungry, I’ll make sure you get to eat everything you want.”
Just like that, Gu Wang Soo became second in line for meals.
The cold air that he had forgotten in his joy attacked his clothes again. Baek Woo Jin hurried toward the cave entrance while shivering.
He didn’t forget to pick up Gu Wang Soo along the way.
“Tch, this is getting dangerous.”
His condition had worsened to its limit with the cold now seeping into his bones.
It was hard to be certain whether he could make it back to the village with both the White Tiger and Gu Wang Soo in tow.
“My luck….”
Cough!
Another mouthful of black blood spilled from his mouth.
He struggled to keep walking and used all his remaining strength to suppress the poison within him. So he couldn’t use any martial arts techniques.
His vision was blurred. Unable to make out his surroundings, he used the feel of his feet on the ground as a guide and took slow but steady steps, one after the other.
“Ugh…!”
At that moment, the body of Gu Wang Soo who was slung over his left shoulder twitched.
“Uh, ugh…!”
As Gu Wang Soo awoke in an unfamiliar place and began to thrash around, Baek Woo Jin couldn’t hold on and ended up throwing him off before tumbling to the ground himself.
“Oof!”
Thankfully, the dirt softened the fall and the impact was less than expected. Gu Wang Soo quickly scrambled to his feet and assumed a battle stance.
“Wh-Who are you?!”
“It’s me, you idiot.”
It was a familiar voice. Only then did Gu Wang Soo recognize the face of the man lying nearby.
“Baek Woo Jin…?”
At a glance, his condition was dire. Blood was streaming from his shoulder, and traces of the blood he had coughed up still lingered on his lips.
“Wh-What on earth is this…?”
Baek Woo Jin struggled to raise his arm and motioned for Gu Wang Soo to come closer.
Hesitantly, Gu Wang Soo approached.
“Gwang Soo-ah.”
“Y-Yes?”
“From now on, you’re holding my life in your hands. If we reach the village quickly, you’ll save me. If not…”
Thud!
Before he could finish, Baek Woo Jin lost consciousness and collapsed.
“W-Woo Jin-ah!”
Panicking, Gu Wang Soo quickly hoisted Baek Woo Jin onto his back. Then he took off at full speed.
His life… depends on me!
Baek Woo Jin was the last lifeline he had.
I can’t let him die like this!
With nothing but the determination to keep from losing even the smallest ray of light in the gloomy sky, Gu Wang Soo sprinted down the mountain with superhuman speed.
“Huff, huff…!”
His internal energy was draining rapidly.
“The village, where is the village…?!”
Then he suddenly realized the village was hidden by a barrier formation and could not be seen.
“Damn it!”
Because he had played the role of the patient, he hadn’t bothered to learn anything about the area near the village.
“Damn, damn it!”
Damn it!
His shout echoed through the mountains.
Gu Wang Soo pressed on with a look of desperation on his face and forced himself to move. He couldn’t give up now. Determined to search until his strength gave out, he pushed himself forward.
“Huff, huff…!”
Just as he was struggling to catch his breath, running and running again…
“Gu Wang Soo!”
Through his blurry vision which was clouded by sweat, he saw a familiar woman running toward him.
He paused briefly and wiped the sweat from his eyes with his sleeve.
The one approaching was Shin Ye Hwa.
“M-Miss Shin!”
“What on earth happened…!”
She was about to scold him but fell silent the moment she saw Baek Woo Jin on his back.
“H-Hurry and lead me to the village! Baek Woo Jin is dying! He said his life depends on me!”
“Ah, ah, y-yes.”
At his desperate cries, she struggled to hold on to her slipping sanity and led him toward the village.
As they passed through the barrier formation, they spotted Jegal Yeon Ji and Tang Seon Yeong pacing nearby.
“Miss Dang! Miss Jegal!”
They were the only ones here with any medical knowledge. Tears welled up in her eyes at the thought that they might be able to assess and treat Baek Woo Jin’s condition.
“Please, look at Woo Jin, please! Ugh, ugh!”
She started sobbing like a child and showed them Baek Woo Jin who was still slung over Gu Wang Soo’s back.
“This, this is…”
“Y-Young Master Baek…!”
Both of them looked utterly shocked, but Gu Wang Soo rebuked them.
“This is no time to be surprised! Hurry, check his condition now!”
His desperate plea snapped the two out of their shock.
Tang Seon Yeong was the first to regain her composure.
“First, let’s get him inside and lay him down quickly.”
“Y-Yes, understood.”
Gu Wang-soo wiped away the tears streaming down his face and dashed ahead to lead the way.
Tang Seon Yeong grabbed the still-dazed Jegal Yeon Ji by the shoulders and shook her.
“Get a hold of yourself and follow quickly.”
“Ah, I understand.”
With Jegal Yeon Ji barely regaining her composure, they headed toward the house where Gu Wang Soo had entered ahead of them.
Inside, Baek Woo Jin lay unconscious in front of Gu Wang Soo who was kneeling and shedding silent tears.
“First, let’s assess his exact condition.”
“Yes…!”
While Jegal Yeon Ji checked Baek Woo Jin’s pulse, Tang Seon Yeong began inspecting his body.
She noticed something strange; it was a bulge beneath his clothes. When she touched it, the texture felt soft and unusual.
What is this?
She carefully removed his clothes to check and saw what appeared to be a small version of the huge white tiger they had seen earlier The small tiger was sleeping peacefully and making contented sounds.
“It must be… a cub.”
There was no way the huge tiger had shrunk this much, so it had to be its offspring.
“Young hero Gu, please watch over this for a moment.”
“Ah, yes, yes.”
She tossed the small tiger to Gu Wang Soo who had been making a constant racket with his sobbing This way, she cleared other distractions at once so they wouldn’t interfere with her treatment.
Then she inspected Baek Woo Jin’s body with a now calmer gaze.
Black blood at the corner of his mouth… could it be?
She wiped away the dried blood from his lips and put it into her mouth. The metallic taste of blood was immediately followed by a sharp, poisonous sensation spreading through her mouth.
“You idiot…!”
She had warned him to be careful, but he had clearly ingested the poison of the Golden Thread Snake.
Tang Seon Yeong reached into her inner pocket, pulled out an antidote, and carefully poured it into Baek Woo Jin’s mouth.
This won’t be enough.
The antidote she had given him wasn’t specifically for the Golden Thread Snake poison. It was just a general remedy meant to neutralize lesser poisons.
“Miss Jegal, how is his condition?”
“Ah, it’s not good. His vital energy is completely twisted, and his internal injuries are severe… On top of that, his external wounds are serious. I don’t even know where to begin…!”
When Jegal Yeon Ji started to panic again, Tang Seon Yeong didn’t hesitate to slap her across the face.
Smack!
“If you show that kind of behavior one more time, I’ll tell Baek Woo Jin everything later. That you’re not fit to be a strategist.”
Jegal Yeon Ji bit her lower lip hard enough to draw blood at those harsh words.
Why am I always like this…!
It had always been like that. Even over the smallest matters, she would stammer and her hands would tremble.
Even though the man who filled her heart was dying before her eyes, all she could do was stammer helplessly like an idiot.
She asked herself,
Are you going to let young master Baek die?
No. She didn’t want that. She didn’t want to lose him.
That single thought was enough to calm her racing heart. At the same time, the trembling in her hands also stopped.
“We need to treat the internal injuries first.”
When she spoke clearly, Tang Seon Yeong smiled faintly and looked away.
“We need to neutralize the poison first. Unless we deal with the Golden Thread Snake poison, there’s no hope of treating the internal injuries.”
“Why would young master Baek be poisoned by something like the Golden Thread Snake…?”
“I gave it to him.”
Jegal Yeon Ji glared at Tang Seon Yeong with a fierce look. But she soon averted her gaze. Even with a little thought, she knew it hadn’t been Tang’s choice to give it to him.
“Can you make an antidote?”
“It’s difficult.”
“Then…”
“I’ll extract the poison directly from Baek Woo Jin’s body.”
After finishing her words, Tang Seon Yeong forcibly lifted Baek Woo Jin’s upper body.
“Hold him for a moment.”
“Alright.”
While Jegal Yeon Ji held his upper body steady, Tang Seon Yeong placed her hand on his Life Gate point and began to circulate her energy.
As her energy infiltrated Baek Woo Jin’s body, she discovered the concentrated poison that had gathered in one spot. She could also feel the traces of a fierce battle, a battle he had fought desperately to suppress the poison until the moment he lost consciousness.
It must have been incredibly painful.
For someone who never trained in poison arts, simply harboring poison within their body would cause unbearable suffering.
Let alone the fact that this was the deadliest of poisons, the Golden Thread Snake poison. He must have felt a pain that could only be compared to the agony of a torn heart.
Thank goodness.
Baek Woo Jin’s condition hadn’t deteriorated to the worst she had imagined. She didn’t know what had happened, but the poison, which had gathered in one spot, was less than half the amount she had given him.
If it’s just this much…
She wrapped her energy around the concentrated poison and, in one swift motion, extracted it through Baek Woo Jin’s Life Gate point and absorbed it into her own body.
Of course, those who had mastered poison arts naturally developed resistance to poison. However, that didn’t mean they were immune to every poison.
It wasn’t just any ordinary poison, but the poison of the Golden Thread Snake. Unless one has reached a considerable level of mastery in poison arts, they shouldn’t even think of absorbing it into their body.
“Ugh!”
A searing pain, as if fire was burning near her dantian, surged through her.
The poison of the Golden Thread Snake that was now inside her began recklessly attacking its surroundings.
To think it would be this bad…!
Since the amount was small, she had thought she could absorb it. But the poison’s effect was fiercer than she had expected.
Tang Seon Yeong gritted her teeth. Her pride was hurt that the poison arts she had trained in all her life were struggling against such a small amount of the Golden Thread Snake poison.
Submit to me!
The energy that had been released from her dantian all at once wrapped tightly around the poison.
The poison, buried under the overwhelming density of her energy, thrashed about for a moment, but soon it calmed down and slowly began to merge with her energy.
Good!
At last, she succeeded in subduing the Golden Thread Snake poison. Her eyes shone with a deeper intensity as she opened them.
“Now, it’s time to heal the internal wounds.”
“Yes…!”
With the largest hurdle now behind them, Baek Woo Jin’s treatment proceeded much more smoothly.
Leave a Reply