SSIDNC 135

Chapter 135

Thud. Thud.

Someone knocked on the old front gate.

A woman dressed in a white cotton robe stepped out of the manor and called out.

“Who is it?”

A low voice answered from beyond the gate.

“Namgung Huimyeong.”

“Oh.”

The woman hurried over and opened the gate. A young man in blue martial attire stood outside, bowing his head briefly in greeting.

He was tall, handsome, and healthy-looking—but his expression was so cold that it made him difficult to approach.

“We’ve been expecting you. Please, come inside.”

“Where is Brother Bang?”

“He’s regulating his inner energy. The Tang Clan Lord said he should regain consciousness soon.”

Namgung Huimyeong let out a short sigh and stepped inside.

The bitter yet calming scent of medicinal herbs filled the air.

The estate was old but clean and quiet. For a medical residence run by a renowned physician famous throughout Hubei and Hunan, it felt surprisingly modest. It also seemed that the woman who had greeted him was the only medical attendant present.

“…You’ve come, Young Master Namgung. Have you been well?”

Tang Maeryeong, the Tang Clan Lord of Sichuan, set down the book she had been reading and greeted him.

Namgung Huimyeong briefly glanced at Bang Woo, who sat cross-legged in the corner, drenched in cold sweat, before taking a seat across from her.

“Is it Hongyu again?”

“Yes.”

“How many times now?”

“The sixth. This will be the last.”

Namgung Huimyeong looked at Bang Woo once more.

His complexion was noticeably paler than the last time they had met. After consuming the extreme poison Hongyu six times, it was hardly surprising.

Clicking his tongue inwardly, he asked,

“Is it working?”

Tang Maeryeong swallowed, her eyes troubled.

“Honestly, it’s hard to say. On the bright side, he’s still alive, so one could argue there’s some effect. On the darker side, without an antidote, full detoxification is impossible—so nothing has really changed.”

For some time now, Bang Woo had been ingesting Hongyu and attempting self-detoxification by regulating his blood vessels with inner energy.

“If he tries a couple more times, do you think there’ll be progress?”

“Unlikely.”

Tang Maeryeong shook her head.

“There are only two cases where one develops resistance to poison. Either one is born with a constitution naturally resistant to toxins, or one learns a special inner cultivation technique capable of neutralizing poisons internally.”

“….”

“The former is called Heavenly Poison Immunity, an extremely rare trait. The latter does exist, but it’s extraordinarily difficult to master. I’m ashamed to admit it, but even the secret manuals of the Tang Clan struggle to neutralize Hongyu. …It would be best to stop here.”

No sooner had she finished speaking than Tang Maeryeong stood and moved to Bang Woo’s side.

His breathing had grown visibly labored.

She poured the prepared antidote into his mouth, and his violently rising chest gradually settled.

After a short while, Bang Woo opened his eyes.

The sharp gleam in his black pupils flashed briefly before he closed his eyes again, weighed down by worry. He wiped his body with a neatly folded cloth and put his clothes back on.

“When did you arrive?”

Namgung Huimyeong, resting his chin on his hand, answered lazily.

“Not long ago. How do you feel?”

“I’m fine. Don’t worry about me.”

“The Clan Lord says you have no chance of developing resistance to Hongyu, so you should stop this reckless behavior. We can’t delay any longer—please start preparing to leave.”

Namgung Huimyeong barely managed to suppress a sigh.

The Heavenly Demon Cult wasn’t rampaging through the martial world like the old days—yet who in their right mind would brutalize their own body with Hongyu just in case?

“You worry too much, Brother Bang. When would you ever get poisoned by Hongyu in the Heavenly Demon Cult?”

“You never know.”

His tired voice carried a stubborn resolve.

Bang Woo often seemed inflexible, but that was usually a matter of adaptability. Rarely was he this unyielding.

“Yes, fair enough. That’s why we’re bringing antidotes, right? Let’s rely on medicine for unforeseen circumstances. Locking yourself away to ‘train against poison’ won’t suddenly grant you Heavenly Poison Immunity.”

Of course, Namgung Huimyeong knew why Bang Woo treated Hongyu with such extreme seriousness.

Moon Sword, One Kill.

That person.

There was a long-standing enmity between Bang Woo and Moon Sword One Kill.

And he had even let her slip away—right before his eyes—while she was disguised as Namgung Soyo.

Given Bang Woo’s personality, it was inevitable he would push himself harder than ever.

After the incident at the Zhuge Clan…

Namgung Huimyeong’s world had completely changed.

When he regained consciousness, only he and Namgung Jeokmyeong remained at the estate.

His second brother had vanished without a trace. Moon Sword One Kill—who had shaken the clan while wearing Namgung Soyo’s face—had disappeared as well.

And when their father, Namgung Je, passed away after a long illness, Huimyeong began to wonder whether the heavens were deliberately covering his eyes, playing a cruel joke on him.

He was confused.

He could accept everything else.

But one thing—just one—remained impossible to believe.

That his only sister, Namgung Soyo, had been Moon Sword One Kill—one of the Three Calamities of the slaughter sect that had plunged the martial world into chaos…

Unconsciously, he clutched his shoulder. A throbbing pain spread to his fingertips, veins bulging red against the fabric.

The scene from that day—the pain, the voice—remained vivid even now.

The more he recalled it, the more the emotions he had suppressed began to boil over.

A burning sensation in his chest.

And a sense of betrayal he had never once felt in his life.

But what tormented Namgung Huimyeong even more was—

“…Hoo.”

He shook his head and slowly took a deep breath.

The moment the epithet Moon Sword One Kill surfaced, unnecessary thoughts surged in like they had been waiting.

He cut them off immediately.

Before the headache could return, he erased both Namgung Soyo and Moon Sword One Kill from his mind—no, from his world.

He had already thought about her enough.

Thinking more would change nothing. He knew that better than anyone.

I need to keep my head clear.

Especially with such an important matter ahead, he couldn’t afford distraction.

“Thank you sincerely for your help all this time, Clan Lord. I know it was no small favor.”

Tang Maeryeong waved her hand at Bang Woo’s gratitude.

“No need for thanks. I learned much as well. Are you heading all the way to Xinjiang?”

Namgung Huimyeong answered.

“We’ll stop to see my elder brother Jeokmyeong on the way. He said he has something important to tell us before we leave.”

“The Namgung Clan Head? Of course—sending a cherished brother that far must weigh heavily on his heart.”

As she saw Bang Woo and Namgung Huimyeong off, Tang Maeryeong offered solemn advice.

“Please be careful. Considering that the Heavenly Demon Cult directly approached the Martial Alliance, they likely won’t treat you lightly—but given who they are, anything could happen. Especially since the current Cult Leader is someone even the elders know little about. Be cautious. Very cautious.”

“Yes. We will. Then…”

As she watched the two sturdy figures disappear into the distance, Tang Maeryeong lowered her gaze to the empty medicine vial in her hand.

In truth, there was something she had debated telling them throughout Bang Woo’s training.

He wanted to build resistance to Hongyu—especially to counter Moon Sword One Kill…

But in reality—

The very success of creating this antidote was Moon Sword One Kill’s intention to begin with.

After Moon Sword One Kill vanished from the Zhuge Clan, an unidentified individual had periodically sent Hongyu antidotes to the Tang Clan.

Tang Maeryeong was certain of that person’s identity.

Across the entire martial world, there was only one who could have provided such a thing.

Namgung Soyo.

Without Moon Sword One Kill’s assistance, the antidote to Hongyu might never have been completed.

But telling them now would only cause harm.