Hwa Yeonmok Sword (2)
'What the hell is this guy…'
It wasn't just that he was being choked—his spine was tingling with dread.
The wide smile stretching across Mok Kyung-un's face was unsettling, but it was his eyes that truly sent shivers down Go Chan's back.
Only now did he begin to understand why the senior, Gam Ho-wee, had said what he did:
[He's not someone you can easily control.]
At the time, he thought it was just talk.
But after experiencing it firsthand, this man was clearly not like ordinary people.
He hadn't even trained in martial arts, yet possessed overwhelming strength—and that ominous, crushing aura in his gaze was grinding Go Chan's resolve into pulp.
–Crack!
"Guhhhh…"
The grip around his neck tightened.
He tried to hold on with internal energy, but he couldn't last much longer.
His eyes burned—it felt like he'd lose consciousness any second.
Then—
–Slide!
The hand around his neck loosened.
"Cough, cough!"
His airway cleared, and he burst into a fit of coughing, like someone choking after being submerged underwater.
Even in that moment, a question formed in his mind:
'Why…?'
Mok Kyung-un, who had been grinning from ear to ear with delight, had now dropped his smile.
Then, almost regretfully, he said:
"I almost killed you there."
"Cough, cough… What?"
"If I killed you like that, what's the point of becoming Mok Kyung-un?"
Go Chan's eyes trembled at those words.
He felt like he was being toyed with.
Just who is this guy?
Fury surged in Go Chan as he opened his mouth, lips trembling.
"…So, what? You think you can handle the consequences of doing this?"
"Consequences?"
"Without the antidote, you'll die. And not just die—die painfully."
Go Chan was referring to the poison Mok Kyung-un had ingested.
He assumed this imposter must know about it too—and that's why he'd stopped before going too far.
But it was already too late.
Go Chan had seen this guy's disturbing side firsthand.
Just as the senior said, he was someone who could never be controlled.
He didn't know what would happen in five days, but if this man switched sides, he had to be killed—one way or another.
'If I leave him alone, I'll get stabbed in the back for sure.'
Still, for now, the one holding the knife was this guy. Go Chan had to make him realize his position.
He spoke in a low voice:
"If Gam Ho-wee finds out, he won't let you off."
"Probably not, right?"
"…But let's just say this was an impulsive outburst."
"What do you mean?"
"I'll consider this as you acting out from being cooped up. So get back in your room. Now."
"You want me to go back?"
"Yeah. If you walk back in on your own, I'll pretend none of this happened."
Mok Kyung-un smiled gently and said:
"If that were enough for me, I wouldn't have bothered coming out in the first place."
Go Chan frowned.
Did this guy really not understand the situation?
He took the poison voluntarily, knowing it could kill him—so why was he acting like he was in charge?
"If the senior—no, if Gam Ho-wee finds out—"
"Yeah, yeah. He won't just let it slide, right?"
"But if you keep pushing like this—"
"If you just keep your mouth shut, then there's no problem, right? Simple."
"…What?"
Mok Kyung-un's shameless tone left Go Chan speechless.
Just like the senior said—this guy was truly uncontrollable.
Go Chan forced down his anger and said:
"If you don't take the neutralizer or antidote by the hour of the Dog, your life is over. Are you really this careless—"
But before he could finish—
"Padu, gaedang-gwi, boksoocho, banha…"
'!?'
Go Chan's expression hardened in an instant at the names flowing from Mok Kyung-un's mouth.
They were all herbs—no, poisonous herbs. Ingredients used in the dokdan (poison pill).
"Jarikong, mudang mushrooms, hoehyangcho… That about covers it?"
'…No way.'
Go Chan was stunned.
You'd expect someone to get at least one wrong—but he listed every ingredient exactly.
The shock wasn't just that he got them right.
The dokdan wasn't something you could identify by taste alone. It required boiling, drying, and combining several poisons into a pellet—there was no way to discern its ingredients just by sampling it.
"W-Who… what the hell are you?"
Even Jowakgyeong, the Emperor of Ten Thousand Poisons (Mandokje), or Munno the Medicine Immortal—could they even manage something like this?
'Wasn't he supposed to be just an ordinary death row inmate?'
At this point, Go Chan was seriously starting to wonder what this guy's true identity was.
As he was still stunned, Mok Kyung-un spoke.
"I've been eating herbs and poisons alike since I was a kid. Boiled them, dried them, chewed them—everything."
"What? You ate poisonous herbs?"
"They say an herbalist should know the effects firsthand, after all."
'…Well, that's not entirely the reason, but...'
He knew there were other reasons too, but they didn't matter now.
What mattered was that Mok Kyung-un had an almost preternatural sensitivity to herbs.
No—if he had ever even tasted or smelled something, he remembered it.
Even his own grandfather had been floored by this.
"An herbalist, you say?"
"Didn't know? I used to live harvesting herbs."
"That's ridiculous! How could some lowly herbalist identify all the ingredients in dokdan just by taste?"
It was simply impossible.
"Judging by how flustered you are… I guess I was right, huh?"
Mok Kyung-un stepped closer to the stunned Go Chan.
Startled by the sudden decrease in distance, Go Chan instinctively took a step back.
He quickly spoke, voice slightly strained:
"E-even if you knew the ingredients, what do you think you could do about it? Making an antidote is far more difficult than the poison pill itself."
He began channeling internal energy into his Yongcheon point, ready to use lightfoot techniques and retreat if needed.
This guy was completely unpredictable.
He had no idea what Mok Kyung-un would try next, so he had to stay ready.
'Even if he's stronger than the average person, he hasn't trained in martial arts. If I use body techniques, there's no way he can keep up.'
As long as he didn't let it turn into a direct confrontation, he should be fine.
But then—
–CRACK!
As Mok Kyung-un stepped forward, the wooden floor splintered beneath his foot.
It was a monstrous display of leg strength.
'Shit!'
Like a tiger charging in, Mok Kyung-un suddenly surged forward.
Go Chan leapt back, but it was no use.
Mok Kyung-un's speed was too fast to gain distance.
–Flash!
Mok Kyung-un's hand shot out.
Go Chan assumed he was aiming for the neck or head and crossed his arms to block.
But—
–Papapapapak!
"Guhh!"
Mok Kyung-un's fingers struck points across Go Chan's chest.
His eyes widened in shock.
He knew this guy had no martial arts training.
There was no sign of internal energy cultivation either—he had confirmed it himself.
But the points Mok Kyung-un struck were precisely paralyzing pressure points—the ma-hyeol that stiffen the body, and the ah-hyeol that rob you of speech.
'Was that a lie all along?'
It was a perfect strike.
If the points were truly activated, he shouldn't be able to move or speak at all.
And yet—though his chest throbbed and his body felt stiff—he could still move.
"What the...?"
As confusion spread across his face, Mok Kyung-un tilted his head and muttered:
"Was that not it?"
"What?"
"I tried copying what Gam Ho-wee did before, but I guess it didn't work. I thought that if I hit like this, the body would freeze up and the person couldn't talk."
'!?'
Mok Kyung-un said it so casually, like it was nothing.
Go Chan was past being shocked—he was dumbfounded.
If this was true, then he had simply mimicked what was done to him.
'He just copied what he saw?'
If he hadn't known better, he would've thought Mok Kyung-un had been formally trained.
He might have even believed it had taken dozens of repetitions to pull off.
The strikes had been that precise.
'Just what is this guy?'
If Mok Kyung-un had internal energy, the points would've been activated for real.
As it was, his brute-force strikes only caused temporary stiffness.
Go Chan was still trying to process what had just happened when—
–Grab!
"Guhk!"
In a moment of distraction, Mok Kyung-un gripped his throat.
Since they were both standing, Go Chan tried to kick him in the groin—
–Crunch!
His neck twisted slightly.
Just a bit more pressure and it would snap completely.
Now that his life was genuinely in danger, Go Chan couldn't move a muscle.
"…S-stop. Don't you want the antidote—"
"Oh, that? It's still a secret from Gam Ho-wee, but… actually, I don't need it."
"What?"
What the hell is he talking about?
He didn't need an antidote?
Go Chan stared in disbelief as Mok Kyung-un smiled and spoke.
"I've eaten so many kinds of poisonous herbs since I was a kid, I built up a tolerance."
"T-tolerance?"
"Yeah, it still burns going down when I eat them, but compared to that weak blend that Guard Gam gave me? Didn't even feel it."
'A weak blend?'
Go Chan was dumbfounded.
He was referring to dokdan, a poison pill still in use by the Association (Hwe).
It was so potent that even first-rate internal energy masters, if poisoned, needed at least two weeks of focused meditation and breath control to maybe detoxify.
And this guy was calling it weak?
'What is he...?'
If anyone else had said it, he'd have dismissed it as nonsense.
But something about Mok Kyung-un's presence, his strange consistency—it made it hard to doubt him.
Just then, Mok Kyung-un did something bizarre.
**–Crunch! **
He suddenly bit his own index finger.
Go Chan stared, unable to comprehend why—until Mok Kyung-un brought the bleeding finger to Go Chan's mouth.
"W-what are you—mmpf!"
He couldn't stop it.
Mok Kyung-un shoved his bleeding finger into Go Chan's mouth.
Blood dripped onto his tongue and slid down his throat.
Go Chan tried not to swallow, but with Mok Kyung-un still gripping his throat, he had no choice.
And then—moments later—
"Gah!"
A burning heat ignited in his chest.
A searing pain began to spread through his body like wildfire.
Even after Mok Kyung-un let go of his neck, the pain was so overwhelming it felt like his organs were being twisted apart.
"Ggggghhhh!"
'P-Poison?'
There was no doubt about it—this was poison.
There was no other explanation for this kind of agony.
Go Chan hurried to gather his internal energy to circulate and expel the toxin—but just as he started to sit in meditation, Mok Kyung-un kicked him.
"Urgh!"
Go Chan tumbled across the floor, writhing.
As he groaned in pain, Mok Kyung-un crouched beside him and said:
"There are a few things Grandpa told me never to do. One of them… is this. I built up a tolerance to poisons, yeah, but apparently, my blood has also become toxic."
"W-what?"
"One time, our dog licked a cut on my finger, and it had a seizure. Vomited blood everywhere—it was awful."
"Y-you…"
The pain was too intense. He couldn't even speak properly anymore.
But Mok Kyung-un just grinned at him, amused.
**–Lift! **
He grabbed Go Chan's chin and tilted his face up.
And in a soft, almost coaxing tone, he said:
"Don't worry. Grandpa figured out a way to get better eventually."
"Ggggghhhhhh!"
Go Chan clutched at Mok Kyung-un's knee, looking up at him with pleading eyes, unable to speak through the pain.
Mok Kyung-un simply smiled brightly and said:
"I trust you'll be very helpful from now on."