Poison Dragon: The Legend of an Asura — Chapter 73

Chapter 73

Jin Ja-gang, without responding to the warrior’s words, drew a Sogokdo-a small curved blade-and threw it. Since it was thrown in haste, he didn’t use the spring mechanism; it was a simple hidden weapon technique.

The warrior tilted his head slightly to the side, dodging it, and the Sogokdo futilely embedded itself into a mud wall. In that moment, Jin Ja-gang charged at the warrior and kicked at his ankle.

The warrior spread his legs apart, evading Jin Ja-gang’s attack. Instead, he counterattacked by swinging his sickle down toward Jin Ja-gang’s shoulder. Gritting his teeth, Jin Ja-gang deliberately moved his head toward the sickle.

“Huh!”

The warrior was startled.

From a distance, Guai Song shouted.

“Don’t kill him!”

The warrior used all his strength to retract the sickle.

He could kill, but he mustn’t. There was still much to uncover about Jin Ja-gang. If Jin Ja-gang died like this, everything would be buried in secrecy!

“Urgh!”

The warrior stopped, pulling back as much force as he could.

However, because it was so sudden, he couldn’t fully withdraw his strength. The sickle grazed Jin Ja-gang’s forehead.

Blood spurted out.

Even so, Jin Ja-gang charged straight at the warrior, raising his knee.

Since the warrior had his legs spread apart, Jin Ja-gang’s knee struck precisely into his groin.

Thwack!

A horrific sound rang out, and the warrior’s eyes bulged. Jin Ja-gang followed up with a headbutt to the warrior’s nose.

Crunch! The nose shattered, and blood poured over Jin Ja-gang’s face as well.

The warrior’s eyes completely glazed over, and he fell backward like a rotting old tree.

Thud.

Even in that moment, Jin Ja-gang didn’t just pass by. He mounted the fallen warrior and stabbed his neck with the Sogokdo, ensuring his death, before leaping over the body and fleeing.

Seeing this, Guai Song’s face twisted in anger.

Guai Song took a deep breath and stomped his foot.

Bang!

Guai Song’s body shot forward like an arrow.

Bow Body, Bullet Shadow!

As Jin Ja-gang was fleeing, he sensed an unsettling killing intent and turned his head. At that moment, a gust of wind bore down on him.

Guai Song’s rough, gnarled hand gripped Jin Ja-gang’s face.

“Ugh…!”

Guai Song held Jin Ja-gang’s face and slammed him straight into a mud wall.

Boom!

The mud wall collapsed, and Jin Ja-gang was buried in the rubble. Guai Song reached out, grabbed Jin Ja-gang by the collar, and pulled him out of the debris.

“Guh, urgh!”

Rustle, rustle.

Dust fell everywhere.

Yet, even amidst this, Jin Ja-gang extended his left arm. He intended to attack with the Sogokdo, but before he could, Guai Song kicked him in the stomach.

Thud! Crash.

Jin Ja-gang tumbled back into the pile of rubble.

Guai Song looked at Jin Ja-gang and the corpse of the fallen warrior alternately with a displeased expression.

“Tenacious b*st*rd.”

Jin Ja-gang could only twitch his body, unable to move. The impact was so severe that his head spun.

Soon, the warriors of the Shadow Bureau swarmed in.

Guai Song gave an order.

“Get him up.”

There were mountains of questions to ask Jin Ja-gang. Uncovering any potential mastermind behind him was also crucial.

However, as a warrior attempted to lift the collapsed Jin Ja-gang, he suddenly let out a stifled groan, “Urk,” and stumbled backward, collapsing. A Sogokdo was embedded in the warrior’s thigh.

Even after taking such a beating, Jin Ja-gang had not let go of the Sogokdo in his hand.

Guai Song’s face contorted in fury.

Not only was his pride wounded, but he was also dumbfounded.

This guy had already killed two people.

Yang Gong was one thing, but to do this in the heart of the Shadow Bureau’s stronghold, right under his watch!

Not just one, but two!

Including Yang Gong, who died outside the Shadow Bureau’s territory, that made three who had fallen to this guy’s hands!

It was utterly incomprehensible. No matter how he looked at it, this guy’s martial skills didn’t seem particularly impressive.

“Such a damned b*at*rd…”

Guai Song was on the verge of losing his composure. If there weren’t things to uncover from Jin Ja-gang, he would have torn him apart on the spot.

But he couldn’t just leave it at that.

Seeing Jin Ja-gang lying there, looking up at him with an insolent smirk, Guai Song thrust out a palm strike.

Bang!

Struck in the chest, Jin Ja-gang spat out blood and rolled backward several times.

Jin Ja-gang trembled, struggling to get up, but soon went limp.

Guai Song approached the unconscious Jin Ja-gang and reached out.

Guai Song’s fingers, imbued with internal energy, dug into Jin Ja-gang’s vital points one inch at a time.

He sealed his pressure points using a technique unique to the Shadow Bureau.

Crack, crunch.

Guai Song used his internal energy to manipulate Jin Ja-gang’s muscles and bones while sealing the points.

“Daring to cause havoc in someone else’s home…”

Guai Song ground his teeth.

“Lock him in the storage shed!”

The Shadow Bureau warriors, not content with just sealing his pressure points, tightly bound Jin Ja-gang with ropes before hoisting him onto their shoulders and carrying him to the storage shed.

However, there was something neither Guai Song nor the Shadow Bureau warriors knew.

Indeed, Guai Song had delivered a palm strike powerful enough to knock Jin Ja-gang unconscious. But Jin Ja-gang wouldn’t lose consciousness from something of that level.

Moreover, since many of his energy channels were already blocked, sealing his pressure points had little effect.

Especially since his left side was completely blocked, sealing pressure points there was essentially meaningless.

In reality, Jin Ja-gang’s pressure points were already halfway unsealed.

* * *

Jin Ja-gang was thrown into the storage shed.

Clank.

The sound of the Shadow Bureau warriors closing the door and locking it echoed.

Left alone in the storage shed, Jin Ja-gang couldn’t move his arms due to the ropes binding his body.

Jin Ja-gang tested moving the fingers of his right hand.

Twitch, twitch.

They moved, more or less. The pressure points were already starting to unseal.

His left hand and left foot, which hadn’t been sealed at all, had been movable from the start.

Jin Ja-gang lifted his head.

The only light came through the gaps between the iron plates and wooden planks.

Using that light, he surveyed the inside of the storage shed.

It wasn’t an ordinary rundown shed; there were no windows, and the planks were extremely thick, reinforced with iron plates.

Even the door was crossed with iron bars.

‘A substitute for a prison, huh.’

The floor of the shed was covered with straw, and there was a faint smell of blood.

It seemed someone else besides Jin Ja-gang had been held here before.

After fully assessing his surroundings, Jin Ja-gang finally let out a sigh.

“Phew…”

As he exhaled, a sharp pain throbbed in his chest. It seemed his ribs were either broken or cracked.

Even so, considering the circumstances, he had fared better than expected.

‘It wasn’t a poison palm strike.’

If Guai Song had used a poison palm strike, Jin Ja-gang could have died, so he had used a regular palm strike instead. However, for Jin Ja-gang, a regular palm strike was more painful than a poison one.

The force of the strike had affected his internal organs, causing significant internal injuries. If Jin Ja-gang’s energy channels weren’t already blocked, Guai Song’s internal energy would have spread further, causing even greater internal damage.

Indeed, one must never let their guard down against martial arts masters. Jin Ja-gang realized he should abandon any foolish dreams of facing them head-on.

Especially that old man, who was undoubtedly the sect leader of the Shadow Bureau-his martial skills seemed the strongest Jin Ja-gang had ever encountered.

Throwing dried buckwheat stalks, brittle enough to crumble at a touch, to pierce through a wrist, catching hidden weapons with his fingers, and that terrifying movement technique…

Yet, Jin Ja-gang found himself smiling.

He had achieved everything he intended.

Now, all that was left was to wait.

Of course, he wouldn’t just sit idly by and wait.

Jin Ja-gang tried to get up but let out a groan due to the pain in his chest.

“Urgh.”

With his body bound, moving was even more difficult.

‘First, the ropes.’

Jin Ja-gang clenched his teeth tightly.

* * *

The atmosphere in the Shadow Bureau was peculiar.

Originally, the first harvest day was supposed to be a lively festival, with everyone sharing Shaobing made from buckwheat, but that wasn’t the case this time.

Three people had died, including one high-ranking expert and another warrior nearly as skilled. The third was a regular warrior, but still, it was a loss for the Shadow Bureau.

Yet, despite this, the mood wasn’t one of solemn mourning, as if preparing for a funeral.

This was partly because they were assassins who often took human life lightly, and also because, as people who lived by the blade, they knew they could die at any moment themselves.

But above all, capturing the person involved in both the incident at the Extreme Poison Sect eight years ago and the annihilation of the Stone Forest Gang was a significant achievement.

Having caught the troublemaker who had been a thorn in the side of Yunnan’s poison sects, the Shadow Bureau would likely have a strong voice at the upcoming general assembly of Yunnan’s poison sects!

Thus, while some were burying the bodies and preparing for the funeral, others continued harvesting buckwheat and baking Shaobing as usual.

As evening fell, Guai Song placed the first batch of Shaobing made from the harvested buckwheat on an altar and conducted a memorial rite for the three deceased.

Then, he gathered everyone at the village hall.

In the center of the village hall’s table, a large pile of baked Shaobing was stacked.

Everyone held a wooden cup of liquor in their hands.

Guai Song briefly shared his thoughts on the day’s events before raising his cup for a toast.

The cups made a full round among all the Shadow Bureau warriors.

Suddenly, Guai Song picked up a piece of Shaobing and handed it to a young warrior in his twenties beside him, saying.

“It’s about time for that guy to wake up. Take this to him and bring him here.”

“Yes, sir.”

The young warrior took the Shaobing and went to fetch Jin Ja-gang from the storage shed.

“Now, let’s eat as well. You’ve all worked hard this year.”

With a smiling face, Guai Song distributed the baked Shaobing to the others and took a bite himself.

Crunch.

* * *

The young warrior stood in front of the storage shed door, listening for any sounds inside. Hearing nothing unusual, he unlocked the door with the key.

Jin Ja-gang was still lying on the cold floor, bound by ropes.

“Ugh…”

Seeming to have regained consciousness, he opened his eyes and looked at the warrior as moonlight streamed in.

The warrior held out the Shaobing to Jin Ja-gang.

“You must be hungry too, huh? It’s our tradition to bake and share Shaobing with the first harvested buckwheat. Be grateful and eat it.”

Jin Ja-gang, appearing to want to eat, twitched his body, but bound as he was, he couldn’t reach the Shaobing.

“Put in a bit more effort and crawl over here. Or should I eat it instead?”

Jin Ja-gang tilted his body to crawl forward, but due to the injury to his ribs, he grimaced in pain and couldn’t move.

Suddenly, the warrior kicked Jin Ja-gang in the head.

Thud!

It wasn’t an extremely hard kick, but it was filled with emotion.

“Does it hurt? Does it hurt, you b*st*rd? The guy whose groin you smashed and killed earlier was my sworn brother.”

The warrior, panting with anger, ate the Shaobing he had brought for Jin Ja-gang himself.

“Something like this is too good for a guy like you. You’re going to die anyway.”

Jin Ja-gang opened his eyes narrowly and looked at the warrior.

But his gaze wasn’t one of pain or fear. It was a calm, emotionless stare.

“What are you looking at with those eyes! I’ll gouge them out!”

The warrior, mid-bite into the Shaobing, grew irritated and repeatedly kicked Jin Ja-gang’s face from side to side.

Thud! Thud!

Jin Ja-gang’s nose bled, and his cheeks swelled.

Yet, Jin Ja-gang didn’t even let out a groan, continuing to look at the warrior with that same calm expression.

The warrior’s mood soured further.

“You…”

The warrior, about to lash out in anger, suddenly stopped speaking. Tilting his head, he touched his stomach.

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