Chapter 312: Unleashing the Soul Capturing Art (2)

Tang Cheolgi had endured with a fair amount of patience.

‘Why the hell isn’t this bastard coming?’

The time it took for Yong Hwarin to go from being Young Master Yong to this bastard in Tang Cheolgi’s mind hadn’t been long.

‘At this rate, am I really going to lose my chastity?’

Suddenly, a wave of fear struck Tang Cheolgi.

But attacking Wi Oh without any internal energy was as good as suicide.

‘Damn it, I knew I shouldn’t have trusted that Yong family bastard! From now on, if I meet anyone with the Yong surname, I’ll throw Blood Poison Butterflies at them.’

Grumbling inwardly, Tang Cheolgi pulled down his pants.

He felt that if he stalled any longer, Wi Oh would pounce on him, so he had to at least pretend to go along.

“Hehehe, such fair skin on your butt—it’s making my blood boil.”

Wi Oh’s eyes turned red as he stared at Tang Cheolgi’s plump backside. Tang Cheolgi was about to curse but instead tightly shut his eyes.

‘If this goes on, I’m really screwed.’

Cold sweat streamed down his back.

He kept peeking out toward the brush repeatedly.

Just as Wi Oh, now panting with arousal, was pulling down his own pants, someone came charging through the bushes.

“Young Master Tang!”

With that call, Wi Oh’s excitement snapped.

“What the—?!”

Yong Hwarin was appalled at the sight of Wi Oh holding Tang Cheolgi’s pale buttocks.

“What exactly are you doing?”

“Damn it. I should’ve posted guards—now I’ve got a meddler.”

Wi Oh grumbled as he pulled his pants back up.

Yong Hwarin approached with a flustered expression and asked,

“What are you doing here?”

Wi Oh, clearly agitated, shouted back.

“Can’t you see?”

Tang Cheolgi, face burning red, glared at Yong Hwarin.

Seeing that, Wi Oh chuckled.

“It’s okay, it’s okay. It’s not like today’s the only chance. Young Master Tang must be upset, but bear with it for now. I’ll make it up to you—real fiery.”

Tang Cheolgi let out a long sigh.

“Phew. I really thought I was going to die.”

“Right? Right? Just a little longer. Should we just kill that guy and continue?”

When Wi Oh asked slyly, Tang Cheolgi shook his head.

“The mood’s gone.”

Wi Oh replied with a disappointed look.

“Damn it, I should just—!”

Wi Oh almost drew his sword to cut Yong Hwarin’s throat, but remembering Lightning-Faced Madman’s strict order not to kill any more hostages, he only grasped the sword hilt before letting it go.

“Consider yourself lucky.”

At that moment, Yong Hwarin signaled to Tang Cheolgi with his eyes.

“Captain Wi, that man right there is Yong Hwarin.”

“What? Yong Hwarin? Him? But he looks different.”

Wi Oh looked surprised but skeptical.

Yong Hwarin immediately removed his Invisibility Mask.

Wi Oh had already seen countless sketches of Yong Hwarin’s face.

And he had a keener interest in Yong Hwarin than anyone else.

So he recognized him at once.

“This can’t be!”

Wi Oh immediately drew his sword.

But Yong Hwarin didn’t shrink back. He stepped in close and said,

“I wanted to meet you, Captain.”

Those words made Wi Oh waver for a moment.

In that instant—when a crack formed in Wi Oh’s mental defenses—Yong Hwarin activated the Soul Capturing Art. Yong Hwarin’s true qi seeped into Wi Oh’s nose and took hold of his Upper Dantian.

The Soul Capturing Art was a technique that couldn’t be performed unless the user had stronger internal energy than the target.

That was why weaklings couldn’t cast the Soul Capturing Art or the Soul Bewitching Art on masters.

Even more, someone at the expert level like Wi Oh had the mental fortitude to resist even a master’s Soul Capturing Art.

That was why Yong Hwarin had planted hints through Jeong Minji to make Wi Oh think that Yong Hwarin was fond of him.

It was to lead his heart into carelessness.

“I too, mm, wanted to see you.”

Wi Oh released his grip from the sword hilt.

Seeing Wi Oh fall under Yong Hwarin’s Soul Capturing Art in an instant, Tang Cheolgi grumbled.

“When I return home, I’m definitely going to learn that Soul Capturing Art. I almost lost everything here.”

Watching Yong Hwarin entrance a master like Wi Oh with the Soul Capturing Art, he found himself wanting to learn it too.

If someone from the famous Daoist sect WuTang or from Mount Hua, or a Buddhist like those of Shaolin or Emei Sect, had seen this scene, they would not have viewed Yong Hwarin favorably.

They would’ve dismissed it as an evil art.

But Tang Cheolgi, perhaps because his family’s martial arts already had plenty of sinister elements, thought Yong Hwarin’s Soul Capturing Art was cool.

“Next break time, bring me the antidote that the hostages have been taking.”

“As you command.”

Looking at Wi Oh, whose eyes were hazy and gazing into the void like he was dreaming, Tang Cheolgi recalled his recent humiliation and felt an urge to slap him.

“Don’t hit him. If he ends up with a bruise, Lightning-Faced Madman might grow suspicious.”

Calming Tang Cheolgi down, Yong Hwarin continued giving orders to Wi Oh.

“Also, from now on, whenever I call out Captain Wi’s name and give an order, you are to follow it without question. My command is something you will protect with your life.”

“As you command.”

Yong Hwarin was etching commands into Wi Oh’s mind with the Soul Capturing Art.

“And you will forget everything that happened just now. All that will remain in your mind is Tang Cheolgi.”

“I understand.”

“When I count to five, you will awaken.”

“One, two, three.”

As Wi Oh began counting, Yong Hwarin put the Invisibility Mask back on and slipped away.

When Wi Oh finished counting and awakened, he grinned at Tang Cheolgi.

“Felt like I was dreaming or something.”

“It must be because you had a pleasant time with me.”

Tang Cheolgi muttered something he didn’t believe himself.

“I’ll come find you during break.”

Watching Wi Oh, who remembered nothing, Tang Cheolgi gave a small nod.

“As you wish.”

Once Wi Oh was gone, Tang Cheolgi muttered weakly.

“Damn it, the road to becoming a hero is hellishly hard.”

After about half a sijin of marching, one of the hostages suddenly collapsed to the ground, flailing.

“Ow, my stomach! Oww, my belly!”

The middle-aged man who had collapsed began to feign death.

If someone deliberately slowed down the march like this, Lightning-Faced Madman would, without hesitation, sever their neck.

Yet, the man still cried out in pain, which meant he was genuinely suffering to some degree.

“I know a bit of medicine.”

As the Dragon-Slaying Blood Sword Unit approached, Yong Hwarin hurried forward and checked the pulse of the fallen middle-aged man. But as he did, he found it strange.

‘This is odd. There’s nothing wrong, so why is he faking an illness? He could end up losing his head for this.’

No matter how carefully he checked, the man appeared to be pretending.

“Whatever the reason, his intestines seem twisted. He cannot move.”

Yong Hwarin matched the man’s act and spoke to Wi Oh.

Wi Oh frowned as he looked down at the man.

Then he turned to face Lightning-Faced Madman.

He was waiting for instructions.

Lightning-Faced Madman also looked at the middle-aged man with a hesitant expression.

Seeing that, Yong Hwarin asked the person beside him,

“Who is this man?”

Lightning-Faced Madman was someone who would not hesitate to kill, regardless of status, if the person interfered.

So if someone like him was hesitating, the man had to be significant.

“I heard he’s connected to the Imperial Palace. They say he’s the Munju of Northern Sun Sect. Even the people of Blood Demon Castle are cautious around him, so it seems his ties to the Imperial Palace are real.”

“I see.”

Lightning-Faced Madman took out a pill and handed it to Wi Oh.

Wi Oh took the pill and approached the Munju of Northern Sun Sect.

“Munju Yang, take this.”

Munju Yang looked at the pill Wi Oh offered and asked,

“What is this?”

“It’s a remedy for stomach pain. Originally, it’s used in our sect for internal injuries, but it works well for most stomach-related ailments.”

Munju Yang accepted the pill and swallowed it.

“May I rest for a while?”

“Go ahead.”

Thanks to Munju Yang, they were able to rest for a short while after about half a sijin. Yong Hwarin looked at Munju Yang of Northern Sun Sect, lost in thought.

‘Why is he stalling for time? What is he trying to gain?’

No matter how much he thought about it, he couldn’t figure out Munju Yang’s intentions.

‘There’s something going on, but I can’t tell what it is.’

Yong Hwarin began to grow wary, suspecting that Munju Yang’s plan might interfere with his own.

From that moment, Yong Hwarin closely watched Munju Yang’s every move. Eventually, he noticed that Munju Yang was secretly leaving codes behind.

He would discreetly brush dirt off his shoes by rubbing them on stumps.

In doing so, he left behind signs—looking closely, the markings appeared deliberate and meaningful.

He would also occasionally snap branches or scar the bark of trees, which seemed significant.

“We’ll rest for a moment.”

At Wi Oh’s command, the hostages, tired from the long march, sat down on the ground. Having been hostages for quite some time, they followed Blood Demon Castle’s orders well.

Since they expected to be released after negotiations rather than killed, they didn’t bother resisting.

In a way, Blood Demon Castle’s strategy was working.

During the short break, Wi Oh approached.

His eyes looked hazy, showing he was still under Yong Hwarin’s Soul Capturing Art. As he passed by Yong Hwarin, he dropped something discreetly.

He was following Yong Hwarin’s instructions well.

Then Wi Oh returned to his normal demeanor.

Thus, no one suspected he had been affected by the Soul Capturing Art.

Opening the leather pouch, Yong Hwarin saw it was filled with black pills.

He took one pill and went to find Tang Cheolgi.

Tang Cheolgi was resting in a hidden spot to avoid being found by Wi Oh.

“Look at this pill. I think it’s the antidote—can you tell what it is?”

Tang Cheolgi sniffed it and tasted a little, then shook his head.

“I’ve studied poisons quite a bit, but I can’t tell what this antidote is made of.”

The antidotes Wi Oh had handed over were only about twenty in number. It seemed he had brought hidden emergency stock.

“First, give these to people we can trust. Give them to Wi Ji Gongja, Seomun Gongja, Seomun Sojeo, and Han Sojeo. If they grow suspicious, say it’s an antidote from the Tang Clan. They’ll believe it and take it.”

Since it was a chance to take credit with the antidote from Blood Demon Castle, Tang Cheolgi had no reason to refuse.

“Understood.”

Yong Hwarin handed over the antidotes to Tang Cheolgi.

As Tang Cheolgi moved toward where the Seomun siblings were, Yong Hwarin quietly headed toward where Jeong Minji was.

Because the hostages were obedient under their control, the warriors of the Dragon-Slaying Blood Sword Unit let them roam freely.

– Min Mae, come closer to me.

Jeong Minji, who had been speaking with the Gunwi siblings, got up and walked over to Yong Hwarin.

Yong Hwarin had already dropped the leather pouch into the bushes.

– Five steps behind where I’m standing, there’s a leather pouch in the brush. It contains the antidote.

– You got the antidote?

– I got it by using the Soul Capturing Art on Wi Oh, so it’s the real thing. We don’t have enough for all forty people, so start with the ones you trust.

– What about the rest?

– Once I take down Lightning-Faced Madman, we’ll get the rest. The ones who take the antidote will need to protect the others while I fight him. So make sure they’re told.

– Got it. Don’t worry.

Jeong Minji secretly retrieved the leather pouch from the bushes and headed toward the people from the Hwangbo Clan. Yong Hwarin no longer felt the need to hide his identity.

The best option was to defeat them and escape before Jo Qiansheng arrived.

If Jo Qiansheng joined, it would turn into a fierce battle, and hostages would start dying. Yong Hwarin could no longer afford to delay.

Now that he had secured the antidotes, there was no reason to hesitate further.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep