Poison Forest
The young man's story, as best as they could understand, went like this:
When many of the Miao tribe had been captured by the Blood Sect, they were saved by an old man named Dokno. Thanks to him, they had been able to live safely in the jungle until now. But now, that very Dokno was gravely ill, coughing up blood.
From what was explained, it sounded like Dokno was a martial artist and perhaps suffering from deviation of cultivation .
That was why the Miao youth had come all the way to the frontline—to seek the help of martial practitioners.
"Please help. Dokno is our benefactor. Without him, all my brothers will surely die."
Faced with this unprecedented situation, Seolpung hesitated, unsure of what to do.
Then Joo Taegyeong, who had followed behind and caught up with the group, snorted.
"What are you even hesitating for? Obviously, it's a lie. How could a bunch of untrained Miao survive in that forest full of demons?"
Though they disliked him, there was some truth in his words.
But the Miao youth immediately shouted back, indignant.
"No lie! Dokno gave us smell that drive monster away! Thanks to Dokno, we safe!"
At that, Seonu Jin's eyes sharpened.
"Smell, you say? What kind of smell?"
The youth pulled out a roughly made sachet.
"This smell! Monster hate it! If we have this smell, monster no come!"
It did carry a peculiar scent, but that alone wasn't proof.
Jin's eyes lit up as he turned to Seolpung.
"Captain, let's go."
"Hm?"
"Even this sachet alone is worth investigating. And besides—"
Before he could finish, Joo Taegyeong cut in sharply.
"Are you insane?! You want us to go in there over some trinket? Even if it's real, what good is it to us? We're supposed to hunt demons, not use incense that makes them avoid us!"
But Jin ignored him with a smirk, addressing Seolpung again.
"Captain, if they've been living inside the forest, that means they know the terrain. If we're ever going to move beyond simply guarding the border, don't we also need to know what's inside?"
The implication silenced everyone.
He wasn't speaking of defense—he was speaking of attack. To strike the Blood Sect someday, they would need inside information.
It was a radical thought none of the Thirteen Squads had considered.
Everyone swallowed hard at Jin's words. Even Joo Taegyeong, who had been about to explode, faltered.
"Th-that's insane! The Blood Sect and the Martial Alliance have a non-aggression pact! You think you can just—!"
Jin sneered back.
"Oh right, the great pact. That's why we're attacked by demons every single day. And you—aren't you a disciple of Jeomchang Sect? I never thought a disciple of your sect would speak like this."
At the mention of his sect, Joo Taegyeong grabbed his sword in fury.
"You dare—!"
But Jin's next words froze him in place.
"Wasn't reclaiming Jeomchang Sect's ancestral mountain from the Blood Sect your lifelong wish? And yet you're satisfied guarding this border forever? Remarkable."
Taegyeong was left speechless.
With just a few words, Jin silenced him and turned back to Seolpung.
"What do you say, Captain?"
His eyes said clearly: Even if you forbid it, I'll go alone.
Seolpung thought for a moment, then asked the Miao youth:
"How long to reach there?"
The young man, watching nervously, answered quickly.
"Half day! If run fast, half day enough!"
Seolpung frowned.
"A half-day. That makes a full day for the round trip. Cutting it close. We'd have to be back by the patrol the day after tomorrow. And there's no guarantee we can cure him at all."
Joo Taegyeong chimed in again.
"And it's desertion from post. You haven't forgotten the punishment for that, have you?"
Jin chuckled.
"Relax. I'm not asking you to come."
"What?!"
"Captain, we don't all have to go. Just the fastest among us. Say, myself, Sayeong, and you. We can carry him in turns."
Even Bi Sayeong, who had taught Jin lightfoot techniques, acknowledged his speed now. In fact, Jin could maintain pace even while weighted, sometimes surpassing Sayeong.
Seolpung nodded. "Not a bad plan."
Jin added, "As for desertion—"
He turned to the Miao youth again.
"The forest must be full of demons, yes?"
"Yes! Many! But with smell—!"
"No, I mean—among them, are there ones that drain a person's life force? Like spiders that strike silently and suck away energy?"
"Yes! Yes! Very dangerous big ones!"
Those demons were known as Juguí (Spider Ghosts)—silent predators that grew stronger by draining life force.
Jin grinned.
"So there are Juguí. We've tracked them, so it's our duty to eliminate them, isn't it?"
Seolpung grinned back.
"You're a genius. That makes this mission mandatory."
Indeed, exterminating Juguí was a top priority, above any regular patrol.
In the end, Seolpung, Jin, Bi Sayeong, and Cheong Yeon were chosen to go.
Cheong Yeon volunteered, claiming she was just as fast as the others. Being second only to Seolpung in skill within Squad Seven, no one objected.
Before leaving, Seolpung gave Na Seoyu an awkward smile.
"I'll leave command to you, Vice Captain. Sorry for making you cover for me again."
She returned a warm smile.
"Take care. I'll be waiting."
Seolpung, embarrassed, quickly looked away.
Nearby, Joo Taegyeong muttered darkly at Jin.
"Even if you're exhausted when you return, our duel won't be postponed. Don't think you're running away."
Jin smirked.
"Delusional. Compared to this mission, a duel with you means nothing to me. Don't flatter yourself."
"You—!"
Ignoring him, Jin leapt forward, carrying the Miao youth on his back.
"Wooow! So fast!"
The Miao youth on my back shouted excitedly.
Captain Seolpung, Bi Sayeong, Cheong Yeon, and I dashed like in morning training, bounding across the trees.
Dusk fell, the jungle thickened, but our speed never wavered.
"Amazing! Like flying!"
The youth—who introduced himself as Dakam—was bright and cheerful by nature.
Even though he had been paralyzed by acupoint strikes and carried like luggage, he laughed with childlike delight.
Watching him, I recalled my past life.
I had met him then as well.
Even then, he had pleaded with the same desperate face, asking for our help.
And back then, we refused his request.
It didn't particularly lead to disaster, nothing especially terrible happened as a direct result. It was just one of those things that passed by.
But much later, the Venomous Serpent Demon appeared.
A fiend that was like a living crystallization of poison—so toxic that simply approaching it would cause people to be poisoned.
Since we knew nothing about it, when we first encountered one Venomous Serpent Demon, no fewer than twenty of our squad members were poisoned at once.
And among them was her.
Na Sojeo.
Our squad's vice-captain, and my first love—Na Seoyu Sojeo….
It happened while Captain Seolpung had separated from us to rescue Joo Taegyeong and his lackeys, who had been in danger.
Neither the resident physicians of the Thirteen Squads nor Tang Yeoeun Sojeo, daughter of the Tang family, were able to counteract the poison.
So, while we could do nothing but watch our comrades slowly die, Captain Seolpung charged recklessly into the jungle alone.
He did so after hearing Tang Yeoeun Sojeo's theoretical suggestion: if the demon's poison originated from the forest's poisonous creatures, then the antidote might also be found nearby.
Two days later, he returned, carrying plants the Miao tribe had told him about—calling them antidote herbs. Tang Yeoeun Sojeo immediately prepared a remedy from them and tested it.
Thanks to that, a few comrades who were still alive were barely saved.
But among those few, Na Sojeo was not included.
It was already too late.
Her death had a profound effect on us.
That was when both Captain Seolpung changed, and I changed as well.
Captain Seolpung completely abandoned his once-gentle nature, becoming cold and merciless. I, on the other hand, threw myself into training as if to grind my body into nothing.
In the end, Captain Seolpung became the Mad Dragon of the Storm (Gwangpung Biryong), and I ascended to the very pinnacle of the first-rate realm.
Of course, I do not know for certain if the Miao tribesman who advised Captain Seolpung back then was this very youth.
But even the slightest chance is worth pursuing—that is what I believed.
After about one shijin (two hours) of running, night fell and the jungle became utterly pitch-black, forcing us to slow down.
Captain Seolpung could distinguish things in the dark as if it were day, but for Bi Sayeong, Cheong Yeon Sojeo, and myself, it was impossible.
At least the stars are bright tonight.
We descended to the ground and set Dakam, the Miao youth, down. From here, he needed to take the lead as a guide.
I suddenly spoke to Bi Sayeong.
"Sayeong."
"Hm? What is it?"
"We should also train our senses like the captain—learn to perceive without sight."
"Tch, as if that's possible? We're already half-dead from all this training, and now you want to add more?"
He grumbled, but he didn't refuse outright. That meant he also recognized the necessity.
Cheong Yeon Sojeo said nothing, but I had already sensed long ago that she was practicing such training herself. I too had practiced it in my past life.
Back then I hadn't achieved much. But after the incident with the Spider Ghosts, my progress had advanced greatly.
At that moment, Dakam warned us.
"Stay closhe together. Here, lotsh of venomous creaturesh lurk. Be caref—"
Before he could finish, something shot out of the forest like an arrow.
Shiiiik!
Out of the darkness, it came flying, swift and threatening.
Neither Bi Sayeong nor I managed to react in time.
"Ugh!"
"What the—?!"
But Captain Seolpung did.
Thwap!
As if waiting for it, he snatched it out of the air. What writhed in his hand was a thin snake, hissing and twisting.
"This is… the Three-Colored Arrow Serpent?"
Cheong Yeon Sojeo's eyes lit up with interest.
"What? The Three-Colored Arrow Serpent?"
"Isn't that an extremely rare poisonous creature?"
Captain Seolpung plucked another one out of the air with ease as he replied.
Thunk!
"Apparently not, at least not here."
Those stationed at the frontline had all been taught basic knowledge of poisons through booklets distributed by the Tang family.
In those books, the Three-Colored Arrow Serpent was described as a rare venomous snake prized even by martial artists who practiced poison arts—it strikes like an arrow, biting with deadly venom, its body flashing three different colors.
Dakam approached with awe.
"Amazingh… Only Dokno could do that before."
Seolpung asked him,
"Are such things common here?"
"Them? Yesh, lotsh. Not here yet, but a bit further in, there ish the Poison Forest. Many more there."
Cheong Yeon Sojeo eagerly took the snake from the captain to examine it, her expression glowing with fascination.
According to Dakam, about one more shijin ahead lay a vast swamp known as the Poison Forest (독림)—a forbidden area the Miao tribe never entered.
But his dwelling lay beyond it.
When the Blood Sect began hunting his people, they had no choice but to live near such a dangerous place.
I asked him,
"Is that also why demons avoid the area—because of the poisonous creatures?"
"Yes. Dokno said so. Monsters were made to hate poison's smell. But later, he warned, there would be those that emit poison themselves, so we must be cautious."
Hearing this, Captain Seolpung and I exchanged glances.
This Dokno seemed to know a great deal about demons.
No—if what he referred to as "those to come" were the Venomous Serpent Demons, then he didn't just know much. He knew too much.
His true identity grew all the more intriguing.
Could it be…?