Tangmunjeon - Chapter 330



Only Noblemtl

Tangmunjeon 330 A goat Tangmujin entered an empty house and slept for a whole day before waking up.

It would be normal for him to wake up refreshed after falling asleep while almost exhausted, but Dang Mu-jin’s sleep was not comfortable because he was suffering from nightmares.

Even the nightmare was so bad that my whole body was drenched in sweat and my clothes were damp.

Dang Mu-jin looked around for a moment with a bewildered gaze, then chuckled and brushed away the hair that was stuck to his face.

‘Thank goodness it was a dream.’

It was a very terrible dream. A dream where Hyun-gong crossed the wall of transcendence.

There could not and should not be a situation where one was the only one in the group who could not reach the peak and was left behind.

At that moment, the door opened wide and Hyun-gong came into the room.

Hyun-gong didn’t walk in normally. He appeared with his Je-un-jong open, and his chin was two inches forward from his usual position. Just looking at the angle of his arrogant chin made me feel like my fist was clenching.

Hyun-gong looked down at Dang Mu-jin and spoke arrogantly.

“I thought it was about time to wake up.”

“···.”

It was clearly a dream that Hyun-gong had risen to the peak and was making a fuss.

The problem is that the dream was based on facts. Both the Hyun-gong in the dream and the Hyun-gong in reality were top-notch masters.

‘Oh, God of Heaven and Earth!’

Dang Mu-jin desperately hoped that this was also a dream, but the sensations in his entire body were too vivid to think so.

Dang Mu-jin asked with a very wrinkled face.

“What brings you here?”

“What happened? Don’t you remember what you said when you went to Chongqing?”

“···What did you say?”

Dang Mu-jin thought about it carefully, but he couldn’t quite remember what he had said. It seemed like he had said it without thinking much.

“You want me to get you some herbs and poisons?”

“Oh, that’s right.”

I remembered it late.

The reason Dang Mu-jin had half-forgotten that story was because he knew that he would never do whatever his friends told him to do.

Who would want to bend down and search through the grass and under the trees? That is neither fun nor helpful for training.

But Hyun-gong said.

“I have a lot of medicinal herbs and poisons stored in the warehouse next to me.”

“really?”

“okay.”

When Dang Mu-jin was surprised by the unexpected story, Hyun-gong added a note.

“You might need something like that. People don’t necessarily have to excel in martial arts. A guy like Hong Geol-gae would have a hard time in life if he fell behind in martial arts, but you have other talents, so you should be able to live somehow.”

“···.”

Although he pretended not to care and seemed to be taking care of her, Dang Mu-jin felt a subtle sense of superiority and sympathy from Hyun-gong’s story. That’s why Dang Mu-jin muttered to himself. Hyun-gong, you piece of shit.

Hyun-gong looked at Dang Mu-jin with a mysterious expression, then smiled slightly with the corners of his lips twisted before disappearing outside.

If you stay still, you will only become depressed. Dang Mu-jin got up from his seat, went to the warehouse next door, and looked inside. As expected, there was a considerable amount of medicinal herbs piled up there.

‘It’s not an amount that you can collect leisurely while playing. It looks like you collected it quite diligently…’

After checking the warehouse, Dang Mu-jin went to see Representative Yeom.

At that moment, Assemblyman Yeom was teaching Seol-hwa how to write. Unexpectedly, Hyeon-gong was also in the room. He was sitting cross-legged in a corner, glancing at Seol-hwa.

Rep. Yeom was delighted as soon as he saw the party leadership.

“You said you arrived yesterday and slept all day. Are you awake now?”

“yes.”

“That’s good. That’s good. Do you know how empty it was without you?”

Unlike Hyun-gong, Rep. Yeom looked genuinely happy. Seeing his consistent appearance, the party leaders felt a little more at ease.

Rep. Yeom said.

“Oh, have you seen the herbs I collected?”

“yes.”

“Since we’re on the subject, how about we look into it together to see if there’s anything useful?”

“That would be good.”

“Just wait a moment. I’ll get the herbs.”

“No, it’s okay. Please sit down.”

Dang Mu-jin called Hong Geol-gae, who happened to be passing by, and asked him to bring herbal medicine from the warehouse.

Hong Geol-gae did not refuse Dang Mu-jin’s request, but filled a large sack with herbs and poured them out onto the floor. Hong Geol-gae sat down next to Hyeon-gong naturally. It seemed like he had nothing to do.

Suddenly, a question occurred to me as to why Representative Yeom waited instead of sorting the herbs on his own, but the question was soon resolved.

Because my friends didn’t know much about herbs and just collected strange plants as they came, all kinds of unfamiliar herbs were mixed together.

If you classify herbs based solely on one person’s experience in a situation where there are a lot of unfamiliar herbs, you will most likely end up throwing away a lot of useful herbs.

If even familiar medicinal herbs are like that, poisonous herbs will be thrown away even more.

However, since there were so many unfamiliar herbs that Dang Mu-jin had never seen before, Dang Mu-jin had to experience the medicinal properties and toxicity of each herb and poison.

It was a hassle, but it was worth it. Southern herbs and poisons were hard to come by back home.

Dang Mu-jin thought as he touched each herb.

‘Is there no need to use poison right now?’

The reason Dang Mu-jin needed the poison was because To-hee Wi-jin-hyang had requested a painless death. However, To-hee had lost her reason to die, so it didn’t seem like she would need the poison right away.

‘But since I’ve already collected it, I have to take care of it carefully.’

Dangmujin classified medicinal herbs and poisonous herbs into three major categories.

Things that seem unfamiliar but useful, things that are familiar and profitable, and things that are useless.

I planned to take the unfamiliar but useful ones myself, and leave the familiar and profitable ones for the people of Samguchon Village. Those herbs can be sold for money.

While sorting herbs for a while, Seolhwa showed interest in an unfamiliar herb.

According to Dangmujin’s classification, it was one of those herbs that seemed unfamiliar but useful.

“That’s it, Soyangchilyeopcho.”

“Is this a medicinal herb you know?”

“Yeah. They said that if you process it well, it becomes an excellent elixir.”

An elixir? That’s a tempting story. Dang Mu-jin asked Seol-hwa.

“Do you know how to make that elixir?”

“I don’t know about that.”

Well then, that’s right.

Dang Mu-jin put the Soyangchilyeopcho in his mouth and chewed it. If it was a herb used as an ingredient in elixirs, there was a chance that it would have tremendous energy in itself.

I could feel the strong spiciness and thick yang energy that was not typical of herbal medicine. It was a thick yang energy that was comparable to that of a medium-high grade or higher grade elixir that had been processed.

If the raw material before processing contained this much yang energy, then the results would surely be amazing when made into an elixir.

However, there was a serious problem. The energy contained in the Soyangchilyeopcho was very unstable.

The yang energy of the soyangchilyeopcho disappeared like melting snow before it could even pass through Dangmujin’s throat.

“Hey.”

There are many types of elixirs. There are elixirs of extreme yin, extreme yang, and balanced elixirs.

But there is one thing in common: the energy contained in the elixir must be stabilized in its own way.

There are only two results that unstable energy can have on a person: either it has no effect at all, or it is harmful to the body.

Fortunately, the herb Soyangchilyeopcho had no effect at all.

Dang Mujin did not know how to make an elixir with Yeongcho. He only thought that in order to hold onto unstable yang energy, it would have to be used with an elixir that contained extremely stable yin energy or extremely stable yang energy.

However, among the elixirs available here, there was no elixir with a stable nature enough to handle the instability of the Soyangchilyeopcho.

‘It’s a shame to just give up.’

Dang Mu-jin ground the soyangchilyeopcho in a small bowl and obtained a clear juice. Then he mixed it little by little with the juice of other promising herbs.

But that didn’t produce any proper results. Nothing could stabilize the unstable yang energy of the Soyangchilyeopcho.

In the meantime, Dang Mu-jin obtained a strange result. It was not a harmony of herbs with stable properties.

Rather, it was the result of mixing the juice of the herb Nohwe (蘆?), which had an extremely unstable yin energy, similar to that of Soyangchilyeopcho.

When unstable yin and unstable yang are mixed, they tend to neutralize each other and produce ineffective results.

However, when the juice of the Chinese chives and the elderberry were mixed, a strange result was obtained. A liquid with both extreme yin and extreme yang properties was created. However, the price for this was that the properties became more unstable.

Dang Mu-jin scratched the back of his head.

‘This is the first time I’ve heard that something like this is possible.’

Even though he knew it was dangerous, Dang Mu-jin took a small sip of the liquid and tasted it just in case. It was because he was hopeful that it would provide a clue to advancing to the highest level.

As expected, nothing special happened. It was so unstable that the yin and yang energy dispersed as soon as it touched the tongue.

As a result, it was just a curious object with no particular meaning.

“What happened?”

Hong Geol-gae asked. Since the first time he brought the herbs, Hong Geol-gae had been sitting quietly in the corner of the room, watching Dang Mu-jin and Assemblyman Yeom work.

Dang Mu-jin explained it appropriately.

“It’s full of negative and positive energy, but it’s so unstable that there’s no way to use it.”

“If it’s unstable, why not?”

Dang Mu-jin thought for a moment, then explained it as simply as possible.

“For example, this herb is like two blades of grass leaning against each other, precariously balanced. They can support each other by leaning on each other.”

“however?”

“You know, the energy flows through the body of a living person. It’s like a stream. If you put two blades of grass on the stream, they will just flow down.”

“Can’t it flow away?”

It was such a basic question that I was momentarily speechless, but then I realized that Hong Geol-gae had never properly studied medicine. It wouldn’t be all that strange if he didn’t know.

“Of course not. In order for the elixir to be effective, the elixir’s energy must reach the bottom of the stream and not float away.”

“Hmm.”

Hong Geol-gae seemed to understand somehow.

Hong Geol-gae thought for a moment, then asked Dang Mu-jin again.

“If you use an unstable drug on a living person, it won’t have any effect because it won’t be able to overcome the energy flowing through the body?”

“That’s right. Like being swept away by the current.”

“Then what happens if you use an unstable drug on a dead person?”

Because it was such a ridiculous story, Dang Mu-jin immediately reprimanded Hong Geol-gae.

“What nonsense are you talking about? Why would you give medicine to a dead person?”

Hong Geol-gae’s voice became a little quieter.

“No, I heard you can’t use it on a living person…”

“What good are you going to do by giving medicine to a dead person? It’s not going to bring the dead back to life, nor is it going to kill the dead again. Why are you talking nonsense?”

Hong Geol-gae nodded, looked at Dang Mu-jin, and said.

“So, you’re not going to try it?”

“Of course I should try it.”

A story that is similar to a life-size figure means that there is a high probability that something interesting will come out of it.

I had never heard of anyone giving medicine to a dead person, and to make matters worse, the evidence was quite plausible.

But there was one problem. Where were we going to get the body?

Then, Hyun-gong, who was sitting cross-legged in a corner, spoke.

“Should we experiment on Cheonpae’s corpse?”

“···You, you fought a life-or-death battle with Cheonpae?”

“yes.”

“What do you think of the person who fought a life-or-death battle with you?”

In response to Dang Mu-jin’s comment, Hyun-gong spoke as if he did not understand.

“Dang Mu-jin. If you carve a piece of wood and make a bowl, who will be the owner of the bowl?”

“I guess so.”

“If you twist rags and make straw shoes, who will be the owner of the straw shoes?”

“I guess so.”

“Then, if you cut down a person and make a corpse, who will be the owner of that corpse?”

Dang Mujin was shocked. It was truly an idea that even the greatest villain in Sapa could not think of. It was even more shocking because it was logically plausible.

‘···Why is this kid a member of the Jeongpa faction?’

When Dang Mu-jin did not easily accept, Hyeon-gong tried to persuade him again.

“No, think about it. If a hunter shoots a wild bird with a bow and catches it, the wild bird meat belongs to the hunter. This is similar.”

“If you don’t want to become a martial arts master, don’t even bring up that kind of story.”

“···.”

“While we’re on the subject, why don’t you go and ask the villagers if they’ve hunted any animals? There are hides strewn all over the village, so I’m guessing there are a few hunters.”

As Dang Mu-jin instructed, Hyun-gong got up from his seat and went out grumbling.

After a while, Hyun-gong brought a dead goat and placed it on the snow-covered yard.

“There were no hunted animals, but there was a goat that had died from disease. It had been feeling weak for the past few days and died last night. I bought it cheap.”

I wondered if it was right to test the effects of the medicine on a dead goat that had fallen ill, but there was no other alternative. If Dang Mu-jin refused, Hyun-gong might have to dig up Cheon-pae’s body.

Dang Mu-jin went out into the yard, looked at the goat, and thought for a moment.

Medicine is usually taken by mouth. However, a dead goat cannot move its neck to swallow medicine.

Dang Mu-jin thought for a moment and then came up with another method.

Just as a black color spreads throughout a bowl of water when you put a brush soaked in food in it, I thought that if medicine comes into contact with the goat’s blood, wouldn’t the medicinal effect spread throughout the entire body?

Dang Mu-jin took out his knife and cut the goat’s chest. The cold blood flowed down, wetting the snow-covered yard red.

‘Experimenting with the effects of strange medicine on dead goats. I don’t know what they’re doing…’

Dang Mu-jin poured the liquid he had just made into the wounds of the dead goat.

Of course, he thought nothing would happen, but unexpectedly, smoke rose from the goat’s corpse. Dang Mu-jin was startled and put the goat’s corpse down and stepped back.

“What, what is it?”

Smoke rises even though there is no fire. It is truly strange.

Even the smoke did not disappear, but rather grew thicker. Hyun-gong looked at the scene and thought.

“You said that medicine has unstable yang and yin energies?”

“that’s right.”

“It looks like the yang energy was much greater. The yang energy in the medicine is fire and the blood is water. According to the Five Elements, it is right for water to extinguish fire (水克火). However, when the fire energy is too strong, it is said that fire subdues water (火侮水), and the overwhelming fire can evaporate the water.”

Hyun-gong gave a fairly plausible explanation.

But another thought crossed Dang Mujin’s mind. He thought it was fortunate that he hadn’t done that to Cheonpae’s body.

The poor goat’s corpse gave off smoke for a moment, but after a while the smoke soon died down.

When the smoke cleared, all that remained was a faint dusting of ash, too small to have been left by a single large goat.

Dang Mu-jin slowly approached and picked up the ashes with his hand. He felt something that looked like a bone. However, when he picked up the bone with his hand, it turned into powder and scattered like a lie.

Burning bones into powder requires strong fire. It is surprising that bones can be powdered without fire.

“···.”

Everyone was speechless. Surprisingly, they were wondering if there was a way to utilize the drug.

It seemed like it might be useful, but it also seemed like it might be useless.

Hong Geol-gae looked particularly surprised. It seemed like he had no idea that something so strange would happen, since he had only brought it up as a joke.

In this case, since it was thought that the person who came up with the strange idea had a greater share than the person who made the medicine, Dang Mu-jin asked Hong Geol-gae.

“What should I call this medicine?”

Hong Geol-gae thought for a moment and then answered.

“···It’s a medicine that turns bones into powder, so wouldn’t something like Hwagol-san (化骨散) be enough?”

It’s a pretty plausible name.

Hyun-gong, who had been silent for a long time, spoke.

“Shouldn’t we check if Hwagolsan can handle human corpses in the same way?”

It seemed that Hyun-gong could not give up his obsession with testing Hwagolsan on Cheon-pae’s corpse.

“···Let’s not do that humanely.”

Dang Mu-jin thought that when Hyun-gong died, he should scatter the ashes of Hwagol Mountain.