Tangmunjeon - Chapter 344



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Chapter 344 of Tangmunjeon The next morning, Dang Mujin, who was hurriedly packing his bags, felt eyes watching him from behind.

Dang Mu-jin looked back. Dan Seol-yeong was lying under the blanket and looking at Dang Mu-jin.

Just as Dang Mu-jin was thinking about what excuse to make, Dan Seol-yeong yawned loudly and spoke.

“Are you going a little faster this time?”

Dang Mu-jin would wander around other places and then return to his hometown.

And when they returned home, they usually stayed in the Tang family for a year or half a year before leaving.

But this time, Dang Mujin’s stay at Danggajang was much shorter than that. He returned to Danggajang in the winter and left at the end of spring.

So, there was only one thing that Dang Mu-jin could say at this point.

“sorry.”

Anger, or grumbling.

Dang Mu-jin expected that kind of reaction would come back.

But Dan Seol-yeong’s reaction was different from what was expected. Dan Seol-yeong spoke while fidgeting under the blanket.

“What are you sorry about? I’m fine, so there’s no need to be sorry. But it makes me feel good when you say that…”

“I’m not just saying that. I’m really sorry.”

“My story that it’s okay isn’t a joke. In the past, I would get upset and angry when you suddenly left, but my thoughts have changed recently.”

“···how?”

“I had that thought. If I were one of the many people around you, who would I have asked for help when something urgent came up? No matter how much I think about it, there’s no one better than you.”

Danseolyoung stretched out both legs and yawned, perhaps because she didn’t want to give up the warmth of the blanket. I could see her wiggling her toes under the blanket.

“I just realized it a little too late. It took me five more years of marriage to realize that my husband wasn’t just a good guy in my eyes.”

It was a story that could have sounded sarcastic depending on the tone, but Dang Mu-jin could easily tell that there was no sarcasm in Dan Seol-yeong’s story.

Dang Mu-jin couldn’t easily guess how much Dan Seol-yeong must have suffered to stay home alone and think like that.

“And there’s something more important.”

“What is it?”

“I wondered if I would be as happy if you just stayed home and stayed put, but I don’t think that’s the case. Of course I’d like you to be by my side, but I also like seeing you show off your abilities and talents and be recognized for them. I get a strange feeling whenever people gather at the party.”

Dang Mu-jin stopped packing his luggage and sat down next to the blanket. Then he reached under the blanket and grabbed Dan Seol-yeong’s hand.

As always, Danseolyeong’s hands were a little rough. However, they were different from the calluses of a man swinging a sword, and they were also different from the rough hands of a woman washing clothes in cold water.

It was rough and smooth. To Dang Mu-jin, it felt similar to the feel of Dan Seol-yeong’s hand.

Danseolyoung spoke.

“You don’t have to worry too much. I’m not someone who can’t do anything without you. By the time you come back, all sorts of institutions will be in place in the Tang family. I might even tear down a few buildings and rebuild them according to the formation. I’m a very busy person, too.”

Dang Mujin smiled quietly. He remembered the first time he met Danseolyeong near Shaolin Temple.

There were many reasons why Danseolyeong captured Dangmujin’s heart. Overflowing energy. Confident attitude. A brain that easily understood the structure of complex organs.

But what was most special was Danseolyeong’s atmosphere. Even at a young age, Danseolyeong’s atmosphere was confident and stood alone.

To Dang Mu-jin, who had been relying on his father and had gone on a journey relying on a ghost, Dan Seol-yeong, who stood alone, was a person who shone brightly.

Danseolyeong asked Dangmujin.

“You’re going to take your backpack with you this time too, right?”

“That’s right.”

“Open that box.”

Danseolyoung pointed to a small box on the bedside table.

The box contained a variety of odds and ends. Some were familiar, others unfamiliar.

“I put a whetstone and a flint in it, a few new sharpening irons in it, a silk pouch with a five-poison scepter in it, and a raindrop-shaped firecracker. Do you see the square box next to the raindrop-shaped firecracker?”

“Show me.”

“I told you that I starved all the bloodsuckers I brought last time, right? This is a double-walled container that allows the bloodsuckers to come and go freely and eat food. Don’t forget to take the bloodsuckers and food with you.”

“Uh… Did you know I was leaving?”

Even as he asked, Dang Mu-jin knew that it couldn’t be true. It was just last night that Dang Mu-jin decided to leave.

“I didn’t know you’d be leaving today. But you always do, right? I figured I’d be leaving home again someday. That’s why I prepared in advance.”

“···.”

Danseolyeong knew Dangmujin very well. In some ways, she might even know him better than Dangmujin.

“Will it take a year this time too?”

“Wouldn’t it take three or four months? I’ll come back as soon as possible.”

“Then it would be about a year.”

“why?”

“You say it’s two or three months, but it takes a year every time you leave.”

Danseolyeong smiled slightly, then reached out from under the blanket and placed her hand on the back of Dangmujin’s hand.

And then, smiling confidently and putting strength into his hands, he pulled Dang Mu-jin towards him.

“Anyway, if you’ve prepared this much, I can take it this morning, right?”

“of course.”

Dang Mu-jin went inside the blanket and hugged Dan Seol-yeong tightly.

*

Around lunchtime, Dang Mu-jin dragged his tired body out of the room.

Soon, Hyun-gong appeared and showed a polite attitude.

“Are you here to get money?”

“That’s possible. I think you came here to say hello to the head of the party before leaving.”

“Really? I don’t need to pay for travel expenses.”

“Haha, Your Majesty. That joke is too much.”

“I’m not joking.”

“Hey, Mr. Tang. It’s no fun when you come off like that.”

The head of the Tang family was instantly demoted to the Tang family. Tang Wujin snickered.

“Let’s go together.”

When Dang Mu-jin answered like that, Hyeon-gong was very pleased.

“It’s Hongbok!”

If the party leader accompanies you, the security will be sufficient and there will be many benefits here and there.

By Hyun-gong’s standards, wasn’t Dang Mu-jin a man worth seventeen and a half points?

Hyun-gong asked friendly.

“Have you packed everything? How long do you think it’ll take?”

“I’ve almost got everything. Just wait a moment.”

While Dang Mu-jin was unpacking his luggage and packing up his things, Mok Wan-ah approached him and asked him.

“Seol-yeong said, ‘You’re leaving home again?’”

“That’s what happened. I was planning to pack my bags first and then talk.”

Mok Wan-ah thought for a moment, then spoke to Dang Mu-jin.

“Why don’t you leave tomorrow instead of today?”

“why?”

“I have something for you. Come to my room in the evening!”

Dang Mu-jin thought about it carefully, but there was nothing he could receive from Mok Wan-ah.

Strictly speaking, it was just food for bloodworms and bloodworms, but I didn’t think they would make me wait another day to get bloodworms.

But it wasn’t a difficult request.

The person in a hurry was not Dang Mu-jin, and making Hyun-gong wait another day was as easy as turning over the palm of one’s hand.

“okay.”

Dang Mu-jin answered readily.

*

That evening, Dang Mu-jin headed to Mok Wan-ah’s room. Mok Wan-ah’s room was closed.

But there was something a little strange. The gap between the door and the wall was carefully sealed with several layers of paper.

Dang Mu-jin asked.

“Can I come in?”

There was no answer. But Dang Mu-jin opened the door and went inside. Wasn’t it Mok Wan-ah who had asked him to come?

There was a candle burning in the room, and Mokwan-ah was sitting next to it.

What was important was not Mokwan-ah, but the smell coming from that room. A pungent scent mixed with the faint smell of sweat. And a thick poison. Dangmujin knew what that poison was. It was the poison of the Inmyeonjiju.

“you!”

When Dang Mu-jin shouted, Mok Wan-ah spoke quietly without even opening her eyes.

“Sit far away and take in the poison.”

The breath that leaked out along with the story contained a thick poison. It was a poison so thick that any other person could lose their life just from that breath.

This made it certain. Mokwan-ah swallowed the poison sac of the Inmyeonjiju.

However, the poison of the human-faced snake floating in the air was not as vicious as when Dang Mu-jin directly came into contact with the poison sac. That was because it was pure poison that Mok Wan-ah had filtered out using her own body.

The rough and dangerous parts of the poison, the crude and impure parts, are filtered out by Mokwan-ah herself. It was like saying that Mokwan-ah would take on the greatest risk.

Mok Wan-ah’s resistance to poison is stronger than Dang Mu-jin’s. However, the poison sac of the Inmyeonjiju seemed burdensome to Mok Wan-ah as well.

Mok Wan-ah’s face was almost as pale as a corpse. Her entire body was convulsing endlessly, and beads of sweat were forming on her face.

Dang Mu-jin spoke in a lowered voice.

“Then die! Spit out the poison right now.”

“I can, I can, I guess.”

Even as we were having a short conversation, I could feel my voice trembling. As expected, it seemed like Mokwan-ah wasn’t confident either.

“Hurry up! It’s dangerous!”

“But, it helps, right?”

Mokwan-ah smiled bashfully as she spoke. It was a smile that came from overcoming pain.

“That’s all for now. If things get dangerous, you help me.”

Mokwan-ah didn’t seem to have any intention of spitting out the poisonous sac of the human-faced person.

Dang Mu-jin considered forcing Mok Wan-ah to vomit out the poison sac, but soon gave up. Vomiting out the poison sac that way could actually be more dangerous.

Eventually, Dang Mu-jin emptied his mind and sat cross-legged a little way away.

There was no conversation between Dang Mu-jin and Mok Wan-ah. They could only feel each other’s breathing in the silence.

The amount of poison contained in Mokwan-ah’s exhaled breath was greater than the amount of poison that Dangmujin inhaled.

The poisonous air that filled the room grew thicker. Dang Mu-jin’s body also began to tremble slightly. His muscles were not listening to him.

But Dang Mu-jin concentrated his mind and guided the poison to the dantian and then to the dogdan.

“···.”

However, Dang Mu-jin’s body soon reached its limit.

Just as a leather pouch cannot be filled with water indefinitely, there is a limit to the amount of poison that Dangmujin’s body can contain.

‘···Excess. From here on out, it’s not a matter of practice, it’s a matter of survival.’

Dang Mu-jin took a deep breath.

People die when they become addicted. It was the same for Dang Mu-jin, who had mastered the art of poison.

Rather, Dang Mujin was in a more dangerous situation than other martial artists. The poison that Dang Mujin held in his body was tens or hundreds of times more than the poison that other martial artists had to endure when poisoned.

As if a sac bursting at its limit, the poison that had been stored in the body began to leak out. If you can control and contain this poison, you will survive, but if you fail, you will die.

However, contrary to Dang Mu-jin’s worries, the poison from the Inmyeonjiju did not explode in all directions and scatter poison.

Instead, the poison of the human-faced spider began to create a new nest, like a new spider expanding its web. A bigger and stronger nest than the previous one.

It felt like a very long time had passed.

But in reality, it only took a few breaths from the time the party reached its limit until the new nest was completed.

Nevertheless, Dang Mu-jin felt a clear achievement of his efforts.

Dang Mu-jin realized belatedly that Mok Wan-ah had probably gone through a similar process at some point.

Mokwan-ah would have struggled in endless pain without even anyone to guide her, trying to find a way out.

Thanks to that miserable and painful experience, Dang Mu-jin was able to achieve the goal of self-discipline with relative ease.

Finally, the amount of poison that Dang Mu-jin inhaled surpassed the amount of poison that Mok Wan-ah spat out.

The poison that had filled the room was slowly sucked into Dang Mu-jin’s lungs.

A huge amount of venom has settled into the nest created by the poison of the human-faced snake.

Dang Mu-jin realized that the nest was not much different from the burrows of any other animal.

It is similar to dogmatism, but is clearly different.

At the same time, it is a phenomenon that doesn’t even have a name.

What should I call this?

‘Can we call it ‘poisonous spirit’?

It’s a double-edged sword.

The poison will be the source of Dang Mu-jin’s poison attack, but if the enemy’s blade pierces Dang Mu-jin’s poison, Dang Mu-jin will inevitably face death.

If a large amount of condensed poison spreads throughout the body at once, there is no way for Dang Mu-jin to survive.

And Dang Mu-jin realized one thing. Unlike Dok-dan, who had remained motionless while sitting in his dantian, Dok-jeong moved slowly as Dang Mu-jin led him.

‘I’ll die anyway if I break through the poison. Where would be a good place for this poison?’

The answer was decided from the beginning.

Dangmujin slowly moved the poison and placed it in the space between the heart and the spine.

If you get stabbed in the heart, you’ll die anyway. Also, if you place the poison near the heart, the poison can move throughout the body more quickly.

The monopoly has been fully established.

The poison that had filled the room was all contained in Dang Mu-jin’s poison.

But there is still poison in Mokwan-ah’s breath.

The poison sac of the Inmyeonjiju has melted and disappeared in Mokwan-ah’s stomach, but the poison still flows through Mokwan-ah’s blood.

‘What should I do now?’

While Dang Mu-jin was thinking, Mok Wan-ah and Dang Mu-jin’s eyes met.

And Mok Wan-ah bit the tip of her tongue. Red blood flowed out, forming a drop of blood on the tip of Mok Wan-ah’s tongue.

But after a while, the red drops of blood gradually became transparent.

At first, I thought the clear liquid was saliva. But it wasn’t saliva. A huge amount of poison was swaying inside the liquid that was light pinkish with blood. It was the last essence that the poison sac of the human-faced man held.

Mokwan-ah stared at Dangmujin intently.

Mokwan-ah’s whole body was still convulsing slightly. Her whole body was drenched in sweat from enduring the pain.

Mokwan-ah smiled bashfully, sticking out her tongue, and spoke to Dangmujin with the shape of her lips.

‘It’s hard. Hurry up.’

Dang Mu-jin approached Mok Wan-ah to absorb the essence of the Inmyeonjiju.

*

“Take care on your way. Okay?”

“okay.”

The next morning, Dang Mu-jin left Dang Ga-jang, greeted by the Dang Ga-jang people. At Dang Mu-jin’s side were Hyun-gong, Hong-geol-gae, and Seol-hwa.

As we were almost leaving the castle, Hong Geul-gae asked.

“What were you doing that took another day?”

It was a question Hong Geol-gae asked without much thought.

However, Hyun-gong looked at Dang Mu-jin with a sinister smile. There was also a hint of interest in Seol-hwa’s eyes. It was obvious what the two were thinking.

Dang Mu-jin felt the need to clear up the misunderstanding. That wasn’t the only thing that happened last night.

“Yesterday? Mokwan-ah personally gave me the poison of the Inmyeonjiju through the Inmyeonjiju poison pouch…”

Dang Mu-jin explained in detail what had happened the night before, skipping only the last step or two.

Hyun-gong and Seol-hwa looked subtly disappointed.

After finishing the story, Hong Geol-gae shared his thoughts.

“It’s like anonymity.”

“Anonymous?”

“Why, when you make broth, you put things like vegetables in a cheesecloth and boil them slowly to make it taste good.”

“···.”

Hyun-gong burst into laughter.

As beggarly men might say, it was a very cheap metaphor, but Hong Geol-gae’s story cut through the essence of what had happened the night before.

‘···How can Mokwan-ah’s devotion be expressed like that?’

Dang Mu-jin wanted to refute Hong Geol-gae’s story, but he couldn’t think of a suitable way to refute it.

Instead, we could have responded in a different way.

“From now on, you are responsible for your own meals.”

Hong Geol-gae felt a little regretful.
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