Star Instructor, Master Baek

Chapter 306: To Catch a Rat (2)

TL: FoodieMonster007

"H-How did you know that…?!" Wang Bal exclaimed, his eyes widening in shock.

How could Baek Suryong determine that the culprit was the Blood Cult just by looking at the wounds? Even with the intelligence network of the Beggars' Gang, which prided itself on being the world's best, it had taken over a day to identify the poison arts that had afflicted his master.

Could this man be…?

As soon as an ominous thought crossed his mind, Wang Bal made a split-second decision. He stepped forward to block Baek Suryong's view of the Gang Leader, the veins on his massive feet bulging as he gathered his qi.

"…What evidence do you have to conclude that the culprit is the Blood Cult?" he demanded, his thin eyes gleaming coldly, his aura sharp enough to strike at any moment if the response was unsatisfactory.

"Do you know about the secret hidden beneath the Namgung Clan Ancestral Shrine?" Baek Suryong asked calmly.

"Stop avoiding the question and answer properly!"

BOOM!

As expected, he's no ordinary martial artist.

It wasn't just Wang Bal. Outside, the Beggars' Gang martial artists who had surrounded the room also exuded a razor-sharp killing intent, having rushed over the moment they felt Wang Bal's aura.

Each and every one of them was a formidable martial artist. If the Little Beggar gave the order, they would charge into the room without hesitation.

There's a reason the Beggars' Gang are part of the Nine Sects One Gang.

If Baek Suryong were to clash with the elite of the Beggars' Gang here, he would have to go all out, but of course, he had no intention of fighting them.

"I already answered you properly, but I'll answer again," he said sternly. "Do you know about the secret hidden beneath the Namgung Clan Ancestral Shrine?"

Wang Bal gave Baek Suryong a long, hard stare. "…I do," he replied after a while.

Baek Suryong nodded. As expected, he knows about it.

The Namgung Patriarch had honestly reported the truth about how the Blue Sky Sword King had ruthlessly used and discarded the Blood Cult survivors to the highest echelons of the Murim Alliance. As the successor to the Beggars' Gang, he wasn't surprised that Wang Bal had heard about it from his master.

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"If you know, then this will be easy to explain," he said.

"What does that incident have to do with my master…? No, wait…" Despite his laid-back appearance, Wang Bal was sharp and quick-witted. He immediately grasped what Baek Suryong was about to say.

Baek Suryong smiled and added more details to the story he had previously told the Murim Alliance Chairman. "I was the first to discover the underground chamber beneath the Namgung Clan Ancestral Shrine. There, I read through countless Blood Cult martial arts manuals and records left behind by the cultists… and that's where I learned about the poison arts that inflicted the same symptoms on your Gang Leader."

"Phew…" Wang Bal let out the breath he had been holding, his wariness slightly subsiding.

Baek Suryong glanced over Wang Bal's shoulder at the Gang Leader's corpse-like pale face. "Look closely at the blackened wound at the center of the Gang Leader's chest. There are faint greenish marks left by five fingers that had dug into the flesh. Those are the marks left by Mortal Venom, the unique martial art of the Poison Demon, a Blood Cult Elder."

Did he really notice all that in such a short time? Wang Bal couldn't help but admire the Azure Dragon Hero's keen powers of observation. Additionally, he had also correctly identified the poison art that afflicted the Gang Leader.

Wang Bal sighed. It had taken the Beggars' Gang an extensive search through old records of the war against the Blood Cult from decades ago to uncover this information, yet Baek Suryong had deduced the answer after a mere glance.

Even if he had read the records left behind by the Blood Cult… Is such a thing even possible? Should I take Baek Suryong's words at face value?

Trying his best to conceal his inner turmoil, Wang Bal probed, "…I didn't know that such records existed beneath the Namgung Clan Ancestral Shrine."

"Of course you don't. I never shared that information with anyone, and I destroyed all the records after reading them," Baek Suryong replied confidently.

Wang Bal looked at him in disbelief. "You mean to say that you kept crucial information about the Blood Cult hidden all this time? Why?"

"The Chairman asked me the same thing." Baek Suryong sneered coldly, "The Namgung Clan, one of the pillars of the orthodox murim, had traces of the Blood Cult hidden beneath their shrine. Tell me, who was I supposed to trust? The Murim Alliance? The Beggars' Gang? Can you, Little Beggar, guarantee that there are absolutely no Blood Cult spies hidden within the Beggars' Gang?"

"……" Wang Bal couldn't say for certain. As most beggars had unknown origins, an organization like the Beggars' Gang was highly vulnerable to infiltration. Of course, the higher one's rank, the more thorough the background checks, but such words wouldn't be enough to convince Baek Suryong.

Still…

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"With the Blood Cult's resurgence, hoarding such crucial information isn't exactly the right thing to do," he protested weakly.

Baek Suryong nodded. "Indeed, which is why I informed the Murim Alliance Chairman about it not long ago."

"……" Coming to a sudden realization, Wang Bal narrowed his eyes.

I see. He used his exclusive knowledge of the Blood Cult to negotiate a favorable deal with the Murim Alliance and secure for himself the position of Chief Instructor.

According to the Beggars' Gang's intelligence, the Azure Dragon Hero Baek Suryong wasn't merely a skilled martial artist, he was also exceptionally shrewd. Well, that much was obvious. He could never have restored the Azure Dragon Academy's honor and prestige with martial arts alone.

He's a man who values pragmatism over justice, who prioritizes himself and those around him over grand ideals.

The more rigid orthodox martial artists would dislike Baek Suryong, but Wang Bal actually found his personality refreshing.

There's no way a man like this is connected to the Blood Cult.

Most importantly, if Baek Suryong were involved with the Blood Cult, he wouldn't have risked exposing himself in this situation.

Suddenly, Baek Suryong stepped back and turned around. "If you still doubt me, I'll just take my leave."

"W-Wait!" Wang Bal cried out and bowed his head in sincere apology, letting go of all suspicion. No matter how he thought about it, Baek Suryong couldn't possibly be the culprit behind his master's condition or have ties to the Blood Cult. "I'm sorry. Given the circumstances, I have no choice but to be cautious."

Baek Suryong's lips twitched into a smirk.

Unfortunately, Wang Bal, whose head was still bowed, didn't see it, and when he raised his head again, Baek Suryong was looking at him earnestly.

"I understand. May I examine the patient more closely?" Baek Suryong asked.

"Of course." Wang Bal stepped aside to allow Baek Suryong passage.

Baek Suryong carefully examined the traces of poison arts left on the Beggars' Gang Leader's body. The poison had spread so severely that the old master's once-sturdy body looked as if it would crumble at the slightest touch.

At this rate, he'll be dead in a matter of days. The poison is one thing, but his body's also been severely contaminated by demonic qi.

There was a reason why demonic poison masters were far more dangerous than orthodox poison masters. Their poison qi mixed with demonic qi, making detoxification exponentially more difficult.

In addition, Mortal Venom was one of the Blood Cult's most deadly and insidious poison arts.

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Baek Suryong's expression darkened. "When and how was he attacked?"

Wang Bal clenched his teeth and began to recount what he knew. "…I don't know. Master was supposed to be at our main headquarters in Kaifeng, and when he came to me four days ago, he was already poisoned and barely conscious. Since he fainted before he could explain anything, we don't know how he ended up here, let alone who did this to him…"

"…He came here alone?"

Wang Bal nodded, grinding his teeth as if recalling a terrible memory. "It was late at night. Master arrived here, looking as if he had just fought a fierce battle. At the time, I had no idea the wound was this severe. He acted as if it was nothing, his expression completely calm, but the moment he sent the others away and was alone with me, he suddenly collapsed, vomiting black blood."

Wang Bal carefully massaged his unconscious master's body. His eyes were bloodshot, and tears welled up at their corners. "That was when this foolish disciple finally realized… Master had been struck by a vicious poison art and had barely managed to escape. He only pretended to be fine because he didn't want the others to know about that he was in excruciating pain…"

"D-Don't… tell anyone… about my wounds…"

"He tried to say more, but perhaps that was his limit, as Master lost consciousness right after those words. He hasn't woken up since…"

Baek Suryong listened calmly. From the circumstances, it seemed clear that the Blood Cult had attacked the Beggars' Gang Leader, and that after a difficult escape, he had made a beeline for his disciple.

The reason he forbade the Little Beggar from talking must be to keep the Blood Cult in check.

If word got out that the Beggars' Gang Leader was on the verge of death, it wouldn't just be the Beggars' Gang that suffered, the entire murim would be thrown into chaos.

The Blood Cult would take advantage of that confusion for their own purposes.

The Gang Leader didn't want his death to cause such an uproar, or at least he wanted to give his disciple time to grasp the situation and deal with the aftermath. That must be why he had fled so desperately, and why he had ordered that his injuries be kept secret.

Wang Bal understood his master's intentions, but he couldn't help but be overcome with grief. With tears streaming down his cheeks, he whispered, " As of now, only I and a few elders outside know the truth. The rest of the gang has only heard that Master was injured."

Baek Suryong felt a pang of sympathy. His devotion to his master must run deep.

His guess was correct. Wang Bal had never known his biological parents. From the moment he could remember, he had been an orphan, and the one who had taken him in and raised him was the very man lying before him now.

To him, the Beggars' Gang Leader was no different from a father.

"He's barely hanging on… but he won't last more than ten days."

"I'm sorry, but even with my medical skills…"

"Unless the Divine Physician himself comes, no one will be able to save him."

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Several of Wuhan's most renowned physicians had already visited, sworn to absolute secrecy. They had exhausted every possible method to treat the Gang Leader, but none of them had been able to even rouse his consciousness.

"…Please find the culprit. Even the smallest clue will do," Wang Bal pleaded.

As much as he hated to admit it, he had already braced himself for his master's death. The real reason he had called the Azure Dragon Hero here wasn't for the sake of treatment.

The Azure Dragon Hero was one of the Ten Supremes, a martial artist of unparalleled skill. Moreover, he had recently fought against the Blood Cult. Wang Bal desperately hoped that, perhaps, Baek Suryong might notice a detail that he himself had missed.

"If you can help us find the culprit, the Beggars' Gang will never forget this debt."

However, there was one thing that Wang Bal couldn't possibly know—and it was that not only did the man before him knew more about the Blood Cult's demonic arts than anyone else, he had also dealt with situations like this many times before.

"Revenge is important, sure, but…" Baek Suryong thoroughly examined the Beggars' Gang Leader's wounds before turning back to Wang Bal with a grin. "…I think I can actually heal him."

"…What?" Wang Bal dumbly blinked in confusion, while the Elders listening in from outside gasped audibly.

A few of them couldn't contain themselves and burst into the room, practically tumbling over each other.

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"I-Is that true?"

"The finest physicians in Wuhan said he couldn't be cured!"

"You brat! If you're lying…!"

"Please! Save our Senior Brother!"

The old beggars surrounded Baek Suryong, pleading, threatening, and begging all at the same time.

For once, even Baek Suryong, who seldom got flustered, found himself in a state of panic. Although he had already sealed off his sense of smell, he felt as if the beggars' stench was mounting an invasion on his olfactory senses.

"I-I can't heal him completely right away, but I can at least improve his condition," he stammered, subtly attempting to back away from the stinky beggars.

The Poison Demon's poison art injected both venom and demonic qi into its target's body. A cure for the venom itself would require an antidote, but if it was only the demonic qi, he could easily extract that himself.

As for the rest, since the Beggars' Gang Leader was a martial master, he should be able to expel the venom himself once he regained consciousness.

"Please, we beg you!"

"Please, we implore you!"

"Please, save him!"

Unfortunately, the beggars clung to Baek Suryong's robes, begging desperately. Some had even dropped to their knees, pressing their hands together in supplication. For these people, who had mastered the art of begging for alms, the pride of a martial artist meant absolutely nothing to them.

What the hell kind of beggars are these…!?

Baek Suryong scowled in disgust, but the beggars' expressions were so miserable that he couldn't bring himself to push them away.