Star Instructor, Master Baek

Chapter 307: To Catch a Rat (3)

TL: FoodieMonster007

Baek Suryong teetered on the edge of unconsciousness, overwhelmed by the foul stench wafting from the beggars clinging to his pants. "Ah, fine, I get it. I was going to treat him anyway, so could you let go of my clothes and talk like normal people?" he groaned.

However, the six elders of the Beggars' Gang clung to him as if he were a lifeline sent from the heavens.

"Please! Save our Senior Brother!"

"If you keep our Senior Brother alive, I'll even give you the rice bowl I've used for thirty years!"

"I'll give you my only pair of leather shoes! I've cherished them, so they've only been worn for twenty years!"

The elders desperately rummaged through their belongings, piling up junk at Baek Suryong's feet in a frantic attempt to offer something in exchange for their Chief's life. Among the item, there was a rice bowl riddled with cracks, leather shoes full of holes, and various other trinkets of unknown purpose.

Not a single thing here is useful!

At first, Baek Suryong had entertained a faint hope that at least one of these items might be a treasure, a secret manual, an elixir (not that he had any intention of consuming an elixir given by the Beggars' Gang), or perhaps even a map marking the location of some hidden trove. However, the most valuable item in this heap of trash turned out to be a pair of brass chopsticks that had supposedly been used for only ten years, and even those were of different lengths.

The elders' loyalty toward their beggar king was truly tear-jerking, but Baek Suryong, trapped in their grasp, was starting to feel more like a stinky beggar himself by the second. To make matters worse, these beggars were all highly skilled martial artists, making it difficult to shake them off without resorting to violence.

These damn beggars…

According to one story, the Dog Beating Stick Technique1 of the Beggars' Gang was not actually meant for beating dogs, but rather a technique devised by the gang's first Chief after he had an epiphany from mercilessly thrashing bandits like dogs. Baek Suryong was beginning to seriously consider whether that legend was true.

Fortunately, before he could personally experience the ultimate finishing move of the Dog Beating Stick Technique, presumably named Stink Bomb or something along those lines, Wang Bal stepped in.

"Elders! You're making things difficult for Master Baek. Please, everyone, leave the room!"

Thankfully, even these dog-like beggars, no, the elders of the Beggars' Gang, listened to the Little Beggar. Reluctantly, they trudged out of the room, looking like puppies needing to relieve themselves.

Wang Bal bowed his head. "My apologies. Ever since Master collapsed, they haven't had a proper night's sleep…"

"Is that so…" Baek Suryong recalled what he knew of the Beggars' Gang elders. The six who had just left were among the elders who had spent decades by the Chief's side as sworn brothers. Once, they had even been called the Seven Tempest Beggars.

Baek Suryong adjusted his disheveled clothes and let out a sigh. Shouldn't it be the Seven Mad Dogs instead? The spots where they grabbed me have already bruised… Fuck. After today, I never want to associate with these damn beggars again.

"But… can you really heal him?" Wang Bal asked again, his face tense with anticipation.

"Of course." Baek Suryong nodded. If it were impossible, he wouldn't have mentioned it in the first place. "However, I will treat the Beggars' Gang Chief alone, without anyone watching me. That includes you."

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"What? Why…?" Wang Bal asked nervously.

Baek Suryong replied firmly and honestly, "I don't like having the eyes of the Beggars' Gang on me while I reveal one of my trump cards."

"I understand. I'll trust you." After hesitating for a moment, Wang Bal finally nodded. Leaving his master alone with a stranger made him uncomfortable, but he was the one who brought the Azure Dragon Hero here in the first place.

When Wang Bal had stepped out, Baek Suryong set up a qi barrier in the room. Now, no matter what he did inside, neither sound nor aura would escape to the outside.

"Whew… If I fail, I might get torn apart by those mad dogs out there," he sighed, shaking his head as he activated the Heaven Defying Divine Art.

Immediately, his hair and eyes turned crimson. He sealed several acupoints on the unconscious Chief's body, then infused his qi into the old man. As expected, the Poison Demon's Mortal Venom, a vicious blend of venom and demonic qi, was ravaging his body.

This is why the Poison Demon's venom is so troublesome.

The demonic qi would corrupt the medicinal properties of any medicine used to neutralize the poison, while trying to expel the demonic qi with inner arts would cause the venom to lash out like a viper, poisoning the one attempting the cure. Unless the healer was both a brilliant physician and an absolute martial master, detoxification was nearly impossible.

In fact, the reason the Poison Demon had named this poison art "Mortal Venom" was a declaration that even the Divine Physician would be unable to cure it.

Though he failed in the end.

The Poison Demon had been a powerful elder of the Blood Cult, but even in his time, the Divine Physician had already been revered as a living deity. Of course he'd failed.

Still, Mortal Venom was potent enough that unless the Divine Physician himself intervened, curing it was virtually impossible.

Naturally, Baek Suryong could not completely neutralize Mortal Venom either. What he could do was separate the demonic qi from the poison and extract it. After that, curing the Beggars' Gang Chief was a simple matter of finding an antidote or expelling the venom with inner arts.

His crimson eyes gleamed like gemstones as he observed the Chief's body.

For a mere demonic art, you sure are arrogant.

As the pinnacle of all demonic arts, the Heaven Defying Divine Art did not simply resist other demonic arts, it subjugated them.

RUMBLE…

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The Mortal Venom's demonic qi, unable to resist the Heaven Defying Divine Art, quickly surrendered. With no resistance, the venom curled up docilely within the Chief's body.

Baek Suryong absorbed the extracted demonic qi into himself. Burning it away was an option, but that would leave traces of demonic qi in the room after the treatment.

I can't let those beggars see that.

The demonic qi of Mortal Venom was absorbed smoothly, and as it dissipated, the lingering traces of the Poison Demon's venom weakened.

Baek Suryong was about to breath a sigh of relief, but when he had absorbed about half of the demonic qi, he suddenly sensed that something was off.

Hmm? Damn it!

The demonic qi, which he had believed to be fully separated from the venom, still contained minuscule traces of it.

SIZZLE…

Baek Suryong's fingertips, which had been touching the Chief's qi center, darkened. He immediately narrowed his eyes and bit down on his lip, but remained unfazed.

This much is manageable.

Mortal Venom was terrifying because venom and demonic qi were intricately entwined, but demonic qi posed no threat to Baek Suryong. Of course, the Poison Demon's venom was deadly even on its own, but at this level, he judged that he could endure it.

If I stop now, this will all be for nothing.

Without pausing, he continued extracting every last trace of demonic qi from the Chief's body.

THUD!

The moment the last of the demonic qi was drawn out, Baek Suryong promptly sat down cross-legged on the floor. Now, it was time for him to detoxify the remaining traces of venom in his body.

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SIZZLE!

Beads of sweat formed on his forehead, and white steam rose from his head. Using the Heaven Defying Divine Art, he burned away all the demonic qi that had entered his body, leaving only the poison behind.

"Keuk…" Baek Suryong groaned through clenched teeth, feeling as if a massive fireball was raging within his body. Even though it was only a trace amount, the Poison Demon's venom was relentless and tenacious even against the tyrannical Heaven Defying Divine Art.

Although it could not have been more than an hour, he felt as if time was stretching on endlessly.

"Whew…" Finally, Baek Suryong slowly opened his eyes. "Huh? This… I didn't expect this…"

He could sense that his constitution had changed. Instead of being expelled, the venom had submitted to the Heaven Defying Divine Art and was now absorbed into his body. If he wanted to, he could completely eradicate the poison, but he saw no reason to do so. It no longer harmed him, and far from being harmful, it was even beneficial.

I can't use it for poison arts, but my resistance to poison has greatly increased.

Although his constitution hadn't reached the level of the legendary Myriad Poison Immunity, it seemed to be good enough to be considered Thousand Poison Immunity. Moreover, the Poison Demon was the absolute authority on poisons within the Blood Cult, and Mortal Venom was the pinnacle of his research. If the poisons he created were still in use today, then Baek Suryong had essentially gained almost complete immunity to all of the Blood Cult's poisons.

"…It's a miraculous encounter."

Baek Suryong smirked and rose to his feet. Unlike his previous miraculous encounters, this one had not affected his martial arts, but it was still an incredible boon.

What about the Chief?

Checking the Chief's condition, he saw that the black stain at the center of the old man's chest had faded significantly, and his complexion also looked far more relaxed.

He dispelled the qi barrier and called out to Wang Bal, who was waiting outside. "Come in… no, stop! Only the Little Beggar can enter!"

When Baek Suryong saw the six elders trying to rush in together as soon as the door opened, he hastily corrected his words. Fortunately, the elders flinched and backed away at his sharp gaze.

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Wang Bal squeezed through the gap and entered. "Master…!"

The Chief had not yet opened his eyes, but the healthy blush on his face was obvious proof that his condition had improved.

Tears welled up in Wang Bal's eyes as he turned to Baek Suryong. "How… How can I ever repay this grace…"

Repay it over and over for the rest of your life… Baek Suryong thought, but didn't voice aloud. Instead, he put on a polite smile and said, "The venom remains, but all the demonic qi has been removed. To completely expel the venom, you'll need an antidote, but at the very least, his condition won't deteriorate any further."

"Senior Brother!"

"Waaaahhh!"

Before the two young men could react, the six elder Tempest Beggars had entered and surrounded the Chief. Having been told he would not last a few more days, they had held back their emotions until now, but with his condition improving, their pent-up feelings erupted.

The Chief is a fortunate man. Baek Suryong watched the scene with a hint of envy, when a sudden thought crossed his mind. When I died in his past life, did anyone cry for me like this? My former students… what kind of faces did they have as they watched me take my last breath?

"Master!"

Wang Bal's shout snapped Baek Suryong out of his thoughts. The Chief's eyelids trembled as he struggled to lift them, indicating that he had regained consciousness.

""Senior Brother!""

Half-opening his eyes, the Chief parted his lips as if to say something, but no sound came out.

"Everyone, be quiet!" Wang Bal commanded.

The six Tempest Beggars instantly fell silent.

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The Chief smiled faintly, and Wang Bal stepped forward and took his master's hand.

"……" The Chief wrote something in Wang Bal's palm with his fingers.

As all of the martial artists present were experts, everyone could read the letters the old man traced.

"Alliance (盟)…!"

As if writing that one word had taken all his strength, the Chief lost consciousness again, but this time, his breathing was stable.

Even after the Chief fell asleep, the room was shrouded in silence for the longest time.

Alliance.

There was no one present who did not understand the implications of that word.

"The Murim Alliance…" Wang Bal muttered, his bloodshot eyes burning with rage. "The beast that attacked Master is in the Murim Alliance, or at the very least, the Murim Alliance is involved in this incident."

The elders wore similar expressions as they nodded.

"…But Mortal Venom is a Blood Cult martial art," Baek Suryong argued.

"Then either there's a Blood Cult spy in the Murim Alliance, or Master caught wind of someone in the Murim Alliance colluding with the Blood Cult," Wang Bal said, his resolve firm and unwavering. "The Beggars' Gang will mobilize all its forces to find the culprit."

"……" Even from Baek Suryong's perspective, this was the logical conclusion, but there was one thing that bothered him.

What if the Blood Cult planned for this outcome?

If things escalated, the relationship between the Murim Alliance and the Beggars' Gang could deteriorate, or worse. An enraged Beggars' Gang would stop at nothing to find the culprit, even if it meant turning the Murim Alliance inside out. On the other hand, while they claimed to be hunting down the Blood Cult, there was no way the Murim Alliance would stand idly by as the beggars caused chaos.

The Murim Alliance…

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If a Blood Cult rat had infiltrated them, and one who had mastered Mortal Venom at that, then he could not overlook it either. Even if the traitor was not within the Murim Alliance itself, they were undoubtedly lurking nearby.

"…How about you leave this matter to me?" Baek Suryong suggested.

"What?" Wang Bal exclaimed, then recalled something he had momentarily forgotten.

Baek Suryong was the Murim Alliance Chief Instructor. His rank was equal to the Five Commanders, and his position granted him access to anyone and anywhere within the Murim Alliance.

"I will personally find the culprit. So for now, the Beggars' Gang should hold back. If I need your help, I will let you know," Baek Suryong said firmly.

Wang Bal hesitated. "…What exactly do you intend to do?"

Baek Suryong's eyes gleamed coldly. "To catch a rat, you have to set a trap, right?"

1. The Beggars' Gang is known for two main martial arts: The Eighteen Dragon Subduing Palms and the Dog Beating Stick Technique. One famous user of the Dog Beating Stick Technique is Huang Rong, the Beggars' Gang Chief in the Condor Hero Trilogy by Jin Yong, while the Eighteen Dragon Subduing Palms is used by her husband Guo Jing. Qiao Feng from Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils uses both martial arts. ↩