Jueul Village
The path leading upstream along the river was harsher than expected. There were no signs of people ever passing this way.
"It seems no one comes here."
"Unless it's a herb gatherer looking for remote spots on purpose, there's no reason to. There isn't another village upstream, either."
The three of them walked in silence, carefully observing their surroundings.
Every so often, the cry of a wild beast echoed.
Grrr—
Judging from the low, heavy growl, the creature was fairly large.
This backwater was crawling with beasts, and the paths were treacherous. No wonder there was no village by the stream's headwaters.
After some time, a strange odor pricked their noses.
At first, it was faint—easy to dismiss. But the farther they went upstream, the stronger it grew. Tang Mujin wrinkled his brow.
"This smell… am I the only one noticing it?"
"I was just wondering the same. Should I go ahead and check where it's coming from?"
"No. Since it's in the same direction, let's keep going together."
Soon the stench grew so overpowering that they had to cover their noses. Even Majonggae and Hong Geolgae, hardened by years of enduring foul odors, shook their heads.
"I've never smelled anything this bad. Even the stench of pig dung rotting in mid-summer isn't this strong."
"There must be something up ahead causing this. Let's keep moving."
Moments later, they found the source.
At first glance, it was just an ordinary clearing beside the stream.
But whether they went farther upstream or down, the stench lessened. This was clearly the origin point.
There was no need to circulate qi or calm their breathing. The foul aura was pouring out from here.
Yet nothing unusual was visible.
Hong Geolgae turned to Majonggae.
"Master, do you see where this smell is coming from?"
"No. Not at all. It's so strong it makes my head ache. A vile stench indeed."
Tang Mujin's eyes swept over the area, and he spotted something strange—flies swarming over a patch of earth bulging unnaturally upward.
"There's something buried here."
"I'll dig."
"Let us help."
They had no shovels or hoes.
But the ground, covered in decaying leaves and dark humus, didn't look too hard-packed.
So the three began clawing away at the soil with their bare hands. Fortunately, their sense of smell had numbed, sparing them further torment.
After digging about three feet—deep enough to sink an entire arm—Hong Geolgae felt something under his fingers. Soft. Unpleasantly so.
He jerked his hand back instinctively.
"Ugh, damn!"
His outburst made Majonggae ask:
"What? What did you touch?"
"Something soft… squishy."
"Squishy?"
They peered into the shallow pit. Something was faintly visible beneath the dirt, but still obscured. They widened the hole.
And then the truth emerged: a half-rotted carcass of an animal.
Not just one—many. Boars, mountain goats, foxes, dogs, cats, even wild birds.
"What in the world… so many?"
"More than we can count on two hands."
Both the variety and the sheer number were staggering. Everywhere they dug, corpses surfaced.
Hong Geolgae stomped on another bulging mound nearby.
"Feels hollow underneath. More bodies down there too."
Now the picture was clear. The foul qi and corpse poison were seeping into the stream from these buried carcasses, infecting the villagers.
Corpse poison was among the deadliest of toxins.
Not lethal in a single drop like some venoms of herbs or minerals—but infused with vile qi, it spread pestilence wherever it lingered.
It was precisely to avoid such corruption that villages never placed cemeteries within their bounds.
Hong Geolgae frowned, baffled.
"But why would anyone bury them here?"
"Look there."
Tang Mujin pointed to the corner of the pit.
The severed leg of a pig. The cut wasn't ragged from teeth but clean, sharp—clearly made by a blade.
"…These were buried by human hands."
Whoever did it, their intent was obvious. And vile. Perhaps to exterminate Jueul Village entirely.
Majonggae and Hong Geolgae's faces hardened. Majonggae's beard trembled with rage.
"What kind of fiend… would do such a thing?"
"First we need to get the corpses out. Now that we know it's corpse poison, I can prepare medicine."
They silently hauled out the bodies and cast them far from the stream.
With luck, scavengers would devour them.
And even if not, at least the remains would dry in the open, no longer leaching poison into the water.
Yet the more they dug, the more carcasses surfaced. There seemed no end.
"Just a little more effort."
While they toiled, a sharp sound cut through the air. Tsk.
It was quiet, but distinct enough that none could miss it.
The three turned their heads toward the source.
There stood a man with a round, broad face and a thin goat-like beard.
"Well, well. I spent time, money, and effort burying those. And you just dig them up without a thought?"
A stranger to Tang Mujin, but Majonggae and Hong Geolgae recognized him instantly.
"Physician Yeom. Was this your doing?"
"Do you think wild beasts walked into the earth themselves to die there?"
Physician Yeom—the village healer of Jueul. Tang Mujin clenched his fists, glaring at him.
Majonggae, still unwilling to believe, pressed him.
"Yeom, why? Why would you do such a thing?"
"Why? Isn't it obvious? I can't rot away in these mountains my whole life."
"If you wanted to leave, then leave! Who stopped you?!"
"No one. But I've worked hard all these years. I deserve to take something with me."
"What… could you possibly mean to 'take'?"
"What else but money, of course."
At those words, Wi-rip's story flickered across Tang Mujin's mind.
"This region doesn't produce the medicinal herbs, so we have to buy them from the apothecary. But the price is no small thing.
At first, the physician prepared medicine for practically nothing, but now he charges money. He needs funds to buy more herbs until the apothecary comes again.
And since some time ago, he only treats those who can afford the medicine."
Tang Mujin spoke in a hollow voice.
"The money you collected from the people—it wasn't for the herbs, was it? It all went straight into your own pocket."
"They owe me that much. They saved their lives with my medicine, so the price is fair."
"Fair? You dare speak of fairness, when you were the one creating the sickness? If you were going to talk like that, you should have at least cured them completely!"
Physician Yeom chuckled.
"Judging from your words, you must also be a physician. But it seems you don't know how to make real money."
"Real money?"
"You have to keep them dangling on the edge of life. That way, they'll cough up every last coin. Healthy men and corpses don't pay."
Such a vicious notion. Tang Mujin's blood boiled in reverse.
"You're no physician. You're not even human."
Enraged, Ma Jeonggae stepped forward with a club in hand.
"What kind of wealth do mountain folk even have? And you'd steal dozens of lives just to make a bit of coin?"
"That's just side income. The real money comes from something else."
"Still harping about money! Let's see if you can talk about coin after I beat you to death!"
"You think I came without preparation?"
As Physician Yeom slid a step aside, two men emerged behind him.
One held a sword, the other an axe.
Both men had rough faces and murderous eyes—clearly, they had killed before.
But their overconfident stance didn't last long.
The moment their eyes caught the knots tied at Ma Jeonggae's and Hong Geolgae's waists, they flinched back half a step.
"Hey, Physician Yeom, didn't you say this village only had nobodies? Why are men with third- and fourth-tier openings here?"
"What's 'third-tier' and 'fourth-tier'?"
"You idiot! Don't you see the knots on their belts?"
"So what if I do?"
"Third-tier means a branch leader, fourth-tier means a law enforcer… Damn it, why am I even explaining this to you?"
The mood shifted strangely. The two men shuffled backward again, looking ready to bolt.
Sensing their unease, Physician Yeom barked,
"So you're going to run? If I can't pay off your gambling debts, you're dead anyway."
"Damn it."
The two hesitated, muttered to each other, then stepped forward again.
"A branch leader from a backwoods mountain sect—if we press, we can take him down."
"Fine, but what about the law enforcer?"
"Shit, how should I know?"
Their knees trembled.
Judging by the atmosphere, Ma Jeonggae and Hong Geolgae were the stronger fighters. Relief welled up in Tang Mujin's chest.
He turned, emboldened, and shouted:
"Elder Ma Jeonggae! Hong Geolgae! Finish them!"
But at that moment, Tang Mujin saw what he should not have.
Ma Jeonggae's knees were trembling even harder than those of Physician Yeom's hired men.
"Huh…?"
Before Tang Mujin could grasp the situation, the sword- and axe-wielders charged with a savage cry.
"Behold the might of the Jayang Twin Killers!"
A clumsy epithet, tied to a village name—worse, they had to share one between the two.
Tang Mujin didn't know much about martial artists, but he knew that kind of nickname was a hallmark of mediocrity.
"Please!"
When the swordsman among the Jayang Twin Killers closed to three zhang, Ma Jeonggae's eyes snapped open wide. In an instant, his trembling seemed to vanish.
His white beard flaring, he strode forward with power, raising his wooden club in one smooth motion.
"Ferocious Dog Blockade!"
Like intercepting a rabid dog's bite with a stick, his club met the Twin Killer's sword.
The blade bit into the wood.
But Ma Jeonggae's club was thick and solid. The sword failed to cleave through at once.
"Damn it!"
The swordsman hastily withdrew, retreating. Then the axeman lunged forward.
"Haaah! Die!"
The axe swept sideways, aimed not at Ma Jeonggae but at Hong Geolgae.
Hong Geolgae rolled aside just in time, dodging the strike, then sprang up fluidly and lashed a kick into the axeman's ribs.
"Crashing Kick!"
"Ghhk!"
Clutching his side, the axeman staggered back.
After a single round of exchanges, the Jayang Twin Killers and the two sect men glared at each other.
A brief silence.
Then the axeman spoke cautiously.
"Those bastards… they don't look so tough after all, do they?"