Murim Troubleshooter Dan Mujin

Chapter 35: The Red Boar

Between the mountains, a deeply shadowed hollow valley.

Black mushrooms shaped like horns were sprouting up all over the place like bamboo shoots after rain.

"What the, there’s way more than I expected?"

Tang Yeo-hye stared at the wild mushroom habitat with a face that screamed jackpot.

Just one of these mushrooms, called Black Pine Fungus, could be used in a thousand poisons. And here we were, finding over ten of them.

Even after the greedy Blood Boar had passed through.

"With this, there’s no need to check elsewhere, Young Mistress."

Neungsam dropped the sack to the ground with a thud and spoke as if things were going well.

"Neungsam, you saw that? I told you, heaven’s luck follows those with grand intentions."

"I’m still unsure how trying to screw over your Oppa counts as a grand intention, though."

"Hey now, no need to say all that."

Looks like even the Sichuan Tang Clan had its inner conflicts.

I scratched my tingling ear and observed the so-called Black Pine Fungus from a few steps away.

Thick black sap dripped ominously from it. All the surrounding vegetation had withered and curled up.

They said it periodically emitted poisonous spores—was that the cause?

Anyway, it looked like a cursed mushroom screaming ‘touch me and die’ with every fiber of its being.

"You’re really going to pluck that? It looks straight-up evil."

I asked with a face filled with unease.

It felt like staring at a dud explosive that could blow at any moment.

"Don’t be dumb. Why do you think we came all the way here?"

Looked like she was going to mess with it anyway.

"But I thought it emits poison when touched."

"It’s fine, I know how to handle it. I’m Tang Yeo-hye of the Poison Ancestral Blood."

Tang Yeo-hye thumped her chest with confidence.

Somehow, that just made it feel more like the classic ‘don’t worry, I won’t die’ moment right before doing something stupid.

"Neungsam ahjussi, has she ever handled Black Pine Fungus before?"

"This is probably her first time, I believe."

So it was that kind of damned baseless confidence.

The moment I heard Neungsam’s answer, I grabbed Ilhong and quickly backed off.

Which made Tang Yeo-hye snort in disbelief.

"Ha, look at this guy’s face. I’ve handled poisons since birth, you think I’d fall to a mere mushroom?"

Her tone was dismissive, yet beneath it was an unmistakable pride in her poison expertise.

"Can’t you just use a long tool and pluck it from a distance?"

"Scared? You have to handle things like this delicately with both hands, or their value drops drastically."

With a snicker, Tang Yeo-hye ignored my ominous gut feeling and approached the mushroom.

As she channeled her energy, a pale aura gathered around both of her hands.

"Wow, Boss, look at that. That’s the Fierce Jade Claw that once reduced the Green Forest Bandits to a puddle of blood."

Ilhong whispered beside me, describing it with a tone that sent chills.

She shaped her hands like the beak of a raptor and plunged them right beside the mushroom.

Her jade-like hands split the tough earth like tofu.

"Wow, a true expert can even dig with bare hands."

They said to beware of old men and children in the Murim, and in that moment, I fully agreed.

The drunk old man I’d bumped into in an alley turned out to be the Beggars’ Union’s Boss, and the brat I met on a job turned out to be a top expert from the Tang Clan.

Truly, the Central Plains Murim was a brutal world.

Thud. Thud.

Her hands stabbed and dug around the mushroom repeatedly. Seemed she intended to lift it with the soil intact, without touching it directly.

"See? I had it all planned. There’s no one who knows poisons like I do… huh?"

Then, the last thing we wanted to hear echoed.

Perhaps she had touched something in the soil. Her expression suddenly hardened.

"Ah, damn… don’t tell me it has root tendrils…"

Psshhhk!

The Black Pine Fungus shriveled up instantly and released a black smoke.

"Urk!" Tang Yeo-hye collapsed with a thud.

"Young Mistress!"

Neungsam dashed out in a panic, while I stood beside a flustered Ilhong, letting out a deep sigh.

I had a feeling it would end like this.

"This is insane… seriously."

With the unexpected blow, the Black Pine Fungus shriveled into a husk.

Neungsam hastily pulled out an antidote pill and poured it into Tang Yeo-hye’s mouth.

"Are you alright, Young Mistress?"

"Cough, damn it… I let my guard down. For the great Poison Ancestral Blood to make such a mistake…"

She coughed up bloody phlegm as she chewed the antidote viciously.

A dark pool of poisoned blood spread across the ground.

"……."

Then, perhaps noticing my unimpressed gaze, Tang Yeo-hye whipped her head toward me.

"…What? Why’re you looking at me like that?"

I hadn’t said anything, but she seemed guilty and started barking on her own.

Poison-handling folks sure were touchy.

"You’ve got it wrong, Boss’s eyes are always like that."

Ilhong, ever the defender, claimed I always kept my eyes sharp even in front of masters.

Though I wasn’t sure if that really counted as defense.

"Young Mistress, calm your breathing and expel the poison slowly. Otherwise, your energy channels will be disrupted."

"Urgh, it’ll take me at least half a quarter-hour to purge it completely."

"Please stop talking and focus on recovery."

Perhaps to aid her, Neungsam plopped down behind her and pressed on a few acupoints on her back.

Ilhong and I placed the sack and bundle full of poisonous herbs onto the ground.

I had sensed something off earlier, and it was a good thing we had stepped back.

A threat detection skill honed through countless clients.

"Ilhong, did you see that? The foresight of yours truly."

"Well… I’ll give you that one this time."

Despite being poisoned, Tang Yeo-hye was calmly handling the situation like a true poison-handling martial artist.

With nothing else to do, we watched from a distance.

Rustle, snap.

Then, from behind us, the sound of bushes and branches snapping filled the air.

"……?"

As I turned around to see what it was, a massive beast entered my view.

Fur dyed crimson like the Red Hare, towering tusks, and a savage glare that made my knees tremble.

A massive killer boar straight out of a movie was now glaring at us as if ready to kill for stepping into the Black Pine Fungus’s habitat.

"Boss, I think we’re screwed."

Ilhong swallowed dryly and assessed the situation accurately.

We had been watching someone else’s crisis from afar, and now the flames had jumped over to us.

"No, damn it! Weren’t we told the Blood Boar wouldn’t be here?!"

A voice full of resentment toward Tang Yeo-hye.

How was this in any way a request suitable for a low-tier wanderer?

It felt like some kind of demonic energy had latched onto my life. Maybe this too was because of the ominous Heaven-Slaying Star dwelling within me.

“Gyueeeek-!”

A monstrous shriek snapped me back to reality. A colossal beast, the kind only seen in films, slammed into the ground.

A crimson-black shadow charged at terrifying speed. I instantly kicked Ilhong in the chest, shoving him aside to avoid the Blood Boar’s attack.

“Ilhong...! Run!”

Even the Art of War says if there's no answer, then escape is the right move.

After shouting for Ilhong to run, I slung the sack filled with poisonous herbs over my shoulder.

It was to save Ilhong, whose movement arts weren’t yet proficient.

Snort snort.

The Blood Boar flared its massive nostrils, probably having followed the scent of poison.

Its fierce breath steamed as our eyes met.

Its bristly fur, thick hide, and hulking body looked like they’d shrug off a punch without a scratch.

It was a monster boar straight out of a movie. It felt like facing off against a mid-sized car.

And I had to face this monster barehanded, with no weapons.

“Hey, kid! I’ll flush the poison out, just hang on for a quarter-hour or so!”

From a distance, Tang Yeo-hye shouted such carefree words.

She’d boasted earlier that even if the Blood Boar showed up on the way, she could handle it.

Yet now, in the moment real strength was needed, she was slumped on the ground like some ridiculous martial artist.

“Damn it, you think that’s easy?!”

“Gyueeek!”

The Blood Boar, snorting again, slammed into the ground. A massive charge, like a burst of wind.

I channeled my internal energy into my toes and launched myself, rolling over the ground. The attack barely missed me by a hair. Its stiff bristles scraped me, leaving a scratch on my skin.

Thunk!

The sound of its massive tusks slamming into the pine tree behind me.

With a massive crash, the tree shuddered, then its trunk snapped with a crack. Leaves scattered everywhere.

If that hit me squarely, I wouldn’t even leave bones behind.

“Gyuik!”

Thinking it had missed, the beast yanked its tusks free and spun around swiftly.

They said red things were thrice as fast, and it certainly moved with alarming agility for its size.

“Ugly bastard.”

Its rancid breath hit me from across the distance.

Baring its yellow, sticky fangs, the Blood Boar let out another shriek.

“Gyueeeek-!”

This charge was even faster than before. With overwhelming size and speed, it was right up in my face in the blink of an eye.

“Ugh!”

There wasn’t even time to read its killing intent. Instinctively, I threw my body to the side.

As if anticipating that, the Blood Boar kicked off the ground again, changing its trajectory.

No way to dodge. Its jagged tusks loomed before my eyes.

“Son of a—”

Thud—!

It sounded like a hammer smashing into a chunk of meat. That meat was me.

Whoosh—

A heavy impact rocked my entire body. I was launched nearly ten feet without even managing a scream.

My vision spun wildly as I tumbled. My ribs felt utterly crushed, and even breathing was hard.

“Gkk, damn it...”

Dan Mujin lay sprawled on the ground like a corpse.

“No! Boss...!”

Ilhong let out a shrill cry more befitting a girl.

And as if selecting its next target, the Blood Boar turned its head toward us.

With its eyes glowing, it pawed at the ground as if ready to leap again.

“Gyuuik!”

Its hooves dug into the earth with such force that each stomp left deep dents.

“Young Mistress, is the detox done yet?!”

“Just a bit... ugh, I need more time...!”

If one tried to forcefully draw internal energy while poison lingered in the body, their qi flow could twist, potentially crippling them.

Even a brief moment was precious, but the beast before us was already snorting and stomping its way forward.

Then, from behind the Blood Boar, came the voice of a certain boy.

“Grrrrgh, you pork-bellied bastard...! You dare hit a person?!”

Dan Mujin, thought to be half-dead, had somehow risen, glaring as if to kill the crimson beast.

“What is that guy made of...?”

Tang Yeo-hye’s eyes went wide in shock.

That charge just now would have left even her unsure of survival, yet that boy had stood up again.

“A low-tier wanderer without even outer arts training, how...?”

“Young Mistress, we can think about that later...!”

Neungsam’s voice groaned from behind her.

Even though Dan Mujin had stood up, his legs were trembling and his breath ragged.

“Gyuek!”

As if to finish him off for good, the Blood Boar snorted heavily.

“You there! Cough... take the hidden weapon in my cloak and shoot that beast!”

Tang Yeo-hye spat out another mouthful of blood and urgently called to the delicate-looking kid, Ilhong.

“Huh? How do I use this?”

Ilhong, holding a cylindrical device filled with Tang Clan engineering, looked to her for instructions.

“Pull the ring at the back!”

Following her directions, Ilhong aimed at the Blood Boar and yanked the rear ring hard.

Bang—!

A long projectile shot forth with a loud burst.

“Ggyueeek!”

Not far off, the sound of a pig being slaughtered echoed.

My vision was drenched in red.

Not because of burst blood vessels, but because the Heaven-Slaying Star was flaring violently in the face of mortal danger.

Bang—!

A blast thundered nearby.

Ten sharp needles tore through the air, piercing the Blood Boar’s head.

Pupupuck!

“Ggyueek!”

One embedded near its eye, making the bear-sized creature thrash wildly.

Meanwhile, my entire body felt like it had been shattered by the earlier hit. And this beast was throwing a tantrum over a few needles.

“Grrgh. Grr...”

Just like when I had fallen from the cliff, the crimson energy snapped my arm bone back into place with a sickening crunch.

No matter how many times it happened, the pain and the sound were always unbearable. But after a moment, strength began to return to my grip.

"You're dead now, you bastard."

As soon as I realized my arm was back in place, I lunged at the beast.

"Gyuik?!"

My whole body ached, but my mind was clear, sharpened by the fire of revenge.

I climbed onto the Blood Boar’s back like a rodeo rider and yanked out the needle lodged near its eye.

Then I took one of the stray needles and, with renewed strength, drove it precisely back into its mark.

"Gyueeeeeek—!"

The Blood Boar let out an earth-shattering shriek, thrashing about in fury.

With one hand, I clutched its bristly, rigid fur like reins. And with the other hand—

Pook! Pook! Pook!

"Die, you bastard!"

I relentlessly jabbed at the only place my attacks could penetrate—its eyeball.

Each time the needle plunged in, the beast convulsed violently as if struck by lightning.

"Gyuik! Gyueeeek!"

Once again, the sound of a pig being slaughtered echoed through the mountain range.

A brutal, blood-soaked struggle between man and beast. The Blood Boar thrashed its body wildly, trying to shake me off.

But as I clung to it like a leech, it finally resorted to smashing its head against a nearby boulder.

"Urgh!"

Unable to withstand the impact, I was thrown off at last.

I must’ve landed on the back of my head—my vision spun as blood pooled in my mouth.

"Gyueek!"

The furious Blood Boar charged, one eye dripping blood.

This time, it looked ready to finish me for good. But my body wouldn’t move anymore.

Just as I was about to face certain death—

"Hey, kid. You did good."

A youthful voice. Eyes burning with bloodthirsty energy.

Five fingers, suffused with water qi, pierced the top of the Blood Boar’s skull like a raptor’s beak.

Pooook!