Chapter 30 — The Special Banquet
That evening, under the night sky of Mount Kunlun, over a hundred lanterns bloomed with light.
The usually quiet and serene night of Kunlun was unusually lively, filled with the sound of laughter and the melodies of flutes played by musicians.
All of it was thanks to the special banquet being held at the Guest Reception Hall near the Sect Leader’s residence.
This banquet served both to celebrate the winner of the Great Assembly of Elders and to send off the Orthodox Alliance delegation departing the next day.
Because of that, it was a grand event attended by Kunlun Sect’s key figures and the representatives from the Orthodox Alliance.
The Sect Leader occupied the seat of honor, with Blood Physician Butcher Baek Cheong-woo seated right beside him.
Thanks to my status as the winner of the Great Assembly of Elders, Jin Gwang-ung and I were also assigned seats directly next to the Sect Leader.
‘That murderer should be making his move soon.’
On the surface, I pretended to enjoy the banquet atmosphere while secretly keeping a close eye on Baek Cheong-woo’s every movement.
I already knew what was coming.
Tonight, at this very banquet, Baek Cheong-woo would use a lethal poison to drive the Sect Leader to his death—through an extremely secretive method that would leave no one suspicious.
‘Of course, I already know exactly what kind of dirty trick you’re going to use.’
Whether the Sect Leader lived or died tonight would depend on my actions.
That was why I focused every ounce of my attention on monitoring Baek Cheong-woo.
However, there was someone completely oblivious to the heavy tension.
“Kyaah, this is the stuff! This is what makes life worth living! Come on, pass the drinks around!”
Jin Gwang-ung raised the vessel in his hand with a voice thick with intoxication.
What he held wasn’t a normal wine cup—it was a large soup bowl.
Declaring that he would drink properly today, the Mad Bear ignored the small cups everyone else used and kept gulping down alcohol straight from the big bowl.
“What are you doing?! Can’t you see the bowl is empty? Fill it up quickly. Kekeke.”
A servant hurriedly poured more wine into the freshly emptied bowl.
Jin Gwang-ung immediately poured the contents down his throat.
He emptied bowl after bowl as if his throat were a bottomless pit made for drinking.
“Excellent! Truly excellent! This is paradise! Today, the Kunlun Sect looks just like the Peach Blossom Paradise!”
Jin Gwang-ung shouted heartily, paying no attention to the atmosphere around him.
I shook my head and spoke to him.
“Master, aren’t you drinking a bit too much? I’m worried you won’t even be able to get up tomorrow morning.”
“Eh, we don’t even know what will happen an inch ahead in life, so why worry about tomorrow? You have to enjoy today to the fullest—that’s what living means. Kekeke.”
Sect Leader Cheon Gwang-cheon smiled at those words.
“Indeed. As Elder Gwang-ung says, one must live today properly to have a tomorrow. I can feel the depth of enlightenment in your words, Elder Gwang-ung. Hahaha.”
It seemed the Sect Leader tended to view the world a little too positively.
To me, it just looked like a drunk old man throwing a tantrum because he wanted more alcohol.
As the banquet atmosphere grew increasingly lively, I saw Baek Cheong-woo slowly rise from his seat.
‘It’s starting.’
I quietly watched his next move.
A servant standing beside Baek Cheong-woo handed him a pre-prepared wooden box.
“Sect Leader, as promised, I would like to present a fine medicinal wine befitting today’s auspicious occasion.”
“Hahaha. I’ve been quite curious about what kind of drink it is. I look forward to it.”
At the Sect Leader’s reply, Baek Cheong-woo smiled and opened the wooden box in his hands.
Inside were two jade-colored bottles.
He took out one of them and removed the lid. A rich aroma immediately spread through the air.
Unlike ordinary liquor, the wine Baek Cheong-woo brought carried a distinct medicinal fragrance.
It wasn’t a harsh or fishy smell, but a clear, pure, and refreshing herbal scent that filled the surroundings.
***
“Ohh. The fragrance is extraordinary.”
“Just the aroma alone tells you how profound the flavor must be.”
At the crowd’s admiring remarks, Baek Cheong-woo put on a humble expression and spoke.
“It is Yangming Wine, brewed using Yangming Grass I obtained from Tianzhu.”
The people around them reacted with visible shock.
“Yangming Grass?! That priceless herb!”
“Wine brewed from the same Yangming Grass offered only to the Emperor!”
It was only natural for them to be so astonished.
‘Yangming Grass… Yeah, that’s definitely shocking.’
Yangming Grass.
A rare medicinal herb that grew only under the intense sunlight of Tianzhu.
It was famous for containing pure yang energy that cleared blocked meridians and infused warmth into cold inner cores.
‘Kunlun’s martial arts are rooted in clear qi. If one pursues only clear qi, the internal energy becomes too pure, which inevitably weakens the yang aspect.’
Yangming Grass instantly replenished that missing yang energy.
That was why, to the Taoist masters of Kunlun who spent their days in meditation and seclusion, Yangming Grass was no ordinary herb.
It served as the ‘mediator of yin and yang’ that harmonized clear qi and yang qi to perfect the flow of internal energy.
‘Moreover, Yangming Grass is an extremely rare herb that grows only on the southern slopes of the Tianzhu mountain range, nestled among scorching rock faces.’
For the reclusive masters who spent their entire lives on Mount Kunlun, merely smelling its scent was enough to make their mouths water.
Indeed, several elders stood up from their seats to examine the bottle, exclaiming in admiration.
“Wine made from Yangming Grass… Drinking it should immediately strengthen the meridians.”
“The White-Clothed Noble Gentleman has truly presented something priceless to the Sect Leader.”
“Even a single cup would greatly aid one’s cultivation… I’m truly envious.”
Under the envious gazes of the crowd, Baek Cheong-woo lifted the wine bottle.
“Unfortunately, because Yangming Grass is so rare, I could only brew a small amount. Each bottle contains no more than three or four cups’ worth. I would like to offer one bottle to the Sect Leader and the other to Han Mujin, the winner of the Great Assembly of Elders.”
At his words, the Sect Leader smiled warmly.
“Hahaha. I can only express my gratitude for such a precious medicinal wine. And since it was personally brewed by the White-Clothed Noble Gentleman, my expectations are even higher.”
“Please don’t expect too much. I merely applied my humble skills.”
“What humble words. Everyone in the Murim knows that your winemaking skills are second to none.”
Laughter filled the banquet hall.
To others, it must have looked like a heartwarming scene of a promising young righteous faction member showing proper respect to his seniors.
But in my eyes, it was completely different.
‘You filthy murderer. Pulling your tricks right in front of the person you’re about to kill.’
Yangming Wine brewed with Yangming Grass.
Under normal circumstances, it would be a heavenly medicinal wine that opened meridians and warmed the inner core.
But right now, it looked like the most dangerous lethal poison in the world.
‘The yang energy within Yangming Grass gently warms the body’s qi. However, if someone who has taken the Soul-Scattering Pill consumes Yangming Grass within a week… it turns into a fire demon that burns all the internal organs.’
When the yang energy of Yangming Grass mixed with the residual energy of the Soul-Scattering Pill remaining in the body, it instantly transformed into a deadly fire poison.
I had witnessed that horrific outcome hundreds of times in my previous life.
The final moments of test subjects whose flesh burned black and limbs twisted in agony.
Baek Cheong-woo, that insane butcher, had called it “research.”
‘The Soul-Scattering Pill he gifted to the participants of the Great Assembly of Elders a week ago was clearly calculated for tonight.’
Tonight, after the Sect Leader drank the Yangming Wine and went to sleep, he would be found cold and dead the next morning.
Of course, an investigation into the remaining wine would follow, but it would be too late.
Even if any of the other elders drank the Yangming Wine the next day, the residual energy of the Soul-Scattering Pill would have already dissipated, so nothing would happen.
And Baek Cheong-woo, that murderous bastard, would leave Kunlun with a confident smile, completely free of suspicion.
***
‘Well played, Blood Physician Butcher. But in this life, things won’t go your way.’
After all, I—Han Mujin—am right here, seeing straight through your filthy schemes.
“Then, would it be acceptable for me to humbly offer a cup to the Sect Leader?”
“Hahaha, of course.”
The Sect Leader smiled brightly and raised his empty cup.
Just as Baek Cheong-woo was about to pour the Yangming Wine, I naturally stepped in and spoke.
“Please wait a moment, Sect Leader.”
“Hmm? What is it, Mujin?”
“Since this is your first time tasting such a precious wine as Yangming Wine, I was concerned that the lingering energy from the previous drinks might mix in and prevent you from fully appreciating its deep flavor. How about rinsing your mouth with clean water first?”
“Ohh, that’s a good point. I’ll do that.”
I poured the water I had prepared in advance into the Sect Leader’s cup.
He emptied it in one go.
“Hmm, the water tastes remarkably refreshing. It might be the best thing I’ve had all evening.”
“It must be because your heart is light today, Sect Leader, that even the water tastes so refreshing.”
“Hahaha, you may be right.”
After giving the Sect Leader a light bow, I glanced at Baek Cheong-woo.
“White-Clothed Noble Gentleman, may I also pour you a cup of water?”
“Of course. My throat was feeling rather dry.”
I poured water from the bottle into Baek Cheong-woo’s cup.
He drank it down in one gulp, then looked at me with a smile.
“Even at your young age, you seem to understand the subtleties of fine wine. Thinking ahead to rinse the mouth for better appreciation of the flavor… impressive.”
I smiled back and replied.
“How could someone as young as me understand the depths of fine wine? If I can at least tell the difference between normal liquor and poisoned liquor, that would already be fortunate.”
For a brief moment, Baek Cheong-woo’s eyes flashed with a chilling light.
But the look vanished instantly.
As if nothing had happened, he returned to his usual bright expression and spoke.
“Poison, you say… What an amusing thing to suggest. Are you perhaps worried that the Yangming Wine I brought contains poison?”
“How could the wine personally brewed by the renowned White-Clothed Noble Gentleman contain poison? That’s impossible. After all, it’s not as if you have some perverse hobby of feeding people poison, right?”
“……”
“Haha, it seems I’ve intruded on your drinking and said something unnecessary. Please enjoy your time together.”
I maintained a smile full of feigned courtesy. Baek Cheong-woo stared at me with a strange expression for a moment.
But soon enough, he turned his attention back to the Sect Leader.
“Sect Leader, please have a cup.”
Cheon Gwang-cheon gladly accepted the Yangming Wine from Baek Cheong-woo and drank it down.
“Hmm, I can already feel the yang energy circulating through my body. The power of Yangming Grass is truly remarkable, just as the rumors say.”
“I’m glad it pleases you. Please try the rest as well.”
Baek Cheong-woo kept offering more wine, and the Sect Leader did not refuse.
After pouring three or four cups as Baek Cheong-woo had mentioned, the entire bottle was emptied.
Thanks to the wine’s effects, the Sect Leader’s complexion grew noticeably flushed.
Baek Cheong-woo’s lips twitched faintly as he watched.
The tremor disappeared in an instant, but my eyes didn’t miss it.
‘Enjoying this, you perverted murderer?’
Right now, that butcher’s heart was probably overflowing with ecstasy.
He was surely imagining the future where the residual energy of the Soul-Scattering Pill inside the Sect Leader mixed with the yang energy of the Yangming Grass, melting his internal organs from within.
He must be absolutely convinced that everything was proceeding exactly as he had planned.
‘Just wait. We’ll see how well your plan actually works.’
The person who would meet their end after tonight’s banquet would be someone you could never have imagined.