Pay‑to‑Win King of Martial Arts (Novel) - Chapter 144 - Karmic Ties (8)

Chapter 144 – Karmic Ties (8)

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Translated by Heavenly Cat

Read it only at Novelbyu.com & Utoon.net

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One never knew where human ties would lead. I had never dreamed that the head of the Fang Estate would be that sort of man.

From what I had heard of Fang Su-un in my previous life, he wasn’t a bad man. I had heard that he released some relief grain to the common people of Luoyang, and that unlike many rich men he wasn’t debauched and was devoted to his household.

Naturally, I had never had any reason to feel hostility toward him, nor any reason to become entangled with him.

From this, I felt two things. First, that what appeared in the world was, as expected, never the whole of it.

Second, that a person who was good to someone could still be a mortal enemy to someone else. “Heh heh…”

Seeing the Wolf-Fang Sword King collapse, Cheong-su laughed.

Now every obstacle standing between him and his revenge had vanished. “D-don’t come any closer!”

Fang Su-un cried out in a shrill voice. Cheong-su ignored him and kept walking slowly.

With every step, blood poured down.

From Fang Su-un’s point of view, it must have looked as though a revenant drenched in blood was approaching. I sheathed my sword and looked toward the place Cheong-su was heading.

Fang Su-un, pale as death, and his wife and daughter. It wasn’t a pleasant sight, but there was nothing for me to do.

This was Cheong-su’s revenge. I had come to protect Cheong-su, not to interfere in his revenge.

And even if the sight of Fang Su-un’s wife and daughter gave me pause, I couldn’t very well stop Cheong-su’s blade for that reason.

After all, among the evil people in this world, there was no one without a story. Cheong-su came before Fang Su-un and raised his sword.

It was enough to stop even the breath of someone merely watching. How much more terrifying must it be for the one facing that sword?

But in the end, Cheong-su’s sword did not fall.

It wasn’t because he had shown mercy. His body and mind had reached their limits, and he simply collapsed.

Before his body could strike the ground, I caught him. “…Ha, haha, hahahaha.”

The moment he understood what had happened, Fang Su-un laughed.

As I got closer, the sharp stench of urine drifted up from him. “You bastards are Daoists of Wudang, aren’t you? You’re in for it now! I’ll tell the prefectural office, every official I know, every martial artist I know! I’ll tell them what a monstrous bunch Wudang really is!”

Truly, Fang Su-un was acting in a way that was disgusting to behold. Without answering him, I gave Cheong-su emergency treatment first.

He had lost too much blood, so I first sealed several points to stop the bleeding. When I placed a hand on his dantian, I could feel not even a trace of internal energy.

It seemed he had burned through even his innate true qi.

At this point, honestly, he ought to be counted as dead. He had lost too much blood, and his dantian had been destroyed.

Even in a healthy state, reforming a dantian and rebuilding internal energy was close to a miracle. In his present condition, there wasn’t even room to expect the slightest miracle.

Even after I had done everything I could, Cheong-su’s pulse kept growing fainter.

Just then, noise erupted outside. Not long after, soldiers in military uniforms stormed into the Clan Head’s room.

“Th-they’re here! Arrest these men!” When he saw the soldiers, Fang Su-un shouted.

They weren’t yamen runners from the prefectural office, but formally trained soldiers from the Dudu Command.

Given the scale of the incident, and the fact that Fang Su-un was Luoyang’s foremost local notable, it seemed the imperial troops attached to the Dudu Command had come directly. “Are they martial artists?”

One of the soldiers asked me. He was clearly on guard.

I nodded. Since the basic principle was noninterference between officials and martial artists, and since martial artists often resisted fiercely when the authorities had to arrest them, that reaction was natural.

“What are you doing! I said arrest them!”

Fang Su-un screamed. The soldier frowned and then barked at Fang Su-un,

“Do you think the imperial troops are your private soldiers? Who are you to order us around!” “Just because you were a big shot once, you really are going too far!”

The soldiers all flared up at Fang Su-un’s words.

Unlike common yamen runners, the formal soldiers belonging to the Dudu Command possessed an immense pride in being imperial troops. Fang Su-un clearly hadn’t known that when he spoke so casually.

Not having expected such a fierce reaction, Fang Su-un went mute, and the man who had shouted turned back toward me. “I am Wei Jinqing, Hundred Household of the Henan Regional Command under the Central Military Governor’s Office. There is indeed a principle of noninterference between officials and martial artists, but the Fang Estate is still a civilian residence. If a civilian residence has been attacked, then even martial artists must face the law. I trust you know that.”

“I do.”

Wei Jinqing was as polite to me as he could be. There was no need for me to act prickly in return, so I answered him politely as well.

Some martial artists brandished the principle of noninterference as though it were an all-conquering blade, but no matter what, if a martial artist harmed a civilian residence, it was only natural that the authorities should punish him. The principle of noninterference had originally been established to mean that the authorities would not interfere in killings that took place between martial artists themselves.

“I don’t know what happened that led to this assault on the Fang Estate, but if there are at least circumstances worthy of consideration, we can make sure it isn’t handled unjustly. So for now, I ask that you come with us.”

“To begin with, I’m not the person who attacked this place. I came to stop the one who did, but by the time I arrived, he’d already turned it into this mess.” “You can say that to the Ministry of Punishments. If we investigate and it turns out you didn’t participate in this slaughter, you’ll naturally be released.”

“The Dudu Command isn’t the one that investigates anyway. It’s the Provincial Administration Commission.” “That may be so, but in the end it’s still we who convey our initial impressions to the Provincial Administration Commissioner. For now, come with us.”

This was turning into a troublesome situation. If the Dudu Command and the Provincial Administration Commissioner both became entangled in this, then Wudang would inevitably end up in an awkward position.

This was precisely why Cheong-su had slashed up his own face before coming, but because I had appeared, things had turned out like this.

There was only one way out. I pulled out a token from my robes and showed it to Wei Jinqing.

Wei Jinqing’s expression changed. “…So you’re from the Embroidered Uniform Guard.”

“That’s right.”

What I had shown him was my censor token of the Embroidered Uniform Guard. Instead, it was Wei Jinqing’s face that turned difficult.

The Dudu Command could only escort and deliver people, but the Embroidered Uniform Guard, being a body directly under the Emperor, could not only take custody but also pass judgment and carry out immediate execution. “Could you perhaps report to your Commanding Officer that an Embroidered Uniform Guard censor has taken charge of this matter? Since it involves the martial world, that should be easier for you as well.”

“That is true.”

Wei Jinqing stroked his chin. Sensing that matters were suddenly taking a strange turn, Fang Su-un shouted,

“Wh-what are you talking about! Embroidered Uniform Guard censor or not, martial artists killed this many people!” “The dead are only the martial artists who served here as retainers. There shouldn’t be any civilians among them.”

I added that. Whether someone was a martial artist or not could, in broad terms, be judged by whether the temple at the side of the head bulged with cultivated energy or not.

Of course, Cheong-su might well have killed civilians too.

But from what I knew of him, I didn’t think he’d have gone that far. “Go take a look.”

Wei Jinqing turned and sent several of his subordinates out. It seemed he meant for them to confirm whether there were any dead ordinary civilians among the corpses.

Since the soldiers of the Dudu Command themselves had learned some martial arts, the investigation ended quickly.

“The censor’s words are correct. There were no ordinary civilians among the dead.” “This is absurd!”

Fang Su-un shouted. At that point, whether by misfortune or by luck, the principle of noninterference between officials and martial artists would come into effect again.

Fortunately or unfortunately, ordinary civilian Fang Su-un had not died, and all Cheong-su had killed were martial artists.

So in the end, this had become a clash between martial artists. Had I not been a censor of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, there would still have been an investigation.

But since I was here, there was no reason for the Dudu Command to stay. Having made his judgment, Wei Jinqing bowed his head.

“Since the censor is present, it seems the Dudu Command has no further role here.” “That’s correct. Thank you for your understanding.”

“Those of us serving the state naturally ought to accommodate one another.”

Just then, Cheong-su’s body jerked violently and blood spilled from his mouth. When I took his wrist, his pulse had grown so faint I could barely feel it.

“Is he all right? It looks as though some action needs to be taken. Though to be honest, even if something is done, it seems difficult…” “I’ll handle this man myself as well, so Hundred Household, please take your soldiers and go see to your duties.”

“Understood.”

Wei Jinqing bowed and led his soldiers out. Fang Su-un howled at them not to go, but neither Wei Jinqing nor the soldiers gave him the slightest heed.

No matter how influential he was as a local notable, Fang Su-un was still ultimately a civilian, whereas I was a censor of the Embroidered Uniform Guard. Naturally, they listened to me.

If I hadn’t been a censor of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, what would I have done.

I had been furious when this post was shoved onto me, but now that it was helping me like this, I found myself feeling grateful to Wang Song for handing me the censor token. “You. Stay still for a moment.”

I struck the sleep acupoints of Fang Su-un and his family one by one. All three of them collapsed softly to the ground.

Cheong-su was already on the very edge of death. If I left him as he was, he would certainly die.

Unless I had some supreme pill at the level of a Great Rejuvenation Pill, it was hopeless that he would live.

But even if I ran to Shaolin and begged for a Great Rejuvenation Pill, there was no chance they’d give me one, and Cheong-su would die on the way there anyway. That meant there was only one method left to me.

“Martial Uncle. This can’t be helped.” I took a small case from my robes and opened it.

Should I call it a spiritual medicine?

In any case, it was certainly something that contained an immense concentration of energy. The problem was that it was demonic qi rather than spiritual qi.

What I took out was a pill similar to the pseudo-Divine Demonic Pill I had acquired after beating down the Mara Blood Buddha in Gansu. If even the slightest trace of spiritual qi had remained in Cheong-su’s body, I would never have considered using it.

But now, with even his innate true qi burned away, Cheong-su’s body was a blank white sheet with no internal energy at all.

In that state, even if demonic qi entered him, there was no risk of qi deviation. The problem was whether Cheong-su’s body could endure until the energy of this pseudo-Divine Demonic Pill had healed him.

My decision made, I let the pseudo-Divine Demonic Pill melt into Cheong-su’s mouth. The pill dissolved in his blood and slid down his throat.

At once, Cheong-su’s body shone violet.

I first spread a qi barrier so that the demonic qi wouldn’t leak outside. It was my first time doing so, but compared to segmenting my perception and assimilating with nature, it was far easier, and I accomplished it lightly.

“Hoo.” I let out a breath to steady myself.

Then I placed my hand on Cheong-su’s qi sea point. The dantian had already vanished, but the human body naturally had a tendency to repair itself.

Ordinarily it would take an immense amount of time, but the powerful energy of the pseudo-Divine Demonic Pill would replace that time.

Demonic qi swirled through Cheong-su’s body. One thing was certain.

The demonic qi contained in this pseudo-Divine Demonic Pill was different from the demonic qi I myself possessed. And yet this demonic qi too was something I could control.

I didn’t know whether Cheong-su’s actions had been right or wrong.

Leaking the Taiji Wisdom Sword and betraying Wudang. Coming here for personal revenge like this.

It was beyond my place to judge. But I did want Cheong-su to live.

That was only natural, when it came to someone with whom I had formed a bond.

First, he had to live. The slashes, stab wounds, and severed areas carved into Cheong-su’s body bubbled and began to knit together.

As expected, this pseudo-Divine Demonic Pill really did contain tremendous energy. Demonic qi, too, was still a kind of energy.

As I controlled the surging speed of the demonic qi of the pseudo-Divine Demonic Pill, I took care not to damage Cheong-su’s meridians as much as possible. To restore only the wounds as much as I could and heal the internal injuries.

To provide the optimal flow of demonic qi throughout his body.

That was the task before me as the one guiding true qi. How much time passed like that?

Before I knew it, the blood that had once soaked the floor had evaporated and left only traces, and all of Cheong-su’s wounds had sealed. Of course, the traces of the wounds themselves did not disappear.

Cheong-su’s face had become a mass of beehive-like scars, his right arm remained severed with only the wound sealed over, and as the torn facial wounds knit together, even the placement of his features had distorted, leaving not the slightest remnant of his former appearance.

“Hoo.” I sent my demonic qi through him once more and examined his body from end to end.

All the wounds were gone, and the burned-out dantian had reformed. Within that dantian sat the remaining residual demonic qi left after the restoration.

“Mm.”

A groan escaped Cheong-su’s mouth. I removed my hand from his dantian and slapped his cheek.

“Martial Uncle. Wake up.” “…Ngh.”

Apparently the slap hurt, because Cheong-su’s eyes flew open. Then he sat bolt upright.

“Wh-what?”

“What do you mean, what?” “Am I alive right now?”

“Since I’m not dead, it seems the Hall Master isn’t dead yet either.” Cheong-su looked at me.

Gradually, light returned to his dazed eyes.

“Wh-why in the world are you here?” “I came to find the Hall Master, didn’t I? I went through a lot cleaning up the mess you’ve caused.”

“No. What in the world…” Being a martial artist, Cheong-su seemed to naturally circulate what internal energy he had and inspect his condition.

Soon his face turned pale.

“…What did you do to my body?” Cheong-su asked with a shaken expression.

He had every right to be shaken. Truthfully, I was shaken too.

I hadn’t given much thought to what would happen after Cheong-su survived. All I could do was smile awkwardly.