Sichuan's Mad Dragon (Novel) - Chapter 131 - Smarter Than Expected
Chapter 131 – Smarter Than Expected
===================
Translated by Heavenly Cat
Edited by Celestial Knight
Read it only at Novelbyu.com & Utoon.net
===================
Anqing was a hub for cargo along the Yangtze, and being situated in the Jianghuai region, it flourished nearly as much as Nanjing or Wuhan.
But because it had grown prosperous thanks to the Yangtze, the southern part of Anqing fronting the river thrived, while the farther north one went toward the north gate, the sparser the people became and the more the buildings turned shabby as rags.
“Why did those fellows set up shop in such a dreary place?”
“It’s the Ascending Dragon Assembly period. To rent an inn for that many people at bargain prices, it has to be somewhere with cheap real estate.”
Ju-seong breathed in the late autumn air that was starting to grow cool, and pressed forward.
Suddenly, a blood scent began mingling with the wind passing through his nostrils. A sweet, hot smell of blood.
Freshly spilled, still steaming.
“Looks like something happened. Red Beggar, let’s run.”
Red Beggar asked nothing, demanded nothing, and simply ran after Ju-seong.
The inn’s name was straightforward.
North Gate Inn.
Perhaps it was named so because it was located right near the north gate. The sun had long since set. The crimson remnants of sunset hung mournfully in an olive-colored sky.
There was no one on the streets, yet from inside the inn came sounds of chaos as if a bloody frenzy was unfolding.
Looking around, Ju-seong saw that most of the buildings were empty or abandoned.
Even if there were people, none in this neighborhood seemed like the type to report a fight at an inn to the authorities.
-Trickle, trickle…
A line of blood seeped through the cracks of the inn’s door. Crimson blood drew a map on the dirt floor.
Ju-seong pushed open the inn door with a hardened face and stepped inside.
-Creeeeak…
And the blood scent hit him full force.
The floor was a sea of blood. As the chilly evening air rushed in through the opened door…
White steam suddenly rose from the blood pooled on the floor.
The sight was as if the spirits hovering in the blood had been waiting for the door to open to flee.
Ju-seong stared at the back of a man standing tall in the center of that surreal scene.
And also at Cho Yu-gyeong, gasping for breath, sporting four or five stab wounds that looked like they’d been inflicted while fighting that man.
In the man’s hands were two cavalry sabers.
These were weapons used by northern cavalry. Curved like bows, they were designed for slashing down enemies during high-speed cavalry charges.
For a non-cavalry martial artist to use such weapons meant he wanted his blades not to get caught in opponents’ bodies during group melees.
In other words, a killing ghost who carved up multiple people at once.
Ju-seong let out a small sigh and stepped into the inn.
-Splash.
“I came to have a chat with that Cho fellow… and some bastard’s turned the place into a slaughterhouse? Hey, turn around and let me see your face.”
Cho Yu-gyeong looked rather glad to see Ju-seong. This was probably one of the few situations where he’d welcome Ju-seong’s arrival.
The man who had been standing silently shook off the blood and grease caked on his two blades with force.
-Fwap fwap fwap!
Long bloodstains were drawn on both walls.
“Your name is… Ju-seong. Correct? The man who’s been constantly interfering with the Ten Thousand Ears Gang’s operations recently.”
“Did you come from the Assassination Curtain?”
At Ju-seong’s question, the man laughed.
A sound like a house-sized toad croaking.
“Assassination Curtain?”
When the man turned his gaze toward Ju-seong, creating an opening, Cho Yu-gyeong kicked off the floor and charged in like a hawk.
But the man had never let his guard down for a moment. Without even looking, he swung his left hand to knock away Cho Yu-gyeong’s sword.
-Crash!
Cho Yu-gyeong tumbled across the inn floor from the recoil, becoming drenched in blood.
The man continued in an unperturbed tone.
“The Assassination Curtain and Ten Thousand Ears Gang are nothing but slaves and appendages of the Cradle of the Demonic Path.”
Ju-seong narrowed his eyes and asked.
“And you’re different?”
The identity-unknown shadowy force, the Cradle of the Demonic Path.
They were presumed to be behind the Ten Thousand Ears Gang and Assassination Curtain. Was this dual-saber man a member of the Cradle of the Demonic Path?
“I don’t feel like telling you.”
“…Fair enough.”
Ju-seong was briefly at a loss for words, then answered. This was truly a man who spoke in straight lines.
The man clashed his two blades together, scraping them twice.
-Shing, shing!
Yellow sparks flew, and then the two blades crossed to point at Ju-seong like scissors. A bizarre opening stance.
“Try coming at me with that fellow behind you. If you manage to defeat me, I’ll share a few useful tidbits of information.”
Ju-seong somehow felt that this man wasn’t the type to lie. Just an intuitive hunch.
Was this what happened when someone born with the destiny of a general dedicated themselves to the demonic path?
He was human scum who viewed the weak as insects and wouldn’t hesitate to commit atrocities to grow stronger.
But at least he was clearly a direct and honest man.
“Red Beggar.”
“Yes, Brother.”
“It’s been a while since we coordinated. Think you can handle it?”
Red Beggar flashed a grin.
“Just try to keep up.”
The moment his words fell, Ju-seong lowered his stance and charged, while Red Beggar leaped high to strike from above.
Having instinctively realized the dual-saber man was a cut above them, they began their pincer attack.
The man grinned until his mouth nearly split. He’d just carved up over a dozen people, yet he hadn’t even warmed up.
“Come!”
Red Beggar hurled his bamboo staff like a javelin, throwing it down in a stabbing motion.
The moment the man knocked it away with his right saber, Red Beggar bellowed in a tremendous voice, calling out his technique.
“Drunken Dragon in Heaven!”
The drunken dragon is in heaven.
When Red Beggar thrust out both palms, milky-white palm force spiraled down from above.
Red Beggar had already reached peak level, and his techniques were far more refined than before.
The man had no time to retract his already-swung right saber, so he had no choice but to use the left to split the palm force.
And while both his hands were occupied, Ju-seong targeted his side.
Swift and simple, striking with fists packed with compressed internal energy.
Just before Ju-seong’s fist touched the man’s flank…
He bulged his eyes and twisted his body.
-BANG!
The sound of air bursting.
Ju-seong felt the man’s terrifying kick graze past his cheek.
Utterly discarding defense, trading flesh for flesh.
If Ju-seong had succeeded in striking his flank, the man’s kick would have burst Ju-seong’s head open.
‘His judgment is fast.’
But surprise lasted only a moment. Ju-seong didn’t hesitate for an instant.
Since he was already twisting his body, he simply leaped both feet into the air.
-Fwish!
Rotating horizontally while lying in midair, passing beside the man.
While spinning, Ju-seong extended his gauntlet and drew the Kunlun Iron Claw from his fingertips.
Crimson sparks flew.
-Clang! Shriek!
The left saber that had come down somewhere knocked Ju-seong away, and the right saber swung again to bisect the palm force Red Beggar had launched.
“Red Beggar!”
Before anyone noticed, Ju-seong had flung Heavenly Silkworm Silk to snatch Red Beggar’s bamboo staff that had been knocked far away.
By now, his skill with the Heavenly Silkworm Silk was nearly divine.
Red Beggar caught his staff as it flew into his hands, looking bewildered.
‘He handles it like an octopus tentacle.’
His skill with the Heavenly Silkworm Silk alone could almost be considered a martial art in its own right.
Not stopping there, Ju-seong quickly spread the silk wide and yanked it tight to try to cage the man.
But the man’s response was nimble.
Grasping the light, fluttering nature of the silk itself…
-BOOM!
He stomped down heavily, and a strong energy wave surged from the ground, sending the Heavenly Silkworm Silk flying upward.
-Screech!
The silk merely squeezed empty air.
Meanwhile, the man’s form blurred like an afterimage and appeared right in front of Ju-seong.
In that instant, Ju-seong realized.
‘I’m screwed.’
Shape-Shifting Phantom Form?
That was a skill only those who had reached a transcendent level of body techniques could display.
For a human being to flicker and flash around as if using teleportation…
‘He’s at least strong enough to be named among the Top Hundred Experts Under Heaven!’
The crossed cavalry sabers unfurled, releasing a dark crimson blade energy in an X shape.
Ju-seong simultaneously slashed the Kunlun Iron Claw with his left hand to throw five claw streaks, while releasing a massive palm force with his right.
The sharpness of the Claw offset some of the sharpness in the man’s slash.
The maximum-output palm force offset the remaining energy.
Through the air distorted by the clashing energy waves, the eerie saber wielder burst through.
This time it was a kicking technique again.
A heel dropping down like a guillotine blade.
Ju-seong had no capacity to respond to that immediately, but this was within his expectations.
He trusted the brother fighting alongside him.
The heel targeting Ju-seong’s crown…
A bamboo staff slipped in and precisely aimed at the man’s ankle, diverting the kick’s trajectory.
-BOOM…!
The dirt floor screamed.
Several nearby ramshackle buildings groaned, dusting themselves, as if threatening to collapse outright if they made any more commotion.
And no one here cared whether those old buildings had their bones shattered or ground to powder.
Before long, Cho Yu-gyeong, having recovered, joined in, and the fight grew even fiercer.
The dual sabers in the man’s hands danced madly.
Ju-seong’s Kunlun Iron Claw, Red Beggar’s bamboo staff, and Cho Yu-gyeong’s sword rushed in without a moment’s respite, yet the man knocked away every attack simply and swiftly, counterattacking all the while.
Three peak-level martial artists attacking at once.
The situation made it painfully clear that even within peak level, the gap could be as vast as heaven and earth.
‘Separate from being fast and strong, he seems born for battle.’
Were his swordsmanship filled with profound martial philosophy or enlightenment? Not really.
He simply made the best judgment, the optimal response, reflexively at each moment.
He read three, four moves ahead. While fighting three opponents simultaneously.
-Screech!
Red Beggar’s bamboo staff and Cho Yu-gyeong’s sword crossed precisely, pinning the man’s left blade.
The saber caught between staff and sword was abandoned without hesitation.
The moment he let go of the hilt, dark crimson palm force burst from the man’s left palm.
-Boom!
The explosive energy pushed Cho Yu-gyeong and Red Beggar back two steps…
-Swish!
The left hand that had just fired palm force moved nimbly, drawing two throwing knives from his sleeve to fling at the two.
Red Beggar deflected them nimbly, but Cho Yu-gyeong’s shoulder was torn open, leaving him looking dismayed.
Meanwhile, Ju-seong closed in and wrapped the blade of the man’s remaining right saber with Heavenly Silkworm Silk, pulling it toward him.
The man released that saber without hesitation as well, and undid his belt to swing it.
-Crack crack crack!
The belt was a whip with a three-pronged tip.
Ju-seong barely twisted his body to dodge the terrifying speed of the downward-lashing whip.
The energy from the whip stretched out and smashed through the wall of a nearby building.
A whip takes time to retract. Ju-seong sprang diagonally like a swallow skimming water and rained down dozens of kicks like lightning.
First technique of the latter half of the Three Yang Fist, Flower Rain Kick.
The man released the whip and countered with his own kick. Unlike Ju-seong’s, a single upward kick as if slicing the moon from the sky.
But Ju-seong’s technique resembled a rain of petals.
Would swinging a blade at swirling flower petals cleave the rain of flowers?
The kick shadows Ju-seong launched seemed to crumble feebly, yet each fragment of energy carried a power not to be dismissed.
-Thud, thud thud! Pow pow pow!
The man grimaced as he endured or knocked away the kicks pummeling his entire body.
Meanwhile, Red Beggar called out his technique as he flew in.
“Soaring Dragon in Heaven…!”
The man reflexively looked up at the technique name he’d heard before. After all, Soaring Dragon in Heaven was a technique launched from a leap, striking downward.
But Red Beggar wore a triumphant smile and shouted.
“…Not! It’s Riding Five Dragons on the Moment!”
Riding the moment, five dragons rise.
It was a truly fantastic moment.
Red Beggar pressed both palms together and executed an extremely peculiar technique.
The pinky and ring finger of each hand came together, the middle and index came together, and the thumbs came together.
Thus, ten fingers split into five branches, and immediately five dragons carved their own trajectories across the air.
The man let out a hollow laugh.
“Smarter than expected…”
His voice was utterly drowned out by the thunderous roar that erupted moments later.
-KRAKOOOM!
Like a furious dragon’s lightning strike, the surroundings glittered with milky-white radiance.
The man’s massive form was flung back, crashing through several ramshackle buildings.
Red Beggar gazed at the thick cloud of dust and murmured quietly.
“…Did we get him?”
Ju-seong pressed his brow.
“Ah, damn it. Brother.”