Sichuan's Mad Dragon (Novel) - Chapter 151 - Open Up for Visitors
Chapter 151 – Open Up for Visitors
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Translated by Heavenly Cat
Edited by Celestial Knight
Read it only at Novelbyu.com & Utoon.net
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Chapter 151 – Open Up for Visitors
When Ju-seong opened the door and stepped out of the thatched hut, Won-gong was staring at the bandits kneeling with a rigid expression. Ju-seong sighed and asked.
“Monk, what are you doing?”
Won-gong hesitated at Ju-seong’s question before answering.
“Benefactor… What should be done with these people?”
“What should be done?”
Ju-seong laughed hollowly and said.
“Is there anything absolutely right in this world?”
“…”
“Go ahead and ask them. Ask what is right. Then they’ll answer: showing them mercy and letting them go would be right. Do you also think that’s right, Monk?”
At Ju-seong’s question, Won-gong answered decisively.
“That is not right.”
“Then what should we do? Should we drag them to a government office? But think about it. Setting aside the time it would take, would the local chieftains even punish them severely?”
“Hmm…”
“This is Guangxi Province. The Emperor’s decree is distant, but the Cradle of the Demonic Path’ forces are already operating deep inside Guangxi. From what I heard, they’ve already got a blade at the Green Forest King’s throat.”
“Are they connected to the Ten Thousand Ears Gang?”
At Won-gong’s question, Ju-seong slowly nodded.
“Only that Thunderclap Axe Ghost from before. Of course, these ragtag bastards are dregs scraped up from the bottom. They have no connection to the Ten Thousand Ears Gang or the demonic forces operating behind them. But think about it. Does that mean they’re not of the Cradle of the Demonic Path?”
“Since they haven’t cultivated demonic arts…”
“Those who view people as lumps of meat are the Cradle of the Demonic Path. I believe the Cradle of the Demonic Path isn’t about those who practice demonic arts, but a perverted way of living. The only difference is that grandiose demons ruin the world, while petty demons ruin someone’s life. So, we have demonic people before us. What shall we do?”
“Please tell me the answer, benefactor.”
“My master will answer.”
Ju-seong took a bold step forward and kicked one man’s lower abdomen with his toe.
-Crack!
Sharp energy pierced into the man’s abdomen and shattered his dantian.
Dantian-breaking.
Essentially a death sentence for his life as a martial artist. For those whose only dependence in life had been violence, the sense of loss would be beyond words.
Screams and curses erupted all around, but they didn’t reach Ju-seong’s ears. He was spending all his mental energy just suppressing the murderous intent surging within him.
‘You lot have no idea how much effort it takes me not to kill you.’
Ju-seong muttered inwardly.
When he reached the last one, he saw a greasy neck dripping with grime and a mean-looking face. The man’s eyes were fierce and shallow, the very picture of a face that invited its own fate.
For an instant, the man’s face twisted and transformed into a hideous demon’s shape. The two eye sockets caved in like bottomless abysses.
From the left eye socket, the face of the sex fiend he’d killed in Yunnan sprouted forth, and from the right, the face of Mangwoo-si whom he’d caught and killed in Jingzhou emerged in place of eyeballs.
From the maw, countless small, emaciated hands sprouted, clawing at Ju-seong.
Ju-seong widened his eyes and raised his hand.
“What wicked ghost dares harass the living!”
He bellowed like thunder and brought down his right palm like a lightning bolt.
-Crack!
The man’s skull exploded immediately. Won-gong shrieked in alarm and came running from afar.
“Benefactor! How can you commit murder so recklessly! I understand about Thunderclap Axe Ghost since he was the ringleader of all these evil deeds, but weren’t we only supposed to cripple the underlings’ martial arts?”
“…A ghost was about to possess this wretch’s body to work its wicked tricks. To chase out a ghost, you must break its vessel.”
[Benefactor-!]
For an instant, a voice that rang through Ju-seong’s head burst forth from Won-gong. It wasn’t a voice produced by raising his vocal cords. Won-gong’s mouth was firmly closed.
‘…Wisdom Light Mind Speech.’
A technique one step above Transmission Into the Ear, it was a skill passed down since ancient times in Shaolin Temple, the wellspring of Buddhist martial arts.
Ju-seong saw a vision of the Three Heavenly Perceptions lodged in his upper dantian resonating with Won-gong’s Wisdom Light Mind Speech, momentarily emitting a powerful golden wave.
The crimson glow mixed with madness and killing intent subsided, and from Ju-seong’s pupils shone an auspicious golden Buddhist light.
Ju-seong quietly closed and opened his eyes, then spoke.
“I’m sorry, Monk.”
“Do you have some kind of madness?”
“Madness…”
Ju-seong smiled bitterly and nodded.
“Perhaps it is madness. A madness that won’t be cured until I’ve sent every damned bastard in jianghu to the other side.”
* * *
Ju-seong and Won-gong left Liuzhou Mountain and discussed matters while heading south.
Ju-seong was in favor of quickly heading to Guizhou to negotiate with the Crimson Spider Sect Master.
The poison he sought was in the Hundred Thousand Great Mountains, and those mountains would be in a state of tension due to the war between the demonic forces and the Green Forest.
War between nations and war among martial artists are distinctly different.
War between nations has territories and battle lines. War among martial artists is different.
Small numbers of people constantly pop up in unexpected places and engage in localized combat. It might as well be called a battle between assassin groups.
When that style of fighting combined with the environment of the Hundred Thousand Great Mountains, it naturally became a hellscape where ordinary people entering would be unable to recover even their bones within days.
Since Ju-seong couldn’t risk Won-gong’s safety for his own purposes, he suggested they leave Guangxi’s chaos behind and head to Guizhou.
But Won-gong’s position was different.
“Benefactor, think about it. Perhaps now is the last chance.”
“Last chance?”
“If the entire South falls under the Cradle of the Demonic Path… the orthodox path may have to fight a difficult battle.”
Ju-seong stroked his chin and thought. He was still unaccustomed to thinking from the perspective of the northern orthodox sects.
After all, Ju-seong had never been bound together with them. Pondering, Ju-seong spoke.
“…Wudang and the Zhuge family. And Sichuan Province.”
Due to Ju-seong’s rapid thinking, only extremely condensed words came out, but Won-gong sensed that his clever companion had understood his meaning.
“Correct, benefactor.”
To the imperial court that had already subjugated all the indigenous peoples, Guangxi was just another remote region.
But from the perspective of jianghu, Guangxi was an enormous strategic chokepoint.
Guangxi bordered Guizhou, Yunnan, and Hunan evenly.
First, consider Hunan. If Guangxi turned into demonic territory, there was a nine in ten chance Hunan would be swallowed along with it.
If that happened, the Zhuge family and Wudang Sect would have to worry about demonic blades at their throats.
This meant that jianghu’s greatest Taoists and greatest strategists would largely withdraw to guard their homes. This would be a great burden on the Martial Alliance in South Zhili.
“Is that all? As you said, if Guangxi is devoured, Guizhou will fall too, and Yunnan with no notable powerhouses goes without saying. If Guizhou and Yunnan are devoured, Sichuan Province’s fate will also become like a lamp before the wind…”
“Hmm.”
Ju-seong nodded slowly. Looking at it this way, Guangxi was a region that absolutely had to be defended.
“But why didn’t the Military Affairs Division send people to Guangxi in advance to investigate?”
Wasn’t it the Divine Stratagem Zhuge family that comprised the Military Affairs Division?
There was no way the Military Affairs Division didn’t know Guangxi’s strategic importance, was there?
Won-gong furrowed his brow briefly, then answered uncertainly.
“Perhaps… first, they assumed the Green Forest King wouldn’t easily fall or be absorbed by the evil path, and second, they feared that dispatching Martial Alliance personnel to Guangxi might provoke the Green Forest King into turning to the evil path.”
It was an unsatisfying explanation. Ju-seong cocked his head, then spoke.
“Anyway, Monk, so you’re saying the two of us should help the Green Forest and save Guangxi Province?”
It was an absurdly reckless idea. And there were no Martial Alliance branches nearby, so they couldn’t immediately request support from headquarters.
Won-gong also seemed to have realized this, his expression becoming troubled.
At that moment, Ju-seong slapped his fist into his palm and said, “Fine. Let’s do this. We go to Guizhou and tell that Blood Flower grandmother about the situation in Guangxi. We’ll borrow the Crimson Spider Sect’s strength to drive back the Cradle of the Demonic Path.” Ju-seong nodded. “Exactly.”
“But the Green Forest and the Crimson Spider Sect have traditionally not been on good terms since they’re neighbors… I wonder if the Crimson Spider Sect would help the Green Forest.”
He was right. Like the Qingcheng and Emei of Sichuan Province, the two factions had rubbed shoulders right next door and built up considerable bad blood.
But Ju-seong smiled as if it were no problem.
“Do you know what jianghu people enjoy most?”
“What?”
“Making someone they find annoying owe them a debt.”
There’s nothing more exhilarating than hearing “thank you” from someone you find somewhat annoying, rather than a mortal enemy.
Especially the proud people of jianghu feel this even more keenly.
“I’m confident I can persuade that old grandmother.”
Ju-seong grinned and wrapped his arm around Won-gong’s shoulder.
Of course, he couldn’t reach all the way around Won-gong’s massive neck.
“Let’s save jianghu, Monk.”
Ju-seong’s spirited proposal stirred Won-gong’s heart.
* * *
A fortnight later, the two entered Guizhou Province. While walking, Ju-seong suddenly asked.
“Monk, do you know what’s good about Guizhou Province?”
Won-gong pondered for a long time before squeezing out an answer.
“…The weather? It’s cooler than Guangxi, somewhat.”
It wasn’t quite the right answer. They said Guizhou was generally cooler because of its high altitude, but that was only compared to Guangxi. Moreover, it was quite humid, so it wasn’t exactly pleasant.
Ju-seong shook his head.
“Living in such hellish terrain makes one accept life’s adversities with equanimity.”
“Ah, I see.”
Guizhou Province was harsh. It made one wonder if heaven had really given this land for people to live on. If the legendary land of immortals truly existed, this is where they’d hide it.
That way, lowly mortals wouldn’t dare approach.
One wrong step on the dense underbrush that rose to the ankles, and there could be deep ravines or caves hidden underneath, ready to send you tumbling down.
Ju-seong himself had plunged headfirst into a vertical cave that very morning and had to climb out by jamming his hands into the wall.
Being an excellent martial artist meant he didn’t get hurt, but the annoyance was unavoidable.
The bizarrely protruding rock formations confused the view and made it difficult to gauge direction.
The jagged peaks of rocky mountains looked fierce just to behold.
Surely nature, the very embodiment of non-action, couldn’t possess hostility, yet didn’t they resemble fangs bared by a beast?
Heaven has no three consecutive clear days, Earth has no three li of flat ground, People have no three coins in their pockets!
The weather is overcast, the terrain is harsh, and the people are poor. Two monks were crossing the jungle of that forsaken frontier.
Ju-seong turned to Won-gong and asked.
“Where did you say it was?”
“According to Military Affairs Division intelligence, the Crimson Spider Sect is located in the Maling River Canyon.”
Perhaps it was called Maling River because cavalry couldn’t pass through. The canyon alone stretched two hundred li. And through it flowed a river with fierce currents.
The Maling River Canyon was a hazardous terrain among hazardous terrains, where even the boldest wouldn’t dare think of invading.
“And this is roughly its entrance, I suppose.”
“Pardon? Benefactor, how do you know that?”
Ju-seong pointed at the densely growing trees in the distance and said.
“Because some murderous fellows are crouching there watching us intently?”
“Uh, hmm. I don’t quite see…”
Just as Won-gong was speaking in a puzzled voice…
-Swoosh!
Along with a sharp sound slicing through the air, an arrow with its tip painted black flew precisely toward Ju-seong.
Ju-seong smiled brightly and shouted.
“Hey, you Guizhou bumpkins! Open up for visitors!”
It was a spirited greeting from a bumpkin himself, hailing from Shu.