Sichuan's Mad Dragon (Novel) - Chapter 152 - Go Ahead and Laugh

Chapter 152 – Go Ahead and Laugh

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Translated by Heavenly Cat
Edited by Celestial Knight

Read it only at Novelbyu.com & Utoon.net

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Usually, the shady and disreputable types paint their weapons black. That’s because reflected light from blades risks exposing an ambush.

Moreover, these fellows were openly using bows and arrows. And they weren’t even hunters.

“The Emperor’s decree is solemn…!”

Ju-seong deliberately made his voice stern while watching the arrows fly toward him.

The meaning was clear: they had archers of high skill and didn’t intend to harm him yet, so he should turn back. “I should respond in kind.” Ju-seong began deploying Crimson Lotus Palm, incorporating the principles of Grafting Plum to Peach. Every time an arrow struck his palm and bounced off, a crimson palm shadow bloomed like a flower.

Deliberately using the Grafting Plum to Peach technique to deflect the arrows without damaging the arrowheads… merely twisting their direction… was also a kind of show of force.

I’m a martial artist of this caliber, so tread carefully.

Ju-seong channeled his internal energy and shouted.

“Is this how the Premier Sect of Guizhou treats guests?!”

At his shout, the rain of arrows abruptly stopped, and a voice from within the brush called out.

“Where are you monks from, and who might you be?”

Ju-seong adjusted his clothes and answered.

“I’ve formed a connection with Heuk-wol, one of the foster daughters of the Crimson Spider Sect Master! My name is Ju-seong. Ask if she remembers the events in Chongqing!”

“…Guests, please wait there. This may take some time.”

Ju-seong plopped down right there and began munching on jerky and fasting pills. Won-gong asked incredulously.

“Benefactor, you can eat in this situation?”

Ju-seong shrugged and replied.

“Goes down just fine. You should have some too, Monk.”

“Mmm…”

Won-gong looked around nervously before sitting down reluctantly and chewing on jerky and dried provisions.

“By the way, I’ve noticed from before… you really do eat meat well.”

Won-gong’s face reddened instantly. His head flushed red all at once, reminding Ju-seong of the octopus dishes he occasionally ate back in Fujian Province.

“…As a Buddhist disciple, it’s not exactly encouraged, but Shaolin martial monks inevitably eat a little meat. Of course, I try to restrain myself as much as possible.”

Ju-seong grumbled in objection.

“You’re not restraining yourself at all? I’ve never once seen you restrain yourself.”

“…I think my reins have come loose since I came down from Mount Song and got away from the eyes of the Precepts Hall Master.”

“Are you really a monk?”

Won-gong flailed about making excuses.

“B-but! Buddha and his disciples also ate fish and meat, it’s said.”

“What a fake monk.”

Since Shaolin emphasized external martial arts, they couldn’t completely exclude meat. Their situation was different from Emei Sect, which developed primarily around internal energy cultivation.

So Shaolin monks apparently ate meat minimally under the strict supervision of the Precepts Hall.

But Won-gong was still human, so once he came out of Mount Song, he apparently ate meat freely.

Come to think of it, he’d seemed to gain a little weight throughout the journey.

‘At this rate he’ll double in size. This pig-like bald bastard.’

While they were conversing back and forth, the earlier voice called out again.

“Confirmed. However, she asks whether you, Ju-seong, have taken vows.”

Ju-seong smirked and shouted.

“Tell her I’m currently preaching Buddha’s mercy to jianghu!”

No sooner had his jest finished than this time, an arrow with a round tip shot through the air.

When Ju-seong snatched it and looked, two bells were tied to the arrow shaft with red silk cord.

“Use those bells to find your way.”

The voice faded and dispersed into the distance.

“I hope I don’t have to shake it over my head like a shaman?”

Ju-seong looked at the bells, pondered briefly, then carefully shook the arrow shaft.

-Jingle…

The tinkling sound rang out beautifully. An invisible wave seemed to spread from the bells, and Ju-seong realized the scenery before his eyes was subtly changing.

“Oh my, a formation.”

Formations were truly wondrous. Things that had been hiding at the edge of vision suddenly became so obvious that one wondered why they hadn’t been visible before.

A path lay between the bushes.

A path that had been hidden by rocks, the slope of the ground, and low-lying mist became clearly visible the moment he shook the bells.

Yet the mist hadn’t lifted, nor had the bushes parted. What had changed was merely the invisible flow of energy.

“Now… let’s go.”

“Fascinating. At Shaolin Temple, such illusory formations are considered heterodox, so we don’t study them.”

Following the path for about a quarter of an hour, the mist suddenly lifted to reveal a massive canyon.

Cliffs sharp as if carved by swords lined both sides, revealing only a sliver of sky high above.

Bamboo grew upside down, and waterfalls gushed vigorously from the canyon walls, raising spray.

The calls of unknown birds and insects echoed off the walls and drifted over hauntingly.

At the entrance, red threads and bells hung in dangling clusters, along with unrecognizable southern talismans and such.

A woman in a red headscarf also stood stiff as a corn stalk.

‘Why is she standing so rigidly?’

When Ju-seong looked carefully, he understood the reason.

She was standing on one leg… and remarkably, she had only one leg.

Her right leg was missing, yet her balance and the way she’d arranged her clothes were so perfect that one couldn’t tell at first.

‘Rather, her standing posture is more graceful and natural than those with two legs. Is she a woman born this way?’

“I am Yi Pyo-eum, assigned to guide you two monks. I’m called the Red Crane Fairy. Since you’re guests of Sister Heuk-wol, Grandmother sent me. Please follow me.”

Yi Pyo-eum turned around and began to move. She didn’t hop about ridiculously.

With her hands clasped behind her back, she leaned her body slightly forward and glided across the ground as if skating.

As a martial artist who practiced martial arts, Ju-seong could sense the blood-sweat-and-tears training behind her smooth and effortless movement.

A path made by carving holes in the canyon wall and inserting flat stone slabs. It was precarious, but there were no fools here who would lose their footing.

Ju-seong and Won-gong, struck by an inexplicable sense of reverence, were speechless as they followed her.

Ju-seong asked to dispel the awkwardness.

“Since you receive tribute from the surrounding sects and commoners, how do you bring in goods when the path is this treacherous?”

Pyo-eum answered in a gentle voice.

“We send them down on ferry boats or rafts from upstream, and we retrieve them. When we send reply messages that we received them well, we use carrier pigeons.”

“Oh… How innovative.”

Seeing that Ju-seong was willing to converse, Pyo-eum also asked what she was curious about.

“Sister Heuk-wol doesn’t open her heart easily, so I wonder how you came to form a connection with her?”

At Pyo-eum’s question, Ju-seong answered readily.

“Originally, I visited Chongqing with Emei Sect masters to find the culprit who kidnapped Qingcheng Sect’s prodigy. And at a place called the Mountain Temple Inn, I met Lady Heuk-wol and…”

Ju-seong began to slowly explain his story with Heuk-wol.

At the time, Heuk-wol had been the culprit who kidnapped Mok Yeo-woon, Qingcheng’s prodigy, to take revenge on Emei Sect by framing them for the crime.

Normally, if caught by Qingcheng or Emei, she wouldn’t have met a good end, but Ju-seong’s intervention changed things.

Young Mok Yeo-woon, who had been abused, was able to find a new home, and Heuk-wol, who had achieved her own form of revenge, was also able to return safely to Guizhou.

Pyo-eum listened attentively, then said with a gentle smile.

“To help Sister Heuk-wol and Yeo-un while caught between the major sects Qingcheng and Emei. You are truly an upright person, monk. As expected of a Buddhist disciple.”

Ju-seong cleared his throat and answered.

“About that… I’m not actually a Buddhist disciple. News must travel slowly to Guizhou. Actually, I won the Ascending Dragon Assembly, so I’ve become somewhat famous throughout the Central Plains.”

Famous was an understatement. Since the current Martial Alliance Leader, it was the first time a champion emerged from outside the Seven Sects and Three Great Families, and his unique fighting style had swept up enormous popularity.

So much so that children in South Zhili imitated Ju-seong’s moves in their play-fighting, and scrolls and books depicting Ju-seong’s matches were selling in the streets.

Of course, Ju-seong was far from embarrassed by such things… he was a man who enjoyed it to the extreme… but in the evil path’s domain of Jiangnan, he needed to keep a low profile.

Pyo-eum nodded as if she understood, then looked at Ju-seong with a somewhat pitying expression.

“To have to shave your head because of your fame… Being famous isn’t always a good thing.”

She was a woman who, despite missing a leg, could feel pity for someone who’d merely lost their hair.

Ju-seong watched her retreating figure and nodded slowly.

‘A solid and steadfast woman. Her presence isn’t outwardly apparent, yet her words carry weight and her gaze is refined… she must be an excellent martial artist.’

Since she’d called Heuk-wol “Sister,” she was probably one of the Crimson Spider Sect Master, Blood Flower Crone’s foster daughters.

Feeling somewhat at ease, Ju-seong matched pace with her and asked.

“By the way, why do you wear that red headscarf? Is it mandatory within Crimson Spider Sect territory?”

“Oh, this?”

She smiled bitterly, touching the headscarf, then answered.

“No, there’s no need to wear it. It’s just that I have a scar on my forehead, so I wear it.”

“Ah, I see.”

Ju-seong felt awkward and fell silent again.

It felt strange that someone who seemed so bright despite missing a leg would be self-conscious about a scar on her forehead enough to cover it.

Perhaps they’d walked about five li.

“From here is the true domain of the Crimson Spider Sect.”

Suddenly the canyon opened wide, and the cliffs that had been sheer as if carved straight down became dramatically gentler.

A slope easy enough to climb.

There, terraced rice paddies were stacked layer upon layer, and old-fashioned southern-style tile-roofed buildings rose here and there.

‘It resembles the Five Poison Valley.’

A form similar to Yunnan’s Five Poison Valley. Of course, the Five Poison Valley was located in a gourd-shaped canyon, while this place stretched along a narrow canyon stretching two hundred li, spanning dozens of li in length.

Moreover, the size of each building was incomparably larger than the Five Poison Valley.

‘It’s practically a small country in itself.’

Ju-seong looked around admiringly as he spoke.

A woman in an all-black rain hat and all-black oiled coat approached from afar.

“Lady Heuk-wol is still the same.”

Ju-seong muttered with a grin. From head to toe, she was jet black, just like before.

Black is also a color. Heuk-wol hadn’t lost her color. However, by her side was a familiar face clinging to her like a shadow.

She was still dark, but unlike when they’d first met at the Mountain Temple Inn, she was no longer shadow-like. Shadows cannot have shadows, after all.

Ju-seong looked at Mok Yeo-woon, whose crown had shot up considerably, then addressed Heuk-wol.

“It’s been a while, Lady Heuk-wol.”

“Long time no see, young hero. Hmm, when I last saw you, you didn’t seem particularly interested in Buddhist teachings… Hmm, hmm.”

Heuk-wol kept making humming sounds and nodding unnecessarily. Uncharacteristically for her, her sentences were long and she made pointless gestures.

“Go ahead and laugh.”

The moment Ju-seong gave permission, Heuk-wol’s lips twitched upward.

“Your shaved head looks quite ridiculous. At this rate, you look like a noblewoman caught philandering and dragged to a temple by her father.” “I said laugh, not openly mock me.” Ju-seong grumbled and explained the situation. Heuk-wol nodded and offered congratulations.

“Guizhou is so insular that news, especially from jianghu, barely reaches us. Congratulations. Young hero, you were indeed at an extraordinary level for your age.”

After exchanging pleasantries, Ju-seong introduced Won-gong to Heuk-wol as well. Now it was time to get to the main point.

“You’ve come to persuade Grandmother not to intervene in the coming Orthodox-Evil War and get her promise?”

“That’s right, Lady Heuk-wol. The Crimson Spider Sect Master, the Blood Flower Crone, as the master of Guizhou’s Premier Sect and Guizhou’s greatest, possesses the capability to wield enormous influence over the war’s outcome.”

No child likes hearing their own mother praised badly. The same applies to foster daughters. Heuk-wol nodded with a pleased expression as she listened to Won-gong’s words.

‘Her disposition has definitely softened. Is it because of Mok Yeo-woon?’

Ju-seong glanced at Mok Yeo-woon, who followed quietly behind, and thought.

Meanwhile, Won-gong continued.

“As written in the letter I carry, the Martial Alliance has promised the maximum compensation it can offer in exchange for the Crimson Spider Sect’s non-intervention. Whether that be money or goods.”

Heuk-wol nodded, then opened her mouth.

“Then you’ve wasted your trip.”