Sichuan's Mad Dragon (Novel) - Chapter 179 - Please Stop

Chapter 179 – Please Stop

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Translated by Heavenly Cat
Edited by Celestial Knight

Read it only at Novelbyu.com & Utoon.net

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Ju-seong set off alone. His only companion was a moth nestling in his chest.

The white moth, White Pig.

Aside from collecting powder from its wings and providing shelter in his robes, Ju-seong hadn’t formed much bond with it. Yet the creature kept clinging to him because it liked him.

Ju-seong walked the rugged roads of Guizhou, chatting with the moth.

It was actually a monologue, but Ju-seong assumed the creature was responding as he babbled away.

“…So, you little rascal. Your mother was so enormous, yet how come you haven’t grown at all after all these years?”

Ju-seong said, looking at the moth fluttering on his finger.

“And you, I heard you’ve been secretly sharing my energy when I cultivate?”

This was something Won-gong had recently told him.

[When you cultivate, benefactor, I sensed with my energy sense that the little spirit creature in your chest also shares in the heavenly spiritual energy. It’s a minuscule amount, so don’t be concerned.]

Inhale air through the nose, hold the heavenly spiritual energy within the chest, then draw it down to the organs and lower dantian.

This was the primary basis of accumulating qi.

The creature had settled in the chest where heavenly energy briefly passed through, collecting a portion of internal energy like a tax-collecting official.

“You sneaky thing. I wondered why you wouldn’t leave… so that’s why. Instead of politely asking ‘may I have some,’ you steal it?”

Ju-seong scolded sternly, but the creature just groomed its comb-like antennae, not really listening.

Well, Ju-seong’s Flame Crow Six Stage Art was among jianghu’s finest in terms of accumulation efficiency.

In other words, he drew in quite a substantial amount of heavenly energy at once.

This meant the moth pilfering from the middle also ate heartily each time.

Since it was going to steal anyway, a rich house was worth robbing… so it stuck to Ju-seong.

“…Fine. Let’s keep living together. I get the best wound medicine in jianghu, and you get internal energy.”

For external injuries specifically, the creature’s powder was practically a spare life.

Of course, it could also be taken internally for internal injuries, but it wasn’t as effective.

Particularly for damaged meridians, it had almost no effect. It seemed to work only directly on flesh.

‘Master will jump for joy when he sees this. I should send some to Senior Brother Seo-baek too.’

It had been a long time since he’d seen them. Did they know that Ju-seong had won the Ascending Dragon Assembly and made a name as jianghu’s greatest rising star?

They probably did.

‘Pride of the sect. Son of Sichuan.’

Maybe they should hang a banner like that on Chengdu’s gates? he thought.

Ju-seong was grinning as he walked when he suddenly stopped.

He spoke, not having wiped the silly smile from his face.

“Come out. You’ve already given yourselves away.”

-RUSTLE.

Two figures appeared precisely twenty zhang in front of and behind Ju-seong.

“The way you two kept following me at exactly twenty zhang front and back was pretty funny. One of you got too focused on me and stumbled, right? I heard it all.”

“…”

The short man in front of him tensed his jaw slightly. Apparently aware he was embarrassed.

“Gongsun Su or whatever inn cook sent you, right?”

The tall, skinny man behind him replied quietly.

“We were told not to kill you, just to humiliate you a bit and send you on your way. Let’s not waste each other’s energy. You don’t want to get hurt badly either.”

“Ha!”

Ju-seong laughed in disbelief.

The short man spoke with composure.

“Why were you so impertinent to Elder Brother anyway? At your age. Just take a few hits and be on your way.”

Calling Gongsun Su ‘Elder Brother’ meant these were also children of the Blood Flower Crone.

‘Why is that old woman’s child-rearing so hit or miss?’

There were fine ones, but also trash like this had grown up.

Well, they said the most clouded eyes were those of parents looking at their own children.

Perhaps the Blood Flower Crone wasn’t as sharp-eyed as usual when it came to her own kids.

Ju-seong lazily rolled his neck side to side.

“Did you not hear about me from Lady Heuk-wol or Senior Eight-Hook Ghost…?”

“We don’t get along with those wishy-washy folks.”

“Hmm.”

Ju-seong tilted his head. The ones the Blood Flower Crone had assigned to Ju-seong… Eight-Hook Ghost, Heuk-wol, Yang So-an… were all uninvolved in the sect’s internal squabbles.

‘That old woman seems to know the sect’s affairs better than I thought.’

Perhaps the Blood Flower Crone knew that Gongsun Su would send his lackeys after Ju-seong.

‘Trying to empower one faction?’

Ju-seong gauged the Blood Flower Crone’s intentions.

Perhaps she was deliberately allowing Gongsun Su’s followers to get beaten by Ju-seong to slightly weaken his faction.

‘If so, it’s truly like a spider catching prey without leaving its web.’

Ju-seong sighed indifferently.

Meanwhile, his impatient enemies had no intention of leaving him alone.

“Looks like we’ll have to tangle with you before you’ll accept it.”

The short man pulled out chain sickles in both hands and fired them precisely at Ju-seong.

Two sickles closed on Ju-seong like a fierce insect’s mandibles.

Ju-seong tapped off the ground, precisely catching the point where the two chains crossed.

“Whoa.”

“A peak-level and still this sloppy.”

Ju-seong muttered and yanked his hand.

-CLATTER!

The chain portion was apparently wrapped around the man’s arm, so he couldn’t let go and was dragged forward.

“Him!”

Then the tall one came running, cracking a whip.

-WHIP-CRACK!

“Hit him, not me.”

Ju-seong flipped the short man’s body over his back and made him collide with the tall one.

“Damn!”

As with flexible weapons, the power was decent but accuracy and immediate response were lacking.

-SLAP!

With a sharp sound, the whip wrapped tightly around the short one’s waist.

“KYAAH!”

A shrill scream from the short man. When the tall one hurriedly flicked his whip loose, the short one spun through the air.

“More talent for comedy than me. Open a troupe instead. Ridiculous fools.”

Ju-seong scoffed and lightly stamped his foot, instantly closing the two-zhang distance.

The tall man gritted his teeth and released energy through his Yongquan point to retreat, but…

-BOOM!

Crimson palm force chased after him. In that vicious heat, the tall man couldn’t help but hold his breath.

‘This is even more than Gongsun Elder Brother…’

Thinking that, his defense was pathetically broken. A piercing strike punched through his forearm block and dug into his solar plexus.

“HURK!”

At least four ribs were broken, and the internal injuries were severe. He retched and writhed in agony.

“What a joke.”

Ju-seong laughed incredulously, then swung the bundle he’d been carrying over his shoulder.

-CRASH!

Whatever was in it, it was heavier and harder than it looked.

The skinny man’s body jerked like a caterpillar before tumbling into the bushes.

Then Ju-seong closed in on the short man and pummeled him with palm strikes.

-THWAP-THWAP-THWAP…!

The compact muscles packed tightly on his short frame all ruptured, leaving him needing at least two months of recuperation.

‘This should roughly match that old woman’s intentions. I’ll definitely collect on this later.’

Ju-seong ended with one final slap that sent the short man flying off into the distance.

“Tell that Gongsun Su bastard this: live politely.”

A man who couldn’t stop making pointless jokes till the day he died.

Ju-seong left them groaning and headed north along the mountain path.

The tall, skinny man watched Ju-seong’s receding back with hollow eyes and bit out a curse.

“Jokes and all. Not even funny, asshole…”

* * *

“Ah, this tangy air.”

Ju-seong inhaled deeply and murmured.

He’d traveled north to Chongqing, then caught a boat upriver to Chengdu.

He planned to visit All-Living Clinic first to see Physician Seo-baek, then head to Jiulong Mountain.

But what greeted him were only his sisters guarding the clinic.

“Ju-seong! It’s been so long!”

His sisters ran out and embraced him. After a brief reunion, he asked Yi-hwa.

“Sister, where did the Physician go?”

Yi-hwa answered.

“He set out for South Zhili. Something about a great battle coming in the martial world, and he’s going to help the righteous path martial artists.”

“Mm.”

Ju-seong nodded.

“Then Ten Change Blade Guest Senior and that kid Dong-sam went along?”

Ten Change Blade Guest Seo Woo-jin. Ranked among the Hundred Greatest Masters Under Heaven, he owed Seo-baek a life debt and hovered around protecting him.

Dong-sam was a rat-like kid Ju-seong had picked up from Chengdu’s slums, who’d somehow become Ten Change Blade Guest’s disciple.

Yi-hwa nodded.

“Yes. Jin-lang accompanied the Physician.”

“…Lang?”

Ju-seong doubted his ears. Wasn’t that a pet name between lovers?

Yi-hwa shrugged nonchalantly.

“He’s older, but a very fine man. Frankly, being among the hundred strongest in jianghu, he can surely take care of little old me.”

Ju-seong tilted his head.

“I thought you liked pretty, fair-skinned gentlemen?”

“That was when I was young. When I think of his mature face and bronze skin…”

“Okay, okay, stop! Seriously, you’re ruining my appetite.”

Having grown up together like blood siblings, his sister’s romance life made Ju-seong queasy.

Yi-hwa was beautiful and kind-hearted, so it made sense a man with nothing but martial skills would fall for her.

“The age gap is a bit much, though.”

Yi-hwa smiled slyly.

“Aren’t you the same type? You’ve got nothing going for you except your martial arts skills and no taste for wealth, yet you’re lecturing me?”

“Touché.”

“Find a nice girl and settle down yourself. Your equipment might run away at night complaining about its owner.”

True siblings of the tongue if not of blood… their verbal sparring was formidable.

“If you bring home some useless pretty boy, I’ll break his legs, so find a solid man.”

“Worry about yourself.”

“Especially you, So-yeong Sister. I know you’d live on a man’s face alone. Please stop bringing home guys who are just good-looking.”

“Ugh, pot calling the kettle black. You open your mouth and women run for cover, don’t they?”

After a somewhat aggressive exchange of pleasantries, Ju-seong parted from his sisters.

‘I can’t believe I lost a verbal fight.’

He’d been so focused on martial training lately that he’d neglected his tongue-sharpening. He felt like he was being pushed around by his sisters.

In any case, among taciturn jianghu men, he was still a supreme master of words… no worries there.

“Next, I should visit Lady Bai Li.”

From what the townsfolk said, the Bai tribe had relocated to empty land near Chengdu.

Fortunately, the government office hadn’t seemed to stop them.

Walking south from Chengdu for half a day, sure enough, by a particularly swift section of the Min River tributary, a newly-built village was taking shape.

“Oh.”

Ju-seong let out a quiet exclamation.

He wasn’t versed in farming, but he knew farmland didn’t spring up wherever there was a river.

Where the current was too swift, farmland couldn’t take root.

But it was perfect for waterwheels… an ideal spot for smiths to establish a village.

The village wasn’t fully built yet, but from the large building already erected by the riverbank came the CLANG, CLANG of hammering.

-CLINK.

Ju-seong adjusted the contents of his bundle again.

“I can ask her to work on this. No, actually, I should commission it now, not ask.”

Ju-seong had rendered a favor by saving the Bai tribe, but they were still just settling in.

He intended to pay properly for the work.

Of course, that resolve crumbled at Bai Li’s words.

“The moment you pay a single coin, this goes right into the river to Guizhou.”

Bai Li said something terrifying while dangling Ju-seong’s bundle over the water.

Ju-seong scoffed and nodded.

“Fine… Alright. Please do good work. I trust you, as always.”

Bai Li grinned and nodded.

“Leave it to me.”

The confident little blacksmith now felt quite familiar.

“Heroes and champions should wear fine armor to look the part.”

“Perfect for me then. Divine armor. A horse as fine as a dragon… Though my legs are better than Red Hare, so I don’t need a horse.”

“…Well, yes. Sure.”

Stuck with what she’d said herself, Bai Li nodded awkwardly before speaking.

“Anyway, impressive. Always bringing such rare materials.”

Ju-seong nodded and boasted again.

“Rare treasures are naturally drawn to rare people, aren’t they? When Cao Cao found the Imperial Seal back in the late Han…”

“Please stop.”

“Understood.”

Ju-seong shut his mouth.