Sichuan's Mad Dragon (Novel) - Chapter 33 - Let Us Not Feel Pity But Observe Silence

Chapter 33 – Let Us Not Feel Pity But Observe Silence

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Translated by Heavenly Cat

Read it only at Novelbyu.com & Utoon.net

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Ju-seong and Red Beggar stared blankly at the unbearable sight spread across the mountain path.

A group of martial artists was cleaning up that horrific scene, and one of them snapped irritably.

“Come to gawk? People died and you are staring like it is some curiosity? Tsk…”

At his words, Ju-seong took a step forward and first performed a cupped-fist salute.

One peculiar custom of the martial world that he had learned since becoming a martial artist: generally, if you gave a cupped-fist salute, the other person became docile.

“Honored brother, I apologize. It was such a terrible scene that I lost myself. I see claw technique wounds; did all these people meet their end at the hands of that wicked sexual predator?”

As Ju-seong showed courtesy unbefitting his young age, the martial artist also hesitated a bit before nodding.

He had immediately recognized the claw wounds, so he seemed to be a martial artist of some knowledge. It was a bit burdensome to treat such a person carelessly.

“Sorry for snapping at you upon first meeting. That is right. The Flower-Snapping Laughing Killer, that damnable bastard, made them like this. We are martial artists from Nine-Tail Mountain Manor, and though we arrived at the scene belatedly, the swordsmen of the Danmok Sword School were all in this state.”

“Thank you, honored brother. We shall not disturb you, so please continue your work. We shall also just pray for their souls and pass by soon.”

“You are sensible young brothers. Thank you. In life, they were an opposing faction, and we often disparaged each other, but I never wished for them to die like this…”

The warrior from Nine-Tail Mountain Manor cleaned up the corpses with a bitter expression.

Ju-seong and Red Beggar watched them silently.

Red Beggar closed his eyes tight and furrowed his brow.

‘Is this not too terrible?’

Originally, what Ju-seong and Red Beggar had agreed upon was to prioritize the lives of commoners over martial artists.

Fundamentally, martial artists are those who have decided to stake their lives on the edge of a blade. Those who struggle desperately to trap the naturally flowing energy of nature within their bodies.

Having such power, they inevitably become entangled in all sorts of grudges, and naturally they find it hard to distance themselves from evil deeds and killing.

Thus, Ju-seong and Red Beggar tried not to feel sympathy for martial artists fighting, dying in battles among themselves.

Instead, they thought protecting the welfare of innocent commoners facing unfair treatment came first.

But were the martial artists lying dead there truly ones who did not deserve even a shred of pity?

Thinking about it with some exaggeration, was it not Ju-seong and Red Beggar who had pushed them into this pit of death?

Red Beggar glanced at Ju-seong, but his face had not changed much.

‘Brother has less feeling about living things dying than I expected.’

Ju-seong sensed Red Beggar’s gaze and looked him in the eye as he spoke.

“Instead of these martial artists dying, this sexual predator has not raped and killed any women for the past month because he was being chased. But counting the number of lives lost, far more Yunnan Province martial artists have died than women who were raped and killed.”

“…So you are saying this is better? That the common women were not harmed, and instead the martial artists died?”

“What is right or wrong here? We utilized every means available to catch the man, and there are both bright and dark parts to the result. However, these martial artists came here of their own will, staking their lives and fighting to the death. But did the women the Flower-Snapping Laughing Killer violated have any will?”

“…”

“I think that is the difference. At least even if they died, these are people who came to the place where they would die. It is different from having your chastity and life stolen by a sexual predator who suddenly burst in while living day to day. Understand?”

“It was that difference.”

Ju-seong raised his voice slightly so those around could hear.

“So let us not feel pity but observe silence. The swordsmen of the Danmok Sword School knew how strong that sexual predator was. They knew that even if they won, some of them might die. Yet they were people who drew their swords and stepped forward. In my opinion, these are true great men.”

“They are indeed great men.”

Having finished speaking, they closed their eyes and stood tall, then bowed their heads low.

Somehow moved by the solemn atmosphere, the martial artists from Nine-Tail Mountain Manor also stopped their work briefly and observed silence.

Ju-seong, even in this moment, operated his Celestial Nose and breathed deeply. He did not need to sniff at the corpses.

Reciting the incantation and operating his internal energy, a strand of energy extending from his dantian spread evenly across the area between his glabella and philtrum, activating his nose to its limit.

Ju-seong felt as if the thin bones beside his nose, below his eyes, were swelling. A phenomenon caused by blood rushing to the area around his nose due to the Celestial Nose’s function.

Then countless olfactory sensations began flooding in indiscriminately.

First, Ju-seong erased the body odors of himself, Red Beggar, and the Nine-Tail Mountain Manor martial artists cleaning up the scene. Then he also erased the smells of wind and grass, trees and streams, and the animals living in the mountains.

What remained was the blood scent of martial artists and women who had died unnatural deaths, and the terrible smell of miasmic poison.

That smell lingered in the air like a trail. Ju-seong exhaled the breath he had deeply drawn in and spoke.

“Red Beggar, let us go.”

“Yes, Brother.”

The hunting dog that had caught the scent finally began to speed up heading south.

* * *

After two more days heading down, Ju-seong and Red Beggar discovered another scene of tragedy. This time, there was no one even cleaning up.

“Which faction are these people from?”

Ju-seong stroked his chin and examined the fallen ones’ clothing.

It was the ao-style clothing more commonly worn by people of the Southern Barbarians rather than the Central Plains. It was a garment that fitted somewhat closely to the body, showing off a long silhouette.

The color was all black, and without exception, every one of them wore the same jet-black bamboo hats.

Red Beggar, having contacted various beggars and collected information on Yunnan’s factions, could identify them.

“They seem to be people from the Five Poisons Valley. A faction famous for handling poison, tacitly called the premier faction of Yunnan.”

“The premier of Yunnan? If so, should not the alliance they belong to have already taken control? The Southern Commerce Association and Green Wood Lotus have been in such a precarious standoff precisely because their power is balanced.”

“These people rarely go out of their base, a place called Green Mist Valley. They do not involve themselves in worldly affairs. Even so, they have a quiet grip on the surrounding area, so in the southernmost part of Yunnan Province, one must not cross them.”

“Hidden powerhouses? No matter how reclusive, they cannot completely avoid external activities, so the ones lying dead here must be the disciples who handled external activities for the Five Poisons Valley.”

“It seems so.”

Ju-seong breathed in deeply and said.

“Hmm… But one is missing.”

“What? What do you mean?”

“One is missing. There are eleven scents but only ten corpses, and one of them is a woman’s scent. The sexual predator kidnapped one of the Five Poisons Valley martial artists, a woman.”

Red Beggar twisted his face and ground his teeth.

“This son of a bitch was being chased by the entire Yunnan martial world and still kidnapped a woman to satisfy his urges.”

“That is the limit of a sexual predator. My guess is, he is a fellow with one foot in the river of no return called qi deviation. He could no longer suppress his own desires. Moreover, if she was a woman from the Five Poisons Valley, she must have had decent martial arts, which may have made him covet her more.”

“Damn it!”

Red Beggar exploded in frustration and kicked a rock rolling on the ground.

“Brother! Did we not dawdle too much while chasing him? If we had come sooner…”

“Then we would have been found as corpses. We are not trying to die to that man; we are trying to catch him, yes? Is that not why we mobilized the martial forces of Yunnan? Anyway, if we follow through to the end, our plan will work. He will get more exhausted as time goes on, and only then will our chances increase as we have conserved our strength and prepared until the final moment.”

Red Beggar, who had been fuming, soon hung his head and apologized in a subdued voice.

“Haah… I am sorry, Brother. I lost my temper.”

“This is not the time for this. Let us pick up the pace. We might be able to grab him before he harms the woman. At least make him abandon the woman and flee. Stopping another atrocity comes before catching him.”

“Understood.”

Red Beggar took a gulp from his gourd of liquor, then surged forward with terrifying momentum. Ju-seong also began running, utilizing the principles of the White Phoenix Nine Heavens Movement Technique.

‘I need a qinggong.’

Movement techniques referred to the arts of handling one’s body, broadly classified into three types: qinggong, footwork, and movement techniques.

Movement techniques were the totality of methods for moving one’s body lightly and nimbly.

Footwork meant the footwork for positioning and evading attacks during combat.

Finally, qinggong was the study of running. Making the body light and running fast and continuously was its essence. Minimizing internal energy use was the key to general qinggong.

The White Phoenix Nine Heavens Movement Technique included movement techniques and footwork but did not include qinggong.

Thus, Ju-seong simply lightened his body and ran hard, with no special techniques involved.

“Hurry up, Brother!”

“I am coming, you bastard! That fellow runs on all fours like a dog.”

When Red Beggar committed to using qinggong, his appearance was quite ridiculous; he was running like a beast with both hands touching the ground.

“Hey, puppy! Which house did you run away from!”

When Ju-seong shouted while chasing, Red Beggar wiggled his rear and shouted back.

“Ha! Mock me all you want, but you do not seem to have any qinggong of note, Brother! The name of this qinggong is Ten-Thousand-Li Roving Hound!”

Like a house-guarding dog finding freedom, his heart must be bursting, seemingly able to run ten thousand miles easily.

“Oh, Baduk, let us go together!”

Red Beggar and Ju-seong ran desperately. Keeping rest to a minimum, they ran as if their leisurely descent so far had been in preparation for this run.

Ju-seong, even while running, thought about qinggong. He gradually reduced the internal energy needed for each step, and as he corrected his footwork this way and that, he managed to learn a more stable running technique.

Of course, it was at a level embarrassing to call qinggong, but he could at least run fast and continuously.

Red Beggar matched Ju-seong’s speed and ran alongside him. Ju-seong, even while running, fervently wished not to encounter anyone along the way.

But his wish was not fulfilled.

A point where three forked paths met as one. At the crossroads shaped like a bird’s foot, three groups met at once.

“Stop-! We will pass first!”

A band of martial artists on horseback were pushing their horses desperately. Ju-seong squinted at the sight and muttered.

“They fed the horses something good.”

Red Beggar, who had been running on all fours beside him, stood up and asked.

“Something good?”

“The horses’ eyes are flashing and veins are popping out all over their bodies. They seem to have fed them stimulants or something because they are in a great hurry.”

Ju-seong examined the characters on the martial artists’ backs.

The word “Alliance” was written there.

There were probably more than a few organizations in the world that called themselves such-and-such Alliance, but those fellows looked like they could easily be identified.

Red Beggar muttered.

“Well well, Martial Alliance folk. Seems they fumbled around in Sichuan and then rushed over in a hurry.”

“If you had reported to a Martial Alliance branch, they would have come sooner.”

“Ah, does the Martial Alliance have branches everywhere like the government? There is exactly one per province, and even those barely function. Also, even if I had gone and told them, they would not have believed me. Would the lofty Martial Alliance pursuit squad believe a beggar’s word?”

Ju-seong let Red Beggar’s grumbling pass through one ear while observing the other groups.

“Those fellows again… Ah. Must be the Five Poisons Valley.”

Another group emerging from a different fork and chasing behind the Martial Alliance martial artists wore familiar clothing.

However, as if they had come out expecting combat, they wore black martial uniforms under slit-sided ao-style robes.

“Well, those fellows’ undergarments must be black too. Gloomy lot.”

Red Beggar muttered, and Ju-seong patted his back and said.

“Well, let us run again, Baduk.”

Wild-eyed horses carried martial artists ahead, while behind them, dark figures followed closely. Following them all, one dog and one human ran, sweating profusely.

They had nothing in common, but they shared one thing: their destination was the same.

They were all pursuing the sexual predator.