Sichuan's Mad Dragon (Novel) - Chapter 53 - Purple Gold Centipede

Chapter 53 – Purple Gold Centipede

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Translated by Heavenly Cat

Read it only at Novelbyu.com & Utoon.net

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The narrow rock crevice was truly submerged in deep darkness.

‘These people are really insane.’

Ju-seong, who had somehow ended up walking ahead, muttered to himself. No matter what, he was the Valley Master, yet they stuffed him into such a narrow crevice?

Obsession with security was one thing, but this was too much no matter how he thought about it.

Let alone the legendary luminous pearl, there wasn’t even a single torch in this dark passage.

While Ju-seong was grumbling internally and advancing, suddenly an aged face popped out from the darkness.

“Damn, you startled me!”

It was a gaunt old man with a stern expression, and Ju-seong intuitively knew this was the Five Poisons Valley Master.

‘I nearly hit him.’

Steadying his startled heart, Ju-seong first extended a fist salute.

“…Ju-seong, a humble learner of the martial world, greets his senior. As for the cursing I just did, I was raised without proper education, so…”

The old man looked up at Ju-seong for a while and spoke.

“Why are you so swollen? Your appearance is quite grotesque.”

“…”

Ju-seong was momentarily at a loss for words. He didn’t care about being cursed to his face, yet here came the cutting remarks without giving him any room.

After being stunned for a moment, Ju-seong composed himself and spoke.

“This junior engaged in a fierce battle with the Heavenly Silkworm Moth, during which the creature’s poison sac was injected into my body. I couldn’t control the poison energy and ended up in this state.”

The old man looked Ju-seong up and down, then asked Yeo Hong-pa standing behind him.

“Is this the one you mentioned?”

Yeo Hong-pa nodded and answered.

“Yes, Grandfather… No, Valley Master. These are the young heroes who saved Hong-yeon’s life. In the Yunnan martial world, they’re called the Yellow and White Twin Tigers.”

“It’s an undeserved name.”

Ju-seong showed humility.

“It should be undeserved. A fleeting nickname from youth is all it should be. How can a man be called by a title named after beasts? Unless it were Emperor or King…”

Curious, Ju-seong asked.

“Does the Valley Master also have a title?”

“Five Poisons Valley Master. Nothing more is needed. Who in Yunnan would dare disregard this title?”

It was an answer full of spirit. Ju-seong felt that this old man was no ordinary figure.

The Valley Master turned his body as he spoke, and only then did Ju-seong realize he was sitting on something.

It was a chair with wheels, designed so the seated person could turn the wheels themselves to move.

There was no way someone with two good legs would rely on such a thing, so Ju-seong could tell the Valley Master’s lower body was disabled.

That must be why, when his granddaughter was kidnapped by the sexual predator, he couldn’t go himself and had to send Yeo Hong-pa.

Even if his personal combat ability was outstanding, he needed to be able to pursue before he could fight at all.

The Valley Master skillfully maneuvered the four-wheeled cart through the rock crevice.

“I was about to come greet our guests since it’s been a while, but I didn’t expect you to come directly here.”

At the Valley Master’s words, Yeo Hong-pa awkwardly answered.

“Ah, that’s because… This young hero’s condition is quite severe…”

Ju-seong indeed felt like he would burst at any moment due to the swelling worsening by the second.

If there was no sharp solution, he would have no choice but to let his killing intent run wild and focus all his attention on suppressing the poison energy in his body.

But then he might transform into a killing demon and run amok, which would be troublesome.

After following the winding passage for about twenty zhang, suddenly his view opened up and a small clearing appeared.

A thin waterfall falling from high above, a green garden and quaint halls, and a pavilion in the center.

It was truly a separate world lacking nothing for a sect master to reside in.

‘Ah, I need to make a good impression.’

Ju-seong stepped behind the Valley Master and said.

“Senior, let me push you.”

“Take your hands off. Do I look like an old man who can’t even hold a spoon?”

The Valley Master curtly refused Ju-seong’s kindness. Looking now, his exposed forearm muscles were torn along the fibers in a rather formidable way.

The Valley Master took a small breath and asked.

“I smell a familiar wound salve.”

Having anticipated this question, Ju-seong immediately explained.

“Ah, this is an item passed down as a secret in my master’s former sect. Martial Artist Yeo also said the scent was familiar, so I was wondering about that.”

The Valley Master glanced back at Ju-seong and asked.

“What is your master’s name?”

“His surname is Weiji and his given name is Baek.”

At Ju-seong’s answer, the Valley Master let out a small sigh and said.

“Weiji Baek, has that friend escaped from the ghosts of his past?”

“…Do you know my master?”

Ju-seong’s question was laced with consternation. They seemed to know each other quite well.

The Valley Master slowly nodded.

“He was a friend from my youth. Of course, it’s been a long time since we’ve seen each other.”

“…How did you come to be estranged…”

Ju-seong was suspicious, wondering if his ill-tempered master had accumulated grudges he didn’t even know about.

If so, he needed to escape from here immediately, but the situation wasn’t looking good.

Fortunately, the Valley Master readily answered.

“He probably avoids not just me, but everyone and every place that reminds him of his youth. While he doesn’t want to set foot in Yunnan again, he can’t abandon his attachments either, so he resides in Sichuan Province? Though I have no contact with your master, I’ve asked after him a few times through that disciple of his.”

“Do you mean Physician Seo-baek?”

“Yes. I heard there was a famous physician in Sichuan and sent someone with a serious illness to him, and some of the medicines he used overlapped with those of the Five Poisons Valley, so I came to know of him. After that, I exchanged letters a few times to inquire about my old friend’s well-being.”

“An old friend, you say…”

Ju-seong was about to ask more, but the Valley Master waved his hand to cut him off.

“That can wait. We need to do something about your body first. The Heavenly Silkworm Moth… And to still be alive with its poison sac inside you. I don’t know what kind of martial art you’ve trained, but even if the martial art itself has some resistance to poison, this is no easy situation.”

When the Valley Master first saw Ju-seong’s state, he had callously commented about him being swollen and grotesque without a shred of sympathy.

But now he was actively discussing treatment.

‘My master had built goodwill, not grudges.’

Judging by the Divine Physician’s personality, he must have forged more ill will than goodwill throughout the martial world.

That he had stumbled upon good relations amid all that was quite fortunate.

After all, master and disciple were inseparable.

The Valley Master gestured and said.

“Hong-pa, go to the Grade A treasury and bring what’s in the second cabinet of the Yin row.”

“Grade A, you say?”

The Valley Master nodded and took out a small key from his pocket and tossed it over. Yeo Hong-pa received it with a somewhat flustered expression.

“Now, I’ll lend you my personal training room, so let’s proceed with the detoxification together there.”

Ju-seong expressed gratitude to the Valley Master, who had at some point changed from a stern old man to quite a kindly grandfather-like demeanor.

“I thank you for the Valley Master’s help.”

“I failed to pull my old friend out of the swamp of remorse and despair… At least, the fact that he took a disciple means he has recovered his human heart, doesn’t it? Rather, I am resolving my long-held regret, so there’s nothing to thank.”

While following the Valley Master, Ju-seong could barely contain his curiosity about what exactly his master had experienced in the past.

Of course, recovery came first right now.

The training room was a cave carved into the cliff wall, with light filtering in from high above.

“What do you do when it rains?”

“The ceiling is covered with a round glass plate. Now, sit down.”

As Ju-seong sat cross-legged on the training room floor, the Valley Master calmly spoke before him.

“Now, first calm your mind and observe your inner self.”

Before long, Yeo Hong-pa arrived carrying a small wooden box.

When the Valley Master received it and opened the lid, a terrible poison scent filled the training room.

It was pungent like a sharp sting, yet also had a metallic bloody smell.

The smell was ominous, but the appearance of the contents wasn’t bad.

Basically it had a metallic texture, with golden and red colors intertwining.

“What is that?”

“It’s the poison sac of a creature called the Purple Gold Centipede.”

Ju-seong felt his eyes snap open.

It was a giant centipede with a purple-gold outer shell, and one of the five poisonous creatures Ju-seong needed to find. Its poison sac was one of the five poisons needed for the Three Talents Five Elements Pill.

Naturally, as a material for a pill the Divine Physician had researched his whole life, it was incredibly rare.

The problem was that the Valley Master immediately pressed it to Ju-seong’s mouth.

“Swallow it.”

“…Pardon?”

“Gulp it down.”

Ju-seong briefly recalled the characteristics of the Purple Gold Centipede’s poison.

Every joint in the body stiffens, convulsions occur, muscles contract, and the heart and lungs lose their functions and start moving erratically.

The contracting muscles eventually snap apart segment by segment, leaving the whole body powerless, while the joints stiffen completely so not even a finger can move.

Trapped in a body that has become a prison, one slowly dies feeling the agony of the lungs and heart seizing.

Of course, while the dying process is slow, reactions like muscles contracting and snapping happen within just a couple of breaths.

In terms of toxicity, it was among the bottom of the Five Poisons along with the Heavenly Silkworm Moth, but the pain it caused was arguably the greatest of the five.

Because of the purple-gold color of its shell and the fact that nothing in the world rivaled it in terms of pain, its nickname was as follows:

The Emperor of Suffering.

It meant the emperor of agony. Originally, purple-gold was traditionally the emperor’s color.

Of course, this was a name only used in lowbrow martial arts stories. If a proper physician or scholar used such a title, they’d be in trouble.

When Ju-seong finished thinking and looked forward again, the poison sac in the Valley Master’s hand was still showing off its brilliant splendor.

He sighed inwardly.

‘…This is insane.’

Meanwhile, the Valley Master’s urging continued.

“What are you hesitating for? Swallow it!”

“…Is this using poison to fight poison?”

“Yes.”

It was the classic technique of using poison to counter poison. According to the principle of the Five Elements, metal overcomes wood, so the Purple Gold Centipede’s poison sac was perfect for suppressing the Heavenly Silkworm Moth’s poison energy.

Tools for cutting wood are made of metal, and soil infused with metal energy is barren and hard, making it difficult for trees to take root.

This method was suitable for containing the Heavenly Silkworm Moth’s poison energy of growth and proliferation.

Ju-seong looked up at the ceiling briefly and apologized to his master.

‘This unworthy disciple is about to stuff everything into his stomach and return. Please forgive me…’

Ju-seong squeezed his eyes shut and swallowed the Purple Gold Centipede’s poison sac. The Valley Master got off his four-wheeled cart and moved using his two arms. Hidden by his clothing until now, his two legs were severed from the knees down.

He sat cross-legged behind Ju-seong.

“I’ll use the Five Poisons Valley’s Poison Accumulation Method to first guide the poison energy to the dantian, and after that, it’s entirely up to your own ability.”

As Ju-seong closed his eyes and sank into his inner self, before long, the Valley Master’s energy made contact with his back and flowed into Ju-seong’s meridians.

“…!”

Ju-seong furrowed his brow with closed eyes. Considerable pain began to strike his entire body.

A dry, parched sensation as if thick starch powder had been applied to each joint bored into his joints.

The muscles throughout his body screamed and writhed. He felt each fiber of muscle independently contracting and convulsing.

But before this pain could intensify, the Valley Master’s energy quickly wove through Ju-seong’s fine vessels and began collecting the poison energy.

Ju-seong compared himself doing the same work to this moment.

In his mental world, Ju-seong had to repeat endless labor like cultivating a vast field with a small hoe with no end in sight.

In contrast, the Valley Master’s energy was like officials capturing all the criminals at once, sweeping through Ju-seong’s body and gathering the lodged poison energy without omission.

Having swiftly collected the metal energy-laden poison, the Valley Master unhesitatingly gave the bundled poison a mighty kick to drive it straight into Ju-seong’s dantian.

-Splash!

As Ju-seong’s immersion deepened, his mental world unfolded.

This time, instead of a lava pool, a bright red crow was waiting for him.

The creature was struggling in battle with a green moth.

When the crow pecked at the moth’s wings with its sharp beak, the moth flapped its wings to shake off the crow and scattered dirty powder everywhere.

-Caw!

The crow frantically cleaned up the toxic powder dirtying its dwelling, while the moth busily dodged here and there as if mocking it.

‘You detestable wretch, I’ve brought your arresting officer.’

Ju-seong released the metallic centipede he had been carrying in his pocket into the room.

The time had come for the moth that had tormented him for days to receive a proper education.