Sichuan's Mad Dragon (Novel) - Chapter 63 - A Fierce Kitten's Scratch

Chapter 63 – A Fierce Kitten’s Scratch

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Translated by Heavenly Cat

Read it only at Novelbyu.com & Utoon.net

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Bai Li was a craftsman with exceptional skill. The arts that a person hones, whether martial arts or metallurgy, naturally deepen in quality with time.

But there existed a class called geniuses in this world.

Ju-seong, who had grasped the peak realm in only about four years of properly training his martial arts, was one such case. And Bai Li, who at just over twenty could hold her own alongside her family’s greatest artisans, was another.

She knew how to listen to the inspirations whispered by steel and flame, by beast hides and jewels. She had eyes that could discover value in things that lay as mere stones or beast husks.

But the finest of all things that could inspire a craftsman was people.

For tools exist to be used by people.

And for Bai Li, the man named Ju-seong had become a great inspiration.

She hammered the dark crimson Kunlun Iron and recalled the torrent of Ju-seong’s scolding, as well as the quiet determination in his back as he treated the wounded.

Having trained in martial arts, she didn’t even let her expression waver despite the intense labor of the forge.

-CLANG…!

A low, deep ring, different from when striking ordinary iron, burst from the hammer.

Yellow sparks flew like tears, bouncing off the floor.

Pouring her whole heart not into the tool she was making, but into the one who would use it, she knew that was the path to creating a masterpiece.

As the sound of the hammer deepened, the image of the guest who had come like the wind was also carved deeper into her heart.

* * *

Ju-seong stroked his chin and quietly regarded the man who had introduced himself as April.

“…So, Master gave you this pill and said that. That I’m the only one in the martial world who can complete this into an antidote.”

“…That’s right.”

Ju-seong looked at the small pill in his hand.

Ju-seong also knew, having learned the secret arts from his master. The method of completing pills in stages.

The pill in his hand now looked complete, but was actually incomplete. Using the secret technique, it could be melted down again and additional ingredients added to give it efficacy.

Ju-seong looked down at the pill and guessed his master’s intention.

‘He’s telling me to decide.’

This pill, depending on what ingredients were added, could become an antidote for Qi-Scattering Poison, or it could be made to melt away the dantian entirely.

When the dantian melted, the surrounding organs would all break down too, so it was essentially no different from a poison that brought death.

“You said you were an assassin.”

“That’s right.”

April nodded quietly at Ju-seong’s question.

What was the point of lying here?

Immortal Hyeon-su, who had observed him up close, was present, and the eccentric old man in Sichuan Province also knew his identity.

Even if he deceived Ju-seong here and cured the Qi-Scattering Poison, it would only be a matter of time before he was caught again and lost his dantian anyway.

“How did you become an assassin? Did you become one because you liked harming people? Or was it for money? Or were you kidnapped as a child?”

“…You could say it was similar to being kidnapped as a child.”

“Tell me in detail. A single small difference could change your fate.”

Ju-seong stared at April with sunken eyes. Assassins were one of the types of humans he hated most.

“Killing people… it’s not a righteous thing, but when people clash with those they disagree with and fight against those who oppose them, lives may be lost. But killing people to live well yourself, to kill for money no less, is unacceptable.”

He pointed at April and said quietly.

“My master may have let you go on a whim, but now that he’s left your treatment to me, beating you to death on the spot wouldn’t be out of the question. So if you want to tip the scales of my heart the other way, hang the weight of your life on them. If you tell your story from beginning to end, the weight of it might change my mind…”

This was Ju-seong’s request to April.

His heart was already leaning toward killing.

He was asking April to tip it the other way, toward letting him live.

Because Ju-seong had killed quite a few people just yesterday.

April opened and closed his mouth in bewilderment for a moment.

First of all, this was the first time he had ever been in a position to determine his own fate. Depending on how he acted, he could either die or live.

And what lay before him was more ominous than fortunate. Because Ju-seong already harbored killing intent toward him.

How could he turn a heart that wanted to kill him into one that wanted to spare him?

April had no way of knowing.

So he opened and closed his mouth several times, breathing in and out again. No matter how he thought about it, there was no other way.

Ju-seong spoke.

“Even you must know that just telling the truth as it is is the only way.”

“…That’s right.”

April began to tell his story.

Ju-seong closed his eyes and listened to his story.

If the two had met on a wind-swept field of reeds, or in a bustling marketplace, or on a thin log bridge.

If so, one of them would have died. Ju-seong was a man who detested assassins, and April was an excellent assassin who never lost his target.

But because they met here like this, Ju-seong could hear the life story of the man called April.

“My first kill was Pyeong-usan, the chief of the Ghost Blade Gang…”

April recited everything from his earliest memories to his first kill, and learning his own origins.

Telling his story this way, he realized his life had more to tell than he thought. He had thought it was empty, but that wasn’t entirely true.

He too had at times felt disillusionment, chewed on regret, and spent lonely evenings.

Like any hapless young man, he had even harbored feelings for a courtesan and experienced heartbreak.

He retraced his life as if retracing a journey. Ju-seong listened to the rambling story of a man ten years his senior, not missing a single word.

Outside the room where they talked, by the doorway, an old Taoist sat quietly in meditation, eavesdropping on the sounds from within.

‘What a regrettable life.’

Immortal Hyeon-su quietly closed his eyes and murmured to himself.

He didn’t feel pity or sympathy. After all, having learned martial arts and become a master through exceptional talent to kill people, April didn’t deserve compassion.

But in that he had never once guided his own life by his own will, April’s life was truly regrettable.

“Hmm… I wonder how this will go…”

Immortal Hyeon-su stroked his beard and muttered. He pondered for a long time, then let out a deep sigh and rose.

“I’ll just try once. If it doesn’t work, I’ll handle it myself…”

The old swordsman muttered as if he had made a decision.

* * *

“Hmm… Is this the finished product?”

At Ju-seong’s question, Bai Li answered in a calm voice.

“That’s right. The Heavenly Silkworm Silk neither burns in fire nor absorbs internal energy completely, which is a curious trait.”

She had searched through old documents and learned that the material Ju-seong had left with her was indeed the legendary Heavenly Silkworm Silk.

“Correct. It’s also extremely tough, and each strand is so thin as to be almost invisible to the eye. When infused with energy, it rivals the invulnerability of a blade or sword.”

“To have obtained such a treasure… You’re remarkable.”

“I was lucky to get it.”

“The cute little thing you keep with you must have been the owner of the cocoon?”

Ju-seong nodded as if agreeing with her question, but kept his mouth tightly shut as if to make clear he wouldn’t explain further.

Not all cocoons made by Heavenly Silkworm Moths became Heavenly Silkworm Silk.

If they did, those moth monsters might be rare poison creatures, but Heavenly Silkworm Silk wouldn’t be this precious.

The innate strength of a Heavenly Silkworm Moth was determined by the qi dwelling in the host it parasitized during its larval stage.

In the case of Heavenly Silkworm Silk, it seemed to be made only from silk spun by larvae that had parasitized a peak-level or higher master.

Ordinary cocoons spun by ordinary Heavenly Silkworm Moths just became slightly sturdy silk.

‘I’m the only one who knows this fact.’

Ju-seong had empirically realized and discovered this fact, and even his master didn’t know this principle.

In other words, in the current martial world, Ju-seong was the only one who knew the secret of Heavenly Silkworm Silk.

Ju-seong stroked his chin.

‘It must be the arrangement of some predecessor.’

In a long, long history, how could he be the first to discover this? Thinking so would be excessive arrogance.

Some predecessor must have concealed this fact, fearing the disaster that would follow if it became known.

If the method of making Heavenly Silkworm Silk became widely known, there could be those who would try to obtain it through horrific means.

Of course, a peak-level martial artist is worth more than Heavenly Silkworm Silk, so in a way, using them to make silk would be a loss.

But martial artists die and fade away eventually, while treasures like Heavenly Silkworm Silk can be passed down for centuries.

Moreover, to those of noble birth, it would be like having spare lives…

‘Since there are rakshasas among humans, this world is sometimes hell…’

Ju-seong decided to honor the unnamed senior who had hidden and let fade the creation process of Heavenly Silkworm Silk by also keeping that secret.

Bai Li understood his closed mouth to mean he was reluctant to share the location or method of obtaining the silk, and immediately changed the subject.

How could one share the method of obtaining such a treasure with others?

Ju-seong knew Bai Li had misunderstood, but let it pass without concern. Rather than argue further on this matter, he examined what Bai Li had given him.

“Oho… You dyed it black.”

Bai Li nodded.

“White would be too conspicuous, after all.”

Ju-seong nodded as he put on the hand guards.

“My… It feels like I’m not wearing anything at all.”

Bai Li smiled and nodded.

“Try infusing internal energy.”

When Ju-seong infused internal energy into the hand guards as she instructed, they tightened and fit his hands even more snugly.

“Ha. This is amazing. How did you weave it to react to internal energy like this?”

“Now concentrate internal energy at your fingertips.”

When Ju-seong concentrated internal energy at the tips of his five fingers as instructed.

-Swish!

At the tips of his five fingers, small black claws like a cat’s popped out.

“Oh… I can make a fierce kitten’s scratch with these.”

“A scratch that would tear cloth right off when struck. They’re claws made of Kunlun Iron.”

Ju-seong slowly nodded. He had never specifically learned claw techniques. Bai Li, being a swordswoman, lacked understanding of those who trained in bare-fisted combat.

She had simply assumed that a martial artist who fought barehanded would naturally use claw techniques and added them.

But for Ju-seong, it wasn’t a bad thing, as he could apply them to grasping hand techniques or finger techniques to create his own claw art.

Ju-seong narrowed his eyes and examined the Kunlun Iron claws.

“There are holes in each claw.”

“That’s right. Partly to reduce weight as much as possible, but… Look.”

Bai Li took out unprocessed Heavenly Silkworm Silk.

Each strand of silk was cut to about five zhang (fifteen meters) in length, with a Kunlun Iron throwing knife attached to one end.

Ju-seong understood the purpose the moment he saw it.

“Thread the silk through the holes in the claws…”

Bai Li smiled and nodded.

“Right. So you can control the movement of the throwing knife just by twitching your fingers… And retrieval is easy too.”

“I thread the silk through these holes, then like this.”

When Ju-seong withdrew the internal energy he had been concentrating only at his fingertips, the claws retracted and the silk threaded through the holes was firmly fixed at his fingertips.

He could fight while throwing knives wildly, and when the time came to fight barehanded, concentrate internal energy at his fingertips to extend the claws.

Then the silk threaded through the holes would naturally be released, allowing free movement.

-Swish! Swish! Swish! Swish!

“Haha, this is really amazing. The quality of the Kunlun Iron throwing knives is excellent too. I never expected you to be such an exceptional craftsman.”

Bai Li wore a smile brimming with pride and rested her hands on her hips.

She felt her heart swelling at having properly repaid the man who had protected her hometown and villagers, and even received his recognition.

‘She’s like a young fox who succeeded in her first hunt.’

Ju-seong watched Bai Li for a moment, then offered a ceremonial bow expressing his gratitude.

“You could have just accepted my thanks. I can’t thank you enough for making such excellent equipment.”

“It’s nothing. Please visit our village again someday. I’ll treat you even more generously then.”

‘Looks like I’ll definitely have to visit Yunnan Province once more.’

The Five Poisons Valley, and now the Bai tribe village.

The connections he had made during this short martial journey were more than just one or two.

* * *

The next day, Ju-seong and Red Beggar prepared to depart.

However, the problem was that Ju-seong still hadn’t decided what to do with April.

“What should I do with you… This is really driving me crazy. The fact that the person driving me crazy is a man is deeply unpleasant. Master really knows exactly how to give me trouble. What on earth does he want me to do?”

At that moment, Immortal Hyeon-su, who had been standing nearby, interjected to make a request.

“If you would permit it, could I take this man under my care?”

“…Excuse me?”

For a moment, Ju-seong asked back in confusion.

Wait, why?