Sichuan's Mad Dragon (Novel) - Chapter 77 - My Split-Mind Art
Chapter 77 – My Split-Mind Art
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Translated by Heavenly Cat
Read it only at Novelbyu.com & Utoon.net
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The basement entrance was a small building that looked like an ordinary annex. Two martial artists appearing to be second-rate were standing guard, but they were easily subdued by Ju-seong’s needles.
“Hmm… Do I just open the door and go in?”
Opening the creaking wooden door and peering inside, a spiral staircase extended deeply along a vertically drilled cave.
“What… Are they some secret society trying to restore the Yuan dynasty or something? Going to this length to hide things is a bit pretentious.”
Muttering that as he descended the stairs, Ju-seong’s expression quickly hardened as the smell of blood invaded his nose.
“…What is this?”
It wasn’t ordinary blood scent. It was the amount you’d smell at a slaughterhouse. Except the blood was human, not pig or cow.
Ju-seong’s footsteps quickened as he descended.
-Swish!
Ten claws popped out from his hand guards.
“What the hell are these bastards doing here?”
At the bottom of the stairs was a large cavern. And the blood scent he had smelled since the stairs was now so thick it was nearly unbearable.
And then Ju-seong saw.
“Ah.”
Hanging upside down like jungle vines, like entertainment district lanterns, or like slaughterhouse meat, were people without heads.
Below them, channels were carved for blood to flow, and the blood flowed like streams, gathering at the center of the cavern.
The severed heads were split open and piled in a corner like junk.
The grayish-white brains extracted from the split heads were bubbling in copper cauldrons similar to those used for distilling spirits.
A thick smell of stewed pork wafted along with the gamey odor.
Martial artists with masks covering their faces moved about, maintaining the facility, adjusting the fire intensity, and feeding the imprisoned people who were still alive.
Was this what they called hell on earth?
No. This was something beyond hell.
There was no malice here. Just as a butcher slaughtering pigs or cattle has no malice.
That’s because malice is something you hold toward people.
When Ju-seong appeared in the chamber, the masked martial artists all drew their weapons in unison.
No questions, no threats. An impurity had entered, so it must be dealt with. As if that was their order and there was no need to question it.
Ju-seong stood there blankly, staring vacantly at the martial artists charging at him.
“…Must I burn the whole world?”
He murmured quietly.
A sword point drew endlessly closer, viciously targeting Ju-seong’s right eye.
Within his pitch-black pupils, flames suddenly blazed up.
-SLASH!
The martial artist who had been charging had his head and body separated, tumbling to the ground.
-Thump, thump, thump…
The severed head rolled noisily across the cavern floor.
Crimson flames blazed along Ju-seong’s arms. The flames that had risen in his heart had spread to his body.
So this wasn’t the flame of the Flame Crow Six-Stage Art. Rather, it should be called the flame of the Karmic Fire Demonic Art.
About a dozen martial artists were charging with swords, straight swords, curved sabers, axes, whips, iron clubs, and wolf-fang clubs.
Those who had sinned in the martial world and hidden in the shadows. They were like mold.
Crimson flames began licking at the mold growing in the shade, burning it away.
-SWOOSH!
Five strands of Heavenly Silkworm Silk were suddenly drawn from Ju-seong’s left hand, his claws retracted.
Five silk serpents slithered and extended along their own trajectories.
One burly martial artist charging with a wolf-fang club was entangled in the Heavenly Silkworm Silk and lost his freedom of movement.
Ju-seong rotated his body, sending the wolf-fang club martial artist bound by the Heavenly Silkworm Silk flying toward three other assailants like a weight on the end of a chain. Strangely, he didn’t strike the martial artists with that weight; instead, he merely made those three martial artists also become caught in the silk.
Running past them using movement technique, four martial artists became entangled and groaned.
“Gurghh!”
“Let go of this…!”
Whatever they were babbling wasn’t reaching Ju-seong’s ears. His sensitive ears already felt stuffed as if underwater.
When Ju-seong infused internal energy into his left hand and pulled.
The Heavenly Silkworm Silk all heated to crimson and transformed into five lines of heat.
The next moment.
-SPLATTER!
An utterly absurd amount of blood sprayed in all directions, and the martial artists who had been caught in the Heavenly Silkworm Silk fell apart in several pieces.
“Damn it…!”
One of the masked martial artists spat a curse, sounding rattled.
“Watch ou… ”
Ju-seong instantly became a streak of light and charged, striking the throat of the one who had been shouting with the back of his hand.
-CRACK.
It didn’t seem like a hard blow, but the head from the bridge of the nose up exploded away.
A first-rate martial artist died before he could even manifest sword energy.
-CLANG! CLANG! WHOOOM…!
Each raised energy in their weapons. Different sword resonances rang according to the martial arts they’d learned.
Looking at it, every single one was a first-rate martial artist.
Why were first-rate fighters here? Perhaps because they had committed unforgivable sins in both the dark and orthodox paths?
“You’ve lived long enough.”
Ju-seong murmured quietly and advanced.
This many first-rate martial artists would normally be too much for Ju-seong to handle. If it were the original Ju-seong.
Killing intent from his upper dantian surged out uncontrollably. His mind filled with nothing but killing… the desire to harm.
The martial artists facing Ju-seong felt their legs tremble involuntarily before they realized it.
“…Attack!”
One martial artist barely managed to speak and shout.
As if that were an order, the martial artists thrust their weapons toward Ju-seong in unison.
Ju-seong didn’t lose his composure. This was nearly his first time using Heavenly Silkworm Silk in real combat, but he had practiced quite a bit on his own.
-SWISH!
Releasing energy through the Heavenly Silkworm Silk in various directions left countless crimson lines remaining in the air.
Each single line was almost equivalent to sword energy that would cut fairly deep if it touched bare skin.
-SWISH! SLASH!
The threads’ afterimages lingering in the air were quite the nuisance.
“Ack!”
“Damn.”
Blood splattered here and there, and irritated groans erupted.
Ju-seong watched this with narrowed eyes and thought.
‘This has quite a lot of uses.’
Releasing energy through the thread couldn’t be done carelessly. Heavenly Silkworm Silk smoothly absorbed internal energy, but due to its length and flowing nature, energy consumption wasn’t small.
So rather than projecting extremely sharp sword energy, he was creating only faint afterimages like now.
That alone had the effect of turning the entire battlefield into Ju-seong’s “territory.”
The thread afterimages were a considerable hindrance when swinging weapons or chaining moves.
And it wasn’t just afterimages. When the actual Heavenly Silkworm Silk wrapped around an ankle…
-SLASH!
The next moment, that martial artist lost a foot and crumpled.
“AAAARGH!”
Their eyes dazzled by the thread afterimages, they didn’t notice the actual Heavenly Silkworm Silk approaching.
Three martial artists had already lost limbs that way.
“The thread is moving around! Watch out for it wrapping around you!”
The Heavenly Silkworm Silk was an extremely troublesome item to face. When no energy was infused, it fluttered about, grating on the nerves.
It seemed light enough to float in the air, and even when struck with a blade, it merely wrapped around and billowed.
But when internal energy was infused…
-BOOM!
Just as a sword resonance rang when extreme internal energy was infused into a blade, strangely, a drum-like sound echoed when extreme internal energy was infused into the Heavenly Silkworm Silk.
-SLICE! SLASH! CRUNCH!
As the Heavenly Silkworm Silk that Ju-seong had unwittingly spread tightened, three more martial artists lost body parts.
One who had noticed early and raised his weapon to block was sliced in half along with his wolf-fang club.
Having confirmed the numbers were reduced enough, Ju-seong now used the Fluttering Red Lotus Palm with his right hand.
Crimson palm forces painted the underground cavern.
Ju-seong’s form crisscrossed through the martial artists.
In less than half a quarter-hour, only Ju-seong remained standing in the cavern.
He stood there dumbly and looked around. Dozens of pairs of eyes were flickering anxiously behind iron bars like a prison’s.
“…”
Every blood vessel in Ju-seong’s eyes had burst. He was on the verge of losing his mind…
Ju-seong quickly moved about, smashing iron bars like a beast.
The imprisoned people had been sorted by type and locked up in each cell, separated into groups of young men, young women, and children below the age of fifteen.
The way they had been categorized was again so similar to handling livestock that Ju-seong couldn’t help but feel rage boiling inside him again.
Getting angry was bad for his health. Yet he had no way to vent it here.
Even looking at these pitiful people, he was barely suppressing his killing intent from surging.
Because the killing intent lodged in his upper dantian didn’t discriminate between people.
“Benefactor… How can we ever thank you…!”
Some had only recently been captured, as their eyes were still alive. That meant they were rapidly consuming the people they brought in and repeatedly capturing more.
Men and women alike shed tears and seemed to be expressing gratitude to Ju-seong, but he could barely face them or converse.
He growled in a beastly voice.
“…Get out, all of you. Quickly. I feel like I’ll kill everyone. Go upstairs. There should be a commotion, so you can escape.”
“At least… your name…”
“Get out, you bastards!”
Ju-seong momentarily released a wave of energy and roared like a beast.
Only then, whether understanding his words or sensing he was unstable, the people fled in terror, leaving the cavern and climbing the stairs.
“Hahhh…”
Ju-seong barely managed to sit cross-legged and began reciting the Stillness-Bright Incantation. Having harmed this many lives, the Stillness-Bright Incantation alone was insufficient to manage it, but he had to at least keep hold of his sanity.
Then, one young girl came up obliviously and spoke to Ju-seong.
“Mister…”
Ju-seong opened eyes blazing with fire but tried not to look at the child.
The eyes were the windows to the soul, and if killing intent was projected through his pupils, the child might die instantly.
Oblivious to the situation, the child spoke in a bright voice.
“Mister, thank you. I saw you punish all the bad guys.”
Ju-seong closed his eyes tightly and nodded.
“…Alright, now hurry and leave. You need to grow up healthy.”
“Mister, you grow up healthy too.”
“…”
Having been told to leave and with nothing more to say, the not-entirely-clueless child followed the adults up the stairs and disappeared.
“…Sigh.”
Ju-seong recited the Stillness-Bright Incantation for about a quarter-hour, then rummaged through his clothes with trembling hands and took out a Calming Heart Pill.
A cool sensation seemed to circulate through his upper dantian.
“Haaaaah…”
White steam billowed thickly from Ju-seong’s mouth.
He had at least succeeded in suppressing the killing intent within. Only then could Ju-seong regain his senses and look around.
The floor was covered in blood, and severed body parts were scattered about in disarray.
Ju-seong pressed his ear to the wall and used Celestial Hearing to briefly survey the situation above ground.
Whether Dong-sam had successfully caused a commotion, occasional shouts of “Fire!” and screams of “Poison attack!” could be heard.
He must have succeeded in approaching the kitchens and fire pits to scatter the poisonous powder.
Unlike the poison in the meat, it wasn’t lethal poison. There were innocent courtesans in Vajra Pavilion, guards who served without knowing anything, and guests who had just come to enjoy the Jin River scenery.
Just then, he heard the composed and even footsteps of a martial artist descending the stairs.
Ju-seong slowly stood up, brushing off dust, and glared toward the cavern’s entrance.
“I’m quite impressed.”
A soft voice echoed through the cavern.
What appeared was a man dressed in plain yet elegant silk robes.
His beardless face was so pale that blood vessels showed through.
He could have been called handsome, but his lips were too thin and a dark crimson haze lingered beneath his eyes, giving him an unfortunate physiognomy.
Ju-seong had difficulty accurately gauging the martial prowess of the man before him.
He might have trained in an art to conceal his cultivation, or he could be a master far above Ju-seong’s level.
“Are you the Vajra Pavilion Master?”
“Hmm… Ten Thousand Ears Gang Sichuan Province Headquarters Chief, and Vajra Pavilion Master… Well, knowing that much should be sufficient.”
“…”
Ju-seong silently infused energy into the Heavenly Silkworm Silk in his left hand while extending the Kunlun Iron Claws from his right.
Even seeing this, the Vajra Pavilion Master continued speaking calmly.
“Infiltrating the depths of the Ten Thousand Ears Gang… and uncovering its secrets. Hmm… You’re the disciple of the one called the Death-Playing Demon Physician, aren’t you? Our side only recently realized that old man’s true identity was the Death-Playing Demon Physician.”
The pale man slowly removed his silk robe as he continued.
“In any case, you and your fellow disciples have repeatedly become annoying stumbling blocks to ‘us.’ Though even your master couldn’t stop things from progressing.”
The man was composed and unhurried. Even while speaking and removing his robe, his guard never slipped. There was a precision as if drawn with a brush.
Rather than brilliant talent or flashing genius, it was cold and precise reason.
“Let me tell you one thing… Those who know this place’s secrets cannot leave alive. Of course, the captives escaped, but… The Ten Thousand Ears Gang can easily control that level of information.”
He rolled up his removed silk robe and muttered.
“What I mean is, you won’t leave here alive. Whether you defeat me or not…”
The moment he finished speaking, his right hand, which had been wrapping the silk robe, thrust out savagely.
-Flutter!
The silk robe flew toward Ju-seong, laden with projected force.
Ju-seong lowered his stance to dodge the robe.
The robe fluttered as it flew, then, inconsistent with its appearance, smashed through the stone wall and stopped.
That wasn’t the end.
A pitch-black whip that the Pavilion Master had hidden inside the silk robe came slashing viciously.
-CRACK… BANG!
A boom as if energy waves had exploded echoed through the cavern.
Ju-seong’s sensitive ears seemed to scream.
He executed his movement technique, treading the positions of the nine heavenly stars as he attempted to close in.
Since the hand holding the whip was the right hand, he thought approaching from the left would make it harder to counter.
The Pavilion Master showed no reaction even as Ju-seong’s form left afterimages while moving.
The whip… that is to say, the bian… was strong, but it wasn’t the type of weapon for instantly reacting to an opponent.
Because the whip only followed after the person swung it.
With the man still not turning his body, Ju-seong could easily slash his flank with his claws…
It was then.
-SWISH!
The Master’s left hand moved like lightning, drawing a silver streak from his waist.
In the martial world, there were things called soft swords. These were swords with some elasticity, allowing for variations in sword technique.
But occasionally, there were truly extraordinary items beyond ordinary soft swords.
Swords flexible and flowing enough to be hidden wrapped around the waist like a belt.
The kind that would stiffen and display terrifying power the moment internal energy was infused.
-CLANG!
Ju-seong struck the soft sword away and retreated, thinking.
‘How?’
Wielding two different weapons simultaneously wasn’t easy. Because one had to use two different martial arts to handle the two different weapons.
Ju-seong paused to observe for a moment after putting some distance.
‘Wow… Crazy.’
The Master’s two eyes were each rolling independently. It was like watching a monster whose left and right halves moved by separate wills.
“…What the hell is that, exactly?”
“It’s the Split-Mind Art.”
“…Wudang Sect’s that thing?”
North respects Shaolin, South reveres Wudang. Wudang Sect, one of the two pillars supporting the orthodox martial world, was famous for the Split-Mind Art that could demonstrate different sword techniques or martial arts with each hand.
That technique was called something like the Dual Intention Mind Art.
The Master shook his head and said.
“No, it’s a superior art to that.”
“Oh, is that so?”
Ju-seong felt slightly relieved and smoothed out his previously twisted expression.
He pointed at the Master and said.
“There’s no way my Split-Mind Art would be like that.”
He too was a man living in the martial world; a man who had read adventure novels since childhood; a man who had earned small change telling martial world tales at inns and marketplaces… he had admiration for Wudang Sect.
There was no way Wudang Sect’s renowned Dual Intention Mind Art was such an ungainly martial art with eyeballs rolling about independently.
That man was babbling that his Split-Mind Art was better than Wudang’s, but…
“Hmm…”
It was different from simply being cross-eyed.
The two eyes were each moving so busily that looking at them might make your own eyes roll.
In being such a bizarre spectacle, it was already far inferior to Wudang Sect’s Dual Intention Mind Art.
Were there only one or two adventure novels with a young Wudang prodigy as the protagonist crisscrossing the martial world?
Shaolin-born protagonists were rare, naturally, because monks couldn’t drink, couldn’t eat meat, and couldn’t meet women.
Anyway, the word “Wudang” contained the dream of the windswept martial world.
‘You dare insult Wudang?’
Ju-seong felt rage boiling and clenched both fists. A low growl escaped his lips.
“Keep your damn eyeballs still. Before I beat you to death.”