Sichuan's Mad Dragon (Novel) - Chapter 90 - The Seasoned Blade Master

Chapter 90 – The Seasoned Blade Master

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Translated by Heavenly Cat

Read it only at Novelbyu.com & Utoon.net

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Ju-seong looked Dong-sam up and down in disbelief, then spoke in a reluctant voice.

“Hmm… I’ll hear this backstory later. Senior Brother Seo-baek, what brings you to Emei Sect? I was just about to leave anyway.”

“I came to see my junior brother’s face, yes, but that’s not the main reason. Actually… a rather unsavory anonymous letter was delivered to me.”

“An anonymous letter, you say?”

Physician Seo-baek nodded with a grave expression.

“It was an anonymous letter regarding Emei Sect’s Sect Leader, Master Jeong-hwa. I want to believe it’s fabricated, but… they even sent a ‘sample’ along, so I had no choice but to verify it.”

Ju-seong detected the faint blood scent seeping from Seo-baek’s robes.

Ju-seong’s eyes widened at the memory that flashed through his mind.

Then he promptly asked Ok-wol, who had come to see him off.

“What did you do with those pills you took last time?”

Ok-wol furrowed her brow and tilted her head.

“I threw the entire box into the Yangtze. Why?”

They were pills made from grinding up human lives. They might serve as evidence of the Ten Thousand Ears Gang’s evildoing, but if the other side denied it, there was nothing to be done.

Moreover, since Emei’s sect leader had already taken them, nothing good could come from their being discovered.

So they had decided to bury everything in secrecy, and Ok-wol had been entrusted with disposing of the pills.

Ju-seong looked back at Seo-baek. The blood scent emanating from Seo-baek’s robes was unmistakably from those sinister pills.

Someone had anonymously accused Emei Sect while also sending a pill as a sample.

Seo-baek, the greatest physician in Sichuan, recognized how wickedly the pill had been manufactured and had climbed Emei Mountain to verify the truth of that letter.

‘It was Heuk-wol.’

Ju-seong’s gaze sank.

She hadn’t given up on revenge. She hadn’t even postponed it.

Ju-seong sighed softly. Once begun, vengeance was not something that could be held back. He had forgotten that.

Ju-seong suddenly recalled something and smacked his forehead.

“Ah, that thousand-year-old carp bastard!”

“…What did you say?”

At Ju-seong’s sudden outburst, Ok-wol looked at him strangely.

While riding the merchant vessel upstream on the Yangtze, there had been a large shape swimming near the ship’s rail.

Bizarrely large, yes, but since it swam exactly like a fish, he hadn’t paid it much attention.

That creature must have been the one who retrieved the box Ok-wol had thrown away.

Someone who could fool Ju-seong’s senses into thinking it was a fish must be a world-class diver.

‘They must be from the river pirates. Those bastards take odd jobs for the evil path’s major sects.’

Pirates were bound to exist on the Yangtze, which ran through the Central Plains.

They were skilled in water combat.

Heuk-wol must have tailed Ju-seong and the others traveling upstream, then recovered the box Ok-wol had discarded.

‘That damn bastard… Can dive, can he? Next time I run into him by chance, I’ll make him compete against a carp in a breath-holding contest underwater.’

Anyway, the mastermind behind all this was surely Heuk-wol.

Rather than returning to Guizhou, she had contacted the river pirates and enlisted their help.

She had probably predicted that Ju-seong and the Emei women would travel back upstream on the Yangtze, and roughly guessed they would throw the incriminating evidence into the river.

‘Not burning or crushing it, but just tossing it in the river and then having it snatched up… What rotten luck indeed.’

Ju-seong looked at Seo-baek and said.

“Senior Brother, still, this is the mighty Emei Sect. Barging in so suddenly… is that wise? I was just about to leave anyway, so let’s go down and talk.”

Seo-baek looked at him as if he were speaking nonsense.

“You want me to climb all the way up here and then turn back? I’m not a martial artist like you, Junior Brother.”

“Come now, Senior Brother… With your reputation as the greatest physician in Sichuan, how can you just waltz in and out of Emei Sect? Think about how Qingcheng would react.”

“Even so, there’s something I must confirm, which is why I came.”

“Ah, please. Let’s just think it over once more on the way down.”

Despite Ju-seong’s repeated objections, Seo-baek suddenly stopped talking and stared at him.

He narrowed his eyes and asked.

“Junior Brother, you know something too, don’t you? Maybe even more than I do. That would explain why you’re trying to stop me.”

Ju-seong bowed his head deeply and replied.

“…Because it’s dangerous.”

“Yes, dangerous.”

Words fell silent between them, and a heavy stillness hung in the air. The message Physician Seo-baek was carrying was, in a word, a bomb.

If it exploded, no one nearby would come out unscathed.

Ju-seong assessed the situation.

‘Damn it… A few disciples watching the gate ran up to report… Before someone comes down, I need to get Senior Brother off this mountain. There are too many ears around to explain things here.’

Seo-baek watched Ju-seong’s eyes darting about, then spoke.

“Junior Brother… Even if you know as much as I do, this is something that must be done. Otherwise… who else would do it but me? Would you? This is something that must be carried on my name as the greatest physician in Sichuan.”

He wasn’t wrong.

If someone was going to expose the uncomfortable truth about those sinister pills, Physician Seo-baek was the right person.

And Seo-baek was a man who lived by his pride as a physician.

He had survived countless nights of fury and anguish as a physician.

Physicians save people.

Pills made by grinding up human lives. If he learned that a group producing such things existed, he couldn’t ignore it.

To a physician, such people were the antithesis.

But Ju-seong still wanted to dissuade Seo-baek. Seo-baek was risking his own safety to climb this mountain. He may have resolved to do so, but…

“I don’t want Senior Brother to die. Master would be heartbroken.”

“…”

“Has Senior Brother considered how heartbroken Master would be?”

There are times when one’s own life weighs more heavily on others than on oneself.

“I have considered it.”

“Then how can you climb this mountain?”

Seo-baek smiled bitterly.

“If I die up there, Master will step in…”

“…And if Master intervenes, the problem will be resolved somehow. Is that your plan, Senior Brother?”

Ju-seong forgot even to speak formally and glared at Seo-baek.

Just as he was about to continue…

From behind came a refined old woman’s voice.

“Physician Seo. You’ve been stubbornly refusing invitations lately, yet you come in person. Is the sun rising in the west?”

Ju-seong felt the hairs on his back stand on end.

Seo-baek immediately shifted his gaze from Ju-seong, corrected his posture, and bowed his head.

“I pay my respects to the pillar of Emei, Master Jeong-hwa, the Blade of Extinguishing Evil.”

“Such excessive formality toward an aged nun.”

Master Jeong-hwa hadn’t come through the mountain gate at all; she had abruptly appeared from behind a boulder over there.

Her appearance was completely unexpected to Ju-seong.

Physician Seo-baek himself was a person of such stature that even a major faction’s sect leader would come out personally to meet him.

Despite having not a drop of internal energy, Seo-baek possessed this much value.

Ju-seong’s expression began to harden.

‘Of all times, the Sect Leader comes down in person.’

Seo-baek gave Ju-seong no chance to interject and spoke.

“I apologize for arriving so suddenly without prior notice, Sect Leader. However, I urgently needed to examine your condition, which is why I came.”

Master Jeong-hwa tilted her head curiously.

“My condition? Young Hero Ju-seong here already took my pulse. The two of you are fellow disciples, are you not?”

Seo-baek nodded.

“We are, but… In fact, this is not something to discuss here. I must speak with you privately, Sect Leader.”

Seo-baek’s eyes were firm and clear.

Ju-seong realized he was up against a current he couldn’t stop with just his two palms.

Seo-baek was a man who didn’t compromise.

Master Jeong-hwa gazed at him with curious eyes, brushing her Buddhist whisk.

“You yourself come to our sect… that alone is highly unusual, and on top of that, you request a private audience… I’m curious. What matter could it be?”

Ju-seong couldn’t understand Seo-baek’s choice at all. He wasn’t sneaking in to gather circumstantial evidence.

He wasn’t trying to find clues subtly in the sect leader’s words.

He intended to directly state his suspicions to the sect leader and verify the truth.

And against the one who resided at the highest peak of Emei Mountain, no less.

In other words, his senior brother was now betting his life on climbing this mountain.

If he truly uncovered something unsavory about Master Jeong-hwa…

If the sect leader decided to silence him, there would be no way to stop her.

“Very well. If the greatest physician in Sichuan insists on such an urgent meeting, I can hardly refuse.”

Master Jeong-hwa turned toward the mountain gate, then looked over at Seo Woo-jin.

“Sir Blade Master… Please take this young man down the mountain with you.”

Seo-baek turned briefly and addressed Seo Woo-jin as well.

“Sir Blade Master… Take my junior brother and go down to the base of Emei Mountain.”

Ju-seong finally understood why Seo-baek had brought Seo Woo-jin.

It was so that Seo Woo-jin could take Ju-seong away from here.

Ju-seong would almost certainly try to intervene if Seo-baek were in danger.

Seo Woo-jin, watching with a face like weathered wood, rested his hand on his sword hilt and slowly approached Ju-seong.

“Now… young brother. Physician Seo-baek isn’t a child; he can look after himself. Don’t you think?”

Ju-seong narrowed his eyes and replied.

“Sir Ten Change Blade Guest… Don’t talk to me like I’m a kid. I’ll come down on my own.”

“What a temper. Quite the polite young jianghu man, aren’t you?”

Dong-sam, Seo Woo-jin, and Ju-seong lined up and began descending from Emei Mountain.

Glancing back, Ju-seong saw Physician Seo-baek and Master Jeong-hwa disappearing beyond the gate, conversing quietly.

The tranquil scene looked unbearably precarious.

Ju-seong sighed and kept walking.

With the Ten Change Blade Guest blocking his path, there was nothing Ju-seong could do at this moment.

He couldn’t start a brawl outside Emei Sect’s mountain gate, after all.

* * *

Thudding footsteps descended the steep mountain path.

After about half an hour of silence, Ju-seong suddenly spoke up.

He tapped Seo Woo-jin’s forearm lightly and asked.

“By the way, Sir Blade Master, how did you end up taking Dong-sam as your disciple?”

“Hm?”

Startled by the sudden physical contact, Seo Woo-jin soon answered Ju-seong’s question readily.

He wanted to divert Ju-seong’s attention from Emei Mountain by any means.

“Hmm, when I arrived at Vajra Pavilion at Physician Seo-baek’s request, I found that rascal first.”

Seo Woo-jin explained how he had come to take Dong-sam as his disciple.

He had been intrigued by the boy’s spirit in trying to protect the courtesans from Vajra Pavilion’s outer guards.

Ju-seong squinted at Dong-sam.

“You bastard… If it’d been burly men instead of pretty courtesans, would you have done the same? Huh?”

Dong-sam replied shamelessly.

“Of course, Young Hero. I’m not the type to discriminate. You know me.”

At Dong-sam’s cheekiness, Ju-seong clutched his nape and groaned.

“Wow, this bastard… Look at him getting cocky already. Does a thug like you deserve this kind of fortune? If scum like you gets this lucky, what does that make all the jianghu folk who’ve been diligently practicing their blade work every day?”

“I guess they’re unlucky.”

“What an unbelievable bastard.”

Ju-seong squeezed his eyes shut as if exasperated.

While Ju-seong and Dong-sam bantered back and forth, Seo Woo-jin tilted his head, sensing something odd.

He clenched and unclenched his fist repeatedly, then stopped dead in the middle of the mountain path and sat down on a boulder.

“Hmm… What’s wrong with me? Dong-sam, and Young Hero Ju-seong. My limbs are suddenly going numb. Let me rest a bit before we continue.”

Dong-sam widened his eyes and approached Seo Woo-jin.

“What? A martial artist like you, Master, with numb hands and feet? Are you alright? Hey, Young Hero, you studied medicine, didn’t you? Why are you just standing there? Take a look, please.”

“I was just about to.”

Ju-seong swatted the back of Dong-sam’s head as the brat threw his weight around arrogantly, then took Seo Woo-jin’s wrist and felt his pulse.

“Sir Blade Master, let me press on this spot for a moment. How does it feel?”

“Hmm… Fine.”

“I’ll insert a needle briefly.”

“Wait.”

Sensing something off, Seo Woo-jin furrowed his brow and tried to stop him. But…

-Tak!

A long needle sprouted between Ju-seong’s index and middle fingers, and a deft flick of his hand later…

A slender acupuncture needle was already embedded in Seo Woo-jin’s forearm.

Ju-seong nodded and said.

“There… That should keep your right arm out of commission for half a day. Sir Blade Master, if you’ll excuse me.”

“…”

Seo Woo-jin raised an eyebrow and slowly reached out with his left hand to pull out the needle, then tried to move his right arm.

But from the elbow down, all sensation seemed to have vanished; it didn’t budge.

“Hah…”

Seo Woo-jin let out an incredulous laugh. The friendly bump earlier must have been the first move.

By some unknown method, his limbs had started tingling after about half an hour.

An ordinary person might have shrugged it off, but Seo Woo-jin was a martial artist… hyper-aware of changes in his body.

So he had mentioned it to the group, inadvertently giving Ju-seong the excuse to take his pulse.

Ju-seong had used that to stab a numbing-agent-coated needle into his right arm, disabling it.

“Interesting.”

A crooked smile bloomed on his dry, weather-beaten, dusky face.

Seo Woo-jin made a rippling motion with his left fingers and…

-Shik.

Somehow, a long blade was already in his hand.

Even with his dominant arm paralyzed, his draw was too fast for an ordinary person to follow.

Ju-seong noticed, of course, that Seo Woo-jin’s movements had become choppier and rougher, but a bead of cold sweat still formed on his brow.

‘He can’t use his right hand and he’s still on par with me. The Hundred Great Masters title wasn’t arbitrarily given.’

The blade master raised his blade in a proper guard stance with his left hand and asked.

“You’re really going? Your senior brother sent you away knowing full well why you’d want to stay. Don’t you realize that? Physician Seo-baek told me himself… he’s carrying information that would make Emei’s sect leader very uncomfortable. That place is a tiger’s den right now.”

Ju-seong fixed his eyes on the unwavering guard stance.

Unlike some masters who lazily let their weapons hang to show off, he did nothing of the sort.

He knew nothing of flashy posturing, psychological games, or feints.

Any time he would have spent on such tricks, he had instead devoted to studying how to cut faster and harder.

Ju-seong stared at the stubborn-looking blade master and said.

“Sir Blade Master, if I don’t climb this mountain now, my senior brother could die.”

“Even if you go up, the chances of failing to save Physician Seo-baek are greater.”

“Even so, I have to go. Wouldn’t I regret it forever otherwise?”

Seo Woo-jin gazed at Ju-seong.

He knew that feeling too. The lingering anguish of failing to save someone.

An old memory resurfaced. Back then, Seo Woo-jin was not yet a blade master, and there wasn’t a single drop of internal energy in his dantian.

He had been running away. Because he was powerless.

Muttering endless apologies under his breath, swallowing his sobs.

Strength drained from the blade master’s left arm, and the solid guard stance slumped.

“…If we fight here, we’ll either fail to descend or fail to return to Emei Mountain in time… both outcomes would be ruined.”

“That’s a fair point, Sir.”

“Fine. Go on up. I’ll climb too and wait outside the gate. As an outsider, I wouldn’t easily be allowed in.”

The seasoned blade master sheathed his sword and placed a hand on Ju-seong’s shoulder.

“Go. Save Physician Seo-baek.”