WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: ZERO_SUGAR
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Chapter 156: The Rear Waves of the Yangtze Push the Front Waves (30)
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Yeon Sowol was pleased, but also baffled.
"Senior Black Spear. How did you...?"
He had wondered whether someone might come to help once the fog lifted and the truth was revealed.
Yet Jin Hyeogo had appeared far sooner than expected.
The fog had not even fully cleared. How had he crossed Wuling Island, guarded by government troops like an iron wall, and reached this place?
It would have been impossible without deciding to clash with the government troops.
'But Senior Black Spear seemed very accommodating toward the authorities?'
Black Spear Jin Hyeogo looked to his side as he answered.
"This fellow here. It's thanks to the Moyong Family."
"The Moyong Family?"
A man stood beside Jin Hyeogo.
He appeared to be in his mid-to-late forties, with a bronzed face. Stepping forward, he cupped his fist.
"It is an honor to meet the Moyong Family's benefactor. I am Moyong Hyeok, a collateral member of the Moyong Family."
Benefactor?
"Do you not carry the Moyong Family's repayment token?"
"Ah."
Come to think of it, he did have one.
The jade token Moyong Ha had given him. She had said that if he brought it to the Moyong Family, they would treat him as a benefactor.
"I received word from the young family head. I heard you risked your life for Lady Moyong Ha. Liaodong may be far away, but we could not simply stand by. The young family head had to escort the young lady's body, so I, who happened to be nearby, came to offer what help I could."
"This friend is far too modest."
Jin Hyeogo laughed.
"It was much more than a little help. He gathered every martial artist with ties to the Moyong Family. Every one of them is a formidable master."
Now that Yeon Sowol looked, there were clearly at least ten additional martial artists standing behind Jin Hyeogo.
"And he persuaded me to come here. Without that persuasion, I'd never have come this far. I... had a fair bit of affection for Yang Hoeam. But..."
Jin Hyeogo looked around.
The soldiers surrounding Yang Hoeam.
The grotesque Daoists.
And beyond the hazy fog, tiny shadows.
Voices chirped like baby birds.
They were sobbing.
The orphans who had lived on Wuling Island were crying beyond the fog.
Jin Hyeogo's expression twisted.
"Hoeam."
He simply called Yang Hoeam, the provincial governor of Yuezhou, by name.
"I truly never imagined it. That you'd commit something this vile. On the way here, I saw countless corpses of innocent people. Was that still not enough for you? What do you intend to do with those children now?"
His voice was sharp as a blade.
Yang Hoeam only frowned as though Jin Hyeogo were a nuisance.
"Honestly. You Jianghu scum can't cast off your filthy habits. You discard promises like worn-out shoes, then turn your blades against me?"
"Hoeam. Hoeam. Promises are made between people."
"Ho ho. You make it sound as though people are something special. What is a mere human, anyway?"
"What the..."
"Did you come to save the children? At the cost of your life? You throw away something worthless to save something worthless. Fine. I shall show mercy and return your wretched body to the earth. At least soil has a scent, so it will be an improvement."
Jin Hyeogo's expression turned strange.
The words did not connect. They seemed to slide past one another.
'What is this? Has he truly gone mad?'
There was no time to think further.
"Archers!!!"
At Yang Hoeam's gesture, the soldiers standing in formation drew their bows all at once.
The Jianghu martial artists moved on instinct.
"Break through!"
They could not give an army time to establish its formation and rain down attacks.
The White-Robed League had learned that through the battle just before this, while the senior martial artists of the Jianghu knew it well through long experience.
"Fire!"
Shweeeeeeek!
A rain of arrows descended, casting shadows across the ground. The Jianghu martial artists charged through it, heat haze rising from their shoulders and heads.
* * *
At first, they thought they could manage it.
It was not easy, of course.
The military formation's ability to amplify momentum was formidable, but the cultivated power of even the commanders and ordinary soldiers had surged unnaturally.
Not a single arrowhead or spearpoint could be taken lightly.
Even peak-realm masters found the spears and hooks thrust by soldiers of only third-rate skill considerably troublesome.
Still, it was manageable.
The renowned masters of Hunan's martial world who had come with Jin Hyeogo were genuine experts whose names every Jianghu martial artist in Hunan knew.
Among them was Shin Si-ye of the Sword Pavilion, who had taken second place in the martial arts tournament.
Moyong Hyeok had also brought masters with him, and he himself was a peak-realm expert who did not fall far behind Jin Hyeogo. It showed the strength of the Moyong Family, counted among the Five Great Families.
All of them had witnessed Wuling Island's tragedy and were enraged. Their fighting spirit burned fiercely enough that they willingly accepted the risk of casualties.
So what did it matter if the five hundred Patrol Guards were stronger than expected?
It was a battle they could win.
At least, it had been before the grotesque Daoists stepped forward.
"Die!"
Namgung Ujin unleashed the Great Expansion Sword Technique and charged at the Daoist before him.
'Disgusting bastards.'
They did not actually look very threatening.
He only wanted to get rid of them quickly because they felt ominous and made his skin crawl.
But then...
Clang!
Namgung Ujin's powerfully swung sword was knocked away with shocking ease.
"What...?"
His opponent was a Daoist so gaunt that his eyeballs bulged roundly from their sockets.
His body looked as though a touch would snap it. Namgung Ujin could sense internal energy, but it seemed to be no more than second-rate. The old sword the man had just swung carried only that much strength.
Then why?
'Why would my sword lose to trash like this...?'
The Great Expansion Sword Technique was as vast and grand as the heavens. In terms of power, it was among the greatest in the Jianghu.
Yet it had been pushed back.
His sword qi scattered helplessly.
It was impossible.
The skeletal Daoist blinked his bulging eyes slowly at the bewildered Namgung Ujin.
"The insect inside you craves the insect inside me."
Insect?
"What bullshit are you spewing!"
Namgung Ujin drew up his true qi again.
There had to have been some mistake just now. There was no way his sword could be blocked by internal energy at merely the second-rate level. The sword of the great Namgung Family!
Claaang!
Clang!
Ting!
"Huh?"
No matter how many times he attacked, the result was the same.
No matter how fierce Namgung Ujin's sword was, the instant it struck the skeletal Daoist's old blade, its momentum scattered and it bounced away feebly.
It remained the same no matter how much he raised his momentum.
If anything, his sword seemed to grow weaker with every exchange.
While he was held in place like that...
"Capture him!"
The Patrol Guards surrounded Namgung Ujin and thrust their spears and hooks at him.
Some cast nets as well.
"Urgh!"
Clang!
Clang!
If there was one blessing, it was that his sword still showed its full power against ordinary soldiers and commanders.
He knocked away spears.
He broke hooks.
He cut through nets.
But whenever the skeletal Daoist stepped in, his sword lost its strength. It faltered.
"Stay still."
Ting!
His fierce sword suddenly lost all force and bounced into the air.
Namgung Ujin's stance broke apart. Spears and hooks poured toward him again.
"Hup!"
Namgung Ujin's breathing quickly became ragged.
His hands and feet felt uncoordinated.
Slash!
Riiip!
A spear grazed his cheek, drawing blood.
A hook caught his thigh and tore it open.
'This is insane!'
It did not feel real. It was like a dream.
"What dark arts are you using!"
Namgung Ujin shouted, but the Daoist looked at him with pity.
Then, as kindly and patiently as a master teaching a disciple, he said,
"Do you still not understand? Energy is an insect."
"What nonsense..."
"There are few insects within me. But instead, I have brought a precious insect into myself. A queen. A female. Something like that."
"Why do you keep going on about insects..."
"Did I not tell you? Energy is an insect. When the insect inside me cries, the insect inside you loses its will to fight."
At that moment,
Buzzzzzzz-
"Huh?"
Something strange happened.
Namgung Ujin truly thought he heard an insect crying.
At the same time, the true qi he had summoned sank away helplessly.
"Dark arts..."
"It is not dark arts. It is the truth. Do you still not know? Energy is an insect. Can you see the insect within you and still deny it?"
"What insects... Guh!"
Namgung Ujin suddenly shuddered.
Something wriggled.
Something burned.
It crawled beneath his skin.
It gnawed at his spine.
It built a nest inside his body.
It laid countless eggs in his dantian.
"Aaaagh!"
Namgung Ujin recoiled violently.
Spears and hooks rained down on him, but he could not properly respond. Even as they pierced and skewered him, he only twisted and shuddered, writhing with his whole body.
"What is this! What is this! Insects! Insects!!"
Just moments earlier, True Flame had been circulating through his Twelve Regular Meridians.
It had resonated with his Eight Extraordinary Vessels, and true qi had seemed to bloom throughout his body.
That tingling.
That heat.
But now, it felt completely different.
What circulated was not True Flame.
What resonated was not true qi.
Insects crawled.
Insects gnawed.
It was dark arts.
It was the demonic.
The orthodox was that which returned to limitless possibility, continuing and flowing without end. It explained all things through all things.
The demonic was that which confined, cut away, and defined. It sought to explain the whole world through one thing alone. It sought to corrupt the countless other things that plainly existed into that single thing.
It added to them and ultimately transformed them.
Yet those who walked the Demonic Path firmly believed it to be truth.
The skeletal Daoist spoke.
He spoke of the truth he believed in.
"Yes. Now you finally see it. That is true enlightenment. Energy is an insect. Everything in this world is an insect."
And young martial artists with little experience in the Jianghu were easily drawn into that simple, powerful interpretation.
It had only cut away one part of something vast, yet within that part, it was undeniably true.
So it spread easily.
Energy was an insect.
In a sense, it could feel that way.
The Daoist's energy, which explained energy as nothing but insects, slipped into Namgung Ujin's qi and spirit, guiding them toward transformation.
The Daoist turned his own mistaken belief into reality.
That was how dark arts were born.
"Aaaagh!"
Namgung Ujin tore at the flesh pierced by spears and hooks, trying to pull out the insects swarming inside, when...
Smack!
A flat sword blade struck the crown of his head.
"Agh!"
The person who approached Namgung Ujin as he clutched his head, cutting away the spears and hooks around him, was Shin Si-ye.
"Get a hold of yourself and circulate your qi."
"But... insects! The insects..."
"Awaken!"
Smack!
Shin Si-ye struck the crown of Namgung Ujin's head again with the flat of her sword.
"They are not insects. It is the Namgung Family's martial learning you have practiced your entire life. Calmly circulate your qi and recite the inner cultivation method's formula from beginning to end. What is qi to the Namgung Family?"
Still holding his head, Namgung Ujin answered as though entranced.
"Qi... qi is... vast. Great. It contains all things... like the heavens..."
"Yes. That is the Namgung Family's martial learning. You have practiced it your whole life, and you would deny all of it over a single dark art?"
"Huuuh. Huu..."
Shin Si-ye pushed Namgung Ujin back.
He followed his inner cultivation method as he breathed and circulated his qi on trembling legs.
"Another blind one is here."
The Daoist slowly blinked his round, protruding eyes.
"You who fell into a heart demon and walk the Demonic Path dare call someone else blind?"
Shin Si-ye swept her sword, cutting down the nearby government troops in one stroke. Then she gripped her long sword with both hands and assumed her opening stance.
"It won't be easy against me. The Sword Pavilion's martial arts contain the teachings of the Buddha."
"The Buddha? He is troublesome. More troublesome even than those damned Daoist priests who claim to be orthodox. But tell me."
The skeletal Daoist looked around.
"Is there anyone else who has inherited the teachings of the Buddhist tradition?"
Fallen Daoists were stepping forward everywhere.
Young martial artists fell victim to dark arts.
The older martial artists stepped in to help them, but they could not help as effectively as Shin Si-ye had.
"Aagh!"
"Urgh!"
Across the battlefield, martial artists who had been fighting well only moments ago staggered back, wounded.
They could not fight properly.
"Dark arts!"
"It is dark arts!"
Shouts and screams mixed together, but that did not tell them how to deal with it.
The seniors could at least endure and continue fighting, but the juniors of the White-Robed League were helpless. Even the seniors could not easily awaken them.
The skeletal Daoist opened his bulging eyes grotesquely and cried out,
"The insects within you will reject you. You were deceived by empty teachings and neglected the insects you should have raised and nurtured!"
Wooooong!
A strange wave of energy spread from the Daoist's body.
Shin Si-ye gritted her teeth.
She felt something creeping beneath her skin.
It felt as though her strength were draining away.
'Stay focused...'
She recited Buddhist scriptures in her mind and recalled the harsh training she had endured on Mount Putuo, steadying her heart.
But at the same time, she realized,
'If I'm struggling this much, then the others...'
Perhaps that Daoist's words were right.
If so...
'I have to cut down as many as I can, as quickly as I can...'
Even if she had to disregard her life.
Even if she died here.
Shin Si-ye tightened both hands around her sword hilt, her resolve firming, when...
"Ha ha! He is coming! The one with the great insect!"
The Daoist suddenly shouted.
His gaze was fixed on Yeon Sowol.
Yeon Sowol had been approaching so stealthily that even Shin Si-ye had briefly lost track of his presence, but the Daoist had noticed him at once.
"You are the same! You did not feed the insect within you! Your insect will hate you!"
Wooooong!
Another wave of energy spread outward.
It mixed in stealthily, stirring dark arts.
It was never easy to counter, even when one knew it was coming.
The younger the martial artist, the more deadly it became.
But...
"No."
Yeon Sowol spoke.
"What?"
To the startled Daoist, he said clearly,
"It is not an insect."
Crack.
It felt as though something had snapped.
As though the taut world had loosened.
'Ah?'
Shin Si-ye felt the itch crawling beneath her skin vanish.
"Huh? Huh? My insect?"
"I told you, it is not an insect."
Standing before the Daoist, who looked around in panic, Yeon Sowol thrust his sword into the man's neck as easily as picking an apple.
"It is the cosmos."
"Guhk!"
The Daoist's eyes widened. His already bulging eyes swelled as though they would burst from their sockets.
Shhk!
Yeon Sowol pulled out Clear Mirror and immediately ran toward his next opponent.
Wooooong!
Clear Mirror rang in his hand.
A sword that had once been the treasured relic of the Hengshan Sect's leader.
In the teachings of the Confucian tradition, it symbolized luminous virtue. In the teachings of the Daoist tradition, it represented a mind in which distracting thoughts were like water. In Buddhism, it served as a metaphor for Buddha-nature.
The sacred sword that drove away all evil and wickedness rang as clearly as a wind chime.
"Ah. Is it because of that sword?"
Only then did Shin Si-ye understand why Yeon Sowol had not been affected at all.
But...
"Then how did he erase the dark arts themselves...?"
Even a sacred artifact with the power to drive away evil could not do that.
Before Shin Si-ye's confused eyes, Yeon Sowol's back receded into the distance.
Another fallen Daoist was coughing up blood as he collapsed before him.
Footnotes:
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