Translator: RaidenTL

Chapter 76: Spreading Fame (2)

Ghost-Slaying Fist Demon Jang Mun-ryang.

As one of the Four Great Villains, his notoriety was such that people trembled at the mere mention of his name.

The words coming out of his mouth left me and the rest of the group momentarily dumbfounded. I even wondered if I had misheard him.

However...

"It hurts. Mun-ryang hurts."

He was speaking exactly like a young child.

Song Jwa-baek, who had been wearing an expression of pure disbelief, grew even more incensed and stomped on the man.

"What kind of bullshit trick is this!"

Thwack!

"Ack! Argh!"

Curled up like a shrimp, Jang Mun-ryang didn't even attempt to counterattack.

Was he acting? If so, there was no reason for him to just take the beating. With his level of martial prowess, enduring such a humiliating assault was stranger than fighting back.

'Wait.'

Something suddenly caught my eye. A silver glint was visible at the back of the huddled Jang Mun-ryang’s head. It looked like a broken piece of a blade.

"I told you ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠to stop playing games! You piece of—"

"Stop it."

"I almost had my lineage cut off, you know!"

"Just... bear with it for a second."

I restrained Song Jwa-baek, who was venting his fury. Though he stepped back, he continued to huff and puff, clearly still resentful over the near-miss to his precious nether regions.

Jang Mun-ryang, who had regressed into a child in an instant, remained curled up, trembling violently. He looked as though he were terrified of being hit again.

'Is that a blade?'

Indeed, a broken blade was embedded in the back of his head. Judging by the thickness and surface area of the break, it seemed to be lodged very deep. Under normal circumstances, he should have died, but his recovery ability must have kept him alive.

—Could that thing being stuck in his head be causing this?

It certainly seemed that ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠way. It appeared the part of the blade that had penetrated deep into his brain was preventing a full recovery, affecting his mind. There was no other explanation for such a regression.

"Jang Mun-ryang."

I called out to him. Jang Mun-ryang peeked up at me, his eyes welling with tears.

Ah... it really was a sight that didn't suit him at all.

"Pfft."

A snicker erupted from beside me. It was Sama Yeong. When I looked at her, she waved a hand dismissively.

"No, it's just... his behavior is so much like a child's."

Well, she wasn't wrong.

I needed to find out if it was just his behavior that had changed or if other parts of him were affected as well.

"Jang Mun-ryang."

"Are... are you going to hit me?"

At his toddler-like tone, Song Jwa-baek exploded again.

"Aaaargh! That crazy bastard! How can he say that with that face...!"

I sympathized enough to get goosebumps, but I needed him to stop. He was being a distraction.

"I won't hit you. Do you know who I am?"

At my question, Jang Mun-ryang stared intently at me with teary eyes. ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Then, he slowly shook his head.

Seeing that hideous face try to act cute made a surge of irritation well up inside me. My hand almost flew out instinctively, but I held back.

—It seems his memory is affected too?

As the Lesser Conversation Sword suggested, that appeared to be the case. From his perspective, I was the one who had deceived him and caught him in an explosion; there was no way he would ever forget my face under normal circumstances.

"You really don't recognize me?"

He shook his head again. Song Jwa-baek stomped his feet, even suggesting we should just kill him.

Patience. Patience. Patience.

"Do you know who you are?"

"I'm Mun-ryang. Jang Mun-ryang!"

"Do you know you're one of the Four Great Villains?"

"What's that?"

Jang Mun-ryang tilted his head. His tone was grating, but more importantly, did he really not know who he was?

"What do you know besides your name?"

"I don't know."

"Do you know a man with one golden eye?"

"I don't know."

He consistently shook his head, repeating the same answer. It was getting frustrating. Because he was acting like a child, it was difficult to read his emotions. Or rather, should I say he was too intuitive?

Then, Sama Yeong spoke to me.

"Young Master. Is that a broken blade stuck in his head?"

"Yes."

"Goodness... how is he even alive with that in his skull?"

I was curious about the limits of this recovery ability myself. Unless his head was completely severed, could he truly recover from any wound?

"Do you think he's acting like a child because that's stuck in there?"

Sama Yeong had reached the same conclusion as I had.

"It seems so."

"Then if we pull it out, won't he return to normal? At this rate, it'll be hard to learn anything from him."

I agreed. I had to pull it out, as she said. Dealing with him now was no different from dealing with a toddler. But before that, I would have to seal his Dantian with a restriction seal.

Just then, Song Jwa-baek approached. I thought he was going to take another vent at Jang Mun-ryang, but he seemed to have composed himself. He tilted his head in his usual cocky manner and pulled something from his robe.

"Hey, you want this?"

What Song Jwa-baek pulled out was none other than a sweet. He often carried sweets or jerky to appease his younger brother Woo-hyeon’s gluttony.

But no matter how much his brain was damaged, there was no way he'd fall for a piece of candy...

"What's that?"

...Wait, what?

Jang Mun-ryang’s eyes sparkled. He couldn't take his gaze off the sweet in Song Jwa-baek’s palm. Song Jwa-baek broke off a small piece, popped it into his mouth, and crunched it loudly.

"Mmm. Sweet and tasty."

Jang Mun-ryang’s curiosity peaked. Song Jwa-baek said to him, "You want some? Then tell me everything you know."

"Are you really gonna give it to me?"

I couldn't believe he was acting like this over a single sweet. Jang Mun-ryang was one thing, but I was seeing a new side of Song Jwa-baek. Perhaps because he was used to looking after his slightly dim-witted brother, he had an unexpected talent for this.

"Depends on how you behave. I might, I might not."

"Give it to me!"

"I don't want to."

Right in front of the pleading Jang Mun-ryang, Song Jwa-baek tossed half of the remaining piece into his own mouth. Seeing the sweet diminish by half, tears welled up in Jang Mun-ryang’s eyes. He was behaving exactly like a child would.

"Don't eat it all! If you eat it all, Mun-ryang is gonna cry!"

For God's sake... Please stop saying such childish things with a face that could make a grown man faint from terror.

On the other hand, Sama Yeong was giggling, apparently finding it cute.

"You think that's cute?"

"Isn't it?"

To each their own, I suppose.

Song Jwa-baek, who had been grimacing like me, steadied himself and spoke as if he were negotiating.

"You really don't know how the world works, do you? Have you ever heard of equivalent exchange?"

"Wh-what's that?"

"It means if you want something, you have to pay a corresponding price. But you haven't given me anything. Therefore, you old brat, I'm eating the rest."

Song Jwa-baek made a show of about to toss the rest of the sweet into his mouth.

"No! No! Waaaaah!"

Jang Mun-ryang began to scream and wail like he was throwing a tantrum. Song Jwa-baek stopped and opened his palm again. Seeing the sweet still there, Jang Mun-ryang stopped crying instantly.

[Wow... he'd make an amazing nanny.]

Sama Yeong sent me a sound transmission, clicking her tongue in admiration. I felt the same way. He was playing Jang Mun-ryang like a fiddle.

"Then give me something. You must know something, right?"

"...I don't have anything."

Jang Mun-ryang said, fiddling with his burnt clothes. At that, Song Jwa-baek slowly brought the remaining pieces toward his mouth.

"Nothing to be done then. Say goodbye to the sweet. Go on, say it. Bye-bye, sweet~"

"No!"

"What do you mean, no? Here goes the sweet, tasty candy, zoomin' right into my mouth."

He was a master at teasing.

Then, as if remembering something, Jang Mun-ryang spoke urgently.

"W-would something like this work?"

"Like what?"

"There's something that keeps popping up in my head."

At his words, Song Jwa-baek glanced at me. We might actually get some information out of him. When I nodded, Song Jwa-baek said nonchalantly, "Tell me. If it's useful, I'll give it to you."

"Promise!"

"I said I'll see if it's useful first."

"The Severing of the Purple Formless Fist... The Severing of the Path's Essence... The Severing of the Evil Peak's Form... The Formula of the Steady Weightless Pivot..."

'!!!'

Everyone was instantly stunned by the words coming out of his mouth. We had asked him to tell us something he remembered, and he was reciting martial arts mnemonics. And these weren't just any mnemonics.

'Just hearing the formula, this is a transcendent level of martial arts.'

Judging by the mention of 'Fist' (拳) in the middle, it was the formula for a fist technique. Song Jwa-baek, looking flabbergasted, turned to me.

"This is..."

I held up a hand, signaling him to be quiet. Then I spoke to him via sound transmission.

[Write down the formulas he's reciting. Or memorize them in your head.]

[O-okay!]

An opportunity like this was rare. Among the Eight Great Masters and the Four Great Villains, only two were famous for their unarmed martial arts. One was Man Bak-ja, one of the Eight Great Masters and a master of palm techniques, and the other was the Ghost-Slaying Fist Demon, Jang Mun-ryang. This was a golden chance to learn the fist techniques of a man who had broken through the wall.

—You memorize them too.

I was already doing so.

"As the storm stirs the surging waves, move the energy from the Cloud Gate to the Maximum Opening..."

Jang Mun-ryang continued, reciting the heart law for energy circulation along with the fist formulas. But as I listened, something felt strange. Since he was one of the Four Great Villains, I had assumed he practiced wicked or demonic arts, but the heart law sounded closer to an orthodox sect's method.

After finishing the heart law, Jang Mun-ryang took a breath. Song Jwa-baek, perhaps finding it hard to memorize everything at once, said to him, "How am I supposed to memorize it if you talk that fast?"

"........."

Without a word, Jang Mun-ryang suddenly stood up. Then, while standing, he began to recite the same formulas again. But this time, he wasn't just speaking.

Whoosh!

He began to physically perform the forms associated with the formulas. Song Jwa-baek stepped back.

"The Severing of the Path's Essence... The Severing of the Evil Peak's Form..."

Performing the forms alongside the formulas made them much easier to understand. As expected, it was no ordinary fist technique. It even possessed ultimate arts that surpassed the fist techniques my master had taught me. Everyone watched, mesmerized.

"Ah..."

Since Song Jwa-baek had primarily learned fist techniques, he was nodding continuously. He seemed to be gaining more insight than anyone else.

After the forms, Jang Mun-ryang performed a series of martial strikes and then took a final stance.

"So such a fist technique existed. Ha... hahahaha!"

Laughter erupted from Song Jwa-baek. He was genuinely overjoyed at this stroke of luck. I said to him, "Do you have any more sweets?"

"I have one more."

"Then give him the one in your hand now."

We had gained something far more valuable than a piece of candy. If we showed him the carrot and the stick, we might be able to coax even more useful things out of him.

Agreeing with me, Song Jwa-baek approached and held out his hand to give him the sweet.

"Here..."

‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠

But Jang Mun-ryang closed his eyes and began to speak as if possessed.

"Mun-ryang. If you wish to master the Myriad Family Spirit Art to its peak, you must pass your internal power to a successor, just as I am doing. Otherwise, the circulation of energy will accelerate, and the Yang energy will penetrate to your very marrow, causing you to go berserk and lose your mind. Once you reach the ninth stage, you must keep this in mind."

What did that mean? Was the name of this divine art the Myriad Family Spirit Art?

However, Jang Mun-ryang’s tone was completely different from before. It didn't seem like he had regained his senses, though. If he had, why would he refer to himself in the third person?

Right then...

Flash!

Jang Mun-ryang lunged at Song Jwa-baek, who was right in front of him.

"Whoa!"

Startled, Song Jwa-baek tried to block him with a fist technique, but Jang Mun-ryang neutralized it in a single move. He then grabbed the pressure points on both of Song Jwa-baek’s shoulders and hoisted him up upside down.

To lift a man of that size so easily—it was incredible physical strength.

"Aaaargh! You bastard! Wh-what are you doing?"

Had he really regained his senses?

"Stop!"

I hurriedly drew the Namcheon Iron Sword to subdue Jang Mun-ryang. But Jang Mun-ryang, holding Song Jwa-baek upside down, pressed their foreheads together. A mist of breath escaped Mun-ryang’s mouth as intense heat was discharged from his body.

"Gurgle, gurgle..."

Suddenly, Song Jwa-baek’s entire body began to convulse. His eyes even rolled back. His condition looked dire, and I was about to sever Jang Mun-ryang’s arms when the man spoke.

"Open the Qi Gate of the Spirit Command Point and receive the energy into the Jemun Point!"

Could it be?

I quickly opened my Middle Dantian. As my Golden Eye activated, I saw something unbelievable. The profound True Qi within Jang Mun-ryang’s body was flowing into Song Jwa-baek through their touching foreheads.

"Aren't you going to stop him?"

At Sama Yeong’s shout, I spoke in disbelief.

"...He's transferring his internal energy."

"What?"

He wasn't harming him. It was a transmission of power. If I interfered now, both of them would be in grave danger.

"Ha..."

Song Jwa-baek had just hit the ultimate jackpot. Not only had he learned the martial arts of one of the Four Great Villains, but for some unknown reason, he was now receiving the man's internal energy as well.

Was this the equivalent exchange?

The value of that half-piece of candy had just become astronomical.