Chapter 36
Chapter 36
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 36
Chapter Title: How Have You Been?
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Kwa-kwa-kwang! Kwa-kwang!
The chain explosions spread out wildly, shaking not just the shrine but the entire ghost arts formation array that formed the camp.
Above all, the nature of the gunpowder in the thunderclap bombs was yang energy—extreme yang at that, brimming with immense heat.
In contrast, the sorcery wielded by the White Bone Sorcerer carried yin properties, making it all the more vulnerable.
Wa-jang-chang-chang—
Watching the ghost arts formation shatter like glass right beside us was a sight to behold.
“Hup!”
The White Bone Sorcerer must have realized he couldn’t withstand the explosions from the two crates full of thunderclap bombs alone, because he turned tail and fled.
I wanted to chase after him, but we hadn’t emerged unscathed from the blasts either, so we had already pulled back ahead of him.
Tatak!
Tang Gon and I completely escaped the shrine and took up position nearby.
It was a spot with a clear view of the shrine.
U-rureureu—
Down below, the shrine—or rather, what used to be the shrine—still engulfed in flames, belching out thick black smoke.
It looked like the ghost arts formation was completely wrecked.
The ghost demons had all scattered.
All that yin energy had dispersed into the open air.
「Ooh, oooh! Power’s surging through me like crazy!」
「I never knew stray yin energy could feel this good. If we keep catching these Twelve Black Ghosts like this, we can enjoy this from now on, right?」
To the wraiths, ownerless yin energy was like a spirit pill.
Thanks to it, the wraiths were reveling in a feast after so long.
Some of their hazy spirit bodies had even sharpened, rising in rank.
A few more feeds like this, and they’d probably advance to proper ghosts.
“Kyaa! It’s burning great. I figured it’d be wooden since it was an old-style Lesser Vehicle Buddhist shrine. Amazing, just amazing.”
“Young master, please be careful with blankets tonight. Fireworks are still far too dangerous for someone who hasn’t come of age yet.”
“You should be the one watching out, Master. Isn’t it about time for bedwetting?”
“My prostate is still perfectly healthy!”
“Last time I saw you pee, it didn’t look so great.”
“Look properly next time before you say that! My stream still shoots over ten li without a hitch!”
Namgung San-yeong watched Tang Gon and me bicker over nothing, murmuring with a dazed expression.
“…You two are totally insane.”
Thud!
Her legs gave out, and she collapsed right there, unable to get up.
I grinned, baring my fangs.
“I’m flattered by the praise, truly at a loss for words.”
“How is that praise?!”
Namgung San-yeong bellowed.
“Do you even know what happens when you use that many thunderclap bombs?!”
“The authorities will get involved.”
“You knew that and still—!”
The imperial oversight of the Sichuan Tang Clan had been infamous since ancient times.
No other faction in the martial world handled gunpowder as well as they did.
There were all sorts of restrictions to prevent them from becoming warlords, but paradoxically, they couldn’t ban it outright because the Tang Clan’s expertise made their explosives invaluable for checking the barbarians beyond the borders.
As a result, the Tang Clan was always obligated to report gunpowder usage meticulously to the authorities, and failure to do so brought severe repercussions.
Of course, they couldn’t report every minor use in hidden weapons, so most went quietly under the table.
But blowing up an entire shrine like this? The authorities had no choice but to react immediately.
That was why Namgung San-yeong was calling us mad.
If the imperial troops showed up during the Dark Lord’s visit?
If they tried to arrest him over this?
Could I or the Nine Dragons Branch handle the fallout?
Even the Martial Alliance getting wind of it wouldn’t be surprising.
It’d be like burning down a thatched house to kill a single bedbug.
But.
“Who’s around to report it to the authorities?”
“…What?”
“The explosion sounds didn’t leak outside. Their ghost arts formation wasn’t that easy to breach.”
“!!”
“Of course, the fire can’t be completely hidden, so they’ll investigate… but so what? If all the traces left behind point to the Black Bone Ghost Valley, doesn’t that make it even better?”
“…Hah!”
Namgung San-yeong looked utterly speechless.
Tang Gon was the same.
He shook his head knowingly from the side.
「Using all the gunpowder he wants and shoving the blame onto Black Bone Ghost Valley with that astonishing lack of morals!」
「The Young Leader’s stratagems truly reach the heavens!!」
I ignored Namgung San-yeong and turned my gaze elsewhere.
“Of course, we’ll need to deal with any eyewitnesses who could testify otherwise in advance.”
The bushes rustled.
A heavy demonic aura wafted out as grotesquely shaped water corpse demons burst forth.
Kheung!
Kyung-kyung-kyung!
The water corpse demons were in bad shape.
Most had been caught in the thunderclap bombs, losing limbs or having their faces crushed—serious injuries.
But like proper corpse demons, it didn’t hinder their movement at all.
“Where do you think you’re going.”
Tang Gon moved right then.
Pyu-pyu-pyu-pyut!
He twisted his body sharply.
A fierce gale instantly whipped up, sending dozens of hidden weapons flying in all directions.
Peo-peo-peo-peok!
The water corpse demons toppled backward, each with a hidden weapon neatly embedded in their foreheads.
“Filthy undead beasts daring to bare your teeth at me?”
The eyes of the Fierce Wind Knight, unleashing his full power after so long, gleamed colder than ever.
He’d lived like a wastrel since the Gale Wind Squad disbanded, but he hadn’t slacked on his martial training.
His aura facing an enemy now was no less than in his prime.
He lacked the reckless youthful vigor of back then, but he’d gained seasoned cunning with age.
“How dare you defile this sacred land with your filth!!”
Then, from the wreckage of the shattered water corpse demons, a sharp blade wind howled in, aiming for Tang Gon’s head.
Tang Gon unwound the whip from his left wrist and casually deflected the attack.
It was the Fierce Wind Whip, the most vicious among the dozens of weapons the Fierce Wind Knight wielded, infamous for its cruelty.
Hundred Victories Soft Whip.
Gentle Stream Flower.
Chwaaak!
The tiny figure bounced off without a scratch and landed atop a distant tree.
It lifted its head sharply.
It was the White Rat.
But unlike the cute face it showed when first opening the door for us, now it was twisted like some malignant spirit.
Look at this guy throwing a tantrum just because we burned his house a bit. This is why early etiquette training matters.
Tadadak!
Four corpse sword guards lined up behind the White Rat.
They looked like the Sorcerer’s disciples, akin to the Fifteen Protectors.
「Fools. If they’d just fled, they might’ve kept their remaining lives.」
As the Fifteen Protectors shook their heads, the four corpse sword guards spoke in unison.
“Fierce Wind Knight Tang Gon.”
“The former second-in-command of the disbanded Gale Wind Squad.”
“One of the key figures to watch out for in assaulting the Nine Dragons Branch.”
“Since they’ve found our location, we must assume the original plan is compromised.”
The White Rat’s face crumpled.
“We need to confirm how much of the plan they’ve uncovered, so capture them alive. Grab Tang Un-hwi too and interrogate him about his backers. As for the South Palace wench… tear her to pieces.”
Namgung San-yeong went pale.
“Your command!”
“Yo—”
The corpse sword guards’ responses didn’t last.
The Fierce Wind Whip was plummeting toward them.
Chwaaaak—
Kwaaaang!
It exploded like a cannon, sending massive trees flying.
“Hah! You inhuman monstrosities pretending to be people!”
Tang Gon sneered and launched himself at them.
Whiriririk—
The wind howled.
The Fierce Wind Whip tore through the air, sharp, small hidden weapons flying between its strikes.
A near-divine feat of skill.
It explained why he could teach me all eighteen classes of weapons.
Even including the Tang Clan proper, few could wield such a variety so proficiently, I’d wager.
A true fierce wind—a savage gale—swept in, disorienting the White Rat and corpse sword guards’ limbs.
Kwa-kwa-kwa-kwa-kwa—
Thanks to that, I could slip past them toward elsewhere.
『Are you sure you’ll be fine alone?』
『I told you I am.』
『Even blasted by thunderclap bombs, they’re still top experts representing the unorthodox sects. Run if it gets dangerous.』
『Don’t worry.』
Ignoring Tang Gon’s concerns, I wrapped myself in wind.
Before coming here, I’d specifically asked Tang Gon to let me handle the White Bone Sorcerer alone while he blocked the small fry.
Naturally, he’d jumped in protest over the danger, but when I reminded him of the big talk I’d boasted to Tang Ho-san, he reluctantly agreed.
With one condition.
Pull back if things looked bad.
Unfortunately for him, I had no intention of honoring it.
A one-on-one with the White Bone Sorcerer was the moment I’d been eagerly awaiting.
This time, the wind I wielded differed from my usual.
Gale Wind Dance.
Swift Gale Speed.
Swift gale means a violently fast wind.
In one breath, I crested the ridge and arrived behind the burning shrine building.
That was where the yin energy was thickest.
Tatak!
“White Bone Sorcerer.”
“You—”
The White Bone Sorcerer was huddled amid a dozen water corpse demons, breathing raggedly.
Having taken the explosion head-on, his state was indescribable.
Limbs blown off one by one, face smashed and covered in soot. Even his snow-white robes were filthy with dust.
His vitality was so faint, it was a miracle he was still alive.
But his eyes burned fierce as ever.
As expected of a top expert among the Seventy-Two Demon Temples—his will didn’t break so easily.
Perfect.
If he crumbled now, all my waiting would feel so hollow, wouldn’t it?
Kreurureu!
The water corpse demons bared their fangs at me.
「These things, not knowing their place—」
「Even our Ancestor bowed his head upon meeting the Young Leader. Tsk tsk.」
Jeobeok!
I slowly approached the White Bone Sorcerer.
The water corpse demons tensed further.
Poised to lunge any second.
“So you’re that Tang Un-hwi brat. Quite sharp. To dare pull this stunt against me.”
The Sorcerer’s ragged breaths steadied.
His missing limbs regenerated bit by bit, burns healing. His stamina recovered at a startling pace.
An uncanny, unnatural transformation, no matter the supreme spell.
Indeed.
He wasn’t human.
Magic Wheel Corpse Demon.
Like the Fifteen Protectors or the four corpse sword guards, the pinnacle corpse demon born from Black Bone Ghost Valley’s long research.
“I’ll praise you. In the past century, among countless Central Plains experts I’ve faced, you’re only the second to wound me like this. I’ll pry out your backers one way or anoth—”
“Long time no see, Master. How have you been?”
「Huh!? Why is the White Bone Sorcerer the Young Leader’s—」
The White Bone Sorcerer trailed off mid-rant, words catching in his throat. As if I knew him far too well.
Even the Fifteen Protectors, who’d watched him bitterly from the side, seemed quite flustered.
“Master? What do you—”
“How rude. I came all this way because I missed you so much. Was I not your disciple?”
“!?”
“Or maybe this’ll jog your memory?”
I fully opened all three dantian.
The upper for sorcery, middle for harmony, lower for internal energy—all resonated together.
Poison Dragon Heart Technique.
Evil Dragon Release.
The third stage of the Poison Dragon Heart Technique: Evil Dragon.
Kiaaaaa!
A gale laden with ghostly wails spread everywhere, scattering the Sorcerer’s yin energy, atop which the evil spirit’s form began to manifest.
The evil spirit sneered down at the White Bone Sorcerer.
Kikikikiki……
The Sorcerer’s eyes bulged in disbelief.
“Little Heavenly Demon!!”
“Finally recognize me? Even a short time as master and disciple doesn’t snap that easily. Hurt I went unrecognized?”
He unleashed his internal energy. Aura extended like spiderwebs.
I was curious how the thief of my sorcery tome would fight.
Would he flail in denial like the Fifteen Protectors until his head flew off? Or boast he could take a weakened me easily until his body shattered?
The end result was death either way, but I was excited to see how to cook him—
Paat!
Suddenly, he vanished.
“?”
What? Where’d he go?
「Huh?」
「Where is he?」
「Is he there?」
「Nope!」
「Not here either—」
「He’s not hiding, what the—」
「There! Over there!」
「Where?」
「That ridge!!」
Where the wraiths pointed.
The White Bone Sorcerer, mounted on a massive bird, was frantically flying into the sky.
「What? Why isn’t he fighting the Young Leader and just—」
「…No way?」
「He… bailed?」
Even the wraiths blinked in disbelief.
No one expected one of the Twelve Black Ghosts to flee without a fight.
I was just as stunned.
A hollow laugh escaped me.
“Hah, would you look at this guy?”
Daring to show me his back?
But what could I do?
Of all places, he had to flee there.
Someone else was waiting there.