Chapter 27
Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 27
Chapter Title: Die and Live Again (2)
Taat! Haat!
A booming shout echoed from the courtyard.
The prison guard Wild Boar was loosening up. His footsteps were incredibly nimble, suggesting he'd regained his old martial prowess. And with the new weapons he'd picked up, the whoosh of air they cut through was sharper than ordinary.
Quaaack!
It sounded like a storm raging through.
Four Thousand Four's restrictions hadn't been lifted yet.
The old woman had focused solely on treating his wounds. While doing so, she'd loosened certain acupoints... but it seemed less like fully releasing the restrictions and more like softening the channels to better absorb impacts.
"Your wounds are healing fast. Lucky you."
"Thanks to your good care."
"You even know how to say thanks. But look at that—do you really think you'll be fine like this? Those guys have been training in martial arts for a whole month, and you haven't got a thing to show for it."
"As long as my body's healthy, I can do anything."
"Huhu! You have no idea what lies ahead for you."
"How many days left?"
"About seven or eight."
Vanguard had said he'd be back in a month, but there was no rule saying exactly a month. He might arrive a day early or a day late. No, he definitely would.
"In seven or eight days, I should be able to stand."
Four Thousand Four rose to his feet.
Thanks to the old woman administering acupuncture and performing palace-pushing channel-unblocking to loosen his meridians, he felt much lighter.
Even now, sudden movements sent agony ripping through his organs like they might burst, but it was time to move. After resting this long, he needed to build strength back into his muscles.
"Starting tonight, we'll seriously start lifting those restrictions."
"Anything I need to prepare?"
"Not you. Just stay put like you are now."
The old woman smiled.
Clunk!
She shoved the door open and stepped out.
The crisp mountain air flooded his nostrils. Clean oxygen seeped deep into his lungs.
Breathing outdoor air after so long made his head spin.
"Whoa! You're up? I figured standing in a month would be impossible. You okay to move?"
The Fox of Bireung Mountain scurried over, eyeing Four Thousand Four like some rare beast.
"Your body's tough as nails."
Wild Boar approached and clapped him on the shoulder.
Four Thousand Four glanced at the two axes Wild Boar carried.
Wild Boar noticed the look and proudly swung them around with a flourish.
"Pretty good, huh? Figured I needed at least one decent weapon, so I grabbed these."
"Mine's this."
The Fox of Bireung Mountain slyly opened one side of his robe.
A leather sheath lined the inside, packed neatly with about twenty flying daggers.
"Grab some once you're feeling better. There's an armory here. Haha! You'll fall over when you see what they've got in this backwater. Nothing like it anywhere else in the world."
The Fox of Bireung Mountain patted his chest fondly over the daggers and grinned wide.
This village, which they'd taken for a simple mountain hamlet, hid a massive secret.
Wild Boar had snagged two iron axes that screamed quality at a glance. The Fox of Bireung Mountain had walked away with twenty exquisitely crafted flying daggers.
Weapons no ordinary village could provide.
There must be more here too. That's why the Fox called it an 'armory.'
This wasn't a normal village. Some organization had built it for a specific purpose.
Four Thousand Four sat on the porch edge and said,
"You know how to throw those?"
"Learned it. What I've picked up here is lightness skill and this. Better watch out now—you're not safe from me anymore. I'm fast."
"Hut!"
"What? Mocking me?"
"No, not that..."
"A month's training ain't much, right? Haha! Once you're back in shape, let's test it. I'm no pushover anymore. Anyone who underestimates me gets wrecked."
"Fine. I admit it."
Four Thousand Four had no desire to argue with the Fox of Bireung Mountain. Or anyone, for that matter. Truth be told, he didn't want to talk at all. They were strangers who didn't need to cross paths.
Still, he humored him.
From the looks of it, the Fox of Bireung Mountain had gotten a summons too, just like him.
An absolute order no one could refuse—one that ultimately demanded their lives.
Which left them with no choice but to stick together until death.
So he told him to relax until the end. And since they had to talk anyway, striking up conversation first might ease things a bit.
"Heard you broke the Twelve Stems Formation. For real?"
Wild Boar plopped down beside Four Thousand Four and asked.
Of course, the Fox of Bireung Mountain's eyes sparkled as he leaned in too.
No martial artist hadn't heard of the Twelve Stems Formation. They might not have faced it themselves, but everyone knew it was Killing Gate's ultimate array.
If they'd been the ones to encounter it, they'd never have broken through.
Four Thousand Four had dismantled it without a sound.
While he was doing it, the villagers had been wondering when he'd make a move. A brutal fight had raged in their eerily quiet village, and they'd been completely oblivious.
To them, Four Thousand Four was a monster.
Four Thousand Four met Wild Boar's gaze and grinned.
He didn't answer. After flashing that smile, he turned his eyes to the distant sky.
A gentle mountain breeze blew in.
For the first time in ages, he basked in warm sunlight and soft wind.
"Still no need for this?"
The old woman nudged the chest of martial arts manuals with her foot.
"No need."
"Weird. Never thought I'd see a sword-for-hire turn down kung fu."
"What arts did old Four pick?"
"Whatever caught his fancy. Sword styles, saber arts..."
The old woman trailed off with a smirk.
Four Thousand Four was asking where those who'd learned from her were now.
All dead. Despite direct transmission from her, they'd ended up as handfuls of dirt.
Learning her arts led to death all the same.
"Hm... Let's see..."
The old woman opened the chest and rummaged through the manuals. Soon, she pulled out a thin one.
"Yeah, this'll do. You can read?"
"Basic writing."
She tossed it to him.
"Memorize that. No time to practice, so just do what the fox did—commit it to memory."
"The fox? Oh, Bireung."
"He memorized the whole lot. Figured he'd live a thousand years to master them all."
"Yeah, this..."
Four Thousand Four tried handing the manual back.
You couldn't master martial arts in a day or two. With seven or eight days until action, diving into something new would just confuse him.
The old woman guessed his intent and waved him off.
"No arguments—just memorize it. We're fated to meet like this; gotta give you a parting gift."
"Understood. Then gratefully..."
"Shirt off, lie on your stomach. We're lifting restrictions for real now. It'll hurt like hell. Scream if you can't take it—no one's gonna complain."
'Hut!'
Four Thousand Four chuckled inwardly.
Wild Boar had endured it. So had the Fox of Bireung Mountain. They'd screamed in agony too, no doubt. But he hadn't heard a peep.
If he screamed now... it'd be a matter of face.
How could he? Even that shallow Fox had held it in.
"Ready?"
"Start."
Guk!
Something prodded his Gate of Life acupoint. A dagger? An awl? A blunt needle? Then... unimaginable force cleaved his spine. Sensation vanished from the point; pain surged like his body was bisected.
"Argh!"
Four Thousand Four's mouth gaped as a groan escaped.
Undoubtedly the worst pain since birth. Too excruciating for words.
Sss!
The force shattering his spine surged upward along his back.
"Ugh! Urk!"
He involuntarily groaned again.
The 'dagger' piercing his Gate of Life sliced upward, carving flesh and bone.
Wild Boar was a boar—tough enough. But how had the Fox endured this?
"Aaaagh!"
He finally screamed outright. The pain was too much to swallow. No—after one cry, he blacked out.
Consciousness returned.
No clue how long he'd been out. It had been bright day before treatment; now pitch black all around.
In total darkness, he regulated his shallow breaths.
His restless body could be calmed consciously. Steady breathing, slow and deep, listening to his heartbeat—soon tranquility came.
Calm the body first, then the mind.
Most calm the mind first, letting it settle the body. They call conscious breathing mere temporary relief.
He enjoyed the temporary.
Not just now—it was habit, ingrained.
Body calm, mind calm... now inspect the body.
What had gone wrong where? Which point had the old woman hit to cause such torment?
He drew qi from his dantian.
But it wouldn't budge.
'Restrictions... still there...'
Pain that horrific, yet the seals remained.
Can't check meridians with qi—use raw sensation.
Night was long and deep. Plenty of time till dawn. Time to examine calmly.
"Four Thousand Four, you torturing him?"
"Torture? Why?"
"That scream was huge..."
"Hoo! Think 'Heavenly' is tacked on for nothing? When they slap 'Heavenly' on someone, it's a vow never to let him loose on the world."
The Fox of Bireung Mountain frowned slightly.
No slouch in cunning—he was second to none. Or rather, she was.
A cross-dressing woman surviving Nineteen Hells without exposure? Not luck. She read people meticulously.
Predict minds from expressions and actions. If suspicion brewed, preempt it. Leave no room for doubt.
Living under constant scrutiny wasn't easy.
From the old woman's words, she grasped Four Thousand Four's dire straits.
His restrictions were vicious. Whoever tagged him 'Heavenly' had done a nasty job—unbreakable by most. Even if broken, no return to normal.
Her last thought—she hoped it mere fancy... but clearly tougher than hers or Wild Boar's.
"Can you lift it?"
"Huhu! Nosy wench. Wanna test how much you've grown?"
"This late at night?"
"Fine night, bright moon... perfect for exercise."
"Ugh! Just sleep."
"Huhu! Shouldn't have asked about him if you wanted shut-eye."
'Tricky!'
The Fox of Bireung Mountain read grave concern in the old woman's words. Lifting it wouldn't be easy.
"Here I come!"
The old woman barked. Or rather, like an eagle snatching a chick, she lunged.
"Eek!"
She yelped briefly.
But her body moved faster than sound. In an instant, she stepped into the Maha Great Serene Heavenly Escape Step, known simply as the Ma Escape Step, which she'd been practicing.