Chapter 3: Just Fix It, Dammit! (1)
Chapter 3: Just Fix It, Dammit! (1)
"Green is the same color."
What does this mean? It means that since grass-green and leaf-green are the same color, aren't we on the same side?
When does the Green Forest use this phrase?
They use it primarily when they cross paths with an expert of the Unorthodox Faction whom they cannot handle.
We failed to recognize a great person and committed an act of rudeness.
Still, we are both of the Unorthodox Faction, so please show us some mercy.
It is a form of slang used to convey that sentiment.
In other words, it’s a phrase used to beg for one's life from a fellow member of the Unorthodox Faction, but…
Thwack! Thud! Whack!
Patrick was mounted on top of the guy—whether his name was Im Dal or a river otter didn't matter—and was ferociously rotating the man's face left and right with his fists.
"You little brat! How dare you treat the great, fair, and righteous Radiant Dragon Hero of the Great Twin Dragon Sect like some Unorthodox thug? Huh?!"
"Gah… My mistake. P-Please…"
"Green? Greeeeen! Do you want me to show you how I treat things that are 'so very green'?"
"Gueeeeeegh…"
* * *
"Hmm?"
"What is it, Great Warrior Tutan?"
"I… I felt the presence of something terrifying and evil."
* * *
"S-Save the Chief!"
The Green Forest bandits stepped forward to save their Chief, who was being beaten to a pitiful pulp by the wicked foreigner.
In their hands, they held bows, spears, and iron nets.
Even experts who couldn't be defeated one-on-one could often be captured by utilizing equipment and numerical superiority.
However, today was not their lucky day.
"Sona."
"Yes, yes. I understand, Master."
Persona stepped forward on behalf of her master, who was preoccupied with the beating.
She drew a massive saber from her back, one even larger than her own height.
Though she was tall, she had a slender build, yet she lightly lifted the oversized weapon with a single hand.
And then…
Dragon King Demon-Slaying Saber.
First Form.
Tyrant Dragon Flash.
Over the past three years, she hadn't just been playing around.
She had steadily practiced the Five Tigers Single Gate Sword that Patrick had taught her, refining it to suit herself until she finally created her own unique martial art.
Eventually, she even received a license from Patrick, acknowledging it as an official saber technique of the Twin Dragon Sect.
The result of that effort was…
The Dragon King’s blade that slays demons.
The Dragon King Demon-Slaying Saber.
Its first form, Tyrant Dragon Flash, was a technique focused entirely on destructive power.
Without worrying about minor details, it was a refreshing strike that blew away all enemies in front of her—no, all enemies at once—with a single swing.
K-Boom!
The Saber Qi exploded across a wide range, sweeping away the bandits in an instant.
"Hmph."
Persona wore a faint smile and attempted to sheath her saber elegantly. However…
"Urgh, that girl is an expert too!"
"Don't let your guard down! Raise the shields!"
"The archers… what are the archers doing? Fire!"
The scene before her eyes deviated slightly from her expectations.
"Huh?"
She looked at her saber, then back at the bandits.
She felt like she had blown away about half of them, but the remaining half were still full of fighting spirit.
"That's strange."
That was a Tyrant Dragon Flash infused with 3-Star level internal energy.
Normally, those low-life bandits should have been wiped out in one go…
"Why are they fine?"
In the meantime, the bandits began firing arrows at her, and she swung her saber once more.
K-Boom!
The brilliantly exploding Saber Qi swept the bandits away…
"Wait? Saber Qi?"
Something was wrong. This time, she had infused 5-Star level energy.
Normally, it shouldn't have been Saber Qi, but Taoist Energy—Saber Force—that formed. So why was it only Saber Qi?
"Master?"
"What?"
She called out to Patrick, who was still busy pummeling the Chief.
"The martial arts are broken."
"……."
Patrick’s face unreservedly displayed the emotion: And I call this person my disciple.
He let out a deep sigh and spoke.
"Circulate your energy… no, just spread your energy sense into the atmosphere."
"Why… fine, I will."
Persona was about to ask "Why?" but quickly changed her tune when Patrick’s hand twitched upward.
And as a result of opening her energy sense to check…
"W-What is this?"
The density of Qi in the atmosphere was unbelievably thin.
It wasn't even a third—no, it was less than a fifth of the level on the Pangemonia Continent.
Under these conditions, it was only natural for the power of her attacks to drop.
"Master. What on earth is going on here?"
Thwack!
Persona asked Patrick while simultaneously striking down a bandit who had dared to thrust a spear at her.
"By my standards, the density of Qi on the Pangemonia Continent is abnormally high."
Crunch.
Patrick kindly explained the difference to his disciple, even as he snapped the shinbone of another nameless bandit.
"If the Qi density is this low, the power of martial arts will inevitably drop."
"It can't be helped."
"Still, this is extreme. It's almost difficult to manifest in my true form."
"Adapt. In exchange for the low Qi density, the martial arts of this world have evolved to be more efficient through repeated research."
"You mean evolution born of necessity?"
"Exactly."
"I see. I understand now."
It was a truly mundane and peaceful conversation between master and disciple.
Crunch! Thud! Crack!
"Aaaagh!"
"My eyes! My eyeeees!"
"Aaaaaah!"
Well, the bandits being subjected to them might have had a different perspective.
A moment later.
Ding.
[Quest Complete]
You have subjugated the bandits.
Acquired 50 Causality.
Current Causality: 450.
Patrick looked at the blue, translucent quest window floating before his eyes with an expression of utter futility.
Looking around, the bandits of the Black Snake Bandits—or whatever they were called—were all collapsed and groaning.
Not a single person had their limbs intact, and those who looked like they knew a bit of martial arts had their Dantians meticulously shattered.
Only after such thorough cleanup did the notification window for the completed quest appear.
"Sona."
"Yes, Master."
"You said that just by being here, our Causality gets consumed, right?"
"That's right."
"How much is consumed per day?"
"It probably takes about 10 Causality per person."
"Then for the two of us, that's 20 a day…"
Patrick looked up at the sky with a look of profound sorrow.
"I have no father, no master, and I don't even have my mother here…"
Patrick said pathetically.
"And yet, I have to play the role of a voluntary pushover."
Thick tears rolled down his cheeks.
[Is doing a good deed really that unfair? Is it something to be so mournful about?]
"Shut up. This is all because of you, Master!"
[What did I do?]
"Ugh, I don't know. It's all your fault. Take responsibility!"
Patrick raged at the sky, and Persona watched her master with pitying eyes.
* * *
Patrick moved westward.
Starting from Liaoning Province, he dashed through Hebei, Shanxi, and Shaanxi, reaching Gansu Province in a single breath.
Whenever he encountered bandits or low-life thieves along the way, a quest would trigger, forcing him to wipe them out. But other than those times, he focused solely on moving west.
His disciple, Persona, pleaded for a rest, but Patrick wouldn't listen.
"You can rest for eternity when you're dead. What's there to rest for now?"
"I don't die. I'm immortal."
"Quiet!"
Patrick suppressed his disciple's complaints and continued moving.
In truth, he couldn't hold back any longer.
He felt he wouldn't be satisfied until he saw what had become of the Twin Dragon Sect—his home, the foundation of everything the Radiant Dragon Hero was.
I've caught and questioned several bandits along the way, but none of them knew of the Twin Dragon Sect.
At the very least, it likely wasn't shaking the entire Jianghu with its fame as it did when the Radiant Dragon Hero, Jincheon, was alive. But…
[Uh, are you perhaps talking about that small sect in Cheonsu County, Gansu Province?]
[Yeah, there. That's the place. What happened to it? Is it doing well? Making lots of money?]
[Cough, cough… Let go of my neck first…]
[Talk.]
[I don't know much either. I've just heard rumors that such a place exists.]
One of the bandits he had recently thrashed finally knew of the Twin Dragon Sect's existence.
He couldn't describe how much his heart had raced at that moment.
It still remained.
There were grateful people who had protected the grounds of the Twin Dragon Sect for two hundred years.
Wait for me, my descendants. Your Great Master—no, Great-Great Master… Great-Great-Great Master(?). Well, I'll figure out the lineage once I get there. Anyway, I'm coming.
No matter what state it was in, the fact that it still existed was something to be grateful for.
Two hundred years was more than enough time for even a massive sect to vanish under the weight of time.
Yet, the Twin Dragon Sect still remained.
To Patrick, who honestly hadn't expected much, it was a joyful miscalculation.
Patrick glanced up at the sky.
"You're happy too, right, Master?"
[Ho ho ho…]
It seemed the hearts of the master and disciple were in sync for the first time in a long while.
After traveling and traveling…
"We've finally arrived."
Patrick let out a sigh as he looked at the familiar yet strange street scenery.
Cheonsu County in Gansu Province.
A place too ambiguous to be called a city, yet too large to be called a village—this was the home of the Twin Dragon Sect.
"Is this your hometown, Master?"
"Yeah. This is it."
Patrick looked at the street before him with a wistful expression.
Though much had changed over two hundred years, some traces of the past remained.
That alley… that's where I first met Master.
He still remembered it.
That bitterly cold winter.
The day when everything in the world felt like an enemy.
His Master had reached out a hand.
He had taken the boy who was about to freeze to death and fed him a warm bowl of porridge.
Master…
Memories sprouted with every step.
That place used to be a shop that sold terribly tasteless noodles.
Still, it was cheap, so he had used it often.
Now, it had turned into a brothel.
And the fabric shop next to it had turned into a gambling den.
The pharmacy the Twin Dragon Sect used to trade with… oh, that's a brothel now too?
Wait, why is the atmosphere of this street like this?
In Patrick's memory, Cheonsu County was a moderately developed area, but it wasn't this kind of entertainment district.
It wasn't that there were no brothels, but it wasn't a place so bustling that every other house was one.
And above all…
"Hey there, handsome, come into our shop."
"Won't you spend some quality time with me today?"
"This is Gangjeongbo liquor, sent directly from Jiangnan. We only have one jar left."
Uh… was this town always like this?
It was originally a quiet and peaceful place, but this was like looking at the bustling districts of Hangzhou.
"Master. Was this place always like this?"
"No, it was much quieter in the old days."
"Hmm…"
"Well, time has passed, so…"
Patrick brushed off his disciple's question.
Yes, he could understand.
If you think about it, it's not necessarily a bad thing, right?
If there are many brothels and gambling dens nearby, money will circulate, and the county will continue to develop.
The development of one's territory is a good thing for any sect.
Even if the direction of that development seemed a bit questionable, still…
"It's fine. It's fine. I can understand everything."
Comforting himself, Patrick quickened his pace.
Now, if he turned right at that path and went around the corner, finally…
"Ah!"
An exclamation escaped Patrick's lips.
The Twin Dragon Sect.
The home where he and his Master had lived.
The home of his heart.
The root of the Radiant Dragon Hero.
It stood firm despite the storms of time.
In fact, it seemed to have grown a bit larger.
Moreover, the buildings looked sturdy as if they had been well-maintained, and the path in front was swept clean.
"You rascals… you're doing well."
[Ho ho ho. What were you worried about? Did you not trust your descendants to do well on their own?]
"Hahaha. You're right. I guess I was worrying over nothing, Master."
[I always believed in them.]
"Hahaha. Right? Me too."
In truth, he had many internal worries.
Couldn't things have gone wrong?
He had imagined the worst-case scenario where the sect had become a den of beggars, and he would have to struggle alone to revive it.
But those were needless worries.
Through the storms of two hundred years, the Twin Dragon Sect stood firm like this…
Crash!
"Whoa!"
It happened then.
The door in front of Patrick shattered, and a man came flying out.
What? Is he someone who challenged the sect and got thrashed?
To think so, the man's appearance was too much like a commoner.
No, why would an ordinary commoner be sent flying out of the Twin Dragon Sect?
Patrick's question was answered immediately.
A burly, muscular man holding twin axes walked out from inside the sect and said…
"Hey, Mr. Jang, if you borrowed money, shouldn't you pay it back? Huh?"
Wait? Those words…
So, could this be?
Just then, the man who had been sent flying scrambled to his feet, knelt, and said while sobbing.
"I'll pay it back. I'll definitely pay it back. So please, spare my daughter. She's still an innocent child who thinks she'll die if she leaves her mother's side."
"That's none of my business. You know well what happens to those who defy our Twin Dragon Room here in Cheonsu County, don't you?"
"Oh, Great One, please, just this once, have mercy on my situation. I beg of you."
"That's why I… Huh? Who the hell are you?"
The muscular bald man finally noticed Patrick and threatened him with a scowl.
Regardless of that…
"Uh… Uh-huh… Uh-buh-buh…"
The great Radiant Dragon Hero.
The great hero Double Dragon, who had taken the Heavenly Demon's head and saved a world.
He couldn't find his words and just stood there with his mouth agape.
He hurriedly looked up to check the sect's plaque, and there…
[Twin Dragon Room]
It wasn't the Twin Dragon Sect; a plaque saying "Twin Dragon Room" was hanging there.
So this… this was…
Patrick asked cautiously.
"Did… did you guys perhaps switch professions to the Underworld Gang?"
"Huh? What? Hey, you, who are you?"
"Gue… Gueeeegh."
Patrick couldn't answer.
He simply clutched the back of his neck and began to faint.
And the last thing he saw before passing out was…
[Gue… Gueeeegh…]
The sight of his Master in the sky, also clutching the back of his neck and fainting.