Chapter 34
Chapter 34
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 34
Chapter Title: The Fool (1)
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Swish!
With every swing of Severing Manifestation, another corpse fell.
Occasionally, some would drop their plows and beg for forgiveness, but Ouyang Jue acted without mercy.
If forgiveness could solve everything, what troubles would the world have?
In the end, the blood on one's hands can never be washed away, and no reason can excuse an evil deed.
That was the justice Ouyang Jue pursued, and the reason he called himself a villain.
“P-please. I won’t do it again!”
Thud!
Aged knees shattered as they hit the ground, and blood trickled from the forehead that slammed down.
To think the man who called himself the village chief of this mountain hamlet was the leader of these bandits.
Ouyang Jue looked down at the disheveled village chief with pity in his eyes.
“The people who begged you for their lives must have pleaded to be spared, too.”
“…”
Seeing the speechless village chief, Ouyang Jue sneered.
“You must have secretly buried them in the hills. Well, I’m tempted to do the same…”
“My son’s family is coming back!”
Does he think I'm hesitating? Is he trying to appeal to some sliver of pity?
Ouyang Jue's lips twitched.
“Yes, that’s what I mean. Death doesn't end everything.”
“I’ll live a good life from now on!”
“Don’t.”
Cutting him off flatly, Ouyang Jue looked down at the village chief with cold eyes.
“Since you've killed others, don't cling to life so desperately. That's the least you can do to avoid being pathetic.”
At those words, the village chief's face froze for a moment, then flushed a deep crimson.
“…You son of a bitch.”
Ouyang Jue smiled.
“I knew you’d say that.”
Severing Manifestation swung powerfully.
Four hours later.
Ouyang Jue dusted the dirt from his hands.
“They weren’t worth even this much effort, but…”
Still, there was no need to become trash just like them.
Ouyang Jue meticulously buried the villagers, including the chief, one by one at regular intervals.
Normally, he would have built coffins to prevent wild animals from digging them up, but he didn't feel that obligated.
Burying them in the land where they had lived their lives was the least he could do.
Depending on how they had lived, they would either be discovered quickly or not for a long time.
Time would change some things, but not others.
Scrape, scrape, thud.
“There.”
A satisfied smile formed on Ouyang Jue's face.
The hand that had been trembling from an hour of carving letters into a sturdy stone had finally stilled.
Boyeong Village.
They lived pretending to be residents of a mountain region, but in reality, they attacked passersby and merchant caravans in this area.
Ouyang Jue glanced at the merchant caravan arrival schedule he had found in a corner of the blacksmith's shop.
The different handwritings proved that several people were involved.
There, Ouyang Jue found a familiar seal.
‘The Shaanxi branch of the Black Dragon Gang.’
I thought a faction of their size wouldn't stoop to such petty crimes.
‘A little disappointing.’
Ouyang Jue folded it neatly and stuffed it deep inside his Daoist robe.
He had no use for it now, but a time would surely come when it would be useful.
As Ouyang Jue was about to leave the burial site, his steps suddenly halted.
“Come to think of it, I forgot to leave this.”
Ouyang Jue walked back to the headstone.
He then placed a nail below the words he had carved.
For recompense regarding the evil deeds above, go to the authorities, check the records of Boyeong Village, and collect from their children.
Toss.
Tossing the worn-down nail aside, Ouyang Jue whistled lightly.
He had carved this new passage particularly deep, so it wouldn't be easily erased.
The only question was whether the authorities actually had a register for these people…
‘Boyeong Village is in the mountains.’
Just as the Great Ming had once forbidden all its people from privately owning bows and horses.
A nation is always preoccupied with foreign invasions and internal strife.
Moreover, the Ming Dynasty had not yet completely erased the remnants of the Yuan.
In such a situation, what the Great Ming feared most was, of course, the North and mountainous terrain that could become battlefields.
‘There might be a delay of about half a year, but it'll surely be there.’
Without a second thought, Ouyang Jue left the mountain village.
* * *
While Ouyang Jue was leaving Boyeong Village and heading deeper into Shaanxi.
A serious conversation was taking place inside the Black Dragon Gang's headquarters.
“So, what of the Mount Hua Sect's movements?”
To the question from Bai Wun-hwan, the Black Dragon Gang Leader, Bai Cheong-il, the master of the Shaanxi branch, bowed his head and answered.
“He only said that once the Fire Cloud Red Mist Sword's condition improves, he will immediately eradicate our gang. For now, all is quiet.”
“What about that bastard Ouyang Jue?”
To that question, Bai Cheong-il answered concisely.
“We searched every inch of Chang'an, where the branch is located, but he was not there.”
“Are you certain?”
“Yes. We bribed two of the gatekeepers and even checked the entry and exit records.”
Bai Wun-hwan showed a satisfied smile at Bai Cheong-il's swift work.
‘A tiger is born from a tiger, after all.’
He wished his second son would strive as hard as his eldest. Bai Wun-hwan briefly thought of Bai Dong-il's condition and clicked his tongue.
“Branch Master Bai, in your opinion, where do you think Ouyang Jue is hiding now?”
“…”
After a moment of thought, Bai Cheong-il offered his speculation.
“Although he is said to have descended the mountain on his own whim, his master is the Sect Leader of Mount Hua, a man known as the Severing Wind Sword. We cannot easily believe it. Therefore, it is more logical to assume he left with a purpose.”
Bai Wun-hwan recalled Bai Duanxian in his prime and nodded in agreement.
“And so?”
“It is highly likely that he is somewhere in Shaanxi, contacting influential figures connected to the Mount Hua Sect.”
“So, you believe Ouyang Jue and the Mount Hua Sect are in regular contact.”
“That is correct.”
Bai Wun-hwan's gaze sharpened for a moment.
The man with the bewitching eyes he had met at Dongting Lake.
If not for that incident, he would never have caught his attention.
“Then do you think the Mount Hua Sect was also involved in the previous incident with the Golden Ring Merchant Guild?”
“That is not the case.”
As Bai Cheong-il's words were filled with conviction, Bai Wun-hwan immediately asked back.
“Why?”
Bai Cheong-il fiddled with the ring on his index finger as he continued.
“If the Mount Hua Sect had intended to do so, there would have been no reason to send Ouyang Jue.”
“…Hmm.”
He found himself nodding.
If the Mount Hua Sect had known about the Golden Ring Merchant Guild's situation and wanted to resolve it cleanly, they would not have sent Ouyang Jue, who was known for his bad reputation.
Much less would they have made the mistake of harming ordinary citizens.
Ouyang Jue was not a suitable person to entrust with such a task, and the process was also inappropriate.
Bai Wun-hwan once again recalled those bewitching eyes and bit his lip softly.
“So, you believe Ouyang Jue handled the Golden Ring Merchant Guild matter himself.”
“There's no reason for a third party to have been involved.”
“It seems I have another debt to repay.”
Bai Wun-hwan gnashed his teeth and looked at Bai Cheong-il.
“Before the Mount Hua Sect makes a move, capture Ouyang Jue alive, even if you have to tear him limb from limb. I leave all other matters to your judgment.”
“I will obey your command, Gang Leader!”
Clack!
After bowing once more, Bai Cheong-il slowly rose and headed out of the headquarters.
If he departed quickly, it would take about ten days to reach the Shaanxi branch.
Once he was completely out of the headquarters, Bai Cheong-il glanced back.
“The old geezer must be getting senile… to show fear even to his own son.”
The title ‘Red Tiger Demon’ was embroidered on the sleeve of his right arm.
Three days after the Red Tiger Demon, Bai Cheong-il, departed from the headquarters.
Ouyang Jue passed through the east gate of Chang'an using the pass he had borrowed from the Golden Ring Merchant Guild.
‘It's against the law, but…’
Could there be anything less befitting a Daoist?
A small sneer appeared on Ouyang Jue's face as he thought about how long the Black Dragon Gang would be searching in vain.
* * *
Afterward, Ouyang Jue scouted for a location where he could observe both the front and side of the Shaanxi branch.
He could have easily solved this by borrowing the power of the Three-Knots Beggar he had met before, but that beggar's mouth was looser than his own conscience.
‘When I think of all the trouble that beggar caused me during the Nine Dragons War…’
Grind.
He had planned to crush him like a bent chopstick if they ever met again, but the beggar must have known and was clearly hiding.
If someone was determined to hide, even Ouyang Jue would have to expend considerable effort to find them.
He couldn't afford such a hassle right in front of the enemy's den, so Ouyang Jue had to be content with grumbling.
As he ground his teeth and scanned the area, a particular inn caught Ouyang Jue's eye.
‘One Scent to Cleave the Heavens.’
A single scent that splits the heavens.
For a mere inn, the name was almost arrogant, but to Ouyang Jue, it was decent enough.
It might not be the heavens, but he could certainly split a branch office.
“Here.”
Ouyang Jue flicked a silver coin with his finger and got a room on the third floor.
What he did there was simple.
He noted which merchant guilds did business with the Black Dragon Gang's Shaanxi branch, the times and numbers of the patrolling guards.
He even calmly recorded the passersby who wandered around the area.
Leaving sketches of the martial artists who entered and exited was a given.
‘A branch is no different from a small society.’
Although its borders were limited to Shaanxi, its inner workings were as tightly woven as any other sect.
There were surely guests from the Black Dragon Gang's headquarters, and key figures related to other branches would come and go.
Shaanxi was home to Mount Hua and Zhongnan, the two pillars of Daoism.
They too were walking a tightrope to some extent.
And yet, if there was a reason the Black Dragon Gang maintained a branch in Shaanxi, it was just one.
‘It's a pride thing among these macho bastards.’
I'll set up a branch in a place like this!
We're big and strong enough to get away with it!
An idea that would make reason spit in disgust, but when has the martial world ever run on logic alone?
Sometimes, you have to bluff to attract people. And there are always fools who are drawn to that kind of display.
Even fools have their uses, so the Black Dragon Gang knew the exact value of its Shaanxi branch.
‘A branch master sent to a place like this is one of two things.’
Either a complete moron or incredibly smart.
Ouyang Jue recalled the title he had heard before, Red Tiger Demon.
The Eight Evils of Gangbuk.
It referred to eight villains who began to make a name for themselves in his past life, around the time he was twenty and had just descended the mountain.
Among them, the one called the Red Tiger Demon had a particularly solid power base, wielding enough influence to be called a Great Evil.
He had never actually fought him, but a man with such a reputation couldn't be a complete idiot.
Just as Ouyang Jue was contemplating how to strike the Shaanxi branch, a slurred voice came from outside the window.
“I am a fool!”
“?”
Filled with doubt, Ouyang Jue turned his head and saw a group of ten-year-old children bullying a man.
At first glance, it seemed like the man was saying something completely random, but Ouyang Jue was well aware of this phenomenon.
‘He must have gone through this many times in his life and learned that people accept it when he calls himself a fool.’
A quick glance at the man's actions revealed not only a lack of intelligence but also a physical disability.
Pathetic, Ouyang Jue thought, flicking a broken chopstick to hit the children on their foreheads.
“Ouch!”
“W-what was that?!”
“Waaaaah!”
When one child started crying, the others, struck with fear, all ran home.
After confirming the children had scattered, the man, unable to decide where to go, squatted down.
Seeing this, Ouyang Jue's eyes widened.
“Snowshoes in the middle of summer?”
Regardless of Ouyang Jue's baffled expression, the man began to carefully tighten the loosened straps of his snowshoes.
Ouyang Jue lost interest and turned his head away.