Chapter 98
Chapter 98
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: Vine
Chapter: 98
Chapter Title: Mount Mao (3)
-----------------------------------------------------------------
While Jeok Sa-goeng had been convinced, Nangong Cheon, perhaps burdened by many worries, had earnestly requested a few promises from Ouyang Jue.
‘He wants me to join the Martial Alliance members near Mount Mao once I arrive…’
Ouyang Jue was lost in thought as he headed toward Anhui, located between Huguang and Jiangsu.
Considering Nangong Cheon's position as the Vice-Leader, it was a natural request to make.
If Ouyang Jue were to find himself in danger, the Martial Alliance, having known of his plans, would be in an awkward position. Moreover, he was a famous figure from the Mount Hua Sect, which had just joined the Alliance.
It was actually surprising that he had so easily agreed to Ouyang Jue's words.
The simple explanation would be that he trusted him, but Ouyang Jue lightly shook his head.
‘He’s barely seen me. There’s no way Nangong Cheon would trust me so easily.’
*He's watching to see how I act.*
This was how Ouyang Jue interpreted Nangong Cheon's actions just now. Otherwise, there was no reason for him to accommodate a young, rising talent like himself.
‘First, I'll need to see what kind of people these Martial Alliance members are.’
Also, he needed to reach Mount Mao as quickly as possible.
With that thought, Ouyang Jue took out a tinderbox from his travel pouch.
With a scrape and a hiss.
Striking a flame about the size of two finger joints, Ouyang Jue began to burn parts of his Daoist robe.
He carefully burned the oil stains from his meal at the Martial Alliance headquarters, as well as the armpit areas where his scent was strongest.
The plum blossom emblem that identified him as a member of the Mount Hua Sect was obscured, buried under the black ash from the burning.
“…”
Though it was to conceal his presence, it was an act that would make any Daoist recoil in horror.
But Ouyang Jue silently finished the task.
He was as unhesitating as someone burning a pile of raked leaves.
He considered undoing his topknot and cutting his hair, but soon shook his head.
He judged it wasn't necessary to go that far.
“Hoo.”
Blowing away the last of the ashes, Ouyang Jue looked up in the direction of Mount Mao.
The Omniscient One should be there.
“Why?”
*What is happening on Mount Mao to cause such a thing?* Ouyang Jue muttered in a self-deprecating tone.
While his affection and respect for the Mount Hua Sect were great, his past life spent with the Omniscient One was incredibly special to Ouyang Jue.
Not only did the Omniscient One lead him to meet the ancient master who taught him the Moon-Treading Shadowless Steps and gave him his beloved sword, Severing Manifestation, but the talismans he provided also led to many new connections.
That became the cornerstone upon which Ouyang Jue, the Bloodhound, was able to obtain fortuitous encounters.
Though it was for a short time, he had even earned the honorable title of Sword God.
Even if the Omniscient One of this life didn't know, Ouyang Jue did.
‘So… I have to repay him.’
Shoving the tinderbox back into his pouch, Ouyang Jue entered the northern border of Anhui.
Whoosh—
True to Anhui's reputation as a branch of Dongting Lake, the cool sound of flowing water seemed to tickle his entire body even without trying to listen.
But there was a downside to this as well.
‘That's…’
Ouyang Jue's gaze turned to a vessel faintly visible on the water.
It had neither the markings of a merchant ship nor the distinctive cannon ports of a military vessel. The only answer was river pirates.
Ouyang Jue stopped and hid his body behind a tree.
It wasn't that he was afraid of a fight. But he wanted to avoid attracting unnecessary attention and being delayed by pirates.
‘What should I do?’
Ouyang Jue's thoughts deepened.
While not on the scale of Dongting Lake with its Eighteen Water Fortresses, Anhui was a region where trade and water routes were well-developed.
As a result, ruffians who fancied themselves strong often resorted to piracy. Fearing the potential appearance of military ships, they frequently formed alliances among themselves.
Even if he tried to avoid them, he would eventually be spotted.
Then, an empty laugh escaped him.
“…I've really started to overthink things.”
He had unknowingly been searching for a way to avoid harming the pirates. The original Ouyang Jue would never have had such a thought.
“Let's keep it simple. Simple.”
Ouyang Jue emerged from behind the tree and walked casually toward the water's edge.
Then, with a bright expression, he waved his hand.
***
“What's that?”
“Dunno, just some naive Daoist?”
The pirates, who had been killing time with simple gambling on deck, licked their lips as if on cue, watching the Daoist who had suddenly appeared.
“Boss, what should we do?”
At those words, Zheng Jian, the Shadow-Splitting Spear and leader of the Ten Thousand Gold Fortress, snapped irritably.
“Shut up. I'm sizing him up.”
“We're ready whenever you are.”
Zheng Jian slapped the back of the speaker's head and studied the Daoist's appearance with a grave expression.
‘Did he get burned somewhere?’
His robe, made of fine fabric, was grotesquely stained with black in several places. It couldn't be simple ink; the damp wind carried the distinct smell of something burnt.
This meant it had been burned very recently. If just a quarter of an hour more had passed, the smell would have faded.
‘Looks like someone tried to get to him first…’
But what kind of thief sets fire to the person they're trying to rob?
As Zheng Jian felt a sense of unease, his eyes suddenly fell upon the sword the Daoist was wearing.
*Gulp!*
Zheng Jian clapped a hand over his mouth to stop himself from crying out.
‘Top quality!’
In stark contrast to the hideous robe, the scabbard the Daoist wore was engraved with an incredibly elegant pattern.
‘If I sold just that scabbard…!’
And what about the sword sheathed within it?
Zheng Jian was a man whose greed was so great he had named his fortress 'Ten Thousand Gold', driven by his ambition to extort as much money as possible.
His infamy was considerable, to the point where he wouldn't hesitate to kidnap and sell people.
‘Right, who cares if his clothes are burnt or his coins melted? All I need is that sword! Now it all makes sense!’
Zheng Jian called over the man with the sharpest eyes and pointed at the Daoist.
“Hey, how old does that punk look to you?”
“About… sixteen? Looks like he hasn't even grown hair down there yet.”
“Is that so!”
Snorting, Zheng Jian immediately pointed at the Daoist and commanded.
“Time to welcome our guest!”
“Yeah-!”
As soon as he finished speaking, the pirates of the Ten Thousand Gold Fortress began to move busily.
But there was something Zheng Jian hadn't anticipated.
“…What the?!”
His was not the only pirate crew targeting the Daoist.
Silently…
Another pirate ship sidled up next to the Ten Thousand Gold Fortress.
Watching this, the Daoist, Ouyang Jue, remarked with light admiration.
“What a mess.”
He just needed a boat to carry him, but things were escalating quite a bit.
Ouyang Jue sat down on the spot and took some dried rations from his pouch.
It wouldn't take long for one of the two pirate crews to be left standing, and he had no need to waste unnecessary energy before reaching Mount Mao.
So he decided to watch, as if it were a children’s talent show.
“Ho, not bad.”
Ouyang Jue sat comfortably in a cross-legged position and began to watch the fight.
“You son of a bitch! Don't we each have our own assigned territory?!”
As Zheng Jian roared in anger, a one-eyed man on the left ship gave a malicious smile.
“Territory? Bullshit. You're the type who'd ask to borrow a man's balls if you lived next to him long enough!”
“You motherfucker!”
“If you're so offended, I invite you aboard my ship. Why don't you come over, little lady?”
Calling the sparsely bearded Zheng Jian a "little lady." Ouyang Jue found it so funny that he burst out laughing.
The way they twisted their words suggested this wasn't the first or second time they had traded insults. Many of Zheng Jian's men were already directing killing intent at the one-eyed man.
The one-eyed man didn't miss this and raised his voice.
“Look over there! Even that well-fed Daoist is laughing because I called you a lady.”
“…Damn you!”
*As soon as this is over, I'll dismember him and throw him to the fish.* Zheng Jian ground his teeth and glared at the one-eyed man.
“Back off, or you won't be able to protect that one remaining eye of yours!”
“Hmph! Don't make me laugh!”
The one-eyed man roughly drew his blade.
“Fine, you lot were an eyesore anyway! I'll take this chance to show you who's on top!”
With that, as if there was no more need for words, Zheng Jian and the one-eyed man laid a plank between their two ships.
“Uwoooaaah!”
The pirates roared to boost their side's morale. Some scanned the opposing crew with chilling gazes, searching for those they held grudges against.
Their skills were meager, but the ferocity with which they tried to kill each other was more intense than that of many martial artists.
Values like honor were meaningless to them.
Kill or be killed. That was all.
Ouyang Jue chewed on his dried rations as he watched the pirates fight. The heat of battle, something he hadn't seen in a while, exhilarated him.
‘From what I heard from Nangong Cheon, the demonic practitioner on Mount Mao must have reached a realm at or above the peak level.’
So, for this occasion, he would cast aside the ways of a Daoist. He would sharpen his skills purely for the art of killing.
With this resolve, Ouyang Jue watched the river turn red.
Swaaa—
How much time had passed? Before he knew it, the battle was over. Though the blood hadn't been enough to dye the entire river red, everyone's face was stained crimson.
“Heh, heheh.”
The final survivor, the victor Zheng Jian, glared with eyes boiling with greed. His body was sticky with blood, but his mind was sharp.
His blood-soaked clothes instilled a sense of confidence in him. Because of this, he made a slight misjudgment upon seeing Ouyang Jue sitting cross-legged.
“Looks like you've pissed yourself in fear! How dare you remain seated before me? Get up at once!”
At those words, Ouyang Jue let out a smirk.
“Hmm, is it over?”
“…What?”
“I can't be bothered to go to you, so bring the boat over here.”
“Insolent brat!”
Zheng Jian brandished his spear for Ouyang Jue to see, flinging a piece of flesh skewered on its tip into the river.
It was a deliberate act, as an ordinary Daoist would have flinched in shock or lost their composure in anger.
But this time, he had picked the wrong opponent.
Ouyang Jue wiped the smile from his face and looked up at Zheng Jian with a cold expression.
No, as if even that was too annoying, he drew Severing Manifestation and swung it in a long arc.
Fwoooosh!
The sword energy that shot out from the tip of Severing Manifestation flew forward with a great roar, slicing through the air. The weeds it passed through were cut down and tumbled to the ground.
Even the burnt smell from Ouyang Jue's robe seemed to have been sliced away by the sword energy, leaving a sharp tingle in the air.
A single strike.
At the level of mastery Ouyang Jue displayed, Zheng Jian felt his mind go blank.
At last, Ouyang Jue's lips parted.
“Will you come quietly, or should I come over there and kill you?”
“I-I'll bring it over!”
Zheng Jian bowed his head obsequiously again and again, then slapped the back of the helmsman's head.
He feigned anger, yelling at the man to hurry up, as if to show Ouyang Jue that he was trying his best.
But there was something Zheng Jian didn't know.
That Ouyang Jue was a man who did not hesitate to kill.
“I'll make good use of your ride. Thanks.”
After these words, Ouyang Jue never spoke to the men of the Ten Thousand Gold Fortress again. He would only point silently in the direction he wanted to go.
There was a pirate who attempted to assassinate him at first, but Ouyang Jue killed him instantly, without a moment's hesitation.
After that, to make an example, he began cutting off Zheng Jian's fingers one by one.
It was an act that anyone would associate with the Unorthodox Faction, no, with the Black Way.
Ouyang Jue's actions were so cold that his Daoist topknot seemed like a disguise.
When ten days had passed like this, Zheng Jian could no longer hold a spear.
Even the rebellious spirit that lay beneath his servility had been broken.
The day before they reached Jiangsu.
Zheng Jian approached Ouyang Jue, holding a torch, and asked.
“Sir, why are you so cruel to us?”
“?”
When Ouyang Jue seemed unwilling to answer, Zheng Jian, on the verge of tears, waved the torch around.
“If you don't answer, I'll burn the ship down!”
“…That's simple.”
Ouyang Jue glanced at Zheng Jian as if he were looking at something disgusting.
“Because you're less than human. It makes you easy to handle.”
“Y-you!”
“Did you think I would value the lives of villains like you?”
Ouyang Jue shook his head lightly.
If he had pleaded with Liu Zhangming instead of him, his words might have had some effect.
But at least with him, there was no hesitation.
Swish!
A swift swing of Severing Manifestation took Zheng Jian's right hand. The torch he had been holding was already in Ouyang Jue's grasp.
It happened in an instant, and Zheng Jian's face froze.
In his eyes, bathed in the red glow of the torch, Ouyang Jue looked just like a demon.
“The petty infamy you built up is now useless. You're no longer a fortress leader. Just a cripple.”
Ouyang Jue blew out the flame on the torch with a puff.
“What are you doing, boatman? Get back to rowing.”