Chapter 65
Chapter 65
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 65
Chapter Title: The Madman's Playtime
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Even in the darkness, the sight of the black-clad assassins drawing their daggers was clear as day.
But tracking the flying daggers with his eyes was far more difficult than imagined. Especially since there was more than one.
Ting—
Dang Mujin swung his sword to deflect the incoming daggers. Their speed wasn't particularly fast, and he got lucky, but even then, he could only knock away two out of the three.
His upper arm burned. One dagger must have grazed it.
A numbing sensation quickly spread across his arm, and the pain subsided in an instant.
He didn't know the type, but it was definitely poisoned. And a poison that spread with alarming speed.
Unlike Dang Mujin, who had been nicked by one dagger, the strange-robed man casually deflected all three. He even glanced at Dang Mujin and flashed a sly grin.
It was a relief that the strange-robed man wasn't hurt, but that expression rubbed him the wrong way.
The numbness in his left arm drained the strength from it.
But Dang Mujin was pleased instead. Poisons were more troublesome and exhausting to procure than regular herbs. And now, one had come to him for free.
Dang Mujin circulated his internal energy to guide the poison into his dantian. Sensation returned to his left arm in an instant.
The black-clad men threw daggers again.
This time, five out of the six hurtled toward the strange-robed man. They must have assumed Dang Mujin was neutralized by the poison.
The strange-robed man deftly deflected the incoming daggers, then let one flying toward his lower body graze his calf.
He made a face as if to say "oh no," staggering slightly. It was acting so despicably convincing.
"Cowardly bastards...!"
The strange-robed man limped as he shouted. But the black-clad men still didn't close in.
Instead, they kept their distance, circling while hurling daggers at him and Dang Mujin one after another.
A few more minor wounds appeared on both men. The only difference was that Dang Mujin couldn't dodge his, while the strange-robed man took them on purpose.
Only after throwing all their daggers did they finally approach. Their demeanor felt less like martial artists and more like hunters.
The moment the approaching black-clad men drew their swords, the strange-robed man and Dang Mujin leaped forward together, unleashing the Heart-Piercing Sword forms.
Coincidentally, the forms they executed were the same. Apex (尖).
The extremely concise thrusts pierced the hearts of two black-clad men. Any other form might have paled in comparison, but Dang Mujin's Apex held its own against the strange-robed man's.
"!"
Two went down in an instant. Yet the black-clad men uttered not a word. But their movements grew stiff.
"The poison didn't work, huh? Surprised?"
Dang Mujin shouted boldly as he unleashed the next form. Sparrow Bee (雀蜂). A feint followed by a light slash pierced a black-clad man's throat.
Gurgle. The man frothed blood as he collapsed.
Dang Mujin glanced to the side. Naturally, the strange-robed man had just claimed his second victim.
When the six black-clad men were down to two, Dan Seolyeong shouted from atop the tree.
"East! There's someone watching the fight without joining!"
A brutal melee was unfolding right below, yet Dan Seolyeong stayed calm, fulfilling her role. Scanning the surroundings in place of Dang Mujin and the strange-robed man.
The strange-robed man yelled back.
"Excellent!"
He broke off from the two remaining black-clad men and dashed east toward the one Dan Seolyeong had spotted.
Dang Mujin figured he'd have to face both at once. Unexpectedly, however, the two black-clad men lunged at the strange-robed man instead of him. Their target was obvious.
In a pinch, Dang Mujin scooped up a fallen dagger and hurled it at the two.
Infused with the intricacies of the Feigned Escape Technique, the dagger struck their backs. The two tumbled forward, twitched briefly, then went limp.
Dang Mujin felt an inexplicable emptiness.
Using the Heart-Piercing Sword he'd diligently practiced was less effective and convenient than casually hurling a dagger with the Feigned Escape Technique he'd trained in spare moments. Of course, it only worked because their attention was fixed on the strange-robed man.
While Dang Mujin gathered the scattered poisoned daggers, the strange-robed man dispatched the one hiding east and dragged the body back.
Suddenly, there were seven corpses. The air reeked of blood.
"Couldn't you have left one alive?"
"They bit into their poison pellets before we could capture them. Too late to extract it."
The seven attackers hadn't uttered a sound until death. It was eerie.
Dang Mujin said,
"Shall we head back to Je-yuan?"
"No."
"Then what?"
To Dang Mujin, the one who hired these black-clad assassins was clear: Baek Chuseo or Baek Hyanga.
But the strange-robed man wasn't convinced it was the Je-yuan Baek Clan. He knew too well how many people bore grudges against him.
Instead of answering, the strange-robed man stripped a black-clad corpse and inspected it. A butterfly tattoo on the nape appeared.
In that moment, the strange-robed man's brow furrowed deeply. But it was dark, and he was bent over, so Dang Mujin and Dan Seolyeong didn't see his expression.
He pondered for quite a while, then shook his head.
"Since we've come this far, it's better to go to Luoyang. These guys won't dare act up inside the city."
"What if trouble hits right after we leave Luoyang?"
"I'll handle that. You and Dan Seolyeong wait in Luoyang."
"By yourself, old man?"
"Impossible for a brat like you, but I can manage."
"You just have to say it."
The strange-robed man's voice brimmed with confidence.
From Dang Mujin's experience, things never went wrong when the strange-robed man spoke with such assurance.
Like a child with ironclad faith in their parents, over the past few months, an unshakeable trust in the strange-robed man had taken root in Dang Mujin's subconscious.
Wasn't he a master who could easily subdue even other peak experts?
"How long will it take?"
"Who knows? I'll return after finishing up, so take it easy in Luoyang and broaden your horizons. Anyplace will take you and Dan Seolyeong as guests."
"As guests?"
"Yes."
Luoyang in Henan Province was one of the Central Plains' greatest cities, alongside Chang'an in Shaanxi.
Luoyang teemed with people. Physicians and patients abounded, blacksmiths were plentiful, and martial artists even more so. Nearly every renowned sect in the Central Plains had a presence there. Even the Murim Alliance had set up shop.
Medicine, metallurgy, martial arts—according to the strange-robed man, no place was better for honing them all.
"You could join most clans or sects. The Huashan Luoyang Branch is fine, or you could rely on the Sima Clan. Staying at an inn and showcasing your talents instead of being a guest works too. But avoid the Wudang Luoyang Branch and the Jinchang Luoyang Branch."
"Why those two?"
"Wudang doesn't accept women, and the Jinchang Luoyang Branch building is rundown with bugs everywhere."
At the utterly practical reasons, Dang Mujin and Dan Seolyeong nodded.
Who wouldn't feel uneasy waking up to a centipede?
The strange-robed man then pulled a book from his bosom and handed it to Dang Mujin. A medical text he'd written while Dang Mujin and Dan Seolyeong repaired Mok Inhang at Shaolin Temple.
"Of course, I'm not telling you to slack off. Master this entire book by the time I return."
"Easy enough."
Dang Mujin spoke confidently, and the strange-robed man continued with a satisfied look.
"And just so you know, instead of coming straight back to Luoyang after finishing, I might handle some personal business."
"What kind?"
"Personal, like I said. If I take too long, leave Luoyang for Huizhou in Gansu Province. There's an unusually large walnut tree there. I'll hide two more medical texts beneath it, so study those too. Master all three, and you can claim to be the Central Plains' top physician."
The words "Central Plains' top physician" swelled Dang Mujin's chest. What a beautiful prospect. And given the strange-robed man's character, it wasn't mere flattery.
Yet at the same time, Dang Mujin sensed something off in his words.
From the way he handed over the book to how he spoke of the distant future, it felt almost like a farewell.
There was no one around who shouldn't overhear, but Dang Mujin lowered his voice anyway.
"You're not hiding some unspeakable matter, are you?"
The strange-robed man shot back with an exasperated look.
"You think I'm your nanny? Over these months from Sichuan here, I've got more than a few loose ends piling up."
"Fine, just wrap it up quick and come back."
"Anyone would think I'm leaving right this second. I'll sleep a bit first."
"Yeah, yeah. Do as you please."
"And don't wake up crying because I'm gone."
"Tell that to patients who spout nonsense—they need Stomach-Regulating Qi-Receiving Decoction."
The group dragged the seven corpses far away and lay down.
The faint blood scent lingered on the ground, but soon they grew numb to it. The grass smell was stronger anyway.
The three gazed at the stars, chatting idly.
Trivial things. The cooking at an inn they'd visited days ago. What they wanted to do back in Sichuan. The funny habits of a neighborhood auntie.
Exhausted Dan Seolyeong's voice faded first, followed by Dang Mujin's.
The strange-robed man fell silent too.
Some time after, amid the chorus of crickets, he sat up.
The butterfly tattoo resurfaced in his mind. The mark of the Killing Veil.
The Killing Veil was leagues above the small fry like the Black Wolf Sect he'd encountered recently.
Their infamy was such that even young martial artists like pups avoided them.
The Killing Veil was vast in scale, cunning and systematic enough to always station non-combatants.
This time, they'd sent only small fry for some reason, but they had plenty of skilled assassins too.
'Will the Killing Veil come at me again?'
Hard to say. They'd probed him before and gone quiet a few times.
No guarantee they'd do so now.
That possibility gnawed at him.
To leave an heir free of his tangled web of grudges, the strange-robed man had never formally taken Dang Mujin as a disciple.
Letting a grudge form between the Killing Veil and Dang Mujin now was absurd.
Dang Mujin had to survive to the end and fulfill the strange-robed man's dream in his stead.
'At least they don't seem to be targeting the kid too. Good.'
He touched the spot where he'd lain. Faint warmth mingled with subtle poison qi. Unintended, yet it had seeped out on its own.
Proof his body was nearing its limit. The problem was haphazardly brewing and nurturing his dantian poison since youth, without proper spirit pills.
Remaining lifespan? Three years at most.
Not long.
But enough to tie up loose ends.
The strange-robed man rose quietly. He gazed long at Dang Mujin and Dan Seolyeong, reliving memories.
He recalled the young physician from a Sichuan backwater.
The old beggar and young beggar from Zhuul Village.
Rainy Chongqing, the fool who'd stolen Dang Mujin's knife, Shaolin's Mok Inhang.
And Monk Manryeok's anxious voice asking if he'd caused trouble.
The strange-robed man smiled.
Yes, old friend. The time has come to settle what I'd put off.
These past months were quite enjoyable.
Since his wife and daughter died of illness thirty years ago, nothing had been this fun.
But as sorrow and pain end, so must joy.
The strange-robed man departed quietly.
The tail end of autumn.
A madman's playtime came to an end.