Book 5 Chapter 11

Biryuyeon's Recollection

As far as I remember,

it must have been around the time I was fifteen.

My body had grown considerably, and that day, for the first time in a while,

I went out to play with my master at Honga-ru (紅阿樓), a high-class tavern.

Suddenly, money just came rolling in. My master had caught a Royal Tiger (王虎) while out for a walk. It was strange. Of course, Royal Tigers fetch a high price. That's why we could afford such a luxury. For the first time in a while, my master came here to drink his favorite Sichuan wine, Ok-ru (玉漏).

It was a rare luxury for my master. Our sect (師門) is quite poor, and even when I brought money from grueling labor, it was often spent on my master's drinks as soon as I earned it. He was stingy everywhere else, but he never skimped on alcohol, which was his great extravagance and flaw. And it was a fatal blow to the sect's financial state.

That's why single-line transmission (一脈單傳) is not sustainable. With no new disciples joining, I had to handle everything myself. Why did it have to be single-line transmission? Would it hurt if it were double-line transmission (二脈雙傳)?

Once, I asked my master if we could do double-line transmission, but he glared at me and, in a fit of rage, swung his fists, saying absolutely not, and I gave up. I never expected my master to become so enraged. I'll have to think about it later.

Single-line transmission has many inconveniences. It's not just that there are few disciples, but with only one, there's no income. Moreover, when something happens, I'm the only one who has to take the blame. I have to bear all of my master's scoldings, his moods, and his extravagance.

Ah! My unfortunate youth…!

Anyway, let's move on. The strange thing I noticed was whether there were still tigers in the back mountains. And it was odd that it even dared to attack my master. It had never happened before. Perhaps that Royal Tiger (王虎) was a fool from another mountain. That's why it foolishly attacked my master…

I can imagine my master's face, filled with delight, when the Royal Tiger appeared roaring. He probably shouted something like:

"What a windfall!"

And he must have killed it in one blow. It was largely the fault of the Royal Tiger for daring to attack without knowing its place.

This further solidifies my suspicion that it was a fool from another mountain. The fierce beasts (猛獸) from our back mountain, Amisan, and the surrounding areas never dare to attack my master. Even if they catch his scent from 200 paces away, they flee in haste. If my master catches their scent or senses their presence first, they inevitably become his meal from that moment on. At that instant, their lives are converted into money. Even fleeing from 100 paces away, they cannot escape my master. Only by fleeing from 200 paces away can they save their lives.

Originally, the king of this mountain was a massive White Tiger (白虎). But recently, that beast, without any fear, revealed itself before me. I wasn't so foolish as to let such a windfall pass by, nor did I lack the skill.

That day, I disposed of every last bone and scrap of liver from the White Tiger, turning it all into money. The satisfaction I felt then…!

After the White Tiger went to the afterlife, it seems the position of king of the mountain became vacant (空席). From then on, fierce beasts likely began a fierce struggle to claim the throne. Moreover, the rumors may have spread to other mountains, as beasts gathered to claim the vacant throne of this mountain.

Given its size and ferocity (as could be clearly inferred from the pelt), that Royal Tiger (王虎) was undoubtedly a beast that ruled another mountainside. Tsk, tsk! Greed led to its downfall. That's why it blocked my master's walking path, even though he would have avoided it if he sensed it from 300 paces away!

In any case, as the old saying goes, a dead tiger left behind valuable hides and other goods, and my master, having earned an unexpected windfall, came to this expensive Honga-ru (紅阿樓) to celebrate.

To think that the old man would go to such an expensive place and, not content with the "Sichuan's Best Wine," Ok-ru, would also summon courtesans for entertainment. The sect's already poor financial state was further accelerated, it was outrageous…

The money that vanished so meaninglessly was incredibly regrettable, but I resigned myself, thinking perhaps such things happen occasionally, and ignored it. But then, an unexpected problem arose. For some reason, every courtesan I summoned would glance at me once, then bow their heads deeply. And they never looked my way again. I swear I didn't do anything. I just took a quick glance to see where they were looking.

With the summoned courtesan bowing her head and wriggling her body, things couldn't go as planned. How could there be any excitement! So, my master had no choice but to summon another courtesan to replace the incapacitated one. But this time, she too glanced at me once and then bowed her head deeply. I had rarely felt so embarrassed. Her face seemed to have turned red; perhaps she had a fever?

"What's with her? Why is she acting like that?"

To look away after a single glance without any reason was extremely rude. So, my master had to summon yet another courtesan. But the same thing happened again.

As this repeated about seven or eight times, my master finally gave up on summoning courtesans. He had rented a separate room to enjoy himself, but it was all ruined. Then, he sat there staring blankly, sipping his wine, and suddenly unleashed a torrent of anger at me, who was enjoying the lavish spread of food, thinking, "When will I ever have such a luxury again?" I've rarely felt so wronged.

"You rascal! Ryuyeon!"

"Yes, nom nom… Master, nom nom…."

I asked, chewing the beef and lamb I was eating. My master, who had been in high spirits just moments before, suddenly changed his demeanor and glared at me with furious eyes. I couldn't understand why…

"You rascal! The ladies are all running away because of you! How are you going to take responsibility?"

"Thwack!"

'Hmm! That was a very emotional blow!'

Having been hit many times, I immediately discerned the difference. This was a blow delivered with a lot of emotion. He was upset. So, I opened my mouth and spoke the truth.

"Do I, a minor, have to take responsibility for that?"

Having nothing to be ashamed of in speaking the truth, I confidently stated my opinion. Then, my master's eyes narrowed, and he clenched his fists. Hmm… As a child, I held back.

"From now on, grow your bangs to cover those two eyes! Understand?"

"Why?"

I couldn't hide this handsome face for no reason. Then, at first, my master seemed to be thinking of something to say.

"When your master tells you to do something, just do it without complaint. Why do you have so many objections? Your eyes can have a negative influence on women, so you must cover them from now on. Didn't you see? The courtesans subtly looked away and ran away when they saw you."

I thought it was because of the old master, but was it because of my young and vibrant self? It seemed to be the case. If so, it was a big problem. I also became serious.

"So?"

I assumed an attitude of listening to my master for the first time in a long while. Seeing my commendable attitude, my master also spoke to me with a serious expression.

"It's all because of those eyes of yours. I never expected the effects of the Thunder Spirit Divine Skill (雷靈神功) and the Silk Soul Heart Sutra (靈絲心結) to manifest in your eyes like that. From now on, when women see your eyes, they will all run away, so grow your bangs to cover them."

"Yes! Master!"

I don't know if it was my imagination that I felt a bit deceived, but from then on, I grew my hair to cover my eyes. Since I had already surpassed the stage of relying on eyesight, the narrowed vision caused no hindrance. Moreover, a thickness of a single strand of hair could not be a significant obstacle. Instead, my other senses, excluding vision, developed remarkably.

After that, occasionally, rarely, I would accompany my master to a tavern, and women would no longer avoid my gaze when they met me. It was a great relief. And from that day on, I've kept my bangs long.

Since there's nothing but terrible memories if I reminisce further, Biryuyeon snapped himself out of the lake of recollection. Then, lifting his eyes to look ahead, he saw the figure of Jeon Ok-gi still standing in an awkward posture. Perhaps seeing his pathetic state, Biryuyeon said something.

"Why aren't you attacking instead of just standing there?"

Biryuyeon said as if he were pathetic.

"If your opponent is distracted, you should seize that opportunity and charge! I've given you such a lapse in concentration and created openings, didn't you see all those openings?"

It was a scathing rebuke from Biryuyeon. Of course, Jeon Ok-gi's eyes had also clearly seen Biryuyeon's openings. His gaze (though obscured by his hair, it was barely visible) seemed to be elsewhere, and he seemed to be in an odd state. But he didn't attack. He lacked the pride of a noble sect, which wouldn't strike at someone insignificant.

"Disciples of noble sects do not exploit the weaknesses of others. They always fight fair and square, head-on."

"Stop with the pretty words… Now that you've snapped out of it, hurry up and attack. What were you doing not attacking until now! Wasting time, tsk tsk! That was your last chance to move…"

He spoke as if he were dissatisfied that I hadn't attacked him, who had exposed my weaknesses.

'There's a limit to being brazen! How dare a disciple of an unknown sect…'

Jeon Ok-gi was utterly dumbfounded inwardly.

However, as Biryuyeon said, his feet hadn't moved an inch from where he stood.

"Flash!"

With sharp, piercing energy, a stream of blood flowed from the bridge of his nose. He didn't know what was happening. With a 'ting' sound, a sharp sensation spread across the bridge of his nose, and soon a gushing stream of bright red blood drenched his face and entire body.

Hong-ran leaped up from her seat as a judge. She too couldn't figure out what was happening. Her eyes were filled with shock.

"Impossible! Could he have already reached the level of Sound Wave Injury (彈音傷人)?"

However, she soon shook her head. The first sound wave, the 'ting,' didn't carry any significant power.

Sound Wave Injury (彈音傷人)!

It was literally the highest-level technique of sound martial arts (音功) that inflicts damage through sound waves; she couldn't possibly fail to recognize it. So, what had happened? The question was immediately answered by Biryuyeon's words. However, they were also words that raised new questions.

"Oh dear! The string broke!"

He said with a apologetic smile, scratching the back of his head, but Jeon Ok-gi couldn't believe his words. Could a broken string fly with such a clean arc, carrying such sharp energy? Moreover, the string had already been retrieved by Biryuyeon's hand as if nothing had happened. As if nothing had occurred from the beginning… It was clearly intentional.

'If the tip of that string had aimed for my neck, could I have dodged it?'

Goosebumps ran down Jeon Ok-gi's spine. Blood continued to well up from his cut nose. Soon, the color drained from his face, leaving him as pale as a corpse.

"Thump!"

The sound of his own heart falling echoed in his ears like thunder.

"Hah! Then what did I do yesterday!"

Jeon Ok-gi's complexion turned even more corpselike. The events of yesterday at the tavern flashed through his mind like a montage.

If this were a nightmare, he wanted to wake up as soon as possible. But the nightmare wasn't over yet. No, it was more accurate to say that it was just beginning. Towards Jeon Ok-gi, who stood there blankly as if his soul had left him, Biryuyeon asked.

"Do you perhaps know about shock therapy?"

"Wh-what is that?"

"Well, to put it simply, it's a type of therapy that seeks to improve certain symptoms by applying a mild shock to the human body!"

The smile on Biryuyeon's lips grew deeper and deeper. This was evidence that something very dangerous was about to happen.

"Symptoms of what?"

Jeon Ok-gi still couldn't grasp what Biryuyeon was talking about. As expected, there's no medicine for fools; he was still slow-witted. He hadn't even thought about stopping the bleeding, and blood was still flowing from the bridge of his nose.

"It's almost a panacea! It has various effects on many symptoms. Especially for those suffering from narcissistic superiority syndrome, like yourself."

"Shut up! You impudent brat!"

Jeon Ok-gi shouted back, but Biryuyeon wasn't the type to stop halfway. In fact, Jeon Ok-gi's fighting spirit was already more than half lost.

"Heh heh! It works very well for incurable diseases like this! It's almost the only existing treatment for such symptoms!"

Jeon Ok-gi's face turned as red as iron heated in a furnace. Coupled with the flowing blood, he looked grotesque.

"The effect is…"

Before he could finish speaking, Biryuyeon moved like lightning. His movements were so blindingly fast that there was no time to defend.

"See for yourself!"

As soon as the words were out, Biryuyeon's ink-stained guqin flew. Biryuyeon seemed to have given up on playing the strings, showing no intention of playing. He was clearly determined to wield the ink-stained guqin.

Without even giving him a chance to declare surrender, Biryuyeon's ink-stained guqin mercilessly crushed his snout. It would be more accurate to say it was caved in. With that immense impact, Jeon Ok-gi's teeth shattered and flew out with the blood. In an instant, he was reduced to a state where he could only eat porridge, nothing else, for the time being. That's why the ancient sages repeatedly emphasized the need to be careful with one's three-inch tongue, the source of all evil. Normally, he would have stopped here, but not this time.

"Thwack! Thwack!"

With violent pain striking his left cheek, Jeon Ok-gi's body was flung to the right and then back to the left. This time, it was because violent pain struck his right cheek.

"Clack!"

As Biryuyeon's ink-stained guqin swept past his legs like the wind, he was lifted horizontally into the air with a pain that felt like his calves were breaking. As if waiting, Biryuyeon's ink-stained guqin was set vertically from above.

"Wham!"

With a pain that felt like his back was breaking, Jeon Ok-gi was lifted more than a jang in mid-air and then fell. As Jeon Ok-gi fell, Biryuyeon coolly struck him with his ink-stained guqin.

"Smack!"

A loud sound echoed on the martial arts stage.

Have you ever seen a stone skipping on the surface of a lake? That's exactly what Jeon Ok-gi looked like. His body, having bounced off the martial arts stage floor three times, still had some residual force and flew out of bounds, crashing down with a clatter. Then, he foamed at the mouth and collapsed. The force was controlled sufficiently(?), so he didn't die. Emergency personnel rushed towards Jeon Ok-gi, who was foaming with red froth, his limbs sprawled like an octopus. They were people from the Medical Exhibition (醫藥展), who were on standby in case of any emergency.

It was a clear victory for Biryuyeon, no matter who looked at it. In the end, Jeon Ok-gi, unable to move a single step from his standing position, tasted a horrifying defeat.

Even the referee seemed stunned for a while, lost in thought at this sudden turn of events, but after a long time, as if regaining his senses, he raised his flag and declared Biryuyeon the winner.

"Biryuyeon! Victory (勝)!"

Everyone watching from the stands couldn't help but gape at this sudden turn of events. In the end, even the trusted Eight-armed Divine Sword (八臂神劍) Jeon Ok-gi became a victim under Biryuyeon's Strike-hitting Guqin (擊打琴).

"Hahahahaha! Refreshing, refreshing! Well done! Very well done! It feels like a ten-year-old blockage in my chest has been cleared today!"

The one erupting in laughter and showering praise was Hyoryong, who had been infuriated by Jeon Ok-gi the previous night. Before them, a table full of drinks was laid out. It was a drinking session hosted by Hyoryong as a reward for clearing his ten-year-old chest blockage.

This drinking session was held in commemoration of Biryuyeon making a complete mess of a conceited fellow who, despite having meager skills, possessed mountain-high arrogance and a valley-deep vanity.

"It's a natural outcome! It's impossible for me to lose to such a trivial opponent."

Biryuyeon said, holding his head high. In his left hand, he held a chicken foot, and in his right, a pig's trotter. They were snacks he was gnawing on.

"Ooh! As expected, Heavenly Above and Earth Below (天上天下), I Alone Am Honored (唯我獨尊)!"

Jang Hong clapped his hands like a child, delighted. He seemed to have had a bit too much to drink. Seeing him go along with Biryuyeon's boast, which was unlike him…

"Wheeee! Universe's Number One (宇宙第一) Casanova (快男兒)!"

The one whistling a long tune next to him was Hyoryong. Instead of stopping them, he was egging them on. He too had drunk beyond his limit and was now at the stage where alcohol was consuming him. Could these people be called true friends?

Hyoryong ordered two more bottles of alcohol, saying, "Let's drink, even if it empties my pockets today!" Everyone clapped and welcomed it. Biryuyeon wouldn't refuse a free drinking party.

"Wahahhahahahahah!"

Laughter erupted once more among the three. Amidst their revelry, the night deepened further.