Chapter 25: Wujian Mountain (3)

Wijian began to tell the story with a dark expression. Her voice sank faintly into the cave.

"Our family was once truly great, even competing for dominance in Hebei with the Pang family. That was over a hundred years ago, though."

"Then were you enemies with the Pang family?"

"Not really. We reconciled with the Pang family afterward. Two tigers cannot live on the same mountain, but a tiger and a leopard can coexist."

I see.

After gazing at the fire for a moment, Wijian continued.

"Even after the Hebei Great War, our family's fortunes declined, but we were never short of food and shelter. After all, it was an old family. I was content with that... but my grandfather wasn't."

"Then what?"

"He remembered the days when our family was at its peak. He believed we must restore the Wijian family's glory... and he fell into a wrong temptation."

"·What kind of temptation?"

"What do you think is the most important thing for a martial arts family to regain its glory?"

After pondering for a moment, I replied, "It must be martial arts, right?"

Wijian nodded.

In the martial world, the strong are the kings. People naturally gather under the strong, and they obey the strong.

"You're right. My grandfather believed that the reason we lost dominance in Hebei to the Pang family and our family's decline was all due to our weak martial arts. So he tried to reform our family's martial arts... but he was deceived."

"Deceived by whom?"

"By a Taoist named Mulu."

Wijian continued with a gloomy expression.

The story of the Wijian family's deception was truly tragic.

Wijian's grandfather, Wijiang, felt that the Wijian family's martial arts were lacking and sought out all kinds of martial arts experts from across the land.

He paid a large sum of money to buy their martial arts and attempted to combine them with the Wijian family's martial arts.

Of course, in general, martial artists would rather starve to death than sell their martial arts. They are very protective of their skills, and it's not easy to take on disciples. The obsession and paranoia martial artists have for their martial arts are not ordinary.

So how did Wijiang manage to buy their martial arts? It was simple.

He offered them so much money that it would change their lives.

Such a large sum of money that it could change a person's life.

After repeating this process several times, even the Wijian family's patriarch might have bent under the weight.

"Those attempts were not very successful... but things changed when the Taoist Mulu appeared."

Mulu, who heard about Wijiang's reputation, came and introduced himself as a lay disciple of Wudang. He immediately pointed out that Wijiang's approach was wrong.

Wijiang was initially furious and tried to drive Mulu away, but as Mulu eloquently analyzed the Wijian family's martial arts and explained how to strengthen them, Wijiang began to trust him.

'Typical conman tactics. Insult and flatter...'

Through this process, the Wijian family's martial arts gradually became more powerful. As Wijiang saw the increasingly tyrannical and powerful martial arts, he placed infinite trust in Mulu. One day, without any warning, he went mad.

Due to the demonic energy that had infiltrated his very bones.

"He was a spy of the Demon Sect."

The aftermath was truly horrific.

One day, Mulu disappeared, and the mad Wijiang began to slaughter his family. The Wijian family became a slaughterhouse filled with madness, and Wijian's parents were among those who lost their lives.

Wijian, on the verge of being killed by her grandfather, was saved by the intervention of the Pang family's patriarch and his direct guards, who had come to the Wijian family to discuss some business matters. After a fierce struggle, the bloodbath finally stopped.

"However, the Pang family's patriarch passed away during that time."

"Who was he?"

"He was Guiren's grandfather."

"..."

The thought that Wijiang might have achieved his dream, albeit in the most tragic form, crossed my mind.

"I joined the Pang family to repay the debt of that time. To protect and guard Guiren."

"To repay the sins of your grandfather, something like that?"

"..."

"..."

Our conversation ended there, and the fire gradually died down, crackling as the logs burned. I had already finished my skewer and threw it into the pile of logs.

The night was getting deeper.

Thinking about the coming dawn, I lay down.

* * *

When the sky began to brighten, we started our journey, taking only a little food and some valuable items. Despite spending the night awake, I wasn't sleepy. I needed to quickly deliver the antidote to Baolinghua.

The problem was that I couldn't use light steps.

I really need to learn it this time.

"Perhaps Miss Wijian should take the antidote and go first."

But Wijian shook her head.

"I don't know the way."

That's true.

Finding the way in this era is a specialized skill. Unless you're a local or someone like me who is familiar with maps, it's easy to get lost.

If she took the antidote and went the wrong way, it would be difficult to guarantee Guiren's life.

Thinking about this, I noticed that Wijian's complexion was not good. She must have been in pain from the beating she received from Chelgangshi.

I felt a bit sorry for her.

"Then let's hurry."

Fortunately, from here to Anhui Province, although it's a long distance, it's mostly downhill. Even though we were walking at a pace that made us sweat, it was bearable.

After all, I have been practicing the powerful internal energy for two years.

"Huff, huff"

"Shall I carry the luggage?"

"It's fine."

She asked me, wiping the sweat, but I refused outright.

It would be a loss of face.

Men have pride.

Even on the downhill, I was walking so fast that I felt out of breath.

...Two years of internal energy, really useless.

"But you look very tired... "

"It's fine. If, huff, you can tell me an interesting story, it would be less tiring."

Not a depressing story like yesterday's.

"An interesting story?"

"Yes. Something, huff, exciting. An exciting story."

"Exciting..."

Wijian fell into deep thought.

...I should just set the topic.

"Just talk about the martial arts we obtained this time, huff. What are those four volumes, huff, about?"

Since we've decided to learn them, I should hear some explanations. Wijian started, recalling her memories.

"First, the Qinghong Sword Technique is a dual-sword technique from the long-lost Qinghong Sword School."

"Dual swords?"

The symbol of defeat?

"Yes. It's a sword technique that disappeared along with the Qinghong Sword School. The unique aspect is that once you master it to its peak, you can freely surround your swords with red or blue energy. The red energy (Hongqi) can easily break through the opponent's energy (Qi), and the blue energy (Qingqi) can easily destroy weapons."

"That's amazing. So, you use the red energy to break the opponent's sword energy and the blue energy to destroy their weapon, right?"

"Yes, that's how it works."

It's indeed a unique martial art.

Breaking weapons isn't unusual, but the ability to specifically break through the opponent's energy is unique. Wijian added more details.

"However, it will take a considerable amount of time to master. These unique sword techniques are usually associated with the secret techniques of their respective schools, so you need to either adapt the sword technique to the secret technique or vice versa. It's often difficult."

"I see. Then I might not be able to master it?"

"That depends on the secret technique you have learned... What secret technique have you learned?"

"I, huff, just the Sanzai Secret Technique..."

"In that case, there shouldn't be a big problem. However, you might need to make some adjustments to the secret technique or the sword technique."

This was really hard to obtain.

In the martial world, the Sanzai series are like the standard textbooks, but that's only in the martial world. For a barbarian village boy like me, obtaining such specialized books was not easy.

It's not a world where you can download PDFs from the internet.

The Sanzai series are also secret techniques and manuals!

They were truly hard-earned skills after a very sad story.

Even though I remind myself of this, I still feel a bit depressed. After all, it's just the Sanzai Secret Technique.

Wijian seemed to read my thoughts and comforted me.

"Learning the Sanzai Secret Technique is better than learning strange secret techniques. If you learn a secret technique that is too biased towards yin or yang, you might suffer side effects later. Although it takes longer to achieve, it is very stable."

"Are there secret techniques that cause such side effects?"

"Yes. While the schools that teach such secret techniques have methods to minimize these side effects, if you don't have a teacher like Cheng Biaoshi, you might fall into the trap of self-destruction."

Self-destruction!

In the martial world, there's nothing more terrifying than self-destruction.

The name itself is terrifying.

Self-destruction (Zouhuiruemo) means that fire runs through your body and demons enter. I haven't experienced it, but according to street gossip, when you fall into self-destruction, you feel as if all your meridians are burning.

In simpler terms, it's like having kidney stones all over your body.

Usually, you go mad from the pain. Even if you don't go mad, you will most likely lose your internal energy and become a cripple.

If I were to become a cripple due to self-destruction, I would be stripped and thrown into the Yangtze River by beggars the next day.

"It's fortunate that you learned the Sanzai Secret Technique. The internal energy built with the Sanzai Secret Technique is pure, so it won't conflict with other secret techniques you might learn later."

"That's a fortunate story."

"Yes. So, I advise you not to learn the Death Soul Evil Technique (Talmyeong Sahun Shin Gong). It seems to be a secret technique, and I don't recommend learning it."

"Why not?"

Martial arts are precious.

Especially when the name includes "Shin Gong" (Divine Technique), it means the creator thought it was so amazing that it deserved such a name.

Martial artists are human, so if they create a mediocre martial art, they just name it something like "Technique" or "Manual." But if they think they've created something truly amazing, they name it "Shin Gong" or "True Technique."

Of course, just because a martial art is named "Shin Gong" or "True Technique" doesn't mean it's truly amazing, but at least the creator thinks it's impressive.

Feeling disappointed, I asked Wijian, who hesitated before answering.

"It seems to be a martial art from the evil sect... It's too difficult."

"Too difficult?"

"Yes. It's hard to interpret."

What does that mean?

Wijian began to explain step by step.

"Secret manuals are usually made difficult for outsiders to understand.

...Especially the most important parts of the martial art are made impossible to understand at first glance.

These parts are passed down secretly within the school through oral transmission, so even if the secret manual leaks, the martial art won't be revealed."

In simpler terms, it's like an encrypted message.

"So, when a secret manual leaks, annotated versions are created to interpret it. This adds value, makes it easier to teach someone, and makes it easier to read."

"Then the Death Soul Evil Technique is...?"

"The original. Moreover, it contains Sanskrit in the middle... Only a high-ranking monk from Shaolin would be able to interpret it."

It was a bright but useless peach.

Sanskrit is the language of India, the language used in Buddhist chants like "Om Mani Padme Hum." Only a monk who has studied Buddhism intensively would be able to interpret it. For someone like me or Wijian, it was impossible.

Feeling disappointed, I decided to keep it for now. If I'm lucky, I might meet a high-ranking monk from Shaolin and ask for an interpretation.

"The Heavenly King Heart Protection Technique (Tianwang Huxin Gong) and the Iron Flower Body Protection Technique (Tiecai Hushen Jue) are secret manuals for internal techniques and external techniques, respectively. I haven't examined them deeply, but if you master them to their peak, you will achieve great success."

"What kind of success? If I practice hard from now on, can I reach Miss Wijian's level?"

Turning to ask, Wijian smiled bitterly.

"I'm not one of the strongest in the martial world."

"But you're at least as strong as Bai Dazhu, the leader of the Nine Dragons and Seven Peaks, or Miss Pang."

"Nine Dragons and Seven Peaks is a title given to promising young talents from good families. While they might not be considered true experts, they can be included."

"True experts?"

"Yes. To the uninitiated, the Nine Dragons and Seven Peaks might seem impressive, but in the martial world, they are just young kids who can wield a sword. True experts are different."

The martial arts I saw from them were almost superhuman, yet in the martial world, they are just kids.

"Then, what level are true experts?"

"They must be recognized in the martial world."

Recognition?

"Even the Nine Great Schools and Five Great Families would not dare to look down on them, and the Five Great Families would respect them. Only then can they be said to have the recognition of the martial world."

In other words,

"People who have reached that level are called peak experts in the martial world."

The Nine Great Schools and Five Great Families in this era are like large corporations in modern times. Not just medium-sized companies or established mid-sized companies, but large corporations with dozens of subsidiaries.

That's what the Nine Great Schools and Five Great Families are.

To be respected by such entities is unimaginable.

"Then, let me ask you."

"Yes."

"What level is Yan Junshuo?"

Yan Junshuo is the most skilled person I know.

After thinking for a moment, Wijian answered.

"He is at the bottom of the peak experts."

Even Yan Junshuo is only at that level.

The Yan Junshuo I saw was truly beyond imagination. He could easily block Wijian's sword with just his fists.

Even such a person can only be at the bottom of the peak experts.

"The martial world truly has no end."

"As they say, 'Above the sky, there is another sky' (Tianwai Tian). That's the martial world."

We continued our conversation as we hurried down the mountain.