Chapter 79: Hua Ran (5)
lk5MqcFThe day broke.7rlS
snrBXAs if to make up for all the rain last night, the forest was full of sunlight.MHbv
IRs6XpS“…Hot.”6TpvPPL
SwAoylIt wasn’t even summer anymore but heat from the dazzling sun on a wet forest after the rain increased the humidity to an incredible level.zcmxTc
9Jls“Can you get up?”CzYli
a4gZ“…”oBjmI
Sn0Hua Ran tried to push herself up from the ground by herself without giving me a response, but soon fell down on the ground like a calf that was just starting to learn how to walk.l6gvt
p1xn“Grab my hand. Looks like your muscles still aren’t working properly.”4oRg
v3fNHShe tried to slap my hand away but I quickly grabbed onto her hand and pulled her up, as she then began looking at me with a discontent look on her face.JXZN
9pJf6KbIt might have been a different story before but the current Hua Ran wasn’t very scary. Holding onto the hand of the grumpy Hua Ran, I headed deeper into the forest.5RB4
KyT659R“…Where are we going?”D6v
G3M9f“Since we’re in this forest anyway… I thought we might as well drop by.”XTnE
xCn2We continued walking with no destination in sight but Hua Ran quietly followed after me without raising any complaints.uiD
Hf3hw0“Hua. You’re a jiangshi, right?”ydab
VzS92“…Yes.”OPFA
VOdj“Jiangshis have several weaknesses; just like how silver is detrimental for werewolves and how you can’t do anything after swallowing a piece of wood from a peach tree.”teGcI
KrP8Q5YOf course, this also depended on the individual. The peach tree was one of the very big weaknesses of jiangshis. Getting cut by one of those swords would immediately slice their skin apart, but it wasn’t that powerful against someone at Hua Ran’s level.SLi
opVShe could protect her skin by using her incredible amount of aura and the innate toughness of her body would far outshine the strength of the peach tree sword. Therefore, even peach trees wouldn’t work on Hua Ran unless it was through special means like making her consume it through her mouth.C16Ji
t4TvqIV“So?”yXHRL
3CyTf4X“Jiangshis are full of the overwhelming aura of Yin. The reason why Kang Yu the Sage decided to make Ran into a jiangshi was because he couldn’t find ways to add enough Yang energy to offset the abundance of Yin.”iL0
40jFwEfThat was why he made her into a jiangshi that could make use of that Yin energy instead; into a demonic organism that could release the infinite amount of Yin built up by Ran’s Ice Yin Constitution with a single attack.NeXOMH
jPNHow desperate must have Kang Yu been, to the point that he thought of making a living human into a jiangshi?tWE1ZdW
d0O“Now. Since you’re a complete organism of Yin, what are other items that might be critical against you?”N6494G
aqAkVHua Ran thought about several items; glutinous rice flour, black blood of a beast, peach tree, and a sword made of coins backed up by inner qi.0j7CL
wNtAShe had stood off against all of them and none of them worked against her ‘Unbreakable Vajra Body’. Only something as deadly as swallowing a portion of the peach tree was able to neutralize her for a small period of time, which she was going through right now.w7WPBUf
BIyeFkw“Yes. Most of your weaknesses are offset because of your body. So swallowing things directly into your body is the only way for them to be somewhat effective.”aCrN
QZP0KUI stopped my feet. We were finally at our destination.XcvW
WYufjX“Counterbalancing Yin. If you just focus on that part, you’ll actually find several candidates.”uyv
F9ge“This…”799
AAuAHua Ran and I looked at the tree in front of us; at the dark and charred jujube tree that seemed to have been struck by lightning. It had been struck by lightning just last night; the part at the top of the tree was as dark as charcoal and the lower half, that was at least a bit better, was giving off a strange scent after being burned.0078
YgLj“We can only grab a handful, I guess.”NGo6Vo
iMqttVxTaking a few pieces off, I stacked them in my hand. This was the rare item you could find in this forest; the lightning-struck wood.u8H
86eA jujube tree struck by lightning.f0b
eHwNI said while eradicating the leftover tree after carving a rune.qR2eZ3a
FXGRu“The lightning-struck wood contains a large amount of Yang energy. Normally, they use it to chase out demonic spirits but… what do you think will happen if you swallow this?”1hGxjsW
uTFRWHU“…”TXgcJ
AJzWHua Ran couldn’t reply to my question with ease, but I knew the answer to that question.vRO9ciQ
wyd“If you eat this, the balance of Yin and Yang in your body will momentarily return to being stable. Your characteristics as a jiangshi will be neutralized for a short instant.”Sgsh
HdMo8“What do you… mean by that?”VjHT1D
aFuexAfter seemingly inferring something from my sentence, she asked with a trembling voice.bblSX
EXYI replied.1ZBGsn
3pDZ“If you eat this, you will lose control of your body.”ZvDjO6
iHLnck3rd Arc; the turning point of the Heavenly Yaksha. The lightning-struck wood was a momentary buff item of Ran which you had to obtain if you were to choose to save Ran out of the two.ytcm
AjwkI handed that over to Hua Ran.XDg
GYbHX“Why are you…”pt4FRV
stS“I’m supposed to give you the opposite version of this as well but… I’m sure you already know what the opposite version of this is.”ujE
J0In0wHer eyes heavily trembled. Dropping the lightning-struck wood, she took several steps back in fright.QNNrzt
kdCom1e“I, I… I’m not eating this. I am not going to eat this…”cvweDY
b2JfrShe stepped back from the piece of wood like it was a bomb but after picking it up, I once again placed it in her hands.PgYRxI
Xt1DpX9“One day, you’ll be forced to make a choice.”eSoM
0re0“Why… Why are you telling me this? It would have been… better if I didn’t know about this.”pg2NJre
WhCaIt would have been easier for her if she wasn’t aware of how to return the body in the first place.vbAqs
yqpeQ“Well, now you do. It’s time to think for yourself between the two options.”bq0
VmxzLWVThere were plenty of unfortunate events in the world, and Hua opting for something that benefited her the most wasn’t even among the worst things out there. In fact, since it concerned the very existence of herself… no one had the right to condemn her even if she was to make a selfish choice.t99Nvju
0kZ1It was normal for anyone to choose themselves over other people.HwRMUj5
BbuiHowever, she still had to be responsible for her actions. Whatever it was that she decided to go with, she had to make a choice and had to shoulder the responsibility that came with it.owu0v
TZPSU65People weren’t supposed to live an easy life by monopolizing everything, by only making profits without taking any responsibilities.fjm0
UJRwIBecause I already knew of a person who had been the extreme example of that, I wanted Hua Ran to be different from such selfish people.VtU
Kl6gNP“I…”C7PU
eoihrTightly clasping on the lightning-struck wood in her hands, Hua Ran turned silent. That was when someone else’s voice echoed across the forest and stopped her from saying anything else.eTgM
mW4U“You were here the whole time, huh.”qWpc
3i75dzAround 15 meters behind us, there was a guy staring our way.0C0M
o10ZnWP****hz8HTM
FfJSa Jinhyuk.RNnU1
Cs2lobThe unfortunate victim of the Moonlight Castle incident from a year ago; a fiendish avenger who had been training himself the whole time for nothing but revenge. His lips were crooked in an upward slant and his eyes were giving off a violent and beastly scent.GhG7Y
MWYCa“Aiya~. Look at you, Miss Monster! Somehow you have a boyfriend helping you.”86kODn
J0Y0AfM“I’m still single.”K98vtoI
euq“…Hmph.”2SYMOZ
0spTUnlike Hua Ran who shrank from the condemnation, Korin rebutted with a nonchalant face. Jinhyuk’s eyes were fierce and ferocious but Korin’s were very relaxed.Aq4UF4
FCUgyElEven though it was clear that this would lead to an inevitable battle, he was looking at Jinhyuk like a man who was meeting his friend for the first time in 10 years.C51st
pQGYDk“Korin Lork, huh.”b6yP
uWNKo4“I am not Korin Lork. My name is Immortan Lork.”3CY0
5e3d9qw“Yes yes. Let’s just say that.”AUrz8
qzw“It is very important, you see.”Wh4lqjO
SevQGZS“So, that bitch is mine if I beat you. Right?”JnAR
Dr6WRHe said with a light tone that was still overflowing with killing intent.a89u3
oJlph1The weight of his revenge, hatred, and killing intent was very dense and heavy. Facing that explicitly dense hostility, Korin Lork took out his spear after sensing that he couldn’t avoid the inevitable.qio
fWauxwHolding onto his 2-meter-long silver spear, he jumped forward without any hesitation.9ut
vquSU– Kwaang!60s
VPUcRoA gust raged down as the spearhead destroyed the place where Jinhyuk used to be standing.oEWk
Gpe1“Nice footwork there.”ScJno
3eIaRJinhyuk avoided it with ease while showing off his weapon at the same time. His boots resembled simple leather shoes at a glance and what stood off more was his leg that was wearing them.UUqw
gtRThe small gap between his leather boots and his trousers revealed a cold prosthetic leg. It was made using the best of materials but it was far from being enough to be an adequate substitute for the limb he used to have.FZYQN
gg5z“Amazing right? That bitch is the one who did this as well.”aVF0i
hkOG2zG“I like it, buddy. Can I have one too? Or maybe… I should just steal it from you.”qZtk
plRFKorin replied while acting like he was greedy for his prosthetic leg. Jinhyuk seemed to find that shameless and nonchalant attitude quite laughable.OHnY1Jk
e5taJnD❰Acceleration❱, ❰Unlimiting Power❱, ❰Storming Wheel❱.9LgnPf
llt5VJbHe activated the spells cast on his leg. Using those, he was the type to fight using precast buffs that best suited the situation. That was what supported him through battles instead of the usual flesh and muscles.kaGoTr
UJ0uXt“Blame yourself for making a bad girlfriend.”GfO1Y6
TDkQ“Kidnapping is a crime, you’re right.”DugY
zoxUnlike their casual words, their voices were very serious and grave. As if they had promised on it beforehand, the two knights glared at each other… and their fight soon began.sf5Av
JGPsvj****Wya
GIKtThe spearman called Korin Lork was like a leopard – a fast carnivorous beast that skilfully played with its prey in the jungle that was always ready to throw out a sharp and unexpected attack.plizgxW
EGBHis storm-like stabs had the profound truths of Zha that boasted of being incredibly efficient.o5j
TY7nxGF“Hmm…!”Qf9SQ
Zfeh4bJinhyuk had to retreat with a gasp. His opponent was like an unstoppable torrent. The gap between his stabs due to the rapid retrievals of his spear was too short. The spear constantly tried to stab through his forehead, shoulders, throat, and heart, and knew not how to stop like a blazing flame.hUsAzpW
a9OaCWl‘Damn it. He’s like Big Sister, if not stronger…!’jxTvI
tvlEBwJHe had the experience of a veteran, and his competence as a master of spears, which repeated his moves countless times, made each of his basic attacks into killer moves.qY9
FrcQThis man – Korin Lork – was truly strong enough to earn the title of a master.0LpP
wfEEN‘A swing when I try to get close and a stab when I try to get far. And unconventional tricks don’t work on him either.’ihS
kyN0Q9Seeing how he was regularly dropping rune-engraved stones onto the ground implied that he had many hidden tricks up his sleeve. It was only thanks to a preemptive notice from Yuhua that Jinhyuk was able to notice it.jzNqh
cYvXUHe was skilled at tricks, and yet was also simply powerful. Jinhyuk couldn’t come up with any negatives from his short evaluation of Korin Lork.GF6t9P
uE2Strong.fINn8g
9kaum0How much work would he have had to put in to push his spearmanship to this level? How many battles did he go through to build such an incredible fighting sense?IajRm0x
qhMGJinhyuk would have respected his skills and shown his admiration if they had met under normal circumstances, but in a situation as abnormal as this, Korin was nothing but an enemy that he had to overcome.bnHF
HkUy“Mhmm…?!”c5k
Nm4xSuddenly Jinhyuk started marching forward like a fool. Korin retaliated immediately by swinging his silver spear with a gust. It was the art of a Tiger’s Gust that threatened to slice Jinhyuk’s body into pieces.DlYt
u7hjyM– Pabak!4Md1
NMbaKicking off the ground, Jinhyuk rotated in the air. Using the force of his waist, he spun 540 degrees as his foot then collided with the shaft of the spear.t1yI
4slEIn the end, it was still just a foot against a whole spear. It seemed obvious that the spear would be the one coming out on top but—LB89PU
I5It– Pang!kxdWT
pzLf6I“Uht…!”sjhW
dnKA storm erupted out as the shaft of the spear got flung back from the crash. It was by sheer luck that Korin managed to stop the spear from flying out of his grip.Zyq6
z9hQz63“Storming Wheel…!”SIFDjdI
Vn1g“Surprised you know it!”rxlBKs
PtaAgvThat was the skill learned by the monks of the east that allowed its user to control the wind in the atmosphere to form it into a storm. Wind rotating around the leg in a wheel-shape was like them wearing a semi-tornado around their legs.lBEBSk
CYk1pJinhyuk closed the distance in a flash. Before Korin could swing the spear, he struck down at his collarbone with a sharp knife-hand strike.rzIiflo
pk5Pa❰Old Ax❱1wA1
58vIT– Kahk!bvMEk
FtDThe bone cracked out loud – Jinhyuk was certain that it was a meaningful hit. Right as he was about to follow through with another attack, Korin released his spear.JYA55
tNoOwZA“What?”3eM
O5uHzNTA spearman giving up on his spear – before Jinhyuk could even think about what that meant, the thick arms of Korin reached out to his clothes and his left wrist respectively as Korin then pulled him towards himself.0C2WS
EavoIn the blink of an eye, Jinhyuk was almost about to fall face-flat on the ground. He tried to add weight to his legs to stop himself from falling but his body was already right next to Korin’s waist.rzt9WsZ
e68icvThere was only enough gap for a single finger between the two of them. At such a close distance, Jinhyuk couldn’t use his kicks nor his powerful punches.4Gsa4
w1cqTLBut somehow, Korin’s left palm was already next to Jinhyuk’s chest with a powerful force despite the close gap.K2hxemF
UGDRZIEight Trigrams, Three Heavenly Palm Strikes: First Palm.2cimqJa
IHlB5m❰Venerating Palm❱JSq5
eHN“Kuhk…!?”R89
gaJVq5Jinhyuk was pushed back after being struck on his chest. Following that were consecutive palm strikes aiming at his eyes and his nose.TNruW
xghx“Kuhuk…!”v3bpj
UrAoMA spearman wielding a spear. He had been deceived by that preconception.pHek
9yIKVLJJinhyuk being pushed back created a distance between them again as the fallen spear immediately returned to Korin’s grip as if it had a will of its own. He then carried out a fierce stab at the stumbling Jinhyuk before he could re-stabilize his body.ebJFkNE
HOTIK3But it was then.WvZ395K
1l4A5G“Huhaha…!”wgRF
zCZlKorin was charging forward for the stab. After calculating that he would take one more step forward, Jinhyuk bent himself back and readied himself for a back flip.R732
RlbLggMatching himself with the opponent’s charge, he did a somersault kick along with the back flip. He was intending on crushing Korin’s chin with that attack but Korin dodged it by twisting his head.Rvg
VsyGXq– Paak!je0DZKI
WOI4P6JThe storm around his leg barely grazed past Korin’s cheeks. Jinhyuk landed back down on the ground.a0Ry45
UFZrMvQ“Tch…!”DpsbMxr
uMCJinhyuk clicked his tongue. It was one of the hidden cards up his sleeve but Korin dodged it with relative ease.4Vw
pm4OLFrom that short bout, Jinhyuk realized wholeheartedly that the opponent was either at the same level or stronger than himself.2rwFSed
uza0“But your punches are ticklish.”yqR
SZmXgkBDespite the ferocity of his spears, his physical capabilities were subpar. It ached a little bit after receiving the Three Heavenly Palms from the front but it was still quite bearable.jxKKi
BNgV3gIf that was one of his trump cards, then it meant that the outcome of this battle would probably be a 50:50.uLXb
a2UdYHis pride made Jinhyuk want to continue this battle till the end but…e0A5yRB
NRH“That is enough playing around.”O09
EeYEchoing from behind was the voice of Kang Ryun the Taoist Sage. At the same time, talismans floating in the air flew forward and sealed the place Korin was standing in.vadTDwQ
6x9“Uhp…!”JHeV8q
E89BQOBeing suppressed by that shapeless force, his knees were forced to the ground. Korin tried to escape from the seal with his strength but for some reason, that made him feel more and more lethargic.9Af
roD7F“Do not even bother. That is the sealing talisman with fundamentals of the Eight Formations. Your thoughts; signals to use power; circulation of qi – nothing will go the way you want them to.”gZg1IT
mux7lAfter easily suppressing Korin, he walked to Hua Ran who was on her knees due to being unable to even stand.VtI
55cbG“N, n…”7hU42
l0p7Kang Ryun took out a talisman despite her resistance and placed it on her forehead.9F0A
PZwsndN“No…”KAZcaUX
V9nHpYIn an instant, her pupils lost light as her head fell straight down. Like a jiangshi obeying the words of the spiritualist, her body became rigid.cEa
5lZvn“Master. So this talisman…”FlC
5AN“Yes. This is the talisman sealing Hua’s consciousness. If we carry out the Evil Extermination Formation with her in this state, the soul will be banished and forever exterminated.”hRd
A03C“…We can finally see Ran again.”LuzY
8o8RzEr“Kang Ryun! You bastard…!”16Zd5k
TfXrzKorin shouted with a desperate and ghastly voice but after being neutralized, he couldn’t even garner a bit of Kang Ryun’s attention.NEF
fuP“You will pay the price for bearing a foolish dream. Stay here and become feed for the demonic beasts.”kqj4
5QRq0So“KANG RYUUUUUUNNN…!”APTHv
Y3pKpKThe three of them turned their backs. Following from behind was Hua Ran walking with a lifeless set of steps.Wxo
riL“HUA RAN! NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO…!!”Pbvg
7XdTuThe desperate scream of the boy did naught but echo through the dense forest.CIDfAW
qWqM5AM………T99f
S0R……t3i0Q
Tidx…F5N3Eo7
WUHAfter a while, demonic beasts gathered at the place that was sealed by the talismans.VAqbnS
O2tThere were already a bunch of them there.4P7Wm
Ie9FISpDozens of low-grade demonic beasts were already surrounding Korin, drooling without being able to hide their desire to dive in.GuakzAr
iUAbHowever, the reason they didn’t dare dive in first was that there was a being of higher status near them – the king of beasts.kBL
SOjSEThey had vibrant golden fur. They were such beautiful beasts of gold.X4Ur
ecQ23Ones that shouldn’t exist in this era – they were beings that somehow reappeared through a miraculous process of atavism even though it had been ages since they had gone extinct.XIwqiF2
Ti9Golden wolves.fndud6
5RjzPYThe presence of those absolute existences forced the demonic beasts to step back in quiet resignation.0xTG
qR9The wolves rushed in. Although they were small, their sharp fangs were more than enough to easily pierce through the defenseless Korin in the blink of an eye.neHVE
DTOa– Rip!IWL
MlWHowever, what the wolves bit on wasn’t his appealing neck but the yellow talismans stuck on the ground.IAEr
yoxhThe talismans broke as the formation was then dispelled. Even after being freed, Korin remained standing on the spot while cracking his bones without even bothering to escape from the beasts in front of him.Lf6onxH
VB9toI“Ahh, my muscles feel stiff already! So, are they gone? That was decent, right?”Jk5
ANq『Big Brother. Your acting was great!』9Z2bx
8Zfe9sv『It felt a bit exaggerated.』zZmT99
NxoThe ferocious wolves spoke with the voices of kids but Korin glossed over the seemingly incredible phenomenon.2sEo
6hB7“Well, it’s all part of the skill, I guess. Ren. Ron. Have you finished everything I told you to do?”IKIrzcd
I64mDDQ『Yes bro! I mean, Big Brother!』uVWGfg
7Aa0Itt『Sister Renya said she will take care of the rest.』wRK2jRQ
tUvk81“Huhuhu… It’s up to Brother Bae now!”icQQu69
hcYRGWt『By the way, Big Brother. What did you tell him to do?』AMFKCvO
cCaWgs“Nothing much. You can call it a defense contractor fraud. Maybe it’s a bit different.”EZB6RH
ibd5deThe voice of the boy echoed across the forest. Unlike the scream of agony and rage that had been echoing until just then, it contained a relatively calm and serious tone.lON2O6
hCN5****ovbe
NYSRenault Lusignan was the typical image of a prideful religious person. As the elder of a religion that was in a gradual decline, he tended to be overly obsessed with pride and dignity.2XC
1OXKCUAThat was why he tended to be shameless and brazen even if he were to make an evident mistake, without acknowledging his mistake.itB4g
sq90QBefore, there was a time when he declared to a dying patient that he should get ready to head to paradise, and when the doctor cured the patient, he burned down the entire village for a group responsibility of blasphemy.eOG
8KlCYRenault himself did admit inwardly that it was an era of madness, but he still couldn’t help but reminisce about his powerful days.9mXP
KUJThe fall of the nobility and his religious group brought about many things.TwY
2ra6“So… you mean you still haven’t found the bandits, nor the items that can act as substitutes?”646D
uzZoWThe insolent pagan of the east who was daring to glare at him from the front was one of the reasons behind his sudden reminiscence about the past.dAt
ZaqsIf this was in the past, there was no way that such a pagan could have dared to be this impertinent in front of him, the bishop.53LdjYA
mk4k9“Haha. Just wait a little bit more. Unlike you, Student Yuhua and your group, we have limited reach in this land.”007RnhM
KbhoS“But you have a few following behind your tail already, do you not?”sI1vM
0h5WLThis insolent pagan!bmC
T3bDespite thinking that, Renault didn’t show his thoughts on his face. It was because the official and physical powerhouses of the Old Faith, the Templar Knights, didn’t follow them to this secret meeting place. He did have the Chargers of the Cross but…1rQePow
PWm6dd“They are a shadow. We cannot reveal them with ease.”yEMI7
qGJ“Looks like you do not understand just how important this is. We need fitting articles to add the profound meaning of Evil Extermination to the Eight Formations.”Yr9MG
o0AjzfaRather than understanding the importance of that thing or whatever, Renault focused on trying to please Yuhua as much as possible, because he knew that this girl could twist his neck with a few fingers despite being half his size.rALTG
OuwFNfHe was a reminiscer of the past, but wasn’t delusional.iIw8
6fuj“We are in touch with a merchant corporation that can supply the substitutes. They are a group of merchants that have been trading with the eastern continent for a very long time.”9ptbvxu
aQXNN“…”SE6S
gjwIhYuhua’s frown eased a little after hearing that and Renault did not miss that opportunity.f9nUyz
LQqcgq“Now now. Actually, that merchant was supposed to come today to bring all those items.”oUT
3Ep9NN“…I will check them as well.”mPE
cn9Yuhua was quite displeased by their slow work speed despite being the ones who got the items robbed, but didn’t push them any further because she and her group still needed their assistance.Vid2QXT
kVCPqEJ“By the way, what is the name of their corporation?”AEp
9kAAJpg“It is called the ‘Brite Corporation’. He was a man who was also very knowledgeable about ‘Guanxi’, which I heard was a culture of the east.”8DM2y4M
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