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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Teottry
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Crash—! Bang—!!
On the roof of the Baihua Inn, amidst the cacophony of shattering tiles and splintering wood, the one-eyed assassin and the bird-masked man faced each other.
“I can’t be seen. I can’t reveal my identity. But I’m also supposed to escort him. What am I supposed to do?”
Jang Dal, the one-eyed assassin of the Murderous Curtain, tasked with eliminating Nangong Xiaoshao, glared at the bird-masked man, who was complaining incessantly.
The loyal hounds and great birds of the Sima family, who answered only to Sima Bu. This man bore the name of a bird.
“Tie Peng (Iron Roc), Jang Sam-bung… what are you doing here?”
As he spoke, a metal ball whizzed past Jang Dal’s cheek, a hair’s breadth from his eye.
“Drop the ‘bung’. And the title. It just sounds stupid.”
Jang Dal wiped the blood trickling down his cheek, his mind racing. He couldn’t understand.
Why would one of Sima Bu’s most trusted subordinates, practically his Yan Liang and Wen Chou, be interfering with the assassination of Nangong Xiaoshao?
It didn’t make any sense.
Jang Sam shrugged, addressing the bewildered, one-eyed assassin.
“First, I apologize for unintentionally interfering with your mission.”
“You don’t sound very apologetic. Why are you interfering?”
Jang Sam tapped his foot against the inn’s roof, beneath which a chaotic brawl was taking place.
“Our troublemaking young master’s throwing a tantrum down there. I would’ve looked bad if the ‘princess’ he’s guarding got killed by a real assassin slipping through the roof.”
While the Murderous Curtain was known primarily as an assassin organization, not all its members were professional killers. Like the Hao Clan, which comprised members from various backgrounds – pickpockets, courtesans, waiters – the Murderous Curtain was a haven for wandering swordsmen with nowhere else to go.
These individuals were typically used as pawns, to weaken targets or create distractions, diverting attention from the true assassins.
In this case, while Jang Dal infiltrated the inn through the roof to assassinate Nangong Xiaoshao, a large number of swordsmen had been deployed to engage the Mysterious cripple, who, for some reason, seemed to be immune to the curse.
‘Wait… a Mysterious cripple?’
The phantom pain in his right eye socket, the familiar features, the Sima assassin Jang Sam-bung, who, despite his complaints, seemed oddly protective of the cripple…
He had heard rumors of the Sima family’s second son being a cripple.
A shiver ran down his spine. The fog in his mind cleared. It all made sense now.
Tie Peng wasn’t protecting Nangong Xiaoshao.
Jang Dal looked down at the inn, where a chaotic brawl was taking place, his face pale.
“Could it be? Sima Mancheon?”
“Our foolish Second Young Master has a knack for causing trouble.”
Jang Dal’s mouth went dry, his heart pounding in his chest. It was as if he had been strolling along a peaceful path and had inadvertently stepped on a viper’s tail.
The Sima Family—one of the four legendary 邪派 (demonic sect) pillars alongside the Wang, Dong, and Cao clans.
Families who had either held, or aspired to hold, the highest position in the land, figures of the underworld, their infamy too great to allow them to operate openly.
The Four Pillars of the Demonic Sects, the descendants of Wang Mang, Dong Zhuo, Cao Cao, and Sima Yi. Names that commanded respect, and fear, within the underworld.
“Why would the second son of the Sima family… be protecting the young master of the Nangong family…?”
“Beats me. If he ran away to meet a Child-hood lover, he should be doing just that, and not playing the hero and picking up girls. In any case…”
A chilling killing intent, belying Jang Sam’s casual tone, washed over Jang Dal. A cold glint flickered in the bird mask’s eyeholes.
“You should leave now.”
The metal balls in his hand, ready to be launched, gleamed blue in the moonlight.
“I don’t care if you kill the Sword Dragon of Nangong. But not tonight.”
Crash—! Bang—!!
The sounds of destruction echoed from within the inn, as if it were about to collapse. He could feel the tremors. He pictured his young master, wreaking havoc.
‘He has such a soft spot for a lost causes…’
He sighed, thinking about the inevitable reprimand from Sima Bu, but a small smile played on his lips, hidden beneath his mask.
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Crash—! Bang—!!
Xiaoshao’s long eyelashes fluttered, and his eyes opened at the sound of shattering wood and tile.
“Where… where am I? …And where’s Young Master Sima?”
He channeled his yin energy, suppressing the curse’s effects, forcibly cooling his burning body.
As his mind cleared, he realized the sounds of destruction weren’t simply the sounds of inanimate objects breaking.
Crack—!
It was the sound of bones breaking.
“GYAAAAAH-! My arm!!”
“Get in there! Get in there! Stab him!”
Shouts and screams echoed through the inn. But no one approached Xiaoshao’s room. No one ascended the stairs.
They were… clearly after him, so it didn’t make sense.
He unsteadily rose to his feet,
and cautiously stepped out of the room.
He followed the sounds of the commotion.
It was like listening to a skilled musician playing the drums.
Twin Hand Combat.
Dog Beating Staff Technique – The Vicious Dog Blocking the Path – What to do when a vicious dog blocks your path.
Dog Beating Staff Technique – Striking Two Dogs with One Staff – A single strike that takes down two opponents.
Two weapons, a staff and a broken spear shaft snatched from an opponent, moved with relentless precision, striking human-shaped drums.
“AAAAARGH!!”
Bones shattered, their screams a symphony of pain.
“Hidden weapons! Attack him with hidden weapons!”
Dozens of swordsmen, unable to subdue a single man, resorted to ranged attacks, raining down hidden weapons. But the barrage couldn’t stop the man’s relentless drumming.
Dog Beating Staff Technique – Lifting the Dog to the Heavens – An upward strike with the staff, deflecting projectiles.
The staff and spear shaft moved swiftly, deflecting the incoming projectiles.
Neither man nor hidden weapon could breach his defenses, could ascend the stairs.
Could reach Nangong Xiaoshao.
Xiaoshao stared in disbelief at the man who stood between him and the assassins, shielding him from the deadly rain of hidden weapons.
He couldn’t understand.
Was this man trying to curry favor with the Nangong Family by protecting him, the young master? It didn’t seem likely.
Rewards were for the living. There was no reward in death.
The barrage of hidden weapons ceased, and the man’s movements slowed, creating an opening. The swordsmen charged.
And Mancheon charged towards them, heedless of his own safety.
Twin Hand Combat.
Dog Beating Staff Technique – Striking the Head – A swift, downward strike to the head.
Dog Beating Staff Technique – Pinning the Dog – Pressing down on the opponent’s shoulders and back with the staff.
He gave them no time to think, attacking relentlessly, driving them back.
He crushed bones and shattered limbs, taking down his opponents one by one.
His strength could uproot mountains, his spirit could conquer the world.
The aura of a single man overwhelmed dozens.
Xiaoshao, now leaning against the second-floor railing, watched, captivated.
A body covered in wounds, a trembling right leg, each breath shaking his broad back.
He was too rough to be a nobleman, too righteous to be a mere cripple.
Xiaoshao gripped the railing tightly, his grey eyes fixated on Mancheon.
That back… it was the back of a hero from the stories his mother used to tell him.
It was… the back of a xia (chivalrous hero).
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More than half of the fifty assassins had been defeated by a single man.
And not just any man, but an unknown, insignificant nobody. It was absurd.
“Who are you?! What are you doing interfering with us?!”
Frustrated and bewildered, the assassins resorted to the classic villainous monologue, and Mancheon, throwing the broken spear shaft, now snapped in half, responded.
“It’s only polite to answer a question! I am—!”
Golden Goose Technique.
He leaped into the air, using the momentum to swing his staff, deflecting the hidden weapons aimed at Xiaoshao, who had emerged from his room.
“the protector of the martial world, recognized by Jesus himself! The genius who deceives even the heavens!”
“The stairs are clear! Go! Go!”
The assassins seized the momentary distraction to make their move. But it was too late. Far too late.
‘Who do you think I am?’
As he landed, he planted his left foot firmly on the ground, executing the technique.
Fudo Myo-o Steps – Suppression.
The floor of the inn cracked, and the assassins froze, their movements restricted.
“Wh-what is this?! S-sorcery?!”
At his current level, the best he could do against multiple opponents was to restrict their movements by spreading his energy thinly. But for now, it was enough.
He gripped his staff with both hands, channeling his core strength, then spun, sweeping his staff in a wide arc.
He roared, putting all his strength into the attack.
“I… am… Si-ma… Mancheon!”
Dog Beating Staff Technique – Reverse Striking the Dog’s Rear – A sweeping horizontal strike with the staff.
Crack—! Crunch—!!
One, two, three… they fell like dominoes, swept away by the storm of his staff.
The first floor of the inn was a chaotic mess of broken bodies. The path to the stairs was once again blocked by a single man.
And the assassins, stunned by the absurd spectacle, could only watch in disbelief.
“I am the legend—!!”
The roar of the tiger descending from the mountains sent the pack of jackals (wild dogs) scattering.
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1 vs 50 NEVER GETS OLD!! Lesgo!
Thanks Teot!
Thanks for the awesome chapter!