Chapter 17: Dragon And Tiger
“Teacher, look here.”
Hong Yuan pointed at a page titled ‘Blood Contract Talisman’.
Yang Erhu had already leaned in, his gaze sweeping over it. With a surprised sound, he squinted and read carefully. After a few breaths, a look of realization crossed his face. “This is a talisman art! So Master Qin’s talisman-making skill originates from this book. If this book is from his family, then Master Qin’s ancestors must have had an extraordinary background.”
Yang Erhu’s voice held surprise, but he then recalled Master Qin’s current listless, near-death appearance and couldn’t help but sigh.
After a moment of silence, Yang Erhu put away his sentiments. “Flip to the back and see what’s on the remaining pages.”
Hong Yuan nodded and turned another page. The words ‘Entering Dreams’ met his eyes. However, only the first two sentences explaining ‘Entering Dreams’ were clear; a large portion after that was smudged out.
At the bottom of the page, a hastily written annotation remained: “The method of Entering Dreams damages the spirit and harms life. For both the giver and receiver, it brings great disaster… It is of no use to keep it, better to destroy it.”
“Damn it!” Hong Yuan cursed inwardly.
He had no interest in the ‘Blood Contract Talisman’, but he was very interested in this ‘Entering Dreams Method’! To have it destroyed like this, what kind of action was that? To arbitrarily destroy material cultural heritage, one must apologize to the entire world.
Yang Erhu, seeing this, also showed a look of regret on his face. “What a pity!”
Hong Yuan continued to the next page, which contained a sorcery called ‘Stone Skin Curse’. Yang Erhu glanced at it and shook his head, sneering. “Regarding this ‘Stone Skin Curse,’ when I was young and roaming the Jianghu, I encountered some rogue practitioners who used it. Calling it ‘chicken rib’ would be praise.”
“How so?” Hong Yuan asked.
“This technique is mostly practiced by those in the lowest strata of society, or by some mystical cult members. They use it to fool ignorant men and women.”
“I myself saw a rogue sorcerer who used this technique to swindle people. He advertised ‘possessed by spirits, invulnerable to blades and spears’ to deceive women out of their wealth.”
“In reality, what invulnerability is there?”
A mocking smile appeared on Yang Erhu’s face. “After cultivating this technique, the body’s skin appears like stone. It can indeed withstand three to five chops. If it were only this, it would still be a practical technique. But the problem is that cultivating this technique makes the body increasingly stiff, to the point of hindering movement. If three to five chops don’t work, can’t I chop a few more times? Besides, he can’t dodge anyway!”
“And once this technique breaks, the sorcerer’s internal organs will immediately rupture, and they will die in agony. This can truly make me laugh!”
Yang Erhu seemed to recall some comical past event, stroked his beard, and chuckled disdainfully.
With a snort, Yang Erhu asked, “Is there anything else in the back?”
“There’s one more page.” Hong Yuan immediately flipped to the last page. The words ‘Grass on Wings’ entered his sight.
“Huh? This is a movement technique!” Yang Erhu said in surprise.
“This ‘Grass on Wings’ is a movement technique?” Hong Yuan turned to look at him.
“No! What I said was not entirely accurate. Movement techniques are movement techniques, and sorcery is sorcery!”
Yang Erhu shook his head again. “So-called movement techniques are just a form of leaping kung fu, no different from punches and kicks. They all require long periods of practice. Over time, some people can become as agile as apes and as light as swallows, climbing walls and entering houses, leaping over rooftops and walking on walls!”
“Some masters can even leap a few meters high from a standing position.”
“And certain sorceries can achieve such things, like this ‘Grass on Wings’ technique. Because of this, folk rumors have spread, calling it a type of movement technique.”
Yang Erhu said, “But what movement techniques can do, sorcery can also do. What sorcery can do, movement techniques cannot necessarily do. The reason sorcery is sorcery is because it transcends common sense.”
“‘What humans cannot do, is called sorcery! Yet sorcery is not the Way. Sorcery is theft…’” Hong Yuan chimed in.
“How do you know that?” Seeing Yang Erhu’s surprised gaze, Hong Yuan chuckled and pointed to the annotation left at the end of the page.
The handwriting was still extremely messy, and no name was left.
Yang Erhu was somewhat speechless. Both teacher and disciple focused their gaze on the ‘Grass on Wings’ technique, reading it carefully.
“‘Grass on Wings’ is, in essence, a snake!”
“To cultivate this technique, one must obtain a female snake less than three days old, worship the snake as a mother, and serve it as such.”
…
“Hmm?” Hong Yuan felt it was another unorthodox path as he read this far, and his interest waned. However, Yang Erhu’s expression became solemn, his gaze fixed on the text.
Hong Yuan patiently continued to read.
“Serve the snake mother for seven days, waiting for thunder. When thunder strikes, feed the snake mother seven drops of fingertip blood while reciting the ‘Heart Connection Incantation.’ This must be done for forty-nine consecutive days without a single interruption, or all previous efforts will be in vain.”
Beside this text, a dense inscription, like tiny insects, was added. It was the ‘Heart Connection Incantation’.
“Gather snake berries, bone-piercing grass, rootless vines… Make a medicinal bath and soak daily. Thirty days to completion.”
…
When Hong Yuan reached the end, regarding the precautions after the technique was achieved, the first was to perform the fingertip blood feeding and recite the ‘Heart Connection Incantation’ once every year. The second was that the snake mother could not die; if the snake mother died, the sorcery would be nullified.
Once the ‘Grass on Wings’ technique was mastered, one’s movements would become ghostly and elusive, as cunning as a snake. One could even tread on soft grass, fly close to the ground, and remain airborne for several consecutive moments before landing.
However, Hong Yuan still felt that worshipping a snake as a mother was too bizarre, and he couldn’t help but complain, “What on earth are these things?”
Yang Erhu spoke almost simultaneously, “This is a precious technique!”
Am I the one who’s wrong, or are you?
Hong Yuan looked at him with a confused gaze.
Yang Erhu’s expression was very serious, his eyes still not leaving the book page. He said, “Most sorceries in the world have various kinds of backlash. Like the Stone Skin Curse, once cultivated, it’s no different from stepping into the gates of hell. But for a very small number of sorceries, the backlash is low, and the practitioner can completely accept it. Naturally, those are top-tier good techniques.”
“This ‘Grass on Wings’ technique is not difficult to cultivate. Even if the snake mother dies, it will not harm the practitioner; it will merely nullify the sorcery. Of course, it’s a precious technique.”
Yang Erhu’s face was resolute, and a hint of excitement flickered in his eyes.
“Teacher, you wouldn’t want to cultivate this technique, would you?”
Yang Erhu fell into a moment of contemplation upon hearing this and slowly said, “Grass on Wings is related to snakes. Snakes are small dragons, which can perfectly form a ‘Minor Dragon Tiger Momentum’ with my sect’s Tiger Subduing Strength. Moreover, this combination of sorcery and martial arts makes one unpredictable. This… is truly difficult to choose!”
As dusk approached, the clamorous shouts at the Yang Family Martial Arts School ceased. Apprentices and nominal disciples stopped their training, their bodies soaked and dripping with sweat.
The martial arts school naturally had bathing facilities, but immediately after strenuous exercise, bathing was not advisable. They all merely wiped their bodies.
Afterward, the apprentices and nominal disciples divided into two teams, each going to collect their medicinal herbs and then to eat.
After all, the tuition fees were different, and the treatment was vastly different.
Overnight stays were possible at the martial arts school, but of the fifteen disciples today, only three stayed. The rest left after their meals.
Meng Yue nodded goodbye to a familiar disciple and walked alone onto the long street paved with green stone.
The bruises on his face had not yet faded. The cool wind blowing on his face caused a faint stinging sensation. He reached out to touch it, and perhaps he had touched a wound, as he couldn’t help but grin slightly.
“Heh!” Meng Yue suddenly let out a cold laugh without warning. He lowered his head, his eyes becoming extremely sinister and deep.
He quickened his pace, turned down two streets, and entered a dim alley. In front of a civilian house, he knocked on the door.
After a few ‘tok-tok’ sounds, a man in his late thirties or early forties, with a prosperous appearance and dressed in a scholar’s long robe, opened the door.
“Mr. Cui!” Meng Yue said respectfully, bowing.
This scholar-like Mr. Cui ignored him, merely glancing at his face before turning to go inside. He said indifferently, “Enter the house, and close the door!”
Reaching the inner room, a spacious hall was already lit. Mr. Cui sat lazily, blowing on his hot tea and taking an unhurried sip. He watched Meng Yue enter but did not ask him to sit.
Meng Yue also stood with his body bowed, without any hint of resentment.
After a moment, Mr. Cui narrowed his eyes, savoring the tea that rolled down his throat. “What happened to your face? Who beat you?”
This question made Meng Yue recall the beating he received that morning. He gritted his teeth and said, “I was injured by a newcomer at the Yang Family Martial Arts School.”
“A newcomer? A newcomer could injure you? Meng Yue, you truly bring honor to us!”
Being taunted by Mr. Cui made Meng Yue feel even more resentful, but it wasn’t directed at Mr. Cui, but at Hong Yuan.
“What can I say about you, Meng Yue! Young Master Shenxiao sent you here, arranged for you to enter the Yang Family Martial Arts School, and had great expectations for you. But what about you? Two years, and not the slightest progress.”
When Mr. Cui first spoke, he had a smiling, gentle demeanor, but by the end, his voice had become extremely cold, the chilling intent emanating from it causing Meng Yue’s body to stiffen.
“It’s not that there’s no progress. I’m almost successful. In the martial arts school, no one could match me. Yang Erhu already looked upon me with favor. In at most a few months, no! In one or two months at most, I would have truly become his disciple. But who knew that after that Yang went out, he brought back a kid named ‘Hong Yuan’.”
Meng Yue quickly explained.
“Hong Yuan? The one who injured you?” Mr. Cui tapped the tea lid with his finger, producing a clear, crisp sound.
“Yes!” Meng Yue nodded, hating, “I’ve been at the Yang Family Martial Arts School for two years, always showing great respect to that Yang, flattering him intentionally. I never expected that he would casually find a kid and take him as a disciple.”
“You’re saying Yang Erhu took that Hong Yuan as a disciple?”
“Yes.”
“How old is that Hong Yuan?”
“He looks at most twenty years old.” Meng Yue didn’t dare to lie.
Mr. Cui chuckled lightly, but his eyes were icy cold, with no trace of amusement. He said indifferently, “Less than twenty years old, and he can injure you. This talent can be considered superior. It seems Yang Erhu wasn’t unprepared. Perhaps this Hong Yuan was the disciple he had long chosen, but had kept him outside.”
Meng Yue said solemnly, “If we’re just talking about skill, I truly don’t have the confidence to defeat that Hong. But if it were a fight to the death, I have a seventy percent chance of winning.”
“Seventy percent?” A trace of a sneer appeared on Mr. Cui’s lips. “If you don’t have complete confidence, what difference is seventy percent from one percent?”
Meng Yue remained silent, not daring to retort.
Mr. Cui blew on the hot steam and took another sip of tea. Suddenly, a murderous intent flickered across his face. “That Hong Yuan must die. Kill him.”
Meng Yue froze, looking at Mr. Cui’s prosperous face, now filled with a chilling expression, shrouded in the swirling steam of the tea.
“If you don’t kill this kid, how can you become Yang Erhu’s disciple? Only by killing him can you have some chance! Moreover, Yang Erhu has lost the disciple he painstakingly trained. He will likely be disheartened. At that time, you offer condolences and opportunities, and if you still can’t get things done, don’t come back.”
Mr. Cui said indifferently.
“Alright, I’ll go kill him.” Meng Yue gritted his teeth.
Whoosh!
Mr. Cui’s teacup in his hand suddenly smashed towards Meng Yue’s head. Meng Yue naturally sensed it but forced himself to remain still, not daring to dodge.
With a ‘crack’, the teacup shattered on Meng Yue’s head. The scalding tea splashed all over his face, causing his skin to throb with pain again.
“Idiot!” Mr. Cui couldn’t be bothered to maintain his composure anymore and shouted loudly, “You truly are an idiot! No wonder you couldn’t accomplish anything in two years. Do you think you have a chance to do it yourself? Take my token and go find Yan Laosan. Have him send someone.”
Meng Yue knew of the ‘Yan Laosan’ Mr. Cui mentioned. His name was Yan Tieshan, and he was the leader of a gang based at the Yangquan County Wharf. He commanded over a hundred skilled thugs and was considered a local overlord. The county government and several Great Families wouldn’t easily provoke him.
Occasionally, when he had matters that were inconvenient for him to handle, he would even seek out Yan Tieshan to do them, which further solidified Yan Tieshan’s influence.
“Even a fierce tiger hunting a rabbit exerts its full strength! Have Yan Laosan send more men. This kid surnamed Hong must be killed. I don’t want to hear of any accidents.”
Mr. Cui played with the jade ring on his right thumb and said indifferently, “After Hong Yuan dies, you will perform diligently in front of Yang Erhu. The Qionghua Gathering is approaching, and there isn’t much time left for Yang Erhu. He doesn’t have many choices. Your chance of becoming a disciple is high. Obtain the ‘Tiger Roaring Breathing Method’!”
Mr. Cui clasped his hands behind his back and paced. “The Dragon Tiger Patriarch of the past opened two branches. Our branch is the ‘Dragon’. Yang Erhu inherited the ‘Tiger’ branch from True Man Li. Only when the two branches’ techniques are unified can ‘momentum become Dragon Tiger’. Under the leadership of Young Master Shenxiao, we can truly achieve great things.”
Mr. Cui looked at Meng Yue, his gaze burning. “If you obtain the ‘Tiger Roaring Breathing Method’, you will be a great contributor to this sect. You will not lack generous rewards and high stipends.”
“I will not fail Young Master Shenxiao or Mr. Cui’s high hopes.” Meng Yue trembled all over and quickly expressed his loyalty.
“Alright, go and do your job.” Mr. Cui tossed something from his sleeve and turned his back, his tone softening.
Meng Yue exited the alley, feeling cold sweat seeping from his palms. He spread his hand; in it was an ordinary small wooden token.
Gripping the wooden token tightly, Meng Yue first returned home to change into inconspicuous dark grey cloth clothes and put on a conical hat, pulling the brim down low. Only then did he hurry towards the Yangquan County Wharf.
Night had fallen, and many lights were still on throughout the county town. Noisy sounds could be heard from various taverns and teahouses. As Meng Yue passed a restaurant, he even heard sounds of arguments and fighting from within.
For eight hundred years, the Great Yin Dynasty’s policies had been constantly changing and renewing. Some years had curfews, while others had them lifted. In the past hundred years, the Great Yin central government had lost control over the various states and prefectures, and could no longer dictate how local areas conducted their affairs.
Meng Yue paid no attention to these matters, hurrying along the shadows of the street.
