Unrivaled Spear Demon
Chapter 15 - The Staff Fiend (3)
Within a thick mist.
The Staff Fiend, walking with a sack of money on his back, hummed a tune.
The wind is desolate, and the waters of the Yi River are cold.
A hero, once gone, shall not return.
A wild tune, hitting none of the five notes of the pentatonic scale.
But the Staff Fiend, as if in high spirits, was even doing a little shoulder dance.
Whoosh
The wind blowing from beyond the mist grew stronger.
Each time, the surrounding willow leaves fluttered about like a ghost's hair.
Before long, the Staff Fiend stopped walking.
A cliff that looked to be ten thousand jang high.
A long rope bridge precariously connecting the gap.
But that was not what blocked the Staff Fiend's path.
Creak...
In front of the single-rope bridge, which seemed to be suspended in mid-air due to the thick mist.
There, a shadow that had been waiting for the Staff Fiend floated suddenly into view.
Creak... Creak...
The shadow, impossible to tell if it was a ghost or something else, faded away beyond the mist.
As if beckoning the Staff Fiend to enter.
“Heh”
The Staff Fiend pulled his bamboo hat down low.
Then, he set the sack of money he was carrying down at the cliff's edge.
Clang—
Having set down the money sack, the Staff Fiend followed the shadow's call, stepping onto the dizzying single-rope bridge and into the mist.
Creak... Creak... Creak...
With each step the Staff Fiend took, the single-rope bridge swayed precariously.
Soon, the Staff Fiend stopped once more at the midpoint of the bridge.
The shadow that had vanished into the mist earlier was standing there, awaiting him.
The Staff Fiend opened his mouth.
“I thought I might have been mistaken, but it seems I saw correctly.”
He was seeing right through the mist, accurately piercing through to Chui's pale face.
“I thought you were a ghost... but you're a man.”
“…”
“You're the stable hand, aren't you? Why have you come for me? Because I insulted your lover?”
The Staff Fiend waved his hand dismissively at Chui.
“When I spat in the face of that child, Ho Yeyang. I saw it. I saw your body tremble slightly.”
“…”
“If you've come to avenge the woman you've fallen for, you've come to the wrong place. Because that child was never insulted by me in the first place.”
The Staff Fiend continued, his expression indifferent.
“Let's say you gave someone money, but they refused to take it. Whose money is it then?”
“…”
“It's still yours, of course. It's the same principle. I spat at that child, and that child did not receive my spit. So the spit is still mine.”
“…”
“In Buddhism, there is a saying: ‘Be the master wherever you are.’ In the distant Western Regions, there is also a saying: ‘If someone slaps you on the right cheek, turn the other cheek as well.’ Both mean that you should not forget your own mastery in any situation. When someone insults you, if you get angry, you lose your mastery. But if you do not accept it and deal with it with composure, the initiative of the situation remains yours.”
“…”
“That child let my insult flow away like the highest good, which is like water. In the end, my insult lost its destination, meaning no one was harmed. So why have you come, and for what revenge? It is all meaningless.”
The Staff Fiend shook his head from side to side.
Just then, Chui spoke.
“Perhaps it’s from eating temple food so poorly, but your tongue is awfully long.”
And then.
Creak...
Chui briefly stated his reason for blocking the Staff Fiend's path.
“Hand over the money.”
“…”
Hearing Chui's words, the Staff Fiend wore a blank expression for a moment.
Then, he let out a hearty laugh and said.
“It's been nearly forty years since I've heard those words. You're the first one to say something like that to me since the Lord of the Unorthodox Alliance.”
Chui did not answer the Staff Fiend's words with words.
…Chaaang!
A single black spear, devoid of any luster, appeared in Chui's hand.
Seeing it, the Staff Fiend let out a low exclamation of admiration.
“A fine spear. What is its name?”
“It has none.”
“A spear worthy of being treated as a family heirloom in a small clan, yet it has no name? Let's see, I suppose I'll have to give it one. The Life-Ending Spear, or perhaps the Soul-Stealing Spear. What do you think?”
The Staff Fiend said this and that as he raised his own long staff.
A long, hexagonal pole.
Like Chui's spear, it was a uniform black, completely without luster.
“This thing, you see. It was originally a spear. But after the spearhead broke off, it became a staff.”
“…”
“Still, it's made of black iron, so it's sturdier than it looks. Its only flaw is that it's a bit heavy. Heh heh heh”
The Staff Fiend raised his black staff and aimed it at Chui.
“If this fellow's blade were still intact, I would have become the Spear Fiend instead of the Staff Fiend. Wouldn't you agree?!”
But his banter did not last long.
Swish—
Because the center of the mist was blown open, and through that hole, Chui's spear came rushing in a straight line.
Seeing the crimson energy pouring out in streams from the spear's tip, the Staff Fiend's expression hardened in an instant.
…Clang!
Spear and staff clashed in mid-air.
…Clang-clang-clang-clang-clang-clang-clang-clang-clang! Ch-aang—
In an instant, dozens of exchanges took place.
Ting! Tiiing! Pshk—
A few of the ropes and planks that made up the single-rope bridge were damaged.
Kiiii-geeegeeegeeegeek...
Just then, a gust of wind blew, causing the bridge to sway even more precariously.
Whoosh!
Crack!
One of the planks that formed the floor of the bridge was blown away by the wind.
Only the frayed rope reached out for the plank, its old friend, but it was merely a futile sway.
“I underestimated Hojeong Gate too much.”
The Staff Fiend let out a hearty laugh and swung his staff.
“To think a mere stable hand is this strong, heh.”
“…”
Chui did not react to the Staff Fiend's banter.
He merely stomped his foot hard, making the rope bridge ripple.
“?!”
As the spot where he was about to step suddenly dropped, the Staff Fiend faltered in mid-air.
The bridge writhed like a centipede, forcing him to choose a new plank to step on, which momentarily slowed his recovery of balance, which in turn broke the flow of his subsequent movements.
And.
Shweeeek—
The spearhead, twisting through the gap like a ghost.
At the fleeting killing intent that squeezed through even the most infinitesimal opening, the Staff Fiend leaped up in alarm.
But when he tried to counterattack, Chui had already vanished.
“...Hoh?”
The Staff Fiend's expression changed in an instant.
Tap—
Chui's footsteps could be heard from below.
Lazy Donkey Rolls on the Ground.
A movement like a lazy donkey rolling on the ground.
But when the one performing this unsightly move was Chui, it was a different story.
Swish—
From below, the spearhead shot straight up, perpendicular to the floor of the bridge, aiming for the Staff Fiend's groin.
“You madman?!”
The Staff Fiend hastily threw his hips back.
But in doing so, the tip of his chin, which he failed to protect, was lightly grazed by the ascending spearhead.
…Rrrrip!
The tip of his chin was split vertically, and crimson blood spurted out.
“Haah… That was a close one.”
The Staff Fiend retreated.
A typical first-rate master would have already been pierced from groin to crown and died.
Even he, who had reached the pinnacle of mastery, had nearly been skewered from chin to crown.
“I was careless because a spear should never be able to come from that angle. Even so, is it right for one man to aim for another's groin? What a mad bastard.”
The Staff Fiend gladly played along with Chui's provocation.
Whoosh-whoosh-whoosh-whoosh—
The heavy staff gathered the thick mist, whipping it into a vortex.
The Staff Fiend used that force to kick off a plank.
However, Chui neatly ignored the direct confrontation the Staff Fiend was offering.
Ptui—!
A glob of bloody phlegm flew through the air.
“?!”
The Staff Fiend frowned at the spit Chui had launched.
“You hold more of a grudge than you look.”
The Staff Fiend ducked his head to avoid Chui's phlegm.
At that, Chui kicked at the ducking Staff Fiend.
Whoosh—
The distance was too great, so Chui's kick only cut through the empty air.
However.
Rattle-rattle-rattle!
The caltrops that had been sewn in a line on Chui's trouser cuffs came pouring out.
“You crazy son of a bitch!”
For the first time, a look of bewilderment appeared on the Staff Fiend's face.
He leaped back from his spot and swung his staff to bat away the caltrops.
In that very moment.
Chui leaped into the air, did a somersault, and launched another kick.
There, the glob of phlegm he had spat earlier was still flying through the air.
Thwack!
The phlegm, struck by Chui's instep, fell downward, and then...
…Splat!
It struck the Staff Fiend squarely in the face.
“Kuh?!”
The Staff Fiend hurriedly shut his eyes.
Tsssssssss...
It stings.
The spit stings.
That bastard's spit was unusually sharp and painful.
As if the spit itself were a potent poison.
Whoosh—
The Staff Fiend swung his staff even as he rubbed his eyes.
But Chui, with ghost-like movements, evaded the Staff Fiend's staff and closed the distance.
He looked just like an evil spirit in the mist.
“What's a spearman doing closing the distance!”
The Staff Fiend raised his knee toward the charging Chui.
In that moment, Chui let go of his spear.
‘A spearman abandoning his spear?!’
As the Staff Fiend stared in shock.
Thwack!
Chui immediately pulled a hammer from his robes and brought it down on the Staff Fiend's knee.
“Geok?!”
The Staff Fiend hastily pulled his leg back.
He dodged, but it grazed him.
His knee throbbed madly, like a sleepless night from childhood growing pains.
…Snatch!
Chui snatched his spear, which had flown into the air, back into his hand.
Looking closely, a translucent silk thread was attached to the center of the spear shaft, its other end wrapped tightly around Chui's wrist.
“…”
The Staff Fiend furrowed his brow.
Those who wield weapons tend to rely on them solely, their every movement centered around their chosen arm.
And when one handles a weapon, parts of their body are inevitably left unused.
For instance, when swinging a sword with the right hand, the left is left idle. When gripping a spear with both hands, one leg is inevitably neglected.
…But the enemy before him was different.
This stable boy’s entire body was a weapon.
He had cast aside all pretense of face and form. Hidden weapons seemed to pour from every part of his body, and each and every movement was aimed solely at slaughter.
It was like witnessing a killing machine optimized for indiscriminate slaughter—the kind of weapon forged for trench warfare on a moonless night, for a desperate brawl in a pit of mud.
“What manner of demon are you, and what hell did you crawl out of?!”
The Staff Fiend roared.
Any trace of composure had long since vanished from his face.
Kaaang!
The spear and staff clashed, locked as if on the midpoint of a tightrope.
Creeeak…
A contest of strength, cold steel against cold steel.
The tips of two sharply honed fangs locked together, neither giving an inch.
Then, Chui’s mouth opened.
“The spear has long been called the King of All Weapons.”
“…”
“The staff is but a pale imitation, a spear that has lost its edge.”
Chui’s gaze, now as red as blood, bored into the Staff Fiend’s eyes, as if to pierce straight through to his brain.
“Just like you, who lost all your fangs and became a dog for the Sado-ryeon.”
“You son of a bitch!”
The Staff Fiend flew into a rage.
Thwump! Screeeech!
The tips of the spear and staff, locked in a contest of strength, scraped past one another.
Simultaneously.
……! ……! ……!
The point of each weapon drove toward the other man.
…Thwack!
One point found its mark, the other did not.
It was a difference of a hair's breadth.
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