Chapter 15: Staff Ghost (3)
In the dense water mist,
Staff Ghost hummed a song as he walked, carrying the money bag.
“The wind sighs and rustles, the Yi River is cold. The brave warrior departs, never to return.”
The wind is rustling, and the water of the Yi River is cold.
The brave warrior, once he departs, will never return.
It was an arbitrary melody where not a single note of Gong, Sang, Gak, Chi, or U matched properly.
But Staff Ghost, perhaps excited, was even dancing with his shoulders to his heart’s content.
Whoosh—
The wind blowing from beyond the water mist grew stronger.
Every time it did, the willow leaves around him fluttered here and there like a ghost’s hair.
Before long, Staff Ghost stopped his steps.
A cliff so high it seemed to reach ten thousand zhang.
A long rope bridge precariously connecting the gap.
But it was not that which blocked Staff Ghost.
Creak…
In front of the single-rope bridge, which appeared to be suspended in the air due to the thick water mist,
a shadow that had been waiting for Staff Ghost suddenly hovered.
Creak… creak…
A shadow, of which it was unknown whether it was a ghost or something else, slid away beyond the water mist.
As if telling Staff Ghost to come inside this water mist.
“Haha—”
Staff Ghost pulled his bamboo hat down low.
And then, he set down the money bag he was carrying at the edge of the cliff.
Clink—
Having set down the money bag, Staff Ghost moved his steps onto the dizzying single-rope bridge into the water mist, following the shadow’s call.
Creak… creak… creak…
Every time Staff Ghost took a step, the single-rope bridge swayed precariously.
Soon, Staff Ghost stopped his steps once more at the middle point of the bridge.
The shadow that had disappeared beyond the water mist earlier was standing there, welcoming him.
Staff Ghost opened his mouth.
“I thought I saw wrong, but I saw correctly.”
He was accurately seeing through Chui’s pale face beyond the mist.
“I thought you were a ghost… but you were a human.”
“…”
“You are the stable boy, right? Why did you come to find me? Because I insulted your lover?”
Staff Ghost waved his hand toward Chui.
“When I spat on the face of that child, Ho Ye-yang. I saw it. I saw your body trembling slightly.”
“…”
“If you came looking for me to take revenge for a girl you fell for, you have come to the wrong place. Because that child was never insulted by me in the first place.”
Staff Ghost continued speaking with an indifferent expression.
“Suppose you gave money to someone, but they did not accept the money. Then whose is the money?”
“…”
“That would still be yours, of course. It is the same logic. I spat at that child, and that child did not receive my spit. Then that spit is still mine.”
“…”
“In Buddhism, there is a saying, ‘Be the master of yourself wherever you are.’ In the far West, there is also a saying, ‘If you are struck on the right cheek, turn the left cheek.’ Both mean not to forget to be your own master in any situation. When the opponent insults you, if you get angry, you lose your masterhood, but if you do not receive it and deal with it resolutely, the initiative of the situation is still yours.”
“…”
“That child let my insult flow away in the stream of ‘the highest good is like water.’ In the end, my insult lost its destination, meaning no one suffered damage. But why, and for what, are you seeking revenge? It is all meaningless.”
Staff Ghost shook his head.
At that time, Chui spoke.
“Perhaps because you ate temple food half-heartedly, your tongue is long.”
Soon,
Creak…
Chui briefly confessed his business for blocking Staff Ghost.
“Hand over the money.”
“…”
Hearing Chui’s words, Staff Ghost wore a blank expression for a moment.
Soon, he said with a broad laugh.
“I haven’t heard those words in almost forty years. You are the first one to say such a thing to me since the Heterodox Alliance Leader.”
Chui did not reply to Staff Ghost’s words with words.
Clang!
A single black spear, completely lacking any luster, was held in Chui’s hand.
Staff Ghost let out a low exclamation as he watched it.
“It is a good spear. What is its name?”
“It has none.”
“It is a spear worthy of being treated as a family heirloom in a small clan, so it won’t do to have no name. Let me see, I should name it one. Life-Ending Spear, or Soul-Snatching Spear. How is it?”
Staff Ghost showed his pole while talking about this and that.
A long hexagonal-shaped pole.
Just like Chui’s spear, it was solid black, completely devoid of any luster.
“This thing, you see. It was originally a spear, you know? But after the spear blade was broken off, it became a staff.”
“…”
“Even so, this is made of black iron, so it is sturdier than it looks. Though the fact that it’s a bit heavy is a flaw. Hahaha—”
Staff Ghost raised his black staff and aimed it at Chui.
“If the blade of this fellow was still intact, I would have become the Spear Ghost instead of the Staff Ghost. Isn’t that right…!?”
But his chatter could not continue for long.
Swish—
Because the middle of the mist was blown wide open, and through that hole, Chui’s spear rushed in in a straight line.
Seeing the blood-red energy spewing out in streams from the tip of the spear, Staff Ghost’s complexion stiffened in an instant.
Clang!
The spear and staff clashed in midair.
Clang-clang-clang-clang-clang-clang-clang-clang-clang! Clang—
Dozens of exchanges occurred in an instant.
Ting! Ting! Slash—
The ropes and a few planks comprising the single-rope bridge were damaged.
Creeeak…
The bridge began to sway even more precariously due to the wind blowing just in time.
Whistle! Bam!
One of the planks forming the floor of the single-rope bridge was blown away by the wind.
Only the frayed rope reached out toward the plank that had been its old friend, but it was merely swaying.
“I underestimated the Tiger Pit Sect too much.”
Staff Ghost swung his staff while laughing heartily.
“To think a mere stable boy is this strong, hahaha—”
“…”
Chui did not react to Staff Ghost’s chatter.
He merely stomped his foot hard to make the single-rope bridge fluctuate.
“!?”
As the floor where he was about to step suddenly sank down, Staff Ghost ended up faltering in midair.
The bridge wriggled like a centipede, because of that he had to choose a plank to step on again, because of that the speed of recovering his body’s balance slowed down for a very brief moment, and because of that, his following movements were also interrupted.
And.
Swish—
The spear blade twisted through that gap like a ghost.
Staff Ghost, startled by the elusive killing intent squeezing even through that extremely brief gap, jumped upward.
However, when he tried to counterattack, Chui had already disappeared from before his eyes.
“…Ho?”
Staff Ghost’s expression changed abruptly in an instant.
Tap-tap—
Chui’s footsteps were heard from directly below.
Lazy Donkey Roll.
A movement like a lazy donkey rolling on the ground.
But if the subject of this unsightly movement was Chui, the story was different.
Swish—
Rushing upward from below, perpendicular to the ground, the spear blade aimed at Staff Ghost’s groin.
“You crazy bastard!?”
Staff Ghost hurriedly pulled his waist back.
However, because of that, the spear blade lightly grazed the tip of his chin, which he had failed to guard in time.
Rip!
The tip of his chin split vertically, and red fresh blood spurted out.
“Haha—this is dizzying.”
Staff Ghost retreated.
An ordinary first-class master would have already been pierced from the groin to the crown of the head and died.
He, who had reached the mature peak stage, had also almost had his head pierced from chin to crown.
“I let my guard down because it was an angle a spear could never enter normally. Haha—even so, is targeting the groin between fellow men allowed? What a crazy bastard.”
Staff Ghost willingly went along with Chui’s provocation.
Woosh, woosh, woosh, woosh—
The heavy staff gathered the water mist to its heart’s content and made it swirl.
Staff Ghost kicked off the plank using that force.
However, Chui flatly ignored the head-on clash Staff Ghost offered.
Ptooey!
Phlegm mixed with blood flew through the air.
“!?”
Staff Ghost frowned as he looked at the spit Chui spat.
“You are a guy who holds a grudge more than you look.”
Staff Ghost lowered his head to dodge Chui’s phlegm.
At that, Chui kicked toward Staff Ghost, who had lowered his head.
Whoosh—
Because the distance was far, Chui’s kick merely cut through the empty air.
But.
Clatter!
Caltrops that had been threaded in a line inside Chui’s pants hem poured out in a rush.
“You crazy bastard!”
Embarrassment showed on Staff Ghost’s face for the first time.
He jumped back from his spot, retreated, and swung his staff to brush away the caltrops.
Right at that moment,
Chui jumped into the air, did a somersault, and kicked once again.
In that spot, the phlegm he had spat earlier was still flying in midair.
Thwack!
Struck by the top of Chui’s foot, the phlegm fell toward the ground, and soon,
Splat!
hit Staff Ghost’s face accurately.
“Urgh!?”
Staff Ghost closed his eyes in a hurry.
Sizzle…
It was burning.
The spit was burning.
That guy’s spit was strangely stinging and painful.
As if the spit itself was a deadly poison.
Whoosh—
Staff Ghost swung his staff even while rubbing his eyes.
However, Chui avoided Staff Ghost’s staff with ghost-like movements and closed the distance.
That appearance was like seeing an evil spirit in the water mist.
“What does a spearman mean by closing the distance!”
Staff Ghost raised his knee toward Chui, who was rushing head-on.
At that moment, Chui let go of the spear.
‘A spearman throwing away his spear!?’
The moment Staff Ghost was shocked,
Thwack!
Chui immediately took out a hammer from his chest and struck down on Staff Ghost’s knee.
“Keuk!?”
Staff Ghost hurriedly pulled his leg back.
He avoided it, but it grazed him.
Like nights when he couldn’t sleep because of growing pains in his childhood, his knee throbbed crazily.
Grab!
Chui snatched back the spear that had flown into the air.
Looking closely, a translucent silk thread was connected to the center of the spear shaft, and its opposite end was seen tightly wrapped around Chui’s wrist.
“…”
Staff Ghost frowned.
Usually, one who holds a weapon relies only on the weapon, so all movements have no choice but to revolve around the weapon.
And when handling a weapon, an idle part of the body always appears.
For example, if you swing a sword with your right hand, your left hand is idle, and if you hold a spear with both hands, one leg is bound to be idle.
…However, the enemy in front of him was different.
This stable boy’s entire body was a weapon.
Spewing hidden weapons from everywhere in his body, every single movement threw dignity and form to the dogs, and had their purpose terribly set only on slaughter.
It was like looking at a killing weapon optimized for slaughtering unspecified numbers of people in a trench war occurring in a pitch-black night, a struggle in a mud pit.
“What kind of evil spirit or rakshasa did you pop out from!?”
Staff Ghost yelled loudly.
The composure on his face had already vanished long ago.
Clang!
The spear and staff clashed together in the center of the single-rope bridge.
Grate…
A contest of strength between cold weapon and cold weapon.
The tips of the two sharply honed teeth locked together without a single inch of concession.
At that time, Chui’s mouth opened.
“Since ancient times, the spear has been called the King of a Hundred Weapons.”
“…”
“The staff is merely a cheap imitation with the blade removed from the spear.”
Chui’s gaze, which had somehow turned blood-red, dug into Staff Ghost’s eyeballs and pierced all the way to the brain inside.
“Just like you, who has lost all your teeth and degenerated into a dog of the Heterodox Alliance.”
“You son of a bitch!”
Staff Ghost flew into a rage.
Bam! Screeech!
The spear tip and staff tip, which had been locked in a contest of strength, crossed past each other.
At the same time,
…! …! …!
The ends of each penetrated within close proximity of the other.
Thwack!
One end touched, but the other end failed to touch.
It was a difference of just a hair’s breadth.
Unrivaled Spear Ghost