Treasures Of Emei Sect. (2)

Yu Jinsan felt his shoulder vibrate. More precisely, it was the Dragon Slaying Spear slung diagonally across his back that was wailing.

“What’s wrong, you brat?”

It was nothing short of strange. The Dragon Slaying Spear was a divine weapon forged from the spirit stone of the Fire Dragon. Until now, the spear had reacted on its own only twice: once when he encountered the legendary Azure Wolf long ago, and again near the Flood Dragon that guarded the Buddha Lion Roar Divine technique. But why would it react here, in the halls of the Emei Sect?

For some reason the blade’s trembling wouldn’t stop. Yu Jinsan drew the spear and gripped it lightly, then moved in the direction the spearhead pulled him.

There’s no way a spirit beast would be in the hall, he thought. His steps followed the corridor between the bookshelves to the end. Turning right, he came to a dead-end — the most secluded corner of the archive hall, with nowhere further to go.

He searched the surroundings but found nothing out of the ordinary. Just in case, he checked everywhere — except one spot.

Could it be the floor? Yu Jinsan tapped it with the spear’s tip. Tung! Tung! From the sound and the feel in his grip, the floor was hollow. Then it had to be a secret compartment. There must be a handle nearby that opened the door.

He glanced around once more, then gave up searching. He could just break it open. His granddaughter was buying them time outside; this was no moment for dawdling. Summoning sharp spear energy, he sliced the floor several times. Crack! Slash! When the floor split, a narrow dark cavity of roughly thirty feet was revealed. He would have to go down to see.

With no time to hesitate, he jumped down. The most noticeable thing was a reclining Buddha statue lying on its side. The statue looked valuable, but it wasn’t something he could carry. In front of the statue, several items were neatly arranged: an old book and a tightly shut box.

Yu Jinsan took the book first and tucked it into his bundle. If it had been hidden in a secret compartment, it had to be precious. But what about the box? When he picked it up, the spear’s trembling finally stopped. The box wouldn’t open — it was clearly made of some special material. He could figure out how to open it later. For now he shoved the mysterious box into his bundle.

Having achieved his goal, the only thing left was to escape the Emei Sect safely. He pushed off and leapt, smashing through the ceiling with his spear. Bursting up out of the archive hall, he rose and glanced around.

…This can’t be.

The scene below was unbelievably grim. Around the entrance of the archive hall, more than fifty bhikkhunis lay scattered, and bhikkhunis were still swarming toward Yu Seol like a swarm of hornets. But no matter how many there were, they stood no chance against his granddaughter — they fell one after another as they rushed in. Crash! Boom! Rip!

What on earth could be driving the bhikkhunis to such desperation? Was it because his granddaughter was holding back? Probably not. To charge against the momentum of the Profound Realm without a death wish was impossible. It seemed likely that one of the items in his bundle was the reason.

“Let’s go!” Yu Jinsan shouted from the roof’s edge. Yu Seol’s head snapped around. Her left hand gripped the lapel of a limp bhikkhuni.

“Did you bring my treasure?”

“Yep, I got everything!” Yu Jinsan saw his granddaughter’s delighted smile. She tossed aside the bhikkhuni she held to clear space for their leap and left one last remark.

“Farewell, everyone!”

When Yu Seol used a lightness skill, the bhikkhunis couldn’t pursue her. They stared into the air like dogs that had chased a chicken, showering curses.

“You damned brats, give it back right now!” “Stop right there, you lot!”

At that moment, the elderly bhikkhuni who had been directing the situation gathered the elite. “Senior samae and the Emei Sword Disciples, follow me; the rest, stay and handle this place!”

The strongest bhikkhunis present stepped forward — seasoned elders and the four who had guarded the archive hall’s entrance. Each bore small wounds but none seemed impeded. Their eyes were resolute: they would pursue the fugitives even at the cost of their lives.

“Let’s go, Senior.” In total, eight of them opened their light footwork and dashed in the direction the Yin Yang Twin Monster had disappeared. The remaining young bhikkhunis, stunned, began to handle the aftermath.

“Hey, get up!” “Are you all right?”

Dozens of bhikkhunis lay sprawled, unconscious. One by one they came to, groaning in pain.

“…My head feels like it’s going to split. Help me up.”

Surprisingly, none of the bhikkhunis had sustained fatal injuries. Most had been struck at their meridians and knocked out. As the situation settled and they had a moment to breathe, they gathered in small groups and whispered.

“This is chaos. The sect leader will be furious when he finds out.” “Sigh. What on earth happened here?” “What’s with those guys wearing the General masks? Who are they?” “I don’t know either. The elders seem to know, but they’ve all gone after them so we can’t ask…” “Judging by their light footwork, chasing them would be pointless anyway.”

It was while they were whispering that — “The Great Elder is coming!” At that exclamation, the disciples froze. The Great Elder was the bhikkhuni with the highest standing in the sect, far above the sect leader. Naturally the young disciples were tense.

“Is that true?” “I heard she was doing cultivation in the Reincarnation Cave.” “Would cultivation matter when the situation is like this?”

They murmured while scanning the sky. A moment later, an elderly woman descended as if walking on air. Hands clasped behind her back, she wore an extremely angry expression. Upon landing, she grabbed a disciple and demanded abruptly, “What on earth happened here? The Buddha statue was stolen and the archive hall ransacked? Tell me what kind of scoundrels they were. Quickly!”

The wrinkled old woman’s voice boomed like a beast’s roar. The disciple she seized was flustered and babbled incoherently. “Guan, Guan…”

“Who? Speak at once!” The Great Elder didn’t know about the Yin Yang Twin Monster.

“General Guan Yu and Zhang Fei are…” “How dare these two play with me?” It was one of the rare emergencies in the Emei Sect’s history; her mood was already foul, and now she felt mocked.

There was a sound, but no one saw her hand move. The disciple staggered as if his neck had been twisted. As the old woman’s hand rose again, one of the chief disciples hurried over, pressed his hands together, and bowed his head.

“Disciple Eun Jeong greets the Great Elder.” “Yes. Speak, then.”

Eun Jeong did not hesitate and reported immediately. “It’s the Yin Yang Twin Monster. It’s definitely them.”

The Great Elder sighed. “Are you certain it was those mad ones?”

“Yes. I saw them myself.” Eun Jeong had raced over crazily after witnessing the Yin Yang Twin Monster in the market and reporting it. The Great Elder showed no doubt either.

“Of all times, with the sect leader not even here…” Eun Jeong, one of the chief disciples, pointed and said, “A short while ago, the elders and the Emei Sword Disciples chased after the Yin Yang Twin Monster.”

“Tsk tsk. A futile effort…” With that, the Taesang Elder’s spirit form took to the air again, and soon her spirit form flew off in the same direction.

A quiet tree’s shade somewhere on Mount Emei. Yu Jinsan and his granddaughter unpacked their bundle in high spirits. She still hadn’t removed her mask.

“What did you bring? Hurry up and open it, Grandpa.” “Did I tie it too tight? Why won’t this come undone?” As Yu Jinsan dawdled, Yu Seol urged him impatiently. “I’m curious~ I’m curious!”

“All done. Let’s see.” The first thing he took out was the Buddha statue Yu Seol had taken from the halls. About the size of an arm, it shimmered with a subtle, wondrous light.

“How is it? Does it look expensive?” “Hmm. The carving is intricate and the material seems special — it’s definitely valuable. Let’s see what it fetches on the black market.”

Yu Seol was so delighted she waved both hands in excitement. “Heehee. What else did you bring?”

After putting the statue back, Yu Jinsan pulled out a book. “It was hidden beneath the archive hall. It seemed precious, so I brought it along.” “What is it, what is it? Is it a martial arts manual?”

At a glance it certainly looked like a martial arts manual, though the title on the first page had been erased. Yu Jinsan examined it slowly. “This looks like a finger technique. If it’s an Emei Sect finger technique…”

The finger technique was an advanced art that sent qi through the fingertips. One thought occurred to him: Could it be the Buddha Light One-Line Finger Technique? The Buddha Light One-Line Technique was one of the Emei Sect’s supreme techniques, passed down only to the sect heads. He couldn’t be certain yet, but it was possible. He could confirm it by studying the contents further, but not now.

Yu Seol’s eyes shone as she urged him on. “So? Is it good?” “It seems we struck lucky. Among finger techniques, it’s one of the greatest.”

“Wow~ Grandpa, you’re amazing. You picked well!” Yu Jinsan shrugged at his granddaughter’s praise and cleared his throat. “Ahem. Grandpa’s got an eye for these things. Now, shall we see the last item?”

He produced a small steel box. Yu Seol’s reaction was intense. “What? A treasure box!?” “Yeah. But I can’t tell what it’s made of — it won’t open.”

“Give it here. I’ll try.” As he handed the box to his granddaughter, Yu Jinsan flinched — he sensed a strange energy approaching from somewhere.

“Some interlopers have appeared; we’d better go somewhere else to check it.” Yu Seol had already noticed but chose to ignore it. She was curious about the box’s contents, but they had to postpone the inspection.

“I’m curious… but let’s go down quickly.” Yu Jinsan packed the items back into his bundle and slung it over his shoulder.

Just as they were about to use lightness skill, a shout erupted from the elderly bhikkhunis behind them. “Stop! Will you not hand over our belongings at once? Yin Yang Twin Monster!!!”

One of the fugitives ahead whipped his head around. It was Yu Seol wearing the mask of General Guan Yu.

“We’re not the Yin Yang Twin Monster!” she called.

No one believed them. The bhikkhunis seethed as they saw the eyes in the mask appear to be smiling. “Do you think you’ll get away with this!” Warnings and curses continued from behind, but the fleeing grandfather and granddaughter heard none of it.