Chapter 230: You Stand Before a Master Craftsman, Why Do You Not Bow?

Outside the quiet warehouse storage room on the third floor, every craftsman who had rushed to the scene stood pale-faced and trembling on either side of the corridor as footsteps drew nearer. Sweat poured down their backs, and their legs shook so badly they could barely remain standing.

Jian Yuan strolled through the devastated storage vault with his hands clasped behind his back. Without breaking stride, he reached toward an aberrant creature trying to crawl from a busted crate and crushed it into a pool of black liquid, splattering it across the wall.

The wet patter echoed in everyone’s ears, sounding as though it were their own blood spilling onto the floor. They trembled like the leaves of an aspen tree.

At last, Jian Yuan’s gaze settled on a line of large, hastily scrawled characters written across the wall in thick black ink. It read almost like a greeting left behind by a visitor.

“I heard that your collection was extensive and couldn’t contain my delight, so I came specially to pay you a visit. I arrived in high spirits and left thoroughly satisfied. As a keepsake, I leave behind this humble poem.”

The poem read:

The horse was gaunt, its mane unkempt,

Its overgrown hooves showed neglect.

A father robbing his own son

Was hardly theft when all was done.

Boom!

The instant Jian Yuan finished reading, the explosives hidden within the cracks detonated. Flames burst forth, sending a terrible shockwave through the room.

With nothing more than a casual wave and a flick of his finger, Jian Yuan manifested the Static Zone of the Ruins Path without the aid of any blessing, stopping everything in place. Flames hung in the air like blooming flowers, while shards of metal remained suspended like scattered leaves. On the cracked wall, that hideous piece of “calligraphy” on the cracked wall looked uglier than ever.

Jian Yuan clasped his hands behind his back and stared at the message for a long time before slowly shaking his head. “Cun Ling.”

From the rigid, trembling crowd, someone immediately threw himself forward. He scrambled across the floor and dropped to his knees. “Sir, I’m here.”

Without turning around, Jian Yuan merely raised a hand and pointed toward the wall. “Tell me. What do you think of this poem?”

Cold sweat poured down Cun Ling’s back like a waterfall. Summoning his courage, he looked up and studied the poem for a long time, reading it over and over again. Finally, he answered in a trembling voice, “I-it’s complete nonsense!”

“Indeed.” Jian Yuan nodded. He turned and glanced at his student. “You said that while I was occupied these past few days and the workshop’s affairs grew increasingly complicated, you could handle everything yourself. Looking at the situation now, how well would you say you handled it?”

With death staring him in the face, Cun Ling was no longer afraid. There was no point in panicking now. In utter despair, he prostrated himself on the floor. “Disastrously.”

Jian Yuan laughed softly and pointed at the wall. “No. There were at least a few notable achievements, weren’t there? You’re the one who let this mess happen, aren’t you? I’ve taught you for so many years, yet you’ve made no progress whatsoever when it comes to accomplishing anything worthwhile. But when it comes to inviting disaster and fostering chaos, you possess remarkable talent. It seems I misjudged you after all.”

Tears and snot streamed down Cun Ling’s face as he repeatedly knocked his forehead against the floor, trembling. “S-Sir, please have mercy. Sir, I... I...”

“Relax. I wouldn’t take my anger out on my student. As I see it, this disaster had little to do with you. At most, you were simply incompetent. Once the enemy saw through your capabilities and habits, they led you around by the nose, step by step, just like the rest of that rabble.” Jian Yuan lowered his eyes and looked down at Cun Ling. “Since incompetence is your only crime, you shall merely be punished for your incompetence.”

Cun Ling was overcome with joy. Tears of gratitude poured down his face as he kowtowed even more frantically. “Thank you, sir! Thank you, thank you!”

Jian Yuan walked away without looking back, and the others hurried after him. Only Cun Ling remained in the empty collection room, still kowtowing as tears and mucus ran down his face.

***

Ten minutes later, under Jian Yuan’s orders, the supervisors and department heads from every floor assembled on the fourth floor. Inside the solemn entrance hall, everyone stood frozen in their assigned places, exchanging fearful, uneasy glances and whispering among themselves.

Of them all, Sun Ci appeared the most relaxed. For one thing, he had only taken up his post yesterday. Whatever trouble had occurred could hardly be blamed on him. Besides, he was only in charge of the scrap heap. As long as the sewage didn’t overflow, who the hell cared about the vermin and drudges crawling around in the trash?

Sun Ci’s assistant stood beside him with his head lowered, curiously glancing around. “This is awfully serious. What happened? Why does everyone look so...”

Sun Ci waved a hand discreetly, signaling for him to lower his voice. “Something big happened. With a gathering like this, the Master Craftsman may be about to mete out Absolute Judgement.”

“What’s Absolute Judgement?” Ji Jue asked curiously.

Sun Ci’s face twitched, turning awfully pale. He didn’t dare say anything more. “Just watch.”

Ji Jue once again heard the low, heavy sound of approaching footsteps. Jian Yuan slowly emerged from behind the doors and took his seat without saying a word. After everyone else had arrived, an iron frame was slowly wheeled to the front of the hall. The moment people saw it, they recoiled in terror, clearing a wide area around it.

Cun Ling, stripped to the waist, was escorted forward by two craftsmen. Trembling uncontrollably, he climbed onto the platform and was bound to the iron frame.

Gurgle gurgle gurgle gurgle...

A sickening, bubbling sound rose from the lightless void beneath the frame. From the darkness, faint eyes opened. Black tendrils wound around Cun Ling, clinging to him with a hiss as they burrowed bone-deep.

Cun Ling’s face turned deathly pale. He clenched his jaw and struggled to endure it, but at last he could bear no more. A horrific scream tore from his throat, rising into a full-throated wail. Yet even after his voice gave out, his hoarse, anguished cries continued.

As the black tendrils tightened and ate away at him, his right arm rapidly withered and shrank. As its skin lost its color and texture, eerie wood grain emerged across its surface. The flesh writhed, then dried and split apart.

Behind him, a massive lump bulged from his flesh and swelled. It drew out his soul and blessings, devouring them with insatiable hunger, until it finally tore through his body.

A wooden doll covered in blood-red patterns grew from his exposed bones. Its features were an exact likeness of Cun Ling’s, except that while Cun Ling trembled in terror, the doll wore a twisted, maniacal grin.

Only its upper half had emerged. Its lower body had yet to finish forming. The snarling puppet wrapped both arms around Cun Ling’s neck and stared hungrily at everyone around it.

Amid the sharp gasps of the crowd, Ji Jue held his breath. The sight made his skin crawl. This was the corruption of the Ember Path!

Jian Yuan had activated the blessing of the Great Abomination within Cun Ling, destabilizing its balance and hatching an aberrant creation from his soul, one fashioned from Cun Ling’s own flesh and spirit. Yet he deliberately prevented the creation from draining Cun Ling’s soul completely and finishing its transformation. Instead, he held the process at precisely the halfway point, inflicting the greatest possible agony.

With half his flesh and soul taken from him, the incomplete aberrant creation would remain a constant, mortal threat to Cun Ling from this day forward. The slightest lapse in vigilance could allow it to consume him completely through an irreversible corruption.

However, should Cun Ling somehow prevail in this struggle and gain complete control over the aberrant creature born from his own soul, one life would effectively become two. His techniques and abilities would likely undergo a dramatic Metamorphosis, while his connection to Putrefaction would improve by an entire order of magnitude.

But what were the chances of that? Practically nonexistent. The trial was far too demanding and far too cruel. It was like kicking a man dying of thirst off a cliff, then placing a bottle of water on the ledge above him.

Climb, and live. Fail, and die. The choice was his.

Ji Jue shrank back. He watched as Cun Ling, wailing and convulsing, was dragged away like a dying dog, disappearing from sight.

Everyone breathed a sigh of relief, lowering their heads and adopting more respectful postures. Someone had taken the blame. As long as there was a scapegoat, everything was fine! That had been horrifying. Thank goodness it hadn’t been them...

Jian Yuan spoke for the first time since entering the hall. Resting his chin on one hand, he regarded the crowd with curiosity, flames smoldering deep within his green eyes.

“Getting in here couldn’t have been easy. Pulling off something this elaborate in such a confined space takes real skill. Your methods were impressive as well. You’re ruthless toward others, and even more ruthless toward yourself. I never expected someone like you to choose the Ember Path instead of White Deer. But you already rescued the person you came for. Why did you stay behind?”

Silence descended over the hall as everyone held their breath. They stared wide-eyed at one another, unable to understand what the Master Craftsman was talking about. Those who did understand dared not show it and pretended otherwise, shrinking into themselves like frightened quails.

Everyone trembled with fear. Wherever Jian Yuan’s gaze passed, the crowd hurriedly parted to either side.

Ji Jue followed their example and tried to avoid his eyes, only to discover that the gaze had already settled on him and was following his every movement. His heart sank, and his scarred face twitched. Lowering his eyes with an obedient expression, he seemed to gather his courage. “Master Craftsman Jian Yuan? Were you speaking to—”

Jian Yuan nodded before he could finish. “Yes. You.”

Thud!

Beside Ji Jue, a stunned Sun Ci toppled backward and fainted from sheer terror.

Jian Yuan studied Ji Jue’s carefully feigned manner. “You’re awfully bold for someone so young. Your technique is a little rough around the edges, but your fundamentals are exceptionally solid. Very impressive. The Ember aura around you is strong, but there isn’t much of it. You probably haven’t been a craftsman for long, have you? A year? No, not even a full year...”

He paused, then sighed softly. “You truly are a fine material.”

Ji Jue collapsed to the floor, trembling in terror as he stammered incoherently, “Master Craftsman, I truly—”

“I’m not a patient man. I suggest you stop wasting time,” Jian Yuan cut him off irritably. “Your companion doesn’t have much time left either.”

Ji Jue’s expression darkened. At last, left with no other choice, he let out a sigh. “You really are a shameless old bastard. You’ve been using this whole thing as bait, haven’t you?”

Jian Yuan flashed a mocking smile. “I have an organization to manage, so I must always be prepared for the unexpected. Once I sensed that something was wrong, naturally I prepared for the worst. An old man who refuses to die becomes a thief[1]. Isn’t that how the saying goes?”

Ji Jue nodded in approval. “What a coincidence. We criminals live by the same principle.”

Jian Yuan’s eyes narrowed slightly. Far beyond the workshop, the trucks that had crashed into the surrounding ruins were intercepted one after another. Surrounded by craftsmen and all manner of creations, the vehicles were searched thoroughly, from the driver’s seats to the cargo compartments and even underneath the chassis. Every crate was opened, but all of them were empty. There wasn’t even a single bomb to be found.

Meanwhile, underground in the workshop’s Recycling and Processing Department, the craftsmen leading the search smashed through the doors and detained every apprentice they encountered. They pressed forward until they broke through the partition wall of the office. There, at last, they found an empty crate and a large hole in the floor leading directly into the sewers.

Amid the surging filth, mercury spiders crawled out, each carrying a heavy load of combustive explosives on their backs, their warning lights flashing red as shrill ticking filled the air.

The ticking of the countdown was loud, too loud. Time was running out fast. The faces of those at the front turned white as paper.

Boom!

1. Refer to Translator’s Thoughts for more info. ☜