Mechanical Alchemist-Chapter 308 - 307: Gone for a Year

"After Akos died, the overwhelming demonic energy of ’Onimaru Hyakume Munemasa’ also began to fade. The eerie human eyes on the blade also closed, and this famed sword from legend returned to its original state."

The sinister energy gathered and disappeared completely, leaving the sword blade snow-white with densely packed cloud patterns. In the snowstorm, it looked particularly pleasing to the eye.

Su Lun admired it for a moment before slowly drawing the sword from the corpse.

As he pulled out the sword, the blood droplets on the blade, drawn by gravity, coalesced into larger drops, then ran down the blade and dropped onto the pristine snow, resembling splatters of red plum blossoms. Upon closer inspection, the blade did not have a single drop of blood on it, and its cold light gleamed visibly sharp to the naked eye.

Holding the sword handle, Su Lun immediately felt the sword’s sinister aspects. Instantly, demonic energy scattered his reason, and his vision filled with endless scenes of terror. He saw the most evil thoughts at the bottom of his heart, saw the terrifying visions of infinite hell.

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With the great weapon in hand, it seemed as if a voice at the bottom of his heart tempted him—kill, kill, kill...

A flash of red light in Su Lun’s eyes was followed by a slight warmth in the ’Eclipse’ totem on his chest, and then his clarity was restored.

For ordinary people, the assault of demonic energy could mean the difference between life and death. Even the most steadfast will, if exposed for a long time, would eventually erode.

Unfortunately for Su Lun, this was not a major issue. Be it frantic negative spiritual power or the visions of hell, he was no stranger to them.

The Sacred Totem of the Dalu tribe could perfectly devour those uncontrollable negative spiritual powers, so this Demon Blade posed no great threat in his hands.

Perhaps because he had not been transformed into a "sword slave," the ’Onimaru Hyakume Munemasa’ held by Su Lun issued a soft ringing sound.

Su Lun’s fingers tightened suddenly, firmly gripping the Demon Blade trying to break free.

To unload the oppressive demonic aura, he swung the blade forward, cutting a trench over ten meters long in the snow with a sharp burst of Sword Qi.

The sound of the Sword Qi tearing through the air faded into the wind, and Su Lun’s eyes misted as he murmured to himself, "So powerful..."

The surging Sword Intent supported him, making him, a Puppeteer, momentarily think about changing professions.

Indeed too powerful.

The thought vanished in a flash.

Su Lun chuckled lightly.

Even though he held it in his hand, he still sensed the blade’s resistance, and his eyebrows slightly furrowed with a hint of helplessness.

Su Lun was not afraid of the blade’s malicious nature, but the blade also did not acknowledge him, a Puppeteer, as its master.

That feeling of "different professions, different paths" made him no longer want to try controlling the blade again.

Strangely enough,

with that thought, the blade in his hand quieted down as well.

Truly full of spirit.

Su Lun pursed his lips and mockingly said to himself, "Heh, I really can’t use it."

He always believed that swords and blades were mere tools for killing—what is considered right or wrong depends entirely on the human heart.

The blade was called "demonic" because users attempted to employ powers beyond their control.

When no longer pursued, it ceased to act maliciously.

Su Lun raised one hand, crooked his finger, and used a thread of silk from afar to draw out a tattered cassock from the temple as well.

The cassock enveloped ’Onimaru Hyakume Munemasa,’ which then completely calmed down.

Having done all this, his gaze caught something in a distant house behind him, revealing a meaningful smirk.

....

The person hiding inside the house watched as Su Lun drew ’Onimaru Hyakume Munemasa,’ expecting another soul to fall to the sword.

But after watching for a while, she just stared as Su Lun calmly put away the blade, even wrapping it in a cassock.

This act truly surprised her.

Normally, anyone who got this blade would be instantly mad with demonic energy, wouldn’t they?

The pair of eyes hidden in the darkness flashed coldly: "Does the North Sea Fleet actually have someone capable of taming ’Munemasa’? Could it be Oleg’s hidden card?"

Although no one could control the blade for now, such a renowned sword could not possibly be just taken away by an outsider.

Thinking this, she went out.

...

Su Lun heard footsteps behind him, turned around, and saw the guide, Song Yong Jiushu, running over anxiously.

"Oh dear... are you alright, sir?"

This guy watched as Su Lun began to walk away and hurriedly followed, his steps slightly unsteady.

"What’s going on?"

Su Lun, with an expressionless face, turned around and asked the obviously troubled guy. A teasing glint briefly appeared in his eyes as he jokingly said, "Oh, you’re still alive?"

Yongshu’s face stiffened, thinking he had gone unnoticed, and awkwardly said, "I was afraid of dying, so I hid. It saved my life, please forgive my cowardice, sir."

Seeing that Su Lun wasn’t paying him any attention and was about to leave the village with the sword, he quickly tried to stop him: "Sir, this sword is a sacred offering of the Sword Forging Village. You cannot take it with you. It will bring you misfortune."

"Oh, will it?"

Hearing this, Su Lun chuckled lightly.

He naturally knew that taking the sword would bring misfortune to ordinary people, and the name Demon Blade was not unfounded.

Moreover, if he hadn’t noticed anything unusual about the village, he probably wouldn’t have thought of taking the village’s treasured sword.

But now, the sword was merely a "tool" for this fellow to kill people.

Those villagers, no, there was a significant issue with this village too.

Su Lun narrowed his eyes and said, "What if I insist on taking it away?"

Upon hearing these forceful words, Yongshu’s face darkened, and he said hesitantly, "This…"

Without revealing his identity, he couldn’t keep this famed sword.

But once he did reveal it, the King of the North Sea would have an excuse to make trouble directly.

After all, the scheme of killing someone with a borrowed sword could still be blamed on the "Demon Blade".

But once someone revealed the truth, it would become a man-made event.

The problem would become unsolvable.

For a moment, the guide’s face looked as troubled as a daisy, but he didn’t show any flaw in his act as he pleaded, "Oh dear, please don’t, my lord. On the boat before, and just now when entering the village, those nobles didn’t listen to my advice, and that’s why…"

Su Lun had no interest in continuing this charade with the fellow, and he interrupted his rambling with a teasing tone, "Mr. Guide, can you tell me what exactly is going on with this village?"

He knew that taking the sword away wouldn’t be the end of it; rather than being ambushed on the road, it was better to clarify things right here.

Hearing this, panic flickered through Yongshu’s eyes, unnoticeable to others. He attempted to feign ignorance again, "Ah? This is Sword Forging Village, haven’t I told you before…"

"Heh."

Su Lun once again interrupted him with a cold laugh.

After walking around for a while and making his preparations, he stopped, and a fierce killing intent suddenly surged from him.

He stared intently at Yongshu’s face, a glint of coldness flashed, and he said in a deep voice, "What I mean to say is, the people of Sword Forging Village died a year ago. Why are they still ’alive’?"

This was what he truly cared about.

Even more important than obtaining the Demon Blade!

Without figuring this out, he felt as if his understanding of the world was obscured by a barrier, so severe that it might make him doubt everything he saw!

"..."

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Upon hearing this, Yongshu suddenly stopped, his face that had been currying favor by smiling ingratiatingly just moments earlier turned cold instantly.

He looked at Su Lun, dropping the pretense and said coldly, "How did you find out?"

"Planning to leave? Did you really think you could escape? You didn’t think I was just making small talk all this way without a plan, did you…"

Su Lun had not failed to notice that this guy was preparing to flee.

But since Su Lun had chosen to unveil the truth, how could he give this person a chance to escape?

Even as he spoke, he unhesitatingly flexed his fingers, and countless sharp threads had already surrounded Yongshu, and in the next instant, would slice him into countless pieces.

....

Before entering the village, Su Lun only suspected that the guide had issues.

After entering the village, he knew there was a problem with the "Demon Blade".

But it was the conversation with Koike Koichiro that made him realize the entire village had issues!

Because he had seen Koike Teppei at the Geisha house and knew some of her family situations through their conversation.

Thus, his conversation with Koike Koichiro allowed him to quickly gain the other party’s trust.

But it was this conversation that revealed a major problem!

Su Lun remembered clearly that Koike Teppei said she was sold nine years ago and is now sixteen years old; however, Koike Koichiro said he sold his daughter eight years ago, and she is now fifteen.

The difference of an entire year, yet all other information matched perfectly!

Such an important matter, neither person could have possibly gotten it wrong.

Moreover, since they did not know each other before, both had no motive or reason to lie to Su Lun.

Therefore, when Su Lun heard this "contradiction," he immediately sensed that something was amiss.

If the theory that one of them is lying is ruled out, then this discrepancy in time becomes significant.

Finally, after connecting all the clues, Su Lun came up with the most reasonable explanation: The people of "Sword Forging Village" had died a year ago!

But strangely, based on any method of discernment available to him at the moment, they should seem to be "living" people.

But in reality, in the most logical conclusion, they should be dead!

No, to be precise, it seemed as though the villagers of Sword Forging Village had been frozen in time a year ago,

Like... a frame of a movie film!

They appeared lifelike under specific conditions.

Su Lun had also suspected that he had inadvertently fallen into some special cursed space.

Even after carefully observing everything in the village, the All-knowing Eye could not detect any anomalies.

In such cases, either the cursed space was so vast that it was beyond his field of vision,

or this "Sword Forging Village" existed in a form that he temporarily could not understand.

Therefore, he urgently wanted to know the truth.

....

When Su Lun suddenly acted, the silk threads he had already set up instantly formed a solid trap, and "Song Yong Jiushu" had no chance to evade; the sharp threads instantly cut into his body.

Su Lun had not intended to kill him upon arrival and had thought of controlling him first to see how things would unfold, but as soon as the silk threads touched him, Yongshu’s body deflated like a punctured balloon, and a skin husk fell down.

Indeed, the original guide had been replaced.

Su Lun silently commended how seamlessly this fellow had hidden, not showing the slightest sign of abnormality.

Meanwhile, with a "pop," a smoke bomb exploded, and a shadow escaped from the cage of silk threads.

"Ninpo: Vain Flash Shadow Kill Technique? Indeed, a ninja... But how could I let you escape so easily!"

Su Lun’s eyes narrowed sharply, and as he opened his black umbrella, he immediately perceived abnormal fluctuations in the far-off dirt, still rapidly escaping towards the outskirts of the village.

"Subterranean Escape Technique?"

His eyes narrowed slightly.

This was his first encounter with a ninja, and he found this technique very astonishing.

Although there were similar Earth System Arts in alchemy, the principles were completely different.

Facing it for the first time, there was no trace to follow.

The ninjutsu of the Mountain Hermit country were unique; although there were many legends about the various mystical aspects of ninjutsu outside, almost no one had seen a truly highly skilled ninja. After all, they were believers in divinity, and some of the ninjutsu could not be explained by common sense.

Su Lun thought about the situation in this village,

Could it be some kind of ninjutsu?

His mind raced, but his actions did not slow down.

Su Lun had long heard that ninjas were adept at using the environment to hide themselves, but for someone with Soul Perception, it was almost ineffective.

The moment Yongshu attempted to flee underground, Su Lun raised his hand and fired a cannon shot.

With a loud "bang," the ground cracked open, and a person sprang out.

This individual was dressed in standard ninja attire, with only her cold eyes visible from behind her mask.

Previously unknown by what means, she had used human skin to disguise herself as Yongshu, even altering the perception of her soul’s essence. Now back to her original form, she appeared to be about fourth tier. This was close to earlier estimations.

There were scorch marks on her clothes, clearly she hadn’t completely avoided the earlier blast.

Su Lun didn’t give his opponent a chance to catch her breath; as he forced her out of hiding, his fingers pulled, and dozens of silk threads stretched tightly once again.

The ninja drew a short dagger from her back, blocking several threads, but in the next instant, her body suddenly dissipated into a cloud of black mist, evidently using Ninjutsu again.

"The gap in ’[Vain Flash]’ is about 1.5 seconds; with that level, you cannot escape..."

Su Lun was still learning about ninjutsu, all these were merely probes.

After a few exchanges, he had also discerned some details about his opponent.

Ninjutsu was tricky, but once fully understood, he could find a way to counter it.

Su Lun used Flash to avoid two shurikens that came flying at him like lightning, then he teleported a hundred meters away and punched into the air.

He was well aware that the target was hiding in the air.

Before the ninja could escape, she felt a heavy kick land on her stomach.

She immediately realized that hiding was meaningless, as her opponent had another method to pinpoint her location. As her body bent like a shrimp, she exploded into a cloud of smoke again.

Su Lun, feeling a void under his foot, kicked onto a piece of clothing.

His gaze shifted to the graceful figure in the distance, and he was slightly surprised, "Ho... a female ninja, huh?"

The substitution technique in ninjutsu seemed to require shedding a layer each time?

...

Su Lun’s eyes showed no emotional fluctuation as he chased after her again.

The female ninja actually had good skills and reactions; if she weren’t so panicked, she wouldn’t be in such a mess.

But as long as she decided to confront Su Lun, he could find a chance to kill her!

Unfortunately, her instincts were remarkable, and she was wholly focused on escaping; Su Lun couldn’t do much to her in a short time.

But her instincts seemed to perceive something; when Su Lun was about to use his Human Skin Umbrella and his black scythe, she suddenly took out an ancient clay jar. Once she opened the lid, streams of black silk swarmed over.

"A yokai ’[Enter Inner Sparrow]’? So that’s how ’Yongshu’s’ skin husk came about."

Su Lun identified the item and did not dare to be careless.

This "Black Sand" was also one of the famous hundred ghosts of Mountain Hermit Country.

It was a type of parasitic ghost bird, smaller than human pores, that would swarm into human bodies and then consume all the tissue under the skin. The infested person wouldn’t even realize they were dead and could still move normally... it was very bizarre.

Almost at the same time, Su Lun burst out with a bluish cold flame, and within the blink of an eye, it solidified into a giant spirit wearing armor made from shadows.

It was this layer of flame that overflowed, forming a barrier a few meters thick. The black sand ghost birds that came close were incinerated, unable to get near at all.

Seeing this scene, the serious-looking woman expressed a look of confusion and shock, and urgently shouted, "Secret Technique of ’No Servant,’ are you from Ruei’s group?"

At that moment, she was truly puzzled. She had thought he was one of Oleg’s men, but seeing this method... Such proficiency in the Secret Technique of ’No Servant’ definitely marked a complex identity!

But if he were one of Ruei’s people, why would he be lurking in a pirate gang?

Moreover, the Dark Spiritual Power-driven cold flame of ’No Servant’ and those used by the Ruei royal family were slightly different. The "Fire No Servant" divine shadow on Su Lun had a sinister and evil feel to it.

She seemed to have recognized something, and completely lost any intention of fighting, adding, "Wait, we can talk!"

"Hmph!"

Su Lun snorted coldly and ignored her.

Having witnessed the strangeness of ninjutsu, he did not dare to let his guard down.

He did not feel that giving the opponent a chance would enable him to maintain the upper hand.

If they were to talk, it would be after capturing her!

Just then, Su Lun, who had prepared earlier, shone a beam from his chessboard.

But this time, the chessboard missed for the first time.

Su Lun noticed the scenery around him change suddenly; the figure in front of him softened, as if melting like asphalt into a black shadow. Only a set of clothes were left behind, naturally, the ones the female ninja had been wearing.

The chessboard space hadn’t trapped the person, but had trapped the shadow of the female ninja instead.

"Shadow Woman?"

Su Lun watched the escaping shadow and realized this was another type of monster.

There were soul fluctuations, clothes, and a covering of demonic aura; one couldn’t distinguish the real from the fake.

Su Lun immediately released the space and returned to the snowy land, only to see no shadow of the female ninja.

His eyes showed deep thought as he picked up the clothes from the ground and kept them.

....

The person had run away, and Su Lun’s face showed a trace of difficulty.

The female ninja was skilled in various ninjutsu escape techniques, making her very hard to kill.

However, his frustration was fleeting.

Although he hadn’t obtained the "truth," fortunately, the Demon Blade had ended up in his hands, which was already a significant gain.

After chasing far out just now, Su Lun thought it over and quickly ran back towards the direction of the village.

But when he returned to the valley, he was once again shocked by the scene before him.

Not long ago, it was still "Sword Forging Village," but now it had turned into a pile of ruins. Like it had been through a great fire, in the snowy land, the former houses were only left with some charred wooden stakes. There were also corpses everywhere.

Su Lun stood in the snowy land, his expression growing increasingly solemn as he looked at the scene before him. His left eye gleamed brilliantly, turning frequently, yet he could not detect any anomalies.

He naturally judged that these charred marks were at least a year and a half old.

This was the real "Sword Forging Village."

But what about the Sword Forging Village he had seen before?

What about those "living people"?

If it were not for the "Ghost Circle Baimoku Sojo" in his hand and the real touchable corpses, he would really feel as if tonight’s experience was a dream.

Su Lun wandered around the village, reaping some spoils of war, and after not finding any clues that could solve his puzzles, he quickly left the valley.

The Sword Forging Village was seeping strangeness from all quarters, and even in the chilly wind and heavy snow, he did not want to stay overnight.

The female ninja was very likely to return, and if one could not beat her alone, she could call for others.

...

Su Lun walked through the mountains, clearing his own trails as he went.

Now that the ninth fleet’s vanguard was almost entirely wiped out, Su Lun’s original infiltration plan naturally no longer worked.

Thinking it over, he contacted the gambler widow.

"Sister Qian Tiao, I’ve run into some situations..."

He briefly explained the previous situation.

Soon, a response came from the communicator, "That’s good, the plan to assassinate ’Rune Old Man’ had a bit of an accident, and I’ve run into a bit of trouble and need your help..."