Eternal madness

Chapter 71 Yin-Yang Mastery
What is Yin Jue Huo (陰绝活)?

Zhang Laifu kept asking questions, but no one answered.

It wasn't because Li Yunsheng and Zhu Shiqing ignored him, but because they couldn't hear Zhang Laifu at all when he spoke.

After a while, when the lanterns went dark, Zhang Laifu appeared.

Li Yunsheng glanced at Zhu Shiqing, who bit her lip.

After a long silence, Zhu Shiqing invited the two of them to the tea room: "I'll make you a cup of tea, you two can chat slowly."

The tea was ready, and Zhu Shiqing looked at Zhang Laifu with regret.

“Brother Laifu, your special skill is not in the correct order. Who taught you this order?” Li Yunsheng suspected that Zhang Laifu had been deceived.

Zhang Laifu knew his sequence was a bit unusual: "This is something I figured out myself. I light the lamps first, then set them up. This increases the speed."

Zhu Shiqing choked on her tea and coughed for a long time: "You developed the Yin Technique yourself? I don't even know the specific techniques of the Yin Technique. I only read some records in books and that's how I know how powerful it is."

Zhang Laifu asked with delight, "Is Yin Jue Shu amazing?"

Li Yunsheng nodded: "Yin techniques are much more powerful than Yang techniques. Our Zhuyou school's Yin technique is called 'Rejuvenation and Life-Taking,' which is more than one level stronger than 'Illness Comes Out of the Mouth.'"

"How strong?"

"Illness comes from the mouth" means that the enemy may have some minor ailments, or even no illness at all, but through our methods, we can force them to have an illness, and then defeat them.

This is actually quite difficult. If the other person is completely healthy or has only a minor ailment, why would they believe they are sick? If you can't fool them, this tactic won't work.

But "Rejuvenation and Death" is different. This skill is also called "curing to kill," because it involves curing someone's illness and then killing them.

"How can treating an illness kill someone?" Zhang Laifu didn't understand.

Li Yunsheng gave an example: "A person originally had heart disease, and the heart was weak, resulting in insufficient blood supply to the whole body. At this time, a doctor of the Zhuyou sect treated him and used Zhuyou methods to regulate his own function and cured his heart."

Zhang Laifu nodded: "This is a good thing."

"It was a good thing for his heart, but his blood vessels had become accustomed to the weakness of his heart. The doctor of the Zhuyou Department suddenly cured his heart, and he was even better than the average person."

When the heart is strong enough, blood supply is sufficient, and blood pressure rises, blood vessels in some critical areas may rupture.

"What kind of logic is this..." Zhang Laifu asked, puzzled. "Don't patients know what the appropriate levels of heart and blood pressure are?"

"How could the patient possibly know? People seeking medical treatment are eager for doctors to use every trick in the book, and the more they use, the happier they are. So once a secret technique is used, the other party is almost impossible to guard against."

Zhang Laifu exclaimed in deep admiration, "Your underhanded skills are truly remarkable."

Li Yunsheng shook his head repeatedly: "It's not my Yin skill, it's the Yin skill of the Zhuyou School. I have never learned Yin skills, and there are very few craftsmen who have learned Yin skills."

Zhu Shiqing said from the side, "Our line of work has even more insidious techniques, which are known as the best assassin methods. When you use the 'darkness under the lamp,' within the range of the light, ordinary people can't see you or sense you, so you can do whatever you want. If you combine that with 'yang' techniques, like setting fire inside someone's body, how can anyone else fight you?"

Zhang Laifu was startled: "Wait, you mean when I use my special skill, no one can see me?"

Zhu Shiqing nodded: "Just now, neither Li Yunsheng nor I could see you, hear you, or even sense your presence. Even at our level, it's still difficult to break through the darkness right under our noses."

Zhang Laifu recalled an incident. When he sparred with the paper craftsman Yang Enxiang, he used his special skill, which caused a large number of paper figures Yang Enxiang had made to freeze. Zhang Laifu had thought he had broken Yang Enxiang's illusion with his skill, but now he realized that the paper figures had simply stopped moving because they couldn't see where he was.

This also explains why, when Zhang Laifu went out to find Yang Enxiang, Yang Enxiang clearly avoided Zhang Laifu but did not choose to ambush him from behind, as he could not see Zhang Laifu at the time.

"The Yin technique is truly amazing!" Zhang Laifu's eyes lit up as he looked at Zhu Shiqing. "I can teach you the Yin technique, and you help me master the Yang technique. How about a deal?"

"I won't learn Yin techniques..." Zhu Shiqing pursed her lips, turned to look at Li Yunsheng, and then hesitated to say what she was about to say.

"Why don't you learn such a great skill?" Zhang Laifu still didn't quite understand.

Li Yunsheng tried his best to explain to Zhang Laifu in a way that Zhang could accept: "Yin Jue Huo is indeed powerful. If used skillfully, you can even defeat a master with Yin Jue Huo."

Craftsmen don't learn clandestine skills, not because they are difficult to learn, but because once they learn them, their craftsmanship can no longer be refined.

Zhang Laifu's mind was buzzing: "What does that mean?"

"It means that in the paper lantern making business, you can only be a registered apprentice." As he spoke, Li Yunsheng didn't dare to look at Zhang Laifu. He knew how much Zhang Laifu had paid to get into the paper lantern business; he had risked his life for it.

Zhang Laifu's face was blank, his eyes lifeless, and it was unclear what he was thinking, as he was always like this.

Seeing his body trembling, Li Yunsheng knew he was upset.

“I can work harder. I bought a lot of iron bamboo and gray bamboo. I practice every day and I’m sure I can become a master craftsman.”

Li Yunsheng remained silent.

Zhu Shiqing picked up the teacup, then put it down again: "Practicing is useless now. Once you've learned the Yin technique, your skills really won't improve anymore."

Every craftsman hopes to improve their skills. Even an eighty-year-old craftsman feels that their skills can be further enhanced. With better skills, better health, and a longer lifespan, no one is willing to sacrifice their future. Therefore, very few craftsmen learn secret, clandestine skills…

Zhu Shiqing's voice grew softer and softer. She also felt regretful. She thought Zhang Laifu's talent was quite good: "Actually, you can think of it on the bright side. If you learn all the Yin-Yang skills, you will also be a good fighter in the future. As long as you use the right tactics, you can even defeat your master."

With your skills, you could make a living as a registration clerk, earning enough to eat and make a living wouldn't be a problem. You'd live a good life, so there's no need to...

Zhang Laifu looked at Li Yunsheng: "Isn't there any other way?"

After a long silence, Li Yunsheng spoke: "There's definitely no future in the paper lantern business, but what if we switch to another industry..."

Zhu Shiqing stopped Li Yunsheng: "Nine out of ten who change careers become demons. Do you want to ruin him?"

Li Yunsheng stopped talking.

Zhang Laifu saw a glimmer of hope: "There's one who won't become a demon, right? Then I'll change careers. I happen to have a bowl and I'm skilled at making things."

Zhu Shiqing couldn't understand Zhang Laifu's thinking: "Have you thought this through? There's no going back now!"

"I've thought it through," Zhang Laifu said, looking at Li Yunsheng. "What kind of clay do you think would be most suitable for my bowl?"

PS: In Chapter 51, Lan Chunming, the leader of the Zhuyou Gang, used the Yin-based technique of "Rejuvenation and Life-Taking" to almost kill Li Yunsheng.

After that battle, Lan Chunming fled into the Demon Realm.

(End of this chapter)