NOVEL WEB Chapter 665
Two Kanji.
風狸鋼鐵.
頭滾莊.
These seem to be characters indicating the company that manufactured the item.
The name isn’t one I’ve heard before.
There’s absolutely no connection to magic, and I’ve never encountered such names even during my mercenary days.
So, it was easy to just think, ‘Oh, China has companies like this.’
But Jinseong’s intuition had a nagging feeling about this name.
‘Name.’
Yes.
The Kanji that are linked to these two companies are the source of that unease.
‘풍리(風狸)….’
First off, 풍리(風狸).
At first glance, this word appears to have no significant meaning.
However, it is another name for the legendary yokai 풍생수(風生獸).
According to legend, 풍생수 resides in a land called 염주(炎州) in China, possessing the power of immortality.
No matter how powerful the fire, not a single hair would be singed; this beast can’t be pierced or cut even with the sharpest of swords, as it is entirely against the natural order of the world. The only way to kill it is to crush its head with a blunt object, but even then, it inhales the wind and resurrects immediately, truly deserving of the title ‘immortal.’
And then there’s 두곤(頭滾).
Yao Zai Zhi Yi.
This is one of the stories from the Chinese anthology of strange tales called 요재지이(聊齋志異), written in the 1670s.
It tells of a grisly incident that occurred in the family of 소청하 효렴, where the grandfather of 소청하 효렴 witnessed an unimaginable sight: a head, possessing about five rice measures, protruding from the ground and wandering restlessly beneath his bed. Such an occurrence deviated from ordinary reason and was fantastically bizarre and ominous.
Amazed by such dreadful sights, the grandfather fell ill and eventually died, while the future uncle of 소청하 효렴 was involved with a harlot and ultimately suffered a calamity to his grave; it was indeed an atrocious incident.
An anonymous reader, borrowing from 요재지이, added this comment beneath the ‘wandering head’ story.
“Zhang Mo added flesh to Yi Shi’s (the author of 요재지이, Pu Songling’s self-reference) story.
I encountered the descendants of 소청하 효렴, and they enjoyed speaking of 常德治人, focusing on enriching their knowledge but seldom debated Confucius.
This was because Confucius did not speak of strange powers and spirits (子不語怪力亂神) but didn’t reject them, hoping for people to distance themselves from superstitions and strive to be gentlemen. Thus, they must have encountered the words of Confucius in relation to their family matters, so they were not particularly fond of mentioning the Analects.”
Hmm.
A yokai that does not burn and resurrects with the wind, 풍생수(풍生獸).
A yokai that suddenly emerges from the ground, bringing calamity to its family, 두곤(頭滾).
It’s certainly a profound set of words to attach to a company name.
Especially if they are related to what they produce.
An ironworks needing fierce fire and wind associated with 풍생수.
And 두곤, creating spheres that orbit around peculiar structures.
Could this truly be a coincidence?
Did they really just slap any name on the company?
‘No way.’
Jinseong believed the odds of that were slim.
The China he knows doesn’t care much for superstitions.
At the same time, it is also a nation that’s fixated on and enjoys them.
Typical examples?
Countless thoughts come to mind without hesitation.
The beloved dragon (龍) of the Chinese people,
The fanatical love for the number 8 (八) because its pronunciation is similar to ‘to get rich’ (发财),
Their obsession with the color red, which is believed to chase away evil spirits and bring fortune,
The habit of depicting bats (蝙蝠) instead of the character for fortune (福) because of their similar sounds, and so on.
Outwardly, China seems to detest and strive to dispel superstitions, but in reality, it is a nation with superstitions embedded deep within its core.
Perhaps because of these characteristics?
In China, when naming a particular organization, they often closely relate to non-human entities (人外) or strange powers and spirits (怪力亂神).
‘This is a fundamental magic related to worship. By using that name and keeping that symbol close, one can inherit their powers— it relates to basic imitative magic.’
The belief that one can achieve desired outcomes through imitation.
That is essentially the foundation of imitative magic.
Perhaps this manner of naming could also be tied to the magics China has collected from all over the world.
Otherwise, there would be no reason for such obsessive naming.
Haha. It reminds me of the past.
How many encounters has Jinseong had?
In the ruins, it seems inevitable to encounter those Chinese folk.
The variety of their organizations, the sheer number of people, it was truly a headache.
Their penchant for monopolizing magic and desecrating or occupying ruins had been basic behavior!
It was because of this that Jinseong had been infuriated countless times.
Initially, he only ended up bedridden, spending half his life recuperating…. But eventually, his hand grew harsher; he ensured their bodies were mangled to a point of inevitable disability. No chance of recovery at all.
Yes.
He disabled them.
Not killed them.
‘China’s treatment of the disabled has always been poor.’
This was not due to any overflowing compassion from Jinseong.
How could one be so compassionate towards those who dare to desecrate and hide magic?
They were beings that Jinseong could not tolerate.
Yet, he refrained from instantly executing them, choosing instead to inflict greater pain upon them.
He wanted them to suffer by the hands of their beloved society, betrayed, abandoned, neglected, and thus perish miserably.
Perhaps this approach resembles that historic tactic China so favored, of turning one enemy against another (以夷伐夷).
But, is it because there are just too many people?
No matter how much Jinseong acted out, the numbers of those wrecking ruins and taking magic never seemed to decrease.
At times, he could tell what kind of characteristics their organizations had merely by their name.
They were truly foul beings.
Because of this, he later became so enraged that he directly crossed over to China and corrupted numerous places.
Using the mold they adored, bearing the same name as their yokai: 태세(太歲).
‘Is a company using the name of a yokai? Hehe. This is definitely worth investigating…’
He used Samādhi True Fire to melt the tungsten pillar completely.
Then, he gathered the part where ‘風狸鋼鐵’ was inscribed and took the sphere with him outside.
He intended to use his connections to find out more about them.
* * *
Passing through the stairs to the end.
Navigating through a half-damaged formation technique, passing by the servers towering like buildings.
Squeezing through the buzzing, vibrating servers that emitted loud noises and heat.
And then he arrived in a secret space.
The scorched tungsten pillar.
Something melted and twisted by the heat.
The heat that had not yet escaped and the ashes.
Black ashes, mistaken for snowflakes, floated in that place.
There were people before, but now, there was no one left in that space.
[ Contractor. Now you have the power to find the secret within this place. ]
Someone stepped into that location.