A Wandering Warrior's Survival Guide - Chapter 31

WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: Asakusa

◈ A Wandering Warrior's Survival Guide ◈

Chapter 31: The Outer Hall Archive (2)

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Outer Hall Archive.

Beyond it, the pavilions of the Murong Clan rose into view. A wall stood between them, and the only place Cheon Hwi was allowed to enter was the small archive tucked into one corner of this annex.

The guide wore a martial artist's badge openly at his waist, its attached cord red.

“If you're curious about anything, ask.”

“Where is the archive provided for Outer Hall warriors?”

The guide joked that Cheon Hwi was looking for martial arts manuals as soon as he arrived.

“If you're looking for erotic pictures, unfortunately, there aren't many. Hahaha.”

Cheon Hwi merely smiled back at the guide's subtle kindness and followed him.

Belonging somewhere, even temporarily. He would leave eventually, but the sense of security it brought was real.

Still, that security lasted only a moment.

The plain martial uniform he had been issued and changed into fit his body, yet it somehow felt uncomfortable, as though it did not fit at all.

‘I suppose I was never meant to be tied down anywhere.’

The senior who had guided him to the Outer Hall Archive stepped aside as if telling him to make himself comfortable.

“You may read anything in here freely. Ah, but nothing may be taken outside.”

“Does that include taking a book to read at the training ground right in front of us?”

“That is correct. You must read within the archive. You may want to take something out and practice, but all removal is strictly forbidden.”

“Yes. I will remember that.”

“Then rest until you receive a special summons. The other Outer Hall warriors have also been ordered to wait until deployment. Well then. Rest well.”

“Yes. Thank you, Senior.”

The archive was not large. It had only five or six bookshelves, and there were not that many books.

Even so, Cheon Hwi happily pulled them out one by one and examined their titles.

He was very interested in the Murong Clan's martial arts. In truth, it was because he had heard various things from Han So-gyeom on the way back to Shenyang.

Hearing about the Murong Clan's martial arts made his heart race even more.

The Murong Clan were northern aristocrats descended from Yan royalty, with Xianbei blood in their veins. Even their appearance was said to differ greatly from the people of the Central Plains. Some Murong Clan members were supposedly born with blond or reddish hair.

Their martial arts were as unusual as their appearance. Their martial principles were built on returning and turning.

Their powerful secret art was called Dipper Turns, Stars Shift, a wondrous martial art counted among the greatest supreme arts in the Martial World.

“Dipper Turns, Stars Shift?”

“They say it is a technique that uses an opponent's own martial arts to harm them.”

Cheon Hwi, who had once lived in the modern world, wondered if it was something like taiji. Yet it did not seem to be quite that.

Dipper Turns, Stars Shift. Taken literally, it meant moving the stars. Cheon Hwi's eyes darkened at the grandness of the name, even for a martial art.

“Perhaps it isn't an exaggeration.”

The book Cheon Hwi had chosen was titled Returning Star Sword Primer.

‘A sword manual...!’

It was Cheon Hwi's first time reading a proper sword manual. Even the common Three Powers Sword had only been passed down orally by his father. He had never seen a written sword manual before.

‘Returning Star Sword. This clan has a flair for grand names.’

The title presumably meant an explanation of sword forms that made the stars wheel.

Their clan's supreme art supposedly moved the stars, and even a watered-down sword manual available to Outer Hall warriors was called the Returning Star Sword.

Naturally, Cheon Hwi was intrigued.

He immediately began turning the pages where he stood. His hands moved eagerly.

Rustle.

At first, the book described the Returning Star Sword's overall structure. It explained the general flow before breaking it down into details.

First Form, Meteor Return.

Deflect the incoming blade with the flat of the sword, then counterattack along the opponent's shoulder line.

Second Form, Half-Moon Turn.

Turn the wrist and waist like a half moon, directing the force of the opponent's weapon to the side.

Third Form, Returning Wind Strike.

Return the force that was blocked and strike the wrist or elbow.

Fourth Form, Falling Star Point.

Thrust at one destabilized point in the opponent's center.

Fifth Form, Starflow Severance.

Cut off the path where the opponent's footwork and sword route connect. It could link into another form or return once more to the first form, Meteor Return.

Under each form were illustrations demonstrating the movement and the completed form.

For an introductory book, it was impressive how it explained every form in detail.

However, as Cheon Hwi read it...

‘...Hm.’

Before immersing himself in the sword manual, Cheon Hwi quickly looked through the other books as well.

He wanted to determine whether what he vaguely sensed was real or merely his imagination.

It seemed that Cheon Hwi's intuition had been right.

Books like Autumn Wind Step, Locking the Meridians Hand Essentials, and Responding Palm Primer looked like martial arts manuals one could buy from any bookshop in the Central Plains for a little money. Their flow did not feel noticeably broken or twisted.

But then there was the footwork manual in Cheon Hwi's hands.

Yan Cloud Step Primer.

The Yan in its title, meaning swallow, was one of the symbols of Yan, the ancestral kingdom of the Murong Clan.

As its title suggested, the introduction clearly stated that it was a lower-grade version of Yan Cloud Returning Star Step, the Murong Clan's unique footwork.

Of course, Yan Cloud Returning Star Step would be at most half as useful without learning the Murong Clan's inner energy method.

Even if Yan Cloud Step Primer was only a diminished version, it was understandable that outsiders would struggle to grasp it if it had been built on the Murong Clan's inner energy method.

Yet even accounting for that lack of understanding, Yan Cloud Step Primer itself had far too many gaps.

To Cheon Hwi, it looked as though someone had deliberately disrupted its flow.

‘Every martial arts manual related to the Murong Clan, the kind that can only be obtained here, has a twisted flow.’

The intention was obvious.

‘The poor explanations are one thing, but the passages for circulating energy through the vital qi channels have been subtly distorted.’

The manuals went on at length as though they were being exceptionally considerate.

Yet when boiled down, they contained nothing but empty, needless words.

Since he could not be certain his instincts were right, Cheon Hwi read the footwork manual's passage two or three times.

‘Something is definitely wrong.’

He read one sentence, then the next, and they kept catching in his throat, leaving a bitter taste.

‘Send inner energy through the three yang meridians of the legs.’

He could understand how that would lighten the body. It also connected to the basics of lightness skill Han So-gyeom had taught him while they ran through the mountain paths.

But the next passage was the problem.

‘At this time, do not forcibly retain the energy remaining in the lower abdomen. Allow it to disperse.’

Hm?

‘Allow it to disperse?’

Cheon Hwi did not need any special insight to know that doing so would leave him off-balance on his next step.

His feet might become lighter, but his upper body would become ungrounded. If his waist became unsteady, his following movements and sword would slow. If his sword slowed, a person would die no matter how swift and light their feet were.

It might be better to stand firmly in place with heavy, stable legs.

Cheon Hwi knew this because he had died learning it firsthand while practicing footwork in actual combat.

It had been the same when he and Han So-gyeom broke through the mountain stronghold in Black Pheasant Valley.

Before the stronghold even came into sight, deadly formations had been laid out. Arrows and throwing knives flew from the ravine, while boulders fell from above. Fast footwork helped him avoid those traps.

But poor movement techniques became a problem once his body was airborne or his feet lost contact with the ground. His body lacked force then.

At such times, all he could draw upon was the energy held in his abdomen and the strength in his arms.

Had he not failed to knock aside a few stray arrows while rushing to avoid the deadly formations before him, only for them to pierce his vital points?

By unintentionally watching Han So-gyeom break those formations dozens of times, Cheon Hwi had learned much about footwork and movement techniques.

‘How many times did I die that way? Damn it.’

Even Han So-gyeom could not protect Cheon Hwi every time.

There had been many times when Han So-gyeom was too busy watching out for his own safety to pay Cheon Hwi any attention. Each time, Cheon Hwi had endured.

Of course, the truth that he had only endured after dying over and over again was known only to Cheon Hwi. Still, Han So-gyeom would stare at him with wide eyes in surprise.

Han So-gyeom had jumped to the conclusion that Cheon Hwi had been hiding his strength.

“You hold up well. That means I needn't block attacks of this level for you.”

“What? No. Please block them for me.”

“Don't play weak. I'll increase the pace of our breakthrough.”

Thus, as misunderstandings piled up without Han So-gyeom realizing it, he was repeatedly astonished that Cheon Hwi survived so many brushes with death.

After his brief recollection, Cheon Hwi turned his gaze back to the footwork manual before him.

Perhaps Yan Cloud Returning Star Step truly required releasing the force from the body's center in that manner, but such a thing was out of the question for a footwork manual meant for wanderers.

As he laid out and examined the many martial arts manuals, he became certain.

They taught, but they had no intention of teaching properly.

‘Are Outer Hall warriors not considered members of the clan?’

They would teach martial arts, but their intentions were clear. They would never allow them to enter too deeply.

No matter how loyal they were, the Outer Hall was still only the Outer Hall.

‘Of course. No master would share the medicine they need with their hunting dogs.’

Cheon Hwi immediately understood why there had been no one else in this archive. He also understood why there were no guards or managers, and why taking books outside was so strictly forbidden.

‘Making them read martial arts manuals only in this cramped archive is probably meant to keep them from easily learning even these half-finished manuals.’

No matter how much one memorized a sword manual in one's head, it was inferior to moving one's body and understanding it directly.

Perhaps preventing that was a scheme to slow their learning and keep Outer Hall warriors from leaving their posts.

A hunting dog only needed to know how to bark and bite. It would be troublesome if it grew large enough to break its leash and run away.

Learning was precious to wanderers. For those whose bodies had already hardened and who were too late to enter a sect, even these watered-down martial arts manuals would be lifelines they had to gratefully lap up.

Sadly, Cheon Hwi was no exception.

‘If I can see what is missing, I only have to fill it in myself.’

If poison coated a hunting dog's food bowl, all he had to do was shake off the poison and chew and swallow the meat.

Cheon Hwi ravenously devoured the poisoned martial arts manuals.

Naturally, he focused on the sword manuals.

* * *

Inside the Outer Hall annex, the Outer Hall Chief Steward and Han So-gyeom shared tea.

The Murong Clan had not taken the betrayal by an Outer Hall warrior lightly. A rigorous investigation had begun, and within a few double-hours, the men who had accepted money from the Black Path had been exposed and beheaded.

It had ended with almost absurd cleanliness. Han So-gyeom tipped back his teacup with a slurp, thinking, ‘So this is a prestigious clan.’

The chief steward spoke.

“That child Cheon Hwi has immediately holed up in the Outer Hall Archive.”

Knowing the quality of the books in that archive, the chief steward wore an inscrutable expression.

“If you like him that much, why not teach him yourself?”

“If I did that, the backlash within the White Night Unit would be no joke. Besides, he is an outsider. If our unit commander found out, I would be severely punished.”

The chief steward only shrugged.

“I am worried he will pick up bad habits. The books in the Outer Hall Archive are... well, you know what they are like.”

“Bad habits? Well...”

Han So-gyeom merely smiled.

He turned his gaze toward the nearby quarters of the Outer Hall warriors.

If that was the Cheon Hwi he had watched in the field...

“It will take about three days.”

“Three days? What do you mean?”

“Until that child named Cheon Hwi finishes every martial arts manual in the Outer Hall Archive.”

“...What?”

It was absurd.

The idea that there would be nothing left for him to learn from the Outer Hall Archive after only three days.