WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: Asakusa
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◈ A Wandering Warrior's Survival Guide ◈
Chapter 40: Every Connection Is a Fortuitous Encounter (1)
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All around the stronghold, the screams gradually fell silent.
Whenever a distant whistle sounded, a rustling followed, and chilling killing intent brushed past the tops of their heads like a gentle breeze.
Gwak Do-mun, the Blood Serpent Sword, had collapsed forward on his knees in the center of the main hall.
“Urgh...”
“Bind him and stop the bleeding. We need to question him, so don't let him die.”
Han So-gyeom sheathed his sword and gave the order. The Guarding Martial Authority agents moved swiftly, sealing Gwak Do-mun's acupoints throughout his body and binding his limbs in chains.
A sword wound ran through his shoulder, left by Han So-gyeom. After kicking Gwak Do-mun's flexible sword far away and subduing him, Han So-gyeom belatedly examined the wounds from before that strike.
Were these the traces of a dirty brawl?
A shallow sword cut across his cheek.
Rough blade marks remained on his sleeves and hems.
Scratches, as though something had gouged into his shoulders and elbows. Even a red bruise beneath his jaw.
Han So-gyeom silently looked down at those marks. Then he looked at Cheon Hwi, who must have inflicted them.
“...”
The reason Han So-gyeom had defeated Gwak Do-mun so easily was that the man had already spent considerable strength.
‘Cheon Hwi had worn Gwak Do-mun down?’
He had not merely bought time?
How could that be possible? It was absurd.
The Inner Hall martial artists of the Murong Clan who had witnessed the entire process slowly turned their eyes toward the center of the hall.
Before the pile of corpses, where two second-rate fist fighters lay dead with their heads and throats pierced, Cheon Hwi was treating the wound on his shoulder.
Those who had rushed into the hall later still wore expressions of disbelief. What stood before them defied common sense.
Gwak Do-mun, the Blood Serpent Sword.
He might only have been at the threshold of first-rate, but he was an expert who had survived by spilling blood in the Black Path. Yet he had failed to kill even one of several second-rate martial artists and a wanderer. Meanwhile, the two fist fighters were dead. Judging by their appearance, they were the Black Fist Twin Tyrants, fighters of some renown in the area.
‘And they suffered no losses?’
It was impossible.
Yet that impossibility had happened before their eyes.
One Guarding Martial Authority agent said through clenched teeth.
“If not for him, we would already be dead.”
The Murong swordsman nodded as well.
“We did not deal with the two fist fighters. Cheon Hwi truly dealt with them alone.”
“He defeated the Black Fist Twin Tyrants... alone?”
The Murong swordsman lowered their head, as though ashamed.
“Yes. Shamefully, I was no help at all. The one who blocked the Blood Serpent Sword's sword paths time and again was... Cheon Hwi alone.”
‘He blocked the Blood Serpent Sword alone?’
Perhaps the Black Fist Twin Tyrants could be explained somehow. But what came after made no sense.
The two Guarding Martial Authority agents nodded as though confirming it. The martial artists of the main force widened their eyes.
“He even stood in front of Gwak Do-mun when he tried to flee. He took the Blood Serpent Sword's ultimate move with his body and broke the technique, buying time until the main force arrived.”
The air in the main hall grew heavy.
Several martial artists looked back and forth between Gwak Do-mun and Cheon Hwi as though they could not believe it.
“He had already lost quite a bit of strength.”
Han So-gyeom's brief words seemed to testify that it was true.
As deputy unit commander of the Guarding Martial Authority, Han So-gyeom had seen many talents. Yet he had never seen someone so fiercely determined. Even if Gwak Do-mun had been Cheon Hwi's sworn enemy, how could a second-rate martial artist possibly think to challenge a first-rate expert merely to buy time?
‘He will become someone great...’
‘How shameful. We tried to send someone like that in as a sacrificial shield for the Vanguard Unit's leading group.’
As such thoughts raced through the stronghold and the situation was sorted out, Cheon Hwi's feelings were different as he gritted his teeth against the pain while his wounds were treated.
‘I'm still far from enough.’
The martial artists in the room praised him for stopping a first-rate expert and protecting the others' lives, but Cheon Hwi himself felt as though he had seen the limits of his own ability.
He had merely copied what he had seen and memorized it by being torn apart dozens of times.
He had died dozens of times before even seeing Gwak Do-mun's face. To overcome a single late second-rate fist fighter, he had needed to die and begin again forty-seven times.
To grow accustomed to the path of the Blood Serpent Secret Sword and drive a blade into Gwak Do-mun's shoulder, he had needed to lose his head and have his guts burst hundreds of times.
Even after enduring that vicious cycle of death, it had not been enough. He had only held out by borrowing the aid of unknown wicked qi and demonic qi that had accumulated through death until they overflowed.
In the end, unable to control the energy in his dantian, he had only barely bought time through a crude method that tore apart his own flesh and bones. He had failed to cut off Gwak Do-mun's breath with his own hands.
The wall separating him from first-rate remained distant, high, and immense. Even if he cut down a hundred wanderers from the roadside, before a true master of the Martial World, he was nothing more than an insect struggling desperately.
The demonic qi that had raged within his chest. Even that was an uncontrollable power he had relied on to endure, unable to properly channel it through his sword.
‘I'm weak.’
As Cheon Hwi sank into thought, Han So-gyeom approached, pressed his acupoints to stop the bleeding, and spoke.
“You did well.”
* * *
Black Fang Stronghold was subjugated.
The Black Path members involved in human trafficking were cut down, and most of the remnants who fled were captured as well.
Several leaders of the involved Black Path groups, including Gwak Do-mun, the Blood Serpent Sword, were bound. Items that appeared to prove links to the Blood Cult were seized as well.
It was a victory well worth assembling such a large subjugation force.
Yet the first story to spread through the Murong Clan was neither the achievement of subjugating Black Fang Stronghold, nor the gold and treasures seized from its stronghold, nor even the Blood Cult that might stand behind it.
“Have you heard? About that Outer Hall warrior who used to be a wanderer.”
“The Outer Hall warrior we threw in as a meat shield?”
“Yes. That man named Cheon Hwi.”
At first, it spread in cautious whispers among the returning members.
“I heard that man they put at the very front of the Vanguard Unit held back the Blood Serpent Sword.”
“The Blood Serpent Sword? Gwak Do-mun?”
“Yes, a first-rate expert. They say he bought time until the main force rushed in.”
“Does that make any sense?”
“Apparently, it's true.”
“And I heard he was the first one into the front yard and wiped everyone out by himself.”
“A former wanderer?”
“I heard it from an old friend in the Vanguard Unit, so it must be true.”
Over a day or two, as they slowly returned to the Murong Clan, such stories grew like a rolling snowball.
That was the nature of rumors. Every mouth they passed through added another exaggeration.
The first version had been close to the truth.
Cheon Hwi had cut down two fist fighters.
He had blocked the Blood Serpent Secret Sword several times.
He had blocked Gwak Do-mun's escape route and bought time for Han So-gyeom to arrive.
But rumors were naturally faster than a fast sword, more illusory than an illusion sword, heavier than a heavy sword, and reached farther than the sword aura of an absolute master.
By the time they reached the Outer Hall training ground, the story had changed somewhat.
“I heard they fought for half a shichen.”
“Don't be absurd! Even a passing dog would laugh! A half-shichen fight would leave even first-rate experts exhausted.”
“But I heard it was true that he wounded the Blood Serpent Sword's cheek.”
“Not just his cheek. They say he tore his sleeve too.”
“Hey, you only heard half the tale.”
“What?!”
“Didn't even two Guarding Martial Authority experts hide behind that wanderer's back and save their lives?”
The Outer Hall warriors gasped in amazement.
Even those who had taken part in the subjugation force bragged as though they knew all about it. In truth, more than half of the Outer Hall warriors had only held signal whistles outside and formed the encirclement.
“Not content with cutting the cheek of Gwak Do-mun, that vicious fiend, he took the man's ultimate move with his body and broke his ankle. The Guarding Martial Authority agents testified that when the main force entered, the Blood Serpent Sword was already crawling across the floor and coughing blood!”
“C-Crazy, he subdued a first-rate expert?”
“Then didn't he nearly defeat him?”
“Shh, don't say it so loudly. Isn't he being treated in the Outer Hall guest quarters right now?”
Several Outer Hall warriors who heard that exchanged glances.
Among them were people who had picked a fight with Cheon Hwi a few days ago and received injuries that would take quite some time to heal.
One man swallowed hard.
“Weren't we... close to dying back then?”
The warrior beside him shook their head.
“He must have gone easy on us.”
“...If I'd known, I should have acted friendlier.”
“Isn't it too late to start being friendly now?”
Until then, many in the Outer Hall had viewed Cheon Hwi unfavorably. To them, he had been an arrogant wanderer, an outsider who had luckily obtained a red identification token, and a young upstart trying to raise his worth by borrowing the Murong Clan's name.
No one knew how much of the rumor was true, but smoke did not rise without a fire. Cheon Hwi had returned after achieving something. That alone clearly placed him far beyond the level of the Outer Hall warriors.
.
.
.
The atmosphere in the Inner Hall was even more complicated.
The young direct descendants could not hide their displeased expressions.
“A mere wanderer is becoming more renowned than the clan's martial artists?”
“There must be exaggeration mixed in. Perhaps he merely survived until the main force arrived, and people greatly inflated it.”
“But two Guarding Martial Authority agents testified in person. They said they survived thanks to that Cheon Hwi.”
“I heard the Murong swordsman nodded in agreement as well.”
At that, one young martial artist fell silent. A Murong Clan swordsman had acknowledged that it was true, so it could no longer be dismissed as a baseless rumor.
Around that time, Murong Rin was looking down at her bandaged hand in her residence.
She, too, had nearly died at Black Fang Stronghold. If her guard had not taken her and fled, she surely would have died.
She had been afraid.
Her instincts had not wanted to fight, but because she thought the Murong Clan members and her guards were watching, she could not help but draw her sword. Her legs had trembled because she wanted to run away immediately.
Yet Cheon Hwi had bought time against such an enemy and protected the other martial artists.
Even Murong Rin, with her fierce pride, could not help but feel respect.
‘Cheon Hwi... against Gwak Do-mun?’
She could not help believing it after hearing the account from the Murong swordsman guard who had been there.
A monster who had concealed his ability.
‘Cheon Hwi.’
That name now lingered in her heart differently than before.
Meanwhile, deep within the inner residence, the elders had quietly gathered.
They had ostensibly convened to assess the merits and failings of the subjugation, but their discussion was focused on one matter as well.
“The time has passed to bind that child with nothing more than the status plaque of a foreign-surname disciple. He has already refused once, but the name Cheon Hwi has begun to spread beyond Liaodong and into the Central Plains.”
One elder spoke in a low voice.
“He is no longer a child unaware of his own worth. Surviving against the Blood Serpent Sword alone is enough to make the Guarding Martial Authority take an interest in him.”
“The White Night Unit of the Guarding Martial Authority had already been watching him. If the rumors spread, will the White Night Unit be the only ones who desire Cheon Hwi? Starting with the Cheongmyeong Unit under their command...”
Not only the Guarding Martial Authority. Other clans and sects would covet him as well.
Another elder stroked a beard.
“Then we must offer great bait. Something that child desires.”
“What do you mean?”
The elder's eyes narrowed.
“Martial arts. According to those who took part in the subjugation force, he has not even learned a proper lightness art.”
The Inner Hall elders' mouths fell open at those words.
Their expressions were like those of people seeing a completely raw, rootless unorthodox martial artist for the first time. Had someone without even a lightness skill joined the subjugation force, traveled that great distance, fought, and returned with merit?
“In other words, he must now desire superior inner cultivation methods, martial arts, and things that will increase his inner energy more than anyone else.”
Silence fell for a moment.
“The Outer Hall Archive will not be enough.”
“Are you saying we should open the Inner Hall Martial Archive to him?”
“Not all of it. A portion will suffice. What that child needs most desperately right now is surely more inner energy. One inner cultivation method or one spiritual pill would be enough to sway his heart.”
“We can grant him a favor under the guise of a reward and quietly draw him into our fold. It will take him a fair amount of time to master it anyway, and during that time, we can make him settle down in this clan.”
Someone exclaimed in admiration and slapped a knee, as though it were an excellent plan.
Several elders nodded at those words.
Unaware of any of this, Cheon Hwi was receiving treatment. The internal injury from Gwak Do-mun's palm strike had lingered.
Yet while he knew nothing, his name was already growing larger as it passed through the mouths of the Murong Clan's Outer Hall and Inner Hall, young direct descendants and elders alike.
“What spiritual pill would be best? A Lesser Yang Pill?”
“Isn't that too excessive?”
“What if we allow him to read the martial arts manuals up to the second floor of the Martial Classics Pavilion in the Inner Hall Martial Archive?”
“Oh. That would not be a bad idea either.”
The person meant to receive the gifts had no thought of them at all, while those who wanted to give them clamored among themselves.
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