WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: Asakusa
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◈ A Wandering Warrior's Survival Guide ◈
Chapter 47: It's No Bird, It's a Dragon
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An Outer Hall warrior, of all people, saying he would stop somewhere else first after being summoned by the clan head was absurd by any standard.
Yet no order came to bring him in immediately. Murong Geon quietly watched Cheon Hwi before asking,
“Why do you wish to see him?”
“There is something I need to return.”
“Return? Don’t tell me...”
Rather than answer, Cheon Hwi glanced down at the token hanging from his waist.
The Outer Hall warrior token, tied with a red cord.
It was the identification token the Murong Clan had granted in recognition of Cheon Hwi as an Outer Hall warrior. Murong Geon’s expression shifted strangely.
* * *
The Outer Hall Chief Steward was briefly speechless at the unexpected visit.
Cheon Hwi held out the token with both hands.
“Thank you for everything.”
There was no mistaking what he meant.
“Cheon Hwi.”
“Do you remember the condition I set when I first received the Outer Hall warrior token? That I was to remain free to leave whenever I wished.”
The Chief Steward’s mouth closed.
That was true. When Cheon Hwi had joined the Murong Clan, he had demanded that they not bind him. He would become an Outer Hall warrior, but would not be tied to the Outer Hall. He had asked to be allowed to leave whenever he wished.
The Chief Steward had accepted that condition.
The token in the Chief Steward’s hand felt strangely heavy. Guilt came first.
Would things have been different if he had spoken of making Cheon Hwi an external-surname disciple rather than an Outer Hall warrior from the beginning? No, probably not. The Chief Steward could tell just by looking into Cheon Hwi’s eyes.
‘A hawk is meant to fly through the sky.’
The Outer Hall warrior who had earned merit at Black Fang Stronghold, searched through the Outer Hall Archive, defeated warriors in the training ground, entered the Martial Classics Pavilion, and even defeated Murong Geon.
Like a hawk that had flown in from the fields, rested briefly atop the clan’s roof, then taken wing once more.
There was neither a way nor a justification to hold him back. The Chief Steward soon nodded and held out a leather pouch.
“I was meaning to give this to you anyway. It contains your payment for all this time, with a little extra for hazard pay. It should be enough.”
After hesitating briefly, the Chief Steward added,
“It’s not as if there is no longer a place for you in the Outer Hall.”
Cheon Hwi looked at the Chief Steward with mild surprise. The Chief Steward cleared their throat for no reason.
“I mean, just because you returned your token does not mean the Outer Hall is so stingy that it would refuse you a meal if you came by. You were affiliated with us, however briefly.”
Cheon Hwi was silent for a moment before clasping his fist in salute.
“I will not forget your kindness.”
“We should be the ones asking you to forgive the discourtesy from the last mission.”
The Outer Hall Chief Steward also returned the salute, a rare gesture from them.
They watched Cheon Hwi’s departing back for quite some time. They thought it was the back of someone who knew when to leave.
‘Why... is he heading toward the inner compound?’
The Outer Hall Chief Steward was the one left bewildered.
.
.
.
Perhaps because word had spread that the family head had summoned Cheon Hwi, no one stopped him as he entered deep into the inner compound.
And so, having returned his Outer Hall warrior token, Cheon Hwi arrived at the Clan Head Hall as an outsider.
He might have been the first person in Murong Clan history to stand before the Clan Head Hall with no backing whatsoever.
Cheon Hwi felt a strange tremor. It might have been anticipation. The sight of Murong Hyeoncheon during the departure ceremony had lingered in his mind.
‘To think I am about to meet a martial artist whose sword reached the heavens with a single draw.’
When Cheon Hwi stood before the door, the heavy doors of the Clan Head Hall opened. Murong Hyeoncheon waited alone inside.
From a distance, Cheon Hwi immediately clasped his fist in salute.
“Cheon Hwi greets the clan head of the Murong Clan.”
Murong Hyeoncheon answered with a nod.
Then he seemed to examine Cheon Hwi’s aura and physique. He was simply looking him over without seeming to scrutinize him, yet Cheon Hwi somehow felt as though he were being seen through to his very bones.
Murong Hyeoncheon’s eyes narrowed ever so slightly.
“You have no token.”
“I returned it just now.”
“On your way here after receiving my summons?”
“Yes.”
A moment of silence followed. The air in the room grew as heavy as stone. Cheon Hwi felt his body stiffen beneath that oppressive atmosphere.
Once Murong Hyeoncheon understood the intention behind Cheon Hwi’s actions, a hollow laugh escaped him. It was as though Cheon Hwi had known why he had been summoned. It had been a long time since he had met someone in Shenyang bold enough to make the first move against him.
‘Is he truly only a boy of fifteen or so?’
Murong Hyeoncheon was quite surprised. The reason was simple. Had this brat not beaten him to the first move? From the summons alone, he had read the next move and acted ahead of him. It was a boldness unlike anything he had seen from children his age within the clan.
By now, Murong Hyeoncheon found the youth before him interesting. At first, he had been displeased, but that feeling had disappeared.
“The reason?”
“I thought you had summoned me to give me some command.”
“And?”
“If I remained bound as an Outer Hall warrior, it would be difficult to refuse whatever you commanded. So I resigned first.”
It was an honest, plain answer without embellishment.
It seemed as though he had acted without knowing anything, yet also as though he had foreseen it all. Had Cheon Hwi caused such trouble with a different tone or manner, Murong Hyeoncheon would likely have reprimanded him or roared at him.
Yet a faint smile appeared at the corner of his lips.
He had expected it, but seeing him in person, Murong Hyeoncheon found himself wanting the boy a little.
Surely many sects would extend a hand to this child.
They would tell him to take it. And each time, this boy would probably take only what lay in the offered hand, never grasping the hand itself.
A wanderer had to live like a wanderer. Only then could he grow strong. He seemed to understand that. A person’s fundamental nature did not change easily.
How many martial artists had Murong Hyeoncheon seen lose their roots as their realm advanced? In that respect, he liked Cheon Hwi.
As those thoughts passed through his mind, Murong Hyeoncheon could not help finding the youth before him amusing.
‘Interesting.’
Murong Hyeoncheon went straight to the point.
Whether Cheon Hwi resigned from his post as an Outer Hall warrior meant nothing to him. It only changed whether there was any compulsion involved. Who would dare refuse his offer?
“The Martial Alliance Call-Up Order has been issued.”
“I heard.”
“The Murong Clan will send Geon and Rin. The problem is that, if things continue this way, both will certainly die.”
It was an unexpected statement. Murong Hyeoncheon spoke poorly of his own children without the slightest shame. His voice simply stated a fact.
“Geon is strong, but he does not know how to use that strength or kill an enemy. He has never smelled blood beyond the fence. He is in the perfect state to die the most meaningless death. Rin, on the other hand, is sharp enough in that regard, but she does not know how to lower her pride, and her greed moves before her sword. That too is ideal for getting killed.”
Cheon Hwi recalled Murong Rin at Black Fang Stronghold and Murong Geon in the training ground. He thought it was an accurate assessment.
What surprised him further was that Murong Hyeoncheon spoke as though he knew the result of Cheon Hwi’s spar with Murong Geon, despite seemingly not having heard of it.
He did not mention the match directly, but his words carried the air of someone who already knew.
“But you are different despite being their age. If those two, a greenhouse flower and a reed that does not know how to bend, are not fools, they will realize something by watching you.”
Murong Hyeoncheon finally revealed what he truly wanted.
“Accompany Geon and Rin. I will restore your status as an Outer Hall warrior. If you wish, I can offer you treatment better than that of an external-surname disciple. Weapons, silver taels, spiritual medicines, access to the Martial Classics Pavilion. I will provide anything you need before departure. The mission will last until they return to the clan.”
It was an extravagant offer, one naturally tempting to accept. Yet the vast length of the mission, the price for such rewards, caught his attention.
Until the two returned to the clan? Who knew how many years that might take? More than anything, Cheon Hwi had already returned his token. His answer had been decided from the start.
“I am grateful for the generous offer, but I must decline.”
“Why?”
“Who am I to accept something so excessive?”
Murong Hyeoncheon immediately saw through the vague excuse.
“You may be honest.”
“...I do not wish to be bound.”
“Is that so?”
Murong Hyeoncheon nodded inwardly. If he had been born a bird, that too should be respected. Nothing was as pitiful as a bird trapped in a cage.
“Then do as you wish.”
“Thank you for your kindness.”
Murong Hyeoncheon grew curious about the youth before him. He was around the same age as his sons, yet he seemed so very different.
More than anything, Cheon Hwi had stirred the desire to improve in Rin, his precious child, and shown Murong Geon the strength of an unorthodox wanderer from outside before he stepped beyond the fence.
‘I cannot simply send him away like this and still save face.’
Before being a clan head, Murong Hyeoncheon felt grateful to Cheon Hwi as a martial artist and a father.
“If there is anything you need before leaving, you may ask. Before I am the clan head of the Murong Clan, I wish to repay you as a father for what you have given my two children.”
Cheon Hwi hesitated briefly before speaking.
“Could you grant me the chance to witness Dipper Turns, Stars Shift, your clan’s secret art?”
The Murong Clan’s secret ultimate art, Dipper Turns, Stars Shift.
A divine art capable of harming an opponent with their own martial arts.
Cheon Hwi only asked because he did not know better. Had anyone else in the clan been present, even a harsh rebuke would not have been enough. But Murong Hyeoncheon did not misconstrue Cheon Hwi’s sincere intent.
He merely gave a short laugh.
“Murong Clan martial artists do not reveal Dipper Turns, Stars Shift unless they are prepared to face death. Simply witnessing it is impossible.”
A peak master did not draw their sword carelessly. Drawing his sword merely to show gratitude to a single wanderer made even less sense.
More than anything, Murong Hyeoncheon was a peak master because he was a martial artist who did not need to draw his sword in most situations.
“I will not draw my sword before you. Ask for something else.”
Cheon Hwi once again spoke freely, saying something that the clan head might consider disrespectful.
“Then could I ask for two things instead of one?”
“...?!”
For a moment, Murong Hyeoncheon was dumbfounded by the absurdity of it before bursting into hearty laughter. First the boy spoke of Dipper Turns, Stars Shift, and now he wanted two things instead of one. This audacity had quite a bite to it.
“Ahahahahaha! You want two things instead of one?”
His laughter thundered through the Clan Head Hall.
At the sound, the eyes of the two Murong sword guards guarding the Clan Head Hall’s corridor, standing like stone statues, widened in shock as they turned toward the room.
Since they had begun guarding the Clan Head Hall, they had never heard laughter coming from within. Even when watching his children’s antics, the most emotion the clan head had ever shown was a pleased smile.
Murong Hyeoncheon wiped at the corners of his eyes as though laughter had brought tears to them.
Cheon Hwi would leave the clan anyway, so there was little need for formalities or dignity. More than that, he was pleased that a young boy around his sons’ age, who had returned from a difficult mission, would say something like that.
“Go on, tell me.”
“I have been told that there is demonic qi in my middle dantian.”
“So it seems.”
Murong Hyeoncheon answered at once, as though it were nothing.
“I heard that to advance to first-rate, I must open my middle dantian. Is it true that if I do not learn a demonic art then, this energy will clash with my cultivation and prevent me from breaking through the wall to first-rate?”
Murong Hyeoncheon calmly nodded again, as though driving in the final nail.
“It is true.”
“Then what am I to do now?”
Murong Hyeoncheon felt sorry for Cheon Hwi, for two reasons.
First, if the child had been born into a martial family, this was something he could have asked over a meal, but he must have been frustrated because he could not ask except at a time like this. Second was the reality that awaited someone with such a constitution.
“I know nothing of people whose bodies naturally accumulate demonic qi. Matters related to demonic qi are difficult to understand deeply, even for an expert in internal cultivation of the Central Plains, unless one belongs to the Demon Cult. Demonic qi does not readily mix with other martial arts, and its principles differ from those of both orthodox sects and unorthodox factions. It is reasonable to say that it will become a barrier.”
Cheon Hwi calmly nodded at those words. Hearing Han So-gyeom’s explanation repeated by a peak master made everything feel clearer.
“For my last request, could you look at my sword and offer a few words of advice?”
“Hmm...”
There were few chances to receive the guidance of a peak master.
“Very well.”
Cheon Hwi drew his sword.
The Meteor Sword Forms he had learned were practical swordsmanship whose individual forms had not yet been fully developed, so they were difficult to perform perfectly without an opponent.
Still, Cheon Hwi swung his sword as though recalling his fight against Murong Geon only moments ago.
Swift swordplay developed from the simple three forms of the Three Powers Swift Sword Forms.
Murong Hyeoncheon watched Cheon Hwi indifferently at first, then suddenly uncrossed his arms and furrowed his brow.
“You are trying too hard to hide it.”
“...?”
Cheon Hwi lowered his sword and looked at the Murong Clan’s clan head.
“It seems to be Meteor Chasing the Moon Movement Technique mixed with a hodgepodge of swordsmanship.”
“...!”
Cheon Hwi watched the clan head’s reaction, wondering if he had recognized it immediately. He had tried to hide it while performing the Meteor Sword Forms, but it seemed impossible to deceive the eyes of a peak master.
Yet even though he knew Cheon Hwi had stolen and learned the Murong Clan’s movement technique, he did not seem particularly displeased.
The clan head’s brows curved kindly.
“Do not hide it. I do not know where you learned it by watching from the sidelines, but you are using only half of that movement technique.”
“...Will it not be a problem that I stole and learned it?”
“Will the clan’s main pillar collapse because a bird flies in and carries off a few grains? Nothing will change. What is wrong with wrapping a bandage around an injured wing? Show me.”
Cheon Hwi clasped his hands in salute, then took his stance again. Once he stopped trying to hide the movement technique that had become one with his swordsmanship, his true sword forms erupted.
Whoosh! Rustle!
Rapid movements. Footwork that scattered his opponent’s gaze like clouds, sowing confusion as though smoke and clouds had spread before them. And from within those clouds, swordsmanship flashed forth like lightning.
To the clan head of the Murong Clan, that succession of movements did not resemble a bird emerging through the clouds, but the scales of a dragon breaking through them.
‘It seems I should not have used that bird metaphor earlier.’
Only then did the clan head relax his furrowed brow and uncross his arms as he watched Cheon Hwi’s sword. He nodded.
‘This one has the makings of a dragon.’
It was the brief assessment a peak master gave Cheon Hwi.
“Take your stance again. If you do not intend to disgrace that movement technique elsewhere, you will not be able to cross this clan’s gates as you are now.”
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