Absolute Sword Sense - Chapter 44

WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: ZERO_SUGAR

Chapter 44: Jo Seong-won (3)

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Jo Seong-won and I were climbing the cliff of a mountain peak.

The Beggars' Sect Body-Lightening Technique was certainly superior to the basic Body-Lightening Technique practiced by Blood Cult warriors.

Rather than elegance, the Beggars' Sect's Body-Lightening Technique prioritized practicality, so they actively used both hands and feet when necessary. Which meant...

- They really are climbing that cliff like a dog.

Hm. The way they kicked off with all four limbs did look like that.

Still, their climbing speed was incredible.

But could dogs climb cliffs?

- Anyway, that brat isn't completely stupid. How are you going to deal with that?

The SoDam Sword said this because of what Jo Seong-won had said only half a gak ago.

Burning with vengeance against Hong Geolgae, they had nearly fallen for my words.

But they had raised one question.

[If I follow Squad Leader So, what if that damned old... No, what if the Beggars' Sect acts first and reveals that I'm a Spy?]

Even if their spying had been clumsy, they were not an idiot, just as the SoDam Sword said.

Their mind was working properly.

As they said, I could not rule out the possibility that the Beggars' Sect might leak the information first.

So they said they would swear loyalty to me if I could resolve that as well.

They had dumped the burden they needed to resolve onto me.

- If it doesn't seem right, just spit them out. You said it yourself, they're a thorn in your mouth. If you try to swallow someone with ties behind them without even chewing, you could get dragged in too.

The SoDam Sword offered a realistic solution.

I shook my head.

I had already given that matter some thought as well.

I sent sound telepathy to Jo Seong-won, who was diligently climbing the cliff like a dog.

[Let me ask you one thing.]

[Yes?]

[Did you act alone when you infiltrated as a Spy, or does someone else in the Beggars' Sect know?]

They could not readily answer.

That meant someone likely did know.

[So you did not act alone?]

[No. I did come alone.]

[You came alone? Be precise. Otherwise, it won't end well for you.]

At my words, they hesitated for a moment, as though startled.

Then they sent another message through sound telepathy.

[...I ordered a six-knot beggar in charge of the Hunan Province branch to collect records of villages and people who had disappeared over the past ten years.]

Ah.

There was no way they could have accomplished it through their own efforts alone.

Even if they had not reported to their superiors, they had left a trace.

- They might know.

'Most likely.'

Even if Jo Seong-won had not directly reported it, the results of their investigation would eventually have reached the Beggars' Sect Leader's ears.

They had been missing for an entire year, so the Sect Leader surely knew.

Yet seeing how nothing had happened so far, my guess was probably right.

- So they're a discarded card?

'Probably.'

They had been competing with the Sect Leader's grandchild, Hong Geolgae, for the position of successor.

Then they had conveniently disappeared of their own accord.

Without having to search for Jo Seong-won, the Sect Leader could dispose of them by merely leaking information at the right time.

- The beggar chief is crafty too.

The Sect Leader led the Beggars' Sect, which handled vast amounts of information.

Naturally, their mind would be far sharper than that of ordinary martial artists.

Jo Seong-won was the only pitiful one here.

- Why not just give up? If you get tangled up in this for no reason, it'll only become troublesome for you.

The SoDam Sword spoke as though warning me.

It had a point.

If I swallowed this wrong, I could end up badly indigested.

- Give up?

I raised the corner of my mouth.

'If there are a lot of little bones, you just have to pick them out before eating.'

- Huh?

The SoDam Sword seemed puzzled by my words.

By then, Jo Seong-won and I had reached the cave where Evil Heaven lived.

The candidates were carrying the belongings from inside the cave out into the open.

Song JwaBaek emerged from the cave with an angry expression, eyebrows raised.

“Hey! I told you to come up quickly...!?”

His face twisted as he saw Jo Seong-won's badly swollen face.

Jo Seong-won casually raised both hands and looked at me.

They seemed to be asking how I intended to explain this.

Then Song JwaBaek approached me, clicked his tongue, and said,

“If you were going to discipline them, you should've told me beforehand.”

Jo Seong-won grinned, looking at me as if to say, See? You should've gone easier on me.

But their expression changed completely at Song JwaBaek's next words.

“Still, you went easy on them because they're new.”

“Easy?”

Jo Seong-won looked dumbfounded.

Even the other candidates were baffled as they looked at Jo Seong-won's battered face.

Why were they so surprised?

When that crazy old man Evil Heaven got involved, he beat people until their eyelids swelled so badly they could not see.

On particularly bad days, they had to crawl around.

This was nothing.

“Discipline?”

“I thought you said this had a family-like atmosphere.”

I heard the candidates whispering among themselves.

Yes. From now on, take anything you hear about a family-like atmosphere with a grain of salt.

* * *

After bringing down the belongings from the cave residence, I took Jo Seong-won to the Guest House room where Evil Heaven was staying while the other candidates carried the items away.

Before entering, I repeatedly warned them through sound telepathy.

[Once we go inside, don't react needlessly. Agree with most of what I say and answer only what you're told to answer.]

[What?]

[If you want this resolved properly, do as you're told.]

[...Understood.]

Not knowing what I was thinking, they answered with an anxious expression.

Regardless, I knocked on the door.

Knock knock!

“Come in.”

Evil Heaven's voice came from inside.

Since Evil Heaven did not even ask who it was, the old man seemed to have recognized me from my presence alone.

Creak!

When I opened the door, Evil Heaven and Escort Brigade Leader Jang MunWoong were inside the Guest House room, talking over a map of the Central Plains spread across the table.

“What is it? Why does the kid's face look like that?”

As soon as we entered, Evil Heaven saw Jo Seong-won and asked in puzzlement.

I spoke to him casually.

“I had to use a little force while finding out whether they were hiding anything.”

'!!!'

Jo Seong-won's eyes widened as though they would burst.

They had trusted me when I said I would make sure there were no problems, so they seemed quite flustered by what I said.

“Hiding something? What could this brat possibly be hiding?”

“They are not from the Hao clan.”

Evil Heaven and Jang MunWoong frowned at the same time.

“If not the Hao clan?”

“They are from the Beggars' Sect.”

“What?”

Evil Heaven's expression changed at the mention of the Beggars' Sect, and Jang MunWoong shifted in their seat. They looked ready to act at any moment.

Jo Seong-won looked at me helplessly.

They did not say it aloud, but their trembling eyes clearly asked, What are you doing?

They had to be shocked.

They never would have expected me to expose their identity here.

Smack!

“Ghk!”

Impatient by nature, Evil Heaven immediately rose and gripped Jo Seong-won's neck fiercely.

Even as an Advanced master, the gap between them and Evil Heaven was vast.

Jo Seong-won could do nothing but hang limply from Evil Heaven's grasp, choking.

“Who are you? Don't tell me you came here to act as a Spy...”

“That was not their purpose.”

“What?”

Evil Heaven looked at me as though he could not understand.

“They really did come to devote themselves to the main cult.”

At my words, Evil Heaven asked with a fierce expression,

“How can you be certain of that?”

“Young master. The elder is right.”

Jang MunWoong joined in.

I spoke to them.

“To be precise, they are from the Beggars' Sect.”

“From there?”

I briefly explained Jo Seong-won's circumstances to the puzzled pair.

I made it sound plausible, saying that they had competed with the Beggars' Sect Leader's grandchild for succession, had been pushed aside by blood ties, and had joined the main cult out of vengeance.

Their infiltration to earn merit had turned into revenge.

Evil Heaven narrowed his eyes and glared at Jo Seong-won.

His eyes were full of suspicion.

Naturally, I had not expected this alone to convince him.

Then Brigade Leader Jang MunWoong spoke.

“Young master, how did you know they were from the Beggars' Sect?”

They had pointed out the important part.

Without changing my expression, I said,

“I saw them in Luoyang city several years ago.”

“You saw them?”

“They came to the Yiyang So Clan on a matter concerning the coalition.”

“Ah... the Yiyang So Clan.”

Seeing Jang MunWoong's reaction, Evil Heaven must have told them about my origins.

That made things easier.

“They were younger then, with dark skin and dressed as a filthy beggar, so I did not recognize them. But I realized who they were after seeing them up close during the selection ceremony.”

At those words, Jo Seong-won, still hanging from Evil Heaven's grasp, looked at me in confusion.

It was a natural reaction. We had never met before.

It was a lie.

“You recognized them then?”

“Do you remember? Jo Seong-won was going to apply for a post under Brigade Leader Na SimHyeong, who serves under the First Blood Star.”

The two nodded at that.

Anyone could see that Jo Seong-won had been heading toward Brigade Leader Na SimHyeong.

Then they suddenly changed direction.

“It was because I recognized them and sent sound telepathy. They were greatly flustered.”

Jo Seong-won, hanging from Evil Heaven's hand, nodded vigorously.

After staring intently at their face, Evil Heaven asked,

“So what did this brat say?”

“It was amusing.”

“What was?”

“At first, they were afraid the main cult would cast them out if it learned of their background, so they begged me not to say anything. Tsk, tsk.”

Jo Seong-won looked completely dumbfounded at my words.

I was smoothly saying things they had never said, so they seemed utterly incredulous.

- Truly worthy of your reputation.

The SoDam Sword clicked its tongue.

Now, whenever I acted out a lie, it watched as though appreciating a performance.

I continued.

“What would Master or Brigade Leader have done?”

“Hmm?”

“Still, I could not trust them. I thought they might be a Spy, so I used a little force, as you can see.”

I pointed to their face, which had become a mess of bruises.

Seeming somewhat convinced, Brigade Leader Jang MunWoong nodded.

But they still did not remove the suspicion from their eyes.

Then they offered Evil Heaven their own opinion.

“Even if the young master used force, we should further confirm whether they are a Spy or have genuinely defected.”

Here, I played the trump card I had prepared.

“They have been inside Blood-Nurturing Valley for a year, so their information may not seem credible, but they gave me an interesting piece of information.”

“Interesting information?”

I spoke to them in a meaningful voice.

“They said the relationship between the martial artists' alliance and Peerless Castle may soon sour.”

“What did you just say?”

Jang MunWoong sprang to their feet.

Evil Heaven was greatly surprised as well, staring at Jo Seong-won with widened eyes.

Jo Seong-won merely choked and nodded, but their eyes were fixed on me.

I had spoken of information they did not even know.

- What? Was that just now true?

It was.

About half a year from now, the alliance between the martial artists' alliance and Peerless Castle would collapse.

As the relationship between the two forces dividing the current martial world deteriorated, it became the catalyst that allowed the Blood Cult, which had been hiding in scattered cells, to rise to the surface again.

Before my regression, it had merely been something that happened. But to the Blood Cult now, it was extraordinary information.

At the very least, it would give them time to prepare.

* * *

After leaving Evil Heaven's Guest House room, Jo Seong-won looked at So WoonHwi with a baffled expression.

Only half a two-hour period ago, the situation had been so dire that they wondered if they would survive.

Yet they had truly gotten through it safely.

Evil Heaven had even rejoiced, saying a useful pawn had joined them and that he would raise Jo Seong-won under his wing.

Everything had been accomplished through So WoonHwi's words.

Once they were far from the Guest House, So WoonHwi's sound telepathy reached Jo Seong-won's ears.

[There. There won't be any more problems.]

Jo Seong-won nodded at his words.

Certainly, they no longer needed to worry about what the Beggars' Sect Leader might do.

'Wait?'

Then they suddenly realized something.

Even if the Beggars' Sect released information identifying them as a Spy, the Blood Cult might now protect them.

But after thinking it over, they realized the situation was the opposite.

'If this man or the Blood Cult leaks information about me to the Beggars' Sect, won't I become a public enemy not only of the Beggars' Sect, but of the entire force of justice?'

In an instant, they had become a traitor who sold information to the Blood Cult.

Even though it was information they had not known.

So WoonHwi had opened his mouth, yet Jo Seong-won had somehow become that person.

Jo Seong-won realized they had been had.

'Ha!'

Even if they changed their mind midway, there was no escaping now.

As they stood there dumbfounded, So WoonHwi looked at them and smiled.

He was a terrifyingly cunning person.

'...Just who is this bastard?'

They could not understand him at all.

He knew information that even Jo Seong-won had not known while in the Beggars' Sect.

He was shameless enough to use lies without hesitation whenever the situation required it.