WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: ZERO_SUGAR

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Episode 28: To the Yiyang So Clan (1)

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[Kekeke. So that was it?]

At Evil Heaven's sound telepathy ringing in my ears, I covered my face with my palm.

Wouldn't this make it seem as though I had arranged it beforehand?

I was about to send sound telepathy to explain that it wasn't the case when Baek Ryeon Ha's voice followed.

[You must be pleased, Young Master. Such a beautiful woman wishes to join your command.]

Unlike usual, her tone was as cold as midwinter frost.

It seemed she had misunderstood, just like Evil Heaven.

It had been the same when I made a mistake with the Illusory Mind Eye. I was in danger of being branded for good.

Should I explain myself?

- Too late. Just accept it.

Too late for what? I needed to fix this.

- Fix what? When you think it's too late, it really is too late.

'...'

That left me with nothing to say.

Then again, even if I tried to explain in this murderous atmosphere, it did seem too late already.

SaMa Yeong had merely expressed her wish to join my command, yet I felt as though I had become everyone's public enemy.

I had no choice but to put on a thick skin.

Then Baek Ryeon Ha spoke in a flat voice.

“The outcome has been decided. Lady SaMa will join Deputy Brigade Leader So's command.”

- She called you Deputy Brigade Leader instead of Young Master So.

'...'

It was early summer, yet the air felt freezing.

At her proclamation, Seo GalMa looked disappointed.

Since SaMa Yeong had chosen me instead of Evil Heaven, he seemed displeased at losing out to someone so much younger. Still, he did not meet my eyes.

“Then prepare yourselves. We will depart at once.”

“At your command!”

At her order, the Blood Cult warriors moved in unison.

They must have packed in advance, as they began carrying their luggage and preparing the procession.

The chain of command was certainly well established.

- With Blood Worms inside them, how could they not obey?

That was true as well.

Those below high-rank warrior were compelled to obey, at least in part.

However, the year in Blood-Nurturing Valley had involved more than training. They had also been shaped into Blood Cult members. It would not be an exaggeration to say they had been half-brainwashed.

“Hey!”

That startled me.

It was Song JwaBaek.

His eyes burned as though they were on fire.

“What did you do for Lady SaMa to join under you...?”

“Deputy Brigade Leader!”

Just as he was about to sulk, SaMa Yeong called out.

When I turned, she came trotting toward us.

- She's like a puppy.

When killing people, she had been as vicious as a venomous snake. Yet now she looked so bright and innocent.

Still, because of what she had done with that innocent face, the standing I had built up was shaken. I would likely be busy repairing the damage for quite some time.

As SaMa Yeong approached, Song JwaBaek's face brightened as though ice had melted from it.

- He really has fallen for her.

“L-Lady SaMa.”

- Look at him stutter.

Indeed.

It was like watching a young man in love.

- She must be that pretty.

Of course she was.

She was a peerless beauty, one of the few who could be counted on one's fingers.

The Blood Cult warriors had not been sending me jealous looks for no reason.

Yet I had no particular feelings for her.

- Un Hwi, are you impotent?

'!?'

If I had been drinking water, I would have sprayed it out.

- What? Are you really impotent?

What nonsense was it spouting?

If there was someone I liked, my heart could pound too.

I had simply learned before my return that beauty was not everything.

- Hm?

I had seen many women whose beauty concealed thorns.

I had felt that deeply while working as a Spy for the martial artists' alliance.

- Did you get rejected?

'...No.'

- You did get rejected. You definitely got rejected.

Just let it go.

Don't seize on every little thing and tease me about it.

It wasn't because I had been rejected.

There were only a handful of truly pure women in the martial world.

The more beautiful or high-born they were, the more likely they were to weigh mutual benefit when forming connections. I had merely realized that outward appearance did not mean much.

“Deputy Brigade Leader, I did well, right?”

SaMa Yeong looked at me with sparkling eyes, openly seeking praise.

Should I tell her she had done no such thing?

- She is the daughter of one of the Four Great Evildoers, Un Hwi.

The Southern Heavenly Steel Sword warned me in a low voice.

Right.

She was the daughter of Moon-Evil Sword SaMa Chak, one of the Four Great Evildoers.

I needed to endure it.

Still, now that she had joined my command, I should teach her the basics at least.

“Lady SaMa. At a time like this...”

Then Song JwaBaek cut me off.

“Lady SaMa. I am Song JwaBaek, a fellow disciple of this fellow, no, Deputy Brigade Leader So.”

Having regained his composure, he puffed out his chest as he spoke.

The SoDam Sword clicked its tongue and whispered.

- The idiot is trying so hard to look irresistible.

Don't tease him too much.

At that age, it was natural to want to impress the woman one had fallen for.

It was a time when the grime of the world had yet to stain him.

Still, I was curious.

How could someone like him become infamous as one of the Black-and-White Twin Ghosts ten years from now?

“You are a fellow disciple of Deputy Brigade Leader So?”

She tilted her head.

I somehow understood why.

The aura Song JwaBaek gave off did not seem to exceed that of an Advanced master.

Of course she would find it strange.

Wait.

Come to think of it, it was strange that she had chosen me as though it were obvious.

My aura should only feel like that of an Advanced master as well.

Surely this woman did not think I was a supreme master just because I had used the legendary Walking on Air?

“Haha. I don't look like it, do I? I look more like a man than he does, right?”

Trying to impress her, he flexed his arm muscles.

It seemed he was focusing on the wrong thing.

“Ah. Yes.”

She gave a small nod, then turned her gaze back to me as though she had no interest in him.

“Deputy Brigade Leader. Deputy Brigade Leader.”

“You only need to call me that once, Lady SaMa.”

“You are the only familiar face I have here, so I said I wanted to join your command. I did well, right?”

Huh?

Was that really all it was?

Seo GalMa was here too.

If she wanted revenge, he would be more helpful.

Perhaps noticing my gaze shift toward Seo GalMa, SaMa Yeong touched the loose hair near her ear and smiled shyly.

“He looks scary somehow. One scary person, my father, is enough for me.”

“Ah...”

If it had been anyone else, perhaps not, but I somehow understood.

Her father was one of the Four Great Evildoers.

Even so, I needed to teach her the Blood Cult's basic etiquette and hierarchy.

If she made another mistake, I would be the one in trouble.

Then Song JwaBaek cut in.

“Lady SaMa, our master is no less frightening.”

He said it in a joking whisper.

However, SaMa Yeong did not even respond, as though he did not exist.

Her eyes never left me.

Thanks to that, Song JwaBaek glared at me with blazing eyes.

...It wasn't as if I had ignored him.

“What are you all doing? Stop loitering and prepare to leave!”

Then Evil Heaven, who had been speaking with Baek Ryeon Ha, Seo GalMa, and Han BaekHa before the room's entrance, urged us on.

SaMa Yeong gave a small laugh and whispered quietly to me.

“Apparently so.”

That wasn't something I said.

* * *

Fifteen days later.

The main headquarters of the Flower Moon Merchant Association in Kaifeng.

In the rear garden of a manor full of flowers, a red-haired woman in light martial attire sat with her legs crossed in an ornate chair, fanning herself with a folding fan.

Amid the splendid flowers, she looked almost mysteriously beautiful.

Yet an entirely unsuitable scene was unfolding before her.

“Pant... pant... That is truly all I know.”

A large middle-aged man, bound from head to toe with rope, spoke with difficulty.

He had apparently endured brutal torture. His clothes were stained with blood, and his face was covered in bruises.

The middle-aged man spoke resentfully.

“I carried out the mission while losing all my subordinates. This is not right...”

Squelch!

“Argh!”

Someone's fingers dug into his shoulder.

Behind him stood a middle-aged man, six cheok tall, with sharp eyes.

He was Thunder Blood Sword Jang Ryong, the First Blood Star.

“Did I not tell you to answer only what you are asked, Ogal?”

“Y-you vicious bastards!”

“It seems you still have the strength to wag your tongue.”

“Guh... This was not our agreement!”

“You failed the mission and fled alone. Don't ask for what you have no right to ask for.”

Squelch!

Jang Ryong's fingers dug deeper into the shoulder of the middle-aged man called Ogal.

His entire knuckles had gone in. The pain must have been beyond description.

“Argh! Stop! Stop!”

“Stop what?”

Jang Ryong smiled coldly.

He looked as though he enjoyed the other man's pain.

“Guh... Please... Please show mercy. You never said Chaotic Blade Demon Emperor would be there.”

Jang Ryong casually ignored Ogal's plea.

It was as though he had never intended to let him live.

Then Ogal seemed to remember something and hurriedly spoke.

“B-but the brat named So WoonHwi, Bizarre Oddity's disciple, was killed by my junior martial brother in a mutual-destruction move, just as you ordered...”

Crack!

“Urk!”

Before he could finish, Jang Ryong suddenly snapped his neck with his other hand.

The smile vanished from Jang Ryong's face after he killed him.

Just then.

Slash!

'Hah.'

Something flew past, slicing off half of Jang Ryong's ear.

It was an ornate sword, its blade patterned and half-cracked in several places.

Jang Ryong frowned and dropped to one knee toward where the sword had flown from.

Tap!

There, Baek HyeHyang, the red-haired woman, watched Jang Ryong with one brow raised and an unhappy look in her eyes.

“Young Lady.”

“This is not what I was told.”

“There appears to have been a misunderstanding.”

At Jang Ryong's excuse, Baek HyeHyang let out a short laugh.

“You?”

“...”

“What did you say?”

“...I said I would make Venerable One Bizarre Oddity kneel before you, Young Lady.”

“Is this what you meant?”

“Forgive me.”

Jang Ryong lowered his head in apology.

However, his lowered face was filled with irritation.

Blood from his severed ear slowly soaked into his upper garment.

'Because of that bastard?'

He had an idea.

When Baek HyeHyang learned that Ogal, who had returned alive, had ruined the operation because of So WoonHwi's tricks, she had shown considerable interest instead of anger.

Come to think of it, a year ago, she had also been intrigued after hearing that someone had blocked one of her attacks.

Once Baek HyeHyang became interested in something, her possessiveness made her determined to have it.

'Could she have taken an interest in him?'

A person as clever as that brat would certainly have been worth coveting.

This had been his mistake.

In case things went wrong, he had ordered one of the disciples killed, as a warning that anything precious could be taken at any time.

But he had not expected it to be the person who drew her interest.

“Jang Zifang. What a joke.”

Her cold sneer was thick with killing intent.

Jang Ryong's heart raced.

Perhaps it had not been so in the past, but she had surpassed him in ability half a year ago.

Her terrifying rate of growth was enough to inspire fear.

'The Blood Demon's blood...'

More than anyone, she had inherited the Blood Demon's blood strongly.

That was why he had supported her even while disregarding legitimacy.

Swish!

Jang Ryong pulled her sword from the ground. Grasping the blade near its tip with his other hand, he brought it to the nape of his neck.

“If you seek compensation, I will offer you this head.”

“What a waste. He would have been useful.”

Baek HyeHyang shook her head.

Then she looked at Jang Ryong and said coldly,

“Quit talking nonsense and hand over the sword.”

“...”

After hesitating for a moment, Jang Ryong quietly lowered the sword from his neck and offered it to her.

Naturally, he had no intention of dying here.

It was merely an act to calm her anger.

Now that the structure of the power struggle had become clear, she could never cast him aside.

Still, it seemed he would need to keep his head down until her anger subsided.

Then it happened.

Tap tap tap tap!

A warrior ran into the rear garden.

The warrior dropped to one knee and reported to Baek HyeHyang.

“Peerless Castle has proclaimed the dissolution of its alliance with the martial artists' alliance.”

“What?”

Jang Ryong rose in surprise.

The moment he had been waiting for had finally come.

Jang Ryong looked toward Baek HyeHyang.

She raised the corner of her red lips and murmured,

“The time has come.”

* * *

A month had passed since we left Blood-Nurturing Valley.

This was Jiangkou County, in southeastern Guizhou.

A vast manor on the western outskirts of Jiangkou County.

This was the base Escort Brigade Leader Jang MunWoong had prepared to establish a power base.

It had originally been a base Evil Heaven prepared to expand his own power base, but since he had decided to support Baek Ryeon Ha, it seemed this place would serve as the main headquarters for the time being.

The retainers under Blood-Hand Witch Han BaekHa and Chaotic Blade Demon Emperor Seo GalMa would soon clear out their original bases and gather here as well.

According to Evil Heaven, Baek Ryeon Ha had wandered the Central Plains for nearly ten years.

Because of the martial artists' alliance and the forces under Baek HyeHyang that sought her, she had never been able to remain in one place for long.

But now things were different.

She had built up a power base of her own.

Two of the Venerable Ones, Second Venerable One and Fourth Venerable One, and two of the Blood Stars, Third Blood Star and Sixth Blood Star, had chosen to follow her. Her forces had taken shape.

Riding this momentum, Baek Ryeon Ha sent envoys bearing personal letters to Third Venerable One, Blood Death King Gu JeYang, and the Second Blood Star, Asura Blade Yu Baek.

The alliance between the martial artists' alliance and Peerless Castle had broken apart sooner than expected, rapidly accelerating the internal power struggle within the Blood Cult.

I left the outer training ground and entered the manor.

- Why did they suddenly summon us?

'I don't know.'

It was nearly an emergency summons.

The senior figures, such as Evil Heaven, Seo GalMa, and Han BaekHa, usually discussed ordinary matters among themselves. Since they had summoned me, they likely intended to give me an order.

Thanks to that, I was hastily heading for the manor's main headquarters after finally receiving warriors under my command and training them.

However, on the way there, I encountered someone at a fork in the road.

'Hm?'

It was Song JwaBaek and Song WooHyun.

After spotting me, Song JwaBaek asked with an indifferent expression,

“What? Were you summoned too?”

Footnotes:

“Jang Zifang” refers to Zhang Liang's courtesy name, associated with the image of a brilliant strategist. Baek HyeHyang uses it sarcastically.

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