WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: ZERO_SUGAR

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Chapter 9: Blood-Nurturing Valley (3)

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“Trade? Ha!”

Blood Wolf Squad leader Noh Sung-Gu looked dumbfounded.

He held the upper hand, so my sudden proposal of a trade must have seemed laughable.

“You’ve lost your mind.”

“I’m perfectly sane.”

In truth, I was half out of my mind.

If Noh Sung-Gu tightened his hand even a little, my neck would be cleanly severed from my body.

When that was at stake, what could I not say?

“I mean it.”

Thud!

“Urk!”

Noh Sung-Gu stomped on my chest.

As expected of someone from the Blood Cult, he showed no mercy.

He had stepped down so hard that a metallic taste rose in my throat.

“Killing the likes of you would take no effort.”

“...I’m sure it would.”

“If you wish to keep breathing even a little longer, tell me why you used this Squad leader’s father to gain access to the main cult.”

Press.

Noh Sung-Gu put more force into his foot.

If he pressed any harder, it felt as though my chest would shatter.

I cried out urgently.

“Noh SeHwa.”

“...What?”

The force in Noh Sung-Gu’s foot eased.

His face stiffened as he spoke.

“How do you know... that name?”

The reason for his reaction was simple.

Noh SeHwa was Noh Sung-Gu’s sister.

More precisely, she had vanished around fifteen years ago.

“Speak! How do you know that name?”

Noh Sung-Gu pressed me.

I was afraid, but I could not reveal every card I held here.

“...Are you going to keep stepping on me, or are you going to trade with me?”

“You bastard!”

Noh Sung-Gu glared at me before removing his foot from my chest.

However, his saber still did not leave my throat.

“You think I would make a trade with the likes of you?”

“At the very least, I know you take responsibility for every word you speak.”

Unlike the other Blood Cult members, the Blood Wolf Squad leader Noh Sung-Gu I knew was generous and trustworthy toward his retainers.

He was also a man who never went back on his word.

-Your voice is shaking badly.

‘Because he has been desperately searching for his sister.’

Ordinarily, Noh Sung-Gu showed no mercy toward anyone he judged an enemy.

But I had mentioned the name of the only family member he had searched for day and night. His iron resolve could not help but waver.

‘What will you do, Blood Wolf Squad leader?’

I met his eyes without looking away.

At last, Noh Sung-Gu spoke.

“What do you want? Do you want me to keep quiet about you?”

Naturally, that was what I wanted.

But an opportunity like this would be rare, and I did not want to settle for that alone.

“I think I would be getting the worse end of the bargain.”

“It seems your life means nothing to you.”

“Then you will never find your sister for the rest of your life.”

Of course, that was a lie.

Noh Sung-Gu would somehow find his sister.

Though it would become the beginning of his misfortune.

Grit.

Noh Sung-Gu ground his teeth and asked, “What else do you want?”

“Be my strength when I need you.”

“Ha! Are you telling me to become your retainer? You truly wish to die...”

“That is not what I mean. If I ever find myself in trouble, I only ask that you help as much as you are able.”

Noh Sung-Gu would soon become an Expert master.

Being able to receive help from someone like him was no losing bargain.

“Nonsense! It is not enough that I am overlooking someone who may become a threat to the main cult. You are asking for my help as well? I nearly let you deceive me...”

“Surely someone working for the Blood Cult to settle the debt of his father’s death will not speak of loyalty to the cult.”

“What? How do you know that?”

Noh Sung-Gu could not hide his shock.

Only the Blood Cult’s upper ranks knew that fact.

Most Blood Cult members only knew that he had succeeded his father as the Blood Wolf Squad leader.

But the truth was different.

“Did you not take command of the Blood Wolf Squad in exchange for finding the person who murdered the late former Squad leader Noh JoMan?”

He had told me all of this himself.

“...Who in the world are you?”

I would have been curious too.

Still, I could hardly say, “I returned from the future ten years from now.”

I needed to redirect his attention.

“Let us do this. I will tell you not only where your sister is, but also who murdered your father and who made your eye like that.”

“You...”

The extraordinary offer had shaken him.

After all, I had heard it from Noh Sung-Gu himself in my previous life. I had nothing to lose.

It was information I could only use on him.

“How do I know you are not lying merely to escape this situation?”

“You have the Blood Worm. If I am lying, you can kill me whenever you wish, can you not?”

Perhaps he saw the sense in my words, because Noh Sung-Gu’s expression eased considerably.

With the Blood Worm inside me, how could I possibly escape?

After hesitating for a long while, Noh Sung-Gu finally made up his mind.

Swish.

He withdrew his saber from my throat.

“Haah...”

A sigh of relief escaped me before I could stop it.

The gamble, which could have gone either way, had barely worked.

“If you are lying, you die.”

“Of course.”

“Who killed my father?”

Apparently, that concerned him more than his sister’s whereabouts.

I hesitated for a moment because I could guess how he would react once he learned the answer.

But I soon opened my mouth cautiously.

“...First Blood Star.”

Noh Sung-Gu’s face turned cold at the unexpected name.

Until then, he had believed that members of the martial artists’ alliance had killed his father and abducted his sister.

That was why he had entered the Blood Cult, determined to take revenge.

Yet I had named the First Blood Star, one of the Blood Cult’s highest-ranking officials, as the culprit. He could not easily accept it.

“Are you toying with me?”

“Toying with you? Not at all. Let me correct that. More precisely, the Ho-Wol Brigade Leader committed the deed under the First Blood Star’s orders. When they killed your father, they left wounds from a force of justice sword style...”

Thud!

“Ugh!”

Noh Sung-Gu harshly stomped on my chest again.

He tried not to show it, but his face had twisted fiercely and turned red. He was truly shaken.

It hurt, but I drove the point home.

“Y-you can ask your sister directly.”

“My sister?”

“Your sister knows the truth as well.”

“...My sister knows that?”

“Your sister is at a branch of the Lunar flower Merchant Troupe in Geumhae County, Zhejiang. If you go yourself, they may wipe out your sister to silence her, so send someone you can trust.”

The Lunar flower Merchant Troupe was a merchant troupe managed by the First Blood Star.

In my previous life, Noh Sung-Gu met his dying sister and learned the truth from her.

Unable to contain his fury, he went to find the First Blood Star. After that, the Blood Wolf Squad was disbanded, and all its members were absorbed into other units.

“You... How...”

Noh Sung-Gu only stared at me with his mouth hanging open, as if he had lost the words to speak.

-He must be incredibly shocked.

‘Of course he is.’

He had learned everything he had wanted to know all at once.

Still, I hoped things would not unfold as they had in my previous life.

He was a Blood Cult member, but his natural character was better than that of most force of justice members. I respected him.

If only his sister, his sole remaining family, did not die, then even if the First Blood Star was the one who murdered his father, he would not foolishly lose control and challenge the First Blood Star.

“...”

After staring at me for a long time, the Blood Wolf Squad leader Noh Sung-Gu regained his composure.

He removed his foot from my chest and held out his hand.

It seemed to be a sign for me to take it.

Grip.

When I took his hand, he pulled me up.

Noh Sung-Gu spoke to me with a stern face.

“I will believe you this once.”

“Ah!”

“Do not relax yet. If your words are false, it will not be the Blood Worm that kills you. This Squad leader will cut off your head personally.”

“Of course.”

“But if it is true... I shall regard you as my lifelong benefactor.”

“...You will not go back on that word, will you?”

“I trusted you, yet you cannot trust me?”

I grinned.

“No. I trust you.”

He was a man of great integrity who never went back on his word.

There was no reason not to trust him.

Still, I had been stabbed in the back so often in my previous life that the question came out of habit.

I could trust a beast, but trusting people was difficult.

“Then our trade is concluded.”

Noh Sung-Gu nodded at my words.

Ah, I felt as though I might cry from relief. I had barely survived this crisis.

As I rejoiced, Noh Sung-Gu spoke.

“Still, I cannot tell whether you are clever or simply clumsy.”

“Pardon?”

“You never revealed your maternal grandfather’s name, but when I pressed you once, you spilled everything.”

‘!?’

His words made me feel as if I had been struck in the back of the head with a hammer.

As Noh Sung-Gu said, I had never mentioned my maternal grandfather’s name. I had only assumed they would investigate, panicked ahead of time, and given in.

-That’s just like you.

‘What did I do?!’

The SoDam Sword truly enjoyed seeing me in trouble.

Still, when I thought about it, there was little I could have done.

Even if I had not told him my maternal grandfather’s name, I could not have deceived Noh Sung-Gu if he had resolved to question me. He knew the names of every member of the squad.

“...You got me there.”

I admitted it, partly to preserve his pride.

Noh Sung-Gu’s expression relaxed, as if that made him feel better.

Now all that remained was receiving the identity plaque.

“Since our trade has been concluded successfully, may I receive the identity plaque I want?”

At the very least, I wanted a Middle or High grade.

But a High grade was only possible for someone with truly exceptional talent. If someone like me, whose dantian was damaged and could not even gather internal energy, received one, it would only invite suspicion.

However, Noh Sung-Gu’s expression was strange.

“That is one matter, and this is another.”

“Pardon?”

“Keeping quiet is one thing, but I have yet to confirm my sister’s whereabouts. Yet you are already asking for much.”

“No, you could at least do this much for me.”

“What nonsense. If you want it, prove your talent.”

“Haah...”

This was driving me mad.

I felt as though I had returned to where I started.

Kikikik. You got fooled too.

When I had served under him, I thought he was a steadfast man who never resorted to tricks. It seemed I had not seen every side of him.

“...How am I supposed to prove it?”

Each Squad leader had a different method, so I had to ask.

Noh Sung-Gu crooked a finger at me.

“I heard that Ki Rampage left you unable to cultivate internal energy. I will face you barehanded, without internal energy, as well.”

Oh! Unexpectedly, he was making it fair.

I asked in disbelief.

“Really?”

“Do not mistake that for there being no gap between us. Even without using internal energy, you understand that I remain far beyond you, do you not? Land even one hit on me, and I will give you the plaque you want.”

He was right.

Even an Advanced master had extraordinary external energy.

His body had been trained as well, which put me at an overwhelming disadvantage.

But...

“May I use a Short Sword?”

“Do as you wish. Do you think using that mere Short Sword will change anything when you do not even know Martial Arts?”

The corners of my mouth curled up.

‘You heard that?’

The SoDam Sword spoke in a voice overflowing with fighting spirit.

-A mere Short Sword? Hey! What are you waiting for? Take me out already!

* * *

On the opposite side of the cave, every training Cadet except one had received a High, Middle, or Low identity plaque.

Because it was taking far longer than expected compared to the other training Cadets, Tyrannical Blood Commander Gu SangWoong’s expression was gradually hardening.

Meanwhile, Oh Squad Leader’s face was filling with delight.

‘He told Noh Sung-Gu to press the boy hard, and the fool walked right into it. I said I would keep an eye on you. Hehehe.’

There had been value in going out of the way to bring in the Blood Wolf Squad leader Noh Sung-Gu.

Rather than wait for someone to be sent all the way to Luoyang city to investigate, it took less effort to summon the person involved, who was nearby, and pressure him.

Now it seemed enough to steer the mood and deal with the brat.

“Commander, it seems my suspicion was correct...”

At that moment, the Tyrannical Blood Commander raised a hand, signaling for silence.

Oh Squad Leader wondered why, then saw someone emerging from the central cave.

It was So WoonHwi.

‘What?’

So WoonHwi emerged from the cave, confidently holding something up.

It was a graded identity plaque.

[Middle]

It did not bear Low, but Middle.

Oh Squad Leader’s face twisted as though they had bitten into dung.

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