WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: Chen
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◈ Damned Transmigration ◈
Chapter 123: Winter 4
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Yeonri Sangah had tasted the bitter cup of defeat before a Transmigrator had appeared in this world, back when the Calamity Saint was known as the Calamity Star.
Having only just entered the seventh tier, Yeonri Sangah was already the Yeonri Family's greatest expert. People believed she would eventually break through her limits and reach the eighth tier, perhaps even set her sights on the ninth.
One day, she would become the strongest under heaven. She would surpass the Heavenly Demon of the Demonic Cult and rise to a divine status equal to a god who looked down upon the earth from the distant heavens. That was Yeonri Sangah's dream at the time.
The world had been in chaos then, though in a different sense from today.
The Heavenly Demon of that era had actively sought to expand the Demonic Cult. The Black Dragon Society, an alliance of Unorthodox Sects led by the Monstrous Tyrant, openly opposed the Righteous Heavenly Alliance and made no effort to hide its ambitions.
Large and small battles broke out everywhere. New heroes would make a name for themselves, only to become corpses days later. Yeonri Sangah left her family to prove herself in that troubled age.
The female expert who had appeared out of nowhere and quickly made a name for herself was the Calamity Star.
Her appearance and name were Western rather than Eastern, yet nothing was known of her past.
She wandered battlefields, tempering her fists. Whenever rage overtook her, she rampaged without caring which faction stood in her way.
Most people refused to get involved with her, but Yeonri Sangah took an interest in the Calamity Star.
Female martial experts were rare, after all. Curious and competitive toward an expert of the same sex, Yeonri Sangah headed for the battlefields where the Calamity Star roamed.
They eventually met, and Yeonri Sangah challenged her to a spar.
The Calamity Star laughed at her.
“Coming to a battlefield where lives are on the line to ask for a spar? Is your head full of flowers?”
“If you truly want to fight me, put your life on the line.”
The mocking taunt made Yeonri Sangah's face burn red. Instead of a spar, she demanded a fight to the death.
Then she lost. She had attacked with every intention of killing her, but she lost.
She did not die either.
“Not even worth killing.”
The Calamity Star left behind that sneer before walking away from Yeonri Sangah, who lay bloodied on the ground.
Decades had passed since then. Yeonri Sangah had never forgotten that day's humiliation. Even now, she sometimes relived that defeat in nightmares.
“Why did you join the Sect of Order?”
Sword Mountain Peak's summit was as sharp as the tip of a blade, its cliffs steep and sheer. Yeonri Sangah and Lorelia faced each other beneath the carved-out cliffs, where there was not even a proper path.
They had not brought the younger ones. This was a battle where even Gongsun Myeong would need to brace himself if he got caught up in it. Anyone below the sixth tier would die horribly the instant they were drawn in.
“Does one need a special reason to have faith?”
Lorelia answered with a bright smile.
“If you're truly curious, you should try having faith yourself. Having someone to pray to can help you manage the anger in your heart.”
“So you've come to rely on something like that? How pathetically you've fallen, Calamity Star.”
“This Lorelia never properly knew how to control her killing intent. I killed those I wanted to kill and struck those I wanted to strike.”
“Are you saying that isn't the case now?”
“I have learned the bare minimum of restraint! I could not kill or strike those I truly wished to kill or strike, and Inner Demons piled up within me. If they pile up for too long, they will burn all the fiercer for it. And once they do, they will set not only me, but countless other things ablaze.”
Lorelia brought her hands together in prayer. Yeonri Sangah glared at her with displeasure.
“I hope your faith has not made you soft. If you are weaker than I imagined, you will die here.”
“This Lorelia is certain that I am far stronger than anything you may have imagined.”
Yeonri Sangah's cheek twitched at the response.
Fwoosh!
The Crescent Moon Netherwedding Blade gave off a pale blue light.
“But what a shame. This Lorelia does not wish to kill you.”
“Do not think you can kill me. I am not the woman who lost to you before.”
“The Yeonri Sangah of then and the Yeonri Sangah of now are the same. So this Lorelia will do exactly what I did then. I will not kill you, but I will make you hurt badly enough to nearly die.”
“Try it, if you can...!”
“If you lose as you did then, you must grant this Lorelia three favors.”
A blood-red aura, wholly opposed to the pale blue energy freezing the surroundings, began to spread behind Lorelia.
The undulating light flowed down, pooled at her feet, and began devouring the ground.
“Favors? Ha. Are you planning to ask me to join the Sect of Order or something?”
“Faith gained that way has no meaning.”
“Then what exactly do you intend to ask for?”
“You will hear it eventually, so I shall tell you now.”
A crimson world opened behind Lorelia. At some point, the snow had stopped. Yeonri Sangah looked up at the reddening sky and focused her Intent.
“First, if this Lorelia judges that Yuri requires help, you will help him once.”
It was not something Yeonri Sangah had ever imagined hearing. Her eyes widened as the sky turned completely red.
“Second, if this Lorelia judges that Haryeong requires help, you will help her once.”
Instead of snow, scarlet flames began falling from the sky like rain.
“Third, if this Lorelia judges that Estor requires help, you will help him once.”
Lorelia's face was difficult to see through the falling flames.
“These are the favors this Lorelia will ask of you. If you do not wish to grant them, you must defeat this Lorelia with all your strength.”
Yeonri Sangah was no longer standing beneath Sword Mountain Peak's cliffs.
She stood in the middle of hell, surrounded by red on all sides as flames fell from the sky.
With a hardened expression, Yeonri Sangah tapped the ground with the Crescent Moon Netherwedding Blade.
─Tok!
With a clear, crisp sound, a white formation spread out from Yeonri Sangah. Her Conceptual Apotheosis, the Bright Moon White Dance Formation, was ready.
“It will not happen, but you should also decide in advance what you will demand if this Lorelia loses.”
At the heart of the Slaughtering Hellscape, Lorelia whispered with a smile in her voice.
* * *
They had said the battle would be too dangerous to even watch, yet there was no sign of fighting near the summit.
Snow still fell from the sky, and a cold wind blew. The mountain did not shake, and no thunderous roars echoed through the air.
“Could they be competing through a sword discussion or something?”
“That seems possible. They are both among the strongest Martial Apex Venerables. If they fought in earnest, the aftershock alone could erase a mountain like this.”
A sword discussion? Estor's mutter sounded plausible even to Yuri.
Lorelia was the kind of person who called it training when she shook mountain peaks with raw power and triggered avalanches.
She may have held back considerably while sparring Fist Wolf and Hundred Swords, but it would be difficult to do that against Baek Eun-mu-hu.
“If they're only having a sword discussion, why won't they let us watch?”
“Because even if we heard the martial principles at that level, we would not understand them. And because they cannot let people who are not disciples learn their secrets?”
“I don't think that's the reason.”
Yuri muttered as he looked out at the falling snow.
It would be difficult to return to the Uicheon Sword Gate under his own power, and though he was not cold, he had no desire to wait outside miserably while getting snowed on. So he had dug a snow cave.
“I heard the priestess had quite the past, but I never expected her to have such bad blood with Baek Eun-mu-hu too.”
Haryeong took dried jerky from her Subspace and shared it with Yuri and Estor. The three of them chewed their jerky together while looking outside the cave.
Yeonri Eunha stood there alone.
At her feet, Hwangbo Jin-cheol was still unconscious, lying spread-eagled as snow slowly buried him. Beside him, Namgung Yeon-bi hugged her arms and sniffled.
Having only just entered the fourth tier, she should not have been able to endure the cold of a snowy mountain so easily.
That would have been true of her body alone. But the clothes Yuri saw her wearing were magic items with perfect cold-weather protection. Her body temperature seemed fine, and even her trembling and sniffling felt forced.
Why was she putting on such a show of being cold?
As Yuri thought that, their eyes met. Namgung Yeon-bi moved her trembling lips and gave him a faint smile.
‘What is she doing...?’
Their eyes had met, and she had smiled first, so Yuri smiled back.
It was the same polite response, yet Namgung Yeon-bi's eyebrow twitched. She appeared displeased.
“Why are you having a staring contest with that half-baked vixen?”
“What is a half-baked vixen supposed to mean?”
“Exactly what it sounds like. Answer the question. Why are you having a staring contest with her?”
“It wasn't a staring contest. She looked at me and smiled.”
“Hm.”
Haryeong also looked toward Namgung Yeon-bi. Namgung Yeon-bi had been hugging herself and trembling dramatically, but the moment her eyes met Haryeong's, her shoulders jerked and she looked away.
“Hmmm.”
When Haryeong looked back at Yuri, her eyes curved slightly.
“Don't stand out there in the snow. Come inside.”
Estor was the one who spoke.
“Lady Namgung will catch a cold if she stays out there. We cannot light a fire, but it will still be better than standing outside.”
“Sword dumbass.”
“?”
“What are you looking at?”
Estor blinked and turned his head at the quiet mutter, but Haryeong's expression had returned to its usual indifference.
“Wow! Is it really okay for us to come in?”
Namgung Yeon-bi's face immediately brightened. She smiled happily and clung to Yeonri Eunha's arm.
“Big sister! They said we can come in too!”
“I am not cold.”
“Snow will ruin your hair, though. And if we leave Brother Hwangbo like this, he'll be completely buried in snow.”
After Namgung Yeon-bi pleaded insistently, Yeonri Eunha finally sighed and nodded.
The cave had been dug spaciously enough at first, but it was too narrow to fit Hwangbo Jin-cheol's huge body inside.
So only his head made it into the cave. Yuri looked away from Hwangbo Jin-cheol, who was being covered with a blanket of snow outside, and glanced to the side.
His eyes met Namgung Yeon-bi's.
Sitting between Yuri and Estor with her knees pulled up, she gave Yuri a grinning smile despite Yeonri Eunha's chilly gaze.
“We did not properly introduce ourselves earlier, did we? I am Namgung Yeon-bi.”
“I know.”
“Really?”
“Yes. The youngest daughter of the Namgung Family in Rutlan. An affiliated disciple of the Uicheon Sword Gate. Your title is Azure Sky Sword Blossom. You are twenty-one years old. Is that incorrect?”
Namgung Yeon-bi blinked at the dry recitation of her profile. She stared at Yuri for a moment, then smiled faintly and nodded.
“Yes, that's right. Yuri, you were in Rutlan too, weren't you?”
“When I stayed in Rutlan, you were already an affiliated disciple of the Uicheon Sword Gate. We have never met.”
“But you met my useless older brother, didn't you?”
Yuri's expression changed slightly at that. It had happened two years ago, but it was difficult to forget.
“I received his help.”
“That is fortunate. If Namgung Jin had not stepped in then, Yuri would not be where he is today.”
Haryeong, who had been giving Namgung Yeon-bi a frosty look, snorted and added sarcastically, “That is true.”
Ridiculous as it was, it was the truth. What if Namgung Jin had not come looking for Yuri to pick a fight? What if Orca had not taught Namgung Jin a harsh lesson, frightening him into bringing the enormous sum of one billion sel and an Azure Heaven Pill?
If that had not happened, Yuri would not have taken the Azure Heaven Pill and rapidly increased his inner power. Bakerd would have won the Fist of the Rending Cloud at the Le Seyun auction house.
Naturally, Yuri and Bakerd would never have formed a connection. Yuri would not have grown as much at the lower tiers through the Fist of the Rending Cloud, nor would he have watched Chuk-sin-doo and Bakerd's spar from up close.
In other words, without Namgung Jin, the Yuri of today would not exist. In a way, Namgung Jin had contributed even more than Bakerd to making Yuri who he was today.
‘Now that I think about it, that really is true...’
That did not mean Yuri felt grateful toward Namgung Jin.
To Yuri, the man named Namgung Jin was remembered less as the person who had come to Elena's estate, blinded by jealousy and whining pathetically, and more as the Pomeranian that barked woof woof every morning...
“Um... is that so? What I heard from my brother was a little different.”
Namgung Yeon-bi tilted her head with a puzzled expression.
“What did you hear?”
“My brother said that he committed a grave offense against you two years ago. He went to Cra... Lady Marigold's estate and used violence against you when you had not yet begun learning martial arts.”
“Huh? Namgung Jin said that himself?”
This time, Yuri was a little surprised. The matter had been settled after Yuri received money and an Azure Heaven Pill. Why would Namgung Jin confess his mistake from two years ago now? Was there any reason for it?
“My brother came to me in secret and told me while crying.”
Namgung Yeon-bi spoke with a solemn expression.
“I was excited to learn that the famed Cloud Dragon was staying at the Uicheon Sword Gate, because it meant I could meet you in person. But on the day the family gathering ended, Brother Namgung Jin came to me and confessed that he had committed a grave offense against you in the past.”
“Huh.”
If Namgung Yeon-bi had acted friendly without knowing about Yuri's history with Namgung Jin, Yuri might have felt a little uncomfortable, but he would not have cared much.
The Namgung Family in faraway Rutlan and Namgung Yeon-bi, an affiliated disciple of the Uicheon Sword Gate, were not important enough for Yuri to pay much attention to.
“Since my brother could not come with us, let me apologize in his place. What happened then truly...”
“You do not need to apologize now. Namgung Jin apologized enough at the time, and I received compensation as well.”
“But...”
“It is fine.”
Yuri said it was fine because he truly had no lingering feelings about it, but Namgung Yeon-bi's eyes trembled slightly. She bit her full lower lip and nodded.
“All right. But I cannot feel at ease, so please allow me to apologize to you in my own way from now on.”
“Ah, yes. Do as you wish.”
Yuri answered indifferently and paid no further attention to Namgung Yeon-bi.
Haryeong, who had glanced at Namgung Yeon-bi's expression, opened her mouth.
“Speaking of the Namgung Family, I remembered something the Azure Sky Sword Lord, the family head, said back then.”
“What nonsense are you about to say now?”
“Why, did he not tell Yuri that he wanted to make him Namgung Yuri?”
“That was not his exact tone.”
“Looking only at the content, it was. If you had entered the Namgung Family then, your name would have been Namgung Yuri.”
“My father still talks about that time often!”
Namgung Yeon-bi hurriedly cut in.
“I have no idea how much he regrets not forcing you into the Namgung Family back then.”
“I remember that overly generous offer to someone as insignificant as I was.”
“Insignificant? You are far too humb...”
“Yuri receives many similar offers.”
Just as Namgung Yeon-bi thought her chance had come, Haryeong cut her off sharply. Enjoying Namgung Yeon-bi's glare, Haryeong continued with an expressionless face.
“Even earlier today, Baek Eun-mu-hu suggested that he become Yeonri Yuri. She even offered to make him Baek Eun-mu-hu's adopted son. It is the most outrageous offer he has received so far.”
“That is true.”
“If you desire it, I can make you a similar offer. Would you like to become Tang Yuri instead of Namgung Yuri or Yeonri Yuri? If this adorable youngest daughter asks, even the cold-blooded eldest brother of the Dang Family will not be able to pretend he did not hear.”
“If Haryeong is willing to adopt me, I will consider it.”
“You say all sorts of nonsense to an unmarried young woman who is not even of marriageable age.”
“Could my nonsense possibly compare to yours, Haryeong?”
Their conversation had gone somewhere Namgung Yeon-bi could not possibly enter. Blinking anxiously and impatiently, she looked toward Estor.
The way Yuri and Haryeong's conversation flowed like water and wind, drifting farther and farther away, was familiar to Estor as well.
Rather than following them, he looked at the snow falling outside the cave and sank into thought by himself.
“Could I cut winter...?”
He had tried to cut an avalanche with his sword, but failed.
If he succeeded in cutting an avalanche, would he be able to cut even a snowy winter? The thought slipped out as a mutter, but to Namgung Yeon-bi, it was nothing but meaningless nonsense.
‘Ugh...’
The next person she looked at was Yeonri Eunha. She had not expected much, but Yeonri Eunha's gaze was even colder than she expected.
“My Master is not someone who says things she does not mean.”
Unlike her frosty gaze, Yeonri Eunha was somewhat interested in the topic Yuri and Haryeong had been discussing.
“If my Master truly wants it, she will give you the Yeonri surname.”
“It is not a surname to hand over to some Western bastard who wandered in from elsewhere.”
“Even my father, the head of the family, cannot go against my Master's will.”
A martial family's strength was determined by how high-tiered its experts were. The Yeonri Family could remain powerful in the current generation because Baek Eun-mu-hu was Yeonri Sangah.
“If my Master truly said she would adopt you, no one in the family would voice a complaint. My Master has that power, and you have that value.”
“I appreciate the offer, but I do not wish to regard Baek Eun-mu-hu as my mother.”
“Is the offer too burdensome?”
“If someone I have met for the first time today suddenly tells me to become their adopted son, would that not burden anyone?”
“There are many who would feel honor and ambition greater than that burden.”
A chilly smile appeared on Yeonri Eunha's face.
“It is an opportunity to inherit Baek Eun-mu-hu's true teachings. If things go well, you could even aim to become the head of the Yeonri Family.”
“Ha. You would give an adopted son who fell into your lap the chance to inherit the family head position? Does that not sound too convenient?”
“No matter how much a martial family values bloodline, can it place that above strength? If he proves his strength and continues the Yeonri surname and the direct family bloodline, even an adopted son can be made family head.”
“The direct family bloodline?”
“The most obvious way would be to marry me.”
The air in the snow cave turned cold at that answer.
“You are saying that Baek Eun-mu-hu's adopted son should marry you, her grandniece and the family head's daughter?”
Haryeong spoke.
“You would first bring him into the family as an adopted son, then speak of it after enough time has passed and he reaches a tier worthy of being made family head. Is that not the most obvious and clean arrangement?”
“So you would adopt him first to make sure he cannot run away?”
“That is right.”
Yeonri Eunha nodded without denying it. Haryeong's eyes darkened further.
“It sounds as though you are saying Yuri should be used as a stud. Did I misunderstand?”
“If that is so, does that make me a broodmare? I only gave an example. I am saying that if the Yeonri Family wished to adopt an outsider and make him the family head, it could go this far.”
“I have no desire to marry Lady Yeonri, so I should refuse the adoption proposal all the more.”
Yuri spoke before Haryeong could reply.
“Besides, I am already overwhelmed by everything I am learning. Learning Baek Eun-mu-hu's martial arts as well would be difficult.”
“...Are you serious? My Master's Heavenly Snow White Blossom Art is the greatest martial art under heaven.”
“There may be a strongest person under heaven, but is there really a greatest martial art under heaven?”
“I mean, it is the martial art that creates the strongest person under heaven.”
“Is Baek Eun-mu-hu the strongest person under heaven?”
“She is very close.”
Yeonri Eunha answered in a steady voice. Yuri blinked, not expecting her to answer with such confidence.
“My Master's defeat to the Calamity Star happened in the past. My Master has trained to avenge that defeat since before I was born. And today, she will avenge it at last.”
“Um... I see.”
“That is right.”
Yeonri Eunha nodded firmly and looked outside the cave.
The heavy snow looked like a sign of victory to Yeonri Eunha. This bitterly cold winter mountain would make Baek Eun-mu-hu's martial arts even stronger.
Several hours passed before Lorelia and Yeonri Sangah returned, by which time the sun was setting.
“We are much later than expected!”
As expected of Baek Eun-mu-hu.
Lorelia had faced Bakerd and Gongsun Myeong without even disarranging her collar. Even when Yuri, Haryeong, and Estor fell and charged at her over and over, she had never been made to shed a single drop of sweat.
Yet now, Lorelia's priestly robes were torn in several places and stained with blood. Her hair was disheveled, and her eyes were redder than usual.
“I am sorry for making you wait! If this Lorelia had known it would take this long, I would not have left you here unattended!”
The Crescent Moon Netherwedding Blade rested on Lorelia's shoulder, and in her right hand, she held the wrist of The Silver Empress of War, Yeonri Sangah.
Yeonri Sangah wore what could only be called rags rather than clothes. The fur around her neck and the rest of her body were soaked in blood. Both her arms were bent in directions they should never bend, and she was unconscious.
“M-Master?”
Yeonri Sangah's face was buried in snow and could not be seen, but her disciple Yeonri Eunha turned pale and stammered.
“Now, let us go eat!”
It was long past dinner time.
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