WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: Chen
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◈ Damned Transmigration ◈
Chapter 150: Salmun 2
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“So, we barely managed to survive and decided to ask Baek Eun-mu-hu for help.”
Baek Eun-mu-hu.
Even after Yuri finished recounting everything that had happened in Gangyu, Yeonri Sangah’s slightly parted mouth remained open.
It was open wide enough to fit a finger through. It stayed that way for so long that Yuri began to wonder whether the story had shocked her into fainting.
“Uh, um.”
Fortunately, she had not fainted. But though sound came from her mouth, words did not immediately follow. Yeonri Sangah moved her lips a few times as she gathered her thoughts.
“The Dark King... Tang Yu-shin really did that?”
She still could not believe it.
Tang Yu-shin’s actions had certainly been extreme, but her reaction was understandable.
From Tang Yu-shin’s perspective, Yuri and Estor must have been thorns in his side.
Because they had become entangled with Haryeong, his children, the siblings who should have become reliable pillars of the family even if they could not lead it as its heads, had been thoroughly humiliated.
Rumors of victory and defeat did not fade with time. They only gathered all manner of embellishments and grew more exaggerated. Tang Seo-jin had lost to Yuri not once, but twice.
And it had not been close. Even Yuri thought the difference between them had been so overwhelming that it could barely be called a fight.
He had never fought Tang Seo-baek directly, but he did not think he would lose. Still, there was more than a ten-year age gap between them, so that was nothing to brag about.
In the end, he and the Dang Family had gotten off on the wrong foot from the beginning.
Even if Tang Yu-shin had taken Haryeong away by soothing and persuading her without mentioning the Poison King, Yuri and Estor would have gone to the Dang Family if she did not return.
‘This must have been Tang Yu-shin’s best option too.’
People who were of no use to the Dang Family’s future. People who would return someday and cause trouble again.
Estor was even the Sword Emperor’s only grandson. Despite knowing that, Tang Yu-shin had chosen to kill them and erase the matter. The Poison King did not have much time left, so Tang Yu-shin must have felt forced into an extreme choice.
Tang Yu-shin’s misfortune was that the decision he had made after preparing himself for so much had failed. Yuri, naturally, could not care less about that bastard’s circumstances or misfortune.
“We want to settle things with the Dang Family.”
If possible, he wanted to completely smash Salmun and the Dang Family. He wanted to kill Tang Yu-shin, or make him suffer so much that death would be preferable.
Yeonri Sangah still looked shocked and flustered. Yuri needed to drive the point home. He fixed his gaze on her.
“If we confront the Dang Family, we will naturally have to confront Salmun as well. I know this is an unreasonable request that will burden the Yeonri Family and Baek Eun-mu-hu...”
“You are saying Tang Yu-shin truly tried to kill the two of you and forcibly abducted Dark Blossom?”
“Yes. Why would we lie about something like...”
“That mannerless little bastard finally caused trouble!”
Yeonri Sangah, whom Yuri had expected to deliberate over the affairs of the Righteous and Unorthodox Sects and their families, abruptly rose to her feet.
“Why are we sitting around? It has already been over a week since Dark Blossom was taken from Gangyu!”
“...What?”
“I do not know how that absurd business of inheriting the Poison King’s poison will proceed, but time is of the essence! I have only just arrived and have not even unpacked, so I can leave immediately. The two of you, prepare to depart at once!”
Yeonri Sangah made her decision unexpectedly quickly, leaving Yuri and Estor more flustered instead. Yuri awkwardly rose from his seat and asked,
“W-We are going to fight the Dang Family. Are you really sure about this?”
“Cloud Dragon, you ask strange questions. Do you think this Baek Eun-mu-hu, Yeonri Sangah, fears the Dang Family?”
“That is not what I mean. What about the Righteous Heavenly Alliance and... the Yeonri Family’s circumstances?”
Yuri would be in trouble if she abruptly changed her attitude later. He asked cautiously, but Yeonri Sangah shot him a stern look.
“This is a case where a Martial Apex Venerable, who is both a family head and a sect leader, tried to slaughter junior martial artists far beneath him and cover it up! Worse, he intends to cast aside even human decency! What reason do I have not to intervene?”
Even if he had become a poison creature that had lost his sense of self, the Poison King was still the Dark King’s father. Haryeong was still his blood-related younger sister, even if they had different mothers.
“To use his younger sister to kill their father, then imprison that sister for the rest of her life and use her as an object! Had I not heard the circumstances, perhaps it would be different. But having heard them, I will never overlook this.”
With those words, Yeonri Sangah picked up the Crescent Moon Netherwedding Blade at her side.
“To sit in the seat of the Righteous Heavenly Alliance’s leader, one must be the greatest chivalrous hero in the world, and the Yeonri Family has upheld its legacy as a prestigious family of the Righteous Sect martial world for centuries! Cloud Dragon, your concerns are completely unnecessary, so prepare to leave at once!”
Yuri and Estor had nothing to prepare, so both their gazes turned toward the Faceless Killer in the corner.
“I too can leave immediately.”
The Faceless Killer’s expression was as blank as Haryeong’s, making their emotions difficult to read.
“However, Baek Eun-mu-hu. Do you know where the Dang Family and Salmun are?”
Yeonri Sangah, who had tied the Crescent Moon Netherwedding Blade across her back and turned around, stiffened.
“...”
The brief silence was answer enough. Scratching their cheek, the Faceless Killer passed silently by Yeonri Sangah.
“Salmun and the Dang Family are one body, so they are in the same place.”
“Where?”
“Bi-gok Forest.”
The Faceless Killer answered indifferently. For a moment, their gaze turned to Yuri.
“Is it far from here?”
It was a gaze so subtle that it would not even register in one’s senses, but Yuri could feel it. He did not meet the Faceless Killer’s eyes.
‘Are you a Transmigrator, young hero?’
That was what he had heard when he first met the Faceless Killer.
At the time, the Faceless Killer claimed it had merely been a routine question, but they were connected to Transmigrators like Chuk-sin-doo. Yuri did not want to reveal their secret for no reason when he did not know the full situation.
‘So they changed locations after all.’
The Dang Family had not been in Bi-gok Forest in the game. If Yuri had tried to find them himself without coming to Jeokwon, he would have gone somewhere completely wrong.
“Bi-gok Forest... Is that not where the great burial ground from the war lies? The Dang Family and Salmun are truly there?”
“They were originally in Baekbong Valley, but too many Transmigrators who did not know their place kept snooping around, so they moved.”
The Faceless Killer withdrew his gaze from Yuri, who had not shown even the slightest reaction.
“The burial ground of Bi-gok Forest is an enormous cemetery over a hundred years old. Is that not a fitting place for the Dang Family and Salmun, who deal in death?”
The Faceless Killer’s lips twisted.
“Well, there must be several reasons. The Dang Family’s Hundred Poisons includes numerous corpse poisons, and Bi-gok Forest is home to many poison creatures. They may also keep death qi nearby to thoroughly conceal their life energy.”
Bi-gok Forest had appeared in the game as well.
It was one of the rare places in the East where ghost-type monsters appeared.
“...”
The image of Haryeong, terrified by the evil spirits summoned by the Withered Crone, passed through Yuri’s mind.
“Bi-gok Forest... Is the Sword Emperor coming too?”
“Yes. With the White Snow Trading Company’s help, we communicated with the Sword Emperor directly.”
“Hm. I asked a needless question. His only grandson nearly died unjustly, so of course he would come. If Eunha had suffered what you two did and complained to me, I would have dropped everything and rushed out.”
After thinking for a moment, Yeonri Sangah opened the door.
“I shall speak with the head of this branch and tell them to dispatch envoys to each airship port to receive the Sword Emperor.”
When she had been at Uicheon Sword Gate, the impression of her getting thoroughly beaten unconscious by Lorelia had been so strong. Yet she really was a senior figure of the Yeonri Family, because she handled matters quickly.
“That will not be necessary. We asked the Sword Emperor to stop by the nearest White Snow Trading Company branch as discreetly as possible after he reaches the East. Instead, could we borrow a carriage?”
“Hm... A carriage? Would it not be faster to run?”
“Tang Yu-shin will believe Estor and I are dead. I want him to believe that, and we will make sure he has no choice but to believe it. But if the two of us head toward Bi-gok Forest alive and well, and he learns that Baek Eun-mu-hu and the leader of the Salhomun are accompanying us...”
“I see what you mean. The White Snow Trading Company’s horses are no ordinary horses. They may not be as fast as running, but they are much faster than ordinary carriages.”
Everything was ready in less than thirty minutes. Just as Yeonri Sangah had promised, the prepared horses were larger and stronger-looking than ordinary horses.
Standing before a carriage bearing the White Snow Trading Company’s emblem, Yeonri Sangah spoke.
“With this carriage, no one will suspect a thing wherever we go.”
Because she had made a promise, Yuri had expected Yeonri Sangah to help, though grudgingly and without enthusiasm. The Yeonri Family truly deserved its reputation as the foremost prestigious family among the current Righteous Sect families.
“Since Uicheon Mountain, Eunha has often spoken of you...”
As they waited in the carriage to depart, Yeonri Sangah cautiously opened her mouth. She had not been able to speak of her disciple earlier amid the chaos. But she stopped halfway through.
It was because of Yuri’s expression. No, it was not only Yuri. Estor wore the same expression.
Their faces were different from when they had spoken relatively normally in the room. Both were filled with resolved killing intent and rage.
Their faces had been filled with venom when she saw them in the winter at Uicheon Mountain, but now they were far worse. This went far beyond wanting to land a punch or repay violence with violence.
‘The leader of the Salhomun as well?’
The Faceless Killer seated beside her looked calm. His eyes were gently closed. Yet Yeonri Sangah’s sharp senses detected the faint killing intent leaking from him.
Assassins spent their lives training to conceal killing intent, and while the leader of the Salhomun could not compare to the Dang Family or Salmun, he was still a renowned assassin.
For the leader of the Salhomun to be unable to completely conceal their killing intent, even if only a trace escaped...
That meant their agitation and bloodlust ran that deep.
Yeonri Sangah decided not to say anything unnecessary. Enlightenment could come even from the most extreme killing intent.
“I have one request.”
Once the carriage began moving, Yuri spoke.
“When we arrive at Bi-gok Forest and attack Salmun and the Dang Family, Estor and I would like to fight the Dark King first.”
“...Is that not too reckless?”
Yeonri Sangah would have agreed to most things, but she cautiously tried to dissuade them.
“Did you not already lose to the Dark King? The Dark King may be relatively young among the Martial Apex Venerables, but that does not mean his skill is lacking merely because of his age.”
“I know.”
At the lowest estimate, the Dark King was at the peak of the seventh tier. He might even be eighth tier. Yuri and Estor, as they were now, could never defeat him.
“I know, but I want to try again.”
Estor answered.
The Sect of Earth’s holy water might not be as effective as the Sect of War’s, but it was still excellent, so no scars remained on his body.
But his memories and senses remained. Tang Yu-shin’s concealed weapons. The sensation he had felt through qi as his protective force aura was chipped away and pierced. And the sensations he had felt in his flesh as his body was actually cut and stabbed.
All of it had merged into Myriad Heavenly Flower Rain, the rain of death that had driven him to the brink.
It was not Estor’s first defeat. He had suffered quite a few defeats until now. To the Sword Emperor, to an Orsia knight, and to Yuri.
The most recent had been at the hands of Tang Yu-shin, the Dark King.
It had not been the most helpless or overwhelming defeat he had ever suffered.
But it was the most frustrating. Far, far more frustrating than any before it.
“...If that is what you desire, I shall not stop you any further.”
Yeonri Sangah sighed briefly.
“However, I cannot promise that I will be able to intervene in time when you are in danger. If my intervention comes too late and you die...”
“That is fine.”
Yuri answered.
“Until we retreat, even if it looks like we are about to die, please do not step in first.”
He welcomed the Death Realm. Yuri clenched his fist tightly.
‘If I ever use the Banner of Reversing the Death Realm again, then I will grant you a great miracle, with the miracle I could not grant today added to it!’
That was what the God of War had said when Yuri held the Banner of Reversing the Death Realm in Gangyu.
The God of War would have to keep that promise.
* * *
- Ahaha.
- Ahahaha.
- Ahahihihi.
The chilling laughter that brushed past was mixed with the wind.
It was not ordinary wind. It was the laughter of ghosts that had failed to pass on because of resentment, ghosts whose sense of self had vanished and who no longer remembered their grudges, yet still clung to the world.
Haryeong had been born in the Dang Family, raised by the Dang Family, and cast out by the Dang Family. Yet she did not know exactly where the Dang Family was.
She had lived there until she was fourteen, but the only place she had been allowed to see with her own eyes was the inside of its enormous estate.
Even there, she had not been permitted to move freely, so Haryeong did not know how vast the estate truly was.
When she had been expelled from the Dang Family, she had been blindfolded and locked in a carriage, unable to see properly.
But she knew this laughter.
Because of her mischievous niece’s many forms of torment.
When Tang Seo-woo grew tired of forcing her to eat bugs, she made a new game of tightly tying cloth over the eyes of her aunt, who was several years younger than her, wrapping rope around her wrists like restraints, and dragging her through the garden.
When she grew tired of walking her around the garden, Tang Seo-woo took her blindfolded, bound aunt outside the estate. Haryeong could not ask where they were going or how far they had gone.
Tang Seo-woo had already learned martial arts by then, and her stamina was far beyond what her age suggested. Haryeong struggled to keep up with her speed.
She walked because she was forced to. She had no choice but to walk. She walked through pitch-black darkness, collapsed from exhaustion, got kicked back to her feet, walked again, and collapsed again.
Then, at some point, Tang Seo-woo would quietly hide herself.
Unable to remove the blindfold or free her bound wrists, young Haryeong wandered around an unfamiliar place.
She wandered through the forest in terror for a long time, hearing that cold laughter of ahaha and ihihi, and feeling some unknown touch in the wind brushing past her body.
- Ahahaha.
- Ahahahaha.
Eventually, when Haryeong could endure no longer, she would collapse to the ground, curl up, and tremble. Tang Seo-woo would approach her with the ghosts, laughing as she whispered in her ear.
‘Did you know? Transmigrators are evil spirits, so they cannot pass on even after they die. That means your mother must be among them too, right?’
‘Try asking your mother to help you.’
Whenever she heard those giggled whispers, Haryeong had sincerely thought:
If that were true, then perhaps I should die too...
Somehow leave this horrible place...
“...”
Haryeong stared blankly out the window. She looked terrible. Blood and tear stains streaked her face, and her lips, which she had bitten again and again, were torn to shreds.
This was a sight she had not been able to see back then. Pale ghosts laughing with the wind. It was the first time she had seen them directly, but that eerie scene told Haryeong with certainty.
She had returned to the Dang Family.
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