WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: ZERO_SUGAR
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
Chapter 116: When Young, I Knew Not Sorrow's Taste (21)
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What sort of person was a gossipmonger?
Hunan’s gossipmonger, Gaseopmyeong, often thought about that.
‘They accomplish nothing themselves, yet love running their mouths about everyone else.’
Therefore.
‘There isn’t a single decent one among them.’
Gaseopmyeong himself was a gossipmonger, yet he always thought that way.
‘At least I know gossipmongers are useless freeloaders, so I’m better than the rest.’
With faint contempt in his eyes, Gaseopmyeong looked over the gossipmongers seated before him.
“...”
First was the man with the goatee.
‘Look at him, clamping his mouth shut.’
Gaseopmyeong laughed inwardly as he recalled what the man had said at their last gathering.
‘Yeon Sowol? Who’s that... Ah, that Guangdong monkey. Right. The fool who thinks he can hold a martial arts tournament without knowing his place, that pebble-throwing monkey?’
‘...? Excuse me. He’s the martial artist who overwhelmingly defeated Namgung Ujin, the fourth young master of the Namgung Family. He also gathered Yuezhou’s rising young talents and captured bandits. I don’t think you should speak of him that way.’
When Gaseopmyeong angrily objected, the goateed man had offered this argument.
‘Tsk. This is why gossipmongers who don’t know the first thing about martial arts are a problem. Do you know why great sects and families are great? Because they advance quickly in martial arts? No. That’s only a small part of it. What makes them truly frightening is that their ceiling is far higher. Reaching late first-rate before twenty, or defeating the rising young talents of great sects and families while at late first-rate? It isn’t common, but it isn’t rare either.’
At the time, Gaseopmyeong had seen the mockery and contempt in the man’s eyes.
‘Once they reach the peak realm, it’s a different story. The masters of great sects and families grow faster and faster with time, while those who aren’t stagnate. So it isn’t such an amazing thing that that Guangdong monkey defeated Namgung Ujin. It was just a temporary stir, something between youngsters who still have much to learn. Put him against any late first-rate martial artist over thirty, and they’d toy with that monkey. Not every late first-rate martial artist is the same. You should know what you’re talking about before you speak.’
The man who had rambled on so excitedly then was now keeping his mouth shut. Unable to get a word in, he merely kept sipping liquor.
No one spoke to him.
Gaseopmyeong, on the other hand, found himself in the exact opposite situation.
“Brother Ga! It really turned out exactly as you said.”
“Wow. Back then, most people said Yeon Sowol’s reputation and martial arts wouldn’t be enough to lead a martial arts tournament...”
“Among late first-rate masters below the peak realm, regardless of age, no one would find it easy to face Yeon Sowol. Ha! I still get chills hearing it. How did you call it so perfectly?”
Gaseopmyeong forced his twitching cheeks still and raised his cup as if calm.
“Looking at his past actions and carefully considering the facts, it seemed obvious.”
Gulp.
After taking a drink, he glanced at the goateed man again.
The man lowered his head and avoided his gaze.
Unable to bear it any longer, Gaseopmyeong twisted his lips into a smile.
The goateed man trembled.
What a refreshing feeling!
In his high spirits, Gaseopmyeong spoke more than usual.
“What makes Yeon Seonhong truly remarkable isn’t only his martial arts. Of course, his martial arts are remarkable too. But what truly surprised me was his scheming.”
“Oh? What do you mean by that?”
“That young man had only just arrived in Yuezhou after living elsewhere, yet he gathered so many of Yuezhou’s rising young talents. I won’t go on about that now. What I want to discuss is the martial arts tournament itself.”
“The martial arts tournament! Ah, it’s been so entertaining.”
“My point exactly. Let me ask you honestly. Have you ever seen anything this entertaining in your life?”
Everyone shook their heads.
They were all thoroughly excited.
“To think that martial artists we’d only heard about would gather in one place and determine who was stronger!”
“Even the structure was fascinating. He set the famous Thirty-Six Heavenly Spirits apart, not letting them compete, but having them watch from above. Ah, it was so ingenious.”
“I got chills all over. Look, I still have them. Did you see the expressions of the martial artists below as they looked up at the Thirty-Six Heavenly Spirits?”
“They were something else! Some looked like they wanted to get up there, while others looked furious. There were even people with expressions that said, ‘So what if they’re up there?’”
“Forget all that, the martial arts themselves left me breathless. They were dizzying and heavy, yet I couldn’t look away. Every match left my head spinning, as if I’d stepped into another world.”
“Exactly. I’ve seen martial arts being used many times, but it was my first time seeing people clash with their pride on the line, giving it everything they had. Martial artists truly live in another world. Who knows when we’ll ever see such a spectacle again?”
“I liked that too, but... Personally, I can’t forget Lake Sword. He was known as a master who had stagnated for a long time, but wasn’t he actually walking his own path in silence all those years? It felt like people had finally recognized that, and... it moved me.”
“Me too. Especially when you compare him with Storm Thrust Ryu Cheon afterward. They were both said to stand before the peak realm, yet this tournament made it clear how utterly different their circumstances were.”
The conversation did not stop.
The excitement mounted by the moment.
Gaseopmyeong smiled faintly.
“You’re all right. But there’s something else I truly want to point out.”
Everyone perked up, curious to hear what Gaseopmyeong, who had shown insight beyond anyone else, would say about this entertaining martial arts tournament.
“I agree with all of you. From the betting over who would be stronger before the matches even began, to the structure of the Thirty-Six Heavenly Spirits and the Seventy-Two Earthly Fiends, to every martial artist’s story. My heart pounded so hard that I thought this might be the most entertaining moment of my life.”
“Exactly.”
“That’s exactly how I feel.”
As agreement poured in from every direction, Gaseopmyeong smiled meaningfully.
“But what truly surprised me was something smaller. Do you remember what Yeon Seonhong said just before his match with Lake Sword Ho Gwangil?”
The people looked at one another. They could not remember clearly.
“Yeon Seonhong said, ‘I heard that in this area around Yuezhou, there isn’t a master who hasn’t learned at least one move of martial arts from you, Senior.’”
This time, everyone stared at Gaseopmyeong with expressions that asked, So what?
“That one insignificant sentence was a masterstroke. Because he said it, didn’t Lake Sword tell his own story?”
“Ah!”
Only then did their mouths fall open.
“Think about it. Before every match, Yeon Seonhong asked a question that made his opponent tell their own story. You could say he naturally guided the atmosphere that way. That’s why Lake Sword told his story, and Storm Thrust told his. Once that atmosphere formed, everyone who came after said at least a few words before fighting. And how was it? Wasn’t it far more entertaining? Lake Sword was happy to receive recognition, while Storm Thrust seemed a little ridiculous because his skill did not live up to his words.”
The people fell into thought.
Small exclamations rose here and there.
Because it was true.
Having heard the martial artists’ stories, their fights had become far more thrilling.
Gaseopmyeong said, “That is Yeon Seonhong’s scheming. Unbelievable scheming. With just a few words, he made so many people laugh, cry, and feel moved. Not only the martial artists, but even people like us who don’t know the first thing about martial arts!”
The gossipmongers looked at one another.
Some even rolled up their sleeves and rubbed their arms, covered in goosebumps.
“I guarantee you, this martial arts tournament will be a spectacle without precedent in all history. We should know how fortunate we are to enjoy it here.”
Gaseopmyeong shook his head and drank.
“How could someone like us do such a thing? And at barely twenty years of age. It’s not as though he’s an immortal who has looked down upon the human world and tasted every joy, sorrow, anger, and pleasure...”
After that drinking party ended, Gaseopmyeong returned home and immediately took out paper, brush, and ink.
The title of the book he was writing was faintly visible.
<Register of Jianghu Figures: Hunan Edition>
<Written by Gaseopmyeong>
Ordinarily, a register of notable figures did not include its author’s name.
After all, a Jianghu figure might see it, bear a grudge, and come looking to cause trouble.
But Gaseopmyeong wrote his name.
“Whew...”
Letting out a long breath, Gaseopmyeong steadied the brush and placed it on the paper.
A three-character name immediately came to mind.
<Yeon Sowol>
Below it, Gaseopmyeong began writing down every record he had uncovered about him, in no particular order.
Rather than aiming for meticulousness, he wrote everything he knew with sheer momentum.
It was not even a first draft yet, only the planning stage.
The origin story of the Guangdong Martial Alliance.
The tale that he threw things whenever Guangdong was insulted.
His match with Won Huiseung.
His achievements in Hengyang.
His achievements in Yuezhou.
His match with Namgung Ujin.
And the long-awaited martial arts tournament.
Once he had written down everything he knew, he folded his arms and studied it.
“Hmm...”
His brows furrowed in dissatisfaction.
“This is entertaining, but... it feels like a lie. Or an exaggeration.”
His eyes settled on the words Featherless Arrow.
“It seems like a malicious rumor spread for no reason just because he’s from Guangdong.”
The more he thought about it, the more certain he became.
The Yeon Sowol he had seen and heard about in Yuezhou perfectly fit the description of a young gentleman.
His appearance was always neat, and he smelled pleasant.
He never lost his composure, wherever he was.
He treated anyone with proper courtesy, yet never bent when he needed to stand firm.
He had also heard that Yeon Sowol had been extremely popular at the drinking party held by Dongting Lake after the first day of the martial arts tournament.
“Could someone so well-mannered and sociable suddenly start throwing stones just because he hears Guangdong insulted? No way.”
Yeon Seonhong was no ordinary Jianghu figure.
Gaseopmyeong snorted, then scribbled out the Featherless Arrow entry with ink.
“I can’t include unconfirmed rumors in a book that bears my name.”
I am no ordinary gossipmonger.
Smiling softly, he flipped through the pages.
An entry on Yeon Sowol’s friends appeared.
Won Huiseung. Jin Geol, So Hye, and Ha Jeop.
“Hmm... Mm...”
Gaseopmyeong sank into thought.
“These people aren’t uninteresting, but...”
After thinking for a moment, he closed the papers and set them aside.
“They aren’t worth recording separately yet.”
He turned the pages again.
Finding entries on people he had come to see differently through this martial arts tournament, he added a few lines to each.
“Once I’m done writing this, I should properly investigate Elder Jeon’s civilian kidnapping case as well. What shadows exist in this peaceful Yuezhou? And ever since the provincial governor arrived in Yuezhou, there have been an unusual number of travel bans. They won’t even let people set foot on Junshan Island, and there are many days when boats cannot sail on Dongting Lake... Maybe I should look into that too...”
Scratch, scratch.
Until deep into the night, the oil lamp in gossipmonger Gaseopmyeong’s room did not go out.
Footnotes:
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