WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: ZERO_SUGAR

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Chapter 14: In the Jianghu, One Cannot Control One's Fate (3)

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Yeon Sowol thought.

'I'm not afraid.'

Six months ago, back when he was still going to school, there had been plenty of things he was afraid of.

Even a classmate who looked a little delinquent had been scary enough.

If that guy had glared at him like this, he would have avoided his eyes. Because he was scared.

But now.

'I'm not afraid at all anymore.'

Training in an inner cultivation method had been far more terrifying.

He had been afraid of losing focus, afraid of the endless doubts he held toward himself, afraid of the exhaustion that made him feel like he would lose his mind.

'Some worthless, trashy serial killer glaring at me like that doesn't scare me one bit now.'

He didn't want to look away for a bastard like that.

Hoo...

Thick white steam rose from between Yeon Sowol's lips.

It carried a savory scent, like roasted barley and grilled adlay.

"You little bastard... Your eyes!"

Mad Dog had already kicked off the ground. A faint gray smoke seeped thickly from between his lips as well.

It smelled burnt, sharp enough to sting the nose.

Whoosh!

Yeon Sowol leaped hard backward, avoiding Mad Dog's hand.

Nearly half a year had passed since Mo Cheong and Yi Yubaek had beaten him within an inch of his life, but those memories remained vivid.

Besides, his qi sense was much sharper than it had been then.

Thanks to his training in the Willow Serenity Art, his body had become incomparably more flexible and stronger, moving exactly as he wished.

Mad Dog might have been a young expert with some reputation in Shinheung County, but Yeon Sowol could avoid him fairly well if he truly focused on escaping.

Not elegantly, perhaps, but he could hop backward or step aside at the right moments.

'It'll still be hard to win. But things have come to this...'

At present, the Willow Serenity Art was the only inner cultivation method Yeon Sowol had learned.

He knew no actual fighting techniques.

Mad Dog, on the other hand, had spent over ten years learning martial arts, even if he had learned them in the back alleys.

In fact, because he had learned through real fights there, his unarmed techniques were vicious.

But Yeon Sowol had no intention of fighting Mad Dog.

'I'll kill him in one go. Make it look like an accident.'

He would avoid him as much as possible, wait for an opening, then cling to him somehow and kill him in an instant. The Heaven-Killing Star's power would activate as long as he made contact.

Whoooosh-

The wind blew.

It had been a while since he had deliberately unleashed the Heaven-Killing Star's power.

Yeon Sowol felt as if the world had somehow flattened.

Threads fluttered everywhere.

From every direction. Across heaven and earth. All around him.

"This bastard... You're dodging?"

Mad Dog grew even more excited. He kicked off the ground harder and harder to catch Yeon Sowol as he retreated.

The moment Yeon Sowol had been waiting for came.

He pulled his upper body forward from where it had leaned back, thrust out his leg, and kicked off the ground.

Whoosh!

Mad Dog was dumbfounded.

'He's coming at me instead? At me?'

Their sudden closeness meant he could not land a clean strike. That was no problem.

If throwing a punch was awkward, he could grab the brat first and beat him afterward.

From Mad Dog's perspective, having learned unarmed combat in the back alleys, there were even more ways to deal with someone who had closed in on him.

'He thinks he can act up because he trusts Yi Yubaek. You're dead today.'

He remembered Yeon Sowol's eyes.

Resentful Dog and Laughing Dog had been standing right there, yet Yeon Sowol had looked only at him.

Those eyes, as if he were looking at an insect.

'That fucking bastard...'

Mad Dog had always felt inferior to Resentful Dog and Laughing Dog. That made the insult unbearable.

'Not the arm or ribs. Yi Yubaek would heal those right away.'

Mad Dog hardened his resolve.

'I'll give him internal injuries.'

He wanted to kill him, but Yi Yubaek would never let that slide.

So he would inflict internal injuries instead.

'They say you're a genius, don't they? Let's see whether you recover from internal injuries just as well. I'll strike deep and twist your qi-blood.'

Internal injuries suffered at such a young age were fatal.

At the age when one should be training hard, growing quickly, and burning away turbid qi, twisted qi-blood would instead make turbid qi accumulate faster. Worse, the injured qi-blood would prevent one from burning away that turbid qi. One would have to waste years correcting the damage first.

Training could be set back by years.

The pain and fear suffered in childhood also made people timid, creating bad habits. That was just as devastating.

A genius who might have reached first-rate could end up dragging himself through life after a single internal injury.

Mad Dog decided he would carve exactly that kind of injury into Yeon Sowol.

Sizzle!

Something burned.

The smoke forcing its way from Mad Dog's lips darkened.

Ghost Crying Hand.

Creak!

Mad Dog's arm muscles writhed. His joints bent out of shape.

The sound of bones and muscles twisting had given the technique its name. It was one of the unarmed arts most favored by the back-alley black path martial artists.

Fifth form. A Hundred Snakes Seek a Hole.

Crack!

The essence heated to an extreme within his arm partially melted even the muscles and elbow joints that should have been firmly fixed in place.

It forcibly drew out movements that should have been impossible.

Mad Dog's forearm bulged and rolled, as if countless snakes were swarming beneath his muscles.

By surpassing one's limits this way, then striking with an arm as flexible as a heavy water skin, the force would spread deep inside, crushing the organs and overturning the qi-blood.

'You've reached the Breathing Smoke into Clouds stage, so you won't die. But you'll suffer for years.'

The instant Mad Dog's eyes glowed a vivid blue.

"That's enough, isn't it?"

Whoosh!

A man landed between Mad Dog and Yeon Sowol with a gust of wind.

Tap!

Tap!

He stretched out both hands, touched Mad Dog and Yeon Sowol's foreheads with his fingertips, and pushed them apart.

"...Jeon Taegwang?"

Mad Dog's face twisted.

At first, he had thought one of the Windflow Three Young Lords had stepped in to help Yeon Sowol.

Instead, the one blocking him was supposedly his friend.

Yeon Sowol was startled too.

'Fuck. I almost killed him.'

Resentful Dog, Jeon Taegwang, was not like Mad Dog, a serial killer with no backing. He was the youngest disciple of the Leader of the Severing Sword Sect.

If Yeon Sowol killed him even by mistake, there was no telling what kind of trouble would follow.

'The Severing Sword Sect is one of Shinheung County's prestigious sects, equal even to our Windflow Martial Academy. Father said I especially had to show courtesy when dealing with its people.'

Killing three thieves had already cost him one tael of gold.

If he killed the youngest disciple of the Leader of the Severing Sword Sect?

'Gold might not be enough.'

That was why he had truly been startled.

He had been fully focused on cutting the threads, only for Jeon Taegwang to step in like that.

"Hey."

Resentful Dog, Jeon Taegwang, looked at Yeon Sowol with narrowed eyes.

When Yeon Sowol blankly looked back, he frowned and spoke.

"Me. I'm Jeon Taegwang of the Severing Sword Sect."

Only then did Yeon Sowol act as if he recognized him. He cupped his fist in his palm and bowed.

"Yes, senior. I am Yeon Sowol of the Windflow Martial Academy. Please forgive my late greeting."

He was completely different from how he had treated Mad Dog.

Yeon Sowol had planned to act this way from the start.

He might kill Mad Dog, but he intended to show respect to Laughing Dog and Resentful Dog.

'In the Jianghu, one cannot control one's fate.'

When one was in the Jianghu, one's body did not belong entirely to oneself.

'I'm the foster son of the head of the Windflow Martial Academy.'

If he did not act accordingly, he could cause serious trouble for Yi Yubaek, who had shown him such kindness.

"You little..."

Jeon Taegwang's gaze toward Yeon Sowol became even more complicated.

He waved his hand dismissively.

"Go. For today... But remember this. Today, you were disrespectful to me."

"Hey! Jeon Taegwang! What are you doing?"

Mad Dog protested, but Jeon Taegwang continued waving him away as though annoyed.

"Get lost already."

"..."

Yeon Sowol felt regretful. It seemed best to kill Mad Dog now.

For some reason, he felt he would not get an opportunity like this again.

Even in twenty-first-century Korea, there was a huge difference in sentencing between impulsively killing someone you had just met and killing someone you already knew and held a grudge against.

'...But it can't be helped.'

As long as Resentful Dog stood in his way, Yeon Sowol did not think he could kill Mad Dog.

"Yes. I will greet you properly next time, senior."

Yeon Sowol cupped his fist and bowed again. Then he did the same for Laughing Dog behind him.

He knew they were all trash, but they were not serial killers like Mad Dog. He could lower his head this much, if only for Yi Yubaek's sake.

"Hey. Hey! What are you doing? Where are you going? Hey!"

Mad Dog threw a fit behind him, but his martial skill was not enough to break through Resentful Dog's restraint.

"Hey, what are you doing? Why are you stopping me?"

Jeon Taegwang snapped at the raging Mad Dog.

"This bastard throws a fit even when someone saves his life."

"What?"

"You nearly died just now."

Mad Dog was dumbfounded.

"You crazy bastard. Why would I die? From the way he moved, he didn't know anything except an inner cultivation method."

"That's true, but..."

Resentful Dog felt frustrated.

Apparently, his so-called friend had not noticed because his qi sense was too dull. Explaining it to someone who had no idea was far from easy.

Then Laughing Dog stepped in with a snicker.

"Heh. Crazy dog, crazy dog. Didn't you feel that kid's killing intent?"

"Killing intent?"

"Yeah. It was the killing intent of someone completely sure he could kill you. He was waiting for you to come close."

"...Stop talking shit."

"It's true. Isn't it, Resentful Dog?"

"...I told you not to call me that."

"Ah. Sorry, sorry, Taegwang. Hehe."

"Anyway, So Cheong is right. His killing intent was vicious. He had some method to kill you if you approached. Poison or hidden weapons, I don't know which. That Annam bastard... He's hiding some kind of trump card."

"Huh? Hah? Huh?"

Mad Dog let out a hollow laugh.

Die? He had nearly died? Him? To that brat?

"Ha!"

Resentful Dog spoke to the trembling Mad Dog.

"Just hold back a little. We have our justification now. Next time, let's stomp him properly. If that bastard has any sense, he won't be able to use an underhanded killing move when we meet again. We greeted each other today. All of us."

Resentful Dog's lower eyelid twitched as he watched Yeon Sowol's back disappear around a distant street corner.

* * *

After returning to the Windflow Martial Academy, Yeon Sowol immediately found Yi Yubaek and told him everything.

"In the Jianghu, one cannot control one's fate. When you are in the Jianghu, your body is never left alone. You end up picking fights with all sorts of people."

Yi Yubaek smiled as if he found it amusing.

Yeon Sowol watched his expression, then cautiously asked.

"Then... What if I get into a fight and kill someone? Ah, I mean Mad Dog. I know I cannot do that to the other two, but..."

Yi Yubaek looked amused.

"You can kill him?"

"Ah... Well."

Yeon Sowol, who had kept the Heaven-Killing Star's power secret, realized he had slipped up. Yi Yubaek only laughed.

"I know, you sly brat. I already know you have some kind of fatal technique. Is it a secret art passed down in Annam?"

'You knew?'

Yeon Sowol flinched in surprise.

"Look at that reaction. How could I not know? Looking at the traces left by those thieves who died back then, it seemed they had simply stood there while you stabbed them in the throat."

"..."

Yeon Sowol was shocked.

'He could tell that?'

In reality, Yeon Sowol had killed them with the Heaven-Killing Star's power first, then stabbed them. It was practically the same as them standing still and being stabbed in the throat.

"Don't worry. I won't ask. In fact, I am proud of you, my son. In this Jianghu, it's good to hide about three-tenths of your ability."

Yi Yubaek looked at Yeon Sowol with satisfaction.

That allowed Yeon Sowol to relax a little.

"Then... Can I kill him?"

Even as he spoke, Yeon Sowol nearly laughed bitterly.

Just six months ago, he had been preparing for the College Scholastic Ability Test. Now the words Can I kill him? were coming out of his mouth.

But he had no choice.

He had already earned a serial killer's grudge.

It felt as though he would not be able to sleep soundly until he dealt with that bastard somehow.

"No. You cannot."

"Why not?"

"You greeted them, did you not?"

"...I greeted Resentful Dog and Laughing Dog."

"If you greeted Resentful Dog and Laughing Dog, then you knew who Mad Dog was too."

"Is that a problem?"

"It is. If you kill him after knowing who he is, people could interpret it as the will of the Windflow Martial Academy."

"I heard Mad Dog has no backing..."

"Those black path bastards usually do not care about each other, but when one dies under suspicious circumstances, they suddenly throw a fit as if their family died."

"Is that... so?"

"Yes. Because they think they might die the same way. So they band together and become extremely troublesome. That is inconvenient right now. I am preparing something important, so I cannot deal with the black path bastards' tantrums."

"...I will remember that."

"Good. I told you, did I not? A martial artist must know when to stand firm and when to bow their head. Hold back a little. Another opportunity will surely come."

"Yes."

Yeon Sowol nodded, but clicked his tongue inwardly.

His guess had been right.

'Just as I thought. If I could not kill him today, it would be difficult to kill him later.'

Yi Yubaek stared at him for a moment, then spoke.

"Still, Sowol. Things will become difficult for you from now on."

"Pardon?"

"You said Jeon Taegwang pointed out your disrespect."

"Yes."

"That means he intends to beat you up next time he sees you. Now that you know each other, he will not beat you too badly. But it will hurt. Every time he sees you."

"..."

"Would you like my help?"

"No."

"Why? I can help you."

"...I do not think it would be right for an adult to intervene in a fight between children."

Yi Yubaek smiled.

"Then should I ask Mo Cheong to help you?"

"I will decline that as well."

"Why?"

"If I accept that kind of help, I think I will be mocked for a very long time."

In Yeon Sowol's eyes, Jianghu people were gangsters.

Someone who hid behind another person because they were scared was unlikely to earn recognition among gangsters.

Yi Yubaek's smile deepened.

"You understand well."

Then he added.

"Still, if you truly cannot manage it, tell me. Well, I can join a children's fight for a little while."

Looking at Yi Yubaek's face, smiling like a child despite being in his late thirties, Yeon Sowol thought.

'As I thought. I should not cause trouble for someone like him.'

He gave up the remaining desire to kill Mad Dog.

"Anyway, you say you will resolve it with your own strength, so I understand for now. Tell me if you change your mind. All I can do for you is help you train. It has been about a month since we talked about it, so we will resume training tomorrow."

"Yes."

"...And, well. Do not be too disappointed."

"What do you mean?"

"That bastard. Mad Dog. If you wait, an opportunity will surely come. An opportunity to kill someone who deserves to die."

Yeon Sowol smiled bitterly.

This was supposed to be a conversation between father and son.

Jianghu people. Gangsters really were different.

'But somehow, it is comforting too.'

Yeon Sowol lowered his head.

"Thank you."

"All right. You must be tired. Rest now, and I will see you tomorrow."

"Ah, could I ask you something?"

"Ask freely."

"Thank you."

Yeon Sowol took a booklet from his robes.

<Shinheung Danger-Avoidance Manual>

"I heard merchants carry this guide, and it contains many strange stories. Are there creatures like monsters in this world? I have not seen any yet."

Yi Yubaek immediately answered.

"Of course there are."

!!

Yeon Sowol's eyes widened.

"Confucius did not speak of strange phenomena, feats of strength, disorder, and spirits. But that means he did not speak of them, not that they do not exist. Strength and disorder already exist right here. Why would strange creatures and ghosts not exist?"

As Yi Yubaek spoke of strength and disorder, he pointed at himself and Yeon Sowol.

Strength referred to superhuman power, while disorder meant violent behavior. In the saying strange phenomena, feats of strength, disorder, and spirits, strength and disorder referred to martial artists.

"Ah."

Understanding, Yeon Sowol asked again.

"Have you personally seen strange creatures and ghosts too, Father?"

"No?"

...?

"No, I mean, they must exist, but they are not that common..."

"..."

Yi Yubaek cleared his throat.

"Let me see that for a moment. I will check whether there are stories I know."

He took the <Shinheung Danger-Avoidance Manual>.

Then he sighed.

"So something like this existed. Merchants make things like this."

"Is this your first time seeing it too, Father?"

"It is. It is a merchant's guide to begin with. They do not give it to non-merchants."

Yi Yubaek looked at Yeon Sowol warmly.

"I can see how upright your conduct has been."

Then he flipped through the pages.

"I know quite a few of these stories."

"Do you?"

Yeon Sowol pricked up his ears.

"I do not know about sudden fog carrying the smell of alcohol, or the warning not to touch food on the street, but I know all the rest."

"But you said you had not seen strange creatures or ghosts..."

"Yes. Everything I said I know is a matter involving people. Even things that seem like strange creatures or ghosts are often matters involving people once you look into them."

Yeon Sowol blinked.

'A matter involving people?'

They had seemed far too much like ghost stories for that.

Yeon Sowol pointed to one.

The guide's warning not to earn the resentment of courtesans or attendants at Cheongun Pavilion.

"Is this also a matter involving people?"

A warm smile touched Yi Yubaek's lips. It was gentle and affectionate.

"It is."

"How?"

"That is a secret. It is not polite to spread other people's stories carelessly."

"..."

Yeon Sowol was extremely curious.

But Yi Yubaek did not seem likely to tell him, so he did not press further and changed the subject.

"Then what is this?"

* * *

2.

If you see a child in silk clothes crying on the street, do not rashly try to help.

If the child's body is strangely hot, flee at once.

Even if you hear strange sounds while fleeing, never look back.

Though the child may be wearing silk, they are absolutely not the child of a wealthy family, so do not be greedy for gain.

* * *

Yeon Sowol saw it.

The corners of Yi Yubaek's eyes drooped.

He was sad.

"This... is the matter of the Heat Cauldron Sect. Is this how merchants remembered it..."

'The Heat Cauldron Sect?'

Yeon Sowol was puzzled.

When he first arrived here, he had already learned all about the major factions of Shinheung County. He had investigated where he could learn martial arts.

But this was his first time hearing the name Heat Cauldron Sect.

"You would not know it. Was it about five years ago? I killed them all. Every last one."

Yeon Sowol flinched.

For a moment, he felt as if he could smell blood.

A thick bloody stench that even the sweet scent of lemons could not fully conceal.

Footnotes:

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