WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: ZERO_SUGAR
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Chapter 31: In April, All the Flowers of the World Have Faded (2)
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Before the spectacle began, the martial artists all traded opinions.
"Who do you think will win?"
"Isn't it obviously Seonggwang, the first disciple of Great Hero Already Gone When Seen?"
"Hmm. If it's Wind Laughs Seonggwang, then certainly."
"I don't know. I don't think anyone will make it. If nobody succeeds, there won't be any winners or losers."
"True."
"That's also true."
This event was limited to those twenty-five and younger.
Which meant most challengers were second-rate.
Even reaching the realm called first-rate by thirty was considered an extraordinary achievement.
On the other hand, quite a few of the military officers blocking the way were first-rate. That was why so many martial artists expected everyone to fail.
Once Yeon Sowol realized that, he felt a little suffocated.
"Is this even possible? If they're first-rate, aren't they at Father's level?"
There were more than twenty military officers who looked first-rate at a glance.
Twenty Yi Yubaeks...?
It gave him chills.
"Little brother, don't worry. Not all first-rate martial artists are equal."
"Really?"
"Of course. Even among second-rate martial artists, there are huge differences in skill."
What was a second-rate martial artist?
By Yi Yubaek's standards, they were people who had cultivated their internal energy to the stage of Breathing Smoke into Clouds and learned martial arts.
Most of the people Yeon Sowol had met so far had been second-rate.
'Right. There really is a huge difference.'
Thinking about it, that was true.
He was second-rate. Mad Dog was second-rate. The worthless Black Path thugs who had come with Mad Dog were second-rate, Resentful Dog was second-rate, and even Eun-yeong from Cheongun Pavilion, who had taught him how to use qi sense, had breathed white vapor from her mouth. Even Jang Wisan, the ninth-rank County Inspector who had looked monstrously strong, had done so as well. That meant they had all been second-rate.
Once one began kindling True Flame, smoke no longer came from one's mouth. By then, all impurities within the Eight Extraordinary Vessels had already been burned away.
So they were all grouped together as second-rate, but when compared directly, there could be a difference as vast as heaven and earth.
Kang Muhyeok said, "But the differences among first-rate martial artists are even greater. Kindling True Flame makes you first-rate, but there are stages within that realm too."
The beginning of the first-rate realm was called Brave Flame Soars.
It was the stage where the fiercely kindled True Flame began releasing heat and pressure outside the body. When one drew upon true qi, veins would bulge beneath thin patches of skin, such as at the temples or the backs of the hands, while a faint haze rose from them.
At the middle stage of first-rate, the pressure and heat of the True Flame increased until raging flames seemed to pierce the heavens. This was called Fierce Flame Pierces the Heavens.
When one drew upon true qi, the hems of one's clothes swelled with it, and haze surged upward as though they had caught fire.
"Quite a few of them appear to be at the stage of Brave Flame Soars. They're nothing compared to Master."
"Does that mean some have reached Fierce Flame Pierces the Heavens...?"
"Even so, they're nothing compared to Master."
No matter how they put it, Yeon Sowol's thoughts remained complicated.
'But what else can I do?'
He forced himself to settle down.
"All right. Let's give it a try. The military officers' martial arts must be tailored to the military examination, so wouldn't their principles be rather narrow? If we exploit that well, there might be a way."
Was the harm of rote learning limited to Korea?
"Little brother, you're absolutely right! They're the sort who think that if someone jumps high, they can shoot them with arrows, and if someone approaches stealthily, they can just let their armor take the hit. There must be openings."
"Good! Let's make a plan!"
The second disciple, Seon Jehun, called out cheerfully and pulled Mo Cheong over.
The Windflow Three Young Lords. No, with Yeon Sowol included, the Windflow Four Young Lords gathered close and put their heads together.
"Our Windflow School has wind and willow in its name, so our lightness art is light and quiet. Don't you think we can use that?"
At Seon Jehun's suggestion, Yeon Sowol exclaimed.
"That's a great idea! What if we focus on hiding as much as possible instead of showing off?"
Eun-yeong came to mind. The way she had taught him to use qi sense, how to avoid an enemy's eyes and ears.
If the problem was that their opponents were strong, then couldn't they simply move without being noticed?
"Good! That's an excellent idea. The precision of qi sense isn't a subject in the military examination."
Kang Muhyeok immediately agreed. Then he glanced behind them.
"Perfect timing. The first disciple of Great Hero Already Gone When Seen, who is famous for his lightness skill in Guangdong, is here. He's Seonggwang, known as Wind Laughs. His lightness skill is flashy, so while he draws their attention, let's quietly infiltrate."
"Sounds good. Senior Brother, should we keep our young master hidden until the very end? If they turn their attention toward us, you, me, and Mo Cheong can each draw their eyes first, while we keep our young master hidden until the end."
"That's an excellent idea, Jehun."
The Windflow Four Young Lords became united in purpose.
Still, they needed more of a plan. Something more detailed.
"The problem is that we're on a river. We can't move freely. If we step on a boat, we'll inevitably draw attention..."
As they put their heads together and worried over it...
"Stepping stones. Step on them."
!!!
A voice suddenly broke in.
Everyone was startled. They had not sensed anyone approaching at all.
"Ah! Miss Eun-yeong!"
Yeon Sowol recognized the owner of the sudden voice and brightened.
"Stepping stones. Step on them. Move quietly."
Eun-yeong casually reached out, picked up several large wooden trays one by one, and...
Whoosh!
Like skipping stones, she cast them low across the water.
"...Amazing!"
Kang Muhyeok exclaimed in admiration.
"Where did someone this skilled come from...?"
Seon Jehun gasped as well.
How could they not? She had thrown large wooden trays and basins as wide as a person's torso, yet not a single sound of them cutting through the air could be heard.
She had applied the method assassins used to throw concealed weapons.
This was the unpredictability martial artists possessed that military officers did not.
Like night owls, the wooden trays and basins flew low and silently before landing without a sound across the river. They formed something like stepping stones.
They were hard to see against the dark waves.
"Memorize. Positions. Then... do well."
Eun-yeong gave Yeon Sowol a small wave, then hopped back toward Choran. Choran was still dancing.
"...Sowol. That person is disguised as a man, right?"
Mo Cheong poked Yeon Sowol's side.
"Huh? Yeah, that's right. She's a woman. She's with those courtesans, so I guess she disguised herself because it would be troublesome if people thought she was one too."
"...She's really pretty."
"Huh?"
"What."
"Don't tell me..."
"What."
Mo Cheong answered curtly and looked away, his face slightly red.
Yeon Sowol wanted to tease him more, but there was no time now.
"Listen! The moment this signal arrow falls onto the river, it shall begin!"
The announcement marked the start of the spectacle.
Then...
Screech!
A flaming arrow rose into the sky, traced an arc, and fell toward the black waves.
"Go!"
Dozens of young martial artists leaped into action at once.
* * *
Whoooooo-
White vapor scattered in every direction like mist over the water.
No Gil, Already Gone When Seen.
A famed martial artist of Guangdong whose lightness skill was said to be peerless in speed, for when one looked at him, he was already gone.
His first disciple, Seonggwang, was called Wind Laughs because only the sound of laughing wind remained as he raced ahead.
Living up to that great name, Seonggwang charged from the start with tremendous confidence.
"I'm going first!"
Boooom!
Even the speed at which he kicked off the boat and jumped was different.
While everyone else went whoosh and traced arcs through the air, Wind Laughs went boom and shot forward in a straight line. Only the fluttering sound of his clothes remained behind him.
His strategy was simple.
Faster than anyone else. So fast that no one could even compare!
He would go at full speed from the start, faster than anyone could anticipate. Before the military officers could react!
'At this distance, I can reach it in just four jumps!'
He had already made one.
Boom!
He stepped on the first boat and jumped again.
Booom!
He stepped on the second boat and leaped once more.
'Now for the last one!'
Wind Laughs bared his teeth in a grin.
"Fire!"
Screeeech!
"Huh?"
More than ten arrows came flying at him.
The arrowheads had been removed, leaving only the shafts, but their force was no laughing matter.
Even without heads, they looked capable of punching straight through human flesh.
Wind Laughs hurriedly twisted his body in midair.
Flap, flap, flap!
His robes fluttered wildly as he folded himself between the arrows and barely evaded the attack. Yet the military officers had fired so skillfully that one or two arrows still remained that he could not avoid.
Clang!
Wind Laughs swung his saber and blocked them, but the force drove him down toward the river.
"Dammit!"
"Senior Brother!"
Another disciple of Already Gone When Seen lunged forward to serve as a foothold. Only after stepping on the fellow disciple could Seonggwang return to a boat.
"Senior Brother! You have to make it!"
Splash!
The fellow disciple who had served as his foothold fell into the river.
Similar scenes unfolded all around them.
"Aaah!"
"Guhk!"
"Y-you maniacs!"
"Hey! Get a hold of yourself! Hey! You're not dead, are you?"
Martial artists who had charged forward bravely and full of momentum were struck by arrows and thrown javelins, then sent flying.
The arrowheads and spear blades had all been removed, yet the force behind them was so powerful that several people floated on the river without regaining consciousness.
Amid that chaos...
The Windflow Four Young Lords used the stepping stones Eun-yeong had thrown down and ran along a route unlike everyone else's, low and quiet as they skimmed over the night waves.
'Good. Like this. Just a little farther. Just a little...!'
Yeon Sowol pushed his qi sense to its limit.
By watching how natural qi shifted, he could tell where people's minds were focused.
It was as though every person and every living thing in the world were somehow connected by invisible warp and weft.
As he ran quietly along night waves as black as hair, a thought suddenly stirred in him.
'What is this world, really...?'
On Earth, he could stare as hard as he wanted, and not even a leaf would fall.
Was this world that rippled with people's thoughts good because of that? Or was it bad because of that?
As he thought about it, he remembered what Kang Muhyeok had told him just before they began.
What was the difference between first-rate and second-rate?
What should one be careful of when facing a first-rate martial artist?
'People are made of essence, qi, and spirit. Once you kindle True Flame and reach first-rate, you can finally move beyond essence and handle qi.'
Essence was power.
Qi was harmony.
If essence collided and pushed away, qi embraced and guided.
Those words were still difficult for Yeon Sowol to understand.
'Are power and harmony really that different?'
They had to be different somehow, but if someone asked exactly how, he would have struggled to answer.
Still, it was not as though he felt nothing.
'If I kindle True Flame and learn to handle the harmony of qi too, will I be able to see this world from another perspective?'
The more his martial arts improved, the more differently he saw the world. The more differently he saw the world, the more differently he saw himself.
It only grew more exciting.
Tap.
Yeon Sowol stepped on one of the wooden baskets Eun-yeong had thrown out and leaped soundlessly.
He gathered all his qi sense and slipped through the places that did not waver, the places no one's mind paid any attention to.
Yet the closer he drew to the destination, the harder it became to find gaps in their awareness.
Narrower.
Then narrower still.
When there were no gaps left at all, Yi Yubaek's disciples began throwing themselves forward one by one.
"I'll go first! Aaah!"
Mo Cheong deliberately drew attention and leaped elsewhere, only to be struck by a spear and fall.
"I'm going too."
The second disciple, Gale Young Lord Seon Jehun, accelerated while drawing their attention. Living up to the title Gale Young Lord, he showed explosive speed in an instant and flew close to the Governor-General's boat.
Aside from Wind Laughs Seonggwang, no martial artist had come that close.
Which was why...
Thud, thud, thud!
The enraged military officers struck him with spears and arrows, sending him tumbling into the river.
'...He's not dead, right...?'
The sight of Seon Jehun's body fluttering like a rag doll after being hit by arrows and spears chilled Yeon Sowol.
"Focus, little brother. This time, I'll buy as much time as I can."
Kang Muhyeok whispered low, then stepped on a foothold and jumped. He stamped heavily on a nearby boat, plunged into the military officers' qi sense, and made a grand display of himself.
"The first disciple of Windflow Martial Academy! Windflow Young Lord Kang Muhyeok is here!"
Unlike his usual quiet temperament, Kang Muhyeok shouted loudly to draw their attention.
Arrows and spears rained down on him.
'Muhyeok-hyung...!'
Yeon Sowol tensed without realizing it. He thought Kang Muhyeok would be brutally shot down like Seon Jehun had been.
But...
"Hmph!"
Kang Muhyeok snorted. He swung his sheathed sword, sweeping aside the incoming arrows and spears.
Sway!
'Huh...?'
Yeon Sowol saw it.
Around Kang Muhyeok's swinging scabbard, the arrows and spears changed course as though something had caught and guided them.
He was not striking them away through impact. He was embracing and guiding them.
'Ah...! That's qi! It creates harmony, not just simple force!'
Then Yeon Sowol realized something else.
The fact that Kang Muhyeok had used qi meant...
"First-rate!"
"Huh! The first disciple of the Windflow Sword has become first-rate!"
"Did he kindle True Flame at twenty-five?"
"He's faster than his own master!"
"What a genius."
Kang Muhyeok, who had been second-rate only recently, had finally stepped into the first-rate realm.
He had become a martial artist who would be called a master wherever he went.
That fact stirred something in Yeon Sowol.
For some reason, it sent a thrill through him.
'Me too...!'
His chest burned.
With qi sense sharper than ever, he searched for gaps in their awareness.
Now the gaps were truly narrow, and even the openings that appeared from time to time quickly closed. Still, he willingly leaped into them.
Quietly.
Just as Eun-yeong had taught him.
Thump, thump, thump.
He no longer watched only the shifting natural qi.
He awakened all five senses. He listened to the water, then to the military officers breathing beyond it, then to their hearts beating. He felt the wind brushing against his skin.
He read all of it together with natural qi, gauged the thoughts with which they felt their way through the world, anticipated them in advance, and launched himself forward.
With qi sense so peerless that it was difficult to compare it to anyone else's, he crossed a flattened world that entered his sight all at once, a world thin as threads.
Tap!
Tap, tap!
The faintest footfalls disappeared beneath the waves.
"Aaah! Just a little farther! Just a little farther! Move! It's right in front of me!"
"Damn it! I am the first disciple of Already Gone When Seen! I am Wind Laughs Seonggwang!"
"That's it! Struggle more, Wind Laughs! Now, little brother! Jump! This is it!"
Far away, the desperate young martial artists clashed with the military officers.
Alone, Yeon Sowol crossed the dark night waves and made his final leap.
Bang!
The sound of his foot kicking off a wooden tray.
!!!
The military officers all gasped.
"W-what?"
"W-where did he come from?"
"Damn it...!"
He had clearly not registered in their qi sense.
Yet a young man had suddenly leaped in.
His foot descended toward the Governor-General's boat.
"S-stop him!"
"Fuck! No!"
The military officers screamed with pale faces.
"Goddammit... Fuck!"
Roving General Seol Cheong, who led them, felt his vision go dark.
'No! No!'
He could not let even one person through.
Following his desperate will, True Flame blazed fiercely. His Eight Extraordinary Vessels writhed, his clothes swelled, and veins bulged across his neck and forehead.
True qi surged through the Twelve Regular Meridians resonating with the Eight Extraordinary Vessels. The wonder of qi mixed into it, transforming power into harmony at the tip of his spear.
Baaang!
The spear he threw with all his might pierced the air.
The harmony controlled by qi erased the resistance of the air.
The spear, already in flight, accelerated again and again.
A manifestation of harmony beyond what raw power could explain.
'Huh?'
By the time Yeon Sowol noticed it, it accelerated once more and was already diving toward his chest faster than he could process.
'I can't block this...!'
He could not dodge.
Even if he blocked it, its momentum was too great. He would be driven out into the river.
'I'm almost there!'
His foot only needed one more second to touch the boat!
Yeon Sowol clenched his teeth.
'Let's use the power of Heaven-Killing Star.'
He twisted his body and stretched out a hand toward the shaft of the incoming spear.
He did not like revealing his power, but...
'The target is a spear, not a person.'
Martial artists all had countless unexpected methods anyway.
'I'll use it when I need to!'
At last, Yeon Sowol's palm struck the side of the spear.
Tap!
An invisible thread snapped.
The laws of heaven and earth that had been torn apart dwelled within Yeon Sowol's body. There was nothing they could not destroy.
Whether it was a person. A spear. Or force.
Crack!
The spear shaft broke.
Yeon Sowol used Windborne Drift and flipped his body. The spear had broken the instant it touched him, so no force had reached him, but he deliberately spun as though dispersing the remaining momentum.
He adjusted the weight of each part of his body in an instant, spinning like a top.
Flap, flap, flap!
His clothes fluttered.
By the time Roving General Seol Cheong hurriedly raised another spear...
Tap!
Yeon Sowol completed a graceful turn and landed upon the Governor-General's boat.
Thunk!
He casually dropped the broken front end of the spear from his hand.
"I survived!"
His voice made the river tremble.
Splash!
At that very moment, Wind Laughs Seonggwang, who had come within one and a half jang (1 jang = 3 meters) of the Governor-General's boat, finally failed to endure and plunged into the river.
After lifting his head from the water, he saw Yeon Sowol standing tall upon the boat.
While he had struggled desperately, drawing the military officers' attention, someone had approached quietly and unnoticed.
Yeon Sowol had arrived.
Seonggwang had fallen.
Wind Laughs let out a hollow laugh.
"I did all the work..."
"Thank you, Young Hero Wind Laughs."
Kang Muhyeok, who had fallen into the river beside him, cupped his fist in salute.
"Kang Muhyeok..."
Wind Laughs twisted his lips.
"Well, Seonggwang."
Kang Muhyeok chuckled.
Footnotes:
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