WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: ZERO_SUGAR

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

Chapter 35: In April, All the Flowers of the World Have Faded (6)

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The scent of flowers, the scent of wine, the smell of burning incense.

They had been vivid in his nose only moments ago.

Now, in the darkness, there was the greasy stench of oil and the metallic tang of blood.

At the center of it all, Seo Muryang muttered,

"What should I do about this?"

He brought his index finger and thumb together.

Without even blinking, he watched Yeon Sowol.

"I'm not supposed to kill you. But I really want to."

Yeon Sowol understood.

'If I lose my head, I'm finished.'

Seo Muryang's killing intent was so naked that he did not even bother to hide it.

The energy around them trembled in tiny ripples.

The more it did, the deeper Yeon Sowol's focus became.

'Can't miss a thing. Not one thing.'

The world flattened further, more threads unspooling before him.

He looked down on the world as though it were a sheet of paper he could tear straight through.

Thud!

Yeon Sowol kicked off the ground and used Willow Leaf Steps.

Piiiing!

An even sharper force than before skimmed past his shin.

The eerie wave of martial force made his flesh tingle. Had it struck him head-on, it would have broken the bone.

"Hm. You've already learned Willow Leaf Steps. That's troublesome. It changes direction so lightly that it's hard to hit. But can you dodge this too?"

Whoosh!

He did not even hear Seo Muryang kick off the ground.

Yet dust surged beneath the moonlight, and Seo Muryang suddenly closed in until he stood right before Yeon Sowol's nose.

Yeon Sowol tensed up, but a thrilling shiver ran through him as well.

‘Just my fingertips! If I can touch him with even one fingertip!’

He was ready to reach out at any moment and sever Seo Muryang's threads.

But Seo Muryang stopped just before Yeon Sowol's hand could reach him.

His thumb and index finger came together.

Twang!

He flicked out a burst of force from point-blank range.

Piiit!

Yeon Sowol barely avoided it by leaping sideways. The chilling wave of martial force passed in front of his chest and made his stomach lurch.

Seo Muryang pursued him, muttering,

"What the hell are you? Why is your killing intent so thick? Do you think you can kill me the moment I get close?"

No matter how much Yeon Sowol concealed his killing intent, Seo Muryang read it as easily as the lines on his palm.

"......Why don't you find out if you're curious?"

"No. I'm not curious."

Twang!

A finger snapped again right before his face.

This time, he could not evade it.

Yeon Sowol reflexively swung his scabbard and knocked aside the incoming force.

Clang!

"Urgh!"

He nearly dropped the sword.

It felt as if someone had struck the scabbard with a sledgehammer.

His grip split open from that single collision, blood dripping down. Hands that had never properly swung a sword before were that fragile.

"You knocked that away?"

Seo Muryang's eyes widened. Then he lowered his stance and bared his teeth.

"But I can tell your level just by looking at how you hold that sword. You still haven't learned how to use one, have you? What a shame. That's why you're going to die today."

Seo Muryang flicked his right and left hands in turn.

As he had said, he seemed to have no intention of getting close.

Twang!

Tang!

Sometimes he fired from close by. Sometimes he retreated and launched a surprise attack. He circled to the side and fired, leaped into the air and fired, then fired again and again.

Always close enough to seem within reach, yet never close enough for Yeon Sowol's hands to catch him.

Yeon Sowol gritted his teeth.

He stubbornly endured, dodging and knocking away the relentless attacks.

'It hurts......'

Blood streamed from both hands.

The black hilt grew even darker inside his stinging grip.

Still, Yeon Sowol did not let go of the sword. Every time he clenched the hilt, a terrible pain raced up his spine and struck the back of his head, but he had no choice.

Without it, he had no way to deflect his enemy's attacks.

He just had to endure.

"Your arms are shaking. Your hands are completely split open. I can see your limit now, can't I?"

"That's what you think."

At the brink of death, Yeon Sowol's eyes only grew calmer.

When the situation turned against him, what he wanted became simpler.

'Come closer. Please, just come closer once. You can't kill me from far away. Come closer. Just once.'

If he held out long enough, would Seo Muryang eventually lose patience and approach him?

Would he throw a punch or thrust a blade instead of flicking his fingers?

Yeon Sowol clenched his teeth and waited for the one possible outcome in which he could win.

"......You. You really think you can win?"

Seo Muryang's eyebrow twitched.

"A novice who doesn't know his place......"

One step. Then another.

The closer he came, the harder Yeon Sowol's heart pounded.

'Just a little more. A little more. Is he coming? Is he?'

"I really can't take it anymore. Cleaning this up might be a little troublesome, but... Let's see if you can block this too."

Seo Muryang drew a dagger.

The night air wavered around him.

It was like a heat haze rising from flames.

Creak. Creak.

A strange sound came from muscles and joints being roughly tempered.

'Will he throw it? ......Will he stab me?'

If he threw it, Yeon Sowol had to dodge or deflect it.

If he stabbed directly at him, Yeon Sowol had to rush forward and make contact.

He could not even blink.

The whites of his eyes turned red.

Then,

Whoosh!

From far away, some sort of bundle shot toward Seo Muryang's head.

"......!"

It flew at incredible speed, yet strangely made almost no sound as it cut through the air.

Seo Muryang reacted a beat too late. Only when it was nearly at his face did he raise his dagger and cut through the bundle.

Rip!

The blade gleamed beneath the moon.

A bundle of paper tore apart beneath it.

Inside was a neatly wrapped lump of wet dog shit.

"Agh!"

Seo Muryang screamed and stumbled back, his face covered in soggy, crushed dog shit.

"Peh! Peh! Ptooey! What, what is this......?!"

The revolting stench of shit mixed with the smell of blood and rancid oil.

"Ugh! Which bastard did this?!"

As though answering him, a voice rang out from far away.

"Which dog bastard dared lay a hand on our Big Brother Sole Crimson?!"

It was a roar worthy of a tiger, shaking both mountain and river.

Flap flap flap!

The loud sound of skirts fluttering followed.

"......Woman-Dressing Official Chu Jinhyeok?"

Recognizing him, Seo Muryang's face twisted fiercely.

"......You're lucky. We'll meet again."

"Running away? Like a dog bastard with its tail between its legs?"

Seo Muryang's eyebrow twitched, but he did not answer.

He turned his back.

Thud!

The sound of him kicking off the ground was not loud, but dust billowed thickly as Seo Muryang vanished into the darkness in an instant.

"That bastard's ridiculously fast!"

Whoosh!

Chu Jinhyeok arrived like a streak of light and stopped beside Yeon Sowol.

"Big Brother Yeon! Are you okay? Are you hurt anywhere? Who the hell was that lunatic?"

‘Big Brother Yeon?’

Being called Big Brother Yeon by a man over forty felt extremely strange, but Yeon Sowol did not show it.

"Um. That paper bundle just now?"

"Oh, I threw it. That bastard looked like he was about to use some ultimate move."

"Thank you so much. But there was dog shit inside it......"

Yeon Sowol looked at the dark, wet shit scattered on the ground, giving off a foul odor.

"Oh, that. I always carry some around."

He carried it around?

"Sometimes there are people who need to be fed it."

"......"

Fed it?

Dog shit?

Yeon Sowol did not ask for details.

He only made a vow to himself.

‘Right. What does it matter if he calls me Big Brother Yeon or whatever? Great Hero Chu Jinhyeok is just Great Hero Chu Jinhyeok.’

He thought that was the safest way to avoid a mistake.

He did not want to eat dog shit.

Yi Yubaek and the people of Windflow Martial Academy soon appeared behind Chu Jinhyeok, followed by Shin Jae-eon and the Severing Sword Sect, then Hang Inwoo and the White Dragon Gang.

Yi Yubaek urgently asked,

"Sowol, are you all right? That man... It looked like Seo Muryang."

"Yes, I'm fine. Thanks to Great Hero Chu Jinhyeok."

"What was that man doing? I was too far away to see clearly, but things looked serious."

"He... He was trying to kill me."

"Now, now! That can't be right. There must be some misunderstanding."

A voice suddenly cut in.

Yeon Sowol widened his eyes and turned toward it.

'What is this person talking about?'

Hang Inwoo, the leader of the White Dragon Gang, was frowning.

"Muryang can be rough, but he isn't some madman. He was trying to kill my nephew? That can't be true, can it?"

'Muryang? "That guy"?'

What was this man saying?

Yeon Sowol stared blankly at Hang Inwoo.

"Didn't I tell you? He's my friend. I said I'd mediate, but you suddenly attacked him like that......"

Hang Inwoo protested to Chu Jinhyeok, the Woman-Dressing Official.

Chu Jinhyeok's brow furrowed.

Without even looking at Hang Inwoo, he asked Yi Yubaek,

"Big Brother Yi Yubaek, what is that one even saying?"

"......I'm sorry. I'll have a word with him. He's especially attached to his friends."

"Why would he be friends with a bastard like that in the first place?"

"......I'll speak to him."

"I don't understand it."

Chu Jinhyeok spoke only to Yi Yubaek to the very end.

He did not so much as glance at Hang Inwoo, who had voiced his protest.

It was complete disregard.

Hang Inwoo's face reddened.

"No, everyone. None of you have even had a drink with Seo Muryang. That boy gets misunderstood because he does plenty of things that look bad, but he isn't such a mess of a person......"

Yi Yubaek scolded him.

"Inwoo, there are things you can know without sharing a drink. Haven't I told you time and again? Be more careful about who you call friends. And be more careful about who you take in as subordinates."

"No......"

Hang Inwoo began to argue, then swallowed a breath through clenched teeth.

He snorted and stalked off ahead.

"So I can't even choose my own friends?"

The people of the White Dragon Gang trailed after him.

Among them, Yeon Sowol spotted Laughing Dog grinning to himself.

Yi Yubaek let out a heavy sigh.

"Big as a mountain, yet still so narrow-minded."

"I can hear you!"

"I said it so you would hear it, you bastard!"

"Ha!"

Hang Inwoo gradually disappeared into the distance.

Yeon Sowol picked up the lantern he had planted in the ground and examined his scabbard.

It had blocked the enemy's attacks several times.

The material must have been excellent, because it was not badly damaged. Still, several marks had been carved into the white shagreen leather.

'That'll lower its resale value......'

This was the finest sword the Governor-General of Liangguang had given away from among his own gifts.

To Yeon Sowol, that translated as retirement security.

If things ever went wrong, selling this sword alone might be enough to buy him a clean, comfortable, peaceful life.

And now it had scratches......

A flash of anger rose in him, and he asked,

"Father, will Uncle Hang be all right?"

"What do you mean?"

"Uncle Hang. Being close to someone like Seo Muryang......"

"Hoo."

Yi Yubaek let out a long sigh.

"It's frustrating, isn't it? But don't hate Inwoo too much."

"......I don't hate him. I'm worried about him."

Yeon Sowol had felt Seo Muryang clearly.

He was an evil man.

Though it was only suspicion, he also seemed to be connected to Heavenly Road Mountain somehow.

'And Uncle Hang considers someone like that a friend?'

Could he trust such a person?

"Sowol, I understand what you're thinking, but leave it at that. Inwoo and I have saved each other's lives more times than I can count."

Yi Yubaek had first saved Hang Inwoo's life.

Later, when they fought the Heat Cauldron Sect, Hang Inwoo had brought his people and risked his own life to fight alongside them until the end.

That was how the two had saved each other's lives over and over, eventually putting down roots in Shinheung County.

"When you owe each other your lives like that, you understand without needing to ask. You understand what kind of person someone is. You understand what sort of bond you share. So don't dare doubt him. He just... He simply has one flaw, like any person does. Me too. You too. Because we're human."

"......Yes."

Yeon Sowol still thought that was not quite right, but he had no choice but to close his mouth.

They had saved each other's lives several times and had known each other for nearly ten years.

He could not speak carelessly.

'The Jianghu is complicated.'

The Jianghu had people like Yi Yubaek.

It also had people like Seo Muryang.

People like Hang Inwoo moved between them.

Good and evil, principle and personal ties, all tangled together.

Waves that flowed and pooled.

"Tch."

Chu Jinhyeok suddenly clicked his tongue.

Staring into the darkness, he muttered,

"That's right. It feels different. When you've been close enough to owe each other your lives several times, it feels different."

"Exactly. They're close."

Yi Yubaek gave a faint smile as he looked toward where Hang Inwoo had disappeared.

Chu Jinhyeok clicked his tongue again.

* * *

On their way back, after hearing about Seo Muryang's fight with Yeon Sowol, Yi Yubaek said,

"That was Finger Flicking Art. Among masters who have reached first-rate, only those skilled in qi arts can use it. It's an exceptional technique that flicks qi through empty air to injure someone."

Second-rate martial artists controlled essence.

First-rate martial artists controlled qi.

Essence was sustained and fixed, making it difficult to release outside the body.

Qi, on the other hand, changed and flowed, so it could easily be sent beyond the body.

When the essence within the Eight Extraordinary Vessels dissolved into qi and came into harmony, the true qi stirred in response could finally leave a person's body and extend outward.

Finger Flicking Art applied that principle to fire force at an opponent.

"So you can do things like that once you become first-rate...... Can you do it too, Father?"

"No. Windflow School martial arts do not explain qi arts in much detail. I cannot fire it outside my body like that."

Yi Yubaek suddenly looked up at the moon.

"That is why, if possible, I want to find you a renowned master who is skilled in qi arts."

Yeon Sowol's eyes widened.

'Come to think of it... He did say he'd find me a master.'

He had forgotten.

Since he had secretly thought of Yi Yubaek as his master all this time, Yeon Sowol felt a little flustered.

"There are many kinds of qi arts. Some protect the body, while others attack from a distance like Finger Flicking Art. If you learn something like that... it will probably suit you especially well."

Yi Yubaek said this because he knew Yeon Sowol possessed some kind of secret art.

If he had a means of bringing an opponent to sudden death, qi arts that could protect his body while serving as an unexpected trump card would suit him well.

Apart from his embarrassment, Yeon Sowol had to admit the logic made sense.

'That's... true. If I could have protected myself with qi arts, Seo Muryang's Finger Flicking Art wouldn't have been so frightening today.'

Another thought suddenly occurred to him.

'But could I use the power of Heaven-Killing Star at range too?'

The power of Heaven-Killing Star was engraved upon Yeon Sowol.

If he could carry it through the qi that came from his body...

'Then I think I could fight much more safely......'

Once his thoughts reached that point, he had no choice but to admit it.

'......I need a master who can teach me qi arts.'

Regardless of how strongly his heart leaned toward Yi Yubaek, he truly needed another master.

He felt grateful to Yi Yubaek all over again.

'He adopted me after thinking ahead about even this......'

His mood, which had plunged because of Seo Muryang and Hang Inwoo, softened again.

Looking at him, Yi Yubaek said,

"By the way, Sowol, you're now a true martial artist of the Jianghu."

"Yes. That's right."

As Yeon Sowol stood there feeling proud, Yi Yubaek said,

"Then you'll have cause to kill people now."

"......?"

What was that supposed to mean?

'I killed thirteen people last time. Before that, I killed three.'

Yi Yubaek smiled bitterly.

"I do not mean killing to survive. I mean killing for what you yourself believe is right."

"......Is that different?"

"It is. You don't have to kill. You are safe. Yet you take up a sword solely for what you believe is right. That is different. It is very different."

'Is it......?'

It did not truly resonate with him, but Yeon Sowol remembered the words anyway.

Then Shin Jae-eon, the Leader of the Severing Sword Sect, clicked his tongue.

"Sole Crimson Yeon. Sole Crimson Yeon."

He spoke familiarly, using a playful mix of Yeon Sowol's surname and sobriquet instead of his given name.

"Don't go fighting according to your heart like your father."

"What's wrong with me?"

Despite Yi Yubaek's protest, Shin Jae-eon shook his head.

"Affection since ancient times has brought nothing but regret."

"I've heard that the Leader of the Severing Sword Sect has also let affection ruin many matters......"

"That is exactly why I'm saying it. Exactly why."

"You did it yourself......"

"Ahem!"

After bickering with Shin Jae-eon a few times, Yi Yubaek seemed to feel a little better.

"Anyway, since you cannot learn qi arts immediately......"

He grinned.

"How about learning swordsmanship starting tomorrow?"

"......!"

Finally.

Swordsmanship!

Yeon Sowol felt two emotions.

Excitement.

And concern.

"......Yes!"

Even so, this time his heart was already drawn taut.

Yeon Sowol lightly tightened his grip with his blood-blackened hand.

"Starting tomorrow? Big Brother Yeon, then we need to put on Golden Wound Medicine right away. Golden Wound Medicine."

Chu Jinhyeok applied Golden Wound Medicine to his hand and wrapped it in bandages.

Footnotes:

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