WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: ZERO_SUGAR

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Chapter 53: When Water Is Too Clear, There Are No Fish (1)

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A place on Heavenly Road Mountain.

Though it was broad daylight, darkness had settled over one spot. It was as if black smoke had been let loose there, scattering the sunlight.

"What is this?"

At the center of it all, a pale-faced man crouched with his chin propped on one hand. He wore a bright pale-yellow robe and was draped in all manner of dangling ornaments. He looked to be in his early thirties.

Whenever he exhaled, the darkness around him swelled. Whenever he inhaled, it receded a little.

He was staring down at a white skeleton.

"I caught the stench of that nasty Ten-Thousand-Li Tracking Incense and thought, ah, it's Elder Killing Demon. I figured he'd throw another fit if I left without paying my respects, so I came by."

Tap. Tap.

He slapped the skeleton's skull with his palm.

"How did you end up as nothing but bones, hm? The fourth elder of our Heavenly Demon Divine Cult, Killing Demon Gu Maun, no less. Hm?"

The man sharply turned his head to the side.

Another skeleton lay there, its neck broken. It was dressed in a kasaya robe worn by Buddhist monks.

"If that's Elder Killing Demon, then that must be Master Beopyeon, the youngest of the Three Divine Monks. Looks like they fought here over the Greater Rejuvenation Pill... But still. It wasn't even the eldest or second of the Three Divine Monks. The famed Killing Demon couldn't have been taken down by the youngest alone."

Still crouching, the man looked up at the sky.

Though calling it the sky was generous. The darkness he had released made it look murky, like a haze of smoke.

Sniff, sniff.

His nose twitched.

"I smell it. I smell it. Elder Killing Demon's tracking incense is coming from down there too. It's faint, but it's definitely there. At the very least, this much is certain: someone made direct contact with him."

The man braced a hand on his knee and rose.

"I'll have to find that person and ask what happened here. Let's see..."

Sniff, sniff.

His nose twitched again, then his brow suddenly furrowed.

"Why is the tracking incense so muddled? All sorts of scents are mixed together and crushed into one mess... What is this person, someone who lives marinated in perfume?"

He let out a long sigh.

"This'll make tracking them a pain... How annoying. Still, if I leave without checking, the Heavenly Demon will..."

Swooosh.

The darkness spread throughout the area was swiftly drawn in with the man's inhalation, then vanished without a trace.

"Just imagining it scares me."

The man gave a shudder, sighed heavily several times, and began walking at an unhurried pace toward Shinheung County.

* * *

"Young Hero Yeon Sowol, do you think he's entered the first-rate realm?"

"First-rate? Isn't he not even twenty yet?"

"But haven't you heard the rumors? They say he played an incredible role in this battle."

"That's true. I heard it too."

"Still, to make a real contribution in a fight like that, wouldn't you have to be first-rate at least?"

"I suppose that's true."

"And didn't everyone see him? That fine physique, that restrained aura. I wouldn't be surprised at all if that young hero were first-rate."

"True enough."

"If he really is... Then he's an extraordinary genius. A genius has appeared in Guangdong's martial world."

Jianghu people had gathered from all across Guangdong.

Every one of them had formed a favorable impression of Yeon Sowol. As a result, the rumors about him began growing more and more exaggerated.

The rumor that had originally circulated among the people of Shinheung County, that anyone he touched died, vanished as though washed away after being dismissed as absurd. In its place, the rumor that Yeon Sowol had reached the first-rate realm spread as if it were an established fact.

Yeon Sowol was troubled.

It was a very good thing that the power of the Heaven-Killing Star had not drawn attention.

But first-rate...

'What if everyone finds out later that I'm not first-rate? How will the rumors change then? I can't even guess. Will people start saying I used some strange sorcery? That's... not great.'

Yeon Sowol shook his head, trying to cast aside the worries that were beginning to deepen again.

'Get a grip. There are more important things right now...'

He slipped a hand into his robe and touched the wooden box inside.

"...No matter how many times I think about it, this is right."

Hoo.

He took a deep breath, gathered himself one last time, and spoke.

"Father. It's Yeon Sowol."

"Oh, you're here. Come in."

Creak.

Yi Yubaek's room smelled pleasant, as it always did. There was the soft, sweet scent of cloth dried in the sun, followed at the end by a fresh, crisp note of lemon.

Feeling his heart settle, Yeon Sowol gave a long bow and sat across from Yi Yubaek.

Yi Yubaek snickered.

"These days have been burdensome, haven't they? Like you suddenly have to become first-rate."

"Ah."

Yeon Sowol smiled awkwardly. He had been thinking exactly that until just moments ago.

"Yes. It is troubling, but it isn't something I can do much about, so I'm trying not to dwell on it."

"Is that so? Hmm."

Yi Yubaek smiled in a strangely meaningful way. When Yeon Sowol tilted his head, Yi Yubaek gestured with his chin.

"It looks like you came with something to say, so you go first."

'Me first?'

It sounded like Yi Yubaek had something to say too.

He looked somewhat excited, perhaps even full of mischief.

Yeon Sowol was puzzled, but decided to state his business first.

After taking another deep breath to calm himself,

Tap.

he took out the wooden box he had been carrying and pushed it across the table toward Yi Yubaek.

"This is...?"

"It's a Greater Rejuvenation Pill, Father."

Click.

Yeon Sowol opened the wooden box.

Inside lay a yellow pellet, as though coated in gold dust. It had no special fragrance and no strange color.

"..."

"It is almost certainly genuine. I happened to obtain it from the robes of a dead eminent monk. That monk's bearing was far from ordinary."

After saying that, Yeon Sowol squeezed his eyes shut once before opening them again.

Honestly, it would have been a lie to say he felt no conflict. The reason he had decided to become a martial artist in the first place was because of that Greater Rejuvenation Pill.

And now he was giving it to Yi Yubaek instead of taking it himself. It had not been an easy decision.

There were other small concerns as well.

What if Yi Yubaek started asking about where it came from? Would he have to explain the old man called Killing Demon? Would he have to tell him about the Heaven-Killing Star's power? Would he even have to reveal that he had come from another world called Earth, not this one?

The more he thought about it, the tighter his throat felt, as if his voice were shrinking away.

Even so.

He had done it.

When he imagined Yi Yubaek dying, and the brothers of Windflow Martial Academy dying, all those troublesome questions suddenly felt insignificant.

Killing Demon? He would tell him.

The Heaven-Killing Star? Earth? If necessary, he would tell him everything.

Yi Yubaek and Windflow Martial Academy were his family now.

With that in mind, he had simply gone for it.

"I'm sorry for hiding it all this time. Use this to heal your internal injury, and perhaps even advance a realm. Please. Live a long, healthy life."

His voice trembled, but he tried to make the words sound playful.

He braced himself for Yi Yubaek's explosive reaction.

"Hmm. This worked out well. I was going to bring it up too."

"...What?"

Yeon Sowol jerked his head up. His face had gone blank.

Yi Yubaek, on the other hand, did not look surprised in the least. He only seemed a little excited.

"If you hadn't mentioned the Greater Rejuvenation Pill, I was going to bring it up today."

"What?"

"Are you going to keep asking me the same thing?"

"No, it's not that..."

Yeon Sowol's mind was in complete disarray. It felt as though flashes of light were going off before his eyes.

"You knew about the Greater Rejuvenation Pill?"

"I did."

"H-How?"

"When you stormed into the Golden Powder Gang alone to save Miss Eun-yeong."

"Ah."

"After that, you spent a whole day bedridden. You needed your clothes changed and needed washing, so I took care of you myself."

"You... didn't have the servants do it?"

"Usually, I would have. But then, I felt differently. In any case, I saw it while looking for clothes to change you into."

"You recognized it right away?"

"Of course not. I suddenly remembered you mentioning the Greater Rejuvenation Pill before. Otherwise, I wouldn't have known either."

"Ah."

"The divine energy was hidden very thoroughly. I had to examine it for quite some time before I realized it was truly a Greater Rejuvenation Pill."

"...I see."

Yi Yubaek smiled.

"Why are you wearing such a guilty expression over something you should obviously hide?"

"...I keep calling you Father while hiding one thing after another from you. I feel embarrassed."

"Sons are meant to have things they hide from their fathers. Hide more. Don't go telling me everything for no reason."

Click.

Yi Yubaek closed the wooden box again and slid it back toward Yeon Sowol.

"Father?"

"That is yours. Don't even dream of giving it to me."

"No, I am fine. I will feel more at ease once you recover from your internal injury and advance another realm..."

"No. You take it. I have another way to treat my internal injury."

Yeon Sowol leaned forward.

"You have a way?"

"I do."

Click.

This time, Yi Yubaek opened a wooden chest.

It was a large wooden chest, nearly the size of a person's torso.

Swaaa.

The moment it opened, a refreshing forest scent wafted out, followed by something sharp and earthy like bellflower root. At the end came a warm, milky scent like that of a baby.

"This is..."

Dark green moss carpeted the inside of the chest. Resting atop it were five wild ginseng roots shaped like human beings.

Their cheeks were pale and rosy like babies', their bellies plump, and what looked like arms and legs stretched outward before splitting into countless fine roots like soft down.

If someone drew eyes, a nose, and a mouth on them, they would truly look like people, perhaps even infants.

"Five Human-Shaped Ginseng roots. These turned up while we were clearing the battlefield. Hang Inwoo truly spent a lifetime's worth of luck. To think he had not one, but five Human-Shaped Ginseng roots."

Yeon Sowol stared blankly at the Human-Shaped Ginseng, then asked,

"W-Will this be enough to heal your internal injury?"

"Not only heal it. Once I've recovered, it should let me take a careful look at the next realm as well."

"Ah."

Only then did Yeon Sowol feel somewhat relieved.

Yi Yubaek's internal injury had happened while he was giving Yeon Sowol qi guidance in the first place. Yeon Sowol had been worried sick that something might happen to him because of it.

"You and I will each take one. The remaining three will go to the Three Severing Swords."

"The Three Severing Swords..."

"Yes. They lost both their master and their youngest while helping us, so they should receive more. Kang Muhyeok, Seon Jehun, and Mo Cheong have all agreed. We have already decided to unite the Severing Sword Sect and Windflow Martial Academy under one roof."

Yeon Sowol nodded.

Both the Severing Sword Sect and Windflow Martial Academy had lost too much of their strength. Joining together was the natural outcome, whether out of loyalty or practicality.

"That leaves two for us. To be honest, I considered giving mine to Cheong instead, but he refused adamantly. That is why you and I will take them."

Yeon Sowol quickly waved his hands.

"I'm fine too. It would be better to give it to Mo Cheong or the other brothers instead... I already have the Greater Rejuvenation Pill."

Yi Yubaek shook his head.

"No. You take it. That is what I think, and what your other brothers think as well. Eat the Human-Shaped Ginseng and become first-rate. Then take the Greater Rejuvenation Pill immediately after. That will firmly pave your path to the peak realm. Perhaps even beyond it."

"..."

Yeon Sowol swallowed hard.

'If I eat the Human-Shaped Ginseng, I'll become first-rate? And if I take the Greater Rejuvenation Pill after that...'

His stomach tingled.

The goal he had set after falling into this world was right before him.

The goal of becoming as strong as Yi Yubaek and living however he pleased was now close enough to touch if he reached out.

But.

Yeon Sowol swallowed again and shook his head.

"First-rate is something I can reach with my own strength someday..."

"But it would be better if you could reach it now, wouldn't it? Especially when everyone is expecting you to be first-rate already."

"..."

Yeon Sowol swallowed once more, but he could not bring himself to ask for it.

Kang Muhyeok had nearly died this time.

When he considered that the same could happen to Seon Jehun or Mo Cheong at any time, the desire to give it to them kept rising within him.

Yi Yubaek seemed to understand his feelings and soothed Yeon Sowol in a calm voice.

"Sowol."

"Yes."

"Just take it. It will be better for the world too. You will surely change the world."

At those words, Yeon Sowol stared at Yi Yubaek.

"...Do I have to change the world?"

Honestly, that was not something that resonated with him.

He was the sort of person who would have been content to build his own estate like Yi Yubaek and live life his own way.

Even by modern standards, he was confident he could remain happy for the rest of his life with a simple existence that was decent and comfortable.

The world? Change it? He had no particular interest in that.

But Yi Yubaek spoke firmly.

"You already have. Shinheung County."

"That..."

Killing Hang Inwoo and saving Yi Yubaek had certainly changed the world, at least Shinheung County.

But had Yeon Sowol wanted that? Had he acted because he wished to change the world?

No.

'It was only because Father and Windflow Martial Academy are now...'

Before the thought could continue, Yi Yubaek cut in.

"And Sowol, do not misunderstand. Changing the world is not your choice."

"...It isn't my choice?"

"No. If you do not change the world, then the world will change you."

"...!"

The moment he heard those words, faces flashed through Yeon Sowol's mind.

Hang Inwoo.

Eun-yeong.

Jeon Taegwang.

Choran.

If he had not possessed strength...

And if he had possessed strength...

Goosebumps rose all over him.

At times, a person had to change the world.

Otherwise, that vast and cruel world could suddenly turn their entire life upside down one day.

Every fine hair on his body stood on end.

Amid the chill that ran through him, Yeon Sowol felt a desire for the first time.

He wanted to become stronger.

Much, much stronger.

"Yes. That look in your eyes. Good."

Yi Yubaek reached out and firmly closed Yeon Sowol's hand around the wooden box.

"Then change the world yourself."

Yeon Sowol could not lift his hand, as though that small wooden box weighed too much.

Yi Yubaek spoke to him.

"Now, then..."

In a gentle voice,

"Are you ready to enter closed-door seclusion?"

Closed-door seclusion.

At those two words, the hand clutching the wooden box trembled faintly.

Footnotes:

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