WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: ZERO_SUGAR

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

Chapter 6: Read a Book a Hundred Times and Its Meaning Reveals Itself (5)

──────

Yeon Sowol's name had reached the ears of other masters in Shinheung County as well.

"Brother Yubaek. Are you doing something pointless again? I heard you've been teaching some kid named Yeon lately."

Hang Inwoo, the leader of Shinheung County's White Dragon Gang, was Yi Yubaek's sworn younger brother.

He clicked his tongue.

Yi Yubaek, who had been drinking since morning, grinned.

"People said the same thing when I picked you up half dead as a second-rate martial artist, treated you, and gave you pointers on martial arts. They called it pointless."

Hang Inwoo's expression hardened.

"What are you saying, Brother?"

"What I'm saying is, you never know. No one knows what someone with resolve can become. Just like you became a true first-rate martial artist and built the White Dragon Gang into what it is today."

Hang Inwoo silently took a long drink.

"But this is different. I heard that brat from the Yeon family endured one of your beatings yesterday?"

"Yes. Isn't that admirable?"

"It is. Enduring one of your beatings proves his will is anything but ordinary."

Hang Inwoo had gone through it himself, and his shoulders trembled.

"That's exactly why you shouldn't fill a boy that desperate with pointless hopes."

"Did I fill him with hopes?"

"Didn't you? That boy Yeon is eighteen, isn't he? Then there's only one way for him to cultivate internal energy. Even if his talent is excellent, he'll need to practice the Free and Easy Art for at least two years. Slowly waving his arms around like an old man. Even if he somehow reaches the stage of maturity through that ridiculous process, the next stage will be far away. That child will never be rewarded for his efforts. The fact that he has such will only makes it more tragic."

Despite its grand name, the Free and Easy Art was little different from health calisthenics.

It could gather qi through breathing and kindle the inner fire, but its effects were so slight that martial artists did not even look at it.

Only old people came outside to practice it, slowly waving their arms around.

"Who knows."

"Hm?"

Hang Inwoo's eyebrow twitched.

"Don't tell me you plan to skip the Free and Easy Art."

"I might."

"Then the Warm Wind Formula? Brother, you'll get someone killed."

"......"

"Honestly, when I see things like this, you're the cruelest person I know. People need to see your true colors... You know how dangerous internal cultivation manuals are. And you're giving one to an eighteen-year-old whose body has already gone stiff? He'll become an invalid. It only makes sense to loosen up his body with the Free and Easy Art for at least two years."

"......It's not impossible. If he devotes himself to circulating qi day and night, advances without letting down his guard for even a moment, then he can achieve something without going through something like the Free and Easy Art. If he can do that, he may even overcome the disadvantage of starting at eighteen."

"...That's only possible in theory. Who in the world could do that? After circulating qi for one shichen, you can't even think straight, and you want him to do it all day? If his body is that stiff, he'll have to wake up in the middle of the night to do it too. Otherwise, something will go wrong. Can you do that, Brother Yubaek? I know I can't."

"That's right. It would be difficult. No. It would be close to impossible."

Yi Yubaek agreed and lifted the bottle to take three swallows.

"But, Inwoo, as I said before, I believe a person with resolve can do anything. Yeon Sowol. That boy wanted to try. At least, that's what I saw. He has a hidden trick up his sleeve as well... If he solves the problem of internal energy, he may one day establish his own legacy in Jianghu. With nothing but his will. Breaking through the impossible. Thinking of that makes my heart race."

A smile spread over his face.

Then, as though he had suddenly remembered something, he said, "In that spirit, why don't we take on a challenge as well? The subjugation of Heavenly Road Mountain Stronghold."

"Ah, Brother. Not this again. Please... If we fight the bandits of Heavenly Road Mountain, at least half of us will die. There's no guarantee we'll even win."

"Where there's a will, there's a way. I'll take the lead. If we gather our friends and make good use of a surprise attack, couldn't we wipe them out? Let's do it. If we succeed, Shinheung County will prosper twice as much as it does now."

"Don't tell me you've spoken to the leader of the Severing Sword Sect too?"

"Not just the leader of the Severing Sword Sect. I've been urging the martial artists of Shinheung to act. I'm sending letters to acquaintances in Danzhou, Eunpyeong, and Yanggang, as well as Bulsan and Seocho. What do you think?"

"...Hah. I'll think about it."

"All right. All right. I should get going soon. I promised to oversee Sowol's training this afternoon."

Yi Yubaek abruptly rose to his feet. Rather than going down the stairs, he opened the window and jumped outside.

Hang Inwoo watched his retreating figure and clicked his tongue once.

* * *

Tap!

With one light touch of his toe against the ground, Mo Cheong swayed as lightly as a willow leaf.

The sight filled Yeon Sowol with terror.

'Wait. This is a physics engine bug.'

Mo Cheong approached with an odd, wavering gait.

His center of gravity shifted several times with every step. Just when Yeon Sowol thought he was moving right, Mo Cheong was on the left, and when he thought he was moving left, Mo Cheong was on the right.

Yeon Sowol could not make sense of the movements Mo Cheong had promised to use "seriously."

Smack!

Thwack!

Thud!

Crack!

Before, he had managed to dodge one attack out of every two.

Now, he could barely dodge even one out of five.

Yeon Sowol wanted to cry.

He had been beaten so much that he wanted to give up. He wanted to lie down and say, Fine. Kill me or do whatever you want.

Yet he forced himself back to his feet.

'I can never show weakness.'

In Yeon Sowol's mind, Mo Cheong was a devious man who had set a trap and tried to lure him into it.

After Yeon Sowol had escaped that trap, Mo Cheong had held a grudge and begun hitting him even more viciously.

"Urgh."

As he took his stance again, a strange pain made his mind go hazy.

It felt as though hot earthworms were writhing beneath his skin.

'Is this really okay...?'

His thoughts kept turning negative.

To keep himself from focusing on the pain, Yeon Sowol deliberately asked a question.

"Young Master Mo Cheong, what is that strange movement? I cannot respond to it at all."

"Oh, this? It's the Willow Leaf Steps. One of Master's unique movement techniques."

Thud!

Mo Cheong did not stop attacking even as he answered.

'What a ruthless bastard.'

In truth, Mo Cheong was only doing his best to show Yeon Sowol respect. He was laying all his cards on the table.

But Yeon Sowol thought Mo Cheong had raised the difficulty to punish him for daring to escape the trap.

'Do your worst. I won't give up... I never give up when things get hard...'

As he rolled across the ground and rose again, Yeon Sowol thought, 'Willow Leaf Steps? Ah, if only I could learn that!'

He asked, "Can I learn it too?"

His voice trembled a little.

'If I could use that, I'd be hit less than a quarter as often!'

Yesterday and today, Yeon Sowol had been beaten at least a thousand times more than he had in his entire life.

Naturally, he could not help trembling and swallowing hard at the thought of such a desirable martial art.

Thud!

The "serious" Mo Cheong sent Yeon Sowol's shin flying with a kick and answered, "Normally, unique martial arts aren't passed down to just anyone. But Master might teach it to you. You came here to learn movement techniques in the first place. Still, you can't learn it right now. You must learn an internal cultivation method first."

"Urk. Urgh."

Yeon Sowol collapsed onto the ground and crawled around in a daze. Once he finally regained his senses, he forced himself back to his feet.

"Then how long will it take to reach that point?"

"Who knows? Your qi sense seems very good, so... three years?"

"My qi sense is good?"

"Yes. Even now, you're dodging one out of every five of my attacks. I'm limiting my strength to the level of a third-rate martial artist, but this can't be explained by simply having sharp eyes."

Whoosh!

Mo Cheong's fist cut through empty air.

Yeon Sowol avoided the attack by nearly dropping to the ground, then crawled backward before straightening himself again.

'As expected.'

Mo Cheong looked down at his fist and nodded.

This was no coincidence. He was missing far too often.

'What an incredible qi sense. Everything else about him is clumsy, so he must be reading my fighting qi and avoiding it precisely. But how is that possible? Qi is so abundant and natural, like air, that it is hard to notice.'

Mo Cheong did not know that Yeon Sowol had come from a world where qi did not exist at all.

Qi was not visible, but Yeon Sowol's body reacted quickly to the unfamiliar energy it had felt for the first time in his life.

Sometimes with a chill down his spine.

Sometimes with anxiety.

That was why Yeon Sowol, who had never properly fought anyone before, could dodge attacks fairly well.

As a result, Mo Cheong grew increasingly fond of this fellow, apparently from Annam, who was the same age as him.

He had talent.

And he had dignity.

'I'm being fairly serious, yet he keeps getting up without losing his composure.'

Mo Cheong respected him as a fellow man.

At the same time, it sparked a competitive fire in him.

Still, he could not help feeling regretful.

'If only he had entered the martial world three years sooner.'

Then Shinheung County might have produced another outstanding master.

'But he must regret it far more than I do. I should just give him the advice he needs.'

Careful not to sound as though he pitied him, Mo Cheong answered calmly.

"Normally, someone who starts as late as you might struggle even after ten years. But you may be able to reach the stage of maturity within three years. A year and a half of the Free and Easy Art, then a year and a half of the Warm Wind Formula. If you train like you're dying, you will at least be called a martial artist, even if you're only third-rate. The next stage... will take much longer."

Three years.

Yeon Sowol suddenly grew impatient. He had resolved to endure for three years, then take the Greater Rejuvenation Pill. But...

Thud!

Crash!

After being beaten and rolled across the ground like this, he wanted to shorten that time somehow.

'I'm... too weak...'

What good was the power of the Heaven-Killing Star?

If Mo Cheong became his enemy right now, all it would take was one sword. Yeon Sowol's head would fall before he could do anything.

But the Willow Leaf Steps. If he had those strange movements that seemed to twist the laws of physics...

His desire was so desperate that three years felt unbearably far away.

"Excellent!"

A voice full of delight rang out.

At some point, Yi Yubaek had leaped onto the top of the wall.

Though it stood taller than a person, Yi Yubaek landed as lightly as a blade of grass and approached with a broad smile.

"Looking at Sowol's face, I can see you trained properly. You didn't slack off like usual, either."

Mo Cheong flinched.

'Master knew I slacked off normally?'

Yeon Sowol nodded inwardly.

'It really was a trap.'

They had tried to lure him into slacking off, then use that as an excuse to throw him out.

'Terrifying people... I can never let my guard down.'

Yeon Sowol looked back and forth between Mo Cheong and Yi Yubaek with tense eyes.

Jianghu was cold.

Martial artists were heartless.

Yet the look in Yeon Sowol's eyes tugged at Yi Yubaek's heartstrings.

'Good. The fire in his eyes is still alive.'

Most boys would not have endured even a fraction of a fraction of a fraction of the beating Yeon Sowol had taken yesterday and today.

They would have run away, or they would be crawling across the ground with empty eyes by now.

But Yeon Sowol was different. His face and body were covered in bruises, yet he stood straight, adjusted his clothes, and bowed properly to Yi Yubaek.

"You have arrived, Academy Master."

Yi Yubaek was moved once again.

'A gentleman does not cast aside his cap, even in death.'

It was said that Zilu, Confucius's favorite disciple, had been struck by a spear while fighting an enemy, causing his cap to fall. He left those words behind, fixed his cap, and died.

That was how Yeon Sowol appeared in Yi Yubaek's eyes.

'What in the world does this boy carry within him to be like this?'

In reality, Yeon Sowol was simply a diligent, well-adjusted student from twenty-first-century South Korea, aiming for Seoul National University.

He stood out even in South Korea, but not so much that he was impossible to find. He was the sort of impressive student every school had one of.

He had only fallen into the unfamiliar world of Murim and was struggling all the harder and more desperately.

Yet Yi Yubaek, who knew none of that, saw him completely differently.

'Will that refuses to break even after being beaten like this. Focus and mental strength that have not faded.'

In countries without a solid public education system, even men called soldiers often lacked the discipline and mental strength to do one proper jumping jack.

In ancient China, in Murim, it could only be worse.

People might be able to do the work they did every day, but if something became even a little new, difficult, or frightening, they all ran away or collapsed.

In such a world, Yeon Sowol's mental strength shone brilliantly.

'Still, that can happen. It isn't completely unheard of.'

Yi Yubaek thought that someone with the will to travel from Annam to Guangdong could be like this. Rarely, a person was born with such a strong mind.

Yet the dignity to straighten his clothes and offer a proper greeting even amid such suffering could never appear without reason.

Yi Yubaek thought he understood what lay behind it.

'He must have a deep story he cannot tell.'

He had briefly said that he wanted to see Jianghu people and learn martial arts, but behind those words had to be an epic too vast to put into speech, woven from resentment, hatred, responsibility, love, and secrets.

Otherwise, how could someone so young show such fierce mental strength and remain so composed to the end?

Once he had thought that far, Yi Yubaek reached a conclusion about the matter he had been considering all along.

'Yubaek, what have you been hesitating over? This worthy young man came to you with such desperate resolve.'

Believe in him. Believe in his desperate will, and show him the one path that was impossible, yet possible.

At last, Yi Yubaek felt everything become clear.

"Sowol."

"Yes, Academy Master."

"I will teach you the Willow Serenity Art. Then you will reach the stage of maturity before a year has passed."

Yeon Sowol was stunned.

'One year...!'

Mo Cheong had said that even three years would be incredibly fast.

One year.

"Thank you!"

Yeon Sowol bowed deeply.

Then,

"What? Master! The Willow Serenity Art? Not the Free and Easy Art? Not even the Warm Wind Formula, but the Willow Serenity Art? Are you trying to kill Yeon Sowol?"

Mo Cheong, the disciple who knew what the Willow Serenity Art was, was equally stunned.

Footnotes:

Join our discord at https://dsc.gg/wetried