WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: ZERO_SUGAR

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Chapter 85: I Was Once a Madman of Chu (7)

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'I can't believe it.'

Yu Hyeon stared blankly at the shattered Demon Sword.

Originally, the test had been to fight for thirty exchanges with the Demon Sword still sheathed.

But he had changed it to ten exchanges with the sword drawn, making it far more difficult.

And yet, not thirty exchanges.

Not even ten exchanges.

Yeon Sowol had destroyed the Demon Sword in only three exchanges.

He had not merely held out. He had broken it.

He had even burned away the demon spirit within so completely that not a trace of lingering energy remained.

It had been a powerful Demon Sword that even the Hengshan Sect had been unable to handle, forcing them to seal it away and guard it.

Yu Hyeon recalled a passage he had read in a Daoist scripture.

'Was he born with the power of thunder? Or does he possess some unique martial art...?'

Since ancient times, thunder had been known as a force that destroyed sinister things.

Without power that explosive and fierce, could anyone shatter a Demon Sword in an instant?

Whatever the case, one fact was clear.

'He's the perfect man for this.'

Yu Hyeon was certain.

They had to work with Yeon Sowol. He was not someone they should part ways with after a single task, but someone with whom they needed to build a lasting friendship.

"Young Hero Yeon. First, please accept my apologies once more for rudely asking to test you."

Yu Hyeon bowed deeply.

Yeon Sowol answered calmly.

"Then may I finally hear why you did it?"

"Yes."

Yu Hyeon slowly raised his head and met Yeon Sowol's gaze. Flames of anger burned in his eyes.

"Hengyang is sacred land, home to Mount Heng, Nanyue, the Southern Peak among the Five Great Mountains Under Heaven, and a holy site of the Daoist tradition. Daoist temples fill every street. Yet among those Daoists are people consumed by greed who have strayed from the proper path. They hide their true natures beneath hypocritical appearances, so they remain unseen, but they certainly exist."

"When you say they've strayed from the proper path...?"

"They grind people up to make elixir pills."

"...!!!"

Yeon Sowol's eyes flew open.

* * *

The truth was, Yeon Sowol had been excited the entire way to Hengyang.

He had heard so much about it from Jin Geol and again at the Chenzhou pleasure house that he was sick of hearing about it.

'How many kinds of elixir pills are there in Hengyang? Don't even ask. Whatever you're imagining, there are more than that.'

So far, Yeon Sowol had taken three spiritual elixirs.

The Dragon Scale Mushroom, a mysterious mushroom that looked as though it had sprouted dragon scales.

It had laid the foundation for his bodily cultivation.

The Human-Shaped Ginseng, shaped like a person with skin as pale and soft as a child's.

It had allowed him to reach the first-rate realm.

Lastly, there was the Greater Rejuvenation Pill, a legend of the martial world.

With that single pill, he had refined the Twelve Regular Meridians and Twelve Divergent Meridians, as well as the collateral vessels, fine collaterals, and superficial collaterals throughout his body. That was not all. He had entered the late first-rate stage, and the path to the peak realm had opened before him on its own.

Dragon Scale Mushroom, Human-Shaped Ginseng, Greater Rejuvenation Pill.

Their effects differed as greatly as heaven and earth, but they had something in common.

They added fire to the body, tempering internal energy and refining the body through bodily cultivation.

The elixir pills he had heard about at the Chenzhou pleasure house, though, included many unusual things that were completely different in nature.

'Spiritual elixirs are generally like that. They make the body warm. But the things normally called elixir pills are entirely different. Of course, some of them make your body warm too...'

Things that cooled the body.

Things that extended one's lifespan.

Things that rendered one immune to poison.

Things that made one smarter.

Things that calmed the mind.

Things that granted mysterious power.

Things that opened one's spiritual eyes, allowing them to see divine beings.

'Do divine beings really exist? Have you ever seen one?'

When Yeon Sowol had asked that, the person who had been showing off their knowledge replied,

'Who knows? But I hear they really do sell things like that.'

Strangely enough, that vague answer had only made Yeon Sowol more curious.

What sort of place was Hengyang?

He had heard that sailboats packed the mist-covered Xiang River, and that the peaks of Mount Heng, Nanyue, the Southern Peak among the Five Great Mountains Under Heaven, could be glimpsed through that mist.

He had heard that northern geese flew down to Hengyang to escape the cold, then returned north again.

And all those elixir pills.

Which ones would truly help him?

Would they have the dramatic effects people claimed they did?

Thanks to the lightning-struck silver ingot, his purse was well stocked. Yeon Sowol had wanted nothing more than to reach Hengyang quickly and go shopping for elixir pills.

But the excitement that had filled his heart was brutally crushed by the story told by the two Hengshan Sect disciples.

"...So you're saying... those elixir pills... are made from people?"

Yeon Sowol's voice had sunk low.

Yu Hyeon hurriedly shook his head.

"I'm not saying all elixir pills are like that. But fallen Daoists have often done such things, and it seems those bastards have become especially active lately."

"People..."

Yeon Sowol thought of Yi Yubaek and the Heat Cauldron Sect.

Thinking about it, it was only natural.

It had happened even in Shinheung County, a small county in Guangdong. How many such things must happen across the world?

'I could have bought and eaten one of those elixir pills without knowing what it was.'

The thought made his teeth grind.

Yu Hyeon continued.

"Recently, many people have gone missing in Hengyang. Our master believes the fallen Daoists are responsible and ordered us to wipe them out. The problem is..."

Yu Hyeon sighed.

"They know us too well. It's as if they've memorized every Hengshan Sect disciple's face. We simply haven't been able to pick up their trail. Younger disciples like my junior sister aren't known by sight, but... their martial arts are not yet deep enough for us to entrust them with such dangerous work."

Only then did Yeon Sowol realize why they had tested him and what they wanted from him.

"So you were looking for an outside expert whose face isn't known in Hengyang?"

"Yes. But we needed more than someone strong. We needed an expert with a firm mind and pure internal energy, someone who could resist the dark arts of those evil Daoists. That is why we committed such discourtesy."

"And you didn't tell me beforehand because..."

"Yes. To preserve secrecy. If word spread that we were seeking an outside expert, that could become another problem."

Yeon Sowol nodded.

It made perfect sense.

This did not feel like someone else's problem to him.

He knew what had happened to Yi Yubaek and the Heat Cauldron Sect.

'It's time to draw my sword.'

Yeon Sowol even felt a sense of duty.

Yu Hyeon bowed deeply again.

"Please, I beg you. Help us. The Hengshan Sect will take responsibility and reward you properly. First, after we eliminate the fallen Daoists, we will give everything taken as spoils to Young Master Yeon's group, except for sinister items. Furthermore, regardless of whether we succeed, we will provide any three elixir pills that can be obtained in Hengyang."

Those were exceedingly generous terms.

Elixir pills alone were valuable enough, yet they were offering all the spoils too.

It made it clear that the Hengshan Sect had entered this matter without seeking any benefit for itself.

"Elixir pills..."

Still, the mention bothered Yeon Sowol. Hadn't he just heard that people could be used as ingredients in elixir pills?

Noticing his hesitation, Yu Hyeon spoke gently.

"Please don't worry, Young Hero. A Hengshan Sect alchemist with profound knowledge of elixir pills will help your group choose them. That alchemist can select only proper elixir pills untouched by the slightest wickedness."

"Oh... The Hengshan Sect even has an alchemist of that caliber?"

"Of course."

An alchemist.

'As expected of a prestigious sect. They handle specialized knowledge like that too.'

It was not something one could easily find in Guangdong, excluding strange cases like the Heat Cauldron Sect.

As Yeon Sowol looked impressed, Yu Hyeon said, "There's no reason to beat around the bush. That alchemist is this one here."

"Pardon?"

"This one."

The person Yu Hyeon pointed to was So Hye.

The girl hiding behind Yu Hyeon's back.

She stepped out stiffly and gave a cupped-fist salute.

"H-hello. I'm So Hye, a second-generation disciple of the Hengshan Sect and an alchemist in training!"

Perhaps she still lacked the courage to look at Yeon Sowol, because So Hye let her gaze drift elsewhere as she spoke.

Yeon Sowol was a little surprised.

'An alchemist? That girl? She looks only sixteen or seventeen...'

He did not know much about this world, but he knew alchemy was not something anyone could learn easily.

Hearing that such a young girl was an alchemist felt as bewildering as hearing that a first-year high school girl had a medical license.

Yeon Sowol did not hide what he was thinking.

"You don't even seem to be of age yet. You've learned alchemy already?"

Yu Hyeon snickered.

"Yes. She's been unusual since she was little. If she heard something would make her prettier, she would eat it. At first, she picked up and ate whatever she found. Then she started becoming selective, and later she began making things herself. She applied them, steamed them, and exposed herself to the vapors... She tried everything, and eventually gained enough skill to be called an alchemist."

Yeon Sowol's eyes widened.

"Uh... Are you saying she became an alchemist while trying all sorts of things to become prettier?"

"Yes. And I'm not just saying it because she's my junior sister. Isn't she pretty?"

She certainly was.

So Hye was beautiful.

Fair skin, red and full lips, clear eyes.

Though she still looked young, calling her a peerless beauty would not have been an exaggeration.

Among all the women Yeon Sowol had seen since falling into this world, she was the most beautiful.

Yet she had picked up and eaten everything, then researched it all to acquire that beauty? At her age?

Yeon Sowol found it hard to believe, but Yu Hyeon spoke as though stating a simple fact.

"She was pretty to begin with, but she's worked very hard to become that beautiful."

Yeon Sowol looked at So Hye.

One would expect her to be embarrassed by this conversation, but there was not the slightest embarrassment on her face.

If anything, the topic of beauty seemed to have shaken off the embarrassment from before.

The timid manner she had shown out of guilt toward Yeon Sowol was gone. As she quietly nodded, an air of expertise radiated from her, like that of a master in her own field.

She spoke.

"I really did work hard."

Before he realized it, Yeon Sowol asked, "Why did you try so hard to become prettier...? You must have been pretty from the start..."

So Hye answered.

"Because everyone becomes kinder when you're pretty!"

She flashed a bright smile. It was beautiful enough to make anyone want to be kind to her.

"They forgive you easily even when you make mistakes! That's why becoming beautiful is my dream. I might not become one of the greatest experts in the world, but I definitely want to become the most beautiful woman under heaven."

So Hye clenched her fist.

"Young Hero Yeon! I'll personally find the finest elixir pills for you and your friends. For this skin, these lips, my clear eyes, and my hair, there's nothing I haven't eaten and no elixir formula I haven't researched. You know, right? Beauty encompasses health preservation, wellness, and qi cultivation. I know all about it, so I'll find you the best elixir pills. They'll exceed your expectations! So please, help us just this once."

The beautiful girl spoke with confidence.

Yeon Sowol thought,

'Jianghu people really are all intoxicated with their own obsessions.'

He had seen plenty of martial artists obsessed with martial arts, but someone obsessed with beauty was new. And she was still so young. Or perhaps she was even more like this because she was young.

Either way, the more he looked at her, the more he thought she was a rather strange young lady.

Even so,

'...I'm curious, though.'

He had already intended to accept, but now that things had reached this point, he was beginning to look forward to the elixir pills So Hye might find for him.

Footnotes:

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