WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: ZERO_SUGAR

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Chapter 88: I Was Once a Madman of Chu (10)

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Boom!

The gates of a venerable, prestigious Daoist temple burst apart.

Passersby hurried to hide inside nearby buildings, while those already indoors pressed themselves behind walls and watched through gaps in the windows.

"What the hell..."

"What's happening..."

"Who would dare attack a Daoist temple?"

"But weren't those Hengshan Sect disciples who rushed in earlier?"

"The Hengshan Sect attacked a Daoist temple? That can't be right!"

Then they saw it.

"It really is the Hengshan Sect!"

Hengshan Sect disciples came pouring out through the shattered gates.

"Why would the Hengshan Sect..."

"A sect that protects the Three Teachings..."

As everyone stood stunned, another group flooded out behind the Hengshan Sect disciples.

Children as young as five, along with young men and women who seemed no older than twenty.

They staggered outside, their faces filled with the grief and joy of having barely survived.

"Huh? What's that?"

Those watching from hiding opened their windows wider.

Some leaned their entire bodies outside, while others threw open their doors and stepped into the street.

They could not understand what they were seeing.

"Why... Why are people like that coming out of there...?"

They watched children who looked as though they had narrowly escaped death, along with young people barely old enough to be adults, approach Yeon Sowol in tears. They gripped his hands tightly and wept bitterly.

Yeon Sowol looked filthy, as if he had just come up from some country village. Yet even those ragged clothes could not conceal the charm that drew the onlookers' eyes.

"Judging by how he's dressed, he doesn't seem to be from the Hengshan Sect..."

A handsome man in rags stood before people with black grime smeared across their faces, weeping with sorrow, joy, and gratitude.

The sight was strange enough to seize everyone's attention, yet no one could make sense of it.

After Yeon Sowol and the Hengshan Sect hurried away, people flooded into the street and rushed over to those left behind.

"What happened?"

"Good heavens, look at you. You must have suffered terribly... How did this happen? Why were you coming out of that Daoist temple?"

"What happened in there? Did the Hengshan Sect masters truly harm the Daoists?"

As questions poured in from every direction, someone ground his teeth and answered.

"Daoists, my ass! Those things were devils."

"Devils...?"

"You ever seen a person melt while still alive?"

"What? How could a person melt? I've seen people burn, but..."

"They melt. They really melt... I saw it. Again and again."

"What are you talking about..."

"They melted people down and turned them into medicine! In that damned den of demons! If Great Hero Yeon hadn't come, I would've..."

The man cried out, pointing a blackened finger at the Daoist temple with its ruined gates.

"That's..."

The people could not easily believe him.

But they could not argue, either.

No one dared contradict him after seeing his expression.

After a long silence, someone spoke.

"Let's go inside."

"Let's take a look."

"We'll know once we see it."

Not long after, the people who had rushed into the ruined Daoist temple came running back out, vomiting.

"Bleeegh!"

"Urrgh!"

"Ugh... What is this? What in the world..."

"I heard a lot of people had been going missing lately... Ugh..."

Those who had barely survived because of Yeon Sowol shouted as if to say, See? I told you.

"I told you! We saw things like that every day. Every day... If it hadn't been for Great Hero Yeon, if it hadn't been for the Hengshan Sect..."

"Good heavens..."

"Great Hero Yeon Sowol! Great Hero Yeon Sowol of the Guangdong Martial Alliance saved us! Even those little children!"

"That's right! That hero killed the scary old devil in one blow!"

"Good heavens."

"A martial artist like that..."

The people looked up in astonishment.

They stared blankly down the street, where Yeon Sowol and the Hengshan Sect disciples had already disappeared.

* * *

After subjugating the first Daoist temple, the Hengshan Sect disciples were deeply agitated.

"I never imagined it would be this bad..."

"Those dog bastards."

"They were monsters wearing human skin."

"Those things were pretending to be Daoists..."

Thinking of the horrific evidence found inside the temple, they could not remain calm.

So when Yeon Sowol said he could uncover all the other connected Daoist temples as well, they had doubts but listened to him nonetheless.

"You can truly tell?"

"Yes, Great Hero Gong."

"Even my qi sense can't pick up anything."

Gong So-un, the Hengshan Sect member in charge, looked confused.

Yeon Sowol shamelessly pressed on.

"It's a secret art of my sect."

"A secret art of your sect... A secret art... I see..."

Gong So-un could not say anything.

He had only recently learned that there was a Martial Alliance in Guangdong. How could he know what secret arts it possessed?

There's a sect in Guangdong with such an incredible secret art? ...In Guangdong?

He could hardly believe it, but he could not show it. Gong So-un had heard the rumors about Yeon Sowol as well. He knew why Yeon Sowol was called the Featherless Arrow in Hunan.

I'm dying to ask, but I can't just ask him...

He could not risk offending a benefactor who was actively helping the sect.

For now, they had no choice but to follow Yeon Sowol. If they could capture the rest, there could be no better outcome.

But then...

"Wait, Young Hero Yeon. Are you certain this is the place?"

One of the Hengshan Sect's second-generation disciples raised a strong objection before another Daoist temple Yeon Sowol had led them to.

"I'm certain."

Yeon Sowol answered without the slightest hesitation.

There was a faint, subtle energy that no one else could notice.

Only Yeon Sowol's qi sense could see it clearly.

Ripples of qi, trembling like waves caught in a storm.

It could mean only one thing.

There was an anchor of the formation array here as well.

Yet the Hengshan Sect disciple did not back down.

"That can't be true! My uncle is at this Daoist temple! He looked after me like a father after I lost my parents as a child. I know him well. Something so terrible could never have happened here!"

The disciple was so vehement that the people around them began to murmur.

A disciple of the sect was speaking with such certainty. They could not attack a Daoist temple based solely on Yeon Sowol's inexplicable ability.

Besides...

"The Hengshan Sect calls itself a protector of the Three Teachings. We cannot rashly attack a Daoist shrine without clear justification."

Gong So-un, the Hengshan Sect member in charge, also looked troubled. Given the Hengshan Sect's deep ties to Daoism, the situation was even more difficult.

Creak!

At that moment, the Daoist temple's gates opened.

A kind-looking Daoist temple master who appeared to be in his fifties walked out.

"What brings the disciples of the Hengshan Sect here? This Daoist is Jang Geuk, the one responsible for this humble temple."

At that moment, Yeon Sowol thought,

I have to step in.

The Hengshan Sect disciples did not know what to do, so he had to take the lead.

That was the only way to get rid of all these inhuman bastards.

I need to come down hard. Pressure them by asking why they can't show us inside if they have nothing to hide. Even if they refuse, the Hengshan Sect will start growing suspicious. If it comes down to it... I'll force my way in alone.

Yeon Sowol was already fairly certain, so he had no intention of ruling out harsher methods.

Just as he was about to speak...

"Uncle!"

"Oh, Seongwon. It's you."

"Don't worry, Uncle. There seems to be some misunderstanding. I'll clear it up and send them away."

"Goodness. What misunderstanding could there be?"

"Young Hero Yeon over there seems to be gravely mistaken."

"Young Hero Yeon?"

The Daoist temple master suddenly turned to Yeon Sowol.

The instant their eyes met, Yeon Sowol saw a shadow flicker in the man's pupils. An ominous, incredibly secretive energy, so subtle that even Yeon Sowol almost missed it, slipped out from the Daoist temple master's body.

At the same time, the friendly-looking Daoist temple master narrowed his eyes in a warm smile.

"Well, if it isn't Young Hero Yeon. Do you remember me? We've met before."

Sliiide.

The secretive energy seeped into Yeon Sowol.

It felt like the energy of the Demon Sword Yu Hyeon had held.

But it was more secretive. Stickier.

So subtle that even Yeon Sowol noticed it too late.

At that moment...

Huh? Now that I think about it.

A memory suddenly surfaced in Yeon Sowol's mind.

Right. We met at Dongting Lake. That Daoist temple master helped me a great deal.

He almost answered without thinking.

Ah! You're the Daoist temple master who helped me back then!

But just before the words left his mouth, he snapped back to his senses.

Wait a second.

Dongting Lake?

When have I ever been there?

And yet the memory was vivid. Dongting Lake. He remembered seeing it with his own eyes and walking along its shore.

But...

No. This isn't a real memory.

Yeon Sowol realized it.

He had experienced this many times before.

A state where he could not distinguish truth from lies.

He had endured it more than enough during his two periods of closed-door seclusion.

How had he broken free each time?

If I make my heart utterly sincere...

He could feel it.

Who he was. What was real, and what was false.

At last, Yeon Sowol noticed the secretive energy that had already burrowed into his body.

It felt similar to the ghosts he had encountered when he had first fallen into this world.

When did it...?

Snap!

The moment he sensed it, he severed it. The energy scattered away.

A mocking smile touched Yeon Sowol's lips.

"...What?"

The friendly-looking Daoist temple master's face turned pale in an instant.

His eyes trembled and darted from side to side.

As if he were terrified and searching for a way to escape.

At that moment, Yeon Sowol moved.

Come to think of it, why make things complicated when a confirmed demon stood before him?

Slice!

Yeon Sowol's sword flashed like a streak of light and cut across the terrified Daoist temple master's neck.

"Young Hero Yeon!"

"Uncle!!!!"

Leaving the shocked Hengshan Sect disciples behind, Yeon Sowol leaped over the high wall of the Daoist temple.

"...Follow him for now!"

Gong So-un shouted and followed after Yeon Sowol.

A short while later...

"These fucking bastards!"

"You spawn of the Demonic Path!!!"

"Kill them all! Don't let a single one escape!"

The enraged cries of Hengshan Sect masters shook the temple roofs and rang throughout the streets.

* * *

That day, a great deal of blood was spilled in Hengyang.

No fewer than seven Daoist temples fell one after another.

Yeon Sowol stood at the front.

He could identify the fallen Daoist priests with ease.

No one knew what method he used, but he was never wrong. Before long, everyone in the Hengshan Sect followed his directions without complaint.

Along the way, all of them were awed by Yeon Sowol's martial arts.

Though hidden, the sun's wheel moves heaven and earth.

Noh Huideok had once said that Yeon Sowol's sword was like the sun hidden behind clouds. Though unseen, it brought harmony to the entire world.

True to the sobriquet Hidden Sun Sword, which had come from those words, Yeon Sowol's sword held subtlety within its restraint. It was hidden yet concise, always carrying a deep harmony. Even Daoist priests versed in both dark arts and martial arts could not easily contend with it.

There was Yu Hyeon, the Soaring Xiang Sword Wolf and foremost among Hunan's rising young talents. There was Won Huiseung, a rising young talent of the Zhongnan Sect. There was Jin Geol, who brought down one person every time he fired an arrow.

Yet Yeon Sowol was still the one who stood out most.

Whenever they cleared out a Daoist temple that had fallen into the Demonic Path, people imprisoned there flooded into the streets. Every time, they took Yeon Sowol's hands and cried.

They could not help but feel especially attached to Yeon Sowol, since he had been the first to break in and free them.

"There are no more."

When Yeon Sowol finally declared the work finished, the Hengshan Sect disciples released the cheers they had been holding back and approached him.

"Thank you. I truly thought that man was my uncle... I don't know how long I'd been under the influence of their dark arts..."

The Hengshan Sect disciple who had first tried to stop Yeon Sowol lowered their head deeply and apologized.

Gong So-un sighed beside the disciple.

"...Among the Daoist temples we destroyed today, quite a few had close ties with our Hengshan Sect. Even some of our disciples had unknowingly fallen under the influence of dark arts... I don't know how I'm supposed to report this to the sect leader when we return."

His eyes darkened with complicated feelings.

"Our Hengshan Sect calls itself a protector of the Three Teachings: Confucianism, Buddhism, and Daoism. Though they are different religions, we seek to learn from all of them with an open mind, without discrimination. But..."

Gong So-un bit his lip.

"Perhaps that open mind became carelessness. We trusted them too readily, simply because they had established Daoist temples, without looking into them closely. We didn't even realize that those of the Demonic Path were growing under the shadow of our Hengshan Sect..."

Without realizing it, he had begun speaking more formally to Yeon Sowol.

He even brought both hands together in salute and bowed deeply.

"Today, the Hengshan Sect owes Great Hero Yeon a great debt."

Everyone from the Hengshan Sect looked at Yeon Sowol. Their faces showed shame, gratitude, and in some cases, admiration.

So Hye was among them.

Yu Hyeon poked her in the side. "What do you think? Isn't he cool?"

So Hye gazed at Yeon Sowol.

To pose as country siblings, he wore shabby clothes. His face was still smeared with soot, and now with blood as well, making him look even worse.

Yet despite that...

"Yes... He's cool."

Yu Hyeon smiled at her words.

"See? Do you understand what Master meant by inner beauty now? You don't need to obsess so much over appearances. Think deeply, So Hye."

So Hye nodded deeply in agreement.

"You're right. I've learned properly. Beauty isn't just about the face. Inner beauty is..."

"Yes. Exactly."

"That scent."

"Hm?"

"Those graceful, restrained movements when he swings his sword."

"Uh?"

"That powerful voice, with such clear rises and falls, when he sternly denounced evil!"

"Er..."

So Hye turned to Yu Hyeon with a flushed face, as if she had reached an epiphany.

"There are so many things that make up beauty! But until now, I only focused on faces. Ah, how foolish I was... Outward appearance isn't all there is to beauty!"

"No."

"I want to learn! That scent. Those movements. How to use my voice! The inner beauty that doesn't show on the face..."

Yu Hyeon tried to say something, blinked once in disbelief, then answered.

"Uh. Sure... Make sure you learn it."

"Yes!"

So Hye clenched both fists.

Her eyes glistened as she looked at Yeon Sowol.

Footnotes:

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