WeTried Translations
Translator: ZERO_SUGAR
Editor: Abstract
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
Chapter 114: Persuasion (1)
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A master who had sniped and killed an unseen opponent from an enormous distance.
Because of that, Vice-Master Dan Pil-hu found himself deep in thought.
'...It might be a monster even that child Mumu cannot handle.'
Mumu's monstrous strength was enough to contend with even the Ten Great Masters of the Force of Justice.
Yet if someone asked who among those Ten Great Masters could perform such a miraculous feat, no one came to mind besides the Sichuan Bow Emperor.
Truthfully, even the Sichuan Bow Emperor might not have been able to hit a target like that with so many obstacles in the way and no line of sight.
Dan Pil-hu had been agonizing over the possibility that his opponent was such an incredible monster when someone appeared beside him.
"Vice-Master?"
"Hm? What are you doing here?"
It was none other than Secret Agent No. 2, who had been keeping watch over Mumu.
If they were here, that meant Mumu was nearby.
Thinking this worked out well, Vice-Master Dan Pil-hu asked, "Where is that child Mumu?"
"...Didn't you see him?"
"What do you mean, didn't I see him?"
Secret Agent No. 2 wore an expression as if they did not know how to explain it.
What could have happened?
"Don't tell me something happened to that child Mumu?"
With a worried look, Dan Pil-hu turned toward the building where the sniping had begun.
Perhaps Mumu was already fighting that monstrous fellow.
But Secret Agent No. 2's answer was unexpected.
"He flew away."
"...What?"
"I mean exactly that. Young Master Mumu was inside the building you are looking at, then suddenly flew away."
"...Flew away?"
Dan Pil-hu frowned at those words.
Secret Agent No. 2 could understand his reaction. They too had never expected Mumu to do more than briefly kick off the air, much less fly across the sky.
"Vice-Master... I know this is an odd thing to ask, but is Young Master Mumu really human?"
"What are you talking about?"
"It happened too fast for me to see clearly, but there was suddenly a crashing sound above the building. When I looked up, there was a tiny figure, presumably Young Master Mumu, far up in the sky."
"...A figure presumably Mumu?"
"Yes. Of everyone who entered the building, only Young Master Mumu disappeared, so it must have been him."
Dan Pil-hu listened, then asked in disbelief, "Could those holes have been made by that child Mumu too?"
Secret Agent No. 2 nodded toward the holes he indicated.
Of those who had entered the building, Mumu was the only one capable of something like that.
'...Mumu did this too?'
Vice-Master Dan Pil-hu was dumbfounded.
"Hah..."
"Why do you ask?"
Dan Pil-hu answered the puzzled Secret Agent No. 2 in a somewhat dazed voice.
"...Maybe he really isn't human."
He had gone far beyond the bounds of common sense.
When Dan Pil-hu had first met Mumu, he had believed the boy's body had surpassed all limits. He had thought Mumu would become a master whose fame shook the realm, so he had hoped to raise him well and enjoy some benefits from it.
But this did not seem like someone he could raise.
'He is already beyond the point where anyone can interfere.'
Soaring Through the Void, and that absurd sniping as well. The more Dan Pil-hu learned, the more he wondered where Mumu's limits truly lay.
Could someone really do this at only seventeen?
At this point, Dan Pil-hu began to suspect something.
'Could he be an old master who has returned to youth?'
Otherwise, Mumu's strength could not be explained through muscle training alone.
If one could gain such power through muscle training, who would bother learning Martial Arts?
Dan Pil-hu swallowed dryly.
'...Could that child Mumu's strength have surpassed the Ten Great Masters of the Force of Justice and reached the realm of the Four Immortal Masters?'
The realm of the Four Immortal Masters.
They stood at the peak of the present martial world, said to have crossed wall after wall.
Even the three supreme masters considered the greatest among the Ten Great Masters of the Force of Justice had called them beings beyond the human realm.
After considering it for a moment, Dan Pil-hu shook his head.
'No. That cannot be it.'
That was going too far.
During the war between the forces of justice and evil seventeen years ago, he had personally witnessed a single strike from the Southern Blade Imperial Uncle.
The sight of a small mountain peak being cut clean away by that one strike remained etched in his mind.
'...It was a monstrous strike.'
Remembering it calmed him somewhat.
The Four Immortal Masters truly existed on an entirely different level.
'Right. He has not reached that point yet.'
Still, Mumu was only seventeen.
Even Sa Mu-heo, one of the Six Stars of Heaven whose strength rivaled the Ten Great Masters of the Force of Justice, had been utterly overwhelmed by Mumu and reduced to that state.
'Maybe it will not be long.'
The Four Immortal Masters were gradually aging, and one day they too would have to yield their places at the summit to the next generation.
Did they not say that the waves behind drove the waves ahead onward?
In Dan Pil-hu's eyes, there was a high chance that Mumu would take the place at the peak of the next generation.
'Yes. If I look after that child Mumu until then... heh heh heh.'
Would he not enjoy some benefits in his later years?
Just then, someone came running over in a panic.
It was one of the warriors under the Vice-Master's command.
"V-Vice-Master!"
Seeing how urgent the warrior looked, Dan Pil-hu asked in confusion, "What is it?"
The warrior approached Dan Pil-hu, looked around, then whispered something into his ear.
Dan Pil-hu's eyes widened when he heard it.
'This is bad!'
With a flustered expression, Dan Pil-hu looked toward the city wall in the distance.
He had expected that person to arrive before long.
But this was faster than expected.
After receiving the news in Hainan Island, Dan Pil-hu had thought it would take well over fifteen days to get here.
"Vice-Master?"
When Secret Agent No. 2 looked puzzled, Vice-Master Dan Pil-hu gave an instruction.
"It seems I must hurry outside the city. There is no choice but to delay them for as long as I can."
"Don't tell me... that person has come?"
Dan Pil-hu nodded with a darkened expression.
Secret Agent No. 2's face stiffened as well.
What they had feared so much had finally arrived.
"That person is already here, so why have we still received no word from the Imperial Uncle?"
"That is what I would like to know."
His only daughter was in danger, yet there was no way of knowing where he was.
Clicking his tongue, Vice-Master Dan Pil-hu said, "If Mumu returns, have him get a confession out of that bastard somehow. If that does not work, teach him the shadow agency's methods of obtaining a confession."
"Understood."
"This year has truly been eventful."
"...Vice-Master, I wish you good fortune."
Dan Pil-hu clicked his tongue at Secret Agent No. 2's words, then headed off somewhere.
* * *
Not long after Vice-Master Dan Pil-hu left...
Bang!
Mumu slipped through one of the holes and landed back in the same spot as before.
Mo Il-hwa and Jin-hyeok, who had waited there so long that they had grown bored, jumped to their feet and hurried over to him.
"How could you just suddenly leave?"
"Hey, where in the world did you go? Huh? Where is that guy?"
Mo Il-hwa looked around in confusion when she realized Ja Muk-hyun, whom Mumu had taken away, was nowhere to be seen.
Mumu answered casually, "I left him there."
"There where?"
"His hand was injured, and I thought he might do something pointless if he stayed at the academy, so I left him at the Paralysis Blade Estate."
'!?'
Ha Ryun looked startled at that.
Mumu had been gone for only a little over two hours.
Yet he was saying that he had gone to the Paralysis Blade Estate's headquarters and returned in that time?
'...He is not human.'
Even if Ha Ryun did not know its exact location, there was no chance the Paralysis Blade Estate was near Changcheon Martial Academy.
Yet Mumu had gone there and returned in such a short time.
It was enough to inspire awe.
"What did you do there?" Mo Il-hwa asked.
Mumu answered as if it were nothing. "I received their loyalty."
"What?"
"I said I received their loyalty."
"How?"
Judging by Ja Muk-hyun's reaction earlier, their convictions were unwavering.
How could Mumu possibly subdue a group pursuing blood revenge and conquest of the realm?
"I showed them a little of my strength, and they said they would serve me as their master."
"A little?"
Mo Il-hwa frowned at Mumu's words.
What exactly was this brat's standard for a little, if a group plotting conquest of the realm suddenly swore loyalty to him?
Since she had not seen it, she had no way of knowing what he had done.
Then, while she was still puzzled...
"Ah... Ha Ryun, did you say Valley of White Death?"
"Yes?"
"Since I was already out, I thought I could visit Valley of White Death too..."
Ha Ryun hurriedly fell to his knees before Mumu and bowed his head.
"M-Master, please keep me close and make use of me. Valley of White Death and I will never act against your expectations. I swear on my life."
'Good grief.'
Mo Il-hwa clicked her tongue inwardly at Ha Ryun's attitude.
He seemed thoroughly terrified of Mumu.
Then again, Mumu had suddenly flown off somewhere, returned, and said he had received the loyalty of some place called the Paralysis Blade Estate. It would have been stranger not to feel uneasy.
Mumu looked down at Ha Ryun, then asked, "Will you do only as I tell you?"
Ha Ryun raised his head and nodded vigorously.
"H-How could I disobey Master's orders?"
"Really? Then stop all this Grand Plan business from now on."
"Pardon?"
"Do not try to do anything pointless at the academy while going on about the Grand Plan."
Ha Ryun hesitated at Mumu's words.
From the earlier conversation, Ha Ryun had understood to some degree that Mumu cared for those around him.
But telling him to abandon the Grand Plan was no different from saying that even if Mumu took him in as a subordinate, he would not pursue revenge or conquest of the realm.
"You have no answer."
"N-No. I will obey your order."
Ha Ryun answered under the pressure, but inwardly, he was confused.
'Stopping the Grand Plan already in motion means he intends to do nothing at all?'
But was that possible?
The Grand Plan at the academy had already slipped from his hands.
The rage of the person who had lost a disciple would eventually take the life of Hong Hye-ryeong, daughter of the Southern Blade Imperial Uncle.
If that happened, a catastrophe between the Four Immortal Masters would begin.
'It will happen eventually.'
There was no evidence to reveal the true culprit.
Unlike Mumu, who had grown up knowing nothing, Kang Mu-i had spent his entire life nursing his anger.
He would never confess with his own lips.
'Without decisive evidence, he cannot stop that person. So how does he intend to stop the Grand Plan?'
Ha Ryun could not understand it at all.
Mo Il-hwa and Jin-hyeok were just as puzzled as they looked at Mumu.
'He did not choose them?'
Taking them in was no different from joining them.
Yet Mumu was trying to stop their pursuit of blood revenge.
It was difficult to understand what he intended.
Jin-hyeok walked up to Mumu and openly whispered, "Mumu. What are you thinking? Taking them in means your real fa..."
Swish!
Before he could finish, someone poked their head through the lecture hall door.
It was none other than Secret Agent No. 2.
"Young Master Mumu."
Secret Agent No. 2 carefully called to Mumu and gestured to him.
It looked as though they had something to say in private.
Everyone looked at them in confusion.
'What is this?'
* * *
Mumu followed Secret Agent No. 2 toward a hidden holding cell within the academy.
He was going there to meet someone imprisoned inside.
Secret Agent No. 2 glanced at Mumu.
Unlike before, that immense pressure was gone, and Mumu seemed no different from usual.
'What a remarkable artifact.'
Mumu became like this after putting on the iron rings called Ki-Restraining Bracelets around his wrists and ankles.
Secret Agent No. 2 had asked out of curiosity whether Mumu would tell them, and Mumu had explained without any hesitation.
They were artifacts that sealed his strength.
[Why do you wear those?]
[Because I am not very good at controlling my strength. I might destroy everything.]
[Destroy everything?]
[It would be a problem if I sneezed by accident and the person in front of me died.]
[...]
It sounded slightly exaggerated, but what could Secret Agent No. 2 say if that was what Mumu claimed?
[Understood.]
Truthfully, leaving those on did seem right.
The distinctive pressure Mumu unconsciously gave off stimulated all five senses, to the point that even breathing became difficult.
'...Without an artifact like that, ordinary life must be difficult for him.'
Unlike ki, he could not control his own pressure.
Mumu himself was somewhat aware of this.
After taking off the bracelets, he had seen the intense light of energy radiating from his body spreading in every direction beyond his control.
Mumu had decided he needed to learn how to control it.
Otherwise, he might have to wear the Ki-Restraining Bracelets for the rest of his life.
"Here we are, young master."
Secret Agent No. 2 stopped before the iron gate at the entrance to the underground holding cell.
Kang Mu-i, whom Mumu had captured, was inside.
Secret Agent No. 2 said to Mumu, "Young Master Mumu, we need to obtain a confession from him or recover decisive evidence. The situation is extremely urgent. We must hurry."
"It seems very urgent."
"The Vice-Master has gone outside the city to delay them. But it will not buy us much time. That person's fury cannot be soothed with a few words."
"Hm. Is that so?"
Mumu nodded to show that he understood.
When he moved to open the iron gate, Secret Agent No. 2 spoke again, as if urging him.
"If it becomes difficult, please tell me. I will help with the interrogation. For now, take this Truth Toolbox."
"Truth Toolbox? Is it an artifact?"
"It is something like an artifact of the shadow agency. It should be useful in its own way."
Secret Agent No. 2 handed him the toolbox resting before the iron gate.
Mumu accepted it.
"Yes, yes. All right."
Smiling brightly, he entered through the iron gate.
Inside, Kang Mu-i sat against a wall of thick black iron, restraints fastened around both hands and ankles.
Mumu gave him a small wave in greeting.
"Is your hand feeling better?"
Kang Mu-i snorted as if the question were absurd.
How could his hand be all right?
Thanks to Mumu, every bone in the fingers of his right hand had been crushed.
The physician had said that even if each broken fragment was carefully set back in place, he might have trouble gripping things as he once had.
Just seeing Mumu's smiling face made it impossible for Kang Mu-i to calm his anger.
"You seem very angry."
"Get lost. I have nothing to say to you."
Mumu had refused when Kang Mu-i offered to tell him the truth.
The owner of the Jade Medallion did not even know of Kang Mu-i's existence, yet had stood among force of justice members and reduced him to this state.
Mumu was not someone Kang Mu-i could trust.
"I have plenty to say to you."
Mumu walked over and set the Truth Toolbox Secret Agent No. 2 had given him down in front of Kang Mu-i.
They had told him to use this, but Mumu did not know why they had given it to him.
He wondered what it was and opened the clasp.
Click!
Dozens of torture instruments appeared in a chilling display.
There were pliers for tearing out fingernails and all sorts of other things. Just looking at them sent a shiver down one's spine and made one's brow furrow.
Kang Mu-i tried not to show it, but he swallowed without realizing it.
"..."
Mumu scratched his head.
He did not know why they had given him something like this.
Closing the lid of the Truth Toolbox Secret Agent No. 2 had mentioned, Mumu said, "They said we are half-brothers?"
Kang Mu-i frowned at those words.
He had told Mumu nothing, so how did this brat know?
"...Who did you hear that from?"
"Senior Ja Muk-hyun."
"Ja Muk-hyun? That guy from the Paralysis Blade Estate told you that?"
Kang Mu-i's eyes sharpened.
That man had sworn loyalty to Kang Mu-i's potential among the owners of the Jade Medallion.
Yet he had told this brat?
Kang Mu-i scoffed.
"Do not try any tricks. I do not know who gave you that information, but..."
"Senior Ja Muk-hyun."
"What nonsense. He would die before he ever..."
"He told me."
"What?"
"Ah... And I took some time to visit the Paralysis Blade Estate too. After we had a pleasant little talk, they even swore loyalty to me."
"..."
Kang Mu-i was dumbfounded.
Was Mumu seriously asking him to believe that?
Footnotes:
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