WeTried Translations
Translator: ZERO_SUGAR
Editor: Abstract
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
Episode 41: Interest (2)
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The infirmary was empty after the treatment ended, even the physicians having left.
The two members of the Four Immortal Masters remained silent for a while.
Their hearts were heavy, and their battered pride made it difficult to speak while anyone else was present.
Once they were alone, their gazes naturally turned toward each other.
The first to speak was none other than the Eastern River Sword Sage, Shin Ui-gyeom.
"...What I feared has become reality."
Gu Yang-gyeong frowned at those words.
He was already unsettled after suffering such an overwhelming defeat at the hands of seventeen-year-old Mumu. Shin Ui-gyeom's words could only sour his mood further.
"Are you saying you foresaw this would happen to me?"
"I'm not saying this to upset you, Elder."
"Then what do you mean?"
Shin Ui-gyeom sighed.
It was truly unfortunate.
Had Gu Yang-gyeong met the Academy Director first, come to the infirmary and seen Shin Ui-gyeom first, or at least heard news about Mumu, perhaps things would not have gone this far.
But it was already too late.
"I fought that child as well."
"Ahem. I heard about that."
Gu Yang-gyeong clicked his tongue as he looked Shin Ui-gyeom over.
The bandage around his forehead was one thing, but both arms were wrapped in bandages and secured in splints.
He was in no better shape.
'Are we fellow sufferers?'
When Gu Yang-gyeong first regained consciousness, the shock had been immense.
The defeat hurt, but worse still, he had lost all feeling in his left leg.
In that moment, he instinctively realized it.
'...I've lost one of my two peerless arts.'
He had built his fame on his kicking arts and movement skill.
With one leg crippled, he could no longer display the martial prowess he once possessed.
At first, the realization filled him with emptiness and rage.
Yet when he came to the infirmary and saw Shin Ui-gyeom, even those feelings faded.
'The new waves of the Yangtze River displace the old.'
It was exactly as the saying went.
Seventeen years ago, the Four Immortal Masters had defeated the Overlord of Blood and Slaughter, who was then called the greatest under heaven, and risen to the peak of the martial world.
They had held that position for over seventeen years.
Gu Yang-gyeong had known that one day, when he grew old and his vitality faded, he would have to step aside.
Nothing in this world lasted forever.
Still, he had never expected that moment to arrive so soon, so suddenly.
He was stronger than he had been seventeen years ago. Though he had aged, his vitality was still abundant.
And yet he had been overwhelmingly defeated.
'...That bastard isn't human.'
He recalled fighting Mumu.
It had not felt like facing another martial artist.
He had already experienced the feeling of confronting an overwhelmingly powerful opponent seventeen years ago.
But Mumu had been entirely different.
'It was like...'
A predator.
Yes, it had felt as though he were facing a wild beast, a predator.
The more he thought about it, the less he regretted losing. Instead, he felt fortunate that it had ended there and that he had survived.
Gu Yang-gyeong narrowed his eyes at Shin Ui-gyeom.
"How many techniques did you exchange with him?"
Shin Ui-gyeom frowned.
There was clearly an ulterior motive behind that question.
"Hoo."
What did that matter now?
Gu Yang-gyeong had ended up like this, and even if the remaining two Grandmasters joined forces in a combined attack, their options for dealing with Mumu were severely limited.
"...What does that matter?"
"It's been a long time since I fought you. I was simply curious."
Shin Ui-gyeom shook his head.
In the end, Gu Yang-gyeong wanted to use Mumu as a yardstick to see how much Shin Ui-gyeom's martial prowess had improved.
Or perhaps he wanted to determine which of them stood above the other.
Though he had not intended to answer, Shin Ui-gyeom eventually spoke.
"I don't remember exactly, but I believe we exchanged around fifty techniques in total."
Of course, once Mumu showed his true strength, Shin Ui-gyeom could not even withstand a flick to the forehead.
There was no need to mention that.
'!?'
Gu Yang-gyeong's eyes went wide.
'He exchanged over fifty techniques with that monster?'
He could hardly believe it.
Gu Yang-gyeong had not even exchanged a few techniques before ending up like this.
If Shin Ui-gyeom had fought that monstrous boy for over fifty techniques, he had grown incomparably stronger than before.
'Have I been idle all this time?'
Gu Yang-gyeong's lips went dry.
To be on a similar level, he should have exchanged at least fifty techniques as well. Otherwise, his pride would be in tatters.
Then Shin Ui-gyeom casually asked,
"And how many techniques did you exchange with that child, Elder?"
"..."
Gu Yang-gyeong was left speechless and could not bring himself to answer.
Seeing his reaction, Shin Ui-gyeom let out an involuntary snicker.
He naturally assumed Gu Yang-gyeong had not even been able to withstand a single punch, much less exchange several techniques.
A vein rose on Gu Yang-gyeong's forehead when he saw Shin Ui-gyeom snickering.
'That Shin bastard is mocking me.'
If he said nothing here, his pride would suffer even more.
Gu Yang-gyeong said, "Ahem. What does it matter how many techniques we exchanged?"
"What do you mean?"
"I may have ended up like this, but that child had his insides churned by my poison hands and spat out a bowlful of blood."
'!?'
This time, Shin Ui-gyeom frowned.
Come to think of it, he did not remember Mumu bleeding at all.
Even after using the incomplete Formless Sword, the crystallization of his enlightenment, Mumu had not shed a single drop of blood.
Gu Yang-gyeong grinned at his reaction.
"I heard you fought him two days ago, but I didn't see any injuries that looked as though they came from your fight..."
Shin Ui-gyeom clicked his tongue inwardly.
Did Gu Yang-gyeong truly need to put himself above Shin Ui-gyeom even now?
Shin Ui-gyeom had thought this defeat might make Gu Yang-gyeong realize something, as he had, but the old man's competitive spirit remained unchanged.
"Yes. Truly... impressive. As expected of Elder Gu Yang."
It was a pointless comparison.
The issue was not how many techniques they had exchanged with Mumu.
If Mumu put his mind to it, he had enough power to destroy anyone in a one-on-one fight with a single punch.
There was no point in comparing themselves.
"Ahem, ahem."
Perhaps Gu Yang-gyeong had realized it as well. He kept clearing his throat.
In the end, they had lost.
Debating how long they had lasted would only be laughable.
Shin Ui-gyeom stared at Gu Yang-gyeong.
'Should I tell him?'
Gu Yang-gyeong still seemed unaware of whose child Mumu was.
Shin Ui-gyeom assumed Mumu had not revealed it because of some promise he had made.
After considering it briefly, Shin Ui-gyeom dismissed the thought.
'No.'
Given Gu Yang-gyeong's temperament, telling him would only make things worse.
Then it would become even more difficult to predict how that natural disaster of a boy might act.
It was better for Gu Yang-gyeong not to know yet.
He would learn when the time came.
Shin Ui-gyeom felt sorry for keeping the truth from Gu Yang-gyeong, but for the sake of future peace, it could not be helped.
Then Gu Yang-gyeong wore a grave expression before suddenly snickering.
Shin Ui-gyeom looked at him in confusion.
"Why are you laughing?"
"It's amusing."
"What is?"
"I thought no monster like the Overlord of Blood and Slaughter would ever appear again."
"..."
'His son is an even greater monster.'
It was frustrating not to be able to say it.
But there was nothing he could do.
Unaware of Shin Ui-gyeom's thoughts, Gu Yang-gyeong continued.
"I never told the rest of you, but now, I'm confident I could contend with the Overlord of Blood and Slaughter alone. That's why I believed our era would last even longer."
"..."
Shin Ui-gyeom did not deny it.
He, too, was confident that he could now fight the Overlord of Blood and Slaughter alone and win.
But who could have expected a monster even more terrifying, one closer to a natural disaster, to appear?
"Yet the affairs of the world are truly unpredictable. To think a monster has appeared that even we cannot handle."
Shin Ui-gyeom sighed at Gu Yang-gyeong's lament.
He understood how the old man felt.
As a fellow sufferer, he said,
"Elder... How can the affairs of the world always unfold as we wish? What existed declines, and something new is bound to arise. If a new era arrives, isn't it the fate of those who came before to accept it?"
Gu Yang-gyeong smiled faintly and nodded, as though accepting that fate.
"You're right. You're right. It came earlier than expected, but what can be done? Such is the age."
"That's right. So..."
"We must prepare to welcome the new era into the family."
"...What?"
One of Shin Ui-gyeom's eyebrows rose.
Things had been going well. What was this supposed to mean?
Gu Yang-gyeong stroked his beard, his lips twitching.
"To think the words I always said to my granddaughter would come true like this."
"Elder... what are you talking about?"
"I said I wouldn't accept anyone as my grandson-in-law unless they were strong enough to earn my recognition. Yet the affairs of this world are truly unpredictable."
'!?'
Shin Ui-gyeom's eyes trembled.
What was this old man saying?
Gu Yang-gyeong grinned.
"Now I can rest easy. A child like Mumu is worthy of becoming the Gu Yang Clan's grandson-in-law. No, isn't he more than worthy?"
Gu Yang-gyeong spoke as though Mumu were already destined to become his grandson-in-law.
Shin Ui-gyeom was utterly dumbfounded.
He wanted to tell him the truth right away.
'...Elder. We killed that child's father.'
Yet Gu Yang-gyeong was eager to make Mumu his grandson-in-law.
What could Shin Ui-gyeom possibly say?
The old man was chasing a thoroughly impossible dream.
"Ho ho ho. If you had a daughter or granddaughter, you'd understand how I feel. Aren't you envious? A monster like that might become the Gu Yang Clan's grandson-in-law."
Judging from Gu Yang-gyeong's broad grin and tone, Mumu was already his grandson-in-law.
Shin Ui-gyeom felt a headache coming on.
* * *
Changcheon Martial Academy was in an uproar once more.
News that another of the Four Immortal Masters, the Western Wind Lone Angle Gu Yang-gyeong, had lost to Mumu spread throughout the academy within only a few two-hour periods.
As a result, these words were already circulating among the academy masters and cadets.
[The New Peak]
Not one, but two of the Four Immortal Masters had been defeated.
That went beyond standing shoulder to shoulder with them. Mumu could be said to stand above them.
Information was still being controlled within the academy, so it had not yet spread across the martial world, but that was only a matter of time.
[Shouldn't we call him the greatest under heaven rather than a Grandmaster?]
[Exactly. He defeated two of the Four Immortal Masters.]
[How can something like this happen?]
[Ha... seriously. How could such a monster appear among people our own age?]
[He's simply on a completely different level.]
When the gap in ability was manageable, people felt envy.
But when that difference tore through the ceiling and soared into the sky, they would not even dare aspire to such heights, and would feel only admiration.
That was how the cadets and academy masters felt now.
When the Eastern River Sword Sage had been defeated, the focus had been on where Mumu's strength came from.
Now, that had changed.
A being only seventeen years old, yet possessing martial force worthy of the greatest under heaven.
Unlike the Four Immortal Masters, who had all entered middle or old age, Mumu was not simply young. He was still a boy.
No one could guess how much stronger he might become.
[But you know, I heard Mumu is the adopted son of Inspector Censor Yu Jin-sung's family.]
[Then he's not their real son?]
[Right. He's still young, and he doesn't have a fiancée or a lover either.]
[Oh. Is that so?]
The focus had shifted to Mumu's future.
He possessed martial force close to that of the greatest under heaven, yet neither his affiliation nor any ties between families had been established.
What greater prize could there be?
No one made their intentions openly known, but beneath the surface, preparations were already moving quickly.
* * *
-Thud!
Mo Il-hwa irritably stabbed her chopsticks into the middle of her rice bowl.
For the past two days, she had been sick of academy cadets flooding in, begging to be allowed into the Muscle Training School.
'What are these idiots doing?'
Yet within just a few two-hour periods, the scene had completely changed.
Countless female cadets crowded around the long table where Mumu, Jin-hyeok, and Mo Il-hwa sat.
As though nothing had happened, they openly flirted with Mumu.
They piled delicious side dishes high on top of his rice bowl.
Even when Mumu absentmindedly said, "Huh?" they burst into giggles, making a fuss over how funny and cool he was.
'These girls have really made up their minds. They have.'
A woman understood another woman's heart better than anyone.
Mo Il-hwa could plainly see them wagging their tails at him.
They were desperate to win Mumu's favor.
She could understand that much.
'They want to hook Mumu somehow, is that it?'
Two of the Four Immortal Masters at the peak of the martial world had been defeated by Mumu.
As a result, Mumu's reputation within the academy had already shot into the heavens.
Since he had no lover, it was only natural for women to show interest.
-Crunch!
What irritated her even more was that some of them were showing interest in Jin-hyeok as well.
As though he were their second choice because there were too many competitors.
"Jin-hyeok, eat this too."
"Ah, no, it's all right, miss."
"What do you mean, all right? This is the time when men should eat plenty and grow bigger."
"You don't need to do this. Mmph."
"Oh my. You're eating it so well, so why refuse?"
Jin-hyeok did not know what to do with their offers, yet he readily accepted every bite they gave him.
Mo Il-hwa wanted to smack the back of his head.
The corners of his mouth kept twitching because women were gathered around him, and he could not hide it at all.
Still, what good would it do to blame him?
'Are you happy? You like this? Should I tear those little bitches' mouths apart?'
Someone else was watching Mumu and the women surrounding him from afar with eyes boiling with the same rage as Mo Il-hwa's.
It was none other than Tang So-so.
Tang So-so rubbed the poison container tucked into her robes as she considered it.
'Should I poison every last one of them?'
Footnotes:
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