WeTried Translations

Translator: ZERO_SUGAR

Editor: Abstract

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◈ Invincible Mumu

Chapter 21

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The Second Gate (2)

Mumu had been wandering through the fortress at a leisurely pace, taking in the sights.

Neither Jin-hyeok nor Mo Il-hwa had passed yet, so there was no reason to rush.

To Mumu, who had spent his whole life on the mountain, everything here was worth a look.

The vast plaza, the artificial lake stretching a full li, the pretty trees planted in neat rows along both its banks, all of it fascinated him.

Now he understood why his father, Yu Yeop-kyung, had longed so badly to be freed from exile.

As Mumu strolled along the lakeside path without a care, the examiner Ga Yu-hang, stern-faced, came toward him in measured steps.

She stopped right in front of him and spoke.

"You certainly have time to spare. Does the entrance examination of Changcheon Martial Academy look so easy that you can wander about sightseeing on your way?"

"......Who are you?"

"The examiner of the second gate."

"Ah! Hello!"

Mumu bobbed his head and greeted her loudly.

Ga Yu-hang raised an eyebrow.

The custom of the martial world was to greet someone with a clasped-hands salute, yet this was a truly simple, country-bred sort of greeting.

"Never mind that. Did you pass the first gate?"

"Ah... you mean that fortress gate over there?"

"Yes. You came through that gate?"

"Yes. The examiner mister told me I passed and let me in."

"Mister?"

"Was he not a mister?"

At the sight of Mumu tilting his head, Ga Yu-hang frowned.

There was nothing exactly wrong with the word "mister," but using it for the examiner who would later oversee the entrance examination was awfully careless speech.

"Let me correct you. Drop the 'mister' after 'examiner.'"

"I have to drop it?"

"It goes against the respect owed to an examiner."

"Ah, really? Then I'd better drop it. I'm sorry."

His adoptive father, Yu Yeop-kyung, had told him that, whatever else, a person must always have manners.

Mumu kept this firmly in mind, so he accepted the correction at once.

Watching him, Ga Yu-hang narrowed her eyes and let out a faint breath.

'He looks like such an innocent child. How did he pass? Could this boy really be that Yu Jin-sung's younger brother?'

The child who was said to have torn the fortress gate clean off to get through.

For that, he looked rather too clumsy.

She raised her Ki sense to study him, but oddly enough he did not seem to have trained in any Martial Arts.

It seemed unlikely that at his age he could have studied to such heights as to fold his energy away and conceal it, and yet, what a strange child.

'Even the way he walks lacks any grace.'

A master of her caliber could tell from someone's gait whether they had trained in a Body-Lightening Technique.

She could even guess their sect from the width of their stride and their walking posture alone.

By that measure, Mumu's stride was utterly ordinary.

If this dreadful gait was the result of learning a Body-Lightening Technique, then either the sect was wrong or the child was, one of the two.

'No. This child can't be the one after all.'

She shook her head.

Then, as if she had lost all interest, she went over to where a large incense burner stood.

A girl carrying a portable writing set approached Mumu, who stood there puzzled, wondering what was going on.

She was Tang So-so.

"Hi."

Tang So-so swept her hair to one side as she spoke.

She had been itching to talk to Mumu for a while now.

'He's sooooo good-looking.'

Of all the candidates who had come through so far, he was easily the best.

The fine lines of his face, the pretty lips that looked like they'd burst with fresh, tart juice if you bit them, she loved every bit of it.

As an examiner's assistant she really shouldn't, but she wanted to explain things to him kindly.

"You came to take the second gate's test, right?"

"Yeah."

Since Tang So-so looked to be his own age, Mumu smiled brightly and answered without a second thought.

At that charming smile, Tang So-so whipped her head away.

'Ahh...... he's way too dangerous.'

It felt like the blood was rushing upward.

In the course of training her Poison Art she had developed a special constitution, and when she grew excited the blood would often rush to her face, sometimes even bringing on a nosebleed.

Steadying herself with sheer composure, she said,

"This gate tests your movement skill."

"Movement skill? Ahh."

He had heard of that before.

Jang Po-kwae had shown it to him once.

Tang So-so pointed at someone heading toward the entrance of the artificial lake and said,

"You have to use your movement skill from the fortress gate all the way here, stepping on the wooden posts sticking up out of the lake to reach this spot. But you see the incense stuck in the burner next to the examiner over there? You have to arrive before it burns down to the red line."

"And then I pass?"

"Right. Only your clothes can't get wet. A drop or two she'll sometimes let slide, but even so it's best not to get wet if you can help it. Ah! And when you use your movement skill, pay attention to your form."

"Why?"

"Because the examiner likes things to be elegant."

"......What does that have to do with being elegant?"

"Mmm...... I still don't really get what it means either, but anyway, that's how it is."

"Heh. Thanks. You're really kind."

When Mumu thanked her with another bright, innocent smile, she clapped a hand over her nose and turned away.

His charm was so deadly it really did seem about to set off a nosebleed.

But she had her dignity to think of at a first meeting. How could she let herself be seen like that?

'Please, please pass. This kid.'

The more children like this there were, she thought, the brighter Changcheon Martial Academy's future would be.

Still, she couldn't quite shake a faint unease.

His gait was as uneven as that of an ordinary person who had never trained in a Body-Lightening Technique.

"Anyway, you can wait over there. I'll be rooting for you to pass."

Just as she was about to leave, something seemed to occur to her, and she asked,

"Hey. By any chance, are you Yu Jin..."

"So-so. How long do you intend to dawdle?"

Before she could finish, the examiner Ga Yu-hang, standing beside the incense burner, cut in sharply.

At that, Tang So-so could only click her tongue and go.

Even so, she mouthed the words 'Good luck!' to Mumu to cheer him on.

Watching her, Mumu waved.

'What a kind girl.'

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