WeTried Translations
Translator: ZERO_SUGAR
Editor: Abstract
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
Chapter 88: Doubt (4)
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The commotion quickly died down.
Yeong Ga-dong had been unable to contain his rage after seeing his youngest martial brother's corpse, but he had regained some of his reason now.
It was because of Mumu, whose ability he could not measure.
Yeong Ga-dong had faced countless opponents over the years, yet he had never seen anyone catch sword ki manifestation with bare hands, much less shatter a sword imbued with sword ki manifestation.
'He's beyond the level of an academy cadet.'
He had met several masters who held the title of Ten Great Masters of the Force of Justice, but this was the first time he had encountered someone whose chances of victory he could not predict at all.
That realization cooled the rage clouding his mind.
Yeong Ga-dong looked over those seated at the table.
'I knew they were strong for academy cadets, but...'
He could not help being surprised when he learned who they were.
Do Yang-woon, grandson of the Northern Heaven Fist Hero. Gu Yang Seo-rin, granddaughter of the Western Wind Lone Angle.
To think two descendants of the Four Immortal Masters had been here.
'...Things could have become much more complicated.'
In a way, it was fortunate.
His anger had been directed at Hong Hye-ryeong, but he had wanted to avoid killing anyone innocent, even if they stood in his way.
If he had mistakenly harmed either of them...
'...'
He might have made enemies of all the Four Immortal Masters.
Thanks to that monster, he had avoided that outcome without meaning to.
'Just who is this guy?'
Mumu clearly had not learned Martial Arts.
Yet he had caught the Flame Shadow Great Rift Blade, one of the Six Great Artifacts of the Central Plains, with his bare hands and snapped a sword filled with sword ki manifestation.
He was a monster who had surpassed the level of an academy cadet long ago.
Yeong Ga-dong could not lower his guard.
'This is interesting.'
Gu Yang Seo-rin smiled to herself.
All the descendants of the Four Immortal Masters had gathered here.
It would not be an exaggeration to say that everyone here had the greatest backing in the martial world, yet they were not the ones setting the mood.
It was Mumu, who was wearing an innocent expression as though nothing had happened.
'Everyone is busy watching his reaction.'
She had never been in such an entertaining situation before.
The chief disciple of the Eastern River Sword Sage, who had even claimed one of the seats among the Ten Great Masters of the Force of Justice, was warily watching Mumu. Even Hong Hye-ryeong, daughter of the Southern Blade Imperial Uncle, was looking at him differently.
It was likely because they had seen him catch the Flame Shadow Great Rift Blade with his bare hands.
'An artifact with a will, said to contain the soul of fire.'
There were several artifacts Grandpa had warned her about.
One of them was the Flame Shadow Great Rift Blade.
Once fully unleashed, the flame ki of the Flame Shadow Great Rift Blade, called an Avatar of Fire, was said to burn even poison ki away with its heat.
[Hong Hwa-yun, who wields the Flame Shadow Great Rift Blade, is troublesome.]
Grandpa considered Hong Hwa-yun his most difficult opponent.
Mumu had caught the Flame Shadow Great Rift Blade barehanded and had not suffered even a single burn.
His muscles seemed close to an indestructible golden body.
'Would poison not work on him either?'
An indestructible golden body did not mean immunity to all poisons.
Still, the strength Mumu's muscles had displayed so far was far beyond common sense.
She wondered where his limits lay.
'One thing is certain. Even one of the Ten Great Masters of the Force of Justice was suppressed by his presence and gave ground.'
Gu Yang Seo-rin licked her lips.
Mumu was even more interesting than he had been the night before.
Perhaps she was looking at the future pinnacle of the martial world, one who would lead the generation after the Four Immortal Masters.
What would it feel like to possess a man like that?
'Hmm. Not bad.'
She would have to watch him longer, but so far, he more than satisfied her.
As everyone consciously or unconsciously kept Mumu in mind, Do Yang-woon's account reached an important point.
"...If not for Master Mumu here, I too might have fallen victim to the fake Gu Yang Seo-han. This is not a separate matter."
Yeong Ga-dong frowned at those words.
Did that mean that not only his youngest martial brother, Young Chun, but two descendants of the Four Immortal Masters had nearly lost their lives that night?
Hong Hye-ryeong, equally surprised, spoke up.
"Then, like what Senior Do experienced, someone imitated me and killed Young Chun?"
"Did Senior Sister Hong not say it herself? That she never killed Young Chun. If so, this can only be almost identical to what I experienced."
"How could something like this..."
Hong Hye-ryeong's gaze sharpened.
If Do Yang-woon's words were true, she had suffered through all this while being framed by that person.
Do Yang-woon continued.
"These events did not happen overnight by coincidence. Senior, what if this is a scheme meant to turn the Four Immortal Masters against one another?"
"A scheme to turn the Four Immortal Masters against each other?"
"Yes."
Yeong Ga-dong's expression grew grave.
There were far too many suspicious details to dismiss it as a conspiracy theory.
If Do Yang-woon had also lost his life, all the Four Immortal Masters might have turned against one another, no, become irreconcilable enemies.
"Therefore, please consider this situation calmly..."
"Wait."
"Yes?"
"You said your name was Do Yang-woon?"
"That is correct."
"Your words certainly have merit. But there is one way in which what you experienced differs from my youngest martial brother's death."
"That is..."
"You said you fought a fake Gu Yang Seo-han wearing a Skin Mask, and that person dealt with you using only the basic movements of the Western Wind Lone Angle's signature leg art."
"That is true, but Senior Sister Hong also..."
"Hong Hye-ryeong fought my youngest martial brother directly. The marks left on his corpse could only have been caused by techniques from the Flame Shadow Great Rift Blade and the Flame Shadow Great Rift Blade Art. How would you explain that?"
"..."
That was the problem.
Unlike Do Yang-woon's case, the evidence in Hong Hye-ryeong's case was too clear.
They could argue that she might not be the culprit based on suspicion alone, but they also had no clear evidence proving otherwise.
Without witnesses or physical evidence, it was difficult to conclude that the same people had committed both acts.
Hong Hye-ryeong spoke bitterly.
"You cannot believe me?"
Yeong Ga-dong looked straight at her.
After hearing all of Do Yang-woon's account and seeing how consistently Hong Hye-ryeong denied the accusation, it was difficult to definitively decide that she had killed his youngest martial brother.
"Do you remember what I said? The dead tell no tales, but..."
"The wounds do not lie."
"That is right. Unless the suspicion surrounding those wounds is cleared, even my master will not easily cast aside their doubts."
His master.
He meant Shin Ui-gyeom, the Eastern River Sword Sage.
"I have served under him for over twenty years. That is why I know. Of the Four Immortal Masters, my master has the strongest sense of justice, but he is also the most coldly rational and rigid."
"Yes?"
"Without clear proof, he will not accept your claims as established fact."
"But..."
"Not but. It is the truth."
The Shin Ui-gyeom Yeong Ga-dong knew was a man who never compromised.
That was why he was called the Eastern River Sword Sage, and also Evil Must Be Slain.
If he judged someone evil, he would cut off their head regardless of their circumstances.
'You do not know their dark sides because you are their relatives. The true faces of the Four Immortal Masters. Those called geniuses who have reached the pinnacle possess an entirely different way of thinking from ordinary people.'
His own master was the same.
Do Yang-woon felt stifled.
He had even explained everything he had experienced, yet Yeong Ga-dong still said he would not abandon his suspicions without proof.
"Senior. This is a conspiracy. If you have even the slightest doubt about it..."
"Find clear evidence."
"Yes?"
"At present, I am undecided. If I had to say which side I lean toward, it would be yours. But my master will not feel the same."
"Then..."
"Bring evidence that proves Hong Hye-ryeong's innocence, even if it is only a little. In return, I will do what I can to delay my master from taking action."
At those words, everyone's expressions brightened.
* * *
That night, after roll call had ended, Jin-hyeok clicked his tongue after hearing Mumu's entire story.
He had thought the incident was mostly resolved once they stopped those responsible for the fire attack, but it was still ongoing.
Jin-hyeok stared at Mumu.
"What's wrong?"
"You... are you cursed or something?"
"Huh?"
"Why are you always at the center of every incident?"
Now that he thought about it, Mumu had become involved in all these large and small incidents without meaning to.
To an almost strange degree.
"You're right."
Jin-hyeok sighed as he watched Mumu scratch his head and laugh.
"So what are you going to do?"
"I went to the Vice-Master and told him about this."
"The Vice-Master?"
"Yeah."
"Why? You did not tell the academy administration?"
"Ah! Well..."
At first, Do Yang-woon had considered informing the academy administration.
But he had one concern.
The people behind the fire attack, as well as the fake Gu Yang Seo-han who had died despite their unknown identity, were presumed to have been inside the academy.
That meant there might still be spies within the academy.
If they carelessly revealed this information to everyone, they could not rule out the possibility of it leaking to the spies as well.
"That is why he suggested telling the Vice-Master. He said we could trust him."
"That makes sense. The Vice-Master was framed and imprisoned too."
"Yeah. When I told the Vice-Master about it, he took it very seriously."
The first thing Vice-Master Dan Pil-hu asked after hearing the story was whether they had told anyone else.
When they said they had not, he urged the three of them not to tell anyone.
[The spies within the academy have not yet been identified. Your judgment was correct. If you spread this carelessly, the enemy could use this situation against you.]
Jin-hyeok nodded in agreement after hearing that.
"That makes sense. If we do not know who the spies are, it is better to keep the information from spreading. So what did the Vice-Master say?"
"He said he would investigate."
"Did he tell you to stay out of it?"
"No. He said there might be spies among the academy cadets too."
"Academy cadets?"
"Yeah. He asked us to look for anyone suspicious among them."
Jin-hyeok frowned and rubbed his chin.
It was hard to assume that only the academy's masters, guard warriors, and hired workers could be spies.
But how were they supposed to find suspicious people among the academy cadets?
"How are we supposed to do that?"
"Exactly."
This was different from Sa Mu-heo's case, when he framed the Vice-Master.
Sa Mu-heo had been suspected of dealing with the secret operatives who had watched him, so they had managed to uncover the truth through force.
The academy cadets were different.
They could not simply suspect someone without cause.
"That is no different from looking for a needle in the sand."
"Yeah."
"Do you have any ideas?"
"No."
Jin-hyeok looked at Mumu with narrowed eyes.
He had expected that answer.
Looking for people who might be spies was an extremely vague task.
"Is there not some good way?"
At Mumu's question, Jin-hyeok closed his eyes as though deep in thought.
What method could he possibly have? He had only just heard what had happened.
'From what I heard, the fire attack and all the incidents seem to be connected...'
But even finding that connection felt vague.
They would likely need to go over every part of Mumu's story one by one before they found a method.
Mumu had been outside trying to catch Senior Ki Ma-jin, so he had not been present from the beginning of the fire attack.
Of course, that was how he had saved Senior Do Yang-woon's life.
'I was going to the meeting hall to tell Senior Kang Seo-ryang that I was going to find him... Ah!'
Jin-hyeok's eyes flew open.
He remembered something they had overlooked after catching the arsonists.
There was one thing he had forgotten because they had written an incident report.
"I have one!"
"Huh? What do you have?"
"A suspicious academy cadet."
"Who?"
"You were not there before the fire attack, so you do not know, but most of the academy cadets felt weak and sleepy. Mo Il-hwa too."
"You said you and Hae Ryang were fine."
"Right. But now that I think about it, Hae Ryang and I had already experienced it once before."
"You had experienced it before?"
Mumu, who had been puzzled, soon narrowed his eyes.
Something had come to mind.
Jin-hyeok spoke to him.
"You remembered too, right?"
"Yeah."
Then the two called out the same name at once.
"Ha Ryun!"
"Ha Ryun!"
* * *
At the same time, in a room on the sixth floor of Northern Heaven Residence's dormitory, Ha Ryun was utterly confused after receiving shocking news.
His disciplinary confinement had been lifted, and he had left the Central Discipline Bureau that night.
"The Grand Plan was already carried out?"
Someone leaning against the door and turning the pages of a book answered.
"Yes."
"What Grand Plan?"
"The fire attack and the scheme to sow discord."
'It already began?'
The Grand Plan had begun while he was confined in the Discipline Bureau.
He had not expected it to happen so quickly.
He had thought it would begin months later.
Yet if the fire attack had succeeded, every dormitory should have burned down and more than eighty percent of the academy cadets should have died.
That meant...
"It failed?"
"In the end, yes."
"W-why?"
"There were variables."
"Variables?"
"Some people remained awake despite the Ja Hyun Powder."
Ha Ryun looked unable to understand.
"That cannot be. Once someone inhales completed Ja Hyun Powder, anyone would..."
"Then it failed. Five people stayed awake despite the Ja Hyun Powder that the Valley of White Death painstakingly developed."
"Five?"
Considering the total number of academy cadets, it was an extremely small number.
Still, the Ja Hyun Powder had been developed after countless experiments in the Valley of White Death, so it would not be an exaggeration to say its chance of failure was nonexistent.
Who could have remained awake?
"Memorize these names. They are the variables who interfered with the fire attack. Third-year Ma Yeon-hwa, second-years Tang So-so and Gu Yang Seo-rin, first-years Hae Ryang and Yu Jin-hyeok..."
'!?'
Ha Ryun had listened without much thought through the second-years' names, but he could not hide his alarm at the final two names.
Hae Ryang and Yu Jin-hyeok.
'Damn it.'
Ha Ryun was in an impossible position.
He did not know how the first three had resisted the Ja Hyun Powder.
But he thought he knew about the last two.
The Ja Hyun Powder's most fatal weakness was that its effect was so strong that once someone had been exposed to it even once, their immunity made it ineffective on them afterward.
'This is driving me crazy.'
Everything had become tangled.
He had used the Ja Hyun Powder because he thought there would be no problem if he drove Mumu out of the academy, but Yu Jin-hyeok had been exposed to it by chance. Then, one way or another, Hae Ryang had gotten a taste of it as well.
'How did it turn out like this...'
If this became known, he would not escape punishment.
If Master Heo learned that he had become one of the reasons the important fire attack had failed, Master Heo might kill him.
His breath caught in his throat when one final name was spoken.
"Yu Mumu."
"Yes?"
"I said Yu Mumu."
Ha Ryun furrowed his brow.
Why was Yu Mumu's name being mentioned?
He was clearly...
"The one who will become our master gave an order. Be especially wary of the last name I mentioned. Yu Mumu."
'The one who will become our master?'
What did that mean?
If Yu Mumu was the Mumu he knew, then Mumu was clearly the one who would become their master.
Footnotes:
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