WeTried Translations
Translator: ZERO_SUGAR
Editor: Abstract
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
Chapter 94: Brothers (3)
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‘...Should I say he held back?’
A single slap had left Inspector Censor No Ik-bong in that state.
"Uh? He's breathing, right?"
Even as Mumu shook him roughly, No Ik-bong showed no sign of coming around.
That absurd brute strength was shocking every time he saw it.
Though No Ik-bong had been holding back his ki, Vice-Master Dan Pil-hu could still see how strong he was. His martial prowess was formidable enough to rank in the upper-middle tier even among the academy's masters.
Yet even someone like him had been reduced to this by a single slap.
‘No wonder even the one who killed Elder Hang Yeon, formerly one of the Ten Great Masters of the Force of Justice, had been no match for him.’
Mumu was a boy who had completely stepped beyond the bounds of common sense.
At any rate, that seemed to prove it sufficiently.
Dan Pil-hu grinned at Left Assistant Censor O Mu-yang, who was still standing there in a daze.
"Left Assistant Censor, do you believe it now?"
"...Hoo."
O Mu-yang let out a sigh.
The justification for stripping the academy of its authority to investigate had completely vanished.
* * *
"Gasp!"
Inspector Censor No Ik-bong opened his eyes and jerked upright.
When had he ended up lying in what seemed to be a bed, covered by a blanket?
Swallowing, No Ik-bong ran his tongue around his mouth at the pain filling it.
‘Ugh!’
His entire mouth was so torn up that even touching it with his tongue hurt. More absurdly, most of the teeth on the left side were gone.
They seemed to have shattered.
"Th-this..."
He was utterly bewildered.
His face felt strange, and when he touched it, the entire left side was swollen badly.
Then a scene rose in his mind.
Slap!
The moment he remembered being struck, goosebumps ran over his body.
It had felt as if his head would fly off.
‘W-what was that bastard?’
His external energy had seemed fairly solid compared to his second-rate internal energy. No Ik-bong had believed that if he stayed alert and used his full strength, he could subdue Mumu at once.
Instead, he had not even been a match for him.
"Looks like the shock was severe."
Startled by the voice ringing in his ears, No Ik-bong turned his head.
Left Assistant Censor O Mu-yang sat in a chair by the window, holding a teacup.
"For a master like you not to notice that I was right beside you."
"...Left Assistant Censor."
No Ik-bong could not deny it.
Mumu was a monster beyond all reason.
No Ik-bong had reached his current level after receiving countless Elixirs and medical herbs in the Imperial Palace, along with instruction from many masters. Yet a single moment had been enough to make him feel ashamed of himself.
He had been reduced to this by one slap from a mere seventeen-year-old boy.
O Mu-yang set the teacup down and asked, "Even if you fought him again, you would not win, would you?"
"...I apologize."
There was no excuse.
Even if they fought again, the outcome was obvious. Mumu was a monster against whom even Yu Jin-sung, No Ik-bong's older brother and one of the finest Inspector Censors in the Censorate, would be helpless.
"I see."
"What will happen with the investigation, then?"
At No Ik-bong's question, O Mu-yang shrugged.
"The culprit behind it has been caught, so thoroughly tearing through the entire academy is no longer an option. Contrary to the Left Censor-in-Chief's wishes."
O Mu-yang had received only one order.
Find a pretext to bring Changcheon Martial Academy under control.
But now that the culprit behind the incident had been captured, there was no justification to turn the academy upside down.
"I apologize. If only I had subdued that little bastard..."
"It's fine."
"Pardon?"
"Since the academy's cadets are safe, stirring up the academy now would only shift control from the academy itself to the Imperial Palace."
No Ik-bong frowned at O Mu-yang's words.
Had that not been the purpose from the beginning?
If the authorities could control Changcheon Martial Academy, they could use it as justification to extend that control across the martial world.
O Mu-yang rummaged through the luggage they had brought and pulled something out.
Then they continued, "What mission did the Imperial Palace's Flying Horse Brigade give you?"
The question was asked with complete calm.
No Ik-bong's eyes shook.
How did Left Assistant Censor O Mu-yang know that he belonged to the Flying Horse Brigade?
As he stood there in confusion, O Mu-yang pressed the object they had taken out against the Ki Gate near their abdomen.
Pshk!
A sharp, needle-like object shot out from O Mu-yang's abdomen.
No Ik-bong's eyes widened.
‘Golden Gate Locks?’
They were Golden Gate Locks, used to restrain the bodies of those who had learned Martial Arts.
Once a Golden Gate Lock was sealed into a Ki Gate, internal energy was blocked off.
The instant that single needle came out, No Ik-bong could not hide his shock at the ominous aura emanating from O Mu-yang.
"Y-you've learned Martial Arts?"
O Mu-yang rose from their seat.
Then they slowly approached No Ik-bong.
"I don't recall ever saying that I had not."
Sensing something ominous from O Mu-yang as they approached, No Ik-bong hurriedly tried to rise.
At that moment, O Mu-yang was suddenly standing in front of him, lightly pressing down on his chest.
‘!?’
It seemed like a gentle push, but No Ik-bong fell straight back onto the bed.
He could feel the flow of life energy from O Mu-yang's fingertips.
It was beyond anything he had imagined.
‘W-what in the world...’
* * *
A rear garden near the main building.
Yu Jin-sung and Mumu walked side by side through the place, filled with the fresh scent of grass.
The atmosphere was rather awkward, and Yu Jin-sung was the first to speak.
"What a coincidence, meeting like this in a place like this."
He had wanted to meet Mumu somewhere other than the academy.
The adoptive son his father had taken in during exile.
Yu Jin-sung had been very curious about him.
Mumu said, "You really look a lot like Jin-hyeok."
Yu Jin-sung had stronger features and a more masculine air, but he did look very much like Jin-hyeok. It was as if Jin-hyeok had simply lost his youthful look.
Yu Jin-sung smiled gently.
"We're brothers, after all."
"Brothers... Right."
Of course brothers would resemble each other.
Mumu felt a strange emotion.
It was like the feeling he had experienced when he first met Yu Yeop-kyung's family after Yu Yeop-kyung's exile ended.
Seeing Mumu's reaction, Yu Jin-sung gently placed a hand on his head.
"Even if we do not look alike, you are my brother too. We may not share blood, but Father raised you, and that bond extends to everyone in this family."
"A bond?"
"Yes, a bond. I have not lived nearly as long as Father, but bonds formed through fate do not seem easy to break. So the bond between us brothers will remain until the day we die."
Yu Jin-sung stroked Mumu's head as he spoke.
Mumu beamed at the affectionate gesture.
Yu Yeop-kyung was a good person, and Jin-hyeok was too. It seemed his older brother Jin-sung was also a good person.
"Ah, right."
Jin-sung took something from his robes.
They were jade ornaments shaped like hawks.
There were two of them.
"What are these?"
"There are many skilled craftsmen in the imperial capital. I brought them to give to you and Jin-hyeok when I came here."
As he spoke, Jin-sung showed Mumu the hawk ornament hanging from his belt.
That made three identical ornaments.
"I have one too. If you and Jin-hyeok each take one, would they not become a token between us brothers?"
Mumu's eyes sparkled at those words.
Other than from his father, this was the first time he had received a gift with such meaning.
‘A token between brothers!’
The meaning behind it felt profound.
Mumu accepted the ornament and bowed his head.
"Thank you."
"Brothers do not need to thank each other for things like this. More than that, I am glad you are here."
"Pardon?"
"I always wanted to thank you when I met you."
Mumu looked puzzled.
"You just said brothers do not thank each other."
"No. You were the one who stayed by Father's side during the hardest time of his life."
"Father was the one who raised me."
"That may be true. But you were the one who kept Father from collapsing while he lived in exile."
‘Thanks to you, I was able to clear Father's name.’
That was why Jin-sung had always been grateful to Mumu, whom his father had taken in.
And now, he was grateful that Mumu was by Jin-hyeok's side.
Having learned of Mumu's immeasurable strength, Jin-sung knew it was the reason Jin-hyeok and the academy cadets had survived the arson incident unharmed.
"Oh, come on."
Perhaps embarrassed for no reason, Mumu scratched his head.
Then he said to Jin-sung, "Ah! Instead of standing around like this, should we go to the dormitory and see Jin-hyeok together?"
"Jin-hyeok?"
"We need to give him his token between brothers too."
Jin-sung considered it for a moment.
He had not planned to meet Jin-hyeok separately while the investigation was underway. But with the culprit behind the arson caught, and O Mu-yang saying that after confirming the condition of the unconscious Inspector Censor No Ik-bong they would personally interrogate the mastermind behind it, Jin-sung had some time to spare.
"All right. Then..."
Just as Jin-sung was about to agree, he looked somewhere else.
A silver-haired woman was pacing with her hands behind her back a short distance away.
A strange light appeared in his eyes when he spotted her.
‘Master Dan Baek-yeon.’
It had been a long time since he had seen her.
He was glad to see her, but something about her was strange.
She was circling around a tree while sneaking glances in this direction.
It did not take him long to realize that her gaze was directed not at him, but at Mumu.
‘What is this?’
She was looking at Mumu, yet unlike someone bearing the epithet Northern Seas Ice Palace, her face was slightly flushed as she shifted about restlessly.
She did not even seem to recognize a former cadet she had not seen in a long time.
"Hm? It's Master Dan Baek-yeon."
Mumu spotted her as well.
Jin-sung looked between Mumu and Dan Baek-yeon, then gave a quiet chuckle.
"I suppose I should go see Jin-hyeok on my own."
"Hm? Why?"
"It looks like Master Dan Baek-yeon has something she wants to say to you. I will go on ahead, so talk with her and come along when you are ready."
With that, Jin-sung shot toward the dormitory.
His movement skill was so exceptional that he became a dot in the distance in an instant.
After Jin-sung disappeared, Mumu briefly wondered about his words before approaching Dan Baek-yeon, who was circling the tree.
As Mumu drew near, Dan Baek-yeon's steps around the tree grew faster.
"Master?"
Dan Baek-yeon jumped at Mumu's call and coughed.
"Ahem. Cadet Mumu."
"What are you doing?"
At Mumu's question, Dan Baek-yeon's lips moved for a moment. Then she casually placed a hand on the tree she had been circling and answered.
"I-I was practicing my Body-Lightening Technique."
"Here?"
Mumu tilted his head, and Dan Baek-yeon's face flushed further.
She had tried not to be conscious of it, but for some reason, it was difficult to look Mumu directly in the face.
‘What is wrong with me?’
In truth, she had wanted to meet Mumu since the day before and thank him.
But because of the arson incident, every academy master and employee had been summoned to the main building to write statements explaining their movements, leaving her unable to do so.
Now that she finally had some free time, she had sought Mumu out. Yet once she saw his face, her heart began to pound for some reason.
‘All I have to do is thank him.’
Golden Fragrance Snow Blossoms had filled the windowsill of her research room.
She only needed to thank him for that and leave, but the words would not come out.
Mumu scratched his head and said, "Ah, I guess I misunderstood. I thought you had something to say to me. I will not interrupt you, then. Please continue practicing your Body-Lightening Technique."
"Wait!"
As Mumu tried to leave, Dan Baek-yeon hurriedly grabbed his sleeve.
Mumu turned around.
The moment Dan Baek-yeon's eyes met his head-on, her mind went completely blank, as if it had burned black.
"What's wrong?"
"...What do you think of someone older than you?"
‘!?’
The instant the words left her mouth, Dan Baek-yeon froze stiff as ice.
What had she just said?
Footnotes:
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