WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: ZERO_SUGAR
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
Episode 10: Martial Talent (3)
──────
Early the next morning.
One of the young attendants from the Medicine house cautiously set Mok GyeongUn's breakfast, along with a small table, before him.
“As instructed, I brought the meat... still bloody.”
Though the attendant had followed orders, they frowned at the sight of the blood.
Mok GyeongUn smiled.
“Why? Do you dislike seeing blood?”
“N-no.”
The attendant waved their hands.
As a mere attendant, they could not risk offending a young master and causing trouble.
Yet Mok GyeongUn continued with a smile.
“When meat is fully cooked, the texture is poor. Too tough, perhaps? I like it best when it is tender and still bloody. You should try it sometime.”
“...Yes, yes.”
The attendant could not understand what was supposed to taste good about it.
There was a difference between meat that was slightly undercooked and meat with that much blood in it.
Pork in particular would likely taste gamey. It was certainly an unusual preference.
After the attendant withdrew, Mok GyeongUn savored his meal.
The sight was remarkably elegant.
Munch, munch!
He chewed about thirty times before swallowing each bite and never opened his mouth while chewing.
Even the way he handled his chopsticks was refined.
Go Chan, who had been watching with half-lidded eyes, was puzzled.
He claimed he had lived alone in the mountains with his grandfather, yet he behaved like someone properly trained in etiquette.
Come to think of it, even his way of speaking was like that.
For someone called a murderous demon, he habitually spoke politely to others.
‘The more I learn about him, the less I understand.’
Then, regardless of Go Chan's will, a sound came from Go Chan's stomach.
Grrr...
Seeing someone eat naturally made Go Chan hungry.
Mok GyeongUn seemed to have heard even that small sound and was already looking at Go Chan.
‘Huh?’
“You seem hungry.”
Go Chan, who had been squinting, startled and hurriedly rose to greet him.
“Y-young master. Did you sleep well?”
“No. Not as well as Guard Go Chan did.”
“You could not sleep?”
“Yes.”
“Then after you eat, perhaps you should sleep a little more...”
“No. Once I die, I can sleep as deeply as I please.”
“...”
Even when he spoke, he always managed to unsettle people.
Go Chan swallowed dryly.
“Is something troubling you?”
“You could call it a concern. It is nothing major, but I was planning to ask once Guard Go Chan woke up.”
“What is it?”
Go Chan asked nervously for no particular reason.
After all the strange things Go Chan had experienced last night, Go Chan had even begun wishing for a quiet day.
Go Chan had even dreamed that a female ghost with a pipe had appeared and thrust a hand into their stomach.
Perhaps Go Chan truly was losing their mind lately.
Mok GyeongUn lowered his voice.
“Do you know the foundational techniques of Yeonmok Sword Manor?”
“What?”
Go Chan looked at Mok GyeongUn in confusion.
Why was he suddenly asking about the foundational techniques?
Mok GyeongUn asked again.
“Do you know them?”
“I happened to see the real...”
‘Damn!’
Go Chan nearly said the real Mok GyeongUn without thinking, but quickly changed course.
“I have seen young master practice them a few times in the past.”
No matter how lazy and lacking in martial talent the real Mok GyeongUn had been, he still belonged to a martial family.
Naturally, he had practiced Martial Arts before.
Though he had almost always quit halfway through, making it meaningless.
“That is good. Could you teach me the foundational techniques?”
“What?”
“I am asking you to teach me the foundational techniques.”
“H-how could I?”
Go Chan looked utterly unable to understand the question.
Mok GyeongUn recalled the previous dawn.
.
.
.
After realizing that he had formed a dantian, Mok GyeongUn had gone to the training hall hidden within the Medicine house and tried to learn the Yeonmok Sword-Forming Formula he had memorized.
But an unexpected problem had arisen.
[Hmm... The movements will not connect. That is strange.]
He moved his body according to the martial arts book he had memorized, but the movements would not flow together at all.
Why was that?
Blue Spirit looked at Mok GyeongUn and gave a snort of laughter.
“That is high-level Martial Arts.”
[What?]
“Mortal, you truly know nothing about Martial Arts.”
[What is high-level Martial Arts?]
“To put it simply, it is Martial Arts of a high level. With ordinary Martial Arts, no matter how much one trains, it is difficult to reach higher realms. High-level Martial Arts are different. You may think of them as concentrated enlightenment meant to reach more profound realms.”
[Then is that not better?]
“Idiot. What is better about it?”
[What?]
“Without foundational techniques, you cannot understand the movements of high-level Martial Arts. To eliminate unnecessary forms and movements, foundational techniques must come first.”
[...]
“Do you even understand that?”
[I understand, more or less.]
“Tsk, tsk. In any case, without practicing the foundational techniques, you will not learn even a quarter of a technique from that sword formula.”
.
.
.
That was what had happened.
Which was why Mok GyeongUn had asked Go Chan whether Go Chan knew Yeonmok Sword Manor's foundational techniques.
“It seems I cannot learn the Yeonmok Sword-Forming Formula without them.”
Mok GyeongUn told Go Chan the truth.
Go Chan looked at him in surprise.
“You intend to learn the Manor Lord's exclusive secret manual?”
“Yes. Is there a problem?”
“W-well, no, but... Young master, do you intend to seek the position of Manor Lord?”
That was why Go Chan was surprised.
Go Chan knew Mok GyeongUn wanted to learn Martial Arts.
But if that Martial Art was the Yeonmok Sword-Forming Formula, which only the Manor Lord could learn, the matter was different.
It was not called the Manor Lord's exclusive Martial Art for no reason.
“No. Why would I?”
“Then why?”
“If it is Martial Arts reserved for the Manor Lord, does that not make it more useful?”
Was he really describing it as merely useful?
Among the successive Manor Lords of Yeonmok Sword Manor, one had risen to become the ruler of Anhui with the Yeonmok Sword-Forming Formula.
That was how highly regarded the Yeonmok Sword-Forming Formula was as high-level Martial Arts in the martial world.
“It is more than useful. It is an extraordinary sword style. But young master, learning it may cause problems later...”
“As long as I do not get caught, it will be fine.”
“Do not get...”
That was not the sort of problem that could be solved by avoiding discovery.
The moment he learned it, it would be no different from joining the struggle to become Manor Lord.
Other than the Manor Lord, who was on the verge of death, no one had been able to learn the secret manual. If Mok GyeongUn learned it alone, chaos would surely follow.
Still, Go Chan could not bring themselves to continue.
It was not as though Mok GyeongUn would stop simply because Go Chan told him not to.
“Phew. But young master, I cannot teach you the foundational techniques.”
“Why not?”
“Even if I have seen them a few times, I do not remember them precisely, and I do not know the ki circulation verse formulas for the foundational techniques.”
“Ah...”
Right. The martial arts book had ki circulation verse formulas for every technique.
The use of internal energy differed with each form when performing a technique. If it was done incorrectly, the technique would not display its proper power, and one might even suffer an internal injury.
Mok GyeongUn asked, “Then who knows the foundational techniques?”
“The young masters, of course, and the Manor Lord, who is confined to his sickbed.”
Yeonmok Sword Manor's foundational techniques.
The Yeonmok Nine Forms and the Yeonmok Initial Sword Style.
Though they were called foundational techniques, only those with Mok Family blood could learn them.
“Are they the only ones?”
“...Yes.”
“Hmm.”
Mok GyeongUn set his chopsticks atop his rice bowl and rubbed his chin.
He had not expected only those people to know the foundational techniques.
Go Chan had assumed there would be some warriors within Yeonmok Sword Manor who knew them, but had been wrong.
Then, with the Manor Lord bedridden, the only people who knew the foundational techniques were the three young masters besides himself.
‘Impossible.’
Go Chan lightly shook their head.
There was no chance that the other young masters would teach Mok GyeongUn the foundational techniques.
If he asked them to teach him because he did not know them, they would become suspicious. There was no way around it.
Then Go Chan suddenly found something strange.
‘Wait. He has not even formed a dantian yet. What does he intend to learn?’
As far as Go Chan knew, Mok GyeongUn had not formed a dantian.
Yet he was already trying to learn techniques, whether foundational or otherwise. It was far too hasty.
Then Mok GyeongUn slowly rose from the bed.
“Young master?”
“There is no other way.”
“What?”
“Let us go.”
“W-where?”
“If they are the only ones who can teach me, I must find a way to learn from them.”
“But young master... The other young masters will never teach you the foundational techniques. And if you ask them to teach you, they may become suspicious.”
“I will have to make an excuse or persuade them somehow.”
“What? How?”
“I will handle that. For now, let us go.”
As Mok GyeongUn urged Go Chan along, Go Chan cautiously tried to dissuade him.
“Young master... You are still injured. Would it not be best to rest for a few days? The Outer Hall warriors are guarding this place, so if you wander around while injured...”
“You do not need to worry about the Outer Hall warriors.”
“What?”
What did he mean, there was no need to worry about the Outer Hall warriors?
* * *
On the path to the First Training Ground, reserved for the young masters.
Still unable to understand, Go Chan glanced back toward the Medicine house and tilted their head.
‘Good grief.’
Something was strange.
Until yesterday, the Outer Hall warriors had treated Mok GyeongUn as though they were watching him.
Yet their attitudes had suddenly changed.
The moment they saw Mok GyeongUn, they politely offered him a fist-and-palm salute.
When he said he was heading to the training ground, rather than stopping him, they had even tried to follow as his escort.
[We will attend you, young master.]
[No. That is all right.]
Naturally, Mok GyeongUn had refused.
‘What is this?’
Go Chan did not know why they were acting this way.
It was also strange that this suspicious little demon did not find it odd at all.
Had something else happened while Go Chan slept?
Go Chan could not make sense of it.
But that was not the important thing now.
“Young master... Are you truly going?”
“Yes. I told you I was.”
Mok GyeongUn's unwavering answer left Go Chan troubled.
The person Mok GyeongUn was going to see was none other than the youngest young master, Mok YuCheon.
‘This is driving me mad.’
His relationship with the other young masters was not good either.
But things were worse with Mok YuCheon.
There was a reason the real Mok GyeongUn had avoided encountering him.
Go Chan cautiously warned him.
“Young master... This could truly become a serious matter. It would be best to turn back even now...”
“A serious matter? Does he hate me that much?”
“Did I not tell you before?”
“Ah, you said the dead real Mok GyeongUn insulted Mok YuCheon's mother as a vulgar gisaeng wench and was beaten half to death for it?”
“...You remember, so why are you going?”
Go Chan still remembered it.
[Stop! Stop! I was wrong! Aaargh!]
The real Mok GyeongUn had crawled across the floor with shattered leg bones and ribs.
He had desperately begged to be spared.
After such an incident, the youngest young master Mok YuCheon sincerely hated Mok GyeongUn.
Would he really teach the foundational techniques to someone like that?
“The other two are not in a position where I can make a deal with them right now.”
“But...”
“If I start being selective about everything, I will accomplish nothing. Let us go for now.”
‘Ah...’
As expected, he would not listen.
He seemed to have no sense of danger. Go Chan had to make the danger clear.
“Young master. Mok YuCheon is a monster who reached the beginning stage of Expert at only sixteen. A master who reaches the Expert realm is several times stronger than an Advanced master. If you provoke him carelessly, something serious could happen.”
“Yes, yes. I understand.”
‘Argh!’
Go Chan beat their chest in frustration.
There was no helping it now.
Perhaps Mok GyeongUn needed to meet Mok YuCheon himself to understand the kind of relationship the real Mok GyeongUn had had with him.
Before long, the First Training Ground came into view.
Mok YuCheon stood there bare-chested, practicing Horse Stance as he had last time.
He never neglected his training, not even for a day.
“He is not bad for a mortal.”
Blue Spirit's voice sounded by Mok GyeongUn's ear.
Though it was broad daylight, perhaps because her rank was clearly higher, unlike the Demonic Monk, she could maintain her true form.
After taking a deep draw from her pipe and exhaling, she said, “He has martial talent.”
“Can you see that?”
“Do you think there are many sixteen-year-olds with that much vitality aura?”
Blue Spirit's Ghost Eyes could clearly see the aura rolling beyond Mok YuCheon's shoulders.
If she were alive, Mok YuCheon's exceptional martial talent would have made her want to accept him as a disciple.
She warned Mok GyeongUn.
“He is the sort commonly called a genius. You should be careful. Even I find it difficult to exert my full strength under the sun.”
Sunlight itself was vitality aura.
That was why she found it difficult even to maintain her form.
At Blue Spirit's warning, Mok GyeongUn lightly nodded and entered the training ground.
Mok YuCheon, who had been holding Horse Stance, naturally turned his gaze toward him.
The moment Mok YuCheon spotted Mok GyeongUn, his face hardened terribly.
His expression was filled with rage.
‘Damn it.’
As expected.
Fearing that Mok YuCheon might act in anger, Go Chan quietly whispered to dissuade Mok GyeongUn.
“Young master... I think it would be best to return. Young master!”
Despite Go Chan's attempts to stop him, Mok GyeongUn strode toward Mok YuCheon.
‘Damn it.’
There was no helping it now.
Still in Horse Stance, Mok YuCheon opened his mouth.
“Get out of the training ground.”
As expected, he did not speak kindly.
Go Chan wanted to recommend leaving the training ground while the chance remained.
But Mok GyeongUn had no intention of doing so.
He smiled at Mok YuCheon, who radiated hostility.
“Hello.”
‘He is smiling? At me?’
At Mok GyeongUn's attitude, Mok YuCheon raised one eyebrow.
Ever since that incident, the man who had feared him and desperately avoided him was smiling in front of him.
Did he have something to rely on?
Mok YuCheon looked around.
But the only person protecting Mok GyeongUn was Guard Go Chan.
‘Only Second-rate.’
Go Chan did not possess enough martial prowess to protect Mok GyeongUn from him.
Mok YuCheon scoffed inwardly.
Mok GyeongUn then spoke with a smile.
“Do you want to become Manor Lord too?”
“What?”
At Mok GyeongUn's wholly unexpected words, Mok YuCheon frowned and turned his head.
Then he spoke as though it were absurd.
“What are you talking about?”
“You heard me. I asked whether you want to become Manor Lord too.”
Mok YuCheon raised his voice.
“I don't know what trick you are trying to pull by showing yourself before me, but stop spouting nonsense and get out. Unless you want to crawl away like last time...”
“I think you would want this.”
Swish!
With those words, Mok GyeongUn pulled something from his robes.
It was a martial arts book bearing the title Yeonmok Heart-Transforming Method.
Mok YuCheon's eyes widened.
“You! How did you get that?”
“Do you want it?”
Mok GyeongUn waved the martial arts book before Mok YuCheon as though tempting him.
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