WeTried Translations

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◈ Surviving as a Genius on Borrowed Time ◈

Episode 102: Seom-ye Lineage (2)

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Xiangyang was one relay station away from Wuchang.

They returned quickly. The group, made up of Blue and Black Uniform warriors and a Purple Uniform expert, ran without rest and soon arrived at the Desolate Fortress main fortress in Xiangyang.

It was a refreshingly swift journey. Only Namgung Hwa-shin, who had awakened after Ak Su-rim knocked him out on the day of the duel, looked unwell.

"I'll make the mission report with Senior Ak."

Jeong Yeon-shin spoke to him. It was a small consideration. White Qilin Namgung Hwa-shin had been unable to do anything within his own family.

It must have been miserable. He must have agonized greatly before even reaching Clear Night Valley, where the duel had taken place.

"...Thank you, Young Hero Jeong."

Namgung Hwa-shin nodded and turned away. The hem of his long blue robe fluttered listlessly beneath his tall frame.

He looked as though he would head straight for the guest quarters of the Swift Heaven Wing Squad and lie down.

Jeong Yeon-shin watched him quietly. He could not begin to guess how Namgung Hwa-shin felt.

"That was the best choice."

Ak Su-rim, standing beside him, tossed out the words.

"The Celestial Firmament Sword Corps Leader isn't someone a younger-generation martial artist can handle. That person is a Black Uniform expert comparable to the leader of the Plum Blossom Swordsman. Either you or Namgung Hwa-shin would have died the moment you crossed swords. Neither of you would have lasted more than a few moves. You had a reason to withdraw, but if you wanted to save Namgung Hwa-shin, you had to force the matter."

She was referring to knocking Namgung Hwa-shin unconscious just before the duel.

Jeong Yeon-shin agreed.

"I don't blame you, Senior Ak. At least, I don't."

He continued.

"It only seems that Young Hero Namgung believes he would have been better off dying there."

The boy did not take his eyes off Namgung Hwa-shin's back. They had formed a bond through their contest and had even gone on a mission together.

Perhaps it was because Namgung Hwa-shin's family circumstances were pitiful as well. Jeong Yeon-shin could not easily shake off the strange sense of kinship he felt.

"Hm."

Ak Su-rim pressed her lips together. She seemed to have no rebuttal.

"Yeon-shin."

An aged voice rang out with force. It was his maternal grandfather, Ma Yeon-jeok.

Seemingly uninterested in Namgung Hwa-shin, Ma Yeon-jeok looked only at his grandson as he continued.

"I know that Se-in's mother treated you disrespectfully. It happened right before this mission. Matters were too hectic for me to make her apologize. Please visit the Ma family's separate residence in the main fortress at least once. The family will welcome you with all sincerity."

His words brought Ju Yeon-jeong to mind. She was said to be an imperial collateral descendant.

She was the biological mother of Ma Se-in, heir to the Desolate Ma family. She had tried to win over Jeong Yeon-shin, who carried the Ma bloodline, by any means possible.

He no longer felt anything about it. Because of that incident, he had been able to open up to Hyeon Won-chang, Baek Mir-yeo, and Cheong Myeong.

"There's no need..."

Just as Jeong Yeon-shin was about to shake his head, Ma Yeon-jeok's stern expression crumbled. He even looked desperate.

"I understand your concern. You fear that I will draw you into the Ma family and bind you with its chains. I swear I won't. Think of it as the regret of a foolish old man who first severed ties with his daughter, your mother. Everything... was caused by my failings."

"Ah, so that's what happened."

Ak Su-rim nodded in understanding. Ma Yeon-jeok shot her a sharp glare, as if warning her not to interfere in family matters, but she returned it with a contemptuous look.

"No wonder I never saw a child like you at the Ma family."

"Shut up, brat. How dare an outsider interfere in the affairs of blood relatives?"

"That mouth of yours is still as foul as ever. I wonder whether your skills are the same as before. You were terrifying when you were the Divine Sword Squad Leader, but these days, you look rather manageable."

"Do you truly wish to die?"

"Isn't Old Man Ma the one wheezing because he couldn't attain Rejuvenation? I've been thinking it may soon be time for me to consider Purple Uniform. Would the Chief Steward's Office recognize it if I beat up a feeble old man?"

Ak Su-rim's lips curved into a fierce smile as she gripped the shaft of the spear on her back.

"I'll be going now."

Jeong Yeon-shin calmly turned away. He looked ready to leave at once.

The auras of Desolate Fortress's Black Uniform and Purple Uniform experts were about to collide. His attempt to leave had been partly deliberate, and thankfully, it seemed to have served its purpose.

The momentum of the two supreme experts instantly softened.

They had made fools of themselves before a junior far younger than either of them.

"I will consider your words, Grandfather."

Jeong Yeon-shin spoke with a cupped-fist salute.

His grandfather's face reddened as he nodded. Ma Yeon-jeok's confession that he had difficulty maintaining his strength because he cultivated domineering martial arts now felt real.

It was said that orthodox cultivation, which refined both body and mind, advanced slowly but without end.

The old masters of the Nine Sects who were around Ma Yeon-jeok's age must have cultivated their minds deeply.

"...Thank you."

Ma Yeon-jeok nodded. He had no way of knowing what his grandson had been thinking.

"What a shame."

Ak Su-rim did not stop provoking him until the end. When the boy finally turned and walked away, she gave a small laugh and followed.

Jeong Yeon-shin headed for the Chief Steward's Office with Ak Su-rim, the Desolate Divine Spear. He did not delay any longer.

The moment they arrived at the main building of the Chief Steward's Office, a man in a brown robe greeted them.

He had a thick black beard and a broad frame.

It was Im Jin-myeong, the Grand Chief Steward of Desolate Fortress. His broad smile at Jeong Yeon-shin made him look like a hearty bandit.

"I heard of your victory. Our Fortress Lord's direct disciple rendered great service. I have been eagerly awaiting you."

"You're speaking honorifically to a Blue Uniform just because he's the Fortress Lord's direct disciple? The Grand Chief Steward is still the same as ever."

Ak Su-rim seemed to know him as well. That was only natural.

Jeong Yeon-shin and Ak Su-rim were immediately led to an annex of the Chief Steward's Office. It was where Jeong Yeon-shin had previously discussed his merits with the Grand Chief Steward.

The three sat around a table.

There were not even teacups. It seemed there was urgent business. The tabletop was nakedly bare, with only the faint scent of ink lingering over it.

Thud!

The moment they took their seats, the Grand Chief Steward mentioned the Elder Council Head.

"Senior Ak, I received an urgent letter. I hear the Elder Council Head did not join you. Is it true that contact was lost while the Elder Council Head was pursuing a Blood Flame Sect Apostle...?"

The safety of a Purple Uniform expert was an important matter.

Yet it was not, at the same time.

It was an ambiguous problem that could simply be left alone. Such were the Elder Council Head's martial prowess and position. Who would worry about one of the rare supreme experts under heaven?

"So the Elder Council Head did not return to the main fortress first after all."

The Grand Chief Steward and Ak Su-rim both sounded uncertain. They could not tell whether to take this seriously or dismiss it as an absolute master's usual wandering.

"The Elder Council Head has always been so free-spirited. Perhaps the Elder Council Head is simply enjoying an outing after so long..."

Ak Su-rim shook her head at the Grand Chief Steward's words.

"I don't know. If that were truly the case, the Elder Council Head would have at least sent a carrier pigeon. I have a bad feeling about this."

Jeong Yeon-shin only listened. As a Blue Uniform warrior, he did not believe it was his place to interject.

"That isn't entirely wrong. We should send a search party, then. We are already short on expert manpower."

The Grand Chief Steward immediately unfolded a sheet of paper from a drawer. He raised an ink-dipped brush and began to write.

Ak Su-rim watched him for a moment before speaking.

"Are you not concerned about the gap in our strength? It would be a problem if the leaders of major factions begin moving, especially those bastards from the Thirteen Heavens."

"As long as it does not become widely known, it will be fine. We can still handle it."

Jeong Yeon-shin agreed inwardly with the Grand Chief Steward.

The power sustaining Desolate Fortress did not lie in its handful of Purple Uniform experts.

They were symbols of the main fortress, trump cards sent on swift elimination missions. There were too few of them to rely on as regular strength.

There were seventeen martial units under the Divine Sword Squad.

They were Desolate Fortress's essential enforcement power.

The masters of Demon Wings had once matched the Mount Hua Sect's Plum Blossom Swordsman. It had happened before Jeong Yeon-shin had even entered Desolate Fortress.

The Plum Blossom Swordsman had been called an elite group since before the Nine Sects were known as the Nine Great Sects.

One of the Divine Sword Squad's martial units was of that caliber.

The Nine Sects and the Thirteen Heavens.

Every major faction possessed only one elite group of that sort, while Desolate Fortress possessed seventeen.

That was why the main fortress's missions to stabilize civilian life could, with difficulty, encompass all under heaven.

"Ah."

The Grand Chief Steward suddenly raised his head. He looked deeply apologetic.

"I have been rude to you, Young Hero Jeong. You came to report on the mission's progress, did you not? Since the entire nearby martial world already knows of it, we shall consider the report received. Please rest and recover from your journey."

"Yes. I will wait for my next mission in Demon Wings."

The Grand Chief Steward's expression immediately became awkward.

"No, there's no need to... You have only just returned... The settlement for this mission has not even been completed yet."

"I will wait for the next mission."

Jeong Yeon-shin repeated himself. Opportunities to directly express his resolve to the head of the Chief Steward's Office did not come often.

He emphasized it again to the Grand Chief Steward, whose expression looked thoroughly exasperated.

Ak Su-rim smiled.

"Yeon-shin, I'll visit the Demon Wings hall soon. I plan to idle around a little before heading out again."

"Yes. Please teach me a thing or two."

There was no reason to refuse. Jeong Yeon-shin decided to await the visit of the Black Uniform supreme expert as well.

"Then."

He rose, offered his respects, and left the annex. At the same time, several people approached him.

The scribes of the Chief Steward's Office, who had formed a favorable impression of him at their first meeting, each stood and greeted him.

"Young Hero Jeong, we have long heard of your great name!"

"I hear you slew the Namgung Young Family Head? Are you not now truly one of the main fortress's younger-generation talents?"

"The missions you undertake will become more varied from now on."

Jeong Yeon-shin returned each greeting to those who might one day hold authority over personnel matters. Only then could he leave the Chief Steward's Office at ease.

Step.

The ground beneath his feet was soggy. Perhaps it was because of last night's rain.

'Time passes quickly.'

It was already midsummer.

Whoosh.

A fresh wind suddenly swept over the softened ground. It ruffled the hair of the boy standing blankly there.

It mirrored his feelings as well, his fear of a life with less than three years and six months remaining.

'Any variable... and I could have died.'

Clear Qilin was strong. The Namgung Family Head was formidable.

And the Divine Sword Squad Leader was exalted. Noble was the right word, even while that person coughed up blood.

The boy always had to cast such useless emotions to the wind.

The primal fear that would come if he failed to do so frightened him as well. If he wished to survive in the turbulent martial world, that was what he had to do.

His temperament and disposition were weapons. It was a calmness he had forged for himself. His own divine sword, created to win every fight.

"......"

For a moment, Jeong Yeon-shin stood still and thought of nothing. A boy from a village in Xinye County had to be that way to survive at the center of the martial world.

And so.

This mission came to an end.

The lukewarm summer wind lifted the hem of his robe once more. It seemed to tell him in silence.

You had survived once again, earned the merits you deserved, and taken another step toward life.

After a brief silence, the boy agreed.

* * *

Jeong Yeon-shin had just arrived at the Demon Wings hall when he heard voices.

"Brother Jeong!"

"Brother Seom-ye!"

People poured out of a hall whose roof ridge was finely ornamented.

Most were young. They were boys and girls.

There were only a few youthful men among the group of about fifteen.

"I heard you defeated the Namgung Young Family Head! Tell us quickly!"

"No, Brother Jeong needs to rest first."

They clung to the hem of Jeong Yeon-shin's blue robe and chattered warmly.

They were the trainee warriors of Demon Wings.

The experts of Desolate Fortress followed the hierarchy of White, Blue, Black, and Purple Uniforms, but they were not the only ones who bore the name of Desolate Fortress martial artists.

Those who wore colored martial uniforms occupied the upper ranks of the martial world.

Even White Uniform martial artists from a martial unit under the Divine Sword Squad were experts that third-rate wanderers of the martial world could scarcely approach.

But there were also those without a color. They were called unranked disciples.

"Brother, teach me Sihwa Boundless Fist. I read the manual, but I don't understand it. They say we can't even read it anymore. That ugly scribe uncle said so."

"I was supposed to ask first! Radiant Sword Flow! Please show us Radiant Sword Flow just once!"

The children tugged hard at his robe. Their cries were loud.

They had always liked Jeong Yeon-shin, but it felt more intense this time.

'My unique martial arts.'

They meant Sihwa Boundless Fist and Radiant Sword Flow. His decision to donate those martial arts for merit, and to counter any future counterform once more, seemed to have had an effect.

Then someone approached hesitantly.

It was a girl wearing a white robe draped like a court dress.

Her gait was exceptionally graceful and light. She had clearly mastered a movement technique of considerable level.

It was Shin So-bin of the Desolate Shin Family, a martial artist who had entered under Jeong Yeon-shin as his junior.

The precious daughter of a prestigious family being assigned to Demon Wings had once become a topic of discussion.

"Congratulations on succeeding in your mission."

"Shin So-bin."

Jeong Yeon-shin gave her a slight nod. A faint smile appeared on Shin So-bin's lips before fading.

"I've been training in Sihwa Boundless Fist too. Even in my own view, I think I've achieved rather decent progress through the third form. The principles behind the sequence are very new to me. Thank you for letting us see such an exceptional martial art."

"Congratulations."

The boy praised her.

Shin So-bin carefully studied his calm expression.

"Um, could I ask when the fourth form might become available? It seems the progression of forms continues further."

She spoke with an earnest expression.

'She's talking about Radiant River.'

That seemed to be the purpose of her visit. Jeong Yeon-shin unconsciously recalled Namgung Se-jin's face.

The smile Namgung Se-jin wore when speaking of the Sanzu River, eyes filled wholly with Jeong Yeon-shin, the spirit that spoke of freedom at the end...

"I won't donate that."

The boy answered at once.

Footnotes:

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