WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: ZERO_SUGAR

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◈ Surviving as a Genius on Borrowed Time ◈

Chapter 14: Insight (2)

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She soon wore a dazed expression, one difficult to imagine from her usual demeanor.

Baek Mir-yeo was a renowned master even beyond Desolate Fortress, famous as a decisive, cold swordswoman.

“Internal force. An advanced internal technique.”

She did not become angry right away. Instead, Baek Mir-yeo brushed her lips with long fingers and silently sank into thought.

“It is difficult to accept. An advanced internal technique is something an internal master who has focused on inner energy would at least have begun learning. Do I look like an idiot who cannot even perceive my own qi?”

‘No, but it seems that is the case.’

Yeon-shin could not voice his thoughts this time.

From his perspective, Baek Mir-yeo’s qi circulation method was yin-soft, and she sent out and recalled her qi more quickly than the other seniors. Yet if Baek Mir-yeo could not realize it, it was meaningless.

There was no need to continue the conversation.

Yeon-shin changed the subject.

“I apologize. I should not have disturbed you with unnecessary words.”

They were not close enough for him to insist on giving advice at personal cost.

Yet his overly detached attitude seemed to provoke Baek Mir-yeo instead. Her smooth brow furrowed.

An experienced master of the martial world would surely be skilled in psychological battles as well.

It was clear that Baek Mir-yeo had read the thoughts beneath his changed attitude, so Yeon-shin slowly spoke.

“I will take my leave now.”

“...Yes. I am sorry. And thank you.”

Leaving Baek Mir-yeo behind, he headed for the Small Training Hall. If she did not accept it, that was enough.

Her apology and thanks suggested that would not happen, but if Baek Mir-yeo held a grudge over something so trivial, she would be no different from the brothers at Jeong Family Manor.

There was no reason to expend mental effort on someone like that.

His martial arts had been improving by the day since entering Desolate Fortress, merely awaiting a chance to earn merit.

‘I should begin by training a chain of Charged Strikes.’

Yeon-shin completely pushed Baek Mir-yeo from his thoughts.

* * *

“Squad Leader.”

“Speak.”

“Have you ever told Seom-ye about the origins of my martial arts?”

“What kind of madness is that? Do you think that makes any sense?”

At the Demon Wings Hall, the energy Ma Jin had released formed a barrier that blocked sound from escaping. Ma Jin frowned.

Baek Mir-yeo, seated across from Ma Jin, wore a grave expression.

“Then how...?”

“I understand what happened.”

Ma Jin spoke after watching Baek Mir-yeo murmur to herself.

“Seom-ye must have seen through the martial arts you have been altering. That brat is special. Even across the entire martial world, such talent is difficult to find. Yet there are occasionally such beings in the world. The elven race, the dwarven race, peerless masters said to contend for the strongest under heaven. Seom-ye merely possesses an incomprehensible talent like theirs.”

“...”

“One Lotus Sword Plum Baek Mir-yeo studying the lost Heavenly Demon Divine Art alone? That is not a reason to keep Seom-ye at a distance. He is undoubtedly the future of Desolate Fortress. I do not know what those who have not seen Seom-ye may think, but there is no reason whatsoever to dismiss his words as the advice of an inferior. I have never even heard of such talent.”

“I know that as well.”

“If there is anything to consider, it is Seom-ye’s disposition. As it happens, a small mission has come down. A single Blue Uniform could handle it alone, so two Blue Uniforms and two White Uniforms new to the martial world should make a fine group. Go and watch how Seom-ye crosses life-and-death situations alongside companions. See whether he has a trustworthy nature.”

“If Seom-ye’s disposition is sound, are you saying I should try discussing the Heavenly Demon Divine Art with him?”

“Your self-study has limits. I do not have the leisure. If it is only a matter of cultivating the Divine Art, seeking Seom-ye’s help is right. He is different at the root. He adapts everything to suit his own body. He has the aptitude of a Grandmaster.”

“A Grandmaster...!”

Baek Mir-yeo’s eyes widened. Ma Jin quietly continued speaking.

“You will not need to worry about legitimacy. Seom-ye will build an independent martial lineage. Demon's Light alone makes that clear. I have never seen anyone learn it that way.”

“That is astonishing.”

“Astonishing? Such talent cannot be described with a word like that. Seom-ye even enjoys martial arts.”

“Hm...!”

Baek Mir-yeo let out a low, contemplative hum. Ma Jin spoke decisively.

“Within five years, the Leader of Demon Wings will be Seom-ye. Go and examine the disposition of the one who will become your superior.”

* * *

The next day.

Yeon-shin was summoned to the Grand Training Hall with Hyeon Won-chang.

There were only three people in the spacious hall. Baek Mir-yeo, with whom things had become a little awkward, Cheong Myeong, and Ma Jin.

“It is a mission.”

Ma Jin’s blunt words made the Desolate Fortress Divine Hero’s body tremble.

“Finally, into the martial world...!”

“Do not get carried away. You might die far from home in the martial world.”

“Ah, yes!”

“Baek Mir-yeo, Cheong Myeong, Jeong Yeon-shin, Hyeon Won-chang. The four of you will go. It concerns the Blood Flame Sect. You should be prepared to leave Desolate Fortress.”

At the mention of the Blood Flame Sect, Yeon-shin’s gaze grew somber.

A burning manor, blood dripping from the threshold, red clothes, red hair...

He slowly opened his mouth.

“For a matter involving the Thirteen Heavens, you are sending two Blue Uniforms and two White Uniforms?”

“You should hear the background. Strictly speaking, it is not a matter concerning the Blood Flame Sect’s main altar. We do not even know where that is.”

Ma Jin’s explanation was not long.

“You know the famine is not limited to Huguang, do you?”

Xinye, where Jeong Family Manor lay, was relatively better off, but the broader region of Nanyang was different.

Arable land was said to be diminishing across all of Henan Province.

According to Ma Jin, Shaanxi Province appeared to be much the same.

“A few years ago, starving commoners raided the manor of a village notable during a poor harvest. They did not merely take grain. The household was driven out after suffering harsh treatment. Recently, it seems the eldest son of that manor returned. His hair had turned red, and he wore bright-red martial attire.”

“He joined the Blood Flame Sect...!”

Hyeon Won-chang murmured as though groaning.

The Blood Flame Sect was especially feared among the Thirteen Heavens of the Demonic Sect.

There were many rumors, but it was widely accepted that the sect mass-produced its believers as martial artists through the power of blood, something that stood at the boundary between sorcery arts and martial arts.

“Like other demonic arts, the eldest son of that manor appears to have quickly acquired the Blood Arts of the Blood Flame Sect. He settled in the village after it had regained its productive capacity, then began periodically slaughtering livestock and ruining crops.”

“Ruining crops?”

Cheong Myeong, wearing a hood, murmured. Cheong Myeong was of the elven race, Yeon-shin recalled.

“Does the man only target the livestock and crops?”

“Yes. Viciously, he does not kill everything or uproot even what could serve as breeding stock or seed. He waits until they recover, then repeats the same thing.”

“Would that not make him a great hero? He is unlike any Blood Flame Sect bastard I know.”

Hyeon Won-chang spoke with wide eyes, looking as though such a thing was beyond anything previously heard or seen.

“A great hero? Are you serious?”

At Ma Jin’s question, the Desolate Fortress Divine Hero immediately looked cowed. Baek Mir-yeo looked at the Desolate Fortress Divine Hero with exasperation.

Ma Jin spoke again.

“It is Zhenping County, at the southern end of Shaanxi. Normally, the Shaanxi branch could have handled it, but a Mount Hua Sect spiritual medicine was recently stolen, and the matter seems to be spreading across the entire Shaanxi martial world. They lack the resources, so they have asked the main fortress to handle it.”

“Mount Hua Sect had a spiritual medicine stolen? Do you mean the Grand Violet Pill, said to rival Shaolin’s Great Revitalization Pill?”

Hyeon Won-chang asked with wide eyes.

“That is why there is such an uproar. That case may soon be passed to the main fortress as well. Focus on the task at hand first.”

“Yes!”

Hyeon Won-chang answered energetically.

All manner of affairs from the martial world flowed in.

Even Yeon-shin, ordinarily calm, could clearly feel that he had begun taking direct part in the martial world. It was easy enough to imagine what the Desolate Fortress Divine Hero felt.

Ma Jin seemed concerned about that as well.

The fiery spirit of those newly entering the martial world, combined with youth, martial arts, and a sense of belonging to Desolate Fortress, could lead to anything.

“Cheong Myeong. Baek Mir-yeo. Take good care of the White Uniforms. Be mindful and ensure everyone returns safely.”

“Yes.”

“I will do my best.”

Baek Mir-yeo’s impassive expression contrasted with Cheong Myeong’s faint smile.

Yeon-shin quietly gripped his sword hilt, thinking of the Tyrant Sword Sect and the slaughter fiends of the Blood Flame Sect.

He still did not know why they had attacked Jeong Family Manor.

But that no longer mattered. The destruction of the family had already happened, and that bloodshed had made even Jeong Family Manor’s cast-off son carry a sword in his heart.

If he encountered them, he would kill them.

‘Guard your heads well. I will cut them off.’

He stroked his sword hilt.

* * *

The four mounted their horses and immediately left Xiangyang, riding swiftly northwest.

It was a forced march at a pace that silenced even Hyeon Won-chang, who seemed to have been looking forward to touring the martial world.

They said Desolate Fortress missions were always like this.

They could freely use relay stations throughout the Central Plains, and their qi allowed them to ride horses for long periods.

There was no time to spare.

However, there was no relay route from Huguang to Shaanxi, so they had to travel while preserving the horses’ strength.

They reached Zhenping County from Xiangyang in ten days.

“Haaah.”

As the county magistrate governing Zhenping County came to welcome them, Hyeon Won-chang weakly dismounted.

The problem appeared to be mental rather than physical exhaustion. Baek Mir-yeo clicked her tongue.

“You cannot even imagine what happens when martial artists use the relay routes.”

“...!”

Yeon-shin glanced at Hyeon Won-chang, whose face had turned pale, then turned to the county magistrate.

‘He does not look as though he has gone without food.’

They had said a Blood Flame Sect disciple was sweeping away the food.

The county magistrate’s round face did not look deprived of anything, except perhaps a healthy luster.

Yet the expression directed at them held both relief and irritation.

“When did I send the urgent dispatch? And you only arrive now? How frustrating!”

“...?”

“Now that you are here, get down at once! I had intended to show you courtesy as the swords of the Great Ming Empire, yet you have taken your time like this! Can you even capture that man? With only the four of you?”

“What is this?”

Yeon-shin asked Cheong Myeong and Baek Mir-yeo.

Their expressions showed they were accustomed to this, even bored by it.

Tapping the back of the hood, Cheong Myeong slowly began to speak.

“There are ignorant ones among officials. They think Desolate Fortress is their personal broom. That is only until they experience something like this once. There are so many counties in the Central Plains that plenty of officials have never even seen a real martial artist.”

“W-What? You insolent brat! How dare you speak so rudely!”

“May I press the mute acupoint?”

“Yes. Let us finish this quickly.”

“What nonsense...!”

Before Cheong Myeong could finish speaking, the official’s voice cut off.

Yeon-shin’s qi-infused hand had pressed the point between the spine and skull.

Taller than the official, Yeon-shin looked down with indifferent eyes.

“I do not take orders from you.”

Sweat formed on the official’s forehead. Leaving the trembling official behind, Yeon-shin turned away.

Cheong Myeong and Baek Mir-yeo looked at him with pleased expressions. Yeon-shin suddenly felt self-conscious.

“Young Master Jeong, you have learned acupoint techniques as well? Incredible.”

Hyeon Won-chang exclaimed.

Acupoint techniques precisely stimulated another person’s acupoints with a qi-infused hand.

Not every martial artist could use such martial arts, but to Yeon-shin, who practiced the Jeong Family Youth Technique and understood the human body thoroughly, it was a natural discipline.

“I have thought this for some time, but it is becoming increasingly difficult to call you Young Master. From now on, I will call you young hero. Young Hero Jeong!”

“Do as you please, Desolate Fortress Divine Hero.”

Even that light joke made the Desolate Fortress Divine Hero’s lips rise as though they would reach the ears.

After tying their horses in the government office’s stable, they headed down. Cheong Myeong draped an arm around Yeon-shin’s shoulders.

“You know the principle of mutual non-interference between government and the martial world, right? Compared with other martial artists, we have more freedom regarding the government. The imperial family permits it. We can put in their place fools who think we wear shackles. Desolate Fortress is that sort of faction.”

“Pressing the mute acupoint is a rather gentle touch, is it not?”

Hyeon Won-chang added.

“Even so, it should not be excessive.”

Baek Mir-yeo, walking beside them, spoke. Then Baek Mir-yeo added quietly.

“That was well done.”

“Yes.”

The journey to Zhenping County with Baek Mir-yeo had been fairly long. Her encouragement just now made the awkwardness ease considerably.

Yeon-shin briefly smiled, then narrowed his eyes.

“There, below the village.”

“Hm?”

“A Blood Flame Sect disciple.”

Before he could finish speaking, Yeon-shin kicked off the ground and began to run.

Footnotes:

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