WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: ZERO_SUGAR

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◈ Surviving as a Genius on Borrowed Time ◈

Episode 233: Treasured Sword (6)

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From an unwelcome guest in a windproof cloak to the appearance of a young master wreathed in force waves like a storm.

Something unimaginable had happened in Xi’an's martial world.

Were they challenging the order that filled the martial world of the Demonic Sect?

Only the winter wind moved noisily around the inn's window frames, striking them as though it were dancing.

Glossy-skinned people wearing silk that caught the lantern light remained silent.

They were wealthy enough to visit a high-class inn even during a famine. From all around, they watched the two figures without a word. Their gazes were cold and lifeless.

Languid Flame Dragon seemed unconcerned.

"Is someone dead?"

He tilted his head from side to side before speaking casually.

"Chief, I checked around."

He used an odd form of address, as though they truly belonged to the unorthodox martial world.

The center of the inn had been wrecked when he released force waves from his entire body. Spoons and chopsticks lay scattered everywhere, while the lanterns hanging overhead were twisted out of place and cast a faint orange glow.

It was a shade much like Languid Flame Dragon's martial attire.

"There's nowhere to stay. Every place is full."

He spoke with an offhand, playful air.

Because of his disguise, he had temporarily stopped using opium poppy.

The Huangbo Family's wastrel was famous for being addicted to red petals. From the moment he entered Xi’an with nothing between his lips, his temper had worsened.

It was fortunate enough that he still recognized his Squad Leader.

Jeong Yeon-shin drew his brows together slightly. Looking at the smashed wall, he would have to compensate the owner with money, but it was difficult to hand the innkeeper silver while pretending to belong to the unorthodox sects.

Giving it secretly would be no different. They said Xi’an's martial world was a den of demons where no one's tongue could be trusted.

'Just as expected of a great martial family...'

Languid Flame Dragon stood there idly. He had lived like Jinan royalty since birth. Martial families that had grown into powerful clans were generally like that.

It would not be easy for him to change his ways. Yeon-shin could only look at him with exasperation.

Languid Flame Dragon raised the corners of his mouth.

"I can read what you're thinking, Chief. You hide it well whenever you take up a sword."

The Leader of Demon Wings was not skilled at examining his own nature. Everyone around him knew that.

Languid Flame Dragon thought, Once he reaches my age, he might be worth watching.

'Though this body will not get to see it.'

He laughed inwardly at the pointless thought and spoke.

"Let's stay here. We had to wreck one place anyway. This worked out rather well. As expected of a promising talent favored by the sect master."

"Don't cause trouble for no reason."

"Try quitting midway through using it. I never thought I'd suffer such torture after joining."

"..."

Yeon-shin slowly relaxed his brow. His gaze shifted to the side without him realizing it.

Even after becoming Black Uniform, Languid Flame Dragon remained a subordinate whose thoughts were hard to read. There was no point scolding someone in pain any further.

Yeon-shin knew neither the pain granted by the Sun God Meridian nor the sensation of using opium poppy. He never would.

'As long as he clears the scent of alcohol in time.'

Yeon-shin shook his head inwardly and tightened his right hand. The thick hair of the Sungyeo Branch talent, who had casually spoken of killing commoners, gathered in his grip.

The Sungyeo Branch talent writhed.

The Demonic Sect chief did not care.

"...!"

He shoved away the head of So Yu-rang, which he had been holding, then lightly kicked the leg of a chair without a backrest.

The chair scraped across the floor at the push of his toe. Unlike at Desolate Fortress, the floor was wooden.

A sudden question came to him. How many members of the elven race were there in Xi’an's martial world? Were there any from noble clans who had joined the Demonic Sect?

'I have seen a corrupt county magistrate in a Huangbo branch family, but...'

Yeon-shin slowly parted his lips.

"Eye Beauty?"

That was Jegal Cheong-a's alias during missions. It had been given because her attainment in eye techniques was the greatest among the Demon Wings masters.

Languid Flame Dragon was Great Idler, and Hyeon Won-chang was True Brother.

They meant a great idler and a true elder brother, the sort of rough names people in the illiterate underworld might use. Yeon-shin had named them all.

"She is coming with True Younger Brother. I expect they came up empty as well. It seems these people use inns as their bases because there aren't enough estates."

Languid Flame Dragon finished, referring to Hyeon Won-chang as his younger brother.

Swoosh.

He coughed dryly and placed his foot against So Yu-rang's Adam's apple.

The Adam's apple of the man who had judged commoners' deaths like a magistrate and declared that he would teach a Desolate Fortress Squad Leader twitched.

A polished black leather shoe stamped down unpredictably beneath his chin.

"Young talents dying in inns is common throughout the world. Do you know why?"

"Ughk!"

"Because they don't know their place. Start by telling me how you obtained that Nine Yang Unified Art, before I pluck out those useless, irreverent eyes of yours."

Languid Flame Dragon spoke with a pale smile.

There was madness in that smile.

At that moment, the inn's wooden floor shook beneath people suddenly springing to their feet.

The hesitant people had stood, leaving their food behind. The people of Xi’an were accustomed to martial artists fighting.

They were perceptive enough to see where the escalating situation was headed.

Realizing it would become difficult to leave if they did not go now, they came out as though fleeing, from the upper stairs and from both sides. The inn quickly grew crowded.

A haze of dust spread across the fairly clean floor. A few people left awkward words with anxious expressions.

"We fear that we may disrupt the honored guests' business. We shall take our leave..."

"We'll return home and shut ourselves in! We will absolutely keep silent about what happened today...!"

They did not want to become entangled with outsiders. They feared suffering harm later.

Their intentions showed in their conduct. It seemed to reveal the state of Xi’an's martial world.

Even after seeing the Sungyeo Branch masters crawling miserably across the floor, they behaved in accordance with the vast order formed by Yeoryeong and the unorthodox sects under the Tyrant Sword Sect.

They passed without even looking at the two unwelcome guests.

Jeong Yeon-shin did not stop them.

Languid Flame Dragon, who had been kicking So Yu-rang and Gal Do-jin in turn, also quietly stepped aside.

When martial artists who seemed to be Sungyeo Branch lackeys looked him over as they passed, he answered by imitating his Squad Leader, with a sly smile.

The enjoyment of teasing Yeon-shin overcame the pain.

"What?"

Languid Flame Dragon deliberately uttered that single word.

Creak.

A quick-witted man in silk clothing threw open the inn door.

An unfamiliar gust of air swept inside. The collar of Jeong Yeon-shin's black clothing fluttered as he stood still.

The inner door of polished red sandalwood brushed against the hands of guests fleeing as though escaping. Along with the cold wind came a clamor of noise.

It was the commotion raised by the unorthodox martial artists of Namjeon County in Xi’an.

From afar, laughter and shouts spilled through the windows of countless inns and taverns. The wind smelled fishy, like raw meat.

It was a martial world he had never experienced.

The slanting light of the sunset through the doorway shimmered across Yeon-shin's eyelashes.

So many people were connected to Jeong Hye's disappearance. He did not even know where his hateful older brother was. The whereabouts of the Sword Dragon, the great hero who had helped him time and again, were another concern.

'Is there no way to resolve everything at once?'

The Leader of Demon Wings' eyes sank into darkness.

* * *

An inn attendant's work was terribly hard.

It was even worse in Xi’an. The great Zhongnan Sect had been destroyed, and the Thirteen Heavens had risen to power, turning the city into a world of unorthodox sects.

The martial artists who filled the vast city were divided into two factions: those under the Tyrant Sword Sect and those under Yeoryeong. Several sects had established themselves in a single county.

The Tyrant Sword Sect-affiliated faction of Namjeon County was the Sobaek Sect, while the Sungyeo Branch served Yeoryeong.

It was their world.

They opposed each other fiercely. Even the county magistrate and the Prefect had abandoned the people's livelihood.

Beheading commoners had become nearly an everyday occurrence. Even the attendant at Northern Light Inn knew that.

The shaggy-haired boy climbed to the top floor carrying a dinner tray with his head lowered.

Creak.

The stairs were wooden and would creak whenever stepped on, so he pressed down with the fronts of his feet to muffle the sound as much as possible.

An inn attendant must not draw the notice of the living embodiments of Xi’an's unorthodox order.

There was nothing good about drawing the attention of Demonic Sect masters in any way. Fortunately, the boy was experienced in this sort of thing.

"I will bring in the side dishes."

He kept his voice quiet and controlled.

He entered a room lined with potted orchids by the windows, bathed in brilliant sunlight.

As he approached the drinking table of the two people, he lowered his eyes to his feet. It was a meeting between the Sungyeo Branch Master and the Sobaek Sect Master. He had to behave as though serving a Prince of Commandery.

He could not look at either of their faces. He could not even dare to.

The sect masters of the unorthodox sects acted mysteriously even after conquering Xi’an, so commoners would naturally fear them.

Swoosh.

He carefully placed the food on the table. The spicy scent of Kung Pao chicken rose from his fingertips.

The two sect masters' powerful presences filled the space between them.

As he brought over the dinner dishes one after another, the clever attendant felt thankful once again for the custom of dining at tables. He did not have to see the rulers' faces.

"So, you have taken in the surviving Zhongnan disciples. How are you treating them now?"

A heavy voice rang out. It was Jang Gi-il, the Sobaek Sect Master.

"Treating them?"

The woman seated opposite him snorted. It was an attitude difficult to show unless she was a sect master of equal standing. She was Wi Il-hwa, the Sungyeo Branch Master.

She was an unorthodox fiend who supposedly placed her sect's safety above all else, and rumors that she had once been Jang Gi-il's childhood friend were well known.

"The lay sect master who first betrayed Zhongnan is babbling as if he were noble. It's disgusting and absurd. Would it be all right if I threw up here? We have seen plenty of ugly sights between us."

Her voice was mocking.

Jang Gi-il answered calmly.

"Xi’an has always been Zhongnan's city. If we are to consider public sentiment, we cannot suppress them without restraint."

"Public sentiment?"

"How long do you think we can keep those entering and leaving the city confined? We should leave the gates open to secure supplies during this famine. That means news of the people's circumstances will eventually reach Desolate Fortress."

"Are you afraid of the imperial family's watchdogs? What is frightening about people who must always spread their forces apart? You aren't planning to rely on just two of the Thirteen Heavens, are you? Is that the extent of the insight expected from someone born to a mountain sect? Or perhaps you are probing because you want to smuggle out the Zhongnan disciples."

"...Are you not the one probing my heart?"

The quiet sound of wine being poured rang out. It was a dangerously precarious drinking bout.

The conversation between those who controlled Xi’an's martial world constricted the attendant's throat, then seeped all the way to his heart, filling him with suffocating fear.

To the common people, they were mountain gods. The boy's hand trembled faintly.

It continued trembling as he cut a large mooncake into bite-sized pieces and served the Kung Pao chicken in small bowls.

"I heard that the Martial Alliance Assembly in Hanzhong dispatched an investigation party under the pretext of examining the incident."

Jang Gi-il changed the subject.

Perhaps it interested her. Amusement entered Wi Il-hwa's voice, though it was close to ridicule.

"They've gotten bold. They still think Shaanxi is their world. I hear there have been countless defections since the Zhuge Family Head left, yet they cannot judge the situation."

"You must have reported it to the First Demon of Shaanxi. You must always be careful. Yeoryeong's three great masters are no longer human. They should be regarded as inhuman monsters."

"Our Gi-il has surely worn his hands and feet down currying favor with the Ghost-Spirit Divine Sword. There is a rumor that the most exceptional woman in the Tyrant Sword Sect thinks highly of you. You must be so fortunate."

Names like celestial gods spilled from the rulers' mouths. The attendant's hand stopped for an instant.

But only for an instant. After finishing the arrangement of the dinner table, he hurried out.

The boy could not leave Northern Light Inn. He was completely confined there. It was not entirely a bad thing.

Even after hearing the conversation of unorthodox masters, he had not been killed. He was even able to hear their final remarks.

"After we finish eating, I intend to go see the rats."

"I heard that Gal Do-jin, the Xian Chivalrous Swordsman, was defeated. According to the report, he could not even put up much of a fight. Against some youngster, at that."

"He is a fairly well-trained fellow playing at being a chivalrous hero. Are troublemakers anything new? Vermin emerge without end, as they always have. I heard his martial ability is worth having, so I am considering taking him on as a subordinate."

Overwhelming force churned in the Sungyeo Branch Master's voice.

Aura flowing through the crack in the door brushed diagonally across the attendant's collar. Wi Il-hwa was strong enough to act as an agent of the Thirteen Heavens.

A strange rumor was spreading through the streets of Namjeon County in Xi’an. It concerned a Demonic Sect chief not yet twenty years old and his violent subordinate.

Martial artists were sensitive to territory. The unorthodox sects were even more so.

The regional martial world, which had been darkly tense, froze over. The conversation from the top floor of Northern Light Inn foretold the outsiders' grim end.

A biting chill wrapped around the attendant's legs as he descended the stairs.

This time too, the stairs made no sound.

* * *

The shadow of the inn's wall stretched slightly to the side. A wall taller than a person blocked the cold sunlight. Winter had fully arrived.

Soft conversation flowed from within.

"It seems eye techniques truly are fine disciplines. Eye Beauty, I can tell from your confidence. You don't cut your hair. It's very long."

"Yes...?"

"Thank you. I have heard everything I need. Put the brushes, paper, and ink into the travel bag. The Sungyeo Branch will come."

"Shouldn't we make a few more preparations? A few more swords, at least..."

"The Northern Light Sword alone is enough. My own eye technique is still incomplete. It will be complete within a month, but until then, I cannot hold back in my attacks. Rather than watching the enemy's moves, I must focus on comprehending the principles of eye techniques. Bind only the cover for now. I'll fill in the contents little by little."

"Comprehensive Guide to Annihilating Evil Demons... Is it a martial art you intend to grant?"

"Yes."

"I know. I have heard Shaolin has a place like a scripture repository. It will be different from the Radiant Art Formation, right? If you are granting it, then surely in that treasury..."

"Not there."

"Then...?"

"To the whole world."

Footnotes:

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