WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: ZERO_SUGAR

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◈ Surviving as a Genius on Borrowed Time ◈

Episode 247: Punishment, Bond (4)

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“My Lord, we have arrived.”

One of the mounted martial artists escorting the carriage spoke.

The rider wore a conspicuous dark navy martial uniform.

The practiced way the rider held the reins of a fine horse and gave a subordinate an order with a glance showed familiarity with such matters.

Having received the silent command, the subordinate surveyed the surroundings and raised their voice.

“Commoners in the vicinity are to refrain from traveling for the next two hours. The mirror-clear judgment of the Prefect, who is attending to matters of state, must not be disturbed.”

The subordinate infused their voice with qi. The road was being sealed off.

The carriage of the Prefect of Xi’an Prefecture was extravagant.

Its upturned roof corners looked as though they had been taken from the eaves of a palace, and its antique grandeur drew every eye.

Those peering from windows along the road quickly vanished. Others who had slowed nearby hastened their steps and passed by.

Tap.

A slender woman with the air of a scholar stepped down from the carriage first.

She wore a formal green official’s robe and carried a sword at her waist, tied with red silk cord.

It was the mark of an Investigator, fourth in rank among Xi’an Prefecture’s officials and second only to the Prefect in influence.

She was a civil and martial official who oversaw the realm’s punishments and had trained in martial arts well enough to defend herself.

Colorless ripples of cultivated power were distinct around her body.

Investigator.

In a world where superhumans trained in martial arts existed, it was an office that required one to know how to protect oneself.

Beneath a neatly set official cap, her gaze swept sharply across the inn.

“Please descend. The ground is firm. Martial artists do not fight on official roads,” she said.

Tap.

“Xi’an truly is convenient.”

A broad-shouldered man stepped outside the carriage and spoke.

“The long roads stretch straight and connect in every direction. Such wide official roads are rare. Being appointed here is a tremendous stroke of luck. I have felt the same even after several years.”

“His Majesty’s grace is deep.”

“The Radiant Art Stronghold Leader must feel the same. Hasn’t the leader gained land as precious as treasure? Martial artists make their grain with a blade, and how many cities as prosperous as this exist under heaven? The leader is very wise.”

“...”

“Not a bad place to live. It seems the chief has a good eye.”

The man murmured as though reciting poetry, smoothing the wide sleeves of his blue robe.

Prefect Wang Wi-su had already begun his maneuvering. He understood the Sensory Training of martial artists well.

He spoke on the assumption that every word had already reached the ears of the Radiant Art Stronghold Leader.

It was a way of speaking that reinforced the authority of the government office while preserving the dignity of a powerful unorthodox sect leader.

“Let us go.”

Wang Wi-su spoke.

* * *

Commoners had died.

The scale of what had happened at Daewol Gorge was not small.

Hundreds had fallen from the peak severed by the Ghost-Spirit Divine Sword’s strike. Every one of them had died horribly on impact.

It was different from the deaths of wanderers who carried blades. Those who were not martial artists had been massacred in the martial world.

“It wasn’t the Squad Leader’s fault.”

Cheong Myeong scratched the back of their hood.

“They weren’t caught in the aftermath of the fight. That senile demon did it on purpose.”

Cheong Myeong was perched carelessly before a tea table. Ma Gwang-il’s Squad sat around it.

Baek Mir-yeo and Hyeon Won-chang had also gathered in the inn’s separate wing. It was entirely private, meaning they could speak freely as seniors and juniors.

“I didn’t say anything.”

Jeong Yeon-shin answered calmly.

Jeong Yeon-shin breathed deeply despite the unbleached cloth wrapped around their upper body.

White bandages had been wound around them before a long robe was thrown loosely over them, and Baek Mir-yeo had not taken their eyes off Jeong Yeon-shin’s torso.

Everyone had seen the dreadful injuries. The force waves from the sword strikes had left sharp lines across Seom-ye’s entire body.

Seom-ye had never suffered such grave wounds before. Not since entering Desolate Fortress.

“It must hurt terribly.”

Concern showed in Baek Mir-yeo’s gaze as they traced the dark red bloodstains.

Jeong Yeon-shin had to hide their embarrassment. It felt different from when their maternal grandfather had crashed through the ceiling.

Jeong Yeon-shin had never been in such a state before.

Their internal injuries were as serious as their external ones. Even after performing Azure Flame, First Form, Jeong Yeon-shin had forcibly driven forth a Sihwa Boundless Hand strike.

That had stopped the Elder Council Head of the Tyrant Sword Sect from escaping, but the acupoints in their upper body had weakened badly after taking the full recoil.

Only after applying Demon Wings’ standard Golden Wound Medicine and taking internal injury pills had Jeong Yeon-shin’s injuries stopped worsening.

Despite the poor harvest, numerous Demon Wings fighters had scattered in every direction to obtain medicine for their Squad Leader.

Jeong Yeon-shin had told the Languid Flame Dragon to hand over some opium poppy, only for them to be horrified and stop Jeong Yeon-shin.

―Focus on recovering. We’ll find some good medicine.

―They say you become like those around you, but perhaps we should bury that wastrel first. What Dragon? A drug addict.

―Oh? This young lord was not planning to give any away anyway.

The inn was unusually peaceful, even as the area buzzed with talk of the Ghost-Spirit Divine Sword’s death.

‘A day or two of rest will not be enough.’

Baek Mir-yeo lightly bit their lower lip. Cheong Myeong, who had also glanced at the Squad Leader, gave a faint smile and spoke.

“How old is our chief? Already bringing down a major figure of the Tyrant Sword Sect.”

Cheong Myeong knew the answer and asked anyway.

The intent to change the subject was obvious.

People often said that the Blue-Eyed Demon Sword was cold as frost toward unworthy companions, but Cheong Myeong had been a senior who had shown Seom-ye much consideration since Seom-ye’s entry.

Jeong Yeon-shin’s lips curved faintly.

“Seventeen...”

The answer escaped like a sigh as Jeong Yeon-shin suppressed the pain.

Confusion appeared on Cheong Myeong’s face.

“Hmm? The year has not changed yet. Though the winter solstice is close.”

“Were you not sixteen?”

Hyeon Won-chang abruptly cut in.

“Ah.”

A quiet exclamation escaped Jeong Yeon-shin.

Jeong Yeon-shin had unconsciously counted their age by their reduced lifespan. With roughly two years and several months left, they had naturally mistaken themself for seventeen.

Ever since wearing Blue Uniform, all the way to donning Black Uniform, Jeong Yeon-shin had lived by that reckoning.

It made it easier to measure their goals.

“...”

Silence fell for a moment.

―The Prefect has arrived!

A voice infused with qi thundered through the inn.

The tea table shared by the four rattled as though struck by the sound. Baek Mir-yeo, Cheong Myeong, and Hyeon Won-chang’s eyes sharpened.

Jeong Yeon-shin quietly murmured.

“The Prefect...?”

* * *

“I am boundlessly pleased to meet a hero of the age. Rumors say you slew the Ghost-Spirit Divine Sword, and at first, I could not believe them at all. Ah! I am Wang Wi-su, a fourth-rank Prefect who governs the heartland of Shaanxi’s eight prefectures. In martial terms, I am the government office’s supreme master.”

Prefect Wang Wi-su appeared to be a man of upright bearing.

At first glance, even his words sounded correct.

His status was such that a meeting could drag on even if one wished to end it quickly.

In terms of authority alone, even the sect leader of a major faction could not be compared to him.

“I know that a Prefect is fourth rank.”

“As expected, you are different from the ignorant rabble swept aside by your hand.”

“Your flattery is excessive. I heard the Sungyeo Branch Leader was a provincial graduate who passed the provincial examination. Before stepping into the unorthodox sects, they were said to be talented in both civil and martial matters. Could they have failed to know a Prefect’s rank?”

Jeong Yeon-shin spoke calmly while sitting across from Wang Wi-su in the center of the inn.

Jeong Yeon-shin had not expected a visit from the Prefect without revealing their identity.

Kang Chang-mu and Shin So-bin, whom Jeong Yeon-shin had sent to investigate the conduct of this land’s officials, had not even returned yet.

The mission of a Desolate Fortress Squad Leader had come walking in on its own.

―Something smells wrong.

―At your command, we’ll take the heads of those government bastards.

Cheong Myeong and Hyeon Won-chang’s sound transmissions reached Jeong Yeon-shin. Jeong Yeon-shin only gave a slight nod.

Baek Mir-yeo stood at Jeong Yeon-shin’s side, while the Investigator stood beside Wang Wi-su as though escorting him.

Jeong Yeon-shin felt the woman’s gaze carefully examining the bandages around their abdomen and chest.

It belonged to the woman who had introduced herself as the Investigator.

She was responsible for the property penalties, prison sentences, and death penalties of all Ming people within a vast territory. In the field, she even had to guard against assassination by martial artists.

Her sharply defined jaw and firmly set lips suggested an overbearing temperament.

A faint aura drifted from around her brow, revealing traces of training in an eye technique.

‘She is measuring my condition and martial ability.’

Jeong Yeon-shin recognized it at once.

Jeong Yeon-shin raised their head and met her gaze. As if pleased by the opportunity, the Investigator’s aura thickened and her eyes gleamed.

Jeong Yeon-shin simply looked back without concern.

In that instant, the faint blue light of the Heaven-Displaying Eye Technique awakened and bored back into the Investigator’s eyes, openly revealing the profound and complex depth of Jeong Yeon-shin’s cultivation.

“Gasp...!”

The Investigator hurriedly averted her eyes.

She could not conceal the panic spreading across her face. The information contained within the qi structure of Jeong Yeon-shin’s eyes had come upon her with such overwhelming force that it seemed ready to choke off her breath.

Fear flooded in as well. Had she kept looking, she would have been left an idiot.

That was not human. She had to run.

Yet the Investigator could not speak in time. The Radiant Art Stronghold Leader’s gaze did not allow it, like a spider that had drawn flies into its web.

“...You will gain nothing by treating this official so.”

Wang Wi-su spoke after taking in the result of Jeong Yeon-shin’s words and contest of wills. He made no effort to hide his displeased expression.

He knew when to take a hard line. Prefect Wang Wi-su was a man who knew how to wield power properly.

Unlike the Prefect of Yunyang Prefecture in Huguang, who had suddenly died, Wang openly coveted wealth and glory.

‘That lowly martial artist who claims to be a chivalrous hero must have killed him.’

Wang Wi-su thought.

The office of Prefect had been called Grand Administrator since before the Song Dynasty.

It was far more beneficial to exercise power in broad daylight, where all could see, than to handle matters covertly. The Prefect of Yunyang had been a fool.

If even circumstantial evidence remained that a Prefect had been murdered, then no matter how exceptional those martial artists were, they would have to fear Desolate Fortress martial artists appearing.

He was called My Lord because the Investigator, Assistant Prefect, and Co-Prefect served under him. A threat to his person was no ordinary affair.

Unlike local government troops, even lightness skills were of little use against those who possessed them.

‘It is like an unseen army. Think carefully. You cannot do anything to this official.’

The presence of the mounted martial artists waiting outside the inn alone would make the Prefect’s position clear.

Raising fine horses during a famine? That alone proved tremendous authority.

Wang Wi-su stared at the youthful supreme master before him and spoke.

“You seem to dislike beating around the bush. If you keep a few minor promises, I will recognize you as the Grand Sect Leader of this vast land. With martial arts capable of killing the Ghost-Spirit Divine Sword, you are more than qualified.”

“...You will recognize me as the leader of this land?”

“You heard correctly. This official’s authority exceeds your imagination. We can keep those above from interfering in our rule.”

“...”

Jeong Yeon-shin silently watched the Prefect before speaking.

“How do you intend to cover up the deaths of the commoners killed by the Ghost-Spirit Divine Sword? The Imperial Court will surely send someone to investigate.”

“You worry over nothing. Starvation is common in these times. The tribute tax revenue will not change much. So long as the money sent upward remains unchanged, the rest is only connections and political influence. Fortunately, the Surveillance Censor is someone who understands this official’s intentions well.”

“Surveillance Censor.”

Jeong Yeon-shin repeated the words briefly, then continued.

“You intend to fill the tribute tax quota through exploitation?”

“Do not worry. I will share generously with you. As I said earlier, so long as you keep a few minor promises.”

Prefect Wang Wi-su continued in an indifferent tone.

“All of Shaanxi is becoming land of the Demonic Sect, starting with the destruction of Zhongnan Sect. I have little concern over that, but the blood demons of the Blood Flame Sect are gaining power alongside them, and that is a problem. People like the Blood Master go from village to village, beguiling the people and turning them into followers before disappearing... Those wretches bewitched by them cannot understand a word. Commoners who become blood demons do nothing but create more blood demons. They are out of their minds, so they neither fertilize their fields nor pay tribute taxes.”

“...”

“Whenever you hear rumors that red hair has been sighted, go and exterminate them. We must do that to preserve our interests. The moment this official calls, you must stop all other business and come. If you do only that properly, you will be incomparable to the Seven Great Clans destroyed by your hand. I will ask for nothing more. You surely know to collect only enough territory dues from the commoners to live on.”

“Blood Flame Sect. I have received useful information.”

“You are more reasonable than I expected. There are two kinds of people with exceptional martial arts. Those who are clever because they know letters, and those who are clever yet eccentric, as masters tend to be. You are a very wise one.”

Wang Wi-su stroked his black beard.

A faint smile rested at the corners of his mouth. It remained there only until the Radiant Art Stronghold Leader’s muttered words followed.

“There is no need to wait until Kang Hyo-su and Shin-myo bring back evidence.”

“Hmm?”

“Arrest him. If he resists, take his head.”

Footnotes:

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