WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: ZERO_SUGAR
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
◈ Surviving as a Genius on Borrowed Time ◈
Episode 270: Master of the Martial Book (7)
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Concern shadowed Jeong Yeon-shin’s eyes. The words calmed the shock brought on by his niece’s pointed remark.
Even if Desolate Divine Spear Ak Su-rim’s handwriting held a touch of mischief, this was not something he could dismiss lightly.
‘The Squad Leader and two Lords of the Thirteen Heavens...?’
If word spread, the martial world would be thrown into turmoil. Clashes between figures who led major factions did not happen easily.
The contest between the Tyrant Sword Sect Master and the Starflower Sword God alone had caused repercussions comparable to news of the supreme masters slain on Mount Taebaek.
For a moment, Ak Su-rim’s words that she wanted to see him warmed his heart.
‘An escort to a place of recuperation...’
Jeong Yeon-shin considered it calmly. It would be best to put his remaining affairs in order according to priority.
He could not spare a glance for trivial matters.
He raised the force wave of Wind Body only beneath his feet.
The wind of the Body Movement Scripture gently pressed against his Yongquan acupoints, sweeping over the earthen ground. At the same time, he stepped forward, toward the most urgent matter.
Whoosh.
In the distance, Jeong Hye’s small back as she pattered away.
It grew larger through his blurred, distorted vision just after transparent wind swept over his skin.
“Hye-ah.”
“Hm?”
Jeong Hye immediately turned around. Their eyes met at close range, her eyes round.
The child merely worked her lips. She showed no sign of being startled by the Body Movement Scripture. Having grown up in the Zhongnan Sect, she had no reason to be.
“This uncle misspoke. I’m sorry for saying something so mean.”
Jeong Hye broke into a smile. Then her little mouth moved carefully, revealing that even at such a young age, she was clear-cut about gratitude and grudges.
“Yes! I’m sorry too, for saying I wouldn’t play.”
“Okay.”
Jeong Yeon-shin bent over and stroked the crown of his niece’s head.
“Let’s try again. Once you learn the Jeong Family Youth Technique, you’ll be able to play with Zhongnan martial arts too.”
Soft hair curled around his hand as the child nodded.
Jeong Yeon-shin inwardly sighed in relief and began to unravel his doubts.
Had she been upset by his calling someone a monkey? Or perhaps his words looking down on some martial artists had been the problem.
‘Either way, I should be careful. Being born slow is not a sin.’
That brief reflection taught Jeong Yeon-shin something once again. Most people in the world had long lives ahead of them.
Most were superior to him, while he was a pathetic man frightened of his early ordained death.
He had been born lesser than others. Far from having any right to disparage certain martial artists, he should have been humble. Yes, adults should be modest.
At the same time, his heart rang.
Wuuung.
The wheel of light imbued with spirituality spun more broadly, growing firmer.
It was the Light Wheel, born from the spirit of the upper dantian and directly linked to the mind. As the core of a martial art meant for brief decisive battles, it reacted to his heart, newly alert to complacency.
The attainment of masters of inner energy could deepen in this way as well, depending on the characteristics of the martial arts they had learned.
A stronger aura flowed from his fingertips. Experience tempered against the supreme masters of the Thirteen Heavens and the enemies on Mount Taebaek now shone through.
“Hye-ah is teaching Uncle.”
The weather was fine.
The lessons continued, teaching her to shift her feet in every direction and use her arm muscles in different ways. He also taught her how to sense her acupoints and minor meridians differently.
“It’s hard...”
“When the Jeong Family Youth Technique reaches its tenth level, remember this martial art whenever you feel that your strength is lacking.”
“The name is strange.”
“A splendid hero named it.”
Sunlight shattered against the fine white snowflakes drifting down, making everything bright. The young uncle and niece pressed their heads together and quietly recited the words that would be passed down under the name of the Jeong Family.
Jeong Yeon-shin’s second older brother watched them from afar, complex emotions filling his rugged face.
They continued until dusk fell.
The current Leader of Demon Wings taught the Zhongnan disciple Jeong Hye the Jeong Family Youth Technique and Radiant River, then retired to his sleeping quarters.
He was alone. White darkness seeped through the paper windows.
Swish.
Leaning against the opposite wall, Jeong Yeon-shin lowered his eyes.
Even after returning from Mount Taebaek, he had not been able to let down his guard. He had first examined Jeong Hye’s body, which had accepted Yeoryeong’s demonic arts.
She was a very young child. He had no way of knowing what symptoms might arise the moment he tried to drive out the demonic qi with dharma power.
He devised a new qi-circulation route for the Zhongnan Sect’s Taiyi Divine Technique. Sword Dragon Weiji Myo-hwa had permitted it.
He ensured that demonic nature could not prey upon his niece’s mind.
Drawing on the principles of Radiant River’s sorcery formation, he stabilized her body. As a result, Jeong Hye now possessed demonic qi that grew stronger in proportion to the Daoist inner energy she cultivated.
Weiji Myo-hwa had seemed greatly shocked by the result, but Jeong Yeon-shin did not bother asking why.
Whatever the case, it was for the best. It was enough that his niece’s body was becoming healthier.
‘It’s done now.’
All at once, exhaustion loosened his body. Was his tension finally easing?
The pain he had endured from the time of Ghost-Spirit Divine Sword until now sank deep into his body.
A cold tingle ran across his overworked crown. Only then did the winter air seem to settle heavily against his skin.
His eyes closed.
His eyelashes blurred his vision.
“Benefactor.”
A fragrant scent of tea drifted over him, and a clear voice pushed aside the silence filling the room. It sounded as though the voice had called to him several times from far away.
Half asleep, Jeong Yeon-shin felt a warm touch. Soon, the softness of bedding touched his skin.
‘I said I would enjoy tea with Sword Dragon.’
Sword Dragon was someone who had to fulfill the legacy of rebuilding the Zhongnan Sect.
Sword Dragon had formed a deep bond with him and would guide his second older brother and his niece as well.
The Daoist principles of the Taiyi Divine Technique had restorative power. It was clear Sword Dragon had taught them with not only Jeong Hye, but him as well, in mind.
Through his hazy consciousness, Jeong Yeon-shin spoke.
He said he had left a copy of the Comprehensive Guide to Annihilating Evil Demons on the tea table, but that he was worried about Sword Dragon, Hye-ah, and his second older brother.
He also said they could rely on Desolate Fortress whenever they wished. At least, he thought he had.
“It will be alright. It’s alright.”
For some time, a soft whisper tickled his ears.
* * *
The Demon Wings experts left Xi’an at once. More than twenty of them traveled alongside the carriage carrying their Squad Leader.
The sight of experts bearing the character for Desolation surrounding a single carriage drew the eyes of everyone they passed.
Yet few groups among Shaanxi’s Demonic Sect remained capable of attacking Desolate Fortress’s Blue Uniform and White Uniform martial artists.
The absence left by the supreme masters killed at the hands of the current Leader of Demon Wings was enormous.
On top of that, ominous rumors about the Comprehensive Guide to Annihilating Evil Demons were spreading. Together with Mount Hua Sect’s closing of its gates, the vitality of Shaanxi’s martial world had shrunk more than ever before.
“Is he really going to be alright?”
“His stamina has been completely drained. It looks as though he has naturally activated the Tortoise Breath Method. Well, after accomplishing all that...”
“This is the second day now. Will he be alright?”
“His pulse may have changed, but his energy is fine. He’s truly only asleep.”
“His aura is actually becoming more stable, even if only a little.”
A small bed had been installed inside the carriage.
Jeong Yeon-shin lay upon it, repeatedly falling asleep and waking.
His body, tempered by the Jeong Family Youth Technique, had entered a period of recovery on its own. Yet his body’s regenerative power was no longer what it had been.
The consecutive fierce battles had damaged his vital essence.
“Doesn’t this seem strange? What does it mean that he won’t wake up even when we call him?”
“It means he has lived through that grueling a time. Even the strength needed to maintain consciousness is a luxury. I wasn’t bringing up the Tortoise Breath Method for nothing.”
“I want to go in and check on him for a moment...”
“White Cat, a White Uniform has no need to worry. The Squad Leader is a Black Uniform. If he sensed even the slightest killing intent, his body would rise on its own. He sleeps like a young bear now because he trusts us. It means Demon Wings has settled into his subconscious. Truly, we are deeply honored.”
The White Uniform martial artists, including Jegal Cheong-a and Shin So-bin, wore worried expressions, but the Blue Uniform experts seemed moved by something else.
Desolate Fortress martial artists experienced more real combat than the disciples of any major faction.
Their knowledge of the martial world was broader than their Squad Leader’s, so unlike many of their juniors, they did not panic.
They accepted it as something sometimes seen in masters of internal and external arts who had driven their power and stamina to the limit.
The longer their Squad Leader slept, the faster they moved.
That was how Demon Wings crossed southeastern Shaanxi and headed straight for Xiangyang.
Even while pretending otherwise, they remained concerned for their Squad Leader.
After they made a campfire on the snowy ground and shared the wild boar they had fortunately caught, Jeong Yeon-shin did not rise for three whole days.
There was still no sign of him opening his eyes when they reached the outer city of Xiangyang.
“I remember Languid Flame Dragon tending the fire back then. What did he put in that meat?”
“He might have used some strange trick with Samadhi True Fire. Like that rumored Young Sect Master of the Ming Cult.”
“He would be capable of it. I knew it from the time he flopped down to sleep beside a grave. Could he bear a grudge against the Squad Leader for taking his precious opium poppy? He only got up after everything was already over.”
“You people...?”
They were in the middle of the official road leading into Xiangyang Prefecture.
The road was extremely wide. There were many escort agencies, merchant groups, and commoners traveling to and from the city.
“So many esteemed Blue Uniform lords...”
“It looks as though they are returning after completing a great task. With a group of that size, we might get to see a black long robe.”
“That is why they are waiting. Even those who come and go like ghosts show their faces in Xiangyang.”
The murmuring grew louder.
The crowd kept swelling.
Though the snow-covered plain was vast, all eyes turned toward Demon Wings. Some even recognized Cheong Myeong and Baek Mir-yeo.
Demon Wings faced a new problem amid the whispering crowd.
Baek Mir-yeo placed a hand against the carriage wall.
“What should we do?”
Showing himself here was the right choice. If Jeong Yeon-shin intended to seek promotion to Purple Uniform, he had to do so. Purple Uniform in Desolate Fortress was a rank of tremendous symbolic importance.
One could not rise through martial strength alone. One needed to be widely known beforehand. That was especially true in Xiangyang, where the main fortress stood.
Hyeon Won-chang nodded deeply.
“Do you know how great his achievements are?”
“At this point, he is a triumphant general. Rumors will have spread by word of mouth. It would be good to drive the point home.”
Cheong Myeong, standing opposite, muttered.
Still, a Desolate Fortress Black Uniform had to remain unshaken at all times. He was the treasured sword of the Divine Sword Squad. Even if he broke, he could not be seen rusting.
It was the fate of supreme masters who bore the harsh character for Desolation. Yet Jeong Yeon-shin’s breath from within the carriage remained steady and deep.
“I have an idea.”
Languid Flame Dragon gave a faint smile and spoke.
“What did that Young Lord of Yeoryeong look like again? Let us choose four people skilled in the Body Movement Scripture.”
* * *
They bought a palanquin from one of the merchant groups present.
It had been the seat of a lavishly dressed merchant leader.
They refused the offer to take it for free and paid its price in the Leader of Demon Wings’ name. Languid Flame Dragon, who had gone from being a junior member to leading the prank, took charge of everything.
They seated Jeong Yeon-shin in the splendid red sandalwood palanquin.
Then they arranged his posture so that his elbow rested on an armrest and his hand supported his chin.
The current Leader of Demon Wings did not wake even when his paralysis acupoint was struck and his posture stiffened.
It was completely unlike when he had awakened at the wild boar’s fighting spirit. By then, even Languid Flame Dragon paused in uncertainty.
“It is not that he failed to sense killing intent. The Squad Leader’s exhaustion has simply reached the extreme.”
Baek Mir-yeo, standing nearby, offered that explanation.
Moon-Shooting Bow Ghost Wi Ye-ryeong, Shura Demon Soul Na Il-cheon, Languid Flame Dragon, and Hyeon Won-chang carried the palanquin.
They glanced at their Squad Leader, whose refined face rested against his hand and whose eyes were closed. At first glance, he looked like a noble young master indifferent to all worldly affairs.
Wi Ye-ryeong of the elven race and Na Il-cheon from the Blood Guard Squad wore uneasy expressions.
“He did not seem like someone who would enjoy this sort of thing.”
“It is one of life’s amusements.”
Languid Flame Dragon gave a vague answer to Wi Ye-ryeong and stepped forward.
The triumphal procession began.
Hyeon Won-chang, delighted to find himself unusually in sync with Languid Flame Dragon, beamed as he shouted loudly.
“The Sungyeo Branch, Chamjeol Pavilion, Great Spirit Might Shaking Sect, Sword Demon Sect, Jongcheon Saber Sect, and Hwigwol Family of Shaanxi have been destroyed! The Tyrant Sword Sect’s Elder Council Head and Yeoryeong’s First Demon of Shaanxi have been slain! The Rogue King of Shaanxi, the Beast King Sect Leader, Yeoryeong’s former chief guardian, and even Yeoryeong’s Young Lord have all been cut down with a single stroke...!”
Even the senior martial artists nearby looked startled at the tremendous depth of his inner energy.
Then a voice like Shaolin’s Lion’s Roar tore through the air.
“The Leader of Demon Wings is passing through!”
The crowds stretching all the way to the main gate erupted in chatter.
It felt as though the air throughout sprawling Xiangyang Prefecture had rippled as one.
“Leader of Demon Wings? Abyssal Killer Ma Jin, that hero...?”
“What do you mean, Abyssal Killer? It is Seom-ye! The current Leader of Demon Wings!”
“So the rumors were true! They say he crushed Shaanxi completely!”
The crowd split into two streams.
A triumphal procession for a high-ranking Desolate Fortress martial artist was a rare sight.
It occurred when one of the imperial family’s treasured swords had completed a great task. The last had been the former Divine Sword Squad Leader who once sought the Elder Council Head’s position in Desolate Fortress. Cheers struck the air in an instant.
Waaaaah!
The Blue Uniform experts moved around their Leader of Demon Wings. Some wore expressions as if they could not bear to look, while others still seemed doubtful.
Yet about half could not hide their amusement.
They had found an excuse to tease their hot-blooded young Squad Leader. It was one of the few amusements available to these exalted elite masters.
“This will not have a bad effect on the Squad Leader’s body, will it?”
“Have you never touched him during a spar? His muscles were like boulders. This will not affect him much.”
It was a display put on by the experts of the greatest faction under heaven.
The palanquin borne by Blue Uniform experts skilled in the Body Movement Scripture did not sway, as though it were skimming over grass.
That meant Jeong Yeon-shin’s posture, his chin resting in his hand and his eyelashes lowered, remained perfectly unchanged.
The bearing of Jeong Yeon-shin, Leader of Demon Wings, was exceedingly arrogant.
His features looked closer to those of the elven race than the Han Chinese, inspiring admiration rather than complaint. The cheers continued without end. How could he look so imposing?
“He is truly reassuring!”
“Does he not carry himself as though he has no rival beneath heaven? Such bearing suits that jet-black long robe!”
“Xiangyang in these chaotic times cannot help but be the safest place under heaven! The imperial family’s treasured swords will protect us!”
The procession continued even after passing Desolate Fortress’s main fortress.
They could not avoid first stopping at the Chief Steward’s Office. Officials and their representatives from throughout the land were gathered there with uncomfortable expressions.
They said it was because public order had become unsettled recently. Official robes in every color fluttered in the air.
On a road lined with greenery that remained lush despite winter, a passing Blue Uniform expert clasped a fist in salute to Jeong Yeon-shin, then whispered to Cheong Myeong at the front.
“Welcome back safely. Once you report your return to the Grand Chief Steward, you should be able to go to the Fortress Lord. There are orders for the Leader of Demon Wings and the martial artists escorting him to come up without delay.”
“Hmm?”
Languid Flame Dragon’s eyebrow twitched slightly as he held one side of the palanquin.
Footnotes:
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