WeTried Translations

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◈ Surviving as a Genius on Borrowed Time ◈

Episode 286: Lotus (5)

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Shhk...

Geom Un-bi's sword, wielded by the Huangcheon Sect Leader, cleaved through the night air.

Its force swept across the onlookers' skin, rising and falling with tremendous power. Whenever the sword descended in a curve, it seemed as though moonlight itself rolled in waves.

It was a sword-strike force wave unlike anything Gongya Jeong had ever imagined. The Force Projection woven into the sword's trajectory was utterly new.

The muscles of his entire body and the white trail of light seemed to dance as one. Unbroken solid lines followed without pause.

'What is that...?'

A restrained sharpness could be felt in the sword wind, along with the bearing of a prestigious family. She could not begin to guess where its power ended.

They said a master's art bore the imprint of their life. Inspiration was bound to the life one had lived.

A sublime swordsman's single stroke contained every habit and trait they possessed. A martial artist from a prestigious family who had cultivated an eye technique could perceive it more clearly.

Gongya Jeong, the Young Family Head, was no different. She sensed a deep solitude within it.

She wanted to see more.

'No, this isn't proper conduct in the martial world...!'

Just as Gongya Jeong was about to squeeze her eyes shut, the sword that had freely cut through the moonlight faltered.

Rustle.

The sleeve swept down uselessly beneath his blue-veined forearm.

Perhaps it was because several servants accompanying her father had drawn in sharp breaths. The sword dance that skimmed through the moonlight came to an end.

"I have been discourteous. This is not my home."

The founding master of the sword art spoke.

Shing.

Gongya Jeong blankly watched Geom Un-bi sheath his sword with effortless grace. A lingering regret, deeper than the halo of moonlight pouring down around them, remained in her heart.

Though she had tried not to watch, she had to suppress her great disappointment.

It was an emotion she had not felt in a long time. It was nothing like romantic affection between a man and a woman.

The heir of a prestigious family had been deeply shaken by a wandering swordsman's swordplay.

At a time when she bore such a great burden, she did not even know what to do with herself.

"He is someone I urgently invited after considering the Young Family Head's concerns. It is a great blessing that he accepted despite having no connection to this old house. I assure you, this will be a fortuitous encounter."

Mr. Go's words crossed Gongya Jeong's mind.

"...Even calling it darkness beneath the lamp would be too generous to this family. I never once thought to look beneath the lamp at all. Has my mind grown dull through idle years? When I was young, I verified everything for myself."

The Gongya Family Head, standing opposite Gongya Jeong with Geom Un-bi between them, spoke in a deep, resonant voice.

Moonlight fell over the scarlet long robe covering his large frame. His wide eyes gave off a dark gleam.

"I never thought there would be a swordsman like you among those of our Young Family Head's generation. Please forgive us for inadvertently witnessing your training. I was quite captivated."

It was a plain apology, yet his conduct possessed dignity.

Yeon-shin shook his head as he gathered the small amount of aura that had leaked out.

The middle-aged man before him was capable of discerning a Black Uniform's level of inner-energy attainment from the Light Wheel. He needed to conceal it carefully.

Though they were called a martial family only within Shanxi, he was still the head of a great martial house. His martial prowess could not be so weak that he would be helpless before a Black Uniform of Desolate Fortress.

"The fault lies with this guest who chose the wrong place. I trained wherever I pleased."

He spoke while straightening the waist sash that secured his sword hilt with his fingertips.

The Gongya Family Head's thick lips curved into a smile.

"The fault lies with this family for failing to recognize a sublime swordsman. I will treat you generously, but may I ask the name of that sword art?"

"I was simply swinging it as inspiration came. It has no proper form or name yet."

Yeon-shin answered casually.

He was still some distance away. He had not properly refined the crude sword trajectory.

He had taken only the refined qualities of the Jeong Family True Divine Sword, an art an enlightened ape might use for nothing more than splitting firewood.

He intended to create a fifth sword movement.

It would be the martial insight that made the Thunderclap Flash-Ridge Sword Art more complete. For now, he had only found a clue.

His mission would eventually require him to face a peerless master rarely seen under heaven. He could not rely on swordsmanship focused on brief, decisive battles.

Since he could hardly muster his Protective Qi Technique right now, he needed a stable method of response.

'A sword form that compensates for the weakness of single-strike martial arts.'

He wanted to instill the bearing of a prestigious family into the Thunderclap Flash-Ridge Sword Art, which had only recently been born.

He meant to artificially add the polish that only years could grant.

It would be ideal if he completed it before facing the Zhuge Family Head, but there was no telling whether that would happen.

A sword strike that fully contained the divine art known as the Record of the Dharma Light Wheel could not be completed easily. Every line of its trajectory needed to hold sublime inspiration.

'They say one learns while teaching.'

The Gongya Family was a prestigious family. He thought there would be more to gain here.

Just as he had refined the Jeong Family True Divine Sword into a single sword form.

Then...

"It has no form or name...?"

The Gongya Family Head repeated Geom Un-bi's words with a strange expression.

After silently staring at the young swordsman for a while, he stroked his sleeve cuff and spoke again.

He had suppressed the competitive spirit rising within him as a swordsman. Their age and status were too far apart.

"The night is deep. Forgive my negligence in failing to personally visit such an honored guest."

"The food was the finest under heaven."

Yeon-shin spoke the truth. The dignified Gongya Family Head's lips lifted slightly.

"You may stay in this family home for as long as you wish. Even if you visit without notice, you will be welcome. Make yourself at home."

Yeon-shin responded with a fist-and-palm salute.

Gongya Jeong stood before the veranda of the detached residence, silently watching him all the while.

The Young Family Head of the Gongya Family, the eldest daughter of the house. Pale moonlight settled over her face, now free of drunkenness.

* * *

As soon as dawn broke, Gongya Jeong came to visit Yeon-shin.

Gojin, the scholar, slipped out from the rear and waved a fist with a bright smile. He was like a well-bred Hyeon Won-chang.

"I ask Sect Leader Geom for instruction."

The eldest daughter bowed deeply and precisely. A single strand of hair had fallen beside her neck.

Her hands were stacked together like a roof, but it was not a martial greeting. She had lowered herself with a traditional civilian gongshou greeting.

It was meant to show respect to the other party.

Yeon-shin had received the same greeting before, from the Tang siblings of the Sichuan Tang Clan.

When he had confirmed the mnemonic formula for Myriad Flowers Rain, they had raised their clasped hands and said they would regard him as their benefactor. They had possessed qualities that ranked among the best of anyone he had encountered.

They had been people worthy of the name. He even felt a strange sense of kinship with them.

'I hope they're doing well.'

He hoped the Young Family Head of the Gongya Family possessed enough talent to at least reach their heels.

Yeon-shin slowly opened his mouth.

"Your Family Head appeared highly skilled. Why did you come to me instead?"

"To broaden my experience. Sect Leader Geom's sword dance was truly astonishing. If my conduct toward you earlier caused offense, please forgive me."

Gongya Jeong's manner of speaking had become formal and respectful.

There was no need to dwell on it. Among martial artists suffering through famine, the level of one's martial arts was status itself.

They said even strict seniority orders preserved for generations lost their meaning before hunger.

Yeon-shin quietly nodded.

"I've eaten fine food, so I should earn my keep as a guest."

Despite his words, he had skipped breakfast.

This was an important moment. He headed toward a clearing beside Gongya Jeong.

The place was quiet by nature, so they did not bother going to the Training Hall. Suppressing his impatience, Yeon-shin told her to draw her sword.

"Yes."

Gongya Jeong drew her sword and lowered it.

At the same time, Yeon-shin's gaze traveled up along her arms, then down to her ankles. He examined the grain of her muscles and the shape of her aura.

Soon, his lips moved faintly. It was a sound transmission directed at Gongya Jeong.

As she listened in silence, sunlight seemed to flicker at the corner of her mouth.

"How can this be such a secret art...?"

"A secret art...?"

Yeon-shin tilted his head slightly and urged her onward. What he had just explained was nothing like a secret art.

It was simply a way to use one's body, derived after a brief insight. Looking at the Young Family Head's body, he had calculated a sword strike and Force Projection suited to her.

'Her limbs are long, so she can widen the sword's range. The muscles in her left hand are lacking compared to her right... but she'll be accustomed to that balance by now. She needs to make full use of her lean muscle groups and the acupoints in her wrists.'

The Grandmaster of the Jeong Family Youth Technique valued the use of one's innate body.

For Yeon-shin, who had been born into a third-rate martial family, it had been the only way to improve his martial arts.

Naturally, he viewed anyone who let better movements go to waste as a monkey.

"Give it a try."

He crossed his arms and gestured with his chin. His posture had become natural without him noticing.

Gongya Jeong did not take offense.

She stared at the tip of the sword raised in a middle guard, then, with a short shout, turned the sword hilt horizontal and struck out.

Her red sleeve billowed widely.

Shhk!

Yeon-shin kept his mouth closed for a moment.

The sword-strike force wave swept up dust. A calm silence passed.

Once the yellow dust had fully scattered, he opened his mouth again.

"There seems to have been a mistake. I'll explain it again."

Yeon-shin spoke as if it were nothing.

This was a martial family. Rather than question the eldest daughter's talent, it was right to reconsider his own instruction.

Even a stone by the roadside rolled wherever it was kicked. There was no reason to assume the mission would fail from the beginning.

He sent another sound transmission to the Young Family Head, and she silently executed the sword move once more.

Shhk...

The instant a straight line of white light was carved into the air, the atmosphere trembled faintly. It was a single stroke that would look impressive to anyone.

The movement of her muscles and inner energy, from her toes to the sword-strike force wave, created a hazy distortion in the air.

Yeon-shin's eyelashes trembled.

"If you relax your right shoulder blade a little more, then flick the qi at your wrist's Neiguan acupoint as I explained... the power of your horizontal strike will increase. Far more than it is now."

"It was a question I had contemplated for some time, and Sect Leader Geom's words have given me certainty. I have already entered the first tenth of attainment. If I train for ten years until I reach full mastery, that will suffice. I can only thank you for such astonishing and precious instruction."

Shing.

Gongya Jeong sheathed her sword in an instant, then raised her clasped hands. Her conduct revealed an unshakable spirit.

She spoke lightly of ten years, yet it did not sound like an empty claim.

She was like bright marble, someone who would carve herself over many years until she achieved mastery. She was a vessel destined for late-blooming greatness, someone Yeon-shin could never understand.

"..."

The current Leader of Demon Wings fell into despair. It was deeply shocking.

He had to force his lips apart.

"You will... do well."

The Young Family Head of the Gongya Family lived in an entirely different span of time.

He pictured the edge of a distant cliff. She was a stone enduring long years as the wind carved away at her.

Yeon-shin thought that a mayfly like himself could not measure the years of a stone.

* * *

The hollows beneath his eyes felt sunken. At least, that was how it seemed.

Yeon-shin met the morning sunlight with unfocused eyes. The sunlight seeping through the paper lattice seemed to crawl over his skin and mock him.

He received Gongya Jeong, who had come to ask after his comfort, with an indifferent expression.

"Sect Leader Geom, if there is anything uncomfortable about your sleeping arrangements, please tell us at once. This household has many skilled servants. Changing your bedding would be no difficulty at all."

"It is because I felt a sense of defeat for the first time in my life..."

"You practiced visualization training even while lying in bed. This is an attitude that this foolish member of the Gongya Family ought to learn from. I believe spending the first month of the year with an honored guest who is the very image of a swordsman means this year's fortune will be good."

Her black hair, neatly tied from early in the morning, caught his eye.

He did not know when she had risen to wash and dry it, but it shone with a clean luster. She seemed like the embodiment of effort.

She appeared to perform qi circulation and breath regulation at dawn. It was the proper way to practice qi storage. A commendable attitude.

'Visualization training...'

Yeon-shin swallowed his doubts alone. She wasn't mocking him, was she?

"What do you need?"

"I mentioned the preliminary rounds before the martial arts tournament. People from prestigious factions are gathering at this house. That is why the banquet will be held here. As I said before, making their acquaintance will be of great help to Sect Leader Geom as well. Many of them are highly influential."

"The preliminary rounds before the martial arts tournament..."

After thinking for a moment, Yeon-shin nodded.

"I will attend the banquet."

"A wise choice. Though..."

Gongya Jeong's expression, which had briefly brightened with a smile, darkened.

"The pressure against this family is severe. There are even butchers from sects founded by Green Forest bandits. They are all acknowledged as prestigious factions in this vast Shanxi Province now, but someone may act rudely toward Sect Leader Geom."

"Are all the martial arts tournament participants coming?"

"Yes."

"From what I hear, there seem to be many factions between orthodox and unorthodox that lean toward the unorthodox sects..."

"You could say they are the majority. Shanxi has long been a land where the military's influence is strong. The pressure placed upon martial-world clans was so severe that it was difficult for sects to survive by following the orthodox path. This family is said to have endured many hardships in its history as well... Many Green Forest bandits were led by generals who had been framed by the military and forced to flee, while many martial artists who lived by the sword disdain the Great Ming Code. You could call them half unorthodox."

"Then there is no need to worry."

"Of course, Sect Leader Geom's swordsmanship is far more sublime than theirs, but your sect..."

"Young Family Head."

"Yes?"

"Young Family Head Gongya will one day be counted among the invincible. I know that from seeing your efforts."

"That is far too generous..."

Gongya Jeong, the eldest daughter, gave a faint smile.

Yeon-shin did not smile.

If there was no one left to fight, that person would be invincible.

The inner demon that had built up overnight was immense. He even worried that his maternal grandfather might always live with this feeling.

'I should treat him with more affection.'

He recalled the Pure Blood Robe resting in one corner of his pack. It was the symbol of Blood Flame Sect nobility.

He needed to surpass his Black Uniform seniors through overwhelming, unbeaten achievements. Failure was not permitted to the current Leader of Demon Wings.

Footnotes:

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