WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: ZERO_SUGAR
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◈ Surviving as a Genius on Borrowed Time ◈
Episode 311: Xuanyuan (6)
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* * *
He had just faced a peerless master renowned throughout the martial world.
The aftermath was beyond anything he had imagined.
He had to endure it. After all, he had killed someone he would normally have needed to look far up to.
Each time Jeong Yeon-shin took the Zhuge Family Head's Yin-Yang Divine Whip, he had borne impacts that seeped into his bones.
Even a fragment of its force struck with the weight of a thousand jin. He could not redirect it with Harmonizing Force. There had been no time.
The wound through his shoulder was the worst of it.
A peerless master's strike was extraordinarily sophisticated. A single blow did not end with an external wound.
It was an internal heavy-hand technique. The force waves that entered through his body's meridians tore through him.
Without the Jeong Family Youth Technique, he would have struggled even to move. It made him fully appreciate the level Ak Su-rim had displayed when she faced the Zhuge Family Head, who had come prepared with a counter to the Ak Family Spear Art.
Even his muscles were recovering slowly.
That was the effect of the Yin-Yang Divine Whip, a divine skill of sorcery arts. Senior Jin, the Blood Guard Squad Leader, had suffered from it before.
Jeong Yeon-shin's minor meridians and acupoints had lost their elasticity. Even reaching Taiyuan felt somewhat taxing.
Meanwhile, the Light Wheel, strained to its limit, revolved at a pace incomparably slower than when he was at full strength.
His qi storage had already diminished sharply. He needed time to recover.
There had been no other choice.
Not with Gwi Yun-rin, presumed daughter of the Heart Martial Union Leader, and her subordinate standing before him.
Hummm.
The chopsticks in his hand trembled faintly, then slipped free between his fingers. He had just driven the spirituality of his upper dantian into the brain beneath his Baihui acupoint and synchronized them.
It was a wondrous mystery. Jeong Yeon-shin sensed an elongated texture in his mind.
‘Will this work...?’
The forms of a wooden chopstick and a sword flickered before him. The sword blade seemed on the verge of overlapping the chopstick.
Yet they did not truly merge, even though he sensed that power beyond Myriad Flowers Rain would emerge the moment they did.
He could guess why. Dragon Fan Treading Flowers was a technique that made heavy use of the upper dantian.
Its first use, when he killed the Zhuge Family Head, had overworked his Baihui acupoint. It had yet to recover fully.
It was fine.
Hummm.
One chopstick rose into the air, drifting toward the Crane-Wing Fan pointed at Jeong Yeon-shin's brow.
The man pointing the Crane-Wing Fan at him reacted half a breath too late.
As Gwi Yun-rin beside him opened her eyes wide, he stared at Jeong Yeon-shin as if demanding an answer, then flinched belatedly.
“What sort of sorcery...!”
“Listen to that orthodox old-fogey nonsense! It’s nothing like that, idiot!”
Even amid the urgency, the exchange between master and subordinate sounded like a comic routine.
Jeong Yeon-shin's eyes narrowed. He immediately sensed that the force carried by the chopstick was far too weak.
It fell short even of the force produced by the emission formula of Myriad Flowers Rain at full strength. It was proof of the lingering effects of his battle against a peerless master.
Should he force himself to use the fist technique inspired by Fist Exemplar Eon Hwa-ryeon? It would be a dreadful sight for the young inn attendant.
That was when it happened.
Perhaps she had read something in his expression.
“Wait!”
Gwi Yun-rin suddenly frowned and moved both hands behind her back. A large gray blur fell from her hands, the afterimage of a great saber's blade.
Her draw was incredibly fast. The slash descended in a rough curve, flashing dimly like a faded crescent moon.
Slaaash!
“Arghhhhh!”
Blood spurted.
The arm of the subordinate beside her had been severed, still gripping the Crane-Wing Fan.
The white fan turned red as blood ran down the side of the arm that struck the floor. It had happened in an instant.
Whoosh!
Gwi Yun-rin, who had risen as she drew, flicked the great saber once with a bitter expression.
The blood scattered across the wooden floor soaked into it. The dark-red pattern was gruesome.
The subordinate's face as he wheezed beside her was striking as well.
For a brief moment, he could not hide his confusion. Then, as if he had realized something, focus swiftly returned to his eyes, and he swallowed his groan.
It had all happened in less than three breaths. The inn grew even quieter.
“If one cannot judge people,” Gwi Yun-rin said, scratching the back of her head, “then death would be only proper... but he never made a move, so I’ll let him off with an arm.”
“He couldn't.”
“I can’t argue with that, but wouldn’t that make it even more miserable? He lost the martial art he relied on because of the master he served so well. It wasn't even an arm lost fighting an enemy. How humiliating must that be? And we’re from an unorthodox sect. He’ll have trouble making a living unless he remains my personal attendant. You know those damned unorthodox heretics are even worse than orthodox sects when it comes to saving face.”
Her somewhat groveling words spilled out like a sharpshooter's rapid fire.
Thud. Thud.
She repeatedly kicked the man's shins.
Did she want to save her subordinate somehow? The way she kept glancing at Jeong Yeon-shin for a reaction made her seem more human than the Zhuge Family Head.
Each of Gwi Yun-rin's words seemed to strike the subordinate fatally. His brow twitched, then he quickly composed his expression and prostrated himself.
His shoulders, barely held above the floor, trembled with spasms. Blood poured between the wooden slats beneath him.
Even so, his manner remained remarkably proper.
“This Jeon Baek failed to recognize a great person! I dare beg you, in the vessel of one whose benevolence is invincible, please forgive this crime deserving death!”
He looked utterly pitiful. His overbearing attitude had vanished completely.
Jeong Yeon-shin did not answer for a moment.
‘Gwi Yun-rin... Is she truly the Heart Martial Union Leader's child?’
They were strange people. It felt as if he had seen the true face of unorthodox heretics.
If her bloodline was real, she was a major figure in the martial world. Her judgment was as precise and quick as a blade. She possessed the qualities of a ruler capable of surviving chaotic times.
He said curtly.
“Get lost.”
“What a lovely, upright friend. Your hand is remarkably merciful.”
Gwi Yun-rin flicked a finger.
Twung.
Finger Wind shot through the air, warping it into a long distortion before striking Jeon Baek near the shoulder.
The bleeding stopped abruptly with a dull thud. It was a move to staunch the blood.
After glancing at her staggering subordinate, Gwi Yun-rin sat across from Jeong Yeon-shin again.
She rested both elbows on the table and interlaced her fingers. The scrape of her rough sleeves across the tabletop broke the silence.
“Our nameless friend has the makings of a great hero. I saw the inn attendant bow and flee at a glance from you. You see people as people, nothing more. That humility is so ingrained in you that even after being initiated into sword-control techniques, you remained unmoved. You're far from arrogant, only attentive enough to care for everyone around you.”
‘An eye technique?’
Her words were so accurate that Jeong Yeon-shin was inwardly startled.
“The eyes of this Crimson Phoenix-Slaying Saber are precise. So there is one proposal I'd like to make... carefully.”
Whoosh.
A hemispherical wave of inner power spread from Gwi Yun-rin's body as she spoke in a whisper. She had erected an aura barrier around the table.
The chopstick floating in the air returned to Jeong Yeon-shin's hand. Gwi Yun-rin watched it with admiring eyes, then spoke again.
“A person like you could not have gone without a name. You came a long way from your home region, didn't you?”
“Your insight is decent.”
Jeong Yeon-shin answered indifferently. He had already been inwardly impressed by her analysis of his character.
He was a Black Uniform of Desolate Fortress. He could not simply overlook a direct descendant of the Heart Martial Union Leader.
He had to do one of two things.
He could ignore the internal and external injuries still making his body throb, capture Gwi Yun-rin, and extract information from her. Or he could continue concealing his identity and investigate the Heart Martial Union's authentic martial arts.
“I told you my eyes aren't wrong.”
Gwi Yun-rin grinned at his praise and raised her chin slightly.
She did not look like someone who had just severed her subordinate's arm. Her bearing alone made her origins easy to guess.
The woman bearing the epithet Crimson Phoenix-Slaying Saber truly was a direct descendant of one of the Thirteen Heavens.
“A strong person with no ties to Taiyuan. I needed someone like you. Don't worry, though. I won't propose some vile deal to a person of your caliber, one that would shame those orthodox old fogies.”
“I like the way you speak. Go on.”
Jeong Yeon-shin spoke calmly.
The great families had already made him sick of orthodox sects.
If he had not met the Daoist practitioners of the Nine Sects, Martial Alliance Leader Hyeon So-baek, Clear Qilin, and Immortal Dragon, he would have dismissed the very idea of the true orthodox path.
“Listen to you. Don't be shy.”
The smile on Gwi Yun-rin's lips deepened.
“Anyway, I don't care why you came to Taiyuan. Whether you're here to travel the martial world or seeking martial challenges. What matters is that you're someone with nothing to lose here. I'm about to strike the Assassins' Sect.”
“What?”
“My damned father said he's coming here soon. If I want to win the succession fight, I need to impress my honored father. A sect like the Assassins' Sect, which joined hands with the Moyong Family, would make a splendid offering. I want to cut off Father’s head just as Father did Grandfather’s... but my martial level isn't enough for that. I'm still far from it.”
Rough madness seeped through her muttering voice.
It was another world. After the previous Heart Martial Union Leader was slain by the Sword Star, there had supposedly been a power struggle within the Heart Martial Union.
The tale of the current Heart Martial Union Leader, the Martial Emperor of the Prince of Commandery, breaking his own father's neck in the midst of it was well known.
“Whether to improve your martial arts or raise your reputation, the Assassins' Sect should be a decent opponent. Shanxi has been swept clean by monsters like the Zhuge Family Head and Lotus Nezha, so the martial lineages have nearly died out. Hm? Come to think of it, Desolate Fortress's Lotus Nezha looked young like you too. Though I never heard rumors that he practiced sword-control techniques...”
“I know. More importantly, I heard the Slayer Hero is a chivalrous hero.”
“He's the only one. The rest are demonic heretics through and through. He's probably fighting the elders in his position as Young Sect Leader. Well, the Slayer Hero really is someone remarkable.”
“You know a great deal.”
“My sect is fairly formidable. For some reason, the imperial family even exempts it from tribute. The sect I oversee now is only one branch, after all. It will take quite a bit of force to destroy the Assassins' Sect. They’ve already begun moving.”
Both continued talking while concealing their identities.
The guests had fled the inn in horror at the severed arm twitching on the floor. Only Gwi Yun-rin, her subordinate, and Jeong Yeon-shin remained on the second floor.
Dust drifted quietly through the pale sunlight.
“If you cooperate, I'll reward you handsomely! Gold, silver, treasures, anything you want. Among those I know, there's also a peerless beauty who's absurdly good with a saber. I don't dare take a stab at her... She’s my master, after all.”
“Can you provide spiritual medicine? Miraculous medicine with a potent effect.”
“Of course I can prepare some!”
She did not say she had it on hand. She was likely afraid it would be taken from her.
For all her strange way of thinking, she was clever. She possessed both the nerve and confidence to reveal a private plan to a powerful stranger at their first meeting.
Their dispositions matched rather well, enough to put Jeong Yeon-shin at ease.
Her rough manner and sharp insight into another's nature both contributed to that.
Gwi Yun-rin raised the corners of her mouth.
“You're badly hurt, aren't you? Your blood smells different from Jeon Baek's.”
Had she smelled the blood from the puncture wound? The wound in Jeong Yeon-shin's shoulder still opened from time to time.
When he had just considered using the fist technique, his deltoid had reacted at once and split the wound open. Even a muscle with a will of its own could be troublesome.
Jeong Yeon-shin changed the subject.
“Do you know the way? To the Assassins' Sect.”
White Swallow had guided him with long beats of its wings from within his robes, but upon arriving, he could not sense Languid Flame Dragon's aura.
Nor could he find the waves of inner power from Hyeon Won-chang and Shin So-bin.
‘There was no reason to tell them about my condition.’
It was because he had written frankly about his wounds, as he did with Cheong Myeong and Baek Mir-yeo.
Those underlings, who should have been concerned with their own safety, seemed to be worried about their Squad Leader's well-being. Was Languid Flame Dragon's presence at least some consolation?
Yet the Heart Martial Union was targeting the Assassins' Sect. He could not relax.
“I only know the rough locations of safehouses that seem to be branch bases. My sect was fortunate enough to catch someone in the Heavenly Net we set up, and they talked. We'll learn them all as we clear them out one by one. We'll wipe out the branch bases first, then push straight toward the main sect.”
Gwi Yun-rin slid her great saber across her back with a sharp click and spoke with a fierce smile.
Jeong Yeon-shin slowly opened his lips, not sparing a glance for her subordinate standing alone and swallowing his pain.
“I accept your proposal.”
* * *
It had been two days of walking through snow that whispered underfoot.
Tap, crackle.
Three sets of footprints lined one side of the official road.
A large campfire flickered as if dancing. White snow swallowed the sparks that occasionally burst from it.
Gwi Yun-rin was skilled at hunting. The dried meat tucked into her robes had become unnecessary as she brought back all manner of game. Jeong Yeon-shin only needed to gather firewood.
“That white sword of yours caught my eye from the start. Have you only trained in sword arts?”
“I use fists and kicks as well.”
“A top-tier master who has begun practicing sword-control techniques also uses fists and kicks?”
“Only the basics. The patterns aren't complicated.”
“Such dazzling humility. Your nature truly doesn't suit the path of unorthodox heretics. A faction between orthodox and unorthodox, or an orthodox sect, would suit you better. You're walking the right path, aren't you?”
“Your eye technique is exceptionally profound as well.”
Jeong Yeon-shin answered Gwi Yun-rin while leaning carelessly against a tree trunk.
They said encounters in the martial world connected and drifted apart like the wind. He had not wished to grow closer than necessary, yet they had exchanged quite a few words.
Jeon Baek, holding his fan in his left hand, continued to behave like an attendant while watching Jeong Yeon-shin cautiously.
“Hehe, sir, we seem to be short on firewood... Of course, sir has reached the lofty realm of being untouched by heat or cold, but surely the cold wind is no good for your noble skin?”
“Do as you please.”
“Right away!”
The one-armed handsome man dressed like a scholar turned around.
Boom!
His body suddenly bent sideways and was flung away.
A force wave struck the air, warping it like translucent flower petals. A boy's clear shout followed.
“Shaolin's spiritual beast truly is the best under heaven! Venerable, this way!”
“Amitabha.”
Mount Hua and Mount Song.
Fate and chance intertwined. The scent of rugged mountain ranges found them.
Footnotes:
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