WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: ZERO_SUGAR
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
◈ Surviving as a Genius on Borrowed Time ◈
Episode 47: Encounter
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By the next morning, preparations for the mission were complete. Jeong Yeon-shin received a pack containing various supplies, dried rations, and travel money.
It was his responsibility as a Blue Uniform.
They also covered the characters embroidered on the Desolate Fortress martial robes with pieces of silk. The work was remarkably subtle.
“This is a gathering where you’ll be dealing with prominent martial families. Since it’s a dangerous mission, you won’t disguise yourselves.”
At Ma Jin’s words, Do Yu-won from the Chief Steward’s Office nodded.
“The official martial robes of Desolate Fortress contain thread spun by a spiritual beast known as the heavenly silkworm. It is an extremely valuable material, so only a single strand has been sewn into each vital area. The stitching runs vertically. It should buy you a fleeting instant against horizontal slashes or thrusts.”
“If we reinforced them with iron plates, the experts would notice at once. It would draw unnecessary attention.”
“Y-You’re covering this up?! It’s everything Young Hero Jeong and I are!”
Hyeon Won-chang put on a show of outrage.
With his left hand, Hyeon Won-chang caressed the character for desolate on his own right side, while with his right hand, he stroked the one beneath Jeong Yeon-shin’s shoulder.
It was deeply bizarre. Yeon-shin stepped away slightly.
Hyeon Won-chang made a slightly woebegone face.
“Wasn’t what happened during the Mount Hua Sect incident enough? I find this hard to accept. Desolate Fortress is practically me now!”
“Quiet the Desolate Fortress Divine Hero.”
At Ma Jin’s calm words, Baek Mir-yeo approached. Only then did Hyeon Won-chang shrink back.
After edging farther away, Hyeon Won-chang muttered something too low to make out. Shin So-bin, the junior, shook her head.
“Isn’t he in the same cohort as Senior Seom-ye? I wonder if we’ll really be able to stay undercover properly.”
“Young Hero Hyeon is different from how he looks. Your concern is probably unnecessary.”
“I hope so. This is my first mission too, and we’ll be working together for the first time. I only briefly saw Senior Seom-ye’s martial arts during the promotion ceremony, right? I’m curious whether he’ll show skill worthy of his reputation when we travel the martial world.”
Shin So-bin smiled boldly.
Jeong Yeon-shin had little interest in it. He only hoped they would not hold him back.
Becoming a Blue Uniform was not the end. He had heard that the next promotion robe, the Black Uniform, carried the status of a Squad Leader.
The gap between White Uniform and Blue Uniform was said to be far smaller than the gap between Blue Uniform and Black Uniform.
‘I’ve taken one step. I can’t fail another mission now.’
He recalled the anxiety he had felt when the operation to subdue the Blood Flame Sect’s Seventh Apostle had failed.
He never wanted to feel it again. That was why it did not matter whether the Huangbo Family Young Lord possessed the Sun God Meridian or anything else.
He only needed to continue building achievements. Jeong Yeon-shin cupped his fist toward Ma Jin.
“I’ll see you later.”
“Yes. The moment you complete your mission, we’ll clash with the Huangbo Family. We’ll meet then.”
Ma Jin nodded. After a moment of silence, Ma Jin spoke again. The expression around the scar at the corner of Ma Jin’s mouth seemed sheepish.
“...The mission can fail. Think of your safety first.”
Yeon-shin knew those were not the words of the Leader of Demon Wings. He silently bowed to his uncle.
Ma Jin was unlike his maternal grandfather, Ma Yeon-jeok. Yeon-shin could not simply keep pushing away someone who sincerely felt guilty and continued trying to reach out to him.
Jeong Yeon-shin shifted his gaze slightly.
“Squad Leader, don’t overdo it either. I heard the Huangbo Family Head is one of Shandong’s foremost experts.”
“This isn’t a spar. It’s war. We’ll launch a coordinated joint attack.”
Ma Jin replied with a faint smile.
Jeong Yeon-shin shook his head as if disappointed, then mounted the brown steed beside him.
Feeling the saddle firmly support him, he gently patted the horse’s neck.
When he had lived at Jeong Family Manor, he had dreamed of a thousand-li horse as a lifelong companion. Things were different now.
Desolate Fortress changed horses constantly, so it was difficult to grow attached to one.
“Take me safely to the relay station.”
Jeong Yeon-shin leaned close and whispered to the horse. With several senior members of Demon Wings seeing them off, he took up the reins.
Hyeon Won-chang and Shin So-bin rode up on either side.
“We’re traveling the martial world again. It always gets my heart racing.”
Hyeon Won-chang grinned. Jeong Yeon-shin briefly glanced at Shin So-bin, who eyed Hyeon Won-chang skeptically, then flicked his reins.
It was his first mission as a Blue Uniform of Desolate Fortress.
* * *
Simply concealing the mark of Desolate Fortress made it feel as though he had entered another world.
Was it because he had to lead the group without any seniors? He felt strangely empty, though he was not Hyeon Won-chang.
The backing that had made people show respect or fear had disappeared.
‘I heard that Desolate Fortress experts face contempt in the martial world as well.’
Jeong Yeon-shin thought. He had not experienced it yet, so it could only feel distant.
Their destination was Huizhou in Southern Zhili. A slightly roundabout relay route ran from Xiangyang to Huizhou.
This was unlike his past missions, where they had needed to give the horses long periods of rest.
The group rode quickly.
As a direct descendant of a prominent martial family, Shin So-bin was skilled at horseback riding.
Riding for long periods was another matter entirely, but it did not hinder her at all.
Hyeon Won-chang also rode very well. Hyeon Won-chang said wandering the martial world was best enjoyed after finishing a mission.
Twenty days passed. Jeong Yeon-shin did not yet possess enough inner energy to travel between cities with lightness skills.
The two White Uniforms were the same. They had to rely on horses.
Nothing noteworthy occurred until they neared Huizhou.
There were supposedly bandits from the Green Forest and water bandits everywhere, yet they saw none.
Hyeon Won-chang had claimed to have encountered countless such people when traveling from Shanxi to Xiangyang for the Desolate Exam. It was enough to make Yeon-shin wonder if it had all been boasting.
‘I’m starting to get a feel for it.’
During that time, Jeong Yeon-shin trained in Sword Song. He wanted to gradually advance it into the realm of Sound Arts.
At the same time, he worked on unraveling the mnemonic verses of the Moon Spirit Harmonization Formula. He thought he could create a new Static Training technique before the Dragon-Phoenix Gathering ended.
Wooooong.
The official road leading toward Huizhou came into view.
Beneath an especially large ginkgo tree by the roadside, the Northern Light Sword resting across Jeong Yeon-shin’s crossed legs began to hum.
He did not have the Desolate Sword. He had entrusted it to Cheong Myeong to conceal his affiliation.
‘It’s become easier to increase the sword resonance.’
Infusing inner energy into a sword to keep it from breaking easily was a common technique.
At least, it was among experts.
Jeong Yeon-shin went further.
He sensed the nature of sound itself. Using the principles of the Ultimate Realm, he divided his qi into two strands and sent them into the blade.
The more fiercely the fine ripples of qi surged, the louder the sound became.
Guuuuung!
The mysteries of qi were remarkable.
Such delicate control that even his innate senses found difficult produced a resonance he had never heard before.
He could control the pitch.
If he imbued the melody spreading from here with outward-releasing qi, it would become Sound Arts.
‘The power of this martial art will ultimately depend on the amount of inner energy I possess.’
There were further problems. Sound Arts were also said to be a profound martial discipline.
With his limited years of training, it was difficult for Jeong Yeon-shin’s Sword Song to distinguish friend from foe. He thought of Hyeon Won-chang and Shin So-bin.
Send them a sound transmission to protect their ears with inner energy just before using Sound Arts? If every fight gave him that much leeway, how wonderful would that be?
Even so, the sense of achievement was immense. It would prove highly useful in one-against-many battles.
“That’s Sword Song, right? It certainly draws a great deal of attention.”
It was Shin So-bin, dressed in white. Her dark eyes gleamed with interest.
She approached with soft steps, placed her hands on her knees, and bent forward.
Her long tied hair flowed down with a glossy sheen.
Jeong Yeon-shin wondered why she grew her hair so long when she was not even an expert.
It looked easy to grab during close combat.
“My apologies.”
Jeong Yeon-shin let the thought go and apologized.
Huizhou was an enormous city.
It was so prosperous that merchant groups carrying goods such as fine tea leaves and silver coins constantly traveled in and out.
That was especially true on a relatively safe official road. Many travelers passed along the road opposite them, glancing in their direction.
“I find it pleasant to hear! It has a fair bit of charm.”
Hyeon Won-chang smiled as he tore into dried rations.
Perhaps because the character for desolate had been covered, Hyeon Won-chang seemed strangely pleased by the attention.
Then some people slowly approached them.
“Judging by the look of them, they must be attending the Dragon-Phoenix Gathering. How utterly arrogant.”
“Making a sword resonate in broad daylight without even fighting? What else could it be but showing off their meager martial arts?”
They were a young man and a young woman with extraordinary presence.
They wore luxurious yellow silk martial robes, but Jeong Yeon-shin noticed the swords hanging at their waists first.
They were martial artists. They appeared to be from no ordinary family.
The young man wore a hero’s headband across his forehead like Hyeon Won-chang, while the woman beside him had slightly upturned eyes.
Both looked about twenty. Their faces still carried traces of youth.
A group that appeared to be their attendants stood behind them.
Before Hyeon Won-chang could say anything, Jeong Yeon-shin rose first.
“I was careless. Your words have struck deep into my heart.”
When he politely cupped his fist, the young man and woman changed their stances. As if they had studied etiquette for many years, they returned the gesture in exactly the same way.
It seemed almost reflexive, yet their bearing was disciplined.
“...You admit your mistake easily. It does not look bad.”
“Perhaps we revealed our aura because we were irritated. He must have been frightened.”
Both carried themselves with arrogance and refinement. The Dragon-Phoenix Gathering immediately came to mind.
He had heard that many rising talents from prominent martial families would attend. These two were likely among them.
“Your name and sect?”
The young man lifted his chin slightly as he asked.
Even among the great families of the world, there were many different sorts of people. That included those who valued etiquette.
There were humble people like the Sword Dragon, Weiji Myo-hwa, but tales of arrogant rising talents from prominent orthodox sects were hardly rare.
‘They seem to be from a martial family.’
Jeong Yeon-shin thought that martial clans who ruled their home regions like kings could indeed act this way.
This was an age when people like these rarely had opportunities to interact.
Having lived like royalty in their own worlds, perhaps that was why incidents like the Huangbo Family’s forced labor occurred.
The young man raised an eyebrow slightly.
“What are you thinking about? Speak without hiding anything.”
“I am Gu Gwa of the Chusil Sect.”
“Chusil Sect? I’ve never heard of it. You have no roots.”
The woman beside the young man spoke mercilessly. Faint contempt appeared on both their faces. Their tones changed as well.
The young man’s thick eyebrows twitched as he spoke.
“Yes. As you can see, we are blood relatives of a prominent orthodox martial family. You have heard of the Huangbo Family, haven’t you? I know every sect worthy of attending the Dragon-Phoenix Gathering. If your sect lies between orthodox and unorthodox factions, I cannot let you go so easily.”
“We need to teach you a lesson. Someone capable of producing sword resonance cannot use it so carelessly.”
The woman stepped forward and added her voice. She looked very accustomed to flaunting her power to satisfy herself.
“...”
The Huangbo Family. Huizhou was only a little farther ahead, but Jeong Yeon-shin still could not believe it.
Only belatedly did he recall the Huangbo Family Young Lord’s facial-feature portrait that Ma Jin had given him.
The young man’s face resembled the Huangbo Family Young Lord’s portrait.
During the banquet celebrating his promotion to Blue Uniform, he had heard Ma Jin drunkenly speak of his sister who had left, Jeong Yeon-shin’s mother, and how absurdly she had ended up marrying into Jeong Family Manor.
Ma Jin had said that fate in the martial world was like a sudden storm.
Was this situation not much the same?
He felt the auras of Hyeon Won-chang and Shin So-bin growing stronger behind him.
He had expected this to take a long time, but it might end quickly. He offered thanks to the Buddha and the Primordial Heavenly Venerable.
There was no reason to endure this.
His mission required him to handle the Huangbo Family Young Lord and make the Young Lord mobilize even the family’s strength. From the beginning, he was meant to draw steel within the sphere of orthodox martial artists.
‘I should secure proper justification first.’
He lowered the hands he had cupped in salute and spoke.
“You speak of roots.”
Jeong Yeon-shin no longer concealed his true nature.
“The Huangbo Family’s reputation may be great, but even after hearing my sect’s name, your attitude remains disrespectful. Is that the etiquette of the martial world? Your insult has stained my sect’s honor. We have each spoken of the other’s faults. What more is there for martial artists to say?”
“What...?”
Perhaps they had never experienced this before. For an instant, all expression vanished from the young man and woman’s faces.
Jeong Yeon-shin sensed spectators beginning to gather around them.
He continued in a clear voice.
“I first offered courtesy and apologized. Even after facing your arrogant words and conduct, I revealed my sect and name. Yet you invoke the Huangbo Family and call me rootless? If you were in my place, could you endure it? I request a spar.”
“You speak smoothly enough.”
The young man’s lips curled upward. He raised an arm and moved the frowning woman behind him.
Veins stood out along the forearm exposed beneath his sleeve. He seemed to have trained his blood and qi to an astonishing degree.
“Very well. I did not like the thought of inviting a sect between orthodox and unorthodox factions to the Dragon-Phoenix Gathering in the first place. My epithet is...”
“I’m not interested. Come.”
Jeong Yeon-shin cut him off and slowly gripped the hilt of the Northern Light Sword.
Suddenly, he remembered Geom Ye-hwa of the Heart Martial Union, whose head had flown off.
Footnotes:
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