WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: ZERO_SUGAR
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
◈ Surviving as a Genius on Borrowed Time ◈
Episode 75: Ma Clan (3)
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“What is Seom-ye doing?”
“He has not left the Demon Wings main residence.”
A swordsman reported to Ju Yeon-jeong, who sat in the seat of honor.
They were in an annex of the Desolate Ma family within Desolate Fortress. At Ju Yeon-jeong’s instruction, the guest room that had originally been the inner chamber had been converted into an office.
“They said his internal injuries were severe. Would he accept miraculous medicine if I sent it?”
It was a mutter to herself.
Ju Yeon-jeong tapped her fingers against the table, lost in thought.
She paid no attention to the kneeling martial artist, a trusted retainer who had served her since childhood.
She was of the imperial clan. She could have called Seom-ye of Demon Wings lowborn. Once, she would have.
‘There are rumors that he received Static Training from the Lord of Desolate Fortress.’
Things had changed. There was an immense difference between learning a few forms and receiving an inner-energy technique.
Seom-ye’s value rose by the day.
There were also reports that he had made a great contribution to destroying the Blood Flame Sect’s main headquarters during his recent journey through the martial world.
His accomplishments were unbelievable, and his age even more so.
“If I intend to take the Ma family fully under my wing, I cannot cast Seom-ye aside. No matter how I consider it, I see no solution. I have thought on it for days on end... Have you reached the same conclusion?”
“...Yes, my lord.”
The retainer answered. He was a swordsman whose bearing had been honed like steel.
His martial skill rivaled that of most Blue Uniform experts, and he had weathered many political struggles alongside Ju Yeon-jeong.
Ju Yeon-jeong ran her fingertips over the tabletop and lightly closed her eyes.
‘Seom-ye. Is he someone worth taking in?’
They said that Ming Taizu’s imperial clan was unprecedented in scale throughout the history of the Central Plains.
The Founding Emperor, Zhu Yuanzhang, had twenty-six sons.
Apart from those invested as Crown Prince and Crown Grandson, every one of them had wives and concubines. The imperial relatives multiplied without end.
At present, more than several thousand members of the Zhu clan had the Founding Emperor listed in their family registers.
Few had been granted titles such as Prince of the First Rank, Grand Princess, or Prince of Commandery.
That meant it was difficult even to rule as a local power. There were simply too many imperial relatives.
Most lived in estates around Beijing.
Ju Yeon-jeong’s father had been one of them. He possessed only a rank impressive in name.
Ju Yeon-jeong was both noble and insignificant. As she was not the daughter of a Prince of the First Rank or Prince of Commandery, she could become neither a princess nor a Commandery Princess.
That was why she had come to Desolate Fortress. Since the Leader of Demon Wings was a eunuch, she had married his cousin.
Because her son had exceptional talent, the former Divine Sword Squad Leader had called her daughter-in-law.
The Leader of Demon Wings, of the direct line, was incapable of producing an heir. Ju Yeon-jeong, too, had served Ma Yeon-jeok with the utmost devotion.
“I told Seom-ye that I can no longer conceal my background from the other factions. The claim to succession is wavering, so this may even be for the best. Was that not why I revealed it at such a time, to overcome this crisis?”
“That is correct.”
“But it is only a temporary measure. That child, Seom-ye, possesses legitimacy and martial strength. He will trouble Se-in until Se-in dies. Even if he has no intention of doing so, that is what will happen.”
There were times when speaking aloud helped organize one’s thoughts. This was not an occasion for seeking her retainer’s opinion.
Without a title, she could not become a warlord.
She had understood her position from childhood and desired only one thing: proof of her identity and worth.
She had sought elsewhere for a way to become a true member of the imperial clan.
She wanted to grasp one of the treasured swords the imperial court aimed at the martial world. Desolate Fortress was the armory, and the Desolate Ma family was the treasured sword.
She spoke.
“I heard that a life-and-death duel with one of the Namgung Family’s leaders has become the subject of discussion. I hear it will take the form of a spar. Do you think Seom-ye can pass the main fortress’s preliminary selection and receive a mission assignment?”
“It is difficult to judge his martial skill. He appears capable of exchanging twenty moves with this subordinate, but I heard that he was not at full strength when I saw him before.”
“That is what I felt as well. Even with internal injuries, he was that strong. He is truly difficult to measure.”
“What if we use an assassin...?”
“You will soon see how absurd that suggestion is. Secretly assassinate the Lord of Desolate Fortress’s direct disciple...? Only martial fools who see nothing beyond what lies before them would think that way. Rather than leave the Great Ming’s Divine Sword as a future threat, I would prefer to live contentedly on my own.”
She gave a dry laugh.
“I can neither kill him nor cast him out. There is no other way.”
“...”
“Let us measure Seom-ye’s capacity. How much sincerity must I show?”
It was decided. She would become his patron instead.
It was better to take him into her fold and control his conduct. Making an enemy of him was the method of fools.
He was a promising young talent in whom the Lord of Desolate Fortress had taken an interest. She only had to support him until he was overwhelmed by it.
What she needed to do was clear.
‘Let me measure his capacity.’
How much wealth and manpower would it take to place him in her grasp?
After ordering her retainer to leave, she lay down on the bed. Her office was also her bedroom.
As the Desolate Ma family’s future mistress, she already oversaw many matters within and beyond the household.
‘At dawn, I should visit him myself.’
Yet she could not fall asleep.
She heard a strange sound. For the first time in her life, the ambitious collateral imperial relative doubted her ears.
“Yeon-jeong!”
It was an enormous shout, both in volume and in meaning.
For a moment, Ju Yeon-jeong wondered whether there was another Yeon-jeong nearby.
“Yeon-jeong! Yeon-jeong!”
The cries did not ring out just once or twice. They spread as though determined to wake the entire vast main fortress.
Despite the frivolous voice, the caller seemed to possess incredibly deep inner energy.
“What mad bastard...”
A vulgar curse slipped from her elegant lips.
Rustle.
She stepped out wearing only a robe over her nightclothes.
She had spoken of imperial authority, but she was already a true powerhouse of the martial world.
Her family martial arts were imperial martial arts. She had trained them properly since childhood.
Even her honored father-in-law had told her that she was highly skilled.
“Which bastard is it!”
“How can someone so lawless be in the main fortress...!”
“Demon Wings? Is that truly Demon Wings?”
When she emerged, the scene was already a spectacle. Chaos had broken out.
More than a dozen lower-ranking martial artists had become tangled together while trying to catch a single White Uniform warrior. Yet they still could not subdue him.
“How presumptuous...”
“Should we not intervene at once?”
“Wait. People are beginning to watch.”
“That is right. Even if many elders support Madam Ju, should we damage the household’s dignity by trading blows with a child? This is the main fortress, of all places. Do not act rashly.”
The elders divided by faction did not move. Neither did the supporters of Ma Se-in and Ju Yeon-jeong dare step forward.
The scuffle continued. It was not because the Ma family’s martial artists were incompetent.
The problem was the nimble movement of the fellow whose hero’s headband fluttered from his forehead.
His Body Movement Scripture had already surpassed the White Uniform rank. He moved silently and fluidly, as though he had learned an assassin’s secret art.
“Seom-ye?”
Ju Yeon-jeong muttered as a boy standing off to one side entered her sight.
The man and woman beside him were familiar as well. Cheong Myeong, the Blue-Eyed Demon Sword, and Baek Mir-yeo, the One Lotus Sword Plum.
They were Demon Wings’ spearhead, experts counted among the core strength of the Divine Sword Squad’s Seventeen Squads.
Ju Yeon-jeong’s fine brows drew together.
“Where is Yeon-jeong!”
The lowborn man’s cries were so loud that people gathered. Desolate Fortress consisted of several complexes of halls.
That meant an enormous number of people lived there. A disturbance in the middle of the night was bound to draw spectators.
‘Are they trying to make this public?’
Ju Yeon-jeong grasped a little of their intentions. They seemed determined to make the matter as large as possible.
Seom-ye and the Desolate Ma family. If one looked deeply into the matter, the latter would invite criticism. It would be difficult to cleverly distort it with lies.
Members of the elven race, capable of discerning the truth, were everywhere throughout the main fortress.
The course of action was clear.
‘I must subdue him first.’
She herself had been called. Her justification was obvious as well.
Thud!
Ju Yeon-jeong kicked off the ground at once. The power gathered at the Yongquan acupoint in the sole of her foot exploded.
The stepping technique of the Golden Immortal Eight Methods, an imperial martial art, rapidly closed the distance.
With a thunderous roar, dust surged up in a long, straight line.
She reached the scene in an instant.
The White Uniform youth of Demon Wings, who had been moving with smooth footwork, smiled with his eyes.
He was tall and handsome enough to be worth looking at. Ju Yeon-jeong kept her gaze on him and said almost as if reciting a verse.
“Stand down.”
The Ma family martial artists withdrew in perfect order. Their movements were disciplined, the sort of military bearing that would shine in group combat.
Ju Yeon-jeong immediately gathered inner energy in her right arm. It was a palm technique of the Golden Immortal Eight Methods.
Among the twelve regular meridians, the Hand Yangming Large Intestine meridian, which ran directly from the shoulder to the index finger, blazed to life.
In an instant, it filled with power.
Whoosh!
A storm-like force wave formed around her outstretched palm.
It was a martial art that made great use of the meridians throughout the body. Though it raised tremendous qi, it was extraordinarily precise.
It was a blow that could kill a White Uniform who had insulted the imperial clan with a single strike.
Then it happened.
Whoosh!
Blue robes filled her vision. Her eyes widened.
A boy with calm eyes had stepped in front of her.
‘Seom-ye?’
She had failed to notice his approach. It was no one’s fault. His movement technique, resembling that of the elven race, was exceptionally profound.
The distance was too close. If she struck Seom-ye now, she would ruin everything.
Desperately, she tried to draw back her qi. In an instant, she withdrew a considerable amount of force.
Enough for Seom-ye, if he was as the rumors said, to endure.
‘Done.’
She could not withdraw all her power. A trace remained.
To fully rein in qi the moment she formed the intent? That was a level capable of contending with Desolate Fortress Black Uniforms.
Her command of inner energy had not yet reached the attainment of Three Flowers Gather at the Crown.
Smack!
That was why the impact rang out so loudly. Her palm struck Seom-ye’s solar plexus.
The cool sensation of the Desolate Fortress Blue Uniform martial robe pressed against her palm.
Ju Yeon-jeong’s eyes widened further.
They said the imperial Golden Immortal Eight Methods trained the meridians of the entire body. It was specialized for health, longevity, and defense against ambushes.
The moment its practitioner exchanged a blow, it granted senses sharp enough to fully perceive the other person’s qi and blood.
Precise forms arose from keen senses.
That was why she felt it.
Qi stirred at the solar plexus of Seom-ye, Jeong Yeon-shin. It was his middle dantian.
The inner energy circulating within him lightly pressed the Bongan acupoint at the edge of his lungs.
It brought blood up without harming his organs. The control was astonishingly delicate despite its speed.
He was a genius without equal, born with a perfect vessel for martial arts.
Yet Ju Yeon-jeong could not admire him. The moment she pulled back her hand, she felt blood rising through Seom-ye’s throat.
It meant he was about to cough up blood. He had deliberately caused himself to cough up blood.
Cough!
Blood sprayed out with Jeong Yeon-shin’s cough.
He soon staggered and fell. To anyone watching, it looked as though Ju Yeon-jeong had used excessive force.
Her brows rose.
“You impudent brat...”
“Withdraw your hand.”
Baek Mir-yeo, the One Lotus Sword Plum, stepped forward.
She was wrapped in currents as black as ink. Their nature was deeply chilling.
It was an inner-energy art whose origin no one could easily discern. The manifestation of qi was an uncommon skill, and it drew attention at once.
“A demonic art?”
“No. Her aura is pure.”
“Do you not know the One Lotus Sword Plum?”
The spectators spoke.
Before anyone realized it, they had lined up before the Desolate Ma family’s halls. All were martial artists of Desolate Fortress.
Dozens had rushed over after hearing the disturbance in the main fortress.
There was another expert who drew even more eyes than Baek Mir-yeo.
Before the pitch-black aura could fully spread, Cheong Myeong had drawn a sword.
A hazy wind rose along the sword held low by the one-eyed member of the elven race in a hood.
Though no sword strike had been released, a force wave stirred. It was an eerie sword wind.
Cheong Myeong parted his lips.
“Step back.”
Cheong Myeong was the Blue-Eyed Demon Sword, called a swordsman who might one day contend for supremacy under heaven.
He had fully woven his clan’s innate ability into martial arts. As a Demon Wings expert, his reputation was said to be second only to that of the Leader of Demon Wings.
“Are you two in your right minds? Think of the punishment. That Ju Yeon-jeong of the Desolate Ma family will not remain still.”
Hyeon Won-chang, standing beside them, rebuked the two seniors.
His words and expression did not match. The energy unique to a practitioner of the killing sword shimmered around him.
His inner energy, imbued with intent, gave off the bearing of a wicked ghost. He hardly looked human.
Anyone would have taken him for a martial artist glaring at the enemy of a comrade.
“The martial world’s code of chivalry has fallen to the ground!”
Hyeon Won-chang moved his seniors slightly back, then stepped forward.
His voice was loud. It sounded as though he had gathered qi into his vocal cords rather than his sword.
His voice raked through the air like the Buddhist Lion’s Roar.
“You treat Demon Wings’ Seom-ye, who earned glory through his mission, in this manner? You lawless people know no shame! Are you not ashamed before your parents in heaven? Desolate Ma family! If anyone wishes to speak of chivalry with this Imperial Hero, step forward!”
Only when he mentioned parents in heaven did he ease the qi in his voice, and the control was remarkable.
His entire body radiated a powerful spirit.
Ju Yeon-jeong glanced down and took a step back.
“Seom-ye? The promising young talent of Demon Wings?”
“I heard he was already internally injured.”
The spectators edged closer and craned their necks.
Seom-ye, curled on the ground with his head bowed, did not look pathetic.
The young expert’s bravery in taking a blow from a superior martial art for his comrade was plain to see.
“Parents in heaven?”
Ju Yeon-jeong spoke coldly.
“Are not members of the imperial clan those who look down upon their subjects from the firmament?”
Hyeon Won-chang replied shamelessly, then quickly knelt beside Jeong Yeon-shin’s head.
For several breaths, he appeared to inspect the wound at Jeong Yeon-shin’s solar plexus. Then he supported Jeong Yeon-shin’s upper body and began to lament at the top of his lungs.
“Oh, ohhh!”
It was an absurd sight.
Ju Yeon-jeong lowered her hand. It was like watching Peking opera, which had become all the rage in Beijing. She had never anticipated anything like it.
Footnotes:
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