WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: Haruto

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◈ The Martial Alliance Rulebook Archives ◈

Chapter 58: Shadow of the Clan…? (1)

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"What are you saying right now?"

The question slipped out naturally. No matter how I thought about it, this was not something an elder of the orthodox sects should say.

"Why, you said you could see an Anomaly's intrinsic life force, didn't you?"

"That's right."

"From what I can tell, it seems to be a strange phenomenon caused by using Demonic Qi according to the methods of the orthodox sects. Still, we only have one case, so would we not need to repeat the experiment many times to verify it properly?"

The Eccentric Physician explained what an immense advantage it would be for a Records Officer to discern intrinsic life force, namely innate essence.

Anomalies were skilled at concealing themselves. Wouldn't it be a great help if I could see through to their true core, or expose a trap laid by one pretending to be wounded?

"That's not all. Think of the Anomalies you've encountered. Even the traces of Muun's White Bone Claw in Azurewater Village. If you can wield the destructive power of Demonic Qi..."

The Eccentric Physician, who had been speaking with great confidence, stroked his beard for a moment before taking a step back.

"To be honest, what I just said sounded very much like something a heterodox evildoer would say. My apologies."

"No, I know you said it as you normally would, without any particular intent."

The Eccentric Physician nodded. "Hm?" He tilted his head.

"That sounds like it carries some very profound meaning."

"It means you don't hesitate to walk a path no one has taken before if it will let you reach a new frontier in medicine."

The special physician nodded. Given that he himself said the Black Lotus Society called him the Eccentric Physician, perhaps he was aware of his own unusual side.

"Anyway, I'm very curious about the effects of using Demonic Qi through the methods of the orthodox sects. It may even become a new lifesaving trump card for you."

It was a fairly convincing argument. He had also said that if the Director were summoned before Demonic Qi filled my marrow, it could be easily removed.

"But what if the unusual effect only appears with my eye technique, and combining it with my other martial arts produces no particular results?"

"That would be unfortunate."

...If this man had not belonged to the orthodox sects, he might have been called something like the Demonic Physician, an epithet that made even the Black Lotus Society tremble in fear.

* * *

The special physician's plan was ambitious, but it made little progress. Before I could properly use Demonic Qi, we first needed to devise a way to store it separately, and it was difficult to work out the details.

"You haven't opened your middle dantian yet, have you?"

"Pardon?"

"No, the usual time to grasp how to use the middle dantian at the Danzhong acupoint is the Transformation Realm. But on rare occasions, talented people can reach the Danzhong acupoint at the Transcendent Peak realm, and once-in-an-age geniuses can get a feel for it even at the Peak realm."

"Are you doing this because you got teased once earlier?"

The Eccentric Physician chuckled. He added that he was half joking, but only half, and that he would look for a method in the Martial Alliance library.

"The first thing that comes to mind is the Two Principles Heart Method."

"Can you really speak so casually about Wudang Sect's ultimate art?"

"Don't they say people curse the ruler where he cannot see them?"

"You don't seem to say much about His Majesty, though."

The special physician grinned.

"Where he cannot see."

A chill ran down my spine. We were in an underground stone chamber of the Martial Alliance's Ceremonial Affairs Department. No matter how watchful the Eastern Depot and Embroidered Uniform Guard were, there should have been no chance for a spy to enter.

And yet the emperor's gaze still reached this place...?

"Let's stop here and wrap things up. You've written enough of the investigation report, and the Paoxiao rulebook is neatly put together as well."

"Ah. There's something I'm curious about."

According to the special physician's reasoning, Paoxiao's reincarnation had effectively come to an end. Was there any point in expanding the rulebook?

"Of course there is. First, the Anomaly Reincarnation Theory has not yet been proven true."

"Ah. It was a theory, not an unquestionable established fact."

"Second, even if the reincarnation theory is true, there is no guarantee that a second Paoxiao will not appear."

"What do you mean...?"

"Closer to home, there are organizations like the Many-Eyed Court. They possess arts that create Anomalies, so there is no harm in recording it all."

Ah.

Come to think of it, that was true.

In this martial world, martial artists were as frightening as Anomalies, perhaps even more so. The Ghost Valley Master had even made a man-eating villa that could move.

"Then I'll be on my way."

"All right. These next few days will be a real vacation for you. What do you plan to do?"

The Anomaly investigation had concluded with Paoxiao's death, and the work of revising and expanding the rulebook was also complete. The Anomaly Records Office seemed to value its Records Officers in its own way, guaranteeing survivors of missions a vacation free of interference.

The period lasted at least one xun. As I considered what to do over those ten days, I recalled the names of the two people I had seen at Iron-Steel Mountain.

"First, I intend to give the people who defeated Paoxiao with me a suitable explanation of what happened."

"Good. I trust you will decide wisely what to reveal and what to conceal."

"I'm asking purely out of curiosity. What happens if I reveal too much?"

The special physician shrugged. Did that mean nothing would happen?

"It's fine. Very little of what you know now is truly information you are not allowed to know."

"...That kind of information exists?"

"Ah. Anomalies that drag you somewhere if you fall asleep after hearing about them? Everyone had quite a hard time writing that rulebook."

This was why a loose tongue brought disaster.

The special physician immediately added that special measures would keep me safe for a while, but my mind was already in turmoil.

"And I plan to meet my comrades from the White Sword Squad."

What had become of the plan to ask Iljik, the Steel-Severing Leg? After returning to the Martial Alliance headquarters, I had been occupied with Anomaly Records Office work and had not yet met Jaksu.

"All right. Enjoy your vacation."

* * *

Early the next morning, I headed to the Drifting Leaf Trading Company's branch.

There was naturally a large flow of goods around the Martial Alliance headquarters, so any trading company with even a little reputation in the Kingdom of Dun was bound to establish a branch there.

Few major trading companies went as far as buying entire nearby buildings or estates to display their influence. Mid-sized companies generally purchased inns slightly removed from the busiest streets, using them as temporary stables and quarters for laborers.

The Drifting Leaf Trading Company was too young to compete directly against the great trading companies, but it had one distinct advantage.

Its backer was Murong Sung, the third young master of the Murong Clan.

I visited the Drifting Leaf Trading Company's branch with a letter for Murong Sung. Passing workers glanced at me for a moment, but guests visiting a trading company were a natural sight.

Within seconds, they looked away and returned to their work.

"What brings you here?"

"I'd like to send a letter."

"A letter...?"

The company receptionist tilted their head. Their puzzled expression suggested that they did not receive many guests like this.

"Yes. We will send it with the next scheduled escort run. Where would you like it sent? The soonest escort run is headed toward Liaoning."

Without saying anything, I held out the letter. The recipient's name was written on the envelope, but instead of Murong Sung's name, it bore the character for mountain (山) and the character pronounced jong (宗). Placing mountain (山) above jong (宗) forms Sung (崇).

The receptionist's manner changed at once upon seeing the writing. They had been kind from the beginning, but there had been a businesslike edge to it. Perhaps because I knew the trading company's actual head, they became far more deferential.

The excessive deference was becoming uncomfortable. I changed the subject, saying I simply had duties to carry out, then left.

* * *

"Tsk..."

About half a quarter-hour after leaving the Drifting Leaf Trading Company's branch, I sensed something suspicious.

Someone was following me.

I felt two conflicting emotions at once.

The first was:

'Is this the qi sense of a Peak realm master!'

Pride in the realm I had attained. People called it the Peak realm, but those I had faced so far were the Life-and-Death Gambler, Maitreya, and Paoxiao. I had not had time to truly feel how much stronger I had become.

I could naturally sense covert movements that I would not have noticed before.

In truth, it was partly thanks to my sense of smell rather than qi sense. I had first felt something was off because the same scent had been following me at a steady distance.

The second was confusion.

'No. Why?'

My public identity was a Martial Alliance formation array researcher. It was hardly a position likely to draw suspicion.

Assassins and spies were sent after people of a certain standing. What information could anyone gain by assigning someone to follow a low-ranking person like me?

As I considered who might be tailing me, I recalled Murong Sung's attitude when we first met. He had been extremely wary of his two older brothers.

Had the Murong Clan's first and second young masters planted spies in the Drifting Leaf Trading Company?

Had they seen an unknown person sending a letter to their younger brother and immediately started following me?

I wanted to click my tongue. It was only a letter explaining, as someone who had overcome the same ordeal, how Paoxiao had vanished. What wild interpretation were they making of it?

After considering how to respond, I decided to deal with lunch first.

It would help me continue naturally while pretending not to notice the tail.

'It's already nearly the Hour of the Monkey, from three to five in the afternoon.'

I really was hungry by then. I made my way toward a nearby restaurant district.

Footnotes:

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