WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: Haruto
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◈ The Martial Alliance Rulebook Archives ◈
Chapter 80: Sow Beans, Reap Beans (2)
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I gave a martial salute, forcing down my troubled feelings.
“Greetings, Seniors.”
“Ah. You must be that junior with the unusual name. I’ve been looking forward to meeting you in many ways. Good to meet you. I’m Tang Sosik.”
Tang Sosik accepted my greeting with a hearty laugh. Jegalui, meanwhile, merely gave a small nod.
“Hmm.”
“This fellow. What is it now?”
“From the perspective of the Martial Alliance as a whole, I am his senior. But if we limit it to the Anomaly Records Office, I cannot be considered his senior. Still, I am nominally affiliated with the Formation Array Research Department, so in a sense...”
“You’re worrying over tedious pedantry again! Think as hard as you like, but once you’re done, handle matters over there properly.”
Tang Sosik left the remaining work to Jegalui and came over to us. The moment they approached, Peng Juhyeok asked in a low voice.
“No, Elder Tang. Why did you bring that man here?”
“Do you think I wanted to bring him? I wanted to bring someone lower in seniority than me, someone I could speak to comfortably...”
Tang Sosik scratched their head awkwardly, then sighed as they explained.
“Please understand. His manner of speaking is a bit like that, but he cares deeply for those close to him. When he heard something had happened where his children and household had gone, he rushed over at once.”
Behind Tang Sosik, Clear Sight of Heavenly Principles Jegalui continued his merciless assessment.
“This is truly lamentable. Of all these people, how could not one restrain Zhuge Yeong? A leader unable to control their subordinates is unworthy of passing, but subordinates unable to offer counsel to their leader are equally unworthy.”
Tang Sosik raised a hand to their temple. Peng Juhyeok added in a whisper, as if driving in a wedge.
“Is that affection, or affliction? That assessment is cruel enough that the people lying unconscious would kill themselves from shame if they heard it.”
Tang Sosik looked away. I hurriedly stopped Peng Juhyeok.
“Brother Peng. Senior is still trying to protect their friend’s honor.”
“Ah. They’re friends?”
His footwork truly was on another level. I rubbed the back of my neck.
Tang Sosik snickered and answered without concern.
“You haven’t changed, have you? Junior Yeok has good social skills, unlike the people on our side.”
“Pardon?”
Me?
Being regarded as someone sociable filled my mind with questions. Even in the White Sword Squad, people had only said that I was not particularly disagreeable, while my presence was faint.
Tang Sosik nodded at my question.
“Records Officers must not reveal their identities, so I cannot stand here and list them one by one. Think of the Records Officers you know.”
“I only know the two at the Martial Alliance headquarters, and the two beside us now.”
“Exactly. Other than Old Master Gongsun, do any of them look capable of socializing properly?”
I could not bring myself to answer such a self-deprecating question, and merely scratched my head.
“I’m from the Tang Clan, so I’m hopeless. The Chivalrous Thief is the Chivalrous Thief. Senior Ok simply finds meeting people burdensome.”
Hearing it put that way, there certainly did seem to be few people with social skills.
“Still, Senior Tang seems quite eloquent.”
I did not miss the chance to flatter them. I might not meet this senior often, but it was far better to have a good reputation than a bad one.
“Ha ha. Thank you. But I’m from the Tang Clan, am I not?”
For some reason, Tang Sosik’s eyes seemed to grow moist.
“No matter how polished their first impression or how good they are with words, Tang Clan people lose points just for being from the Tang Clan.”
Tang Sosik was quite unlike the cold-blooded Tang Clan members I had imagined.
‘Still, the Tang Clan has always tried to grow closer to the Martial Alliance as a clan. Perhaps people of higher seniority all try to treat those around them this way.’
The Tang Clan members I had seen while living as a wandering martial artist had been among the rising talents. Perhaps young people displayed the venom in their hearts as it was, while older people learned to appear gentle for the sake of the clan’s reputation.
As I was deeply considering changes in Tang Clan personalities over the course of a lifetime, Jegalui swung another verbal dagger.
“Zhuge Byeok... How truly tragic. He was a fine sapling. To think he has grown this way.”
“No. What do you mean by that?”
Unexpectedly, it was Peng Juhyeok who stepped forward to defend Zhuge Byeok.
“He is far better now than he was before. Before I hit him once, wasn’t he exactly like Zhuge Yeong?”
I desperately held back the curses that were about to spill from my mouth.
“Brother Peng. Clear Sight of Heavenly Principles is the father of the Zhuge siblings. I do not think disparaging the younger sister while defending the older brother will be of much use.”
“No. The Chivalric Path Troublemaker’s opinion is correct.”
“...?”
Jegalui still wore a cold expression, so cold it nearly seemed blank. In that same frigid tone, he judged Peng Juhyeok’s words correct.
“Indeed, Zhuge Byeok was precarious before you attacked him. Your assessment that he resembled the current Zhuge Yeong is also precise. He was only a few steps away from qi deviation, in a state suitable for the Ghost Valley Master to target.”
A hypothesis flashed through my mind.
“...Was that intentional?”
I had omitted the subject, but Jegalui seemed to understand at once. He merely nodded without a word.
“Hmm? Intentional? What do you mean?”
“The Zhuge Clan must consider factors different from other clans when raising rising talents.”
The Ghost Valley Master. A being that coveted the bodies of those with the talent of Divine Schemes and Wondrous Calculations.
If a descendant of the Zhuge Clan entered qi deviation and the harmony of their Essence, Qi, and Spirit became unsettled, there was no telling when the Ghost Valley Master would whisper sweet lies and take that body.
To prevent such a situation, the Zhuge Clan required No-Mind of its heirs.
That must have been the same context in which the Life-and-Death Gambler described Zhuge Yeong as “a tender person who sought to cast away emotion and private desire, and live as a counting rod for the martial world.”
This cultivation, with its emphasis on No-Mind, must have been a countermeasure to keep them from listening to the Ghost Valley Master’s whispers.
Like hammering iron in a forge, it pushed them to their limits and gradually strengthened the mind’s endurance.
But it was also an extremely dangerous training method, one that could sweep someone into qi deviation just as Zhuge Yeong had been if they strayed by a single step.
As I was about to speak of that danger, Jegalui raised the matter first.
“It is dangerous, but it is a proven method.”
“What proof do you mean?”
“Proof that anyone who follows that path can attain No-Mind.”
I seemed to remember hearing something similar while learning about writing rulebooks at the Anomaly Records Office. The virtue of a rulebook was reproducibility, was it not?
What was recorded in a rulebook should not be the improvisation of an exceptional individual. It had to be a consistent procedure through which ordinary people, if they followed the same steps, could reach survival.
The Zhuge Clan’s method of raising rising talents was similar.
“However, Zhuge Byeok departed from the path established by the clan. It was certainly growth, but not growth in the direction we desired. That is why it is regrettable. Zhuge Byeok clearly had the qualities to achieve greatness through our method.”
As an outsider to the clan, it was difficult for me to argue. He had done little different from kicking away the entire path to success the clan had prepared for him.
After thinking for a moment, I spoke of the abilities I had seen Zhuge Byeok display.
“...Even so, I do not think you need worry about Young Master Zhuge.”
“Why do you think so?”
“He never stopped refining his mastery of sorcery and formation patterns, even outside the clan’s path. At this Discourse on Heaven and Earth, he overwhelmed Sima Chu, and he was able to respond to the Ghost Valley Master’s formation array with his own insight.”
A glint appeared in Jegalui’s eyes.
“Is that so? Then I should reconsider erasing his memories.”
“Pardon?”
Jegalui explained in a calm voice.
The Zhuge Clan managed memories of the Ghost Valley Master because of the danger involved. If one had not completed No-Mind, there was always a risk of being entranced by that voice.
But Zhuge Byeok had become distant from the Ghost Valley Master’s whispers through an accumulation of peculiar ties.
Therefore, he had earned the right to know about Anomalies.
“Then... are you considering formally assigning Young Master Zhuge to the Formation Array Research Department?”
“No. I cannot decide alone on the promotion of a relative whose interests are entangled with mine. Zhuge Byeok’s assignment will ultimately be decided by the Martial Alliance Internal Review Committee. My written recommendation will suggest an assignment to the Anomaly Records Office.”
Not the Formation Array Research Department, but our Anomaly Records Office?
Perhaps my confusion showed on my face, because Jegalui explained his intentions.
“Whenever an incident requiring sorcery arose, the Anomaly Records Office conscripted personnel from the Formation Array Research Department. This harms the Formation Array Research Department’s work efficiency. If the Anomaly Records Office also had a dedicated sorcerer, the efficiency of both sides would improve considerably.”
“Ah. Are you sending your son into an unpopular department because it annoys you when the Formation Array Ceremonial Department’s work gets tangled up...”
I quickly covered Peng Juhyeok’s mouth.
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