WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: Chen
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
◈ The Martial Genius who Remembers Everything ◈
Chapter 15: The Third-Rate Martial Artist Saving a Girl (2)
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Bicheol Pavilion was the building nearest the Iron Sword Sect Leader's residence, where the Iron Sword Sect housed its important guests.
The facilities were impressive, but its security was even more formidable.
Yet none of the guards who normally should have filled the area were stationed there.
Jegal Somyeong was currently using Bicheol Pavilion and personally examining a man. That man had dragged the Iron Sword Sect into the gutter, so not a single martial artist was willing to stand guard outside Bicheol Pavilion.
“...”
Seong Moran circled Bicheol Pavilion, sighing for no reason.
It was not because the relationship between the Martial Alliance and the Iron Sword Sect had worsened.
It was because of the man Jegal Somyeong was examining.
The man who had inflicted damage so severe that even pouring oil over the entire Iron Sword Sect and setting it ablaze could not have caused as much harm.
“Ha...”
Seong Moran sighed at the emotions she could not understand.
Watching him drive Seong Mohyeon back, she had felt a strange kinship with him.
His movements did not rely on internal energy or techniques. They were filled entirely with adaptability born from effort.
Only Seong Moran, who had worked tirelessly to find a way to defeat Seong Mohyeon without relying on internal energy or techniques, could recognize that.
And then there was this.
[Pay the price!]
[Pay the rightful price for the vile acts committed by you and your descendants!]
His resolve as he coughed up blood and cried out for what was right.
[Then... I will collect the price of blood.]
His conviction and will to face death, even knowing he was no match for his opponent.
Her grandfather, father, brother, and the martial artists of the Iron Sword Sect were all in a difficult position, yet Seong Moran could not take her eyes off Jin Sowoon as he coughed blood and stared fiercely ahead.
‘Why is that man...?’
He was her enemy, yet whenever she looked at him, her heart pounded violently.
At the same time, her chest ached with a deep, bittersweet pain.
Then, at the very moment he proved he was right and collapsed as if he had fainted, Seong Moran had to stop herself from rushing toward Jin Sowoon.
“Whew.”
What was she supposed to do now?
Their relationship had become something she could no longer approach out of mere curiosity.
Now they were enemies. That made it all the more impossible.
Even knowing that, she did not understand why she remained here.
‘No. This cannot continue.’
Just as Seong Moran gritted her teeth and turned to leave, she heard the sound of a door opening.
Jin Sowoon emerged into the courtyard through the open door, pale-faced and carrying the Ninefold Sword.
Seong Moran deliberately looked away, trying not to meet his eyes.
“...”
Step. Step. Step.
But he passed by as though she did not exist.
Her heart, which had only just calmed down, began pounding fiercely again.
“Y-you were too reckless.”
The moment the words left her mouth, she regretted them, but it was too late.
When Jin Sowoon turned toward her with cold eyes, Seong Moran felt the pain in her chest deepen.
“What do you mean?”
“The duel... Why did you go that far?”
“...Are you saying I should have meekly accepted that miserable humiliation?”
“No... That is not what I meant...”
Words that did not reflect her heart spilled out without her realizing it.
She did not even know what she wanted to say, so she could only keep speaking.
As Jin Sowoon took a step closer, Seong Moran unconsciously stepped back.
“Were you right?”
“...What?”
“I asked whether you were right. My father knelt, and even as I coughed blood, I could not bear the humiliation and challenged your grandfather to a life-or-death enmity. Can you still take pride in saying your sect is not so vile?”
“...”
Seong Moran bit down on her lower lip.
She had nothing to say.
Could saying she had not known, or that it had nothing to do with her, truly excuse her here? Could it heal that man's wounds? Such thoughts filled her mind.
“...I am sorry.”
Twenty years ago, her father had inflicted the same humiliation upon his father. Twenty years later, they had repeated it.
If she had suffered the same thing in his place, could she forgive it? Could she simply let it pass?
It seemed impossible.
“I understand. Please raise your head.”
“What?”
Seong Moran asked again, wondering if she had heard incorrectly.
Really? So easily?
Would he accept her apology so readily that she, the one who had apologized, would feel ashamed?
“Miss Seong, you are the first and last person in the Iron Sword Sect from whom I have received an apology. There will likely never be another.”
“...Is it truly enough for me to apologize?”
“We cannot continue this chain of misfortune forever, can we?”
“What do you mean?”
“If Miss Seong truly feels sorry for what happened today, if you feel even the slightest guilt, then please change the Iron Sword Sect so it does not remain the kind of sect it is now. Perhaps one day, the Taeul Sect and the Iron Sword Sect may become sects that cooperate with one another.”
An indescribable emotion surged within Seong Moran.
Yes. This was the kind of person he was.
Jin Sowoon was this kind of person.
Her brother and grandfather had allowed matters to grow this far because they could not say a single word of apology.
The guilt she had already felt swelled into anguish and gratitude.
“...I am truly sorry.”
“Tears do not suit a martial artist.”
Relieved by his gentle voice, Seong Moran wiped away her tears.
“Is your body all right?”
“My qi and blood circulation became tangled during the energy clash and has not yet settled. I believe I will need to recuperate for some time.”
“...”
“Please do not worry too much. The Taeul Sect's cultivation art is pure and orthodox, so I should recover after about a year of rest.”
“...A-a year?”
“Yes. I may not be able to properly take the Martial Academy examination, but failing to attend the Martial Arts Academy will not turn my life into a cesspit. Hahaha.”
For a martial artist who had not yet reached twenty, a year was an immensely precious amount of time.
After a year, Jin Sowoon would likely possess a vast gap in ability, not only compared to the Iron Sword Sect's martial artists but even to those of the Taeul Sect.
Yet not a trace of resentment or anger showed in response to her apology.
Such hardship and trials meant nothing to him.
No, perhaps he could remain indifferent to the hardship before him because his life had already held trials and suffering too immense to imagine.
Seong Moran made her decision regarding the question that had occupied her as she waited for Jin Sowoon in the courtyard.
Should she give it to him, or not?
No. After hearing his words, there was no longer any need to hesitate.
It was something she had received only because she was a direct descendant of the Ghost Sword Immortal Elder.
Something even she had not yet consumed.
She took it out.
“What is this?”
“Whatever the case, I am also a member of the Iron Sword Sect. This small thing cannot resolve everything, but please accept it as a token of my feelings. Of course, I do not believe it can compensate for the Iron Sword Sect's actions. I merely give it to you in the hope that, as you said, the Taeul Sect and the Iron Sword Sect can continue to have a good relationship.”
Jin Sowoon looked at the wooden box for a moment before slowly accepting it.
“Miss Seong bears a burden heavier than that of the Taeul Sect, for you must carry the Iron Sword Sect. Still, I will accept your feelings.”
Why was she a child of the Iron Sword Sect, while he belonged to the Taeul Sect?
Seong Moran grieved over the tragedy of her birth, something she had never felt even in the presence of Seong Mohyeon.
“I hope we can meet again with smiles next time.”
At Seong Moran's trembling voice, Jin Sowoon finally smiled.
“I hope so as well.”
#
On the third day, we left the Iron Sword Sect.
Naturally, no one came to see us off.
Gang Chaeseok wrapped the Ninefold Sword tightly in cloth and slept all night with it clutched to his chest in my stead. Even during the day's journey back to the Taeul Sect, he did not let it leave his body.
“Still, is it not a bit much to take it into the latrine with you?”
“What danger is there of it being stolen in a latrine?”
“Do you not know? The latrine is the second most common place where assassins have attempted assassinations throughout history. When you are straining your rear, even one of the Ten Greatest Masters Under Heaven cannot help but let their guard down.”
“...”
After persuading him like that, I finally got him to leave the Ninefold Sword behind when he went to the latrine.
Meanwhile, rumors reached the Taeul Sect before we did, but no one within the sect believed them.
It was not far enough to justify sending messages through travelers, and the rumors were so unbelievable that everyone pretended not to have heard them.
But when they learned that the item Gang Chaeseok entered with, clutching it tightly like a lover, was the Ninefold Sword, the elders and hall lords gathered in Daehyeon Hall embraced one another and shed tears of joy.
Since the Iron Sword Sect had appeared, the Taeul Sect had known only a history of humiliation and grief. It was a moment that eased one hundred and fifty years of resentment. Not only the elders but even the young junior disciples in Busaeng Hall embraced one another and shouted.
A day this joyous could not simply pass by.
The elders all rushed to the Outer Hall and clamored for a celebration, but my father, who was as stingy as a rusted latch, said there was not enough money in the budget and suggested a modest dinner instead.
“How can that be? Jin Sowoon, a disciple of the Taeul Sect, risked his life to reclaim the Ninefold Sword.”
Even Hong Mungi, the Sect Leader, stepped forward and spoke to Jin Taesan, the Outer Hall Lord, but my father refused to budge.
“I risked my life as well, and so did the Gwaehwa Hall Lord. Will you not worry that a single feast will leave the children with pitiful side dishes for the next half year?”
“Is this not an extraordinary occasion? Sowoon has protected the Taeul Sect's honor.”
“I know that already. Let us simply end it with a modest dinner.”
“...Then I will contribute my personal funds.”
My father stood in the way of the celebration like Zhang Fei at Changban Bridge. In the end, Hong Mungi emptied his private emergency fund, and the elders and hall lords followed suit, pooling their own spending money to cover the celebration.
“Father, are we really in such dire straits?”
As I recalled the account books I regularly reviewed for calculations, Father smiled smugly.
“Thanks to this, we can empty the Sect Leader's and elders' emergency funds. Why would I let them use the sect's money for eating and drinking?”
“...”
When word of the celebration reached the Gyerong Merchant Group, Gye Yeonseok eagerly offered to sponsor two cows, five pigs, and ten jars of liquor.
His usual unpleasant arrogance and conceit had vanished. Gye Cheolyeong had been conspicuously absent when the Taeul Sect's people fought the Iron Sword Sect to the death, so Gye Yeonseok could not hold his head up.
Of the three Iron Heart Pellets we received from the Iron Sword Sect because of this incident, two went to Saryeon and me. The remaining pellet would later be awarded to a disciple with great accomplishments.
Gye Yeonseok met separately with the Sect Leader and offered three inns if one Iron Heart Pellet were given to Gye Cheolyeong. Hong Mungi reportedly turned stern and warned that if Gye Yeonseok said such nonsense again, he would expel Gye Cheolyeong from the Taeul Sect.
“He is insane. Completely insane. How much is an Iron Heart Pellet worth?”
“Still, thanks to it, the junior disciples in Busaeng Hall are training harder.”
“You little bastard. Three inns in Hefei would bring in enough money to buy five Iron Heart Pellets a year! How can I not be furious?”
“If you are going to keep grumbling, at least wipe that smile off your face.”
“What did you say, brat?”
“I am heading out.”
“Where are you going now?”
“I am tired of hearing you talk about money, so I am going to make some.”
“You little brat! What money could you possibly make?”
“I will be back.”
At last, the time had come to remove the Gyerong Merchant Group from the Taeul Sect.
Footnotes:
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