WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: Chen
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
◈ The Martial Genius who Remembers Everything ◈
Chapter 165: The Sea of Blood Spreading Across Sichuan
──────
We stayed at the Yujang Sect for another three days.
My condition hadn't been very good, but we also needed to attend the joint funeral for Sect Leader Jang Sageong and the other Yujang Sect members who had died in the war.
The funeral was held simply, and the Yujang Sect did its best to return to normal as quickly as possible.
“Representative Jin.”
Jang Woojae, who had not slept a wink over the past three days as the chief mourner, approached me despite his exhaustion.
“You've worked very hard.”
“Don't mention it. Are you feeling better?”
While the funeral proceeded, I had been given a room and focused solely on recovering for three days.
Thanks to that, some flesh had gradually returned to my gaunt body, and my fatigue was fading as well.
“Much better.”
“Don't mention it.”
“I was worried that we might have harmed you in body and spirit.”
As he said, I had received the utmost care from the Yujang Sect over the past three days.
Meat dishes had been brought to my room with every meal, and hot water had been prepared every night, allowing me to recover from my exhaustion even faster.
“I'm grateful for all the Yujang Sect has done.”
“...Um.”
Jang Woojae hesitated.
“Is there something you wanted to say?”
At my question, he scratched his head awkwardly.
“It's late, but would you allow me to join the delegation?”
More than half the executive positions in the Martial Arts Academy delegation were currently vacant.
I hadn't stopped anyone from joining, yet no one had volunteered.
“Are you sure? If you join, the others may not look kindly on you.”
When I expressed concern instead, Jang Woojae quickly grabbed my hand.
“Thank you. I was worried you might refuse because you still held it against me.”
“...?”
“My father's final words were that I should no longer rely on anyone and forge ahead on my own. I also wanted to repay, even a little, the kindness Representative Jin has shown me.”
Jang Woojae stood at the center of the Martial Arts Academy's unaffiliated forces.
If he joined, it would be no different from gaining the support of one of the factions I hadn't been able to bring in myself.
There was no reason for me to refuse.
“If that's what you want, I'd be glad to...”
“Thank you. Thank you.”
Before I could even finish, Jang Woojae repeatedly bowed his head.
I should have been the one thanking him...
#
After the Black Blood Sect lost the decisive martial duel, no more reckless wars broke out among the Black Path in Yueyang.
Threats still continued, urging surrender and demanding that sects close their gates. In response, the White Path sects united and resisted the Black Path's oppression.
The Martial Alliance warriors who had arrived also made a difference.
After they came, those who killed mercilessly disappeared.
“...That's what you think.”
“Pardon?”
Dang Hyeokjae spoke as he drank tea he had brewed himself.
“They started all this because they knew the Martial Alliance wouldn't move. Do you think they'd simply stop because the Martial Alliance sent support?”
“Then what's the reason?”
Dang Hyeokjae's displeased gaze clung to my face like taffy.
“They probably don't want to provoke the Black Path Alliance's Joint Successor.”
I couldn't control my expression.
“Who the hell is spreading such a ridiculous rumor?”
“Either way, the move you showed at the Black Blood Sect clearly left a deep impression on them. Thanks to that, the number of people killing mercilessly has dropped.”
The outcome was good, so I couldn't exactly complain.
“...Sigh.”
“Did you really learn the Sword Demon's martial arts?”
“Well, it just happened that way.”
“Huh... A rumor even more frightening than you being the Black Path Alliance's Joint Successor will spread now.”
“Wasn't the Sword Demon originally someone who stood between the orthodox and unorthodox paths?”
“You said you took those martial arts from the Sword Demon.”
“...”
Could there really be people who believed that absurd rumor?
“Rumors about your relationship with the Sword Demon are spreading throughout the city. One of them says you're the Sword Demon's hidden son.”
I had planned to return directly to the academy, but I should stop by the Hao Sect and commission a job.
I ground my teeth.
If I didn't put an end to these ridiculous rumors, I felt like I would suffer qi deviation, even though I never had during excessive training.
“Ahem. Anyway, I just need to pack my things again, right?”
Dang Hyeokjae cleared his throat and spoke as though it were obvious. I tilted my head at him.
“Didn't you already unpack everything?”
This was the man who had been certain I would die at Sword Evil's hands. Now he was asking whether it was all right for him to pack again.
It was so absurd that I was speechless.
“Fortunately, Axe Evil stepped forward instead of Sword Evil. All's well that ends well. And!”
Dang Hyeokjae suddenly raised his voice.
“And! Didn't I go to great lengths to bring the clan physician all the way from Changsha?”
“...”
“Do you know how severely the Tang Clan reprimanded me over this? Me acting as Yueyang Branch Head is one thing, but bringing the physician from Changsha could have looked like the Tang Clan intended to participate in this war.”
“...Is that why you didn't say a single word to the Tang Clan physician?”
“...”
“...Ahem. There were circumstances I couldn't explain...”
I shook my head.
“Anyway, this incident has made me think I should reconsider my investment. I don't feel much like investing when the person receiving my investment has so little good faith.”
“Ahem!”
Dang Hyeokjae coughed uncomfortably a few times, then pulled out a bundle and placed it on the table.
“What is this?”
“Open it. I prepared a gift to commemorate our contract.”
“...”
When I unwrapped it, I found around twenty bronze-colored objects shaped like flower buds inside.
“This is...”
“An improved version of the Hundred-Feather Fire Tube, the Thousand-Hair Fire Tube.”
“...Does it really contain ten times as many hair-fine needles as the previous model?”
“No, not quite. The number has increased by about twenty percent, but the structure is the same.”
“Then why is it called the Thousand-Hair Fire Tube?”
“The Hundred-Feather Fire Tube was designated one of the Tang Clan's Golden Dragon Hidden Weapons.”
“...”
Did he think the Tang Clan would consider it a different item just because he changed the color and name?
The Tang Clan weren't blind.
“The main reason the Tang Clan designated my hidden weapon a Golden Dragon Hidden Weapon was its high manufacturing cost. They probably won't care much.”
Dang Hyeokjae spoke with confidence.
I didn't find it reassuring in the slightest. If the Tang Clan said anything, I could just hand Dang Hyeokjae over.
Still, seeing the Hundred-Feather Fire Tube again after so long made me nostalgic.
I remembered using it to save Namgung Seonhwa while surrounded by hundreds of enemies...
“Wait.”
I looked at Dang Hyeokjae and asked, “Wouldn't this have been useful if you'd given it to me before the battle with the Black Blood Sect?”
“...If I'd had it then, of course I would have given it to you.”
“...Don't tell me you only started making it after everything was over?”
“...”
No wonder the eyes of a man supposedly living an easy life as a branch head had been bloodshot, with his eyelids hanging low.
Was he trying to take back his slip of the tongue?
“You really thought I'd die to Sword Evil.”
Dang Hyeokjae avoided my gaze and raised his empty teacup to his lips.
Slurp.
Sir, your cup had been empty for a while. Why were you making drinking sounds with your mouth?
Dang Hyeokjae shifted his eyes to gauge my reaction, then spoke as though nothing had happened.
“It's all in the past now...”
This man, seriously!!
#
If there was a true winner from the events in Yueyang, it wasn't the Black Blood Sect or the Black Talisman Palace. It was the Hao Sect.
After the Black Blood Sect's Sect Leader and Deputy Sect Leader disappeared at the same time, a struggle for rank began among the hall leaders, and the Black Blood Sect was thrown into turmoil.
During that time, the Hao Sect moved in and took over the Black Blood Sect's shops. They also acquired the assets left behind by White Path sects that had fled Yueyang overnight.
Most of the people who had worked in those shops had been Hao Sect members, making it possible.
The next Yueyang Branch Head had also been chosen. It would be someone whose weakness the Hao Sect held in the form of debt.
They liked gambling and would neglect their duties, but that made them an ideal piece for the Hao Sect to control.
“All of this is thanks to you, Young Master Jin.”
“Don't mention it. I couldn't have done it alone without you, Haeryeong.”
“Far more assets came in than we expected. Why don't you establish a presence in Yueyang while you have the chance?”
“Establish a presence in Yueyang?”
Yueyang was far too distant from the Taeul Sect.
It was not somewhere the sect's influence could easily reach, and the Taeul Sect itself was not strong enough to influence the entire martial world.
“I think it is too soon for the Taeul Sect to expand there.”
Haeryeong smiled as if she understood and nodded.
“Of course. But wouldn't the Great Heaven Merchant Group be able to do it?”
“The Great Heaven Merchant Group?”
“Yes. Commerce is fundamentally about buying cheap goods in one province and selling them at a higher price in another. Once a merchant group establishes itself, the first thing it does is set up branches.”
“Oh? Has the Great Heaven Merchant Group already become that established?”
I had heard that Father had taken over the Changgung Merchant Group and renamed it the Great Heaven Merchant Group.
Still, I hadn't thought it would be easy for it to establish itself in such a short time.
“It seems Father has a talent for business.”
Had he become like a fish in water after living his entire life under hardship as the head of the impoverished Outer Hall?
Either way, as his son, I couldn't have been happier to hear that he enjoyed his work.
“That sounds like a good idea.”
“If you give the word, we'll prepare the rest.”
“Father will be pleased.”
Thinking of Father reading the letter and shedding tears of joy made my nose sting.
By being filial in a way I had failed to in the past, I felt a little more at peace.
It was only natural to repay a gift.
“A great war will eventually break out in Sichuan. I think you should prepare for it.”
“In Sichuan?”
“Yes.”
“Hmm...”
“They aren't the most dangerous people, but they will cause no less chaos.”
“The Martial Alliance is already paying attention to Sichuan. Is it serious enough that even the Martial Alliance should fear it?”
I shook my head.
“The problem will be internal rather than external. That will be the greater cause of the chaos.”
Even with only that much said, Haeryeong nodded as if she understood.
“You help us so often that I wonder whether we are truly treating you as a guest retainer should be treated.”
“You treat me more than well enough.”
The broad discussion was over. It was time to bring up the real matter.
Unlike before, I spoke in a serious voice.
“There's something I'd like to ask of you.”
The smile on Haeryeong's lips vanished, and her expression turned cold.
“What is it?”
I forced my reluctant lips apart.
“The rumor that I'm the Black Path Alliance's Joint Successor... Please do something about it.”
“...”
“Oh, and the rumor that I'm the Sword Demon's hidden child too. My father is absolutely a man named Jin. Tae. San. You can tell just by looking at our faces.”
Despite how serious I was, Haeryeong looked as though she had been struck.
It was really, really important!
#
Jang Dowon and his granddaughter Seolyeon decided to settle their assets and move to the Taeul Sect once their Yueyang shop was sorted out.
Dang Hyeokjae would continue serving out his term, then move along with Jang Dowon when he left.
He said he couldn't possibly make the journey to Hefei alone.
It didn't matter much to me. I had plenty to prepare before Jang Dowon and Dang Hyeokjae arrived at the Taeul Sect.
“Whew... We're back at the Martial Arts Academy.”
Seong Moran let out a long, regretful sigh.
I comforted her.
“Are you disappointed? We can visit again during winter break. What's there to worry about?”
Seong Moran suddenly frowned.
“What are you talking about?”
“Pardon?”
Even the Gold, Silver, and Bronze brothers shook their heads as though they were sick of it.
“Senior Brother, if you're going to Yueyang, I'd rather devote myself to training at the academy during winter break than follow you.”
“Eldest Senior Brother, now that I think about it, someone should probably remain at the academy as part of the delegation's executive group.”
Why? We had worn nice clothes in Yueyang, eaten delicious food, and even rented the biggest boat to play in the water.
Hong Saryeon's eyes blazed as though she had read my thoughts.
“Doesn't it occur to you that everything else was the problem?”
When even she grumbled, I pressed my lips shut.
What was so wrong about martial artists getting caught up in an incident?
As I looked around the academy, something felt strange, and I tilted my head.
“Isn't this odd?”
“What is?”
“Doesn't it seem like there are too few people?”
The break was ending, and the new term was about to begin.
Normally, the academy should have been packed with students preparing for the new semester.
Instead, I saw only about half the usual number of academy students.
Then a voice spoke.
“It's because of an event held by the Nine Sects One Gang.”
The person who answered was Cheol Sunjik, who was walking toward us.
Accompanied by Nam Hwaseong and the other members of the Twelve Peak Alliance, he continued with a smug expression.
“Did they leave without receiving permission from you, Representative?”
“An event?”
“The Elder Council said they were holding an event for the younger generation, then took the Nine Sects One Gang members on field training.”
I asked flatly, “Where did they go?”
I hadn't expected them to seek my permission for this event anyway.
“Sichuan.”
At that answer, I lost my composure without realizing it.
So it had come to this. I had thought it might turn out this way when I met them in Yueyang, but I hadn't expected them to move so quickly.
“That must be unpleasant.”
“What do you mean?”
“They went off on an academy event without listening to the Academy Representative.”
“It probably wasn't only the academy students' decision. If the Elder Council took them, what grounds would the students have to refuse?”
The real problem was that the Elder Council had driven disciples of their own sects into a deathtrap.
“...”
“Anyway, thank you for the information.”
Leaving Cheol Sunjik behind with a stiffened expression, I headed for the dormitory.
I had prepared gifts so that Moyong Jaehwa and Eun Seollan, who had been unable to accompany us to Yueyang due to supplementary classes, wouldn't feel left out.
But Dongryong and Saryeon, who had gone to find Moyong Jaehwa and Eun Seollan, returned alone.
“Hm? Where are they?”
“I heard Brother Jaehwa went out.”
“What?”
“Seollan too.”
“Where could they have gone?”
Dongryong answered, “They were forcibly mobilized for the Nine Sects One Gang event.”
“What?”
What kind of ridiculous bullshit was that?
“Apparently, the same happened to Seollan. The Nine Sects One Gang forcibly made the unaffiliated students participate.”
These lunatics had crossed the line.
Footnotes:
Join our discord at https://dsc.gg/wetried