WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: Chen

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◈ The Martial Genius who Remembers Everything ◈

Chapter 17: The Third-Rate Martial Artist Saving a Girl (4)

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Namgung Clan.

The Namgung Clan, the great household that had ruled Anhui Province from Mount Huang for generations, received countless visitors even on ordinary days.

From high-ranking officials to elders of renowned sects.

Such visits were routine, so the servants and maids were not especially tense. Today, however, was different.

The Martial Alliance's Grand Strategist had come in person.

A capable steward needed to recognize the importance of a visitor and provide treatment befitting their status.

Yet the wine, tea, and refreshments tailored to the visitor's preferences were stopped by martial artists at the entrance.

"They are discussing important matters inside. Come back later."

"Ah, understood."

While the stewards secretly cursed the martial artists' ignorance for not realizing that the warmed wine and refreshments would grow cold...

"I gave the Academy Admission Token to someone else."

"......"

Namgung San, who had been listening inside, furrowed his brow deeply.

They had claimed they would stop by the Namgung Clan while returning from the Iron Sword Sect, and in the end, this was what happened.

"Seonhwa possesses skill inferior to none among the younger generation."

Namgung San spoke with confidence.

He was a member of the Martial Alliance's Dragon-Phoenix Association and the next master of the Namgung Clan, yet the person before him considered even that background insignificant.

"Then she should have no trouble entering after taking the regular examination."

Unable to restrain his emotions, Namgung San spoke.

"You know what people call the Martial Arts Academy regular examination, do you not?"

The Hellish Exam.

That was what the martial world's gossips called the regular examination required to enter the Martial Arts Academy.

A brutal examination taken by hundreds of thousands from across the martial world each time, with only five hundred passing.

Namgung San had led members of his family through that hellish regular examination last time, but Namgung Seonhwa was not in the same position.

"Did you leave the Academy Admission Token in my care?"

"......"

Even Namgung San could not help but be hurt by Jegal Somyeong's words.

"At first, I said I would test whether Seonhwa was qualified. I cannot give it to someone unqualified."

"Then why can Seonhwa not even take that test?"

"Because the one who took the Academy Admission Token is more capable than Seonhwa."

"......"

His rage burned like a living volcano.

Who in Anhui Province today possessed talent great enough to surpass Namgung Seonhwa of the Namgung Clan?

"That cannot be true. Grand Strategist, you must be mistaken about something."

The moment he spoke, he sensed the atmosphere around him change sharply.

Blinded by rage for a moment, he had said something he never should have.

"Am I in a position where I must convince you?"

"......"

"Why, exactly, must I persuade you?"

"...My apologies."

Regret was always too late, no matter how swiftly it came. By the time he noticed the familiar chill in Jegal Somyeong's gaze, it was already far too late.

"I heard your family's circumstances worsen by the day. But why should the martial world as a whole indulge every one of your circumstances?"

The painful words pierced his chest.

It was an emotion he had never known in the days when he feared nothing and lacked nothing.

But he could not gamble with Seonhwa's life because of the misery gnawing at his heart.

"...I apologize. May I ask just one question?"

"You wish to know whom I gave the Academy Admission Token to?"

He received an answer before he could even ask. It meant Jegal Somyeong already knew his next question and action. Not just anyone could serve as Grand Strategist of the Mantong Office.

"Jin Sowoon of the Taeul Sect."

Even so, Jegal Somyeong told him. That meant they did not fear what Namgung San would do afterward, even knowing it.

"May I take it from him?"

"It seems that brat intends to give it to someone else anyway. Do as you please."

Namgung San silently offered a salute and left the hall.

After Namgung San departed, Jegal Somyeong, who had been writing a document, grumbled.

"Why do I have to get dragged into such trivial matters because of the unruly brats in your household?"

No one else was inside, but Jegal Somyeong continued speaking.

"Keep this up, and I will set your Changgung Hall on fire."

"Hoho. Old man, did reaching such a high position in the Martial Alliance make you think no one could touch you?"

With that answer, an old man with a long white beard appeared before Jegal Somyeong and sat down. It was Namgung Taeha, the current Clan Head of the Namgung Clan.

"You saw it too, did you not? That damned brat glaring at me and yelling back? I nearly plucked out one of his eyes."

"Tsk. I have nothing to say."

"That little bastard. How many times did I change his diapers? I should have cut his cock off back then..."

As Jegal Somyeong's coarse language continued, Namgung Taeha's face flushed red as well.

"Enough, you old fool! When did you ever change San's diapers? And what do you mean, cutting off the precious son's thing in someone else's house?"

"You senile relic! Why do you think I came all the way to Anhui Province and even attended the sixtieth birthday banquet of some Iron Sword Sect Master I had never heard of? Is that what you should be saying now?"

"Honestly! Who asked you to come? You came because you were tired of watching the elders' moods!"

The two brawled like children barely past their coming-of-age, then eventually huffed in silence for a long while.

"That Sangwon brat is plotting something, is he not?"

The Namgung Clan's direct line feared the regular examination.

That alone foretold a major disaster.

"The clan is on the verge of splitting in two."

"Hoho, you damned old man. What did you do all your life at home if you could not even keep your household in order?"

"......"

Jegal Somyeong mocked him again, but Namgung Taeha could say nothing.

"Is it truly that serious?"

"The collateral branches, centered on Sangwon, have begun acting as they please."

"Could you not simply call them into the clan?"

"If that were possible, would I be worrying like this?"

The Namgung Clan strictly divided its work between the direct and collateral branches.

The direct line preserved the clan's traditions within the household, while the collateral branches managed the clan's affairs outside it.

Yet the balance between their internal and external strength had begun to collapse. Eventually, the outside sought the power held within.

"The collateral branches are restructuring their power around the Changgung Merchant Group. Now, whenever we handle affairs within the clan, we must ask the collateral branches for a favor. A favor."

"......Urgh."

"Moreover, every channel through which we could learn what the collateral branches are doing outside has been cut off. Reports are already coming in that those brats have been committing atrocities under the Namgung Clan's name all over the place. You have heard as well, have you not?"

"...I have."

That was why Jegal Somyeong had come to Anhui Province this time.

"Do you have a countermeasure?"

"I am creating... the Sword-Breaking Form for the Changgung Unhindered Sword Art."

"Have you gone mad?"

The Namgung Clan's Clan Head intended to break the martial art that was virtually the face of the clan. Even viewed generously, it was an act grave enough to end in impeachment.

If it went wrong, even the entire direct line being slaughtered would be unavoidable.

How could Jegal Somyeong not be dumbfounded that Namgung Taeha was calmly preparing such a thing?

"If I do not, I will have to see my children's blood with my own hands."

"...So, have you created it?"

Before being Grand Strategist, Jegal Somyeong was a martial artist. They could not help but be curious.

Could a Sword-Breaking Form truly exist for a sword art as profound as the Changgung Unhindered Sword Art?

Namgung Taeha's gloomy expression was answer enough.

"Is it not a sword art built layer upon layer from the lifetime experiences of our forebears? It is not something someone like me can create merely because I suddenly throw myself into it."

"Then you are wasting your time for nothing?"

"What else can I do? Do you have another solution?"

"......"

Even Jegal Somyeong, the Grand Strategist of the martial world, could think of no particular answer to the present crisis.

"There, you see? Is this not a problem even you cannot solve? If even the Grand Strategist of the martial world cannot find an answer, who can? All I can do is dig into this until I die."

"...Perhaps."

A face suddenly came to Jegal Somyeong's mind.

That slick, shameless bastard who had even doubted the Grand Strategist's word, yet somehow seemed as though he might know a clear answer.

At the same time, it was a face Jegal Somyeong disliked because it seemed certain to demand a thorough price in return.

"...But I suspect the price I must pay for an answer will be too high."

"Who are you speaking of?"

"The one your grandson is chasing."

"Jin Sowoon of the Taeul Sect? You believe he knows the answer?"

"Who knows? How could he solve a problem that neither the Namgung Clan's Clan Head nor the Martial Alliance's Grand Strategist could solve? Still, he is remarkably clever. Perhaps he might find a way out."

"Hoho, a fellow acknowledged by the great narrow-minded one. I would like to meet him."

"You senile old man! Who are you calling narrow-minded?"

"Now, now. Let us go have a drink instead. Throw those documents aside for the moment."

"These are not documents I can simply toss aside! This one document affects the balance of power within the Martial Alliance..."

"Ah, enough. I know how to forge your signature anyway. I will help you. Come."

"You bastard! Those documents I do not remember, you were the one behind them, were you not?"

The two cast off the dignity that had weighed on their shoulders and moved elsewhere with lighter hearts.

#

My carefully laid plan had gone wrong from the beginning.

"We are not hiring escorts."

"Then may I at least stand guard?"

"...Which sect are you from?"

"The Taeul Sect."

"...Ahem. My apologies. There is no opening."

Reality was still harsh on the Taeul Sect.

If I could prevent the kidnapping from within, that would be best. But if I said, "Your daughter is in danger of being kidnapped," I would likely be treated as a kidnapper myself or as a madman.

Either outcome would be bad for me.

Instead of infiltrating the place, I finished matters by sending a threat letter that made it seem as though I would be the one to break in.

Seeing it, they would surely make further preparations.

In the end, I had no choice but to stop the kidnapping from outside. The problem was that the classified document only stated that the victim had been kidnapped and murdered, not how it had happened.

"It was written after an interrogation, and they probably did not need the details anyway."

Thanks to that, I had to search through the entire library in my head again for related documents.

※ Mu Class

- Numerous animal carcasses discovered in the forest between Hefei and Marsh Lake. Concluded to be the result of indiscriminate hunting. Hunters warned.

※ Gi Class

- Report of a theft at a slash-and-burn settlers' village. The stolen goods consisted of minor items such as old clothing and famine-relief crops. No action taken.

※ Gi Class

- Report that women were disappearing from a slash-and-burn settlers' village. Ninth-rank martial artists from the branch office dispatched. The investigation was closed after no trace could be found.

※ Gi Class

- Several female corpses discovered in Marsh Lake. Believed to be women who disappeared from the slash-and-burn settlers' village. No identifying evidence found. The settlers were notified, and the case was closed.

※ Gi Class

- The body of a decapitated young girl discovered in an empty house near Lujiang. She wore the clothing of the slash-and-burn settlers' village, but no one from the village came forward. The body was cremated and the matter settled. Case closed.

I found traces of Wang Soso in Gi Class and Mu Class reports that even the branch office did not consider especially important.

In the end, Wang Soso's body had not been found. However, judging from the physical description of the body found in Lujiang, there was a high chance it was Wang Soso.

Moreover, hiding an important incident among several others was one of the common methods used by assassins.

My operation would begin at the slash-and-burn settlers' village on the road from Wang Residence Village to Lujiang.

"But why did they not make greater use of the hostage?"

Wang Residence Village was only three days from Lujiang.

Hostages were more useful alive in the first place, so why had they killed her immediately?

If they had used Wang Soso well, they could have borrowed from the immense wealth accumulated by the Wang Family Estate.

"Then again, their identities might have been exposed if they did that, and it would not have ended well."

Though the Changgung Merchant Group had the Namgung Clan behind it, its opponent would have been the Wang Family Estate.

One wrong move could have caused an enormous incident that stirred even the military and imperial court.

"Still, if they feared that, why did they target the Wang Family Estate?"

With that question unanswered, time passed, and people of uncertain identity began gathering in Hefei.

Footnotes:

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