WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: Chen
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◈ The Martial Genius who Remembers Everything ◈
Chapter 19: The Third-Rate Martial Artist Saving a Girl (6)
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“Where on earth are you, Soso?”
The Wang Residence Village, home to the people of the Wang Family Estate.
For three days, its lights had not gone out.
All business at the twenty branches scattered across the country had come to a halt. They were gathering information only on girls around Wang Soso’s age. Countless shops under their control had also closed in the search for Wang Soso, disrupting ordinary people’s daily lives.
“What did you say?!”
Wang Geumsan was horrified by what Wang Soso's attending physician had just told him.
“Didn’t you say she could last a week even outside the Ice Pavilion?”
The physician looked back at the people from the Medical Hall.
They silently lowered their heads, doing nothing but glancing nervously at the physician.
If they did not report this now, they might face far worse punishment later.
“Well... under normal circumstances, that would be true...”
“...”
“There are times when the Solar Yang Physique’s energy surges to an extreme. It just so happens that now is precisely...”
The physician could not bring himself to continue.
He had watched countless patients die before his eyes and had explained their conditions to their guardians many times. He had never once received a good response.
Besides, this was Wang Geumsan, master of the Wang Family Estate.
“Then... how long can she last?”
“...”
Asked to name the time remaining before her life ran out, the physician could only move his lips.
“How long can she last?!”
“...It is already too late...”
“Argh!”
“M-Master! Master! Bring the needles at once!”
Wang Geumsan collapsed.
* * *
Wang Soso had regained consciousness, only to faint again shortly afterward.
The cause was clearly the heat raging through her body as though it would burn her alive. Still, I had never heard of a simple cold causing symptoms like this.
“Where was that medical text written by the Medical Immortal Gong Yachun?”
Gong Yachun, the Medical Immortal, was called the reincarnation of Hua Tuo.[1]
His lifelong medical work, the Myriad Ailments Compendium, was classified as a secret document in the Mantong Office.
Why?
I had no idea.
It was clearly a book that could save far more lives if released to the world, but the Mantong Office had never considered doing so.
I searched through the Myriad Ailments Compendium and found a passage about Wang Soso’s symptoms.
Only after passing the section on illnesses and reaching the section on constitutions did I learn the cause.
“A Solar Yang Physique in a woman. Why did it have to be now?”
Even the Myriad Ailments Compendium contained only a diagnosis of the symptoms and a way to stabilize her energy.
“First, I need to stabilize her. At this rate, she’ll die...”
Following Gong Yachun’s text, I struck more than twenty acupoints. Wang Soso’s heat slowly began to subside, and soon she woke up.
“Mmm... Wh-who are you?”
“I’m Jin Sowoon of the Taeul Sect. And who might you be, miss?”
If I acted as though I knew her, I would not be able to avoid suspicion. She was Wang Geumsan’s only daughter. Even I would grow suspicious if someone who came to save her claimed to know she would be kidnapped.
“I-I’m Wang Soso.”
“Hmm... Could you be Wang... Soso?”
“...That’s right. I’m the daughter of the Wang Family Estate.”
“How did this happen to you...?”
“I don’t know either. Where are we?”
“In the mountains near Lujiang. You were with some suspicious people.”
“Th-those people... What happened to them?”
“I took care of them.”
“...”
Contrary to my expectation that she would panic, she quickly calmed down. Was it because her father was Wang Geumsan? Had she been taught to prepare for things like this?
“I think we should move. It looked like they had more people.”
“N-No!”
“What?”
“I c-can’t move.”
I tilted my head.
“W-What day is it today?”
“Today should be the gyemyo day of the sinsa month.[2]”
“Th-then it’s the day my solar yang energy rises. Normally, I have to stay in the Ice Pavilion while holding the Ice Ring.”
Come to think of it, Gong Yachun’s book mentioned that. The Solar Yang Physique periodically caused solar yang energy to surge, granting its bearer immense internal energy.
Wasn’t that completely unfair?
Yet Wang Soso could not know when the poison might spread throughout her body. It was a headache in more ways than one.
“I’m asking just in case, but do you truly have a Solar Yang Physique?”
Wang Soso hesitated briefly before answering.
“Yes. I do.”
“Can’t you move even a little?”
“A little would be fine, but if I move too strenuously, the solar yang energy will burn through the acupoints in my entire body.”
We were deep in the mountains.
From what I had heard earlier, it would not be long before the rest of the kidnappers arrived.
‘What should I do...?’
Then I remembered the Myriad Herbs Compendium, which had been classified alongside the Myriad Ailments Compendium.
It was a peerless treasure that could produce remarkable medicinal effects from common herbs and poisonous plants found in the fields, curing any illness.
“Miss, this may sound strange at a time like this, but if you could change your constitution, would you?”
“What?”
If Gong Yachun was the Medical Immortal of acupuncture, then the art of medicine had the Divine Physician of Life and Death.
His name was Tang Wonho. A member of the Tang Clan from around two hundred years ago, he was an eccentric hero who had entered the martial world early and spent his life wandering it, unlike most Tang Clan members who spent their lives conducting research within the clan.
There was no illness he could not cure with medicine and no person he could not kill with poison. Since life and death were said to rest in his hands, he earned the epithet Divine Physician of Life and Death.
I did not know why the Myriad Herbs Compendium was in the Martial Alliance rather than the Tang Clan, or why the Tang Clan did not even know it existed.
That was not important right now.
Fortunately, the Myriad Herbs Compendium mentioned someone who had faced the same concern as Wang Soso.
The Little Jade Maiden, an absolute master who had dominated the same era as the Divine Physician of Life and Death.
Born with an Extreme Yin Physique, she had reached the ultimate realm of ice arts thanks to her constitution. Yet because of it, she could not bear children.
The Little Jade Maiden went to the Divine Physician of Life and Death and made the absurd request that he change her constitution. He gladly accepted.
They found a way to alter extreme yang and extreme yin constitutions, but the drawback was...
“I’ll do it! I want to!”
Before I could finish explaining, Wang Soso nodded eagerly.
I thought that, as Wang Geumsan’s daughter, she would at least have been taught to be wary of swindlers. Yet she showed no caution at all.
“You’re clearly different from the people who kidnapped me. I can tell the difference between someone who wants to help me and someone who wants to harm me.”
Or had she already finished calculating everything in her head?
If Wang Soso survived, I was looking forward to seeing how commerce in the martial world would change in the future.
“Please listen to the rest. Once this treatment is performed, you must take specially made pellets every day for the rest of your life. You will also never be able to return to your original constitution.”
The Little Jade Maiden eventually had children, but she could no longer use ice arts.
“Also, the medicine is poisonous, so you will need to circulate your energy and meditate every day. Since purity is more important than anything else, once you learn an internal cultivation method, you will not be able to learn another.”
The main ingredient in the pellets that changed one’s constitution was poison.
Once ingested, the poison that chilled the body began to erode the solar yang energy.
The remnants of poison left in the body then had to be neutralized with internal energy.
Since purity was paramount, she could not learn another internal cultivation method.
There were superior martial arts from the Wudang Sect and Shaolin Temple that were both pure and capable of gathering great internal energy, but the only one I could obtain now was the Taeul Mind Method.
“I’ll do it!”
“...I mean, if you learn the Taeul Mind Method now, you won’t be able to learn other superior martial arts...”
“I don’t want to become a martial artist. I want to watch flowers bloom in spring, fan myself in the summer heat, and go boating with my family in autumn. I want to hold the family I love whenever I wish, hold hands with the man I admire, and speak with him. I want to have children, and I want to watch myself slowly grow old. That is all I want.”
Wang Soso had everything in the world, yet could not have what everyone else took for granted. The desperation in her words struck me deeply.
“I understand.”
“You’ll really do it? I’ll make sure to tell my father...”
“Let’s discuss that after we return home. The pursuers will be here soon.”
I carefully carried Wang Soso on my back and moved as slowly as I could, putting as much distance as possible between us and the hideout.
* * *
“What do you mean?”
“The last carrier pigeon said Wang Soso’s condition was strange...”
Bang Inam, commander of the Hidden Palace Unit, deeply furrowed his brow as he received the report.
“I told you again and again. You dared to disobey me and lay a hand on that child?”
It was obvious without even looking.
Men more loyal to instinct than reason.
That impulsiveness was probably why they were doing this sort of work despite being from the Namgung Clan. Even so, this had been Namgung Sangwon’s order. How could they disobey it and do something so foolish?
“No! I was thorough on that matter. They only said it seemed she had a chronic illness from the start. They also said the room was unnaturally cold when they went to kidnap her.”
“The temperature was low?”
Thinking about it, it was strange.
Even if she was a girl, what did the Wang Family Estate have to fear that they kept her hidden inside the house at all times?
Perhaps their report was true. Yet that only made Bang Inam fear that the situation would become even worse.
“So they are waiting at the hideout now?”
“Yes. They asked us to bring a physician.”
“Fools! If a physician goes with them, there will be a witness left behind.”
No one outside their inner circle could know about this.
Only those within the Changgung Merchant Group who had sworn loyalty to Namgung Sangwon.
No one else could be allowed to learn of it.
If this was exposed, it would not merely be Namgung Sangwon and their own lives at stake.
“Th-then what should we do?”
“We’ll go as we are. He told us to leave no witnesses if necessary.”
Keeping her alive and using her as a hostage would be best, but if that was impossible, they needed to kill her cleanly.
Considering how dearly Wang Geumsan cherished Wang Soso, that alone would be enough to shake him.
Yet Bang Inam’s optimism did not last long.
“W-What happened here?!”
“Search the area! Find survivors!”
“There are none. They have all stopped breathing.”
“Wang Soso is nowhere to be seen either.”
“...”
Bang Inam’s thoughts became tangled.
Everything had gone wrong.
This was not simply a failed kidnapping.
The grand scheme of Namgung Sangwon, his superior, and the entire collateral branch of the Namgung Clan had been thrown into disarray.
“Th-there are tracks here. There is only one set of footprints, but judging by their depth, it seems someone carried Wang Soso away.”
Bang Inam’s burning thoughts went cold.
“You two, dispose of the bodies. The rest, follow me. Unless we are certain we can kill them, never use the Namgung Clan's sword arts.”
The martial artists of the Hidden Palace Unit were as furious as Namgung Sangwon over the loss of their comrades.
They burned with hatred toward whoever had interfered with their work and killed their companions.
Following the guide, the martial artists of the Hidden Palace Unit entered the forest.
The mountain forest was so dark that not even moonlight reached it. Since they too were carrying out secret work, they could not use torches.
Then...
“Urk.”
The first casualty fell with blood bubbling from his throat.
“It’s him!”
“Where is he?”
“How many are there?”
“Urgh!”
Though they had learned excellent martial arts from the Namgung Clan, they had not received training in stealth or assassination. It was not easy for them to respond in a dark forest.
Another scream quickly rang out, and alarm bells began ringing in Bang Inam’s mind.
This would not do. Losing Wang Soso was a problem, but dying here was an even greater one!
“Flint! Use the flint!”
At Bang Inam’s shout, the martial artists hurriedly pulled out flint and struck sparks.
At that very moment.
Swish!
With the sound of a blade cutting through the air, another martial artist fell.
“Commander! At this rate, we’ll be wiped out.”
“Light the torches! Unleash the Changgung Unhindered Sword Art!”
“Urgh!”
Another martial artist died while they lit the torches. By the time light spread through the forest, only five remained.
“Come out! Show yourself! If you don’t show yourself, I’ll go kill Wang Soso at once!”
Namgung Sangwon doubted the enemy would reveal himself over such a threat.
“I always knew you weren’t good people. But I didn’t expect you to be this evil.”
The man wore a mask over his face and old martial garb. His Blue Steel Sword was one that could be bought at any forge, revealing nothing about his affiliation.
“Reveal your identity.”
“My identity? Isn’t it more convenient for both sides to wear masks like this? Besides, I already know who you are.”
“...If you won’t reveal it, I’ll force you to.”
“How many of us do you think there are?”
“No matter how many there are, we will not lose.”
“Why? Because you’re from the great Namgung Clan?”
“!!!!”
“Ah, to be precise, you belong to the Namgung Clan’s Changgung Merchant Group, don’t you? Namgung Sangwon’s secret lackeys.”
“!!!!”
“!!!!”
The Hidden Palace Unit martial artists were so startled that they turned to look at Bang Inam without any attempt to hide it.
Bang Inam’s expression crumpled completely. They had practically admitted it was true.
“No more words. Kill him!”
The moment Namgung Sangwon shouted, the martial artists unleashed the Changgung Unhindered Sword Art.
Now that their identities had been exposed, eliminating the enemy as swiftly as possible with their strongest sword art was the fastest way to resolve matters.
But...
“Urgh.”
“Gah!”
Before they knew it, two martial artists had fallen. The swords of the remaining two did not feel sharp at all.
‘This cannot be! The sword art of the great Namgung Clan!’
The Hidden Palace Unit martial artists could not even come close to the uninvited guest. They dropped one after another, struggling even to hold their swords.
They looked as if all strength had left their bodies. They did not resemble the Changgung Merchant Group’s elite at all.
“Gah!”
“Urk!”
The remaining martial artists finally died, and the uninvited guest slowly approached Bang Inam.
“Y-You! Who are you?!”
“My identity?”
“Y-You must be from Wudang, or... yes! Mount Hua! You are one of those Mount Hua Sect bastards!”
“Mount Hua... I do have some ties to them.”
“Do you think you can interfere with the Namgung Clan’s affairs and leave unharmed, even if you are from Mount Hua?”
“I never said I was from Mount Hua.”
Swish.
A chilling sensation passed across his neck.
Bang Inam desperately twisted his head.
“Oh...”
“Y-You damned bastard.”
“What a pity. It would have been better if I’d met Namgung Sangwon today. No, since the collateral branch’s rebellion has not begun yet, perhaps meeting him now would be awkward.”
“Who are you...?”
Blood ran down Bang Inam’s neck.
Though his thoughts were in disarray, he gathered himself and began to unleash the Changgung Unhindered Sword Art at the twelfth stage of mastery.
“!!!!”
Yet he could not even continue for three forms.
An unknown, unprecedented force kept breaking apart his forms and wildly tangling his internal energy.
“Didn’t you learn anything from watching your subordinates die?”
“...H-How can the invincible Changgung Unhindered Sword Art...?”
“The Changgung Unhindered Sword Art is not invincible.”
Bang Inam fell limply to the ground.
As he died, he could not see the expression beneath the black mask. Still, he could not shake the thought that the uninvited guest was smiling in a way that sent chills down his spine.
[1] Hua Tuo, a renowned physician of late Han China, later idealized as a paragon of medicine.
[2] Gyemyo and sinsa are combinations in the traditional sexagenary cycle used to designate days and months.
Footnotes:
The Korean source names Namgung Sangwon twice during the forest confrontation. The English preserves those printed names even though the surrounding scene identifies the masked leader and speaker as Bang Inam.
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