WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: Chen

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◈ The Martial Genius who Remembers Everything ◈

Chapter 203: Musical Chairs (2)

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"Let's go in first."

I spoke to the stunned group, and they finally came to their senses and followed.

As we started moving, the gazes of those working in the corridor gradually turned toward us.

They looked as though they didn't welcome outsiders.

Some even stepped forward to stop us.

"This is where the provisional leadership office is. Outsiders..."

Hah. Look at this.

"So?"

The White Path Society member who had been speaking saw the look on my face, worked their lips soundlessly, then turned around and left.

Seong Moran snorted.

"This is ridiculous."

She clearly felt much the same as I did.

The farther in we went, the more people stopped working to look our way.

There were hostile stares, people openly displaying their discomfort, and others muttering curses under their breath.

It felt as though we had been dropped straight into enemy territory.

"They've really done the place up."

At Jang Woojae's words, I looked around and saw that the rooms originally used as storage had been lavishly decorated.

The rooms were filled with drawers and desks, all of them piled high with documents.

Their space looked far more like an office than ours, where we had simply stacked documents wherever we could.

'The Academy couldn't have paid for this. Did the White Path Society cover the cost?'

As I distracted myself with thoughts bordering on escapism, a group emerged from the provisional leadership office.

They moved as though they owned the place, scanning the reports and documents handed to them from every direction before passing them along without pause.

After taking a few steps, those who had left the office seemed to sense that something was off and looked around.

"Why is everyone standing around instead of working..."

"Brother Jeonggi. What is this?"

At Namgung Seonhwa's question, Jegal Jeonggi looked at us and sighed.

Then, instead of answering Namgung Seonhwa, he looked at me.

"You really came."

"I haven't come somewhere I'm not allowed to be, have I?"

"You left your post for so long while classes were in session... I didn't realize you were this shameless."

"..."

What the hell was this bastard talking about?

The position of Academy Representative had not changed yet.

This absence had only happened because I had been cleaning up the mess the Orthodox Society had made.

So why were Jegal Jeonggi and the Five Great Clans acting like this?

'What are they relying on?'

Namgung Gipyo whispered something to Jegal Jeonggi. After Jegal Jeonggi nodded, he looked back at me.

"If you don't mind, would you care for a cup of tea?"

He spoke as though a host were welcoming a guest.

The situation was clearly backward, but they looked so pathetic that I decided to hear them out first.

"Do you have Junshan Silver Needle? I've developed a taste for it lately."

Jegal Jeonggi and Namgung Gipyo's faces stiffened.

Why?

They had spent this much money on the facilities, yet hadn't prepared tea for guests?

#

Trickle.

As steaming water was poured into the teacup, flower buds began to bloom one by one.

The petals unfolded in different colors, dyeing the clear water with their own hues.

I was briefly entranced by the strange, wondrous sight. Jegal Jeonggi smiled faintly.

"It's called Seven-Colored Flower Tea."

"Seven-Colored Flower Tea?"

"I hear Beijing's high officials have been drinking it lately."

He lifted his chin slightly.

"...They say Beijing's high officials no longer seek out Junshan Silver Needle or Dragon Well Tea now that just anyone can drink them."

Well, after seeing this unusual tea, I could understand why they would lose interest in Dragon Well Tea or Junshan Silver Needle, where all they did was watch dried leaves unfurl.

Jegal Jeonggi gracefully brought the teacup to his lips.

"When ordinary people are fortunate enough to taste something special once, they think they've risen to a special position too. In truth, most can taste it only because that commodity is no longer special."

"What are you trying to say?"

He smiled.

"I was simply talking about how the world works."

Jegal Jeonggi raised the Seven-Colored Flower Tea to his lips again, held the tea in his mouth for a moment, and closed his eyes as though savoring its fragrance.

Was there a special way to drink Seven-Colored Flower Tea?

I deliberately didn't touch mine.

Jegal Jeonggi soon swallowed and opened his eyes.

"You must have been a little taken aback."

"Does the Jegal Clan teach the word 'little' differently?"

I'd gone away briefly, only to return and find strangers occupying my home and pretending to be its owners.

Could anyone call that being only a little taken aback?

"Shouldn't you have no right to complain even if I smashed your heads in?"

Even at my rather aggressive words, Jegal Jeonggi gave a quiet laugh.

"As expected, your roots don't change even after your position does."

Jegal Jeonggi was trying to provoke me.

The attack was so childish that all I could do was laugh.

"Then you must not have known that an uncouth bastard like me has a nasty temper."

"I know. I heard you left Ak Jupyeong permanently injured."

"I don't show mercy to those who cross the line."

Jegal Jeonggi brushed his chin with his fingers as though it were nothing.

"Ak Jupyeong did make a small mistake."

"People don't call it a mistake when someone nearly dies."

"Haha!"

Jegal Jeonggi burst into laughter as though he couldn't hold it back, then shook his head.

For some reason, his laughter grated on me.

It felt different from the past, when I had grown used to this sort of treatment and provoked others further by shamelessly standing my ground.

"What is so funny?"

"Isn't it amusing to hear that from someone who got plenty of blood on his hands to pass the regular examination?"

It felt as though my mind had turned cold.

Jegal Jeonggi raised his brows and added, "When I looked through the regular examination records again, I found that you killed five times as many people as the others."

He seemed to be trying to stir up my guilt, but unfortunately for him...

"I don't forgive those who aim for my life or my position."

I wasn't as soft as he thought.

Jegal Jeonggi nodded as though he understood.

"Of course. That is only natural for a martial artist. But..."

The smile vanished from Jegal Jeonggi's lips as he stared at me with cold eyes.

"How many more people will you kill to protect that position from now on?"

"..."

"The more you covet that position, the more people will die. The higher you climb, the more people like Ak Jupyeong will stand in your way."

I leaned forward slightly.

"What are you getting at?"

I stared back at him with eyes colder than ice.

"Are you saying the White Path Society will stand in my way?"

Jegal Jeonggi shrugged as though the heavy words he had just thrown at me meant nothing.

"I only wanted to ask whether you were prepared for that."

I glanced around the room.

"Then I think what you're doing right now has gone too far."

"It's nothing. Even for a temporary space, it is only natural for the White Path Society to maintain proper dignity."

Jegal Jeonggi seemed to take a step back, emphasizing the word temporary.

"Now that the Academy Representative has returned, we should gradually wrap up what we have been doing."

Yet his next words carried a pointed implication.

"...Of course, that is if the current Academy Representative remains in the position."

"You're worrying over nothing."

Thinking there was nothing more to say, I rose from my seat.

Jegal Jeonggi followed me with his eyes.

"Are you leaving already?"

"Is there anything else to discuss?"

Jegal Jeonggi pointed to the tea I hadn't touched.

"It's precious. At least have a taste."

"..."

I gulped down the Seven-Colored Flower Tea in one mouthful.

Maybe I drank it the wrong way, but only a strong bitter taste remained on my tongue.

#

The Academy Representative's office, sealed behind closed doors, seemed even quieter because of the commotion in the corridor.

Everyone was weighed down by an indescribable sense of defeat and couldn't bring themselves to speak.

'What are they trying to do?'

Namgung Seonhwa couldn't make sense of the current situation.

Jin Sowoon had been away for a while, but that wasn't a reason to take the position of Academy Representative from him.

Their claim that they had formed a temporary officer council to keep Academy operations running while the Academy Representative was absent was clearly only an excuse.

'Unless they have something to rely on...'

When her thoughts reached that point, Namgung Seonhwa looked at Jin Sowoon and asked, "Young Master Jin. What did you discuss with Brother Jeonggi... no, the White Path Society Leader?"

What she needed to know first was their intention.

What exactly were they plotting?

What gave them enough confidence to openly act as the Academy delegation?

There was no reason for them to go this far simply to fill Jin Sowoon's absence.

"We didn't discuss much. I was simply treated to a cup of unusual tea."

"Tea?"

"Yes. Was it called Seven-Colored Flower Tea? It was rather bitter."

"..."

Jin Sowoon answered calmly while reviewing documents, but there was something strange about his expression.

He was clearly holding back powerful emotions.

Namgung Seonhwa had seen that look on someone else before.

Her grandfather.

It resembled the Azure Emperor Divine Sword, who had been shaken by schemes and intrigue despite possessing absolute strength and legitimacy.

'This is dangerous...'

She had later heard that her grandfather had even prepared himself for bloodshed within the clan.

Then Jin Sowoon had appeared.

Had Jin Sowoon not helped him complete the Firmament Cloud-Guarding Sword Art, the Namgung Clan would surely have split in two sooner or later.

'This time, I have to help him.'

Having faced life-and-death trials alongside Jin Sowoon, Namgung Seonhwa knew how ruthless he could be.

She couldn't even imagine what would happen if he truly became enraged.

She knew better than anyone how difficult Jin Sowoon's path to this position had been.

She didn't think he would fall for the White Path Society's schemes and ruin everything.

But she didn't want to see him struggle either.

'His agitation is exactly what the White Path Society wants.'

Over the next three days, Namgung Seonhwa mobilized every connection she had to investigate what the White Path Society was plotting.

Then she heard something decisive from a lay martial sect disciple affiliated with the Namgung Clan.

[Jegal Jeonggi made the instructors a proposal. He asked them to arrange a competition against Jin Sowoon's side.]

[He said that if more people gathered to his group by holding Academy events, they should recognize his group as the Academy delegation.]

[Please never tell Young Master Gipyo that I told you this.]

The instructors possessed independent decision-making authority within the Academy.

It had been somewhat expected that the established powers would recruit instructors and lecturers to shake Jin Sowoon's position.

'But why now?'

All the instructors and lecturers could do was set the stage.

The Academy students would ultimately make the choice, and the current situation was by no means favorable to the White Path Society.

Jin Sowoon had already changed the Academy's atmosphere by resolving the situation in Sichuan.

One thing Namgung Seonhwa learned during her investigation was that the Orthodox Society had lost much of its credibility because of the events in Sichuan, while support for Jin Sowoon had risen in response.

The situation clearly wasn't favorable to the White Path Society...

"No. Isn't that exactly why they have to move now?"

Seong Moran, who had been listening to Namgung Seonhwa, spoke.

"If this continues, Young Master Jin's position will become secure. Wasn't this the White Path Society's last chance?"

"...You're right."

Even so, the question remained.

The White Path Society moving like this was no different from saying they had an ultimate trump card.

What could it be for them to act so confidently?

As if to deepen Namgung Seonhwa's anxiety, another incident followed.

"I heard the lecturer has been notified that his classes are being suspended."

Moyong Jaehwa, who had come to the Academy Representative's office, said this with an expression that could not hide his confusion.

Jin Sowoon set the documents he had been reviewing down on the desk.

"What do you mean? Who notified him that his classes are being suspended?"

"The new Representative Officer Corps..."

There were currently no separate classes on the way of the bow at the Academy, so Moyong Jaehwa was receiving private instruction from Yeo Samtong.

If Yeo Samtong returned to the Ghost Bow Sect, Moyong Jaehwa would no longer have anywhere to learn the way of the bow.

"Haha."

Jin Sowoon laughed in disbelief.

Grit.

Jin Sowoon ground his teeth.

His eyes burned.

Footnotes:

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