WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: Chen

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◈ The Martial Genius who Remembers Everything ◈

Chapter 21: The Third-Rate Martial Artist Welcoming an Uninvited Guest (2)

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Hong Saryeon was the first to receive the visitor.

She spotted him after finishing class at Busaeng Hall, on her way to train alone.

An expensive sword hung at his waist. His clothes were far finer than anything Saryeon owned, while his handsome face and tall stature made him stand out.

Though he had entered an unfamiliar place, he showed none of a stranger's unease. That bold bearing alone made him seem extraordinary.

More than anything, his face looked familiar, yet she couldn't remember where she had seen him.

"What brings you here?"

"I'm looking for someone. Is there perhaps a man named Jin Sowoon here?"

Saryeon's eyes narrowed at the unexpected name from the refined young man's mouth.

He clearly looked four or five years older than Sowoon. When had Sowoon become acquainted with someone like this without her knowing?

"May I ask why you're looking for him?"

"I came to see him on a personal matter."

"Senior Brother Jin hasn't returned for several days. You'll have to come back another time."

"Hmm..."

She was indirectly telling him to leave because he had not even introduced himself, but the young man did not budge.

"Then may I wait here?"

"...What do you think you're doing? The Taeul Sect isn't an inn."

Only then did the young man seem to realize his mistake.

"Ah, I was discourteous. I'll greet the Sect Leader and ask permission first. Could you lead me to the Sect Leader?"

"Excuse me!"

Just as Saryeon's patience finally ran out and she cried out, the young man smiled.

"I am Namgung San of the Namgung Clan."

"The Heaven-Opening Divine Dragon?"

Only then did Saryeon remember that he had been there when the Iron Sword Sect was humiliated.

"That's right. That is me."

* * *

The Taeul Sect was somewhat stirred up by Namgung San's presence.

Gye Cheolyeong practically wore a path to the annex, while the other hall lords would occasionally drop by, ostensibly to build a connection with him.

The younger disciples were especially noisy.

A rising master they had only heard about through martial-world rumors, one famed as a handsome young master at that, was staying at the Taeul Sect. It was hard for them to contain themselves.

"Great Hero Namgung San is so cool."

"I wish I had been born somewhere like the Namgung Clan too."

"At the very least, I'd love to learn the Namgung Clan's Changgung Unhindered Sword Art. I hear they carefully select even their disciples."

No matter how I thought about it, I couldn't guess why he had specifically come to find me.

There was no way Namgung Sangwon was connected to him.

Namgung Sangwon's goal had always been for the collateral line to overthrow the direct line and take control of the Namgung Clan.

He and Namgung San, who was practically the clan's next head, were sworn enemies.

Had he come to commend me for what I had done?

The timing was too early.

Even if he knew about it, would the great Namgung Clan send its only heir to meet some insignificant warrior from the Taeul Sect? The Heaven-Opening Divine Dragon, Anhui Province's greatest prodigy?

None of it made sense.

Namgung San's visit had never happened in my previous life.

If something that had not happened in my previous life occurred in this one, there had to be something to account for the difference.

'Something that existed in my previous life but not in this one... or the other way around.'

After thinking it through, I finally had an idea.

"...So that was it."

"What are you talking about?"

"Nothing."

"When did you even become friends with the Namgung Clan? Do you go out all the time just to meet people?"

"It's not like that."

"Anyway, go see him already. He's been staying here for a whole week, and everyone in the Taeul Sect feels uncomfortable."

"All right."

"That's Daehyeon Hall. The guest is staying in the annex."

"I'll greet the Sect Leader first. Go tell him that I've returned."

"No, I said he's waited a whole week!"

"Waiting was his choice. We never made an appointment, so I'll keep to my own schedule."

"What are you even...! And since when have you regularly greeted the Sect Leader?"

"...I've always been good about that. Go deliver the news."

Grumbling, 'If you're going later anyway, why make me tell him...,' Saryeon headed for the annex.

When I entered Daehyeon Hall, Father and Hong Mungi were discussing sect matters.

"Sect Leader. This disciple, Jin Sowoon, has returned from an outing."

Both Father and Hong Mungi failed to hide their surprise at my greeting.

Seeing how shocked they were, it seemed Saryeon was right. Apparently, I really hadn't been greeting them properly before.

"Good. Did your trip go well?"

Hong Mungi recovered first and returned my greeting with a kindly smile.

Jin Taesan, on the other hand, still could not hide his surprise.

"What on earth happened? You're actually here to greet the Sect Leader."

"Father, if you put it that way, you're spitting on your own face."

"You little brat..."

Unlike Saryeon's brash manner, Hong Mungi smiled elegantly.

"Your guest is in the annex. Have you heard?"

"Yes, I have."

"Then go see him."

"He's not a guest I arranged to meet. I have a few things to report first, so I'll sit for a moment."

This time, even Hong Mungi looked as surprised as Jin Taesan.

"Could I have a cup of tea?"

"You're going to drink tea too? You brat, Namgung San is waiting."

"Father, what is so special about the Namgung Clan that I must run off to meet him without even reporting to the Sect Leader? Sometimes, you seem less like a Taeul Sect man and more like a Namgung Clan man."

"Y-you... little brat!"

"Heh heh. Taesan, sorry, but could you prepare some tea? It's been a while since I've shared tea with Sowoon. It would be pleasant."

"Haah."

Jin Taesan prepared the tea with practiced ease, and before long, a steaming cup sat before me.

I left out the unnecessary details and reported how I had saved Wang Soso.

"...So you thought the child had been kidnapped, pursued them, and rescued her."

"Yes. But while rescuing her, I thought she might be ill, so I taught her the Taeul Mind Method. I apologize for doing so without permission."

"It's all right. Martial arts are meant to benefit people. If basic martial arts could save her, then you did what you should have done."

Hong Mungi and Father seemed to understand it as me having simply rescued a female victim from human traffickers. I had said it this way to prevent Wang Geumsan from misunderstanding if he came looking for us later.

"But why did Young Master San of the Namgung Clan come looking for you? I've had a headache all week from giving him the best room in the Taeul Sect and serving him three meals a day."

"Who knows? Maybe he came to learn a thing or two from me."

"What?"

Father's face wrinkling like crumpled paper was always entertaining.

"I did defeat Seong Mohyeon of the Iron Sword Sect, after all. I even took the Ninefold Sword from him. Wouldn't even the eldest young master of the great Namgung Clan want to learn a thing or two from me?"

"Hey! If you're going to talk nonsense, get out!"

"Yes, Sect Leader. This disciple will leave now and receive the guest."

* * *

Namgung San felt a strange emotion.

He had not even seen or spoken to the other man, yet he felt anger.

What was stranger was that the emotion had risen so suddenly.

He had not felt angry when he learned Jin Sowoon was absent.

They had never made an appointment.

He had spent seven days in shabby lodgings and eaten meager meals, yet he had not felt angry.

He had been the one who chose to wait. Besides, he could not complain that the Taeul Sect's hospitality was so lacking.

Yet the moment he heard that Jin Sowoon had returned to the Taeul Sect, anger surged from deep inside him.

It was his first time experiencing such a thing, and he found it disconcerting.

"What kind of person is Young Master Jin Sowoon?"

The girl at his side had been restlessly relaying the news.

She could not compare to him, but she bore the burden of succeeding her sect, so he had taken some interest in her.

"Senior Brother? Well, he's impossible to pin down."

The girl furrowed her brow as though speaking of something unpleasant, but as she went on, her face gradually brightened.

"He does a lot of unpredictable things, but I don't think it's because he wants to do whatever he pleases. Anyway, he really cares about the junior disciples in the sect. He's rude, but he looks after the elders too. He can't even greet people properly himself, but if someone talks about disrespecting them, he loses his temper and rushes in."

"It seems your senior brother is dependable."

"What? What are you talking about? I just told you."

"Did you?"

The young woman, whose name he did not know, stuck out her tongue and made a face as though she had bitten into gall.

"I heard you were looking for me."

A young man entered the annex.

A common Blue Steel Sword at his waist. A martial uniform that was old but neatly washed. Long hair tied up cleanly. Nothing about him seemed special.

'How strange.'

Yet at the sight of him, Namgung San's emotions boiled like heated metal.

"Are you Jin Sowoon?"

"You came looking for me without knowing who I was?"

The young woman who had kept him company looked back and forth between Jin Sowoon and Namgung San, trying to understand the situation.

"I only heard about you from others."

"You were there that day, weren't you?"

"That day?"

"The Iron Sword Sect."

Come to think of it, he felt as though he had seen this young man and the unnamed girl when the Iron Sword Sect lost the Ninefold Sword.

"Ah! I see. Now that you mention it, you were there."

"...Is something wrong with your memory?"

Was Jin Sowoon's very existence what drew out this aversion from deep within him?

Even words that seemed casually spoken stirred his emotions.

"No. I don't pay attention to things that don't interest me."

"...Then why did you come looking for me?"

Where should he begin?

Should he start by saying that the item Jin Sowoon possessed had originally been his? Or that Jin Sowoon had intercepted it along the way?

Namgung San turned to the young woman whose name he did not know.

"Step aside."

"Ah... Yes. All right."

"What did you just say?"

Jin Sowoon furrowed his brow deeply.

For a moment, Namgung San wondered if he had done something wrong.

But he had done nothing wrong.

"I asked her to step aside because what I have to discuss with you is important."

"'Step aside' is an order, not a request."

"Uh, Senior Brother. What's wrong? I'm fine. You two talk. I'll be going now."

The young woman whose name he did not know left instead, looking flustered.

Jin Sowoon blankly watched her walk away.

"What did I do wrong?"

"Does the Heaven-Opening Divine Dragon not know the difference between 'step aside' and 'could you step aside'?"

"..."

Only then did Namgung San understand the source of all the discomfort, anger, irritation, and fury he felt.

"You... are quite arrogant."

The emotions he had felt from everyone in the Taeul Sect.

Reverence, awe, fear, respect, admiration, praise.

He could not find even a trace of such things in Jin Sowoon.

Instead, Jin Sowoon radiated contempt, scorn, disdain, and insult, emotions Namgung San had never felt in his life.

"How strange. Since when did the Namgung Clan become the Emperor's family?"

"..."

Namgung San decided to stop.

He felt that if he continued speaking with Jin Sowoon, he might lose his temper.

"You probably don't know why I suddenly came to find you."

In a way, he could understand Jin Sowoon's feelings.

There were people like that. People who showed hostility when they faced someone great because of their own insignificant status.

People who feared more because they knew nothing.

Being considerate of such people was also a virtue of the strong.

"The reason I came is..."

"Isn't it because of the Academy Admission Token?"

"!!!"

Had this bastard known from the beginning?

* * *

Why would Namgung San, who had held no interest in the Taeul Sect at the Iron Sword Sect, have any reason to visit the Taeul Sect?

Most of the elixir pellets and secret manuals I had obtained were unknown to everyone. Of the things I had acquired, the only ones someone might know about were the Steel Body Protection Pellet and the Academy Admission Token.

The Namgung Clan's heir would not have come because he coveted a Steel Body Protection Pellet. That left the Academy Admission Token.

His attitude was remarkably shameless.

He had clearly come to make a request, but he did not act as though he were asking for anything.

He looked completely convinced that I would give it to him if he demanded it.

"That was originally mine."

Even the way he spoke sounded as natural as demanding repayment of money he had lent.

I had no intention of giving it to him anyway, but seeing him act this way twisted my stomach even more.

"The Grand Strategist never said that."

"It was an item I had requested from the beginning, which was why it ended up in your hands."

If the Grand Strategist had made Namgung San a firm promise, Namgung San would not have come to demand that I return the Academy Admission Token.

The Grand Strategist could simply have made another one and given it to him.

In the end, the Grand Strategist who had intended to give the Academy Admission Token to Namgung San had decided it would not matter much if he gave it to me instead.

The conclusion was that the Academy Admission Token did not belong to Namgung San.

"How strange. If it was so certainly yours, why would the Grand Strategist have given it to me? Shouldn't you take this up with the Grand Strategist rather than me? Or was the Grand Strategist too difficult to deal with, while the Taeul Sect seemed easy enough for you to come here?"

Namgung San let out a long sigh.

"You have a talent for irritating people."

"Nothing I said was unreasonable. If you're irritated, that's your problem."

"Of course, I did not come just to demand its return."

"..."

"I came prepared to pay a fair price. This is the Seven-Colored Jewel. It is a precious treasure worth enough to buy at least a ninety-nine-bay estate. I will give you this."

A jewel radiating seven colors glimmered brilliantly in Namgung San's palm.

In my memory, it was valuable enough to buy three ninety-nine-bay estates.

"I did not come under the clan's name and make this public because I had the Taeul Sect and you in mind. If the martial world learned that you coveted something belonging to the Namgung Clan, how would they view you? How would they view your sect, the Taeul Sect?"

As he said, if he made this public, the matter would grow larger.

The Namgung Clan's influence would spread even more forcefully, tightening around the Taeul Sect.

And he was not even asking for it for free. He had offered the Seven-Colored Jewel as well. I should have been grateful to him.

"Spare me."

"...What?"

I had meant to express my gratitude, but my true feelings slipped out instead.

"Do whatever you want."

"You think I can't?"

"The Taeul Sect is not such a small sect. You underestimate me too much when I have a place there."

"...You want this matter to become serious. Can you handle the Namgung Clan?"

"Even if I cannot, you will not recover the Academy Admission Token."

"..."

"And you should choose carefully. The Iron Sword Sect acted alongside you and lost the Ninefold Sword."

"...!"

For the first time, Namgung San's face hardened completely.

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