WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: Chen
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
◈ The Martial Genius who Remembers Everything ◈
Chapter 224: The Invited Uninvited Guest (2)
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Once the delegation entered Taewon, we headed for the Black Alliance.
It was our first time here, yet neither the escort warriors nor the rest of us had to ask anyone for directions or where the Black Alliance was.
No, there was no need to ask at all.
Every martial artist in Taewon was moving in the same direction.
More precisely, everyone with ‘I’m a bad guy’ written across their face was headed the same way.
Other than our delegation, there was not a single White Path martial artist of the sort commonly seen in Wuhan or Henan Province.
Of course.
‘...Our delegation can’t exactly be called a perfect example of White Path martial artists either.’
I looked at the two people tarnishing our delegation’s image and spoke.
“Wouldn’t it be best for us to part ways around here?”
“You’re saying that now?”
Blood Brawl and the Flame Ghost Consort tilted their heads as though my question was strange.
Suppressing the frown trying to form on my face, I explained.
“We’re here as a delegation, so we have to raise the Martial Alliance’s flag. Wouldn’t your presence make things awkward?”
“I don’t mind.”
“This little one doesn’t mind either.”
“...”
No, we mind. We do!
Ak Byeongbi seemed to feel the same way. Since entering Taewon, he had been scowling as though he were rolling gall around in his mouth.
You might wonder what Ak Byeongbi being displeased had to do with me, but the bad blood between us reached the height of a two-story pavilion.
It was a real nuisance.
“Hm... Is the Martial Alliance delegation so afraid of the Black Path’s gaze that it cannot raise its flag?”
Had he heard Blood Brawl’s mockery?
Ak Byeongbi, who had been walking ahead of us, suddenly shouted at the escort warriors.
“Raise the flag!”
Once the escort warriors raised the Alliance’s flag atop the carriage, Blood Brawl looked at me smugly.
“There. That solves the problem, doesn’t it?”
Yeah, I was the idiot for expecting consideration from Black Path bastards.
They lived however they pleased, which was why they were Black Path martial artists. My mistake. Of course it was!
As we crossed Taewon and headed toward the outskirts, the scenery around us gradually changed.
The homes and shops disappeared, replaced by towering buildings rising from a rather barren plain.
They must have been built extravagantly with modern techniques, as if to keep up with the Martial Alliance.
‘It looks taller than the Martial Alliance headquarters.’
Comparing a building that had stood for nearly fifty years, even if it had been newly built at the time, to one that had just been completed was a little strange. Still, the Black Alliance’s main building was undeniably splendid and imposing.
The surrounding buildings were also being constructed to harmonize with the main hall.
Dang Seohui, who had been watching the scene, tilted her head.
“How strange. Why did they stop building the wall?”
As she said, the main gate and the wall around it had been completed. Beyond that, though, there was no wall at all.
It did not seem useful for a wall’s original purpose of separating the outside from the inside.
With things built that way, people could enter from behind or the sides without passing through the main gate.
Everyone else seemed to be thinking the same thing as Dang Seohui, but I saw it differently.
‘Who could it be?’
People moved busily around the other buildings, making it obvious that construction was still underway. The area around the wall, on the other hand, was quiet.
They were likely accounting for the Black Alliance’s potential expansion.
They did not know how many people would gather at the Black Alliance compared to the Martial Alliance, so they seemed to be preparing for that day.
‘They established themselves in Taewon, Shanxi Province, and they’re raising buildings around them... Do they have a strategist?’
Even a martial organization was ultimately an institution.
Whether it had someone to serve as its brain would determine how long the organization survived.
Creating systems and rules, then enforcing them to maintain the organization, was a problem both the White Path and the Black Path had to solve.
“We should head over there first.”
After surveying the area, an escort warrior pointed to the main gate.
People stood in a long line before it.
It seemed every Black Path martial artist under heaven had gathered here. Five people were writing names in the guest register, but the line barely moved.
Our carriages stopped at the very end of the queue.
At first, no one paid us much attention. Then they noticed the Martial Alliance flag planted on our carriage and began whispering one by one.
“Are they from the Martial Alliance?”
“Why are those hypocrites here?”
“Are they planning to cause trouble?”
“What? They dare cause trouble at the Black Path Alliance?!”
We had expected no welcome, given that we were entering the midst of Black Path martial artists. Still, once they realized who we were, many openly displayed hostility.
“It’s still fascinating. Even without a wall, they’re all standing in such a long line. I suppose White Path and Black Path people are the same after all.”
Ilmyeong spoke as though impressed by the Black Path’s unexpected orderliness.
That surprised me too.
Weren’t these people supposed to break every rule that existed?
Were they maintaining at least a little order out of respect for the organization that would become their center?
I was curious, but I could not exactly ask. As I looked around, I unexpectedly found my answer.
“You bastard! Can’t you see the main gate over there?!”
Boom!
The instant someone ignored the main gate and stepped into the Black Alliance through an area without a wall, a man as large as Ak Byeongbi, clad in iron armor, sent the visitor(?) flying with a fist the size of a pot lid.
The visitor(?) flew a full ten jang before slamming into the ground and rolling several times. Looking completely dazed, the person did not move again.
The companions who had tried to enter the Black Alliance alongside the visitor(?) were intimidated by the giant’s overwhelming display and quietly made their way to the back of the line.
The giant crossed his arms and pointed at the fallen man with his chin.
“Let’s see any of you cross the wall as you please! You’ll end up like that.”
Ah, so that was the secret behind their orderly behavior!
Still, he spoke as though there were a wall when there was none. I supposed that wall was clearly visible to people with wicked intentions.
No one was saying there was no wall, after all.
I watched the spectacle with quiet admiration.
Then the man, who had been brushing off his pot-lid-sized hands, looked around and met my eyes.
“Hm? You?”
He was none other than Hwang Busik of the Four Emperors Association.
We had met when I destroyed the Four Emperors Association’s main gate during the regular examination.
“Black Flame Dragon!”
Hwang Busik easily crossed the imaginary(?) wall he had warned everyone not to cross and strode toward me.
No, if he told others not to cross carelessly, shouldn’t he use the main gate himself?
Black Path bastards really did live however they pleased.
As I shook my head, Hwang Busik threw his head back and burst into loud laughter.
“I knew you would come! Wahahahaha!”
For fuck’s sake, you people invited me.
The way he said it made it sound as though I had come here on my own.
I forced a smile and asked after him.
“Have you been well?”
“Well? I’ve been so busy I could barely catch my breath.”
“So you finally created the Black Path Alliance.”
Hwang Busik had been groaning about how busy he was. Then he suddenly looked over my companions and began patting my shoulder hard.
“It’s all thanks to you, Jin Sowoon!”
No, please!
When you say things like that, you put me in a difficult position. I’m part of the Martial Alliance delegation.
“Please refrain from pretending we’re close. People might get the wrong idea...”
I muttered in a subdued voice.
For some reason, Hwang Busik seemed to glance at Ak Byeongbi before casually placing a hand on my shoulder.
“What are you saying? We’ve been through all sorts of things together since the Night March of the Black Path! The Black Path Alliance will never forget your contributions!”
Hah, look at this bastard. He was doing this on purpose.
Whether I sighed or not, Hwang Busik looked over the delegation. The moment he saw Blood Brawl and the Flame Ghost Consort, his face went rigid.
“Ah, no. Why are you elders with these bastards...?”
Blood Brawl chuckled.
“It’s been a long time. You seem to have grown even taller than before.”
“Y-yes. I had only just turned ten back then.”
Hwang Busik, who looked as though he feared nothing in the world, was visibly tense.
“Did you perhaps come with Jin Sowoon?”
“Yes. This friend guided us here.”
“...”
At Blood Brawl’s words, Hwang Busik looked at me with a complicated expression, then bowed to Blood Brawl again.
“I will escort you inside at once.”
Blood Brawl looked over our group and asked, “Can they enter with us as well?”
“We’ll be fine.”
I tried to decline.
Blood Brawl did not accept it. Fine. Do whatever you want.
“...Yes, please come this way.”
The people who had been looking at us unfavorably now watched with expressions that mixed surprise and envy.
Hwang Busik led us out of the line, stepping across the wall that had supposedly kept others from crossing so freely.
His utterly unconcerned attitude left me deeply confused.
“Can we cross this wall?”
Hwang Busik tilted his head at my question.
“Wall? What wall?”
You said you would kill anyone who crossed it earlier...
#
There was no grand welcome as soon as we entered. We did not greet the Black Alliance’s leading figures or meet the inaugural Alliance Leader, either.
The escort warriors carrying the goods were assigned separate lodgings, while our delegation was led to accommodations closest to the main hall.
Was that because we were important guests? Or did they intend to surround us in case something happened?
Hwang Busik, who had led us to our lodgings, took Blood Brawl and the Flame Ghost Consort elsewhere.
As they walked away, Blood Brawl and the Flame Ghost Consort looked back.
“See you later.”
“This little one will miss you every night, Young Master.”
...I felt as though I had just heard something completely unnecessary.
Unlike my hope that we would never meet again, the two spoke as though we would see each other again soon before walking away.
In any case, the attendants assigned us rather decent rooms.
One room for Dang Seohui, since she was a woman, and one room for Ak Byeongbi, Ilmyeong, and me.
“Since it may be inconvenient for you to leave, we will bring your meals directly to you.”
The attendant said that and left the room.
It was as though a festival were being held throughout the Black Alliance. Drinking, gambling, and brawling were underway everywhere.
It was natural to hold festivities on the eve of the founding ceremony, but this kind of uninhibited revelry was not something one could easily see in White Path sects.
White Path sects generally considered it an insult to the host if visitors started a fight at another sect’s grounds.
In any case, considering everyone gathered within the Black Alliance was a Black Path martial artist, our very presence was no different from a Thunderclap Bomb.
The attendants must have offered to bring food and alcohol to our lodgings because they knew that.
Still, someone wanted to go out.
Someone puffing up her pale cheeks with air...
“Why can’t I go out and enjoy the festivities?”
It was Dang Seohui.
She kept wanting to join the drinking parties being held throughout the Black Alliance.
As if that would work.
Judging by the way her eyes shone whenever she saw gambling or fighting, she seemed more interested in entertainment than alcohol.
I secretly hoped Ak Byeongbi would stop her, but he appeared to have no intention of saying anything. He just kept drinking the alcohol the attendants had brought.
Did he not consider that it might be poisoned? How could he drink it so fearlessly?
Haah, my head hurt.
I glared at Ak Byeongbi again, and he finally opened his mouth.
“Do as you please. Just don’t go somewhere and come back after getting beaten up.”
“...”
After saying that, Ak Byeongbi continued drinking.
Forget it. Why even speak?
As I shook my head, Dang Seohui raised her hand with a blank expression and shouted.
“Wow! Does that mean I can join now?”
...I didn’t know anymore.
Seeing as the attendants had offered to bring food to us, it seemed like an indirect way of telling us not to go outside.
Then again, if I looked at it another way, no one had actually told us not to leave.
There was only one problem.
I had no idea what trouble would occur if I sent Dang Seohui out alone.
Of course, I was not worried that someone would harm Dang Seohui.
I was worried about who Dang Seohui would harm.
Besides, she had not been able to play chivalrous hero or stronghold lord on the way here.
She was clearly on the verge of exploding, so I had no idea what game she would play once outside. I felt like a parent too worried to let their child out alone.
In the end, I stood up to keep an eye on Dang Seohui.
Then the bald man who had been chanting Buddhist scriptures in one corner rose as well.
“...Are you planning to come too?”
“Isn’t this the best opportunity to spread the Buddha’s teachings?”
“...”
Ah, right.
There was probably nowhere less receptive to the Buddha’s teachings than this place.
I was so proud I could die. Really.
Footnotes:
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