WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: Chen
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
◈ The Martial Genius who Remembers Everything ◈
Chapter 228: Tomorrow's Fortune (3)
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I was wrong to think Gun Yuhyeon's words were nothing more than the pathetic flailing of a man who had lost at gambling.
‘We're. So. Fucked.’
Those three words filled my mind.
That crazy ideological inquisitor had finally gone and caused trouble.
"It can't be helped," he said?
What the hell? It caaan't be helped??
Ilmyeong and I both stared at Ak Byeongbi in stunned disbelief.
Ilmyeong's lips moved as though he were sending a sound transmission, but Ak Byeongbi only flinched slightly. His expression did not change at all.
Then an unpleasant metallic voice came from beside us.
“Heh heh heh... I knew it. Isn't the narrow-mindedness of those hypocritical White Path bastards obvious?”
Was he the Yellow Sand Sect Leader? The man who had been sneering at us all along spoke mockingly.
“You probably came here as a delegation just to gauge our strength.”
Ak Byeongbi's eyes sharpened at those words.
“Do you think our Martial Alliance would use such petty methods?”
The man looked delighted instead.
“Isn't framing innocent people and passing judgment on them the Martial Alliance's specialty?”
For once, Ak Byeongbi exploded in anger.
Grit.
“...How dare you wag that filthy tongue so carelessly.”
No, sir, we're in the middle of enemy territory!
This was no longer a matter of whether we could forge an alliance or sign an agreement.
We stood at a crossroads between declaring war in writing or declaring it with the delegation's heads.
There was no clearer statement of intent than beheading a delegation to declare war. Our lives were hanging by a thread.
Then...
“Enough. Why are you saying such things when we have guests here? This is why people say Black Path scum have no manners.”
A man standing opposite the Yellow Sand Sect Leader shouted.
Gang Maengji, leader of the Black Lion Society.
He was one of the great figures of the Black Path with whom I had a connection from Demon Spirit Plateau.
He looked at Cha Seokdu and made his case.
“Black Alliance Lord, the Black Alliance has only just begun to take shape. I don't think we need to begin with war. If we seek war before the drunken haze of the founding ceremony has even faded, what will people say about us?”
As those around Gang Maengji nodded one after another, the Yellow Sand Sect Leader sneered.
“Did creating an organization make you want to play at power?”
He stroked his weapon provocatively for all to see.
“But what can you do? It doesn't look as though you'll ever become the Black Alliance Lord, even if you live a lifetime.”
“...You would do well to shut your mouth.”
“Heh heh heh, showing your true colors already, are we?”
True to the Black Path lot, they looked ready to reach for their weapons in the middle of a discussion. The Black Alliance Lord eased the tension.
Bang. Bang. Bang.
“Enough! Do not disgrace yourselves any further.”
“...”
“...Ahem.”
The atmosphere in the hall chilled as though a sudden shower had passed through it.
When I looked at Black Alliance Lord Cha Seokdu, he was looking at me as well.
He gave me a slight nod before speaking.
“I do not believe this is a matter we can decide immediately. Let us discuss it again after the founding ceremony has concluded.”
The fact that we were not leaving with our severed heads displayed as a warning alone made me want to bow in gratitude. I bowed deeply and left the hall with the others.
#
Bang.
As the last to enter the inner chamber, I slammed the door shut as though to break it and walked toward Ak Byeongbi.
The moment he returned, he tried to pick up his wine cup again.
“What are you doing right now?”
“I am trying to drink.”
“...”
Do you think that's what I'm asking?!
I restrained my emotions as best I could.
“Do you want to be buried here?”
“...”
He looked back and forth between the wine cup and my face, then seemed to make up his mind and emptied the cup in one gulp.
“Gah... What are you dissatisfied with?”
“What am I dissatisfied with?”
If war broke out with the Black Alliance, more blood would flow than had in the war against the Blood Cult in the original history.
And the Martial Alliance would face the Demonic Cult in an even more precarious state than before.
...I had no intention of standing by and watching that happen.
“Would you not care even if countless people bled across the land?”
“...”
“Among the corpses piled like mountains, there will surely be members of the Ak Clan as well.”
After taking a moment to steady my breathing, I stared directly at Ak Byeongbi.
“Do you want to witness that sight with your own eyes?”
Bang.
Ak Byeongbi set down his cup roughly.
The atmosphere was like walking on thin ice. Ilmyeong, who had been watching from the side, stepped between us.
“Benefactor Jin... I think you should stop.”
I shook off Ilmyeong's hand.
“Do you want war with the Black Alliance too, Senior Ilmyeong? Is the blood of countless people what Shaolin Sect calls ‘justice’?”
“Benefactor Jin...”
“The delegation leader's actions and decisions may cause innocent people to bleed. Are you truly going to stand by and watch?”
“...”
Ak Byeongbi, who had been glaring at me as if he wanted to kill me, now brought the wine bottle to his lips.
“What do you expect me to do?”
“Did you not hear at the Mantong Office what you are supposed to do as delegation leader?”
“...You are telling me to do something impossible.”
Heat surged to the top of my head.
“What is impossible about it?! The Black Alliance is already considering an agreement, at the very least!”
Ak Byeongbi, who had been turning his cup in his hand, drained another cup in one gulp.
“...If you're so frustrated, then do it yourself.”
“What?”
“I said you do it!”
He had thought of me as a Black Path spy and brought in the Inspectorate for his own benefit, but I had still believed he was someone with a sense of responsibility.
The Ak Byeongbi I had seen in my previous life had not been this base.
I looked down coldly at Ak Byeongbi, who had lowered his head.
“To think someone like you is supposed to uphold justice... The Inspectorate is finished.”
“...”
Even at my contemptuous taunt, Ak Byeongbi did not raise his head.
“Benefactor Jin... Let us step outside for some air.”
Ilmyeong anxiously pulled at me.
As Ilmyeong and Dang Seohui led me out of the inner chamber, I spoke.
“Fine. From now on, I will handle it. Delegation Leader, you can stay still and drown yourself in wine.”
Ak Byeongbi did not move a single muscle until I left the inner chamber with Ilmyeong and Dang Seohui.
#
As I tried to rein in my emotions, Ilmyeong hesitantly approached me.
“Benefactor Jin... Please try to understand the delegation leader a little.”
I tilted my head.
Ilmyeong was not usually this insensitive...
This was clearly the delegation leader's fault.
Our delegation had not come merely to offer congratulations.
Helping the Martial Alliance warriors bleeding in Sichuan fight safely was the mission entrusted to us.
So...
This was not the time for pointless pride, damn it.
“Did I do something wrong?”
My mood had soured, and my voice naturally turned cold.
Still, I did not want to concern myself with Ilmyeong's feelings right then.
Ilmyeong slowly shook his head.
“...No.”
“Then what exactly am I supposed to understand?”
“...”
Ilmyeong hesitated and looked toward Dang Seohui.
She seemed to know something as well and added in a small voice.
“...I also think Jin Sowoon was a little harsh.”
“...”
Perhaps sensing my expression harden, Dang Seohui and Ilmyeong exchanged complicated looks.
At last, Ilmyeong clenched his fist as though he had made a decision.
“Benefactor Jin... Only you must know what I am about to tell you.”
“What is it?”
After hesitating several times, Ilmyeong finally spoke.
“Gu Gyeak, the Yellow Sand Sect Leader. He is the one responsible for the Cheongju Incident.”
The Cheongju Incident referred to when several hundred Black Path martial artists attacked an Ak Clan caravan.
Thirty members of the Ak Clan and around two hundred Black Path martial artists died in that incident.
I looked at the two of them and cocked my head to one side.
“...What does that have to do with anything?”
“...”
“Does the fact that an enemy of the Ak Clan is here justify the delegation leader's actions?”
Countless fights and battles, large and small, still took place throughout the martial world.
There were too many people dying because of them to count.
The Cheongju Incident?
It must have left a scar on Ak Byeongbi's heart.
But so what?
There were countless people in the martial world who had suffered the same pain as Ak Byeongbi, or pain even worse.
I was one of them...
‘Damn it...’
That was why I could not stand by and watch personal grudges ruin a greater cause.
At my firm stance, Ilmyeong let out a long sigh.
Then his lips moved carefully.
“The delegation leader's beloved died then.”
“...”
“And she was carrying his child.”
The heat in my head, which had been burning like a furnace, cooled in an instant.
The faces of my father, my junior sect brothers, and the Sojeong Unit members, who had died in agony before my eyes in my previous life, rose vividly in my mind.
As though he had not finished yet, Ilmyeong spoke again.
“The one who killed the delegation leader's beloved was none other than... Gu Gyeak.”
My head had gone so cold that even my mouth felt frozen.
“At the time, the delegation leader searched everywhere under heaven for Gu Gyeak. Then, fifteen years later... Gu Gyeak, who had vanished without a trace, appeared before him as the Yellow Sand Sect Leader.”
“Damn it...”
Dang Seohui frowned at the curse that slipped out.
“Cursing is bad.”
It was not as if I wanted to curse. I did it because I had no choice.
What the hell was Jegal Somyeong thinking?
If they knew Ak Byeongbi had such a history, they should not have sent him as the delegation leader.
...Or had Jegal Somyeong not known?
“The Grand Strategist knows as well. That is why... I do not know why Jegal Somyeong sent Ak Byeongbi as the delegation leader. They must have had a profound reason.”
No matter how profound their reason was, they should not have done this.
Who in the world could speak of peace and stability while facing the enemy who killed their wife and child?
“Why did you not tell me sooner?”
“...It is not an easy matter to speak of.”
“Haa...”
I could now understand why Ak Byeongbi had overreacted during the incident involving Ak Jupyeong.
People could not easily forget powerful emotional shocks that had been deeply etched into their minds.
As I tried desperately to sort through my tangled thoughts, Ilmyeong spoke.
“Perhaps... the delegation leader meant what he said.”
“What do you mean?”
“When he said he would leave what comes next to you, Benefactor Jin.”
More precisely, he had said, “If you're so frustrated, then do it yourself.”
“Perhaps he is frustrated by his own limits as well.”
Now that I knew the full story, I had no idea how to resolve this matter.
Still, the delegation leader's enemy was right before us, arguing for war.
If we ignored that and signed an agreement, Ak Byeongbi's heart would be torn to shreds. Yet if we did not, countless corpses would haunt my eyes.
Through those tangled thoughts, Ilmyeong's voice cut in.
“The delegation leader must want to conclude an agreement as well.”
“...Why do you think so?”
“If he did not, a man who normally never touches alcohol would not be drinking like that.”
“...”
Was Ak Byeongbi the one enduring the greatest pain of all?
“...That does not mean I want to justify the delegation leader's actions.”
I deliberately spoke coldly, but Ilmyeong looked at me and smiled gently.
“He would not want that either. For now, I think it would be best to focus on carrying out our mission.”
“...”
Either way, even if I did not take the delegation leader's circumstances into account, an alliance, or even a peace agreement, looked quite difficult.
While Gu Gyeak spoke, more than half the people in the hall had already seemed to agree with him.
Even if we mobilized Cha Seokdu, Gang Maengji of the Black Lion Society, and all my connections from Demon Spirit Plateau, reaching an agreement would not be easy.
The bigger problem was that we were in the middle of enemy territory, unable to do anything.
If only we could learn the Black Alliance's internal situation, we might be able to devise a way to win them over. Yet we were deep within the Black Alliance, where we could not even bring in Hao Sect personnel.
Ilmyeong dipped his head slightly.
“I am sorry to have pushed such a difficult task onto you.”
I shook my head.
“It is fine. You cannot put spilled water back into the bowl.”
We could not go anywhere, so we remained around the pavilion and discussed one strategy after another. Yet no clear solution emerged.
Then we heard someone approaching.
“If it would not be an imposition, may I come in for a moment?”
The owner of those footsteps was Gun Yuhyeon of the Tian'gwan Sect, the man who had left Ilmyeong flustered.
“What brings you here?”
“You had not appeared at the gambling house even once, so I came to see whether something had happened.”
I shook my head and spoke politely.
“I do not think this is the time to discuss such things. Please return.”
“Haha, I did not come to ask you to gamble.”
Gun Yuhyeon continued with an amiable smile.
“I heard something on my way here. I heard you have run into trouble.”
“...”
“I heard there may be a problem with the agreement. Is that not the case?”
I did not show it, but I sharpened my focus.
“How did you hear that?”
“It is confidential, but those who keep their ears wide open will hear everything.”
“So?”
Gun Yuhyeon took another step toward me.
“I thought I might be able to help.”
I met Ilmyeong's eyes.
We soon gave each other a small nod.
We needed to use everything available to us. His offer was worth hearing out.
“Why do you want to help us?”
Gun Yuhyeon scratched the back of his head.
“Not every Black Path sect is full of people crazed for blood and battle. Some were forced to choose the Black Path because of their circumstances. Besides, if the Tian'gwan Sect goes to war with the Martial Alliance now, we have much to lose.”
War harmed everyone.
Yet it hurt the powerless most of all.
With his clever mind, Gun Yuhyeon must have calculated that if war broke out between the Black Alliance and Martial Alliance now, his side would suffer the most.
This time, Ilmyeong stepped forward to ask.
“How can Benefactor Gun help us?”
“You may not know this, but within the current Black Alliance, the opinions of its major sects hold more weight than the Black Alliance Lord's personal opinion.”
It was apparent just from the atmosphere in the hall.
Cha Seokdu had claimed the position of Black Alliance Lord on the strength of forming the Black Path Alliance, but neither his position nor his authority seemed secure.
As we considered this, Gun Yuhyeon leaned in and whispered as though revealing a secret.
“But there is someone who can sway the alliance as a whole.”
“You mean someone with real power?”
He nodded.
“Yes. The current Black Alliance Lord created the justification for forming the Black Path Alliance, but someone else laid its foundations.”
“Who is it?”
“You saw the man beside the Black Alliance Lord, did you not?”
“Dam Ak...”
When I spoke the man's name, Gun Yuhyeon nodded.
“That is him.”
“You are saying he can sway the alliance as a whole?”
“Yes. Most of the operational personnel who run the Black Alliance follow Dam Ak. If his opinion aligns with the Black Alliance Lord's, they will be able to conclude an agreement even if the other sect leaders object.”
Crouching Dragon Dam Ak seemed to have won recognition for his exceptional abilities in this life as well, just as he had in my previous life.
“But will Dam Ak even meet us? He seemed quite wary of the Martial Alliance earlier.”
Gun Yuhyeon smiled meaningfully at my question.
“There is an unofficial gathering where you can meet him.”
“What kind?”
“A banquet has been arranged for those who could be called the divine prodigies of the Black Path martial world.”
A private banquet, one attended by Black Path martial artists at that.
I might suffer a humiliation far greater than what I had endured at the Iron Sword Sect.
“And Chief Strategist Dam Ak is scheduled to attend as well.”
Still, the straightforward approach had already failed.
“Will you attend?”
Then I had no choice but to try another way.
“Fine. Please arrange it.”
No matter what price I had to pay.
Footnotes:
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