WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: Chen
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◈ The Martial Genius who Remembers Everything ◈
Chapter 233: Darkness Within Darkness (3)
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After careful consideration, Cha Seokdu granted permission.
However, since he had no way to help, the investigation would have to be carried out through my own efforts.
Dam Ak fiercely objected.
“The repercussions will be severe if the Black Flame Dragon, who belongs to the Martial Alliance, goes around stirring up the already chaotic Black Alliance.”
Well, he wasn't wrong, but that was a little harsh. Stirring things up, really?
I'd even volunteered to act as bait after considering both sides.
Dam Ak eventually raised a finger at me.
Break that thing right off...
“Moreover, the Black Flame Dragon is the elite among the White Path's elite. He may try to resolve this matter only in ways favorable to the Martial Alliance.”
Wow... That was the first time in my life I'd heard someone from the Black Path call me an elite of the White Path, and it had to be in a situation this awkward.
Do these bastards suffer qi deviation whenever they see me at ease?
His sharp eyes held an unyielding resolve.
“As I've said before, I don't trust the Martial Alliance.”
What on earth had he experienced in this life to distrust the Martial Alliance so much?
Either way, Cha Seokdu trusted Dam Ak a great deal right now.
If I couldn't persuade him, I wouldn't be able to do anything.
And the easiest way to persuade smart people was...
“If we remain still, everything will proceed exactly as those plotting this intend.”
To gently scratch at their pride.
“Will you be all right with them laughing as they watch us fight one another to the death?”
“...”
People who considered themselves intelligent hated being deceived more than anything.
“They'll look down on us, asking whether the things on top of our necks are nothing but decorations, since everything is proceeding according to their plan.”
“...”
I leaned closer to Dam Ak.
“It's only natural for me, as an elite of the White Path, to prioritize the Martial Alliance's interests. But those interests include the agreement with the Black Alliance. It may not sit well with you, of course...”
The concern on Dam Ak's face deepened.
I drove home the final point.
“At the very least, the Martial Alliance and the Black Alliance's interests currently align.”
As long as it remained within tolerable limits.
There were people who would accept a loss if necessary, but would never commit the foolishness of being led around by an opponent's scheme.
Men like Dam Ak.
All right, it was time for him to bite...
After a moment's thought, Dam Ak nodded.
“Very well.”
Success.
“But you won't object if I assign a watcher to you?”
“You've already assigned one, so why ask?”
When I looked at Blood Brawl, Dam Ak started to say something, then clamped his mouth shut.
Cha Seokdu, who had been watching from the side, burst into laughter.
“Don't worry, Chief Strategist. That fellow wasn't an elite of the White Path to begin with, nor is he the sort to put the Martial Alliance's interests above all else.”
Then he looked at me with warm eyes.
What was that all of a sudden?
That look was deeply unpleasant...
“Why else would the martial world call him the Black Flame Dragon? Hahaha.”
You gave me that epithet!
#
After Jin Sowoon and Blood Brawl left the dark chamber, Cha Seokdu could not hide his bitter smile.
“What a pity. What a pity.”
At those murmured words, Dam Ak looked at Cha Seokdu.
“What do you mean?”
Cha Seokdu shook his head as if it were nothing.
“Nothing.”
“...”
“Hmm...”
Cha Seokdu swallowed the words, ‘I thought they might become friends,’ and looked at Dam Ak with complicated feelings.
Should he consider this a good thing or a bad thing?
In the end, Dam Ak's resentment toward the Martial Alliance had allowed Cha Seokdu to recruit him as the Black Alliance's chief strategist.
Yet because Dam Ak was not Black Path by nature, he had struggled to blend into the Black Path Alliance.
His brilliant mind had allowed him to serve as chief strategist despite his young age.
But looking at it another way, he was so exceptional that he was like an island adrift alone on the vast sea.
That was why Cha Seokdu had held out a little hope.
Perhaps meeting Jin Sowoon, who was in a similar position, would let the two understand each other and become friends.
It was a shame that Dam Ak, who was about the age of Cha Seokdu's son, lived such a lonely life without even one friend.
“What kind of person is he?”
So Cha Seokdu casually sounded him out instead.
After considering the implications behind Cha Seokdu's question, Dam Ak gave a brief assessment.
“He is a dangerous man.”
It was an unexpected answer.
Cha Seokdu felt a strange curiosity.
“Why?”
“What other way is there to describe a man who would stake even his own life for his goal?”
“But that is also why the martial world praises the Black Flame Dragon.”
Dam Ak shook his head and spoke firmly.
“That is why I call him dangerous. When he is an enemy, it is impossible to predict what he might do.”
Then Dam Ak let out a quiet, uneasy sigh.
Did this child have such a side to him?
It was a rather new feeling for Cha Seokdu.
“He is someone who created an opportunity to meet you through Blood Brawl, even while he was practically confined. Considering that Blood Brawl is no easy opponent... his cunning cannot be underestimated either.”
“That is true.”
How startled had Cha Seokdu been when Blood Brawl first brought up speaking with Jin Sowoon?
Cha Seokdu had liked Jin Sowoon precisely because of that unpredictable nature, but it seemed Dam Ak saw it as a threat.
Friends of a similar age could also become rivals.
Dam Ak was still too young to understand that the martial world was a place where enemies could become friends as well.
“Still, isn't it reassuring that they have a common enemy for now?”
Dam Ak looked at Cha Seokdu with calm eyes.
“I know well how much you cherish the Black Flame Dragon, Alliance Lord.”
“Heh heh. He'd be horrified to hear you say that.”
Dam Ak, who knew Cha Seokdu's relationship with Jin Sowoon well, smiled briefly before continuing.
“But this matter will not be easy to resolve. We too...”
He looked down at his own hand.
“Are having such difficulty with it.”
Cha Seokdu nodded without realizing it.
Unable to solve the problem at all, he had even invited Blood Brawl and the Flame Ghost Consort.
Yet the unseen enemies had now begun openly making their moves.
It was a true den of hidden demons, where he could not see even an inch ahead.
Even so...
“I have expectations for him.”
“...”
Dam Ak could not offer a response.
Cha Seokdu grinned at him.
“He has always shown us things beyond our expectations.”
Was it because he could not accept Cha Seokdu's words? Or was it jealousy over Cha Seokdu acknowledging Jin Sowoon?
Dam Ak's eyes grew fiercer than usual.
Cha Seokdu patted his shoulder.
“So help him. That friend will probably need your help as well.”
“I will help, as long as the Black Alliance suffers no harm...”
Dam Ak's answer was reluctant.
Even without voicing his dissatisfaction, it was plain to see.
Perhaps that immaturity was the symbol and privilege of youth.
But...
“It's no fun because that fellow shows none of it.”
Dam Ak tilted his head at the inexplicable remark.
Cha Seokdu waved a hand.
“I'm talking to myself. Don't mind it.”
#
The delegation's inner quarters.
The martial artists who had lingered around the pavilion under the excuse of standing guard were gone.
Blood Brawl and the Flame Ghost Consort still occupied their places, though.
We did our best to ignore the two of them as we spoke.
“Benefactor Jin... Do you truly believe there is another culprit?”
“Yes.”
At my immediate reply, Ilmyeong and Dang Seohui frowned.
I explained carefully.
“First, because the two crime scenes share something in common.”
“They have something in common?”
“Yes. Both Gu Gyeak and Ak Byeongbi bled heavily in their chambers, yet not a single furnishing was broken.”
There had been a long trail of blood at the scene where Ak Byeongbi was attacked in particular.
“If one of them launched a surprise attack and the other counterattacked, leaving them both gravely wounded, wouldn't the aftermath have spread to the surroundings?”
Gu Gyeak and Ak Byeongbi were both martial artists who had reached the level of masters.
Even if they had been caught off guard, they would have counterattacked, and the aftermath of those attacks would have spread in every direction.
Yet the furnishings in their rooms were intact.
“Second, Gu Gyeak's corpse.”
Gu Gyeak had died with such a vivid expression of surprise that he hardly seemed dead.
“What does that have to do with anything?”
“If he had been ambushed by the commander, he wouldn't have died with such an unexpected expression of shock.”
“...I believe anyone would react that way if ambushed.”
“Of course, that isn't the only reason.”
I turned Ilmyeong around so he could not see the door, then stepped outside with Dang Seohui.
Blood Brawl and the Flame Ghost Consort, who had not shown much interest in our conversation, began watching us as well.
Dang Seohui and I entered the room one after the other. Then I asked Ilmyeong.
“Who entered first just now?”
“Benefactor Jin, what do you mean?”
“Answer me. Who entered first?”
Still facing the wall, Ilmyeong shrugged as though he had no idea what I was getting at.
“Of course Benefactor Dang entered first.”
“How did you know when you didn't see?”
“Well, from the sound of footsteps, her presence...”
I nodded firmly.
“Now do you understand?”
“...Pardon?”
Ilmyeong and Dang Seohui were not the only ones tilting their heads at me. Blood Brawl and the Flame Ghost Consort were as well.
“The commander said that, on the day he was attacked, he had been drinking and mistook the people who entered for us.”
“...Yes.”
“No matter how much of a drunkard he might be, could he mistake other people for us?”
“...!”
The eyes of all four people, including Blood Brawl, widened at once.
“Furthermore, the commander said, ‘You bastards.’ The assassins deliberately moved as a group of three, not alone.”
“...”
They opened and closed their mouths like carp waiting for food.
“They likely approached Gu Gyeak the same way.”
“...But isn't that speculation? The wounds on both men were clearly left by the Ak Clan's martial arts and the Yellow Sand Sect's sword.”
The Yellow Sand Sect's sword was one thing.
A saw-toothed saber was a common weapon in the Black Path martial world.
But the traces left by the Ak Clan's Blaze Spear Art were distinctive.
“That is true.”
I readily nodded.
The marks of the Blaze Spear Art could not be copied so easily.
Anyone who saw Gu Gyeak's corpse would have recognized those wounds and thought of the Ak Clan.
But in my previous life, I had seen the traces left when the real Ak Clan's Blaze Spear Art killed someone.
I asked the Flame Ghost Consort.
“Senior Yeom. I heard you use hand techniques that employ fire energy...”
Then...
“Miss Yeom!”
A shrill voice pierced my ears.
“...”
When I stared in bewilderment, the Flame Ghost Consort puffed out both cheeks and shook her head.
Then the voice called out again.
“Miss Yeom!”
What was this?
Couldn't she see this was a serious moment? Even if she was a leading figure of the Black Path martial world, this was too much...
“I won't answer you!”
I finally sighed and opened my mouth.
“Miss Yeom...”
When I reluctantly addressed her that way, the Flame Ghost Consort's cheeks reddened as she blinked.
“Yes!”
What was that sudden change in attitude?
...Anyway, it wasn't important, so I quickly moved on.
“...When using hand techniques to transfer heat, what is the most effective method?”
“You burn the organs and leave heat inside them, where it eats away at them like poison.”
The Flame Ghost Consort held up the edge of her hand, miming a stabbing motion.
“The fire that clings inside burns the flesh and blood, and eventually the nerves. The victim writhes in agony until they finally take their own life.”
Our group fell silent at the sight of the Flame Ghost Consort casually smiling as she said something so horrifying.
I nodded once at her and continued.
“The heat of the Blaze Spear is generally concentrated at the spearhead. When one first begins training, the entire spearhead glows red-hot, but the higher one's cultivation, the more the heat gathers at its tip.”
It was simple.
Those who had just entered the realm of sword qi proudly displayed broad, rough sword qi. As their realm rose, the sword qi grew thinner while becoming denser.
That was even more true of sword force.
“Considering the commander's attainment, his energy should have been concentrated at the very tip, or at least near the tip.”
I pressed my hand against the side of my neck until the flesh sank in slightly.
“Then the heat remaining in the wound would appear not around it, but by cooking the inside of the wound instead.”
During the Orthodox-Demonic War, the Ak Clan's warriors had not driven their spears deep into their enemies.
There was no need to create a penetrating wound when the scorching heat could burn the organs and leave heat within to bring about death.
Ilmyeong furrowed his brow and let out a low groan.
“Then... why were such wounds left behind?”
“Because that is how the Shandong Ak Clan's Blaze Spear Art is presented.”
When the Ak Clan demonstrated the Blaze Spear Art publicly, they put on a show of piercing solid stone slabs.
The stone did not shatter. A round hole simply appeared in its center, with soot left around it. That was practically the symbol of the Blaze Spear Art.
The purpose behind piercing Gu Gyeak's torso was to ensure that people clearly recognized the publicly known appearance of the Ak Clan's spear art.
So that assassin bastard had been kind enough to tell everyone that Ak Byeongbi was the culprit.
Gu Gyeak's perfect position as a member of the war faction.
The reasons Gu Gyeak deserved to die.
The unmistakable wounds on Gu Gyeak's body.
Everything was steering this whole story in one direction.
“The culprit's finger is deliberately pointing at Ak Byeongbi.”
I raised a finger and traced a line through the air.
“And everyone in the Black Alliance, including us, is turning their gaze in the direction the culprit intends.”
I did not know what scheme or hidden plot lay behind this.
It was only natural for countless secret struggles to arise when building a faction.
But...
I could not forgive them for using us in that hidden scheme.
“If we follow that gaze, the culprit will be waiting at its end.”
So I had no intention of quietly watching that bastard achieve their goal.
At the very least, I'd feel better if I could throw ashes into the meal they had already prepared.
Footnotes:
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