WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: Chen
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◈ The Martial Genius who Remembers Everything ◈
Chapter 236: Catching the Hidden Murderer
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With the appearance of a second victim, the atmosphere within the Black Alliance grew even more tense.
Even those who had occasionally traded jokes or secretly drunk alcohol had disappeared. As if they had made a pact, everyone watched the situation in silence.
Ak Byeongbi, who had been receiving treatment at the medical hall, was eventually forced to return to his quarters.
His injuries would need much more time to heal completely, but Black Path martial artists kept storming into the medical hall several times a day. In the end, he had no choice but to leave.
“A physician has agreed to visit once a day, so please don't worry too much.”
“...”
Even with Ilmyeong's reassurance, Ak Byeongbi could not bring himself to speak.
Whatever the outcome, the cause of it all could be traced back to him.
Perhaps understanding how he felt, Ilmyeong smiled faintly.
“What's already happened can't be undone. It wasn't the Captain's fault to begin with. Isn't what matters now how we resolve this?”
Ilmyeong was doing his best to comfort him.
Yet the mood was so heavy that no one could easily speak.
Then...
“Hm... This isn't such a simple matter. The atmosphere outside is far from normal.”
Flame Ghost Consort's clear voice broke the silence.
It was a remark that worsened an already grim mood, but no one disputed it.
Just as she said, the delegation was facing the worst possible situation.
“Hmph. And now that things have gotten this bad, we can't even run away.”
After pausing for a moment, Flame Ghost Consort brushed her lips with her fingers and looked toward Dang Seohui.
“If you run now, every Black Path bastard gathered in the Black Alliance will start hunting you down.”
“...”
Dang Seohui's clenched hands began to tremble, but she could not bring herself to say anything.
Since Do Bongsu of the Blood Sword Sect had been killed, the atmosphere had turned murderous.
Every quarter-hour, stones and concealed weapons flew toward the delegation's residence. Beyond the walls, more and more people gathered with weapons in hand, threatening to kill the delegation.
Ilmyeong stepped in front of Dang Seohui, blocking Flame Ghost Consort's gaze.
“But Lady Yeom knows as well. Lady Dang... didn't do it.”
The person accused of killing Do Bongsu was none other than Dang Seohui.
There had been no official announcement from the Black Alliance leadership, nor had any witness come forward.
Still, based solely on a single Feather Needle found in the corpse, the Black Path martial artists had identified her as the suspect in Do Bongsu's murder.
“Lady Yeom watched over us throughout last night. Can't you prove that Lady Dang could not have left the residence?”
Flame Ghost Consort nodded readily.
“Of course I can prove it.”
Then she fixed Ilmyeong with a sharp gaze.
“What matters is who would believe it.”
“...”
Once Ak Byeongbi had been named as Gu Gyeak's killer, distrust toward the delegation had already reached an extreme.
Then Do Bongsu was murdered, and a single Feather Needle was found in his corpse. It was only natural for suspicion to fall upon the Tang Clan, renowned for concealed weapons and poisons.
Especially since one of the White-Handed Divine Maiden Dang Seohui's specialties was firing poisoned Feather Needles.
Every arrow was aimed at the delegation's throats, as though it had all been arranged in advance.
Flame Ghost Consort pointed at Ak Byeongbi with her chin.
“I don't know if this will comfort you, but in my opinion, the fastest way to resolve this is for that captain to offer up his head.”
She swept her hair back with smooth fingers and added casually.
“Otherwise, everyone dies.”
“...”
Dang Seohui's eyes sharpened at Flame Ghost Consort's words.
As a heavy silence filled the inner room...
“Where did Jin Sowoon go?”
Ak Byeongbi, who had remained silent until then, finally spoke.
Ilmyeong answered at once.
“He said he had business outside and left.”
“At a time like this?”
“Yes.”
“...”
Tens of thousands of Black Path martial artists gathered in the Black Alliance were after the delegation's heads. What business could be important enough for him to risk his life and move now?
Still, if it was him...
‘He'll find a way to get them all home alive.’
His feat of breaking through the encirclement of the Nine Sects One Gang and finally reaching Wuhan during that brutal regular examination had remained a topic of discussion among Inspectorate personnel for quite some time.
With a resolute, detached expression, Ak Byeongbi looked at Ilmyeong.
“Ilmyeong.”
“Yes.”
“When Jin Sowoon returns, make an escape plan.”
“...”
Though Ilmyeong gave no response, Ak Byeongbi continued.
“I'll stay behind. Any agreement or alliance is already impossible, so find a way back and leave me here. This is my final order as captain.”
“...”
After listening quietly, Ilmyeong shook his head.
“I'm sorry, but I cannot obey.”
“What?”
“Benefactor Jin already told me.”
“What do you mean?”
Ilmyeong shrugged.
“He said that if the captain says nonsense like, ‘I'll stay behind,’ or ‘Leave me behind,’ I should strike his acupoints and put him to sleep.”
“...”
Ilmyeong looked at Ak Byeongbi and smiled gently.
“Benefactor Jin said he hasn't given up yet, and that he won't give up in the future either.”
Ak Byeongbi bit down hard on his lip.
Then Dang Seohui, having regained her composure, spoke.
“Command has already passed to Jin Sowoon. So the captain has no authority left.”
Once Dang Seohui said that as well, Ak Byeongbi could no longer speak.
He could not understand why Jin Sowoon was willing to take such a difficult path.
‘Does he... truly think of me as a comrade?’
For some reason, his chest felt tight.
Ak Byeongbi truly could not understand it.
Had he been traveling with disciples of the Five Great Clans, people with whom he had built ties over the years, he would have been abandoned long ago.
And if their positions had been reversed, he would have made the same choice.
‘It would've been the right choice, the rational judgment.’
No matter how close people were, they could not remain together aboard a sinking ship.
Yet Jin Sowoon was risking his life for him, someone who was not even from the Five Great Clans and who had made a grave mistake against him before.
Ak Byeongbi could not easily accept that fact.
Even so...
A small desire to take Jin Sowoon's outstretched hand rose in his heart.
“So, Captain, please rest for now. We will all return together.”
“...All right.”
Those who gave up responsibility were not granted the right to choose.
To avoid becoming any more of a burden, Ak Byeongbi kept his mouth shut.
Then...
Knock, knock.
The door was knocked on, and attendants entered with food.
“I was worried about what we'd do for food since we can't go out. At least this is a relief.”
Flame Ghost Consort stretched and sat at the table, while Ilmyeong prepared some rice gruel and brought it to Ak Byeongbi first.
Just as everyone lifted their spoons to fill their empty stomachs...
Dang Seohui suddenly extended both hands and fired Feather Needles in opposite directions.
Ting! Ting! Ting!
Flame Ghost Consort, whose spoon had been knocked from her hand by the Feather Needles, frowned. Ak Byeongbi, who had spilled his gruel, stared blankly at Dang Seohui.
“What are you doing?”
Having been trapped in the inner room for so long, Flame Ghost Consort's nerves had been on edge, and she subtly raised her killing intent. Dang Seohui's gaze remained fixed on the table.
“Lady Dang...”
“...”
At last, without a word, Dang Seohui approached the table and stabbed a long needle into the meat dish Flame Ghost Consort had been about to put in her mouth.
“...!”
The instant Flame Ghost Consort saw the needle turn black, she understood what it meant without Dang Seohui needing to say anything.
“Poison!”
Dang Seohui began sticking needles into the other dishes one by one.
Every needle lodged in the more than ten side dishes and the rice turned black.
Only after checking all the food did Dang Seohui straighten and turn toward the group.
“...We must be careful.”
Her voice was as emotionless as usual, but for some reason, everyone felt a chill run down their spines.
#
Hostile gazes landed on me with every step I took.
Some ground their teeth.
Others stroked the hilts of their weapons.
One man's martial robe had even swelled, perhaps from gathering internal energy...
Then his companions spotted the person beside me and hurriedly stopped him.
Blood Brawl, who had watched it all, clicked his tongue.
“...You're really a bastard desperate to die.”
Was I?
Thinking back, there had been many times in my previous life when I wished I could simply die.
Especially after the Orthodox-Demonic War began, on nights when I survived by stepping over the corpses of the Sojeong Unit and Martial Alliance members, I desperately wished I would never open my eyes again.
A bitter smile formed on my lips without me realizing it.
“Do I look that way?”
“Do you think you look any different?”
Still, the reason I had been able to bury that desire to die deep in my heart and keep moving forward was rage.
Rage toward the Martial Alliance, which saw our lives as nothing more than numbers.
Rage toward the privileged who tried to use us as expendable tools because we were less important than they were.
And above all, rage toward the Demonic Cult, which believed it could decide whether we lived or died whenever it wished.
That rage had kept me alive.
The malice that said that even if my heart were torn out and my throat cut, I would at least tear out one of my enemy's eyes.
The venomous will that said that even if my death was certain, I would leave them with lasting damage.
That was what had kept our Sojeong Unit alive.
In this life as well, I intended to unleash that venomous malice to my heart's content.
“It doesn't matter how I look. Obsessing over appearances is exactly what the hidden murderer wants.”
That was why I was moving around like a madman who had offered up his life.
That bastard surely wanted us to hide like criminals.
They wanted us to flee in terror.
If that was the sight they wanted, then walking around as though I had already cast my life aside was at least something they would not want to see.
If they hated it, I was willing to run naked through the Black Alliance.
When I entered the largest hall on the eastern side of the Black Alliance, the boisterous atmosphere inside froze in an instant.
It was a hall jointly used by members of the alliance whose forces were not particularly strong.
That was why more Black Path martial artists had gathered there than in any place I had visited so far.
A large man pushed through the crowd, axe handle in hand, and stood before me.
“Isn't that the Black Flame Dragon?”
He looked me up and down, then his face twisted.
“How dare you come here?”
“I have business here, so move aside.”
“Hmph! Who are you here to kill this time?”
A laugh slipped out of me.
“Even if I were the murderer, do you think I'd risk my life walking around in broad daylight just to kill a rat like you?”
“What?! You bastard!”
As though he had heard enough, the large man reached out with his left hand to grab my throat.
I lightly pushed his hand away, seized his sleeve, and used Snow Flower to slam him headfirst into the floor.
Crash!
The large man smashed through the wooden floor and immediately lost consciousness. As if they had been waiting for it, the Black Path martial artists each drew their weapons and prepared to fight.
Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang!
Just before another large-scale fight could break out, a deep sigh came from beside me.
“Ha...”
Thud.
Blood Brawl stomped on the floor, and the martial artists standing nearby lost their balance and collapsed one after another.
What in the world was that technique?
The Black Path bastards gathered here were all people with some standing in the martial world.
Yet they could not endure it. As though their knees had gone weak, every one of them dropped to their knees.
The more I saw of him, the more incredible he was.
After looking over the subdued scene, Blood Brawl growled.
“Did you not hear the order not to act rashly?”
“...”
Everyone looked deeply dissatisfied, but after witnessing a move that had reached the realm beyond the heavens, none of them dared argue.
Once the area had settled down, I started moving again. Blood Brawl looked at me as if I were absurd and asked, “What exactly did you come here for?”
“I couldn't resolve this alone, so I came to ask for help.”
“Help?”
“Yes. If you can't do something alone, shouldn't you ask for help?”
Blood Brawl even let out a hollow laugh.
“Was that the attitude of someone who came to ask for help?”
I shrugged lightly.
“Isn't it true that in the Black Path martial world, the strong can do whatever they want?”
“...”
One of the absolute rules of the Black Path martial world was that the strong devoured the weak.
I used to think it was a terribly unfair rule, but there was no rule more convenient for me in the current situation.
If you were strong, you did not need to rack your brain trying to persuade fools.
Following the rules of the Black Path martial world, I walked confidently farther inside.
Then...
“Welcome.”
At a table off to one side, Gun Yuhyeon was waiting for me with a smile so bright it lifted one's mood just by looking at it.
He was far too calm.
As expected, he was no ordinary man.
“Did you know I would come?”
“I thought you might.”
Finding Gun Yuhyeon had already been worthwhile, simply because he had expected me to come.
I immediately got to the point.
“Can you help us?”
“Hmm...”
If he moved with me now, there was no telling what difficulties he might face within the Black Alliance afterward.
Blood Brawl was one thing, but it would not be easy for a disciple from a small sect like the Tian'gwan Sect to step forward so readily.
Still...
“Am I truly necessary for this?”
If he was asking whether he was necessary, then of course he was.
After choosing my words for a moment, I answered.
“I believe it will be difficult to resolve this properly without Young Master Yuhyeon.”
Gun Yuhyeon lowered his head as though in thought.
‘Perhaps I should have asked him somewhere without people around?’
With so many eyes on him, it was only natural that he would have to think it over.
Yet an unexpected answer soon came back.
“I will help.”
Gun Yuhyeon spoke without a change in expression.
“Are you... truly sure?”
I had asked him, but I had not expected him to accept so readily.
“Is this not for the sake of both the Black Alliance and the Martial Alliance? Of course I should help.”
“Thank you for seeing it that way.”
As I gave him a cupped-fist salute, Gun Yuhyeon added with an apologetic expression.
“However, may I decide after receiving Strategist Dam's permission?”
Why was Dam Ak suddenly being mentioned?
“He is important to me, and I do not wish to upset him.”
It was an action that suited Gun Yuhyeon's character perfectly.
I nodded without hesitation.
“Of course. Even if you cannot join us, I will remember what you said today.”
Gun Yuhyeon once again gave his characteristic radiant smile.
“Thank you for understanding.”
Leaving Gun Yuhyeon behind, I exited the hall with Blood Brawl.
“To smile in a situation like this...”
At my mutter, Blood Brawl grumbled.
“What are you talking about?”
I shook my head.
“It's nothing.”
“Are you finally done with your madness?”
“Yes.”
The preparations were now complete.
It was time to begin catching the hidden murderer in earnest.
Footnotes:
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