WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: Chen
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
◈ The Martial Genius who Remembers Everything ◈
Chapter 239: Catching the Hidden Murderer (4)
──────
Even after discovering the Double Shadow Demon Brigade, they were shaken despite knowing its true nature.
“Brothers!!! What are you thinking right now?! Then again, maybe you do not know! And do you not know that I always go alone when I go meet women?”
“Ugh...”
They simply could not believe that the person who had stood beside them all this time was an enemy.
“Besides! My answer may have come late, but I answered clearly! It only took me time to remember because I was not interested in it... How does that make me the culprit?!”
The original person and the bonds they had built had already been passed on to someone wearing the same face and acting the same way. That made it difficult to think of them as a fake.
“Ask something else, then! Does it make any sense to find the culprit with just one question?!”
They were suspicious, yet could not follow that suspicion through to the end.
What if they were wrong? What if it was only a misunderstanding?
They had to believe that... because otherwise, the bonds they had clung to would be shattered.
That was why so many members of the Martial Alliance's elite units had died.
What about our Sojeong Unit?
We had suspected one another even before the Double Shadow Demon Brigade infiltrated us. Whenever anything felt even slightly off, we drew our blades first.
Someone might die unjustly that way, but at least they would not die at the hands of a hidden assassin.
Shing.
The Black Dragon Sword slid free, and the Five Hounds of Seopyeong... no, the Three Hounds of Seopyeong now, turned to look at me.
“Wait a moment... It is not certain yet...”
I understood how the man felt.
He could not turn on a younger brother who had shared hardships and joys with him for decades as easily as flipping his palm.
But the cunning Double Shadow Demon Brigade never missed such openings.
They exploited the basic trust every human possessed.
“I said wait!!!”
As I approached, Second Brother raised a hand to block my way.
It could not have been easy to believe. But I had conclusive proof.
I immediately used Lotus and hurled Second Brother at Blood Brawl.
“Th-that damned bastard again!”
Thud! Boom!
Blood Brawl tried to strike Second Brother down at once, but Second Brother spun through the air, kicked off Blood Brawl's fist, and shot back toward me instead.
“You crazy bastard...! Youngest!”
“Yes, Brother!”
Even men notorious enough to have hound in their epithet had forged deep bonds among themselves.
That was why the Double Shadow Demon Brigade could not help becoming an object of hatred to everyone, whether of the White Path or the Black Path.
The two swung their sabers at the same time.
Saber qi flew at my head and waist, as if to split me in two.
I used the Iron Bridge while pushing the Taeul Eighty Thousand Divine Steps to its limit, barely slipping between the saber qi before charging at the Double Shadow Demon Brigade member.
“You lunatic...!”
Fourth Brother desperately scattered saber strikes before my mysterious footwork.
His saber art was identical to that of the other Five Hounds of Seopyeong.
Clangclangclang!
The moment I tried to thrust my sword into his neck after Fourth Brother barely blocked my Greater Heaven Sword Art...
Three strands of saber qi flew in from behind, forcing me to twist around and block them.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Before I could fully disperse the saber qi, I turned back and unleashed the Myriad Blossoms Invincible Fist at Fourth Brother.
Dozens of fist images slammed into his body, sending him flying more than three zhang before he crashed into the wall.
Crash!
“Cough!”
The moment he hit the floor, Fourth Brother sprang back up and gripped his saber again.
His body trembled as he raised his voice.
“Brothers!! Do you not understand yet?! That bastard is trying to kill us one by one like this!”
His desperate expression and voice, trembling lips, and eyes full of fear.
Could brothers who had spent decades together truly turn away after seeing him like that?
Even I would have wondered whether this bastard had been wronged and reconsidered.
‘If it were not for the Red Phoenix Bangle.’
I did not know why, but whenever I stood before this bastard, the Red Phoenix Bangle absorbed an amount of internal energy no greater than a drop of dew.
Saber qi filled with killing intent began pouring in from behind.
“You have given up thinking.”
It was a strange sight.
Disciples of White Path sects often acted this way.
Even after the Inspectorate examined everything thoroughly and the Enforcement Hall completed its investigation, concluding that someone was a hidden assassin, they would hear the desperate cries of their martial brothers and deny every piece of evidence.
They would claim it had to be a false accusation driven by political motives...
That their martial brother could never be a hidden assassin...
Yet Black Path martial artists acted no differently from those of the White Path.
‘Is this why the Demonic Cult ruled the world?’
These bastards drove us mad.
They made us lose our humanity.
They destroyed our common sense and morality.
That was why I could never let this bastard, who had inherited the blood of the Heavenly Demon, escape.
I pushed the Lesser Heaven Sword Art to its limit, responding to the saber qi while blocking Fourth Brother from moving carelessly.
The moment I tried to pressure him...
The three members of the Five Hounds of Seopyeong formed a coordinated formation and thrust at six vital points at once.
‘This will kill me!’
None of them were especially impressive individually, but the moment they coordinated their movements, they became an enormous threat.
I quickly spun twice in the air to evade their combined assault, but I could not completely neutralize it.
Riiip.
Drip. Drip.
Long wounds opened across my forearm and thigh, blood dripping from them.
The three approached Fourth Brother, met his eyes one by one, then nodded and formed their coordinated formation.
I warned them as they moved in perfect unison.
“I understand that you want to trust your brother. But... I have to say, it is not a good choice. You are protecting the one who killed your sect leader.”
I tore strips from my clothes to roughly bind my wounds, then gripped the Black Dragon Sword again.
Second Brother of the Five Hounds of Seopyeong gritted his teeth, his face red.
“We will investigate that ourselves.”
“That is exactly what you cannot do.”
“Even if he is a hidden assassin, we can deal with him ourselves!”
No matter how harshly one had trained, they could not easily suspect and kill someone wearing the face of their own brother.
Perhaps the reason they could not easily cast out the Double Shadow Demon Brigade was because, even if only a shell remained, they still wanted their brothers and sisters to live.
If the person beside them was proven fake, it was no different from being told that the real one was already dead.
Even absolute masters fell victim to hidden assassins wearing the faces of their grandchildren. The gap in martial skill meant nothing.
There was only one way to escape this trap...
Malice sharp enough to be venomous.
“That is why you lost to the Sojeong Unit.”
Only beasts could tear demonic beings apart.
I unleashed Taeul Yang Palm, Taeul Sect's patched-together martial art.
Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!
In my previous life, its power had been disappointing for the internal energy it consumed, so I rarely used it. But now that I possessed four gapja of internal energy, efficiency no longer seemed to matter.
Scorching heat spread in every direction, stopping the breath of the four remaining Hounds of Seopyeong, if only for a moment.
I also used the Cunning Deception Divine Art I had recently learned to obstruct their vision, then drove in the Lesser Heaven Sword Art.
Screeech!
The Five Hounds of Seopyeong swung their sabers to knock away the Black Dragon Sword shooting toward them like an arrow, but I was slightly faster.
Slash.
A deep wound opened across Third Brother's chest, and he collapsed where he stood.
As I pulled back my sword and prepared to launch it again, the Five Hounds of Seopyeong immediately took up defensive positions.
I used the Greater Heaven Sword Art to confuse their sight so they could not easily reform their formation.
Shrrr.
Dozens of sword images instantly flew toward their necks, vital points, and eyes.
They swung their sabers like mad, but most of the images were illusion swords.
I followed up with the Lesser Heaven Sword Art, deepening their confusion.
Screeech!
The Lesser Heaven Sword Art, carrying even more power than before, shot out like a streak of light.
“Damn it...!”
“Urgh...”
Second Brother and Youngest Brother leaped aside, apparently realizing they could not stop it.
I unleashed the Myriad Blossoms Invincible Fist at the culprit.
Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!
Crash!
Caught off guard by the fists, Fourth Brother was driven into a corner.
I extended the Black Dragon Sword toward him.
Shrrr!
Like the ribs of a metal fan unfolding, illusion swords and real swords filled every direction. Fourth Brother's body shook as they surrounded him.
Realizing he had no other choice, he kicked off the ground and shot into the air.
But I had no intention of letting him go easily.
“Where do you think you are going?!”
Ping!
The Flying Dragon Claw flew out with a faint whistle and wrapped around his ankle. Using the power of Snow Flower, I slammed him into the floor.
Crash!
“Cough...”
Fourth Brother curled up and groaned, apparently in tremendous pain.
I executed a stamping step and tried to bring my sword down on his head in one stroke.
Clang!
Screeeech.
The Black Dragon Sword was blocked by a long saber, our weapons grinding together with a grating sound.
“I warned you to stop...!”
Second Brother shouted, blood still wet around his lips.
I put more strength into the Black Dragon Sword.
“That man is the culprit.”
“Fourth Brother used his own martial arts even in such a desperate situation. And as he said... his answer came late, but he still answered clearly.”
I looked at him and sneered.
“You are defending an enemy. I suppose you want to die this time.”
Second Brother's hand on his saber began to shake.
“Cough... Stop anyway! This is your final warning.”
Clang!
In the end, we were forced back three steps each by the force of our clash. Third Brother and Youngest Brother moved to Second Brother's side again, guarding him.
Second Brother stared ahead and asked Fourth Brother.
“Fourth Brother.”
“Yes, Brother.”
“Let me ask you something. What do I do whenever I have free time?”
Fourth Brother raised his voice as if he had been wronged.
“Fishing! Fishing! You fish even when you have no bait or hook! Your martial art is related to the insight you gained from it too!”
“Then who was Youngest Brother's first love?”
“Suni from the next village. After she became a high official's concubine, he cursed the world and joined the Black Path.”
Second Brother was already looking at Fourth Brother with complicated eyes.
“Then what wrong did Third Brother commit recently?”
“He stole Second Brother's money pouch.”
“...What?”
Second Brother touched his own money pouch as if he had never expected that, then looked at Third Brother. Third Brother nodded, as though admitting it.
“...Look at that! He is clearly my younger brother. What reason is there to doubt him...?”
Of course he seemed real.
No, that man believed Fourth Brother was the real Fourth Brother.
That was a feeling anyone would naturally have, no matter whether they belonged to the White Path or Black Path.
We had not survived simply because we could easily make crude jokes.
The more accurate reason was this.
“Do you still not understand? The three of you clearly overwhelmed me when you coordinated your attacks. Why were you pushed back when the four of you formed a coordinated formation?”
“...”
...Because we had no humanity left.
We had survived that hell because we had already become closer to beasts.
Was that not a contradiction?
Could one truly be called human after discarding one's humanity just to survive as one?
Second Brother turned his head, then met my gaze.
“What... are you doing now?”
He tilted his head at the stance I had taken.
“Catching the culprit.”
Then I executed the first form of the Three White Moon Heaven-Subduing Forms, Extreme Swiftness.
Swift Movement.
The sound of air tearing apart rang through the room, and every wooden chair and table inside toppled over helplessly.
In the blink of an eye, sword qi shot forward and cut off Fourth Brother's head before anyone could even register it.
Spurt.
Fourth Brother touched his own neck, his voice empty.
“Th-this is not right... This is not right...”
Thud.
Fourth Brother's head fell, blood spraying upward like a fountain.
The three men who watched their brother die before their eyes stared at me blankly, as if their minds had gone empty.
“W-what are you... What are you doing? M-my brother... My brother...”
Second Brother was covered in his brother's blood as he stared at me in disbelief.
It was not only the Five Hounds of Seopyeong.
Everyone from the Blood Sword Sect charged at me as if the sight of blood had driven them insane.
“Aaaah! Kill him!”
“Kill him!”
“How dare you! Our Blood Sword Sect...!!”
The Blood Sword Sect attacked wildly, and the Five Hounds of Seopyeong, who had just lost another brother, rushed at me with murderous energy.
Blood Brawl, who had been watching from the side, finally moved.
“...You crazy bastard!”
Startled, he joined the melee. Gun Yuhyeon also joined in, knocking martial artists down with his fluttering robe.
“Young Master Jin! We need to escape.”
Despite Gun Yuhyeon's urgent cry, I pushed deeper into their ranks.
Using the Taeul Eighty Thousand Divine Steps at full power, I took up a position behind them.
The Black Path martial artists surrounding me seemed to know why I had approached. They desperately swung their sabers at me.
But I needed something else from the start.
I quickly grabbed Fourth Brother's severed head and returned to my original position.
The Three Hounds of Seopyeong spotted the head in my hand and their eyes bulged as if they were having a fit.
The other Blood Sword Sect members also ground their teeth, looking ready to tear me apart.
“Take your hands off Fourth Brother right now!”
“Black Flame Dragon! If you continue to humiliate us, we will tear you to pieces!”
Without hesitation, I gripped the skin of the severed head's face and tore it off.
Riiip.
Skin that should never have come off so easily peeled away.
People imagined a horrific sight and each turned their heads.
But what they expected did not happen.
As the commotion died down, a startled voice rang out.
“A-a human-skin mask?”
Everyone's gaze turned to what I held in my hand.
The human-skin mask peeled from Fourth Brother's face.
And...
The face of an unfamiliar man who had been pretending to be Fourth Brother all this time.
The Blood Sword Sect members had forgotten that they had been in a fierce battle only moments ago, their attention fixed on the human-skin mask and the man's face.
I spoke to them.
“This is what you were willing to risk your lives to protect.”
The Three Hounds of Seopyeong dropped their weapons to the floor.
The White Path and the Black Path reacted no differently once they learned the truth.
Footnotes:
Join our discord at https://dsc.gg/wetried