WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: Chen
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◈ The Martial Genius who Remembers Everything ◈
Chapter 240: Catching the Hidden Murderer (5)
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Martial Alliance Mantong Office.
A place where Alliance members were worked to the bone amid chronic staff shortages.
Normally, flying documents and the groans of overworked Alliance members ensured the place was never quiet. Yet for some reason, it was now steeped in silence.
Jegal Somyeong pressed their fingers against their throbbing head.
“Is there still no reply from the Taewon branch?”
“...No.”
The Black Path forces around Sichuan kept making suspicious moves.
They had to know that the Martial Alliance was already on edge from its war against the Blood Cult.
The Black Path's actions were practically a warning that full-scale war was imminent.
With the campaign against the Blood Cult just ahead, the Martial Alliance had reached a point where it had to decide whether to press forward or turn around and strike the Black Path in Sichuan.
They had contacted the Taewon branch several times to learn what the Black Alliance was plotting, but no reply had come.
Tap. Tap.
“Hmm...”
Lost in thought, Jegal Somyeong tapped the desk as they organized their thoughts.
“There has still been no word from Cheonmok Pavilion either?”
“Yes. The promised date has already passed, but... there has been no contact.”
Carrier pigeons were easily lost.
That made the recent break in communication understandable, but the fact that even Cheonmok Pavilion's people were taking this long to report back left only one conclusion. Someone was deliberately blocking information from Shanxi Province.
“Could it be the Black Alliance?”
Tap.
Jegal Somyeong's fingers stopped.
They quietly looked at the Alliance member who had asked the question.
“Why... Is there something on my face...?”
“Hmm...”
Maeng Juwon would not have asked such a question.
Jegal Somyeong shook their head.
“No.”
This person had been carefully selected, but there was a clear difference in ability.
Maeng Juwon had somehow kept things running until now, but that too was beginning to reach its limit.
Whenever circumstances forced them to send Maeng Juwon away, as they had this time, Jegal Somyeong had to handle all of the Mantong Office's work alone.
This was not work for someone their age.
‘I need to put that brat Jin Sowoon in the Mantong Office soon.’
It was troublesome, but there was no helping it until then.
Jegal Somyeong explained to the Alliance member.
“The Black Alliance has only just raised its pillars and put a roof over its head. There's no way it possesses an intelligence organization capable of this.”
Even getting this far was impressive for such a crude organization that had only just been formed.
Still, it had gathered people and taken its first step.
‘Dam Ak of the Blue Tile Academy... We lost a fine talent.’
They had known from the beginning that Dam Ak was someone destined to enter the imperial court, so they had never expected him to have any connection with the Martial Alliance.
Yet now he was suddenly the Black Alliance's Chief Strategist.
His choice was deeply unexpected.
Jegal Somyeong wanted to investigate the circumstances, but the Martial Alliance did not even have the breathing room to do so now.
The martial artists dispatched to Sichuan were already crying out because they could not receive proper supplies.
At this rate, the Martial Alliance would not collapse under the Blood Cult's desperate resistance. It would collapse under a rebellion from its own members.
Of course, these hardships had not begun yesterday.
The Martial Alliance would likely continue to face similar difficulties in the future.
That was why it needed people who would carry on its ideals more than anything.
People who sincerely wished for peace in the martial world, beyond their clans and sects.
That was why Jegal Somyeong could never stop hungering for talent.
‘Maeng Juwon and Jin Sowoon... Those two will be the starting point.’
As they pressed firmly against their eyes, the world seemed to spin.
Yet Jegal Somyeong was not even granted that brief moment of rest.
“Chief Strategist! A dispatch has arrived from Cheonmok Pavilion!”
“...!”
At that news, Jegal Somyeong forgot their exhaustion and sprang to their feet.
It was a red dispatch, delivered directly to the Chief Strategist without passing through Cheonmok Pavilion or the Mantong Office for review.
Only a short message was written on it.
[Mission Failed]
Both Jegal Somyeong and the Alliance member fell silent at the terse message, which offered no explanation.
The Alliance member finally managed to speak.
“Chief Strategist. This...”
Cheonmok Pavilion's reports followed a fixed format.
A format designed to convey the heart of the intelligence with the fewest possible words.
Yet they had not even been able to use that format.
That meant the Cheonmok Pavilion personnel sent to investigate had not only failed their mission, but had been driven into a situation where their lives were in danger.
“Could Dam Ak have prepared for this?”
Jegal Somyeong silently shook their head.
‘No matter how capable Dam Ak may be, he couldn't stop Cheonmok Pavilion without proper preparation.’
What kind of organization was Cheonmok Pavilion? They were the Martial Alliance's eyes and ears.
Its members had received specialized Martial Alliance training from the beginning.
Their martial arts might vary, but no force among the Nine Sects One Gang or Five Great Clans could compare to them when it came to infiltrating targets, gathering intelligence, and handling it.
They could even carry out assassinations when necessary. It made no sense that Dam Ak could easily stop them with nothing more than cleverness.
Tap. Tap.
“What could have happened...?”
The question was not simply whether Cheonmok Pavilion's mission had succeeded or failed.
The problem was that they had no idea what was happening in Taewon, Shanxi Province, where the Black Alliance was located.
What mattered now was who was blocking the information, and why.
Jegal Somyeong's hand, which had been tapping the desk, suddenly clenched into a fist.
‘Could it be... those Demonic Cult bastards!’
If it was not them, there was no explanation for what was happening in Taewon.
The question was what they were plotting.
If they were planning a war between the Black Alliance and the Martial Alliance, if that was truly the case...
The delegation's mission would become nearly impossible.
No, the mission was not the issue. The delegation's very safety would be at risk.
‘Did I give them too difficult a mission?’
They had assigned it thinking success would be good, but failure would be acceptable. Now that things had turned out this way, worry came first.
“Should we wait for now?”
At the Alliance member's words, Jegal Somyeong rose from their seat.
They did not know who the culprit was, but this was no time to sit back and wait.
“Chief Strategist?”
“I am going to the Alliance Leader’s Hall.”
Jegal Somyeong could not remain still.
#
The revelation that the fourth of the Five Hounds of Seopyeong had been a hidden assassin wearing a human-skin mask sent shock through the entire Black Alliance.
The leaders were particularly shaken.
If Do Bongsu and the Five Hounds of Seopyeong had not known, it proved just how capable the hidden assassin had been.
They also began to tense up at the possibility that they too could be assassination targets. Some even started keeping their distance from those closest to them.
“What matters now is who sent this hidden assassin.”
“The Martial Alliance, of course.”
“You bastard! Are you still babbling about war? Do you think the Martial Alliance is insane enough to pull something like this right now?”
“...”
The hidden assassin's capabilities also spoke to the capabilities of the organization that had raised them.
But aside from the Martial Alliance, the Black Alliance, and the Blood Cult, what force under heaven could produce people like that?
There were even fewer groups capable of plotting something as vicious as killing someone and replacing them with an impersonator.
Voices within the Black Alliance calling for hidden assassins to be rooted out grew stronger.
“We must identify the hidden assassins first.”
“But we don't know who they are.”
“Could we not use... the method the Black Flame Dragon used?”
They only hesitated to put it into practice.
Everyone now knew how Jin Sowoon had caught the hidden assassin, but no one had the nerve to do the same.
It was one thing to suspect someone of being a hidden assassin. One wrong move could result in killing an innocent martial brother or comrade.
The leaders, including the war faction that had insisted on dragging out the delegation and cutting off their heads immediately, all fell silent.
They began watching the Black Flame Dragon's next move.
#
Having finally cleared himself of the false accusation, Jin Sowoon strode through the Black Alliance with a triumphant air.
Not that he had ever walked around looking intimidated in the first place.
Bang!
The doors of the Four Dragon Sect's hall burst apart, and its disciples raised their snake-like eyes as they reached for their weapons.
“Who dares enter the Four Dragon Sect...?”
“It’s me, you snake bastards!”
The one who announced his arrival in such an outrageously rude manner was none other than Jin Sowoon.
“...”
The Four Dragon Sect disciples, who had been ready to unleash their anger moments ago, hesitated at his bold entrance.
Accompanied by Gun Yuhyeon and Blood Brawl, Jin Sowoon dragged over a chair and sat as if he had entered his own home.
“Gather all your guards while I'm still asking nicely.”
“...”
The Four Dragon Sect disciples hesitated, reading the room.
They knew why Jin Sowoon had come and what he intended to do.
He had come to find the hidden assassin who had killed Gal Munjeong of the Four Dragon Sect.
The Four Dragon Sect had insisted that Ilmyeong of the delegation was the hidden assassin, so it would not have been strange for their blood to boil. Yet after Jin Sowoon uncovered the hidden assassin among Do Bongsu's sworn brothers, the situation had changed completely.
Jin Sowoon had discovered the existence of a hidden assassin no one else knew about, found them, and even killed them.
No one could stop him now that he had received the Alliance Lord's permission.
Then...
“Black Flame Dragon.”
As if he had been waiting, Wang Jubal, the Four Dragon Sect's vice leader, rose from his seat.
He asked in the most respectful voice he could manage.
“You came to find a hidden assassin, correct?”
Then he spoke with certainty.
“We have confirmed through internal questioning that there are no hidden assassins among us. Go elsewhere.”
Jin Sowoon tilted his head as he looked at Wang Jubal.
Internal questioning?
“What bullshit.”
“...”
Wang Jubal's eyes trembled at Jin Sowoon's insulting words.
“We conducted thorough questioning...”
“Then why is there still a hidden assassin here?”
“What?”
Jin Sowoon gestured toward the Four Dragon Sect disciples with his chin.
“Are you going to leave the real hidden assassin alone? Then the Four Dragon Sect will bear responsibility for every assassination that happens from now on...”
He looked at Wang Jubal and smiled.
“Are you fine with that?”
Wang Jubal's gaze sharpened at once.
“How can you be so certain?”
“Are you still doubting my abilities?”
“...”
Their gazes clashed fiercely.
It was a battle of pride neither could back down from, between Wang Jubal, now the leader of a sect, and Jin Sowoon, who needed to keep the delegation alive and bring it to the Martial Alliance.
The tension in the room rose under their intense struggle of wills.
Then...
Cough. Cough.
A light cough broke the silence.
Jin Sowoon's eyes flashed.
“Who was that? Who coughed just now!”
“...”
Jin Sowoon sprang up from his chair.
“I am using my mind-reading art! Who dared cough while I was doing so?!”
At Jin Sowoon's roar, the Four Dragon Sect disciples began looking in one direction.
The face of the man standing where their gazes gathered turned pale.
Hic.
“Was it you?”
“I-I'm sorry.”
Jin Sowoon approached the man, opened his eyes wide, and stared into his face.
“How could you cough while I was using my mind-reading art, you fool?!”
“Hic! Hic! Hic!”
“Looking at you, I can see your head is full of inner demons.”
“Hic... I-I heard the Taeul Sect was a Taoist sect...”
The sturdy, bearded man shrank back like a boy as he spoke.
Jin Sowoon shouted at him.
“Judging by how you talk back to me, you are definitely the hidden assassin!!!”
“H-how does that make any sense?!”
By this point, the man who had coughed could not believe that a single cough had placed his life in danger.
Wang Jubal finally let out a long sigh and stepped forward.
“That is enough, Black Flame Dragon.”
If he provoked Jin Sowoon any further, there was no telling what humiliation he might suffer.
The Black Path martial world had already learned that the Black Flame Dragon possessed an especially vicious personality.
Wang Jubal looked at Jin Sowoon and asked, “Do I only need to gather the guards?”
“Gather the guards and the elders as well.”
“I will be included too, I assume?”
“No. You don't need to come.”
“What?”
Jin Sowoon folded his arms and looked him over once.
“I have already confirmed through my mind-reading art that your head contains no inner demons.”
“...”
Wang Jubal could not hide his complicated expression.
As the disciple had said earlier, was the Taeul Sect not originally a Taoist sect?
He wanted to ask why Jin Sowoon was talking about Buddhist inner demons, but he kept his mouth tightly shut because he suspected that would only make things more troublesome.
“...”
Gun Yuhyeon and Blood Brawl, who had watched the whole scene, could not close their gaping mouths.
Blood Brawl gave a hollow laugh.
“He really is a crazy bastard.”
“...”
“You think so too, right?”
Instead of answering, Gun Yuhyeon gave a slight nod.
All the while thinking that Jin Sowoon's head was certainly full of inner demons.
Footnotes:
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