WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: Chen
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
◈ The Martial Genius who Remembers Everything ◈
Chapter 252: The Black Flame Dragon Collects the Winnings (5)
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Fine, I’ll admit it.
I had gone a little too far.
To an ideological inquisitor obsessed with suspicion, I must have looked exactly like either a Black Path spy or a traitorous bastard ready to switch sides at any moment.
Why else would I throw my life away for the Chief Strategist of an enemy force, someone who was all but my enemy?
Honestly, even I would have wondered, ‘How much money did that bastard pocket to risk his life like that?’
Still, wasn’t this unfair to me?
Did I want to risk my life?
How was I supposed to know that damned Je Geumhak was the Yin-Yang Twin Demon?
Of course, that didn’t mean I would have let him live if I’d known. Still, I would have tried to find another way instead of facing him head-on.
I wouldn’t have created such a dramatic situation just to earn Dam Ak’s goodwill.
“Why aren’t you answering?”
Even so, wasn’t asking whether I intended to join the Black Path a little much when I was the greatest contributor to the peace treaty between the Black Alliance and the Martial Alliance?
I might have crossed a line, but Ak Byeongbi had crossed one badly too.
When I stared at him in disbelief, the crease between his brows deepened.
“Are you really thinking of joining them?”
Judging by his fierce expression and flashing eyes, he seemed to be waiting for me to say yes.
This damned man.
“What are you talking about? Why would I join them?”
The corner of Ak Byeongbi’s eye twitched.
His wounds had healed long ago, so it probably wasn’t from blood loss. He seemed to be entertaining some absurd thoughts instead...
I needed to nip this in the bud.
“Why would I, a disciple of a legitimate righteous-path sect, ever join the Black Alliance?”
“...Legitimate?”
What was with that unpleasant look?
I gave him an equally unpleasant expression.
“If we’re talking history, the Taeul Sect is older than the Ak Clan.”
“...”
Ak Byeongbi flinched for a moment before his face turned unpleasant again.
“A righteous-path sect?”
No sect could compare to the Taeul Sect when it came to walking the righteous path.
After all, it had never expanded its influence or gained power for five hundred years.
...Why did that make me want to cry?
I shrugged.
“Can any sect compare to the Taeul Sect when it comes to being untainted?”
“...That is why I am asking. As the Alliance Lord said, if you joined the Black Alliance and gained wealth and glory...”
“Wouldn’t joining the Black Alliance put me far away from wealth and glory already?”
Ak Byeongbi stared at me in silence for a long while.
The truth was, I wasn’t entirely free of worry.
Even if Ak Byeongbi had no ulterior motive, it would cause an enormous uproar if the Martial Alliance and the Martial Arts Academy learned what I had done in the Black Alliance.
People crazed with suspicion would probably glare at me with bloodshot eyes and interrogate me over whether my black hair proved I had been tainted by the Black Path.
And the ideological inquisitor before me would be at the front of that mob.
The ideological inquisitor nodded.
“So that is how it is.”
That didn’t mean I intended to act pathetic.
Those red-eyed bastards could live that way if they wanted.
I was proud of what I had done.
“Do you intend to join the Black Alliance in the future as well...?”
“No. I intend to rise damn high in the Martial Alliance and make the Taeul Sect a sect on par with the Nine Sects One Gang and the Five Great Clans.”
“...”
Ah, had I gone too far there?
Ak Byeongbi, who had been looking at me with suspicion just moments ago, now looked at me as though I were pathetic.
Damn it. Why did that feel even worse?
“I do not think it will be possible, but...”
“What did you say?”
When I glared at him like a wildcat, Ak Byeongbi cleared his throat.
“Ahem. In any case, I understand. Make sure that resolve never changes.”
Huh?
“Pardon?”
Why was that ideological inquisitor giving me such a warm look?
“It is exactly as I said. Countless people will envy and resent you in the future. They will try to slander and malign you.”
Wasn’t he the one who had taken the lead in doing exactly that?
Why was he acting as though he hadn’t now...?
For the moment, I decided to listen.
“Considering what you have done, there could be no better material for them to tear apart.”
Ak Byeongbi’s expression had become solemn.
“Even so, do not become two-faced and lose yourself in immediate gain or emotion, then walk a crooked path.”
“...”
“The righteous path is difficult by nature. It is a painful road. Those who turn their eyes away from that pain... become trapped in stubborn self-justification and blind themselves.”
Ak Byeongbi stared into empty air as though regretting his own past.
“Such people cannot even recognize that they are walking the wrong path.”
He spoke as though he were talking about someone else, but anyone could tell it was his own story.
“So even if it is painful and difficult, keep walking that path. If you do...”
Ak Byeongbi paused, then clenched both hands into fists.
“People who trust you and help you will surely appear.”
Then he stared directly into my eyes and added with conviction.
“They appeared even for someone like me, so I know that much is certain.”
Ak Byeongbi quickly turned his head away. His ears had turned red.
He must have been embarrassed to say something so unlike himself.
I snickered and asked, “Does that mean you have confirmed that I am not a Black Path spy?”
“...Ahem. You were never a spy to begin with.”
“What kind of nonsense is that...?”
“Just know that is how it is. And...”
Ak Byeongbi lowered his reddened face.
What was with his fidgeting hands?
What else was he about to say...?
“Thank you for not giving up.”
For a moment, I was speechless.
At this point, there was one final thing I needed to confirm.
“Um, may I ask you something?”
Ak Byeongbi readily nodded.
“Yes. The Inspectorate will never suspect you of being a Black Path spy again. I swear it in my name as the Third Hall Master.”
No, that wasn’t the important part.
“Yes, yes, I understand. But that isn’t my request.”
I stared intently at his face and asked, “Um... may I tug on your face once?”
“?”
I just needed to check whether he was wearing a human-skin mask.
No matter how I looked at it, he did not seem like the ideological inquisitor I knew.
“I’ll only tug it a little.”
“...”
In a flash, Ak Byeongbi’s face crumpled like a sheet of paper.
#
As Ilmyeong entered the inner chamber, he saw Ak Byeongbi’s face and tilted his head.
He had clearly just had a ‘conversation’ with Jin Sowoon, so why were both his cheeks bright red?
“Unit Leader, did something happen?”
“...No.”
That didn’t seem to be the case...
“Your cheeks...”
“I said no!”
“...”
Ak Byeongbi barked like an angry puppy.
At the sight of him glaring with blazing eyes, Ilmyeong tightly shut his mouth.
Had the conversation not gone well?
“Could it be... you still suspect him?”
“Suspect him?”
If not, why were his cheeks so red?
Ilmyeong met Ak Byeongbi’s gaze and nodded.
“Jin Sowoon’s methods may be a little rough, but surely we cannot say his heart is black as well.”
“...”
Jin Sowoon simply lacked the backing to protect and support him.
Even Monk Cheongwon at the main temple and Paegeom of the Moyong Clan were as rough as they came, yet no one in the martial world doubted their true nature as members of the White Path.
Ilmyeong felt sorry for worldly people who judged others through wicked eyes, seeing only their outer shell.
Then...
“I know too. I know enough about what kind of person he is.”
“Pardon?”
Unexpected words came from Ak Byeongbi.
“He is... like a lesser dragon climbing against a waterfall. Every time he leaps, he cannot help but catch people’s attention.”
“...”
“I also saw only the outer skin of one that had not yet become a dragon, so I doubted him. I never even tried to see what his goals and true nature were.”
Ak Byeongbi lowered his head slightly and muttered.
“...I regret all of it.”
Ilmyeong suddenly felt that Ak Byeongbi had changed greatly.
He could not say exactly what had changed, but the man seemed more at ease and more resolute.
“Perhaps the reason his actions made us so uncomfortable was that we, no, perhaps everyone, had already lost too much of our essence.”
Ak Byeongbi glanced up at Ilmyeong.
“Little Buddha must have thought the same, which is why you willingly followed Jin Sowoon, correct? Otherwise, why would the Little Buddha of all people only run errands for someone? You did not even do that at Yong Soa’s side.”
“...Amitabha.”
A relieved smile appeared on Ak Byeongbi’s lips.
“Do not worry. I will not doubt him any longer. No, I suppose it will be my job to doubt those who doubt him.”
Ilmyeong quietly closed his eyes.
An Enlightened One brightened the eyes of those around them and guided them toward the proper path simply by existing.
Yong Soa was also an Enlightened One, though his way differed.
Yong Soa took people by the hand and led them along the path, while Jin Sowoon forced them to open their eyes and find the path themselves.
“Amitabha...”
Ilmyeong pondered deeply which kind of hero this era truly needed.
Then Ak Byeongbi muttered to himself.
“...At least I am free from suspicion now. That is a relief.”
He rubbed both cheeks with his hands as though they hurt.
“...”
Ilmyeong became curious again about why Ak Byeongbi’s cheeks were red and swollen.
#
“Where is Elder Blood Brawl?”
Where had that man buried himself that I couldn’t find him anywhere?
“Oh my, Young Master Jin. It seems you’re awake now. I had something to tell you as well.”
Flame Ghost Consort gave off an alluring fragrance as she slowly reached out a hand.
I pushed it away and said, “What could you possibly have to tell me...?”
“What kind of conversation could a man and woman who have endured hardship together possibly share?”
Flame Ghost Consort twisted her body shyly and touched her lips.
The alluring scent seemed to grow stronger, and my nose gradually began to sting.
I frowned without realizing it. It was absolutely not because Flame Ghost Consort was talking nonsense. My nose hurt. That was all.
“What strange thing are you about to say now...?”
“Whatever the case, Young Master Jin and I crossed the line between life and death together, did we not? Should we not do something to commemorate it? Hehe.”
Flame Ghost Consort placed an arm over my shoulder and breathed into my ear.
Why was this old woman acting like this?
“Are you trying to demand credit for something?”
When I lowered her burdensome arm and took a step back, Flame Ghost Consort looked dumbfounded.
“...Why is it not working?”
At her mutter, I hurriedly felt over my body.
What was this? Had she done something to me while I was unconscious?
“Was the Taeul Sect’s martial art not some mixed-bag internal cultivation method that threw everything together?”
For some reason, her voice had turned colder too.
I took another step back and replied, “...What are you saying about a proper Taoist sect?”
“Was that old man Blood Brawl right? Tch.”
As though the mask she had been wearing had been exposed, Flame Ghost Consort flopped down with a dejected expression.
Soon afterward, she drank straight from a bottle like a rough man.
What had happened here?
“What is going on?”
“Forget it. There is no point trying so hard with someone it does not work on. I will only wear myself out.”
“...Where is Elder Blood Brawl?”
Flame Ghost Consort waved her hand dismissively.
“Go to the small training yard in the back. He has been drinking straight from the bottle there since morning.”
Her gaze was not kind either, as though she were deeply offended.
I thought we had been getting along fairly well.
“Thank you.”
Unable to understand why, I gave a light bow and turned away.
Then...
The moment I grabbed the doorknob while leaving the inner chamber...
Crunch.
...Something broke.
When I lowered my head, the doorknob that should have been attached to the door was in my hand.
‘Again...’
I had no idea how many times this had happened.
I turned to look at Flame Ghost Consort. She did not seem particularly concerned.
Surely she would not tattle to Dam Ak later?
Dam Ak was human too. He would not send a bill to the person who had saved his life.
‘Even if he does...’
I would be at the Martial Arts Academy then, so I could just ignore it.
Having worked that out, I carefully closed the door as though nothing had happened and left.
After taking care of the immediate matter, I was looking for Blood Brawl right away for this reason.
Vitality overflowed through my entire body. I could not control my body at all.
Even my circulation of qi was unusual.
Before, I had needed to concentrate to move my dantian. Now, merely extending my intent made it move rapidly.
‘What on earth did he do?’
Even I felt that I should have died in the battle against the Yin-Yang Twin Demon.
I had lost enough blood that it would not have been strange for me to be standing before King Yama, offering my greetings.
Yet far from suffering side effects in my muscles or anything else going wrong with my body, I felt more vigorous than ever.
Neither the physician nor Dang Seohui could determine what had happened to me.
They only told me to ask Blood Brawl if I was curious.
If they had not said that, I would have simply let it pass. But I could not suppress my anxiety that he might have used dark arts on my body.
I also had something to discuss with him, so I was searching for him to find out exactly what he had done to me.
The moment I entered the training yard, I saw a man humming to himself.
“There you are.”
“...Huh?”
Blood Brawl, drinking alone in the middle of the training yard with scattered liquor bottles as his friends, opened one eye to look at me.
“What is this? Why is a White Path lackey standing before me with his head held high?”
“...”
Was he drunk?
“I came because I have something to ask. Should I come back later?”
“Hmph! A White Path lackey says he will come back to see the illustrious Elder Blood Brawl? Do you think such a thing would be possible?”
Yes, he was drunk.
Ignoring my contemptuous stare, Blood Brawl pointed his liquor bottle at me and shouted.
“Fine! Go on, then. What are you curious about?”
“I have two questions. One is about my body.”
“Go ahead.”
Blood Brawl nodded readily.
I stared directly at him as though I meant to brand my face into his memory and asked, “What exactly did you do to my body?”
“Hm?”
Crunch!
The moment I took the liquor bottle from Blood Brawl’s hand and gave it a light squeeze, it crumbled without leaving a trace.
“I cannot control my body. I am about to break every doorknob in the Black Alliance, and every time I eat, piles of tableware end up ruined.”
Blood Brawl gave a sinister laugh.
“Hehehehe.”
Seriously, this old man...
I was being serious.
“This is no time to laugh. You know better than anyone how important control of one’s body is to a martial artist.”
Blood Brawl picked up another bottle and scolded me.
“A fool holds a lump of gold in his hand and does not know its value. How can I not laugh?”
“...A lump of gold?”
As though his insides burned, Blood Brawl gulped down liquor directly from the bottle without even pausing for breath.
Judging by the number of empty bottles scattered around, he seemed to have already passed his limit...
Was this old man going to collapse like that?
“Kah...! I did nothing. Your body changed on its own.”
“...Is that possible?”
Blood Brawl snickered as he watched me tilt my head.
“Why else would it be called a fated encounter?”
“A fated encounter?”
“Yes... An extraordinary fated encounter that even ordinary martial artists, no, even exceptional ones would struggle to find.”
I looked at him and asked seriously, “Then what exactly is this fated encounter I received?”
Blood Brawl, who had been about to raise the bottle to his lips again, stopped and quietly looked at me.
I held my breath as well, focusing all my attention on his moving lips.
Then his lips, carrying a faint smile, opened.
“Bone Reforging and Rebirth.”
At those words, a thrill surged up my spine and spread through my entire body.
Footnotes:
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