WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: Chen
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◈ The Martial Genius who Remembers Everything ◈
Chapter 264: Brocade-Clad Night Journey (5)
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A small groan escaped Ak Byeongbi after hearing the full story.
“So...”
He could hardly believe what he had heard.
“You're being bullied by a boy named Yayul Geuk?”
“Yes!”
Ak Jupyeong poured out his grievances as though he had been falsely accused and punished.
“That bastard comes after me at every opportunity. And since the last incident, the Academy hasn't taken any proper action either.”
“Yayul Geuk? Isn't he the boy you used to bully when he couldn't fight back?”
“That’s right. But I haven't bullied him even once since then...! Yet that crazy bastard keeps making my life miserable whenever he gets the chance.”
At first, Ak Byeongbi had assumed Jin Sowoon was responsible because of Ak Jupyeong's grave expression.
But now...
“Not Jin Sowoon, but Yayul Geuk...”
“That Yayul Geuk bastard is no different from Jin Sowoon. Someone with a worthless background got into the Academy through sheer luck, then started strutting around without knowing his place.”
Ak Byeongbi stopped nodding.
“What did you say?”
Mistaking Ak Byeongbi's anger for support, Ak Jupyeong eagerly continued.
“From what I hear, Jin Sowoon and that Yayul Geuk bastard are unusually close. They even spar in private, and the Taeul Sect disciples from Jin Sowoon's sect look after Yayul Geuk too.”
“...”
“Ever since Jin Sowoon became the Academy Representative, everything has turned into a mess. It seems the current Academy Director, Buk Wonpyeong, has some sort of private relationship with Jin Sowoon... That's probably why the Academy's lecturers and instructors aren't doing anything.”
Ak Jupyeong, who had been wearing the most aggrieved expression in the world, suddenly brightened.
“That is why I need you to punish them, Uncle, as a member of the Inspectorate.”
Ak Byeongbi recalled something Jin Sowoon had said a few days ago.
『When people start treating something unnatural as though it were natural, they become arrogant. Isn't the Ak Clan full of spoiled brats who take those privileges for granted?』
He had dismissed it as envy from Jin Sowoon, who knew little of the Ak Clan.
Yet the nephew he had treasured turned out to be exactly the sort of person Jin Sowoon had mocked.
“Punishment...”
The Academy had likely not made an issue of Yayul Geuk's actions because Ak Jupyeong had built up so much bad karma himself.
The lecturers and instructors had also seen Ak Byeongbi, the Third Hall Master, dragged to the Academy and forced to bow his head. They must have decided they could not interfere in the conflict between the two.
Yet this spoiled brat could not even tell shit from soybean paste. Trapped in his narrow view of the world, he was convinced that everyone was oppressing him.
“That’s right! They must be punished, Uncle!”
He had not even noticed what Ak Byeongbi was thinking. Instead, he seemed utterly convinced that a bright future was about to open before him.
‘How did the Ak Clan end up like this?’
Ak Byeongbi had cared for Ak Jupyeong as though he were his own son.
How much had he cried when he saw Ak Jupyeong, born the year after he lost his wife and child?
Setting aside his personal feelings, Ak Jupyeong was an important figure in the Ak Clan.
He was not the eldest grandson, but he was the eldest son of Ak Byeongbi's second elder brother.
He would not inherit the Ak Clan, but he would surely take on an important post related to the clan and work for its sake.
And the boy destined for such an important position had such a petty heart...
Ak Byeongbi felt deeply disappointed.
Whether he knew it or not, Ak Jupyeong innocently thumped his chest.
“I already sent a letter to the main house.”
“A letter?”
“Yes. I asked them to send people who can punish Yayul Geuk and Jin Sowoon's group. If you step forward, Uncle, I'll take care of everything afterward.”
“...”
Ak Byeongbi squeezed his eyes shut and forcibly swallowed the fury rising from his chest to the top of his head.
‘Yes. This is what ordinary children are like. Aren't divine prodigies of the martial world, raised in comfort and praise, usually immature...?’
Then the faces of Ilmyeong, Dang Seohui, and Jin Sowoon, with whom he had shared joys and sorrows over the past few days, passed through his mind.
『Nothing erodes a person's character and turns them into a frog in a well like a sense of privilege. If a clan is full of people like that, how long can it last?』
Bang!
The table split in half beneath Ak Byeongbi's hand, and documents and writing implements scattered in every direction.
The moment Ak Byeongbi opened his eyes, he saw Ak Jupyeong's face, unable to hide his smile as he waited expectantly.
“You...”
The boy he had watched from a very young age.
The boy he had cherished enough to place his first spear in his hands and personally teach him how to thrust.
“You of all people...”
Now, that boy looked like an evil ghost that would gnaw away at the clan until it rotted.
As if to mock his despair, Ak Jupyeong spoke again.
“Should we prepare right away, Uncle?”
Ak Jupyeong wore a triumphant expression, as though he had climbed onto a tiger's back.
Just as Ak Byeongbi was about to drive his clenched fist into his face...
“Hall Master! You have a visitor!”
The voice from outside made him stop cold.
“A visitor?”
Ak Jupyeong was already here, so someone must have had a reason to report another visitor.
Suppressing his anger, Ak Byeongbi asked again.
“Who is it?”
“Academy Representative Jin Sowoon.”
“Jin Sowoon?”
“Th-that bastard?”
At those three syllables alone, Ak Jupyeong's face turned pale.
His smug smile crumpled like paper, and before long, even his legs began to tremble.
Watching him, Ak Byeongbi ordered the attendant outside.
“Let him in.”
“U-Uncle?”
Ak Jupyeong's eyes widened as if they might pop out of their sockets.
They had enrolled at the same time and belonged to the same class. How could the difference in their capacity be so vast?
‘Ha...’
Ak Byeongbi barely swallowed the sigh that threatened to escape.
In the previous generation, Ak Buksan had been overshadowed by geniuses such as Yong Soa and Ilmyeong.
And...
“J-Jin Sowoon... Eek...!”
This generation would not be much different.
‘If Eldest Brother's wish is to come true, he will have to wait much longer.’
The Young Clan Head's dream of shaking the world in the Ak Clan's name seemed far too distant to achieve in this generation.
#
If one had to name the places Martial Alliance members least wanted to visit, the Inspectorate and Enforcement Hall would be at the top of the list.
Unless someone had been assigned there, being dragged into the Inspectorate meant the chances of returning in one piece were very low.
Yet I had come here on my own two feet.
‘And not just anywhere. The Third Hall.’
When people saw someone falsely accused and dragged into the Inspectorate, they sometimes mocked them for having committed some terrible sin in a past life.
Looking at it that way, I must have committed quite the sin in my previous life too.
Well, I had been close with the bastards in the Sojeong Unit. If that counted as a sin, then it was a sin.
Those useless assholes.
Fortunately, my destination was an office rather than an interrogation room.
The person guiding me had the stern, stiff expression one would expect from a member of the Third Hall.
Like superior, like subordinate.
“I heard the Third Hall Master uses the interrogation room as his office. You're not taking me to an interrogation room, right? Hahaha!”
“...”
I made a joke, but all I got back was an icy stare.
Damn. That look was terrifying. How was I supposed to open my mouth after that?
Ignoring my words, the hall member stopped before the office.
“Hall Master, I have brought him.”
“Let him in.”
The man with the cold expression nodded, and I opened the door with an awkward look on my face.
His gaze followed me until the door closed behind me, making me very uncomfortable.
What was that? Was he doing it on purpose?
I shook off the uneasy feeling and entered the office.
“Huh?”
An unexpected sight caught my eye.
A shattered table and papers strewn all over the place.
And...
Ak Jupyeong, his brow deeply furrowed.
When did that bastard get here?
Perhaps Ak Byeongbi read my gaze, because he added, “It seems your visit concerns this boy, so I called him here on purpose. If you're uncomfortable, shall we speak separately?”
I shook my head.
“It’s fine. Anything I tell you will reach Ak Jupyeong's ears anyway.”
“Then sit.”
“...I don't know why the table is broken, but could we at least sit at a table?”
“Hmm... Is that so?”
Ak Byeongbi stood as if nothing was wrong and moved to a long conference table. Ak Jupyeong and I sat facing each other, with Ak Byeongbi between us.
“Go on. What brings you here?”
“It seems Ak Jupyeong came here over the same matter...”
“Don't say my name so casually!”
“...”
Ak Jupyeong bared his fangs and growled at me.
Why was he so prickly?
Hmm. If he hated it that much, I had no reason to keep doing it.
I was a chivalrous hero who did not do things people disliked.
I pointed at him with my chin and continued.
“Did you hear there’s a problem between this bastard and Yayul Geuk?”
Bang!
“Jin Sowoon!!”
Ak Jupyeong glared at me with blazing eyes.
“Why? You said not to call you by name.”
“How dare you... Do you know who I am?”
“...Tsk. Who are you?”
“What?”
“I said, who are you? You're Ak Jupyeong of the Ak Clan, a student at the Academy, and... what else?”
Ak Jupyeong mouthed soundlessly, then looked at Ak Byeongbi with an aggrieved expression.
“Uncle!”
Ak Byeongbi should have been angry too, yet his face showed no emotion at all.
Instead, he nodded at me.
“Representative Jin, please continue.”
“...!”
Ak Jupyeong's eyes widened before he flopped back into his seat.
I casually indicated him with my chin again and continued.
“Anyway, this bastard said he contacted the main house. There’s no need for adults to step into a children's fight and turn it into a complete mess, is there?”
“...”
Ak Byeongbi glanced at Ak Jupyeong, then spoke to me again.
“I heard he has been bullied quite seriously as well. Yayul Geuk has been getting ambushed at every opportunity.”
“I've already spoken to him about that. From now on, he'll only issue formal challenges for martial contests.”
“You could say this resembles the incident that angered you. In retaliation for that incident, you left Ak Jupyeong with a disability.”
I stared at him in disbelief.
No, how could he compare a group beating to this? What nonsense.
“Why are you bringing that up? Back then, this bastard brought his friends and ganged up on him. Yayul Geuk, on the other hand, has a bad personality and no friends, so he fought alone. They're completely different matters.”
“Is that so?”
“It is.”
“Then there is no need for you to intervene?”
“If the Ak Clan and the Third Hall Master do not intervene, why would I need to step in?”
Ak Byeongbi nodded and immediately agreed.
“Very well. I will speak to the main house myself. The Ak Clan will not intervene.”
Oh! It was that easy?
I had worried that my good relationship with Ak Byeongbi would turn bitter again, but he accepted it readily.
“Uncle!”
Ak Jupyeong, who had been listening quietly, clearly did not like the arrangement we had reached.
“Why should our Ak Clan be afraid of a bastard like him and make a deal...!”
Before Ak Jupyeong could finish shouting, Ak Byeongbi's fist struck the table.
Bang!
Crack!
The long conference table broke apart in a single blow.
So that was why the guest table had been smashed earlier.
“Shut your mouth!”
“U-Uncle...!”
Ak Jupyeong stared at Ak Byeongbi as if he still could not understand the situation.
But Ak Byeongbi's face was colder than ever.
“If you use that filthy mouth of yours to disgrace the Ak Clan again... I will personally tear it apart.”
“Uh, uh...”
Ak Jupyeong looked as though he might burst into tears, unable to comprehend what was happening.
Yet Ak Byeongbi did not stop.
“Let me ask you something. You bullied Yayul Geuk because his background was humble and his martial arts were weak, correct?”
“...”
It was painfully obvious.
In the martial world, where people learned martial arts and ranked themselves by strength and weakness, children raised under those rules used them more cruelly than anyone.
“You may have been left with a slight disability, but you received proper treatment, so there should not be much difference in your skill from before. Yet you came to me like this because you were outmatched in skill, is that right?”
“...”
His voice gradually rose.
“Did you never think to improve your skills and face him yourself? Did it never occur to you to become strong enough that Yayul Geuk would run the moment he saw you?”
“...”
When Ak Jupyeong gave no answer, Ak Byeongbi's eyes grew fiercer.
“And you still dare speak the Ak Clan's name!”
“...”
Under his uncle's harsh rebuke, Ak Jupyeong clenched his teeth hard enough to break them.
“Was being born into a good clan and to good parents the greatest achievement of your life? Is there truly nothing else you can do besides that?!”
At last, Ak Jupyeong lowered his head.
Tears dripped from his eyes and spread across his knees.
“If Yayul Geuk had come from the Nine Sects One Gang... No, if he had at least come from the One Hundred Eight Peaks, would you have treated him the same way?”
Ak Byeongbi was going too far, so I stepped in.
He was being too harsh on a kid.
“Come on, Hall Master. Don't be so hard on him. When have you ever seen a coward face someone stronger than himself?”
“!”
Ak Jupyeong, who had been hanging his head, suddenly looked up and glared at me.
His face was smeared with tears and snot. It was truly hideous.
Even with my attempt to stop him, Ak Byeongbi showed no sign of slowing down.
“Did you enter the Academy entirely through your own ability? If you benefited from your clan, then at the very least, you should not disgrace it!”
“Hic...”
“Get out! I don't even want to look at you!”
At Ak Byeongbi's order to leave, Ak Jupyeong's shoulders slumped as he trudged out of the office.
Even after Ak Jupyeong was gone, Ak Byeongbi continued breathing heavily, as though his anger had not faded.
“To think that he grew up in such a good environment, yet he only amounted to this.”
After raging for a while, Ak Byeongbi finally let out a long sigh and looked at me.
“I envy the elders of your sect. They must be happy to have a disciple like you.”
“...I don't think they see it that way.”
Whenever I sent a letter, they always told me to please live a little more quietly.
When I scratched my cheek, Ak Byeongbi shook his head.
“They probably cannot express it all in words.”
“Is that so?”
“It is.”
Ak Byeongbi muttered as if speaking to himself.
“If you were from our clan...”
He closed his mouth.
“...No. What nonsense am I saying?”
I was curious about the rest, but I did not ask any further.
Ak Byeongbi looked like a man who had already lived through every hardship in the world.
#
As Ak Byeongbi had promised, the Ak Clan did not intervene.
Yayul Geuk must have understood what I told him, because he stopped ambushing Ak Jupyeong.
It was a little fortunate that a wildcat like him could still understand words.
Instead, I heard that he visited every day to challenge Ak Jupyeong to martial contests, forcing Ak Jupyeong to run away from him every time...
Still, wasn’t that a huge improvement?
From Ak Jupyeong's perspective, it was only natural that he would not want others to see an Ak Clan scion avoiding Yayul Geuk's challenges.
Even so, Yayul Geuk kept following him around and challenging him, until word spread that Ak Jupyeong had finally requested closed-door training.
Whether it was the older brother or the younger, both of them had a real talent for wearing people down.
Around the time I heard that Ak Jupyeong was going to enter the closed-door training quarters, I received a summons from Jegal Somyeong.
At last, it was time to receive the settlement statement for the delegation's work.
I could not stop grinning at the long-awaited good news.
‘What can I squeeze out of them this time?’
I had no time to rest as I searched through the library in my mind.
Footnotes:
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