WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: Chen

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◈ The Martial Genius who Remembers Everything ◈

Chapter 283: Night of the Greedy (4)

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The Third Branch of the Beggar Sect's Xian Branch.

Jin Sowoon looked around the hideout built beneath Qingming Bridge and let out a small sigh of admiration.

"Why are these beggar bastards living so well?"

Sam Cheol trembled as he barely held back his rage.

If only they had some justification, he would not have felt so humiliated.

If O Sam had not been kneeling beside him with a clueless expression, Sam Cheol would have turned Jin Sowoon into pulp on the spot.

"Hey, don't you have anything for a guest?"

...Endure it. Just endure it.

No one came to buy information from the Beggar Sect empty-handed.

They were customers capable of paying, but the Beggar Sect's information brokers were still beggars.

Most visitors brought food for themselves, along with something to treat the beggars with. From the Beggar Sect's perspective, there was no reason to keep tea specifically for guests.

Still, Jin Sowoon's glare was so fierce that Sam Cheol felt he had to offer something.

"Ahem. Would you at least like some water?"

Sam Cheol forced a smile as he played host, but Jin Sowoon let out a long sigh.

"Ugh, what was I expecting from beggars? Bring out the goods already."

Then why did you ask when you knew they were beggars...!

Sam Cheol clenched his fists hard enough for his palms to bleed, then signaled another beggar. A moment later, the beggar brought over a small box.

Sam Cheol carefully opened it and approached Jin Sowoon.

"This is it."

Just as Jin Sowoon reached for the box, Sam Cheol snapped the lid shut.

"...What?"

Jin Sowoon's eyes immediately sharpened.

Sam Cheol returned his stare without backing down.

'...I'm going to piss myself.'

Only O Sam, kneeling beside them, suffered under the energy clash between the two.

"Young Hero Jin, think carefully. If you take this, any cooperation with the Beggar Sect will be over."

"...What bullshit are you trying to say?"

"Of course, we were at fault. But this began with a misunderstanding between us. If there is no consideration, future cooperation will become difficult as well."

"A beggar using fancy words. Make it simple."

A vein rose briefly on Sam Cheol's forehead at Jin Sowoon's mockery, but he soon regained his composure.

"Even if this matter ends here, there are many eyes within the Beggar Sect. They will surely remember what happened today."

They had committed the wrong, but no, precisely because they had committed it, he had to speak with even greater confidence.

They could not pay a price every time they made a mistake like this.

He could not lose in momentum.

Yet Jin Sowoon only snorted.

"Are you threatening me?"

"I'm telling you to reconsider. Choose the path that benefits both sides."

No matter how crazy that bastard was, Sam Cheol could not give ground here.

No, because he was crazy, there was no telling what he might demand later. They absolutely could not fasten the first button wrong...!

Whether or not he understood Sam Cheol's desperation, Jin Sowoon grumbled.

"You people really are shameless. You make the mistake, then threaten the other side."

"That is how the martial world works."

The strong did not accept losses.

The weak were always the ones forced to endure them.

That was why every sect desperately wanted to become strong.

In that sense, Sam Cheol was trying to establish his advantage by pointing out that, between the Taeul Sect and the Beggar Sect, the Beggar Sect was stronger.

"I know. I know very well."

So some sense had gotten through to him after all.

Sam Cheol felt a flicker of relief.

"What will you do? Will you really take it?"

Jin Sowoon might feel deeply wronged now, but if the Taeul Sect ever wanted the Beggar Sect's help in the future, he needed to show that he could step back here.

Even the Nine Sects One Gang and Five Great Clans always gave the Beggar Sect a step of room.

Doing so would help their own martial lineages in the future.

But...

"I understand, so..."

"...?"

An annoyed expression crossed Jin Sowoon's face.

"Take your hand off it. It's mine now."

"..."

Sam Cheol could only gape.

'He's betting his sect's future on a single treasure map?'

If it were an extraordinary treasure map, it might have been worth it.

But this was only a map made by the Beggar Sect.

There might be spiritual medicine there, but the chance of finding nothing was higher.

Even if there was nothing, Jin Sowoon could not hold them responsible for it.

'More importantly, he probably cannot even enter Heavenly Cave in the first place.'

He was betting his sect's future on a scrap of paper.

Sam Cheol had heard plenty of rumors that the Black Flame Dragon was insane, but he had never imagined Jin Sowoon was this much of a lunatic with no thought for consequences.

While Sam Cheol stood there in shock, Jin Sowoon tapped the box.

"An information organization needs to know how to see the bigger picture. It needs the ability to look toward the distant future and its possibilities, to invest in a force while it is still small. An information organization should seek practical gain over pride and focus on newly emerging power rather than power that has already been established."

The small box creaked beneath his hand.

"Those who have stagnated beyond saving and only rush to protect vested interests have lost the essence of what an information organization is."

Jin Sowoon then grabbed the map and pulled it out.

"And I don't need an information organization that has lost that essence."

"..."

The box was empty.

Sam Cheol stared blankly at it, unable to recover from Jin Sowoon's words.

Every word Jin Sowoon had spoken had pierced straight through the Beggar Sect's current problems.

A reckless fool who ran wild without fearing the heavens? A madman with no thought for consequences?

'I was wrong!'

The Black Flame Dragon was not someone who said and did whatever he pleased.

The casual words he tossed out carried deep schemes and far-reaching vision.

O Sam had started the dispute, but Jin Sowoon had escalated it.

When Sam Cheol considered that Jin Sowoon might even have had a purpose in openly confronting him, chills ran down his spine.

'He's only just passed twenty...'

As if he had lost interest in Sam Cheol, Jin Sowoon rose and lightly nudged O Sam with his foot.

"Hey, you..."

"Yes."

He stared intently at O Sam's face.

"I've been wondering something since earlier."

Sam Cheol, still dazed, found himself focusing on Jin Sowoon's words.

What kind of profound question was he about to ask...

"If your name is O Sam,[1] were you born fifth or third?"

What?

What was he talking about all of a sudden...?

"Didn't you hear me?"

"...Pardon?"

"Fifth or third?"

"Th-third. The O in my name uses the character meaning bright."

"Tch. Why give someone such a confusing name?"

Thwack.

Jin Sowoon smacked O Sam on the head and left the hideout.

What was that...?

Sam Cheol could not wipe the bewildered look from his face.

Had he been mistaken?

Was Jin Sowoon really just a madman...?

Sam Cheol had already thought Jin Sowoon was hard to understand, but now he understood him even less.

#

"Senior Brother, are you sure this is all right?"

Saryeon had kept her mouth firmly shut inside the hideout, but when they emerged, she voiced her concern. Jin Sowoon tilted his head.

"What is?"

"The Beggar Sect. It's not a place we can make an enemy of so easily."

The Beggar Sect's strength lay in its countless eyes, ears, and mouths.

When word spread from their mouths, even a chivalrous hero could become a murderous fiend. Without their eyes and ears, it was difficult to navigate the martial world's tangled troubles.

Was there not a saying that it was better to become enemies with all the Nine Sects One Gang and Five Great Clans than to become enemies with the Beggar Sect?

Saryeon was secretly pleased that the Taeul Sect's name had not bowed before the Beggar Sect's high-handed authority, but she could not help worrying about what would come next.

The Taeul Sect was expanding into nearby cities as it cultivated the Great Heaven Merchant Group.

Who knew what disadvantages they might face later?

So why was Great Senior Brother...?

Saryeon's mouth had gone dry.

"I heard the Beggar Sect is essential when handling matters in the martial world. I heard that without their help, nothing can be resolved, from major matters to trivial ones. Is this really okay...?"

The Taeul Sect still had a long road ahead, and Jin Sowoon had many mountains to climb as well.

The Beggar Sect's help might be more desperately needed than the Taeul Sect's if Jin Sowoon was to rise high.

Yet Jin Sowoon, whose own future should have concerned him most, remained utterly calm.

"Don't worry. The Taeul Sect won't have any trouble advancing without a few beggars."

"No, that's not what I mean..."

Saryeon looked toward Eunho.

Even if the others did not understand, surely clever Eunho knew how important the Beggar Sect was.

"Eunho. Shouldn't you stop him?"

"Don't worry."

"Huh?"

Eunho pointed at Jin Sowoon, who had already become absorbed in looking around the street.

"Great Senior Brother is crazy, but he's not the kind of person who does something like this without preparing for it."

Even Eunho, said to be the cleverest in the Taeul Sect, was acting relaxed. Saryeon's doubts only deepened, but she could only keep her mouth shut.

"Oh! I want to try that too!"

"..."

She was even beginning to think that worrying about Great Senior Brother was a loss for the person doing it.

"Let's find lodgings first, Great Senior Brother."

The streets of Xian were packed with people.

People entered inns only to come out because there were no rooms, while others stamped their feet in frustration because they could not find a place to stay.

This was when information from the local beggars was useful.

The beggars shared real-time information about which inns and lodging houses were full, then made money from it.

But perhaps word of what had happened in the hideout had already spread. Even the beggars who had been soliciting customers did not approach Jin Sowoon's group, only glaring at them from afar.

Saryeon's worry rose again.

"Whew... This is what I was worried about."

But Jin Sowoon and the Geum, Eun, and Dong brothers all remained utterly relaxed.

Just as Saryeon was about to sigh in frustration, Eunho grinned and patted her shoulder.

"Senior Sister. Watch."

"Watch what?"

Eunho gestured toward Jin Sowoon.

Jin Sowoon had taken out a Black Token the size of two fingers from inside his robe and hung it from his sword hilt.

Not long afterward, a waiter approached Jin Sowoon's group.

"Excuse me. Are you Great Hero Jin Sowoon?"

"Yes."

"Your lodgings have been prepared. Please allow me to guide you."

"Thank you."

"Not at all."

Saryeon was dumbfounded by the sudden turn of events.

Xian was not even a place they visited often, yet a waiter had appeared as if he had been waiting for them.

What was more, the waiter led them to a rather large inn.

It seemed popular, because the inn was already packed so tightly that there was hardly room to set foot inside.

"This way."

Yet the waiter passed through the inn and led them toward the back.

There stood an annex with a small pond.

"Would you like your meal prepared first, or your bathwater?"

"Everyone looks hungry, so could you prepare the meal first?"

"Understood."

The waiter bowed so deeply that his back seemed about to bend, then left.

Saryeon still could not process the situation.

"What is going on?"

Unlike her, Eunho smiled with satisfaction.

"Great Senior Brother has close ties with the Hao Sect."

"Close ties?"

"Yes. As a guest retainer."

Saryeon's mouth fell open.

A guest retainer of the Hao Sect.

No, did such a position even truly exist...?

And Great Senior Brother held that status?

'What kind of person is he?'

While Saryeon thought over her unfathomable Great Senior Brother, the excited Eunho approached Jin Sowoon.

"Great Senior Brother, you could have gotten us smaller lodgings, but you specifically got an annex. That must mean you want us to enjoy the feeling of a vacation, right?"

"Huh?"

Jin Sowoon stopped unpacking his bundle and looked at Eunho.

"What are you talking about?"

"What? Then why did you specifically come to an annex...?"

"Hup!"

Before answering, Jin Sowoon pulled iron weights from his bundle.

Why was he taking those out here again...?

"If we train in the guest rooms, we'll disturb other people."

"..."

"If we're in an annex, it won't matter how much noise we make."

He had said they would only train on the way to Xian!

He had tricked them again!

Complaints erupted like a volcano within them, but all four kept their mouths tightly shut in case more iron weights were added.

#

Leaving behind my pathetic junior disciples, who had collapsed onto their backs and declared that they could not move another inch, I headed into Xian's streets. Though the sun had already set, the roads were still packed with people.

'More people have gathered than the records stated.'

It seemed more people had gathered than were recorded in the Martial Alliance's Xian Branch report from my previous life.

Then again, there was no need to include useless details in a report.

They had come after catching the scent of the Five-Spirit Flower Dew, which was appearing in Xian for the fourth time in its sixty-year cycle.

A tension thicker than ever hung over Xian as people gathered to claim the Five-Spirit Flower Dew.

'There are especially many of them.'

There were an unusual number of Mount Zhongnan Sect disciples, who should not have been visible in winter.

The Mount Zhongnan Sect disciples were walking through the streets, each leading people who appeared to belong to lay martial sects.

As if they were trying to show everyone who ruled Shaanxi Province.

Then...

"What?! What did you just say?"

A loud shout suddenly rang out through the street.

Passersby began turning their heads one after another, and some even wore expressions of anticipation, as if hoping a fight had broken out.

"I believe making the disciples patrol all night is a meaningless drain on their stamina. It would be better to rest for a while, then head near Heavenly Cave..."

Smack.

The person voicing that objection had their head snapped to the side by the sharp slap.

"Insolent fool."

The person who struck and the person who was struck wore different martial uniforms, yet the latter did not offer the resistance that should have come naturally.

The situation was obvious.

"How dare a mere lay martial sect wag their tongue like that!"

"..."

"You only need to do as we tell you! Don't rack that worthless brain of yours!"

Tch. Of course. They had truly mastered the art of dividing people by rank.

The old man who had slapped him turned sharply and walked away. The group looked at the person who had been struck for a moment, then followed after the old man.

But...

'Why does he look familiar?'

I looked at the side of the struck person's face, and our eyes met the moment he turned his head.

"Hm?"

It was none other than Cheol Sunjik.

"Tch."

I was about to greet him, but quickly lowered my hand.

Since I did not know how much influence Mount Zhongnan had over the Jukhyeon Sect, the sight was more shocking than I expected.

At the very least, the Cheol Sunjik I knew was not someone who would quietly accept that treatment.

'But he has no choice.'

If he acted according to his feelings, others would suffer because of it.

Cheol Sunjik treasured his sect above all else, so he had no choice but to endure such circumstances.

I turned away and resumed walking, doing my best to act as if I had not seen anything.

By the time I had familiarized myself with the people I needed to watch out for inside Heavenly Cave and recorded their features in my mind...

"Hm?"

Cheol Sunjik, whom I had passed earlier, was suddenly standing in front of me again.

"..."

After what had happened earlier, I was not in the mood to bicker with him, so I was about to pass him by.

"Representative Jin."

"Are you calling me Representative Jin again now?"

I tried to act as though we were meeting for the first time and nothing had happened.

"...You saw that just now, didn't you?"

Tch. Had he come all this way just to ask that?

I answered as calmly as possible.

"I didn't see anything."

"...I didn't even ask what you saw."

Damn it. I should not have seen that scene.

"What changes if I say I did?"

Cheol Sunjik's present was no different from my past.

That discomfort was the greatest reason I had avoided him earlier.

The sight of Cheol Sunjik now brought back my past.

When I lowered my gaze, both his clenched fists were trembling slightly.

It was not only because of the cold wind.

"Do I look pitiful to you? Or ridiculous?"

White breath escaped his lips whenever he spoke in the frigid winter air.

Cheol Sunjik's eyes were colder still, and deeper than ever.

I watched him for a moment before shaking my head.

"You don't look like anything."

"..."

Because I knew what he had endured and understood what he must be feeling, I said,

"You just look like someone who nearly tripped over a stone for a moment."

Cheol Sunjik's eyes shook violently.

"Representative Jin, you truly..."

After hesitating for a long while, he spoke again.

"Did you come to seek the Five-Spirit Flower Dew?"

It would have been absurd for someone living in Hefei to say I had come to Xian for some other reason, so I answered honestly.

"Why else would I come to Xian?"

"If so, you should return home."

"...?"

Cheol Sunjik continued evenly.

"The Five-Spirit Flower Dew already has an owner."

[1] O Sam: A joke on Sino-Korean readings. “O Sam” can sound like “five-three,” hence the question of whether he was the fifth or third child.

Footnotes:

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