WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: Chen
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◈ The Martial Genius who Remembers Everything ◈
Chapter 288: The Right to Have a Chance (4)
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“Hmm……”
Wang Geumsan’s eyes drooped.
He knew all too well that sects which revered martial strength strove to acquire even greater power.
To him, it was much like how those who revered gold obsessed over money.
Still, he had never imagined their obsession would go this far.
“What is that?”
“They call it a Nine-Spirit Serpent.”
At Jin Taesan’s answer, Wang Geumsan looked again at the creature called the Nine-Spirit Serpent.
As its name suggested, it was shaped like a snake, but its body was nothing like a normal snake’s slick form.
Its entire hide looked as hard as armor, and two small horns protruded from its head. No matter how he looked at it, it did not resemble an ordinary snake.
“You’re going to feed that to the children?”
Even if it could make them stronger, it did not look like something people should eat.
‘This is a bit much, isn’t it?’
“……To be precise, they won’t be eating the Nine-Spirit Serpent itself. We’ll extract the energy within it……”
Wang Geumsan knew the Taeul Sect was currently struggling with its lack of internal energy.
He had heard that, lacking the ability to produce elixir pellets, they were searching everywhere for a way to supplement their internal energy.
So he had said:
“Use every means available!”
He had even ordered the merchant groups and other businesses under his command to gather information on spiritual medicine.
The last thing he remembered was handing Jin Taesan a list of the spiritual medicines they had secured, then selecting the necessary ones and ordering the herb gatherers affiliated with the Wang Family Estate to find the ingredients.
What had happened in the meantime?
“Ugh……”
This bizarre-looking snake was now sitting in their shared office.
“……It can’t simply be fed to anyone. The Nine-Spirit Serpent’s venom is extremely potent, so it requires special treatment. If we could make it into an elixir pellet, its effects would be even greater, but……”
Ah, he was making it sound complicated.
In short.
“So it can’t be eaten right now?”
That much Wang Geumsan understood.
Producing elixir pellets was one of every sect’s most closely guarded secrets, so they were neither easy to obtain nor easy to make.
The Taeul Sect’s decision to secure spiritual medicine instead of producing elixir pellets had been unavoidable.
He could even understand that one of those spiritual medicines was a strange snake.
But.
‘Why bring it into the office?!’
Jin Taesan calmly answered Wang Geumsan’s question.
“It’s spiritual medicine. We can’t handle it carelessly.”
“No…… I understand that. But couldn’t we leave it in the storage room? It’s…… rather distracting.”
Jin Taesan, who had been reading documents without a care, turned to Wang Geumsan.
“Are you afraid?”
At Jin Taesan’s provocation, Wang Geumsan’s eyes widened.
“……Hah! Ha! Unbelievable! Are you saying Wang Geumsan would be afraid of some insignificant snake?”
If he wasn’t afraid, then he wasn’t afraid. Why was he puffing out his chest so much?
“Didn’t I tell you? Back when I did escort work, huh? I once ran into a white tiger as large as a house!”
A white tiger, my foot……
Then.
“……!”
Jin Taesan stared at the Nine-Spirit Serpent with a startled expression.
“I-it, it opened its eyes!”
“What?!”
Wang Geumsan jumped in surprise and darted into the corner of the office.
So the claim that Lord Wang had never learned martial arts had been a complete lie. How else could such a heavy body leap that high?
“Y-you should get away too……”
At least he had a conscience. Wang Geumsan turned, worried that his close friend Jin Taesan might suffer some misfortune.
“White tiger……?”
Jin Taesan’s brow furrowed, and his nostrils flared.
When Wang Geumsan looked down again.
……The Nine-Spirit Serpent was still deeply asleep.
“……Pfft. Ahem. It seems I was mistaken.”
Wang Geumsan’s face turned bright red as embarrassment suddenly washed over him.
Whether Wang Geumsan liked it or not, Jin Taesan struggled to hold back his laughter.
“There’s no need to worry. Winter is when the Nine-Spirit Serpent hibernates, so I heard it won’t wake before spring.”
Wang Geumsan glared at Jin Taesan with a face like a demon, but Jin Taesan pretended nothing was wrong.
“If even a white tiger as large as a house doesn’t frighten Lord Wang, surely an insignificant snake can’t frighten you either?”
“……”
Now he was openly playing with him!
Still, if he got angry here, he would lose in the end.
Wang Geumsan deliberately put on an air of dignity.
“Ahem! What do you take me for?”
He marched toward the Nine-Spirit Serpent, fuming.
“You think I’d be afraid of a mere creature like this?”
Tap! Tap!
His movements were grand, but the impacts against the iron cage were faint.
Jin Taesan struggled to hide his smirk.
How could a man who did not easily lose heart even before high-ranking imperial officials be afraid of a snake no longer than his forearm?
Still, he should stop teasing him before Wang Geumsan became truly upset.
Just as Jin Taesan was thinking that sharing an office had made his days less dull.
“H-hey.”
“Yes?”
Wang Geumsan’s face had gone pale.
“L-look. It, it opened its eyes.”
Lord Wang really was terrible at lying. Did he not realize that pulling a prank so soon would give him away immediately?
True to his nature, Wang Geumsan was already trying to get his revenge. Jin Taesan swallowed his laughter.
The Nine-Spirit Serpent would not wake even if its body caught fire throughout the winter. How could it suddenly open its eyes?
Still, since he had teased Wang Geumsan once, Jin Taesan should play along.
If he did not respond properly, he would have to look at Wang Geumsan’s stiff, silent face for the next week.
Jin Taesan set down the document in his hand and raised both hands theatrically.
“Ah! Is that so? Then this is truly serious.”
“N-no. I’m telling you, it really opened its eyes!”
“Yes, yes. We must quickly find someone who can make elixir pellets and deal with it. I’m deeply worried about whether the councilor Jin Sowoon said he would send is truly capable.”
Just as he gave a half-hearted response and was about to return to work.
Clang!
“Eek!”
The iron cage shook violently, and Wang Geumsan let out a startled cry.
Really, was it that entertaining to play such childish games at his age?
Still, Jin Taesan should stop him now.
The Nine-Spirit Serpent had value as spiritual medicine, but it was said to be a spirit beast so venomous that even snake catchers could not handle it carelessly……
Clang!
The iron cage shook violently again.
This was going too far.
“Lord Wang…… Please stop joking now.”
Just as he was about to warn him.
Jin Taesan saw it.
The Nine-Spirit Serpent’s gleaming yellow eyes had snapped open, glaring at him and Wang Geumsan.
‘Why…… is it awake?’
Before Jin Taesan could spare another moment for thought.
Whoosh!
The Nine-Spirit Serpent coiled its body, then shot forward like an arrow and slammed into the iron cage.
Clang!
The solid iron cage shifted a full foot from the impact.
The Nine-Spirit Serpent seemed to have realized that the cage was restraining it and began thrashing in an attempt to escape.
“H-hey…… Do something!”
True to its name as a spirit beast, the Nine-Spirit Serpent had quickly grasped its situation.
After realizing the iron cage would not break easily, it went to one end of the cage and tightly coiled its body around it.
Then, like a bent bow loosing an arrow, it hurled itself against the cage again and again.
Clang!
Jin Taesan, a martial artist himself, could not close his mouth at the wondrous movement art born of nature.
Wow! A spirit beast truly was a spirit beast!
“Hey! This isn’t the time to admire it!”
Wang Geumsan’s words snapped Jin Taesan back to his senses.
He cleared his throat and slowly edged toward the door.
“Don’t worry. No matter how formidable the Nine-Spirit Serpent is, it can’t break through that iron cage……”
“Damn it! Then why does it keep trying to get out?!”
“Huh? Lord Wang! You curse too?”
“Just do something about it!”
While Wang Geumsan clutched Jin Taesan’s clothes so tightly they nearly tore.
The Nine-Spirit Serpent coiled itself again, then slammed into the iron cage with violent movements.
Clang!
The sturdy cage shifted another foot.
The Nine-Spirit Serpent seemed to grow even more vicious as the cage refused to break.
Hiss!
It opened its jaws wide, venom dripping from the four sharp fangs that had sprung out.
The sound made Jin Taesan and Wang Geumsan shudder.
“L-look. That creature absolutely can’t get out of there.”
“The iron cage is already badly bent!”
“It may bend, but it won’t break. How could a mere beast possibly overcome human craftsmanship……”
Clang!
“Argh!”
Wang Geumsan caught Jin Taesan as he nearly fell backward in surprise, then began pushing him toward the Nine-Spirit Serpent.
It was an instinctive reaction that made all their past boasts seem hollow, claims that even the friendship of Guan Zhong and Bao Shuya[1] could not compare to theirs.
“Q-quickly do something. Put it to sleep or kill it.”
“You can’t kill it! Then its value as spiritual medicine……”
“T-that thing! Look at it!”
The Nine-Spirit Serpent seemed to decide that smashing itself against the cage would not work. It soon began biting the iron bars with its sharp fangs.
Crunch!
The fangs protruding through the cage seemed even more horrifying.
“D-don’t worry. No matter how strong its bite is, this is an iron cage……”
“Then why did you use iron?! It’s a spirit beast! Shouldn’t you have made the cage out of at least black iron?!”
“Lord Wang! Is an iron cage some metal used for making hoes? It’s only a mere beast……”
Crunch!
Creak!
After biting the cage several times, the Nine-Spirit Serpent seemed to have judged its durability. It began forcing apart the gaps between the iron bars.
Then.
“Aaaah! The cage! The cage!”
“Aaaah!”
It was hard to believe those high-pitched cries came from two men old enough for frost to gather at their temples.
Crunch! Clang! Crunch! Clang!
Now thoroughly enraged, the Nine-Spirit Serpent began rampaging like mad.
The iron cage, no larger than a small box, rolled about on its own. Every time it rattled and shifted, Jin Taesan and Wang Geumsan felt their hearts drop.
Creeeak!
At last, the cage had been forced open enough to create a gap large enough for escape.
The Nine-Spirit Serpent coiled its body to the limit, then shot forward like an arrow and forced the cage entrance wider.
Then.
Clang!
Bang!
The Nine-Spirit Serpent emerged from the cage, rolled across the office floor, and struck the wall.
“……!”
“……!!!”
Jin Taesan and Wang Geumsan’s faces turned white.
“S-save me!”
Wang Geumsan moved first.
He shot toward the office door like lightning and was about to fling it open.
Rattle!
“……Huh?”
Rattle! Rattle!
……The office door would not open.
Rattle! Rattle! Rattle!
“Aaaaaaah!”
Wang Geumsan shook the door wildly. Jin Taesan rushed to his side and helped shake it, but the door would not budge.
“I told you we should have fixed it sooner, Lord Wang!”
“You’re blaming me now? You were the one who brought that damned monster here!”
“What are we supposed to do now?”
“Why are you asking me?! You’re the one who learned martial arts! Use the martial arts of that legendary Sword Emperor and subdue it!”
“……Step aside. I’ll break the door with the Great Yang Palm.”
“No! I told you to use the Taeul Sword Emperor’s martial arts, not the old Taeul Sect martial arts!”
“I couldn’t learn them because I was busy making money!”
“Damn it! I’m disappointed in you! Deeply disappointed!”
“Great Yang Palm!”
Thud!
Jin Taesan launched the Great Yang Palm, filled with internal energy, but a martial art with little destructive force could never break an office door made by the Wang Family Estate’s finest carpenter.
“Lord Wang! Since this is your office door, I’ll make it sturdy enough that even a cannon blast can’t break it.”
For a moment, it was as though Wang Geumsan saw the master carpenter grinning and giving him a thumbs-up.
While Wang Geumsan stared blankly at that damned smile.
Whoosh!
The Nine-Spirit Serpent, having escaped the cage with venom brimming from its body, approached the two men.
It was as though it knew exactly who had imprisoned it.
“Aaaaaah! Is anyone there?! Save me! Over here!”
“Great Yang Palm!”
As the Nine-Spirit Serpent kept its distance from the two men, coiled its body, and prepared to leap, despair filled both their faces.
Then.
Click.
The door opened from outside, and the two men stumbled out through it.
“L-Lord Wang? Merchant Lord?”
The two had fallen over in an undignified heap.
As the servant looked at them in confusion.
“R-run! A monster! A monster is coming after us!”
“A monster?”
“Yes! A monster that bit through an iron cage and escaped by its own strength……”
While Jin Taesan and Wang Geumsan hurriedly ran out of the office.
An unfamiliar man who had come with the servant looked inside.
“May I take a look?”
“Huh?”
Before Wang Geumsan could answer, the Nine-Spirit Serpent coiled itself tightly and launched forward like an arrow toward the four of them.
“Gah!”
The servant screamed in terror. The man calmly stepped into the office, reached out, and caught the Nine-Spirit Serpent by the neck.
“Oh my. This is quite a strong one. Isn’t this a Nine-Spirit Serpent?”
“Huh?”
“A Nine-Spirit Serpent wakes quickly from hibernation if you gradually raise the temperature.”
For some reason, the Nine-Spirit Serpent that had bitten apart and broken its cage could not move at all in the man’s hand.
“But it’s helpless against the cold.”
The man carried the subdued Nine-Spirit Serpent into the yard and buried it in the snow.
The serpent, which had been thrashing violently, gradually became still.
How much time passed?
The Nine-Spirit Serpent eventually went limp in the man’s hand, as though dead.
“If you must store it indoors, a cool place is best.”
“……”
The man’s face was remarkably calm.
Jin Taesan and Wang Geumsan stared at him blankly.
“E-excuse me, but who are you?”
To Wang Geumsan, the man’s face shone like that of a savior.
He asked the man’s name in an exceedingly polite tone.
As though such greetings were only natural, the man gave an easy smile.
“My name is Sama Jeong. I was referred by Jin Sowoon, a student at the Martial Arts Academy.”
It was a gentle smile, difficult to believe from someone who had subdued that monster in an instant.
[1] Guan Zhong and Bao Shuya — A celebrated Chinese pair whose friendship, especially Bao Shuya’s trust in Guan Zhong, became a byword for loyal companionship.
Footnotes:
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