WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: Chen
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◈ The Martial Genius who Remembers Everything ◈
Chapter 293: The Commoner's Return Home
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“Y-you said they were your last words...”
No, I never said that.
“Just as Senior Brother said, people from the next life are all either con artists or liars...”
Well, that wasn't entirely wrong.
But was that something someone who tried to kill a man over such a pathetic story should be saying?
“You scoundrel who knows nothing of decency...”
But aren't you badly injured? When are you going to pass out?
I'd had enough of listening to him whine, so I sent out a finger wind and put him to sleep.
Then I approached the man to check his injuries, in case anything unexpected happened.
His wounds were shallower than I'd expected.
‘What? I could've sworn that blow landed properly.’
When I pulled aside his clothes, something gleamed beneath his martial robe.
Cold iron... It was cold iron.
It wasn't as tough as black iron, but cold iron was light and had excellent cutting power, making it a favored weapon material among martial artists.
There were as many martial artists who dreamed of owning a weapon containing cold iron as there were grains of sand in a river.
Yet Zhongnan had made a treasure robe from it and worn it.
‘Fuck, and they say Zhongnan is in danger?’
I'd almost felt guilty, thinking I was taking Zhongnan's last remaining hope.
Deciding I no longer needed to feel burdened by it, I pressed the man's sleep acupoint deeply once more to make sure he wouldn't wake up, then rose to return to my junior disciples.
Then...
I stopped short.
Something was strange. Why couldn't I move?
Even when I tried to force my body around, it wouldn't budge.
I turned my head again and saw the Cold-Iron Armor Robe peeking out through the man's torn clothes.
‘Are you telling me to take you?’
The Cold-Iron Armor Robe was desperately clinging to my ankle.
I firmly shook my head.
“No. You already have an owner. I'm not a thief.”
The Cold-Iron Armor Robe shook its head fiercely in response.
It said it had never once felt that it belonged at Zhongnan. The place it belonged wasn't Zhongnan, but the Taeul Sect.
“Phew... Even so, I can't steal. Ahem, I'm a Taoist, after all.”
As I coldly turned away, the Cold-Iron Armor Robe burst into mournful tears.
Its cries were so loud that I worried someone from Zhongnan might come running.
“Fine... Maybe this is fate.”
I had no choice but to approach the man and remove the Cold-Iron Armor Robe.
Right, this truly couldn't be helped. Even if it was an object, it wanted to find its own righteous path... There was really nothing I could do...
Small chains linked the metal pieces tightly together, wrapping around the entire torso.
Since every piece of metal was the same color, it seemed the entire treasure robe had been made wholly from cold iron.
‘Fuck, how many estates could I buy with just this?’
With a heavy heart, I searched the man's clothes as well, wondering whether there might be another fated treasure.
There was nothing glittering or valuable, nothing like an elixir pellet.
‘Huh?’
There was only a grimy, blackish wooden token.
I picked it up without much thought.
‘Dam Jungho.’
That was probably the man's name.
The Lord’s Token didn't cry, so I placed it back in Dam Jungho's clothes and turned away.
It was time to return to my junior disciples.
I'd only taken a few steps when...
Rustle.
My ears perked up at the sound behind me.
I'd pressed Dam Jungho's sleep acupoint deeply. Had he already woken up?
I hurriedly crammed the Cold-Iron Armor Robe into my clothes and turned around.
Then...
Rustle, rustle.
A new man was searching through Dam Jungho's clothes.
“...”
A chill ran down my spine, and my heart dropped.
‘What the hell is this bastard? When did he get here?’
Not even an ant had come near the area covered by my energy sense.
So what was this bastard?
It could only mean the stranger had entered my range without being detected by my energy sense.
“...Damn it, nothing here either?”
The unfamiliar man muttered as he searched Dam Jungho's clothes.
The stranger held the Lord’s Token in hand, tossing and catching it before turning toward me.
Our eyes met.
“Did you happen to find something like a ring here?”
“...”
The stranger asked far too casually.
When I didn't answer, the stranger nodded obediently and muttered to themself.
“Then again, if you had it, I would've sensed it. ...Phew, another wasted trip. Tch.”
There was such ease in the stranger's bearing that, for a moment, I almost thought this was their own private room.
Crack. Crackle.
The stranger sharpened their nails.
Fingers that had looked like delicate jade hands stretched longer as black nails grew from them.
Then the stranger moved to stab Dam Jungho in the neck.
Fuck, things would get troublesome if he died here.
I quickly drew the Black Dragon Sword and sent sword qi flying.
Clang.
The sword qi struck the stranger's nails, yet the sound was like metal colliding with metal.
That immediately brought certain beings to mind, and I understood.
‘The Demonic Cult...’
A fucking bastard had appeared.
#
“Hm?”
The stranger, struck by my sword qi without warning, looked at me with wide eyes.
“What's wrong? Did I do something wrong?”
What the fuck was this bastard talking about?
I waved the tip of my sword at the stranger.
“Step away from him.”
The stranger looked back and forth between Dam Jungho and me, then tilted their head.
“Wasn't this guy your enemy? That's why you stole his stuff. No?”
I didn't steal anything, you bastard! Get your facts straight!
It was an unavoidable fated connection.
There were complicated circumstances I could've explained, but I didn't bother answering.
My pride wouldn't allow me to discuss something like that with a demonic being.
I warned the stranger again.
“I said step away.”
The innocent expression on the stranger's face instantly changed into that of an evil spirit.
It wasn't merely a fierce expression. The stranger had transformed into a real monster in an instant...
“Don't order me around if you don't want to die!!!”
That startled me.
The stranger's horrific appearance made my heart drop. I'd never seen anything like this, even in my previous life.
Just like a Demonic Cult bastard. What kind of bizarre martial art had this bastard learned now?
While I frowned, the stranger raised a hand.
“Ah! Sorry, I got a little excited. It's our first meeting, so forget what just happened.”
How was I supposed to forget it? I was afraid this bastard would show up in my dreams.
Soon, the stranger's face changed back to its original innocent appearance.
“I heard you're the one who turned Je Geumhak into an idiot. That's why I'm letting you off this time. That bastard always got on my nerves.”
Did this bastard truly not realize that they got on people's nerves too?
I drew up the Jade Clarity Celestial Phenomenon Force and wrapped it around the Black Dragon Sword.
“Step away. This is your last warning.”
At my hostile actions, the stranger tilted their head as though they truly couldn't understand.
“You already have the Five-Spirit Flower Dew, so aren't you done here? Besides, you're not on Zhongnan's side either.”
The stranger's words made my heart sink.
How much did this bastard know?
Could someone other than this bastard have entered this place?
Concern for my junior disciples rushed over me like a tide.
“How... do you know that?”
“Because I've been watching. By the way, are you going to keep that on? I feel sick.”
The stranger gestured with their chin at my Black Dragon Sword, now glowing gold.
Was this deliberate, or was the stranger truly out of their mind?
I didn't like either possibility.
“Step away.”
“Ha... Honestly, this is why I can't understand people of the martial world. Fine.”
The stranger obediently stepped back.
Then they said something that made no sense.
“Why is ‘Little Demon’ interested in someone like you? You don't look like much.”
As the stranger spoke, I began assessing them.
Since the stranger was hostile toward Je Geumhak, they were probably someone who competed with him on roughly equal terms.
Otherwise, they wouldn't have any reason to oppose him.
That meant if this stranger was keeping Je Geumhak in check, their martial prowess was likely comparable to Je Geumhak's.
‘Just my fucking luck.’
Meeting this bastard in a situation like this was a problem, but the real issue was that I'd never seen them in my previous life. I had no idea who they were.
I'd gone through all that hell to take down Je Geumhak.
‘Maybe... my junior disciples need to leave first.’
Had the stranger read my thoughts?
The stranger snickered.
“Don't tell me you're thinking of fighting me right now? Hahaha! You must've thought Je Geumhak was an easy opponent.”
Apparently finding it hilarious, the stranger pretended to wipe away tears while studying me closely.
Then they squeezed their eyes shut and shook their head.
“No! No! I promised I wouldn't cause any trouble this time!”
After talking to themself for a while, the stranger smiled again.
What the hell was wrong with this lunatic?
“There's something I'm curious about. Can you answer me?”
“No.”
“Why not?”
Fuck, did I really have to explain that?
“Je Geumhak came back with his head caved in. The teacher is treating him, but they said it was too damaged to repair easily.”
The stranger circled both hands around their own head as they explained the extent of Je Geumhak's injury.
They even looked thrilled about it.
“But I heard from the Flying Demon Brigade that you smashed his head without even touching him. I've never heard of a martial art like that in the Central Plains.”
The stranger's eyes sharpened for an instant.
“How did you do it?”
There was genuine curiosity in the stranger's eyes.
That made them all the more dangerous.
“If you have no business here, get lost.”
“You're not going to answer?”
The stranger stared past me as if there were something behind my back.
“Will you answer if all your junior disciples die?”
“...Do you want to die?”
I released a surge of killing intent at the stranger, but they only stared at my face without the slightest reaction.
Then the stranger suddenly burst out laughing.
“Hahaha! This is fun. No wonder ‘Little Demon’ is interested in you.”
The bastard nodded readily.
“Well, why does it matter how you smashed his head? The result is what matters. Anyway, it was nice meeting you. Let's meet again. Definitely.”
Just as the stranger had appeared, they disappeared in an instant without leaving a trace.
Fucking bastard. What did this bastard mean, meet again?
I regretted not carrying salt[1] with me. From now on, I needed to make sure I always had some.
#
“Haah.”
After that fucking bastard vanished, my legs gave out and I sat on the ground.
‘Those eyes were truly insane.’
My head was so crowded with thoughts that it felt ready to burst.
How the stranger had slipped through my energy sense, what they had been searching for, and just how many Demonic Cult bastards were spread across the Central Plains.
The greatest problem was what the stranger had said.
[‘Why is Little Demon interested in someone like you? You don't look like much.’]
I had a rough idea of whom ‘Little Demon’ referred to, and it made my head spin.
I'd already suspected it after what happened with Je Geumhak, but now I was certain.
‘The worst fucking bastard of them all is interested in me right now.’
And like a young girl with her first crush, that bastard was broadcasting that interest to everyone around him.
Otherwise, how could every demonic being I'd recently met know about me?
‘A demonic being with a maiden's heart...’
The thought alone was horrifying.
I'd heard that unwanted attention from the opposite sex was burdensome enough.
It couldn't compare to attention from a hateful member of my own sex.
That fucking bastard had even killed me in my previous life while placing the Demon God's curse on me.
“...But when did I meet him in this life?”
No matter how thoroughly I searched my memories, I could only recall a few scenes involving him from my previous life.
I remembered him sweeping through Martial Alliance units like a storm during the Orthodox-Demonic War.
I remembered him casually tapping White Path experts with one finger and making them bleed from all seven orifices.
I remembered him strolling along as he made mountains of corpses and rivers of blood.
And finally, I remembered him killing me.
‘Looking back, he really was a horrifying bastard.’
I searched through every memory of the atrocities that made me wonder whether he was even human, but I clearly had no memory of meeting him in this life.
“What the hell is going on?”
I got to my feet.
This wasn't the right time to keep thinking.
First, I checked Dam Jungho.
I was worried the stranger might have poisoned him while I was gone.
“Ugh...”
Time had passed, and he was starting to wake up, so I pressed his sleep acupoint again and put him into a deeper sleep.
Since I'd saved his life, the Cold-Iron Armor Robe seemed to leave Zhongnan with a slightly easier heart as well.
That crazy bastard wouldn't come back to kill Dam Jungho after I left, would they?
Even if they did, what could I do? All I could do was desperately hope they wouldn't.
I returned to the cave where the Five-Spirit Flower Dew had appeared.
When I cleared away the rocks and dirt from the entrance I'd collapsed and stepped inside...
Swords flew at me.
“Die...! Eldest Senior Brother!”
“Haah, haah! You startled me.”
Thinking I was an intruder, my junior disciples had attacked immediately. They each clutched their chests and let out heavy sighs of relief.
“Did you collect all the Five-Spirit Flower Dew?”
“...Ah, yes. We just finished collecting it.”
“Are you all right, Senior Brother? You didn't run into anyone dangerous, did you?”
“...”
Should I tell them about the Demonic Cult bastard I had just met?
Or about Gwak Gung, who was apparently interested in me?
I shook my head.
They wouldn't easily believe me, and if they did, that would create another problem.
If they kept thinking about an enormous enemy they couldn't hope to match, their own accomplishments would begin to feel pitifully small.
The greatest obstacle to martial arts training was impatience.
“Nothing happened. I just put one of the Northern Dipper Swordsmen to sleep on my way here.”
That was enough.
My junior disciples would grow stronger.
They only needed to climb their own steps, one at a time.
“...”
“...”
As I thought that, I looked up to inspect the Five-Spirit Flower Dew and found their eyes had become a little mischievous.
What was wrong with them now?
“...Come on, Senior Brother. Seriously... Hah... Hahaha!”
Starting with Geumpyo, Eunho began laughing loudly too.
Hong Saryeon's stiff expression softened, and she let out a snort of laughter.
What was this mood?
“Senior Brother, it was one of the Northern Dipper Swordsmen?!”
“One of the Northern Dipper Swordsmen, he says. One of the Northern Dipper Swordsmen. Hahaha.”
They didn't believe me?
When I frowned, Geumpyo sternly stopped Eunho and Hong Saryeon from mocking me.
“Eunho, that's enough.”
Right, Geumpyo. You're the only one I can trust...
“Eldest Senior Brother says it was one of the Northern Dipper Swordsmen, so it was one of the Northern Dipper Swordsmen.”
“Hahaha! That's right. If he says it was one of the Northern Dipper Swordsmen, then it was. But... One of the Noooorthern Dipper Swordsmen? One of the Noooorthern Dipper Swordsmen?”
At that moment, Dongryong came running over and tugged on my sleeve.
“Eldest Senior Brother, I believe you. It must've been one of the Northern Dipper Swordsmen.”
Heh. They must have been desperate for more training.
[1] Salt — Traditionally used in Korean folk practice to ward off evil spirits.
Footnotes:
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