WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: Chen
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◈ The Martial Genius who Remembers Everything ◈
Chapter 303: The Black Flame Dragon, Sacred One of the Dark Path
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It was the second day of the Eunha Merchant Group's founding anniversary celebration.
The banquet continued much as it had the day before.
Yet it lacked yesterday's boisterous atmosphere.
Music played, and people continued coming and going, but there were no dancers, nor were any Eunha Merchant Group staff personally greeting each guest.
It was a banquet, yet it did not feel like one at all.
“The hospitality here is awful. Tsk.”
“...Is that really what you're complaining about right now?”
Wang Soso looked at me incredulously.
“Hm? Why not?”
“The Merchant Group Leader's favorite boasts were that Jeong Sogun entered the Academy and became a Great Hall Master.”
“So?”
“...You shattered both of those things in one blow.”
It wasn't my fault the Merchant Group Leader's precious son had been knocked out in one blow.
‘It wasn't as if I hit him that hard.’
If he'd drawn his weapon, he should have defeated me in an instant.
Then he would not have been beaten so ridiculously.
The impact that ran through my hand when I blocked his spear qi had been no joke, after all.
‘A scion of the Eunha Merchant Group would receive an elixir pellet or spiritual medicine every quarter, wouldn't they?’
Jeong Sogun had been knocked out in one blow solely because of his own arrogance.
His conceited belief that he could easily subdue someone like me had brought about his downfall.
If not for that, we might have exchanged a few more moves.
Though I still would have won in the end.
“From what I saw, he isn't skilled enough to become a Great Hall Master. He must have bribed his way into that promotion...”
“That isn't the important part.”
Wang Soso still looked dumbfounded.
Worry had joined her expression as well.
“Maybe... we won't be able to maintain ties with the Eunha Merchant Group anymore.”
Well, I had made the Merchant Group Leader wet themselves at a celebration. Perhaps that was only natural.
“It doesn't matter.”
“What?”
“The Wang Family Estate supports our Taeul Sect, doesn't it?”
“...”
Wang Soso went blank, as if someone had struck the back of her head.
I looked at her and grinned teasingly.
“Don't tell me the Wang Family Estate plans to abandon the Taeul Sect?”
“Th-that isn't what I mean!”
“Then isn't that enough?”
“I mean, yes, but... from the Taeul Sect's perspective, you never know...”
Why was the Wang Family Estate's daughter worrying as though she belonged to the Taeul Sect?
“You never know what might happen. The Wang Family Estate could weaken... and then the Eunha Merchant Group would grow stronger...”
“Are you telling us to flit back and forth like bats?”
“Not that.”
“Forget it. Once the Wang Family Estate becomes the greatest merchant house under heaven, won't every problem be solved?”
“...”
“Then it won't matter even if the Eunha Merchant Group dislikes me and the Taeul Sect.”
“R-right.”
Wang Soso blinked a few times before cautiously asking, “...Brother, do you think the Wang Family Estate will become the greatest merchant house under heaven?”
I firmly shook my head.
“I don't know.”
“What?”
In my previous life, the Wang Family Estate had slowly declined after Wang Soso disappeared and Wang Geumsan lost his mind.
My answer made her expression fall.
Looking at her face, I added, “But we can make it happen.”
“...You mean you will?”
“I'll help with whatever I can, but in the end, your father and you will make it happen.”
The Three Great Merchant Houses that had torn apart the Wang Family Estate's assets had ultimately been of no help during the Orthodox-Demonic War.
So I would support the Wang Family Estate in every way I could.
Casting aside the future that was supposed to happen and placing my hopes in new possibilities, that was what I needed to do.
Wang Soso stared at me, then clenched her fist.
“That's right. If we make it happen, there won't be a problem.”
She nodded repeatedly, as though making a vow to herself.
She was still young, yet she really was dependable.
I lightly patted her head.
“Let's head back soon.”
“Yes!”
Wang Soso answered in the brightest voice she'd used since arriving at the Eunha Merchant Group.
#
After informing the Eunha Merchant Group that we would return to the Taeul Sect, we waited for the coachman to prepare the carriage.
Jeong Soeul came to the annex.
“What is it this time?”
Wang Soso, who had always reacted to the sight of Jeong Soeul like a cat with its fur raised, greeted her with a strangely relaxed smile.
“Is there somewhere in my own home that I can't go?”
This time, Jeong Soeul reacted sharply instead.
“Of course not. Still, I thought it was improper for even the owner of a home to enter a room given to guests without permission.”
And I was the one caught in the middle of the two women's battle of wills.
“Soso, finish packing.”
With a huff, Wang Soso went inside to gather the rest of her belongings. Since I had brought no luggage in the first place, only Jeong Soeul and I remained in the sitting room.
After a brief silence, her lovely voice reached my ears.
“...I told you so much, yet you caused trouble in the end.”
“What trouble?”
I tilted my head.
Jeong Soeul let out a hollow laugh at my composed expression.
“Ha. You're not so stupid that you don't even realize how serious what you've done is, are you?”
The subtly seductive attitude she'd shown until now was nowhere to be found.
I changed the way I dealt with her as well.
“What exactly did I do? Your side asked me to show them what I could do, so I did. Even when they picked a fight, I held back.”
“Hah... Seriously...!”
“I'm starting to get annoyed by your rude attitude too. Why don't you either speak properly or get out of my sight?”
“G-get out?”
Jeong Soeul couldn't hide her stunned expression at my harsh words.
Soon, her shoulders began to tremble.
“...Are you really going to keep pretending to be a stupid Black Path brute?”
I didn't know if I was acting stupid, but one thing was certain.
Seeing Eumbeom's true nature was rather enjoyable.
More than that, this woman did not seem as frightened because she hadn't been in the inner chamber that day.
That wouldn't do.
I took a deep breath and shouted.
“What? Stupid? Are you insulting me right now!”
As I rose with killing intent flaring from me, Jeong Soeul startled and stepped back.
“W-what are you doing? D-don't tell me you're going to...!”
Shing.
When I drew my sword and approached her, Jeong Soeul trembled like a rabbit before a tiger's gaze.
“Ugh...”
I stared down at her for a long moment before withdrawing my killing intent.
“Hah... Hah... Hah... Hah...”
I discreetly glanced at the floor beneath her feet and spoke.
“At least you're better than your brother and father.”
“...”
Jeong Soeul glared at me as if she wanted to kill me.
I waved my hand dismissively, ordering her out.
“Did you come all this way just to say that?”
Still trembling, she barely managed to speak.
“...Father said he wanted to see you before you left.”
Hmm... Only now?
#
The Merchant Group Leader's office was unlike the one at the Great Heaven Merchant Group.
Unlike Father's office, which stood right next to the administrative department, the Eunha Merchant Group Leader's office was located in the deepest part of the compound, past a long corridor.
“Did you sleep well last night?”
The Merchant Group Leader sat alone in the grand, extravagant office, watching me with a stiff expression.
Tsk. They look as though they aged drastically overnight. I can't help feeling sorry for them.
“The banquet is still underway. Should the host really be out here?”
The Merchant Group Leader didn't answer or even react to my question. Only after a long while did they finally speak in a heavy voice.
“I was considering whether I should stamp the contract the Wang Family Estate sent over.”
“Didn't we settle that yesterday?”
“Do you think that because I spoke before everyone, I can't void the deal?”
“You could, but you won't.”
“A martial artist speaking of trust. Interesting.”
The Merchant Group Leader folded their hands and covered their mouth.
Their eyes became sharper than ever.
“Tell me... Do you know that after this deal, I could bring both the Great Heaven Merchant Group and the Taeul Sect to an end?”
“Are you planning to do that?”
“If my anger doesn't subside.”
“...”
“The Taeul Sect could be left with nothing again... No, I could tear apart the Great Heaven Merchant Group and Taeul Sect in a far worse way.”
Unlike the young tiger, the experienced tiger's eyes gleamed.
“Forget any idea of relying on the Wang Family Estate. The Wang Family Estate is ultimately made up of merchants. Trust and gratitude are merely troublesome and expensive to purchase with money, not things money cannot buy.”
Their skill at threats really was an art form.
But a threat only worked if it could intimidate someone.
After listening carefully, I nodded and answered cheerfully.
“Then do that.”
“What?”
The Merchant Group Leader's hostile expression shifted into a complicated one.
“I don't think I've done anything wrong, and your displeasure hasn't gone away. There isn't a solution that will satisfy everyone, is there? Then each of us should solve this problem however we want.”
“...Are you in your right mind? Or are you that confident?”
I gave them a small shrug.
“I'm simply not afraid of a future that hasn't arrived yet. If a problem comes up, I'll deal with it then.”
“...”
The Merchant Group Leader's expression grew even more complicated.
They silently stared at me for a long time before speaking.
“...You have not held a wedding yet, have you?”
What kind of absurd question was that? Before I could even see a reason to answer it, they continued.
“What do you think of Soeul? Her eyes are full of ambition, but she will support her husband just as fiercely. She's a wise child.”
“What?”
What was this person suddenly talking about?
“Or do you not like Soeul? As far as looks go, she does not fall short of anyone I've ever seen.”
Before I could recover from the utterly unexpected question, the Merchant Group Leader continued.
“Chaos will come upon the world. Did you know that?”
...What?
“And when that chaos arrives, much of the established order will be destroyed. To avoid being swept away by a great storm, one must put down firm roots. Do you think the Wang Family Estate will put down firm roots in the Taeul Sect?”
The Merchant Group Leader wasn't speaking plainly, but they seemed to have some idea of the future.
If so... had Eumbeom taking over the Eunha Merchant Group also been partly according to their intentions?
‘Well, the Eumbeom I met showed her true colors soon enough. She wasn't someone with the capacity to swallow the Eunha Merchant Group through her own strength.’
Jeong Soeul was superior to Jeong Sogun.
But as a merchant group leader, one could not simply pass the merchant group over the eldest son to the second daughter.
Perhaps they had created the circumstances that would allow Eumbeom to seize the merchant group herself.
With a resolute gaze, the Merchant Group Leader made me an offer.
“Put down roots in the Eunha Merchant Group. Then the Taeul Sect will not be swept away by the storm.”
It was certainly an enticing offer.
If I had heard something like this in my previous life, wouldn't I have bowed so deeply my head nearly touched the ground, saying, “Thank you kindly”?
I would have held the wedding I had failed to hold in my previous life as well.
But...
“Thank you for the offer, but...”
I had tried putting down roots by relying on someone else in my previous life.
In the great tree known as the Martial Alliance.
And I had learned the lesson painfully.
“I will put down the Taeul Sect’s roots myself.”
You could not withstand a storm by clinging to someone else's roots.
Only through my own strength could I firmly put down my own roots in the earth.
I met the Merchant Group Leader's eyes directly.
“Without anyone else's help.”
“...The world must seem easy to you.”
“I suppose it might look that way.”
The Merchant Group Leader stared at me for a long time before rising.
“...Perhaps the Eunha Merchant Group's roots are too strong for Sogun.”
“What?”
After saying something I couldn't understand, the Merchant Group Leader opened a wooden case.
Then they took out a large golden seal and stamped the contract with a thud.
“Give this to Lord Wang. And tell the Great Heaven Merchant Group Leader that I look forward to working with him.”
For the first time, the Merchant Group Leader showed me respect.
“Thank you.”
I gave them a slight bow in return.
#
Naeng Okhwan entered a dark cave.
‘What terrible taste.’
Naeng Okhwan could not understand why someone would leave perfectly good buildings alone and insist on making a laboratory in a cave like this.
Expensive Night-Luminous Pearls were embedded in the passage ceiling instead of torches.
Something about torches changing the quality of the air.
The reason was so pathetic that Naeng Okhwan had not even properly listened to it.
At the end of the passage, a huge cavern appeared. Naeng Okhwan entered while making their presence known.
“I'm here.”
“...”
As they entered, the cave's owner stood there with a frown on his face.
“What? Why?”
“I told you to wear a protective suit.”
Naeng Okhwan looked around at the corpses hanging nearby.
“Fuck, do you think I'd get contaminated by things like that?”
“I'm not worried about you. I'm worried your stupidity will rub off on the corpses.”
“You son of a bitch.”
Naeng Okhwan leaned forward as if to lunge at him. The cave's owner set down the knife and forceps in his hands.
“Why is someone who failed their mission hanging around here?”
Then, as if they had remembered something, Naeng Okhwan's attitude changed at once.
“...Ah! Right, right. I saw that guy.”
“That guy?”
“The one who destroyed the Iron Zombie you made.”
The man's expression twisted at once.
“I didn't make that garbage. My underlings made it...”
“Yeah, yeah, whatever. It was made in your den.”
“You fucking ox...”
Naeng Okhwan grinned.
They had been beaten for failing their mission, but seeing that rotten expression improved their mood a little.
Coming all the way to this filthy cave had been worth it just to see this.
It was so entertaining how the man reacted whenever anyone so much as touched his pride.
Naeng Okhwan dropped into a chair.
“Anyway, he was an interesting guy.”
“Interesting?”
“Yeah. I'd say he was a little like you, Jang Ogeuk.”
The man called Jang Ogeuk bared his fangs, then tilted his head.
“What do you mean?”
“What do you think? He had the kind of face that made me want to kill him.”
“...Naeng Okhwan. Do you truly wish to die?”
“Ah, enough. Anyway, I can understand a little why the Little Demon is interested in him.”
At Naeng Okhwan's words, Jang Ogeuk fell silent in thought.
Then he voiced his doubt.
“Did he perhaps use the Absorbing Star Grand Art?”
“The Absorbing Star Grand Art?”
“Je Geumhak's Cosmic Ultimate Demonic Qi has become completely mixed together. That's why his treatment is taking so long.”
“Oh? Was that it?”
“Did you learn something?”
Jang Ogeuk's eyes were full of expectation, but Naeng Okhwan shrugged.
“How would I know? I didn't fight him.”
“Utterly useless trash.”
“Keh heh heh. Did you think I'd brought you something useful?”
“If you're finished, get out. I'm busy.”
As Jang Ogeuk turned away, Naeng Okhwan's serious voice reached him from behind.
“Teacher sent word that it's time to begin the Fourth Stage.”
At Naeng Okhwan's words, Jang Ogeuk's gaze settled and grew calm.
“Has it already come to that?”
“Yeah. The Blood Demon Sect's bastard spawn turned out to be more useless than expected.”
“The Day of Opening Heaven isn't far off either.”
“When that day comes...”
Naeng Okhwan swallowed the words they had been about to say.
Reckless as they were, this was not something they could speak of carelessly.
“Yes. When that day comes...”
Jang Ogeuk also swallowed the rest of his words, exchanging meaningful looks with Naeng Okhwan.
Footnotes:
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