WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: Chen
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
◈ The Martial Genius who Remembers Everything ◈
Chapter 372: The Swirling Current (4)
──────
Just as I was about to leave the White Wolf Pavilion, leaving the deranged Sojeong Unit members behind...
“Wait. Look at me for a moment.”
I stopped at the sudden voice.
When I turned around, an all too familiar face stood there.
“...Du Cheongang.”
“Do you know me?”
Du Cheongang looked at me with puzzled eyes.
That bastard had been so afraid of pain that he mastered movement arts and footwork to an extreme. Yet when I failed to evade an enemy sword, he took the blow in my place.
[You need to live... The things in your head are important to the Martial Alliance... Cough.]
For the Martial Alliance that had used him as a human shield.
All because I had every record from the Mantong Office stored in my head.
And now, he was alive before my eyes.
I watched him for a moment, then shook my head.
“No. I heard the other unit members calling your name earlier...”
“You must have an excellent memory.”
I still didn't know why a lowlife who had done nothing but steal before joining the Martial Alliance carried such a great sense of responsibility.
It wasn't as if his monthly stipend had been worth much.
Still, he asked me with the same serious gaze he had worn in my previous life.
“Do you want to become a martial artist?”
“...A martial artist?”
The word should have been obvious, but it felt strangely unfamiliar.
“Yes, a martial artist of the Martial Alliance.”
“Ah, a Martial Alliance martial artist...”
Maybe it was because the words came from someone who had met the death most worthy of a martial artist.
As I repeated those words to myself, Du Cheongang grinned.
“Is there some other kind of martial artist?”
“No. I thought you meant a true martial artist.”
“Haha. You're an interesting one.”
After laughing heartily, he casually draped an arm over my shoulder.
“To be honest, even if you become a Martial Alliance martial artist, don't come to the White Wolf Pavilion. The Sojeong Unit is the worst of all. Retake the examination if you have to and go to another pavilion.”
“...Why would you say that?”
“Because this place only gathers the absolute worst people. More of us get hurt fighting each other than we do while deployed on missions.”
I already knew that. Even at the Medical Hall, Sojeong Unit members had a monthly cap on treatment visits.
“But...”
Du Cheongang had been chuckling at my reaction, but his expression soon turned serious.
He tightened the arm around my shoulder and added,
“If you want to throw in with men whose blood runs hot, then come.”
Hot-blooded men...
“The hottest bastards in the Martial Alliance are all in the White Wolf Pavilion's Sojeong Unit.”
I nodded without realizing it.
The Sojeong Unit might have been shallow in martial arts, but they never ran from an enemy.
No matter how terrifying the enemy was.
Even if the operation was one where death had already been decided.
The Sojeong Unit had never retreated.
Vivid memories surfaced, and I nodded at his words.
“I see.”
Du Cheongang patted my shoulder, then smiled with satisfaction.
I bowed politely to him.
“Thank you. I already wanted to come here, but now I want to come even more.”
“Is that so? That's good.”
“I'll see you again.”
I gave Du Cheongang a slight nod and was about to turn away.
“Wait!”
He stopped me again.
“Hm? What is it?”
This time, he pressed even closer and whispered.
“I happened to notice something. Are you, by any chance, a disciple of a Taoist martial sect?”
“...?”
What was this all of a sudden?
The Taeul Sect's identity had occasionally been questioned lately, but it was definitely a Taoist martial sect.
“Yes.”
When I nodded, Du Cheongang clapped his hands in delight.
“Oh! This is excellent! Truly excellent! Having a talent like you come to the White Wolf Pavilion would benefit the entire Sojeong Unit.”
Just as I began to grow suspicious at the sudden, excessive praise, Du Cheongang lowered his voice again.
Was he about to say something important...
“Have you... also studied banishing evil and suppressing spirits?”
“Why are you asking that all of a sudden?”
For a moment, I failed to control my expression.
He hurriedly continued.
“You don't need to be particularly skilled. There's an ancient tomb in Hunan Province with a minor spirit inside...”
“...Mount Nine Dragons?”
At my words, Du Cheongang trembled as though struck by lightning.
“Ghk! H-how do you know?! Do you know about Wolhyang's tomb?!”
“...”
Hah, this bastard... I wondered why he had approached me and acted so mature.
He had an agenda.
A hollow laugh slipped out at how transparent he was.
‘Right. This is what my Sojeong Unit should be like. Of course it is.’
Yet as though he couldn't even see my reaction, Du Cheongang widened his eyes like a rabbit's and continued to stare in disbelief.
“How do you know about that?!”
How did I know?
“I heard years ago that ghosts had appeared there. You're a little late.”
“That can't be!!!”
I shook off Du Cheongang as he rolled his eyes back and screamed, “My treasure!!!” before leaving the White Wolf Pavilion.
His furious voice rang out behind me.
“Which son of a bitch was it?!”
Hearing that voice, I made a vow once more.
I needed to return to the White Wolf Pavilion as soon as possible.
The Sojeong Unit's survival was secondary. I had to turn those bastards into decent people first.
#
“W-what... what did you say?”
Seong Moran looked as though she had just heard someone had seen a dragon.
“What do you mean...”
Though it had truly happened, she couldn't believe it.
“What do you mean? Something like that couldn't... couldn't have happened.”
She looked as dumbfounded as I was disappointed.
“I don't know either. I took my application to ask them to accept me again, but they rejected me to my face.”
I held out the application that had been returned to me.
The other members of the delegation also couldn't hide their disbelief.
“Y-you were really rejected?”
“Nothing I said worked.”
“...”
Seong Moran snatched my application and stared at it as if trying to bore a hole through it.
“W-why?”
“What do you mean?”
“Why, why did they reject you? It makes no sense. That trash... No, it's the White Wolf Pavilion... and you're... the top student.”
What? Had she just called me by my name?
Either way, I couldn't tell them that the Alliance Leader himself had intervened.
It would be a problem if the Alliance Leader's already precarious position was shaken because of me.
What could we do on our own without an Alliance Leader when war broke out?
I had no choice but to make an excuse.
“They said my record wasn't good enough for the White Wolf Pavilion...”
“What complete bullshit!!!”
“!”
Everyone in the delegation, including me, couldn't hide their shock.
Seong Moran could be rough, but this was the first time I'd seen her curse outright.
Seong Moran huffed in frustration, barely calming herself before sitting down.
“...Explain it properly. Properly.”
Grinding her teeth, Seong Moran glared at me as though she might kill me at any moment.
“M-Miss Seong... Please calm down for a moment. Why are you so upset?”
“Why? Why?? You're asking why I'm upset?! I alone... No, we alone ended up going to the White Wolf Pavilion!”
“Gulp.”
I instinctively sensed that something was wrong.
Then...
“Sister, listen to him for a moment. There must be some reason.”
A saving voice called out. Delighted, I quickly turned and called to her.
“Miss Namgung... Hic!”
Namgung Seonhwa's hair was disheveled, and a red glow gleamed in her eyes.
“Let's... hear him out.”
On second thought, her voice wasn't calm as usual.
It was sharp, like a freshly honed blade.
A chilling voice that seemed ready to cut off my head at any moment.
“Besides... whatever the reason may be, Young Master Jin will join the White Wolf Pavilion.”
“...”
“You've always been like that, Young Master Jin. No matter what hardship stood in your way, you shattered it and got what you wanted.”
They were clearly words of praise, yet every word felt like another needle being driven into my chest.
“There's no way you won't join. What sort of person are you, Young Master Jin? You wouldn't leave us in that trash... No, the White Wolf Pavilion. Surely not. Everyone else might do that, but Young Master Jin never would.”
“M-Miss Namgung. You see...”
Namgung Seonhwa kept muttering as though my excuses could no longer reach her ears.
“Haha, you've never disappointed us before, Young Master Jin. Of course you won't disappoint us. You're none other than Young Master Jin Sowoon of the Taeul Sect.”
Was it my imagination, or did the words Taeul Sect and my name sound especially clear?
I cautiously turned my gaze toward Namgung Seonhwa.
The corners of her mouth curved softly.
“Right, Young Master?”
Yet her eyes were sharper than ever.
“You defeated my uncle and took the Changgung Merchant Group. Compared to that, joining the White Wolf Pavilion as planned is nothing. Am I wrong?”
“...”
“You aren't saying that joining the White Wolf Pavilion is harder than stealing the Changgung Merchant Group from the Namgung Clan, are you?”
No, no matter what, this one seemed rather difficult.
The person who decided my future was the Martial Alliance Leader himself.
“...”
“...”
When I didn't respond, Namgung Seonhwa also fell silent.
The silence between us quickly spread through the entire delegation, and a tension sharp enough to cut filled the room.
I looked at the others for help, but for some reason, every one of them looked ready to kill me.
What was this? What had I done wrong without even knowing it...?
I couldn't understand why things had turned out this way.
From my perspective, I was the victim. I was the one who could no longer go to the White Wolf Pavilion I had wanted.
Yet the entire delegation, including Seong Moran and Namgung Seonhwa, was glaring at me as though they resented me.
At least Eunho had applied to the Mantong Office rather than the White Wolf Pavilion, so I looked toward him.
“Ahem...”
The bastard quietly avoided my eyes.
Even Eunho, whom I trusted, had turned away from me to save himself. It was a perfect case of songs of Chu from all four sides.[1]
As that sharp tension continued...
Someone casually spoke up.
“Well, I expected this. So where are Representative Jin's second and third choices?”
Everyone's fierce gazes turned toward the owner of that voice.
“Are you planning to try for the Azure Dragon Pavilion after all? I've wanted to recommend the Red Phoenix Pavilion for some time.”
Why was that bastard here when he wasn't even part of the delegation?
“Wait, Young Master Cheol. What do you mean, you expected this?”
At Seong Moran's question, Cheol Sunjik shrugged.
Nam Hwaseong, who had become rather tactful lately, tried to stop Cheol Sunjik, but that bastard wasn't the sort to listen just because someone tried to stop him.
“It makes no sense for someone of Representative Jin's caliber to waste away in the White Wolf Pavilion. It isn't a vessel capable of holding him. I heard the White Wolf Pavilion's competition rate was different from previous years and suspected there would be a problem, so I immediately withdrew my application. It seems I was right.”
“Y-you expected this situation?”
Seong Moran's eyes widened.
Cheol Sunjik calmly nodded, then turned toward me.
“Representative Jin must have expected it too. Isn't that right?”
No, you insane bastard!
“Young Master Jin! Tell us. Did you really expect this? And still... you didn't tell us? You only told Cheol Sunjik?”
“Of course not. I would never...”
Cheol Sunjik cut into my words with a strangely smug expression.
“We understand that much about each other without needing to say it aloud. Isn't that so, Representative Jin?”
What was he talking about? Since when had we been that close...
“I... see.”
Before I could answer, Namgung Seonhwa abruptly rose from her seat.
“M-Miss Namgung.”
I had no idea what was happening, but the killing intent radiating from her body, unlike anything I had ever felt from her before, warned me that I couldn't stay here.
“...”
I came up with the transparent excuse people often used when fleeing a room.
“Oh, right! I forgot I put water on for tea!”
“You have servants at your residence!”
Whoosh!
Seong Moran's seizing arts flew at me without warning.
I avoided them and threw myself through the window.
Though I had jumped from the second floor, the Peerless Wanderer Divine Art let me land lightly and escape the delegation building faster than anyone.
“Stop right there!!”
A violent voice, impossible to identify, rang out behind me, but it gradually faded away.
I ran for a long while, only slowing down once I realized no one was following me anymore.
I wasn't out of breath, but my head was spinning.
“...Why is everyone treating only me like this?”
I had finally caught my breath and started lamenting my lot when...
Rumble rumble rumble rumble!
“...?”
The ground began to shake as though an army were approaching.
I turned around.
Thud thud thud thud thud!
A huge group of Academy students was running toward me.
And they were...
“Representative Jin!!!”
“Representative Jin!!!”
“Unit Leader!!!”
...somehow calling for me desperately.
Come to think of it, there were still bastards who called me Unit Leader.
“What is this? Why are you all gathering in a group...”
“Unit Leader Jin!!!!!”
Fuck, my eardrums were going to burst.
They swarmed around me, surrounded me, and began firing questions.
“Is it true you're not going to the White Wolf Pavilion?”
“No, Unit Leader, you said you were going to the White Wolf Pavilion!”
“Yes! I believed what you said too!”
“Don't tell me... you scammed us?!”
This again.
Why was everyone so interested in where I was going?
When had we become so close?
Anger surged up at the barrage of questions coming from every direction.
I had already been in a terrible mood since hearing the Alliance Leader had interfered, and since leaving the delegation room, no one had given me a moment to collect my thoughts.
I took a deep breath and unleashed Lion’s Roar.
“What the fuck is wrong with all of you?!”
The pressure that shook the entire area abruptly silenced the questions. Yet even louder accusations soon followed.
“How can you do this?! We all believed you!”
“Yes! Because of you, my martial uncles have completely marked me as an enemy!”
“That's right! Do you think there are only one or two victims who got scammed?! What are you going to do about it?!”
What the hell had these bastards eaten to make them act like this?
Toward the ones endlessly chirping like baby birds demanding food, I drew up the Taeul True Scripture with everything I had.
Boom!
As my martial robe swelled as though it were about to burst, the people surrounding me took a couple of steps back.
“You've all lost your minds, haven't you? Did you forget who I am? I'm Jin Sowoon of the Taeul Sect! Jin Sowoon!!!”
“Ugh...”
“When did I ever hold a sword to your throats and threaten you to apply to the White Wolf Pavilion?!”
“W-well, that's true, but...”
The Academy students withdrew with miserable expressions under the suddenly heavy atmosphere.
Pressed down by the overwhelming aura I had unleashed, they hesitated, unable to advance or retreat.
Then someone spoke.
“T-to think you would try to resolve this with logic and martial strength... How despicable...”
“What kind of bullshit is that...”
Before I could say anything, they all began adding a word each, as though answering the call.
“That's right! Let's settle this through dialogue!”
“A Unit Leader must listen to the voices of the unit members...!”
“Wake up! Wake up! Unit Leader Jin, wake up!”
“Wake up! Wake up!!”
The Academy students joined hands and began protesting with their sudden chant.
Faced with their united, resolute determination, I could only clutch my throbbing head.
‘Who the hell is your Unit Leader?!’
[1] Songs of Chu from all four sides — an allusion to Xiang Yu, surrounded by Han troops singing Chu songs; it means being isolated with no allies.
Footnotes:
Join our discord at https://dsc.gg/wetried
