WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: Chen
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◈ The Martial Genius who Remembers Everything ◈
Chapter 384: Ambush (2)
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It took the Branch Head a long time to come to their senses.
I didn't press them.
I needed time to calm down and regain my composure as well.
Oddly enough, the Branch Head was the first to speak.
“I-I'm sorry, Young Master Jin. I nearly interfered with your work.”
Their expression was still stiff. Even though they weren't fully in their right mind, they must have decided that an apology came first.
To think they were still concerned with social conduct at a time like this.
The Hao Sect's Branch Heads certainly seemed to possess exceptional mental fortitude.
“I understand.”
I didn't question them further.
When war breaks out, there are countless ways people can lose their humanity.
That didn't mean I needed to cast mine aside for the sake of efficiency just yet.
“...So this man really wasn't Song Baekpungsa...”
The Branch Head looked at Song Baekpungsa again, disbelief written across their face as reality finally sank in.
After seeing him desperately cling to them and scream for help, who could have suspected he wasn't Song Baekpungsa?
“How long... had he been impersonating him?”
I couldn't know for certain.
But judging by what he had shown in Wuhan, he must have prepared for a long time and impersonated Song Baekpungsa for quite a while.
Blending naturally into Song Baekpungsa's existing connections wasn't something that could be done with only a day or two of preparation.
“That's something you should investigate, Branch Head.”
“Ah... right.”
The other four Five Ghost Demons were probably in similar circumstances.
To get close to Jegal Somyeong, they would have spent a long time preparing and concealing themselves perfectly.
“Young Master Jin, there's one thing I'd like to ask.”
“Go ahead.”
“If you were so certain... why did you drag things out like that?”
I looked down at Song Baekpungsa's cold body. No, at one of the Five Ghost Demons.
Unable to endure my interrogation, which had come close to torture, he had finally revealed himself.
Had I killed him swiftly, he might never have exposed his true identity.
“...”
Even in my previous life, the Five Ghost Demons had carried out many successful assassinations and thrown the Martial Alliance into chaos.
They had especially caused turmoil within the Martial Alliance by eliminating Jegal Somyeong.
From my perspective, they weren't people I could kill before properly uncovering their identities.
Part of me had also wanted to see for myself just how vicious they were.
Still, I couldn't reveal all of that honestly.
Relationships were healthiest when people maintained a certain distance from one another.
The Branch Head of the Hao Sect's Wuhan Branch and I were best kept at exactly that distance.
I gave a brief answer.
“I hoped one of the other four might reveal themselves.”
“...I see.”
“But none of them did in the end.”
“Yes.”
The Branch Head stared blankly at Song Baekpungsa's corpse, its face grotesquely warped after the skin had peeled away.
“For now, keep Song Baekpungsa's death quiet.”
“Yes. Understood. Are you planning to identify the others you mentioned earlier?”
As I had told Song Baekpungsa, I had erased every trace of following him.
Someone might immediately suspect he was dead when he disappeared.
But if anyone connected his death to me, then Song Baekpungsa must have left some trace for a comrade without our knowledge.
And if someone found a trace that we had failed to discover...
‘That bastard is the culprit.’
When I answered with silence, the Branch Head gave a small nod.
“Thinking this could become serious, I've gathered as many people as possible from nearby branches. If even a small rumor begins spreading, I'll inform you at once.”
“Please do.”
Just as I was about to leave the cleanup to them and return...
“Young Master Jin...”
The Branch Head hesitated uncertainly.
“What is it?”
“Hm... As an information broker, I shouldn't give you uncertain information, so I had planned not to mention it...”
The Branch Head glanced at Song Baekpungsa before continuing.
“But I thought it would be better to tell you and let you judge for yourself.”
They handed me a list I hadn't seen before.
“What is this?”
“It contains the people Song Baekpungsa met before entering Wuhan.”
It listed the names of people he had met at inns and taverns while passing through Jiangxi Province before coming to Hubei.
“They were chance encounters, so we didn't report them separately... But considering how matters have unfolded, I believe you should know.”
I scanned the list and asked, “Have you compiled a separate list of those who entered Wuhan?”
“We haven't.”
Several names on the list caught my attention.
Silkworm Thread Scholar Deokhun.
Flower-Crushing Water Serpent Gam Eungbo.
Eight-Armed Crescent Blade Bang Sawon.
The first two were White Path martial artists, while Bang Sawon was a wandering martial artist well known in Jiangxi Province.
I immediately pointed out the three.
“Please confirm whether they're currently in Wuhan.”
“These people have fairly well-established identities.”
Of course, none of them had been among the candidates capable of concealing their identities until now.
Yet they had another important thing in common.
Within a year from now, all of them would either die or vanish without a trace.
“It's not certain yet. May I explain later?”
Despite my inability to explain properly, the matter with Song Baekpungsa must have earned the Branch Head's trust. They nodded with a grave expression.
“I'll move as quickly as possible.”
#
While the Hao Sect disciples searched for the three...
I selected an iron sword from a blacksmith's shop, bought an ordinary blue martial outfit and hood, then changed into them.
Now that I knew the three weren't from the Nine Sects One Gang or the Five Great Clans, I couldn't identify the Five Ghost Demons through the same method as before.
While waiting with the Branch Head at the Wuhan Branch, we found the first suspect.
“Eight-Armed Crescent Blade Bang Sawon has left an inn.”
“Where is he?”
“Chowol Manor.”
Chowol Manor was where Chowol Tower had once stood.
Chowol Tower had been a high-class tavern built around a central pond, with eight two-story pavilions arranged around it.
“He went to Chowol Manor? At this hour?”
“Yes.”
Far from the busy streets, it had once been frequented by high officials and martial masters. Now, after falling into ruin, it stood completely empty.
Merchant houses and escort agencies had moved in afterward, but no business had lasted a full year.
Why would he go to a place left abandoned and reduced to ruins?
“I should take a look.”
“Should I put people on him?”
“Just have them watch from a distance.”
“Understood.”
I left the Hao Sect's Wuhan Branch and moved quickly.
After passing through the streets, I climbed onto the rooftops in a sparsely populated area. Then I used the Peerless Wanderer Divine Art at full power and headed for Chowol Manor.
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh.
It wasn't long before Chowol Manor came into view as I raced forward with the sound of wind breaking in my ears.
Using the Ghost Breath Movement Art, I slowly walked across the manor's rooftops.
The empty Chowol Manor felt more desolate than a mountain landscape.
A fishy smell rose from the waterways surrounding the central pond, while the occasional chirping of insects only deepened the eerie atmosphere.
Before long...
I found Bang Sawon drinking alone by the pond at the center of the manor.
Gulp, gulp, gulp.
“Ahh.”
Bang Sawon pulled the bottle away and roughly wiped his mouth.
He picked up a strip of dried meat laid out beside him, put it in his mouth, and chewed.
I simply watched until he had emptied one bottle and nearly finished the second.
Without saying a word, Bang Sawon continued staring at the moss-covered pond.
Just as he drained the second bottle...
“How long do you plan to hide like a rat?”
Just as I had expected, Bang Sawon noticed me.
I remained silent and didn't move.
“Do you think I wouldn't know just because you're playing dumb?”
I waited until he looked precisely in my direction.
Clang!
Bang Sawon violently threw away his bottle.
Then he stared directly at me and drew his crescent blade.
“If you don't come out, I'll blow your head apart.”
I released the Ghost Breath Movement Art, drew on my internal energy, and leaped down from the roof.
At the same time, I raised the Jade Clarity Celestial Phenomenon Force and fired the Flying Dragon Claw at him.
Swoosh!
The Flying Dragon Claw sped through the air, collided with a throwing knife, and embedded itself in the ground.
“What are you doing?!”
Whirr.
As I reeled in the Flying Dragon Claw, I said, “You're worse than Song Baekpungsa at hiding your identity.”
“What the hell are you talking about...?!”
“Bang Sawon is a wandering martial artist who uses a crescent blade. How could you notice someone using a stealth art based only on a difference in form?”
When I learned the Ghost Breath Movement Art, I heard so much about “sense” and “form” that my ears hurt.
Not being detected by energy sense was the mark of a novice. A true master had to avoid detection even through form.
That was why I had deliberately worn a conspicuous blue martial outfit while using the Ghost Breath Movement Art.
The Five Ghost Demons might have noticed the incongruity in my form, but a mere wandering martial artist couldn't possibly have done so in this dark manor.
The silence was brief.
Terrifying demonic qi soon rose from his body.
“Fine. This is better.”
I used the Taeul Eighty Thousand Divine Steps and got behind him.
He discarded Bang Sawon's main weapon, the crescent blade, drew throwing knives from his robes, and swung them.
Swoosh!
A throwing knife barely passed over my head.
At the same time, he retreated and fired two more throwing knives. I quickly used the Lesser Heaven Sword Art to block them.
After unleashing the Myriad Blossoms Invincible Fist to block his three blows...
I fired the Flying Dragon Claw again and caught his ankle.
Crash!
The moment he fell to the ground...
I pulled up the Flying Dragon Claw with all my strength and slammed him into the ground again.
Thud!
Yet at the same time, he used the rebound to spring up and approach me like a ghost.
In the blink of an eye, someone who had been two jang away appeared before me and swung a heavy saber wrapped in sword force at my neck.
If things continued like this, my head would be severed before I could do anything.
I quickly raised my right hand and blocked the saber.
Clang.
“...!!”
The heavy saber infused with sword force should have cut through my hand and neck, but it couldn't.
His eyes widened.
I grinned at the sight of his expression.
“Have you heard of the Devouring Gauntlet?”
“...!!”
The moment he failed to hide his surprise, I grabbed his neck and activated the Azure Dragon Bangle.
Hum, hum.
A blue light flashed along the Heavenly Silkworm Thread of the Flying Dragon Claw, and strength gradually began leaving his body.
“Guhk, guhk...”
His body withered rapidly, but his face remained firm and full.
That was proof he wore a human-skin mask, unaffected by the state of his body's energy.
I threw him to the ground and drove the iron sword into his dantian.
Stab!
“Where are the other three?”
“...Guhk.”
Just as I had done to Song Baekpungsa, I twisted his qi and blood circulation.
Along with the pain of his shattered dantian, his qi channels twisted, and Bang Sawon coughed up a mouthful of blood.
“Urgh.”
Yet this Five Ghost Demon still said nothing.
“Speak. Where are the other three?”
“The Heavenly Demon descends...”
I immediately wrapped qi around my fist and shattered both his shinbones.
Thud, thud.
His legs crumbled as easily as rotten wood, but he didn't even scream.
Then...
Boom! Boom!
Palm force shot out from both his hands.
The palm force grazed my earlobes and exploded in the air.
The poison contained in the demonic qi was already trying to enter my body, making my ears throb.
‘I definitely shattered his dantian.’
I quickly looked back at him.
His skin had turned red, and the veins across his body bulged as though they were about to burst.
“...Damn demonic art.”
His hands came together, unleashing an enormous wave of palm force.
Boom!
I hurriedly dodged, but couldn't escape its range completely.
My martial outfit melted away, and only the Heavenly Silkworm Treasure Robe beneath it barely retained its shape.
That damned, fucked-up demonic art...
Slice, slice.
At the strange sound, I turned my head.
“Ha, fuck.”
He was cutting off his own shattered calves.
Crunch.
I clenched my teeth, refusing to let his actions intimidate me.
The moment he stood upright on legs streaming with blood...
I unleashed the Ten Thousand Seas Heaven and Earth Sword Art at him.
Shhhhh.
Four blades of Ten Thousand Swords formed and began moving, while the surroundings brightened like daylight beneath their golden sword qi.
Holding throwing knives in both hands, Bang Sawon tried desperately to come toward me on his severed legs.
Then he saw the swarm of Ten Thousand Swords spiraling as though it would devour him and calmly recited,
“The age of the Divine Cult is coming. You will not escape hell.”
As his words ended, his body began to be ground apart within the swarm of Ten Thousand Swords.
Demonic qi exploded again and again amid the storm of sword qi, surging for a time as though it would swallow the Ten Thousand Swords.
Rumble!
In the end, he was reduced to a handful of blood within the Ten Thousand Swords and vanished.
The only traces left to show that he had been in the manor were...
Thud.
The legs he had cut off himself and a few strips of dried meat.
Footnotes:
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