WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: Chen
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◈ The Martial Genius who Remembers Everything ◈
Chapter 391: Personal Revenge
──────
I remembered it as the time when the Demonic Cult had stripped Jiangnan bare and the White Path sects of the south fled to Shaolin Temple, clutching nothing but spoons, chopsticks, and gold and silver.
There were no scholars left in the Martial Alliance, which had been reduced to a shadow of a shadow.
Most gave up their monthly stipends and tried to slip away under cover of night.
The places left vacant by those with enough sense to escape were divided among fools with rocks for brains, who strutted around in self-importance.
When an idiot sat in a high position, it was always those at the bottom who died.
Faced with mounting resentment and harm, the powerful people who had never intended to take responsibility defused the situation by relinquishing the positions they had treated like a game.
With its greatest pillar broken, the Martial Alliance became like a dilapidated house on the verge of collapse, swaying on flimsy supports that barely held up its roof.
Already losing in martial strength, it rushed toward ruin even faster because it lacked a strategist capable of countering the Demon Brain's strategies and tactics.
Then Dam Ak appeared.
While every scholar fled, he alone walked into the chaos.
He had worked for the imperial court in Beijing, yet he left behind wealth, glory, and unchecked authority to join the Martial Alliance.
Working alone as hard as ten others, he rebuilt the Martial Alliance and planned its operations.
He even developed strategies and tactics to counter the Demon Brain, blocking the Demonic Cult forces pouring in like water through a breached dam.
After he arrived, the lists of fallen low-ranking martial artists became much thinner.
They spent more time fighting than clearing corpses, and more time tossing out dry jokes than sharing their grief.
Those ordinary days were precious in an era like that.
Then, one day, after those small but satisfying days had continued for some time, I found Dam Ak stumbling along the road at night outside the encampment after I had left the Sojeong Unit to see Sophie.
The thought that I had met the Chief Strategist who planned our operations made my body stiffen.
More than that, he was the hero who had saved us.
Yet despite never having met me before, he abruptly asked,
[Is the martial world always like this?]
I did not know his circumstances, so I could not tell what he meant by the question.
Still, I could clearly see how unstable he was, like a wavering candle flame that could go out at any moment.
In a voice worn down by mental exhaustion, he asked,
[Is this a place where people throw away their lives for such meaningless reasons and fight for such meaningless reasons? Is the martial world... that kind of place?]
Having entered the martial world to bear the grief of losing his master and companions to the Demonic Cult's slaughter, he looked at me with hollow eyes, as though he had lost even the purpose he had once held.
[What... are they all doing this for?]
I could not answer him.
I did not know either.
Unlike him, I had been dragged there by duty.
I only hoped that this hero would not collapse like this.
If this bleeding hero fell,
my comrades would die. I would die.
I wanted him to hold on a little longer.
I wanted him to endure a little more pain.
There was only one thing I could say.
[The martial world is...]
#
“...Junior!”
“...”
“Junior Jin!”
When I looked at Dang Seohui, who was tugging at my sleeve, she furrowed her jade-white brows.
“What are you doing? You need to get a hold of yourself.”
Why had those foolish words I had said to Dam Ak in my previous life suddenly come back to me?
Why had seeing him now, burning with revenge, reminded me of the Dam Ak from my previous life, who had been as precarious as someone walking over fire?
I quickly shook my head.
“I have.”
Dang Seohui narrowed her eyes at me, then reached a hand beyond the formation.
Srrrk.
After her wrist had vanished for a while, Dang Seohui put three empty mother-of-pearl bottles back into her robes.
“We can leave now.”
The people outside the formation stood stiff and still, as if time had stopped.
Dang Seohui said they would wake up after briefly losing consciousness, and thanks to the Forgetting Herb, they would even forget that they had fainted.
Would I be able to forget some memories if I ate Forgetting Herb too?
Thinking something foolish, I turned back toward Bongan Hall.
The distinct sword path and the traces of palm force left on the ruined hall made it painfully obvious why, despite such clear traces being everywhere, they had eventually declared that no evidence had been found.
‘Because the culprit and the investigators were one and the same.’
Their failure to uncover the Chief Strategist's attacker must have been a godsend to them.
Unless the Chief Strategist stepped in personally, the Alliance members could investigate for a hundred years and never uncover Dam Ak's attacker.
‘Would it be resolved even if the Chief Strategist stepped in himself?’
They would not be allowed to get away with the same childish cover-up they had tried with me.
One of Dam Ak's people had died, and he considered the weight of that death greater than his friendship with the Martial Alliance.
‘Bastards...’
Cursing while remembering an unchangeable past would not solve anything.
What I needed now was to find a way to solve this, somehow.
I took Cheongi back to his lodging first.
“Brother...”
He looked like he had something to say, but was holding it in.
Then he suddenly buried himself in my arms.
“Whatever choice you make... I will follow you.”
How was someone this smart also so considerate?
I did not bother holding back my smile.
“Go inside.”
After Jegal Cheongi went in, I was about to return to my lodging with Dang Seohui.
Dang Seohui stared at me for a moment, then nestled into my arms.
What was with this little thing now?
“What are you doing?”
“You must choose well. This is not an ordinary matter.”
Her voice was full of sincere concern.
A small laugh escaped me too.
“I know.”
I had not brought any sweets with me, so I stroked her head instead.
Dang Seohui made a pleased purring sound.
#
Since Dam Ak's survival had not been confirmed, the Martial Alliance remained on edge as it continued its investigation.
As a result, dozens of innocent people came and went from the Enforcement Hall every day.
Some had been summoned to the Enforcement Hall several times.
This included the people who had stood guard around Bongan Hall and the outer compound.
Yet none of them appeared to have suffered any hardship or complained of exhaustion.
They entered and left with light steps, as though they had simply gone to a teahouse for tea.
As those days passed, an urgent letter arrived at the Martial Alliance.
“The Taewon Branch in Shanxi Province is currently being threatened by Black Path martial artists!”
Five hundred Black Alliance members had gathered around the Taewon Branch.
Fully armed, they surrounded the branch as though ready to charge, remaining completely still as they awaited orders.
They had not declared war or picked a fight, nor had they caused a disturbance by staging a protest.
Yet their mere presence was enough to intimidate those inside the Taewon Branch.
Then.
“The Xilin Branch in Chongqing is also trapped by Black Path martial artists!”
“The Nanchang Branch in Jiangxi Province has been completely cut off from supplies!”
“Three hundred Black Path martial artists have gathered near the Nanning Branch in Guangxi Province and are staging a protest!”
Before anyone could do more than panic in surprise, the Black Path martial artists had already crossed the yard and crawled right into the inner room. The Martial Alliance was horrified.
No one had expected the Black Alliance to act so openly when nothing had been properly revealed.
The silence of the tense Martial Alliance shattered in an instant, and everyone was thrown into confusion at the thought that war might break out.
“War... Are we going to war?”
“We only just came back from Sichuan...!”
“Where do we go first? Do we have to go too?”
Of course, not everyone had fallen into panic.
Every group had fools who saw chaos as an opportunity.
As soon as the Black Path martial artists moved, they rose as if they had been waiting for this.
“Why should our Martial Alliance just take this? Get up and go to the Mantong Office right now!”
“That’s right! Those who dared attack the Chief Strategist must be causing all this chaos to conceal their scheme after failing to assassinate him. We cannot let this slide!”
“Let’s wipe those vermin out of the martial world while we have the chance!”
While those who feared war and those who had been waiting for war each prepared to protect themselves, I reached the end of my deliberation.
If war broke out, the Black Alliance's strength would rise or fall depending on whether Dam Ak was there.
This was my chance to pull Dam Ak out, but if I did, he would face the Martial Alliance with everything he had.
In one sense, the choice was clear as day.
But.
[Is the martial world always like this?]
The question he had asked me in my previous life had not left my mind for the past two days.
I should have asked Dang Seohui for some Forgetting Herb.
“What kind of place is the martial world...?”
The answer I had given him then had been terribly selfish.
It had not been for him, nor for everyone else. It had been only for me.
Perhaps the time had finally come for me to take responsibility for that answer.
#
“...That is what happened.”
I visited the inn where the Taeul Sect members were gathered and told them everything that had occurred.
Dam Ak had told me never to reveal his condition to the Martial Alliance, but he had not told me to keep it secret from the Taeul Sect.
More than anything, the Taeul Sect members needed to know the situation if we were going to carry out an operation for Dam Ak.
After hearing everything, the Sect Leader, Father, and Wang Geumsan all wore stiff expressions.
“...”
“...”
“...”
An uncomfortable silence filled the inner chamber for a long time.
Wang Geumsan was the first to speak.
“If this were an ordinary case, I would naturally say we should inform the Martial Alliance, but now... I truly do not know.”
Wang Geumsan shook his head and continued.
“After all, there is nothing outwardly wrong with the Black Alliance delegation wanting to return to Black Alliance headquarters.”
Father added,
“We could help before war breaks out, but if fighting begins somewhere... it will immediately become an act of treason.”
Father looked at me as he continued.
“If the Orthodox Society was behind the attack and this is a deliberate act, the Taeul Sect will become an enemy of the Orthodox Society.”
It was as though he was asking whether I could take responsibility for drawing the Taeul Sect into this.
Then.
“Isn’t the Taeul Sect already hostile to the Orthodox Society?”
“Estate Lord Wang!”
Wang Geumsan tried to lighten the mood with a joke, but no one responded.
Breaking the long silence, the Sect Leader, still wearing that unfamiliar appearance, asked me a question.
“What do you think is right?”
I still had not adjusted to the changed depth and weight of his voice, but I did not show it.
“I...”
“I am not telling you to speak while worrying about the people of the Taeul Sect.”
“...”
“Tell me what you, Sowoon, truly believe is right.”
The Sect Leader questioned me as though he could see straight through me.
I steadied my breathing for a moment and looked directly into his eyes.
“I thought that even if I had to do it alone, I should help him.”
“Why?”
Why, he asked.
At last, I gave the answer I had failed to give Dam Ak in my previous life.
“Because that is the righteous path, and chivalry.”
“...”
The unfamiliar Sect Leader nodded two or three times.
Then, without the slightest hesitation, he said,
“Then isn’t that enough?”
I stared at the unfamiliar Sect Leader with a dazed expression, never expecting that answer.
There was now a familiar smile on the Sect Leader’s lips as he looked at me.
“Do what you believe is right. That is the teaching of the Taeul Sect, and a disciple of the Taeul Sect puts it into action without hesitation.”
Something surged up from deep inside my chest.
I tried hard not to show the turmoil in my emotions.
But I could not hide the slight tremble in my shoulders.
“Hmph! This is why I can’t leave the Taeul Sect.”
In response to his grumbling, the Sect Leader quietly asked Wang Geumsan,
“Estate Lord Wang, this matter may bring harm to the Wang Family Estate.”
In contrast to the Sect Leader’s low voice, Estate Lord Wang answered without restraint, like an eagle soaring freely through the sky.
“If they hold sway over the martial world, then I hold sway over all under heaven. If the merchant group could be shaken by such shallow tricks, I would never have devoted my entire life to it in the first place.”
That settled every decision.
Now it was time to make a grand move.
#
Now that we had decided, there was no need to delay.
Moving as quickly as possible and resolving this as quickly as possible was the only way to keep the situation from growing worse.
After organizing the operation with the adults, I headed back to my lodging.
As I passed through the pleasure district, a sharp gaze flew toward me from a crowd, bringing me to a stop.
The man I had met at Golden Sun Tower was once again dressed in an expensive blue-and-white long robe, his hair neatly combed up.
The middle-aged man, flawless in every respect, stared straight through me.
“...Have you not learned that the younger person should greet first?”
“Oh, is that so?”
I gave a small bow.
“I hope you have been poorly.”
“...”
The people around Pure Water Adept frowned as though they were looking at a madman.
But honestly, from my point of view, this bastard was the crazier one, so I could not treat him normally.
“I seem to run into you more often in the pleasure district than at the training grounds, Taoist.”
“Understanding all creation is ultimately attained among people in the secular world.”
Ah, this was what a well-educated bastard was like.
Still, even he could not match the shit-stinking rhetoric of the Sojeong Unit bastards.
“No matter what, seeking enlightenment while fondling women’s bare flesh is downright trashy... no, isn’t that the behavior of heretical martial artists?”
“...”
Pure Water Adept’s face hardened for the first time.
The people around him widened their eyes in shock.
“Y-you bastard! Who do you think you are speaking to? Do you know where you are right now?!”
Fuck, at least hide the twitching at the corners of your mouths before you say that.
They really were rotten to the core.
Pure Water Adept quickly changed the subject.
“Where are you hurrying off to at this hour?”
“I have not reached the level where I can seek enlightenment through drink and women, so I am going back to my lodging to run a few laps.”
Pure Water Adept maintained his composure despite my barbed words.
Instead, his long robe rustled softly as he took a step closer.
“Would you join us? As I told you before, drinking alone makes a person look pathetic.”
He pointed to those who were looking at me with displeasure.
“If you make even one of these people your person, your life will become completely different from before.”
“I see.”
How times had changed. In my previous life, I had not even been given an opportunity to kiss asses like this.
Part of me felt pathetic too.
I had lived so diligently, and the chance I was offered was nothing more than kissing someone’s ass.
This was success?
“I refuse.”
“Why?”
“I want to change my life, but my stomach is not strong enough to lick someone else’s asshole.”
Tiny cracks appeared across Pure Water Adept’s face like fractured glass.
I looked around at the people beside him and added,
“Besides, these people... do not seem capable of cleaning up after themselves. I can smell piss from all the way over here. Taoist, you have quite the stomach.”
“You arrogant bastard!”
“How dare you! Do you know who I am?!”
Some of them finally rolled up their sleeves and stepped forward.
But what could I do? It was better if they came at me first.
Fuck, I was not in the mood to care about what anyone thought right now.
I took a welcoming step toward them instead.
Boom.
My martial robes swelled as killing intent spilled out around me, and those who had approached hesitated before backing away.
They were going to retreat over something like this?
A sneer I could not hold back slipped out.
“See? They cannot even take responsibility for what they just said. Do you think men like them can wipe their own asses properly? Taoist, be careful too. If you keep kissing their asses, you will get poisoned by shit.”
“...”
Having mocked them enough, I passed by them and headed toward my lodging.
Then Pure Water Adept sent me a sound transmission.
-I know that you entered the formation.
I stopped cold.
My body turned on its own.
Despite the insults he had suffered, Pure Water Adept stood among the crowd and watched me as though nothing had happened.
-Do not make a foolish choice. Your one life may not matter, but what crime have the people of your sect committed?
After saying that, he disappeared into the crowd.
‘...You son of a bitch.’
He was so confident that he did not even try to hide what they had done.
At this point, he had gone beyond delusion and believed himself the sole exalted one beneath heaven and earth.
Still, that was fortunate.
I had already watched from the side how Yong Soa, who had truly believed himself the sole exalted one beneath heaven and earth in my previous life, was treated.
Oh, how had he been treated?
The method was simple.
Crack someone’s head a few times, and it did wonders for their mental health.
Pure Water Adept was someone meant to lead Wudang Sect’s future.
If I cracked the head of someone like that and gave Wudang Sect a chance to change... would Patriarch Zhang Sanfeng appear in my dreams and teach me a secret art to praise me for it?
With growing anticipation, I headed to my lodging.
Footnotes:
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