The Martial Genius who Remembers Everything - Chapter 411

WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: Chen

◈ The Martial Genius who Remembers Everything ◈

Chapter 411: The Reason to Live (5)

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Qingxiu Zhenren quietly stared into the pond.

The courtesan attending nearby had finally spoken after watching Qingxiu Zhenren gaze into the water without a word for several sichen.[1]

“What are you looking at so intently?”

Qingxiu Zhenren did not answer, merely raising the wine cup and wetting his lips.

The courtesan who had spoken first flushed red.

“I-I’m sorry...”

“Have you ever watched how carp move?”

Expecting a sharp rebuke, the courtesan had shrunk back. Now her eyes widened like a startled rabbit’s.

“What? ...Yes. Many times.”

“Have you ever tried to predict how those carp would move?”

The unexpected question made the courtesan tilt her head.

“They come closer when you feed them, and normally they play among themselves, don’t they?”

“I have tried to predict them.”

Qingxiu Zhenren set down the cup with a clink. A smile touched the courtesan’s lips as she watched.

Men often liked to boast about accomplishments that received no recognition outside, did they not?

She did not know what achievement there was in predicting a carp’s movements, but she knew how to respond.

The courtesan filled the empty cup with fragrant wine, then filled the room with her soft voice.

“Is that so? Why did you try to predict a carp’s movements?”

She would discern the motivation, then praise the accomplishment.

That was why she earned several times more than the other courtesans.

Qingxiu Zhenren toyed with the wine cup while looking at the pond.

“One day, I found the movements of those unpredictable creatures offensive. How dare mere fish move beyond human prediction? It wounded my pride.”

The courtesan barely managed to suppress the laughter rising in her throat.

To have one’s pride wounded by a carp.

There was a reason Qingxiu Zhenren could not boast about this achievement outside.

“For a hundred days, then a thousand, I watched the pond whenever I had time. I caught them, ate them, released them, and watched them be hunted by natural predators. When I reached two thousand days, I was finally able to predict the movements of carp.”

Trying to predict carp was ridiculous enough, yet Qingxiu Zhenren had spent two thousand days on it.

It sounded like nothing more than an unfunny joke, and the smile on the courtesan’s lips deepened.

“I see. That is impressive.”

Trickle.

Perhaps Qingxiu Zhenren sensed her true feelings. He finally turned to look at the courtesan.

“You don’t believe me.”

Something felt wrong in that dry voice.

The courtesan quickly lowered her head.

“N-No. I believe you. Of course I do.”

Qingxiu Zhenren took a chopstick from the tray she held and gripped it like a sword.

“Watch closely.”

At the tip of the chopstick, which was just under a foot long, a blue glow about a foot across gathered.

The courtesan realized in an instant that it was sword qi. Her face went pale as she tried to step back.

“Gasp!”

For some reason, her body would not move.

“I-I was wrong. Please, please forgive me.”

She begged, but Qingxiu Zhenren did not respond, making her even more terrified.

She could not bow her head or throw herself to the floor to plead. It was as though something gripped the back of her neck, forcing her to face Qingxiu Zhenren’s emotionless expression.

Tears began to gather at the corners of her eyes under the crushing fear.

“Look. This is the enlightenment I gained over two thousand days. The White Carp Sword Art.”

The chopstick swung.

“Ahh!”

The courtesan shut her eyes, then realized she was still alive and opened them again.

At that moment.

‘T-This is...’

Her mouth fell open.

Countless traces of qi embroidered the air in vivid patterns.

Captivated by their indescribable beauty, the courtesan followed those currents and realized something.

‘C-Carp?’

The moment she understood, the remnants of qi formed clearer shapes.

Beautiful white carp, so exquisite they seemed impossible to exist in the human world. Eight carp swam freely through the air as if it were a pond.

She could not see even a trace of clumsy human art within those shapes. They were perfect carp.

Before she knew it, the carp surrounded her body, swimming freely between her arms and torso.

They passed behind her neck and emerged over her shoulders. They slipped between her legs before rising near her chest as though ascending to heaven.

Entranced by the beauty, the courtesan met the eyes of a carp swimming up her chest.

“Ahhh!!!”

Terror and fear poured from the carp’s eyes, forcing a scream from her throat.

Even she did not know why she had screamed.

Only moments before, she had been so captivated by their beauty that her mind had gone hazy.

Yet in that final instant, the courtesan had clearly recognized her own death.

When she opened her eyes, the white carp had vanished without a trace.

“Ah...”

The courtesan stared blankly into the air before turning to Qingxiu Zhenren.

The man who had just created that indescribable spectacle had set down the chopstick and was once again examining the pond.

“It seems a guest has arrived. You should leave now.”

“What...? Y-Yes.”

Just as the courtesan turned to go.

“And keep your severed hair well. Use it as a reminder to examine yourself at all times. It will remind you what happens when you let your laughter slip too freely.”

“What do you mean...?”

Before she could finish, her long, elaborate hair was cut off just below her ears and fell to the ground.

Too shocked even to pick it up, the courtesan saw several men approaching from the direction toward which she had been fleeing.

“So it was true.”

“?”

The man at the front glared at Qingxiu Zhenren.

“That petty men were harassing women in a brothel.”

“The teachings of Wudang Sect make no distinction between people or status, from those at the highest places to those at the lowest.”

Jegal Somyeong picked up the courtesan’s severed hair and brushed the sand from it.

“Even if it means ruining someone else’s livelihood?”

“...”

Qingxiu Zhenren found it difficult to silently tolerate Jegal Somyeong’s calm expression, as though Jegal Somyeong alone remained above everything.

“Did the Martial Alliance’s Chief Strategist come all this way to boast about a victory?”

“Did you know this? When the Beggar Sect reported that Dam Ak had met with members of the Black Alliance, they included your location as well.”

Qingxiu Zhenren’s face twisted more fiercely than ever at Jegal Somyeong’s words.

Jegal Somyeong slowly looked around the room, then glanced down at Qingxiu Zhenren’s wine cup.

“Hmm... I feel like drinking for the first time in a while. I didn’t even pay an entrance fee on the way in, and I’m in a very good mood.”

“...”

“Besides, there’s a fitting snack to go with the drink. When those who plotted together begin fighting among themselves, there’s no more entertaining sight.”

Red veins stood out against Qingxiu Zhenren’s pale face. Still, his voice remained calm.

“...Do not grow too pleased with yourself over good fortune. The end of such people has always been ugly.”

“Good fortune?”

A deep sneer formed on Jegal Somyeong’s lips.

“You think this is only good fortune?”

“...”

“Nothing more than luck that went beyond your predictions?”

Contempt filled Jegal Somyeong’s eyes. The man before them, wrapped in arrogance like a shield, was both pitiful and repulsive.

“That is why I find you disgusting. You haven’t even figured out your own place, yet you readily judge others and can’t even handle matters properly.”

“The war was bound to happen. This time, they were simply fortunate...”

“Dam Ak ordered that no battle was to begin even if the demonstrators were killed. He also forbade the Black Alliance from declaring war.”

Qingxiu Zhenren’s eyes widened.

It was impossible to believe.

Then Jegal Somyeong’s voice struck like a nail being driven in.

“He gave those orders before he entered the Martial Alliance.”

Before Dam Ak entered the Martial Alliance, the Righteous Path Alliance had not even begun plotting the assassination yet...

Qingxiu Zhenren could not continue speaking in the face of a reality too unbelievable to accept.

“A lie... Yes, it is a lie. Of course. It cannot be true. Yes, that’s right.”

“Keep turning away from reality and remain trapped in your ideals. It will be more helpful to the Martial Alliance that way.”

As though there was nothing more to hear, Jegal Somyeong gave an order to the men beside them.

“What are you waiting for? Bind the criminal.”

The Inspectorate members soon surrounded Qingxiu Zhenren.

Qingxiu Zhenren shook out his Daoist robe once, refusing to let anyone approach. Then he lifted his head proudly and addressed those around him.

“I will walk there myself.”

“...”

The Inspectorate members looked helplessly at Jegal Somyeong.

Normally, they would let someone walk on their own in a case like this.

But then.

“What are you doing? What if the criminal escapes?”

At Jegal Somyeong’s shout, the Inspectorate members bound Qingxiu Zhenren with grim expressions.

During the process, the wine cup tipped, and a stain began to form on Qingxiu Zhenren’s snow-white robe.

“Oh dear, your clothes have been dirtied. If left alone, the stain may spread and grow larger, Qingxiu Zhenren.”

It was an unspoken warning to follow quietly. Jegal Somyeong was determined not to let this matter pass.

Qingxiu Zhenren, who had pretended to remain calm, finally bared his teeth.

“Do you think Wudang Sect will remain silent?”

“And if it does not?”

“Wudang Sect and the Orthodox Society will ultimately stand on my side. You will never achieve what you want.”

Jegal Somyeong snorted.

Yes, perhaps that would happen.

No, Qingxiu Zhenren was almost certainly right.

But the world was changing.

Currents of change that had never existed before were stirring in unseen places.

Jegal Somyeong thought of the one who had set those currents in motion.

“Did you know that even a great reservoir begins to collapse because of a small hole?”

“...”

“The hole has already been made. Look at Jin Sowoon, the one who ruined your plan this time. A disciple from a third-rate sect became the top student of the Martial Arts Academy and the Martial Alliance’s most important talent. He also stopped the foolish acts of the Orthodox Society and Wudang Sect.”

“...”

“Now the hole will grow faster. The day the reservoir collapses is not far away.”

Qingxiu Zhenren could not hide his anger as he watched Jegal Somyeong turn without hesitation and lead the way.

“Jin Sowoon...”

Crunch.

Bright red blood seeped from Qingxiu Zhenren’s raw lips and dripped onto the hem of his robe.

When I woke again, I was inside a tent.

Golden wound medicine had been applied all over my body, and I had been wrapped in bandages. Someone had also changed my clothes into fresh martial attire.

I checked my condition.

I seemed to have slept quite deeply. Judging by the light entering from outside the tent, I had likely been asleep for at least a full day.

I slowly picked up the Scarlet Radiance Sword and stepped outside.

In addition to the roughly two hundred people I had first seen, nearly five hundred people had set up camp, standing guard and maintaining their equipment.

“You’re awake.”

A martial artist greeted me and led me to Dam Ak.

“You look quite a sight, Young Master Jin.”

“That’s what I was about to say, Strategist Dam.”

Both of us looked utterly ridiculous.

The camp had been established near where I had fought my final battle against the Fierce Tiger Unit.

Below the hill, people were busy tending to those who had taken part in the battle.

I was astonished anew that I had fought so many White Path martial artists.

At this point, could anyone blame me for being called a Black Path martial artist?

‘No, those bastards are bad White Path martial artists, while I’m a good White Path martial artist. That’s right.’

After briefly joking with me, Dam Ak continued taking in the sight before us.

Ground darkened by pools of blood, weapons reduced to scrap, and the remnants of a bloody battle etched into the earth.

“...We truly fought fiercely and survived fiercely.”

He briefly reflected on the long ordeal he had faced over the past several days.

After a long silence, he asked calmly.

“Has the martial world always been like this?”

I had heard that question before. A voice engraved in my mind.

Dam Ak’s question dragged up memories of my previous life.

[Has the martial world always been like this?]

The question Dam Ak had barely forced out through raw lips, with staggering steps, anxious eyes, and a complexion so precarious it seemed life might leave at any moment.

When I turned, Dam Ak was already staring directly at me.

His eyes were steady despite having crossed the line between life and death. His skin had grown rough through hardship, yet his face was still full of life.

The Dam Ak before me was clearly different from the one I had seen in my previous life.

Then he asked me once more.

“Is the martial world a place where so many people must bleed and suffer for one person?”

Dam Ak did not stagger or look uneasy.

“What is everyone doing this for?”

He simply wanted to know.

“...”

I was no longer the selfish, cunning person I had been in my previous life.

I did not avoid his gaze.

“The martial world... has always been like this.”

“A place where people fight only to fight, then die meaninglessly?”

Unlike before, there was no sense of defeat on his face.

I realized it. Neither he nor I were the people we had been in our previous lives. We no longer had to live helplessly, watching death without knowing what was happening.

“There is a reason for our struggle.”

“A reason for the struggle...”

For some reason, he repeated those words again and again, as though he had found the clue he had sought for so long.

Then.

“What... what does that mean?”

He asked me again with the desperation of someone suffering from thirst.

A reason for the struggle.

This time, it was not a lie I had spoken for my own sake. I could give him an answer that was truly for him.

“We struggle for everything precious to us.”

“Everything precious...”

“This is different from wars in history, where dynasties change and the rulers of the world are replaced. We struggle to survive, to protect those dear to us, and sometimes we must struggle even knowing that we will lose.”

I thought of Dam Ak, who had joined the Martial Alliance in my previous life despite its certain downfall and fought to the very end.

I remembered the man who had never fully hidden his anxiety.

“The martial world is a place where we fight to the very end, even if everyone else disappears in the final moment.”

What had Dam Ak fought so fiercely for in my previous life?

Had something new emerged in this life that was worth fighting so fiercely for?

Dam Ak stroked his chin as he listened to me.

“To struggle even knowing you will lose...”

He sank into thought for a long time.

“For what is precious...”

Dam Ak looked at me and curled the corners of his lips into a smile.

“You have finally given me an answer I like.”

“Did it help?”