WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: Chen
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
◈ The Martial Genius who Remembers Everything ◈
Chapter 443: The Aftermath of the Typhoon (3)
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I first took Yu Jiryang to Daru.
There was no way we could have a calm conversation while he was in that state.
After renting the most expensive private annex in Daru and sending the attendants away, I gave him cold water.
Gulp. Gulp. Gulp. Gulp.
Like water soaking into parched earth, he drained an entire bucket in an instant.
“Haa...”
Once his thirst seemed to have eased, I personally brewed Junshan Silver Needle tea and poured him a cup.
Perhaps he had regained some of his senses and understood what I was trying to do. Yu Jiryang’s face reddened.
“...I’ve shown you an embarrassing sight.”
“Not at all. Please have some tea first.”
Yu Jiryang slowly sipped the tea.
It was hot enough to send up white steam, and as the tea cooled, his turbulent emotions gradually settled as well.
Even after I felt he had regained his composure, Yu Jiryang continued drinking in silence.
He was clearly sorting through his thoughts.
Before long, he emptied his cup of Junshan Silver Needle tea.
As I refilled it with warm tea, he cautiously spoke.
“Do you know of the Black Officials?”
“The Inspectorate...?”
“Yes.”
The moment I heard that name, I feared the matter might be more serious than I had thought.
The Inspectorate’s personnel were divided into two groups according to their duties.
First were the White Officials we commonly knew.
They handled matters openly.
Then there were the Black Officials.
That name collectively referred to personnel who handled what the White Officials could not.
“People who appear to be Black Officials have been watching the Mount Mao Sect continuously.”
“...”
Since they handled matters that could not be exposed, the Black Officials’ existence was kept thoroughly secret.
Even I, who had read every document in the Profound Mystery Pavilion, had never seen a list of the Black Officials.
“Is that possible?”
“I understand why you would find it strange.”
Yu Jiryang continued calmly.
“I first sensed something was wrong when people began entering the mystic formation around the Mount Mao Sect.”
It was usually operated as a defense against outsiders rather than activated as a Killing Formation, so petty thieves and lost travelers occasionally wandered into it.
For that reason, the Mount Mao Sect had an internal rule requiring inspections of the mystic formation’s interior twice a week.
Yet recently, the number of people entering the mystic formation had increased to a bizarre degree.
“Could there have been some other influence...?”
Before I could finish, Yu Jiryang shook his head.
“I can state with certainty that there was none. The Mount Mao Sect installed an illusion formation outside it to prevent ordinary people from accidentally entering the mystic formation. Anyone unfamiliar with the area is naturally guided away from it.”
It was the Mount Mao Sect’s effort to prevent accidents.
Yet what were the chances of someone going against the path guided by the illusion formation and entering the mystic formation instead...?
“If that were all, I would think it was nothing more than coincidence, or that the illusion formation had broken down, but...”
Yu Jiryang’s voice lowered further.
“I couldn’t learn the identities of any of the people who entered the mystic formation.”
“...”
Among those who called themselves farmers, merchants, escort warriors, horse handlers, wanderers, or scholars, not one could be traced. No one knew where they lived or what their families were like.
If that was the case, then...
“It’s highly likely they were Black Officials.”
I chose my words carefully, and Yu Jiryang nodded in agreement.
“That isn’t all. Spirit practitioners we dispatched have been disappearing frequently.”
“How many?”
“It has already exceeded fifty.”
“...!”
The staggering number left me speechless.
Raising one spirit practitioner took as much money and time as raising ten martial artists.
By that measure, personnel equivalent to an entire unit had already vanished.
“As requests for arcane formations gradually decreased, we looked into it and heard rumors spreading that the Mount Mao Sect would soon be wiped out.”
They targeted key personnel, cut off funding to pressure them, then drove in the final nail by erasing them from people’s minds through malicious rumors.
It was a pattern I had seen before.
“May I ask why you’re certain?”
“I made an inquiry with the Martial Alliance. More precisely, the Mantong Office. But... they said they had never given such an order.”
“...”
“When I requested protection, they said they would dispatch a unit, but...”
Yu Jiryang’s face darkened with worry.
“The Martial Alliance’s people still haven’t arrived.”
His voice trembled as if a blade were pressed to his throat.
“Then word came that the Fourfold Gate Sect had been wiped out.”
“The Fourfold Gate Sect?”
The Fourfold Gate Sect was an old sect that held the Eighty-Eighth Peak seat among the One Hundred Eight Peaks.
Based in Hwangbong, they had long maintained their position in a city where people and goods gathered, prospering as much as any other sect...
Yet such a sect had been wiped out overnight.
“I heard they were destroyed because of a forbidden art of the Blood Cult.”
“...”
If there had been suspicions of a forbidden art, they would surely have spent time investigating and observing those involved.
Yet the sect had been destroyed overnight.
That meant they must have possessed conclusive evidence.
‘Wait!’
I remembered the Dragon-Phoenix Association members, including Yong Soa and Ilmyeong, stopping by the Taeul Sect.
Yes, the timing...
After calculating it, the timing roughly lined up.
‘Could something be happening within the Martial Alliance?’
I quickly searched through the library in my mind.
The Inspectorate’s past duties, its secret missions, the relationship between the Mount Mao Sect and the Martial Alliance.
Even how the Mantong Office regarded the Mount Mao Sect.
‘Nothing... There’s nothing.’
I pushed the library in my mind aside and came back to my senses.
“I hesitate to say this, but...”
Before I could finish, Yu Jiryang nodded helplessly.
“You think I may be overreacting.”
A bitter smile formed on his lips.
“I’ve been rude...”
“No. I think this is entirely possible.”
“What?”
I knew how ugly the Martial Alliance was.
The choices they made.
Their nature.
No one understood them better than I did.
“Thinking about it rationally, the Martial Alliance attacking the Mount Mao Sect should be impossible. But...”
Yu Jiryang, who had not yet grasped the situation, stared blankly.
“Even so, I believe the Martial Alliance is capable of doing something like this.”
The Martial Alliance was not a single power bloc.
It espoused the heavy saber, but it was ultimately a group of many factions gathered to pursue cooperation.
In other words, they could use the Martial Alliance’s name for individual gain whenever they wished.
“What I want to know is what caused this to happen.”
“The cause?”
“Yes.”
In the memories of my past life, the Mount Mao Sect had not fallen out with the Martial Alliance.
They belonged to the Martial Alliance and rendered outstanding service during the Orthodox-Demonic War.
They helped save countless lower-ranking martial artists.
For the Mount Mao Sect to be attacked in this life meant...
‘Something has changed.’
Yu Jiryang shook his head as though he could not think of anything.
“I can’t think of...”
“Even something trivial is fine. Anything the Mount Mao Sect did that it normally wouldn’t have done. Anything that did not happen in the Mount Mao Sect’s original history. Even the smallest incident could help us understand the situation.”
His brow furrowed as he tried to remember.
“...We created a new arcane formation.”
“I know about that.”
The improved version of the Boundless Indestructible Soul-Destroying Formation demonstrated at the Martial Arts Academy had been astonishing.
Its price was also far lower than the formations sold by the Jegal Clan.
Could the Jegal Clan have grown jealous and caused this incident?
‘No, that can’t be it.’
Additional Mount Mao Sect mystic formations had been installed around the Mantong Office, the Profound Mystery Pavilion, and the Alliance Leader’s Hall within the Martial Alliance.
That had been decided under Jegal Somyeong’s authority.
Though Jegal Somyeong had stepped down as Clan Head and become the Chief Strategist, the Jegal Clan shared their views and opinions.
There had to be another cause.
“Isn’t there anything else?”
At that moment, Yu Jiryang cautiously spoke with an uncertain expression.
“There was... a request from the Mantong Office.”
“What kind of request?”
“They asked us to research the Blood Cult’s illusion arts.”
Research into the Blood Cult’s illusion arts.
“...You said the Fourfold Gate Sect suffered disaster because of a forbidden art of the Blood Cult?”
Confusion appeared on Yu Jiryang’s face.
“But the Martial Alliance asked us to do this first.”
“That’s right.”
The Martial Alliance had been the one to make me memorize every document in the Mantong Office and the Profound Mystery Pavilion in my past life.
“They must have been the ones who first...”
And they had ultimately been the ones who came to kill me.
“...made that request.”
It was the Martial Alliance.
#
I decided to inform the Chief Strategist first.
Going to the Martial Alliance and determining what was wrong would be the most accurate course, but it would take far too much time.
Going through Hebei and then returning to Jiangsu Province?
There was nothing more insane than that.
“Is the Boundless Indestructible Soul-Destroying Formation deployed at the Mount Mao Sect?”
“What? No. It requires far too much money and time...”
No matter how extraordinary the formation they had created was, even the Mount Mao Sect could not destroy a perfectly functional formation and build a new one in its place.
“I see. Can you deliver a message to the Mount Mao Sect first?”
“What message?”
“Tell them to fortify the sect.”
“What? If they do that...”
A real battle would probably begin.
For now, they were still walking a tightrope.
But it was as clear as day that the end of that line led to ruin.
“The Great Heaven Merchant Group will provide the food and supplies needed to hold out inside.”
“But... It’s still...”
I gripped his shoulders firmly.
“Once everything happens and everyone is dead, clearing their name will be useless.”
“...!”
“Even if a mountain of misunderstanding piles up, as long as they’re alive...”
The elders and junior disciples who lost their lives in the flames.
Saryeon, left dazed.
The Sojeong Unit members who became human shields and fell beneath the Demonic Cult’s blades.
And my past self, helplessly watching it all.
My grip on Yu Jiryang’s shoulders tightened.
“They won’t have to lose the people precious to them.”
An indescribable grief filled the room. Yu Jiryang stood there with his mouth slightly open, then his expression hardened.
“I understand.”
After accompanying Yu Jiryang back to his lodging, I headed straight for the Taeul Sect.
“Eldest Senior Brother, have you finished preparing to leave tomorrow...?”
“Where is the Chief Strategist?”
“...The Chief Strategist is in Taeul Hall.”
Eunho noticed something was wrong and immediately guided me to Taeul Hall.
Only the Chief Strategist and the Martial Alliance Leader remained there, drinking tea.
“Hm? What brings you here?”
“I came because there is something I want to ask.”
“What is it you wish to ask?”
I went straight to the point.
“Are you planning to abandon the Mount Mao Sect?”
“...?”
Martial Alliance Leader Hyeok Mugang and Chief Strategist Jegal Somyeong looked at each other.
#
“What are you talking about? Eliminate the Mount Mao Sect?”
I told them everything I had heard from Yu Jiryang.
“Hah!”
After hearing the entire situation, Jegal Somyeong could not hide their dumbfounded expression.
Then...
“These lunatics!”
They grew furious.
“I’ve told them time and again!”
As expected, this had nothing to do with the Mantong Office or Jegal Somyeong’s will.
The Inspectorate and Enforcement Hall had been made independent judicial bodies to root out corruption within the Martial Alliance.
Instead, it had become poison.
“It seems the fact that both of us acted at once provoked them.”
“Even so, there are limits to what those on the righteous path should do!”
Jegal Somyeong’s breathing grew harsh.
“We have to stop this at once. The Mount Mao Sect is one of the few sects in the martial world that specializes in esoteric arts. Without them, dealing with the Demonic Cult later on...”
Anger appeared on the Chief Strategist’s face.
“...will not be easy.”
Jegal Somyeong quickly prepared brush, paper, and ink.
I added, “Once you arrive at the Martial Alliance, it will take a considerable amount of time to return to Jiangsu Province.”
“I know.”
As though they knew what I was about to say, they asked in return.
“Can you buy us time?”
“I’ll do my best.”
“Good. Then leave first.”
The moment they finished speaking, Jegal Somyeong began writing a letter.
As I watched, I cautiously asked, “It will be difficult alone, so may I summon the members of my hall?”
“Hall members?”
“Yes.”
I was currently the Hall Master of Meteor Hall under the Mantong Office.
They were people I had never met, but if they belonged to the Mantong Office, their martial arts should be exceptional.
They would be able to buy enough time until the main force arrived.
But...
“Hm? What hall members?”
“There are people in Meteor Hall, aren’t there?”
Jegal Somyeong bluntly replied as though I had asked something obvious.
“Only the Hall Master has been assigned there so far.”
“...What?”
“Hall Master Jin. Do your utmost in this mission.”
Jegal Somyeong’s shameless voice left me speechless.
“...”
“I believe in you, Hall Master Jin.”
What kind of Hall Master was I without any members?
I was just an errand boy.
Footnotes:
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