WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: Chen
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◈ The Martial Genius who Remembers Everything ◈
Chapter 47: The First-Rate Martial Artist Gathering People (6)
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The people cheered.
They had escaped a bleak future with no end in sight and returned to ordinary lives they could scarcely remember having lived.
At this moment, there was no distinction between the slash-and-burn settlers and the villagers.
The villagers ran back to bring pigs and cattle, while those who remained on Mount Geummok searched through the broken furnishings for pots, bowls, and anything else they could use to prepare a feast.
Before anyone knew it, jars of liquor had appeared, and the people could not stop laughing as if drinking the sweetest liquor even without anything to eat.
“Come here, young warrior.”
The elderly herb gatherer seized my hand as though welcoming his own child and would not let go. Village Chief Huh kept weeping before me.
While everyone celebrated, the Jegal Clan members who had remained apart from the feast inspected the Iron-Armored Black Python Great Serpent.
“What in the world...!”
Jegal Jeong still looked dazed, as though he could not believe what he was seeing with his own eyes.
“What in the world are you plotting?”
It was as if someone had poured cold water over the celebration. A chill settled over the area in an instant.
The people who had been laughing and drinking began glaring at the Jegal Clan members one by one with contemptuous eyes.
“Explain in detail how you caught it.”
I freed myself from Village Chief Huh and Elder Gang’s grasp and stepped before Jegal Jeong.
“The Iron-Armored Black Python Great Serpent is one of the monsters martial artists avoid. Do you know why?”
It was not that it could not be caught. It was simply something they wanted to avoid as much as possible.
“It is difficult to capture, has no elixir pellet, and most of its organs and flesh contain toxins harmful to humans.”
Using poisonous bait to hunt prey had been a long-standing hunting practice, but the Iron-Armored Black Python Great Serpent was born with venom and immune to poison. That method could not be used on it.
“I know that.”
“So I detoxified it.”
“Detoxified it?”
“The herbs placed in the wild boar’s stomach dissolved and mixed together inside the Iron-Armored Black Python Great Serpent’s stomach. That mixture became a powerful poison to it.”
During the Orthodox-Demonic War, when the martial world had lost countless martial artists, civilians had no choice but to handle tasks that martial artists should have done.
“You caught it just by detoxifying it?”
“It won’t work if you feed them to it at random. The order matters as well.”
The method of killing an Iron-Armored Black Python Great Serpent through detoxification had been devised by the Divine Physician Hall in the middle of the Orthodox-Demonic War. Naturally, it was a concept that did not yet exist.
“That makes no sense...”
Jegal Jeong ground his teeth in frustration.
The Jegal Clan martial artists felt the same.
Rather than being happy that the Iron-Armored Black Python Great Serpent had been captured, they were filled with resentment that someone else had easily solved a problem they had found difficult.
“You hunted it with such an absurd method!”
The Jegal Clan’s sorcerers and martial artists nodded faintly, as if agreeing with Jegal Jeong.
Yet there was something Jegal Jeong had failed to notice.
The villagers’ expressions.
“...”
“...”
The villagers now looked as though they had met an enemy they could never share the sky with. Their anger had gone beyond fury and begun to spill into killing intent.
They could not possibly take kindly to someone dismissing the actions of the person who had instantly solved their suffering.
As Jegal Hyeonun noticed this and tried to restrain the Jegal Clan members, I called out to the villagers.
“May I have your attention for a moment?”
Everyone turned toward me.
Jegal Hyeonun closed his mouth after starting to speak and watched me.
“The truth is, I caught the Iron-Armored Black Python Great Serpent because of a request from the Jegal Clan.”
The villagers looked at me as if I had suddenly said something absurd.
“When the matter kept being delayed through the Martial Alliance, one member of the Jegal Clan could no longer stand by and watch. They asked me to catch the Iron-Armored Black Python Great Serpent and save the people.”
Now even the Jegal Clan members wore baffled expressions.
“They said that one Iron-Armored Black Python Great Serpent was ruining the lives of hundreds of people. They said they could no longer wait for the Martial Alliance.”
I paused to draw everyone’s attention, then pointed at Jegal Jeong.
“It’s good that you wish to thank me, but I was worried you might not know whom you should truly thank. Grand Elder, would you step forward for a moment?”
Everyone’s gaze turned toward Jegal Jeong.
Still dumbfounded, Jegal Jeong slowly stepped forward.
“This is the person who earnestly asked me to capture the Iron-Armored Black Python Great Serpent.”
Murmurs began spreading among the villagers.
At that moment, Jegal Jeong clenched his teeth and spoke quietly.
“What are you doing?”
“Isn’t it best when things work out well?”
“What did you say?”
Jegal Jeong was timid by nature, but his desire for fame was strong.
After completing his mandatory service in the Martial Alliance during his youth, he had immediately returned to the clan because he had not been confident he could stand out among the talented dragons and phoenixes of that era.
“After this, the Grand Elder’s name will ring throughout Hubei Province. They will speak of you as a chivalrous hero who always watches over the common people.”
“...”
Though his brow remained furrowed, Jegal Jeong’s lips twitched as if the thought pleased him.
I turned to the slash-and-burn settlers and said, “Oh, and the Jegal Clan has also agreed to compensate you for the damage the slash-and-burn settlers’ village suffered during the hunt.”
“What?”
Jegal Jeong was about to say something to me.
“Oh, Elder!”
Village Chief Huh suddenly rushed forward in tears.
“I knew you would not abandon us. Thank you. Thank you so much.”
As Village Chief Huh broke into sobs, Jegal Jeong forced an awkward smile.
“Ha ha, why are you getting up? I... I told you, did I not? I said I would help.”
“Thank you. Thank you so much. Now I can raise my granddaughter without shame before my son and daughter-in-law, who passed on before me.”
At the touching sight of the two, the villagers began nodding one by one.
“I knew the mighty Jegal Clan would not just stand by and watch.”
“That’s right. We make our living because of the Jegal Clan too, don’t we?”
As the atmosphere changed, the villagers cautiously approached the Jegal Clan members.
“You warriors there, have some liquor. I brewed it last year, and it tastes good.”
“Hey! Go slaughter more pigs and cattle! They’re martial artists, so they’ll eat plenty!”
The Jegal Clan members, still unsure of what was going on, simply began going along with it.
“Compensation? What is that supposed to mean?”
“Just do it. Building a few buildings in the slash-and-burn settlers’ village won’t cost much, and you have plenty of money.”
“...”
“Besides, doesn’t it look nice?”
When I pointed to the villagers mingling with the Jegal Clan members, Jegal Jeong said nothing for a long while.
“Grand Elder, please accept a drink from this old man.”
Village Chief Huh approached and offered him a cup. After hesitating, Jegal Jeong drank it.
“Hmm? This is quite good.”
“I brewed it with cornelian cherries. If it suits your taste, I will send you a jar every year.”
“Ha ha.”
Then he began drinking with Village Chief Huh and the elderly herb gatherer.
“Hah...”
Jegal Hyeonun let out a quiet sigh as he watched them.
“Just who are you?”
He looked at me as though I were some life-form he had never seen before.
#
“I had expected the Grand Elder’s behavior from the moment you easily caught the Iron-Armored Black Python Great Serpent. He would never let Cheongi go.”
Jegal Hyeonun and Jin Sowoon were on their way to the Golden Prison where Jegal Cheongi was confined.
In the end, Jegal Jeong had reluctantly permitted Jegal Cheongi’s assignment.
After being treated so well before all the villagers, he could not shamelessly ignore them and make unreasonable demands.
Because of that, Jegal Hyeonun’s curiosity about Jin Sowoon had only grown.
“But I never expected what you did afterward. When did you start planning all of this?”
“I started thinking about it when you came to watch me.”
“Ha ha! They say the Black Flame Dragon’s mind is faster than the Traceless Divine Thief’s feet.”
“...”
Even Jin Sowoon’s faint frown whenever his epithet was mentioned looked endearing to Jegal Hyeonun. Did he still believe the title of Dragon was too much for him?
“Even so, how did you make the villagers want to revere the Grand Elder? What if he had been someone who did not care about such attention?”
Jegal Hyeonun kept asking questions as though he had met a close friend for the first time in years.
Without showing the slightest irritation, Jin Sowoon explained everything step by step.
“From the valuables and clothing the Grand Elder wore, I felt he was someone who enjoyed displaying his status. The way he treated Village Chief Huh also showed that he had a strong desire for honor. Yet the villagers near Mount Yungjung held quite a bit of hostility toward the Jegal Clan.”
“That is all due to my lack of virtue.”
“Well... I would not say that. In any case, when I saw that someone who had supposedly come to watch me had brought sorcerers and martial artists and observed every possible formality despite not going to war, I thought he also wished to be revered by others. So I acted accordingly.”
After hearing the interpretation behind the entire process, Jegal Hyeonun could only admire him more.
The principles governing all things in the world seemed obvious when one did not know them, yet once understood, they could not help but inspire awe.
That was exactly how Jegal Hyeonun felt now.
“...In my opinion, you should have become a disciple of the Jegal Clan rather than the Taeul Sect.”
“I’m grateful for the thought alone.”
“Really, to think there was someone capable of winning over the Grand Elder. Even after seeing it myself, I can hardly believe it.”
“...Well, he is certainly very different from the Grand Strategist.”
“...What?”
At the sudden mention of Jegal Somyeong’s position, Jegal Hyeonun even stopped walking.
“Do you know Jegal Somyeong... no, the Grand Strategist?”
“Ah, yes. I met Jegal Somyeong once at the Iron Sword Sect.”
“...Did you figure them out just by observing from afar then as well?”
“No. We met and spoke separately...”
“The Academy Admission Token!”
Jegal Hyeonun shouted in shock.
Jin Sowoon’s eyes widened as if wondering how he knew.
“So you were the owner of that Academy Admission Token!”
“How did you know?”
Of course he knew. It had caused an uproar among the great figures of the martial world.
People had been asking what sect had produced the disciple whom Jegal Somyeong had acknowledged, considering that the Grand Strategist had been so harsh in judging people that they had not even given an Academy Admission Token to a member of their own clan.
“D-did Namgung San not come looking for you?”
Jegal Hyeonun had even begun to stammer.
He had heard that, at Namgung San’s earnest request, the token had been taken so that his younger sister could be evaluated and a decision made on whether to give it to her. Namgung San had once belonged to the Dragon-Phoenix Association.
Yet he had only heard that someone recognized by Jegal Somyeong had taken the Academy Admission Token along the way, and that Namgung San had left home to retrieve it.
Everyone had been watching to see who would face Namgung San, the rising star of Anhui Province.
“Yes.”
“Surely it was not taken from you?”
“No one takes what is mine.”
“Hah.”
Everything he had seen so far had already been shocking. Yet the more he discovered what he had not known, the closer he came to collapsing from astonishment.
“Come to think of it, the Taeul Sect disciple who saved the Wang Family Estate’s daughter was also...”
Jin Sowoon scratched the back of his head, looking embarrassed.
Even without an answer, Jegal Hyeonun could understand what that meant.
He had heard that Wang Geumsan, the current head of the Wang Family Estate, was desperate to take someone as his son-in-law. He had never imagined that person would be the young man standing before him.
“Who exactly are you?”
“A disciple of the Taeul Sect.”
That was the problem.
He was a disciple of the Taeul Sect, yet everything he had accomplished, the way he acted, spoke, and thought, was extraordinary.
If someone could perform so brilliantly with the Taeul Sect’s martial arts, Jegal Hyeonun could not even imagine what he would become with greater martial strength.
‘Wait, the Jegal Clan’s martial arts are not bad either...’
As that thought continued, Jegal Hyeonun lamented that he had no daughters.
“Truly, I envy your father and your sect leader.”
“My sect leader may think so, but my father probably does not. Ha ha.”
Seeing him laugh heartily, Jegal Hyeonun could tell that he had a good relationship with his father as well.
There was nothing lacking in him. The more Jegal Hyeonun saw, the more he wanted him.
‘Right. Cheongi will be going with him anyway, so I can keep building a connection during that time. If necessary, there are girls in the family who are old enough to marry...’
As Jegal Hyeonun let his imagination run wild, the two arrived at the Golden Prison.
The martial artists guarding it had all withdrawn the moment Jegal Cheongi’s assignment was approved.
“Cheongi, you have a guest.”
Creak.
The long-unused hinges groaned loudly as the door swung open. Inside, Jegal Cheongi was dressed neatly, kneeling on one knee with a fist-and-palm salute.
“This humble one, Jegal Cheongi, greets my lord.”
“...”
“...”
At Jegal Cheongi’s incomprehensible behavior, Jin Sowoon and Jegal Hyeonun looked at each other.
Jegal Cheongi spoke as loudly as possible.
“In the old days, Liu Bei Xuande[1] made three visits to a thatched cottage to recruit our Grand Patriarch. Yet you captured the Iron-Armored Black Python Great Serpent to employ an insignificant martial junior like me. How could I stand idly by? I will serve you as my lord for the rest of my life, so please do not cast me aside, Great Hero Black Flame Dragon.”
Jegal Hyeonun was startled by Cheongi’s sudden actions, but he understood them to some extent.
Cheongi had lived his entire life being denied by the clan where he had been born and raised. Learning that someone had risked danger to recruit him must have brought great comfort to that wounded heart.
“...”
Before what might be a decisive moment for his son’s future, Jegal Hyeonun said nothing and only looked at Jin Sowoon.
[1] Liu Bei Xuande: Liu Bei, founding emperor of Shu Han, famously made three visits to recruit the strategist Zhuge Liang.
Footnotes:
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