WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: Chen
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◈ The Martial Genius who Remembers Everything ◈
Chapter 48: The First-Rate Martial Artist Peering into the Darkness
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They said an epithet felt awkward at first but grew on you after hearing it often enough. Mine never had.
Instead, every time I heard it, it brought a strange discomfort that made me flinch.
I was already too distracted by that epithet to focus on the conversation. Then Jegal Cheongi suddenly called me “My lord...” and put me in a terribly awkward position.
“Young Master Cheongi, please get up. Your father is watching, isn’t he?”
I spoke while gauging Jegal Hyeonun’s reaction.
I had only just managed to obtain his permission with great difficulty. If he saw his own son volunteering to become the subordinate of a disciple from a third-rate sect, he might suddenly change his mind.
“This humble one is fifteen years old. I am no longer a child. Father will respect my wishes.”
Cheongi did not move, so I looked to Jegal Hyeonun for help.
Yet instead of looking displeased, Jegal Hyeonun watched with interest.
Then a black figure appeared out of thin air, took the same posture as Cheongi, and clasped her hands in salute.
“Young Master has been considering this ever since he heard that Great Hero Black Flame Dragon had arrived. This was not a decision made overnight, so please do not cast him aside.”
It was Yeongyeong, her face half-covered by a mask.
Yeongyeong’s arrival only made the situation more awkward.
Perhaps because I had not answered, Cheongi grew anxious and raised his voice.
“If you will not accept me, I will not take even one step out of this Golden Prison!”
“Please accept him!”
“...”
Once Cheongi began to be stubborn, no one could change his mind.
In my previous life, he had remained imprisoned here for eight years because he refused to say a single word about abandoning the Mechanism Formation, even though that was all it would have taken for him to leave the Golden Prison.
“Young Master Cheongi, I have no intention of founding a sect, running a business, or operating an escort agency. If I join the Martial Alliance, I will gain subordinates, but that will only apply while I am within the Martial Alliance. Isn’t that right?”
“Then... I will follow you to the Martial Alliance as well.”
“No, that is not what I mean.”
I gently tried to calm Cheongi.
If you keep acting like this, your father might overturn the whole arrangement.
“Listen to me. How about we become sworn brothers instead?”
“Pardon?”
“!”
“!”
Not only Cheongi and Yeongyeong, but even Jegal Hyeonun opened his eyes wide.
Would the Clan Head of the Jegal Clan not understand if we went this far?
It was common in the martial world for disciples of first-rate and third-rate sects to become sworn brothers.
“Y-you mean you will take me as your younger brother?”
“We will become sworn brothers.”
Cheongi’s eyes brimmed with tears.
“I will serve you with all my heart for the rest of my life, Brother.”
His resolve was so absolute that I glanced at Jegal Hyeonun again.
Had this happened when he was not present, I might have been delighted to gain such outstanding talent.
I cautiously looked his way, worried that he might be displeased.
“Ha ha ha! Good, very good. So there was a way. Yes, a sworn brotherhood requires a witness. May I serve as that witness?”
“...??”
Jegal Hyeonun seemed so delighted that he kept bursting into hearty laughter as he ordered a servant to bring wine.
We decided not to perform a solemn ritual like the Peach Garden Oath[1].
In the end, friendship depended on how a person acted from then on.
If there was enough trust between us, sharing the cup of brotherhood was enough.
“I look forward to your guidance, Brother.”
“I look forward to yours too, little brother.”
“And if I go to the Taeul Sect, may I ask one favor?”
“What is it?”
“I would like Yeongyeong to serve as my guard.”
“Yes. That should not be a problem. The Jegal Clan will send several martial artists with you anyway for your assignment.”
“No, I mean I want Yeongyeong to become a true martial artist, not remain a shadow warrior.”
“Young Master! I am fine as I am.”
The part of Yeongyeong’s face not hidden by the mask turned bright red.
Over all those years, the two must have spent their time together sharing their dreams and comforting one another.
“Wouldn’t that require the Clan Head’s permission rather than mine?”
Shadow warriors were trained much like assassins.
The Five Great Clans often trained shadow warriors specifically to protect their direct-line descendants.
“Father, please allow Yeongyeong to stop serving as a shadow warrior.”
“...”
“Yeongyeong’s dream is to become an outstanding martial artist like Miss Moyong Seol.”
At the mention of Moyong Seol, an ache rose in one corner of my heart.
She had risen to third place in the Dragon-Phoenix Association as a woman, with a beautiful smile and an even more beautiful heart.
Later, she achieved enough with the sword to establish a school of her own and became known as the Sword Empress. During the Orthodox-Demonic War, when the Moyong Clan was devastated, she was assigned to the Sojeong Unit and saved us time and again.
‘I thought I was fine...’
Old memories did not mean old emotions.
While I was briefly lost in sentiment, Cheongi continued.
“I have thought about this for a very long time. I can protect myself well enough, so please allow it, Father.”
“I am fine, Clan Head. Young Master! At this rate, you may be locked in the Golden Prison again.”
Yeongyeong and Cheongi would not yield an inch, each thinking only of the other.
“...”
Jegal Hyeonun was the one in a difficult position.
Cheongi was a direct descendant of the Jegal Clan. More importantly, Cheongi had been assigned a shadow warrior because he had not learned martial arts. If Yeongyeong became a martial artist, there would be no one left to guard Cheongi closely.
“Then how about this?”
When I cautiously spoke up, Jegal Hyeonun looked at me with expectant eyes.
“If Cheongi was assigned a shadow warrior because he did not learn martial arts, Yeongyeong can continue serving as one until Cheongi is able to protect himself. After that, Yeongyeong may work as a martial artist.”
“Hmm. That is not a bad idea. But can Cheongi really do that? He has hated learning martial arts since childhood.”
Jegal Hyeonun looked pleased instead.
Cheongi also brightened.
“I will do it, Father. I will learn martial arts and become strong enough to protect myself.”
“...”
“Very well. If Cheongi reaches the level of a first-rate martial artist, I will permit Yeongyeong to engage in outside activities.”
Jegal Hyeonun likely believed he had set the bar rather high, but Cheongi only smiled at Yeongyeong as if to say everything had worked out.
Considering that Cheongi had entered martial arts at the late age of twenty-two and reached the absolute peak realm, that day would surely come much sooner than Jegal Hyeonun expected.
“Young Master.”
“Let us achieve our goal together, Yeongyeong.”
“Yes.”
Cheongi was clearly younger, and Yeongyeong was larger, yet they looked as though their ages had been reversed.
#
The assignment caravan was small.
Cheongi was the only person being sent, and he did not own many belongings. One cart for baggage and one carriage for Cheongi were all there was.
“Brother, are you not coming with us?”
“I have more business to finish before I return. Go on ahead. And take this.”
I handed Cheongi the bundle of notes I had set aside.
His eyes widened after he checked the amount written on them.
“Five thousand nyang in gold?”
“There may be limits to what you can build with Mechanism Formations right away, but use this to lay the foundation first. I will provide more funds when I return.”
I had a mountain of upcoming expenses. For that reason alone, I needed to raid a few more secret storehouses before the Martial Arts Academy regular examination began.
“Understood. I will protect this money with my life.”
Cheongi made a solemn vow and tucked the notes deep inside his clothes.
“You need not risk your life. You are what matters most to me.”
“...Brother.”
For some reason, Cheongi’s eyes glistened with tears again.
After sending Cheongi ahead, I clasped my hands in salute toward Jegal Hyeonun and Jegal Jeong, who had come to see us off.
“I owe you a great deal for your hospitality. If I have committed any discourtesy during my stay, please forgive me with your generous hearts.”
Jegal Jeong twisted his beard as though something displeased him.
“When will you come again?”
“Pardon?”
“The slash-and-burn settlers’ village. Should you not see whether those people are living well?”
I had heard that Jegal Jeong had repeatedly visited the slash-and-burn settlers’ village over the past few days, and it seemed he had already grown attached to its people. The more I knew him, the easier he was to understand.
“With the Grand Elder looking after them, I have no worries.”
“Hmph! Why would I look after them? If you pass through Mount Yungjung again, make sure to stop by.”
With that, Jegal Jeong went inside.
Jegal Hyeonun chuckled as he watched him go.
“It appears the Grand Elder has taken quite a liking to you.”
“Does he not dislike me instead?”
“The Grand Elder only tells people he dislikes to stay well. He never tells them to visit again for any reason.”
“He truly has a nasty personality.”
“To be honest, I feel the same way. Visit from time to time and tell me how my son is doing.”
“I understand. Then I will see you again.”
#
In Dengfeng, Henan Province, there was a secret residence left behind by White Horse Mountain Lord, the legend among bandits.
White Horse Mountain Lord was the bandit king who first united the Green Forest Seventy-Two Strongholds into a single Green Forest Alliance and ruled every mountain road under heaven.
The tribute he received from seventy-two mountain strongholds throughout his life was already an enormous sum, while the treasures he had plundered himself were beyond imagination.
After his death, people eagerly wondered what riches he had left behind.
Yet not a single coin remained in his residence.
People believed that the greedy White Horse Mountain Lord must have hidden his treasures somewhere, so they searched all under heaven.
Even after every thief in the martial world had searched far and wide, no one found White Horse Mountain Lord’s secret storehouse.
It was eventually discovered when Shaolin Temple of Mount Song built a guest hall in Dengfeng.
No one had imagined that a bandit like White Horse Mountain Lord would build his secret storehouse near Mount Song, where Shaolin Temple stood.
“White Horse Mountain Lord’s love of gold is fortunate for me.”
The secret storehouse did not contain as much as Wolhyang’s tomb, but it still held enough gold to fill three bundles.
I went straight to the Hao Sect’s Zhengzhou Branch in Henan Province and exchanged all the gold for notes.
Strangely enough, they offered the standard market price again.
“Young Master Jin is a specially managed client.”
Those were the words of the Zhengzhou Branch Leader, whom I was meeting for the first time.
“Is that so?”
“The Sect Leader said to wait a little longer for an answer.”
They did not say what it was about, but I knew exactly what they meant.
“I understand.”
As long as a decision came before the Martial Arts Academy regular examination began, it made little difference to me.
I then headed straight for West Lake Peak in Wugang.
A stream that began at Pingdingshan ran through West Lake Peak, where a deep valley lay.
This was where the Fire Monkey’s inner core would be found.
Among spiritual medicines that radiated yang energy, it was considered the finest, yet acquiring it was exceptionally difficult.
First, one had to find a Fire Monkey that had nurtured intense heat for a hundred years. Then one had to capture it, and it had to be before the Fire Monkey spat out its inner core.
That was why the Fire Monkey’s inner core was valued far more highly, even if other spiritual medicines had similar effects.
Yet the Fire Monkey’s inner core was found in the valley of West Lake Peak beside an unidentified corpse.
“Come to think of it, she said her father went out looking for a Fire Monkey and never returned...”
At the start of the Orthodox-Demonic War, the Moyong Clan fell not only because it overextended itself in support after other sects failed to provide aid in time, but also because its young clan head vanished at far too early an age.
Whenever Miss Moyong Seol endured her hardest nights, she would quietly tell only me about her father, again and again, where no one else could hear.
My contributions had paled beside hers. The only thing I could do for her was listen to her repeated stories, over and over.
One day, I asked her why she kept telling me the same story when I never forgot anything.
[“I want you to remember the memories that are vivid to me, Young Master. Then, when my memories grow dim, you can tell them back to me as vividly.”]
Then there came a time when I could neither listen to her stories nor recount them to her.
Why had I not asked first and listened to her?
Why had I not approached her first under the excuse of asking whether I had the story right?
I regretted it deeply.
“Stop. You do not need to think about it anymore. It is a future that will not come.”
Just as I began to feel something strange near my heart, I hurriedly cleared my mind and reviewed The Martial World Elixir Compendium in the library of my mind.
After determining the precise location in the valley of West Lake Peak, I jumped off the cliff.
Whoosh.
After descending some distance, I began to hear the thunderous sound of rushing water below.
I immediately fired the Flying Dragon Claw.
Whirrrr.
With the violent sound of its small spring turning, the Heavenly Silkworm Thread gradually unspooled and slowed my fall.
When I nearly reached the bottom of the valley, I saw a fierce current running through its center.
‘One, two, three, four.’
I counted the holes bored into the valley wall, chose one, then reeled in the Flying Dragon Claw and kicked off the wall at the same time.
Thud.
It was quite a distance, but even to me, my movement felt light.
After learning the Taeul True Scripture and the Peerless Wanderer Divine Art, my movements had been changing at a pace that surprised even me.
“There you are.”
It was a small, shallow cave.
A corpse lay near the entrance.
“I am sorry. Still, I will put it to good use.”
As I turned the corpse over and reached into its clothes, I felt something strange.
“...”
“...S-save... me...”
“!!”
The hairs on my body stood on end, and the Black Dragon Sword slid into my hand.
‘He was not dead yet?’
I had assumed there would be a corpse here. I had never imagined that corpse would still be alive, and my mind became a mess.
‘Should I kill him to keep this secret?’
I immediately erased that thought.
‘Stop it. Does it make any sense to kill someone over a single spiritual medicine?’
It would be a shame to lose the Fire Monkey’s inner core, but perhaps he would give me half if I saved his life.
With that calculation in mind, I dragged him slightly out of the cave to examine his condition.
Light fell across his face, revealing his features.
I tilted my head at the familiar features.
‘He looks... familiar?’
My memory was too precise to be wrong.
If I had seen something, I remembered it. If I did not remember it, I had never seen it.
Yet the man before me gave me the strange feeling that I had seen him somewhere before.
‘Was that even possible?’
Then a faint voice emerged from his cracked throat.
I pressed my ear close.
“...Moyong... Clan...”
“What did you say?”
“...Moyong...”
It felt as though lightning had struck the back of my head.
‘Moyong?’
I looked at the man’s face again and recalled several faces.
If Moyong Seol’s face and the face of her younger brother, Moyong Jaehwa, were mixed together in equal parts, they would produce this man’s exact face.
‘Then the missing young clan head of the Moyong Clan, Moyong Sangwon, was the owner of the Fire Monkey?’
I had no time to consider why he possessed the Fire Monkey’s inner core and had been dying here alone.
I quickly took his pulse.
“His pulse is too weak. What is this? Poison?”
His pulse was faint, as though he could die at any moment.
I hurriedly removed his clothes to search for signs of poison, only to freeze in horror.
“Demonic qi? Why?”
[1] Peach Garden Oath: The famous sworn-brotherhood pledge of Liu Bei, Guan Yu, and Zhang Fei in Romance of the Three Kingdoms.
Footnotes:
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