WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: Chen
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
◈ The Martial Genius who Remembers Everything ◈
Chapter 482: Each One's Purpose (6)
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The Azure Dragon Pavilion unit appeared on warhorses, carrying the Martial Alliance flag.
Their clothing was not standardized like the Azure Dragon Pavilion’s, but the branch office and White Path sect forces also arrived under the Martial Alliance flag.
Their numbers were a mere fraction of the Blood Heaven Fort Alliance’s, yet the alliance could no longer press the attack.
The Azure Dragon Pavilion entering the fight in earnest was no different from the Martial Alliance stepping in.
As expected, the four representatives could not hide their shock, since nothing had been arranged with Dam Ak.
From time to time, I could hear the Blood Heaven Fort Lord shouting himself hoarse. He had staked everything on this attack against Hwapung Manor.
The Blood Spear Unit and what appeared to be other high-ranking officials desperately tried to restrain him.
When even Lang Ajan fled Hwapung Manor, the Blood Heaven Fort Lord, who had risked everything after raising private loans against the Heart of a Beast, finally suffered qi deviation and fell from his horse.
That brought the situation to an end.
After the Blood Heaven Fort Alliance withdrew, the branch office, Kaifeng’s White Path sects, and the Azure Dragon Pavilion entered Hwapung Manor.
Before discussing anything, they cleared away the bodies and tended to the wounded.
Thirty Hwapung Manor members had died in that brief battle, while fifty more had suffered injuries of varying severity. They had no choice but to focus on dealing with the aftermath.
Those of us who had taken part in the battle were naturally excused from dealing with the aftermath.
While we rested, Gwak Susan cautiously asked me a question.
“Group Leader, did you know reinforcements would come from the start?”
“Yeah.”
“Then... why didn’t you tell us? No, if that was the case, couldn’t we have asked for help from the beginning and stationed people here? Then the people who died...”
The resentment in Gwak Susan’s voice was clear, likely because Gwak Susan had been left to worry without being told anything.
“If we’d requested help, they wouldn’t have helped us.”
“What?”
“The branch office wouldn’t have moved no matter what we said.”
If we had asked for help, they would have found some excuse to refuse. They probably would have told us to leave Hwapung Manor immediately as well.
“But because we said nothing, we forced them to pay attention.”
If the Dragon-Phoenix Association and Yong Soa died here despite the branch office’s warning, it would be the association’s responsibility. But if the branch office stood by and the Dragon-Phoenix Association died, the branch office would not be free of blame either.
“If we had told them everything and they had ordered us to leave, those branch office bastards wouldn’t have shown their faces until the end.”
“Huh...”
Gwak Susan and the Dragon-Phoenix Association members let out quiet sighs.
“His little schemes are something else...”
“How does he even think that far ahead?”
“If he came from the Black Path instead of the White Path, his reputation would be much worse...”
I could hear every word, you bastards.
Then an unfamiliar voice cut into our conversation.
“So you never considered the possibility that we wouldn’t appear?”
The Dragon-Phoenix Association members sprang to their feet and cupped their fists.
“““Greetings, Great Hall Master!”””
“Ah, stay seated. Formalities make me uncomfortable in a place like this too.”
Great Hall Master Hwang Seoyul turned to me.
“Did you not consider that if we hadn’t appeared, even the branch office personnel might not have joined the fight in the end? Was it nothing but a gamble?”
I lightly cupped my fists.
“Wouldn’t it have been stranger for the Azure Dragon Pavilion, which came to support the Dragon-Phoenix Association, to do nothing?”
“...Hm? Haven’t you been avoiding us this entire time? You could have used that as an excuse.”
“If Yong Soa, who belongs to the Azure Dragon Pavilion, died, the Wudang Sect would not let it go. Considering how much bigger the matter could become later, wouldn’t it be better to come now?”
“So you thought we had no choice but to move?”
Hwang Seoyul stared at me for a long time.
The look seemed to ask, What kind of bastard is this?
“Have you considered that your actions caused harm to the Martial Alliance and its branch office?”
I answered without hesitation.
“No.”
“...”
When Hwang Seoyul’s expression stiffened, the Dragon-Phoenix Association members began carefully watching both of us.
I quickly continued.
“I don’t believe my actions harmed anyone in the slightest.”
“...You’re shameless.”
“What do you mean?”
“You used a complicated political situation, yet you show no remorse for the harm it caused.”
During the Orthodox-Demonic War, I had felt it down to my bones.
Our screams and cries carried no power.
The powerful only became our allies when their interests aligned with our own.
That was simply the rule of the Martial Alliance.
“I don’t understand what you mean.”
There was no point in someone who fought by the Martial Alliance’s methods talking about things like heart or conscience.
Hwapung Manor’s lord must have begged the Branch Leader like a dog, over and over again.
Yet the Branch Leader had still refused.
If it had not been for us, the Branch Leader would never have appeared.
“Did the branch office come because we or Hwapung Manor asked them to?”
“...”
“I don’t see why I should feel sorry.”
Hwang Seoyul’s face gradually hardened.
“I can see that you’re clever. But trust is the most important thing in relationships. With an attitude like yours, you can never earn someone’s genuine trust.”
“I see.”
Would a member of the Sojeong Unit be able to obtain the Azure Dragon Pavilion’s help merely by building trust?
“I’ll keep it in mind.”
“...”
Hwang Seoyul’s gaze lingered on my face for a while.
Then Hwang Seoyul said something whose meaning I could not understand.
“So Yong Soa was right after all...”
I wanted to know what that bastard had said, but this was not the time to ask.
“Anyway, I’ve put myself in an awkward position by bringing up unnecessary matters.”
Hwang Seoyul relaxed his expression and looked unsure of what to do. I remained silent.
If he was this restless, it meant he wanted something from me.
I watched, considering what I could get from him.
“I’m sorry to bring this up so suddenly, but would you come with me when I meet the Estate Lord?”
Just as I thought, he did want something.
“As you know, the relationship between the Branch Leader and the Estate Lord has worsened because of this incident. The Branch Leader also regrets that matters turned out this way.”
Honestly, I did not think my presence would change much.
Hwapung Manor had essentially been destroyed once already by the Branch Leader.
Unless Estate Lord Gong Somyeong possessed absurdly rational judgment, Gong Somyeong would not treat the Branch Leader favorably now.
“I see.”
“...Is that all?”
Hwang Seoyul did not seem pleased with my lukewarm response.
‘Not that I’ll have much reason to ask the Azure Dragon Pavilion for help...’
Still, there was no need to make an enemy of the person who would become the Pavilion Master of the Martial Alliance’s greatest combat pavilion this early.
“If the Great Hall Master asks so earnestly, I have no choice.”
I deliberately made it clear that I was entering because I had accepted the Great Hall Master’s request.
“Instead, there is one thing I am curious about.”
Hwang Seoyul flinched for a moment, then nodded.
“If it is something I can answer.”
I asked the question that had troubled me all the way here and still had not been resolved.
“Why did Yong Soa join the Dragon-Phoenix Association?”
What was that bastard’s goal?
#
Yong Soa stood out without question.
I hated to admit it, but any woman who saw Yong Soa praised his beauty, whether she had ties to the martial world or not.
He stood alone among the rough-looking Azure Dragon Pavilion martial artists, his appearance so striking that it would have been stranger if the people who came to aid Hwapung Manor had not looked his way.
[Why? Because you people couldn’t communicate with them at all. So I sent Yong Soa, who could at least be considered your direct senior.]
I had tried to draw more details about that conversation out of Hwang Seoyul, but he could not remember it well. More importantly, he found my persistent questions suspicious, so I was unable to learn anything for certain.
‘Am I being overly sensitive?’
Seeing Yong Soa standing there blankly, listening to the people around him with indifferent eyes, made me wonder if I had been worrying too much.
Since joining the Dragon-Phoenix Association, Yong Soa had never once tried to stop or restrict us from doing anything.
If anything, he had been helpful.
He had even obediently followed my plan to use him as bait without a word of complaint.
‘Tsk.’
Still, an odd unease I could not understand kept lingering.
I did not know whether it was because of what happened with the Mount Mao Sect, or because he had tried to kill me in my previous life, but the feeling would not fade easily.
“Young Master, are you hurt?”
The voice snapped me out of my thoughts.
“Hm? Miss Song?”
“Are you... injured?”
Song Yesul, who had been passing by, set down what she was carrying and began examining me.
“Oh, no! Why didn’t you tell anyone about wounds like these sooner?”
After checking the injuries on my chest and arm, Song Yesul hurriedly pulled out golden wound medicine and cloth from among the supplies.
“Good grief. Some Black Path people deliberately rust their weapons to make wounds worse. Don’t you know that?”
“...I do.”
“Then why didn’t you say anything?”
My body was not weak enough to be harmed by such poison in the first place.
Besides, the Ten-Thousand-Year Earth Bear’s recovery ability had already closed most of my wounds in the short time since I was injured.
Further treatment would not make much difference to the time I needed to recover.
“They aren’t serious wounds.”
She knew it too.
Compared to the Hwapung Manor members who had died, and those still struggling between life and death, these were not serious wounds.
“That... isn’t for you to decide. The person who sees them decides that.”
A few strands of hair had come loose from the way she had carelessly tied it back. They seemed to tickle her face, and she blinked as she looked over my wounds.
I carefully tucked her hair behind her ear. Song Yesul’s hands stopped for a moment, then began moving again.
“About the people who died... I’m sorry.”
“...That isn’t something you need to apologize for, Young Master.”
Song Yesul bit down hard on her lip.
She was trying to keep a straight face and working harder than ever, but she was probably the one who wanted to cry more than anyone else.
Even so, she could not cry now because she carried too much on her shoulders.
She had put even her own grief aside for the moment.
“Thank you...”
Song Yesul’s voice trembled faintly.
“Really... truly... thank you. If it hadn’t been for you, Young Master... more people would have died.”
“...”
“Probably me too.”
She gave me a bright smile. It was like a bottle gourd flower in full bloom.
“So don’t apologize or try to comfort me.”
I was still wondering what I should say in a situation like this when Ilgak approached.
“Benefactor Jin, the Branch Leader is looking for you.”
#
Many White Path sects had rushed to Hwapung Manor’s aid, but only Hwang Seoyul, the Branch Leader, and I entered the Estate Lord’s hall.
“Sit here.”
The Branch Leader pointed to the far end of a long table. The Branch Leader and Hwang Seoyul sat one seat away on either side of the Estate Lord.
‘Then why did you bring me in here?’
They probably wanted to show that we were under their command.
Since I had promised the Great Hall Master, I stayed quiet and watched.
As expected, the Kaifeng Branch Leader was the first to speak.
“It is truly fortunate that this grave matter was resolved well. No matter how strong Blood Heaven Fort may be, how could it stand against the White Path alliance that had rallied for Kaifeng?”
To me, the Branch Leader seemed far too hasty.
Shouldn’t the Branch Leader start by soothing Gong Somyeong’s wounded heart?
“Still, the reason Kaifeng’s White Path sects were able to rush to Hwapung Manor with such high spirits was all thanks to the Estate Lord’s usual generosity.”
Gong Somyeong tilted their head.
“How strange. The Branch Leader personally took the position that they could not help us in this matter.”
“...Of course, the Martial Alliance had serious concerns about this matter. But how could the Kaifeng Branch ignore Hwapung Manor?”
“Is that so?”
“Of course. Wasn’t it because I, Gang, stepped forward for Hwapung Manor that we were able to mobilize the Azure Dragon Pavilion, the Martial Alliance’s greatest combat pavilion?”
“...I did not know that.”
The Branch Leader’s ridiculous words made my insides boil, but Hwang Seoyul gave a slight shake of his head, so I let it go.
Gilding their own reputation would not restore shattered trust so easily.
“Ever since the Estate Lord asked me for help, I, Gang, could not sleep at night. I was considering every possible way to assist Hwapung Manor.”
That was when I realized it.
That Branch Leader...
They were the same.
The same as the commander who had driven us onto the battlefield in my previous life.
The commander could send us into battle knowing the operation would fail because they did not see us as people on equal footing.
‘What a joke.’
The Branch Leader did not see Gong Somyeong as someone on equal footing either.
“That is why I cannot say how fortunate I am that this matter has ended as it has. It can only be said that my hopes and heaven itself helped us.”
That was why their own interests came before another person’s death and grief.
They probably believed they could win Gong Somyeong’s favor by offering a few empty words of comfort.
Then why were they going this far?
“Thank you. I hope the Kaifeng Branch will continue to support us in the future.”
When Gong Somyeong cupped their fists and slightly bowed their head, the Branch Leader straightened their shoulders as though they had finally gained what they wanted.
“That brings me to my question. Do you have a way to secure funds immediately?”
“Funds...?”
“Ah, of course, the branch office can provide some financial support. But would that alone be enough to handle this crisis?”
There would be funeral costs and compensation for the dead, as well as treatment costs for the injured. Even if Hwapung Manor sold its estate immediately, it was clear the money would not be enough.
The manor itself had also been completely wrecked during the battle.
“That is why I suggest this. Why not sell Hwapung Manor’s ancestral burial grounds at this opportunity?”
“...”
“Of course, you should properly relocate the remains of the ancestors you have honored for generations.”
“...”
This was why the Branch Leader had made such an insincere effort.
“As it happens, I know someone who may be willing to buy it. After hearing of Hwapung Manor’s circumstances, that person said they wanted to help by buying it at the highest price possible, even if it meant taking a loss.”
That meant the Branch Leader also knew the secret of the gold vein in Hwapung Manor’s ancestral burial grounds.
Perhaps the reason the Branch Leader had not intervened in Hwapung Manor’s affairs was because of a secret deal between them and Blood Heaven Fort.
“...!”
Gong Somyeong must have realized it too, because their eyes turned bloodshot.
Despite the murderous expression on their face, they did not say a single word.
There was no point in suspecting a connection between Blood Heaven Fort and the Branch Leader here.
The Branch Leader seemed unaware that Gong Somyeong’s fist trembled beneath their calm expression, and their voice grew firmer.
“Wouldn’t waiting to sell it at a better price later be the Estate Lord’s personal greed? Sell the land now and compensate Hwapung Manor’s people.”
With the Branch Leader becoming so blatant, Gong Somyeong no longer seemed angry. They only looked a little hollow.
“Haha, that is also true. But what should I do? I have already sold the land.”
“W-What?!!! Estate Lord Gong, no, Estate Lord! What do you mean? You sold it?”
“Right before the battle began, I thought there was no point in keeping it, so I sold it.”
“H-How much did you sell it for?”
“One silver tael.”
“...!!!”
Judging by the Branch Leader’s expression, they definitely knew there was a gold vein in the ancestral burial grounds.
“Who the hell... no, who did you sell it to? What kind of absurd contract is that?”
“Didn’t the Branch Leader know?”
“Know? How could I possibly know?”
“Didn’t you bring him in with you to this meeting?”
“?”
The Branch Leader made an expression as though they had just heard complete nonsense.
Gong Somyeong extended a finger and pointed at me.
“I sold it to this young man.”
The Branch Leader looked back and forth between Gong Somyeong and me. Their eyes turned sharp.
“You bastard, do you really have the land deed?”
“Yes.”
“Hand it over at once. That is not something you should possess.”
“I don’t want to.”
“Everything is for Hwapung Manor’s reconstruction... What?”
The Branch Leader asked again, as though they thought they had misheard.
“What did you say?”
“I said I don’t want to.”
“You insane bastard! What are you talking about?”
“I said I don’t want to.”
Did this bastard think I was their subordinate just because I had done what they told me a few times?
“Why should I give you my land deed, which I obtained through a legitimate transaction with Estate Lord Gong Somyeong?”
“Y-You dare act like this!”
I looked toward Hwang Seoyul.
“Great Hall Master, am I obligated to hand the land deed over to the Branch Leader?”
“Urgh! Urgh!”
The Branch Leader clutched the back of their neck as though they might fall over from anger.
Hwang Seoyul let out a long sigh.
That’s what you get for needlessly provoking someone who’d been sitting quietly.
Footnotes:
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