WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: Chen
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
◈ The Martial Genius who Remembers Everything ◈
Chapter 496: The Beginning of Night
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The moment Do Gwangsu first saw the entrance to the Sword Tomb, he could not hide his confusion at how small it was.
It was far larger than an ordinary cave one might find near a village, of course, but it still seemed inadequate as the tomb of two absolute beings.
He did not have time to dwell on it.
“Don’t cut in line, you bastard!”
“How dare you curse at me? Do you know who I am?”
“So what if you’re from the Martial Alliance?! Wait your turn!”
Countless people were entering through the opening.
Word had also spread that those who entered first found the Sword Tomb far more vast than expected and had returned to gather more food.
With people carrying supplies for long stays before heading back inside, the Sword Tomb’s entrance was utter chaos.
“Good heavens... How large is this place?”
The atmosphere changed completely once they entered the Sword Tomb.
The ceiling, which had begun at roughly ten feet high, rose to thirty feet, while some deeper areas contained caverns as high as fifty feet.
The sheer scale erased any thought that this was an ordinary cave.
“Brother Do, don’t lower your guard. I heard many people were ambushed and killed by White Path bastards inside the cave.”
The man spoke as though lecturing him, even giving his shoulder a provoking pat, but Do Gwangsu swallowed his anger.
Normally, he always hunted for treasure alone. After nearly dying when he got caught up in a conflict with White Path martial artists at the edge of Gansu, however, he had not dared enter alone.
That was why he had joined a group on the way to Gansu.
‘The ones I really need to watch out for are these bastards.’
The group of twenty had formed when three or four smaller groups came together. Any one of them could betray the others at any time.
Still, they could at least help one another until they found a treasure.
To put it bluntly, if a real treasure appeared, Do Gwangsu planned to abandon them and run as well.
After exploring the Sword Tomb for about two days, he realized its interior was far bigger and more extensive than he had expected.
There were many paths not marked on the treasure map. Without one, this would have been the perfect place to get lost and die.
“Wait! Wait! This isn’t the right path. It says we have to go right here to reach the place where the Tyrant King Soul-Severing Saber was found.”
Staring at the blocked wall, everyone in the group pulled out a treasure map from inside their clothes.
‘Damn it.’
The sight made Do Gwangsu’s insides twist again.
He had lost the treasure map to the unfamiliar people who had followed him in Sichuan.
Then, while stopping by an antique shop on a whim in his disappointment, he found another treasure map written on bamboo slips and became certain that the Sword Tomb’s treasure was destined for him.
He spent all his savings, eighty silver taels, on the map. To make sure it would never be stolen again, he traveled only through mountain paths at night until he reached Gansu.
“...Brother Kang, how much did you pay for your treasure map?”
“Me? I paid a little too much. One tael’s worth of copper coins. Those bastards jacked up the price the moment the Tyrant King Soul-Severing Saber appeared.”
In Gansu, maps were being sold for one tael’s worth of copper coins apiece.
“Brother Do, your map looks different. How much did you pay for it?”
“...Five taels’ worth of copper coins.”
“Five taels’ worth? Brother Do, you really got taken for a ride. You paid five taels’ worth of copper coins for this?”
Do Gwangsu frowned and tucked the bamboo-slip map back into his clothes.
He had spent his whole life stealing from others and scamming them. This was the first time he had been conned so badly.
In any case, their exploration of the Sword Tomb continued.
They occasionally encountered White Path and Black Path martial artists while passing through the caverns, but everyone merely kept their guard up. No one started a fight.
Finding treasure came first.
On the seventh day, complaints began to emerge one by one among those who had reached the Sword Tomb’s center.
Everyone was on edge after living without sunlight for so long, sleeping in poor conditions, and eating inadequate meals.
“Fuck, is this really the tomb of the Sword Venerable and the Black King? It just looks like a cave to me.”
“Exactly. Even if there’s really treasure here, with so many people around, would any of it still be left?”
They only encountered another group once every half day now, but even that was far too frequent for a place as vast as the Sword Tomb.
Then they heard people running from the end of the path behind them.
“Everyone, prepare for battle!”
Without needing to be told, they drew their weapons, circulated their internal energy, and stared behind them.
The people running from behind abruptly stopped and raised their hands.
“Easy, easy. If you want to go first, go ahead. Otherwise, move aside.”
Their varied clothing and crude weapons made it clear at once that they belonged to the Black Path, and the group lowered their weapons.
“Why are you running like that? I almost killed you.”
“You probably couldn’t have with that level of skill.”
“What did you say, bastard?”
“Ah, calm down. We’re rushing because we heard the Sword Venerable’s Radiant Light Divine Secret Sword has been found.”
“The Radiant Light Divine Secret Sword?!”
“Yes. So will you move aside, or go first?”
There was no need to hear more.
The discovery of the Black King’s divine relic and the Sword Venerable’s divine relic proved beyond doubt that this was the Sword Tomb.
Do Gwangsu and the others began running through the cave like madmen again.
Perhaps word of the Radiant Light Divine Secret Sword had spread, because the crowd did not thin even as they went deeper inside.
“Everyone, inspect the walls and floor as well, just in case. Don’t get impatient because someone is approaching. You’ll miss things right in front of you.”
Tap. Tap.
Do Gwangsu had robbed enough tombs to recognize the hollow resonance from the wall.
‘There’s something here.’
Just as he wondered whether to share it with the others, one of them grabbed his hand as if he had read Do Gwangsu’s mind.
“What did you find?”
“...Hm?”
When Do Gwangsu hesitated, the man immediately punched the wall he had been inspecting.
Crash.
A pile of stones fell away, revealing parts that appeared to belong to a Mechanism Formation.
“This is...”
“There’s some sort of mechanism here?”
“What is it?”
Everyone rushed over to inspect the Mechanism Formation, but no one knew exactly what it was or how it worked.
“It doesn’t seem related to anything important.”
Still, it made them even more certain that the Sword Tomb held treasure.
“Hey, Brother Do.”
“Yes?”
“Don’t think about keeping it all for yourself. Do that, and your belly will split open and kill you.”
“...What have I kept for myself?”
“Be careful.”
After that chilling warning, their behavior gradually changed.
They watched Do Gwangsu intently despite usually having no interest in him. Whenever they moved, they made sure he stayed in the middle of the group.
When he stepped away to relieve himself, one of the people standing watch followed him, making him feel a chill down his spine.
Do Gwangsu sensed the danger and tried to leave the group, but they would not let him go.
“Brother Do, you used to be a thief, right? You seemed to notice something about the Mechanism Formation, so you must have some skill. We’ve come this far comfortably, so let’s help each other. Don’t get any foolish ideas.”
“...”
Under their sticky gazes, Do Gwangsu gave up on running away.
‘Had I climbed onto a wolf’s back without realizing it?’
The people he had intended to use and discard were planning to use and discard him instead.
As the days passed, they gathered among themselves to talk, then frequently stared straight at him. Do Gwangsu realized he was thoroughly screwed.
“Are you sure you checked properly?”
Searching alone all day for mechanisms hidden in the walls and floor had become Do Gwangsu’s job.
Annoyed at being made to suffer alone, he answered sharply.
“How many times do I have to tell you that I did?”
“This bastard... Why are you getting irritated?”
“...Ah, no, I wasn’t irritated. I was only saying that was the case.”
“Hey, do I look easy to you? Huh?”
It began with curses, then the beating started and continued until dinner.
‘Damn it...’
The Black Path bastards were now openly treating him like a servant. Fury rose inside him, but there was nothing Do Gwangsu could do.
As he held his hungry stomach and touched his aching wounds...
Shing!
With the sound of weapons being drawn, a strange puppet came walking toward them.
“What the hell is that?”
“Is it insane?”
Its hair was disheveled, its clothes were completely torn, and its entire body was soaked in blood.
The moment they saw the puppet, the Black Path martial artists all drew their weapons.
“Fuck, don’t come any closer, bastard! What are you?”
The puppet began babbling incomprehensibly.
“I’ll repay my fellow martial artist’s death and resentment with blood!”
The puppet, looking like a madman, released internal energy and leaped into the Black Path martial artists.
“F-fuck! Stop it!”
“Kill it!”
They ultimately succeeded in killing the madman, but four Black Path martial artists were absurdly cut down by its sword in the process.
“Fuck... What was that?”
“Didn’t that bastard keep saying something about resentment and enemies?”
“What did it mistake us for?”
Do Gwangsu was quietly pleased that one of the men who had beaten him to a pulp had died.
Still, he forced himself to control his expression, worried that the dead man’s companions might notice and harm him.
“What do we do with the bodies?”
“Leave that bastard alone... What about these ones?”
“They had companions in the group, didn’t they? You can bury them.”
Then Do Gwangsu sensed something strange.
“Why bother burying them? Just leave them there. This is a tomb, so it works out.”
“...”
None of them felt any sorrow for the dead.
What was even more horrifying was that not even the dead men’s original companions grieved or mourned them.
Instead, they shoved their hands into the corpses’ clothing, feeling around for banknotes and money pouches.
“Found it!”
“Hey! That bastard owed me money. Give me some too.”
“Fuck off.”
Could even Black Path martial artists truly feel no minimum amount of human emotion?
No. Something had clearly changed.
“!”
The Black Path martial artists all turned their heads toward Do Gwangsu as he stepped backward.
Flash.
A blood-red gleam appeared in their eyes, then vanished.
“A-ahhh!”
Do Gwangsu shrieked and tried to flee with all his strength.
“Where do you think you’re going!”
The man who had been searching the corpse blocked his path.
“Didn’t we beat you enough?”
Just as Do Gwangsu thought he was certainly about to be beaten to death, he saw it.
The deep darkness looming behind the man who had blocked him.
“B-behind you...”
“What, bastard!”
As the man brought his hand down to strike, it was severed as though it had been cleanly separated from his body.
“Huh?”
Only after looking at his severed arm did the man realize his hand had been cut off.
“W-what is that?!”
A massive being swallowed the man whose arm had been cut off in one bite.
Clangclangclangclang!
Boomboomboomboom!
Bang! Bang! Bang!
The people who had watched Do Gwangsu being beaten swung their weapons and launched palm force at once, but the massive being swallowed the man whole.
Grrr...
The massive being moved, its bestial eyes blinking vertically.
Each time it moved, the hands, feet, and heads of the Black Path martial artists dropped to the ground.
A bizarre sight he had never seen before.
A horrifying presence he had never felt before.
Looking at that ‘thing,’ Do Gwangsu instinctively understood.
That was ‘death.’
Death given physical form.
Footnotes:
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