The Martial Genius who Remembers Everything - Chapter 50

WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: Chen

◈ The Martial Genius who Remembers Everything ◈

Chapter 50: The First-Rate Martial Artist Peering into the Darkness (3)

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After receiving treatment(?) from the mysterious youth, Moyong Sangwon somehow felt a new energy stirring within him.

He still had no strength in his body, but he had recovered enough to barely perform qi-regulating breathing.

After a single round of qi-regulating breathing restored some of his vigor, Moyong Sangwon stared at the small wooden box before him with a complicated expression.

The young hero who had desperately given him his own blood(?) had left the cave, saying he would find something to eat.

“Doesn't he know it's the Fire Monkey's inner core?”

The Fire Monkey's inner core radiated warm yang energy on its own.

Anyone trained in martial arts would surely sense that energy, so the youth probably knew and simply pretended not to notice it.

“What could his intentions possibly be?”

The way the youth had drawn fine, threadlike strands from his arm and climbed the valley looked exactly like a spider.

Nibbling at the jerky the youth had left behind, Moyong Sangwon thought deeply about him.

After filling his stomach at an inn, Jin Sowoon headed straight to the blacksmith's shop.

“Those are bear traps.”

Jin Sowoon looked over the bear traps piled high in one corner of the shop. “You have quite a lot in stock.”

“The magistrate in the village below said he'd pay three times the usual price for bear gallbladders. Every hunter in the area flocked there, and the bears were wiped out.”

After thinking it over, Jin Sowoon asked, “Can these be adjusted to be very sensitive?”

“Sensitive? How sensitive?”

“Sensitive enough to trigger if a rabbit steps on one.”

“Good grief. What if a person steps on it after you adjust it like that? That'd be a disaster!”

“I won't use them on people. Animals have been appearing before their season and harming people.”

“Still no.”

The blacksmith firmly shook his head, so Jin Sowoon took two silver ingots from his robe and set them down.

The blacksmith's eyes shook violently.

“Is it really impossible?”

“...”

When Jin Sowoon placed another silver ingot on the table, the blacksmith spoke.

“I can't make it trigger under a rabbit's weight, but I can adjust it to spring when a squirrel steps on it.”

The blacksmith swiftly tucked the silver away.

I returned to Moyong Sangwon a day later.

Setting the traps had taken longer than expected.

I stopped at the inn again, bought dumplings and Bamboo Leaf Liquor, then went to see Moyong Sangwon.

Moyong Sangwon must have spent the day anxious, because he welcomed me with a bright expression.

“I thought perhaps you'd left me behind.”

“Haha, I'm sorry. I had something to take care of.”

Moyong Sangwon sniffed.

“What is that smell?”

Perhaps because he had been so hungry, Moyong Sangwon's sense of smell had become especially sharp.

When I set down the dumplings and Bamboo Leaf Liquor, Moyong Sangwon forgot he was the Young Clan Head of the Moyong Clan and began shoving dumplings into his mouth.

“W-what kind of dumplings are these? I've never tasted dumplings this delicious in my life.”

Whenever Moyong Sangwon smiled, I caught a glimpse of Moyong Seol's face.

It felt strange to see the smile she had rarely shown in the past this way.

“They're probably called Empty Hunger Dumplings.”

“That can't be right. It can't be.”

Moyong Sangwon, who had been hurriedly swallowing dumplings, finally choked.

“Cough!”

I handed him the Bamboo Leaf Liquor, and Moyong Sangwon thumped his chest as he gulped it down.

“Cough! Is this Bamboo Leaf Liquor also called Empty Hunger?”

“Yes.”

Only after he had eaten enough to take the edge off his hunger did Moyong Sangwon realize I had not eaten anything. Blushing, he quietly pushed the dumplings toward me.

“I filled my stomach at the inn while I was out finding food.”

“...”

Moyong Sangwon hesitated for a moment, then nodded a few times and reached for another dumpling.

“I'm deeply ashamed before a young friend like you.”

Only after eating all four portions of dumplings did Moyong Sangwon seem to regain some strength.

“Everything about this is a mystery, but there is one thing I wish to know above all else.”

Moyong Sangwon said with an embarrassed look.

“Please ask.”

“Do you know who I am?”

“When you were unconscious, you spoke the word ‘Moyong.’ I guessed you might be someone from the Moyong Clan.”

“That's right. I am Moyong Sangwon, the Young Clan Head of the Moyong Clan. But... who exactly are you?”

“My name is Jin Sowoon. I'm a disciple of a small martial sect near Hefei.”

“Hefei... the Iron Sword Sect?”

I shook my head.

“A somewhat older sect than that, the Taeul Sect.”

“Ah... the Taeul Sect...”

Perhaps embarrassed, Moyong Sangwon smacked his lips and scratched his head.

“One of the One Hundred Eight Peaks... Forgive me. When one thinks of Hefei, the Taeul Sect should come first.”

“It's all right. The Iron Sword Sect's influence must simply be that great.”

Moyong Sangwon lowered his head with a strangely guilty expression.

“Th-this is quite something. Before my benefactor, I've made a complete fool of myself.”

“Benefactor? I only did what anyone should have done.”

“Don't say that. Not everyone can go this far for another person.”

“The Taeul Sect teaches us to benefit others whenever our abilities allow it. I merely followed that teaching, so if you keep praising me, I'll be embarrassed.”

“...Hah. You're the first person in my life who has made the name Moyong Clan feel small.”

Moyong Sangwon looked at me as if he had found some extraordinary creature.

“...But how did you know to come all the way here?”

I could not say that I had come to take the Fire Monkey's inner core from his corpse.

“As the Iron Sword Sect grows more influential, I wondered if there was any way I could contribute to my sect. Then I heard an elderly herb gatherer say that Cliff Herb grew on the cliffs of West Lake Peak in Wugang, so I was searching the cliffs when...”

“And you found me!”

Moyong Sangwon eagerly finished the thought for me.

“Yes.”

“A disciple who goes this far for his sect. Your sect leader is fortunate indeed.”

“I'm only repaying what I've received, nothing more.”

Moyong Sangwon nodded before speaking again.

“Still, because of me, you failed to obtain a precious herb. What should I do about that?”

He fidgeted with his hands inside his robes for a long while. Then, as though reaching a decision, he took out the wooden box.

“...Will you at least accept this instead?”

“...”

“As you know, this is the Fire Monkey's inner core. I don't know how far your martial arts have progressed, but this alone should let you reach the first-rate realm. If you share it with your fellow disciples, it could become the cornerstone that helps the Taeul Sect stand as a powerful sect equal to the Iron Sword Sect.”

The sight of Moyong Sangwon offering the Fire Monkey's inner core overlapped with Moyong Seol from my past life.

[Isn't this a Clear Mind Pellet?]

[It is. So?]

[Keep it. Take it when you're in danger, Senior.]

[Right now, you and I are only members of the Sojeong Unit. What I need is a companion who can help me survive. And how long are you going to keep calling me ‘Senior’?]

Seeing Moyong Sangwon's actions, I understood where Moyong Seol's kindness had come from.

Remembering the Clear Mind Pellet I had been unable to refuse in the past, I pushed the Fire Monkey's inner core back toward Moyong Sangwon.

“I didn't do it expecting compensation. Please keep it.”

“...If you think the reward is insufficient, don't worry. I'm ashamed to say it myself, but the life of the Moyong Clan's Young Clan Head is not cheap. This will not be the end of it.”

“If the Moyong Clan's Young Clan Head personally came out in search of an elixir, then don't you have something important to use it for? For example, the Martial Arts Academy's regular examination.”

“...!”

“The Taeul Sect does not teach taking what a father intends for his child. I'll accept only your goodwill, Senior.”

I had already received more than enough in my past and their future.

I no longer wanted to leave even a trace of misfortune in Moyong Seol's future, because I could no longer repay the debt I owed her.

I drove the point home to the still-conflicted Moyong Sangwon.

“If the Fire Monkey's inner core came into the possession of a weak sect like ours, wouldn't an incident like the Taewon Cheon Family Estate occur?”

In Taewon, the capital of Shanxi Province, there had been a famous martial family that had lasted for ten generations: the Cheon Family Estate.

Its founder, Cheon Inse, had created a unique martial art called the Cheon Family Blade Forms. It was so exceptional that it ranked among the ten greatest blade arts in the martial world. The family had also distinguished itself in countless major and minor events throughout martial history, to the point that people had repeatedly debated whether it should join the Martial Alliance's One Hundred Eight Peaks.

Then one day, a rumor spread that the Taewon Cheon Family Estate had acquired Azure Stone Milk, a peerless elixir.

Martial artists from across the martial world gathered in Taewon.

At the time, the Taewon Cheon Family Estate was no weak force, so even with thousands of martial artists gathered nearby, its defenses appeared solid.

Yet, for reasons no one could explain, a fire broke out. As it spread, martial artists concealing their identities infiltrated the Cheon Family Estate, and that day, the Cheon Family Estate was exterminated.

No rumors about where the family's Azure Stone Milk had gone were ever confirmed.

Thus, the Taewon Cheon Family Estate vanished into history without ever learning who had destroyed it.

That was why I had secretly consumed the elixirs I acquired, without telling even those in my own sect.

“...Hmm.”

“My mind is made up, so please put this matter to rest, Senior.”

“Very well. I will respect your decision. Still, tell me what you need. No matter what, I will grant that wish.”

“I'm fine...”

“Ah, don't think that granting your request will erase the debt I owe you. I say this because I cannot be at peace unless I express my gratitude. This is my wish, so please indulge me.”

“...”

I thought it over, but nothing came to mind.

I had already consumed more elixirs than my body could properly absorb, and I would continue consuming them. Nor did my sect lack the wealth needed to establish its foundations.

‘Ah!’

A good idea suddenly struck me. When I looked at Moyong Sangwon, he also watched me expectantly.

“How about giving one Clear Mind Pellet to a disciple of our Taeul Sect?”

“A Clear Mind Pellet?”

Moyong Sangwon tilted his head.

He looked down at the Fire Monkey's inner core, then at me again.

“The Clear Mind Pellet is a precious elixir pellet of my clan, but it cannot compare to the Fire Monkey's inner core.”

“Keeping the Fire Monkey's inner core would invite disaster, but if you give us a Clear Mind Pellet, Senior, no one would dare covet it.”

“...!”

A faint smile appeared on Moyong Sangwon's lips.

“Very well. I will give it to you in the name of the Moyong Clan.”

For me now, consuming a Clear Mind Pellet held little meaning. I already had an abundance of lesser elixirs to take in the future.

This was a better chance to increase my junior disciples' internal energy.

“Rather than giving it to me, I would ask that you give it to our sect leader, so it can be given to one of the disciples.”

“...Why?”

“If I, the Taeul Sect's Head Disciple, received it, it might look like favoritism. But if the sect leader chooses another disciple to receive it, won't that also motivate the other junior disciples?”

“...Hah!”

Moyong Sangwon's expression turned blank with astonishment.

Then he asked an unexpected question.

“...Do you perhaps have someone you were promised to marry in childhood?”

I tilted my head, unable to understand the question's intent.

“I don't. Why do you ask?”

For some reason, Moyong Sangwon looked relieved.

“Nothing. Don't worry about the Clear Mind Pellets. To convey my gratitude, I will personally deliver three Clear Mind Pellets to your sect leader.”

“What a remarkable artifact.”

After I tied Moyong Sangwon to myself and climbed out of the valley with the Flying Dragon Claw, Moyong Sangwon spoke in wonder.

Yet after seeing sunlight for the first time in a long while, Moyong Sangwon's interest soon shifted away from the Flying Dragon Claw.

“This is wonderful. Wonderful! I thought I could ask for nothing more if I could feel sunlight like this just once more. You made that wish come true.”

Moyong Sangwon stretched and basked in the sunlight.

“Please don't overexert yourself.”

I had absorbed all the demonic qi, but Moyong Sangwon's dantian had not yet fully recovered.

“Don't worry. I feel like I could run right now. What are your plans from here?”

“It's about time for me to return to my sect.”

Considering the time I needed to stop by the Namgung Clan along the way, my schedule might already be tight.

“If you're not in a hurry, rest for a few days at our merchant group in Wugang, then come to the Moyong Clan with me.”

“I'll visit the Moyong Clan another time. I also have matters to handle at my sect.”

“Are those matters related to the Martial Arts Academy examination?”

“...Yes.”

Moyong Sangwon could not hide his disappointment.

“I thought so. Still... you can rest for a few days before leaving, can't you?”

“Well...”

“Do that. If you keep moving about like this without resting, exhaustion will build up and harm your body.”

“All right...”

In the middle of speaking, I felt something strange and sharply turned my head.

Though it was still bright daylight, the forest held no sounds except the wind.

“What is it?”

Moyong Sangwon did not seem to notice anything yet.

“Were the people who attacked you wearing black martial robes and red headbands?”

“Hm? How do you know...?”

“Over there.”

I pointed toward one side of the forest. Moyong Sangwon frowned as he seemed to force himself to raise his internal energy while looking at the empty trees.

As expected, his dantian had not fully recovered.

“...!!”

“Are they the ones who attacked you?”

“I can't tell.”

A moment later, twenty people who gave off no trace of presence emerged from the forest.

“...Yes. It's them.”

Instead of answering, I drew the Black Dragon Sword.

Moyong Sangwon wore a troubled expression.

“I have nothing but apologies for my benefactor. I have repaid none of your kindness, and now you've been dragged into this because of me.”

“Senior. Save those words for later.”

“Very well.”

Moyong Sangwon stepped forward.