WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: Chen

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◈ The Martial Genius who Remembers Everything ◈

Chapter 8: The Third-Rate Martial Artist Protecting His Sect's Honor (2)

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“I was too flustered earlier and neglected to introduce myself. I’m Seong Moran of the Iron Sword Sect.”

As she smiled, her crescent-shaped brows curving gently, Gye Cheolyeong’s face brightened at once. He had spent the entire journey looking as though he had eaten dung instead of food.

“They say there is a single beautiful flower among the wolves of the Iron Sword Sect. It seems the rumors don’t do your beauty justice.”

“You flatter me, Young Master Gye. Please, come inside. The Young Sect Leader has been eagerly waiting for the Gyerong Merchant Group and the Taeul Sect.”

Gye Cheolyeong puffed out his chest twice as much as usual, making himself look like a complete fool.

The Iron Sword Sect was packed to the brim.

Every door and window of the great hall stood open. Inside, people sat shoulder to shoulder, drinking wine, sharing dishes, and talking boisterously.

“Ha ha ha! Welcome, Merchant Group Leader! Oh, Cheolyeong is here too! How long has it been?”

A middle-aged man with eyes like Seong Moran’s greeted Gye Yeonseok and Gye Cheolyeong with a broad smile. He was Seong Jutak.

“It has been a long time, Young Sect Leader.”

“Ho ho! I told you to put aside all that formality. We’re both growing old, so why keep putting up walls between us?”

Though he spoke that way, Seong Jutak’s face was full of satisfaction.

“Have you been well?”

“Whenever I think of how I let a talent like you slip away, Cheolyeong, I’m so frustrated that I can’t sleep at night.”

“You praise me too highly.”

“If it hadn’t been for that absurd favoritism toward the One Hundred Eight Peaks, I would’ve taken you as my disciple. Ha ha ha ha!”

I glanced at Gang Chaeseok and Jin Taesan. Both wore expressions much like Gye Cheolyeong’s had earlier, as if they had chewed on something foul.

“Father, these are people from the Taeul Sect. You should greet them.”

Only after Seong Moran drew his attention did Seong Jutak finally look our way.

“I am Gang Chaeseok, Hall Lord of Taegwang Hall.”

“...I am Jin Taesan.”

The two men offered cupped-fist salutes, but Seong Jutak only gave a slight nod.

“I’ve seen you several times at the Martial Alliance, Gang Chaeseok. As for you, Jin Taesan, it has been a very long time. Has it been twenty years?”

“...Yes. So much time has already passed.”

“Heh, heh. You people are fortunate. We’ve tried for twenty years and still failed to gain a child like Cheolyeong, yet a treasure like him comes to you even while you do nothing.”

“...”

Their faces darkened at the words, which sounded like praise but were not truly praise at all.

“This must be Sect Leader Hong’s daughter, and this young man is... who?”

Gye Cheolyeong, unable to read the room, cut in.

“He is Outer Hall Lord Jin’s son.”

“Ah, your son? Let me see. Hmm, his natural talent does not look like much. Don’t waste your energy on useless things. Focus on supporting Cheolyeong. I know the Taeul Sect’s martial arts well, do I not? Heh, heh.”

This situation was quite different from that moment in my previous life.

The Iron Sword Sect had hidden its intentions back then. It had pretended the Taeul Sect did not exist before stabbing us in the back. It had not humiliated us so openly in front of this many people.

If its intentions were so obvious, its later plan to disgrace us would go awry.

What the Iron Sword Sect wanted was to force the Taeul Sect to its knees. It would not want people calling it a band of back-alley thugs.

Besides, this was the first time I had heard that Jin Taesan had visited the Iron Sword Sect twenty years ago.

In my previous life, Seong Jutak had been too busy flattering the Gyerong Merchant Group for us to have anything resembling a proper conversation.

Of course, back then I had been too occupied with staring at the Twin Wolf Iron Swords and Namgung San to notice much else.

“So, how far have you learned the Taeul Sect’s martial arts?”

What should I do here? I knew this would end in disaster anyway, but would it be better to show restraint?

“Have you not even learned how to speak? Ho ho. What will become of the Taeul Sect’s future?”

“He talks like some back-alley thug, and every word out of his mouth is damned grating.”

“...!”

The noisy area fell silent.

People dropped the cups in their hands as though they had seen a ghost in broad daylight.

“W-what did you say?”

The words had slipped out before I could stop them.

I had never been like this in my previous life, but spending time with those bottom-feeding Sojeong Unit bastards must have rubbed off on me.

Those worthless fools had never been any help.

“You brat! What did you just say?”

There was no reason to stop now. Once an arrow had been loosed, was there any way to call it back?

“Ah, my apologies. I meant to say that to myself, but it came out of my mouth.”

“You call that an apology...?”

“Am I wrong, though? A moment ago, you addressed my junior sister’s father and the Sect Leader of the Taeul Sect as though he were your friend. You disparaged the martial arts of my sect, the Taeul Sect. Finally, you asked about another person’s level of attainment, something one cannot casually ask a martial artist.”

“...Hah, y-you little...”

“After hearing all that, how could a swordsman not be angered? Still, the sages taught that even the arrogant and rude should not be met with discourtesy. This is my fault. I apologize again.”

I gave a casual cupped-fist salute, and Seong Jutak’s face turned a satisfying shade of red.

Still, was Seong Moran trying not to laugh while her father was being humiliated?

In any case, one by one, the people who had been watching and listening began to nod as though they agreed with me.

“You, you... You...”

Seong Jutak’s face was red as he struggled to decide what to do. Just as he was about to spit out a curse...

“The Martial Alliance’s Grand Strategist has arrived!!”

A booming voice echoed through the hall, and everyone rose from their seats.

Seong Cheonwol, the Sect Leader of the Iron Sword Sect, came running out of the great hall with his retainers, barefoot in his haste.

“What are you doing here? Follow me at once!”

At Seong Cheonwol’s roar, Seong Jutak ground his teeth, kept glaring at me, then followed behind him. Gye Yeonseok and Gye Cheolyeong went after them as well.

“D-do we have to go too?”

Hong Saryeon, still stunned, suddenly asked.

“Hundreds of people will be rushing over to forge a connection with the Grand Strategist anyway. We’d be a hundred times better off going inside and taking good seats.”

“...”

Saryeon looked to Jin Taesan and Gang Chaeseok as if seeking a decision, but both were just as dumbfounded.

Seong Moran made the decision for them.

“This young master is right. I’ll show you to good seats, so please come with me.”

Once Seong Moran took the lead, everyone had no choice but to follow.

“Did I not tell you to restrain yourself?”

Gang Chaeseok approached from behind, glaring with wide eyes.

“Tell me honestly. If I hadn’t cut in, you would’ve drawn your sword, wouldn’t you?”

“...”

There was no use denying it. I had clearly seen his hand move to his sword.

Since I had seen it, Seong Jutak must have seen it too.

Perhaps we would have been forced to kneel and apologize on the first day rather than the last.

“...”

Gang Chaeseok clamped his mouth shut as though it had been sealed.

“Please don’t act rashly. You know perfectly well what the Iron Sword Sect is plotting.”

“...”

“Act like a gentleman as much as you can, and don’t go stepping in shit for no reason.”

“You little bastard! ...I know that too.”

“Then loosen that expression. What happened twenty years ago for you to look at Seong Jutak like that? Is he your parents’ mortal enemy?”

Gang Chaeseok hesitated and glanced at Jin Taesan.

When Jin Taesan shook his head, Gang Chaeseok quickened his pace as if he had nothing more to say.

Once we reached the same place as in my previous life, a member of the Iron Sword Sect stepped forward.

“The Taeul Sect’s seats are this way.”

As we moved, the place we were shown was a corner of the training ground, at a table full of drunkards.

Just as I was about to sit down, Seong Moran spoke.

“Fill those seats with other guests. I will guide these people myself.”

Seong Moran led us toward a broad table at the deepest part of the great hall.

People’s eyes followed us every step of the way.

“Please sit here.”

“We are grateful for your consideration, Miss Seong.”

Jin Taesan, who had been silent for a long while, spoke for the first time. Seong Moran smiled and sat across from me.

“...!”

“...!”

At an event this large, having one of the central figures sit with someone meant that person was considered important.

Her action surprised not only us, but everyone watching nearby.

“Bring the wine first!”

At Seong Moran’s order, wine and food arrived in a flash. Many people had come before us and were still waiting, but none of them voiced a complaint.

Father and Hall Lord Gang were so tense that they could not touch the food before them.

I picked up a chicken leg and brought it to my mouth.

“What is your name, Young Master?”

“My name is Jin Sowoon.”

“I saw earlier that your skill was outstanding... Ah, was that an improper question?”

Seong Moran was showing me excessive interest and kindness.

In my previous life, I would have been so overwhelmed at meeting the Beautiful Wolf Iron Sword that I would not have known whether the food was going into my mouth or my nose.

“Yes. It is rather burdensome to have the Iron Sword Sect’s Beautiful Wolf sitting in front of me and watching me eat.”

“Oh? Ho ho, my apologies.”

“By the way, the Grand Strategist has arrived. Should you not go see him?”

“I wonder. The Iron Sword Sect’s rules say that women are not included in important matters anyway, so I will not be beaten with the rod simply for missing a gathering like this.”

“I heard that the Beautiful Wolf’s teeth are sharper than those of the Bloody Wolf Iron Sword. From the Taeul Sect’s perspective, should we consider that fortunate?”

The Bloody Wolf Iron Sword, Seong Mohyeon, had been raised as the Iron Sword Sect’s next successor. From childhood, he had monopolized Marrow Cleansing and all manner of precious elixirs.

The Beautiful Wolf Iron Sword, on the other hand, had only begun cultivating internal energy at the age of nine. Even so, she entered the Martial Academy alongside the Bloody Wolf Iron Sword.

Even in the future, after the Bloody Wolf Iron Sword nearly ruined the Iron Sword Sect, the Beautiful Wolf Iron Sword would stubbornly lead it all the way to the Northern Sea, bring it into the Martial Alliance, and preserve its lineage.

“Ho ho ho. You are a fascinating person. I will apologize on my father’s behalf for what happened earlier. He has had dealings with the Gyerong Merchant Group since he was young, so he must still regret missing out on Brother Cheolyeong.”

“You could still take him now.”

“Ho ho ho.”

Seong Moran laughed so hard she clutched her stomach.

Thrown off by the sudden change in mood, Gang Chaeseok and Jin Taesan could not touch their food and kept drinking wine instead.

“There is one thing I am curious about.”

“What is it?”

“Why did the Iron Sword Sect invite the Taeul Sect?”

Jin Taesan and Gang Chaeseok turned their heads toward me like lightning.

Seong Moran smiled in a way that gave nothing away.

“Does a celebration not shine more brightly when many people gather to offer their congratulations?”

“Many assassinations throughout history have taken place at banquets.”

Seong Moran’s eyes widened, but her smile soon returned.

“Hehe, Young Hero Jin, you truly are an interesting person.”

Seong Moran rose from her seat.

“Will Miss Seong not dine with us?”

“I would like to join you to ease your suspicions, but I think it is about time I left.”

After greeting Father and Hall Lord Gang, Seong Moran departed.

“...Miss?”

Hong Saryeon, who had been silent beside me for quite some time, muttered in an unhappy voice.

“Hm? Then should I have called her Young Hero?”

“Hmph!”

I had only wanted to find out how much the Iron Sword Sect had prepared, but Saryeon did not know that. She was looking at me as though I were her enemy for talking with the Beautiful Wolf.

Was she still too young to read the room?

#

“Miss? Hmph!”

Hong Saryeon was unpacking in the separate lodging Seong Moran had arranged for her.

Her movements were unusually rough.

“‘You are a fascinating person? Ho ho ho?’ That sly vixen...”

Hong Saryeon mimicked Seong Moran strangely, then let out a soft sigh.

Beautiful clothes made from fine silk, dazzling ornaments that drew the eye, a straight posture full of grace, confident eyes, and beauty that naturally attracted everyone’s attention.

Hong Saryeon did not think she could surpass her in any of those things.

“Haah...”

The Taeul Sect and the Iron Sword Sect had completely opposing atmospheres, so Hong Saryeon could not express it openly. Still, she had heard the rumors of the Beautiful Wolf Iron Sword.

Rumors of a woman her age who possessed such remarkable skill rang throughout Anhui Province.

Hong Saryeon knew that people were born different, so their rate of growth would naturally differ as well.

Yet after meeting Seong Moran in person, Hong Saryeon felt not jealousy but an unreachable sense of admiration.

“...”

She had worn the cleanest martial uniform in the Taeul Sect, but for some reason, its texture felt rough against her hands today.

Knock, knock.

Saryeon was pulled from her thoughts.

“Who is it?”

“It’s me.”

“Senior Brother Cheolyeong?”

When she opened the door, Cheolyeong stood outside. He had taken off his martial uniform and changed into silk clothing.

“Change into this.”

Gye Cheolyeong held out a set of brightly colored silk clothes.

“What is this?”

“Young Master Namgung San and the descendants of Anhui Province’s prominent families are holding a separate banquet. You cannot attend wearing a martial uniform like that.”

“...I’m tired. Go by yourself, Senior Brother.”

“Strictly speaking, I am attending as the representative of the Gyerong Merchant Group. If you do not go, Jin Sowoon will attend instead. Are you all right with that?”

It would be a gathering of people close to the Iron Sword Sect, an uncomfortable place for the Taeul Sect. Their gazes and conversations would not be pleasant at all. Would Jin Sowoon really...

He had openly stood up even to the Iron Sword Sect’s Young Sect Leader. Would he obediently keep quiet before the descendants of prominent families?

“...”

“At the very least, the atmosphere will be much better if you come with me.”

Hong Saryeon bit her lip hard.

“All right. Let’s go.”

“Change quickly.”

Saryeon looked at the clothes Cheolyeong was holding out, then pushed them back toward him.

“No. If you want to wear them that badly, Senior Brother, you wear them.”

Footnotes:

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