WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: ZERO_SUGAR

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Episode 16: Chance, Fate, and Destiny (7)

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When Ise returned to his residence, Ryu Seonghan was sitting cross-legged in one corner, cultivating.

The moment he noticed Ise, he rose to his feet.

Stopping his cultivation just because someone had arrived showed a serious lack of focus.

“Why are you cultivating in someone else’s house?”

“...”

“I’m joking. I wanted to see whether you’d grab your head.”

“You hear that your jokes aren’t funny a lot, don’t you?”

“I hear it often.”

The thing Ise heard most often was, “That was an unfunny joke.” Most of the time, they had not even been jokes.

“I knew it. By the way, what kind of cultivation lets you stay completely still for an entire year? That’s honestly creepy.”

“A year? A whole year has passed already?”

“Yes. I spent ages wondering whether I should open the cave abode door.”

The time Ise spent deeply immersed in cultivation was growing longer and longer.

Only then did he realize why the spirit beast had run away. It had probably fled because it was hungry.

He felt bad about it.

“Where’s the bird?”

“I forgot to look after it while I was cultivating, so I guess it escaped because it was hungry.”

“Ah, what a shame. Spirit beast taming is a rare opportunity. You should’ve paid it more attention.”

“What opportunity? It’s just a freeloader that eats resources.”

Just then, a flying object entered his divine sense, followed by a bright ringing sound.

Ring!

The spirit beast Ise had hatched appeared again.

As though happy to see him, it flew over at once and tried to land on the windowsill, only to hit its head.

“...”

It had apparently failed to consider how much bigger it had become.

“What? You didn’t leave. You’ve grown.”

Over the past year, the bird had nearly reached adulthood.

Its feathers had become much fuller, and its slender body now had the proper bearing of a spirit beast.

“You should’ve flown freely while you were out. It’s not like I’ve been taking good care of you.”

The spirit beast squawked and bobbed its beak.

Then it dropped something it had been holding in one talon.

It was a Snowfish fry.

The spirit beast lifted its chin as though asking whether it had done well. Interest flashed in Ise’s eyes.

“You know how to hunt.”

Ise was not particularly fond of pets, but a hunting hawk was another matter.

He had already wasted too much time searching for ingredients for immortal cuisine.

If it could find demon beasts for him, it would more than earn its keep.

“Good. I’ll use you as a hunting hawk.”

Coo!

The spirit beast cried happily.

Ryu Seonghan, who had been watching with satisfaction, cut in.

“Would you like me to get you a Spirit Beast Carrier? I’ll get one for seven hundred Spiritual Stones.”

“Sounds good. Make it six hundred.”

“Damn it. I should’ve said eight hundred.”

Ise chuckled, but added that six hundred was still a fair price.

“Have you made up your mind?”

“Yes. I’ll do it.”

“You made the right choice.”

“Then I’ll go pack some things at the main residence. If you give me the Spiritual Stones in advance, I’ll buy the Spirit Beast Carrier too.”

Ryu Seonghan returned a short while later and handed him the Spirit Beast Carrier, which resembled a wrapping cloth.

“Wrap the spirit beast in it. Call its name when you want to take it out. It can hold up to three. Feed the spirit beast, then put it inside the Spirit Beast Carrier. It barely feels hunger in there, so you can feed it well when you take it out.”

“This is a form I’ve never seen before. Can people go inside too?”

“If it’s someone whose true name you bestowed yourself? I suppose you could put a child inside. The clan head often threatens to put me in a Spirit Beast Carrier whenever I cause trouble.”

Ise considered it.

He had not known the bird needed a name, but if he was going to use it as a hunting hawk, giving it one seemed fine.

The problem was that it had no defining features, making it hard to name. Other than the red and silver feathers mixed together like dye, it was simply an ordinary large bird.

“A name... Hmm. Bisang, then.”

“Oh, that’s a good name. To soar into the sky. Bisang seems to like it too.”

Flutter.

Bisang flapped its wings.

Ise had only shortened “emergency rations,” but he did not bother correcting Ryu Seonghan. He quietly placed Bisang into the Spirit Beast Carrier instead.

After putting on the Cold-Repelling Shoulder Guards, Ryu Seonghan said he was ready.

The two headed outside the city.

“By the way, those Cold-Repelling Shoulder Guards I took from you back then were expensive. I sold them for a little over ten Spiritual Stones.”

“What a waste. Heh. It’s fine, I’ve forgotten about it. The Ghoststep Boots were more valuable, anyway. I had a hard time getting them in a Core Formation city.”

“How did you end up entering the secret realm?”

“Oh, the Dark Heaven Secret Realm. Whenever a secret realm appears, the Heavenly Ice Palace sends a written notice to every affiliated force. They have to dispatch at least one person.”

So the palace had deliberately sent people in.

It was a kind of deployment meant to harvest resources.

“Even if you’re not selected, you can enter freely if you want. You do have to report the resources you get inside, and anything the Heavenly Ice Palace wants must be sold to them.”

Since the cultivation world was united, it certainly felt systematic in such matters.

“At the time, I was the only late-stage Qi Condensation Realm cultivator in my clan, so I had no choice but to go in.”

“You call that having no choice when you were running around eagerly hunting people?”

“What good did that do? I never succeeded even once.”

Ryu Seonghan snickered and rode the wind onto the city wall.

Ise rose into the air atop the Dream-Saving Cloud.

Their destination was the Heavenly Ice Palace. There, Ise would gather information outside the palace grounds, while Ryu Seonghan would enter and obtain information about the Two Principles Return-to-Origin Art.

Ise hoped things might go smoothly after all.

“But, Senior... are you going to ride that?”

“Of course. Why run when I have a flying spirit artifact?”

“...Can I ride it too?”

“It’s for one person. What is a Qi Condensation Realm cultivator doing trying to ride a flying spirit artifact? Run after me.”

Ise picked up speed first, and Ryu Seonghan hurriedly began running after him.

“Let’s go together, Senior!”

* * *

They traveled without rest for several days.

Ise was impressed by how well Ryu Seonghan could run.

The movement Ryu Seonghan had shown in the secret realm had clearly been no ordinary skill. When it came to movement arts, he was exceptional.

“S-Senior. Slow down...”

“Think of it as training. You’re a good runner.”

Ryu Seonghan realized Ise was referring to what had happened in the secret realm and complained.

“You hold a grudge more than I expected...”

“Wait.”

Ise cut him off.

He immediately put away the Dream-Saving Cloud, lowered his body, and used a Spirit-Veiling Talisman to conceal the aura of his Spirit-Veiling Ring.

“Use a Spirit-Veiling Talisman.”

Ryu Seonghan hurriedly used one as well, concealing his internal qi.

Even that was not enough for Ise. He burrowed into the snow and hid himself.

“What’s going on?”

“Cultivators. Quite a few of them.”

The distance was too great for Ryu Seonghan to see them, so he simply kept quiet.

“...”

A group of cultivators was moving quickly.

There were around fifty of them.

Only after they passed did Ise slowly rise.

“Their bearing was unusual.”

“Could they be planning to start a war between cities somewhere?”

“Their robes were pink. Do you know that faction?”

“What? Pink robes are... the Yun Clan’s identifying color...”

Ryu Seonghan sprang up and followed Ise’s gaze.

“No way.”

Ise nodded.

Pungnyu City lay in the direction they had gone.

“That makes no sense! Without even declaring war? Are those lunatics planning to ignore the Northern Continent’s rules?”

Ryu Seonghan’s face darkened at once.

“I’m sorry, Senior. I have to go back.”

Without waiting for permission, Ryu Seonghan immediately ran back the way they had come.

Rather than stop him, Ise followed at a measured pace.

He had no desire to involve himself in a war on another continent.

Still, if the Ryu Clan lost, he intended to rescue only Ryu Seonghan if possible.

Ryu Seonghan was, after all, a retainer bound to him and an important helper who could assist him in achieving his goals in the Northern Continent.

* * *

Pungnyu City was burning.

Battles raged everywhere.

From the deserted city wall, far from the fighting, Ise watched the battlefield.

The situation was strange.

Ryu Seonghan had said their forces were evenly matched, yet the Ryu Clan was being pushed back almost one-sidedly.

“Who are you?”

A low voice reached Ise’s ear.

Though startled, Ise did not show it as he slowly turned toward the speaker.

A Qi Condensation Realm cultivator approached after removing a Concealment Talisman and Spirit-Veiling Talisman.

‘A talisman good enough to evade even divine sense.’

That would have been impossible without exceptional quality.

It was not an item a Qi Condensation Realm cultivator should possess.

Ise stared openly at the cultivator, prepared to silence them if necessary.

The cultivator tilted their head as they tried to gauge his realm.

Since Ise had not removed his Spirit-Veiling Talisman, they likely saw him as either an ordinary person or someone hiding their realm.

“Did you come from the Demon Valley?”

When Ise remained silent, the man took it as confirmation and began speaking at length.

“The Demon Valley is as thorough as expected. But don’t worry. We will certainly carry out the order you gave us.”

“Report the situation.”

“A report? Ah... yes. We have all equipped the spirit artifacts you bestowed upon us. Only the Foundation Establishment Realm cultivators have taken the Bursting Spirit Pellet so far, and we were about to hunt Clan Head Ryu Jin first... But are you really from the Valley? Could you show something to prove it...”

The cultivator could not finish.

The moment he voiced his suspicion, Ise swung his hatchet and severed his neck.

After taking the pouch of Spiritual Stones, Spirit-Veiling Talisman, and Concealment Talisman from the corpse, Ise used the talismans. Then he buried the cultivator underground with an earth-aspect spell, concealing the scene.

He understood the situation now.

This was not something a Foundation Establishment city had done alone. There was no hope for this battlefield.

Keeping the range of his divine sense to a minimum, Ise approached Ryu Seonghan while avoiding the Foundation Establishment Realm cultivators.

Their battles were so loud that he could easily stay outside the range of their divine sense.

The war had already tilted so far that it was nearly one-sided.

The invaders must have been receiving support from those backing them.

Following the signal from the soul-binding contract, Ise soon found Ryu Seonghan.

He was fighting desperately, but he was at a numerical disadvantage and looked as though he might die at any moment.

Ise held his breath and watched the battle.

If he intervened, he would have to kill every cultivator here at once to prevent trouble later.

‘There are four.’

Four Qi Condensation Realm cultivators would not escape as long as he did not make a mistake.

Ryu Seonghan finally dropped to his knees.

One of his shoulders had been completely torn away. Tears of blood streamed down his face as he cried out.

Like soldiers rushing to claim battle merit, the four cultivators charged him at the same time.

Ise revealed himself.

Whoosh!

A sharpened Wind Blade tore through the charging cultivators. Of the two who survived, he drove his hatchet into one’s head.

As the other recoiled in horror, Earth Shadow Snare and Shadow Net Formation activated at the same time, binding their ankle and upper body.

The Wind Blade that followed cleanly cut off their head.

Ryu Seonghan looked up at him with a ruined face.

“Senior...”

Ise struck the back of Ryu Seonghan’s neck and knocked him unconscious.

It would be troublesome if Ryu Seonghan begged him to join the war.

That was another matter entirely if Ise could be certain of his own safety.

‘They posted sentries. There must be more cultivators on the city wall.’

If he involved himself any further, the Essence-Draining Ghost-Demon Valley would surely learn of his presence.

It was an instinct that felt close to certainty.

Carrying Ryu Seonghan on his back, Ise slipped out of Pungnyu City as quietly as possible.

Footnotes:

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