Wanderer of the Martial World - Chapter 15

WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: Satori

◈ Wanderer of the Martial World ◈

Chapter 15

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It was just after I had become a third-grade wandering martial artist.

I had once gone with Yi Pyeong's group to deal with a Yo beast at Azure Balance Gate's request. Something happened that day.

An Unranked wandering martial artist from another group secretly hid a Yodan.

An Azure Balance Gate martial artist counting the cores found it, investigated on the spot, and learned that the Unranked man was the culprit.

Then, with a shout of, "How dare you!" they cut off the Unranked martial artist's head.

The Azure Balance Gate martial artist had been second-rate to begin with. An Unranked martial artist who was not even used to fighting could never have stopped their sword.

Martial artists were all thugs.

No, they might have been worse than thugs.

This was a world that regarded the lives of insignificant people as worthless. If someone displeased them, they killed them on the spot.

They were divided into orthodox and unorthodox factions, but as far as I was concerned, there was not much difference between the bastards.

The orthodox faction were thugs who spoke politely. The unorthodox faction were plain thugs. Wandering martial artists were punks who secretly admired those thugs.

Those who called themselves the Black Path harbored evil in their hearts, but lacked the strength and ended up serving as sword fodder for the unorthodox faction. I had heard that the only proper members of the Black Path were mountain bandits and river bandits.

That was why they kept such strict control over Yodans.

To preserve their status as high-class thugs.

And there was one place where I could obtain such a Yodan.

The place I thought Jo Man-sik knew.

The Black Market.

I had heard quite a bit about the Black Market myself.

I knew that, if you had money, you could obtain martial arts manuals and spirit pills there.

No, supposedly, you could obtain anything.

Naturally, if a martial sect or a great family discovered it, it would be wiped out at once, so its location was kept thoroughly hidden.

That was why only those in the know used it in secret.

Naturally, I was not one of those people, so I had never used it before.

Still, just in case, I had brought all the money I had and a mask.

I had heard people wore masks in the Black Market.

Time passed.

As boredom set in, conflict slowly began to rise inside me.

Should I just rough him up today?

Thinking about doing this for three days made me feel bleak.

'Hm?'

Just then, I spotted a familiar build entering a tavern.

Yi So-gang.

Yi So-gang went into the tavern.

Yi So-gang wasn't much of a drinker.

Of course, they didn't avoid the group's dinner gatherings, but they weren't the sort to visit taverns when there was nothing going on.

He might have come to see Jo Man-sik, of course.

I had only met Jo Man-sik for the first time the other day, but Yi So-gang had likely known him for some time.

Besides, now that Yi Pyeong's group had disbanded, the two of them might be making plans for the future.

But I had been with Jo Man-sik until just a moment ago.

And he had not told me Yi So-gang was coming.

Even though we were not strangers, and he knew Yi So-gang and I were quite close.

The boredom I had felt was soon colored with a faint sense of anticipation.

As if to meet that expectation, Yi So-gang and Jo Man-sik emerged from the tavern not long after.

I suppressed my presence as much as possible and secretly followed them.

They headed north.

About thirty minutes after leaving the county.

It was still close enough to Yeongheung County that the area was relatively safe despite being outside the county.

Azure Balance Gate, the Black Sword Gang, and small martial sects regularly patrolled the area and cleared out yokai.

It was, in a way, human territory.

That did not mean there was no danger at all.

Yokai that had gotten lost or been driven out of their groups occasionally appeared.

Then it happened.

"Argh!"

The moon and stars were the only things lighting the world, so I could not see clearly, but someone who appeared to be Yi So-gang screamed and fell.

The shadow looking down at the fallen person drew a broadsaber.

Since the weapon was a broadsaber, that bastard had to be Jo Man-sik.

Yi So-gang used a sword.

It was an urgent moment.

Before I knew it, I had rushed toward them.

Tap tap tap.

Hearing my footsteps, Jo Man-sik looked my way in apparent surprise. He rummaged through Yi So-gang's clothes, pulled something out, and ran.

'Damn it.'

When I approached, Yi So-gang was lying on the ground, bleeding from his side.

Why had I acted so rashly?

My body had moved before I could even think.

Was it because I was close to Yi So-gang?

Was it because Yi So-gang had taught me to read and treated me well since I had been Unranked?

But it had already happened.

It was too late for regret. I had to decide here and now.

Should I take Yi So-gang back to the county, or leave Yi So-gang behind and chase Jo Man-sik?

Even if I gave Yi So-gang internal injury medicine and wound medicine, Yi So-gang was already unconscious. Leaving him behind would still be dangerous.

While I deliberated, Jo Man-sik would be getting farther away.

Of course, I had internal energy, so I was faster than him. But there was a good chance he had already opened up quite a distance.

And it was a dark night.

Once he got even a little farther away, I would not be able to see him.

"Whew..."

I let out the sigh that escaped me and searched Yi So-gang's clothes for wound medicine.

When I applied it to his wound, the flowing blood stopped.

In the end, I chose to take Yi So-gang back to the county.

All the while, I kept thinking of ways to find the Black Market.

I woke a sleeping physician, left Yi So-gang in their care, and handed them one silver tael.

The physician had looked tired and ready to show some irritation, but the moment they received the silver tael, their expression brightened.

"I'll come tomorrow."

"Ahem. Understood."

After leaving Yi So-gang with the physician, I ran to the county's northern entrance.

Then I went outside, walked for about ten minutes, and hid myself.

Yeongheung County had three entrances.

Of them, this was the only entrance from the north.

Of course, there was nothing I could do if he crossed the mountains surrounding Yeongheung County to get inside, but I did not think he would.

No matter how many yokai the martial artists had cleared out around Yeongheung County, the mountains were bound to be more dangerous than the main road.

Besides, he was third-rate.

No matter how much experience he had, he could not handle even a single Yo beast.

But nearly two hours passed, and he did not return.

Was he not coming back?

A reasonable suspicion arose.

Jo Man-sik had definitely run after seeing me.

Even in the dark, there was a high chance he had recognized me as the one who rushed at him.

And he knew that Yi So-gang and I were close, as well as the fact that I was second-rate.

From his perspective, he might have decided it was dangerous to return to Yeongheung County.

It was night, but if he focused solely on survival, he could hold out until sunrise.

Besides, if he went north for about two days, he would come across a fairly sizable place, even if it was smaller than Yeongheung County.

Did I have to give up?

It felt like I had ruined things through rash action and clumsy sympathy, which left a foul taste in my mouth.

Tap tap tap.

Hearing someone's footsteps, I lowered myself further and hid in the bushes.

The footsteps were heading out from Yeongheung County.

In the dark world, I focused my eyes as hard as I could and watched. A face I had seen somewhere before passed in front of me.

Wang So-myeong.

A Black Sword Gang squad leader who had only recently become First Rate.

As befitted someone from the unorthodox Black Sword Gang, he had a personality like a dog.

Rumor had it that as soon as he became First Rate, he had broken one arm bone each of his second-rate seniors.

I fell into thought as I watched Wang So-myeong.

Then I cautiously rose and followed him.

Wang So-myeong moved at an easy jogging pace.

Even though he had learned lightness techniques and was First Rate, he knew that recklessly spending all his internal energy at night could get him killed for nothing.

After we had gone on like that for some time, Wang So-myeong stopped and looked around. Then he put on a mask and climbed the mountain.

I silenced my steps and approached as quickly as I could.

A little way up the mountain, an abandoned temple came into view.

Two sturdy people stood at its entrance.

"Turtle Snake."

"Go in."

Fortunately, I could hear them.

Was that a password?

After waiting a little, I put on my mask and approached.

Without realizing it, my palms began to sweat.

What should I do if I was caught?

Could I get away if I did my best to run?

Looking at the two gatekeepers, who both appeared to be at least third-rate, I prepared myself for the worst.

"The password."

When I drew closer, the sturdier man spoke.

"Turtle Snake."

"Go in."

Just as Wang So-myeong had done, I offered no greeting and naturally walked forward.

Past the main gate lay a courtyard overgrown with weeds, with a small main hall at the far end.

Two men stood at its entrance. I thought that must be the real entrance.

As I approached, the men merely glanced at me and looked away.

They too wore masks, so I could not tell who they were.

The moment I crossed the threshold of the main hall, I saw stairs leading down and an elderly masked figure sitting before them.

The instant our eyes met, tension shot to the top of my head.

A martial artist. And not a weak one.

I had faced First Rate martial artists before, but the chilling feeling I got from the elderly figure told me they were above that.

Could they be Peak Realm?

Only two Peak Realm martial artists lived in Yeongheung County, yet one of them was here doing this.

"What are you doing? Go down."

Their voice was like a crow's.

I nodded and descended the stairs.

I began to wonder whether I had come to the wrong place.

The moment I went down the stairs and opened the door, I found an enormous cave, filled with noisy clamor and torches burning all along its walls.

"No, that's far too expensive!"

"If you aren't buying, then leave! Where else can you get a virgin boy like this?"

"Nngh!"

People were locked inside iron animal cages.

Two people were haggling over the price of one of them, a young boy.

The sight of humans being treated like animals naturally made me frown, and disgust crept over me.

Then again, was I any different?

I had killed so many people that I had forgotten how to count them. I had considered torturing someone for profit, and planned to kill benefactors and acquaintances for survival.

Was there really any difference between them and me?

But I soon denied the feelings rising within me and cast aside the self-reproach I had found a reason for.

After all, when I did it, it was romance. When others did it, it was an affair.

I should not become someone who acted on emotion alone, but neither did I want to deny my emotions themselves.

It was all right to be a little selfish.

Thinking that, I passed them by.

Even if I hated the sight, there was nothing I could do.

I would be lucky if a clumsy attempt to help did not get me killed for nothing.

The Black Market held more than slave traders. All sorts of shops stood in rows.

Places selling weapons, taverns and restaurants, a bookstore marked Secret Manuals, and an apothecary marked Spirit Pills.

A great many people wandered through them, bargaining.

"Kwaaak!"