WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: Satori

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◈ Wanderer of the Martial World ◈

Chapter 21

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There were many madmen in the world.

That had been true in my previous life, and it was true here as well.

Still, under fairly thorough laws and public order, most modern people, aware of the fear of punishment, had grown accustomed to hiding their true natures.

Here, it was often the opposite.

"Let go, you sons of bitches!"

Two men held the arms of a half-naked woman.

Another was on top of her, about to pull out his obscenity.

Thud!

"Ghk!"

The man punched the struggling woman in the stomach.

"Hehe. Crazy bitch. Do you think we let you join the gang for nothing?"

One of the men holding her arms sneered at her with a grin.

It was not an uncommon occurrence.

Without internal energy, a woman's physical strength generally fell short of a man's, and naturally, her fighting ability often did as well.

Of course, a blade was dangerous regardless of who held it, but the difference was still clear.

That was why gangs often took in female wandering martial artists and used them as tools to satisfy their lust.

There were even female wandering martial artists who joined knowing they would have to endure that much.

Once they developed their abilities within the gang and reached third-rate, they could escape that fate.

Yi Pyeong was a good person, thankfully. Otherwise, Baek So-ok might have ended up no different from that woman if she had joined another gang.

"Ghk, cough!"

"That's why, bitch, if you'd spread your legs when we asked nicely, none of this would've happened!"

"Still, doesn't it seem like fighting back would make it more enjoyable, brother?"

"Hehehe. Yeah. You need a little of this now and then."

"Yes. We'll pass her around a few times, cut something off, then sell her to a brothel. Bitches like this always cause trouble eventually."

"Good idea."

Mad words passed between them.

I felt my ears would grow filthy if I listened any longer, so I pulled on my mask, drew my saber, and approached carefully.

The most important thing at times like this was sound.

Fortunately, they were busy talking among themselves and seemed completely unaware of my approach.

When I felt I was close enough.

Thwack!

I kicked off the ground and stabbed the neck of the man who seemed to be their leader.

"What?!"

As the men holding the woman's arms recoiled in surprise, I pulled my saber from his neck and kicked the man who tried to rise.

Thud!

"Ghk!"

Using the recoil, I spun and slashed downward.

Slice!

The man whose head had been half severed stared at me blankly before collapsing.

Leaving him behind, I pretended to rush at the man I had kicked.

"Don't come closer!"

Still on the ground, he dragged himself backward and swung a dagger.

When I pretended to lunge again, he panicked and swung the dagger wildly.

Did he have anything else?

If he did, wouldn't he have used it already?

Just as I was about to approach him, the woman they had been trying to rape pounced on him.

"You bastard!"

Stab!

She drove a dagger, one she must have picked up at some point, into the man's neck.

Stab! Stab! Stab!

"Die! Die!"

She stabbed the neck of the man beneath her again and again.

Blood ran down her nearly bare body.

Then, at some point, she stopped and turned toward me.

She glared at me with murder in her eyes.

At that crazed gaze, I aimed my straight saber at her.

Then I flicked it to the side, telling her to move aside.

If she failed to understand and charged at me, she would end up no different from the men before me.

Victim or not, I could not safely let someone go if they were holding a blade and trying to attack me.

Fortunately, the killing intent quickly vanished from her eyes.

At the same time, she rose and moved aside.

When I flicked my straight saber again, she stepped even farther back.

She was quick on the uptake. If she could survive, she might become a decent wandering martial artist.

Whether she could survive as one was the biggest question, though.

Keeping my eyes on her, I quickly searched the dead men's clothes.

I took every pouch that looked like it might contain money, along with the wound medicine and internal injury medicine.

I did not take their weapons.

We had to leave before dawn, and I had no way to dispose of them.

Of course, I could sell them after reaching another village, but more than anything, I did not want Yi So-gang and Baek So-ok to find out what I had done.

After gathering the pouches and stepping back, the woman gave me a fist-and-palm salute.

"Thank you, Great Hero."

Great Hero...

Without a word, I left.

I went to a deserted well and washed myself.

The men had possessed eleven silver taels.

It was less than I had expected, but they had quite a few coins as well, along with four containers of wound medicine and internal injury medicine, so it was still a decent haul.

The medicines would fetch at least five nyang in silver if I resold them. It was no different from earning twenty nyang.

I did not intend to sell them immediately, of course. I would keep them and sell them later if my travel funds ran short.

"Thank you, Great Hero."

The woman's final words remained in my mind.

In truth, robbing madmen like them was, in a way, self-defense to protect myself.

So that I would not cross the line, and so that I could feel a little less disgusted with myself.

A laughable defense mechanism born from my flimsy moral conscience.

With a bitter smile, I wrung out my clothes and quickly returned to my room.

Since we were leaving early, I needed to rest as much as I could.

The journey went rather smoothly.

The greatest reason was that we had not encountered any yokai yet.

Of course, the route Yi So-gang knew passed through counties that were not particularly small, so the truly dangerous stretches were limited.

Then one day.

It was afternoon, with two days remaining until Sangdeok.

As we walked, I suddenly felt something chilling and turned to the side.

Slash!

Instinctively, I threw myself backward and rolled.

Three sharp beaks passed over my head, and Yi So-gang's shout immediately revealed what they were.

"Changbu!"

I sprang up, drew my straight saber, and aimed it ahead.

At the same time, my eyes quickly scanned both sides.

They were grotesque chickens with three heads, six legs, and three wings.

Yo beasts. Four in total.

It was a number too great for our current strength to handle.

Normally, as a second-rate martial artist, I could handle about one at a time. Yi So-gang, who was third-rate, and Baek So-ok, who was Unranked, would struggle to handle even one.

But we had encountered them in this deserted place. In the end, there was nothing we could do.

If I did not want to die, I had to kill them.

A giant chicken whose heads reached my chest shook its three heads about as it rapidly approached.

The three heads moved chaotically without colliding with one another.

Flap!

Its wings beat, and its beaks attacked me from three directions.

I had to deflect them.

Following the footwork of the Flowing Current Heaven-Severing Saber, I shifted into its blind spot.

At the same time, I caught the outermost head, which was attacking by snapping its neck forward, with my straight saber.

Scrape!

The sound of its beak grinding against my saber rang out.

I guided that head downward, slightly changed the direction of my saber, and cut through its torso.

Cluck!

Cries came from the three beaks, and its entrails spilled from its split body.

Before I could savor the properly landed Flowing Water Line, I threw myself backward and widened the distance again.

Nine beaks swept through the spot where I had stood only moments ago.

It would have been nice if there had been rocks nearby, but there were no obstacles of any kind.

The Changbu in front of me shook their heads wildly in three directions, and I felt my own mind growing dizzy.

But I could not run.

Changbu were extremely fast. Even if I fled, they would catch me in no time.

Showing them my back might be even more dangerous.

I circulated my internal energy according to the qi circulation method.

My slightly dizzy mind cleared, allowing me to look directly at my opponents.

My will flared again, and I gripped the hilt of my straight saber.

Cluck. Cluck!

The yokai charged at once from three directions.

My concentration heightened, and I could read exactly which direction and at what speed their heads were coming to kill me.

It was a strange feeling.

Was this martial arts?

Naturally, I brought out the second form of the Flowing Current Heaven-Severing Saber at this phenomenon I was experiencing for the first time.

Their beaks entered the range of my straight saber.

Slash! Scrape!

I swung my straight saber as fast as I could.

The Changbu's countless attacks were deflected, forming a strange vortex.

Second Form of the Flowing Current Heaven-Severing Saber. Whirling Vortex Needle.

The heads of the Yo beasts caught in that vortex began injuring one another.

Then, in the center of the vortex.

I slipped my straight saber into the opening and pulled it back out.

One head was pierced, and the creature died on the spot.

Naturally, they were not dolls, so they did not simply let me do as I pleased.

The wounds on my body steadily increased.

Matching the Changbu's frantic movements, I moved my legs and arms just as frantically.

At the same time, my eyes took in every one of their movements.

My eyes burned, and my brain burned.

The muscles in my legs and arms cried out in pain.

But I could not stop.

If I stopped, I would die.

My internal energy was already close to empty.

Whenever an opening appeared, I stabbed.

Twice, three times, four times.

Then, at last, the ninth time.

Thud.

The last Changbu fell to the ground as its flapping wings went still.

When I turned my head, Yi So-gang and Baek So-ok were staring at me with blank expressions.

"Have you reached first-rate already?"

In an old inn with barely any people, Yi So-gang asked me as we ate in the farthest corner.

"Not yet."

It was only natural for Yi So-gang to ask.

The common belief was that a second-rate martial artist could only face one Yo beast head-on.

Honestly, I was surprised too.

Because of the Qi Accumulation Method being basic, I had assumed the qi circulation method and saber technique themselves were basic, but apparently that was not the case.

Seoryeong, who had given me the Flowing Current Heaven-Severing Saber, came to mind.

"Huh... Where did you learn your martial arts?"

My brow twitched slightly at those words.

One of the taboos among wandering martial artists was asking about another person's martial arts.

Anyone and everyone could become a wandering martial artist. Unless someone spoke of it first, digging into the past of just any random person was taboo.

The origins of their martial arts were no exception.

When I told Yi Pyeong I had become second-rate and was leaving the gang, he had not asked me anything.

There was no way Yi So-gang did not know that, yet Yi So-gang asked as though knowing nothing.

I looked at Yi So-gang without answering.

Why had he asked?

I already knew the answer.

But it was still irritating.

The sticky knot left by last night's killing and the battle against the Yo beasts urged me not to hold back.

"...I misspoke."

Perhaps Yi So-gang sensed it.

Yi So-gang apologized first.

Even so, Yi So-gang's expression remained stiff.

"Yes."

I answered simply and picked up more thin noodles with my chopsticks.

I could feel Baek So-ok anxiously watching our reactions.

Yi So-gang was a decent companion.

Yes. A companion, not a benefactor.

We had saved each other's lives before, and we got along well, but he was not a benefactor.

I was grateful that Yi So-gang had taught me writing for a modest sum of money, but that did not mean I had to endure things that were not acceptable.

I understood Yi So-gang's desire.

Yi So-gang wanted to learn martial arts.

If Yi So-gang had asked me politely, I honestly would have considered it.

I had not only the martial arts Seoryeong had passed down to me, but also the Turbulent Wind Saber Method.

"I'll get going first."

"All right."

Unable to bear the awkward atmosphere, I quickly finished my meal and rose from my seat.

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