WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: Satori

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◈ Wanderer of the Martial World ◈

Chapter 25

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I moved swiftly toward the railing.

Then I stopped at once.

Whoosh!

A sword swept through where my head would have been had I kept moving.

Tap.

A Demonic Cult martial artist in black martial attire landed atop the railing and pointed his sword at us.

I judged his realm from the sharpness of his swordsmanship and his light movements.

First Rate?

And a proper First Rate martial artist at that.

My heart seemed to sink a little.

There were Peak Realm martial artists on the decks ahead and behind me, and a first-rate martial artist before me.

It felt as though escape would be difficult no matter where I went, and despair settled over me.

Killing intent rose from the Demonic Cult martial artist's body, his determination to cut us down unmistakable.

Still, I had to go.

Thud!

The martial artist kicked off the railing and rapidly closed in.

His weapon was an ordinary sword.

That was why I focused on the wrist, arm, and shoulder connected to that ordinary sword.

Clang!

I raised my straight saber diagonally to receive his blade, but I still could not redirect it properly.

His strength was greater than I had expected.

Stronger even than the first-rate martial artist from Namgung who had taken Seoryeong.

Thump!

I was shoved back, crashing into the wooden wall.

He immediately thrust his sword at me.

Clang!

This time, I redirected it properly, and a clear ring echoed out.

His sword buried itself in the wooden wall beside my neck.

I desperately blocked the sword rushing for my neck, but I could feel myself losing in strength.

"Hyah!"

Baek So-ok swung her sword at him from the side.

Thud!

"Ghk!"

Then he kicked her away.

I wondered why she had not fled, why she had not jumped into the Yangtze River first, but thanks to her, an opening appeared.

I spun halfway around and slipped aside, swinging my straight saber at his abdomen.

Whoosh!

But he must have expected it. He took a step back and avoided it.

When I moved toward the railing, he quickly approached again.

"Hyah!"

Baek So-ok, who had somehow recovered and risen, charged at him, only to be kicked in the abdomen and sent flying again.

In that instant, while his attention was divided by Baek So-ok, I used the footwork of the first form of the Flowing Current Heaven-Severing Saber Method, Flowing Water Line, to close in and swung my straight saber hard.

Clang!

I knew he would block it.

Even while attacking Baek So-ok, he had kept his eyes fixed on me.

In fact, I wanted him to block.

So that his attention would be focused upward.

I quickly kicked at his knee with my lead foot.

"Ugh!"

The small blade attached to the tip of my short boot pierced his knee.

"Argh!"

I immediately stepped back at his scream, but he was faster.

I turned toward the railing, trying to create an opening, but he reacted at once and followed me.

Clang!

With my back against the railing, I crossed swords with him.

His mouth split wide at both corners.

Sharp teeth, like those of a beast, showed inside.

Before I even had time to be startled, I twisted my shoulder as far as I could to avoid his head hurtling toward my neck at tremendous speed.

Fortunately, he did not bite me, but the clothing over my shoulder grazed by his sharp teeth tore.

Rip.

My bundle broke, and its contents spilled into the Yangtze River.

But I had no time to worry about that.

My life was in danger.

I raised my foot again and struck his knee.

"Gah!"

The instant his body, now injured in both knees, staggered slightly.

"Hah!"

Baek So-ok shouted again and attacked him.

The man, who had been crossing swords with me, took a step back and swung his sword at Baek So-ok.

Clang!

"Aah!"

The sound of metal crashing rang out, and Baek So-ok, forced back, fell into the Yangtze River.

Looking at his hand, I saw that he had already drawn throwing knives.

Instinctively, I approached him to prevent him from throwing them.

I used my footwork.

This time, I stepped more forcefully than usual.

The man, about to throw his knives, noticed the momentum and swiftly swung his sword.

Clang!

My straight saber met his sword.

Because I had loosened my wrist as much as possible, my saber naturally rode along and slid off his blade.

His eyes showed a flicker of confusion.

Internal energy circulated according to the qi circulation method, and one form of the Flowing Current Heaven-Severing Saber Method revealed itself.

Third form. Reversing Wave Slash.

My internal energy-filled wrist moved the straight saber that had been sliding along his sword and violently knocked his blade aside.

Bang!

A tremendous noise rang out, one difficult to believe had come from swords.

The sudden burst of force slightly disrupted the first-rate martial artist's balance.

At the moment I knocked his sword aside, I lifted myself slightly and used that force to hurl my own body into the Yangtze River.

"You bastard!"

Sparks flew in the Demonic Cult martial artist's eyes as I flew through the air.

Whish!

Several throwing knives flew toward me.

Judging by his movements, it seemed to be a proper throwing-knife art.

Clang! Clang!

Relying on instinct, I knocked aside the knives cutting through the air.

Slice!

Even so, I twisted my body as much as possible to avoid the throwing knives I could not block.

My clothes became rags in an instant.

Clang! Splash!

After blocking the last throwing knife, I fell into the Yangtze River.

I quickly dived beneath the water.

I sheathed my straight saber, did not resist the current, and held my breath as long as I could.

The naturally murky waters of the Yangtze River, made darker by the night, concealed my trail.

Then I felt a hand seize my elbow.

As I spun around in alarm, ready to attack, a woman's body gently embraced me.

Even without being able to see, I knew it was Baek So-ok.

I did not know how she had found me.

But I gently embraced her as well and surrendered myself to the water.

"Puh... gasp!"

When it became impossible to hold my breath any longer, I raised only my face above the surface and inhaled.

Then I dived again.

After repeating that several times, I thought we had gone quite far and slightly raised my head.

The merchant ship was visible far in the distance.

The light cast by its torches appeared like the only beacon in this dark world.

"Aah!"

Screams echoed toward us.

They were mixed together.

Men's screams, women's screams, even the crying of children.

Those Demonic Cult bastards were killing the passengers.

The thought that we would have been killed too if our escape had been delayed made my hair stand on end.

I did not feel guilty for leaving the civilians behind.

Saving them was beyond my ability, and I was not the one who had put them in that situation.

"Let's go."

"Yes."

Holding hands with Baek So-ok as she stared blankly at the merchant ship, I dived underwater again.

The currents of the Yangtze River were ever-changing and dangerous.

Under normal circumstances, we should have gotten out quickly, but we deliberately traveled farther before leaving the river in case of pursuit.

Moving near the shore had been the bare minimum precaution.

Pitter-patter.

Rain began to fall.

That was fortunate.

If the river rose, it would erase our tracks.

As we moved deeper into the forest along the river, I checked our belongings.

Nothing remained.

The martial arts manuals, spiritual medicine, Yodans, even the silver taels.

I had expected the martial arts manuals and spiritual medicine in the bundle to be lost.

They had been torn away by his sharp teeth.

But I had not expected to lose even the Yodans and silver taels tucked inside my clothes.

Where they should have been, there were sharp cut marks.

His throwing knives must have grazed me and cut my clothes, and my possessions must have scattered when I fell into the water.

To be honest, I did not care much about losing the martial arts manuals.

I had memorized every martial art I possessed.

Not only the Flowing Current Heaven-Severing Saber and Flowing Current Heaven-Severing Formula, but also the Turbulent Wind Saber Method and Turbulent Wind Inner-Energy Method.

Of course, human memory was highly unreliable, so I would have to write them down sometime soon.

The silver taels were one thing, and losing the spirit pill was also fine.

To someone who could consume Yodans directly, spirit pills were little different from lumps of silver taels.

I had never eaten one myself, but spirit pills ultimately existed to increase internal energy.

The problem was the Yodans.

Absorbing Yodans was the greatest part of my cultivation.

It was disappointing that I could no longer do that.

Including the one I had obtained by killing Changbu last time, there had been six in total.

"Phew..."

With a quiet sigh, I cast aside my regrets.

It was better to let go quickly of something that could no longer be undone.

At least I had survived.

Whether Yodans, spirit pills, or martial arts manuals.

No matter how precious they were, they could not be more valuable than my life.

Of course, if I had been luckier, I could have saved my life and brought them with me, but it was already over.

I should simply be glad to be alive.

Making that resolution to myself, I walked through the forest.

Finding shelter was the most important thing now.

After falling into the river and coming out, the rain was draining my stamina considerably.

And since it was night, I also had to watch out for yokai attacks.

"Huff, huff."

Ragged breathing came from behind me.

Although Baek So-ok possessed internal energy, that alone did not grant limitless stamina.

It merely enhanced the physical ability one already possessed with the power of internal energy.

That was why I consistently combined strength training and endurance training in my daily routine.

Baek So-ok's basic stamina, as a woman, was inevitably lower than a man's.

And if she had gained internal energy only recently, she probably did not have much of it yet.

Then it made sense that she was struggling like that.

What truly mattered here was body temperature.

It was fully spring.

Since it was not summer, the nights were cold.

Even more so in a forest beside a river.

We were fine for now because walking quickly had warmed us, but the moment we rested, our body temperatures would plummet.

"Go inside."

Fortunately, after about thirty minutes, I found a small cave.

There was no animal's distinctive stench, so it appeared to be unoccupied.

The cave was small.

It was only large enough for two people to barely lie down.

The world was without light.

Even the moon and stars were hidden behind dark clouds, unable to illuminate it.

Unlike outside, where I could at least faintly see ahead, I could see almost nothing inside the cave.

Shiver, shiver.

In that darkness, I felt Baek So-ok trembling.

"Are you alright?"

"I-I'm... fine."

She said it in a voice that clearly said she was not fine at all.

"Take off your clothes."

"...Pardon?"

"If you keep wearing wet clothes, your body temperature will drop that much faster."

"..."

It was practically common sense, something one could learn from experience without analyzing it scientifically.

Baek So-ok would understand that as well.

I quickly took off my clothes.

My upper garment was nearly in tatters, while my lower garment was still mostly intact but thoroughly soaked.

I hung the clothes I had removed near the cave entrance.

That would block the entrance and keep more cold air from entering.

It would also provide a degree of protection against a possible attack.

I heard rustling from Baek So-ok's direction, so she seemed to be taking off her clothes as well.

Shiver, shiver.

Bare skin exposed to the air felt the cold more keenly.

Still, it was naturally better than wearing wet clothes.

I stretched out my arm and grabbed hold of the spot where Baek So-ok seemed to be.

"Ah!"

Baek So-ok screamed, apparently startled.

"Be quiet."

"W-why are you doing this?"

Anyone would find this a strange situation.

"We need to share body heat. Unless you want to die."

"...What?"

Baek So-ok's confused reply came back.

I said nothing more and gently embraced her.

Our bare skin touched.

Baek So-ok's body was cold.

She would be able to feel warmth from me.

Baek So-ok, who had been tense all over, gradually relaxed and let more and more of her body touch mine.

I lifted her body as it increasingly pressed against me and placed her on my thigh.

Then I leaned my back against the wall.

Cold seeped in through my back, but I could endure it.

"Ah."

To keep her body from freezing, I stroked her back.

Baek So-ok flinched as though she felt that touch.

Hot breath flowed from her lips.

An extreme environment, an extreme situation.

Within it, the desire to survive changed into something else.

Our bodies gradually grew hotter, and warmth filled the cave.

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