WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: Satori

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◈ Wanderer of the Martial World ◈

Chapter 30

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I circulated qi through my body.

My senses sharpened, and the world seemed clearer than before.

Could I win? I did not know.

But I could not simply accept death without struggling.

I pretended to charge at him.

“Hmph!”

Yet he did not move, maintaining his stance with his sword aimed at me.

He had seen straight through my trick.

Even if age had weakened his strength, his experience could not be ignored.

Whoosh!

His sword thrust swiftly again, exploiting an opening.

Clang!

The instant I raised my straight saber to deflect his blade, I realized something.

There was no strength behind his sword.

I quickly leaned back and kicked off the ground, rolling backward.

Whoosh!

The sword passed through the spot where I had been.

“Lazy Donkey Roll! As expected of a wandering martial artist with no shame!”

Ignoring his mocking words, I rose and aimed my straight saber at him again.

Cold sweat ran down my forehead.

If I had relaxed even slightly, my body would have been cut.

I was already facing someone of a higher realm than myself.

Even a small wound could be a major factor in deciding victory or defeat. If that attack had struck me, the situation would have turned against me.

And then, I might have lost.

Here, defeat meant death.

“Aaargh!”

A scream rang out from where the young clan head had been fighting the yokai.

The old man turned around with delight written all over his face.

The moment he did, I pretended to rush at him. His sword shot sharply toward me.

Whoosh!

It had only been a feint, so the sword did not touch me, but it proved that despite looking away, he remained focused on me.

“As expected, a wandering martial artist with no manners.”

The old man stared directly at me with a leering expression.

His aged face was paired with gleaming eyes full of desire.

“Aaah!”

The young clan head screamed again, and the old man turned his head once more.

From where I stood, I could see it all clearly.

The young clan head’s chest had been pierced by a yokai’s hoof.

Crunch!

Then another yokai charged in from behind, and its hoof burst his head apart.

I grew more anxious.

If those two yokai came this way, I would never win.

“Urgh!”

Then a short cry escaped the old man’s mouth.

Ju Daegang had somehow approached him and, still lying prone, plunged a dagger into his calf.

An opportunity.

I rushed at him again.

“You vermin!”

His sword swung wildly in every direction.

He must have been flustered as well.

Thud! Thud! Thud!

The yokai that resembled a phoenix chick charged swiftly toward us.

Driven by my instinct to survive, my mind moved faster than ever as I brought out a single move.

I did not know whether it would work.

But instinct told me that if I did not do this, only death awaited me.

Third technique of the Flowing Current Heaven-Severing Saber Method, Reversing Wave Slash.

Screeech!

My straight saber met his sword with a grating sound.

The cracked portion.

I deflected his sword as much as possible, guiding it down to that very spot.

And at that moment.

Clang!

My wrist moved through the qi circulation method, forcefully snapping my straight saber away. The poorly repaired crack could not withstand the force and broke, sending the upper portion of the saber flying forward.

Thrust!

The old man looked at me with incomprehension in his eyes.

Then the light slowly faded from them.

Thud.

The upper half of my broken straight saber was embedded in his neck.

But there was no time to lower my guard.

I had to deal with those yokai.

I pointed the broken straight saber at them.

The yokai stopped moving.

They lowered their heads, then raised them to the sky and let out dreadful cries.

Screeeech!

Then they charged at each other.

Thud! Thwack!

Their hooves struck each other’s bodies.

As though they found each other’s very existence repulsive.

Yokai blood flowed, and their bodies were crushed.

Graaagh!

Yet they did not stop.

They exerted even more strength, trying to kill each other.

Keeping my attention on the yokai, I quickly searched the old man’s body.

I took the pouches I found and tucked them into my clothes.

I did not touch the bell from earlier.

It could cause unnecessary problems.

When I glanced to the side, Baek So-ok and Ju Daegang could not take their eyes off the yokai.

Screech! Grragh!

The monsters had already lost all their arms and legs.

Now, rolling their bodies across the ground, they tore at each other with their teeth.

Watching that brutal sight, I thought to myself.

What exactly were they?

Considering they had been controlled by a human, they were not ordinary yokai.

And when the old man who had rung the bell died, they immediately tried to kill each other.

I was curious, but there was no reason for me to step forward and uncover their identities.

Those higher up would figure it out themselves.

Screeech!

Leaving behind one final death cry, the yokai finally died.

Their limbs had been torn apart, and they had ripped at each other’s flesh until their entire bodies were in tatters.

Only silence lingered within the manor.

It was nearly an hour later before people began to regain control of their bodies.

The martial artists who were disciples of Yang Family Manor and the second-grade wandering martial artists were the first to rise. Those without internal energy still lay on the ground, groaning.

“Thank you.”

Im Chun-su and several martial artists, who had been staring blankly at the young clan head’s corpse, came to me. They performed fist-and-palm salutes and bowed their heads.

Among them was the arrogant martial artist who had inspected the wandering martial artists at Yang Family Manor.

I returned the fist-and-palm salute and showed them the same courtesy.

Most of the second-rate martial artists had been affected by the Dream-Soul Drug, but they had not lost consciousness, so they knew everything that had happened.

It worked out well for me, since I did not need to explain anything with them as witnesses.

If they had not seen it, I might have been suspected for no reason.

I noticed several martial artists looking toward my waist.

The Dark Sheep Sect Leader’s sword.

I had taken it in place of my broken straight saber.

It was not a masterpiece, but it had been properly made with good iron, making it far better than the weapons wandering martial artists usually carried.

When I glanced at each of the martial artists with a hint of greed in their eyes, they all looked away.

No matter what, they could not take this sword from me here.

The more they cared about appearances, the less they could do so.

Of course, I had no intention of sitting still and letting them take it.

After the greetings ended, the martial artists of the martial sect quickly began clearing the manor.

They brought a thin blanket to wrap the young clan head’s body before placing it in a carriage. They searched the Dark Sheep Sect Leader’s corpse, found the bell and a letter, and stored them separately.

They continued searching the manor thoroughly, bringing out every sort of item and loading them into the carriages.

Leaving them behind, I looked down at the dark village with Baek So-ok.

The small village was so quiet, it seemed dead.

The villagers here would no longer receive anyone’s protection.

With even the young clan head dead, Yang Family Manor would be thrown into chaos over the succession to its headship.

They would either meet the end of their lives after a futile struggle against yokai, or abandon their land and move into the city.

“Are you all right?”

Ju Daegang had approached without my noticing.

“I’m fine.”

“You’re quite strong. Even if he was old, you killed a first-rate martial artist.”

“I was lucky.”

“Still, that is skill too.”

I did not mention his help.

If he had not helped, we would all have died anyway.

“The former Yang Family Head’s granddaughter will carry on the line, then.”

At his words, So-ok asked Ju Daegang with interest.

“There’s a granddaughter?”

“Yes. She’s currently with the Martial Alliance. What unit was it? I heard she joined one and earned some recognition, but I don’t know the details.”

It had nothing to do with me.

Still, it was useful information, so I listened closely.

“Brother.”

Im Chun-su approached then.

“Yes. Are you all right?”

“Yes, I’m fine. I came to tell you that I’ll assign you rooms, so please rest first.”

“Really? That works for us.”

We were already “us”?

His presumptuousness left me a little dumbfounded.

It was true that his help during the battle with the old man had made dealing with him far easier, but that did not mean I had let down my guard around him.

Still, I did not show it.

He was second-rate, after all, and he had close ties with the martial artists of Yang Family Manor. I did not want to openly create discord.

We were assigned two rooms.

One was for Baek So-ok and me, while Ju Daegang was given the room right next to ours.

The other wandering martial artists had not been assigned rooms and would sleep outside near the walls, so this was special treatment of a sort.

Fortunately, despite Yang Family Manor’s young clan head dying, the martial artists did not insist on leaving immediately.

The night was dangerous enough already. If they moved while their bodies had not fully recovered and ran into trouble, this entire group might be wiped out. It was a sensible decision.

Perhaps they had more sense than their reputation suggested.

Well, their own lives mattered. There was no reason to take risks merely to report the death of someone who was already dead.

“Gaga.”

The moment we entered the room, So-ok threw herself into my arms.

I patted her back and comforted her.

“Thank you.”

What was she thanking me for?

For telling her not to eat the food earlier? Or for killing an opponent in that fierce battle?

Then again, did the reason matter?

It was enough that someone recognized what I had done.

“Go to sleep first! I’ll keep watch.”

“I’m fine. You should lie down first.”

“No! I... wasn’t much help. So you should rest first. That will make me feel better.”

So-ok’s expression turned a little troubled.

“...If you train and gain experience, you will become strong enough.”

I did not offer hollow comfort.

In a world where a moment’s carelessness could send one’s head flying, careless reassurance could instead become poison by making someone lower their guard.

“Okay. Hurry and lie down.”

She pushed me onto the bed.

“Ah!”

Then I reached out and pulled So-ok in.

“I want to sleep like this.”

“...Okay.”

The tips of her ears turned slightly red as she buried her face in my chest.

As the night deepened, I waited until So-ok had fallen asleep, then secretly left the room.

“Where are you going?”

A martial artist stood in the courtyard as though keeping watch.

It was that arrogant martial artist from yesterday.

“The latrine.”

“...Go ahead.”

His arrogance from yesterday had vanished.

It was an uncommon sight.

Were people not usually stingy about acknowledging others?

Especially someone who had gotten under their skin.

I had thought him nothing but arrogant from his earlier behavior, but he had this side to him as well.

I passed him, went to the latrine, checked the surroundings, and went around behind it.

The moonlight was not very bright.

Still, perhaps thanks to my internal energy, it was not completely impossible to see.

I took three pouches from my clothes.

The three pouches the Dark Sheep Sect Leader had carried.

When I opened one, I saw silver taels worth around twenty nyang.

I was short on money as it was, so this was quite a good haul.

I tied it back up and put it away, then opened another pouch.

Wound medicine and internal-injury medicine.

Those were exactly what I needed, so it was fortunate to find them here.

Then the final pouch.

Without hesitation, I opened it and saw a familiar shape.

A black sphere the size of a bean.

‘A Yodan?’

I nearly cried out without realizing it.

It was that unexpected a find.

I did not know why he had been carrying a Yodan, much less why he had kept it on his person.

Considering he had controlled the yokai, I could only guess that it had some use.

I did not know the circumstances, but I had obtained what I needed most. Excitement surged within me, and a shiver ran through my entire body.

Thank goodness.

I would be able to train properly again.

It was not as though I could not practice Qi Accumulation without a Yodan, but the efficiency was different.

Suppressing the laughter threatening to escape, I tied the pouch securely and tucked it deep inside my clothes.

I felt good.

Morning came, and the villagers watched us leave with blank eyes.

They must have heard the commotion at the manor yesterday.

But they would not know what had happened.

Would they be happy to be free from exploitation? Or would they worry about the threat that would come someday?

I did not know, but it was none of my concern.

And so, we left the village.

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