WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: Satori

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◈ Wanderer of the Martial World ◈

Chapter 41

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Clatter. Clatter.

The old carriage traveled along the main road.

I sat beside the driver.

Driving a carriage was a skill in itself, so hiring a driver had been unavoidable.

Pretending to admire the scenery, I tried to memorize the movements of the driver's hands as well as I could.

I thought I should at least learn how to handle a carriage in case of an emergency.

Three women rode inside the small carriage.

Cho Dan-a, barely clinging to life after taking the general-purpose antidote we found in the Yang Family Head's office.

Na Hye-rin, who still could not move properly, and So-ok, who was caring for them.

The reason I had not abandoned them and gone on my way was not simply because of So-ok.

Haomun, one of the largest information organizations in this world.

Those bastards were more cunning, sinister, and downright despicable than the beggars of the Beggars' Sect. There was a good chance they had already discovered my identity.

I had left too many traces behind.

For one thing, I had killed that constable at the house where I had lived.

Considering Haomun's influence, hoping optimistically that they would prove incompetent was no different from suicide.

That was why I was heading for the Martial Alliance with them.

Once I delivered that crazy bitch who acted so clever, Na Hye-rin, to the Martial Alliance, Haomun would no longer pursue me.

I did not know if the clues she held would count as sufficient evidence, but seeing how desperately they wanted her dead, they seemed credible enough.

And attacking Splendid Phoenix, the cherished daughter of the Mount Hua Sect Leader, and killing most of her group were crimes that could not be taken lightly.

Haomun was a force large enough to rival a great martial sect, but public opinion held that it was still not powerful enough to confront the Martial Alliance or the Nine Sects directly.

So once Na Hye-rin reached the Martial Alliance, those Haomun bastards would not have the leisure to worry about me as well.

I hoped they would erase my existence from their memories.

Clatter. Clatter.

The sky was blue, and the air was steadily growing hotter.

For now, the awning over the driver's seat and the occasional breeze made the heat bearable.

The carriage left the main road and headed down a side path.

"Why are we taking this route instead of the main road?"

"Ah, this way is faster, Great Hero. Escort agencies use this road. Hehe."

The driver had an honest-looking face.

In a world with yokai, few people would drive a carriage separately like this, even with martial artists accompanying them.

Most followed the processions on escort journeys because of the danger posed by yokai.

Even so, the driver had willingly taken us on.

The extra payment had helped, but it was still not an easy choice.

I watched the driver's profile as they drove with a smile.

They looked honest and good-natured.

"Wouldn't it be better to take the main road? Yokai could appear."

"What? Oh, don't worry. Escort agencies use this route all the time, so there are no yokai here."

"Take the main road."

"..."

There was no answer.

The driver continued to smile as they stared straight ahead.

The right hand held the reins, while the left hand was strangely concealed from view.

I circulated my internal energy and watched the driver's left shoulder.

My senses, which had risen to another level, detected an unnatural movement in that shoulder.

Whoosh! Grab!

I seized the right shoulder as it tried to turn suddenly, preventing the driver from moving.

Twing!

An arrow-shaped hidden weapon flew through the air after missing its target.

Thud!

I struck the driver's neck with my fist.

Ghk!

Perhaps the impact had been too strong. The driver let out a final gasp and died.

The power of a first-rate martial artist was difficult for an ordinary person to endure.

With a slight regret that I had failed to control my strength, I searched the driver's clothes.

But all I found was the carriage fare Na Hye-rin had paid.

Thud.

I shoved the driver's corpse onto the ground.

Damn it. I was tangled up in this mess for real.

But I could not abandon Na Hye-rin and Cho Dan-a either. Even if I did, I did not think those Haomun bastards would give up on me.

Now that I had traveled with them, Haomun would think I knew the secret.

"Brother! What happened?"

So-ok must have seen through the open carriage window, because she stuck her head out and asked me.

"It seems that person was trying to lure us into a trap."

"What?"

"I'll turn the carriage around."

Neigh!

I took the reins and awkwardly turned the carriage around.

The horse cried out at my rough handling, but it still obediently followed my commands.

Then we returned to the main road and drove quickly.

Before sunset, we found a small cave and settled in.

We blocked the entrance with the carriage, then unhitched the horse and tied it up some distance away.

That way, any yokai that came seeking the horse would not come this way.

We did not enter a village.

There was a small village nearby, but this was Haomun we were dealing with.

Even such a small village could be dangerous.

Na Hye-rin had said they would give up the pursuit, but there was a good chance she was wrong.

If I were them, I would never let us enter the Martial Alliance.

And the easiest way to stop us would be to kill us out in the wilderness.

Yes. Heading straight there like this was foolish.

The original plan had been to quickly travel north and enter the Martial Alliance.

But the message hawks Haomun had sent would be faster than us, making it highly likely they could predict our location and prepare traps.

Message hawks were valuable creatures in their own right, so they were usually operated only by major cities or sizable martial sects.

Moreover, they could only travel between two designated locations, so I knew they were difficult to use for flexible communication.

Even so, this was Haomun.

As an information organization, they might have more message hawks than other martial sects.

The cave grew steadily darker.

Na Hye-rin practiced energy circulation to purge the lingering poison, while Cho Dan-a lay beside her.

So-ok adjusted Cho Dan-a's position.

I could roughly guess why So-ok was caring for her so devotedly.

It could not simply be because she wished to attend to people she had admired.

What she had done for Gwak Ha-jun in the mountains near Yeongheung County long ago, and the desire to rise in life she often muttered about in her sleep.

...Were they So-ok's new lifeline?

What she had said when she chose to follow me instead of Yi So-gang in Yueyang.

Was it true that she had done so because the money from selling Changbu's remains had not been distributed to her?

Or had she simply judged me to be the more useful lifeline?

Thought after thought filled my mind, leaving it complicated.

A sad feeling arose within me, mixed with a strange sense of relief.

I still did not know So-ok's true feelings.

Nor did I want to make assumptions and accuse her of anything.

They were simply our own choices.

Respecting that was the right thing to do.

Na Hye-rin let out a deep breath and finished her energy circulation.

Human concentration had its limits. If she pushed herself too hard, it could cause problems instead, so it was right to limit her energy circulation to reasonable intervals.

"Are you finished?"

"Yes."

Somehow, Na Hye-rin was already speaking casually to So-ok.

Then our eyes met.

"Hmph!"

She turned her head away with a prim little snort.

Na Hye-rin currently believed I was lying.

She thought I was hiding my true identity and stubbornly insisting I was only a wandering martial artist.

That was why she acted like that.

"Oh, right! What will happen to the Yang Family Manor?"

Trying to ease the awkward atmosphere, So-ok brought up the Yang Family Manor.

After killing the Yang Family Head and three martial artists, we had simply left the manor.

That was right.

Simply.

No one stopped us or asked us anything.

Of course, once they saw the Manor Master's corpse, they might regret letting us go without a fight. Still, they would likely do nothing.

"I heard she has no direct heirs, so her relatives will probably try to divide up the estate."

"Ah!"

So-ok let out an impressed sound at Na Hye-rin's explanation.

"They won't pursue us. As far as I know, that woman spent a long time in the Martial Alliance, so the Yang Family Manor disciples are unlikely to be very loyal to her."

"That's a relief."

Vengeance undertaken not out of loyalty or affection, but merely as a formality, required a clear reward.

If avenging the Yang Family Head were an important condition for inheriting the manor, at least a few people would have pursued us.

But that was unlikely, so there was no need to worry about vengeance.

The relatives would probably be too busy dividing the estate among themselves to care about something as trivial as revenge.

The woman before me would deal with our other problem.

I spoke to Na Hye-rin as she watched So-ok.

"I think we need to change our route."

"Why?"

"We cannot go all the way to the Martial Alliance like this. Above all, it would be easy for Haomun to track our movements."

"...We only need to travel through unpopulated places."

"We lack food. And you know Haomun's intelligence network better than I do. If we stop at a village, do you think they will not find out?"

The only food we had was what So-ok and I had packed while gathering our belongings.

Even if we rationed it, it would only last around three days.

"...So what do you suggest?"

"Is there a martial sect nearby where we can seek temporary shelter? Preferably one with message hawks."

"Why message hawks?"

Her reaction turned slightly sharp.

"Our current situation, along with the information you hold. If we write it all down and send it to the Martial Alliance, their pursuit will soon end."

Conflict filled Na Hye-rin's face.

She had said she had no desire for fame, but if that were truly the case, this situation would never have happened.

Would there really have been no martial sects on her way to Huangzhou?

And among all those martial sects, could every one of them have been uncooperative with the Martial Alliance?

Of course not.

Even so, she had not sought help from another sect.

She had sought help only from me, a mere wandering martial artist, and the Yang Family Manor, a small sect.

People and a sect whose help would allow any credit for it to remain wholly hers.

Na Hye-rin turned her head and looked at Cho Dan-a, whose face was slick with cold sweat.

Cho Dan-a had taken a general-purpose antidote.

It could detoxify most poisons, but judging by her current condition, it did not seem to be working properly.

I did not know whether the antidote was of a lower grade than the poison she had taken, or whether the poison lay beyond its range. But at this rate, Cho Dan-a would not last long.

"All right."

So she was still human after all.

Cho Dan-a was also a direct disciple of Mount Hua.

In other words, Na Hye-rin and Cho Dan-a were fellow disciples.

If she had decided to disregard Cho Dan-a and stick with the original plan, I would have reconsidered.

What to do with her.

If she had not been human, I might have been in danger the moment we entered the Martial Alliance.

"There is a place called Na-jeon County. There is a sect there called the Song-eum Sect. It has a long history. Its relationship with the Martial Alliance is good. It is also a fairly large sect, one capable of overseeing an entire county... so it has message hawks as well."

Na Hye-rin spoke while looking at Cho Dan-a with pitying eyes.

"How long will it take to reach Na-jeon County from here?"

"...About two days by carriage."

"Then let's go there."

And so, our destination was decided.

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