WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: Chen
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◈ The Martial Genius who Remembers Everything ◈
Chapter 483: The Conditions of Hatred
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The position of Martial Alliance Branch Leader represents the Martial Alliance.
A Branch Leader cannot act independently of the Martial Alliance’s views, but it can be said that the Branch Leader represents the Martial Alliance.
As a result, in regions where local sects were weak, Branch Leaders often acted like lords of the land.
There were only a handful of regional powers capable of influencing the Martial Alliance, and even fewer people with enough influence to stand against a Branch Leader.
The Martial Alliance was every martial artist’s dream. Since many local sects groveled before Branch Leaders just to maintain the slightest connection to it, their egos naturally swelled. In the end, they often began to imagine themselves as chief clerks or even county magistrates.
Just like this one.
“You rootless swindler! How dare you steal the land deed! Hand it over at once, or I’ll report you to the Enforcement Hall!”
The Branch Leader’s neck bulged with veins as though someone had stolen his own property.
His face was so red that it looked like qi deviation would strike before long. Would he be all right?
“Go ahead.”
“……???”
The Branch Leader blinked repeatedly, as if he had just witnessed a response he could not have imagined. He even pinched his own cheek.
“I said, report me.”
“…….”
Perhaps he had some internal energy after all, because he soon regained his composure and lowered his voice.
He was employing the old fool’s favorite method of manipulation, threatening someone first, then coaxing them in an attempt to mend the relationship.
As though he had never lost his temper in the first place, he said, “Perhaps the Manor Lord saw your chivalry and gave you the ancestral mountain as a reward. But is it right for a promising young man like you, an elite martial artist of the Martial Alliance, to fill your own pockets through someone else’s kindness?”
He spoke with the air of an experienced elder offering advice.
“Hwapung Manor’s ancestral mountain[1] has stood alongside the manor for generations. It should be used to rebuild Hwapung Manor.”
Naturally, he did not forget to lace his words with another subtle threat.
“If you continue with such improper conduct, I can’t simply overlook it. I have many peers, seniors, and juniors within the Martial Alliance.”
He was remarkably practiced at this.
I deliberately scratched my head and tilted it to one side.
“That’s strange. What does it have to do with you whether Hwapung Manor sells me its land or not?”
Of course, after I muttered that,
“…….”
“If you were so worried about Hwapung Manor, shouldn’t you have helped them sooner?”
his true colors immediately showed.
“Uh, ugh! Ack.”
The Branch Leader looked like someone who had suddenly been dropped into an unfamiliar world, completely at a loss.
That embarrassment soon became shame.
The shame quickly turned into anger.
And anger made him lose his reason.
“If you insist on acting this way, I won’t tolerate it either!”
He made a mistake.
“Your future, your sect, and every bastard belonging to that sect will all be thrown into the gutter before long!!!”
Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap.
I took a moment to think, decided what to do, then released killing intent.
The greatest killing intent I could muster.
“Guh…….”
A person like the Branch Leader could not be utterly lacking in martial skill.
Still, considering it was a position earned more through political ability than strength, he could not be particularly formidable.
His power came from authority, not martial prowess.
“I don’t believe you possess that kind of power. But if you do something like that…”
The moment he could no longer rely on authority, that authority was useless against me.
“You’d better be prepared to find out what hell tastes like.”
Unable to respond to the sudden assault, he clutched his throat and gagged, desperate for air.
When I released the killing intent just before his eyes rolled back and he fainted,
“Uweh──.”
The Branch Leader vomited a bowlful of blood.
His face had turned ashen, and his body shook uncontrollably.
“Y-you…….”
I silently took a sip of tea and watched him closely.
“!”
The Branch Leader tried to speak, but fear filled his face and no words followed.
“Is anyone there?”
At Great Hall Master Hwang Seoyul’s call, several branch personnel entered and froze at the sight before them.
“Take him out.”
At Great Hall Master Hwang Seoyul’s command, the personnel carefully led the Branch Leader outside.
Great Hall Master Hwang Seoyul turned a cold gaze on me.
“Did you have to take it that far?”
“I didn’t want to see someone who had committed wrongdoing show up late and try to claim a share of the rewards.”
I rose from my seat and approached the two of them.
Then I said to Gong Somyeong, “The more I think about it, the agreement requiring me to look after all of Hwapung Manor’s people seems unfavorable to me.”
I took two documents from my robe and held them out.
“So please return my money.”
Great Hall Master Hwang Seoyul stared at me in disbelief.
“You…….”
What was with that reaction? Did he think I’d really swallow up an ancestral mountain for one silver tael?
As I thought that, Gong Somyeong stared at me for a moment before speaking.
“I thought there was no hope of getting the land back from you…….”
What was that supposed to mean?
“I’m not some Black Path thug. Do I look like someone who’d take another person’s property without paying a price?”
“…….”
The lack of an answer made me even more annoyed.
Why did people always misunderstand me?
“…In any case, I cannot return the money.”
“What?”
“If this property returns to Hwapung Manor, blood will flow there again.”
“…….”
Beside us, Great Hall Master Hwang Seoyul, who knew nothing, tilted his head.
“What are you talking about?”
“A gold vein was discovered in Hwapung Manor’s ancestral mountain. That’s why Blood Heaven Fort intended to attack them. Judging by the situation, it seems the Branch Leader knew about it too.”
“What?!”
Great Hall Master Hwang Seoyul’s mouth fell open wide enough for his jaw to drop.
“Th-that can’t be…….”
Great Hall Master Hwang Seoyul looked back and forth between Gong Somyeong and me with utter disbelief.
I spoke to Gong Somyeong again.
“Even so, it makes no sense to hand over an ancestral mountain, especially one with a gold vein, for one silver tael.”
“A treasure one cannot bear only brings disaster. The lives of the thirty people who died this time matter more to me than some ancestral mountain.”
Even if Hwapung Manor reclaimed the gold mine and used it to prosper, blood would likely continue to be spilled along the way.
The Manor Lord did not want that in this peaceful age.
But in the future, a time would come when everyone had to survive on their own, without anyone’s help.
When that happened, all those who had relied on others would be miserably abandoned.
“Then let’s do this.”
I did not want Manor Lord Gong Somyeong to curse his own foolishness and despise himself in the future.
Looking at him kept reminding me of Sect Leader Hong Mungi from my previous life.
“The Taeul Sect also owns an iron mine. We have experience in mining-related work because of it. The Taeul Sect will help develop the gold mine. The Wang Family Estate also has interests involved in this matter, so most people won’t dare lay a hand on Hwapung Manor.”
“…….”
Gong Somyeong fell into deep thought.
There was nothing to deliberate over, though.
These were overwhelmingly favorable terms for Hwapung Manor.
After thinking for some time, Gong Somyeong opened his mouth as though he had made up his mind.
“Then let’s do this.”
“All right……”
“The shares will be five, four, and one.”
“What?”
The words that followed sent chills down my spine.
“Hwapung Manor will take five. The Taeul Sect will take four. You will take one personally.”
“…….”
Like the Branch Leader who had faced something unimaginable, I could not hide my shock.
“If you accept these terms, I will take back the ancestral mountain. Otherwise, I will not take it back.”
Gong Somyeong crossed his arms firmly, making it clear he would accept no objections.
#
In the end, I did not get my silver tael back.
“I shall hold it as the deposit for our new contract.”
A new agreement was quickly drawn up. Great Hall Master Hwang Seoyul, who had stood there with his mouth open in a daze, ended up adding a seal impression as a witness.
Though Gong Somyeong would receive only half of what had originally belonged to Hwapung Manor, he kept smiling as he looked over the agreement. I could not understand what had just happened at all.
“Are you going to leave the Alliance now?”
After we left the manor lord’s residence together, Great Hall Master Hwang Seoyul looked at me with envious eyes.
“What?”
What kind of random question was that?
“Well… I was wondering whether you had any reason to remain in the Alliance. Ten percent of a gold mine. An ordinary person, no, even an extraordinary person could never personally amass that kind of wealth.”
“What does money have to do with working for the Alliance?”
“Hm?”
Great Hall Master Hwang Seoyul stared at me before speaking.
“It seems you don’t understand your current situation.”
He nodded as though that was understandable.
“You don’t know why Manor Lord Gong gave you a separate ten percent share, do you?”
That was what had been troubling me too.
The work would be handled by the Taeul Sect and the Wang Family Estate.
Considering that Hwapung Manor was the owner of the property, I thought a seven-to-three split would have been more than sufficient.
Yet despite that, Gong Somyeong had insisted on leaving ten percent under my name.
“You said you have ties to the Wang Family Estate, correct?”
“Our sect has ties to them.”
“Either way, then you must know of the Cheonjung Merchant Group, one of the Four Great Merchant Groups.”
The Cheonjung Merchant Group specialized in distributing grain along the Yangtze River. It was the youngest of the Four Great Merchant Groups, yet it enjoyed the greatest prosperity. There was no way I could not know of it.
“Fifty years ago, the Cheonjung Merchant Group formed a connection with a martial artist who was a newcomer to the martial world and agreed to share its profits. They signed a contract promising to give that person ten percent of the merchant group’s earnings.”
“With a newcomer to the martial world?”
“Yes. The merchant group’s owner had an incredible eye for people. That newcomer to the martial world was Hyeok Mugang.”
“…….”
It was a story I had never known.
And the current situation bore a strong resemblance to it.
“Thanks to that, the Cheonjung Merchant Group, which had been on the verge of collapse, gradually recovered with the martial artist’s help and later became one of the Four Great Merchant Groups. Of course, the agreement ended once that martial artist became the Martial Alliance Leader.”
“…….”
“Manor Lord Gong has greater expectations for you than for the Taeul Sect.”
Great Hall Master Hwang Seoyul studied me from every angle with curious eyes. It was an incredibly burdensome gaze.
“It means people have begun to follow you and stand by your side.”
The reason I could not understand Gong Somyeong’s offer was that I had not understood his true feelings.
If it had only been repayment for gratitude, it could have been expressed through gold and jewels, words of thanks, or respectful courtesy.
What Gong Somyeong showed me was a deeper feeling than that.
Reverence.
“Your chivalry and righteousness made them want to follow you more than any profit could.”
It was the highest praise one person could offer another, and that was why I could not understand the current situation.
“I thought the Martial Alliance Leader’s story made sense because that person was worthy of it. But seeing it happen before my eyes leaves even me stunned.”
Great Hall Master Hwang Seoyul patted my shoulder as he spoke.
“Whether you want it or not, people will gather around you from now on. And wherever people gather, disorder follows. You must not let go of those who approach you with sincerity.”
He walked away first.
“And don’t forget me when you make it big. I’m the one who added a seal impression as a witness, after all.”
Leaving that joke behind, he departed.
I remained alone and thought quietly.
“A symbol of righteousness and chivalry…….”
Things were taking a strange turn.
First the Mount Mao Sect, and now Hwapung Manor.
Since I had resolved to build a power of my own, sects like these would continue to increase. One day, they could become a force that would not be easily swept away by turmoil.
“Then I need to lay a strong foundation from the start.”
If Hwapung Manor had chosen to stand with me, it could not be a sect that disappeared before the Orthodox-Demonic War.
It had to become a sect that survived the war.
I immediately stormed into the Dragon-Phoenix Association’s lodgings.
Bang!
The members of the Dragon-Phoenix Association had washed up and just finished treating their injuries.
“Let’s begin the inspection!”
“…Now?”
“Yes!”
“…It’s the hour of the dog?”
“What does time matter when we’re carrying out righteousness!”
At that moment, Yong Soa, who had let down his hair, changed clothes, and was drinking tea, muttered softly.
“Rude behavior that doesn’t consider others.”
“…….”
“Just like the Black Path.”
What was he talking about? I was a symbol of righteousness and chivalry.
[1] Ancestral mountain: land associated with a family or sect’s ancestral graves.
Footnotes:
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