WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: Chen
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◈ The Martial Genius who Remembers Everything ◈
Chapter 488: Shadows of the Sunset
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“You’ve done well.”
The Inspectorate had arrived.
The person in charge was Ak Byeongbi, who had visited Mount Mao Sect. He had been on his way back to the Martial Alliance, but because he was closest to Hwapung Manor, he had urgently changed course and come here.
“I heard that dealing with a Demon-Subduing Madman was no easy task. Yet there were no further casualties. Well done.”
Despite Ak Byeongbi’s praise, the Dragon-Phoenix Association said nothing.
Perhaps sensing that something was off, Ak Byeongbi continued.
“The Martial Alliance has not stopped praising your accomplishments. If you handle the rest well, you will receive a great reward.”
“…”
The Dragon-Phoenix Association still wore grim expressions. Ak Byeongbi tilted his head.
“Is there something you are unhappy about?”
“Um… Does the investigation have to be so rough?”
“Hm?”
Ak Byeongbi looked where Gwak Susan pointed.
As they would in any ordinary investigation, the Inspectorate members had brought out every item connected to Hwapung Manor and gathered them in one place. They had also separated the people into groups.
“Is there a problem?”
Once a Demon-Subduing Madman had appeared, such an investigation was standard procedure for the Inspectorate.
There was nothing especially unusual about it.
“That is… no.”
Gwak Susan shook their head and fell silent.
“Where is Jin Sowoon? I do not see him.”
“He left first, saying he was going out.”
“Hm? …Is there really no problem?”
“There is not.”
With that, the Dragon-Phoenix Association fled Hwapung Manor as though escaping Ak Byeongbi’s suspicious gaze.
The more they were praised for their accomplishments, the more pain the people of Hwapung Manor would feel. It made the Dragon-Phoenix Association deeply uncomfortable.
So they ran.
There were still sects left for them to inspect.
At least there were not many remaining.
A few things changed after the incident at Hwapung Manor.
For one, Yong Soa began traveling with them constantly, while the Dragon-Phoenix Association gradually grew quieter.
They rarely wore their uniforms when entering villages now.
They only took out the clothes they had stored away for so long when visiting sects.
The person who changed the most, though, was Jin Sowoon.
“Should we really leave him like that?”
At Instructor Danmok’s words, Gwak Susan looked at Jin Sowoon.
He was still silently drinking.
“…”
He had been like that ever since Hwapung Manor.
Not only while they traveled, but even when they met with people from the sects, he never showed himself. During inspections, he would hole up somewhere and drink.
Once, they had grown so frustrated watching him that they dragged him out by force.
“Group Leader, you need to help with the inspection. They are far too suspicious.”
Jin Sowoon looked at them with half-lidded, drunken eyes.
“Ask that wonderful Yong Soa over there. He is an omnipotent man who knows everything and can solve anything.”
“…”
Beyond the inspection itself, they had begun to worry that Jin Sowoon might truly fall apart.
“At this rate, he is going to end up a wreck.”
“…Still, it is not as though he does no work at all, is it?”
They had finished inspecting the Medical King Sect and were about to conclude that there was no cause for suspicion.
Then Jin Sowoon barged in with a liquor bottle in one hand.
With one hand, he sent every Medical King Sect member trying to stop him flying. He found Blood Cult liquor in a hidden chamber, tossed it to the Dragon-Phoenix Association, then holed himself up again and resumed drinking.
Given the situation, they could not even scold him.
After all, Jin Sowoon was handling every task too difficult for the Dragon-Phoenix Association to manage.
“Well, nothing is happening, so cannot we just leave him be?”
Unable to hold back any longer, Instructor Danmok glared.
“You call that nothing happening?”
Jin Sowoon was picking a fight with a group of rough-looking Black Path martial artists.
“Hey, what are you staring at?”
“What?”
“I asked what you are staring at. Want to die?”
A moment earlier, he had staggered into the Black Path martial artists’ table and knocked over their cups.
“…”
Gwak Susan clutched their head.
This was how it always went.
Ever since leaving Hwapung Manor, Jin Sowoon had wandered around drunk, constantly picking fights with people.
“Stop him already!”
“Huh? Me?”
The moment Gwak Susan asked that, the fight began.
Bang! Thud! Ratatata! Crack!
The six Black Path martial artists were knocked unconscious, had their arms broken, or vomited blood from internal injuries in an instant.
It was unbelievable power from someone who drank that much and could barely walk straight.
“Then at least go cover his mouth!”
The problem was…
“You bastards dare pick a fight with an envoy of the Martial Alliance? Do you want to be dragged to the Martial Alliance, where you will wither away without seeing a speck of sunlight for the rest of your lives?”
“…”
“I am Jin Sowoon of the Martial Alliance! I am the top student of the Martial Arts Academy and an elite of the Martial Alliance, you bastards!!!”
He was dragging the Martial Alliance’s name through the dirt with his own disgrace.
It did prevent the fight from escalating, but the Dragon-Phoenix Association could not hide their anxiety that their identities might be exposed.
The Dragon-Phoenix Association, wandering around drinking and picking fights with people.
If that rumor spread, they would not be able to hold their heads up, not only in the Martial Alliance but within their own sects as well.
Ilgak seemed reluctant even to stop him.
They tried asking the only person who might be able to handle Jin Sowoon for help.
“What is the problem?”
“He is saying he belongs to the Martial Alliance…”
“Jin Sowoon is the top student of the Martial Arts Academy and an official of the Martial Alliance. Therefore, it is also true that he is one of the Martial Alliance’s elites, as the public commonly says. He has not spoken a single false word.”
Yong Soa tilted his head as though Gwak Susan was the strange one.
Still, they could not back down like this. If they stepped in personally, they would likely have a black eye by the time they visited the next sect.
“Such lawless behavior damages the Martial Alliance’s prestige and could interfere with our work. We should stop him.”
“…”
Yong Soa turned to look at Jin Sowoon.
One martial artist, unable to endure Jin Sowoon’s infuriating mockery, charged at him and was slammed into the ground. Yong Soa then looked back at Gwak Susan.
“From the beginning, Jin Sowoon’s conduct has been indistinguishable from that of Black Path martial artists, has it not?”
“…?!”
“He was like that during the regular examination and at the Martial Arts Academy as well. Why would it become a problem now?”
Thud!
A martial artist flew toward Yong Soa.
“Ah! Behind you…!”
Yong Soa extended one hand and traced a strange arc. A faint current of Taiji formed in the air, and the flying martial artist was swept into it before being gently embedded in the wall.
“Furthermore, has Jin Sowoon not made the greatest contribution to the Dragon-Phoenix Association’s work? I do not understand what the problem is.”
“…”
For a moment, Gwak Susan wondered if that was true, but quickly shook their head and came to their senses.
If even they lost their mind here, there was no telling how the situation would unfold.
“Haa…”
As Gwak Susan steadied themselves and turned away, Yong Soa asked, “Are you planning to stop him?”
“If I do not, something even worse may happen.”
“Foolish. You cannot even judge your opponent’s capabilities against your own.”
“…I was taught that martial artists sometimes fight even knowing they will lose.”
“Who said something so foolish?”
Gwak Susan’s gaze turned to Jin Sowoon.
Yong Soa said flatly, “Do you not see the contradiction in following and putting into practice the words of someone you consider unprincipled?”
“…”
Gwak Susan quickly ran toward Jin Sowoon. It was not because they had no reply. It was only because things truly seemed like they would get out of hand.
“Group Leader! Stop…”
“Who the hell are you!”
Bang!
Of course, the fight did not stop just because they stepped in. For some reason, they were struck and sent flying before they could do anything.
#
“Ugh, this is driving me crazy.”
I drank a lot in my previous life.
After Gye Cheolyeong entered the Martial Arts Academy, many things began to feel tedious, and I started drinking.
After completing my mandatory service in the Martial Alliance, I drank to endure Gye Cheolyeong’s torment.
Of course, compared to how much I drank after the Orthodox-Demonic War, it was nothing.
During the Orthodox-Demonic War, I drank at every opportunity.
Sometimes, I drank things that could hardly even be called liquor.
Alcohol was difficult to find during the war, so whenever I had the chance, I got hold of distilled spirits and mixed them with water.
I drank that tasteless liquor whenever I could because I could not endure it without drinking.
I could not bear the vivid deaths from the day before and the enormous fear looming ahead while sober.
Yet somehow, that time in my previous life felt better than now.
At least I could get drunk back then.
“At this rate, I am really going to lose my mind.”
I could not rely on alcohol.
No matter how much I drank, I could not get drunk.
A moderate buzz would rise, but once it passed a certain point, my dantian moved and neutralized the alcohol.
Even if I forcibly suppressed my dantian, it was the same. The internal energy sleeping within the qi channels spread throughout my body and sobered me up.
No matter how much I drank, I could not get drunk.
“Does not being able to get drunk cause you pain?”
On top of that, looking at an unpleasant bastard like him as though he were a drinking snack made even the little flavor I enjoyed disappear. It felt like I had put bile in my mouth.
“Why keep drinking if you cannot get drunk?”
“Fuck off. You are ruining the taste.”
Yong Soa, illuminated by moonlight, was still as obnoxious as ever.
Those transparent eyes watching me ruined the taste of the alcohol.
“Do you think behaving this way will harm the Martial Alliance?”
I knew too.
I knew my actions would have no effect.
I knew everything I did was meaningless.
Still, was I not allowed to vent some anger over having my expectations shattered? I had worked so hard until now.
“How long will you keep wandering?”
Yong Soa from my previous life was still Yong Soa from my previous life, and I was only Jin Sowoon from my previous life.
“Haha! Looks like you cannot see how long I will keep this shit up.”
I was helpless, drowning in defeat, doing nothing but rage while unable to change anything.
“I told you. I do not see everything.”
Seeing Yong Soa before me made the ugly version of myself from my previous life clearer than ever.
“It does not matter. Prepare yourself. There is somewhere we need to go.”
“Where the hell are we going?”
“I told the Dragon-Phoenix Association that I have separate work to do. Is there a sect among those remaining that you suspect?”
“I am not going anywhere with you.”
And just as in my previous life, he looked at me with lowered eyes as though looking down on me.
“Was this not merely wandering? You would not fall apart this easily.”
That gaze made me even angrier.
“Fuck, who is falling apart? Want to fight again?”
Yong Soa spoke, his usual impassive, dry gaze fixed on me.
“You know about Myoin, the Senior Nun, and the Left Buddha Society, do you not?”
As though my emotions did not matter at all.
“Myoin will die, and the Left Buddha Society will be shattered. We must change that future.”
“…”
As though there was something more important, he paid me no mind.
“You can despair and wander as much as you want on the way.”
Then I showed Yong Soa the only thing I could do.
“Go fuck yourself.”
Emotion appeared on Yong Soa’s face.
“Was this all you were?”
There was disappointment and contempt, even a trace of anger.
“If you hated this situation, you should have made the right choice from the beginning!”
“A choice?”
“Yes! Before killing Miss Song!”
“Then you…”
“What?”
“…”
Yong Soa once again stared at me in silence.
“Your words just now have made me begin to regret it.”
All the conflicting emotions he had shown moments ago were wiped away.
He returned to that emotionless expression.
“Why I made that choice.”
“Do you regret it?”
His transparent eyes deepened more than ever.
“Yes. I should have simply let what was going to happen happen.”
With those words, Yong Soa rose from his seat.
“Uncertainty is uncertainty after all.”
Leaving behind only words I could not understand, he walked away.
Footnotes:
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