WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: Chen
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
◈ The Martial Genius who Remembers Everything ◈
Chapter 495: Shadows of the Sunset (8)
──────
“Hmm… What on earth is going on?”
The Seven Demon Wisdom Lords, that is, those now known as the Five Demon Wisdom Lords, flinched.
The words had come from someone who had never entertained a question in their life.
As the Demon Brain read through the report, they muttered again.
“I truly don’t understand.”
Binghwasa was so shocked that their mouth fell open.
Still, it was understandable.
Their century-long plan was being destroyed in the most absurd way possible.
“…”
The first problem was the number of treasure maps.
The Demon Brain had originally planned to release fewer than twenty maps.
They needed to be discovered in secret, with rumors spreading quietly until the martial world was swept up in bloodshed over them.
Yet things had gone wrong beyond all reason.
“Twenty thousand?”
“That is only our estimate. We do not know how many more may be circulating.”
Binghwasa could not bring themself to say that even mediocre merchants with street stalls were competing to print treasure maps for profit.
At this point, even stray dogs on the street might as well have been carrying treasure maps in their mouths.
Binghwasa added, trying to offer some comfort.
“Perhaps one of those who acquired a map decided to sell copies of it.”
A click of the tongue followed.
“Tsk, tsk. Do you think the Divine Cult handles its affairs so carelessly? Even when we selected the targets, we chose those with immense greed and sinister hearts.”
“…”
The rebuke did not last long.
The maps spreading around were still within their expectations.
The real problem was the second issue.
“How can a location not written on the real maps be written on the fakes?”
They would scatter the maps, spread the rumors, and let the story ripen.
Then, once every preparation was complete, they would open the Sword Tomb and draw martial artists into hell.
Not a single part of the original plan had proceeded as intended.
The greatest problem was that the information written on the fakes was accurate.
“Hmm…”
That could mean only one thing.
“A mole…”
“…”
“…”
“…”
Unbelievable as it was, they could imagine no other explanation.
Otherwise, how could the Sword Tomb’s location, known to only a handful of people within the Divine Cult, be written so openly on treasure maps?
“But it still makes no sense. To plant a mole, they would first have needed to know of our existence.”
What was even harder to understand was this.
“Why would they use such vital information in this manner?”
Even the Demon Brain, who prided themself on knowing all there was to know about the martial world and standing above everyone else, could not understand this situation at all.
It felt as though something vital had been overlooked, throwing the entire picture into disarray.
“Where did the fake maps first begin to spread?”
“…Do you believe someone deliberately scattered them?”
“There is no other way events could have developed this quickly.”
“…We suspect an antique shop for now. A large number of bamboo-slip maps were found there first.”
“The one responsible for this must have a force behind them. Find them without fail. Mole or not, they will surely become an obstacle to the Divine Cult.”
“Yes, understood.”
The map problem was one thing, but the true issue was the Sword Tomb.
They had been forced to prepare ahead of schedule, before everything was fully ready.
On top of that, the Sword Tomb’s location had been exposed, drawing more people in by the day.
“What did the Little Demon say?”
“They said things were becoming more interesting.”
“…Hmm, I see.”
The Demon Brain spoke quietly.
“What truly matters is understanding its meaning.”
The Five Demon Wisdom Lords could not understand the Demon Brain’s true intent.
“The form the process takes is not important.”
They only needed to obey.
“Contact the Corpse Demon Sect Leader. Tell them to prepare.”
“Yes, understood!”
The Demon Brain turned toward the enormous stone statue.
“Ok Hwan, your time to act has come sooner than expected.”
As though answering, the statue twitched and shook off a shower of stone dust.
#
After the Sword Tomb treasure maps had spread so widely that people used them as kindling or toilet paper, the rumors about the Sword Tomb cooled down instead.
“They say that if a precious treasure reaches even my hands, it’s no longer precious.”
“That makes sense. If the maps were real, they wouldn’t have been spread this widely.”
Those who had searched for the Sword Tomb soon lost interest. Even people heading for Gansu turned back after seeing how freely the maps were being distributed.
That did not change much even after something believed to be the Sword Tomb was discovered on Great Snow Mountain.
“Was this just a crude joke?”
“If the goal was to send people on a pointless wild-goose chase, it may have been a very successful joke.”
“Sword Tomb treasure maps! Three maps for one tael in copper coins! Buy six, and you’ll get one free!”
“Are there still people paying for that kindling?”
By then, people did not even look at sellers hawking treasure maps on the streets.
There were still people heading for Gansu, of course, but far fewer than when the rumors had been at their peak.
“The Black Path martial artists in Gansu are voicing their complaints now. Thanks to Young Master Jin’s treasure maps, people’s interest has cooled, and the total number has fallen sharply.”
“Hmm, are they less likely to fall for it because they have more experience with scams and betrayals?”
“…That may be part of it, but the Martial Alliance is the only side that has joined the expedition. The Black Path martial artists believe they are being suppressed.”
The treasure maps I had scattered had certainly filtered out many of the riffraff.
As a result, no major conflicts had broken out from the start.
Perhaps because the Sword Tomb had opened earlier than they planned, their preparations were incomplete. Nothing significant was happening inside the Sword Tomb yet.
This was killing two, no, three birds with one stone.
If things continued this way and one side took control of the Sword Tomb, the damage would not grow too severe.
Just as I was indulging in that complacent hope…
[The Black King’s divine relic has been discovered!]
The first bait was cast.
It was none other than the Tyrant King Soul-Severing Saber, the weapon the Black King had used in life!
The appearance of the Tyrant King Soul-Severing Saber rekindled the fading rumors about the Sword Tomb. It was enough to drive up the price of treasure maps, which had fallen to one tael in copper coins for four maps.
Naturally, it also drew the attention of the Black Path martial world.
The one who had acquired the Tyrant King Soul-Severing Saber was a member of the Martial Alliance’s Gansu Branch, and word spread that they were transporting the Black King’s divine relic to the Martial Alliance.
That news was enough to enrage those of the Black Path.
“What is the Black King? The very symbol of the Black Path martial world! How can the Martial Alliance take the Black King’s divine relic?”
“Even if the one who found it owns it, shouldn’t it be returned in a case like this(?)?”
“Have the White Path hypocrites not done things like this before? We must head to the Sword Tomb as well! Let’s obtain the Sword Venerable’s divine relic and get revenge(?) on them!”
At the same time, criticism turned toward the Black Alliance, which had remained idle.
“You call yourselves the representatives of the Black Path martial world, yet you’re fine with the Martial Alliance taking the Black King’s divine relic?”
“How long are you going to stand aside and watch weak and helpless(?) Black Path martial artists be oppressed?”
“That’s right! How long are you going to sit by while the White Path continues its hypocrisy?”
In the end, word began to spread that the Black Alliance would prepare an investigative party.
The Black King’s divine relic caused an enormous uproar throughout the Black Path martial world and the martial world as a whole.
Countless people bought treasure maps again and began gathering in Gansu. As more people gathered, the tension rose exponentially.
#
“From the entrance to Gansu onward, there is not a single city without fighting.”
The news Yang Gunbaek relayed was grim.
“The Black Path martial world’s outrage has become so severe that the Black Alliance has ultimately decided to dispatch an investigative party.”
I had expected Dam Ak not to act because of the suspiciously widespread treasure maps.
‘The other factions must be pressuring him.’
Like the Martial Alliance, the Black Alliance was only a coalition. The competing interests of its various members must have been deeply involved.
“How large will it be?”
“I heard it will be about twice the size of the Martial Alliance’s force.”
“They are mindful of a second investigative party.”
“Yes.”
Now that the Tyrant King Soul-Severing Saber had fallen into the Martial Alliance’s hands, the Martial Alliance had no choice but to become more deeply involved with the Sword Tomb.
The Black Alliance, conscious of that, was dispatching an investigative party as well.
And the riffraff were eagerly heading for the Sword Tomb.
The fact that treasure maps were so easy to obtain must have played a role too.
“…If you’re worried, should we stop selling the treasure maps?”
“If we stop selling them, will everyone else stop? There’s no need.”
“…”
If the competition became fiercer and more people gave up before even entering the Sword Tomb, that might be better in the long run.
The Sword Tomb was not a place where random rabble could enter and survive.
“How are the profits from map sales?”
“Ah, yes. Young Master Jin’s current share is about seventeen thousand gold taels…”
“Hehehe!”
“…???”
“Ah, sorry. I just thought of something amusing.”
Yang Gunbaek checked the ledger again and continued.
“Seventeen thousand gold taels, with another five thousand gold taels expected to come in…”
“Bwahaha!”
“???”
“Ah, sorry. I have a chronic condition where I suddenly burst out laughing when I become too depressed. More importantly, is what I asked you to prepare ready?”
“The Clear-Mind Precious Spirit Pill?”
“Yes.”
Yang Gunbaek began the report with a reassuring expression.
They really were a decent person.
“I have instructed physicians in Hubei Province and along the roads to Gansu to begin production. But why do you need so many Precious Spirit Pills?”
Why else? To screw over those Demonic Cult bastards.
“Don’t worry about the price. Tell them to make as many as they can. If they need an advance payment, take it from my profits first.”
I had interfered with the Demonic Cult’s plans enough and completed every preparation needed to enter the Sword Tomb, yet the order to go still had not come.
My guess was that the Nine Sects One Gang and the Five Great Clans had expressed their intention to enter the Sword Tomb first.
Otherwise, the Martial Alliance would not be dragging its feet this much.
I had even sent a report to persuade Jegal Somyeong, but there was still no response from the Mantong Office.
‘Did they palm it off on someone else?’
The scent of blood was slowly mixing into the wind in Gansu, yet what I, the Hall Master of the Martial Alliance’s Yuseong Hall, was doing was…
“This won’t do.”
“…You said you wanted green cloth.”
“The green I meant wasn’t this. This is too glossy. If we’re to blend into the darkness, we need a darker green.”
“…”
Babysitting.
“Why can’t you understand such a simple thing? Are you really an idiot?”
“…”
This damned brat.
“If you keep this up, I might leave Yuseong Hall.”
“…I see. Are you perhaps talking about a deep, ink-colored green? Shopkeeper! Do you not have actual green cloth? This is not real green! What kind of green shines like this?”
What a life.
#
After choosing one out of ten identical green fabrics, Dang Seohui ordered three sets of martial attire.
We were each eating a bowl of thin noodles at a nearby noodle shop.
“I heard Yong Soa is entering the Sword Tomb.”
Come to think of it, that bastard was never going to stay out of this.
Since I had not heard news that Myoin, the Senior Nun, had died, he must have saved her after all.
“I see.”
“I heard it’s dangerous because the Black Path martial artists are swarming there.”
“If there is an inheritance left by the Black King, the Black Path martial artists won’t sit still.”
The true danger inside the Sword Tomb was neither the Black Path martial artists nor the Mechanism Formation.
It was the Demonic Cult.
They were the ones I truly had to fear.
That did not mean I was worried about that bastard.
There was no chance he would die there.
“I want to try treasure hunting too.”
“…”
What did she think the Sword Tomb was…?
No, perhaps not.
Dang Seohui might not be as strong as Yong Soa, but I was not worried about her entering the Sword Tomb either.
‘The number of demonic beings Dang Seohui killed during the Orthodox-Demonic War…’
I could not recall it right away.
Every time she went to the battlefield, she returned after killing at least a hundred demonic beings.
What concerned me was that, because this life differed from my previous one, innocent people might enter and die.
“Ah, I heard Seol is going in too.”
“What?”
“Moyong Seol.”
“Ah… I thought you meant…”
That was not the point.
“You mean Miss Moyong Seol of the Moyong Clan?”
“Yes. I heard the Moyong Clan has some connection to the Sword Venerable.”
“No, what does that…?”
“I heard she is entering to recover the Sword Venerable’s remains.”
No, why did it have to be the Sword Venerable of all people?
Footnotes:
Join our discord at https://dsc.gg/wetried
