The Martial Genius Who Remembers Everything Chapter 32

[ … words ]

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“The people of Hu-nam province called Ma-ryeong-go-won the land where heaven and earth meet. Ma-ryeong-go-won does not rain all four seasons, so it is barren, so it is called hell among herbalists. It is different from the information others have, but it points accurately to the place where Mi-ta-seong-su is.”

I asked at the owner’s words.

“What is the information that others have?”

“There is the deepest valley in Ma-ryeong-go-won. It is a place that even nearby bold hunters and herbalists never approach. It is called Despair Valley (Jeol-mang-gok). Recently, one herbalist stepped into that valley by mistake and was discovered after six months. That person conveyed the story that he saw an ice pillar shining like the sun in a cave inside Despair Valley.”

An ice pillar shining like the sun referred to the state of preserving the nature of extreme yin before Mi-ta-seong-su is refined.

“Martial artists are starting to gather here in Ak-yang following that rumor.”

Around that time, I thought, if you tell me everything like this, why should I pay 20 nyang of gold?

“Haha, I am giving this thinking of it as a substitute for the earlier discourtesy. If you want to obtain actual information, you must pay 20 nyang of gold.”

“What is that information?”

“It is a map of the cave inside Despair Valley.”

It is an unexpected answer.

“Ma……p?”

“Do you not know the herbalist I mentioned earlier? We produced a map by tracking down that herbalist.”

Hmm, I am curious, but…….

“Even so, 20 nyang of gold seems too expensive.”

“Wouldn’t it not be that expensive if you think about the price of a life?”

“And there is no proof that the map is accurate.”

“If you intend to spend half a year in a cave, then it would be.”

“……Is the cave that wide?”

The owner took out his hand from both sleeves and took out a scroll the length of his forearm.

As the scroll was unrolled, its width seemed to be one ja (about 30cm), and inside it, hundreds of drawings of small rooms like ant nests were visible.

“They said the small cave is the size of this space, and the large space is so big that one might wonder if it is connected to Despair Valley.”

“Ugh.”

“How about it, are you not interested?”

The owner rewound the document quickly and tied it tightly with a leather strap. It was a suitable size that didn’t seem like it would be easily found by others if carried well, but.

“Unfortunately, I have no money.”

“It is said that with the Silver King Tablet, you can borrow promissory notes indefinitely on the battlefield.”

“If I were to pay that all back, I wouldn’t be able to pay it back even if I worked for my whole life.”

Already the moment the owner showed the map. Since the map was clearly imprinted in my head, there was no need to waste 20 nyang of gold. Rather than that.

“Too bad…… my curiosity about your identity is growing even more.”

“Ah, other than that, wouldn’t you like to buy one piece of information?”

“……Information?”

“Yes.”

“What information are you talking about?”

While I was staying at the stable, I made one classified document of Murim Alliance standard.

The travel expenses I received from Wang-ga-jang were sufficient, but it was also foolish to leave the information in my head still without turning it into money. In addition, there was an important transaction to be made with Hao-mun through this in the future, so it was necessary to sow seeds now.

“It is a classified document related to the Beggar Sect’s advance into Hang-ju.”

“…….”

The owner’s face turned white.

The Beggar Sect is in charge of one axis of the Nine Great Sects and at the same time is a place that becomes the eyes and ears of the entire Murim.

As such, it has always been in conflict with Hao-mun, a similar type of organization.

The overall power was much greater for the Beggar Sect, but in places where entertainment and commerce were developed, Hao-mun held the information tightly.

That was why Hao-mun continued to maintain its existence even amidst intense secret struggles for decades.

“Hmm…… it is good information, but I cannot know if it is certain.”

“Let’s do this.”

I took out the document from my bosom, tore it in half, and handed it to the owner.

The owner, who received the document carefully, read the document slowly, then opened his eyes wide and looked at me.

“Are you thinking of selling it?”

“……How much should I give you?”

“20 nyang of gold.”

The owner’s brow furrowed.

“Wouldn’t it be faster to ask for the map?”

“No. I don’t need the map. Give it to me with money.”

“Are you serious?”

“I don’t think I can obtain Mi-ta-seong-su. I just intend to get some money and watch Ak-yang-ru (Yueyang Tower) and leave.”

“I understand. Please wait a moment.”

While the owner was away for a moment, I looked around at the objects in the surroundings and discovered one object that caught my eye.

“Why is this here?”

It was an object shaped like a silver closed flower bud.

“Do you like it?”

“Why is this here?”

“It flowed into this place somehow.”

“If they know about this in Sa-cheon, will they leave you alone?”

When I probed him slightly, the owner smiled meaningfully.

“As expected, you are an extraordinary person. How about it? I will give it to you for 1 nyang of gold.”

“If I use this, the ghosts of Sa-cheon will follow me for a lifetime.”

“That is true.”

“Then how about just giving it to you as a gift?”

“You are giving this expensive thing as a gift?”

“Think of it as a friend fee.”

“What a bad friend to give such a dangerous gift.”

The owner lifted his sleeve where he hid his hand and laughed.

“Isn’t it more fun to play with a bad friend originally?”

The owner who is observing me with sparkling eyes. A strong will to dig into me somehow and extract whatever he can from me was visible.

As expected, is the person who will become the 13th Sect Leader of Hao-mun different in something?

Opening a personal connection with the future Hao-mun leader Yang Gun-baek is a choice that has nothing to lose for me. I picked up the object and said.

“That is also correct.”

“Then I look forward to working with you in the future.”

My state of mind after leaving the black shop (black market) was not very good.

The fact that the point where I think the end of the Tae-eul Sword Emperor will be is the same as the space where Mi-ta-seong-su is discovered means that I also have to throw my body into that turmoil.

“Hey! Are you thinking of just passing by! My shoulder is broken right now!”

“If it was such a useless shoulder, shouldn’t you have thrown it away a long time ago!”

Clang clang.

As martial artists gather, fights break out sporadically everywhere.

It is not even a fight of neighborhood thugs. They are fights that masters with bloody names are all waging.

‘Gu-ji-sin-gae Ma Go-san, Geum-gak-dong-in Sa Mu-in, Geuk-rak-dong-ja Seo Hyeon-jae…… do I have to compete with guys like this?’

It is not just the Black Path (evil faction) but also the masters of the White Path (righteous faction) who are not just one or two.

Especially, the White Path was matching their clothes in one color to distinguish friend from foe, and they were moving together from at least twenty to as many as a hundred people.

‘It will be too late if I enter after the Mi-ta-seong-su contention is over, right?’

This work lasts for a whopping two months.

After that, the White Path martial arts sects including Nam-gung-se-ga, which lost the young lady, and the Black Path martial arts sects spend another half a year in Ma-ryeong-go-won to figure out what happened inside.

In the end, if I waited for all of that to end, I wouldn’t even be able to take the Murim Academy exam.

‘Still, I have to go in.’

It is a place where the secret manual of the Tae-eul-mun might be hidden. It is a situation where I have no choice but to go in, even if it is a place where ten thousand people died, not five hundred. Moreover, if I think positively, can’t I obtain Mi-ta-seong-su along with the secret manual of the Tae-eul-mun?

“Let’s start with what I have to do.”

If I might obtain Mi-ta-seong-su, I needed at least preparation for it.

I headed to a jewelry store at the entrance of the red-light district of Ak-yang.

Unlike the shabby interior, the items displayed were all precious and beautiful.

In the middle of it, a skinny old man who went well with the shabby interior rather than the beautiful jewelry was putting tobacco leaves into a pipe.

“You came, strange guy.”

The old man stares at me as if looking at a suspicious guy.

Having arrived in Ak-yang, I spent a day at the stable and came here straight the next day to entrust the Heavenly Silk (Cheon-jam-sa) to this old man.

“Is it all finished?”

“You have to tell me how you knew.”

The day I first visited the jewelry store, when I pushed the Heavenly Silk at him, the old man looked at me as if I were a crazy guy.

I told him the item I intended to make with this regardless, and the old man agonized for a long time, then asked me how I knew his identity.

I couldn’t tell him that I would meet him in the future, so I told him I would tell him when the item was all made.

“Please tell me if the item is finished first.”

The old man threw the item wrapped in cloth to one side.

What came out of the cloth had a strange shape.

It was too wide to be called a bracelet, and it had too many decorations attached to be called a hand guard (Su-gap) worn on the hands and feet.

“It’s your turn.”

“I found out by giving 10 nyang of gold to Hao-mun.”

The old man’s identity is Man-su-jang-in (Master Craftsman) Jang Do-won.

It was a fact I knew because he was a person I formed a connection with in the Murim Alliance of my past life.

He was sold to a blacksmith shop at the age of ten and held a hammer, and later he learned skills by being sold around to carpentry shops, leather workshops, etc.

Even in a miserable situation, he gained the ability to make anything with outstanding talent, but because his natural background was low and he did not reveal his skills, he was an existence buried in the countryside.

Later, when the Demonic Cult reappeared, he threw himself into the Murim Alliance, made fourteen divine weapons for the Nine Great Sects and Five Great Clans, and disappeared again.

Since I couldn’t tell that series of processes, I just roughly glossed over it by saying I found out through Hao-mun.

“My value is only 10 nyang of gold?”

Is he angrier at that part instead of suspicion?

“Isn’t it because you don’t know the true value of the master yet?”

“Forget it. Stop flattering and look at the item.”

“Oh, is there a dragon?”

“I named it Bi-ryong-jo (Flying Dragon Claw).”

“How do you use it?”

Jang Do-won made this item with the Heavenly Silk I gave him in that short time.

“Pull your palm inward.”

Click.

As the back of the hand part was pulled, a hook-shaped arrowhead popped out.

“It is made of cold iron, so it will be able to pierce an ordinary rock.”

“Are you telling me to throw this and pierce it?”

“You know the characteristics of Heavenly Silk, right?”

“It has the characteristic of stretching when internal energy is injected. Then, it is injecting internal energy, stretching it, and then recovering the internal energy and pulling it. It’s amazing, isn’t it?”

However, Jang Do-won’s eyes looking at me, who is admiring, narrow.

“Stupid guy. Did you entrust it to me to make such a shabby item.”

“Eh?”

“Heavenly Silk can also change direction depending on the amount of internal energy injected.”

“Eh?”

As I make a blank expression, Jang Do-won continues the explanation with a voice that seems excited for some reason.

“If you weave different strings into one and inject internal energy differently, you can change direction. Ah, because it was wound tightly from the beginning, if you have enough internal energy, Bi-ryong-jo will shoot out on its own without having to throw it.”

“What does that……”

“You should have understood if I talked this much, tsk. If you can’t understand, it’s not yours.”

I did not ask because I did not understand. I asked again because I could not believe it.

Moreover, the end of the hook is jointed, so it can be opened and closed like a bird’s foot.

“In the first place, it was not made for a fledgling like you to use. To use that, countless efforts and minute control that would remind one of acupuncture……”

Whirrrrrrrr.

The hook shot out from Bi-ryong-jo twisted its direction here and there like a snake flying in the air. Bi-ryong-jo, who passed Jang Do-won like that, picked up one silver ring located at the end of the display case and started to return again.

Whirrrrrrrr.

The sound of a small pulley spinning excitedly was ringing from the inside of the wrist, and when all the Heavenly Silk was wound, one silver ring was placed in my hand.

“Is this how you use it?”

This time, Jang Do-won made a blank expression.

In his eyes, admiration that he feels as a craftsman who created this was also contained together.

“Heh……. I can’t believe it even though I see it with my own eyes.”

Jang Do-won had me demonstrate it several times, and every time, I did the things he asked me to do readily.

“Cough. Well, it seems you are imitating it quite well.”

“You said you couldn’t believe it a moment ago.”

“Forget it! If you’re done with your business, go back.”

He waved his hand as if it were annoying, but the corners of his mouth were slightly raised.

“Ah, other than that, I have one more request.”

“Again? Aing, not entrusting it all at once.”

“It was work that wasn’t in my plan either.”

I explained the shape of the item needed when collecting Mi-ta-seong-su.

Then, Jang Do-won’s mouth opened as wide as a jar.

“You guys, what is your identity?”

“Haha, if I tell you, will you make it for free?”

Jang Do-won’s brow furrowed tightly again.

I, who ordered an item that could collect Mi-ta-seong-su in preparation for a situation I don’t know, asked Jang Do-won and headed to the inn where most people come and go.

For now, I thought it was necessary to at least roughly tag along with some group rather than going alone.

I can’t trust them until the end, but at least I won’t have to get stabbed in the back suddenly on the way.

While heading to the inn like that, someone entered my energy perception, which became sensitive thanks to the internal energy of one gapja.

‘What is it?’

There is no one I can meet in Ak-yang right now.

Even if I know them, most of them will be past ties who don’t know me.

‘Don’t tell me.’

Suddenly, Gye Yeon-seok, who was cursing at me with bloodshot eyes, came to mind.

Did he hire an assassin?

Since I would be identified as the culprit immediately if they targeted me in the Tae-eul-mun, they would do it while I was out……. As my thoughts reached there, my hair stood on end.

If they attack unexpectedly in a dense crowd, there is no way to deal with it.

And the suspicious energy gracefully parted the crowd and ran toward this side quickly.

The moment I was about to raise my internal energy and deal with it.

“Jin Gong-ja (Young Master Jin)!! What is the business here?”

The identity of the suspicious energy was none other than Seong Mo-ran of the Iron Sword Sect.

Seong Mo-ran was looking at me with a bright face while holding a chicken skewer in one hand.

“Ah…… I was surprised.”

“Right? I was surprised too. Seeing a person who is hard to see even in Hap-bi (Hefei) here.”

“Young Lady Seong, what is the business here?”

“Me? Of course, I came to find Mi-ta-seong-su.”

Perhaps recognizing that she was holding a chicken skewer in her hand, Seong Mo-ran quickly hid the chicken skewer behind her back and said.

“Are you alone?”

“No. With my younger sibling I know. Besides that, a few people to help my younger sibling and my friends also came together.”

“Ah…… do you have a group?”

“By any chance, did Jin Gong-ja also come to find Mi-ta-seong-su?”

“……Well, it can be seen as similar.”

“With whom?”

“I am alone.”

“My god…… I knew you were bold, but you really don’t know that your life is precious.”

“……Young Lady, your words seem a bit harsh…….”

“No. It is not harsh at all. How can you think of going to find Mi-ta-seong-su all by yourself?”

“I was intending to find a group anyway.”

“Ah, really?”

“Yes.”

“Then how about moving with us?”

If it were a master of Seong Mo-ran’s level, I would be able to trust her and leave my back to her.

Of course, on the premise that she doesn’t stab a sword into my stomach.

Although it would be fine because I am wearing the Heavenly Silk Robe.

“Can I do that?”

“Ah, wait a moment.”

Seong Mo-ran looked at the back and moved her lips. She must be sending a sound transmission to someone.

But Seong Mo-ran, who moved her lips for a long time, suddenly shook her head and her cheeks turned red.

It seemed like the words weren’t going well.

“Young Lady, if it is uncomfortable, it is fine not to force yourself to join.”

“Ah, no! It was because my younger sibling was teasing me.”

“Teasing?”

“Ahem, anyway, they said it is fine to be together if we can understand each other about preempting Mi-ta-seong-su first.”

In the case of such group actions, there are many cases where they promise in advance about the preemption right of treasure or spiritual medicine, and it seemed like she was talking about that.

In fact, there were countless cases where they entered without such a promise or did not keep the promise, and a sword fight occurred among them in the end.

I nodded and said.

“Of course.”

“They said they are coming this way now.”

A while later, the front became noisy and people started to split to both sides.

I saw the clothes of the men standing in front and was able to recognize their identity immediately.

‘Nam-gung-se-ga!’

It is said that there are many masters on the streets of Ak-yang, but masters surpassing these people now will be counted on one hand.

Because they knew that, people all cleared the way.

The moment I grabbed Seong Mo-ran’s one arm and tried to pull her outside.

“Seon-hwa!!”

“!!”

Seong Mo-ran raised her hand and greeted.

“Sister! I was surprised because you disappeared suddenly. Is this person…… that person?”

“Uh…… Um, he is Jin So-un Gong-ja of the Tae-eul-mun.”

The woman who was called Seong Mo-ran’s sister smiled slightly at the corner of her mouth.

The men who had retreated around the road smiled widely at her beautiful appearance.

Nam-gung Seon-hwa, who clasped her hands lightly and greeted.

“Hello. I am Nam-gung Seon-hwa.”

The group I decided to join was a group that died in this contention.