The Martial Genius Who Remembers Everything Chapter 48

[ … words ]

***

They said that while a nickname might feel awkward at first, it would grow on you the more you heard it, but I felt no affection for the nickname that had been attached to me.

On the contrary, it was a nickname with a strange irritation that made me flinch every time I heard it.

Because of that nickname, I hadn’t even been able to focus on the conversation. Suddenly, Je-gal Cheon-gi was saying, “My Lord…,” so it was incredibly embarrassing.

“Young Master Cheon-gi. Please get up. Your father is watching.”

I spoke while reading Je-gal Hyeon-un’s expression.

I had barely managed to get his permission, so if his own child showed himself volunteering to become a subordinate to a disciple of a third-rate sect, couldn’t Je-gal Hyeon-un’s heart suddenly change?

“I am fifteen years old. I am no longer a child. Father will also follow my will.”

Looking at Je-gal Cheon-gi, who wouldn’t budge, I asked Je-gal Hyeon-un for help.

However, instead of showing a displeased expression, Je-gal Hyeon-un was watching as if he found it interesting.

At that moment, a black figure appeared in the air, took the same posture as Cheon-gi, and cupped their hands in a salute.

“The Young Master had been agonizing over this from the moment he heard that the Hero of the Black Flame Dragon had arrived. This is not a decision made overnight, so please do not cast him away.”

It was Young-young, who had her face half-covered with a mask.

With the appearance of Young-young, the atmosphere became even more awkward.

Was it because I didn’t give an answer? Je-gal Cheon-gi, who had become anxious, spoke in an even louder voice.

“If you do not accept me, I will not take a single step out of this Geum-ok!”

“Please accept him!”

“…….”

Once Je-gal Cheon-gi started to be stubborn, he could never be swayed.

In my life before regression, he had been trapped for eight years because he wouldn’t talk until the end in this Geum-ok, which he could have left with a single word saying he would give up on the mechanism traps.

“Young Master Cheon-gi, I have no intention of founding a sect, nor do I have any intention of running a business or a merchant group. If I go to the Murim Alliance, I will have subordinates, but that is only while I am within the Murim Alliance. Isn’t that so?”

“Then… I will follow you to the Murim Alliance as well.”

“No, that’s not what I’m talking about.”

I gently appeased Je-gal Cheon-gi.

I meant that if you keep acting like this, your father might overturn the whole board.

“Listen to me. How about we just become sworn brothers for now?”

“Yes?”

“!”

“!”

Not only Je-gal Cheon-gi and Young-young, but even Je-gal Hyeon-un opened his eyes wide.

Wouldn’t the head of the Je-gal Clan be able to understand this much?

In the world of the Murim, it was a common occurrence for a disciple of a first-class sect and a disciple of a third-rate sect to become sworn brothers.

“Are you saying you will accept me as your younger brother?”

“We will become sworn brothers.”

Je-gal Cheon-gi’s eyes welled up with tears.

“I will serve you, Hyung-nim, with all my heart for the rest of my life.”

His resolve was so firm that I found myself reading Je-gal Hyeon-un’s expression again.

If I had done this when he wasn’t around, he might have been excited that I had gained such great talent.

I glanced at him to see if he was displeased, but…

“Hahaha, good. Good. There was such a method. Yes! There must be a witness to the ceremony of becoming sworn brothers. May I be that witness?”

“……??”

Je-gal Hyeon-un, seemingly delighted by something, burst into hearty laughter repeatedly and had a servant bring alcohol.

We decided not to hold a solemn ceremony like the Oath of the Peach Garden.

Ultimately, friendship is something that changes depending on how that person acts in the future.

If there was enough trust in each other, just sharing a cup of brotherhood was enough.

“I look forward to your guidance, Hyung-nim.”

“I look forward to your support as well, little brother.”

“And when I go to the Tae-eul Sect, may I ask for one favor?”

“What is it?”

“I would like to use Young-young as my guard.”

“Hmm. That shouldn’t be a problem. In any case, several warriors from the Je-gal Clan will be dispatched along with you for your dispatch.”

“No, that’s not it. I want Young-young to become a real warrior, not a shadow warrior.”

“Young Master! I am fine.”

Young-young’s face, not covered by the mask, flushed beet red.

Perhaps they had been spending time comforting each other by listening to each other’s dreams while talking only between the two of them for such a long time.

“Wouldn’t that require the Clan Head’s permission rather than mine?”

A shadow warrior is trained in a way similar to how an assassin is cultivated.

In the case of the Five Great Clans, they often raised shadow warriors directly to protect their direct descendants.

“Father. Please allow Young-young to stop working as a shadow warrior.”

“…….”

“Young-young’s dream is to become a great warrior like Lady Mo-yong Seol.”

My heart ached at the sound of the name Mo-yong Seol.

A woman who rose to the 3rd rank in the Yongbongjihoe with a female body, and who possessed a beautiful smile and an even more beautiful heart.

Later, she achieved enough to establish a family with her sword and was called the Sword Empress, and during the Righteous-Demonic War, because the Mo-yong Clan was annihilated, she was assigned to our unit and was a lifesaver who saved our unit several times.

‘I thought I was okay with it…….’

It seemed that while the memories were old, the emotions had not aged.

While I was lost in emotion for a moment, Je-gal Cheon-gi continued.

“It is something I have been thinking about for a very long time. I can protect my own body to some extent, so please allow it. Father.”

“Clan Head, I am fine. Young Master! If this continues, you might be trapped in the Geum-ok again.”

Young-young and Je-gal Cheon-gi were not backing down an inch in order to look out for each other.

“…….”

It was Je-gal Hyeon-un who was in a difficult position.

In any case, Je-gal Cheon-gi was a direct descendant of the Je-gal Clan.

Moreover, Je-gal Cheon-gi had not learned martial arts, which was why a shadow warrior had been assigned to him, but if that child became a warrior, the person who would closely protect Je-gal Cheon-gi would disappear.

“Then how about doing it this way?”

As I carefully brought it up, Je-gal Hyeon-un looked at me with expectant eyes.

“If a shadow warrior was assigned because Cheon-gi had not yet learned martial arts, then she can perform shadow duties only until he is able to protect himself. After that, she can serve as a warrior.”

“Hmm. That’s a good idea. But can Cheon-gi do that? Cheon-gi has disliked learning martial arts since he was a child.”

Je-gal Hyeon-un was instead showing signs of being pleased.

Then Je-gal Cheon-gi also made a bright expression.

“I will do it. Father. I will make sure to learn martial arts and be able to protect myself.”

“…….”

“Good. If Cheon-gi reaches the level of a first-class warrior, I will allow Young-young to engage in external activities.”

Je-gal Hyeon-un must have thought he had set the bar quite high, but Je-gal Cheon-gi was just smiling at Young-young, saying “That’s great.”

Considering Je-gal Cheon-gi, who had entered the path of martial arts at the late age of twenty-two and climbed to the level of a supreme master, it was clear that the timing would be even earlier than Je-gal Hyeon-un thought.

“Young Master.”

“Let’s achieve our goal together. Young-young.”

“Yes.”

Clearly, Je-gal Cheon-gi was younger and Young-young had a bigger physique, but now it looked as if the two people’s ages had been swapped.

<><><>

The dispatched group was formed simply.

The only person being dispatched was Je-gal Cheon-gi, and since the assets Je-gal Cheon-gi possessed were not that large, one cargo wagon and the carriage Cheon-gi would ride in were all that made up the group.

“Are you not coming with me, Hyung-nim?”

“I am going to finish my business and return. Go first. And this.”

I entrusted the bundle of bank notes I had set aside to Cheon-gi.

Cheon-gi’s eyes widened when he checked the amount on the bank notes.

“Five thousand nyang of gold?”

“There will be limitations to making mechanism traps right away, but for now, use this to lay the foundation. I will return and add more funds.”

There were countless places where money needed to be spent for a while. For that reason, I needed to rob a few more secret warehouses before the Murim Academy exam began.

“I understand. I will risk my life to protect this money.”

Je-gal Cheon-gi, who pledged firmly, put the bank notes into the deepest part of his chest.

“There is no need to risk your life. The most important thing to me is you.”

“……Hyung-nim.”

For some reason, Je-gal Cheon-gi’s eyes were glistening with moisture.

After sending Je-gal Cheon-gi off first, I cupped my hands in a salute toward Je-gal Hyeon-un and Je-gal Jeong, who had come to see us off.

“I am leaving after owing you a great debt. If there is anything I was rude about during my stay, please forgive me with your broad generosity.”

Je-gal Jeong seemed dissatisfied with something, twisting his beard.

“When will you come again?”

“Yes?”

“The slash-and-burn farmers’ village. You should see if those people are living well, shouldn’t you?”

I had heard stories about him going back and forth to the slash-and-burn farmers’ village for the past few days, and it seemed he had already given his heart to the people there. The more I knew him, the more of an easy person he was.

“Since the Supreme Elder is taking care of it, I am not worried.”

“Hmph! Why would I care about those things! If you happen to pass by Mt. Yungjung next time, make sure to stop by.”

With that, Je-gal Jeong went inside.

Je-gal Hyeon-un, watching that scene, chuckled.

“The Supreme Elder seems to have taken quite a liking to you.”

“Aren’t you saying the opposite, that he dislikes me?”

“The Supreme Elder only tells people he dislikes to stay well, he never asks them to see him again for any reason.”

“He really has a nasty personality.”

“Actually, my heart is no different. Stop by sometimes and pass on stories about my son.”

“I understand. Then I will see you again.”

<><><>

In Dengfeng, Henan Province, there is the secret hideout of Baek-ma San-gun, the legend of the bandits.

Baek-ma San-gun, the bandit king who first made the seventy-two Green Forest strongholds into a single Green Forest Alliance and dominated all the mountain paths in the world.

The tribute he received from the seventy-two mountain strongholds throughout his life alone was an enormous amount, but the treasures he had plundered personally were at a level that exceeded imagination.

After he died, people were looking forward to what treasures he would have left behind.

But there was no property left in his hideout.

So, people thought the treasures left by the greedy Baek-ma San-gun must be hidden somewhere, and they searched the whole world.

However, even though all the thieves in the world had searched the world, they could never find Baek-ma San-gun’s secret warehouse.

The secret warehouse was discovered when the Shaolin Temple of Mt. Song built a guest pavilion in Dengfeng.

People could not imagine that Baek-ma San-gun, a bandit, would have built his secret warehouse near Mt. Song, where the Shaolin Temple was located.

“It is my luck that Baek-ma San-gun liked gold.”

Although it was not as much as Wol-hyang’s tomb, enough gold to fill three bundles came out of the secret warehouse.

I went straight to the Ha-o Sect branch in Zhengzhou, Henan Province, and converted all the gold pieces into bank notes.

Then, miraculously, they gave me the full market price this time as well.

“Because Jin So-woon-nim is a specially managed target.”

The words of the Zhengzhou branch head, whom I was seeing for the first time.

“Is that so?”

“The Sect Leader asked for a little wait for the answer.”

He didn’t say what it was about, but I knew very well what he was talking about.

“I understand.”

It didn’t matter much as long as the decision was made before the regular admission to the Murim Academy started.

I headed straight for Seoho Peak in Mukang.

There was a deep valley at Seoho Peak, where the water stream that started from Mt. Pyeongjeong penetrated.

It was here that the inner core of the Hwa-hu was found.

Among the medicinal herbs that emit Yang energy, this medicinal herb, which is considered the best, was not easy to acquire.

First, I had to find a Hwa-hu that had lived for a hundred years while harboring heat, I had to catch that Hwa-hu, and the Hwa-hu had to be in a state where it hadn’t spat out its inner core.

Therefore, even if there were similar medicinal herbs, the inner core of the Hwa-hu was valued much higher.

However, in the valley of Seoho Peak, this inner core of the Hwa-hu was found along with an unidentified corpse.

“Now that I think about it, she said her father went out to find the Hwa-hu and didn’t return…….”

The reason the Mo-yong Clan collapsed early in the Righteous-Demonic War was partly because they suffered heavy losses by unreasonably supporting other sects that didn’t support them in time, but it was also because the young master who was supposed to lead the Mo-yong Clan disappeared at too early an age.

That strong Lady Mo-yong Seol would quietly talk to me and only me about her father in places where no one else was around whenever she was having the hardest nights.

What I could do for her, as I was not as prominent as her, was nothing more than listening to her repeated stories again and again.

One day, I had asked her.

I asked why she kept telling me the same story when I didn’t forget anything.

[I want you to remember my vivid memories, Gongja. So that when my memory fades. You can tell me vividly.]

And when the moment came when I could no longer listen to or tell her stories.

I, why didn’t I ask to listen to her stories first?

Why couldn’t I have approached her first with the excuse of checking if this story was correct? I regretted it immensely.

“Forget it. You don’t have to think about it anymore. It’s a future that won’t come now.”

The moment I felt something strange near my heart, I quickly shook my head and checked the ‘Book of Worldly Medicinal Herbs’ in my brain’s library again.

After estimating the exact location in the valley of Seoho Peak.

I jumped off the cliff.

Swoosh.

As I went down to a certain point, I started to hear the sound of a powerful stream of water pouring down.

I immediately fired the Flying Dragon Claw.

Whirrrrr.

With the sound of the small spring rotating fiercely, the Heavenly Silk thread slowly stretched, and the speed at which I was falling began to slow down.

When I reached almost the end of the valley, I could see the fierce current flowing into the center of the valley.

‘One, two, three, four.’

And as I counted the holes drilled into the valley wall, I decided on one spot, pulled out the Flying Dragon Claw, and kicked off the wall at the same time.

Thud.

It was quite a distance, but the movement felt light even to me.

Since learning the Tae-eul-jin-gyeong and the Cheon-ha-dok-haeng-sin, my movements were changing faster than I was surprised at myself.

“There it is.”

A small, shallow cave.

There was a corpse lying dead near the entrance.

“I’m sorry. But I will use it in a good place.”

I was about to turn over the corpse and touch its chest, but I felt a strange sensation.

“…….”

“…Save…me…….”

“!!”

My hair stood on end, and the Black Dragon Sword was drawn out by itself.

‘It wasn’t dead yet?’

I thought there would only be a corpse here, and I was in chaos itself because I hadn’t assumed that the corpse would be alive.

‘Kill to silence?’

I instantly erased the thought that flashed through my mind.

‘Forget it. Does it make sense to kill a person because of one medicinal herb?’

I was curious about the inner core of the Hwa-hu, but if I saved his life, wouldn’t he give me half of it? As I pulled him out of the cave to check his condition with that calculation, light shone on his face, and his face was revealed.

And my head tilted at the familiar face.

‘I.think.I’ve.seen.him.somewhere?’

My memory is too accurate to be wrong.

If I have seen it, I remember it, and if I don’t remember it, I haven’t seen it.

But this man in front of me was making me feel a strange feeling of “I think I’ve seen him somewhere?”.

‘Is this possible?’

At that moment, a faint voice flowed from his cracked throat.

I held my ear close.

“…Mo-yong…ga…….”

“What did you say?”

“……Mo-yong…….”

It felt like lightning had struck the back of my head.

‘Mo-yong’, he said.

Looking at the man’s face again, I recalled the faces of certain people.

Exactly, if I mixed the faces of ‘Mo-yong Seol’ and her younger brother ‘Mo-yong Jae-hwa’ half and half, the same face as this man appeared.

‘Then does that mean the missing young master of the Mo-yong Clan, Mo-yong Sang-won, was the owner of the Hwa-hu?’

I didn’t even have time to think about why he had died here alone with the inner core of the Hwa-hu.

I quickly checked his pulse.

“His pulse is too weak. What on earth is this? Is it poison?”

His pulse was fluttering as if he would die at any moment.

I quickly took off his clothes to find the poison marks, and I was shocked.

“Demonic Energy? Why!”