The Martial Genius Who Remembers Everything Chapter 73

[ … words ]

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Crossing Anhui Province and beginning to see Mount Tianmu, Eun-ho’s face began to turn pale.

“Sa-hyeong, do you truly intend to take the first exam at the Ssang-mak-chae (Twin Tent Camp)?”

“Yes.”

“……Is there perhaps a side effect in the Tae-eul-jin-gyeong that causes one to lose their reason…….”

In the end, Eun-ho was hit once on the back of the head.

“This fellow has nothing he can’t say to the Dae-sa-hyeong as time goes by.”

“No, honestly, that’s right. Even in the Murim Alliance, they say not to go there, so why are you trying to enter by risking your life?”

In this hell entrance exam, the mountain bandit camps designated by the Murim Alliance appeared sporadically and repeated disappearing, whereas the Nok-lim-chil-sip-i-chae (Green Forest Seventy-Two Camps) had the characteristics of a regional hegemon because they took root in major areas of the Jianghu. Therefore, there is no one who steps forward to subjugate the Nok-lim-chil-sip-i-chae as an exam for the first gate.

Moreover, Ssang-mak-chae has two different mountain bandit camps taking root centering on Mount Tianmu, just as its name suggests.

In a word, it means one has to deal with two mountain bandit camps at once.

“That’s what I mean. Why on earth are you trying to poke a beehive?”

Even so, the reason I targeted Ssang-mak-chae was that this Ssang-mak-chae was easier to handle than the other four thousand mountain bandit camps.

‘To be precise, the bear has talent, and I take the money.’

Eun-ho was looking at me with eyes that could not be convinced at all.

“Sometimes, work that looks difficult may not be that difficult.”

How would a mere sparrow know the deep meaning of a Dae-bung (Great Roc)? I ignored Eun-ho’s grumbling words and ran, reaching my destination, Mokgi-hyeon.

“Sa-hyeong, it seems like some war broke out in the village…….”

The state of Mokgi-hyeon was more miserable than the contents in the report I had seen in my previous life.

“It is more serious than I thought.”

Houses that were collapsing were lined up everywhere, and most of the places where there were traces of business were closed.

By the roadside, there were only skinny old people making straw while basking in the sun, and children walking around in filthy appearances.

“…….”

“…….”

“…….”

The three brothers, who had been chattering until the entrance of the village, were overwhelmed by the strange atmosphere of the village and shut their mouths tight.

Entering an inn I barely found to solve my hunger, there was not even a clerk, and only an old man with a prickly appearance was wiping his hands in the kitchen and coming out.

“Order.”

“Since we have been sleeping outside for a few days. Is there any kind of food that is available right away?”

“If you want to eat food, go to West Lake or Hangzhou. Because we only have noodles.”

“……Then please give us that.”

The old man who received the order went into the kitchen without answering, and I looked around to see if the person I was looking for had come, but the people sitting inside the inn were all old people as well.

‘He should have clearly arrived in Mokgi-hyeon today.’

The three brothers, who had been consistent with silence, were overwhelmed by the atmosphere. Only after a long time had passed did Eun-ho say as if he had realized something.

“Sa-hyeong, there are no young people in the village. Did they all go out to the city to earn money?”

The old man, who was coming out with noodles and water, roughly put down the food.

“Don’t say such things carelessly in this village. To those who have nothing more to lose, the sword of a warrior does not even enter their eyes.”

“…….”

At the old man’s sharp reaction, Eun-ho became a mute who had eaten honey.

I could understand the old man’s reaction to some extent.

According to the records of the Man-tong-bu (General Communication Pavilion), this village, called Mokgi-hyeon, had always been a plentiful place thanks to goods and people heading to Hangzhou and West Lake.

However, as the generation change of the Ssang-mak-chae took place and new camp leaders entered, the plundering of the neighboring villages became unspeakably severe.

Because of that, all the young men and women of the village died, leaving only the old and the young. On top of that, merchants no longer went back and forth on this road because of the toll of Mount Tianmu, which had risen three times higher than the existing toll.

When the villagers, who had lost even their desire for life and hope, were just waiting for death.

‘There is a person who stops that and takes over the Ssang-mak-chae.’

Thud!

The old door opened roughly as if it were going to break.

I turned my body slowly at the powerful Gi-pa (Qi Wave) felt behind my back.

“Hey, owner!”

A man entered, leading a group. His hearty voice rang loudly through the cold inn.

Arrived at the accurate date and accurate time as recorded.

“Bring Ohyang-jang-yuk (Five-Spice Pork) and Baek-hwa-ju (Hundred Flower Liquor) here!”

A man with a rugged face like a mountain bandit, with a huge build and forearms as big as an ordinary woman’s waist.

“Gaga, is it possible to eat Ohyang-jang-yuk in a place like this?”

And the beautiful woman embraced in his arms.

It was San-wang Bang Du-chil, the future leader of the Green Forest Alliance, and Baek So-ryeong, the wisdom of the Green Forest Alliance.

The old man’s brow, who had come out of the kitchen, was crumpled heavily.

“Ohyang-jang-yuk? If you want to eat such a thing, go to West Lake or Hangzhou.”

I clicked my tongue at the old man’s unstoppable race.

I think he is truly an old man who sees nothing.

Even if we were faces before the age of twenty, it might be like that, but Bang Du-chil would have a serious sense of intimidation from his externally visible appearance. The old man was truly treating everyone equally and prickly, as if he did not fear death at all.

Who is Bang Du-chil?

Yeok-bal-san-gi-gae-se (Overcoming mountains with strength, spirit covering the world).

This man, called the Second Coming of Xiang Yu, was a transcendent existence who reached the zenith without any special training, born with the Cheon-gang-mu-geuk-che (Heavenly Steel Limitless Physique).

A person who takes the Murim entrance exam with only his lover and colleagues without any sect, and in the midst of that, receives a request for ‘one nyang of silver’ from a child and subjugates the Ssang-mak-chae.

In the midst of this, his Danjeon was damaged, so he could not take the Murim entrance exam in the end, but even with that damaged Danjeon, he was a person who would later unify all the Nok-lim-chil-sip-i-chae and create the Green Forest Alliance and rise to the position of the Mountain King.

He was a truly fearless old man.

“Kehahahahaha! What a prickly old man. Yes. Then what can we eat?”

“Noodles.”

“Yes? Then bring all the noodles you have.”

“……Wait.”

In my previous life, I had fought against the Demonic Cult in cooperation with him several times. He was the true Green Forest King who first dominated the Green Forest, but as the anecdote of the ‘request for one nyang of silver’ shows, he was a person overflowing with spirit and affection.

If the wound he suffered in the battle with Ssang-mak-chae had not worsened and he had not died young, and if the Murim Alliance had properly cooperated with the Green Forest Alliance, it was the thought of Je-gal Cheon-gi, who was the military advisor of the So-jeong-dae, that they could have bound the Demonic Cult in Gangnam.

Of course, there was a question.

A question as to why he, who possessed the Cheon-gang-mu-geuk-che, had suffered damage to his Danjeon that was impossible to recover.

I had asked him several times during drinking parties with him, but he only said it was because he was immature at the time.

“Owner, is this all?”

The old man had brought out enough noodles to fill the table, but Bang Du-chil and his subordinates had expressed that they were not very interested.

“This is all. More than that, do you have money?”

When the old man looked at Bang Du-chil with a suspicious expression, Baek So-ryeong smiled and took out one nyang of silver and handed it over.

“If you have liquor, could we ask for it together?”

“……Do so.”

Perhaps because no matter how prickly the personality was, it could not help it in the face of Baek So-ryeong’s smiling face, the moment the old man coughed and was about to go into the restaurant.

“I ate well here.”

I held out the noodle payment.

“…….”

The old man, who stared blankly at the one nyang of silver I handed over, frowned.

“Where is a case where you pay a nyang of silver after eating four bowls of noodles?”

“The change is fine.”

“…….”

The old man had a face that somehow felt guilty.

“You seem to be in very difficult circumstances, are you alright?”

I carefully brought up the topic to connect Bang Du-chil and the old man.

“……The drought has continued this year, if it snows a little in winter, we would be able to cross the barley hump at least.”

Regrettably, snow will not fall in Zhejiang Province this winter. According to the reports of the Murim Alliance branch in West Lake and Hangzhou, the drought that started from the year before last continued until winter, and the entire Zhejiang Province suffered from famine, and the Mount Tianmu area especially had so many people dying of starvation that even the corrupt magistrate opened his own storehouse.

“Is it perhaps because of the Ssang-mak-chae?!”

At Eun-ho’s sudden words, the old man’s eyebrows jumped up.

“What?”

“I am asking if the village is having such a hard time because of the plundering of the Ssang-mak-chae.”

The old man’s eyes sank.

“I said earlier, don’t say such things carelessly in this village.”

“As far as I know, I heard that Mokgi-hyeon is a village one must pass through when going to West Lake and Hangzhou, so it was always overflowing with goods and people.”

“……That is all a story of the past.”

“If the plundering is that severe, have you not requested help from the Murim Alliance?”

Eun-ho shouted as if he had experienced it himself, and the old man’s face also gradually flushed red.

“I have! I have! But when has the Murim Alliance ever stepped forward for people who are powerless and have no money like us?”

“……How, such a…….”

When the three brothers were shocked by reality and opened their mouths wide.

Bang Du-chil’s party, who had been eating noodles noisily, was also quietly focusing on this side.

“Ha…… you fellows should not be in this village. Hurry and go on your way.”

The old man put the received silver on the table and collected all the half-eaten noodle bowls.

“Elder……! Please tell us a little more…….”

I stood up from my seat first at the old man’s order to leave. However, I left the silver as it was.

“I ate well.”

“……But Sa-hyeong!”

“The elder’s words are correct. Let’s get up.”

“But Sa-hyeong clearly…….”

Watching Eun-ho looking like he had something to say, I quickly sent a secret voice transmission.

-It is not the time to talk now. There is a way to solve everything, so get up for now.

Just as the three Gold, Silver, and Bronze brothers were about to get up with their shoulders drooping, a loud voice rang out from a corner of the restaurant.

“Owner! I am a little more curious about that story. Tell me.”

Bang Du-chil and his party had begun to be curious about the old man’s story.

‘For now, the work I had to do is all finished.’

The old man turned sharply and shot at Bang Du-chil with eyes that had Ssang-sim-ji (double wick) lit.

“Did you not hear what I said just a moment ago? That it is a matter the Murim Alliance also gave up on! And it is not a matter for you fellows to worry about either! Either get lost right away or just eat your noodles quietly, do only one thing.”

“No! I must hear the story!”

Bang Du-chil raised his huge body.

“Let’s go.”

In the meantime, I led the three brothers and went outside.

“Sa-hyeong! It’s different from what you said earlier.”

Unlike the morning when they were pale at the word that they would subjugate the Ssang-mak-chae, Eun-ho could not suppress his indignation after seeing the state of the village.

“There is a method for everything, so just wait a little.”

In reality, how could it be possible for us four to deal with the Ssang-mak-chae? However, if it is a case of lending a hand when Bang Du-chil and Baek So-ryeong step forward and his subordinates try to subjugate the Ssang-mak-chae, my thought was that it was sufficiently possible.

I don’t know if it is because the characteristics of people born with the Cheon-gang-mu-geuk-che are originally like that, but Bang Du-chil is a person who considers loyalty and justice as the most important virtues.

Whether he becomes the Green Forest King like in my previous life or changes to come to the Murim Alliance, opposing the Demonic Cult is a certain destiny.

The moment I left the inn satisfied with my actions like that.

Some young voice was heard.

“Ajussi…… are you the Black Flame Dragon Dae-hyeop?”

The state of the dirty little kid, as if he had not received any parental touch at all.

Unlike my brow being crumpled heavily, Dong-ryong could not hide his laughter and answered instead.

“How did you know?”

The kid pointed to my sword.

“I heard you have a black sword and clothes all over, and have a despicable face.”

“……?”

What is it? Didn’t a strange word enter at the end just a moment ago?

“Ajussi, are you the Black Flame Dragon Dae-hyeop?”

“It seems strange rumors have spread. I am called that…….”

The kid suddenly held out what he was holding tightly in both hands.

“Then please save my mom and dad. Grandpa said mom and dad went to Mount Kunlun to earn money. That is all a lie. Mom and dad are caught in the Ssang-mak-chae.”

What the kid held out was one nyang of silver stained with grime.

“Huh?”

Why give this to me? And what on earth is the meaning of the parents being alive?

“Mom and dad have caught… Please save them.”

“…….”

It seems something is tangled up tightly.

“Kid, are you sure your parents are alive?”

“……Uh.”

“How can you ask such a question…….”

“……Wow.”

The three Gold, Silver, and Bronze brothers sent disappointed gazes.

It cannot be helped.

Because it was said in the report of the Hangzhou branch of the Murim Alliance that when they requested revenge for the price of ‘one nyang of silver’, Bang Du-chil, who wanted to boast his power, stepped forward using this as a pretext.

‘No way…… these bastards…….’

Even until the Great War of Righteous and Demonic Factions occurred, the feeling of the rift between the evil faction and the righteous faction was quite deep.

Since they did not welcome the Nok-lim-chil-sip-i-chae gathering under the name of the Green Forest Alliance, if one thinks that they wrote the report to disparage the opponent…….

“Damn…… bastards…….”

No matter how much one wants to devalue the opponent, there is work one must do and work one must not do.

“Yes?”

While I was lost in thought for a moment, the kid was trembling while looking at my face.

“Ah, I am sorry. But is it certain that your parents were kidnapped?”

“Wow…… Sa-hyeong truly…….”

“Stay still. We have to hear the story properly.”

The kid, who had tears in his eyes at the thought of his parents, said.

“I have seen them at Mount Tianmu. Dad was digging the ground, and Mom was wiping the bowls. Il-seong’s parents and Jeong-jeong’s dad are all there too.”

“Hmm…….”

A comprehensive revision of the plan is needed.

Even if the Mountain King is the possessor of a constitution that is not human-like, he cannot walk around as he pleases with hostages in front.

‘Moreover, when I think of his personality I saw in my previous life. If hostages were caught…….’

Only now have the pieces I did not know in the past begun to fit together.

The reason why an existence of the Cheon-oe-cheon (Heaven outside of Heaven) who could not suffer injury even if he wanted to, suffered irreparable damage.

“It was because of the hostages.”

I looked at the kid for a moment.

If hostages are caught, it should not proceed like in my previous life.

“Do you live alone?”

“With Grandpa here.”

The prickly old man from a little while ago was the kid’s grandfather.

I held the kid’s hand and entered the inn again.

“Please take this.”

The kid kept trying to give me the silver.

“No. The person who should receive this money is not me.”

“Then who?”

“Among the people inside here…….”

I opened the door and went in and pointed to Bang Du-chil.

“The person you will give money to is that scary-looking one over there…….”

I could not finish my words.

Bang Du-chil was performing a Deop-eo-chi-gi (Throwing) on the old man.