The Genius Warrior Who Remembers Everything Chapter 48

Chapter 48. A First-Rate Warrior Peering into the Darkness

They say an epithet feels awkward at first, but the more you hear it, the fonder you become of it. Yet I felt little affection for the epithet attached to me.

If anything, it was an epithet with a strange, grating quality that made something inside me flinch every time I heard it.

Because of that epithet, I could not even focus on the conversation, and then, out of nowhere, Jegal Cheon-gi was calling me “my liege…….” It was more than a little awkward.

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

I spoke while glancing at Jegal Hyeon-un.

I had received permission only after much difficulty. If he saw his own child volunteering to become the retainer of a disciple from a third-rate sect, could Jegal Hyeon-un’s mind not suddenly change?

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

Seeing Jegal Cheon-gi remain unmoving, I requested help from Jegal Hyeon-un.

Yet far from wearing a displeased expression, Jegal Hyeon-un was watching with interest.

At that moment, a black figure appeared in midair, took the same posture as Cheon-gi, and made a clasped hands greeting.

“From the moment Young Master heard that Great Hero Black Flame Dragon had come, he has been thinking about this. This was not decided overnight, so please do not cast him away.”

It was Yeong-yeong, half her face covered by a mask.

With Yeong-yeong’s appearance, the atmosphere became even more difficult.

Was it because I had not answered? The anxious Jegal Cheon-gi spoke even louder.

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

“Please accept him!”

“…….”

Once Jegal Cheon-gi began being stubborn, there was absolutely no breaking him.

In the Prison he could have left with a single word saying he would give up Mechanism Formations, he had refused to say it to the very end. In the life before my regression, he had been locked up there for eight years.

“Young Master Cheon-gi, I have no intention of founding a sect, nor do I intend to run a business or Escort Agency. If I go to the Murim Alliance, I will have subordinates, but even that applies only while I am inside the Murim Alliance. Is that not so?”

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

“No, that is not what I mean.”

I gently coaxed Jegal Cheon-gi.

If you keep acting like this, your father might flip the board altogether.

“Please listen to me. How about we become sworn brothers for now?”

“Pardon?”

“!”

“!”

Not only Jegal Cheon-gi and Yeong-yeong, but even Jegal Hyeon-un’s eyes went round.

At this level, would the Clan Head of the Jegal Clan not understand to some extent?

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

“Y-You would accept me as your younger brother?”

“We would become sworn brothers.”

Tears welled in Jegal Cheon-gi’s eyes.

“I will serve you with all my heart for the rest of my life, Elder Brother.”

At that overly resolute will, I ended up glancing at Jegal Hyeon-un again.

If this had happened when he was not present, I might have been delighted at gaining supreme talent.

Worried that he might be displeased, I carefully looked at him.

“Hahaha, good. This is good. There was such a method. Yes! A witness is needed at the seat where sworn brothers are made. May I be that witness?”

“……??”

For some reason, Jegal Hyeon-un laughed heartily again and again as he had a maidservant bring wine.

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

In the end, friendship was something that changed depending on how one acted from then on.

If we had enough trust in each other, sharing cups as brothers was enough.

“I will be in your care from now on, Elder Brother.”

“I’ll be counting on you too, younger brother.”

“And if I go to the Taeul Sect, may I ask one thing of you?”

“What is it?”

“I wish to use Yeong-yeong as my guard.”

“Hm. That should not be a problem. Since you are being dispatched, several warriors from the Jegal Clan will be dispatched with you anyway.”

“No, not that. I want Yeong-yeong to become a true warrior, not a Shadow Warrior.”

“Young Master! I am fine.”

The part of Yeong-yeong’s face not covered by the mask flushed bright red.

Perhaps because they had spent all that long time with only the two of them speaking to each other, listening to each other’s dreams and comforting each other.

“Would that not require the Clan Head’s permission more than mine?”

Shadow Warriors were trained in a way similar to assassins.

In the case of the Five Great Clans, they often trained Shadow Warriors directly to protect their direct descendants.

“Father. Please allow Yeong-yeong to stop working as a Shadow Warrior.”

“…….”

“Yeong-yeong’s dream is to become an outstanding warrior like Young Lady Murong Seol.”

At the name Murong Seol, one corner of my heart ached.

As a woman, she had risen to third in the Dragon and Phoenix Assembly, and she was a woman with a beautiful smile and an even more beautiful heart.

Later, she achieved enough with the sword to establish an art of her own and came to be called the Sword Empress. During the Great Righteous-Demonic War, after the Murong Clan was destroyed, she was assigned to the Sojeong Squad, and she was a life-saving benefactor who saved our Sojeong Squad many times.

‘I thought I was all right…….’

It seemed emotions did not grow old just because memories were old.

While I briefly sank into sentiment, Jegal Cheon-gi continued speaking.

“This is something I have thought about for a very long time. I can at least protect my own body, so please permit it, Father.”

“Clan Head, I am fine. Young Master! If you do this, you may end up confined in the Prison again.”

Yeong-yeong and Jegal Cheon-gi did not retreat a single step, each for the sake of the other.

“…….”

The one in an awkward position was Jegal Hyeon-un.

Whatever the case, Jegal Cheon-gi was a direct descendant of the Jegal Clan.

Moreover, it was because Jegal Cheon-gi had not learned martial arts that a Shadow Warrior had been assigned to him. If that child became a warrior, the person who could closely protect Jegal Cheon-gi would disappear.

“Then how about this?”

When I carefully brought it up, Jegal Hyeon-un looked at me with eyes full of expectation.

“If a Shadow Warrior was attached because Cheon-gi has not learned martial arts, then she should perform shadow duties only until Cheon-gi can protect himself, and afterward, she may be allowed to act as a warrior.”

“Mm. That is not a bad thought. But can Cheon-gi do that? Cheon-gi has disliked learning martial arts since childhood.”

Jegal Hyeon-un, if anything, showed that he welcomed the idea.

Then Jegal Cheon-gi also made a bright expression.

“I will do it, Father. I will definitely learn martial arts and make myself capable of protecting my own body.”

“…….”

“Very well. If Cheon-gi reaches the level of a first-rate warrior, I will permit Yeong-yeong to engage in outside activities.”

Jegal Hyeon-un probably thought he had set the threshold quite high, but Jegal Cheon-gi merely smiled at Yeong-yeong as if it had all worked out.

Thinking of Jegal Cheon-gi, who had entered martial arts at the late age of twenty-two and still climbed to the Transcendent Peak realm, that time would surely arrive much sooner than Jegal Hyeon-un imagined.

“Young Master.”

“Let’s achieve our goals together, Yeong-yeong.”

“Yes.”

Jegal Cheon-gi was clearly younger and Yeong-yeong had the larger build, but right now, they looked as if their ages had been switched.

***

The dispatch Traveling Party was arranged modestly.

The only person being dispatched was Jegal Cheon-gi, and because Jegal Cheon-gi did not have much in the way of personal assets, one baggage wagon and the carriage Cheon-gi would ride in made up the entirety of the Traveling Party.

“Elder Brother, are you not coming with me?”

“I still have business to finish before I return. Go ahead first. And this.”

I entrusted Cheon-gi with the bundle of Promissory Notes I had set aside separately.

When Cheon-gi checked the amount on the Promissory Notes, his eyes went round.

“Five thousand gold taels?”

“There will be limits to making Mechanism Formations right away, but use this to lay the groundwork for now. When I return, I will add more funds.”

For a while, there were as many places where money needed to go as there were mountains. For that reason too, I had to rob a few more secret vaults before the Murim Academy Exam began.

“Understood. I will stake my life to protect this money.”

Jegal Cheon-gi made a solemn vow and placed the Promissory Notes deep inside his robes.

“There is no need to stake your life. What matters most to me is you.”

“……Elder Brother.”

For some reason, Jegal Cheon-gi’s eyes grew moist.

After sending Jegal Cheon-gi ahead that way, I made a clasped hands greeting toward Jegal Hyeon-un and Jegal Jeong, who had come out to see us off.

“I am leaving after receiving much kindness from you. If I showed any discourtesy during my stay, please forgive me with your broad generosity.”

Jegal Jeong was twisting his beard as though something displeased him.

“When will you come again?”

“Pardon?”

“The Slash-and-Burn Farmer Village. You need to see whether those people are living well, do you not?”

I had heard he had been going back and forth to the Slash-and-Burn Farmer Village for the past few days, and it seemed he had already given those people his heart.

The more I came to know him, the easier he was to read.

“Since the Grand Elder is watching over them, I am not worried.”

“Hmph! Why would I care about those people! If you ever pass through Mount Longzhong again, be sure to stop by before leaving.”

Saying that, Jegal Jeong went inside.

Jegal Hyeon-un chuckled as he watched him.

“It seems the Grand Elder rather took a liking to you.”

“Does he not dislike me instead?”

“To people he dislikes, the Grand Elder only tells them to live well. He does not say he wishes to see them again for any reason.”

“He truly has a difficult personality.”

“In truth, my heart is no different. Stop by from time to time and tell me about my son.”

“Understood. Then I will see you again.”

***

In Dengfeng, Henan Province, there was a secret residence of White Horse Mountain Lord, a legend among bandits.

White Horse Mountain Lord was the Bandit King who, for the first time, united the Seventy-Two Green Forest Strongholds into a single Green Forest Alliance and ruled all the mountain roads under heaven.

The tribute he received throughout his life from seventy-two mountain strongholds alone was enormous, and the treasure he personally plundered was also beyond imagination.

After he died, people expected to see what sort of treasure he had left behind.

Yet not a single piece of wealth remained in his residence.

Because of that, people believed the treasure left behind by the greedy White Horse Mountain Lord must be hidden somewhere, and they searched all under heaven.

However, even after every thief in the Murim World searched all under heaven, they never found White Horse Mountain Lord’s secret vault.

That secret vault was discovered when Shaolin Temple of Mount Song built a guest hall in Dengfeng.

People had not been able to imagine that White Horse Mountain Lord, a bandit, would have built his secret vault near Mount Song, where Shaolin Temple was located.

“It’s lucky for me that White Horse Mountain Lord liked gold.”

The secret vault did not contain as much as Wolhyang’s tomb, but it yielded enough gold to fill three bundles.

I immediately stopped by the Hao Gate Branch in Zhengzhou, Henan Province, and exchanged all the gold for Promissory Notes.

Then, strangely, they paid me the full market price again this time.

“Jin So-un is listed for special handling.”

Those were the words of the Zhengzhou Branch Chief, whom I was meeting for the first time.

“Is that so?”

“The Gate Master asked that you wait a little longer for an answer.”

He did not say what it was an answer to, but I knew very well what he meant.

“Understood.”

It did not matter much as long as the decision came before the Murim Academy’s Regular Exam began.

From there, I headed straight to West Lake Peak in Mugang.

At West Lake Peak, pierced through by a waterway beginning from Mount Pingding, there was a deep ravine.

It was there that the Fire Monkey’s Inner Core would be discovered.

This Spiritual Medicine, counted as foremost among Spiritual Medicines that emitted Yang Qi, was extremely difficult to obtain.

First, one had to find a Fire Monkey that had lived for a hundred years while harboring heat. Then one had to catch that Fire Monkey, and the Fire Monkey had to be in a state where it had not spat out its Inner Core.

That was why, even if there were Spiritual Medicines with similar effects, the Fire Monkey’s Inner Core was valued far higher.

Yet in the ravine of West Lake Peak, this Fire Monkey’s Inner Core would be discovered together with an unidentified corpse.

“Come to think of it, she said her father went out to search for a Fire Monkey and never returned…….”

Among the reasons the Murong Clan collapsed in the early days of the Great Righteous-Demonic War was that they suffered heavy losses by forcing themselves to support even places that other sects had failed to support in time. But there was also the fact that the Young Clan Head who should have led the Murong Clan had disappeared at too young an age.

That strong Young Lady Murong Seol, whenever she passed the hardest nights, would quietly tell only me stories about her father in a place where no one else was around, again and again.

I, whose exploits had not stood out compared to hers, could do only one thing for her.

Listen, and keep listening, to her repeated stories.

One day, I asked her.

I forget nothing, so why do you keep telling me the same story?

[I want you, Young Master, to remember my vivid memories. That way, when my own memories grow faint, you can tell them back to me vividly.]

And when, at some point, the moment came when I could no longer listen to her stories or tell them back to her, I deeply regretted it.

Why had I not asked first and listened?

Why had I not approached first under the pretext of asking whether I remembered the story correctly?

“Stop. You can stop thinking about it. That’s a future that will no longer come.”

The moment I began to feel something strange near my heart, I quickly shook my head and checked the Murim Compendium of Spiritual Medicines again in the library inside my head.

After judging the exact location in the ravine of West Lake Peak, I jumped down the cliff.

ROOOAR.

After I descended a certain distance, I began to hear the sound of a powerful stream of water pouring down.

I immediately shot the Flying Dragon Claw.

WHIRRRRR.

Along with the sound of a small spring winding fiercely, the Heavenly Silkworm Thread slowly extended, and the speed of my downward fall began to slow.

When I almost reached the end of the ravine, I saw the fierce current flowing through the center of the valley.

‘One, two, three, four.’

While counting the holes pierced into the ravine wall, I chose one, pulled out the Flying Dragon Claw, and kicked off the wall at the same time.

TAP.

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

Since learning the Taeul True Scripture and the Unrivaled under Heaven Movement Art, my movements had been changing so quickly that even I was surprised.

“There it is.”

A small cave that was not deep.

Near the entrance lay one dead body.

“I’m sorry. Still, I’ll use this for a good purpose.”

As I turned the corpse over and was about to feel inside his robes, I sensed something strange.

“…….”

“…sa…ve me…….”

“!!”

My hair stood on end, and the Black Dragon Sword drew itself of its own accord.

‘He wasn’t dead yet?’

I had thought only that there would be a corpse here. I had never assumed that corpse might be alive, so I was confusion itself.

‘Kill him to silence him?’

I erased the thought that flashed through my mind.

‘Stop. Does it make any sense to kill a person over one Spiritual Medicine?’

The Fire Monkey’s Inner Core was regrettable, but if I saved his life, wouldn’t he at least share about half?

With that calculation, I pulled him a little outside the cave to examine his condition.

At that moment, light fell on his face, revealing it.

And at the familiar face, my head tilted to the side.

‘ I.feel.like .I’ve.seen.him.somewhere?’

My memory was too accurate to be wrong.

If I had seen something, I remembered it. If I did not remember it, then I had not seen it.

Yet this man before my eyes was making me feel that strange sensation of ‘I feel like I have seen him somewhere?’

‘Is this possible?’

Then, a faint voice flowed from his cracked throat.

I pressed my ear close.

“…Mo…yong…Clan…….”

“What did you say?”

“……Murong…….”

It felt as if lightning had struck the back of my head.

‘Murong,’ he said.

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

To be exact, if one mixed the face of ‘Murong Seol’ and the face of her younger brother, ‘Murong Jae-hwa,’ half and half, the result would be a face exactly like this man’s.

‘Then the missing Young Clan Head of the Murong Clan, Murong Sang-won, was the owner of the Fire Monkey’s Inner Core?’

There was no time to think about how he had come to be dying alone in this place while carrying the Fire Monkey’s Inner Core.

I quickly took his pulse.

“His pulse is too weak. What on earth is this? Poison?”

His pulse fluttered as if it would die out at any moment.

I quickly stripped off his clothes and tried to look for poison marks, only to gasp in shock.

“Demonic Qi? Why?!”