The Genius Warrior Who Remembers Everything Chapter 80

Chapter 80. Those Who Chase the Dragon

Bang Du-chil was persistent.

Every time our eyes met, he kept shouting something about “sworn brothers” and followed me around.

If Dong-ryong had not been recovering because he was injured during the battle, I would have wanted to flee by night long ago.

“I’m…… sorry.”

Dong-ryong, who had risen from the bed, lowered his head between Geum-pyo and Eun-ho like a prisoner.

“Please forgive me. Eldest Senior Brother.”

Surprisingly, Dong-ryong remembered the actions he had committed quite clearly.

He said that inside his consciousness, he was definitely himself, but the one moving his body had not been him.

There was no way to see the outside situation with one’s consciousness when the Heavenly Killing Star awakened.

The fact that Dong-ryong had been able to maintain his consciousness was likely entirely thanks to the Taeul True Scripture.

Fortunately, the higher his achievement in the Taeul True Scripture became, the more firmly the thread of his consciousness would take root, and Dong-ryong would never become an Evil Spirit again.

“I won’t…… I won’t do it again.”

“What do you mean?”

“……Those… things.”

He could not continue properly and looked as if he were about to cry.

I tried hard to hold back the laughter that almost burst out at his tearful eyes, which looked ready to spill tears at any moment.

“Do you mean turning into an Evil Spirit?”

“Hic, hic.”

Tears fell from his eyes, which were raised like a rabbit’s.

He looked as if he did not know what to do, afraid of when his killing star nature might awaken.

That appearance was needlessly cute, making me want to tease him.

“But what if your killing star nature awakens again next time……”

“Waaah. Hic, hic.”

In the end, Dong-ryong burst into tears.

Geum-pyo and Eun-ho knelt down.

“Senior Brother! I will take responsibility.”

“Eldest Senior Brother! I will take responsibility too.”

What was with these guys suddenly kneeling and causing a fuss?

“Hmm, how exactly will the two of you take responsibility?”

“……We talked about it last night. If…… Dong-ryong tries to become an Evil Spirit again, then Eun-ho and I will……”

“Stop there! What in the world are you talking about?”

My heart suddenly sank.

Just what was inside these guys’ heads?

I let out a sigh.

“Do not worry. Dong-ryong will not become an Evil Spirit again.”

“Yes? Truly, Senior Brother?”

“Yes. Of course, to enter a safer range, he will have to train in the Taeul True Scripture like his life depends on it and raise his achievement much higher, but once his achievement in the Taeul True Scripture reaches the Fifth Star, he should be able to suppress the killing star nature, and once it reaches the Seventh Star, he will no longer fall into the killing star nature.”

Geum-pyo and Eun-ho quickly rose and wrapped their arms around Dong-ryong’s shoulders.

“Dong-ryong! Did you hear that?! You are not an Evil Spirit! There is no way my younger brother is an Evil Spirit!”

“See! I told you there was no need to worry!”

Dong-ryong was smiling while tears and snot streamed down his face.

However, I could not tell whether he was happy that he would not become an Evil Spirit, or happy that he could come with us.

The boys did not know it, but thanks to the Taeul True Scripture, Dong-ryong had effectively gained an incredible talent that would not fall behind any special constitution as a martial warrior.

I looked at the three brothers, who had their arms around one another and were excited among themselves, and said,

“That is why there must be no gaps in your training from now on either. There was meaning in everything when I made you train in Moving Circulation like your lives depended on it.”

“Of course. Of course. From now on, even if Senior Brother says you can make soybean paste out of red beans, I will believe you unconditionally.”

“Oh, honestly.”

One thousand two hundred refugees had arisen from the three villages around Mount Tianmu.

Their homes had been brutally destroyed, the roofs of the thatched houses that had not been maintained had all collapsed, and the blood spilled by the bandits flowed into the streams and wells of the villages, leaving them with no way to carry on living.

“Mom, I’m hungry.”

“Yes, try to endure a little longer. Let us go up the mountain and pick edible herbs.”

“You’re going to leave me behind again? You won’t, right?”

“……Yes, this time we will go together.”

Even so, they felt boundless gratitude that they could see one another alive again.

“They say everyone is thinking of leaving their hometowns behind and heading toward Hangzhou. It will be hard to even get through this winter here.”

Village Chief Heo, who had now become something like the representative of the three villages, let out a long sigh.

“Still, it is fortunate that we were able to meet one another again like this. This is all thanks to you.”

“You flatter me.”

Village Chief Heo took out the five-thousand-tael promissory note I had given him from inside his robe.

“This is what you entrusted to me.”

“Did I not tell you to buy the supplies you need?”

“We are not so shameless.”

Village Chief Heo stopped speaking for a moment, then continued.

“I will repay this grace somehow. It will naturally not be in my lifetime, but in the lifetime of my children…… If that does not work, then in the lifetime of my grandchildren…… And if even that does not work, then even through the descendants after them, I will surely repay it.”

The old man, whose hair had gone completely white, wore a guilty expression because he had no way to express his gratitude.

We had searched Twin Curtain Stronghold, but nothing like treasure had appeared.

According to Yang Gun-baek, Twin Curtain Stronghold had recently spent a great deal of money while expanding its strongholds.

Useless bastards until the very end.

In the end, although we had subjugated the mountain stronghold, nothing came out of it, so there was nothing to distribute to the village.

“If it takes that long, then in the end, I will not receive any benefit, will I?”

“…….”

I held out the promissory note again.

“It may not be enough, but please use it to rebuild the villages.”

If the villages disappeared, it would also take a long time for the mountain strongholds of Mount Tianmu to be rebuilt.

If the mountain strongholds could not grow, it would also take Bang Du-chil longer to seize control of the Green Forest Alliance.

Moreover, I knew all too well what it felt like for unrelated people to fall into suffering because they were swept up in a great battle or war.

‘If I truly need money, there are a few more places I can rob.’

“……But……”

The old man, who had never received anything in his entire life, seemed afraid of the enormous amount of five thousand gold taels itself.

Hmm, what should I do about this……?

In truth, there was a method I had thought of.

“Then how about this? Use this money to rebuild the villages, and from now on, send a portion of the profits from the villages to the Taeul Sect.”

“……?!”

The old man’s eyes flashed open.

“If you think of it as investment money, would that make your heart more comfortable?”

People like Village Chief Heo actually felt more comfortable receiving something if even a small burden was placed on them.

It was a trait of people who had never had anything for free in their lives.

“Th-Then……”

“Would that be all right?”

Village Chief Heo nodded violently.

“For the next thirty years, I will send one-tenth of the profits from the three villages to your sect.”

“Ah, no…… That is too much.”

What I had said was simply meant to make him feel less burdened, not to tell him to put a shackle around his own neck.

However, Village Chief Heo shook his head so hard it looked as if it might fall off.

“No. I must do at least that much for me to receive this money and for the villagers to settle back into the villages comfortably.”

“…….”

The villages around Mount Tianmu were located at a passage that merchants had no choice but to pass through.

Moreover, it was a place where those exhausted from crossing the high mountain range would inevitably stop and rest either before crossing the mountain or after crossing it.

Village Chief Heo and the villagers had no idea how much their villages could develop.

When I could not answer hastily, Village Chief Heo grasped my hand with resolute eyes.

“Instead, I have a request.”

“What is it?”

“Allow us to use the Taeul Sect’s name in the village.”

“What do you mean by that……”

“I mean, allow us to say that these villages are under the protection of the Taeul Sect.”

This sort of contract was a protection contract commonly made in commercial districts where sects were based, but there was no example of someone like me making a contract with three entire villages at once, especially with a place far from the sect.

Moreover, the Taeul Sect was currently under sealed gates, and it was far too distant for the Taeul Sect to extend its influence here.

“At the very least, I want others to be afraid of our villages.”

Village Chief Heo kept glancing at Bang Du-chil and his party.

It seemed he was on guard because of the talk that a mountain stronghold would be established again on Mount Tianmu.

However, during the process of cleaning up the corpses after the battle, he had seen Bang Du-chil dig a huge pit with a single Palm Force, bury all the corpses inside it, and then cover it with soil again with a single punch, so he simply could not say anything.

I scratched my head and answered,

“That seems a little difficult. From the start, the Taeul Sect is not that frightening a sect either……”

At that moment, Baek So-ryeong, who had been listening to the conversation, began whispering into Bang Du-chil’s ear.

Bang Du-chil crumpled his enormous body to listen, then nodded and stepped forward.

“I will do it!”

“Pardon?”

“I will do it. Protect the three villages, I mean.”

“…….”

Bang Du-chil thumped his own chest and laughed heartily.

“In exchange, you become sworn brothers with me. Only then will I have a justification to protect them, will I not?”

“…….”

Village Chief Heo brightened at Bang Du-chil’s words and looked at me, while Baek So-ryeong, standing beside Bang Du-chil, held back her laughter with a chuckle.

As it was, in my previous life, I had been suspected of being a Black Path spy merely because I had carried out several operations with the Green Forest Alliance.

And now I was in a situation where I would become the future Green Forest Alliance Leader’s sworn brother.

This…… If I was treated as a Black Path martial artist, I would have nothing to say, would I?

Before I knew it, Village Chief Heo was suddenly looking at me with desperate eyes, like someone leaving behind his last will.

“……If that could happen, I would have no wish left even if I died right now……”

Pressing my throbbing head with my fingers, I asked Bang Du-chil,

“Haah…… Why exactly are you trying to become sworn brothers with me? My sect is nothing special, my background is nothing special, and I am nothing more than a Third-Rate Warrior.”

“I have never met anyone greater than me until now.”

“You think I am great? I met a Fortuitous Encounter, so, in other words, I was lucky and ended up like this. But Great Brother Bang achieved tremendous martial arts without anything, did you not? Even if we look at future potential, I cannot compare.”

At my firm words, Bang Du-chil shook his huge face from side to side.

“The ‘greatness’ I speak of is not something like martial arts.”

“……Pardon?”

Then he bared his surprisingly white teeth and grinned.

“A man who steps forward for the weak without fear, and who does not hesitate to part with his precious wealth, has a remarkable breadth of spirit that is not easily found even if one searches all under heaven.”

“…….”

“You were the first to make me feel astonishment. Since I cannot take someone like you as a subordinate, is it not only natural for a man to want to become sworn brothers with you?”

It was a logic that made no sense…… but there was no way out.

From the start, when someone clashed with me so sincerely like that, it was difficult to refuse to the end.

Village Chief Heo, who had been leaving a will as if he might die at any moment until just now, nodded so hard it looked as if his neck would break.

“Haah…….”

In the end, I let out a long sigh.

Fine, when had I ever walked the path of a prestigious Orthodox Path martial artist?

“Understood. Let us do that……”

“Go and bring a knife!”

No, I had not even finished answering yet…… More importantly, a knife?

A knife, he said?

“Why a knife?”

“To become sworn brothers, we must make a blood oath……”

This man said frightening things so casually.

I stopped him and sent a look of help to Baek So-ryeong, who stood beside him.

“We have seen so much blood, and you still want more blood? Let us simply share cups as brothers!”

“Yes, dear. I also no longer wish to smell blood.”

Fortunately, Bang Du-chil obediently listened to Baek So-ryeong’s words.

“Shall we? Hey, Village Chief Heo, is there any wine in this village?”

“You bastards drank it all, so what are you talking about!”

Amusingly, even after seeing Bang Du-chil’s divine might, Village Chief Heo did not stop cursing.

Of course, Bang Du-chil was not the type to care much about that either.

“Hmm…… Then first, we will have to buy wine from a nearby village. Wait a moment, younger brother.”

We had not even shared cups as brothers yet, but he was already calling me younger brother.

I was already worried about how rough the road ahead would become.

As Bang Du-chil moved his enormous body and disappeared with great strides, Baek So-ryeong approached me and whispered softly.

“You truly are remarkable, Young Master Jin.”

“What do you mean?”

“Right now, it looks like a structure where you alone are taking all the losses, but in only a few years, you will gain tremendous profit. The profits from the three villages around Mount Tianmu, and becoming sworn brothers with the Green Forest Alliance Leader…… Is that not so?”

As if she had seen the future where Bang Du-chil became the Green Forest Alliance Leader, Baek So-ryeong was naturally calling him the Green Forest Alliance Leader.

As expected, she was no ordinary person.

“This was certainly your idea, Lady Baek, was it not?”

When I voiced my suspicion, Baek So-ryeong gave a meaningful smile.

As expected, there was no way this kind of thought had come from the head of that enormous but simple-looking Bang Du-chil.

“Why did you deliberately tell the Green Forest Alliance Leader to become sworn brothers with a person from an Orthodox Path sect?”

“That was purely my dear’s own thought. He wanted you so badly but did not know how, so I merely gave him a little advice.”

“…….”

Baek So-ryeong carefully looked over my face and continued speaking.

“And I thought Young Master Jin would become the greatest threat to our dear in the future. That is why I thought it would be better to deliberately form a connection.”

“……Me?”

As for me, I was counted among the most harmless people in the Murim Alliance in my previous life.

How harmless was I?

I was so harmless, too harmless, that the Murim Alliance often placed me at the very front in the war against the Demonic Cult and used me as a meat shield.

When I tilted my head, unable to understand, Baek So-ryeong gave her characteristic meaningful smile.

“Hehe, you have not yet objectively understood yourself. This is why men are cute.”

“Eldest Senior Brother!”

While I was sharing cups as brothers with Bang Du-chil and, using that as an excuse, emptying all five jars of wine he had bought, Geum-pyo rushed in, panting.

“I think you need to come outside for a moment.”

When I headed outside the inn, a traveling party full of injured people was passing by.

And their faces soon came to mind in my head.

‘Gyeryong Merchant Guild.’

The traveling party of one hundred wanderers that had left so proudly to subjugate a mountain stronghold had less than even a quarter of its number remaining.

Even among them, most were injured, wrapped in bandages and fitted with splints.

“Senior Brother.”

When I looked where Eun-ho subtly shifted his gaze, I saw Gye Yeon-seung, whose right sleeve fluttered empty, leading a cart loaded with two black coffins.

Since Gye Yeon-seok and Gye Cheol-yeong were nowhere to be seen, it seemed the two of them were inside those coffins.

“…….”

“…….”

Gye Yeon-seung, whose eyes met mine, quickly turned his head as if he had committed a sin.

We said nothing until the Gyeryong Merchant Guild disappeared like that.

“Should we feel sorry for them?”

“No.”

“Yes?”

I looked straight into the puzzled eyes of the three brothers.

“We should be afraid. We never know when we too might end up like that.”

Then, no sooner had I finished speaking than I suddenly burst out with killing intent.

“…….”

“…….”

“…….”

All three of the Gold, Silver, and Bronze brothers twitched their eyebrows, but there was no other particular reaction.

“Guhh.”

The scream came from an unexpected place.

From behind the alley, Yang Gun-baek appeared with a pale face and a horrified expression.

“D-Did something bad perhaps happen……”

Yang Gun-baek spoke while trembling.

“Ah, my apologies. I was training my junior brothers.”

Yang Gun-baek was looking at me and my junior brothers as if we were ghosts.

After the Gold, Silver, and Bronze brothers naturally left us alone and Yang Gun-baek sat down, he immediately asked,

“You truly do not have the ability to control the wind, correct?”

Bang Du-chil was causing a fuss about becoming sworn brothers, and Yang Gun-baek was causing a fuss about whether I controlled the wind.

“Did I not tell you? Around this time in previous years, the northwest wind blows strongly. Moreover, because of the long drought, the fallen leaves on the mountain had no moisture either.”

“You truly are an astonishing person. I thought such things were only something someone like Jegal Gongmyeong from ancient times could do.”

Yang Gun-baek looked at me with complicated eyes for a moment, then spread a map on the table.

“The First Trial of the Hell Regular Exam has all ended. A total of three thousand eight hundred forty-two people received Trial Tokens.”

“Hao Gate will be busy from now on as well.”

“……That is correct.”

“How many people are targeting us?”

“…….”

The number of people who passed the First Trial was enormous, but the number of people who failed was even more tremendous.

The Murim Regular Exam considered not only passing the trial, but also passing the final point while carrying the Trial Token, to be part of the exam.

And those who failed the trial would begin targeting the Trial Tokens of those who had passed.

“We will try to block them as much as possible, but the Beggars’ Sect has already begun moving……”

“I know. That is exactly why we need to know more clearly.”

“There are…… rather many.”

Bang Du-chil had decided not to continue taking the Murim Academy Exam, using his decision to remain on Mount Tianmu as his reason. Along with the Trial Tokens he had originally possessed, he handed over all six Trial Tokens to me, including the four First Trial Tokens newly received this time.

Yang Gun-baek could not easily continue speaking.

I nodded as if I understood.

Trial Tokens changed owners countless times, and the owners who protected those Trial Tokens also killed countless people.

It was not the Orthodox Path and the Black Path fighting each other.

Under the name of an exam, the Orthodox Path fought the Orthodox Path in a war greater than most Black-White Wars.

That was how important the Murim Academy was to the current later-generation talents.

After organizing my thoughts for a moment, I asked Yang Gun-baek, “So, right now, how many people are targeting Mount Tianmu…… no, us?”

This was the true nature of the Murim Academy Regular Exam.

The reason it was called the Hell Regular Exam.

Yang Gun-baek’s mouth opened heavily.

“We estimate at least two hundred groups. More than four thousand people.”

“…….”

And right now, we had become the most appetizing prey.

“……Is the number not somehow wrong?”

“I am sorry……”

To think so many people were looking for me.

This kind of popularity was a little burdensome.