The Martial Genius Who Remembers Everything Novel - Chapter 88

Chapter 88
Chapter 88. Time of the Hunt (2)

Clatter.

CRASH!

“……Mm.”

Loud noises rang in his ears.

Song Baek tried to come to his senses at that annoying clamor, then realized that until just a moment ago, he had been facing Jin So-un and the disciples of Taeul Sect, and he shot upright.

“Young Master, are you all right?”

The face of his guard, whose emotions were normally hard to read, was filled with worry and concern.

When Song Baek touched the sticky and unpleasant sensation on his face, blood came away on his hand.

“What is this…….”

“That savage beast launched a sudden attack on you without warning, Young Master…….”

“…….”

Is that not why I employ you, to stop such things?

Those words did not quite come out of his mouth.

Since he could not use warriors above first-rate in the Murim Academy Exam, these were people he had hired because he had no choice, and they were far inferior to the guards who usually accompanied him.

If he punished them in this situation, it would be no different from smearing filth on his own face for failing to defend against the surprise attack of mere Taeul Sect disciples in the first place.

“Those bastards, those bastards…… did they run away?”

“No…… that is…….”

When Song Baek turned his head in the direction his guard pointed, there was no chaos quite like this.

The countless people who had not stepped forward because they were watching Hwayeong Escort Agency’s reaction were now rushing toward Jin So-un.

Clang, clang, clang, clang, clang, clang, clang.

Jin So-un was facing more than a dozen swords alone, but he did not look overwhelmed.

Rather, his sword, in which illusion and substance appeared and disappeared while mixed together, looked wondrous.

Like a crouched flower bud blooming and then withering again, his black sword body was so clear and elegant that it stole the eye.

Keuk.

Keuheok.

Kk.

And every time the black flower bud bloomed, three or four people were cut with deep wounds and knocked away.

‘His martial achievement is simply…….’

The warriors gathered in Suzhou were only at the level of second-rate.

Among the actual examinees, there were many who had not even reached first-rate.

Even if they were opponents like that, facing ten or twenty people at once was no easy matter.

Yet Jin So-un was doing it.

“His junior brothers…… Take that side first…….”

Song Baek quickly turned his eyes and searched for the Taeul Sect disciples in beggar-like states, indistinguishable from Beggars’ Sect Disciples.

Their confirmed achievement was around ten years.

If he subdued them……

“That side…… is not easy either.”

“Hm?”

Beside Jin So-un, the Geum, Eun, and Dong brothers were making strange noises.

In their right hands, each held a sword, and in their left hands, each held food.

‘Food?’

Clang, clang, clang, clang, clang.

Slurp.

Clang, clang.

Chomp, chomp.

The three people’s movements fit together perfectly, like the movements of one person.

When the one who seemed to be the eldest brother lowered his head to pick up and eat Scallion-Mixed Tofu, the one who seemed to be the second brother blocked the sword that struck toward his back.

The youngest-looking child struck the opponent’s Vital Acupoint with a sword edge sharper than his brothers’.

Keok—

Once one person was knocked away like that, this time the second brother lowered his head and picked up Twice-Cooked Pork, while the eldest brother watched his back, and the youngest attacked.

It looked like a street troupe performing a comic play in perfect coordination.

The problem was that while that play went on, actual warriors continued to be knocked down.

“All the warriors of Hanseong Martial Hall are unable to fight.”

“The disciples of Gwantae Martial Hall have already fainted as well.”

“What?”

The number of martial halls that Hwayeong Escort Agency directly supported within Suzhou alone was a full twenty.

They had even summoned everyone taking the academy exam from various places, yet they could not handle mere disciples of Taeul Sect?

“Where are the warriors of Yanghwa Martial Hall and Hahwa Martial Hall?”

“…….”

The guard warrior’s face stiffened.

“Young Master, they are people prepared for you.”

No matter how many martial halls one had, in the world of martial arts, the difference in force overwhelmed numbers.

That was why Hwayeong Escort Agency, like the hidden warriors of other sects, had selected outstanding Escorts from the escort agency and operated fake martial halls to move for Song Baek.

“If I don’t use them here now, when can I use them?”

Thanks to them, Song Baek had been able to pass the First Trial and the Second Trial without difficulty until now.

Because he moved three times as many people as others, ordinary opponents had not even dared approach him.

“If the seniors of Diancang feel displeased because of this incident, there will be no great benefit even after I enter the Murim Academy.”

People thought everything ended once they entered the Murim Academy, but in truth, admission to the Murim Academy was only the beginning.

Only by riding a good line inside, moving together with them, receiving high scores, being assigned to a good place, and receiving help from seniors could one climb to a good position within the Murim Alliance.

Only then could Hwayeong Escort Agency later become not merely one of the top five escort agencies in Jiangbei, but one of the top three.

And beyond that, it could become the number one escort agency.

“Understood.”

The guard warrior bit his finger and whistled long.

At the sharp sound that seemed to pierce the ears, several people grabbed their ears.

And soon, they sensed something ominous and stopped moving.

Rumble, rumble, rumble, rumble.

CRASH.

The door opened as though it would break apart, and warriors poured in.

“Hiiik!”

The owner, who had been cooking in the kitchen, trembled with an expression that said what had finally come had come.

CRASH.

Creak.

The inside of the inn began filling with countless warriors in an instant.

Even so, warriors continued to pour in endlessly.

When the entrance was blocked, a small window leading outside rattled, then broke apart with a crunch.

Soon, even the wooden wall was torn away, and more warriors poured in through it.

“Eldest Senior Brother! They keep coming endlessly!”

“What do we do?!”

“……If you are going to say that, put down the food first.”

No matter how strong one’s opponent was, no one could withstand sheer numbers.

The three street-troupe brothers also finally put down their food and roughly wiped their greasy left hands on their clothes.

“Come along quietly.”

Song Baek spoke while roughly wiping the blood flowing from his nose and mouth with his silk clothes.

“I heard Hwayeong Escort Agency created fake martial halls and fraudulently entered the exam.”

“!”

Something Song Baek had not expected at all flowed from Jin So-un’s mouth.

That fact was a secret known only to a few people even within Hwayeong Escort Agency.

How did Jin So-un know it?

Song Baek composed his expression so that the fact that he was surprised would not be exposed.

“I don’t know what you are talking about. Cooperation among examinees is something the Murim Academy recommends.”

“That is limited only to cooperation. Giving direct orders in the first place is clearly fraudulent participation through hiring more warriors than permitted.”

“……I don’t wish to deny absurd claims. If you insist on determining right and wrong, come with me.”

“But is it all right to waste such precious manpower just because of us?”

“What do you…….”

“You know there is something more important than the exam itself in the Third Trial.”

“That is not something you need to worry about.”

“Ah, can you just ask your seniors from Diancang?”

“What are you all doing? Subdue them at once. Take every Trial Token as well.”

“Yes!”

“Yes!”

The voices of the warriors rang loudly inside the large inn.

The disciples of Taeul Sect were driven to one side so tightly that there was scarcely room to set foot.

Then, Jin So-un’s martial arts uniform at the front swelled as though it would burst.

At that sight, the warriors approaching him flinched and stopped.

How much inner arts did he have for such powerful qi pressure to be emitted?

And the moment Jin So-un stretched out his left hand, the warriors instinctively raised both hands and protected their heads.

…….

…….

Nothing happened.

Out of awkwardness, the warriors were about to rush in as though there was no more reason to delay.

Crack, crack, craaack—.

The pillars supporting the second floor broke one after another, and the people waiting on the second floor poured down all at once.

“Uaaaagh!”

“Move!”

“Aaagh!”

The inn, already packed full of warriors, now became complete pandemonium.

When Jin So-un swung his hand toward the ceiling, a large hole opened with a bang.

Then, as the three brothers grabbed various parts of Jin So-un’s body, long threads stretched from his hand up to the ceiling.

“Thanks for the meal! Ah, right, and I’ll make good use of this.”

Jin So-un waved a golden pouch, then looked at the ceiling. The four brothers of Taeul Sect slipped out through the ceiling as though climbing up spiderwebs.

It was a strange sight rarely seen even among street troupes.

“…….”

Song Baek, who had been staring blankly for a moment, suddenly remembered the pouch Jin So-un had waved.

Then he searched his own clothes like a madman.

Gone.

Gone.

Gone.

It was gone!

Not only his promissory notes and gold coin pouch, but even the most important golden pouch.

How had he not noticed when the inside of his clothes had become empty?

“What is the matter, Young Master?”

“Th-that bastard…….”

“Pardon?”

“Catch him! That bastard took the Trial Tokens!”

After breaking through the ceiling of the inn with Flying Dragon Claw, Eun-ho let out a small sigh.

“At this rate, will people not look answering our Taeul Sect and call us a troupe?”

Did he not know that the way they had matched the Sword Formation while eating earlier had looked even more like a troupe?

I had seen quite a few troupe performances myself, but I had never seen fellows whose comic coordination was as perfect as theirs a moment ago.

“Is that what matters right now?”

“We will have to leave Suzhou, right?”

“Was that not already planned?”

“Ugh…… I thought we might be able to rest a little.”

Below the building, the warriors of Hwayeong Escort Agency and the martial halls under their orders were shouting as they followed us.

“Oh! It’s that waiter from earlier. He must have bought them now.”

The waiter whom I had asked to buy bathwater and clothes was running over with a bundle, not knowing how the situation had changed.

I descended to the ground.

“Hup! You startled me.”

“Is that ours?”

“Ah…… It was you, Young Master. Yes. I bought four sets of black martial arts uniforms.”

“Thank you. Take this.”

I gave the waiter the pouch I had taken from Song Baek.

The waiter was startled by the heavy pouch.

It was clearly a pouch containing far too much money for the price of an errand.

“There is no need for this. If you truly feel pleased, one silver tael would be just right.”

“Keep three silver taels for yourself, and give the rest to the owner.”

“Pardon?”

“You will understand when you go.”

“They are over there!”

“Oops, then I will see you next time.”

Leaving behind the bewildered waiter, I fired Flying Dragon Claw again and climbed onto a building.

“Senior Brother, you stole something from that Song Baek or Hong Baek earlier, didn’t you?”

“What are you talking about?”

“Unless that is the case, there is no explanation for them chasing us while risking their lives like that.”

When I looked back, several Escorts of Hwayeong Escort Agency were leaping up onto the buildings and running after us.

Perhaps because they were Escorts, at least their Movement Art was excellent.

I shook the golden pouch and showed it.

“Why are you creating unnecessary enemies for no reason?”

“I am not increasing our enemies. I merely gave a reason to those who were going to become our enemies without reason. Would you not feel wronged if you were chased without reason?”

“…….”

Geum-pyo and Eun-ho sighed at the same time.

“For now, we need to leave the city, right?”

“Because we cannot completely shake them off inside the city.”

Even if the authorities and the murim did not interfere in each other’s affairs, if blades were drawn inside the city, the government office would ultimately have no choice but to step in.

In a state where neither side could kill, the side with fewer numbers was more disadvantaged.

If things went wrong, we might be suppressed by being crushed under the crowd like in the inn.

“…….”

I began gradually increasing my speed.

The Geum, Eun, and Dong brothers also paused Moving Circulation for a moment and began matching my speed.

Dong-ryong, who stood at the very end, could not match the speed in time and was repeatedly muttering something.

“……When you are chased without reason, give them a reason. When you are chased without reason, give them a reason. When you are chased without reason, give them a reason. When you are chased without reason, give them a reason.”

“What are you doing?”

“I don’t have brush, ink, or paper right now. I’m repeating it so I won’t forget.”

“…….”

Certainly, crossing rooftops one after another was faster than running through the crowd.

After a few of the Escorts who had been pursuing us closely from behind were knocked down by several throwing swords, there was no longer any crowd chasing us either above or below the buildings.

Soon, when the Geum, Eun, and Dong brothers began struggling as they seemed to be running out of inner arts,

the city gate began to come into view.

If it had been night, we would have simply crossed the city wall, but now that the sun was high in the sky, we had to pass through the gate properly.

“Eldest Senior Brother, there are too many people ahead.”

In the open space near the city gate, dozens of people and dozens of carts were lined up in a long row facing the gate.

As soon as we landed on the ground, I asked a porter who seemed to be working on an Escort Run.

“Elder, is the line here usually this long?”

“As if. When have those fellows ever managed the people coming and going through the city gate?”

Suzhou was a city where goods gathered and commerce developed to an unusual degree even within Jiangsu Province, so such strict inspections often drew the complaints of many people.

“Are they perhaps asking for bribes?”

“How would I know? I am busy, so stop asking!”

At the attitude of the porter, who did not seem to have anything to do, I quickly took out a silver coin and held it out.

“Ahem, khm. Since you seem to know proper manners, I will tell you. A little while ago, the Guild Master of Geonjang Merchant Company tried to feed money to the constables and was beaten to a pulp.”

“…….”

One incomprehensible thing after another.

There had clearly been no Inspection when we entered Suzhou.

“I heard Hwayeong Escort Agency asked them to strengthen inspections on people leaving for a few days. The County Magistrate assigned to Suzhou this time is the Giant Escort of Hwayeong Escort Agency, is he not?”

Only then did the puzzle pieces fall into place.

Hwayeong Escort Agency had turned the entire giant city of Suzhou into an encirclement.

“Are the other places the same?”

“This road to the north gate is at least the loosest. The Constable Captain there is an unspeakable gangster. If you feed him a lot of money, he might let you through.”

In the meantime, a commotion began ringing out from afar.

Hwayeong Escort Agency and the warriors who had gathered in Suzhou were beginning to draw closer.

“Should we hide somewhere else first?”

“We move first.”

We immediately ran toward the east gate, only to have no choice but to stop.

A group of people came out from an alley as if they had been waiting and blocked us.

When we moved toward the south gate again, the Escorts of Hwayeong Escort Agency who had been chasing us arrived, and from the west gate side, the people whom Hwayeong Escort Agency’s Escort had summoned with his whistle appeared.

‘They were planning to catch us among the constables from the beginning.’

Because it was near the checkpoint, the open space was wide, and nearby, the constables were tense as though they could be dispatched at any moment.

If we killed anyone, they would definitely step in, and even if the battle intensified, they would surely step in under the pretext that civilians would be harmed.

The trap had already been complete from the moment we entered Suzhou.

“What do you think of the trap I designed?”

Song Baek walked out from among the Escorts of Hwayeong Escort Agency.

The image of him anxious after having his Trial Tokens stolen a little while ago was nowhere to be seen.

He looked triumphant, like someone who had called “check” in a chess-like game.

“You have talent too good to be under Diancang Sect.”

That was my honest impression.

If I had been the heir of Hwayeong Escort Agency, I would have made the same encirclement.

“But do you think we will give up the Trial Tokens because we fear killing?”

“……That is something we will know once we try.”

When Song Baek looked toward the top of the city gate, the person who seemed to be the County Magistrate waved a flag.

Then the archers atop the city wall began drawing their arrows.

“You are worthy of having fraudulently entered the Murim Academy Regular Exam.”

“Now, hand them back quietly.”

Song Baek held out his hand.

I raised my gaze and looked at the Geum, Eun, and Dong brothers.

Each of them was shaking his head slightly.

Song Baek noticed my junior brothers’ intentions and added,

“What my senior brothers wanted in the first place was only Young Master Jin. I don’t care what happens to Young Master Jin’s junior brothers.”

Song Baek gnashed his teeth and growled.

Without needing to think, I was about to take the pouch out of my clothes.

“Wait!”

A clear, high-pitched voice rang through the open space.

People’s gazes hurriedly searched around for the source of the voice.

Dudududududu.

Soon, along with a faint vibration beating against the ground, one hundred and fifty mounted warriors radiating a dragon-like spirit appeared.

Their grand sight was enough to make even the County Magistrate and constables atop the city wall flinch.

“Young Master Jin!”

“Young Master Jin!”

At the appearance of completely unexpected people, I even forgot to watch Song Baek.

“Miss Seong Mo-ran…… Miss Namgung Seon-hwa?”