The Genius Martial Artist Who Remembers Everything [Novel] Chapter 212

Chapter 212. An Unwanted Invitation

I had wondered about this before.

What would happen if I told the truth about my identity? What if I let people know that I’d returned from the future? What if I told them we all needed to work together to prevent the crisis that would soon strike the martial world?

They’d think I was crazy.

I could say with absolute certainty that no one would agree with me or step forward to help. I already had enough enemies as it was; being labeled a lunatic would only expose another weakness. I’d probably end up with my limbs bound, spending the rest of my years playing brothers with actual madmen in some gilded prison.

…But what if I tried to be extremely optimistic about it?

Huu…

That would be a problem in its own way. If rumors spread that ‘the master of the world will change’ and somehow reached the ears of the high officials in Beijing, I might accidentally end up becoming the next leader of the Yellow Turban Rebellion. I wouldn’t just be public enemy number one in the martial world; I’d instantly become a target of the Imperial Family.

“You dare to claim that the master of the world will change?!”

“No! I was just talking about the Demonic Cult!!!”

“Silence, you traitor! Tear him limb from limb at once!”

Ugh… Just imagining it was horrifying.

But right now, I was on the verge of having my identity exposed.

Damn it…

And to of all people, a man second to none in intellect within the Murim Alliance. No, the man with the greatest mind in the entire martial world.

“What is your true identity?”

I swallowed hard, the heavy lump in my throat all too palpable.

Naturally, Jegal Somyeong wasn’t someone I could smoothly sidestep by mincing words. The very fact that he was asking this question meant he had already roughly completed the picture in his mind. All he lacked was a single piece for absolute confirmation.

It was obvious he had sent the formation masters away and thrown this question at me to find that ‘final piece’.

I tried my best to look as nonchalant as possible. “…I am, of course, Jin Soun, the proud Executive Representative of the Academy.”

“…”

However, Jegal Somyeong’s emotionless gaze only grew heavier.

Shit.

His sharp eyes scanned me as if they could pierce right through my body. “You know full well the intent behind my question.”

“…”

What should I do? What kind of puzzle piece could I present that would completely alter the picture he had pieced together?

Jegal Somyeong’s solemn voice continued. “The Yin-Yang Eight Trigrams All-Encompassing Formation… Though I told them not to be arrogant, it is not something that can be broken at first glance. If you truly possessed such ability, you wouldn’t have needed to enter the Academy so desperately in the first place, nor would you have had to risk your life to save your sect.”

Finally, his reason for silencing the formation masters’ doubts and sending them away became clear. He was treating this issue with far greater gravity.

Jegal Somyeong snapped his iron fan shut with a clack. Naturally, the tip of the closed fan pointed directly at my vital points.

“Are you… a spy?”

I had been wondering why he still carried a fan around when the weather was already getting chilly. Turns out it was to aim at my lifeline.

If there was any silver lining, was it that he suspected me of being a spy rather than a time-traveler? Should I really consider this a good thing? In a situation where I was suspected of being an evil bastard instead of a lunatic, I didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.

Regardless, perhaps thanks to the Golden Wound Medicine Sama Jeong had applied, the bleeding had stopped, and my brain slowly started working again.

Seriously… the effect is amazing. I should ask for some extra later.

I quickly focused my mind and spoke. “Ahem, what do you mean by that?”

“…If you tell me the truth right now, I will not harm anyone from your sect who was not involved in this.”

Meaning he’d investigate them relentlessly until he forced a confession out of them. And naturally, pieces of shit like Ak Byeongbi would be mobilized for the interrogation. Who did he think he was fooling?

“I am innocent!”

“Then are you claiming you analyzed the Yin-Yang Eight Trigrams All-Encompassing Formation the moment you saw it?”

Honestly, that made even less sense. I had done in one hour what took the Demonic Brain a hundred days. Regardless, if I didn’t give him a convincing story right now, his suspicions would only deepen.

I racked my brain more fiercely than ever before. Then, a certain person from my memories came to mind.

“To tell you the truth, I didn’t analyze it all at once.”

“…I was told you only visited the Grand Horse Track after the incident broke out.”

There was a guy named Seo Wunchang in the Sojeong Squad. A con artist who had joined our ranks despite not knowing a lick of martial arts. Seo Wunchang used to say that if you want to make someone believe a lie, you have to make them suspicious of something else. Humans are incapable of pouring their suspicions into two opposing theories at the same time.

To think that scammer bastard would actually be helpful like this.

“Of course. Officially, that was the first time I made my presence known.”

“…Officially? Are you saying you had seen it before then?”

“Yes.”

“Nonsense. That would mean you saw it at the Jegal Family estate…”

Jegal Somyeong tilted his head in confusion. I looked at him and shook my head.

“No. It’s true that I saw it for the first time at the Academy.”

“Hmm?”

“For the first three days, the Yin-Yang Eight Trigrams All-Encompassing Formation wasn’t a threat to anyone, was it? I was inside it every single night during those three days.”

“…”

Then, I tossed him a small clue to redirect his suspicions.

“And need I remind you, I am the one who memorized every infinitely shifting path inside the Boundless Indestructible Soul-Extinguishing Formation and made it out alive.”

Jegal Somyeong retracted his characteristic sharp glare, staring at me with a deep, unfathomable gaze. At some point, the position of his iron fan had changed; he was now using it to lightly tap against his temple.

It meant he was trying to fit the entire picture together using the final piece I had just handed him.

It was incredibly lucky for me that he had shown a glimpse of the picture he was painting. Brilliant minds like Jegal Somyeong preferred to arrive at the answer themselves through small clues like this. And once they reached that conclusion on their own, their doubts would naturally dissipate.

Sure enough.

“Then, does this have something to do with the method you used to retrieve the Young Leader’s head?”

He was heading exactly in the direction I intended.

“It does.”

“…Show me.”

His suspicion was peaking, teetering right on the brink of a conclusion. If I just got past this, I would be entirely free from his doubt. Therefore…

“I refuse.”

“What was that?”

“I could only accomplish those things because I remained unseen by anyone. If I must face suspicion to keep my secrets, then so be it.”

“Even if you are suspected of being a spy?”

I purposely kept a straight face and lifted my chin. “Did you not clear those suspicions yourself just a moment ago, Chief Strategist?”

“I can always retract the words I’ve spoken.”

“If you intended to do that, you wouldn’t have brought it up in the first place.”

The corner of Jegal Somyeong’s eye twitched. It was a familiar look. A look that screamed, ‘What the hell is wrong with this guy?’

“I have many enemies. I must hide my cards over and over again just to stand on equal footing with them.”

“…”

Hearing this, Jegal Somyeong must have found it taxing to use his brain any further, pressing his fingers firmly against his temples.

The tide had turned in my favor. Now, it was my turn to apply the pressure.

“So, what kind of reward will you be giving us?”

“What?”

They say geniuses like Jegal Somyeong had a larger capacity for thought than others, but their limits were still fundamentally human, weren’t they? I needed to keep throwing things for him to think about so he would entirely drop his suspicions of me.

Plus, I did actually need a reward. My hand was hurting like crazy, after all.

I leaned forward and spoke. “Our representative delegation cleaned up the mess Jegal Jeonggi made, didn’t we?”

“…To be exact, the Director was with you.”

“I don’t know if you’re aware, but Senior Brother Buk is a Layman disciple of our Taeul Sect. Looking at it that way, he is someone entirely affiliated with our delegation.”

“Urgh…”

I purposely sped up my speech. “An unprecedented ultimate formation like the Yin-Yang Eight Trigrams All-Encompassing Formation nearly swallowed almost a hundred people whole. Naturally, you can’t just let this slide. Don’t you agree?”

“It was seventy-eight people.”

“Aren’t you supposed to round up numbers like this?”

Jegal Somyeong let out an incredulous laugh before asking, “…What do you want?”

Something so complex it’ll make your head explode, of course.

I naturally rubbed my hands together. “How much are you willing to offer?”

“…”

Jegal Somyeong’s eye twitched yet again.

The moment Jegal Somyeong stepped into the All-Knowing Pavilion, a strange feeling washed over him.

The atmosphere was… heavier than usual.

Usually, when he returned from fieldwork, Maeng Juwon would stick to him, whining and complaining. But today, for some reason, he was bowing respectfully.

“Welcome back, Chief Strategist.”

“What’s with you? Did you eat something weird?”

Despite the jab, Maeng Juwon didn’t even frown. “…How could you say such a thing? Is it not only natural for a member of the All-Knowing Pavilion to respectfully greet its head?”

Seriously… what’s wrong with him?

He looked at the other staff members in the pavilion, but they were all acting just like Maeng Juwon.

Come to think of it, the interior of the All-Knowing Pavilion—which was usually on the brink of absolute chaos—was surprisingly tidy.

What the hell, did they all eat something weird together?

He already had a splitting headache, and his subordinates acting like this naturally soured his mood even further.

But then…

“You’ve returned?”

“Huh?”

When he entered his office, an even more absurd situation was waiting for him. Hyeok Mugang was sitting there, drinking tea.

Only then did he understand why the pavilion members were doing things they normally never did.

“Chief Strategist… Should I prepare some tea for you?”

Looking at Maeng Juwon asking so politely, Jegal Somyeong noticed his subordinate subtly shaking his head. His silent plea was obvious: Please take the Alliance Leader and leave.

Jegal Somyeong deliberately gave a dramatic nod. “Yes. We will be having a long conversation, so brew about three pots of tea and bring them in.”

A hint of panic flashed across Maeng Juwon’s face. “…T-then, how about going to a teahouse near the Alliance instead?”

“Ahem! We must save every penny we can. How dare you suggest we waste the Alliance’s funds on such frivolous things?”

Jegal Somyeong shifted his gaze to Hyeok Mugang, as if seeking his agreement. “I’m sure the Alliance Leader would also prefer to drink here rather than go outside. Isn’t that right?”

“I do not mind either way.”

Maeng Juwon crumpled his face like a discarded report and backed away. Jegal Somyeong clicked his tongue in disbelief.

“Hmph! Damn bastards. They’re scared of the Alliance Leader, but they aren’t scared of me, is that it?!”

Watching this, Hyeok Mugang tilted his head. “What do you mean?”

“It’s nothing. Anyway, why did you come all the way here? I told you I would come to you.”

“How could someone who does nothing but eat and play in the Alliance Leader’s Pavilion every day order a busy man around? I had to come myself.”

“…”

If only he had this attitude when handling his regular paperwork.

The problem was that the only times Hyeok Mugang moved his heavy rear end personally was when it involved something he was deeply interested in. This wasn’t the first time he had shown such immense interest, but…

Why does it feel like he’s even more interested now than he was during the Yong So-a or Ilmyeong incidents?

Even before the tea came out, Hyeok Mugang’s face was brimming with anticipation. “So, how was it? Was he a spy as expected?”

Jegal Somyeong looked at the Alliance Leader, who was practically swelling with childlike expectation, and deadpanned, “It almost seems like you want him to be a spy.”

“Of course not!”

Jegal Somyeong let out a long sigh. “Your prediction was correct, Alliance Leader. He seems to possess a martial art related to stealth.”

“Hoho! Is that true?!” Unable to hold back, Hyeok Mugang burst into hearty laughter.

“This isn’t the time to laugh. This means the Heaven’s Eye Pavilion’s surveillance was breached.”

The Yin-Yang Eight Trigrams All-Encompassing Formation was treated as highly classified machinery by the Murim Alliance. Even though the Jegal Family obviously maintained strict security, the Alliance wouldn’t just sit idly by.

Hyeok Mugang nodded. “He is a child who retrieved the Young Leader’s head right from the middle of the Blood Cult’s forces. It would be too much for the Heaven’s Eye Pavilion to handle him.”

“Huu…”

“In any case, we have merely confirmed once again that the Murim Alliance has a spectacular talent. Why are you sighing?”

At that question, Jegal Somyeong let out a pained groan. “Because he is exceptional in a very peculiar direction.”

“A peculiar direction?”

Jegal Somyeong nodded. “I lied to my family’s formation masters right in front of him. But without a moment’s hesitation, the boy played along with my lie right on the spot.”

It would be normal to show at least a hint of panic, but the boy had shown absolutely none. It was to the point where even Jegal Somyeong himself had momentarily wondered if the boy really had heard it from Cheongi.

“Furthermore, even when I dismissed everyone else and pressured him, he didn’t leak a single word about his stealth arts until the very end.”

“He is a child with incredible guts.”

“I simply can’t tell if he is incredibly confident in himself, or just ridiculously quick on the uptake.”

“Hmm…”

“Usually, those called ‘rising stars’ have a somewhat innocent and untainted side to them. But that boy possesses absolutely none of those traits. At times, it feels like I’m dealing with an old monster from the Underworld.”

Hyeok Mugang nodded. “In that regard, the Lord of the Four Emperors Peak really chose his alias well.”

“You can say that again.”

A dragon, yes, but a Black Dragon. Unlike other dragons who cultivated the Dao in the mountains and rivers just for a single Dragon Orb, the Black Dragon achieved the Dao through fierce, endless battles in the harsh, violent seas.

Why was it that suddenly, the image of a massive Black Dragon gripping the corpse of an Azure Dragon in one claw and the corpse of a Phoenix in the other flashed through his mind?

“Are you not worried at all, Alliance Leader?”

“Well, I don’t know.” Hyeok Mugang stroked his chin. “If that boy had only acted for his own benefit, he never would have caught your eye—or mine—in the first place, would he?”

“…Tsk. That is true.”

This recent incident alone was proof. If Jin Soun had wanted to avoid getting caught for secretly investigating the Yin-Yang Eight Trigrams All-Encompassing Formation, stepping forward to save the White Faction was the worst thing he could do. Furthermore, the White Faction was an entity actively threatening Jin Soun’s delegation.

If Jegal Somyeong had been in Jin Soun’s situation, he certainly wouldn’t have helped them.

“His methods may be rough around the edges, but isn’t that merely to make up for the shortcomings of his background?”

A flower raised indoors blooms easily but is vulnerable to the wind and rain. A weed raised in the wild struggles to bloom, but it will not easily break, even in the fiercest storms.

Jegal Somyeong knew very well just how brilliantly such a wildflower shined when it finally bloomed.

“Since we know his martial arts are that exceptional, we should be able to grant the request of the Lord of the Four Emperors Peak.”

Pondering Hyeok Mugang’s statement for a moment, Jegal Somyeong nodded.

“Well… It wasn’t a place where anything major was going to happen in the first place.”

And even if something major did happen, he couldn’t imagine that boy falling victim to any hidden tricks.

“That’s a huge relief. I was agonizing over how to refuse the request to send a mere Academy student as part of the envoy. Weren’t we originally planning to send people from the Dragon and Phoenix Gathering or the Seven Stars?”

“Indeed. The Lord of the Four Emperors Peak is absurd, too. Even so, asking us to send Jin Soun? Isn’t he crazy? Even if we owe him a debt for the Blood Cult incident!”

“Still, isn’t it a relief?”

“It is not a relief!”

“Huh?” At Jegal Somyeong’s stern denial, Hyeok Mugang looked up.

“It seems you will have to open the treasury.”

“Huh? What does that…”

“Ah, and we will need to pull some budget from the Alliance Leader’s Pavilion as well.”

“Wait, h-hold on a minute, what does that mean…”

“Because that brat, Jin Soun, just handed me a very expensive bill for this incident.”

Jegal Somyeong pulled a piece of paper from his robes and slapped it onto the table.

Looking at the list, Hyeok Mugang’s jaw dropped.

“Why would you agree to this…”

“I had no other choice. I ended up losing to him, after all. If it feels that unfair, why don’t you go negotiate with him yourself, Alliance Leader?”

“…”

Yeah, even if that boy went as an envoy, there was nothing to worry about. Someone capable of fleecing the Chief Strategist of the Murim Alliance would never end up getting stabbed in the back by the likes of the Underworld factions.

“That damn bastard…”

Jegal Somyeong muttered curses—it wasn’t clear to whom they were directed—to soothe his aching stomach.