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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Shrine
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Never before had William felt so deeply that he had entered the world of a wuxia novel as he did at this moment.
“Mister! Look over there! Look at this plum blossom pattern! It’s the Huashan Sect! I think those are the Plum Blossom Sword Disciples!”
Hye-ryeong exclaimed excitedly, her eyes shining.
Were the Plum Blossom Sword Disciples that famous?
…Come to think of it, in wuxia novels, they were always the first martial artists to appear when sword disciples were mentioned, so Hye-ryeong’s excitement wasn’t incomprehensible.
William was also curious about the Twenty-Four Plum Blossom Sword Technique of the Plum Blossom Sword Disciples.
Would plum blossoms really bloom when they swung their swords?
He had seen swords drawing isosceles triangles before, but making flowers bloom with just a sword was really hard to imagine. He was also curious if they would smell like flowers.
“Flowers… Do plum blossoms really bloom when they use their technique?”
“Yes, Sir William. When the Huashan Sect’s sword disciples reach a certain level, they can make plum blossoms bloom from their swords. I’ve seen it once before, and it was truly beautiful.”
Hajin’s face looked nostalgic as he spoke, as if recalling the past.
Was it that beautiful?
“It would be nice to have a chance to cross swords with a Plum Blossom Sword Disciple…”
Mu-guang’s voice, full of anticipation, came from behind William.
For Mu-guang, who was obsessed with swords, having a chance to duel a Plum Blossom Sword Disciple must have seemed like a dream.
However, with Mu-guang’s current skill level, it would be difficult to duel a Plum Blossom Sword Disciple. Just by looking, they seemed to be at least at the level of seasoned veterans.
This was just a rough estimate based on appearance, so they could have reached even higher realms. They might be at the same realm as William. Or maybe… they might have even poked their heads into the realm above that.
Either way, they certainly wouldn’t be easy opponents.
William wondered how far he could go fighting them with his knightly martial arts.
He was curious.
“Ho ho, it’s good that you’re all burning with passion… but we have business to attend to, so follow me quickly.”
“Yes!”
“Yes!”
“Understood.”
They started moving again.
They hadn’t come as tourists but with a clear purpose, so they couldn’t wander around like sightseers.
They needed to quickly meet with the Wulin Alliance Leader to relay the news of the demon cult’s appearance again, and hold a meeting to decide when to issue a mobilization order for the martial arts world to fight against the demon cult.
…Though William wouldn’t be able to attend the meeting directly, there was no reason for Elder Baek to hide the meeting’s contents from him.
Once they got their lodgings, William planned to look for the protagonist under the pretext of sightseeing. He needed to find the protagonist and check his status to determine his next course of action.
He needed to confirm how many fortuitous encounters the protagonist had come across, and if possible, his goal was to build a friendship with him.
Even if the protagonist lacked fortuitous encounters, he was still the protagonist.
With his unreasonably high talent, he would surely become an outstanding expert, so even if William intercepted some fortuitous encounters, the protagonist would still reach high realms.
Therefore, if possible, having him act as an ally would be the most important piece in overcoming the trials of the original work.
…Of course, this was all assuming the protagonist existed in this world.
He would exist, right?
It would be better if he did-
If he didn’t, the situation would become very complicated.
If the protagonist didn’t exist, it meant William would have to handle all the incidents that couldn’t be resolved without him.
…And there was no guarantee that William could solve them all.
“Mister? Are you listening to me?”
“…Ah. Sorry. I just had something to think about.”
“Something to think about?”
Hye-ryeong’s curious gaze rested on William. Was she curious? He couldn’t tell her the truth about the original work and the protagonist, so William came up with a suitable deflection tactic.
“I was wondering what we should do first now that we’ve arrived at the Wulin Alliance.”
“Shouldn’t we obviously start by exploring the Wulin Alliance since we’ve arrived here?”
…That’s true.
He would have to visit the pavilion where the patrol members stayed to find the protagonist anyway, so he could go with Hye-ryeong under the pretext of exploring the Wulin Alliance.
“…You’re right. Let’s do that after we finish our current business.”
“Okay~”
They continued moving towards the Wulin Alliance Leader’s office.
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“Alliance Leader. Elder Baek of the Haenam Sword Sect is here to visit.”
“Tell them to let him come in.”
“Please enter.”
“my conversation with the alliance leader will be a long conversation, could you assign a guide to show them to their lodgings?”
“Understood… Martial artists of the Haenam Sword Sect, please follow me.”
They followed the martial artist guarding the Wulin Alliance Leader’s office to their lodgings.
The martial artist silently guided them to their lodgings.
“This is… the Haenam Sword Sect’s lodging?”
“That’s right.”
The Haenam Sword sect was a member of the Nine Great Sects, but it was a relatively new and junior member, So, the Haenam Sword Sect’s lodging was in a quite secluded location. This lodging was said to be the cleanest among the buildings within the Wulin Alliance as it was one of the most recently built.
But perhaps due to the small scale of the Haenam Sword Sect…
The lodging wasn’t very large. Still, it seemed capable of easily accommodating about a hundred people, but it was inevitably somewhat lacking compared to the lodgings of the Nine Great Sects they had seen while passing by.
After all, the other sects of the Nine Great Sects were three to four times larger in scale from the start.
Including their secular branches, the difference in scale was embarrassingly incomparable. So it was unavoidable that their lodgings differed in size.
“This is it.”
Haenam Hall, huh. Whoever named it really lacked sincerity.
“Thank you, Brother.”
“I’ve only done my duty. I’ll inform the servants, so if you need anything, please tell them.”
Leaving those words, he turned and went back the way he came. He was probably returning to the front of the Wulin Alliance Leader’s office. William watched him leave for a while before turning to look at Haenam Hall.
So this is where they would be staying from now on. With this size, he should be able to get a private room, right?
“Senior Brother! Let’s go in quickly!”
“Junior Sister. There’s no need to rush, we can go in soon enough without hurrying.”
Hajin gently chided Hye-ryeong in a soft voice, then lifted his foot from the ground and entered Haenam Hall. As he pushed open the door, it opened with the sound of hinges scraping.
“It’s spacious.”
As Hajin said, the interior of the building was quite spacious. The pillars and walls seemed to have been recently cleaned, gleaming, and the decorations placed here and there were visibly polished.
Had they done a thorough cleaning knowing the Haenam Sword Sect was coming? William took off the bamboo hat on his head and stretched his neck.
“Hehe, Senior Brother! How are we going to decide on the rooms?”
“Hye-ryeong, you should use one of the rooms on the left side. As a woman, you’d probably be uncomfortable having a room close to the men-”
“Hmm- Okay!”
Hye-ryeong nodded vigorously. Then she glanced at William before taking her luggage and walking down the left corridor. Her gait was so lively, as if she already knew beforehand where her room will be.
Did she know, or didn’t she?
Her overly confident stride made it hard to gauge.
“Let’s go decide on our rooms too.”
“How should we arrange Master’s room?”
“Let’s give him the best room.”
“Yes.”
They all headed towards the right corridor as a group. After passing through a corridor, they stopped at a lobby-like area where the rooms were mostly located and surveyed the surrounding rooms.
“There is a large room with a garden in the center…”
“Senior Brother, shall we give that large room to Elder Baek and use those rooms over there?”
“Let’s do that. Mu-guang, you use the same room as Elder Baek.”
“Yes.”
“Sir William, which room would you like to use?”
“Hmm…”
William looked around at the remaining rooms with his arms folded. There were more rooms left than he could count on both hands, but it seemed there wouldn’t be much difference no matter which one he chose.
Still, taking a position close to the corridor would be perfect for waking up to the sound of people moving around, while being far away would be inconvenient in its own way.
Which room should he choose? As he was pondering for a moment, Geonsam approached and tapped his shoulder.
“…”
“What is it?”
Is Geonsam pointing to the corridor? Did he want him to look towards the corridor?
William looked in the direction Geonsam was pointing at with his finger. Geonsam was telling him to go back that way.
Why was he suddenly asking him to leave?
Since this guy couldn’t speak, it was frustrating not knowing the reason.
“Why are you telling me to go?”
“…”
In response to William’s question, Geonsam raised both hands and made a gesture of clasping them together.
…What does that mean?
Still, since Geonsam had approached him to say something while pointing towards the corridor, he should at least take a look. William walked towards the corridor and peered beyond.
On the other side of the corridor, a familiar face was looking at him.
Had she already unpacked?
William approached Hye-ryeong without having unpacked his own luggage.
“Have you finished unpacking already?”
“Hehe. I can unpack later, can’t I? Have you decided on a room, Mister?”
“No.”
“Then, can’t you use one of the rooms on the left side?”
“That’s a bit…”
They probably wouldn’t allow it in the first place. It would be too awkward for william too. It would look bad.
But William could understand Hye-ryeong’s feelings to some extent.
Being alone in such a large building would indeed be a bit lonely. It seemed she was trying to draw him closer to where she will be lodging, but there was no way they would allow it…
“Ho ho, what’s going on here?”
“Elder Baek! I’ve decided on a room for Mister-”
Hye-ryeong looked up at Elder Baek, continuing to express her opinion as if she was telling a grandfather about how she his granddaughter mischievously decided where William’s room will be on her own. Elder Baek stroked his beard at Hye-ryeong’s strong declaration and looked at William.
“Sir William. Since Hye-ryeong earnestly wishes for your room to be the room she chose for you, how about allowing it? I’m also a bit worried about leaving her alone.”
“However…”
“Sir William is a person of strong principles. I believe he can endure that much easily. And… ahem.”
Was it just his imagination that Hye-ryeong had just poked Elder Baek in the side?
William looked at Hye-ryeong’s face, which seemed slightly more flushed, and nodded.
“Alright.”
“Hehe. I’ll show you what a good room I chose for you!”
She really is incorrigible.
William smiled wryly as he headed towards the left corridor with Hye-ryeong.
“Enjoy it while you can…..”
He deliberately ignored Elder Baek’s voice, which sounded somewhat satisfied, as they walked away.
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Will the other eight great sects finally appear? I think those sects’ disciples won’t be simple.
Entire sect is playing their matchmaker lol
Romance is in the air…
🍿🍿🍿