SGBT Prologue
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TL: FoodieMonster007 If you see this, you are at the wrong site!
The pale moonlight reflected gently off a slowly flowing river. It was a tranquil night.
A man knocked on the manor's door and requested to meet the manor master, wishing to stay the night in exchange for his medical expertise. His long ears, beautiful face, and the scent of fresh leaves around him made him seem out of this world.
Dumbfounded by the sight, the gatekeeper found himself unable to refuse the mysterious man and called for the manor master.
By a quirk of fate, the manor master recently had a newborn, so he welcomed the man, hoping he might examine the child.
However, after a careful examination, the man concluded, "I'm sorry, but he won't live past twenty."
"You mean he'll die young? Well, his mother died giving birth to him, so this must be divine retribution, right?" the manor master asked.
The man frowned as if he'd just heard something absurd. "Is that something you should ask a doctor like me? This may be a backwater place, but to believe in such superstitions…"
"So, what illness does he have?" the manor master interrupted.
"Since you're his father, I suppose you deserve to know. This child's condition can be said to be the extreme opposite of the Nine Yin Blocked Meridians. Never in my life have I seen someone with such a dilated Baihui Acupoint.1 It's like there's a large hole in his head."
"From what I've heard, the Nine Yin Blocked Meridians causes a person to die from clogged acupoints. What's wrong with having dilated acupoints?"
"I guess you're not entirely ignorant. The problem is, this child's Baihui Acupoint is excessively large. We call this disease 'Sudden Celestial Ascension'."
"Celestial Ascension? Isn't that when a highly skilled Taoist ascends to the heavens?"
"Do you seriously believe such nonsense?" The man fiddled with his long ears in irritation, then explained, "Celestial Ascension is just a myth. When a martial master absorbs too much of nature's energy, the pressure build-up will cause their bodies to explode, sending them across the river to the afterlife."
"It seems he really is cursed," the manor master lamented.
The man clicked his tongue and furrowed his brows. "What a fool. And you call yourself a father…"
The manor master stood up and angrily pointed a finger at the man. "Enough! You, sir, seem to be a man of the murim. Which sect are you from? Even for an elf, you're far too rude! Guards, throw him out!"
"Sect? You dare speak to me about sects? Even if your grandfather's grandfather stood here, I…" The man ranted, even as he was hauled out of the manor.
The man shook his head as he walked away from the manor.
"Tsk. If that child had been born in the Demonic Cult, he would have become the Heavenly Demon. If he had been raised in Shaolin, he would have doubled the Seventy-Two Core Arts.2 Unfortunately, he was born here, in this remote place, as a hated child. He'll die young with no way to change his fate. Unless… he awakens to his true potential on his own…"
Translator's Review: The Fatebreaker's Codex is reminiscent of the classic wuxia novels written by Jin Yong and Gu Long, giving it a completely different feel from lighthearted modern murim novels like Master Baek or Return of the Blossoming Blade. The story is generic (ngl about that), but the descriptive writing and attention to detail, including possibly the most detailed descriptions of martial arts in the genre, bring it to life.
Also, for some reason I can't put into words, the unusual worldbuilding with elves and dwarves who transmigrated to the jianghu and settled down somehow works.
Technically, the title is supposed to be just "A Terminally Ill Prodigy's Guide to Survival", but the boring title really doesn't do the novel any favors, so I added the name of the protagonist's unique martial arts, the Fatebreaker's Codex.
Footnotes:
If you see this, you are at the wrong site!