Chapter 1762
That’s why I am here. (2)
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Tap!
A lightning-like fist shot out and grazed a softly twisting shoulder, only to be deflected upwards. A faint sense of shock flickered in the eyes of the one who had thrown the punch.
But that wasn’t all. The body that softly rotated while channeling the force pushed through the shoulder, dug straight into the chest of the old Taoist.
Thud!
Just before it reached his chest, the hand, which had been stretched out once more, pushed off the spinning shoulder.
At that moment, a foot moving like a bolt of lightning aimed at the Taoist’s groin.
“Hmm!”
A rare exclamation burst out from the one who had built layer upon layer of martial arts over his body for decades. Within it was even a hint of admiration.
Tap! Tap!
Heo Do Jinin firmly stomped down on Baek Cheon’s foot, which was soaring up from below.
But in that very instant.
Swish!
Baek Cheon’s foot moved in a strange way, coiling around Heo Do Jinin’s foot and pulling it down.
‘What!’
Thud!
Once again, Baek Cheon rammed his shoulder into Heo Do Jinin’s chest.
Heo Do Jinin took a few steps back and stared at the young man in front of him with an incredulous expression.
“To use ‘attraction’ [흡(吸)] in a situation like this…?”
Baek Cheon, his face drenched in sweat, took a deep breath as he faced him. Heo Do Jinin unconsciously rubbed his own chest.
‘Even though it’s a sparring match without the use of internal energy…’
Regardless, the result was that he had allowed an attack to land on his chest.
And this was Heo Do Jinin, renowned across the world.
Of course, there were countless reasons he could use as excuses.
To begin with, fist techniques were not his specialty, and a sparring match without internal energy differs as much as the sky and the earth in terms of desperation. Moreover, he had sustained severe injuries in his fierce battle with Jang Ilso, leaving him half a warrior he had used to be.
But Heo Do Jinin knew that all these reasons were meaningless. His opponent was someone who had lost even more than he had.
At this moment, there was only one thing Heo Do Jinin could say.
“……Impressive.”
Baek Cheon steadied his breathing and exhaled deeply.
“It’s thanks to your excellent teaching.”
Heo Do Jinin looked at him without even a hint of a smile.
‘What a pity.’
Truly, it was a pity.
As the former Sect Leader of Wudang and a martial artist, it was heartbreaking enough to bring tears to his eyes to see such a promising talent lose their brilliance.
“Are you…”
Heo Do Jinin began to speak with difficulty. However, Baek Cheon did not wait to hear the rest of his words and respectfully clasped his fists in a salute.
“Thank you once again.”
His emaciated hands trembled faintly as they came together in front of his chest.
Seeing this, Heo Do Jinin let out a short sigh.
‘Yes, even if I said it, he wouldn’t listen.’
Are you still not considering going to Jongnam?
That was what Heo Do Jinin wanted to say. But he knew well that it would be meaningless. If Baek Cheon were that type of person, he wouldn’t have been desperately rolling in the dirt over the past few days with that frail body of his.
“Though it’s somewhat crude… you have now mastered the essence of the Salyang Balcheongeun. It means there’s nothing more I can teach you.”
Of course, it’s still too early to say he’s fully mastered it.
However, this is true for any martial art. Once the principles and applications are understood, the completion is up to the individual.
“So, what will you do now?”
At Heo Do Jinin’s question, Baek Cheon smiled slightly. It was a bright, refreshing smile that could put anyone watching at ease.
“When someone has finished their business on the mountain, isn’t there only one thing left to do? It’s time to descend.”
“…Hmm.”
Heo Do Jinin let out a low hum.
He was not the only one residing on this mountain. So, what Baek Cheon meant was that he had no intention of rejoining Cheonumaeng.
Heo Do Jinin hesitated, as if he had more to say, but eventually shook his head.
The Baek Cheon he had seen was already on his path as a Taoist. Someone like that didn’t need clumsy advice or criticism.
“So, you’ve decided in the end.”
“Yes. I have already made up my mind.”
“Then, wait a moment.”
“Pardon?”
Baek Cheon asked in confusion, but Heo Do Jinin, without any intention of explaining, quickly walked into his quarters.
Left alone, Baek Cheon waited for Heo Do Jinin to return, feeling a bit awkward and embarrassed. Fortunately, Heo Do Jinin appeared soon enough.
“Take this.”
“What is this?”
Baek Cheon looked at the item Heo Do Jinin held out with a puzzled expression. It wasn’t that he was surprised to receive something. He simply had no idea what the item actually was.
“Hold out your arm.”
Instead of explaining, Heo Do Jinin grabbed Baek Cheon’s arm and slipped the item onto it.
“This is…”
“There was an elder in Wudang who severely injured his arm. He was too old to learn how to use his left hand, so we made this device to allow him to wield a sword with his injured arm.”
Baek Cheon blinked as he looked down at his arm.
The guard extending from his shoulder to his wrist seemed more like a piece of armor.
“Try moving it.”
Following Heo Do Jinin’s instructions, Baek Cheon moved his arm and let out a small gasp of surprise. The arm, which had felt as heavy as a boulder and required all his strength to move, was now moving more easily than he had expected.
“Such a device…”
“It’s truly fortunate that your shoulder wasn’t injured. If it had been, there would have been no solution.”
Baek Cheon looked silently at Heo Do Jinin, unable to say a word.
Although this item was supposedly used by someone from Wudang in the past, it wasn’t likely that their condition was exactly the same as Baek Cheon’s. Moreover, the item fit Baek Cheon perfectly as it was now.
This meant that during the past few days, whenever he wasn’t training, Heo Do Jinin had been adjusting this item bit by bit to suit Baek Cheon.
“Jinin…”
“Take this.”
“Huh?”
“Go on.”
Baek Cheon’s pupils trembled.
What Heo Do Jinin held out to him was… a sword.
“Are you refusing to accept Wudang’s sword?”
“It’s not that I…”
“Don’t worry about it. This isn’t a Pine Crest Sword. It’s an ordinary sword without the emblem.”
“…”
“You are no longer in a position to wield the sword of Hwasan, are you? But with your body as it is, you need at least some sword to protect yourself.”
“But…”
“Take it.”
Baek Cheon bit his lips, struggling with his thoughts, but soon reached out his hand.
The newly wrapped leather felt distinctly against his palm. Baek Cheon’s eyes fluttered briefly. His hand was now gripping a sword.
“Hmm.”
Heo Do Jinin hooked the sword’s hilt into the ring attached to the front of the support device.
“How does it feel?”
Baek Cheon instinctively tried moving his wrist.
To say it moved like before would be a lie. It felt awkward, like a child swinging a stick for the first time.
However, the important thing was that there was a sword in his hand.
“It won’t be like it was in the past. But with your skills, you should be able to wield Salyang Balcheongeun you’ve mastered with your body even with a sword. That should make it somewhat easier to protect yourself. After all, you are a swordsman.”
Baek Cheon bowed deeply.
This was a relationship that began with his stubborn insistence.
There was no reason for Heo Do Jinin to teach him. Even if Baek Cheon had begged in tears, Heo Do Jinin could have coldly turned him away, and no one would have found his fault in it.
Yet here Heo Do Jinin was, worried about Baek Cheon’s safety as he descended the mountain. He had even stayed up late, modifying and refining an item for Baek Cheon’s use.
“Jinin…”
“It’s time for you to go. It’s not good for someone who has made up their mind to linger.”
Heo Do Jinin turned his body. There was a sense of emptiness in his movements.
At that moment, something flew towards Baek Cheon.
Thud.
He instinctively caught the flying object with his right hand.
It was a reflexive action. He was lucky not to miss it, but this was something he couldn’t have even imagined doing not long ago.
“That is a gift from Wudang to you. Don’t forget it.”
“Jinin…?”
Baek Cheon, his eyes still on the small silk pouch he had caught reflexively, looked around for Heo Do Jinin. But he had already gone back inside his quarters.
After gazing at the quarters for a moment, Baek Cheon bowed deeply before turning around.
There was no way to repay the kindness he had received right now. But someday, the time would come when he could repay it. That is, if his life continued on.
“Phew.”
Looking down at the base of the mountain, Baek Cheon let out a long breath and stepped forward without hesitation.
A moment later, Heo Do Jinin quietly stepped outside and watched Baek Cheon’s back as he descended the mountain. His gaze grew deeper.
‘Even without the goal of regaining glory or reaching a higher realm than before… people can still strive.’
If he had realized this a little sooner… could his fate, and perhaps the fate of Wudang, have been different?
Heo Do Jinin took in the vast expanse of Mount Wudang with his eyes.
Perhaps he, too, still had things left to do.
Moving discreetly to avoid being noticed by others, Baek Cheon suddenly looked up at the mountain he was descending from.
‘It’s quieter than I thought…’
He had prepared himself for the trouble of avoiding people’s eyes since his senses had weakened, but surprisingly, there were no signs of Cheonumaeng’s presence on Mount Wudang.
It was fortunate, but it also meant that the search for Baek Cheon had ceased.
…Even though he knew he shouldn’t, an inexplicable feeling suddenly settled in his chest.
Mount Wudang. He had experienced so much here, enough that the past few weeks felt like years.
He closed his eyes for a moment.
He was no longer a disciple of Hwasan, nor a renowned martial artist admired by the world. The radiant future he had dreamed of was gone, and those he believed would stay by his side forever had all drifted away.
The one standing here now is nothing but an empty shell, unable to grasp even a single thing he once desired. That is why he had to ask himself.
But the answer could neither be spoken aloud nor felt in his heart.
He opened his eyes again and took another step forward.
It wasn’t to prove anything. It was simply to believe in himself.
That even after losing everything, he was still Baek Cheon.
❀ ❀ ❀
Ho Gamyeong’s gaze was as sharp as a morning frost.
In front of him lay a cluster of commoners’ houses, with smoke rising from cooking fires here and there.
Once, he too lived a life like theirs. He was not like those who were born as warriors and had always treated killing as a trivial matter.
‘How is this any different from what happened to me in the past?’
The answer was clear. It wasn’t different at all. He knew that. Ho Gamyeong had long since ceased to be one who resisted. He had become someone who trampled on others out of necessity. That change had happened a long time ago.
There was a small sense of guilt, of course. To say there wasn’t would be a lie.
But the Ho Gamyeong of today had abandoned all hesitation.
He had come too far to let a mere sense of guilt hold him back.
He had spoken boldly to Jang Ilso, but he, too, could no longer be the Ho Gamyeong of the past.
Now, he needed only to focus on the ‘strategy’ [책(策)].
‘It’s not a particularly outstanding strategy.’
The real big move would be whatever Jang Ilso had prepared.
What Ho Gamyeong was about to do was, at best, merely adding kindling to ensure that the fire Jang Ilso intended to ignite would blaze even larger.
But even such an insignificant ember is crucial when trying to build a great fire.
‘During the last attack of the Blood Palace, they were clearly more shaken than ever before.’
Of course, Cheonumaeng’s side didn’t suffer significant losses, but Ho Gamyeong hadn’t been watching their numbers – he’d been watching their response.
And that allowed him to be certain. The current Cheonumaeng was quite different from the one that had been fighting Sapaeryeon all this time.
‘Then it must be now.’
Not allowing hesitation to become a missed opportunity – that was the role of a military strategist.
“Commander.”
At the voice coming from beside him, Ho Gamyeong nodded.
“Kill them all. Don’t leave a single one alive.”
In an instant, a murderous aura rose from those lined up behind him. A menacing energy filled their eyes.
“Make it as spectacular as possible. So that everyone in Hubei knows exactly what’s happening.”
“Understood!”
“Go!”
The pack of bloodthirsty jackals charged forward.
A gloomy light shone in Ho Gamyeong’s eyes as he watched.
For a brief moment, a memory of his past self, living an ordinary life, flickered in his mind, but he swiftly erased that lingering shadow without hesitation.
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