This spring, when I returned to my hometown after ten years, I made a vow, engraving it upon my heart. That I would never leave again. It had changed beyond recognition, and I didn't know a single soul, but still, this was my home.
After buying Sister Soso's house, I settled down for good, intending to put down roots. I had to leave home a few times for work, unavoidably.
When I took the escort request for Tang Hye-seo through the Underworld Information Clan, and when I went to White Rooster County in search of the black market, but those were only for a day or two. Shaanxi Province is different. No matter how fast I travel by carriage, the round trip will take at least two months.
If something comes up along the way, it could take even longer. It was also questionable whether the Clan Lord of the Western Shadow Sword Sect would cooperate. If Sister Soso and the villagers were living as tenant farmers or servants, they were practically the property of the sword school.
Even if I went with a letter of introduction, it might not be easy to bring them back. “I will accompany you, so that will not happen." I stopped drinking my tea and flinched, looking at Gwang-hyo, who sat across from me.
"Did you say you would go with me? To Shaanxi Province?"
“Yes. I am also acquainted with the Clan Lord of the Western Shadow Sword Sect. It would be far better for me to go in person than to simply write a letter of introduction.”
That can't be all there is to it. Having resolved another twenty percent of the Hidden Force with the third direct transmission of true energy, Jeok Chu-yeong had recovered enough to walk with a cane. I heard he had stopped eating porridge and started on rice, so his stamina should gradually improve.
If I were to meet with disaster on my way to Shaanxi or fail to return, the Hidden Force would worsen, and Jeok Chu-yeong would collapse again. Rather than waiting anxiously from a distance, unable to do anything, it would be much more reassuring for him to stick by my side, both to protect and to watch over me.
From my perspective, there was no downside either. Gwang-hyo cannot harm me. If an absolute master of his caliber were to accompany me, things would surely go more smoothly than if I went alone.
I found myself wondering anew why this damned monk was going to such lengths. “May I ask you something?" Without waiting for an answer, I went straight to the point.
“What is your relationship with Master Jeok?" Gwang-hyo stared at me with eyes as sharp as ice. The stern aura of an absolute master pressed down on my chest like an invisible boulder.
My hair stood on end and my breath naturally grew ragged, but I did not avert my gaze. To gauge how far I could trust this damned monk, I needed to know their relationship. If he refused to tell me, there was nothing I could do, but somehow, I felt it was possible.
After all, Jeok Chu-yeong, Gwang-hyo, and I were already quite deeply entangled. When I did not back down, Gwang-hyo turned his gaze to the open door. In the empty main hall of Crouching Dragon Hall, Jeok Chu-yeong was practicing walking one step at a time, leaning on his cane.
He staggered as if he might fall at any moment, yet he pressed forward diligently without rest. Bok Ha-gyu moved close beside him, ready to support him immediately should he stumble. Gwang-hyo's eyes, as he watched Jeok Chu-yeong, clouded over with belated emotions like pity and regret.
With a short sigh, Gwang-hyo gave an answer to my question.
“Master Jeok was my disciple.”
"Disciple?"
I had thought he was a relative or the son of an acquaintance, but a disciple… What school could this damned monk belong to? No matter how I thought about it, only one name came to mind.
“Master, are you perhaps from Shaolin?"
“Are warrior monks in this world found only in Shaolin?" "No?" Gwang-hyo narrowed his eyes, displeased. "It is true that I am registered on Mount Song.”
His tone was reluctant, as if he didn't want to admit it. Even if the Shaolin Temple was the leader of the Nine Great Sects, an absolute master like Gwang-hyo couldn't be common.
To have left his school and acted as a house guest of the Underworld Information Clan for the past two years just to look after the Hidden Force, Jeok Chu-yeong must be his most cherished disciple. “Then Master Jeok must also be a disciple of Shaolin?"
Since his master was a Shaolin warrior monk, it was a natural conclusion, but Gwang-hyo's expression hardened as he glared at me.
“Master Jeok has nothing to do with Shaolin. That was true in the past, it is true now, and it will be true in the future.”
Gwang-hyo's eyes widened fiercely like a Heavenly King's, as if warning me he wouldn't let it slide if I spoke nonsense elsewhere. Then again, it wouldn't do any good if it became known that a disciple of Shaolin was the leader of a dark path faction.
“I will prepare the carriage and the driver. When do you intend to leave?”
I sipped the warm tea and looked out the window. The sky was a brilliant blue, without a single cloud. There was no wind, and it was a rather warm afternoon, so much so that you could almost feel the particles of sunlight streaming through the window.
But I couldn't be complacent. The winter weather could change at any moment. If it suddenly started to snow and the roads were blocked, I wouldn't be able to move a muscle until spring.
Dragging it out would only make it colder.
“Let's depart in two days.”
* What kind of school was this Western Shadow Sword Sect? Even with Jeok Chu-yeong's letter of introduction and Gwang-hyo accompanying me, I needed to know a certain amount to handle the situation appropriately. Shaanxi Province was too far away to make inquiries.
Fortunately, there was one place in the Western Village where I could find out properly. “The founding master of the sword school was a lay disciple of the Mount Hua Sect. Through the generations, they have continuously interacted with the Mount Hua Sect and expanded their influence."
I slowly nodded while listening to Geuk-hwan's explanation. I had expected as much. In Shaanxi Province, two of the Nine Great Sects were located.
The Mount Hua Sect and the Zhongnan Sect. For hundreds of years, the disciples and lay disciples produced by these two schools had run various businesses, effectively dividing the martial world of Shaanxi between them. To run an orthodox sect or a martial family in Shaanxi Province, you had to have some connection to these two great schools.
If the Western Shadow Sword Sect was of the Mount Hua Sect's martial lineage, then it made sense that Gwang-hyo, the Shaolin monk, was acquainted with them.
“If the Mount Hua Sect is backing them, the sword school's prestige must be considerable?" Geuk-hwan shook his head as he checked the documents. "In its heyday, it is said they had over eighty disciples under their command. But that's a story of the past now. After the previous Clan Lord was suddenly murdered, their fortunes declined rapidly.”
“Is the current Clan Lord's martial ability not up to his father's?"
“Not at all. It's quite the opposite. The Mount Hua Sect praised him in one voice, saying the student had surpassed the master." “Then why?” "It is because he failed to catch the assassin who murdered his father. Since he was ambushed in a secluded place, no one knows who the culprit who killed the former Clan Lord is. He has sent several requests to our clan, but we were ultimately unable to find them.”
Geuk-hwan clicked his tongue and furrowed his brow as if it were a shame.
“The current Clan Lord, overcome with grief, put down his sword and lost himself in drink and gambling. As a result, his family fortune melted away like snow, and the disciples are said to have scattered.”
This was not good news. If the sword school collapsed, Sister Soso's family, who depended on it, could not have been okay. They might have been left with nowhere to go in the middle of winter.
The thought made me feel anxious, wanting to rush there as quickly as possible. After hearing a bit more about the situation in Shaanxi Province, I left the Deep Fragrance Pavilion. On my way home, I stopped by the Wind River Inn for the first time in a while.
It wasn't even lunchtime yet, so the inn was quiet. I didn't see Pung-chil either. I unfastened my long blade and sat down in my usual spot.
Gu-sam came over with a teapot, his face beaming.
“Did something good happen?”
As if he had been waiting for me to ask, Gu-sam grinned triumphantly.
“Of course. There's no happier occasion than this.”
"What is it?"
“Starting this month, we don't have to pay protection money to the Black Night Gang anymore."
"Really?"
Seeing my bewildered expression, Gu-sam chattered excitedly in a thrilled voice.
“Yes.
The businesses directly managed by the Black Night Gang still have to pay, but for unrelated places like our inn, it's an exception from now on." "After that big commotion where they fought amongst themselves and set fires, it seems they've turned over a new leaf..." Seon Do-mu and Im Ja-gyeon, who died then.
It seems those two were the ones who had been extorting money even from those unrelated to the Black Night Gang. Indeed, Bok Ha-gyu and Jeok Chu-yeong were not men suited for the dark path. I, too, had been deeply involved in that situation and lent a hand.
Of course, it was all to find Sister Soso's family. Still, it was a relief that my hometown had improved, even if just a little, compared to before I arrived. With a fresh perspective, I looked around the inn slowly.
"I won't be able to come to the inn for a while.”
"Are you going somewhere far?"
“Yes.”
Gu-sam carefully studied my expression.
"You will come back, right?"
I felt strange. I remembered when I first met this kid. It hadn't even been a full year, but so much had happened.
And much more will happen in the future. I have to. This is my hometown.
I finished a simple meal and returned home to prepare for the long journey. First, I drew my long blade and inspected its condition. I hadn't used it too roughly, so it was still clean without a single nick.
The dagger was also sharp, with no signs of rust. I hid the Sun Element Sword under the bed, along with the new pills made from the processed Lake Water Lotus Herb. While taking out a spare change of clothes to put in my pack, I found a small pouch that had been tossed in a corner.
It was from the demonic sect opium merchant I killed who was impersonating Pyo Hol-deuk. I had handed over the Murim Alliance Inspector's identification token and the sword I got then to Geuk-hwan. I still hadn't received payment.
I heard it would be settled after an investigator from the Murim Alliance came and finished their investigation. It would be nice if those Murim Alliance guys came and went while I was away from the Western Village· But I wasn't sure if those high-and-mighty people with heavy bottoms would bother to move in this cold winter.
The opium merchant's pouch only contained trivial personal belongings. A few strange-looking coins, a small hand mirror, a piece of wood…… There were no letters or symbols related to the Heavenly Mountains anywhere.
Still, just in case, I put the pouch in my pack. Even though I had been eating the pills made from the Great Sun Forgetting Ginseng sparingly, there were now only four left. I put them in a small wooden box to take with me.
Before leaving, I had to replenish the inner energy I had consumed during training. I ate a one-fifth piece of a pill and sat cross-legged. It would probably be difficult to circulate my energy while I was away.
I had to thoroughly conceal the fact that I could use inner energy. Gwang-hyo knew, but we weren't close enough for me to trust him to act as my guardian. I had to fill my energy core as much as possible while I could.
The pill passed down my throat and into my stomach, emitting a refreshing energy. I drew up my inner energy along the circulation path of the Heavenly Steel Saber Technique. I wrapped the natural energy scattering through my body with my inner energy and gathered it around my energy core.
The mist-like natural energy condensed drop by drop and fell into my energy core. As I was observing my inner self and immersing myself in circulating my energy, the Hidden Force's inner energy suddenly reacted to the natural energy.
Against my will, it left my energy core, rose to my middle energy core, and began to circulate along the path of the Primordial Chaos Unified Qi Art. Suddenly, two inner cultivation methods were circulating simultaneously. It was a situation where it wouldn't be strange to fall into qi deviation at any moment.
I was startled and hurriedly tried to stop the circulation of the Primordial Chaos Unified Qi Art, but then I paused. There was nothing wrong with my body. Even where the circulation paths crossed, the two inner energies coexisted smoothly without conflict.
While I watched with great tension, the Hidden Force's inner energy had also begun to capture natural energy and move it to my energy core. With two inner energies moving at the same time, the speed at which natural energy accumulated as inner energy also quickened.
After gathering all the natural energy from the pill into my energy core, I withdrew my inner energy. My qi and blood, and my meridians, were still normal. My energy core was full to bursting with the newly absorbed inner energy.
My original inner energy made up eighty percent, and the Hidden Force's inner energy had grown to about twenty percent. How should I use this.. After pondering for a long time, I put the remaining three and four-fifths pills into the small wooden box and placed it next to my long blade.
I added another lump of charcoal to the brazier and went to bed early. The air in the room was warmly heated, and the blanket was cozy. But sleep did not come easily.
I tossed and turned in the darkness for a long time. Today is the last day I sleep alone in this house. Only after I made up my mind did sweet sleep, which had been loitering in the distance, silently approach and embrace me.
* Perhaps because I was both excited and anxious, I woke up early in the morning in a disoriented state. I boiled water and drank tea while waiting, and as soon as it was light, I fastened my long blade and shouldered my pack. I bolted the main gate securely and climbed over the wall to get out.
After walking for a long time towards the center of the Western Village, I looked back. I imprinted the image of Sister Soso's house, sleeping peacefully in the hazy dawn light, in my eyes for a long time before quickening my pace. At the Black Night Gang, an unexpected guest was waiting for me.
“What brings you here?”
Tang Hye-seo, carrying a pack and wearing a straw hat, yawned languidly and waved.
“I heard you're going to Shaanxi Province? I'm going with you.”
“For what reason?"
"I have some business with the Zhongnan Sect."
"Did something come from the message?"
Thanks to Hwang-gu's efforts the other day, we were able to ambush the unidentified group that had been intercepting carrier pigeons. All but one were killed, and he was captured alive, but we also secured a significant number of messages. I thought it would have been a great help, but it seems that wasn't the case.
“I couldn't find the one sent by the Sichuan black market merchant. Instead, there was something very strange related to the Zhongnan Sect.”
“Are you going alone?" “This time, yes. There aren't many Tang Clan members in the Western Village, so Bi-hyeon has a lot to do as well."
“Will you be alright?" “With Great Hero Jeong and Master Gwang-hyo here, there's no problem" “You know the Master?"
“I don't. Apparently, he knows my aunt. He was the former head of the Prajna Hall at Shaolin Temple. He agreed to accompany me as far as the Zhongnan Sect.”
For someone with Gwang-hyo's level of martial ability to be just a hall master. Then how powerful must the abbot of Shaolin Temple be? I realized anew why Shaolin was called the Mount Tai and Big Dipper of the martial world.
Tang Hye-seo's eyes twinkled strangely as she stared intently at my face.
"By any chance, do you not want me to come along?"
“How could that be? You are welcome anytime." I meant it.
Tang Hye-seo was an expert in hidden weapons and poisons, so if a fight broke out, she could more than pull the weight of one or two masters. As a direct descendant of the Tang Clan, she would also be of great help if a situation arose where we needed to pressure the Western Shadow Sword Sect.
“I knew it.”
Only then did Tang Hye-seo smile with satisfaction. Gwang-hyo appeared on the stairs of Crouching Dragon Hall, dressed in a long robe and holding a straw hat. Jeok Chu-yeong, bundled up in a thick overcoat, came out to see us off with Bok Ha-gyu.
“It is cold, go back inside.”
“I must see you leave.”
Gwang-hyo looked at Jeok Chu-yeong without a word, then turned his gaze to Bok Ha-gyu.
“Squad Master Bok, I leave him in your care.”
“Do not worry. I will serve him with my life." With reluctant steps, Gwang-hyo boarded the carriage.
Tang Hye-seo and I also bid farewell to Jeok Chu-yeong and followed him. The inside of the carriage was warm, with charcoal burning in a brazier. Inside, boxes containing charcoal, dry rations, drinking water, blankets, and the like were securely tied to the carriage with ropes.
They had made full preparations so that we could survive in the carriage without freezing to death, even if we didn't come across an inn along the way.
"Let us depart."
At Gwang-hyo's command, the driver spurred the horses. The large, two-horse carriage left the Black Night Gang and passed through the alleys of the Western Village, which were just beginning to wake. I remembered the day in my childhood when I was kidnapped by a fake relative and had to leave my hometown.
Wiping away my endless tears, I had vowed to return one day. Back then, I didn't know it would take ten years. What about this time?
Could I return before winter ends? I couldn't be sure, but one thing was certain. I will absolutely not return alone.
Facing the piercing winter wind pouring through the window, I gazed blankly at the receding center of the Western Village. The unmelted morning frost was caught in the wind, swirling around the city like a light blizzard. In my blurring vision, the Western Village soon disappeared beyond the hills.
The carriage sped straight north along the main road.