"... I wasn’t planning to let you go."
After the martial arts competition, I sat face-to-face with my father on the wooden platform.
The spectators had all left, and the vast Baiwu Hall was empty except for the two of us.
My father, with his arms crossed, stared at the teacup in front of him and spoke.
"I knew exactly what kind of trouble you’d get into if you left. I was even prepared to break your limbs to keep you here."
"And if I had insisted on going anyway?"
"... I would’ve pretended to lose and followed you."
I already knew.
I had seen him secretly packing his things a few days ago.
He really is a man who can’t resist his son.
I calmly sipped my tea and said, "Since I won, you can’t stop me now, nor can you follow me."
"... Can’t I just go with you?"
"No."
I shook my head firmly.
Personally, I was grateful to him.
But from now on, it was better for me to move forward alone, both for my sake and for his future.
"I’ll make a lot of money, achieve great things, and come back. Until then, take good care of Baiwu Hall and don’t let it fall apart."
"You little rascal."
My father pouted in a way that didn’t suit his age.
If the widows in the village had seen him, they might have swooned, but in front of me, it was useless.
"If you go to the Azure Dragon Academy..."
My father hesitated for a moment before letting out a long sigh.
"Your maternal grandfather will be there."
"Huh?"
Maternal grandfather? That would be my mother’s father, my grandfather.
This was the first time I was hearing about this.
Come to think of it, I had rarely heard anything about my mother’s side of the family.
My father hesitated before continuing.
"He’s... the student director at the Azure Dragon Academy."
"Huh?"
"Your maternal grandfather."
"... Wait, why are you only telling me this now?"
When I asked with a bewildered expression, my father avoided my gaze and said, "I told you, I wasn’t planning to let you go. I never thought you’d actually beat me. Honestly, if I had used my full internal energy, I would’ve won easily..."
"Stop making excuses now. If you had such connections, you should’ve told me earlier. Then the entrance exam would’ve been easier..."
I was excitedly talking when I noticed my father’s expression darkening.
Could it be?
"... Do you not get along with my grandfather?"
"It’s not just me. Your mother and her father have been estranged for a while now."
Maek Byeong.
That was my mother’s name.
I asked with a hint of unease, "Why? How long has it been?"
"... Ever since your mother and I got married."
"Ah, so it’s been about 30 years. And you call that 'a while'? At that point, you should just call him 'that guy,' not 'father-in-law.'"
My father seemed to have decided to pretend he didn’t hear me.
"I don’t know how your grandfather will react to you. He might dote on you because you look like your mother... or..."
"Or?"
"He might try to kill you because you look like me."
"..."
My father frowned and muttered, "He’s a stubborn old man, but he wouldn’t actually kill you, right?"
I sighed, rubbing my throbbing forehead.
"Anyway, be careful. If you meet someone with the surname Maek and the characters '極' (extreme) or '廉' (integrity) in their name, run a hundred paces away..."
"I’ll stop listening there."
Worrying about it now wouldn’t help.
It was better to go and face it head-on.
...
He wouldn’t actually try to kill me, right?
"Should I come with you after all? If we go together, he’ll probably try to kill me first, so you can escape..."
"Just how much does your father-in-law hate you?!"
I let out a deep sigh and stood up.
The longer the farewell dragged on, the harder it would be to leave.
It was better to leave while the feeling of reluctance was still manageable.
If I lingered any longer, the sun might set.
"Well, Father. I’ll take my leave now. Take care of yourself until I return after achieving great things."
"Stop with the formalities. Just go already."
I bowed deeply to my father, then stood up, nodded once, and turned around.
"..."
I slung my bag over my shoulder and took one last look around.
I engraved the sight of Baiwu Hall in my mind.
The training grounds, the old building, the yellowed signboard with faded characters, the balls and toys the kids had left in one corner of the training grounds.
The dormitory and buildings from my time as a Blood Sect instructor were much larger and grander, but I preferred the earthy smell of this training ground.
Perhaps because it was the first 'home' I had ever known in my life.
'I’ll definitely come back.'
It might take a few years, or even longer, but I vowed to return here someday.
This place was now my hometown.
"Send a letter at least once a month! If I don’t hear from you, I’ll come after you, you hear me?!"
"Yes, yes."
Leaving my father’s shouts behind, I stepped through the gates of Baiwu Hall.
And with that, I took my first step toward the Azure Dragon Academy.
"..."
Baek Mu-heun watched his son’s retreating figure until it disappeared into the distance.
He stood motionless, not moving an inch until his son became a small dot and vanished.
"... What a heartless kid. He didn’t even look back once."
Even though his son had changed drastically after dying and coming back to life, he was still worried.
The boy only knew how to dream of the martial world, but he had no idea about its cruelty.
"Especially with women..."
Though his son resembled him more, his sharp nose and long eyelashes were a perfect copy of his late wife.
At the Azure Dragon Academy, his face alone would cause quite a stir.
He had been the same way back in the day.
Baek Mu-heun recalled the moment he first met his wife at the Azure Dragon Academy.
-"Are you the Jade-Faced Prince? Hmm... You don’t look that handsome."
-"And who are you? Why are you ruining my good mood by criticizing my looks while I’m drinking?"
-"Well, since we’ve met like this, how about buying me a drink?"
-"What...?"
Their first meeting hadn’t been particularly pleasant.
She looked so frail, as if she might break at the slightest touch, yet she boldly demanded a drink while glaring at him.
But before he knew it, he had fallen in love with that seemingly fragile woman.
-"Byeong. Marry me. I’ll turn over a new leaf and devote my life only to you!"
-"... I might not live long because of my weak health. Is that still okay?"
-"It doesn’t matter!"
-"... So you’re planning to remarry after I die, is that it?"
-"N-no! I would never think such a thing!"
The two of them pledged their marriage under the moonlight by the lake.
But they faced fierce opposition from her father, who adored his daughter.
-"You thieving bastard! Who gave you permission to court my daughter?!"
-"F-father-in-law..."
-"Who’s your father-in-law?! I’ll kill you with a single strike!"
-"Stop it, Father! If you kill him, I’ll die too!"
-"You, you...! How could you?!"
Baek Mu-heun shuddered as he recalled his father-in-law from back then.
"... I really managed to survive."
In the end, his father-in-law declared that he was disowning his daughter, and the two of them fled the Azure Dragon Academy as if they were being chased out.
-"Byeong! I’ll definitely make you happy! I’ll find a way to cure your illness!"
-"Stop talking nonsense and let’s just travel the martial world. I’ve always wanted to do that with the man I love."
Baek Mu-heun wandered the martial world with his wife.
It was a difficult time, but also the happiest.
And a few years later, a child was born to them.
-"Waaah!"
-"Byeong! Byeong! Stay with me!"
-"... Is it a boy? Or a girl?"
-"It’s a boy! A boy who looks just like you!"
"Byeong. That baby has grown up so much."
Baek Soo-ryong’s figure had long since disappeared.
But Baek Mu-heun continued to stare in the direction his son had gone.
"I wanted to keep him with me for the rest of my life... but he said he didn’t need me anymore. So I let him go."
It felt as if he could hear his wife’s voice from somewhere.
-"He’ll probably make a lot of girls cry, just like you."
"Haha. I guess so."
Baek Mu-heun laughed alone, but his expression slowly hardened.
"... Should I follow him now?"
He was the only gift his wife had left behind.
He looked just like her, so much so that you couldn’t help but adore him.
He was bold and often caused trouble, but...
If only he could cure his illness, he would give his own life for his son.
"If I just secretly follow and watch from afar..."
-"Stop it. What are you doing, making a fool of yourself? You lost in the competition too."
At his wife’s words, Baek Mu-heun chuckled awkwardly.
"Haha. You’re right."
A bitter laugh escaped him.
His wife was right.
He had lost in the competition, so who was he to protect anyone?
Even though he hadn’t used his full internal energy or gone all out in that competition, a loss was still a loss.
"I lost to that kid. Ha, haha... Hahaha."
It was strange.
He was clearly laughing out of joy, but tears threatened to spill.
His laughter slowly turned into sobs.
No matter how hard he tried to hold them back, the tears flowed uncontrollably.
"Byeong. That kid... he said something."
Baek Mu-heun clenched his teeth, holding back his tears, and muttered.
"He said it wasn’t my fault. That your death wasn’t my fault, and that being born weak wasn’t my fault either."
-"Did you really think it was your fault all this time?"
"Of course. If you hadn’t met me, you wouldn’t have died so soon. And that kid..."
His wife’s voice finished the sentence he couldn’t bring himself to say.
-"Wouldn’t have been born, you mean? Is that what you really think?"
"I’m sorry. I’m really sorry. That’s not what I meant."
-"I was truly happy to have met you. What meaning would there have been in living a few more years in misery?"
Byeong was dead.
The voice he heard in his head was just a hallucination, a self-deception.
-"Our son is the same. Didn’t you hear what he said earlier? He’s all grown up now."
But it was comforting.
"You’re right. When did he grow up so much...?"
-"Let him leave our embrace and do what he wants."
"Ugh..."
The tears he had been holding back finally burst forth, and Baek Mu-heun began to cry like a child.
And so, he wept for a long time.
"Whew..."
After letting everything out, Baek Mu-heun finally calmed down and felt a sense of relief.
-"What will you do now? With no son to worry about, are you going to remarry?"
Remembering his wife’s teasing voice, Baek Mu-heun smiled faintly.
"Remarry? I’ll focus on mastering the martial arts I never fully learned."
The sun had already set, casting a red glow over the training grounds.
Baek Mu-heun stood there lightly gripping his sword.
"Whew..."
He began to practice the Whirlwind Sword Technique, which he had trained in every day for decades without fail.
But something was different this time.
As he moved, dust rose chaotically from the training grounds, and the fallen leaves on the ground spiraled upward in a whirlwind, rising into the sky.
His sword felt freer than ever.
How much time had passed?
After completing all the forms of the Whirlwind Sword Technique, Baek Mu-heun stopped in place.
-"Congratulations."
"... Thank you."
With a gentle smile on his lips, Baek Mu-heun looked at his sword.
Without realizing it, a sharp sword aura had formed on the blade.