Chapter 72. Before the sky darkened too much, I washed up and changed my clothes, then sat at the large table, looking at Cha Seong-tae and Ho Yeon-cheong again.
"Seong-tae, go get some wine from the back. Three cups."
"Yes."
When Cha Seong-tae placed the wine down and set the cups in front of each of us, I turned my gaze to Ho Yeon-cheong.
"Ho Yeon-cheong, listen carefully."
"Yes."
"I don't care whether you are Yu Sa-cheong or Ho Yeon-cheong. I also don't care if you are truly a martial artist of the Ho Yeon Sword Clan or if you are a martial artist from another faction plotting schemes in the Jianghu. You are just an unfortunate captive of mine. From now on, you will do as I say. Understood?" Ho Yeon-cheong replied shortly, "Understood."
I took out the flash dagger I had brought and stuck it into the center of the table.
Thud! Cha Seong-tae and Ho Yeon-cheong looked at me, pondering my intentions.
I pointed at the flash dagger.
"This is how we settle life and death in our town. From now on, if we cannot communicate, we will stab each other to death with that."
Cha Seong-tae smiled and seemed about to say something, but upon seeing my expression, he quickly shut his mouth.
I made my intentions clear.
"I will give you one hundred and eight days. Ho Yeon-cheong, you will teach Cha Seong-tae all martial arts except for the sword techniques, footwork, and internal cultivation methods that you know."
Ho Yeon-cheong's eyes widened, and Cha Seong-tae looked at me urgently. "……."
Of course, Ho Yeon-cheong must have a lot to say.
He might complain that teaching anyone outside his clan is forbidden or some nonsense like that.
However, after seeing the flash dagger stuck on the table, he found it hard to speak up.
Instead, Cha Seong-tae responded with a bewildered expression.
"Lord, how can I learn all of that in one hundred and eight days?" "Seong-tae."
"Yes."
I looked at Cha Seong-tae intently.
"Do you want to die? I said it’s a life-and-death matter."
"Ah…."
"Ah?" "No." I explained the daily routine to the silent Ho Yeon-cheong.
"This is the Black Cat Room, so you two will wake up at the start of the Mao hour (5 AM). After breakfast, you will train, have lunch, train again, and then rest for dinner. You will have free time during the rest, but if you attempt to leave, escape, or run away, I will personally kill you using the life-and-death method. If you don’t like it, you can pull out the flash dagger and stab me right now." "……."
"Ho Yeon-cheong has lost his internal energy to me, so during the rest time, you can either recover your internal energy or just relax, it’s up to you. Again, I say it’s one hundred and eight days. It’s long if you think about it, and short if you don’t. I’m not saying you have to master everything. However, after one hundred and eight days, Cha Seong-tae must be stronger than he is now by that much."
"How do we measure being stronger by one hundred and eight days?" In response to Cha Seong-tae's question, I replied, "If you don’t like it, pull out the dagger and stab me."
"It was just a question."
Ho Yeon-cheong finally asked me, "One hundred and eight days is barely enough to teach one sword technique."
"I don’t care. Seong-tae may be a waste of food, but he’s not a fool. Whether you teach him broadly or he gets used to the sword techniques and learns something else, it’s entirely up to you. You figure it out."
Ho Yeon-cheong unconsciously retorted, "Our Ho Yeon Sword Clan…."
"I’m not interested in what your clan is like. If you don’t like it, pull out the dagger and kill yourself."
Only then did Ho Yeon-cheong close his mouth and shut his eyes for a moment.
I said to the two of them, "There are many things in life better than dying. If you don’t want to teach, then die right here. Seong-tae, if you don’t want to learn, then just die here too. Don’t waste food. If you don’t like this and that, then pull out that dagger and come at me. I will kill you."
This time, Cha Seong-tae also tilted his head back and closed his eyes.
I said to the two of them, "Say you don’t want to do this, just one word. I will pull out the dagger first."
Cha Seong-tae raised his hand.
"I’m fine with it."
I looked at Ho Yeon-cheong.
Ho Yeon-cheong hesitated, then finally replied, "I will teach everything."
I glared at the two of them and nodded.
"Now we can communicate a bit."
I pulled out the flash dagger, pricked my finger to draw blood, and let it drip into the wine bottle.
Then I handed the flash dagger to Cha Seong-tae.
He also let his blood fall into the wine bottle.
Following suit, Ho Yeon-cheong did the same.
I held the wine bottle filled with the mixed blood of the three men who staked their lives on this oath and filled the three cups.
"This wine contains the blood of three men who staked their lives on the life-and-death oath.
According to the pact, for one hundred and eight days, Master Ho Yeon-cheong will teach his disciple Cha Seong-tae martial arts with all his heart, soul, and effort, and disciple Cha Seong-tae will learn Master Ho Yeon-cheong’s teachings with utmost sincerity and diligence for one hundred and eight days.
I, Lee Ja-ha, as the subject of this oath, swear before heaven and earth that if either of you takes lightly the obligations of the man sworn to by the life-and-death method or shows insincere behavior, I will end both of your remaining lives with this flash dagger."
Cha Seong-tae's face turned pale as he listened to my oath.
Ho Yeon-cheong kept swallowing saliva nervously.
I looked at the two of them and raised my cup.
"Do you both swear to uphold this oath?" "We swear."
"I also swear."
I nodded vigorously.
"Let’s drink."
The three of us downed the wine mixed with our blood.
After setting down my cup, I said with a satisfied expression, "Good. Starting tomorrow, the harsh training begins, so let’s have a final feast together today."
Cha Seong-tae replied, "There’s no one to cook right now."
"That’s true."
The servants had all left for Il Yang-hyeon, and most of the attendants were still at the Unwoo Association.
I pondered for a moment, resting my chin on my hand.
I had killed Su Seon-seng and Yi Ryong-no-gun, but figuring out how to solve dinner was a tough problem. 'What a useless fellow….' Cha Seong-tae said, "Shall I go out and buy something?" "Why? To run away?" At that moment, the door of the large hall burst open, and Hong Sin appeared.
However, I did not look at Hong Sin's face but focused on what she was holding in her hand.
With a calm expression, Hong Sin raised what she was holding and said, "Big Brother, have some dumplings. I bought them on the way."
I made a sound of surprise and then clapped for Hong Sin.
When I clapped seriously, Cha Seong-tae nodded and joined in.
Hong Sin looked around and asked, "What’s going on?" I extended my hand to Hong Sin.
"Excellent. Come and sit down."
"Yes."
As Hong Sin spread out the cloth on the table, white dumplings appeared, showcasing their beauty.
Hong Sin chattered, "I didn’t know what you liked, so I mixed half meat dumplings and half vegetable dumplings. I also bought some soup to go with the wine."
I wiped my tears with one hand and replied, "Excellent. From now on, the chefs will be Bai Yin, Cheong Jin, Bai Yu, and Hong Sin."
"Suddenly?" "Let’s eat."
I bit into a dumpling and said to the still silent Ho Yeon-cheong, "You should eat too."
"Yes."
Ho Yeon-cheong cautiously replied and reached for a dumpling.
While eating the dumpling, I casually said, "If the results are unsatisfactory after one hundred and eight days, you two should know you will die by my hand."
Cha Seong-tae, while eating a dumpling, replied, "Yes, understood."
Ho Yeon-cheong also responded, "Understood."
I ate the dumpling like a beggar living under a bridge and said to Hong Sin, "Can’t you make noodles? The ingredients should be in the kitchen."
Hong Sin replied with a relaxed demeanor, like Guan Yu vowing to return after beheading the enemy general before the wine cools.
"Shall I make some? I’ll make it after eating this."
I nodded several times, fearing Hong Sin might change her mind.
"I would appreciate it if you do."
"Understood."
Cha Seong-tae slightly bowed his head towards Hong Sin and said, "Please make some for me too…" "Since I’m at it, I might as well make a lot. Even for the general."
Suddenly, Hong Sin, Cha Seong-tae, and I looked at Ho Yeon-cheong.
Ho Yeon-cheong was in a position where he could not ask Hong Sin for anything since he was a captive.
Knowing this, the three of us waited for Ho Yeon-cheong to speak.
It was as if there was an unspoken pressure that if he didn’t speak, he would get nothing.
Eventually, Ho Yeon-cheong replied in a calm tone, "I’m fine."
I clicked my tongue.
"What nonsense. Hong sister, make enough for everyone to eat."
Holding a dumpling, Hong Sin stood up with a smile.
"Understood."
I gave a thumbs up to Hong Sin as she headed to the kitchen.
I felt once again that a Jianghu filled with only men was no different from hell.
Suddenly looking at Ho Yeon-cheong, I saw him gulping down wine as if the dumpling had stuck in his throat, and then he burst into tears like a madman.
I shook my head and looked at Cha Seong-tae.
"What a fuss. Oh dear. Is the dumpling too delicious that it’s making him cry?" "Hmm."
Cha Seong-tae seemed to want to tease Ho Yeon-cheong but fell silent with a bitter expression.
It seemed a bit strange to tease someone I would have to call master from now on.
Ho Yeon-cheong said, "That’s not it. Anyway, I will teach well."
While waiting for the noodles, I continued to tease Cha Seong-tae and kept bothering Ho Yeon-cheong.
I began to wonder if there was a devil inside me.
If I had been such a good person since my previous life, I would have been called something like Sword Immortal.
But my nickname was Mad Demon.
"Seong-tae."
"Yes."
"Your good days are over, huh? What will you do? Hahaha."
A little while later, the four of us ate noodles.
After filling our stomachs with dumplings and noodles, drowsiness began to creep in.
I finished the broth cleanly and then stood up.
"I’m going to sleep."
"Yes."
As I headed outside the large hall, Cha Seong-tae asked, "Where are you going?" "To sleep."
"Outside? Why?" "It’s my choice."
I went out to the courtyard and lay down under the plum tree with fallen petals, using my arms as a pillow.
The sun was setting in the sky, and night had not yet arrived.
The purple haze filled the sky for a moment.
It was a time when I could see the sky color that matched my name and meaning.
The time flowed quietly as I closed my eyes before the sky darkened too much.
I sent greetings to those I wanted to see in advance.
It would hurt my heart if I met them in a dream for no reason.
As for everyone else, I was fine.
Those I wanted to beat to death, those I wanted to torment, Kwang Seung, Kwang Myeong, the leader, the masters belonging to the Three Disasters, and even the pathetic ones who had defeated me in the martial arts gambling… I thought they could appear in my dreams as much as they wanted.
I thought about the people I truly wanted to see and hoped they wouldn’t appear in my dreams, and then I fell asleep.
Thoughts that I couldn’t tell if they were dreams or memories fleetingly passed by like the sunset… "I will pass this to you."
"Why?" "It’s something I no longer need."
I looked at the Zen staff that Kwang Seung was offering.
"I’m not a monk, how can I use this?" The head of the staff that Kwang Seung used had a crescent-shaped blade attached to it, and he twisted the blade with his hand and detached the metal piece from the body.
"If you’re going to give it, why not give it all? Why take that off?" "You have too much killing intent, so the blade is confiscated. This body itself is a fine weapon. It’s a weapon that should be said to have an unbreakable belief."
"Is it really unbreakable?" "If your belief breaks, you’ll be dead anyway, so there’s no need to worry."
"What do you mean?" "It’s just as it is."
I grabbed the metal rod that Kwang Seung offered with a confused heart.
The rod weighed over sixty pounds, making it a weapon that a Jianghu person could not handle freely.
I looked at Kwang Seung's expression and asked, "Where are you going?" "I have to go back."
"You’re leaving suddenly?" "A journey is only because there is a place to return to. I’ve filled up a lot, so it’s time to empty it again."
"What if there’s no place to return to? Like me."
"Why do you have no place to return to? If you come anytime, I’ll shave that ugly head of yours. That wouldn’t be pleasant, right? Don’t talk nonsense and die somewhere. If your heart feels heavy, come find me anytime. You useless fellow, I’m leaving."
Kwang Seung disappeared, stirring up a cloud of dust.
It was not surprising to part ways suddenly with such an unpredictable person.
When the person who had forcibly dragged me around suddenly vanished, the emptiness that freedom brought was immense.
Suddenly looking around, all that remained by my side was the metal piece that was called unbreakable belief.
I stood alone in the wilderness with the heavy metal piece on my shoulder, looking around for a long time, but there was no particular place to return to.
My heart was no different from the wilderness, so I headed back to the Jianghu.
There was no place to return to, but the people I wanted to beat to death were still in the Jianghu.
The sky was gradually darkening.