Thud! Thud! Thud!
An old man and a young boy walked along the night road.
The night sky was dotted with the moon and stars. Countless points of light brightly illuminated the pitch black darkness.
“Where are we?”
The boy asked.
It wasn’t a question asked in expectation of an answer. It was a remark thrown out of boredom from walking.
“On a road.”
“Who doesn’t know that? I’m asking where we’re going.”
“We are entering a castle that you can never hope to look down on.”
“Heh heh!”
The boy chuckled.
“...Why are you laughing?”
The old man asked, glancing at him.
“Is there anywhere we can’t look down on?”
“What? What do you mean by that?”
“You said our blade is the best in the world, absolutely invincible, Master. Then there’s nowhere we can’t go.”
“When did I ever say such a thing? The best in the world, absolutely invincible. Hah!”
The old man let out a dry laugh.
“You didn’t?”
“Hah! That rascal! I’m asking you, when did I ever say that?”
“You said our blade is one that only one in a million can use. Then it must be the best in the world.”
“There are also blades that only one in ten million can use.”
“Pfft! Where would you find a blade like that?”
“Hahaha!”
The old man let out another dry laugh.
The old man looked very benevolent. He had a wide face and a roughly grown beard, but his eyes overflowed with kindness. His roundish body also contributed to his benevolent appearance.
The boy was very short. His frame was also slender. But he didn’t look entirely young, as his face was abnormally wrinkled. So even though he was a boy, he looked very mature.
The old man muttered as if in passing.
“You rascal. Clean out your ears and listen carefully. Our blade is first rate. It’s the best kind of blade. An exceptionally good blade. But in this world, there is a special grade. It’s not common, but it definitely exists. So… don’t even let foolish words like ‘the best in the world’ or ‘absolutely invincible’ cross your lips, and don’t even think them.”
“Pfft! It’s hard enough to find a first rate, how are we supposed to find a special grade?”
“Hah! That rascal. That’s why you haven’t received the Seori surname yet!”
“Master.”
“What?”
“Since we’re on the topic, can’t you give me the Seori surname? It’s so plain just being called Dongbak. If I add the Seori surname, would I become Seori Dongbak? Seori Dongbak, Seori Dongbak. Hee! That sounds nice.”
“Just make the blade. The blade is what’s important, why are you so obsessed with a mere surname?”
“So give it to me now. The blade is almost finished, isn’t it?”
“It’s still a long way off.”
The old man and the boy walked along the night road, bickering back and forth.
* * *
A small hut appeared before the two of them.
It was a shabby hut that looked like it had been built by a farmer to escape the heat or eat a snack.
“You wait here.”
“Heh heh! Yes.”
The boy quickly climbed up into the hut.
It was a dark night, and the place was deserted. The old man had told the boy to stay by himself, but the boy didn’t seem scared at all. He climbed into the hut very calmly.
“Don’t move from here. Don’t even budge.”
“Yes. I got it.”
“Don’t talk to anyone who comes by.”
“Yes.”
“...Actually, if you think someone is coming, don’t stay here, just hide. You’re good at hiding, right? Don’t ever confront them.”
“Yes, yes, yes. I got it. I said I got it.”
Dongbak picked his ear as if he didn’t want to hear any more.
Leaving Dongbak behind, the old man walked along the road, with a small mountain to his side.
A wide rice paddy stretched out beside the road. To the right, a low mountain range continued pleasantly.
The strong scent of pine wafted from the forest.
The old man walked slowly, without hurrying.
Chirp! Chirp!
The sound of insects chirping sounded mournful.
“Tsk! Why are these damn insects so loud today of all days. Tsk!”
The old man clicked his tongue, unable to hide his desolate feeling.
After a while, a small house appeared at the end of the narrow path.
The house had a tiled roof, but it felt more like a mountain shrine tucked away deep in the mountains than a house.
However, it wasn’t as small as a mountain shrine; it was large enough for about ten people to live in. Also, the wall was so low that you could see inside just by standing still. The mansion visible beyond the wall was on the small side. It looked like it would have at most two or three rooms.
The old man’s footsteps stopped in front of the mansion.
Creeeak!
The main gate opened.
Because of the low wall, the people opening the gate were visible.
They had been waiting by the gate before the old man arrived. To open the gate for him.
They could have opened the gate before the old man arrived. But they deliberately waited until he arrived to open it. They were letting someone inside the mansion hear the sound of the gate opening.
“Welcome. He is waiting for you.”
The person who opened the gate bowed his head politely.
“Hoo!”
The old man let out a deep sigh.
The room was clean. With no furniture other than a bed, it couldn’t be anything but clean.
A person was lying on the bed.
A middle aged man of about fifty lay with his eyes half open, staring at the ceiling with a haggard look.
“Tsk! Why didn’t you contact me sooner?”
The old man sat down beside the bed and clasped the sick man’s hand.
“Would anything have changed if I had? It would only deepen the heartache… This is just right. I can speak with a clear mind, and since my body won’t listen to me, I have no qualms about asking for favors.”
The old man and the middle aged man spoke to each other with respect.
“Is there no medicine?”
“If there were medicine, would I be like this? Haha, don’t look at me with that face. I’m really fine.”
The middle aged man smiled brightly.
It seemed he had already come to terms with life and death. His face looked very peaceful. It was not the face of someone resisting death. It was a state of calm acceptance.
The world had no idea that a person had reached this state.
Even now, at this very moment, no one knew that the master of the Sacred Sword Sect was afflicted by illness. Even fewer knew that he was in a state where he couldn’t even get out of bed.
That’s right. The person lying in bed was the master of the Sacred Sword Sect.
Before he became the sect master, the title he earned while roaming the martial world was Two Move Decisive Sword. It was because he would concede the first move and decide the match on the second.
His name was Byeoksu, and he was fifty six years old.
A supreme master of the martial world was not injured in a fight, but was lying down, struck by a mere illness.
“Being like this is not befitting of a sect master. To a martial artist, a bed is merely a place to rest for a while, not a place to rely on.”
“Huhu! You’re still nagging me even after seeing my state?”
The sect master’s appearance was wretched.
The muscles that were once so firm were gone, leaving only bone. His skin was dry and flaky, his eyes were sunken, and his blackened lips were parched.
He was suppressing the pain with his internal energy, but he looked like it was difficult to even breathe.
Stomach cancer.
The hand of death had already spread not only through his stomach but throughout his entire body.
“Sect Master.”
The old man could not say anything else and just called out to the sect master.
“Thank you for everything.”
The middle aged man lying on the bed squeezed the old man’s hand tightly.
Silence fell.
There was no conversation to be had between the two. He couldn’t say anything about the pain.
“Today… my eldest had a duel, did you see it?”
The Sacred Sword Sect master said, looking up at the ceiling with empty eyes.
“I saw it. That duel… did you create it on purpose to show me?”
“I didn’t create it. How could one create such a fight on purpose? If Langya had no fighting spirit, such a fight would not have happened in the first place. I merely fanned the flames of his fighting spirit a little. Seeing the duel… what did you think?”
“He has grown up well.”
“Tell me honestly.”
“He has grown up well.”
“That’s not the answer I wanted to hear. Huhu!”
The sect master laughed.
The Sacred Sword Sect was passed down to the eldest son. After Heo Dogang’s death, his eldest son, Heo Munseung, was supposed to inherit the position of sect master.
The sect master was now asking if Heo Munseung was the right material to lead the Sacred Sword Sect. To this, the old man only said, ‘He has grown up well.’ It meant that although his martial arts were strong, he was not the material for the sect master of the Sacred Sword Sect.
Why did the old man say this?
There was a tiger in the Sacred Sword Sect. A very large tiger named Heo Dogi was breathing there. One had to surpass him to become the sect master… but Heo Munseung was not strong enough to surpass Heo Dogi.
The two were discussing the next sect master.
“Two tigers cannot live on one mountain. Didn’t I tell you to take care of it sooner?”
“Hahaha…”
The Sacred Sword Sect master laughed faintly.
The martial world is a world of the law of the jungle. The weak are eaten by the strong.
The reason the sect master had deliberately shown Heo Munseung’s martial arts was because he knew the nature of the martial world well.
After he dies… who will inherit the Sacred Sword Sect?
The Sacred Sword Sect should be passed down to the eldest son, but unfortunately, the strongest, Heo Dogi, exists. If a situation arises where the strong must be ruled by the weak… would it be alright?
It would not be alright.
If Heo Dogi were an ordinary uncle, he could be a great help to Heo Munseung. But Heo Dogi was a wolf who had hidden his claws. He was an ambitious man who had hidden his ambition and endured for a long time.
When Heo Dogang became the sect master… a lot of things had happened.
Heo Dogang and the old man had not forgotten what happened then.
They remembered the fierce resistance, the conspiracies, the schemes, the deceptions. Slander was child’s play, and they remembered how he had not hesitated to even attempt assassination. Also, they could not forget his meticulousness in thoroughly hiding himself while all those incidents were happening.
Heo Dogang had become the sect master only after overcoming three or four life and death crises.
Now that he was dying, he could not say that the same thing would not happen to Heo Munseung.
Then couldn’t he have taken care of Heo Dogi beforehand, as the old man said?
The sect master was not a heartless person enough to get rid of his younger brother. Even if his brother was at fault, he would have turned a blind eye. Even if it made things difficult for his son, he would not get rid of his own flesh and blood.
Furthermore, Heo Dogi had done nothing to find fault with while Heo Dogang was the sect master.
He did not interfere in any of the major or minor affairs of the Sacred Sword Sect. If it seemed like he might be criticized for even the slightest thing, he wouldn’t even look at it. As a result, he was now almost a forgotten person in the martial world.
But he was definitely the strongest in the martial world.
Heo Dogang squeezed the old man’s hand tightly and said firmly, enunciating each word.
“Sect Master, you must not see blood. You must absolutely not shed blood. No one must die.”
“I don’t know if it will be of any help, but I will watch over him. To the best of my ability. So please rest easy.”
The old man said, taking his hand in return.
“Thank you.”
A light of relief flickered in Heo Dogang’s eyes.
“You praise me too much. I don’t know what help it will be for me to watch over him… As you know, Sect Master, Changsuk is already a master whose realm has surpassed my own. If he were to actually take up the sword, there would be no one who could stop him.”
“No. I wouldn’t know about others, but knowing that the Single Instant Sect Master will be watching over him puts my mind at ease. Haha!”
The Sacred Sword Sect Master Heo Dogang laughed. But his heart did not laugh. It could not laugh. Because he too knew that Changsuk Heo Dogi’s martial arts surpassed those of the Single Instant Sect Master.
A secret letter and a secret manual were secretly passed into the hands of the old man, the Single Instant Sect Master.
‘This is…’
For a moment, the old man’s eyes flashed.
Heo Dogang only handed over the secret letter and said nothing. What the secret letter was, what words were left behind.
Isn’t there a saying that birds hear in the day and mice hear at night?
It was a secret message that absolutely no one should know.
They had even discussed the fight between his son and his brother, so what could be a more important secret message than that?
Curiosity surged. But the old man asked nothing and secretly tucked the secret letter into his bosom.
The sect master said, “I heard you brought a disciple with you.”
“He is a child named Dongbak.”
“You’ve never brought anyone with you before… Huhu! You knew my worries. Is that disciple the eye to watch Changsuk?”
“I brought him with that intention.”
The Sacred Sword Sect master and the old man fell silent again.
The hearts of the two men felt as heavy as if they were filled with a thousand pounds of lead.
(End of Chapter)