novelraw Chapter 34 : Chapter 34
Chapter 34 : Chapter 34
Chapter 34 - I should have told you sooner
“You can do it, right?”
“Don’t worry. Just trust me.”
Although Sedong was always prudent and cautious, this time he puffed out his chest and showed confidence.
Well.
Considering his character, he was perfect for this kind of job.
A job like ‘storing it in a secret place’.
“The place I’ve hidden it is a place that not only our family members but even my father doesn’t know about. So don’t worry.”
“That’s reassuring.”
“But… can you tell me what’s inside?”
It seemed that apart from helping me, he was genuinely curious.
I couldn’t tell him that the Ten-Thousand-Year Cold Iron and the secret manuals of the Diancang Sect were inside.
What should I do?
“Hmm… they are items related to the martial arts you learned. I’ll tell you when the time is right.”
“I see. Alright.”
Although he might have been disappointed with the information revealed, Sedong readily nodded his head.
In fact, hearing that they were important items, his eyes shone brightly, and he seemed even more determined.
He really was a kind and bright kid.
In many ways, not suited to be Yi Gwon-su’s son.
“Oh, right. What did you talk about with my father? Is that a secret too?”
“No. I asked him to judge fairly during the Awl Selection Period. That’s all.”
“Fairly? I don’t know what part of it is unfair……”
Biyoung almost burst out laughing.
His brother was interfering at every turn, yet he didn’t know.
‘This must be this kid’s weakness.’
If he were a person stained with worldly grime like Biyoung, he would naturally have suspected the people around him.
Since Sedong was a smart kid, he would have soon discovered that something was strange.
But this kid couldn’t seem to even imagine that his brother was interfering with him.
His train of thought just didn’t develop in such a bad direction in the first place.
"As the saying goes, 'A pig's eye sees only a pig, and a Buddha's eye sees only a Buddha'."
A pig's eye sees only a pig, a Buddha's eye sees only a Buddha, and in the eyes of a good person, only good people are seen.
Well, later on, after seeing all sorts of things, Sedong might change.
“When the Awl Selection Period starts, don’t trust anyone. Not even your family.”
“Hehe. You sound like my father.”
“The Family Head said something like that?”
“About a year ago? On a day he was very drunk, he said something like that. Not to trust him too much.”
Oh.
That’s a pretty unexpected side of him.
“Right. I know it won’t be easy with your personality, but at least try. Well, for me, it’s more beneficial if you lose……”
“Huh? What did you say?”
“……I must have drunk a lot, I’m talking nonsense. Let’s go that way.”
My true feelings slipped out inadvertently.
When I told Yi Gwon-su to ‘entrust the defeated son to me’, I had actually said it not expecting it to work.
But surprisingly, Yi Gwon-su nodded, saying ‘persuade him if you can’.
Was he that uninterested in the loser?
Or did he trust me more than I thought… probably not.
In any case, from my perspective, raising Sedong as a martial artist was quite an enjoyable task.
Putting everything else aside, he was a kid who was a pleasure to teach martial arts to.
“Hold your stance like this and extend your arm forward.”
“L-like this?”
“No, your center of gravity needs to be more forward. So you can spring out at any moment.”
“Like this?”
“Right. You get it quickly, as expected.”
Look at this.
It was amazing how quickly he learned.
“You remember the first attack I did a little while ago, right? That technique is this one.”
“Really?”
Sedong’s eyes widened as if he couldn’t believe it.
“But what I just did seems like a completely different technique……”
“That’s how techniques are. You have to keep practicing and polishing them for their true value to emerge.”
“Then if I practice hard, can I use fast swordsmanship like you?”
“What are you talking about? That’s obviously impossible.”
“I-I see. Hehe.”
Sedong laughed awkwardly and scratched the back of his head.
Ahem.
You have to hear a person out to the end.
“But you can become the fastest person, except for me.”
“!”
It was impossible to become a swordsman faster than the World’s Fastest Sword.
But the next best?
Seeing Sedong’s potential for growth, it was worth having expectations.
For other sword arts, I didn’t know, but for quick sword, it was advantageous for someone with a small build like Sedong.
Moreover, perhaps because Sedong was smart, his ability to acquire martial knowledge was outstanding.
The saying that swordsmanship has nothing to do with the head was something only idiots would say.
The process of understanding and countering techniques required both a sharp body and a sharp mind.
There was a reason they called it martial ‘arts’.
And above all, with Sedong’s heart that yearned for Jianghu, he would be able to enjoy any hardship.
If Sedong won the Awl Selection Period, I would have the great merchant of Yiliang County as a friend; if he lost, I would gain someone who had learned the martial arts of the Diancang Sect.
‘Either way is good.’
Biyoung taught Sedong a few forms of the Eagle Talon Twelve Swords.
Perhaps he sensed that this was a special sword art.
Sedong’s face was filled with more excitement than ever before.
“By the way. Do you not take any restorative medicine?”
“Restorative medicine? There’s a decoction that the first brother and I are given, but I don’t drink it much.”
“Why?”
“When I drink it, I can’t sleep at night. My body feels a slight fever, and my heart seems to beat faster.”
“What’s the name of the decoction?”
“It’s called Three-Eyed Snake Soup, and it tastes awful.”
“……Drink it without fail starting tonight.”
“Huh? Why?”
“Why do you think! Because it’s incredibly good for your body!”
Well now.
The Yi Family Clan must be really rich.
The Three-Eyed Snake referred to a snake with three eyes.
Not really, but it had a pattern on its forehead that resembled an eye, so it was named for looking like it had three eyes.
The Three-Eyed Snake was not numerous, and it had an excellent effect of boosting the body’s true energy, so it was called a ‘moving spiritual pill’.
Even martial artists who lived on spiritual pills would flip their eyes back and gulp down Three-Eyed Snake Soup if they saw it.
But he was given it and didn't drink it?
“If I drink that, I can’t sleep……”
“Of course you can’t sleep. Yang energy will be boiling over in your body. But it’s not like there’s no way around it, so you must drink it.”
“A way? What is it?”
“There are two ways. Either you neutralize the boiling yang energy with yin energy, or you practice swordsmanship until you’re so tired you pass out.”
“What do you mean by neutralizing it with yin energy? How do you do that?”
“It means you have to mix your body with a woman.”
“……I’ll practice swordsmanship diligently!”
Sedong clenched his fists, his face blushing.
Right.
I said it knowing he would react like this from the beginning.
“If you practice hard, I’ll teach you the next thing later.”
“Really? Alright!”
“Don’t skip the Three-Eyed Snake Soup. You need to drink that to put power into your sword.”
“I got it!”
Biyoung smirked and walked along with Sedong.
Teaching the Diancang Sect’s swordsmanship to a non-disciple was a taboo.
The Sect Leader was probably fuming in heaven right about now.
But whatever.
What did such rules matter when the sect was destroyed?
Besides, the items Sedong was keeping were the treasures of the Diancang Sect, so in a way, it could be called a reasonable trade.
By the time Biyoung and Sedong returned to the main gate of the Yi Family Manor, Biyoung suddenly whipped his head around.
“What’s wrong?”
“Hold on.”
Biyoung glared at an ornamental tree, then pointed to his own eyes with his index and middle fingers before turning them towards the tree.
As if to say, ‘I’m watching you.’
“Alright. Let’s go now.”
“Okay.”
Biyoung left the Yi Family Manor with a mischievous smile.
Leaving behind the chubby man standing behind the ornamental tree.
Yi Gwon-su’s first son.
***
“Your appetite isn’t so great today, is it?”
Jinbae asked Biyoung with a broad smile.
“I ate too well during the day.”
“You mean at that friend Sedong’s house?”
“Yes, Grandfather. But I still ate two bowls just now.”
“Humans are creatures of adaptation, aren’t they? Now, if you don’t eat more than three bowls, I start to think there’s something wrong with you.”
Wasn't that basically the same as calling me a glutton?
Biyoung seriously reflected on his past.
“Anyway, what was it you wanted to talk about? I’ve been curious all through the meal.”
“The date for the merchant trip has been set.”
“!”
Both of Biyoung’s temples throbbed once.
“When is it?”
“The day after tomorrow. We have to leave early in the morning, so let’s go to bed early tomorrow.”
“Yes, Grandfather.”
It was a night like any other, but Biyoung had to toss and turn a little.
Jinbae was a person related to the Diancang Sect, and the merchant trip he was leading was likely not unrelated to that fact.
Normally, he would have smashed the Tiger-Bear Stronghold in an instant and sent all the guys inside flying off the mountain.
But Biyoung calmed his boiling insides and endured a time of patience.
Rather than moving rashly, he needed to confirm who the people Jinbae was meeting were.
Restoring the Diancang Sect was not the problem.
But what then?
He couldn't just live in those huge pavilions with his grandfather.
Even if he called Hyeokri Chong and Hyeokri Hong from the Jade Dragon Snow Mountain, they would still be short on people.
The biggest problem was that he didn't know when or where more flies would be drawn to them.
‘We need a force that can protect us even if an enemy invades unexpectedly. Even if I am away.’
A prestigious orthodox sect was unlikely to attack the Diancang Sect, so all they needed was the skill to deal with insignificant foes.
But right now, Biyoung was alone.
Not to mention elders or senior brothers, not even a single peer was left.
Biyoung keenly realized just how lonely he was.
Please.
He earnestly prayed that there would be at least a glimmer of hope on the path he was taking with Jinbae.
***
“Ah, ah, ah……!”
Jinbae’s small eyes widened like the full moon.
He was so surprised that his cheeks were trembling.
“You knew?”
Jinbae spoke as if he were revealing a huge secret, but Biyoung’s reaction was utterly indifferent.
“Yes. To be honest, we don’t look alike at all.”
“But… even so……”
The original Biyoung might have been shocked.
But for the me of now, it wasn't a problem at all.
“I’m fine, so don’t worry. Even if we’re not related by blood, the fact that you’re my grandfather doesn’t change.”
“……”
An indescribable surge of emotion crossed Jinbae’s wrinkled face.
“Yes… I wanted to tell you that as well. But it wasn’t easy to bring it up…. I spent countless sleepless nights over the past days……”
He grinned with his characteristically kind face.
“If I had known this, I should have told you sooner.”
“I know, right?”
Biyoung smiled brightly and walked ahead.
From behind him, Jinbae’s voice was heard again.
“In the past, there was a sect called the Diancang Sect.”
He told him the background of the Diancang Sect’s founding, the martial arts they mainly used, and the story of how he, a former disciple, came to open an inn.
Needless to say, except for the part about the inn, Biyoung already knew everything.
Especially the story about the ‘World’s Fastest Sword’.
“His swordsmanship was at a level that was impossible to follow even by sight. So much so that a moniker, ‘The Shadow Cannot Chase the Origin’, was created because his shadow couldn’t keep up with his body.”
“Oh. I see.”
“He was a genius among geniuses. People used to say that you could remove the ‘quick’ from ‘World’s Fastest Sword’. They said he was practically the greatest sword under heaven. Of course, the prevailing opinion was that someone else was more suited to be the sword venerable of Jianghu.”
“What kind of idiots said such nonsense?”
“Hmm?”
Oops.
I got so engrossed in the story that I spoke without thinking.
“Anyway, that swordsman named Yeongbi must have been really amazing.”
“Amazing is an understatement. If he had returned to the main mountain after the war, our sect would not have been so futilely destroyed.”
“……”
A part of my chest ached.
To Jinbae, it was just a lament, but to Biyoung, it was a statement that cut to the bone.
“But it seems that time of trial is not long now.”
“Pardon? What do you mean by that?”
“Biyoung. You are the very continuation of the Diancang Sect’s will. The Sect Leader tried to protect you until the very moment of the sect's destruction.”
“……”
Jinbae’s wistful gaze turned towards the mountains beyond.
“You were the only one in Yiliang County, but beyond those mountains, there are other survivors living.”
“Survivors, you say……?!”
Biyoung asked in a trembling voice, and Jinbae slowly nodded his head.
“Yes. We are now on our way to meet the people of the Diancang Sect.”