novelraw Chapter 51 : Chapter 51
Chapter 51 : Chapter 51
Chapter 51 - If That is Your Wish
It was not only Biyoung who was overcome with emotion.
The five next-generation disciples of the Diancang Sect were each barely suppressing their furiously beating hearts.
‘We did it.’
‘Finally, the main headquarters……!!’
‘What a relief.’
Eung Gajin, in particular, who could be called the spiritual pillar of the survivors, stared at the various parts of the Diancang Sect with a choked expression.
‘It has changed quite a bit…… but still…….’
Many things had changed from the Diancang Sect he remembered from his childhood.
The training ground made of bluestone, where he had played in his carefree days, was now a dirt floor, and the plaques that had hung on each pavilion had all been removed, leaving not even a trace.
However, the view of the mountains below, clearly visible with just a glance outside, and the cool, fresh breeze felt at dawn were no different from what he had experienced before.
“……It has truly been a long road back.”
Eung Gajin muttered softly with a bitter smile.
“…………?”
Then, he felt a little strange.
Everyone else was looking at him with a peculiar expression.
“Why, why are you all looking at me like that.”
A moment later, Eung Gajin realized that their gazes were not directed at him.
From behind him, a voice full of mockery could be heard.
“It hes chrooly been a loooong road beck?”
“!”
An immeasurably insolent boy was smirking, one corner of his mouth raised high.
“The one who says that, why did you suggest delaying it for another year?”
“Ahem. Hmm.”
An embarrassed Eung Gajin cleared his throat, his face turning beet red.
That hateful brat……!
He could have just let me soak in the sentiment for a bit!
“When did you get here?”
“When did ye get heree.”
“Ah, stop it!”
“Stahp it!”
“Pfft!”
Uma and Solbo burst into laughter, fine lines appeared next to Danseol’s slitted eyes, and Jeong-i’s shoulders trembled slightly, unable to control her face that had flushed like a ripe persimmon.
“…………!!!”
I wanted to hit him.
If I could, I wanted to return the beating I received during our sparring session several dozen times over.
However, all Eung Gajin could do was regret his past remarks.
Although he had become a laughingstock, Biyoung's words were true.
No more time was needed to reclaim Diancang Mountain.
Even if Biyoung hadn't been there, by a hundred concessions, they would have been able to retake the main headquarters.
The martial arts of the individual bandits were so poor they were embarrassing to even call martial arts.
‘To think I hesitated to retake the main headquarters out of fear of mere thugs like these…….’
That was one of the reasons why Eung Gajin meekly endured Biyoung's teasing.
After mocking Eung Gajin for a short while, Biyoung suddenly wore a serious expression.
“It's not over yet. No, perhaps it's just the beginning.”
“?”
“Now that Senior Brother Eung Ga has grandly declared the revival of the Diancang Sect, rumors about us will spread throughout the Murim. We didn't catch every single bandit here, after all. And there are some we intentionally let go.”
At that, Eung Gajin’s jaw dropped in disbelief.
When did he talk about being a figurehead, and now he was selling me out?
“You brat!”
“What. So. Were you going to introduce us as a different sect instead of the Diancang Sect?”
“W-well, that's not it, but!”
“Kekeke. Although I was the one who ordered it, I chose the right person. I thought it was a scene from a painting, you know?”
“Ugh. Fine. Say whatever else you want to say.”
Eung Gajin shook his head as if he had given up.
“We don't know what kind of threat will come from where. The bandits might come back, saying they'll avenge their fellow Green Forest members, or some random thugs might pick a fight. Or maybe…….”
For a moment, Biyoung’s eyes brimmed with killing intent.
“The dark path warriors who attacked our sect might invade again.”
“!”
At the last words, sparks flew in the eyes of the five men and women.
The reason for the Diancang Sect's precipitous decline was the war against the Demonic Cult.
However, even if a sect's strength had waned, it would not be annihilated overnight.
The unidentified group of dark path warriors who had ambushed the Diancang Sect.
In a way, they could be seen as greater enemies than the Demonic Cult.
“W-will we be okay?”
Solbo, the world's greatest coward, asked Biyoung, his thick eyebrows twitching.
In truth, though they did not show it, the rest of the group felt the same way.
Even if they had lost masters in the confrontation with the Heavenly Demon, the Diancang Sect of that time could not have been weaker than their current strength.
They couldn't handle the dark path warriors back then, so they were not confident they could handle them now, having just reclaimed their main headquarters.
However, Biyoung answered in a tone full of conviction.
“It's okay now.”
The man with slitted eyes asked in a voice as dry as his expression.
“This shouldn't be something to be so confident about.”
“It's fine. They can't do anything to the Diancang Sect anymore.”
“How can you be so sure?”
“Because I won't be absent anymore.”
“…………?”
It was a statement that even the quick-witted Danseol could not easily interpret.
It was something only a person who knew the former World's Fastest Sword could understand.
The Heavenly Demon?
No.
Even if the Heavenly Demon's grandfather invaded the Murim, he would never again leave the Diancang Sect to fend for itself.
The man whose absence had led his sect to face annihilation.
The former World's Fastest Sword faced the rising sun and hardened his resolve.
***
A few years ago.
People in extreme situations sometimes fall into strange thoughts.
Such a thing happened to a child who was on the verge of starving to death.
Why do humans exist?
If I have to suffer from hunger every moment like this, wouldn't it have been better not to have been born?
Why was I born into this world, and what did I do wrong to suffer like this?
The child slowly closed his eyes with such thoughts.
It was impossible for a child on the brink of starvation to realize the five proprieties of life that even elderly people fail to grasp.
Even in this moment of facing death, he was not particularly angry or sad.
Perhaps, such a peculiar way of thinking and personality was the reason he was abandoned.
He was an odd child, enough to make one think so.
“Are you awake?”
At that moment.
A benevolent voice, one he had never heard before, awakened the child's mind.
He was still hungry, but no longer cold.
The rough but warm hand of a middle-aged woman was stroking the child’s cheek.
“You poor thing. I’ve brought some porridge, so have some.”
“!”
The middle-aged woman’s compassionate smile, the rough sensation on his cheek, and the warm room were all unfamiliar to him.
However, what was most unfamiliar to the child were the words, ‘have some.’
Clatter, clatter.
The child devoured the porridge the middle-aged woman had prepared in the blink of an eye.
The kind middle-aged woman gave the child enough time to eat before explaining the situation.
“The master of this stronghold has ordered me to save you. Once you recover your strength, be sure to express your gratitude to the Stronghold Master.”
The child lacked nutrients in his body, not wit or intelligence.
If left alone, he would have died soon.
He also seemed to vaguely understand that this was not a place that did particularly good things.
But it did not matter at all.
For the child who had barely returned from the River of Three Crossings, reasons and purposes for life were a luxury.
Only an infinite gratitude for the master who had saved him remained fully in his heart.
The Stronghold Master was like a god to the child.
He continuously provided food and a space to shelter from the wind and rain.
He had to endure cold stares and sneers every time he expressed his gratitude, but that didn't matter.
I was gifted life by the Stronghold Master.
Therefore.
My body and mind belong to the Stronghold Master.
The purpose and worries about life flew away from his small palm before he could even grasp them.
And.
After a few years had passed.
Ironically, the child experienced the same thing again.
“Are you awake?”
The same voice as before.
And the same face.
No, now he saw the face of a middle-aged woman with a few more wrinkles.
There was one other difference from before.
Back then he was hungry, and now his stomach hurt.
“…………?”
Was this a vision of the past?
The child who had become a young man, Absolute Protector, was momentarily confused.
Then, realizing the situation in which he had collapsed, he shot up.
“Ugh.”
No.
He tried to get up.
A wound that pierced through his torso was not something that would heal so easily.
Far from getting up, Absolute Protector almost fainted again from the dizzying pain.
As he lay there, catching his breath and soothing the pain.
“I went through the trouble of saving you, and you want to die again?”
“?”
A familiar voice reached Absolute Protector's ears.
It was the voice of the one who had tried to harm his master.
But…… what?
“Saved…… me?”
“Wow. How long has it been since I heard your voice?”
The young attacker said this, twisting his lips.
The Great Mother, who was beside him, cautiously explained the situation.
“This person here saved your life. He performed emergency treatment and, although I don't know much about it, he said he also infused you with his energy. Moreover, after you swallowed the pill he gave you, your complexion returned to normal.”
Although his mouth did not open, his pupils shaking from side to side represented Absolute Protector's feelings.
After a moment of silence, Absolute Protector finally opened his mouth.
“The Stronghold Master is……?”
Biyoung let out a sigh as if in disbelief.
“Phew. You stubborn bastard. Is that the first question you ask after wandering on the brink of death?”
Then, his eyes shining brightly, he stared at Absolute Protector.
“He’s dead. That bastard who tried to kill me along with you.”
Once again, Absolute Protector’s eyes trembled greatly.
“Look at that expression. Did the world collapse or something?”
Biyoung jeered once more, but he was not entirely ignorant of the sense of loss he must be feeling.
What kind of character the person he had to protect possessed was not important to this fellow.
It was just that the only thing he had to do in his life was ‘to protect’.
He did not even feel the anger he should have felt towards Biyoung, who had killed the person he was supposed to protect.
Because even such emotions had never been permitted to Absolute Protector.
A man left with nothing but the duty to protect.
There was a good reason why this fellow was named Absolute Protector.
“It may not be the result you wanted, but the person you had to protect is no longer in this world.”
“……I see.”
“What will you do now? Will you follow your master to your death?”
Absolute Protector’s empty gaze turned to the ceiling.
A life after the Stronghold Master's death.
He had never really thought about such a thing.
Absolute Protector's state, now that the protector was gone, was literally no different from nothingness.
A situation where he had to find the meaning of life again from a complete blank slate.
Absolute Protector suddenly felt an immense fatigue.
He averted his gaze from the ceiling and slowly closed his eyes.
He did not want to die following the Stronghold Master.
It wasn't that he had any lingering attachment to life, but seeing the Great Mother's worried face, he felt he shouldn't.
However, he couldn't think of anything he should do now.
At that moment.
A voice sweeter than sugar subtly flew to his ears.
“So, about that……”
“……?”
“How about trying to protect something more meaningful this time.”
Absolute Protector opened his closed eyes.
“Something meaningful?”
“Yes. I’m saying you should protect something truly valuable and meaningful, not some despicable bastard who stabs you in the back.”
Absolute Protector still did not properly understand what Biyoung meant.
Biyoung, on the other hand, had a supremely satisfied look on his face, his lips twitching.
It resembled the expression of someone who had discovered a new treasure.
“When you think about it, I'm also someone who saved your life, just like that Wi Sung fellow, right?”
“?”
So.
What are you trying to say?
Absolute Protector’s deep eyes were asking just that.
“If protecting something is your wish, then protect the Diancang Sect from now on.”
“!”
“It will be more valuable than the guy you were trying to protect before.”
A new purpose in life.
Biyoung was bestowing it upon the Absolute Protector.