Chapter 17: Chapter 17
Following Sage Cheong-heo, the Mount Hua disciples arrived at Cheongyang County, on the border of Shaanxi and Gansu Provinces.
Located four hundred li west of the provincial capital Xi’an, Cheongyang had since ancient times been a hub of commerce. For this reason, it bustled with people throughout all seasons.
“That is the gathering point.”
Sage Cheong-heo pointed with his finger toward a rather large estate within Cheongyang. The Yoon Family Estate, as it was called, was strikingly opulent at first glance.
“Is it connected to the Wudang Sect?”
“The head of the Yoon Family once received a great kindness from our sect in his youth. He has since been most cooperative.”
At Mu-gyeong’s question, Sage Cheong-heo answered calmly.
In that instant, Mu-gyeong’s face tightened slightly.
Shaanxi Province had long been the territory of Mount Hua. In those days, it would have been unthinkable for another sect to establish a foothold there.
‘That is how much the Mount Hua Sect’s influence has diminished.’
Mu-gyeong’s gaze sank heavily.
At that moment, Un-gyeong spoke:
“Senior Brother?”
“What is it?”
Mu-gyeong, as if the previous heaviness had never existed, broke into a broad smile. Un-gyeong’s expression relaxed with relief.
He had feared Mu-gyeong might be unable to contain his anger. Mu-gyeong, sensing this, patted him on the shoulder.
“I am fine.”
“I am relieved. I hope you will continue to smile thus.”
“Of course. Do not worry.”
They followed Sage Cheong-heo into the Yoon Family Estate. In the spacious courtyard at its center, over a hundred people had gathered. Some of them spotted Sage Cheong-heo and hurried over.
A middle-aged Taoist with a prominent paunch offered a fist-and-palm salute.
“Senior Brother.”
“Junior Brother Cheong-gwang.”
Sage Cheong-heo smiled gently.
The middle-aged Taoist whose belly protruded in a manner unbecoming of his calling was none other than Sage Cheong-gwang, his Junior Brother. Though he could not compare to Sage Cheong-heo, he was a formidable martial artist in his own right.
Just as Sage Cheong-heo had ascended Mount Hua to request the Mount Hua Sect’s aid, Sage Cheong-gwang had gone to the Zhongnan Sect.
Two more approached Sage Cheong-gwang’s side. One was a man in his late forties, the other a young man barely into his twenties. What they shared was an intense, piercing gaze.
Sage Cheong-gwang introduced them to Sage Cheong-heo:
“Please, allow me to make introductions. This is our Wudang Sect’s greatest swordsman, known as Hubei’s Foremost Swordsman, Senior Brother Cheong-heo. Senior Brother Cheong-heo, these are Hero Yeom Jung-hwa, known as the Zhongnan True Sword, of the Zhongnan Sect, and his disciple, Young Hero Geum Han-su.”
As soon as Sage Cheong-gwang finished, Sage Cheong-heo offered his salute.
“A pleasure to meet you. Hero Yeom, Young Hero Geum, this humble one is Cheong-heo of the Wudang.”
“It is an honor to meet you, Sage Cheong-heo. This unworthy one is Yeom Jung-hwa.”
“I am Geum Han-su of the Zhongnan Sect. To meet Sage Cheong-heo, the foremost swordsman of Wudang, is an honor beyond measure. I humbly ask for your guidance.”
Yeom Jung-hwa and Geum Han-su bowed with perfect courtesy.
Now it was Sage Cheong-heo’s turn to introduce the Mount Hua disciples.
“These are Sage Hyeon-so and Young Hero Mu-gyeong of the Mount Hua Sect.”
“I am Hyeon-so of Mount Hua.”
“Mu-gyeong pays his respects.”
The two offered their salutes.
In that instant, the eyes of Yeom Jung-hwa and Geum Han-su gleamed.
The Mount Hua and Zhongnan Sects both had their bases in Shaanxi Province.
When the Mount Hua Sect prospered, the Zhongnan Sect declined; when the Zhongnan rose, the Mount Hua fell. Perhaps because of this, the two sects had historically had little exchange.
“How pleasant to meet our neighbors. I am delighted, Sage Hyeon-so.”
“The pleasure is mine. I hope I will not be a burden on the journey. Hero Yeom.”
Yeom Jung-hwa and Sage Hyeon-so exchanged greetings first. Next came Mu-gyeong and Geum Han-su.
“I am Mu-gyeong of the Mount Hua Sect. A pleasure!”
“I am Geum Han-su of the Zhongnan Sect. I look forward to working with you.”
Still young, the two regarded each other with sparks in their eyes.
‘This one is the Mount Hua’s Grand Disciple.’
‘The once-in-a-century talent bearing the full weight of the Zhongnan Sect’s hopes.’
Both sensed the other’s exceptional nature.
Young martial artists living in the same era. Moreover, since both the Mount Hua and Zhongnan Sects were rooted in Shaanxi Province, they would inevitably continue to collide.
Thus, as they regarded one another, wariness and curiosity coexisted in their gazes.
It was not only the two of them. Every martial artist from both the Mount Hua and Zhongnan Sects gathered at the Yoon Estate regarded the other side with a mixture of caution and interest.
At that moment, Sage Cheong-heo stepped forward.
“Let the young ones be. The rest of us should go inside and discuss the coming schedule.”
Sage Hyeon-so and Yeom Jung-hwa nodded.
They were here to find traces of the Demonic Cult. There was no time to waste on idle posturing.
The elders entered, leaving only the young martial artists behind.
Mu-gyeong broke the silence and addressed Geum Han-su:
“How about a drink, Young Hero Geum?”
“I would be glad!”
Geum Han-su offered a cold smile.
At Mu-gyeong’s gesture, Un-gyeong and several other promising Mount Hua disciples approached. Geum Han-su likewise beckoned to the Zhongnan Sect’s talents.
They were to be companions regardless. It would not hurt to get acquainted on this occasion.
Thus, a drinking gathering was arranged between the Mount Hua and Zhongnan martial artists. But Dam Ho was not invited. It was Un-gyeong who had objected.
As Dam Ho quietly watched them from a distance, Yeon So-ha approached.
“Are you all right?”
“What do you mean?”
“Not being invited to that gathering.”
“Not at all.”
At Dam Ho’s firm reply, Yeon So-ha smiled. She had expected as much from him.
“The Wudang disciples are also planning a small drinking gathering. Would you care to join?”
Dam Ho shook his head once more. But Yeon So-ha was not disappointed. She had anticipated this answer as well.
“Then…”
Yeon So-ha bowed her head slightly and brushed past him.
Dam Ho looked around.
The remaining disciples had been assigned quarters by the Yoon Estate staff. They were led to a building structured around a large courtyard.
Though separated by the courtyard, each had been given a different room, yet they could see one another at any time.
Dam Ho too was given a small room. But he did not rest inside, instead stepping out immediately.
He had obtained Sage Hyeon-so’s permission to step out briefly.
This was Dam Ho’s first time in Cheongyang County. Yet there was no hesitation or fear in his eyes.
When Dam Ho emerged, the guard standing at the Yoon Estate’s main gate looked at him with curiosity.
“Where are you going?”
“I will be stepping out for a short while. Might I borrow a horse?”
“A horse?”
“That is not possible?”
At Dam Ho’s question, the guard thought for a moment before answering:
“The head of the estate has ordered us to cooperate in every way, so lending one is no trouble. But it must be returned by tonight. Is that acceptable?”
“That will suffice.”
“Then wait a moment.”
The guard instructed a nearby servant, who brought a horse with a gleaming white coat.
“A fine horse. Treat it with care.”
“Thank you.”
Dam Ho bowed to the guard and led the horse out of the Yoon Estate. He looked around briefly.
Far to the south, a great mountain was visible. Though it lay at a great distance, its immense height made it clearly visible from here.
Dam Ho knew the mountain’s name.
‘Taebaek Mountain.’
Dam Ho spurred the horse toward Taebaek Mountain.
Though it was his first time riding, there was no trace of fear in his eyes. He rode as though driven by a madman’s will.
South, and further south. After riding for a full shichen, he arrived at an unnamed mountain trail. A place surrounded on all sides by low hills. Grass grew as high as the knee, obscuring even the path.
Dam Ho’s gaze deepened.
He dismounted and began pushing through the underbrush. This was a place he had visited many times with his father. Even then, he had taken his bearings by the towering Taebaek Mountain.
After walking for some time, a rather wide basin suddenly appeared before him.
Dam Ho stared at the basin, overgrown with brush and tangled growth, with no place to set foot, and his gaze sank even deeper.
“Father. Mother. Ga-ryeong.”
His voice came out rough and fractured.
Though it was now nothing but a ruin choked with weeds and scrub, people had once lived here.
Dam Ho’s clenched fists swelled with thick, protruding veins.
This was his hometown.
A village of thirty households and over a hundred people who had lived in simple happiness.
His mother had tilled the fields; his father had gathered herbs. Until his parents returned in the evening, Dam Ho had cared for his younger sibling.
Though most of those days had been wearisome, they remained the happiest period of his life.
Here, six years ago, his memories had ended.
Dam Ho knelt upon the overgrown ground.
Crunch!
His hands clawed at the earth. Soil and grass filled his grasp. His fingers split and bled, but Dam Ho paid no heed.
A tremor ran through his shoulders. But he did not shed tears.
His tears had already dried up six years ago.
The moment he had watched his father and mother die in惨烈 fashion before his very eyes.
Even now, he did not know why they had died. The bandits had come like a plague, stripping the village of all life.
Dam Ho murmured in a low voice:
“I have returned.”
His voice was hoarse and congested, as though phlegm were rising in his throat. But his eyes burned with a brilliance fiercer than ever before.
“I still do not know. Why you had to die. Why you had to lose your lives… If it was simply because we lacked strength… If that was the sole reason, then this world is surely a flawed one.”
Upon the wind, Dam Ho’s lament echoed.
Though more than a hundred people had perished, not a single soul had stepped forward to investigate the cause. Not even the Mount Hua Sect that had rescued Dam Ho.
They had simply surmised that bandits had attacked and plundered, and taken no further action.
What had been to Dam Ho the loss of an entire world was, to them, merely another person’s unfortunate tragedy.
In that moment, Dam Ho had understood.
No matter how close they seemed, how warm their pretense of intimacy, in the end they were nothing but strangers.
The sole exception was Sage Hyeon-so.
Only he had genuinely worried about Dam Ho’s plight and sought, together with him, a solution.
Dam Ho’s eyes grew red and swollen. But in the end, he shed no tears.
Dam Ho remained motionless as a stone statue for a long while. He did not rise until half a shichen had passed.
“I have never forgotten you. And neither shall they ever forget you.”
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