Chapter 18: Chapter 18
From dawn, the Yoon Family Estate was abuzz. The elite forces of the Wudang, Mount Hua, and Zhongnan Sects were preparing to depart.
It was a convoy of well over a hundred people. There were many things to prepare. Fortunately, the head of the Yoon Estate had made meticulous arrangements for them, and the three sects’ disciples were able to set out without difficulty.
Thanks to the drinking gathering the night before, the relationship between Mu-gyeong and Geum Han-su did not appear overtly hostile. But that was merely surface appearances, in truth, they were quietly sizing each other up.
The atmosphere among the Wudang disciples was no different. They too maintained a slight distance from the Mount Hua and Zhongnan martial artists, still somewhat awkward.
Sage Cheong-heo and Sage Hyeon-so believed time would take care of it. At first, the relationships between sects might feel strained, but as time passed, they would gradually draw closer.
In fact, as a little time elapsed, laughter began to flow among them.
They were, after all, martial artists of the same era. That meant that as they moved through the martial world, sooner or later they would inevitably cross paths.
Regardless of the relationships between their sects, there was nothing wrong with forging personal bonds.
Once Mu-gyeong, Geum Han-su, and Yeon So-ha had begun to mingle, those who had followed their lead also introduced themselves and grew acquainted.
Watching this from a distance, Dam Ho was approached by Sage Hyeon-so.
“What are you doing here?”
“Master.”
“Why are you not joining them…”
Sage Hyeon-so trailed off.
He realized it was not that Dam Ho did not wish to join them, they simply would not have him.
“Hah.”
Sage Hyeon-so let out a soft sigh.
Dam Ho, who could not even receive proper respect within the Mount Hua Sect. If he was not valued at home, how could outsiders possibly value him?
They too had eyes and ears. They could read the currents of the situation.
In their eyes, Dam Ho was a useless figure. If not for serving his Master, Sage Hyeon-so, he would never have been here at all.
“My ambition was too great. To drag you here and have you endure such humiliation…”
“It is not, “
“So… you went to that place?”
“Yes.”
Sage Hyeon-so’s face darkened. He asked carefully:
“Are you all right?”
“I am fine.”
“Ho-ya.”
“It is true. Thanks to you, my heart is much easier. Thank you, Master.”
“Hah.”
Sage Hyeon-so released a soft sigh.
His disciple was truly strong. If Sage Hyeon-so himself had endured what Dam Ho had, he would not have kept his wits about him until now.
To lose parents, siblings, and everything else, yet remain as unshaken as ever, that determination and tenacity were at times frightening. But Dam Ho was his disciple.
Sage Hyeon-so patted Dam Ho’s shoulder.
“If you are fine, that is enough. It is time to depart. Mount up.”
“Yes!”
The moment their conversation ended, horses brought forth from the Yoon Estate arrived in numbers matching the company.
Sage Cheong-heo mounted his horse and spoke:
“Then let us be off. From here to the Jade Gate Pass, we ride at full speed.”
The martial artists mounted as one.
Among them were some riding for the first time, but as martial artists, they adapted quickly.
Dam Ho and Sage Hyeon-so mounted as well.
Led by Sage Cheong-heo, the company departed the Yoon Estate, raising a cloud of dust as they spurred their horses forward.
Clip-clop!
Over a hundred horses galloping across the earth, it was a magnificent sight.
The Wudang’s arrangements were truly meticulous.
When they came to a river, boats were already prepared. When the horses began to tire, fresh mounts were waiting. It was as if there was no corner of the world beyond their influence.
Even as they entered Gansu Province, it was the same.
Gansu was the territory of the Kongtong Sect. Yet somehow, through whatever arrangements had been made, the Kongtong Sect had ensured safe passage through the province.
Thanks to this, they had only to ride.
They passed through Lanzhou, the provincial capital of Gansu, in the blink of an eye and headed north.
The closer they drew to the Jade Gate Pass, their first destination, the more desolate the surrounding landscape became.
All that lay before them was reddish-brown earth and distant mountains looming on the horizon. The young martial artists, never having seen such a bleak landscape before, could not help but shrink within themselves.
They stopped at an inn near the Jade Gate Pass.
It was not the brick-and-timber inn common to the Central Plains, but one built of rammed earth. Because of this, it felt less like an inn and more like a small fortress.
The inn’s name was the Wind and Dust Inn.
Merchants bound for the Western Regions always stayed at the Wind and Dust Inn to steel themselves before their journey. Once they left the inn, they could not return to the Central Plains for at least six months to a year. And the unlucky ones never returned at all.
The Jade Gate Pass was the gateway connecting the Central Plains to the lands beyond. Many merchants of the Central Plains had passed through it into the Western Regions, and come back through it.
Beyond the Jade Gate Pass, the world changes. The very air changes.
So it was commonly said. And Dam Ho realized it was true.
When they arrived at the Wind and Dust Inn, the smiles vanished from the young martial artists’ faces. They too had felt the change in the air, just as Dam Ho had.
They had not yet crossed the Jade Gate Pass, but it was virtually the same. At least, the desolate air they breathed was.
Sage Cheong-heo spoke quietly to Sage Hyeon-so and Yeom Jung-hwa:
“We arranged to meet Escort Lim, who sent the message, near here.”
“Is he still alive?”
“Contact was lost shortly after he sent the message, but he must be alive. He will lead us to the place where the battle with the Demonic Cult took place.”
“Let us first give the disciples some rest. I will make contact with Escort Lim.”
“Very well.”
Sage Hyeon-so and Yeom Jung-hwa nodded and ordered the disciples to rest at the inn.
The disciples, already exhausted from the long journey, cheered in unison and rushed inside. Dam Ho followed.
Upon entering the Wind and Dust Inn, Mu-gyeong approached.
“You have worked hard. Is your body all right?”
“It is fine.”
Mu-gyeong’s gaze briefly flickered over Dam Ho’s left leg. At that moment, Un-gyeong called from behind:
“Senior Brother! You are needed over here.”
“Understood. I will be right there.”
Mu-gyeong looked at Dam Ho.
“As you know, from here on we are beyond the Central Plains. I may not be able to look after you, so you must protect yourself. Do you understand?”
Dam Ho nodded silently. Mu-gyeong looked at him for a long moment, patted his shoulder, and walked toward Un-gyeong.
At that moment.
“Tsk! Not even a village dog, yet you think wagging your head will make everyone come running.”
A stranger’s voice pierced Dam Ho’s ears. Then someone approached his side.
It was a man with an unusually pale complexion. The corners of his eyes turned slightly upward, and his lips were thin as a serpent’s. The man, who appeared to be in his early twenties, wore a faint smile.
When Dam Ho stared at him, the man offered a fist-and-palm salute:
“Ah, my greetings are late. I am Yeop Mun-cheon of the Zhongnan Sect.”
Dam Ho was not surprised by the introduction. He already knew him.
Yeop Mun-cheon was one of the few people Dam Ho kept a close eye on.
Yeop Mun-cheon was the type who did not stand out in many ways. Not because there was something wrong with his appearance, nor because his personality was introverted.
He was the sort who deliberately concealed himself while observing others.
That was the impression Dam Ho had received from Yeop Mun-cheon. And it was precisely for that reason that he had caught Dam Ho’s attention.
When Dam Ho stared at him in silence, Yeop Mun-cheon scratched his head with a somewhat sheepish air. But his eyes remained sharp as blades.
“I heard you were Young Hero Cheong-gyeong… Is that not correct?”
“That is right.”
“A pleasure, Young Hero Cheong-gyeong. I came only to exchange pleasantries, so there is no need to be so guarded. Ha ha ha!”
“Pleasantries…”
Believing Dam Ho had let his guard down, Yeop Mun-cheon smiled.
“Indeed. Pleasantries. I heard Young Hero Cheong-gyeong is Sage Hyeon-so’s disciple. If so, you are surely a First Generation Disciple, yet the Mount Hua disciples do not seem to treat you as such. Ha ha! Am I mistaken?”
“You are mistaken.”
“…”
At Dam Ho’s cutting response, Yeop Mun-cheon’s expression stiffened briefly. But it was only a moment, his face relaxed, and he continued:
“I see.”
“What are you thinking?”
“What do you mean?”
“Do you ask because you do not know?”
“…”
A furrow formed between Yeop Mun-cheon’s brows.
Dam Ho was a cripple and an outcast within the Mount Hua Sect. Yeop Mun-cheon had taken him lightly and probed, but the response was sharper than he had anticipated.
If it had been merely a sharp retort, he would have brushed it off. But the gaze fixed upon him was piercingly keen, as though it could see straight through to his innermost thoughts.
‘This fellow!’
In that instant, his heart churned.
If Dam Ho’s eyes had been sharp alone, he would not have reacted this way. Within those eyes was a powerful, overwhelming spirit that pressed upon its target.
‘So this is the Mount Hua First Generation Disciple after all?’
Yeop Mun-cheon could not help but revise his assessment of Dam Ho. He forced a laugh:
“Ha ha! It seems there is some misunderstanding. I had no ulterior motives. I simply came to talk.”
“…”
“It appears Young Hero Cheong-gyeong is not in the mood for conversation. It seems today is not the right day. I shall see you again some other time. Well then…”
Yeop Mun-cheon offered a salute and turned on his heel.
The face that had moments ago been full of smiles was now filled only with coldness.
‘Insolent!’
Yeop Mun-cheon ground his teeth and disappeared.
Dam Ho watched him go, then turned. His Master, Sage Hyeon-so, was approaching.
“Master.”
“Is there some trouble?”
“There is no trouble at all.”
“Is that so?”
“…”
“If you say there is no trouble, then there is none. Come, let us go to our room.”
“Yes!”
Dam Ho followed Sage Hyeon-so into the room.
While the other disciples were assigned four or five to a room, he would stay with Sage Hyeon-so. It was a courtesy extended because Sage Hyeon-so was an Elder of the Mount Hua Sect.
Their room was not large, but it was quite tidy. It seemed more than adequate for a night’s stay.
Sage Hyeon-so asked:
“So, did you make many friends on the way here?”
“I am sorry.”
“As I thought.”
Sage Hyeon-so gave a rueful smile.
On the journey here, Sage Hyeon-so had deliberately left Dam Ho to his own devices. He had hoped Dam Ho would mingle with the others. That was one of the reasons he had insisted on bringing Dam Ho along.
But no one had voluntarily approached Dam Ho. Not even though he was the disciple of Sage Hyeon-so, an Elder of the Mount Hua Sect.
At present, only Sage Hyeon-so knew of Dam Ho’s achievements and potential. No one else in the Mount Hua Sect held any expectations for him.
One need only observe the behavior of the Mount Hua disciples on the journey to see it.
They treated Dam Ho as though he did not exist. Only the Senior Brother, Mu-gyeong, occasionally paid him any mind; the others did not speak to him at all.
It was as though the entire Mount Hua Sect were ostracizing him. And because the Mount Hua disciples shunned him, the Zhongnan and Wudang martial artists likewise treated him as though he were invisible.
His disciple was not so worthless as to deserve such treatment. No—even the most wretched of men did not deserve such treatment.
Countless thoughts flickered through Sage Hyeon-so’s mind before vanishing.
“Hah!”
Yet no easy answer came, and Sage Hyeon-so could only sigh.
“How truly terrifying the world’s regard can be. To form prejudices based solely on appearances.”
“It is because I am lacking. I am sorry, Master.”
“What is there for you to be lacking? To me, you are the finest disciple. I am proud of you.”
What did it matter if he limped? What did it matter if his killing intent was fierce?
In all his years, Sage Hyeon-so had never seen anyone with a stronger will and fortitude than Dam Ho.
He could only lament that the world failed to recognize Dam Ho’s true worth. But Dam Ho himself did not concern himself with such worldly judgments or glances. He gazed out the window.
The world beyond the world lay spread before his eyes.
In Dam Ho’s gaze, Sage Hyeon-so saw the yearning to be free.
Not a dog running on a leash, but a falcon soaring through the open sky.
Now was the time to make his decision. And Sage Hyeon-so steeled his resolve.
“Ho-ya.”
“…”
“I am sorry. This Master was too incompetent to secure even a proper place for you at Mount Hua. Because of that, even here you receive no respect.”
“I am fine.”
“I am not fine. Mount Hua may be tall enough to pierce the heavens, but it is not broad enough to embrace you. This Master is a man who must, like it or not, be buried in Mount Hua’s soil. But you are different. If Mount Hua rejects you, there is no reason for you to cling to it.”
“Master, what are you saying, “
“When this is over, go out into the world.”
“What do you mean?”
“I mean live freely.”
“But Mount Hua…”
“There is no need to worry. Mount Hua is Mount Hua, and you are you. When you have grown so strong that even Mount Hua’s fierce winds cannot sway you, when you are certain you will not be moved even by a tempest, then come back. We will share a drink together.”
“Master!”
Sage Hyeon-so smiled. But a tremor ran through Dam Ho’s shoulders.
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