chapter 284

Cause and Effect, Good Karma, Bad Karma… (2)

Lee Cheong said as he lay down to sleep.

“Indeed,” Lee Gwak nodded.

In these chaotic times, people like them were truly rare. They were kind and knew how to understand and embrace others. The fact that Cho Ryu-jin was already lying in bed, deeply asleep, was proof of that.

In that short time, Cho Ryu-jin had cried a great deal, so much that by the end, he had no tears left.

‘

When he lay down to sleep, his eyes and face were swollen beyond recognition. Yet, his expression looked lighter than it had before they entered the inn.

Cho Ryu-jin said he would go to bed first and entered the room. His steady breathing suggested that he had already fallen asleep.

Confirming that Cho Ryu-jin was asleep, Lee Gwak lay down on his own bed.

He felt drunk, but sleep didn’t come easily. Come to think of it, since he had spent time on Mt. Giryeon, he had hardly ever felt intoxicated. Even now, the drunkenness was quickly fading.

At times like this, Lee Gwak realized that having advanced martial arts skills wasn’t always a good thing.

Beside him, he could hear Lee Cheong’s breathing. Lee Cheong had also fallen into a deep sleep.

After gazing at Lee Cheong’s sleeping face for a moment, Lee Gwak quietly stepped outside.

The night was dark, with only the crescent moon casting a lonely light on the world.

Relying on the moonlight, Lee Gwak walked toward the riverside.

The riverside was filled with reeds and grasses. Whenever the wind blew, they swayed, making strange sounds.

Ssshhh!

The sound of the wind rustling the reeds was like a song.

Immersed in the song-like sounds, Lee Gwak kept walking. After a while, he found himself at the edge of the harbor.

“Ah!” Lee Gwak suddenly exclaimed.

Someone was sitting at the end of the wooden dock.

Under the soft moonlight, the woman sitting on the dock looking out at the river was none other than the old lady of the inn.

Just as he spotted her, she noticed him and was momentarily startled. But soon enough, she smiled gently.

“It seems I’m not the only one drawn to the scent of the moonlight.”

“I hope I haven’t disturbed your thoughts.”

“Oh, nonsense. This isn’t my personal spot. Come, join me. The view from here is stunning.”

She gestured for him to come closer.

He quietly approached her and looked at the scenery she pointed at.

Moonlight reflected off the gently rippling water, and fireflies danced freely along its path as if in celebration.

Lee Gwak was momentarily spellbound by the dreamlike scene. Seeing him with his mouth open, the old woman gave him a knowing smile.

“It’s as if the fireflies are celebrating the arrival of a precious guest.”

“It’s truly magnificent.”

“Yes, even I don’t get to see such a sight often. But tonight, I’m getting quite a treat.”

A soft smile spread across her wrinkled face.

The moonlight reflected brightly in her eyes.

For a while, the two watched the fireflies’ graceful performance in silence.

Neither Lee Gwak nor the old woman spoke. A gentle silence settled between them, though neither found it uncomfortable.

As all festivals must come to an end, eventually the fireflies’ dance also concluded, and the crescent moon began to disappear behind the clouds.

The old woman brushed off her hands and stood up.

“It’s been ages since I had such a view.”

“Thanks to you, I also enjoyed a wonderful sight.”

“Thank you for keeping this boring old woman company.”

‘

“No, not at all.”

She gazed at him intently. After watching for a while, she suddenly sighed.

“Phew! I thought I was quite patient, but you’re not easy either.”

“What do you mean?”

“You’ve noticed that this old woman has mastered martial arts, haven’t you?”

“That’s correct,” Lee Gwak admitted honestly.

At first glance, she seemed like an ordinary woman. But as he spoke with her, he noticed the truth—she was, in fact, a master of formidable martial prowess.

The old woman had reached at least the realm of transcendence, a level so high that she could be called a supreme master.

On the other hand, her husband, the chef, was an ordinary man.

An absolute master and an ordinary cook husband—a combination that didn’t fit at all.

While Lee Gwak was curious about why they had chosen to live a secluded life in this remote countryside, he chose not to pry.

Everyone has their own story.

There was no need to dig into the lives of people who had chosen to withdraw from the world.

So he didn’t act as if he knew, nor did he inquire.

She smiled. “You truly are a thoughtful person. You know how to consider others. To have such martial skills and depth at your age—I’m curious about which master raised you. But just as you didn’t ask me, I won’t ask you either.”

“Thank you.”

“What’s there to thank? Instead, would you mind listening to this old woman’s ramblings?”

“Pardon?”

“It’s just that it’s been a while since I met a proper martial artist, so I feel like talking.”

“If you don’t mind me, I’d be honored to listen.”

“Thank you for granting this old woman’s request. My name is Yoo Sa-hee.”

Lee Gwak flinched.

The name sounded familiar. After a moment, he recalled a certain nickname.

“Ghost Immortal?”

“So I haven’t been completely forgotten. It’s been quite a while since I was active.”

Although she didn’t answer directly, her words confirmed his guess.

Ghost Immortal Yoo Sa-hee.

She was one of the Eight Great Martial Artists, renowned throughout Jianghu.

Although one of them, the Spirit Granny , had lost her life at Lee Gwak’s hands—so they should be called the Eight Great Martial Artists now—that wasn’t particularly important.

They were the top masters in the Jianghu, possessing formidable skills comparable to the leaders of the Ten Sects.

He wondered why someone like her was living an ordinary life in such an unknown, remote place. And Yoo Sa-hee answered his curiosity.

“When I first met him, he was just a simple chef. He’s still the same but back then, he was even more so.”

The moment they met, they fell in love.

Yoo Sa-hee admired the quiet man who dedicated his life to his work as a chef, and he in turn deeply loved her.

Yoo Sa-hee was the third daughter of a prestigious martial family, the Yoo family of Sangsan. Although she had two older brothers, the family’s hopes were pinned on her.

Her talent was undeniable.

So much so that she was considered the family’s potential successor, even above her brothers. Her family’s expectations were as high as they were intense.

But for such a woman to marry an ordinary cook was unthinkable—especially in a martial family that valued martial prowess above all.

In the Jianghu, a single gifted martial artist could elevate an entire family.

Her family had no intention of letting her marry a commoner. They hoped she would marry a gifted martial artist, someone chosen by the family to secure their legacy.

Unable to ignore her family’s wishes, she made a dangerous deal.

She promised to make her family proud, to bring them fame, and in exchange, she asked for freedom once she turned fifty. At that time, she would live as she pleased.

It was a life-risking bargain.

Her family elders were firmly against it at first but eventually conceded to her stubbornness.

She also told the chef.

She asked him to wait for her, saying that once she gained her freedom, she would return to him. And he believed her.

“So I embarked on my journey into the Jianghu. For the sake of freedom, I fought as if my life depended on it. I fought and fought until I earned the title of Ghost Immortal and became feared by many.”

A bitter smile appeared on Yoo Sa-hee’s lips.

Though she was revered and feared by many, she had never felt true happiness.

Injuring and killing others didn’t suit her nature, yet she kept fighting for her freedom.

Eventually, she became one of the Eight Great Martial Artists, and her family’s fame soared.

“By then, I’d become intoxicated with my own fame and had forgotten my promise to myself. I even forgot about him.”

Fame has a strange power that intoxicates and inflates one’s pride. She was also under its spell.

She forgot her own promises and married the man chosen by her family. It was a loveless marriage, but it wasn’t bad—at first. However, a marriage without love could not bring happiness.

As time went on, her husband withdrew from her, and she withdrew from him.

Years passed.

Her husband eventually fathered a child with another woman.

“Only then did I awaken from my reverie. I realized that everything I had done for my family was in vain.”

Yoo Sa-hee abandoned everything and left.

She wandered aimlessly, finally experiencing the freedom she had fought so hard to attain.

But there was an unquenchable longing within her.

Curiosity about the man who had once captured her heart.

She had forgotten the promise long ago but wondered how he was living. So she went to find him.

He was still living the same way—as a cook, still unmarried. Yoo Sa-hee had forgotten the promise, but he had been living alone, believing in her word.

Tears welled up. She felt guilty, wondering what right she had to completely alter a man’s entire life like that.

But he warmly welcomed her, without uttering even a word of resentment.

“At that moment, I made up my mind. In front of him, I would live not as a martial artist but as a woman. I would forget the empty name of ‘Ghost Immortal.’ Since then, I haven’t practiced martial arts, nor have I used them even once.”

Yoo Sa-hee’s life story ended like that.

She was no longer a martial artist who influenced the martial world. She was living an ordinary life as a man’s wife.

Sometimes she was upset by drunken customers, and sometimes she quarreled over a single coin, but still, she was happy with her current life.

Lee Gwak suddenly asked, “Don’t you miss the old days? The times when you shook the world under the name ‘Ghost Immortal’?”

“Never!”

Yoo Sa-hee answered firmly.

Her gaze toward Lee Gwak was filled with awe.

The more she looked at him, the more amazing he seemed.

When she had first seen him, she had thought he was just another young martial artist. That was because she didn’t feel any aura or intent from him. However, as she sat with him because of her husband, she realized he was not ordinary.

There was a subtle, deep feeling about him, the wisdom in his eyes and an almost mystical, steady breathing that even her heightened senses could barely detect.

Putting all that together, she concluded that Lee Gwak was no ordinary martial artist.

A martial artist who had reached a level that could deceive even her eyes, who had reached the realm of ‘Return to Origin’.

It was a hard thing to believe, but she trusted her instincts.

Her only concern was what kind of heart a young martial artist with such immense power held.

If he possessed a dark heart, he could bring untold calamity to the Jianghu. She needed to understand his character.

She needed to know what kind of person he was and what kind of influence he might wield over the Jianghu.

If he turned out to be evil, Yoo Sa-hee was prepared to give everything to stop him.

Though she had retired from the Jianghu to be with her husband, it seemed she still had a lingering sense of duty to protect it.

Thankfully, after talking and drinking with Lee Gwak, she was relieved to find he was far from evil.

Even though he had mastered advanced martial arts, he did not wish to receive special treatment, nor did he try to show off.

He looked at his son with warm eyes and sent a sympathetic gaze to Cho Ryu-jin, who was nothing more than a stranger.

Such a man could not be evil.

The moment she realized her worries were unfounded, Yoo Sa-hee felt her heart lighten.  Embarrassed by her earlier suspicions, she had stepped outside for some air, only to cross paths with him again.

In their quiet conversation by the river, she ended up revealing a past she had never shared with anyone. Sharing stories she had hidden for a long time made her feel a bit relieved.

Yoo Sa-hee smiled.

“Master Lee!”

“Please, just speak comfortably,” Lee Gwak replied.

“How could I dare?” she said with a soft smile. “I simply wish that you’ll remain just as you are… I pray that your righteousness will continue.”

Her feelings were conveyed to Lee Gwak.