Chapter 66: Master Chwijuk
Although Gohyeon was said to be the territory of the Unorthodox Faction, that was strictly by the standards of martial artists.
Just because it was the territory of the Unorthodox Faction did not mean it was a lawless land. It was simply that the martial arts force exerting a strong influence over the area was the Unorthodox Faction.
“It looks more decent than I thought.”
“There are just many illegal things that don’t surface, but they don’t openly commit crimes just because they are Unorthodox. Ultimately, a martial arts force is like a powerful local clan. If I had to make a comparison, it’s their response when a line is crossed. For example, when there’s a store that doesn’t pay protection money, the Orthodox express that their protection has ended by not patrolling that area, but the Unorthodox set fire to it without anyone knowing. That kind of difference?”
“I know that, but…”
Even though I knew Baek Mu-ho’s explanation was correct, it was not easily accepted. The discrepancy between the knowledge that had existed only in my head and reality felt like it was dulling my thoughts.
“Oh my! You were a newcomer to the Martial World stepping into the Unorthodox Faction’s territory for the first time, a greenhorn.”
“Being a beginner is not particularly something to be ashamed of. Let’s not stealthily frame me as a greenhorn over that, shall we?”
“Hahaha. To think I shared a table with such a greenhorn.”
His pride was overflowing.
Well, since this guy had traveled to various places to transport escort goods, he must have drifted in and out of the Unorthodox Faction’s territories quite often.
Certainly, Baek Mu-ho was a guy with a surprising amount of experience.
Such a Baek Mu-ho looked over the bustling city and marveled.
“But that person called Teacher Emerald Bamboo is also amazing. I heard that old man is an old fogey?”
“From what I know, he was indeed such a person.”
“Although it’s my first time in Sichuan as well, this town is certainly different from other places. It’s the martial world I heard about from my father. The Martial World of the old times when the power dynamics had not been fully established.”
I understood what Baek Mu-ho was talking about.
Achieving chivalry through martial arts.
It sounded like a nice phrase, but the true meaning contained in these words was brutality itself.
In the first place, the concept of chivalry itself originated from the notion that since there was no legal way to deal with corrupt officials who abused power and the law to squeeze the lifeblood out of the common people, one should just cut off their heads first, regardless of the law.
[There was such an era. Destroying the unreasonable without thinking about the consequences.]
Master Bodhidharma spoke longingly.
Indeed, Master Bodhidharma was the very person who had become a legend in that brutal era.
It was said that before things like the Nine Great Sects or the Five Great Clans were established, wild martial artists literally ran amok.
In the process of strong martial sects like the Nine Great Sects or the Five Great Clans establishing themselves, the martial world calmed down as they suppressed the unchecked martial arts.
However, here in Sichuan, as the contest between the Orthodox, the Unorthodox, and the Demonic continued, it felt as though the temperament of the past was vividly alive.
“Is it the essence of a martial artist…?”
They do not hold back.
Though it was a reckless way of thinking that did not care about the consequences, there were parts of the martial artists’ foundation that were originally built that way.
Even ordinary people who had not learned martial arts would lose their minds when they got angry while holding a knife, so imagine when people who had accumulated martial arts their whole lives lost theirs. They would run even wilder precisely because of the martial arts accumulated in their bodies.
That was also why the great sects allocated a lot of time to things like mental cultivation and character education.
“That’s why it’s even more amazing. Do you think it would be easy to create such a stable atmosphere in a place where that temperament is rampant?”
“True.”
It felt as though public order had been firmly established.
Was it the ability of Teacher Emerald Bamboo who managed the government? Or was it the power of Ghost Hand Baek Pung-rip or Evil Gambling King Gwak Dae-pyeong, whom I had heard about from Lee Do-cheon?
“That said, it doesn’t seem to be a completely peaceful place either.”
However, beneath the surface, a dark atmosphere flowed.
I could see something suppressed in the eyes of the people.
What was suppressed was bound to explode if not resolved in time. In a place like Sichuan, it would explode even more easily.
Since it was not something to be ignored, I observed carefully.
***
The meeting with Teacher Emerald Bamboo was smooth. When I revealed my grandfather’s name and mine and requested a private meeting, I was guided in immediately.
Though I had to head to the reception room alone because Baek Mu-ho pushed my back, telling me to go and come back by myself.
When I entered the guided building, Teacher Emerald Bamboo was seated. He had the same strict face as in my memory, but the passage of time was clearly felt.
“You have come.”
His personality did not seem to have changed. The way he sat naturally, as if he had always maintained that posture even when no one was watching, was straight like a standing bamboo.
But in the midst of that, there was something that stood out.
‘How unexpected.’
Most sticklers for principles and rules were prone to having a dry personality, believing that it was enough to follow established principles. The Teacher Emerald Bamboo I remembered was also such a person.
However, a difference was visible now.
“Do you remember me?”
“Yes, I remember. Though it was only for a few days, you stayed at our house for a while.”
“Indeed. Was that about ten years ago? Time is indeed fleeting. That young child has become a man.”
In his eyes looking at me, there was a vitality that had not been there before.
Perhaps it should be called interest.
It felt like seeing the heart of a tin doll, which used to be only strict, beating.
“Did Muae send you?”
Muae. Without hindrance. It was one of the aliases the world used to call my grandfather.
“Yes.”
“Then you must have brought a letter.”
“You know well.”
“Because that friend likes old-fashioned things. To the point where his stubbornness can be felt. In some aspects, he is even worse than me.”
“My grandfather does have that side to him.”
“Yes, while wearing a kind face that can never be found again under heaven.”
Teacher Emerald Bamboo stopped in the middle of his words. The incompletely finished sentence sounded somehow complete in itself, casting a strange feeling.
I took my grandfather’s letter out of my chest pocket and handed it over.
“Did you read the contents?”
“No.”
“You must have wanted to see it, shall I show you?”
“It is fine.”
At the uncharacteristic, playful suggestion, I replied calmly. I suppressed my curiosity and quietly drew the line.
Seeing me calm and unshaken, Teacher Emerald Bamboo let out a chuckle.
“You look alike. Since his child did not resemble him much, it seems it was meant to be passed down to his grandson.”
Was it a compliment?
“To be told I resemble my respected grandfather is something to be grateful for.”
“How cringey.”
Apparently not.
“Since you went through trouble to travel a long distance, rest for a few days. I will prepare a reply in the meantime.”
“Is that all?”
“Are you not Muae’s bloodline? You can just do as you please.”
For some reason, I became curious about what had transpired between the two.
As I please.
Placing that word next to the image of my grandfather that I knew made me laugh for no reason.
“Yes, then I shall rest as I please.”
Bowing lightly, I rose from my seat.
While leaving the building, I organized the complicated thoughts in my head.
‘My grandfather must have had some thoughts in sending me here…’
Was it really over just by delivering the letter and bringing back a reply?
Somehow, I felt that was not all.
The chaotic atmosphere of Sichuan and my grandfather’s intentions that I had yet to fathom.
They were not sorted out at all.
***
“Muae… Whoever coined it, they named him damnably well.”
Murmuring softly, Teacher Emerald Bamboo assessed Yeon Cheong-un, with whom he had been facing until a moment ago, weighing his worth once again.
“A dragon among men. Yes, even if he is young, if he is a dragon of the heavens, it is natural for him to be without hindrance.”
The Young Heavenly Dragon.
He knew Yeon Cheong-un’s alias. That meant he also knew Yeon Cheong-un was a martial artist.
“Although it felt strange that Muae’s bloodline became a martial artist, seeing him in person makes it understandable. Haha, that young fellow.”
Recalling Yeon Cheong-un’s childhood, Teacher Emerald Bamboo wore a strange smile.
“Has it already been ten years… Is it a length of time enough to change a lot?”
It was said that people changed three times: when they felt they had become adults, when they felt they had grown old, and when they realized they had aged.
Teacher Emerald Bamboo felt the third of those fast approaching.
That third realization asked a question: What would his past self, who had been even stricter than now, say if he saw his present self?
“Ugh!”
Thinking like that, it was as if he could hear the nagging of his past self, who would have had nothing to say even if called an old fogey.
“I am at an age where my back hurts too, you know.”
Turning away from the bitterness, Teacher Emerald Bamboo unfolded the letter he had received from Yeon Cheong-un.
The letter, which began with polite greetings, contained longing for a friend and ended with conventional remarks promising the future. To anyone looking, it was an ordinary letter.
“Anyway, he really likes old-fashioned things.”
After reading the letter to the end, Teacher Emerald Bamboo pointed with his finger at the first character of the first line, the first character of the third line, and the last character, counting their strokes.
“If it is forty-six strokes, it is the hexagram of Earth-Wind Sheng among the sixty-four hexagrams. Let’s see.”
Then, he began to fold the paper in a peculiar way.
When he finished folding the paper, a new phrase that had been invisible before was revealed between the overlapping characters.
“The crane has moved in the center…”
Teacher Emerald Bamboo’s face stiffened.
“It means the central political arena is leaning in a bad direction. Is the reason he went out of his way to deliver this message to me to ask me to stabilize Sichuan? I was wondering for what reason he had sent a dragon to Sichuan.”
Unfolding the folded letter again, Teacher Emerald Bamboo crumpled it irritably.
“This guy hasn’t changed at all.”
Teacher Emerald Bamboo’s face was deeply crumpled.
***
When I came outside, it was Baek Mu-ho who welcomed me.
“You came out sooner than I thought?”
“We communicated well.”
“Communicated well? I thought he was an old fogey?”
“He has changed a lot.”
Changing as one grows older is not an easy thing, so to have changed voluntarily was an incredible thing.
“Then it is my turn to ask…”
This time, I asked Baek Mu-ho in reverse.
“What are those guys you are stepping on right now?”
As if something had happened while I was in the private meeting with Teacher Emerald Bamboo, guys who had been beaten to a pulp were sprawled under Baek Mu-ho’s feet.
“I don’t know. They suddenly attacked me, so I beat them up. Isn’t it showing them a lot of mercy just by not cutting them with my sword?”
“Is that so…”
Somehow, the situation did not look good.
I thought these guys might have picked a fight because an unfamiliar fellow was wearing a sword.
How should I clean this up?
[Try pressing that guy’s liver.]
While I was worrying, the voice of Teacher Hua Tuo suddenly rang in my head.
It seemed he had come along today too, as he often dropped by following Master Bodhidharma.
Following Teacher Hua Tuo’s words, I pressed firmly near the liver of one of the fallen guys.
“Argh! Uh!”
Even though I had not pressed that hard, he looked like he was about to die.
“Stop exaggerating.”
“It hurts! I said it hurts!”
Judging by how he screamed and struggled, he did not seem to be lying.
[Ask him a few of the things I tell you. First…]
“By any chance, is your neck stiff lately, or do your fingertips and toes tingle for no reason?”
“Ugh… Huh? Uh?”
“Do you lack energy, get hives, or sometimes zone out? Does your urine have a strange smell or something?”
“W-What? How did you know?”
[If the broken capillaries and blemishes on his face are that severe… his liver is at a level where it can’t perform detoxification.]
He was indeed Teacher Hua Tuo, pointing out exactly where the problem lay.
‘This is good. Should I act as a physician to hide my identity?’
Drawing attention was not a good thing, but that also depended on the situation.
A skilled physician was welcomed wherever they went.
There could be no better disguise than this to cover up the alias of the Young Heavenly Dragon.
“You. The state of your liver is…”
[It seems like poison.]
“…You’ve been… poisoned?”
Why bring up poison all of a sudden?
“Pardon?”
Perhaps my words were out of the blue, as even the guy listening seriously had a dumbfounded face.
If I intended to disguise myself as a skilled physician, it would not do to show a dazed appearance.
Since the plan had already been set, I could not take it back.
I just had to push through, what else could I do?
“You, I said you are poisoned.”
“Wh-a-a-at!?”