Chapter 124

Needless to say, Cho Yoon couldn’t immediately recall why Cheon-oh was acting like this.

In one sense it was stubborn, unquestioning faith; in another, desperate denial. Unaware of the turmoil in his master’s heart, Cheon-oh—having learned only to express his feelings honestly—fiddled with the edge of Cho Yoon’s veil and tried, earnestly, to explain himself.

“If you knew what kind of person Master is, you would surely behave annoyingly. Especially that boy named Moyong Seo seems mentally unsound, so there is no telling what trouble he might cause. He picked a fight with me, and it is a misunderstanding I incurred. Please let me resolve it myself.”

Was he always such an obstinate child? No, he had a stubborn side, but he had never shown it to Cho Yoon. Rather, Seomun Cheon-oh was a person who, even if Cho Yoon did something incomprehensible right now, would think, Master must have some intention, and move on smoothly.

In the first place, I don’t even know the reason he worries about me taking off the bamboo hat.

Cho Yoon looked at Cheon-oh, who couldn’t even meet his eyes, and spoke firmly.

“There is a reason I must meet him. I will tell you when the time comes someday.”

“…Do you intend to give help to Moyong Seo as well? Do you plan to accept him as a disciple?”

What kind of talk is this again?

Cho Yoon, looking up at Cheon-oh blankly without even being stunned anymore, suddenly thought of one possibility. It seemed his student had developed something akin to possessiveness toward his teacher. Unless that was the case, it was utterly incomprehensible.

“Did you not cherish Zhuge Seol-rin and Tang Woon-geum as well? Especially for Zhuge Seol-rin, you even drew your own lifeblood to change her heavenly punishment. Are you searching for a new disciple to bring into the Estate of Deep Mists when I descend Mount Dumang and become independent?”

This won’t do anymore.

Cho Yoon raised both hands and clapped them unexpectedly. The air between his palms ruptured with a loud sound. Cheon-oh, who had been lost in his own imagination and unable to meet Cho Yoon’s gaze, startled abruptly and raised his head.

Cho Yoon held Cheon-oh’s cheeks and looked straight into his two eyes. It seemed he was finally ready to listen.

“It is good to have deep thoughts, but you must not get buried in your own head. Do not get ahead of yourself without properly asking my intentions. If you nurture misunderstandings alone, only discord will remain in the end.”

“…Yes, Master.”

“Sa-yeong was the first child I took in, and you are the last. Even if I end up caring for another person due to some unexpected event, I will not take away the devotion directed at you to share it, so discard that childish impatience.”

“…I will keep it in mind.”

Usually, the period of claiming ‘Teacher is mine!’ would have ended with kindergarten graduation, but Cheon-oh’s situation was a bit different. Though called ‘teacher,’ having fed, clothed, put to sleep, washed, and taught him for over ten years, aren’t they practically family? Rather, if Cheon-oh had acted formally like someone he would part with someday, it would have felt more hurtful.

Cho Yoon, having barely convinced himself, coaxed Cheon-oh with a much lighter heart. He tried to speak as gently as possible, but the language leaving his mouth was stiff as always.

“If he were someone who judged situations carefully, he would not have abruptly pointed a sword at you in the marketplace. He has his own reasons for not trusting you, and I have my own methods to persuade him.”

“…Yes, Master.”

“I wish to tell you how it came to be, but there is no way to explain it to you in detail yet, so I am struggling as well. However, I promise.”

Cho Yoon’s hands came down slowly. The sleeves that had rolled up came down, covering his bandaged forearms.

In fact, since Cheon-oh planned to find a way back once he descended the mountain, nothing could be said for certain. But if he couldn’t even soothe a disciple’s anxiety, could he call himself a teacher or a guardian?

“Someday, I will answer all your questions. I will help you again and again until not a speck of doubt remains for you. So for now, trust me and follow me.”

Even if his future self would regret to death why he made such a promise, for now, he had no choice but to assert it.

A time of silence passed where no voice was heard. Dew-laden grass blades swayed in the wind brushing ankles, and withered petals fell onto the pond drawing ripples.

Cheon-oh lifted his hand that had been hanging down and grabbed Cho Yoon’s sleeve. Keeping his fingertips touching, he moved up, passed the shoulder, and touched the jawline. As if trying to learn and memorize the unfamiliar contact from a moment ago, he cupped his master’s face.

It is the fault of not teaching him that touching an adult’s head carelessly is rude. It is the fault of Cho Yoon, who didn’t bother teaching it because he disliked the Confucian educational policy of simply telling one to respect helplessly.

Cheon-oh lowered his head and touched his forehead against Cho Yoon’s. It was a moment closer to a ‘bonk’ than a ‘thud.’ He always realized anew, but this child’s voice would pierce through all surrounding noise and resonate directly in Cho Yoon’s eardrums and brain.

“I have not forgotten your promise to show me the scenery beyond the sea before. I will wait, Master.”

Cheon-oh, speaking as if engraving each character like declaring he would collect all debts later, stepped back one step. Saying, “I will go in first to organize the luggage and check the condition of the medicinal herbs,” he turned around. The back, straightened upright from watching his master, grew smaller at a constant pace.

It was like crossing a mountain range with immense hardship only to find a boundless ocean unfolding.

I promised to show the scenery beyond the sea? When did I say such a thing?

***

“Is there a reason we must keep it a secret, Father? When we arrive at the Hao Sect anyway, won’t we have to reveal who we are?”

Creaking wheels and hard chairs, a simple group without a single servant to attend to them, and an urgent journey where one couldn’t even enjoy gastronomic delights.

Inside the carriage crossing the middle of Jian City in Jiangxi Province, unbearable complaints burst out. Namgung Ho-gwan, who hadn’t mastered Invulnerability to Cold and Heat because reaching the Unrestrained Realm was far off, flushed red while sweating profusely. He didn’t care even when Namgung Ok-ri, who had warned him several times to lower his voice, frowned beside him.

On the other hand, the middle-aged to elderly Namgung Yeong sitting opposite them appeared limitlessly calm and clean. Namgung Yeong, sweeping back his graying hair neatly, opened his eyes slowly and spoke.

“Spare your words. The Exalted Emperor is listening.”

“You should at least tell us what is what. Why are we going to that remote corner in the first place? No, if there is something needed, can’t we just send someone? Why must I and Ok-ri, along with Father, accompany him? And th—.”

Ho-gwan’s eyes glanced backward. As if instinctively feeling an ominous energy, the voice that followed had shrunk much more timidly.

“That person? Why on earth is that person accompanying us? Isn’t the Immortal Healer Cho Yoon an eccentric who can only be found in the Point of No Return Mountain Range? Instead of going toward Shaanxi to find him…”

Namgung Yeong’s face distorted viciously for an instant. His glaring eyes pierced his foolish son like a sharp knife, and Ho-gwan, pressed by the spirit, shut his mouth with a gasp.

But Namgung Yeong soon sighed deeply and spoke as if admonishing.

“First, use honorifics for the Exalted Emperor. I know your eyes are merely decoration, but he is someone completely different from his appearance. The fate of the family depends on it, so you must never forget.”

“…I-I understand.”

“I do not know the reason why he volunteered for this cumbersome accompaniment either, but since he said so, we have no choice but to follow. It is to hide that person with your existence, so do not harbor useless doubts.”

“…….”

To think they were suffering like this to hide an unidentified brat. The pride of the brothers, born in the greatest family of the Murim and lived being worshipped all their lives, crumpled violently. But since the opponent was their father whom they could never disobey, no matter how much frustration surged inside, they couldn’t voice it.

Here, the younger brother Namgung Ok-ri’s clever head shone. Ok-ri carefully asserted justification with an obedient face.

“But… Father, if we stay knowing nothing like this, we might commit another rudeness to the Exalted Emperor sometime. I know you do not trust sound-blocking curtains, but can’t you teach us even a little?”

Right, that’s what I’m saying! Ho-gwan clenched his fist tight.

Namgung Yeong, looking at his two sons who never listened obediently, stared beyond the blocked window for a while with a furrowed brow. As the Head of the Namgung Clan possessing skills worthy of a White Chivalry Alliance Leader, Namgung Yeong could hear the stable wheel sounds of the carriage following behind.

After a long contemplation, Namgung Yeong opened his mouth. Ok-ri let go of the hand pinching his urging brother’s thigh and focused only on his father’s voice.

“Hidden Shadow Dark Emperor, Red Pearl Ghost Emperor, Brilliance Heavenly Demonic Emperor… what do you think these have in common?”

“Are they not all Heaven-Defying Demonic Men who turned the Murim into a sea of blood? Especially the Brilliance Heavenly Demonic Emperor, I heard she was a sinner who caused a blood history just a hundred and fifty years ago.”

“And whenever they appeared, the Murim united in grand unity to fight against them. That is how the confrontation system between the Demonic Cult and the White Chivalry Alliance was created.”

It was history every decent martial artist knew. While Ok-ri couldn’t get a grasp, a truth so unbelievable it felt absurd was heard.