Chapter 356. Do This, Do That
Listening to the waterfall, Cheonak, who had been silent, opened his mouth.
“In the end, was it because you wanted to say that, that you spent time with us?”
I nodded.
“Even if they were the same words, their meaning would have been different had I said them forty days ago. I held out in my own way. Coming here, creating the Amhyangpyo, and gaining some realizations through our sparring were merely secondary strokes of luck. But I always intended to say that it was Makgunja and Sister Jinhyang who saved me.”
Fortunately, it seemed my feelings had been conveyed to the two of them to some degree. I could tell from their expressions and silence.
Cheonak and the White-Clad Scholar looked at each other and then smiled simultaneously with deflated expressions.
The White-Clad Scholar let out a short sigh and spoke.
“You truly are an incredible human being. I acknowledge you. Whatever that acknowledgment may be, you are the most absurd man among those I know.”
As if taking up where the White-Clad Scholar left off, Cheonak spoke.
“If the intention behind the Amhyangpyo is such, then the youngest junior brother in heaven and Sister Jinhyang will also be pleased. To think you endured here just to say those words. I thought you were merely staying here for a while to grow stronger; that was my narrow-minded thinking.”
Just knowing that the two of them understood my meaning made me want to perform a deep bow to them.
For over forty days, I had contended with these two. What name could even be given to such a contest? It was an arduous battle no less trying than a fight among comrades. It was all the harder because it was not a fight simply to determine who won.
The White-Clad Scholar was clever.
Cheonak was a man of high caliber.
I thought men as smart and high-minded as these needed no further advice or nagging. The moment I thought it right to stop nagging at this point, it led to the thought that I should leave the Steel Lodge. But strangely enough, the moment I thought this, Cheonak, who had been watching my expression, asked thus:
“……Are you planning to leave right away?”
Cheonak’s question, which read my inner thoughts, was so amusing that I let out a hollow laugh.
“I must leave.”
“What is your plan?”
I shook my head. I am not someone who makes concrete plans. However, when it came to martial arts, I had something to say.
“Since I’ve mastered the Amhyangpyo, I must train by incorporating it into the sword techniques I already knew. In the end, I realized that trying to catch up to Samjae in a short time through internal energy is greed. That is a domain that requires day-to-day diligent progress, so I do not intend to rush it. But swordsmanship is different.”
“In what way is it different?”
I organized my thoughts for a moment before answering.
“There are many experts and martial arts in the world, but to catch up to them, I must focus on the sword first anyway. Even if my internal energy is insufficient, my speed is slow, and my techniques are all read, I have no intention of yielding ground with the sword. Only then…….”
I spoke as if entreating the two of them.
“If I happen to run into the Cult Leader by ill luck, I should be able to cut off one arm. If I fall, probably all Four Great Evildoers will step forward to wage a war of vengeance. I’ll take a few fingers, a few toes, and if I’m lucky, perhaps another arm. Then please step forward, Senior. If it comes to that, the supreme one of this era will be decided by a contest between Senior Singae and him.”
The White-Clad Scholar asked me.
“Is that the official will of the Haomun Lord?”
When I nodded, the White-Clad Scholar nodded as well.
“Understood.”
Cheonak looked at me.
“With your personality, it seems you would flee without hesitation, so why would you need such a will?”
“You see me well. Still, one must always assume the worst-case scenario. That is courtesy toward the martial world, and the role of a leader.”
Unexpectedly, Cheonak expressed concern for me.
“You are too young. Fighting a life-and-death battle against the supreme expert of the era at that young age is too much. Make sure to run away well.”
The White-Clad Scholar looked at Cheonak with a surprised expression.
“Just now you were trying to smash his skull and kill him, so where does this worry come from?”
Cheonak looked at the White-Clad Scholar.
“Same for you, is it not?”
“It might be a bit dull without the Lord, but not to that extent.”
I spoke to the two of them.
“I have a few requests…….”
The White-Clad Scholar looked at me with a dumbfounded expression.
“I may not even grant you one, and you say a few?”
“Shut up for a bit and just listen. First, Senior Cheonak.”
Cheonak answered.
“Speak.”
“The disciple of the White-Clad Scholar must absolutely be a gentleman.”
Cheonak answered with a bewildered expression.
“Why say that to me?”
“All this time, Muje preferred disciples who could perform tasks without issue after torturing villains and turning them into slaves. The conditions for choosing disciples were strangely twisted. The commonality is that he likely favored those who were smart or quick to learn martial arts.”
“Indeed, he did.”
“That won’t do. Such a fellow will ultimately be unable to properly master Muje’s martial arts. A schemer will get himself killed someday fighting the wrong person. Or he’ll roam the martial world and get killed by someone like me. As you know, Senior, the White-Clad Scholar is a man selfish to the bone.”
The White-Clad Scholar looked at me with a sour expression.
“…….”
“What kind of disciple must a man selfish to the bone take on if he is to pass on everything he knows?”
Cheonak asked.
“Are you saying it must be a gentleman?”
I nodded.
“It must be someone who does not calculate. There are plenty of fellows who learn martial arts quickly or are smart in the head. But a man with a heart like a gentleman is exceedingly rare. Unless you take in a man like Makgunja as a disciple, Muje’s martial arts will have no successor. This is not merely Muje’s personal problem; it should be seen as the severing of the martial arts of the scholar faction that has broadly researched various martial arts.”
Cheonak looked at me with eyes still full of doubt.
“What is your purpose in telling this to me?”
“I already told you. People don’t change easily. Muje will continue to favor smart men. But that is not the answer. When a fellow appears whom you think possesses the qualities of a gentleman, that fellow is Muje’s disciple.”
“Hm.”
“It means I want you to remember on his behalf. With your insight, you would know which fellow is a gentleman. I’m asking you to vet them in place of the White-Clad Scholar.”
Cheonak nodded.
“Understood.”
This time, I looked at the White-Clad Scholar.
“In that sense, as for Senior Cheonak’s disciple.”
The White-Clad Scholar blinked.
“What?”
“…….”
“Go ahead and speak first.”
I let out a false cough and continued speaking with a brazen attitude.
“He must not be a gentleman.”
The White-Clad Scholar and Cheonak looked at each other with slightly vacant expressions. In any case, I continued speaking.
“If you bring a gentleman-like fellow, Senior Cheonak will suffocate and fall into qi deviation.”
“Then?”
“Bring an orphan. Not one of those forcibly created like the things Heukseon used to do. I mean a truly pitiful orphan who lost their parents. But don’t teach them martial arts right away.”
“Then why bring them at all?”
“They should start by learning the work Brother Habok teaches. He has too much to do alone; he’s too busy. Teach them cooking, and needless to say, cleaning. Have them organize those heavy lumps of iron too. So what I’m trying to say is this: someone who suits Brother Habok’s tastes perfectly. Someone who can do everything Brother Habok does well, yet was born with an excellent physique would be even better. A bear-like fellow, but one who thinks like a bear too won’t do.”
The White-Robed Scholar furrowed his brow.
“No, why is this so difficult? Where am I supposed to find such a person?”
“That’s absurd.”
“What’s absurd?”
I answered with a straight face.
“Are you saying you’d bring just anyone to be Samjae’s disciple?”
“Hmm.”
“He’s a disciple of Samjae, one rarely matched even across the entire jianghu. Did I ask you to fetch a once-in-a-thousand-years genius? That’s not it. You don’t know someone who’s like a fox yet like a bear? What do you even know, you pitiful bastard.”
The White-Robed Scholar closed his mouth.
“...”
“And more importantly, it must be someone who truly knows gratitude. Someone who rejoices at having a roof over their head. Who is grateful for the meals Brother Habok makes. Who doesn’t take sleeping in a warm place for granted. Above all, it would be best if it’s someone who feels thankful for such fortune and can look to Senior Cheonak as an adoptive father.”
I spoke to the White-Robed Scholar as if sending him on an errand.
“Go out and find Senior Cheonak’s adopted son.”
The White-Robed Scholar tilted his head and muttered.
“Some damn punk ordering me around like this and that……”
“I wasn’t even giving an order. That’s why I’m asking.”
Cheonak asked me.
“Are those the two requests?”
“One more. If a tyrant like Heukseon appears, or if a crisis threatening the entire scholar faction occurs, I intend to help. In exchange, the scholar faction must help the Murim Alliance later. I’m not saying to step in and interfere every time there’s a trivial matter. Just help once when a crisis so dire that the very pillars are uprooted befalls.”
Cheonak said.
“You aid the scholars, yet why should the scholars aid the Murim Alliance?”
“It’s actually the same thing. If I’m in danger, Alliance Chief Im will help me. And Haomun actually has no physical form. There’s no signboard anywhere that says Haomun. There isn’t now, and there won’t be in the future.”
“Is such a faction even a sect?”
“As long as the will is connected.”
“What justification do the scholars have for helping the Murim Alliance?”
“If you feel the Murim Alliance has rotted, you don’t have to help. However, Im Sobaek is a man worthy of receiving aid from the people of jianghu. I have no way to prove this right now. That’s why I’m asking.”
The two did not rashly give an answer saying they understood. After briefly mulling over my words, the White-Robed Scholar brought up something out of nowhere.
“But Munju.”
“What.”
“Why do you call Cheonak ‘Senior Cheonak,’ and even Habok ‘Brother Habok,’ yet always speak casually to me? Does that make sense?”
I smiled slightly.
“What nonsense? We’re comrades. Where is there high or low between comrades? A comrade is a comrade. We’re people who are innately ill-mannered. You ought to respect a comrade’s consistent will and attitude.”
Having pushed such arbitrary logic, it didn’t quite get through. While the White-Robed Scholar was bewildered, Cheonak laughed instead.
As long as Cheonak laughed, that was enough.
Whether speaking casually or hurling curses, what did it matter?
Such things held no meaning among comrades.
I now realized my role at the Steel Cottage had ended. The rest was to be left to fate; there was a limit to human power.
Because this was the flow of fate.
While the White-Robed Scholar pondered how to change the waterfall’s flow, I had striven in my own way to change the fate of those two.
With a somewhat bittersweet heart, I rose first and bid farewell to the two.
“Senior, and my White-Robed comrade. Let us meet again. I shall take my leave.”
Cheonak nodded.
“Survive well.”
The White-Robed Scholar looked at me and then nodded.
“Get lost.”
I walked above the waterfall and spread out the Amhyangpyo, soaring into the air. I hadn’t decided which direction to go, but I planned to descend the mountain and enter anywhere to order anything but chicken.
How is a person supposed to live eating only chicken?
Damn it…….
...“He’s an unfathomable fellow.”
“...”
The White-Robed Scholar looked at Cheonak’s back, which offered no answer. As soon as Cheonak returned to his quarters, he stared blankly at the painting of his junior sister Jinhyang. After gazing at the painting in silence, Cheonak let out a short sigh, then took down the painting of Junior Sister Jinhyang and rolled it up.
The White-Robed Scholar looked at Cheonak with a surprised expression.
Cheonak turned around and held the painting out to the White-Robed Scholar.
“Take it.”
“Why all of a sudden?”
“I gazed at it too long. I thought not forgetting was affection and loyalty toward my junior sister, but there was no need to remember in this way. It is the cause of the inner demon and hinders my training. Take it. Only after the Munju visited did I realize that the inner demon was something I had invited upon myself.”
The White-Robed Scholar, understanding Cheonak’s heart, took the painting in hand and said.
“Rest for a few days.”
Recalling the conversation they had above the waterfall, Cheonak answered thus.
“Get lost.”
When the White-Robed Scholar heard his own words to the Haomunju thrown back at him, he let out a hollow laugh. Then Cheonak spoke to the White-Robed Scholar in a commanding tone.
“Find someone who will suit Habok’s tastes.”
“Why the hell? You don’t even intend to take a disciple.”
“Who said disciple? They must start by learning Habok’s work.”
The White-Robed Scholar let out a sigh.
“Ah, this is why I tried to keep you two from meeting.”
Cheonak nodded.
“If this is fate too, I must accept it.”
“Talking about fate and whatnot. I’m going.”
The White-Robed Scholar soon vanished from the quarters.
Cheonak remained alone, staring blankly at the place where the painting had been. Suddenly, inhaling deeply with his eyes closed, the scent of Junior Sister Jinhyang came to mind.
In a place where no one was, Cheonak muttered.
“I have not forgotten you. We can reunite later.”
Opening his eyes, Cheonak lightly ignored the White-Robed Scholar’s words to rest for a few days and headed to where the steel was.