#1
5
3.
My jawbone was numb from laughing so much inside.
As Saryeon recalled how long it had been since he had laughed like this, he quickly realized that it was a truly meaningless thing to do.
Ever since shouldering the heavy burden of the Taeeul Sect, Sa-ryeon felt as though he were always walking on a sharp blade. ‘It was not something I, who was not even worthy to bear it in the first place, could carry.’ Nevertheless, the reason he had no choice but to carry it was that he knew all too well that the moment he let go of that burden, everyone would be plunged into agony.
“Pfft…….”
I suddenly remember the Senior Brother who arrived late at the banquet and was wildly beating Geumpyo. When I asked him what was wrong, he spat out a nonsensical remark: “This is all to establish the traditions of the Taeeulmun.”
Good grief. Since when has the Taeeulmun sect had a tradition?
Even as I chuckled to myself like that, I felt sorry for my senior brother.
It was because he knew that the reason his shoulders felt light, and the reason his laughter was hearty, was that his senior brother had shouldered his burden.
“……
“You’re really pathetic.”
To think that instead of thinking of helping the person carrying their burden, they are merely feeling relieved.
I look at myself and think I’m really ugly.
“What are you doing out here all alone?”
I turned my head at a familiar voice and saw a man wearing a martial arts uniform with silver embroidery on black cloth approaching.
Saryeon turned her head again without answering.
Is something bothering you?
“…….”
It is like this.
Even while carrying the heaviest burden and doing the most painful work, he looks at the people around him and asks.
Tell me if you are having a hard time.
Even though I am the one shedding the most blood…
“I don’t have anything like that…”
“boy.”
His rough hand comes up over my head.
Roughly messes up the carefully groomed hair and changes its shape.
I told you so much that I hated having my hair touched.
However, the calluses on my hands, felt through my head, prevent me from venting my frustration.
As if sweeping with a twig, as if rubbing with a rough stone, I liked that rough and hard feeling so much, so comfortable.
He neither slaps his hand away nor dodges his head.
“Ryeonmae, you’re always so worried about the other kids that you neglect to take care of yourself.”
Who on earth is saying that?
“I will do my best to look after you, but isn’t this Senior Brother rather unreliable? So, if you need anything, please let me know first.”
Then, who takes care of the Senior Brother?
It was a story I was very curious about, but I couldn’t bring myself to say it out loud.
Because the answer he will give is so predictable.
“I am always sorry that you do not trust this senior brother.”
And because that answer would break Saryeon’s heart.
“Sob… sob….”
And why do I always shed tears in situations like this?
I wonder how many times I have shed tears in front of my senior brother, tears I never once shed even in front of my father since I grew up.
“Uh, uh? Are you, are you crying? Ah, oops! Sorry. I told you not to touch my hair. Sorry. I forgot.”
And why is it that stupid executioner never knows the reason why he cries?
I simply cannot understand it, even as time passes.
“Now, now. Look. I’ve returned to my original mind. Wouldn’t this work?”
Then, he messes up his hair again.
The more she tried to sort things out, the more her mind became a mess, and the more that happened, the more Saryeon’s surging emotions gradually stabilized.
Please stop.
“Just wait a little while, almost all…….”
“Stop it!”
Ah, sorry.
The senior disciple, who had fearlessly bared his teeth even in the face of absolute masters, took a step back as if he were extremely tense at my shout.
“Phew…….”
You’re not angry, are you?
I’m not angry.
“Your voice sounds angry.”
“Damn it!”
As I thrust my fist at him, he raised his hands and feet to protect his face as if he were scared.
At that ridiculous sight, Saryeon bursts into laughter again without even realizing it.
“Pfft, really.”
And so, forgetting the weight again, I laugh to my heart’s content like a child.
“Don’t worry too much. Everything will be fine.”
I wonder what on earth is going well.
Sa-ryeon did not know exactly what Jin So-un was looking at.
“What future does Sa-hyung desire?”
At the very least, he needs to know what kind of future he envisions so that he can keep pace with it.
“The future I desire…….”
Jin So-un gazed at Dongting Lake, where darkness had deeply descended, without answering.
To my eyes, the dark Dongting Lake looks just like the world.
And I hope that one of those brightly shining lights is Taeeulmun.
Jin So-un spoke with a look in his eyes as if tracing the years of the distant past.
That is the only thing I desire.
Jin So-un’s words were unpredictable, neither clear nor unclear.
However, seeing his eyes sink deep into silence, Sa-ryeon could not ask any more questions.
I simply thought that I should do my best to achieve whatever he desired. Due to the Demonic Cult impersonation incident that shook Akyang, all the sects and businesses associated with Jeomchang were holding their breath.
Starting with Yuwolmun, the sects associated with Yuwolmun were all subjected to investigation by Jeomchang, and those who had previously commanded Akyang like tigers in the mountains were bowing their heads out of fear that even a flaw might be found.
The Changseong faction was no exception either.
The Changseong faction was in a rather awkward situation due to the visit of unwelcome guests.
“Didn’t you say just a few days ago that we should join forces to defend Akyang?!”
Na Seong-mugwan and Hong Juk-bang have already fallen to the Black Swords’ attack.
They probably won’t stop here at all. Not until they have the entirety of Akyang in their grasp.
They say they are the children of the nearby Baekdo sect and his friends.
“If they had remained at that level in the first place, they would not have been let into the Changseong Sect. ‘I thought a group of formidable people had gathered since they were called academy students…’ The Sect Leader of the Changseong Sect glared sharply at the Head of the Dharma Protection Hall.”
Although they are students attending the Murim Academy, most of them have no connection whatsoever with the Jeongdohoe or the Baekdohoe 12 Peak Stars.
Considering how they will rise to prominence in the Murim Alliance in the future, it is certainly right to listen to their story, but…
In fact, considering that their sect was currently standing on the brink of disaster, their future was not very bright either.
“I am actually formulating a plan. For now, please return to the sect and stand by.”
“The Four Sects are on the verge of collapsing before the blade of the Black Blade right now. Please help us.”
I know.
Due to this incident, more than half of Akyang will likely fall into the clutches of the Black Dao martial arts world.
However, given the deep suspicion regarding Jeomchang at the moment, they had no justification to step forward against them.
Jeomchang must have been thinking about the future from the very beginning.
They are turning a blind eye to them now, so that they can seize Akyang once again when the wickedness of the Black Path runs rampant and the people’s outcry intensifies.
“Didn’t I tell you? That we are formulating countermeasures. Don’t you realize that your obstruction is only making things more difficult!”
At the order of the Changseong Sect leader to expel them, the students of the academy, including Jang Woo-jae who had been vehemently protesting, left the Changseong Sect as if they were being chased out.
“Sob, what shall I do now…….”
Jang Woo-jae, the legitimate heir of the Yujangmun sect located in Akyang, despaired over the sect’s precarious future.
“I’m sorry. For showing you this side of me…….”
The students who had visited Yujangmun during this break at Jang Woo-jae’s invitation simply looked at him with pity.
Just like Jang Woo-jae, they themselves had uprooted the pillars of the sect to enter the academy.
From the start, I had no way to help Yoo Jang-moon.
“Instead of doing this, why don’t you try asking for help from somewhere else?”
“Didn’t you see it, too? Didn’t we refuse everywhere we passed?”
“I heard that some members of the Jeongdohoe are holding a meeting in Akyang right now.”
“Jeongdohoe?”
“Indeed. Since I hear that not only the students but also the adults belonging to the Alliance have come, wouldn’t it be best to ask them for help?”
“Where is that place!”
Jang Woo-jae sprang up from the floor, clutching at even a rotten rope. “What were you thinking?”
Il-gak suddenly snapped back to reality at the sound of a voice coming from behind.
The large ship shining brightest in the center of Dongting Lake.
Ilgak turned his gaze away from the two men and women standing on the ship’s railing.
“You have come, Venerable Monk.”
Hye-seong went to where he had been standing without responding to the greeting and looked at the large ship.
And he nodded as if to say he understood.
“I was enveloped in suffering.”
At Hye-seong’s words, Gak was filled with shame and could not answer.
“I heard that kid beat you. Was that such a shock to you?”
Hyeseong shook his head at Gak’s distorted face.
“My training is insufficient.”
It is not because of the defeat.
Then what is the reason?
Existence
It is because I am curious about the origin of it.
“Tsk. I thought you had attained enlightenment since you said you had mastered the Muscle Strengthening Classic and performed the transformation…
Ilgak, who had been silent at Hyeseong’s clicking of the tongue, asked in a low voice.
“Venerable Monk, is it true that I have attained enlightenment?”
“Doesn’t the diamond power you manifest support that?”
“Venerable Monk, as far as I have studied, I have heard that Diamond Power, Taiji Power, and Samcheong Power can only be manifested by those who have undergone deep training and patience, Zen meditation and contemplation, and endured suffering reaching the end of life.”
“That’s right. After all, it’s not a power that just anyone can use.”
Gak looked once again toward the man among the two men and women standing on the boat and asked.
“What the author manifested was clearly the Jade Blue Heavenly Power. How was that possible?”
Some have not yet recovered from the shock of the Jade Blue Heavenly Power he unleashed during his duel with Jin So-un.
No, since that day, I had been in deep anguish.
He is a vulgar, cowardly, dishonest, and liar. He stops at nothing to achieve his goals. If so, how is it that such a person can wield the Jade Blue Heavenly Power? He is truly an evil person.
Is this correct?
“Tsk tsk. So you were confused by the phenomenon unfolding before your eyes.”
Hyeseong shook his head.
“The devil sometimes appears before your eyes in the guise of a saint, and poison is always bound to be mixed in fragrant wine. Why, then, are you deceived by a mere phenomenon that confuses your eyes?”
Some were confused.
Were the events of the past, and the 모습 (appearance/behavior) of Jin So-woon shown all this time, truly those of one wearing the mask of a villain, just as Hye-seong said?
If so, conversely, can the conduct he has performed be said to have been carried out in the manner of a saint?
“Eliminate delusions. Fifty thousand kinds of delusions nurture suffering. Never forget that this is the first step of spiritual practice.”
The orthodox doctrine of Buddhism.
A golden rule that was never doubted.
Il-gak forced open his lips, which would not budge.
I will keep that in mind.
Hye-seong nodded for a moment and then spoke.
I received a message from the Head Monk.
Are you talking about Lord Jeong Do-hoe?
I knew about the events in Akyang indirectly.
They must be busy enough just trying to clean up this mess, which will be a huge blow to Jeomchang. How did they manage to contact me?
“Right. So he wants to go investigate what happened in Sacheon.”
Are you talking about external activities?
That’s right.
However, the time to return to the academy is fast approaching.
In addition, he kept to himself that “students must obtain permission from the student center representative for external activities during the semester.”
Because I knew that those words would soon cause distress to Hyeseong.
“That must be why we should go. Before the student council representative takes control.”
The intention is obvious.
It’s an action with an obvious intention.
It is likely an action taken on purpose, conscious of Jin So-un.
“It must be a deliberate move, mindful of the situation in Akyang.”
Trying to weaken Jin So-woon’s power and extract something.
“I might get a chance to advance into Akyang this time. If it were the current Jeomchang, they would probably give up Akyang.”
Unable to give a proper answer, Gak clasped his hands together in prayer.
Amitabha Buddha.
“Indeed, indeed. It is truly something that could not have been accomplished without the grace of the Buddha.”
Hye-seong bursts into a triumphant laugh.
Ilgak, who was watching him, was startled for a moment that his face looked like a demon, and struggled to quickly shake off the delusion. ‘Amitabha.’
