Chapter 175

Chapter 175: Chapter 8. Even the Fierce Wind Cannot Wash Away the Scent of Blood (4)

On one side of the clearing stood a small thatched cottage.

When Sage Hyeon-so, Un-gyeong, and the Mount Hua Sect disciples entered, the tiny cottage seemed as if it might burst at the seams.

Outside, Hae So-wol was playing with the children. The children, dressed in ragged clothes, looked at Hae So-wol with wonder.

A beautiful fairy-like woman carrying a sword—of course they would be amazed.

"Are you a martial artist, Miss?"

"How did you get here?"

Questions from the children poured forth.

Hae So-wol felt at a loss for how to answer. The children's curious gazes were somehow overwhelming.

Among them, one child caught her eye.

She was a young girl, perhaps four or five years old. Emaciated and with a distinctly sickly pallor on her face, she silently tugged at Hae So-wol's sleeve.

Hae So-wol picked up the girl and asked.

"What's your name?"

Instead of answering, the girl looked at Hae So-wol with anxious eyes.

"Are…are you here to take Grandfather away?"

"Grandfather?"

Hae So-wol's gaze turned toward the cottage.

Through the window, she could see Sage Hyeon-so sitting with the Mount Hua Sect disciples.

She couldn't hear what they were discussing from here.

"Are you really here to take Grandfather away?"

"No! Waaah!"

At the girl's question, the faces of the other children crumpled. Crying was quickly contagious, and all dozen or so children began to cry.

"K-kids!"

Hae So-wol's face showed bewilderment. Cold sweat trickled down her back.

Sage Hyeon-so looked at Un-gyeong. Un-gyeong couldn't meet his gaze and lowered his head.

The silence stretched to an unbearable length.

After staring at Un-gyeong for some time, Sage Hyeon-so finally spoke.

"How did you find this place?"

"I mobilized all the Outer Disciples. One of them reported seeing someone resembling you in Shanxi Province."

"Hm!"

"As I dug deeper into Shanxi Province, I heard that someone resembling you was raising orphans in a place called Clear Stream Valley. So I came to investigate, just in case."

"You've been through much hardship."

At Sage Hyeon-so's calm words, Un-gyeong raised his head involuntarily.

"Master! I'm sorry."

"For what?"

"For abandoning Cheong-gyeong… I'm truly sorry."

These were words he had kept locked in his heart for the past thirteen years. The thought that he had abandoned his junior brother had kept him awake countless nights.

He had always thought he should apologize to Sage Hyeon-so someday, but he lacked the courage and kept postponing it.

At Un-gyeong's words, Sage Hyeon-so closed his eyes gently.

A name still lodged in his heart like a nail.

Dam Ho.

His only disciple, his child—that name.

After losing Dam Ho, Sage Hyeon-so's world had collapsed.

He couldn't even remember how he had lived for a time, so deep was his despair.

He came to his senses nearly two years after losing Dam Ho. During that long time, not a single person from the Mount Hua Sect had come to see him.

After that, he lived alone for several more years.

He tried to steady his mind by reading numerous Taoist scriptures. But his wounded heart did not heal easily, and his body and mind grew more weary.

Even then, not a single person from the Mount Hua Sect came to visit.

Only then did Sage Hyeon-so realize that he had been forgotten by the Mount Hua Sect.

He could only let out a hollow laugh.

He had lived his whole life for Mount Hua, loved Mount Hua—but had it all been a one-sided devotion?

With that, Sage Hyeon-so descended from Mount Hua.

Though he was still a Taoist of the Mount Hua Sect, he could no longer stay on the mountain.

He wandered the world without destination.

His disciple no longer existed in this world, yet the world continued to spin. That ordinary daily life made Sage Hyeon-so's heart ache even more.

Sage Hyeon-so traveled throughout the world, cradling his wounded heart. Along the way, he met many people.

Beggars, the sick, those with heartbreaking stories, and orphans who had lost their parents in the chaos.

These were people he would never have met if he had stayed on Mount Hua.

Sage Hyeon-so mourned with their stories, laughed, and empathized. The wounds he had received from people were healed by meeting people.

Only then did Sage Hyeon-so realize.

The true Dao could not be found only in the mountains.

Only by entangling oneself among people could one truly obtain the Dao.

From that point on, Sage Hyeon-so threw himself into the world in earnest.

He went days without food and begged, he reformed villains, he was swindled, and he even took on rough jobs on boats. He threw himself into the world's hardships, meeting and experiencing countless people.

The human Sage Hyeon-so came to know the world, to know people, and to know himself.

As time passed, before he knew it, a dozen or so young children surrounded him. He had taken in wandering orphans one by one, and it had come to this.

Raising over a dozen children alone was never easy. He needed a stable environment. So he entered this Clear Stream Valley.

Sage Hyeon-so saw Dam Ho in the children's innocent faces. And so he gave them more love and care, finding peace of mind.

Sage Hyeon-so reached out and patted Un-gyeong's shoulder.

"It's all right. How could this be your fault alone? It was simply bad luck. That child's fortune had run out."

"M-Master!"

At Sage Hyeon-so's warm words, Un-gyeong's shoulders trembled. Something hot surged up from deep within his chest. And tears fell.

"Sob!"

Un-gyeong wept. And Sage Hyeon-so warmly embraced him. Watching this scene, the Mount Hua Sect warriors' faces were filled with solemn emotion.

The words that came to mind when thinking of Un-gyeong were things like dignified, composed, and cool rationality.

In the Mount Hua Sect, Un-gyeong had assisted Grand Senior Brother Mu-gyeong, presenting the direction the sect should take with a rationality and cold reason surpassing anyone else's.

He had never once shown a wavering appearance before his disciples.

Because of that, everyone respected and revered him.

Now, Un-gyeong was crying in Sage Hyeon-so's embrace, defenseless. That unfamiliar sight confused the Mount Hua Sect disciples' hearts.

After a moment, Un-gyeong composed his emotions and looked embarrassed.

"Master!"

"Did the Grandmaster send you?"

"Yes."

"Is the Grandmaster still in good health?"

"Yes."

"I'm relieved to hear that."

Sage Hyeon-so smiled.

Un-gyeong stared blankly at that pure smile, untainted by a single speck of dust.

His appearance was still the same Sage Hyeon-so he knew, but somehow he felt different.

He felt broader, deeper. As if a gentle radiance was shining from behind him.

Even the deeply experienced elders on Mount Hua hadn't given him this feeling.

'How?'

Doubt arose, but relaying the Grandmaster's words took priority.

"The Grandmaster wishes for you to return to Mount Hua."

"Now my senior brother is looking for me? Is something happening at Mount Hua?"

"Well…"

Un-gyeong bit his lip.

Seeing his pupils tremble, Sage Hyeon-so sighed.

"Something has happened, hasn't it?"

"Haven't you heard?"

"Heard what?"

"Cheong…gyeong."

"Cheong-gyeong? You mean the name?"

"It seems you haven't heard."

"Tell me quickly."

The composure that Sage Hyeon-so had maintained until now shattered like a porcelain bowl thrown against granite.

"Cheong-gyeong… is alive."

"What?"

"It's true. I don't know how he survived in that place, but he is alive and well."

"Is it true? Is Ho truly alive?"

"Yes. The Fist Demon Dam Ho. He is now the most famous martial artist in the Murim."

"The Fist Demon?"

"Yes."

"That is a fearsome title."

"His skill matches the title. Countless supreme masters of the Murim have fallen at his hands."

"I see."

Sage Hyeon-so was no longer surprised. Un-gyeong asked, surprised by his calm reaction.

"You're not surprised?"

"That child was special from a young age. He relentlessly pursued strength, and once he set a goal, he was tenacious enough to never give up. A slight limp? That was no obstacle for Ho."

"Unfortunately, only you knew that fact."

"Prejudice clouded their eyes. The prejudice that the incomplete could never be perfected. Those who only see what they want to see and only seek what they desire will never recognize such truth."

"I was one of those people as well."

Un-gyeong gave a bitter smile.

Because Dam Ho was lame, they had tried to exclude him from every situation, never trusting him. They had thought it was for Dam Ho's own good, but looking back now, it was nothing more than self-deception.

"So what does the Grandmaster want from me?"

"He wishes for you to return to Mount Hua."

"Return to Mount Hua? Because of Ho?"

"…"

Un-gyeong couldn't answer.

Sage Hyeon-so closed his eyes gently.

"I see. The Grandmaster has always done whatever it takes to raise the Mount Hua Sect's strength. It seems Ho appears in his eyes as a useful tool."

"I'm…sorry."

"What do you have to be sorry for? That is the Grandmaster's thinking."

"Master!"

"I will not return to Mount Hua."

At Sage Hyeon-so's declaration, Un-gyeong was startled. He hadn't expected such a firm refusal.

"But Master…"

"Mount Hua is my home. Someday I will return. But I will not return to become bait to lure in a disciple. That is my will."

"Master, please reconsider."

"My mind will never change. Because of an incompetent master, my disciple had to walk a path of endurance. I do not wish for my disciple to walk that arduous path again because of me. And I have already told Ho to live freely. That child is no longer a disciple of Mount Hua. Therefore, no one can bind that child to Mount Hua."

In Sage Hyeon-so's voice lay an unwavering conviction.

He had never once raised his voice at anyone while on Mount Hua. Now that he did for the first time, the sense of authority was palpable.

"When the time comes, I will come to Mount Hua of my own accord. Until then, leave me be."

"Master!"

Sage Hyeon-so closed his eyes, as if he had nothing more to say. Un-gyeong's face showed a troubled expression.

It was an unmistakable dismissal.

If he used force, he could certainly take Sage Hyeon-so away. But Sage Hyeon-so was his martial uncle. He couldn't lay a hand on him, nor did he want to.

"Please go back now."

"Master, I will not leave Shouzhou. I will remain at the Murim Alliance's Shouzhou branch, so if you change your mind, please let me know anytime."

"…"

"Until I see you again, please be well."

Un-gyeong and the Mount Hua Sect disciples bowed to Sage Hyeon-so and went outside.

Left alone, Sage Hyeon-so opened his eyes. Moisture gathered at the corners of those eyes.

"You were alive, Ho. Thank you. Thank you for being alive."

Tears rolled down the old master's cheeks.

Sage Hyeon-so's gaze turned toward the southern sky.

Clouds flowed rapidly, carried by the surging tides of the era.