Chapter 782 – Lingering Smoke

[TL Note- Yeon-shin means Lingering Smoke or Embers.]

“This is the Fortress Lord, I tell you! Look!”

“You should probably go back up to Ice Palace. You’re slowly losing your mind. Of course, I’m in the same situation, so don’t confuse the General Administration’s investigation…”

“No, Brother Lim.”

“Brother Lim? Just because you’re wearing black robes, do you look down even on the main castle’s Grand Administrator? Really, those reckless ones from Wish for Peace Sword Hall… Hey, Deputy Administrator! With your now-intact arms, teach this fellow some manners…!”

“Who brought those arms? Ah, look properly. Don’t the features look exactly like the Fortress Lord? Could he have shared the same bed with someone in the meantime? Hmm? Why is the shadow writhing…”

“Shall I get you another damn flower to chew on?”

From Administration Office’s Ki Dae-seung’s memoirs

* * *

It was a night when moonlight fell gently by the riverside.

A woman knocked on the estate’s gate.

With plum blossoms carved on her sleeves, her beautiful face transcended the mortal world. She called the estate’s owner and said she would stay one night as a guest and provide spiritual medicine.

“Who is it?”

The man’s question as he opened the gate just enough for his eyes to peek through. Even in the dead of night, as if his mouth was bored, he was chewing on foxtail grass through the door gap. It was a gatekeeper notorious for his foul temper.

Beyond that, it was top secret. Because it was a rumor known only in the neighborhood where the estate was located, not in the jianghu.

“You know who I am.”

Mount Hua Sect Leader Lady Lu Xian said.

Lazy Flame Dragon Hwangbo Je-yul’s expression became blank simultaneously. Even though the inside of his sleeves that briefly showed were wrapped in bandages, he was insolent.

“Will Purple Pills suffice?”

It was absurd discourtesy.

Lady Lu Xian didn’t exchange more words. She merely tapped Hwangbo Je-yul’s chin to make only the foxtail’s flower clusters grow lush. In that gap, she stepped into the estate.

“Ptui, ptui, as expected, those so-called peerless masters… I should go hug my wife.”

The estate lord wasn’t Hwangbo Je-yul to begin with.

They said he was a fierce, scarred, one-armed man. Under him was a nephew whose temperament changed from time to time.

Estate Lord Ma Jin willingly accepted Mount Hua’s Purple Pills and brought Lady Lu Xian into the inner quarters.

Lady Lu Xian, who was holding his nephew and looking down attentively, said.

“It’s true. I heard from Wudang Sect Leader, but… it was something truly hard to believe.”

“It’s Yeon-shin. His father recognized him at a glance. This dharma power, these limb meridians, even the occasionally unpleasant expressions.”

“What on earth happened…?”

“The Divine Physician said so. Because essence, energy, and spirit became one in a divine realm, if even one of the three isn’t greatly intact, reverse rejuvenation can occur. He just told us to wait.”

“I heard his memory isn’t intact.”

“It seems to be returning sporadically. A while ago, he was solemnly discussing the Daode Jing and Taiji. As if he’d become a Taoist child… Then he made a fuss saying he must be taught Wisdom Sword. Wudang Sword Technique.”

Lady Lu Xian looked down again at the child sleeping in her arms.

A boy around seven years old.

The features of Desolate Fortress Lord Lightning Genius remained. Lady Lu Xian, who gently poked the child’s cheek, muttered quietly.

“There was something I wanted to hear…”

“Visit again. Don’t forget the Purple Pills then either. Ah, I’d like if Plum Dragon Yu Hyeon came along too. If it were me, I’d come to my senses from embarrassment alone.”

“Purple Pills, Hyeon… I will.”

Lady Lu Xian departed as suddenly as she arrived. Only the scent of Dark Fragrance Steps remained. It was also then that an old man suddenly stuck his face into the octagonal pavilion.

“If it’s senility, I have some expertise too.”

Golden light flashed sporadically in his ash-gray hair. The wrinkles on his face had an atmosphere ready to freely express all emotions at any time.

“What damn senility.”

Ma Jin shook his head.

“Old sir, just convalesce here as if present yet absent. These days, mentioning noble clans in the marketplace gets you stoned.”

The old Golden Thunder’s face became gloomy.

“That’s too much.”

“Those who truly went too far are this estate’s guests. Nothing helpful at all. Only moochers.”

Ma Jin spat out calmly.

Then he turned his head to the spacious front yard and suddenly shouted with a voice containing only air.

“Please stop pounding! You’ll wake the child!”

Two short middle-aged men were carving a large boulder. It was a full-body statue resembling the Desolate Fortress Deputy Administrator, because the child liked the giant Pangu.

Iron Demon Spring Leader Ji Gang-hyeon muttered.

“He’s really pushing it. What a lousy temperament.”

Tang Family Head Tang Woon-hwang didn’t even turn his head. He merely asked while delicately moving his variously split hammer.

“Isn’t it too insubordinate to a venerable senior? This couldn’t happen in the main family…”

Ji Gang-hyeon shook his head.

“The Tang clan would be like that. Let’s leave it. Because that’s Ma clan. Only my face gets crumpled.”

Tang Woon-hwang smiled at those words.

“It reminds me of benefactor’s days as Shadow Flower King. I understand what you mean.”

“What was it like?”

“Well, just…”

Tang Woon-hwang, who trailed off, asked.

“By the way, what if benefactor asks to be taught forging again tomorrow?”

“That’s something I should ask Brother Tang. The Fortress Lord often calls Brother Tang father, so would it be alright to teach him like a child?”

“I taught my children strictly.”

“I think the Fortress Lord would want that too.”

“……”

Moonlight poured in quiet stillness. The two focused on carving for a while. Even until day broke and the child went to see flowers in the back garden.

The boy pulled along the hand of fifteen-year-old Wei Gun-hye. The green-haired, green-eyed girl occasionally looked down at the boy with transparent eyes. As if they’d known each other for a long time, or as if still unfamiliar.

Their memories weren’t intact, and they got along as if each other’s guardians. Even when the boy spoke like an old soul in the back garden.

“Do you know?”

“Hmm?”

“Jianghu people’s spring flowers bloom even in autumn and winter. Just as the night sky is always dark… Because their courage is fertilizer.”

“So.”

“You should remember too. Even if you become one-armed, even if you sometimes can’t remember anything, blade wielders like flower petals always breathe in jianghu. Yes, beautiful like you…”

“You’re cute too.”

“Hmm?”

The girl was depressed for not keeping watch over her cherished younger sibling’s deathbed, but the boy was more precious than the name Heaven-reaching Bow Count. So she didn’t leave his side. Even when a woman named Dream Flight brought out the most exciting cooking under heaven.

“Five Cloud Mountain Vegetable Dish!”

The boy grabbed the Divine Sword Group Leader’s trouser leg. Naturally, he took his seat at the octagonal pavilion’s table.

When five people plucked five leaves, the greens inside became deeply fragrant.

Yue Shou-lin, who glanced at the boy seated with Wei Gun-hye, said to Ma Jin across from him.

“Yong Fellow can’t come. He received a sparring invitation from the Martial Dragon Alliance Leader. He went with an excited face saying, ‘Is he coming today?'”

“My father…?”

“Don’t even mention that old man. He’s only building notoriety while supposedly seeking spiritual medicine. Jianghu people call him the Fierce Killing Divine Thief. At least he’s avoiding Diancang Sword Empress, thank goodness.”

Yue Shou-lin, who shook her head from side to side, spoke to the boy who already held one Five Cloud Mountain Vegetable Dish leaf and sat in an unmoving posture.

“You shouldn’t become like that. Even when you regain your senses later, just stay in Fortress Lord’s Hall. I’ll make it so you don’t have to exert effort.”

“Are you asking what I want to become in the future? To this insignificant child?”

The boy asked properly.

It was speech that matched the words and conduct in the story of City Trampling Palace Lord who left his name through Gate Severing. Yue Shou-lin smiled slightly.

“Right, you should have big dreams. What do you want to become when you grow up?”

“A reed field.”

“Huh…?”

Time flowed like ripples in a reed field.

The people sending plausible spiritual medicine were limited. Blood Guardian Squad Leader Hyeon Won-chang, Nether Stream Squad Leader Baek Mi-ryeo, Radiant Demon Wing Leader Cheong Myeong. Sometimes the Divine Sword Group Vice Leader was scolded for trying to feed his father-in-law’s blood to the boy.

Occasionally, Burning Abyss Squad Leader Shin So-bin also visited the boy and taught him letters.

“Great Qing Compendium… Main text, please recite chapter one, section one.”

“The world’s Northern Emperor severed the wicked tree with one sword, opening the heavenly path for the founding ancestor.”

“What about chapter one, section two?”

“My limbs feel strange. I think I’ll practice leg techniques in bed.”

“Ah, why? Do more.”

The boy had many temperaments, but no matter how his conduct changed, he followed his own mood. It was the same on a certain day when the back garden flowers were unusually lush.

* * *

The feeling was strange.

His body seemed to have transformed into starlight, or scattered like smoke then returned. The child sat on a swing in an unfamiliar estate. And he gripped the swing ropes as if not unfamiliar.

When he tilted his head, the old plaque at the entrance fell with a thud.

“Jeong Family Estate…”

That was all.

Creak, creak…

When he unconsciously moved the swing back and forth, wind filled his mouth. The moment he lowered and raised his eyelids, his eye level changed.

He had grown taller.

The span of both arms widened.

When he blinked again, he saw a woman with ruby-red eyes. Her ebony-like hair hung down to her lower back. His heart suddenly pounded.

Rustle.

She reached out to the swing moving back and forth, and grasped the hand of the boy holding the swing ropes. It was bone-chillingly cold. Yet his heart was content.

Suddenly he saw clothes held in her other hand. It was a wide-bodied long robe. At dawn’s breaking, purple, red, and yellow twilight faintly spread in layers.

She stopped the swing and said.

“Let’s go back.”

The boy looked at the woman blankly and asked back.

“Where to…?”

“The estate, Desolate Jeok House. Anywhere.”

“Desolate Fortress.”

The boy muttered a place the woman hadn’t even mentioned. Then he asked as if adding on.

“Is it peaceful?”

The woman of marriageable age only smiled smoothly. Then she slowly extended her hand. It was her left hand holding the long robe.

The boy, who stared at it blankly, slowly took her hand.

“What’s your name?”

“…Yu-ha. Jeok Yu-ha.”

She said after briefly hesitating. The boy descended from the swing. The moment he stepped on the ground, his body was wrapped in a gentle halo of light.

And he grew considerably.

The same eye level as fifteen-year-old Wei Gun-hye.

The swing rope snapped from his greatly grown grip. The boy didn’t look back. Even though his upper garment tore on his second step. His walking gait unraveled the world’s greatest mystery. Up to ten steps, it was like wind.

A shadow growing as if tilting into twilight.

Step.

Before he knew it, he was pulling Jeok Yu-ha’s hand in reverse. His head now much higher than hers. While wearing the faded purple long robe on his shoulders like a windblown coat.

“…Do you have pants?”

“I’ll steal some.”

The land where their footprints began.

The swing that sent off its owner swayed back and forth a couple times, then fell with a thud and lay its body in soft earth.

A gentle autumn wind was blowing from afar. It smelled of harvest.

《Surviving As A Genius On Borrowed Time》 Complete

〈Author’s Note〉

This being essentially my first work, I had many concerns.

How could it conclude at a pace that wouldn’t blur the lingering impression? How could I avoid giving the feeling of padding…

For me as the author too, disappointing and enjoyable parts are mixed. For those who accompanied me to Ten Steps, I hope the latter is remembered more.

There are also stories to write as epilogues, but I’ll defer the promise for now. Not hair loss, but my head feels quite heated.

If you let me know what else you’d like to see, I’ll choose carefully. Because Jeong Yeon-shin’s life is just beginning.

I’ll return after taking time to recharge.

Thank you repeatedly.

*Lastly, I convey great gratitude to managers Lee Geun-young and Lee Chang-eon, who always gave direct help to Primordial Heavenly section. I’m also grateful to senior writers Jang Young-hoon, Kim Gang-hyeon, and Yoo Jin-seong, who bestowed affectionate advice to this junior.