Chapter 23. Swordsman Lee Byeok (2)

The Innate power whispered.

As if reminding him of a fact he had always known, it brought a form to mind in Lee Byeok's head.

Lee Byeok looked down at the wooden sword.

Simply pouring inner energy into it recklessly was meaningless.

What a swordsman needs is, more than anything, a sword.

Lee Byeok thought of a sword.

Following his will, inner energy stacked up in a specific form inside and outside the wooden sword.

It was layered and layered through arrangement.

Hoo-wook

Again, more than half of his inner energy was sucked in in an instant. And the wooden sword trembled slightly as if it were alive.

Woooong!

A bluish light tinged the wooden sword.

It was neither clear nor solid, but it was undoubtedly the enhanced qi that could only be manifested by a master at the peak.

But Lee Byeok wasn't even very surprised by the fact that he was holding enhanced qi in his hand.

There was no time to think.

Taak, he extended his foot.

He went straight toward Lee Jincheon.

Just as Lee Byeok was thinking of the next technique, following the sword path ingrained in his body.

“Tsk, that kid is so impatient.”

Seuk, Lee Jincheon stepped aside.

And the moment Lee Byeok approached, he slyly extended his foot. It exquisitely slipped between Lee Byeok's legs.

Taak!

Lee Byeok, tripped, lost his balance. In an instant, his body tilted.

Pook!

The wooden sword, imbued with enhanced qi, dug into the training ground.

And having let go of the sword, Lee Byeok rolled on the ground.

Lee Byeok immediately tried to get up.

But he suddenly realized that he couldn't properly put strength into his legs.

The startled muscles were spasming.

“Little one, you’ll really die like that, you know?”

Lee Jincheon's smiling face appeared, blocking the blue sky that filled his vision.

“Alright, alright, my bad. Making a guy who just got back on his feet swing a sword again.”

“……”

“I know you’re excited, so let’s rest a bit now. I’m tired of fixing your body up. Okay?”

* * *

Lee Byeok recovered his strength.

Through a few days of simple training and recuperation, he soothed his damaged meridians and boosted his weakened energy.

The surprising thing was that the Innate power traveled through Lee Byeok's entire vascular system, helping his rapid recovery.

This, like when he had manifested the enhanced qi, was not something Lee Byeok had intended.

It just happened ‘by itself’.

‘…This is absurd.’

Perhaps creating the circulation of inner energy was just one small facet of what the Innate power was capable of.

There was much to learn.

Once he overcame one wall, a vast, endless path unfolded beyond it.

Lee Byeok was grateful that there was a path to follow.

Around that time, Jang Seok-du came to visit.

“Big brother! Hwaaaaah!”

“…Don’t cry.”

“Keuheuk, I’m so glad you’re safe! Truly, so glad! I was afraid something might have gone wrong!”

Jang Seok-du, who had gotten even bigger in the meantime, prostrated himself and shed tears like chicken droppings.

Looking at his physique, it seemed he hadn't neglected his training in the Azure River Training Sword Style even while Lee Byeok was unconscious.

After discussing it with Jaegal Somi and Hyuk Dae-woong, Lee Byeok decided to formally teach Jang Seok-du martial arts.

“Thank you! Thank you, Big brother! Please push me as hard as you like! No matter how painful and difficult it is, I will never give up!”

Kwaak, Jang Seok-du clenched his fists.

He seemed to have made a firm resolution.

A thirsty person seeks a well on their own.

Lee Byeok was willing to teach Jang Seok-du with all his might, as long as he was willing to learn.

However.

“Uh……?”

A dumbfounded sound escaped Jang Seok-du's mouth.

Even before the formal instruction began, a serious problem had arisen.

To accumulate inner energy, one naturally had to learn an internal art. And to learn an internal art.

“You have to be able to understand writing.”

“R-really……?”

Ttorereuk, Jang Seok-du's eyes rolled.

Unlike Wang Suyeon, who loved books, Jang Seok-du had no interest in writing and had never tried to learn.

Well, having been born the son of a hunter and having lived in the village his whole life, Jang Seok-du would never have felt the need.

Afterward, Jang Seok-du, still with his fists clenched, was dragged away by Jaegal Somi and confined to a corner of a room.

“Euaaaah, heaven cheon… earth, earth……”

And for a while, the sight of a haggard Jang Seok-du clutching his head and mumbling the Thousand Character Classic lingered around the Falling Sword Sect.

Thus, daily life continued.

Lee Byeok gradually readjusted to the day-to-day life of the Falling Sword Sect.

Jaegal Somi and Hyuk Dae-woong continued their respective training.

The two didn't pry into Lee Byeok's achievement. They both knew that asking wouldn't change anything.

The problem of the heart that Lee Byeok had faced and overcome was his alone, and within the hearts of the two, there would be their own problems that Lee Byeok could not know.

That, as Lee Jincheon had said, was a domain where no one else could substitute or rashly interfere.

But Lee Byeok thought.

At the very least, he didn't want to hide things about himself from those two.

Having organized his thoughts, Lee Byeok finally opened his mouth.

“I was a person of the Seonwoo Clan.”

“Huh? Byeok, what did you just say?”

Hyuk Dae-woong wore a puzzled expression.

Soon, bewilderment began to spread.

“The Seonwoo Clan, you mean……?”

Lee Byeok slowly nodded.

“…Byeok. Sorry, but what martial family is that? I feel like I’ve heard of it……”

“……”

Lee Byeok felt awkward.

And a brief silence ensued.

“Seonwoo Clan? That sword family in Kunming?”

Just then, Jaegal Somi spoke.

“Sajeo, you know about it?”

“Well, they’re not really known in the Central Plains… but they’re one of the more prominent martial families in the borderlands. Besides, they’re about the only proper Murim faction on this land of Yunnan, right? You can hear stories about them just by going to the local market.”

“……”

“Anyway… so that’s it, huh? I actually had a rough idea. That level of swordsmanship isn't something you'd find in just any sect.”

Jaegal Somi continued.

“It’s clearly not the martial art of the Evil Faction. And if it were one of the Five Great Clans or the Nine Sects, I would have heard of it at least once, but it wasn't that either.”

“……”

“Then it would have to be one of the next most prominent borderland factions, and how many of those are there in the world?”

Though she said it as if it were nothing, it was a rather plausible line of thought.

“Right, now I get it. So you were the former young master of the Seonwoo Clan who was rumored to have ‘gone missing’.”

“……”

Gone missing, heh.

Lee Byeok kept his mouth shut.

Judging by Jaegal Somi's expression, there was no need for further explanation.

The air in the room grew heavy.

“First of all, Lee Byeok.”

Jaegal Somi spoke again.

“Why did you bring that up now?”

Tak, Jaegal Somi put down her chopsticks.

The spoon in Hyuk Dae-woong's hand hovered awkwardly in the air, unable to reach his mouth.

“How are we supposed to react when you suddenly tell us your secret history at the dinner table?”

“…I just wanted to tell you.”

Jaegal Somi's eyes turned to Lee Byeok.

She read his expression. Lee Byeok's eyes were calm and unwavering.

Pfft, Jaegal Somi chuckled.

“Right. Well, what does it matter anyway. Seonwoo Clan or whatever, when the Sect Leader himself is a member of the Rogues' Guild.”

“……”

At the market in Gathering Lake, when he clashed with the disciple from Qingcheng, Lee Jincheon had pulled out the Guardian Order Lord of the Rogues' Guild.

Lee Byeok, who had been unconscious at the time, didn't have a clear memory of it, but he had heard about what had happened.

“My goodness, the Rogues' Guild. I never knew I’d become a disciple of the Evil Faction after nearly two years.”

“Ah, ahaha, I know right. The Evil Faction. What an absurd thing to happen, huh?”

Suddenly, Hyuk Dae-woong let out an awkward laugh.

Jaegal Somi lifted her cup and gulped down the water.

“Well, it doesn't matter anyway.”

“……”

“Whether it’s righteous or evil, there are righteous people who backstab you and evil people who save you. The past is the past. The present is the present. You know that, right, Lee Byeok?”

Lee Byeok nodded.

“Then that’s settled. Well, leaving aside the whole righteous and evil thing, the bigger question is whether we, with no inner energy, can even be considered martial artists.”

“……”

“But our esteemed peak-level master, our little one, will surely think and act appropriately on his own, right?”

Lee Byeok was at a loss for words.

A mischievous smile appeared on Jaegal Somi's lips.

“Hey, peak-level master. Pour me some water.”

Jjoljjoljjol!

Lee Byeok silently picked up the kettle.

He poured water into the cup Jaegal Somi held out.

The gap in achievement between martial siblings.

But the foundation does not change, and it should not change.

Teok, Hyuk Dae-woong's hand rested on Lee Byeok's shoulder.

“Byeok, you know, right? Don't get too full of yourself. Believe it or not, I can't stand losing when it comes to martial arts. I'll catch up to you in no time.”

A face filled with healthy competitiveness.

Underneath it all was a consideration for Lee Byeok.

Lee Byeok thought. Whatever difficulties lay in the hearts of the two, his martial siblings would surely overcome them.

It would be nice if he could be of help.

And the meal resumed.

As the bowls were nearly empty, Jaegal Somi spoke again.

“Lee Byeok, what if.”

“What is it?”

“What if, someday, one of us gets entangled with the Seonwoo Clan, what would you want us to do?”

It was an unexpected question.

Lee Byeok pondered for a moment. But it wasn't a problem that required long thought.

“There’s no need to do anything. Sajeo and Sahyeong would surely think and act appropriately on their own.”

“Oh? Look at you?”

* * *

A few days passed after Lee Byeok regained consciousness.

Children began to gather at the Falling Sword Sect again.

For Lee Byeok, nothing much had changed.

During the day, he instructed Jang Seok-du, and at night, he honed his own sword.

But for some reason, Wang Suyeon rarely tried to approach Lee Byeok.

She would avoid his gaze even when their eyes met.

Hwik!

Even when Lee Byeok tried to approach her first, Wang Suyeon would hastily turn her head away.

She would head to Jaegal Somi's quarters as if fleeing.

“……”

After the morning's routine was over, Lee Byeok tried to talk to Wang Suyeon again.

He followed her as she was leaving the Falling Sword Sect.

“Wait, I have something to say.”

Wang Suyeon did not stop walking.

Tat-tat, instead, she began to move away at a fast pace.

Taang, Lee Byeok kicked off the ground and closed the distance in one go.

“Kyak!”

Wang Suyeon, surprised by Lee Byeok who was far behind suddenly appearing before her, sat down.

“Wh-what is it?”

“I wanted to thank you.”

Lee Byeok extended his hand.

But Wang Suyeon did not take it.

She got up on her own, picked up the book she had dropped, and dusted off the sand.

“What are you thankful for?”

“……”

“I didn't do anything. I just foolishly intervened and almost got us both drowned, that’s all.”

And she walked past Lee Byeok.

Wang Suyeon was probably angry for the same reason as Jaegal Somi and Hyuk Dae-woong.

No excuse would be meaningful.

“Suyeon.”

Heumchit, Wang Suyeon's shoulders trembled.

“I’m sorry.”

“…Why are you apologizing?”

Wang Suyeon stopped walking.

She stood in place and looked back at Lee Byeok.

“I know. It's not your fault, Oppa. I heard from Unnie. That your body and mind were in a lot of pain.”

“……”

“It’s just, I feel so pathetic. Me, all alone, not knowing anything, not being able to do anything, just foolishly following you around and making a fuss……”

A tremor crept into her voice.

The air became awkward. He hadn't stopped her to make her say such things.

Lee Byeok's gaze fell on the book Wang Suyeon was holding.

“Suyeon, shall we go buy a book?”

“…What are you talking about all of a sudden?”

Lee Byeok searched his memory.

Wang Suyeon had said she liked books.

And he clearly remembered seeing a bookstore when the three of them, along with Jang Seok-du, were wandering around the market in Gathering Lake.

“Let’s go to Gathering Lake.”

“Huh? Now?”

Wang Suyeon's gaze turned to the sky.

The sun was gradually setting.

And Gathering Lake was a city situated at the foot of the mountain, a journey that would take nearly two hours even at the fastest pace.

“We can go. If you want to.”

“Th-that’s, what do you mean……”

Lee Byeok extended his hand again.

Wang Suyeon looked at that hand.

After looking down with a complicated expression, Wang Suyeon reluctantly took his hand.

Lee Byeok pulled her hand.

Her small body came along easily. Umjjil, Wang Suyeon seemed to startle but didn't pull away.

Lee Byeok lifted Wang Suyeon onto his back.

He closed his eyes and summoned the Innate power.

As always, a sense of fullness enveloped his body, creating the circulation of inner energy and forming the knot.

“Hold on tight, Suyeon.”

“…Huh?”

Taat!

“Kyaak! Aaaah!”

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.