What is it you desire? (4)
A sharp sword tip moved slowly.
The cold dawn air was split by that movement. Slowly, yet distinctly.
Thus the sword moved, and continued moving. Lightly. Smoothly. At times strong, and at times infinitely heavy.
Countless insights gathered at the tip of that sword, only to scatter again and again. Like waves surging towards the shore, the intent held at the sword’s tip remained the same, yet changed each time.
But if someone were to watch this, they might judge it as nothing more than an unbearably slow sword strike.
A blunt sword [둔검(鈍劍)].
The principle least suited for Hwasan’s sword unfolded through Chung Myung’s Dark Fragrance Plum Blossom Sword.
“….Hooo.”
Chung Myung slowly turned his gaze to the sky.
One sijin. That was how long he had moved his sword. And a mere one cheok. That was the distance the sword had moved over the course of one sijin*.
He slowly steadied his breathing.
‘It is melting together…’
To be precise, it would be right to call it fusion.
Everything of Geomjon, and everything of Chung Myung. What he had gained in his previous life, and what he had experienced in this life.
All of it was fusing together at the tip of the sword. Like the countless things thrown into a blazing furnace melting and mixing together.
He suddenly grew curious.
When everything had been melted down again and again, when the impurities had finally been filtered out, and this furnace was at last tilted to pour forth its contents, what exactly would emerge from within?
Something even Chung Myung, who had once prided himself on having reached the ultimate essence [극의(極意)] of the sword, had never dared to see might burst forth. And perhaps what would come out might be nothing at all, merely a pile of scrap metal, chaotically mixed together.
Not even Chung Myung could guess the result.
Only one thing was certain: the place Chung Myung was now trying to reach was an unexplored realm that the Chung Myung of the past had never once touched.
Something that was Geomjon’s sword, and yet not Geomjon’s sword. Something that was Hwasan’s sword, and yet not Hwasan’s sword, was needed.
Without a word, Chung Myung slid his sword back into its sheath. Just as he was about to descend the mountain, his steps suddenly halted.
“…”
Casting a curious glance over the mountain, Chung Myung spread his senses in every direction. From here and there among Hwasan’s rising peaks, he felt the familiar presences of those he knew.
A faint chuckle escaped him.
‘Everyone’s completely preoccupied, huh.’
Well, of course they would be. Chung Myung was not the only one who had gained much through this war. No, what they had gained was probably far greater than what Chung Myung had. What was familiar to Chung Myung must have been entirely new experiences for them.
Experience leaves behind insight, and insight gives birth to realization. Thus realization leads a person towards growth.
Right now, the disciples of Hwasan were wholly absorbed in gathering up the experiences of the last war and moving on to the next stage.
Chung Myung casually changed direction. Following the nearest presence, he indeed found Baek Cheon sitting cross-legged beneath a large plum blossom tree.
Baek Cheon had been meditating [좌선(坐禪)] with his sword resting across his lap. Sensing Chung Myung’s approach, he opened his eyes and looked over.
“What?”
“…..Hm?”
“I’m asking what brings you all the way here.”
At a loss for words, Chung Myung answered with a sour expression.
“Well, I just came by. Do I need a reason to come?”
“What wind blew you here all of a sudden, when you haven’t looked in on anyone else’s training for ages?”
“…Ah, I told you, I just came by.”
Chung Myung clicked his tongue. These brats – he had left them alone because he thought interfering for no reason would only get in the way… Though he grumbled inwardly, he still slipped in a question.
“Is it going well?”
“….Hmm.”
Instead of answering Baek Cheon let out a deep sigh.
“It isn’t as easy as I thought.”
“What isn’t?”
“Weaving two things into one.”
Chung Myung nodded.
Without question, Baek Cheon was the one who had gone through the most in this war. In that regard, even Chung Myung had to concede a step. It seemed there was quite a lot Baek Cheon needed to sort through.
“It feels like I’m almost getting somewhere, but not quite… No, Hwasan’s sword values swiftness. But telling me add softness to that swiftness is a contradiction! What kind of thing is fast and soft at the same time?!”
“…No, why are you getting angry?”
“Ugh. I shouldn’t even be talking.”
Baek Cheon shook his head repeatedly. He truly looked as though he had a serious headache on his hands. Watching him, Chung Myung chuckled.
“In my opinion……”
“Ah, shut up! Don’t say it!”
“Eh?”
Baek Cheon’s face twisted sharply as he spoke.
“If you tell me something, it’ll definitely make things easier to solve.”
“…Probably?”
“But I feel like I shouldn’t do that.”
“…”
“This is something I have to solve myself. I think it has to be that way. But… on the other hand, I’m worried. Can I solve it? If I were talented enough to solve something like this in the first place, I wouldn’t have spent my whole life getting beaten up. What am I supposed to do?”
Watching Baek Cheon finally start tearing at his own hair, Chung Myung clicked his tongue again.
“It’s hopeless, hopeless.”
“You bastard. Even if you can’t be any help…”
“I said I’d help, and you said you didn’t want it. What do you want me to do?”
“Fine, fine, just shut up. Get lost! Shoo!”
Chung Myung shook his head as if there was no helping it. Just then, Baek Cheon, who had been sneaking glances at Chung Myung, cautiously opened his mouth.
“Well…… But.”
“Huh?”
“What did you do at times like this? I mean, when things wouldn’t come together properly and were only getting complicated… In that kind of situation.”
Chung Myung tilted his head.
“Complicated?”
“Yeah, how should I explain this? Should I say when the links just don’t connect quite well?”
Chung Myung’s face grew serious as he fell into deep thought.
“A time like that… Uh…”
“…”
“I mean, what? When it doesn’t work out? Connect? Like that? Uh? Hm?”
“……Forget it. You damned bastard. I’m the idiot for asking you.”
Baek Cheon grimaced and let out a deep sigh. What was he doing, asking someone who had been born a genius in the first place? One of the things Baek Cheon had heard most often from that bastard throughout his life was probably, ‘You can’t do this? Why?’
Lost in anguish, Baek Cheon began pulling at his hair again. At this rate, one might worry that that glossy, long hair of his would turn out patchy, falling out in clumps.
Chung Myung let out a short sigh and said.
“I understand that Sasuk learned Wudang’s secret teachings without any backbone or shame.”
Baek Cheon, who clearly heard the mutter Chung Myung added in a small voice at the end: ‘In the old days, injured or not, that would have been something to just cut your wrist off for. Anyway, these youngsters these days,’ broke out in a cold sweat.
“Th-That was when I’d been excommunicated.”
“Oh, really? Then should I perform the Severing Tendons and Shattering Meridians punishment now, since I couldn’t do it back then?”
“…Please spare me.”
“Well, anyway. Aren’t you obsessing over that too much?”
“Hm? What do you mean?”
“So what I mean by that is…”
Baek Cheon stared at Chung Myung with eyes full of expectation. Seeing this, Chung Myung curled up the corners of his mouth in a grin.
“Not telling you.”
“…What?”
“Work hard.”
Chung Myung turned around abruptly and waved his hand.
“Hey! How can you just leave after starting to say something? You should finish what you were saying before you go! Hey! Hey, you bastard! Stop right there!”
Baek Cheon’s voice, filled with resentment, rang out behind him, but Chung Myung neatly ignored it. A satisfied laugh escaped him on its own.
‘You feel like you have to solve it yourself?’
Chung Myung shook his head as he ruminated over Baek Cheon’s expression and words.
“You’ve learned to say some pretty impressive things, haven’t you. For a Dongryong.”
Chung Myung glanced back at Baek Cheon, whose figure had already grown distant, then began walking again.
As Chung Myung descended the mountain at a not particularly fast pace, this time the figures of two people came into view.
“Hey, you bastard!”
“Ah, no… I really wasn’t trying to do it on purpose!”
“You twisted your sword right there? If you’ve got a grudge, you should say it using words. Are you trying to kill a person?”
“Th-That’s not it, Sahyeong. I wasn’t trying to do that… Should I say that, in that instant, my sword moved on its own?”
“On its own? On its own, you say? Fine! From now on, my sword is going to move on its own too, so don’t ever complain!”
“Aaagh! I said I was sorry!”
With a lifeless gaze, Chung Myung looked at the two of them, who were too busy bickering to notice anything else. Then, at last, the two also noticed Chung Myung.
“Oh, Chung Myung! You came at just the right time! T-Try stopping Sahyeong!”
“…Do I have to?”
“Hey, I’m seriously going to get stabbed!”
“Yeah. That’s what I’m hoping for.”
“Hey!”
Chung Myung let out a deep sigh.
Who would look at those bastards and think they were veteran warriors who had fought against the vicious Sapaeryeon?
“…So what’s the problem?”
“This bastard suddenly stabbed at my neck in the middle of a spar!”
“Yeah, sounds like you did something worth dying for.”
“I-It was a mistake! A mistake!”
Jo Geol protested so indignantly that the veins on his neck stood out. Then, almost immediately, he drooped and muttered gloomily.
“I’m telling you, my sword suddenly gets out of my control. It shouldn’t do that.”
Chung Myung stared intently at Jo Geol.
“You really are a lot of work, no matter what.”
Jo Geol was different from Baek Cheon. Unlike Baek Cheon, who could organize what he had gained within the realm of mental imagery, Jo Geol was the type to take what he realized through his body and then organize it into theory afterward.
To put it nicely, he was the practical type. To put it not so nicely, he was someone whose body moved before his mind did.
So it seemed he had sparred with Yoon Jong in order to organize what he himself had gained.
“…At this rate, I won’t die a natural death.”
“I said I’m sorry. Really.”
“I’m telling you, I saw the Primordial Lord of Heaven for a moment.”
“That is a rare experience, though.”
Chung Myung examined Yoon Jong’s complexion. Seeing that he was still slightly pale even now, while bickering with Jo Geol, it seemed it really had been dangerous, if only for a fleeting moment.
Perhaps the reason he was getting angry in such an exaggerated way was, rather, out of consideration, so Jo Geol would not feel too seriously sorry.
‘Anyway.’
Had Jo Geol perhaps saved Yoon Jong’s life in a previous life? Even in a situation like this, Yoon Jong was still being considerate of him.
“Urgh. Anyway, we’ll have to stop sparring for a while.”
“You said it was an accident?”
“It was an accident, yes… But there’s no guarantee that it won’t happen again.”
“You can just be careful.”
“That’s not something I can control…… Hoo.”
Unable to bear his frustration, Jo Geol let out a sigh. Watching him, Chung Myung opened his mouth with a sullen expression.
“Then shall you do it with me?”
“Yeah, yeah. With you… What?”
Startled, Jo Geol turned his head around sharply to look at Chung Myung.
“You’re saying I should spar with you?”
“Yeah. Why are you so surprised?”
“Well…….”
Jo Geol swallowed dryly.
‘Have I ever actually sparred one-on-one with that bastard?’
For one thing, whenever they sparred with Chung Myung, it was usually several people against him alone.
Moreover, had there ever been a time when it had not been for the purpose of guidance, but when they had both gone all out, while both sides were focused solely on each other?
“Well. If you don’t want to, forget it.”
“W-Wait! Who said I don’t want to?”
Jo Geol sprang to his feet.
Right now, he was facing the problem of being unable to control his sword. But if that guy was his opponent?
‘No matter how wildly I swing, he won’t die.’
Was he not the most perfect wooden training dummy under the heavens? A truly priceless opportunity had practically walked right up to him on its own.
Just then, Chung Myung opened his mouth.
“But in return, take it seriously.”
“Huh?”
“I’ll treat you like a proper opponent.”
Jo Geol’s face stiffened slightly.
“Give me a moment.”
He closed his eyes and slowly steadied his breathing. When he opened his eyes again at last, Jo Geol’s gaze had completely changed into that of a swordsman.
Jo Geol wanted to confirm it. Even if it was only sparring, how far his sword would work against Chung Myung now.
Could his sword reach someone who was no longer merely the strongest among them, but a man truly spoken of as the greatest sword under heaven?
Chung Myung quietly looked into Jo Geol’s eyes, then soon nodded.
“Yes. That’s how it should be.”
Srrrng.
Slowly drawing his sword and leveling it before him, Chung Myung spoke in a voice utterly devoid of emotion.
“Come. I’ll face you properly.”
The air around them hung heavy.
Special Spinoff Chapter 43 >>>
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*Sijin(시진)- 2 hours. Cheok(척)- ~30.3cm.
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