Chapter 27. Butcher, Old Master Go
clatter clatter, clunk clunk
The carriage continued on its way.
The winding mountain road toward the border of Yunnan and Guizhou stretched on endlessly.
For so ti after that, there was no particular conversation among the passengers in the carriage.
This was because Lee Byeok, who was inwardly troubled by the company of the won, had closed his eyes and pretended to be asleep.
But he wasn't actually asleep.
In fact, a more active deliberation than usual was taking place in Lee Byeok's mind.
Lee Byeok put aside the things that were useless to think about for now. And he focused on one thing.
It was about the Azure River Flowing Leaf Sword Style that Lee Jincheon had shown him the night before he left Flower Pavilion Village.
—Well, it’ll be a long journey, so take the ti to think about the sword I showed you earlier.
“……”
The sword path was still vivid in his eyes.
It was a sight he could never forget. How could he forget, having seen before his very eyes what he had aid for his entire life?
Even the reason why Lee Jincheon had learned the secret sword technique of the Seonwoo Clan was not important.
Lee Byeok thought and thought.
A sword that could be called ‘complete’ without being strange. And… sothing that had gone one step further.
The Straight, Fast, and Strong of the Sword-Drawing Form.
The Curved, Variable, and Gentle of the Sword-Withdrawal Form.
But at the tip of Lee Jincheon's sword, that boundary had disappeared. The extended sword bent, and the returning sword was powerful.
That did not make sense.
It was a sword path that was like a carriage wheel moving forward while spinning backward. But Lee Byeok had seen with his own two eyes that it was possible.
He saw it with his eyes, but his head could not understand it. Distant, and distant again.
‘…Frustrating.’
He wanted to jump out of the carriage right now and swing his sword around. But of course, he couldn't.
And so half a day passed.
Before he knew it, the sun outside the window was setting.
clunk! / thud! / rattle!
The carriage ca to a stop.
It seed that Old Master Go in the driver's seat had decided that this was a suitable place to camp.
“Young master, please bear with it for just one night. Once we enter Guizhou, there will be inns where we can rest.”
“…I don’t mind.”
Ji Soyak said, clasping her hands.
Lee Byeok, feeling awkward, hurried out of the carriage. Old Master Go, who had gotten down from the driver's seat, was preparing to camp.
Lee Byeok picked up a water bucket that had been taken out. He intended to find a stream and fetch so water.
“Ah! I’ll do it, young master.”
But Eon Mi-hee, who had followed him out of the carriage, quickly snatched the water bucket away.
“……”
Old Master Go seed to be very experienced.
With his skillful hands, the camp was set up in an instant, and a fire was lit on the gathered branches.
Tadak, tak.
‘At this rate, far from being an escort, I feel like I’m being protected.’
They were strangely polite.
The party made a simple al by boiling so dried food. And Lee Byeok wrapped himself in a blanket and took a seat by the fire.
He volunteered for the night watch.
“Young master, the night is cold. Old Master Go will be on duty tonight, so please stay in the carriage with us.”
Ji Soyak said, but of course, he couldn't. It was a matter of course, even if Eon Mi-hee's expression hadn't turned pale.
Soon, it beca dark all around.
In the dark forest, you never knew what might jump out. Lee Byeok glanced at Old Master Go.
He was sitting in the driver's seat with his arms crossed, completely still. It was impossible to tell if he was asleep or not.
In any case, he had volunteered for the night watch. It wouldn't be a problem to go without sleep for one night.
Lee Byeok sat by the fire and continued to think about Lee Jincheon's sword. But even as the night deepened, there was no enlightennt or clue.
His overworked mind was going blank.
As he stared at the trees shrouded in darkness, he suddenly rembered the ti he went into the forest to save Jang Seok-du.
Pfft.
A laugh escaped.
It wasn't that long ago that he had risked his life in front of a tiger without having awakened his Innate power.
‘Impatience is aningless.’
Tak.
Just then, he felt a presence.
It wasn't from the forest. Lee Byeok turned his gaze. Old Master Go from the driver's seat had already gotten down from the carriage.
Their eyes t in the darkness.
Expressionless eyes stared at Lee Byeok.
Teobeok teobeok.
Old Master Go began to approach Lee Byeok. Lee Byeok quickly shot up from his seat.
“What is it? If you have business with , speak.”
A master of unknown identity.
Although they were companions, they had yet to exchange a proper word. He was still a subject of caution for Lee Byeok.
Teok.
Old Master Go continued to close the distance without a word. He finally stopped about five steps in front of Lee Byeok.
Seureung, he drew his saber.
Lee Byeok quickly gripped the hilt of his sword.
But unlike in the morning, he did not feel any danger from the man now.
It seed he had no intention of attacking.
“Watch carefully.”
An ambiguous standoff continued for a mont. Just as Lee Byeok was about to speak again, Old Master Go finally spoke.
Hoo-woong.
And before Lee Byeok could ask anything back. With a nacing aura, the saber began to cut through the air.
But it was not an attack directed at Lee Byeok. Old Master Go's saber dug into an imaginary enemy.
“This is the first technique, Chaos.”
Lee Byeok knew instinctively.
The path of the saber, which cut twice in an instant, was the very technique that had struck down Lee Byeok's Straight Sword earlier.
But it wasn't the end.
The next technique followed imdiately. Seuk, the tip of the saber curved as if to scrape off the enemy's flesh.
“The second technique, Slaughter.”
Hoo-wook.
The saber, having curved and returned, extended powerfully again. It bisected the enemy as if to break bones with its weight.
“The third technique, Sever.”
Suddenly, the saber stopped.
The next mont, taang, Old Master Go took a step forward. The inner energy condensed at the tip of the saber pressed down on the ground all at once.
“And this is the fourth technique, Crush.”
And finally, Old Master Go's movents stopped. Lee Byeok felt sweat beading on his fingertips.
Mincing, scraping, severing, and crushing.
There was not a single emotion in Old Master Go's saber. There was only the ruthlessness of tearing apart livestock.
“Did you morize it?”
As he withdrew his extended saber, Old Master Go's expressionless gaze turned to Lee Byeok again.
“The Saber of Butchery. A saber art consisting of four techniques. Of course, it wouldn’t be much different even if perford with a sword.”
“……”
It was a cruel martial art.
There was no profound principle, but for that very reason, it was perfected as a technique purely for killing people.
In other words, it was not a martial art of a level that could be carelessly thrown at a complete stranger.
But now, each and every one of Old Master Go's techniques was deeply engraved in Lee Byeok's mory.
This was partly due to Lee Byeok's mature understanding of the sword, but it was also because Old Master Go had made his martial art easy to understand and passed it on.
“Learn the form and engrave it in your body.”
Leaving that one word, Old Master Go turned away. Lee Byeok hurriedly spoke to his back.
“Wait, what does this an? Why are you telling to learn your saber art?”
“Because you need it.”
Old Master Go looked back.
“Your sword is not sharp.”
“……”
“A sword without an edge is useless.”
Lee Byeok tried to understand the aning of the words. It didn't co easily. He could only tell that it wasn't a very good aning.
His brow slowly furrowed.
Silence fell in the darkness.
“…I refuse.”
Lee Byeok shook his head.
“I’m sorry, but I will not learn it.”
Old Master Go's brow furrowed.
“Why not?”
“I cannot trust you yet. Whatever problem my sword has, that is my reason, and it is not a reason for a martial artist like you to so readily offer your martial art.”
“……”
For the first ti, a slight emotion appeared on Old Master Go's face. He seed to be choosing his words in the silence.
“I am not a martial artist. I am just a butcher who cuts at. If you must find a reason, it is a debt I owe to the dicine peddler, not you.”
* * *
After midnight, dawn arrived.
Old Master Go returned to the driver's seat.
Lee Byeok sat by the fire, pushing branches in to keep it from going out, and tried to organize his thoughts.
Tadak, tak.
“……”
But it wasn't easy.
Old Master Go's martial art was unsettling.
The Saber of Butchery.
A martial art for killing people.
It was clearly far from the sword he had pursued. But for so reason, he couldn't get it out of his head.
Even when he tried to think about Lee Jincheon's sword again, Old Master Go's sword path would suddenly flash before his eyes.
Ti passed without him being able to make up his mind, and soon, dawn began to break.
Deolkeok.
The carriage door opened.
A sowhat disheveled Eon Mi-hee ca out, rubbing her eyes, and her eyes t Lee Byeok’s.
“……!”
Panic spread across her face.
Taat, she leaped like a swallow and disappeared into the trees. She disappeared toward the stream.
Afterward, the party had a light al by the fire and cleaned up the campsite.
The carriage set off again when the morning sun was full.
“What kind of person is Old Master Go?”
Lee Byeok asked out of the blue.
“…Old Master Go is a mber of the Guardian Squad.”
Ji Soyak looked flustered for a mont, but she soon regained her composure and answered.
“Guardian Squad.”
He had heard of it.
Not far away, in Lee Byeok's bosom, was the Guardian Order Lord that proved one's identity as a mber of the Guardian Squad.
But he had not received any particular explanation from Lee Jincheon when he received it.
“Young master, you don’t seem to know much about our Rogues' Guild. Then again, he probably wouldn’t have bothered to explain such things.”
Ji Soyak, noticing that the question had not been resolved at all from Lee Byeok's expression, smiled a little awkwardly.
“This is internal information… but I suppose it would be alright with the young master. To put it simply, the Guardian Squad are those who can have an audience with the sect’s master.”
“…What does that an?”
Ji Soyak placed a hand on her chest.
“Ordinary mbers like us, even though we belong to the sect, live our entire lives without knowing who the master is, not even his na or face.”
“……”
“In other words, to have received the status of a mber of the Guardian Squad from the master ans that they are trusted by the master.”
It was a form of organization that Lee Byeok found difficult to understand.
No, but there was no reason for Lee Byeok to understand the Rogues' Guild.
What was important was that Lee Jincheon and Old Master Go belonged to the elite martial unit that protected the Rogues' Guild.
“Young master, for what reason did you suddenly beco curious about Old Master Go?”
Ji Soyak asked back. Lee Byeok briefly explained what had happened last night.
At the part where he ntioned that he had tried to give him a martial art, Ji Soyak let out a light gasp.
Eon Mi-hee's shoulders, who had been looking out the window as if not listening, flinched.
“Old Master has been working as a cook at our Heavenly Fragrance Pavilion for a long ti, but in truth, he is not soone I can dare to command.”
Ji Soyak said calmly.
“And this is just my thought, but perhaps the reason the Old Master stays at our pavilion is due to his relationship with the young master's master.”
“……”
Lee Jincheon and Old Master Go.
They were mbers of the sa Guardian Squad, and they were also masters of unknown identity. Old Master Go said he was repaying a debt to the dicine peddler.
The connection was plausible enough. Perhaps…, this too was arranged by Lee Jincheon.
But what if it wasn't?
Suddenly, Ji Soyak changed her tone.
“But what is it that the young master finds so displeasing? If you don't want the Old Master's sword, can't you just forget about it?”
“……”
…Is that so.
He felt sothing.
Lee Byeok realized. While feeling a sense of repulsion, at the sa ti, sowhere in his heart, he had been looking for a reason to learn Old Master Go's martial art.
As a swordsman, he was drawn to the Saber of Butchery. What Lee Byeok felt in that concise and cruel sword path was none other than a new possibility.
Perhaps within it lay a clue to take another step forward from where he was now.
…But.
“Young master. It is presumptuous of to say, but I believe that a sword is just a sword, and in the end, it is the heart of the one who wields it that decides whether it is righteous or evil.”
“……”
“But for that very reason, if it disturbs the young master's heart, then whatever it is will be evil for the young master.”
Another light ripple occurred.
It was not a clear answer, but in the end, it was the conclusion that this too was a matter of the heart.
Lee Byeok closed his eyes for a mont.
Lee Byeok was in a state of frustration.
No matter what he did, the level of the Azure River Flowing Leaf Sword Style that Lee Jincheon had shown him was distant, and it seed utterly unreachable.
But… he shouldn't be shaken.
When he looked into his heart, the Innate energy responded lightly. If he couldn't trust himself, he couldn't hold a sword.
He would not learn it.
Lee Byeok made up his mind.
“A woman with insignificant martial arts has said sothing presumptuous to a swordsman like the young master.”
Ji Soyak let out a small laugh.
“…It was a great help.”
Lee Byeok bowed his head.
“Oh my, is that so? Then I would be grateful if you could speak well of to the young master's master later. That I was of help to the young master.”
“……”
Kuuung!
It was then. The carriage vibrated with a shock as if the earth was shaking. It ca to an abrupt stop.
For a fleeting mont, Lee Byeok's and Eon Mi-hee's gazes t. Eon Mi-hee nodded, and Lee Byeok imdiately jumped outside.
Reviews
All reviews (0)