Chapter 54: Plum Blossom Sword Dragon (4)

The gazes felt sharp.

I didn’t know why, but the way the disciples stared at me as if glaring was quite intense.

Why are they acting like this all of a sudden?

I slightly raised my hand as if to scratch my cheek, and Shin Hyun and Yeong Pung, who were in front of me, flinched simultaneously.

‘What the heck? Why are they so jumpy?’

What is going on right now?

“…Kuhm.”

Seeing my bewildered expression, Shin Hyun let out a fake cough.

“…Why are you all acting like this?”

“No, well….”

“…This is quite something, how should I put it.”

What is it, what are those reactions?

The disciples of Mount Hua, who had been staring just fine until a moment ago, now started turning their heads away, unable to meet my gaze.

And then they started whispering amongst themselves.

“…I thought they looked alike somehow.”

“Their eyes don’t really look alike though?”

“That’s why it’s even harder to look them in the eye….”

I could hear the whispering sounds clearly.

It sounded like they were talking amongst themselves, but why would they suddenly act like this in this situation?

“What on earth are you talking about?”

I asked, unable to hold back any longer.

It didn’t sit well with me that they kept talking like this while I was standing right in front of them.

As I spoke with displeasure, Shin Hyun finally spoke to me, seemingly trying to smooth things over.

“…Well, after hearing that you, Gongja, are a member of the Gu family, everyone was taken aback.”

The title suddenly changed from Sohyup to Gongja.

What does my being a blood relative of the Gu family have to do with this?

“Your sister, Gu Gongja-nim, is quite a famous figure among our people….”

“My sister?”

Shin Hyun’s words made me retrace my thoughts carefully.

To be honest, around this time, I didn’t know much about my younger sister.

Only that she had left the family estate from a young age and belonged to the Mount Hua Sect.

So, unlike my two older sisters who were bound to the family estate, I didn’t have much contact with my sister.

Looking back now, it was strange that the direct descendant of a prestigious family’s head could join another sect as a member.

At the time, I hadn’t thought about that aspect.

Only later, when my sister became so famous that it was impossible not to know about her.

My sister, who only returned to the family estate once every few years, and only for a few days at that.

Considering the current timeline, besides that, there wasn’t much else I knew.

“…What about her?”

No matter how much I thought about it, I couldn’t figure it out, so I asked Shin Hyun again.

“…Kuhm.”

Shin Hyun seemed unable to answer, opening and closing his mouth.

What could be the problem that made him hesitate so much?

“Sohyuk, I really have one question I want to ask.”

While Shin Hyun was doing that, Yeong Pung interjected.

“What is it.”

“…Gu Sohyup, was the ‘Sago’ always like that.”

Sago?

Shin Hyun, standing before me, is a second-generation disciple, and judging by the fact that he calls him Sa-suk, Yeong Pung must be a third-generation disciple.

I thought that my sister, not to mention myself, being a couple of years younger than Yeong Pung, would probably be of the same disciple generation.

Why is the title ‘Sago’?

“…What are you talking about?”

“No, I mean… that.”

Yeong Pung, who had been hesitating for a long time, shut his eyes tightly and asked.

“Gu Sago, was he originally a wo-.”

Yeong Pung mustered his courage and shouted, but I couldn’t hear the end of his words.

Because Shin Hyun suddenly slapped Yeong Pung’s lips with his palm.

“Kkeu-eung-eup…!”

Shin Hyun kicked Yeong Pung, who was clutching his stinging lips and rolling backward, sending him further back.

Then, from behind, the Mount Hua disciples started kicking Yeong Pung indiscriminately, as if they had been waiting for it.

Yeong Pung screamed desperately from the relentless kicking.

“Ah.. Aah! Sa-sa-suk-nims, just a moment…!”

“Is he really a crazy bastard?”

“He’s actually trying to say it, hey! Who’s his senior disciple! Who’s in charge of the third-generation disciples! Who taught him like this?!”

“That’s you, you bastard!”

“Aaaah!”

“….”

I was speechless at the brutal scene.

Yeong Pung was literally getting beaten black and blue.

Yeong Pung was just about to ask what… something about ‘wo…’.

I tried to ask Shin Hyun again, but his attitude was resolute.

“Excuse me….”

“You don’t need to worry about it.”

“No… I think I need to.”

“No, no, you don’t need to. It seems his education was a bit lacking, and the situation worked out well.”

“Huh…?”

Education? Is that really education? Is this how a late-stage disciple, known as the Sword Dragon, should be treated…?

It was so different from the image of a Taoist I had in my mind.

I thought they would be gentle and refined, but what is this…

[As expected… the later disciples taught him well. True friendship among disciples is built like that.]

“….Ah, I see.”

If this old man is the real Sword Saint of Mount Hua, wasn’t the problem there from the start?

It was a moment when I felt completely relieved upon realizing something suddenly.

After the disciples stepped back, having beaten him quite a bit, Yeong Pung lay on the floor as still as a mouse.

He seems to have lost consciousness, will he be okay…?

As if my worries were unfounded, someone slung Yeong Pung over their shoulder and disappeared to the back.

“You don’t need to worry. He’ll wake up soon.”

Shin Hyun cut in before I could ask anything further.

This feels like a situation where I shouldn’t ask any more questions, right?

“Yes, well. Anyway….”

“Gu Gongja-nim, are you heading straight to Mount Hua then?”

“I suppose so, I need to finish the task I was given quickly.”

“Besides delivering the precious item, do you have other business at Mount Hua?”

“It’s nothing major, I need to take my sister back to the family estate.”

“Huh…?”

Was what I said strange again?

The disciples’ gazes turned towards me, just like before.

No, it wasn’t just like before.

Their eyes were much hotter and more passionate.

‘…Is Mount Hua originally a group of lunatics like this?’

[What did you say, punk!?]

‘Hey, please be quiet…. My head is ringing.’

[This damn brat, can’t find anything else to curse, so he’s cursing another sect!?]

No matter what, I couldn’t help it.

If I considered the gazes I was receiving right now, it felt justifiable to call them that.

Shin Hyun suddenly grabbed my shoulders tightly.

“Why are you….”

“Let’s go, Daehyeop.”

“What?”

From Sohyup to Gongja, and then from Gongja to Daehyeop, the titles changed in an instant.

Not just Shin Hyun, but the disciples who had been holding their breath and watching nervously behind us rushed towards me in a crowd.

“We will escort you to Mount Hua safely and quickly.”

“Walking must be difficult, right? Shall I carry you? I’m quite fast with Qinggong.”

“Shall I breathe for you too?”

“Hey! Take that back, I can run faster than a horse!”

“Two horses are better than one, right? I can do it too.”

“…Wow.”

What should I do, they really seem like lunatics.

Seeing them looking as if they had eaten a handful of opium, I replied with a smile that was almost half forced.

Fortunately, my voice didn’t tremble.

“No, I think it would be better if we went separately.”

I said it with a pleading voice, but.

My words were apparently ignored lightly, as I ended up traveling with the Mount Hua disciples.

[Ho ho, their lively demeanor is quite endearing.]

….My life.

---

The summit of Yeonhwabong Peak, located in Huayin County, Shaanxi.

Although the season for plum blossoms to fully bloom had passed, plum blossoms bloom year-round at Mount Hua.

They do not wither, harmonizing with the inner energy harbored by the disciples of Mount Hua.

Although it was the hot summer season, the plum blossoms scattering in the wind resembled falling snow, and looking again, it resembled winter.

Passing the mountain path and ascending to the place closest to the moon, a small hut was built.

This is a place that even the second-generation disciples, let alone the third-generation disciples of Mount Hua, cannot enter freely.

It is a place that only a very select few among Mount Hua’s Sect Leader, elders, and first-generation disciples can enter.

In such a place, a small young girl climbed the mountain path and carefully opened the door of the hut bathed in moonlight.

Kki-i-i-ik.

I tried to open it as carefully as possible, but the old door was different from my intention.

Perhaps because of that, the person inside woke from sleep and made a sound.

“Come in, please do.”

Time could be felt in the woman’s voice, but it was still a beautiful and elegant voice.

The young girl cautiously showed her face with an expression full of guilt.

The woman in that manner asked.

“Ryeonghwa-ya, why do you have such an expression on your face.”

“…I’m sorry, I just intended to see your face and leave, but I woke you up, Seuseungnim.”

The master smiled slightly at the disciple’s words.

Even after years had passed, her kind heart remained, making it impossible not to feel affection for her.

She carefully extended both hands forward.

At that sight, the disciple immediately ran to her master and hugged her.

Stroking her fine hair, she said to the disciple.

“The night path must have been scary, why do you come like this every day? My heart is uneasy….”

“I come because I want to…. Please don’t say that.”

To come here from the disciple’s residence, one had to cross the rough mountain path and run for quite some time.

It must be difficult and painful for a child’s body.

The disciple climbed the mountain path every day to visit her master.

The disciple, held in her arms, asked cautiously.

“Are you feeling alright…?”

“Perhaps because the weather is nice today, my body feels fine.”

“Really!”

“Would you like to go for a walk together?”

“…Yes!”

As if it were the words she had been waiting for, the disciple smiled brightly.

The disciple quickly took her master’s hand.

Although the hand was wrinkled and cold, the disciple liked even that.

Leaving the hut, they went onto the walking path.

The moonlight illuminated the path at night, so it wasn’t completely dark.

Plum blossoms are even more beautiful when illuminated by moonlight.

The disciple loved the mountain path filled with plum blossoms, walking alongside her master.

Although they held cold hands, the warmth was definitely felt.

The disciple considered this love.

The disciple matched her steps, in case her master stumbled.

She kicked away the pebbles in front of them with her foot.

She didn’t mind getting dirt on her nicely worn clothes.

The master calmly stroked the disciple’s hair.

“Ryeonghwa-ya.”

“Yes, Seuseungnim.”

The master secretly took a breath.

There was something she wanted to say to the disciple, but it was a topic the disciple disliked.

“Soon, it will be time for you to visit Shanxi.”

“….”

As expected, the disciple closed her mouth at the master’s words.

Her slightly furrowed brow conveyed her displeasure.

The master smiled faintly at that sight.

“You are going to meet your family, why do you dislike it so much?”

“….”

“Ryeonghwa-ya.”

“…It is.”

The disciple whispered softly.

The master did not rush, but listened patiently.

Then, the disciple’s voice became a little clearer.

“…They aren’t like family.”

Her voice was filled with moisture.

The master slowly raised her head and wrapped her hands around the disciple’s small shoulders.

“…I am sorry.”

Hearing the disciple’s voice, the master had nothing more to say.

It was not something she dared to interfere with.

Although she had taken this disciple due to an unforgettable fate, she had no regrets.

Rather, she realized that the happiness that came in her later years was this disciple.

If there was one regret, it was that her body was not well.

If only they had met a little earlier, she could have taught and held her much more.

Time felt truly regrettable.

The master hoped the disciple would not cry and would find happiness in this chaotic world.

Under the moonlight illuminating Mount Hua.

The Plum Blossom Sword Empress wistfully stroked her disciple’s hair.

---

Kueo-eong-!

At the sound of a bear’s roar, the birds hiding in the forest took flight with a flutter.

The surroundings were filled with the corpses of monsters that had been hacked to pieces.

Amidst the blue blood staining the ground, Namgung Bi-ah calmly gathered her energy.

How many times have I encountered monsters?

I counted them on my fingers, but I don’t remember after that.

I ran relentlessly from Shanxi.

When running for such a long time, I get doubts about what I’m doing, but.

Still, I didn’t feel like going back.

Because I’ve found a more comfortable haven.

Namgung Bi-ah finds her way by instinct.

More precisely, she unknowingly heads towards the direction with less stench.

Because of that, she often got lost.

It was the same this time, but slightly different.

The inner energy filling her dantian had long since depleted.

Not only monsters, but she also had to face sudden downpours while walking.

Traversing the rough mountain paths dirtied various places, and her clean martial arts uniform had long since become worn and shabby.

It was a familiar experience.

Fortunately, she encountered a stream, which made things a little better.

“…Not much longer.”

Namgung Bi-ah whispered in the forest where only trees and grass were visible.

It was a firm voice.

If asked how she could be so sure, she couldn’t answer herself.

She just felt it that way.

If she went this way, he would be there.

The only cozy place in this dirty and painful world.

After tidying her sword, she turned direction and moved her feet.

It was definitely this way.

For some reason, it felt like this way would be it.

“I want to see him soon….”

Namgung Bi-ah’s eyes widened.

At the words spoken carelessly, she covered her mouth with her hand without realizing it.

‘…I miss him?’

Why?

Is it because there’s no stench? Could that be why.

Her posture, which had been moving straight forward, faltered slightly.

Namgung Bi-ah stopped motionlessly to organize her thoughts.

She stood still like that for a long time.

After standing still for about an hour, she suddenly spoke.

“I miss him…? I miss him.”

Namgung Bi-ah nodded.

She didn’t know the exact reason, but she felt like she missed him.

That was enough.

There seemed to be no need to think of other reasons.

“Not much longer.”

She could sense him far away.

It was a certainty without certainty.

Although the distance still seemed quite far, it wouldn’t take too long.

Namgung Bi-ah, as if her contemplation was over, started walking again.