Number One In Sichuan (9)

Jin-hyeon’s attitude as he respectfully received the wine cup had not changed from before.

Seol Hong-baek laughed cheerfully and asked.

“Do you remember this pavilion?”

Jin-hyeon grinned.

“I remember even every foundation stone of the Seol Clan. To be honest, if you had allowed it, Patriarch, I even thought living off the Seol Clan would not be bad.”

Seol Hong-baek burst into hearty laughter.

“Did I not tell you long ago to do just that? But it’s fine. If anything, if you had stayed in our clan, it might have harmed your development, Teacher.”

“What do you mean by that?”

“You might have ended up neglecting your own studies while helping the training of my utterly lacking daughter and our swordsmen.”

“Haha.”

“Here, have another cup.”

Several rounds of wine passed like that.

Jin-hyeon, who had been calmly looking at Seol Hong-baek, quietly expressed his admiration.

“You are remarkable.”

“What do you mean?”

“The presence of your Light-and-Shadow Divine Art has been perfectly contained.”

In truth, Seol Hong-baek’s martial arts had advanced another level beyond before.

Jin-hyeon had seen him once when the house was completed, but at the time, he had been too distracted to read him properly. But seeing Seol Hong-baek’s presence after reaching the Moonlit Pack-Wolf Path, he could not help but be impressed.

A perfectly contained presence.

Though he seemed as if he would wield a sword art full of elegance and power, his usual atmosphere was, if anything, far more flexible and calm than before.

For a swordsman’s atmosphere to be this gentle meant that he could freely control even the threadlike sword qi that naturally leaked from him.

To control one’s presence this delicately, one had to reach the Moonlit Pack-Wolf Path of the Heavenly Wolf True Art, and one had to reach the realm the world called transcendent. Jin-hyeon could only call it remarkable.

Even if his martial arts had not yet reached that point, the years he had lived looking only at the sword had made him a complete man of the sword. Before martial talent, the stubborn devotion of an artisan who had pursued one path had borne fruit.

Jin-hyeon was confident he could win in a fight. Since he had the Eight Wastes’ realization, he was also confident he could win in a discourse on the sword.

But when he wondered whether he himself could obtain this artisan-like air, he thought that was impossible.

‘If the current Patriarch had fought Cheongyang’s First Elder, Ha Jung-gang, it would probably have been difficult to judge who would win.’

Aside from Ha Baek-cheon, he had been the strongest person in the Cheongyang Association. He was far stronger than the other heads of the Eight Martial Houses.

Seol Hong-baek had reached that same realm. Moreover, considering the years Ha Jung-gang had trained in the Yan Clan’s martial arts, it would not be strange if Seol Hong-baek reached Ha Baek-cheon’s realm before long.

Seol Hong-baek waved his hand.

“Heh heh, compared to you, Teacher, it is nothing at all. I have no way of knowing what kind of realization you obtained to achieve such astonishing progress.”

On Seol Hong-baek’s face was emotion beyond admiration.

“I knew you were more extraordinary than anyone, Teacher. But I did not know it would be to this degree. I have never seen them myself, but I think even compared to the Twin Dragons and Three Phoenixes, said to be the greatest geniuses in Kangho, you would not fall short.”

No matter how sharp his eye was, he could not know Jin-hyeon’s true strength. He had only realized that Jin-hyeon had reached the transcendent realm.

Jin-hyeon gave a bitter smile.

“I was simply lucky.”

“Do they not say luck is also skill? Moreover, with martial arts like yours at your age, calling it luck is absurd in itself.”

“It truly was luck, so when you say that, I can only feel embarrassed.”

If not for the miracle of the Yin King Tome, and if he had not lived on as one with the Eight Wastes Alliance Leader, he would never have obtained such progress.

“Do not lower yourself too much, Teacher. Even if the people of the world do not know, I know how remarkable you are.”

Jin-hyeon gave a small laugh.

“Then I will live thinking I am the greatest person under heaven.”

“Well, is it not a bit much to go that far?”

“Let us call my skill at exaggeration remarkable too.”

“Hahaha.”

The two burst into laughter and shared their cups.

The side dishes were simple, but because there was a kindred spirit between them that made the difference in age meaningless, the gathering felt abundant.

Even if he did not obtain what he wanted, Jin-hyeon thought this much was already good. Just sharing wine like this with Seol Hong-baek seemed to settle all the turmoil and confusion in his heart.

More time passed like that.

Even though the piled-up wine bottles had passed three and reached four, neither of them became drunk easily. After all, they had met again after a long time, and there was so much to talk about.

But even an enjoyable drinking session one did not want to end always had its final moment.

Seol Hong-baek lightly shook the wine bottle.

“This will be the end of it. If you want more, I will rummage through the storehouse.”

“No. We will be meeting often from now on, so let us finish today’s drinking here. Lady Seol may feel hurt later if she hears of it, might she not?”

“Heh heh.”

As he filled Jin-hyeon’s cup, Seol Hong-baek asked.

“Then, if this is the last cup, let me hear it.”

“Pardon?”

“You seem to be agonizing over something.”

Jin-hyeon’s eyes wavered.

“Can you see that?”

Seol Hong-baek smiled and filled his own cup.

“I believe I said this before, but you are surprisingly easy to read, Teacher. Perhaps one could call it the kind of honesty that only shows itself to those close to you.”

“…”

“What is it? Are you dealing with a somewhat complicated matter related to your clan?”

“Why not lay out a fortune-telling mat while you are at it? I think you would be a great success.”

“Haha, what else lately could confuse you, Teacher, other than something related to your clan?”

At that quite gentle urging, Jin-hyeon eventually poured out all his current thoughts to Seol Hong-baek.

To explain that part, he had no choice but to talk about the matter with the Divine Iron Merchant House, and he also had to say that he had been Gyeong Se-hwi.

After hearing the whole story, Seol Hong-baek was greatly surprised inwardly.

‘Divine Iron’s Second Young Master… Yes, so that was it. That was why he could recognize the crack in the sword sent from Yeo Family Ironworks.’

He was surprised, but did not show it. It was because he knew Jin-hyeon’s thoughts were very complicated right now.

And so Jin-hyeon revealed everything in his heart.

“Hmm.”

Seol Hong-baek, who had been touching his cup, stroked his beard.

“In other words, Teacher, you have only now become aware of reality.”

“That is right.”

“Then can you not simply push forward as you are? I do not know about others, but are you not someone who, once you decide on something, pushes ahead without hesitation?”

“Of course I am.”

Jin-hyeon gave a small laugh.

“It is just that something like that happened. I also felt unsettled, and since you are my senior in this area, Patriarch, I thought I might hear some good words from you.”

“Heh heh, senior? Hardly.”

“But just seeing you after so long, laughing and talking with you, already makes me feel that much has been sorted out.”

“If that is so, then I am glad.”

Seol Hong-baek tilted his head.

“A family name?”

“For some reason, it feels like a restraint…”

“Why would a family name be a restraint?”

“Huh?”

Seol Hong-baek smiled.

Though he denied being a senior, the warm gaze of a senior looking at a talented junior turned straight toward Jin-hyeon.

“A family name is one’s root.”

“?!”

“The root means the foundation, and a tree with strong roots does not break easily.”

Jin-hyeon’s eyes shook greatly.

He had never once thought of a family name as a root. To him, it had been a restraint, nothing but a thorned fence that blocked freedom.

“In the past, when people were not as clever as they are now, there was probably no concept of a family name. But there must have been something that replaced it. Even now, are there not countless tribes in Sichuan living while taking pride in their own cultures?”

“…That is true.”

“Even introducing oneself as someone from a certain village is done to let the other person know one’s roots. Then why would one go out of one’s way to tell another person one’s roots?”

“I do not know.”

“Because they are the present.”

“What do you mean?”

Seol Hong-baek’s hand rose toward the sky.

“The roots of ancestors that began somewhere far away continued and continued, until at last they reached now, the present. And that present is me.”

“!!”

“To tell another person my roots means that I will not bring shame to the names of the ancestors who made the person I am now possible, and that I am grateful to be here as the person I am. In a manner of speaking, it can be called proof of existence itself.”

“Proof of existence…”

“That is what a root, what a family name, is.”

Seol Hong-baek looked at Jin-hyeon solemnly.

“You are a wise person, Teacher, but the wound you carry in your heart is no smaller than anyone else’s. Whether you live on carrying that wound or heal it is entirely up to you.”

“…”

“However, you too must have roots, Teacher. Not the Gyeong family name, but roots given by the parents you cannot even remember.”

“I do not know them…”

“Of course you do not. And there is no way to find them. But you do know this, Teacher. That countless ancestors existed before the current you came to be. That without them, you would not exist either.”

“…”

“If you claim to be the master of a clan, then you need only recognize the mystery of those roots that have continued on and on, and prove yourself as another root.”

Seol Hong-baek smiled.

“And I am certain that among the countless roots that have grown in this world, you can become by far the strongest and toughest root.”

Jin-hyeon, who had been looking at Seol Hong-baek with trembling eyes, suddenly asked.

“Is that why you have taken such care of this lacking man?”

“What do you mean?”

“For a martial family, martial arts are also part of its roots. You treat me this well because I am the one who passed those arts to you.”

“Of course that is true. But please know this one thing.”

Seol Hong-baek’s smile deepened.

“If the person who passed me the Tianshan arts had been an evil murderer, would I have accepted them?”

“You would not have.”

“I accepted the Tianshan arts because it was you, Teacher, and because I was grateful for what you showed me. If it had not been someone like you, I would have given up on my clan’s secret arts.”

A clan’s treasure was important, but who passed that treasure on was also important.

That was what Seol Hong-baek’s words meant. In other words, he was so grateful because Jin-hyeon was Jin-hyeon.

Jin-hyeon quietly looked at Seol Hong-baek, then bowed his head.

“Thank you.”

“Heh heh, what’s this all of a sudden? If anything, we are the ones who should thank you, Teacher. Truly, even saying thank you ten times a day for the rest of our lives would not be enough.”

Jin-hyeon, who had been smiling, slowly rose from his seat.

“I will hold the words you gave me today deep in my heart and seek my answer. Thank you very much.”

To Jin-hyeon, who bowed respectfully, Seol Hong-baek also responded with a respectful bow.

“When you find your answer, be sure to invite me. When that time comes, I will bring all of our clan’s people.”

Jin-hyeon secretly left the Seol Clan and walked the streets without a destination.

After walking and walking, he saw Ziyang County’s marketplace in the distance before he knew it.

‘Manguwi Street.’

The place where countless people’s mouths gathered.

And the person who had to watch those mouths and take responsibility for those mouths was himself.

Jin-hyeon looked at the street from afar for a long while, then murmured quietly.

“I will set down a root. A single root that contains what made me who I am now, and my resolve.”