Young Lady Tang Su-bin and Tang Jo-ung went to meet the Sect Leader, while I headed back to my quarters.
Once inside, I wrote a letter to Father and asked Geumryeong to deliver it.
It would cost me one silver tael, but this was important enough to be worth it.
By the time night fell, we had all gathered around the campfire in front of the tents.
Everyone was still busy with the reconstruction, but perhaps because no one within the sect grounds had died, the mood wasn't particularly gloomy.
Somehow, hearing that the damage from this earthquake was lighter than expected filled me with a strange sense of pride.
Of course, it wasn't as though there had been no damage at all, but compared to my previous life, things were far better.
After dinner, I took a walk around the Qingcheng Sect's grounds.
Partly for the fresh air, and partly to see how things were going around the sect.
That way, I could figure out what the Eunhae Merchant Group could do to leave the Qingcheng Sect owing us… no, I mean, what we could do to help them.
As I always say, I'm a merchant, not a philanthropist.
The reason I'm running around doing all this is because it benefits both me and the Eunhae Merchant Group.
In fact, the Eunhae Merchant Group's reputation throughout Sichuan had risen enormously, and my uncle and older brothers were very pleased about it.
That was when I spotted someone sitting alone in the distance.
Why was Taoist In-bong sitting all the way over there by himself?
Tilting my head in confusion, I walked over to him.
“What are you doing out here alone?”
“Ah! Great Hero!”
“Everyone else seems to be enjoying what little dinner they have together. Why aren't you with them?”
“It's just… I have something on my mind.”
“I see.”
If that was the case, I had no intention of bothering him, so I turned to continue on my way.
“Um… Great Hero.”
Or I would have, if Taoist In-bong hadn't called after me.
“Did you call me?”
“Yes.”
He nodded and said,
“There's… something I'd like your advice on.”
Advice, huh…
I'd rather not stick my foot into something troublesome, but with him looking at me like that, how was I supposed to coldly walk away?
Seriously, I'm too softhearted for my own good.
– Kui?
Geumryeong, be quiet…
– Huh? When did you get back?
– Kui. Kui!
You just got back?
I was surprised. It hadn't been long since I'd sent Geumryeong off with the letter to Father, yet it was already back and nestled inside my sleeve.
Was it because of all the silver it had been eating lately?
I sat down on the rock beside him and asked,
“So, what is it? What did you want my advice about?”
“It's about my father.”
What?
That instantly jolted me fully alert.
“I heard I was entrusted to the Qingcheng Sect when I was two years old. Master practically raised me himself after that.”
From what I'd heard, Taoist In-bong's master was Perfected One Han-cheong.
He was a disciple of the Cheong generation, placing him directly beneath the current Sect Leader.
“Until not long ago, I thought I had been abandoned. So I tried not to wonder much about my parents.”
The fact that he'd said he tried not to wonder about them made my heart ache.
Who in the world wouldn't be curious about their own birth?
“Then one day, someone came to me and introduced himself as a ghost haunting the Qingcheng Sect.”
* * *
In-bong was training alone at the Penance Pavilion.
It was a place where disciples who caused trouble were usually sent, and there was only a single small thatched hut.
Since it was the Penance Pavilion rather than the Wind Cultivation Pavilion, weapons were forbidden. That left him with only martial arts he could practice barehanded.
Swish, swish, swish!
His body moved with graceful fluidity.
The Slender Willow Drift, one of the Qingcheng Sect's proud martial arts.
It was supposed to embody the unfettered movement of willow leaves drifting in the wind, but…
Thud!
“Ahh!”
His feet tangled, and he tripped over himself, pitching face-first onto the ground.
“Ow… that hurts.”
He rubbed his nose with the back of his hand, only then realizing it was bleeding.
“Why am I so stupid? I can't even perform the Slender Willow Drift properly… No wonder everyone calls me a useless idiot.”
Before he knew it, a wave of self-pity swept over him, and tears began falling one after another.
That was when it happened.
– Who are you calling a useless idiot?
“…!”
A Voice Transmission suddenly rang through his mind.
He spun around, but there was no one there.
“Huh? Wh-who's there?”
– Me?
He could clearly hear the Voice Transmission inside his head, but with no one in sight, fear quickly began creeping in.
“Gasp! A g-ghost! I-I need a prayer! I have to chant a prayer…”
– Don't bother. No prayer of yours is going to work on me.
“W-why not?”
– Because I am… ahem, an incredibly powerful ghost.
“…”
– You don't believe me.
“Isn't that sort of thing only convincing when someone else says it about you? Master said anyone who boasts about himself like that is just a braggart.”
– Who said that?
“Master Han-cheong.”
– That bastard Han-cheong…
“Don't insult my master! He's like a father to me! If you insult him again, I won't let you get away with it!”
– …Fine.
In-bong sensed sadness in the other person's Voice Transmission.
Though he couldn't understand why.
– What are you doing here, anyway? This is the Penance Pavilion, isn't it?
“What do you think I'm doing in the Penance Pavilion? I'm being punished.”
– Punished? What did you do wrong?
“I fought with Geum-bong.”
– Then was this Geum-bong fellow sent to the Penance Pavilion with you?
“No. Just me.”
– Why?
“Geum-bong's father is the Sect Leader. And the Sect Leader adores Geum-bong.”
– Huh? That bast… I mean, the Sect Leader favors his own son?
“Yes. Everyone knows that. How can you not know? If you're such a powerful ghost, shouldn't you know something that obvious?”
– Ahem. Ahem! That's only because I haven't been here very long. But did you start the fight?
In-bong quickly shook his head.
“No! Of course not! They're the ones who always pick on me first… I…”
– …
“It's just because I'm pathetic. I'm already fifteen, and I still can't perform the Slender Willow Drift properly.”
– Let me see it. Your nose has stopped bleeding, so try it again.
“Tch… Would you even know anything just from watching?”
– Ahem, I wasn't going to say this, but before I became a ghost, I was actually a disciple of the Qingcheng Sect.
“What? Then why did you become a ghost instead of ascending to immortality?”
– I suppose… I had regrets that kept me here.
The voice sounded even sadder than before.
In-bong hurriedly apologized.
“I'm sorry. I shouldn't have asked something so difficult.”
– It's fine. Now show me the Slender Willow Drift.
In-bong performed the Slender Willow Drift, only to go tumbling across the ground once again.
Crash! Thud!
“Ow, ow…”
– Good heavens! Are you all right?
“Ah. Yes. I'm fine.”
– Hmm. I think I see the problem.
“Really?”
– Yes. You're distributing your Qi incorrectly. Try it exactly as I tell you.
In-bong still had his doubts about whatever this being was, but decided to listen for now.
It was frightening, but it didn't seem to mean him any harm.
After being tormented by Geum-bong's group for so long, he had become quite good at sensing hostility in others.
– First, step forward and drive your Qi hard from your upper dantian down into your lower dantian…
In-bong moved exactly as instructed.
“Huh?”
Then his eyes widened in shock.
The part that had stopped him again and again until now suddenly worked as though there had never been a problem at all.
“I-I did it!”
– Well?
“That's amazing!”
– Hahaha! Isn't it?
From that day onward, the ghost came to visit In-bong every evening.
“Um, Mister Ghost.”
– About that name. Even if I am a ghost, can't you call me something else?
“Huh? You don't like it?”
– Would you?
“Hmm. Fair point.”
After thinking about it for a moment, In-bong said,
“Then I'll just call you Mister.”
– …Well, that's much better. What are you eating?
“Dried persimmon.”
– That's quite a rare treat.
“I have a fellow disciple named Eom-bong. He brought it for me. Some of the others bully me, but there are good people like Eom-bong too.”
– I see. He sounds like a good friend. Then today, I'll teach you about the Heart-Shattering Palm.
“Yes.”
The Heart-Shattering Palm was the most representative of the Qingcheng Sect's palm arts, and only Core Disciples were permitted to learn it.
It was that powerful and advanced a palm art.
True to its name, a direct strike to the heart could stop it and kill the victim.
– Back in my younger days, I killed quite a few Unorthodox Sect bastards with this.
“I think I know why you failed to ascend to immortality. You shouldn't do that. Even evil people deserve a chance to repent.”
– …Bah! You sound like some hidebound old Taoist.
“But I am a Taoist.”
– Ahem… Anyway, don't use this unless you truly mean to kill. It really will kill someone. To be honest, I don't want to see you take a life with it.
“Yes.”
Somehow, he could feel the concern behind those words.
Three months later, In-bong's punishment at the Penance Pavilion ended, and he returned to his place among the disciples.
And during group training at dawn, he received praise for the first time.
“That was an exceptionally clean Slender Willow Drift! Well done.”
“Thank you.”
But perhaps that praise rubbed Geum-bong and his friends the wrong way. They secretly cornered In-bong, harassed him, and beat him.
In-bong didn't resist. He simply took the beating.
He remembered how his master had been forced to apologize on his behalf the last time he'd fought back against them.
His master had raised him since he was a baby.
He didn't want to make that man lower his head because of him.
That was when it happened.
– I'll help you. You little bastards!
“No!”
In-bong hurriedly shouted.
“I-I'm fine.”
Geum-bong's group blinked. In-bong had suddenly blurted out something strange.
“What the hell? This bastard?”
“Has he finally gone crazy?”
“Hey! Let's go. We might catch it.”
“Snicker.”
Geum-bong's gang left with mocking laughter, and In-bong got to his feet and brushed the dirt from his clothes.
– Are you all right?
“I'm fine.”
– Then why are you crying?
“…”
In-bong didn't answer. He only clenched his fists.
After a long while, In-bong finally spoke.
“Was… was it a mistake for me to be born?”
– Don't ever say that.
“Then why is living so hard?”
– I'm sorry.
“Why are you apologizing, Mister? If anyone should be sorry, it's the parents who abandoned me at the Qingcheng Sect.”
– …There must have been circumstances you don't know about. And I'm sure you were born from your parents' love.
In-bong could hear deep pain and sorrow in the voice, and he asked in confusion,
“Why do you think that?”
– Because you're an extraordinary, talented boy.
“Don't joke with me.”
– I'll prove I'm not joking.
“How?”
– Five years. Within five years, I'll make you a Peak martial artist.
“I'm only third-rate right now.”
– Just trust me.
* * *
I silently listened to Taoist In-bong's story.
“So with Mister's help, I was able to become a Peak martial artist.”
“I see.”
I remembered what Cousin Hyang-ok had told me about Taoist In-bong.
That he'd reached Peak in only a year.
So it really had all been thanks to his father's help.
Though, of course, In-bong's own talent must have been exceptional too.
“And not long ago, my master finally told me who my parents were.”
“Not long ago?”
“Yes.”
He nodded.
“He said he hadn't told me before I turned twenty because he was worried I'd do something reckless out of youthful impulsiveness.”
“I see.”
“He told me my father was once a disciple of our sect. During his travels through the martial world, he met a woman and married her. But a Forest Bandit who had suffered at my father's hands kidnapped my mother. She escaped, hid in a cave, and gave birth to me there.”
“…”
“By the time my father learned what had happened and finally found her, my mother was already beyond saving.”
“Did he tell you about your father as well?”
At my question, he nodded.
“I heard that after entrusting me to the sect, he left to avenge my mother.”
“I see.”
Then he pulled something from inside his robe.
“My master gave this to me recently. It's a mirror my father left behind. The knot tied to it is unusual, isn't it?”
“Now that you mention it… it is.”
It was a knot even I had never seen before.
“My father was apparently very skilled at tying knots, and this is one he created himself. Master said it's so difficult that no one else has ever been able to copy it.”
Then he pulled something else from inside his robe.
An ordinary pouch made from plain cotton cloth.
“When I was stranded this time, the food Mister brought me was inside this pouch.”
Come to think of it, Taoist In-bong's father had mentioned that.
He'd climbed the cliff himself to bring food to his son.
I pretended not to know and asked,
“Is that so? But why are you showing me…”
“The knot on this pouch. Isn't it the same as the knot on the mirror?”
“…”
Taoist In-bong spoke with a complicated expression.
“It was my father.”
“What?”
“The person who comforted me, the person who taught me martial arts, the person who climbed that cliff and brought me food so I wouldn't starve to death… that man was my father.”
I let out a sigh inwardly.
Didn't you say Taoist In-bong didn't know you were his father?
How could you leave behind evidence this obvious…?
Taoist In-bong continued.
“Handsome Young Hero. I want to see my father. So… please persuade him to stop hiding and stand before me openly.”
–TL Notes–
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