Bachelor Swordsmanship Remastered [EN]: Chapter 410

410. The One Gazing at a Different Sky

Il-eun, Gae Ohng, and Un-hyun moved to the rear garden of the residence.

After changing into spare clothes prepared at the mansion, the three sat in the garden, savoring tea.

Clink.

Gae Ohng asked, lifting his teacup.

“Are you alright?”

“Yes, I am fine.”

Gae Ohng’s expression had improved significantly.

“So, did you gain anything?”

“I did.”

Un-hyun answered without hesitation.

“I realized that I am the master of my sword.”

Perhaps it was an obvious statement.

However, it held immense significance for Un-hyun, Gae Ohng, and Il-eun.

Un-hyun turned his gaze towards Il-eun.

“Thank you.”

Il-eun chuckled.

“There’s no need to thank me. It was something I had to do anyway.”

Il-eun, holding his teacup, leisurely savored the tea.

Watching him, Un-hyun asked.

“Who are you, Senior?”

It was a question Gae Ohng also wanted to ask.

Il-eun, receiving their gazes, gave a light smile.

“I am Sa Il-cheon. The only Haksanim [Scholar] of the Azure Dragon Hall and your senior.”

“Also Il-eun.”

“That’s what people say. It’s not my official title anyway.”

Il-eun, holding his teacup, continued.

“Rather than that, stop calling me Elder. It makes me feel old suddenly.”

Un-hyun asked with a puzzled expression.

“Aren’t you older than me?”

“Age has no meaning to me.”

Il-eun said firmly.

“So just call me Senior.”

“Understood. Sa Senior.”

“Ah, that’s a pseudonym.”

“Pardon?”

Un-hyun asked back in surprise, and Il-eun gave a wry smile.

“I’m borrowing the surnames of people with deep connections to me. There are circumstances I can’t reveal yet.”

Gae Ohng, who was listening, said.

“Even for a recluse who has turned his back on the world, there’s no harm in revealing a name, is there? It’s not like we’ll spread rumors.”

Un-hyun and Gae Ohng were not the types to spread words.

However, Il-eun shook his head.

“It’s not that. Rather, my actions seem to be passing by appropriately, but names or concepts have a great influence. I can feel myself becoming fixed here.”

Neither Un-hyun nor Gae Ohng understood what that meant.

Gae Ohng frowned.

“You mean you don’t want to be tied down?”

The path to ascension to immortality is narrow and arduous.

Therefore, they hide in mountains and valleys, and sometimes in the court and marketplaces.

But Il-eun sighed.

“It’s similar, but I have my own unique troubles, so just know that.”

Gae Ohng had a displeased expression but didn’t say anything more.

Everyone has unspeakable circumstances.

“Is that why you’re letting the First Merchant go?”

Un-hyun asked.

Il-eun asked back, seemingly puzzled.

“Me letting him go? What do you mean?”

“Aren’t you strong? I can’t even understand how someone like you can exist, Senior.”

What Un-hyun felt from Sa Il-cheon upon meeting him again was an incomprehensible awe.

But Il-eun chuckled.

“That’s your misunderstanding.”

“A misunderstanding?”

Un-hyun couldn’t believe it.

However, Il-eun continued calmly.

“It’s because it’s you who feels that way. To others, I would just seem like a hidden master whose level is hard to fathom.”

The words ‘master level’ were an unfitting expression.

Il-eun was a master even the Sword Saint and Dokseonjo [One who governs death and life] acknowledged.

Clink.

Placing down his teacup, Il-eun said.

“In terms of the realm of enlightenment, you and I are only one step apart. In terms of strength, I might be a little stronger.”

“Saying that after getting beaten up so badly?”

Gae Ohng said, lifting his teacup.

Il-eun frowned.

“When did I? I suffered a bit, but still.”

“Hmph, it’s the same thing. And yet you said so confidently, ‘I’ll take care of the First Merchant somehow.'”

Il-eun groaned.

“Ugh. It’s not like there’s no way to deal with that side… Anyway, didn’t it turn out well in the end?”

But Gae Ohng didn’t even pretend to listen.

It was true that Il-eun had struggled against Un-hyun, so he didn’t say anything more.

“Anyway.”

Looking at Un-hyun, Il-eun said.

“You and I are not that different. It’s just that you perceive a slight difference differently from others. Rather, if you think about the possibilities ahead or beyond that…”

Il-eun chuckled.

“I can’t dare to compare myself to you.”

Un-hyun couldn’t hide his surprised expression.

“That’s too much…”

“You have chosen the right path.”

Il-eun said, gazing intently at Un-hyun.

His gaze was gentle and warm.

“Now, the future depends on you.”

Gae Ohng frowned deeply.

“Depends on him? He cut down the Thousand Fragrance Butterfly with one strike, and it’s still not enough?”

Un-hyun had cut down that magnificent Thousand Fragrance Butterfly.

Yet Il-eun was saying that there was still a realm to reach.

“That’s not the right path [正道 – Jeongdo, the orthodox or righteous way].”

“Nonsense!”

Gae Ohng said sharply.

As the Dokseon of the Tang family, who had been ostracized as neither righteous nor evil, he couldn’t help but react strongly to those words.

“The so-called heretical or unorthodox paths are just excuses for the orthodox sects. If Hyun defeats the First Merchant, everything will be…!”

“Then you.”

Il-eun interrupted Gae Ohng.

“Are you saying you’ll keep watching Hyun with that look in his eyes?”

Gae Ohng flinched.

The chilling gaze of Un-hyun looking at him came to mind.

What else could describe that feeling other than the word ‘nightmare’?

Gae Ohng couldn’t answer.

After a while, Gae Ohng said quietly.

“…How can Hyun overcome the First Merchant?”

“I don’t know.”

Il-eun gave a wry smile.

“Didn’t I say? I’m not that great of a person. But…”

Swish.

Il-eun looked at Un-hyun.

“Can I see your sword for a moment?”

That didn’t mean a sparring match.

Un-hyun nodded.

And he released Myeong, placing it on the table in its scabbard.

The sword Myeong of the Northern Sea quietly rested, concealing its beautiful blade.

Il-eun also released his small sword and placed it on the table.

Clink.

The two swords were placed side by side.

Il-eun gazed at them intently.

As if reminiscing about a distant past.

“Following the book of the White Tiger Hall, even this sword has reached you…”

Il-eun said quietly.

And then he suddenly looked up at Un-hyun.

“Did you meet Wolhyang?”

“Yes, I did.”

Il-eun was the one who left clues for her, the owner of Cheongpungmyeongwollu.

It was natural for Il-eun to know about her.

“That child is bright, so she wouldn’t have missed the heavenly opportunity. Was there anything interesting?”

Un-hyun gave an awkward smile.

“It’s not an interesting matter, but I decided to help the artists.”

Il-eun’s eyes lit up.

“Why did you make that decision? It’s not like only artists are having a hard time in this world.”

His point was valid.

Un-hyun answered with a calm expression.

“Because my heart moved.”

Il-eun chuckled.

“Well, Wolhyang is capable of moving a man’s heart. She’s a beautiful and charming child.”

“It’s not that…”

Giving a wry smile, Un-hyun said.

“The Sword Saint told me to do as my heart leads.”

Un-hyun quietly continued.

“He said that judging right and wrong is useless, and discussing possibilities without even trying is meaningless. So I did as my heart moved.”

“Hehe.”

Il-eun chuckled.

“That’s right. That is one of the connections that has reached you. Sometimes, those are called heavenly mandates.”

Un-hyun’s eyes lit up.

The word ‘heavenly mandate (天命) [Tianming, the will of Heaven or destiny]’ was quite meaningful.

Il-eun looked straight at Un-hyun and said.

“Your heavenly mandate has already begun. So until you reach the end of it, the circle of connections will never be broken. Just like your sword did.”

Neither Un-hyun nor Gae Ohng could fully understand Il-eun’s words.

But they could clearly understand the significance of it.

Just as Un-hyun’s sword of prophecy completes the circle like fate and inevitably brings results, so too would the will of heaven towards Un-hyun.

“If you don’t know which way to go, take a step back and look around. Then you’ll realize you’re not alone.”

Un-hyun nodded.

How could Un-hyun deny those words?

Il-eun turned his gaze to the table.

Il-eun’s expression was gentle as he looked at Myeong and the small sword placed side by side.

“Thank you for showing me your sword.”

“You’re welcome.”

Clink.

Il-eun picked up his small sword.

Un-hyun also lifted Myeong.

He somehow felt a faint warmth from Myeong in his hand.

At that moment, Gae Ohng suddenly asked.

“Is that sword also your mother’s?”

“Yes, it is. I borrowed it forcefully.”

Il-eun said with a smile.

“If my mother knew that these two swords had met, she would be happy.”

There seemed to be a story behind it, but Gae Ohng didn’t ask.

It was clear that he wouldn’t answer with words he couldn’t understand anyway.

Gae Ohng said absentmindedly, lifting his teacup.

“Yes. She must be happy in heaven.”

Il-eun frowned deeply.

“No, why are you suddenly turning someone else’s mother, who is alive and well, into someone who has passed away?”

“What?”

This time, Gae Ohng was also surprised.

He stopped lifting his teacup and asked back.

“Are you saying your mother is still alive?”

That was hard to believe.

Gae Ohng asked back, wondering if he had misheard, but Il-eun said rather curtly.

“Of course, she’s alive. Although she’s not in this world…”

“What?”

This time, Gae Ohng’s eyes sharpened.

“…Are you kidding me right now?”

Gae Ohng said in a subdued voice.

The aura of Dokseon, who governs death and life, was spreading thickly.

But Il-eun didn’t back down either.

He said seriously.

“Kidding? Did you think I would let that slide after saying such a thing?”

Il-eun said with a rather fierce look.

Sharp energy was also radiating from him in all directions.

Whooooosh.

A storm-like force began to rage in the quiet garden.

The one who was troubled was Un-hyun.

‘This is…’

Looking back and forth between Gae Ohng and Il-eun, Un-hyun bit his lip.

And quietly stepped back.

Swoosh.

The voice of the second piece of advice from Chief Strategist Yeongho-jun, ‘If the elders ever fight, never interfere. If you rashly try to mediate, you’ll get scolded by both sides,’ was ringing clearly in Un-hyun’s ears.

***

The next day, outskirts of Beijing.

The carriage carrying Un-hyun’s group was leaving Beijing.

The metropolis of Beijing, where they had stayed for several days, was receding beyond the official road, but no one was looking out.

Un-hyun, as well as Inspector Jo Gwan and Hang Jang-ik, remained silent.

It was because Gae Ohng was frowning and not saying a word.

Clatter, clatter.

How long had only the monotonous sound of horses’ hooves echoed?

“Just what is that guy?”

Gae Ohng said in a blunt voice.

He was wearing elegant and stylish new clothes, but Gae Ohng’s mood was very bad.

“No, he’s not in this world, and yet he gets so angry at me? He’s like the most unpleasant guy in the world…”

Gae Ohng exhaled roughly, as if his anger hadn’t subsided yet.

Un-hyun said with an awkward expression.

“He must have his own reasons.”

“What reasons? That unspeakable reason of his?”

Gae Ohng didn’t hide his anger.

“He’s so evasive and secretive, he’s not like someone who’s hiding from the world, but like someone who’s hiding the whole world.”

Un-hyun agreed with that.

Certainly, Il-eun was different from a typical recluse.

Un-hyun suddenly remembered what Sword Saint Lee Geom-hak had said.

Didn’t the Sword Saint say that ‘Il-eun was standing in a different place from us, looking at a different sky’?

‘The one gazing at a different sky.’

Perhaps that was an accurate insight.

Considering Il-eun’s atmosphere, which was like an incomprehensible awe.

“Still, it looked good.”

“What?”

Gae Ohng frowned deeply.

Un-hyun said with a smile.

“It’s been a long time since you’ve spoken so comfortably, Senior.”

Gae Ohng’s appearance with Il-eun was like he was facing the Sword Saint.

No, it seemed even more intimate than then.

To the point where he could say anything without hesitation.

“Hmph.”

Gae Ohng snorted.

But he didn’t get angry or say anything more.

Clatter, clatter.

The carriage was running relentlessly towards the south.

And Un-hyun was quietly recalling the words Il-eun had said to him.