A Tale Of A Scribe Who Retires To The Countryside [EN]: Chapter 16

Chapter 16. Song of the Crane

‘Hmm.’

Son Bin pondered. Would it be alright to give the sword to the old Taoist in this situation?

‘Could he suddenly….’

The thought crossed his mind that the old Taoist might take him hostage.

Of course, he didn’t seem like that kind of person at all, but still. Since he was the one who had to make the decision, Son Bin looked at Saja Hyuk.

However, Saja Hyuk turned his head away.

‘What?’

Son Bin frowned.

‘What am I supposed to do?’

He acted as if he had nothing to do with it. As Son Bin frowned, the old Taoist urged him again.

“What are you doing? Why don’t you bring it to me?”

‘Ugh, I don’t know anymore.’

Nursing a sense of resentment towards Saja Hyuk for feigning ignorance, Son Bin strode towards the sword and reached out his hand.

Shine.

The moment Son Bin lifted the sword, the blade gleamed in the moonlight.

‘Wow.’

Son Bin was impressed.

‘I thought it was no ordinary sword, but….’

It was a plain sword without any decorations. However, the sharpness of the blade was extraordinary. He even felt that he might get cut just by bringing his hand close to it.

Son Bin carefully held the sword hilt with both hands.

“How is it?”

The old Taoist’s voice suddenly rang out.

“I don’t know much about swords, but….”

Son Bin looked down at the sword in his hand and replied,

“It’s very beautiful.”

His admiration was genuine. It was a sword without any decorations or patterns, but the appearance of the sword itself was so beautiful that it evoked admiration.

“Isn’t it?”

The old Taoist smiled, seemingly satisfied with Son Bin’s answer.

“Even though I traveled all over the world, I have never seen such a wonderful sword. It is truly beautiful and enchanting. And once this sword gives its heart, it will never betray its master no matter what happens. A peerless beauty who only has eyes for me, isn’t that every man’s dream?”

It seemed like the story had gone off on a tangent, but it was clear that the old Taoist cherished this sword very much.

“Ah, and be careful.”

The old Taoist spoke again as Son Bin was about to take a step.

“Baekro [White Dew, the sword’s name] has a very strong pride. If it doesn’t like you, it might cut you in an instant. Well, usually it’s just an arm or so.”

‘Just an arm or so.’

Son Bin gave a wry smile at the old Taoist’s words, as if it were nothing. Anyway, it seemed he had to be careful since it was a sharp sword.

“The scabbard is here.”

Whoosh.

Something flew towards Son Bin along with the old Taoist’s voice. Son Bin was startled and inadvertently caught it with one hand.

‘Ugh.’

Thud.

He managed to catch the flying scabbard. But thanks to that, the sharp sword moved greatly. Having heard that it could easily cut off an arm, his heart pounded, fearing he might get cut. But fortunately, he wasn’t hurt anywhere.

With a resentful heart, Son Bin glared at the old Taoist. But the old Taoist was grinning.

‘That startled me.’

Muttering inwardly, Son Bin carefully put the sword into the scabbard.

Clang.

Thud.

“Hmm. You really are just a scholar.”

The old Taoist said, watching Son Bin put the sword away. He was still smiling.

“Didn’t I tell you that?”

Son Bin, feeling a little displeased, replied and walked towards the old Taoist.

And he held out the sword. Of course, he did not forget the etiquette of respect for the elderly, so he did it with both hands, as politely as possible. But the old Taoist did not receive it.

“It’s yours now.”

“Pardon?”

Son Bin looked surprised.

“I entrusted you with my incompetent disciple, so you have to pay tuition, right? Consider it a substitute for payment.”

In other words, it was the tuition for teaching the young man who was unconscious.

Son Bin was flustered.

“No, that’s….”

“Or did you make such a promise without any intention of teaching him in the first place?”

The old Taoist asked reproachfully. His eyes looked somehow so sad that Son Bin was speechless.

“N, no, it’s not that….”

“Then accept it.”

The old Taoist urged him. But after thinking for a moment, Son Bin slowly shook his head.

“I’m sorry, but I can’t accept it.”

A strange light flickered in the old Taoist’s eyes.

“Why?”

Son Bin replied.

“I don’t know much about swords or martial arts, but I can well imagine what a sword means to a martial artist. Surely this sword has been a precious friend to you, Old Taoist, for a long time. How could I dare to accept this sword?”

That remark seemed to be quite unexpected for the old Taoist. A slow smile spread across the old Taoist’s lips.

“Is that so?”

“Yes.”

Son Bin replied.

“I understand.”

The old Taoist nodded. But he did not take the sword.

“Then, if you don’t mind, could you grant me one more request?”

Son Bin looked at the old Taoist. The old Taoist’s honest eyes, without any pretense, were looking at Son Bin.

“If it’s something I can do….”

The old Taoist said.

“I’m ashamed to say this, but I have some followers.”

Son Bin nodded. He had already guessed from Saja Hyuk’s words that the old Taoist in front of him had quite a large following.

“When I return, I’m going to take off all my burdens and rest for a while. I want to give my sword to that child, but it probably won’t happen.”

The old Taoist’s gaze towards the fallen young man was warm.

“Those foolish guys will make all sorts of excuses and eventually take the sword away from that child. So….”

Turning to Son Bin, the old Taoist said,

“Could you take care of it?”

“I….”

Son Bin tried to refuse.

But the moment he saw the old Taoist’s eyes, he knew that this was his last wish. So he couldn’t bring himself to finish his sentence.

“If you present this sword, that child won’t take your words lightly either. So just for a while, I beg you.”

Faced with the old Taoist’s earnest eyes, Son Bin realized that there was only one answer he could give.

“I understand….”

That was all he could say. He had only met him today, a person whose name he didn’t even know, but how could he possibly refuse the request of a person on the verge of death to his face?

“Um, may I ask your name….”

“You don’t know me?”

As if it was truly unexpected, the old Taoist asked back with a puzzled look.

“Ah, I… I’m sorry. I don’t know much about these things….”

Son Bin lowered his head, feeling sorry. But a smile bloomed on the old Taoist’s face instead.

“You said your name was Son Bin?”

“Yes.”

“That child is Seo Rin.”

“Ah, yes.”

Son Bin looked at the young man who had collapsed and lost consciousness. Seeing his unconscious face, he looked younger than he had thought.

“And this sword is called Baekro (白露) [pronounced ‘Bai Lu’ in Mandarin Chinese]. It means dew. True to its name, it is a very noble and proud child. At first, it can be quite cold.”

Autumn is a season in full swing, and the first dew that forms at dawn is called Baekro.

That it was the name of the sword was, of course, something he already knew. Son Bin was a little puzzled as to why the old Taoist was suddenly telling him again.

“I’m counting on you.”

The old man’s gaunt and blood-soaked hands grasped Son Bin’s hands. Son Bin, who was holding the sword with both hands, could only stand still as the old Taoist did as he pleased.

His heart was heavy, probably just because the old man’s hands felt so gaunt.

Step.

While Son Bin was held by the old Taoist’s hand, Saja Hyuk turned around. Without saying let’s go, Saja Hyuk moved his feet.

“Ah, um….”

Since Saja Hyuk was leaving, Son Bin had to go too. The old Taoist released Son Bin’s hand that he had been holding.

“Farewell.”

The old Taoist said so with a smiling face. Son Bin didn’t know what to say, so he just bowed deeply and politely.

Holding the sword tightly with both hands.

Step, step.

In the meantime, Saja Hyuk was heading towards the entrance of the forest path they had come from. Son Bin also hurriedly followed behind Saja Hyuk. Then suddenly, he heard the old Taoist’s voice from behind.

“The words that he wanted to save her.”

Thud.

Saja Hyuk stopped. The old Taoist said.

“Were sincere.”

Swish.

The wind blew. Without saying anything, Saja Hyuk started walking again. As if he hadn’t heard anything.

Step, step.

Saja Hyuk’s back soon disappeared into the forest path. Son Bin also followed behind him.

Suddenly, Son Bin turned around, but the old Taoist was still smiling and silently seeing off Son Bin and Saja Hyuk.

Feeling somehow heavy-hearted, Son Bin followed Saja Hyuk and left the place.

Only the wind was rustling Son Bin’s collar forlornly.

∴

After the two left, all that remained in the clearing was the young man Seo Rin, who had lost consciousness, and the old Taoist, who looked as if he would collapse at any moment.

Until the figures of Saja Hyuk and Son Bin disappeared into the darkness of the forest, the old Taoist did not take his eyes off their backs.

“Where there is a meeting, there is also a parting, it is the law of the world, but when I actually let you leave my arms like this, I feel quite sad.”

The old Taoist said to himself, muttering with a lonely smile.

“There was no choice, but this is also a kind of fate. Still, I’m glad you went to a good person. Go, and please be happy.”

For a while, the old Taoist stared at the other side of the forest path, then turned his head. And he slowly approached the young man who was still lying down.

Rustle.

Right in front of the young man, the old Taoist bent his knees. The old Taoist bent down and reached out his hand to gently stroke the head of the fallen young man.

“Thank you.”

Looking at the young man’s indifferent expression, the old Taoist smiled warmly.

“You think I saved you, but in fact, you saved me. If it weren’t for you, I would still be spending hellish days in regret and agony. It is said that you cannot attain the Tao if you are bound by affection, but for me, the affection you gave me was the heavenly Tao. But that’s why even more….”

The old Taoist’s face contorted with remorse.

“I realized how terrible a thing I had done to that friend.”

Rustle.

The old Taoist’s gaunt fingers stroked the young man Seo Rin’s hair. Once again, a gentle smile spread across the old Taoist’s face.

“The child named Son Bin is a warm child. Since he is a person who allows that friend to accompany him, I guessed that he would be at least a sincere person. If it’s that child, he will be able to make you know the warmth of people. The only thing I’m worried about is….”

Letting out a low sigh, the old Taoist said.

“Since he has a connection with that child, he will not be able to avoid the great upheaval in that child’s life. Now that he has even received my Baekro, it will probably be difficult for him to live the life of a good ordinary person. When I think about the rough things in the Jianghu [the martial arts world] that will happen to that child in the future, I feel sorry for entrusting him with something I can’t bear to do.”

Contrary to his words of apology, the old Taoist was smiling. At that time, the young man who had fallen down groaned softly.

“Umm. Master….”

“Yes. I’m here, you rascal.”

The old Taoist rubbed the young man’s frowning forehead with a playful expression. As if it was just a sound he made absentmindedly, the young man was still unconscious.

“I won’t leave until you wake up, so don’t worry and rest comfortably.”

As if he had heard those words, the expression of the young man who had lost consciousness became peaceful. He looked as if he was sleeping comfortably.

The old Taoist watched the scene with a happy smile, then suddenly raised his head and looked at the night sky.

The sky was full of countless stars shining brilliantly.

“It’s so bright.”

The old Taoist exclaimed.

“How could I have known that the night sky would be so beautiful and brilliant? The Tao [the Way] of heaven is so gloriously shining in its place, but the foolishness of man has blinded his eyes, so isn’t this what it means to see but not see?”

Like an exclamation, the old Taoist said. The sky was full of starlight. It was always there in such a proud and dignified manner. Even when he had forgotten its existence.

Everything that had been weighing on his mind was not on his mind at all at this moment.

He didn’t even remember that he would die soon. The law (法) [Dharma] and martial arts (武) [Wushu] that he had practiced all his life had disappeared. He had let go of the sword (劍) [Jian] and let go of affection (情) [Qing].

There was no regret or fear. Only the Tao (道) [Dao] of heaven shining before his eyes was filling the world.

“Ah.”

The realization came so surely that he wondered why he hadn’t seen this obvious thing until now. There was no need to explain, and there was nothing to add or subtract.

It had always been there. It was just that his eyes had finally become able to see it.

It was literally an awakening (開眼) [Kai Yan].

“The Tao is full in heaven and earth.”

The old Taoist said in an excited voice full of joy. At the last moment of his life, what he had so desired and hoped for had come. Like a welcome rain on a spring night.

Rustle, rustle.

As if answering his exclamation, the dry leaves made a sound. A subtle fragrance that did not exist in this world slowly spread out and filled all directions.

A quiet and small peace quietly but solemnly settled right there.

Only the full leaves were quietly rustling, as if they were careful not to make a sound, watching the amazing sight.

∴

On this day, Hwanghak Jin-in [Yellow Crane True Man], the Seonbae Daejosa [Senior Great Ancestor] of the Wudang sect, who was known to be living in seclusion, passed away.

Hwanghak Jin-in, who was said to be like a crane that had left the secular world due to his noble character and unpretentious appearance, had truly left this world and flew away.

His death surprised many people, but the Wudang sect made no mention of how he, who had been so healthy, had suddenly passed away.

It was only known that he had quietly passed away in a place where no one knew, just like his name.

Many people mourned his death, and the Wudang sect declared that all the dojangs [training halls] on the entire Wudang Mountain would have a 100-day mourning period for him.

Some of the other Taoist sects on Wudang Mountain protested, but when numerous dignitaries from all over the world flocked to pay their respects, the dissenting opinions soon lost their power.

The influx of mourners caused Wudang Mountain and its surrounding areas to suffer for a while, and even the imperial court sent an envoy to Wudang Mountain to express their condolences.

Thus, Hwanghak Jin-in’s funeral, which was held on such a large scale that it was unprecedented in the history of the Wudang sect, not only spread the power of the Wudang sect throughout the world, despite some criticism that it was an inappropriate event for a Taoist sect, but also made it clear how much Hwanghak Jin-in was loved by so many people.

The person who guarded the last moments of Hwanghak Jin-in, who was famous throughout the world, was only one disciple whose name was not even properly known, but this fact was never known to anyone except for some Wudang sect elders.

And the fact that the whereabouts of the Seongeom (仙劍) [immortal sword] Baekro, which was like a symbol of Hwanghak Jin-in, had become unknown was also not known to anyone except for some Wudang sect elders.