A Tale Of A Scribe Who Retires To The Countryside [EN]: Chapter 24

24. The Great Way of the Gentleman

Clang, clash!

The force emanating from the sword and dao reverberates around them.

Blue trails embroider the air like phantoms as the two warriors’ blades collide relentlessly, without even a hair’s breadth between them.

Clang!

Another heavy resonance echoes. Son Bin nods.

‘Ah, so that’s why…’

The aura of the Gentleman’s Sword is domineering, yet it doesn’t easily yield even when clashing with the Great Dao Piercer. Its technique isn’t dull either. Though not flashy, the Gentleman’s Sword is sharp and precise.

‘A Gentleman’s Sword, indeed.’

Son Bin understands why he earned the name Gentleman’s Sword rather than Overlord’s Sword.

Clang.

He doesn’t dwell on petty gains or losses, nor does he try to blind his opponent with flamboyant techniques. He doesn’t hide himself amidst a myriad of dazzling attacks.

The Gentleman’s Sword always charges towards the opponent’s core with a dignified presence. That’s why each clash with the Piercer produces such a weighty resonance.

‘A dignified sword. Truly… almost haughty.’

There’s an unshakeable, steadfast feeling about the Gentleman’s Sword. It’s neither reckless nor merely steadfast.

Far removed from childishness or vulgarity, something deeply rooted emanates from his sword.

Clash!

Once more, sword and dao intertwine.

“Haa…”

Son Bin sighs, almost involuntarily, out of regret.

‘Still, it’s slightly lacking.’

Lacking. He can’t pinpoint exactly what, but with the current flow, the Gentleman’s Sword’s defeat seems clear.

‘Lacking…’

“It’s regrettable,” the young Iron Sword says, as if reading Son Bin’s mind. His face is slightly flushed as he watches the duel intently.

“My sister should have seen this duel.”

‘Sister?’

His regret seems slightly different from Son Bin’s.

“My father’s sword, by its nature, is very domineering.”

Son Bin nods in agreement. The fact that he isn’t being pushed back at all against Saja Hyuk is clear evidence.

“It’s not flashy, but it’s not dull either. Rather, the opponent’s shallow tricks or techniques are completely ineffective. An unwavering sword of the righteous path, based on pure integrity—that is my father’s sword. That’s why he’s the Gentleman’s Sword, not the Overlord’s Sword.”

His voice is filled with undisguised pride. Son Bin agrees entirely.

“My father’s Gentleman’s Sword can be called the finest in the Jianghu [the martial arts world]. The only person my father shows respect to is the Great One. But my young sister doesn’t understand that. No, rather, she’s greatly dissatisfied.”

He says with a regretful tone.

“It seems she can’t accept that my father, the head of a deeply rooted noble family, would bow his head to another.”

‘Noble family?’

If they’re called a noble family, it means they have a certain history and influence. These people’s identities seem different from what Son Bin had thought.

‘A noble family…’

In that case, Son Bin thinks, it’s understandable that his sister would have misgivings. The Gentleman’s Sword’s attitude towards Saja Hyuk seems unusually respectful, even to Son Bin.

If that sister is similar in temperament to Dang Hwa-ryun, it would be even more so.

“If she had seen this duel, my sister would have thought differently. Truly, it’s an unparalleled duel.”

‘Ah, that…’

Son Bin smiles wryly. Of course, this duel is impressive, but Son Bin has already seen many duels that surpass this one.

Thud!

With a soft thud, the two warriors create distance, and the duel enters a brief lull.

“Oh dear. I’ve been talking too much on my own.”

Iron Sword turns to Son Bin and says,

“What do you think, Young Master Son?”

‘I’m not a young master…’

He doesn’t have the status to be called a young master, but there’s no need to deny it.

“I agree with what you’ve said. Your father’s Gentleman’s Sword is truly dignified, almost to the point of being haughty. I think I understand what a sword of the righteous path means, and what it means to be deeply rooted.”

A smile appears on Iron Sword’s face, but Son Bin’s words aren’t finished yet.

“But in my opinion…”

Son Bin hesitates.

Should he really say this? Iron Sword urges him on with a questioning look.

“Um, well… it seems like something is lacking.”

Son Bin says. Iron Sword’s expression seems to stiffen slightly, then he asks in a polite tone,

“Could you tell me what that is?”

Seeing Iron Sword’s expression harden, Son Bin regrets speaking. But the words are already out.

“I don’t know much about swords or martial arts, but I know a little about the Hyeoncheon Dao [a specific martial art or sword technique].”

‘A little’ is an accurate description. Son Bin is the one who edited the Hyeoncheon Daegangyeol.

“Your father’s sword can be called a gentleman’s sword. That’s not only because it walks the righteous path, but also because it’s supported by pure integrity and the deep-rooted history of the family. That’s precisely why…”

In that moment, a single word pops into Son Bin’s head.

“It lacks something akin to wildness.”

Iron Sword’s eyebrows twitch. Son Bin continues.

“A sharp wildness that flows flexibly with the current, yet isn’t bound by it, a wildness that could erupt at any moment—that is absolutely lacking in your father’s sword.”

Flowing with the current yet not being bound by it is something found in the Hyeoncheon Daegangyeol.

The word ‘absolutely’ seems a bit exaggerated, but it’s a word that came out of him without his realizing it, as he got caught up in the moment.

Son Bin decides to think of it as a kind of ‘wildness’ itself.

“Without that, the outcome of this match is already clear.”

Iron Sword’s face hardens visibly.

“Your insight is… truly remarkable.”

His voice is stiff.

“But I cannot agree with that conclusion.”

He couldn’t agree. No, he shouldn’t have agreed. Because what Son Bin said was essentially the same thing that his father, Gentleman’s Sword, had told Iron Sword.

And his father, Gentleman’s Sword, had added this:

– Your weakness is also my weakness. It’s also my limitation, having lived my whole life only as the young master of a noble family.

“My father will overcome even that.”

With those words, Iron Sword turns his head towards the duel with a stiff expression.

His expression is so serious that Son Bin feels a twinge of regret.

‘Oh dear, did I say too much?’

He openly said that his father was bound to lose, so he couldn’t possibly be feeling good.

Moreover, this young man has clearly been training in martial arts since he was young, while Son Bin himself looks like nothing more than an ordinary scholar.

If he hadn’t been traveling with Saja Hyuk, it wouldn’t be strange to be scolded for talking nonsense about something he didn’t know.

‘Should I not have said anything?’

Regret wells up.

‘I can’t even say a word to the person I really need to speak up to…’

He couldn’t say anything to Dang Hwa-ryun of the Snow Sword Manor, who had ignored him. But to this young man, who had been polite and kind to him, he had spoken harsh words without hesitation.

Was it perhaps because he had subconsciously looked down on this young man? Son Bin couldn’t shake off that self-reproach.

‘I’m a snob.’

His mouth tasted bitter. In the meantime, the duel between the two was heading towards its conclusion.

∴

Thud!

With a heavy resonance, the two warriors’ swords created distance.

“Your stubbornness is still the same,” Saja Hyuk said. Gentleman’s Sword smiled.

“I’ve lived my whole life like this, so it can’t be helped, can it? But…”

Whoosh.

Raising his blue-glowing sword, Gentleman’s Sword said,

“The righteous path doesn’t necessarily mean a lack of wildness. It’s said that the ultimate paths are interconnected, so if the path of the gentleman reaches its zenith, it might be able to bring the tyrant to his knees, wouldn’t it?”

“True,” Saja Hyuk said.

“But do you believe your sword has truly reached that zenith?”

“That…”

Gentleman’s Sword said,

“We’ll soon find out.”

His sword, overflowing with blue energy, pointed straight at Saja Hyuk.

“Taa!”

In that moment, he and his sword became one. And like an arrow shot straight, he surged towards Saja Hyuk.

Swoosh.

Leaving behind a blue, silk-like afterimage, Gentleman’s Sword threw everything he had at Saja Hyuk.

It was his best technique, and his family’s signature move: the Great Way of the Gentleman.

Swish.

In response, Saja Hyuk’s black great dao, Piercer, slowly began to draw a circle. The Piercer Eclipse, Lightning Flash, was beginning.

Whooong.

Saja Hyuk’s Piercer completed its circle as if by destiny.

Blue moonlight poured down on Gentleman’s Sword, but Gentleman’s Sword charged straight into the very center of that moonlight.

He didn’t dodge, nor did he retreat.

“Haaa!”

Gentleman’s Sword’s shout reverberated through the heavens and the earth. And a heavy resonance followed.

Thud!

The duel ended like that.

Pitter-patter.

The heavily frowning sky finally began to pour down raindrops mercilessly, as if the heavens were startled by the two warriors’ duel.

Saja Hyuk and Gentleman’s Sword stood back to back. Both stood firmly on the ground, but the outcome was clear.

Because Gentleman’s Sword’s sword had been cut in half.

“Keuk.”

Gentleman’s Sword let out a soft groan, and his arm holding the shattered sword fell limply to his side.

“Hoo.”

Looking up at the sky, Gentleman’s Sword sighed.

Thud.

Cold raindrops began to strike his face.

“That last sword form…”

A heavy voice came from behind Gentleman’s Sword. It was Saja Hyuk.

“What was it called?”

“The Great Way of the Gentleman,” Gentleman’s Sword replied with a self-deprecating smile. Saja Hyuk paused in thought.

“Your words about reaching the zenith were not empty words, indeed.”

Swoosh.

Shattering the raindrops, his great dao, Piercer, disappeared.

Saja Hyuk looked straight at Gentleman’s Sword and said,

“It can truly be called the finest under the heavens. And you are not far off.”

If it were someone else, Gentleman’s Sword might have felt insulted. But the other party was Saja Hyuk, and he was someone who had the right to say such things.

Gentleman’s Sword gathered his sword in both hands and bowed in respect.

“Thank you.”

Gentleman’s Sword’s expression was serene.

∴

Pitter-patter, pitter-patter.

“I must apologize,” Iron Sword said to Son Bin with a stiff expression in the falling raindrops.

“No, it’s not like that,” Son Bin shook his head.

“But the outcome of the match…”

“It’s not like that,” Son Bin said.

“I criticized your father’s sword as lacking. But your father’s sword wasn’t lacking, it just fell short.”

At the last moment, when the two collided, Son Bin had clearly seen it: the Gentleman’s Sword’s Great Way of the Gentleman, which didn’t yield at all even against Saja Hyuk’s Piercer Eclipse.

The outcome of the match seemed one-sided, but in Son Bin’s eyes, the difference was truly nothing.

Son Bin clearly recognized that he was wrong. The criticism that something was lacking might have been right, but it wasn’t something that could be called absolute.

“My father has enlightened me with my narrow view, so rather, I should be the one apologizing.”

Son Bin’s words were sincere. There are many flows. He had written that in the Hyeoncheon Daegangyeol himself, but at some point, he had been comparing everything to the Hyeoncheon Dao.

Gentleman’s Sword had left a deep resonance in Son Bin. He felt like he knew why Saja Hyuk called him a friend.

“I apologize for rashly criticizing your father’s sword with my narrow-mindedness. It seems I’ve seen today what the path of the gentleman is.”

Gathering his hands, Son Bin bowed to Iron Sword. Iron Sword looked at Son Bin with wavering eyes.

“Really?”

“Yes,” Son Bin answered without hesitation.

“Your criticism that something akin to wildness is lacking…”

Iron Sword sighed softly and said,

“Is something that my father has already said himself. That’s why I couldn’t agree with your opinion even more. Even though I knew it was right.”

Iron Sword smiled.

“I am Iron Sword, Mo Yong-jin.”

Gathering his hands, Iron Sword also bowed to Son Bin.

“If you come to Muhan, please stop by. We may not be able to share swords…”

There was a comfortable resonance in his voice.

“But I think we can gladly share stories about swords.”

“I understand.”

With his hands gathered, Son Bin answered.

Swish.

The rain poured down relentlessly.

The four took shelter in Yueyang Tower [a famous historical tower]. But only Son Bin was completely soaked.

The other three, despite clearly having been rained on together, had their clothes dry quickly.

“It’s a spectacle,” Gentleman’s Sword said, looking down at Dongting Lake submerged in the rain.

Son Bin fully agreed with his words. The scene of rain falling on the vast lake was truly a spectacle.

A lone boat, whether it had missed its chance to take shelter or had been washed away, floated alone in the rain, adding to the atmosphere.

But Saja Hyuk silently looked down at the rainy Dongting Lake without any response.

“Is it really alright if I don’t accompany you?”

Gentleman’s Sword asked in a soft voice.

“I already have company,” Saja Hyuk replied in a low voice, looking down at Dongting Lake.

“It may just be my imagination…”

Gentleman’s Sword carefully broached the subject.

“Did you perhaps suffer some harm in Sichuan?”

Saja Hyuk turned his head to look at Gentleman’s Sword.

“Why do you ask?”

“I felt both fierce heat and extreme cold in your Piercer. Perhaps…”

“It’s nothing,” Saja Hyuk cut off Gentleman’s Sword and turned his head. His gaze was towards the rainy Dongting Lake.

‘Heat and cold?’

Son Bin tilted his head, hearing Gentleman’s Sword’s words.

Heat means hot, and cold means cold, but he’s never heard such words about Saja Hyuk.

‘If it’s cold, maybe it’s because he trains in the moonlight? As for heat…’

If it’s Saja Hyuk, it wouldn’t be strange if he emitted an incredibly hot energy, given his nature.

Swish.

The rain didn’t stop easily. Rainwater flowing from the eaves fell incessantly.

‘For some reason, I’m reminded of my hometown.’

Is it because of Du Fu’s poem? Or is it just because of the bleak weather? Son Bin suddenly felt homesick. But he didn’t say anything.

Swish.

The four silently stared at the scene where heaven and earth seemed to be completely submerged in Dongting Lake for a long time.