A Tale Of A Scribe Who Retires To The Countryside [EN]: Chapter 31

Rustle.

Stepping out of the inn, the moon hung brightly in the thin mist. The rugged mountains and the fog created a scene reminiscent of an old painting.

Following the stream behind the inn, a small clearing appeared. The scattered pebbles didn’t seem ideal for sword practice, but Sasu-yeon seemed satisfied with the spot.

“This is good enough.”

Crunch.

The pebbles crunched beneath her feet.

“Could you step back a bit?”

At Sasu-yeon’s words, Son-bin quickly retreated. After moving back a safe distance, Son-bin took out a book and a fine brush from his pocket.

Opening the small porcelain bottle of ink, he dipped the brush, held the book in one hand, and prepared to write. When Son-bin looked up, Sasu-yeon was standing there, quietly composing herself.

Chirp, chirp.

The sounds of night insects and flowing water filled the air. In the dark night, the small pebbles shone white under the moonlight, and Sasu-yeon stood in the middle like a figure in a painting.

Moonlight illuminated her half-closed, lowered eyebrows and gently raised nose.

Her red lips carefully regulated her breathing, and her slender shoulders moved slightly. The lines of her flowing hair and softly draped clothes shimmered subtly under the moonlight.

‘Beautiful and mysterious appearance, was it?’

Recalling the words of one of the Yunnan Five Heroes [a group of renowned martial artists from the Yunnan region] from the previous day, Son-bin couldn’t help but admire her. It was no wonder she was called a goddess.

Sreung.

Her sword gleamed as it was drawn, catching the moonlight. Her straight sword sparkled as it met the light.

Swish.

Her sword, scattering blue moonlight, lightly sliced through the air and stopped moving.

Sasu-yeon took a stance with a soft smile. As the smile disappeared from her face, her sword began to hum softly.

Woo-oong.

Blue energy enveloped the sword, and a subtle aura emanated from it. Then, Sasu-yeon’s toes moved as softly as if she were dancing.

Swish.

Whoosh, whirl.

The sword danced from her slender fingertips. Sometimes like a calm wave, sometimes like a rough wave, her sword embroidered the air with elegant movements.

Sasu-yeon’s toes moved across the small pebbles as if dancing, but there was no sound, as if she were stepping on flower petals.

Her clothes fluttered in the wind, and her soft movements gave the feeling of watching a dance by a peerless beauty.

The trajectory drawn by her sword was flexible, delicate, and sharp. There was a beauty in her sword like cold ice crystals.

Whoo-oong.

Her sword gradually gained momentum. Her sword, which had been flowing like a wave, now ravaged the air like a storm, and finally, like lightning, it struck strongly from the sky to the ground. It was such a strong force that Son-bin’s back tingled.

Koo-oong.

A subtle vibration echoed around.

“Hoo-oo.”

Sasu-yeon, having finished her swordsmanship, slowly calmed her breathing. Her sword, scattering blue energy, was still shining in her hand.

“How was it?”

She asked, but her expression shone with subtle pride.

“Amazing.”

Son-bin said, admiring her as if he had just come to his senses.

“I already knew that Miss was amazing, but this is really beyond imagination. It’s a truly beautiful sword technique.”

Sasu-yeon’s face flushed slightly.

“Thank you.”

Sasu-yeon said in a small voice. Son-bin asked in a still admiring voice.

“But is this sword technique related to the Hyuncheon Sword Art [a specific and likely powerful sword style] in any way?”

Sasu-yeon’s face hardened slightly, though Son-bin didn’t notice.

“Why do you ask?”

Son-bin tilted his head and replied.

“Well. It looks completely different…….”

It was completely different. If Saja-hyeok’s Hyuncheon Sword Art was based on strong, overbearing might, Sasu-yeon’s sword was soft, delicate, and sharp.

If Saja-hyeok was hot fire, Sasu-yeon was like cold ice. But Son-bin felt that her sword was somehow similar to the Hyuncheon Sword Art. It wasn’t a matter of appearance.

“What should I say, the flow is similar. It’s like watching the Hyuncheon Sword Art…….”

“Indeed.”

Sasu-yeon said with a bitter smile.

“No wonder my father allowed you to accompany me.”

“Yes?”

When Son-bin looked at her with a puzzled expression, Sasu-yeon said.

“That’s right.”

Swish.

Sasu-yeon lightly turned her sword and lifted it. The energy lingering on her sword had already disappeared. Sasu-yeon looked down at her sword and said.

“This sword technique is based on my father’s Hyuncheon Sword Art, which I created.”

“You created it, Miss?”

Son-bin tilted his head.

“Your father taught you…….”

“Don’t tell me, that can’t be.”

Sasu-yeon shook her head with a bitter smile.

“I told you. I haven’t seen my father’s training since I was seven.”

Sasu-yeon caressed her sword. But her gaze was directed far away.

“I don’t know how many days I cried in my young heart. I really loved watching my father’s Hyuncheon Sword Art. But my father never allowed it. He told me never to watch it again. I was so angry.”

Sasu-yeon said.

“So I thought, if Dad won’t show me, I’ll make it myself. So I created this sword technique as if to show off. Based on the Hyuncheon Sword Art, but interpreting the changes and sword paths in a completely different way, my own sword technique.”

“You created a sword technique……?”

“That’s right.”

Sasu-yeon shrugged her shoulders.

“It wasn’t that difficult. I liked the Hyuncheon Sword Art, so I watched it many times since I was young. Hyuncheon Art, my dad only told me once when I was very young, but I already memorized it all.”

Son-bin tilted his head.

‘Is that so?’

He wondered if sword techniques were so easily created, but listening to Sasu-yeon, it didn’t seem like much.

Besides, if she already knew the Hyuncheon Sword Art or Hyuncheon Art, he thought it might be possible.

‘Still, that sword technique…….’

Even so, her sword technique was amazing, even to Son-bin, who didn’t know much about martial arts or sword techniques. Anyway, he thought she was a great person.

“Still, was it okay?”

Sasu-yeon said with a smile.

“For something made by a seven-year-old.”

“Yes?”

Son-bin unknowingly asked back.

“You made it when you were seven? Such a young kid?”

Sasu-yeon made a slightly sulky expression.

“Even at seven, I know everything. Don’t ignore me.”

“No, I’m not ignoring you, but…….”

Son-bin was dumbfounded.

‘That sword technique…… a seven-year-old little girl made it?’

He couldn’t believe it. But Sasu-yeon wouldn’t lie. Then suddenly, Saja-hyeok’s words came to mind.

– Among all the people in the world, if there is anyone who can be called a genius of martial arts, it is only that child.

‘Ge, genius…….’

Son-bin finally understood. Saja-hyeok’s words of genius were by no means an exaggeration. No, Sasu-yeon was the genius that Saja-hyeok acknowledged.

“Um, what’s the name of this sword technique…….”

“Ah, that’s.”

Sasu-yeon paused slightly, then said in a small voice as if embarrassed.

“It’s Hyuncheon Sword Style…….”

She said she created a completely different sword technique, but even the name is the same. Perhaps it was a naming mixed with the rebellion of a little girl. But it’s a fitting name.

“That’s a good name. It suits you well.”

Son-bin said in a serious voice. Sasu-yeon’s face turned slightly red again.

“You said this is the first time it’s been shown to the world…….”

“Yes.”

Sasu-yeon nodded obediently.

“Before that, my father and I lived together. It was a quiet and peaceful place where I had nothing to do but read books or swing my sword all day. Sometimes I chased pretty butterflies, but when I think about it, it was really a place with nothing.”

The image of a little girl came to Son-bin’s mind. The image of a little girl chasing butterflies and a large Saja-hyeok watching over her is vividly drawn like a painting.

“How is it to be out in the world?”

At Son-bin’s question, Sasu-yeon smiled bitterly.

“I don’t know. At first, I was a little excited, but……. Now I miss the place where I was.”

Sasu-yeon looked up at the night sky.

“It’s really a place with nothing, though.”

Looking at her as if she was immersed in regret, Son-bin quietly kept silent.

“Come to think of it, isn’t it strange?”

Suddenly, Sasu-yeon said with a smile.

“People who hold swords are perhaps destined to be entangled with the martial world [a world of martial artists and conflict]. No matter how much I don’t intend to…….”

Swish.

Ping!

As Sasu-yeon lightly waved her sword, the blade cut through the wind, making a sharp sound.

“When I come to my senses, I’m already facing someone with a sword.”

Putting away her sword, Sasu-yeon smiled quietly.

“Like at the Yellow Crane Tower [a famous landmark often associated with martial arts encounters] back then.”

Her smile seemed somehow lonely, so Son-bin blurted out without realizing it.

“It’s not Miss’s fault.”

Was Son-bin’s voice too loud? Sasu-yeon seemed a little surprised.

“I also…….”

“It’s definitely not Miss’s fault.”

Giving strength, Son-bin said once again.

“Absolutely not.”

“Young master.”

At Son-bin’s firm voice, Sasu-yeon smiled quietly.

“You can’t be a fair judge. You make such assertions without even hearing the whole story.”

“Ah, but…….”

Son-bin was a little embarrassed.

“But, thank you.”

Sasu-yeon smiled. The smile was shining as brightly as the moon.

“Ahem.”

Suddenly feeling awkward, Son-bin pretended to cough. He regretted that he could have said something cooler, but it was already in the past. His face suddenly turned red with belated embarrassment.

“The martial world was a bit disappointing. There were few who knew the weight of the sword, and few who tried to do the right thing. The swords of those who boasted of outstanding families and swordsmanship were actually too vulgar and selfish. So I deliberately destroyed them more thoroughly.”

‘As expected.’

Sword God Destroyer was clearly the name for her, although Sasu-yeon didn’t seem to like it.

“They were sword techniques you were seeing for the first time, weren’t they difficult?”

“It’s not difficult.”

Sasu-yeon said.

“I can understand most of the flashy techniques or complicated moves after seeing them once. What’s really difficult is…”

Sasu-yeon said in a quiet voice.

“It’s a sword with heart. That’s really heavy.”

Son-bin nodded without realizing it. He couldn’t understand all of her words, but he definitely knew the feeling.

‘But to be able to understand it after seeing it once…….’

Son-bin smiled bitterly. Suddenly, the scene of Saja-hyeok saying ‘It’s not a difficult task’ came to mind.

‘They’re the same.’

“Then shall we complete the Jade Dragon Reverse Scale Strike [likely a specific sword move] now?”

At Sasu-yeon’s words, Son-bin suddenly came to his senses. Come to think of it, the reason he came here was to see the Jade Dragon Reverse Scale Strike. Before he knew it, the conversation had turned to the Hyuncheon Sword Style.

Swish.

Sasu-yeon took a stance and slowly calmed her breathing. She raised the sword she was holding with both hands above her head, and the tip of the sword pointed slightly downward.

Sasu-yeon’s eyes couldn’t hide her tension. Son-bin also held his breath and watched Sasu-yeon.

Rustle.

At the same time as Sasu-yeon’s toes took a step, the sword cut through the air. It was a clean and even beautiful trajectory. And the sword had already risen again towards the sky.

Whoosh.

The moment her sword was drawn down again, Son-bin felt a slight sense of incongruity.

‘Huh?’

Whoo-oong.

Her sword, which was falling down, rose diagonally again exactly in the middle. It was a natural and clean move as if it had always been like that, but Son-bin frowned instead.

“Hoo.”

Sasu-yeon, having finished her move, quietly calmed her breathing.

“Um, Miss. That’s…….”

“Don’t say it.”

Sasu-yeon said with a slight frown.

“I know it’s not right.”

Swish.

Sasu-yeon, lifting her sword, looked at the sword with a frown.

“It won’t work like this.”

Turning to Son-bin, Sasu-yeon said.

“I’ll try again. I think I know the feeling.”

“Ah, yes.”

Son-bin nodded, but what he really wanted to say was different.

‘I don’t think the feeling is right…….’

Not only after the half-style of the first move, but also in the previous movements, something seemed a little different. But he couldn’t express exactly what it was in words.

Swish.

Sasu-yeon calmed her breathing and took her stance again. Her blade shone sharply under the moonlight.

“Haa!”

Sasu-yeon took a step and strongly struck down with her sword. It was a clearly different momentum from before. But the trajectory drawn by the sword was exactly the same as before.

Boo-oong.

Like an overbearing breaking moon, Sasu-yeon’s sword cut through the air and soared up. And at the last moment, when the sword was drawn down, Son-bin frowned again.

Chwa-rak.

Sasu-yeon’s sword stopped just before hitting the ground, but the pebbles in that place were pushed to the left and right as if the waves were parting. And Sasu-yeon frowned.

“I don’t think this is it either.”

Swish.

Sasu-yeon lightly lifted her sword.

“What kind of sword path would make the opponent admit defeat? What on earth did he see in this incomplete move?”

Turning to Son-bin, Sasu-yeon asked.

“What do you think?”

“Well.”

Son-bin smiled bitterly and shook his head.

“I have no idea.”

“Is that so?”

Sasu-yeon let out a soft sigh. After looking up at the night sky for a while, she suddenly turned to Son-bin.

“Stay there, as you are.”

“Yes?”

Son-bin asked back with a puzzled expression. But Sasu-yeon, instead of answering, stared straight at Son-bin and slowly walked towards him.

Rustle, rustle.

Watching her approach, Son-bin’s heart pounded. Her face, shining subtly under the moonlight, was more beautiful than ever, and her deep and intense eyes sparkled like stars.

Rustle.

‘Huh?’

Sasu-yeon passed by Son-bin as it was and immediately stopped her feet.

Tak.

“Come out.”

Sasu-yeon said in a cold voice.

“Or, shall I drag you out?”

Woo-oong.

Her sword was already scattering blue energy.