Bachelor Swordsmanship Remastered [EN]: Chapter 71

71. Without a Sect or a Master

After the Young Palace Lord’s departure, Sword Saint Lee Geom-hak broke the silence.

Clack.

Sword Saint Lee Geom-hak quietly set down his teacup and spoke.

“That child greatly resembles her.”

“Reminiscence breeds anguish,” Divine Monk Bulyeong said softly.

“So, let us try to forget her now.”

However, the Sword Saint raised his head, gazing in the direction the Young Palace Lord had disappeared.

“I wasn’t the only one who lost his heart to her back then; the Ice Emperor did as well.”

His voice was laced with bitterness.

Even Unhyun, unaware of the full story, felt a heaviness in his heart at those regretful words.

As if sensing Unhyun’s feelings, the Divine Monk’s calm voice resonated in Unhyun’s ears.

“Enough, sit here.”

“Ah, yes.”

Unhyun sat at the table.

He looked up to find both the Sword Saint and the Divine Monk staring intently at him.

“Which sect do you belong to?”

“Pardon?”

Unhyun involuntarily questioned the Divine Monk’s words.

“Stop feigning ignorance and speak. If you have eyes, you should recognize your opponent, shouldn’t you? Or are you going to claim that yesterday’s duel was all a lie?”

Only then did Unhyun realize that the Sword Saint was watching him with a sharp gaze.

Moreover, the Divine Monk’s expression was also unsettling.

‘So, it’s because of yesterday’s incident…’

Unhyun realized he was in trouble.

This place was the Murim Alliance, the pinnacle and center of the Jianghu [martial arts world].

Yet, he had drawn his sword against the Divine Monk’s guest and stood against his aura.

Of course, Unhyun had much to say.

For Unhyun, it was a sudden attack, and not entirely his fault.

Besides, wasn’t he someone unrelated to the Jianghu Murim?

Calming his mind, Unhyun replied in a sincere voice.

“I apologize, but I am not a Murim person.”

Twitch.

At Unhyun’s answer, the Sword Saint’s eyes narrowed.

He perceived that Unhyun was trying to hide his identity until the very end.

“Hmph, he gives the obvious answer with such difficulty,” the Divine Monk said in a good-natured voice.

“I am not a Murim person either. Just a wandering monk. I just happened to be in this situation, but I am merely a monk.”

“If you put it that way, I am not a Murim person either,” the Sword Saint’s low voice echoed.

“All I seek is the Dao [path or principle] of the sword. Neither the Demonic Sect nor the Orthodox Sect, nor even the Murim Alliance, has anything to do with me.”

“Tsk, tsk, how much karma is tied to your sword that you can say such things? Ask anyone in the world if there is anyone else who thinks like you,” the Divine Monk scoffed, interjecting.

Feeling as though his own words were being ignored, Unhyun gave an awkward smile.

“I understand what you two are saying, but I was originally a scholar who briefly served as a Bachelor [a low-ranking official]. Yesterday’s incident was merely…”

“Show me your hand,” the Divine Monk suddenly said.

“Pardon?”

Unhyun questioned, but the Divine Monk, with his hand outstretched, frowned and urged him.

Reluctantly, Unhyun awkwardly extended his hand.

At that moment, the Divine Monk’s hand moved strangely, instantly seizing Unhyun’s wrist as if snatching it.

Thud.

‘Oh.’

Unhyun was slightly surprised but did not try to pull his hand away.

The mysterious movement the Divine Monk’s hand had shown momentarily stimulated his interest, but he could also sense that there was no hostility in his touch.

“Hmm.”

However, the Divine Monk, who had seized Unhyun’s wrist, was staring intently at Unhyun’s face.

“Indeed, seeing how easily he offers his wrist, it seems to be true…”

Giving one’s hand to the Divine Monk was, in some cases, akin to giving one’s life.

With one hand restrained and even the flow of true energy exposed, any Murim person would naturally avoid it, even if the opponent was not the Divine Monk.

Perhaps if Unhyun had intended to hide himself, and if he had other intentions, he would have certainly avoided it.

“Alright.”

The Divine Monk released Unhyun’s wrist.

“I don’t need it, take it back. It’s not like it’s the wrist of a beautiful maiden, what’s so good about holding it?”

“Have you mastered the sword?” the Sword Saint suddenly asked.

Unhyun nodded.

“Yes, I have.”

The Sword Saint nodded slightly, as if he expected it.

However, he did not anticipate Unhyun’s subsequent answer.

“Actually, besides the sword, there is nothing else I can say I know. As I said before, I am…”

“You only know the sword?” the Divine Monk frowned, exasperated.

“I only know the Hundred Step Divine Fist and the Vajra Finger. But just as I know the Vajra Immovable Steps and the Dharma Mind Method, you must have learned footwork and mental cultivation, haven’t you?”

The Divine Monk became famous not because he was proficient in all the Shaolin arts.

Of course, he had mastered them all, but as he had just said, the Divine Monk was famous for one fist technique and one finger technique.

A person who had mastered one fist technique to the extreme instead of learning many martial arts and displaying difficult moves.

That was Divine Monk Bulyeong, and he proudly said so himself.

Nevertheless, one must learn mental cultivation and footwork.

Without them, one could neither subdue nor defeat an opponent.

However, Unhyun stubbornly shook his head.

“I know neither footwork nor mental cultivation. Ah, of course, if it’s just basic stances, I know a little about the Eighteen Martial Arts, but that’s just…”

“Heo, you don’t know mental cultivation?” the Divine Monk said in disbelief, but Unhyun did not back down.

“As I said, all I know is the sword.”

At that resolute answer, the Divine Monk’s brow furrowed slightly.

Just as he was about to say something, the Sword Saint asked from the side.

“Can you tell me the name of the sword technique you have mastered?”

Unhyun hesitated for a moment.

He did not know what reaction saying ‘Cultivation Sword’ would bring.

However, he was not ashamed.

He simply needed a moment to prepare himself.

Unhyun slowly opened his mouth.

“It is called the White Tiger Cultivation Sword.”

The Divine Monk frowned and turned to the Sword Saint.

He was asking if he knew the sword technique.

However, instead of answering, the Sword Saint looked at Unhyun with an intense gaze.

“Can you show it to me here and now?”

His gaze was so earnest that Unhyun almost nodded involuntarily.

He certainly would have, had it not been for the Divine Monk’s voice.

“This guy, really!”

The Divine Monk frowned.

“Asking him to show his sword technique, are you trying to ruin even this humble home we have left?”

For the Sword Saint to ask to see the sword technique was tantamount to asking for a duel.

The Divine Monk found it absurd.

“You don’t think about the circumstances and just do as you please, is that why people call you crazy about the sword? If you’ve grown old, you should think a little…”

“I am fine with it.”

At Unhyun’s sudden words, the Divine Monk looked blank.

“…What did you say?”

At the Divine Monk’s question, Unhyun blinked with a puzzled expression.

He wondered if he had said something wrong, but for Unhyun, it was an honest answer.

“I don’t mind. It’s not like I particularly need a sword…”

This time, the Sword Saint also looked at Unhyun.

Receiving the gazes of the two men, Unhyun wondered if he had said something wrong, but he couldn’t pinpoint anything in particular.

‘If it’s a master of this level…’

Normally, one would wield a wooden sword and perform the White Tiger Cultivation Sword.

However, as Instructor Ilchunghyun had done, these men would be able to discern even the unseen movements of the sword.

That was what Unhyun thought.

However, for Divine Monk Bulyeong and Sword Saint Lee Geom-hak, there was nothing as absurd as Unhyun’s answer.

“Hahahaha.”

The Sword Saint’s loud laughter echoed through Waryongheon.

He, who had always been silent and spoke in a low voice, was now laughing so heartily that Waryongheon seemed to shake.

“Hahahaha.”

Flap.

Startled by the ear-splitting laughter, birds flew up, and Unhyun and the Divine Monk also frowned.

However, the Sword Saint did not stop laughing easily.

“Yes, you are right.”

The Sword Saint said loudly with a cheerful expression. He looked straight at Unhyun, his eyes shining.

“A sword is something one can have or not have. Hahaha.”

The Sword Saint was laughing as if he couldn’t be happier.

“I would like to see your sword right away, but it is a pity that it is not yet the time. However.”

At that moment, Unhyun clearly saw the Sword Saint’s eyes burning like fire.

“I will not forget your answer.”

“Ah, yes…”

Unhyun awkwardly bowed his head and replied.

However, the meaning of the Sword Saint’s words did not easily sink in.

‘I think there’s some kind of misunderstanding…’

But he was not given the opportunity to confirm or resolve that misunderstanding.

“Tsk, I thought this guy was the only one crazy about the sword. Not caring that it’s not his house…, tsk.”

The Divine Monk clicked his tongue, looking back and forth between the Sword Saint and Unhyun.

Feeling that the misunderstanding would solidify if left unchecked, Unhyun quickly said.

“Um, as I said, I am…”

“I know.”

The Divine Monk said firmly. Unhyun gave an awkward smile.

‘I don’t think you do.’

Smirking, the Divine Monk continued.

“I know well enough that you are not a Murim person, so there is no need to try any further. If you wish to be called a scholar, so be it. Or was it called Un Bachelor?”

It seemed that some misunderstandings remained, but in any case, Unhyun seemed to have achieved his goal.

Moreover, no matter what he said here, it did not seem that the Divine Monk’s mind would change.

The Divine Monk smiled with a subtle expression and asked.

“So, who taught you the sword?”

Unhyun answered. As it was.

“There is someone who taught me martial arts, but I did not learn the sword.”

The Divine Monk’s brow furrowed again.

“What kind of talk is that?”

Unhyun hesitated for a moment.

To explain properly, he would have to talk about the events in the Forbidden City, the report he submitted to His Highness the Crown Prince in Changryong Hall, and Ilchunghyun, the Gold Guard Instructor, and the White Tiger Cultivation Sword.

How could he convince them that he had learned martial arts merely as part of his studies, and that he had practiced swordsmanship only out of scholarly curiosity?

To those who were not even willing to listen to his words properly.

In the end, Unhyun sighed.

“I learned about martial arts from a person named Ilchunghyun. But I am not his disciple.”

Just thinking about it made his heart ache. Unhyun unconsciously placed his hand on his chest, checking the feel of the ring.

He was not Ilchunghyun’s disciple.

But he had been a teacher to Unhyun, and sometimes a brother.

A sworn brother bound by hot tears, and the most upright and warm-hearted person Unhyun knew.

And what should he say about the man who had conveyed the most precious beliefs of a martial artist?

Could they understand the meaning that the name Ilchunghyun held for Unhyun simply by telling them what had happened?

“Without a sect or a master, knowing only the sword…”

At the Divine Monk’s voice, muttering as if to himself, Unhyun said firmly.

“As I said, I am a scholar.”

“Alright, I know. Who said you weren’t a scholar? I can tell just by looking at how you’re dressed.”

The Divine Monk said that as a reproach and then fiddled with the cold teacup with both hands, as if thinking about something.

Then, he suddenly asked Unhyun again.

“Then what are you doing here now? Are you chasing after a woman you like?”

Unhyun was speechless.

It wasn’t impossible to explain, but wasn’t his current situation ultimately that he was unemployed and doing nothing?

“…I heard that the scenery of Hangzhou is famous, so I stopped by for a while. I met the party from the Northern Ice Palace by chance.”

Forcing himself to harden his face, which was about to turn red without him realizing it, Unhyun replied.

It wasn’t a crime to be unemployed, nor had he done anything wrong, but he couldn’t help but shrink his shoulders.

“…So, in the end, you’re doing nothing and just playing around.”

At the Divine Monk’s one-liner that pierced the core, Unhyun’s face hardened.