Call Of The Spear [EN]: Chapter 275

Nangseon’s Romantic Tale – 274

“What are you saying? That they won’t make it through the night?”

It was such an unexpected statement.

“In truth, those children had already reached the limit of their lifespans. As Hon-a [youthful-looking individuals with extended lifespans], they didn’t appear aged on the outside, but inside, they were already crumbling.”

“Then why are you telling me this only now? If I had known sooner…”

I would have paid more attention.

“It was their wish.”

Cheonbeom frowned.

“Jangcheon, I’m sorry about this.”

“It’s alright. I may be of some help, so let’s go together.”

“Thank you. Madam, please guide us to the children immediately.”

* * *

The full moon hung brightly in the sky that night.

The chilling breeze brushed against his skin, greeting him with a reproachful gust.

“No, what is all this…”

Cheonbeom doubted his eyes.

In front of the pavilion on Jiknyeo Peak, one of the peaks of Mount Baek, the children of Eungmyeongcheonchung [a group or clan] lay side by side on a magic circle drawn on the ground.

“What is all this?”

They said they wouldn’t make it through the night, but what was this all about?

Why were the Hon-a lying there in the freezing night air that cut through the skin?

“It is their wish.”

She answered Cheonbeom’s question.

It was the children’s wish.

He frowned instantly but didn’t say anything more.

Rushing over, he examined the children’s condition and found that Cho-a’s words were true.

‘Like a single strand of thread.’

Their lifelines were like a single thread, barely holding on.

“Headmaster…”

“What is all this? No, never mind. Let’s go inside first. It’s cold. Why are you lying here in just thin mourning clothes when even I’m cold?”

He spoke to them as they lay there, but they only smiled strangely and shook their heads.

“It is our long-cherished wish.”

“The only wish I feel right now is this cold pine breeze, what other wish are you talking about?”

He even scolded them in frustration, but their expressions remained unchanged.

“Headmaster, we have always been concerned that we have not repaid the kindness you have shown us.”

The three Eungmyeongcheonchung Hon-a were lying uniformly on the magic circle drawn on the ground.

In the center of the magic circle, there was only a long-necked vase.

“…If you want to repay my kindness, don’t lie here and live longer.”

The Hon-a smiled contentedly at his grumbling words.

“We knew you would say that.”

“Do you remember? Our bloodline’s divine power.”

Of course, he knew.

They were children with the divine power of Eungmyeongcheonchung, which allowed them to transfer their life to others.

Children with a tragic fate because of that divine power.

But now, they were grown up enough to be called women, and also aged.

“So… we have no regrets.”

“What do you have no regrets about?”

“Although our lifespans are exhausted, it was not a bad life.”

“I’m glad we finished it before we died.”

They shed tears as if they were truly relieved and slowly closed their eyes.

Cheonbeom clutched his troubled heart and listened to their story.

“We have always vowed to use our lives for the Headmaster.”

“But that opportunity did not come easily, and the Headmaster did not allow it.”

He was often away from Mount Baek.

There were hardly any opportunities, and even when they came, he always refused.

So they had resolved.

“To help in any way.”

“To be of assistance in any way.”

“To repay in any way.”

That was the result: the magic circle and the children on it.

“It is a technique we have painstakingly created over a lifetime, and at the same time, a gift for the Headmaster.”

He felt more complicated than happy.

The bloodline’s divine power of these children was at the cost of their own lives.

And the technique and gift made with it.

He saw through the components of the magic circle at a glance and immediately realized what the children were trying to do.

“I had forgotten about you. As an excuse for being busy… and also to avoid carrying the burden on my heart.”

So this gift was too much.

Too heavy.

He was still regretting it.

If he had paid a little more attention, if he had let them marry and start a family, wouldn’t they have lived a better life than this?

“We wanted this.”

“It is our wish.”

The three children of Eungmyeongcheonchung were sisters.

The first was named Manwol (Full Moon), the second Banwol (Half Moon), and the third Chowol (New Moon).

But those names would soon disappear as well.

Zhi-iiiing.

The magic circle drawn on the ground rose with intangible energy and stopped in the air.

Soon, it began to spin, illuminating the surroundings with a soft light.

The condensed spiritual energy flowing from the magic circle bounced up like plump water droplets.

Then, a thick energy flowed from the bodies of the three sisters, and small pillars of light were emitted.

A flickering pillar of light that was neither strong nor weak.

‘Like a heat haze.’

Was it a projection of the three sisters’ lives?

His heart ached at the particularly weak energy of the magic circle.

“Madam helped.”

Cho-a hesitated, then bowed her head deeply and answered.

“Yes, I did.”

The form of the magic circle and the completeness of the technique were too advanced to have been created by them alone.

Such a profound magic circle would be difficult without Cho-a’s skill, who was one of the most skilled in Mount Baek.

“Please understand.

The happiness those children felt when they were rescued from that place has not faded over time. That is why they wanted to neglect their training and leave behind such techniques and traces.”

Only to repay his kindness.

“Haa…”

Cheonbeom sighed.

His eyes were filled with regret and bitterness, but his heart was warmed.

In this treacherous world where people would steal the shirt off your back, there were some who cared for him.

Perhaps that was why he lived on and tried to give his heart.

‘It takes too much time and thought to judge that, though…’

Whoosh.

A strong wind blew through his hair due to the influence of the magic circle.

Following his swaying hair, he looked up at the sky and saw three small balls of light rising along the heat haze-like pillars of light.

When he lowered his gaze, the sisters who had been lying on the magic circle were gone.

His eyes followed the light.

When the three balls of light trembled as if giggling.

Whoosh. The pillars of light disappeared in an instant, and darkness fell upon Jiknyeo Peak.

Faint smoke rose from the magic circle drawn on the ground, and a single flower bloomed in the vase in the center. He quietly stared at the flower blooming in the vase before slowly moving his feet.

One step, one step. With each step he took, the purple flower slowly withered, and the petals fell.

Where they fell, red fruits began to form, and when Cheonbeom knelt in front of the vase.

“Why of all things…”

Three fruits had formed.

Red fruits about the size of a finger joint.

“Why of all things, wolfberries?”

It was the fruit of the wolfberry [also known as goji berry, a traditional Chinese medicine].

He carefully held the small wolfberry fruit in his hand, as if it would fall, and smiled bitterly as he caressed the fruit.

“The flower language of the wolfberry is sacrifice, they say.”

Sadly, it suited them so well.

“It suits them unnecessarily well.”

Contrary to his blunt words, Cheonbeom’s hand stroked and caressed the wolfberries as if they were treasures.

‘Bloodline’s divine power.’

It was contained in the fruit.

This was the children’s life itself.

The divine power of Eungmyeongcheonchung was to transfer life and connect the thread.

A divine power that grants another life.

Or a divine power that sacrifices.

‘…Although the essence is different, it suits what I have quite well.’

It was a divine power similar to Yungjeonga-dan [a type of elixir] and Subongoeoe-jeong [another type of elixir], yet slightly different. In Cheonbeom’s mind, he was already thinking of creating a new technique using the wolfberry fruits created by the children.

Yungjeonga-dan and Subongoeoe-jeong.

And if these were combined, another energy, mountain, and life would be obtained.

When they become one, it will become a divine power to protect himself in times of crisis.

“But it’s a pity, and ambiguous.”

It was a truly ambiguous feeling.

“What should I call this feeling?”

What should I know this feeling as?

He couldn’t express it.

He was sad, but not enough to shed tears, and he was disappointed, but not enough to make his heart ache.

It was a truly ambiguous relationship and an ambiguous ending.

“……Husband. The night breeze is cold. You should go back now.”

The night breeze of Mount Baek was cold and bitter.

The rustling breeze passed through the forests of Mount Baek, over the snowfields, and blew with a stinging chill.

But Cheonbeom shook his head.

“It’s warm enough now.”

How could she not know the meaning behind those words?

Cho-a wore a faint smile.

“Shall I prepare a table of drinks?”

“Please do.”

Then Jangcheon also approached slyly.

He sat next to Cheonbeom without saying a word and took out a bottle of alcohol from his chest.

Clinking glasses, they drank one cup.

They drank two cups, and then three cups.

The sound of insects chirping and the rising full moon illuminated the faint night.

Fireflies flickered, illuminating the night, and the three of them sat around the table of drinks, chatting.

Sometimes calmly, sometimes with a sigh, quietly.

Soon the moon set and the sun rose.

The morning dew reflected in the sunlight sparkled, and the shrunken flowers bloomed again.

Small animals that had been sleeping all night woke up and stretched, peeking their heads out from the bushes and looking around.

Cheonbeom’s eyes, looking at Mount Baek, which seemed to have changed and yet remained the same, were filled with regret.

“Are you lonely?”

Cho-a asked.

But Cheonbeom shook his head.

“Then are you sad?”

Cheonbeom shook his head calmly at the repeated question.

“Then what is it?”

When she asked, Cheonbeom answered.

“Beautiful.”

“Beautiful?”

“Beautiful… so it’s a pity.”

Like that brightly shining sunlight.

Like the dew sparkling in the sunlight.

Like the flowers blooming after drinking the dew.

The sparkle is always fleeting, so it’s only beautiful and regrettable.

“Like me?”

Cheonbeom chuckled at the absurd question.

“Let’s just say that.”

“You’ve changed. You used to say I was the most beautiful, and now you’re like this?”

“Ahem, with Cheon-i here, you can’t even distinguish between what should and shouldn’t be said.”

“What does it matter? He’s my husband’s best friend, so there’s no need to hold back, right?”

“Oh, geez…”

I can’t say anything.

He smiled, and she leaned her head on his shoulder, looking so happy.

She must be a little drunk.

“Do not cling to life. For life is made up of birth and death together.

Life is the path to death.

Life can be said to be death.

Life is dawn.

And at the same time, dusk.

It’s all for naught, even if you cry out loud.

There’s no one to welcome you, so it’s like a phantom.”

This friend is also drunk.

“It’s only for a moment, so isn’t it beautiful?”

“Seven hundred years ago, Hwanmang Seonsa also said that to me… Like master, like disciple, only saying the same things.”

“That’s all I’ve learned, so it can’t be helped.”

Jangcheon, who shrugged his shoulders and poured the glass of alcohol, looked somehow happy.

So the three of them sat side by side for a long time, resting their chins on their hands, watching the rising sun.

Slowly, slowly.

The rising sun was dazzling.

It was beautiful.