Emperor’s Sword [EN]: Chapter 85

The Meaning of Tears!

Pa Cheon headed towards Suhwajeon, Dokgo Seolran’s residence. The leaders of the hidden guards around the lake revealed themselves and greeted him as he approached. Pa Cheon casually acknowledged their greetings and walked across the floating bridge that spanned the lake. The clear sky reflected perfectly on the water, harmonizing with the picturesque pavilion, creating a scene like a watercolor painting. The significance of the person residing within added to the fresh emotion it evoked in Pa Cheon. He had thought of her during the danger he faced from the Blood Demon Heaven’s plot, a time when he might have died. She was the only person for whom Pa Cheon had ever felt the emotion of love. He was going to Dokgo Seolran.

Was it merely his delusion to feel that his life was not his alone after this crisis? It was not. At least, for the woman before him, her existence was too significant to discuss life without her. She was, as always, looking out at the world through the small window that opened to the outside. A small world, almost entirely occupied by the man who stood smiling before her, yet her heart was so heavy… Dokgo Seolran was thinking of Pa Cheon, as she did every day, with the window open. Perhaps her heart was too small, for it was filled with thoughts of him, leaving no room for anything else.

‘Haa… I wonder if Cheonlang [My Beloved] will come today?’

The way she addressed Pa Cheon was inconsistent. She had called him ‘Young Master’ at first, then ‘Gaga’ [Older Brother] at some point, and now ‘Cheonlang.’ From her perspective, the title didn’t matter. It was frustrating that Pa Cheon was always busy with matters outside, never paying attention to her, but she had decided that it was all for the safety of many people. Since hearing that news had been cut off some time ago, she had been spending her days in tears and sighs. Nothing could capture her attention.

Despite this, there was another person in Suhwajeon that she had to care for: Hwansa. She visited Hwansa’s room once a day. There, she would talk about Pa Cheon as if in a monologue before returning. Thanks to Ui No, she had returned to normal, but she still remained silent, her eyes seeming to chase after illusions. There was a time when she showed a brief interest, and that was when Seolran talked about Pa Cheon. Knowing this, she deliberately spoke of him in front of Hwansa.

‘Huu…’

‘Seolran.’

His sweet voice seemed to echo in her ears. Seolran buried her face in her arms resting on the windowsill.

‘Seolran.’

The hallucination was so clear that she shed tears. The tears flowed down her face, soaked her arms, and pooled on the windowsill.

‘Seolran. It’s me. I’m here.’

‘This, this is… no way.’

She slowly raised her head and looked behind her. That smile…

‘Ah…’

Dokgo Seolran couldn’t move, even with Pa Cheon, whom she had longed to see, standing before her. She was afraid that if she moved carelessly, he would vanish like a phantom.

‘Is it really… Cheonlang?’

‘Yes, it’s me.’

Pa Cheon opened his arms and smiled brightly.

‘Cheonlang.’

Dokgo Seolran didn’t hesitate any longer and leaped into the arms of her beloved, whom she had dreamed of. Pa Cheon held her tightly. The two stood there embracing for a long time, as if this moment would never come again. Words were not even necessary between them.

They looked into each other’s eyes again, feeling the love hidden within, and their lips met. A feeling deeper and warmer than body heat quickly guided them, expressing their desire to never be apart again. There was nothing more comforting than sharing each other’s emotions, especially when they shared the common denominator of love.

The two sat across from each other with a teacup between them. Dokgo Seolran’s eyes shone brightly, as if nothing had happened, and her face bloomed like a flower petal. Just looking at him made her feel infinitely happy.

‘Cheonlang, do you know how much I’ve been heartbroken these days?’

Pa Cheon replied to her words in a slightly blunt tone.

‘Was it?’

‘But where have you been all this time? You must not forget that you have become a significant person to many people. There are people waiting anxiously for you.’

‘…’

‘Didn’t my brother come with you?’

‘Huh? Uh-huh.’

Pa Cheon was inwardly startled by her question. She shouldn’t know yet that her only brother, Dokgo Mu, had died. The sight of her grieving would undoubtedly burden him further. It was a fact she would eventually learn, but he wanted to delay it as much as possible.

‘I have something to tell you, Cheonlang.’

He thought that Seolran, who was staring intently at him, was truly beautiful. The thought of her shining eyes filled with sadness was unbearable.

‘What is it?’

‘I wasn’t the only one waiting for you. There’s another person who has been waiting desperately.’

Pa Cheon didn’t understand what she meant and just stared at Seolran, but he couldn’t discern anything from her face.

‘Go see Hwansa.’

‘Hwansa?’

‘Yes… I think you’re the only person in this world who can bring her back to her old self.’

‘Me?’

‘Yes. She hasn’t recovered from the shock. Her despair seems to have deepened because of you.’

‘What are you talking about?’

Pa Cheon truly didn’t understand what she meant. Dokgo Seolran looked at him and suddenly said,

‘You’ll understand everything when you meet her. And if… if you can’t bring her back to her old self, I might be disappointed in you, Cheonlang.’

‘What is this about? I need to know something to make sense of this!’

He was dragged by Dokgo Seolran to the front of the room where Hwansa was staying. She hugged him once more, gave him a meaningful look, and disappeared down the hallway. Pa Cheon tilted his head at her behavior.

‘How am I supposed to bring Hwansa back to her old self? Women are so…’ He was curious about Hwansa’s condition, so he opened the door and went inside. Unlike his expectations, she wasn’t lying on the bed. A large landscape painting hung on the wall in front of the bed, and she was sitting on a chair, staring blankly at it. Despite the sound of him entering, she showed no interest. Pa Cheon deliberately coughed a few times, but her attitude didn’t change. He pulled a vacant chair from the side and sat behind her. He wondered what she was looking at so intently and followed her gaze.

The setting sun was hanging on the high mountain range, and the stream flowing through the valley seemed to be 끊어질 듯 이어지며 [flowing intermittently], adorning the canvas. A figure, seemingly human, was pushing aside the hazy mist with their hand as they climbed the mountain. It was a common painting, not particularly a masterpiece, and there seemed to be nothing that would capture her attention so completely. Pa Cheon tilted his head.

‘Hwansa.’

Pa Cheon’s soft voice awakened Hwansa’s scattered spirit. She didn’t respond to his call. Pa Cheon called her name again with more force.

‘Hwansa.’

Hwansa’s shoulder twitched. Her dark brown hair seemed to ripple like a calm wave.

‘Hwansa.’

Pa Cheon called her name again and grabbed her shoulder. She turned her head and coldly shook off Pa Cheon’s hand resting gently on her shoulder. Then, without even glancing at Pa Cheon, she got up from her seat and went to lie down on the bed. She raised one arm over her face as if blinded by the light and remained motionless, as if she had fallen asleep. Pa Cheon was a little taken aback by her attitude.

‘Tch, why is she like that? What did I do wrong to deserve this?’

Pa Cheon hesitated. He didn’t know whether to leave the room or try to have a friendly conversation with her again, despite his damaged pride. He couldn’t easily decide. Pa Cheon also felt somewhat wronged. Why did he have to face this predicament and receive such poor treatment? Moreover, from Hwansa’s perspective, he was her savior, wasn’t he? Pa Cheon was immersed in these perfectly normal thoughts. If Dokgo Seolran’s request hadn’t come to mind, he might have left the room and never looked for Hwansa again.

‘Ugh, fine. I’ll endure it. You’ve always ignored me from the start, so there’s no reason to feel resentful now.’

‘Hey, Hwansa. Are you going to act like this? Get up quickly. What kind of young lady is rolling around on the floor in broad daylight?’

Pa Cheon’s words were exactly how he used to treat Hwansa. Only Hwansa’s reaction was different from before.

‘Look at you, I treat you nicely, and you take my words lightly. Hey, Hwansa. Are you going to get up before I spank you? How long are you going to play around? Is this all you’ve become, you loudmouth?’

Pa Cheon approached the bed, grabbed the blanket covering Hwansa’s body, and threw it to the floor. She remained lying there, unmoved by Pa Cheon’s actions. The thin robe revealed the curves of her body, showing off her fantastic figure to Pa Cheon. Pa Cheon grabbed Hwansa’s arm, which was covering her face, and said,

‘Hwansa. Are my words not…’ He couldn’t continue. Hwansa’s beautiful blue eyes were wet with tears, and they were overflowing, running down her cheeks. Hwansa’s blue eyes, staring up at him, were saying a lot, but Pa Cheon wasn’t sensitive enough to feel it.

‘You… why are you crying?’

‘Damn it…’

Pa Cheon released Hwansa’s arm. Looking into Hwansa’s eyes made him feel an inexplicable sadness, and he didn’t like that feeling.

‘Huu.’

Pa Cheon pulled a chair and sat in front of the bed. He looked at her face for a long time without saying a word. Then, the words flowed from his mouth.

‘You know, you’re really pretty now. If this goes wrong, there might be a saying called the Three Beauties of the Martial World…’

Hwansa turned her body away from Pa Cheon.

‘You’re really something. What’s the reason? Why has the arrogant, rude, and fearless girl changed like this? And why are you crying? Did your long-lost father suddenly come back and die? Say something.’

Pa Cheon shouted loudly. It was more of a self-reproach than a shout at Hwansa, expressing his guilt for not being able to prevent her misfortune. Pa Cheon grabbed Hwansa’s shoulders and turned her body towards him. His eyes met Hwansa’s directly, and a low but powerful voice flowed from his mouth.

‘Forget all that. What has changed? You are still the same as before. The only thing that has changed is your thoughts… Listen carefully. I… I liked the old Hwansa much better. You were a reckless, rude, and arrogant girl, but I think I liked you better then.’

Pa Cheon sat on the bed and forcefully pulled Hwansa up to a sitting position. Hwansa had her eyes tightly closed.

‘Hwansa. Listen to me. You have more days to live than you have lived. If you’re going to live like this, it’s better to die. If not, shake it off and get up. And live as if to show them. Achieve what you want and do what you want. Don’t waste your short life living like that…’

Unorganized words poured out of Pa Cheon’s mouth. It wasn’t often that he lost his composure like this.

‘Let go.’

It was the first word Hwansa had spoken.

‘Let go. I said let go. What do you know? The memory of those bastards climbing on top of me and panting is so vivid, how would a man like you know that? Get out of my way. Save your useless advice for your subordinates. Damn men. They’re all selfish and do whatever they want. You’re no different. Do you understand? They’ll do anything, no matter how vile or despicable, to achieve their goals, and they don’t feel a shred of guilt. And then they act like they’re so great, saying that living for ambition is a man’s life. Huh. Damn men! You’re all the same. Get out of my way. Get out of here. Hah.’

She buried her face in her knees. Her shoulders were shaking as she tried to hold back her tears. Pa Cheon was stunned by Hwansa’s sudden outburst.

‘Yeah, maybe. Maybe I’m no different. No, rather, I’m the kind of guy who would do even worse things to protect what I have. Yeah, that’s right. But the problem is… you’re also included in what I have, so what should I do? Seeing you like this makes me feel like I’m losing to an enemy I can’t even see, and I don’t like that feeling. Heh, yeah. I’m definitely a man, and I probably fit into the category you’re talking about. But this one thing is clear. At least, if it were me, I wouldn’t do anything that would please the bastards who hurt, tormented, and mocked me. I’d rather get up as if nothing happened and take revenge on them. And I’ll gain the strength to make sure they never bother me again. I’ll turn the world upside down and fix what’s wrong. That’s why I live. If I can’t even do that, it’s better to die. Damn it… I don’t even know what I’m saying. Fine, I’ll leave. If you hate and despise my appearance, I’ll leave.’

Pa Cheon got up and walked towards the door. His steps seemed weak. He stopped and didn’t forget to say one last thing.

‘But… at least I thought of you as a friend… I guess you didn’t feel the same way? I’ll come back. I hope you find your true self. Your true self that doesn’t fade in the face of any hardship…’

As Pa Cheon disappeared outside, she burst into tears. She cried without stopping, as if she was so sad, and because of that, Suhwajeon became even heavier.