༺ Fifth Chapter – Dragon Phoenix Tournament (16) ༻
Star God Sect.
Eleventh Generation Disciple.
And Young Sect Leader.
Through those three things contained in his sentence, Namgung Hyuk knew.
“So he’s alive.”
Sword Star Mok Seon-oh had not passed away yet.
Namgung Hyuk felt pleased.
His barely contained aura burst out viciously, and Mok Riwon was unable to breathe from the pressure.
“Where is he?”
He asked again, a light flickering in his eyes.
“Where is the Sword Star? Indeed, that Beggar King must be with him as well? Tell me.”
All the forces that made up the space screamed. They crushed, shattered, and slammed into the ground.
It was purely from the energy flowing out; he hadn’t even revealed the fullest extent of his strength.
The Transcendent Realm.
Among all the peerless talents in this vast Central Plains, only those who were considered the best could barely step foot on the threshold of the Supreme Realm, and bearing down on Mok Riwon was one such overwhelming force.
“Ugh…!”
Mok Riwon’s eyes widened. He somehow held onto his trembling legs and maintained the fist-palm salute.
It felt like someone was twisting his neck and squeezing it.
An overpowering sensation made him feel like he would faint at any moment, but Mok Riwon did not collapse.
“I… cannot say.”
“The reason?”
“…Because Esteemed Sword King did not tell me the reason for seeking Master. I do not want to do anything that threatens Master’s well-being.”
Mok Riwon stared directly into his eyes.
Namgung Hyuk observed him while dominating his very being.
His eyes had firm determination and resolution.
Namgung Hyuk continued the silence as if pondering something, then gathered qi.
“…You are absolutely right. As a martial artist and a disciple.”
He continued his words.
“I showed an undignified appearance. I apologize.”
He was a very young junior, and also a man who came to pay respects without even knowing the reason.
Namgung Hyuk felt ashamed that he couldn’t control his momentary emotions even while facing him.
It was then that he could breathe again, and he exhaled deeply.
Then, Mok Riwon bowed his head.
“Thank you for your consideration.”
“I will ask again. Where is the Sword Star?”
Mok Riwon’s body began trembling slightly.
An uneasy expression formed on his face.
‘It’s back to the beginning.’
The conversation was not progressing.
While he lacked the brutality Ma Il-seok had mentioned, his stubborn temper was so unsettling that perhaps being vicious would be better.
“Forgiv…”
“I do not intend to harm him.”
Mok Riwon looked up.
And Namgung Hyuk continued in a monotone voice with his usual stiff face.
“I simply have a debt to settle with him.”
“By debt, you mean…”
“We haven’t had a decisive match yet. We need to have a duel.”
Mok Riwon tightly closed his mouth.
At that moment, Ma Il-seok’s words flashed through his mind.
–Do you understand how shameless that Sword King bastard is? If he says he had a duel with Brother, just know it’s a hundred losses out of a hundred matches! Even though he hasn’t won a single time, he persistently sticks to him and says ‘We haven’t had a decisive match yet.’ He’s a real funny guy. He doesn’t even consider the duels he lost as duels. Instead of Sword King, he should be called Sword Lunatic.
The words deeply resonated.
It was merely Ma Il-seok’s biased view, but nevertheless, Mok RIwon couldn’t help but agree.
‘What should I do…?’
Mok Riwon continued to ponder.
First of all, it was clear that there were no ill intentions towards him.
That was because even though he already knew everything about him, he wasn’t even mentioning the ‘Heaven’ of the Heaven-Slaying Star.
Not only that, even while asking for the Sword Star’s location, he didn’t express any negative emotions towards him at all.
Just the desire to win.
That was all he could see coming from Sword King Namgung Hyuk.
“…May I ask one thing?”
“Speak.”
“Why do you desire a duel with Master?”
“…”
For the first time, Namgung Hyuk’s expression changed. His face seemed to say that was an absurd question.
“Is a reason necessary?”
Namgung Hyuk truly couldn’t understand.
There was a strong opponent he had never surpassed in his life.
At the end of his lingering attachment was victory or defeat.
As a martial artist and a swordsman, it was stranger to give up and back down when such an opponent existed.
“I just want to have a match with him.”
“…”
Mok Riwon felt an impulsive desire.
When was the last time he felt this way?
It was the first time since a certain day when he was ten years old, when Ma Il-seok threw him a trap and told him to catch a rabbit, saying, ‘I want to eat meat today.’
He suddenly felt his energy draining.
While feeling that way, a sudden conviction swept over him about the answer Namgung Hyuk was urging him for.
“…He is in Jiangxi Province. I can’t say any more than that.”
“Jiangxi Province. I heard you clearly.”
Namgung Hyuk’s expression hardened again.
It was a somewhat satisfied face.
Mok Riwon thought to himself.
‘There won’t be any trouble.’
Whatever happened, Namgung Hyuk’s desire ended with a match.
“You may leave now.”
He said that and closed his eyes.
Nothing in his voice indicated he had any personal feelings towards the man before him.
Mok Riwon wanted to resolve the small anxiety that still remained within him at that sight.
“…May I ask one more thing?”
“What is it?”
“You don’t seem to have any other feelings towards me. But surely, you know about the star that was bestowed upon me…”
“Is it important?”
“…What?”
Namgung Hyuk opened his eyes.
Having finished his business with him, his gaze was filled with indifference.
“Do you think a mere star determines the sword?”
Mok Riwon’s eyes slightly widened.
Namgung Hyuk snorted at his face.
“Whatever it is, in the end, you are the one who wields the sword. That’s all there is to it.”
Sword King Namgung Hyuk.
He was a man who truly dedicated his life to the sword.
Nothing was important to him except the act of wielding the sword.
This was the same even on the day the Bloodied History ended.
–Don’t make me laugh. Are you saying you will put down your sword now?
–I am not saying I will put down my sword. I am saying I will relinquish my name.
–Will you take that back if I tear that lump of flesh to death?
–Sword King, my decision will not change.
–…
He was a man without the slightest interest in Mok Riwon’s birth.
If he were to be interested in something, it would only be in the sword he learned and his martial talent.
“You may leave now.”
“…Yes, I apologize for the discourtesy.”
Mok Riwon felt his insides turn with an indescribable emotion.
He was someone destined to be denounced throughout the Central Plains. Thus, meeting someone who he did not need to hide his origins from, someone who did not deny his existence, made him feel nostalgic.
Even if it was indifference rather than thoughtfulness.
When Mok Riwon turned around and left the room, Namgung Hyuk looked at his back and thought to himself.
‘That fellow is much better.’
He was comparing his grandson Namgung Jincheon and Mok Riwon.
‘It will be worth watching.’
The transcendent martial artist was certain.
The tyrant would not defeat the slaughterer.
Because he only knew arrogance, because he was trapped in his own little world filled with that arrogance. That was why he would lose.
However, what was important came next.
‘Indeed…’
Would his grandson cast aside his pride and move forward, or would he forever be caught by his inner demons and crumble?
Whatever the case, he needed to be prepared.
Leaving the courtyard house, Mok Riwon headed to the pond in the corner with mixed emotions.
It was a fairly chilly pond with vibrant green pine trees sparsely creating shade.
‘I’m just a swordsman.’
Mok Riwon repeated those words, smiling slightly.
‘Yes, I am a swordsman. A person who achieves chivalry through the sword.’
He felt joy, but also an overwhelming emotion.
As Mok Riwon was smiling while repeating his words, he felt a certain image that had been hidden in the fog start to faintly appear.
It was something like a small enlightenment, a realization about the essence of martial arts, chivalry, intent, and the sword.
Although the enlightenment was like a dim light akin to a fleeting thought that was difficult to grasp, Mok Riwon wasn’t impatient.
‘I should return and meditate.’
With the hazy outline starting to take shape, enlightenment seemed within his reach, as it always had been.
His hands were itching.
He wanted to hurry and swing his sword.
While getting up with that thought in mind,
“Heuh…”
A very young voice was heard nearby.
The thought ‘oh my’ emerged.
He was embarrassed that he didn’t know someone was approaching while lost in thought.
Mok Riwon turned around.
A young girl was there, likely only six or seven years old, blushing with a stunned expression.
“Hm?”
“Hueh…”
The girl’s eyes sparkled dreamily and her chubby cheeks deeply flushed, which was quite adorable.
‘A child of the Namgung Clan?’
There was no other explanation because she was wearing clothes clearly made of precious materials at a glance.
“Who are you, little one?”
Mok Riwon asked with a bright smile.
The girl was startled by that smile and her eyes shone.
“So-Soah…”
“I see, Soah. Are you perhaps lost?”
He asked that question because there was no one take caring of her even though she was wearing such valuable clothes.
The girl who introduced herself as Soah, shook her head and answered.
“No…”
Then she wiggled her fingertips.
When Mok Riwon tilted his head watching that.
Thump–
Soah hugged Mok Riwon’s leg.
“Husband…!”
Soah shouted again with her eyes tightly closed.
“My husband…!”
Mok Riwon was flustered.
It was inevitable.
Who in the world wouldn’t be flustered when a young child suddenly called them their husband?
He smiled awkwardly while scratching his cheek, then patted her head and said.
“I’m sorry. I’m not your husband.”
Gasp!
Soah looked at him with a face as if her world was falling apart.
“You aren’t…?”
“No, I’m not.”
It was a pitiful situation.
Mok Riwon was a man with a good head and… decent common sense, but apart from that, he was ignorant about many aspects of people.
Especially children.
He, who had only interacted with elders or peers until now, had no understanding of a child’s innocence or the admiration a child harbored.
Soah’s face grew increasingly on the verge of tears.
“Husband is gone…”
“Saying gone is incorrect. Gone means something that existed has disappeared, and since Soah’s husband didn’t exist in the first place, ‘Soah doesn’t have a husband’ would be a more correct expression.”
Mok Riwon smiled with satisfaction, thinking he had spoken coherently on the topic.
However, it was a mistake.
“Hic…!”
The truth was too heavy of a burden for the young child.
Soah sobbed more.
So he blurted out panicking.
“Wh-Why are you crying…!”
“Husbaaand…!”
“Huh? Husband? Are you crying because you don’t have a husband? You don’t have to cry! When you grow up and become an adult, you will surely meet a wonderful husband!”
“Husbaaand…!”
“Y-You’re too young to have a husband! So stop crying!”
Mok Riwon relentlessly pushed the child away.
At this point, it would be fine to say something like ‘I’m your husband,’ but it was too much to expect from him who only spoke honestly.
As for Soah. Her full name was Namgung Soah, and for the first time in her life, she met someone who didn’t give in to her tantrums.
On top of that, she had to be an incredibly handsome man whose looks were extremely eye-catching.
It would have been fortunate if she had even gotten angry, but his appearance was too breathtaking.
After all, she had never seen a face in her life that made her feel less angry simply by looking at it.
There was only one thing she could do in the end.
If it doesn’t work, just do it till it does.
Just like her uncle, Blue Sword Namgung Woon always said. For the first time in Namgung Soah’s life, she was persistent.
“Husband–!”
Namgung Soah clung to his leg like a cicada.
He felt his heart jump at that loud cry.
At that moment.
“Soah.”
A man’s voice echoed.
It was Namgung Jincheon.
Namgung Soah slightly raised her head and looked at him.
“…Big brother?”
“Come here.”
Namgung Jincheon waved his hand with an indifferent face.
She hesitated, alternating her gaze between Mok Riwon and him. Then finally, pouting her lips, headed towards her brother.
He picked her up and then looked at Mok Riwon, remaining silent.
“…”
“…”
The silence was uncomfortable.
Dispelling it, Namgung Jincheon asked in a voice without even a grain of emotion.
“Ink Sword, are you attracted to children?”
“No–!”
Mok Riwon felt like he would go crazy from this slander.
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