Light Novel: Volume 9 Episode 14Manhwa: N/A
The moment he saw the old man Pyo-wol felt a chill as if he had fallen into an ice pit.
He had come across numerous people with strong martial arts until now.
Mu Jeong-jin of the Qingcheng sect who is a swordsman capable of unifying a region and Hyeolbul of the Xiaoleiyin Temple who is a person worthy of looking on top of the world.
He also met a super strong person who called himself as the Wind Saint and just a little while ago he also competed with the Wolf King King Gujin.
There was not a single one among them who was easy to deal with. Pyo-wol had to risk his life when he faced them.
And even against those opponents who Pyo-wol could easily win over he still did his best. He would consider countless possibilities and choose the most efficient way to fight them.
In this way Pyo-wol was able to win the fight and save his own life.
Pyo-wol was able to survive every time since he desperately dug into the enemy’s weaknesses.
However there was no such thing as a weakness in the man in front of him.
Just as it is natural for water to flow down from a high place the old man appeared naturally as if he had been here from the beginning.
Pyo-wol thought that fighting against King Gujin with his life on the line was worth it. However against the old master who is in front of him he didn’t even have that kind of heart.
It wasn’t a matter of incompetence.
Just the very existence of the old man made it impossible for him to feel that way.
Pyo-wol rarely showed or felt any emotional agitation but in front of the old man he had no choice but to put on a puzzled expression without even realizing it.
The old man’s gaze turned to Pyo-wol.
“Is it you? The one who chased the wolf away?”
“…….”
“You’re quite good. He’s still one of the few warriors in the world who is known for being savage yet you managed to chase him away.”
The old man smiled.
His smile was so bright and pure as if he didn’t even have a speck of dust.
Pyo-wol asked unknowingly
“Who are you?”
Pyo-wol is usually the one who did not initiate a conversation except when he had to deliberately disguise his identity. It was only now that he spoke first without even realizing it.
The old man scanned Pyo-wol up and down and said
“I’m called Il-gum. I live in Wudang Mountain. What about you?”
“Yes?”
“It’s the first time in a long while since I’ve met such a foolish guy. Hoo!”
The old man who identified himself as Il-gum exclaimed as he looked at Pyo-wol.
If someone else had acted like this towards Pyo-wol he would not have stayed still. But he didn’t feel that way towards the old man.
He strangely felt at ease.
Pyo-wol’s nerves which had been tense like a bowstring pulled to its fullest loosened.
The old man’s gaze suddenly turned to Soma who was laid down on the ground in the distance.
“That guy will die soon.”
Like what he said Soma was severely paralyzed.
Because Pyo-wol left Soma unattended while fighting King Gujin Soma’s wounds got worse.
The old man said to Pyo-wol
“Carry that little guy on your back and follow me.”
“Pardon?”
“Are you going to let him die? Tch!”
At the old man’s urging Pyo-wol hurriedly carried Soma on his back.
When he turned his head again the old man was nowhere to be seen.
At that moment the old man’s voice rang in his ears.
“What are you stupidly looking around for? Look up.”
When Pyo-wol looked up he saw the old man floating in the air.
He was as light as a feather. Whenever he stepped on a branch he would go as far as a dozen feet. It was the representative qinggong of the Wudang sect the Cloud Ascending Ladder.1
However the realm was so high that it seemed like walking in the air.
Pyo-wol chased after the old man with Soma on his back.
Pyo-wol ran down the mountain at a terrifying speed. But even then he found it difficult to follow the old man. If he slowed down even slightly the distance between him and the old man would widen making him lose sight of him.
‘Il-gum?’
Pyo-wol already knew that there was once a great warrior who retired a generation ago in the Wudang sect.
Prior to Sang-jin there was another warrior who was called the Wudang sect’s Number One Sword. Pyo-wol learned that the warrior’s name was Il-gum while staying in the Wudang sect.
Pyo-wol had assumed that the difference between Il-gum and Sang-jin would not be that great.
Even if Il-gum is said to be the Wudang sect’s Number One Sword a generation ago a person’s strength and senses decline with age. To some extent this would offset the strong internal energy and experience that had accumulated over the years.
All in all the overall ability of the person had no choice but to go down the curve.
Pyo-wol thought that even Il-gum would not be able to escape the same fate. However only after seeing it for himself like this did he realize how wrong his thoughts were. He finally could finally see how great the power of the prestigious sect was.
He didn’t know how many more masters like Il-gum were still in the Wudang sect. All he knows is that several more masters of the same generation as Il-gum were still alive. Their martial arts may be inferior to Il-gum but they will never be inferior to the current Wudang sect elders.
Pyo-wol’s heart became heavy.
‘If the Wudang sect is like this how many more great masters are there in the Insane Martial Arts sect or Cheon Mujang?’
Pyo-wol realized how wide Jianghu was.
He wasn’t disappointed though.
Pyo-wol had once started from the bottom where he was nothing. Yet he still managed to get where he is right now.
In the future as long as he continues to work diligently while keeping his guard up he will not die in vain.
As Pyo-wol was running after Il-gum he arrived at an unknown mountain peak.
It was one of the numerous rock peaks on Wudang Mountain.
This was the abode of the Il-gum.
After retiring from the Wudang sect he lived alone in a rock peak where there were few people.
There was a shabby house on one side of the rock.
Pyo-wol looked around with Soma on his back.
He felt a strong sense of dizziness that he couldn’t detect in the Wudang sect. This seemed to be the reason why Il-gum chose this place as his hiding place.
“Put him down on the bed.”
Pyo-wol put Soma down on a bed inside the house.
The wooden bed was made by Il-gum and it was barely maintaining its shape.
Il-gum muttered as he checked Soma’s condition.
“The wolf’s hands are just as cruel as before. Tch! I should have killed him then. Anyway what is this…”
Il-gum rolled up his sleeves as he murmured to himself.
He turned the unconscious Soma making him lie flat with his face downwards.
Pyo-wol silently watched the monk’s actions.
He wondered about the red color on Il-gum’s finger which he used to stab Soma on the back.
Puk! Puuk!
Soma’s body shuddered every time he was poked.
“This guy is also strange really strange. He looks like he learned the Shaolin’s techniques but why is he twisted like this? The older brother is strange while the younger brother is also strange.”
Il-gum shook his head but he didn’t stop poking Soma with his fingers.
What he did was a qi circulation technique called the Qi Yang Finger.2
It was originally a technique used to destroy evil energy but Il-gum was using it to drive out King Gujin’s energy that had penetrated Soma’s body.
Il-gum has already risen to the level of a great master so he was able to use the same martial arts in an infinite variety of ways.
The same was true for the Qi Yang Finger.
He was saving Soma by using the mysterious energy of the Qi Yang Finger.
The appearance of Il-gum left a strong impression on Pyo-wol.
“Kerhyuk!”
Soma suddenly vomited blood.
Only then did Il-gum stop moving his hands with a satisfied smile.
“Since I’ve treated him as long as he takes good care of himself he would have no problem in eating and packing.”
He got up from his seat and made Soma lie on his back.
Pyo-wol bowed his head in gratitude.
“Thank you for your help.”
“I didn’t do this to receive your gratitude so don’t be too polite. I felt like I just got hives on my body. More than that where did you come from? How could I not have known that such a freak like you was here? Did you come here to attend Chongjin’s birthday party too? “
“Yes.”
“Anyway those taoists are not training diligently. How could they throw such a loud party? Tsk tsk!”
Il-gum criticized the leaders of the Wudang sect.
Not only Chongjin the sect leader of the Wudang sect but also the other elders could not escape his criticism.
“I was resting here and was quietly trying to ascend but those kids are so noisy that I can’t go up.”
“Is there such a thing as heaven?”
“How would I know that?”
“Pardon?”
“I’m not dead yet so how can I know if there is heaven or not?”
“But earlier you—”
“We will only know when it’s over. I haven’t done nearly as many bad things as others so if heaven really exists wouldn’t I go up there anyway? Stop doing bad things and be good. Anyway what kind of evil qi is in this guy’s body. It’s like he’s going to rot.”
“…….”
“Now tell me. How on earth can you have the eyes of an old man at such a young age?”
Il-gum spat out words without hesitation. Even so the reason Pyo-wol didn’t feel bad at all was because of the old man’s warm eyes.
Il-gum was looking at Pyo-wol and Soma with pitying eyes.
Eyes which were full of compassion broke through the barriers surrounding Pyo-wol’s heart.
Still Pyo-wol did not speak what was on his mind so easily so Il-gum jumped up from his seat.
“It’s very expensive. Are you really not going to say it? You bastard! Don’t you need to say what’s on your mind once in a while to loosen up?”
He grumbled and brought a jar that had been placed on one side of the house.
“What is that?”
“Alcohol! Doesn’t a person have to be drunk for them to open their mouths? This is the sake I brewed 30 years ago. Hurry up and drink this so you can finally talk about yourself.”
“I don’t drink.”
“Damn it! Just drink when I give it to you. You rotten bastard!”
Il-gum opened the seal of the jar.
A great pine scent came out. The scent of pine that refreshes the depths of the heart made Pyo-wol swallow his saliva without even realizing it.
Il-gum scooped up the wine from a gourd and poured it into Pyo-wol’s cup.
“Drink!”
“Can taoists even drink?”
“What would an old man who is waiting for his death going to do if not drink? You should drink it to your heart’s content. You won’t be able to taste it twice so drink it all without leaving a single drop.”
Pyo-wol looked at his cup for a moment.
It was not an ordinary drinking cup. It was almost the same size of a bowl.
After looking at the cup for a while Pyo-wol brought it to his mouth.
As the sake in the cup swayed the scent that lingered became even stronger.
Pyo-wol closed his eyes and drank the sake.
He felt a burning sensation in his mouth which then continued to his esophagus down to his stomach. He felt like his entire body was on fire. But he didn’t totally hate the feeling.
“Heh heh! Look at you. You’re drinking well. Have another drink.”
Il-gum burst out laughing and filled Pyo-wol’s cup again.
Pyo-wol did not refuse and drank.
“Now tell me.”
“I…”
Pyo-wol began to tell the story of his life.
“Right! I see. So?”
Il-gum agreed and sympathized with Pyo-wol’s life. He also expressed regret.
Pyo-wol drank from his cup and continued talking about his story.
Whenever Pyo-wol’s cup becomes empty Il-gum responds by replenishing it with sake.
Pyo-wol’s story continued late into the night and Il-gum was deeply immersed in his story.
The two didn’t know how much time had passed.
It was only when the wine in the jar ran out when Pyo-wol’s story ended.
“I see I see.”
Il-gum shook his head.
He looked at Pyo-wol for a long time. However Pyo-wol could not see the expression on Il-gum’s face. It’s because he had already lost his mind under the influence of alcohol.
It was impossible for a master who had reached the same level as Pyo-wol to lose consciousness because of drunkenness.
This is because if more than a certain amount of poison accumulates in the body the person’s internal energy will either automatically drive the toxin out or purify it.
This was the same reason why Pyo-wol received the alcohol without hesitation. However what Pyo-wol did not expect was that the sake he drank was not an ordinary alcoholic beverage.
Il-gum had brewed countless sakes over the decades but only that sake was completed as he had intended.
A lot of people came including Chongjin but no one was able to get a glass of that sake and drink it.
Il-gum doesn’t know if Pyo-wol knows.
How precious the alcohol he drank.
Ilg-um who came out of the house looked at the night sky.
Countless stars seemed to form a sea in the cloudless sky.
“Is this fate too? I can’t believe I met this child at this moment.”
Like the stars in the night sky the agony in his heart was shining.
Editor’s Notes
Thank you for reading~ If there are any errors let me know!
Cloud Ascending Ladder. Raws: Jeunjong 제운종(梯雲縱). 梯 tī – ladder steps stairs; lean 雲 yún – clouds; Yunnan province 縱 zǒng sǒng cóng – indulge in give free reign to. Qi Yang Finger. Raws: Jeokyangji 적양지(赤陽指). 赤 chì – red; communist ‘red’; bare 陽 yáng – ‘male’ principle; light; sun 指 zhǐ – finger toe; point indicate
