Chapter 049
Have I ever truly devoted myself to something without regrets? Probably not. As far as my memory allows, there was never a moment when I could say I truly gave my all.
Tired of being compared to others, I ended up clipping my own wings.
"Master, I..."
"If you had truly poured everything into it without regrets, I could understand your giving up. But from what I see, that doesn't seem to be the case."
Yi Jonhwi closed his mouth.
"Accept the teachings of Lady Namgung, Lady Gal, and Guild Leader So. Make them your own to the best of your ability. That's the first step."
"Is that even possible?"
"If you retreat in fear without even trying, nothing will change."
Baek Sugyeong tilted his cup toward Yi Jonhwi.
"I had no talent for martial arts. I had nothing. But at least Young Master Ahwi is better off than I was, isn't he?"
Baek Sugyeong and Yi Jonhwi were in different situations. Yi Jonhwi was born as the second son of the Dragon Gate Li Clan, with every advantage, yet he gave up on himself and refused to move forward. Baek Sugyeong was a lone wanderer who dreamed of becoming a martial artist after being dropped into the Central Plains, but couldn't even achieve that much.
Their positions were vastly different.
"I can only open the path for you. Young Master Ahwi, I hope you'll think seriously about this during the winter. Whether you've truly put in enough effort to satisfy yourself."
Baek Sugyeong set down his cup after saying this.
"Let's forget about that for now. You can drink to your heart's content today. Taking a day off isn't so bad. Rest well tomorrow. Things will get difficult again the day after."
"Master..."
"The food is getting cold."
As Baek Sugyeong picked up his chopsticks, pretending not to notice, Yi Jonhwi bowed his head.
Only the light sound of chopsticks passed between them.
The night in Luoyang was growing deeper.
...
Afterward, Yi Jonhwi had many more conversations with Baek Sugyeong. With each round of drinks, the tangled inferiority complex that Yi Jonhwi had harbored gradually unraveled like a knotted thread being untangled.
Empty white porcelain bottles lay scattered in disarray.
Yi Jonhwi, his head buried on the table, slurred his words.
"Do you... do you know how hard it's been for me? Huh? No matter what I did..."
"You're very drunk."
"Hee, heehee. What does it matter? I'm not Yi Jonhwi if I can't handle this much alcohol!"
Yi Jonhwi picked up his cup again and poured it down his throat as if trying to expel all his pent-up emotions.
Excessive drinking.
Baek Sugyeong looked at Yi Jonhwi.
A noble family's son who appeared fine on the outside but was completely broken inside. The fact that he still maintained appropriate boundaries showed Yi Jonhwi's true nature.
'The burden on his shoulders must have been that heavy.'
Baek Sugyeong quietly left Yi Jonhwi alone as he buried his head and chuckled. He must have been carrying those tangled emotions for a long time. It was right to leave him be like this, to release those feelings that had been blackening his insides.
At least for now.
"…How curious."
Wasn't Yi Jonhwi's situation not so different from his own, feeling that strange pressure knowing all of the Central Plains was watching his brush?
At least he took pride in his writing.
Yi Jonhwi had grown up between a stepmother who tried to protect him and a father who, though disapproving, tried to make him fulfill his role, while everyone else compared him to his brothers. The stress that had accumulated must have been enormous.
"Kuh, kuuuh~"
After making a drunken fuss, he now slept with his head on the table like a child. He must have been very tired.
Baek Sugyeong sat alone, tilting his cup and smiling.
"If he hasn't crossed the line, there's still a way back..."
Though he had caused trouble following what he'd learned, he hadn't crossed the line. If he had habitually killed people or robbed them, Baek Sugyeong wouldn't have agreed to take him back.
But Yi Jonhwi hadn't crossed that line.
Of course, he had tarnished the name of Luoyang's premier family by associating with wastrels, but that was something Yi Jonhwi could gradually change.
Baek Sugyeong's eyes grew slightly distant as he poured bamboo leaf wine into his cup.
"Come to think of it, he always loved the arts."
From a young age, Yi Jonhwi was skilled at playing the zither. He was also good at playing the flute and handled all kinds of instruments well, showing deep knowledge of music.
Why had he been ignoring that?
"My thinking was narrow."
Had he been trapped by the preconception that the Dragon Gate Li Clan was a family with one foot in both government and martial arts?
He had unconsciously been thinking in terms of the three standard paths: becoming an official, a merchant, or a martial artist.
He had completely forgotten what Yi Jonhwi had loved most since childhood.
Could he call himself a teacher?
"How foolish..."
Of course, that didn't mean he would stop teaching altogether. He would just change his approach. He would modify what he taught Yi Jonhwi.
"If he has something he loves, teaching that should be my job."
Baek Sugyeong picked up his cup, his mind made up.
The moonlight high in the sky looked down at him like a blooming flower, seeming to smile.
...
Time passed, and December arrived. The wind, which had been bearable until November, had now turned bitingly cold.
Even Baek Sugyeong, who had somewhat adapted to Luoyang's cold, was bundled up in the winter clothes provided by Yi Jonhyo.
It was the season when white remnants of snow covering the roofs of pavilions became a familiar sight.
The snow covering the streets was swept away by brooms, and the footprints left by people froze into ice, as the sharp blue wind blew.
"…It's now so cold that calling it 'chilly' doesn't do it justice."
Baek Sugyeong closed the window he had opened for ventilation, rubbing his goose-bumped arms.
The weather was so cold that opening the window even slightly for ventilation made his body feel frozen. Still, he needed some cold air to concentrate while writing, so he couldn't avoid opening the window.
Perhaps it was a habit that remained from his modern life.
Gal Yerung, who was trimming her nails, said:
"Why don't you learn some energy cultivation, Mister Baek?"
"I have no interest, as I've said before."
"…Tch."
"If you're thinking of drawing the teacher into the Myeongwang Society, you'd better stop."
At Namgung Somin's sharp voice, Gal Yerung snorted.
"I wasn't thinking that."
"As if."
"Owner, today volume 8 is..."
Baek Sugyeong nodded at So Ssanga's words.
"That's right, volume 8 is being released today. What do you think?"
"I'd like to give high marks for it being the first crisis that Hero Jin Un faces. Also, it was refreshing that you didn't use the Nine Heavens Secret Palace as a one-time villain as I expected..."
"What? Did you read all of volume 8 by yourself?"
"Guild Leader So, that's unfair."
So Ssanga smiled slightly, showing her teeth at Gal Yerung and Namgung Somin's reactions.
"Well, it's a privilege of the trading company in charge of sales."
"But revealing everything would spoil the fun, so stop there. Leaving some enjoyment for those who haven't read it is also consideration."
"Yes, Owner."
Turning her gaze from So Ssanga, Gal Yerung rested her chin on her hand and said:
"By the way, why are you telling us to teach that wastrel young master things like music, Mister Baek?"
"Because I remembered what Young Master Ahwi used to love."
At his words, a question mark seemed to float above Gal Yerung's head.
Baek Sugyeong smiled slightly and said:
"Young Master Ahwi was good with instruments from a young age. He was more sincere about music than anyone else. When I was teaching Young Master Ahwi back then, I was like a machine just doing what I was told, so I ignored that."
Though he had ignored it, he had never prevented Yi Jonhwi from doing what he loved. He had only given him extra assignments when he became too absorbed in his interests and neglected his studies.
Baek Sugyeong swept his hand across the table and said:
"Looking back now, I wonder if Young Master Ahwi's breakdown might not have been due to his environment. I can't help thinking that."
"Environment...?"
"I think he was forced to make choices because he was born into the Dragon Gate Li Clan."
Doubt appeared on Gal Yerung and Namgung Somin's faces at Baek Sugyeong's words.
"Government, commerce, martial arts—becoming an official, a merchant, or making a name as a martial artist. I thought there were only these three choices. I was trapped in my own preconceptions."
"Teacher..."
"That's why I changed my approach."
Recently, instead of teaching swordsmanship and energy cultivation, Namgung Somin and Gal Yerung had been teaching calligraphy and music respectively. Since they each knew different things, he had divided the tasks between them.
And he planned to change what he himself would teach as well.
"I'm thinking of teaching Young Master Ahwi how to write."
"Owner, by how to write, you mean...?"
At So Ssanga's cautious question, Baek Sugyeong smiled.
"Who knows? Another writer might follow in my footsteps. I'm just trying to teach him, just in case."
...
With winter's arrival, it was natural for everything to be covered in white snow.
Mount Wudang, also known as the String Mountain, was no exception. Its snow-covered peaks stood white, glowing in the sunlight like white-hot needles at the tips of candles.
Heavenly Pillar Peak, the highest peak of Mount Wudang, towering like a pillar supporting the sky, was where the disciples of Mount Wudang stayed.
It was the peak where the Three Pure Ones Great Hall—Upper Clarity Hall, Jade Clarity Palace, and Supreme Clarity Temple—was located.
If one passed the Upper Clarity Hall, the residence of the Sect Leader, and climbed to the end of Heavenly Pillar Peak, clouds spread out like a sea, welcoming visitors.
At the end of Heavenly Pillar Peak, on a flat rock in front of the small hermitage called Heavenly Pillar Hermitage, Cheongmyeong sat in meditation with his long hair flowing freely.
"-Hoo."
Cheongmyeong, who had remained motionless despite the heavy snow piling up on his shoulders, opened his eyes.
Exhaling a white breath as he opened his eyes, Cheongmyeong lightly brushed off the snow on his shoulders. Despite his young age, perhaps due to his deeply cultivated inner energy, there was not a trace of moisture despite the snow that had piled up on his shoulders.
Blinking, Cheongmyeong gathered his thoughts.
"It's difficult. The martial arts in the Sword Hero's Cultivation Record."
Although Cheongmyeong had embodied the Three Pure Ones Limitless Sword Wisdom and Twin Spirit Limitless True Qi, the newly acquired Dark Heaven Limitless Divine Art and True Martial Thirteen Swords that Jin Un had gained were difficult to master.
No matter how much of a genius Cheongmyeong was considered at Wudang, it was inevitably difficult to build martial arts from scratch without a foundation.
Of course, the elders of Mount Wudang were giving him full support, but the weight on his shoulders was real.
"Perhaps it would be best to visit Master Sugyeong after all."
Baek Sugyeong would understand the difficulties Cheongmyeong was facing now.
Sighing briefly, Cheongmyeong slightly removed his clothes, revealing bandages tightly wrapped around his upper body beneath his slipping upper garment.
They were clean bandages with no blood or pus stains.
Cheongmyeong's body shivered slightly in the cold air as he took off the clothes he had been wearing for the past few days and picked up new ones.
Cheongmyeong's gaze fell on volume 8 of "Wudang Sword Hero," which was enshrined like a sacred object on his meditation mat.
A good excuse had just occurred to him.
"The Dragon Gate Gathering will be held in Luoyang soon..."
If he went to Luoyang, he could meet Baek Sugyeong.
Having made his decision, Cheongmyeong's hands moved a little faster as he adjusted his clothes.
"I should see the Elder."
After changing clothes, Cheongmyeong carefully tucked volume 8 of "Wudang Sword Hero" into his robe.
After tying his hair and neatly arranging his appearance, Cheongmyeong left Heavenly Pillar Hermitage.
Heavy snow was falling on Mount Wudang, just like in Luoyang.