Chapter 170 — Endure, and Endure Again. The Benevolent Are Invincible.
After finishing his sword practice, Youngwoo returned the blade to its sheath and bowed to his master.
"You have worked hard."
"It is thanks to your teachings, Master."
"From now on, do not draw your sword recklessly wherever you go."
Baek Ingyeom was about to speak of the basic duty a master must uphold, but Youngwoo, failing to grasp his meaning, asked at once.
"Why?"
He was already in his twenties, yet his mind was still no older than a boy in his teens.
He had grown up almost entirely in the army.
His single-minded nature had also deepened that imbalance.
"You little fool. Your master is speaking, and you ask 'why'?"
"Ah, I am sorry. I was only curious about the reason…"
Cheolun, watching from the side, covered his mouth and laughed.
"You are becoming a master. That is why I am telling you not to swing your sword recklessly."
"Ah, yes. Then when I was a low-level fighter, was it fine to swing it around as I pleased?"
"Relatively speaking, the damage was not so great."
"Ah. Then now?"
"People die."
"Hyu. I will control it."
"Do not kill some innocent person and regret it afterward. Avoid drawing your sword whenever possible. Endure, and endure again. The benevolent are invincible."
Youngwoo sighed.
Of course.
If one side endured and endured again, there would be no fight.
But what kind of society allowed such a thing?
How many strange bastards were there in the world?
If he smiled gently, they thought something was lacking in him and came at him like creditors.
His master, who lived only in the mountains, did not know that wearing a slight frown and keeping distance was the easier way to conduct oneself.
It was worse in the army, and the same on the grasslands.
If one looked weak, others came rushing in and tried to climb over him.
Seeing that Youngwoo did not look convinced, Baek Ingyeom tried to persuade him.
"That is the duty of one who possesses power."
"Duty?"
"To you, it may be no more than an unpleasant feeling. To them, it becomes death. Do you not understand the difference? It is like an adult and a child striking each other once with equal force. You may think that is fair, but is it truly so?"
Baek Ingyeom explained quietly, in a way Youngwoo could understand.
"I see. I will be careful."
"From now on, being careful is not enough. Do not draw first. If possible, use fists and feet. No, do not even use fists and feet…"
"Why?"
When he asked why again, Cheolun laughed again.
This time, he turned his whole body away to hide it.
"I told you, people get hurt. I saw you before. Even when you fought with fists and feet, you fought savagely at close quarters."
Youngwoo's eyes narrowed.
In the days when he had no real skill, he would carry a short blade and throw himself at the opponent, grappling and rolling on the ground.
While rolling, he would stab with the small knife.
A dogfight, in other words.
It seemed his master had seen that.
What else could he have done?
Who would not want to stand apart and fight beautifully with a sword?
"Ah, yes. I will control it. Master, you do not know. When I go there, there are so many wicked men. It is a den of thieves and robbers. They take everything they can see back to their homes. If that does not work, they use force."
"Where would there be a place without such people? Why would there be no people who believe their lives will be happy if they take anything free back to their homes? We call that a den of demons. It means it is organized."
"Yes, a den of demons! I nearly died, did I not?"
"Yes. That is regrettable. Now you have reached the point where even those people would be helpless if you swung your sword. So what should be done? I rushed to teach you martial skill after the proper time for shaping you had already passed, and I neglected the mental side."
He had just said, in a roundabout way, that Youngwoo was lacking mentally.
"I will not swing it recklessly."
"Yes. This time, when you go, please do that."
Youngwoo protested.
"I did not start it first. They drew their swords first."
"And how will you explain taking a long weapon, an offensive weapon, with you? Was that not because you were ready to smash them if things went that way?"
"It was only habit. I brought it out of habit."
"It is true that they felt threatened."
"They were afraid of my mouth, not my martial strength. They raised a man who runs his mouth so easily to a high position, so of course they must have been anxious. But to try to kill a man just to silence him…"
"Would avoiding them not have been one way?"
Youngwoo lowered his head.
If he avoided them, they would think he was afraid and take him lightly.
They would press harder.
"Was it necessary to draw a sword merely because someone bumped your shoulder?"
It seemed his master had seen that too.
Youngwoo remembered the dead Yun Jiung, who had deliberately bumped his shoulder and picked a fight.
Had Youngwoo grappled with him then as well?
It did not seem to have turned into a real fight.
He could not clearly remember the action itself, but the feeling from that moment remained clear.
He had believed that he must never look weak there.
If one looked weak, they came rushing in.
Others would look down on him too, and several would come at him again and again.
That was because he would become wounded prey.
So he had endured stubbornly.
He put strength into himself as though he were not weak and shouted with frightening ferocity.
Why did they tell him only to endure, when looking weak made others attack?
"You are a master now. You must not treat ordinary people in the same way."
"I am still a low-level fighter."
"Hm. At the tip of your sword, sword qi is beginning to appear."
"That is only filling the sword. I only put strength into it."
"In any case, if I hear that you caused a disturbance somewhere from now on, I will not let it pass."
"And if you do not let it pass?"
"Spending about a hundred days in a cave-like room staring at a wall in repentance might not be bad."
"Ah! Aah!"
"Why do you dislike it?"
"You would commit such an inhuman act without hesitation?"
Youngwoo recoiled in horror, while Baek Ingyeom smiled faintly.
Such raw expressions and reactions were rare in the society of the immortals.
Those who had studied much were dignified and solemn.
They did not chatter and jump about like Youngwoo.
And yet Baek Ingyeom did not dislike it.
Was it because he had grown old?
Most adults of an ordinary age looked like children to him now.
He could now see things they could not.
The things they valued, the things they liked, the things they could not abandon even if they died—he knew how futile they truly were.
"Master, your disciple… will be seriously careful."
The wording was clumsy.
Awkward.
He spoke often, yet his use of exact words was still immature.
He was more accustomed to the rough words repeated in the army.
"You are a master now. Watching your sword practice has put my mind at ease. You will no longer go around getting beaten. No, now I am worried about the people who will come at you."
"No. Your disciple is still very lacking. I need guidance, correction, teaching, and care."
"I am telling you to be careful. If someone gets hurt or dies because of bravado, you will regret it for a long time."
Youngwoo brought both hands together in front of him.
"Your disciple will keep that in mind."
"Endure, and endure again."
"I understand."
Youngwoo turned to leave, then stopped and asked quietly.
"But Master…"
"What?"
"Can I still take revenge?"
"Did you have an enemy?"
"Yes. There are rumors that the men I thought dead are alive."
"They have already received punishment greater than that. Creating another cause and effect would be foolish."
"You mean I should leave them alone?"
Baek Ingyeom smiled brightly.
It was a bright smile Youngwoo rarely saw, and he swallowed for no reason.
"Youngwoo."
"Yes, Master."
"Do you know the way to resolve resentment?"
"Pay it back."
"No. Forget it. Paying it back will not make you forget. Only when you put it down does resentment disappear."
"Ah. You say such immortal-like things so well."
"I am an immortal."
"Ah. That is true."
"You seem to be floating now that you have stopped working."
"Yes. I feel so free I might fly away."
"I understand. You have suffered much."
"No. Was I the only one who suffered?"
"When you go to Gaegyeong, find Park Geunsu first. And on the way, make sure to stop by Oryang Mountain."
"That place has formations…"
"You little fool! If I tell you to go, go."
At his master's shout, Youngwoo lowered his head slightly.
"Yes, Master."
Baek Ingyeom repeated his instructions again and again, then even saw him off on the road south.