Elder Baek Changho finished the complete record at eleven PM Thursday.
He had been reading since ten seventeen AM.
Twelve hours and forty three minutes.
He had not moved except to turn pages.
The ceremony guard had been waiting outside the Registry secure storage room since morning.
Senior Elder Pyo had come to check on him at noon.
Elder Baek had not looked up.
Senior Elder Pyo had left.
He had come back at four.
Elder Baek had still not looked up.
He had gone to get dinner.
Brought some back.
Left it outside the door.
At eleven PM Senior Elder Pyo knocked.
"Elder Baek," said Senior Elder Pyo.
"Come in," said Elder Baek.
Senior Elder Pyo opened the door.
Elder Baek was sitting at the reading desk.
The complete record was on the screen in front of him.
His hands were flat on the desk.
He was looking at the final entry.
Han-Ho's response to Ms. Yoon.
I was looking at the drains. Thank you for looking at the whole thing.
"Elder Baek," said Senior Elder Pyo.
"Yes," said Elder Baek Changho.
"Are you—"
"I am fine," said Elder Baek. "I have been reading."
"For twelve hours."
"Yes," said Elder Baek.
Senior Elder Pyo looked at the screen.
At the complete record.
"The document about Han-Ho," said Senior Elder Pyo.
"Yes," said Elder Baek.
"Is it—relevant to our diplomatic mission."
Elder Baek Changho was quiet for a long moment.
"Pyo," said Elder Baek.
"Yes Elder Baek."
"You have been my senior disciple for twenty years."
"Yes Elder Baek."
"In twenty years I have sent you seventeen diplomatic mission reports."
"Yes Elder Baek."
"I need to send an eighteenth."
"Yes Elder Baek."
"I need you to take it to the grandmaster."
"Of course," said Senior Elder Pyo. "What does it say."
Elder Baek was quiet.
Then he said:
"It says: I understand now."
Senior Elder Pyo waited.
"That is the report," said Elder Baek Changho. "Three words. I understand now."
"Elder Baek—"
"The grandmaster will understand," said Elder Baek. "He has been here. He has been on the route. He has eaten at the GS25." He looked at the final entry. "Send three words. He will understand."
Senior Elder Pyo looked at him.
"Elder Baek," said Senior Elder Pyo carefully. "I have been your disciple for twenty years. I have accompanied seventeen diplomatic missions. I have seen you resolve three sect conflicts and one war." He paused. "I have never seen you spend twelve hours reading a document and send a three word report."
"No," said Elder Baek.
"What changed."
Elder Baek looked at the final entry one more time.
"The document starts with a complaint form," said Elder Baek. "Four years ago. One page. Status window error. Nobody responded." He paused. "In the martial world. If a practitioner of Han-Ho's actual level had filed a complaint and it was ignored for four years—" He stopped. "The sect would have burned to the ground. The practitioner would have made certain of it."
"Han-Ho is not like that," said Senior Elder Pyo.
"No," said Elder Baek. "He is not. He kept filing the reports. Kept cleaning the drains. Kept the notebooks." He looked at the desk. "For four years. Without response. Without recognition. Without anyone watching." He was quiet for a long time. "Do you know how hard that is."
"The cultivation," said Senior Elder Pyo. "Requires—"
"Not the cultivation," said Elder Baek. "The character. The specific character required to do the right thing without anyone watching or responding or acknowledging for four years. That is not a martial skill. That is something else."
"What is it," said Senior Elder Pyo.
Elder Baek looked at the screen.
At the one page complaint form at the beginning.
At the four years of entries between it and the final thank you.
"I don't have a martial world word for it," said Elder Baek. "Read the document yourself. Then tell me what you call it."
He stood up.
Stretched.
Twelve hours.
"Send the report to the grandmaster," said Elder Baek. "Then read the document. Tell the other elders to read it. Tell the disciples to read it." He looked at Senior Elder Pyo. "Everyone in this delegation should read it before we go back."
"All thirty people," said Senior Elder Pyo.
"Yes."
"The full twelve hour read."
"However long it takes," said Elder Baek. "Pyo."
"Yes Elder Baek."
"When you reach the Frost Giant chapter."
"Yes."
"The part where Han-Ho tells the Frost Giant he is dripping on the road."
"Yes Elder Baek."
"Read that part twice."
Senior Elder Pyo looked at him.
"It will tell you what the character is," said Elder Baek. "Reading it twice."
He walked to the door.
"I am going to the room they assigned us," said Elder Baek. "I need to sleep. I have been sitting in a chair for twelve hours."
"Of course Elder Baek."
He stopped at the door.
"Pyo," said Elder Baek.
"Yes."
"The tribute."
"Yes Elder Baek."
"Seventeen boxes of extremely valuable cultivation resources," said Elder Baek.
"Yes."
"Do you know why we brought them."
"To honor the Dragon Vein activation," said Senior Elder Pyo. "To honor the one who—"
"We brought them," said Elder Baek, "because we thought the appropriate response to what he did was the most valuable things the sect owns." He looked at the floor. "After reading the document I think the appropriate response is different."
"What is the appropriate response."
"Show up at seven AM," said Elder Baek. "For the route."
Senior Elder Pyo looked at him.
"The tribute—"
"Is appropriate," said Elder Baek. "And will be reviewed Friday. But the real acknowledgement is showing up for the work." He looked at Senior Elder Pyo. "That is what the document says. Every person who came. Every S-Rank. Every martial world visitor. Every registry person. They showed up. For the route. For the GS25. For the river bank. For the Wednesday meeting."
"They showed up," said Senior Elder Pyo.
"Yes," said Elder Baek. "That is the appropriate response to what Han-Ho is."
He went to his room.
Senior Elder Pyo stood in the storage room.
Looked at the complete record on the screen.
Sat down.
Started reading.
At six forty nine AM on Friday Elder Baek Changho was at the Mapo district northern section.
Two minutes before the route.
He was standing at the first drain.
Han-Ho arrived at six fifty nine.
One minute before the route start.
Looked at Elder Baek.
"You read the record," said Han-Ho.
"Yes," said Elder Baek.
"All of it."
"Twelve hours," said Elder Baek.
Han-Ho made a note.
"You are on the route," said Han-Ho.
"Yes," said Elder Baek. "If that is acceptable."
Han-Ho looked at the drain.
Looked at Elder Baek.
At the First Elder of the oldest orthodox sect in the martial world standing at a storm drain in northern Mapo at six fifty nine AM.
"The drain first," said Han-Ho.
"Of course," said Elder Baek.
Han-Ho crouched.
Pressed his hand against it.
Read it.
Clear.
Noted it.
Filed it.
Stood up.
"Drain two," said Han-Ho.
He walked.
Elder Baek walked beside him.
They did not speak for seventeen minutes.
Then Elder Baek said:
"I read it twice."
"The Frost Giant chapter," said Han-Ho.
"Yes," said Elder Baek.
"And."
Elder Baek was quiet for a moment.
"I understand now," said Elder Baek.
Han-Ho made a note.
Elder Baek: I understand now. Filed.
He filed it.
They continued the route.
The Friday morning Mapo-gu did its Friday morning things.
The drains were clean.
The Dragon Vein energy was flowing.
The ley line network in the Kingdom of Solenne was self-activating.
Cheongwon was in the dimensional space paying attention.
The five worlds were connected.
The shard was warm in the bag.
The notebook had writing in it from the shard.
The pocket had more notes than it had ever had.
The route continued.
That was the job.
That was always the job.