Chapter 24. Azure River Flowing Leaf Sword Style

Kwaak!

Wang Suyeon's arms, on his back, tightened strongly around Lee Byeok's shoulders. She seemed to feel somewhat anxious.

Tadat, tat!

Lee Byeok slowed down the pace of his footwork a little, while firmly strengthening the arms that held Wang Suyeon.

“Don't worry. You will absolutely not fall.”

“……”

As if the sentiment in Lee Byeok's words had reached her, he could feel the tension gradually leaving Wang Suyeon's body as she leaned against him.

Taat!

And Lee Byeok landed on the ground.

Before they knew it, the two had arrived at the entrance of the long street of Gathering Lake.

It hadn't even taken half an hour.

Lee Byeok bent down and let Wang Suyeon off. But Wang Suyeon couldn't stand and simply collapsed.

She looked around with a dazed expression.

“…We really came.”

“……”

“Is this for real?”

Her dreamy eyes looked up at Lee Byeok.

Lee Byeok extended his hand and helped Wang Suyeon up.

Wang Suyeon, still holding his hand, looked at Lee Byeok with a face that was still half dazed.

“I thought masters who fly through the sky were only in storybooks……”

“It’s thanks to you.”

“…Huh? What is?”

“If you hadn't come then, even if my life was saved by the Sect Leader later, I would not have gained this power.”

Wang Suyeon's dazed eyes gradually sharpened. Chalssak, her palm hit Lee Byeok's shoulder.

“Don’t make such nonsensical jokes, seriously. Do you know how surprised I was?”

“……”

At that time.

It was definitely Wang Suyeon's voice that had awakened Lee Byeok's consciousness from the unreality that had continued from the nightmare.

But she didn't believe him.

He didn't have the confidence to explain it plausibly either.

“You’re so mean.”

Wang Suyeon pouted.

Lee Byeok felt a warmth in one side of his chest for some reason. Seuk, he reached out and stroked Wang Suyeon's hair.

“…You’ve changed a bit, Oppa.”

“Is that so. I suppose that could be.”

“Still, don’t act like such a grown-up. We’re only a year apart.”

“……”

She was right.

He hadn't thought much about his own words and actions, but perhaps there was something he could learn from Wang Suyeon.

Lee Byeok smiled faintly.

Wang Suyeon blushed and avoided his gaze.

But she didn't let go of his hand, and the two began to walk down the street.

The street was quiet.

Since it wasn't a market day, the surrounding air was quite different from their previous visit, which had been bustling with crowds.

“By the way, Oppa.”

Wang Suyeon spoke again.

“Um, that… no, why did you suddenly suggest we go buy a book? Ah, not that I don’t want to……”

“Because you said you liked them.”

“……”

“Or is food better after all?”

The conversation was cut off.

In the silence, Wang Suyeon slyly linked her arm with his. Their strides gradually matched. And the two finally arrived in front of the bookstore.

Lee Byeok took a pouch from his bosom. He emptied the five coins he had received from Jaegal Somi onto his hand.

It was the money that had been left over from their previous visit to Gathering Lake, as he hadn't found a use for it, but he had finally found a use.

“Let's go.”

Lee Byeok led the way.

But for some reason, Wang Suyeon did not follow. She tugged on Lee Byeok's sleeve.

“Uh, um, Oppa?”

“What is it?”

She looked at Lee Byeok with an ambiguous expression.

“…I don’t think you can buy a book with that money.”

“……”

Meomchit, Lee Byeok's hand froze.

“…Shall we come back next time?”

“Puheup.”

The next moment, Wang Suyeon hastily covered her mouth. But it was no use.

“Puhat, ahahaha! Puhahahaha!”

Laughter burst out.

And Wang Suyeon clutched her stomach and giggled for a long time. The clear sound of her laughter echoed through the street, and Lee Byeok was seized by an indescribable sense of embarrassment.

“Ah~ That was a good laugh.”

Wang Suyeon, who had barely managed to stop laughing after about a quarter of an hour, wiped her eyes.

“…My apologies.”

“No, it’s fine, I don’t need a book. I have some borrowed from Somi unnie. Since we’re here, let’s just walk around a bit before we go.”

But he had made Wang Suyeon laugh.

With that, Lee Byeok's initial goal was achieved. Afterward, the two wandered aimlessly through the quiet evening streets.

Fortunately, even though it wasn't a market day, a few shops were open, and the two bought and ate things like candy.

As the awkward distance between them narrowed, the two started talking as usual, and the sun gradually set.

Tat!

“Ahaha! Run, Oppa! More, more!”

And on the way back to the village up the mountain, Wang Suyeon, on his back, showed a completely different side than when they had come down.

Seemingly accustomed to the speed of the footwork, she entrusted her body entirely to Lee Byeok and even waved her arms above her head.

As they dashed through the wind, Wang Suyeon suddenly leaned in close. She whispered in Lee Byeok's ear.

“You’re just like a main character, Oppa.”

“…Main character?”

“The main characters in books. Around this time, they leave the mountain and go out into the world. Are you going to leave the village too, Oppa?”

It was a question from his memory.

Not long after he arrived in the village, when he was first taken to the waterfall by Wang Suyeon's hand, he had been asked the same question.

“No, I’m not leaving.”

Lee Byeok answered firmly.

Everything he had to protect was here. Unlike in the Murim, he had no particular ambitions, so there was no reason to leave.

The two returned to the village.

Lee Byeok walked Wang Suyeon home. At the door, Wang Suyeon hesitated with a look on her face as if she had something to say, but eventually went inside.

Thus, winter in Flower Pavilion Village passed.

Lee Byeok's sword reached maturity day by day, and he became quite accustomed to creating enhanced qi. Jang Seok-du began to learn the basic breathing technique.

He thought such a life would continue forever. But as the new year dawned, something unexpected happened to Lee Byeok.

* * *

Late at night, past midnight.

Just as Lee Byeok, having finished his daily routine, was about to go to sleep. A single thread of energy shot in from outside the window.

It was a fleeting moment, but it was clear.

A thread-like, yet coldly honed energy.

And within Flower Pavilion Village, the only one who could feel that energy would be him alone.

In other words, it was calling him.

Tat!

Lee Byeok stepped out of the door.

The energy was being shot from a distant place outside the main gate.

Lee Byeok drew upon his Innate power.

Lest he wake his martial siblings, Lee Byeok climbed over the wall instead of opening the gate.

He moved his feet silently toward the direction where the energy was felt. He left the village fence behind.

After cutting through the trees in the darkness for some time, a small clearing appeared in the distance.

Under the moonlight, Lee Jincheon stood there.

Even though he couldn't have failed to notice Lee Byeok's approach, he didn't even flinch. With his eyes closed, Lee Jincheon held a sword in his hand.

Woooong!

The sword cried out, and a sword aura formed.

The sword, shining so brightly it seemed to burn away the darkness, was as different from Lee Byeok's as the sun is to a firefly.

Lee Byeok watched him.

Watching was all he could do.

The next moment, Lee Jincheon's sword began to move. The afterimage of light embroidered a sword path in the darkness.

“……!”

Lee Byeok's eyes shot wide open.

There was no way he wouldn't know that sword path.

It was the Azure River Flowing Leaf Sword Style.

The sword that Lee Byeok had honed his entire life.

But at the same time, it was the most perfect Azure River Flowing Leaf Sword Style he had ever seen in his life.

Even the sword art of his biological father and the clan head, Seonwoo Gak, had not been so utterly complete.

Sword-Drawing Form.

Straight Sword, honest and true.

Fast Sword, swift and rapid.

Strong Sword, powerful and fierce.

Sword-Withdrawal Form.

Curved Sword, bending and arcing.

Variable Sword, dazzling and complex.

Gentle Sword, soft and fluid.

The six forms flowed out.

Sword-drawing and sword-withdrawal intersected, disrupting unseen enemies one by one.

For one who has perfectly mastered all the forms, the distinction between the Azure River Sword Style and the Azure River Flowing Leaf Sword Style is meaningless.

Even amidst the seamless connection like a flowing river, the essence of the decisive form was fully contained in each and every sword strike.

“Ah, ahh……”

Lee Byeok let out a groan.

Exhilaration and despair intersected.

The pinnacle he had pursued was right before his eyes. But it seemed utterly unreachable.

He felt guilty for even daring to compare himself to the sword unfolding before his eyes.

However.

Lee Jincheon's sword was not the end.

The sword, having literally unraveled everything of the Azure River Flowing Leaf Sword Style, began to change little by little.

The flow of the Azure River Flowing Leaf Sword Style continued unbroken as it gradually traced an unfamiliar path.

Kukung!

A thunderbolt struck inside Lee Byeok's head.

Now, he couldn't even understand what the sword unfolding before his eyes was.

The sword was treading a path that should not be possible.

It was the Azure River Flowing Leaf Sword Style.

But at the same time, it was not.

“……”

In shock, Lee Jincheon's sword continued for some time. And without Lee Byeok even noticing, it stopped silently.

Lee Jincheon's eyes opened.

When their gazes met, a smile blossomed.

“…Who are you, Sect Leader?”

“Lee Jincheon, a medicine peddler.”

Lee Byeok asked with difficulty. But the answer that came back was the same as in the past.

“How on earth do you know the clan's martial arts……?”

Looking back, that wasn't all.

Even when he had implanted the path of the Jincheon Falling Sword Divine Art into Lee Byeok's body, Lee Jincheon's Transmitting Qi through Acupoints had followed the exact path of the Azure River Flowing Leaf Art.

As if he already knew it better than anyone.

“If you're asking about my relationship with your old family, I am not a Seonwoo. But what does that matter?”

“……”

“Aren't you also arbitrarily leaking the clan's training sword style to the village chief's son?”

What was unfolding before Lee Byeok's eyes now was, of course, not something that could be explained on that level.

But if Lee Jincheon had no intention of telling him himself, there was no point in prying.

“More important than that is how well you saw the sword just now. Well, can you explain it?”

A dizzying feeling swept over him. Lee Byeok closed his eyes. With his eyes closed, he replayed the sword path he had just seen over and over again.

Sword-drawing and sword-withdrawal.

Straight Sword, Fast Sword, Strong Sword.

Curved Sword, Variable Sword, Gentle Sword.

What Lee Jincheon had first displayed was definitely the Azure River Flowing Leaf Sword Style he knew.

But at some point, it changed.

A Gentle Sword was displayed from an extended Sword-Drawing Form, and a withdrawing sword was struck with a Strong Sword.

He had never thought such a thing was possible. But it was definitely…….

“…I don't know for sure. But to my eyes, it was as if the distinction between the Sword-Drawing Form and the Sword-Withdrawal Form had disappeared.”

“Well, you’re about half right.”

Tsk, Lee Jincheon clicked his tongue. He sheathed his sword into the scabbard at his waist and lightly patted Lee Byeok's shoulder.

“Let’s take a walk.”

“……”

And the two walked side by side. They headed toward the village at a normal pace, without using footwork.

About a quarter of an hour passed.

“Little one. What were you in such a hurry for?”

“…What do you mean?”

Lee Jincheon said.

“Like your martial siblings. You could have just pretended not to know about the stone in your heart, ignored it, and slowly found the joys of your age with your peers.”

“……”

When he looked up, what Lee Byeok saw was a side of Lee Jincheon he had never seen before.

Sadness, or something else.

Lee Byeok couldn't tell exactly what emotion lay within the bittersweet smile.

“Lee Byeok, as the Sect Leader, I give you an order.”

But the next moment, Lee Jincheon's expression and voice turned cold. That too was a face he had never seen before.

“Go run an errand for me.”

“…Where do you mean?”

“Outside the provincial castle. The Central Plains Murim.”

“……”

Lee Jincheon's hand went into his bosom. And he took out an object and handed it to Lee Byeok.

“Take that and go find the Heavenly Fragrance Pavilion in Gathering Lake. They will explain what you have to do and where you have to go.”

Lee Byeok examined the object.

It was a palm-sized metal token. On the front was engraved a phrase signifying the Guardian Order of the Rogues' Guild.

“…I understand.”

Lee Byeok put the token away.

It seemed Lee Byeok had no choice. Of course, even if he did, there was no reason to refuse the order.

Lee Jincheon was Lee Byeok's Sect Leader, his master, and his savior on several occasions.

“Well, it’ll be a long journey, so take the time to think about the sword I showed you earlier.”

Smirk, Lee Jincheon smiled.

It was finally the expression of the Lee Jincheon he knew. And in the distance, the village fence began to come into view.

“Oh right, here. Take this too.”

Cheolkeok, Lee Jincheon unfastened the scabbard from his waist. The sword in the scabbard was extended in front of Lee Byeok.

“This is……?”

“Take it, hurry. Are you planning on going far away carrying a wooden training sword?”

“……”

Lee Byeok accepted the sword.

The weight of the real sword was heavy.

“The name of that sword is Fallen Heaven. Well, it's a prized possession of our Falling Sword Sect and our only real sword, so don't go selling it off somewhere.”

The next moment, Lee Byeok soared into the air.

The Azure River Flowing Leaf Footwork gracefully cut through the atmosphere, and the cold winter air began to brush against their cheeks.

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