Martial God of the Sun and Moon - Chapter 409

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 409
The managers and Dokgo Myeong sat facing each other on the bare wooden veranda of Sa Heon-gak’s quarters.
“Now that I’m actually trying to tell this, my tongue won’t cooperate.”
….
“Just listen to the whole story before you say anything. It’s quite an absurd tale, but every word of it is true.”
Dokgo Myeong began his account haltingly.
A fresh table of drinks had been set out, yet no one reached for snacks or refilled their cups. They simply listened in silence to everything he said.
“…That’s all there is to it. When I came to, Ak-i was right in front of me, so I beat him senseless. The rest, you all know.”
….
A silence as heavy as death descended upon the room.
From somewhere in the night, the mournful cry of an insect echoed through the darkness.
Dokgo Myeong felt tension creeping up his spine. As he met the unwavering gazes of the managers fixed upon him, his entire body tensed and his heart raced wildly.
Suddenly, Namgung Sohwa tilted her head and asked.
“That’s it?”
“…Huh?”
“What, there’s nothing else? That’s really all? Truly?”
“It’s, it’s the end?”
“Seems like there really isn’t anything more.”
Dokgo Myeong blinked blankly.
Then Geum Seok-du lowered his voice and whispered to the managers.
“It’s less dramatic than we thought, isn’t it?”
“Indeed.”
“Now then, you all remember the wager, yes? You’ll need to bring a silver coin each shortly.”
At Geum Seok-du’s words, all the managers let out a collective sigh at whatever he had said.
“I was certain it would be connected to the Twin Horse Alliance. What a disappointment.”
Cheolmu-baek muttered while swallowing his drink.
“By all appearances, it was the reincarnation of a heretical sect master….”
Ye-hwa spoke absurdities with an expressionless face.
“Tch! I thought it was some legendary demon in disguise. The fact that it was human is even more shocking.”
What was Dokgo Ak babbling about now?
“You’re all too imaginative. As I said, he was clearly from the Black Blade or some back-alley gang. My instincts have never failed me in these wagers.”
“In any case, you’re still a youngster. Demons are… pfft.”
“Hey! Cheolmu-baek, you bastard! Let’s settle this right now!”
“Quiet. Keep it down.”
“Eeek!”
Dokgo Myeong’s eyes trembled as he watched the managers suddenly erupt into chaos.
‘Is this… right?’
This doesn’t seem right at all.
Dokgo Myeong suddenly came to his senses.
“Wait, wait! You didn’t place a wager, did you?”
“Huh? Ah, yes, that’s right.”
His response was rather deflated.
Caught off guard by the unexpected turn, Dokgo Myeong even stumbled over his words.
“Wait, is this really something to brush past so easily? I have memories from my past life, you know? I know the future too, you know? I even have memories of someone named Dokgo Hyeon, you know?”
“So what.”
Ye-hwa spoke flatly.
“We figured there was something. But it’s less impressive than expected, honestly.”
“You figured it out?”
“Did you think we wouldn’t know?”
“Isn’t that obvious?”
At those words, the expressions of the managers turned cold simultaneously.
The managers, glancing at each other once, began firing back as if in disbelief.
“What’s shocking is that you thought we wouldn’t know.”
“Always going on about what your past life was like.”
“You act like you naturally know things we couldn’t possibly know, you predict everything that’s to come, and when you’re too lazy to explain, you just brush it off—what’s that about?”
Dokgo Myeong became speechless, his mouth opening and closing uselessly.
Namgung Sohwa let out a soft laugh and closed her mouth.
“Ah, what a shame. I was certain you were the Sect Leader of the Blood Cult.”
“What, what?”
“I thought you’d suddenly declare at the final moment of war, ‘Actually, I am the Sect Leader of the Blood Cult!’ Like you were some final mastermind or something.”
Dokgo Myeong’s expression hardened.
“What kind of nonsense is that?”
“Then what the Captain just said makes perfect sense, doesn’t it?”
“….”
Unable to respond, Dokgo Myeong could only blink.
His solemn resolve evaporated in an instant.
“Heh, hehehehe.”
Without meaning to, hollow laughter spilled out.
Dokgo Myeong laughed like that for a long while.
* * *
The full moon shone brilliantly.
The managers returned to the Cheonma Sect looking deflated, and Dokgo Myeong, left alone, wandered the back garden for a moment before returning to his quarters.
After tossing and turning on his bed for quite some time, he became certain that sleep would not come tonight. Eventually, Dokgo Myeong stepped outside to gaze at the moon.
“Really now.”
The lingering sense of bewilderment still hadn’t faded.
“Why did I hide something so simple until now….”
A short sigh escaped Dokgo Myeong’s lips, his face bearing both relief and an odd awkwardness.
That was when it happened.
Tap, tap, tap.
At the familiar footsteps, Dokgo Myeong turned his head.
The owner of the footsteps poked only her face out from the corner.
“Still awake?”
“As you can see?”
“I knew it. I had a feeling you’d be moping around alone again.”
Namgung Sohwa approached with a sly grin, her hands hidden behind her back.
Dokgo Myeong’s expression turned sour.
“When did you leave the Captain alone to go drink, and now you’re back?”
“But you said yourself you weren’t in the mood to drink?”
“Still, you should have stayed by the Commander’s side when he was alone! You people have no sense of loyalty, no loyalty at all.”
Namgung Sohwa scoffed.
“You’re such a fossil.”
“…?”
“Now I get it. I kept wondering why you were so fossilized, and it turns out you really are one.”
“What?!”
“Never mind.”
Namgung Sohwa raised her right hand from her waist.
In her hand were a bottle of alcohol and two cups.
“Let’s have a drink.”
Dokgo Myeong chuckled.
“You brought just one bottle?”
“I knew you’d say that!”
Namgung Sohwa raised her other hand.
“I brought a few more. How’s that?”
Three more bottles were gripped in her left hand all at once.
Dokgo Myeong finally burst into laughter.
As Dokgo Myeong patted the spot beside him, Namgung Sohwa plopped down and lined up the bottles.
“You’re uncanny. How did you know I wanted to drink?”
“It’s obvious. What do you think? This manager’s thoughtfulness?”
“You’re the best.”
“I know.”
Namgung Sohwa, looking rather pleased with herself, filled Dokgo Myeong’s cup generously.
After filling her own cup and emptying three cups in succession, she finally spoke.
“Anyway. It’s strange how much you know about me.”
“Hm?”
“Did I create the Mumeong Swordsmanship you taught me in my past life myself?”
Dokgo Myeong nodded.
“That’s right. To be precise, you, I, and all the disciples put our heads together to create it.”
“What kind of person was I back then?”
Dokgo Myeong shrugged.
“It was so long ago, I don’t even remember.”
“Don’t lie to me.”
“I’m telling you, I really don’t remember.”
Namgung Sohwa asked in a subdued voice.
“Was I so different back then compared to now? Were we just… the same Captain and Manager as we are now?”
Dokgo Myeong fidgeted with his cup, evading the question.
“I said I don’t know.”
“Ugh, seriously!”
Namgung Sohwa downed her drink with a sullen expression. Dokgo Myeong simply chuckled it off.
The Namgung Sohwa of that time and the Namgung Sohwa of now had become as different as heaven and earth.
But what did that matter anymore?
“Setting everything else aside, your martial prowess seems weaker than it was back then.”
“What?”
“But you’ll definitely be able to reach greater heights and go further than before.”
Namgung Sohwa felt her heart flutter for a moment.
“Really?”
“Really. Have you ever seen me lie?”
Namgung Sohwa opened her eyes wide.
“Yes, many times. You just did it a moment ago.”
“…”
“Just pour the drinks.”
“Ah, yes.”
Dokgo Myeong filled her cup with utmost courtesy.
Namgung Sohwa smiled brightly and emptied her cup in one go.
Two bottles emptied in the blink of an eye.
As they opened a third bottle, Dokgo Myeong spoke first this time.
“Did it bother you?”
“What?”
“Being hidden from or deceived.”
“Not at all. If anything, it’s the opposite.”
“The opposite?”
A bitter expression crossed Namgung Sohwa’s face.
“I’m truly pathetic. As a person.”
“What are you talking about all of a sudden?”
“Not only in my past life, but I’ve entrusted this life to you as well.”
Now that she knew the lives of Dokgo Myeong and Dokgo Hyeon.
Thinking of how much he must have sacrificed to live as he did, she found it difficult to meet his gaze directly.
And yet he had cared for her, the other Managers, and the Cheonma Sect, enduring all that time in silence.
“…”
Namgung Sohwa stared into the void for a moment, then drank repeatedly. If she opened her mouth now, something unnecessary would surely spill out.
“I’m the one who brought you in because I needed you, so stop thinking such useless thoughts.”
“Thank you. I truly mean that.”
Dokgo Myeong turned his head away without a word and took a long drink.
Namgung Sohwa, who had been watching him quietly, blinked her eyes.
“What? Your ears are turning red.”
Dokgo Myeong’s head snapped back around.
“What are you talking about?”
“Well, looking at you, you’re quite shy underneath it all.”
“That’s not true.”
“Let’s say it is.”
When Namgung Sohwa replied casually, the embarrassed Dokgo Myeong picked a quarrel for no reason.
“Why didn’t you bring some side dishes too? What is this?”
“What? You should be grateful that I went to the trouble!”
“You just said you were grateful to me!”
“That’s different!”
The two of them began bickering in an instant.
That’s when it happened.
The managers began gathering in Dokgo Myeong’s quarters one or two at a time.
“Oh! What’s this? Why are both of you here… Should I come back later?”
“What are you saying? Oh! Is that food?”
“Yes, I brought some meat dishes.”
The first to arrive was Geum Seok-du. As expected, he came with side dishes bundled up in his arms.
“Ah, move aside! I got here first! Huh? What’s this!”
“I arrived first… Hmm? Why are three of you here together?”
Next came Dokgo Ak and Cheolmu-baek.
“…Could it be that I’ve been left out without knowing?”
Finally, Ye-hwa as well.
“How could that be? Come here, little brother!”
“Yes, older sister!”
“She didn’t come to see me—she came to see her.”
Dokgo Myeong grumbled, but Ye-hwa paid no attention and plopped down right next to Namgung Sohwa.
Before long, the managers and Dokgo Myeong were all seated together in a circle.
Dokgo Myeong wore a bewildered expression for a moment, then burst into laughter.
“This is good. I can’t remember the last time this happened. It’s been ages since we’ve all gathered like this.”
True to his words, there had been many drinking gatherings with all the disciples, but it had been a long time since they’d drunk so intimately together like this.
“I’m in the mood! I’ll break out the last bottle of snake liquor I have!”
“What, what kind of liquor?”
“Don’t tell me that’s the one from back then… Aaaah! It really exists!”
“Where are you running to!”
The first victim was Dokgo Ak.
With the bottle shoved in his mouth, Dokgo Ak thrashed about for a while before finally having to drink the liquor along with some strange sediment.
After finishing an entire bottle of snake liquor, everyone drank quietly with expressions suggesting they might retch at any moment.
Then, quite suddenly, Geum Seok-du opened his mouth.
“Shall we make a toast?”
“All of a sudden?”
“Yes, I suddenly felt like it.”
“What’s the big deal about that! Fill the cups!”
The Five Cheonma Sect Elders, those lauded in the streets as the Five Dragons, filled their cups in turn.
Though no words were spoken, each carried their own resolve in the cup alongside the liquor.
“Come now, a toast to all of us!”
Clink!
Led by Dokgo Myeong’s voice, the cups struck together sharply, and they swallowed the liquor along with that resolve.
In everyone’s mind arose the thought that this was the moment the Cheonma Sect was finally complete.
* * *
The next morning at dawn.
Dokgo Myeong sat in lotus position in the training grounds.
Whoooosh!
In that instant, the Heavenly Elixir Field vibrated with tremendous force.
At that unprecedented intensity of vibration, Dokgo Myeong was even somewhat taken aback.
‘What is this?’
The amount of vital energy recovered with each breath, and the power released as the elixir field rotated, had noticeably changed.
It felt as though a firmly locked bolt had vanished.
‘Could it have been a heart demon all along?’
I felt as though one wall in my martial cultivation was about to crumble.
Yet Dokgo Myeong opened his eyes without hesitation.
“Were you not in the midst of training?”
Dokgo Myeong exhaled shortly and rose to his feet.
“I was merely meditating lightly.”
“Then spare me some time.”
“Of course.”
Dokgo Wi-hak appeared as composed as always. Yet his eyes were bloodshot, and fatigue was plainly evident.
“I did not expect you to visit within a single day.”
“Prolonged deliberation does not yield better answers. Rather, it often causes one to miss the moment.”
A moment of silence passed.
Dokgo Wi-hak gazed at the sky for a long while, then opened his mouth slowly with an extraordinarily cautious tone.
“You have not borne children, so you would not know.”
“Pardon?”
“No matter how indifferent one may be, a parent cannot help but know. Whether this is truly their own child or not.”
Dokgo Wi-hak’s eyes deepened.
“I may be a father who has failed in his duties, but I am not so pathetic as to be unable to distinguish my own child.”
“What do you mean by that, sir?”
“The you I saw was undoubtedly my son. Whether Dokgo Hyeon was mixed within you or not.”
“…!”
Dokgo Myeong had certainly transformed completely overnight.
Yet in his gait, the way he gauged others’ reactions, his smile, his gestures, his tastes… traces of myself and the woman I longed for were woven into these trivial things. These were not the sort of things one could imitate.
“I will ask you one thing.”
“Yes.”
“Do you think of me as your father?”
Dokgo Myeong hesitated.
“If you permit it… I wish to.”
At that passive response, Dokgo Wi-hak smiled bitterly.
‘So he simply accepts it all.’
Dokgo Wi-hak closed his eyes gently for a moment and exhaled a soft breath that did not quite sound like a sigh.
‘I know how much deliberation and hesitation it took for him to find this courage.’
That is simply how children are.
For parents, a child is a choice, but for a child, a parent is not.
“I have never once ceased to be your father.”
Dokgo Wi-hak’s voice trembled.
“Myeong-a.”
“Yes.”
“Tell me of this man called Hyeon who may now be part of you. It is difficult for me to accept as yet, but if I listen and we speak of it together, perhaps I might understand better.”
Dokgo Myeong’s eyes wavered.
Yet soon after, he nodded slowly.
“Yes, Father.”
After uttering those words, Dokgo Myeong suddenly found himself thinking.
Perhaps he had been waiting for this moment all along.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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