Novel Test - Chapter 5.7

Episode 2

Journey ― Thinking I Might Tell Your Fortune (1)

 

 

 

 

 

Time passed.

Around the time roughly half a year had passed since Murim Alliance Leader Baek Bul-in (白不仁) came to and left Cheonyo’s abode.

An incident that would shake the murim occurred.

It was…….

The death of Murim Alliance Leader Baek Bul-in.

He, who had long led the Murim Alliance from the seat of its leader, suddenly met his death. The sudden passing was a great shock, but talk of his death soon died down.

That was because a great truth was revealed, one that dwarfed the alliance leader’s death.

The murim of today was peaceful.

But it had been only about ten years that the murim had enjoyed such peace.

The demon king (魔王) Hyeol Murin (血武燐).

In the past, the realm had been a world of the demonic way. The orthodox sects and the unorthodox sects were shattered before the power of Hyeol Murin, leader of the demonic cult. Just as the demonic cult was about to swallow the murim, in an unusual turn, the orthodox and unorthodox joined hands.

It was nothing short of astonishing.

That the orthodox and unorthodox, as incompatible as water and oil, would join hands.

And that meant the demonic cult’s leader, Hyeol Murin, was that great a threat.

Of course, not everyone in the unorthodox sects turned against Hyeol Murin.

Roughly two-thirds were hostile to him, but the remaining one-third went under him and dreamed of a new world.

Even with the two forces on the opposing side of Hyeol Murin joining hands, his power was overwhelming. Before Hyeol Murin’s power that smashed everything, the orthodox–unorthodox coalition was driven ever closer to a cliff.

Then, an astonishing event occurred.

The coalition took Hyeol Murin’s life. And his death was like the signal flare that ended the long war.

Thus the murim slew the head of the demonic cult and regained peace.

No, so they believed.

At least until this rumor spread.

Clack!

The man who had slammed his cup down opened his mouth in a hurried voice.

“What? Hyeol Murin is alive?”

“Rather than alive…… it’s more accurate to say he’s sealed.”

Two warriors chattered at the drinking table.

And it wasn’t only these two having such a conversation. The secret was so huge it had spread across the land to the point even commoners, not martial artists, knew of it.

The warrior who had been startled at the thought of Hyeol Murin being alive asked,

“What exactly do you mean by that?”

“Honestly, you. You’re this late to the news? You know the Murim Alliance Leader who died—his granddaughter.”

“I know. Her name was, what, Baek Sang-a (白霜娥)?”

“Right. The demon king Hyeol Murin didn’t die—he’s sealed inside the body of the alliance leader’s granddaughter, Baek Sang-a.”

“What? Is that even possible?”

“They say some great art made it so…… Eh, I don’t know the details. The important thing is that Hyeol Murin is sealed within that granddaughter.”

“So?”

“So what of it. The greedy bastards have lit their eyes and started swarming. With that child alone, they say they can resurrect Hyeol Murin, who was called the demon king.”

The man who heard this shivered lightly as if in revulsion.

The resurrection of Hyeol Murin.

Even to hear it was horrifying. Anyone who knew the world when he was around would react the same.

The realm was drenched in blood, and whether one had learned martial arts techniques or not, everyone lived a precarious life, as if walking a blade day by day.

Hell—hell’s return.

No one would want to go back to that time.

This rumor about Hyeol Murin. It spread across the land at a mad pace.

And so did talk of Baek Sang-a, the alliance leader’s granddaughter.

With the emergence of someone who could resurrect Hyeol Murin, the murim grew noisy.

 

* * *

 

Cheonyo’s abode.

Sitting inside the room, he rose at the sound of a bird flying in. Stepping straight out to the back of the house, Cheonyo’s eyes found a carrier pigeon perched on a carved piece of wood.

And a letter tied to the pigeon’s ankle.

Cheonyo silently untied and opened the letter attached to the pigeon.

And the moment he checked the letter…….

Flinch.

His pupils twitched.

On the day Murim Alliance Leader Baek Bul-in visited Cheonyo’s abode, he had said it: that something so big would happen anyone could see it. That would be the time for Cheonyo to move.

The two eyes set beneath his shaggy hair stared at the letter’s contents.

“……Old man. You’ve left me a harder assignment than I expected.”

Baek Bul-in’s death, and the granddaughter who held the demon king Hyeol Murin within her body.

It was shocking.

He could keenly understand why the one he must protect would come under the world’s threat.

It wasn’t only the demonic cult that sought to resurrect Hyeol Murin.

The orthodox sects and the unorthodox sects that wished to prevent his return would target the child as well.

Orthodox sects, unorthodox sects. And even the demonic cult.

He had been asked to protect a single child whom everyone would be after.

And that what was sealed in the child’s body was Hyeol Murin.

“Old man, what grudge do you have against me to do this.”

Cheonyo muttered, looking up at the sky.

Whatever resentment had made him involve Cheonyo in this, it was too late to harbor complaints.

Cheonyo had given his word, and now was precisely the time the alliance leader had said he would be needed.

Knowing that…….

Returning to the room, Cheonyo slung a bundle sitting in the corner over his shoulder.

Standing idly, he quietly looked around the room.

There were no particular belongings in the messy room—just useless odds and ends.

“……I’d grown somewhat fond of it.”

It was a place he had lived for nearly ten years.

And now, a place he had to leave.

“Take care.”

With those words, Cheonyo, who had been caressing the wall, moved his feet and stepped out of the room. His steps headed straight for the village below the mountain.

He had gone to the village almost daily, so he knew its layout like the back of his hand. Of course, the only place he went each time was wherever they sold liquor.

But today was different.

The place Cheonyo’s steps took him was the forge.

As he reached the forge’s entrance, he felt the scorching heat billowing out from within.

Cheonyo strode into the forge.

Inside, there was an old man hammering with all his might before the blazing flames. Perhaps from hammering for so long, the old man, muscular beyond his years, turned his head toward the arriving Cheonyo and widened his eyes.

“You……?”

Cheonyo gave a slight bow.

He had kept walls up with everyone. Because of that, they weren’t close, but the two had met several times at the tavern in the village.

Since Cheonyo had lived with drink every day, and the old blacksmith liked liquor, there had been ample chances to meet.

This nosy old man would often act chummy with Cheonyo and drink with him.

Of course, Cheonyo hardly replied, and it was always the old man doing all the talking.

The old man welcomed Cheonyo warmly.

“I thought you were dead. Haven’t seen you around the village at all lately?”

“I’ve come to look at some swords.”

Without answering the old man’s words, Cheonyo only said what he had come to say. 

“A sword?”

With a puzzled look, the old man pointed to the knives hanging on one wall.

“Like these?”

What he pointed to were the kind of kitchen knives you’d use in a kitchen.

Naturally.

In a remote village where not even outsiders, much less martial artists, ever came, no one would be looking for a real sword.

Cheonyo shook his head.

He spoke again.

“A sword. The kind martial artists use.”

“Huh? And what would you even use that for.”

“Don’t you have one?”

“No, I do, but…….”

After saying that, the old man walked into the depths of the forge. Soon he came back carrying a sword in a scabbard thick with settled dust.

The old man held out the sword and said.

“It’s old, but it’s a decent sword. What do you think?”

Accepting the sword, Cheonyo lightly felt its weight in his hand. Then he checked the balance. And he eased the blade out to inspect the edge.

Even without scrutinizing it closely, Cheonyo could tell.

‘Not bad.’

It’s the sort of item that’s hard to come by in a country village like this. Of course, in a larger town it would be a run-of-the-mill sword.

Since he was only looking for something to use temporarily anyway, this was more than enough.

Cheonyo held out silver ingots.

“Here.”

“This much? It was just stuck in storage anyway.”

“To me right now, it’s well worth paying this much.”

“Is that so? I won’t refuse.”

The old man grinned, apparently pleased to see silver ingots for the first time in quite a while.

Standing still, Cheonyo suddenly fingered the long hair that blocked his view.

“This will be a nuisance too.”

Cheonyo spoke to the old man, who was gazing at the silver ingots with a delighted face.

“Do you have a chedo (剃刀: a razor)?”

“The ones lined up to your left are razors.”

“May I borrow one?”

“Of course. Use them as much as you like.”

Hearing the answer, Cheonyo picked up a razor and grabbed a handful of his own hair.

And then…….

Snip.

Cheonyo hacked away at the fistful of long hair. As his bangs were shorn short as well, the face that had been hidden all this time came into view.

As Cheonyo’s face gradually emerged, the old man’s eyes widened as he watched.

After cutting his long hair to about shoulder length, Cheonyo soon began cleanly shaving the beard covering his face with the razor.

Scritchscritch.

The shorn hairs fell to the floor, and once he finished all his tidying, Cheonyo ran a hand down his face.

Staring blankly at the face Cheonyo thus revealed to the world, the old man spoke in surprise.

“You…… were this handsome?”

Cheonyo’s face, which had been unrecognizable beneath his long hair and beard, was strikingly handsome. Long, sweeping brows, a high-bridged nose, and eyes heavy with melancholy.

Delicate yet each feature beautifully shaped.

Even at the old man’s praise, Cheonyo set down the razor he was holding with an indifferent face.

“I used it well.”

As he finished speaking and turned to leave the forge, the old man hastily called out to Cheonyo.

“Ah, I’m just about done with work, so how about we go have a drink for the first time in a while.”

At that, Cheonyo half-turned and looked at the old man.

“I’ve quit drinking.”

“Why? Didn’t you like it so much?”

At those words, Cheonyo slowly lifted his hand.

“Because my hands shake.”

The old man wore a look that said he didn’t understand Cheonyo’s words at all. To him, Cheonyo continued.

“If my hands shake…… I can’t protect the person I have to protect.”

The old man still couldn’t make sense of Cheonyo’s words.

But his eyes.

The unwavering, steely resolve in the eyes looking at him pierced the old man’s chest.

Before he knew it, the old man was nodding.

“You’re right. Aye, that’s how it should be.”

Cheonyo turned away again.

As he started walking, he said.

“Stay well. Thank you for keeping a boring fellow company over drinks all this time.”

With those words, Cheonyo disappeared out of the forge.

The old man just stared blankly at the spot where he’d vanished.

He’d known Cheonyo for quite a long while.

Of course, he didn’t truly know anything about him, and yet he always felt at ease whenever he saw him.

And today, meeting Cheonyo’s gaze properly for the first time, he realized it.

“……not an ordinary man.”

He wasn’t just a drunkard.

Of course, the old man could not know any more than that. What kind of life the man had lived, what he had endured while carrying his burdens, and what he was now trying to do.

So there was only one thing the old man could do now.

Nothing but to send his support to the one who was leaving.

As he looked at the empty spot, the old man suddenly realized.

That all this time he hadn’t even known the man’s name.

The old man muttered.

“Go well. Nameless warrior.”