Ten Paths of the Master - Chapter 48

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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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Episode 48. Kindred Spirits
While Son Jiheon watched from the shadows, Dan Yeop’s cultivation rushed toward its crescendo.
He had long since abandoned the rigid patterns of the Jin Samdate Blade Method.
Now he simply thrust, slashed, and drew through empty air as the energy guided him.
His movements flowed like water itself.
They swept across the open plain like a mighty river, then plummeted with the fury of a waterfall, churned with violent rapids before settling into gentle, circling curves.
Then, in a single moment, his blade reached toward the heavens.
At the sword’s tip, blade energy erupted like lightning, vanishing into the night sky.
Whoosh—!
Spent, Dan Yeop sheathed his sword and stood motionless for a time.
He lingered in the afterglow of this new realm, savoring it.
When he turned around moments later, a figure emerged from the darkness.
It was Son Jiheon.
Recognizing the man’s face, Dan Yeop hesitated.
‘Did he see?’
Son Jiheon’s expression was different from before—it seemed he had witnessed everything.
Sure enough—
Son Jiheon clasped his hands together and bowed deeply at the waist.
“I beg your pardon, Dan. I couldn’t sleep and came out for a walk, only to happen upon you training. I apologize for intruding.”
“Ah, yes.”
Dan Yeop thought the water had already been spilled and simply walked past him.
The Ha-o School’s martial arts were hardly an earth-shattering secret of the jianghu, and besides, he had chosen to train in a place where others might see. That was his own carelessness.
Then Son Jiheon spoke again.
“Dan.”
Dan Yeop turned to face him.
Son Jiheon, who had been hesitating, finally forced the words out.
“I owe you an apology for the jealousy I’ve often shown you and the quarrels I’ve provoked. Please, forgive me.”
……
Dan Yeop was caught off guard by this sudden apology.
Sim Ma had never written a word to him about any conflict between them.
‘It seems Son fought his own silent battle with Sim Ma over this.’
He could now see roughly what had happened.
“Ah, yes—I appreciate your words.”
Since he was offering an apology, Dan Yeop decided to accept it graciously.
There was no sense in appearing petty.
“I attend the Gukja School, but honestly, I have neither talent nor interest in scholarly pursuits. So I’ve failed to meet my family’s expectations.”
“Ah, yes……”
“From childhood I studied martial arts at Hyeonmu Pavilion, and later I trained under a Jongnam Sect elder for several years. Yet my thirst for the martial way was never quenched—partly, I suppose, because my own aptitude is limited. When my peers from that time advanced by leaps and bounds, I was forced by my grandfather to enter the Gukja School. And the further I drifted from martial arts, the more……”
Dan Yeop didn’t know why Son Jiheon was laying bare his life story, but he listened.
He couldn’t simply walk away from someone so earnestly unburdening himself.
As he listened, he found more than a few points of resemblance between their lives.
Perhaps because they were the same age, their anxieties felt equally weighted.
And above all, Son Jiheon’s lament over his own lack of talent struck Dan Yeop deeply.
Hadn’t he himself endured a decade and more of being called a buffoon?
“……Often your extraordinary talent would fill me with self-loathing. Each time, I questioned my very existence. I have nothing to show for myself—neither in martial arts nor in scholarship. My life feels like nothing more than a stone cast aside on the roadside.”
As Dan Yeop listened, he felt a thirst for drink rising within him.
He too had known that same self-doubt born from comparison with Sim Ma.
“……Who am I? Why was I even born? What is my life for? Should I even be living this way? And so on……”
At that moment, something tightened in Dan Yeop’s chest.
The man standing before him was no one but himself.
“Son, do you have any wine?”
It was the first time Dan Yeop had opened his heart to another person.
“I do. My grandfather has an entire storehouse of wine from gifts. Shall we retire to my quarters and share a cup?”
“Yes.”
Dan Yeop and Son Jiheon walked side by side toward the inner chambers.
***
Dan Yeop dreamed of being trapped under a fallen tree, struggling beneath its weight.
“Mmm……”
With a stifled groan, he woke slowly and opened his eyes.
The morning sunlight streaming through the window dazzled him.
He pushed away whatever had been resting on his chest and blinked his eyes open.
Yet his face felt oddly sluggish, unlike himself.
He ran a hand over it and felt the swelling.
‘What?’
Then the events of the previous night flickered through his mind.
―Come on, drink up, drink! This is Baekwol Myeongju, something my grandfather absolutely treasures, you understand? It was a gift—more than twenty years old. You can’t buy this even if you threw money at it.
―Really? Then we should drink it. Better to enjoy it than let it turn to waste.
―Ha-ha-ha! That’s right, exactly right. Friend, I really like you. We met far too late…
The memory of drinking with Son Jiheon until dawn came flooding back.
He pushed himself up gently and found Son Jiheon sprawled out right beside him, fast asleep.
Now he realized what had been resting on his chest was his leg.
For a moment he sat frozen, then scrambled to his feet.
The realization struck him—he had to be at Jipdan-hyang by the Hour of Snakes, which was nine in the morning.
‘This is bad.’
If he’d overslept, there would be no greater shame.
As Dan Yeop hurriedly straightened his clothes, about to rush out, a servant’s voice drifted in from outside.
“Young Master, have you woken? You should take your morning meal.”
At the sound, Son Jiheon stirred and pushed himself upright, rubbing his eyes.
Dan Yeop quickly opened the door and asked the servant.
“What time is it now?”
The moment Dan Yeop emerged from Son Jiheon’s room, the servant started, but answered promptly.
“It’s just past the Hour of Tiger, young master. Ah, please come have breakfast with us as well, Master Dan.”
“Yes, of course.”
Relief flooded through him—he wasn’t late. Dan Yeop exhaled long and slow.
Had he missed this first visit to the Ha-o School, he would have regretted it forever.
Behind him, Son Jiheon’s voice called out.
“Friend, you’re up early.”
“Ah? Yes… I’ll wash up first and head to breakfast.”
“Sure, just rinse off quickly—we shouldn’t be late.”
“Right…”
Dan Yeop hurried to the well by the annex and washed his face.
As time passed, fragments of last night’s wild drinking bout kept surfacing in his mind.
It was behavior he wouldn’t normally allow himself.
‘Could it be because I’m so pleased with my martial arts progress?’
Or perhaps he’d felt a kind of kinship with Son Jiheon—a sense that they were both wounded by similar circumstances.
‘What exactly did we say to each other?’
They must have talked about so much, yet he could barely recall any of it clearly.
Dan Yeop dried his face hastily and rushed toward the Inner Hall.
***
Inner Hall.
The atmosphere of breakfast had shifted noticeably because of Son Jiheon’s presence.
Until yesterday, Son Jiheon had been like a petulant child, poking and needling Dan Yeop and his sister.
His mother and grandfather had scolded him thoroughly for it, yet he’d refused to stop his spiteful behavior.
But the Son Jiheon of this morning was nothing like that—he was considerate toward Dan Yeop.
More precisely, his manner wove together courtesy, attentiveness, and deference.
Son Yu-baek was the first to sense the shift between the two.
When his grandson began speaking to Dan Yeop without honorifics, Son Yu-baek let drop a casual remark.
“Jiheon, Dan here is your age, but you shouldn’t speak to him disrespectfully.”
It was a roundabout way of asking what had brought them so close.
Son Jiheon answered with easy confidence.
“Grandfather, Dan and I spent the night drinking together until dawn, opened our hearts to each other, and have become intimate friends. Isn’t that right, friend?”
“Yes, exactly as Jiheon says. Please, Master Son, feel free to speak casually with me.”
At that, Son Yu-baek’s face brightened considerably.
“Is that so? To find a kindred spirit—that is indeed cause for celebration. I shall arrange a proper feast for you both this evening. Will you both have time?”
Son Yu-baek could hardly contain his joy that his grandson had found a true friend in such a brilliant talent.
“Grandfather, I’m completely free.”
“I’m also available.”
“Excellent. Then I’ll see you both this evening. You can look forward to it—I’ve been saving the finest liquor under heaven, and I shall hold nothing back.”
For just a moment, Son Jiheon’s expression grew tense.
Dan Yeop noticed his unease but deliberately looked away.
Dan Yeop finished his meal earlier than usual and rose without touching tea.
“I’ll take my leave now, sir. There’s someone I need to meet regarding a matter of employment. Thank you for your mother’s generous hospitality.”
He bowed and hurried out of the Inner Hall.
***
As he made his way to Jipdan-hyang, the headquarters of the Point Sect, Dan Yeop thought to himself that finding lodging in Son Taek had been a wise decision.
The distance from Son Taek to Jipdan-hyang was not far at all.
The moment he stepped into Incense Alley, his heart began to race.
He was about to show Baek Yu-hwa how much he had changed.
He could scarcely believe this moment had finally arrived.
A wooden sign reading “Closed” hung on the door of Jipdan-hyang.
Dan Yeop opened the door slowly and stepped inside.
A middle-aged man standing behind the counter spoke casually.
“Ah, my apologies. We’re closed for the day, so we’re not conducting business.”
“I was told to come pick up the herbs I ordered by early morning hours.”
“Ah! You’re here to collect your goods. Just go all the way to the back and head to Ansik Hall.”
Dan Yeop walked to the end of the shop and, as he had seen others do before, opened the rear door and stepped outside.
Two pavilions stood on either side of a spacious garden.
Now that he looked, Ansik Hall on the right was considerably larger than Simhyang-gak on the left.
He made his way toward Ansik Hall.
Just as Dan Yeop reached Ansik Hall, someone opened the door and came out.
It was Lee So-gun, a first-generation student called one of the three beauties of Byeongma-chong, and Lee Hwa, who was always attached to her.
Lee So-gun smiled when she saw Dan Yeop and greeted him.
“Oh? Dan Yeop? I heard you graduated with the fourth-generation students. Congratulations.”
“Thank you.”
Then Lee Hwa, who had come out with Lee So-gun, spoke with displeasure.
“Thank you? Hey, did you just speak casually to So-gun? After graduating with the fourth-generation students?”
There were women like this among the students too—people possessed of petty spite.
Lee Hwa was one of them.
During her time at Byeongma-chong, she had clung to Lee So-gun and flattered her relentlessly, and she had always harbored a particular dislike for Dan Yeop.
In the past, he would have lowered his gaze and passed by, but Dan Yeop did not do so now.
The confidence gained from last night’s achievement had given him a measure of resolve.
“By the way, who are you? Your face is familiar, but I can’t quite place it.”
He had genuinely forgotten her name and asked in good faith.
But those words touched a nerve in Lee Hwa.
Always insecure about her appearance, she took Dan Yeop’s words as mockery.
“What? You blockheaded bastard! How dare you open your mouth like that! You want to die?”
Just as the enraged Lee Hwa was about to raise her hand, a sturdy young man in his mid-twenties emerged and glared at her.
“You little shit! What the hell are you barking about, you fresh-faced brats? Want to die? You understand this is Byeongma-chong, don’t you? Don’t even breathe. I can tear your mouths right off. Got it?”
Cowed by the young man’s vicious outburst, Lee Hwa bowed her head and answered meekly.
“Yes……”
The young man turned his gaze to Dan Yeop.
“And you?”
“I was just staying quiet, sir.”
“Shit! This bastard’s talking back? You find me after the event’s over. You run, you die.”
The young man who had been glaring at Dan Yeop went back inside.
Lee Hwa spoke with a gleeful expression.
“Idiot, you’re marked now by Im. Do you have any idea how terrifying he is?”
Im Jeong’s nickname was the Blood Hound.
He was rumored among the younger men of the Ha-o School to be particularly vicious with his hands.
But Dan Yeop said nothing and simply brushed past Lee So-gun and Lee Hwa.

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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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