Ten Paths of the Master - Chapter 70

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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 70. Selling One’s Soul to the Devil
The following morning.
Dan Yeop, who had risen late, was summoned to the Inner Hall.
A bowl of soup and various dishes sat upon the table.
Yu Hwayoung, the wife of Son Yugbaek, smiled warmly at him as he stood there awkwardly.
“Please, sit down. Jiheon will be here shortly. Father-in-law was quite insistent that you and Jiheon eat properly, even if he himself is delayed.”
“I’m sorry to trouble you like this.”
“Trouble? Nonsense. Any friend of my son is family. Don’t apologize—just make yourself comfortable.”
……
Dan Yeop bowed respectfully to Yu and took his seat.
Right on cue, Son Jiheon arrived with a flourish and settled himself beside Dan Yeop.
“Wow! This is the first time someone’s called me in for a hangover cure. What’s the occasion?”
Yu Hwayoung promptly swatted her boisterous son on the back.
“You should be grateful for choosing such good friends, Inseok. Grandfather specifically instructed me to feed you both without sparing any expense.”
“What about Yeonhwa? She’s not the type to miss something like this?”
“She’s in the Byeoldang, learning Poetry and Prose from Scholar Yi.”
This scholar’s name was Yi Jeongshin.
He had passed the State Examination for Scholars and was awaiting an official posting while tutoring the children of prominent families.
He visited Son Taek regularly and instructed Son Yeonhwa.
“What? Scholar Yi still comes to our house?”
Son Jiheon turned to his mother with a puzzled expression.
His younger sister was already accomplished in Poetry, Calligraphy, and Painting, earning her recognition as one of the Three Exceptionally Talented Women.
“He comes because there’s still more to teach, I suppose?”
Yu Hwayoung glanced subtly at Dan Yeop’s expression.
But Dan Yeop remained focused on his meal, showing no particular interest in Scholar Yi.
Instead, Son Jiheon pursed his lips in clear disapproval.
“I think Scholar Yi has ulterior motives. Yeonhwa is already more renowned than him—so who’s really teaching whom here?”
“Your mouth never stops. Don’t talk like that anywhere else.”
“Mother, do you think I’m foolish? I only speak this way among family. Scholar Yi clearly harbors impure intentions toward Yeonhwa. You should tell him to stop coming.”
“Why? What’s wrong with Scholar Yi? He passed the examinations with distinction, and his appearance is more than respectable. Of course, he doesn’t quite measure up to Lord Dan here.”
She smoothly drew Dan Yeop into the conversation, but he remained absorbed in his food.
“In any case, I don’t trust Scholar Yi. A man ought to be straightforward. Why does he linger around Yeonhwa under the pretense of being her tutor?”
“If you dislike him so much, why don’t you tell your grandfather yourself? Grandfather was the one who hired Scholar Yi.”
“What does Yeonhwa say? Does she have any objections?”
“She can’t bring herself to say anything harsh to people. Her heart is too tender.”
“No, I mean—does Scholar Yi appeal to her or not?”
“How would I know? Yeonhwa isn’t the type to discuss such things.”
“Ugh, honestly. Just talking about Scholar Yi has ruined my appetite.”
Only then did Dan Yeop show interest.
“So Scholar Yi doesn’t appeal to you?”
“Scholar Yi is popular with women, but men can always tell when they see other men, you know? Whether someone is genuine or not.”
“That’s true enough.”
Dan Yeop nodded in agreement.
He had gained considerable experience with such judgments over the years.
“From what I can tell, Scholar Yi falls short. His outward appearance is fine, but something about him doesn’t sit right. I’d say there’s a gap between his exterior and his true nature. In any case, I don’t like him—yet apparently the women find him quite attractive.”
“Because he passed the examinations and is reasonably good-looking?”
“Exactly.”
Yu Hwayoung interjected into their conversation.
“If a man is capable and handsome to boot, then yes, he makes an ideal husband prospect. Are you jealous, son?”
“Mother, that’s not what I mean. When a man sees another man, he knows immediately. This one’s genuine, that one’s not—it’s just that kind of instinct.”
Just as the three of them were deep in discussion about Scholar Yi in the Inner Hall, voices drifted in from outside.
“Is Lord Dan also talented in Poetry and Prose?”
“I’m not certain, but I would imagine so.”
“How regrettable—to believe without having seen. Today I shall expose the true nature of Lord Dan for you completely.”
Moments later, two figures entered the Inner Hall.
It was Son Yeonhwa and Scholar Yi Jeongshin.
Dan Yeop and Son Jiheon stopped eating and stared directly at Yi Jeongshin.
Son Yeonhwa quickly introduced Yi Jeongshin to Dan Yeop.
“The gentleman seated directly across from Brother Jiheon is Lord Dan Yeop. Lord Dan, this is Scholar Yi Jeongshin, who teaches me Poetry and Prose. When I mentioned you to him, he was quite eager to meet you, so I brought him along.”
From her daughter’s words, Yu Hwayoung immediately grasped what was happening.
When his daughter mentioned Dan Yeop, Scholar Yi Jeongshin, seized by jealousy, must have seized upon the pretext of an introduction to make his move.
But when Son Yeonhwa called Dan Yeop “brother,” Scholar Yi Jeongshin’s eyelids trembled visibly.
Still, he turned to Dan Yeop with a forced smile and spoke.
“I am Yi Jeongshin, who passed the State Examination for Scholars as top candidate. At the request of Old Master Son, I have been instructing Miss Son, but hearing of your esteemed reputation, I came filled with admiration.”
In that instant, Dan Yeop understood why Son Jiheon disliked him.
Everyone in the Inner Hall had heard what he’d said outside the door just moments before—that he came filled with admiration!
Whether or not he’d meant it, Dan Yeop’s heart was heavy with Baek Yuhwa’s death, and he had no desire for lengthy conversation.
“I’m Dan Yeop.”
With that, Dan Yeop returned his attention to his meal.
Yi Jeongshin, who had come looking for a fight, did not concede; he sat down across from Dan Yeop.
“Miss Son was boasting earlier. She said you have a talent for Poetry and Prose.”
Then Son Jiheon spoke, affecting a measured tone.
“Scholar Yi, my friend is hardly in a state to discuss Poetry and Prose now. He has recently lost someone close to him, and his heart is troubled. Perhaps we might speak of such things another day.”
“Lord Son, poetry exists precisely so that one might pour into it such sorrow and sorrow. Even Li Bai and Du Fu…….”
Startled by her brother’s words, Son Yeonhwa tried to stop Yi Jeongshin.
“Scholar Yi, I’m afraid today is simply not the right day. Had I known something like this had befallen Brother Dan, I would never have brought you.”
From the moment Son Yeonhwa called Dan Yeop “brother,” Yi Jeongshin’s feelings had been wounded, and his temper suddenly flared.
“Not the right day? Poetry contains all of human emotion and desire. Did I not teach Miss Son that ‘poetry is life itself’?”
Before the one you love, a person sometimes loses all sense.
That was Yi Jeongshin now.
He should have stopped at Son Jiheon’s words, but he could not—not because of Son Yeonhwa.
As the air grew tense, Yi Jeongshin finally became aware of his own recklessness.
An awkward silence fell over the Inner Hall.
Yu Hwayoung, Son Jiheon, and Son Yeonhwa did not reproach him directly, choosing instead to spare him further embarrassment.
Yi Jeongshin, belatedly forcing a smile, spoke.
“Oh my, it seems I have been speaking only in abstract principles. Life, after all, rarely unfolds as we are taught it should. The fault is entirely mine. Dan Gongja, I beg you not to take my words to heart. I hope there will come a day when I might discuss Poetry and Prose with you in better times. Madam Yu, Lord Son, Miss Son, I thank you for your hospitality. Should the opportunity arise, I hope we shall meet again.”
Having finished his farewell, he rose hastily from his seat and departed.
This time, Son Yeonhwa did not see him out.
Son Jiheon looked at Dan Yeop and spoke.
“Told you he was no good, didn’t I?”
This time, Yu Hwayoung also sided with her son.
“I shall speak to your grandfather and ensure this scholar never sets foot in Son Taek again. Yeonhwa, that would be all right, wouldn’t it?”
“Yes, Brother Dan, I’m so sorry. I brought this scholar without thinking, and I fear I’ve upset you.”
Dan Yeop shook his head with a wry smile.
“Don’t worry about it. It’s not your fault. They say you can fathom ten fathoms of water but never a single fathom of the human heart. If I’d known this scholar was so unreasonable, would you have brought him?”
“That’s true. I really had no idea he would act that way. He was always such a refined gentleman…….”
Son Yeonhwa could scarcely believe Yi Jeongshin’s outburst.
He who had always been considerate of others, kind to everyone—to think he would behave so before her family and Dan Yeop.
The Yi Jeongshin of moments ago had seemed almost possessed by something otherworldly.
Yu Hwayoung smiled with a knowing look and spoke.
“It’s because he’s still young.”
***
After finishing his morning meal, Dan Yeop returned to the Byeolchae and unfolded the Baek Cheop.
Despite all that commotion at Hwacheong Palace, Shim Ma had left not a single word.
It would have been natural to ask about Baek Yuhwa, but his silence made Dan Yeop curious about what Shim Ma was thinking.
‘He warned me not to come close to women. Perhaps that’s why he’s quiet.’
At the same time, Dan Yeop felt a pang of guilt toward Shim Ma.
Shim Ma had wanted to know who the woman was that had tried to strangle him.
But Dan Yeop had not told him that she was his mother.
He wished to keep the memories of his mother and Baek Yuhwa for himself alone.
‘By now, he must have figured it out…….’
There was no way someone as sharp as Shim Ma could remain ignorant.
The fact that he no longer asked about that woman said it all.
‘Since things have come to this, should I tell him everything?’
Shim Ma, haunted by the terrifying memories of his mother’s sudden appearance, had been unable to continue his Inner Cultivation training.
At this rate, no matter how gifted Shim Ma was, he would never become worthy as a sibling.
Not in ten years, not in a hundred.
For the sake of vengeance, Dan Yeop had to clear away this obstacle for Shim Ma.
‘But will it truly help?’
The thought of sharing all his memories with Shim Ma filled him with a nameless dread.
It was the anxiety he felt because Shim Ma surpassed him in every way.
What if his very self were consumed by Shim Ma?
Could he still call himself himself then?
After brooding for a long while, Dan Yeop picked up the brush.
He thought that if he could have his revenge on Hyeoljae, he’d gladly surrender even himself.
Dan Yeop began recording his childhood memories methodically in the Baek Cheop.
Strangely, memories from his early years came flooding back, fresh and vivid.
‘At times like this, I suppose I’m not completely hopeless.’
He even recalled the harsh words his mother had hurled at him when he was an infant.
As he wrote character by character, his face flickered between pain and a curious sort of relief.
Next, he began jotting down thoughts about Baek Yuhwa.
First, he wrote about the scent of her body that he had caught for the first time in the Terracotta Army Tomb.
Then the fierce intensity in her eyes and her words when she taught him Martial Arts…….
How glad and delighted he had been when they met again at Jeommun.
As he continued writing, water began dripping onto the Baek Cheop.
…….
Only then did Dan Yeop realize that he had truly cared for her.
A wave of regret washed over him—if only he had known this sooner, he would have confessed.
The pain of not having conveyed his feelings to her while she lived cut through him like a blade.
And with that pain came a fresh surge of murderous intent toward Hyeoljae.
So he concluded his writing with a vow of vengeance against Hyeoljae.
[……If I could only kill Hyeoljae and avenge my sister, I would sell my very soul to the devil.]
Of course, “the devil” here meant Shim Ma.
It was his way of saying he would surrender his body to Shim Ma if it meant achieving his revenge.
After writing that, Dan Yeop began reading the Baek Cheop from the beginning.
‘Hmm?’
The lives of Shim Ma and himself seemed different, yet they resembled each other.
A stranger reading it would think it was a single person’s diary.
Was that why?
His resistance to Shim Ma was gradually beginning to fade.

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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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