The Battle for the Heavenly Sword - Chapter 74

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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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74
Woo Geom-san’s Contest
Baek Ho-yang’s sudden death plunged the Village people into deep sorrow.
He was not just an ordinary old man.
He had been the spiritual pillar of the Village and a wonderful teacher to the children.
Because Baek Ho-yang provided a solid center, the Village ran stably, and everyone had leaned on him emotionally.
His absence turned the Village quiet and desolate.
For three days, the Village people quietly prepared for Baek Ho-yang’s funeral.
In the middle of the Village’s Empty Lot, they stacked wood like a mountain to build a platform.
Usually, when a person dies, they are buried in the ground, but since Baek Ho-yang was a Taoist, they prepared for a Cremation.
Woo Geom-san and the young men of the Village lifted the coffin containing Baek Ho-yang’s corpse onto the platform.
Woo Geom-san gently stroked the coffin in silence.
His heart ached as if it were tearing apart, but Woo Geom-san stared at the coffin without showing any sign of it.
It was because he thought Baek Ho-yang would be saddened if he wept.
Over the past few months, Baek Ho-yang had treated Woo Geom-san with extra care, passing down even his final Insights.
Woo Geom-san had sensed the farewell back then and prepared his heart. That was why he could accept Baek Ho-yang’s death calmly.
However, not everyone held back their tears like Woo Geom-san.
“Sob!”
“Ugh!”
The siblings Nam I-yeon and Nam Mu-rin caressed the coffin, their heavy tears streaming down endlessly.
Excluding Woo Geom-san, they had spent the longest time with Baek Ho-yang, so the sorrow they felt was just as immense.
“Waaah! Grandfather.”
“Sob! Don’t go.”
“Grandpa!”
Following them, the children who had learned letters and Martial Arts from Baek Ho-yang ran over, gripping the coffin and crying sorrowfully.
As the children wailed, even the adults who had been trying their best to suppress their tears began to weep.
Woo Geom-san pulled the children away from the coffin and spoke.
“If you hold onto him like this, Grandfather won’t be able to leave peacefully either. Let’s send him off so he can rest in peace.”
At his persuasion, the children wiped away their tears with their sleeves and stepped back.
Baek Wol-sang handed a burning piece of wood to Woo Geom-san.
“You should be the one to send him off.”
“Yes.”
Woo Geom-san stared at the burning wood for a moment before tossing it onto the platform.
Whoosh!
High flames surged up above the platform.
The intense heat caused the people standing around the platform to hastily step back. However, Woo Geom-san did not move an inch, staring only at the coffin where Baek Ho-yang lay at rest.
He watched as the coffin was engulfed by the crimson flames and turned to ash.
‘Grandfather!’
His meeting with Baek Ho-yang, the journey to coming to Cheonbaeksan, and the process of learning Martial Arts flashed through his mind like a kaleidoscope.
Baek Ho-yang existed in every single memory of those fifteen years.
Thinking that he would never be able to see him again, it felt like his heart was tearing to pieces.
Even so, Woo Geom-san did not shed a tear.
He had promised Baek Ho-yang.
He would grieve for exactly three days and then send him off with a light heart.
‘Since you’ve suffered so much all this time, please rest peacefully now. And check in on how your grandson is doing from time to time.’
With those thoughts, Woo Geom-san sent Baek Ho-yang away.
The fire burned all day long.
The Village people kept their places until the fire went out completely.
When the flames finally died down, Woo Geom-san cleared away the charcoal and found a few pieces of bone.
The eyes of Woo Geom-san, who was recovering the remains, sparkled.
It was because he discovered an unexpected item.
Next to the bone fragments lay a few small beads.
“It’s Sarira!”
“Sarira came out of the Elder!”
“Wow!”
The Village people cheered upon seeing the Sarira.
This was because Sarira, which only rarely appears during the Cremation Ceremony of a High Monk, had emerged from Baek Ho-yang’s cremation as well.
Every single Sarira that came from Baek Ho-yang was large and emitting a clear, brilliant light.
After putting the Sarira into his vest pocket, Woo Geom-san handed Baek Ho-yang’s bone fragments to Baek Wol-sang.
Baek Wol-sang ground the bone fragments in a pre-arranged mortar, turning them into a fine powder. He then wrapped it gently in paper and handed it back to Woo Geom-san.
“I’ll be back.”
“Right! Travel safely.”
“Don’t worry. I’ll be back soon.”
Putting the paper containing the Bone Powder into his shirt, the place Woo Geom-san went was none other than Houyi Peak, where Baek Ho-yang had met his end.
Here, Baek Ho-yang had entered eternal sleep while looking out at The World.
There was no better place than this to send Baek Ho-yang off.
Woo Geom-san scattered Baek Ho-yang’s Bone Powder.
The pure white bone dust rode the wind and spread far, far away.
Woo Geom-san murmured as he took the sight into his eyes.
The mountains are quiet, and the clouds scatter far away. Where will the lonely soul stay today?
As the wind passes, fragrance scatters across the field; as the moonlight shines, the pine shadows sway on their own.
The cold light of a single sword brings sorrow to old dreams, and a thousand years of white bones turn into a light breeze.
Even if it is a long path where no one asks, I believe your soul resides in the blue sky.
***
Returning home, Woo Geom-san looked around Baek Ho-yang’s room.
Because Baek Ho-yang usually lived a frugal life, there were barely any belongings left behind.
At most, a single blanket and three sets of clothes were everything.
Even those had been burned along with him during Baek Ho-yang’s cremation, so nothing remained.
Woo Geom-san let out a soft sigh and walked over to the Bookshop where Baek Ho-yang used to spend most of his time.
Ever used since Woo Geom-san acquired the Books, Baek Ho-yang had spent the vast majority of his time in the Bookshop.
Teaching the children here and reading Books in his spare time had been his sole pleasure.
The sight of him teaching children here and smiling at Woo Geom-san through the open window was still vivid before his eyes.
Just then, Nam I-yeon, holding a broom, opened the door to the Bookshop and walked inside.
“Brother?”
“Ah, I-yeon. Are you trying to clean even though Grandfather isn’t here?”
“I suppose it’s just become a habit.”
Excluding Woo Geom-san, the person who had spent the longest time with Baek Ho-yang was indeed Nam I-yeon.
She had swept and wiped Baek Ho-yang’s room and the Bookshop, treating him with utmost devotion.
“I-yeon!”
“Yes?”
“From now on, you are the owner of this Bookshop.”
“What do you mean by that?”
“There is no one else but you to inherit this Bookshop.”
“How can I when you’re here, Brother? Don’t tell me… are you planning to leave?”
“…….”
“I see.”
Tears quickly welled up in Nam I-yeon’s eyes.
Woo Geom-san forced a smile and said.
“I should go visit my Hometown at least once.”
“Will you return?”
“Someday…….”
“All right!”
Nam I-yeon nodded her head.
Someone had to carry on Baek Ho-yang’s legacy and teach the children.
There was no one else but herself to succeed Baek Ho-yang here.
“I’m sorry for passing a heavy burden onto you.”
“No! Brother, you are a person far too big to stay in a place like this. Go out into the wide World and spread your wings to your heart’s content.”
“Thank you for understanding.”
“You will contact me occasionally, right?”
“I’ll send word through the Man-sang Alliance or the Tianjin Escort Agency.”
“Do it often.”
“All right!”
“Sigh! Anyway, the children are going to be so heartbroken. They’ll throw a fit if they find out that even you are leaving.”
The Village children followed Woo Geom-san exceptionally well.
Some children would even follow behind Woo Geom-san like little chicks.
That was how openly and warmly Woo Geom-san had treated the children.
Woo Geom-san let out a soft sigh and spoke.
“Sigh! It can’t be helped.”
“By the way, what are you going to do with Grandfather’s Sarira?”
“I’m taking one, and I plan to place the rest in a pagoda.”
“A pagoda?”
“Yes! I’ve already discussed it with Brother Wol-sang. He said they would erect a small pagoda in meaning to commemorate Grandfather. Once the pagoda is built, we will enshrine Grandfather’s Sarira inside it.”
“That’s a relief, at least.”
Nam I-yeon showed a look of relief.
It was Sarira, something said to be left behind by only a small number of high monks.
Sarira was completely incompatible with the energy of Evil Spirits.
If they kept Baek Ho-yang’s Sarira, no ominous energy would ever dare approach the Village.
Woo Geom-san conversed a bit more with Nam I-yeon before stepping outside.
The sky was crystal clear.
It had been a very long time since he last saw a blue sky without a single cloud.
It felt as if Baek Ho-yang was looking down at him from above that sky.
Screeech!
“No, is Hongbaek the one looking down?”
At the hawk’s cry echoing from the firmament, Woo Geom-san chuckled.
When Woo Geom-san extended his left arm, Hongbaek, who had been circling the empty air, descended at a frightening speed.
Shooting down like a flash of lightning, Hongbaek spread his massive wings wide right in front of Woo Geom-san’s nose and landed lightly on his forearm.
“You’re so heavy now that I can barely hold you up.”
Woo Geom-san said, rubbing Hongbaek’s beak with his right hand.
Hongbaek was about five to six times larger than a normal hawk.
His weight was also considerable, to the point where an ordinary person would have to support him with both hands.
Woo Geom-san spoke to Hongbaek.
“Now I am going out into The World, so you should live freely in Cheonbaeksan too.”
Since he had raised him since he was a chick, it was true that he had grown deeply attached. However, he did not feel like taking Hongbaek into the turbid World just for his own greed.
Hongbaek looked the most magnificent when flying freely in the skies of Cheonbaeksan.
Screech!
Hongbaek cried in a low tone.
Woo Geom-san stroked Hongbaek’s head for a long time before tossing him back into the sky.
After that, Woo Geom-san went to visit Baek Do-gyeong’s house.
He told Baek Do-gyeong and Baek Wol-sang that he would be leaving the Village, and handed over Baek Ho-yang’s Sarira.
“So you are finally leaving. Then again, this Village is too small to contain you.”
“I figured you would leave someday, but it really comes to this in the end.”
The two accepted the farewell calmly.
It was because they knew of Woo Geom-san’s extraordinary nature.
It was only because he got along so well with people and didn’t show any sign of having practiced Martial Arts, but Woo Geom-san was not a man to stay confined in a remote mountain valley.
Even if Woo Geom-san desired a peaceful life, The World would not leave him alone.
Just like what had happened to Baek Ho-yang.
Therefore, they were not greatly surprised even when Woo Geom-san said he was leaving.
“When do you plan to leave?”
“I intend to leave as soon as I say goodbye to the Village folk.”
“So soon?”
“I feel like the longer I stay, the harder it will be to leave.”
“I suppose so. Wait just a moment.”
Baek Do-gyeong hastily ran inside.
A moment later, when Baek Do-gyeong came back outside, a Banknote was held in his hand.
“Take this.”
“It’s a portion of the profits left over from selling tea that I set aside to give to you someday.”
“Oh! No, thank you. Even without taking that, I have plenty of money.”
Woo Geom-san hurriedly waved his hands, refusing to accept the Banknote. However, Baek Do-gyeong forced the Banknote into his hand and said.
“If it weren’t for you, our Village would still be handing over tea for a pittance. Thanks to you, the Village has become this good to live in. And if not for you, how could we have built the Plank Road? It would have taken decades longer to complete. So please, let us repay you even a little.”
“All right, then.”
In the end, Woo Geom-san had no choice but to accept the Banknote given by Baek Do-gyeong.
Even after that, Woo Geom-san went around visiting the Village people one by one to bid them farewell.
Some told him not to go, and others held Woo Geom-san’s hand while shedding tears.
Woo Geom-san spent his final day in the Village in that manner.

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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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