171

Chapter 171 - An Unexpected Meeting - 8

"I am eager to oblige Cheong Woon Sohyup's request, but is it appropriate for a mere scribe like me to listen to the worries of a martial artist?"

I started off by taking a step back. With a faint smile, I looked directly into the troubled eyes of Cheong Woon Sohyup.

Listening to your worries will be done by an outsider. I am confident that I can be a good listener for your concerns, though I might not meet your expectations. But if you still wish to talk, I will listen.

"The concern is about the martial path. If not to a writer like Ho Pil, to whom else could I confide my worries?"

Was that the concern? And here I thought I would have to delve into the store of failures compiled by the love guru, Kang Yoonho.

"If that's the case, I will listen with pleasure."

Cheong Woon Sohyup looked at me intently for a moment before opening his mouth.

"How did Kang Gongja come to like martial artists?"

Starting with a question. Seems like a serious concern, so I should answer earnestly.

"I liked stories of the martial artists in central plains since I was young. Having become a person with no one to rely on, living in the central plains as an outsider, I desperately wished for someone to reach out their hand to me. Perhaps because of that, my admiration for martial artists only grew stronger."

Why would someone like me, an outsider with dark hair, have no one to extend a hand? Where was the wuxia world I had imagined? I relayed the sense of emptiness I had felt with a spoonful of sorrow in my voice.

"It's similar to my own experience. After my parents were taken by bandits and I nearly perished myself, it was my master who saved me."

"So, your master was a martial artist."

"Yes, a remarkable person. On the day my master rescued me, I begged to follow him, but was told I could not be taken to the martial sect despite throwing a tantrum."

"I cannot imagine Cheong Woon Sohyup throwing a tantrum."

I said with a light laugh.

"It's embarrassing. But in the end, my tantrum worked and my master found a way to have me accepted as a disciple of the Mudang sect. Thanks to that, I could aspire to become a martial artist as I had always dreamed, and entered the world to fulfil that dream."

"You have dreamed of it since you were young."

He really is fit to be a noble martial artist.

"But, once I joined the world, I found that reality differed from imagination."

"How so?"

"There were those who exploited goodwill."

Cheong Woon Sohyup spoke of a few bitter tales.

Visiting a small village, he was initially thanked profusely. But after solving a few problems, suddenly they started making demands. He talked of those who lured him with just causes, only to seek personal gain.

"People assume your goodwill as their right."

In such cases, he should shout 'Hoit!' and educate them, but it's not easy to do so.

Cheong Woon Sohyup nodded, sharing the dilemmas and events he had faced during his time as a martial artist.

"Is what I do right? Should I even be doing this? I feel ashamed for having such doubts despite choosing the path of a martial artist."

Cheong Woon Sohyup said these words, gazing into the campfire with a face full of turmoil.

'That's a difficult concern.'

I know that people involved in social work often admit to losing faith in humanity while helping the socially vulnerable. And yet, here is Cheong Woon Sohyup, a martial artist wielding a sword.

It's hard to gauge how much self-sacrifice is required to risk one's life for complete strangers, as opposed to family or friends.

I wish I could tell him to look at the people he's saved thanks to his actions. But when negative experiences keep piling up, like dealing with pickpockets, it's inevitable to agonize over one's actions as a martial artist.

What should I say in this situation? Is there nothing I, as a reader of wuxia novels and a writer, can offer?

'As a devoted reader of wuxia, I certainly have something to say.'

As a devoted reader of wuxia and as a writer, I do have something to say.

"May I speak to Cheong Woon Sohyup, as someone who admires martial artists themselves?"

"Are you not an author who discusses martial philosophy? I will listen attentively."

I wish he doesn't get around to reading 'Tang Household Adventures' anytime soon.

"In my view, the practice of the martial path is a process of forging one's own heart like a sword."

"Forging a sword?"

"Wugong, the martial arts skills you have learned, are not referred to as mere martial techniques or martial arts but as 'martial prowess' because I believe it is not about simply wielding the sword in one's hand, but about the forging process that incorporates a sword into one's heart."

In the world of wuxia, 'martial' refers to wugong, 'martial prowess.' It is learned not only by swordsmen but also by daoists and monks because it is a form of martial study.

Because it is martial study, the heart's sword is not merely a skill but a practice that intertwines with the dao.

"A sword in the heart…"

"How that sword is imbued with intent separates the righteous from the evil. The sword within your heart, Cheong Woon Sohyup, must have been correctly nurtured by your longing for martial artists and the teachings of the Mudang faction. But is the sword in Cheong Woon Sohyup's heart complete?"

"It is imperfect."

"Yes, it is right but not complete. Like a sword that becomes stronger through countless hammerings, the sword within your heart will be perfected after being relentlessly tested."

The many events witnessed in countless wuxia novels. Martial artists are imperfect as both individuals and in their martial prowess. Hence, they undergo character development by engaging in acts of martial chivalry.

Countless ordeals may bend them, but as long as they do not break, the sword becomes more resilient.

"When Kang Gongja writes about martial artists, did you waver like I do?"

Cheong Woon Sohyup asked me, seeking an answer with a look of earnest hope.

"Until I wrote 'Tang Household Adventures,' my pen wavered thousands of times against the world, but the dream of martial artists within my heart did not."

I compromised with the world, but I never gave up on the dream of writing wuxia novels. And that unyielding dream finally spread its wings in the world.

"To waver or not to waver."

Cheong Woon Sohyup murmured my words as if to etch them in his mind.

"If you do not break the sword in your heart, it will become stronger and sharper. I too have been aided by Cheong Woon Sohyup. So, though you face doubts, if you continue to move forward..."

"A single sword can change once, and it may change a thousand times, but it cannot achieve myriad transformations."

Before I could finish, Cheong Woon Sohyup murmured something that seemed to tap into the essence of martial arts.

"Pardon?"

"So you must go out into the world to complete it. To reach the myriad transformations…."

"Cheong Woon Sohyup?"

Why does Cheong Woon Sohyup suddenly look so hazy?

"A sword unwavering."

Cheong Woon Sohyup suddenly began to cross his legs into a lotus position.

Eh?

Could this be an epiphany?

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An epiphany.

In the realm of martial arts, it's essentially a level up.

It's like when you're studying a subject you thought was memorization-based and suddenly you see a pattern in it, or in a game, after repetitively using a popular combo, you finally understand why it works and can now deal damage more fluidly.

Martial prowess isn't about hitting a straw dummy for four weeks to level up; such epiphanies are essential once you reach a certain level.

"Congratulations on your great achievement."

I spoke to Cheong Woon Sohyup, who had just woken up with the morning sun. The other warriors had insisted on standing guard while he slept, but I couldn't miss the opportunity to be the first to speak at such an event, as seen in the wuxia novels.

"It's not a great achievement but rather a small one."

Cheong Woon Sohyup told me with a smile that he had accomplished something.

"Is that so?"

Did my words not have that much impact? A little disappointing.

"However, I have gained a significant insight toward achieving greater accomplishments."

"That is indeed fortunate."

An insight is worth something at least.

"Therefore… I wish to express my gratitude to my benefactor."

Cheong Woon Sohyup, a bit unsteady from sitting in lotus position for so long, wobbled as he stood up and looked at me.

"Pardon?"

"The Mudang Faction's Cheong Woon offers his respects to his benefactor."

Cheong Woon Sohyup bowed to me.

"Please rise."

This is awkward, why is he doing this?

"I will stand once my benefactor has accepted it."

It's not hard to accept it, but I have a better idea.

"Cheong Woon Sohyup. Since we have both received favors from each other, how about from now on we don't refer to each other as benefactors, but in a different way?"

"A different way?"

Cheong Woon Sohyup slightly raised his body to look at me.

I knelt down to bow and said.

"The author of 'Tang Household Adventures,' Kang Yoonho, who has received life-saving grace, makes a request. Would you become a friend to this Kang Yoonho?"

An opportunity to become friends with a martial artist. I can't let it slip away.

"Uh… Haha."

Cheong Woon Sohyup, a bit startled, looked at me.

"Will you become so?"

I raised my body a little to match his gaze as I spoke.

"How could I possibly refuse?"

Cheong Woon Sohyup, with a full-faced smile, responded to me.

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Cheong Woon Sohyup's face was notably lighter, and after half a day's journey, we finally arrived at the branch of the Sacheondang Famiy.

"I should take my leave now."

Cheong Woon Sohyup spoke as he watched the busy people around the medical pavilion.

"Cheong Woon Sohyup. They say they repay favors in the Sacheondang Family; you should go with them."

"I've received a token of goodwill, that's enough for me. It's urgent that I attend to my sect's affairs, so I must be on my way."

"You said you were heading to Mount Baekdu, right?"

"Yes. I plan to follow the Yangtze River towards the Yellow Sea and then head north along the coast."

"If it's for your sect's affairs, then there's nothing to be done."

Regrettable. My journey with Cheong Woon Sohyup ends here.

"I'll make sure to visit Dasogak once all my affairs are settled."

"Haha. Please do come for a visit. I'll see to it that you can read any book for free."

"Then I shall read 'Tang Household Adventures' upon my visit. Perhaps the third volume will be out by then?"

Couldn't I just not read it?

"Certainly."

"I have learned much from Kang Gongja. I hope Miss Hwarin quickly recovers. I shall be on my way."

"May Cheong Woon Sohyup also achieve what he seeks."

Cheong Woon Sohyup greeted everyone and then turned back in the direction he had come from.

I hope he continues to move forward without losing his heart for the martial path. Then, I too can proudly claim friendship with him to the members of Dasogak.

I looked in the direction of his departure until Cheong Woon Sohyup was no longer visible, eagerly anticipating the day we would meet again.

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I eventually reached Sacheon, and then the branch of the Sacheondang Family, and finally the capital where the family resides.

The journey was long, but I eventually arrived. Entering into the Sacheondang Family's domain, however, was not an easy task.

"Wait here until we receive a message from the outside."

This is the Sacheondang Family? Before I could marvel at the place, a warrior who looked like an adept stopped us and said.

Wait, what's this all about?

"Outer hall chief! What are you talking about? I've already sent word that this is urgent."

I had sent ahead news about Hwarin. The outer hall chief is a high-ranking position overseeing the warriors of Sacheondang Family. And he's blocking the passage?

"I cannot disclose the reason."

"How long must we wait?"

"Wait indefinitely."

"We need to go in right now!"

"I cannot let you in."

The members of the medical pavilion pleaded earnestly, but the outer hall chief was immovable. This is madness.

"Kang Gongja?"

There's no time to waste here. I gently pushed aside a member of the medical pavilion and addressed the man claiming to be the outer hall chief.

"Are you the outer hall chief?"

"Yes, that's me. And who might you be?"

I thought my tale had hardly been told so far.

I really didn't want to go when we started the trip. Who would have thought I'd be keen to enter the tiger's den? But the situation is pressing. To save Hwarin, we must hurry.

A

t times like these, one must resort to a trump card.

I steeled myself and declared confidently to the outer hall chief.

"Deliver this to the head of the Sacheondang Family! Twenty years ago, the woman he loved, Hyang-A. Tell him that Hyang-A's son has come to the Sacheondang Family!"