Awakening (2)
After that, rather than meeting his mother in person, he checked on her through letters. He'd occasionally heard reports that his younger sister had come by and caused a commotion. What an unfilial son he was.
When he saw her again, his mother was relentless.
"Son, say 'mommy'! Mommy!!"
"Do I have to?"
"If you don't call me 'mommy', you're no longer my son from now on."
She wouldn't permit even a simple homo. He could feel the resolute determination of her maternal love.
"……Mommy."
It seemed she wouldn't be satisfied until she got what she wanted. The utmost sincerity that had brought her all the way from Seoseong Province to verify her son's identity had vanished without a trace. It was a sight that would have terrified his enemies more than his subordinates from his Paewang days, who knew him well. In the end, even the hegemon of the world was just a son before his mother.
Has she always been this clingy?
On one hand, his memories of time spent with his mother were faint. She'd always been unchanging, so he'd taken her presence for granted and prioritized the greater cause.
But don't misunderstand. His mother had ascended to the Absolute Realm and lived three hundred years without illness or injury. Even after his father passed, he'd received reports of her maintaining healthy liaisons without pause. A hundred years of marriage—surely two hundred years of seeing others afterward was fine. His mother had honored the term of their marital vow. It was just that the age gaps were considerable.
Younger men numbering around a hundred had wept through sleepless nights, unable to forget her? She had lived so youthfully, after all.
How did he know so well? The Paewang Army's strategists had taken a keen interest in his mother's every move. They even said that when they grew old, they wanted to live like her, free from worrying about their kids.
I never married.
Marriage was needed to have grown children. The strategists and martial officers always brought up marriage after meetings. The team leader got married, that one didn't, they wouldn't raise kids so spoiled. All the while dreaming of being virtuous wives and wise mothers. The conversations never changed from round to round.
Unnecessary talk.
Who married whom had nothing to do with him. He was too busy enacting the Mireok Paedo.
The world brimmed with evil, sprouting like bean sprouts if left unchecked.
In any case, his reunited mother knew no satisfaction.
"That was incredibly awkward just now. Again."
"……Mommy."
"Your syllables are off. Again."
"……Mommy."
"Better, but still lacking. Again."
"Mommy!"
Without meaning to, Cheon-woo had to give it his all. He couldn't keep indulging her endless demands here, with no end in sight. It was already too much for an unfilial son wracked with guilt for not granting her wishes sooner.
I can't win against her.
Cheon-woo readily admitted it. His mother was the only one who could fluster him this much.
Clap!
He felt the sting of her hand on his back. Dodging was no longer feasible. Against her realm-attained sincerity, his current self could barely endure.
With this, the Gu Clan was safe. Surpassing a mother who had reached Hwagyeong wouldn't be easy for anyone targeting the family. Protecting it from here on was his duty.
"See? You can do it."
"Thank you."
"Again! We're keeping it up, right?"
"……Thank you, Mommy."
His mother's back pats were hard to bear. Now he understood why she hadn't returned after briefly visiting the Gu estate. On the other hand, she was the pillar of the Gu Clan.
Probably because of her.
The Hwajeong Merchant Group's meddling hadn't been easy. Without his intervention, they would have faced ruin. Yet the Gu Clan had held out long afterward before annihilation. His mother's prowess was mid-Transcendent—surpassing elders of great sects. The Hwajeong lacked the power to defeat her.
Uncovering the hidden details was difficult now. But he could infer they'd trapped her or mobilized equivalent force.
I'll learn when Bong-pal returns.
In truth, after repeated rounds, the details mattered little. For the swiftest Mireok Paedo, he'd preemptively eliminated all threats to the clan. After the early rounds, no merchant group dared threaten them, let alone attempt it.
This round, however, flew the banner of familial harmony over Mireok Paedo, so the truth mattered.
Efficiency does suffer.
Sparing the Hwajeong alone delayed rooting out great evils. Had he aimed to eradicate them root and stem, along with all associates, he wouldn't have hesitated.
Should I eliminate them?
Killing intent rose habitually, and Mu-myeong's nagging rang clearly in his ears. A strange unease suggested someone was watching from afar.
"So, son, what happened?"
"I woke up stronger."
Mentioning regression was problematic. Understanding was unlikely anyway. Technically true—he'd slept and awakened changed—so no lie.
"It sounds absurd, and you're hiding something, but since you're my son, I'll believe you."
"That's enough."
"Again! Just for today."
For Cheon-woo, it was a speech pattern honed over tens of thousands of years. Changing overnight wasn't easy; forcing it only made it awkward. Jeok I-ryeong, who wanted a friend-like mom-son bond, accepted her son's mature shift despite the awkwardness.
Still, it was hard to believe. Her son's prowess had reached another dimension. With inner and outer arts supporting him, his potential was unfathomable. She'd stagnated at Transcendent because she'd sensed the wall. A lifetime of training wouldn't surmount it, so she'd given up. That's why she'd wanted her children to live comfortably rather than struggle with martial arts. The more she felt the barrier, the stronger her desperation—and the greater her frustration at failing to break it.
Did Grandfather intervene?
Her runaway father, seeking enlightenment in old age for ascension, seemed most plausible. But her son's arts diverged from the family Yeoui Seon-gyeol. Superficially fist-focused on destruction, it actually emphasized balance. Her son's, however, embodied pure dominance. Extremes converge, but balance and hegemony differed fundamentally. For now, Yeoui Seon-gyeol was crushed under his Overbearing Path.
Not so much crossed the wall as shattered it entirely.
Extravagant. From mid-Transcendent to Hwagyeong in one leap—Jeok I-ryeong had every reason to be stunned. Who knew her son was a monster?
"Planning to become a martial artist?"
"For now, I've decided to succeed the clan."
"Murim's misfortune."
"I regret it too."
Jeok I-ryeong sensed upright resonance in her son's hegemony. To murim, it was losing a once-in-a-generation talent to commerce. Cheon-woo deeply agreed. But.
Shouldn't the world's murim have a say?
"Son, I rushed here without a sip of water, and you won't even offer tea?"
"I'll prepare it right away."
Jeok I-ryeong had much to say. Especially badmouthing her insolent husband—a wife's prerogative. As eldest son, he had to hear her complaints. The world-shaking confrontation fizzled out anticlimactically.
After mother and son entered.
Whoa!
Ga-bok was frozen stiff. Left alone in the storm's wake, a servant's lot went unnoticed. Of course, awe overtook lamentation.
He'd forgotten himself. Faced the wall.
Not quite a world-shattering epiphany, but Ga-bok had grasped rudimentary essence.
He hadn't seen it with his eyes. But the clash between lady mother and young master etched vividly into his body and mind.
When he came to, a sigh escaped.
"Who knew Lady Mother was that incredible!"
No one in the Gu estate was unaware Lady Mother practiced martial arts. But few rated her a true master. No one imagined a powerhouse marrying a merchant to become the clan's matriarch.
"No wonder the master listens to her so well!"
Sometimes he seemed to embarrass himself single-handedly. Made one wonder if a man should debase himself that much to survive. Living alone seemed better.
Yet all the master's actions were desperate survival tactics. Looking back, tears welled.
Truly the weight of the family head.
"At that level, even a glancing blow means death."
Who said spousal quarrels cut water with a blade? Nonsense, proven. Against such a Lady Mother, young master neutralized her head-on. Too brutal for "tough love."
The young master who calmed her resolve didn't seem human.
"How is that even possible?"
Their conversation was absurd too. Woke up a master? And she buys it? Because he's her son.
Ga-bok couldn't comprehend. Naturally so—as an orphan without parents, even more so. Recalling his parents abandoning him to live happily somewhere soured his mood.
Parents can't just ditch kids and be happy.
Ga-bok would die before seeing that. Who lacks unavoidable circumstances? Starving a bit... no. Short on cash... no. Homeless... impossible.
Damn, he suddenly understood his unknown parents' "unavoidables." Food, shelter, money—vital.
Ga-bok lived diligently for three meals plus snacks, a cozy home, generous pay. He'd never forgive anyone stripping that away.
Oh right—not the point now.
Ga-bok sensed it. An unbridgeable gap between Lady Mother's ambush on young master and himself. In young master's shoes, he'd end his turbulent life in a spray of blood.
"Why?"
He couldn't dodge now, yet it felt different later. An irrational sense gripped him: someday, he could evade.
Do this. That way. Turn here. Dodging paths analyzed.
In crises, optimal evasion calculated reflexively.
"Damn it!!"
Why only feel evadable now!! Rage boiled. It meant endless beatings from young master.
Getting strong without beatings? No answer.
"Damn, I'm a martial artist now!"
Not cause for simple joy at rising from servant to warrior. A servant's arrogance turned to hunger for strength.
No more "what's a servant got?" thinking.
"I won't take it alone!!"
Perfect punching bag arrived—clueless, dashing toward the inner quarters.
"Ga-bok, where's big bro?"
"No one knows Eldest Young Master's affairs better than I. But lately, Young Master has been so... I shan't say more."
"Skip that—did you meet Mom?"
"Of course. Young Master deeply regrets it."
"That damn big bro, thinks I'd believe such nonsense rumors!"
"Rumors exaggerate after one village, as they say."
Ga-bok didn't lie. Just fanned flames, scratched itches. The rest was Third Young Master's doing. What did a servant know of brothers' affairs?