Chapter 677: This Wine is Your Age-Mate
Chapter 677: This Wine is Your Age-Mate
In the early dawn, Geom Mu-yang stood at the entrance of Daecheon Mountain, the designated meeting spot, his face etched with anxiety.
His heart had been racing so much he’d barely slept a wink.
A hunting trip with his father.
He remembered when Geom Mu-geuk had gone hunting with their father in the past. He had been so curious back then.
What kind of conversations did they have in the mountains?
At the time, he had been in a phase of hating his younger brother, and he had worried about what kind of lies Mu-geuk might be whispering into their father's ear to drive a wedge between them.
Now, he was going on that same hunting trip himself.
Suddenly, Mu-yang’s eyes widened. He watched in shock as Geom Mu-geuk walked toward him. To be precise, he was shocked by the pack Mu-geuk was carrying.
“Are you moving house?”
Mu-geuk was lugging a literal mountain of gear on his back.
“You only say that because you don’t know, Brother. This is all necessary.”
Bundles were tied atop a large leather pouch, stacked higher and higher. Dangling from the pile were various utensils, gourds, daggers for dressing game, and even an axe. Since there were three of them, the load had grown even heavier.
In contrast, Geom Mu-yang carried only a single small leather pouch. Even that wasn't half full. He had agonized over what to bring but couldn't think of much he actually needed.
“Don’t mind me, just think of me as the porter!”
“Let’s split the load.”
“It’s fine. You should focus on attending to Father.”
Mu-geuk had acted tough when it was just the two of them, but as soon as Geom Wu-jin appeared, he began to ham it up.
“Oof, so heavy! You’d think an older brother would offer to share the load when he sees his younger brother carrying this much.”
Of course, it didn't work on Geom Wu-jin. He knew the eldest had likely already offered. Mu-geuk was only making such jokes because the offer had been made. By now, Wu-jin could see right through Mu-geuk’s antics.
“Mu-yang, let’s go.”
“Yes, Father.”
Wu-jin took the lead, looking after only his eldest son as they began the ascent.
“Please, let me take your pouch.”
“It is fine.”
Today, their father was also wearing a small leather pouch. When they had gone on their first hunting trip, he had come empty-handed.
I wonder what he brought?
Geom Wu-jin stood at the front, Geom Mu-yang followed two or three steps behind, and Geom Mu-geuk brought up the rear. Mu-geuk intentionally kept a wide distance. He wanted to give his father and brother space to talk comfortably.
The two hiked the mountain path in silence, occasionally exchanging brief words. Mu-geuk could have overheard if he tried, but he chose not to.
Instead, he listened to the mountain birds. He listened to the sound of water flowing along the valley and the whistling of the wind. He listened to the chirping of insects and the rustling of leaves. The path shifted from earth to stone, and sometimes, where the sunlight filtered through the canopy, it turned into a path of shimmering jewels.
After walking for some time...
“Shh.”
At their father’s signal, everyone held their breath. Wu-jin pointed in one direction and asked Mu-yang, “Do you see it?”
Mu-yang widened his eyes and scanned the area ahead, but he saw nothing.
“Close your eyes and feel.”
“Yes.”
Mu-geuk realized what was happening. His father was trying to teach Mu-yang the same Qi Emission technique he had taught him during their previous hunt.
“Send out a single thread of energy. Slowly, without interruption. Slowly, like a silkworm spinning silk.”
All masters manipulate qi and use it to sense their surroundings. However, most would never think to spin it like a thread and send it out sixty or a hundred feet away. It was impossible without knowing the core oral formula of loading one's energy onto the wind.
Just as he had, his brother was likely experiencing a whole new world right now.
“It broke. Concentrate and try again!”
“Yes!”
Mu-yang faithfully followed his father’s instructions. When was the last time he had discussed martial arts so closely with his father? It had been a very long time.
“Release your qi with the feeling of slowly unwinding a spool of thread.”
Though it was a difficult and tense situation, Mu-yang found it surprisingly comfortable. His father, when teaching martial arts, felt different from the man who sat upon the Grand Tutor’s Chair.
Has Father always talked this much?
He had always seemed like the type to say, "Figure it out yourself!" and turn away. But when it came to teaching martial arts, he was meticulous.
Mu-geuk must have felt this from Father as well.
Perhaps his brother had suggested this hunting trip specifically to pass this feeling on to him—to show him that spending time with their father wasn't as uncomfortable as he thought.
“Now, load your qi onto the wind.”
It starts as a single thread, but eventually, dozens of strands of qi can be spread out in all directions like a spiderweb. Mu-geuk had already reached that realm.
“Again!”
Unlike Mu-geuk, who had picked it up instantly, his brother was struggling. Still, he had to realize it for himself. Manipulation of qi, in particular, only truly becomes effective when understood and accepted in one's own way.
Wu-jin did not grow impatient; he waited for his son.
Right, this is what’s normal, Mu-geuk thought. He had simply learned too fast.
Mu-geuk sat on a rock and silently watched his father instructing his brother. Watching them brought a sudden swell of emotion to his chest, causing him to turn his head away.
Did Wu-jin sense that surge of passion? As Mu-geuk gazed at the distant mountains touching the sky, he felt his father’s gaze.
Mu-geuk slowly looked back at him. Their eyes met in mid-air. Wu-jin’s gaze seemed to say, You did well setting this up.
“It must be frustrating trying to teach Brother after teaching me, right?”
At the cheeky remark, Geom Wu-jin strode toward Mu-geuk.
“The person who makes my blood boil is always someone else.” Standing right in front of him, his father asked coldly, “Do you have nothing to say to me?”
His eyes said he already knew everything. Mu-geuk flinched and averted his gaze.
“You knew?”
“Of course!”
Mu-geuk realized his father had noticed he had passed the Heavenly Demon Body Protection Art to his brother.
“You weren't supposed to know, though.”
It would be one thing if Mu-yang had activated the technique, but there had been no reason for it to trigger yet. The Heavenly Demon Body Protection Art was something that could never be detected just by looking.
Ah! He knows because he reached the Twelve-Star Great Achievement!
Mu-geuk shouted, “Brother forced me to teach him! He said he’d kill me if I didn't!”
“……”
“Ah, if he were really that far gone, he would have asked for the Nine Calamities Demonic Art instead.”
Since a wrong was a wrong, Mu-geuk knelt and begged.
“Father, please forgive me just this once! Brother, come here and beg too!”
“Why are you dragging your brother into this?”
Even while doing this, he was making sure his brother had an out.
“The situation was urgent. There was a chance a powerful enemy using Soul-Seizing Techniques might threaten him. Brother already has a bad enough personality; imagine if he fell under a Soul-Seizing Technique. Ugh, I wouldn't have been able to stand the sight of it.”
Mu-yang should have been offended, but instead, he walked over quietly and knelt beside Mu-geuk. He thought staying quiet might be more helpful, but this wasn't just any matter—it concerned the Heavenly Demon Body Protection Art. He couldn't leave it all to his younger brother.
“I am sorry.”
Wu-jin asked Mu-yang, “Did you know it was the Heavenly Demon Body Protection Art when you learned it?”
“No, I did not.”
Wu-jin looked as if he had expected as much, but Mu-yang defended his brother.
“My brother did it for my sake.”
Mu-geuk looked at his brother with touched eyes, then quickly bowed his head at his father’s sharp gaze and shouted, “Please forgive me! Just this once!”
Looking down at his two sons, Wu-jin spoke softly.
“I cannot simply let it slide.”
He would forgive them, but not without a price.
Mu-geuk snapped his head up. “Fine! I’ll do whatever you command. I’ll take any order except Unification of the Murim!”
Beside him, Mu-yang raised his head and said, “I will even accept Unification of the Murim.”
Mu-geuk turned to him. “Joking at a time like this? Brother, you’ve really changed.”
“I am not joking.”
Right, Mu-geuk knew he wasn't. If their father wished it, his brother was the type who would gladly stand at the vanguard of a Great Demonic-Orthodox War.
Was it because of Mu-yang’s answer? Or perhaps because of the task he would assign later? Their father turned away with a mysterious smile.
“Resume your training.”
“Yes!”
Mu-yang stood up and returned to his spot. The Qi Emission training continued. Over and over again.
After some time had passed... Finally, Mu-yang emitted his qi and located an animal hiding in the distance.
“It seems to be a wild boar.”
Wu-jin nodded with a satisfied expression. Mu-geuk handed the bow and arrows hanging from his pack to his brother.
“Father must be getting hungry.”
*
“Brother, you just worry about starting the campfire.”
Mu-geuk had said he would handle the rest, and he meant it. His skill in dressing the boar put hunters and professional cooks to shame. After dressing it with incredible speed and precision, he carved out the choice cuts and skewered them on wooden stakes.
Then, he pulled out various seasonings from his leather pouch. He salted the meat and layered on secret sauces he had prepared to enhance the flavor. The meat began to roast, releasing a delicious aroma.
Watching this, Mu-yang was inwardly amazed. They had camped in the woods a few times on the way back to the Cult, but he hadn't realized Mu-geuk was this skilled. This was a level of dexterity entirely separate from martial arts.
Once the meat was roasting, Mu-geuk began to unpack in earnest. First, he unwrapped a specially packed bundle.
Fwhip!
A tiger skin was unfurled for their father. It was large enough to sit on comfortably or even lie down.
“Father, please sit here.”
Wu-jin sat upon it.
“As expected! It suits you perfectly! You look magnificent!”
When Wu-jin reached out his hand, the boar over the campfire rotated on its own.
“Of course. Right now, not burning the meat is more important than looking cool!”
Mu-geuk unpacked the next set of items.
“These are for Brother and me.”
He laid out two ordinary animal furs, clearly distinct from their father’s. He placed his brother’s spot slightly closer to their father.
“Now, I’ve prepared this as well.”
A small, foldable wooden tea table emerged from the pouch. He placed it before his father. Next, he took out chopsticks and dishes he had washed beforehand and set them down.
Wu-jin seemed to find the roasting amusing, using Telekinesis to turn the meat through the air so it wouldn't burn. Once the meat was perfectly browned, Mu-geuk carved the tenderest, most delicious parts and brought them to his father.
“Please eat, Father.”
He then carved portions for his brother’s and his own dishes.
“How does it taste?”
“It is fine.”
From their father, "fine" was the highest praise, equivalent to "extraordinary." Mu-yang confirmed it. With wide eyes, his expression said it all.
It’s delicious.
Mu-geuk said with a grin, “The First Young Master of the Divine Cult caught it, the successor dressed it, and the Cult Leader himself roasted it! How could it not be delicious? If you said it tasted bad, it would be grounds for clan annihilation!”
Mu-yang laughed at that. When he had been losing sleep from nerves, he never imagined today’s hunt would have such a pleasant atmosphere. It was enjoyable. Meat eaten by a campfire in the mountains had a flavor all its own.
“I’ll make it even better!”
Mu-geuk rummaged through his pouch again. Mu-yang watched, wondering what else could possibly come out.
“You can’t have meat without wine.”
This time, it was wine. It was their father’s favorite. He had even prepared clean cups and snacks to go with it. His preparations were thorough.
Just then, Wu-jin reached out his hand. His own leather pouch, which had been sitting nearby, flew through the air and into his grasp. What was he trying to take out? The brothers watched curiously.
“I brought a bottle of wine as well.”
Mu-geuk was puzzled. Since he had brought some last time, he assumed his father would expect him to bring it again.
“What kind of wine is it?”
Then, words he never could have imagined flowed from his father’s mouth.
“It is wine I brewed myself when Yang-yi was born.”
“!”
Both Mu-geuk and Mu-yang were stunned. Mu-yang, in particular, was shaken by the revelation that it was wine brewed the year he was born. In that moment, one word from his father filled his mind.
Yang-yi.
When was the last time his father had called him Yang-yi? He had heard it when he was very young, but this was the first time since then. And that wasn't all.
He brewed it himself?
A surge of emotion swept through Mu-yang’s heart. Not just any wine, but one brewed to commemorate his birth? And he had brought that wine today.
“……Cult Leader.”
Mu-yang’s voice trembled. It was the first time Mu-geuk had seen his brother shake like this.
Wu-jin held up the bottle and said, “Today, I have come as a father.”
“!”
“Come here and accept a cup from me.”
“……Yes, Father.”
Mu-yang approached his father and respectfully accepted the wine.
“You come as well.”
Mu-geuk went and received a cup too. His brother was trembling so much that Mu-geuk couldn't even crack a joke. Mu-yang respectfully filled his father’s cup, and the three of them drank.
“The taste is truly incredible!” Mu-geuk exclaimed. It wasn't empty praise; it was truly delicious.
“This wine is your age-mate, Brother. Your age-mate.”
The three of them went back and forth until the wine was gone. They drank it all, savoring every drop. For Mu-yang, it was the most delicious wine he had ever tasted in his life. He felt as though he would never taste anything this good again until the day he died.
“When shall we drink the wine brewed the year I was born? On the next hunt?”
At Mu-geuk’s excited question, Wu-jin flinched.
“Surely you brewed one for me too, right? No matter how much you favor the eldest, the second son is still your child. Right?”
Seeing his father’s ambiguous expression, Mu-geuk asked with a look of dawning horror.
“Don't tell me you didn't brew it yourself and just told Uncle Hwi to do it? 'Hwi, go brew a bottle of wine. He’s still my kid, so we should commemorate it.' Something like that?”
Seeing his father still wearing that strange smile, Mu-geuk’s voice rose.
“Don't tell me you forgot entirely? That’s not why you’re smiling so awkwardly, is it? Please tell me it’s not! Even if you just bought it, tell me you brewed it!”
And so, the first day of the hunt was passing by.