Chapter 32: Heavenly Secret (3)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 32: Heavenly Secret (3)
[Please, stay here at the main house. I will not ask you to love me. I only ask that you consider this for the sake of yourself and your child.]
[Family Head So...]
Scenes began to unfold within my mind.
It was the image of Family Head So Ikheon sitting on the edge of a bed, holding my mother’s hand.
Then, the voice of the Azure Spirit Sword echoed in my head.
‘Can you see it too?’
‘Your memories?’
My mother, Lady Ha, and Family Head So Ikheon looked quite different from how they did now.
They were much younger and more beautiful; So Ikheon himself possessed the appearance of a young man.
My mother spoke to him.
[Is it truly alright for me to entrust myself to you?]
At her words, So Ikheon flashed a bright smile, the likes of which I had never seen before. His joy was palpable just by watching.
If what the Azure Spirit Sword said was true, I was currently witnessing its memories.
Suddenly, the scene before my eyes blurred and vanished.
I was back in reality.
I looked down at the back of my hand.
The blue light emanating from the third dot, the Heavenly Secret, was fading.
When I obtained the second dot, the Heavenly Immortal, I became able to hear the voices of swords from a distance. Now, it seemed I could trace back a sword’s memories.
Hoping for more, I focused, trying to delve further into its memories.
However, the scenes did not reappear as they had just moments ago.
‘I was trying to check your memories.’
‘The Family Head’s face... when I was born.’
I was curious.
He had fallen for my mother and accepted her as his second wife even though she was already pregnant with another man's child.
I wondered what kind of expression a man like that wore when I was born.
The moment the Azure Spirit Sword muttered those words, my vision turned black, and another scene surfaced.
It was So Ikheon holding a baby.
‘......’
His expression was too complex to describe in words.
Of course. He knew the child wasn't his own; how could he possibly look down with pure joy?
My mother lay on the bed, her face pale.
So Ikheon wiped the complicated look from his face and spoke to her with a gentle smile.
[I shall regard this child as my own. So, please, focus on your recovery and get well soon.]
[.......Family Head.]
The look in my mother’s eyes was incredibly poignant.
When I first saw them together, she looked at him as one would a benefactor, but now, there was a sense of emotional dependence.
‘What?’
My mother opened her heart?
As I stood there in doubt, the Azure Spirit Sword spoke in a bitter tone.
Ah...
That was right.
There was Yeong-yeong.
If my mother had only stayed in the position of second wife to protect me, that child would never have been born.
In that case, I was the only one in this house who shared no blood with the rest.
The Azure Spirit Sword answered somberly.
The scene shifted again, and I returned to reality.
It seemed I could only see the memories if the sword willed it.
.......I suppose so.
How could it be easy to treat a child that isn't yours with genuine kindness?
‘Lady Yang!’
Come to think of it, So Ikheon had always been strict with all his children.
However, beyond mere strictness, there had been a layer of coldness directed at me.
That coldness must have been steeped in the knowledge that I wasn't his biological son.
‘.....Damn it.’
I finally understood why he had been so passive when my Dantian was destroyed.
He might have given me spirit medicine out of consideration for my mother, but he probably didn't feel the slightest bit of regret that a child who wasn't even his had lost his Dantian due to Lady Yang’s schemes.
Step.
I walked forward slowly and stood before So Ikheon.
Looking down at his unconscious form, a mixture of anger and complex emotions swirled within me.
‘So Ikheon!’
As my emotions surged, the Azure Spirit Sword spoke as if to soothe me.
‘Responsibility? You call kicking me out of the family and trying to sell Yeong-yeong off in marriage "responsibility"?’
He did it because he was wary of Lady Yang?
If that was the case, he shouldn't have taken my mother in from the start.
Does he think it’ll move my heart to say he’s "taking responsibility" after starting something he couldn't clearly handle?
‘Killed by Lady Yang?’
‘........’
‘And that fiancé was a piece of trash like him?’
Jo Saeng-nam came to mind.
That man was connected to Lady Yang.
The Azure Spirit Sword hurriedly explained. It was trying its best to make me understand him.
‘.......And all of this was for our sake?’
But how could logic triumph over emotion in a matter like this?
I don't think I could ever understand So Ikheon, not in a lifetime.
The moment the Azure Spirit Sword finished speaking, my vision blurred again, and a new scene appeared.
Late at night.
It was the backyard of my mother’s detached villa.
[F-Family Head.]
I saw a flustered A-song.
[Shh. Be quiet.]
[I heard you are following Un-hwi.]
[T-That is correct.]
A-song answered quietly, looking like he didn't know what to do.
[Take this.]
I saw So Ikheon reach out his hand.
In it was a silver plaque of some sort.
The word "Haehyeon" was inscribed in the center; it appeared to be a plaque from the Haehyeon Exchange.
With that plaque, one could withdraw money deposited at the exchange.
[This is?]
[Keep it with you, and use it if an unavoidable situation arises.]
With those words, So Ikheon left.
Seeing this scene, I realized two things.
A-song was not So Ikheon’s man, nor was he there to spy on me as he had claimed.
And I had no idea that So Ikheon had secretly provided travel money behind my back.
Fwoosh!
The vision immediately scattered and the location changed.
If the previous scene was late at night, this was broad daylight, and the surroundings were covered in thickets.
I saw A-song, his entire body covered in bruises and blood.
[I.... I failed to serve the Young Master properly. Please, save the Young Master! Family Head, I beg of you!]
To him, So Ikheon said:
[......Did you truly say Un-hwi was taken by the Blood Cult?]
[Yes, yes. This lowly one heard it clearly.]
[Do you happen to have the exchange plaque I gave you?]
[Ah!]
At So Ikheon’s question, A-song fumbled through his clothes and pulled out the silver plaque.
Seeing this, So Ikheon nodded and spoke.
[Go to Mangok Village immediately and find a gisaeng house called the Black Pavilion. On the second floor, speak to an old man wearing a black hat. If you say "Fishing for poetry," he will reply "Sweeping away sorrow." Give him the silver plaque, tell him what you told me, and request him to track Un-hwi’s whereabouts.]
Fishing for poetry, sweeping away sorrow (釣詩句 掃愁愁).
It meant that wine is a needle to fish for poetry and a broom to sweep away sorrow.
I didn't know So Ikheon knew how to request information from the Haomen Sect, one of the three great information organizations.
The Haomen Sect belonged to the Black Path; to think he would make a request to them.
This suggested he was trying to track me secretly.
‘......He was looking for me?’
Fwoooosh!
The scene scattered again, and the location changed once more.
It was the very gisaeng house So Ikheon had mentioned, the Black Pavilion.
In front of So Ikheon, an old man in a black hat and shabby clothes was drinking.
In the previous scene, he had given the order to A-song, so why was he here in person?
So Ikheon asked in a cold, low voice.
[Why do you refuse the request?]
[Give it up.]
The old man replied firmly.
[I told you I would pay any price.]
[If it involves the Blood Cult, we do not take the request.]
[Are you truly going to be like this?]
So Ikheon’s hand moved toward the scabbard of the Azure Spirit Sword.
At that, the old man in the black hat bared his yellow teeth and let out a mocking laugh.
[It wouldn't be good for the man known as the Sword Sage of Yikyang if word got out that he requested information from us Black Path scoundrels.]
[........]
At the veiled threat, So Ikheon took his hand off the scabbard.
He then stood up abruptly to leave.
As he did, the old man in the black hat spoke casually to his retreating back.
[I heard he was a discarded child, but I suppose he’s still a finger that hurts when bitten, eh, Family Head So?]
[Do not wag your tongue so carelessly.]
[Since I’ve already received the deposit, I’ll give you one piece of advice.]
[.......What is it?]
[If what you say is true and the Blood Cult is involved, stop caring.]
[Stop caring?]
[They kidnap boys and girls in secret to increase their numbers. So, it’s easier to just think your son is no longer of this world.]
Ha.......
Now I understood.
Because of this, he assumed that I, having returned, must have become a pawn of the Blood Cult.
The scene before my eyes scattered like clouds, and I returned to the reality of the training room.
The Azure Spirit Sword spoke to me.
At its words, I slumped to the floor.
My mind was in utter turmoil.
Having learned too much, I didn't even know how to process it.
The truth about my birth was particularly disorienting.
‘In the end, we were complete strangers.’
I pondered this deeply.
The Azure Spirit Sword said he tried to fulfill his own sense of responsibility.
But my thoughts were different.
Responsibility for my sake? Not at all.
‘It was a sense of responsibility and duty toward my late mother.’
If he truly felt responsible, he should have stayed by my and my sister’s side, acting as a strong pillar of support to ensure Lady Yang couldn't harm us.
But he didn't.
In the end, the man named So Ikheon only did what he did to put his own mind at ease.
To ask me to understand him just because he did that much for a child who wasn't his—that is strictly So Ikheon’s perspective.
Then he shouldn't have promised my mother to treat me as his own child from the beginning.
‘Responsibility? Don't make me laugh.’
The perspective the Azure Spirit Sword could offer was merely biased toward what it could see.
As I sat there in bitterness, the Azure Spirit Sword spoke.
‘.......Yes.’
I had to get my hands on it, no matter what.
It was just that my mood had turned sour after learning truths I hadn't known.
‘You can help?’
How?
‘The thing So Ikheon desires most?’
At those words, my eyes snapped open.