Chapter 54: The Plum Blossom Dragon (4)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 54: The Plum Blossom Dragon (4)
Their stares were intense, and frankly, a little unsettling.
For some inexplicable reason, the disciples of Mount Hua had suddenly begun scrutinizing me with an unnerving focus.
Why this sudden change in behavior?
I slowly scratched my cheek in thought. Beside me, Shinhyun and Yung Pung visibly flinched at the small movement.
Huh? Why are they so jumpy?
The situation made no sense to me.
“…Ahem.”
Shinhyun cleared his throat awkwardly under my questioning gaze.
“…Why is everyone acting so strangely all of a sudden?”
“It’s nothing, really, it’s just…”
“…How should I put this?”
Their hesitant reactions only deepened my confusion. Now, the same disciples who had been staring so intently couldn’t even meet my eyes. Instead, they huddled together, whispering fervently amongst themselves.
“…I knew he looked familiar.”
“But the eyes aren’t quite the same, are they?”
“That’s exactly why it’s difficult to look at him directly…”
I could hear every murmur. They were clearly talking about me, but the reason remained a mystery.
“What are you all discussing?” I finally asked, my patience wearing thin. It was irritating to be whispered about right in front of my face.
Shinhyun answered my question, his tone laced with a strange, newfound formality that sounded almost irritated. “…Ah, everyone is simply surprised to learn you are from the Gu Clan.”
He was suddenly addressing me more respectfully. What did my family background have to do with anything?
“Your younger sister is… quite famous among our disciples…”
“My younger sister?”
I turned his words over in my mind. To be honest, I knew very little about her. Since she was young, she had lived away from the clan, raised here on Mount Hua. Unlike my two older sisters who remained with the family, I’d had few chances to interact with her.
Now that I thought about it, it was unusual for a clan descendant to be fully accepted into a Taoist sect as one of their own. But back then, I hadn't questioned it. Of course, in later years, it became impossible not to know of her, as her fame spread far and wide.
The only thing I knew for certain was that every few years, she would return to the clan for a brief visit. Beyond that, I had little information about her life here.
“…What about her?” I asked Shinhyun, finding no answers in my own thoughts.
“…Ahem.” Shinhyun opened and closed his mouth, struggling to form a response. What could possibly be so difficult to say?
“Sir, if I may ask you something,” Yung Pung interjected, seeing his senior’s distress.
“What is it?”
“…Young Master, was the Senior always… like that?”
Senior?
The Shinhyun before me was a second-generation disciple of Mount Hua. Since Yung Pung addressed him as ‘Master,’ that meant Yung Pung was from the third generation. My younger sister was about two years Yung Pung’s junior, so logically, they should be in the same generation.
So why were they calling her ‘Senior’?
“…What do you mean by that?” I pressed.
“Um… Well, you see…” Yung Pung wrestled with his words before squeezing his eyes shut and blurting out, “Was Senior Gu once a boy—”
I didn’t get to hear the rest of his sentence.
Shinhyun’s hand instantly slapped over Yung Pung’s mouth.
“Oofghh!!”
Yung Pung stumbled backward, clutching his stinging lips, only to be sent flying further by a sharp kick from Shinhyun. Then, as if they had been waiting for the signal, the other Mount Hua disciples descended upon him, kicking and beating him mercilessly.
“O-Ow! Master, please wait…!”
“Is this kid insane?”
“He was really going to say that out loud? Hey! Who is this brat’s direct master? Who’s responsible for this third-generation disciple? Who taught him to speak so recklessly?”
“It’s you, you idiot!”
“Owww!”
“…”
I was rendered speechless by the spectacle. Yung Pung was being pummeled so fiercely that dust clouds rose around him. He had been trying to ask me about some ‘boy’…
I tried to question Shinhyun, but he cut me off firmly.
“Ah…”
“There is no need for you to concern yourself with this, Young Master.”
“Um… I feel like I probably should.”
“No, no, it is truly unnecessary. We felt this disciple required further discipline, and now is a good time for it.”
“Huh…?”
Discipline? That was discipline? Could they really treat the one known as the ‘Sword Dragon’ like this? His current state was the complete opposite of the calm, mature swordsman I had imagined. What in the world was going on?
[As expected, they taught him well. It is important for teachers to form strong bonds with their students in this manner.]
“Oh… I see.”
If this old man in my head truly was the Divine Sword of Mount Hua, then I thought I might understand where things had started to go wrong. This line of thinking actually made the situation somewhat clearer.
Once the disciples were finished, they stepped back, leaving Yung Pung lying motionless on the ground like a corpse. He seemed to have lost consciousness. Was he going to be alright?
Someone hoisted the unconscious Yung Pung onto his shoulders and carried him away.
“Do not worry. He will regain consciousness shortly,” Shinhyun said, preempting my question.
I felt I had lost any right to inquire further…
“Yeah, well, anyway…”
“So, you are journeying to Mount Hua?”
“That is the plan. I have a task to complete there.”
“You have other business with our sect besides returning the treasure?”
“It’s nothing major. I simply need to bring my younger sister back to our clan.”
“Pardon…?”
Had I said something strange again?
Just like before, the Mount Hua disciples fixed their stares on me once more. No, this was different. Their gazes were even more intense than before.
…Were the people of Mount Hua always known to be such lunatics?
[What did you just say!?]
Good grief, please keep your voice down… My head is throbbing.
[You little brat, you dare insult another’s sect when you have nothing better to do!]*
My opinion remained unchanged. Given the scene before me, I thought my assessment was perfectly fair.
Suddenly, Shinhyun gripped my shoulders firmly.
“What are you doin—”
“Let us depart, Young Master.”
“Pardon?”
His speech had become even more formal. The other disciples gathered around me, forming a protective—or perhaps restrictive—circle.
“We shall escort you to Mount Hua with the utmost care for your safety.”
“You must be weary from your travels. Would you like me to carry you? I am quite swift.”
“Shall I fan you as we walk?”
“Hey! Send that horse away. I can run faster than any steed.”
“Two horses are better than one. I shall also become your horse.”
“…Woah.”
What do I do? These people are genuinely insane.
I forced a smile onto my face. Thankfully, my voice didn’t tremble. “No, I believe it would be better for us to travel separately.”
It was a plea for sanity, but my words were completely ignored. In the end, I found myself traveling to Mount Hua surrounded by its fervent disciples.
[Haha, such lively spirits are quite heartwarming.]
…Good heavens.
* * *
Mount Hua stood near Huayin City in Shaanxi Province.
The season for plum blossoms had long passed in the world below, but on Mount Hua, the plums bloomed throughout all four seasons. This perpetual bloom was nurtured and maintained by the Qi of the mountain’s martial artists.
It was the peak of a blazing summer, yet Mount Hua appeared to be in the depths of winter, with flower petals drifting down like delicate snowflakes.
After following a mountain path that wound towards the peak, one reached a small, secluded hut. Entry to this place was forbidden even to second-generation disciples. Only the Sect Lord, the elders, and a select few first-generation disciples were permitted to enter.
Yet, a young girl carefully pushed open the hut’s door after her long climb up the mountain.
-Creeeaak.
She tried to open it as quietly as possible, but the ancient door protested loudly. The sound stirred the hut’s occupant from her slumber.
“Come in,” a voice called out. It was aged, yet carried an enduring elegance and softness.
The girl stepped inside, her face etched with guilt.
The woman inside asked, “Ryunghwa, why do you wear such an expression?”
“…I’m sorry, Master. I only wanted to see you, but I woke you up.”
A smile touched the master’s lips upon hearing her disciple’s words. No matter how many years passed, her disciple remained as endearing as ever, making it impossible not to reciprocate her affection. The master gently opened her arms.
The disciple rushed forward and embraced her. The master patted her head softly.
“Why do you come here every day, even though the mountain paths are treacherous at night? You make me worry…”
“I come because I want to… Please don’t feel bad.”
The journey here was long and arduous, requiring the disciple to traverse rough trails and run for great distances. For a child, it was a painful and exhausting ordeal. Yet, she came to see her master without fail every single day.
Nestled in her master’s embrace, the disciple asked carefully, “Are you feeling alright today…?”
“I am feeling well, thanks to the good weather.”
“Really!?”
“Would you like to go for a walk with me?”
“Yes!”
The disciple’s face lit up with a bright smile, as if she had been waiting for the invitation. She eagerly took her master’s hand. It was a cold, wrinkled hand, but to the disciple, it was a source of immense comfort.
They left the hut and began their walk. The night was not completely dark, illuminated by a bright moon, and the plum blossoms seemed even more beautiful under its silvery light. Walking through the blossom-filled mountains with her master was the disciple’s greatest joy. The hand she held might be cold, but she could feel a deep warmth within it—a warmth she interpreted as love.
She matched her pace to her master’s, careful not to fall behind. She even kicked aside stray stones that might cause her master to trip. Dust settled on her pretty clothes, but she paid it no mind.
The master calmly patted her disciple’s head. “Ryunghwa.”
“Yes, Master?”
The master hesitated. She had something to say, something she knew her disciple would not like. “It is almost that time… when you must return to Shanxi for a little while.”
“…”
As expected, the disciple fell silent. The master noticed the slight frown that appeared on her face. Seeing this, the master smiled faintly. “You are going to see your family. Do you dislike it so much?”
“…”
“Ryunghwa.”
“…They are not my family.” The whisper was so quiet it was almost lost.
The master leaned closer. This time, she heard her disciple’s voice more clearly. It sounded on the verge of tears. “…They are not my family.”
The master slowly lifted her head and hugged her disciple tightly. “…I’m sorry.”
It was all she could say. This was a matter in which she had no right to interfere. Ryunghwa was a disciple entrusted to her care, but she held no regrets. She had come to realize that the happiness she felt stemmed from none other than this very disciple.
Her only regret was her own failing health. If they had met sooner, she could have taught her more, held her more often. She felt a profound bitterness towards the passage of time for this reason.
The master wished for nothing more than for her disciple to find happiness in this difficult world.
Under the moonlight bathing Mount Hua, the Plum Blossom Sword patted her student’s head, her heart filled with a bittersweet affection.
* * *
-Roooaaar-!
A bear’s roar sent birds scattering from the forest canopy.
The area was littered with demon corpses. Standing in a puddle of shimmering blue blood, Namgung Bi-ah calmly withdrew her Qi.
How many demons had she encountered? She had lost count long ago.
She had been running relentlessly from Shanxi, but after so long, she began to doubt her own purpose… Yet, she had no desire to return home. She had found a place that felt more comforting than home ever had.
Namgung Bi-ah navigated the world by her senses. To be precise, she moved in the direction where the stench of the world was least potent. This method, however, often led her astray.
Now, her Qi was nearly depleted. A sudden downpour had soaked her to the bone, followed immediately by an ambush of demons. Her once-neat clothes were now dirty and torn from her frantic flight through the mountain wilds.
Yet, she was accustomed to such hardships. Thankfully, she had found a lake, so things could have been worse.
“…Just a little more,” Namgung Bi-ah whispered to herself in the solitude of the trees and grass.
Her determination to continue her quest was unwavering. If asked how she could be so sure, she wouldn’t have an answer. She simply felt it. That if she continued this way, he would be there. The only cozy and warm place in this forsaken world.
She cleaned her sword and began to move again.
It is definitely this way.
For some reason, her instincts insisted this was the correct direction.
“I want to see him alr—” Her eyes widened and she covered her mouth, startled by her own unconscious words.
…I want to see him?
Why?
Is it because he doesn’t smell? Is that it?
Her steps slowed to a halt as she organized her thoughts. She stood motionless for a long time. Finally, she spoke aloud, as if confirming it to herself.
“I want to see him…? I want to see him.”
Namgung Bi-ah nodded. She didn’t know the reason, but the feeling was undeniable. That was enough. There was no need to analyze it further.
“Only a little more.”
She could sense him from afar. It was an uncertain certainty. She still had a long way to go, but it wouldn’t take much longer.
With her thoughts settled, Namgung Bi-ah began to move again.