Chapter 579: Nightfall.
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 579: Nightfall.
After the Heavenly Dragon left.
By the time I finished my idle chat and returned, the Dishonored Venerable was already inside the inn.
And what’s more, the table was covered with a massive spread.
“What is all this?”
“Can’t you tell by looking?”
I could.
That was the problem—I could tell all too well.
“Why did you order so much food?”
“Some of it is to-go. Aren’t you curious?”
“About what?”
“Dumplings that even a monk would eat. How could I not be curious?”
“...”
His words made me pause.
So he figured it out.
This old geezer. He must have realized.
That the man eating dumplings at the inn was the Heavenly Dragon of Shaolin.
Well, if I recognized him, there was no way the Dishonored Venerable wouldn't have.
With a sour expression, I pulled up a chair.
I picked up a dumpling from the table and asked, “Can I have one?”
“You’re asking after you’ve already touched it with your filthy hands?”
“Filthy? I wash myself well, you know.”
“You’d better. What else would you do if not that?”
“...”
What was with this irritating conversation?
I scrunched up my nose and took a bite of the dumpling.
Yeah, it was still delicious.
It was the same taste as the ones I’d asked Moyong Hi-ah to bring me.
Rich and savory.
The aroma was good, and the taste was good.
Indeed, I didn’t care about much else, but it would be a little annoying if this place disappeared.
After stuffing the rest of the dumpling into my mouth, I asked the Dishonored Venerable, “So, what happened?”
At my question, the Dishonored Venerable crossed his arms and leaned back in his chair.
“About what?”
“About what happened earlier. Did anything else happen afterward?”
The Heavenly Dragon had… Mook… what was his name again?
Anyway, I was asking about what happened right after that man was knocked unconscious.
“What was there to happen? The people from the Alliance came and took him away. That’s all.”
As expected, nothing special had happened there.
The Alliance took him.
If the Alliance dragged away a first-rate martial artist for being a drunken nuisance…
He probably wouldn’t be in good shape when he got out.
At the very least…
He won’t be showing his face around here for a while.
That was a relief.
Watching him cause a scene at the inn…
I was thinking of quietly taking care of him.
It seemed I wouldn’t have to get my hands bloody.
In that case, maybe I’ll have another dumpling.
Just as I was thinking that and reaching out my hand…
“Did your talk go well?”
The Dishonored Venerable asked.
At his words, my burgeoning appetite instantly vanished.
“Yes, well.”
“You didn’t beat him, did you?”
“...?”
I frowned, feeling like I’d heard a strange question.
“Beat him? What are you talking about? You say things that would get you in big trouble if anyone heard.”
How absurd.
Does he take me for some street punk? What does he mean, beat him?
“He wasn’t the type to go down just from a beating, was he?”
“Hmm.”
The Dishonored Venerable didn’t deny my words. He couldn’t.
The Heavenly Dragon was clearly an unbelievable existence.
“Indeed. The Heavenly Eye has created a curious fellow.”
A curious fellow.
For such words to come from the Dishonored Venerable’s mouth meant the man was on another level.
Hearing that, I let out a smirk and said, “Did you take a liking to him?”
Wondering if he was that impressed, I asked, and a corner of the Dishonored Venerable’s mouth lifted slightly.
“Why, are you jealous?”
What? What kind of crazy talk was this?
“Elder, have you gone senile—!”
The moment I spoke, something shot toward my face and stopped just short.
It was a pair of chopsticks.
“Should I pluck out your eyeballs instead of this dumpling? It seems your eyes are broken.”
“...Sorry.”
Only after I offered a curt apology did the Dishonored Venerable retract the chopsticks.
Watching this, I had to swallow a bitter feeling.
The reason was simple.
I couldn’t see it.
The problem was that even if my Mind’s Eye wasn’t active, I hadn’t been able to properly track the Dishonored Venerable’s movement.
Had his movements gotten faster since reaching the Fusion Realm?
I didn’t know. I didn’t know, but if there was one thing I could be sure of…
I’d better not mess with him for a while.
I had just started to think I could barely hold my own against him, but now that was no longer the case.
Even so, it was an irritating fact that I couldn’t easily let slide.
“Jealous? What’s there to be jealous about? As if I’d be jealous of something like that.”
Heh.
The Dishonored Venerable chuckled at my emotionally charged words.
“It’s true he possesses a fine body. But such things are trivial.”
“Why? Didn’t you say my body was one of a kind?”
“I did. However, you’re not the only one with a body that meets the standard, are you?”
That was true.
It was a body forged through regression and various fortunate encounters.
But there were plenty of people who met the minimum requirements to learn the Heaven Destruction Art.
Well, maybe not plenty, but it wasn’t like they were impossible to find.
The more I learned it myself, the better I understood.
Unlike the Dishonored Venerable, who had been searching for someone with an incredible body and talent, the Heaven Destruction Art didn’t require that much talent.
I had been intimidated, wondering how difficult the martial art was, but after learning it, it wasn’t that difficult of a power.
That’s what I felt at the beginning. The more I learned, the more I understood.
The fact that I, who had not a shred of talent, had no problem learning it was proof enough.
Honestly, I think a lot of this is thanks to the Dishonored Venerable.
If you can’t do it, do it until you can.
If you still can’t, change your method and try again.
There’s nothing in the world that can’t be done.
That was the Dishonored Venerable’s philosophy.
And when I moved according to his will, it really did happen.
Goddammit.
Seeing this, just as I was thinking that, contrary to the Dishonored Venerable’s belief, the Heaven Destruction Art might not be that difficult of a martial art…
“My foolish disciple. You’re under a great misunderstanding.”
The Dishonored Venerable clicked his tongue and spoke to me.
“As you say, there are many who meet the physical conditions.”
His eyes were filled with a look of pity.
“But how many of them met those conditions at your age?”
“Well, that’s true.”
A body capable of containing the Heaven Destruction Art.
There might be many, but how many had achieved it at a young age?
If you counted them, there wouldn’t even be ten.
The number that came to my mind right now was maybe four?
And that was including myself.
“Furthermore, the most important talent for learning a martial art is neither the body nor martial aptitude.”
“Then what is it?”
“Patience.”
Patience?
Judging by his expression, he seemed to be serious, but I couldn’t really relate.
Patience is the most important?
Isn’t that something that should be a given to learn any martial art?
If he was saying the obvious was the most important, there was no way I could relate.
Perhaps my thoughts showed on my face. The Dishonored Venerable looked at me and clicked his tongue.
“You think I’m wrong?”
“...It’s just not something I can really relate to.”
I knew what he meant.
The pain I felt while learning the Heaven Destruction Art.
To artificially transform the body, one had to move bones, stimulate muscles, and even acupoints.
Because of this, I had to endure a pain like someone was doing a sword dance inside my body.
And in expressing the movements, not only my internal energy but also my form had to be flawless.
I had to endure that pain and repeat the same movement tens of thousands of times.
Once I finished taking one step, I had to take the next.
As it all piled up, I couldn’t even count how many times I had moved.
If I had to count, I’d have to do it by days.
I spent ten days throwing a punch.
Another fifteen twisting my waist.
That’s how time passed.
That’s how I got to where I am now.
The Dishonored Venerable didn’t rush my slow progress, and so I repeated it until it was perfect.
Neither of us grew impatient or frustrated.
Even as we felt that time was desperately short and insufficient.
If there was anyone to blame, it was myself for living so poorly in my past life; I didn’t resent anyone else.
And so, the present came to be.
That…
“What was so hard about it?”
What exactly was supposed to have been so hard?
To learn a martial art, patience is a given.
I lived my past life like vermin because I failed to realize that.
I’m just trying not to do that now.
Pain is something you endure.
Frustration is something you bear.
Why would you call something so simple a talent?
You just have to endure it.
“...”
As I spoke calmly, the Dishonored Venerable just stared at me.
After a moment, as if collecting his thoughts, he spoke.
“You foolish boy.”
“Why are you suddenly insulting me?”
“You just look particularly pathetic today.”
With those words, the Dishonored Venerable stood up.
He then casually grabbed the food prepared on the table.
“Let’s be on our way. It’s getting late.”
At his words, I also rose to my feet.
“So, what was it you were going to say in the end?”
“Hm? Ah.”
I asked as I followed behind him.
I was curious about what he was about to tell me earlier.
“It was nothing important. You’ll find out later anyway. Don’t worry about it for now.”
“...That makes me even more curious.”
How could I not worry about it when he said it like that?
Especially since it was the Dishonored Venerable saying it.
That man, he always tells me not to cause trouble, but…
He’s not exactly a quiet man himself.
Stories of the Dishonored Venerable in his youth were still famous—how he would single-handedly destroy sects to test his martial arts, or how he would hunt down masters of the Unorthodox Faction and “reassemble” them.
It was no wonder that one of his nicknames in his youth was “Mad Dog.”
From my perspective, that man was not only crazy about martial arts…
He’s just plain crazy…
Whoosh—!
“...!”
Suddenly, just like before, the chopsticks shot toward my eye.
I quickly turned my head to dodge, but it was a hair’s breadth away.
Startled, I shouted at the Dishonored Venerable, “What are you doing all of a sudden?”
“It seemed like you were thinking some nonsense, so I acted without thinking.”
“...”
Damn it.
I cursed inwardly.
He was still as sharp as ever.
When I looked up again, the Dishonored Venerable was already heading out of the inn.
I quietly followed behind him.
Just then.
“E-ex… excuse me…”
Someone called out to me.
Wondering what it was, I turned to see the woman who was being harassed earlier.
Was her name Misun or Misuk? Something like that.
Whatever, it doesn’t matter.
I looked at the woman and said, “What is it?”
It was a novel experience for a non-martial artist to speak to me.
I answered with slightly widened eyes.
“Eek…!”
The woman looked at me, frightened, and took a step back.
“...”
“S-sorry, I’m sorry…”
I could let most things slide, but that one really hurt.
Is my face that much of a problem?
The kids all said it was fine.
Anyway, I couldn’t get angry at a civilian, so I barely held it in and asked again.
“...So, what is it?”
“Ah, ah… th-there… that….”
The woman pointed somewhere.
It was at the Dishonored Venerable, who had already left the inn.
He was disappearing from sight with what seemed like hurried steps.
What, is he that hungry?
I was surprised to think the Dishonored Venerable might have a big appetite.
“...H-he still hasn’t…”
The woman said to me.
“P-paid… the bill…”
“...?”
He didn’t pay?
He just left with the food.
My eyes narrowed at her words.
Wait, don’t tell me…
The moment a chilling thought crossed my mind and I looked back at the woman…
“Your… companion… said you would pay.”
“...”
The woman said, on the verge of tears.
Haha.
This goddamn old geezer…
When did it start?
It hadn’t been long, but recently, I’d been dreaming from time to time.
It wasn’t that strange.
I’d always dreamed often.
The only problem was that most of them were nightmares.
Dreams of me remembering the things I did in my past life.
Or dreams of remembering those who I couldn’t save, who died for me. Most were like that.
Truly terrible nightmares.
That’s why I hated dreaming.
Because those were the only kinds of dreams I had.
But.
Lately, I’d been having different kinds of dreams.
It must have been shortly after I finally stopped dreaming.
Just when I thought I could finally sleep peacefully.
I started having different dreams.
They weren’t related to my past life.
They were situations I had never experienced.
Situations I had never seen.
And the scenery was always different.
If there was anything that didn’t change…
It was that I was in the dream. And the person next to me never changed either.
Today was the same.
Today, I was walking somewhere.
And next to me walked the person who was always there.
[Your hand is cold.]
That’s what I said after taking someone’s hand.
My head turned to look at the person beside me.
I couldn’t see her face.
I only knew that the person was a woman.
And that she was the person who always appeared in my dreams.
If you were to ask how I knew that when I couldn’t see her face…
For some reason, I just knew.
Yes, I just knew.
As I carefully took her hand.
The woman laughed.
[Haha. It’s autumn now. It’s not even cold.]
[…If I say it’s cold, it’s cold.]
Look at that bastard trying to be smooth.
Seeing my own face do something like that makes me want to puke.
What kind of fucked-up dream is this? Today feels particularly bad.
Despite such ridiculous behavior, the woman seems to like it and laughs. It must be because it’s a dream.
What kind of woman would fall for such a cheap line? It’s only because it’s a dream.
[The autumn leaves are out.]
[Are they pretty?]
[They’re especially pretty this year.]
The hand I was holding tightened its grip.
The woman was the one leading the way.
Following her, I ridiculously found myself wanting to walk more slowly.
[They’ll be even prettier next year.]
[How can you be so sure?]
[I know everything. Because I’m smart.]
[…Right.]
[You don’t believe me, do you?]
[I believe you.]
How old was I?
If I had to guess, I looked to be around the age I was right before I died in my past life.
As I gave half-hearted answers, the woman’s voice turned displeased.
[I really do know everything. Why can’t you believe me?]
[I just said I believe you.]
[No. You don’t believe me.]
Her voice sounded a little pouty.
At the same time, she let go of my hand.
As the sensation disappeared, a feeling of disappointment brushed past my heart.
The woman took a light step forward, turned her body smoothly, and spoke to me.
[Then shall I tell you one more thing?]
[What is it?]
Her voice was happy.
Me, too.
That woman, too.
Even the blooming autumn leaves.
Everything felt particularly so.
[This child, do you think it’s a boy or a girl?]
At the words she uttered while stroking her belly…
I had to choke back a gasp.
Come to think of it, the woman’s belly was slightly swollen.
Looking at it, I felt a strange tightness in my chest.
[I don’t know.]
[Is there nothing you hope for?]
[…It doesn’t matter. Either one.]
A son or a daughter, it didn’t matter.
At the very least, I would be a better father than my own.
That’s what the me in the dream was thinking.
The woman laughed, looking at that foolish me.
[Yes. I knew you’d say that.]
I couldn’t see her face.
But for some reason, it felt like she was smiling brightly.
I couldn’t see her smile.
And yet, I could feel it clearly.
I want to hold her.
I wanted to reach out and take the woman’s hand again.
Move.
If this is a dream, move as I wish.
As I wished so desperately, my body slowly began to move.
I approached the smiling woman.
I drew closer and held out my hand.
And just as I was about to take the woman’s hand again…
[No.]
The woman put distance between us.
Why? Why did she suddenly back away?
I looked at her with a bewildered expression, and she maintained her smile as she spoke.
[You can’t do this.]
[Why…?]
[You’re not supposed to remember this.]
[What are you suddenly talking about?]
[That’s… our promise.]
I walked.
Ignoring her incomprehensible words, I walked to grab hold of her.
But.
The distance didn’t close.
I grew anxious.
Why wasn’t the distance closing?
I reached out my hand, and then I started to run, but the distance remained the same.
[What the—!]
[You know.]
The woman said, watching me run desperately.
[Please be happy.]
For words spoken with a smile, they were filled with sadness.
[That way… I think I can be okay too.]
[What in the world are you talking about—!?]
That’s when I realized.
The beautiful scenery had vanished at some point, and only pitch-black darkness remained around us.
It was gradually descending.
A dark, terrifying blackness was swallowing us whole.
Even knowing that, my legs didn’t stop.
I tried to run somehow to catch the woman, but she simply watched me and whispered quietly.
[Goodbye.]
That was the end.
With those words, the darkness swallowed me.
“Gasp…!!”
I shot up, gasping for breath.
“Hah… hah…”
I sat bolt upright, panting.
“...What… what the fuck…”
I tried to shake off the terribly unpleasant feeling. What kind of fucking dream was that?
“Huh?”
But.
‘…What was the dream about?’
For some reason, I couldn’t remember a single thing about the dream I just had.
As if my having dreamed was a lie, not even the slightest memory came to mind.
And that…
Felt maddeningly, horribly wrong.