Chapter 32
Chapter 32
Chapter 32
Traces of the Past (1)
Spring energy was spreading everywhere, yet snow still clung to the mountainside.
"How long were you there?"
"Eight months."
I had merely gone in to train, yet eight months had passed.
It was a common occurrence in the martial world, but an incomprehensible situation in this present life.
I first visited my parents and had a meal with them. They welcomed me as warmly as if I had returned from a faraway place.
"I just think of it as our son going to the military frequently."
Father said jokingly. I felt both sorry and grateful.
Only after finishing the meal did I hear about what had happened during that time.
Kim Mu-jin's Hanjeong Group had gotten on the right track, and So Iryeon hadn't returned for several months due to a Japan tour.
"The Hunters' power is rapidly weakening."
"Who's doing that?"
"Attacks are occurring from multiple directions. It doesn't seem to be just one or two parties."
It meant there were many reincarnators like me who were dealing with the Hunters first.
Things were flowing in a strange way.
"But where did the Witch go?"
"She went to America a week ago. It seems she'll attack a high-level Hunter branch."
"She's only going now?"
"It's the second time. She already destroyed one."
The last time I saw the Witch was in the bathroom. Recalling that expression and those eyes gave me chills for no reason.
"Cult Leader, you are now fifteen years old."
"Yeah, an age sufficient for playing around, yet that's impossible."
"Did you gain some enlightenment? Your eyes have become even clearer."
"I had a unique experience."
I explained to Jimun Seo-saeng what had happened during those eight months.
"Two Danjeons. Even I cannot predict that."
"Well, I'll have to go there someday. To see where that end is."
"You must not overdo it. The Cult Leader's life is one, but the lives hanging on it are not just one."
"You must have been frustrated not being able to nag for eight months?"
"That is correct."
Since he so boldly affirmed it, I couldn't even get angry.
"After such a long time, how about it?"
Jimun Seo-saeng brought out an inkstone and rice paper onto the table.
"Looks like you still have nagging left."
"Isn't this method more refined?"
"Fine."
For the first time in this present life, I sat face to face with Jimun Seo-saeng and drew pictures.
After drawing for a while, I was the first to ask Jimun Seo-saeng.
"Dang Man-cheon and the Sword God must have reincarnated, too, right?"
"They must have."
"Can we find them?"
Jimun Seo-saeng, still filling empty spaces with his brush, spoke as if reciting.
"They must have their circumstances. Our connection won't end like this. We will eventually meet."
"I hope nothing happens to them."
"Are you worried?"
"Because it's different from our past lives."
The picture was already nearing completion.
I drew a rural house surrounded by mountains, and Jimun Seo-saeng drew a zelkova tree growing alone on a hill.
"Your painting has become much gentler."
"Because I learned the warmth of family."
"That is why you have become weak."
"Is that so?"
"Good things must be developed in good directions. The Cult Leader has become impatient to protect that warmth."
It was the same with entering the Hell Gate and with my current training. There was an obsessive thought that I must be strong.
"You don't need to rush."
"Can I really afford not to?"
Jimun Seo-saeng would understand the meaning of my question.
Strong individuals were appearing all over the world. There was the mysterious old man, and there was also the mage the Witch had mentioned.
If I weren't strong, I would eventually be sacrificed.
"Cult Leader, you still haven't broken your stubbornness."
"Stubbornness?"
"As the Cult Leader said, sparks are spreading worldwide. But must the Cult Leader be the one to extinguish those sparks?"
I put down my brush and looked at Jimun Seo-saeng. Jimun Seo-saeng also put down his brush.
"A storm is not something you must always confront. There is also a method of avoiding it for a while."
"Are you telling me to hide?"
"That is the Cult Leader's stubbornness. I'm not saying to hide."
"Then?"
"I'm saying to wait."
Hiding and waiting.
The results were the same, but the meanings were different.
"When did the Cult Leader establish the Heavenly Demon Cult in your past life?"
"When I was certain I was the strongest."
"Is it the same now?"
It certainly wasn't like my past life. There were many uncertain factors.
"You are rushing. You want to quickly regain your past life's position. But you must not forget this."
After waiting a moment, Jimun Seo-saeng continued,
"We were reborn. This means we must also prepare again."
There was no room for rebuttal.
"I only remembered your good points. I should have taken my time finding you."
"I wanted to see you quickly."
We drew pictures again.
Soon the pictures were completed, and we looked at each other's paintings.
"You've changed a lot."
"The Cult Leader is the same."
"It means a new life."
"Exactly that."
My mind became much more at ease.
The impatience I hadn't been aware of was only then felt. I slowly let that emotion flow away as if submerged in a stream.
Jimun Seo-saeng deliberately left his seat. He was giving me time to think alone.
He was a person who knew me better than I knew myself. He was also someone who gave more the more you trusted him.
"Hm?"
While I was slowly gathering my thoughts, the lodging door suddenly burst open.
If So Iryeon and Cheong Ak-sal were in Japan, there was only one person who could enter this place like this without even knocking.
"Oppa!"
Yuna ran toward me with both arms spread wide.
I reflexively spread my arms at that sight and embraced Yuna.
I held Yuna tightly as she threw her body into my arms and stroked her head.
"Our Yuna has grown so much."
"Oppa is mean! Always playing alone!"
Though unintended, eight months had passed. It must have been a long time for Yuna.
"Sorry. Oppa will apologize."
"I missed you, Oppa."
Yuna was now seven years old. She had grown noticeably compared to eight months ago.
Still, in my eyes, she looked like a baby.
Yuna stayed in my arms for a while, then discovered the pictures on the table.
"Huh? This is Uncle Jimun's picture, and who drew this one?"
Come to think of it, Yuna had never seen my paintings.
"Does it look like someone else drew it?"
"Yeah. It's not Uncle Jimun's picture."
"Oppa drew that."
"Really? Wow! Oppa draws well too!"
"Do you want to have it, Yuna?"
"Yeah! Give it to me!"
When Yuna received the picture, she smiled more brightly than ever.
"Yuna likes pictures?"
"I like pictures, magic, and martial arts too."
"Martial arts?"
"Yeah. I'm learning from Iryeon Unni. She says to just think of it as exercise."
I casually held Yuna. Then examined her body.
'What's this?'
Her Danjeon had settled quite stably.
"When did you start learning from So Iryeon?"
"Martial arts has been six months."
A Danjeon like this couldn't have formed in six months.
"Didn't you learn anything else?"
"Breathing techniques? Are you talking about that? I learned that before I met Oppa."
As expected, it had been quite a while. She had started when I was in the Hell Gate.
Until now, the Danjeon had been so small that I hadn't noticed.
'Well, there's nothing bad about it.'
There was nothing bad about learning martial arts.
However, one thing had to be kept in mind.
"You must never overdo it. Martial arts can not only hurt others but also hurt yourself."
"Yeah, I know."
Yuna showed no resistance to either magic or martial arts. I was curious about that point.
"Why do you like magic and martial arts, Yuna?"
"To play with Unni and Oppa."
It was an unexpected answer.
Until now, I had only liked Yuna but hadn't tried to understand her.
Every action has a reason, yet I hadn't asked about her inner thoughts.
A corner of my heart ached.
"Alright, then shall Oppa play with you using martial arts today?"
"Really?"
"Yeah. Oppa can run faster than a horse."
"Wow! Show me!"
"Okay! Let's go outside!"
I held Yuna and went outside.
I ran through the mountains after a long time.
"Wow! This is fun!"
Yuna laughed more brightly than ever.
"Should I go faster?"
"Oppa is the best!"
I was excited too.
It didn't matter if martial arts degraded into an amusement ride. Right now, Yuna's laughter had more value than anything else.
―You don't need to rush.
Jimun Seo-saeng's words came to mind.
With just a little leisure, it could be this enjoyable.
That was the current world.
"I like Oppa the most!"
That day, I ran through the mountains until Yuna said to stop.
For just one day, I decided to try something called rest.
Thinking about it, I had never rested even once since being born until now.
I lay sleeping Yuna on the bed and left the house.
When I made a call, the other party's voice was immediately heard.
―Please speak.
It was Kim Mu-jin.
"Play with me for a day."
And so I went to find Kim Mu-jin.
Until arriving in Seoul, I kept racking my brain.
'What should I play?'
I even rummaged through memories from my past life.
To me, play meant only martial arts, painting, and drinking gatherings.
At drinking gatherings, there were women, and there were romantic songs from intoxicated warriors.
If not that, I competed in or researched martial arts and drew pictures with Jimun Seo-saeng.
I had lived for nearly a thousand years, and that was all.
'What do other people do for fun?'
What came to mind were things like games, sports, or movies.
4 PM.
I arrived in front of Kim Mu-jin's building.
During this time, Hanjeong Group had regained stability, and this was all recognized as Kim Mu-jin's ability. His position within the group had risen high enough to be recognized as the successor.
Moreover, through Jimun Seo-saeng's arrangement, Han Min-cheol and Kim Mu-jin met, giving wings to Hanjeong Group's progress.
Han Min-cheol had no choice but to support Kim Mu-jin, whether he liked it or not. He still believed the Grim Reaper was by his side.
"Welcome."
Kim Mu-jin was waiting for me at the building entrance. Behind him, two secretaries stood in proper posture.
"I'm leaving work now, so finish up on your own and go home."
At Kim Mu-jin's words, the secretaries bowed and entered the building.
"So, what kind of play do you want to play?"
"You guide me."
At my answer, Kim Mu-jin asked in a whisper.
"Honestly, you don't know what kind of play, right?"
I bristled but soon composed my emotions and nodded.
"I was the same at first. Follow me."
The place we arrived at in his car was an open field where development was restricted. The entrance to the field with dirt roads had iron fences erected so others couldn't enter.
"How is it?"
He seemed to be asking for my impression of the field. I answered honestly.
"It's a good place to fight."
At my answer, Kim Mu-jin pressed his forehead and shook his head.
"You have to abandon that thought to be able to play. At first, I couldn't have hobbies because time felt too precious."
"Hobbies."
"Come this way."
He took me to a warehouse near the fence. When he pressed a button beside the warehouse, the shutter rose, revealing the interior.
"Now, this is it."
Five motorcycles.
Various-shaped motorcycles were lined up in the warehouse.
"You want me to ride these?"
"It will be a new experience. It's different from horses."
Kim Mu-jin, who briefly taught me how to start the engine, first rode a motorcycle himself and raced down the dirt road.
After running for a while, Kim Mu-jin waved at me and shouted.
"Are you scared?"
"That bastard..."
I bristled and got on the motorcycle.
One hour later.
Overcoming the initial trial and error, I roughly passed through the winding dirt roads.
It had a completely different charm from horses. Motorcycles switched quickly and responded sensitively to my hands and body.
"How is it?"
Kim Mu-jin asked while taking off his helmet. I wasn't wearing a helmet.
"Do I have to wear that?"
"It's okay here, but you'll get caught if you go outside."
"Outside?"
"You have to go to the next course."
"Where is it?"
"You left it to me, didn't you? You'll know if you follow."
Kim Mu-jin threw a helmet to me.
"If you wear that, no one will catch you. You don't have a license either, and it's a headache if you get caught."
And so the fence opened and two motorcycles headed out onto the road.
On congested roads, motorcycles were quite an attractive means of transportation. Then, when open areas appeared, unlike dirt roads, refreshing sprints were possible.
'This is nice.'
The place we arrived at after racing as if competing was a five-story luxury fitness club.
"Why did we come here?"
It was a club where you could do various exercises, including fitness training. Even I knew that much.
"To exercise?"
"As if I would exercise here."
"Then what will we do?"
"You'll know if you follow."
Though it was a luxury fitness club operated on a membership basis, when Kim Mu-jin said something, I could also enter comfortably.
"It's here."
There was no exercise equipment as I had expected.
Instead, there were slender women revealing their white skin and rippling water.
An indoor swimming pool.
'I did well to come find Kim Mu-jin.'
I was certain that my choice today was correct.