The Man Who Doesn't Know How to Give Up (2)
Han Cheong-un had two primary objectives when he first set foot in Sichuan.
The first was to prevent the tragedy known as the Tang Family Bloodbath.
The second was to recruit Tang Jin, the man who had been his exceptionally capable and reliable right hand in his past life.
Of course, he knew it was utterly preposterous for an outsider to demand Tang Jin, who was practically the young lord of the Sichuan Tang Family. He knew this, and yet...
Still, I need him.
And so, he had chosen a bold, direct approach.
He had openly demanded Tang Jin from the Lord of the Tang Family himself.
"Do you... understand the situation now?"
"Hmm. So, you recognize my son's talent and want him by your side. Is that it?"
"Yes. That is correct."
"Then why didn't you just say so from the beginning?"
The Lord of the Tang Family chuckled heartily. However...
"Did you even give me a chance to speak?"
Han Cheong-un's clothes were in tatters.
Hidden weapons and flying daggers were embedded all over the Lord's Hall.
It required no great leap of imagination to guess what had just transpired.
"Ahem. Seo-yeon, go fetch Jin."
"..."
"Seo-yeon?"
"Yes, Father..."
With a look of clear disapproval on her face, Tang Seo-yeon walked out. The Lord of the Tang Family let out a heavy sigh and spoke.
"Let me confirm one thing first. My daughter..."
"It's not like that."
"It isn't?"
"Yes."
"Did you not risk your life to save her because you have feelings for her?"
The Tang Family Lord remembered it vividly.
Though he had somehow recovered now, Han Cheong-un's condition immediately after rescuing Tang Seo-yeon had been so dire that it was a miracle he was even breathing.
If a man threw himself into danger with such utter disregard for his own life to save a woman, wasn't the reason obvious?
Yet Han Cheong-un's reply was resolute.
"What I did was simply what any martial artist who upholds righteousness would have done."
"My word..."
"I merely happened to be the one there."
The Tang Family Lord let out a hollow laugh.
Righteousness?
Was he serious?
Did he truly risk his life just to uphold such a concept?
It had been ages since such people vanished from even the most prestigious orthodox sects.
In a world where even renowned high priests and Daoist masters weighed righteousness against self-interest, this young hero claimed to act purely out of righteousness?
He is young. Or perhaps he can act this way precisely because he is young?
The Tang Family Lord smiled bitterly as he looked at Han Cheong-un.
He himself, and indeed most of the figures now revered as masters in the Jianghu, must have had a time like that.
A time when they aimed to live as true martial artists, rigidly upholding the righteousness and honor they had been taught.
But after carrying the weight of a sect, the weight of a family, and compromising step by step under the excuse of 'having no choice'...
"Tsk. You make me feel ashamed."
"Pardon?"
"No, it is nothing. So, you are saying you truly feel nothing for my daughter?"
"Yes. None at all."
Han Cheong-un spoke without a shred of hesitation.
Looking at him, the Tang Family Lord...
This brat didn't even hesitate...
...felt slightly ticked off.
"Ahem. I am not just saying this because she is my daughter, but our Seo-yeon's beauty is hardly lacking anywhere, is it?"
"Of course, the young lady is beautiful. In my life, women that beautiful... eight, nine... thirteen? Fifteen?"
"..."
This little bastard...
Where on earth had he seen so many beauties? Seeing him count on his fingers as he recalled his memories, it seemed he was being entirely sincere, not just making excuses. And...
"Ahem. At any rate, I haven't seen very many."
"Aren't you something."
"Pardon?"
The Tang Family Lord let out a sigh before speaking.
"My daughter might not measure up to your standards, but she seems to have feelings for you."
He felt a pang of sorrow even as he spoke.
What did he lack that he had to humble himself like this for his daughter's sake?
If he announced he was looking for a husband for Tang Seo-yeon, now cured of the curse of the Myriad Poisons Body, suitors would line up from the family's main gate all the way to the outskirts of Chengdu. However...
Sigh. Since my daughter's heart belongs to this fellow...
In the end, swallowing his pride, the Tang Family Lord swallowed his tears and yielded.
"If you are willing, I would like to arrange a marriage between you and my daughter."
The Tang Family Lord got straight to the point.
Han Cheong-un, looking calm as if he had expected this to some extent, replied...
"My Lord. Have you considered the young lady's perspective in this?"
"Of course I have."
In fact, he was pushing for this marriage precisely because he understood his daughter's feelings.
Even to his eyes as a father, it was glaringly obvious how deeply infatuated she was. What else could he do?
But Han Cheong-un seemed to think differently.
"The affection the young lady currently feels for me is highly likely not genuine love."
"What do you mean by that?"
"Think about it. How must I have appeared from her perspective?"
"..."
"The only person who reached out to her when she was utterly isolated and shunned by her own family."
"Mmm..."
The Tang Family Lord groaned inwardly.
Han Cheong-un's words had struck directly at his shame—his negligence as a father.
"That person then risked his life to save her, and even freed her from a cursed constitution. It is somewhat embarrassing to say this myself, but I am the benefactor who changed her entire life."
That was undeniably true.
"Are you saying she is confusing gratitude with romantic affection?"
"Right now, the young lady is like a hatchling that has just broken out of its shell. It is only natural for her to feel a strong attachment to the first person who showed her warmth. However..."
"..."
"Once she learns more about the world and begins to spread her own wings, her perspective will change."
"..."
"Please, do not rashly decide your daughter's life based on a fleeting, youthful emotion."
As Han Cheong-un spoke, offering a polite clasp of his hands, the Tang Family Lord let out a long sigh.
Tsk. He makes me feel so small.
He knew he had fallen short as a father.
To make up for his shortcomings, he wanted to give his daughter whatever she desired.
No matter what it was.
And so he had tried to give her the thing she wanted most, but...
I didn't even give her the chance to choose for herself.
Just as Han Cheong-un said, was she not a child who had only just emerged from her shell?
It was only right to give her time to learn about the world first.
"You are correct."
"Thank you for understanding."
"Both personally and as the Lord of the Sichuan Tang Family, I owe you a massive debt. Giving you my worthless son is hardly enough to repay it."
"Is that so?"
"Indeed. So, if there is anything else you desire, speak. I will grant whatever I can."
"Thank you. In that case..."
Han Cheong-un did not hold back and made a few requests.
There were already several matters for which he required the assistance of the Sichuan Tang Family.
"Will that suffice?"
"Yes. It is more than enough."
"Very well. I shall see to it."
"Thank you."
A few days later.
Han Cheong-un departed the Tang Family estate alongside Tang Jin.
Tang Seo-yeon was utterly shocked by Han Cheong-un's silent departure, and she immediately went to confront her father.
"Father! Why did my husband leave without saying a single word to me?"
"It was all for your own sake."
"What?"
The Tang Family Lord patiently explained the situation to his daughter.
"...And for those reasons, you must first experience the wider world. Do you understand?"
"What kind of nonsense is that?"
"Huh?"
"I asked you what kind of nonsense that is!"
At first, he thought he had misheard.
But he hadn't.
His gentle daughter, who had never once complained even while suffering through hellish pain, was now...
"So you just let my husband leave? Do you honestly think that makes any sense? Do you?!"
She hissed at him like a venomous serpent.
That venom and murderous intent.
She was indeed a true daughter of the Sichuan Tang Family. But...
Why does she have to direct it at me...
The Tang Family Lord cleared his throat and spoke.
"Ahem... Seo-yeon. Right now, you are like a hatchling that has just..."
"Stop talking nonsense and bring my husband back! Right now!"
He had tried to offer some profound wisdom...
...but if the listener had absolutely zero interest, it was entirely useless.
Meanwhile, at that very moment, Han Cheong-un...
"Ah... What beautiful weather. Isn't it?"
"..."
...was strolling leisurely along a mountain path leading out of Sichuan, accompanied by Tang Jin.
To be precise, only Han Cheong-un was leisurely. Tang Jin, on the other hand...
Why? Why am I here?
...had his lips pouted in a sullen scowl.
When his father had summoned him, the man had abruptly declared:
"Go with Young Hero Han."
"Pardon?"
"Go and see the wider world."
"...Pardon?"
That was it.
No objections allowed.
Damn it... Why on earth am I suddenly wandering the Jianghu when it wasn't even in my cards? And of all people, with that devilish bastard?
Tang Jin gnashed his teeth as he watched Han Cheong-un stride casually ahead of him.
Of course, he was the benefactor who had saved and cured his sister—the family's long-standing source of grief—and had even helped root out the traitors within the clan. However...
Aside from all that, why do I have to travel the Jianghu with this guy?
He racked his brain over and over, but he still couldn't fathom the reason. Unable to contain his curiosity any longer, Tang Jin called out.
"Young Hero Han!"
"Ah, what is it?"
"Why on earth did you ask to travel the Jianghu with me? If you searched the family, surely you could find masters far stronger and more experienced than I am."
"Ah, about that."
Han Cheong-un pondered for a moment.
After organizing his thoughts, he sat down heavily on a boulder by the roadside and spoke.
"I could easily brush it off with some plausible excuse, but..."
"..."
"I don't want to do that to you."
"Do what?"
"Have a seat. This is going to be a long story."
Though Tang Jin looked highly skeptical, he sat down on an adjacent rock. Then, Han Cheong-un...
"I died once in a future decades from now, and when I opened my eyes..."
...began to reveal the entire truth.
"In that life, I was the Captain of the Wulin Alliance's Annihilation Squad, and you were my Vice Captain. And we..."
"Wait... Wait, what?"
"Just listen until the end. During the Second Great War of Orthodox and Unorthodox, we fought against the Sado-palmun..."
"No, what on earth..."
Han Cheong-un continued speaking without pause.
He condensed the story as much as possible, focusing only on the core details, but it still took over four hours to tell.
"...And that is how I ended up heading to the Sichuan Tang Family, to prevent the Tang Family Bloodbath and recruit you once again."
After listening to Han Cheong-un's entire tale, Tang Jin thought:
Is he insane?
Yes, that was the normal reaction.
No matter how he looked at it, it sounded like the delusions of a madman. However...
Why do I want to believe him?
Contrary to his cold logic, a part of him deep within his emotions wanted to believe these words were the truth.
As Tang Jin stood there in confusion, Han Cheong-un spoke.
"It is only natural that you can't believe such an absurd story."
"Of course it is."
"But I have my reasons for sharing this with you."
"What reasons?"
"Do you remember when we saved Lady Tang earlier?"
"..."
"At that time, you called me Captain Han."
Tang Jin's eyes shook violently.
Now that he thought about it, he had.
It was a title that had slipped out so naturally, as if it had been engraved on the tip of his tongue.
"You called me that, even though you had absolutely no reason to."
"..."
"I formed a hypothesis back then."
Han Cheong-un let out a soft sigh, composed his emotions, and continued.
"Perhaps it wasn't just me who regressed, but the entire world itself that was wound back."
"What on earth..."
"Otherwise, it makes no sense. Why would you call me Captain Han? What reason could you possibly have?"
"..."
"And the same goes for the Silver Flowing Flying Dagger."
Han Cheong-un pointed toward the Silver Flowing Flying Dagger hidden inside Tang Jin's sleeve.
"That is a signature weapon you created yourself, researching martial arts on your own because you couldn't fully inherit the Sichuan Tang Family's secret techniques but still desired greater strength."
"..."
"In your past life, you trained extensively to create and wield the Silver Flowing Flying Dagger. Yet, in this life, you handled it with perfect familiarity from the very first day you picked it up."
"..."
"As if you had already wielded it for years."
Tang Jin's pupils dilated.
Logically, it was an absurd, far-fetched claim.
The entire world rewinding time?
How could that be possible? And yet...
Certainly...
His trained senses as a martial artist did not lie. He had wielded this new weapon with uncanny familiarity.
Even after just a few practice sessions, forms specifically tailored to this weapon had naturally come to his mind.
Did that make any sense?
Was he really such a genius that he could touch a weapon he had never seen before and immediately invent new forms for it?
No, I wasn't.
While Tang Jin was considered a talented youth within the family, he did not possess the kind of peerless, once-in-a-generation genius required for such a feat. The more he thought about it...
"Is it... really true?"
"It is. No... it is, Jin."
At that moment.
It appeared clearly before Tang Jin's eyes.
Not the young hero Han Cheong-un standing before him now, but the battle-hardened, middle-aged martial artist Han Cheong-un from his memories.
"...I have a question."
"I repeat, what I said is the truth."
"I believe you. But that is not my question."
Taking a deep breath, Tang Jin finally voiced the question he had kept buried in his heart.
"If what you say is true..."
"..."
"...why did you come back for me?"
"Is that strange?"
"Of course it is. There must be plenty of people who are stronger and have more potential than me. So why did you come all the way to the Sichuan Tang Family to recruit me first?"
Han Cheong-un let out a soft chuckle at those words.
Why?
Tang Jin was right.
If one looked purely at talent or future potential, there were quite a few who surpassed Tang Jin.
Even within the Annihilation Squad, there had been several martial artists stronger than Tang Jin. However...
He was a reliable comrade on the battlefield.
A superb vice captain and advisor in public matters.
And in private, they were no different from real brothers.
Their age difference of over ten years had never been an obstacle.
They shared a bond of absolute trust—a friendship so deep they would gladly die for one another.
Literally, a bond where neither would hesitate to lay down their life for the other.
"I need you."
"But why? There are countless brilliant young talents in the Jianghu. What am I to you...?"
"Irreplaceable."
"..."
"Even if I could have anyone in the world, I could never picture anyone else as my right hand."
Sensing the absolute sincerity in Han Cheong-un's words, Tang Jin knelt on the spot.
Bowing his head, he clasped his hands together in a formal salute and spoke.
"Tang Jin, eldest son of the Sichuan Tang Family. From this moment forth, I entrust my life to you."
Han Cheong-un's heart swelled at the sight.
He had finally reclaimed his lost right hand.
"I look forward to working with you, Vice Sect Leader Tang."