Unyielding Will
Unambong, Imaje’s retreat.
Would that have worked if I’d handled it like this?
Gang Hyeon was replaying their last spar in his head, both chain-linked sabers in hand.
- You left your flank open!
- Worry about yourself first.
- Hrk!
No, that wouldn’t have worked.
If it had been Third Young Master, he would have swung in close and smashed the wrist with his fist.
He really doesn’t leave any openings. How does that even make sense?
After training his muscles alongside Third Young Master, he’d begun sparring as well. It was a match with no internal energy allowed, so his movements had been awkward at first, but the results were undeniable.
Within those bouts, where luck meant nothing, his techniques had become astonishingly refined. He could finally polish his martial arts to match the body he had gained.
- Today will be different from yesterday. I had an insight last night.
- You said the exact same thing yesterday. Get in here.
- ...Hrk! Ah, I must’ve eaten too much breakfast, because I feel like gagging. Let’s just count that as my loss and go again.
- You don’t get to count it as a loss—you lost. What number is this now? I stopped counting after twenty, so I’m not sure.
It was exactly the fifty-seventh time.
The number of times he had fallen, gotten back up, and challenged again.
He hated losing, so he’d held on through sheer stubbornness and charged in again and again, but he had never managed to take a single victory.
What surprised him was that it hadn’t bothered him at all. In fact, he often felt refreshed.
He gave everything he had, then lost. He reviewed his mistakes, trained to fix them, and challenged again.
Once more, he’d been stopped by the wall—but this time, he could tell the gap was no longer as wide as before.
- Has the sun risen in the west today? What’s gotten into you?
As soon as he truly felt that growth, the martial arts that had once seemed so troubling began to look different.
“I can do it too!”
He’d just shouted out his ambition with a heart boiling over when—
“So you’ve finally lost your mind.”
“Huh?”
Before he knew it, Cheon Sohyeon was stepping through the entrance to the quarters.
“You’re back already?”
“Yeah. Were you overdoing it again?”
Gang Hyeon wiped the sweat from his face.
“That’s not overdoing it. This is just normal. How’s your body? You all right?”
At the concerned question, Cheon Sohyeon brushed off the dust and answered, “A snake’s still just a snake, no matter how you slice it. It was so vicious I almost turned it into snake soup, but I let it go. It’ll probably spend a few days whining and then get back up.”
Gang Hyeon snorted and gave him a thumbs-up.
“Wow. That’s incredible. So the staff techniques really helped, huh?”
“Sounds like you’re mocking me.”
“Not at all.”
Cheon Sohyeon smiled faintly and stepped into the training yard.
And, as always, he saw Imaje in the same place, shirtless, practicing his sword forms.
That old man is something else.
He’d gone after such a beast to fulfill the condition he himself had set, yet he didn’t seem the least bit concerned.
I’ve got a bad feeling about this. I should eat first—
Then it happened. Imaje’s wooden sword, which had been flowing without pause, suddenly stopped dead in midair.
He set the sword down and turned his head.
“You’ve returned.”
Cheon Sohyeon blinked, then answered, “Yes. I’m back.”
It was the first time he’d ever seen this in the time he’d stayed at Imaje’s retreat. That relentless man had actually stopped training?
“From your expression, it seems you succeeded.”
“Well... I did manage to bring down the One-Horned Mang, somehow.”
Cheon Sohyeon scratched the back of his head awkwardly, then reached into his robe.
“It’s just... ahaha, I’m not sure how to put this.”
What he pulled out was a miserable, crushed bundle of grass, caked in dirt and stained all over.
Only the faint white glow seeping from it hinted at what it really was.
In other words, Godokcho.
“If I wash it thoroughly and eat it down to the roots, I think it should still be fine. Wouldn’t you say so?”
Imaje’s mouth curved very slightly.
“It must have been quite the struggle. You’ve done well.”
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
I sat down at the table. Imaje was across from me, and Gang Hyeon had gone off to prepare the meal.
“First, I owe you an apology.”
“Huh? Out of nowhere?”
Imaje nodded.
“I deliberately set a difficult condition. I was doubting your resolve. I’m sorry.”
He wasn’t exactly wrong. Defeating the One-Horned Mang was a fairly dangerous gamble in my current condition.
Even so, I couldn’t help but feel taken aback that a mountain-sized man like Imaje would admit it so readily and offer an apology.
It was unexpected, to say the least.
Feeling a bit awkward, I waved it off.
“No, it was a reasonable condition. That One-Horned Mang looked scary, but it wasn’t much of anything.”
Imaje let out a quiet laugh.
“Then I’m glad.”
Honestly, this was the first real conversation I’d had with him since the first day.
After I decided to dedicate myself to training, I’d mostly learned his external techniques by watching and imitating, while Imaje occasionally corrected my posture.
Imaje held out a wooden box.
“You already had Godokcho with you.”
Then he asked in a grave tone, “Why did you choose to spend the time and take the risk instead of simply using the solution you already had in your hands?”
Since it was a serious question, I needed to give him a serious answer.
I looked him in the eye for a moment before speaking.
“What would be the point of pulling out something I’d just happened to have on me?”
“Hmm?”
“I understand that opposing the grand plan is not something to take lightly. So I figured I’d need to show what kind of person I am if I wanted to persuade you. Since I also continued my training here, I wouldn’t call it wasted time either.”
Imaje muttered the words to himself, rolling them around in his mind.
“Showing what kind of person you are, huh...”
I wasn’t sure yet whether my meaning had gotten across.
To be honest, I had considered just taking the Godokcho from the box and presenting it like it was the most natural thing in the world, but in the end I decided that would mean nothing.
What’s gained easily is just as easily lost. As the saying went, the beginning is half the battle, and winning Imaje’s trust was more important than anything else.
Imaje’s lips curved higher.
“That’s a very pleasing thing to hear.”
With obvious satisfaction, he continued, “In truth, there are plenty of people in the cult with talent or sharp minds. But those with a firm will are exceedingly rare. Your goal is not something a weak spirit would dare attempt in the first place.”
“So that’s why you set the condition.”
“Exactly.”
“Then I’m glad my stubbornness wasn’t wasted. In that case, let me ask you directly: what have you thought about the grand plan all along?”
“I wasn’t paying it much mind. I swore to become the sword of the divine cult, so my position was that whatever direction things took, I would respect that intent.”
A bluish glint flickered in Imaje’s eyes.
“But once you’re given the chance to choose, and the possibility of opposition appears, the matter changes. Then it would be right to devote time to the problem in front of me. A man bearing the name of Mae can’t go out into the world wielding a dull sword.”
“Ah... I see.”
It seemed Imaje had his own circumstances and had chosen to live in seclusion because of them.
A dull sword?
I’d often been so mesmerized by his swordsmanship that I couldn’t understand the word “dull” at all.
Was he pushing himself that harshly? Or maybe he’d judged his sword to be dull and gone all-out in external training because of it.
“This problem of yours—it's related to martial arts, I assume?”
Imaje answered without hesitation.
“It is. Like everyone else, I have a wall of my own, and I’ve been training repeatedly to overcome it.”
“Then opposing the grand plan isn’t such a bad thing, is it?”
“No, it isn’t.”
I felt the corners of my mouth twitch.
So that’s why the Commander-in-Chief recommended him.
If the grand plan could be delayed, then Imaje would be given time to resolve his own issue, which made this a favorable situation indeed.
All those hardships hadn’t been for nothing.
“Then are you leaving immediately?”
“I have to. I still have a long road ahead.”
“What are your plans from here? You’re not thinking of persuading the higher-ups one by one like this, are you? That would be hard to coordinate within the time available.”
I shook my head.
“There’s a clever fellow helping me from the side. He’s probably drawn up a direction for what comes next, so I need to go talk it over with him.”
“I see...”
After a brief silence, Imaje said something unexpected.
“Then I’ll speak with the other Mae of the Senate.”
“...!”
The unexpected offer made my shoulders jerk before I could stop them. He was going to talk to the other Mae?
Imaje went on in a calm voice.
“I wouldn’t say I’m so close to them that I can brag about it, but we’ve shared many years together. We should be able to talk. I’ll see if there are any who share your view.”
I felt as though I’d suddenly leapt much closer to my goal.
“Well now... that’s some welcome news. Haha! Then I’ll be counting on you.”
From what Sama Ryang had told me, the Mae of the Senate were all likely to be eccentric in their own way, making them hard to approach. In a martial world where power ruled everything, any expert who had survived for so long had to be warped somewhere, somehow.
That was why I hadn’t even dared try approaching anyone except Imaje, and yet things were unraveling this smoothly?
Was this also thanks to the virtues of my past life?
That was the only explanation I could think of.
Yes. That must be it.
Just then, Gang Hyeon appeared carrying a large tray.
“Meal’s ready!”
Only then did a fierce hunger hit me. Things had gone well, so with a light heart I began my last meal as if hiding rice in my cheeks.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
I left Imaje’s retreat.
Standing outside the gate and looking over the training yard, I found myself thinking that I’d left my own mark on those iron bars too, by now.
“Young Master.”
Gang Hyeon, who had arrived a little late, came over carrying a cloth bundle and held it out to me.
“Eat this on the way. I packed only the things you like. It’s all meat.”
“Wow. Looks like I won’t be starving on the road. Thanks.”
“When will you come again? I’d like to keep training with you.”
“Who knows. If I start itching all over, I’ll come looking for you again. But I doubt I’ll have the luxury of that for a while.”
Gang Hyeon nodded, looking disappointed.
“I see. I’ll send word to you by letter about what Master and the Senate discuss. I should send it to the same place I wrote to before, right?”
“Yeah. I’m leaving that to you.”
“Yes, sir. I learned a lot while you were here. Travel safely.”
Imaje, who had come out to see me off, said shortly, “Third Young Master, don’t stop walking. And whatever you do, don’t forget how you feel right now.”
“Understood. I’m off.”
Only after I’d seen Gang Hyeon waving me off did I finally leave Imaje’s retreat.
Feeling like the first knot had been tied properly, my steps down the mountain were light.