Chapter 6
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 6
Chapter Title: The World Is a Sea of Suffering 1
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Despite the commotion of the previous night, the darkness had retreated, and the sun shone brightly.
Maids and servants were bustling about in various parts of the Lotus Flower Pavilion, and the aroma of boiling rice porridge was already wafting from the dining hall.
In one of the Pavilion's buildings, inside a room thick with the scent of medicinal herbs.
Pavilion Master Jeong Yeongyeong was examining the condition of I Sochang, who lay on the bed.
The face of the sleeping I Sochang was pale.
His abdomen was tightly wrapped in plain cloth, and bloodstained cotton and rags were scattered around.
“There won't be any danger to his life, will there?”
“That's correct. The wound is large, but fortunately not deep, so his internals are unharmed. With proper treatment, he should be able to stand in three or four months.”
The goat-bearded physician, who had been summoned the previous day and stayed up all night tending to I Sochang's wounds, replied.
“That's a relief. Truly, the heavens have helped us.”
“Indeed, Pavilion Master.”
Sacheonggi, standing at the foot of the bed, responded to Jeong Yeongyeong's words, which might have been muttered to herself.
It was probably his sincere thought.
After a moment, the physician left the room to check on the herbal decoction, and Jeong Yeongyeong spoke again.
“It just doesn't make sense. Why did that man Laeheon simply withdraw?”
“I've thought it over a hundred times myself and still can't understand it. But as I reported, he suddenly stopped his attack, muttered a few words to the empty air, and left.”
“An old man... Where could such an old man have been? Or did he even exist?”
“That's what I think. When it came down to it, taking our lives and turning the Lotus Flower Pavilion into a bloodbath must have seemed unnecessary.”
“Hmm...”
“Laeheon is famous for his quick calculations. With the Azure Purity Sect not standing idly by, what would he gain?”
“Indeed, acting on drunken lust for a mere girl would seem foolish to anyone.”
“And most importantly, there was no such old man anywhere in the Lotus Flower Pavilion last night.”
“That does make sense. We asked the gatekeepers and all the staff—no one saw any outsider enter besides the guests. All the visitors who came to see me yesterday were people we know.”
“Exactly. Laeheon came to his senses.”
Jeong Yeongyeong fell into thought for a moment, furrowing her beautiful brows.
“In any case, it's good. Whether he finishes this matter as is or settles accounts another way, better to be prepared.”
“I've already sent a messenger pigeon to Azure Purity Mountain. Experts from our sect should arrive within a few days.”
“I'll trust in the Azure Purity Sect.”
With those words, Jeong Yeongyeong left the room.
Sacheonggi plopped down onto the stool beside the bed.
“Huuu.”
Last night's events felt like a dream, yet still vivid in his mind.
I Sochang collapsing while bleeding, the moment awaiting death after failing to block Laeheon's blade.
At that desperate moment, Laeheon's aura dulled, and the blade's momentum vanished.
His thinking had been correct after all.
Laeheon had released his power of his own accord.
Now, all that remained was to wait for whoever would come down from the Azure Purity Sect.
That was the only thing he could do.
* * *
At that very moment.
Deep within the Gold Soul Money House, in an office adorned with all manner of golden items and lavish decorations, Laeheon sat alone, sipping from a teacup.
“Who the hell was it? There's no high master of sound arts like that in all of Sichuan Province... Someone must have drifted in from somewhere in the Central Plains. I can't just leave a master of that caliber unknown. Make him an ally, or... Hey, you there!”
Laeheon called out toward the outside, and soon the chief steward of the Gold Soul Money House entered and bowed his head.
“Go out immediately and find out if anyone new has been frequenting or staying at the Lotus Flower Pavilion recently. Especially anyone connected to gold—yes, the seven-stringed zither.”
“You mean the instrument used for music, sir?”
“That's right. Hurry.”
“Yes, I shall carry out your orders, Pavilion Master.”
By that afternoon, the chief steward of the Gold Soul Money House came to report to Laeheon.
Inquiries about the one possessing the seven-stringed zither had been remarkably easy; he had gathered all the details and now reported them.
“About half a month ago, a man called Gold Master was seen mingling with the Pavilion's chief steward on the streets of Chengdu. Afterward, he took up residence in the Lotus Flower Pavilion.”
“Is that so?”
“His name is Seonwoyong, and he appears to be a young man barely past his early twenties.”
Laeheon nodded.
‘Trained in some renowned sound arts somewhere. Given his age, probably just debuted in the martial world. That sound art was fearsome indeed, but if his hands were empty, could he truly stand against me?’
Sound arts were notoriously difficult and arduous to master. Thus, across the entire martial world, masters of sound arts were few and far between.
Moreover, their limitations were clear—even counting all of today's martial world, few could make Laeheon himself fearful.
Above all, it was common knowledge in the martial world that martial artists who specialized in sound arts were no match for ordinary masters when unarmed.
“From now on, guard the entrance to the Lotus Flower Pavilion. The moment this Gold Master Seonwoyong steps outside, report to me without delay.”
* * *
A few days later.
Having finished their morning lessons, the young girls surrounded Seonwoyong in the main hall of his annex residence, chattering noisily as they stood around him.
“Master, really?”
“Heh heh. Would your master make empty promises to you all?”
“Yay! This is exciting. Hahaha...”
“But, big sister. Will that scary gatekeeper uncle allow it?”
The youngest, ten-year-old Hye ryeon, who had only just grasped the notes that day, asked her eldest sister, Choyeoun. Choyeoun lightly flicked her forehead with a knuckle and chirped back.
“You silly thing, don't you know our master is the highest person in this Lotus Flower Pavilion? Even the Pavilion Master shows him respect—you saw it!”
Seonwoyong had made a promise to the girls a few days earlier, amid their excited babble.
If the girls, who had barely begun on the zither, could all accurately play the pentatonic scale of the arched-horn lute tuning, he would take them all out to the streets and buy them tanghwa candies and honey-sweetened cold tea.
And today was the day to fulfill that promise.
Even the youngest, who had struggled until the end to grasp the notes, had finally succeeded.
“Now, now... quiet down, you lot. Do you think your master's eardrums can take this? Hahaha...”
Seonwoyong's expression looked truly happy as he led the excited girls—now erupting in near-shrieks of laughter—toward the dining hall as usual.
Truth be told, the candies or honey tea were not the point.
For various reasons, the young disciples' outings were strictly restricted.
Having learned how much these curious girls yearned to see the outside world, Seonwoyong had deliberately offered it as a reward.
The girls wolfed down their lunch haphazardly and hurriedly dragged Seonwoyong toward the Pavilion's main gate.
“Master Seonwoyong. Normally, this wouldn't be allowed...”
“It won't take long. I'm just going to that market by the roadside up ahead to get some snacks for the girls and come right back.”
“Yes, understood. We trust only you, Master.”
And so Seonwoyong set out onto the street with the ten or so young girls.
As the flower-like, prettily dressed girls stepped into the street, the whole area brightened.
Moreover, with Seonwoyong himself clad in a white silk robe, his hair tied with a white silk scholar's band embroidered with gold thread, passersby stopped in their tracks, entranced by the sight.
But Seonwoyong, despite his appearance, was already an elder with over a hundred years under his belt.
In his eyes now, nothing in the world was more beautiful or lovely than these young children.
Not his own flesh and blood or grandchildren, yet in just these twenty-odd days together, he had come to feel toward them the affection of a grandfather.
He thought that truly, the most precious and beautiful things in the world were children.
A market stood by a stream about the distance of one mealtime's walk away.
Ducks fed by nearby residents swam in flocks along the small stream that crossed Chengdu city, while willow trees lined the banks, swaying gently.
The girls walked without hurry, curiously inspecting and marveling at everything along the roadside. Thus, even the short distance took quite some time to reach the market.
Sightseeing at the market proved so entertaining that they seemed to have forgotten all about the candies and honey tea.
What especially captivated the girls at the market was a street stall selling all sorts of animals.
Yellow chicks, white and black ducklings, puppies, kittens, baby goats, and more...
The baby animals were trapped in nets or tied with strings, waiting for buyers.
All the young creatures were adorable and endearing.
Their eyes sparkled purely, their fur was soft, and their cries were thin and piteous.
Having never seen such young animals inside the Lotus Flower Pavilion, the girls rushed to the animal stall without exception, sitting down and gazing in fascination.
They wanted to hold a chick or pet a puppy, but the stall owner refused.
At a glance, they were just bothersome gawkers unlikely to buy anything.
Even so, he couldn't bring himself to chase the children away.
‘Heh, these kids.’
Watching the girls huddle and squat to peer at the baby animals, Seonwoyong felt a pang in his chest for some reason.
Tears even welled up.
The plight of these lovely children seemed one and the same with that of the baby animals tied to strings or caged in nets, waiting for owners.
‘The world is a sea of suffering. Grow up strong, children.’
Lost in such thoughts, he suddenly sensed a familiar presence.
Turning his head, he saw the Gold Soul Demon Blade Laeheon striding arrogantly through the market.
Four armed warriors followed behind him, swords at their waists, while surrounding merchants bowed their heads in respect at the sight of him.
They soon came to a stop before Seonwoyong.
“That's him, Liege.”
One of the trailing warriors whispered into Laeheon's ear, loud enough for Seonwoyong to hear.
Laeheon scanned Seonwoyong's appearance with cold eyes.
He looked barely past twenty, with no trace of martial arts training.
His solar plexus was flat. His white hands bore no calluses. Above all, no hint of internal energy could be felt.
Could this pale scholar-like youth truly be the one who had constrained his body and mind that night and driven him off? Doubt crept in.
‘It doesn't seem like it...’
Still, confirmation was necessary.
“Hey, you. Are you the gold master at the Lotus Flower Pavilion?”
It was obvious from the girls squatting by the animal stall behind him, but he had nothing else to ask.
“Yes, but...”
At the sound of Laeheon's voice, the startled girls whipped their heads around.
Among them, Choyeoun in particular gasped in terror upon seeing him and jumped to her feet.
The fiend who had toyed with her the moment they crossed paths in the Pavilion garden that night stood before her now.