Root(1)
Root(1)
It was said that the Tang Clan main estate was a place where no one but blood relatives or employees could enter. The time to part ways with Shin-ung had come. Dohwa wore a bitter expression.
"Then, I shall be going first. It was truly a pleasure to meet you, Sinseon-nim (Immortal). Thank you."
"I told you I'm not a Sinseon (Immortal)...?"
Dohwa waved her hand dismissively as she saw Shin-ung off.
Long goodbyes were unnecessary.
Although Dohwa felt a lingering sense of regret, Shin-ung seemed to have unburdened his heart completely. Only when Shin-ung, who was walking away with his cane slung over his back, became as small as a dot did Dohwa turn around.
'We might not be able to see each other face-to-face, but I'll be able to hear you again, right?'
If Shin-ung lived longer, and if he didn't forget her and remembered her, the ears of the Jang-i-jok would hear that voice.
[You have come down from the mountain, well done.]
As if the secret voice of the world was being heard.
"Let's go, Gyeom-a!"
"Please, go ahead, Supreme Patriarch."
At Dang Gyeom's gesture, the massive castle gate opens wide! Hwak!
The Tang Clan interior revealed at a glance was antique.
Dohwa strolled through the Tang Clan, listening to Shin-ung's voice and the whispers of the sky.
"Hum, hum~"
She was in a very good mood.
It was a distance of one village away from Dangsan, but since they used an entire mountain, the grounds were incredibly large.
The buildings inside the Tang Clan were shaped like cones placed on top of cylinders. The roof tiles were thick with greenish moss, which made the buildings look like trees.
It was truly lovely.
'It's similar to the shapes Yeong-yeong used to mold out of mud...'
Thinking of Yeong-yeong, who used to play with dirt by her side, Dohwa gave a gentle smile with her eyes.
Aside from Yeong-yeong, Dohwa liked this place. It was close to Dangsan, and if she pricked up her ears— Jjong-geut— and listened carefully, she could even hear the sound of the wind from Dangsan, which was perfect.
However—
Chal-bak. Dohwa took a step.
The ground was a stone path with weeds growing sparsely, and dew was glistening on every blade of grass.
Dohwa looked at the sunset hanging over the distant, blurry mountain ridge, drooping crookedly. The dew on the grass caught that sunset light, gently dyeing the world in the color of a lantern.
It was Dangsan.
'Yeong-yeong-ah. Why can't I feel your energy on Dangsan?'
The ears of the Jang-i-jok hear many things.
That is why the voice of Dangsan and the whispers of the sky can be heard.
For Dohwa, the voices of her 'friends' were like that.
The voices of those who remembered her could be heard. Through that, she sensed her friends.
Dohwa could not hear Yeong-yeong's voice.
Yeong-yeong, who had settled near Dangsan, did not come to see her. Suddenly— a bad premonition arose.
A feeling with no clear source or reason. It was just a feeling, but her chest felt very heavy.
Like the whispers of the world.
A strange sense of anxiety that came without her knowing.
"Supreme Patriarch-nim?"
So-young, who had been reading her father's expression, spoke up cautiously.
Pa-dak.......
Dohwa was so preoccupied with thinking of Yeong-yeong that she couldn't answer in time and just nodded her ears.
"Are you crying...?"
"Crying? Me?"
At So-young's words, Dohwa wiped her eyes. She felt a foreign sensation flowing down her cheeks, which were flushed with a faint blush, and there was a fishy smell of water.
"It's true. Why, all of a sudden..."
"If you are unwell anywhere, I will bring a physician."
The Tang Clan leader bowed his head deeply with both hands tucked into his wide sleeves. It was a serious and grave attitude. Dohwa hurriedly wiped her tears and waved her hand dismissively.
She threw out any words that came to mind to change the subject.
"You said your name was Gyeom, right?"
"......That is correct."
Dang Gyeom said in a trembling voice.
He was looking straight into Dohwa's eyes, and cold sweat was streaming down.
How could a worldly existence be like that? The saying that she is beyond the mortal world is correct. That was true even excluding the unique beauty of the Jang-i-jok.
'Even though I know she is a being who has lived for countless years, it's breathtaking.'
It wasn't just her beauty.
Her eyes, clear like jade and green like lush foliage, were deeper than the night. They were endlessly distant, to the point where one dared not fathom them. Dang Gyeom glanced away and confirmed it.
'The current Tang Clan's last resort is this person alone.'
Jang-i-jok. Dangsan Sinseon (Immortal).
In the main family, the Supreme Patriarch named by the founder.
Dang Gyeom looked at Dohwa, whose eyes were red, and said.
"Would you like to look around the family (clan) a bit more?"
"No, I'm sorry... I showed you an unsightly side of me. And in front of Yeong-yeong's grandchildren..."
"If you go down, there is the Medicine Hall and the Training Ground that the founder cultivated, but since you said you wouldn't go, I will escort you to the dining hall. All sorts of delicacies..."
"No, no— wait!"
Dohwa was startled and ran to Dang Gyeom, who was about to turn around.
"Yeong-yeong built the Medicine Hall? Is that true?"
Unmistakable joy seeped out of her voice.
It was an unreserved attitude, unlike a Jang-i-jok who had lived for hundreds of years. Is it because they are the descendants of her friend— the founder? Dang Gyeom nodded with a dignified attitude.
"Yes. Everything of the founder is there."
"She didn't forget... She said she would use it to save people, and she even built a Medicine Hall? How admirable!"
Her voice was so lively that one couldn't believe she was the person who was crying her eyes out just a moment ago, but the way she switched her attitude so quickly didn't feel awkward.
It was a look that suited her temperament.
Dang Gyeom looked at such a Dohwa and repeated to himself.
A tree that loses its roots is bound to wither and die.
Branches that are spread out haphazardly are merely for show, nothing but empty husks.
Therefore—
'The Tang Clan must regain its roots.'
The 'martial arts' that the Dangsan Sinseon bestowed upon the ancestor.
Dang Gyeom looked at Dohwa with heavy eyes.
Dohwa was holding So-young's hand and waiting for Dang Gyeom.
So-young had been staring blankly at Dohwa as if she had lost her soul from some point on, and since Dohwa had no idea what was going on, she just decided to walk with So-young and held her hand.
Dang Gyeom hid his inexplicable guilt with the weight of the Clan Leader and moved his steps.
"This is the place."
The wide green sleeves fluttered in the breeze.
"Waa—"
Dohwa let out a bright exclamation.
Entirely snow-white pavilions filled her vision.
The Tang Clan, which used an entire mountain, was located on the mountainside, and the Medicine Hall was at the foot of the mountain.
Thus, it naturally became a downward view, and the buildings sparkled with white marble, looking like a sea covered in salt.
On the flat ground next to it, neat stones were laid out, and men with their shirts off training their muscles and women chatting while watching them could be seen.
They were all people who had something that resembled Yeong-yeong.
Mostly the hair color. Black and green hair that looked just like Yeong-yeong's.
Dohwa pointed to a part of the stone and asked.
"Gyeom-a, what are they doing over there?"
Coming to a friend's house, she didn't know why she was becoming so curious about everything. Dohwa hid her shyness with brightness and dignity, waiting for Dang Gyeom's answer.
His face darkened for a moment when he saw where Dohwa's fingertip was pointing, but he soon brightened his expression again and started speaking calmly.
"They are the martial artists of the clan."
"How truly admirable."
Dohwa said in a satisfied tone.
Dohwa had lived without being part of the Murim (martial arts world), but she had personally experienced the catastrophe called the Heavenly Demon Blood Incident.
If it hadn't been for the monsters and gods like Dalma and Sambong, and the Martial Gods who rose up in various places, Dohwa would not have been able to stand here and watch Yeong-yeong's grandchildren.
Also, when martial artists perform what is called 'circulating energy' (Wungi), the energy hidden deep inside stirs, even doing the work of boosting the world's energy.
For Dohwa, she couldn't help but cherish them.
Jjong-geut, jjong-geut—
Dohwa shook her long, blade-like ears, looking for the physicians she couldn't see at all, when suddenly Dang Gyeom knelt down.
"Gyeom-a? Why are you doing that?"
"I dare to be shameless and beg you, Supreme Patriarch, please bestow that divine (God's) immortal art upon this clan once again."
Dang Gyeom was prepared for death right now.
Not only did they lose the divine energy that was bestowed upon them, but he was asking for the lost divine energy to be bestowed again. How shameless a thing it was.
'Even so, I must do it.'
As one of the Five Great Families, there are many who live relying on the Tang surname.
The Tanggata was like that.
The Tang Clan, having lost the core of the ancestor's medical skills and martial arts that were not passed down, will collapse before long.
For now, the precariousness was not revealed thanks to the status from the time of the Heavenly Demon Blood Incident and the halo of the ancestor who was called a divine physician.
-Do you still... think the Tang Clan can look at the same sky as the Namgung? A clan that has forgotten the sky it once looked up to.-
Namgung had noticed.
The dull Peng family hasn't yet, but it was obvious it would spread soon.
A situation where every moment is urgent.
Dang Gyeom continued.
"Therefore— Supreme Patriarch, please..."
"I understand what you're saying. However, I have no expertise in martial arts. What I taught Yeong-yeong was merely miscellaneous medical arts. But, descendant of my friend."
Dohwa said, helping Dang Gyeom up.
"Do not kneel so easily. Do not hesitate to tell me something, and do not make such a guilty expression. You are not Yeong-yeong's grandchildren."
Peach blossoms spread along with her smile.
Dohwa had come down in the first place to see her friend's grandchildren and with the thought of helping if there was anything to help with. So, Dohwa was just happy that Yeong-yeong's descendants needed her.
Dohwa said.
"I can teach you as much as you want."
Dang Gyeom looked up at such a Dohwa and thought.
'Is she a Sin (Immortal)...'
It's a guess, but.
Because she is such a person, the previous generation must not have gone to Dangsan until the end.
That was when.
"......This is it."
So-young, who had been holding Dohwa's hand tightly, took a bold step forward with words that made no sense, and a faint ink-colored radiance that bloomed vaguely followed her fluttering sleeves and slid smoothly.
So-young continued intelligently.
"Thanks to you, Supreme Patriarch-nim, I realized it. I finally understand what you showed me earlier."
The core secret of the Tang Clan's martial arts—
So-young reached out her hand.