Chapter 30: Meteor Sect and Gyeonghoe Gate (1)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 30: Meteor Sect and Gyeonghoe Gate (1)
The crimson sun dipped behind the mountain ridge, and the dim light of dusk settled over the land. At the foot of a hill on Sichuan Mountain, two young men stood before a fresh burial mound.
One youth knelt on the ground, while the other stood silently behind him.
"Rest in peace, Master."
Hyeok-jin lowered his head, carefully cradling his sword.
He had never been taught the proper way to pay respects to the dead, but this was his way of fulfilling his final duty. After a long moment of silence, Hyeok-jin stood up, sword in hand. He set aside his old blade and strapped his master’s sword to his waist.
"May I ask what happened?" Hyeok-jin spoke quietly to Seok Myeong, who stood behind him. He was asking for the truth—how his master had managed to wield his martial arts at the cost of his own life.
"It was your master’s earnest wish."
"..."
"He didn't want you to stray from the path. He wanted to reclaim your heart, which had begun to wander."
Hyeok-jin’s gaze darkened once more. For a fleeting second, anger flared within him, but he knew it wasn't directed at others. In the end, the fault lay with him.
He accepted it.
"I remember meeting my master for the first time when I was about five. Back then, I just followed him blindly, believing him when he said he would help me."
"..."
"But even then, Master’s health was poor. I don't know what he truly wanted, but he put me through grueling cultivation and simply watched." His eyes grew distant and misty. "Perhaps that’s why I couldn't accept anything he said, no matter how much he explained. Because he never displayed his true strength, I doubted him. I wondered if his martial arts were actually weak."
His voice trembled with raw emotion.
"It was me. I was the problem. I wasted all those years because I couldn't trust my own master."
Seok Myeong spoke up. "What will you do now?"
"I will work hard. I will never doubt my master’s martial arts again and will follow them to the end. Not only will I take revenge on the bandits who killed my mother, but I will also carve my master’s name deep into the Jianghu."
"The bandits are already gone."
"...?"
"The Elder said he wiped them out himself."
"Is that true?" Hyeok-jin asked, his face filled with shock. It was a story his master had never told him.
"I heard it during our duel. With his skills, not just a simple band of thieves, but even the Green Forest bandits wouldn't have stood a chance."
At those words, Hyeok-jin bowed his head again. He felt a wave of self-loathing for how poorly he had treated his master all this time. Seok Myeong approached and placed a hand on Hyeok-jin’s shoulder.
"Disciple of Qingcheng."
Hyeok-jin looked up at Seok Myeong. "Please, speak."
Seok Myeong looked momentarily awkward. It felt burdensome to have Hyeok-jin looking up at him from a kneeling position.
"Please, take me with you."
"Young Hero Hyeok, please, stand up."
Despite Seok Myeong’s urging, he didn't budge.
"I heard you are going on a martial journey. Please take me with you. Though my skills are lacking, I will serve the Disciple of Qingcheng until the moment I die."
Seok Myeong waved his hands dismissively, but Hyeok-jin spoke in an even more earnest tone.
"As you know, I have no one else to call master, nor anyone I know. I intend to make my own way, of course, but wouldn't it be better to be by the side of someone who can offer guidance? So, please..."
"It’s not that."
"Yes?"
"I already gave my word."
"...?"
"I promised your master that I would take you with me on my martial journey."
Hyeok-jin’s eyes widened. "When did Master...?"
"Stand up. If you keep kneeling like this, it makes things very awkward for me."
At those words, Hyeok-jin nodded vigorously. "Then, I look forward to your guidance."
"The same goes for me. And from now on, call me Brother Seok Myeong. I’m older than I look."
"Still..."
"It’s more comfortable that way."
Hyeok-jin nodded. "Then please call me Jin from now on. And please, don't use formal speech with me. Since I am the younger one, the formality only makes me uncomfortable."
Seok Myeong hesitated for a moment before nodding. "I will do that. I mean... I'll do that."
"I will serve you well, Brother Seok Myeong."
As the two young men left the burial mound, smiles slowly began to bloom on their faces.
*
The marketplace was crowded.
In some places, acrobats performed for the masses, while in others, merchants occupied half the road to hawk their wares. Groups of children swarmed everywhere. It was a place thick with the scent of human life.
"By the way, Brother Seok Myeong."
Hyeok-jin, who was walking beside him, spoke up. He wasn't exactly the outgoing type himself, but he was still more social than Seok Myeong.
To him, Seok Myeong seemed like a man of few words—or rather, the type who didn't openly share his thoughts. Yet, once someone struck up a conversation, he became talkative enough to make his previous silence seem like a lie. It seemed his natural personality wasn't actually gruff.
"Yes, go ahead."
"You said you were a disciple of the Qingcheng Sect, right?"
"I did."
"Then, just as Shaolin has martial monks and scholar monks, are there different branches in Qingcheng as well?"
Seok Myeong looked at Hyeok-jin, his eyes asking what he meant.
"Ah, it’s nothing, I was just curious. When people talk about the disciples of Qingcheng, the rumors are quite something."
"Rumors? What do people say?"
"Well..." Hyeok-jin glanced at him before continuing. "They say that members of the Qingcheng Sect are so stubborn they never back down. They say you hate losing, and if you are defeated, you'll risk your life to keep coming back until the end. I heard that Qingcheng is a place that would rather break than bend."
"Hmm, I think I’ve heard that somewhere too."
"But, Brother Seok Myeong."
"Yeah?"
"You seem a bit different."
"In what way?"
"We haven't met many times, but for some reason, you feel very comfortable to be around. You seem almost... simple-hearted. In some ways, I wonder if you're too soft."
"Is that so?"
"Yes. Even just now. Usually, anyone would hate it if their flaws were pointed out. But you, Brother, seem to actually like hearing it. Like someone listening to a funny story about a stranger."
"Haha, was I like that?"
Hyeok-jin looked at Seok Myeong with a bewildered expression. He had braced himself for a scolding, yet Seok Myeong dismissed his words as if they were nothing. No matter how he looked at it, this man didn't seem like the "Arrogant Qingcheng" people in the Jianghu talked about.
"By the way, Brother, where are we going?"
"Huh? I was following you."
"I was following you, Brother."
"..."
"Ah..."
Both Hyeok-jin and Seok Myeong realized they had been walking without any plan.
Seok Myeong spoke in a bright voice. "Since we're already here, let's take a look around."
"..."
"Oh, there’s one right there."
"Where is...?"
Without even listening to Hyeok-jin, Seok Myeong moved toward a certain spot.
*
"Young man, buy one."
A middle-aged man was haggling, with books piled on a cloth. These people, who sold goods from a platform without a proper shop, were called peddlers. Most sold accessories or carvings, but occasionally, there were those like this man who sold books.
"Do you have the Martial World Grade Directory?"
Seok Myeong approached the man and asked, using the exact title of the book he had bought before. The middle-aged man’s eyes crinkled as he looked at Seok Myeong, and he soon flashed a toothy grin.
"Hahaha, of course. You've come to the right place." He reached into his bundle and began rummaging around. After a while, he pulled out a book.
Swish!
The moment he held the book out, Seok Myeong snatched it and said, "I'll pay after I check the contents."
"Whoa! Great Hero, what are you doing?" The man grabbed Seok Myeong’s sleeve. "You have to pay first. How can you just take it like that?"
"I'm sorry, but I was scammed a few days ago. I'll give it to you after I check."
"That’s your business, but you have to pay first."
"Look, I said I'd give it to you after I see the contents. I won't be fooled twice."
Remembering what had happened before, Seok Myeong stood his ground firmly. Having been scammed once, he had no intention of letting it happen again. Despite Seok Myeong’s behavior, the merchant didn't lose his cool.
"Fine. Since you're being so stubborn, let me give you an example." He met Seok Myeong’s eyes and said, "Imagine you went to take an imperial exam already knowing all the answers. How would the examiner feel?"
"He’d be displeased."
"Exactly. Moreover, the value of the exam would drop, and wouldn't the people who took the exam without knowing the answers look like fools?"
"Well, I suppose so."
"Then think about this situation. What about this book? If you evaluate the book after checking its contents, what happens to its value?"
"It would drop."
"Then wouldn't the people who already bought this book look like fools?"
"Hmm."
"And furthermore!" The man continued, "After you've already obtained the information you wanted, would you still feel like buying the book?"
"...Probably not."
"That’s exactly my point!" He raised his voice confidently. "That’s why I’m saying this. I guarantee the contents. So trust me and buy it."
"That makes sense. I was thinking about it all wrong." Seok Myeong blinked. Hearing it laid out like that, the man’s words seemed correct. If he wanted to read this book, he had no choice but to trust him and buy it.
Seok Myeong reached into his robe. "How much is it?"
It was then that Hyeok-jin, who had been watching from a distance, ran over, his eyes darting between them.
"Brother Seok Myeong, what are you doing?"
"Jin, I’m trying to buy this book. He says he guarantees the contents, so I thought it was worth buying."
Hyeok-jin frowned. The book Seok Myeong was holding had Martial World Grade Directory written on it. Although the shape and material were different from the one Seok Myeong had brought before, the title was the same.
Hyeok-jin shook his head. The items in a marketplace were all more or less the same. To get proper information, one had to go to large intelligence organizations like the Electric Beam Hall or the Lower Station Hall. You couldn't get reliable information in a place like this.
"Brother Seok Myeong, let's step aside for a moment."
"Huh? Why?"
Hyeok-jin took the questioning Seok Myeong to a corner and explained the situation.
"Brother, things like that aren't important."
"Why? We need information right now."
"I don't know everything about the Jianghu, but I know this much: you don't buy books like that."
"Aha, now that I think about it, you're a martial artist too."
Seok Myeong looked at him in surprise, but Hyeok-jin was already shaking his head. This man had everything—a prestigious lineage from the Qingcheng Sect, incredible martial prowess, and a gentle personality—but he was woefully lacking in common sense.
Hyeok-jin let out a frustrated sigh. "Asking around is a far more reliable way to gather information than buying a book off the street."
"Is that so?"
"Yes." Hyeok-jin turned his head. He saw a fairly large inn ahead. "So, how about we go somewhere a bit quieter first?"
"Shall we?"
After many twists and turns, Seok Myeong and Hyeok-jin finally made their way to a nearby inn.