Chapter 2
Chapter 2
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Translator: Ebonarch
Chapter: 2
Chapter Title: Yellow Gate Mountain
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Having cleanly dispatched a single pigeon, the Eastern Blue Falcon took to the skies once more.
The hawk that had crossed mountains and rivers alighted on a tree branch, folding its weary wings.
After catching a snake to sate its belly, the hawk soared into the sky again.
Having crossed mountains and rivers, another tall, blue peak appeared before it.
The hawk flew over the high mountain and plummeted vertically toward the valley below.
Whiiiish...
Diving straight down at hunting speed, the hawk suddenly flapped its wings, rapidly slowing its descent.
"You're back?"
A young man standing by the riverbank raised his arm.
Flutter...
At that moment, the Eastern Blue Falcon lightly landed on the young man's arm.
Screech... Screech...
Reunited with its master after so long, the Eastern Blue Falcon cried out noisily.
Se Yeong checked the hawk's ankle and extended his arm toward the river.
Whoooosh...
The very instant he stretched out his hand, the river water swirled into a vortex.
And from its center, a large fish leaped out.
The young man tossed the caught fish into the air.
Flutter...
The Eastern Blue Falcon snatched the fish with its sharp talons and flew up to a high tree branch.
Se Yeong watched the hawk tear into the fish for a moment before turning away.
Hahaha...
"Looks like you lot are finally giving me the excuse I need to step into the martial world."
A clear laugh flowed from Se Yeong's lips as he took a step forward.
In the vast rice paddies, transplanting was in full swing.
The young man who had been diligently planting seedlings straightened his back and let out a long breath.
Huuu...
Rice transplanting was grueling work, but his face was filled with a smile.
He turned his gaze to Se Yeong, who was approaching from the riverbank.
"Coming from the river?"
"Blue Fox has returned."
Blue Fox was the Eastern Blue Falcon's name.
The reason for naming the hawk "Blue Fox" was its cunning nature, at odds with its fierce appearance.
"Did you get a reply?"
"Reply? Not even a messenger tube."
Tsk tsk...
"Those bastards must be suicidal. Good luck."
"Take care, Uncle."
Before Se Yeong could take a few more steps, his uncle's voice rang out again.
"Se Yeong. I'm getting married soon."
Se Yeong finally understood why his uncle had been wandering around grinning like a fool lately.
His uncle was twenty-seven now, not much older than Se Yeong, so they got along like brothers.
"Congratulations. Whoever becomes your wife is in for some heartache."
Se Yeong resumed walking, passing the paddy path toward the village.
The village with its tiled roofs had flowers blooming in every alley, like a painting come to life.
They said that until thirty years ago, there weren't many paddies, and no tiled roofs either.
After Grandfather returned from the martial world, the village began to change, and many things improved.
Haa...
"Beautiful."
Se Yeong paused for a moment, taking in the panoramic view of the village bursting with flowers and greenery.
He didn't have much experience in the martial world, but no place was more prosperous or beautiful than this.
'To protect this place, the only way is for me to go out into the martial world and establish our family.'
The largest and grandest manor in the village was Se Yeong's home.
Thwack! Thwack...!
Se Yeong entered the house amid the sound of firewood being split.
In one corner of the courtyard, Grandfather—with his bronze-skinned, thick forearms bared—was chopping logs with a small axe.
The sturdy logs split effortlessly at the touch of the small axe blade.
Thwack! Thwack!
"Did the reply come?"
Grandfather already seemed to know that Blue Fox had returned.
"Not even a messenger tube, Grandfather."
At Se Yeong's response, Grandfather set down the small hand axe and stood up.
His massive, imposing frame came into view.
Beneath his streaked gray hair was a youthful face, with a thick neck, broad shoulders, and limbs packed with muscle.
"Those scum are going too far! Looks like I'll have to visit the Murim Alliance myself!"
When the Infinite Sword Immortal was alive, they had come every year with silver taels.
But after his death, not only did they refuse to return the Heavenly Demon Sword, they stopped sending even silver.
"This is all because of you, old man."
As Grandfather fumed, Grandmother approached, scolding him.
She too had streaked gray hair like Grandfather, but her face retained the beauty of her youth.
"How is this my fault? It was because you wanted a new house."
Grandfather shot back without yielding, and Grandmother's eyes flashed with fury.
"So you lent them that sword for twenty years? You know full well what kind of sword it is!"
Grandmother's outburst was so fierce that Grandfather looked away toward the distant sky, pretending not to hear.
'Damn it. She was thrilled when we built the big new house, and now she's complaining.'
At that moment, a refined, scholarly middle-aged man approached.
Hahaha...
"As I said before, Father, this isn't your fault."
The refined middle-aged man was Se Yeong's father.
"You planning to spout nonsense again?"
"No, Mother. The Infinite Sword Immortal needed the Demon Lord's Sword to boost morale in the martial world. And the children raised under such a sword immortal have become absolute powerhouses, haven't they?"
Father wasn't just a refined scholar in appearance.
His gentle nature and broad magnanimity had earned him the title of gentleman in the village.
But his words fell on deaf ears.
"So that's why they haven't returned the sword even after the ten-year deadline?"
"I'll go to the martial world this time and meet the Alliance Leader."
"And how do you plan to get it back?"
"If I reason with them by righteousness and principle, they'll surely return it, Mother."
Grandmother shook her head in disbelief at Father's words.
Ehwoo...
"Pathetic fool. Even lifelong scholars would despair of you."
Father was always like this.
He'd placate even the most heinous killer with kind words and sought to resolve everything through dialogue.
Grandfather, displeased with this, had often raised his voice in rebuke.
"If those bastards understood righteousness and principle, would things have come to this? How can you expect it from scum who don't even send a reply!"
Rumble...!
As Grandfather bellowed, the space vibrated, and a roof tile clattered down.
Crash!
At the sound of the tile shattering, Grandmother also raised her voice.
"Old man! You planning to demolish the whole house? If you're going to destroy it, just set it on fire and burn it clean!"
With Grandmother erupting in rage, the furious Grandfather realized his mistake and lowered his voice.
"My bad, my bad."
Having calmed Grandfather's anger, Grandmother glared at Father with displeasure.
"With your wife five months pregnant, where do you think you're going?"
Mother was five months along.
Being a late pregnancy, Grandfather and Grandmother fussed over every detail.
"I'm sorry, Mother."
Father belatedly admitted his fault, softening Grandmother's stern expression.
Se Yeong, who had been waiting for an opening, carefully spoke up.
"This time, I'll go."
Grandfather, Grandmother, and Father's kind face all turned to Se Yeong at once.
"This old man can handle it quickly. No need for you to go."
"Exactly, Father. This boy's temperament is fierce and unyielding—he'd cause a huge uproar in the martial world. We absolutely can't let him go."
Grandfather and Father's reasons differed, but their goal was the same.
Yet Se Yeong's resolve was firm.
"I'll go. If Grandfather and Father won't allow it, I'll sneak away anyway."
Well...
Grandfather and Father were stunned.
Se Yeong had never been this stubborn before.
"What's your reason?"
"I want to establish our family in the martial world."
Grandfather looked deeply troubled, while Father was visibly angry.
"This grandma can't help you with this one, dear. Oh, my poor grandchild."
Grandmother, who had been listening quietly, stroked Se Yeong's cheek with a pitying face.
The Demon Lord's Sword was the symbol of the Demonic Cult Leader.
But even possessing it wouldn't make a Han family member the Cult Leader.
They had slain countless demons during the Demonic Cult's great war, making them eternal enemies.
'If the vice leader hadn't killed your father back then, you would've become the leader...'
As Grandmother left with sad eyes, Father immediately raised his voice.
"You dare defy the sacred legacy of our sect?"
"Enough."
Grandfather raised a hand to stop Father's rage.
Then he stared straight into Se Yeong's eyes.
"You dislike this place?"
Se Yeong shook his head.
"No, Grandfather."
How could he dislike the place where he was born and raised?
No, he loved it more than anyone and hated to leave it.
"Then why try to establish the family in the martial world?"
"So this place can endure even a hundred years from now."
When sons became fathers and fathers grandfathers, what would the blood kin eat and live on?
With few members now, they lived comfortably, but in a hundred years with more people, food shortages would be a worry.
Grandfather, thinking the same, nodded.
But Father's view differed.
"When that time comes, family members can go out, do business or work, and send back food and silver, no?"
"Our family's strength is martial arts—why tell us to become merchants?"
"Are you looking down on merchants?"
Se Yeong felt frustrated inside.
He wasn't belittling merchants.
He just felt stifled by Grandfather and Father, bound by sect legacy and unable to step into the martial world openly.
Se Yeong began to voice what he'd kept in his heart.
"It was four years ago, when I briefly ventured into the martial world."
Grandfather and Father listened quietly.
They had permitted Se Yeong's trips to gain experience for potential upheavals.
He'd gone out four or five times, staying ten days to three or four months each.
"I was tracking a group kidnapping women for human trafficking. I found their lair, and guess who was there?"
Grandfather seemed to suspect something and stayed silent.
"Unorthodox masters?"
Se Yeong shook his head at Father's guess.
"No. Retainers from the Moyong Family."
Father was shocked by the answer.
"You saying the Moyong Family was in league with them? What did you do?"
"Slaughtered them all and burned the lair."
As expected, Father flew into a rage.
"You fool...! How could you kill so recklessly! The Moyong Family is renowned—if you'd guided them with goodwill, they'd have repented and become upright warriors!"
This time, Se Yeong didn't hold back.
"Then what about the women whose lives they ruined and ended? Why must our family shed blood to protect scum like that?"
His voice was nearly a howl.
Father couldn't respond easily.
Then Grandfather, who had listened quietly, spoke.
"You want to forge a new martial world with your own power. But you know it's impossible, don't you? How do you break free of the sect's chains?"
The sect's chains.
That was the crux.
Without breaking them, the Han Family could never escape the shadows.
"I'll break those chains and establish the Han Family in the martial world."
At Se Yeong's firm resolve, Grandfather let out a long sigh.
Huuu...
"Discuss it with your father first. Withdraw for now."
Han Gwang Ri took a small bronze mirror and rice bowl from the shelf, placing them on the table.
The back of the mirror and the rim of the bowl were densely inscribed with incantations.
They were two of the sect's three treasures.
Seated, he faced his son with eyes full of regret.
"To break the sect's chains, even Se Yeong has to step forward now."