Do You See It? (3)
It was an incident from when Namgung Hancheol was young.
“See it?”
“Yes, I see it.”
“What do you see?”
Even when the Demonic Cult overflowed and the entire martial world trembled in terror, only the Namgung Clan remained utterly serene, as if it had nothing to do with them.
The reason was the man standing right before his eyes.
“I’m not sure.”
At Namgung Hancheol’s reply, he crossed his arms with a displeased expression and began pacing wildly in place.
A moment later, he stopped and asked, “Not sure? What do you mean by that?”
Namgung Hancheol answered softly. “Because it’s a being I’ve never seen before.”
“Never seen before... Yeah, that makes sense. I was the same at first.”
He—Namgung Bigwang—raised the corner of his mouth slightly at Namgung Hancheol’s words.
Unlike moments ago, Father let out a pleased laugh.
The still-young Namgung Hancheol felt a twinge of unease.
Whenever Namgung Bigwang wore that expression, something grueling always followed.
And for Namgung Hancheol, this was the most bewildering moment of his life so far.
As mentioned before.
It was a sight he’d never beheld since birth.
Everything he’d taken for granted up to now ceased to be so from this day onward.
Was what he saw real?
Clearly, the figure before him was his father.
Yet he looked different.
The entity in human form gazed at him and spoke.
“Congratulations, my son.”
The voice emanating from that form was unmistakably Father’s—no doubt about it.
The sound of breathing.
The habitual little quirks.
The manner of speech.
It was all precisely the father he knew.
“On possessing true eyes.”
Namgung Hancheol couldn’t fully grasp his father’s words yet, but he dimly intuited their meaning.
Because it was unfolding so vividly right before him.
His entire body was covered in golden scales.
If his eyes weren’t deceiving him, the being before him was—astonishingly—a dragon from legend.
The king among dragons, no less: the imperial dragon.
“Father, are you a dragon?”
For the first time in his life, Namgung Hancheol posed a question whose answer eluded him.
“Then... am I a dragon too?”
Namgung Bigwang burst into chuckles.
Namgung Hancheol found it natural.
He was the one who’d asked, but even he felt flabbergasted enough to laugh.
“Ah! So that’s why you weren’t sure.”
Father stroked his head just like this.
“I am human. Thus, so are you.”
In that instant, ripples stirred in Namgung Hancheol’s eyes.
A gaze of utter disbelief directed at Namgung Bigwang.
“You’ll come to know when you’ve grown a bit more.”
And exactly five years later, Namgung Hancheol understood.
One day, Namgung Bigwang vanished without warning.
It happened precisely one year after the war with the Demonic Cult had fully concluded.
The Central Plains martial world flipped upside down.
Everyone recalled the fear of the Demonic Cult they’d momentarily forgotten.
But Namgung Hancheol alone carried on calmly, as if it were any other day.
For he had a rough inkling of where his father had gone.
—Son, do you know what my dream is?
—No clue.
—When young, I dreamed of farming in some peaceful backwater.
—Then just do it. If Father sets his mind to it, what can’t you achieve?
—Worldly affairs don’t flow as one wills.
—I don’t follow what you mean, Father.
—Haha! Time will reveal it to you. Still, fulfilling my dream in my twilight years leaves no regrets.
—……Off to farm, then?
—Indeed.
The very next day, tales swirled through the markets: a dragon had ascended to the heavens.
And that day, at the tender age of thirty, Namgung Hancheol became head of the Namgung Clan—the clan hailed as the world’s foremost.
* * *
A dozen-odd years later, Namgung Hancheol had become the questioner, with a boy standing before him who mirrored his own childhood self.
“See it?”
His eldest son, Namgung Dae, stared at him with eyes popped wide.
Father must have felt this way.
A laugh threatened to slip out, uncharacteristic of him.
Back then, Father had smiled right in front of him, as if to say behold.
Namgung Hancheol, by contrast, held a stern visage.
Perhaps because the boy was his firstborn—he’d always been a touch stricter with the eldest—suddenly smiling felt awkward.
He could see the first son’s eyes darting about, scrutinizing him everywhere.
Of course it was wondrous.
For he’d behold something utterly unlike anything seen before.
At last, the first son spoke.
“Amazing……”
A tone confirming he’d seen something, indeed.
Curiosity stirred.
What had the first son glimpsed to elicit that?
Back then, he himself had seen a dragon.
The reason? What sprang to mind upon beholding Namgung Bigwang was a dragon.
A creature of fantasy, apex of all life.
Perhaps his young mind knew no being mightier than a dragon.
Father was the ultimate creature, after all.
“I see a single sword.”
A sword...
An intriguing response.
“What does it feel like?”
“Just facing it feels like my whole body’s being rent apart. Frankly, even speaking like this drains considerable inner power. This must be how I perceive you, Father.”
A finer answer than his own boyhood self.
“Staring it down like this, I know I’ll be sliced—yet I can’t tear my eyes away. I know I should flee, but my feet won’t budge. Surely, Father, you’re showing me the path forward.”
But not the right answer.
“And that path is the sword before your eyes now?”
“Yes.”
The first son had adored swords since childhood.
Is that how it was? To him, I appeared as a sword.
“Understood. Be off.”
The first son departed the family head’s quarters with resolve etched on his face.
Then Namgung Hancheol called him back.
“Ah, I forgot one thing.”
The first son turned, puzzlement in his eyes.
An expression of utter incomprehension.
Naturally so.
This was a first for both him and Namgung Hancheol.
Strictly speaking, Namgung Hancheol’s second time.
But the roles had reversed.
From recipient...
...to bestower of congratulations.
“Congratulations. On beholding the true world.”
At those words, the first son startled.
For it was the first praise he’d ever heard since birth.
“……Yes.”
He mumbled awkwardly and fled the family head’s quarters.
That marked the second reminiscence.
And now, the youngest stood before him.
“Father.”
“Yes. Speak.”
“I already did?”
“……”
Namgung Hancheol asked once more.
“What do you see?”
Father was acting odd today.
I enunciated each syllable firmly.
“Fa. Ther. I see Father.”
“Heh heh.”
This was a fresh experience.
First time this man laughed four times in a single day.
Earlier, he’d posed a question to himself and chuckled.
Definitely menopause.
Anyway, as expected of Father.
Some sorcery at work?
Wish he’d teach me.
Perfect for striking a mood.
To my eyes, Father appeared hazy.
Like clouds veiling both fields of vision.
For Namgung Hancheol as well, the moment intrigued.
Oddly, this youngest had captivated his interest since infancy.
A wholly unanticipated reply.
Chicks or ducklings imprint on the first being they see, following it as mother.
That’s imprinting.
Namgung Hancheol’s first sight: a colossal imperial dragon.
First son’s: the world’s keenest sword.
And in that instant, mind and soul were wholly ensnared.
A lifelong oath etched into the spirit.
I want to resemble that.
Become that.
p>
Surpass it.
An instinct innate to life.
The more resplendent the object, the deeper the viewer’s enchantment.
If “irresistible temptation” exists, this is it.
Press onward, ever onward.
Once seen, no escape.
Simple: nothing else suffices.
Can one who’s seen a dragon thrill at a tiger?
Lucky if the tiger doesn’t register as a housecat.
Once, Namgung Hancheol had resented such a father.
Uneraseable from the mind—like a curse.
An eternal illusion.
No doubt the first son still swung his blade to shatter it.
Naturally, Namgung Hancheol had felled that dragon and dispelled the phantasm.
“You see me? How so?”
Even he, who’d endured this rite, struggled to parse the youngest’s words.
“It’s Father, so naturally, I see Father.”
“Nothing more?”
“If you want my frank take, this scares me half to death. Legs are still shaking.”
Namgung Hancheol scrutinized his youngest intently.
There it was, plain as day: legs quivering ever so slightly.
Eyes, too. Body, as well.
Ah.
Namgung Hancheol comprehended.
To him, a dragon; to the first, a sword—what to the youngest?
Me.
This Namgung Hancheol was what the boy feared.
“Do you wish to surpass me?”
“No.”
“……”
Namgung Hancheol cocked his head.
Sincere, through and through.
I eyed such a Father askance.
Was he always this way?
Today, Father was unusually loquacious—expressions myriad, gaze shifting.
Had I known this was his norm, I might’ve humored him some.
But still terrifying, so I’ll pass.
That aside, up close like this, Father’s greatness hit home.
With second brother, I’d glimpsed his limit clearly.
Father? Nothing.
Moments ago, faintly cloud-shrouded; now, clouds absolute.
To Father’s query, I admitted fear.
Undeniable truth.
Facing him felt like standing bare beneath the firmament.
Could I ever slip this sky’s grasp?
Head already throbbed.
My Namgung Clan escape scheme was unraveling.
Shouldn’t have come.
Unsighted, ignorance bliss; now, Father—and this clan—dawned terrifyingly immense.
I needlessly caressed my precious gut.
“What do you wish to become?”
Then Father—who’d fallen silent post my prior reply—spoke.
My answer...
Well...
Truth or lie?
After deliberation, I replied.
“I just wanna farm somewhere peaceful.”
Direct assault it was.
He’d see through fibs regardless, and solo audiences with Father were rare gems.
Yes. Opportunity.
“Martial arts? Good to learn, sure. But only if you like ’em. Hit Manhak Seogo lately—those endless manuals? Head pounded like mad. Haha! Brain went blank.”
Father listened mutely.
“And third young master? First brother’s the man for it. Me? Not even on my radar. Oh, right!”
Prime omen, this.
“Got a new interest lately. Merchant groups sound fun. Start now? Say the word—I’ll give it my all! You bet!”
“Keke.”
Eerie chuckle.
I flinched.
His laughs always unsettle.
Haha, hehe, hoho—why not?
“One once said the same.”
“Oh!”
Wild shot, honestly.
Braced for instant boot.
Yet he heard me out. Even humored it.
Golden life, belly unscathed, beckoned!
“Tiny rural merchant outfit? Not half bad. Could launch tomorrow...”
“Not curious?”
Father interjected abruptly.
“What became of him?”
“Super curious!”
Local tycoon, maybe. Five Great Merchant Lord. World’s top dog.
“His dream came true.”
O!!!
“Namgung blood?”
“Aye.”
“Direct line?”
“Naturally.”
“The dream direct lineage!!!”
Had to confirm.
Context dicey, but vital to me.
“Belly intact?”
“Never a scratch his whole life.”
O!! Dream realized.
“Where’s he at? I’ll visit pronto.”
“Keke.”
That laugh anew.
Were Namgung Je-cheon here, headbutt city by now.
Miss ya, Je-cheon.
His noggin, specifically.
“Right there.”
Father tilted skyward, pointed up.
“Roof? He’s here!”
Straight shooter, as expected.
Bold enough for family head’s roof!
Direct line—senior to Father!
“Nay, higher still.”
“Pardon?”
Roof’s crown was sky...
“Ears keen. Now depart.”
“Abruptly?”
“Aye.”
His resolve brooked no argument; I exited.
* * *
—Why not depart now?
—Who’d dare touch the world’s foremost?
—Not so simple.
—Why?
—Care to peer out?
Namgung Bigwang flung wide the family head’s quarters window at his young son’s query.
Namgung Hancheol flung wide the family head’s quarters window.
Far off, a figure raced hither.
Namgung Hancheol grinned.
“Some lives twist so profoundly that mere stillness deludes one the world orbits them.”
In the past, Namgung Bigwang had been such.
Namgung Hancheol gazed heavenward.
“You farming peacefully up there? Spotted a dreamer like you today—my own youngest, no less. Makes him your grandson. Hiding his guts, maybe, but cheer the lad on. Though it’ll likely come to naught.”
How arduous “peacefully” truly rang.
Best learned through living it.
The oncoming figure crossed paths with the youngest emerging from the quarters.
Namgung Hancheol declared,
“Congratulations, youngest. On glimpsing my world.”