Chapter 38
Chapter 38
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 38
Chapter Title: Morning Lessons and the Piggyback Journey
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Baek Yang-hui joined the morning training session with the Baek siblings for the first time in ages.
"Alright, my little siblings. Let's see how much you've improved."
It had been about a month since they'd searched for Yin-hu on Gokyeol Mountain and passed through the Jeong-eum Five Passes.
They must have grown by leaps and bounds if they'd trained diligently during that time.
"At our age, every moment feels like three autumns passing. You trained hard, right?"
"Brother Hui! What's that 'one moment like three autumns' mean?"
"It means exactly what it says—a single moment feels like three autumns, or three years. It's when even a short time drags on forever."
"Aha!"
After checking their progress over the past month, Yang-hui nodded in approval.
Even little Yeon-yeon had clearly put in the work.
"You both did great. Here, your rewards."
The best way to motivate good behavior in kids was praise.
And for children raised in such poverty, pairing that praise with something tangible made it even better.
"Whoa! Brother, what's this?"
"What else? A pretty jade hairpin, just like it looks."
Yang-hui handed Baek Yeon-yeon a jade hairpin for her hair.
"I've never gotten anything this pretty before!"
Watching Yeon-yeon bounce with joy made the detour to the shop on his weary way back totally worth it.
"Heon-so, yours is next."
For Baek Heon-so, he'd prepared a silk tassel that attached to a sword hilt.
Yang-hui personally tied it to the end of Heon-so's wooden practice sword.
"Now training will feel even more fun, right? Like it?"
"Brother! Thank you!"
Heon-so, beaming with excitement, jumped up and clasped his hands in a formal bow.
The kid must've picked it up somewhere.
"Train even harder. You're the pillar of our Baek Clan, after all."
"The pillar... Yes, sir!"
Heon-so's excitement faded into a sudden pout.
"What's wrong all of a sudden?"
"It's just... I heard you're leaving again, brother."
"Ah."
Kids bonded fast.
It had only been a few months since they met, but Heon-so already saw Yang-hui as a true big brother.
"You rascal. I'll be back quick this time. Probably."
"Even so... you seem really amazing, brother."
"Suddenly? What do you mean?"
"Father letting you go off on your own, and... you taking on a master this time."
Heon-so's eyes swirled with mixed emotions.
Yang-hui read them all at a glance.
Admiration and respect. And... inferiority and jealousy.
The brighter feelings dominated, but for a young boy like Heon-so, harboring such opposites must have been confusing.
And with that same brother—the source of those feelings—leaving again, it added loneliness and regret to the mix.
'Moments like this show he's got a softer heart than Yeon-yeon.'
But that softness meant he could be molded into the right shape.
And with proper guidance, he'd harden into solid ground.
So unlike his previous life, Heon-so wouldn't go astray.
He'd become an outstanding warrior and the Baek Clan head.
Yang-hui was confident he could raise him right as a big brother.
"Heon-so."
Yang-hui chuckled and ruffled Heon-so's hair, pressing down firmly.
Creating a perfect rooster tail on the seven-year-old's head.
Watching those bright eyes sparkle under it was just too cute.
"Heon-so, watch your big brother's footwork closely from now on."
Yang-hui stepped back five or six paces so Heon-so could see every move, then took one step forward.
Phantom Heaven Step. The movement technique he'd devised watching Yin-hu's divine skill unfolded.
"See it?"
"Yes, brother."
"Nah, you didn't. Watch again."
One more step. Heon-so held his breath, focusing every nerve on Yang-hui's motion.
Something like a thread flickered into view.
"Got it?"
"Yeah, I think so."
"Still not enough. Once more."
He repeated the Phantom Heaven Step form. With each step, the light in Heon-so's eyes grew sharper.
"There, see it all now?"
"……."
Instead of words, Heon-so answered by taking a step himself.
Yang-hui smiled in satisfaction at the subtle knack in the boy's movement.
"Not perfect, but good enough. Now I'll give you the mnemonic—memorize it."
Mastering the mnemonic took less time than learning the form.
Since the core circulation was based on Harmonious Heaven Principle Origin Art, it aligned with the Principle Harmony Six Unions Art that Heon-so practiced.
"The step is called Phantom Heaven Step. It's one step molded to hold a thousand. A technique taught directly by Master Yin-hu."
Yang-hui pressed down on Heon-so's hair one more time.
The negativity had all but vanished from the boy's eyes.
"Baek Clan's heir, Baek Heon-so. With Father in secluded training again, you're our family's pillar now. You can hold things together while your big brother's away, right?"
"Yes, brother!"
"Keep at it diligently, and I'll teach you something even better when I get back. Promise me—you'll get up early every day and train with Yeon-yeon, no slacking."
"I promise, brother!"
"Me too, brother!"
Yang-hui looked at his two siblings side by side and smiled warmly once more.
'Please grow up straight and true, just like this.'
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ "……."
"……."
This feeling. This sensation. So familiar, yet it's been so long.
Gu-ak couldn't hold back and bellowed.
"Little brother!!"
"What is it, Brother Gu?!"
"Is this right? Huh? Is this how it should be?"
"What's got you upset?"
"You asking because you don't know?!"
Gu-ak flung off the load on his back.
More precisely, he tossed Yang-hui—who'd been riding atop it—with the load.
"Whoa!"
Gu-ak watched Yang-hui flip through the air and land gracefully, then unleashed a torrent of words rivaling a storm.
"Even if you swore to use this Gu-ak as your mount like a clan's young master, we're sworn brothers, aren't we?! Treating me like a pack mule for the whole trip?! How could you do this to your big brother?!"
Yang-hui's eyes widened in realization as he smacked his fist into his palm.
"Ah! Then I'll carry the load myself."
"......And have me carry you with the load on your back?"
"Yep."
"Gahhh!"
Qi deviation. This had to be the sign of qi deviation.
His head wouldn't burn like this otherwise.
"That changes nothing!"
Yang-hui raised a hand with a smirk and tapped Gu-ak's forearm.
"But this little brother can't walk, you see? Have some mercy, brother."
"That! Is! Why!"
Gu-ak pounded his chest and continued.
"Training your footwork so hard you can't walk on a long trip is no different from just using me as a mule, you punk!"
'Oh, he's holding back on the rude words since joining the family now.'
He would've called him a brat back in the day instead of "punk."
Adapting well. A proud change.
"Brother Gu, think about it."
Yang-hui lowered his voice, and Gu-ak's rage paused.
"What?"
"Brother Gu, don't you miss Sister Rang-rang?"
"......I do, a little."
Gu-ak had regretted volunteering as escort after falling for a certain deputy's scheme, realizing it'd keep him from Jeong In for so long.
"On foot, we inevitably match the slower pace. But if this little brother trains his footwork hard? We might not speed up now, but we'll get back faster, right?"
"……."
"Brother Gu, you want to see Sister Rang-rang soon, don't you? Help me out a bit, then. I'll train hard for you too."
It sounded tempting... no, he'd regretted falling for this punk's silver tongue too many times.
Gu-ak voiced a sudden doubt.
"Why not just take a carriage?"
"Costs money. We can rest when training tires us out—perfect. Why bother otherwise?"
"That! Is! Why! I'm saying why rest on my back, you punk!"
'Won't talk him down. Guess I need to dangle some bait.'
Before Gu-ak could unleash a real strike, Yang-hui spoke up fast.
"Aren't you on awkward terms with your father-in-law?"
Gu-ak froze. Yang-hui continued more leisurely.
"As you know, this little brother was the one who brought Senior Yeo Un-hyeok."
One of Gu-ak's biggest recent worries was Yeo Un-hyeok, the new family member in Yeo Ah-rang's life—his Jeong In.
Gu-ak had lived looking down on everyone but his father, never even caring to impress the old man.
So he agonized over how to relate to his father-in-law, a superior.
'If I bite here, I'll just get played by this punk's tongue again.'
Even so, Gu-ak asked.
"Got a way?"
"Heh heh heh."
Yang-hui slung the load back on and hopped onto Gu-ak's back.
Gu-ak felt a surge of resistance but couldn't shake him off.
"Long road ahead—let's talk while we walk."
"......Fine. Oh, right. Little brother, I don't think you've told me our destination yet."
"Oops, forgot. The destination—most important for any journey."
Yang-hui paused in thought. More precisely, recalling Chui-dal's past from his previous life.
"We're heading to Gu-gang, northwest of Namcheong in Gwangseo Province."
"What's there?"
"Nameless Assassins' Valley."
"......Sounds more like a slaughterhouse than a sect name."
"Can't help it. It's an assassin sect."
An assassin sect—plainly, a group that trained killers and took assassination commissions.
"Why go there?"
"Got a promising talent scouted."
"......You're not thinking of kidnapping some trainee assassin to Baek Manor, are you?"
"Spot on! As expected, sharp as ever!"
"You plan that, but only bring one escort? You're insane, little brother."
"Brother Gu's enough. You're gunning for top dog in Ak-an County, aren't you?!"
Yang-hui teased him constantly, but Gu-ak was one of Ak-an's two peak first-rate experts.
Crimson Gang and Blue Serpent Gang's first-rates were dead or crippled, and Protection Assembly had none.
So Advance Teaching Gang's leader and Gu-ak competed for the top spot.
In other words, Gu-ak was at least second in Ak-an.
......Though taking on an assassin sect with one first-rate was laughable.
"Don't worry, Brother Gu. No plans to storm Nameless Assassins' Valley. We just kidnap... er, rescue one kid they're raising outside."
"Kidnap? You said kidnap! A Baek Clan member plotting abduction?!"
"Whoops, misspoke—it's a rescue. The kid's life is in real danger if we don't act soon anyway."
In his previous life, Yang-hui and Chui-dal bonded over shared Gwangseo roots, becoming close enough to swear brotherhood.
They clicked so well.
From stories Chui-dal shared over the years, soon he'd face a life-or-death crisis.
"Final goal: save a kid kidnapped into the assassin sect, emotions beaten out, trained as a killer. So this journey's a righteous hero's quest!"
Yang-hui thrust an arm up from Gu-ak's back.
"Brother Gu, you're finally a hero too! Onward!"
"……."
Gu-ak just shut his mouth. Every time he got tangled in this kid's three-inch tongue, he lost out.
Sometimes silence was the best counter.
Yang-hui poked and prodded across the line until Gu-ak ignored him, then gave up on his own.
'Boring trip with no fun.'
Made him miss Chui-dal all the more.
In his past life, long trips with Chui-dal meant endless joke battles.
They meshed perfectly at everything. Chui-dal was like Yang-hui's shadow.
'Fine, since it's quiet, time to refine the plan.'
Right now, Chui-dal was with Nameless Assassins' Valley, being trained as a killer.
And soon—tomorrow at earliest, a month at latest—he'd be forced into his first murder.
'That guy had nightmares for ages after his first.'
Chui-dal, Chui-dal, this big brother will spare you those nightmares this life.
As Yang-hui schemed atop Gu-ak's back to extract Chui-dal, people grew thicker.
Passing a few mountain villages, a city appeared.
They'd arrived at Gu-gang.
"Guests! Cheap and tasty food at our inn. Follow me!"
"Heaven's best fragrant meat skewers! Try them at Yanghaeru!"
Street vendor boys hawked, grabbing passersby.
Yang-hui grinned at one boy with unusually stiff speech and emotionless face.
'Found him.'
Looked like they'd made it to the right place on time.