Chapter 65. An Early Return
Just as I was beginning to grasp the essence of Ghost Shadow Step, the people sent by the Tang Clan to escort us back arrived.
"Has the leader of the Dark Soul Unit come in person?"
"Well, we've met once before, haven't we? The Clan Lord thought it would be better to send someone familiar, so he sent me."
I had previously traveled with Tang Cheolyeong, the Dark Soul Unit leader, on our way to Guangdong Province.
Though we hadn't spoken much, I knew him to be a highly skilled and loyal member of the Tang Clan.
As I nodded in acknowledgment, Tang Cheolyeong let out a hearty laugh and turned to Tang Sowol, who was fidgeting behind me.
"My lady, I hope you aren't displeased that I arrived too late. I came as soon as I received word, so I ask for your understanding."
"A-Ah! No! I wasn't upset with you at all, Dark Soul Unit Leader! It's just that, um… I suddenly remembered what I said before we left, and it made me a little embarrassed…"
Tang Sowol trailed off, slipping further behind me.
Curious, I tilted my head.
At that moment, Tang Cheolyeong widened his eyes and exclaimed,
"Ah! You mean what you said before departing from the Tang Clan? Yes, I can see why that would be embarrassing. But in this case, it was inevitable. There's no need to dwell on it too much."
"…What exactly are you talking about? I feel a little left out, being the only one unaware."
"Haha! It's nothing much. As you know, Young Master, I've been assisting the young lady with her hidden weapon techniques lately."
"Yes, that's right."
"At that time, she told me—and likely many others—that not only had she made significant progress in her poison arts, but she had also far surpassed her previous level in hidden weapon techniques. She was so confident that she declared she wouldn't return before completing at least a full month of training outside the clan."
"…How long have we been away from the Tang Clan?"
"About twenty days. If we depart from Zhongnan Mountain today and travel diligently, we should reach the Tang Clan in four days."
"So, she's still short of a full month. She was so certain when she said it—I doubt she ever expected it would turn out like this."
I smirked and turned around.
There, I saw Tang Sowol peeking out from behind the Blood Venom Unit leader, using him as a shield.
"…Why are you hiding?"
"I've known Young Master Cheon for quite some time now. I can tell what you're thinking. You were planning to tease me, weren't you?"
"Tease you? That's a misunderstanding. I was simply curious about something."
"And what might that be?"
"Well, if we stay here for about another seven days, you'll complete a full month. Were you considering delaying our departure until then?"
"If only Dark Soul Unit Leader here kept his mouth shut, no one would know the difference. What do you think? Interested?"
"Eek! No! Absolutely not! Even if I forced it to be a full month, nothing would change! In the end, I'd still be the fool who set out on a grand second journey into Murim, only to return after failing to even explore half of Shaanxi Province!"
For someone like me—an aimless wanderer of the unorthodox world in my past life—traveling through Murim was nothing extraordinary.
But for young martial artists raised in prestigious orthodox sects, journeys into Murim often held a certain allure.
Especially for the young elites, the post-qi blossoming stage disciples, who often saw their experiences during such journeys as accomplishments worth boasting about.
Clearing out bandits who oppressed commoners, defeating ruthless warriors from unorthodox sects, dueling and triumphing over famous martial artists—To them, these were grand tales.
For someone constantly roaming Murim with a sword at their side, such encounters were commonplace,
but for those experiencing it all for the first time, it was nothing short of exciting.
Yet, Tang Sowol had failed to have such an experience—not once, but twice.
And this time, despite bringing a personal guard for extra security.
Of course, both times, there had been unavoidable circumstances.
"Hm. I understand that breaking your own declaration so quickly must be embarrassing.
But honestly, as Dark Soul Unit Leader mentioned, wasn't this situation out of your control?"
She survived an encounter against five Soul Reapers and nearly twenty elite assassins.
Even with the help of Ghost Shadow Thief and the Blood Venom Unit Leader,any ordinary post-qi blossoming stage martial artist would have been severely wounded or even killed.
Hearing the full story, no one would blame her for returning early.
"…Still, when the next Yongbong Gathering comes around, I'll meet familiar faces. What am I supposed to say then…?"
"What do you mean? Just brag about your capable fiancé."
I shrugged and reached out my hand toward Tang Sowol, who was still hiding.
"Come on, let's go. We should at least say goodbye to the sect leader before we leave."
Tang Sowol stared at me for a moment before placing her hand in mine.
Then, with a satisfied smile, she nodded.
"Hmph. Well, when you put it that way, I suppose I do have something to boast about."
"Dark Soul Unit Leader, what about you?"
"I've already bid farewell to the Flowing Cloud Sword Immortal. I also have a letter from the Clan Lord, so I visited him first."
"Understood. Then we'll go on our own. Please prepare for our departure with the Blood Venom Unit."
"Take your time."
After exchanging nods with Tang Cheolyeong, Tang Sowol and I made our way to the sect leader's quarters.
When we arrived, Flowing Cloud Sword Immortal didn't look any different from before.
He seemed busy. He seemed weary.
Yet, there was an odd sense of calm about him—
as if he knew that at any moment, everything could change.
"Senior Flowing Cloud Sword Immortal."
"So, did you come here because you were curious about the contents of the letter I received from the Tang Clan Lord?"
"No, I simply felt that I should pay my respects before leaving."
"Well, there wasn't much in the letter. Half of it was the usual formalities, thanking me for protecting you two. Another half was an empty promise to share a drink together like in the old days. And the last half was him worrying that, although his son-in-law may be a bit ruthless, at least he isn't Thousand Kill Star."
"…That seems to add up to more than one letter's worth."
"Who's keeping count? Since we're both addressing each other as Clan Lord and Sect Leader out of formality, the letter naturally became one and a half in length. And I wasn't sharing it because I thought you were curious—I simply needed a light topic to open the conversation."
With that, Flowing Cloud Sword Immortal let out a long sigh and tucked the letter away.
Then, finally turning to face me, he gave a faint smile.
"First, let me ask—was your stay here comfortable?"
"It was fine."
"I had no complaints either."
As Tang Sowol and I answered almost simultaneously, Flowing Cloud Sword Immortal nodded in satisfaction.
"That's good to hear. I was worried that you might have felt uncomfortable after thoroughly thrashing my disciples in the sparring matches."
"…I thought it was all within the boundaries of fair competition."
"I was only joking. However, I did hear that you paid special attention to a disciple named Jin Baek. May I ask why?"
"There's no particular reason. It just reminded me of the past."
As Flowing Cloud Sword Immortal intended, the sparring matches between Tang Sowol, myself, and the Wudang disciples must have been a valuable experience for them.
They got to witness hidden weapon techniques—something rarely encountered outside of special circumstances.
They also had the chance to face a killing sword rather than the Daoist school of swordsmanship they were accustomed to.
It was a rare and controlled opportunity to experience such a thing.
However, due to Tang Sowol's background in the Tang Clan and her reliance on hidden weapons,
she occasionally lost to some of the older second-generation disciples during spars.
In contrast, I—young in appearance, undefeated in every match except against the Third Elder, and exuding a lethal aura with my sword—had, well…
Let's just say some of the disciples were wary of me.
After facing me once, they rarely challenged me again.
Among them, Jin Baek stood out.
Even after multiple defeats, he would continue to smile and ask for another match.
If he didn't understand something, he would politely ask me to explain it.
Winning or losing, pressure during battle—none of it seemed to matter to him. He only cared about the sword.
The same unwavering spirit I had seen before my regression,
though slightly altered by the Wudang Sect's destruction in my past life,
must have been something ingrained in him from birth.
"Heh. Reminded you of the past, you say? You're still young, yet you speak like an old man."
"Oh! Young Master Cheon does have a habit of doing that."
Tang Sowol eagerly nodded in agreement, as if she had been waiting for the chance to say so.
I stared at her, exasperated.
Instead of backing down, she simply tilted her chin up, as if daring me to disagree.
Looking up from below usually makes a person look unflattering—so why does Tang Sowol look beautiful?
No, more importantly, how would she even look unflattering?
No matter how I tried to imagine an unappealing version of her in my head, all I could think of was how stunning she remained.
After all, even when half her face had melted away in my past life, I had still found her beautiful.
As I nodded to myself, Flowing Cloud Sword Immortal let out a chuckle and spoke.
"I once thought that Jin Cheon must have arranged this marriage because he cherishes his daughter, and because you're a talent he wanted to keep tied to the Tang Clan…But now, I see that isn't the only reason."
"…Ah."
Only then did Tang Sowol realize where my gaze had been lingering.
Her face flushed red.
Flowing Cloud Sword Immortal's laughter grew even louder.
"I've never regretted not having children. But now, I do feel a little envious of my old friend."
He then turned to me with a thoughtful look.
"But tell me, Young Master Cheon—since you're about to leave Zhongnan Mountain soon…Did you find what you were looking for?"
"…What I was looking for?"
On the first day, Flowing Cloud Sword Immortal had told me—that if there was anything I wished to take from Wudang, I was free to do so.
And now, though I hadn't learned Wudang's martial arts,
I felt like I had gained an understanding of what they sought to achieve through their techniques.
Not their philosophy, their Dao—but how they tried to reach it through martial arts.
The key lay in unbroken flow.
Even when a strike missed or a stance faltered, it was all accepted as part of the technique.
Not a sword that severed an opponent's flow to take their head—but a sword that created its own continuous rhythm.
It was certainly a deeper martial art than mine, but it was too different from what I pursued for me to adopt it completely.
That said, it wasn't without meaning.
A sword that transitions into the next technique from any stance.
Rather than just the numerous intricate forms and subtle movements, the most important aspect was the distribution of weight.
Even if the body swayed or the sword was knocked aside, as long as the center of balance remained intact, one could continue stepping, continue attacking.
I didn't know how Wudang solved this problem in their techniques, but by incorporating the principles of Thousand-Jin Pendulum or the concept of weight, I could likely mimic their approach.
How I would integrate this into my own swordsmanship was something I would need to research and train for—but I had already gained meaningful insights.
I respectfully clasped my hands and bowed.
"I have taken more than enough."
"Haha. That's good to hear."
For a brief moment, Flowing Cloud Sword Immortal's weary face softened, taking on the gentle air of a true Daoist.
Beneath his kind expression, however, was a gaze that seemed to pierce through everything—
laced with a hint of relief.
I wasn't sure what his true intentions were,
but it seemed that he had been hoping for something.
Not that it mattered.
Whatever it was, it wasn't a threat to me.
With a small nod, Flowing Cloud Sword Immortal clasped his hands together in farewell.
"Even if not for another disaster like this, you are always welcome here.
I would never turn away the daughter of an old friend or her fiancé."
"I am grateful for your kind words."
"I'll make sure to tell Father not to just send letters next time, but to visit in person!"
With that, we left the Sect Leader's chambers.
And as we walked down the corridor, I locked eyes with Ghost Shadow Thief, who had been waiting for us from a short distance away.