Chapter 18 : Chapter 18

Chapter 18. The Man Who Doesn't Know How to Give Up (2)

Han Cheong-un had two purposes for coming to Sichuan in the first place.

One was to prevent the tragedy of the Guizhou Bloodshed Incident.

And the second was to acquire Dang Jin, who had been his capable and trustworthy right-hand man.

Of course, he knew that it was absurd for an outsider to ask for Dang Jin, who was practically the young head of the Sichuan Tang Clan. He knew, but…….

‘Still, I need him.’

That's why he boldly opted for a direct approach.

He openly asked the head of the Sichuan Tang Clan for Dang Jin.

“……Do you understand the situation now?”

“Hmm, so you see my son as a capable talent and want him. Is that it?”

“Yes. That’s correct.”

“Then, why didn’t you just say so from the start?”

The Tang Clan Head said with a hearty laugh. But…….

“Did you even bother to ask?”

Han Cheong-un’s tattered clothes.

The hidden weapons and daggers stuck here and there in the Clan Head's hall.

It was a situation where one could easily guess what had happened.

“Ahem, Seoyeon, go and call Jin.”

“……”

“Seoyeon?”

“Yeees……”

Dang Seoyeon, with a clearly displeased expression, went outside, and the Tang Clan Head sighed and said.

“First, I’ll confirm. You, my daughter……”

“It’s not like that.”

“It’s not?”

“Yes.”

“Didn't you risk your life to save her because you have feelings for my daughter?”

The Tang Clan Head remembers it clearly.

Although he has recovered somehow now, Han Cheong-un’s condition right after saving Dang Seoyeon was such that it was a wonder he was alive.

If a man dedicated his body to save a woman without sparing himself like that, isn’t the reason obvious?

But Han Cheong-un said firmly.

“What I did was something any person in the Murim world who upholds justice would do.”

“Heo……”

“I was just there at that time.”

A hollow laugh escaped the Tang Clan Head.

Justice?

Is he serious?

Did he really risk his life to practice that value?

Such people have long since disappeared, even from the prestigious Orthodox sects.

In a world where even renowned high monks and Taoists weigh justice and personal gain on a scale, this young master is saying he will practice justice?

‘He’s young. No, is it because he’s young that he can be like that?’

The Tang Clan Head smiled bitterly as he looked at Han Cheong-un.

He himself, no, most of the people currently called masters in the Murim world, probably had a time like that.

A time when they aimed for a life as a martial artist who uprightly protected justice and honor as they were taught.

However, as a result of carrying the sect, carrying the clan, and compromising one by one with the words, ‘it can’t be helped’…….

“Tsk, you’re making me feel ashamed.”

“Pardon?”

“No, it’s nothing. So you have no feelings for my daughter at all, is that it?”

“Yes. I do not.”

Han Cheong-un spoke firmly.

At Han Cheong-un’s appearance, the Tang Clan Head…….

‘This bastard didn’t even hesitate…….’

He was slightly pissed.

“Ahem, I’m not just saying this because she’s my daughter, but I don’t think our Seoyeon’s beauty falls short anywhere, you know?”

“Of course, the young lady is beautiful. In my life, such a beautiful woman……. Eight, nine…… thirteen? Fifteen?”

“……”

This bastard…….

Where on earth has he seen so many beautiful women? Seeing him count on his fingers and recall memories, it seems he was being sincere, not just saying empty words. And…….

“Ahem, anyway, I haven’t seen many.”

“Good for you.”

“Pardon?”

The Tang Clan Head sighed and then spoke.

“My daughter might not be to your liking, but it seems my daughter has feelings for you.”

He felt sad even as he said it.

Why did he have to stoop so low for his daughter’s sake?

If he were to seek a husband for Dang Seoyeon, who had been freed from the heavenly punishment of the Myriad Poisons Body, he could make a line from the clan’s main gate to outside of Chengdu. But…….

‘Haa, my daughter’s heart is with this one…….’

In the end, it was the Tang Clan Head who swallowed his tears and yielded.

“If you are willing, I would like to proceed with the marriage between you and my daughter.”

The Tang Clan Head brought up the main point directly.

Han Cheong-un, with a calm face as if he had expected it to some extent, said…….

“Clan Head. Is this a matter that also considers the young lady’s position?”

“Of course.”

On the contrary, this marriage was being pushed forward with an understanding of his daughter’s feelings.

Even to his eyes as a father, it was obvious she had fallen head over heels, so what could he do?

But Han Cheong-un seemed to have a different idea.

“The favor the young lady currently has for me is highly likely not to be genuine.”

“What do you mean?”

“Think about it. From the young lady’s perspective, how would I have looked?”

“……”

“The one person who approached her when she was completely isolated and ignored by her family.”

“Umm……”

The Tang Clan Head groaned.

Han Cheong-un’s words were pointing out his shortcomings as a father.

“Such a person even saved her life, and now has freed her from her heavenly punishment of a constitution. It’s a bit embarrassing to say it myself, but I am the benefactor who changed the young lady’s life.”

That was true.

“Are you saying she is confusing gratitude for affection?”

“The young lady right now is like a newly hatched chick. It’s natural for her to feel a strong sense of trust towards the first person she has formed an attachment to. But……”

“……”

“As she gets to know the world and begins to spread her own wings, her perception will change.”

“……”

“Please do not rashly decide your daughter’s life based on a childish emotion.”

When Han Cheong-un even spoke with a polite cupped fist salute, the Tang Clan Head sighed.

‘Tsk, he makes me feel so small.’

He knew he had been lacking as a father.

To make up for that lack, he wanted to do anything his daughter wanted.

Whatever it was.

So he tried to give her what she wanted most, but…….

‘I didn’t even give her a chance.’

As Han Cheong-un said, isn’t she a child like a newly hatched bird?

It is right to give her time, at least until she gets to know the world.

“You are right.”

“Thank you for understanding.”

“Personally, and as the head of the Sichuan Tang Clan, I owe you a great debt. It’s to the point where my unworthy son alone is not enough to repay it.”

“Is that so?”

“Yes. So if there is anything else you want, speak. I will do anything for you.”

“Thank you. In that case……”

Han Cheong-un made a few requests without reservation.

As it happened, there were a few things for which he needed the Sichuan Tang Clan’s help.

“Will that be enough?”

“Yes. It’s more than enough.”

“Alright. I will do so.”

“Thank you.”

And a few days later.

Han Cheong-un left the Tang Clan with Dang Jin.

Dang Seoyeon was horrified by Han Cheong-un’s silent departure, and she immediately went to her father to protest.

“Father? Why didn’t you say a single word to me when my lord was leaving?”

“That was all for your sake.”

“Pardon?”

The Tang Clan Head calmly explained the situation to his daughter.

“……For those reasons, you must first get to know the world. Do you understand?”

“What kind of nonsense is that?”

“Huh?”

“No, I’m asking what kind of nonsense that is.”

At first, he thought he had heard wrong.

But he hadn’t.

His gentle daughter, who hadn’t said a single word of complaint even while suffering in hellish pain…….

“So you just let my lord go? Do you think that makes sense? Huh?”

She snaps at him like a viper.

That poison and killing intent.

She is not lacking in being a worthy daughter of the Sichuan Tang Clan. Not at all, but…….

‘Why does it have to be towards me…….’

The Tang Clan Head cleared his throat and said.

“Ahem…… Seoyeon. You are now a newly hatched……”

“Stop with the nonsense and bring my lord back. Right now!”

He was trying to say something cool for a change…….

If the other person doesn't have the slightest intention of listening, it's completely useless.

And at that time, Han Cheong-un was…….

“Aaaah……. The weather is great. Isn’t it?”

“……”

He was walking leisurely with Dang Jin on a mountain path leading out of Sichuan.

To be precise, only Han Cheong-un was leisurely, and Dang Jin was…….

‘Why? Why am I here?’

His lips were sticking out in a pout.

His father had called for him, and the first thing he said was…….

[Accompany Young Master Han.]

[Pardon?]

[Go and see the wider world.]

[……Pardon?]

That was the end of it.

No objections were accepted.

‘Damn it……. Why am I suddenly on a journey through the Murim world when it’s not even in my fate? And with that demonic guy?’

Dang Jin ground his teeth as he looked at Han Cheong-un striding ahead.

Of course, he was the benefactor who had saved and even cured his sister, who had been a long-standing worry for the clan, and had also helped in dealing with the clan’s traitors. But…….

‘Aside from that, why do I have to go on a journey through the Murim world with that person?’

He thought and thought, but he still couldn't find a reason. So Dang Jin, who was pondering…….

“Young Master Han!”

“Ah, what is it?”

“Why on earth did you ask for me to accompany you on your journey through the Murim world? If you search the clan, there would be masters with better skills and more experience than me.”

“Ah, about that.”

Han Cheong-un pondered for a moment.

And after organizing his thoughts, Han Cheong-un plopped down on a rock by the roadside and said.

“It’s possible to just gloss over it with some plausible words, but……”

“……”

“I don’t want to do that to you.”

“Do what?”

“Please sit. This might take a while.”

Dang Jin had a somewhat reluctant expression, but he sat on a nearby rock. And Han Cheong-un…….

“I died once in the future, several decades from now, and when I came to my senses again……”

He began to tell the whole truth.

“There, I was the Grand Master of a Murim Alliance unit called the Evil-Annihilating Squad, and you were the Vice Grand Master. And we……”

“Wai…… Wait, what?”

“Please listen until the end first. In the second Righteous-Demonic War, against the Eight Gates of the Evil Way……”

“No, what is this……”

Han Cheong-un continued to speak without a break.

He abbreviated the story as much as possible and spoke only of the key points, but even so, it took more than two hours to tell.

“……And so, I headed to the Sichuan Tang Clan to prevent the Guizhou Bloodshed Incident and to recruit you again.”

After hearing all of Han Cheong-un’s words, Dang Jin thought.

‘Is he crazy?’

Yes. This is the normal reaction.

No matter how you think about it, isn’t it the nonsense of a crazy person? But…….

‘Why do I want to believe it?’

Unlike his cold reason, deep in his emotions, there was a part of him that wanted to believe this story was the truth.

To the confused Dang Jin, Han Cheong-un said.

“It’s probably normal not to believe such an absurd story.”

“Of course.”

“But there is a reason why I am confiding such a story to you.”

“What is it?”

“Do you remember when we were saving Young Lady Dang before?”

“……”

“At that time, you called me Grand Master Han.”

Dang Jin’s pupils tremble greatly.

Now that he thought about it, it was true.

It was a title that came out so naturally, as if it were a habit.

“You called me that even though there was no reason to.”

“……”

“At that time, a hypothesis came to my mind.”

Han Cheong-un let out a small sigh, collected his emotions, and continued.

“It’s that maybe this whole world went back in time, not just me.”

“What does that……”

“Otherwise, it doesn’t make sense. Why would you call me Grand Master Han? Is there any reason to call me that?”

“……”

“And the Silver Flowing Fly is another thing.”

Han Cheong-un pointed at the Silver Flowing Fly hidden in Dang Jin’s sleeve and said.

“That is a unique weapon you created by training your own martial arts, hoping for even a little more strength in a situation where you hadn't fully inherited the secret techniques of the Sichuan Tang Clan.”

“……”

“In your past life, you also trained quite a bit to create and handle the Silver Flowing Fly. But you handled it skillfully from the first day you held it.”

“……”

“As if you were someone who had handled it before.”

Dang Jin’s pupils trembled greatly.

Logically, it was a far-fetched claim.

The whole world rewound time?

Does that even make sense? But…….

‘Certainly…….’

His trained senses as a martial artist did not lie. He had handled this new weapon with great familiarity.

He even quickly came up with forms specialized for handling this weapon after practicing a few times.

Does that make sense?

Was I such a genius that I could create a new form immediately after touching a weapon I had never seen before?

‘I wasn't like that.’

Dang Jin was a talented young man who was considered a prodigy, but he didn't have the kind of talent that only a once-in-a-generation genius would possess. The more he thought about it…….

“Is it…… really true?”

“It is. No……. It is.”

At that moment.

Dang Jin saw it clearly.

Not the young master Han Cheong-un in front of him now, but a strong-looking martial artist Han Cheong-un who appeared to be in his middle age.

“……I have a question.”

“As I said again, what I said is true.”

“I believe you. But that’s not my question.”

And Dang Jin let out a deep sigh and then brought out the words he had been wanting to say, which were buried in his heart.

“If what you say is true……”

“……”

“Why did you come back to find me?”

“Is that strange?”

“It is. There must be countless people stronger and with more potential than me. So why did you come to the Sichuan Tang Clan to recruit me first?”

At those words, Han Cheong-un let out a small laugh.

‘Why, you ask?’

Dang Jin was right.

If you looked purely at talent or future potential, there were quite a few people who were more outstanding than Dang Jin.

Even within the Evil-Annihilating Squad, there were quite a few martial artists stronger than Dang Jin. But…….

On the battlefield, a reliable comrade.

Officially, an excellent adjutant and advisor.

In private, they were like blood brothers.

The age difference of over ten years was not an obstacle.

A Bond Worth Dying For.

Literally, they had absolute trust to the point where they wouldn’t mind dying for each other.

“I need you.”

“So why? There are plenty of excellent rising stars in the Murim world besides me. What am I to……?”

Irreplaceable.

“……”

“Even if you brought anyone in the world, I cannot imagine another as my right-hand man.”

Dang Jin, who felt the sincerity in Han Cheong-un’s words, knelt on the spot.

And he bowed his head, cupped his hands, and said.

“Dang Jin, the direct descendant of the Sichuan Tang Clan. From this moment on, I entrust my life to you.”

Han Cheong-un’s heart was full at that sight.

He had found his lost right arm again.

“I’ll be in your care. Vice Sect Leader Dang.”

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