Chapter 76 : Chapter 76

Chapter 76. Comrades (1)

Fifty-odd days ago.

Mount Heng.

“……”

“……”

Nam Geon and Baek Hyang silently watched the back of the person descending the mountain for a long time.

Only when Jin Yuseong’s back was hidden by the thicket and he was too far to be seen did Nam Geon and Baek Hyang look at each other.

It was a strange sight.

Nam Geon's face, boasting a physique so large that most men couldn't even compare, was completely contorted.

A fearsome face that would make one faint or hand over all their belongings if encountered for the first time.

But Baek Hyang knew.

That was not an angry face. It was the face of someone trying his best to hold back tears.

“I-I. I’m going to get stronger.”

Nam Geon, holding back his sobs, said to Baek Hyang as if making a promise.

Baek Hyang also readily nodded her head.

Although she had aged another year while living on Mount Heng, she was now only fifteen.

Despite her tender age, her expression was even more resolute than Nam Geon’s.

“Yes, Brother Nam Geon. We must become strong.”

She was recalling what Jin Yuseong had said before he left.

Not the words that he would return alive, but the words before that.

- I am planning to go to a dangerous place, so you two stay here.

That meant that they would only be a hindrance if they went to that place.

Of course, Jin Yuseong had not said it with such ill intentions.

Both Baek Hyang and Nam Geon understood that much.

But the fact that Jin Yuseong had to move separately because their skills were lacking did not change.

“So that next time, Senior Brother Jin cannot leave us behind.”

“Y-yes, just like Hyang-i said. B-brother w-won't be able to leave us behind.”

Having vowed to each other, Nam Geon and Baek Hyang devoted themselves to training from that day on. Even more tenaciously than when they were with Jin Yuseong.

Nam Geon woke up at dawn to circulate the Jade Cloud Divine Art that Jin Yuseong had taught him.

Then he would leave the pavilion and swing his sword like a madman.

Following the forms of the Mighty Sword Art that Jin Yuseong had taught him before leaving.

Then, from time to time, he would draw up the small amount of internal energy he had and perform the Mighty Sword Art according to the key principles Jin Yuseong had taught him.

Only when his limbs trembled so much that it was difficult to even hold the Mother's Affection Sword would he put down the sword and begin to refill his empty dantian.

And after taking a short rest while refilling his internal energy, he would set out into the mountains.

He would gather plants or hunt animals for meals.

“H-he said this is also training.”

He roamed the mountains with the mindset of training his movement techniques and footwork, recalling the words Jin Yuseong always had on his lips.

He repeated his training like this until the afternoon, but one major problem remained.

The problem was that he could not train the Iron Blood Golden Skin Art by himself.

‘H-Hyang-i is weak, so it's no good.’

Nam Geon, who had pondered for a moment, came up with a solution of his own.

Nam Geon took the mountain path and went to the Mount Heng Sect.

Then, he thrust the Mother's Affection Sword at a middle-aged Daoist he happened to encounter and said.

“D-Daoist uncle. H-hit me with this.”

“……What are you talking about?”

When the middle-aged Daoist asked back with a dumbfounded expression, Nam Geon replied with a face full of worry.

“D-Daoist uncle's hearing is bad. I-I said to hit me with this.”

Saying so, Nam Geon once again thrust the Mother's Affection Sword forward.

Unfortunately, the Daoist just shook his head and walked away.

“Hing……”

Nam Geon looked like he was about to cry.

“I-if I waste time, I'll miss b-brother again.”

Just then, a familiar voice came from behind.

“Is there a problem, young brother Nam?”

Nam Geon turned his head.

There stood Yeongcheon, who had emerged after completing half a year of secluded training.

Nam Geon briefly explained the situation.

“I-I need to get stronger. H-hit me with this.”

If any other Daoist had heard it, they would have wondered what kind of crazy talk this was, but Yeongcheon could vaguely understand.

After all, they had traveled together for a while.

“Are you trying to train the Iron Blood Golden Skin Art?”

“Y-yes! T-training!”

“Hahaha. If that is the reason, I will gladly help you.”

Yeongcheon readily smiled and took the Mother's Affection Sword, and after drawing internal energy from his dantian, he swung the Mother's Affection Sword towards Nam Geon’s body.

Clang!

Clang!

A metallic sound, hard to believe came from a huge sword and a human body colliding, echoed several times.

Nam Geon, who was in the middle of getting hit diligently, pouted his lips.

“D-Daoist brother is weak. N-not helpful.”

Yeongcheon, who was swinging the sword diligently, burst into an awkward laugh.

“Ha. Hahaha. Then this time, I will go with all my might!”

On Yeongcheon’s forehead as he shouted, for some reason, veins were bulging.

“Brace yourself, young brother Nam!”

Clang!!

A much clearer metallic sound echoed through Mount Heng.

***

While Nam Geon was immersed in his training, Baek Hyang was also with him.

Every dawn, she circulated the Great Swallow Nest Building Divine Art that Jin Yuseong had taught her, right next to Nam Geon.

Was it because of the gap between the Jade Cloud Divine Art and the Great Swallow Nest Building Divine Art? Or was it because of her insight?

At some point, Baek Hyang's dantian had accumulated more internal energy than Nam Geon's.

“Hoo.”

Baek Hyang, who had once again slightly enlarged the size of the nest located in her dantian, opened her eyes with a deep breath.

She left the pavilion with Nam Geon and then swung her sword together with him from a short distance away.

Constantly mulling over the advice she had heard from Jin Yuseong.

‘From the basics.’

For half a year, she had devoted herself solely to training on Mount Heng.

Now she could feel with her own body the reason why her senior brother had always emphasized the basics.

Her body had grown and muscles had begun to form, so her body went without saying, and even the sword in her hand felt light.

Baek Hyang slowly and accurately executed the Nine Palace Chain Sword from the first move.

After completely warming up her body by performing all the techniques dozens of times, she began to swing her sword in earnest.

She freely mixed and executed the nine techniques of the Nine Palace Chain Sword, and occasionally even melted the Flying Swallow Sword Art into it.

Baek Hyang moved like a feather, continuing her sword dance smoothly.

Thanks to the basic training she had repeated to the point of frustration, she was, on the contrary, finding true freedom.

How long had she been dancing, intoxicated by the sword? Nam Geon’s voice awakened her spirit.

“H-Hyang-a. I'm going h-hunting now.”

Baek Hyang, whose entire body was drenched in sweat, finally stopped her sword dance.

She watched Nam Geon’s back as he headed into the forest for a moment.

Baek Hyang closed her eyes and reflected on herself, who had been swinging the sword in a state of self-forgetfulness.

That moment when she felt infinite freedom.

‘It would have been impossible if I hadn't laid the foundation.’

From the very first time she learned the sword from Jin Yuseong, she had been able to execute the Nine Palace Chain Sword freely.

But that time was completely different from now.

Because she had to find countless shortcuts every moment to move her shabby body.

Now she could swing the sword without having to deliberate on shortcuts.

She was able to focus her mind, which had to be devoted to thinking up shortcuts, entirely on the sword.

Beyond simply being preoccupied with linking the techniques, she could focus more on problems like how to swing it stronger, how to thrust it faster, and how to mesmerize the opponent with the sword.

‘It's just as Senior Brother said.’

In fact, she had never once doubted Jin Yuseong's words.

The Nine Palace Chain Sword. For her, it was an incredibly easy sword art.

She had never even questioned why she had to keep practicing it repeatedly.

Since it was something Senior Brother Jin had ordered, she believed it would naturally have a meaning.

Baek Hyang. For her, Jin Yuseong was the first adult she had ever met, and a person whose back she wanted to follow.

Her father was an alcoholic and a gambling addict.

The emotion she felt for her mother was more of pity than respect.

The sight of her mother suffering, tied down to her father because of her. The sight of her mother being beaten by her pathetic father.

She was grateful to her mother for raising her, but she couldn't help but see her as someone she had to protect instead.

The village elders were the same.

They were always just full of empty words, but no one had offered a helping hand against her father's violence and exploitation.

On the other hand, what about her senior brother?

The person who had saved her and her mother from her father's grasp.

A person who lived solely for his own beliefs, rather than for appearances.

A person who always kept the words he spoke.

The image of a chivalrous hero she had only imagined in her head was just like that.

When her thoughts reached that point, a faint smile formed on Baek Hyang's lips.

“If I call him a chivalrous hero, Senior Brother would hate it.”

She thought that even that humility was a truly respectable trait.

“Oh dear.”

There was no time to be leisurely lost in such idle thoughts.

She hurriedly sat cross-legged and began to refill her empty dantian.

After completely refilling her dantian and opening her eyes, she soon lit a fire in the furnace and began to boil water.

Before long, Nam Geon returned after finishing his hunting and gathering.

Baek Hyang made a simple breakfast with what Nam Geon had brought, and after finishing their meal, the two began to train together again.

From dawn to afternoon, they repeated only training and eating.

And as the sun began to set, Nam Geon and Baek Hyang left the pavilion.

Nam Geon headed for the grounds of the Mount Heng Sect, and Baek Hyang went to the stream that flowed on Mount Heng.

Like Nam Geon, she trained the Eight Trigrams Flying Stream Steps while going up and down the mountain path.

Just then, a metallic sound could be faintly heard from the direction of the Mount Heng Sect.

It sounded like a bell, but it wasn't a bell.

It was the sound of Nam Geon being hit by the Mother's Affection Sword.

Arriving at the stream, she washed her and Nam Geon’s clothes to the strangely rhythmic metallic sound, and filled the jar she had brought with water.

After finishing her business at the stream, she returned to the pavilion, and before long, Nam Geon also returned.

In the dark night after the sun had set.

Baek Hyang, who lit an incense stick, slowly taught Nam Geon the characters.

Through the journal left by Nam Geon’s mother.

Naturally, Baek Hyang also came to know of Nam Geon’s unfortunate story.

“T-thank you for teaching me the characters. T-thanks to Hyang-i, I won't forget m-mom's diary.”

At Nam Geon's thanks, Baek Hyang smiled faintly.

“It's not a difficult task.”

Why was it? Although their gender, age, and appearance were completely different, watching Brother Nam Geon often made her see her mother in him.

He was a person who, despite being her elder, made her want to take care of him for some reason.

After finishing their studies, the two would end their day with qi circulation before going to bed.

Nam Geon and Baek Hyang. Amidst the repetitive routine, their time passed quickly.

Fifty-odd days had passed since Jin Yuseong left Mount Heng.

“B-brother is late.”

“Don’t worry, brother. He will definitely come.”

“B-brother is not a person who lies. Brother w-won't abandon us. I-if brother is late, brother is dead.”

“There are still about ten days left. For now, you have to trust Senior Brother and continue to focus on training.”

Baek Hyang, while calming the anxious Nam Geon, devoted herself to training with him.

No. Baek Hyang was also afraid, so she focused on training even more tenaciously to shake off that anxiety.

‘If Senior Brother doesn't return, we must walk the path he was going to take.’

The tip of Baek Hyang’s sword trembled.

‘No. He will definitely return. If it's Senior Brother, surely.’

After several more days of desperately trying to ignore her anxiety and focusing on training.

In the afternoon, with two days left from the day Jin Yuseong had promised.

Nam Geon, as he had for the past few days, stopped swinging his sword and looked down the mountain with an anxious face.

Baek Hyang was about to open her mouth to calm him, but Nam Geon’s shout came first.

“I-it's brother!!!”

Startled, Baek Hyang hurriedly approached Nam Geon’s side.

Far below the mountain, a familiar figure could be seen among the bushes.

Clothes that were not just covered in dirt and dust but were so worn out they were no different from rags.

His head and face were also caked in dirt and sweat, making him look like a beggar, but that actually made him easier to recognize.

Because it was such a familiar sight.

Jin Yuseong was climbing the mountain with someone he had never seen before, but the two of them had no eyes for the man.

The childlike young man and the adult-like girl shouted at the same time.

“Senior Brother!!”

“Brother!!!”

Soon, the young man who was climbing the mountain stealthily raised his head.

Was he seeing things?

“Sorry to have kept you waiting.”

Despite the considerable distance, it seemed as if a smile was on Jin Yuseong’s lips.

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