Days of Growth (2)
The thick iron door opened, and Ma Cheol-Gun entered. The person inside the cramped room, barely three or four pyeong in size, was Ma Ryeong-In. His acupoints had been sealed so that he could not use Martial Arts, and he was imprisoned here.
“I heard you skipped your meal.”
“The food was terrible. Either replace the cook or let me out.”
“Still, you should eat.”
“What is this cheap sympathy? Do I perhaps feel like a criminal sentenced to be beheaded?”
Ma Cheol-Gun neither affirmed nor denied it.
“Tell me who ordered you.”
“I do not know what you are talking about.”
“I am telling you to say who is behind you. If you speak willingly, I will spare your life.”
Of course, Ma Cheol-Gun had considered the possibility that Ma Ryeong-In might have done it on his own. The fact that Ma Ryeong-In had tried to kill him did not feel strange in the slightest. That was exactly who Ma Ryeong-In was.
“You mean you will kill me if I do not speak.”
“You do not understand the seriousness of this situation. You tried to kill the Clan Head of the Cheondo Sect.”
“The temporary Clan Head. And the only evidence that I tried to kill you is that one secret letter, is it not? Unless that man called the Nameless Great Hero personally confesses, you cannot hold me guilty with only that.”
Ma Cheol-Gun’s eyes turned cold. It was infuriating, but Ma Ryeong-In’s words were not wrong.
Moreover, after questioning the martial artist who had been guarding him, they had found the estate where they had been staying. But somehow, that place had completely burned down, leaving only ashes.
“You were always like this since childhood. You schemed and schemed again. To be honest, I truly hated you.”
“I knew.”
“I could kill you right here.”
“Go ahead and try.”
“Do you think I cannot?”
Ma Cheol-Gun released killing intent. It was killing intent that truly seemed as if he might kill him at any moment, but Ma Ryeong-In was not afraid or shaken in the least. Instead, he even smiled, like someone who knew Ma Cheol-Gun would not be able to kill him anyway.
At that moment, someone knocked on the door from outside.
“Clan Head, I have something to tell you for a moment.”
The one who had called him was an old teacher who served in the role of strategist.
When Ma Cheol-Gun opened the door and stepped outside, the old teacher led him to the end of the corridor.
The old teacher looked quite tense.
“What in the world is going on?”
“A missive has arrived from the Grand Martial Alliance. It says you are to bring Young Master Ma into the Alliance immediately.”
“What?”
Ma Cheol-Gun was startled.
“How does Father know that bastard is locked up?”
Of course, he could know. This matter had not been carried out in absolute secrecy. But it was something he might learn eventually, not something he should have been able to learn this quickly.
The old teacher spoke gravely.
“Do you truly think this is an order given by the Alliance Lord?”
Ma Cheol-Gun’s expression became the same as the old teacher’s.
“The one behind him has moved.”
I returned to the house in Shandong with Gwangdu and Gong Su-Chan.
When I saw the house far in the distance, I felt strange. Without realizing it, my heart grew at ease, and I felt a sense of relief. When I was young, I had lived without knowing the preciousness of home. Rather, leaving home had felt more comfortable.
But now I felt as if I understood. What it felt like to return home, and what kind of emotion returning home was.
Father and Mother were unchanged, just as they had been when I left.
“Did you have a good trip?”
In Father’s gaze, there was a trust that could not be compared to the beginning.
“Yes, thanks to your concern, I returned safely.”
“And the matter you went for?”
“I handled it well.”
“That is good. You have not forgotten, have you?”
“Of course. I am always trying to respect and consider those beneath me.”
“Then that is enough.”
Father added one more thing, unlike usual.
“I believe that when such standards gather one by one, they support a person’s life. Though this father of yours could only establish one standard, you should create many better standards.”
They were words steeped in the humility of life. How could Father have only that one standard? He must simply think that this was what I needed most right now, and so he was emphasizing that point.
As time passes, I feel the depth of this teaching more and more.
A person who can sincerely consider others is already someone who has governed their own heart. In other words, to truly uphold those words, one must be able to govern oneself.
After my conversation with Father ended, Mother took my hand and pulled me outside.
“Son, come here for a moment.”
“What is it?”
“I heard Hwa-Rin stopped by Wuhan?”
“How did you know?”
“I met Gwangdu on the way.”
Haha. That Gwangdu, what a heavy mouth he has. He must have told her everything as soon as he saw Mother. Then again, both Mother and Gwangdu were active supporters of Song Hwa-Rin.
“She came while I was out, so I could not meet her.”
“That is what I heard. You must have been disappointed?”
As she said that, she glanced at my face.
“I was disappointed.”
Those were not merely words for Mother’s sake. I was certainly grateful to her, and I also felt disappointed.
“You will meet her later, won’t you?”
“Once I finish handling the matter of the Lesser Sword Unit, I am thinking of going to meet her.”
“Yes, you should take care of your work first. But know this one thing. It must have taken great courage for Rin to go all the way there to meet you.”
Because I understood very well what Mother was saying, I answered with a smile.
“Yes, Mother.”
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The Lesser Sword Unit cheered when they saw me after such a long time.
Even Gwan Hui, who was normally taciturn, was shouting from the very front, so one could tell just how passionate their welcome was.
It moved me enough to make my heart swell. It was a feeling I had not felt even from martial artists hundreds or thousands of times more numerous than them.
“Have you all been well?”
“Yes!”
“Did you train diligently?”
Again, a booming answer rang out. Their faces were full of confidence.
“A martial artist does not explain the past with words! You know that, right?”
The moment my words ended, the Lesser Sword Unit scattered left and right, creating space.
The sword unit members took turns exchanging forms with me. They showed even greater improvement than last time. They were advancing by leaps and bounds.
After watching one round of training, I said,
“I am truly proud of you.”
My praise was sincere, and my feelings reached them.
Everyone was happy. After training while pushing themselves to their limits, they finally felt as though they had received some kind of reward.
Now it was time for the Lesser Sword Unit to take one step forward.
“I intend to select new sword unit members.”
Everyone wore expressions filled with trembling anticipation.
Originally, I had intended to select only forty. At that time, our finances had not been favorable, and above all, I had wanted to avoid attracting attention.
But now the situation had changed.
The Lesser Sword Unit members had improved dramatically in skill, and our finances had become abundant.
“This time, I intend to select eighty more people.”
Most decisively, the enemy’s force was far greater than I had thought. It was not the time to walk slowly, one step at a time. Now was the time to stride forward in great steps.
Of course, we must not fall. If we recruited eighty people at once, it would inevitably draw attention.
So I came up with one plan.
“You want to join forces with me and create a sword unit?”
Song Hwa-Rin stared at me with wide eyes. No sooner had we met and shared the joy of reunion than I brought up an unexpected proposal.
The method I had thought of was this: Song Hwa-Rin and I would join forces to create and operate a sword unit. It would not be true in practice, but that was the rumor we would spread.
Then people would think this matter was being carried out with the support of the Song Estate. Moreover, we had the justification of being bound by a pledge. In this way, we could avoid suspicion over where such money had suddenly come from while increasing our strength.
“Of course, recruiting and operating the sword unit members this time will be done entirely with my own power.”
“In short, you are saying you only want to borrow my name.”
“That is about right.”
“The reason?”
“I want to avoid attention.”
“Why?”
In ordinary cases, when sects selected people, they exaggerated in order to display their power. If they gathered ten people, it was normal to say they had gathered twenty. They would overreach and try to recruit more; they would not reduce the number. That was the nature of Jianghu sects.
“Because I want to quietly build strength.”
She could have felt offended. She could have thought I was trying to use her. In reality, that was true.
Unexpectedly, she readily allowed it.
“All right, do that.”
The one who was flustered was me instead.
“You are deciding this so easily?”
“It does not seem like something I need to decide with difficulty. The core of this matter is this, isn’t it?”
“What?”
After gazing at me for a moment, she spoke calmly.
“Whether I trust you or not.”
She was seeing the core of this issue precisely.
“You have decided to trust me?”
She nodded. Her expression was even more filled with certainty than the firm nod itself. I could feel it. She now truly trusted me.
“Thank you.”
“If you are thankful, you should buy me drinks.”
When I was startled, she smiled and said,
“I will not make drunken trouble today.”
I drank with her.
Now, she felt no aversion at all toward drinking. Her wounds from the past had all been healed.
Many stories passed between us, but I did not tell her about the existence of the other two women. Even so, I did not feel sorry toward her.
She, I, and another she as well. Our emotions were flowing and changing. I did not know where the waves of those relationships would lead us.
“It is obvious why a martial family would try to raise a sword unit, but I still want to ask. Why are you trying to raise the sword unit on such a large scale?”
I could tell that she was not asking because she wanted to hear the obvious answer that it was simply to increase power.
“I think this Jianghu is not normal.”
I had not yet told her about the force behind the Murim Alliance Lord. Just Ma Bong-Gi and the Cheondo Sect were enough to make my words convincing.
“I think chaos will come in the future. I am preparing for that.”
“What kind of chaos?”
“A very great chaos. I think it may become a Jianghu where the weak have to live like slaves to the strong.”
Because that was the way Ma Bong-Gi had lived. And because the ones trying to use such a Ma Bong-Gi would likely not be very different. For now, they were merely plotting in the dark and hiding their claws.
Realizing that I was speaking sincerely, she asked seriously,
“What should I do?”
“You are already joining forces with me and creating a sword unit, aren’t you?”
At my words, she let out a small laugh.
That day, we talked about many things. They were mostly stories about the days ahead. We drank until late, and she did not make drunken trouble.
I met Jin, the spy, at the newly created contact office in Qufu.
“Did the matter you went for proceed well?”
“Fortunately, I handled it well. You seem to have lost a little weight.”
“No, I have not.”
“Work while taking care of your body.”
“Thank you for your concern.”
I had already told him the details related to Ma Ryeong-In. I had ordered him to watch how this matter was being handled within the Cheondo Sect, and I had also ordered him to look into Chuga Manor and the Zhengzhou Martial Hall.
“I have not yet learned anything about Ma Ryeong-In. They are handling it with the utmost secrecy internally.”
Naturally, they would. Rather, if information leaked right now, it would be a situation where one should suspect the opposite.
“Continue watching.”
“Yes. Also, Chuga Manor and the Zhengzhou Martial Hall have already closed their doors.”
Since the Nameless Great Hero matter had happened, that too was natural.
“Su is investigating the Namhyeon Escort Bureau. Because he is approaching carefully, it is taking time, but a report should come up soon.”
Namhyeon Escort Bureau was the name discovered on a box in Lin Yan-Qing’s research compound. It was the only clue that could lead us to those behind them.
“Tell Su to be careful.”
“Yes, understood.”
Next, Jin reported on the intelligence organization they were currently forming. We named this intelligence organization the Third Eye Pavilion, meaning there was another eye in addition to the two eyes.
“We are creating branches of the Third Eye Pavilion in every large city of the Central Plains. At present, branches have been created in fifteen places.”
“Fifteen places already?”
I was startled. I had known Jin and Su were capable, but I had not realized they would be able to handle things this quickly.
“For now, they are small-scale branches. Some have two or three people, and some places have only a single person. We intend to gradually increase the numbers.”
I knew very well that numbers were not what mattered in an intelligence organization.
According to Jin’s explanation, the people in charge of each branch included inn owners, a clerk from a cloth shop, a lower-ranking martial artist from the Grand Martial Alliance, and a martial instructor from a martial hall. They would live their own lives mixed among ordinary people while gathering information.
Following the Black Panther Unit, the Third Eye Pavilion was also slowly taking shape.
The Lesser Sword Unit of the Byeok Sword Clan began recruiting martial artists in earnest.
We announced in advance that Song Hwa-Rin had lent her strength. From rumors that we would break off the engagement, rumors now spread that we would marry again.
Neither I nor Song Hwa-Rin cared about the rumors. As if we had made a promise, we did not discuss that part with each other.
The person I was actually concerned about was Song Hwa-Rin’s father, Song U-Gyeong. I worried that this matter might inconvenience him in some way, but on the contrary, he was very pleased. He still hoped that we would marry.
As rumors of cooperation with the Song Estate spread, an enormous number of martial artists applied.
Seeing the martial artists gathered like clouds, Gwan Hui and the existing sword unit members stiffened in nervousness. Far more people than they had imagined had flocked in.
Looking back at them, I said,
“Do not tremble.”
“Yes!”
But they were still tense.
“They are even more nervous. Do you not remember the day you entered?”
At those words, several of them burst into laughter, and their expressions loosened somewhat.
I stepped forward and said,
“Now, shall we see how many useful fellows have come?”
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