Chapter 578:
“I’ll really work hard. So I’ll become a disciple who won’t shame his Master. Of course, I won’t meet Master’s expectations, but…”
“You’re speaking unlike yourself.”
“It’s not that I’m speaking unlike myself…”
Wei Yan-ho’s lips trembled.
“Sometimes… no, I often thought about it.”
Words he couldn’t bring himself to say.
Words that existed only in his mind, never shown to anyone. But words that had to be said someday.
“If it hadn’t been me…”
If it hadn’t been me.
“If the person who discovered that cave hadn’t been me, if the person who entered that cave hadn’t been me… if a better person had met Master and become his disciple…”
Wei Yan-ho’s voice flowed out slowly, thick with emotion.
“Then Master’s martial arts could have been passed down more easily and completely. If I had been just a little smarter, if I had been just a little more diligent…”
Why hadn’t he known then?
How great what he was inheriting was.
If only he had known that just a little earlier.
“I’m sorry, Master…”
He couldn’t even think to wipe away the tears streaming down his face.
“I’m sorry for being stubborn. I was too stupid… so I didn’t know anything. So…”
Only afterward did he come to know.
What it was that he had learned.
What it was that he should have inherited.
How great a martial artist the person who had smiled and watched over him was.
He had known nothing.
That’s why he could be stubborn. That’s why he could throw tantrums. But now he knows. How foolish his actions had been.
Baek Mu-han’s sword should not have disappeared like that.
Every breath, every movement should have been passed down to future generations without the slightest error. His sword was the history of the martial world, the very essence that the martial arts of the realm had created over countless years.
That sword had been buried by his own stubbornness.
It could never be restored again.
Now he knows how tremendous a thing that was. He has come to know.
That’s why he couldn’t bear this guilt.
“If it hadn’t been me…”
Thunk.
Baek Mu-han shook Wei Yan-ho’s head a bit firmly.
“Foolish boy.”
Strength entered the hand holding his head.
“Yes, what you say isn’t entirely wrong. It’s true that you’re insufficient to inherit my martial arts.”
“…”
“But that’s all.”
Baek Mu-han looked at Wei Yan-ho with an infinitely warm face.
“You may be unfit to inherit my martial arts — but to me, you are the most perfect disciple in the world.”
It was a statement that left one speechless.
“Martial knowledge is only a part of what makes me. Martial knowledge isn’t everything. What I had to pass down wasn’t just martial knowledge.”
Baek Mu-han’s eyes showed not a single waver.
Eyes that spoke only truth without a shred of falsehood. Wei Yan-ho could feel that with certainty.
“I was also wrong. I shouldn’t have waited for someone to inherit my martial knowledge. I should have looked for someone to inherit me. The moment I thought I’d stay holed up in that cave waiting for someone to come, everything went wrong. But like fate, you came to me. Not a disciple to inherit my martial knowledge, but a disciple to inherit me.”
“Master…”
“Did you say you were insufficient?”
Baek Mu-han slowly shook his head.
“No, it wasn’t you who was insufficient. I was insufficient. I was the one lacking, trying to pass things down without even knowing what I should teach. You suffered because of my inadequacy. Forgive this inadequate master.”
“…Please don’t say such things.”
“My boy.”
Baek Mu-han’s face brightened.
That clear face, showing not a trace of regret, made Wei Yan-ho’s heart ache even more.
“Yan-ho.”
“Yes, Master.”
“Don’t be obsessed with such things.”
“But…”
“Don’t chase after my shadow. If you do, you’ll spend your life seeing only my shadow. Forget about the thought of surpassing me. What’s important is walking your own path.”
“…My own path.”
“Yes, your own path.”
Baek Mu-han smiled gently.
“Life is too precious to waste on whether you’ll surpass my level or not. You have so many possibilities, so many paths available to you.”
“The situation isn’t very good for finding such things.”
“Nothing can be perfect.”
Once again gently stroking Wei Yan-ho’s head, Baek Mu-han smiled softly.
“The world might be a bit harsh to you. The mountains you must climb might be too high. But what can be done? In the end, it’s something you must overcome.”
“…”
“I believe you can do well.”
“…Really?”
“Of course.”
Resolute.
And warm.
Therefore…
Therefore, all the more sorrowful.
“Because you are my one and only disciple.”
Just as Baek Mu-han was special to Wei Yan-ho, or even more so, Wei Yan-ho was also a special existence to Baek Mu-han.
Transcending age and era, no one had understood Baek Mu-han as much as Wei Yan-ho.
Greatest Sword Under Heaven.
Mad Sword.
Perfector of Ten Thousand Swords.
Beyond all those useless, merely fancy modifiers, the person who had looked directly at the human Baek Mu-han with his own two eyes was, throughout Baek Mu-han’s entire life, Wei Yan-ho—the first and the last.
Just as Wei Yan-ho had found in Baek Mu-han the comfort he couldn’t receive from parents or siblings, Baek Mu-han too had received from Wei Yan-ho the warmth he had never felt once in his entire lifetime.
‘Only after death.’
Baek Mu-han smiled a bit bitterly.
If he had known this emotion, this feeling a little earlier, wouldn’t his life have changed somewhat?
‘Do I regret it?’
Yes.
Yes, he does.
He regrets it a little.
But still, it’s alright. Because he will see the emotions he couldn’t feel, the world he couldn’t see. His disciple, his other self.
“Now it’s truly the end.”
“Master…”
“Yan-ho.”
“…Yes.”
“Was it enjoyable?”
“…”
Wei Yan-ho’s lips twitched.
Enjoyable? What enjoyment?
Always getting beaten up, getting scolded daily, getting kicked whenever the mood struck—how could that have been enjoyable?
Could it have been enjoyable…
Wei Yan-ho raised his hands to cover his face.
How could he say it wasn’t?
When it’s so vivid.
When it’s so clear.
When the days spent with his master remain so warmly in his memory, how could he say they weren’t enjoyable?
When he can’t contain the tears bursting forth.
When he feels like weak words will come out if he opens his mouth, when he can’t say anything… how… how could he do such a thing?
“That’s enough.”
It seemed an answer wasn’t necessary.
“…Master.”
“Hmm?”
“Is this really an illusion?”
“Well, what do you think?”
Baek Mu-han smiled gently.
“It’s not, right?”
“I don’t know.”
“Master is still remaining in my core, right? You’re appearing in dreams now because your strength is insufficient, right?”
“Well.”
Baek Mu-han gave an evasive answer.
Well, what did it matter anyway?
Whether the Baek Mu-han before his eyes was real or not wasn’t important. What mattered was that the person before Wei Yan-ho’s eyes was undeniably Baek Mu-han, and that he would never be able to meet this Baek Mu-han again.
‘If I had known it would be like this, I shouldn’t have gotten stronger.’
Dream Lotus Technique was a martial art that ended when he reached a certain level. And Wei Yan-ho had finally reached the level Baek Mu-han had originally desired. What has served its purpose disappears.
Now it was time to awaken from this Dream Lotus Technique.
“Can’t it be a little longer?”
“…”
“You know this isn’t enough, Master. Setting aside the bishops, that Heavenly Demon or whatever is too strong. Sending me out here is abandonment.”
“This too is something I cannot help.”
“Isn’t there some way to…”
Wei Yan-ho closed his mouth.
The face of his master, visible through tear-moistened eyes, was sad.
Only then could Wei Yan-ho understand.
That the person who was truly sad wasn’t him.
He could meet someone, talk with someone, live his life even without Baek Mu-han. But for Baek Mu-han, this was truly the end.
So he shouldn’t whine.
Because this farewell was different from previous ones.
Unlike that farewell that came suddenly without time to prepare and remained clumsy until the end, this should be different. Because Wei Yan-ho too had thought this moment would come someday.
He shouldn’t act spoiled saying he didn’t want to accept it. That would show his master that nothing had changed since leaving the cave.
That would be the thing Baek Mu-han would least want to see.
“Master.”
At Wei Yan-ho’s call, Baek Mu-han only smiled.
“I… I’ll do well.”
Wei Yan-ho also forced a smile.
Though his face became strange, unable to laugh or cry.
“I can do really well. I’m still Master’s disciple, after all. When I say I’m the disciple of Sword Emperor Baek Mu-han, everyone gets startled and shocked, you know? I’m that impressive of a person. So… so…”
Wei Yan-ho stuck out his chest.
“So don’t worry and just watch over me. I’ll make Master’s name soar through the world again.”
“Enough, you fool. Who said I wanted such a thing?”
“…Huh.”
“Don’t worry about useless things and just take care of yourself. Please be a little less lazy! Wash yourself! Keep yourself clean! You dirty fool!”
“Huh…”
This shouldn’t be happening like this, should it?
“And…”
His master spoke firmly.
“That Heavenly Demon or whatever fellow is certainly a fearsome existence. With your current level, you could never face him.”
“…”
“Then what must you do?”
“I need to become stronger.”
At Wei Yan-ho’s answer, Baek Mu-han nodded with satisfaction.
“Yes, that’s right.”
“But Master, just a while ago you said not to be particularly obsessed with getting stronger…”
“That’s that and this is this!”
Wei Yan-ho’s cheeks puffed out.
‘Selfish until the very end.’
Well, of course.
That’s what makes him Baek Mu-han. That’s what…
“Yan-ho.”
“Yes.”
“Find your own path. The same goes for martial arts. Don’t follow me. All the answers are within you. If you look within yourself, you’ll see the path.”
“…That’s difficult.”
“Everything is like that.”
Baek Mu-han quietly raised his sword.
“What are you going to show me now?”
Without answering, Baek Mu-han smiled gently. Then he dropped the sword he held to the ground.
“…”
After that, he quietly looked at Wei Yan-ho.
Wei Yan-ho seemed to understand the meaning of that action.
“Master, I…”
What should he say?
That he’ll become strong? That he’ll become a good disciple who won’t shame his master? That he’ll definitely win?
No.
No, that’s not it.
The answer his master was waiting for wouldn’t be something like that. What Baek Mu-han hoped for was simply…
“Master, I…”
Unstoppable tears, lips that kept closing, and a trembling body.
Suppressing all of that, Wei Yan-ho opened his mouth.
“I’ll be happy.”
It bursts out.
“I’ll be happy. Happier than anyone, truly — so please, don’t worry about me, Master. I’m… I’m really okay.”
His master smiles.
Gently, lovingly.
And…
Magnificently, as if it were the last time he’d ever be seen.
Wei Yan-ho didn’t take his eyes off his gradually fading master. Knowing this appearance was the last, he gazed at his master’s form without wavering, as if trying to completely engrave his master’s image in those two eyes.
An unavoidable farewell.
The end.
If so, then this time he had to send his master off.
“…Farewell.”
Words of parting.
“Farewell.”
Words that must be said with a smile.
“Farewell…”
Wei Yan-ho bowed his head.
With a farewell that caught in his throat, the world around him slowly crumbled.
The long Dream Lotus Technique ended here.
Chasing the warmth of his master that had now disappeared, Wei Yan-ho quietly closed his eyes.
“…Goodbye.”
