Chapter 38
Chapter 38: Third-rate Martial Family Becomes the Best Under Heaven
Yanghwi joined his younger brother and sister for their dawn practice, marking his first appearance there in quite some time.
“Well now, little ones. Shall we find out just how much progress you have made?”
Nearly a month had slipped past while he pursued the Sound Empress across Gokyeol Mountain and overcame the trials within the Five Halls of Proper Sound.
Provided they had applied themselves without wavering during his absence, their capabilities should have advanced by substantial bounds.
“At your tender years, every single instant holds the weight of seasons. You kept up your daily training, didn’t you?”
“Brother Hwi! What does that phrase mean?”
“It implies that even a fleeting breath of time can carry the value of three long years. Not a single moment should be squandered.”
“Oh, I understand!”
Assessing the fruit of their efforts over the past month, Yanghwi offered an approving nod.
It was plain to see that both So and little Yeon had applied themselves with earnest dedication.
“You have both done admirably. Here, I brought souvenirs for each of you.”
Nothing fosters good conduct in children quite like sincere praise.
Having endured bitter hardship and want throughout their early lives, accompanying that praise with a tangible token made the reward infinitely sweeter.
“Oh! Brother, whatever is this?”
“Take a good look. A lovely jade hairpin, plain as day.”
Resting in Baek Yeonyeon’s little hands was a refined hair ornament—a pin carved from pale jade.
“I have never held anything so gorgeous before!”
Watching Baek Yeonyeon hop and skip with unbridled joy, Yanghwi knew that dropping by a marketplace stall despite his bone-deep exhaustion had been worth every speck of effort.
“And for you, So, here is yours.”
The item prepared for Baek Heonso was an ornamental tassel crafted to grace a sword’s grip.
Yanghwi bent down and personally fastened the braided cord to the base of Baek Heonso’s practice sword.
“Swinging your blade should feel considerably more satisfying with this attached, shouldn’t it? Well? How does it look to you?”
“Brother! Truly, thank you!”
Flushed with delight, Baek Heonso sprang to attention and snapped his fists together in a formal salute.
Look at the boy, eagerly copying the courtly gestures he has observed.
“Keep forging ahead with your drills. After all, you are destined to be the cornerstone of the Baek family.”
“The cornerstone… Yes, Brother!”
Yet barely an instant after his spirits had soared, Baek Heonso’s expression collapsed into an unexpected grimace.
“Why the sudden long face?”
“It’s just that… word reached me that you are setting out once more, Brother.”
“Ah.”
Tender hearts bond with astonishing speed.
Though merely a few moons had drifted by since their paths first crossed, Baek Heonso genuinely revered Yanghwi as his elder sibling.
“Fret not, little brother. I will return before long this time. In all likelihood.”
“Even so… you strike me as truly remarkable, Brother.”
“Where did that come from all of a sudden?”
“Because Father permits you to wander across the land, and… because you even gained admission as an apprentice this time.”
Baek Heonso gazed at him with eyes swirling with tangled sentiments.
Perceptive to a fault, Yanghwi instantly deciphered every subtle ripple behind the boy’s gaze.
Deep awe and genuine devotion. Yet mingled beneath them… a faint tinge of inadequacy and envy.
Although the brighter sentiments heavily outweighed the rest, harboring such conflicting notions at his tender age inevitably left young Baek Heonso bewildered.
To make matters worse, the very brother at the root of that emotional knot was preparing to depart again, leaving behind a sharp ache of solitude and yearning.
Looking closely, So possesses a softer, far more fragile temperament than Yeon.
Yet a pliable nature simply meant he could be molded and guided into someone extraordinary.
Just as loose earth turns into unyielding bedrock under deliberate pressure, a receptive soul can become unshakeable.
Because of this, he would not fall astray or grow twisted as he once did in the previous life.
He would blossom into a peerless martial expert and a master truly worthy of leading the Baek family.
In his position as the elder sibling, Yanghwi harbored absolute certainty that he could steer and refine the boy toward that radiant future.
“So.”
Wearing an affectionate smirk, Yanghwi reached over and patted Baek Heonso’s crown, playfully mussing up the boy’s neat hair.
In mere moments, Baek Heonso’s locks puffed out into a disheveled heap resembling a bird’s nest.
Standing there at seven years old with unruly hair and eyes glistening with awe, the boy looked thoroughly endearing.
“So, fix your gaze upon this brother of yours. Pay absolute attention to how my feet move.”
Retreating five or six paces so that Baek Heonso could clearly view every shift in stance, Yanghwi planted a single step forward.
Vessel Thousand Steps. The wondrous mobility technique he had synthesized after watching the Sound Empress unleash her supernatural grace came to life.
“Were you able to grasp that?”
“Yes, Brother.”
“Hardly. It slipped right past you. Observe once more.”
He executed the solitary pace again. Baek Heonso channeled every ounce of his concentration into Yanghwi’s lower body, holding his breath in suspense.
Presently, a gossamer strand of movement seemed to shimmer before the boy’s sight.
“Did it register this time?”
“Yes. I believe I caught the trace.”
“Not quite thoroughly enough. Watch again.”
Yanghwi demonstrated the stances of Vessel Thousand Steps over and over. With every repeated stride, the radiance igniting Baek Heonso’s pupils grew steadily brighter.
“There. Did you lock every detail in your mind?”
“…”
Rather than answering with words, Baek Heonso glided forward a single step in response.
Observing the core principles already taking root in the boy’s posture, Yanghwi let a broad grin cross his face.
“A touch unrefined, but more than sufficient for now. Next, I shall recite the mnemonic verses. Commit every phrase to memory.”
Absorbing and memorizing the verses proved even swifter than mastering the physical stances.
Since the fundamental internal pathway drew from the Harmonious Heaven Primordial Art, it naturally intertwined with the Pear Blossom Six Harmonies Art that Baek Heonso was cultivating.
“This particular stepping method is known as the Vessel Thousand Steps. A single motion designed to cultivate a vessel vast enough to contain thousands. It stems from the wisdom imparted to me by the Sound Empress.”
Yanghwi rubbed Baek Heonso’s tousled hair once again, patting him affectionately.
By now, nearly every shred of gloom had drained completely from Baek Heonso’s features.
“As the eldest heir of our lineage, Baek Heonso, you must remember that Father has entered another closed-door retreat, leaving you as our household’s foundational support. While I am away on the road, you will guard our home faithfully, won’t you?”
“Yes, Brother!”
“If you apply yourself diligently, I shall instruct you in far greater arts upon my return. So let us seal an oath. You will rise at dawn every morning and never falter in your training alongside Yeon.”
“I swear it, Brother!”
“Yeon swears it too, Brother!”
Glancing between the two little ones who had answered with identical fervor, Yanghwi beamed with warmth.
Please continue growing up into people just as honest and untainted as you are today.
“…”
“…”
This tense atmosphere. This peculiar sensation. It felt intimately familiar, yet ages had passed since he last endured it.
Unable to stomach another second, Gu Ak roared at the top of his lungs.
“YOUNGER BROTHER!!”
“Whatever is the matter, Brother Gu? Why shout so loudly?”
“Does this seem proper to you? Well? In what world does this make any lick of sense?!”
“What could you possibly find fault with?”
“You ask that when you know the answer perfectly well!”
Gu Ak violently cast off the enormous travel pack he had been hauling unassisted.
More precisely, he tossed aside both the baggage and Yanghwi, who had been leisurely perching atop the load.
“Whoa!”
Witnessing Yanghwi flip gracefully in midair before touching the dirt without a stumble, Gu Ak felt his temper erupt, his complaints pouring forth like the barrage of Mantianhauyu.
“Even granting that you are the young master of the household this Gu Ak vowed to protect, between ourselves we remain sworn brothers, don’t we?! Yet setting off down the road with you riding atop my back like some pack mule! How could you bring yourself to treat an elder brother like a draft beast?!”
Blinking in apparent bewilderment, Yanghwi smacked his closed fist against an open hand as though struck by sudden realization.
“Ah! If that is your grievance, then this younger brother shall shoulder the baggage instead.”
“…While perched squarely on my shoulders with the load?”
“Precisely.”
“ARRRGH!”
Qi deviation. This had to be the onset of qi deviation.
How else could his skull feel as if it were searing over hot coals?
“Then not a single thing actually improves, does it?!”
Chuckling under his breath, Yanghwi reached over and gave Gu Ak’s forearm a placating squeeze.
“Come now, this younger brother’s legs have given out, you see? Have a shred of compassion, Brother.”
“THAT IS PRECISELY MY GRIEVANCE!”
Pounding his own ribs repeatedly in sheer exasperation, Gu Ak snarled back.
“Drilling your footwork so excessively that you can barely drag your feet along the road, forcing this Gu Ak to serve as your personal mount—you insolent whelp!”
My, my. Now that he has taken up residence within the central estate, his vulgarities have dried up quite a bit.
Under normal circumstances, he would have hurled far coarser curses instead of merely spitting out “whelp.”
He is settling into polite society splendidly. A most gratifying development.
“Brother Gu. Reflect for just a moment.”
As Yanghwi dropped his voice to a hushed, steady cadence, Gu Ak abruptly cut short his rant.
“Reflect on what?”
“Brother Gu. Don’t you yearn for Sister Rang?”
“…Naturally, I yearn for her.”
Having volunteered to serve as bodyguard after getting sweet-talked by Steward Han, Gu Ak had regretted the choice the instant he realized it entailed enduring prolonged separation from his beloved.
“When journeying on foot, a party must always move at the speed of its slowest member. But what if this younger brother polishes his movement techniques thoroughly? It might seem inconvenient at present, but on our journey home, won’t our pace be twice as swift?”
“…”
“Brother Gu. You wish to be reunited with Sister Rang as quickly as possible, don’t you? In that case, assist this younger brother for just a short spell. I shall train relentlessly for your happiness as well, Brother Gu.”
Put that way, the reasoning sounded strangely compelling… Hold on, absolutely not. Getting hoodwinked by this rascal’s honeyed tongue and biting his own tongue in regret had happened far too often.
All at once, a practical thought struck Gu Ak.
“Couldn’t we simply hire a carriage?”
“That demands unnecessary coin. If we alternate between rigorous practice and resting when worn out, we accomplish both goals at zero cost. Why throw good money away?”
“THAT BRINGS ME RIGHT BACK TO MY QUESTION! Why must your rest take place perched on this Gu Ak’s back, you little braaaat?!”
Sweet coaxing clearly won’t pacify him this time. There is no helping it. Time to cast a juicy lure.
Before Gu Ak could unleash an earnest strike in retaliation, Yanghwi casually dropped another remark.
“The air between you and your father-in-law remains rather strained, does it not?”
Gu Ak instantly froze in his tracks. Yanghwi pressed forward with an utterly nonchalant posture.
“As you are well aware, the one responsible for bringing Senior Yeo Hyeok beneath our roof was none other than myself.”
Lately, one of the thorny dilemmas tormenting Gu Ak involved Yeo Hyeok, the long-absent elder who had reentered the life of his beloved Yeo Arang.
Throughout his rough life, Gu Ak had treated virtually everyone beneath him with scorn while ignoring his own father entirely, never once feeling the urge to curry favor with anyone.
Consequently, he was completely at a loss when it came to courting the favor of a future father-in-law—an elder holding supreme authority over him.
If I yield right now, I will merely be dancing to this brat’s flute all over again.
Even while recognizing the trap, Gu Ak could not hold back the question.
“Do you truly possess a solution?”
“Hehehe.”
Hoisting the luggage back into his grasp, Yanghwi hopped straight onto Gu Ak’s broad shoulders once more.
Though Gu Ak’s instincts screamed to buck him off, his limbs refused to shove the boy away.
“The journey is extensive, so we can converse as we cover ground.”
“…Very well. By the way, Little Brother. It occurs to me that I still do not know where our journey ends.”
“Ah, the destination escaped my mention. The ultimate point of our excursion, naturally.”
Yanghwi paused to gather his memories. More specifically, he revisited the recollections that Chudal had confided to him back in their previous life.
“Our course is set for Jiujiang, situated northwest of Nanchang within Jiangxi Province.”
“What lies in that territory?”
“The Nameless Killing Valley.”
“…A remarkably sinister title for any martial sect.”
“As expected. It operates as an assassin’s gate, after all.”
An assassin’s gate. In plain terms, an organization dedicated to cultivating cold-blooded killers to fulfill paid murders.
“Whatever reason do we have to meddle with such a nest?”
“Because an exceptional talent I hold in high regard resides there.”
“…Do not tell me you intend to abduct a youth being shaped into an assassin and install them directly into the Baek Estate?”
“Spot on! Just as anticipated, your wits are keen!”
“You dare attempt an absurdity of that scale and dragged along merely one companion? Your mind has truly rotted away, Little Brother.”
“Brother Gu’s presence alone is more than adequate. Are you not the very man poised to seize the mantle of Ak’an’s greatest master?”
Yanghwi threw the flattery out lightly, yet Gu Ak truly stood as one of merely two first-rate masters across the entire expanse of Ak’an County.
The first-rate masters under the banners of the Honggyo Gang and Cheongsa Gang had been wiped out or crippled, while the Suho Alliance lacked a single first-rate master in its ranks.
The chieftain of the Gyojin Gang and Gu Ak were effectively disputing the supreme martial standing within Ak’an County.
Put differently, Gu Ak ranked as the second most formidable combatant across Ak’an County at the very least.
…Naturally, when pitted against the unified might of an entire assassin’s gate, even a solitary first-rate master could hardly dream of turning the tide.
“Rest easy, Brother Gu. I harbor no suicidal designs to storm the stronghold of the Nameless Killing Valley. Our purpose requires only that we kidna… liberate a single young recruit currently assigned to field conditioning outside the compound.”
“Kidnap? Was the word that just slipped past your lips ‘kidnap’? An adherent of the righteous path actively scheming a kidnapping?!”
“Peace, peace. A minor slip of the tongue meant to say rescue. In all seriousness, that youth will perish if he is not extracted without delay.”
In their previous life, Yanghwi and Chudal had bonded almost instantaneously, drawn together by their shared roots in Jiangxi Province.
Their temperaments matched so seamlessly that they eventually formalized their bond through sworn brotherhood.
Judging by the personal history Chudal had recounted throughout their shared seasons…
The boy was slated to confront a harrowing, fatal calamity in the immediate future.
“Our noble aim is to liberate an innocent youth who was stolen away by an assassin’s gate, had his emotions systematically stripped, and is being forged into a blade of murder. In truth, this venture embodies the highest ideals of righteousness!”
Yanghwi thrust a celebratory fist toward the heavens from his vantage point atop Gu Ak’s shoulders.
“Brother Gu, you are finally ascending to the ranks of a righteous hero! Now, let us forge ahead!”
“…”
Gu Ak merely clamped his mouth shut. Whenever he allowed himself to get dragged along by this little demon’s glib chatter, he invariably came away on the losing side.
Occasionally, absolute silence functioned as the most devastating riposte.
After prodding Gu Ak relentlessly without eliciting so much as a grunt, Yanghwi eventually exhausted his amusement and quieted down.
The path is monotonous, and this provides no entertainment whatsoever.
In moments such as these, the longing for Chudal’s company grew all the sharper.
Throughout their previous lifetime, Yanghwi had passed endless hours trading sharp banter with Chudal during grueling marches.
A sworn junior whose cadence harmonized with his own regardless of circumstance. To Yanghwi, Chudal had been nothing short of a kindred spirit.
Well, given the peaceful silence, I might as well polish the particulars of our operation.
Presently, Chudal remained under the grip of the Nameless Killing Valley, undergoing brutal conditioning as an assassin.
At the very earliest by tomorrow, or within a single moon at the absolute latest, the boy would be coerced into taking his first life.
That horrific event had shattered the youth so deeply that recurring nightmares plagued him for years on end.
Chudal, little brother, this elder sibling will ensure you never have to endure those nightmares in this life.
While Yanghwi refined his plan of extraction from his perch atop Gu Ak’s back, signs of civilization gradually thickened around them. Moving past scattered hamlets tucked into valley folds, an expansive township greeted their eyes.
Before they realized it, they had crossed into Jiujiang.
“Honored patrons! Clean quarters and hearty meals at modest rates! Come this way!”
“Savor the most exquisite fish-fragrant pork under heaven! Only at our Yangha Pavilion!”
A cluster of youthful tavern runners could be seen beckoning potential diners amidst the bustling thoroughfare.
Among that crowd, Yanghwi’s attention zeroed in on a lone youth whose voice sounded unnervingly mechanical, his countenance entirely devoid of warmth, and a knowing smile tugged at Yanghwi’s lips.
Located him at last.
By all appearances, their arrival could not have aligned more perfectly with fate.
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