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Chapter 88. The Entire World is My Home (9)

“What do you think, Woo-Moon? You’re okay with this arrangement, right?”

Seeing how considerate they all had been for him, Woo-Moon eventually agreed.

“Understood. Let’s do it this way.”

“Good. Then, from now on, you’re the commander of the Invincible Forged Squadron.”

Woo-Moon smiled at So-Hoon.

“Then, please take care of me, Vice Commander.”

“That’s what I wanted to say, Commander.”

“Good. Then, let’s move on to the second issue.”

Woo-Moon was quite surprised by Baek Ye-ye’s words.

"What, there’s something else?”

Ye-Ye looked over at Mu-Hoon with an innocent expression. He cleared his throat sheepishly and softly said, “They say that a dispute arose between the Justice Coalition and the Hegemon Clan. It’s referring to what happened with the Zhuge Family in Shandong Province. The Zhuge Family says that what happened was entirely the Hegemon Clan’s fault, but the Hegemon Clan refutes it, saying that the Zhuge Family’s contribution wasn’t small, either. After a fierce battle to decide who was at fault, it was eventually decided that seven representatives from each side would come forth to resolve the issue with a set of spars.”

“Spars?”

“That’s right. Thus, I hope you will participate in the spars alongside the Ten Distinguished Swords as representatives of the Iron Sword Baek Family.”

Woo-Moon had to think about it. Although, on the one hand, he wasn’t very happy about the prospect of leaving his family, on the other, he was rather keen on seeing his younger brother again, which was fairly likely if the Justice Coalition was involved. Moreover, he was excited about the prospect of sparring with the Hegemon Clan’s elite.

There would definitely be a lot for him to learn in the spars.

“Then, yes, I’ll participate. But do I really have to go with the Ten Distinguished Swords?”

The Ten Distinguished Swords were actually the Seven Distinguished Swords right now, considering the one who lost his life in Red Fog Valley and the imprisoned Do-Gun and Heon-Won. Thus, they were currently in the process of selecting three more members from the next generation of talents.

“While the Baek Family Representative will definitely be you, don’t you think that the other kids should also go and gain some experience? I would like you to take them with you.”

“Hmm...”

‘But it’s easier to travel alone...’

Although Woo-Moon had his reservations, there wasn’t anything pressing enough for him to refuse a request that the patriarch had gone out of his way to make.

“Understood. Then we’ll all set off together.”

“Thank you for humoring me.”

“Then, when would we be departing?”

“You should be fine to set off in ten days.”

***

It took Ah Sam and Jae-Hwa three days to return to the Song Residence from the clinic. However, upon their return, Jae-Hwa now not only stopped looking down on Ah Sam, but even called him hyung.

Two days later, Woo-Moon called all of the guards over.

Looking over them, the guards looked as if they had become entirely different people compared to when Woo-Moon had brought them to the estate. Their shoulders were broader, their backs straight as an arrow, and their bodies rippling with muscles and without an ounce of fat.

There was even a sharp aura that occasionally flickered in their eyes.

“The reason I called you here today....” Woo-Moon said, dragging out every word. He threw the books in his arms one by one to each guard.

“Was to give each of you a suitable martial art.”

The guards’ faces lit up at those words.

Each of them had developed a strong desire for martial arts after they had resolved themselves of their deaths during the succession ceremony.

“Ah Sam, you have exceptionally long arms and excellent muscles. Although your body type is suitable for fistfighting, I think you’d do even better with archery. Jae-Hwa, you’re agile, intelligent, and would excel in anything I give you. But I think your personality leans toward the saber.”

Ah Sam was given an archery art, while Jae-Hwa was given a saber art.

Woo-Moon then moved on to the rest of the guards.

Throwing weapons, footwork, glaive, fist, sword, spear, whip—each one of them had a different martial art to learn.

“...I can’t be fully confident in the martial arts I gave you as I was the one who made them. They aren’t something I created out of experience or practice, but by meditating on the Martial Arts Fundamentals. However, I made sure to stick to the fundamentals as much as possible while merging all of the insights I’ve learned into a single form. Still, as I also had input from Ma-Ra as I created them, I think they would be pretty good. I have to go to the Justice Coalition for a little while. I hope that in the meantime, you don’t get lazy and train diligently. You all are our family’s guards.”

At Woo-Moon’s last words, the guards smiled sheepishly. Some of them even belatedly felt embarrassed, blushing at the thought that they were the guards of the Song Woo-Moon, the current strongest in the Iron Sword Baek Family barring his grandfather, yet they still only had this level of strength.

‘These little brats really are kind-hearted.’

Maybe because of the hardships they had to undergo from a young age, the guards not only had superior patience and tenacity compared to their peers, but also possessed an honest innocence that was lacking in those of prestigious families.

“We will never get lazy!”

“We’ll follow your orders!”

“If you’re going to the Justice Coalition, isn’t that in Shijiazhuang? Can you bring me a gift on your way back?”

Shijiazhuang.[1]

Just from its name, Shijiazhuang sounded like a village where people of the Shi Family lived. However, Shijiazhuang was actually the capital of Hebei Province and one of the most prosperous cities in the Central Plains.

There were two main theories about the origins of Shijiazhuang’s unique name. The first was that it was literally a village with many people surnamed Shi that gradually grew into a major city. The second was that its name was a metaphorical reference to the immense amount of coal that it produced.[2] That metaphor was so commonly used that it eventually became the city’s official name.

In any case, when Cho Myeong heard that Woo-Moon was going to be going to the famous Shijiazhuang, the city with the unique name, his eyes started glowing. He was well-known among the guards for lacking any tact or situational awareness, and true to that reputation, he simply went ahead and asked his boss for a present.

“You, tone down!” Ah Sam called out, glaring at Cho Myeong. After defeating Jae-Hwa, he had officially become the eldest brother of the group, and it was his duty to temper down his brash little brothers.

However, Woo-Moon just smiled and waved his hand.

“It’s fine, Ah Sam. Myeong, I’ll definitely bring you a gift.”[3]

“Really?! Thank you!”

“I won’t just be bringing gifts for Myeong, but also for the rest of you. So do your best, okay?”

“Understood!”

“Now! You’ve all had enough of a break, right? Go and start practicing your techniques.”

As everyone answered loudly and went to practice on their own, Woo-Moon called out to Jae-Hwa, who was still wrapped in bandages and was the last to leave.

“Jae-Hwa.”

“Yes.”

Jae-Hwa had become much more polite than when they had first met.

“Originally, I thought that you were just an annoying brat who tried to live life only depending on your talent. But I was wrong. I was impressed by the fighting spirit and tenacity you showed in your spar.”

“Thank you.”

Jae-Hwa’s eyes were suddenly tinged with red at Woo-Moon’s unexpected compliment. He bowed and said his farewell before quickly leaving.

Everyone had left by this point, leaving Woo-Moon alone. Still, he continued to talk while tapping the armrest of his chair.

“Thank you, Ma-Ra.”

Ma-Ra’s voice rang in the seemingly absent room.

“For?”

Ma-Ra felt as though she had been neglecting her concealment arts lately, so she was now in a perpetual hidden state, even when she was by Woo-Moon’s side.

“It was thanks to your help that I was able to create proper martial arts for them.”

Assassins actually had to learn an incredibly diverse set of techniques.

They had to learn the essentials: stealth techniques, movement techniques, eye techniques, hidden weapon techniques, and tracking techniques. On top of those, there were many other related skills necessary for assassination, such as construction and basic training in various types of weapons.

As Ma-Ra had learned all of these things from a young age, she was an incredible help to Woo-Moon when he was creating the different martial arts for the guards.

She stayed hidden silently as she didn’t know how to respond to Woo-Moon’s gratitude. She still hadn’t figured out what a person would say at a time like this.

***

Time passed quickly, and soon, there was only a day left before Woo-Moon had to set off for the Justice Coalition as the Baek Family representative.

Somewhere along the line, Woo-Moon had developed a habit of training at night. As he left the residence for one final session, he suddenly met an unexpected guest.

“Father?"

It was Dae-Woong.

Dae-Woong had become quieter these days, and his personality was shifting for some reason. Although Jin-Jin and Woo-Moon had already realized it, they didn’t confront him directly, as they believed he would open up to them eventually and wanted to give him a chance to do so on his own.

“Son! You’re training diligently today, too, it seems. I’m not interrupting you, am I?”

“Of course not. You’re never an interruption, Father.”

Woo-Moon sheathed his sword. He could feel that Dae-Woong hadn’t just come to him for a casual conversation.

Dae-Woong and Woo-Moon sat down on a nearby rock. As the father and son sat side by side, they didn’t say anything for a while and just looked up at the night sky.

“Why aren’t you saying anything?” Dae-Woong asked.

“The fact that you came to see me means that you finally decided to tell me what’s going on. You can start whenever you want.”

“Hmm. Is that so?”

There was another short silence before Dae-Woong spoke again.

“Actually, on that day, my mind was in a daze after what happened in that stone chamber, and I was so confused that I couldn’t come to my senses.”

Woo-Moon had seen it, too. Dae-Woong appeared similar to how Woo-Moon himself had been in the past—when he had been in a daze, immersed in the landscape painting.

“What are the three major factions the gangho is divided into right now?”

“The Night Sects and One Gang and the Seven Great Ancient Families have formed a loose alliance called the Justice Coalition, while the Evil Faction has gathered around the powerful Hegemon Clan in the west, and the Lust Emperor has united the wandering members of the Black Hand and formed the Black Bull Gang.”

“Then, other than the three major factions, what about the hidden forces?”

“There’s the Heavenly Demon Cult and the all-female Phoenix Palace.”

“Anything else?”

“I don’t remember hearing about any other forces other than those two.”

“Good. It makes sense that those are all the forces currently known in the gangho. But, there actually were two other forces besides them.”

Woo-Moon inferred that what Dae-Woong was about to explain was related to his background.

“And what are they?”

“One is the Western Nihility Gate, which was destroyed thirty-four years ago, and the other is a place called the Martial Heaven.”

“Which one did you belong to?”

Dae-Woong closed his eyes tightly.

“My father—your grandfather—was the last Gatekeeper of the Western Nihility Gate.”

Woo-Moon’s eyes widened. He thought about something for a moment before asking another question.

“Was the Western Nihility Gate a good place?”

“The Western Nihility Gate was located deep within the mountains. It was a place where disciples had gathered like family and lived happily without any disputes, quarrels, or greed. Or—no, maybe I’m just remembering the good parts because I only saw it when I was young.”

“Regardless, to you, it was still an incredible place. But why was it destroyed?”

Dae-Woong shook his head.

“I was too young, and at the time, the only things I was interested in were martial arts and going out to play. I don’t have many memories about the details, but I clearly remember that it was the Martial Heaven who attacked us.”

“Martial Heaven...”

The Heavens of Martial Arts. That was a rather grand name, to say the least.

“Both the Western Nihility Gate and Martial Heaven were hidden sects that weren’t known by the gangho. That’s why not a single person knows that there was once a sect called the Western Nihility Gate that was attacked and destroyed by another sect known as the Martial Heaven. Well, at least now, you know.”

“...Do you plan on getting revenge?”

Dae-Woong closed his eyes tightly as he composed himself. The reason he hadn’t told his wife or son about this after coming to his senses was because of his deeply conflicted feelings about revenge.

“It seems that the reason for the memory loss I suffered when I was young is the shock I’ve been through.”

“By shock, you mean...?”

“My father, mother, and siblings all died before my eyes. My older sister even told me that I needed to live no matter what and sent me off smiling, even as she was dying with a sword through her stomach. My family, my friends... all of them were gone, my entire world was gone. I was so soft-hearted and weak that I couldn’t handle those painful memories, and to cope, I guess my brain just erased them altogether.”

Woo-Moon couldn’t fathom how great Dae-Woong’s sorrow and rage must be as he listened to his father’s story. Because he couldn’t grasp that sorrow properly, he tried to imagine himself in that position.

His father dead, his mother dead, his younger brother dead, all for his sake. His grandfather, Si-Hyeon, Ma-Ra, Eun-Ah, the guards... even the friendly villagers of Unhan, all cruelly murdered in an instant.

Woo-Moon’s eyes widened in shock as a horrifying bloodlust filled him. He had gotten so good at his visualization training that these imagined emotions felt more real than reality.

Quickly getting control over his emotions, Woo-Moon answered his own question.

“So then you must have chosen revenge now, father.”

“No, I didn’t.”

“...Then?”

Dae-Woong grinned as he tousled Woo-Moon’s hair with his massive hand.

“You little tyke. I guess you still don’t know a parent’s heart.”

1. Literally Village of the Shi Family, in Chinese. ☜

2. The word for “coal” is a combination of “rock” and “charcoal,” and the word for “rock” is also the Shi family name—one of Shi family names, at least. ☜

3. East Asians will often shorten someone’s name to a single syllable out of affection. ☜