Chapter 36. Twin Swords of the Wind and Clouds (11)
“It’s a good idea. Given your intelligence and talent, it probably won’t take you very long to regain your skills.”
Years ago, when Jin-Jin was very young, there had been three brilliant young heroines called the Three Blooming Phoenixes whose reputation had been growing in the gangho.
With unmistakable beauty and incredible martial skills, the Three Blooming Phoenixes were the object of many members of the gangho.
However, whenever he would hear any mention of them, the Palm Martial Emperor always snorted in amusement. From his perspective, if his daughter had become known to the gangho, the Three Blooming Phoenixes would have become naught but fireflies in the light of the moon.
Well, the Three Blooming Phoenixes had also matured in the meantime and they were now married women with children—the same as Jin-Jin, so it was all just dreams and memories.
‘Time sure flows....’
Having lived for so long alone, frozen in time as the world passed him by, the Palm Martial Emperor understood better than anyone else what it meant to witness the passage of time.
As Woo-Moon and his family chatted, Dae-Woong finally called out to them.
“The table is set! Come and eat, Father-in-law! Honey! Kids!”
Woo-Moon got up and tried to help Jin-Jin proceed to the dining room, but Sang-Woon stopped him.
“It’s fine. Go on with your brother first. I’ll support your mother.”
“Yes, Grandfather. Woo-Gang...”
Woo-Moon called out to his younger brother, but Woo-Gang left ahead with a cold expression on his face, completely ignoring his brother.
‘That little brat!’
“Looks like you’ll have to teach your little brother some manners,” Sang-Woon said with a smile.
“That’s right. Make sure you drill it into his head properly. That’s the only way he’ll remember it. I can’t stomach watching your younger brother act like that to his hyung,” Jin-Jin chimed in with a grin.
Woo-Moon paused for a moment, surprised. Had his mother’s personality changed because her internal wounds had been healed?
“I understand.”
Deep down, he had assumed that he couldn’t do anything to his crude and disrespectful younger brother as there were still the adults' gazes on him. However, after hearing that he didn’t need to hold back, Woo-Moon felt as though an entire mountain had been lifted from his shoulders, no longer needing to hold back.
‘Good, good. You little bastard, you think you’re some hot shit with that flower whatever sect? Let’s see how you smell the flowers tomorrow from ground level.’
As Woo-Moon walked out of the room triumphantly, Sang-Woon helped Jin-Jin up.
“Your husband is quite strong,” he remarked out of the blue.
Jin-Jin smiled faintly.
“When he first showed interest in me, it was just annoying, I couldn’t believe that such a bear-like monster had the gall to look at me. I think...from a certain point on, he started to look kinda cute, and he took care of me really nicely.”
“What, and ‘from a certain point on,’ you started to feel sad if you didn’t see him and began to wait for him to come?”
“Hehehe. Well, something like that.”
Sang-Woon’s eyebrow rose as he looked at his daughter. She was already a mature woman in her own right, so even when speaking about things like this to her own father, not one hint of embarrassment crossed her face.
‘You little brat. To think you were so cute when you were little.’
Hiding his regret, Sang-Woon continued about what he had originally wanted to address.
“But, did you know that your husband has an Innate Martial Physique?”
“Yes, I did.”
Although she had long since noticed it, Jin-Jin hadn’t considered it a big deal. As she had already decided to live far away from the murim, and Dae-Woong had already gone past the best age to start learning martial arts...
“As expected, you really have no idea. Or, maybe you do have an idea but you just subconsciously rejected it because you didn’t want to be associated with the murim.”
“Pardon? An idea about what?” Jin-Jin asked.
Sang-Woon opened the door, but then stopped and turned around. Staring at his daughter, he said, “I can tell you for certain that your husband is the son of an outstanding—no, an apex martial family.”
Jin-jin's eyes widened at his words.
“What makes you think that?”
It wasn’t that Jin-Jin thought that her father, an Absolute Master, would have made such a mistake, but this piece of news was just too baffling.
“Doesn’t your husband have an absolutely astonishing level of vitality? To the point where, sometimes, it’s hard to see him as someone who hasn’t learned a qi cultivation method.”
“Huh? Well...yes, that’s true. But, there have always been stories that there are some people who are just born with divine vitality, so I just assumed...”
“Well, that’s true, there are people like that. However, your husband is not one of them. As I examined his meridians, I found not only the traces of a bone and marrow cleansing done in childhood, but also a great energy hidden deep inside his dantian.”
The more Sang-Woon spoke, the greater Jin-Jin’s confusion became.
“No...no, that’s impossible. How...”
“What would I gain by lying to you? Yesterday, when Dae-Woong hugged me, I felt something strange, so I secretly used my qi to investigate. While it’s certain that he hasn’t mastered any martial arts, it’s also certain that he ate some incredible elixir when he was young. Because he hadn’t learned any qi cultivation methods, the incredible energy contained within the elixir could only express itself through this incredible vitality that he has now. Moreover, because he didn’t properly absorb the energy of the elixir after consuming it, the energy became so tightly packed inside his organs that no one around him could have sensed it.”
The Palm Martial Emperor had been able to grasp all of this just by briefly holding Dae-Woong’s arm when he brought them lunch yesterday.
"How is this possible...”
Sang-Woon took this point to ask Jin-Jin a question while she was unable to finish a thought due to the unexpected truth.
“Has your husband said anything to you about his past?”
“Yes. However, it was just tales from when he grew up an orphan...wait, come to think of it, he said that all his memories are from after he became an orphan and he doesn’t remember anything at all from before then.”
“Alright, so that’s what happened. We’ll have to figure it out slowly. For now, we...” Muttering to himself, Sang-Woon was just about to leave the room when Jin-Jin, who was also musing over the situation, spoke up.
“If that’s the case, can you teach my husband some martial arts? At least while you’re here...”
Sang-Woon realized that his daughter was anticipating that he would leave again and readily nodded.
“Of course, why not? He’s my son-in-law, after all. We can’t just let him get beaten up by whatever random people.”
Everyone in the family except for Dae-Woong was already deeply involved with the murim, so whether Jin-Jin liked it or not, her husband had already been drawn into it as well. With that in mind, it was for the best that he learned how to take care of himself.
***
Dae-Woong’s family[1] finally got to enjoy his famous dishes together, for the first time in a long time—and now with an extra member.
“Oh! Looks like you haven’t lost your touch, Father!”
“Of course I haven’t, you little brat! Even if I take a long break, do you think I can just forget how to cook?”
As she heard the conversation between Woo-Moon and Dae-Woong, Jin-Jin frowned and scolded them.
“How many times do I have to tell you it’s rude to talk with food in your mouth? Like father, like son, tsk.”
In an instant, both father and son sealed their mouths tightly as Woo-Gang chuckled nervously.
Dae-Woong whispered to Woo-Moon, “Don’t you think your mother’s become kinda scary after recovering from her illness? She looks just like when we first met.”
Originally, Jin-Jin had been a hot-tempered person, but as her health gradually deteriorated, she became more and more depressed and introverted as she became unable to do anything on her own and had to rely on Dae-Woong and then on their children for everything.
However, now that her body was healed, it seemed as though her old personality was also coming back.
“Definitely,” Woo-Moon whispered.
Once again, Jin-Jin’s eyebrows shot up.
“Dear, you know I can hear everything you say, even when you whisper, right? You know that your voice is really loud, right?”
“Huh? AHAHAHA! So you heard that? Hahaha...uh...I’m sorry, dear. I was wrong.”
The meal continued on the same note for a while.
Once they finished eating, Woo-Moon quietly spoke to Woo-Gang.
“Let’s go out. We need to talk.”
Noticing that his older brother had something he wanted to address, Woo-Gang responded with a snort.
“Fine. Let’s go.”
Arriving over at an empty lot near the back of the village, where few villagers went, Woo-Moon suddenly swung his knuckles at Woo-Gang’s forehead without any hesitation.
“Ah!”
Woo-Gang was unable to dodge it. Although it was just an ordinary punch, with no particular technique or skill behind it, for some reason, he wasn’t able to avoid it at all.
“I just kept letting things slide, but it seems I can’t wait any longer. We’re going to have to address these bad habits of yours,” Woo-Moon said before he swung his fist once more.
Woo-Gang glared at his brother with fire in his eyes, thinking, ‘As if I’ll let you hit me again!’
BONK!
This blow felt stronger than the first.
Woo-Gang’s mind went blank as he saw stars in front of his eyes, the pain from the blow so great that tears came out.
“S-stop it!”
As Woo-Gang glared at him, Woo-Moon raised his fist once more, fully intent on repeating the same blow.
“Huh? Are you talking back to me?”
‘I really won’t let him hit me this time!’
Woo-Gang really was prepared this time. He circulated his qi throughout his entire body, devoting everything in his being to avoiding the impending rap on the forehead.
However, the moment Woo-Moon’s fist moved, Woo-Gang had already been hit again.
THWACK!
It was an even bigger impact than before, and by now, tears were really flowing from the corners of Woo-Gang’s eyes. It was involuntary and uncontrollable; his body simply reacted on its own to the pain.
Still, even though he knew he couldn’t help it, Woo-Gang was incredibly upset that he, a grown man, was crying because of a few punches.
“You little fu–!”
Enraged, Woo-Gang moved to draw the bluesteel longsword he wore on his waist. As he was about to pul it out, however, he was forced to stop.
“Huh?”
“You little brat, are you serious? What, are you trying to tell me that you’re the big brother now? And you actually dare to draw a sword at me? Fine, let’s see you try to kill me.”
Woo-Moon had his hand on the hilt of his little brother’s sword before Woo-Gang had even noticed him approaching, and an insurmountable force prevented Woo-Gang from drawing the sword even a milimeter.
THUD!
He hit Woo-Gang on the head again.
“Agh!”
It was only now that Woo-Gang finally screamed, both from the incredible pain and from the suppressed rage from being unable to avoid Woo-Moon’s fist.
At that moment, it was as if the seasons were changing before their very eyes as Woo-Gang started to use the Five Elements Plum Blossom Steps.
As the delicate fragrance of plum blossoms began to spread, Woo-Gang’s body began to pull back from where he stood, almost as if he was stretching through space.
However, just as he thought that he had succeeded in avoiding Woo-Moon, Woo-Moon’s figure suddenly became blurry, following Woo-Gang at every moment.
Almost as if he could foresee his brother’s next move, Woo-Moon easily displayed the Divine Phantasm Steps.
Five Elements Plum Blossom Steps and the Divine Phantasm Steps were the most lauded footwork arts of the Mount Hua Sect and the Kunlun Sect, respectively, and it was difficult to say which of the two was the superior one.
The important thing at this point was that Woo-Moon’s mastery of the Divine Phantasm Steps was much higher than that of Woo-Gang’s mastery of the Five Elements Plum Blossom Steps.
“Where do you think you’re running?”
THWACK!
As Woo-Moon’s fist exploded forward again, the ever-calm Woo-Gang suddenly rushed forward at his brother with rage burning in his eyes.
“Who do you think you are? Who the fuck are you to hit me?!”
“I’m your elder brother, you insufferable bastard!” Woo-Moon, easily avoiding the Mount Hua Sect’s famous Tiger-Subduing Fist, smacked Woo-Gang on the forehead once again.
“Agh!”
Woo-Moon didn’t let up with just one, either. Once, twice, three times, then a fourth, a fifth...
As Woo-Gang continued to be hit, over and over, he vowed to himself not to shed any more tears, endlessly reminding himself that he was a Plum Blossom Sword.
However, Woo-Moon’s every blow made Woo-Gang’s head quake and him reel in pain. Moreover, Woo-Gang’s resentment toward his older brother, whom he had always ignored and considered lacking compared to him in every way, continued to rise.
Eventually, after being beaten like this for a while, an image of the Woo-Moon of old, so strong and terrifying that Woo-Gang hadn’t even dreamed of fighting back as a child, began to emerge in his mind once more. Soon enough, tears began to flow from Woo-Gang’s eyes again.
“Why are you hitting me? Who are you to hit me right now? You, who lived comfortably here while I had just to keep my head down and clench my teeth, training till exhaustion at Mount Hua, no matter how much I missed Mom and Dad?! You, the bastard who became the village idiot and disgraced our family?! You, who only ever served to make our parents sick with worry?!”
Mount Hua would give money to the disciples periodically—it could be considered a form of allowance. Of course, as the Mount Hua Sect was a Daoist sect and wasn’t very involved in commercial activities, the allowance wasn’t all that large.
Still, even with such a paltry allowance, Woo-Gang had always saved up all of the money and sent it home whenever he could, even though all of his fellow disciples would tease him for being a miser whenever they saw him. He knew that unless he did so, his family would fall onto the verge of ruin.
The more he had to do so, the more the hatred and resentment toward his older brother, who had become a fool, continued to grow within Woo-Gang’s heart. It was heart-wrenching.
As Woo-Moon continued to hit him despite his screams, Woo-Gang began to cry as he threw a tantrum, just like he used to do when he was a child.
“What have you done that gives you the right to hit me? Who are you to hit me, hyung?”
As a child, Woo-Gang really loved Woo-Moon, a feeling that didn’t change for quite a while, even after entering Mount Hua. When he heard the news that his weak but smart older brother had become a fool, Woo-Gang even stayed awake for days and nights out of worry and concern for his older brother.
However, struggling alone with no background at Mount Hua was difficult and cruel.
Although they were fellow disciples, the others had absolutely no feelings of kinship with him. Instead, they went so far as to look down upon Woo-Gang for being an uneducated peasant from the country and try to keep him in check.
It didn’t even matter to them whether Woo-Gang intended to be the next Master of the Mount Hua Sect. The only thing that had mattered was the fact that Woo-Gang had become a disciple of the Mount Hua Sect’s master based solely on his own talent.
Thus, the worse life at Mount Hua became, the more the feelings of resentment toward Woo-Moon festered.
At first, it was only, ‘Why did he become an idiot? It would be nice if he could come to his senses.’
However, as time passed by and his hardships only worsened, his feelings also turned darker and darker, morphing into ‘I’m having such a hard time, what the hell is he doing? What, is he just living comfortably at home while playing the fool? He’s so pathetic!’
“Ah, yes. You’re right. I was a horrible son and brother.”
It was only then that Woo-Moon stopped punching his brother, and upon hearing those words, Woo-Gang glared at him with bloodshot eyes and responded with venom, “What, you only just realized that?”
“Of course I realized it a while ago. That’s why I feel so much guilt toward our parents...and to you, too. However, my guilt is my guilt, and that doesn’t mean I can just let your disrespect slide,” Woo-Moon said as he raised a hand and pointed toward Woo-Gang’s face. “How did you act when you ran into me at the Goryang Plains the other day?”
Even though their eyes met on that day, Woo-Gang simply pretended not to know him.
1. Here, the author specifies “Jin-Jin, Sang-Woon, and the three Song men.” In East Asia, there is a separation of family bloodlines—technically, only the men are a part of the lineage. The women marry in, and thus, Jin-Jin and Sang-Woon don’t count as Song family members proper. ☜