Episode 301: Only for those with a connection.
The journey with Pyeonjung was extremely enjoyable.
He practiced the Cheonma Defense Technique in the carriage he skillfully drove, and stopped by a delicious guesthouse to eat. Just like when we went, if there was a place with a nice view, we stopped the carriage and looked around together. I saw a rainbow over the waterfall and listened to the coachman’s life while having a drink.
When we arrived at Magachon, I even paid for the return trip.
“There are a lot of vicious demons here, so it’s dangerous to return home with guests. “This money is not for you; it is money for you to buy clothes for your children. Please do not ignore my sincerity.”
Pyeonjung was a face with so much he wanted to say, but he replaced it with this one word.
“I look forward to serving you again someday.”
You may never see this person again, but you never know the connection between people. I wonder if one day I will be able to get on the carriage of Pyeonjung, who has gray hair.
“Go back carefully.”
I sent the group back and entered Magachon.
“Oh good! “This smell!”
The unique smell of Magachon welcomed me. I finally felt like I was back home.
“Master Sujiao!”
The person who saw me from over there and ran to me was Jo Chun-bae from Pungryu Bar. It was so welcoming that I was worried I might fall.
“How are you, owner?”
“When did you come back?”
“I’m just arriving now. “Seeing as we met our owner as soon as we arrived, I think today’s day will be very good.”
“Oh, don’t say that! “What can you say?”
Even while waving his hands, he was smiling broadly. When I saw Jo Chun-bae, I realized that I had really returned.
He was on his way to a pub with ingredients on a cart.
“You buy the ingredients yourself.”
“sure. I personally select the freshest ingredients. “Now, let’s go.”
When Jo Chun-bae was trying to push the cart, I made him sit on the cart.
“Let’s sit down together.”
I sat next to Cho Chun-bae in front of the cart.
Jo Chun-bae blinked and asked.
“If you both sit down, who will pull the cart?”
“I draw it with my heart.”
I’m kidding. This is Cho Chun-bae, smiling.
“I will push you. Take a ride on my cart for the first time!”
The moment he was about to get off the cart, the cart started moving on its own.
“Oh my! “It moves on its own!”
Of course, I was using empty space to move the cart. Jo Chun-bae expressed his admiration in amazement.
“I started working at a bar when I was young and had all kinds of experiences, but this is my first time experiencing something like this.”
“Actually, it’s my first time too.”
“Is it okay to use your precious strength for something like this?”
“That precious energy is always being used only by trash. Rather, it is now being used for the most valuable work.”
Jo Chun-bae looked at me and said.
“If I were a military person, I would definitely attend Lord Xiao.”
“I don’t like it.”
He smiled and said to Cho Chun-bae, who was very nervous, wondering if he had made a mistake.
“Then there won’t be any pubs? Even if you are not the owner, you have many subordinates.”
A deep smile appeared on Cho Chun-bae’s lips.
So we arrived at Pungryu Bar.
I went up to the seat on this floor where I always sat and drank.
“Do you still leave this place empty?”
“Yes, it is a place for the small church leader and special people.”
“If this happens, won’t it be a loss for the owner?”
“I have lived my whole life struggling to avoid that loss. “Now it should be fun like this.”
Cho Chun-bae happily looked at the signatures of the Magons engraved on the wall.
I, too, looked at that place and was surprised.
“You left behind your father too!”
“He came about a month after Master So was expelled from the church.”
“Did you come alone?”
“Yes, you came twice, but both times you came alone.”
I thought about my father sitting here alone, drinking.
It must not have been that easy to leave a signature there. How can I not like this? After all, a father is a father.
“Would you like a drink?”
“I have to say hello to my father first. “I’ll stop by later.”
“I’ll see you later then.”
As I left the Pungryu bar, my steps became faster. After seeing my father’s signature, I wanted to see him more.
* * *
Jeok Yeon, the guard in charge, was waiting in front of Cheonmajeon.
Looks like news of my return has already spread.
He quickly looked me up and down, checking for any injuries.
“I’m glad you came back safely.”
He must have been angry at the fact that he sent away the escorts and went to Gangseojidan alone, but he looked relieved that I had returned safely.
“You have to get used to this. “There is a very long way to go.”
“No matter how much you do it, it’s not easy to get used to.”
That is correct. Because if I died, they would have to take full responsibility.
I asked Jeokyeon, who was about to turn around.
“How are your eyes?”
“it’s okay.”
“Let me see.”
Now he obediently took off the eyepatch without any fuss. Looking at the redness in the eyes, it seems that there has been progress in training.
“Once you get over this hurdle, you will enter a stage where the pain will decrease.”
He placed his palms on Jeokyeon’s eyes and injected gentle energy into them.
“Master Xiao, I know best that the state of martial arts is changing.”
“Do you feel different?”
“Yes, it feels different from the last time you looked at it.”
Rather, his eyes were able to sense every subtle change that I could not.
“When are you training?”
“I may seem like a fool, but I’m surprisingly diligent. “When I came, I rode a carriage and practiced the whole time.”
That’s what I said, but I don’t think there was any change because of the Heavenly Demon Defense training I did on the carriage while traveling.
Wouldn’t it change when you look at the sunset with bias? Wouldn’t it have changed when he placed the coin in Jooyang’s hand? Wouldn’t things have changed when he was listening to Jidanju Ho-kyung’s grievances?
I still believe.
It is said that martial arts can only change when life changes and people change.
* * *
Finally, my father, whom I wanted to see, is sitting far away.
I walked the bloody road with great strides until I reached the temple. My father was protecting our school with an unchanging attitude.
“I’m home. “Have you been at peace so far?”
I bowed politely to my father.
Whenever I return from a trip, I always visit my father first. I already say the same greeting several times, but each time, I feel that the feeling is different and the way I treat them is different. As time goes by, I am more and more happy with my father.
“If you go out, you come back with blood on your hands.”
In Honam and Gangseo. There was no room for excuses.
“Isn’t this all because I resemble my father?”
A sneer crossed my father’s lips. It’s so nice to see that mocking smile after a long time.
My father has also changed a lot from before. He was the person who looked down on me from the beginning to the end.
“Let’s go out and walk a bit.”
These days, he likes to walk with me like this.
I left Cheonmajeon with my father. We walked together along the trail created along the sponsor.
“I met a good coachman and got to know many skilled guests. There was a delicious restaurant hidden in an unexpected place. “I will take care of everyone later.”
I did not speak of those who died by my hands. Anyway, you would have seen and received information about what happened through Tongcheongak. These are the things I wanted to say to my father.
Where are the places with nice scenery and where can you find a place with a nice atmosphere? How do people live? Just as my father came from Taesa Temple to support here, now I wanted to go to Jungwon together.
“Do you know how much interest they get from Yanwangchae these days? “They are crazy people.”
He also told me about Yeomwangchae and the conversation he had with the warriors of Mageomdae.
“If your father personally sends a gift to Demon Sword Master, his morale will increase a lot.”
“Sure.”
When my father answered obediently, I couldn’t help but joke.
“There is too much discrimination.”
“What discrimination?”
“It’s so different when you’re a master of science and when you’re a small religious leader.”
“It has to be different. Only then will you know how precious your position is. why? “Will you treat me like before?”
“That time when your handsome face was almost blown into a hole by your father’s wind? “I decline!”
I am so happy to be moving on to a new relationship with my father.
My father stopped for a moment and looked at Daecheon Mountain in the distance.
And what I wanted to say most to my father was this.
“Next time, come hang out with me.”
“When I move, Gangho gets surprised.”
“I told him to be surprised. Stop protecting Cheonmajeon and now… let’s go protect your father’s life.”
At that moment, I felt my father’s back shake.
I don’t want my father’s departure from the martial arts world to become a war. I hope your father’s departure is a pleasant one.
“It’s because I want to play with my father.”
My father just looked at Daecheon Mountain in the distance in silence.
Well, wouldn’t you want to go somewhere as a father? You won’t know the pressure of that seat unless you sit down.
“Gwonma has a daughter.”
“I was surprised too. “I wonder if Master will make such a decision.”
“You didn’t intervene?”
“I like to meddle in all sorts of things, but not as much as this one. “It’s a matter between parents and children. How dare you interfere?”
“It was unexpected.”
Could it be that my father was the only one surprised?
“It seemed like I would live well even if I was left alone in the world, but I was lonely. How do you feel? Would you like your father to have a daughter?”
For some reason, my father nodded obediently.
“What if I disappear and you have a daughter?”
My father nodded more firmly.
“That’s too much!”
It felt good to play pranks in front of my father after a long time.
“Follow me.”
My father took me deep into the back garden of Cheonmajeon. We were able to see our destination only after continuously passing through all sorts of borders that prevented external intrusion and even a secretly spread out camp. It was my first time coming to this place, and I was surprised to see what was written on the signboard.
Cheonma Bogo (天魔寶庫).
He brought me to the treasure trove of the Heavenly Demon Church.
“ah! “This is my first time coming here.”
I followed my father inside.
Numerous weapons were flashing their blades, and elixirs and herbs were giving off all kinds of scents and enticing people. There were countless dazzling gems such as Yamyeongju and Pidogju.
Since it was an unmanned military unit, the first thing that caught my eye was weapons and elixirs.
Not only swords and swords and spears, but also wheel, gyeom, chuck, line, brush, and acupuncture… literally all kinds of new weapons were on display. . They were all new recruits who would cause a bloody storm if they appeared in the martial arts world.
That wasn’t all. The elixir did not even handle millennium ginseng at all. The highest grade elixirs and herbs of the Permanent Snow Three levels were classified and stored according to the properties of yin and yang energy.
There was also an elixir stored separately there. All numbers are eight.
“These here are elixirs that will be given to the Magons as soon as war breaks out.”
In addition, there were poisons and weapons to be used in war. The weapons were gold dragon weapons that were banned from use in martial arts, and the poison was a mass-killing poison that could kill hundreds or thousands of people at once. Since there was a bottle of that expensive intangible poison, just seeing how much poison was prepared gave me chills. If war breaks out, these poisons will be delivered to the Poison King right away, right?
Where is that? On one side, there was a pile of self-defense armor. Stacked like this, it looked like cheap military uniform at first glance, but each and every one of them was self-defense armor that was difficult to find in the martial arts world. These were also items to be paid to the Magons and the heads of each organization when war broke out.
My father was diligently preparing for war.
Father, I respect you so much, but war is not an option.
My father knows that I feel that way too. Nevertheless, showing this is persuading. It’s the path you and I must take.
At that time, my father said something unexpected.
“Choose only one of these.”
What followed was something truly unexpected.
“It is my gift to you, Lord.”
I was even more moved because it was an unexpected gift.
After becoming a small religious leader, I heard “small religious leader” and “small religious leader” countless times, but now I felt like I had become a real small religious leader.
“Can I really pick anything from here?”
“Anyway, if you become a Heavenly Demon, it will all be yours. Of course, there is only one now.”
Choosing one of these priceless treasures is a thrilling task. Which of these would be most helpful to me?
I passed the place where the weapons and elixirs were and walked to another place.
“Where are you going? “There is no elixir there.”
My father assumed that he would naturally choose one of the elixirs. There was no need for weapons since there was the Black Magic Sword, which was the next treasured sword after the Heavenly Demon Sword.
“For some reason, I thought there would be something better on the other side if you showed me from there.”
I continued walking, looking at the items in the store. There was really everything. There were cushions to replenish yin energy and incense burners to boost yang energy. There were iron dolls performing martial arts using mechanical devices, and there were also statues of beautiful women dancing. The iron doll’s martial arts skills seemed to be world-class, and when it came to dancing, it seemed like it would display world-class walking techniques.
But I kept passing by.
There were all kinds of things that were precious, gorgeous, and amazing, but there was nothing that appealed to me.
As I was about to turn around, there was one thing that caught my eye.
It was a square piece of metal the size of the palm of one’s hand.
“What is this?”
“It’s called Bigwe.”
The name “ark” means a box, but there was no lid anywhere.
“What is it used for?”
“I do not know either.”
When I looked back at my father, he shook his head with an expression of genuine ignorance.
“This is an item that has been passed down to our school for some time. “There is no information about where and how it is used, and it is only said that it will be opened only to those with a connection.”
“What about your father?”
My father nodded.
“To me, it was just a piece of metal.”
It is only open to those with a connection.
Could it be that the feeling of being drawn to this right now is because of that?
I wanted to choose this. This dull piece of iron caught my eye more than anything else.
Even though I knew clearly that it was more likely than not that it was meant to be, I also wanted to choose this among all these treasures. The worries did not last long.
“I’ll take this.”