There were signs of many people flocking in.
In order to direct them to him, Seo Yong-chu yelled out,
“How dare you burn down this castle of ours! I am the Wicked Giant, Seo Yong-chu, who will punish you!”
Papapat!
As soon as he shouted, the people around began to run to him, and the moment he felt it, Seo Yong-chu took a stance with his blade in hand, ready to move.
This was the place he chose to die.
The story of Seo Yong-chu went on for a long while.
The more they listened the more solemn it turned. It was true that this guy just went beyond knowing his mother and even tried to help her.
No one thought there such a story had occured.
In order to protect his mother, Seo Yong-chu did his best. Mumu felt that this man surviving was a good thing. Mumu looked at him and asked,
“You lost your arm there?”
“… Yes.”
Seo Yong-chu, the Great Guardian, was strong. However, dealing with the numerous warriors by himself meant walking on the edge of the cliff.
“It is fine. Losing an arm to save her is a small price to pay.”
Seo Yong-chu really thought so. It was all the more because he was prepared to die there.
Mumu got up.
“Young lord?”
Mumu lowered his head and told him,
“Thank you.”
“Young lord you don’t have…”
“No. You weren’t even ordered, but you went out of your way to save my mother. You are a benefactor to me.”
At Mumu’s words, Seo Yong-chu’s eyes changed.
When he did all that in the past, he was sure he wouldn’t regret it no matter what happened. And even now, he continued to live without regretting that decision.
But this child, when he expressed his gratitude, his heart felt moved.
‘… I am getting old.’
He thought he turned insensitive to emotions. But he knew.
The feelings he felt for Mumu were joy. It felt like he was being paid back for what he did until now.
‘Hae Ha-rang… the child you gave birth to is alive and thanking me. I never thought such a day would come.’
There was a sense of worth in doing what he did. Seo Yong-chu, whose eyes were burning, covered his eyes with his large hand, pretending to touch his forehead.
Mumu tilted his head and smiled.
“Are you crying?”
“… Ahem. No.”
“Don’t worry about it and cry.”
[Do you worry about being seen while laughing? It is alright for a person to smile.]
For a moment Mumu’s appearance overlapped with Hae Ha-rang.
As a result, the small doubts in his mind vanished.
‘It has to be your kid.’
Even if it wasn’t for the plaque, he was sure now.
Mumu asked Seo Yong-chu, who was there,
“But if you broke away, you wouldn’t know where my mother is right?”
To that question, he smiled and said,
“There is a place I can guess.”
A mountain valley in Datong, Shanxi province—
There was this small thatch house here which sat by itself and looked peaceful. The white haired beauty on the floor of the house was sewing and walked out to the front yard while looking at the hill.
Swish!
“Hah!”
On the hill there was a boy who seemed to be around 16 and was wielding a wooden sword practicing movements which seemed like techniques.
In front of this boy was a middle aged man with his eyes covered in black cloth.
“Again. Do it.”
“Yes.”
At the order of the middle-aged man with a cane in his hand, the boy swung his sword twice.
The sound of the sword being swung pricked the ears of the middle-aged man. Even though he couldn’t see, he said it like he could,
“Your stance is still unbalanced. Spread your right foot out and center your core more and put more strength into your big toe. You need to have internal energy consistently on the dragon heaven blood point.”
“Yes!”
As the blind man said that, the boy spread his legs wider and put strength on his feet. Only then did the blind middle-aged man nod.
The blind man said to the boy who was panting by swinging the sword,
“Where is the sun?”
“In the middle of the sky.”
“You must be hungry. Let us take a rest and eat.”
As those words came out, the boy was happy.
It was nice to practice martial arts, but now he was very hungry. And he looked at the middle-aged man who was no different from his teacher and said,
“Mister. Would you like to have lunch with me?”
At that question the man shook his head.
“No. I will go to the village to give away the firewood, you have a meal with your mother.”
“We can eat together…”
“I am fine.”
At those words, the boy licked his lips, feeling sad.
And holding the wooden sword he ran to the thatched house. The blind man who was heading in the same direction moved to the forked path.
The boy ran to the house and called the white haired woman.
“Mother!”
“My son. You must be hungry.”
“Yes!”
“Mother will make something, so get yourself ready.”
“Yes!”
And so the white haired woman was about to enter the kitchen place when the boy calling her mother said,
“Mother. I do not know what happened between you two, but can you not forgive mister?”
At that, she went stiff for a second. The boy looked at her and said,
“If that is so hard, then just having a meal with us should be fine right?”
The boy had a reason to say this. The blind man had been cutting firewood every day and helped their family with difficult things.
He was even teaching him martial arts now.
Despite his efforts, he always kept distance from his mother. And as a boy, he felt bad considering he was learning from him.
At the words of Muah, Lady Mi, went into the kitchen with a wry smile.
‘Did I say something bad?’
Muah, felt a bit bad seeing his mother like this. His mother was a pitiful person.
He didn’t know much but heard that his father passed away in an unexpected accident before he was born. And it was said that mother’s family was a famous family in Datong, and bad things happened there.
And such a person had done everything to earn money in a closeby village and build her family.
At least a few months ago, this blind middle-aged man came over, and although their life had improved a lot, the hardships didn’t stop.
‘… I will work hard to get back the family name.’
Muah made a promise to himself and looked at the kitchen. She poured water into the pot to prepare lunch..
The lady had bitterness in her eyes.
“Forgive…”
Her eyes looked at the flame as she recalled the past.
Seventeen years back—
[… Sorry. I apologize.]
Unlike now, the middle-aged man who looked normal and un-wounded apologized to the woman who was crying.
The man was Hong Hwa-ryun, a member of the Four Great Warriors and a member of the royal family.
[Cough cough.]
She cried for half a day until she began to cough out blood.
She lost the person she thought of as her husband and even her child. She who smiled now had nothing in her life, and she couldn’t handle this sadness.
[Ah!]
Hong Hwa-ryun sighed, mouthing sorry.
It was because he had seen her hair turn white too fast. Hong Hwa-ryun clenched his chest which ached.
And looking at him, the woman spoke in a harsh voice.
[You! You took everything from me!]
[…]
[How… how… a little… baby…]
[…]
The death of the man she considered as her husband—
However, since he killed countless people and was a warrior, she knew that he would one day receive the karma for what he did.
But the child wasn’t like that. He was just a few months old.
How could a human throw a child off the cliff?
[I apologize. I did something unforgivable.]
Hong Hwa-ryun clenched his heart as he pleaded that it was too hard for him to see her losing everything.
She glared at him and screamed,
[Why save me! Why not kill me with my child! Why did you have to leave me alone alive like this!]
[… I apologize.]
[Stop saying that! Why! Why! Why!]
[I couldn’t help but do it, since I took the most precious thing from you.]
It was true.
Hong Hwa-ryun suffered from severe remorse after dropping the baby down.
It was unacceptable for him, but he had to save Murim and peace. Because of that, Hong Hwa-ryun couldn’t take her life.
[Your anger at me is right. I will not ask for your forgiveness, I just want you to give me a way to atone for it]
[Atone? Ha!]
She cried out in anger.
[If you wanted to atone so much, then die! Right in front of my eyes!]
She hated the man. That was why she wanted him to die. At those words Hong Hwa-ryun spoke with a pained face.
[… We can do that if you want. Please, just give me time.]
[Time? Are you saying….]
[I have a child.]
This made her silent and then angry too.
How can someone with a child kill another person’s child?
A human wearing a mask?
[How can you do something worse than an act of animals! Your child is precious but not others!]
[I know I have no right to make excuses, my wife has passed away giving birth to my child, so if I die here, my child will be an orphan.]
At his words, she bit her lip. She hated this man so much that the veins on her forehead were clear.
‘How… how…’
Was he saying that he can do this? Talking about the widowed wife and remaining baby, this was a cruel thing to her.
She hated him so much, but her temper wasn’t so bad.
And this was why the hate grew.
[Lady… when the child can live on her own. I will kill myself in front of you.]
[…]
She just glared at him.
Her eyes didn’t change even for a second, she wanted him to atone for what he did. This was a look which said she wanted his life.
Looking at him , she cried and she said,
[Do not look at me because I do not want to look at you.]
As soon as she said it—
Puak!
She couldn’t hide her shock.
Hong Hwa-ryun suddenly stabbed himself in the eyes with two fingers. It must have been painful, but he stood tall without a groan, let alone a scream.
The sight of him made her think it was absurd.
[Y-you!]
[I know that… this resentment you have will not be solved by this… haa… I know but this can maybe ease your anger a little… I can throw these eyes which bother you… for now…]
Dark red blood dripped down his eyes. It was like bitter tears for atoning.