Reincarnated Sword Ghost-Chapter 14 : New Air

New Air
Jeong-un recalled the first time he spoke with Yu Jungho.
He had heard a similar story back then.
Of course, at that time, it had been an invitation to live as a son-in-law in someone else's house.
'A banishment order is still a banishment order.'
In the end, being told to leave was the same either way.
But this time, the feeling was completely different.
"......"
Jeong-un quietly gazed into Yu Geum-ryong's eyes.
Yu Geum-ryong met his gaze without looking away.
But there was a faint trembling about him.
Anxiety, excitement, impatience, fear of the unknown...
Countless emotions were reflected in Yu Geum-ryong's eyes.
He was struggling in his own way.
'... So that's how it is.'
Jeong-un understood what he meant.
What would happen if he stayed here?
Would he raise the name of the Yu household as a son of the family?
Would the name of the Yu clan spread throughout this small village, then Hanzhong, and finally reach the Central Plains?
'... That can't be.'
He already knew that no one in the Yu household ever dreamed of or wished for such things.
He was merely causing a great disturbance in what was a place that had been living in its own quiet balance.
Even Yu Geum-ryong, right now, was looking at him with these eyes.
To him, Jeong-un was an unknown, frightening existence, a major factor that had suddenly appeared to disrupt his life.
'In any case, what more could I even do here?'
At this moment, he was still doing nothing except swinging his sword.
He wasn't the sort to go out of his way to do things nobody wanted.
There were no regrets.
He already felt that he would have to leave soon anyway.
'Every time I observed martial arts, I grew.'
His curiosity about internal energy breathing methods was triggered by his duel with Yu Dong-ryong.
Though it was very rough, the chance that led to the creation of One Illumination Movement Technique also came from the secret manual of One Peach Heart Breathing Technique.
Above all, the duel with Five Star Gate, which he hadn't wanted to join.
Just seeing Cheong Jin utilize true ki was a tremendous help.
'Even if clumsily, I managed to imitate it.'
There's a limit to what you can learn by swinging a sword alone.
That was the conclusion Jeong-un reached.
"I understand."
"...!"
When Jeong-un accepted so readily, Yu Geum-ryong's eyes widened.
"Is that true?"
"Wasn't that what you wanted?"
"Well, that is true, but..."
Yu Geum-ryong's voice trailed off.
It seemed that he'd prepared quite a few words in advance.
But when Jeong-un accepted immediately, he seemed rather flustered.
"......"
A brief, awkward silence lingered between them.
From the start, they weren't close enough to talk at length anyway.
"... Now that it's come to this, apologizing for not treating you better is useless, isn't it?"
"You haven't done anything wrong to me that would merit such words."
"Still, I wasn't able to take care of you as a brother should, was I?"
Unlike a moment ago, his demeanor had dampened.
He also seemed to be making a visible effort not to show weakness, which in itself looked rather strained.
'An apology...'
What he said earlier was the truth.
Neither Yu Geum-ryong nor anyone else had done anything wrong to him.
After all, it had been Jeong-un's own choice to shut himself in his room.
If he were still being treated as a good-for-nothing, would such a moment have ever come?
'Of course not.'
It was only because he had changed so suddenly that the treatment changed to match.
"It's fine."
So, he had nothing more to say than this.
Yu Geum-ryong, sensing something, quietly nodded.
"Where do you plan to go?"
"I'm thinking of heading for Hogwang."
"...!"
Yu Geum-ryong looked at Jeong-un with surprise before speaking.
"You really mean to go to Heavenly Martial Hall."
"It's not like I have anywhere else to go."
"... Isn't there Mount Hua?"
Yu Geum-ryong suggested, almost more wistful than Jeong-un himself.
"I'm not interested. I dislike the idea of becoming someone's disciple and being bound like that."
"Well, Heavenly Martial Hall doesn't have master-disciple relationships anyway."
"Have you heard about it?"
Yu Geum-ryong shook his head.
"Of course not. Why would I have looked in detail at a tree I could never climb?"
"Then what was that you just said?"
"That's all. I don't want to add more to it when those words aren't even precise."
Jeong-un nodded.
Whatever the place was, he'd just have to experience it for himself.
He'd heard that all the greatest prodigies were gathered there.
His heart was already racing at the thought of what martial skills he might observe.
"What about the Cloud Dragon Token?"
"I left it in my room."
"You're not carrying around such a precious thing?"
"What use is it to anyone else, even if they take it?"
At Jeong-un's words, Yu Geum-ryong was at a loss for words.
He wasn't wrong.
Even if someone took it, it was useless to them.
It wasn't something one could dare to sell.
If you mishandled it, you were more likely to lose your life.
"... Anyway, I have you to thank for getting to see something like that."
"Did you desire to enter Heavenly Martial Hall?"
"What man hasn't dreamed of becoming the best in the world as a child?"
Yu Geum-ryong smiled faintly.
It was an unfamiliar smile that Jeong-un couldn't recall ever seeing.
But that was as far as it went.
Even as blood, the bond would go no further.
"Then I'll be off."
"When are you planning to leave?"
"I plan to depart tomorrow morning."
"There should still be time until the entrance test, no need to hurry..."
"There's no particular reason not to hurry, either."
"......"
Yu Geum-ryong looked at his youngest brother with rather complicated eyes.
Then, as if giving up, he nodded.
"I'll be cheering you on from afar."
"Take care of yourself."
Jeong-un bowed slightly and turned away.
Thus ended their farewell.
* * *
The booklet given by the chief steward was as thin in content as it looked.
However, the method for taking the pill was explained in considerable detail.
It seemed like the book had been written either by someone who'd actually taken pills or after hearing an account directly from such a person.
'Basically, it says to use breathing circulation to send the pill's energy into the meridians and dissolve it.'
The booklet explained that, to fully absorb the aura of an pill, simple breathing wasn't enough.
The key was to let the pill's energy harmonize naturally with one's own true ki within the meridians through breathing.
But at a glance, it was by no means an easy thing to do.
Everyone's true ki had a different level of purity.
Each pill also had a different nature.
So in the end, it said, the user's innate intuition was most important.
'I'll just have to try it myself.'
Jeong-un, without hesitation, popped the pill into his mouth.
It dissolved before he even had a chance to taste the bitterness.
And right away, he felt the potency swirling in his body like a vortex.
The surge was so fast it even surprised him.
'... Hm?'
But, contrary to what he expected, it didn't feel that foreign.
Jeong-un naturally began circulating the energy inside his meridians using One Illumination Movement Technique.
His true ki seemed to envelop the aura of the pill, and at that moment, more than half the energy dispersed as if dissolving.
Yet it wasn't a waste at all.
'Not all the energy in the pill is pure, I see.'
He simply dissolved everything except the purest energy.
It was as though it reflected the personality of its master, eager to forget anything impure.
Before long, Jeong-un slowly opened his eyes.
"... Indeed."
It was more than he'd hoped for.
Even though most of the energy had been shaved away, he'd absorbed only pure energy, and his accumulated ki more than doubled.
'A pill really is a pill.'
He didn't know exactly how valuable a ten-year-old Polygonum multiflorum was.
It was called rare, but if a backwater military hall like Five Star Gate could get it, he hadn't expected much.
Still, it felt odd in some ways.
'Is this really okay?'
His internal energy had increased so easily—it almost felt like he'd cheated.
'If it's like this...'
He'd heard that in the great sects and martial families, they took renowned pills and trained in breathing methods from an early age.
He couldn't even imagine how much internal energy they must have accumulated.
Even though his internal energy had grown, Jeong-un realized then just how small this place was, and how lacking his own achievements still were.
"... I really do need to go out into the martial world."
He engraved this truth into himself once more.
* * *
The early dawn air was refreshingly cool.
The gate, with its hinges well oiled, didn't even make a sound when it was opened.
Some servants had come out to see him off, perhaps tipped off by Yu Geum-ryong in advance.
They'd even prepared a light travel bag packed with various essentials, as well as a pouch with a few silver taels.
Even to Jeong-un, who was new to traveling, it seemed more than enough to get to Hanyang Prefecture in Hogwang.
As he was about to pass through the gate, leaving the bowing servants behind, a voice called out from behind him.
"Young master!"
When he turned, the chief steward was running from inside.
He was holding something long wrapped in cloth.
Without warning, he thrust it toward Jeong-un.
"The family head has bestowed this upon you, young master."
"For me...?"
With a puzzled look, Jeong-un slowly unwrapped the cloth.
A jet-black scabbard was revealed.
Soon, a slightly ornate golden guard caught his eye.
"This is...?"
"It is the sword your grandfather used, young master."
Jeong-un recognized it well.
It was the sword used by his grandfather, who had once been an external disciple of Mount Hua.
Yu Jungho had always cherished it as a family heirloom and kept it hung on the wall.
"Why give this to me?"
"There were no other words except that it's to be given to you, young master."
"......"
Jeong-un cast a strange look toward the family head's quarters.
Then, without a word, he strapped the sword to his waist.
"Please take good care of it."
The chief steward bowed.
The servants behind him all bowed as well.
"......"
After silently observing that, Jeong-un began to walk.
The dark dawn was slowly brightening.
It was his first step into the martial world.
* * *
His greatest worry had been getting lost along the way.
But that was just the naïveté of someone ignorant of the ways of the world.
'To think it'd be like this.'
Across the vast Central Plains, people gathered in villages, and those villages mingled frequently with each other.
Even if the roads weren't paved, there were still well-worn dirt paths you could definitely call roads.
They were the natural result of countless feet treading the same routes.
At night, Jeong-un would camp off the side of the road.
Fortunately, his bag included a wide, long cloth, so he could manage by leaning against a tree and covering himself with it.
There was also plenty of dried jerky, so he didn't have to worry about meals.
'Really handy.'
He occasionally encountered people coming from the opposite direction.
Most of the time, they were large or small merchant guilds, and sometimes unidentifiable small groups.
But seeing Jeong-un alone with a sword, most glanced at him and said nothing.
He relied on overheard bits of talk to confirm he was heading in the right direction, and on a few unavoidable occasions, he asked for directions.
This time was no exception.
"What brings you to Hanyang?"
The question came from two good-natured men with large bundles.
They said they traveled between villages selling miscellaneous goods.
"I'm visiting relatives."
Not wanting to elaborate, Jeong-un just made something up, and they nodded as if they understood.
Then, glancing at his waist, they asked quietly,
"... By any chance, are you a martial artist?"
"No."
He was nowhere near skilled enough to call himself a martial artist.
Even if he was, he wasn't brazen enough to claim it himself.
"Well, even so, since we're headed the same way, if you're okay with it, would you like to travel together for a bit?"
With that, they walked together.
They seemed fascinated by a boy so young traveling alone, and asked various things.
"What about your family?"
"They're back home."
"It's a long journey. Will you be alright alone? There are a lot of bandits lately."
"Haven't met any yet."
"Well, you're carrying a sword after all."
"It's just something my father gave me when I left."
"On the same day? So you haven't learned swordsmanship or anything?"
"I've never learned."
"Ha ha, I see."
At some point, Jeong-un asked a question in return.
"Are you, by any chance, bandits?"
The men froze in their tracks.
Then, one of them looked at his companion and shouted,
"We've been found out! Come out!"
-------------= Clacky's Corner -------------=
【ദ്ദി(⩌ᴗ⩌)】