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chapter 29
“Who do you think won?”
“It must be Young Master Yuun. Everyone is chanting for the Namgung family.”
And so, Mu-wol’s final opponent was decided to be Namgung Yuun. It wasn’t hard to imagine Young Master Yuhan’s face, probably overjoyed and shouting “That’s my brother!” like a madman.
“You’re facing Young Master Yuun again—aren’t you nervous?”
“I’m a little nervous, but not as much as last time.”
It seemed Mu-wol was more concerned about going to Mount Hua than the finals happening tomorrow. Maybe I should have brought up the idea of going to Mount Hua after the tournament ended? I regretted it for a moment, but the thought didn’t linger long.
“Thank you, Sojin.”
On the way back, Mu-wol spoke to me.
“Thanks to you, I not only learned that my master left something behind, but I was also able to find out what it was.”
“Oh… I was just meddling. I’m just glad you didn’t feel uncomfortable about it.”
“No. If you hadn’t pushed me forward, I wouldn’t have been able to decide anything.”
Murmuring, Mu-wol gazed into the distance.
“I never thought I’d return to that place after twelve years.”
There was a trace of longing in his eyes.
‘I thought he only had bad memories of Mount Hua since he was reluctant to go… but I guess not.’
It seemed he must have had at least a few good memories there with his master.
Even though I ended up preparing for both married life and a trip right after the wedding, it was worth gathering the courage to suggest it. I gave him a warning in advance.
“Brace yourself, Mu-wol. We’re going to be very busy after the tournament ends.”
“Yes, I’ll keep that in mind.”
“Good. Let’s eat well tonight and go to bed early.”
Today, I walked Mu-wol back to his room. He tried to refuse, but I wanted to do it at least once. As I opened his door, an important question suddenly came to mind.
“Oh, right. Mu-wol, are you really sure you don’t want to invite anyone to the wedding?”
“No. A few people come to mind, but two of them are in secluded training, and the rest won’t have the time to come all the way here.”
“What about that friend who lives in Sichuan?”
“He’s one of the ones in secluded training.”
“Oh, so that’s why he didn’t attend this tournament.”
That’s a shame—I wanted to see what kind of person he was. Still, if I stay with Mu-wol, I’ll probably get a chance someday. With that thought, I parted ways with him.
With a click, the door closed, and Mu-wol was finally alone.
He leaned his sword against the bed and took off his upper garments, revealing a well-built, muscular body.
His body, like that of someone who had wandered the martial world his entire life, was covered in scars of all sizes. Among them, the worst scar was on his back. Mu-wol quickly let down his hair to hide it.
As he washed himself in the wooden bath that had been prepared in advance, he recalled something his master, Baek Jin-wol, once said.
—Mu-wol, I have nothing, so I can’t leave anything behind for you.
And yet, that same man had prepared jewelry for his wife. He hadn’t even left a keepsake—nor even last words—for his only disciple.
It wasn’t that he was jealous of Sojin.
It just felt absurd.
If he hadn’t decided to marry Sojin, he wouldn’t have even known that such keepsakes existed—and even those weren’t meant for him.
His master’s words echoed in his mind again.
—I told you, didn’t I? There’s nothing in this world meant for you.
When he was younger, those words would make him rage or cry. But not anymore.
Because now he knew—
Those words weren’t wrong at all.
Mu-wol slowly lowered his head. Reflected in the bathwater was a small child. With frail limbs like twigs and a scrawny body, the child had such a miserable appearance that other children mocked him.
The child wanted to escape that situation, but it was impossible—because he had nothing.
No adult to reach out a hand, no means to fight back against other children, not even the strength to leave that place. In the end, the child simply curled up, hugging his knees.
Pathetic.
Unable to bear looking at it any longer, Mu-wol stood up. The water rippled, and the image of the child disappeared.
Was it because he had met Elder Cheon Ibaek after so long? Old memories kept resurfacing.
“……”
So much time had passed since then, yet there was still nothing he could do as he pleased.
‘How much higher do I have to climb?’
As always, Mu-wol sank into thought.
It was the final day of the martial arts tournament.
Today, the finals for each division would be held one after another on a single stage.
As mentioned before, the tournament divided participants by gender and age, selecting one winner from each group.
The match of Mu-wol and Young Master Yuun—both still in the prime of youth—was scheduled to be the second event.
Originally, my whole family was going to watch together, but an issue arose with goods supplied to the trading company, so I ended up going alone.
“I’m sorry, son-in-law. I really wanted to be there for you today.”
“It’s alright. Please don’t worry about me.”
“Sojin, enjoy yourself and have a good time.”
After a brief exchange, my parents boarded the carriage with my brother. As the carriage quickly disappeared in a cloud of dust, Mu-wol spoke.
“Sojin, I’m sorry. You probably wanted to go with your family.”
“No.”
I shook my head.
“I wouldn’t be of any help anyway.”
“…Is that so?”
Still, for once, I was glad to be useless. Young Master Yuun would surely come with many members of the Namgung family—it would feel lonely if Mu-wol came alone.
We headed toward the arena. Since it was the final day, the crowd was at least twice as large as the day before. The paid seating area was already full.
But that didn’t matter today.
Finalists were given seats closest to the stage, where they could sit with their companions.
“I’ll go ask the organizers about our seats. Please wait here for a moment.”
“Okay, I’ll wait.”
Mu-wol entered the building. I planned to wait outside, but the sunlight was too strong.
Is there somewhere to rest?
As I looked around, I spotted a pavilion beneath a willow tree and headed straight there. Inside, people had gathered in small groups, debating who would win today.
Then, I noticed some familiar faces.
“Say, do you think that young warrior Baek Mu-wol can defeat Young Master Yuun again this year?”
“Of course not. Just think about how much stronger Young Master Yuun has become.”
“But Baek Mu-wol isn’t weak either.”
“True, he’s not weak. But isn’t that about it?”
Leaning against the railing, the two men continued their conversation. I quietly approached them. Some people recognized me and began whispering, but the two were too absorbed to notice.
I clenched my fist.
It’s only natural for people from Anhui to praise Namgung Yuun. But—
“That young warrior doesn’t have any backing, does he? He’s holding on for now, but he’ll hit his limit soon. I guarantee it.”
“Well, it’s hard to grow strong without any support.”
I couldn’t tolerate them belittling someone who was a benefactor to our family.
Especially not when it was someone who had spread ridiculous rumors just because he fell into the water while chasing a woman who didn’t even like him.
“I really don’t understand him. If he truly wanted to become the greatest under heaven, wouldn’t it be better to marry into a prestigious family? But instead, why would he get engaged to Miss Han—”
“Oh my, Young Master! It’s been so long!”
I stepped in front of the man fanning himself—Gwak Heon-wi.
