Chapter 35. Twin Swords of the Wind and Clouds (10)
Slash, slash, slash!
The sound of a blade cutting through flesh filled the hall as Song Woo-Moon swung his sword at the three people before him.
“Agh—”
Before they even had time to scream, Woo-Moon kicked all three of them in the stomach.
“Cough!”
The pain and shock from the blows were so great that they could only gape soundlessly like a bunch of dying fish. Starting from their lower abdomens, a terrible pain ripped through their body, traveling past the organs and twisting through to their extremities.
A terrifying fear quickly followed the pain as they felt the qi that they had built throughout their entire lives scattering.
“No... NOOO!!!”
In a single breath, everything they had spent their lives cultivating had disappeared.
“Whew.”
Breathing lightly, Woo-Moon walked toward Si-Hyeon’s father and Jo Mu-Jae, avoiding the screaming people that lay all over the hall.
With a single swing of his sword, the ropes that bound them were split.
“Th... thank you, young...”
Si-Hyeon’s father’s head fell before he could finish his sentence. Clearly, he was not in good health.
“Thank you so much, young hero. We will never forget this grace,” Mu-Jae said, struggling to grip his fist in a semblance of a greeting.
“I just did what I had to do. There’s no need for any thanks.”
Woo-Moon looked around and continued.
“By the way, where is Yeon Si-Hyeon?”
“Ah! She’s... she’s over there,” Mu-Jae said as he pointed toward a room in the hall.
As Woo-Moon headed toward the room, Mu-Jae began to take care of the cleanup, giving instructions to the servants trembling in the corner and the warriors who hadn’t betrayed them.
In the meantime, Woo-Moon entered the room and found Si-Hyeon, who was lying on the bed, frozen.
Seeing Si-Hyeon’s face for the first time without a veil, his mind went blank.
Even when the Deputy Guild Master wore a veil, it was easy to tell that she was attractive. Seeing her bare face, Woo-Moon couldn’t help but think that the word “beautiful” simply did not do her justice. Of all the women Woo-Moon had ever seen, only one person could compare to Si-Hyeon’s beauty—Ha Yeo-Seol, the disciple of the North Sea Ice Palace that had spent a night at the inn.
Woo-Moon walked up to the immobilized girl and released her acupoints.
Immediately after, Si-Hyeon turned her face away and shouted, “D-don’t look at me!”
Si-Hyeon's face had turned red. She had always met Woo-Moon with her face covered by a veil, and for some reason, she was embarrassed to be seen unveiled all of a sudden.
However, Woo-Moon couldn’t understand her actions.
‘How could someone so pretty be so embarrassed about showing her face?’
Of course, there was much he didn’t know—such as Si-Hyeon’s reaction when Gwak Gyeom uncovered her face. Her reaction had been far different from how she was currently acting to Woo-Moon.
Likewise, when she had occasionally shown her face to others, there had never been a single instance where she was this shy.
From the day that her father told her to wear a veil, telling her that her innate beauty could bring about a catastrophe, Si-Hyeon had never felt this type of emotion. Actually, even she herself couldn’t figure out why she was acting like this.
Riiiip!
Si-Hyeon tore the thin sheet that covered the bed and tied it around her face like a mask.
When she looked at her surroundings carefully, she saw Woo-Moon still standing there with his eyes averted elsewhere.
Suddenly, she recalled the freezing terror that she had felt when the door opened—only for Woo-Moon to be the one entering.
Woo-Moon had saved her from danger once more.
Si-Hyeon knew that she couldn’t possibly forget what he’d done for her.
“You can turn your head back now. Thank you so much, Young Hero Song.”
No matter how many times he heard it, Woo-Moon felt good whenever he heard Si-Hyeon say the words, ‘Young Hero Song.’
“It was nothing. To be honest, I didn’t even know this was going on at first. I just came here because those bastards tried to poison my family.”
Even though she had been lying in bed paralyzed, Si-Hyeon’s senses were functioning normally. She already knew what had gone on outside of the room.
“I’m so sorry....Because of our guild...”
Whatever their actions, Chae Noh-Cheol and the others had still been members of the Leebi Merchant Guild. Even though Si-Hyeon and her father had been betrayed themselves, she couldn’t help but feel a sense of responsibility over the entire situation.
“Ple—please, no, it wasn’t your fault. Why would you even say that? The true evildoers are those bastards over there, not you, Deputy Guild Master. Please don’t talk like that.”
Yes, this was the Song Woo-Moon that she knew. Si-Hyeon struggled to hold back her tears.
“You should go out now. Your father is probably worried.”
“Ah! Father!”
Hearing Woo-Moon’s words, Si-Hyeon hurried out to check on her father. While Woo-Moon was taking care of her, Mu-Jae had moved him to a separate room to rest.
Since he was already so ill, the chance he would get worse grew exponentially the longer he was out of bed.
Si-Hyeon returned to the room to attend to her father as Woo-Moon walked toward Mu-Jae.
“What are you going to do?”
Mu-Jae had been standing at attention, guarding the Guild Master. Although his internal injuries had worsened, he forced himself to bow once again to Woo-Moon, expressing his gratitude.
“Ah, Young Hero Song. They all deserve to be beaten to death, but since they are crippled and won’t be able to have a normal life, let alone practice martial arts, we plan to just kick them all out.”
Even though Mu-Jae wanted to kill them all, there was no way he could massacre this many people. Moreover, letting them live like this, with their hands completely useless, was in many ways a fate worse than death.
Thus, Mu-Jae didn’t pay much attention to the traitors.
Just in case, Woo-Moon watched until he could see them all leave from atop the hall of the Leebi Guild. Although they had all lost the use of both hands, their numbers of them were still large enough to be a concern.
Once the events at the Leebi Merchant Guild ended, Woo-Moon returned to the inn.
The following day, the treatment of Jin-Jin’s internal injuries finally ended.
Sang-Woon didn’t bother to ask Woo-Moon about what had happened; he trusted that Woo-Moon wouldn’t have returned without properly handling it all.
“Mother, how are you feeling?”
In response to Woo-Moon’s cautious question, Jin-Jin responded with a warm smile.
“I’m feeling so much better that there’s no comparison. You don’t have to worry about me anymore.”
It didn’t seem to be a lie either; Jin-Jin had regained a healthy complexion. Seeing the red flush on his mother’s face, which had only ever been pale and gaunt, Woo-Moon couldn’t contain his joy and smiled brightly.
"What a relief. I'm so glad, Mother!”
“Honey! To think you really are all better now... Father-in-law! Thank you so much!”
Dae-Woong jumped up and kowtowed toward Sang-Woon, who was sitting in a corner leaning against the wall.
“It’s fine. She’s my daughter, so what are you thanking me for? More importantly, I’m hungry, so go make me some food.”
Dae-Woong was conflicted—on the one hand, he wanted to spend more time with his wife, who had finally recovered; on the other hand, the man who had healed his wife and who also coincidentally happened to be Dae-Woong’s father-in-law had to receive the best possible treatment.
After a few moments of torment, he made his decision.
“Understood! I’ll do my absolute best and serve you the best food of your life!”
A growl came from within Woo-Moon’s robes as Eun-Ah poked out her head—it seemed she understood the word “food” rather well.
“Oh!”
“W—what is that?! Hey, isn’t that a white tiger cub?”
Jin-Jin and Dae-Woong were shocked to see the “intruder,” and Jin-Jin paled instantly.
Although he hadn’t planned on trying to hide the fact that he was raising Eun-Ah, Woo-Moon also hadn’t wanted to make a fuss by revealing her while his mother was being treated. He had tried his best to make sure she stayed in his breast pocket, only letting her come out to roam and feed when he entered his room.
Now that his mother had recovered fully, he had been thinking of bringing up the topic of the cub. As if by fate, Eun-Ah had appeared on her own at precisely the right time.
Although Woo-Moon had thought that his mother would be surprised, Jin-Jin’s reaction wasn’t anywhere close to what he had expected.
However, at that moment, the gaze of Jin-Jin began to waver as she stared at Eun-Ah, and soon, tears started to drip down her face.
“Mo... mother?”
“Woo-Moon, you idiot! Why’d you bring a wild animal here? Did you forget the state your mother was in? You ungrateful runt, you’ll die by my hand today!” Dae-Woong shouted, going on a rant about how Woo-Moon was just asking for a beating. The bastard hadn’t ever brought a girl home, but now he dared to bring in some wild beast cub!
Watching the scene, Jin-Jin finally wiped away the tears that were flowing down her face.
Surprisingly, Eun-Ah, who had been staring at her intently, suddenly escaped from Woo-Moon’s arms and raced over to the feet of Jin-Jin, rubbing her body against Jin-Jin’s legs and crying in a low voice.
“There, there. Come here, little one.”
After picking up Eun-Ah and nestling the cub in her arms, Jin-Jin looked over at Sang-Woon.
“This child...is she the third one by any chance?”
Sang-Woon nodded slowly, and seeing his answer, Jin-Jin started weeping once more.
“Then, then...Nanny must already be dead.”
“That’s right. Isn’t that what they call the ‘life of a silver tigress’?”
Unlike the similar-looking white tiger, a female silver tiger always had three cubs within its lifetime, giving birth to and raising a single cub at a time. Once she gave birth to the last cub, she would end up using all of their vitality in the process and close her eyes for the last time.
If a male silver tiger grew old and lived the natural lifespan of a tiger species, the female silver tiger was said not to age once she reached maturity, staying within her prime until she gave birth to the third cub. In practical terms, this meant that a silver tigress could well live past a hundred, and some even reached two hundred years of age.
The silver tiger was indeed a rare beast, even among the other rare beasts.
Their intelligence didn’t fall short even in comparison to humans. Moreover, thanks to their natural instincts, female silver tigers innately knew that their lifespan would come to an end once they gave birth to that third cub.
Naturally, they also understood that as long as they didn’t give birth to the third cub, they could enjoy a ridiculous lifespan. In spite of that, whether it was because the species had a strong desire to reproduce or because of some powerful innate maternal love, there wasn’t one single female silver tiger that ever made that choice.
“A nanny?”
Woo-Moon looked at his mother and grandfather with puzzled eyes.
For some reason, the two of them seemed to know about these silver tigers in detail—not silver tigers in general, but Eun-Ah and her mother in particular.
Now that he thought of it, Woo-Moon realized it was rather strange that his grandfather had coincidentally found a silver tiger while they were traveling together and just so happened to know so much about it and its cub.
Moreover, his grandfather had even done his best to forge a relationship between the cub and Woo-Moon.
At that moment, Sang-Woon spoke up.
“Jin-Jin’s mother had a weak constitution, and she died while giving birth to Jin-Jin. Until Jin-Jin turned ten, I lived with her in a hidden place called the Valley of Ten Thousand Sorrows.”
“There was a silver tiger that had already been living there,” Jin-Jin continued. “That silver tiger became my nanny. She took me in, and she even shared her milk with me, even though I looked nothing like a tiger cub. I was unable to meet with her even once after returning to the Iron Sword Baek Family, so to think...just like this...”
Dae-Woong, who had been stir-frying Woo-Moon for bringing a white tiger before his mother until just a moment ago, sheepishly scratched at the back of his head.
Woo-Moon, on the other hand, stared blankly at Eun-Ah as he stood deep in thought. It was the first time he was hearing anything about his mother’s childhood.
Jin-Jin stroked Eun-Ah as she continued her story.
“Because their mother dies as soon as they are born, a third silver tiger cub can only feel a mother’s warm embrace for just a short time. Thus, they end up missing and yearning for their mother more than their siblings. While they are far stronger than any other silver tigers, third cubs are always desperately hungry for affection. Raise her well. I can assure you that the loyalty of this beast who can’t even speak will exceed that of any human.”
Woo-Moon scratched the side of his nose as he looked over at Eun-Ah, feeling an even deeper sense of responsibility toward the baby tiger.
“Sniff, sniff! Then, from now on, I’ll have to cook for the baby tiger as well! You little tyke, you best understand that this is an honor! I’ll let you experience the luxury of eating the Song Dae-Woong’s cuisine!”
Having said his speech, Dae-Woong rolled up his sleeves and left the room.
Meanwhile, Sang-Woon spoke to Woo-Gang, who had been embracing his mother’s shoulders in silence all this time.
“Woo-Gang, what do you plan to do? Don’t you have to return to Mount Hua soon?”
“Yes. I’ve been away for quite long, so I think it’s time for me to go back,” Woo-Gang said, his expression wistful.
It was always a challenge to return back to Mount Hua whenever he came home. However, there was nothing he could do, as the Mount Hua Sect was also like a home to him.
With that, everyone remained silent for a while.
Finally, Jin-Jin, who had been quietly resting her eyes, opened the conversation again.
“Maybe it’s because my qi pathways have been cleared so thoroughly, but it feels like my qi is flowing quite smoothly.”
Hearing Jin-Jin’s great news, Sang-Woon replied with a smile, “Of course, as it should! I even cleansed your marrow and bones, so if it didn’t circulate well, that’d be really weird. It was a pretty tough task, because your internal injuries were literally bone-deep, and it’s been a long time since you were last able to circulate your qi.”
“What, you’re not hinting for me to thank you, are you?” Jin-Jin teased him.
‘With all the sins I committed against you, how could I ever ask something like that?’
Even though he knew she was just teasing him, the Palm Emperor cleared his throat a couple of times before he spoke up again.
“Are you thinking of learning martial arts again?”
Jin-Jin looked over at her two sons with eyes tinged with resentment.
“I just wanted to live my life and forget that martial arts and the murim even existed, but since both of my sons have already decided to become people of the murim, I guess there’s nothing I can do. I think it’s time for me to start cultivating once more.”