novelzi Chapter 46
Chapter 46
returnee iii
david hume once said that true friendship is not about the age of the individuals, but about the free exchange of souls.
from a young friend, one learns vitality, and from an old friend, wisdom. immanuel kant stated that it's not right to choose friends based on their age.
the most important thing to note here is that they never actually made these quotes.
but the nuance is conveyed, isn't it? perhaps that's enough?
i too followed the ‘nuance’ in my friendship with sword marquess.
“undertaker brother!”
“sword marquess elder!”
that day, we emptied four bottles of makgeolli and became sworn brothers.
it was a connection so profound that even if the three brothers of the yu family had witnessed it, they would have been engulfed in jealousy and gone into fits of 'peach chewing anger' 500 times.
what am i talking about? just... understand it through the nuance.
our ‘makgeolli pact’ did not end as merely a night's amusement.
“elder brother, i have something to confess.”
“hmm...?”
the next morning, i deeply bowed to sword marquess, who had checked the temperature of the grand hall with his own cheek, being utterly drunk.
“confess? uh... what are you talking about?”
“you revealed to me last night that you were a disciple directly taught by the leader of the mount hua sect.”
in truth, he was not.
however, sword marquess nodded as if it were the most natural thing.
“ah, right.”
“how could someone destined to be the leader of mount hua sect merely seclude himself forever in a humble thatched cottage? you must return to mount hua, restore the pillars of the sect, though you seek tranquility, the world is in turmoil.”
“what?”
sword marquess opened his mouth wide. his surprise was palpable.
for a while, sword marquess gave his stomach some fresh morning air in the front yard. more precisely, he let the dawn taste his stomach's air.
i could have described this scene in detail, but for the readers' sake, i will spare any visual or auditory imagery. such is my boundless goodwill towards you.
“huuuu.”
the ordeal was skipped over, and only the result remained. sword marquess, having downed water from a plastic bucket (yes, the one usually hanging by the spring), looked at me seriously.
“undertaker brother.”
he seemed to be trying to emit a profound inner energy. in my personal opinion, it was more akin to the smell of his breath than his energy.
“are you saying you will accompany me back to mount hua?”
“exactly.”
“while i am deeply grateful for that sentiment, the martial world is now a playground for the wicked demonic cult. the path of righteousness has been severed, and justice has collapsed. villainy adorns itself with the pretense of chivalry. how can you guarantee our safe passage?”
“it is merely through benevolence that we will navigate this troubled world.”
“...!”
do you understand what i'm saying? i don't. but clearly, the nuance was there, and sword marquess seemed to grasp everything by just that.
he slapped his knee.
“indeed! if it is a task that i cannot accomplish alone, then it shall be done with a brother! having secluded myself for so long, i had forgotten even this simple truth!”
“will you trust this brother?”
“returning to mount hua has been my lifelong dream. friendships that discuss benefits are precarious, but those that discuss wishes are steadfast. i trust only in you, brother.”
what followed was a blur of action.
we left the island immediately. sword marquess had lived on ulleungdo his entire life, but the belongings he had prepared were minimal. we were ready to set off within 40 minutes of deciding to leave.
what stood out about sword marquess’s attire was a pouch tied around his waist.
“elder brother, what is that?”
sword marquess stroked his beard magnanimously.
“the essence of the mount hua sect.”
it was the usual nonsense.
i shrugged and stepped onto the deck of the boat.
“uweeek-”
oh, and for your information, on the boat back to the mainland, sword marquess managed to share the aroma of his stomach with the waters of the east sea.
at the same time as heaven and the sea were colored in his hue, such was indeed the grace of a true master.
and he wasn't even from ulleungdo, was he? even though he had drunk plenty of makgeolli, how could he suffer from seasickness? such a disgrace for an islander.
“uweeek.......”
from ulleungdo to gangneung, from incheon to shanghai, everywhere we went by boat, sword marquess showcased a close bond with the ship's rail. thanks to that, i had become quite skilled in patting sword marquess's back like a professional masseuse.
sword marquess awkwardly excused himself.
“when my energy center is disturbed, my stomach and duodenum suffer as well. ahaha. it's embarrassing, i wasn't like this before.”
was the energy center connected to the stomach? astonishing anatomical knowledge, as profound as researching what material makes up a unicorn's horn.
just so you know, managing to find a boat to shanghai was a miracle and an achievement of mine.
as you are well aware, when the gate incident occurred (now that everyone is familiar with the terms, 'when the void arrived' or 'when the void manifested' would also be appropriate), everything south of the han river in seoul was blown away. incheon was no exception.
there were as many people escaping by sea as there were fleeing by land. if it weren’t for my extensive experience traveling abroad, i wouldn’t have been able to find a captain in the chaotic port of incheon.
“oh.”
after enduring countless hardships, dodging typhoons, and surviving complete chaos, we finally arrived in china.
indeed, filial piety is a magic pass that works anywhere in east asia.
despite their humble circumstances, local people in the countryside tried to offer me whatever they could. village elders even tried to fill up buckets with peanuts, which i had to politely refuse. to show my gratitude, i cleared the nearby monsters like cutting weeds—true win-win.
sword marquess, still on my back, was amazed.
“i’ve heard the countryside has become stingy these days, but that’s all nonsense. isn’t this kindness itself?”
“well, if i had said you were the sect leader of mount hua and i was carrying you around, 99% of this kindness would have disappeared.”
“hm? brother, what did you just say?”
“i didn’t say anything.”
day 62 of our trip in china.
after countless twists and turns, including barely escaping a typhoon, we finally arrived at mount hua.
“ah, finally... mount hua...!”
the designated 261st sect leader of mount hua exclaimed as if he were seeing it for the first time.
of course, i didn’t point that out. i was a respectful younger brother, merely posing a question.
“it was indeed a tough journey. i too am eager to see the grandeur of the sect where you trained. where is the sect building?”
“unfortunately, the main hall was destroyed 45 years ago by an attack from the heavenly demon.”
‘so there’s no sect building, right? you were just making it up?’ i could read between the lines, but the old man skillfully dodged the question. clearly, a lifetime dedicated to playing a martial artist wasn’t thwarted by such trivial interrogation.
“the entire brotherhood was slaughtered, and i had no choice but to flee. now, it’s hard to even find the ruins.”
“so you don’t know where it is?”
“the mountain scenery is truly serene, a real hidden gem.”
my inquiry didn’t even scratch the surface of the sword marquess’s mental fortitude.
i shook my head and continued hiking.
great mountains never flaunt their landscapes from the start but keep them hidden. mount hua, a renowned mountain, revealed its true beauty only when one ventured into its layers. with each step, it felt as if a folding screen was unfolding, expanding the scene with each pace.
i looked around the ridge.
“people have left, but the buildings are relatively intact.”
ah, and by buildings, i obviously didn’t mean those of the mount hua sect. i was referring to various facilities such as rest areas, stairs, snack bars, etc.
before the void arrived, these places were probably bustling with tourists. the cable car station looked clean and seemed like the perfect base camp.
i checked the warehouse just in case, but as expected, no food was left.
well, being a living, breathing biofarm meant there was no need to worry about food during this trip.
“elder brother, i will set up our base here.”
“as you wish, brother.”
i set down my backpack and also set down sword marquess (he had been using my back delivery service even while hiking).
sword marquess lay down on the floor of the rest area as if he had finally come alive.
“ah, my old bones. after decades, coming back here, it seems i can't even walk around anymore.”
anyone would think he had climbed the mountain himself.
i took out bottled water, a burner, and ramen from my backpack and started cooking.
just the single line of description about my actions here should give you an idea of how much i suffered during this trip. yes, i carried sword marquess on my back while hugging a meter-tall backpack across the chinese continent.
“elder brother, the ramen is ready.”
“hmm.”
the old man, who had been sprawled out on the floor, got up like a ghost and took the chopsticks.
after slurping down the ramen, sword marquess looked up at the ceiling of the rest area.
“ah. as i've always said, the ramen you cook is truly a delicacy. i've met countless ramen masters in my life, but none can compare to you, brother.”
“you flatter me.”
“no, i'm serious. how do you bring out such a unique taste?”
well, if you've been cooking ramen for over a hundred years, anyone would reach this level.
in fact, during the 45th cycle, i even became a chef. while i may not be the world's greatest chef, i was certainly the best at cooking with ingredients from the void. such is the seasoning of an infinite regressor.
“......”
truly a useless skill.
“burp. thank you for the meal.”
i shifted my thoughts. anyway, what mattered now was not my ramen cooking skills, but how sword marquess would react from this point forward.
throughout our journey, sword marquess had always murmured about how he had no other wish but to visit mount hua. in the past cycles, he always longed for mount hua.
a wish consistently held across time signifies the intensity of one’s heart. it represents conviction.
as a regressor, i find few things as interesting as the human heart.
‘and i have fulfilled his lifelong wish.’
now that his wish was granted, only curiosity remained.
a regressor’s curiosity, trivial and personal, yet of utmost importance in this world.
‘what will sword marquess do now?’
will he say it’s time to return to the korean peninsula now that his bucket list is complete? or will he try to realize his delusion by building the mount hua sect anew? which will it be?
i quietly observed sword marquess. after patting his full belly, he stood up and stretched.
“now that i’m full, it’s time to get to work.”
let me mention in advance that all my predictions were wrong.
footnotes:
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