Chapter 84
‘Can I sever ties with someone precious to me?’
Liyeon thought of the person precious to him.
Seo Dan.
Now, he was all that remained. Everyone else was dead.
His father, Chief Steward Jeok, the people of the Xiao Family. He had lost them all because of what happened that day.
In truth, Liyeon had been planning to prepare for revenge once he found Seo Dan.
His father had told him not to seek revenge, but what happened that day had left a grudge too deep in Liyeon’s heart. He had only just begun to think that he could finally live happily, only for everything to be taken away from him in an instant.
He had to repay this grudge somehow. If he did not, it felt as though the reason he alone had survived would disappear…
‘But.’
He needed strength to take revenge.
It was the same even if he found Seo Dan. His body had been problematic since birth, and unless he learned an extreme-yin cultivation method, he would be unable to take care of even his own life, let alone seek revenge.
However, if he became the Jade Snow Wanderer’s disciple, all those problems would be solved. Not only would he be able to live a long life, but he might also even become a master as formidable as she. Then revenge would be much easier.
He ought to become the Jade Snow Wanderer’s disciple somehow. Clearly, that was what he should do, but…
“I…”
How could I sever ties with you?
“I cannot.”
The Jade Snow Wanderer’s eyes widened. Liyeon lowered his head and spoke respectfully.
“I am sorry. I was the one who first begged you to accept me as your disciple, yet I am ashamed to give you such a disloyal answer.”
“…….”
“However… I cannot do it. The reason I want to learn martial arts is so that I can live a long life and be happy with someone precious to me. If I were to sever ties with that precious person and become alone merely to grow stronger, then what would be the point?”
“…….”
“After losing everything, I came to understand. I realized how precious it is to have someone important by your side, and how valuable every one of those moments was. If I could return to the past, I would do anything to…”
Liyeon stopped speaking for a moment and sighed. Even then, the Jade Snow Wanderer said nothing and merely watched him.
What was she thinking right now?
With that thought, Liyeon finally spoke.
“Jade Snow Wanderer, I sincerely thank you for saving my life twice. Although I cannot enter your sect, I, Liyeon, will never forget this grace for even a moment, and someday, no matter when, I will surely repay you.”
“…….”
“I must find that child, so I shall take my leave. Please take good care of yourself, and I sincerely pray that you remain safe and well until we meet again.”
As he said that, he performed a deep bow before the Jade Snow Wanderer.
After finishing his bow and rising, Liyeon immediately turned around. He had not been without hesitation, but by bowing, he had already cast it all aside. If this too was fate, there was nothing he could do.
Just as Liyeon was casting away his last lingering attachment and about to leave the cave…
“Wait.”
Liyeon stopped short. The Jade Snow Wanderer’s clear voice struck his ears.
“…How fascinating. Even though you are not a disciple of our sect, you are the most like one of our disciples.”
“Pardon?”
“If this is not fate, then what is?”
Liyeon turned around in bewilderment.
Then he stopped… The Jade Snow Wanderer was smiling.
“Come here and sit. There is something more I wish to tell you.”
Liyeon hesitated, but eventually returned to stand before the Jade Snow Wanderer. With a faint smile on her face, she somehow looked almost bitter.
Liyeon cautiously asked,
“What did you wish to tell me…?”
“Do you know why the founder of our sect hated love so much?”
“Pardon?”
Liyeon thought over the Jade Snow Wanderer’s question for a moment, but nothing came to mind, so he shook his head.
“Because he fell in love.”
The Jade Snow Wanderer revealed an old story.
Long ago, there was a master. This versatile master had two disciples, one male disciple and one female disciple.
The two were senior and junior disciples, but they had grown up under the same master since childhood, staying together without ever being apart. So it was only natural that feelings would develop between them.
At some point, the two realized how deeply attached they had become to each other and made a promise. Once they reached a suitable age, they would become husband and wife and spend the rest of their lives together.
They thought they would become husband and wife like that. Until the senior disciple found someone he loved.
The senior disciple went out into the martial world and, one day, brought a woman back with him. He introduced her to his master as the woman he intended to marry.
The junior disciple was deeply shocked. She demanded to know what had happened to the promise he had made to her. But the senior disciple told her that, in truth, he had only ever thought of her as a younger sister, and that he had only realized this after finding the person he truly loved.
He then told the junior disciple that he hoped she too would find someone she loved, and left with that woman without another word. Afterward, he held his wedding and established his own sect, becoming independent.
The junior disciple could not believe it.
Where had the person gone who had whispered sweet words of love to her only a few years ago?
The junior disciple harbored a deep grudge against the senior disciple, and from that day onward, she began sharpening the blade of revenge.
However, the senior disciple’s martial arts were vastly superior to hers. Believing that she could not defeat him through sheer ability, she began studying ways to counter his swordsmanship from that very day.
Thus, after several decades had passed and she had learned how to counter all of his sword techniques, the junior disciple went to find the senior disciple.
She intended to kill the married couple and finally settle her grudge. But the junior disciple could not settle her grudge.
The senior disciple and his wife were already dead.
The junior disciple could not accept that fact. She eventually went so far as to find the senior disciple’s grave, dig it up, tear open the coffin inside, and only then did she realize it.
The senior disciple was dead. The person she had intended to take revenge on had disappeared forever.
After that, the junior disciple became completely lost. For days on end, she sat before the senior disciple’s grave. Then, as though possessed, she suddenly stood up, took a single sword, and left for somewhere far away.
After that, the whereabouts of the junior disciple were unknown.
However, after hearing the story, Liyeon felt as though he could guess the identity of that junior disciple.
“Then that junior disciple…?”
“Yes.”
The Jade Snow Wanderer nodded.
“She was the founder of our sect.”
The Jade Snow Wanderer paused for a moment before shaking her head.
“Afterward, the founder came to hate love and established a rule that the disciples of our sect must never fall in love. If anyone became blinded by love and lost their chastity, their four limbs and meridians would be severed, their dantian crippled, and they would be expelled from the sect.”
“Such…”
“Yet the founder herself could not forget him until the day she died. She even left instructions in her will that her remains should be buried beside his.”
“…….”
“Perhaps because the founder had such a history. From then on, a curse followed the disciples of our sect.”
“A curse?”
At Liyeon’s surprised question, the Jade Snow Wanderer let out a small sigh.
“One of the disciples of our sect would inevitably fall into a terribly intense love.”
“……!”
“No matter how strongly we invoked the rules or disciplined the disciples, we could not prevent fate. One of the disciples would always fall in love… and because of that love, things would spiral beyond control.”
“What do you mean by ‘spiral beyond control’?”
“Because not once did the love of any disciple of our sect ever come to fruition.”
Liyeon’s face went blank.
The Jade Snow Wanderer’s voice was filled with regret.
“Whether it was unrequited love or mutual love, in the end, the relationship would never come to fruition. And every disciple whose love was thwarted fell into an inner demon. They either became so desperate that they took their own lives, or went mad and became demon heads who slaughtered people.”
“…….”
“Dealing with those who had gone mad also fell to their senior and junior sisters of the same generation. Since this happened again and again with every generation, those who became sect leaders emphasized the rules even more strictly.”
“…….”
“But now I find myself wondering. Was that the only way? Would it not have been better to simply leave those feelings to flow as they naturally did…?”
The Jade Snow Wanderer suddenly looked at Liyeon.
Liyeon was listening intently to her story with a serious expression.
The Jade Snow Wanderer exhaled.
“And yet, the very first disciple I am trying to take in already has someone to whom he has given his heart. How could this too not be called fate?”
“…….”
“Let us do this instead.”
The Jade Snow Wanderer spoke coldly.
“Fortunately, the person precious to you is of the same sex, and although you have given your heart to him, you have not lost your chastity, so it cannot be said that you have violated the sect’s regulations.”
“What does that mean…!”
“However, as long as you are a disciple of our sect, you must maintain your chastity for the rest of your life. I will not restrain your feelings, but if you ever cause harm to the sect, I will personally sever the meridians in your four limbs and cripple your dantian.”
“…….”
“Can you do that?”
Liyeon hesitated for a moment. But the answer had always been decided, and there was only one thing Liyeon could say.
“I can.”
“Good.”
The Jade Snow Wanderer soon rose from her seat. Liyeon also stood at the Jade Snow Wanderer’s gesture.
By now, dignity had settled over the Jade Snow Wanderer’s face. With her back straight and chin raised, she looked no less imposing than the head of any other sect.
The Jade Snow Wanderer spoke.
“Offer the Nine-Bow Rite to this sect leader.”
Her dignified voice rang throughout the cave.
“I, Seol Sohon, the twenty-third sect leader of the Snow Mountain Sect, hereby take Liyeon as my direct disciple today!”
It was the one sentence that would determine Liyeon’s fate.
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