Chapter 190: Shackles of the Past

Chapter 190: Shackles of the Past

TL: FoodieMonster007

"Grandpa, I'm going out for a bit," Baek Suryong said.

"Okay," Mae Geuklyom replied absentmindedly, seemingly uninterested in where his grandson was going at this late hour or who he was meeting.

Hearing his grandfather's dull response, Baek Suryong sighed softly. "Grandpa, are you feeling okay?"

"...Why are you still standing here instead of leaving?"

"Please don't get too hung up on what Dad said earlier. He was drunk."

Mae Geuklyom stared silently at his grandson's face. Those large, deep eyes... Why did they remind him so much of the concerned look on his late daughter's face?

Still looking disoriented, he began, "You too... Do you also..."

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"Do I also what?"

Mae Geuklyom shook his head. "No, it's nothing. You said you were heading out? Go ahead."

"...Okay." Baek Suryong nodded solemnly.

Even though he was worried about his grandfather, who looked as pale as a ghost, he couldn't stay. After all, it wasn't just his grandfather he was worried about. Baek Muheun's expression when he'd left earlier had been disturbing as well.



[Meet me at the lake east of the academy tonight. I have something for you.]



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Also, what was that memory from earlier? Was it from the original Baek Suryong's childhood? Why would I have memories of someone else's past? I have to find out.

Baek Suryong couldn't quite say why, but somehow, he was sure that whatever Baek Muheun wanted to give him would contain the answers he desperately sought. If he didn't meet him tonight, though, his father might disappear before he ever got the chance.

"I'll be back soon, Grandpa," he said.

"...Just hurry up and go," Mae Geuklyom urged.

"......"

Sensing Baek Suryong's hesitation, Mae Geuklyom stood up and pushed him toward the main gate. Even though the old man had less than half of his usual strength, Baek Suryong couldn't bring himself to resist and quietly walked away.

Mae Geuklyom stared blankly at his grandson's figure until it disappeared completely, then muttered the words he couldn't say earlier, "Do you also resent me, Suryong?"

Fearing the answer, he's hesitated to voice the question out loud. Sighing, he turned around, but didn't feel like going back to his room. Instead, he sat on the porch and quietly looked up at the night sky.

A crescent moon hung above, gazing down indifferently at him.



"Where were you when Yakbing was dying? Why didn't you come to her funeral?"



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The resentment in Baek Muheun's eyes earlier had hurt more than the words.



"Was your pride more important than your daughter? Did you no longer care whether she lived or died because you'd already disowned her?"



He'd wanted to argue back, to berate the man, to say he didn't understand anything at all.



"Until her final breath, Yakbing waited for you, hoping to see you one last time. Where the hell were you?"



When he heard those words, he'd felt suffocated. Suddenly, the sword he had wielded all his life felt impossibly heavy, as if it weighed a thousand pounds. He could no longer lift it, let alone swing it.



"Do you think you have the right to blame me? You, who abandoned your daughter?"



There were many things he wanted to say, but the words wouldn't come out. They all felt like flimsy excuses and meaningless self-assurances.

Back then, he did nothing. No, he couldn't do anything.



"Do you really think I avoided you all this time because I was afraid of you? No, it's because I hate you."



"...I knew it," Mae Geuklyom murmured.

He was familiar with Baek Muheun's personality. Even in the days when he was a much stricter teacher, Baek Muheun had boldly stepped forward to ask him for Yakbing's hand in marriage. A man like that wouldn't be intimidated by an old man's sword.



"If you want to kill me, go ahead. Spill my blood all over the academy your daughter attended. I'm sure a heartless man like you wouldn't hesitate."



Each word pierced his heart like a dagger, poking holes in a heart he'd thought was as hard as stone.

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"Yakbing..."

As Mae Geuklyom closed his eyes, memories from over forty years ago flashed through his mind, vivid and clear, as if they had happened only yesterday.

His family had arranged a marriage for him, but feeling oppressed, he walked out a few months after the wedding night and wandered the murim, pursuing the ultimate in swordsmanship, meeting masters and seeking their teachings, and sharing drinks all night with kindred spirits.

It was not until three years later, when he returned home for the first time, that he saw her. He still clearly remembered the sight that greeted him the moment he opened the door.

A small figure hid behind her mother's skirt, eyeing him warily.



"He's your father. Greet him."

"Daddy?"

"You were pregnant? Why didn't you tell me..."

"I only found out shortly after you left."

"......"



His wife had surprised him with a tiny gift called his daughter. Mae Geuklyom was traumatized. To his horror, he had wandered outside for three years, unaware that he had a child.

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From that day on, he became a family man. Using sword training as an excuse, he quit wandering around and started looking for jobs to earn money. His efforts, however, went unrewarded, for his wife passed away five years later of stomach cancer.

That was when he learned how easily and cruelly the heavens could reach down and take someone away.



"Daddy... Are you going to leave me too?"



At his wife's funeral, his exhausted daughter had looked up at him with a pleading gaze. The little one had always been frail, and even the simple ceremony had left her completely drained.



"What are you saying? I won't leave you," he whispered, pulling her into a light embrace, though her body felt so delicate that he couldn't bring himself to hug her any tighter. "I'll never leave you, Yakbing, so don't leave me either, okay?"

"Okay. I will never leave you, Daddy."



"I'd prefer to drink alone..."

"That's my wine. Why should I need your permission to drink my own booze?"

"...Hoho." Hearing that, Mae Geuklyom had no choice but to pour the old blacksmith a drink.

For a while, the two elders sat quietly, sipping their wine.

Suddenly, Wiji Yeol said, "Right now, I'm working tirelessly to forge a legendary sword that will surpass the best one I've ever seen. I have a feeling that there will be good news soon."

"Why are you telling me this all of a sudden...?"

"Because I'm making that sword for Instructor Baek Suryong."

At the mention of his grandson's name, Mae Geuklyom's eyes lit up. He barely knew Wiji Yeol, and the alcohol dulled his qi perception, but even through the haze, he could sense it. This man was a master craftsman.

"It better be an amazing legendary sword," he said.

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Wiji Yeol laughed, "Of course! It'll even be able to cut through enhanced qi!"

"...Good luck with that," Mae Geuklyom said, even though he thought Wiji Yeol was exaggerating. Still, he couldn't criticize someone who was making a legendary sword for his grandson.

"Luck or no, I'll definitely succeed. I need to repay at least a bit of the favor I owe Mr. Baek."

"...A favor?"

"Haven't you heard? Instructor Baek Suryong saved my grandson's life..." Wiji Yeol told Mae Geuklyom about Wiji Cheon's situation, but since he couldn't mention anything related to the Blood Cult, he left that part out.

Mae Geuklyom's eyes widened in surprise. "Oh my! To think that such a thing happened..."

"Now, tell me about yourself. What's bothering you so much that my grandson had to beg me to come out here at this ungodly hour?"

"I don't really want to talk about it," Mae Geuklyom said, shaking his head.

"You think you can just listen to my story and then run off without sharing yours? Not a chance. If you don't talk, I'll make you drink until you pass out," Wiji Yeol retorted.

"...You're quite persistent. Fine, I'll tell you, but don't blame me if it's boring."

Mae Geuklyom's lips curved into a faint smile as he launched into was a tale he would never have dreamed of sharing with his son-in-law or grandson. Maybe it was the simple comfort of sharing a drink with someone his own age again, or maybe he had just held it in for too long, but the dark past he'd kept buried poured out with surprising ease.

After listening quietly for a while, Wiji Yeol asked, "So...why couldn't you go to the funeral?"

"...Shortly after my daughter left home, I fell into qi deviation."

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"Oh dear!"

"I was so tormented by my inner demons that I wanted to slash people with my sword dozens of times a day. To suppress my murderous intent, I had no choice but to take up tea ceremonies and other similar peaceful activities to calm myself and strengthen my mental resilience. For several years, every single day of my life was fraught with peril, as if I were walking on a tightrope."

Mae Geuklyom stared down at his sword. Stripped of his only reason to live after his daughter's departure, he had wrestled with a dark desire to cut down the entire world. Only the faint traces she'd left scattered throughout the Azure Dragon Academy kept him in check. Every time his rage threatened to boil over, those silent reminders would pull him back just enough to stay his hand.

"If I had gone to my daughter's funeral, I would have murdered my son-in-law on the spot. I might even have killed little Suryong. So, I couldn't go. The risk was too great."

Wiji Yeol sighed, "Then...are you fully recovered now?"

"Thankfully, time has healed me. Well, my temper has gotten a tad bit worse over the years, but it's really nothing more than an old man's grumpiness... Hmm? Looks like we're out of wine."

Mae Geuklyom set his empty cup aside and looked up at the night sky. Moonlight caressed his white hair, casting shadows that seemed to deepen the wrinkles on his face.

"If you've truly recovered, then why don't you be honest with him now? Just apologize and tell him that you missed the funeral because you were suffering from qi deviation. If you keep bottling up your feelings like this, it won't be long before those inner demons of yours come crawling right back," Wiji Yeol snapped, frowning in disbelief.

"...What difference would it make now? It's already too late," Mae Geuklyom replied, his voice weary and filled with remorse.

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BAM!

Wiji Yeol slammed his fist on the ground. "Ahh, damn it! How pigheaded can you get?"

Startled, Mae Geuklyom exclaimed, "What are you doing?"

"Enough of this nonsense! Everyone has something they regret! What makes you think you're the only exception?"

"What do you know about me?"

"Nothing! But so what?" Wiji Yeol shouted, standing up abruptly. "Go reconcile with your son-in-law before you regret it even more, you stubborn old fart! Stop using age as an excuse, stop saying it's too late, swallow your pride and just be honest with him! Don't you get it yet? It's our obstinacy that's shackling you to your past!"

"Huh?" Mae Geuklyom stared at Wiji Yeol, eyes wide with disbelief.

When was the last time anyone dared to scold me this harshly? At my age and with my standing in the murim, this kind of situation should be unthinkable, and yet here I am, being openly rebuked and scolded by an old blacksmith.

Also, when was the last time I met someone so unrestrained, so blatantly indifferent to formalities and courtesy? Is this man truly a member of the orthodox?

Wiji Yeol's demeanor was so fierce that it made him question the man's origin, yet strangely, he felt the knot in his heart begin to unravel.

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Making a shooing gesture, Wiji Yeol urged, "Come on! Go already! Or should I first beat the stubbornness out of you?"

At Wiji Yeol's insistence, Mae Geuklyom rose to his feet with an expression like he was being chased away. It was absurd, but strangely enough, he felt as if a weight had been lifted off his chest.

Perhaps now, he could have a real talk with his troublesome son-in-law and say all the things he'd left unspoken for so long.

"Hohoho!" Letting out a hollow laugh, Mae Geuklyom clasped his hands in thanks to Wiji Yeol. "Thank you. Next time, allow me to buy you a drink in return for today's favor."

Wiji Yeol grinned. "Hmph, your face finally looks more alive. Anyway, do you know where to find your son-in-law?"

"I think I have an idea," Mae Geuklyom replied. Picking up his sword that had been lying haphazardly beside him and straightening his disheveled attire, his previously clouded expression sharpened again as he spoke, "Since tomorrow is my daughter's death anniversary, there's only one place he could be."

Using movement arts, Mae Geuklyom leapt smoothly over the wall of White Dragon Manor, vanishing into the night in the blink of an eye.

Wiji Yeol waited until Mae Geuklyom was out of earshot, then groaned to himself, "Sheesh... Getting grownups to reconcile sure is tough."

CRACK! SQUELCH! CRACKLE!

A series of strange sounds echoed as Wiji Yeol's bones and muscles shifted, distorting his face. The old blacksmith's craggy features softened, and his sturdy frame melted into a tall, slender figure.

Finally, when the transformation was complete, the familiar face of Baek Suryong appeared—the same Baek Suryong that Mae Geuklyom assumed had already left the manor earlier.



Translator's Note: Enjoy! This is the longest Master Baek chapter yet.