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Patter—pat!
Spring rain rolls down along the long eaves of the Imperial Palace.
"I didn't expect the Commander to come out himself."
Below them stood two men.
"You're leaving, they say—of course I'd come see you off."
At those uncharacteristically warm words, Jin Cheon gave a wry smile.
En̊ um̊ ӓ_. id
"I thought a lot would change once the war ended, but less has changed than I expected."
Playing coy, as always.
Dilarang mengopy novel dari Enuma.id.
But Baekli Mubaek had seen enough of Jin Cheon's true self in the North to be sick of it.
Undying Blood Path. Self-Forgetting, Traceless Shadow. End of the Fist Way.
Jin Cheon had earned countless epithets in the North, but the one that described him most accurately was the ominous star—the Baleful Star.
Baleful Star Jin Cheon.
Е̄ ǹ u̇ m̊а̀
The Number One of the North, whose mere presence on a battlefield was terror to enemies and hope to allies alike.
"Is this all because the Commander's been strolling through court so lazily?"
Shhk—tak!
Baekli Mubaek, Commander of the Imperial Guard of Gyeong—the one and only empire of the Central Plains—held his teacup and gently pushed the tea leaves aside with the lid.
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He nodded slowly.
"At first I thought some pale, scrawny scholar had wandered in, and now you're practically ready to eat this old man alive."
W е̂bnо v е̂ ľ Êṅ u m̀ ӑ
"When was that? Four seasons have already passed since the war ended."
"I truly thought both of us would die up in the North."
"I'm the one who saved your life, Commander."
"...I want to say that's not true, but it's happened more than once, so I can't really argue."
Heh—
Jin Cheon and Baekli Mubaek looked at each other and laughed.
Dilarang mengopy novel dari Enuma.id.
Beneath the idle joking was a bond that only those who had run the same battlefield together could share.
A year had passed since the Northern Campaign ended.
After the campaign, Baekli Mubaek and a good number of other high-ranking military officers had returned to the Imperial Capital.
Others might have welcomed it, but for a man who had spent his entire youth in the North, the Capital was an impossibly difficult place.
So he gazed quietly at Jin Cheon.
He himself had no choice—he'd rolled around battlefields until his hair and brows turned white, and only now, belatedly, was he suffering through the Capital. But he hoped Jin Cheon wouldn't live the same way.
W̄ е̇bñ.ô vе̊ l Е̇n ǔ m а̄
And then, as if on cue, Jin Cheon had said he was leaving the Capital.
Baekli Mubaek, who carried His Majesty and the court on his own two shoulders, asked:
Dilarang mengopy novel dari Enuma.id.
"You're leaving?"
Patter—pat!
Spring rain rolls down along the long eaves of the Imperial Palace.
"Yes, I'm leaving."
Е̇ n̆u̇.m̂ а
Jin Cheon and Baekli Mubaek had brought chairs out under the eaves and were drinking tea.
When it rained, this spot was the best place in the Capital to listen to it.
"Why?"
Baekli Mubaek pointed at his own belly.
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On the battlefield he'd kept a lean build, but after just one year of life in the Capital, he'd grown round.
"Eating good food every day, wearing silk clothes, living in a spacious, splendid house—isn't that good?"
Ё ǹu̇ mа̃ . і́d
That was how comfortable a life it had been.
Jin Cheon looked down at his own stomach too.
Unlike Commander Baekli, who was hounded daily by the ministers and His Majesty, Jin Cheon lived at ease—maybe that was why he hadn't visibly put on any weight yet.
But still, Jin Cheon found the Capital stifling.
His feet, which had once found even the vast plains too narrow to run across, felt cramped. His hands, which had never stopped swinging, wanted something to do.
"It is good. Honestly, it's the life I used to dream about at night, back in the North."
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"Then just stay."
"But what can I do? No matter how good the food, clothes, and drink are, none of it feels like mine."
"Fair enough."
Baekli Mubaek felt the same way, so he could tell what Jin Cheon wanted to say just from his face.
"You've held onto the North's Baleful Star this long—that's long enough."
"Isn't that title supposed to be an insult to me?"
Wе b ṅ ôṽе̌ l̈ Еn ǔ mа̌
"So you finally had the brains to notice!?"
Jin Cheon looked at Baekli Mubaek, dumbfounded.
Dilarang mengopy novel dari Enuma.id.
But Baekli Mubaek just shrugged, sly as ever. An attitude that said.
So what if you noticed.
"Noticing when you're being insulted to your face—you've really grown up. Guess it's fine to let you go now."
Seeing the stern, meticulous Baekli Mubaek crack jokes like this felt strange, and it drove home once again that the Northern Campaign was truly over.
Е̃ ñ ùmа̌
Swish—!
Baekli Mubaek held out a wooden box he'd been carrying from the start.
Engraved with dragons and phoenixes—clearly no ordinary box.
"I said just giving you a lot of money would be enough, but His Majesty said that wouldn't do, and prepared this himself."
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"It looks like no ordinary item just from the outside."
"You'll be even more surprised once you open it."
E.n u m а̃ .í d̈
Thunk!
Opening it carefully, inside lay an unassuming sword.
Baekli Mubaek looked more excited than Jin Cheon himself.
"Draw it."
Shhing!
Jin Cheon drew the sword lightly.
Dilarang mengopy novel dari Enuma.id.
The silver blade sat perfectly balanced in his hand, its edge flawless. A faint chill radiated from it, and he recognized at once that it was ancient Cold Iron.
Its mere existence would have made it a treasure of the age, but the real treasure was the four characters engraved beneath the blade's surface.
"As If the Emperor Were Here Himself."
Jin Cheon's eyes went wide.
He looked at Baekli Mubaek as if to ask if this was real, and the man nodded.
"Exactly as it reads."
Еṅ u ma. i d
Four characters symbolizing power so absolute that even cutting down the Crown Prince could be overlooked.
A token of the promise that, for as long as one held this sword, one stood equal to the Emperor who ruled over all the land.
Dilarang mengopy novel dari Enuma.id.
He'd heard that in the martial world, treasures and martial arts alone were enough to spark endless conflict—but this sword, by its very existence, was a Gift capable of shaking the realm to its foundations.
Jin Cheon, who never imagined he'd receive something like this, was at a loss.
"The Eastern Depot frothed at the mouth in opposition, as always, but His Majesty pushed it through."
"....."
Еn̂ úmа
"He said—the man who saved not just himself but the empire and the realm, and you can't give him even this much? If it comes to that, better the empire had fallen. That's what he said."
Baekli Mubaek laughed softly.
It had been a long time since Jin Cheon was left speechless like that.
Seeing him flustered, so unlike his usual self, was rather satisfying to watch.
Dilarang mengopy novel dari Enuma.id.
"What about the Embroidered Guard?"
"I hold the post of Commander of the Imperial Guard too—who's going to say anything?"
Е_ṅ úm a
"What if I swing this around more than I should handle?"
"That's fine too. The more you swing it, the more you'll realize just how sweet it is to stay by His Majesty's side."
"....."
"And then."
Thump, thump!
Baekli Mubaek stomped his foot against the floor of the Imperial Palace.
Dilarang mengopy novel dari Enuma.id.
"You might even want to come back to the palace."
Jin Cheon looked down at the blade's edge.
His own round, gentle eyes and black pupils reflected back at him.
"Accept this gift we've prepared."
A Gift that was both a masterwork and a token of gratitude.
Shhing—!
Е n ŭ.m̂а̇ . і̇ ḋ
Jin Cheon slid the gift back into its sheath.
The time he'd spent in the North flickered past in an instant, and the gift placed a final period at its end.
Dilarang mengopy novel dari Enuma.id.
Caught in that lingering feeling, Jin Cheon closed his eyes for a moment and simply listened to the rain.
"I won't draw it carelessly."
"I told you to draw it."
"Then I'll draw it plenty as a sword, but as a gift, I'll hold back."
Е n u m̂ а̊
"That's not like you at all, is it?"
Baekli Mubaek looked at Jin Cheon as if he'd just heard the strangest thing in his life.
This was a man who used and took whatever he could get his hands on, scraping together everything within reach—what was there for him to hold back on?
But whether or not he noticed Baekli Mubaek watching him, Jin Cheon kept his face raised, eyes still closed.
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"I'm gathering energy."
"...Energy?"
W̌ е̇ b́ ňо̆vе̃l Е n̄ ũ ṁ а̄
"Naturally, things like this are meant to be pressed down, again and again, right up until the very end—and then released all at once, with a bang! Just like when we destroyed the lower reaches of the Ulrata River with a Fire Bomb."
"That's not the same thing at all."
"It's exactly the same."
"Ugh, if only you'd stop talking. I'm sure you'll manage fine on your own, but don't forget—His Majesty and I are always on your side."
Pat, patter—!
The unending sound of the rain was swallowing the screams and clanging steel that always seemed to linger in his ears.
Dilarang mengopy novel dari Enuma.id.
Shhhhh—!
The rain, falling without rhythm, wrapped around the two of them.
Sometimes silence conveys more than words ever could.
Then Baekli Mubaek abruptly thrust his fist out past the eaves.
Though the sky was clear, the fat spring raindrops still struck his fist.
"Not a drop of rain seeps into a clenched fist."
Е̇ n̊u̇ma
When Jin Cheon turned to look, Baekli Mubaek slowly opened his fist.
Onto his pale, flattened palm—
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Patter—!
The spring rain running down the eaves pooled.
"But open your fist, and the whole world is there."
Spring rain.
Е̇ǹ ŭ m̂а
Wind.
Sunlight.
And the world.
Baekli Mubaek was certain Jin Cheon would live well even after leaving the Capital.
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But there was one realization he wanted, out of lingering worry, to make sure to pass on.
"You said life in the Capital didn't feel like yours—maybe that's because you've been keeping your fist clenched."
W е̄ bń о̊v̇_е l̊ Е̄nũm â
"Commander."
"Wherever you go, live with an open fist. The Jin Cheon I've known all this time swings his fist better than anyone—but this is a new era now, so it's all right for you to be different."
And it was Jin Cheon who had made that new era possible.
Baekli Mubaek closed his eyes for a moment.
Hoping that Jin Cheon, who had done nothing but fight since he was young, would live well in this new era and find something to call his own, he asked:
"So, where are you headed, leaving behind this fine Capital?"
Dilarang mengopy novel dari Enuma.id.
Of course, since he himself was staying behind while Jin Cheon got to walk away so freely, a note of envious grumbling crept into his voice.
"I'm heading south."
"Where in the south?"
Jin Cheon grinned and, just like Baekli Mubaek, spread his own palm open beside him as he answered.
"I've got a bit of a knack for cooking."
Baekli Mubaek nodded.
Е̄ńŭ mă. іd
Lately he'd been noticing more and more that Jin Cheon's skill in the kitchen might even surpass that of most cooks in the Capital.
Of course, a properly prepared dish and a meal wolfed down on the battlefield were different things—but that was Baekli Mubaek's honest opinion regardless.
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"The place I grew up is a small seaside village called Sea Pine. My parents used to run an inn there."
"Ah, the place where the village elder is supposedly minding the inn?"
"You remember."
"It was just so strange that a guy like you had a hometown, I looked into it separately."
Ŵ ē b.ǹ o̊vе̂ĺ Е̊n̆ ú m̄ ä
"What a personality. Someone who's made it to Commander, and you're exactly the same as you always were."
"If you don't like it, you could be Commander instead."
"I won't."
"Pity. I could've slipped that on you."
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Out on the battlefield, people naturally end up sharing every kind of story with each other.
Even more so on a battlefield with no guarantee of tomorrow.
E n û ṁ а . іd̃
The two of them had spent years together in the North, so of course they each knew the other's private worries and troubles well.
That was precisely why they were comrades-in-arms who had transcended age and status.
"Looking back on it now, running off the way I did feels embarrassing, but still—I mean to go back."
"Is that so?"
At Jin Cheon's earnest words, Baekli Mubaek's smile deepened.
Jin Cheon, knowing that whenever the old general made that particular face, trouble was sure to follow, narrowed his eyes and studied him.
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"Is there something you know that I don't?"
But Baekli Mubaek had no intention of answering honestly.
"Running an inn in that Sea Pine place, hm—If I tell you now, it won't be nearly as fun."
"Commander."
"No, wait. Hearing the reports afterward might be even more entertaining."
There was no stopping Baekli Mubaek when he smiled like a fox, eyes narrowing like that.
Е̇ňü må
Knowing this well, Jin Cheon could only laugh wryly.
It felt like only yesterday they'd fought back-to-back, and yet here they were now, leisurely listening to the rain and trading jokes—moments like this were simply too enjoyable.
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Baekli Mubaek muttered something only he understood, then nodded.
"Better to see it once than ask a hundred times. I'll bring His Majesty along to visit eventually, so make sure you've settled in by then."
"Settling in won't be a problem."
Jin Cheon, who knew his own abilities better than anyone, couldn't quite understand why Baekli Mubaek was worried about something so trivial.
Е ṅ.ùm̀a . î d
But Baekli Mubaek pressed the point again.
"Make sure you've settled in properly."
.
.
Dilarang mengopy novel dari Enuma.id.
.
The road home to Sea Pine.
Wē b̃ nӧ v èl .Е n um̈ â
When he'd fled it as a boy, every step had felt so solemn—but looking back, he'd really just been a kid scrambling to run away.
Still, this counts as a triumphant homecoming, doesn't it?
Heading south, Jin Cheon felt a quiet swell of pride.
That same little runaway had now grown up, made something of himself, and was returning—what could possibly go wrong?
On top of that, back in the Capital, he'd received rewards so enormous that people said he had money to spare.
Enough, he thought, to feed the entire village of Sea Pine as he remembered it for the rest of their lives.
Dilarang mengopy novel dari Enuma.id.
Well, that's one thing, and my own life is another, but still.
Jin Cheon pictured to himself how he might live once he got back.
A clear sky beginning to redden with the setting sun.
—Shhhhh!
A charming inn by the seaside, waves rolling gently in.
Not a place with a fixed menu, but one that cooked up whatever it could and served it out at an easy pace, a place where people could sit and talk.
Èn ǔ m̂ а . ĭd
The problem, of course, was whether any customers would even come.
Whether they do or not.
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It didn't much matter.
It wasn't a place meant to make money in the first place.
He was sick to death of killing people, and now wanted to try saving them instead—and besides, his cooking had gone over well enough in the North, but he wondered if it would work in the Central Plains too.
And on top of that, just a little.
W̄ е̂b̌ňō vе̂ ľ_ Е.n̂ů mа̊
He now felt ready to face his parents' past.
The days when he'd been desperate just to run away were behind him now—today, he was returning in glory as a hero of the Northern Campaign.
If I'm running an inn in Sea Pine, crab, maybe? No—freshly caught fish might be good too.
No need to rush.
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Savoring the boundless freedom and comfort he'd gained now that the war was over, Jin Cheon walked on at an easy pace.
"Ah, come on, walk faster!"
Wеb́nо v е l̃ Е_ñu̇ ḿå
"I'm in a hurry here, why's this guy hogging the whole road?!"
—He should have kept that pace.
The first odd thing he noticed was the road.
The official road leading to a backwater place like Sea Pine was absurdly well-maintained.
Well-kept enough for carriages to travel on, even.
He'd heard that because of the long Northern Campaign, the roads south of the Capital had gone unmaintained except in the major cities—yet here was the road to Sea Pine, sturdy and wide like this.
Dilarang mengopy novel dari Enuma.id.
No, wait, it's getting better the further I go?
Jin Cheon, bewildered, mixed in with the cloud-like crowds of people heading toward Sea Pine.
The second odd thing was the people.
The road, which should have had no one on it, was packed with travelers.
And a good number of them looked rough or carried themselves with a certain haughty air—clearly martial artists.
Just a coincidence, surely.
W̃ èḃ n̂ оv̌ê l̂ Е̇ ńu mа̊
He figured he'd simply crossed paths briefly with martial artists heading to some other road.
But the further he went, the more their numbers kept growing.
Dilarang mengopy novel dari Enuma.id.
...Still just a coincidence, right?
And at last, he arrived at Sea Pine.
Jin Cheon looked up at the enormous main gate, utterly unsure why it was even there.
"Heavenly Sword Castle."
Wė b́ ńо̆ v̄ е̄l_ Еnûm̈ а̄
A plaque hung there, radiating a fierceness sharp enough to cut a man down on the spot.
"Quite the sight, isn't it? To think the Number One Under Heaven, the Heavenly Sword himself, personally chose this place and built it."
The one speaking to him so amiably was a middle-aged man dressed in the distinctive blue robes of Heavenly Sword Castle.
He seemed to have taken Jin Cheon for some ordinary newcomer to the martial world, visiting the Castle.
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Number One Under Heaven? In this backwater?
Jin Cheon squeezed his eyes shut, then opened them again.
Еń ǔ.m̄å
"Heavenly Sword Castle."
The plaque, still perfectly legible, hadn't changed.
For some reason, what came to mind was the wrinkled, smiling face of Baekli Mubaek at the very end.
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