“Great Hero Wi. What brings you here…”
I tilted my head and examined Ma-ryang, who was looking at us. His shabby attire.
Still, there wasn’t even a trace of aura coming from his body.
Unless Ma-ryang was hiding all his aura because he was a Grandmaster-level expert, it seemed he had never learned martial arts.
After all, martial artists unconsciously use stepping techniques even when they walk ordinarily, so he definitely wasn’t one.
“Ma-ryang, have you ever learned martial arts?”
“Eh? No, I haven’t. I’m more interested in inn management…”
“Have you ever seen the secret manual of the Seven Section Sword Art?”
“No. Why do you ask?”
Did he really not know, or was he pretending not to notice? It was impossible to tell right now.
“Iron Hero, do you know why he didn’t teach you martial arts?”
“I don’t know the exact reason either… But I do have some guesses.”
It was clear that there had been something between them.
Cases where one is inherently unruly are very rare; it’s more common for someone to become twisted due to poor upbringing or a specific event. In this case, it was definitely because of the martial arts, but…
“There was something he said when your older brother was drunk and causing havoc in his room before falling asleep. He said something like ‘Am I not your son?’ and ‘Are you making excuses because there’s a problem with the martial arts?’…”
Of course.
The martial arts really did have issues.
Logically, there should be no reason for Iron Hero to hesitate in teaching his son martial arts. No martial artist would want to stop at their own generation without leaving a legacy.
“What about the Seven Section Sword Art’s secret manual, do you have it?”
“I don’t know anything about it. Father never told me anything about the Seven Section Sword Art…”
His voice carried an unavoidable sense of resentment. Maybe he was upset that his father never taught him martial arts. Or, perhaps he was annoyed that Father never revealed the secrets of the Seven Section Sword Art until the very end.
“Is there any chance you could have a conversation with Iron Hero?”
“Great Hero Wi, that…”
Hajin had quietly been observing our conversation until now and now she stopped me. Asking a martial artist to reveal their martial arts was an impolite act equivalent to drawing swords on each other.
But this was somewhat different.
“After all, the Seven Section Sword Art will be lost with Iron Hero. It’s destined to disappear. You probably want to know why your father was so reluctant to pass down the Seven Section Sword Art, right?
You also want to know why your father secretly hid it, leading to the destruction of your family.
If not now, you’ll have to live the rest of your life in agony, never knowing the truth.
Don’t you want to know it, even if the truth is painful?”
I stared at Ma-ryang, demanding an answer.
Hajin didn’t stop me any longer.
It seemed she realized this was Ma-ryang’s last chance. As the eldest son had committed patricide, with Iron Hero on his deathbed, this was Ma-ryang’s sole remaining opportunity.
Would he seize it?
Or let it pass?
I wouldn’t force him. This wasn’t my affair in the end. If Ma-ryang refused, we’d simply arrange the funeral and leave. His elder brother was somewhere around the Black Wind Sect — too far to go and catch him arbitrarily. Besides, the brother was affiliated with Hainan Sword Sect, so we couldn’t easily provoke the sect just because he was of the evil path.
Maybe he’d show up on his own if my predictions were correct.
“What will you choose?”
“…I’ll do it. Since…the Seven Section Sword Art is destined to fade anyway. I want to know the truth. What exactly about the Seven Section Sword Art did Father keep hidden?”
He turned his body around. We silently followed him to the hospital room where Iron Hero lay. When Ma-ryang opened the door, we saw Iron Hero lying down and Elder Baek standing guard beside him.
Elder Baek turned his head to look at us and spoke.
“What is the matter?”
“Elder Baek…”
We explained the whole situation, including what we had heard from the Beggars’ Guild and the story Ma-ryang had shared. He sighed deeply but nodded.
“It is indeed very impolite under normal circumstances… But he is Iron Hero’s son. While he may lack the rights of a martial artist, he has the right to hear whatever secrets his father hid as a family member.”
Fortunately, he’s not opposing us.
“Let us leave then. The two of them need some time alone.”
We silently nodded and turned around.
—
“…Ma… ryang…”
“Father.”
Ma-ryang sat beside his father and quietly took his hand.
Cold and rough hand.
He could feel the marks of the life his father had lived through his touch.
“Father, I want to know. Why didn’t you pass down the Seven Section Sword Art to me or my brother?”
“The Seven Section Sword Art… shouldn’t… be passed down…”
“Father, please tell me.
Do you intend to not give any explanation until the very end? Even when the truth was hidden, causing our family’s ruin, is that what you wanted?”
His heart raced.
Violently.
Ma-ryang realized he had unknowingly tightened his grip on his father’s hand. But the strength in his grip didn’t lessen, as the years of pent-up questions and disappointments hidden behind the mask of a ‘good youngest son’ were now erupting like a geyser.
“Father, tell me.”
“I’m sorry… I’m so sorry…”
“If you’re sorry, tell me!”
“It’s my fault… all my fault…”
Iron Hero finally revealed the secret of the Seven Section Sword Art, something he hadn’t spoken of in decades.
“The Seven Section Sword Art is a… half finished… martial art. Once learned, one will inevitably fall into madness sooner or later…”
“A half finished martial art? What do you mean?”
Ma-ryang’s eyes widened.
He had grown up listening to Iron Hero’s heroic tales from the inn guests. Could it really be true that the recognized martial artist by Hainan Sword Sect was practicing a half-finished martial art?
“Is that… the truth?”
Iron Hero, eyes half-blurred, nodded his head slowly.
“Yes… I apologize for not telling you sooner…”
The Seven Section Sword Art.
A half-finished martial art.
He looked at his son with a slightly relieved expression.
‘If only I’d been honest, maybe I could have been a proper father if not a proper martial artist.’
Realizations too late to matter.
Despite his dying body, his mind became clearer. He held his son’s hand, instinctively knowing this would be his last conversation with his son alive.
Ma-ryang noticed the clarity in his father’s eyes, recognizing the phenomenon known as “flicker of return” that sometimes happens before death.
“Son, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have kept it hidden… I learned about the Seven Section Sword Art being an incomplete martial art after your eldest brother was born.
That day, while I was meditating to steady my breath, I unexpectedly fell into madness. That’s when I realized:
The Seven Section Sword Art was missing critical components. Moreover, it was something I could neither fix nor should have tried to fix….”
Can a martial artist truly reject a lifetime of practicing their art?
At least, the young man who had just transitioned from youth to adulthood couldn’t. For him, rejecting his martial art would be rejecting his entire life.
And he regretted this only now as he lay dying.
‘I should have told the truth… What’s the point of pride?’
Maybe his eldest son would’ve listened and lived as an ordinary innkeeper without learning martial arts.
Maybe his beloved wife wouldn’t have resentfully passed away.
Regrets came washing over him like a tidal wave, tearing away at his mind and spirit. Soon, his heart, about to be torn apart, would depart this world, never to return.
Still, he had enough time left for a last conversation with his son.
“I couldn’t believe it at first. Whether it was lost over time or intentionally left incomplete… The manual was flawed, and I understood that once I crossed the peak I could no longer escape madness.
I also realized my body was no longer fit for being a martial artist. What I did next was start an inn using your mother’s cooking skills — it was the best I could do.”
When the first son was born, then the second,
Guests would often talk about the father’s heroic tales to the children in anticipation.
Surely, the son of a great martial artist would also grow up to be great.
The first son had dreams of becoming a renowned martial artist. But he couldn’t teach him the Seven Section Sword Art.
Because it was an insurmountable barrier destined to lead his son to ruin.
He wanted his son to learn different martial arts. But could a child who had grown up hearing tales about his sky-high father entertain other martial arts?
He couldn’t even bring himself to state the reasons.
A martial artist’s pride wouldn’t allow him to expose the flaws in his own martial art.
And it was a form of madness as well.
“…I should’ve been honest with my eldest son.”
“…Even if you were honest, he probably wouldn’t have listened, but it still would have been better than now.”
At least, the eldest would not have committed patricide.
Ma-ryang offered a reproachful condolences.
“Where is the secret manual for the Seven Section Sword Art?”
“Our former home… do you remember? In my old room… the manual is hidden beneath the floorboards. How you handle it is up to you.”
“…Understood, Father.”
“…I loved you, Son. And your brother… tell him… I loved him…”
“Father!”
His anguished yell shook the room.
And just as quickly, the door opened, seemingly giving no time for mourning.
“…Sorry, but I think we need to step out.”
“Father…”
“Your brother has come.”
William’s announcement caused Ma-ryang to step out and face a familiar face.
“…Older Brother.”
“Hand over… the Seven Section Sword Art…!”
Clearly not in a normal state.
“…Great Hero Wi. It seems he’s fallen into madness.”
“So, then…”
Despair settled on Ma-ryang’s face.
Even his brother had fallen into madness. Despite the elder brother’s transgressions, the image of him gone mad was too much to bear, causing Ma-ryang to slump to the floor in shock.
“Just rest. It seems… we need a conversation.”
Under everyone’s watchful eyes, William removed his hood and handed his sword to Hajin. Taken aback at receiving the sword, Hajin looked puzzled as she watched his back retreating.
“Great… Great Hero Wi?”
“Using fists is really long overdue.”
The sound of cracking knuckles and heavy breathing filled the courtyard before the clinic.
People who had wisely stepped back along with Hajin and Elder Baek and Ma-ryang stood transfixed, watching William’s back.
“Even beasts, when cornered, can become people.”
William’s eyes gleamed with coldness.
—
William stepped forward, ready to confront the elder brother who had fallen to madness, determined to bring clarity to the situation through action.
