Chapter 22

All the members of the Vermilion Bird group were staring blankly at the chillingly blue sky, letting out only short sighs of 'ha.' For some reason, they were all yawning constantly and tearing up, a sight that was hard to see as the faces of people who had slept well at night. On a bright day, 16 young men and women making blank expressions while looking at the blue sky; what they were thinking now, no one but themselves could know. The 16 people standing in a single line had two things in common: one was that they all had blank expressions as if they were wandering in a dream, and the other was that the area under their eyes all looked dark. There was only one reason for these symptoms to appear.

"Did you guys not sleep last night?"

Bi Ryu-yeon slowly looked around at his disciples.

"Well, since you're leaving the side of such a wonderful and even respectable master, it's understandable that you couldn't sleep from the sadness. Of course, yes."

Bi Ryu-yeon said, nodding his head as if it were natural. However, everyone just kept yawning without any expression of affirmation to Bi Ryu-yeon's words. To them, who were a bit absurd and even a little pathetic, Bi Ryu-yeon said with a meaningful eye-smile.

"So, how was it for everyone?"

A brief moment of silence. As if thinking about something, they were all lost in thought without a word.

"Ha, that friend finally..."

Hyeonun, a Taoist priest and Namgung Sang's close friend, said, wiping his eyes with his sleeve.

"Ah, when will I ever get to try?"

Tang Cheol-yeong also said a word as if complaining.

"It didn't go to the point of no return, so well..."

Cheongmun, a disciple of the Qingcheng Sect, said in a distant tone.

"If it had, it would have been a problem. Tsk, can't a beggar do something like that?"

No Hak said with an expression that said he really wanted to try it at least once. The fact that the profession of a beggar made it difficult to have such a romance made him dissatisfied. But inwardly, No Hak was firmly determined to try it someday.

"Oh my, how embarrassing."

It was a voice from beside No Hak. Hwa Seol-yeong, who was said to have grown up smelling the scent of plum blossoms in Mount Hua, blushed like a plum blossom petal.

"Will it be sweet? Or sour?"

Danmok Susu had an excited expression. She was a curious woman.

"Someone's lucky. To get to do something like that."

"..."

The bald-headed Shaolin monk, Ilgong, remained silent. He was originally a man of few words.

"I want to try it too..."

The daughter of the Hwangbo family made a problematic statement, whether she knew the meaning of her words or not.

"Ah, then with me..."

"Thwack."

No Hak's eye swelled up.

"Judging by his skill, it must be his first time."

Geum Yeong-ho said, with an unfittingly serious expression, as if discussing a grave matter.

"Oh my, really. Someone's lucky."

Danmok Susu said.

"If it were me, I would have just pressed down... Ack."

The eldest son of the Geum family hopped around, clutching his instep. Next to the hopping him, Namgung Sansan glared at him with dagger-like eyes. It was probably she who had mercilessly and ruthlessly stomped on his instep.

The faces of Namgung Sang and Jin Ryeong, who were listening to their colleagues' eyewitness accounts, were truly a sight to behold. They were flushed red like ripe persimmons, like a heated piece of iron waiting to become a sword, and they didn't know what to do. They could only stomp their feet with an expression that desperately wished to hide in a mouse hole.

"You guys, hey!"

Bi Ryu-yeon, who had been silently watching what the kids were doing for a while, stopped his eye-smile and shouted.

"What are you guys doing, making a fuss, instead of praising your master as you should? What did you all do last night instead of sleeping? You all have dark circles under your eyes, tsk tsk tsk."

Bi Ryu-yeon clicked his tongue with a pitiful expression. And then, with an intense gaze with his lips slightly curled up, he glared at his disciples with a high-handed posture, his eyes wide open. The 16 members of the Vermilion Bird group couldn't even make a peep and were bowing their heads. A silence that continued for a while, but the brief silence was quickly broken like a teacup falling from a dining table. It was because of Bi Ryu-yeon's sudden and unexpected action. An action that even Bi Ryu-yeon himself had not expected...

"Ha~am!"

A sudden yawn. Surprised by the yawn that had come out unconsciously, Bi Ryu-yeon hurriedly covered his mouth with both hands. But the yawn was already an arrow that had left the bow, irreversible. Not wanting to miss this opportunity, Hyeonun chimed in. Hyeonun said with a very meaningful smile and a very polite expression and voice.

"My, Master, why the yawn? You must have had a restless night? You have to think about your health."

It was a tone that could not be said to be without sarcasm.

"Ahem, no, I was just worried that my beloved disciple's shoulder might not withstand the pressure and something might go wrong... The shoulder is important for a swordsman, you know. So I was worried..."

But of course, no one believed his words. And yet, they all knew well that it would be difficult to be safe if they added a word to it. In any case, he had to avoid the gazes of his disciples that were constantly focusing on him. Bi Ryu-yeon suddenly turned his head and glared at Hyeonun. A light flashed in his two eyes.

"Let's say that's that for me, but what on earth did you guys do last night?"

In that instant, everyone's shoulders flinched. It was a question that broke the crisis and even reversed the tide of the battle. This time, Hyeonun was at a loss for words. Bi Ryu-yeon's meaningful eyes turned towards Namgung Sang. Namgung Sang's red face became even redder. Then, Hyeonun stepped forward as a representative and said.

"Ah, we, of course, were lamenting our separation from our wonderful and great master, whom we respect so much, and had a restless night."

It was Hyeonun, a Taoist priest, who was speaking a lie so smoothly without even wetting his lips.

"Ho, really?"

This time, Bi Ryu-yeon showed a disbelieving reaction. His gaze held the meaning of 'Don't make me laugh.'

"Of course."

Hyeonun said, as if to emphasize that it was certain.

"That's right, Master. As Taoist Hyeonun said, we couldn't sleep because of our separation from you. How could we sleep properly at this point when we have to leave your side?"

Danmok Susu actively helped to smooth things over. Had it passed safely? Bi Ryu-yeon's eyes narrowed even more. With a cheerful smile and eyes drawn like a crescent moon, Bi Ryu-yeon scanned his disciples and said.

"Oh-ho, then who were the three ladies on the roof last night? Did it shine brighter from the roof?"

The shoulders of the ladies, Namgung Sansan, Danmok Susu, and Tang Mun-hye, flinched simultaneously. They must have been even more startled inwardly.

"And who were the two men sitting on the branches of the green pine tree, imitating owls? Was the view good?"

The shoulders of the men, No Hak and Hyeonun, flinched. And the two exchanged glances. A glance that held the meaning of 'How did he know?'...

"And who were the two people who were practicing erasing their presence, stuck to the back of the mossy rock?"

"And the two guys who were peeking out with only their eyes from behind the bushes? The sound of the insects must have been pleasant to their ears?"

But the shoulders that flinched were not those of two guys, but of two women. It was Hwa Seol-ok from Mount Hua and Moyong Chwi, the daughter of the Moyong family.

"The guy who was smelling the smell on the roof of the outhouse, the guy who was peeking his head out from the corner of the kitchen building."

Every time Bi Ryu-yeon said a word, people's shoulders flinched. The number of people Bi Ryu-yeon had pointed out was 14 in total. It meant that all 14, except for Namgung Sang and Jin Ryeong, had been hiding somewhere last night and watching something. The faces of Namgung Sang and Jin Ryeong were now so pale that they could not be thought of as human beings of this world. How could the face of a human, which was said to have red blood flowing, become so white? Jin Ryeong's body swayed. Why hadn't she noticed? A large group of 14 people had been hiding around them, and she, who was not a third-rate riffraff of the Jianghu but felt lacking even when called a first-rate, had not noticed the presence of a large group of 14 people.

One of the reasons was that Namgung Sang and Jin Ryeong were too focused on the situation at that time to concentrate on their surroundings, and the other was that the people who were hiding were also masters who had reached a level where even the sound of being first-rate was insufficient. Now, it would be difficult for the two to walk around with their faces properly held up for a while. With what guts could they hold up their faces? They thought that they might be fated to walk looking only at the ground for a few months, or even a few years.

Pale faces, blue lips, stiffened bodies; looking at their appearance, Bi Ryu-yeon said with an eye-smile. He thought that if he teased them any more, he might have to clean up a corpse today. That corpse could be a body that had self-harmed, unable to overcome the shame, or it could be a corpse that had been killed by the sword of a human who had exploded, unable to endure it any longer.

"Ahem, let's stop talking about that now. It's time to leave, so it's ridiculous to make a fuss over such a thing."

Bi Ryu-yeon composed himself for a moment and then said to his disciples in a weighty voice.

"Let's go down the mountain now."

The order to descend the mountain was given. It was Bi Ryu-yeon, showing the side of a master again. Hadn't it been said that a dog at a village school recites poetry after three years, and a dog at a restaurant delivers after three years? The period of five months was by no means a short period for a human. Due to his role as a master for the past five months, Bi Ryu-yeon's acting skills had also become very proficient, and now he was at a level where he could pull off a dignified and graceful, weighty act without difficulty. At the quiet but weighty words that made them feel the dignity of a master, the disciples began to follow their master down the mountain. Today would be the last time they would see the moon pass and the sun rise on Mount Emei. And the running towards the summit every morning, the jumping from the top of the waterfall, the daily chopping of wood brought from the mountain, and the completion of the workload of many other miscellaneous tasks, were all the last today.

On the morning of the promised farewell, it was the hour of the rabbit, the time to leave, but as if their ankles were caught by an invisible demonic hand, no one could leave and just remained there. In front of the Jungyang Escort Bureau, Bi Ryu-yeon stood with his 16 disciples lined up. And a little distance away, 12 carriages with the unique flag of the Jungyang Escort Bureau, embroidered with a lotus and a sword and with a large character for 'Central' in the middle, stood in an orderly fashion, all preparations complete.

The carriage at the front was a special cart designed so that its body could easily move up and down when moving, a cart specially made to transport fragile items. No, since it was made like a completely sealed box, it was closer to a carriage than a cart. Bi Ryu-yeon knew well what this work, which had been made with special care and a considerable amount of money through special order production, was used for. Because he had heard everything from Bureau Chief Jang U-yang when he came a few days ago.

At first, the guy who was hesitating as if he wouldn't teach him, taught him kindly when he glared at him with his eyes wide open. This carriage contained what had the most important role and weight in this escort mission. The preparations to leave for the escort mission were already all finished, and they could depart at any time with just a signal. Since this escort mission was one on which the life and death of the Jungyang Escort Bureau was staked, Bureau Chief Eighteen Swords Jang U-yang would personally command the escort mission, and the number of escorts mobilized was a huge scale of over one hundred and fifty. However, this huge-scale escort mission was now being held back from departing by one person. That someone was Bi Ryu-yeon.

This was because he had lined up his disciples in front of him and was giving a rambling lecture, saying he was sharing a final farewell affection. However, no one had the courage to step forward and say,

"It's time to leave now, so let's finish up quickly and depart."

With Bureau Chief Jang U-yang remaining silent with a resigned expression, who would dare to step forward and raise an objection? Bureau Chief Jang U-yang and his underlings, that is, the Jungyang Escort Bureau group, had no other choice but to just wait.

Bi Ryu-yeon, with a sad expression, decided to gather his disciples who were now to leave and give them his last teaching. The last teaching was the essence of everything he had taught so far, the fact that he had wanted to teach them, make them realize, and make them feel to the bone. Even if they couldn't learn anything else, they had to learn, feel, realize, and engrave this deep in their bones. The last teaching was given in the form of mental education.

"What is higher than the sky?"

Bi Ryu-yeon asked in a quiet voice to the people who had been his disciples.

"The grace of our teacher."

They all answered in a loud, resounding voice of the same height, same size, and same length. It is very difficult to do this without a lot of practice. There must have been an unseen effort among them.

"What is deeper than the sea?"

"The love of our teacher."

Again, they all answered in a resounding voice.

"What becomes higher the more you look up to it?"

"The grace of our master."

"What is endless in this world?"

"The grace of our master."

"What can't be repaid even if you repay it?"

"The grace of our master."

After the riddle-like question and answer session that was like twelve hills was over, Bi Ryu-yeon spoke again.

"Yes, now is finally the time to part. You have all suffered a lot."

'Yes, we suffered a lot, to the point of death, because of you.'

But no matter what their inner thoughts were, no matter how much was piled up deep in their hearts, if they revealed their inner thoughts here, it would be neither this nor that. They all knew that well.

"Not at all. It is you, Master, who has suffered a lot teaching us foolish ones."

"I don't want to send you guys away either, but I can't help it."

"We also don't want to leave your side, Master. (Please send us away quickly.)"

Everyone's outside and inside were playing separately. Finally, Bi Ryu-yeon rolled up his sleeve, showed it to his disciples, and said.

"This Black Dragon Ring is my token. In the future, whenever and wherever you see this Black Dragon Ring, no matter who that person is, you must serve them like this master. It will be beneficial for your well-being. Do you understand!"

"Yes, Master!"

It was the last time Bi Ryu-yeon would hear the word 'Master.' For a while now, he wouldn't be able to hear this ecstatic word 'Master.' Yes, for a while...

"Go!"

A single word declaring farewell. Something in Bi Ryu-yeon's eyes glittered in the light.

"Please take care of your precious body."

They must have seen something wrong, they all thought. It was probably nine times out of ten, no doubt. Now we can finally escape this hell. With tears of joy for the separation in their eyes, they all gave a final nine deep bows to the ground towards the master who had made them live in hell for five months. And then they turned their backs and walked away without delay.

Everyone's steps were light today. Where they were walking, in front of them, the escorts of the Jungyang Escort Bureau, who had been waiting anxiously for them, were gathered. With Bureau Chief Jang U-yang's departure signal, the escort mission departed, and with the departing group in front, only Bi Ryu-yeon was left alone behind. Until the escort mission disappeared at the end of the earth and could no longer be seen, Bi Ryu-yeon stood silently in his place and continued to watch them. In this way, they left, and now Bi Ryu-yeon was alone again.

"Phew, it feels empty..."

With a slightly foolish smile, Bi Ryu-yeon looked at the sky. Whether it knew his heart or not, the sky was just chillingly high and blue.