Chapter 27
Sparring Guidance (4)
As Lee seha entered Namgung Jun’s room, he unconsciously held his breath.
The sun had long since set, and darkness had blanketed the surroundings, yet there was no light inside the room.
Of course, such darkness posed no obstacle to a master of his level, so Lee seha quietly surveyed the interior.
Namgung Jun was asleep on his bed.
The instructional spar with Man Yewon and Man Hun during the day.
Then the evening training session that followed immediately afterward.
It was only natural that he would be exhausted.
Normally, Lee seha would have thought nothing of it.
Yet today, something continued to bother him.
Even if he was treated like an annoying master, he still wanted to check on his disciple himself.
Perhaps I should come back later.
Just as Lee seha was about to turn around, his body froze.
He noticed that Namgung Jun’s breathing was uneven.
The moment he sensed the faint roughness in his disciple’s breathing, Lee seha found himself sitting at the edge of the bed.
Moonlight streamed through the window, splitting apart the darkness of the room and illuminating Namgung Jun’s face.
Was he having a nightmare?
At first glance, his expression appeared calm, but there was a faint crease between his brows.
Seeing it, Lee seha’s eyelids lowered slightly.
The shadows cast by his long, dense eyelashes darkened his gaze.
He remembered how Namgung Jun had suffered from nightmares even before arriving at the Changcheon Society.
Just like back then.
At the time, he had not asked.
The question itself might have become another wound.
Could he ask now?
After a moment of thought, Lee seha shook his head.
No.
It seemed better to wait until Namgung Jun chose to speak of it himself.
Still, his curiosity remained.
What was tormenting his disciple so deeply?
Lee seha fidgeted with his fingers before carefully taking Namgung Jun’s hand.
His disciple’s hand was unusually cold.
And because of that, Lee seha found himself unable to let go.
He wanted, at least in this small way, to let him know that he was not alone.
That his master was here beside him.
That he could let go of the coldness hidden within his heart.
Holding his disciple’s hand, Lee seha smiled faintly.
“My disciple... you've worked so hard.”
Even from that simple touch, he could feel the small scars and hardened calluses.
His hands had never been soft when they first met, but they had not been like this.
These were the hands of a true swordsman.
Hands that could be shown proudly anywhere.
Lee seha shifted closer and sat beside him.
“It’s alright, Jun. Your master is here.”
He did not wake him.
Instead, he spoke softly and gently.
His gaze moved between the moonlight filtering through the window bars and Namgung Jun’s sleeping face as he lost himself in thought.
How much time passed like that?
“Mm?”
Namgung Jun slowly opened his eyes.
The first thing he felt upon waking was a gentle warmth flowing through his hand.
Amid the scattered moonlight, he saw beautiful strands of hair swaying softly.
They resembled silk woven from moonlight itself.
Just from those flowing locks, he immediately recognized who it was.
“Master?”
“You’re awake now?”
“How long have you been here?”
“About half a shichen.”
About an hour.
Namgung Jun slowly sat up.
A trace of embarrassment crossed his face.
“I must have fallen into a deep sleep. Normally, I would have noticed right away...”
Lee seha gave a bitter smile.
“I suppose so. You seem to have pushed yourself too hard today.”
Namgung Jun did not answer.
Instead, he quietly looked at his master.
He had immediately noticed that Lee seha was acting differently than usual.
After meeting his disciple’s gaze for some time, Lee seha playfully shook the hand he was still holding.
“Next time, I’m going to visit the Elder Council Chief and properly complain. How dare he work my precious disciple so hard?”
Lee seha tried to steer the conversation elsewhere.
But Namgung Jun lightly tugged at his sleeve.
After gazing out at the night sky for a moment, as though gathering his thoughts, he turned back to face his master.
The eyes that met Lee seha’s were calm and deep, like a lake on a spring day.
“My disciple?”
After staring at him for a while, Namgung Jun finally spoke.
“Death cannot be separated from the martial world, can it?”
It was an abrupt question.
Yet Lee seha’s answer came without hesitation.
“That’s right.”
As though he sensed that his disciple was finally about to speak about what weighed on his heart, the smile in his eyes vanished, leaving only quiet attentiveness.
“I can accept my own death with humility. But the deaths of others are different. Especially if I had any influence over them.”
As he spoke, Namgung Jun thought of the disciples from his previous life.
His disciples had taken up the sword for the sake of righteousness.
They had refused to flee because they sought to prove themselves.
They had continued forward until the very end.
By all rights, he should not grieve.
He should be proud of them.
Yet he could not.
Because not as the Lord of the Southern Heavenly Palace—
but simply as their master—
he had still sent them into mortal danger.
No matter the reason.
That decision still clung to him endlessly, shackling his steps.
“The deaths of others...”
Lee seha murmured those words softly, turning them over in his mind again and again.
Only after a long silence did he finally speak.
“My disciple... when my clan was destroyed, countless members of my household sacrificed themselves just to save me.”
Lee seha’s grip tightened around Namgung Jun’s hand.
Perhaps his emotions had stirred slightly, for even the warmth of his hand seemed to grow hotter.
With a somewhat darkened expression, he continued.
“The last person to protect my back was my uncle. Do you know what he said to me?”
“I do not.”
“He told me that saving me was his choice. And because of that, I should live the rest of my life according to my own choices.”
As he recalled that moment, Lee seha’s eyelids lowered further.
Though many years had passed, the memory remained vivid.
His uncle, covered from head to toe in blood, had been smiling just as brightly as always.
He had not wished for the clan to be rebuilt.
Nor had he desired revenge.
All he wanted was for his nephew’s life to continue.
And from that smile, Lee seha had found the courage to make his own choices.
Now, he wanted to pass that small piece of courage on to his disciple.
“If you truly had a harmful influence on their deaths, then of course you should feel responsible.”
He paused.
“But if that is not the case, then respect their choices.”
Lee seha lightly tapped Namgung Jun’s hand.
It was a touch uniquely his—part playful, part sincere.
“Those who live by the sword in the martial world cannot hold on to everything. You must learn what to let go of, and how not to be bound. Just as sharp and clean as the edge of our blades.”
A dry smile slowly appeared on Namgung Jun’s lips.
He already knew what his master was saying.
He had spent countless years in the martial world before becoming known as the Sword Emperor.
Yet knowing and doing were different things.
Perhaps both Nam Yeongshin of his previous life and Namgung Jun of this life shared the same flaw.
Too much attachment.
Too many lingering regrets.
Then Lee seha looked directly at him and continued.
“Everything I said until now was advice as a martial artist and as the Hall Master of the Heavenly Sword Hall.”
His next words differed from what Namgung Jun had expected.
“Now I'll give you advice as your master, Lee seha.”
“I think that compassion of yours is important as well. Because it means you'll become someone who can see not only the great things, but the small things too.”
“Is that so?”
Lee seha tightened his grip once more.
“Keep worrying about it. Keep carrying it with you. Someday it may become a heart demon.”
Namgung Jun's eyes narrowed slightly.
“But if you overcome it, you'll gain the courage to choose anything.”
“The courage to choose...”
“I believe in my disciple. You won't surrender to your heart demon.”
Namgung Jun quietly pondered those words.
Then a faint smile escaped him.
Who would ever advise their disciple to endure a heart demon?
To anyone else, it might have sounded like absurd advice.
Yet somehow, his master's final words brought him comfort.
Perhaps it was not wrong to continue carrying the memory of his disciples from his previous life.
Even if one day he would have to let them go.
The important thing was not to run away.
To face it directly.
To endure it head-on.
For Namgung Jun, who carried the memories of a previous life while living a new one, it was another trial.
And another destiny.
“Ha...”
Letting out a light sigh, Namgung Jun suddenly smiled brightly.
“I still have a long way to go before I can catch up to you, Master.”
If the experiences of both lives were combined, Namgung Jun had likely spent more years in the martial world and accumulated more life experience than Lee seha.
Yet even now, there were things he continued to learn from him.
Not in martial arts.
In life itself.
Lee seha was more than worthy of calling himself his master.
He possessed the ability to gently untangle the burdens and worries that his disciple carried alone.
“Really? So Jun knows how to say things like that too?”
“Yes. There is still much for me to learn from you, Master.”
As Namgung Jun smiled, Lee seha’s own gentle smile blossomed into radiant laughter.
His shining dark eyes and beautifully curved red lips resembled a flower blooming in full.
“Of course there is! You've still got plenty left to learn from me!”
Seeing that his disciple had regained his spirits, Lee seha also felt a weight lift from his heart.
Then he suddenly remembered something.
“Come to think of it, did you check the spiritual medicine the Elder Council Chief gave you?”
“Not yet.”
Namgung Jun rose from the bed and picked up the wooden box.
Though the box was thick, warmth could be felt even through his palm.
Without even opening it, he could tell it was no ordinary treasure.
Seeing the curiosity shining in Lee seha’s eyes, Namgung Jun smiled faintly.
“Would you like to take a look together?”
“Of course! I've honestly been wondering what he gave you.”
Master and disciple sat shoulder to shoulder and slowly opened the box.
The first thing that struck them was the scent.
A smell like fresh water.
Or perhaps something being intensely roasted over fire.
When the box opened completely, a brilliant crimson inner core was revealed.
Black specks of varying sizes dotted its surface.
The moment Lee seha saw it, he brushed a strand of hair behind his ear.
“The Elder Council Chief gave you something incredible.”
“You recognize it?”
Unable to take his eyes off the treasure, Lee seha nodded.
“Of course. This is the inner core of a Solar Fire Carp.”
“A Solar Fire Carp?”
This time even Namgung Jun could not hide his surprise.
Solar Fire Carp
When a carp born with intense solar yang energy survives for more than a hundred years, it transforms into a spiritual creature known as a Solar Fire Carp.
Such creatures were extraordinarily rare.
Obtaining one of their inner cores was anything but easy.
This is the kind of treasure that has no fixed price.
Its rarity alone was astounding.
Even if one judged solely by the energy contained within it, it would rank among the ten greatest spiritual medicines under heaven.
“I never imagined he would simply hand over something of this level.”
Even Lee seha looked genuinely shocked as he alternated his gaze between the inner core and Namgung Jun.
“Jun. What are you planning to do?”
“I never expected to receive something this valuable. My mastery of the Heavenly Thunder True Yang Art is still insufficient to consume it immediately.”
“I agree. Of course, with my help it would be possible.”
After a moment of consideration, Lee seha shook his head.
Even with his assistance, refining the immense energy of the inner core and properly storing it within the dantian would take a considerable amount of time.
The Solar Fire Carp's inner core contained that much power.
“We leave for a mission tomorrow. Consuming it will have to wait.”
“A new mission?”
“Yes.”
Lee seha smiled.
“It'll be our first mission together.”
Namgung Jun nodded confidently.
“I look forward to it. Master, what is the mission?”
After hearing the details, Namgung Jun departed from the main fortress the very next day.