My father began to clean the fish.
With deft hands, he removed the fish's innards and scaled it.
Hwi watched from a short distance away, fidgeting restlessly.
“I will do it, Cult Master.”
"It's fine."
At this point, I couldn't help but chime in.
“Even Uncle Hwi's loyalty in trying to stretch the fish couldn't overcome my fishing skills.”
I had won the fishing contest against my father.
“It's only natural. Just because you hold a wooden sword, Father, doesn't mean you can't kill an opponent with a treasured sword, does it?”
My father glanced at Hwi.
His expression seemed to say, 'Can't you do something about that mouth?' Hwi just laughed awkwardly.
My father was serious about cooking.
As if to prove it, he once again extended his hand toward the carriage.
“What is it this time?”
Then the leather pouch opened and something else flew out from inside.
It was several small bottles.
Surprisingly, they were bottles of spices.
I was moved once again.
My father had even prepared spices for this journey, in preparation for cooking.
The meal my father prepared was truly wonderful.
“It's delicious. To me, it tastes even better than what the chefs make.”
I could see a sense of proud satisfaction on my father's face.
He looked as though he was more pleased by the praise for his cooking than he would be for his martial arts.
That night, we camped.
We lit a campfire and lay down, and I couldn't resist a bit of mischief.
Unlike the first day, I laid my bedding far away from my father.
Then my father glanced at me.
“Didn't you say you'd put up with the fishy smell?”
“Did I say that?”
“Perhaps the smell would be less noticeable if you didn't have a nose.”
My father found the dagger he had used to clean the fish and picked it up.
When my father turned toward me, I had already moved my bedding right next to him and was lying down.
“Aren't you sleeping?”
My father smiled faintly.
In that fleeting smile, I could feel that my father was enjoying himself.
My father also lay down beside me.
The distance between my father and me was much closer than when we had gone hunting.
“Actually, there's no smell at all.”
“I know.”
As if dispelling the effects of alcohol, my father had already used his energy to dissipate the fishy smell into the air.
Lying down, I turned my head to look at my father.
My father was silently looking up at the night sky.
What could he be thinking right now?
What else would he be thinking about?
A rematch.
"Let's have one more go with night fishing."
I laughed out loud.
If it were a defeat in martial arts, my father would never hold a grudge.
But fishing was different.
"Are you serious?"
“This time, we'll compete on quantity. And we'll switch rods. That old man, the Eastern Sea Old Fisher… I've disliked him from the moment I met him.”
This was my father.
He doesn't seek better conditions just because he lost.
Instead, when he asks for another round, he's willing to accept a disadvantage.
I love that about my father.
"Very well."
My father and I got up and grabbed the fishing rods.
My father took the rod I had made, and I took the Eastern Sea Old Fisher's rod.
It was light yet fit perfectly in my hand; an artifact was an artifact.
“Uncle Hwi! I know you must be tired of it, but breakfast tomorrow will be fish, cooked by my father!”
*
The next morning, my father was cleaning fish.
The night fishing was also my victory.
Truly, I caught a fish every time I cast my line.
I caught so many that I kept only enough to eat and released all the rest.
"The Eastern Sea Old Fisher's rod in my hand is like the Heavenly Demon Sword in your hand, Father."
I teased him on purpose.
If I didn't tease him like this, my father's pride might have truly been hurt.
“I know you lost on purpose. Because if you left the cooking to me, you'd have to eat a tasteless breakfast. Right?”
The dagger in my father's hand stopped moving.
From a distance, Hwi shook his head, signaling me to stop.
If that dagger came flying at me, it wouldn't just carry the smell of fish.
When I shut my mouth, my father's dagger began to move again.
“Today, it will be grilled.”
I said loudly.
“I'll start the campfire.”
And so, for breakfast, we ate the grilled fish my father cooked himself.
You might say all grilled fish is the same, but if you haven't eaten grilled fish cooked by the Heavenly Demon, you shouldn't say such things.
My father's fish-grilling skills were also superb.
As we were finishing our meal, our gazes all turned to one spot.
We had sensed someone approaching.
Hwi was about to get up, but my father stopped him.
"Just stay put."
My father had already assessed the person who wasn't even in sight.
A moment later, someone appeared.
The man who appeared, limping, was on the verge of collapsing.
“Water, please give me some water.”
Seeing us, his tension eased, and he collapsed to the ground.
He had met three martial artists in a remote place; it was a situation where he should have been more tense, but he was in no state to assess the situation.
I gave him water first.
His clothes were torn and his appearance was a mess, as if he had been wandering in the mountains.
His injured ankle, in particular, was badly swollen.
"How long have you been starving?”
“Three days, four days? I don't know.”
I shared the rice and leftover fish with him.
“Chew it well.”
“Thank you.”
Filled with hunger, he ate without hesitation.
After he ate, I examined his body.
My father silently watched me.
“You've injured your leg.”
Then the man told me.
“I injured it when I lost my footing in the mountains.”
"It will be difficult to get to the village with that leg. Let me take a look.”
Fortunately, the bone wasn't broken.
I treated his sprained ankle and made a splint with branches.
As I worked, his expression grew more relaxed.
“Thank you, thank you so much.”
The man was finally relieved.
He was now free from the fear that he might die.
“How did you get lost?”
"It happened while I was looking for herbs.”
No matter how I looked at him, his appearance didn't seem like that of an herb gatherer.
“Is someone in your family sick?”
“No.”
His circumstances were completely unexpected.
The man's name was Im Gye.
He said he ran a school in the village, teaching children to write.
“My father worked as a martial artist in the Heavenly Demon Divine Sect and retired this year.”
This place, not far from the Main Sect, was the territory of the Heavenly Demon Divine Sect.
He said his father had never learned proper martial arts, so he spent his life as a low-level martial artist before retiring.
And this year happened to be his father's sixtieth birthday.
Im Gye wanted to make his father happy by inviting the Division Lord of the division his father had served in to his birthday celebration.
He thought his father would be truly happy if the Division Lord came to congratulate him at the sixtieth birthday banquet.
“But they said it would cost fifty nyang to invite the Division Lord.”
"Who did?"
“There's someone in the village who has connections to the Division Lord. That’s what he said. He said it costs money to invite a famous person to a banquet. The amount depends on their reputation. And on how long they stay. He said it would cost fifty nyang for the Division Lord to come for a moment to offer congratulations and leave.”
I glanced at my father and asked.
“How much do you charge, Father?”
At my playful question, a sneer formed on my father's lips.
Would father move for a hundred thousand nyang, or a million nyang? He's someone you couldn't hire even for ten million nyang.
In that sense, if you were to put a price on this trip, the amount would be beyond imagination.
“The Division Lord probably won't come even if you pay that money.”
Surprised by my words, Im Gye asked, “What do you mean?”
“If it's revealed that a high-ranking official of the sect took money to make a personal appearance, they would not only be kicked out of their position but could also be thrown into the Thunder Prison. There's no way they'd move for fifty nyang.”
“Ah, I see. I've spent my whole life studying, so I'm ignorant of the ways of the world.”
He bowed his head.
He seemed so just by the way he immediately believed my words.
Did he believe me without even knowing who I was?
“That person will take the fifty nyang and later say something like, 'Something important suddenly came up for the Division Lord.' What will you do then? Will you go and argue? Even if you argue, will he return the money?”
It's a world overflowing with people who cheat the naive like him out of their money.
“You think that if you have a good heart, others will too. But that's not how reality is, is it?”
Im Gye's sigh deepened.
“My father worked hard his whole life for his family. I wanted to do something for him, but time just passes and it's not as easy as I'd like.”
“Even so, is there a need to go to such lengths to invite the Division Lord? Even if he came, he wouldn't be congratulating you sincerely.”
“You're right. The Division Lord probably doesn't even know my father's name.”
That's the reality.
There are hundreds of martial artists in the division, how would he know a low-level martial artist at the bottom?
“But why?”
"Whenever my father had a drink, he would say like a habit, 'Even though I live as a low-level martial artist, even though I'm at the bottom. Even though my role isn't big.'”
In those words, I could feel the regret of a man who wanted to boast just once in front of his children, but couldn't in the end.
“So I wanted to have a high-ranking person come and let him boast just once in front of me. I wanted him to be able to boast in front of family, relatives, and the village people. I thought that, more than just saying 'you worked hard,' was the way to do something for my father.”
How could I not understand his heart?
In the sense of wanting to do something for one's father, he and I, on this journey, were not so different.
"I heard that if you find a Ten-Thousand-Year Snow Ginseng, it's worth well over a hundred nyang. I knew something so precious was unlikely to appear before my eyes, but I couldn't just stay at home.”
Tears welled up in his eyes.
“I must be going now. Today is my father's sixtieth birthday banquet, and if I hadn't met such kind people, I might not have been able to attend. You are the benefactors of my life. Thank you so much.”
He bowed his head in thanks several times before leaving.
Fortunately, Im Gye returned home without being late.
“Brother! What on earth happened?”
He had said he'd be gone for a few days, but his sister had been worried all this time about her brother's unusual behavior.
“I'm sorry. It just happened.”
“Are you alright?”
"I'm fine. How are the birthday preparations?”
“Our aunts came and helped.”
His father, Im Hak, saw him and said gruffly, "You're here. That's enough."
He didn't know it before, but as he got older, he could feel his father's heart.
His worry and his relief.
'I'm sorry.'
He thought that perhaps his wandering in the mountains for several days wasn't for his father, but for himself.
To ease his own mind.
To be able to say he had tried this hard.
Family and relatives gathered, and neighbors were also invited.
But his father didn't invite anyone from the division.
He didn't invite them at all, saying it would be a nuisance to his old colleagues.
He could feel his father's worry.
Who would be interested in the sixtieth birthday banquet of a retired low-level martial artist? If he invited them and no one came, it would be difficult to endure that humiliation in front of his children.
And when many people gather, there's always someone like this.
“Looks like no one from the Demon Sect came, huh?”
He was the master of a martial hall in the village, someone who wouldn't have dared to act so carelessly when his father was still part of the Heavenly Demon Divine Sect, no matter how low-ranking.
But after he left the sect, the man's gaze and attitude changed.
“I didn't invite them on purpose. No need to bother busy people with their work.”
“It's not that you invited them and they didn't come?”
It wasn't that he had malice toward his father, but he was the type of person who was naturally good at saying negative things.
Aren't there people like that? People who can say the same thing but make you feel bad.
Still, he could have held back today.
But he couldn't show his displeasure.
Because he was the master of a martial hall who had properly learned martial arts.
“It's a joke, a joke. Why the long face? Getting old has made you timid.”
He managed to be unpleasant to the very end.
It was at that very moment.
The door opened and a group of guests arrived.
As the sword-wearing martial artists poured in, the hall fell silent.
Recognizing them, Im Hak was startled.
"Division Lord!"
Surprisingly, his former colleagues from the division and the Division Lord himself had come.
Not only Im Gye, but the villagers were also stunned.
"Martial Artist Im, I heard it's your sixtieth birthday. We came to congratulate you.”
At those words, Im Hak was so surprised and flustered that he didn't know what to do.
The juniors he had worked with came to congratulate him.
Among them were those he had been close to, but even those he wasn't particularly close with were there.
“Please, sit here.”
“No, you are the man of the hour today, you should sit at the seat of honor.”
The Division Lord was courteous.
While he wondered how this person knew and why he was being so courteous, he also felt a great sense of joy.
It was in front of his son and daughter.
The villagers were also watching.
The master of the martial hall who had spoken so carelessly was watching with a completely intimidated expression.
“If you have any problems in the future, contact me anytime.”
“Thank you, Division Lord.”
Im Hak was happy, but at the same time, he couldn't understand the situation.
While working as a low-level martial artist, he had served under several Division Lords, but he had never once had a personal conversation with any of them.
This current Division Lord was no different.
This was a man who probably didn't even know his name.
The secret was now revealed.
The Division Lord also spoke carefully with a puzzled expression.
“I don't know how they knew, but they sent this.”
The Division Lord carefully took out a small box from his robes.
Seeing his hands tremble, Im Hak grew tense as well.
What on earth could that be?
“Here, take it and open it.”
Taken aback, Im Hak received the box and opened it.
To his surprise, inside was a Ten-Thousand-Year Snow Ginseng.
“To give such a precious gift!”
Im Hak's hands, holding the box, trembled.
Not just Im Gye, but the villagers also came closer to look at the Ten-Thousand-Year Snow Ginseng.
But the things that would surprise Im Hak were only just beginning.
“It's not a gift from me.”
At the Division Lord's words, Im Hak unfolded the paper that was inside the box.
After reading the contents, Im Hak's eyes widened.
Im Gye had never seen his father so surprised.
Standing next to him, Im Gye read the contents and let out a cry.
The villagers were also stunned.
Im Hak put down the box and performed a deep bow.
Im Gye bowed along with him.
Tears flowing from Im Hak's eyes fell onto the back of his wrinkled hands.
He had lived a hard life ever since joining the sect at seventeen.
To feed his children, he had endured even when he was sick and suffered through life-threatening hardships.
He had actually overcome near-death situations several times.
And the short message written on the note washed away all the hardships of his past.
To you who dedicated yourself to the Main Sect, I convey my heartfelt gratitude.
Geom Woojin, Cult Master of the Heavenly Demon Divine Sect.