I Am the Youngest Disciple of the Martial Arts World’s Mastermind
Chapter 35
Chapter 35
I am the Youngest Disciple of the Murim’s Hidden Mastermind
Chapter 35
I held Ryang’s hand tightly as he hung limp on Hyeonhak’s back, and we hurried toward the Medical Hall.
As the building came into view, Hyeonhak added a quiet remark.
“By the way.”
“Yes?”
“There is a possibility that Master already knows.”
“Mmm…”
True. If it was Master, it felt like he would somehow already be aware.
I had seen with my own eyes the operation he conducted against the Zhuge Clan in Hwangun County. His information network and finesse were so precise it was as if he had seen the future.
However, this case was different.
It had only been one night. Moreover, we had descended and ascended Cheongsanbong in the dead of night.
Even if it was Master, he couldn’t possibly track every single move I made of my own volition.
Just as I hadn’t expected the Pyeon-ma to track us all the way outside the White Horse Cave!
Humans create variables.
So, all we had to do was treat Ryang quickly and then send him back down the mountain as if nothing had happened.
It was with that thought that I stood before the Medical Hall.
“Where have you been at this hour?”
A voice rang out.
“…”
The sound of my carefully constructed plan shattering into pieces…!
Turning my head felt like it took a thousand years. I could almost hear my neck creaking.
When I finally managed to look toward the source of the voice.
“Soso, answer me.”
Master was standing there.
“Master, we…”
Hyeonhak opened his mouth first to take the blame, just as we had discussed in case we were caught.
“Hyeonhak. Be quiet. I asked Soso.”
But Master cut him off, his voice trembling.
…Wait, his voice is trembling?
“…Master?”
This wasn’t like him. He was always the picture of serenity.
As Master stepped closer, his figure became clearer.
He must have been outside for a long time; the hem of his robes had stiffened from soaking up the cold night air. Furthermore, he wasn’t wearing his sleeping attire, but his formal blue long-robe.
“I was startled when I couldn’t find you. If I hadn’t known Hyeonhak was also absent, I would have set out to find you immediately. And I would have done so if you hadn’t returned by dawn. Where on earth have you been?”
His elegant face was pale, shadowed with a deep exhaustion. His hair, usually groomed to perfection, was disheveled.
As Master drew within arm’s reach, I looked up at him, swallowed hard, and opened my mouth.
“Master, the truth is…!”
I had prepared several excuses for the off-chance we were caught like this.
I could say, as I did to Hyeonhak, that saving this child would help me because of the Four-Eyed Serpent.
Or, playing to Master’s soft spot for children, I could say I desperately wanted to save Ryang and begged Sahyeong Hyeonhak to help.
A clever mix of truth and lies…
“It’s…”
But I couldn’t squeeze out a single proper word.
Because the look on Master’s face was nothing like I had expected.
“…?”
He’s making a face like that just because I disappeared for one night?
In the end, I gathered my hands in front of me and asked cautiously.
“Um, are you angry…?”
“…Sigh.”
Master let out a shallow sigh, his dry lips curling into a faint smile.
“Could my inner turmoil ever be more important than something happening to you…?”
“…”
It was a completely unexpected response.
“…I was worried.”
Master sank down to his knees in front of me and brushed my cheek with a tender hand.
“Uh…”
In that moment, the warmth radiating from his touch felt overwhelmingly vivid.
“Where did you get all this blood on you?”
Even though he surely knew it wasn’t my blood, his hand trembled slightly.
Why? Why was he looking at me with such worried eyes instead of scolding me?
As if he were someone who had already lost something once before. With such sorrowful eyes…
Suddenly, a lump formed in my throat, and my emotions surged in a way that was hard to describe.
I wanted to part my lips and offer an excuse, but no words came out.
Master looked down at me silently.
His face was an attempt at composure, but his eyes told a different story.
In that moment, I realized.
“Are you hurt… Did you go down alone and get injured somewhere?”
“……Yes.”
My reply was delayed. My throat was so tight I couldn’t speak immediately.
To think he would look so relieved over me disappearing for just one night. This felt exactly like…
Like a real family.
‘Get it together! Snap out of it!’
Now was the time to speak properly about Ryang.
I tried my best to steady my emotions.
“……”
But even so, I couldn’t entirely control the emotions of an eight-year-old body.
It was the first time since I started living in this world that someone had worried about me this much…
I blinked repeatedly as my vision threatened to blur.
“Were you… looking for me?”
A tremor I couldn’t hide was woven into my voice.
“You didn’t have to go to such lengths…”
The great mastermind of the Murim, frantically searching for a girl he’d only taken in a short while ago?
There was no way.
“Soso-ya.”
Then, Master’s hand gently stroked my hair.
“……!”
I flinched slightly, but when I didn’t pull away, I could feel the raw emotion in his touch.
It was warm and careful.
His soft voice drifted down to me.
“I might… lose you in the brief moment I look away. Of course I would worry.”
“……”
For a second, my breath caught.
Master gave a sighing laugh and pulled me into a firmer embrace.
“Unlike Hyeonhak, Danhwi, or Gwangeum, you are still young and weak. I was afraid… that you might have encountered a hardship somewhere that I could not help you with.”
He spoke as if he were stating the most obvious thing in the world.
“Am I not your Master?”
Master.
That word felt strangely new and ticklish to my ears.
Teaching me the knowledge to survive in this world, helping me build my strength, and protecting me from danger.
I thought that was all there was to a master-disciple relationship.
But Master was giving me so much more.
The voice that worried for me.
Telling me he was glad I wasn’t hurt rather than scolding me for my mistake.
Sighing for my sake, waiting for me with a heavy heart…
A place to return to, and a person to return to.
…So this is what a master-disciple bond is.
I only realized it just now.
I couldn’t see a mirror right now, but if I could, I was probably making a ridiculous face trying to hold back my tears.
Ugh, this is so moving…
Master stroked my body several times, from my red, frozen cheeks down to my shoulders, and asked.
“Are you sure you aren’t hurt anywhere?”
“Ah… well.”
Before I could even answer properly, Master’s hand touched my blood-stained arm.
“…Hyeonhak.”
Master’s voice turned cold in an instant.
“Yes.”
“Why is Soso’s arm like this?”
“It seems she was injured while saving this child. It is my fault for not accompanying her.”
“You should have looked after Soso better.”
“I am sorry.”
No, Hyeonhak Sahyeong is getting scolded because of me…!
I quickly wiped my eyes and shook my head vigorously.
“No, it’s not like that. I insisted on it… Sniff, Hyeonhak Sahyeong didn’t know I was doing something dangerous.”
“If you keep secrets from Hyeonhak and me and do dangerous things alone, who is supposed to help you?”
“……”
Thump.
He was right.
I looked cautiously into Master’s eyes.
His lips were pressed into a firm line, but he couldn’t hide the look in his eyes.
Even if it was a serious wound, it wasn’t like a limb had fallen off. Seeing him look as distressed as if his own hand had been severed made my heart ache.
It felt like… like I was committing some act of filial impiety.
‘…From now on, I should probably tell Master about my dangerous plans.’
Before, I would have kept them secret for fear of him finding out I knew suspiciously too much.
But now, I think I understand.
Master was someone who checked to see if I was hurt before he ever rebuked my faults or doubted my actions.
If he was someone who would embrace me first before criticizing my mistakes…
‘…He’s just like family.’
Suddenly, a strange emotion bloomed in my chest.
The embarrassing thought that Master was like a father flickered through my mind.
I quickly shook my head.
My ears felt like they were on fire.
“……”
He didn’t see that, right?
I stole a glance up at Master.
He was still rubbing my hands incessantly, his face full of troubled concern.
