Chapter 198

The might of the Fist King, his father

Beniil Munju’s frozen body shattered into pieces and scattered.

Lee Shin-woo thought he still had a long way to go while dealing with the Byeonil Gate Master with his father’s help. After all, if he had properly unleashed the Snowy Solitude technique, getting utterly destroyed like this shouldn’t have been possible.

At that moment, Danwooseong sensed his son’s thoughts and grabbed his shoulder.

“Just grow stronger day by day.”

“Yes.”

You don’t have to worry about food, clothing, or shelter like others do, but not everyone in the world is like that. You must understand that difference. The world is unfair, but if you can help others through your own efforts, that in itself will be meaningful. Let’s go.

“Where are we going?”

“Now that we’ve left the Myeong, let’s pay our respects to Grandfather and see Monk Gyogak before returning. In the meantime, observe how people live. With the leader of the Byeonil Gate like this, the others probably won’t even realize I’m the Myeong leader.”

Lee Shin-woo smiled brightly.

“Understood.”

Lee Shin-woo smiled, still clueless, when Dan Woo-sung spoke as if foretelling a perilous journey.

“Since you killed the Lord of Bunil Gate, move swiftly. Use lightness skills without fail.”

Only then did Lee Shin-woo’s expression change.

“Ah, understood.”

His father was a man who wouldn’t waste a single moment. Moreover, his lightness skill was unmatched under heaven, so keeping up from now on would be incredibly difficult.

Dan Woo-sung said.

“Head toward the Eunha Trading Guild. Run until we’re starving.”

As soon as Dan Woo-sung spoke, Lee Shin-woo took off first, kicking up a cloud of dust. Watching his son’s back as he raced away at a furious pace, Dan Woo-sung chuckled softly.

“You’re quick to catch on.”

Dan Woo-sung stretched and then deployed his lightness skill.

…Lee Sung-min, head of the Eunha Trading Company, had been laid up since early evening with flu-like symptoms when a servant delivered unexpected news at the door.

“Master, the Alliance Leader has arrived. Shin Woo is with him.”

Lee Sung-min replied with a faint smile.

“The Alliance Leader? How did he find time to come? Let him in.”

“Yes.”

As Lee Seong-min sat up, his son and grandson entered. The two stood side by side and bowed. Immediately, Lee Seong-min asked.

“Why did you come so suddenly without any notice?”

Dan Woo-sung answered.

“I had a mission to handle with Shinwoo, so I stopped by to see Father before leaving.”

“Even the leader handles missions?”

“It’s been a while since that happened.”

Lee Sung-min looked at his grandson.

“You’re growing more and more like your father when he was young. What’s this I hear? They’re already calling you the White Dragon Commander? Is that true?”

Lee Shin-woo replied.

“That’s correct. How is your cold?”

Lee Sung-min said, placing his hand on his forehead.

“I get sick once a year. Last year I skipped it, so this year I’m suffering a bit. It’s nothing serious.”

“Yes.”

Lee Sung-min glanced at Lee Shin-woo, who was sitting quietly, and smiled faintly.

“Is our grandson having a hard time training because of your father?”

“No, it’s not. Martial arts and training suit my temperament well.”

“Still, it must be hard. I know your father’s temperament well. Even when he was staying at the merchant guild, the noise from his training sessions, morning to night, was quite something.”

Danwooseong chuckled, and Shinwoo replied.

“That’s still true even now.”

Suddenly, Lee Sung-min asked Dan Woo-sung about his schedule, as if he had something to say.

“Anyway, glad you came. You’re not just going to show your face and leave right away, are you?”

“I’ll stay the night.”

“Good. Then, since I have business to discuss with the merchants, Shin-woo, you may rest outside.”

“Understood. Get well soon.”

After the grandson quietly withdrew, Lee Sung-min gazed intently at Dan Woo-sung.

It was a reunion between father and son after a long time apart.

Lee Sung-min spoke.

“How is it that you haven’t aged at all? You seem even younger than last time.”

“It must be due to martial arts.”

“So when martial arts reach their peak, it seems to resemble the immortal path cultivated by the immortals.”

“Ultimately, they must be similar.”

Suddenly, Dan Woo-sung, hands clasped together, asked his father.

“Father, shall I help you get over your cold?”

“No. I can’t have you coming down to help me every time I get sick. I must overcome the illnesses that come upon my body myself; that’s how I grow stronger. I’ll be up by the day after tomorrow.”

“Yes.”

Lee Sung-min beckoned him over.

“It’s been a while. Come a little closer.”

Dan Woo-sung stood up and moved to sit closer, facing Lee Sung-min. Lee Sung-min extended his hand as if to take Dan Woo-sung’s.

Dan Woo-sung took Lee Sung-min’s hand.

His hands were unexpectedly rough and calloused. Dan Wooseong’s hands were thick with calluses from practicing martial arts, and Lee Sungmin’s hands were thick with calluses from working as a merchant.

For a moment, Lee Sung-min held his son’s hand and closed his eyes.

Dan Wooseong couldn’t bring himself to speak freely today; his father’s mood felt strangely off.

A moment later, Lee Sung-min smiled and quietly let a single tear fall.

“It’s good you came. I’ve been thinking about you a lot these past few days. It feels strange to be sitting face-to-face like this.”

Dan Woo-sung asked, visibly flustered.

“Why are you crying?”

Lee Sung-min wiped away his tears with one hand as he replied.

“Exactly. Lately, I often find myself shedding tears like this whenever thoughts come to mind. Must be because I’m getting old. Is everything alright with Maeng?”

“Yes.”

“What about your in-laws and Yaki?”

“They’re both doing well. Is there something troubling you?”

“No. Living without worries is a blessing in itself.”

Lee Sung-min suddenly glanced outside as if checking the situation, then asked his son.

“Is anyone eavesdropping?”

Dan Woo-sung glanced around once, then shook his head.

“No one. Speak freely.”

Lee Sung-min nodded.

“Listen carefully, without misunderstanding. I’ve always wanted to tell you this someday.”

“Go on.”

“What was it like raising Shin-woo?”

“Raising a child was no easy task. It brought its own set of difficulties and heartache, quite different from facing masters of the martial world.”

“That must be the sentiment of all fathers in this world.”

Only then did the quick-witted Danwoo Seong vaguely grasp what Lee Sung-min was about to say.

Knowing it would be a difficult conversation, he resolved to listen in silence.

Lee Sung-min spoke as he stroked his son’s rough hand.

“What I want to tell you is this. I have never once thought of you as not my son. You are my son too.”

Dan Woo-sung swallowed unconsciously. It was the story he had expected.

“······.”

Lee Sung-min continued.

You know how anxiously you raised Shinwoo. I’m no different. How could I not know? I knew from the very first day you returned from Guwhasan. Only, I couldn’t ask anyone if my thoughts were correct. Because no matter how I looked at it, you were my son. Buddhism has reincarnation, and Tibetan esoteric Buddhism has rebirth. I believed you came to our home in that sense. Was I right? Even if others never know, I believe I deserve to know that truth.”

How could I lie to my father now that he’s speaking to me like this?

Dan Woo-sung nodded.

“That’s right. Just as you expected.”

Lee Sung-min said.

“I see. Unless you were a god, I figured it wasn’t something you wanted.”

“It was not what I desired.”

That must be it. Ever since you returned, every problem in the merchant guild has been neatly resolved. Watching you back then, it felt like… a guardian spirit had entered our household. And indeed it was. But observing your actions since then, it seemed as if a guardian spirit had descended upon this unfamiliar realm of martial arts as well. The results proved it too. So how could I not know? A son who frequented gambling dens, taverns, and brothels becoming the guardian deity of both the merchant guild and the martial world… While others might simply call it strange, I couldn’t help but see it differently. I had no choice.”

Now Danwoo Seong closed his eyes for a moment.

He could deceive everyone in the world, but he couldn’t deceive the man standing before him. Because he was his father. Of course, he hadn’t intended to deceive him with ill will.

Lee Sung-min continued speaking, his eyes reddened.

“So all this time, I believed I had four sons. That’s why I prepared with such joy for the expansion project at Guwhasan Temple’s Cheondaesa that you requested earlier. When no one was watching, I prayed alone for Jin-eon’s repose there too. I could have carried these things alone for the rest of my life, but I tell you this precisely because you are also my son. Do you understand my heart?”

Danwooseong opened his eyes and nodded.

“Yes.”

Lee Sung-min tapped his chest with one hand.

“You are the son I have cherished in my heart. How could I not know your true name?”

Dan Woosung revealed his name for the first time in a very long while.

“Wooseong. Father, my name is Dan Wooseong.”

“Dan Woosung—indeed, a name I’ve never heard before. It’s a good name. But how stifling it must have been for you. Others may forget, but this father will remember that name. That’s why I gave one character to Shinwoo.”

“Yes.”

Jin-eon was in very poor health. I know this for certain because I had him sent to the safe house and was preparing myself mentally. Even if it’s hard to explain, tell me what happened back then.

“It all happened in an instant. I was originally a martial artist. I faced death, only to open my eyes again in the safe house on Gu Huashan—inside Jin-eon’s body. That is the whole story. It wasn’t easy for me to accept either, so I could only live day by day, trying my best.”

“I see.”

Lee Sung-min continued, his expression relieved.

Then even if the martial world is at peace, it is your destiny to keep accumulating merit. The position of leader won’t be easy, but if you have the strength, it would be best to continue holding it. Isn’t the world unfair? Perhaps Heaven, which entrusted you with this fate, also wishes for you to keep accumulating merit. Whether this is reincarnation or rebirth, it’s not an opportunity given to just anyone. Will you continue to hold the position of leader?”

“I will.”

That’s right. That’s my son. Neither I nor Hwa-eon will ever work just to make money. We intend to keep helping the poor, and I keep teaching Hwa-eon this principle over and over. You just keep doing what a leader should do in the martial world. If you do that, our father and son will have no shame before heaven. It’s about living with integrity. Wealth isn’t something I earned through my own merit. I, too, intend to repay heaven for bestowing a guardian spirit upon our family. That’s why I’ve lived diligently all these years.”

Suddenly, Lee Sung-min and Dan Woo-sung clasped hands firmly.

This was an oath to the heavens that no one would ever know.

Overcome with emotion, Dan Woo-sung clutched his father’s hand, his lips trembling for a long moment. Honestly, Dan Woo-sung hadn’t expected his father to understand even this story.

Before Dan Woo-sung stood a man far wiser than any noble knight. He was also a man who could endure hearing unbelievable secrets without flinching, proving his stature surpassed that of any noble knight.

Lee Sung-min spoke.

“Son.”

“Yes.”

“Rest well and return to duty. I should lie down too and shake off this cold.”

Lee Sung-min, who had been about to lie down, suddenly grabbed his forehead with his hand. The fever had already vanished as if it had never been there.

“Hmm.”

While Dan Woo-sung held his father’s hand, he had infused a thread of his own energy, cleansing Lee Sung-min’s blood vessels as if washing them clean. There was absolutely no reason for any lingering headache or cold symptoms.

Lee Sung-min, utterly bewildered, let out a hollow laugh.

Dan Woo-sung spoke with a faint smile.

“Rest just one more day. Starting tomorrow, you’ll feel light as a feather.”

“Alright.”

Dan Woo-sung bowed his head and then withdrew from Lee Sung-min’s bedroom. Lee Sung-min must have felt relieved, but so did Dan Woo-sung.

Dan Woo-sung, who had never actually seen his real father, had always lived his life regarding Lee Sung-min as his father.

That was the kind of father and son they were.

Lee Sung-min’s words—that he considered Dan Woo-sung one of his four sons—were healing an immense, nameless wound that had long lodged in a corner of Dan Woo-sung’s heart. It was a blessing of fate incomparable to obtaining any elixir or martial arts technique.