Episode 569
The shadow was dark (1)
How long has it been? How long have you been here?
I couldn’t even remember. I think it’s been about ten years, but I wasn’t even sure. Considering that it was around the time when the area under my son’s nose started to turn dark, it seemed like a little over ten years had passed.
Sreuk.
When I raised my head and looked around, I saw numerous tombstones erected everywhere.
There were many thick and strong-looking trees. There were countless wounds on the surfaces of trees and monuments for unknown reasons.
‘It’s different from back then.’
Tang Hao thought. It’s such a dark and gloomy place.
He was one of the thirteen strong men competing for supremacy in the martial arts world of his father’s time, and he did not have a dark nature by nature.
The personality of his father that Dang-ho remembers was that of typical old fathers: strict but warm, strong as steel but soft at the same time.
No, in fact, he was a much more kind person than those people.
He was a person who always brought delicious food whenever he went to a meeting with the owners of a nearby clan.
While practicing with my older brother until late at night, when my father came, my older brother and myself did not feel awkward running to our father’s arms with a smile.
In the moonlit garden, the father and son ate delicious food and talked about their family’s bright future.
Of course, both my older brother and I were too young to discuss the future of a family. But Dangho had good memories of that time. It was a time when I didn’t know anything, but the time when the love between my parents and siblings was strong was deep, bright, and a heartbreakingly happy memory.
‘It was like that.’
Tang Hao closed his eyes.
‘There was a time like that.’
The youngest child is too young to remember anything like that. Because I wasn’t old enough to practice until late at night in the first place.
‘He is now a decent head of a family.’
Dang-ho, who was thinking about his younger brother, suddenly thought.
‘If he was born before me… or even if the age difference was only one or two years.’
The youngest’s character, talent, and outstanding skills.
‘Even if that were the case, would my father have passed on the family name to my older brother?’
I do not know. That is something unknown.
What was certain was that there would have been quite a bit of noise, at least regarding the succession issue.
The youngest’s talent was so great. If you just think about his talent, he might be similar to or even better than his older brother’s child, Tang Sang-ah.
What this means is that in the history of the party, two geniuses admired by the greatest leaders appeared in one era.
‘It’s a pointless idea.’
A home is just a home.
History has already passed and time cannot be turned back.
Unable to escape the absolute passage of time, they have no choice but to focus on reality.
Tang Ho opened his eyes.
I walked step by step towards the area in the distance surrounded by all kinds of amulets painted with sandstone and various gold bands.
After a while.
Dang-ho’s mouth opened in front of a huge cave that seemed to contain a ghost.
“father.”
There was no answer back.
It was natural. This place, which looked like a cave at first glance, was not a real cave.
If you go all the way into that cave, you will come across another stone wall. When you pass through the stone wall, you will see a fairly large yard and a small house.
My father was staying there.
The inside of the cave was long. It was even blocked by a stone wall. There is no way your voice will be heard even if you sing in a whisper like this here.
But Tang Ho believed. That the Father has already captured his existence.
‘Maybe you knew before you even entered the area where you can see that monument.’
That is the strength of Seongcheon.
Nothing is impossible for the strong of Holy Heaven. And the spirit of the King of Darkness, who is evaluated as the most dangerous among the powerful in Holy Heaven, can be counted among the fingers even in Holy Heaven.
Tang Ho, who had been standing still and looking inside the cave, opened his mouth again.
“Father….”
“Hoaanya.”
At that moment, Tang Ho felt his mouth being blocked.
It wasn’t a voice coming from beyond the cave. The voice, which transcended space and came vividly into my ears, sounded clear and natural as if the owner of the voice was speaking right next to me.
Creepy!
I got goosebumps all over my body.
It is an electric sound.
Although it was difficult to travel this distance, Dangho was also able to do it somehow.
The problem was the clarity of the voice and the naturalness of the tone.
How deep and vast an inner strength do you have to have?
How delicate and excellent internal air management ability do you have to be to produce such clear sound?
‘That’s scary!’
Just one sound brings shivers.
Tang Hao bowed his head. Even though I couldn’t see it, I acted as if my father was right in front of me.
“That’s right. “This is Hoa.”
“…okay.”
My father’s voice was deep.
I couldn’t decide whether I had power or not. I couldn’t decide whether it felt good or bad.
It was just infinitely deep. It was so deep that I couldn’t even tell the extent of my emotional state.
“It’s been a while.”
Tang Ho bit his lip.
“It has escalated so far. Please forgive me.”
There was silence.
After a while.
“After the coffin was put on the street, I imprisoned myself here. “Confinement means disconnection from the world, so you just understood my meaning.”
“….”
“Don’t worry about it.”
lie.
Tang Ho knew. My father taught my brother’s children here for a long time.
Even if he is unfamiliar with his children, there is no grandfather who would dislike his grandchildren. My father was like that too, and he poured all the love he had for his children into his grandchildren.
However, the object of his affection was not his own children. The son, Yeo Seon, had never properly seen his grandfather’s face since he was a child.
Tang Hao understood it. Still, my older brother was the head of the family. The head of the family is the leader who represents the family, and the children of the head of the family must represent the family to the next generation.
We have no choice but to pay more attention to that aspect. Tang Hao understood. No, I tried to understand.
“Because.”
There was still no wavering from the voice coming from beyond the cave.
“It’s nice to hear your voice after such a long time, but why did you come all the way to Ye?”
Are you really that good?
It was difficult to judge the party name. And that wasn’t even the important issue.
Tang Hao knelt down and placed a bundle in front of him.
“I think you’ll be dissatisfied with me for not showing my face even once.”
“….”
“But… I wanted to tell you this.”
My father is not in front of me. Even if you are far away, you are still far away.
But Tang Ho was confident. That my father is looking at this whole bundle right now.
“Today is my father’s birthday.”
“….”
“My father liked pork during Geonam Spring (劍南春).”
“….”
“I made it myself. “I used to make it for Yeo Seon often, so it won’t taste bad.”
“…Yeoseon.”
Is it because of my mood?
Somehow, my father’s voice seemed to have calmed down a little.
“How are you doing, Yeo Seon?”
Tang Hao bowed his head.
“It is said that he has recently found a wife he likes. “Learning is good, but since I’m already 26, I think it would be a good idea to hurry up and find someone to help me.”
“Twenty-six… It’s already been that long.”
“….”
“You must be going through a lot.”
At that moment, Tang Ho felt like he was crying.
It was nothing special. Besides, your father probably doesn’t know what he’s doing or how busy he is right now.
But what is it about that one word that shakes people’s hearts so much?
After I grew up, I couldn’t even speak to my father because I was afraid of him becoming increasingly strict and cold. My father is now telling me about his hardships in such a gentle tone.
I felt strange. All kinds of emotions were surging out of nowhere.
Tang Hao suppressed his emotions.
“father.”
“okay.”
“When… do you plan on coming out?”
There was silence again.
Tang Ho waited. Until I hear my father’s voice.
How much time has passed like that?
“I am a relic.”
“…?”
“The family may be shaken by my presence. That’s why I imprisoned myself here.”
lie!
Tang Ho knew. Why did my father lock himself here?
“If I come forward, there will be no benefit to the family.”
“father.”
“I want to end the rest of my life here.”
Tang Hao clenched his fists.
It was a statement I had been waiting for. At the same time, it was also a very sad statement.
My father was a man who always kept his word. If so, you will really spend the rest of your life here.
It was happy and it was sad.
My mind was complicated.
Tang Hao bowed his head again.
“I will visit you often.”
“There is no need for that.”
“It is natural for children to visit their parents.”
“We are people of the party family before we are parents and children. “For the sake of your family, don’t look for me anymore.”
“father.”
“Enjoy the alcohol and food you brought.”
Tang Hao closed his eyes.
The tears fell and soaked the floor.
Dangho, wiping his eyes, stood up and bowed.
“Long live your life.”
“thanks.”
Tang Hao turned around.
The sadness and pity slowly disappeared from his tear-filled eyes.
Now what was in those eyes was intense anger and ambition.
‘That’s it.’
This made it clear.
My father will not pay any attention to the family’s affairs throughout his life. I don’t know anything else, but I know one thing for sure.
If so, that’s it. You no longer have to worry about what your predecessors thought.
In proceeding with future work, it seemed possible to exclude the party’s strongest warrior and the best variable.
‘Now all that’s left is to move on.’
In this way, Tang Ho left Manwolji, a place of confinement in the previous family.
How much time has passed?
Slurp.
No one knows where it appeared. It was literally a ghost-like movement.
An old man appeared in front of a thick bundle.
The clothes were shabby. He was dressed in a way that others would think of as an old man tending to the fields in the countryside.
On the other hand, his well-groomed hair was tightly tied and his neat beard fell down to his chest.
The eyes were somewhat sharply torn, but the wrinkles around the eyes, clear eyes, and moderately clear five senses did not make the impression very strong. Rather, it even seemed soft and good.
Average height, average physique, and appearance that doesn’t stand out much except for the hair and beard.
That was the appearance of Dark King Danghyeong, the previous head of the Four Heavenly Dang Family and evaluated as the most dangerous master among the powerful of the Holy Heaven.
Tang Hyung quietly looked down at the bundle.
No, I looked down at the traces next to the bundle.
The ground was a little wet. It was a sign of tears pouring out.
Danghyeong looked down at it for a while and then sighed softly.
“…Joy or sadness?”
The sky was not clear today either. It was somehow difficult to get used to the moderately cloudy sky of Sacheon today. The wind was cold and the air was humid.
Brother Dang picked up the bundle.
It was heavy. There was only one bottle of Geomnamchun, but there was a lot of meat compared to the alcohol.
Tang Hyeong took the bundle and went back into the cave.
The sight of him walking while patting his back with one hand was not befitting of a strong man from Seongcheon, known as the greatest giant of the martial arts world.
