NOVEL NEXT WORLD Chapter 114 - The Will (12)
Chapter 114. The Will (12)
War is an inevitable occurrence in any era.
When people live together, shedding blood is sometimes unavoidable.
Thieves and swords, women and children, nobles and the downtrodden—though all people are born under the same sky, there are always distinctions between the strong and the weak.
Then let me ask: what exactly is the world?
Heaven bestows virtue and righteousness upon mankind, yet how is it that those meant to uphold these principles disregard them?
For what reason do they defy the natural order, ignoring, plundering, killing, and oppressing?
Zhao Yun couldn’t find an answer.
She simply held her spear and punished those who defied these principles.
This, she believed, was the only right thing to do.
Yes, people walk the path they believe to be right.
The world calls such people heroes, and by that measure, Zhao Yun was one of the renowned heroes of the Changshan Commandery.
Though she was merely a member of a vigilante group without any official rank, she had relentlessly cut down evildoers and vowed to restore order, at least within her grasp.
Who could deny her the title of a hero?
And so, as always, Zhao Yun once again gripped her spear and advanced to investigate the identity of a suspicious man who had appeared in the mountains.
She couldn’t stop.
She had to grow stronger.
To protect someone, she needed strength.
As she contemplated these thoughts, she suddenly spotted a man drinking alone.
– Whoosh!
Zhao Yun swung her spear without hesitation.
She aimed to strike his nape, intending to knock him unconscious. Her plan was to restrain and question him later, as she believed this approach was most efficient.
However, the man leisurely leaned back, avoiding her strike while continuing to drink.
Zhao Yun was startled, unable to close her mouth.
How did he avoid that?
As she pondered this question, it happened.
“Tsk, you’re ruining my drink.”
The man spoke.
He still hadn’t turned around.
“Look, I’ll let this slide for now, so get lost. I’m in a bad mood.”
“…Who are you?”
“I’m telling you nicely, just leave, okay?”
“…”
Zhao Yun couldn’t just leave him alone.
She had seen people on the streets who trembled in fear after spotting him several times.
So, she thrust her spear beside the man’s neck.
“If you don’t speak—”
It was then.
The man’s shoulder trembled slightly.
“…Are you crying?”
Zhao Yun couldn’t hide her bewilderment.
A grown man, a martial artist capable of dodging her sudden attack, was shedding tears. It left her helpless, unable to do anything but nervously shuffle her feet.
The man clicked his tongue loudly and chugged his drink directly from the bottle.
“Gulp… Hey.”
“…?”
“You said you wanted to know who I am?”
The man tossed the empty bottle far away.
“Then, let’s fight first.”
“W-What did you just say?”
“I said let’s fight. I’m in a bad mood anyway.”
Zhao Yun stared at him dumbfounded, tilting her head in confusion.
It didn’t take long for her to grasp his intentions…
.
.
.
.
.
The man who introduced himself as Unryong, a hero of the allied forces, never stopped talking.
He boasted so much about himself that Zhao Yun’s ears were about to fall off.
She wanted nothing more than to escape from this man immediately, but she had already been beaten so thoroughly that her legs refused to move.
Unryong’s fists, true to his belief in gender equality, were indeed fierce.
And so, kneeling before Unryong, Zhao Yun listened to countless stories.
His feats, the achievements of his brothers, the personalities and actions of the 18 warlords—sometimes insulting, sometimes praising.
As he calmly continued his story with a leaf in his mouth, his profile appeared strangely melancholic.
His shoulders drooped; it was hard to believe that this was the same reckless man from just moments ago.
Yet, despite the change in demeanor, the problem remained that he was still annoyingly talkative.
Just as Zhao Yun’s eyelids were about to give way, a savior appeared.
It was a woman named Zhang Fei, styled Yide.
Her gait and composed breath made it clear that she was a martial artist.
Thanks to her, Zhao Yun was freed from Unryong’s endless chatter, and she began to wonder when she could leave.
If she stayed any longer, she felt she might lose her hearing.
Moreover, she had identified the man, so there was no longer any reason to remain.
But Zhao Yun couldn’t turn away.
“What is the world to you?”
The man asked.
To Zhang Fei, styled Yide.
Zhao Yun turned to look at them.
The question she had always pondered, now voiced by the man.
“The people. What else could there be?”
Zhang Fei replied with a faint smile.
It was an admirable answer.
Zhao Yun felt her heart twinge.
She realized just how vast the world appeared to Zhang Fei, compared to the small realm of the Changshan Commandery where Zhao Yun was only beginning to make a name for herself.
Then, Unryong replied.
“I envy you—being able to answer without a shred of hesitation.”
He was smiling, but not truly. His expression was complex and conflicted.
He continued.
“For me, the world is this place—this small patch of land beneath my feet.”
The ground he referred to was nothing more than this small hill.
A modest answer compared to Zhang Fei’s.
“My eyes can barely see past this area, and my arms and legs are only capable of protecting this place. That grand, all-encompassing idea of the world is a distant dream to me.”
Zhao Yun unconsciously gripped her spear tightly.
The man who had been boasting about his name just moments ago, this so-called hero, turned out to be someone so timid in nature.
It was disheartening.
After they finished talking, the two turned their backs on each other.
Unryong yawned and started to walk away.
Zhao Yun stepped forward to block his path.
She wanted to ask.
You’re a hero, a martial artist who stands shoulder to shoulder with renowned warriors; why are you spouting such weak words?
Why not follow Zhang Fei’s lead and broaden your perspective of the world?
The man who preached to me all my life—why aren’t you moving forward?
What are you afraid of?
What could you possibly fear?
It was the moment when Zhao Yun’s blue eyes shone quietly.
Unryong casually shrugged his shoulders and spoke.
“Hey.”
He began to approach, step by step.
Slowly, but with weight behind each step.
“Then why are you protecting this Changshan Commandery? Aren’t you Zhao Zilong of Changshan, the leader of a mere vigilante group?”
There was no room for denial, so she answered as such.
“So, does that mean you deserve to be criticized by others?”
Unryong pressed his finger firmly against Zhao Yun’s shoulder.
“What you’re doing is chivalry.”
He smirked.
“And what I’m doing is chivalry. That woman Yide was talking about chivalry too.”
He spoke with a mocking tone.
He had no interest in grand principles like loyalty or righteousness. He only joined the allied forces to advance himself.
Zhao Yun felt a bitter taste.
Humans are inherently like this, living for their own benefit and safety—it’s instinct.
What had she expected from this so-called hero of the allied forces?
Zhao Yun, feeling despondent, spoke in a gloomy tone.
“So, Unryong, you’re fighting only to protect your people.”
“Well, you could say that.”
“What lies at the end of that? If you don’t bring this chaos to order, there’s no future. Not for you, nor for what you wish to protect.”
“Who knows.”
Zhao Yun let out a faint sigh and slung her spear over her waist.
What kind of answer could she expect from such a reckless man?
It was truly a regrettable reality.
It was then.
“At the very least, it should be a world where kids don’t starve.”
“Pardon?”
Zhao Yun instinctively asked back.
“That’s the code of Jianghu I believe in.”
“Jianghu, what?”
Perplexed by the unfamiliar term, she had to ask again.
No, there was something else she needed to ask.
A world where children don’t starve?
Wasn’t that an even grander aspiration than just the people or the world?
A world where all people are well-fed.
The man was declaring something that seemed impossible with confidence.
When she asked, the man answered.
“What’s so grand about a world where kids don’t starve? That’s just basic, rookie.”
I see.
That’s it.
“So your ambition is vast… I see.”
She finally understood.
The world he envisioned was far beyond what she could ever fathom.
***
From then on, Zhao Yun clung to Unryong relentlessly.
Whether she wanted to exchange words with him once more or witness his skills again, she had a mix of personal motives.
One thing led to another, and they sparred, became master and disciple, and as she learned about their backgrounds, Zhao Yun gradually became immersed in Unryong’s army.
However, Unryong couldn’t easily escape his despair.
The vision he held was grand enough for Zhao Yun to fall for it instantly.
But if the vessel holding such ideals was unstable, it was all meaningless.
Still, Zhao Yun decided to stay by his side.
She had a gut feeling he would rise again,
as did Unryong’s siblings who believed the same.
And sure enough, he moved forward once more.
‘Listen. The path of rebellion? Loyalty? Righteousness? Whatever, I don’t care.’
He said it with great confidence.
‘I’ve always been a fool who only follows the path I believe to be right. That’s who I, Unryong, am.’
Perhaps it was then that her view of Unryong changed.
She was swept away by the fantasy that, with her master, they could change the world.
But she was too weak.
So she couldn’t protect her master in the end.
She regretted it.
She truly regretted it.
To the point where her chest felt tight, and she secretly cried her eyes out.
‘Brother isn’t here anymore.’
Haryeong’s words.
‘Have you made up your mind?’
Sima Yi’s urging.
They struck her like daggers, piercing her heart.
Yes.
She simply.
She simply wanted to see it all again.
The confident smile of her master that she remembered so vividly.
And now.
Zhao Yun stood there blankly for a while.
Her eyes were so hollow; it was clear she hadn’t yet grasped reality.
“Yuna.”
As the familiar voice tickled her ears once more, Zhao Yun couldn’t help but gape.
“Master…?”
The word slipped from her lips.
She couldn’t believe the words that had come out of her own mouth, covering them with her hands.
It was as if she was seeing a ghost. In Zhao Yun’s mind, this wasn’t far from the truth.
The master she longed for stood clearly before her eyes, and Zhao Yun couldn’t help but collapse onto the ground.
Unryong faintly smiled.
That teasing grin and the gentle, low voice that tickled the ears—there was no doubt it was her master.
“It’s been a while.”
“M-Master…!”
Unryong spoke in an unusually gentle tone, unlike his usual grumpy self, causing Zhao Yun’s heart to swell.
“Are you… are you alright…?”
“Yes, how about you? Have you been well?”
“How could you ask such a thing? Since that day, I haven’t had a single night’s rest worrying about you…!”
“Oh… sorry about that.”
The master she thought dead.
And the disciple who had eagerly awaited him.
The Unryong army, groveling and sobbing, shed even more tears at the sight of the two.
It was then that they realized.
That Unryong had truly returned.
As Zhao Yun shakily placed her hands on the ground and tried to slowly approach him, Unryong scratched his cheek and avoided her gaze.
“Anyway, it’s good to see you. Now, go lie down beside Unsam.”
“…?”
Zhao Yun looked at Unryong blankly, not comprehending the meaning behind his words.
Unryong kept avoiding her gaze, awkwardly looking up at the sky.
There was no helping it.
There could be no exceptions when it came to punishment…