Chapter 2 — Sword God Appears

The figure coming out of the clearing was just an old farmer leading a skinny cow, lost in search of an acquaintance's house. Bach Trinh showed him the way, watched the limp figure disappear behind the trees, then breathed a sigh of relief. Perhaps last night's premonitions were just the illusion of a mind that has lived in silence for too long. But when he turned back into the house, his eyes accidentally stopped at the cloth-wrapped sword on the wall, and the memories of eighteen years ago suddenly rushed back, as vivid as if it were yesterday.

At that time, Tang Phong Mon was also one of the most famous swordsmanship sects in Lang Uyen land, founded by sect master Doan Moc Thanh at a young age, building a reputation with his own talent and virtue. The Tang Phong Mon sect has something fundamentally different from other sects: promoting patience, hiding one's strength until necessary, just like how the mountain wind is always quiet until it sweeps away the entire ancient tree. The master sword technique called Hidden Wind Sword Technique also comes from that philosophy, teaching practitioners not to show off, not to brag, to only show the move once and it must be the decisive move.

Among the third-generation disciples of the sect, there are three people that sect leader Doan Moc Thanh especially keeps an eye on: Vu Bach Trinh, who has a talent for swordsmanship that surpasses his peers; Chuc Thanh Phong, who has a gentle personality and treats everyone with sincerity; and Nguy Thien Ba, who has great internal strength but has a hot temper and often compares with his brothers.

The three of them were once close brothers, practicing together under the moonlight, going down the mountain to practice chivalry, and sharing bowls of cold rice during the nights when they hunted wild animals to protect the villagers. Bach Trinh still clearly remembers, there was a time when the three of them were lost in the deep forest for three days and three nights, their food ran out. It was Thanh Phong who gave the little food left to his two brothers, starving himself to the point of passing out in the middle of the road, forcing both of them to take turns carrying him back to the mountain gate.

Thanh Phong is three years older than Bach Trinh, and always addresses him in the strict yet affectionate voice of an older brother. Every time Bach Trinh practiced his sword to the point of exhaustion but his moves still did not reach the desired sophistication, Thanh Phong would sit next to him, not saying a word of reproach, just quietly making him a pot of hot tea, then telling him a few old stories to relax his mind before continuing to practice. Perhaps it was thanks to those years that Bach Trinh considered Thanh Phong no different from his own blood.

Wei Thien Ba was different. Since childhood, he had had an obsession with being better than others and being recognized as the best disciple. Every time Bach Trinh made progress in swordsmanship, Thien Ba's eyes flashed with a shadow of darkness that few people noticed, except Thanh Phong, who always subtly noticed the small changes in the hearts of others. One time, Thanh Phong gently reminded Bach Trinh, telling him to treat Thien Ba more gently, not to let him feel left behind, because after all the three of them were brothers from the same sect, under the same roof.

But that reminder was not enough to heal the cracks that had silently formed in Thien Ba's heart for many years. When Doan Moc Thanh got old and began to consider choosing a successor to the position of sect leader, the rumors within the sect became more and more clear: the chosen one would almost certainly be Chuc Thanh Phong, because his virtue and prestige had long been recognized by the whole sect, and Bach Trinh, despite his excellent swordsmanship, was still too young to shoulder that responsibility.

Thien Ba, who was on the outside of that race from the beginning, began to harbor a silent resentment. He believes that his talent was not inferior to his two brothers and sisters, but because of his unremarkable background and lack of close relationships with the elders, he was marginalized. From then on, he began to secretly communicate with a number of strange characters outside the sect, those who had shady relationships with the dark forces in the area, secretly planning to take away the secrets of controlling the sect, in order to use them as bargaining capital with those forces, in exchange for the power and position he thought he deserved.

Chuc Thanh Phong was the first to discover unusual signs. One night, he happened to see Thien Ba sneaking out of the mountain gate at the odd hour, carrying a small bundle of cloth, looking unusually hasty. He silently followed and discovered that he met a group of strangers in a remote ravine, exchanging dark words about "getting the map of the hidden capital" and "dividing a fair share when the great event is accomplished".

Thanh Phong did not immediately denounce this matter to the sect master. He is a cautious person, understanding that once the betrayal is revealed right in the middle of the sect's preparations for the throne ceremony, it will cause a great shock, make people confused, and possibly collapse the entire foundation that Doan Moc Thanh has worked hard to build for decades. He decided to investigate further himself, collect enough evidence, and then consider reporting, so that everything could be handled as smoothly as possible, without damaging the sect's honor.

He only revealed a small part of his suspicions to Bach Trinh, one night the two of them sat drinking wine under an old tree behind the mountain gate. "There are things that we need to verify ourselves before speaking out," Thanh Phong said at that time, his voice was low and somewhat heavy with confidence. "If unfortunately I guess wrong, this will destroy a person, a brother of ours. But if I guess correctly, and act hastily, I'm afraid it will cause even greater disaster to the entire sect. Trust me, let me take care of this matter."

Bach Trinh was too young at that time, too confident in his senior brother's maturity, so he nodded in agreement, without asking much more, nor did he have the slightest thought that those words would be one of the last sentences he heard from Thanh Phong before everything became tragic.

Half a month later, on a rainy afternoon, Thanh Phong received an anonymous note, inviting him to go to Vong Soul Alley at the hour of the pig to discuss an important matter related to the sect's safety. He went alone, carrying no weapons other than the long sword still hanging on his waist. He only left a short note for Bach Trinh, advising that if he had not returned by the hour, go to Vong Soul Alley to find him.

At that time, Bach Trinh was busy handling another case according to the orders of the sect master, and it was not until nearly midnight that he read that piece of paper. He quickly rode his horse like flying in the rainy and windy night, but the mountain road was slippery and had landslides, forcing him to detour further than expected. When he arrived at Vong Soul Alley, the rain had stopped, thick fog covered the entire canyon, and in a pool of blood on the stone floor, Chuc Thanh Phong was lying there, barely breathing, his sword broken in half beside him.

He only had time to say a few broken words to Bach Trinh before he died, his voice so weak that it was almost nothing but wind: "Don't... don't let the sect... know about this... Bach Trinh, you must promise me..." Then his eyes closed, never opening again, leaving Bach Trinh kneeling in the middle of the cold canyon, hugging the body of the brother he considered his own flesh and blood, screaming in despair with no one responding except his own echo bouncing off the cliff.

After that night, no one found any trace of Wei Thien Ba at the mountain gate anymore. There were rumors that he ran away because he was afraid of being involved in a gang dispute. Another rumor said that he died in a chaotic battle on a remote border. Sect Master Doan Moc Thanh, out of respect for Thanh Phong's last words, Bach Trinh vaguely narrated, did not pursue further, just quietly performed the funeral ceremony for his beloved disciple, declaring to the sect that it was an ordinary robbery and murder on a deserted road.

Only Bach Trinh knew that it was not an ordinary robbery. But he didn't know exactly what happened, he didn't know what secret Thanh Phong had discovered, he didn't know who was behind the ambush, he only knew that he was late, and that delay took the life of the brother he respected the most in the world.

From then on, Bach Trinh lived in a semi-conscious state for many months, no longer eager to practice swordplay, no longer wanting to hear anyone call him a sword god. He resigned, handed over all the sect's responsibilities that had been assigned to him, then left the Tang Phong Mon alone, carrying the sword wrapped in hemp cloth, and kept walking until he found Tuyet Phong Coc, a place far enough away, deserted enough, for him to be able to hide from both the world and himself.

Sitting in the thatched house, watching the sunset creep through the door, Bach Trinh gently closed his eyes, letting that memory pass again like an old wave. He had told this story to himself countless times over the past eighteen years, each time as painful as the first. Perhaps, he thought, there were pains that were not to be healed, but just to be carried, as an inseparable part of oneself.

But he did not expect that right now, hundreds of miles away from Tuyet Phong Coc, in a small town called Thanh Lang Uyen, there was a young girl carrying Chuc Thanh Phong's blood in her veins, starting to feel strange eyes following her every step, but she was completely unaware that her fate had begun to be tied to the unfinished story of eighteen years ago.