Chapter 141 — The Master's Visit
On a warm spring afternoon, Yeongu sat at ease, with a drowsy guard standing before him.
A faint shadow seemed to fall across him, and he raised his eyes.
His master was standing there.
"Master."
As Yeongu called out, Han Ji-un smiled softly and stepped aside.
"Have you been well?"
Yeongu greeted briefly and hurried over.
"Master."
"Yes."
He arranged a place inside his tent and bowed deeply with composure.
Baek In-gyeom smiled warmly.
Lately, he showed only smiles.
"I hear you've been doing well."
"Everywhere I go, there's chaos."
"Better than doing nothing."
"What brings you here?"
"I came to see you."
"Truly? You said you might come."
"I thought it was just a courtesy."
Yeongu smiled brightly.
He needed nothing else.
There was no reason, no condition, no personal gain sought through him.
"I was invited, but I could not wait until then. And if I came, I thought the sages of Liaodong might follow."
"There are sages in Liaodong as well?"
"Of course."
Yeongu's eyes widened.
He had been worried that the vanguard lacked strength.
"What are you thinking?"
"If they lead the vanguard, it would be formidable."
"It is not easy for them to come. That is why I came. I thought if I were here, they might follow."
"Why? Why would they…"
Baek In-gyeom's brow tightened slightly.
"After Balhae fell, many successor states rose and fell. In that process, trust was lost."
"Ah."
"They spoke of restoring Balhae, yet pursued their own ambitions. Power struggles reached their peak. Under the name of restoration, they played at power. They asked the sages for help. But as they fought, they realized the path was wrong. They withdrew, and those states did not last long. The problems of the Jurchens also stem from there."
"The Jurchens as well?"
"The Tang took hundreds of thousands of Goguryeo people away. The land was emptied. Who do you think Balhae gathered to form its state?"
"The Jurchens."
"Several states rose and fell, but none were like the original Balhae. Betrayal followed betrayal. Who would favor such a thing?"
The explanation weighed on the heart.
Yeongu now understood something of power.
"So the sages of Liaodong will not come."
"What of Liao?"
"They destroyed Balhae. The sages would never side with them."
"Ha… ha…"
"Why do you laugh?"
Yeongu smiled.
"If we could bring just a few and place them at the front, we could break the enemy easily."
"I saw your training from afar. It was impressive."
"Hehe… I am realizing what I once imagined here among the Jurchens."
"Goryeo will grow wary."
"They said as much in Gaegyeong, but it will not happen. They call us a brother nation."
"It is also human to betray one's brother."
"You underestimate the people of this land. Many live by what they believe must be upheld."
"Very well. I acknowledge it. I have seen it in you."
Yeongu brought out a box.
"What is that?"
"Wild ginseng."
"Why give it to me?"
"I gather herbs whenever I have time. I use what I've learned. I set aside the best ones."
"Can it be preserved?"
"I parboiled and dried them. They say it lasts for years that way."
Baek In-gyeom opened the box and was startled.
It was large.
More like He Shou Wu than ginseng.
The root heads were countless.
"Hehe…"
Yeongu kept smiling, pleased with his gift.
Who had driven this young spirit so hard?
Baek In-gyeom nodded, and Han Ji-un took it.
"Why do you gather herbs so fervently?"
There was concern in the master's voice.
It had been the same at Seonchun Pass.
Yeongu roamed mountains and fields, showing herbs to physicians, processing them, and consuming them.
His eyes were clear, his body firm.
There was a taut solidity that inspired trust.
"I started late. They say medicine can strengthen internal force. The old alchemy was flawed, but herbs still work."
"So you roam and consume them?"
"Yes."
"Do not rush. You are doing well."
"I wish to reach the end before I turn thirty."
"Hmm."
Baek In-gyeom nodded and glanced at Han Ji-un.
Han Ji-un stepped outside, circled once, and took position—a guardian.
Baek In-gyeom spoke.
"Give me your hand."
"Yes, Master."
He grasped Yeongu's pulse and examined his internal energy.
It was stable, firm, and regular.
He probed it lightly. Yeongu flinched.
He scanned the body with his perception and reached the middle dantian.
It had expanded.
There were traces of freely wielded energy.
Yeongu sat still, feeling his master's touch.
A warm current wrapped around his entire body.
He felt each acupoint being traced in the sequence of the method he had studied.
Time passed.
Without realizing it, Yeongu fell asleep.
Falling asleep while cultivating was common.
The first obstacle was wandering thoughts; the second was drowsiness.
Once thoughts faded, sleep arrived.
Its weight was immense.
Sometimes an entire night passed.
Though one claims to study, most time is spent drifting in thought or sinking into sleep.
And that sleep comes without fail.
Even after full rest, it returns.
It is a fatigue unlike ordinary exhaustion.
Wandering thoughts are the same.
One repeats to remember, yet forgets.
Even with reminders before the eyes, one forgets.
Yet stray thoughts slip silently into the soul.
Perhaps because they carry the color of desire.
That color rises first, and then the future shaped by it appears.
As Yeongu slept, his master examined him thoroughly.
First, he checked for adverse effects of the medicine.
Though called medicine, it was akin to poison.
He examined the pathways of the middle dantian.
There was clear evidence of training and refinement.
Yeongu spoke of finishing before thirty, yet the upper dantian remained distant.
Ten years might seem enough, yet even after ten years, one often remains the same.
It is nearly unattainable within a single lifetime.
Reaching the middle dantian alone marks the peak of mastery.
And yet one seeks beyond.
Not to surpass others.
Because there lies something the soul longs for.
The many obstacles of human life are accepted as natural, yet they are burdens.
In cultivation one feels freedom, yet must overcome these barriers.
What is the name of one who breaks all bonds?
What lies at the end?
Someone once said—
an immortal.
They said we are studying to become immortals.