Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 16: In the Jianghu, One's Body is Not One's Own (5) Yeon So-wol always woke before the sun rose, when the world was still draped in a hazy blue.
Immediately upon waking, he practiced the Soft Willow Art for fifteen minutes. This was a vital process to burn away the turbid Qi accumulated overnight and to warm a body that had grown cold and stiff.
By the time he stepped outside, the dawn would be deepening, the blue light on the verge of lifting. So-wol headed toward Lee Yu-baek's quarters.
Once the direct disciples—Kang Mu-hyeok, Seon Je-hun, and Mo Cheong—had gathered, the four of them entered together to offer their morning greetings.
"Did you sleep well, Master?"
Kang Mu-hyeok, the eldest disciple, spoke for the group. The other three lined up behind him, bowing deeply with their hands clasped in a formal salute.
"Mm-hmm."
In the mornings, Lee Yu-baek was generally in a good mood. This was mostly because he was usually drinking.
Kang Mu-hyeok frowned again today. "Are you drinking on an empty stomach again?"
"It's a delicacy this way."
"Weren't you the one who taught us that alcohol is bad for the body and even worse for cultivation, Master?"
"That applies to you lot, who haven't even managed to kindle a True Fire yet. As for me, I can just burn it off with my internal energy."
Sssssss!
White steam hissed from Lee Yu-baek's shoulders. The thick scent of alcohol wafted through the air. Kang Mu-hyeok let out a small sigh and looked at Lee Yu-baek's cup. Actually, it was more accurate to call it a bowl than a cup.
"Then why are you drinking that turbid Nangju? No matter how much you burn off, drinking such cloudy rice wine will always leave a bit of turbid Qi behind. If you're going to drink something with a low alcohol content anyway, why not have the Jade Crown Red we received as a gift?"
Lee Yu-baek clicked his tongue. "Mu-hyeok, Mu-hyeok. Jade Crown Red is a red fruit wine, isn't it? You drink that during moments you want to remember. Nangju is a cloudy glutinous rice wine; it's for drinking anytime."
"Alcohol is alcohol, what does it matter…"
"How tragic. To think my eldest disciple doesn't even know the taste of good liquor." Lee Yu-baek chuckled as he downed the bowl of Nangju in one go.
Kang Mu-hyeok watched him with a complicated expression before speaking again. "Your drinking has increased lately."
"Has it?"
"Yes. The number of empty bottles has doubled."
"You're even counting those now?"
"Is it because of Mount Cheonro? You've been meeting a lot of people and exchanging many letters lately."
Mount Cheonro?
So-wol's head snapped up.
Lee Yu-baek gave a bitter smile. "Well. When you're trying to accomplish something big, you need a bit of liquid courage here and there."
"Master. Other martial artists in the Jianghu only care about their own interests. I don't understand why you keep stepping forward to take on such dangerous tasks."
"That's because…" Lee Yu-baek slammed his large bowl down with a sharp thud! "When I think about those bastards, the wine loses its flavor."
"…And yet, your drinking has actually increased."
"Ugh! Do you even know the taste of wine? I ought to—!"
"..."
As Lee Yu-baek raised a fist, Kang Mu-hyeok instinctively ducked his head.
"Go on. Morning greetings are over. So-wol, I'll see you at the training ground later. Mo Cheong, you come too."
Lee Yu-baek picked up the bowl again and began gulping down the cloudy Nangju.
*
"Mo Cheong."
"Yeah?"
"What was that about? Mount Cheonro."
"Ah."
Yeon So-wol and Mo Cheong talked as they headed toward the training ground. So-wol had started speaking casually with Mo Cheong. If he had become Lee Yu-baek's disciple, he would have had to call Mo Cheong 'Senior Brother,' but since he had been taken in as an adopted son instead, the two had simply become friends. It helped that they were the same age.
"Master… he wants to subjugate the bandits of the Mount Cheonro Stronghold."
"…!"
So-wol had suspected as much, but hearing it confirmed still came as a shock. "Are the bandits of Mount Cheonro… weak? Compared to Master and our Pungryu Martial Arts Hall?"
Mo Cheong looked at him as if he were being absurd. "How could that be? If they were weak, the government troops would have wiped them out long ago."
"Are the government troops… strong?"
"What?" Mo Cheong's head slumped in disbelief.
So-wol waved his hands, trying to explain. "Ah, well. There's that saying about non-interference between the government and the Murim…"
"Good grief." Mo Cheong clicked his tongue. "The government troops are strong. Incredibly strong."
"That much?"
"Yeah. If martial artists and the army faced off on an open field, for every three soldiers that died, thirteen martial artists would probably be slaughtered."
"…Then why does the government leave the Murim alone?"
"Because the world is vast and there are as many martial artists as there are grains of sand. They can crush a few who cross the line too far, but if they try to crush everyone, there'd be no end to it."
"I see."
"And if it came to a real fight, martial artists wouldn't exactly line up to fight on an open field, either."
"Right."
"Anyway, it's the same for the Mount Cheonro Stronghold. The government troops are strong, but the bandits are at a level where even the army has to worry about the casualties they'd take. That's why they're still standing."
"…Why are the bandits so strong, though?"
"They have to be. Sinheung County is a small town, but if you follow the Jipseong River down, you hit the major city of Danju. Mount Cheonro sits right on the path connecting Danju to the coastal cities like Yangjiang, Yangchun, and Eunpyeong. Do you think the people who control a spot like that would be ordinary? I heard they're even on speaking terms with the Green Woods Eighteen Strongholds."
Mo Cheong let out a heavy sigh. "And yet, Master is going around rallying martial artists not just from Sinheung, but from Danju, Seocho, and Foshan to subjugate them. I'm worried sick."
"Ah…"
Only then did So-wol realize the weight of the words Lee Yu-baek had said yesterday: 'I'm preparing for something big. I can't afford to indulge the whims of those Black Path bastards.'
He finally understood what that 'big thing' was.
"What's wrong?"
"…Nothing."
So-wol suddenly felt a sense of shame. Father really did pick up his sword for a reason. He realized once again, more deeply than before, that Lee Yu-baek's words weren't just empty talk.
I also…
Initially, his reason for wanting to learn martial arts was simply to ensure his own safety and to find freedom and peace in the savage world of the Jianghu. But that mindset was slowly changing.
"I also…"
He felt a more desperate need for martial arts. Today was finally the day. The day he would learn Movement Techniques. As a martial artist, he would learn how to truly use his body.
*
In the training ground where birds chirped, Lee Yu-baek asked, "Footwork and Lightness Movement. Together, these two are called Movement Techniques. So, So-wol, what is Footwork?"
"Footwork is the method of moving one's center of gravity. Literally, it means the way one walks, but in practice, it refers to all means of movement and evasion used in combat. Avoiding, approaching, and retreating—all these methods combined are called Footwork."
Lee Yu-baek smiled. "Good. Then what is Lightness Movement?"
"It is the study of making the body light and running fast."
"Well, that's more or less correct."
"If you teach me, I will learn it precisely."
When So-wol bowed promptly, Lee Yu-baek gave a faint smile. As a man who loved the teachings of Confucius and Mencius, Lee Yu-baek truly appreciated this side of his adopted son.
"Then let me ask you one thing first. Footwork is a 'method,' but why is Lightness Movement a 'cultivation'?"
So-wol fell into thought for a moment. Cultivation… Cultivation… Come to think of it, the Soft Willow Art is also a cultivation art. He felt he had found a clue.
"Is it perhaps related to mental cultivation methods?"
Lee Yu-baek looked impressed. "Excellent. Your comprehension is outstanding. You're right. If Footwork is the method of using the body, Lightness Movement is the cultivation of making the body light through internal and external martial arts. Then, one more thing." Lee Yu-baek smiled playfully. "What is internal energy? And what is external martial arts?"
This time, So-wol answered almost instantly. "Gong refers to study, or the effort put into a task. Internal energy refers to internal study or effort, so it seems to encompass the Gathering Fire initiated through mental cultivation, the Fire Phase that controls it, and the Innate True Qi of the Eight Extraordinary Meridians that becomes pure through that process."
"Truly excellent. Then what about external martial arts?"
"External martial arts are the study and effort built on the outside, so it likely refers to the blood, flesh, and bones strengthened through Gathering Fire and the Fire Phase, as well as the Acquired Essence that forms within them."
"Wonderful."
Snap—
Unable to hide his delight, Lee Yu-baek unfurled his fan. A tart fragrance drifted out. He spoke as if singing.
"Making the body light is possible through both internal and external means. Ultimately, Lightness Movement is the application of both, which is why it is considered a cultivation." Lee Yu-baek looked at So-wol with pride, and So-wol smiled, feeling a bit bashful.
Then, clack!Lee Yu-baek folded his fan. "Therefore, if you learn Lightness Movement incorrectly, you will suffer Qi Deviation."
"...?"
The smile froze on So-wol's lips. Qi Deviation? He barely managed to suppress the urge to ask aloud.
"How do you think one makes the body light?"
"...I'm not sure."
"Of the Essence within your body, what is the most turbid and cold?"
Essence is the foundation of matter and power. So-wol answered based on the knowledge he had gained so far. "It is the flesh and bones. After that, the blood."
"Those things have weight, don't they?"
"Yes."
"So, for the body to become light, those things must become light. Correct?"
"Yes..." So-wol was puzzled. How can bones and flesh become light? Was it some kind of metaphor?
Lee Yu-baek watched So-wol's eyes darting back and forth and gave a wide grin. "Good. Now listen well. What I am about to tell you is the secret of our Pungryu Sect. My master—your Grandmaster—was a peak-realm swordsman who made a name for himself across the world. As such, the martial arts of our Pungryu Sect follow profound orthodox teachings. This is a precious treasure of the world, so engrave it in your heart."
"Yes." So-wol swallowed hard at the solemnity Lee Yu-baek displayed—a gravity he hadn't even shown when passing down the Soft Willow Art.
"The zero becomes one. The one becomes two. The two become five, then twenty-two, then one hundred and eight, until finally, all things are born."
"..." So-wol tried desperately not to knit his brows. What on earth is he talking about?
Lee Yu-baek laughed. "Let me explain further. In the beginning, there was nothing. From that, the one was born, which we call Wuji. As Wuji cooled and became turbid, it split into Yin and Yang, the two, which is Taiji. Yin and Yang split again into five to form the Five Elements. From the Five Elements come the ten Heavenly Stems and twelve Earthly Branches. Those twenty-two stems and branches then form the 108 Fiendish Stars. And from those 108 Fiendish Stars, all things are finally forged. Your blood, flesh, and bones were made in this way."
So-wol thought: What does this have to do with Lightness Movement? But since he was an excellent student, he didn't voice his thoughts.
Lee Yu-baek asked him, "Now, let me ask you. Among Essence, Qi, and Spirit, Wuji forms the Spirit. Taiji and the Five Elements become Qi. Then, into how many stages is Essence divided?"
"Broadly speaking, it is divided into three stages. It goes from the twenty-two stems and branches to the 108 Fiendish Stars, and finally to all things."
"Exactly. Now, here is the core. What about 'all things'? Do they have weight?"
"They do. Even air, which has no form, has weight."
"Correct. However, when the Essence of all things is heated and turns back into the Fiendish Stars, it loses its weight."
So-wol was stunned. It loses its weight?
"The Essence of the ten stems and twelve branches cools to become the 108 Fiendish Stars, and the 108 Fiendish Stars cool to become all things. But the Essence before it is forged into 'all things' has no weight or touch. It simply serves as the foundation of power and matter. That is why we specifically call this state 'Essence-Qi.'"
So-wol's mind raced as he tried to understand the laws of this world, which were so different from Earth's common sense. Because of that, he was a little slow to realize.
"Now you understand, don't you? What the essence of Lightness Movement is."
!!!
So-wol's back became damp with cold sweat.
"From your expression, it seems you've figured it out."
No. So-wol wanted to deny it. He forced the words out. "Surely… that essence isn't telling me to take the Essence that has already hardened into bone and flesh and heat it up until it turns into weightless Essence-Qi, is it?"
Lee Yu-baek laughed brightly. "Why wouldn't it be! Having a student with such high comprehension is truly convenient!"
So-wol felt a tightness in his chest. "But… but… if you heat bones and flesh incorrectly, won't that be a problem? I've heard so many scary stories..."
Stories about people melting and sticking to the floor. About internal organs being scorched to ash. About the Perineum point melting and everything inside spilling out.
Lee Yu-baek replied, "That's what happens if you heat them incorrectly. So, let's make sure to heat them correctly."
"...Yes." So-wol lowered his head, or rather, let it drop. This… crazy Murim...
There was no way out of learning martial arts. He had to learn. He should be grateful for the opportunity.
"It's going to be a bit intense. You need to achieve results quickly so you don't get beaten up out there. I can't stand the thought of my son getting thrashed. So, stay sharp. One slip-up and you'll melt, okay?"
So-wol couldn't help but feel faint at Lee Yu-baek's words. Melt?
"Come here and stand."
So-wol forced his heavy feet to move and stood before Lee Yu-baek.
"Now, let's start by getting a feel for the sensation."
Grip!
Lee Yu-baek grabbed both sides of So-wol's waist. A surge of intense Gathering Fire poured into him.
'H-Hot!'
His flesh and bones began to heat up rapidly to a temperature he had never even imagined. He felt as if he might just melt away and vanish right then and there.
"Now, now. Don't move. You could die if you do. Just keep your mind focused and sincere."
"...!!!"
"There, breathe. Keep breathing."
So-wol breathed, his face pale with terror. In the Jianghu, one's body is not one's own. They said that once you were in the Jianghu, your body no longer belonged to you.
So this is what they meant!
So-wol's heart, which had grown lax during his recent rest, was suddenly pulled taut.
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