The Eccentric Immortal's Gift
The Taiji Fist... you mean?
It was a proposal I hadn't even considered. I'd assumed he'd only teach me a few techniques at most, yet here he was suddenly offering to teach me Taiji Fist. Did he want to turn me into a Taoist immortal or something?
“Yes. Taiji Fist. Would you not like to learn it?”
“Please explain in detail.”
“Hoo. I simply concluded that the solution to your problem lies within Taiji Fist.”
“My problem... you say?”
“Do you not wish to rise higher?”
Just as Taeheo Jinin said, I did want to climb higher. But could that really be achieved by learning Taiji Fist?
And...
“Is it truly acceptable for me to learn Taiji Fist? Isn't it clearly a martial art of the Wudang Sect?”
Teaching an outsider the secrets of Wudang would surely cause complications. Of course, I had no real affiliation in this world, but still—could I really learn it?
Taeheo Jinin seemed to already know all my concerns. He placed a wine bottle that had somehow appeared onto a small table and added,
“Even old men practice Taiji Fist as morning exercises. What problem could there be if you learn it?”
“But if you are the one teaching it, wouldn't that be a different story?”
“I will only teach you the forms. No narrow-minded Taoist would find fault with something so trivial.”
“...Should I perform the nine bows of respect?”
“There is no need to make such a fuss over teaching a single trivial skill.”
Taiji Fist was a trivial skill?
Well, from the perspective of Taeheo Jinin, whose realm I couldn't even begin to measure, Taiji Fist probably was nothing more than a trivial trick.
“...Thank you.”
“We will begin training shortly, so rest until then. I must go see a child whose fate has been twisted for a moment.”
A child whose fate has been twisted?
I unconsciously glanced toward Hyeryeong and Mokgyeong. As Taeheo Jinin approached them, both stared at him with faces stiff with tension.
Hyeryeong, who had escaped the crisis of her sect's destruction and stepped away from the path of vengeful spirits.
Mokgyeong, whose path had begun to diverge the moment I intervened.
Which one was he referring to?
In the end, both of their fates had been twisted in their own ways, so I wouldn't know for sure until he spoke of it himself.
...Though the odds were higher that it was Mokgyeong.
“For a child bearing the mandate of heaven to come before me... does this mean the heavens desire something?”
With those words, Taeheo Jinin looked up at the sky.
It seemed he was reading the heavenly signs, just as he had spoken of in the dream.
To be able to read the will of the heavens—what realm must one have reached?
Honestly, if this man took on the Heavenly Demon himself, wouldn't he be able to crush him in an instant and return?
Of course, I could never ask him to do such a thing.
“Do not cling too tightly to revenge. If you simply flow with the current, you will eventually encounter your enemies. For now, simply temper your body and mind. Only a forged physique will be able to preserve your sense of justice.”
“...Thank you, Master Taoist.”
Mokgyeong responded by offering a fist salute in gratitude.
“And... little girl.”
“M-me?”
Even to Hyeryeong?
“Though you were originally bound by a connection that should not have existed, now that the threads have become tightly intertwined, do not be impatient.”
“...Thank you, Master Taoist!”
...Just how far did his insight reach?
No, calling it mere insight didn't seem sufficient.
I stared at Taeheo Jinin, seriously wondering if he might belong to one of the Hoegwihwan—the reincarnation cycles. That explanation actually felt more convincing.
“Well then, it seems we've roughly settled things... Little one. I will teach you Taiji Fist, so follow me.”
“Understood.”
I turned and followed him as he walked behind the small thatched hut perched at the peak of the mountain.
“That white tiger over there...”
“Pay it no mind.”
It's impossible not to pay attention when a massive white tiger is staring right at you. Though it doesn't seem particularly interested in me either, since it's just licking its front paw...
“This place should do.”
“It's reasonably spacious.”
“Since you will mostly be standing still to train, this should be sufficient. Now, stand here.”
I took the spot he indicated and met his eyes. Taeheo Jinin gave me a quick once-over as I stood there, then spoke.
“Taiji Fist consists of a total of forty-two forms. However, what you will learn is only twenty-four of them.”
“Only twenty-four forms...?”
So he would only teach me a little over half of them.
“That will be enough. The reason I am teaching you Taiji Fist is not to make you a Taoist or to initiate you into the Wudang arts. It is simply to fill what you lack.”
“To fill what I lack...”
What exactly did that mean?
“I will show you the complete sequence. Watch carefully.”
The moment he finished speaking, he began slowly demonstrating from the first form all the way to the twenty-fourth.
I focused every ounce of my attention on his Taiji Fist, determined not to miss even the slightest movement.
After all, this too was an opportunity granted to me.
It felt like less than half an hour before he had finished all twenty-four forms.
Once he completed the sequence, he looked at me and asked,
“What did you feel while watching?”
“It was soft.”
“Correct. The martial arts of Wudang emphasize softness that flows according to nature and the harmony of the Taiji. Although Taiji Fist is often treated as little more than basic training, I can say with certainty that no other art embodies the spirit of Wudang better. That is why you must learn it. Now that I have shown you the demonstration, try to follow along.”
...He wanted me to copy it after seeing it only once?
Was that even possible?
I recalled the forms of Taiji Fist I had seen in my mind, one by one.
Twenty-four forms that were both simple and complex.
I performed the Taiji Fist forms as I remembered them.
Awkward, full of holes, and utterly unsightly movements.
But how could anyone be satisfied after their very first attempt?
I awkwardly finished the twenty-fourth form and looked at Taeheo Jinin. He stood with his hands behind his back, gave me a quick glance, and spoke.
“I will show you a few more times, so learn it slowly. We have plenty of time.”
Taeheo Jinin began demonstrating the forms for me again. I observed his movements with meticulous care and worked to refine my own.
Fortunately, most of the Taiji Fist forms consisted of simple movements, so it wasn't too difficult. It wasn't called basic training for nothing.
Thus, I spent several hours practicing the forms of Taiji Fist.
Even as darkness swallowed Tianzhu Peak, I continued diligently moving my arms and legs.
“That is enough for today. Let us continue the rest tomorrow.”
“Understood.”
“There is a small room. Sleep there.”
“Thank you for even providing a room.”
“Not at all. Thanks to you, I was able to enjoy worldly wine after so long...”
He turned and disappeared into the hut. Once he was gone, the white tiger also rose to its feet and vanished somewhere.
“...I could almost believe this is still a dream.”
Though of course it wasn't.
I dragged my exhausted body toward the small room.
“Your movements are finally becoming somewhat usable.”
“Are they?”
Perhaps because I'd spent the past several days doing nothing but Taiji Fist, my forms had apparently reached a level that satisfied even Taeheo Jinin's eyes. I finished the sequence, caught my breath, and waited for his next words.
Based on my experience so far, he was sure to say more.
“Now then, what did you feel while practicing Taiji Fist?”
“...I felt that it was soft, like water.”
“Why did you feel that way?”
“Each form flows seamlessly into the next without interruption. That natural continuity lasts all the way to the end, so how could I not call it soft?”
“Did you not feel anything else?”
“...I felt the principle of using softness to overcome hardness. Each movement appears as leisurely and gentle as a dance, yet within it lies a firm will capable of deflecting any powerful force. It seems to be melted into the very essence of Taiji Fist.”
“Hmm... Quite usable indeed.”
“You flatter me. If I think about it, the martial arts I learned also share a common thread with Taiji Fist.”
“A common thread... In what way did you feel that?”
“The swordsmanship and grappling techniques I learned both pursued softness. They sought to subdue the opponent through softness. However... the direction is different. As is typical of a soldier's martial arts, the methods were chosen to kill the enemy as efficiently as possible.”
Softness.
Yet its final form is determined by whether one hides a blade within it, or conceals true intent.
Kampfringen had become a martial art that concealed a blade and carried murderous intent, while Taiji Fist had become a living fist that carried only pure intent.
At my words, Taeheo Jinin nodded, stroked his beard, and spoke.
“Your body carries an unmistakable aura of killing intent. A thick murderous qi that could eventually consume you. While killing intent is inseparable from martial artists of the Central Plains, yours is even more severe.”
...Even the most notorious demonic cultivators probably hadn't killed as many people as I had.
When I considered the number of lives I'd taken, the scent of blood that clung to me had to be thicker than the stench of rotting corpses.
“So that is why you taught me Taiji Fist.”
“Correct.”
“However, I do not know what I must do. Could you please show me the way?”
Taeheo Jinin answered my question immediately.
“Let us lightly practice pushing hands.”
A spar all of a sudden?
I mirrored the opening stance that Taeheo Jinin took as he assumed the Taiji Fist ready position.
A spar between a veteran who had trained in Taiji Fist for decades and a complete novice who had only just learned it. There was virtually no chance of victory, but this was training, after all.
The important thing was to gain something from this exchange.
“Please guide me.”
“Very well. I will yield the first move, so come at me.”
At his words, I kicked off the ground and closed the distance.