The Sunflower Manual
In the end, Seomun Hwi remained at Mt. Kongdong for seven days and nights before he left. Even then, So Gayul did not come to see Cheongwol for another half month.
With nothing else to do and boredom beginning to weigh on her, Cheongwol caught Unhak whenever he came to bring her meals and started pestering him with questions.
"Unhak Daoist, do you perhaps know any interesting stories? Something like a tale of a righteous hero who upholds justice and chivalry?"
"Unhak Daoist, would you like to spar with me? I'm curious what Kongdong Sect martial arts are like."
"Unhak Daoist! Hey! Look over there! There's a huge frog! There isn't even a river nearby, so where did it come from?"
At first, Unhak had been a little guarded around her, as if he were speaking to someone close to the sect leader. But before long, he treated her like an exasperating little sister who had latched onto him and refused to let go.
"Well... it probably just climbed up here on its own. It's not just any frog, after all, but a Kongdong frog. Maybe it picked up a mental cultivation method somewhere along the way."
It was a nonsense answer with not a shred of sincerity, but Cheongwol laughed like a child when she heard it.
"If a frog can learn martial arts, then every animal on Mt. Kongdong must be a spirit beast. Should we catch one or two and see whether they have an inner core?"
"I doubt you'd even be able to find one. The disciples sneak out at night and eat them all, leaving nothing behind."
In the end, it seemed funny even to him after he said it, and Unhak couldn't help laughing along with Cheongwol.
"Ah, Unhak Daoist. There's something I really want to ask you about today."
Still smiling from their laughter, Cheongwol leaned toward him with bright eyes, and Unhak braced himself for more trouble even as he found himself oddly looking forward to what she would say this time.
"What is it now? As I said before, I also don't know the outcome of the life-or-death duel between the Murim Alliance Leader and the abbot of Shaolin Temple."
"That's fine now. What I want to know today is the Central Plains."
"The Central Plains... you mean you want to know about the martial world?"
"Yes, that's right."
Surprisingly, Cheongwol had brought up such an ordinary topic that Unhak felt a faint disappointment.
After laughing together over things only commoners gossiped about in the marketplace—things like the Murim Alliance Leader, the abbot of Shaolin Temple, the foremost righteous master, and the foremost demonic master—he had somehow grown used to such banter himself.
Still, that didn't mean a Taoist disciple could give a careless answer to someone eager to learn.
Unhak picked up a fallen branch and drew lines across the ground while calling Cheongwol over.
"Now then, this is the map of the Central Plains. And for the record, you must never tell anyone you saw this."
"Why not?"
"It's an unspoken agreement among the people of the Central Plains—everyone knows it, but pretends not to. Break it, and agents from the imperial court may come looking for you, Cheongwol Daoist."
"Then I'll just run away."
"They have eyes everywhere in the Central Plains. That would probably be difficult. Unless you flee beyond the borders."
"...All right. I promise I won't tell anyone."
Once Cheongwol nodded, Unhak finally started moving the branch again.
"The Central Plains is broadly divided into two great powers. North of this river, the Yangtze, the righteous martial world holds sway, while to the south, the demonic martial world occupies the land."
"I know about the righteous martial world. It's the group built around the Six Great Clans and the Nine Orthodox Sects, right?"
"Correct. And within the demonic side, there are those known as the Eight Demonic Houses. You don't need to know all of them right away, but remember the Guangdong Jin Clan."
"Why them?"
"Because, like the Sichuan Tang Clan, they use hidden weapons and poison, and they never forget a debt or a grievance. They usually wear purple clothing, so they won't be hard to recognize."
"Understood."
"Now, look here."
Unhak lifted the branch from the center of the map and moved it to the far left.
"This is Qinghai. It's where the Kunlun Sect, one of the Nine Orthodox Sects, is located. What's unusual about them is that, although they are a Daoist sect, they pursue martial arts that are highly efficient at killing. That said, there are reasons Kunlun ended up that way."
The branch shifted a little farther, moving beyond the map of the Central Plains.
"It has to do with these two forces here: the Demonic Cult on Tian Shan, and Potala Palace in Tibet."
Unhak paused for a moment before beginning his explanation.
"The Demonic Cult... as far as I know, they first appeared in the Western Regions. Beyond the fact that they're impossibly hard to pin down, I don't know all that much about them myself. It probably won't happen, but if you ever run into them, never call them members of the Demonic Cult. You must call them believers of the Divine Cult instead."
"And if I don't?"
"Then either the demonic cultist or you, Cheongwol Daoist, will stop breathing."
Cheongwol could tell at once what sort of people they were from Unhak's cold, resolute tone.
"As for Potala Palace, it's home to monks whose faith differs from the Buddhism of the Central Plains. Their relations with the people here are not especially bad, except with the Kunlun Sect, so they occasionally appear in the Central Plains. They have darker skin than people here, so you'll be able to recognize them easily enough."
When he finished explaining Potala Palace, Cheongwol stretched her arms high above her head to loosen her stiff body.
"Now tell me about the other places too. For example, the Seomun Clan Estate?"
At her words, Unhak grinned and lifted the corners of his mouth.
"So that's why you suddenly wanted to learn about the Central Plains. It turns out there's something else you really wanted to know."
Having been caught, Cheongwol smiled sheepishly.
"Of course I want to hear about the other places too. After the Seomun Clan Estate."
As if understanding without needing more explanation, Unhak nodded and pointed the branch toward the right side of the Central Plains.
"There. This is Anhui, where the Seomun Clan Estate and the Namgung Clan Estate are located. It's where the young clan leader Seomun Hwi, your close friend, resides."
---
Only three days after hearing about the Central Plains from Unhak did Cheongwol finally meet So Gayul again.
"Sect Leader."
"Come in."
At the permission granted from within the room, Cheongwol opened the door carefully and stepped inside.
"Sit down. Don't just stand there staring."
"Yes."
Perhaps because she now had to regard the woman as her master, Cheongwol showed a trace of nervousness.
"Have you been well? I heard you kept dragging Unhak around and wouldn't let him go. If the Seomun young clan leader heard about it, he'd surely be a bit displeased."
So Gayul smiled faintly as she teased her, and Cheongwol scratched her cheek awkwardly.
"Hwi isn't that narrow-minded a friend."
"Hmm... perhaps not. Still, that's not the important thing, so let's set it aside."
So Gayul shrugged and quickly came to the point.
"Truthfully, I gave some thought to what martial art I should teach you. The martial arts of the Im family are not ordinary by any means."
As she said that, So Gayul looked at Cheongwol with serious eyes.
"Tell me. What have you learned from him, and how much do you know about the Im family's martial arts?"
Cheongwol recalled everything her grandfather had told her and began carefully.
"The Im family's martial art is a sword art called the Byeoksa Sword Art. It's made up of seventy-two stances, and it mainly deals with changing sword forms and illusory sword techniques."
When Cheongwol said nothing else and merely looked at her quietly, So Gayul frowned slightly.
"...Is that all?"
"Yes. That's everything I know. Ah, I also know that there isn't any inner cultivation method that matches the Byeoksa Sword Art."
At Cheongwol's words, So Gayul shook her head a little.
"Of course there wouldn't be. The Byeoksa Sword Art was never originally a sword art at all, but an internal cultivation method."
"Pardon?"
That the Byeoksa Sword Art was not a sword art but a mental art—what in the world did that mean?
Cheongwol stared at So Gayul in shock, and she reached into her robe, drew out an old book, and set it on the table.
"This is..."
"Another secret manual of the Im family that he entrusted to me. Without this manual, the Im family's martial arts are only half complete."
So Gayul pushed the book toward Cheongwol.
"Only now am I able to return it to you."
She should have been overjoyed to have recovered the Im family's secret manual, and yet Cheongwol could only stare at it for a long while with conflicted eyes.
"...Without this secret manual, the Byeoksa Sword Art is only half a martial art?"
"As far as I know, yes."
"Then... why didn't Grandfather cultivate it? If Grandfather had learned this, then the Im family could have..."
So Gayul let out a small sigh, sensing what Cheongwol was thinking.
"...That manual doesn't contain another martial art. It contains the great rite, along with the conditions needed to perform it."
"The great rite...?"
"Yes. There are three main requirements for performing it."
So Gayul tapped the table with her finger and enumerated the conditions for the rite.
- First, you must be a boy who has not yet reached adulthood.
- Second, you must be able to execute every stance of the Byeoksa Sword Art with skill.
"And third—"
Frowning slightly, So Gayul looked at Cheongwol.
"You must remove your male organ and strip away as much of the yang energy flowing through your body as possible."
"..."
For a moment, Cheongwol seemed not to understand her words at all and only blinked.
But then her face went pale in an instant.
"W-wait, remove the male organ means... surely you don't mean..."
She desperately hoped she had heard wrong, but So Gayul's answer did not change.
"You understand correctly. Only by doing that can the Byeoksa Sword Art finally reclaim its original name."
So Gayul looked at Cheongwol and let a faint smile touch her lips.
"It is the peerless divine art that dares defy the entire world: the Sunflower Manual."