Chapter 15: In the Jianghu, One's Body is Not One's Own (4)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 15: In the Jianghu, One's Body is Not One's Own (4)
Hot (Yeol)
Cauldron (Jeong)
Yeoljeong (熱鼎) means “Hot Cauldron.”
The Yeol (熱) refers to the heat of the Innate True Qi received from heaven and earth.
The Jeong (鼎) refers to the body of a six-year-old child.
A six-year-old has not been exposed to Turbid Qi for long, and thus possesses a reservoir of hot, pure Innate True Qi.
By feeding the child specific elixirs at precise intervals and forcing them to practice a specialized internal cultivation method, the child's Dantian can be transformed into a cauldron to distill the Innate True Qi within their own body.
The process reaches completion after nine refinements, across nine stages, over nine months.
When the "cauldron" is opened at the end of this period, a viscous, golden liquid the size of a thumbnail is extracted. It exudes a rich, floral scent. This is a peerless elixir, infused with concentrated Innate True Qi.
Consuming it can extend one's lifespan and drastically deepen one's internal energy. It is called Flower Life Paste.
“...What? What did you just say?”
Yeon So-wol’s head snapped up.
But Lee Yu-baek did not answer him immediately. With sorrowful eyes, he delved into a distant, yet unforgettable memory.
* * *
Five years ago.
This was before Lee Yu-baek was hailed as Xinxing’s greatest master, and before the Pungryu Martial Hall became the preeminent sect in Xinxing County.
Back then, the Yeoljeong Sect was the county’s leading power, and its leader, Gi Baek-seon, was considered Xinxing’s number one expert.
At the time, Gi Baek-seon was already over seventy, yet strangely, his martial arts showed no signs of decline.
Though wonders were common in the Jianghu, it was hard to believe that a man in his seventies could maintain the physical peak of his prime—unless he was one of the legendary masters who had achieved the state of Five Qi Returning to Origin.
But surprisingly, Yeoljeong Sect Leader Gi Baek-seon maintained both his vitality and his martial prowess as if he were still a young man. Consequently, the Yeoljeong Sect’s influence never waned.
That was all there was to it. Or so Lee Yu-baek had thought at the time. He had simply considered it a curious anomaly.
Then one day, Lee Yu-baek saw a child crying in the street. A six-year-old girl dressed in fine silk.
“Child. Are you lost?”
Lee Yu-baek knelt and wiped away the girl’s tears. When his fingers touched her cheek, he found her skin unnaturally hot.
Then the child spoke.
“Mister... It’s so hot. My tummy hurts so much. Grandpa and Grandma said it’s okay. But it hurts so much and it’s so hot, and they just keep saying it’s okay. So I snuck out. It hurts so much, mister.”
“Hm?”
Lee Yu-baek was taken aback. As if on cue, the girl began to wail even louder before collapsing.
“Your stomach hurts?”
Lee Yu-baek gently placed the back of his hand on the child’s lower abdomen.
His face hardened. This wasn't a normal fever.
“...Qi Deviation?”
It wasn't a simple temperature; it was a bizarre heat radiating from an innate flame. It was the kind of heat one only felt when a catastrophic error during meditation led to Qi Deviation.
“Over here! I found her!”
“Damn it... This is why I said we should just tie the brats up.”
Lee Yu-baek’s ears perked up. The voices in the distance were hushed, but to Lee Yu-baek, who had ignited his True Fire years ago, every word was crystal clear.
“That’s... if we’re too forceful, the spirit gets intimidated and Turbid Qi builds up in the cauldron...”
“I know, I know, you punk. I’m just saying this because it keeps happening. Ugh. Look at that. Another one’s latched onto her.”
“I’ll take care of it immediately.”
“Yeah, let’s handle it quietly.”
Lee Yu-baek’s face went cold, as if doused with ice water.
Spirit. Turbid Qi. Cauldron.
With just those three words, he surmised the entire situation. It was an unbelievable act—the work of beasts and demons.
Footsteps approached from behind.
“Oh my. There you are. This is our young lady. Were you protecting her? Thank you. Our master insists on rewarding such kindness. If you don’t mind, we’d like to invite you to the master’s residence for a moment.”
Lee Yu-baek turned around. A man stood there with a friendly smile, dressed like the servant of a wealthy household.
Then, the man flinched, recognizing Lee Yu-baek’s face.
“Pungryu Sword?”
Lee Yu-baek replied.
“Yeah. It’s me. You sons of bitches.”
Fwoosh!
He ignited his True Fire, surging his Qi and blood.
Hot Innate True Qi flooded through his Eight Extraordinary Meridians, and the blazing True Fire spread along his Twelve Standard Meridians and Twelve Collateral Vessels.
Under the intense pressure, his veins bulged against his skin, his sleeves fluttered, and a heat haze shimmered around him.
Crack!
The friendly-faced man’s head flew into the air.
The surroundings were still quiet. Before anyone could notice the blood spraying or the severed head—before anyone could even scream—
BOOM!
Lee Yu-baek shot forward, crushing the ground beneath his feet. The back of his hand, veins bulging, trembled over the hilt of his sword.
* * *
“And that’s what happened. We fought until sunrise the next day. If your uncle, Hang In-woo of the White Dragon Gang, hadn’t come to help, I would have been the one to die.”
A victory. In a way, it was a heroic tale to be proud of.
But there was not a trace of joy on Lee Yu-baek’s face, and Yeon So-wol could not even begin to fathom the depth of his pain.
“I couldn’t save the child. When the fighting was over, I went to find her. She had already passed. I... I couldn’t even be there for the poor thing at the end.”
“...Father.”
Lee Yu-baek shook his head, signaling him to stop. He stared blankly at the sky for a moment, then changed the subject.
“Anyway. You can cross off item number two now. It seems many merchants suffered unknowingly. A regrettable affair.”
Flip. Flip.
“And let’s see... I saw that other one earlier, too.”
He flipped through the book’s pages and pointed to a passage.
* * *
Four.
If, while passing through Mount Cheonro, you spot a person sitting blankly in the bushes doing nothing, turn back the way you came at once.
Do not hesitate, no matter the loss. You must flee.
If you do not, the next person sitting there could be you.
* * *
“This. This one hasn’t been resolved yet.”
Yeon So-wol felt a strange choking sensation in his throat.
“Is that... also the work of men?”
“It is. The Mount Cheonro Bandits.”
* * *
The bandits of Mount Cheonro had devised an ingenious method to keep a close watch over the vast mountain. It was simple.
First, they captured people. As many as possible.
They would snatch up unlucky travelers on the mountain paths, or even brazenly venture down into Xinxing County to abduct people in the dead of night. They captured over a hundred people and got them addicted to Dream Soul Powder.
The addicts were called “Tiger Ghosts.”
They would scatter the Tiger Ghosts throughout Mount Cheonro, tying them with hemp ropes to prevent their escape. Next to each, they would leave a small amount of food and water.
And a single, thin string that stretched far into the distance.
There was no Dream Soul Powder provided.
The Tiger Ghosts, abandoned in the undergrowth, would wither away. Though their food was woefully insufficient, they did not feel hunger. All they desperately craved was the powder.
A Tiger Ghost, dying in agony for days on end in the bushes, would suddenly spot a group crossing the mountain path far away and be filled with ecstasy. He would twist his bound body and desperately pull the string.
Tinkle— Tinkle—
Far away, a bell would ring, and the bandits in their stronghold would know that guests had arrived. Only then would the Tiger Ghost receive his daily dose of Dream Soul Powder.
* * *
“...”
Yeon So-wol’s mouth hung open. He was nearly speechless, but finally managed to force out a sound.
“That... hasn’t been resolved?”
“Correct.”
“Then... even now, on Mount Cheonro...”
“They are there. The poor souls.”
“...”
Yeon So-wol simply could not understand.
“What about the government army?”
Lee Yu-baek’s lips tightened for a moment before relaxing.
“Mount Cheonro is vast. Vast enough for the bandits to hide with ease, even if the entire army of Xinxing County were mobilized to search for them.”
Yeon So-wol still couldn’t understand. Isn’t that just an excuse?
People were dying miserable deaths. If they lack troops, they can request support from a higher command. If the mountain is too vast, they can get help from the herb gatherers who know its paths.
No matter how he thought about it, there were plenty of solutions...
“And as I always say, a martial artist’s conduct is important. The bandits conduct themselves in their own way.”
Yeon So-wol looked at Lee Yu-baek with wavering eyes.
Lee Yu-baek continued, “Surprisingly, the harm the Mount Cheonro Bandits inflict on the common people is not as great as that of other bandits. It’s not a big enough problem to mobilize a larger army. In the coastal towns, entire villages are disappearing due to pirate raids.”
“But that’s...”
“Furthermore, those bandits shower the numerous officials under the County Magistrate with gold. Even if the magistrate resolved to root them out, information would leak from his own subordinates.”
“...”
Rage boiled in Yeon So-wol’s gut. What kind of...
At the absurd injustice, at the frustrating inability to do anything about it, he was furious. He wanted to scream.
But he held it in.
Endure it.
He tensed his body, suppressing the urge. What’s the point of getting angry in front of Father?
Yeon So-wol knew. Venting complaints about the world to adults rarely elicited a good response.
Through middle school, high school, and his teenage years in his past life, Yeon So-wol had felt his share of frustrations. Why was the world the way it was? Why was it so irrational? How could it be so unfair?
He had vented his frustrations to adults a few times, but they had never taken it well. Yeon So-wol had thought those adults were pathetic and cowardly.
But one day, he saw his dad come home from work, slumped over, silently drinking a single glass of soju and sitting there for the longest time. That’s when his thinking changed.
Isn’t lashing out and blaming adults just as cowardly?
Looking back, he realized the foundation of his mindset was, “Do it for me.”
At least, that’s how it was for him. You’re the adults. So do a better job.
But looking at his father’s weary shoulders, he suddenly realized: What can a dad like that do?
Adults, too, were always fighting their own limits. They were all too exhausted to be asked to do better, to change things. He understood then why they all reacted so lukewarmly whenever he poured out his complaints.
Saying things like, “That’s just how the world is.”
“It’s not that easy.”
“Ah, to be young again.”
He understood why they said those things. Adults were just weak people, overwhelmed and struggling.
Yes. He understood. He knew it all too well.
If the 21st century was like that, how much worse must this barbaric land of the Jianghu be?
But Yeon So-wol, even knowing all that, couldn't hold it in this time. The rage that surged up within him was too much.
He unleashed it at Lee Yu-baek.
“Then... isn’t that... wrong?”
For people to do that to other people.
“For people in official positions... to be so incompetent and irresponsible... that’s wrong, isn’t it?”
It was wrong. For the very people who were there to protect the populace to act like that.
“For a young child to die like that, for innocent people to be captured by bandits and suffer such a fate... while they make this excuse and that, warming their seats and saying it can’t be done...”
That’s wrong. That’s just wrong. It’s simply... wrong.
A world like that... is just too damn fucked up.
Yeon So-wol hung his head low. Damn it.
Self-loathing washed over him. Why was he throwing a tantrum at Lee Yu-baek like this? It’s not like it’s Father’s fault...
Lee Yu-baek watched Yeon So-wol with a dispassionate gaze.
“So-wol.”
“...Yes.”
Lee Yu-baek spoke.
“That is why I took up the sword.”
Yeon So-wol’s head snapped up as if he’d been pierced by a spear. Lee Yu-baek was not smiling.
“So-wol,” he said. “You must become strong. If you don’t, the bastards will.”
Pat.
“Your lightness technique training begins tomorrow. For today, get some rest.”
Lee Yu-baek patted Yeon So-wol’s shoulder once and left the training ground.
His hand had touched and left, but for some reason, the weight of it lingered. For a long time, Yeon So-wol remained rooted to the spot.