Chapter 18: In the Jianghu, One's Body is Not One's Own (7)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 18: In the Jianghu, One's Body is Not One's Own (7)
Lee Yu-baek recited the oral formula for the Flying Wind Drift.
Emptiness fills itself,
Do not push from behind,
Simply sweep and invite the void.
‘A poem?’
The verses were abstruse, their meaning hovering just out of reach. Yeon So-wol mulled them over.
‘When it is empty, it fills on its own, so don’t push from behind. Simply sweep the path to create a void and invite the energy in.’
Ah.
Understanding dawned on him.
“You’re talking about the knack for guiding the fire, aren’t you?”
Fire naturally rushes to fill an empty space. Therefore, trying to force the flames forward as they moved through the meridians was inefficient. It was better to "sweep" the intended path first, creating a vacuum of sorts, and then allow the fire to be drawn in.
‘It’s like air flowing toward low pressure. That’s the secret. Instead of trying to push it, I just need to lower the pressure where I want it to go, and it will be drawn in on its own.’
It seemed simple, but it was a profound lesson—a method to control the fire with greater precision and speed while exerting less effort.
Lee Yu-baek smiled, looking pleased.
“Your comprehension is truly remarkable. Do you know what Mo Cheong said when I taught him this? ‘If it’s empty, why would it fill up? People gather where there are other people, not in empty places, so why are you telling me to empty it?’ He kept arguing, so I eventually just told him to shut up and memorize it.”
Mo Cheong, who had been standing by silently, let out a whine.
“Ah, Master!”
“Is it not the truth?”
“That’s why it’s even more embarrassing!”
“Alright, alright.”
Shaking his head, Lee Yu-baek recited the next formula.
Use the drum to stoke the fire’s fury,
Use the pouch to keep the fire warm,
Use the void to let the fire fade.
“Do you understand this as well?”
‘This one is…’
It was a bit more difficult than the last. However, Yeon So-wol drew upon the language skills he had diligently polished back in school and groped for the meaning.
‘First, there’s fierce, warm, and gentle. That suggests it’s about controlling the fire’s temperature. The problem is figuring out what the drum, the pouch, and the void represent… Ah!’
He answered, “It’s a method for controlling the heat of the fire.”
“Correct. But how does one control it?”
“Go (鼓) is a drum. Just as one beats a drum to create a rhythm, clashing the Gathered Fire against itself will make the flames fierce.”
“Well, look at you.”
“Nang (囊) is a pouch. Just as air swells within a pouch, trapping the Gathered Fire within an acupoint will keep the fire warm.”
Snap!
Lee Yu-baek flicked open his fan, releasing a refreshing scent of lemon.
“And finally, Heo (虛) connects to the previous verse. You said that if you empty a space, the fire flows on its own. This means that by keeping the fire in a state of continuous flow, it becomes gentle and subdued.”
“Excellent!”
Lee Yu-baek fanned himself lightly, a wide smile on his face.
“Your comprehension impresses me more each day. You’ll master these oral formulas much faster than I anticipated.”
His words proved true. In just a single shichen, Yeon So-wol had memorized all the formulas and was already fumbling his way through the Fire Phase.
Lee Yu-baek was amazed. And for the first time in a long while, Yeon So-wol was actually enjoying himself.
‘Right! This is what studying should be!’
No melting flesh. No internal combustion. No losing his mind. None of that. It was about calmly investing time to achieve a goal safely. This was a method of study that Yeon So-wol, a man of the 21st century, was both intimately familiar with and confident in.
That was, until Lee Yu-baek strode forward and grabbed him by both sides of his waist.
“Now, shall we begin in earnest?”
“...!!”
A chill shot down Yeon So-wol’s spine.
“W-wait, Father! Just a moment!”
He thought Lee Yu-baek was about to force more Gathered Fire into his body.
‘I’m not mentally prepared!’
Did it get easier the second time? Not a chance. If anything, the second time was even more terrifying. The first time, you were caught off guard, but the second time, you knew exactly what kind of agony was coming!
‘Uwaaah!’
While he had been amazed by Lee Yu-baek’s incredible Fire Phase, the experience itself had been anything but pleasant. The sensation of another person's Gathered Fire burrowing into his body was more chilling than a knife at his throat. The sheer terror of knowing that his opponent could melt him into a puddle of soft flesh and bone at any moment was something one could never get used to.
“Don’t worry. I’m not going to force your Refinement,” Lee Yu-baek said.
Yeon So-wol was about to breathe a sigh of relief when—
FWOOSH!
A sudden rush of wind slammed into his face. His eyes flew open.
“Huh? Wh-what?!”
It was a sensation he had experienced before. His body flailed in the empty air, and far below, Lee Yu-baek and Mo Cheong looked like tiny figurines.
“Ah, ahhh!”
But unlike before, his body didn’t feel light at all. Previously, he had been light enough to be nudged by the breeze; now, he felt heavy enough to crush the air as he fell.
Eleven meters—the height scientifically proven to instill the most primal fear in humans. Having been thrown that high, Yeon So-wol’s ascent peaked, and he began to plummet.
“Ugh, uwaaaaaah!”
Through his screams, Lee Yu-baek’s voice drifted up to his ears.
“Tut-tut. What are you doing? If you’ve learned the formulas, you should use them. Now, make your body light. Let’s fly, my son.”
“Uwaaaaaaaah!”
How is that even possible?! I just learned the words! I’m still fumbling through the basics!
He tried to shout his protest, but only a panicked scream escaped his throat.
SCREEEEECH!
The wind tore past his ears. He couldn't control his heavy body. The more he struggled in mid-air, the more he spun, his limbs tangling uselessly. The dirt ground rushed up to meet him in an instant.
The moment Yeon So-wol’s eyes shot wide—
WHOOSH!
Lee Yu-baek swiftly intervened, wrapping his arms around Yeon So-wol’s head and torso. He spun once in mid-air to kill the momentum before slamming him into the ground.
KRAAAANG!
The ground shuddered, and a fine cloud of dust billowed up.
“…”
Yeon So-wol’s eyes were wide, his mouth agape. Lee Yu-baek had cushioned the back of his head and neck, but the impact that shot through his back and buttocks rattled his internal organs.
“Gack. Gurgle…”
He couldn't breathe. If his body hadn’t been tempered by the Soft Willow Art, the shock might have ruptured his organs and killed him on the spot.
Looking down at the completely dazed Yeon So-wol, Lee Yu-baek spoke.
“Why didn’t you fly?”
“...!!!”
“Wai—!”
Before Yeon So-wol could stop him—
FWOOOOSH!
The fierce wind slammed into his face once more. Lee Yu-baek and Mo Cheong shrank into the distance, and the entirety of Xinxing County came into view.
“Uwaaaaaaaah!”
*
Yeon So-wol was thrown for over a shichen. A brief rest was granted only when beads of sweat began to form on Lee Yu-baek’s own forehead.
“Urp! Urrgleck!”
His stomach completely overturned, Yeon So-wol crawled on the ground, dry-heaving repeatedly. He had already thrown up everything he had eaten; even his stomach acid was gone.
Watching him with a pained expression, Mo Cheong spoke up.
“Master, isn’t this a bit too harsh…?”
“What is?”
“Well… he just learned the oral formulas. To expect him to perform the Fire Phase while being thrown like that…”
“It’s fine. He won’t die.”
“…He might not die, but if the training is too difficult, his spirit might break. And if his spirit breaks, his progress will plummet.”
“That’s true.”
“Then…”
“But So-wol began his training at eighteen and achieved the Breath of Smoke and Clouds in less than half a year.”
“…”
“Does this really seem like harsh training? For So-wol?”
“On second thought, perhaps not.”
“Right? I thought so too.”
Lee Yu-baek smiled.
“Seven weeks. If he does this for just seven weeks, he’ll surely reach the first stage of the Heavenly Dipper Star. Forging a great vessel requires a great fire, after all.”
*
Yeon So-wol was thrown. And thrown again.
The training had started in the morning, and now the sun was already beginning to set.
“So-wol. So-wol. You must be sincere in your heart. When are you going to make up your mind? You have to decide to fly to be able to fly.”
As if things weren’t hard enough, hearing those words from Lee Yu-baek made Yeon So-wol feel like he was going to lose his mind. He stopped dry-heaving and shot up to protest.
“…I have been making up my mind. I just suspect that the mind alone is not enough!”
The words came out only after he had suppressed a great deal of frustration. Inwardly, he was screaming.
Seriously! How is that supposed to work with just your mind?! To use Flying Wind Drift, I have to move the fire through thirty-six pathways according to twelve different methods of fire control, and then temper my body by mastering the fire through one hundred and eight transformations! My head is about to explode just thinking about it, and you just throw me in the air and tell me to do it! You think that’s possible with just my mind?!
He had suppressed all of this and spoken politely, but Lee Yu-baek’s attitude didn’t change in the slightest.
“It is possible. It is possible with the mind alone. A martial artist who has devoted his heart can throw a punch even when unconscious, and a bird that has devoted its heart will manage to land even with a torn wing. Only when the heart is utterly sincere can one perform martial arts in any situation.”
‘Ugh! Not this power-of-the-mind nonsense again!’
Even back on Earth, Yeon So-wol had never liked mindless spiritualism. There’s nothing you can’t do with your spirit? People died from overexertion with that kind of mentality. Humans were beings defined by clear limitations. Therefore, a scientific and efficient approach yielded far greater results than a brutish one. That was a proven fact in the 21st century.
This was unfair. Absurd. How long did he have to be this powerless? How long did he have to be tossed around like a toy? Unable to contain his indignation any longer, Yeon So-wol let his inner thoughts slip.
“But! I have to control the fire, I have to watch over the parts of my body being tempered, and I have to think about how to move in mid-air—I have to do all of that until my head explodes just to barely manage the Flying Wind Drift! This requires time to get used to; it's not something that can be done just by making up my mind in a flash. I really don’t think it’s possible!”
For the first time, Yeon So-wol had strongly argued with Lee Yu-baek. Lee Yu-baek looked at him seriously. Then, in a low, heavy voice, he spoke.
“So-wol. We call the Soft Willow Art a Mental Cultivation Method.”
‘What is he trying to say now…?’
“Why do you think that is? Since it deals with Innate Qi and the Fire Phase is its core, wouldn’t it be more fitting to call it Qigong or a Fire Phase Method?”
“…”
Come to think of it, why was that? Yeon So-wol’s gaze grew complicated.
“Of Essence, Qi, and Spirit, the Spirit is the mind, and the mind is light. It is because light permeates all things.”
What kind of riddle was this?
“It permeates all things. Only the mind can do this. It illuminates everything within you, all at once, simultaneously.”
Poke.
Lee Yu-baek’s finger jabbed Yeon So-wol’s left breast.
“The light of the mind touches all the difficulties you mentioned, simultaneously and yet individually. Like a single moon reflected in a thousand rivers. It shimmers upon the waves, and though you may try to scoop it up, the light never fades.”
“…”
“Therefore, if you can dye your Essence, Qi, and Spirit with a single light, you can fly a thousand times without carelessness, and you will not be in peril even on your first flight.”
“…”
“It is because only the mind can accomplish such a difficult task.”
Lee Yu-baek continued.
“The study of controlling the hottest fire within you—the most difficult study in the world—is called a Mental Cultivation Method for a reason.”
Why?
Yeon So-wol ran a hand over his arm beneath his clothes. Goosebumps had broken out all over his skin. He felt like he understood, yet he didn’t. He still couldn’t fully comprehend Lee Yu-baek’s teaching, and yet, for some reason, his body was already reacting.
“Haven’t you already experienced it once? During your closed-door training. I thought you would have.”
“...!!”
At Lee Yu-baek’s passing remark, Yeon So-wol felt as if he had been struck by lightning. The time he had spent in closed-door training flooded his mind.
At first, it was terrifying. Then, it was hateful. Then, little by little, it became enjoyable. And finally…
‘I had forgotten everything.’
He had forgotten it all. There was only the self that endlessly observed, contemplated, and moved. Perhaps in that state, even the self-consciousness of ‘Yeon So-wol’ had ceased to exist.
‘If that… was the state of a sincere heart.’
Yeon So-wol suddenly looked within himself. The Innate True Qi in his Eight Extraordinary Meridians. The Acquired Qi in his flesh and bone. The flames circulating through his Twelve Standard Meridians.
‘Ah.’
It was all still there. The traces carved by Yeon So-wol’s sincere heart in those past days. The Twelve Standard Meridians, warmed to a greater degree. The Eight Extraordinary Meridians, their impurities burned away, leaving them hotter and purer. His bones and flesh, made softer and stronger.
Because all of these were traces carved by a sincere heart, simply tracing them one by one was enough for Yeon So-wol to feel as if he had returned to that time.
Yes. He could feel the heart of that time. It had not been swept away by time but remained engraved within his Mental Cultivation Method.
“…”
Yeon So-wol’s aura settled, becoming calm. The unsteadiness in his eyes vanished.
“…Excellent.”