Chapter 21: In the Jianghu, One's Body is Not One's Own (10)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 21: In the Jianghu, One's Body is Not One's Own (10)
Meridians are both the vessel and the root.
The Essence, Qi, and Spirit bestowed by heaven and earth pool within them, flowing along their winding paths. Thus, the meridians are the vessel that holds energy and the root from which life itself sprouts.
Guiding—or Do-in—means to lead and direct that energy.
An elixir is a dense concentration of nature’s Qi. In a word, it is the essence of fire.
The Dragon Scale Mushroom is temperate by nature, but its flame is vast and contains little Turbid Qi, making it perfectly suited for the Self-Cultivation of a novice’s body.
Lee Yu-baek personally used his own True Fire to guide the energy of the Dragon Scale Mushroom, refining Yeon So-wol’s body. A magnificent flame, grand yet devoid of scorching heat, filled Yeon So-wol’s Twelve Standard Meridians.
Unlike the Qinggong training that had tempered his bones and flesh, this process touched the meridians directly. That was why this act of guiding and refining was so incredibly dangerous.
It wasn't dangerous simply because it was guiding. Nor was it dangerous because it was Self-Cultivation. It was dangerous because it was guiding for the sake of Self-Cultivation, and the part being cultivated happened to be the meridians.
The meridians are a person’s root and vessel. The moment they are stimulated by a stranger’s energy, the Spirit jolts awake as if slapped in its sleep, glaring out at the world.
The Spirit is the very foundation from which a person's will and consciousness are woven. When the Spirit awakens, the world a person perceives changes completely. One could say that human consciousness is a record written by an author called the Spirit. And that author, having just been slapped across the face for the first time in its existence…
The writer who had been typing a thousand characters a minute suddenly begins to scrawl a thousand characters a second. Observing the entire world, they record everything that exists and everything that does not.
And so, all that is feared becomes reality.
A quarter-hour feels like three years. A person can experience hell on earth in a heartbeat.
Fwhoosh!
The fire of the Dragon Scale Mushroom warmed Yeon So-wol’s Twelve Standard Meridians. Unlike before, it didn’t just pass through; it clung to the walls of the meridians, its flames growing stronger.
Fwhooooosh!
!!!!
At first, Yeon So-wol felt an unfamiliar pain.
What is this?
It felt as if his very roots were on fire.
But I’m not a plant…
Yet that was the only way to describe the bizarre agony, the sheer terror. He was suddenly struck by fear. Doubt crept in.
Is this okay? Is this really okay?
!!!!
The moment doubt arose, an indescribable agony assaulted him.
!!!!
It didn’t stop there. The pain intensified, and Yeon So-wol’s terror spiked with it. The pain, in turn, grew even more oppressive. The more he feared, the more his fear became real.
This! This is… No. This isn’t right!
Just as Yeon So-wol was about to convulse—
「It’s… all… right.」
Father?
Had he heard it? Or had he merely recalled the voice he had heard so many times before? Yeon So-wol didn’t know. He only knew that the meaning was suddenly engraved upon his heart.
In truth, it was neither heard by the ear nor transmitted by Qi. It was Heart Language—a communion that occurs when an awakened Spirit and a sincere mind touch and connect. Normally, it was a feat possible only in a profound realm far beyond their reach.
But through a series of coincidences, at this very moment, the minds of Lee Yu-baek and Yeon So-wol had met and were deeply connected. Though neither of them had yet realized the weight of it.
Fwhoosh!
The flames of the Dragon Scale Mushroom blazed magnificently. Guiding them was Lee Yu-baek’s True Fire. And within that fire… Yeon So-wol kept hearing his voice.
「It’s… all… right.」
Strangely, his heart grew calm. The pain, which felt like his roots were being torn from his body, became a little more bearable.
「That’s… it.」
Fwhooooosh!
Only then did Yeon So-wol find his composure. He calmly observed what was happening inside his Twelve Standard Meridians. He watched as the Essence and Qi that formed his meridians were tempered in the magnificent heat.
Wow…
The path had previously seemed like a random pile of sand, gravel, dirt, grass, trees, and jagged flagstones. Now, a flame like a sunset caressed its surface.
The sand burned, turning into fine, dark soil. The gravel heated, melted, and fused into wide, smooth flagstones. The grass drank the fire and shot up, growing into sturdy trees.
In an instant, the messy path of his Twelve Standard Meridians—once a jumble of debris—transformed into a respectable promenade covered with fine soil, flagstones, and trees.
And then—
Fwhooooosh!
A new wave of hotter flames swept through the trees. They grew thinner and longer, finally becoming verdant bamboo.
Fwoosh!
And not just any bamboo, but straight, pristine stalks, as if they had been carefully selected by a master gardener.
Shhhhh—
Flagstones were embedded here and there in the dirt path, while trees and bamboo rustled their leaves on either side.
…This is nice.
The scenery inside his Twelve Standard Meridians was changing into something so beautiful and serene that he forgot all the pain and doubt from before. Yeon So-wol was captivated.
Fwoosh—
Suddenly, as another tree transformed into bamboo, Yeon So-wol heard a whisper. It felt different from before.
「Seo-ryeon. If only you could have seen this…」
Seo-ryeon?
As the Heart Language mixed with the True Fire and was engraved upon his meridians, his sensitized Spirit transcribed it. Lee Yu-baek’s old memories seeped into Yeon So-wol’s mind like a dream.
In a coincidence that bordered on a miracle, Yeon So-wol was reading Lee Yu-baek’s soul.
*
Severed Meridians, or Jeolmaek, is a condition where the meridians are broken. To be precise, it refers to a condition where the Eight Extraordinary Meridians are severed.
There are many types, like the Nine Yin Severed Meridians or Nine Yang Severed Meridians, but all forms of Jeolmaek are congenital diseases where one is born with the Eight Extraordinary Meridians broken. Innate True Qi slowly leaks from these severed channels.
Leaking the hottest, purest energy bestowed by the heavens, those with the condition shine brilliantly. They ripen early.
When she was born, they said she smiled more brightly than any other baby in the world. When she began to walk, she could already dance. When she first spoke, her voice was like rolling jade beads. When she began to learn, she humbled adults.
The first time Seo-ryeon saw Lee Yu-baek, she changed his life.
“The Book of Rites says that a father should be benevolent and a son should be filial. That is the way of a human being. So, it’s wrong for your father to beat you so badly. It’s not your fault. You’re not supposed to hit a child like that.”
At the time, Lee Yu-baek had retorted. His small, grimy body was covered in bruises.
“Why is that the way it’s supposed to be? I’m supposed to get hit every day. I get hit because I’m stupid and useless like a rat, and all I do is eat. That’s how it’s supposed to be. How can not getting hit be the way it’s supposed to be? That’s what’s special.”
Seo-ryeon smiled brightly and replied, “You’ve got a way with words, don’t you?”
He flinched.
“Hey. That was a compliment.”
“…But they always hit me when I talk too much.”
“Exactly. That’s not how it’s supposed to be.”
“But why is that the way…”
“Because it’s sad.”
Lee Yu-baek shuddered, for a different reason this time. A small hand gently cupped his grimy, scabbed ear and cheek, then cradled the back of his head. A fragrance he had never smelled before in his life enveloped him.
“It’s sad. What is this state you’re in?”
“…”
“You’re in pain, too.”
“…”
“That’s what it means to be human. Things like this hurt, they’re sad, and we don’t like them. That’s a person.”
“…My dad’s not like that.”
“Then he’s not a person.”
“Huh?”
“Don’t ask questions. Memorize it. He’s not a person.”
“…But the family next door and the one across the way are all the same. …Though not as bad as my house.”
“Then they’re not fully human yet.”
“…What is a person?”
“Someone who doesn’t hit a child.”
“Who decides that?”
“Confucius. And me.”
Snatch.
Seo-ryeon grabbed Lee Yu-baek’s wrist.
“Follow me.”
She dragged him straight to his house. Lee Yu-baek’s father, who was drinking at home, was dumbfounded. His seven-year-old freeloader of a son was there, and holding his hand was a girl of about the same age.
The girl stared up at him and shrieked, her jade-like voice ringing out so clearly that the whole neighborhood came out to peek. But the words coming from that little girl’s mouth were utterly venomous.
“Even beasts lick and cherish their own young! What kind of beast are you to leave your own child in this state?”
“What…?”
At first, he didn’t dare lay a hand on her because she was dressed in silk. He was afraid of the trouble it would cause if he so much as flicked her.
“Mencius said! Between a father and son, there must be affection! You have neither benevolence nor affection! You are no father!”
“Wh-What?!”
The next reason he couldn’t act was the murmuring of the neighbors, who had all rushed out.
“She’s right, you know. Even if it’s his own kid, he beats him way too hard.”
“At first, the kid would scream his lungs out, but later he must have been stopped from even screaming, because all you could hear were these choked sobs. Even I felt bad about that.”
“You raise a child with a switch, sure, but that’s too much. It’s his own flesh and blood, doesn’t he feel any pity?”
“That bastard’s always been like that. I just never thought he’d do it to his own kid.”
Lee Yu-baek’s father froze under the increasingly hostile glares of the villagers. It was a world where someone cast out by the village could be rolled in a straw mat, beaten, and buried in the mountains in the middle of the night.
“So. I’ll be taking him with me, then.”
“What?”
“Huh?”
Both father and son asked at once.
“Why? Do you want to keep living with him? Don’t. Come with me. My house is nice.”
The small hand, filled with a warm strength, pulled at Lee Yu-baek. That day, Lee Yu-baek gained a master, a lifelong friend, and a home.
*
Fwhooooosh—!
Another tree drank the flames and transformed into bamboo. A new memory was engraved upon it. Yeon So-wol watched blankly. No—he experienced it.
“Yu-baek. Hey, Yu-baek. Let’s have a drink.”
“Seo-ryeon. If Master finds out…”
“Listen. I found a real human being. A merchant named Jo Man-seok. It’s been so long since I’ve seen a true adult. Ah, this liquor tastes good.”
At fifteen, Seo-ryeon would steal liquor whenever she had the chance, and that was how Lee Yu-baek learned to drink. They would always sneak away from their senior fellow disciple—whose name he’d forgotten—just the two of them.
Sixteen. Seventeen.
The happiness that seemed destined to last forever was cut short the year she turned eighteen.
The first time she fainted.
From that day on, Seo-ryeon lost her light. She grew weaker day by day, wasting away. Only after a monk invited from Gugeunsa Temple had visited did Lee Yu-baek learn of the existence of a disease called Severed Meridians. And the fact that his master and Seo-ryeon had known of her fate all along.
“The Innate True Qi in her eight meridians has already completely drained away. There is nothing more that can be done.”
Everyone cried. His master, who had already known. Seo-ryeon. His senior fellow disciple.
But Lee Yu-baek could not cry. The ground was crumbling beneath his feet.
She died at the age of eighteen. She had burned more brilliantly than anyone in the world, only to cool just as quickly. Like a sudden downpour that threatens to melt the earth, only to vanish in an instant.
Lee Yu-baek picked up the fruit that had ripened and fallen too soon. He buried it in his heart. In truth, he did not bury it. Instead, he swallowed it. In truth, he neither buried nor swallowed it.
He just held it. He just kept holding it.
*
Fwoosh.
The memory ended. For some reason, Yeon So-wol couldn’t bear it. He quietly initiated Gathering Fire.
「Stop.」
Lee Yu-baek warned him with Heart Language. Stay still.
But Yeon So-wol didn’t stop. His heart was already soaked in Lee Yu-baek’s memories, and he couldn’t control himself. His flame moved in concert with Lee Yu-baek’s True Fire.
As Lee Yu-baek drove the fire of the Dragon Scale Mushroom to shape the bamboo, Yeon So-wol gathered the residual heat to bake the sand and gravel, creating soil and flagstones.
「This…?」
At first, Lee Yu-baek tried to push him away, but he soon seemed to acquiesce, accepting Yeon So-wol’s help. With Yeon So-wol’s sensitive Qi Sense combined with their minds joined through Heart Language, father and son continued the Self-Cultivation as if they were one body.
Refining and refining. And then, smiling.
“Hooo…”
“Hooo…”
When they both exhaled and opened their eyes at the same time, a full five shichen—ten hours—had passed.
“Good work. Don’t use any of your power today. You’ll feel the effects tomorrow morning. There’s probably no one in the world who’s gained as much from a single Dragon Scale Mushroom as you have. I don’t think you’ll be getting beaten up anywhere now.”
“Thank you.”
“And one more thing.”
Lee Yu-baek looked at Yeon So-wol with a complicated expression. He hadn’t known at first, but as they performed the Self-Cultivation together, something had faintly reached his heart. He knew the thoughts with which Yeon So-wol had been helping him.
“…Did you see?”
Yeon So-wol didn’t bother to lie. “If you’re talking about Aunt Seo-ryeon… yes. I saw.”
“…Hah. Even Mu-hyeok doesn’t know about that.”
“I’m your son, aren’t I? Your only one.”
“This punk. Getting cheeky just because I let you peek into my heart.”
“I was glad to have seen it.”
“You were glad?”
“She was someone I want to remember. My aunt. I was happy to learn that such a person existed in this world.”
“…Is that so.” Lee Yu-baek let out a long sigh. “I was only trying to help you with your training. I never thought I’d have my own heart laid bare like this.”
“Was she your first love?”
“You little…”
Thwack!
Lee Yu-baek flicked Yeon So-wol’s forehead. It didn’t hurt much.
“Anyway, it seems to have happened because of your ridiculous Qi Sense and your sincere heart. It’s true. There can’t be many people in the world who have achieved such sincerity of heart at the very start of their martial arts journey. Perhaps there are none.”
“Is that so?”
“Yes. Your Qi Sense and your heart. These are your weapons. It’s important for a martial artist to know their own strengths, so be sure to remember that.”
“Yes, sir.”
“Cough. Cough.”
Lee Yu-baek coughed. His complexion was pale.
“Father?”
“It’s nothing. This guiding… it’s dangerous for a martial artist who hasn’t even reached the Peak Realm to attempt recklessly. I just expended a bit of Essence Blood, that’s all.”
“Essence Blood? You’re not supposed to expend that, are you?”
Essence Blood was Innate True Qi. It was something to be protected at all costs.
“It’s fine. It’s not severe, just a little cooled and twisted. A minor internal injury. It’ll heal completely with proper rest.”
“But…”
“Enough. This is a fortunate outcome. I performed guiding for the other boys when they were third-rate, but you’re already at the Breath of Smoke and Clouds…”
“Does that make a difference?”
“It does. Your Innate True Qi is already active. I can’t suppress it. If your Spirit had been startled and thrown a fit, your Innate True Qi would have erupted and flowed backward. Then you and I would have melted down at the same time.”
“…?”
“I heard a story about a monk who was guiding his disciple when their Innate True Qi exploded. They became a candle, right where they sat. Not burning fiercely, but just glowing faintly. No one could touch them for fear of getting caught in it, so they just watched for three months until they had burned down to ash. The master and disciple, burning side-by-side like candles.”
“Why are you telling me this now…?”
“If I had told you beforehand, your heart might have been stained with fear, and it could have really happened. When the Spirit is stimulated, it exaggerates everything and makes it real. That’s why I kept it from you, so don’t be resentful.”
“…”
Yeon So-wol bit his lip so hard his nose tingled. This was on a different level from all his training so far. Until now, there had always been some way to survive through skill or effort. But the heart does not bend to one’s will. Telling a frightened person “Don’t be scared!” was useless.
And he just went ahead and did it?
If Yeon So-wol hadn’t been able to calm his heart even after hearing Lee Yu-baek’s Heart Language… then that would have been the day they became candles, side-by-side.
“Why would you do something so dangerous?!”
“I know you have a purpose more important than your own life. That’s why you crossed all the way from Annam to find me. Knowing that, how could I save my own skin?”
“…”
A misunderstanding. There was a very big misunderstanding. But he couldn’t explain it. A cold sweat ran down Yeon So-wol’s back.
“Still, look at your meridians. See how much you’ve gained from a single elixir. You’ve also completely mastered our Pungryu Sect’s method of Self-Cultivation.”
Yeon So-wol hesitated, then protested. “But if something had gone wrong, you too, Father…!”
“So-wol. I did it because I had something to rely on.”
“…Are you serious?”
“I am. In my life, I’ve risked my life about twenty times. I haven’t died once yet. Today makes it twenty-one.”
“…”
“The heavens can be cruel in taking those they want, but they are just as stubborn in turning away from those they don’t. This is all our destiny. A destiny to achieve our purpose.”
“…”
Barely overcoming the lump in his throat, Yeon So-wol spoke again. “Still, there was no need for you to risk your life as well…”
“Nonsense. If a father cannot even die for his son, what kind of father is he?”
Yeon So-wol was confused. Should he be angry or moved?
…This insane Jianghu.
Once again, Elder Jo Man-seok was right.
“Cough. Cough. Anyway, you can go now. Tell Mu-hyeok to come in.”
Yeon So-wol wanted to say more. But seeing Lee Yu-baek’s pale, drained face and slightly slumped shoulders, he couldn’t bring himself to do it.
“…Yes, sir.”
Yeon So-wol composed himself and stood up. “Thank you. For today.”
“Mm-hm.”
Yeon So-wol left.
“Hoooo…”
Only then did Lee Yu-baek curl his shoulders, hunch over, and let out a long sigh.
“…”
He fumbled for a liquor bottle, poured a cup, and tossed it back. A line of a song flowed from his lips.
Drawing my sword to cut the water, but the water flows on;
Raising my cup to erase my sorrow,
But the longing only grows deeper.
“…If Seo-ryeon were here, she would have taught that boy poetry well, too.”
With a grunt, he straightened his posture and patted his shoulder.
*
“You’re out. How is Master?”
“Phew. Thank goodness.”
“So-wol. Are you okay? Did it go well?”
When he stepped outside, the three disciples greeted him. Yeon So-wol’s eyes were drawn to the mess of footprints around them and the fur and feathers stuck all over their clothes. They all looked haggard and exhausted.
“What happened to you all…?”
Mo Cheong answered. “Not even the smallest sound could be allowed to enter. An awakened Spirit hears everything with extreme sensitivity and creates all sorts of fears and falsehoods.”
“Ah…?”
“Yup! So we chased them all away! The birds, the cats, the rats, even the wind!” Mo Cheong beamed.
Kang Mu-hyeok and Seon Je-hun smiled sheepishly.
For five shichen?
Yeon So-wol felt an unfamiliar warmth.
This is…
Was it because he had read Lee Yu-baek’s memories? A thought suddenly occurred to him.
Perhaps… nothing in this world was ever meant to be taken for granted.
The friendship of his friends. The warmth between fellow disciples. Even the love of his parents. Everything he had taken for granted might not have been granted at all. Just as the fragrances he had taken for granted were not at all common in this land.
Could it be that all the things that weren’t a given were painstakingly made into a given by someone, somewhere?
When he thought of it that way, there was nothing he wasn’t grateful for, nothing that didn’t make his heart burn. The hearts of the three disciples who had struggled for five shichen for his sake, and… though he still wasn’t sure if this was right, the heart of Lee Yu-baek, who had performed the guiding ritual, even risking his own life.
“…Thank you, everyone.”
“Hey, Young Master. Don’t be like that.”
“Don’t worry about it. Someone did the same for us when it was our turn.”
“It was a bit tough, though. It was my first time standing as a Guardian.”
A warm laughter spread among them.
“So-wol! Send Mu-hyeok in! Cough!”
That is, until Lee Yu-baek’s shout came from inside the room.
“Ah. Crap.”
Kang Mu-hyeok hastily rushed inside. Yeon So-wol watched him go with worried eyes.
Was it because their hearts had connected? It had been true before, but now, Lee Yu-baek felt even closer. At first, he had just seemed like a madman of the Jianghu. Later, he had come to know his side as a dependable master and father.
But now, he saw him simply as Lee Yu-baek. His heart was slowly being drawn to the path he walked and the thoughts he held.
“The Jianghu…”
What in the world was this place?
Yeon So-wol muttered to himself, quietly looking up at the sky.