Chapter 10
Chapter 10
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 10
Chapter Title: Chapter 4. Walking the Path Together (1)
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Master Hyunso's gaze upon Damho was exceedingly complex.
Damho's entire body was plastered with unidentified crushed herbs, and fine silver needles were inserted into his vital acupoints.
To save Damho, Master Hyunso had mobilized every bit of medical knowledge he possessed. The arts he had learned five years ago to save Damho were once again proving their worth in bringing him back from the brink.
Master Hyunso reached out and gently stroked Damho's forehead.
"Ho-ya, never give up. Just like you always have."
Damho was in a truly wretched state. Had he not tempered his body all this time, he might never walk again.
Master Hyeongeom's intentions were now crystal clear.
"You meant to leave him no room to ever learn martial arts? How cruel, Senior Brother Hyeongeom."
It would take at least three years to fully recover from wounds this severe. This was the perfect time for Damho to learn martial arts. If he wasted those three years and his muscles and bones stiffened, he could never reach the pinnacle, even if he trained afterward.
In the end, Master Hyeongeom had craftily ensured Damho would have no chance to cultivate martial arts.
"But things won't go your way, Senior Brother."
Master Hyunso reached out and grasped Damho's wrist to check his pulse. A faint energy stirred within.
Though Damho's body was a wreck, his internals had escaped fatal damage.
"The Mid-Heaven Heart Formula protected his heart meridians. Without it, he would have been crippled for life. This must be the will of the Primeval Heavenly Lord as well. I shall defy heaven's mandate no longer."
The energy formed by the Mid-Heaven Heart Formula was heavy and sluggish. Yet it was also tough and tenacious. Those qualities had shielded Damho's insides.
For now, it was too difficult to circulate, lingering as internal energy. But once perfected, it would encompass every martial art of Mount Hua Sect.
"Just wait a little longer, Ho-ya. Your master will set you back on your feet."
After gazing at Damho for a long while, Master Hyunso finally rose. A resolute light shone on his face.
Master Hyunso stepped outside and looked up at the sky.
"When the boat capsizes, only then do the true swimmers reveal themselves."
Just as a capsized boat reveals skilled swimmers, people only realize their true abilities in times of crisis.
Master Hyunso was certain Damho would rise to the occasion as well.
"I'll be back soon."
Master Hyunso descended Mount Hua while darkness still lingered.
After a full half-day trek, Master Hyunso arrived at Samgong Mountain, which faced Mount Hua across a treacherous valley.
Named for the three old men seeming to gaze toward Mount Hua's main peaks, Samgong Mountain rose sharp and jagged, like an upside-down sword thrust into the earth.
No place seemed fit for a human footfall, yet Master Hyunso climbed.
Soon, his robes were soaked with sweat. Having lived his life as a scholar-priest, Master Hyunso's physical prowess was inferior to that of ordinary folk.
He had barely ascended when his legs stiffened and his breath grew ragged.
"Hoo!"
Master Hyunso paused to steady his breathing.
Though near Mount Hua, this savage place saw no visitors. Even Master Hyunso hadn't come here in over thirty years.
A single misstep could send one plummeting into an endless abyss, so he had always avoided it.
Were it not for his disciple Damho, he would never have come.
Standing at the cliff's edge, his legs trembled involuntarily. Fear surged over him.
Master Hyunso let out a sudden sigh.
"I've studied mind cultivation for decades, yet it all crumbles before a cliff. How foolish, Hyunso."
In that moment, realization dawned.
"That single step of courage toward the precipice can never be found in books."
Master Hyunso closed his eyes. When he opened them again, his gaze was far calmer than before.
He stepped toward the dizzying ridgeline. Suppressing the fear rising from deep within, Master Hyunso forced his shaking legs to move.
Whooosh!
Wind whipped along the ridge. His body swayed violently for an instant, but he somehow kept his balance.
"Hah! Hah!"
Though terror welled up, Master Hyunso did not stop.
Not for himself, but for his disciple.
***
"Ungh!"
Damho groaned as he opened his eyes. The first thing he heard was a familiar voice.
"You're awake? Thank goodness."
"Mas...ter?"
"Yes, it's your master, Ho-ya."
Turning his head, he saw Master Hyunso watching him. The master looked at least ten years older than the last time Damho had seen him, bringing tears welling to his eyes.
"Master."
"Yes!"
"I... I'm sorry."
"Why should you apologize? What did you do wrong? You've done nothing wrong. No need to be sorry."
Damho tried to rise, but his limbs lacked strength. Only then did he recall suffering severe injuries in his duel with Sugyeong.
"Urk!"
Damho's eyes burned red.
Though unconscious for a long time, he could tell how badly mangled he was. Wounds like these would take years just to heal, let alone train martial arts.
At that moment, Master Hyunso reached out and stroked his head.
"Don't worry, Ho-ya."
"Master."
"Recovery won't take as long as you think."
Master Hyunso propped up Damho's upper body. Only then did Damho notice the herbs plastered all over him. He knew without asking that it was his master's doing.
After leaning Damho against the wall, Master Hyunso fetched a large wooden box from the corner. Opening it revealed dozens of dark red pills.
"What are these?"
"Good for the body."
Master Hyunso took out one pill.
Damho's eyes flickered. His master's hand, holding the pill, was covered in wounds.
"Master, your hand..."
"It's nothing. Don't worry about it."
What cause could there be for wounds on the hands of a master who spent his life reading scriptures? They must have come from scouring Mount Hua for the herbs now stuck to his body.
The master's frayed priestly robes confirmed it. Worse scars surely marred the skin beneath.
"Take it quickly."
"Master."
"Don't you trust your master's skills?"
Master Hyunso smiled kindly.
"It's not that..."
"Then take it."
"Yes!"
Damho swallowed the pill without further question.
"Now circulate the Mid-Heaven Heart Formula to spread the medicine."
As Damho nodded and began meditating, Master Hyunso collapsed to the floor.
"Hoo!"
A sigh escaped him.
What he had given Damho was the elixir known as the Nourishing Yang Pill. A secret recipe passed down among scholar-priests, few even knew its name anymore.
Unlike Mount Hua Sect's supreme elixir, the Plum Blossom Divine Pill, which explosively boosted one's cultivation in one go, long-term use steadily increased internal energy and fortified muscles and bones.
To gather the herbs for the Nourishing Yang Pill, Master Hyunso had scoured Samgong Mountain for three straight days. The ingredients were mostly common, but their habitats clung to cliffs and remote areas, demanding great risks.
He had tumbled down slopes and fallen into gullies multiple times, yet Master Hyunso secured every herb needed.
Even after gathering them, there was no rest. Refining them into pills was no easy task.
A single mistake in fire control could ruin days of work. Creating the Nourishing Yang Pills had been grueling.
He had barely produced dozens after days without proper sleep.
"If the Mid-Heaven Heart Formula is an iron cauldron, the Nourishing Yang Pill is dry kindling. The kindling will stoke the flames, heating the cauldron red-hot."
As a scholar-priest who had memorized countless martial arts manuals, Master Hyunso possessed deep insight, even if he couldn't demonstrate them himself. His understanding of martial arts surpassed that of most warriors.
Master Hyunso crossed his arms and watched Damho meditate. Color was slowly returning to the youth's pale face. It wasn't an instant recovery, but the crisis seemed past.
Still, he couldn't relax fully and kept a close eye on Damho's condition. Moments passed, then an hour, time flowing endlessly.
Damho finished meditating around dawn the next day.
"Hoo!"
He regulated his breathing and opened his eyes.
The first sight was, as expected, Master Hyunso, who had watched over him all night.
"Master?"
"Are you alright?"
"Much better."
It wasn't empty reassurance. Breathing had been agony before; now it came easily.
"Good."
"Thanks to you, Master."
"For the time being, take the Nourishing Yang Pills and cultivate the Mid-Heaven Heart Formula. You won't be moving much anyway."
"I will."
Damho nodded.
Master Hyunso gazed at him steadily. Damho met his eyes.
"I heard. You dueled Sugyeong?"
"Yes."
"Sigh! Don't resent her. It wasn't her intention."
"I know."
"Senior Brother Hyeongeom has always been extreme. To achieve his goals, he spares no sacrifice."
"I think I understand."
"Let your master apologize on his behalf."
"You've done nothing wrong, Master."
"No, it's all my fault. If I'd decided sooner, you wouldn't have ended up like this."
Master Hyunso fell silent, staring out the window. Through the open shutters, distant Lotus Peak was visible. Damho followed his gaze.
The eyes of master and disciple, fixed on Lotus Peak, somehow resembled each other.
After a pause, Master Hyunso spoke.
"Ho-ya!"
"Yes, Master!"
"I'll help you. Let's create a martial art suited to you—together."
Damho's eyes wavered.