First Snow
It was the day the first snow fell.
Ja Gangcheon discovered for the first time that winter could be beautiful.
Winter on Guigokdo had been nothing but hardship and suffering.
The world I knew was so small.
When he took the time to enjoy it, so many things were lovely.
He sat in the rear garden pavilion, sipping steaming tea as he watched the world turn white.
Then a voice shattered the quiet.
"Lord of the Manor! We've come!"
"Lord of the Manor!"
It was Seokho and Namsik.
They appeared with Panseok and rushed straight over, bowing their heads to Ja Gangcheon.
Seokho was long and lanky, Namsik short and stout; side by side they somehow clashed and yet balanced each other perfectly.
The amusing part was that they belonged to different outfits.
Seokho worked for the East Sea Trading Company; Namsik for the Haeryong Labor Office. Even so, they had been close friends and partners for years.
"Lord of the Manor. Have you been well?"
Ever since he took over the manor, the way they addressed him had changed to "Lord of the Manor."
"Lord of the Manor. Please take this!"
"Take this one first!"
Each of them held out a box.
"This needs to be eaten soon, so I'll prepare it right away."
The box from long, lanky Seokho held wriggling sea cucumbers—black as if someone had spilled ink over them.
"Black sea cucumbers! They're precious, so eat them at once. Excellent for vitality!"
"How old is the Lord of the Manor supposed to be, talking about vitality!"
Short, stout Namsik opened his own box before he could be outdone. Inside sat round fruit Ja Gangcheon had never seen before.
"Longan! Fresh up from the south."
A grape-sized fruit grown only in the south, named longan—dragon's eye—because it resembled one. So rare that ordinary people never saw one in a lifetime.
"Brew it in tea and bite into it at the end—it's delicious."
"Wow. There's fruit like that?"
Honest with his feelings, Ja Gangcheon showed interest in the longan first.
"Big Brother Panseok. Divide everything here into five equal shares and bring them."
"Yes, Hyungnim."
As Panseok carried the boxes away, Seokho and Namsik looked troubled.
"Lord of the Manor. You shouldn't share these."
"They taste better when we eat them together."
In the end they spent the afternoon in the rear garden pavilion with the odd combination of steamed sea cucumber and fruit tea for refreshments.
"Hyung, is this five equal parts?"
"Five pieces, yes."
Ja Gangcheon asked after seeing the black sea cucumbers. There were five pieces, true enough—but one of them was half the whole. Naturally the largest piece sat in front of him.
"Gangcheon-ah. What's wrong? I divided them evenly."
"Yes, Hyungnim. I took real care with it."
"All right. Thanks. I'll enjoy it."
Ja Gangcheon did not argue and ate cheerfully.
"Wow."
He could not tell much difference with the black sea cucumber, but the longan he was tasting for the first time, steeped into tea, was sweet and fragrant.
"Delicious!"
In moments like this he was every bit a fifteen-year-old boy. The faces of the gift-givers brightened at the sight.
"How are the trading company and the labor office these days?"
"Same as before. Foundry sales have climbed again, but the other businesses are dead. The trade ventures all collapsed, so the hit is heavy. The company lord says we'll consolidate for a while and wait for another chance."
In other words, a long slump lay ahead. They were barely hanging on with the foundry.
"And the labor office?"
"Not much different for us. Though we have some internal trouble. Since we can't just use force the way the Black Society did, a lot of people are frustrated."
"You can't go back to the Black Society."
Ja Gangcheon comforted them like an adult.
"Just wait a little. Once this winter passes and spring comes, things will get better."
He encouraged the two who had come to see him.
Winter stretched on in full force.
It was the season when everyone rested for a while, yet construction at Deungmyeong Manor stayed busy the whole winter through.
And on the deepest day of winter, the work finally bore fruit.
"What are you going to name it?"
This time the decision fell to Cheongu. His deliberation did not last long.
"Bing-okgo. The Ice Jade Chamber."
The name of the new building.
After six full months of endless experiments and research, a new plaque hung on the completed structure.
By Ja Gangcheon's consideration, Cheongu hung the plaque himself and could not hide his pride.
"Hyungnim. It's cold just coming near this place."
"Because we buried the Ice Crystal in the ground."
The Ice Crystal lay deep underground. Even that was not enough; they had to adjust the crystal case holding it to reduce the cold that escaped. Then they buried sawdust and stones to gather the chill into a defined area.
After countless experiments, the Bing-okgo stood complete.
"I can't believe this actually works. Cheongu Hyungnim is brilliant, as always."
From the outside the Bing-okgo looked like an ordinary warehouse, yet the first floor was empty of any structure. Pull up the wooden floorboards and the underground interior of the Ice Jade Chamber came into view.
Inside, wooden frames stacked in horizontal layers.
Pour water, freeze it, and lift it out, and rectangular blocks of ice emerged ready-made.
Each frame could form nine ice blocks, and the frames rose in ten tiers.
Ninety ice blocks at a single go.
"Even remaking them only takes this long."
Most of that time was spent swapping the frames.
"Remember—never go in without cold-weather gear. Fall to the bottom and it could cost your life."
At Cheongu's words, Panseok promised several times over that he would take it to heart.
Only after receiving that firm answer did Cheongu lead them to the special space prepared behind the Bing-okgo.
"This is the cultivation chamber."
It was so narrow that three people sitting side by side would fill it completely.
"I'll try it first."
Ja Gangcheon settled into a cross-legged seat and drew a long breath.
"Mm. Good. The cold is clean. This will be a great help for mental cultivation."
He had requested the cultivation chambers himself; there were three in total.
Not sized for numbers of people, but graded by the intensity of the cold.
"Perfect."
Drawing the pure cold into his internal energy, a refreshing clarity spread through his whole body. It was a training method of the North Sea Ice Palace that made use of Ice Crystals. Ja Gangcheon had never studied it formally; he had simply absorbed it naturally on Guigokdo.
"My body is cold, but my heart feels warm."
Another special place had been prepared in their home.
The time when winter met spring.
Everyone spoke of hope in this season and brought out the food they had saved through the winter.
With generous hearts, those who had gone far returned, and shops kept their lamps burning through the night.
It was the Spring Festival.
The greatest holiday of the year announced the start of the new year.
"Hoo."
Ja Gangcheon finished his mental cultivation in the Bing-okgo chamber and opened his eyes.
Sssss.
As he gathered his internal energy, the frost that had clung to his body melted away at once, and thick vapor rolled out around him.
"Refreshing."
He could feel the fruits of an entire winter's training in his body.
His internal energy had grown pure and clean, and it shifted swiftly at the command of his will.
Satisfied after the long session, Ja Gangcheon rose and left the cultivation chamber.
Pushing through the vapor, he stepped outside and heard a familiar voice.
"Hyungnim! Is the winter hibernation over?"
"Hyung. Am I a bear?"
Ja Gangcheon thought winter sleep suited Panseok far better.
"Has the training finished?"
"Yeah."
"Congratulations!"
Ever since the Bing-okgo was completed, Ja Gangcheon had stayed almost entirely in the cultivation chamber.
There's a wall I have to cross before winter ends.
Fortunately, with the Ice Crystal's power, he had succeeded in breaking through it.
"Hyung. It's thanks to you. Thank you."
"It was only what I should do."
Throughout the training period, Panseok had steadily brought him the bare minimum of water and food.
"Where's Cheongu?"
"Cheongu Hyungnim is receiving guests."
"Guests?"
"Today is the Spring Festival, isn't it? Everyone came to see Hyungnim, but when they heard you were cultivating, they said they'd just eat and go."
"Really? Then let's go."
"Shouldn't you rest a little?"
"They came to see me. How can I do that? I'm fine."
In the end Ja Gangcheon headed for the dining hall where the people waited.
Deungmyeong Manor was bustling.
"There are a lot of people?"
He had expected five at most, yet the dining hall was packed full.
"They all came to pay their respects to you."
Cheongu spotted him and walked over.
The situation was startling, yet he felt no dislike or rejection.
"It's nice having so many people."
Deungmyeong Manor was far too large for three people. Emptiness was inevitable.
"So this is what it feels like for people to live."
His parents had often said those words.
Especially on someone's birthday, they always said it.
It would have been nice if there were more people. I miss the smell of people in a scene.
True. There's a taste to the noise and bustle too.
Ja Gangcheon had never understood those words.
From the moment he was born into this world, only three people had ever been allowed.
Only today did he finally grasp their meaning.
Everyone spoke different words, laughed and chattered as they pleased, yet from a distance the atmosphere was deeply warm.
Strangers grew close in moments and traded jokes without regard for age.
"Lord of the Manor!"
"Did the cultivation succeed?"
"We're glad we could see you today!"
Ja Gangcheon felt grateful and happy that he could mix with so many people.
"The world is truly beautiful."
The early spring sunlight wrapped the world Ja Gangcheon saw in gentle warmth.
That night, after enjoying the Spring Festival among the people, Ja Gangcheon went alone into the secret storehouse.
"I think it's time for you to come out into the world too."
Standing before the Mugyeomdo, he spoke to an old friend he had not met in a long while.
Through the winter he had not simply increased his internal power; he had focused on mastering his internal energy.
I have to control it perfectly.
Could he be perfect in his current state?
Still a long way off.
Even so, he unwrapped the cloth around the Mugyeomdo.
"Let's train together. I need to learn you, and you need to learn me."
It was a method that would make other martial artists turn pale with shock.
Every training session required readiness for qi deviation. Yet Ja Gangcheon felt not the slightest resistance.
It's always been that way.
To him it was as familiar as play.
Beyond the Mugyeomdo, many of the manuals he possessed held unique natures. He had handled such manuals since he was a newborn.
The Mugyeomdo was the most dangerous among them, yet he felt no fear at all.
I've grown too.
He was no longer a child, and his internal power had reached a mature realm.
"Shall we begin?"
Ja Gangcheon took the Mugyeomdo and went out to the rear garden.
A place with no watching eyes.
"Hoo."
First he exhaled and sent his internal energy flowing.
The energy that entered the Mugyeomdo amplified in an instant, becoming a keen edge that shredded the air in every direction.
"Settle down."
Soothing the blade that was sucking in his energy, Ja Gangcheon reined in the force.
"Hoo."
The energy that had been spilling past the edge began to gather again. Drawing it slowly over a long time, he felt a heavy center settle through the whole Mugyeomdo, as if the blade itself had grown weighty.
Like a counterweight.
Having condensed the energy into a bead, Ja Gangcheon at last began a blade form.
It was a nameless basic form.
Slow, simple motions of cutting and slicing. Yet the result was never light.
Tssut! Tssut!
Every time the blade passed, a clear line appeared on the ground. The force wave had stretched out and split the earth.
What would happen if he used his full strength?
Knowing how dangerous that curiosity was, Ja Gangcheon did not hurry.
For half a shichen he repeated the same motions.
The Mugyeomdo still behaved temperamentally, yet it no longer flung out the razor-sharp waves of the beginning. Even so, Ja Gangcheon's body was soaked with sweat.
Last one!
In a single moment he drove a great surge of internal energy into the blade and swung the Mugyeomdo with force.
KWA-KWA-KWA-KWANG!
A thunderous roar shook the quiet night, and a deep, clear trench carved itself into the ground.
Seeing the jagged trail, Ja Gangcheon clicked his tongue.
It wasn't perfect.
Without lingering, he took out the cloth and wrapped the Mugyeomdo again.
"Good work. See you tomorrow."
The Mugyeomdo slept once more in the underground storehouse.