A Glimpse of Chivalry
Throughout the journey, Ja Gangcheon came to understand just how fortunate he was to have Cheongu traveling at his side.
"Wow. So this is pickpocketing."
"It's not something to marvel at."
It happened in a village they stopped at only briefly.
Begging children suddenly swarmed them, crying "Spare a coin!" and scrambling their senses. In that confusion, a young man in his twenties slipped close and tried to snatch the pouch from Ja Gangcheon's waist.
But Ja Gangcheon was no easy mark. He twisted the reaching hand and slammed the thief to the ground, then asked Cheongu,
"Is this a crime worth killing for?"
"No, it isn't."
Crack!
Ja Gangcheon settled for breaking the arm. At the sight of it, the children fled in pure terror.
And that was not all.
There were thieves after the carriage they had left at the inn as well. Because of them, Ja Gangcheon ended up sleeping on top of the carriage.
"Father was right."
"What did he say?"
"The martial world will cut off your nose while your eyes are still open. You always have to keep your wits about you."
"What about Mother?"
"She said the one who got cut is the one at fault."
"Your mother is wise."
It was not all misfortune, either.
"Hey there, handsome stranger! Come over here!"
A bold auntie called Ja Gangcheon close and popped a jujube straight into his mouth.
"Wow!"
"Tasty, right? Give me one kiss and I can give you five more."
When the middle-aged woman offered her cheek, the surrounding merchants burst out laughing.
Even Ja Gangcheon knew a joke when he heard one, so he laughed it off the same way.
"Fine! I'm in a good mood! Take another!"
"Thank you!"
The jujube he received later, he fed into Cheongu's mouth.
Though they traveled hard, there were also times they sat down in inns for a proper meal.
"One Five-Flower Braised Pork and a beef noodle soup loaded with toppings, please!"
It was the dish his parents had always said they would order first whenever they stepped into an inn.
"I miss Mother and Father."
A sudden wave of longing washed over him, tightening his chest. Before the feeling could settle deeper, Ja Gangcheon called out,
"It's fine! Everything will work out! Right?"
"Who can say for sure?"
For Cheongu, the Five-Flower Braised Pork he was tasting for the first time mattered more.
They moved as diligently as they could, yet simply leaving Shandong took more than two weeks. Even with Cheongu's considerable experience, hauling a carriage over long distances was never easy.
"From this mountain on, it's Henan."
Following the main highway, they stopped around noon.
After settling their hunger with simple jerky, they checked their surroundings and slipped into the nearby grass.
Since they still had to guard the carriage, they did not go deep—just enough to hide among the tall weeds.
"Alright. Let's try it here."
"The debt of gratitude I owe has doubled."
"We're friends now, aren't we? Father said friends don't keep accounts."
Three days earlier, while camping, they had reached an agreement: Alright. Let's be friends. In truth, Cheongu had finally accepted Ja Gangcheon's proposal.
"Even if we're friends, I've received far too much one-sidedly. I'll pay it all back one by one from now on, so for now I'll gratefully accept."
After recording today's matter in the ledger of favors in his mind, Cheongu settled into a lotus position and closed his eyes.
"Focus on reciting the internal energy formula until you feel the qi move. When something does move, don't resist it—let it flow along the meridians. Guiding it by will is the next stage, so don't try to lead it yet."
Cheongu was learning an internal energy method from Ja Gangcheon.
Ja Gangcheon had offered first, and Cheongu—who had long held a quiet yearning for martial arts—had not refused.
"You can take it slow."
Ja Gangcheon guided Cheongu's training with patience. About an hour later, Cheongu's body shuddered hard; he opened his eyes with a cry of wonder.
"Ah! It moved!"
For the first time, he had felt internal energy.
"How is it? Fun, right?"
At the question that sounded like a child sharing a toy, Cheongu nodded.
"But I was so startled I moved."
Cheongu rubbed his lower abdomen, disappointed.
"It's fine. We can try again."
Ja Gangcheon rose from his seat.
"Wait just a moment."
He went down to the carriage and returned with a box.
"Hold this while you do it."
"What is it?"
"It's called a Qi-Bright Stone. It'll help with circulating your energy."
When he opened the sky-blue box painted like an autumn landscape, a fist-sized black stone appeared.
The black stone formed a sphere so perfectly round it was uncanny, and if you brought your eye close, you could faintly see through to the other side—it was that translucent.
When Ja Gangcheon held out the stone, Cheongu took the Qi-Bright Stone without suspicion.
"I'll try again."
Another hour passed.
Cheongu furrowed his brow briefly but quickly recovered his focus. Then his face flushed red and settled again and again.
"Alright. Now slowly settle it. While holding the Qi-Bright Stone, you must never go past half a shichen."
Despite the warning, Cheongu did not open his eyes. Recalling a memory from the past, Ja Gangcheon moved behind him.
When he let a fine thread of qi tickle the Mingmen acupoint, Cheongu came to his senses and released the lotus position.
"You can't go past half a shichen."
At the same warning, Cheongu looked startled.
"It's already been half a shichen?"
"Yeah. That's what happens when you hold a Qi-Bright Stone. Your concentration rises."
"What an incredible object."
Cheongu was genuinely amazed, but his reaction still fell short of the Qi-Bright Stone's true worth.
If any martial artist in the world heard the name Qi-Bright Stone?
They would risk their lives to claim it.
One of the Ten Great Treasures of the Martial World.
No wonder it was called the Heaven's Heart Gift—a profound gift bestowed by heaven itself.
The Qi-Bright Stone had been created by Master Beopmyeong of Shaolin, whose internal energy method was hailed as the greatest of all time.
It was a gift to a certain manor lord who had spent a lifetime pouring his hard-won wealth without stint for the poor—crafted for a man born frail of body.
Simply holding it made energy move on its own and circulate through the meridians, and when used by a martial artist, the effect was said to more than double.
To martial artists who would devour even a weapon if it held internal energy, it was truly a dream treasure.
Two hundred years later, when its whereabouts had grown obscure, the Qi-Bright Stone surprisingly turned up inside a fan case carried by a Shaolin elder.
They found it when the fan case split from shock, but there was no way to confirm whether the Shaolin elder who owned it had even known what he carried.
"Gangcheon. I don't know much about the martial world, but I don't think showing something like this is a good idea."
"I know. Mother and Father said if even one of these things appeared in the martial world, a blood storm would rise."
"So have I just walked into a blood storm?"
"We're friends. Friends share everything."
"Hmm. Meaning my head could come off tomorrow?"
"I'll protect you."
Cheongu pressed a hand to his head and shook it.
"Gangcheon. From now on, choose your friends carefully. If you keep giving everything away like this, you'll really end up in a blood storm."
"Got it."
Ja Gangcheon's innocent answer left Cheongu unconvinced.
"No. Just show me first if there's anyone you want to be friends with."
"I will. But aren't you hungry?"
Now that he mentioned it, Cheongu's stomach made a sound like a stone dropping into a cave.
"That's normal the first time you train in a mental method."
Ja Gangcheon held out jerky, and Cheongu took it and ate.
"Gangcheon. Do you like jerky that much?"
"Yeah. I ate fish every day, so jerky tastes the best to me."
The two fifteen-year-old boys who had just been luxuriating with a legendary treasure of the martial world climbed back onto the carriage, each chewing a strip of jerky.
Having crossed the Shandong border, they pressed on diligently and before long had entered deep into Henan.
"Let's stay the night at an inn today."
Out of consideration for Cheongu, worn down by long nights outdoors, Ja Gangcheon suggested a comfortable bed.
Since the horses needed rest anyway, Cheongu agreed, and they entered a town called Zhengzhou.
"The real places aren't the ones outsiders go to—it's the restaurants the locals visit most. Watch the market merchants especially. If those people buy something on their way home? Then you don't need to doubt it."
Once they entered a town, Cheongu looked after Ja Gangcheon like an older brother guiding a younger sibling.
"Your words have never been wrong."
Following that advice, they found an old noodle house and enjoyed a satisfying meal of Zhengzhou's unique grilled carp noodles.
When they stepped outside after dinner, the market under a deep-dyed sunset was a chaotic mix of merchants finishing their last sales and people heading home.
The two began walking slowly, taking them in as scenery.
"Eating noodles for dinner means my stomach will be empty again soon."
"Then want some Geji Menbing? It's the most famous snack in Zhengzhou."
A unique local quick-meal of Zhengzhou, made by cooking pork mixed with fermented tofu.
"You even know that?"
"When I was booking the room at the inn, I asked the waiter."
It was everyday life for Cheongu, but to Ja Gangcheon it felt like a fascinating form of exchange.
Sharing information through conversation and filling the gaps in one's knowledge with it.
It was the moment a Ja Gangcheon who had never experienced society came to understand an intriguing way of living.
"Old man! You looking to die?"
With rough words, a brutally swung fist knocked an old man down.
"P-please, just this once. My grandson fell ill this month, and I spent it on medicine, so…"
The old man rubbed his hands together with a pleading look.
"Then sell the healthy grandson to pay it back! You've got money to spend but none to repay? You think other people's money is a joke?"
"I've already paid back three times what I borrowed."
"That's the interest! You should've figured that out when you took the loan."
The rough-faced bulk shouted so the crowd that had quickly gathered could hear.
"I'll show you exactly what happens when you stiff our lord!"
It was not simply a threat against the old man.
Others who had been forced to take loans from the King Yama Collectors while doing business in the market also trembled as they watched the scene.
"Today I'll take just one leg as interest."
The bulk pulled out a thick iron club and raised it high.
Whoosh!
Just as the club fell with a vicious sound toward the old man—
Clang!
What stopped the iron club was a single sword.
The sword's owner stepped in front of the old man and rebuked the brute.
"Even a loan shark whose Dao has fallen to the ground must have limits. You sold your humanity for wealth and gained the heart of a beast—truly, you are a brute animal."
A young man in his early twenties with refined features spoke like an elderly village tutor.
"What little punk…"
The bulk, grinding his teeth at the man's young face, trailed off. He had seen the sleeves of the pure blue Daoist robe embroidered with cloud patterns, carrying a clear, elegant aura.
What that clothing meant was unmistakable.
"W-why would a Daoist of Wudang involve himself in something like this?"
"You do not fear becoming a beast yourself, yet you fear a mere scrap of cloth?"
When the Daoist thundered at him, the atmosphere around them grew heavy.
A single person had overwhelmed the entire mood of the market street.
Witnessing the young Daoist's chivalrous act, Ja Gangcheon felt a hot emotion flood his chest.
What is this?
It was a feeling he had never experienced in his life.
His father's words rose in his mind.
So this is chivalry.
In Ja Gangcheon's eyes right now, the young Daoist shone brilliantly.
He's amazing.
What pleased him most of all was the clothing the young Daoist wore.
It's the same clothes as Father's.
His father's had been far more worn, but the cloud-pattern embroidery and the colors were clearly the same.
That clothing alone warmed his chest.
"Isn't that the White Clothes Sword of Wudang?"
"Isn't he the one called the greatest Rising Star of the age?"
"Only twenty this year, yet he has the presence of an old Daoist master."
Once the debt collectors were driven off, the people who had been watching with bated breath poured out praise.
Jinmyeong, the White Clothes Sword.
Jinmyeong, called the future of Wudang, seemed embarrassed by the sudden flood of praise and helped the fallen old man to his feet.
"Are you all right?"
"Thanks to you, Daoist. Thank you."
The old man offered his thanks, but his expression was not bright. Understanding why, Jinmyeong soothed the old man's heart.
"I will take measures so there are no repercussions."
If he simply withdrew now, the old man would clearly suffer even greater hardship later. Young as he was, Jinmyeong had already experienced much and resolved to solve the problem completely.
"Ah! How can I thank you enough…"
"It is only what a disciple of Wudang ought to do."
After offering a formal clasped-fist salute, Jinmyeong hurriedly left the spot.
"Cool all the way to the end."
Ja Gangcheon, who had watched the entire situation, spoke.
"But since Father is a Wudang man, does that make that person my brother too?"
"You'd have to check the genealogy. He could be a brother, or a martial uncle, or a nephew."
"Sounds complicated."
He had learned the forms of address from his father, but recalling them on the spot was not easy.
"But when he said he'd make sure there were no repercussions—that means he's going to do something himself, right?"
"Probably."
"I'm curious how. Let's follow him."
Cheongu was about to say it was dangerous, but Ja Gangcheon was already following after Jinmyeong.