Spring of Mount Hua(5)
Spring of Mount Hua(5)
The Namgung Family Head did not hide his weary demeanor.
He rubbed the tip of his nose—sharp like that of a born swordsman—over and over, repeatedly opening and closing his pupils. It was a habit that made onlookers feel a sense of unease.
The more he watched, the more he seemed like a snake wearing a human mask.
Yayul Hyeon thought as he observed that bizarre, transcendent bearing. So this is how he treats me—like a clown—
"Remember this well, Head of Mount Hua."
"...I swear, I will make you laugh."
Yayul Hyeon let his rough black hair fall loose and bit down firmly on his lips. He was the leader of the Nine Great Sects' Mount Hua Sect. A sect that rivaled Wudang in debating the supremacy of Daoist martial arts.
None of that mattered to the Namgung Family Head.
His thoughts were consumed entirely by Dohwa, who had manifested in the mortal world.
How delighted will she be when she sees us at the Murim Council? How proud will she feel when she sees what we have built? The corners of the Namgung Family Head's lips curled upward.
He spoke.
"Make sure I never have to set foot in Mount Hua again. It's nothing but a nuisance. I'm leaving. Make her laugh. Do it. No matter what."
Though rare, there exist a few divine techniques unbound by spatial constraints. The Namgung Family Head's movement art was one such skill. An art that used the sky as its path, traversing absurd distances in an instant.
It was called the Thousand-Mile Swift Step (Cheonri Hojeong).
The Namgung Family Head's ability to appear and disappear without a trace stemmed from this divine art.
He could move the moment he obtained information. This was also why the calamity that befell the Mount Hua Sect could occur almost simultaneously with the capture of Maeyeonggeom.
Hwoong—!
He lightly stepped into the sky.
The scenery stretched long from his tailbone like a dragon's tail, and the pressure beneath his feet gathered to its fullest before bursting—pung—and scattering.
The Mount Hua Sect in Shanxi Province shrank to smaller than a dot in an instant.
Hwoooong—
In the blink of an eye, he had dashed across the plains. He crossed an entire city in the span of a single blink. Soon, from afar, a golden city began to come into view. The imperial capital.
It should be around here—
The Namgung Family Head spread his palm, creating a shadow, glanced around, and muttered quietly.
"Hmm—So she's out?"
The Namgung Family Head gently landed on the ground. It was the center of the Hebei Paeng Family's estate. The Namgung Family Head wore an out-of-place smile and waved his hand.
"Beom-ah—! Long time no see."
"Have you been well, noonim?"
"Of course! How are your family? Why haven't you shown your face at the Daoist Association at all? That's disappointing."
His posture—climbing onto the back of a man twice his size—felt perfectly natural. It was a bond that had lasted for several hundred years. Beom answered with a slightly awkward expression.
"It's not that I haven't been terribly busy. What about Mount Hua?"
"Mount Hua...? I handled it well enough. I was going to cut off the Sect Leader's head, but I held back and just shaved off a few peaks, worried that it might sadden Doha-nim. Anyway, I'm sorry for showing up unannounced like this."
"As if you've ever contacted me beforehand."
"Aigoo. Let's go inside first. We need to exchange some opinions regarding the Murim Council."
Because Doha-nim is coming.
At the same time.
The backyard of the Sichuan Tang Clan was bustling for the first time in a long while.
The Mount Hua Sect envoys, who had been unexpectedly freed from their ropes, had tidied up their appearances and gathered in the middle of the lawn under the watchful eye of Woo-hyo. Each of them wore a dazed expression.
All of their gazes were fixed on Dohwa.
"...Is that truly possible?"
Maeyeonggeom muttered, looking as if his soul had left his body.
This was because Dohwa held in her hand a Fire Carp (Hwari), one that had just been retrieved from the pond.
'A Fire Carp—when touched by a human hand, it should either burn the hand with its blazing yang energy or self-destruct by exploding its own energy. But how...?'
The sight before him now was no different from a puppy being petted.
Sreuk...
Dohwa's fingers gently stroked the belly of the Fire Carp.
The gaps between the Fire Carp's scales parted slightly. As the Fire Carp flopped its body a few times, its inner core (Naedan), emitting a crimson glow, thump—fell into Dohwa's hand.
"Thank you for giving me your inner core."
The corners of her lips curved like a spring breeze.
The scales that had parted closed smoothly, as if nothing had happened. The Fire Carp hadn't shed a single drop of blood, nor had it sustained a single wound.
The Fire Carp, now returned to the form of an ordinary carp, showed no sign of displeasure. Instead, it wagged its tail as if wanting to receive Dohwa's touch once more, before leisurely swimming back to the pond.
Jegal Yuryeon's eyes widened in shock at the sight.
"...Extracting the core without killing. Truly miraculous, is it not?"
The inner core of a spiritual creature is an organ akin to a martial artist's dantian.
If it is destroyed, disaster strikes. In most cases, they cherish it as dearly as their own life. Therefore, the extraction of a core often meant taking the spiritual creature's life as well.
Yuryeon was not the only one stunned.
The Mount Hua Sect delegation watched the entire process, swallowing dry spit.
Daoist martial arts prioritize harmony with nature. It is a state of not forcefully taking something, but making all things yield it of their own accord.
"The pinnacle of Wuwei Ziran (Non-Action & Naturalness)."
Bearing no intent to kill, not plundering the source of life, and separating only the necessary essence.
It was a skill worthy of admiration.
Had Master Sambong's state been something like this?
Dohwa did not hand the inner core directly to Yuryeon. Instead, she hurried her steps.
"Wait a little longer. If you eat it like this, its effects will be diminished. You said your friend's illness was the Extreme Yin Body, correct? The cold energy within her body needs to be regulated with warm energy, but consuming the core as-is would provide almost no benefit."
"Then what must be done...?"
Yuryeon, unable to hide her anxious expression, furrowed her beautiful brow deeply and stomped her feet restlessly.
"Follow me. I'll help you."
Holding the Fire Carp's inner core in her hand, Dohwa headed toward the medicine hall.
"Myeon-ah— Are you there? Could I borrow the alchemy furnace?"
Tang Myeon, the head of the Tang Clan's medicine hall, hurriedly bowed his head at the sudden visit from the Taesang Gaju and offered the furnace.
"It's been a long time since the Tang Clan stopped alchemy, so the maintenance is a bit lacking. Will it be alright...?"
"This is more than enough."
When she lived in Dangsan, she even used earthenware made of clay and burned fire in it to create pills. Dohwa thought that even a rusty iron furnace was more than sufficient.
Maeyeonggeom and Jin Seo-hwi, who were permitted to observe, stared intently, not wanting to miss a single moment of the process.
'We might be able to further develop the Purple Cloud Pill.'
Jin Seo-hwi was the one who, following in his master's footsteps, would be responsible for the future of the Mount Hua Sect. An Immortal who had set foot on the state that Daoist martial artists strive for as their ultimate goal. It was only right to commit everything to memory.
"Hoo—"
With a flick of her fingertip, tak, tak! she snapped sparks to create a flame. After breathing life into it, Dohwa placed the alchemy furnace on top.
Hwa-a—
The flames coiled around the furnace, and Dohwa placed the Fire Carp's inner core inside. The alchemy process began.
'It's different.'
But even that process was vastly different from the common knowledge of the Mount Hua Sect. She wasn't mixing in other herbs to maximize the medicinal effects, nor was she attempting to create mutual supplementation.
'What is she trying to do?'
Just as Jin Seo-hwi's gaze was hardening with doubt, Dohwa spoke.
"Bring me some clear water."
Jjoreureu—
The Fire Carp's inner core was gently submerged.
"Hmm... This should be enough."
As Dohwa placed her hand beneath the furnace, the flames split into blue and red, flickering together.
"A Fire Carp's inner core is akin to a fire that is merely hot. To melt the ice fragments caught within its energy channels, that warmth must spread evenly. If it's too hot, it could instead cause harm."
With her left hand, Dohwa infused cool yin energy, and with her right hand, warm yang energy.
One was yin, and the other was yang.
Two incompatible true energies, controlled as if they were her own limbs. Inside the alchemy furnace, instead of the sound of boiling water, a clear resonance like the sound of wind through a forest spread outward.
Woong—
It sounded like a multitude of harmonic notes.
Gradually, the fire energy erupting from the Fire Carp's inner core cleared, becoming hot yet pure like a summer sky. It was as transparent as a handful of petroleum.
Soon.
Chiiiiik—
At the mouth of the furnace, the liquid of the inner core evaporated, and the steam that burst forth condensed into the form of a small orb.
Hwajeong (Fire Essence).
It was a divine medicine that had removed the rampaging yang energy of the Fire Carp, refining only the essence that sustains life. Dohwa wrapped it in a soft cloth and placed it into Yuryeon's arms.
"Take it. Once your friend takes this, she will wake soon."
Yuryeon received the medicine with great care, holding it close. A strange moisture gathered at the corners of her ordinarily expressionless eyes.
"...I am grateful. Thanks to this, my friend will be able to walk the rivers and lakes once more."
A precious jewel of the Murong family.
She was said to have the Ice Palace Master beyond the Great Wall as her mother, and was also famous as the younger sister of Seol Cheong. Dohwa recalled what Soyeong and Yuryeon had told her as she spoke.
"Being remembered is what gives life, they say. I will remember well. Let's meet again next time."
Amid Dohwa's warm farewell, Yuryeon and Soyeong exchanged their goodbyes. Watching their retreating figures as they left the Tang Clan's main gate, Dohwa gazed at the sunset for a moment before turning around.
A short and simple bond.
Even if it was but a fleeting moment, the depth of the connection they had built was by no means shallow. Yet the parting was so serene.
It was because they had promised a future.
From the edge of the horizon, Yuryeon shouted.
"They say that before one leaves, one should leave behind a reason to meet again. For me, that will be to repay this kindness. Someday, I will visit together with my Murong friend."
It was a loud voice. Dohwa carried it on the wind, mixing it with a farewell phrase unique to the Elf-Jang-I race from her past life.
Hoo—
-May sunlight grace your ears, may you travel happily until sunset, and may you return smiling, as you departed with a smile, and finally find peace.-