Chapter 26
Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 26
Chapter Title: The Sea and the Teacher (3)
Yuyeon had become the submissive one for the first time. In other words, the teacher had finally taken a firm grip on her reins.
The teacher had only thought of her as a genius cultivator with exceptional intellect and mastery of all sorts of arts and skills. He never imagined she could be this immature and prone to mischief.
In truth, he had guessed she was a runaway from a well-off family just by looking at her clothes and demeanor.
She wasn't some apostate cultivator or a girl who had mastered a technique; she was an eight-year-old wandering alone. How could he not piece together her circumstances? That's why he had subtly probed her background.
But despite giving her multiple chances to open up, she never did. He couldn't help but worry about what heavy secret she must be carrying—though he had no heart to ache with, of course.
Yet to think this young lady wasn't just from some ordinary wealthy family, but the daughter of the Tiger Clan, and her reason for running away was that she didn't want to be dragged off to the capital's major sect...
To a teacher steeped in the common sense of the cultivation world, she seemed utterly immature and recklessly bold.
Now, to the teacher, Yuyeon was no longer a young master, cultivator, or even a spirit—she was just a girl. She had taken one step further from her dream of the heroic path of men.
In any case, Yuyeon had finally opened up to the teacher, albeit belatedly. Of course, she didn't tell him everything. She still lacked the courage to mention her reincarnation or past life.
"In truth, I am a runaway girl."
「Got it.」
"In truth, I think I possess a Supreme Spiritual Root."
「Yeah, I figured that out ages ago too. Anything else? Like, for example, you're actually the reincarnation of an immortal, or you were born in the immortal realms and fell down, or... Sigh. My imagination is running wild.」
"I vaguely heard that if you go to the capital's major sect, the cultivators kill and devour each other, refine them into pills to eat, use them as cultivation resources, and all that."
「Sounds like a lot of eating, anyway. So.」
"I got scared and ran away, but from my position, that was a wise judgment. I agonized over it. I really had no choice at the time. Even my Dao Heart agreed."
「Yeah, it does seem that way.」
The teacher had no past-life memories of his own, but his vast knowledge of the cultivation world let him know exactly what worries plagued her—and that such things happened all too often.
He didn't know how Yuyeon had learned of it—maybe some book fell from the heavens?—but in any case, knowing that much made her actions reasonably wise.
Still, a question arose that he couldn't help but voice.
「But if that's the case, then if that Qi Refining cultivator really meant to devour you, your family wouldn't be safe by now.」
"……..."
The teacher became convinced that he himself harbored the Insight Heart Tribulation. With just that one remark, he had stirred Yuyeon's inner demon; her eyes lost their spark as she stood there dazed.
「I've gone and poked at something you were forcibly forgetting and trying not to recall. Yuyeon, forget what I just said...」
Only then did Yuyeon's transcendent intellect kick in, letting her forget what needed forgetting. She sat blankly by the riverbank with a vacant expression.
For some reason, she didn't even want the sunlight and opened her parasol, huddling beneath it.
She felt that under no circumstances should she have any insights or realizations related to the Dao right now. In truth, she'd felt this sensation even after entering the Entrance Stage, which was part of why she'd acted especially childish.
The teacher saw through this and let out a silent sigh.
So that's why Yuyeon, with her talents encompassing all three essential elements, was stuck at the Entrance Stage instead of advancing to Qi Refining—it was all heaven's will, paving the way for her great Dao.
Attempting a breakthrough while harboring such a grave inner demon would inevitably open the Heart Demon Barrier; she'd have to overcome it to succeed.
Given her extraordinary nature, the teacher believed even an Entrance Stage inner demon wouldn't block her path entirely. Yet at the same time, the fact that even her brilliant intellect couldn't overcome it spoke to its severity.
Thus, the teacher decided not to offer any advice.
Inner demons had to be faced alone. He had unintentionally stirred one and deepened it through a careless remark, but since she'd managed to suppress it somehow, he resolved to leave it to her.
Thinking this way, her insistence on going to see the sea suddenly took on new meaning. She might not realize it herself, but something within her did.
Truly, a being of such transcendent intellect was blessed—yet also endlessly complex, pitiable, and unstable.
Yuyeon's resilience had only been tested once since birth.
But as expected of her transcendent intellect, by afternoon she had shaken off her inner demon and risen. She couldn't even remember what it was. Had there even been an inner demon? Begone, inner demon—you're no fun.
Yuyeon stood silently gazing across the river, then picked up a stone. She felt its heavy, cold weight in her hand before hurling it into the water on impulse.
It might look cute at a glance, but when Yuyeon threw it in frustration, an explosion erupted from the river.
—Fwoooosh
Shaaaaaa—
The water surged skyward in a geyser, and the scattered droplets poured down like rain, but Yuyeon stayed dry under her raised parasol.
Parasols were made to block sunlight, after all, and taking rain heedlessly could ruin their purpose. Fortunately, this one was from the immortal realms and unscathed by the deluge.
As she stood there, someone approached and spoke. Her Divine Sense caught the unmistakable form of a monk.
"Benefactor, greetings."
The monk was drenched head to toe from the freak shower caused by Yuyeon's stone.
"Greetings, monk."
The monk greeted her first with a single hand in salute, and Yuyeon politely clasped hers together in respect.
"Benefactor, you seem troubled. Even this lowly passing monk felt moved to ask."
Yuyeon checked her face with her Divine Sense at his words and saw she wore an expression she'd never seen before: utterly dejected.
She hesitated, wondering if it was okay to consult this monk about cultivation matters.
"My situation is... just... I don't know."
For the first time, her usual learned eloquence failed her; she couldn't respond.
"What purpose did you set out on the road with, benefactor?"
At this question, Yuyeon grew fed up, assuming he was just another pursuer. She planned to ignore him and vanish with her Concealing Form Formation.
But when the monk pulled out a letter, she sensed what it was with her Divine Sense before even reading it. For the first time, her transcendent intellect felt like a curse.
"If you answer this, benefactor, I'll give you this letter."
"What shame would a runaway like me have in accepting a letter? No need. Take it back. I'll be on my way."
Yuyeon turned to leave. She had no need to answer his prying questions to take the letter. If she wanted to read it, her Divine Sense could do so anyway.
The monk smiled quietly, realizing she hadn't read it.
"Benefactor, how about this then?"
Yuyeon didn't stop walking.
"Guess whether this letter got wet just now or not. If you're right, I'll give it to you freely."
Yuyeon halted. Of course it was wet—it came from the soaked monk's robes. Obvious.
But without even checking with her Divine Sense, she knew. Her brilliant intellect replayed the moment he drew it out. The letter was perfectly dry.
"Who are you? Are you a cultivator too?"
Yuyeon was sick of cultivators. Immortals weren't enough; now ghosts, demons, and even monks were cultivators. Should she call him a Buddhist cultivator?
"If you split 'cultivator' into 'cultivation' and 'immortal,' then yes, I'm a practitioner—but not of the Orthodox Dao."
Yuyeon mulled this over. Her knowledge of the cultivation world was still lacking, so she didn't fully grasp it, but it seemed he followed a different path from ordinary cultivators.
But what did that have to do with whether she took the letter? Feeling annoyed, she shot back defiantly.
"The letter is obviously wet. It rained, after all."
It was the farewell letter she'd written herself. She had no need to take it back.
"Indeed, a wise benefactor. But the reason is slightly different. Come, check the letter yourself."
Yuyeon read the monk's expression. She'd never left Xifeng County before running away, and temples were in the mountains, so she'd never seen a Buddha statue in this life.
She imagined that if someone in this world had carved a Buddha statue, it would look just like him.
He had the face of a man in his thirties, smooth and glossy save for the hair around his eyes. He looked seasoned by time, yet free of wrinkles.
The monk offered the letter to Yuyeon with a faint smile.
She extended her hand hesitantly, then felt it.
The letter was wet. More precisely, it had gotten wet and dried.
Soaked in spilled water, the paper had expanded and wrinkled upon drying. Her fingers told her as much.
Yuyeon felt tricked. How could she refuse it now after confirming for herself? No matter what she said, she'd be right, so the monk lost no face.
Clearly, this monk had used such mind games just to get the letter into her hands. His palm felt as vast as a mountain; Yuyeon felt like a monkey pinned beneath a rock.
"A monk toying with a child—you'll never attain enlightenment."
"If you reach the Dao in my stead, what fault is it if I fail to enlighten? Even Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva acts thus for the sake of sentient beings. Would I attain it by refusing?"
"I can't win with words. Anyway, thank you for the letter, monk."
The monk nodded with an unwavering smile and turned to leave. His robes were thoroughly soaked, clinging to his back, but he paid it no mind. The letter, however, remained dry.
"I hope next time to hear the answer I missed earlier. If the mood strikes you, come to Borim Temple."
Yuyeon stood with hands clasped in respect until the monk passed beyond her Divine Sense range, saying nothing.
He had handled matters cleanly out of respect for her and Namgung, so she returned the courtesy.
Thus, her refusal to answer wasn't mere reluctance to bare her heart to him.
Yuyeon had found the reason for her journey.
But whether to reveal it to others was another matter. Establishing one's will in the world was still distant; she simply wasn't inclined.
Once he was gone, only the letter remained, marked by wet stains. To read it, she'd need her Divine Sense—troublesome.
To think she'd have to read the stylish farewell letter she'd written herself now that her runaway was fully exposed and she'd been thoroughly scolded. She missed the days playing with that shaman and tiger demon.
At least among them, she was like a queen. (History is written by the victors, after all, and Yuyeon could write her own.)
With these stray thoughts to settle her turbulent mind, she finally had the leisure to open the letter.
Thus, without using her Divine Sense, she unfolded it first and read what she had written.
'I set out to find my own place.'
—Namgung Yuyeon—
The character for "Yu" (喩) in her name was smudged. It meant "enlightenment," mirroring her current state. It felt complicated—why blur that character of all things, even as tears welled up.
There was writing on the back too.
Not hers, so likely a reply. No wonder he was so eager to hand it over. The moment she recognized it, the contents flooded her mind, silencing her.
'Waves depart on their own, but never leave the sea.'
No sender was named. But it was as good as signed. Only one person could send such a letter.
Deep down, Yuyeon had underestimated Namgung Humyeong—not his birth, inner power, knowledge, or temperament.
After all, she was the youngest daughter of Namgung Manor.
Girls naturally assume they're the cutest and view their fathers as little more than bottomless purses—insolent and spoiled things.
Yuyeon fancied herself a young master inwardly, but she hadn't yet shed her mortal shell at the threshold of cultivation; she remained a cute youngest daughter.
And Namgung Humyeong was a master at handling five such daughters. Who could dismiss his temperament, martial prowess, or erudition?
He was even a senior in runaways; how could Yuyeon, with just half a month on the road, match his fifteen years of expertise?
She knew this all too well but hadn't admitted it inwardly. Now, she finally did.
Waves leave the sea but always return. In Yuyeon's hand was the wave she had sent away, now returned.
Before her lay the river. Her Divine Sense couldn't see its end; the sea would be no different.
Yuyeon reached the seaside. Her long-sought goal.
A wry smile spread across her lips, as if realizing waves could never leave the sea.