In Wudang
When I woke in the morning, birds were singing outside, and as soon as I opened the window, the crisp mountain air surged in on the breeze.
Haaah. Hah.
Another refreshing day.
I washed my face and wandered out of the room at an unhurried pace.
“You’re awake.”
A Wudang Sect Daoist who had been sweeping the courtyard greeted me.
It was morning, sure, but the sun was already high overhead.
I’d been taking it easy, lazing around, and now that I’d run into people who were already hard at work, I felt suddenly self-conscious about the middle of the day.
The unnamed Daoist looked warm and friendly, but that only made me feel more guilty for no reason.
I had a conscience, too, you know.
“Y-yes… thanks for your hard work.”
I bowed with my face half-hidden and scurried away as if I were fleeing.
I could feel his eyes following me all the way across the courtyard.
Why are you staring at me like that? It’s embarrassing.
When I entered the dining hall, a meal was already laid out before me.
Ever since I’d come here, I’d visited at the same time every day.
Even while I’d been enjoying a leisurely life, it seemed my habits as an ordinary, struggling commoner had stuck to me as tightly as ever.
It had already been four days since I’d stayed at Wudang Sect.
Truly, a peaceful, uneventful daily life had continued without interruption.
“I’ll enjoy this.”
There was no one watching and no one listening, but I still greeted the empty air as I always did and began my meal.
This modest, tidy spread was a luxury beyond happiness compared to my life in the mountains, where I’d been roasting dried fruit and game meat with a certain musky stink to it.
“Thank you for the meal.”
I pressed my palms together and bowed again.
Thank you for allowing me to enjoy another meal today.
I sprang to my feet and hurried out of the dining hall.
They’d told me very firmly not to clean up the dishes.
Apparently it was burdensome for them.
On the other hand, if I didn’t clean up, I’d feel burdened too, but I was a guest, so I had to do as I was told.
As befitted a prestigious sect, Wudang’s main compound was spacious.
From the veranda of the annex where I stayed, I could look down over Wudang Mountain, and the view was so breathtakingly tasteful it was almost absurd.
I never would have imagined that simply looking at nature could be this hard to get tired of.
“Prrrr.”
As I sat on the veranda, Baekrok came over and rubbed its head against me.
For some reason, this deer had taken up residence in the annex with me.
Whenever I read, it lay quietly beside me; whenever I went out for a walk, it followed like my shadow.
“…Do you like me that much?”
“Prrrrr.”
The deer snorted a gust of breath.
That was a yes, right?
It felt good to be liked by a spiritual beast, but at the same time, this inexplicable affection kept making me awkward.
I was stroking the deer’s neck while gazing down at the mountain when Hudojin came by the annex.
“Miss Song, have you had any discomforts at all?”
Hudojin came by several times a day to check on me.
The reason was obvious without even having to think about it: the deer was with me.
Wasn’t it supposedly Wudang’s sacred beast?
It was only natural for them to worry if it was staying close to an outsider.
It was a little suffocating to be watched so closely, but since it let me enjoy a comfortable life without any interference, it was worth putting up with.
More than anything, it was free.
There was no reason to kick away peace and comfort that had been handed to me.
“Not at all. How is Cheonga doing?”
I wasn’t the only guest staying at Wudang Sect.
Cheonga seemed to be enjoying life there more than I’d expected.
She’d even started training with the Daoists, wanting to learn about swords from the beginning, and through Hudojin’s introductions, she’d been talking with the other elders about swordsmanship as well.
“Miss Cheonga is doing well. She’s trying hard to follow Miss Song’s teachings.”
What teachings, exactly, had I given her?
The idea of becoming one with the sword had apparently left a deeper impression on her than I’d thought.
That was the realm of one-body-with-the-sword. It wasn’t something you could just do easily.
I’d just been making things up on the spot, tossing out something that sounded convincing, so now I was worried I’d put too much pressure on her.
As I covered my mouth with one hand and fell into a small crisis of conscience, Hudojin spoke to me again.
“Miss Song, despite never taking up a sword, you seem to have mastered the principles of the blade. And yet, why do you refuse to carry one?”
Please don’t do this.
What did I know about swords?
I glanced sideways, and Hudojin’s eyes were gleaming.
I was only stringing together whatever sounded impressive, but the more I played at being grand, the higher their expectations grew. This was bad.
So once again, I strained and squeezed out another answer that sounded the part.
“A sword is not meant to cut down others, but to be drawn only when one must stop wrongdoing. Since I haven’t yet been placed in a situation where I need to draw one, I don’t want to force myself to carry it.”
“Oh-ho.”
Hudojin let out an impressed sound.
I’d have preferred for him to say it was nothing but empty posturing and knock me down a peg, but of course that was far too much to hope for.
He nodded and closed his eyes.
Apparently, my pretentious little speech had satisfied him again.
Being forced into these philosophical exchanges day after day, this leisurely guest life at Wudang was starting to feel like it was nearing its limit.
They were satisfied with my nonsense every day, but once my store of it ran dry and my hollow words were exposed, he’d probably explode in anger and throw us out.
Still, Cheonga was training hard and enjoying this life, so as her older sister, I had to do my best to preserve the peace here.
I watched Hudojin retreat with a pleased expression, then stroked the deer again.
“This isn’t easy.”
“Prrrr.”
The softness of its fur sliding between my fingers eased my troubled heart a little.
So this was why people kept pets.
After a few days, I began to be called by a new nickname within Wudang Sect.
At first, I only heard it as murmuring.
Whenever I crossed the courtyard or walked down a corridor, the young Daoists would whisper to each other after spotting me, then hurry to lower their heads.
Then, one day, I started hearing it plainly.
“Fairy Maiden, I trust your night was peaceful.”
“Fairy Maiden, have you eaten?”
At first, I didn’t even realize they were talking to me.
But once I understood they were addressing me, my face went hot with embarrassment.
A fairy maiden? Me?
I didn’t know what to do with myself.
Of course, my appearance was outrageously, unfairly stunning enough to deserve a fairy-maiden label.
But just for that?
Unable to stand it any longer, I grabbed one of the young Daoists I happened to pass and asked, “Um, Daoist. Why does everyone call me that?”
My question flustered the young Daoist so badly that he seemed at a loss for words.
He hesitated for a moment, then, as if steeling himself, opened his mouth.
“Well… because the elders elevate you as though you were a being from heaven, and also… your beauty is hardly that of an ordinary mortal, is it?”
He didn’t stop there.
His eyes were shining with reverent fantasy.
“And when one sees your profound understanding of the sword, and above all, the way even the sacred beast Baekrok follows you so faithfully… if not a fairy maiden from legend, then what else could you be?”
Hearing his explanation, I had nothing to say.
The sect elders overvaluing me, this body’s unreal beauty, the apparently convincing things I’d said about swords, and Baekrok.
Piece by piece, I could see why they called me a fairy maiden.
Honestly, if I hadn’t known the truth, I might have thought the same thing.
“Ah… I see.”
There was nothing I could do but nod awkwardly.
So I really was a genius pretty girl who would shake the martial world to its foundations.
Being praised so extravagantly made me feel buoyant all by itself.
It had been a long time since I’d felt so unable to control my own body.
As I nodded, the young Daoist’s gaze changed.
Ah, wait.
It was my mistake for not stopping him when he bolted off.
From then on, wherever I went in Wudang, people praised me as Fairy Maiden.
I tried to correct them at first, then gave up.
It was only a few days’ stay anyway, so what did it matter what they called me?
Honestly, being treated like a fairy maiden and showered with praise felt pretty nice, too.
Smiling sweetly at their adoration and seeing their faces turn red wasn’t a bad feeling at all.
What harm was there in playing fairy maiden for a few days in a mountain sect like this?
Today, too, I returned to the annex in high spirits after being praised to the heavens.
I was about to enjoy the sunset view when, right on cue, the deer came over to my side.
Ending the day by petting this creature was the proper way to do it.
“Were you waiting for me?”
I stroked the nape of its neck, feeling the plush softness of its fur.
This was the life. The good life.
As I kept petting it, the deer suddenly grabbed my sleeve in its mouth and started tugging.
“Hm? What is it? Is there somewhere you want to go?”
The deer gave no answer, only tilting its head as if to hurry me along.
My curiosity was piqued.
It hadn’t done this before.
I followed after it.
As though it knew the path by heart, it led me out of Wudang’s inner grounds and onto a lonely side trail.
“Where are we going?”
The deer didn’t look back.
Its unfamiliar behavior only deepened my curiosity.
Nothing bad’s going to happen, right?
Things had gone well so far, so it wouldn’t be playing some cruel trick on me.
I pushed my worries aside and followed it for quite a while, until a small stream with a mystical atmosphere appeared at the end of the path.
Even through the thick mist rising off the water, I could see a blue light shimmering upward from the stream.
“Wow.”
Was this one of those sacred springs, or something like that?
A fortuitous encounter. An opportunity.
There could be no doubt.
A mysterious place reached by following a spiritual beast’s guidance.
Enchanted, I approached the stream and carefully dipped my hand into the water.
Then I felt something cool yet warm being drawn in through my fingertips.
This is…
Startled, I tried to pull my hand back, but the flow of energy did not stop.
“Pooor—”
Baekrok, watching me from the side, let out a low cry.
Was this its gift in return?
Then why not give it to me the day I saved it, instead of now?
What on earth was this? Nature’s energy?
I was full of questions, but one thing was certain: it was helping me.
The absorbed energy circulated through my entire body, scattering a cool, refreshing clarity wherever it passed.
I reached out and stroked the deer’s nose as it tilted its head at me.
“Thank you.”
“Prrrr.”
The deer seemed pleased, rubbing its head against my cheek over and over like it was asking for affection.
For all I knew, this was probably a good thing.
I wasn’t some master of martial arts; I was just a half-baked fraud who could only fling spiritual energy around, but even I could tell the energy moving through my body was something good.
Coming to Wudang Mountain had been nothing but good fortune.
This was what a chance encounter was supposed to be.
Compared with my past, when I’d had nothing to boast of and suffered because of it, now I was a pretty girl under the moon, and even luck was following me around. It made me feel good all on its own.
Shall I try it once in a while?
By chance, this was a secluded stream with nothing to witness me except the deer.
I looked up at the moonlit sky and, for the first time in a while, stretched out my legs and did the calisthenics routine I’d been doing for years.
Every breath I took filled my body with the clear energy I’d absorbed, leaving me feeling refreshed from head to toe.
I’d only skipped it for a few days. There was no way I’d forget movements I’d been doing for years.
After finishing one full round and washing the sweat from my body in the stream, the deer kept me company at my side.
It felt like it was staring a little too intently, though.
What would a deer know? It probably just likes the energy.
I brushed it off without concern.
Moving my body after so long felt wonderful.
I was in the best mood I’d had since coming to Wudang, and I headed back to the annex feeling deeply satisfied.
But when I arrived, something about the atmosphere was strange.
Every Daoist I passed stopped where they stood and stared at me with eyes wide as saucers.
W-what is it?
Their horrified expressions made it hard even to ask.
As I crossed the courtyard toward the annex, everyone’s gaze followed me.
Just then, Elder Hudojin came out of the main hall, saw me, and stopped in his tracks as well.
He too looked deeply shocked as he spoke to me carefully.
“…This is the first time I’ve seen you at night, but it seems the words of my disciples calling you a fairy maiden were not false after all.”
He dropped to one knee and bowed his head.
Following his lead, the surrounding Daoists all knelt at once.
Night…?
My reflection had just happened to appear in the mirror hanging in the corridor.
In the glass was a woman in sky-blue robes, her skin glowing faintly as though lit by moonlight, while a blue aura drifted from her like mist.
Whoa. I really do look like a fairy maiden.
Their reaction made sense the moment I understood it.