Chapter 42
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 42
Chapter Title: Changes Begin
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The next day, after getting Eunbi's permission, I sent her off to Cheongyo's carriage and taught Yeoseol the North Sea Ice Palace's martial arts.
In truth, there wasn't much to teach.
She grasped everything just from reading the manuals and hearing my explanations.
"She just gets it."
That was her response when I marveled at how she could execute a form the moment I named a North Sea Ice Palace technique.
I merely nodded, since it was the same thing I always told people who asked me.
"But how does big brother know all the North Sea Ice Palace martial arts? You're not from the Ice Palace."
"I learned them by reading too."
"Wow. Is my big brother a genius or something?"
I gazed steadily at Yeoseol and patted her head.
"Yeah, something like that. Yeoseol, you were careful around Cheongyo unnie and Songran unnie, just like I told you, right?"
"Of course. Do you think I'm a child? When big brother warns me so earnestly, how could I not be careful?"
She spoke as if trying to act mature, but her cheeks, still plump with baby fat, were nothing short of endearing.
"You absolutely must never emit true energy or perform forms in front of anyone but me."
By now, Yeoseol had realized that the dances she used to do were actually a type of martial art.
She knew that slicing flowers with twigs involved true energy, and that it was something no child her age could do.
Thinking back on the effort it took to teach her these concepts brought a wry smile to my lips.
That was why I put more work into instilling such ideas than into formal studies.
I observed Yeoseol's body as it absorbed natural qi and converted it into true energy.
In search of a cultivation method suited to her, I racked my brain through every one I knew, but nothing seemed quite right.
'Should I try teaching her the Nine Palaces Jade Heart Method? It's designed for handling spirit or ghostly qi, and given how she takes in natural qi directly, it might work. If it doesn't suit her, she can just not circulate it—no harm done.'
The reason I wasn't teaching her the North Sea Ice Palace's cultivation method was that once the dantian was formed with it, she could never cultivate using any other method.
Cultivation arts that emphasized only one type of energy had the fatal flaw of stunted growth.
Taoist sects taught balanced qi, allowing for near-infinite growth.
Wudang Sect and Mount Hua Sect weren't strong for nothing.
'No. Yeoseol forms true energy by absorbing natural qi with her entire body, so she doesn't need a cultivation method at all. Sword forms will suffice. Since she can emit sword qi even with a stick, let's tailor the martial arts to that.'
I spoke to Yeoseol.
"Yeoseol. I'm going to teach you a stick dance from now on."
"Big brother."
She cut me off with a serious expression.
"Yeah?"
"Could you stop treating me like a kid?"
"What do you mean?"
"'Stick dance'? Just call it a sword technique. I know all about it now."
For a fleeting moment, I felt like a father beholding his suddenly mature daughter.
Or perhaps like one whose daughter had abruptly brought home a boyfriend she adored?
'What's with this sense of betrayal?'
Above all, Yeoseol's mental growth outpaced her physical development by leaps and bounds, leaving me startled by the changes with each passing day.
It was proof that she was shedding her childishness—reading all sorts of books on her own and learning from interactions with others.
"Got it. I'll teach you a sword technique. From now on, if you ever need to use sword arts, use only this one. Nothing else."
"Hmm, so that means no North Sea Ice Palace martial arts, right?"
"Exactly."
"Understood. I know a bit about the world now, so just tell me straight."
"I will."
Her appearance was still unmistakably that of a young girl, yet her mind was steadily maturing into that of a lady—a bittersweet feeling.
"What sword technique will you teach me?"
When learning to read, she couldn't focus, but mention martial arts, and her eyes sparkled brighter than ever.
"It's the Nangong Family's sword technique, reserved only for the highest experts. Vault of Heaven Unfettered Sword Technique."
"Oh, I know it. They say it's incredibly powerful."
I wondered who had told her about it.
"Who said that?"
"Our landlord grandpa. He said if I were his daughter, he'd teach me that technique."
I let out a chuckle.
'That old man... Even so, luring a girl with sword arts?'
Growing concerned, I asked,
"Did you do anything in front of the landlord?"
Yeoseol shook her head.
"No. He just said I have excellent aptitude."
"He never checked your pulse or anything like that?"
"Of course not! I won't even let him pat my head."
"Good girl. Do the same with Cheongyo unnie or Songran unnie. Got it?"
Transcendent experts like Nangong Hak could discern her true nature just by sending qi into her body.
At their level, they could judge bone structure from sight alone, and a simple qi probe would immediately reveal Yeoseol's secret.
'The Vault of Heaven Unfettered Sword Technique I'm teaching her is purely under my authority as a signal envoy. That should qualify.'
I granted myself the credentials.
'The 24 Plum Blossom Sword Techniques are comparable in power, but I can't teach it without Mount Hua Sect's permission.'
I transmitted the oral formulas for the first twelve forms of the Vault of Heaven Unfettered Sword Technique to Yeoseol, along with detailed interpretations and explanations.
The best part was needing only to explain each two or three times at most.
"Do you understand?"
I was prepared to clarify any unclear parts, but Yeoseol shook her head.
"More or less. If I get stuck while practicing, I'll ask you, big brother."
Even an exalted art like the Vault of Heaven posed no obstacle for her.
Watching her swing a wooden sword back and forth all morning, gradually grasping the feel of the Vault of Heaven Unfettered Sword Technique, filled me with many thoughts.
I reflected on whether guiding Yeoseol into the world of martial arts was truly the right thing to do.
'I'm teaching her martial arts so she can protect herself since she's anything but ordinary, but I'm not sure if that's for the best.'
I believed that if a normal life was impossible, it was better to lead her toward actively shaping her own destiny.
Yet every time I looked at Yeoseol, that conviction wavered.
Before I knew it, I no longer saw her merely as the bearer of an Ice Sacred Body or a child temporarily in my care—I saw her as family.
By lunchtime, her concentration had flagged, and she said,
"Big brother, let's take a break."
I stopped the carriage at her request.
It had come to rest in a spot with a splendid view of a mountain slope.
The coachman spoke up.
"Scholar, I'll fetch water from the village to give the horses."
"Go ahead."
The coachman shouldered a water pail and headed up toward the slash-and-burn village on the slope.
A while later, he returned with a troubled look.
"What's wrong?"
"The village has no water."
"No water? There's a stream right over there."
"From what they said, the mountain owner blocked the stream and cut off their supply."
"The nerve!"
From the sound of it, the mountain owner was resorting to dirty tricks to drive out the villagers.
The settlement had about twenty households—roughly forty or fifty people, by the look of it.
Though remote, it had a reliable water source until now, which explained the sizable population for slash-and-burn farmers.
"No drinking water either, so I couldn't get any."
But Yeoseol, viewing it through a young girl's innocent heart, burst out in anger.
"Big brother, if there are such wicked people, I'll give them a scolding! How can they cut off water and try to kill people? Water is part of nature—how can anyone own it?"
It was just like Yeoseol, who had no concept of possession, to say something like that.
Even Nangong Cheolwoong and the other two had no retort to her words.
Explaining adult circumstances wouldn't make sense to her anyway.
"I'll go to the upper stream and fetch some."
Nangong Cheolwoong offered.
With no other choice, I gave permission.
"Do that. It'll be tough alone—take another and bring it back."
At my words, Nangong Cheolwoong and Nangong Hwajun shouldered water pails and bounded up the mountain with lightness skill.
A short time later, some of the villagers who had spotted us resting approached.
They brought wooden bowls filled with roasted cakes made from ground millet or corn—snacks that resembled spring rolls.
"No water, but please have these at least."
Yeoseol happily accepted and ate one.
"It's good. You try too, big brother."
I took one from her hand and ate it as well.
I worried about her innocently accepting and devouring food without suspicion, but I couldn't refuse the villagers' kindness.
Nangong Pyo, however, didn't touch the food.
Warriors from prestigious families never casually ate outside food unless it came from an inn or restaurant.
It was a long-standing rule in their households.
In such matters, I was still far from a true warrior's life.
In the end, Cheongyo, Songran, Yeoseol, and I polished off all the spring rolls.
Yeoseol quietly watched the villagers for a moment before turning to me.
"Big brother."
"Yeah?"
"There's no water here. Can't we dig them a well?"
She remembered the wells scattered around the Nangong Family estate, where water was free for the taking.
"Digging a well takes a long time."
"Even if it does, can't we do it?"
As Yeoseol spoke, the middle-aged woman who had brought the spring rolls replied,
"Oh, we appreciate the thought, but there's no suitable spot in our village to dig one, miss. Nowhere likely to yield water."
A boy about Yeoseol's age, who had come with the woman, added,
"We catch rainwater when it falls."
As Nangong Cheolwoong and Hwajun approached, water pails on their shoulders and lightness skill in play, the villagers realized we were martial artists.
"Whoa! Murim folk?"
The boy gazed at us with eyes full of admiration.
For him, seeing real murim warriors in person—people he'd only heard tales of—was thrilling.
But the middle-aged woman cautioned her son while keeping her guard up.
She knew what kind of people martial artists could be.
As I stayed silent, Yeoseol spoke.
"Big brother, it reminds me of something you taught me while studying writing not long ago."
"What?"
"When we studied Mencius's four beginnings. You said that without a heart of compassion, one isn't human."
I never imagined she'd apply "Without a heart of compassion, one is not human" here.
Still, it was commendable that she could put her studies to use.
Exclamations of admiration rose from those around us at Yeoseol's words.
I pondered for a moment.
Digging a well would take too much time, yet ignoring their plight felt heartless.
In such cases, the usual course was to look the other way and press on.
After all, it wasn't one's own problem—easy enough to tune out.
But with Yeoseol invoking compassion, pretending not to notice was no longer an option.
Moreover, everyone doted on her; disappointing her expectations was out of the question.
"I'll check if there's underground water. If there is, we'll dig a well. If not, we give up."
"That's fair enough for me."
Yeoseol accepted neatly, drawing a hollow laugh from me.
'This one's turning into quite the little vixen.'
I entered the village and circulated my spirit qi.
Rotating three strands allowed me to sense the flow of water qi.
I detected the water qi in nearby trees and moisture in the air.
But no underground flow from the earth, so I spun it faster.
The qi intensified, and the water flow grew stronger.
Walking around the village, I sensed a substantial water source beside a massive bedrock outcrop.
Standing there and sending out qi, I detected a massive underground current.
"Dig here."
Everyone looked skeptical when I announced water nearby after wandering about.
Even for a master, detecting underground water wasn't something easily accepted.
"Pickaxes for the surface, then we'll blast the earth with sword qi."
At the suggestion of using sword qi for digging, all eyes turned to me.
"Any reason we can't?"
Nangong Cheolwoong, Hwajun, and Pyo—the warriors—flushed red, as if offended by the idea of using sword qi for manual labor.
I believed sword qi should be used for any practical purpose, but to warriors who held it sacred, it bordered on blasphemy.
"Doesn't the Nangong Family speak of the living sword?"
The living sword was an ancient Nangong precept: wield the sword not to kill, but to save lives.
The three pondered my words deeply before nodding.
"You're right, Scholar. If our swords dig earth to quench the thirst of many, that is the living sword. We've learned much."
I smiled at them.
They understood my intent perfectly.
"The same water becomes poison in a snake and milk in a cow. Whether our martial arts breed venom or nourishment depends on our hearts, doesn't it?"
The three listened with the reverence of disciples receiving precious wisdom from a master, then replied,
"We will keep it in mind."
At first, Nangong Cheolwoong borrowed a pickaxe from the villagers to break the surface soil before striking with sword qi.
Boom!
Dust billowed as the ground cratered under the sword qi.
"Huh? It works."
Having never dug earth with sword qi before, the three were astonished that it succeeded.
I told them,
"Good. Take turns when one tires."
They alternated between sword qi and pickaxes, digging far more easily than expected.
"Wow! Sword qi digs earth so well. Amazing!"
Seeing Yeoseol clap and cheer in delight made even the delay feel worthwhile.
I had worried whether she'd inherited the North Sea Ice Palace warriors' inherent cold detachment.
But witnessing her inability to pass by others' misfortune eased my concerns.
'Chivalry isn't born from somewhere else. Isn't a heart that turns toward the needy the true root of chivalry? With such a heart, true heroes are never far away.'
In my eyes, Yeoseol rejoicing at the well-digging, and Cheongyo's group cheering on the three men, all looked like paragons of chivalry.
'Oh no, at this rate, those three will collapse.'
Tsking at how they were pushing themselves too hard in response to the women's encouragement, lost in the thrill of cheers from beauties for the first time in their lives.