Three Years Remaining
"You fools. How many times must I say it before it sinks in?"
"We're sorry, Senior Brother!"
Hagun paced among the kneeling disciples, hands clasped, and continued.
"We are Taoists of the Wudang Sect."
He let out a sigh and cast a sidelong glance at Yeong-hwa.
"If a Taoist cannot even follow the Way, how can he lean on petty tricks and private arts?"
At that, Hakseok cried out through his tears.
"It's all my fault!"
His voice was pitiful as he went on.
"I received a letter saying Mother at home cannot rise at all because of her illness…"
Hagun sighed again and watched the clouds drifting over Wudang Mountain.
"All of you, stand up."
When his junior brothers rose, Hagun went to Hakseok and dropped to one knee.
"This will hurt. Bear it."
He took hold of Hakseok's dangling ankle, examined it a moment, then applied force in a single sharp motion.
Crack-crack-crack-crack—
"Aaaargh!"
Hakseok screamed and toppled backward.
Yeong-hwa immediately felt along the ankle this way and that, then smiled up at Hagun.
"As expected of Senior Brother's skill…"
Thwack—
Hagun's scabbard came down on Yeong-hwa's head once more.
"Yaaaagh!"
Yeong-hwa clutched his skull and made a face of pure misery.
"The rest of you, carry Junior Brother Hakseok to the Medical Hall and report for afternoon training!"
"Yes, Senior Brother!"
The second-generation disciples hoisted Hakseok and vanished in a hurry.
Hagun looked at Yeong-hwa and spoke.
"The Sect Leader is looking for you."
"Why?"
"You may be leaving the sect for a while."
Hagun unfurled the Cloud-Riding Steps. Not to be outdone, Yeong-hwa opened the same footwork and followed him toward the Sect Leader's quarters at the peak of the Wudang Sect.
Kuuuuung—
The moment they arrived at Taehyeonjasogung, a vast tide of internal energy pressed down from every direction.
Yeong-hwa glanced at Hagun.
"It looks as though the Sect Leader is training. Should we really go in?"
"We'll wait a moment."
Yeong-hwa surveyed the surroundings, then hopped lightly up onto the wall.
"Yeong-hwa!"
Hagun called after him, face stricken with alarm.
"Aren't you even a little curious, Senior Brother Hagun?"
Hagun hesitated, then followed, hanging from the wall and just barely peeking over.
In the training yard of the Sect Leader's hall, Hyeonsong was pouring everything into the practice of the Taegeukhyekeom.
Yeong-hwa whispered to Hagun.
"That's no ordinary Taegeukhyekeom. It looks as if he's using the Guhontalbaekgeom at the same time."
Radiant white sword blade energy gathered along Hyeonsong's Songmun Ancient Sword as he unfolded the mysteries of the Taegeukhyekeom against an imagined foe.
The Songmun Ancient Sword drew circles, and the circles became Taiji. The spinning Taiji slowly resolved into interlocking rings of black and white.
Just as Hyeonsong turned the spine of his blade downward and began to pivot—
Jjeo-jeo-jeo-jeong—
The whirling rings shattered outright, and Hyeonsong's body sagged with them.
"Hah— hah— hah— hah— hah—."
He stared, regret plain on his face, at the blood running down the hilt. The reckless forcing of his internal energy had split his palms open.
"I have even mastered the Mugeoksimgong, yet the true principle of the Taegeukhyekeom is still so far away."
Chaak—
He sheathed his sword and spoke toward the wall.
"Did you see well enough?"
Hagun went white with shock. Yeong-hwa, on the other hand, climbed the rest of the way onto the wall and addressed Hyeonsong directly.
"Sect Leader, former Sect Leader Baekhak said the Taegeukhyekeom is a sword art closer to enlightenment than to internal power."
"Is that so? Then I still have a long way to go."
At Yeong-hwa's brazen manner, Hyeonsong laughed heartily.
"Hagun, it's all right. I already knew the two of you were coming."
Hagun pressed a hand to his chest in relief and climbed over the wall with Yeong-hwa to enter the yard.
"We greet the Sect Leader."
Hagun and Yeong-hwa offered the martial salute toward Hyeonsong.
Jjiiiik—
Yeong-hwa tore a strip from his robe, fashioned a bandage, and thrust it out to Hyeonsong at once.
Hyeonsong smiled.
"My thanks."
He bound the split palms with the cloth.
Yeong-hwa hesitated a moment, then spoke again.
"Sect Leader, you seem overly fixated on the Guhontalbaekgeom."
"Why do you say so?"
"In the memories former Sect Leader Baekhak left behind, the Guhontalbaekgeom he attained…"
Yeong-hwa's upper dantian held every experience of True Man Baekhak—once the greatest sword of the martial world and the previous generation's Sect Leader of Wudang.
"…was nothing more and nothing less than honing one's internal energy to a sharper edge. That is all he said."
"Yet if I abandon the Guhontalbaekgeom, I can use nothing but sword qi."
Regret crossed Hyeonsong's face.
"I have not yet entered the Transcendent Realm, and so…"
He bit his lip, sinking into thought.
"With the Guhontalbaekgeom's aid, I can freely wield sword blade energy, if only for a time."
"That may be the very blind spot."
"Explain more carefully."
"Isn't the Guhontalbaekgeom, in reverse, delaying your martial enlightenment?"
"Now that you say it… it truly is so."
Their exchange of questions and answers went on for some time. Hagun pricked up his ears, determined not to miss a single word.
"Change the method you have been training and focus on the Taegeukhyekeom instead."
"Softness overcomes hardness."
"Exactly. To subdue the hard with the soft is the essence of our sect's martial arts, is it not?"
"And yet I have always tried to defeat my opponents with hardness alone."
Hyeonsong closed his eyes a moment and reviewed the insight. Hagun did the same. The vast martial knowledge pouring into his mind left him looking almost dizzy.
Yeong-hwa caught Hagun by the arm.
"It's a road Senior Brother will walk someday as well."
"Wh-wh-what?"
"I can see it all!"
"Ahem… stop talking nonsense."
Watching the two of them bicker, Hyeonsong smiled.
"Come inside. The elders are waiting."
"Yes, Sect Leader."
"Yep!"
Hyeonsong opened the doors of Taehyeonjasogung and entered. Yeong-hwa and Hagun followed at his back.
The eight elders of Wudang were sipping tea at the low tables before them, trading light conversation.
"The Sect Leader has arrived."
At the cry of the disciple on duty at the entrance, the elders rose in haste from their seats.
"Please, be at ease."
Hyeonsong stopped them with a gesture.
"We could not, Sect Leader."
"Of course, of course."
"We were so busy chattering we never noticed—heh heh heh."
Discipline among the eight elders was firmly in place. It was only natural. The boy Hyeonsong had brought in—Yeong-hwa—had succeeded in restoring the lost secret manual of the Taegeukhyekeom. Yeong-hwa had also spread word at Cheongwelru that he had entered Wudang as a disciple. Thanks to that, those who came to offer prayers at Wudang thronged the gates. The talk of a five-year seclusion had become almost meaningless; the sect's finances had recovered at a startling pace. No—recovered was too mild. Money was overflowing.
When Hyeonsong took the seat of honor, the elders sat as well.
Elder Baekgwang, who oversaw the Finance Hall, spoke first.
"For what reason have you summoned us?"
Hyeonsong drew a letter from his sleeve and handed it to Hagun, who stood beside him. Hagun offered it respectfully to Elder Baekgwang.
When he finished reading, Elder Baekgwang spoke with a grave expression.
"The Namgung Clan has requested an audience with Yeong-hwa."
"That is correct. It is for this matter that I have gathered the elders."
Hyeonsong continued at a measured pace.
"The matter of Yeong-hwa's lifespan can no longer be put off."
He stroked his beard as he spoke.
"Until now I have postponed it while embodying the principles of our sect's martial arts and because of Yeong-hwa's health—but that is only an excuse."
Elder Baekcho nodded and answered.
"Amitabha. Yeong-hwa's remaining lifespan is three years, is it not?"
Elder Hyeonsim took up the thread.
"The time has come for Wudang to step into the martial world again—for the sect, and for Yeong-hwa."
Elder Baekcho, who oversaw the Medical Hall, stroked his beard.
"But sending Yeong-hwa alone would be far too dangerous."
Hyeonsong opened a drawer in the table before him.
"That is not all."
A thick sheaf of letters filled his hands.
"The Nine Great Sects and the Five Great Clans are also requesting our aid."
At that, the eyes of the eight elders went round.
"Because of the massacre of the Golden Blood Trading Company in Henan seven years ago, even Shaolin is said to be at its wit's end."
"So they still have not found the culprit."
"Correct, Elder Baekson."
Hyeonsong went on slowly.
"Moreover, the current Alliance Leader of the Martial Forest is preparing to wash his hands in the golden basin."
"Already preparing to retire…"
"Amitabha. The time has simply come."
Elder Hyeonsim, who oversaw the True Martial Shrine, beckoned to Yeong-hwa. Yeong-hwa scampered over and sat beside him. Among the elders, Hyeonsim was especially fond of the boy.
"I would like to hear our Yeong-hwa's thoughts."
He stroked Yeong-hwa's hair as he asked.
"You have reached the age of setting your will on learning, have you not?"
"Yes, Elder Hyeonsim."
"What do you think of this matter?"
Yeong-hwa pondered a moment, then looked at Hyeonsong and grinned.
"If we mean to put forward the next Alliance Leader of the Martial Forest from our own sect, I believe we absolutely must step forward!"
Puuuut—
Hyeonsong sprayed the tea he had been drinking.
Elder Baekgwang of the Finance Hall looked at Yeong-hwa with a thoroughly satisfied gleam in his eyes.
"I agree with Yeong-hwa's opinion."
Hyeonsim also regarded the boy as he spoke.
"I am in favor as well, but we ought to hear the Sect Leader's thoughts."
Hyeonsong wiped his mouth with his sleeve and, after a moment of heavy thought, answered.
"We will send Yeong-hwa—but I intend for Hagun and myself to go with him."
At that, Elder Baekson, who taught the Taiji Thirteen Swords, furrowed his brow.
"Amitabha. The Sect Leader's absence from Wudang is not a matter to be decided lightly."
"And if Yeong-hwa were to be kidnapped?"
Even in the middle of the grave discussion, Yeong-hwa sat nestled in Hyeonsim's arms, chewing on the tea cakes from the table.
Hyeonsong continued at an unhurried pace.
"Among the common people, eyes still look coldly upon the martial world."
"That is so."
"Furthermore, the knowledge of Wudang martial arts that Yeong-hwa holds is no shallower than mine—if anything, it may be deeper."
"True enough."
Hyeonsong paused, drained his tea, and spoke again.
"This person also feels the lack of his own inferior skill, unworthy of the seat of Sect Leader."
At his frank admission the elders waved their hands in protest.
"That is something time will—"
Hyeonsong cut them off.
"I also mean to observe the martial arts of other sects and clans, and build skill befitting the Sect Leader of our school."
At the resolve in his voice, Elder Hyeonsu—who oversaw the Bokrimu Grand Palace—let out a long sigh.
"Ah…"
He continued slowly.
"If your resolve is set, then you must go, Sect Leader."
Hyeonsong looked over the elders with a firm gaze.
"What are the thoughts of the other elders?"
Hyeonsim, with Yeong-hwa still in his arms, raised his hand first.
"I favor the Sect Leader's words."
"I am in favor as well."
When the rest of the elders also consented, Hyeonsong looked to Yeong-hwa and Hagun.
"Then we shall depart tomorrow."
"Will a party of only two truly be enough?"
"Yes. And Senior Brother Baekson, highest in generation among us, will take charge of the sect in my absence."
Baekson nodded as if he understood.
"I shall run things exactly as the Sect Leader has these past two years."
"We will conclude today's council here."
Once the agenda was dismissed, every elder but Baekson crowded around Yeong-hwa.
Elder Baekgwang of the Finance Hall quietly hung a pouch of silver at Yeong-hwa's waist.
"Yeong-hwa, go out and buy plenty of tasty things."
Elder Baekcho of the Medical Hall tied a small bundle to Yeong-hwa's sash.
"These are the emergency medicines I always carry. Do not get hurt, no matter what."
Elder Hyeonsu of the Bokrimu Grand Palace whispered to him.
"Yeong-hwa, draw me a few more talismans before you go. Lately the devotees coming to offer prayers keep asking for new ones!"
Elder Hyeonsim of the True Martial Shrine looked at Yeong-hwa with a fond smile.
Apparently displeased by the scene, Elder Baekson—who oversaw the training of the Taiji Thirteen Swords—clicked his tongue.
"I will take my leave first."
Once Baekson had gone, the other elders murmured among themselves.
"Elder Baekson does not look kindly upon Yeong-hwa."
At that, Elder Hyeonsim spoke quietly.
"It will not be Yeong-hwa."
"Then who?"
Hyeonsim pointed with his chin toward Hagun, who was discussing the departure schedule with Hyeonsong.
"The day we select the new Sword of Wudang is one year from now."
"True enough—it has usually been custom for the Sword of Wudang to be chosen from among the Taiji Thirteen Swords."
"These days, among the first-generation disciples, Senior Brother Hagun's skill in particular has been advancing by leaps and bounds."
"I keep hearing that the Taiji Thirteen Swords Elder Baekson specially selected cannot even match him."
"In the past, when Hagun so badly wanted to enter the Taiji Thirteen Swords, didn't Elder Baekson refuse him?"
"That is why Elder Baekson is all the more like this."
Listening to the exchange, Hyeonsim left them with a meaningful remark.