I Need a True Spirit
The rules and laws of this world, regardless of time or place, are like a spiderweb.
They catch flies and moths—the weak—while birds—the strong—pass through untouched.
Unlike the first-generation children bought with money, most of the second-generation trainees were descendants of the Six Gates.
If the children who had been sold or kidnapped like Dan Yeop were the flies, then Ma Eun-rok, the son of the Gate Lord of the Cha Clan, was a bird.
Even after entering the Byeongmachong, he still met his father there.
And Ma Eun-rok was not the only one.
The children of Gate Lords, Hyangju, and Hall Leaders met their families every season without fail.
It went without saying that they received separate instruction.
Ma Eun-rok had been taught by his father what he must learn and what he must avoid inside the Byeongmachong.
For example, he was told that the *Ilwoltonap Bigyeol*, the *Baekryu Blade Method*, the *Chilsang Blade Method*, the *Beomcheon Fist*, the *Seomjeon Kick*, and the *Biryu Step* were techniques he absolutely had to master, while the *Bunsim Gong* was something he must avoid at all costs.
Last year, after discovering the *Bunsim Gong* in the archive, Ma Eun-rok had been tempted by the phrase “achievement doubles” and secretly taken it. He had even asked his father whether he could learn it.
His father had jumped up in alarm and strongly dissuaded him.
“That’s a sure way to ruin yourself. The Wudang Sect has the *Yangui Simgong*, yet even their own Taoist priests refuse to learn it. It’s so profound that even if you devote your entire life to it, you’ll gain nothing. Besides, there are rumors that the *Bunsim Gong* is nothing more than a fake manual created by imitating the *Yangui Simgong*. If even the real thing can’t be mastered, what makes you think a counterfeit imitation could be? You’d only waste your time and gain nothing in return.”
After that, Ma Eun-rok had returned the manual to its original place and never glanced at it again.
At least, not until today—until he saw Ha Yong-wol and Dan Yeop in front of the dining hall.
The moment he watched Dan Yeop tuck the *Bunsim Gong* into his robes, Ma Eun-rok muttered to himself.
‘Dan Yeop, you should just stay trapped in the Byeongmachong forever.’
***
Ever since he began learning the *Bunsim Gong*, a change had come over Dan Yeop’s daily routine.
In the past, he would spend one *sijin* (two hours) every morning studying the *Thousand Character Classic*, then spend the rest of the day in the training hall practicing the *Cheonji Blade Method*.
But after the new year, he began heading to the archive every day at the hour of the Sheep (3 p.m.) to read books.
All because of the *Bunsim Gong*.
For someone like him, who was still stuck at square one with even the *Thousand Character Classic*, the *Bunsim Gong* was impossibly difficult.
He could read the characters, but he couldn’t understand their meaning.
Frustrated, he had gone to his literacy teacher, only to be told, “It’s because you’re ignorant.”
The teacher had then added:
“They say that when one reaches an impasse, a path opens. So why don’t you try reading books at least?”
From then on, Dan Yeop had visited the archive as frequently as a mouse darting in and out of a grain sack.
The mockery from his juniors grew harsher, but he let it go in one ear and out the other.
After all, his progress in the Six Gates’ martial arts was also stagnant, so it didn’t matter what he did.
Spring had returned.
It had been eleven years since he entered the Byeongmachong, yet Dan Yeop’s achievements remained exactly where they had started.
As summer approached, the Byeongmachong once again buzzed with activity over the second-generation trainees’ graduation examination.
Then one day.
Ryu Seol-ri, having heard something strange, came running to Ha Yong-wol.
“Sister, did you hear?”
“Hear what?”
“Senior Dan Yeop has been going in and out of the archive constantly since last winter.”
“And?”
“I finally found out why today. Wow, Senior Brother Ma is really too much.”
“What did Senior Brother Ma do?”
“They say last winter, Senior Brother Ma gave Senior Dan Yeop the *Bunsim Gong* and told him to learn it.”
“What? The *Bunsim Gong*?”
Ha Yong-wol’s mouth fell open.
As the daughter of the Gi Clan Lord, she knew all about the *Bunsim Gong*.
As far as she knew, it was a heart method that could not be learned.
“That’s what I’m saying. Since he couldn’t understand any of the content, he’s been reading books from the archive. How could Senior Brother Ma do that to poor Senior Dan Yeop? Isn’t that just too vicious?”
“Are you sure Senior Brother Ma really did that?”
“Senior Brother Go and Senior Sister Yeo both said so, so it must be true.”
“Haah…”
Ha Yong-wol shook her head slowly.
Since Ma Eun-rok, Go Jwa-ryeong, and Yeo Mu-seon were always together, it was probably true.
“Senior Dan Yeop still hasn’t even properly learned the *Cheonji Blade Method*, right? So this year’s graduation is out of the question too?”
“If he’s trying to learn the *Bunsim Gong*, it won’t just be this year. It’ll be difficult for him from now on.”
Suddenly, Ha Yong-wol shot to her feet.
Startled by her intensity, Ryu Seol-ri widened her eyes.
“Are you going to see Senior Dan Yeop?”
“If I didn’t know, I could ignore it. But now that I do, I have to tell him. Unlike us, regular trainees won’t know unless someone teaches them.”
“If Senior Brother Ma finds out you met with Senior Dan Yeop, he won’t let it slide.”
“Hmph! So what if he doesn’t? What’s he going to do about it? Does he think I’m afraid of him?”
“I’m not worried about you, Sister. I’m worried about Senior Dan Yeop.”
“It’s fine. There are only a few days left until the graduation exam anyway. Once he graduates, Ma won’t be able to harass him anymore.”
Having said her piece, Ha Yong-wol dashed out like a bolt of lightning.
Left alone, Ryu Seol-ri muttered with a dumbfounded expression.
“Aigoo, our hot-blooded heroine has arrived.”
***
Ha Yong-wol used her *Gyeongsin* technique to race quickly toward the northern part of the Byeongmachong.
A short while later, when she saw a familiar location, her steps slowed.
‘Dan Yeop.’
Ha Yong-wol had first met him ten years ago.
To be precise, she had been sobbing while missing her mother when she found him beside her.
She had been six, and he had been five.
Even after that, whenever she missed her mother, she would secretly visit that place.
Naturally, the young Ha Yong-wol and Dan Yeop had encountered each other several times.
Once she grew accustomed to life in the Byeongmachong, she stopped going there.
The bond they had once shared gradually transformed, over time, into pity for Dan Yeop.
She guessed that he would still be in that same spot.
Unlike her, who had become one of the leaders of the second-generation trainees, he was still a loner.
Sure enough.
Just like ten years ago, Dan Yeop was sitting blankly in front of the stone wall engraved with a landscape painting.
“Senior Dan Yeop.”
Ha Yong-wol’s guess had only been half right.
The reason Dan Yeop sat before the landscape painting wasn’t simply because he was a loner.
Ever since he had learned the true meaning of the *Simjeong Dan Gong* from Dan Bul-wi last year, he had trained in it without missing a single day.
And had there been any progress?
There had.
After receiving Dan Bul-wi’s teaching that “the mind resides in the breath,” a change had occurred in his lower *dantian*.
At first, he had tried to eliminate the sound of his breathing. As a result, his once shallow breaths had begun to sink deeply all the way down to his lower *dantian*.
Since the mind resided in the breath, it meant his mind had descended into his *dantian*.
Furthermore, when he tried not to be conscious of the act of breathing itself, something strange began to happen.
With every breath, a thin thread unraveled from his *dantian* and began traveling up and down the *Chung* meridian.
It felt as if there were a small ball of thread inside his *dantian*.
When he told Dan Bul-wi about it, he had only received a torrent of curses.
“Nonsense! The *Chung* meridian can only be opened after the *Im* and *Dok* meridians are connected. If your *Im* and *Dok* meridians were open, you’d already be an absolute expert. What kind of ridiculous nonsense are you spouting! It’s because you’re having stray thoughts during training that such symptoms appear. You pathetic fool. I told you to empty your mind! You can’t even walk properly yet you’re full of nothing but hot air!”
After that, Dan Yeop had desperately tried to empty his mind of all thoughts.
He tried to think of himself as nothing more than a tree or a rock.
But the ball of thread, as if mocking his efforts, only grew larger.
The more it grew every time he practiced the *Simjeong Dan Gong*, the more terrified Dan Yeop became.
Eventually, just thinking about the *Simjeong Dan Gong* made his heart pound violently.
At this rate, proper training was impossible.
While agonizing over this, Dan Yeop suddenly remembered the *Bunsim Gong*.
The principles of the *Bunsim Gong* perfectly matched his current situation.
[When a person is born, the True Spirit (*Jinsin*) resides in the Heavenly Eye (between the eyebrows), while the Thinking Spirit (*Siksin*) resides in the heart below it.
The *Siksin* easily wavers in accordance with emotion, but the *Jinsin* does not waver in the slightest. This is because if the *Siksin* is a Martial God, then the *Jinsin* is a Literary God.]
The *Bunsim Gong* was ultimately a method to train both the Martial God (*Siksin*) and the Literary God (*Jinsin*).
Dan Yeop had become fixated on the Literary God, which “does not waver in the slightest.”
His goal had been revised to “calm the heart with the *Bunsim Gong* and clear the mind with the *Simjeong Dan Gong*.”
To understand the true meaning of the principles, he had read books in the archive that he couldn’t even comprehend.
Could it be that, as his literacy teacher said, reaching an impasse truly opened a path?
After devoting himself wholeheartedly to the *Bunsim Gong*, he was able to resume training in the *Simjeong Dan Gong* without his heart pounding.
Whether that was because the Martial God and Literary God were truly helping him, or simply because he had gained psychological stability, he did not know.
From then on, he always practiced the *Bunsim Gong* before the *Simjeong Dan Gong*.
Today was no different.
[The spirit (*Shin*) is fire. When the will becomes one, it moves.
Fire is light, and what moves is the True Spirit (*Jinsin*).
If one turns the light back to illuminate the Heavenly Eye (Returning Light, Reversing the Shine), one will obtain the Dharma Body and be able to command both the Martial God and Literary God at will.]
With his eyes half-closed, Dan Yeop pondered what the light was and where it might be.
He needed to understand what the light was in order to illuminate the Heavenly Eye.
Just as Dan Bul-wi had suddenly told him last year that “the mind is in the breath,” Dan Yeop believed that “the light is somewhere.”
‘It probably doesn’t mean to shine an actual candle or something…’
Since heart methods trained what was already inside the body, it couldn’t be real firelight.
‘Then it must mean there is light inside me…’
As he was digging deeper into the true meaning of the principles, Dan Yeop was startled awake by someone calling his name.
“Ah, Ha… Junior Sister?”
Although the Byeongmachong strictly observed seniority based on entry year, in truth all the trainees were essentially martial siblings.
That was why Dan Yeop, who was one year her senior, had absentmindedly called Ha Yong-wol “Junior Sister.”
Ha Yong-wol seemed to like the title, because she smiled brightly.
“Senior Brother Dan, did I disturb your training?”
“No.”
Dan Yeop shook his head.
The *Bunsim Gong* was not a tightly blocked technique, so being interrupted during meditation wouldn’t put him in danger.
“That’s a relief. I heard you’ve been training something interesting lately.”
“Are you talking about the *Bunsim Gong*?”
“Yes. Is it true?”
“Yeah.”
“Haah, stop it right now.”
“Huh? Why?”
“I heard Senior Brother Ma gave it to you to learn, right?”
“That’s right.”
“He only gave it to you to make fun of you, Senior Brother. That *Bunsim Gong* is a fake created by imitating the Wudang Sect’s *Yangui Simgong*. It’s not even a genuine Xiaoyao Sect supreme technique.”
“What? It’s a fake?”
When Dan Yeop looked greatly shocked, Ha Yong-wol quickly added an explanation.
“It hasn’t been officially confirmed as fake, but the chances are very high. The contents are far too absurd. I mean, why would a genuine Xiaoyao Sect supreme technique be lying around in a marketplace?”
But human ears only hear what they want to hear.
“Ah, so it’s not certain then?”
“Haah! I said the chances of it being fake are very high. For your information, even the Wudang Taoist priests don’t learn the *Yangui Simgong*. It’s impossible to reach great attainment even if you train your whole life. So please stop, Senior Brother. The graduation exam is only a few days away. You have to graduate this year.”
“Thanks for worrying about me, but I have no intention of reaching great attainment.”
“If it’s not proper training, you could fall into *Qi Deviation*.”
“Haha, you know me, Junior Sister. There’s not even enough in me to fall into *Qi Deviation*.”
Having seen even a small effect from the *Bunsim Gong*, Dan Yeop remained calm.
When she realized her words weren’t getting through, Ha Yong-wol frowned.
For a moment, she even wondered, just as Ryu Seol-ri had said, whether he wasn’t kind but simply slow.
Disappointed, Ha Yong-wol spoke coldly on purpose.
“I’ve clearly warned you. Whatever happens from now on is your responsibility, Senior Brother.”
“Uh…”
Intimidated by Ha Yong-wol’s unusually stiff tone, Dan Yeop shrank his shoulders.
Ha Yong-wol let out a light sigh, turned around, and left.
Only after she had walked far away did Dan Yeop finally raise his head to watch her retreating figure.
The little girl who had cried ten years ago had now become a female warrior, yet he still remained the same. He didn’t understand why.
A sudden wave of self-loathing washed over him, and he unconsciously muttered.
“I need a True Spirit.”