The Eight Immortals Step
After the Donghwa Merchant Group relocated its base to Jinan, Yantai fell under the control of the Hwangbo Clan. The Hwangbo Clan was a rising martial family.
When the Shandong Ak Family was shattered by the emperor's purge, the Donghwa Merchant Group needed a new martial house to entrust with the caravan's protection. The Hwangbo Clan stepped forward as the Ak Family's replacement.
Originally, the Hwangbo Clan was a family of seafarers gathered from across Shandong Province. They possessed martial arts forged through conflicts with pirates and the ability to navigate the rough seas.
The Donghwa Merchant Group, whose foundation rested on maritime trade with Goryeo, gained not only escort forces but an entire grand fleet through the Hwangbo Clan's alliance. The problem was that this grand fleet had failed to return for several days.
Hwangbo Chun, patriarch of the Hwangbo Clan, had spent days staring out at the sea from Yantai Harbor. He was a seafarer to the bone.
His eyes saw only a calm sea, the wind circling as it always did.
"Just… just why won't they come…"
Hwangbo Chun muttered as he gazed at the ocean. There was no way pirates would dare touch a fleet of eight ships. And the winds had been favorable…
In commerce, nothing mattered more than contracts. All the more so for the Donghwa Merchant Group, whose family precept was credit-based trade.
And yet that merchant group's contracts were being delayed day after day — solely because the Hwangbo Clan's fleet had not returned.
In a situation like this, all the penalty fees would fall on the Hwangbo Clan. And because they had never anticipated such a scenario, those penalties were enough to shake the clan to its foundations.
"Brother! Are you out here again?"
Hwangbo Chun turned to look at his younger brother, Hwangbo Bae. Hwangbo Bae managed the dockworkers at the harbor.
"Aren't you worried at all? A fleet of eight ships, and not a word of news?"
"They'll come when they come. What, lost your seaman's guts already? Shaking in your boots over some penalty fees?"
"What did you just say, you little—"
"I'm saying we should just swallow up the Donghwa Merchant Group. Without our ships, they're nothing."
"You do realize how many conveniences we enjoy thanks to that merchant group, don't you?"
Through the privileges held by the Donghwa Merchant Group, the Hwangbo Clan's ships were exempt from harbor taxes. That exemption had allowed the Hwangbo Clan to grow rapidly.
"Then keep kissing their boots. I hear the Grand Master and the Master are both coming to Penglai Pavilion."
"Right. They're holding the Grand Master's seventieth birthday feast at Penglai Pavilion. Have you made the preparations?"
"I've already deployed the escort boys. But if we seize control of the merchant group people at that gathering, couldn't we just strip the whole group bare?"
Hwangbo Bae grinned as he spoke. Hwangbo Chun thought his brother had grown crude from spending too much time among the laborers.
"What kind of nonsense is that! Are you suggesting we commit some ungrateful act fit for Unorthodox scum?"
"When were we ever Orthodox?"
The Orthodox and Unorthodox factions were divided by whether they had earned merit in the war. The Orthodox factions, who had risen against the old dynasty and joined the war, became part of the Martial Alliance and received the emperor's recognition. But the sects that had not joined the war, protecting only their own interests, were called selfish — and thus labeled Unorthodox.
Of course, the Hwangbo Clan had protected Shandong Province from rampaging pirates during the chaos of the dynastic change, so they were different from the Black Path gangs who would do anything for money. But an invisible discrimination still existed between the Orthodox and Unorthodox.
Hwangbo Bae resented that discrimination. Hwangbo Chun needed the Donghwa Merchant Group to avoid it, but Hwangbo Bae understood nothing of such politics.
"You're not a child. We still need the Donghwa Merchant Group."
"If you need them so badly, go already. I came to fetch you because I heard the Grand Master has entered Penglai Pavilion."
"You little— why are you only telling me this now!"
Hwangbo Chun hurried out of the harbor. Watching his brother leave, Hwangbo Bae gathered his subordinates, thinking that his brother had forgotten the heart of a seafarer…
Danjun's seventieth birthday feast was scheduled to continue for a fortnight. Penglai Pavilion, where the feast was being held, sat on the mid-slopes of Danrae Mountain.
The moment Danjun arrived at Penglai Pavilion, he distributed great wealth among the residents of Yantai and the surrounding areas in celebration of the feast. Given the Donghwa Merchant Group's renown, luminaries from the Nine Great Sects should have gathered — but the Mt. Hua Sword Debate had kept them from attending.
It was also because Danjun had told his busy wartime comrades that he intended to keep the occasion modest, among family. Even so, the notable figures within Shandong Province still attended.
The first week of the seventieth birthday feast was a gathering with those notables. Danjun's family — now called the Shandong Go Family — and the distinguished guests forged connections in honor of the occasion.
"Have the children still not arrived?"
Eunseong asked Chief Manager Ak Sun as he returned from the privy. The rest of the family had all arrived, yet his own children had not.
Go Jihyeon, Jinmyung's older sister, was the branch leader of the merchant group in Joseon. They had already received word that she would depart a little late due to the situation between the new dynasty and Joseon.
"Young Master Jinmyung will arrive shortly. We've received word that he rode through the night."
"When he reaches Yantai, tell him to change into the clothes prepared at the branch…"
"I've already passed that along. More importantly, His Majesty has sent a gift."
"Here? Not to Jinan?"
"Yes, it's said to be coming this way. It should arrive on the final day of the feast. Shall I inform the Grand Master?"
"Tell him after today's banquet ends. I'll return to my seat, then."
"Yes, sir."
About the time it takes to finish a meal after Eunseong returned to his seat, a commotion broke out at the entrance to Penglai Pavilion. Ak Sun headed to the gate to see what was happening.
"You take me for some foot soldier, do you? In all my years working with the Donghwa Merchant Group, I've never seen a ruffian like you. Go around that way — they're handing out food. Get lost!"
"You'll regret this."
"Seems to me the one who'll regret it is the master who forgot his nameplate…"
Even amid the noise, Ak Sun recognized the familiar voice. It had been years since he'd heard it, but a father never forgets his son's voice.
"Ahem, ahem."
Ak Sun quietly cleared his throat behind Hwangbo Bae, who was managing the entrance. Hwangbo Bae was too busy fuming to hear him.
After waiting a moment, Ak Sun tapped Hwangbo Bae on the shoulder.
"What— who is it?"
"Lord Hwangbo Bae, I'll vouch for their identities. Those two are Young Master Go Jinmyung, the Master's son, and my own boy."
"Ahem… well, without nameplates…"
"Yes. Lord Hwangbo Bae has been so thorough with security that even the Master is quite pleased."
Hwangbo Bae let Jinmyung and Ak Jun through with a sour expression. Once the three disappeared into the feast, he made no effort to hide his displeasure.
"Are nameplates really that important? At the Martial Alliance, they let me in just by looking at my face."
"You've been gone ten years. For a while, you'll need to carry your nameplate when you go about. Well… in any case…"
Jinmyung grumbled as they passed the pavilions where the feast was underway. Ak Sun escorted Jinmyung toward Penglai Pavilion, where Danjun and Eunseong were seated, then stopped.
He clasped his hands formally and bowed to Jinmyung in proper greeting.
"Congratulations on your homecoming after ten years. My son must have caused you no small amount of trouble in that time?"
Jinmyung glanced around. Finding no one nearby, he returned the formal bow and lowered his head.
"Uncle Ak, having Jun with me must have left you lonely all these years. I'm the one who should thank you for looking after things."
Ak Sun had served as the merchant group's chief manager since Jinmyung was a child. Eunseong treated Ak Sun like a sworn brother — much as Jinmyung and Ak Jun treated each other. That was why Jinmyung regarded Ak Sun as an uncle.
"Hearing you say that, I find myself wanting to catch up with my boy after so long."
"Of course. I'll find the pavilion on my own."
"Thank you. Just follow this path straight ahead to Penglai Pavilion."
Leaving the reunion of the Ak father and son behind, Jinmyung climbed the path. After a short walk, stairs came into view.
Penglai Pavilion stood atop a small hill. But Jinmyung could not easily climb those stairs.
On the carriage ride to Yantai, Ak Jun had put Jinmyung through rather brutal training. The horse stance alone was enough to make his teeth chatter…
Unlike the solid stone floors of the library, the carriage interior was unstable and constantly jolting. Jinmyung fell often, but Ak Jun — in the name of training — forced him to maintain the horse stance throughout.
As a result, Jinmyung's thighs and calves were wracked with muscle pain. Flat ground was manageable, but the moment he set one foot on the stairs, a sharp zing rang through his skull.
Jinmyung had no choice but to stop where he stood. He put on an expression as if a poetic inspiration had struck him, pretending nothing was wrong.
For a long while he stood frozen, wondering if he really had to climb these stairs. Then his eyes fell on the eight immortals carved into the steps.
Penglai Pavilion was famous for the folk tale of the Eight Immortals Crossing the Sea. But the only thought in Jinmyung's head was: Immortals probably don't walk up stairs…
That thought soon shifted to the Supreme God's Blue Cloud Step. The Blue Cloud Step — a footwork technique whose name meant treading upon azure clouds — made one's steps feel weightless, as if walking on clouds.
And that led to the thought: Couldn't I walk using internal energy as well? The desire — the heart — to soar through the heavens treading clouds and lotus blossoms like the Eight Immortals stirred Jinmyung's energy — his qi.
A short while later, several silent human forms flickered up and down the stairs. When the movement ceased, Jinmyung stood at the top of the steps.
"Hmm… let's call this the Eight Immortals Step."
The footwork of Inki-jeongong — born of the heart that sought to tread clouds and lotus blossoms like the Eight Immortals.
Thus was born the footwork of Inki-jeongong — the Eight Immortals Step.