Sichuan Journey - Deepening (4)
Sichuan Journey - Deepening (4)
Three days before Docheol arrived in Sichuan.
The elder watched the junior martial sister, a junior disciple close to Hong Ye, training alone. She had taken over the empty training ground and was earnestly practicing Taiji Fist forms, and the sight was pleasing. Movements that had recently seemed awkward, as if she had hit a wall, were now flowing smoothly like oiled silk, and he could see her skill had improved greatly.
"What are you doing so early in the morning?"
The junior martial sister stiffened involuntarily at the elder's question, looked around, and met his eyes. The elder, stroking his beard, looked down at the junior martial sister with a pleased face. He thought that, as expected, his judgment had not been wrong. Even without Southern Barbarian blood like Hong Ye's, the Taiji Sect overflowed with talented young people.
There was no need to push a Southern Barbarian forward, no reason to suffer humiliation.
"I was training."
A respectful answer came back. To others she exuded a catlike, sharp aura, but before the elder she bowed her head like a docile sheep.
The junior martial sister respected the elders and also feared them a little. The hatred they harbored for Hong Ye was far more vicious than the silent jealousy a mere maiden like the junior martial sister displayed. Even if that killing intent was not directed at her, the junior martial sister often felt burdened by the elders' presence.
"Your skill has improved greatly. Have you attained some enlightenment lately?"
The junior martial sister glanced sideways and bit her lip. She debated for a moment whether she should tell the truth. Would he be angry if she said Hong Ye? Thinking about it, it was a bit strange. They were disciples of the same sect, sharing meals, so why did they hate her so much?
When she had received the elders' favor, she naturally thought she must hate Hong Ye. But now that she had experienced Hong Ye's talent firsthand and received her instruction, she could not understand the elders' hatred. Was not the martial world a world where martial arts spoke for everything?
The elder spoke with a pleased expression.
"Did you receive separate instruction from someone? There are many clever children...."
"I sought help from my senior martial sister Hong Ye."
The junior martial sister said that and frowned. She hunched her shoulders, bracing for a scolding, but no eruption of anger came. However, there was no word of praise either, and when she raised her head the elder's face was distorted. It was an expression as if he had bitten into a worm while eating a peach.
"...Tch."
Telling a sect's direct disciple not to seek further help would be absurd. The elder knew how to keep the line between personal feelings and sect rules. But he could not hide the displeasure that surfaced on his face. The elder twisted his lips, his face wrinkled, and he said to the disciple who was watching his every reaction—
"Unexpected. Did you not dislike Hong Ye as well?"
The junior martial sister felt her face flush. It was true. The junior martial sister had disliked Hong Ye. There was no particular reason. She had felt that Hong Ye had taken the position and rewards that should have been hers. She had thought that if only Hong Ye were gone, she would become the direct disciple, represent the Taiji Sect at the Dragon Phoenix Gathering, and someday lead the sect herself.
The elders always spoke that way, and acted as if Hong Ye was someone who committed irregularities and received special treatment. They called her attitude—aloof and drawing a line, 'a mere Southern Barbarian'—arrogant.
But after seeing Hong Ye's skill at the Dragon Phoenix Gathering, her thoughts changed. The reason Hong Ye held that position was her own effort. And she came to realize that even if she herself had stood in that arena that day, she could not have fought like Hong Ye.
Skill is cold. No matter how much others praise you as a genius, the objective line is brutally honest. The blazing heat of the Dragon Phoenix Gathering, the shouts people let out, the sharp attacks fierce enough to make one wonder if they were using killing moves—these were enough to weigh down and humble the heart of a young woman who had never properly set foot in the martial world.
And thus, having shed a layer of pretense and grown humble, she could finally confront the contradiction within the Taiji Sect—saying that the talented and hardworking deserve to rise, while hating Hong Ye and pushing her down. Jealousies that disparaged her efforts, pushed her aside, and claimed others could easily take her place.
"I used to dislike her, but she is my senior martial sister, sharing the same meals. How could I continue facing her with hatred?"
The elder stared at the junior martial sister. Despite the elder's fierce gaze, the junior martial sister quietly gathered her breath. She had said nothing strange. The elder, too, offered no rebuttal to her words. Instead, he said something else.
"For the time being, devote yourself to training even harder. I believe you are more suited to the direct disciple position than Hong Ye, and that it is right for you to become the one who will lead this sect in the future."
The junior martial sister felt her heart pound at those words. The direct disciple position, all the things the elder spoke of—those were the dreams she had dreamed since entering Taiji Sect. But just as much as her heart fluttered, revulsion surged within her.
"How could I, when it is a matter decided by the Grandmaster?"
The elder looked down at the junior martial sister. He darted a sidelong glance, let out an unapproving groan, frowned, his lips twitching. Then he let out a deep sigh, turned his body, and said—
"Still, devote yourself to training. Will the existence of a direct disciple be an excuse to neglect your training?"
The junior martial sister bowed her head and saw the elder off. Then she tilted her head and resumed her stance. It was not unusual for the elders to frequently dislike Hong Ye, but the conversation they had just shared seemed to carry a deeper hatred and a certain resolve beyond the ordinary.
*******
One day before Docheol arrived in Sichuan.
Hong Ye, who was smiling softly, could not keep the corners of her lips from curling up even while guiding the junior martial sister's training. The junior martial sister, seeing Hong Ye's childlike smile, was flustered but also surprised that she could smile like that. She was not a stiff, unpleasant presence. Hong Ye was a person who cried and laughed just like everyone else.
The junior martial sister adjusted her posture and asked Hong Ye.
"Are you that happy?"
"Ah, that... Did, did it show?"
Hong Ye stiffened her face as she spoke. Her flustered, reddening face was unexpectedly cute. The junior martial sister smiled and nodded.
"Yes. Everyone in the sect is in an uproar over you, senior sister. They say it's the first time they've seen you so giddy."
"It seems my training is still lacking. One must suppress emotions and always maintain equanimity."
Images of the elders scolding Hong Ye or subtly pressuring her rose in her mind. Even the older senior brothers would sternly reprimand her if she so much as showed a pained expression or a smile.
"Taiji Fist is the art of harmonizing yin and yang to handle a single flow! Yet how can you fail to maintain equanimity and reveal your emotions as you please!"
Of course, the junior martial sister had never once been the target of such a reprimand. Now that they had all grown older, everyone knew those criticisms had merely been fault-finding, but the habit of hiding her expression to avoid being caught had stuck, still stiffening Hong Ye's face.
"...I like how you are now, senior sister."
Hong Ye turned her head at the junior martial sister's words. The junior martial sister fidgeted with her fingers, twisted her hair, and pouted her lips. She averted her gaze, trying to hide her embarrassment. She said—
"How can a person hide their emotions in the first place and yet read the flow? Only after understanding the emotions that naturally surface can one understand the flow of qi, is it not so?"
It was a tone that made it hard to know who she was angry with. But the junior martial sister, who had raised her voice until her face reddened, continued speaking with her back turned to the smiling Hong Ye.
"So, smile more. Act brighter. And also, train together... talk together... I... think... that is the right way... to be..."
But just as a fire that has flared up quickly dies in the wind, the attitude that had seemed about to launch into a passionate speech cooled in an instant. The voice that had seemed ready to stir change sank low into silence.
But when the junior martial sister turned her head, Hong Ye was smiling warmly. Facing that smile, the junior martial sister grew sheepish and turned away again.
The two shared more common ground than expected.
They both loved training and had similar hobbies.
The junior martial sister hoped that from now on, she could rebuild a relationship with her.
She hoped it was not too late.
*******
When Docheol arrived in Chengdu, Sichuan, the junior martial sister felt a strange unease.
"Hehehe, welcome, welcome!"
"Come this way and have some tea first."
The elders greeted Docheol with beaming smiles.
"I am grateful for the warm welcome."
Docheol received that welcome with a bewildered expression.
And Hong Ye wore a relieved expression at the sight of the elders' hospitality.
Everything seemed natural, but an inexplicable anxiety welled up.
Something felt off.
Watching the elders welcome Docheol so effusively that he looked burdened, she could not help but find it strange.