Journey to Sichuan (5)
Journey to Sichuan (5)
After hearing my information, Zhuge Yeong-yu's face hardened and he held back his words, saying he needed to look into it further. We parted with a promise to meet at the inn again in a week, and I threw myself into learning martial stances from Hong Ye at the training hall.
"You must not pay too much attention to your opponent's strength. If you try to forcibly receive it, you'll end up being swallowed by that force instead."
The basic stances of Taijiquan were easy to imitate on the surface, but actually grasping their essence was fraught with difficulty. The principle of using an opponent's force to create flow—which had sounded so simple in theory—often felt like a Zen riddle, leaving me utterly frustrated whenever I tried to apply it.
If I focused on my opponent's power, my own stance crumbled; if I focused on my stance, I couldn't catch the flow of the attacks. Hong Ye threw nothing but simple straight punches and upward kicks, yet accurately catching and redirecting those attacks was a different matter entirely.
Kung!
"Ow!"
I collapsed to the floor, and that day's training came to an end. Hong Ye looked down at me with one leg raised like a flamingo. I had been sure I could block it properly this time, but her kick veered unpredictably off the trajectory I'd intended to redirect and pierced into my side.
"The basics of Taijiquan are never easy. The art is said to embrace all things, but reading the flow of an attack is a matter of talent. Unless one is blessed with a heaven-sent gift, even grasping that principle is difficult for an ordinary person."
Rubbing my side, I looked up at her. Every time she moved, the fabric of her pants clingingly traced the shape of her leg muscles. I swallowed hard, salivating inwardly, and asked her a question about Taijiquan.
"Is there an easier way to do this?"
"There is no easy way. But once you grasp the principle of 'four ounces can deflect a thousand pounds,' the flow of attacks begins to become visible to the eye. How and when you realize it are questions I cannot answer."
Four ounces deflects a thousand pounds. With the force of four ounces, you can manage a thousand pounds. If you can understand your opponent's power and flow, and if you can weave the principle of turning that force back against them naturally into your stances, you can approach the profound mystery of Taijiquan.
"I'll just have to try my best, then."
Hong Ye offered no particular reply.
'Cheeky bitch.'
'We'll see how long you can stay that blunt.'
******
"It's been a while. Have you made any progress in your training?"
Zhuge Yeong-yu, whom I hadn't seen in a while, smiled as he asked about my progress. I shook my head and asked what he had found out.
"I'm still at a standstill. Have you discovered anything, great hero?"
Zhuge Yeong-yu nodded. He tapped the table lightly and began, like a storyteller unrolling his mat.
"I've learned a great deal. I had our Zhuge family people in Chengdu investigate. The Grandmaster of the Yang family Taijiquan Gate has never once mentioned a marriage arrangement, nor has he ever contacted anyone regarding his daughter's marriage. In fact, he hasn't met with anyone recently. All external affairs have been managed by the Grandmaster's adoptive daughter and direct disciple, Yang Hong-ye."
I had thought she was merely bustling about inside the sect, but she was actually at its very center. I frowned and said,
"The woman training me right now. If the Grandmaster has never spoken of a marriage agreement and Miss Hong Ye handles all external matters, then the talk of a marriage alliance with Jong Yuseop of the Zhongnan Sect is also highly likely to be a story circulating only on her end."
Zhuge Yeong-yu nodded.
"I couldn't determine whether they actually grew close or how they met. However, there are rumors that Miss Yang has openly argued with her adoptive father, the Grandmaster, over the sect's expansion and business. And seeing how unusually active she is in external affairs, I suspect her aim is to collude with the Zhongnan Sect to further build up the Taiji Sect's name and expand its influence."
"That's not good news."
It wasn't good news at all. The thought of Hong Ye marrying another man without any affection was disheartening, and I also disliked the idea of the Zhongnan Sect and Venerable Geumbok growing their own power by colluding with a major force like the Taiji Sect.
I couldn't simply wait for the Taiji Sect's Grandmaster to oppose the marriage. It had to be scuttled before serious discussions even began.
"How do you plan to stop it, great hero? Even as a young master of the Zhuge family, I have no justification for preventing a direct disciple of the Nine Sects One Gang from marrying into another sect. The unwritten rule is not to interfere in the affairs of other sects, even when the one involved is not of the direct bloodline."
Zhuge Yeong-yu looked at me, his tone carrying more anticipation than curiosity.
Of course, I didn't intend to stop it that way. If Zhuge Yeong-yu opposed the Zhongnan Sect over this issue, he would lose all justification, and his careful cultivation of Venerable Geumbok would go to waste. So Zhuge Yeong-yu could not become directly involved.
In the end, I would have to be the one to stop this marriage.
I said,
"What reason is there to stop the marriage? We just need to make Miss Hong Ye change her mind. She's a calculating woman. We only have to give her a reason to reconsider."
Zhuge Yeong-yu tilted his head quizzically at my words. Once we got into the actual plan, his eyes grew serious.
"Tell me more concretely."
"Don't you think that woman is a cheeky bitch? While the world descends into chaos, far from using her martial arts for the good of the world, she's coldly looking after only her own interests. With what kind of heart do you think the Grandmaster founded the Taiji Sect and accepted disciples and taught them martial arts? I believe a woman who goes against the sect's very teachings deserves judgment."
"I agree with your point, great hero, but what I'm asking you to specify is the plan, not the motivation. Are you testing me because the method is too cruel or harsh?"
Zhuge Yeong-yu laced his fingers and rested his chin on them, looking at me. He still wore an affable smile, but his eyes were rapidly scanning me. His voice was lower than usual. Not backing down from his scrutiny, I leaned forward and met his gaze.
"Let's consume her. If she's something the Zhongnan Sect will gobble up while we sit still, then we'll devour her first."
At my words, Zhuge Yeong-yu's face changed oddly. In a way, it looked like an expression of satisfaction.
********
Hong Ye sat in her room, frowning. Her reflection in the mirror looked deeply displeased. She narrowed her brow, bit her lip once, then composed her features into a neutral expression. She had to constantly manage her face like this to keep any sign of foul mood from showing outside.
"Hoo...."
The reasons she had to manage her expression were many. Partly because of that pretty-faced pervert who kept leering at her body, and partly because of the daily Taijiquan sessions for the elderly she had to endure. But if she had to name the biggest reason, it was the letter from Jong Yuseop of the Zhongnan Sect—the one that had abruptly stopped after urging her to wait just a little longer.
For her, the connection with the Zhongnan Sect was crucial.
If she could marry a direct disciple of the Zhongnan Sect, she could transform the sect into something better than it was now, and perhaps even raise it to a level on par with the Nine Sects One Gang.
Ever since the Grandmaster, her adoptive father, had taken her in, Hong Ye had been haunted by a sense of duty to make the Taiji Sect grander and more wonderful than it had been under the previous generation. No one had ever demanded this of her, but she believed that as the successor to the sect's direct lineage, she had to do it.
She believed that only by doing so—with her southern barbarian blood—could she be properly acknowledged as the next Grandmaster of the Taiji Sect.
"Junior Sister Hong Ye. Did you hear that story? You know that Crimson Ring Sect fellow who came in recently to learn Taijiquan?"
As soon as Hong Ye stepped outside, she nearly scowled. She had heard the name of that filthy Crimson Ring Sect bastard who kept glancing at her during training. She forced herself to keep a blank expression, mindful of the sect's rumors.
Even though she was a direct disciple, her southern barbarian origin meant she always had to be wary of gossip.
"What about that guy?"
"I heard the Zhuge family sent gifts, asking us to take good care of him. The amount was larger than expected, so everyone's making a fuss about it."
"Gifts?"
"Yes. Things like silk. They say a whole cartful was sent."
It was an impressive scale of gifts for merely asking them to look after one person. But Hong Ye managed her expression, pretending to be unshaken, and said,
"Hmph. How can someone who clings to material things be called a person of cultivation? Everyone, go do your work."
Hong Ye snorted and scattered the idle chatterers. But even as the sect disciples dispersed, they went right on buzzing about the Crimson Ring Sect's Docheol, who was receiving the love of the Zhuge family.
"I heard a story that the Zhuge family is backing him. It seems to be true."
Hong Ye ignored the talk.
But the very fact that she had to consciously ignore that story,
was proof that she was aware of it.