Many Hills Yet to Cross - 5
"A relief indeed. Ah, but... as you know well enough, Innkeeper, funds at the magistrate's office are a little..."
"Haha. Say no more."
The man couldn't even settle his office's bills these days — was I really going to ask him for travel money on top of that? I simply shook my head with a smile.
"A letter of introduction will do. And if you could grant me passage on the Official Road..."
The pride of the empire. Even in Cheonsang Myeongwol, the Official Road Pass was something you could only get your hands on after clearing a whole string of empire-related events.
Using one had cut travel times dramatically in the game as well, which was exactly why I'd asked — and the magistrate looked thoroughly pleased.
"Well, of course I'll grant it. Take the Official Road to Cheongho and even at your slowest you'll make it in two days. The imperial highways are well paved, and you'll never have to wind around mountains or cross dangerous ground."
"Even better. Please do allow me the honor."
"Hahaha! Much obliged. Really, it seems I'm forever in the Innkeeper's debt."
"Are we strangers to each other? Hahahaha!!"
"Hahaha! That we are not! Hahahaha!!!"
"Hahahaha!!"
I laughed loud enough to shake the walls of the magistrate's office, and Hyeonryeong laughed right along with me.
Watching him, it struck me anew that this was precisely where the bond between people who pushed and pulled each other along took root and blossomed.
Back at the inn after my meeting with the magistrate, I set about clearing the backlog of work, mindful that I'd be away for a stretch. I had dependable staff, and if anything truly went wrong I could always call on the magistrate for help.
The inn's ledgers could stand to wait, a hole or two in the accounts wouldn't sink anyone, and the servants and serving girls on duty could leave their posts for days without a single troublemaker among them. They had faithfully kept things running through all my back-and-forth trips to Yangwi Fortress and elsewhere, so I trusted them without reservation.
By the time the leftover work was done and my evening training finished, a rowdy, cheerful clamor rose in the distance. Right on schedule, the Hongseong Sect disciples had arrived.
Let's see. A rough headcount said everyone was there except the Sword Saint.
"Welcome, all of you."
I went out to greet them personally. Sure enough, the Sword Saint was absent, and leading the group was the sect's eldest disciple, Hong Ryeon.
"Thank you for having us."
"Thank you, Innkeeper!"
I returned their fist-and-palm salutes and led them inside — into the banquet hall we'd used last time, naturally.
"Here we are."
The moment we entered, Hong Ryeon handed over a thick sheaf of papers: an evaluation report on the Fasting Pills. It had plainly been written with care, the pages densely filled.
Taste. The flow of internal energy during breath cultivation. Verified martial prowess at three-day intervals. Along with a whole catalogue of other strengths and drawbacks, all recorded in impressive detail.
"This should satisfy the Cheonghoe Merchant Guild and give them plenty to refine."
"From where I stand, there's hardly anything that needs improving..."
"The taste could bear some thought. Well — in any case, you've all worked hard. Eat and drink your fill before you go."
"Thank you for the meal!!"
At the disciples' chorus I withdrew — and Hong Ryeon stopped me.
"How about eating with us?"
"I'd like nothing more, but I'm to be away a few days, so there's work that must be finished by tonight."
She went quiet for a beat, then fixed me with a steady gaze.
"Is there something you'd like to say?"
"Ah — yes. Could you spare me a little time later?"
That much was no trouble at all.
From the banquet hall drifted the sound of the Hongseong disciples falling upon their meal with a tremendous racket. A few of the other guests frowned over at the noise, but the moment they learned who was dining in there, they simply chuckled and remarked that they hoped the young heroes would eat plenty.
The Hongseong Sect really was beloved by all — Sayun's sect, after all.
Smiling contentedly at the thought, I saw to my innkeeper duties, and once the guests thinned out a little, I went upstairs.
With an early departure come dawn, I'd better get my packing in order too.
I was in the middle of sorting this and that when something went tak, tak against the window. I crossed to it and looked down to find Hong Ryeon sitting in the back courtyard. A pebble the size of a bean lay on the sill — so that was her knock.
I leaned out the window, and Hong Ryeon, who had been watching for me, began to wave. Better hurry down.
"Keep you waiting long?"
"Ahaha... no."
"You should have eaten more."
"I ate quite enough, thanks."
Stiff as a plank, she spoke in a strained voice. Seeing the Sun-Falling Sword herself wound this tight was honestly a little worrying. Was something the matter?
"Why so tense?"
"Ahaha..."
With a hollow laugh, Hong Ryeon swallowed dryly. She studied me in silence for a moment, then let out a single sigh.
Only after a deep, deliberate breath did she look me square in the eye and speak.
"May I... hold your hand for a moment?"
What on earth was there to be nervous about?
I held out my hand, and she took it gingerly. For a hand that trained in the martial arts, it was remarkably soft.
"Hmm..."
She kneaded my palm and checked my pulse for a good while, then nodded as though some suspicion had been confirmed. And then, with none of her earlier hesitation, she declared:
"Take it off."
A wind swept through the courtyard, where no one stood but the two of us. Feeling an abrupt chill, I did my best to smile.
"N-no! That's not—"
Apparently she had only just registered her own words. Flustered, Hong Ryeon scrambled into an explanation.
"A-after the Demonic Cult business, I kept thinking about what I could do for you. I even considered teaching you martial arts. The Hongseong Divine Art can only be mastered by women, so that's off the table, but there's a fair stock of useful techniques kept in our sect's archives."
"And?"
"And I was sorting through them with that in mind — but after your last visit, my master said something to me."
Finally composed again, Hong Ryeon went on evenly, my hand still in hers.
"She said that almost no martial art in the world would suit you as well as Chae Family Tai Chi."
"So you're telling me I can't learn anything besides Chae Family Tai Chi?"
"No, that's not it. You're learning the Five Animal Frolics right now, aren't you? But on matters of the martial arts, my master's judgment is never wrong. Whether to add anything more is best decided after an evaluation from masters of her caliber — and as it stands, none of the arts kept in the Hongseong vaults seemed to meet with her approval."
There wasn't a grain of playfulness in her voice.
And she was right. Learning a martial art was, in truth, a dangerous undertaking.
What is qi cultivation? The act of accepting the power of nature, converting even a fraction of that immense force into one's own, and heaping it up within the body.
That is why heaven-defying arts are perilous: they force vast power into a person by artifice alone.
My Five Animal Frolics and Chae Family Tai Chi, by contrast, were rooted in the Dao and followed the natural current. Slow to grow, yes — but because their end was oneness with nature, they were comparatively safe, and at the journey's very end they even promised magnificence. Unlike the arts that defy heaven.
Even so, "comparatively safe" was not "unconditionally safe." However slowly I built my internal energy with the Frolics and the Tai Chi, in the worst of cases the possibility of qi deviation could never be entirely ruled out.
Leave rice cakes to the rice-cake shop and medicine to the apothecary — so too, martial arts were best learned under the eye of a true master.
I nodded along as Hong Ryeon explained.
"Chae Jin never walked you through any of this?"
"She gave me the short version."
"Small mercies. I half feared she was teaching you by brute force."
I let my eyes slide away, just slightly. Hong Ryeon snickered and squeezed my hand.
"Which is exactly why I've decided it isn't wise for me to pass other arts on to you."
"You put your faith in the Sword Saint, then."
"With my life."
Smiling slyly, she pointed at my chest.
"Martial arts are best learned young. But as I understand it, you only began recently. Chae Family Tai Chi suits you so well that your progress is swift — but it's still a strain, isn't it? And here is why: turbid energy has settled into your meridians."
"Ah. So what you mean to do tonight is..."
"Mm. Draw out the turbid energy clogging your meridians, little by little. It has nothing to do with the martial arts, of course — it's simply to make your body healthier. And... purging it completely would take steady treatments over a few decades... but let's leave that discussion for later."
"Remarkable. Is that the full extent of its benefits?"
"Your stamina will improve. Picking up martial arts will get easier. And for a man it's especially wond— ahem. In any case, yes. I went through quite a lot learning this from my master, so don't you dare refuse. I agonized endlessly over what I could possibly do for you."
"If it would burden you, perhaps I ought to decline."
"A burden? To a master of my standing? Who do you take the woman standing before you for?"
Beaming, lit head-on by the lantern light spilling from the inn, Hong Ryeon bared white teeth in a smile overflowing with confidence.
"The Sun-Falling Sword, Hong Ryeon."
Such swagger. I nodded. If that was what it came to, what reason was there to refuse?
It would secure a surer means of protecting this body of mine, and if it was good for my health into the bargain, accepting was only sensible.
At my nod, Hong Ryeon slowly released my hand — and went on studying me.
"What are you waiting for? I said take it off."
"Hm. And how much ought to come off, exactly?"
Wasn't one supposed to strip down entirely for this sort of thing?
It had never existed in Cheonsang Myeongwol, so I genuinely had no idea what was required of me.
At my honestly curious question, Hong Ryeon clamped her mouth shut for a long moment. Then:
"J-just the top!! Take off your top and sit over there!"
I nodded at her outburst, pulled off my shirt, and folded myself cross-legged onto the packed earth as directed. Hong Ryeon settled her hands calmly against my back.
"...My, what a broad back you have."
"I'm a big man. That's all it is."
"Hehe. I don't think that's the only reason."
The soft voice drifted over my shoulder — and with it, warmth began to seep from Hong Ryeon's palms into my back.
"Don't open your mouth. Simply accept the flow I send you. Naturally. And don't forget that I'm right here."
A small nod was all the answer I gave; I closed my eyes. A tingling warmth set out from my back and spread through my whole body.
How long did I sit like that?
Something rose up from deep within me, churning and wrong, and I couldn't hold it down.
"Hurk."
What came spilling out was a mass of gray, viscous sludge. The instant I'd spat it up, Hong Ryeon said, entirely matter-of-fact:
"There. That's enough for today. We'll do the next one next month."
"Next month?"
"Too often, and the meridians themselves can be damaged. A master of my level wouldn't allow that, of course, but it would still be a strain on you. It hurts, too."
"Then I suppose I'll have to wait with a smile on my face until then."
"Haha. Do. I'm entering closed-door cultivation for a week starting tomorrow anyway."
"Out of nowhere? Have you gained something?"
"Gained something... I suppose I have."
Smiling broadly, she squared her shoulders.
"I finally saw what I ought to be aiming for."
Hong Ryeon's eyes, lifted to the night sky, were clear. Not the weary eyes I had seen on her before — eyes gazing at her own future.
"Now that is a fine thing."
"Isn't it? And I've left the sachets and the herb garden with Ryu Hyeon and Hyeon Hwi — they'll see to it well. Don't worry yourself."
"The Sun-Falling Sword's own work? Why would I worry?"
Hong Ryeon had never once disappointed me on a task yet. And besides — weren't we both members of the Sayun Dan?
Apparently satisfied with my answer, she snickered and rose to her feet.
"Oh — and one more thing. Since I'm handing my other duties to the girls while I'm in seclusion, I'll be the one continuing the patrols here for a while... you, um... you don't mind, do you?"
Sneaking a glance at my face, Hong Ryeon fidgeted with her fingers. I shook my head for her.
"How could I possibly?"
"Hehe. Thank you."
That settled it. As I gathered up my clothes, Hong Ryeon watched me a moment, then turned to head inside — and abruptly stopped mid-step.
"Oh, right — who's going with you? If you need an escort, just ask the gir—"
"Lady Chae has agreed to accompany me."
"...Who?"
"Lady Chae."
She knew I'd been to Yangwi Fortress with Chae Jin recently, didn't she? What was so strange about it?
Watching Hong Ryeon's expression turn distinctly odd, I snapped my fingers. I had been meaning to raise this very matter — I'd nearly let her walk off without it.
"Come to think of it, your seclusion runs through next week, yes? If you're willing, spare me some time afterward. There's somewhere I'd like you to come with me."
"No, actually... huh?"
"There is something I need — something that can only be had in person. I'd like to ask a favor. And I'd like to bring one more of your disciples along as well. If it happened to be someone who'd never yet set foot out into the murim, so much the better."
"Oh... Sayun hasn't been out into the murim yet..."
"Then all three of us shall go. It will take a few days — if it doesn't suit, do say so."
"...Next week?"
"Next week, if it can be managed."
"Me, Sayun, and you — the three of us?"
"The three of us."
"...Three. Of us. Traveling. Three. Traveling. Three. Traveling... wait, where exactly...?"
"A Daoist monastery called Changungwan, not far from here. It's a rite of passage — a place everyone making their first outing into the murim is said to visit at least once, and it grants a dharma artifact only to those who come in person. I find myself rather in need of it..."
Truth be told, I wasn't entirely sure I truly needed it.
In Cheonsang Myeongwol, it raised a blacksmith's skill so that one could obtain higher-grade equipment — whether that would hold true here too, who could say.
But if I had the leisure to go, then going was better than not.
And above all — Sayun had always ached to see Changungwan.
In any respectable sect, Changungwan was where disciples were sent on a sightseeing tour for their first outing into the murim. The scenery was lovely, and there was no end of things to see.
But with her sect destroyed and everyone dear to her dead, the girl had been in too much pain to indulge in anything so carefree as sightseeing. And by the time she had finally worked through enough of her grief to attempt something like a journey, Changungwan had already burned to the ground in a cascade of incidents, wiped from the world entirely.
Worse — in Part Four there was an event shared with the other protagonists, and when they began reminiscing about visiting Changungwan on their first outings, there came a scene where Sayun, in a flat and hollow voice, said simply that she had wanted to go too.
That scene set the entire community ablaze — not just Sayun Dan devotees like me, but even the slanderers.
How dare you do this to a girl who had already suffered so much.
What kind of human being does this?
And you — denying her even Changungwan, the one place everyone else got to visit — what color is the blood running in your veins?
So how could I possibly let this chance slip by? When the opportunity came, I would take her there. Without fail.
"Changungwan... she did used to say she wanted to go at least once, since all the others had..."
"All the more reason it works out. If you come along, wouldn't Sayun be overjoyed?"
It was the truth. Sayun had always wished to travel with her ever-toiling eldest senior sister, if only so the woman might rest a little.
And I, too, wanted to repay her for all her labor of late.
"I'll cover the travel expenses and the escort costs myself, so come with us, Lady Hong. A bit of rest would do you good."
"...Yes. Absolutely. Please."
"Good. Now — you must be peckish again after all that. Go back in and eat some more. You'll want your strength for a week of closed-door cultivation, no? And you've given me your promise — don't even think of breaking it."
"Huh? Wh— yes! You'd better keep yours too!!"
Watching Hong Ryeon scurry inside, I turned back toward my own room. There was still work left to do.
Finish it quickly, and sleep.
After all, we were leaving at the crack of dawn.