Borrowed Time
"The Fourth Dan-gong Amplification is, in its essence, a technique that borrows the time enshrined within the ten-thousand-year elixir. It demands an understanding of the Three Flowers Gathering at the Crown and of the Harmony Realm."
As he had said before, achieving the Fourth Dan-gong Amplification meant stepping into the Harmony Realm. In other words, it was called the Three Flowers Gathering at the Crown.
Three Flowers Gathering at the Crown.
It was a realm named for the miraculous transformation that occurred in a martial artist when Essence, Energy, and Spirit united as one. When a martial artist who had achieved this unity performed qi circulation, three flower buds bloomed above the head. The Three Flowers Gathering was not a realm of abstraction but one of tangible reality.
The crucial point was that the unity of Essence, Energy, and Spirit had to be achieved first. Anyone who pursued the martial path and cultivated the Dao would naturally arrive at a question: what, precisely, did unity mean?
Sluggish Essence. Faint Energy. And a Degraded Spirit.
There had been those foolish enough to believe that this, too, constituted unity. Long ago, they were called Ascetics—men who walked the opposite path from martial artists and cultivators. They restricted food and sleep to the extreme, driving their bodies to the brink of starvation. Deprived of nourishment, muscle and bone withered away and the body grew frail. Deprived of sleep, both mind and body fell into ruin. On top of all this, they performed no physical training whatsoever—and thus, Sluggish Essence was achieved.
Energy was intimately tied to Essence. With Essence reduced to such extreme weakness, the primordial vital energy was drained away, making Faint Energy easy enough to attain. And what became of a man whose body was broken and whose energy had dwindled to nothing? The Ascetics' Spirits wore away and collapsed with the passage of time. In their own words, they had achieved a Degraded Spirit.
Viewed purely as theory, if one achieved only Sluggish Essence, the unity of Essence, Energy, and Spirit would follow naturally. The birth of countless Ascetics was never a coincidence. To reach the supreme realm of the Three Flowers Gathering by doing nothing at all—this might be called the paradox of passive advancement. At first glance it resembled the Daoist principle of wu wei, non-action, but the fair assessment was that they lacked a complete understanding of Essence, Energy, and Spirit. Because they never grasped the absolute minimum required for a human being to exist as human, their theoretically perfect unity ended in miserable failure. At least within what he knew, not a single Ascetic had ever bloomed three flower buds above their own head. The outcome was truly devastating.
Humanity was a species that changed and advanced through trial and error. Through the cautionary tales of the Ascetics, martial artists came to understand the absolute minimum quantity of Essence, Energy, and Spirit required to reach the Three Flowers Gathering.
So what conditions had to be met? Essence had to achieve Mind-Becomes-Action—the ability to act precisely as one willed. This was a realm reachable only through relentless training of the body. In the murim, the Peak Realm was conventionally regarded as the beginning of Mind-Becomes-Action. Energy had to achieve Materialization. The minimum condition for internal qi, which wandered within the body, to take tangible form in the physical world—that was Materialization. It was correct to view the Three Flowers Gathering as impossible for one whose Energy had not reached this stage. Conventionally, internal energy of Materialization also began at the Peak Realm.
Thousands of years had passed since martial arts were first devised and refined. In those days, realms that once demanded decades to achieve Materialization could now be reached by the chosen few in their twentieth year. Established forms and refined principles granted young martial artists the attainment of Mind-Becomes-Action. Deepened heart cultivation and the aid of spiritual elixirs granted them internal energy of Materialization.
Then where, in today's murim, did the difference between the Peak Realm and the Harmony Realm arise? Indeed. The answer lay in the Spirit. To reach the Three Flowers Gathering, the Spirit had to achieve communion with all things under heaven. This was the realm spoken of as the blossoming of the Spirit, or the awakening of Spiritual Perception.
To masters of the Peak Realm, Sword Qi was granted. Sword Qi was the manifestation of internal energy, refined within one's body and given tangible form in the world. Then what was the Sword Gang wielded by masters of the Harmony Realm? The gang of Sword Gang was the character for firmament. It was the power of the world itself, drawn in through communion with all creation and given tangible form. In the end, only by blossoming the Spirit and communing with all things under heaven could one reach the Three Flowers Gathering—and only then wield the Sword Gang, the proof of the Harmony Realm.
Conventionally, what was needed to blossom the Spirit was time and enlightenment. Of course, a chosen few favored by heaven transcended time and awakened their Spiritual Perception—but this was not the domain of man. It was, quite literally, nothing more than the whim of a capricious heaven. Just as humanity had failed to create natural spiritual elixirs, this too belonged to the domain of heaven's gift alone. This was precisely why, despite the growing number of martial artists reaching the Peak Realm in their twenties, most did not arrive at the Three Flowers Gathering until well past their fortieth year. Was time not a domain beyond the power of man to command?
And yet, there had been one man who succeeded in blossoming Spiritual Perception through human effort alone. That man was the Medicine Immortal.
"This humble Dao combined the Spiritual Perception inherent in the ten-thousand-year elixir with the Yakseon Heart Decision, and thereby compressed that time beyond all measure."
Among martial artists who reached the Peak Realm in their twenties, only a chosen few achieved the Three Flowers Gathering around their fortieth year. This meant that for the Spirit to catch up with the rapidly advanced Essence and Energy and unite with them required a minimum of twenty years.
"And yet, even this cannot be called a complete success. This humble Dao succeeded in dramatically reducing the minimum of twenty years, yet failed to transcend time entirely and bring Spiritual Perception into full bloom."
The Medicine Immortal had been born with his Spiritual Perception already in bloom—a man of heaven's own gift. That he could not achieve complete success may simply have been fate.
"Even wielding the ten-thousand-year elixir and the Yakseon Heart Decision in concert, one month shall be required to achieve the Fourth Dan-gong Amplification."
And yet, a minimum of twenty years compressed into a single month. How could this not be called a triumph?
"But there is that which you must know. Upon entering the Fourth Dan-gong, you, my disciple, shall fall into a state of suspended animation for the span of one month. I counsel you to make every preparation before you commence. Complain not, my disciple. To melt the time enshrined within a ten-thousand-year elixir into a mere month was the utmost of this humble one's endeavor. The greatness of the Yakseon Heart Decision remains undiminished."
This was what the Medicine Immortal had meant by "a different qi mechanism." Unlike the Third Dan-gong, which had carried no side effects upon entry, reaching the Fourth Dan-gong meant falling into suspended animation for an entire month.
"Suspended animation."
It went without saying, but a state of suspended animation was dangerous. Even for the inward-focused practice of qi circulation alone, the convention of the murim was to perform it only in a location of guaranteed safety—or, if circumstances demanded otherwise, to at least post a guardian. To enter suspended animation for the long span of a month required far greater preparation. It meant he needed someone he could trust completely—someone who would protect and tend to him throughout that period.
Someone I can trust...
He turned the question over in his mind. Much as he regretted it, Yi Chun-baek would not do. He was a vagabond by station, with no fixed dwelling. Asking him to devote an entire month solely to his care was simply not right. Nor would Yeo Wol and Ma Sok of the Haomun. He had already built rapport and trust with them, but entrusting his entire person to their care was another matter entirely. With his designs on the Murim Alliance leadership, he had reason to remain ever-cautious in his dealings with them.
Returning to the main clan would have been the most practical solution, but he had no desire for that either. The Dancheon Clan was, to him, a prize to be contested. He had no intention of revealing a vulnerability like a month of helpless suspended animation. Having eliminated so many options, one person remained. Someone who could watch over him while he reached the Fourth Dan-gong. That choice was Yang Su-rin.
Yang Su-rin.
He counted himself fortunate that even one option remained.
Yang Su-rin took in the visitor who had not graced her door in far too long. A man whose looks would not yield even when set against her own—the selfsame beauty hailed as one of the Five Flowers of Anhui.
"It has been a while."
It was Dancheon Myeong.
I don't like it.
At their first meeting, his looks had been passable at best. She could not fathom when he had transformed into such a strikingly handsome man.
The matchmakers' love letters still haven't stopped, have they?
Yang Su-rin did not appreciate how exceptionally he had turned out. But she had her pride as well, and saw no reason to bring up the letters. After all, love letters flew to her from every corner of the Central Plains—she hardly lacked for admirers herself.
"So what brings the precious second son of the Dancheon Clan all the way to the Yang Family Hall?"
She asked, her tone pointedly cool. It was her way of concealing how pleased she actually was that Dancheon Myeong had come to see her first. And then she caught him smiling faintly at the sight of her, and her mood soured all over again. He had always carried himself as though he could see straight through her.
He spoke.
"I need you to hide me."
She flinched. The request caught Yang Su-rin completely off guard. But she was a seasoned merchant, was she not? She quickly masked her expression and continued, wearing a smile of perfect composure.
"What, have you committed some crime?"
"No, nothing like that."
What a relief. Theirs was nothing now, but had they not once spoken of betrothal? If something dire had befallen him, she might have worried. Just a very little.
Then a faintly mischievous expression settled across Dancheon Myeong's face. She had never seen such a look on that block of wood before.
"And if I had committed a crime—would you still hide me?"
The unexpected question ruffled her composure for an instant, but she quickly gathered herself once more. As she kept reminding herself, she was a seasoned merchant.
"That would depend on the severity of the crime and the cost-benefit analysis. If hiding you profits me, I'll hide you. If not, well—nothing to be done."
She privately judged her own answer quite deft. The shrewd maneuvering of a seasoned merchant. He chuckled and explained the situation. Having heard him out, she grasped the general picture. In summary: he had found himself in need of someone's help, and the person who came to mind was her.
"A whole month?"
Why her question came out that way, she couldn't quite say herself.
"I'm asking you to."
Dancheon Myeong bowed his head to her.
"Well, I can manage that much. It's hardly a difficult favor for me."
He had come to her seeking help. And that fact left Yang Su-rin feeling not displeased at all.
"Well, you have done me favors in the past, after all."
And so she added that, though it hadn't strictly been necessary.
"Thank you."
As expected, things had gone according to plan. Her reaction confirmed what he had already suspected—she would do him no harm.
"Is the plan proceeding well?"
This was, in truth, the most crucial aspect of his relationship with her. It was not merely the ten thousand nyang he had lent her that mattered. What mattered was that she would take control of the Yang Family Hall and grow into a powerhouse who would one day prove useful to him.
Yang Su-rin fell briefly into thought. Her expression was less one of worry than of calculation.
"You said one month, didn't you?"
"I did."
After his answer, what settled across her face was a smile of supreme confidence.
"That should be right around when you come out."
"What do you mean?"
"The timing when I'll have become the Young Mistress of the Yang Family Hall."
"I see."
Yang Su-rin had once come to him and asked him to wait two years. Looking back, this was precisely the moment those two years were drawing to a close. And she was finally poised to ascend as the Young Mistress of the Yang Family Hall. A true merchant who understood the value of keeping her word—and of trust. That was his assessment of her.
"Well done. My congratulations."
A playful glint surfaced in Yang Su-rin's expression. In all his previous life, he had never once seen her wear such a look. In his past life, he had never won her heart. In this one, he had maintained only a business relationship with her, never drawing close. In any case, she fixed him with that unfamiliar expression and said:
"Good news for me, but sad news for you, I suppose."
He couldn't make sense of it, and stared at her with wide eyes.
"Once I become the Young Mistress, there will be no marrying out for me."
Becoming the Young Mistress meant shouldering responsibility for the family's next generation. She would no longer be the one who married out—she would be the one who had to bring a groom in. He was no fool, and caught the implication buried in her words. But he saw no reason to give her the answer she was fishing for. Perhaps his reaction was too dull for her taste, because she added one more line.
"Well, if you said you'd marry into the Yang Family Hall, I suppose I could give it some thought."
Her audacity drew a breath of exasperated laughter from him.
"I see. What a shame, then."
That would never happen.
In any case—one month. In one month, he would enter the Fourth Dan-gong and reach the Harmony Realm. And the seeds he had sown would sprout, and Yang Su-rin would ascend as the Young Mistress of the Yang Family Hall.
A double celebration.