The Root Beneath the Orchid
Two days later.
Jang Muhwi had obtained the original copy of the Mumyeonggeomgyeol that had not been burned, yet fully grasping its contents in a single moment was no easy task.
He was even stuck from the very first page.
Of course, if enlightenment came easily, it would hardly be called a secret manual.
That was why Jang Muhwi had come to this place.
He quietly gazed at the bamboo forest spread out before him.
This was the location he had chosen to organize the sword manual he had acquired from the forbidden grounds of Kunlun.
Jang Muhwi set down his belongings and drew the first page of the sword art onto the ground.
Scratch.
A large orchid bloomed across the dirt.
A smile resembling an orchid also spread across Jang Muhwi’s lips.
It was exactly the first page of the sword art.
He could confidently claim it matched the orchid he had seen inside the secret vault perfectly.
It was a drawing that reproduced the exact length and spacing of the sword paths without a single flaw.
He wrote the first verse of the sword art above the image.
Damjungyuhwa. Heojeongido.
The phrase that there is a flower within simplicity and one must be calm to reach the Dao was, to anyone’s eyes, an interpretation of the sword path.
Yet Jang Muhwi simply stood with his arms crossed, staring at the orchid and the verse.
For a long while, he gazed at the words with serious eyes, as if chewing them over.
On his way here, Jang Muhwi had stayed up all night trying to interpret the phrases.
In the end, he still had not deciphered even the first page’s verse.
No matter how he thought about it, the portion of the Mumyeonggeomgyeol he had learned in his previous life had no connection to the first page drawn on the ground now.
It was closer to a riddle.
Come to think of it, obtaining only a fragment of the Mumyeonggeomgyeol in his past life had been fortunate.
Had he acquired the complete manual, he would have been blocked from the first page with no progress at all.
It was while Jang Muhwi was concentrating on the sword path.
“Ahem.”
A cough sounded from behind.
Jang Muhwi turned and offered a fist salute to the newcomer.
“You have arrived, sir.”
The one who appeared beneath the moonlight was none other than Pajuk Seonsaeng.
The reason Jang Muhwi had chosen this place as his training ground was entirely because of Pajuk Seonsaeng.
Pajuk Seonsaeng was not only proficient in the theory of martial arts but also a great scholar unmatched in literary interpretation.
Most importantly, he had no ties to any faction in the Murim.
Was he not the only person with whom Jang Muhwi could discuss the sword art?
Jang Muhwi had reached that conclusion.
Moreover, there was the secluded residence and reliable protection.
There was no better training ground than this in all of Qinghai.
At that moment, Pajuk Seonsaeng glanced back and forth between Jang Muhwi and the ground before the corners of his mouth lifted slightly.
“So this is why you came here.”
“Yes, that is correct. No matter how much I think about it, I cannot solve it.”
“I was feeling rather bored anyway… this is perfect.”
Pajuk Seonsaeng plopped down casually onto the ground.
Jang Muhwi sat down facing him.
The two stared silently at the sword art written on the ground.
After a moment, Jang Muhwi asked with eyes full of curiosity.
“Are you not curious which sect’s sword technique this belongs to?”
“What does the sect matter? Is there not a saying that all streams return to the sea? With a fine piece of writing, where it came from is unimportant. Only the writing itself matters. That aside, this is rather tricky.”
“What do you mean by that?”
“It feels as if the sentences themselves have become a lock. The ornate sword path drawn below is being blocked by the text. Hmm.”
“Even you cannot grasp it, sir?”
“How can a man know everything? We live for the joy of learning what we do not know, one thing at a time. Shall we fill our stomachs first?”
“Then I shall prepare the meal.”
When Jang Muhwi rose from his seat, Pajuk Seonsaeng grabbed his sleeve.
“Are you not my guest? Do you think I would treat a guest so carelessly?”
“What do you mean?”
“Wait a moment.”
After speaking, Pajuk Seonsaeng waved his hand.
From afar, a warrior dressed in black martial robes approached carrying a large tray.
The warrior holding the tray was a woman.
She appeared to be around thirty years old.
As she drew closer, Jang Muhwi examined her carefully.
The clue to her identity was the soft sword hanging at her waist.
The golden knot attached to the soft sword was the key.
There was only one group in the Central Plains that tied golden knots to their swords.
The Imperial Palace’s Gold-Clothed Guards.
The woman clearly belonged to the Gold-Clothed Guards.
She was likely the one who had subdued Ma Uiryong as well.
The woman set down the food without a word and disappeared.
Pajuk Seonsaeng pointed at the tray.
“Here. It is nothing special… but please eat.”
“Thank you.”
Jang Muhwi bowed his head quietly.
This was Pajuk Seonsaeng’s consideration.
After eating a quick meal at the entrance of Kunlun, he had not touched any food.
It was because he had focused every ounce of his attention on interpreting the sword art.
Yet Pajuk Seonsaeng had noticed and shown such care.
When Jang Muhwi finished every last bite, Pajuk Seonsaeng looked at him with satisfaction.
“To see you empty even tasteless food so cleanly, you must have been quite hungry. Now that you have eaten, it is time for tea.”
“There is no time for…”
“Exactly. That time is what matters. Sometimes you must know how to waste time in order to see what is around you.”
“Understood.”
Jang Muhwi quietly drank the prepared tea.
Even as he sipped, his eyes remained fixed on the sword path drawn on the ground.
The same was true for Pajuk Seonsaeng.
He was the type who could not sleep if he had not found an answer.
It was Pajuk Seonsaeng who had advised Jang Muhwi to take things slowly.
Yet he himself could not suppress his curiosity about the sword path.
Pajuk Seonsaeng’s eyes sparkled.
Interpreting the words of ancient sages was far easier than the sentences and sword path before him now.
There were no fixed answers in the martial paths of the Jianghu.
Even if one thought they had the correct answer, the result would differ depending on who used the technique.
Sometimes, unique martial artists appeared who walked paths no one else took.
That was what made the Jianghu interesting.
Pajuk Seonsaeng looked at Jang Muhwi with a pleased expression.
In his eyes, Jang Muhwi was precisely such a unique martial artist.
Suddenly, Pajuk Seonsaeng dropped his teacup.
Clack.
Jang Muhwi swiftly picked it up and wiped it clean.
“It looks expensive. What a waste.”
“It is fine. Since someone has drunk from it, that is not so bad either.”
“Besides us, who else…”
Before Jang Muhwi could finish, Pajuk Seonsaeng pointed at the bamboo.
Then his index finger pointed downward.
“Look closely. Has it not seeped into the roots?”
“You mean the bamboo drank it.”
“Humans have mouths above, but trees have mouths below, do they not?”
“You mean the roots. Now that you mention it…”
Jang Muhwi trailed off.
He turned his head and looked at the sword path once more.
Suddenly, his eyes widened.
Seeing this, Pajuk Seonsaeng asked.
“What is it?”
“I think I have found the solution.”
“What did you find?”
“I thought this was an orchid.”
“If it is not an orchid, then what is it?”
“If you look closely, does it not resemble roots?”
“If this is the root… then it means the foundation, the basis. And the tree that should stand above the root has not yet been drawn…”
Pajuk Seonsaeng poured out his thoughts without pause.
The two exchanged opinions until the night gave way to dawn.
When the sky began to brighten faintly, Jang Muhwi picked up his sword with a serious expression.
It was all thanks to Pajuk Seonsaeng.
Whether the conversation had been intentional or coincidental, he did not know!
What mattered was that Jang Muhwi had grasped the edge of enlightenment.
When Jang Muhwi raised his sword, Pajuk Seonsaeng quietly left the area.
Jang Muhwi alternated his gaze between his sword and the sword path drawn on the ground.
If it was not an orchid but a root, then the sword path was the complete opposite.
Swoosh.
Jang Muhwi’s sword moved as if slicing through moonlight.
The sword path indicated by the manual was simpler than he had expected.
Countless roots might be embedded in the earth, but they all reached toward only one direction—upward.
The sword path Jang Muhwi drew was the same.
Though the starting points differed, they all ultimately pointed toward the sky.
Jang Muhwi drew countless sword paths in the air, over and over.
Swoosh.
Swoosh!
The sound of wind split the air.
Like the sound of wind chimes ringing in a temple, the clear ring of the sword spread outward.
At that moment, Jang Muhwi’s sword gradually grew faster.
Strangely, the faster his sword moved, the quieter the sound of the wind became.
Yet Jang Muhwi himself did not notice this peculiar phenomenon.
How much time had passed.
How many times he had swung—none of that mattered.
He was not even conscious of it.
He simply drew the sword path within a state of no-self.
─✧─
The roots stretch endlessly toward the heavens.
Though the beginning differs, the end is one.
Pajuk Seonsaeng wore a faint smile on his lips.
At that moment, the guard beside him spoke in a low voice.
“I do not know if it is strong, but it is beautiful.”
“You think so too, Hui.”
“Do not all human eyes see the same?”
The guard looked at Jang Muhwi once more.
The woman’s name was Geomhui.
She was the commander of the Hyeonmudae, the unit responsible for protecting key figures in the Imperial Palace, and one of the Four Great Experts of the Gold-Clothed Guards.
She was displeased that Pajuk Seonsaeng had taken interest in a nameless junior from the outskirts of Murim.
The opponent was the youngest son of the most insignificant family in Qinghai, the very edge of the martial world.
If he needed a discussion partner for sword theory, she believed herself far more suitable.
She could even introduce him to other masters she knew.
This was a matter of pride.
Though she held the position of a mere guard, she was one of the Four Great Experts of the Gold-Clothed Guards.
To think that such a person would discuss the sword with a worthless junior?
To Geomhui, Pajuk Seonsaeng was like a father.
It was Pajuk Seonsaeng who had taken her in when she wandered lost after her family perished in the chaos of war.
Was that all?
It was also Pajuk Seonsaeng who had recommended her to the Imperial Palace.
That was why she had volunteered for this mission.
Those around her had looked at her strangely for volunteering for a mission in the mountains that could last years, but to her it had been the most natural choice.
Therefore, it was only natural that she felt upset seeing Pajuk Seonsaeng so deeply absorbed by a mere insignificant junior.
But now, she thought she understood why.
The sword path drawn by the martial artist named Jang Muhwi was more beautiful than any painting by a master artist.
So much so that she had forgotten her duty as a guard and become lost in the sword path.
For a brief moment, she had forgotten her mission.
What was even more astonishing was that he had been drawing that sword path for an entire day.
It had already been five hours since she had followed Pajuk Seonsaeng while carrying the food.
According to Pajuk Seonsaeng, Jang Muhwi had entered a state of no-self and begun training five hours ago.
That meant he had been at it for nearly a full day.
Geomhui instinctively gripped her soft sword.
It was the desire to cross blades with him.
It was the instinct of a martial artist to want to clash swords with a strong opponent upon seeing one.
Of course, she could not actually draw her weapon.
Releasing her grip on the soft sword, Geomhui imagined a spar with him inside her mind.
She tried mixing her own sword into that beautiful sword path.
It was beautiful, yet there were clearly openings.
She was confident she could exploit his gaps within three moves.
While picturing the spar in her head, Geomhui unconsciously muttered to herself.
“What is this?”
“What is the matter?”
When Pajuk Seonsaeng tilted his head, Geomhui turned to look at him.
“It is nothing.”
But she could not hide her flustered expression.
No matter how she tried inside her mind, she could not keep up with his sword.
Geomhui looked at Jang Muhwi’s sword once more.
No matter how she thought about it, she could not understand.
It was beautiful, but it was clearly not a fast sword.
Yet she could not keep up with it!
At that moment, Pajuk Seonsaeng asked.
“You cannot find any weaknesses, can you?”
“That is… anyway, in actual combat it would be different.”
The true desire to cross swords with him slipped out unintentionally.
Pajuk Seonsaeng looked at Geomhui with a wide smile.
“Hmm. There is some truth to that as well.”
It was then.
Jang Muhwi’s sword stopped.
Pajuk Seonsaeng watched him with eyes full of anticipation.
Jang Muhwi’s martial robes were soaked through with sweat.
As if he had been caught in a downpour!
Yet Jang Muhwi wore a refreshing smile on his lips.
He had finally interpreted the first page.
Simply interpreting it meant he had overcome half the hurdle.
Because now the trajectory of the Cheonma Sword that had once appeared merely beautiful was faintly taking shape inside his mind!