Shanxi (2)

132. Shanxi (2)

This was our first time at a rented manor. Normally, when lodging away from home, the lower classes stayed in cheap accommodations like inns, while the middle class stayed at guesthouses. We had ample money, but renting an entire large manor for just six people was an awkward proposition, so until now we had only stayed at guesthouses. In truth, if you considered the services, a hotel-like guesthouse was a far better place than a rented ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠manor that resembled a private villa, but a rented manor possessed a few unrivaled advantages.

First, it was spacious. Immensely spacious. For us, with only six total sect members, we could secure rooms and sleep without issue whether at a guesthouse or anywhere else, but if a hundred martial artists moved as the Murong Clan had when they departed for Henan, sleeping at a guesthouse was out of the question. Even if they were not martial artists, people like high-ranking officials or wealthy merchants always traveled with large retinues of escort warriors and servants, so they often used rented manors.

And the second advantage. Security. A guesthouse was an open space where countless people came and went. But if you rented an entire manor, martial artists could train, and officials or merchants could hold secret meetings. If you wished, you could completely close off the manor for the rental period, or allow people from an agency inside for one shichen a day for cleaning and cooking. There were clearly many advantages, but we were no great sect, and since we trained outdoors, a manor was nearly an extravagance for us.

Even so, the Red Flower Pavilion Mistress renting a manor for us was an immensely welcome kindness. We had not known that shops and inns would close before the Chinese New Year, the Spring Festival, and we had ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠nearly ended up sleeping outdoors. We were thoroughly accustomed to camping, of course, but with snow happening to fall as well, our lack of travel experience would probably have given us the worst New Year imaginable.

When snow fell, children were happy. Cho-ryeong was running around the broad courtyard, laughing merrily like a puppy, and in the manor where no outsiders could enter, Jeong-hyang had changed into the short skirt and half-sleeved top she had worn at the pleasure house and was walking barefoot across the snowfield. I knew that thanks to her achievement in the Ice Soul Divine Art, she had passive resistance to cold, but if anyone else had been like that, they would surely have been called a crazy bitch. Jeong-hyang, however, with her overwhelming appearance, had instead become a goddess of the white snowfield through mysterious beauty, leaving those who beheld her utterly entranced.

"Senior Sister! Are you really not cold? Just watching you makes me feel cold."

Watching Jeong-hyang laugh and play in the snow with Cho-ryeong, Lee Eun-ha spoke.

"I am not cold at all. If anything, I feel full of energy. Junior Sister Lee is not even a little hot in front of the brazier either, is she?"

Jeong-hyang said playfully as she made a small snowman with Cho-ryeong.

"Now that I think about it, Eun-ha, you are the only one among us who cultivated Yang Energy as a woman, right? If you learn the Yin Blossom Art, Yin Energy will accumulate, but will the Yin and Yang energies not clash?"

Sitting on the wooden veranda and looking at Lee Eun-ha with concern, Master spoke.

"Actually, it is a little uncomfortable even now. But since I do not train in martial arts, I have no reason to rouse all the internal energy in my body, and compared to the massive Yang Energy, the Yin Energy is negligible, so there is no major clash. But someday, when I sleep with my junior brother and build up the Yin Blossom Art, the Yin Energy and Yang Energy will definitely collide. Because even the Ice Soul Divine Art, the greatest ice art under heaven, cannot match the Yin Blossom Art ability to generate Yin Energy. So when I sleep with my junior brother, I plan to break straight through from the completion of the Third Stage all the way to the Sixth Stage. Because once I reach the Sixth Stage, the Union of Yin and Yang will be achieved."

Lee Eun-ha spoke calmly. Now that she had come to understand the Yin Blossom Art in detail, she was saying that, in her current virgin body, she would charge straight through sex nine times in a row in all three holes and all the way to a five-person orgy with four women. At her words, Master wore a troubled expression, unsure how to respond.

"Master, did you know? Junior Brother and I are rapidly increasing our internal energy through yang energy, while Senior Sister Jeong and Senior Sister Son are increasing theirs through yin energy. But our master said that once the Union of Yin and Yang is achieved, your Great Clarity Internal Art will grow most explosively. The ultimate direction of a Taoist internal art is the Union of Yin and Yang, after all."

Yin and Yang, depicted even in the Taiji diagram. But in Wudang, where female disciples were forbidden and marriage was forbidden, just how many Taoists had actually achieved the Union of Yin and Yang? Perhaps Master might truly become an extraordinary Taoist martial artist.

Normally, we stayed in a small village for three days and then left, but because of the snow that had arrived with the Spring Festival, we decided to spend ten days at this manor. In greeting the new year, we all performed rites together, and we idly relieved the accumulated fatigue. And then, training, which had now begun as naturally as a habit. Once I became able to use Martial Aura, the difficulty of training had sharply increased. Moon Immortal and Geo Am truly beat me while clad in Martial Aura, and moreover, now that my Transforming Force had matured to a certain degree, Flame Emperor and Heosan also clad themselves in Martial Aura and made me face them directly.

A pressure of a wholly different dimension from the earlier days when I had merely watched while using the Spirit Possession Art. For the first time, I experienced how terrifying the Flame Blossom Art and Taiji I had always used could make an opponent feel. Thanks to the cramming-style education, I knew all of their sword trajectories, and my Transforming Force, which had reached Limitless, allowed me to barely hold my own against them on the premise that I devoted myself entirely to defense, but the mental anguish was no different at all from the very beginning.

—Hm. As expected, now that you have reached first-rate, there is a real flavor to training.—

As I lay sprawled on the snow, body and mind completely wrecked, first-rate expert my ass, Flame Emperor spoke in a satisfied voice.

—Ah... No. At this rate, I am going to die, you know? You say you will stop right in front of my eyes, but the day I or any of you elders makes even the slightest mistake, that is a direct hit with Martial Aura right there.—

—Training is meant to keep you from dying. Your responses to attacks, your eye for reading the next attack, and the Heavy Strike and Transforming Force embedded in the Solar Sword Art have all reached a certain level. If you continue training this way, before long you will be strong enough to subdue even us in our bodiless state.—

—If I am capable of subduing you, Master, does that not put me among the considerable upper ranks even among first-rate experts?—

—Of course you must reach at least that point. Think about it. You are the disciple whom we, the Four Heroes of Dong-o, devoted ourselves to training. No one in all history has received training like this. Do you know a disciple's duty? The student must surpass the teacher. You must surpass us. Once you subdue one of us, you will move on to two, and the ultimate goal of this training will probably be to face all of us at once.—

I could only laugh hollowly at the Flame Emperor's overwhelmingly ambitious goal.

—All four of the Four Heroes of Dong-o? Is that even possible?—

—Of course it is. Even when we possessed our physical bodies, Goshifa Lama accomplished it.—

Goshifa Lama. Honestly, a completely legendary figure. As Flame Emperor said, a monster who achieved mutual destruction against four great martial artists called the Four Heroes of Dong-o. What in the world kind of bastard was he?

—Just who was that man?—

—Well. We do not really know either. He was simply perfect. If a thing called the completion of martial arts exists, then it would certainly describe that man. Thinking back, the mutual destruction was also good fortune. At the point that Zhang Sanfeng had ascended, there was no one else under heaven who could face him alone, so we decided to attack together without hesitation as well.—

Speaking of a past nemesis, Flame Emperor spoke as if faintly nostalgic.

—Yeongmok. Never forget this: the world is vast. Even someone who has devoted an entire life to martial arts will one day meet an opponent beyond common sense, someone against whom all that skill is useless. You are a perfect example. The Black Heaven Association Leader was brought down by a power his lifelong study of martial arts could not comprehend. Goshifa Lama was the same. In eighty years, I never met anyone more talented in martial arts than Moon Immortal. To you, we may all look like similar old people, but Moon Immortal was a woman twelve years younger than the rest of us and still became our equal.—

But Goshifa Lama was different. It was not that his understanding of martial arts was high; he felt as if he had already completed martial arts. In any case, he too came to leave this world together with us. It is somewhat curious that he, whose final dream was thwarted, did not become a ghost, but in the end, even such an inhuman powerhouse had but one life. So you too, do not let down your guard and continue your training. The sorrow of losing a disciple is something I have no desire to suffer a second time.—

The scale had grown absurd, and I could only laugh. They wanted me never to stop training in case I someday encountered another outlier like Goshifa Lama. I felt sorry as their disciple, but if such a monster ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠appeared, I had no intention of heroically stepping forward to save the world. That was the Martial Alliance's job. I would just take Yeongsan Sect and flee to Jeju Island in Joseon. It had only recently been incorporated into Joseon from the former Tamna Kingdom, so almost no one from the Central Plains would know of it.

But separate from that, now that I had experienced an enormously significant achievement with such brief effort, even I had come to find enjoyment in training. Becoming strong was an unconditional gain. It could transform not only my own life but even the lives of those around me into happy ones. A hero who saves the world was a fanciful tale, but in order to become even a tiny bit stronger, I told Flame Emperor nothing at all.

The third year of Chenghua.

After leaving Baek Clan Estate, we had greeted our first new year. Once the Spring Festival ended and the first market of the year opened, I came out to the village together with everyone. It was not a large village, but it was a market day that had opened after several days, so the number of people on the streets was considerable.

"Happy new year! It is twelve mun, but I will take just ten mun!"

When I bought a few flower buns from a street stall, the vendor gave me a two-mun discount in honor of the new year. Along with ten Hongwu Tongbo coins, Master handed over a talisman made at the manor.

"Happy new year. It is a newly made talisman, so please affix it outside your main gate."

The merchant's eyes went round at the talisman Master had given him.

"Customer, are you perhaps a Taoist?"

"Yes. I am Do-ok of Yeongsan Sect."

Master spoke, smiling kindly. It seemed to be the first time I had heard her reveal her Taoist name to anyone.

"You are the ones staying at the manor, right? Taoist! Do you perhaps perform rites as well? We are supposed to hold the village New Year Rite, but the mountain roads are blocked because of the snow, so we could not bring in a Taoist."

The merchant spoke urgently, looking at Master. At his words, a murmur arose, and other merchants and residents crowded toward us.

"A Taoist, you say?"

"A Taoist has come to our village?"

At the crowd that suddenly swarmed toward us, we were slightly flustered. What was so remarkable about a traveling Taoist that they surrounded us like this? Taoism was a popular religion in Ming, enough that the emperor personally held rites at the Altar of Heaven. Even if they were not martial world sects, ordinary Taoist temples were as numerous as churches in my past life.

"Taoist. I am the headman of this village. Would you please, for the sake of this small village, perform the New Year Rite?"

One person among the crowd bowed his head and earnestly entreated me. Master had already given her Taoist name, but likely because female Taoists were rare, he had addressed me, a man. I glanced back at Master, and she nodded.

"It is no great difficulty, but are there no Taoist temples around here?"

"Please, do not even speak of it. The Taoist temples around here all closed their doors en masse a few years ago. If we even want to hold a single funeral, we have to go to another village and bring in a Taoist or a monk. But now, the mountain roads are blocked because of the snow, so we are truly in a difficult spot."

The village headman spoke, letting out a sigh.

"Why did the Taoist temples close?"

"The Taoists too were people of the martial world, were they not? Around here, there is a large sect called the Gunjo Sect. It was such a large sect that even though it belonged to the Unorthodox Faction, it did not particularly torment the common folk like us. But a few years ago, a war broke out with orthodox martial artists called the Gongha Sect. The Gongha Sect was defeated and pursued by the Gunjo Sect, but ordinary Taoist temples that were not part of the martial world hid the Gongha Sect people. Because the Gongha Sect was a Taoist sect. That reached the ears of the Gunjo Sect, and as a result, every Taoist temple in this area, whether of the martial world or not, ended up shutting its doors."

At the village headman's words, the crowd here and there began to grumble. People who now had to live in immediate discomfort because of martial world affairs that had nothing to do with the common folk. The greatest victims of war were always the lower classes, not those in power.

"To have forced even ordinary Taoist temples that are not part of the martial world to all shut their doors, this Gunjo Sect has gone too far."

Master spoke regretfully. I understood her siding with the Taoists, but in this matter, the fault lay with the Taoist temples that had recklessly meddled in a conflict between martial sects, and with the Gongha Sect that had hidden in the temples fully anticipating that harm. Even now, the villagers were grumbling that the Taoist temples were gone; no one was cursing the Gunjo Sect.

"Master. A fight that occurred in the martial world is no longer something for us to involve ourselves in. Moreover, we are not even people of Shanxi but outsiders staying only briefly. If we needlessly provoke the Gunjo Sect, the aftermath, once we have left, is something the people here will have to bear. Let us simply, as Taoists, devoutly perform the New Year Rite for them."

Master was pure, but no fool. Having seen and learned about the martial world through this journey to Henan, and having greatly matured as the head of a sect, she nodded with a slightly regretful expression.

The New Year Rite was decided on the spot. The villagers poured out into the street and set up the ritual table in an instant. Hwangseong, who welcomed this sort of work, conducted a splendid New Year Rite far grander than the small village warranted. Since this rite carried no particular burden, Master and Jeong-hyang stood beside me as well, and for the first time three Taoists performed the rite together. The beauty of Master and Jeong-hyang made the villagers completely forget even me, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠despite the Flame Qi performance I had mastered.