Taoist Arts (5)

28. Taoist Arts (5)

"Younger Brother, are you heading down the mountain?"

Murong Rin, mocking me with a face that claimed she knew nothing, when she knew the affairs of the Baek Clan Estate as precisely as her own Go stones—even down to my relationship with Gyeong Su-yeon. If you knew the person she was, you'd realize sneering like this counted as comparatively polite behavior for her. When she was truly twisted out of shape, she was a thug who smashed everything to pieces ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠with her own fists before ever mobilizing her clan's power.

I had a rough idea why she was sneering too. Despite being the youngest, and a woman at that, she'd never given up the fight for succession, literally brawling with her older brothers until things got ugly. In her eyes, someone like me who'd abandoned the position of heir must have looked utterly pathetic.

"Dan-yeong's talent is outstanding. He's undoubtedly someone you can trust with the future of the Baek Clan Estate. Since things have turned out this way, Dan-yeong will visit the Murong Clan every year from now on. Your birthday is near, and I'm sorry I won't be able to pay my respects."

The greatest relief when I gave up being young clan head of the Baek Clan Estate was that I'd no longer have to see Murong Rin. Dan-yeong, that bastard—right now he probably felt like he was walking on air, possessing the whole world, but his face would be worth watching soon enough.

"What is that supposed to mean, Young Master Baek? Are you not staying with a sect around here? Have you already tired of living as a martial artist in the Liaoning martial world?"

Narrowing eyes. A dazzling smile that didn't suit her. Fuck. Red alert. This bitch was about to lose her temper right now.

"It's the full moon next month. Come to the Murong Clan. Seeing as you clearly lack the means to prepare a gift, just come and perform the expedition ceremony for me. You call yourself a Daoist master, so surely you can happily do that much for an old friend like me."

No, you crazy bitch! Why do I have to go all the way to your house and conduct some fucking expedition ritual? I'd barely escaped you so I could live modestly and happily with my sweet, pretty Yeongsan Sect disciples! Old friend? Don't make me laugh. It was the first time that word—meant to be warm and fond—had sounded so utterly dreadful.

But sadly, I lacked the courage to shout my true feelings. If she told me to come, I had to go. Damned fate. Even in my past life, I'd been stuck working customer-facing jobs and dealing with every asshole under the sun—why did I have to suffer power-tripping here too?

"Yes. I will come and pay my respects."

Contrary to my real feelings, the answer came reflexively, like a well-trained mongrel.

"L-Lady! I am called Cheon Myeong-hwa. I... we as well, if only you would extend an invitation, our Seven Fingers Sect will prepare all manner of gifts and come!"

The dim-witted bitch, blurting that out desperately only now.

"Miss Cheon? Mm, sorry. This isn't some unpleasant business obligation. It's my birthday. I want only pleasant, enjoyable things around me. I don't want to see a low-class sect even on my birthday."

Murong Rin spoke coldly, as expected. Perhaps never having imagined that her proud sect would be so thoroughly dismissed alongside such venom, that bitch Cheon Myeong-hwa could do nothing but tremble with her face beet-red. Dim-witted bitch. Did she think a connection to the Murong Clan could be forged that easily? Even the Baek Clan Estate had barely held onto that relationship through generations of effort.

"Lady Murong. The truth is, our Yeongsan Sect isn't really all that high in caliber either—"

"Young Master Baek? Have you already forgotten? I'm Murong Rin. A filthy-tempered Beautiful Madness. Or do you want me to pay a personal visit to Young Master Baek's sect?"

Beautiful Madness. Pretty crazy bitch. She genuinely loved any nickname with the character 'beautiful' in it, regardless of the 'Madness' part. I'd tried to piggyback on the dim-witted bitch's dismissal by obliquely quoting her reply and slipping out myself, but what I got in return was a threat aimed at Yeongsan Sect. As I'd thought, a trip to Shenyang where the Murong Clan resided seemed unavoidable.

"...It's not of the highest standard, but our Taoist studies are reliable. We are, after all, the successors of the Maoshan Sect. The ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠expedition ceremony. I shall perform it to the best of my abilities."

Seeming pleased by those words, Murong Rin burst into peals of laughter.

"You sound like a genuine ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Daoist master when you talk like that. Good. I'll give you a present, for Young Master Baek, who's starting a new life."

Murong Rin unfastened the slender sword at her waist and held it out to me. Few warriors under heaven skimped on their cherished weapons, and as a direct descendant of the Murong Clan, hers was dazzlingly ornate—beautiful enough to be mesmerizing. Delicate flower petals were engraved along the slender blade. The hilt and guard were the height of indescribable luxury. It was no legendary divine sword, but it was probably a top-of-the-line piece among Treasured Swords, the equivalent of a designer handbag. Its price was beyond imagination. Son Yeong, whose battered old sword had nicks like saw teeth, and even that half-wit Cheon Myeong-hwa, who'd handled plenty of money in these parts, stood frozen, unable to take their eyes off Murong Rin's sword.

"My Lady, this is far too much for me."

"It's fine. Take it. I'll pester the Clan Head to buy me a new sword for this birthday. Our Clan Head is a typical martial artist, but occasionally, he absolutely adores his granddaughter's whims. Quickly now. My arm hurts."

Yeah, right. That slender arm can smash boulders. Whether it was too much or not, if I didn't take it, that boulder-smashing arm would probably be reaching out to smash me next.

"Then, I accept it gratefully."

When I carefully received the sword from her, even though it was a sword as beautiful as a work of art, the sight was ridiculous.

"Heavens. That's far too comical, isn't it? Young Master Baek, as big as a bear, with a woman's sword like a toothpick!"

Murong Rin kept laughing in peals, as if it were the most entertaining thing in the world.

"Indeed. It truly doesn't suit me."

"It's a sword made for a pretty young lady. Young Master Baek, at your age, you're the youngest disciple in your sect, aren't you? Why not give it to your Senior Sister? It may look ridiculous in your hands, but don't you think it would suit someone as beautiful as Lady Son perfectly?"

"You have keen insight."

With those words, I walked over to Son Yeong, who was gaping slack-jawed, and fastened the sword onto her waist. Having done it, I realized that, thanks to Master and Jeong-hyang, my resistance to touching a woman's body seemed to have vanished by now.

"J-Junior Brother! No, Heroine Murong!"

Murong Rin spoke with a delighted smile to Son Yeong, who had cried out in shock.

"I see. It suits you well. Lady Son, was it? Young Master Baek here has been an old friend of mine since childhood. He's older, but he has his cute sides, so don't torment our Young Master Baek too much and please look after him well. Then I shall take my leave. I'll see you next month, Young Master Baek."

Without paying the slightest mind to the still-stunned Son Yeong, Murong Rin vanished somewhere. She'd always been like that—a human tempest. Appearing unpredictably, completely upending everything around her, resembling a natural disaster in every way: truly a human storm.

"Senior Sister, we should get going too. Lady Cheon, wasn't it? I can't stay to help with the work, but congratulations on the happy occasion for your sect. We'll be on our way."

I took the frozen Son Yeong's hand and headed for the pottery shop. I had deliberately bid that dim-witted bitch a polite farewell because I wanted to see her face turn to shit. She had to be hopelessly confused. Son Yeong's junior brother had turned out to be Murong Rin's friend, received that precious Treasured Sword as a gift, and been invited—almost threatened—into attending a birthday banquet from which she herself had been ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠rejected. No matter how much she racked her witless brain, she'd never understand it. Most of it was just Murong Rin's mischief or whim, but the bitch lacked the brains and information network to know that. At least for a while, she wouldn't dare treat Son Yeong as carelessly as before, assuming she possessed any sense at all.

We arrived at the pottery shop, bought two jars, secured them tightly on the iron A-frame carrier, and set off on the road back to Yeongsan Sect with the dazed Son Yeong in tow. After walking in a trance for a long while, her face finally grew anxious as she looked at the sword on her own hip, about an hour later.

"J-Junior Brother. This sword. It's no ordinary sword, you know. There's no way I can use it. You have to use this, Junior Brother."

"It's a pretty sword, but it's a woman's sword. Use it, Senior Sister, as Murong Rin said. That woman—even with that face, if things don't go her way, she's the type to come to Yeongsan Sect itself and smash everything up."

"So... is it truly fine for me to use it?"

"Of course. Your training will improve too. The sword you were using was so poorly made that its balance was off."

That sword was now her sword. Thanks to me repeating it over and over, she gazed at her sword with utterly enraptured eyes. Just as a storm sometimes brings a bumper harvest—maybe Murong Rin, that woman, could occasionally be useful. Having seen that look on Son Yeong's face, I figured I ought to cross over to Shenyang next month and properly hold that expedition ceremony for her.

"At that time, Heroine Murong said it. That our Junior Brother is an old friend, and she asked me to look after him well."

Son Yeong was telling the story of what happened in town to the other disciples, who'd clustered around like fans who'd just come back from a concert.

"Good heavens! That Murong Rin? The Murong Rin of the Murong Clan?"

"Yes. I told you, didn't I? Even I, who saw her with my own eyes, could hardly believe it, but look. This sword. It's the Treasured Sword that Lady Murong used herself."

To a martial artist of Liaoning Province, the Murong Clan was like the heavens. Son Yeong, who spoke as if she'd witnessed a myth or legend firsthand, and the other women who listened, all sparkled with light in their eyes, picturing that miracle in their minds.

"And what's more, Lady Murong asked our Junior Brother to perform her expedition ceremony."

'Asked,' my ass. It was a threat. If I hadn't gone along with it, our already-crumbling Yeongsan Sect would've been completely razed to the ground by now. Unlike the other Senior Sisters—who, truly for the first time in a long while, were drunk on sect pride—when Master heard talk of the expedition ceremony, her expression suddenly darkened.

"Will it be all right, Disciple?"

Master couldn't erase her anxiety as she softly looked up at me.

"It's fine. This is a good opportunity, isn't it? A grand chance to proclaim to the world that Yeongsan Sect has risen again as a legitimate lineage of the Daoist schools."

I had no intention of earning money by officiating rites, but we desperately needed a reputation as a Daoist order. Even when I entered town in Daoist robes that day, no one commissioned so much as a simple rite from me. For those who requested them, rites were serious business. Even in the twenty-first century, when superstition had largely faded, anyone opening a shop and holding an auspicious rite would avoid hiring a visibly unsuccessful shaman. Precisely because it was superstition, people naturally chose the Daoist master who seemed to possess more spiritual power. Even I, faced with an important event for the Baek Clan Estate, wouldn't have dared summon Yeongsan Sect—a group whose men had recently been wiped out and who barely survived on rice porridge.

But the expedition ceremony of the Murong Clan, no less. In that place, where the eyes of countless martial artists would be fixed, if we could successfully pull off a splendid expedition ceremony, the name of Yeongsan Sect would be revived. But Master still spoke to me with an anxious face.

"My disciple only recently became a Daoist. Wouldn't the expedition ceremony of such a great clan be too difficult?"

Ah... was that it? Indeed, just as the fame upon success was immense, the danger upon failure was extremely high, too. If I made a mistake in front of everyone and ruined the expedition ceremony, "I'm sorry" would be nowhere near the end of it.

"You needn't worry. I've diligently studied the ritual methods in the library all this while, you see. Besides, there's still time, so if I fill in the gaps in my studies, I won't bring disgrace upon Yeongsan Sect's honor."

"Disciple. What honor does Yeongsan Sect even have left for me to worry about? It's you I'm worried about."

Master looked worried that I had rashly accepted the task and taken an unreasonable risk for Yeongsan Sect. I still didn't know why Murong Rin had chosen me to conduct the expedition ceremony, but knowing wouldn't allow me to avoid it anyway. The storm had passed regardless. All that remained was to sow seeds in the fertile soil it had left behind.

"Don't worry, Master. The Taoist study texts in the library have detailed records on expedition ceremonies."

It was a little worrying, but Master, seeing my face so brimming with confidence, eventually nodded and smiled faintly. Truthfully, I'd never once read a Taoist study text in the library that described the ritual rites related to an expedition ceremony. But after hearing Murong Rin's story, the part that irritated me was meeting her; I hadn't worried a single speck of dust's worth about the ritual ceremonies themselves.

Because floating in the archive at that very moment was the spirit of the self-proclaimed master of Taoist studies, Elder Hwangseong.