Chapter 339: The Call (3)
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Just as nothing terrified a person quite like fear of the unknown, nothing thrilled a person quite like unknown possibilities.
I continued to freely transform my martial arts. Breaking the rigid stereotypes I held. Consequently, there was far more I could do even with the exact same form.
“You are truly an unusual fellow. At times I wonder how on earth you know something like this, yet despite knowing that, you often remain completely ignorant of things far simpler.”
At Cheong-hwa’s words, I had a guess. What made him wonder how I knew such things were enlightenments gained as a merchant, while what I didn’t know stemmed from my shallow experience as a martial artist.
While a martial artist attained enlightenment through martial arts, I had attained enlightenment through things other than martial arts, which caused such a phenomenon to occur.
“How is it? Now that your eyes for perceiving martial arts have broadened, haven’t martial arts become more enjoyable?”
“Certainly so.”
I could not help but agree with Cheong-hwa’s words. As the things I could do with the same form increased, the martial sequences I could execute naturally multiplied as well. The tactics I could attempt within short striking distances had broadened as well, of course.
Cheong-hwa continuously received my sword strikes while stepping backward. Unleashing the still-unpolished Cloud and Rainbow Sword Art against Cheong-hwa, I continued modifying my combat sequences.
Because the Cloud and Rainbow Sword Art itself was a martial art completed only recently, the swords Cheong-hwa met directly became nourishment for my Cloud and Rainbow Sword Art.
I twisted the physical form of the techniques slightly, and altered their intent as well. The world was always like that. Once you climbed higher, your vision reached places that had previously been invisible.
“What is the name of this sword art?”
“I named it the Cloud and Rainbow Sword Art.”
“A fine name. Your life certainly seems melted into it.”
“Thank you.”
As an accomplished martial artist who had reached high realms, Cheong-hwa immediately recognized that the Cloud and Rainbow Sword Art was a martial art containing my life.
“Of course, the Cloud and Rainbow Sword Art is a martial art possessing sufficient high-level profundity, but you know full well that it is still feeble against the monsters you will have to face in the future.”
The monsters Cheong-hwa spoke of referred to the Half-Immortals. Indeed, I had still not witnessed their true capabilities.
Even so, Cheong-hwa would probably know their strength to some degree. Was not one of the martial world’s Half-Immortals Cheong-hwa’s master and my grandmaster, Hyeon-wol?
“Come to think of it, just how strong is Grandmaster?”
“You mean my master?”
“Yes.”
“I wouldn’t know. Martial arts and immortal arts are rather different. Ever since Master washed his hands in a golden basin, I haven’t sparred with him directly either.”
“Couldn’t he actually be weak?”
“Who knows. Strictly speaking according to the natural order, that ought to be true. People who by right should have returned to heaven long ago are stubbornly clinging to life, after all.”
He told me not to deceive the master and betray the ancestors, yet he seemed even harsher toward his own master. However, Cheong-hwa did not seem to mind in the slightest.
“Aren’t your words a bit too severe?”
“Those are words my master said himself.”
“Grandmaster saying ‘I should die soon’ and Master telling Grandmaster ‘you should die soon’ are entirely different things, aren’t they?”
“Just take it as it is. Why do you nitpick so much?”
Pressing down with generational hierarchy like this. But the affairs of the world were inherently unreasonable.
Cheong-hwa leapt toward me. It was the first time Cheong-hwa had closed the distance. Even if attack and defense depended on one’s mindset, I wanted to see an active Taiji Wisdom Sword as well, so I opened my eyes wide.
Cheong-hwa’s Ancient Pine-Pattern Sword flew toward me. I swiftly brought my sword to meet it. Yet for some reason, rather than Cheong-hwa’s lunging sword clashing against mine, my sword ended up sticking to Cheong-hwa’s blade.
It was truly bizarre. Clearly Cheong-hwa moved his sword before me, yet the one receiving the strike was Cheong-hwa.
Even so, I could not retrieve my sword. Because if I left that combat path, which Cheong-hwa was clearly about to seize, unattended, I would fall into danger.
I continuously brought my sword to defend, but it kept taking on the shape of me attacking. As the flow of exchanges did not go as I wished, even my footwork began to tangle.
This was the essence of the Taiji Wisdom Sword. Continually receiving, diverting, and returning through striking second, inducing mistakes from the opponent.
“What a truly relentless sword.”
“Do not describe the sword created by the ancestors in such a manner.”
“There is no freedom of expression here.”
“Originally, no such thing exists in the empire.”
“Ah. That’s true.”
I tried to leap backward to think of a tactic to face him, but this time Cheong-hwa did not remain still.
“Can’t you give me some time?”
“Would you say that to an enemy as well?”
“Yes.”
“Then your enemy would act like this.”
Cheong-hwa moved his sword. Even though he moved first, the strange situation where I had to move my sword far more to clash against his continued to unfold.
“Do you remember what I told you before?”
Cheong-hwa uttered unexpected words. Dumbfounded, I asked back.
“Master, you’ve said so many things to me; how could I know if you just say it like that?”
“In this situation, you ought to understand properly.”
“What is it, then?”
“This is called the shape without shape, the image without substance, this is called the indistinct and shadowy.”
“I know that much.”
Why was he suddenly reciting the oral mnemonic of the Taiji Wisdom Sword? Even before my doubts could take concrete shape, Cheong-hwa continued speaking.
“This is called the beginning of no-beginning, the extremity of the Boundless, which is the very root of heaven and earth.”
“Wait, hold on a moment.”
“Amidst the indistinct and shadowy, heaven and earth first split open, yin and yang were not yet divided, qi transformed and flowed, form was not yet established while principle stood first.”
Battered by the sudden influx of classical phrases, my mind spun. Meanwhile, Cheong-hwa’s defense-like attacks continued to fly at me, making it excruciating.
Parrying his sword, I tried to interpret the words as they flowed into my ears, and being the mnemonic of the Taiji Wisdom Sword, there were certainly many aspects open to interpretation. They said the mnemonics of supreme martial arts were harder to interpret, and it was truly so.
In fact, my Cloud and Rainbow Sword Art had mnemonics as well, but I hadn’t made them that complicated. Since it was a mnemonic no one could understand unless they had lived my life anyway, it was succinct enough that only I could comprehend it.
“Mystery upon mystery, reaching the ultimate deep and dark realm, upon which all things rely, upon which all living beings are based, the inexhaustible and boundless Way……”
On the other hand, the mnemonic of the Taiji Wisdom Sword went on so long that I wondered if he was reciting an entire volume from a book.
I had to interpret such difficult phrases while parrying incoming blades. In the end, from midway through, I lost track of the words and focused solely on receiving the sword.
Had Cheong-hwa been reciting the mnemonic without pause for about a quarter-hour? Finally, the mnemonic came to an end. For him to continuously chant for an entire quarter-hour, just how long was it?
“Did you hear it all?”
“Do not say such absurd things. How could anyone remember all of that?”
“Since you boasted of having talent, shouldn’t you be able to comprehend at least this much?”
“Even if Patriarch Zhang Sanfeng heard that, he would have made the exact same face as me.”
“How dare you drag our Founding Patriarch into your excuses?”
Cheong-hwa clicked his tongue. I felt wronged in my own right.
“How much do you remember?”
“The inexhaustible and boundless Way…… I barely managed to remember up to that part.”
“A bit regrettable.”
“Remembering even that much is extraordinary.”
Had I not possessed a history of exercising my wits as a merchant, I wouldn’t have understood from the very beginning. It was only because I had extensive experience multitasking that I could remember even up to that point.
“Right. Then let us end it here. I am tired as well.”
“Is that it?”
The complete space created by the Taiji Wisdom Sword slowly began to crumble. Soon, the imbalanced yet beautiful energy of nature brushed against my cheeks once more.
Ending far more abruptly than expected, I blankly watched Cheong-hwa as he strolled leisurely back into the inn.
In the end, what had Cheong-hwa intended to give me? I could not tell.
* * *
At any rate, whether I possessed demonic qi or whatever else, Cheong-hwa seemed to intend to pass down the Taiji Wisdom Sword to me.
The Cloud and Rainbow Sword Art was a comfortable martial art for me to use, but it could not compare to the depth of the Taiji Wisdom Sword, which generations of Wudang patriarchs had continuously developed.
If I had gained this much enlightenment by living two lifetimes, the Taiji Wisdom Sword contained the lives of countless Immortals.
“I’m asking you to recite it just once more. This time I’ll focus with utmost intensity and remember it all.”
“Oh dear. The carriage has already departed.”
So I sought to hear the oral mnemonic of the Taiji Wisdom Sword from Cheong-hwa once more, but for some reason, Cheong-hwa had no intention of teaching it to me.
At first, I thought it was just his usual teasing. But no matter how many times I asked, Cheong-hwa merely shook his head.
If he was going to act like this, why recite the mnemonic in the first place and raise my expectations? Grumbling inwardly, I continuously rehearsed the mnemonic as far as I could remember.
Interpreting the mnemonic as far as I could recall yielded the following:
There is a shape yet it cannot be described, there is form yet it cannot appear, hence it is the indistinct and shadowy.
This is the beginning without beginning, the endless extremity, the very foundation of heaven and earth.
Amidst the indistinct, heaven and earth first opened, and yin and yang were not yet separated. Qi flowed and transformed, form had not yet coalesced, yet principle was already established.
Deep within the deep. When reaching the profound limit, it shall be called the boundless and inexhaustible Way upon which myriad things rely and all living beings take as their origin.
True to a Wudang martial art, the mnemonic was plastered with verses that seemed straight out of Daoist scriptures.
It was an especially complicated passage for me, because a merchant dealt only with tangible substance and material reality closer than anyone else. Of course, I did not deny intangible things. In fact, trust and reciprocity held values far beyond what was visible.
However, discussing the fundamental Way from the outset was something that did not fit the trajectory of life I had lived or my temperament.
Hence, I wished Cheong-hwa would offer some help, but whatever his thoughts were, he had merely recited the mnemonic in passing and feigned ignorance ever since, which was terribly frustrating.
I simply resigned myself. No matter how much of a genius I was, comprehending the mnemonic of the Taiji Wisdom Sword in one go was an impossibility anyway.
Moreover, Cheong-hwa wouldn’t have thrown such a headache at me without reason just to tease me. Just as Cheong-hwa trusted me, I trusted Cheong-hwa.
“It is Lanzhou.”
Discarding my thoughts to some extent, the scenery came into view before my eyes.
Just as Cheong-hwa said, it was Gansu’s provincial capital, Lanzhou.
Prince Xian was here. And many things would be decided here. Depending on how concrete and feasible Prince Xian’s rebellion plan was, the destiny of the New Justice Association would be determined as well.
We slowly made our way toward Prince Xian’s palace in Lanzhou. To avoid drawing people’s attention as much as possible, we did not forget to drop by shops along the way.
Upon reaching Prince Xian’s palace, Cheong-hwa displayed an uncharacteristically tense demeanor.
“This is also my first time seeing a princely king in person.”
“Senior Brother Myeong-gyeong is a princely king too, though.”
“……That is not what I meant, is it?”
I knew. I had merely tried to lighten the mood with a joke.
“None of you need to be tense. I will handle all the talking.”
I looked around at everyone and spoke. The three nodded their heads.
“Let us enter.”
We headed for the main gate of Prince Xian’s palace. The gatekeepers standing guard at Prince Xian’s palace showed no movement whatsoever until we drew close.
“Are you the New Justice Association Leader and his companions?”
Just as I was about to speak to them first, the gatekeeper opened his mouth first.
“……How did you know?”
“Prince Xian instructed us that anyone attempting to enter the palace openly would be the New Justice Association Leader, so we should receive him with utmost courtesy.”
“Ah. Is that so? What a relief.”
I had wondered if our plan had leaked somewhere. Even though we had moved with utmost thoroughness, pretending to return from Xi’an to Hubei before taking a detour toward Gansu.
“We have unexpectedly flustered you. Our apologies. Will you please step inside?”
The gatekeeper spoke with an unchanging expression. Having no desire to appear frivolous by chuckling in a place like this, I hardened my face.
“Please lead the way.”
Along with my words, the massive gates of Prince Xian’s palace opened.