Chapter 5: The Way Home

Since I had descended the mountain as if kicked out of the Wudang Sect, there was no way my mood could be good.

However, I could not just sit around harboring resentment.

Nothing was to be gained by blaming something, getting caught up in that blame, and living life only looking back.

There was not even a speck of time to waste on resentment toward the Wudang Sect.

Now was the time to move forward.

I would grow enough to make the Wudang Sect regret expelling me.

I set the immediate goal before my eyes.

‘Maybe it’s for the better.’

If I had remained as a Wudang Sect lay disciple, there would have been no choice but to face various constraints and limitations. Even with the martial arts I was learning right now, there was a lot to hide due to my position as a lay disciple, and if I had advanced to a higher realm, I would have had to walk on eggshells around others even more than now.

If so, what if someone noticed that I had learned high-level martial arts?

‘Where did you learn this?’

‘Grandmaster Zhang Sanfeng taught me!’

‘You’re a madman!’

It would literally be a disaster.

But now, I was someone expelled from the Wudang Sect. I no longer needed to worry about the eyes of others while learning martial arts.

‘Now, I just need to absorb it well.’

Since Master Zhang Sanfeng would teach the martial arts well on his own, I would be able to grow rapidly just by absorbing them obediently.

Although the problem was that the majority of people struggled because they couldn’t absorb it obediently.

Did I really have the talent to absorb Master Zhang Sanfeng’s teachings?

Although I felt like I had learned well recently, my past struggles in the Wudang Sect held me back from having baseless confidence. The thought of causing disappointment by failing to keep up with Master Zhang Sanfeng’s teachings troubled my mind.

“Hmm?”

Suddenly, a stream of cool energy rose from my dantian, swirling around my heart and head.

The breathing of the Clear Brightness Mind Method soothed my mind.

It was a miraculous efficacy.

Although I did not know what the ‘Supreme Heavenly Extreme Power’ that Master Zhang Sanfeng mentioned in passing referred to, I could tell from this single efficacy that it was by no means ordinary.

As expected of a martial art passed down by someone who had ascended to the realm of immortals.

It even made me look forward to how amazing the next martial art he would teach me would be.

In the midst of that.

[Clear Brightness Mind Method, indeed. Furthermore, judging by your bone structure, did you mix Tendon Transformation based on Taoist-made Secret Arts, and add Indian Yoga…? You have truly crammed them in like a brute. What kind of talent are you to lay down such a vast foundation?]

Suddenly, a voice echoed in my head.

‘…Indeed? What kind?’

For some reason, the voice echoing in my head was not the usual one.

Should I say it felt a bit more solemn?

‘He said he would teach me properly once we got home, so is he going with a solemn tone now? More than that, he said he might be away for a while because of some business during the trip home, but he returned quickly.’

“It seems your tone has changed too much. Please speak comfortably, comfortably.”

[Can you hear my voice?]

“…Since I can hear you, we must be having a conversation, right?”

[Oho?]

What is this sense of déjà vu?

I felt like there was a time before when he showed a reaction like that.

Hearing his reaction made me feel as if I had returned to the time when we first became aware of each other’s existence.

‘Is he teasing me?’

“You know very well that I was recently expelled from the Wudang Sect, so if you keep doing this…”

[Oho!]

Do immortals get dementia too?

What is that ‘jackpot’ reaction?

“You’re definitely teasing me.”

Although I did not think it was my fault, it was a fact that I was expelled from the Wudang Sect. And having to deliver that unfortunate news to my family also weighed heavily on my mind. It did not feel very good that the person who offered to be my master spoke as if teasing me about such a thing.

[Then, shall I teach you a martial art?]

“I failed to recognize your great intention, Master.”

You may tease me. Of course.

If he offered to teach me another martial art like the Clear Brightness Mind Method, this much was nothing.

Thinking about it, this level of teasing was nothing compared to what I endured from that bastard Yin Si-hoo during my days as a lay disciple of the Wudang Sect.

And compared to that man, the Wise Tao Hall Master, it was even less than nothing.

[It makes me very happy that you call me Master.]

Although the reaction and the voice were somehow strange.

It would be disrespectful to harbor such thoughts toward my master.

After all, he is my master.

[Even if you cannot memorize it all at once, I will repeat it to you multiple times, so listen slowly.]

I was in the middle of returning home after being expelled from the Wudang Sect. Naturally, my current location was on the road home. I was flustered by the sudden martial arts lecture, but what did the location matter when it came to receiving instruction?

First, I looked for a suitable large rock off the road and climbed onto it.

Around the time I settled into a suitable position and crossed my legs, the oral formula continued in a low voice.

As I listened to the oral formula and controlled my breathing accordingly, just like when I learned the Clear Brightness Mind Method, I felt the changes in my body caused by that breathing.

Throb!

‘Ugh!’

For some unknown reason, a brief headache flared up near the crown of my head, right in the center.

However, that headache quickly disappeared.

Rather than the passing headache, I immediately paid attention to the changes that followed.

Some change spreading from the center of my body was captured by my senses.

‘Mysterious.’

The oral formula did not seem to consist of characters. When the incoming sound touched my body, it melted within me like salt dissolving in water, becoming flesh and blood.

The characters of sound dissolved into flesh and blood, settling into the bones.

The settling energy of breathing spread out, centering around the bones of my entire body.

The oral formula existed within the flow of the blood vessels extending from the bones.

That oral formula raised pillars and established the framework.

Like the firm foundation of the earth that keeps the world from shaking!

[It is called the Earth Essence Art.]

Earth Essence. The essence of the land.

While the Clear Brightness Mind Method washed the mind clear and cool like water, the Earth Essence Art felt like it established a hard and firm center inside the body.

Like the earth that accepts everything without complaint no matter how hard one runs and plays upon it.

“It’s a martial art that suits me.”

[Is that so?]

“Yes. Because I felt as if a solid center was established inside my body.”

[Hoo?]

Earlier, when teasing, he said ‘Oho?’ and ‘Oho!’, and this time it was ‘Hoo?’.

In just a short moment, Master seemed to have developed a strange habit of speech.

[To recognize the essence at once? As expected of a talent whose head is open. Now I understand why you are laying such a foundation.]

“Pardon?”

I asked back, wondering what that meant.

However, no response came back.

“What is it?”

Beyond feeling strange, he was now throwing incomprehensible words and leaving.

My head is open?

Unconsciously, my hand stroked my head.

“It’s definitely not that I’m going bald, right?”

Although I was still young, it was a sensitive topic.

After touching my abundant hair here and there, I stood up, and my legs felt quite strong.

It was time to continue walking.

Home was still far away.

***

My hometown, Samyang County, was not large enough to be called a city.

It was large for a village, yet fell slightly short of being called a city.

Even in such a place, Yeon Cheong-un’s family was not the best family in the county.

Although the grandfather, who entered public service, achieved success and raised the family’s status, he did not have a greedy nature, so there was not much wealth.

They were self-sufficient to the extent of not squandering their moderate assets. Excluding the various connections established by the grandfather during his public service, they were just an ordinary family that could be easily found anywhere.

That was the status our family held.

Naturally.

“I’m back.”

“Oh my! You rascal!”

The only ones in Samyang County who would fuss over and welcome my return were my family members.

My return ended noisily within the family, but simply and quietly within Samyang County itself.

It was not that our family was poor. Having served in official positions, the family owned a fair amount of land, enough to ensure they would never go hungry even without getting dirt on their hands.

Naturally, there were also about ten retainers bound to the family.

Excluding those retainers, looking at the family members within the household, there were mainly four people.

“Well, since the fellow who set out to become a martial artist returned with all limbs intact, that’s good enough.”

My father, Yeon Gyeong-eung. A man showing a slightly blunt yet solemn demeanor. A heavy adult typically seen leading a family.

…Or so he pretended to be.

He was the type who, when I said I was going somewhere, would indifferently and briefly acknowledge it while secretly slipping me pocket money.

Although he pretended not to care while putting on all the gravity he could muster, his eyes moved diligently, scanning my entire body. I was seriously concerned for his eye health.

“I have no face to show you, Father.”

“Forget it. If what you said is true, it is just that the Wudang Sect is lacking.”

Although he spoke calmly, his clenched fists trembled. Considering his personality, he would probably look for alcohol to drink alone soon.

“You rascal! Oh my! You rascal!”

And the one who had been periodically smacking my back ever since we met was my mother.

My mother, Han Suk-hui.

As one could see, she was a typical mother.

Worrying about her child more than herself.

Even when telling me to eat plenty of vegetables during meals, she would push any meat dishes in front of her child instead of taking them herself.

Even now, she kept patting my back, feeling upset.

“Haha.”

I let out an awkward laugh toward my mother.

And.

“Brotherrrrr.”

Just as my mother stopped smacking my back, a small child ran over with pattering steps and hugged me tightly.

A young boy who looked quite cute as he hopped up, buried his face in my body, and rubbed against me.

“You’re already eight years old, yet your tongue is still so short.”

“Ehehe.”

Only then did he lift his face from my body and grin sillily. His large, round eyes curved softly, making his smile even cuter.

My younger brother, Yeon Cheong-u.

A child whose eyes were exceptionally large and whose soul was as clear as his pupils. He was such a pure child that I began to worry about his future.

It was not strange for a child to have a naive side, but this fellow was exceptionally pure.

Even between brothers, an eight-year age gap could cause some awkwardness, but my younger brother clung to me as if he knew nothing of such distance.

Feeling the warmth of his unconditional affection, I held my younger brother tightly with both arms. And to pull Yeon Cheong-u away, I had to hug him tightly more than thirty times and stroke his head.

In that manner, I met my father, mother, and younger brother one by one to catch up.

“Go on.”

My father said to me.

The last remaining family member.

He was referring to my grandfather.

After nodding once, my steps moved naturally along the path I remembered. By the time the unfamiliar path became familiar and my steps reached the detached villa, I called out energetically.

“I’m back, Grandfather.”

“Come in.”

An immediate response returned to the voice of the grandson heard after a long time.

I also composed myself at my grandfather’s voice, which I hadn’t heard in a long time.

‘Rather than a nice person, he is someone who is better described as a good person.’

There was a clear difference between the two.

Knowing that difference clearly, I composed myself even further and stepped inside.

Sitting in the room I entered was an elderly man with a calm impression.

The elder with his back to the window. Watching him smile leisurely with the sunlight streaming from the window draped over his shoulders, it felt as if time flowed slowly only around him.

My grandfather, Yeon Ja-yeom.

The person closest to the reason I came to admire the existence of martial artists.

“If you were continuing your training without issues, it wouldn’t be time for you to return yet. Were you expelled?”

“That’s how it turned out.”

Having no intention to lie, I readily admitted to his question.

“And was it your fault?”

“There is something I did, but it was not my fault.”

“Is that so?”

As if it was a satisfying answer, Grandfather Yeon Ja-yeom’s eyes curved into a long arc.

“Then that is fine.”

Grandfather Yeon Ja-yeom did not ask further, as if that was enough. He merely accepted my statement that it was not my fault.

I delivered the rest of my words to my grandfather.

“I plan to stay at home for a while.”

“Hmm?”

Now that I was expelled from the Wudang Sect, it was no different from saying I would not seek out another place.

“Are you giving up on the thought of becoming a martial artist?”

It was a question asked quietly and leisurely, just like at first.

It was a question that felt trivial, but I felt its heavy weight.

The pupils visible between his wrinkled eyelids were at the center of that weight. Despite his age, his clear yet deeply centered eyes stretched straight toward me.

Catching a glimpse of my grandfather’s essence after a long time, I smiled quietly.

Grandfather cherished me greatly. Therefore, he often kept me by his side, and there were teachings each time.

A man must have his own convictions. You do not have to live a grand life. If it is truly what you want, I will support you even if you hold a sword instead of a brush in your hand.

Act on what you believe.

Grandfather always taught me so, and he lived that way himself.

The proof of that was those eyes.

Clear, deep, and so straight that they seemed like uprightness itself.

It was said that ever since he entered public service, many people, especially among his superiors, disliked Grandfather because of those eyes. The eyes, which seemed to summarize his words and actions of sticking to his beliefs, were like a mirror reflecting the viewer’s own ugly parts. Therefore, corrupt officials hated locking eyes with Grandfather.

On the other hand, upright officials liked him.

The reason Grandfather could share wide and good friendships even with people of the Martial World was also because many were drawn to those upright eyes.

I was the same.

“I have a goal. Though I ended up taking a detour, I will continue.”

“Hmm.”

Meeting his gaze without avoiding the eyes that carried a strange pressure, there was no hesitation in my appearance.

Grandfather’s smile, with his back to the sun, deepened further.

“When did our grandson grow up so much?”

It must have been a satisfactory answer.

Grandfather’s proud smile spread through the sunlight so clearly, just clearly and brightly, that it felt unsuitable for his age.

***

“Now, the big tasks are done.”

When I stepped out of Grandfather’s residence, the warm sunlight shone upon my body.

The warmth was felt.

It was originally natural for the sunlight to be warm, but I felt it anew only now. It might seem like a silly thought, but one needed peace of mind to have such silly thoughts in the first place.

Seeing that I felt this way only now, returning home after descending the mountain as if expelled from the Wudang Sect must have been a subconscious burden after all.

The worry that my family might look at me strangely for returning in a shabby state. Although I knew that wouldn’t be the case, such thoughts seemed to have occupied a corner of my mind.

Even though I had gained a brilliant future by receiving teachings from Master Zhang Sanfeng, it was true that in terms of immediate reality, I had achieved nothing. Besides, it wasn’t as if I could tell them my new master was Zhang Sanfeng.

The aftermath of living in such a discouraged state while in the Wudang Sect seemed to still remain.

Having a critical perspective could be an advantage, but it became a problem if it led to self-deprecation.

A critical perspective allowed one to look into their own shortcomings, but self-deprecation turned one’s very self into a shortcoming.

These were things that had to be shaken off.

I knew the most efficient way to shake off these things.

Elevating one’s own standard.

Although it was the day I returned home, I took steps with the thought of immediately devoting myself to training.

[What is this? Why does your body smell of those bald Buddhist monk bastards?]

A voice that had been quiet for a while rang in my head.