WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: ZERO_SUGAR
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
Chapter 178: Spring Silkworms Spin Silk Until Death (2)
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After Jin Hyeogo of the Hunan White-Robed Alliance paid his visit, the Guangdong Martial Alliance achieved dazzling growth in barely two months.
There were two reasons.
Wealth.
And reputation.
Yeon Sowol’s spoils had been immense, giving the Guangdong Martial Alliance the power to do anything.
Put up whatever buildings they wanted, recruit whoever they wanted, buy equipment without restraint.
They lacked nothing when it came to turning their plans into reality at once.
Yet something even greater than that was their reputation.
“Do you know Hunan’s Sole Hegemon? The leader of the Hunan White-Robed Alliance. Ah, of course you wouldn’t. You’re from Guangdong, aren’t you?”
If someone had asked that before, the people of Guangdong would have said nothing. They would have only watched the other person’s mood and smiled awkwardly.
But not anymore.
“I do.”
“Huh? What would you know? You people from Guangdong can’t possibly know what goes on in the Central Plains martial world.”
They knew now.
“Come on. Hunan’s Sole Hegemon means Hero Jin Hyeogo, doesn’t it? The winner of the Yuezhou martial arts tournament.”
“Uh... You know him?”
“Of course. I even saw him in person.”
“You did? No way!”
“I’m telling you, I did. The man with the stiff gray beard, carrying that long black spear over his shoulder. He walks like a tiger.”
“Uh...?”
“See? I saw him. He came to visit the Guangdong Martial Alliance.”
“The Martial Alliance...? He came to Guangdong?”
“He did. He drank through the night with Alliance Leader Yi Yubaek, then they swore brotherhood before he left. The Guangdong Martial Alliance and the Hunan White-Robed Alliance are brothers now. Why wouldn’t I know?”
“But... how...?”
“Ha. This is ridiculous. Hey, do you even know who the founding leader of the White-Robed Alliance was?”
“Well, Hero Yeon Sowol, Solitary Night Awakening... Gasp! Now that I think of it, where that man came from...!”
“That’s right, you bastard! Young Master Yeon is the young alliance leader of the Guangdong Martial Alliance!”
Smack!
A fist filled with Guangdong’s pent-up resentment sent the Hunan traveler’s jaw twisting aside.
Before, they would have just muttered, ‘What’s that supposed to mean...?’ and sat there like fucking statues.
But they would not endure it anymore.
Because they knew!
They knew better than anyone!
“The White-Robed Alliance leader, huh? He ate with our Alliance Leader Yi Yubaek! Drank with him! Sparred with him! They did it all, you punk! Got that?”
Their suppressed pride exploded.
“Goddamn it. What Solitary Night Awakening? You people don’t know a thing! Do you know Sole Crimson?”
Night lanterns filled the river, their light a deep, rich glow.
The lone small moon hung above, alone vivid crimson.
“Do you? At Jipseong River in Shinheung County, do you know our Young Master Yeon Sowol, who shone alone in vivid crimson, brighter even than all those lanterns filling the river?”
For so long, the people of Guangdong had been separated from the Central Plains, forced to listen to stories that had nothing to do with them.
At last, their sorrow found comfort.
What felt even better was the response from the people of the Central Plains.
“Uh... Well. Yes. Sorry about that.”
“Right. I was trying to teach a silkworm how to spin...”
“That’s true. The White-Robed League leader was from Guangdong...”
The people who had always looked down on Guangdong with such swagger were now backing down considerably.
“So the Guangdong martial world has some real depth to it.”
“It must, if it produced a hero like Solitary Night Awakening.”
“This is why you shouldn’t speak carelessly about things you don’t know.”
Every word carried respect and admiration.
Before long, people were saying things like:
“What? You’re from Guangdong? Please, sit over here. Wait, if you’re from Guangdong, do you happen to know Hero Yeon Sowol?”
“What? You know him? You saw him yourself? Hey! Move! Clear out the center seats! We have an honored guest!”
“Please, sit here. What are you all doing? Bring snacks and wine! The very best!”
In the past, saying one came from Guangdong meant getting a seat in the farthest corner, if one was lucky.
Now, they were seated in the center, in the places of greatest honor, and served every delicacy from land and sea.
What a thrill!
All of Guangdong suddenly began to love the Martial Alliance.
They wanted to become part of it.
“Young Master Yeon...”
“Young Alliance Leader Yeon...”
“Please, if you’re from Guangdong, support the Martial Alliance!”
“Is this the Martial Alliance where Sole Crimson, Guangdong’s pride, serves as young alliance leader?”
Every talented person in Guangdong flocked to the Martial Alliance.
Even those who had never cared much for it came knocking at its gates.
Whenever the Martial Alliance did anything, the people of Guangdong gave way by two or three steps.
Of course, the Martial Alliance grew rapidly in both quality and numbers.
Mo Cheong, Yi Yubaek’s youngest direct disciple, felt the change more strongly than anyone.
“Head of the New Heroes’ Chamber, two people are joining the Alliance today.”
Just two months ago, Mo Cheong had been the head of the New Heroes’ Chamber.
The New Heroes’ Chamber guided new members, attended to their daily lives, arranged simple group training and banquets, and encouraged fellowship among Alliance members. Mo Cheong had been placed in charge of it.
Being young, he had been given a post far less important and far smaller in scale than those held by the other direct disciples.
But then:
“Head of the New Heroes’ Residence, seven new members are joining the Alliance today.”
After one month, the chamber was suddenly promoted into a residence.
Originally, the New Heroes’ Chamber under Mo Cheong’s charge had amounted to one moderately large room within a larger building. Now, the entire building had become his responsibility.
And two weeks later:
“Master of the New Heroes’ Hall, fifteen people are joining the Alliance today.”
A week after that:
“Master of the New Heroes’ Pavilion, thirty people are joining the Alliance today.”
Every day, a new building stood when he woke up. Every day, new Alliance members lined up before him...
“Is that Mo Cheong, Alliance Leader Yi’s direct disciple?”
“Yes. They say he even helped train Young Alliance Leader Yeon Sowol.”
“My goodness...”
All of them suddenly looked at him with admiration.
Mo Cheong found all of it dizzying.
‘S-Sowol...?’
* * *
- - - -
<Memorial to My Adoptive Father>
(Beginning omitted)
It feels as though I sent you a letter only yesterday when I left Yuezhou, but more than three months have already passed.
Looking back, so much has happened.
I overcame my heart demon.
I earned my master’s recognition.
All those things I told you about before.
After going through all of them, I think I can finally say with confidence that I am Chungdam True Man’s disciple.
Yes. At last, the time has come for me to learn Wudang’s martial arts.
As a lay disciple, I will not be able to learn Wudang’s supreme secret arts. Still, I will learn as much as I can.
When I someday return to Guangdong, I hope what I have learned can contribute to the growth of Guangdong and the Martial Alliance.
Thinking of that, all this hardship has been worthwhile.
There are too many things that cannot fit even in a long letter.
When we meet again, we must stay up all night and speak of them one by one.
I will end this letter here, respectfully.
<Respectfully submitted by Yeon Sowol>
- - - -
“...”
Another letter had arrived.
Yi Yubaek stared at it for a long while.
Sowol had finally ascended Wudang Mountain, gained recognition, and seemed ready to begin studying in earnest.
It was good news.
The Guangdong Martial Alliance was growing explosively.
But Guangdong suffered from a chronic problem: its martial arts foundations were shallow. If Yeon Sowol learned at Wudang, one of the oldest sects in the martial world, those teachings would be like welcome rain pouring not merely upon the Martial Alliance, but all of Guangdong.
Yet such thoughts did not enter Yi Yubaek’s mind.
Instead:
“Chungdam... True Man?”
The Sword Immortal?
That peerless master of the previous generation, whose name invariably came up whenever people considered who was the greatest under heaven?
Even if Sowol was only a lay disciple, who would dare dismiss the disciple of such an absolute master?
A chill ran down Yi Yubaek’s spine.
“You’re getting a little frightening now, Sowol...”
A living immortal, one he had only heard about in Jianghu legends and had doubted even existed, was now the master of his adopted son.
Still, somehow, it made sense.
“Who but someone like that could teach our Sowol?”
Yi Yubaek knew.
Yeon Sowol was intelligent, a genius with remarkable martial talent. But that was not all.
Yeon Sowol had displayed a special power, something that could not be explained by talent alone, on many occasions.
Yi Yubaek was not the only one who thought so.
Jin Hyeogo had said the same when he visited Guangdong.
“The Flood Dragon, you see. It was wary of former Alliance Leader Yeon Sowol. Alliance Leader Yi probably knows it as well. That young man possesses some incomprehensible power.”
He did not know what it was.
Perhaps an innate constitution.
Perhaps strange energy acquired after eating something.
Perhaps a secret art of Annam.
But there was definitely something.
‘I doubt a power that strong comes without some kind of price. I worry whether he’s handling it properly...’
Yi Yubaek had not pressed him for answers because he did not think he would understand even if Sowol told him, nor did he think he could help.
It would have been nothing more than prying into a secret, so he had pretended not to notice.
But.
But if it was Chungdam True Man...
“Then he can truly guide Sowol.”
Not only his genius, but the hidden secret that came with it.
Was this fate?
When Sowol completed his first closed-door seclusion, Yi Yubaek had sensed his potential and declined to become his master.
Now, a Sword Immortal had taken that place. Someone Yi Yubaek had never dared imagine, but who was probably the most suitable person in the world.
A smile spread across Yi Yubaek’s face.
“I made the right choice.”
Red Jade Crown Red lapped in a wide, shallow cup.
Yi Yubaek drained it in a single gulp.
“Fine wine.”
* * *
“Ah... This is so good, Master. But is it really all right for me to keep loafing around like this?”
For a while after overcoming his heart demon, Yeon Sowol had done nothing but eat and sleep.
More than three months had passed since he began carrying out the assignments Chungdam True Man had given him.
Early winter had become deep winter, and now late winter had arrived.
The problem was that Yeon Sowol had not eaten properly during that entire time.
Later, he had crossed the boundary Chungdam True Man had drawn, bathed, drunk spring water, foraged, and hunted. But that could hardly have been enough. When he was deeply immersed in thought, he sometimes missed meals altogether.
He had become so gaunt he looked like a skeleton. Yet after two weeks of eating and drinking to his heart’s content, his hollow cheeks had filled out again, and he had regained his formerly healthy build.
“Eat plenty while it is offered. Rest is part of cultivation.”
“Yes, Master!”
Surprisingly, Chungdam True Man had prepared every meal during that time.
He personally washed the rice and set it to cook. He even found meat somewhere, then stir-fried and steamed it.
He also stir-fried fresh vegetables.
Considering that Daoists usually practiced raw eating instead of consuming cooked food, this was extraordinary treatment.
He was not simply sharing what he ate. He was preparing food separately to suit Yeon Sowol’s tastes as a worldly person.
And Chungdam, revered in Jianghu as the Sword Immortal, was doing it himself.
“Then I’ll enjoy today’s meal too, Master!”
Chungdam True Man watched Yeon Sowol eat every meal he set before him with such relish and sank into thought.
‘What am I supposed to do with this kid?’
There was a reason he had cooked for Yeon Sowol for two weeks straight.
Part of it was a desire to reward Sowol for his hardships, but Chungdam True Man also had a matter he had yet to decide.
‘The more I see, the stranger he is.’
In Chungdam True Man’s eyes, Yeon Sowol was extremely unusual.
By the state of his mind, he should not have been able to completely overcome his heart demon.
Yet no matter how Chungdam looked at him, he had overcome it completely.
As if he had simply cut the heart demon away.
Was it a special constitution?
Or had he cultivated some unique discipline?
‘Should I take that into account when I teach him?’
That was the question.
Strictly speaking, Yeon Sowol was a lay disciple.
In that case, there was no need to take even such matters into consideration.
There was no need to think so deeply about how he should be taught.
In the end, Yeon Sowol was an outsider.
He would be grateful even if Chungdam merely cut off a small piece from the outer edge of Wudang’s martial arts and taught it to him.
Was it not natural for lay disciples to receive no recognition of generational standing at all?
‘That was why I brought him here so readily in the first place...’
If Chungdam had needed to recognize Yeon Sowol’s generational standing fully, he would have found it difficult to take him on as a disciple so suddenly.
Hwagokja, Wudang’s Sect Leader, would abruptly gain a youngest martial brother.
Their generational order would become a complete mess.
Even Chungdam, who had half withdrawn from the secular world, did not want to burden his disciples with such a headache.
And yet.
Why was he still thinking about it?
“...”
Chungdam True Man looked at Yeon Sowol.
Sowol ate the meal Chungdam had prepared for him so well.
When their eyes met as he ate, he gave a soft smile and dipped his head.
For some reason, it was endearing.
Come to think of it, the more Chungdam saw him, the more amusing he was.
‘What? He wants to create energy that resembles the universe?’
What kind of ambition was that for a young martial artist who had only just begun challenging the peak realm?
And yet, he had truly created something absurd.
That energy had allowed the heart demon to take root, but the energy itself was real.
It was special energy unlike anything Chungdam True Man had seen in all his long years.
‘And now, this boy has overcome his heart demon and reached Loss of Self.’
Chungdam could not even imagine what energy Yeon Sowol would create from this point on.
‘It would be natural enough if he twists the realization of Loss of Self slightly and reaches the peak realm through the realization of Clear Knowing instead.’
Whether by the Sword Immortal’s path or the Sword Emperor’s path.
Either way, it would be extraordinary.
If Chungdam merely gave him a gentle push, the results would become far better.
That was why he was troubled.
Troubled enough to spend two weeks preparing meals while thinking it over.
“I ate well, Master.”
After enjoying his meal, Yeon Sowol carried the dishes out himself and washed them.
Chungdam True Man silently watched his back, then stepped outside.
“Finish washing and come after me.”
“Yes.”
The sun was slowly setting.
At that moment, Hwagokja could be seen approaching from the distance.
“Martial Uncle. You were outside.”
“Yes, Hwagok. I heard you had an insight?”
Hwagokja smiled shyly.
“It was only a small insight. Still, I found a clue that will let me move forward. I came to thank Dao Friend Yeon.”
Hwagokja looked around, apparently searching for Yeon Sowol.
But Chungdam True Man disliked Hwagokja’s words.
Far more than he expected.
Very much so.
Enough to make all his recent deliberation feel pointless.
“Dao friend?”
“Yes?”
“You called Sowol a Dao friend?”
“Ah, yes.”
“Tsk. What kind of address is that?”
Hwagokja immediately lowered his head.
“My apologies. I will call him Hero Yeon.”
Chungdam True Man’s brow furrowed even deeper.
“Junior martial brother.”
“Yes?”
“Call him junior martial brother.”
...!
Hwagokja’s eyes widened.
At that moment, Yeon Sowol came outside after rinsing the dishes and shaking the water from his hands.
Without looking back, Chungdam began walking.
“Come, Sowol. You have rested well. It is time to slowly begin cultivating again.”
“Yes!”
Yeon Sowol immediately followed behind him.
A smile curved Chungdam’s lips.
“Sowol, will you not ask what we are going to do?”
“What are we going to do?”
“Hundred Flowers in Wild Profusion.”
“Ah.”
Early first-rate. Brave Flame Soars.
The stage where flames of True Flame, carrying pressure, surged vigorously.
When a master of Brave Flame Soars circulated true qi, the solar points at their temples swelled.
Mid first-rate. Fierce Flame Pierces the Heavens.
The stage where fierce flames pierced the sky.
When a master of Fierce Flame Pierces the Heavens circulated true qi, their robes fluttered and heat haze rose.
Late first-rate. Faint Fragrance Unfading.
The stage where there is a subtle fragrance, yet no darkness.
When a master of Faint Fragrance Unfading raised true qi, faint light blossomed, sometimes accompanied by fragrance.
And then:
Peak realm. Hundred Flowers in Wild Profusion.
The stage where one’s energy becomes exceedingly abundant, as though countless flowers were blooming.
When a master of Hundred Flowers in Wild Profusion raised true qi, the temperature rose and fell. Flames could bloom, or ice could form.
Yet Chungdam True Man had spoken of Hundred Flowers in Wild Profusion.
It was time to challenge the peak realm.
“At last...”
The moment he had dreamed of ever since leaving Guangdong was now close at hand.
Yeon Sowol swallowed hard and followed Chungdam True Man.
Then he met Hwagokja’s eyes, which were watching him with a strange expression.
Yeon Sowol quickly bowed.
“Greetings, Sect Leader. My master has called for me, so please excuse me.”
It was too casual an acknowledgment for the Sect Leader, but Chungdam True Man’s summons came first.
Having said only that, Yeon Sowol passed Hwagokja.
As Hwagokja’s eyes followed Yeon Sowol’s retreating back, Chungdam True Man, walking ahead, barked:
“What Sect Leader?”
“Yes?”
“Call him senior martial brother.”
...!
Yeon Sowol and Hwagokja looked back in surprise, their eyes meeting again.
“Are you not coming?”
Chungdam urged him onward without turning around.
“Senior martial brother! I will see you next time!”
Yeon Sowol immediately bowed, then followed Chungdam True Man once more.
Chungdam True Man’s smile deepened.
A wry smile also touched Hwagokja’s lips.
Watching Yeon Sowol hurry away, he called out:
“I had a feeling this would happen. Go and do well, youngest martial brother! We can catch up later.”
Though Hwagokja was Wudang’s Sect Leader, Chungdam True Man, their sixty-eighth-generation ancestor, was Wudang’s greatest master.
Taking disciples and granting them rank were Chungdam True Man’s sole authority. Even the Sect Leader could not interfere.
It was troublesome.
Yet Hwagokja was secretly pleased as well.
“...This is going to get interesting.”
A new youngest junior martial brother.
What faces would the elders make?
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