WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: ZERO_SUGAR
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Chapter 90: I Was Once a Madman of Chu (12)
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The Hengshan Sect’s guest hall had been packed lately.
Every Daoist priest in Hengyang had flocked to the Hengshan Sect.
“I heard Miss So Hye was assigned to guide Young Master Yeon’s party. I would like to see her.”
“If it’s possible to meet Young Master Yeon as well, I’d like to see him too.”
The Daoist priests had volunteered to make elixir pills for them, raising a tremendous fuss.
Even when they were told they could not meet them and should go home, they stubbornly refused to leave.
“How can we go back? The number of worshippers has already fallen to a quarter of what it was. No one is buying elixir pills either.”
“Even people who have known us for years are asking whether we are followers of the Demonic Path...”
“Please, I beg you. We are not strangers, are we? At least pass a message on to Young Hero Yeon. Please.”
Seeing their desperation, So Hye came up with a scheme.
She headed to the guest hall, where white-haired Daoist priests swarmed.
“You were looking for me?”
An uproar immediately broke out.
“Miss So Hye!”
“Oh! Miss, just a moment...!”
“Hey! I was here first!”
“H-Hey? Stop pushing!”
So Hye addressed the clamoring priests.
“Starting now, I’ll be accepting pledges from each Daoist temple. The pledges must include...”
First, a list of valuable ingredients in their possession.
Second, a list of exceptional alchemists.
Third, a list of valuable elixir-refining tools, including Elixir Furnaces.
Fourth, a list of the elixir-refining techniques and secret arts they were most confident in.
“Write down those details, sign a pledge promising to provide them for this elixir refinement, and submit it.”
The moment she finished speaking, the shouting priests snapped their mouths shut.
‘What does she mean?’
‘Surely... she is not choosing just one Daoist temple...’
‘Does she mean that if we submit our valuables, she’ll pick whatever she likes?’
‘Good grief.’
Their eyes darted back and forth.
Silence filled the hall.
So Hye alone continued calmly.
“I intend to make elixir pills perfectly suited to Young Hero Yeon and his friends. I’ll review your pledges and request anything necessary. As for the selected Daoist temples, I’ll make sure it is widely known that they helped Young Hero Yeon.”
!!!
The priests looked at one another. Similar thoughts flashed through every mind.
‘What if our temple’s proposal is lacking, and ours alone is left out?’
‘We have to get our name on that list.’
‘This leaves us no choice but to compete. Even after competing, we’ll have to share the credit with others. Still, we can’t refuse. Ah, that young girl devised a frighteningly clever scheme...’
And so, every Daoist temple in Hengyang began racking its brains and preparing the very best it possessed.
* * *
While Hengyang was in an uproar over the bomb So Hye had dropped, peace returned to the Hengshan Sect’s interior.
The tea table where Yeon Sowol, Jin Geol, and Won Huiseung sat was especially tranquil.
So Hye took hot water from the brazier and filled the teapot to the brim.
White steam rose.
As though filling the purple teapot with tea were not enough, she closed its lid and poured a generous amount of water over it.
“Junshan Silver Needle has the best aroma when it is brewed with water heated just below boiling. This is how you add more heat.”
The water she poured over the teapot flowed away through the drainage tray.
The stone-carved tray was large enough to occupy nearly the entire tea table. No matter how much water was poured over it, it simply trickled down the slight slope and drained away.
Steam billowed thickly.
Yeon Sowol suddenly thought of the Korean bathhouses he used to visit in winter.
He missed them.
“Here, have some. This is Junshan Silver Needle, Hunan’s famed tea, offered even to His Majesty the Emperor. It grows only on Junshan Island in Dongting Lake.”
Dongting Lake.
Yeon Sowol rolled the words around in his mouth. It was the first destination he had chosen after leaving Guangdong.
So Hye filled each cup before them. Pale green liquid rose in the cups like a deep mountain pond.
Its fragrant, faintly nutty scent mixed with the thick steam and spread like fire.
Yeon Sowol took a sip and widened his eyes.
‘This is... tea?’
It was unlike any tea he had drunk since arriving in this world.
‘It’s nutty, almost sweet. Warm. Fragrant.’
It felt as though he were being cleansed from deep inside.
As if he had swallowed a warm, fragrant sauna whole.
Fine tea really was different. Was this why people drank tea?
‘So this is Junshan Silver Needle... from Dongting Lake.’
Dongting Lake was still far away, yet its fragrance had arrived to greet him first.
His tension melted away in an instant.
When he glanced to the side, Jin Geol and Won Huiseung were enjoying their tea with complete ease.
As though they had drunk tea like this many times before.
Jin Geol even began evaluating it.
“Miss So, your skill at brewing tea is extraordinary. Of all the Junshan Silver Needle I have tried, this is among the finest.”
“I may be lacking, but I put my skills as an alchemist to use.”
Did alchemists make good tea too?
The air was warm.
The scent was moist and comforting.
Amid the gently relaxing atmosphere, the conversation naturally turned to elixir pills.
“As I mentioned earlier, we are now in a position to create the finest custom elixir pills for each of you. Every Daoist temple that makes elixir pills has bloodshot eyes these days.”
So Hye briefly explained the standing Yeon Sowol’s party currently held in Hengyang, as well as the pressure each Daoist temple felt.
“But they say fine elixir pills are made by Heaven, not people. Even if the conditions are in place, the best elixir pill will not simply appear. We must work harder too. First, I would like to clearly organize what effects you want and what you ultimately hope to achieve. A proper order is needed to produce proper medicine.”
Listening to her explanation, Yeon Sowol was a little impressed.
‘Was that why she prepared tea and created such a relaxed mood?’
Jin Geol and Won Huiseung were already sipping their tea, their eyes half-closed as they lost themselves in thought.
“Take your time. Medicine can have countless effects, but they can be broadly grouped together. Medicine that aids internal energy cultivation. Medicine that strengthens the body. Medicine that awakens special powers. Medicine that aids enlightenment.”
Yeon Sowol quietly began thinking as well, rolling the warm cup between his fingertips.
‘What do I need most right now?’
The answer had been decided from the start.
He already had more than enough internal energy. Thanks to the Greater Rejuvenation Pill, he could reach the peak realm without any effort at all.
The same went for strengthening his body. Every part of his body had already undergone considerable bodily cultivation, so it did not feel urgent.
‘Special powers would be something like opening my spiritual sight, as she mentioned before?’
He was curious, but did not particularly want them.
‘It has to be enlightenment.’
Enlightenment that would let him reach the peak realm sooner.
He organized his thoughts in an instant.
There had not really been much to consider.
Won Huiseung, however, settled on his answer even faster than Yeon Sowol.
“Lightning. I would like the power to endure lightning, Miss So Hye.”
A smile touched So Hye’s lips.
“I feel as though I first heard the name Dragon-Seeking Wanderer years ago. It is to catch a dragon, correct?”
“Of course. Is it possible?”
Won Huiseung’s eyes gleamed.
He was clearly remembering when he had been struck by lightning in Chenzhou. He had repeatedly lamented that he had surely missed the dragon then, that it had come very close.
So Hye answered plainly.
“It is possible. Since you are a disciple of the Zhongnan Sect, rather than approaching it directly through lightning qi or wind qi, we could use the power of the Seven Stars as a medium. The Zhongnan Sect’s sword art is a sword art for the Big Dipper.”
Zhongnan’s Thirty-Six Swords Under Heaven was a martial art rooted in the Thirty-Six Heavenly Spirits.
The Thirty-Six Heavenly Spirits were stars that guarded the Big Dipper, so So Hye’s words were entirely accurate.
Won Huiseung opened his eyes wide.
“You knew that? Even among sects commonly called prestigious, there are many who mistakenly call them the thirty-six directions.”
“To study elixir refinement, I have to dig through all kinds of ancient texts. Becoming pretty is no easy feat either.”
“Indeed.”
Won Huiseung was impressed.
Yet he did not end the conversation there. He began persistently examining every detail.
“But dragons, you see. On the surface, they appear to command the forces of lightning and wind, but is their root not the force of water? So I have given it some thought...”
“Ah. Rather than interpreting that through the Five Elements, I intend to approach it through the Eight Trigrams first. After that...”
“Hm. I am ashamed to say it, but I have studied dragons quite extensively myself. In my opinion, a dragon is...”
The two discussed it for quite some time.
Won Huiseung kept probing persistently, while So Hye answered every question clearly and without hesitation.
From Yeon Sowol’s perspective, the conclusion always ended up exactly where So Hye said it would. It felt as though Won Huiseung was merely interrupting and wasting time.
‘You should know when to trust an expert...’
Still, he kept drinking tea as time passed, so it did not feel unbearably tedious.
At last, Won Huiseung was completely convinced and backed down.
It could not have been easy dealing with his stubbornness, but So Hye showed no sign of fatigue. Considering her age, she was remarkably mature.
She turned to Jin Geol.
Jin Geol still seemed to be considering his answer.
“Miss, to be honest, I don’t know. My internal energy realm is fairly high, but the martial arts I have actually learned are quite shallow. I do not even possess a proper Movement Art. What I truly need is not medicine, but a martial arts manual...”
As Jin Geol’s voice trailed off, So Hye gave a simple answer.
“Then take medicine that aids your stage of maturity.”
“My stage of maturity?”
“Yes. Martial arts ultimately begin with one’s stage of maturity. If you gain free command over your stage of maturity, you will be able to display more profound movements even without learning martial arts. And when you do learn a new martial art, your progress will be much faster.”
“Oh...”
“If Young Hero Jin’s insight is sufficient, you may even be able to create martial arts worth using yourself with that free command of your stage of maturity.”
“I see! That is very clear. But I am curious. By what principle does medicine aid one’s stage of maturity?”
“That is...”
Jin Geol’s curiosity was immense.
Whenever So Hye gave an answer without hesitation, he picked through every detail and every point left unexplained.
“How about this, then? It seems there would be no issue in theory.”
“That may be true in theory, but when dealing with actual ingredients...”
Once he had satisfied some of his curiosity, Jin Geol began suggesting various methods to So Hye instead. Even when she explained why one would not work and another could not be done, he found loopholes in her explanations and kept seizing on them.
Watching this, Yeon Sowol sighed quietly to himself.
‘Seriously. Jianghu people. They pick apart every detail even with an expert right in front of them...’
So Hye and Jin Geol’s conversation continued for quite some time.
From Yeon Sowol’s perspective, this too was a process in which everything proceeded according to So Hye’s wishes. She only had to persuade Jin Geol whenever he came up with another strange idea.
“Hm. Then that is what I would like to request.”
“Yes. I will prepare it that way.”
Having finally settled on his request, So Hye turned to Yeon Sowol.
To Yeon Sowol, she seemed incredibly dependable.
Won Huiseung and Jin Geol had constantly questioned her. She could have found it annoying, yet she did not show even the slightest hint of it.
She seemed prepared for every question, producing clear answers on the spot.
He could clearly see why the Hengshan Sect had put her forward when discussing their reward.
With a sense of anticipation, Yeon Sowol spoke.
“I want enlightenment. I would like medicine that grants the enlightenment needed to advance into the peak realm.”
“Hmm...”
But So Hye’s brow furrowed. This was different from how readily she had answered until now.
“Hm... This is a little difficult.”
“Is it?”
“Yes. It is not that there is no medicine that grants enlightenment, but... Its effects vary wildly, and depending on the circumstances, it can be quite dangerous. There is a reason for that.”
So Hye continued, her brow still furrowed.
“Enlightenment is an effect that occurs in the spirit, one of the three: essence, qi, and spirit. To grant enlightenment through medicine, one must affect the spirit. And that means...”
Trickle.
So Hye poured tea into her own cup, took a slow sip, and spoke.
“It means there is a risk of a heart demon.”
“Ah.”
Heart demon.
Without realizing it, Yeon Sowol found himself thinking,
‘Should I just take a different medicine...?’
Footnotes:
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