WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: ZERO_SUGAR

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Chapter 96: When Young, I Knew Not Sorrow's Taste (1)

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The Dao gives birth to One.

One gives birth to Two.

Two give birth to Three.

Three give birth to all things.

The Dao gives birth to one.

One gives birth to two.

Two give birth to three.

Three give birth to all things.

- Laozi, Daodejing

* * *

A week had passed since Yeon Sowol took the Profound Enlightenment Elixir.

He came to his senses in the middle of the Xiang River, which flowed through Hengyang.

“Huh...?”

He was lying on the river, gently bobbing beneath the sunlight glittering on the water as he stared up at the sky.

The river breeze brushed his cheeks, and the rippling water tickled his ears.

“Why am I here...?”

Yeon Sowol searched his memories, but they only led him back to yesterday’s enlightenment.

Having completely forgotten why he was floating on the river, he slowly retraced everything he had learned and realized.

“Reverse Cultivation, Return to Origin...”

The Daoist tradition taught that one should travel backward and return to the source.

“Follow the current, and become human. Go against it, and become immortal...”

“The Dao...”

The Supreme Ultimate stirred within the Dao, and all things divided, eventually reaching humanity.

If a human went against that principle and returned to the Dao from before the birth of the universe, what would happen?

If one embraced the precelestial single qi that gave birth to all things, one would conceive the universe, breathe with heaven and earth, and give birth to endless, limitless harmony.

“That is the path to becoming an immortal...”

But.

Yeon Sowol frowned.

“Returning to greater potential is great, but wouldn’t it be much harder to control?”

He thought of games.

Targeted skills and non-targeted skills.

A targeted skill flew accurately toward its target, so there was no need to aim. In exchange, it was weaker and could not be used creatively.

A non-targeted skill flew toward a chosen location whether there was a target or not. It was powerful, could be used even without a target, and had all sorts of applications. The downside was that it was difficult to aim.

The teachings of the Daoist tradition were like that.

It was great for a person to return to the source and embrace limitless potential and harmony.

Yet didn’t that also mean losing the “specialization” that had once been so conveniently available with a single click?

To say that he could become anything meant he had to decide what to become and adjust himself accordingly every single time.

That was why he thought of games.

It meant giving up the convenience of targeted skills that only required pressing a button to land a hit, then gaining non-targeted skills that had to be used precisely at the right moment. Otherwise, they would fly somewhere stupid and make him everyone’s laughingstock.

No, ultimately, it meant reaching the point where he could code whatever skill he wanted on the spot and use it immediately. Wasn’t that the final goal of Daoist cultivation?

It was incredible. No one could stand against someone who could create skills on the spot in a game.

Still, wasn’t that ridiculously difficult?

It sounded nice to say he would make and use skills on the spot, but with an enemy right in front of him, when would he have time to make and code one...?

Yeon Sowol let out a sigh.

“Nothing comes easy.”

He had thought he understood everything until yesterday.

Seeing the endless cycle in which essence, qi, and spirit supported one another had made him feel that way.

Once he came to his senses and considered the road ahead, though, it seemed impossibly distant.

His eyes had been thrown wide open, and he had experienced just how immense and profound the Dao was. Far from resembling it, he could not even imagine trying to imitate it.

That was what enlightenment was.

Yeon Sowol had clearly seen it. He had advanced, and he now knew the path he needed to take. Yet he had not reached it.

That only made him yearn for it more.

He had caught a vague glimpse of a destination he could not see before.

He knew how distant and absurdly treacherous the road to it was.

What should he do?

How could he cross that harsh road and reach enlightenment?

Splash. Splash.

After lying in the river and pondering for a long time, Yeon Sowol eventually gave up on finding an answer and climbed out.

His half-torn clothes were soaked through, clinging heavily to him.

Only then did Yeon Sowol begin to feel embarrassed.

‘What the hell did I do...?’

He remembered walking through the streets of Hengyang, laughing.

He remembered shouting at people.

He remembered entering random smithies, touching red-hot chunks of metal, gripping them, and plunging his hand into water...

At the time, he had been so intoxicated by the Profound Enlightenment Elixir that he had not thought about anything. Now that he recalled the terrified faces of everyone around him, he could not bring himself to lift his head.

“...This is driving me crazy.”

Yeon Sowol returned to the inn in a hurry, head lowered and face hidden. He heard people whispering about him the whole way back, but desperately pretended not to notice.

* * *

By the time he had washed up, changed clothes, and come downstairs, Jin Geol, Won Huiseung, So Hye, and Yu Hyeon had already gathered.

“Hey!”

Jin Geol raised a hand, his expression bright. The elixir pill seemed to have worked well on him.

“Mm.”

Won Huiseung, on the other hand, only nodded in greeting. His expression looked strangely complicated.

Pulling out a chair beside him, Yeon Sowol sat down and asked, “What? Did the medicine not work that well?”

Won Huiseung shook his head.

“The problem is that I can’t tell.”

“You can’t tell?”

“My constitution has definitely changed somehow, but I haven’t had a chance to get struck by lightning. I can’t tell whether the medicine worked or not.”

“Ah.”

There was nothing to be done about that. It was not as if they could artificially create electricity in this era.

“When’s it going to rain? I need to get struck at least once...”

“No, do you really need to get struck on purpose beforehand?”

“I do. That way, when a dragon spits lightning, I’ll know how to deal with it properly.”

“...Right.”

Yeon Sowol replied absentmindedly and gulped down cold water.

Only when the chilled water seemed to fall from his throat all the way to his navel did his mind finally settle a little.

“But why do you look so troubled, Young Hero Yeon? Was the medicine’s effect not so good for you?”

So Hye asked cautiously after watching him for a while.

Yeon Sowol shook his head.

“The effect was incredible. It made me see this world in an entirely new way. If I circulated true qi right now, I could probably bring out three times as much of qi’s subtlety as before.”

“Three times?”

“Three times as much?”

So Hye’s eyes widened. Yu Hyeon’s eyes widened beside her in exactly the same way.

‘Do fellow disciples start to resemble each other too?’

Yeon Sowol swallowed a laugh and spoke seriously.

“Yes. More importantly, though, I now clearly understand the path I must pursue. The enlightenment I need to seek in order to advance to the peak realm.”

At those words, everyone leaned forward with interest. As expected of martial artists, they were deeply interested in the word enlightenment.

“What is it? Tell us properly, Sowol.”

“I’m curious as well. Considering your realm, you’ll absorb this enlightenment and reach the peak realm.”

“I wonder what sort of enlightenment a genius like Young Hero Yeon has obtained.”

“Me too! I want to know!”

After thinking for a moment, Yeon Sowol nodded.

They were all friends, after all. There was no reason he could not tell them.

It was not a martial arts form, but a perspective on the world. Even if he explained it, he could not convey all of it through words.

“So. The enlightenment I gained is that everything in the world is connected...”

Yeon Sowol began to explain.

Everyone wore strange expressions.

Won Huiseung’s especially.

“You really saw it?”

Yeon Sowol nodded at his question.

“I did.”

“Hah... To have directly seen what I had only read about in Daoist scriptures. This is astonishing.”

Won Huiseung marveled. It was rare for him to react this strongly to anything unrelated to dragons, and Yeon Sowol found himself pleased.

Yu Hyeon and So Hye piled on the praise.

“I may not have as deep an understanding of the Daoist tradition as Young Hero Won, but even by what little I have learned, this sounds like an unbelievable fortuitous encounter. It will help you immediately, but more than that, it will influence your future realms for a long time.”

“That’s right! They say the enlightenment of the peak realm determines the next stage, so it’s only natural that Young Hero Yeon will advance all the way to the transcendent peak realm. Perhaps... perhaps even beyond that!”

“Mm! I don’t really understand it, but it still sounds amazing!”

Even Jin Geol joined in.

Everyone’s intense reaction made Yeon Sowol happy, but he soon grew embarrassed and tried to change the subject.

Then the contemplative question that had come to him while floating on the Xiang River that morning suddenly returned to mind.

“Ah. There is something I’m curious about. Something I would like to ask.”

Unlike Jin Geol and Won Huiseung, he still spoke politely to Yu Hyeon and So Hye, so he repeated himself.

“If I connect the energies as I have realized and make their harmony limitless, that harmony would be good. But the more it grows, the more I would have to control. It seems like it would become harder to handle. How should that be resolved?”

After Yeon Sowol finished speaking, Jin Geol, Won Huiseung, and Yu Hyeon wore strange expressions.

After a brief silence, Jin Geol spoke first.

“How would we know? Even you, who saw it yourself, don’t know.”

Won Huiseung followed up.

“Sowol. I think my learning is no longer enough to discourse on the Dao with you.”

Yu Hyeon was no different.

“Ahem. I might have something to say if we were speaking of the Confucian tradition or Buddhist tradition, but I don’t know much about that part either.”

So Hye, however, was different.

She shot a hand into the air.

“Me! I have an idea.”

“Oh.”

When Yeon Sowol turned to look at her, So Hye’s eyes sparkled.

“It’s similar to returning to being a baby, isn’t it? A baby has the greatest potential, but it is also the most powerless kind of being. More potential might make you stronger, but it could also make you weaker.”

“Mm. I think that’s right.”

“But I think about becoming like a baby all the time.”

“A baby?”

“Baby-like skin, baby-like eyes, baby-like hair, baby-like teeth.”

“...”

“But even if I refine elixirs and become baby-like, that doesn’t mean I actually become as helpless as a baby.”

“That is true.”

“I think it’s like that. You return to purity, but find a path where you do not lose what you already possess. If a being that became human by following the current then travels backward and becomes an immortal, wouldn’t that Dao be something different from what existed before it followed the current?”

“Ah.”

Without realizing it, Yeon Sowol slapped his knee.

It was not fully clear, but he felt as though he had grasped some sort of clue.

Yeon Sowol clasped both hands and gave her a deep salute.

“Thank you, young lady. I am indebted to you again.”

So Hye grinned and returned the salute.

“It was nothing. But if you’re truly grateful, may I ask you one favor?”

“Yes, of course. If it is something I can do.”

Before Yeon Sowol had even finished, So Hye turned toward her senior brother, Yu Hyeon.

Yu Hyeon gave a solemn nod.

So Hye spoke, swallowing hard, her voice tense.

“Then! Please take me with you too. You said you were going to Yueyang Tower, right? I want to follow you, Young Hero. I want to see more of the Jianghu.”

“What?”

Yeon Sowol’s eyes widened at the completely unexpected request.

“I ask the same of you. It will be my junior sister’s first Jianghu debut. If you accompany her, Young Hero, this Yu will be greatly relieved.”

Yu Hyeon cupped his fist in a firm salute as he made his request.

Yeon Sowol looked toward Jin Geol and Won Huiseung.

Neither seemed particularly interested, but when their eyes met his, they simply nodded. Their expressions said there was no harm in it.

Yeon Sowol thought to himself.

‘Young Lady So Hye’s martial arts realm is still lacking, but she is an alchemist, so there will be plenty of ways she can help. She also seems good to talk to about enlightenment. Maybe alchemists think differently.’

In the end, Yeon Sowol nodded as well.

It was an unexpected proposal, but there was no reason to refuse.

* * *

The group made one last stop at the Hengshan Sect.

They met the sect leader and exchanged thanks for all that had happened. Along with the request to take good care of So Hye, they received a generous gift of gold ingots.

Once they had finished all their farewells, the group headed north toward Yuezhou.

Yeon Sowol felt strange.

‘At last. Yuezhou. Where Dongting Lake and Yueyang Tower are.’

It had been his destination ever since he left Guangdong.

Jin Geol had said that was where the real stage began. There was no better place under heaven to build a reputation and make friends.

Absentmindedly, Yeon Sowol tapped his chest once. He felt the stiff corner of Wudang’s Cotton Palm Art manual.

‘Once I build a reputation and make friends in Yuezhou... then I can receive Wudang’s teachings.’

His heart began to race.

Now that he had gained new enlightenment, what would Wudang’s eminent Daoists have to tell him?

The wind blew.

Northward.

Toward Dongting Lake.

Footnotes:

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