WeTried Translations

Translator: ZERO_SUGAR

Editor: Abstract

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

Chapter 62: Flowers That Bloom in Winter (2)

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Flowers That Bloom in Winter (2)

'How?'

Dan Baek-yeon, one of the Six Stars of Heaven and a Special Master Grade instructor, could only stare in disbelief at what she was seeing.

When she'd examined Mumu's body during yesterday's lesson, there hadn't been the faintest trace of circulated life energy inside him. So what in the world had happened in a single night?

Traces of ki circulation now sat inside him, and a dantian was in the process of forming.

No, it was closer to already formed.

'...How did he do this?'

By any common sense, this made no sense at all. Even she, said to have been born with heaven-gifted martial talent in the Northern Seas, took nearly a month to form her own dantian. No matter how great the talent, ki still needed time to adapt itself to the body. That was simply how it worked.

Just then Mumu's eyes went wide and he asked.

"Really?"

"Hm?"

"Is a real dantian really forming?"

"...That's right."

"Whoa!"

Mumu could barely contain himself, thrilled out of his mind.

Jin-hyeok had told him, back when he taught him the Three breathing techniques' ki circulation method, that forming a dantian would take at least a month, maybe as long as three.

Who would have guessed it could form this fast?

'Jin-hyeok said it'd take a long time, but it wasn't even that hard. Heh.'

If anyone else had heard that thought, they would have been dumbfounded. Martial arts, strictly speaking, belonged to the realm of talent. Plenty of constitutions never formed a dantian even after years of ki circulation, simply because they couldn't internalize ki at all.

"Cadet Mumu."

"Yes."

"What exactly did you do last night?"

Dan Baek-yeon asked as if she genuinely could not understand it. As someone who stood at the forefront of martial arts research within Changcheon Martial Academy, this phenomenon went beyond unusual. It defied common sense entirely.

"I learned ki circulation."

"...You learned it?"

"Yes. Jin-hyeok taught me the Three breathing techniques yesterday."

"What? The Three breathing techniques?"

"Yes."

"...Uhm."

Dan Baek-yeon pressed a hand to her forehead, looking dazed.

Contrary to what people assumed, the Three breathing techniques was the most basic of the basics, a Breathing Technique prized for its stability and for gathering pure, clean energy with ease. But its speed was another matter entirely, the refinement process as slow as distilling clear water drop by drop.

'A dantian in one night, from the Three breathing techniques?'

No matter how she thought it through, it was impossible. Maybe if he had the body of the Heavenly Martial Body, the legendary physique said to appear once in a thousand generations, or a body of yin and yang so attuned to ki that it came along once a millennium. But Mumu's body had nothing to do with either of those.

"...Is it really the Three breathing techniques?"

At her question, Mumu's eyes slid away, just slightly.

Truthfully, it wasn't only the Three breathing techniques. He'd also memorized the damaged inscription he'd found on the cave ceiling of the third underground floor of the secret archives. But telling her that meant admitting he'd been down to the third floor at all, and that was something he'd promised to keep secret, a pact between himself, Vice-Master Dan Pil-hu, and Manager Lim Jeong.

'This kid... really can't lie to save his life.'

If she pressed him just once more, he'd probably start whistling and playing dumb. Still, seeing him act so decent, so unlike most kids these days, she found it a little endearing.

'Not even the Icy Heavenly Sutra, which only the ruler of the Northern Seas Ice Palace can master, could form a dantian this fast.'

And on top of that, Mumu was seventeen. Most martial clans had their children start Breathing Techniques as early as three or four precisely because that was before impurities built up in the meridians. This phenomenon defied every bit of logic she knew.

She spoke carefully.

"Cadet Mumu. This might be rude of me to ask, but could I examine your body one more time? I'm willing to pay whatever price is fair in return."

At her question, Mumu answered without hesitation.

"Sure!"

A flicker of surprise crossed her eyes at that.

"Are you certain? If you'd formally learned a speciality martial arts, this would technically be something I shouldn't be allowed to do."

"Why not?"

Mumu asked, puzzled, and she explained.

"Masters of lower attainment wouldn't notice, but a master of a high enough level can gather a fair sense of how life energy flows just by examining someone's body. Of course, ki circulation isn't complete without the actual verbal formula too, not just the flow of life energy, but there's still a real chance some of that secret gets revealed."

"Ahh..."

Now that she mentioned it, Jin-hyeok had said something similar. He'd explained that the reason a speciality martial arts was called that in the first place was because it belonged only to that clan. He'd warned Mumu that even if he grew curious about someone else's martial arts, he should never ask directly or try to pry it out of them.

'So that applies to me too, huh.'

Mumu thought it over for a moment at her words. Should he refuse to let her examine him, then?

Then he changed his mind.

'I can't tell Jin-hyeok about it, and I can't ask anyone else either.'

There was no way to ask what that inscription from the cave ceiling on the third underground floor actually did, and no way to figure it out alone either. This might actually work out well.

"It's fine. But I'm curious too, so tell me what you find out."

"...Thank you for allowing this. I'll be sure to repay you properly for it."

Dan Baek-yeon set her hand on Mumu's dantian and sent her life energy flowing in. A master of her caliber could examine someone's body in detail through life energy alone, without causing them any harm.

Inner reflection.

Dan Baek-yeon excelled at this ability more than most. It came from the Icy Heart Sutra, which placed great importance on keeping the mind as still and calm as a frozen lake.

'If I trace how the ki circulation actually happened, I should be able to figure out how a dantian formed in a single day.'

She focused, tracing the marks of Mumu's ki circulation. But the more she examined it, the deeper into confusion she sank.

'What is this?'

Traces of circulation were there, but she couldn't tell how the flow had actually taken shape. Her eyes still closed, her brow furrowed. Cold sweat trickled down Dan Baek-yeon's forehead.

'...This can't be right.'

It wasn't the Minor Heavenly Cycle. The Minor Heavenly Cycle was the most basic flow in ki circulation, the flow through the most essential meridians needed to handle ki at all. But Mumu's ki circulation hadn't followed the Minor Heavenly Cycle. It had run through every single meridian in his entire body.

'How is something like this even possible?'

This was something only achievable through the Major Heavenly Cycle. These were traces that could only remain if both the Governing and Conception meridians had been fully opened. But this shouldn't have been possible at all.

'At seventeen, with no ki circulation ever done before, his meridians should still be clogged with impurities.'

And yet the impurities clogging every one of Mumu's meridians had naturally dissolved away in part, forming impossibly fine channels through them. Even feeling it directly through inner reflection, she could barely believe it. It was a phenomenon that broke from every known ki circulation method that had ever existed.

'How could this possibly be happening?'

The secret could only be known if the traces of the flow remained clear. But because the ki circulation had run through every single meridian at once, there was simply no way to trace the flow itself.

She lifted her palm away and opened her eyes.

Mumu asked her.

"Do you think you figured it out?"

Dan Baek-yeon shook her head. Even wanting to know, there was no way, not like this. But one thing was certain, she could guess that the reason the dantian was forming at such an absurd speed was because the ki circulation had passed through every meridian at once.

'A guess is just a guess. I can't state it as fact.'

That was the nature of research. When there wasn't a certain answer, you didn't draw conclusions.

"I've never seen a ki circulation method like this before. It's beyond what I can figure out."

"So you can't tell why it happened?"

"...Unless I could see the actual verbal formula of the method myself, or watch you circulate it directly, there's no way to know from the traces alone."

Dan Baek-yeon studied Mumu's face closely.

A ki circulation method she'd never once seen before. How could a child who supposedly hadn't even learned any Martial Arts know something this strange?

'Could it be the legendary Nine Yin Manual, said to have been created centuries ago by the greatest master under heaven, the one who sparked the Mount Hua martial war? Or the True Tendon-Changing Sutra, said to hold the enlightenment of Shaolin's Bodhidharma? Or the True Heavenly Martial Scripture, said to be created by an immortal and called the sum of every martial teaching's core formula?'

All three were legendary martial arts books. What they had in common was that all three had long since been lost to history. But if he actually knew martial arts of that magnitude, he should have already mastered them ages ago.

'And there's no way this kid could have gotten into the third underground floor of the secret archives, where rumor says a damaged copy of the True Heavenly Martial Scripture is kept, either.'

She'd heard the rumor herself. But whether it was true or not, even she, one of the Six Stars of Heaven, didn't know. Supposedly only the two Four Immortal Masters who founded Changcheon Martial Academy, and Elder Hang, the archive manager, knew the truth of it. Even that might not be accurate.

'The very idea of storing the supreme martial arts manual of all creation inside an academy's archive is absurd on its face.'

Who would ever do something that reckless?

As she shook her head, Mumu spoke up out of nowhere.

"Should I try circulating it, then?"

"What?"

"You said if I circulate it, you'd be able to tell why it happened."

At Mumu's words, Dan Baek-yeon startled and cut him off sharply.

"No, absolutely not!"

"Why not?"

"This ki circulation method is your secret alone. It must never be shown to anyone else."

"But you said it's incomplete without the verbal formula."

"Even so, this goes against the basic decency of the martial world. Just examining your body was already a serious breach of etiquette on my part."

She refused outright. Figuring out something this monumental in a method like that simply wasn't right, morally speaking. It was something she couldn't allow herself to do, no matter what.

"Just in case, let me say this clearly. Don't tell anyone about this ki circulation method. No, don't even mention it exists, to anyone."

"Is it really that serious?"

"...It's gone well past serious. I don't know if forming a dantian in a single day is because of how powerful this method is, or because of something particular to your constitution, but if others found out about this, it would stir up a massive storm."

That was exactly what Dan Baek-yeon feared. That was why she was warning Mumu so firmly. Given how good-natured this kid was, she worried he might let this monumental ki circulation method slip without even realizing what he was doing.

"Since Master says so, I'll do that."

"Good boy."

Dan Baek-yeon smiled faintly and reached out to ruffle Mumu's hair.

'Huh?'

Then she pulled her hand back, faintly flustered inside. She had no idea why she'd so naturally reached out to ruffle this kid's hair. Shaking her head, she rose from where she'd been sitting over Mumu and stepped back to give him room.

"Ahem. Get dressed."

Mumu, puzzled by her reaction, got dressed all the same. Once he'd finished dressing, she sat properly in her chair and spoke.

"Earlier I said I'd pay a price in return for examining your body."

"Yes."

Dan Baek-yeon looked at Mumu and spoke in a serious tone.

"Would you like to learn the Icy Heart Sutra?"

'Icy Heart Sutra?'

That sounded familiar somehow. Mumu suddenly remembered it was one of the martial arts books on the first underground floor of the secret archives. It had been one of the books Manager Lim Jeong told him to check out, but the title hadn't grabbed him enough to actually read it.

"It's the foundational cultivation technique and basic art of the Northern Seas Ice Palace, which you could call my own sect."

"Ah, I see."

Mumu's oddly muted reaction made Dan Baek-yeon's brow crease slightly. She'd just offered to pass on the foundational art of the Northern Seas Ice Palace as payment, an extraordinary stroke of fortune by any measure, and yet his response was underwhelming to say the least. She let out a soft breath.

'This kid really has no greed for martial arts at all.'

Then again, he'd treated forming a groundbreaking ki circulation method like it was nothing much either, so maybe a reaction like this was only to be expected from him. Just then Mumu asked her.

"But Master, isn't a sect's martial arts supposed to be kept secret from outsiders?"

At Mumu's question, she nodded.

"That's right. Normally, yes. If this had been ten years ago, I wouldn't even have been able to sit here and ask whether I should teach you the Icy Heart Sutra."

At that, Mumu tilted his head. She rose from her seat and walked toward something across the room. It was a flowerpot standing by the window, holding a single blooming red flower. One unusual detail stood out: alongside the lone red blossom, a white sword sheath etched with a flower pattern had been planted in the same pot.

Shk!

Dan Baek-yeon brushed a fingertip against the petals, and a wisp of white mist drifted out. It was cold, freezing air. The chill kept flowing from the petals themselves. Her eyes, as she gazed at the flower, carried something faintly bitter.

"What's that flower?"

"It's a Golden Fragrance Snow Blossom, one that only blooms in winter. It's the only flower you can find in the Northern Seas Ice Palace, where every season stays locked in deep winter."

"It's pretty."

"Yes. As pretty as it is, you'd never see it here. Like I just said, it's a flower that only grows in the cold of the Northern Seas."

"Huh? Then how'd it grow here? Isn't it late spring right now?"

At Mumu's question, Dan Baek-yeon tapped the sword sheath planted in the pot.

"Because of this sword."

"A sword?"

"The chill flowing out of the Jade White Treasure Sword is what keeps this flower alive."

The Jade White Treasure Sword. It was one of the three sacred treasures of the Northern Seas Ice Palace, a divine artifact steeped in the Northern Seas' spiritual energy, a treasure sword that gave off its own chill without any wielder at all.

"Oh! That's amazing."

Mumu stepped closer to examine the sword. It was cold beyond belief, like ice on a frozen winter stream. She watched him with an oddly complicated look in her eyes, then spoke.

"It might look that way, but this one's quite a difficult child."

"Difficult how?"

"Yes. Even I can't draw the sword out of its sheath."

"Why not?"

"Unfortunately, the Jade White Treasure Sword can only be drawn by a man capable of mastering both cold energy and yang energy at once."

'...Only someone who's achieved great mastery of the Icy White Divine Art can draw it.'

She didn't finish that thought aloud. There was no need to explain that much detail to Mumu.

Mumu made a thoughtful sound and muttered.

"That's a pretty strict set of conditions."

"It's like a difficult, high-maintenance woman, this sword. Well, I've told you all sorts of things now. Anyway, if you learn the Icy Heart Sutra, you'll come to understand the principle of yin and yang far more deeply, and eventually you'll be able to do this too."

Crack, crack, crack!

She opened her palm, and a chill rippled across it, forming a tiny snowflake made of ice. She showed him this to spark his interest. Without inheriting the bloodline of the Northern Seas, achieving great mastery of the Icy Heart Sutra was nearly impossible, but even reaching the fifth or sixth stage was enough to conjure ice like this from cold energy alone.

"Well?"

"Ooh, that's neat. If I learn just this much, I could make ice for my drinks even when it's not winter."

"..."

To think of the Icy Heart Sutra in those terms. It threw her off a little, but well, at least he had some kind of motivation, however strange.

"Would you like to try learning it?"

"Yes. Sure."

Watching him, Dan Baek-yeon smiled faintly.

'I hope, just maybe, he achieves great mastery over it.'

She'd been searching for a man capable of mastering the Icy Heart Sutra completely. But she still hadn't found one. She'd personally taught cadets who showed real talent, even donated manuals to the secret archives, but no one had ever achieved great mastery of it.

If someone like that ever appeared, she could finally break free of this curse-like cycle she was trapped in.

"Then wait here just a moment. The formula is fairly complex, so I'll write it down for you to memorize."

She walked over to the desk where her writing supplies sat to write it out for him. She'd just poured a little water and begun grinding the ink stick when it happened.

At that very instant.

Whoosh! Crack, crack, crack!

The entire study suddenly flooded with cold, and the ink she'd been grinding froze solid on the spot. Along with it came an ear-splitting resonant sound.

'!?'

Startled by the sudden phenomenon, she whipped her head toward the window. There stood Mumu, his forearms swollen to an extreme degree, the Jade White Treasure Sword drawn halfway from its sheath.

'!!!!!'

Her pupils shook at the sight.

'The Jade White Treasure Sword... came out?'

Unable to hide her shock, she stared at him as Mumu grinned brightly and said.

"Turns out it just comes right out if you put some muscle into it."

The Jade White Treasure Sword shrieked and wailed, letting out its resonant cry like it was having its hair torn out by the roots.

Footnotes:

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