The Mountain Estate — In the Forest
"Alright, Scholar Yu. Begin."
Gunmyeong took So-un's belongings.
He slung over his own shoulder the bow, the quiver, and even the small cavalry ring that held the miscellaneous items carried when serving as a forward scout, leaving So-un with only his sword.
He meant to make So-un do the cutting.
So-un steadied his breathing, recalling the sensation of the previous night.
He pictured the path of the blade and recited the mnemonic verses under his breath.
That elusive feeling—almost grasped yet not—was not limited to drawing a sword.
The ancient verses were the same, and so was the ultimate secret of inner focus.
Something achieved once by chance rarely comes again on command.
Some dismiss it as mere luck rather than skill, yet matters that hover on subtle boundaries do not yield identical results each time.
What if it doesn't work?
The doubt flickered through him.
But once he began, a blue current gathered, and his shoulders and arms moved together with the sword.
What had been unclear flashed through his mind like a beam of light.
He could not name it.
He guided that current to the sword tip and struck the towering tree blocking his way.
He cut diagonally on purpose so it would fall cleanly.
The blade passed through the thickest part of the trunk, and with a thunderous crash, the tree collapsed.
A trunk as thick as a man's body fell in a single stroke.
"Wah! What! Hey—!"
Every kind of shout a single man could produce echoed through the forest.
Gunmyeong yelled as he dodged the falling tree.
He could have stood at a distance, yet he clung close, darting here and there, making a racket.
So-un brushed aside the smaller branches tangled in the fallen trunk and advanced.
Another tree blocked him.
He struck again.
The same form, repeated.
The blade fell, and another trunk crashed down.
After advancing several paces, Gunmyeong shouted from behind.
"Cut the one on the left! Not that one—the left!"
Unlike the night before, So-un heard him clearly.
Yesterday he had been so immersed that nothing reached him.
Now he seemed a step beyond that state.
He cut the tree on the left.
Gunmyeong began to worry.
Such an ability—to slice trees cleanly as if trimming twigs—was not common.
Even if one possessed it, the effort must be immense.
He felt ridiculous, an older man ordering a boy to cut trees while barking directions from behind.
Yet he could not waste So-un's effort.
He adjusted the direction carefully, keeping the path straight.
Strangely, So-un did not appear fatigued.
He seemed almost pleased to train in broad daylight.
The justification suited him well enough to brighten his mood.
He raised the sword, twisted it, struck downward, cut horizontally, deflected, drew in, spun like a windmill.
It seemed as though he had absorbed the entirety of the General Compendium into himself.
The General's movements, Yi Hui's sharpness, and even the deep, slow current of the original text had taken root in him.
He now bore the unmistakable shape of a true warrior.
Learning is not achieved by books alone.
Stories of mastering supreme martial arts by reading a manual are likely inventions.
One needs a master, fellow disciples to sharpen courage, and the talent to receive instruction.
In So-un's case, that talent was curiosity.
He had once pretended to study family martial arts without interest, like a blank sheet of paper.
Curiosity soaked up the original text like cotton absorbing water.
Yi Hui, Jin Mugwang, the Compendium, and real combat—that was all he had been given.
As they widened the path to allow two horses abreast, the forest opened.
Sunlight poured through.
After about half an hour, a clearing suddenly appeared ahead.
"So…"
So-un lowered his sword and stopped.
Is it done?
The thought was brief.
A path lay before them.
"Ha! A road!"
Gunmyeong shouted from behind.
But So-un felt despair.
The "road" Gunmyeong saw was strange.
The wide path, enough for two horses, was the very one So-un had carved from the start.
The end of the path was the beginning.
He had advanced in a straight line without deviation.
Yet the straight line had looped back to its origin.
It was incomprehensible.
Faced with the mystery, So-un faltered.
Dusk was falling.
If they failed to return in time, the others would worry.
So there are things strength cannot overcome.
He steadied his breathing, circulating his internal energy with another recitation.
He moved his body as if tracing sword paths, recovering.
Then he narrowed his eyes and looked to the far end of the path he had cut.
He saw something.
Two figures.
Themselves.
Like hamsters trapped in a wheel, he stared at his own back in the distance.
"So-un! You see it?"
"Yes, Uncle. Two people."
"That's us, isn't it?"
"It can't be… how?"
Gunmyeong climbed onto a rock and jumped up and down.
Far off, something wavered.
It mirrored him, flailing weakly.
At the end of a straight line stood themselves.
They sank down in defeat.
So-un, having expended enormous internal energy, was nearly spent.
Surely martial arts were not meant for such absurdity.
"Haa… haa…"
So-un panted.
Gunmyeong muttered.
"If that's really us over there, then this isn't natural. Whether it's some ancient formation or some damned trick, something's here. Who and why—that's one question. How to escape—that's another. No… perhaps the order is reversed. Solve one, and the other unravels."
To So-un, it sounded like rambling.
He had only done as told.
The effort was far greater than the night before.
His energy felt drained into the earth itself.
Gunmyeong handed him dried meat.
"Let's eat and think. If it's intentional, if the space bends but appears straight… Should we shoot an arrow? Before it gets darker. Maybe light a torch? No, no. A fire arrow? No—that would announce us. We've enemies hunting us."
"If Uncle Cheongyun were here, he'd curse until something answered."
The sun slid down the mountain ridge.
People fail to notice how quickly it falls until it reaches the peaks.
Once caught on the ridge, it sinks fast into the forest, and darkness follows.
They lit a small fire to test the illusion.
Through the carved corridor, they saw another fire burning in the distance.
Only a sigh escaped them.
"Let's rest for now."