Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 8: Reading a Book a Hundred Times Reveals Its Meaning (7) Lee Yu-baek spoke, his voice grave.
"Cultivating an internal art is a perilous endeavor. This is especially true when a sudden, surging heat begins to circulate through Essence and Qi as cold and stagnant as yours."
He lightly tapped Yeon So-wol's forehead with a finger.
"It is not just the body that is at risk; the mind becomes endangered as well. When Essence and Qi surge, the Spirit wavers with them. You might suddenly feel as though you have attained total enlightenment. You might be struck by a bizarre thought, mistake it for a profound realization, and believe in it with all your heart."
Yeon So-wol thought to himself.
A manic episode? Or maybe delusions of grandeur?
"Furthermore, for a time, you will hear things that do not exist and see things that are not there. You will believe things that never happened to be the absolute truth. You will lose the ability to distinguish between reality and delusion."
Auditory and visual hallucinations. Is it schizophrenia?
"Therefore, you must enter closed-door training. If you were to roam freely and interact with people in your current state, a great disaster could occur."
Closed-door training.
It meant locking oneself inside a room and doing nothing but cultivating. In practice, it was an act closer to solitary confinement or imprisonment.
Isn't this... a bit much?
He was already tasked with a difficult cultivation where the slightest mistake was forbidden, and now he had to do it locked away alone, without any help.
"..."
Yeon So-wol remained in a gloomy silence.
Lee Yu-baek calmly explained the necessity of the situation.
"In this Jianghu, there have been many tragic incidents involving those who practiced their cultivation without entering seclusion when it was necessary."
There was once a disciple of Shaolin who, while practicing a mental method, mistakenly believed he had attained enlightenment. He became firmly convinced that burning away all worldly desires and karmic sins with fire was the path to true achievement.
Rather than practicing this realization alone, he sought to bring "enlightenment" to all his fellow disciples.
That night, a great fire broke out at the Shaolin Temple, and thirty martial monks were burned to death.
"..."
Yeon So-wol swallowed hard.
Lee Yu-baek continued.
"Something similar happened to me as well."
About thirty years ago, a renowned master of the sword settled in Sinheung County. He took on two disciples in the area.
The second was Lee Yu-baek, and the first was a certain man. Lee Yu-baek had long since erased that man's name from his memory.
He did so because that man had stabbed their master to death.
While practicing his mental method, the man became firmly convinced that the master had insulted his parents. Of course, no such thing had happened. Yet, he believed it in his isolation, hid his true feelings for fifteen long years while learning the sword, and then stabbed the master at a decisive moment.
Lee Yu-baek had severed the man's limbs and asked him why. Only then did he learn of the inner demon the man had nurtured for fifteen years.
"This is why, when performing cultivation that might invite an inner demon, no one should ever be allowed near you. The simple fact that no one is there becomes the standard by which you can distinguish truth from falsehood. If that man had properly undergone closed-door training back then..."
As he listened to the story, a chill ran down Yeon So-wol's spine.
Why is this world like this...
Lee Yu-baek went on.
"Since closed-door training is done alone, you must always maintain the utmost sincerity of mind. If your mind is not sincere, you will fail to observe your own state. And if you cannot see your own state, you will fall into Qi Deviation."
Qi Deviation—Juhwaipma—the flow of fire rushing toward calamity.
"A human being is composed of the harmony of Essence, Qi, and Spirit. The act of stoking the fire within must always be done in a way that does not break that harmony."
Long ago, there was a certain Taoist. He wished to heat his Essence to the extreme to make his body flexible.
However, he only thought of heating the Essence by intensifying his Fire Phase; he failed to consider maintaining the harmony the Essence provided.
He merely felt his body becoming increasingly soft and felt satisfied, thinking he was becoming flexible and youthful.
Then one day, his disciples were horrified.
When they visited to give their morning greetings, they found their master's flesh and bone had completely melted, flowing across the floor.
Stuck to the floor while still wrapped in his clothes, the master did not die even in that state, his mouth gasping. "Put me in a mold. Pour me into a mold..." The disciples screamed and fled without looking back.
"..."
Lee Yu-baek told more stories: a martial artist who neglected his breathing technique until his Essence and Qi rotted, causing his putrid organs to spill out of his stomach, and a strongman who failed to distribute his Gathering Fire evenly, piling it up in one spot until he burned to ash.
"..."
"So, So-wol. Once you enter seclusion, you must practice the Soft Willow Art with the utmost sincerity."
"...How can I practice with such sincerity?"
"I will give you this Meridian Chart."
Lee Yu-baek held out a drawing depicting the Twelve Standard Meridians and the Eight Extraordinary Meridians of the human body.
It was a simple drawing, showing only the lines connecting various parts of the body and the names of each acupoint. There were no explanations.
"Study this as you refine the Soft Willow Art. If your mind is sincere, you will be able to realize how the Twelve Standard Meridians and the Eight Extraordinary Meridians function through that alone."
Yeon So-wol felt his mind go blank.
"Hall Master. This is the first time I have ever seen a diagram like this."
"Indeed. But have you not learned the Soft Willow Art?"
"I have only learned the breathing technique and the movements. Hall Master, it would be a great help if you could give me even a small teaching regarding this drawing."
"So-wol. Reading a book a hundred times reveals its meaning. The principles of the Twelve Standard Meridians and the Eight Extraordinary Meridians are contained within the Soft Willow Art. If you repeat it with all your heart, you will realize it naturally."
"..."
"You must not break your seclusion until you have realized it."
"...Yes, Hall Master."
Yeon So-wol did not argue further.
There's no point in arguing with someone who recklessly passes on a study that could kill or cripple me.
Seeing Yeon So-wol give up, Lee Yu-baek smiled faintly.
"That attitude of not asking twice—it is truly good. You... you will do well."
"Thank you."
Yeon So-wol simply bowed his head. He figured if he had to do it anyway, it was better to stay on the man's good side.
"Ah, and So-wol."
"Yes, Hall Master."
"Take this."
Lee Yu-baek handed him a basket of raw garlic.
"Chewing this when you feel sleepy will help."
"...Thank you."
Lee Yu-baek immediately led Yeon So-wol to the place of seclusion.
It was a cleared-out warehouse.
Inside were several changes of clothes, lit candles, a small spring trickling with water, and a pile of Fasting Pills and beef jerky to fill his stomach.
"This paper is the seal. As long as this paper remains intact, it means this door has never been opened."
Lee Yu-baek smeared ink on Yeon So-wol's palm and pressed it onto the paper.
"Then, I wish you luck."
Thud!
The door closed.
The windowless warehouse plunged into darkness. The faint light of the candles barely illuminated the surroundings.
"Affix the seal."
At the sound from outside the door, Yeon So-wol silently pressed the seal with his palm print onto the center where the doors met.
Rattle! Clank!
The sound of the bar being slid into place and chains being locked echoed loudly from outside.
Soon, it became quiet.
"..."
Yeon So-wol thought of his mother for a moment.
"This crazy world."
He wondered how long he would have to live so precariously.
Still, this training should help me survive this insane world. Fine. Let's do it. Let's just get it over with.
Gritting his teeth, Yeon So-wol slowly moved his body. He began practicing the Soft Willow Art.
*
Seven days and nights passed.
I feel like I'm going to die. I'm going to die. I'm going to die.
During that time, Yeon So-wol had barely slept.
He was too anxious to sleep.
Tack. Shhhhh—
One gak is fifteen minutes.
In the seclusion room, there was an hourglass that lasted exactly one gak.
Yeon So-wol flipped it obsessively.
He did it to ensure his breathing technique never stopped for longer than that. He checked and rechecked himself.
The constant vigilance made it impossible to sleep. He was terrified that if he fell asleep, his breathing technique would falter.
Fortunately, practicing the Soft Willow Art made his whole body flush with heat and feel refreshed, making sleep recede. He had managed to hold out for quite a while thanks to that, but he had finally reached his limit.
With bloodshot eyes, Yeon So-wol stood in the middle of the room, swaying as he dozed off.
Just then, the door creaked open, and Mo Cheong stepped inside.
"Whew, So-wol. Look at the state of you. It's hard, isn't it? Just sleep a little. If your breathing gets disrupted while you're sleeping, I'll wake you up. Rest easy. The Master gave his permission."
Yeon So-wol was overjoyed at those words.
He didn't have the energy to show it, but he was truly happy inside.
"Thank you."
Tack.
Yeon So-wol turned the hourglass. He sat down and closed his eyes slightly. But sleep didn't come immediately because he was so tense.
He opened his eyes again.
He saw Mo Cheong.
The sand in the hourglass was about half gone.
"It's okay. Get some sleep."
"Yes."
Tack!
Yeon So-wol flipped the hourglass again.
He closed and opened his eyes a few more times. Each time, Mo Cheong reassured him.
"Go on, sleep."
"Yes..."
Only then did Yeon So-wol's tension ease. He flipped the hourglass one last time and let his eyes drift shut, when—
?
Tossing and turning for a moment, he habitually cracked his eyes open, and—
"Huh?"
He bolted upright and looked around.
!!
A chill washed over him.
"..."
The sand in the hourglass was almost gone.
And...
"..."
He wasn't there.
Mo Cheong was nowhere to be found.
He had clearly said he would watch over him all night.
"You... son of a...!"
Yeon So-wol was furious.
"That bastard!!!"
To trick me even in a situation like this? He said he'd wake me up, then abandoned me and snuck out as soon as I fell asleep?!
His anger reached its peak. The whole world felt like it was hanging by a thread—the ground, the sky, even the faintly flickering candle flame.
If Mo Cheong had been in front of him, he would have killed him. He definitely would have killed him.
His heart hammered against his ribs. The sand remaining in the hourglass was barely enough for sixty seconds.
I almost died!
His Essence and Qi almost rotted away!
Yeon So-wol hurried to resume his breathing technique.
"Inhale... Exhale..."
A foul stench erupted from his exhaled breath.
If he had to describe it, it was similar to the stench of wet laundry left out in the rain—only ten times more pungent.
"..."
Goosebumps broke out all over his body.
It was true.
It had been less than fifteen minutes. And yet, such a stench.
The last shred of doubt in the corner of his mind vanished completely. Lee Yu-baek hadn't been exaggerating at all.
If I stop, my Essence and Qi really will rot and I'll die.
Yeon So-wol gritted his teeth even harder.
"Mo Cheong... Mo Cheong..."
He felt as though he would never forget this grudge. An insult suffered during one's hardest moments is the hardest to forget.
Yeon So-wol stood up abruptly. Thinking Mo Cheong might be standing outside the warehouse door snickering, he silenced his footsteps and approached the door.
"..."
And then he realized.
Rattle. Clank.
The warehouse door was perfectly locked.
In the center of the door, the seal with his palm print was still firmly attached. This door had never been opened.
"Come to think of it..."
In his memory, Mo Cheong had said he entered with Lee Yu-baek's permission. But hadn't Lee Yu-baek emphasized several times that he must not meet anyone during his seclusion? There was no way he would have allowed Mo Cheong to enter.
If so...
"...It was all a hallucination?"
Yeon So-wol felt a terrifying chill.
Mo Cheong's expression and voice were still vivid in his mind. But it wasn't real.
He reached out with trembling hands, grabbed a handful of raw garlic, and shoved it into his mouth. The garlic was so pungent that tears welled in his eyes.
"Haa. Haa. Crunch."
Yeon So-wol moved his body while chewing the garlic.
Steadying his breath, which kept rising and falling in ragged gasps, he practiced the Soft Willow Art through teary eyes.
He stoked the fire throughout his body according to the breathing technique and spread that heat through his entire frame with the movements.
So as not to be afraid.
So as not to go mad.
Yeon So-wol repeated the Soft Willow Art without rest.
"Haa. Haa. Inhale... Exhale..."
A crazy world.
This insane world.
The true nature of the Twelve Standard Meridians and the Eight Extraordinary Meridians remained as distant as ever.
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