Chapter 7. Dream Awakening (7)
"Yes. The Five Pecks of Rice Sect was also called the Celestial Sect. If he said that he is a member of the Celestial Sect, then he probably meant the Five Pecks of Rice Sect."
"The Celestial Sect... Zhang Ling."
"With Celestial Master Zhang's disciple being the last known master, all martial arts of the Celestial Sect disappeared. Since then, it has existed only as a branch of Daoism under the name of Celestial Daoism, not as a martial arts sect. Haha, this is amazing! You now possess the martial arts of the Celestial Sect, which everyone thought were lost!"
Song Woo-Moon had finally found out where his martial arts originated.
"So you don't know who painted this, either."
"No, I don't, but what I do know is that he, too, knows the martial arts of the Celestial Sect. I see... That's why your qi embraced mine so easily. It was the qi of the Celestial Daoism, the root of Daoism itself. That's truly magnificent."
Woo-Moon couldn't seem to keep the words "Celestial Sect, Zhang Ling" out of his mind.
In the meantime, Jin Won-Myeong was agonizing.
'What should I do? I really want him to be my disciple.‘
Certainly, most people would have wondered whether Woo-Moon had the talent, but that was a foolish question as far as Won-Myeong was concerned. The kid certainly had more than enough talent. In addition, even though he had been acting like a fool all this time, he was indeed very intelligent. As for his body...the heaven-given chance that he had stumbled upon just now had transformed his physique into the absolute ideal one for learning martial arts.
Hence, it was only natural that Won-Myeong wanted to make Woo-Moon his disciple. The kid didn't seem like a bad seed, and it was fate that had allowed them to meet each other.
‘Woo-Moon will become an amazing martial arts expert in the future. If that happens, wouldn't it be a great blessing for the Kunlun Sect?'
However, it was indeed embarrassing for Won-Myeong to speak out. Accepting Woo-Moon, who had learned the Celestial Sect's martial arts, as his own disciple would elevate Woo-Moon’s status far beyond what his age would warrant.
'There will be a lot of people who have something to say about it.'
Moreover, Won-Myeong thought that this desire, too, was a product of greed. After all, he wanted to raise the Kunlun Sect's reputation through Woo-Moon. That realization made him feel ashamed of himself again.
'This isn't the right time to ask him to join our sect. Perhaps if we manage to forge a relationship in the future...'
Nevertheless, Won-Myeong didn't give up completely. Beyond his greed for status and power was his genuine desire to make Woo-Moon his disciple and teach him martial arts.
Sigh...
Won-Myeong looked at Woo-Moon. He wanted to do something for the kid, at the very least.
"From what I've witnessed earlier, you're skilled in qi use and sword arts, child. But you lack footwork."
Woo-Moon knew what qi and sword arts were. Even a little child who had no idea what the word murim meant would have been aware of those. Moreover, as he had trained his mind by visualizing the landscape painting, he had also learned the names of the arts that he was witnessing: the Celestial Sect's Forbidden Divine Art and the Gentle Celestial Sword.
"What's footwork?"
When it came to martial arts, all ordinary people knew was that the internal energy part was called "cultivation," learning how to fight using a sword was learning a "sword art," and methods of using a saber were "saber arts."
Since there was only one cultivation method and one sword art in the landscape painting, Woo-Moon was naturally ignorant of things such as footwork.
"Huh... You don't even know what footwork is?"
‘I don't know what that is, but I can learn,’ Woo-Moon thought.
"No, I don't," he answered with pride.
Won-Myeong had an awkward expression. It was so frustrating and ridiculous that he couldn't stop himself from laughing; yet, for some reason, he also felt as if he was about to weep.
'Did I really just get injured by a guy who doesn't even know what footwork is?'
A strange emotion filled Won-Myeong, but he immediately shook it off.
"Footwork is essentially the skill that allows you to move around while using your techniques in combat. It allows for all sorts of movements, including advances, evasion, and so forth. As a form of apology, I'll teach you footwork."
"Footwork, huh..."
Woo-Moon had absolutely no idea how important footwork was, at this point. However, he was certainly not the type that would refuse a gift.
***
At the same time, the Leebi Merchant Guild was in the middle of a crisis.
"What? What do you mean we don't have enough people?"
In place of her father, who had fallen ill, Yeon Si-Hyeon was practically leading the Leebi Merchant Guild.
Countless masters were gathering in the Goryang Plains, and the Leebi Merchant Guild was planning to head there as well to make a deal with the Bo Martial Sect, one of the influential organizations in Guangdong Province. However, Steward Jang had just come over to report that they lacked manpower.
"If we don't want the other merchant guilds to look down on us, we have to live up to our reputation. To do that, we need at least fifty warriors, but we currently only have thirty at most."
"Hmm...."
Yeon Si-Hyeon pondered for a solution, touching her chin with her finger. "A show of size is definitely important. Let's put up posters in this town and the surrounding villages to let them know we're hiring temporary workers for this business trip. Since we're running out of time, we'll pay them extra."
"But... what we need is warriors..."
"Is our purpose to fight, Steward Jang?"
"No, it's not."
"Then having people who look like warriors should be enough. We can just ask the workers to pretend to be warriors. As long as we have the numbers, people will think thrice before picking a fight with us anyway."
***
"Did you memorize it all?"
"Yes, barely..."
Won-Myeong was teaching Woo-Moon the Divine Phantasm Step, which was considered one of the best footwork techniques in the Kunlun Sect.
"That's good. You're really smart. I'll perform it now, so take a close look."
"Understood."
After transmitting the theoretical part to Woo-Moon by reciting the sutra three times, Won-Myeong climbed onto the flat rock next to him.
Whoosh~
As he moved, the hem of his robes fluttered in the wind.
Woo-Moon watched Won-Myeong's movements intently. For the first few moments, he could follow them properly, but they almost immediately became blurry, as if some kind of fog was blocking his vision.
‘What?!’ Woo-Moon hurriedly closed his eyes and shook his head from side to side.
When he reopened his eyes, he focused once more. He could clearly see Won-Myeong's movement again, but only for a moment. Just like before, Won-Myeong became blurry, preventing Woo-Moon from grasping his traces.
At that moment, however, the energy of the Celestial Sect's Forbidden Divine Arts awakened and surged toward his eyes. His vision suddenly cleared, and his mind felt refreshed.
'I can see it!'
Won-Myeong’s silhouette no longer faded as long as Woo-Moon kept looking at him intently. Of course, as soon as Woo-Moon lost concentration, the elder’s movement was once more obscured by mist.
That was the characteristic of the Divine Phantasm Step that Won-Myeong was now performing for his half-disciple. Since it involved an array[1], it was a difficult technique to learn and master. Not only did it allow the user to move in incomprehensible ways, but it even bewitched the viewer, obscuring their sight.
Won-Myeong performed it three times.
"I left my footprints here, so you'll be able to study them later."
Won-Myeong didn’t really want to leave behind traces of his technique. However, it was unlikely to become a problem—even if someone aside from Woo-Moon saw the footprints, they were unlikely to learn anything from them without knowing the sutra.
"Yes, thank you."
In fact, Woo-Moon was disappointed. He had high expectations in learning a new martial art, thinking he'd feel the same great joy that he felt when he looked at the landscape painting and fell into a dream-like state. Unfortunately, though gaining new knowledge gave him a little joy, it paled in comparison to the painting.
'When I get home, I'll hang the landscape painting on the wall and contemplate it again.'
While Woo-Moon was deep in thought, Won-Myeong called out to Doa.
"Doa! Doa! We should go on our way here. Bring the Divine Frost Sword."
"Yes, Grandpa!"
Doa picked up the Divine Frost Sword and brought it to Won-Myeong. He received the sword, took out a small medallion carved form black jade from his sleeve, and gave it to Doa.
"Give this to him instead."
"What? The Kunlun Friendship Medallion?"
"Yes, pass it to him and come back quickly."
Though surprised, Doa still handed it to Woo-Moon. Her face flushed slightly when her hand briefly touched the boy's.
"This is...?"
The medallion made of black jade was engraved with the characters "Kunlun" along with the Taiji pattern.
Although Woo-Moon wasn't familiar with jewelry and ornaments, he understood that it was a valuable item.
"The Divine Frost Sword is a treasure of the Kunlun Sect and was even used by its founder. Your landscape painting was of great value, so I thought it would be alright to exchange this weapon for it, but... Well, I have no reason to trade this anymore, so I'm going to take it back. I'll give you that medallion instead. Use it wisely when you get the chance," Won-Myeong instructed him.
"I'm not going to say no, but what is it exactly?"
"It’s just a medallion that shows you are a friend of the Kunlun Sect. Don't feel too much pressure receiving this."
"The Kunlun Friendship Medallion isn't that simple," murmured Doa. However, her voice was too soft for Woo-Moon to hear, so he remained ignorant of the true meaning of the medallion.
"But please promise me one thing."
"What is it?"
"Don't sell the medallion, give it to others, or throw it away."
Won-Myeong had just given the last Kunlun Friendship Medallion left in the Kunlun Sect to Woo-Moon, but he didn't find it wasteful. After all, nobody knew what kind of relationship could be forged in the future through this one gift.
On the other hand, Woo-Moon wasn't that interested in the Kunlun Friendship Medallion, but he would always receive what was gifted to him. That was his principle.
'I don't reject free stuff.'
"You said you live in Kunlun, didn't you? If I get the chance someday, I'll visit you."
"Alright. Then, we'll be going."
Won-Myeong and Doa left Woo-Moon behind and headed for Go-ryang Pyeong. As they slowly walked away, Doa looked back.
Woo-Moon was still standing there, lost in thought. He kept pondering about Celestial Daoism and the two martial arts that he had learned. There were also the little things—the footwork he was taught earlier, the Night Spear Devil, Won-Myeong, and Doa.
After taking his time to organize his thoughts, he turned around to go home, and at that moment, the face of his father flashed through his mind. He gritted his teeth.
'How dare he sell my landscape painting? I'll never forget this.'
***
When Woo-Moon returned, Song Dae-Woong walked over in surprise and greeted him.
"Son, you’re back!"
"Don't talk to me," Woo-Moon bluntly replied. "And use this for Mom's medicine. I'll put it on the table."
Woo-Moon hung the landscape painting on the wall again.
"I'll let this pass just this once, so don't try to sell or throw it away again. Otherwise, I'll tell Mom everything. Also, I was told that this painting is a valuable treasure. If you're going to sell it because you don't have enough money for Mom’s medicine, then at least demand a higher price for it."
Dae-Woong felt guilty, so he shut his mouth and simply nodded.
"I-I got it, kiddo. But, what's wrong with you? You look..."
Dae-Woong wanted to say ‘You look like a normal person,’ but in the end, he held it in—that was not something that a father was supposed to say to his son.
"Hmph!" Ignoring his father's remarks, Woo-Moon dragged a guest chair right in front of the landscape painting, then sat still and stared at it.
'Time to fall back into my dream.'
That was the only interest Woo-Moon had now. He just wanted to fall into the dream-like state again and enjoy the pleasure.
"Huh? Hey, son! What are you doing? You're going to turn into a fool again!" Shocked, Dae-Woong shook Woo-Moon's shoulders. "Get up! Get up! You can’t become a fool again!"
Woo-Moon was trying to concentrate, but his father kept shaking and interrupting him.
"Oh, what are you doing? Let go of me. If you keep doing this, I'll tell Mom."
"Ugh." With a low groan, Dae-Woong stepped back.
Woo-Moon continued to look at the landscape painting. But the dream didn't return that easily. Still, he didn't give up. He sat still for hours, not thinking about food or rest, gazing at the painting.
However, his efforts were not rewarded, and the painting did not speak to him. Finally, late at night, Woo-Moon yawned and went back to his room.
'I’ll get some sleep first and try again tomorrow.'
However, the landscape painting's illusion refused to take over his mind the next day as well.
'What the hell am I supposed to do? What's wrong with me?'
Woo-Moon glared at the landscape painting, glanced at it from the corner of his eye, and tried to look through it, the picture blurring in his view as his focus shifted far away. Still, nothing happened.
After that, he tried standing up, laying on the floor, and running in place while keeping his eyes on it.
Nothing.
As another day passed, Dae-Woong watched his son with frustration and anxiety pounding against his chest.
"Oh, heavens, what if he becomes a fool again?"
That was Dae-Woong's biggest concern now. With the money Woo-Moon had received from Won-Myeong, they'd be able to cover Baek Jin-Jin's medicine costs for a while, so Dae-Woong was now thinking of his son.
Then, on the third day, Woo-Moon knocked his head with his fists as he stared at the landscape painting. Seeing that, Dae-Woong ran and grabbed his son.
"What are you doing, boy?! I don't care if you tell your mother that I've broken a promise. Stop it now! What do you think you are doing?!"
Feeling his father's worried voice and warm hands, Woo-Moon sighed.
"Let go of me. I'll stop. I'm not going to go back to being a fool.... Probably."
'The dream is completely gone.'
Now that he had come out of his dream for good, Woo-Moon thought that it was about time to live in reality.
1. Arrays (a.k.a. formations) are special arrangements of items, runes etc. that allow energy to flow in a specific pattern, resulting in some sort of special effect. They might be meant for defense (basically magic barriers) for confusing an opponent, or even for attacking. Here, it refers to the specific stances and shifts that constitute this footwork art. ☜