Chapter v15c17

The First Gate of the Five Elements: The Wood Gate

– The Boy’s Hatching

“The foundation of Qinggong is to lighten your body, to achieve maximum speed with minimal internal energy. The key is to make your body as light as possible, as close to weightless as you can get! Like this!”

Bi Ryu-yeon said, spreading his arms wide. But Yoon Jun-ho didn’t see any change.

“How?”

All he saw was Bi Ryu-yeon raising his arms. That wasn’t exactly a groundbreaking transformation.

“Like this, I said!”

Bi Ryu-yeon raised his arms again, as if surrendering to the heavens. But Yoon Jun-ho still didn’t see any difference.

“…???”

Bi Ryu-yeon sighed at his blank expression.

“Alright, fine. I’ll show you. It’ll be faster that way.”

It seemed words weren’t enough. He decided to demonstrate.

“Stand still and push me gently.”

Yoon Jun-ho did as he was told, pushing lightly against Bi Ryu-yeon’s chest. It was more of a nudge than a push. But…

“Huh?!”

Something incredible happened. It was like magic. Bi Ryu-yeon’s body slid backward a whole zhang, his heels together, without any resistance. As if he were standing on an invisible sheet of ice.

Yoon Jun-ho hadn’t suddenly gained superhuman strength. He stared at his hand in disbelief.

“There’s no resistance!”

There was a slight resistance, but it was so negligible that it could be ignored. It was like pushing a small paper boat on water. Bi Ryu-yeon hadn’t been pushed he had glided.

Bi Ryu-yeon smiled.

“See? Now you understand?”

But Yoon Jun-ho shook his head. So Bi Ryu-yeon decided to elaborate.

“Why do you think people float in water?”

Yoon Jun-ho didn’t know. He shook his head again.

“It’s because the human body is mostly water. It has a similar density to water, so it floats easily. And the air in our lungs makes us even lighter. That’s why we can swim. Qinggong is the same principle.”

Bi Ryu-yeon’s words were like an invisible rope, pulling Yoon Jun-ho deeper into the mystery. He paused for a moment, then continued.

“As you know, everything in this world is made of Qi, the vital energy that flows through all things. You, me, everything! Qi in motion, governed by the laws of nature, that’s what this world is. The difference between hard and soft is just a matter of density.”

He went on.

“Running, using Qinggong, it’s like swimming in a sea of Qi. But the human body is denser than air. So it’s pulled towards the earth, which has a similar density. There’s a force of attraction between them, gravity. But martial artists can’t be bound by gravity. We absorb Qi from the air through our breath, and we cultivate it, refine it, making our bodies lighter, more attuned to the fundamental nature of Qi. We need to make our bodies more ‘Qi-like’ to swim in the sea of Qi. That’s the foundation of Qinggong, the first principle. Everyone learns this. But they seem to forget the ‘why.’ It doesn’t really matter, I guess, since it works even if you don’t understand it… But you can’t truly escape the pull of gravity that way.”

He said, his voice firm.

Yoon Jun-ho was captivated. It was an unusually profound lesson for Bi Ryu-yeon. He could sense the truth in his words.

“That’s why you need to assimilate!”

“Assimilate?”

Assimilation, the merging of two separate entities into one.

“The closer the two densities, the better! The less resistance there will be.”

“So now you understand what you have to do, right? There’s only one thing you need to do!”

“One thing?”

“Yes, become one with Mount Hua!”

Yoon Jun-ho didn’t understand at first. He had to think about it for a moment before he grasped the concept. But it was still an abstract idea.

“Is… is that even possible?”

“Ugh… there you go again, limiting yourself! Don’t you ever get tired of it? It’s time to break free from your self-imposed limitations! Otherwise, you’ll never improve!”

“S-Sorry…”

Yoon Jun-ho apologized.

“You should be apologizing to yourself, not me.”

“S-Sorry…”

A groan escaped from someone nearby.

No one could break another person’s shell. You had to break free from your own limitations. Others could only provide the catalyst. Any further interference would be pointless, even harmful.

“Imagine yourself absorbing Qi, becoming one with Mount Hua. Inhale the mountain into your body. Forget yourself, enter a state of no-self, and merge with nature, with the mountain. Then, even the slightest breeze will move you, effortlessly, like a ripple on a lake. Easy, right?”

Easy? It was an incredibly difficult task.

At first, he thought it was impossible. But his friend had said,

“If you keep limiting yourself, you’ll never go beyond those limits! The moment you decide something is impossible, it becomes impossible. Don’t restrict yourself. No one knows what’s truly possible.”

His body felt light, as if he were gliding through the air. His mind was clear, as vast as the sky. This was his home, the place where he had grown up. Every tree, every rock… it was all familiar. It had been two years, but the mountain welcomed him back with open arms. He felt like he could do it. He felt like he understood what Bi Ryu-yeon had been trying to tell him.

“Alright, I’ll try it!”

He decided to put his understanding into practice. You could only achieve what you believed in. Belief was a declaration of existence. You couldn’t pursue something that didn’t exist. And to believe in something, you had to believe in yourself first. That was the starting point. Someone had taught him that.

“I’ll overtake them, no matter what!”

The shell shattered, and the bird hatched.

For the first time in his life, Yoon Jun-ho was acting with a proactive mindset. The bellows of his will fanned the flames of his spirit.

“Wh-What’s that?”

Ma Ha-ryeong was startled.

Something had overtaken her from behind.

At first, she thought it was the wind. But how could there be a tailwind when she was running at full speed? She realized it was a person. Someone had dared to overtake her.

Not just one person, but two! She couldn’t believe it. The only person ahead of her was Chu Myeong, the Sword Demon. But that was more a reflection of her group’s incompetence than her own. She had closed the distance considerably, thanks to her own skill. But there was a difference between being behind and being overtaken.

“How dare they…”

She was about to explode in anger, but she couldn’t. She was too surprised.

‘Is this a joke?’

She recognized the person who had overtaken her. She hadn’t paid much attention to him before. He was one of Bi Ryu-yeon’s lackeys, the Mount Hua jinx, Yoon Jun-ho.

“N-No way…”

To be overtaken by him… It was a disgrace to her family, to her ancestors. She poured more internal energy into her legs, increasing her speed.

“I’m light! My body is lighter than a feather!”

He felt as if a heavy weight had been lifted from his shoulders. His body was light, almost weightless. He felt like he could fly. He ran like an arrow, piercing the wind. It was a rebirth. The shackles that had bound his spirit were broken. He had been living a lie, deceiving himself, neglecting himself. He vowed to cherish himself from now on. His resolve flowed through his meridians, reaching every cell in his body. He felt a surge of power, a sense of wholeness.

But perhaps he had gone too far.

The bird had just hatched. Its wings were still weak.

* * *

“It seems to be going smoothly, Elder Yeom.”

Eun Seol-ran said, surveying the mountain from a vantage point. She called him “Elder Yeom,” even though it was his nickname. It was a wise choice, as few dared to address him by his real name.

No news was good news. If there had been any problems, she would have received a signal. She couldn’t participate in the competition herself, so all she could do was watch.

“Hmm…”

Yeom-do grunted noncommittally.

“A Qinggong relay race… It’s certainly unique, but it seems safe enough.”

It was certainly safer than a sword fight. But Yeom-do wasn’t so sure.

“We’ll see.”

“What do you mean?”

He looked at her.

His eyes, once filled with rage and resentment, were now calmer, deeper. Perhaps it was because of the hardships he had endured in recent years. He felt like he had mellowed. He was more rational now.

“Young Lady Eun, accidents are caused by people, not by nature.”

Humans created the environment, and humans reacted to it. So most accidents were caused by human error, by a distortion of relationships. There would be no problems if people treated each other with respect. And even if there were problems, they could be resolved through cooperation. But the relationships here were a tangled mess.

“So you’re saying there might be trouble…”

It made sense. The relationships on Mount Hua were dysfunctional. It was a powder keg waiting to explode.

“I can’t be sure. But there are those who believe that the only reason they get caught breaking the rules is because they’re careless!”

Unfortunately, there were those who believed that “fair play” was a fool’s errand. They believed that it was better to break the rules and get away with it than to follow the rules and lose. It was a sad fact of life that such people often outnumbered those who valued integrity.

Of course, there were also absurd rules… But in a competition, the rules were there to ensure a fair fight. It was common sense. But there were many in the world who lacked common sense. It was a tragedy.

“We can’t let our guard down. We won’t know for sure until it’s over.”

He was being cautious, rational. It was a remarkable change.

“I hope it ends peacefully…”

She was doubtful.

“Well… he has a lot of enemies… He’s never done anything quietly. It’s his trademark!”

“Do you think he believes that peace is a sin?”

“He must be cursed by the god of tranquility!”

Yeom-do said, his voice filled with conviction.

“He’s the opposite of Young Master Mo-yong. He acts like the world will end if he breaks a rule. It’s kind of cute… They’re such an odd couple, hehe.”

It was a mystery how two people with such different personalities could be friends. Perhaps that was part of Bi Ryu-yeon’s charm.

“Cute? That stiff, dry old pancake? Hmm?”

He raised an eyebrow, his gaze suspicious. Eun Seol-ran blushed and shook her head.

“N-No… I… I just… I…”

She was flustered.

“Hmm?”

He continued to tease her, his gaze unwavering.

“Oh, come on! I didn’t mean… I…”

But she couldn’t come up with a convincing excuse.

“So you don’t like him? Well, I can’t blame you. He’s a boring stick-in-the-mud.”

He said, his voice filled with mock sympathy. His eyes were filled with mock pity for Mo Yong hwi.

“N-No! I don’t dislike him! Not at all!”

She exclaimed, surprised by her own vehemence.

“You don’t dislike him?”

She nodded.

“So you like him!”

He declared, cutting her off.

“No, I mean, he saved my life… and he carried me on his back…”

She had lost her chance to defend herself. He had already made up his mind. Her shoulders slumped in defeat.

Come to think of it, how did she feel about him? She had never considered it before. Suddenly, his presence felt different.

“But even that goody-two-shoes has changed since he met him.”

“Him?”

“The one who’s cursed by the god of tranquility!”

“Ah! Him!”

She nodded.

“He’s more relaxed now. He used to be much worse.”

“Really?”

He nodded emphatically.

“He can breathe now. He used to be so uptight, like he was strangling himself with a leather strap.”

She laughed. It was easy to imagine.

“Everyone changes when they’re around him. Nothing ever ends peacefully. There’s always some kind of drama. It’s never boring, I’ll give him that…”

He had a knack for causing trouble.

It had happened on Mount Wudang, and it had happened in the Demonic Cave.

It would be more surprising if nothing happened this time. He was a walking storm. Or rather, a storm magnet. His presence, intentionally or not, distorted the relationships around him. Those who were close to him had to be careful not to get swept away.

“I wonder if it will end peacefully this time…”

His premonition proved to be accurate.