Chapter 28: Tai Chi Profound Heavenly Sutra (4)
The three people looked puzzled.
‘Surely, the Young Master hasn’t lost his mind.’
Yong Hwarin turned away from the window, startled.
“What? Why is it already dark outside?”
When he had started reading the first chapter of the Tai Chi Profound Heavenly Sutra, the sun had been at its peak.
“You’ve been reading that book all day.”
“Oh! Really?”
Yong Hwarin had been so absorbed in the Tai Chi Profound Heavenly Sutra that he had lost track of time.
“Then let’s stay here one more night and leave tomorrow morning.”
With that, Yong Hwarin spread out the papers he had written on the table and fell back into deep thought.
The three others quietly left the room so as not to disturb him.
“These days, the Young Master is acting more and more incomprehensibly,” Namwook muttered.
Mo Biyoung responded with a somber expression.
“I think he’s troubled by something we don’t know about.”
“And that’s making us worry even more. Times like this call for a drink.”
Namwook and Jungwook exchanged glances and headed downstairs toward the dining hall. Mo Biyoung, too exhausted to scold them, shook her head and returned to her room.
After pondering for a long time, Yong Hwarin collapsed onto the bed, drained of energy.
No answer came to mind.
‘More than figuring out how to create two Dantians, perhaps turning the old man’s energy into my own is more urgent.’
It could take a lifetime just to master the Tai Chi Profound Heavenly Sutra.
He wasn’t in a position to waste time clinging to something endlessly.
Naturally, his focus shifted from the Tai Chi Profound Heavenly Sutra to the energy of the old man.
‘If I could just make the old man’s energy mine, my martial arts would make a huge leap forward. But I don’t know how… If I could just find the method. Just the method.’
While deep in thought, Yong Hwarin slammed his hand down hard on the table.
Thud!
“Yes! That person… Maybe he might know a way.”
Yong Hwarin recalled a secret emissary of the Defiled Sect he had known in his past life.
The Defiled Sect had been a martial clan skilled in sorcery that was annihilated even before the era of the Three Demonic Heavens.
Among them, that emissary had been especially proficient in soul-related sorcery.
Perhaps, through him, he could uncover the soul of the old man.
*
“Young Master. I see an inn up ahead.”
While traveling for two days, Yong Hwarin had avoided camping and stayed at inns whenever possible.
He preferred inns over sleeping outdoors because he needed to review the Tai Chi Profound Heavenly Sutra and gain insights whenever he had time.
If he wanted to quietly study a secret manual, an inn with lamplight was far better than a dark roadside.
After entering the inn and getting a room, Yong Hwarin immediately pulled out the secret manual.
The three others never tried to find out what book Yong Hwarin was reading.
They figured that the secret manual he was reading in private might be a martial art passed down only to the clan head, so they didn't let curiosity get the better of them.
But in truth, the Heavenly Central Sect didn’t have any special martial arts for the sect leader.
That was because the sect only possessed a handful of martial techniques.
While large sects reserved powerful techniques for the direct bloodline of the clan head, in mid- and small-sized sects like the Heavenly Central Sect, there was no difference between the techniques of the sect leader and those of the disciples.
Once again, as Yong Hwarin entered his room, Namwook followed him in.
As he came in, Yong Hwarin asked,
“Do you need something?”
Namwook pulled out a pouch from his sleeve—the same pouch he had taken from Jeok Gwang.
“This was in the pouch.”
Saying that, Namwook held out the golden token of Chouhui.
“This is—!”
Namwook also recognized what this token was.
It was a golden token so expensive, he could never afford one in his lifetime.
“It’s the Golden Token of Chouhui. You know about it too, Young Master?”
“Of course I do. I’ve even bought one myself.”
Namwook stared in shock at Yong Hwarin’s careless comment.
“What? You bought this golden token?”
Seeing Namwook’s surprise, Yong Hwarin realized he had misspoken.
“Oh, that was a joke.”
Namwook finally relaxed, a faint chuckle escaping his lips.
There was no way the Young Master—who had never even left the Heavenly Central Sect—could’ve purchased such a golden token.
In truth, Yong Hwarin had only had money in his past life, and had once bought the token just to see Chouhui, who was rumored to be the most beautiful woman in Henan.
Back then, he had challenged the Five Literary Gates and failed at the third gate.
Chouhui had created the Five Literary Gates for non-martial artists, and the Five Martial Gates for martial artists.
‘If it were now, I could solve all the problems and meet Chouhui. She later abolished the golden tokens and revealed the solutions to the gates. Since then, no one has seen her, and the noise died down.’
Of course, he had no intention now of challenging the gates just to see a beauty like Chouhui.
In the Five Literary Gates, the third gate required performing music with her, completing a duet in harmony to pass.
But what he later learned was that she had mastered Sound Arts. During the performance, she would use her skill to subtly disrupt the challenger’s tune.
In fact, Yong Hwarin’s notes kept clashing in that duet. All the years he had spent learning the flute just to see her had ended in vain.
He had thought it was just nerves, but upon learning the truth later, he was utterly disheartened.
Back then, he had wondered why she had done such a thing.
Without mastering Sound Arts, it was impossible to pass the Five Literary Gates.
Not that the Five Martial Gates were any easier.
“What are you thinking about so deeply?”
Lost in old memories for a moment, Yong Hwarin smiled faintly and tucked the golden token into his robe.
“I’ll keep this.”
“Go ahead.”
Namwook left the room, looking a bit regretful.
With his thoughts shifting back to the Defiled Sect’s secret emissary, Yong Hwarin quickly forgot about the Chouhui golden token.
‘I can’t be sure if he still lives there. Still, I’ll have to go to the place where I first met him and make inquiries.’
But there was a problem.
The place where he had met the secret emissary and the Heavenly Central Sect were far apart.
That place was none other than the capital city of Henan—Zhengzhou.
He already worried about what the others might say if he told them they were heading to Zhengzhou.
‘How should I persuade them?’
Even aside from that, Yong Hwarin had another reason to go to Zhengzhou. The Weiji Clan was located there, and Ha Cheolryeong had stayed in that place for several months.
He thought he might be able to find a way to master the Tai Chi Profound Heavenly Sutra* there.
Whatever the reason, he had no choice but to go to Zhengzhou. But thinking of the three others made Yong Hwarin uneasy.
Even so, Yong Hwarin soon made up his mind.
Mo Biyoung let out a sigh of relief, thinking the Young Master had returned to his former self.
But she wasn’t sure whether she should be pleased about that.
The Two Wook Sword Demons might have been too blunt to notice, but Mo Biyoung, with a woman’s intuition, sensed that Yong Hwarin’s personality was continually changing.
Traits that couldn’t be confined to a single personality kept surfacing.
Still, Mo Biyoung remained silent, thinking it might be related to martial arts.
For now, he had become the same kind and courteous Young Master as before.
The cold and calculating demeanor he showed during battles or decisions was nowhere to be seen.
“I have something to say.”
Before departing, Yong Hwarin gathered the three of them.
“We’re not going to the main house. We’re heading to Zhengzhou instead.”
At that, Mo Biyoung immediately voiced her opposition.
“Zhengzhou is at least a month and a half away from here. Why are we going there? Young Master, you don’t know anyone there, and you’ve never even been.”
This time, Mo Biyoung felt they needed to return to the Heavenly Central Sect. They had crippled the Young Master of Azure Pine Sect, so they had to prepare for possible retaliation.
But the naive Young Master acted like he was on some leisurely trip and wanted to head to Zhengzhou, which frustrated her to no end.
“I have a reason. And it’s a very important one.”
Mo Biyoung retorted.
“How important? Is the main house going to war or something? We don’t even know how Azure Pine Sect will react, so we need to go back and prepare thoroughly.”
Yong Hwarin spoke firmly.
“The main sect could be annihilated for all we know. Azure Pine Sect won’t provoke us for the time being.”
“How can you be so sure?”
He couldn’t very well say it was because there wouldn’t be a war at the main house for another year, according to the future he remembered.
“Please, just follow me.”
“I cannot accept that. If you really must go, at least stop by the main house first. Then I won’t stop you.”
Doing that would require taking a detour, turning a month-and-a-half journey into three months.
And once they returned, there was no guarantee his parents would allow him to head back out to Zhengzhou.
“Then Master Mo, you can return. I’ll go alone.”
Mo Biyoung had expected the Young Master to yield at this point and sighed.
The indecisive Young Master she once knew was nowhere to be found.
“And if you truly consider me the Young Master of the Heavenly Central Sect, I ask you to trust and follow me.”
Right now, it wasn’t the young Yong Hwarin speaking, but the aura of a leader who had once commanded a merchant union of hundreds. His presence overwhelmed the three.
It was a charisma that could never have come from a mere boy.
‘I only saw him as a child, but the future of the main house is looking bright.’
Mo Biyoung accepted Yong Hwarin as the true Young Master and said,
“Understood. I’ve been too narrow-minded trying to protect you. From now on, I will follow your lead.”
Having treated him like a child for so long, she had developed a tendency to be overly protective.
But until now, it was Yong Hwarin who had protected them.
Perhaps he wasn’t just a promising talent, but a hidden dragon destined to gain great fame in the martial world.
The Two Wook Sword Demons also followed Mo Biyoung’s lead and respectfully saluted with clenched fists.
“Escort Namwook! I will follow the Young Master’s will.”
“Escort Jungwook! I will obey the Young Master’s words.”
Yong Hwarin felt deeply satisfied, thinking he had finally gained true followers.
It hadn’t been like this in his past life. Not a single person in the Heavenly Central Sect had been truly his.
Having been ill for so long, no one had been willing to follow the weak Young Master.
But now, he had gained three people of his own.
‘Yes. I will raise the main house above the Five Great Clans.’
Perhaps he would finally fulfill the dream he couldn’t in his past life.
*
After that, Yong Hwarin and his group set out for Zhengzhou.
However, since they needed to report their destination to the main house before leaving, Mo Biyoung sent a message hawk. Yong Hwarin approved it, knowing his parents would be worried.
His heart was already flying toward the Defiled Sect’s secret emissary and the Weiji Clan, but just two days later, something happened that caught them off guard.
Past Uihyeon, and after passing through another quiet county, they would arrive at Pungnyang County, known for its frequent winds.
Among the ten or so counties in the area, Pungnyang was the most developed.
Because of this, many security escort groups would stop by for rest during their transport missions.
It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that Pungnyang County survived thanks to the escort agencies.
It was a hub along the transport routes connecting Henan and Hebei, forming a marketplace for various agencies.
That was why many of the inns had names with characters related to escort agencies or escorts.
Namwook, after checking a few inns, reported back to Yong Hwarin.
“There are no vacancies in the inns at the center of town. We’ll have to move a bit further out.”