Chapter 346
Episode 346: “Brother, Speak to Me Freely”
At nine in the morning, after finishing breakfast, Yeon Jeokha was strolling around when the sound of a bell reached his ears.
Immediately, the Taoists and disciples began to move in a single direction. Filled with curiosity, he decided to follow them and arrived at Oryonggung.
“Ah, that must be the sound announcing the start of the conference.”
To pass the mundapsik, attending the conferences was essential.
Quietly blending in with the crowd, Yeon Jeokha entered Oryonggung. The spacious interior was packed with men and women practitioners from the eight pavilions, along with resident Taoists, leaving barely any space to move.
Shortly after, an elderly Taoist stepped up to the podium. “Lü Dongbin said that the immortals and sages of old transmitted their teachings from mouth to mouth. Today, I want to share Lü’s teachings with all of you…”
Without further ado, the Taoist Gojuk began to speak about the doctrines of “The Way of Great Purity and the Golden Flame.” “Lü Dongbin said: ‘Heaven and Earth see humans as fleeting creatures, but the great principle views even Heaven and Earth as mere bubbles. Only the primordial spirit, which exists before birth, transcends time and space. It is our true essence.’ This primordial spirit is our true form, so we must diligently cultivate it…”
Gojuk’s lecture lasted almost an hour.
Yeon Jeokha, sitting cross-legged, began to feel restless. Concepts like yin, yang, spirit, and infinity fluttered in his head, making him dizzy.
For someone like him, who had led a disorderly life outside the norm, the conferences were a genuine torment. He closed his eyes, wishing for it to end quickly.
“… Just as the dung beetle converts dung into a perfect sphere and generates light from within, humans can also create something new by infusing their spirit. If a simple insect can achieve this, how could we not?”
Suddenly, Gojuk halted his speech, his face showing slight irritation.
“What’s that sound…?”
“Snrk… zzz…”
It was unmistakable: someone was snoring.
“Who dares to snore during the conference at Oryonggung?”
Never before, in the entire history of the place, had a disciple dared to do something so disrespectful.
With a stern face, Gojuk raised a finger and pointed towards a spot in the crowd.
Everyone present quickly turned their heads to look. There was Yeon Jeokha, hunched over, seemingly asleep, with soft snores escaping his mouth.
A nearby Taoist finally nudged him with his elbow. “Pst!”
Startled, Yeon Jeokha wiped the corner of his lips and opened his eyes. “Did the conference end already?”
Still disoriented, he began to blink and stretch, only to realize the icy atmosphere surrounding him.
“Damn!”
The Taoists of Oryonggung were glaring at him with furious eyes. In such a situation, the best option was to pretend he had been in deep meditation.
Putting on a serious expression, he nodded slowly, as if he had just understood a great truth.
But that act of shamelessness only further enraged Gojuk, a principled man.
“You snore during my lecture and now pretend everything is fine?”
“Who are you?” Gojuk asked, his voice heavy with impatience.
“Me?” Yeon Jeokha replied with a question, confused.
Gojuk gritted his teeth but held back. “Yes, you. Who are you?”
“I am Yeon Dubi.”
“By your clothes, you seem to be a practitioner. Am I correct?”
“Yes, I am from Haseongo.”
Upon hearing this, Gojuk’s expression softened a bit. Practitioners from Haseongo were novices just beginning their training.
“Very well, Yeon Dubi from Haseongo. I assume you know what time of day it is, right?”
“The conference?”
“Exactly. The conferences at Oryonggung are revered even by the most renowned Taoists in the world. They may seem difficult to understand at first, but if you attend diligently, your ears will open over time.”
“Yes, understood.”
Yeon Jeokha replied respectfully, relieved he wasn’t reprimanded for falling asleep.
From that moment, he made an effort to stay alert, paying full attention to Gojuk’s speech.
The conference ended at noon.
As the practitioners and Taoists streamed out of Oryonggung, Yeon Jeokha walked slowly, reflecting.
Suddenly, Lee Doju, the strongest man from Haseongo, approached him. “Yeon Dubi.”
“Yes, what’s up?”
“Please don’t embarrass the practitioners of Haseongo.”
The direct criticism left him speechless.
Though Lee Doju wasn’t wrong, his words left Yeon Jeokha with a bitter taste.
“If this happens again, for the honor of Haseongo, I won’t stand idly by.”
Lee Doju’s tone was a clear warning.
Something in Yeon Jeokha broke upon hearing those words.
“Honor of Haseongo? What honor can a group have that didn’t even bother to greet me upon my arrival?”
Taking a deep breath, he replied: “Brother Lee.”
Lee Doju turned, irritated. “Don’t call me brother. I’m not your brother.”
With a frosty gaze, he channeled his energy, making the air around him chill.
But far from being intimidated, Yeon Jeokha observed him calmly. “Impressive internal energy, worthy of a true master. But what good is it here?”
With a slight smile, he continued: “So, Lee, let me ask you something. When I arrived at Haseongo, you didn’t even look at me, did you? If you ignored me from the start, why do you now care so much about the honor of this place? What kind of ‘honor’ can a group of practitioners have that calls this place ‘a refuge of mediocrity’?”
Yeon Jeokha’s words were like daggers, direct and precise.
For a moment, Lee Doju remained silent, calming his energy. Finally, he said: “It seems this conversation will take time. Let’s move to a quieter place.”
Lee Doju’s words sounded like a threat, but for Yeon Jeokha, that was just what he expected. He nodded without hesitation.
“Perfect, let’s go. If we can’t resolve it with words, we’ll do it with fists. I don’t know the way, so lead.”
Lee Doju smiled bitterly as he turned away. “There are always fools who need to check if it’s dung or soybean paste before believing it.”
They descended together from Oryonggung to an isolated valley, walking for about fifteen minutes. When they arrived, Lee Doju stopped and turned to Yeon Jeokha.
“Yeon Dubi, I have nothing personal against you. But I cannot tolerate being disrespected or tarnishing the reputation of the practitioners of Haseongo. Today, I will teach you a lesson…”
As he began to speak like a hero of a righteous sect, Yeon Jeokha frowned, tired of the long introductions.
“Cut the nonsense and finish quickly. Come at me already!”
The provocation worked, and Lee Doju charged like lightning, roaring.
The sound of his fists slicing through the air was so fast it resembled the buzzing of a hornet’s nest, but Yeon Jeokha dodged the blows with the agility of an eel.
“Wow, there’s no talent in Haseongo. Is this what they call the best fighter? Now I understand why they say we’re a bunch of mediocrities. Tch, what a pity!”
Yeon Jeokha dodged the attacks while mocking his opponent.
Lee Doju’s frustration grew, and his face turned red. He changed his strategy, replacing his punches with the art of Myeonjang (Soft Palm), a Wudang technique. His movements were as graceful as a butterfly’s wings, but at critical moments, his attacks were sharp like a bee’s sting.
Despite the technical excellence, the blows failed to touch Yeon Jeokha.
Finally, bored with the game, Yeon Jeokha waved his hand.
*Slap!*
An instant later, a blinding flash passed in front of Lee Doju, and he fell to the ground.
When he regained his senses, Lee Doju quickly got up and saw Yeon Jeokha standing a few meters away, gazing south toward Wudang with an unusually profound look.
“Is this the same man who seemed so clumsy at Oryonggung and Haseongo? It’s like he’s a different person.”
Lee Doju took a deep breath and calmly admitted: “I lost.”
Upon hearing this, Yeon Jeokha turned to him and asked: “Brother, do you have any connection to Wudang?”
He had detected the characteristic fluidity of Wudang in Lee Doju’s movements.
As expected, the response came without delay. “I am an external disciple of Wudang, trained in Taehwagung.”
“An external disciple? Then why are you at Haseongo?”
Though he had won the fight, Yeon Jeokha began to speak respectfully. He knew he had initiated the conflict and felt uncomfortable about it.
Understanding the change in attitude, Lee Doju explained calmly: “I learned martial arts from a master at Taehwagung, but as you can see, my skills are not impressive. That’s why I decided to return and learn the methods of Oryonggung.”
“Why not learn directly from your master at Taehwagung?”
“The methods of Oryonggung are the best. At Taehwagung, the masters are similar to those at Sangcheonggung, more inclined toward the martial path. There aren’t many experts in spiritual methods.”
Yeon Jeokha approached with a friendly smile. “Understood, brother. Speak more freely, as I am also from Haseongo.”
Upon hearing this, Lee Doju chuckled lightly. “Alright. By the way, you have impressive skills. Why do you want to learn the methods of Oryonggung?”
“Well, like many others here, I want to be prepared against the techniques of the Yoomyung Cult.”
“Ah, I see. It seems everyone here has the same idea.”
“Yes, it seems so.”
Lee Doju let out a bitter smile and murmured: “If I had known this, I would have joined Oryonggung from the start. By now, I would probably be working for some Murim faction.”
He had trained hard in martial arts in his youth, but now, in his thirties, he was back as another apprentice. It was a depressing thought.
Yeon Jeokha sighed. “Well, at least you have experience. I came here after leading an unkempt life, and I feel like I don’t fit in.”
The contrast between life in Nokrim and Wudang was like day and night. Even though he had only been there for a day, Yeon Jeokha already felt exhausted, as if years had passed.
“It must be tough. Even I find it challenging, so for someone like you, it must be much worse. But don’t give up. If you persevere, things will improve.”
“Thank you, brother. I apologize for today. I was upset because no one greeted me at Haseongo, but now I understand things better.”
Lee Doju sighed. “The people of Haseongo avoided you because you were with guys like Man Hwangju and Cheon Sangdong.”
“Guys like them?”
After a moment of hesitation, Lee Doju decided to speak openly. “If you want to pass the mundapsik, it would be better to distance yourself from Man Hwangju and Cheon Sangdong.”
“Why?”
“They do not follow the right path. As you heard in the conference, the methods of Wudang are based on the Dao. But those people are not interested in enlightenment; they see the methods as mere tools, like a sword or a palm. They would even deceive their masters to learn. But do you think the masters here wouldn’t notice?”
“Do you think the masters know?”
“With just a single response, they can tell if someone has reached enlightenment or is just playing with words. What those guys don’t understand is that in mundapsik, there are no correct answers. Two people can say the same thing and achieve completely different results.”
“There are no correct answers?”
“You’ll understand in time by attending the conferences.”
“But I didn’t understand anything today…”
“The world wasn’t made in a day. You’ve only been here for a day. If you keep reciting the scriptures and attending the conferences, you will eventually understand.”
His words were a gesture of encouragement, though deep down, Lee Doju didn’t believe Yeon Dubi would succeed in passing the mundapsik.
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