Chapter 361
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## Chapter 361. The Mirror and the Water
It seems that everything has an end.
After about an hour, the scattered thoughts that had been chasing him began to space out.
Over time, fewer and fewer thoughts appeared in his mind, until they finally disappeared.
Then, the moment of nothingness arrived.
It was similar to the state of “empty mind” (虛心, Heosim) taught in the True Classic of the Nine Heavens as One.
The Nine Heavens Energy (구천기), which had been submerged in his dantian, activated on its own and began to flow freely through the eight extraordinary meridians.
The Nine Heavens energy circulated through his body twelve times before returning to the dantian.
As he watched the flow of energy, Yeon Jeokha opened his eyes wide.
Suddenly, the “Mirror of the Mysterious Woman of the Nine Heavens” (구천현녀경), which had been in the warehouse of Waryong Manor, appeared before his eyes.
Even in the darkness, the mirror was clearly visible.
There was no doubt that it was the same mirror he had polished with such care during the winter, as he could see his swollen face reflected in it.
“Is it real?”
Hesitantly, Yeon Jeokha extended his hand towards the mirror.
The moment his fingers touched the surface of the mirror, he heard a splashing sound and his body flipped over.
It was as if he had fallen into the water, and he gasped for air.
Terrified, Yeon Jeokha screamed and flailed his arms and legs frantically.
“Aaaah!”
In the next instant, everything disappeared as if it had been a dream.
Yeon Jeokha stared fixedly at a point in front of him with a dazed expression.
The Mirror of the Mysterious Woman of the Nine Heavens slowly faded into the darkness until it disappeared completely.
“What was that? Did I fall asleep?”
He couldn’t think of another explanation.
It was hard to accept that what he had experienced was anything more than a dream during meditation.
“Damn it. I have to focus again…”
*Grrrrrr*.
His stomach rumbled, demanding food.
He didn’t understand why he was already hungry, if it had only been an hour.
Every time he tried to concentrate, the sound of his stomach ruined the atmosphere.
“Ugh! This is infuriating. How long has it been for this to be a problem?”
Once he lost his concentration, a fierce hunger invaded him.
“My stomach is a demon. I give up. I give up.”
Yeon Jeokha got up and shook the dust off his clothes.
His joints creaked noisily.
Without paying attention, he lifted one foot, but his knee trembled like a leaf.
“Damn it! Is this also part of the curse of the verbal enchantment?”
It seemed that his body had become a rag, as if the bad had gotten even worse.
As he walked outside, muttering complaints, Yeon Jeokha was surprised.
The Seven Masters of the Five Dragons (오룡칠사) were standing in a row, with the blood-red sun behind them.
Cheongbulno, one of the Seven Masters, stepped forward with a radiant smile.
“You’ve worked hard.”
“Not really. It’s what everyone does.”
Yeon Jeokha scratched his head awkwardly.
By the way, why had they brought the Six Masters of the Five Dragons (오룡육사) if it was supposed to be a secret?
Yeon Jeokha whispered to Cheongbulno:
“Master, why are the other Taoists here?”
Then, the Celestial Master (천명 도사), the leader of the Five Dragons Palace, answered on behalf of the Six Masters:
“Why? We heard that Cheongbulno’s designated disciple had entered the Cave of Darkness and stayed there for seven days without leaving. We came to congratulate you on becoming a member of the Wudang sect.”
“Seven days?”
Yeon Jeokha looked at Cheongbulno in disbelief.
It seemed like only a little over an hour had passed, but seven days? He didn’t understand what was going on.
Cheongbulno nodded.
“You came out after seven days. Your meditation lasted longer than expected, so I informed the Six Masters and we took turns guarding the entrance. I thought you would come out today, so I gathered them here. What did you see?”
The gazes of the Seven Masters focused on Yeon Jeokha.
They were curious to know what Yeon Jeokha had obtained in the Cave of Darkness, also known as the Cave of Deep Darkness (암흑동).
Hesitantly, Yeon Jeokha finally opened his mouth.
“A mirror.”
“A mirror?”
“A mirror!”
“Well, that’s peculiar.”
“A mirror for a meditation practitioner.”
“Maybe he saw that because he’s too concerned about his face?”
“Hum. What meaning will it have?”
The Six Masters made comments one by one.
Cheongbulno didn’t pay attention to their words.
If what he had seen after seven days of meditation was not something common, it must be significant.
“Did you see the ‘Mirror of the Mysterious Woman of the Nine Heavens’ that you spoke of before?”
“Yes.”
Upon mentioning the “Mirror of the Mysterious Woman of the Nine Heavens,” the Six Masters showed interest.
It was natural, as the Mysterious Woman of the Nine Heavens is a Taoist goddess.
“What is the ‘Mirror of the Mysterious Woman of the Nine Heavens’?”
Cheongbulno briefly answered the Celestial Master’s question:
“It is a mirror carved with the image of the Mysterious Woman of the Nine Heavens that my disciple found in his family’s warehouse when he was young. Thanks to that mirror, he overcame a great crisis, so for him it is like a ‘Protective God’ (부신, Busin).”
In Taoism, a “Protective God” refers to a deity that one prays to or trusts in.
Therefore, Cheongbulno was indirectly describing the relationship between Yeon Jeokha and the Mysterious Woman of the Nine Heavens.
Taoists have deities they trust and depend on especially.
So it was not strange that Yeon Jeokha’s “Protective God” was the Mysterious Woman of the Nine Heavens.
Cheongbulno’s explanation was timely, and with that, the Six Masters asked no further questions.
The Celestial Master, leader of the Five Dragons Palace, nodded in understanding.
“So, in short, Yeon Jeokha saw his ‘Protective God’. Encountering the ‘Protective God’ is an amazing achievement. Cheongbulno, you have found an exceptional disciple.”
With those words, the atmosphere of doubt transformed.
Saying simply “mirror” sounded strange, but calling it “Protective God” gave it a different meaning.
That his destiny was connected to his “Protective God” was something wonderful.
The Six Masters congratulated Cheongbulno and Yeon Jeokha before leaving.
Once they were gone, Cheongbulno asked:
“So, did you only see the mirror?”
“No. When I touched the mirror, my body suddenly flipped over and I fell into the water. I was struggling for a while, and when I regained consciousness, the mirror had disappeared.”
“A mirror and water. Hum! That’s peculiar.”
“I think I fell asleep and had a strange dream.”
“Hahaha! A strange dream, you say. It was seven days. If you had fallen asleep, you would have woken up in a day. If the Mirror of the Mysterious Woman of the Nine Heavens is your ‘Protective God’, the water must also have a meaning.”
“But, master, what exactly is a ‘Protective God’?”
“Tch! A practitioner who doesn’t know what a ‘Protective God’ is? This afternoon, go learn about talismans.”
“Yes, does it appear in talismans?”
“That’s right. Talismans are drawn following the Seven Methods of Talismans (符籌七法). Each one has a meaning: the heading (符首), the characters (符字), the diagrams (符圖), the ‘Protective God’ (符神), the oath (符誓), the core (符膽) and the base (符脚). Among them, the ‘Protective God’ refers to the deity that one prays to. I told the Six Masters that the Mysterious Woman of the Nine Heavens had protected you, referring to her as your ‘Protective God’. Don’t you fully trust the Mysterious Woman of the Nine Heavens?”
“Yes, that’s true.”
Yeon Jeokha nodded.
Other deities seemed like abstract concepts to him, as he had never met them.
But the Mysterious Woman of the Nine Heavens was different.
He had lived with the Mirror of the Mysterious Woman of the Nine Heavens for ten years in the warehouse, so it had become a pillar of support.
For him, the Mysterious Woman of the Nine Heavens was closer than his own parents.
“Jeokha.”
“Yes.”
“Water also symbolizes the boundary between this world and the afterlife. The Yellow River (黃道天) or the River of Three Paths (三川) are examples of that. That you fell into the water could be related to that.”
“Does it mean I’m going to die?”
“Fool! When did I say you would die? I said that water is the boundary between this world and the afterlife. You must understand things clearly, not confuse them. Why are you talking nonsense when I speak to you clearly?”
Faced with his master’s scolding, Yeon Jeokha scratched his head awkwardly.
“Someday you will be at that boundary.”
“Then, what should I do?”
“What else? Boundaries are made to be crossed. Trust your ‘Protective God’ and move forward. That is your destiny.”
“Yes. But, master, talking nonsense is making me hungry.”
Realizing Yeon Jeokha’s state, Cheongbulno was alarmed.
“Ay! This old fool. Come on, quickly. If we go now, we’ll be in time for dinner.”
“Yes!”
Cheongbulno and Yeon Jeokha left the forest, one after the other.
When the Five Dragons Palace appeared in the distance, Yeon Jeokha asked:
“By the way, master, do the practitioners of the Pavilion of the Eight Immortals know that I went to the Cave of Darkness?”
“They don’t know.”
“Ah, so they don’t know that I’m your disciple either?”
“That’s right. Only the Six Masters know that you are my designated disciple.”
“Will you keep this a secret?”
“Why? Are you worried about the practitioners of the Pavilion of the Eight Immortals?”
“Yes.”
“You lived well among the rough men of Nokrim, why are you worried about the practitioners?”
Cheongbulno didn’t understand Yeon Jeokha’s shyness.
Among the most feared bandits, Yeon Jeokha’s name was at the top.
And now he was worried about the opinion of some simple practitioners?
“Honestly, I don’t know much about the classics or the mystical arts. If they find out that I’m your disciple, they’ll think I bought my position. They’ll just make me look bad.”
Yeon Jeokha’s words made sense, so Cheongbulno listened in silence.
“That’s why I’d rather only the Six Masters know.”
“If that’s what you want, I’ll do it that way.”
Cheongbulno readily agreed.
His only desire was to properly transmit the “Law of the Word” (언법, Eonbeop) to his disciple before ascending as an immortal.
The rest would be handled by the Six Masters.
“But you’ve been absent for seven days, so the practitioners will be curious. What will you tell them?”
“What if I tell them that I went down the mountain for a while to treat my face and then came back?”
“Do whatever you want.”
Thus, the excuse for the seven days he spent in the Cave of Darkness was completed.
As he walked clutching his aching stomach, Yeon Jeokha glanced at Cheongbulno.
“What’s wrong?”
“I don’t know if I can ask this.”
“Tell me.”
“You always tell me that ‘words are important, so you shouldn’t lie’. But now you tell me to do whatever I want, so I’m a little confused.”
“It’s because I haven’t transmitted the ‘Law of the Word’ to you yet. Once you receive it, you must be aware of the weight of your words. It is essential to practice the ‘Law of the Word’.”
“Ah, I see. So that ‘Law of the Word’ is more complicated than I thought?”
“That’s why it’s a treasure of the legacy. Although it is difficult to practice, its power is superior to spells or talismans, so don’t neglect it.”
“Yes, yes.”
Yeon Jeokha replied enthusiastically.
Without thinking deeply about how far removed that was from his daily life.
***
Five Dragons Palace.
Southern Pavilion of the Pavilion of the Eight Immortals.
After dinner, when he entered his lodging, the practitioners looked at him sideways.
Master Yuun, in charge of the pavilion, said nothing, as if he had received instructions from the Celestial Master.
However, the reaction of the practitioners of the Southern Pavilion was different.
They seemed uncomfortable, as if they were thinking: “We were so happy he left, why did he come back?”
For them, Yeon Jeokha was like a fish that muddied the waters of the Southern Pavilion.
In the Pavilion of the Eight Immortals, everyone knew about his “horrible sores” and his “dirty dealings with money,” so it was understandable.
Even so, some people approached him to talk.
They were Man Hwangju and Cheon Sangdong.
“Younger brother, we haven’t seen you in days. Did something happen?”
“You look thinner. Did you get lost in Namamgung and wander around? Is that right?”
Yeon Jeokha, who was about to open the *Classic of the Jade Emperor* (玉皇經), laughed and shrugged.
The serious practitioners looked at him as if he were a freak, but these two showed interest.
Even though he openly rejected them, they kept approaching him. He didn’t understand why.
‘Mysterious Woman of the Nine Heavens, is it that I’m like shit that attracts flies?’