Yeon Ryang seemed to find this situation amusing, because he looked at me with a sly smile.
“Oh dear. I’m sure this isn’t the picture our little sister drew in her head. What will you do now?”
“Wait a moment, Brother. Let me think.”
Think. Think...
Damn it, what was I supposed to think about?
How had Namgung Hwi found the cave with the Empty Stone Milk here? I was beyond envious of that guy’s luck. At this point, it was annoying.
After worrying for a while, I pulled out my trump card.
“Fine, Cane! You look for it!”
“Grrrk.”
“You’re a spirit creature, aren’t you? Have you never seen Empty Stone Milk? Do you smell anything similar anywhere? Do you sense anything?”
“Krrk!”
Cane flicked its tail in disgust, as if asking what kind of nonsense I was spouting. Its attitude said, Did I promise to find spiritual medicine for you?
“Our furball doesn’t know how to do things like that. It only knows how to eat meat.”
Yeon Ryang picked up Cane, which was expressing dissatisfaction with its whole body, and chuckled. As he kneaded Cane’s soft belly, he said,
“Give up and let’s go, little sister. We can’t find this.”
“Don’t be like that. Let’s just search for half a day. We might get lucky and find it.”
“Empty Stone Milk is a spiritual medicine formed only in caves where the harmony of yin and yang is perfect. It takes hundreds of years of dissolving the energy of heaven, earth, and all things before a single drop might form. How are we supposed to find that one drop in a place this wide?”
“That’s exactly why we need it. It’s a spiritual medicine with perfect harmony of yin and yang, so it can restore your internal energy without affecting you badly.”
Namgung Hwi found it in practically every cave he went to and drank it like water. It was definitely somewhere around here.
“If that’s what you want, little sister.”
Yeon Ryang waved a hand as if telling me to do as I pleased. His face showed no expectation whatsoever.
We carefully searched the deep caves for a long time while making sure not to run into any Namgung Clan martial artists, but the Empty Stone Milk was nowhere to be seen.
As I stamped my feet in frustration, my eyes suddenly flashed wide.
Wait. It only formed in caves where the harmony of yin and yang was perfect?
“Sohae. Where are you going? I told you we can’t wander around Tianzhu Mountain recklessly.”
“Brother, do you remember that cave we passed earlier with the lake inside?”
“The cave where sunlight came in from the ceiling and trees were growing?”
“Yeah! There! The one that looked like a mountain spirit might pop out! I feel like there’s something there. It just feels right. Wind passes through it well, there’s water, and there are plants, so it’s harmonious. Couldn’t that be a cave where yin and yang are in balance?”
“I don’t know. That sounds forced...”
Yeon Ryang scratched his head and tilted it, but started following me.
I retraced our path through the caves, which were connected like an anthill, and searched for the lake.
And then I found it.
“Brother! There! Look over there!”
From the tip of a large stalactite, shining in the sunlight reflected off the lake, a milky-white liquid was dripping.
A shout of joy burst out of me on its own.
“We found it! We found it!”
After checking where my fingertip was pointing, Yeon Ryang narrowed his eyes. His face was blank with shock.
“Huh? It really is there? We found Empty Stone Milk this easily? That’s bewildering...”
“Brother, now isn’t the time to be bewildered. It’s time to drink it and circulate your energy. Hurry up and get it.”
I grinned and pushed Yeon Ryang forward.
*****
“See? Brother. What did I tell you? I said it would be here, didn’t I?”
“Yes, yes. Well done. Our little sister is the best.”
Yeon Ryang looked pleased as he patted his stomach.
He had every reason to be. He had gained such a great achievement while circulating his energy that his body had risen into the air, so of course he would be excited.
His aura had clearly changed, enough that I felt proud just looking at him.
“But why aren’t you drinking any, Sohae? Even one drop would change the amount of internal energy you have.”
“I’m saving it.”
“Why not drink it now? Your brother will stand guard for you.”
“I’ll ask you later, Brother. Not now.”
Yeon Ryang looked puzzled, but since I said so, he did not ask further.
It was not as though I was not tempted by spiritual medicine. I wanted to increase my internal energy right away too.
The reason I did not was to prepare for emergencies.
Medicine did not work on my body, so when I was injured, I needed a spiritual medicine that could let me absorb spiritual energy.
I had no desire to eat just any spiritual medicine without knowing better and suffer qi deviation again like last time.
With Empty Stone Milk, it should not tangle my qi and blood, so I could reduce the risks.
It felt awkward to explain all those circumstances to Yeon Ryang, so I only fidgeted with the bottle containing the Empty Stone Milk.
This is my lifeline. My lifeline.
After obtaining the Empty Stone Milk and restoring Yeon Ryang’s body to excellent condition, we headed straight for Lu’an.
A small village we stopped by on the way to Lu’an was peaceful.
It seemed the autumn harvest was in full swing, because the sound of rice being threshed came from all directions, and the village children were gathered under persimmon trees, picking fruit.
Women with cloths wrapped around their heads threshed without rest.
From one house came a rich, savory smell, as though rice cakes were being steamed.
We leisurely walked through the countryside scenery.
“Wow, it’s quiet.”
“It is. A village like this probably doesn’t even have sword fights.”
“There shouldn’t be sword fights, little sister. That’s a frightening thing to say. You’ve become a complete wandering martial artist.”
Yeon Ryang let out an incredulous laugh as if wondering what I was talking about.
Just then, words I could not ignore lodged in my ears.
“I’m telling you, there’s a strange cave in the lake.”
“Wasn’t it a pit, not a cave?”
“Was it a pit? My memory’s hazy.”
“Jo saw it. They say when the full moon rose, the water drained away and a deep pit appeared, and from below it came the wailing of ghosts.”
I turned my head in surprise and saw farmers sitting by the river, drinking rice wine.
A cave whose entrance appeared when the full moon rose? Wasn’t that the Ghost-Hand Divine Therapist’s secret cave?
When I stopped dead, Yeon Ryang looked back at me as if asking what was wrong.
“Little sister. What is it?”
“Shh. Be quiet.”
I brought a finger to my lips and focused on the farmers’ conversation.
“You mean the lake to the east? That lake has something ominous about it, so everyone avoids it. Didn’t someone kill himself there?”
“Did Jo go down into it?”
“He said his knees went weak and he ran right away. Apparently the pit was terribly deep. They said it wasn’t a height a person could climb down.”
“Let’s stay away from that area. Keep a close watch on the children too. It would be terrible if one of them fell in.”
I quietly approached and handed over a coin as I asked,
“Excuse me, elders. Could I hear more about that story?”
*****
After buying plenty of food in the village, we camped near the lake until the fifteenth day.
There was no inn, and the village was the kind of place where the locals became curious about outsiders, so we had no choice.
If we had stayed in the village, every child in the area would have followed us around.
At last, when the fifteenth day arrived, we circled the lake, waiting for the full moon to rise.
They said the entrance to the secret cave was west of the lake... Why can’t I see it?
“Brother. Do you see anything?”
“I’m not sure. I only see water.”
“That’s strange. There should be somewhere the water drains...”
I strained my eyes and searched the surroundings, but the lake remained perfectly calm. Yeon Ryang, who had been following behind me, tapped a rock with the tip of his foot.
“Sohae. This rock is strange.”
“What’s strange about it?”
“We’ll know if I cut it.”
Yeon Ryang drew his sword with a ring and struck the rock. The hard stone split cleanly in two as if it were tofu.
When he pushed the cut rock aside with his foot, a hole large enough for three or four people to enter appeared.
“It’s incredibly deep.”
“It looks that way.”
Judging by the sharp sound of the wind, it seemed at least a hundred feet deep. I pushed a small chip of stone into the hole.
“...There’s no sound.”
“Hmm. Wait a little longer.”
“There still isn’t a sound.”
...Tak.
Only after quite a while did the small stone chip reach the floor.
“Wow. It’s really deep...”
I clicked my tongue. Judging by the circumstances, this had to be the entrance, but I could not bring myself to go down.
If it were only about thirty feet, I could have managed somehow with a breakfall, but this depth was impossible.
Would tying a rope around my waist and lowering myself down be better?
As I wondered how we could descend into the cave, Yeon Ryang tapped me.
“Let’s just jump.”
“Jump? Here?”
“Yeah. You said the entrance fills with water after the full moon passes, right? In a place like this, we can’t waste time. If we’re careless, we might go in and be unable to get out.”
“But it’s too deep. If we jump from here, our legs will break.”
“Don’t worry. They won’t break.”
Yeon Ryang smiled slyly and yanked my arm. Then he jumped into the hole.
Huh?
Huhhh?
The sensation of plunging down a cliff made me scream.
“Kyyyuuuuuk!”
“Aaaaaaah! Yeon Ryang, you crazy bastard!”
“That’s no way to talk to your brother!”
Yeon Ryang chuckled and drove his sword into the wall.
Kiiiiiiik!
Sparks flew from the stone wall where the blade was embedded, and a chilling sound rang out.
Clinging to Yeon Ryang’s shoulder, I screamed at the top of my lungs.
“Brother, you’re insane! Who jumps down from this height?!”
“Thrilling, isn’t it?”
“When are we going to stop falling?! Aaaaah!”
The stones shaved away by Yeon Ryang’s sword crashed down to the floor below.
Dust rose like a cloud and obscured my vision.
Just as I began worrying that we might die like this, our speed slowed, and both feet touched the ground.
I pulled away from Yeon Ryang and clutched my pounding chest.
“Ughhh, do you have two lives, Brother? Cane. Are you okay?”
“Kiiiiii...”
“What about the sword? Isn’t the edge all ruined?”
“It’s a sword made of meteoric iron. It should be able to endure this much.”
After answering, Yeon Ryang lightly shook the stone dust off his sword and slid it back into its sheath.
Unlike me, who was exhausted, Yeon Ryang was full of energy.
He looked around, then licked his lips with interest.
Dozens of night-shining pearls the size of a child’s fist were embedded in the ceiling of the cave connected to the pit.
“Wow... This isn’t an ordinary secret cave.”
Yeon Ryang rubbed his chin, then strode forward along the direction where the night-shining pearls were embedded. I followed closely behind him and whispered,
“Is it okay for us to go in? Brother, I feel nervous.”
I had come in because my eyes had flipped at the words secret cave, but the eerie atmosphere suddenly frightened me.
Namgung Hwi had entered after the Ghost-Hand Divine Therapist died, but we had not.
What if the Ghost-Hand Divine Therapist was still alive with his eyes wide open and caught us wandering around without permission?
“What can we do when we’re already inside? Let’s at least take a look at what a secret cave of one of the Ten Supremes of the Martial World is like.”
“You were so careful at Tianzhu Mountain.”
“There are many Namgung bastards, and only one Ghost-Hand Divine Therapist. This is probably somewhere he visits only occasionally, so would we really run into him?”
Yeon Ryang spoke lazily, lacing his fingers behind his head. He seemed certain there was no way we would encounter the Ghost-Hand Divine Therapist.
Just then, Cane jumped down from inside my clothes and began trotting off somewhere.
“Cane, where are you going?”
“Kii!”
After answering loudly, it looked back at me.
“I think it’s telling us to follow.”
“Brother. You really can understand Cane, can’t you?”
“That face obviously says, Follow me. Let’s go.”
Yeon Ryang smiled faintly and pushed my back. We began walking after Cane.
It led us to the deepest part of the cave, then stopped before a large stone door.
A strange energy leaked through the gap in the open door.
“Sohae. It seems there’s an art placed here.”
“I know. There must be something important inside.”
As I answered and placed my hand on the stone door, I heard a familiar way of speaking.
“...Is that you, Hwayeon?”
I raised my head and opened my mouth wide in bewilderment.
Grandfather?
Standing before my eyes was the grown-up Tang Jung—no, Tang Jung in his youth.
