Wudang Sacred Scriptures

In truth, Uncheon Zhenren was not merely someone with the bearing of an immortal. It would not have been wrong to call him an actual immortal.

After the One Sage and the Four Venerables, he was the person who had come closest to the Entrance-to-Divinity Realm.

That assessment was from decades ago. Could it be that he has already reached that realm?

Hu Gae, being far below that level himself, could not even begin to judge a realm like that, so he had no choice but to leave it as an unanswered question.

Moreover, Uncheon Zhenren was the sword of the Wudang Sect, one of the great pillars of the martial world.

The Sword of Wudang!

No matter how wild and unrestrained Hu Gae was, he could not help but feel cowed before the bearing of an immortal and the majesty of the Sword of Wudang.

“So, is Beggar Clan Leader Yongdu doing well?”

Only when the immortal(?) opened his mouth did Hu Gae finally relax.

“My master is so untroubled that it worries me.”

Uncheon Zhenren smiled faintly and nodded.

“That sounds like him. Beggar Clan Leader Yongdu is not the sort to worry even if the heavens were collapsing. And with such a dependable Hu Gae beneath him, I can well understand why he remains so at ease.”

Hu Gae’s face reddened slightly, even though he had not had a drop to drink.

“Thank you for thinking well of me, Zhenren, but for a mere beggar like me, I am ashamed to hear such words. My master is always saying I do nothing but cause trouble, and is forever debating whether he should untie the knot at my waist.”

Since his master was always saying he was unfit for the position of Sub-Branch Master, Hu Gae could say as much without hesitation.

“It seems Beggar Clan Leader Yongdu’s mischievous disposition remains unchanged.”

Uncheon Zhenren smiled and continued.

“More than ten years ago, in a letter asking after my well-being, he boasted that the Beggar Clan had picked up a remarkable talent. Seeing how he spoke of you there, I can believe it.”

Hu Gae flinched.

“That old... no, did my master really send a letter like that?”

Uncheon Zhenren nodded.

“Would this old man make up words that were never spoken?”

Hu Gae hurriedly lowered his head.

“Zhenren, forgive me.”

To throw out idle words like that at the Sword of Wudang himself—there could hardly be a greater act of disrespect.

“I absolutely did not mean it that way. It is only that my master is not the sort to ever do something like that, so I...”

“I am deeply envious of the ease between fellow disciples.”

Uncheon Zhenren laughed heartily and went on.

“In any case, Beggar Clan Leader Yongdu certainly did boast of Hu Gae in that way. So when I heard you happened to be here, how could I not meet you?”

Only then did Hu Gae realize the true reason Uncheon Zhenren had summoned Kwak Yeon and told the others to come as well.

That old man—if he’s going to write letters like that to other people, the least he could do is say one {N•o•v•e•l•i•g•h•t} warm word to me in person. Damn it!

Hu Gae, who suddenly felt embarrassed about always having his master’s name in his mouth as an insult, hurriedly changed the subject.

“Zhenren, in any case, I sincerely apologize for how harshly I treated the disciples of Wudang today.”

Even if it had been done with good intentions, he had humiliated several disciples of the Wudang Sect and beaten one first-generation disciple like a dog until he passed out.

It was only natural that he apologize to one of Wudang’s honored elders and ask forgiveness.

“I will also report to my master that I caused trouble again, and accept punishment according to Beggar Clan rules.”

Uncheon Zhenren, given his deep ties to Hu Gae’s master, probably would not rebuke him severely, but Hu Gae had still braced himself to hear at least some measure of reproach.

But Uncheon Zhenren only chuckled lightly and said,

“There is absolutely no need for that, Hu Gae. If it is this sort of trouble, then causing it another hundred times over would still be a good thing.”

When Uncheon Zhenren showed such leniency and did not utter even a single word of rebuke, Hu Gae felt even more ashamed.

“Zhenren, even so, I am sorry.”

“No. Rather, it is this old man who feels sorry. It is shameful, too.”

“......”

To say anything more would only put Uncheon Zhenren in an awkward position, so Hu Gae kept his mouth firmly shut.

Perhaps Uncheon Zhenren understood what was in Hu Gae’s heart, because he gave a satisfied smile and nodded a couple of times.

Then he turned his gaze and looked at Jin Cheongha.

“Swordswoman Jin, I have long heard of the virtuous name of Master Clear-Water Sword, your honored teacher, yet this old man has lived lazily in the mountains and never had the opportunity to meet him in person. On this journey, I would have liked to see him. Would you trouble yourself to arrange it?”

Jin Cheongha was startled.

She had never imagined that Uncheon Zhenren, the Sword of Wudang, would take an interest in her and even in her master.

She had only assumed she had been called along as an afterthought to a meeting meant for the Sub-Branch Master.

“Zhenren, for one of the younger generation, it would be an honor to obey. However, regrettably, my master did not attend this martial gathering.”

As the Sword of Wudang treated the Reed-Blossom Gate and her master with the utmost respect, Jin Cheongha felt a swelling pride in her chest, even though she was only a disguised disciple of the Reed-Blossom Gate.

At the same time, a natural reverence for Uncheon Zhenren arose in her, and her head lowered of its own accord.

“That is truly regrettable.”

Uncheon Zhenren studied Jin Cheongha’s appearance for a moment, then continued.

“Judging by Swordswoman Jin, it seems your honored teacher’s renown is not high merely in virtue.”

Jin Cheongha felt uneasy, as though Uncheon Zhenren had seen right through her, but she maintained her composure as best she could and replied,

“Zhenren thinks too highly of one of the younger generation. I hardly know what to do with myself.”

Fortunately, Uncheon Zhenren turned his gaze back to Hu Gae with a kindly smile, and only then was Jin Cheongha barely able to relax.

“Hu Gae, it seems this old man has detained his guests for too long.”

At Uncheon Zhenren’s gentle dismissal, Hu Gae respectfully bowed.

“Then the two of us will take our leave.”

Hu Gae and Jin Cheongha bowed to Uncheon Zhenren in turn and went out, leaving only Uncheon Zhenren and Kwak Yeon in the inner room.

Since it was proper martial etiquette to greet guests first, Kwak Yeon had stood quietly in a corner of the room the entire time, like a stone statue.

At last, Kwak Yeon stepped forward and offered a deep bow toward Uncheon Zhenren.

“Kwak Yeon, resident Taoist of Samryeong Palace, pays his respects to Martial Uncle Uncheon.”

Kwak Yeon’s voice trembled faintly.

It was not because Uncheon Zhenren was the Sword of Wudang, nor because he was an honored elder Kwak Yeon was meeting for the first time.

It was because of the deep-rooted fear he felt toward the honored elders of the Wudang Sect.

Aside from his master, Unseon Taoist, every Zhenren of the generation bearing the character Un had been an object of fear to the young Kwak Yeon.

He had grown older now, and his martial realm had risen high, but the terror engraved into his childhood heart remained unchanged.

He had watched Uncheon Zhenren treat Hu Gae and Jin Cheongha with the utmost kindness, yet that fear had not lessened in the slightest.

That was because he had already seen, many times over, how kind the honored elders of Wudang were to outsiders.

As Kwak Yeon now faced the moment that would determine how Uncheon Zhenren would treat him, even his heart began to tremble.

Of course, if Uncheon Zhenren intended to reprimand him or hold him responsible for anything, he had already decided he would simply refuse firmly by invoking his status as a secular disciple.

That was why, before the main force of the Wudang Sect arrived, he had rejected the sweet temptation to leave this guesthouse at once.

Kwak Yeon could not allow himself to be someone who deliberately avoided the Wudang Sect.

He had not committed any crime and returned to lay life because of it, and in this matter he did not feel the slightest bit of shame.

As a resident Taoist of Samryeong Palace, he had resolved that he would meet the main force of the Wudang Sect and boldly assert that he was one of their own.

Yet now that he was actually standing before Uncheon Zhenren, an honored elder of his sect, that deep-rooted fear crept up from within and tightened around his throat.

Kwak Yeon could not understand why even the age-old Honwonmusang Technique could not drive it away.

Then suddenly, he realized that it was because of his attachment.

If he did not have the attachment of wanting not to be cast aside by the Wudang Sect, then there would be no reason to fear the reproach of its honored elders.

And once he understood that, he also came to understand clearly where that attachment to the Wudang Sect had come from.

It was because he loved the Wudang Sect deeply.

He did not want to be abandoned by the Wudang Sect he loved.

After being abandoned by his family, the Wudang Sect had become his home, and the people of the Wudang Sect had become his family.

I had wandered far away, and now by chance I’ve met my family again. If I run because I dislike a few of them, then I’m giving up on being family.

Kwak Yeon finished his deep bow and remained standing there with his head lowered like a man awaiting judgment before a magistrate, yet his heart felt far lighter.

It was because he had gained the confidence that, whatever Uncheon Zhenren might say, he could simply let it pass over him.

Nothing is solved by clinging to it. As long as I continue to love it, Wudang will always be my home and my family.

HUMMMM!

Kwak Yeon could feel that the Honwonmusang Technique had burned away yet another layer of the curtain.

It was at that moment, when Kwak Yeon had just shed another layer of the stains of love and desire among the seven emotions and five defilements and was feeling lighter, that Uncheon Zhenren, who had been studying him closely, abruptly asked,

“When did you reach Peak’s End?”

Kwak Yeon flinched in surprise at the divine eye with which Uncheon Zhenren had seen through his realm in a single glance.

Peak’s End!

The realm of having climbed the summit and attained the utmost—the highest extreme of the Flower Realm.

The wall beyond that was the Entrance-to-Divinity Realm, a barrier that could only be crossed with heaven’s permission, which was why it was called entry into divinity. Thus, Peak’s End, the highest extreme of the Flower Realm, could rightly be called the highest realm a human being could reach.

Kwak Yeon had nothing to hide, so he answered calmly.

“I have only just come face-to-face with the wall.”

Kwak Yeon had thought he would not care whatever reaction Uncheon Zhenren showed.

He had already cast off his attachment, so there was no reason to be swayed by an elder’s words.

Yet that firm resolve of his collapsed in an instant at a single sentence from Uncheon Zhenren.

“Indeed... splendid!”

It was not because he had heard a word of praise—splendid—from Uncheon Zhenren, the Sword of Wudang.

It was because it sounded in exactly the same voice Head Disciple Hyeonhae had used when he told him he had suffered much, back when he emerged after forming his aura in the meditation chamber.

“Splendid! Truly splendid!”

How could two people possibly have the same voice?

It was because Uncheon Zhenren’s voice, like Hyeonhae Taoist’s, was filled with sincerity.

Merely from the fact that he had once again met an elder of Wudang who recognized him, it felt as though the hardships he had endured and the long, grueling moments of adversity he had lived through were melting away like snow.

For no reason at all, Kwak Yeon felt his eyes grow hot, and so he lowered the head he had only just managed to raise.