Chapter 24
In order for the Wudang Sect to operate, various miscellaneous tasks must be done.
For example, there is assisting in the operation of the dining hall.
Of course, there are Martial Uncles who specialize in cooking in the dining hall, and some senior brothers are chosen to go to the dining hall to learn how to cook, but it is obvious that there is not enough manpower for them to do miscellaneous tasks such as moving the food ingredients delivered to the entrance of the Wudang Sect to the dining hall, or distributing the food.
Therefore, the disciples of the Yuyeop Hall take turns doing miscellaneous tasks by room.
And besides assisting in the operation of the dining hall, there are also tasks such as guarding the warehouse where various daily necessities are stored, or guarding the various entrances to the Wudang Sect.
"Haaam— I have to skip today's training because of this."
I, too, as a disciple of the Wudang Sect belonging to the Yuyeop Hall, do many of these tasks, and the job I'm doing today is guarding the Shangqing Gate. In short, it means being a gatekeeper.
Currently, there are three gates in the Wudang Sect.
The Yuqing (Primordial Heaven Supreme) Gate, where the disciples of our Wudang martial hall and martial artists come and go.
The Shangqing (Numinous Treasure Heaven Supreme) Gate, where Taoists who do not know martial arts and common people come and go.
The Taiqing (Grand Pure Heaven Supreme) Gate, where the spirits of the immortals and the ascended deities are said to come and go.
The first Yuqing Gate is guarded not by those belonging to the Yuyeop Hall like us, but by Taoists of the second generation or higher who have officially worn the Taoist hat.
Since it is a gate where martial artists come and go, it seems that Martial Uncles with strong martial arts guard it because they don't know what might happen.
And the second is this Shangqing Gate that I am guarding now.
Most of the people who come here do not know martial arts, so all I have to do is have them write in the guest book and guide them on their way in.
That's why they have us Yuyeop Hall disciples guard it.
Then, one might wonder what the last Taiqing Gate is.
"I should have gone to the Taiqing Gate."
The Yuyeop Hall disciples also go and guard the Taiqing Gate, but since it is a gate where the immortals are said to come and go, there is nothing to do.
There are even senior brothers who stand in front of it and kill time, or even lean against the gate and doze off.
That's why there are even senior brothers who think that being chosen for the task of guarding the Taiqing Gate is a break time.
"Well... not many people pass through the Shangqing Gate either."
Still, the job of guarding the Shangqing Gate is a very easy one.
In the first place, Mount Wudang is a mountain with rugged terrain, and the Wudang Sect is located at least halfway up.
Therefore, there are very few believers who come to the Wudang Sect by climbing this high mountain.
"No, young lady! Don't you think the atmosphere here has changed a lot?"
But at that moment, two women entered the Shangqing Gate.
Seeing that they were both wearing clothes made of high-quality silk, they seemed to be from a prestigious family.
And, from the way one treated the other, the relationship between the two was master and servant.
"Look at the baby Taoists. Unlike before, don't they all have amazing bodies?"
I can hear the words of the woman who seems to be the servant from here.
It seems she was talking about the other senior brothers she saw as she passed the gate.
'She has pretty good eyes.'
I feel a little good at those words.
Because it meant that my training was effective even in the eyes of an outsider.
The senior brothers who trained with me had their bodies improve dramatically in a short period of time by using their muscles to their limits.
And the growth of muscles means that strength and endurance have grown together.
As their stamina improved, they could train longer than before, and as they trained longer, their achievements improved. As their achievements improved, they trusted me more and trained...
Such a pleasant virtuous cycle was taking place.
"Hello, Taoist-nim. I came to listen to the sermon of Okhangjin-in-nim today. May I enter?"
While I was thinking, the two women came right up to me and greeted me.
Seeing the polite manners that made me think they were well-educated at home, they really seem to be from a prestigious family.
'But, I feel like I've seen this young lady somewhere before...'
The face of the master of the two is particularly familiar.
The original owner of the body, Unhwi, couldn't have known her, so it must be someone I knew in my past life, but I couldn't remember right away.
"Yes. You can write in the guest book here and enter."
So I secretly turned my gaze and stole a glance at the name of the woman who was writing in the guest book.
'Zhuge... Ling? No, the Jade Flying Fan Zhuge Ling!'
I was so surprised that I ended up staring at her face.
The Jade Flying Fan Zhuge Ling was a female master from the Zhuge family who occupied one of the ten great master positions in the Central Plains.
The surprising fact is that she didn't learn martial arts until she was twenty-two, and then she started learning martial arts at the age of twenty-six and became a peerless master in just ten years, a peerless genius!
And she was also a martial artist who was the first to clash with the main force of the Demonic Cult when they invaded and died a heroic death.
The story that she died screaming, 'If only I had known how to learn martial arts three years earlier!' when she was defeated and killed by a Demonic Cult executive was a rumor that shook the martial world at that time.
And along with that news, the reason why she couldn't learn martial arts until a late age also spread.
'They said the position of her internal organs was the complete opposite of ordinary people.'
For ordinary people, the heart is on the left and the liver is on the right.
But, Zhuge Ling strangely had her heart on the right and her liver on the left.
The position of her stomach and spleen was also on the opposite side.
'They said that as the position of the internal organs changed, the position of the qi and blood was also exactly the opposite. But she tried to learn internal energy with the same internal technique as ordinary people... it's a miracle she didn't fall into qi deviation.'
I heard that she had tried everything to learn martial arts before she found out this fact, but I didn't know she had even gone to the Wudang Sect to listen to sermons.
"Is there something on my face by any chance?"
"Ah! No. There isn't. You can go in now. Ah! You said you came to see Martial Granduncle Okhang, right? You can go straight up this way."
I had been staring at her for too long without thinking.
I feel my face getting hot with embarrassment.
"I think this is the first time I've seen you, disciple. Are you a disciple of the Yuyeop Hall?"
"Yes. I am Unhwi, a third-generation disciple of the Wudang Sect."
"Nice to meet you. I'm Zhuge Ling of the Zhuge family. Thank you for guiding me. I'll be on my way up now."
She gave me a small smile and then went up the path.
I secretly turned my eyes, wondering what to do if she misunderstood in a strange way.
"......!"
At that very moment, my eyes met with Zhuge Ling, who had turned around.
I hurriedly turned my head, but the voice of the servant entered my ears.
"Young lady. What did I say? I told you that baby Taoist-nim over there fell in love with you at first sight."
"Liu Shan! Please be quiet. He is a Taoist."
"Is there a law that says Taoists can't fall in love? Hohoho."
It seems I've already been strangely misunderstood.
***
After Zhuge Ling and Liu Shan went up to Martial Granduncle Okhang's residence, my mind was filled with thoughts of her.
It's definitely not that I fell in love with her like the servant named Liu Shan said.
Although my body is small now, my mind is already that of an uncle close to forty.
No matter how pretty Zhuge Ling is, there's no way I would lose my heart to a little kid who hasn't even reached the age of majority.
'How should I tell Zhuge Ling that she has a peculiar constitution?'
This is my dilemma.
Thinking about it now, I might be able to proudly put my name on the list of geniuses in my past life, but Zhuge Ling is a real genius.
It's amazing that she became so strong in just ten years of learning martial arts, but the age she started learning martial arts was twenty-six.
Generally, when you become an adult, your achievements are much slower than when you start learning martial arts as a child.
Because the bone structure is already fixed, and the qi and blood become stiff.
'That means I can't even predict how strong Zhuge Ling will become if she starts learning martial arts early.'
Now is exactly ten years before she originally learned martial arts.
If Zhuge Ling learns martial arts ten years earlier, the orthodox sect will gain a force equivalent to a thousand troops and ten thousand horses in the future.
'Should I just go and tell her straight out?'
I shook my head as I pondered alone.
If a stranger suddenly comes up and says that since the position of her five viscera and six bowels is the opposite, the position of her acupoints is also the opposite, so she should operate her internal technique backwards, I would be treated as a madman.
Because telling a normal person to operate their internal technique backwards is the same as telling them to die from qi deviation.
'Hmm... how did Zhuge Ling originally find out that the position of her acupoints was the opposite?'
As I recalled for a moment, the memory soon came back.
At the age of twenty-six.
She, who couldn't learn martial arts no matter how hard she tried until then, eventually promised to marry the second son of the Jinju Un family head, and Zhuge Ling, who would rather die than get married, had operated her internal technique backwards with the intention of really dying.
In the end, the action she took to die saved her, and she, who had even canceled her marriage, properly walked the path of martial arts.
'After that, she was literally on a roll.'
Some might wonder why the doctors or masters who had examined her body didn't realize this fact.
But, they all couldn't even suspect it because they had never imagined that such a case could exist.
Although the heart is usually on the left, that is actually a kind of prejudice.
If you look closely at the human body, the heart is actually closer to the center than on the left, so you can't tell just by the shape being flipped.
And in the case of the liver, stomach, and spleen, you can only know their position by seeing them directly, but you can't cut open a living person's stomach, so there's no way to know.
'She was a martial artist who was the complete opposite of me. Her family, and the path she walked.'
I had run into her a few times in my past life too.
Although her face was quite different from now, as if she couldn't beat the twenty years of time.
Still, I want to help. For the sake of our connection in our past lives and for the future of the orthodox sect.
'So how should I tell her... no, maybe...!'
Something flashed through my mind as I was pondering for a long time.
In the future, Zhuge Ling's heart will be as hard as iron, to the point where she will be called the Iron Flying Fan instead of her nickname, the Jade Flying Fan, but for now, she is a sixteen-year-old kid.
I had a thought that perhaps telling her the truth would work best, rather than using tricks.
"Then I have to get out of here first."
No matter how much it's a place where those who don't know martial arts come and go, I can't just leave the entrance of Wudang and move.
As I was looking around, turning my head, I saw someone loitering.
"Un Chi!"
"What? You're using informal language again?"
"Senior Brother Un Chi! What are you doing here?"
"I was just passing by. I'm definitely not trying to skip training..."
Anyone could see that he was loitering because training was hard, but for now, I decided to let it slide.
"Senior Brother!"
"Ah! No, I'm really not! Don't hit me!"
"I won't hit you, so come here for a second."
"Why? Are you going to hit me if I get close?"
"If I was going to hit you, I would have chased you and hit you. Why would I bother telling you to wait here?"
When I answered with a frown, Un Chi flinched.
"That's... true. But why are you telling me to come closer?"
"Alright, alright. Hurry up and stand here."
When he stood in front of me, even while being wary of me.
Tadadada—
I stepped on the footwork and moved far away from him.
"Unhwi! What are you doing...!"
"Please take care of the Shangqing Gate for a little while! I have a place to go to quickly!"
"What did you say?!"
Un Chi shouted something, but I was already running at full speed towards Martial Granduncle Okhang's residence, so I soon couldn't hear his voice.
"It shouldn't have started yet."
Once Martial Granduncle Okhang's sermon starts, it doesn't end for at least an hour.
I can't wait that long, so I have to catch up to her before it starts.
Whoosh!
As I unfolded my footwork at full speed, a sharp wind brushed my cheek.
Perhaps because it was the first time I had run at full speed in a long time? It felt refreshing rather than painful.
And soon, I saw the figures of the two women.
Thud—
I landed right behind them, and perhaps because they heard the sound? Zhuge Ling and Liu Shan turned around.
"Hoo. Hey... Young Lady Zhuge. Can I talk to you for a moment?"
At my words, Zhuge Ling had a flustered face, but on the contrary, Liu Shan's face broke into a wide grin.
She definitely whispered quietly, but I heard it clearly.
"Young lady! See. What did I say? I told you I was right, didn't I?"
"Liu Shan. Please be quiet."
She pushed away the excited Liu Shan and opened her mouth.
"Taoist-nim. Do you have some business with me?"
"I just need to talk to you for a really short time. If possible... just the two of us."
"Oh my! Young lady! This Liu Shan has dreamed of such a day. Taoist-nim over there! I support your courage. I'll go up first, so take your time talking and come up! Hohoho!"
Liu Shan suddenly got extremely excited and even unfolded her footwork, running up to Martial Granduncle Okhang's residence, and only she and I were left here.
"Th-The thing you wanted to talk about, what is it?"
Zhuge Ling's face is a little red.
It seems she has misunderstood completely, but I can't miss this opportunity that was created with difficulty.
I looked around to check if there was anyone watching us, and then took a step closer to her and said, "Young lady. I have received a revelation from the Primordial Heaven Supreme."
(End of Chapter)