ch39
[Better Than the Inspection]
Geum Byeok-san swallowed a groan and put down the Restoration Record. He had already checked it more than ten times. Yet, the wonder of it remained.
'There's no need to measure.'
It was because he stood before the True Body of the Old Sand Buddha.
They said a first-rate merchant could discern the length of silk with a mere glance and weigh items with one hand, without using scales. Geum Byeok-san had reached such a level.
Therefore, he could compare the original and the Restoration Record with just his eyes.
Geum Byeok-san's eyes fluttered as he faced the Old Sand Buddha once more.
No matter how many times he looked, there wasn't a single error.
It meant she had accurately measured a Buddha statue several dozen times her size, even during its creation.
One would need to possess the Heavenly Eye that sees through the world to believe such a feat.
"...Truly divine."
They said there was no such thing as perfection in the world. The saying arose because even round jade beads had hidden flaws somewhere.
If even a palm-sized bead was like that, it was absurd to say that the Old Sand Buddha, which exceeded five chapters, was perfect. It had to be. But…
"This, this isn't human ability."
The merchants who had volunteered to measure all swallowed hard. Reverence? No, at this point, it felt like they were facing an incomprehensible realm beyond that.
Seo-yeon had restored the Old Sand Buddha to its original state. She had reversed hundreds of years of time, returning it to its complete form.
It was a restoration, so she did just that. If it had been a creation, Seo-yeon would have created a masterpiece beyond comparison.
As evidence of this, an endless geometric Mandala unfolded in the stone cave behind the Old Sand Buddha.
The Mandala, which bloomed from the head of the Old Sand Buddha, spread its roots in all directions, using the entire stone cave as its soil.
Even in the dark evening, the patterns were clear. It felt like being alone in the middle of the Milky Way.
"Hah, hah..."
Many were so overwhelmed that they forgot to breathe. Some tilted their heads back to gauge the end of the Mandala and fell while staggering backward.
The endlessly continuing patterns were balanced. Even a merchant who knew nothing could see that. Even when one side of the field of vision was covered, it was still symmetrical.
If the right eye was covered, the remaining half was balanced vertically, and even when divided in half again, it was still symmetrical.
As one's gaze shifted to the end of the Mandala, it naturally returned to the center where the Old Sand Buddha was erected.
"...Truly, a celestial being descended and departed."
Geum Byeok-san spat out the words as if vomiting. There was nowhere to place his gaze, because the Mandala was rooted on the floor as well.
The Mandala drawn on the ceiling, walls, and floor formed a perfect circle.
The infinity, agony, and reincarnation that Buddhism often spoke of.
All of those things circulated in the Mandala and created an Arhat in the center where the Old Sand Buddha was, meaning transcendence.
"...What's certain is that this will become a sanctuary for Buddhists."
It was Wol Jungcheon. As an Azure Wood Clan member who had lived for a very long time, he had seen many dynasties rise and fall.
He had personally seen many famous ruins and treasures. Among them were objects said to contain the souls of artisans. There were even swords that exuded energy as if they were alive.
But this was incomparable.
Alive? No, that wasn't enough to express it.
The Nature Essence, a mixture of earth and metal energy, constantly leaked out from the gaps in the Mandala. It was replacing a small ley line in itself.
It was originally a propitious site. With the touch of a divine hand, a small ley line had bloomed.
'The Mountain Spirits will go crazy if they see this.'
Just as the Azure Wood Clan were called the Ear Clan by those who didn't know any better, the Mountain Spirits were called the Dwarf Clan by those who didn't know any better. It was a name given because they were said to be clumsy and short.
The race itself were artisans who treated most precious objects like stones, but they would think differently if they saw this. No, he was certain they would change their minds. Mountain Spirits had always been crazy about ley lines.
It was said that high-quality minerals came out in abundance. That was also why they lived deep in the mountains.
Wol Jungcheon turned his gaze back to the book on the desk. It was called the Soaring Kite Heaven Art.
Rustle.
Buyun stared at Wol Jungcheon with wide eyes. It was originally a precious object that should not be shown to just anyone, but he did so because the other party was a loyal subject who had worked for a long time during the reign of the Taehwang Emperor.
'This must never be spread to the world.'
They said that a crow-tit would tear its legs trying to chase a stork. This was the same. It was a perfect item for those who didn't know any better to follow recklessly and waste their entire lives in vain.
'It must be presented to Beijing.'
Loyang had the Old Sand Buddha, and Shaolin also possessed the Three Lifetimes Buddha, so it was only right to send something up to Beijing as well. Rather, doing so would prevent unnecessary arrows of jealousy from being shot at Seo-yeon.
Those without discernment would be jealous, but those who were not would be careful themselves. Seo-yeon had also given him this precious object, aiming for that.
It was several times more effective than warning with force. At least, Buyun thought so.
Soon, Wol Jungcheon finished reading the Soaring Kite Heaven Art. With each page he turned, he put down the Azure Wood Clan's unique aloofness and admired it, and before he knew it, he was letting out a complete sigh.
"Ah..."
Wol Jungcheon slowly opened his mouth.
"Were they truly human?"
"I heard from the third that she is an extremely beautiful woman."
"That can't be. That can't be..."
Geum Byeok-san spoke respectfully to Wol Jungcheon. He was an elder who had been connected to his great-grandfather's generation.
Wol Jungcheon repeatedly read the Soaring Kite Heaven Art.
"There's a possibility that she has blood mixed with the old ancestors. It's not a martial art that can be built up with human years. It's impossible even if she's a heaven-sent martial arts prodigy. It's impossible..."
Wol Jungcheon staggered. Unusually, he looked exhausted. He moved his lips for a long time.
Geum Byeok-san looked at Wol Jungcheon and turned his head towards Buyun, who was standing next to him. Buyun had a troubled face in a different sense.
Sensing his gaze, Buyun said.
"...I don't know if it's really right to make the Old Sand Buddha public to the people."
"That's why she entrusted it to you before leaving."
Buyun let out a deep sigh. In any religion, Beijing was always wary of its power growing. It was no different in any country. The imperial family treated Taoism and Buddhism because they protected the people from external pressure and prevented strife, not because they truly served them.
What if they blocked access?
There was no way of knowing how Seo-yeon would react.
The three of them sighed repeatedly, unusually.
Seo-yeon, the person who caused a huge stir in Loyang, moved leisurely with Hwa-ryeon. Fortunately, she no longer had to walk barefoot. The Loyang Buyun had allowed her to use the post station.
Originally, the right to appoint officials was the unique authority of the Emperor, but the Buyun could grant honorary positions. It wasn't difficult to add a post station pass to that.
'Hmm.'
Even though she had saddled the horse and was moving at a speed almost similar to walking, something was uncomfortable. It wasn't because Hwa-ryeon was riding behind her.
The riding comfort was different from Baek-ho's. She always missed this when riding a horse.
But what could she do? If she rode such a tiger around in broad daylight, the government office would be in an uproar right away.
She grew so fast, eating who knows what, that she was now at a level where she could fill the main road alone, so she couldn't do that even more.
'I should stop by Seoseo.'
In the first place, she had to go through Seoseo to get to Sichuan. Seo-yeon was planning to travel around the Martial World on this occasion. She was planning to go to Sichuan via Seoseo, then down to Yunnan, and then make a round of the entire Central Plains.
The materials that could be obtained varied from county to county, so she was planning to do sculptures each time and complete the Soaring Kite Heaven Art.
Not only that, but she also had to complete a separate book containing the movements when sculpting, so there was a lot to do during the trip.
She didn't seem to need to earn money separately. Geum Byeok-san and Buyun literally gave her all sorts of things.
Even just being a Commissioner was only an honorary position in name, but she was a craftsman guaranteed by the Loyang Buyun, so it was enough to be treated well wherever she went.
If she went to a suitable government office and presented her identity card, there would be many people who would tremble at the name of the Buyun and offer her food.
'Good, good.'
Seo-yeon thought she had done well to restore the Old Sand Buddha. She had a prejudice that high-ranking officials all had bulging bellies and only loafed around, but that prejudice disappeared completely as a result of this incident.
'There are more decent people in the orthodox factions than I thought.'
At this point, she even wanted to visit the famous sects in martial arts novels. Soon, Seo-yeon recalled what she had heard from the beggars she had met at the inn before.
'They said that the Hwasan(mount hua) Sect and the Jongnam(Southern Edge) Sect were going to fight in Seoseo.'
It didn't mean they were actually fighting. How could orthodox factions, especially Taoist sects that had made a name for themselves in the world, fight for private reasons?
It meant that they were holding a martial arts competition, each putting forward their outstanding junior disciples.
That alone would be a good spectacle.
Not only that, but Seoseo had Chang'an, a city larger than Loyang. As the second largest city in the Central Plains, it was said that all kinds of people flocked there. Because the starting point of the trade route to the Western Regions was also located here, it was said that she could easily encounter people from the Western Regions.
Just as there were materials that only came from the East, there were also materials that only came from the West. Precious materials such as lapis lazuli, ruby, jade, coral, and glass were like that.
Seo-yeon rode her horse for ten days and reached Seoseo. She hadn't shown Hwa-ryeon the Soaring Kite Heaven Art during that time. She was planning to show it to her when it was completed.
She couldn't ride a horse in the crowded city center, so she left her horse at a nearby post station and moved her feet.
Before long, she arrived at a splendid street. It was still the entrance to Chang'an, but it was like that. Even if she turned her head a little, it was full of people wearing swords.
A unique point was that there were a lot of people who looked like Taoists. It was probably due to the influence of the various branch halls set up by the Hwasan Sect and the Jongnam Sect.
Not only that, but Mount Mubong of Hobuk was not far away. It was said that a branch hall of the Mubong Sect was also established. If they had built it in another city, they would have been criticized for invading the territory, but it seemed that they couldn't do that because Chang'an was such a big city.
'Indeed, there are a lot of people.'
It was then. A big commotion broke out next to her. When she looked to see what was going on, there were male and female Taoists lined up in an orderly manner.
There were five of them, and they were not hesitant to break through the crowd. It was because the surrounding pedestrians were clearing the way.
The plum blossom embroidery on their martial arts uniforms was particularly noticeable, and she could tell that they were Taoists from the Hwasan(mount hua) Sect.
Among them, a particularly young-looking girl caught her eye, and she looked like a rookie who had just entered the Martial World after passing the age of learning.
Soon, the pedestrians who saw the girl's face shouted.
"It's the Little Sword Queen!"
It was really unexpected that a young girl already had a nickname. But Seo-yeon thought that it was possible because nicknames were sometimes given purely because of appearance. Seo-yeon was well aware that there was a Sword Queen in Hwasan.
'Little Sword Queen, that sounds plausible.'
Of course, she wouldn't be called the Little Sword Queen simply because she was small. Naturally, she would have the martial arts skills to match the name.
But she couldn't shake the thought that her small stature had somehow influenced her nickname.
It was then. The Little Sword Queen's eyes turned towards this side, and she suddenly ran over.
It was truly instantaneous. It didn't seem like she had moved her feet a few times, but she had already arrived in front of Seo-yeon.
"I heard that you inherited the Sword Queen's progress!"
"Indeed, it's a mysterious Light Body Technique!"
The Little Sword Queen didn't care about the shouts of the surrounding pedestrians.
She looked back and forth between Seo-yeon and Hwa-ryeon, who was standing next to her holding hands, and then squatted down in the direction of Hwa-ryeon.
Then, she suddenly reached out her hand and tried to stroke Hwa-ryeon's head.
Thwack!
That would have happened if Seo-yeon hadn't unconsciously grabbed the Little Sword Queen's wrist and sent it to the side.
"..."
Silence flowed from all directions for a moment. The Little Sword Queen, who had her wrist grabbed, and Seo-yeon were both flustered and frozen in that position.
That was the case until the man who seemed to be the oldest among the Hwasan Sect Taoists standing behind her hurriedly intervened.
"I'm sorry. My senior sister sometimes acts like this. I apologize on her behalf."
Seo-yeon blinked her eyes. She didn't understand the words. Senior sister? Isn't that a word attached to the female disciple with the highest seniority?
Seo-yeon asked without realizing it.
"How old are you?"
"..."
The Little Sword Queen couldn't answer. Instead, her ears turned red. That was enough.