Wudang Sacred Scriptures

Grand Scholar Seol Junghyu covered the Go stone container with his palm and said,
“Nosa, I’ve lost this match.”
Danmok Seong responded with a regretful expression,
“Since the guests can’t be kept waiting forever, it was the Grand Scholar who yielded—let’s call the final round a draw.”
“No. Clearly, in this match, Nosa had seized the advantage.”
“Heh heh heh!”
Danmok Seong let out a hearty laugh and said,
“What need is there to force a result in a game like this? Leaving it unfinished allows one to savor it again and again.”
He rose from his seat.
“There must be something to discuss privately with Daoist Kwak, so this old man will excuse himself first.”
Grand Scholar Seol Junghyu promptly rose and gave a formal bow.
“Elder Danmok, I offer my deepest gratitude for all your efforts.”
“Heh, compared to the efforts the Grand Scholar has made, mine are but a drop in the ocean. In any case, I hope your wishes come true. Judging from the peaceful look on Daoist Kwak’s face, that seems likely. If you should ever need to call upon my house, feel free to invoke my name as your friend.”
The word friend moved Seol Junghyu deeply.
“Your words alone are thanks enough. I pray for peace in your daily life as well, Nosa.”
“I haven’t forgotten your sincere counsel, Grand Scholar.”
After finishing his farewell with Seol Junghyu, Danmok Seong turned to Kwak Yeon, who stood at the edge of the study.
“Daoist Kwak, I’ll see you back at the inn.”
Danmok Seong’s gaze toward Kwak Yeon was full of anticipation.
‘Let’s settle it through martial contest now.’
Kwak Yeon, having no reason to delay further, nodded without hesitation.
“Elder Danmok, I’ll see you shortly.”
“Good! Good!”
Pleased, Danmok Seong turned to Ju Yeoryeong and said,
“Lady Ju, come with this old man.”
“...Why, with me?”
“Perhaps because of my age, my sense of direction has grown a little dim.”
An utterly unbelievable excuse for someone of his level.
Ju Yeoryeong realized that Seol Junghyu and Kwak Yeon needed to speak in private and nodded.
“Understood.”
Once Ju Yeoryeong followed Danmok Seong out, Kwak Yeon took out a sealed letter.
“This is the reply from the Head of the Sangwan Clan. I had personal matters to take care of, so I was a little late.”
“I see. Did you finish what needed finishing?”
“Yes.”
After reading the Sangwan Clan Head’s letter, Grand Scholar Seol Junghyu turned to Kwak Yeon and said,
“Daoist Kwak, truly—thank you. It must have been a most difficult errand...”
“I gained much from it, so think nothing of it.”
With an expression of deep emotion, Seol Junghyu looked at Kwak Yeon and said,
“The guard post where a hundred soldiers will be stationed is being established, and the Sangwan Clan has pledged to set up a branch office here in Sangjeon Village. We needn’t worry about our village anymore. It’s all thanks to you.”
“I simply did what needed to be done.”
After a brief pause, Seol Junghyu added,
“There’s something I must confess to you regarding the Supreme Patriarch. He asked me to make sure you came by.”
At the unexpected mention of the Supreme Patriarch, Kwak Yeon’s ears perked up.
“I told you before that I once received guidance from the Supreme Patriarch, did I not? That wasn’t a coincidence.”
“......”
“Back then, the palace was wary that his opening of a martial school below Wudang Mountain had ulterior motives. So they invited him under the pretense of a lecture, intending to interrogate him.”
“...!”
“But the Supreme Patriarch already knew. And even so, he came to the palace alone. His dignity shamed the entire court.”
Seol Junghyu gave a bitter smile before continuing.
“Anyway, during that lecture, which was a veiled interrogation, he said that he opened the school to lower the walls of Wudang.”
At the mention of the martial school, Kwak Yeon listened more closely.
“He said that the ones who truly harass the common people are the riffraff pretending to be martial artists—true martial cultivators do not harm the innocent. So he opened the school to train outer disciples and send them across the land to assist those in need.”
Kwak Yeon now clearly understood the origin of the school below Wudang Mountain.
“The school wasn’t like it is now. It used to be lively, bustling.”
There was a reason why Elder Jang of the kitchen always reminisced about the old days.
‘The policy changed after the Supreme Patriarch left the mountain, and that’s why the school became rigid.’
It wasn’t just the school. The whole of Wudang Mountain was gradually losing its spiritual essence.
There were elders who tried to correct it. But just as Master Hyeonhae had once lamented, “Our sect is drifting ever further from the true Way,” the overall current of Wudang was flowing toward the secular.
This was yet another reason to find the Supreme Patriarch.
To reverse Wudang’s decline, his return was desperately needed.
****
After bidding farewell to Grand Scholar Seol Junghyu, Kwak Yeon returned to the inn—and sensed something was wrong.
In a corner of the dining hall, Ju Yeoryeong was sitting alone with a vacant expression.
“What’s the matter?”
“...!”
Startled, Ju Yeoryeong looked up at him.
Uncharacteristically speechless for someone so sharp-tongued, she prompted Kwak Yeon to ask again.
“Where is Elder Danmok?”
Ju Yeoryeong’s expression darkened rapidly.
“...The old monster—no, Elder Danmok—left.”
“Left? So suddenly? For what reason?”
“Well... that is... the young lord of the Danmok Clan has been kidnapped.”
It was almost too absurd to believe.
“Lady Ju, explain what happened. Slowly.”
“Elder Danmok came back to the inn and said he’d have a light meal. So I went upstairs to call the young lord. But he wasn’t there... and a letter was left on the table.”
“The letter—was it from those who took him?”
“...Yes.”
“And you brought that letter to Elder Danmok, and then he immediately left to pursue them?”
“...That’s right.”
Hearing her voice shrink with every word, Kwak Yeon let out a quiet sigh and said,
“Tell me the truth.”
“...I am telling the truth.”
Kwak Yeon nodded.
“I misspoke. Tell me everything you know.”
“......”
For some reason, Ju Yeoryeong hesitated and couldn’t speak.
Growing impatient, Kwak Yeon said,
“Then I’ll ask, one thing at a time.”
“......”
“Why did you go to the young lord’s room?”
“That... Elder Danmok asked me to.”
When Kwak Yeon gave her a steady look, Ju Yeoryeong spoke with a subdued expression.
“Fine, I volunteered. The young lord got slightly injured during a scuffle with some Black Path thugs because of me. I felt guilty, and I wanted to check how he was doing.”
“You’re telling me the young lord of a noble clan got injured by mere thugs?”
“They ambushed him in a cowardly way.”
“And you—what were you doing at the time? Don’t tell me you just stood by and watched?”
Ju Yeoryeong turned pale.
“Why?”
“Because... my sect has certain circumstances.”
“...?”
Kwak Yeon didn’t understand, but knowing Ju Yeoryeong’s sect was an unusual one, he moved on.
“Did you read the letter?”
“......”
“What did it say?”
“...It said only this: Hengshan, Lotus Valley.”
“That’s all? Just five characters?”
“...Yes.”
Kwak Yeon stared at Ju Yeoryeong’s trembling eyes before asking abruptly,
“What grudge does your grandmother bear toward Elder Danmok?”
Ju Yeoryeong’s body stiffened.
“...How did you know?”
“You didn’t call him ‘old monster’ for nothing. Probably because someone in your sect told you to.”
“......”
“The young lord of Danmok is a top-tier rising talent from a noble house. Even if injured, he wouldn’t be kidnapped so easily. So whoever did it is a formidable master. And most of all...”
“...?”
“You were speaking with your face. There’s no way you didn’t recognize the handwriting. You just referred to the writer as that person.”
Ju Yeoryeong lowered her head.
“I... I wasn’t trying to hide anything. I was just so shocked... I didn’t know what to do...”
“Lady Ju, stand up.”
“...?”
“You want to rescue the young lord, don’t you?”
“But...”
“We’ll figure it out as we go. Let’s move.”
As Kwak Yeon stood and spoke, he added,
“Excuses like ‘a needle follows the thread’ are for times like this.”
****
Hengshan, Hunan Province – Lotus Valley.
Amid ~Nоvеl𝕚ght~ a wide plain, there was a lotus pond in full bloom.
The collapsed foundation stones around it showed that this was no naturally formed pond.
Scattered among the overgrown weeds and shrubs were remnants of pillar bases.
There had clearly once been a large estate here.
On a small hill overlooking the clearing where the estate once stood, there was a small ancestral shrine.
The plaque above its worn and crumbling door read Shrine of the Hong Family.
It was strange enough that an entire family shrine bore the surname alone, but even more unsettling were the five characters written beneath the plaque:
“Those who enter shall be slain.” (入者終追殺)
Truly chilling words.
—Whirr!
At dusk, a white-haired old man appeared before the shrine.
He was covered in sweat and dust—it was Danmok Seong.
At the foot of the Hong family shrine, his face collapsed into sorrow.
“Huuu...”
Letting out a devastated sigh, he called out toward the shrine interior.
“Hong... sister, Danmok Seong has come.”
A sharp voice rang from within.
“Hmph! How dare you call me ‘sister’ with that deceitful tongue!”
“I was wrong. I... didn’t know what else to call you...”
“Anything but ‘sister Hong’ is fine.”
“Understood. I won’t call you that again—please calm your anger.”
—Clunk!
The shrine door opened, and an old woman stepped out.
She had white hair and wore white martial robes. Her hands and neck were wrinkled like chicken feet, but her face alone was youthful and smooth.
If not for that incongruity, she’d have looked like a ghost rising from the shrine.
At the sight of her, a flicker of joy crossed Danmok Seong’s devastated face—only to vanish immediately.
“...Lady Hong, it’s been a long time.”
The white-haired, red-cheeked old woman replied coldly,
“Your false sincerity hasn’t changed. But honestly, we’re not the kind of people who greet each other warmly.”
“I was always sincere with you.”
“Shut that deceitful mouth! Do you not know where you are?”
“How could I not?”
Danmok Seong’s face paled as he looked out over the desolate ruins of the estate.
“Open your eyes and take a good look.”
The woman’s voice was sharp as she went on.
“This is what your filthy betrayal created.”