Episode 3: The Human Sword, Heard from Namgung Inhye.
At dawn the next day, Jang Ingeom began his day boiling water in a pot.
Today too was fated to be a day like yesterday. He would prepare three meals and wash dishes three times. Clearing the tables in between and cleaning the front and back courtyards, the day would pass in that manner.
But today could not be the same as yesterday. The female warriors of Phoenix Hall would chatter of different things and wear new expressions, and the clouds in the sky would not be the clouds seen yesterday. Above all, the meals Jang Ingeom prepared were different from yesterday’s.
He prepared a congee that warmed the body and aided digestion. When the preparation was finished, along with several side dishes to add flavor and nutrition, the reserve members of Phoenix Hall entered the dining hall.
As expected, Jin Sohyeon was the first to arrive.
She greeted Jang Ingeom with a bright smile, yet her expression was somehow awkward. During the meal, the laughter of Wang Sulyeon and the other members rang out loudly, but Jin Sohyeon’s voice was seldom heard.
It was indeed a today unlike yesterday.
After the members finished eating and left the dining hall, Jin Sohyeon did not forget to say she had eaten well. What had not changed from yesterday was Jang Ingeom’s calm smile.
After the members departed, Namgung Inhye, who had quietly returned, approached Jang Ingeom as he was about to clear the tables.
“Chef Jang, might I speak with you for a moment?”
“Of course, Member Namgung.”
Namgung Inhye sat quietly at the table, to the point that Jang Ingeom found himself thinking what a truly serene young lady she was, and then she opened her mouth.
“Last night, Sohyeon told me. That she saw clouds. She likely did not sleep a wink all night. Do you know what it means that Sohyeon saw clouds?”
“I believe I do.”
Namgung Inhye smiled a calm smile, just like Jang Ingeom.
“There is a story passed down like a legend in the Namgung family. It is said that among the ancestors from several generations past, there was one who stood on the verge of achieving grand mastery in the Boundless Azure Sky Sword yet could not overcome the wall for many years and suffered deeply. He sought the help of seniors who had already completed the Boundless Azure Sky Sword and exhausted every effort, but to no avail. Then one day, while teaching martial arts to a young child of the family, he suddenly broke through the wall. When the family head of that time heard this story, he instructed that child. And the family head also made great progress in the Imperial Sword Form, which had been troubling him. Later, the people of the family asked the head: How could a child provide the catalyst to overcome the wall of a transcendent martial art like the Imperial Sword Form?
The child was like a clear mirror. Because I thought of the Way of the Monarch, it showed me the Monarch. That is what the head said. Though people could not understand it.”
After a brief pause, Namgung Inhye looked at Jang Ingeom and spoke.
“I believe Chef Jang is also a clear person. You accept not only the meaning of things but also the principles of martial arts purely. That is why I think Sohyeon was able to see clouds in you.”
Jang Ingeom could offer no answer. If Namgung Inhye thought so, then it was likely true.
Perhaps because she had not expected a response, Namgung Inhye continued with what she had wanted to say.
“I hope you will continue to help Sohyeon. And if possible, the other reserve members as well. Because of me, everyone... I am so sorry toward them.”
At those unexpected words of unclear meaning, Jang Ingeom could not help but open his mouth to ask.
“Member Namgung, what do you mean that you feel sorry toward the other members?”
“In one month, there will be a promotion examination to ascend to Phoenix Hall’s main force. Because of me, the chances of advancing to the main force have greatly diminished.”
Namgung Inhye left the dining hall after leaving behind a cryptic request.
It was only after lunch ended that Jang Ingeom came to understand the situation Namgung Inhye had described. This time, Jin Sohyeon came to find him.
“Chef Jang. You spoke with Inhye unni this morning, right? What were you talking about?”
He wondered for a moment whether it was a conversation he should keep secret, but thinking it over, it did not seem to be.
“She said there is a promotion exam in one month, and she wished that I would help you and the others. And that she feels very sorry toward everyone else.”
Jin Sohyeon let out a sigh, as if she had expected as much. She looked deeply displeased.
“Inhye unni’s problem is that her heart is too soft. Even though no one holds any grievance against her, she torments herself with guilt like this...”
Jin Sohyeon’s explanation continued. Namgung Inhye was a distant niece of the current head of the Namgung family, Namgung Chu. Her father was Namgung Hwan, the head’s cousin, and was quite recognized within the family. However, the problem was that the head had a daughter named Namgung Seolhyeon, of the same age as Namgung Inhye, and this daughter looked upon Namgung Inhye as a thorn in her eye.
From a young age, Namgung Seolhyeon marked Namgung Inhye as a rival and subjected her to all manner of torment to prove her own superiority in every respect.
“But it was impossible for Namgung Seolhyeon to surpass Inhye unni. Inhye unni is truly a genius. Even the male disciples of the family were slower in their cultivation progress than her, so it was only natural that Namgung Seolhyeon—who spent more time chatting in the women’s quarters and researching makeup than training hard—would fall behind.”
The head’s precious daughter, lacking in skill, envied her talented second cousin; the result was obvious. She slandered Namgung Inhye with all manner of lies and fabricated shameful rumors to spread about her. Fearing harm might come to her parents, Namgung Inhye continually tried to avoid her, but Namgung Seolhyeon would not tolerate even the sight of Namgung Inhye fleeing before her.
A year ago, Namgung Seolhyeon joined the Martial Alliance, and as the direct blood relative of the great Namgung family head, she was easily assigned to Phoenix Hall. And by whatever scheming means, Namgung Inhye was also forced to join the Martial Alliance, and likewise to Phoenix Hall, but assigned to the reserves. It was all too obvious that this was Namgung Seolhyeon’s scheme to torment and humiliate Namgung Inhye at every turn.
The silently listening Jang Ingeom asked,
“Then why does Member Namgung feel sorry toward you and the others?”
“The Phoenix Hall holds examinations twice a year to decide whether the reserves will ascend to the main force. Five members from the main force and five from the reserves step forth to compete in martial contests to determine the winner. If the reserves win, all of them ascend to the main force, and an equal number from the main force must descend to the reserves.
We lost the last promotion exam. At a tied score of two to two, Inhye unni stepped out last. Those of us who knew her strength assumed victory was certain. But from the main force, Namgung Seolhyeon came out to face her.”
Jang Ingeom could guess what had occurred without needing to hear more. Namgung Inhye, not wishing to cause trouble with Namgung Seolhyeon, must have deliberately lost.
“After the contest, we reproached Inhye unni harshly. How could she lose to someone like Namgung Seolhyeon? I even cried. And we heard about the relationship between Namgung Seolhyeon and unni. Unni cried too.”
Jin Sohyeon’s expression was complex, a mixture of anger toward Namgung Seolhyeon and heartache for Namgung Inhye, as she continued.
“Inhye unni is included among the five who must compete in the match one month from now. The Phoenix Hall instructors have already made the selection, but I suspect Namgung Seolhyeon’s influence was at work. Since she is the precious daughter of the great Namgung family, the alliance instructors cannot help but be mindful of her. Thus, we are starting the five matches with one loss already. Because under no circumstances can Inhye unni win a martial contest against Namgung Seolhyeon.
The remaining four of us made a vow. We will win three matches. That way, Inhye unni will no longer need to feel sorry toward us.”
Jin Sohyeon left the dining hall, and Jang Ingeom wiped down the tables.
The tables were neatly cleared, but Jang Ingeom’s heart did not grow lighter. Having glimpsed a side of the world he had not known while living with his masters, he felt stifled.
Even if Jin Sohyeon and the others won three matches and ascended to the Phoenix Hall main force together, would Namgung Inhye’s problem be solved? It was a difficult question.
After finishing dinner and the day’s work, Jang Ingeom prepared tangchorijeok, a sweet-and-sour pork stir-fry. He remembered Jin Sohyeon saying she liked hongshao rou and yuxiang rousi, but those dishes were too heavy to eat as a snack. Thus, he chose the somewhat simpler tangchorijeok.
Just as the food was finished and a delicious aroma spread through the dining hall, sure enough, Jin Sohyeon appeared.
“Wow, what’s this delicious smell? This is tangchorijeok!”
After Jin Sohyeon entered first, Namgung Inhye and Wang Sulyeon followed, with Wang Sulyeon leading Ju Cheongcheong, whose eyes were half-closed, by the hand.
“Sohyeon bragged so much about how delicious the nurungji was that we came too. Is that alright, Chef Jang?”
He worried briefly that he had not made enough tangchorijeok, but Jang Ingeom welcomed them with a smile.
“Welcome, Member Wang, Member Namgung, and Member Joo. Oh dear, today it is not nurungji, so...”
After exchanging greetings, Jang Ingeom and the members headed to the back courtyard. Though they made the excuse that the nurungji was delicious, it was clear they had followed because they were curious about the training where Jin Sohyeon had seen the clouds.
Jang Ingeom took up the wooden practice sword Jin Sohyeon had brought and stood in the center of the courtyard.
Wang Sulyeon and the others huddled together on wooden chairs in one corner, while Jin Sohyeon held a plate of tangchorijeok—though it was doubtful she would be able to eat it properly today.
Surrounded by young women watching, he could not help but feel shy and burdened, but Jang Ingeom intended to set aside such embarrassment for the moment.
The cloud he would hold today would be different from yesterday’s cloud, so he hoped Jin Sohyeon would not grow attached. And he hoped Namgung Inhye would discard her guilt toward the members.
The sword forms numbered only nine, and the wooden sword was light, but what Jang Ingeom wished to contain was by no means light.
After lightly bowing his head in greeting to the watching members, Jang Ingeom’s wooden sword began to move. Under the gaze of four pairs of eyes, the Body-Protecting Nine Swords unfolded, repeated once, twice, thrice. In truth, the number of repetitions did not matter. To Jang Ingeom performing it, and to Jin Sohyeon and the others watching, it was simply a single flow.
“Unnies... do you see the clouds floating?”
Jin Sohyeon asked in a low voice, unable to take her eyes off Jang Ingeom. Though there was no answer, she had not truly expected one.
What Wang Sulyeon saw was the flowing pulse of the sword that severed the opponent’s flow and struck at their meridians.
What Namgung Inhye saw was not Jin Sohyeon’s cloud, but the vast firmament to which that cloud belonged.
What Ju Cheongcheong’s half-lidded eyes saw was not the sword, but Jang Ingeom’s endless, unbroken continuity.
Caught up in his own excitement, Jang Ingeom shouted to Jin Sohyeon as he performed the Body-Protecting Nine Swords.
“Since the Body-Protecting Nine Swords have become ingrained in my body, I shall now unfold together with it the sword dance I have learned.”
Between the nine movements Jin Sohyeon had taught him, Jang Ingeom’s sword dance began to blend in—at times like the dance of a shamaness performing a ritual, at times like the fierce movements of an entertainer.
As Jang Ingeom danced, the members gradually fell from a state of selflessness into a trance-like immersion. Ju Cheongcheong opened her eyes wide, while conversely Wang Sulyeon closed hers. Jin Sohyeon seemed to have dropped her plate, and the tangchorijeok rolled across the floor, but no one paid it any mind.
Though they had started together, in the end, each was immersed in their own training.
The moon shone bright, and the stars hid away. In any case, at this moment, there was no one worrying about Namgung Seolhyeon or the promotion examination.