Ten Paths of the Master - Chapter 27

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 27. The Butterfly Dream
After lunch, Dan Yeop returned to the Fabric Shop and threw himself into soliciting customers.
Yet a man as naturally withdrawn as he was hardly stood a chance of drawing anyone inside.
In the end, he was doing exactly what Yang Bok had said—nothing at all.
Still, Yang Bok didn’t call him in from the street.
‘That face is all he needs.’
He believed Dan Yeop’s handsome features would draw customers on their own.
Just today, Yang Bok had watched passersby glance at Dan Yeop and the shop more than a few times.
If even one of them stepped inside, hiring Dan Yeop would be worth it.
‘A laborer at two hundred cash a month—that’s practically stealing.’
Besides, Dan Yeop could do the soliciting too.
Yang Bok waited like a fisherman for his catch to bite.
As the sun set, Yang Bok locked up the shop.
“Dan Yeop, where did you say you live?”
“Boseon Bang.”
“In about two hours, the gates to Po Si Bang will close. So finish your business and head straight home to Boseon Bang.”
“Um, Master Yang.”
“What is it?”
“Would it be possible to receive part of my monthly wages in advance?”
“Why would you need that?”
“You told me to make my own breakfast and dinner, but I have no money for supplies.”
“Ah, it seems my wife forgot that detail. Do you have nothing at all?”
“No, sir.”
Yang Bok reached into his purse and handed Dan Yeop a hundred cash.
“If you’re careful, that should last you a month. I’ll record it in the ledger, so don’t cause trouble over it later.”
It was fair math.
Rice ran thirty cash per sack of roughly five kilograms, so a hundred cash would buy three sacks’ worth.
Add some vegetables and he could live a month on that.
Dan Yeop took his leave from Yang Bok and bought rice and vegetables at Seo Si.
He returned to Boseon Bang before the evening bell.
Just as he stepped through the gate of the old landlord’s house, a faint bell tolled from somewhere distant.
Dong. Dong. Dong. Dong. Dong―.
The old landlord, who had just come out to the courtyard, saw him and smiled.
“You’re back late. Did you buy vegetables? There’s plenty lying about in the kitchen you could use instead…….”
“Oh, I didn’t know.”
“Keep the rice in your room and use it from there. Someone else might eat through it otherwise.”
“Is there someone else here?”
“Besides you, there’s another tenant—a water merchant.”
“A water merchant?”
“He hauls water from the Yong Soo Geo—the water channel of Chang’an City—and sells it to brothels, inns, restaurants and the like. Profitable work, they say. If I were ten years younger, I’d have given it a try myself. Tsk!”
The old landlord clicked his tongue with a wistful expression.
Hungry as he was, Dan Yeop perked up at the mention of profitable work.
“But I haven’t seen him around?”
“When business is brisk, he sleeps and eats at the establishments he supplies. The heat still hasn’t broken, so he’s likely busy.”
“I see.”
Dan Yeop moved toward his room, ready to end the conversation.
The old landlord, having nothing more to say, retreated back into the house.
Alone in his cramped quarters, Dan Yeop reflected on the day.
He had been released from Byeongma Chong, rented a room in Boseon Bang, and worked at the Fabric Shop in Po Si Bang at Seo Si.
The sudden change of circumstance left him drained; he had no energy for anything.
Sitting numbly, he felt his stomach growl and forced himself to move.
He wanted to sleep, but hunger would keep him awake.
He went to the kitchen, but the hearth was cold and he couldn’t muster the will to cook.
In the end, Dan Yeop gave a handful of rice a cursory rinse, chewed it raw, and swallowed it down before returning to his room.
Yet as soon as he lay down with something in his belly, sleep came easily.
Though he slept on bare floor with no mat, he was grateful it was not Byeongma Chong.
The mere thought of that place now sent chills crawling across his skin.
Yet despite his exhaustion, Dan Yeop could not sleep deeply.
The bare floor was unfamiliar, and discomfort jabbed at him from every angle.
His unease of mind, too, robbed him of restful sleep.
‘Can I really live like this?’
He worked at the Fabric Shop all day and returned in the evening to sleep.
The outside world was nothing like Byeongma Chong, where he had done nothing but train.
Those without resources to lean on, like himself, were trapped by the need to eat and survive—they had no time for martial cultivation.
‘Even if I train every day, it barely moves the needle…….’
Unable to settle his restless mind, Dan Yeop rose abruptly and stepped outside.
He found a stick and began practicing the Cheonji Do Method.
Fortunately, the first three forms flowed without obstruction.
If he’d lost even the Cheonji Do Method, he truly would have despaired.
Next, he deployed the Baeklyu Do Method.
After countless repetitions of the first form, an unexpected surprise came—the second form suddenly emerged from his mind as naturally as breath.
Even after completing the second form, Dan Yeop stood motionless, lost in thought.
There was no denying it: awakening the Inner Demon accelerated martial progress at a terrifying pace.
He’d floundered with this form mere days ago, yet now, just one night later, he’d grasped it.
They said the Inner Demon was a genius—and now he could feel that brilliance radiating through himself.
“Hah!”
Yet a sigh escaped Dan Yeop’s lips despite the advancement.
There was only one path now for him to advance within Hao Moon.
He had to awaken the Inner Demon whenever opportunity allowed, much as one pursues cultivation.
Could he truly master the Baeklyu Do Method through scattered practice at the Fabric Shop alone?
He knew now that was impossible.
With work consuming his time so drastically, even ten years of refinement wouldn’t grant him mastery.
Dan Yeop tried to recall the third form, but not a trace remained in his memory.
“Damn it.”
Shaking his head, he shuffled back to his quarters.
Shortly after, he retrieved brush, paper, and ink from his pack, then wrote a letter to the Inner Demon in the form of a journal entry.
[……When morning comes, I must go work at the Yang family’s Fabric Shop. My duties are simple: I stand at the entrance, introduce the shop to passersby, and lead those interested inside.]
As Dan Yeop wrote, an unpleasant feeling crept over him—he nearly tore the paper to shreds.
But he hesitated and changed his mind.
It wasn’t as though he could summon the Inner Demon whenever he pleased.
Since he’d decided to use him, he had to explain carefully enough not to ruin his own life in the process.
Finally, he added a warning.
[This body belongs to me, so don’t decide things on your own. If you act as you please, I’ll never wake you again.]
He had no guarantee the Inner Demon would obey his words.
Yet simply leaving the warning made his heart settle a little easier.
Dan Yeop folded the finished letter and set it on the table.
‘When he wakes next time, the first three forms of the Baeklyu Do Method should pose no problem.’
The thought eased his frustration somewhat.
Dan Yeop then sat in full lotus position.
He recalled the opening meditation of the Banya Sim Method.
—When you see truly that the substance of all things is Emptiness, you transcend all difficulty and touch that very substance.
Suddenly, a troubling thought crossed Dan Yeop’s mind.
‘Am I throwing my burdens onto the Inner Demon?’
Using lack of time as an excuse.
Driven by the hunger to rise quickly within Hao Moon.
‘That can’t be right, can it?’
He asked himself, but he couldn’t find the answer.
‘Damn it…….’
His heart felt heavy, yet he couldn’t bring himself to stop.
He drew a deep breath, and a shimmering thread of light rose from his dantian.
Now, without hesitation, he followed it as though it were the only path.
Crack—!
A brilliant flash erupted before his eyes, and Dan Yeop’s eyes snapped open.
“Huh?”
An oil lamp glowed softly on the small table in the narrow corner of the room.
“What’s this? Where am I?”
His gaze wandered before settling on the letter atop the small table.
“A letter?”
He murmured, picked up the paper, and read.
“So you want me to believe I’m the Inner Demon…….”
Dan Yeop trailed off mid-sentence.
In truth, he couldn’t be certain whether this was an Inner Demon or merely a fracture in his own mind.
“No, that can’t be right. Where in all the world would you find an Inner Demon this clever?”
Muttering to himself, Dan Yeop pushed open the door of his cramped room and stepped outside.
The full moon overhead told him it must be mid-September.
“Look at Dan Yeop now—rose from an underground tomb to Chang’an City itself.”
The air that brushed past his nose felt distinctly different.
The air of Byeongma Chong had always felt heavy, oppressive; Chang’an City’s air was light and clean.
He stepped beyond the house’s threshold, taking in the surroundings as he walked.
All around him stood houses of every conceivable size, crowded against one another.
How far had he wandered, just sightseeing?
Footsteps echoed from somewhere in the distance.
‘Huh? Who’s out roaming at this ungodly hour?’
Curiosity stirred Dan Yeop forward toward the sound.
Moments later, he rounded the corner of an alley and found himself face-to-face with six Geumowui soldiers.
One of them barked out in an imperious tone.
“Wandering during curfew, are we? A thief, no doubt!”
Caught off guard by the accusation, Dan Yeop spun and bolted.
“Stop right there!”
But Dan Yeop was hardly the type to obey such commands.
He struck the ground with his heel and exploded forward like the wind itself.
Pat-pat-pat—!
Moving with his Cheonli Bo, his form was that of a wild stallion unleashed.
“Damn! He’s getting away! Seize him!”
“Give chase!”
The soldiers ran hard, but the gap between them and Dan Yeop only widened.
Soon he vanished into the darkness, and one by one the soldiers came to a halt.
“Huff! Huff! Damnably fast.”
“Hah! Hah! Indeed. Faster than a horse, I’d say.”
As the soldiers exchanged these remarks, their commander posed a question.
“Did anyone get a clear look at his face?”
“He turned so quickly, there was no time to make out his features.”
“He was a young man, at least.”
Gwak Geom Jin, the commander of the guard, turned his attention to the soldier who had offered that detail.
“Do you remember his face?”
“It happened too fast, I’m afraid. I couldn’t discern it clearly. My apologies.”
“Hmm. Could it be one of Hao Moon’s?”
“The speed seems too great to be the Gyeong Shin Sul of Hao Moon, doesn’t it?”
“That’s true. If he’s wielding that level of lightness technique, the sect would have to be…”
“Most likely a master from Hyeonmu Gwan or Jan Wol Gak.”
The names of the Orthodox Faction’s leading sects fell one after another.
Gwak Geom Jin, stroking his chin thoughtfully, peered into the darkness and spoke.
“Whoever he is, he must be connected to the commotion Hao Moon stirred up.”
“Haven’t they said a Blood Calamity occurred at the Ancient Royal Tomb at Moon San yesterday? Perhaps he’s been running about attending to those consequences.”
“In any case, these martial artists…”
Gwak Geom Jin shook his head in disapproval and turned back the way they’d come.
Four soldiers followed quietly in his wake.
After running for some time, Dan Yeop slowed his pace once he was certain no one pursued him.
“So you can’t roam about at night, it seems. I didn’t know that.”
Shortly after, he returned home and settled onto the veranda.
Strangely, Chang’an City felt more suffocating than Byeongma Chong had ever been underground.
“So that’s why he called me out. I thought he was a bear, but he turned out to be a fox.”
The small room reeked of mildew.
During the day he was shackled to the Fabric Shop, laboring endlessly; at night he couldn’t venture beyond its walls.
On top of that, he had to prepare every meal with his own hands.
It was a reality even he wished to escape.
“So the plan is to raise my martial prowess and break free from this place as soon as possible?”
Dan Yeop nodded slowly to himself.
That communion with the dull-witted Dan Yeop was something he desired as well.
“But Zhuangzi once dreamed he was a butterfly, and afterward he couldn’t tell whether he had dreamed of being a butterfly or the butterfly had dreamed of being him. You call me an Inner Demon, but I think you might be the Inner Demon as well. Still, I respect your wish not to decide anything definitively.”
After a time, he picked up a wooden stick from the courtyard and began to unfold the Yukmun Martial Arts slowly.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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