Ten Paths of the Master - Chapter 32

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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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Episode 32. I told you not to act on impulse
Chang-an City.
East Market Great Hall.
A separate wing of Jinbosangbang.
Na Bu-gang and Na Geum-ryeong sat facing each other, their expressions grim.
Na Geum-ryeong, watching her brother’s mood carefully, ventured a soft question.
“So what will you do now?”
“About what?”
“Dan Yeop. You made him your sworn brother, but he turns out to be from the Hao Sect.”
“I suppose that’s just how it is.”
“Well, if you don’t see him again, that’s the end of it. But what if Dan Yeop clings to you? What if he approaches you suddenly on the street, the way he did before, even when you’re keeping your distance? And if he was targeting you from the start, he’d have every reason to do exactly that.”
“If I don’t engage, there’s nothing to it.”
“What if he goes around telling everyone he’s your sworn brother? It will tarnish not only your reputation, but reflect poorly on the entire sect. Would that be acceptable to you?”
“Who would I blame for my own poor judgment?”
“That’s exactly why I told you not to act on impulse.”
“Was it only me? You accepted Dan Yeop as your brother too.”
“He’s your sworn brother, so he has to be my brother as well.”
“You seemed rather more willing about it at the time.”
“You misread me. I accepted him out of necessity.”
Na Bu-gang started to say that she had been more willing than that, then held his tongue.
What good would it do now to dwell on it?
Seeing his deflated expression, Na Geum-ryeong spoke again.
“If it troubles you so much, just set a date and perform the Severing Oath Ritual.”
“Sever my bond with Dan Yeop?”
“Then you, the brilliant new master of Hyeonmu Guan, will continue to maintain a connection with someone from the Hao Sect? When the Director finds out, he’ll issue a stern prohibition.”
“You want me to become as fickle as a feather? Barely any time has passed since I forced someone unwilling into sworn brotherhood, and now you want me to perform the ritual to dissolve it?”
“Better to do that than to fret constantly about being tainted by scandal.”
“I haven’t been fretting.”
“Still, you’re troubled. Worried that things might get messy with Dan Yeop.”
“Let’s wait and see. Our fears might come to nothing.”
“Tsk! You should have been that cautious before you swore brotherhood with a man you’d just met.”
“Enough. Leave me be. You’re getting me all wound up.”
Na Geum-ryeong, her lips pouting, slipped quietly from the room.
***
Dong. Dong. Dong. Dong. Dong―.
When the bell announcing the curfew rang out, Dan Yeop returned to the old master’s house.
Ma Deung’s snoring drifted faintly all the way to the veranda.
Dan Yeop trained with the Mu-ae Sword in the back courtyard before retiring to his small chamber.
Once he lit the lamp, the day finally felt complete.
“Ah! A life well spent.”
Muttering to himself, he impulsively settled into a crossed-leg sitting posture.
What if he practiced the Tae-eul Won-won Yeon-seong-gyeol without wearing the Geum-ru Okui?
Would the pale hand still appear and strangle him?
Dan Yeop, eyes half-closed, quietly recited the incantation of the Tae-eul Won-won Yeon-seong-gyeol.
―Illuminate the Dantian in stillness, and the starfield within reflects back.
In emptiness a flame arises, transforming into the Divine Lotus.
The stars in his Dantian transformed into flame, and soon gathered like the petals of a flower.
His chest thrummed with each heartbeat, but Dan Yeop remained composed, observing the Divine Lotus bloom slowly before his mind’s eye.
As expected.
The moment the Divine Lotus scattered, the pale hand appeared without fail.
Dan Yeop focused his consciousness on the pale hand.
Having suffered it many times already, the terror was not as sharp as before.
The pale hand grasped his throat, and he clenched his teeth.
‘Gasp!’
His heart pounded―thump, thump―and his head reeled with the sound.
Even as he choked, he struggled to see beyond the pale hand.
‘Argh… Who are you!’
In that fleeting instant, a face like a malevolent spirit flickered past.
“Hack! Cough! Cough!”
Dan Yeop gasped for breath between violent coughs.
His cultivation of Internal Power had already reached a point of no return.
“Right, a young woman. A servant, or perhaps a nursemaid?”
He didn’t know who she was, but her assassination attempt had failed.
“Maybe my family is even grander than Na Bu-gang’s people at Jinbosangbang. That’s probably why she tried to kill me. If I found my parents, would they rejoice to see their dead son alive again? If I found them, could I live in a better home too? Could I perhaps enter Guozijian or Taehak?”
Dan Yeop, spinning out these fantasies, shook his head sharply.
“Find them? Nonsense. I’ve borne enough over the years to scar my neck like this.”
Whether his family even existed was a mystery, but one thing was certain—he would never be the object of their concern.
If it were just one scar on his neck, perhaps it could pass unnoticed.
When he thought of the scars layered upon his throat, the answer was clear without looking.
Wearing a bitter smile, he spread paper across the table.
And he began to write down everything that had happened so far, like a diary.
When he finished writing, Dan Yeop stretched out at full length on the floor of his room.
***
Early dawn.
Dan Yeop opened his eyes and slowly raised himself upright.
He confirmed he was still in his small room, and found himself secretly relieved.
If Sim Ma had caused trouble and been arrested, he might have woken in a prison cell.
The small window let in the morning sunlight, making the room bright.
As he rose, his eyes caught the paper on the table.
‘Damn it. Sim Ma of all people…….’
Dan Yeop felt an irrational irritation at Sim Ma’s consideration.
He picked up the paper and slowly read through it.
The paper recorded how he had obtained flint from the old man, two cooking methods, his victory in the wager with the head of the Yang household, and the circumstances of his sworn brotherhood with Na Bu-gang, the eldest son of Jinbosangbang.
“This is madness…….”
Sim Ma truly couldn’t be trusted.
The moment he let his guard down, a disaster like this unfolded.
A short time later, Dan Yeop stepped outside carrying flint, pork fat, and flour.
He meant to make Hu Bing for breakfast.
But he ran into trouble from the start.
No matter how many times he struck the flint, only sparks flew—no flame caught.
When he’d been struggling for nearly an hour, Ma Deung poked his face into the kitchen and asked,
“Preparing breakfast?”
“Pardon? Yes…….”
“Having trouble getting the fire lit?”
“Yes…….”
“That’s what happens when you strike the flint against a bare branch. You need to lay down bark powder or ground plant matter first, then it’ll catch properly.”
“Ah…….”
Dan Yeop scraped together bark powder from around the hearth.
Then he struck the flint again.
Indeed!
This time, after only a few strikes, a spark caught.
He pushed the spark into the hearth and blew hard on it.
At last, flames began to rise.
“Phew!”
Ma Deung asked the relieved Dan Yeop,
“Is this your first time lighting a fire?”
“Yes.”
“What are you making? Hu Bing?”
“Yes…….”
“While you’re at it, could you make some for me too? I’ll give you the flour later.”
“Yes.”
“Do you salt your Hu Bing?”
“No.”
Dan Yeop shook his head.
Sim Ma had not mentioned salt in the cooking method.
“A little salt makes it much tastier. The world of Hu Bing is infinite. If you spread it thinner than Hu Bing and cook it, it becomes Jeon Bing, and if you fill Hu Bing with meat filling, it becomes Yu Xiap Mak. In other words, if you want it to taste good, what should you add to the flour?”
“Salt?”
“That’s right. Add a pinch of salt when you mix the dough. It’ll taste better than plain dough. In wealthy households, they add egg or milk when mixing. Then it melts softly on your tongue. You’ve never eaten anything like that, have you?”
“No.”
“When you get good at it, you must try making it that way. And invite me to eat some too.”
“Yes.”
Dan Yeop began kneading the flour dough.
Ma Deung, watching from the side, offered more unsolicited advice.
“If you knead the flour at night and let it sit, it tastes even better when baked. People like us just make do with whatever, but the Hu Bing at proper restaurants are aged before baking. That’s why the same flour tastes different depending on the technique.”
“Ah, yes…….”
Dan Yeop was a little tired, but he took the words to heart as instruction that would nourish him.
A short while later, when he began making the Baek-chae Tang, another torrent of fussing followed.
After all the effort, once the dishes were ready, Dan Yeop carried the Hu Bing and the Baek-chae Tang out to the table in the courtyard.
Dan Yeop ate the Hu Bing and Baek-chae Tang he had made, his heart swelling with satisfaction.
Compared to that first day when he had no idea what to do or how to do it, it was a dramatic change.
Once the meal ended, Ma Deung picked up a water bucket and left.
Dan Yeop watched Ma Deung disappear into the distance and muttered to himself.
‘But… he didn’t give me flour…….’
He made a mental note: ‘I’ll have to ask him about it when we meet tonight.’
***
The Textile District.
The Yang Family Textile Shop.
Dan Yeop had arrived at the textile shop early and finished cleaning first.
After that, he lingered uncertainly in front of the shop.
The note said he had won the bet and could now move about freely, but timid as he was, he felt awkward and didn’t dare put it into practice.
Around the hour of Si—eleven in the morning.
Someone called out to him as he dawdled in front of the shop.
“Yeop!”
Dan Yeop turned to see Dan Bul-wi, a Toward Master, standing there.
“Ah, Master Dan.”
Before leaving the Byeongma Chong, the instructors of the martial division had taught the trainees to address the superiors of the Hao Sect as “Master.”
Dan Bul-wi smiled and nodded.
“Yes, how have you been? I heard you were here, so I came by. Can you spare a moment?”
“Yes? Well, I suppose I can. Just a moment, please.”
Dan Yeop then went into the shop and reported to the household head of the Yang family.
“Master Yang, an elder from home has come to visit, so I’ll be stepping away for a bit.”
“Do as you like or don’t.”
Yang Bok’s reply was curt—he had found Dan Yeop’s lingering in front of the shop inconvenient.
***
Dan Bul-wi, true to his standing as a master of the A-mun, led Dan Yeop to a nearby tavern called Zhu Lou.
When a server brought the wine and side dishes Dan Bul-wi had ordered, he spoke with a smile.
“You sly thing—are you trying to make me fill my own cup?”
“Oh, no, that wasn’t my intention.”
Dan Yeop carefully poured the wine, and Dan Bul-wi let out a soft chuckle.
‘Ah, so this is the dull Dan Yeop I remember.’
His uncertain tone and timid bearing were exactly as Dan Bul-wi had seen them at the Byeongma Chong.
He lifted the cup and drained it in one go, then spoke.
“How have you been getting on?”
“Yang Hoe found me a room in Boseon-bang and even arranged a position at the Yang Family Textile Shop.”
Dan Yeop did not mention that he had woken Ma Deung on the first night to urgently learn the Baek-ryu Do-beop.
It seemed too transparent, somehow.
“Have you been practicing your Internal Power at all?”
“Just once.”
“Good. And have you made any progress in martial skill?”
“Ah, I haven’t had a chance to check yet because of the work at the shop.”
“I see. But the shop work isn’t too difficult for you, is it? Your face looks a bit thinner than before.”
Dan Yeop answered with an embarrassed expression.
“I haven’t received my monthly stipend yet, so my meals have been rather meager.”
The words came out without thought, a memory of that first day at Hyang-man-ru when he couldn’t eat his fill.
At that moment, Dan Bul-wi let out a sigh.
“Oh my—I’ve made a grave mistake.”
Dan Yeop had no one—he was truly alone in this world.
As his adopted father, Dan Bul-wi had overlooked this crucial fact, which meant the boy must have gone hungry ever since leaving the Byeongma Chong.
“I was so focused on getting you placed with a sect that I neglected to ensure your stability. I’m sorry.”
“Oh no, please don’t apologize.”
Dan Yeop fluttered his hands in protest, but Dan Bul-wi showed no sign of stopping.
He withdrew two silver coins from his purse and pressed them into Dan Yeop’s hands.
“Use this to buy whatever you need for now.”
“Really, I’m fine…….”
Even as Dan Yeop insisted he was fine, he didn’t refuse outright.
He had known the sting of poverty.
In the end, he took the coins.
Dan Bul-wi watched him with a satisfied expression.
“There’s an estate nearby belonging to someone I know. Shall we go there and test your progress with the Baek-ryu Do-beop?”
“Yes……, but I have one question, if I may.”
“Go ahead.”
“Have all the people who went to Hadong Region returned?”
“By now, they should all be back at their posts. Why? Is there someone whose whereabouts you’re concerned about?”
“No, that’s not it.”
“How dull.”
Dan Bul-wi chuckled softly and poured himself more wine from the empty bottle.
Sitting across from Dan Yeop in this world felt peculiar.
Was this what it felt like to be with family?

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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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