Chapter 12
‘Even so, if you take so many elixirs from the beginning, their effects might conflict and cause harm. I should put a little in their meals so that they can absorb it gradually. Our kids aren’t picky eaters, and with this amount, it should last for years. Then I’ll teach Chun-oh about cultivating energy first…’
They say the most enjoyable part of raising children is the imagination and the rewards. Imagining what kind of person this child will grow up to be, and being overwhelmed with joy by their little growths.
With these thoughts, Choyun’s steps felt incredibly light. Despite her hair and clothes getting soaked by the pouring rain, she wasn’t even annoyed.
It didn’t take Choyun long to return after crossing the mountain from Cheongwe-san to Dumang-san. However, as she approached Musim-seo, she heard a conversation that made her face stiffen.
“… it’s my responsibility, so I’ll go! You stay here. Don’t follow me!”
“But, Sister! You can’t go now. It’s raining so hard…”
“… there shouldn’t be any problems. I’m just going to look around. Why do you keep whining? What if Master comes…!”
“What if I come?”
Without making a sound, Choyun stepped into the courtyard in front of Musim-seo. The two children had been arguing while holding onto their clothes, but they froze at the sight of Choyun as if they had been caught doing something wrong.
Seeing the siblings’ pale faces, Choyun asked again.
“If I come, what’s next?”
“M-Master…”
No matter what mistake they made, there was no reason to leave children out in the rain. Choyun led the two drenched children into her room to get them out of the rain.
And, as expected, the person who should have been inside was nowhere to be seen.
Choyun swallowed her anxiety and after placing the sack on the floor, she took out dry towels and asked, “Where is Chuno?”
“W-Well…”
Sahyun lowered his head deeply and fidgeted with his joined hands, rolling his eyes. It seemed he was struggling to keep a secret. But soon, Sayeong, who looked like a drenched rat, stood before Sahyun and spoke up.
“I left him at the waterfall. I thought he’d follow soon, but he hadn’t shown up yet, so I was about to check.”
“… you left him at the waterfall?”
“… he couldn’t catch any fish by himself. So I came back with Sahyun. He said he knew the way back, so I thought he’d be fine.”
Sayeong spoke firmly, as though ready to be scolded. Understanding the situation, Choyun opened her mouth briefly and then closed it.
What should I say? I trusted you? I’m disappointed in you? You couldn’t even properly take care of your younger sibling despite being the oldest?
No, Sayeong was only eleven years old. And it’s clear he hadn’t fully resolved the resentment from the last incident. Knowing this well, it was my own mistake to tell a child to take care of another child. It was my fault for leaving unstable kids alone for long periods.
“Take off your wet clothes and dry yourself with this. Then change into new clothes and wait quietly. Don’t go outside. You’ll catch a cold in this weather.”
They say that even if the eldest is still young, they look all grown up when you have a second and third child.
I’ve made such a mistake already when I still have a long way to go in raising them. Choyun passed the towels to the kids and stepped outside, feeling self-critical.
“Did you hear me? Absolutely do not go outside. I’ll talk to you when I get back, so start a fire… No, don’t mess with the fire; just get under the blankets.”
Then, without waiting for the children’s responses, she darted off. She felt the eyes following her from the quickly receding Musim-seo, but she had no time to respond. Choyun’s mind was filled with one thought.
What if he’s hurt?
Her heart pounded with urgency. She immediately ran towards the waterfall where the children had been. The raindrops pelted her cheeks and body like beads. While her trained martial artist’s body flew over the slippery and rugged mountain path at incredible speed, she felt like a snail in that moment. The mountains were already dangerous. Furthermore, where was she? Wasn’t this the Bu-gwi (inhospitable specter) Range, where all sorts of mythical beasts and spirits gathered?
With gritted teeth, she ran and finally arrived at the waterfall. The now swollen water fell into the muddy pond, filling the environment with its sound. She saw the remnants of a small fire and fish bones scattered on the ground, but the child was nowhere to be seen. Choyun felt a blank shock as if her mind had been wiped out and froze on the spot.
The child is gone. I lost him.
Buried fragments of the past surged like a tidal wave and engulfed her whole body. She raised her pale hand and bit her nails nervously. Her entire body was shaking pathetically.
‘No, I need to pull myself together. There are only so many places he could go. I can find him.’
This quick return to rationality was thanks to Choyun’s mental strength, which had reached the extreme realm of high discipline. She slapped her cheeks hard to snap herself out of it, then closed her eyes. In this situation, she had to trust and focus on her abilities.
Unlike Choyun and Sahyun, Chuno didn’t have similar energies that made them easy to find because they cultivated their internal energies with the same method. At seven years old, Chuno had yet to learn anything and had only the little inner energy of a typical child. Finding him in the Bu-gwi Range, where the forest trees harbored magical energies, was extremely difficult.
Ultimately, she had no choice but to concentrate until she could detect even a single insect. Even though all sounds were drowned out by the pouring rain and waterfall, she sharpened her senses even more.
I can do it. I must believe I can do it. Reaching the transcendental realm would be what’s called a divine proficiency. Although it’s a borrowed body, I had to fully become Choyun right now.
The internal energy residing in her lower abdomen began to spiral upward along her meridians, resembling the clear energy of the mountain. It surged fiercely, filling the delicate acupoints in her head where her sensory organs resided. Her heightened senses spread out under her feet like a dense net. She could vividly detect the thriving life forms awakened by the recent rain.
Choyun meticulously verified and excluded the presence of all those life forms, gradually expanding her reach. It wasn’t long before she finally sensed an energy that seemed like him. Her eyes snapped open as she discerned a lurking presence nearby. Before she could even think, her urgent body was already sprinting down the mountain path.
‘This is bad!’
◇
Chuno sat huddled outside the cave, staring blankly at the pouring rain. He suddenly realized he had no feeling in his fingertips and looked down. His red, frostbitten hands were dirty with mud and rainwater. There were new wounds on top of the barely healed scars, some of which were bleeding.
He wiped his wet hands on his clothes and looked outside again. The cave’s edge had a slight drop, leading to a steep slope. He was lucky that the trees had stopped his fall, otherwise, he could have died or sustained severe injuries.
The dense trees standing in the rain looked like massive tombstones, adding to the eerie atmosphere. Just this morning, they had all seemed like part of the beautiful mountain scenery. Now, with his minor frame and all alone, he couldn’t understand how that could have been.
As nighttime fell, his body temperature dropped, and he started shivering violently. He crawled further inside and hugged himself. His hands and feet felt not just cold but burning hot, and he could feel the heat from his swollen ankle.
With this foot, he couldn’t even think of standing or walking. Even if he tried to leave, he’d have to climb the steep slope by grabbing tree roots and rocks. It made more sense to stay and wait until the weather cleared.
‘Someone will come, right?’
They’ll come. The answer popped up before he even fully thought about it.
‘When?’
Just a bit longer. Maybe… If I count the numbers, they’ll come.
No, I don’t want to count numbers. Just thinking about it makes me feel like a spider is crawling down my spine. The surroundings seem blocked, letting in no light, and it feels like I can hear the cawing of crows.
A child left alone in a desolate place can only think. Chuno naturally began to reflect on what had happened, one detail at a time. How did things come to this, and what should I have done?
-Don’t even think about wandering alone.
The Master had said this just recently. He’d heard there were many demons and spirits, but today was the first time he’d seen one in person. Thanks to the spirit formation the Master had set up, he hadn’t seen them until now. Given that the deer spirit broke through the Master’s formation, it must have been strong. He was overwhelmed by it when they locked eyes, making it plausible.
And considering the spirit appeared by the waterfall right after he was left alone, but not when he was with the siblings, they must have had some protection. They’d been with the Master longer than he had, and the Master was thoughtful and meticulous.
