Book 21 Chapter 8

Three conditions for moving forward in the dark

-Maps, transit, and destinations

Na Yerin opened her eyes slowly. Her body felt heavy, as if she had traveled a thousand miles. As her blurry vision grew clearer, she saw an unfamiliar ceiling.

"Where is this place?

This is not the room she's used to seeing. Was he still dreaming? His body was bobbing like a floating duckweed.

'By the way, this is the ship…….'

I remembered getting on a boat sent by the Temple of Heaven. I also remembered being told that it would take a few days to get there because we would have to go quite far down the river.

"Are you awake, Rin?"

A nostalgic voice rang in my ears. It was the voice I'd heard in my dreams, but it was a much more mature voice.

"Yeonbi……."

As I lay in bed, I turned my head slightly and there it was, smiling at me.

"Are you okay? You were sweating profusely. Did you have a bad dream? Or seasick?"

Yeonbi looked very worried. He must have been severely pressed by scissors while sleeping. Worryingly, Im Seong-jin of the same delegation, Jin Seong-gon, had been checking out the stomach since he boarded the ship about an hour ago. Compared to his current complexion, the corpse's face actually looked healthier.

"No. It's such a big boat, I'm not seasick, I'm fine, you've been there the whole time, Yeonbi?"

"Sure. How could I leave Rin alone when she looked like she was having a nightmare?"

The gentle voice that held her hand and spoke to her, the words that warmed her heart.

"I dreamed about Yeonbi and the first time we met."

Na Yerin said, smiling slightly. Yunfei gave the soaked handkerchief a quick squeeze, then wiped the beads of sweat from her forehead.

"Wow, was that a nightmare?"

Yeonbi said, smiling slightly.

"I don't think so."

Na Yerin laughed along. I tried to get up, but I didn't have the strength to shake the bed yet.

"I haven't had many of those dreams lately… and I think it's because of the Yeonbi."

Ten years ago. It was the hardest time, and her spirit was shattered. Na Yerin stared at Yeonbi sitting on her bedside table for a moment.

"What would have happened if I hadn't met this person?

I got goosebumps just thinking about it.

"Huh? Did you get something on my face?"

The stare was weird, and Yunbi ran her fingers up and down his cheek.

"No. I thought, 'Wow, it's a good thing I found Yeonbi.'"

"Gee, you can't flatter a working girl like me, can you?"

"It's flattery, I mean it."

Yunbi, who had asked in a playful tone, was taken aback by Na Yerin's seriousness.

"Oh, it's not fair to look at me like that. Lean is serious as hell."

Na Yerin pushed herself to her feet, a thin smile tugging at the corners of her mouth.

"Is it morning?"

"It's still night, we'll have to wait a bit longer for the sun to come up, but there's no trouble, and the water is clear."

They had boarded the ship three days ago, and would arrive at their destination in another day. The ship was large and spacious enough to accommodate all sixty-four members of the delegation, so aside from a few seasicknesses, there were no complaints.

Once, while traveling to Mt. Wudang for a training camp, the boat with Na Yerin was attacked. This time, we were all quite prepared, but the boat ride was peaceful, and people were slowly relaxing.

"From what I've heard, none of the people who live on this river are stupid enough to jump on a boat flying the flag of the Black Dragon."

"I see, and no one would be foolish enough to turn their paddle to the enemy with their paddle dipped in the river."

Na Yerin nodded in agreement. Yunbi pointed a finger at the door.

"Why don't we go outside and get some fresh air, it'll cool you down in a hurry, what do you think?"

It was a very tempting proposition.

"Great, I was just about to do that."

"Well, then, shall we go, young lady?"

Yanbi held out her hand politely, as if she were putting on a play. Na Yerin smiled broadly and took the hand in hers.

Outside the cabin, it was a moonless night.

Everywhere was painted black, and I couldn't see anything. The lanterns on deck were barely enough to illuminate the ship. It was as if the ship was the only thing floating in a world of nothingness, and the light from the lanterns was all there was.

"It's a weird feeling."

Na Yerin said, leaning against the ship's railing.

"Why?"

Yeonbi asked, and the smell of water hit my nostrils.

"It's nothing, but it feels familiar."

Staring at the abyssal river with no beginning or end, I felt as if my soul would be swallowed up. Was the water ghost an illusion created by the black abyssal water?

"It's not good to stare at a lake at night for too long, you get eaten by the darkness."

Yeonbi is a warning. If you stare into the shapeless, boundless darkness for too long, the boundaries fade and the human mind sinks into the depths. This is true for normal people, but it's even more dangerous for Yerin, who has a dragon eye.

"Yeah, that's like me back then. Before I met Yeonbi, I was swallowed up in this black, dark abyss. I couldn't see anything, I couldn't hear anything, and there wasn't even a tiny lantern there."

You can hear the boat lapping at the water. The sound of the waves lapping against the hull was the only indication of where they were.

"The only light for me at the time was Yeonbi."

"Is that a confession?"

"No, thanks!"

"I was only acting in accordance with my contract, and I don't think I've even gotten to talk to you."

"You don't know how much of a boost that was for Yeonbi."

"You have no idea how much fun I've had."

Na Yerin sighed lightly and shook her head in disbelief.

"I still can't get Yeonbi. By the way, I have a question for you."

"What is it, Rin?"

"How have you been doing in the last ten years?"

It was a question that had been on my mind since we met again, but I was too surprised by our reunion to ask. When I finally got a chance to talk about it in private, I didn't want to miss it.

"To sum it up, it's a lot of hard work and training. I sell tunes and dances, I make trinkets, I don't think there's anything I haven't done, and while the other kids are running around having fun, not knowing anything about the harsh realities of life, which is kind of hard in its own way, I've been toiling away. I was a poor working girl, and to survive like this, not starving to death or overworked, and to be with Lin, it's like a dream."

Yunbi gently covered her eyes with her fingers. It must be a reminder of the past, Na Yerin thought, and in sympathy she squeezed his hand.

"I see. …Then how many porridge have you had so far in Sichuan?"

"After many years, I moved out of Sichuan and traveled all over the place."

"And what about me?"

I was very curious about that as well.

"I just happened to see Rin's dad one day."

"Your father?"

The Yeonbi comment startled Rin.

"Yeah. He didn't recognize me. I guess I've changed a lot since then."

Everything Yeonbi said was true.

"I hadn't realized that he was the famous Martial Artist until then. I was so surprised when I found out. I thought my heart would stop beating."

Yunfei put one hand on his chest and cleared his throat, as if he had just been greatly alarmed. Na Yerin made a puzzled face.

"Okay, come to think of it, I didn't tell Yunbi anything about my father or my family, sorry."

"No, we weren't really in a position to talk about it then, but thanks to you, I found out who Lin was - there's only one current Martial Lord's Forbidden Jade Leaf. You've really become a celebrity, Lin, and it was only then that I learned her full name and real name, and I can't believe how beautiful she is… If you were a man, I would have had a crush on you, too."

"Gee, it's the same old thing, Yeonbi."

Na Yerin blushed, but nodded to herself. Now she understood how the Yeonbi had managed to find itself in this spacious powerhouse.

Just as Yerin was about to inquire about Yeonbi, the boat suddenly slowed down. Both men sensed it immediately.

"I feel like I'm out of a river and into a lake."

"Then this is……."

Yeonbi nodded.

"Probably Dongzheng Lake, but it's so dark that I can't figure out which route he took to get to the pavilion. That's pretty suspicious."

"On a night like this on purpose?"

Certainly for security purposes, I couldn't have asked for a better environment.

"Why not? Maybe it even calculated the weather and date."

Yeonbi replied with a shrug.

"You guys are amazing, sailing a boat like that on a pitch black night like this……."

Na Yerin was impressed. He was to be commended for his guts.

"I'll give you credit if you make it to the other side without hitting a reef."

There was a hint of displeasure in his tone. A lot of things can go down the drain if they're not finished. In this case, there was the potential for lives to be lost. I didn't want to be the one to lose out because of someone else's guts.

"How are they able to move forward in this darkness without hesitation?"

No matter what Yeonbi says, the darkness of a moonless night is bound to throw your senses into disarray.

"Probably because there are three."

Yeonbi said, holding up three fingers.

"Three?"

"It's the map, the passage, and the destination."

"Map, transit, destination……."

Na Yerin rolled the word around in her mouth a couple of times.

"They have a place to go, a map to show them how to get there, and a constant compass, so they don't get lost in this darkness."

"I see."

"Come to think of it, so are you, because as long as you have a goal you want to achieve, the knowledge to show you how, and reason to keep you grounded, there's no reason to get lost in life, right?"

Yerin nodded, it made sense now that she thought about it.

'Destination…….'

What is her destination? Her map was still unfinished, with no destination listed.

Then someone muttered.

"Uh, is that a pagoda?"

My stomach began to rumble. The silence was broken, and we were energized again.

"A pagoda?"

"Where?"

"Me too!"

As expected of an unattended group, everyone had one bright ear. As soon as they heard the word "Macheongak," they rushed to take their seats on the railing, and those who were late were forced to watch the backs of those in front of them. Some people almost fell off. If it were an ordinary person who didn't know what jinshinjutsu was, he would definitely be a fish's breakfast.

"You said it was a pagoda, where is it?"

"Why is it so dark, I can't even see my nose."

The murmurs were getting louder and louder.

"No one said you'd have a good view of the skyscraper. People really do think what's convenient."

That's when Yeonbi said something in a pathetic tone.

"Oh, look!"

All eyes turned toward the source of the shouting.

"Sparks!"

A spark shot through the darkness from beyond the bow. The bright flames shot higher and higher into the sky.

Blah, blah, blah!

As if in response to a signal, two pillars of fire rose simultaneously from the distant surface of the water. Soon, at regular intervals, they began to rise in pairs, one after the other. They seemed to be charting a course in two lines.

"How could it have started a fire like this if it was above water?"

The Yeonbi had a curious structure. Yue Lin had never seen anything like it before. As the light brightened, an island appeared, slowly rising from the darkness. The purple bamboo book with its sharp purple bamboo spears also appeared, its majesty terrifying.

"I don't know, is it a welcome?"

"Or show of force!"

Yeonbi smiled and replied.

"That's pretty good, or is it just the beginning?"

Yunbi was right. Another procession of flames circled the center of the fire pit, flanking the blazing boat of flames. It was as if the flames were racing. In the blink of an eye, the ring of flame that encircled the island was complete. It was as if a tiny dawn had broken inside the great ring of flame. It was a sight to behold.

"……."

No one spoke in the face of such an intense and overwhelming sight; they just stayed in the boat and followed the flames to their destination.