Bachelor Swordsmanship Remastered [EN]: Chapter 151

151. I Just Do It?

“I don’t really know what that training sword of yours is,” Wabur said with a sigh, sitting on the platform.

Yunhyun knelt respectfully, listening to Wabur’s words.

“It’s like a dragon playing in the sky, only able to see its traces, but no one can grasp its true form. How such a swordsmanship even exists…” Wabur sighed again. “I can’t understand it.”

Yunhyun felt a slight chill at those words.

*If even Wabur says this, the ‘White Tiger Training Sword’ must truly be something extraordinary.*

But on the other hand, a lump of anxiety welled up. “Then what should I do…?”

“However,” Wabur interrupted Yunhyun. “At least I know what your problem is.”

“Problem?”

“Yes.” Wabur nodded and continued, “First, you have opened your mind’s eye [a heightened state of perception or spiritual awareness] and are looking at the ultimate realm, and secondly, you are relying on someone else’s inner strength, which doesn’t suit you.”

Yunhyun tilted his head. “Um, isn’t opening the mind’s eye a good thing?” *Mind’s eye meant the eye of the heart.*

Even Yunhyun, who wasn’t familiar with martial arts terms, didn’t think it sounded bad.

But Wabur frowned. “What’s so good about it? Is it good for a guy who can’t even take care of himself to have a crush on the imperial princess and only look at her all day long?”

Yunhyun thought Wabur’s analogy was too secular, but its meaning was clear. In short, wasn’t he saying that he had high standards without the ability to meet them?

“Is that all? You’re desiring something you can’t have, so your actions are bound to be precarious. You’re not only tormented by unfulfilled desires, but you’ll also look down on any pretty woman you see, so how can you not be arrogant?”

Wabur’s criticism was scathing, and Yunhyun couldn’t help but feel a pang in his heart. He was amazed at how accurately Wabur had seen through his feelings, even though it was a common analogy that sounded like a love story.

“Then, what about the inner strength that doesn’t suit me…?” Yunhyun asked in a subdued voice.

Wabur sighed deeply. “I don’t know what the situation is, but I know why he gave it to you.” Wabur looked at Yunhyun and said quietly, “Was that the feeling of a mother sending her child, who can’t even walk yet, out into the harsh world? I know it doesn’t suit you, but it couldn’t be helped. If you didn’t have that, you wouldn’t even be able to take care of yourself.”

Wabur, who was speaking, closed his eyes and chanted a quiet Buddhist prayer. And Yunhyun couldn’t help but feel a lump in his throat.

*…Brother.*

This inner strength belonged to his sworn brother, Ilchunghyun. Even as he faced death, he was worried about Yunhyun and left it for Yunhyun, who would have to face the world’s storms alone after he was gone.

It was no wonder that Yunhyun’s eyes were bloodshot, and that he gritted his teeth and lowered his head without realizing it.

How long had it been? Wabur opened his mouth again. “Other people’s clothes aren’t always bad, but you must work harder to make them your own. It seems you’ve been neglecting your training.”

Yunhyun felt a twinge of guilt. Since leaving the imperial palace, he could count the days he had properly trained on one hand. Of course, he had tried his best in his own way, but in the end, he always had to stop, feeling insufficient and wanting more. So he had nothing to say even if he was told he had been neglecting his training.

“Listen to that.” Wabur pointed with his chin at the wooden sword Yunhyun had brought.

Squeak.

Yunhyun picked up the wooden sword and looked at Wabur, who frowned at Yunhyun, who was just staring blankly. “Aren’t you listening properly?”

*Ah.*

Only then did Yunhyun realize what Wabur was talking about. Yunhyun took a moment to catch his breath and slowly gripped the sword. *Only Yunhyun’s own, the sword of his heart.*

Woo-oong.

With a low hum, an unfamiliar energy settled on the wooden sword.

Wabur chuckled. “Huh, that guy. I told him to do it, but he’s really doing it well. I wonder how many guys in the world can manifest sword energy with a wooden sword…” Wabur, who had been clicking his tongue, examined the energy on Yunhyun’s wooden sword with a serious expression.

“But as I said, this is just borrowed clothes. If you keep relying on it because it’s good, you’ll end up fitting your body to the clothes. This inner strength will define and limit you, not the other way around.” Wabur raised his eyes and looked straight at Yunhyun. “If you can’t control it, you’ll end up being dragged along.”

Thud.

Yunhyun was shocked.

―*If you cannot control the power, the power will control you.*

Even though the intention and meaning were slightly different, what Wabur was saying now was the same as his sworn brother’s last words.

“How can I…” Yunhyun’s voice trembled slightly. The energy that had been lingering on the wooden sword disappeared in an instant. “Can I become the one who controls it?”

“Ugh.” Wabur let out a strange groan. “Well, usually, if you master the Bodhi Mind Method [a Buddhist meditation technique] and face the wall for ten years, you’ll somehow manage…”

*Ten years of facing the wall.*

Yunhyun repeated with a stiff expression. Ten years was just a figure of speech; Yunhyun had been holding a sword in the imperial palace for a little over ten years. Did that mean he had to spend that much time here, only looking at the wall and training?

*But.*

If he didn’t spend ten years facing the wall, there were only two options: either put down the sword, or be dragged along by the power, as Wabur said.

Grit.

Yunhyun gritted his teeth. He could never do that. How could he abandon the last words of his sworn brother, Ilchunghyun? It was even more impossible to put down the sword, because, as Wabur said, he couldn’t undo what he had already seen.

“I understand.” Yunhyun made up his mind and said, bowing politely, “Please teach me the Bodhi Mind Method…”

“Bodhi Mind Method?” In the midst of the seriousness, Wabur’s voice interrupted Yunhyun. “Why do you want that? Are you going to shave your head and enter Buddhism today?”

“Yes?” Yunhyun asked back with a puzzled expression. “No, you just said ten years of facing the wall with the Bodhi Mind Method…”

“That’s something to make a cheeky monk like Buryoung do, why you? Are you a monk?”

“No, that’s not it.” Yunhyun realized that something was off in the conversation. “Then what should I do?”

“What did you hear me say until now?” Wabur said bluntly. “You idiot, you’ve already mastered the training sword or whatever it is, haven’t you? All you have to do to make someone else’s clothes your own is that.”

“Ah-ha!” Yunhyun’s face brightened. Come to think of it, his sworn brother Ilchunghyun had also said that the White Tiger Training Sword seemed to have the effect of guiding true energy to control the energy, didn’t he?

But his joy was short-lived, and Yunhyun’s expression became puzzled. “Oh, then I could have just trained as I was doing…” If the White Tiger Training Sword was the answer anyway, wasn’t Wabur’s advice unnecessary? It was no wonder Yunhyun’s expression had turned strange. For a moment, he even wondered if he had been tricked by that sly Wabur.

“You!” As if Yunhyun’s inner thoughts were revealed, Wabur suddenly raised his hand and flicked his finger towards Yunhyun’s forehead.

*Ouch.*

But Yunhyun was already used to that speed. Yunhyun leaned back, dodging Wabur’s flick. No, he was trying to dodge, but at that moment, Wabur’s hand showed a strange movement.

Swish.

*Ah!*

Yunhyun was startled by Wabur’s unexpected gesture, and Wabur didn’t miss that brief gap.

Flick.

“Ouch!” Yunhyun frowned and clutched his forehead at Wabur’s surprisingly sharp flick. His hand was so strong that tears welled up in his eyes.

“How dare you treat someone like a con artist? I may be a cheeky monk, but I’ve never deceived anyone…except for a very few exceptions!” Wabur rebuked with a stern expression.

But Yunhyun rubbed his forehead and grumbled inwardly. *A very few exceptions…if you put it that way, where would there be a con artist in the world?*

“Ahem, so from now on, you have two things to do.” Wabur, slightly stung by Yunhyun’s teary-eyed appearance, cleared his throat and continued. “First, do that training sword. Whether it’s night or day, as you want, as much as you want.”

Even with tears in his eyes, Yunhyun was delighted. If he was told to train, there was nothing more welcome than that.

“Second, mental imagery training.”

“Mental imagery training?” Yunhyun tilted his head at the unfamiliar term. *Mental imagery training seemed to be training with the mind.*

“Yes. How can a guy who can’t even control his own mind control power? There’s nothing better than that for a guy like you who only knows about swords.”

*I don’t only know about swords.*

Yunhyun grumbled inwardly, but Wabur smiled and said, “If you master it well, it will be quite helpful. If you master mental imagery training, you can train even while rolling around in your room.”

Yunhyun’s eyes sparkled. Being able to train even while rolling around in his room was nothing short of welcome news for Yunhyun, who always had trouble finding a place to train.

“I will do as the master says,” Yunhyun said quickly before Wabur changed his mind. “Please give me your teachings.”

“Hmm.” Wabur stroked his shabby beard and nodded with a seemingly serious expression. “Okay. Seeing your sincerity, I will specially bestow my teachings upon you.”

Malice was thickly embedded in the corners of Wabur’s eyes, who was grinning, but Yunhyun didn’t see that because he was bowing. Only the expressionless Dok Gorang was silently watching the two of them.

***

Yunhyun’s life had completely changed. Cleaning in the morning and running errands for tea hadn’t changed, but other than that, he was immersed in training. And Yunhyun began to learn the ‘mental imagery training’ that Wabur had mentioned.

“It doesn’t matter whether you’re sitting, lying down, or upside down,” Wabur said about mental imagery training. “But at first, sitting in meditation will be helpful. In that state, recall your training swordsmanship in your mind, as if you were holding a sword that doesn’t even exist in your hand.”

Yunhyun recalled the mental imagery while sitting in meditation. It wasn’t difficult. Like Wabur said, holding the sword of his heart was already familiar to Yunhyun.

But that wasn’t the whole of mental imagery training.

“And move. Only with your mind.”

Yunhyun tilted his head. Recalling his training wasn’t difficult at all, but Yunhyun, who was reminiscing, was immediately hit on the forehead by Wabur’s finger.

Flick.

“Ugh.” Wabur said bluntly to Yunhyun, who was clutching his forehead, “Who told you to think? I told you to train.”

“No, aren’t I doing it now?”

“It’s not about reminiscing.” Wabur was relentless. “What is more real than what is visible is the invisible mind. The training of moving your hands and feet should rather become a reflection of your mind.”

Wabur’s words, like Zen questions, were not well understood by Yunhyun, but he could feel what Wabur’s intention was: just as the sword held in the mind is felt to be more real than the wooden sword held in the hand.

“Then first, let’s accurately recall the posture…”

Slap.

“Ugh!”

“Why are you deciding that? Are you the one teaching?”

It was true, but Yunhyun felt wronged. If he didn’t start with the posture, what should he start with?

“Then what am I supposed to think about?”

“What do you think about when you train?” At Wabur’s question, Yunhyun answered blankly, “Think? I just do it?”

Wabur chuckled. “Yes, that’s right. Still, you wouldn’t be thinking about other things, so there must be something, right?”

“Um. That’s…”