Gatewalker: Remnant of the Tang Clan Chapter 12: Chapter 11 - Ilho

Read chapter 12 of Gatewalker: Remnant of the Tang Clan by TheeRaven on NovelPedia.

Chapter 11 - Ilho Ilho sat quietly in his room. He stared at the scroll Sa Gwan had given him. Phantom Veil. As he studied the sun poked through the cracks of his door. "Shit, I'm late." He stood and rushed outside. As he closed the door and went to leave he noticed the shadow. He turned and looked up. "Ahhh" he fell down against the guardrail. Sa Gwan was perched like a gargoyle on the roof. Ilho caught his breath. "What the hell man?" Sa Gwan disappeared and reappeared in front him. He patted his head and vanished again. Ilho stood searching. On the northern courtyard Sa Gwan stood in the courtyard surrounded by bamboo poles. Ilho approached the courtyard. "What am I supposed to do?" Sa Gwan disappeared again and was now perched stop the wall. Ilho stood in between the bamboo poles studying the layout. "Shadow step, these are laid out like the first form of Phantom Veil." Ilho got to work. He spent an hour weaving his way through the poles. He would knock one down, replace it and reset. He tried again. Same outcome. Same bamboo pole knocked to the ground. He looked towarsd Sa Gwan and yelled. "Hey! You going to, I don't know, be my master. Yell at me? Give me tips?" No response. "For fuck's sake." Ilho spent the day training, never making it past that one bamboo pole. The one step in shadow step where he slipped up everytime. Wu Jin approached Sa Gwan on the wall. "Jang says his dummy will be ready. How about your loudmouth?" He looked at Ilho stumbling through the bamboo. "How long do you intend to torture him with your silence?" Wu Jin looked at him. "Until he's ready." Sa Gwan muttered. "Let's hope you break that silence in the coming two weeks then." Wu Jin left. Ilho trained until night fell. Sa Gwan approached him. Flicked his forward and left to pick up the bamboo poles. Ilho sighed. "All day, not one word. And that damn bamboo pole kept tripping me up." Ilho looked down at his right shin. It was purple and blue. "Fuck." The next twelve days only got better through repetition. Ilho dashed through the poles, each day making it a little farther. He would stare at Sa Gwan as he picked up the poles and placed them back where they belonged. Each time hoping for guidance. Each time receiving nothing. Nothing, but his cold eyes staring back. On the eighth day, Ilho was stuck on the eleventh pole. He picked it up off the ground and threw it as far as he could. Ilho sighed. "This is insane." But he knew he was changing, his steps were lighter, he was moving quicker. His balance improved Sa Gwan jumped down picked up the pole and replaced it. He turned to Ilho and finally spoke. “Power is visible. Precision is not. One fools the world. The other kills it.” He vanished and a second later was perched atop the wall again. Ilho stood contemplating his words, trying to find the meaning behind the first thing his master had said in two weeks. On the last day of training he courtyard looked different. Feathers tied to the tops of bamboo poles. Small flags pierced into stalks. Blue. Red. Yellow. All fluttered in the wind. “What the hell am I supposed to do now?” Sa Gwan dropped from the wall and stood beside him. He vanished. When Ilho blinked, every flag was gone. Not a single feather stirred. Sa Gwan calmly walked back across the field, replacing each one. He stopped in front of Ilho. Patted him on the head. Then back to his perch. Ilho stared at the field. He tried. Again and again. Each dash between poles stirred feathers. He knocked over three poles. “WHY DID YOU PICK ME?!” he shouted at Sa Gwan. No answer. As the sun fell over the compound, Ilho stood before the poles. "Power is visible, precision is not, power is visible, precision is not." He steadied himself and dashed forward. As Ilho dashed, Wu Cheng appeared next to Sa Gwan. They both watched as Ilho darted between the poles. He stood at the end of the platform flags in hand. No feathers disturbed. Cheng and Sa Gwan looked at each other as they heard Ilho yell "HOLY SHIT! I