Chapter 265: Mental Restrictions (3)
As if trying to change the mood, Tang Sowol sidled up next to me with a bashful smile.
Following her lead, the other women likewise took their places one by one—on my other side and behind me.
“Brother Cheon. Just what on earth did you do in your past life?”
“That’s right, that’s right. Cheon Hwi, what kind of karma are you even paying back?”
“In this One’s opinion, perhaps you saved a nation. Is that not why your fortune with women overflows so?”
Saying that, Seo Mun-Hwarin swept her white hair back once and tucked it behind her ear.
Her flippant tone and self-assured attitude. I knew it was said half in jest, but even so, it was the sort of remark that inevitably drew attention to Seo Mun-Hwarin.
More precisely, my gaze ended up focusing on one particular part of Seo Mun-Hwarin.
Shashak. Seo Mun-Hwarin hurriedly covered her chest. Where had her earlier confidence gone? Her face flushed bright red as she shouted,
“T-this One shall grow from now on…!”
“Is that so.”
“This One is not merely saying it! Truly, even if only little by little, This One is growing!”
“If Senior Seo Mun-Hwarin says so, then of course I must believe it.”
“…Iik!”
I nodded with as much kindness as I could muster, yet for some reason Seo Mun-Hwarin grew angry and began smacking my back repeatedly.
Needless to say, her hands were small and she wasn’t putting any inner energy into it, so it didn’t really hurt.
Well.
What Seo Mun-Hwarin said about growing little by little was probably true.
Before the regression, Seo Mun-Hwarin had been half a span taller than now… no, half of half a span… yes, to be honest, about one finger joint taller than she was now.
This stemmed from the peculiar nature of rejuvenation.
If ordinary body refinement was about remodeling the flesh to suit martial arts, then rejuvenation was a phenomenon focused on becoming younger.
The mind being influenced by the younger body, the need to readjust one’s senses to shortened limbs, lagging slightly behind peers in the smooth operation of inner energy…
Compared to body refinement, it had a number of minor drawbacks, but in exchange, one gained a much longer lifespan and the possibility of growth.
That was right. Setting aside Seo Mun-Hwarin’s actual age, her body matched its outward appearance, so naturally not only her height but other parts could grow as well.
…Of course, that was only in theory.
Just because everyone goes through childhood doesn’t mean they all grow tall.
Some are born small-framed, and others fail to grow properly due to poor nourishment.
Seo Mun-Hwarin was precisely that case.
She was simply short and slender, so no matter how much she grew, there would be little difference.
She was probably similar even before rejuvenation.
Moreover, growth itself was a form of aging, so for someone like Seo Mun-Hwarin, who had reached a high realm, even her rate of growth was slow.
Perhaps because only a few years had passed since she achieved rejuvenation, Seo Mun-Hwarin firmly believed in her own potential without a shred of doubt. Watching her for a moment, I quietly patted the top of her head.
“W-what is it! Why are you looking at This One with such eyes?!”
“It’s nothing.”
“Nothing, you say?! You look like you’re consoling a child chasing a futile dream!”
“So you noticed.”
“Mmph! Just you wait! One day This One will make you regret this!”
“I’ll be cheering you on.”
When I nodded vaguely, Seo Mun-Hwarin snorted, rose onto her tiptoes, and began smacking my shoulders instead of my back.
It felt a bit refreshing.
And so, while receiving Seo Mun-Hwarin’s massage (not really), we were on our way back to the guest quarters when—
Tang Jincheon, who had been lost in thought and expertly ignoring our bickering since we left the Great Hero Hall, opened his mouth.
“By the way, son-in-law. What do you plan to do from here on?”
“Pardon? What do you mean?”
“The mental restrictions. To be honest, I never imagined it would be to this extent, so I think your thoughts are the most important here.”
“Hm. First, I should learn more. Since Daoist power is also involved, I think it might be good to seek help from Daoist sects.”
“I’ll look into it separately. Among places you have ties with, Zhongnan Sect and Jeomchang Sect come to mind… but if the Tang Family acts directly, we could also put out feelers to Mount Hua and Wudang.”
“I’d rather not let too many people know, so if possible, I’d like to entrust this to the single most reliable place.”
“If it’s a Daoist sect skilled in heterodox arts, then Mosan Sect would be the first choice, but…”
“That place was exterminated quite a long time ago.”
“Indeed. Since Mosan Sect’s legacy was divided among various sects, it would be best to discreetly find out, through someone tight-lipped, which sect inherited anything related to mental restrictions or the Great Luo Immortal.”
“Then you’ll contact Zhongnan Sect first.”
“Most likely. I do have a connection with that fellow, the Flowing Cloud Sword Immortal.”
Back when Tang Jincheon roamed the martial world in his youth, one of the people he traveled with had supposedly become the sect leader of Zhongnan Sect.
I hadn’t spoken with him directly for very long, but I could tell he was someone reliable.
If he was also Tang Jincheon’s longtime friend, there was no better choice than the Flowing Cloud Sword Immortal.
As I nodded inwardly, Tang Jincheon let out a deep sigh.
“This is getting more and more complicated. Before we proceed, let’s clarify one thing. Son-in-law, do you want to have the mental restrictions lifted?”
“…That was too direct. Let’s see… Right. What do you think of Daoist and Buddhist sects? Those who were originally meant to cultivate the Dao and seek enlightenment are now taking up weapons and deeply involving themselves in worldly affairs, are they not?”
It was a somewhat abrupt topic, but what mattered here wasn’t what answer I gave.
If I answered positively, he would take it as me wanting the restrictions lifted. If I answered negatively, he would understand that I had no such intention for now.
After choosing my words for a moment, I slowly opened my mouth.
“I…”
At that instant, my words caught in my throat. The mental restriction had activated, but the sensation was slightly different from before.
My mouth stiffened, yet rather than an overwhelming paralysis, it was more like a strong resistance.
I could roughly guess why. The topic itself was sensitive, but I wasn’t directly mentioning the mental restrictions.
Moreover, Tang Jincheon had already obtained considerable information about them from Abbot Jeong Hyeon.
Drawing up my willpower, I forcibly moved my uncooperative tongue and continued speaking.
“I… think there is a bit of a problem. It seems to stray from the essence, after all.”
The sentence came out with some stuttering, but it was completed nonetheless.
Tang Jincheon, realizing that not only what was said but the intention behind it was also subject to the mental restrictions, let out a hollow chuckle.
“You must have suffered quite a bit until now, son-in-law. I understand. In any case, we’ll investigate first and decide afterward.”
“Thank you, Father-in-law.”
“For what? Considering what you’ve done for the Tang Family, this is nothing.”
“It’s not just this incident. You trusted and accepted me as your son-in-law even though I was quite suspicious, even if I did save Tang Sowol’s life.”
“What are you talking about?”
Tang Jincheon lifted the corners of his mouth in a faint smile and shook his head.
“It seems you’re mistaken about something. How much do you think I really knew about you back then, to immediately trust you?”
“However…”
“The reason I made that decision was half my own judgment, and half my belief that Sowol wouldn’t bring home a strange man.”
“...”
“Do you remember? Even before you came to the Tang Family, you were already half living together with Sowol in that cave.”
“Well, of course.”
“If you’d been a worthless fellow, Sowol wouldn’t have opened her heart like that. In the end, all I did was support what my daughter wanted to do. So direct all your thanks to Sowol.”
Saying that, Tang Jincheon pointed toward Tang Sowol.
Receiving my gaze, Tang Sowol puffed out her chest and lifted her chin, the very picture of smug pride.
As if that wasn’t enough, she even pulled Seol Lihyang and Seo Mun-Hwarin over from both sides and wrapped an arm around each of their shoulders, as though the three of them were a single bundle.
A moment of silence flowed between Tang Jincheon and me.
No matter how used to it he’d become, was this still too much to bear?
Tang Jincheon squeezed his eyes shut as if he’d seen something he shouldn’t have and muttered softly,
“At times, I wonder if I trusted too much.”
“At this point, it’s already too late for regrets. Stay strong.”
“That’s coming from you?”
Tang Jincheon shook his head in disbelief. It was a curious reaction. If not me, who else would say such a thing?
I shrugged once and changed the subject.
“With today, everything at Shaolin is finished. When do you plan to return?”
“Hoo. With no one else around, there’s no reason to stay longer. Everyone’s exhausted from not sleeping for a day, so let’s rest well tomorrow and pack our things, then depart the day after.”
“That works for me.”
As Tang Jincheon said, we were the last guests remaining at Shaolin.
Sangwan Geuk and Sama Yuryeon had apparently had no intention of lingering long at Shaolin, known as the pinnacle of orthodox sects, and left the very next day after exchanging greetings.
Namgung Dowi also returned with regret-laden sighs, saying he’d been away from home too often lately and work had piled up.
As for the Murim Alliance Leader, the moment he heard that suspicious figures were gathering around Abbot Jeong Hyeon and Jeomchang Sect, he headed straight back to the Murim Alliance to deal with it.
Well, I would be meeting the Murim Alliance Leader again soon enough.
After this matter concluded, we had agreed that I would settle urgent affairs and then stay at the Murim Alliance for a while.
I had no idea what scheme the Heavenly Demon would use to turn the Murim Alliance upside down, but to counter it, sticking together would be advantageous.
“Then I’ll mention it to the Divine Monk while we prepare tomorrow.”
Tang Jincheon, who had grown visibly more fatigued in this short time, nodded.
***
Two days later.
After finishing preparations to depart, I headed to the Great Hero Hall to give my final farewell to Abbot Jeong Hyeon.
“Thank you, Abbot.”
“Compared to what Benefactor White Moon Sword Lord has done, this is nothing at all.”
Abbot Jeong Hyeon spoke lightly, but it was also true that thanks to him, my plans had been drastically shortened.
He created a place where the Murim Alliance and the Black Lotus Sect could gather in trust and mediated between the two.
He also uncovered considerable information about my mental restrictions, which I had half given up on after even the Heavenly Demon failed to unravel them.
Only after exchanging brief words of mutual gratitude did I bow deeply.
“I’ll be taking my leave now.”
“Go in peace. I hope we can meet again with good news next time.”
A brief farewell in a warm atmosphere. With a somewhat lighter heart, I was descending Mount Song along the long staircase when—
“Ah.”
A memory from before the regression suddenly surfaced.
I didn’t know whether it was something the Heavenly Demon orchestrated, but an incident that had occurred in the Murim Alliance around this time came to mind.
It had been an incident kept tightly under wraps, something I only heard about from surviving orthodox sect members after the Murim Alliance had fallen. Because it was already past by then, I’d dismissed it as an interesting anecdote, which was why it only now came back to me.
I hurriedly ran back up the stairs I’d just descended, and Abbot Jeong Hyeon turned toward me with a startled expression.
“What is it? Why are you running back in such a hurry? Did you forget something?”
“Yes. Could you perhaps tell me the weakness of the Diamond Vajra Body?”
“…Did Shaolin do something wrong to the benefactor?”
Abbot Jeong Hyeon’s complexion paled.
It was a misunderstanding.