Chapter 45
"As I said before, how much of the pill's efficacy you absorb is entirely up to you, Almsgiver. Of course, it will be a little easier since I am helping. Ah, and if you feel your energy losing its way, just let everything go and follow my energy. Be careful, as a collision of our energies could damage your meridians."
"Yes, Grandmaster."
Click—
As he opened the wooden box, the Small Rebirth Pill I had seen yesterday appeared.
And a faint, clear fragrance spread.
As I was taking in the scent, I heard his urging words to eat it quickly.
'This is my first time eating a Small Rebirth Pill.'
Cheap elixirs... to be honest, I've often eaten things I wonder if you could even call elixirs.
But every time I ate them, there wasn't much of an effect.
Sometimes, I even got an upset stomach, not knowing what was in the elixir.
So, at some point, I stopped trying to obtain elixirs.
'This one will be different.'
I picked up the elixir and brought it straight to my mouth.
Gulp!
It was quite large, about half the size of a fist, but as soon as I put it in my mouth, it seemed to turn semi-liquid and flowed down my throat.
At the same time, an incense-like smell that the monks use and an incredibly clear and cool fragrance burst out from the elixir, making my nose happy.
"From now on, concentrate. The reaction will start to come soon. Actually, the best way is for the elixir's energy to pass through all your meridians and qi and blood, but if fine-tuning is difficult, it's fine to just let it pass through the Governing and Conception Vessels."
The moment I was about to answer him.
BOOM—!
A fierce energy suddenly exploded from my dantian.
I was almost flustered for a moment, but then a noble voice entered my ears.
"It's starting now. Keep your wits about you!"
And, thanks to the warm energy entering through my Mingmen acupoint, I was able to come to my senses.
RUMBLE—
The energy that exploded from my dantian became a fierce torrent and began to pass through my qi and blood.
It wasn't a Great Rebirth Pill, just a Small Rebirth Pill, yet the energy it contained was far greater than I had thought.
Wudang's Micheongdan is what's compared to the Small Rebirth Pill, but when I asked Un Gwang, who had received a Micheongdan before, he didn't say it contained this much energy.
'Keuk... as expected, are Shaolin's elixirs the best?'
A great energy raged, to the point where I felt it was hard to endure.
Even in pain, I focused my mind and began to control the energies.
'Ugh...!'
Then, a pain as if a swarm of ants was biting me began to rise all over my body.
At first, I thought it might be Qi Deviation, but I had never heard of such premonitory symptoms for Qi Deviation.
'I would have to have eaten an elixir before to know if this is normal or not.'
As I silently endured the pain and circulated the Small Rebirth Pill's energy throughout my body, I felt like I was starting to understand what this pain was.
Grandmaster Gakil had said at first that the effect would be better if the energy passed through all the qi and blood in the body.
But because the torrent of energy was so strong, even if I didn't deliberately control it, the energy was passing through all the micro-meridians in every corner of my body, forcibly widening the path.
As the qi and blood were forcibly widened, it was only natural that pain would follow.
'Still, this is a fortuitous encounter...!'
However, I can't contain this joy.
Because right now, I am unintentionally undergoing Marrow Cleansing and Muscle Refining.
Originally, to receive Marrow Cleansing, someone with deep internal energy and outstanding martial arts skills had to forcibly inject energy through Body-Separating Power Transmission to widen the passages of qi and drive out turbid qi.
However, there are many restrictions to that; to perform Marrow Cleansing, one must first learn the same internal qi technique, and even the constitution must match to some extent.
In the first place, there wasn't much turbid qi accumulated in my body, but just the fact that the passages of qi were widening and my body could transform into one more suitable for learning and using martial arts was of great significance.
'Now, one heavenly cycle...!'
After struggling for a long time, I succeeded in circulating the entire energy once.
If it had only passed through the Governing and Conception Vessels, it would have been done long ago, but a lot of time had passed because the energy slowly passed through all the qi and blood in my body, treading carefully.
The energy flowing through my body is very little, but it has become smaller than before.
I had absorbed a certain amount by succeeding in one heavenly cycle.
'Now, the second time!'
I bit my lip so hard to endure the pain that I felt blood trickling down, and I entered the second heavenly cycle.
The more I circulated the energy, the smaller the pain became, and the amount of energy I absorbed gradually increased.
And so, one hour passed.
Finally, I was able to finish the qi circulation.
"Hoo..."
I finally opened my eyes and let out a big breath.
Then, the dark world began to come into view.
It's refreshing.
To the point where I wonder if the world was always this beautiful.
Even though it was already a dark night, the light reflected from the moon in the sky was so brilliant that it was dazzling.
'My qi sense has developed.'
Originally, you can strengthen your eyesight, hearing, etc. by injecting internal energy.
But, that is a temporary thing that is only possible when you inject internal energy.
Now, perhaps because the quality of my body has changed due to the Marrow Cleansing, I can hear more clearly and see more vividly without even trying.
"Ugh, it's damp."
I don't know how painful it was during the qi circulation, but my body was soaked in a cold sweat.
At that moment, I felt two hands gently leave my back.
I remembered that Grandmaster Gakil had been helping me, and I turned my body to him and bowed.
"Thank you so much. If it weren't for the Abbot's help, I might have really suffered from Qi Deviation."
"No... I didn't do anything."
"Pardon?"
Grandmaster Gakil muttered with a serious face.
My words didn't seem to have entered his ears.
"I can't understand it no matter how I try. Was the one I gave you a Great Rebirth Pill, not a Small Rebirth Pill? No, it was definitely a Small Rebirth Pill...!"
"Grandmaster, what do you mean by that..."
"Originally, the energy contained in a Small Rebirth Pill is not that great. If what you, almsgiver, felt was a typhoon, it's originally about a gentle breeze."
I asked what he meant by that, but the Grandmaster didn't answer and was lost in his own thoughts.
He was so deep in thought with such a serious expression that even my Martial Uncle, who had already sheathed his sword and approached us, couldn't easily speak to Grandmaster Gakil.
"Ah...! Could it be?"
He looked at me with eyes as if he had realized something, and then turned me around again.
"Just a moment, may I check your body one more time?"
"I understand."
And, a moment later, he took his hands off my back again and said, "So that's what it was... that's what it was. Now I understand. You... have completely absorbed the energy of the Small Rebirth Pill without leaving a single bit behind."
"Abbot, may I ask for an explanation of what you mean by that?"
"Hyeon Yang, you may know this, but you know that people originally can't fully absorb the energy contained in elixirs or pills, right?"
"Yes, I know. That's why even if you eat a peerless elixir like Gongcheongseokyu or a ten-thousand-year-old snow ginseng, you don't become a peerless master at once."
"Right! But, for some reason, it seems that Almsgiver Unhwi here has absorbed the energy of the Small Rebirth Pill as it is. By any chance, have you ever been fed an elixir in Wudang in the past?"
My Martial Uncle shook his head.
"No, I haven't."
"Darn! Then I can't compare. No, both of you, don't move from here and wait!"
Grandmaster Gakil hurriedly left us and disappeared somewhere out of the guest hall.
He seemed to be in quite a hurry, even using his movement technique.
"Hwi-ya, are you okay?"
"Of course. I'm more than okay. I think my arm is all healed too."
I showed my Martial Uncle by rotating my arm in a circle and then checked my body.
My internal energy, which had originally been flowing like a stream, was now flowing like a rather large river.
It seems I have gained at least twenty years' worth of internal energy from taking one Small Rebirth Pill.
"The energy I feel from you is also extraordinary. But I also found it a little strange."
"What was it?"
"I also had a chance to eat a Small Rebirth Pill once. But, it didn't take as long as you to absorb the energy. It only took about the time of one tea ceremony."
"I see."
Judging from Grandmaster Gakil's reaction and my Martial Uncle's words, I have a feeling that what happened to me when I took the Small Rebirth Pill now is not a common phenomenon.
Still, when I observe my body, I feel twice as strong as before.
It's not a bad thing, it means it's a fortuitous encounter.
Bang
Just as I was about to tell my Martial Uncle that I seemed to have had a fortuitous encounter, the door opened violently.
The person who appeared there was Grandmaster Gakil, who had disappeared in a hurry a moment ago.
He was holding a small wooden box in his hand, and it was the same box that had contained the Small Rebirth Pill I had taken a moment ago.
When he opened the wooden box, as expected, a pure white Small Rebirth Pill revealed itself from within.
"Almsgiver. Are you in good condition now?"
"Yes. Very good."
"Then try eating this one more time."
"This one... one more Small Rebirth Pill? Isn't it bad to eat elixirs like this all at once?"
"Of course, it's not."
I looked at him with a dumbfounded expression.
If you overdose on elixirs, your qi and blood could be damaged, and in severe cases, you could lose control of the overflowing energy and say goodbye to this world.
And yet, Grandmaster Gakil is telling me to eat one more of these.
"Usually, you shouldn't eat so many elixirs at once. Because the unabsorbed energy of the elixir remains in the body and causes a conflict with the energy of the newly eaten elixir, but you, almsgiver, have not a single bit of the Small Rebirth Pill's energy left in your body. In other words, you have absorbed all the energy."
Grandmaster Gakil explained to me with the veins on his neck bulging.
I was dumbfounded, but after observing my body and confirming that there was not a single bit of the Small Rebirth Pill's energy left, I finally answered that I would eat one more.
My Martial Uncle also seems to have a hard time judging whether what we are about to do is okay, as it is the first time in his life.
But, since the abbot of Shaolin, Grandmaster Gakil, was speaking with such conviction, he also reluctantly nodded his head.
'My goodness. Martial Uncle can make that kind of face.'
My Martial Uncle's two eyes, looking at me, are full of worry.
Looking at that, that man really can't express himself well for someone with so much affection.
"Sit there and cross your legs just like before."
"Yes, Abbot."
Following Grandmaster Gakil's words, I took the Small Rebirth Pill in my hand and sat down.
The warm two hands I felt on my back again.
The owner of those hands, Grandmaster Gakil, told me to eat quickly, and I brought the Small Rebirth Pill to my mouth again.
Gulp!
The elixir, which was swallowed as naturally as water this time as well.
And after waiting for a moment, I feel my stomach churning.
It seems to be a sign that the energy of the Small Rebirth Pill is about to explode.
'Huh, it's different from a moment ago.'
When I ate the first Small Rebirth Pill, a storm of qi began to rage with a feeling of something exploding inside me without any warning, but now, from the moment I ate this, my lower abdomen just churned.
'Why is there no reaction...?'
I begin to feel Grandmaster Gakil's energy, which came from my Mingmen acupoint, coming and going around my body.
From that energy, I can also feel that Grandmaster Gakil is very flustered.
As Grandmaster Gakil, whom I had trusted implicitly, became flustered, I also began to feel anxious.
He had spoken as if I should just trust him, but I don't know what on earth is going on.
'Aigoo, my stomach.'
At that moment, my stomach suddenly began to hurt very much.
Until a moment ago, it was just a churning feeling, but now it's really on the verge of exploding.
The moment I thought I couldn't stand the great pain any longer.
Ppoong—
A clear sound echoing from my sphincter.
And, at the same time, my stomach becoming so comfortable.
Me, Grandmaster Gakil behind me, and even my Martial Uncle, who was watching me worriedly from a step away, were all frozen and couldn't make a sound.
But from some point on, a truly clear and bright fragrance began to fill the room.
'The fragrance from the Small Rebirth Pill...?'
The fragrance of the Small Rebirth Pill soon filled the room.
(End of Chapter)