Chapter 2
A great ripple spread through the hearts of So-ah and Im-yi.
They had been happy when they heard they would become laborers at Lord Nam’s house, but the resonance of Moyong Cheon’s words was on a completely different level.
‘Never again… no one…’
‘Can torment us?’
Words hold great power.
That is why it is sometimes said that a single word can repay a debt of a thousand gold pieces.
Moyong Cheon’s single phrase made So-ah and Im-yi realize it instinctively.
That they absolutely had to take the hand the Living Buddha Grandpa was offering.
And that their lives were about to change completely.
“We’ll follow you.”
“Living Buddha Grandpa.”
At that moment, on that day.
The course of So-ah and Im-yi’s lives was decided.
***
Moyong Cheon took the children and returned to his estate on Samryun Peak of Mount Daeak.
Along the way, So-ah and Im-yi were utterly astonished.
Because their grandpa had slung them over his shoulders and flown through the sky.
Of course, Moyong Cheon hadn’t actually flown like a bird.
However, the technique of his Ten-Second Invincible Arts that corresponded to lightness skills and footwork, the Swift Whale Step, was so ethereal as it traversed the deep mountains—like a whale gliding through the sea—that So-ah and Im-yi could only perceive it as flying.
“Grandpa… you’re the best!”
“Wow… Grandpa, you’re an immortal, right? Right? You really are a Living Buddha!”
So-ah and Im-yi chattered excitedly upon arriving at the estate.
Moyong Cheon watched them with a pleased expression before speaking.
“Ho ho, So-ah and Im-yi can also fly through the sky if they learn martial arts.”
“Wow! Really?”
“For real?”
“Of course. This old grandpa intends to teach you martial arts. Martial arts are like a double-edged sword; used incorrectly, they can lead to dangerous consequences, but at times they are useful for protecting oneself, one’s family, and even ruling an era.”
At Moyong Cheon’s words, So-ah and Im-yi’s eyes sparkled as they let out cheers.
“Yeah! I can’t believe I get to learn martial arts!”
“Ah, this is so great!”
Moyong Cheon let out a chuckle at the sight.
But their reaction was entirely understandable.
Among the dozen or so martial arts schools in Deokyang County, Sichuan, not a single one had a monthly fee of less than fifteen silver taels.
Considering this, for the orphans So-ah and Im-yi, it was a golden opportunity they would never have again.
Moreover, who was Moyong Cheon?
He was the supreme master of the Orthodox Martial Alliance, one who could be discussed as the greatest under heaven in the current era.
If anyone who knew the state of the martial world were to see this, they would be green with envy of So-ah and Im-yi.
“Seeing you so happy makes me happy too. Starting tomorrow, I will teach you the martial arts of the Moyong Family. My own ultimate technique, the ‘Ten-Second Invincible Arts,’ involves hellish pain and is nothing more than a ruthless fighting skill, so it would be better for you to learn the noble arts of the Moyong Family. Even if you do not become martial artists in the future, it is an art excellent for health and helpful for self-cultivation, so learn it well.”
“Yes!”
“Thank you, Grandpa. Ah! Should we call you Master now?!”
At Im-yi’s cheerful mumble, Moyong Cheon couldn’t help but burst out laughing again.
“Ho ho, is there a need for that? Just call me Grandpa.”
“Hehe, actually, I like that better too.”
“Me too!”
So-ah and Im-yi grabbed onto Moyong Cheon’s legs, hanging off them playfully.
***
Moyong Cheon’s tranquil daily life was completely transformed.
He renovated the storage shed in a corner of the estate into a bathhouse so the children could wash comfortably, and he greatly expanded the kitchen hearth to prepare enough food to fill the bellies of his family of three.
Furthermore, whenever he caught a wild animal, skinned it, cleaned its innards, and roasted it to a golden brown over a charcoal fire, So-ah and Im-yi would gulp down their saliva, their faces alight with anticipation.
Moyong Cheon found his own sudden foray into childcare amusing, but since it was something he did out of affection, he was content.
However, this peaceful routine did not last long.
“Ugh… ugh…”
Late at night.
Im-yi, who had gone to bed, let out a groan, breaking into a cold sweat that soaked her blankets.
Moyong Cheon, who had been meditating under the moonlight, heard Im-yi’s groans and at first thought she was just having a nightmare.
However, Im-yi’s pained sounds continued to flow out.
‘Where does it hurt…’
Finally, filled with worry, Moyong Cheon entered the children’s quarters and gently checked Im-yi’s pulse.
And then,
‘Th-This is…!’
His face turned a deathly pale, and he was utterly aghast.
‘Her heartbeat is irregular, and a dreadful cold energy is sweeping through every corner of her fine meridians. This is undoubtedly the Nine Yin Severed Meridians!’
Moyong Cheon frowned, letting out a low sigh.
“…Ah!”
Of all things, why the Nine Yin Severed Meridians?
The Nine Yin Severed Meridians was a condition of a body born with powerful yin energy, a symptom that could not be easily cured by medical arts.
Of course, the Nine Yin Severed Meridians was not absolutely incurable.
One could survive by learning martial arts renowned as the most yang-aligned under heaven, like the Nine Yang Divine Manual or the Nine Heavens Extreme Yang Art, or by consuming spiritual medicines like the Sunfire Carp (a rare carp with an inner core containing extreme yang energy) or a ten-thousand-year-old snow ginseng.
However, Moyong Cheon had mastered neither the Nine Yang Divine Manual nor the Nine Heavens Extreme Yang Art, and to obtain spiritual medicines like the Sunfire Carp or a ten-thousand-year-old snow ginseng right now would require at least a year of wandering.
Just then.
“Ugh… ugh…”
As if the pain had intensified, Im-yi’s body began to convulse.
Startled, So-ah also woke up and looked at Im-yi with worried eyes.
“Im-yi… are you hurting again?”
“Ugh… ugh…”
Im-yi couldn’t answer.
Moyong Cheon asked So-ah.
“So-ah. Has Im-yi often been in pain like this?”
“Yes, Grandpa…”
“Hmm…”
Moyong Cheon first helped Im-yi sit up and infused his internal energy into her.
Although the internal energy of Moyong Cheon’s Great Path Heart Law was not yang-aligned enough to completely control the cold energy, it possessed such a pure and profound power that as it quickly circulated through Im-yi’s Conception and Governor vessels and all the fine meridians in her body, her pain subsided.
“Im-yi. Are you feeling a bit more yourself now?”
“Yes… Grandpa.”
“You must have been in a lot of pain all this time.”
“Yes…”
“Im-yi.”
“Yes?”
“I will be honest with you. You are suffering from an illness called the Nine Yin Severed Meridians. It cannot be cured by medical arts, nor can I cure it with my abilities.”
At Moyong Cheon’s words, Im-yi’s face darkened.
She was suddenly struck with fear.
“But it’s not that there’s no way. In the martial world, there is someone who, like you, was born with the Nine Yin Severed Meridians but managed it by applying it to her martial arts and became a top-level master of the martial world.”
“Who… who is that?”
“The Abbess of the Emei Sect, the Sword Empress, Hong-ryeon.”
“Ah…”
“I must ask her for your sake. Fortunately, the Emei Sect is in Sichuan, so if we leave right now, we should be able to arrive by dawn.”
***
Moyong Cheon ran and ran.
He could not delay, as Im-yi’s condition was critical.
Although the Swift Whale Step was not the number one lightness skill under heaven, Moyong Cheon’s stamina had reached a divine level, allowing him to sprint at full power through the night without a single sip of water and reach the entrance of the Emei Sect.
Just then.
Two women dressed in simple martial uniforms approached Moyong Cheon and the children.
“Old sir, from here on is the private land of our sect. Outsiders are not permitted to enter.”
The woman who spoke was barely twenty, more of a girl than a woman.
Her tone was somewhat haughty for addressing an old man, but Moyong Cheon paid it no mind.
“Young ladies of the Emei Sect, I see. This old man has come here to meet Abbess Hong-ryeon.”
At that, the women looked at each other with surprised eyes before asking again.
“Are you perhaps a martial artist?”
“Though I am but an old man, you could say so.”
“An appointment is required to meet the Abbess. I apologize, but we have not received any such instructions…”
“Of course, I am well aware. However, the situation is so urgent that I have come unannounced like this. I believe Abbess Hong-ryeon will certainly not turn me away once she knows I have come.”
The women finally guessed that the old man before them was no ordinary person.
Thus, with a polite attitude different from before, they asked.
“May we know your esteemed name?”
“This old man is Moyong Cheon of the Moyong Family.”
“H-Huh!”
“What?!”
The women were flabbergasted at Moyong Cheon’s words.
“How could this lowly girl have failed to recognize the great God of War, a man like Mount Tai in the Orthodox Martial Alliance…”
“I-I apologize, Senior God of War!”
Seeing this, So-ah and Im-yi thought,
‘Wow…’
‘Grandpa is so awesome!’
They realized anew just how incredible their Living Buddha Grandpa was.
***
“I never dreamed that the God of War himself would grace us with his presence.”
Abbess Hong-ryeon.
Though she was a woman past sixty, the exquisite harmony of her profound internal energy and her Nine Yin Severed Meridians constitution made her look no older than a young woman in her thirties.
“You seem to have grown even younger, Abbess.”
Moyong Cheon returned the cupped fist salute to the respectfully greeting Hong-ryeon.
“But who are these cute children? They must be from the Moyong Family, I presume?”
“They are not.”
“Then…”
“These children are orphans who have lost their parents.”
“But why have you?”
“I have decided to take them in.”
Abbess Hong-ryeon looked somewhat surprised.
But it was only for a moment.
Hong-ryeon began to observe So-ah and Im-yi carefully.
She looked at Im-yi with particular intensity.
“They are fine children. With their righteous, shining eyes and jade-like faces. I think I understand why the God of War decided to take them in.”
“I am only grateful that you see them in a good light.”
“Then, I would now like to hear the reason for the God of War’s visit to our sect.”
Hong-ryeon got to the point.
It was a bit direct for someone welcoming an honored guest, but she was curious about the true purpose of the God of War’s visit.
“I have a request.”
“How could I refuse a request from the God of War, who is called the Mount Tai of the Orthodox Martial Alliance? Please, speak your mind freely.”
“Please take in Im-yi.”
“…”
“Im-yi is a child born with the Nine Yin Severed Meridians.”
***
Abbess Hong-ryeon checked Im-yi’s pulse.
Then, after touching various joints on her body, such as her shoulders, arms, legs, and knees, she wore a satisfied expression and instructed her disciples.
“Guide the children so they may look around our sect.”
“Yes, Abbess!”
The disciples of the Emei Sect took So-ah and Im-yi by the hand and left the room.
A short while later…
Only she and Moyong Cheon remained in Hong-ryeon’s neat and tidy quarters.
Just then, Hong-ryeon, who had been moistening her lips with her teacup, let out a small laugh and spoke.
“She’s an interesting child. For her to be able to remain composed even though the cold energy of the Nine Yin Severed Meridians has already invaded her marrow, it must be because she was born with a strong spirit, don’t you think?”
“I was surprised as well. But what is important is that no matter how pure a child Im-yi is born to be, she will never survive if you do not take her in, Abbess.”
“The Nine Yin Severed Meridians is certainly a difficult condition to manage. However, it’s not as if there is no way at all. If she consumes extreme yang spiritual medicines like the Sunfire Carp or a ten-thousand-year-old snow ginseng, she could have a narrow escape from death.”
“Where could one possibly find such rare spiritual medicines right now?”
“If I were to treat that child’s Nine Yin Severed Meridians, I would have to pass on my ultimate life-or-death technique and even teach her a part of the Emei Sect’s secret ultimate art, the Nine Yang Divine Manual.”
Moyong Cheon’s heart grew heavy.
Thinking about it, it certainly made sense.
The reason Abbess Hong-ryeon was praised as the Sword Empress, having sublimated her Nine Yin Severed Meridians rather than suffering from it, was due to the excellent synergy between her martial arts and her condition.
But to bestow the grace of saving a life by passing on one’s own martial arts to a complete stranger was beyond common sense.
Even if Abbess Hong-ryeon refused the request, he would have nothing to say.
Just then.
“I will raise her.”
“…!”
“She is a child born with the Nine Yin Severed Meridians, a pure soul, and even a flexible bone structure. She might even be a suitable talent to inherit my martial arts. In return,”
Moyong Cheon’s eyes shone with heroic light.
“Please speak, Abbess. I will grant you anything.”
“Your duel with the Heavenly Demon is in nine years, is it not?”
“That is so.”
“If the God of War is victorious, the martial world will achieve a unification of the righteous and unorthodox factions, something unprecedented in history.”
“…”
“If that happens, please promise me one thing.”
“What would that be?”
“Please use your influence, God of War, so that the leader of the Martial Alliance may come from the Emei Sect.”
(End of Chapter)