Chapter 16
Even though it was a story I had heard, wasn't it strange that it was happening right here, right now?
However, Yeon Cheongha showed enthusiasm, saying that other things could be confirmed directly.
It might have been a relief to find a clue in that way when he didn't know where to start.
"It might be for the better. If it's that big of a deal, people within the sect might try to jump at it to raise their reputation. This could be helpful to Heavenly Forest."
Then Yeon Cheongha nodded as if he thought what he had said was really right.
"I think that's probably right. Even if the Lord assigned this to me because he was displeased with me, if he knows how serious the matter is, he won't abandon me this time."
That was a very plausible thing to say.
"I'll have to go out again. It's urgent to deliver the news."
Then he looked at us and told us to go with him.
After hearing about the Blood Flesh Herb and Mohwa Mountain Manor, he seemed to think it was too dangerous and couldn't leave us there.
Even Pae Maseong, who was not easily frightened by most things, seemed a little scared then.
* * *
After leaving a message with Heavenly Forest's informant and returning, we stayed at a nearby inn.
And there were people who came to see us there.
In fact, they had come to see Yeon Cheongha, not us, so they talked with him and left, but Yeon Cheongha had us listen to the conversation together.
It didn't feel like Yeon Cheongha had the upper hand in his relationship with them, but I felt that he was slowly changing.
I felt that when it came to protecting us, he didn't seem to bend his will to others.
Yeon Cheongha told them everything he had heard from me about Mohwa Mountain Manor and the Blood Flesh Herb, and the other party asked Yeon Cheongha many things.
Where he thought Mohwa Mountain Manor might be, what he thought their martial arts level might be, how vast an organization he thought it was.
Yeon Cheongha said that it was something they had to find out with their information network.
In my opinion, it seemed that they had also heard something about that.
When I heard what Yeon Cheongha was saying, it didn't feel like I was hearing a completely new story, but rather that they were piecing it together with what they already knew and understanding it.
"Then what should we do now? Rather than going out together, wouldn't it be better for people who are specialized in that area to move?"
At Yeon Cheongha's words, they also agreed and told him to stop this work until he received another contact through the Lord.
Pae Maseong and I looked at each other and nodded.
It was the result we had hoped for the most.
After they left, Yeon Cheongha also looked at us and let out a sigh of relief.
"For now, it seems we've bought some time. But you shouldn't think that things will get easier from now on. If that is actually happening, it's just that time has been pushed back a little, and it's something we'll have to face someday."
I also thought that was probably right, and Pae Maseong also showed enthusiasm.
"The problem is internal energy. Until now, I thought it was enough to increase our internal energy according to the natural order, but now it doesn't seem like we can afford to be so leisurely."
Until Yeon Cheongha said that, I didn't know what he had planned.
"I have some money I've saved up. I think I can buy you some elixirs with that money."
"Master, you don't have to go that far. Or just give it to Pae Maseong. Even if I take an elixir, I don't think I'll be able to digest all of its energy, and it will just be a waste."
Yeon Cheongha was the kind of person who would give me the same thing as Pae Maseong to treat us equally.
But I wanted him to be efficient and not to waste the money he had probably saved up by doing difficult assassination missions his whole life.
At that, Yeon Cheongha laughed.
"I'm not doing it for you. I'm doing it for myself. From now on, whether you like it or not, there will come a moment when I have to entrust my life to you. I'm doing this to ask you to save me then, so don't refuse. Come to think of it, it's not that much. Compare it to hiring my own bodyguards. Even if I hire bodyguards, there's no guarantee that they'll risk their lives to protect me."
"That's me too..."
At my words, Yeon Cheongha burst out laughing.
Then he looked at Pae Maseong.
"Why don't you say it's okay, Maseong?"
"I think it's better for me to take the elixir and protect you, master. If I just gain internal energy, I will risk my life to protect you and Socheong."
It was a little cool.
Pae Maseong was definitely a different person from me.
I don't think I could think like that.
I don't know if it's because individualism has become rampant while living in modern society, or if I'm just a person who is far from being altruistic, but anyway, it was a little amazing.
Yeon Cheongha had a pleased face and nodded with a smile.
"I seem to be very lucky. I unexpectedly got two disciples, and both of them are so intelligent and brave."
Yeon Cheongha seemed to think highly of me too.
At first, I thought he was doing it because he was afraid I would feel intimidated by comparing myself to Pae Maseong, but it seemed it was because of what I had found out about Mohwa Mountain Manor and the Blood Flesh Herb.
After that, Yeon Cheongha often praised me while talking about that story. He said that even if he had heard such a story, it would have been difficult to connect it to the current situation, and he wondered how I had thought of that old story right now, and that I had saved us all.
It was an amazing thing to think about.
To live as a person around Pae Maseong, it would be natural to be compared to others and feel inferior, but I had no need for that at all.
Pae Maseong hadn't made any other friends for several years and always treated me incredibly well, calling me his only friend, and Yeon Cheongha, who had taken him and me as his disciples, remembered my strengths and praised me.
"While I go get the elixir, you two look at this and memorize the acupoints accurately. It will be necessary when I do the ki circulation for you."
Then he handed us a book of acupoints.
I knew the acupoints to some extent, but that was more detailed.
After he went to get the elixir, we memorized it diligently.
I found that kind of thing easy, but Pae Maseong had a hard time.
It reminded me of when he was struggling to learn the basics of sword forms in Nether Shadow Valley. Pae Maseong would sometimes get flustered with the basic parts, which was embarrassing.
But it wasn't a problem that could be overlooked.
Later, Pae Maseong had to protect my life, so I held him down and asked him questions to make sure he had memorized it properly.
"Where is the Qihai acupoint?"
"Ah... uh."
"What are the eight extraordinary meridians?"
"I know that. The Ren meridian, the Du meridian..."
"And?"
"Ah... what... is it?"
At times like that, I even wondered if Pae Maseong was deliberately doing this to boost my confidence.
In any case, we eventually memorized it all and put more effort into our training while waiting for Yeon Cheongha to return.
It took longer than I thought for Yeon Cheongha to return, and when he did, his face was flushed.
He seemed unusually excited for him, so I wondered what was wrong, and Yeon Cheongha said.
"I was really lucky. I got the inner core of a hard-to-get spiritual beast."
Hearing those words, I somehow had a feeling that he hadn't been able to get two.
How much would the inner core of a spiritual beast cost?
No matter how frugally Yeon Cheongha had saved money while doing assassination missions, it didn't seem like he would be able to buy two of those things.
"Then give it to Pae Maseong, master."
"Is that okay, Socheong? I'll definitely get yours next time."
You don't have to.
I already knew how painful it was to take the inner core of a spiritual beast, and if my martial arts level increased, there would be more things to step up for, but in fact, I didn't want to do any of that at all.
If Pae Maseong was willing to take it, I should be grateful to him.
My words were proven right soon enough.
When Yeon Cheongha sat Pae Maseong down and gave him the inner core of the spiritual beast, an incredible thing happened.
Pae Maseong was a child with great patience.
He was a person who didn't show it even when it was very difficult and painful.
But such a Pae Maseong, as soon as he swallowed the inner core of the spiritual beast, his eyes widened, and his body bent sharply.
He twisted his whole body as if he had lost his mind and didn't know what to do. It was so scary and creepy just to watch from the side.
Yeon Cheongha spoke to Pae Maseong from his side.
"The power of the inner core is spreading through your body. You will be able to withstand that energy. There is a reason why I gave it to you and not to Socheong. Your blood vessels can accept the power of the inner core, but if I had given it to Socheong, his blood vessels would have been severed and melted."
Hearing those words, I felt a cold sweat run down my face.
If I had asked for it too without knowing that, I might have died.
Yeon Cheongha placed his two hands on Pae Maseong's back.
Then he told him to move his power as he called it out, and Pae Maseong seemed to be doing as he said.
With Yeon Cheongha there, it felt like there was some guidance on what to do from then on.
Sweat flowed endlessly from Pae Maseong's forehead. It still seemed difficult and painful, but Pae Maseong was concentrating.
That continued for two hours, and later, Pae Maseong's expression looked a little more comfortable.
Yeon Cheongha helped Pae Maseong from behind until he was exhausted, and finally, when Pae Maseong had absorbed all the power of the inner core, he opened his eyes.
"Well done, Maseong. Really well done."
"Master..."
Pae Maseong also had a moved face, as if he felt something.
"Thank you, master."
"You have to protect us well from now on."
"You don't have to worry about that."
Pae Maseong definitely seemed to feel the power of the inner core and looked more confident than ever before.
Then he said he wanted to train and hurried.
I was also curious about Pae Maseong's change, so I followed him, and it was also fun to watch what happened when you took an elixir.
Pae Maseong seemed to be moving as usual, but it seemed that everything was not going as he thought.
He just tried to run and was surprised that his body was moving too fast, and he jumped up and was surprised again at how high he was.
At first, it seemed amazing and good, but he seemed to realize that it wasn't something to just be happy about.
If you can't predict your own movements, how can you fight?
Pae Maseong, as if he thought he had a lot to do from now on, did not rest from his training.
(End of Chapter)