Chapter 9
“Hyek…! Hek…! Oh gosh, I’m dying…!”
I glanced over at Chun-bong, sprawled out on the ground and wriggling like a fish. This was the price she paid for winning a game of tag with those big guys.
“You really need to work out. Can’t keep getting winded like that,” I said, clicking my tongue. Naturally, she shot me a piercing glare.
“If you hadn’t done something so insane, I wouldn’t be like this!”
“What did I do? Haven’t you heard the saying? Be cautious of kids and women in the martial world!”
“That doesn’t mean…! Ugh! It’s not like adult men are exempt either!”
“Oh, good point.”
Nodding in acknowledgment, she spat out a sticky mixture of saliva and blood.
“Thought I was really gonna die…”
After catching her breath for a while, she genuinely asked, “So why did you do that? If a woman clings to you, you just need to pat her rear a few times and send her off.”
“What… Does our dear Kim Chun-bong not have any sense of chastity?”
“They’re doing it for a living, you know!”
I listened as she explained how some women survived in the alleys, while many were kidnapped by the Black Tiger Sect and forced into becoming cheap courtesans.
“They even cut the tendons in one of their legs so they can’t escape.”
“Cut their tendons? Those lunatics!” I exclaimed.
“Like you’re any better? Seriously.”
Chun-bong clicked her tongue, and my mind drifted back to the woman I had seen on my first day in the martial world.
Was she also forced into such a life? I couldn’t tell if that was better than dying.
While we rested, I shared that story with Chun-bong. She looked at me strangely.
“Do you have some kind of woman-hating issue? Like, do you get pissed off whenever you see a woman?”
“It’s not hate; it’s just that I don’t trust them. What if someone stabs me in the back while I’m fighting hard?”
“Oh for goodness’ sake. Am I not also a woman?”
“You’re Chun-bong before you’re a woman.”
After resting enough, I scooped her up and started moving.
“And you, little bug, what’s with your whining about being a woman?”
“I’m old enough to get married, you jerk!”
“Yeah, right. Next topic.”
With that, we walked in silence for a while. Occasionally, she would point in a direction, and I’d change course like a puppet on strings.
Finally, we arrived at another back alley.
“Wow, it’s huge. This back alley could rival a city,” I remarked.
Chun-bong brushed off my mumbling and patted my shoulder.
“Let’s check over there. It wasn’t crowded before.”
She pointed to a building that looked similar to where we used to live, but in even worse shape. It seemed like it could crumble with just a tap.
“Are you sure we won’t die in our sleep?”
“We won’t die.”
Once inside, we stumbled into a pigsty—figuratively speaking. It was a real wreck of a man compared to us.
“What are you? Get lost!”
“Hey, there’s someone here.”
“Uh… Should I kick him out?”
“Why are you so mean? The man lives here.”
“WHAT THE HECK? THIS BASTARD IS A BUTCHER!”
As we chatted, the ragged man quietly picked up a rock the size of a fist nearby.
“Hey, leave that at your waist. That’s not a toy for a kid,” he said.
“Uh… Uncle, how about you put that down? You might cause a big mess,” Chun-bong added.
At my words, she eyed the man warily.
“You little…”
The man stepped forward, glaring.
“Stop with the nonsense and hand it over!”
His hand reached out. I, still carrying Chun-bong, quickly sidestepped.
“Whoops!”
The man tripped over his own feet and fell. He glared and huffed at us.
“I was trying to be nice!”
The man jumped up, raising the rock high. I reached out with my other hand.
Thwack!
The thrown dart hit the man’s forehead dead-on.
“Ugh!”
He grabbed his forehead and rolled on the ground, prompting Chun-bong to remark, “You’re not gonna kill him?”
“Am I some kind of psychopath?”
Knowing how to control my newfound skill, I adjusted its power easily. It was a handy technique I had developed.
“You little brats…!”
Yet the ragged man, still oblivious to the situation, lunged again.
After about five minutes of back and forth…
“Heh, heh…! Oh great hero…! I didn’t recognize your greatness!”
Beaten thoroughly, the ragged man now lay on the ground, groveling.
While Chun-bong was tidying up, she shot me a contemptuous look.
“How on Earth did he survive till now with that kind of attitude?”
“True words! It was pure luck!”
Yikes… Chun-bong stumbled upon a rotting food morsel on the ground and looked horrified.
“Hey, you better clean that up. I almost had to handle it myself!”
Hearing her, the man stole a glance at me, and Chun-bong raised an eyebrow.
“…Is this guy for real?”
“Whoa now, Chun-bong. You can’t use violence like that,” I said, shaking my head.
“Then what did you think you were doing?”
“I’m different.”
“You lunatic.”
I chuckled and waved my hand dismissively.
“Hey uncle, it’s tough for Chun-bong, so you should clean up a bit.”
“Yes, yes, of course, great hero!”
While the man rushed to clean up at lightning speed, I squatted next to Chun-bong.
“Honestly, it’s a shame.”
“Forget about it, don’t dwell. We can’t even sell it.”
Initially, I had two swords from my criminal friends, and I got seven more from the friends who turned into corpses along with Jang Chunduk.
I thought they could fetch a nice price if I found the right blacksmith.
“Couldn’t we just sell it secretly?”
“They wouldn’t take it. If the Black Tiger Sect catches wind of it, they’d wipe out everything.”
“Is that so?”
That was unfortunate to hear.
I licked my lips, and Chun-bong poked me in the side.
“More importantly, we need to check for a market nearby. The one we used to visit is too far.”
“Oh, right.”
I turned to the man who was still cleaning.
“Hey uncle, is there a market nearby?”
“Yes? Oh, yes! There is one! Shall I guide you there?”
“Once you’re done cleaning.”
Tsk, tsk. A tiny click of the tongue was heard.
The big-hearted me decided to let it slide, but Chun-bong still had questions.
“Hey, what about the nearby factions?”
“Factions, you say?”
As he swept up the rotten food with his hands, the man frowned in thought.
“Hmm… It’s ambiguous. This territory isn’t under the control of either the Black Tiger Sect or the smaller gangs.”
“Oh, that sounds good, doesn’t it?”
But she shook her head.
“That just means they’re all around—those scoundrels. If there were only one, maybe we could negotiate, but with many, they can keep chasing us over and over.”
“Wow.”
That’s a pretty terrible living condition. It must mean he sees at least one thug now and then.
Actually, maybe that’s not so bad. It’s like having sparring partners walk right into my lap.
Those sorts of guys are easy to deal with too.
Chun-bong frowned at my words.
“I mentioned before, blood attracts malice…”
“Okay, okay, I got it. Gosh, you’re really picky.”
“Worrying for you is useless.”
I smirked and ruffled her hair.
“Oh, so you were worrying about me? How sweet.”
“Don’t mess with me.”
“Hehe, you got me.”
“Damn you!”
She smacked me again.
*
After wrapping up the cleaning and guiding, the man departed with a servile smile.
Though he had no plans to give his home back, he mentioned that there were still empty houses if we wanted to find one.
“Just live while cleaning a bit.”
“Of course, great hero.”
So, the middle-aged beggar left.
As Chun-bong surveyed our reclaimed dwelling, her eyes sharpened with determination.
“Then let’s get started as soon as possible.”
“Started with what?”
“Training in the Yellow Cloud Divine Sword. First, we’ll work on the Yellow Cloud Divine Art.”
*
Unlike when she taught me the Three Calamity Sword Techniques, Chun-bong became a strict and sharp teacher.
“Memorize it again. If you get this wrong, you’re in deep trouble.”
“There’s so much to remember.”
“No whining!”
I struggled to memorize the various acupoints and terms, filling my head with names like Baihui, Renzhong, Tiantu, Danzhong, Zhongwan, Qihai, Huiyin, and Mili.
Starting from the Blood of the Conception Vessel and covering all the rest along with terms related to the Twelve Meridians and Eight Extraordinary Meridians was enough to give anyone a headache.
“The Three Calamity Heart Techniques aren’t high-level and are fairly broad, making them safer. But the Yellow Cloud Divine Art is different. It wouldn’t be called divine if it wasn’t dangerous—mess it up and you might explode without a trace, so memorize this correctly.”
So I memorized it. Yet, as I practiced martial arts, it seemed my memory improved; it didn’t take me as long as I feared.
“Alright, now I’ll tell you about the qi circulation path for the Yellow Cloud Divine Art.”
I memorized that too.
“Next comes the incantations.”
I memorized that as well.
“The Yellow Cloud Divine Art is fundamentally based on the Wuji and Taiji concepts.”
“What’s Wuji…?”
“Wuji and Taiji. Wuji is equivalent to Taiji; it means the harmonious state of chaos, the void, and the beginning of all things.”
“Sounds grand.”
“Just keep it in mind. You’ll realize its meaning as you practice the Yellow Cloud Divine Art.”
“Wow.”
After memorizing everything, I began to practice qi cultivation based on the Yellow Cloud Divine Art.
It was noticeably different from the Three Calamity Heart Techniques—its path was so complex that I felt like I could easily veer off in the wrong direction.
“Cough…! Ah, blood.”
“Hey, hey! Focus!”
Fortunately, having the Three Calamity Heart Techniques as a foundation meant I didn’t have to completely let go of my paltry abilities.
After getting somewhat accustomed to the Yellow Cloud Divine Art, I started learning the Yellow Cloud Divine Sword.
“I haven’t mastered it, either. After all, I learned the Clear Sky Divine Sword instead of the Yellow Cloud Divine Sword.”
“What?”
In disbelief, I looked at Chun-bong, who was staring at me wide-eyed.
“What? The Yellow Cloud Divine Art and Yellow Cloud Divine Sword are built on two powerful forces, making them ill-suited for women. The counterpart, Clear Sky Divine Art and Clear Sky Divine Sword, are tailored for women.”
“Ah, I see.”
“Eventually, they will merge into Taiji as you progress.”
And like that, a year passed.
*
“You’re a real natural at handling qi. Honestly, I think you could be the best of all time.”
“Of course. That’s me.”
Nodding, I received a glare from Chun-bong.
She wanted to say something, but the truth was the truth; there was no denying it.
From the moment I started learning the Three Calamity Heart Techniques, I had managed my qi as if it were my own hands. Even when fighting the Black Tiger Sect, I fought remarkably well with my minuscule qi.
“But you don’t have much talent for body techniques. Not that you can’t do it, but there’s a big difference from your talent for handling qi.”
“Really?”
“Stop patting me!”
Chun-bong dodged my hand while huffing and puffing. I chuckled at her antics.
It had already been a year, yet that little body showed no signs of growing. Was it because of her blocked meridians, or was she just done growing? Either way, it was still cute, and I didn’t mind at all.
“In any case, just know this. It looks like there isn’t much left for me to teach you… cough…!”
Suddenly, I coughed up some blood. Chun-bong pretended not to notice as she wiped it off with her clothes, but I, now realizing the dangers of martial arts, couldn’t ignore it.
‘This is dangerous.’
If this continued, my life would be at risk. Was there anywhere to find medicinal elixirs?
Tap, tap, I tapped the sword at my waist with my fingers.
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