Chapter 3
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: penny
Chapter: 3
Chapter Title: Entering the Mountain
-----------------------------------------------------------------
To So-hyang from her previous life, this was familiar territory.
In an era where lumps of metal the size of buildings flew through the skies, news traveled from the opposite side of the world in an instant, and the golden age of swords had faded due to gunpowder—
any madman swaggering around calling himself a swordsman with just a single blade became a target for countless factions.
From criminal organizations like organized thugs, gangs, mafias, or assassination firms—
to counterintelligence agencies such as the National Intelligence Service, public security, the FBI, and Interpol.
Truly, all sorts of people had hunted her life relentlessly.
Judging from that experience, the situation was quite hopeless.
"...I won't get caught right away,"
Covered in filth and rags, no one would mistake her for the girl in the portrait, but it was only a matter of time before she was discovered.
With a massive bounty and a widespread manhunt, it was safe to assume eyes were everywhere.
No matter how much she disguised herself, perfectly hiding her identity forever was impossible.
"My features are just too distinctive..."
If she was lucky, she might live undiscovered, but that was purely up to fortune.
In her previous life, she had the strength to protect herself, so she treated being hunted as routine.
But with her current child's body, it was daunting.
So-hyang turned her steps away from the city.
-----
Quenching her thirst with rainwater, roasting wild game for meals, and walking steadily for several weeks, she arrived at—
a undeveloped mountain region with no cities nearby, not even a small village.
It was a wild domain untouched by civilization.
"Time to play wild man for a while."
The Central Plains were vast, but inhabited areas were inevitably connected.
Anywhere linked to society fell under the Imperial Family's influence; fleeing to another country wouldn't help unless she crossed borders entirely.
Her plan was to avoid people until the wanted posters faded and her body grew enough to blend in.
Of course, surviving in the wild was no easy feat.
She had only sackcloth-like clothes, two Makeup Knives, and a scant handful of grain swiped on her way out of the city.
Her short limbs and a child's rapid metabolism were disadvantages for survival.
Naturally, So-hyang chose the wilderness because she was confident she could endure.
"Oh. Bamboo."
She cut bamboo of suitable thickness, planted it in the dirt floor, and wove grass over it—a makeshift tent was complete in no time.
Gathering fallen leaves and twigs to start a campfire finished her basic shelter.
At that moment, a small rumble emanated from her tiny belly, as if on cue.
"...No rest for the weary."
It was an adorable sound, but a bell tolling life's peril—it couldn't be ignored.
She selected sturdy bamboo, cut it to size, and sharpened one end at an angle.
Heating it briefly over the fire to draw out moisture made it a usable bamboo spear.
Not meant for long-term use, but sufficient for now.
"Up we go."
The habit of grunting when standing was an old man's trait.
Coming from a child's body, it looked comically like a precocious kid mimicking an elder.
Gripping the bamboo spear, So-hyang left her camp and stepped into the dense woods.
Walking slowly and scanning the ground revealed various tracks.
"Wild boar, deer... no, water deer."
This place, far from human paths, was beast territory. Finding their prints wasn't hard.
But So-hyang had no intention of pursuing such large game.
Her current body made hunting tricky, and even if successful, transporting it would be tough.
And preserving it back at camp? Another ordeal.
Thus, her quarry was—
tiny tracks like those of a rabbit.
The droppings were still moist; it hadn't gone far.
Search complete—time to track.
To fool a beast's keen senses, she had to hide her presence meticulously.
"Suuuuu..."
She inhaled.
"Haaaaaa..."
Exhaled.
With each breath in and out, the intervals lengthened.
Eventually, her breathing slowed to the point where it was hard to tell if she was breathing at all.
Her heart followed suit, slowing.
The tiny heartbeat, quick like a child's, grew slower and fainter.
Her flushed cheeks paled, her vital warmth cooled.
With each breath, her skin turned ashen, resembling a corpse.
Preparation done. Time to move.
Her already light steps now made no sound at all.
Minutes passed at a steady, unhurried pace.
She found the rabbit.
Twitching its cute ears, nibbling grass with its tiny mouth.
A normal girl might find it endearing, but So-hyang silently circled behind it.
Closing the distance, she thrust the spear with her full weight.
The rabbit's lungs were pierced cleanly; it died without a sound.
Roasted that night without salt or spices, the meat was plain but quite edible.
-----
In this way, food came from hunting, and water from a nearby spring with groundwater—worry-free after discovery.
She cleared land for a field and planted various seeds from the city.
The old man knew farming well, but Central Plains crops differed from modern hybrids, requiring trial and error.
Precisely half a year.
"...Sprouts."
Fortunately, she reaped before seeds ran out.
Now self-sufficient in barley, beans, turnips, and greens.
Next: build a house.
Split suitable stones, bind to dried bamboo for an axe.
Crude, but ancients felled trees with such tools.
Skillfully done, even large trees toppled.
The issue was transport.
Her small body couldn't move such logs, no matter the effort.
"No helping it. Dry them here."
She made the felling site her workshop.
Drying sap, splitting, shaping into lumber.
Another half year, and the house stood.
"Hm. Not bad."
Steady nutrition secured, shelter complete.
After a full year, So-hyang could finally live, not just survive.
Time to train in earnest.
-----
So-hyang from her previous life was obsessed with strength.
Not power from wealth or authority, but raw martial might.
Not from guns or bombs, but direct force through flesh.
A thoroughly archaic mindset.
Master countless martial techniques.
Temper the body.
Hone senses through real combat.
Life-or-death bloodbaths were ideal.
Fight, kill, train—repeating daily growth until one day.
She hit a wall.
Not personal limits or talent, but humanity's species barrier.
No matter how honed, swordsmanship merely cut steel; no matter trained, strength couldn't surpass chimps.
And beasts stronger than chimps abounded.
Of course, she could kill them—with a longsword, severing a blue whale's neck or an elephant's trunk was possible, but bodily limits remained apart from raw power.
Yet So-hyang didn't despair.
Surpassing yesterday's self sufficed.
To break limits, she delved into diverse knowledge.
Medicine, physics, biotech, even "pseudoscience" ancient martial arts.
Endless effort bore fruit.
"...Strength increased."
Not more muscle.
Aging brought loss, not gain.
The human body is a precise machine.
Full-body muscles contracting, relaxing, joints moving in perfect harmony.
She grasped harmony beyond perfection.
Transcending instinct with reason, dominating subconscious with will.
Post-enlightenment, explosive growth.
Aging, frail body surpassed youthful peak.
Physically impossible feats became real.
And in her final years.
Autonomic nerves controlling digestion, heart, lungs, organs.
Endocrine glands like pituitary, thyroid, pancreas producing hormones.
She gained control over the uncontrollable.
Generated internal steroids to bulk muscle.
Forced nutrients into weak bones for density.
Stimulated nerves for max reflexes, even self-overcame Alzheimer's.
Undeniably transcending human limits.
White-coated scholars hyped it as medical revolution, humanity's evolution start.
So-hyang paid no mind.
-----
Only regret: enlightenment came too late.
No fixing a senescent body fully.
Mature skeleton unchangeable, muscle quality hard to elevate further.
Above all, time shortage.
Delayed aging maximally, but lifespan ended soon after.
"...That's why this excites me more."
Applying past enlightenment to this child body, pre-puberty...
What results would emerge?