Chapter 82
Chapter 82
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 8
Chapter Title: Martial Arts (3)
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Oho brought the Water Star Pills.
Somehow he had sweet-talked the medicine hall attendant into handing over not two, but four.
Cheonwi snatched the Water Star Pills as if seizing them and immediately headed down to the cave. Oho called after him.
“What’s that? What are you planning to do with them?”
“I’ve got something to try.”
“What about our wounds?”
“Patch yourselves up for once.”
“You made such a big fuss getting them and now you won’t even explain? That’s rude.”
“Waiting when I tell you to is polite too.”
Cheonwi ignored Oho and shut himself in the cave.
The physician from his memories had said it required a lot of blood.
He had no idea how much “a lot” really was.
He had been a child back then. He couldn’t even guess how much blood had been drawn from a child’s body in one go.
He laid out the four Water Star Pills on the table and lit a lamp for the first time in a while.
It was to see the colors clearly.
Water Star Pills were basically yellow. Their surface texture was so dry and rough that touching them bare-handed left a faint powder residue.
Cheonwi had never eaten one before.
This was his first time even seeing the real thing.
Whether in the Espionage Squad or the Heaven-Destroying Squad, Peng Clan warriors carried big and small injuries even before deployment. Their training was that brutal. Peng Clan warriors all benefited from Water Star Pills at least once during training. Of course, that didn’t apply to Cheonwi with his regenerative abilities.
‘First, the blood…’
He drew a small knife.
He didn’t use the golden blade. He pulled out a work knife untouched by anyone else’s blood. It was more tool than weapon for cutting people, but the edge was plenty sharp.
Slash.
He cut his forearm.
His brows furrowed instinctively. A chilling pain washed over him.
He reached for the first Water Star Pill.
A droplet of blood fell onto it.
The yellow Water Star Pill turned red in an instant. The red slowly soaked in, shifting to a crimson hue.
The shallow cut on his arm healed in a flash. The bleeding stopped just as quickly.
He must have cut too shallow. Or maybe his regeneration was too fast.
He examined the color-changed Water Star Pill closely.
The smooth particles on its surface had turned sticky. The color wasn’t uniform either. Only the spot where the blood had dropped was orange.
It wasn’t perfect.
It felt just like spotting flaws in a martial art at a glance.
Not a failure, but not a success either.
Cheonwi stared at the Water Star Pill for a moment, then picked it up and popped it into his mouth.
The taste was awful.
Like the saying that bitter medicine does the body good, the Water Star Pill was the epitome of old adages. He recalled warriors grimacing as they swallowed them during training.
After the bitterness came a metallic tang.
It was different from before.
The black witch’s blood had been sweet. Sweet didn’t even cover it. It had been so shocking it overwhelmed all other senses.
His own blood wasn’t like that.
At the end of the metallic taste lingered a fishy smell.
‘It’ll boost the odd effects. The internal energy enhancement will be minimal.’
He knew it instinctively.
That was how it worked.
He didn’t know why, but he could see the outcome.
Gazing at the remaining three Water Star Pills, Cheonwi thought.
The key was the amount of blood.
He needed to test the effects too.
Oho and Danmun were his friends and his hope.
He couldn’t feed them an elixir whose results were unknown just to experiment.
That was why he had eaten it himself.
It was his own blood.
At the very least, it wouldn’t cause problems in his body, he figured.
Slash.
He cut deeper with the knife, drawing more blood.
He even set out a bowl and thoroughly soaked a Water Star Pill in it.
The texture grew even stickier.
The color turned a uniform orange.
Without hesitation, he put it in his mouth.
Bitter and metallic.
A warm sensation lingered on his tongue tip.
‘Qi sense has sharpened. This one will have a bit more effect.’
He would need more blood.
Just how much blood had been extracted from his infant body back then?
Cheonwi proceeded methodically without rushing.
Pills were typically compounds of various ingredients by nature. Some provided immediate effects, while others induced long-term changes.
He decided to set aside the remaining two Water Star Pills for now. First, he would observe the changes in his own body.
For a day or two, and beyond.
He had to gauge the extent of the internal energy enhancement.
He needed to confirm how it would act in his extraordinary body, then accurately predict its effects in a normal human’s based on that.
Only then would he give them to Oho and Danmun.
If there was even a hint of a problem, he’d discard them. It would be as if they never existed.
But at the same time, he knew.
The Water Star Pills would ultimately be used, not discarded.
In the end, this would bring great change, altering many things—everything—life and death itself.
He settled into meditative breathing.
In Cheonwi’s mind, a new future assembled itself around the reinvented Water Star Pills.
* * *
“Still no word on the eldest?”
Yeom Seoksan’s question was always similar.
“We’ve found some leads.”
Danmun answered.
“Is that true? The Peng Clan’s capabilities are impressive.”
Yeom Seoksan’s eyes widened.
The reaction was dramatic.
Probably because he hadn’t expected any results at all.
“It’s not confirmed yet. They found traces near Mount Tai. I’ll report as soon as more comes in.”
“I appreciate it, even just the words.”
Sincerity filled Yeom Seoksan’s voice.
He and Danmun had fought together against the White Bone Witch and the Yellow Robe Fiend.
Life-or-death clashes often forged deep bonds. Yeom Seoksan and Danmun had grown close quickly.
“The ownership of the Jeongju printing house has been smoothly transferred here.”
“A bit late, though.”
“It seems delayed due to secrecy measures.”
“They’ll have handled it well.”
“The operation is quite sizable. It would’ve been a shame to hand it over at that price.”
“If you see it as payment for your life, there’s no regret at all.”
Yeom Seoksan and Danmun exchanged words rapidly.
Recovering the remaining assets of the Flame Jade Merchant Guild was no simple task for Yeom Seoksan. Unable to move personally, he had to rely on documents penned in his own hand and his personal seal possessed by him alone.
He needed people who could travel long distances while keeping secrets, and even verifications took considerable time.
The risk of backtracking couldn’t be ignored either.
Those pursuing Yeom Seoksan had turned Taewon Prefecture upside down. They scoffed at the Shanxi Five Strongholds and feared not even the Six Great Clans. Even under the Peng Clan’s protection, they wouldn’t give up on him.
The Espionage Squad handled nearly all the processing.
It was only natural.
Yeom Seoksan couldn’t actively leverage his own connections.
To share progress and future plans with the Espionage Squad, someone needed to liaise closely with Yeom Seoksan.
That role fell to none other than Danmun.
He was perfect for it, for several reasons.
He knew Yeom Seoksan well. He was also the son of the Resource Hall Master. Matters related to the Flame Jade Merchant Guild were handled by the Espionage Squad in practice, but always under the Resource Hall’s approval.
Moreover, Danmun was renowned for his ruthless hand in combat.
Yeom Seoksan had originally been part of an unidentified faction. From the Peng Clan’s view, he was a defector, but clearly a traitor to his former group.
One who betrayed once could betray again. That was the way of the jianghu. Nor could the possibility be entirely ruled out that he was a plant from the start.
Danmun wasn’t swayed by sentiment.
That was the Espionage Squad’s assessment.
Whether Yeom Seoksan had been a spy feigning defection from the beginning, or might betray again later, Danmun could swing his blade without hesitation.
In other words, Danmun was also a watcher.
That was another reason he visited Yeom Seoksan’s residence so often.
“You’re here?”
After the brief talk with Yeom Seoksan, Hyang entered the inner chamber from the side hall.
Hyang no longer looked like a girl.
Her body had fully recovered, but shadows clouded her face.
Because of her sister.
She believed her sister had been taken in her place. That truth had swiftly turned her into an adult. She no longer asked Danmun about her sister. She was quick on the uptake. She already knew her father had asked first.
“How’s the training?”
“There were some difficult parts.”
“Stuck at the left stance?”
“How did you know?”
“It’s more about breathing than form there. You’re not yet used to controlling your breath.”
Danmun no longer went easy on Hyang.
Hyang had boldly asked him to teach her martial arts.
Danmun had accepted without hesitation.
They were now under the Peng Clan’s protection. Should combat arise, Hyang could become a liability again, like that night in Taewon Prefecture.
If she could defend herself even a little, there would be that much less worry.
Above all, her own will was strong.
Thus, Danmun became Hyang’s martial instructor.
“Then I should spend more time on the oral formulas than the forms.”
“Spot on.”
Hyang was sharp.
Danmun turned to Yeom Seoksan.
“Hall Master, your daughter has remarkable martial talent. Have her train more separately.”
“My skills are too meager. It’s no martial art fit to teach a child.”
“You underestimate yourself.”
“I wanted to teach my daughter orthodox arts.”
Meaning his own martial arts weren’t orthodox.
Danmun pretended not to hear.
“The Northern Hong Heart Method is an excellent orthodox art.”
“It’s not mine. Just something I bought with money and learned.”
Yeom Seoksan said he had bought his martial arts with money.
Entirely plausible.
The Northern Hong Heart Method’s manuals and annotated formulas were widespread across Shanxi, Hebei, and Shandong. A few taels of silver could buy a functional cultivation method.
Of course, there was a big issue.
Counterfeits abounded among the manuals. Fake ones could ruin your body in the worst cases. Anyone could learn it, but not everyone reached the essence. Naturally, proper learning required an authentic manual or a skilled master.
Yeom Seoksan could have obtained both, of course.
Hyang had a solid internal energy foundation and keen qi sense. It showed guidance from a renowned teacher. Meaning she had properly mastered the Northern Hong Heart Method.
“Teach her anything, and she’ll achieve great attainment.”
“That’s precisely the problem.”
Yeom Seoksan’s internal energy wasn’t the Northern Hong Heart Method.
Danmun already knew that.
The Northern Hong Heart Method was a versatile cultivation technique, easy to practice alongside others. Yet Yeom Seoksan refused to pass his own arts to Hyang. He even said great attainment would cause issues. There had to be a story behind it. Danmun deliberately didn’t pry.